Senate Debate on H.R. 3684, August 10, 2021 — Congressional Record
Summary
Congressional Record, Senate proceedings for Tuesday, August 10, 2021, Vol. 167 No. 145. The Senate met at 9:30 a.m. and resumed consideration of the infrastructure bill. Cantwell says the State of Washington needs infrastructure investment, thanks Commerce Committee staff and Ranking Member Wicker, and says about 20 percent of the underlying bill was the focus of the Commerce Committee. Cantwell describes the legislation as a historic investment in transportation, including authorization for the first time of megaprojects including a crossing between Vancouver and Portland and the Highway 2 trestle in Everett, plus freight and Amtrak funding.
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“Senate Debate on H.R. 3684, August 10, 2021 — Congressional Record.”
Original at www.govinfo.gov. Archived at Pandemic Darlings, https://pandemicdarlings.com/source-documents/crec-crec-2021-08-10-crec-2021-08-10-pt1-pgs6193-6-66966f94ad/
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Congressional Record
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117 th CONGRESS, FIRST SESSION
United States
of America PROCEEDINGS AND DEBATES OF THE
Vol. 167 WASHINGTON, TUESDAY, AUGUST 10, 2021 No. 145
Senate
The Senate met at 9:30 a.m., and was The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without Naseem Mehyar, Hannah Albert, Eric
called to order by the President pro objection, it is so ordered. Vryheid, Elle Wibisino, John
tempore (Mr. LEAHY). f Branscome, Shawn Bone, Brian
f McDermott, Mary Claire York, Jared
CONCLUSION OF MORNING Bomberg, Shannon Smith, John
PRAYER BUSINESS Beezer, Noam Kanter, Jordan Blue, Tif-
The Chaplain, Dr. Barry C. Black, of- The PRESIDING OFFICER. Morning fany George, Lucy Koch, Hunter
fered the following prayer: business is closed. Hudspeth Blackburn, Kelly Ryan, Dave
Let us pray. f Stewart, Melissa Porter, and David
Eternal and ever-blessed God, the Strickland.
Alpha and Omega, thank You for the LEGISLATIVE SESSION These are some of the individuals
gift of this day. Give us the wisdom to who were involved in putting together
use it to enrich lives by service to oth- the commerce piece of this underlying
INVESTING IN A NEW VISION FOR bill. About 20 percent of the underlying
ers. Use our lawmakers to continue
THE ENVIRONMENT AND SUR- bill was the focus of the Commerce
Your momentum in our world, enabling
FACE TRANSPORTATION IN Committee and its jurisdiction.
them to become salt and light to this
AMERICA ACT—Resumed I want to thank Ranking Member
generation.
Lord, as our Senators strive to be The PRESIDING OFFICER. Under WICKER and his staff for the hard work
productive members of the family of the previous order, the Senate will re- to pull off what was the bipartisan bill
humanity, empower them to do Your sume consideration of H.R. 3684, which that came to the Senate floor as part
will. Supply their needs out of the the clerk will report. of this package.
bounty of Your celestial riches. If they The senior assistant legislative clerk Our legislation, I think, is a historic
fall, may they fall forward as they read as follows: investment to rebuild our transpor-
trust You to remain the author and fin- A bill (H.R. 3684) to authorize funds for tation infrastructure, including invest-
isher of their faith. Federal-aid highways, highway safety pro- ments in things like megaprojects, ba-
We pray in Your great Name. Amen. grams, and transit programs, and for other sically helping to eliminate our prob-
purposes. lems at grade crossings, improve our
f
H.R. 3684 freight network, improve our environ-
PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE Ms. CANTWELL. Madam President, ment by removing culverts, and help-
The President pro tempore led the many States in the United States need ing Amtrak better serve the United
Pledge of Allegiance, as follows: infrastructure investment, but I would States of America.
I pledge allegiance to the Flag of the put the State of Washington high on All these were important invest-
United States of America, and to the Repub- the list of States that desperately need ments, but we should look at the firsts.
lic for which it stands, one nation under God, infrastructure investment. First, we are authorizing for the first
indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. We have been blessed with a growing time megaprojects. Megaprojects often
f economy and a big trade economy take up so much of our budget in our
based on the Pacific rim and the ac- States and federally they never get
RESERVATION OF LEADER TIME tions of the Pacific rim. So we need to funded, but that doesn’t mean they
The PRESIDENT pro tempore. Under keep moving products. We need to keep aren’t critical to the United States.
the previous order, the leadership time moving services, and we need infra- In the Northeast Corridor, we cer-
is reserved. structure investment to do so. tainly have megaprojects. In the Pa-
The PRESIDING OFFICER (Ms. I wanted to take this opportunity to cific Northwest, we have megaprojects
ROSEN). The Senator from Vermont. thank the work done by the Commerce that would be critical, like the Colum-
Mr. LEAHY. Madam President, I sug- Committee and those who worked on bia River Crossing between Vancouver
gest the absence of a quorum. the Infrastructure Investment Act, spe- and Portland, or the Highway 2 trestle
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The cifically: Kara Fischer, Michael in Everett. These projects deserve the
clerk will call the roll. Davisson, Joanie Lofgren, Zeb Schorr, attention of the Nation and, with this
The senior assistant legislative clerk Ronce Almond, Alex Simpson, G.G. first-time authorization, will get so.
proceeded to call the roll. Slais, Nicole Teutschel, Jennifer Quan, The bill also puts a historic invest-
Ms. CANTWELL. Madam President, I Matthew Bobbink, Jami Burgess, David ment in freight and in Amtrak. As I
ask unanimous consent that the order Martin, Amit Ronen, Stacy Baird, mentioned, the economy of a global na-
for the quorum call be rescinded. Devon Helfrich, Patrick Eckroth, ture is demanding that we be able to
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∑ This ‘‘bullet’’ symbol identifies statements or insertions which are not spoken by a Member of the Senate on the floor.
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S6194 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE August 10, 2021
move competitively our products. But So this transportation legislation Remember, Democrats inherited
if we don’t continue to invest in that went through the Commerce Com- three safe and effective vaccines that
freight, we are not going to get that mittee, as I said, also, you know, were already rolling out nationwide
job done. So this provides $66 billion to makes other investments. This floor and an economy that was primed to
improve our passenger rail and freight bill also makes other investments for come roaring back, but our colleagues
system, the single largest investment bridge repair, for transit systems, for pressed ahead with a massive spring-
that we have had in our Amtrak sys- climate resiliency, and specifically for time spending package that even lib-
tem that was funded 50 years ago. our airports. You probably haven’t eral experts said would drive inflation,
The Commerce Committee’s bill lays heard too much about that out here on and, of course, it did.
the foundation for this funding, which the floor, but in the Commerce Com- Overall inflation has risen at the
I believe will do three things. It will mittee, I can tell you that aviation, fastest rate in nearly 13 years. Core in-
mean more investment to fix the prob- transportation, and competitive—I flation hit its highest level in almost 30
lems in the Northeast Corridor; more know that the Presiding Officer knows years. Families are getting hit by high-
specifically, it will give us the ability this very well; that in Las Vegas or in er prices everywhere, from the grocery
to have more sequencing of trains Reno that infrastructure like our air- store to the gas station, to their hous-
throughout the United States of Amer- ports is essential to our economy con- ing costs. Small businesses have had
ica; and it will provide for new service tinuing to grow. SeaTac is probably trouble reopening because would-be
in city pairs that, I hope, will help one of the fastest growing airports in workers are getting a government
economies all across the United States the United States right now, and under bonus to actually stay home.
with more investments. this legislation, we will also see an im- So the country is still working
I know, specifically, the Senator portant improvement for our airports through the side effects of the bor-
from Montana, Senator TESTER, is very so they can continue to grow and so we rowing and spending the Democrats
adamant about our Amtrak funding can continue to make investments. forced through back in the spring, but
and the services that Montana de- I also want to, as I mentioned, thank Democrats don’t want to just refill
mands. I want to thank him for his Senator WICKER in the title for vehicle their socialist prescription; they want
help on this. safety. These are important provisions to double the dose—double the dose.
I want to thank Senator DUCKWORTH that he and I and others on the com- According to what they just released,
for her hard work in making sure that mittee—Senator BLUMENTHAL for his Democrats want to unite behind Chair-
Amtrak complies with the Americans work on safety legislation that related man SANDERS’ resolution to spend a
with Disabilities Act. This is so impor- to both the Northeast Corridor and to staggering $4.2 trillion more. Of course,
tant for us to do, and her language, individuals in transportation, includ- outside experts estimate the real cost
making sure that we also have some- ing, with Senator WICKER, the life- will be even higher still.
one from the disabilities community If it is even close to fully offset, as
saving technology, like an automatic
on the Amtrak board, is the kind of they claim it is, this seems almost cer-
emergency braking system, preventing
thing that should be followed in other tain to be the largest peacetime tax
child heat stroke deaths, and impaired
examples in this legislation. hike on record. So let that sink in—the
driving faculties.
I also want to say, for the first time, largest peacetime tax hike on record.
So I again thank all of the members
we are addressing specifically at-grade Even though their rough sketch of
of the Commerce Committee for their these tax hikes would shatter Presi-
crossings. This is the instance where hard work in getting this legislation as
there is congestion in freight, in my dent Biden’s promise not to raise taxes
part of this package. on the middle class, families earning
State, multiple times the increase in I think we can see that we have some
well under the President’s stated
freight traffic. Again, you know, a lot firsts here: first investing in
threshold would get hit and hit hard.
of Midwest product moving to Asia has megaprojects; first in cleaning up our
This new reckless taxing-and-spending
increased a demand in safety and environmental problems with culverts;
spree will fall like a hammer blow on
transportation. Somebody quoted one getting our freight product through
workers and middle-class families:
of our reports that it took freight 3 our most congested corridors with im- fewer jobs, lower wages, more inflation
days to get through just the city of proved at-grade crossing; and making pushing costs higher and higher.
Chicago because of the amount of con- the major investment so that Amtrak What our colleagues are proposing
gestion. can continue to expand. and planning is absolutely jaw-drop-
Our job here is to make sure that our So I look forward to working with ping. People want to pretend this is
product, made and grown in the United my colleagues as we move through the just business as usual, just liberals
States of America, gets quickly to its legislative process and continue to doing liberal things using Senate pro-
destinations or we will be outcompeted make improvements in our transpor- cedure. Make no mistake, this reckless
by other nations that have an infra- tation infrastructure. taxing-and-spending spree is nothing
structure system that can beat us to I yield the floor. like we have seen—nothing.
those marketplaces. So this provides, RECOGNITION OF THE MINORITY LEADER
The basic math of their taxing and
for the first time, a focused program on The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Re- spending is toxic enough, but the radi-
improving at-grade crossings to con- publican leader is recognized. calism that we will be debating on the
tinue to make the investments that BUDGET RECONCILIATION floor goes well beyond dollars and
need to be made to keep our freight Mr. MCCONNELL. Madam President, cents. The policies they want to put be-
moving and our public safe. later today, Senate Democrats want to hind this budget resolution read like
It also, for the first time, authorizes take their next big step toward playing somebody walked across the Rotunda
transportation improvements to repair Russian roulette with our country. to the House and handed the Squad a
culverts. Culverts and other transpor- They want to begin pushing through a pen and piece of paper: sweeping—
tation infrastructure have done dam- reckless taxing-and-spending spree sweeping—amnesty for illegal immi-
age to our environment. They have that was authored by our self-described grants in the middle of a border crisis,
done damage to fish; they have basi- socialist colleague, Chairman SANDERS. regulations that are so radical that our
cally blocked spawning grounds. They Today, the American people will learn colleague Senator MARKEY said:
have caused other infrastructure chal- exactly where each of their Senators The green new deal is in the DNA of this
lenges to species all along our coastal stand. . . . budget resolution. All of the things that
States. This program will help to im- The American people elected a 50–50 are in [this], we talked about in the green
prove that situation by repairing some Senate, an incredibly close House of new deal.
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of the fish passage that has been Representatives, and a President who Senator MARKEY.
blocked for so many years. This is so pledged to govern down the middle and They want to induce 49 other States
important for us in the Pacific North- unify the country. But as soon as to make their electric grids more like
west, but it is also important through- President Biden, Speaker PELOSI, and California’s; make it more expensive to
out the South and for our many, many Leader SCHUMER got the keys, they mine critical minerals we need to com-
coastal communities. handed them right over to the far left. pete with China; they want to take
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August 10, 2021 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE S6195
working families’ child tax credit and Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, I ask alties when a person straw-purchases a
turn it into a permanent welfare pro- unanimous consent that the order for firearm.
gram—listen to this—with no work re- the quorum call be rescinded. We need to take this type of gun traf-
quirement; they want to tamper with The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. ficking seriously. It is time for us to
the prescription drug industry in ways WARNOCK). Without objection, it is so stop treating straw purchases like a
that would leave Americans with fewer ordered. paperwork misdemeanor.
new treatments and fewer new cures; GUN CONTROL As we have learned in the death of
they want to put government’s thumb Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, this past Officer French, it is a deadly act and
on the scale of families’ childcare Saturday, at 9 p.m., Chicago Police Of- should be punished accordingly.
choices and selectively subsidize par- ficer Ella French was shot and killed Officer French’s death is also a call
ents whose households work the way during a traffic stop on the Chicago to action for the strike force recently
Washington wants; and they want to South Side. set up by the Department of Justice to
tax more money out of Americans’ Her death is devastating. Officer crack down on regional firearms traf-
pockets while reviving a special tax French was 29 years old. She had ficking in Chicago.
cut that overwhelmingly benefits served as a member of the Chicago Po- I met with Attorney General Garland
wealthy people in blue States. lice Department since 2018. in Chicago when he launched the strike
So let’s face it. The brute facts of the Her brother described her as the epit- force 2 weeks ago, and I have written
Senate’s rules mean that, if 50 Demo- ome of a good Samaritan. A fellow offi- to him now urging that the strike force
crats plus the Vice President stick to- cer said of her: ‘‘She truly showed the immediately prioritize the investiga-
gether, Republicans will probably not community that she loved them and tion and prosecution of straw pur-
be able to save our colleagues from would do anything for them.’’ chases like the one that took the life of
themselves. If all 50 Democrats want to Officer French’s partner was also Officer French.
help Chairman SANDERS hurt middle- shot and critically wounded. We pray The strike force was established to
class families, even if our colleagues for his recovery. keep a sustained focus on firearms traf-
who claim they are moderates want to Two men have been charged by the ficking in Chicago. That focus should
follow the far left off this cliff, well, Cook County State Attorney’s Office in include stopping straw purchases and
that is their prerogative, but we are the shooting of these officers. A third holding the perpetrators accountable.
going to argue it out right here on the man has been charged by the U.S. At- I look forward to working with the
floor at some length. Every single Sen- torney’s Office for the Northern Dis- Justice Department and with my col-
ator will be going on record over and trict of Illinois for conspiracy to vio- leagues to find ways to crack down on
over and over. late Federal firearms laws. the deadly gun violence that straw pur-
Senate Republicans will be bringing I hope that justice is delivered swift- chasers help to fuel.
forward commonsense amendments ly and fairly for the perpetrators of OPIOID EPIDEMIC
that represent what Americans actu- this horrible crime. Mr. President, 2020 set a record for
ally want and actually need. Our col- And let me be clear. As devastating drug overdose deaths in America. More
leagues can look forward to votes on as her death is, scores of individuals than 93,000 lives were lost in the year
national security and funding our are shot every week in Chicago, and 2020. In Illinois, 3,500 of our neighbors
Armed Forces; votes to remove back- many lose their lives. For each of their died of overdose, a 27-percent spike
door tax cuts for wealthy liberals; families, the loss is just as intense as from the year before.
votes to protect family-owned small How did we get to this point? Who is
the loss of Officer French.
businesses and family farms from And as heartbreaking as Officer responsible for this?
crushing tax hikes; votes to encourage French’s death is, it is also infuriating. There is one clear culprit: the phar-
schools to finally reopen in person; to We learned yesterday from the Chicago maceutical industry. For years, opioid
stop the catch and release of COVID- manufacturers deliberately lied about
U.S. Attorney’s Office that the gun
positive illegal immigrants coming the risks of their drugs—deliberately.
used to murder Officer French was
into our country; to protect taxpayers These companies have claimed their
straw-purchased from a gun dealer in
from being forced to fund the horrors pain killers should be prescribed for
Indiana.
of abortion. And that is just a sam-
What is a straw purchase? It happens common aches and pains. They even
pling. Because our Democratic col-
when a person who can pass a back- downplayed their addictive nature even
leagues missed some deadlines, it has
ground check buys a gun and gives it though their research showed that it
been an all-out sprint to prepare
to a person who can’t. was a very real danger.
amendments.
Straw purchases have long been the These companies then shipped moun-
So I want to thank our nonpartisan
way that guns have been funneled into tains of these pills to every corner of
Senate clerks and Parliamentarians.
They have worked multiple weekends, the hands of those with felony convic- America. They aggressively promoted
straight through. They were kept up tions in Chicago, then to the streets, them to doctors, with the backing of
late last night processing hundreds of then to deadly incidents. dark money organizations.
According to the charges filed yester- This epidemic wasn’t created by
amendments, and they are going to be
up late with all of us yet again. day by the U.S. attorney, an Indiana some infectious virus; it was created by
If President Biden and 50 Senate man bought the handgun from a man corporate greed—corporate greed. In
Democrats want to outsource domestic in Hammond, IN, and gave to it a per- the words of Richard Sackler of Purdue
policy to Chairman SANDERS, if this son with a felony conviction, who al- Pharma, his company chose to flood
historically reckless taxing-and-spend- legedly used it this last weekend to kill our streets with ‘‘a blizzard of prescrip-
ing spree is how the modern Demo- Officer French. tions that will bury the competition.’’
cratic Party wants to define itself, if For years, I have been fighting to It ended up burying the users.
they want inflation and tax hikes to be toughen our laws against straw pur- As a result, 500,000 Americans fami-
their legacy, then Republicans do not chases. Right now, straw-purchasing is lies have had to bury loved ones who
currently have the votes to spare the treated—listen to this—as a Federal died of opioid overdoses and addictions
American families this nightmare, but paperwork violation for lying on a Fed- since the start of the opioid epidemic—
we will debate and we will vote and we eral gun purchase form. Charges are 500,000 Americans, a figure in the same
will stand up and we will be counted— rarely brought, and when they are, the range as the 610,000 Americans we have
and the people of this country will sentences are often just a matter of lost to COVID–19. The numbers are
know exactly which Senators fought months. That needs to change. numbing.
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for them. I have joined with Senator LEAHY of From 2006 to 2014, drug companies
I suggest the absence of a quorum. Vermont and Senator COLLINS of Maine like Purdue Pharma inundated the
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The to introduce the Stop Illegal Traf- country with 100 billion pain pills—100
clerk will call the roll. ficking in Firearms Act, a bipartisan billion. Let that soak in. That is
The senior assistant legislative clerk bill that would make it an explicit roughly 300 opioid pills for every living
proceeded to call the roll. Federal crime, carrying felony pen- American over that time.
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S6196 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE August 10, 2021
They flooded communities like the The DEA, this Federal Agency, will The work isn’t over yet, and I ap-
rural county of Hardin in downstate Il- soon be proposing its 2022 quotas, and I plaud the State attorneys general for
linois. They received enough opioids in am sending a letter urging them to use their extensive work involving these
Hardin County for each resident to their new authority and common sense opioid defendants.
have a nearly 3-month supply. to rein in the greed of Big Pharma. Legal proceedings continue for sev-
Some counties in West Virginia and In the face of all this suffering, new eral other key industry stakeholders
Kentucky had twice that level of over- legal challenges have been brought to that have yet to be held accountable—
supply. hold Big Pharma accountable for death that includes the Sackler family of
One pharma rep even bragged: ‘‘I and despair of the opioid epidemic. Purdue and OxyContin infamy.
don’t know how they can even house Thousands of lawsuits from States, The Sacklers are trying to engineer a
this many bottles.’’ counties, cities, and victims have been legal scheme to escape liability
Another wrote: consolidated in one Federal court in through the bankruptcy court. That is
Keep ‘em comin’! Flyin’ out of here. It’s Cleveland, OH. the family that started Purdue
like people are addicted to these things. Oh, This movement reminded me of an- Pharma, which was responsible for this
wait, people are . . . opioid crisis. They think they found a
other breakthrough moment in public
That level of greed and disregard for health, when our Nation came together venue now—a bankruptcy court—that
human suffering is an outrage, and the to hold Big Tobacco accountable for its is going to get them off the hook or at
companies responsible must be held ac- misleading marketing over the dec- least make sure they can protect the
countable. ades. We started holding these compa- money that they have made off of this
You may be asking: Why haven’t we criminal enterprise.
nies accountable in 1998, with the Mas-
done that already? The Sacklers are trying to engineer a
ter Tobacco Settlement Agreement.
It is a good question—because not legal scheme to escape liability for
That settlement was estimated to pro-
only was the Federal Drug Enforce- their conduct through the bankruptcy
vide States with $246 billion over 25
ment Administration aware of this ob- court, avoiding future lawsuits, while
years. But despite the pressing need,
scene volume of overproduction; they paying $4.5 billion, while protecting
only a tiny fraction—a meager 8 per-
authorized it. They gave permission. their vast fortunes estimated at over
The Drug Enforcement Administra- cent of that amount—was actually
dedicated to tobacco prevention and $11 billion.
tion of the U.S. Federal Government is That is why Senator WARREN and I
responsible for determining the cessation activities.
recently teamed up to introduce the
amount of opioid pills allowed to be Instead, tens of billions from that
Nondebtor Release Prohibition Act,
put on the market each year. They are settlement have gone toward filling
which would prevent the nonconsen-
effectively the gatekeeper for these gaps in State budgets and funding pet
sual release of liability through bank-
drug manufacturers and for years— projects like roads and bridges and sta-
ruptcy proceedings.
years—they allowed opioid production diums, even a tobacco museum. Translation: The Sacklers should not
As new opioid settlements are
quotas to keep increasing. get a discounted ticket to ride into the
Between 1993 and 2015, production of reached, we must learn from the sunset protecting their billions of dol-
oxycodone increased 39-fold; missed opportunity with tobacco law- lars. They need to be held personally
hydrocodone, 12-fold; fentanyl, 25-fold. suits. We must ensure that the funds liable, and the amount charged against
In 2016, America’s pharmaceutical in- from forthcoming opioid settlements them should be taken into account.
dustry produced 14 billion opioid doses are used to fortify health systems so We must demand that the worst cor-
in 2016 alone, enough for every adult they can respond to the current opioid porate actors are held accountable for
American to have a 3-week supply of crisis and prevent our next drug epi- their role in this crisis. Far too many
opioids. demic. families have suffered as a result of
Think about that. Authorized by the All of us know what is going on out corporate greed and malfeasance.
Federal Government, requested by the there. Even people who acknowledge RECOGNIZING BARB’S BAKERY
pharmaceutical industry, we put a their opioid addiction and are des- Mr. President, sometimes you have
quota that Pharma asked for to perate for treatment and need help im- the best of luck in life, and it is not
produce 14 billion opioid pills in a year, mediately wait for weeks and months planned. Neighbors of ours in Spring-
enough for every American to have a 3- to enter a drug rehab facility. That is field, IL, Tom and Bridget Lamont,
week supply. just unacceptable. We need have invited us to join them at their
Any wonder that we had an opioid community- and residential-based little house on Lake Michigan in
epidemic? treatment. We need to expand naloxone Leelanau Peninsula in the State of
I pressed the Drug Enforcement Ad- access. We need to address the child- Michigan. In that time, we have had
ministration on this issue years ago, hood trauma often at the root of addic- great experiences together, and we
when I learned of this. I asked them: tion and other public health strategies. have come to know a terrific little
How can you approve these ever-in- One of the things which I believe is shop called Barb’s Bakery in
creasing quotas. Pharma is insatiable. essential, as our kids get back to Northport, MI. After years and years of
They will ask for as many pills as they school after the pandemic experience, wonderful service and great pride, they
can possibly push into the American is that we need more counselors on the are giving up the business soon.
people’s families, especially when DEA scene at the schools dealing with these I have put in the RECORD a tribute to
had data that showed this overproduc- kids and this transition back into Barb’s Bakery of Northport, MI. I am
tion was fueling a deadly national drug somewhat normal life. These are crit- joined by DEBBIE STABENOW and GARY
crisis. ical moments in a child’s formation, PETERS, both Senators from Michigan.
A couple years ago I worked with my and I hope that we can have resources Mr. President, donuts have been en-
Republican colleague, Senator JOHN available to help them. joying a renaissance in recent years.
KENNEDY of Louisiana, to start stem- The best way to hold Big Pharma ac- Today, you can find ‘‘gourmet’’ donuts
ming the tide of addictive drugs. We countable is by compelling these com- with flavors like kumquat, beet, guava,
passed a bipartisan bill that gave the panies to pay the price for fueling this bacon maple, malted, salted cookie
DEA the authority they said they need- crisis, and their restitution should be dough, and blueberry bourbon basil.
ed to set commonsense production lev- devoted to helping America heal. But for my money, nothing beats the
els. Last month, a bipartisan group of famed cake donuts and cinnamon
We changed the law so the DEA State attorneys general announced the twists baked fresh every morning at
must—must—consider abuse, overdose framework of a litigation settlement Barb’s Bakery in the small town of
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deaths, and the public health impact involving Johnson & Johnson and the Northport, MI. There is nothing exotic
when determining opioid quotas. Nation’s three largest drug distribu- about Barb’s donuts. They are simple,
Our approach worked, partially. Over tors. The companies would pay a total old-fashioned perfection.
the past 5 years, the DEA has lowered of $26 billion over 18 years to resolve My wife Loretta and I discovered
opioid quotas by an average of 60 per- the suits, in addition to changing their Barb’s Bakery years ago during a vaca-
cent. business practices. tion in Northport with our friends,
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August 10, 2021 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE S6197
Tom and Bridget Lamont, and we have in love with Turkey. She returned I say that simply because it has been
gone back nearly every year since. again and again, often bringing friends my experience—I have observed this, as
Over the years, we have become friends with her. She bought a house in I said, over the better part of 25 years
with the owner, Barb Holcomb, and her Istanbul, which she kept for many now here in the Congress—that every
husband Jerry Holcomb—great people. years. And she learned to speak Turk- debate, every fight about spending,
When Loretta and I first discovered ish fluently. taxes, and debt, Democrats want to
her bakery, Barb’s donuts may have As Barb and Jerry get ready to start spend more and Republicans want to
been the primary reason that travelers a new chapter of their lives together, spend less, again with the recognition
would make a detour through Loretta and I want to thank them for that every one of those dollars that
Northport, a picturesque little village all of the delicious donuts and for their gets spent here in Washington, DC, is
at the tip of Michigan’s scenic friendship. And Michigan Senators, coming from an American taxpayer
Leelanau Peninsula. That has all DEBBIE STABENOW and GARY PETERS, somewhere across this country.
changed now. In recent years, new res- want to join me in saluting Barb and So, as we think about what we are
taurants and shops have sprung up Jerry. going to do next, I have to just say it
around town. But Barb’s Bakery re- Let me close by saying to Barb: ‘‘Iyi is staggering to me, what we are talk-
mains the anchor, both a destination— sanslar.’’ Best of luck, my friends. ing about—the dimensions; the scale;
and a local institution. Each morning, I yield the floor. $3.5 trillion in spending on top of $2
it brings local cherry farmers, young I suggest the absence of a quorum. trillion spent earlier this year, much of
families, and tourists together over The PRESIDING OFFICER. The which had nothing to do with the
coffee and donuts. clerk will call the roll. coronavirus.
I try to stop by Barb’s a little after 6 The senior assistant legislative clerk Much of the justification for a lot of
a.m., shortly after Barb or Jerry opens proceeded to call the roll. the spending at one time, at least, was
the doors. I will get a cup of coffee and Mr. THUNE. Mr. President, I ask that we had to deal with the pandemic,
a cinnamon twist, and Jerry and I will unanimous consent that the order for the coronavirus, but that is not the
sit with the locals sharing local news the quorum call be rescinded. case now. We still have ongoing issues
and figuring out how to solve the prob- The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without there. We need to make sure that we
lems of the world. Barb starts her objection, it is so ordered. are investing in vaccines and all the
workday at 1 a.m. each morning. That BUDGET RESOLUTION things that make sure that people in
is when she goes to work to mix the Mr. THUNE. Mr. President, in the this country are able to combat and
batter for the next day’s baking. By time that I have been in the Congress, that we are able to get this pandemic
6:30, the benches outside are usually which includes 6 years in the House of behind us. But what we are talking
filled with local farmers and retirees. Representatives and now in my 17th about with this $3.5 trillion that the
At around 8 am, the late sleepers and year in the Senate, I have been a part Democrats are intending and that we
tourists show up. But by 10:30 or 11, the of or witness to or voted on numerous are going to vote on later today—$3.5
last donut has usually been sold—so in- spending proposals and appropriation trillion—their own estimate, not ours.
sider tip: Get there early. bills, tax bills, deficit reduction bills, A lot of private estimates out there
You can smell the aroma of Barb’s and debt-limit increase bills through suggest that when this is fully imple-
Bakery about 2 blocks away. Barb tells the years, and I don’t think I have ever mented over the full window, you are
me the butter-yellow, clapboard bakery seen in all my time in the Congress a talking about $5.5 trillion. You add to
building was first constructed around spending bill where Democrats didn’t that the $2 trillion that has already
1850. Over the years, it has housed a want to spend more and Republicans been spent earlier this year—all put on
dentist’s office, a shoe repair shop, and wanted to spend less. the debt, by the way, all borrowed from
now, Barb’s bakery. Maybe that is consistent with our our children and grandchildren—and
Barb first start working there when overall governing philosophies. Repub- you are talking about a stunning, stag-
she was 13. She bakes her signature licans historically believe in limited gering, insane amount of money.
cinnamon twists on massive trays that but effective government, in personal I have heard the analogy used here
hold about 6 dozen twists each. On an freedom coupled with individual re- on the floor and other places by Demo-
average day, she sells six trays full. sponsibility, in economic freedom, and crats saying: Well, this is like the New
Donuts are another big seller—classic in peace through strength. Those are Deal. This is the modern New Deal for
cake donuts, plain or chocolate-iced— sort of guiding principles. America.
plus the special, seasonal flavors: cher- So when you get into a debate about Well, the New Deal occurred in the
ry during cherry season and pumpkin spending and budgets and appropria- middle of a Great Depression, where
in the fall. And Barb bakes the best tion and taxes and all those sorts of unemployment rates were running as
cherry pies you have ever tasted. things, in all the time I have been high as 25 percent. The New Deal hap-
Barb learned how to make her fa- here—and I say this with respect to the pened at a time when—my dad grew up
mous cinnamon twists from the women bill that we are going to be voting on in the Depression. I have heard him tell
who owned the bakery when Barb was a here in a few moments—Republicans the stories through the years. People
teenager. Now, Barb is getting ready to try to spend more efficiently, more ef- were struggling. They were struggling
pass that precious knowledge on. After fectively—less, because they know that enormously. The government stepped
40 years of baking for others, Barb Hol- every dollar that gets spent here is in with some programs to help address
comb recently sold her bakery to a coming from an American taxpayer. that to get people back to work.
young couple from the area, who plan So when the bipartisan legislation But what we are talking about here
to keep baking some of Barb’s signa- that the Senate will vote on here mo- is double—double—the size of the New
ture treats, mentarily was being considered, it Deal as a percentage of our economy—
And Barb and Jerry are looking for- started out at about $2.5 trillion. That double—at a time when we have, and
ward to taking a little time off and is what President Biden wanted to the President was crowing about this
maybe sleeping late every once in a spend on infrastructure. Democrats in the other day, 5 percent, 5.4 percent un-
while. Barb plans to put quite a few the Congress—in the Senate; for sure in employment in this country and 900,000
miles on the royal blue 1970s Cadillac the House of Representatives but in the new jobs created in the last reporting.
she just bought. She will continue to Senate here as well—wanted to spend So if you think about where the
give generously, and quietly, to the way more than what Republicans want- economy is, we are coming out of the
people and the village of Northport, as ed to spend. Republicans, on the other pandemic. People are investing again.
dlhill on DSK120RN23PROD with SENATE
she always has. And Barb and Jerry are hand, wanted to come up with a bill People are getting out. They are spend-
hoping to do some traveling. that met the needs that the country ing money. We are seeing growth get
Years ago, shortly after she grad- has, that was robust in addressing in- back in the economy. We are seeing
uated from high school, Barb and a frastructure concerns out there but jobs created. It is literally, to me, the
girlfriend took a magical trip through spent significantly less than what definition of ‘‘insanity’’ to pour 3.5 tril-
Greece and Afghanistan. And Barb fell Democrats proposed. lion, by their estimate—by a lot of
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S6198 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE August 10, 2021
other estimates, 5 trillion—more dol- Well, people work for businesses. before us today. Today, Democrats are
lars into the economy to literally give Democrats think it is easy. We will taking the first step toward a massive
people free everything. just raise taxes on businesses. Busi- and permanent expansion of govern-
This isn’t about addressing the pan- nesses are not paying enough. Well, ment that would be paid for on the
demic or helping get people back to where do people in this country work? backs of ordinary Americans. And my
work. We have programs that do that. They work for businesses. That is colleagues, as I said, on the other side
We have unemployment insurance that where they get their paychecks. That of the aisle, will tell you they are just
has been in place now for a long time. is where they get their benefits. Wages levying tax hikes on wealthy Ameri-
Many of us think the plus-up that the go down when taxes on businesses go cans, but that is not the whole story.
Federal Government provided was for up, to a historical fact. Those corporate tax hikes that
too long because it was keeping people If you think about what also happens Democrats are proposing, that tax just
from going back to work. But the fact when taxes are put on businesses, busi- isn’t going to be paid for by CEOs and
of the matter is, we are talking about nesses obviously can do a couple of the board members of corporations. A
a massive expansion of the Federal things. They may reduce wages or not huge part of that is going to fall on
Government literally to give people hire people or reduce the size of their American workers in the form of
pretty much free everything. workforce. But they also pass that on things like lower salaries and fewer op-
Not only does that contradict, I with the cost of higher prices to people portunities.
think, what this country was all about, out there in the economy who are pay- The Tax Foundation notes that the
which in its inception was about free- ing the price for it. That is what we are share of the corporate tax burden that
dom and liberty, personal freedom, eco- talking about here. It is just abso- falls on labor is, ‘‘routinely found to be
nomic freedom, individual responsi- lutely, absolutely stunning, really, in between 50 percent and 100 percent,
bility, providing people incentives to my time in the Congress to observe with 70 percent or higher the most
achieve and to do well, making sure something that is being compared to, likely outcome.’’
that we have programs in place, safety historically, the New Deal in a cir- By substantially hiking taxes on cor-
nets for those who need that help, but cumstance where the economy is grow- porations, Democrats will be substan-
the idea that at a time when the econ- ing and expanding, people should be tially increasing the burden borne by
omy is growing and expanding and un- going back to work; and in a time when workers, not to mention reducing our
employment is at a fairly low rate his- we have already a $30 trillion debt, as competitiveness in the global economy
torically, we are creating jobs that the I said, headed in 2031 to $45 trillion in by once again giving the United States
Federal Government would think that one of the highest corporate tax rates
debt, and something that literally
it needs, in all its wisdom here in in the developed world.
dwarfs, as a percentage of the econ-
Washington, DC, to infuse $5 trillion. With our economy still emerging
We already have inflation. It is at the omy, what was done at the time of the
New Deal, parallel the analogy that is from the challenges of coronavirus, it
highest rate in 13 years. Do you think
being used here by my colleagues on is very difficult to understand why
pouring a lot of—flooding the economy
the other side. There is just absolutely Democrats would decide that we should
with a whole bunch more money isn’t
no rationale for doing this. make American businesses less com-
going to exacerbate the inflation prob-
But that is what it calls for, $31⁄2 tril- petitive on the global stage.
lem we already have? Not to mention,
lion. According to the budget com- And that is the impact of just one of
they are talking about paying for it—I
mittee analysts, it includes $4.2 trillion the Democrats’ tax hikes. I haven’t
don’t think it will all be paid for. I
in spending—on discretionary spend- talked about the probable effects of
think a lot of it will go onto the debt.
By the way, under this budget that is ing—and increased interests on the their tax hike on small businesses—
being proposed today, that the Demo- debt are included. that is right, small businesses—or the
crats are, on a one-sided partisan pro- That bill, which was entirely unpaid negative economic effects of their huge
cedure, going to vote on, is the biggest for—and I am talking about the $1.9 tax increase on investment.
thing that we have seen certainly in trillion bill that was passed in March, And then—then—there is the Demo-
my lifetime and will dwarf, as I said, that was ostensibly COVID relief, but, crats’ new death tax. That is right, new
anything we have seen in history. The in reality, was more like a list of pay- death tax to add to our already exist-
debt at the end of all that—at the end offs to Democrat constituents. ing death tax, which will reduce inher-
of all that, 2031, the 10-year budget There were billions and billions of itances for middle-class Americans
window—will be $45 trillion, 134 percent dollars for schools, while keeping around the country, not to mention
of our gross domestic product. teachers unions happy by omitting any threatening the very existence of fam-
There was a day when we were wor- requirement for actually getting kids ily farms and ranches and small busi-
ried about borrowing up to 100 percent back in the classroom, even though nesses.
of GDP. Well, we have blown past that. schools have barely touched the bil- From the way that Democrats have
We have dwarfed that. This is now lions of COVID aid they have already been governing, you would think that
completely out of control, completely been given. voters have given them a resounding
out of hand. We are talking about a And, by the way, handoffs to States mandate to permanently expand gov-
massive amount of new spending to ex- with a distribution formula heavily ernment and implement the socialist
pand government and, to the degree weighted in favor of blue States, in- fantasies of the far left.
that it is paid for, paid for with taxes cluded bailouts for union pensions, In fact—we all know this—Democrats
that are going to hit individuals, that loans for labor unions, and I could go hold a narrow majority in the House of
are going to hit businesses, that are on. Representatives, where they lost seats;
going to hit small businesses, and that And when we talk about the money and the Senate is equally split between
are going to hit farmers and ranchers. that is going to be, you know, in the Democrats and Republicans.
When you go down the list of taxes, budget the Democrats are going to And Democrats’ far-left Presidential
the tax increases in this proposal, force us to vote on later today, the ad- candidates couldn’t make it out of the
again, I mean, I don’t know where you ditional spending that is going to be in Democrat primary. That is right,
stop. The idea—the suggestion by the there, that is on top of—on top of—the President Biden was able to win the
administration that you are not going trillions that we put out the door last Democrat primary and the general
to hit people who make less than year, much of which went to State gov- election because he presented himself
$400,000 a year is just absolutely, again, ernments and many of which don’t accurately or inaccurately as a mod-
I think, insane. I don’t know how you know how to spend the money they al- erate.
dlhill on DSK120RN23PROD with SENATE
can raise $3.5 trillion in taxes and not ready have. We are talking trillions, But despite their lack of a mandate,
have an economic impact felt by people much of which went to, as I said, blue Democrat leaders are apparently more
who are on the lower end of the income States. and more willing to let the far left of
scale. But while that bill wastes a lot of the Democrat party run the show,
I mean, think about it. When taxes taxpayer dollars, the problem with which is why we are standing here
go up on businesses, what happens? that bill pales in comparison to what is today contemplating a $4.2 trillion
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August 10, 2021 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE S6199
spending spree to permanently expand onciliation package. And he is abso- cent of their GDP. Why? Because they
the size of government. lutely right, these taxes and this high- know that will make their economy
We don’t yet know all the details of level spending is not something that more efficient and they want to beat us
Democrats’ budget-busting spending our country can sustain, and I appre- in the economic fight that we have
legislation, but what we do know is not ciate his outlining the very specific im- globally.
encouraging. In addition to taxes that pacts it would have on the people we We want to win. That is one reason
will burden hard-working Americans represent. this is so important.
and hurt our economy, Democrats are But this morning, I am also here to The American people, by the way,
contemplating a new welfare benefit talk about how the Senate will do understand the need for this invest-
with no associated work requirement. something very good today prior to ment. In two of the more recent polls
Lots and lots of free stuff, like 2 free getting into the budget resolution. The from CNBC and CBS News, 87 percent
years of community college; elements Senate is about to make history. of the American people back bipartisan
of Democrats’ most extreme specialist And we have heard over the years—in efforts to fix our roads, our bridges,
fantasy, the Green New Deal; amnesty fact, over the decades—about the need and our water systems.
for individuals here in our country ille- for us to fix our infrastructure. Every We know that this targeted, long-
gally; funding for tens of thousands— President in modern times has talked term investment in core infrastructure
yes, tens of thousands—of new IRS about it—President Bush, President is good for the economy. Building out
agents; a tax cut for blue State mil- Obama, President Trump, President hard assets make us more competitive
lionaires and billionaires; and more. Biden. We have talked about it a lot in the global economy and will create
And, by the way, on that point, it is here. There is a joke around town that hundreds of thousands of good jobs for
really ironic to me to hear Democrats infrastructure week has come and gone builders, plumbers, electrical engi-
come down here and talk about Repub- so many times that people are a little neers, coders, and so many other fields.
licans wanting to cut taxes for rich cynical when we talk about it. Economists, including Douglas Holtz-
people when this proposal, in this legis- Well, today is infrastructure day. We Eakin of the American Action Forum
lation, 50 percent—50 percent of the tax are actually going to see what we have and Michael Strain of the conservative
cut, by doing away with the cap on de- been talking about, which is the Sen- American Enterprise Institute, have
ductibility of State and local taxes; 50 ate, on a bipartisan basis, saying: You pointed out that this type of spending
percent of that benefit goes to people know what, it is time to fix our roads on long-term spending on hard assets
making more than $1 million a year. So and bridges. We can do so in a respon- does not further inflation but, in fact,
much for worrying about people on the sible way, not by raising taxes on the is counterinflationary.
low income of the income scale. American people, but by making im- To me, not only does this investment
Democrats want to spend taxpayer portant investments in long-term cap- make sense, but, importantly, what we
dollars to hire hundreds of thousands ital assets that will last for years. are doing here today also demonstrates
of young people for a Civilian Climate So it is an investment in fixing up to the American people that we can get
Corps to fight climate change—Civilian our roads, our bridges, our water sys- our act together on a bipartisan basis
Climate Corps. There is no word yet on tems, our railroads, our ports, our elec- and get something done. We can do big
whether this is actually an effective trical grids, our broadband network, things on a bipartisan basis if we put
way to address our Nation’s climate and expanding that, and more. our minds to it.
challenges, but that isn’t going to stop We have had a number of procedural Again, after years, even decades of
Democrats from spending billions of votes to get us to this point; and based talking about the need to do this, we
dollars to find out. on those procedural votes, I think it is are finally getting it done.
I haven’t even mentioned how all this clear that we will have the votes today, Is it exactly the bill I would have
new government spending is likely to on a bipartisan basis, to do this impor- drafted?
increase inflation. Americans are al- tant work. The Senate will have done No. It is not exactly the bill any Sen-
ready facing significant inflation, its job, and we will have achieved a ator in this Chamber would have draft-
thanks in part to Democrats’ earlier real lasting bipartisan victory for the ed because it represents a true bipar-
flooding of the economy with govern- people we represent. tisan effort. Each side made conces-
ment spending. Now Democrats want The bill, called the Infrastructure In- sions to find that common ground.
to come close to doubling that spend- vestment and Jobs Act, will improve I want to take this opportunity to
ing. I don’t even want to think about the lives of all Americans by making briefly thank my colleagues who have
what inflation will look like if they this long-overdue investment of $548 gotten us to this point. We spent a lot
succeed in their spending plans. billion over the next 5 years in new of long nights and long days working
Thanks to Democrats’ decision to spending to repair, upgrade, and re- to write this legislation, and there has
utilize special Senate budget rules for place the crumbling infrastructure all been a group of members who have
their tax-and-spending spree, they have of our constituents rely on every day. been particularly committed to it.
the ability today to force through this That doesn’t mean the money is One is SHELLEY MOORE CAPITO, who is
massive spending package on a totally going to be spent, by the way, over the on the floor right now. The work she
partisan basis. next 5 years. It is authorized for that did with President Biden early on laid
But my Republican colleagues and I period, but we spend over the next 5, 10, the foundation for this. She is also the
will do everything we can to protect 15, maybe 20 years on projects all over ranking member of the EPW Com-
Americans from the consequences of the country. mittee that produced some of the legis-
Democrats’ reckless, reckless legisla- We know we need this investment. lation that we incorporated on the sur-
tion. And I hope some of my colleagues The American Society of Civil Engi- face transportation front.
on the other side of the aisle—all it neers gives our American infrastruc- But there are so many others. And I
takes is one—will intervene before ture a grade of C-minus. They also would like to start with my counter-
their party’s taxing-and-spending spree project that our economy stands to part, the lead negotiator on the other
turns an economic recovery into an lose more than $10 trillion in economic side of the aisle, Senator KYRSTEN
economic disaster. growth in GDP by 2039, should we fail SINEMA of Arizona. The two of us began
I yield the floor. to invest in repairs. meeting more than 4 months ago to
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Sen- There is an international organiza- have discussions that would then lay
ator from Ohio. tion that looks at all the countries in the foundation for our path forward.
Mr. PORTMAN. Mr. President, let me the world, who says who has got the And it was in the context of President
dlhill on DSK120RN23PROD with SENATE
start by commending my colleague best infrastructure in the world and, by Biden having proposed a huge package,
from South Dakota, Senator THUNE, the way, we are number 13 or 14 on that $2.65 trillion—so-called infrastructure
for his explanation of what is before us list now. So many countries are ahead package—and we believed we could pull
next after the vote that we are about of us. out real infrastructure from there,
to take, and that will be getting into China spends about four times more take the high taxes out, and get some-
the budget resolution leading to a rec- than we do on infrastructure as a per- thing done for the American people. I
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S6200 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE August 10, 2021
commend her for her leadership, for her that either passed the Senate or been looked over carefully to make
courage, and for her ability to keep us cleared committees in the Senate in sure we got it right.
on track during some tough times dur- this Congress, and that is a tribute to Everyone involved in this effort can
ing this process. the quiet bipartisanship that goes on be proud of what this body is achieving
From there, it truly became a group at the committee level every day that today. The Senate is doing its job. It is
effort, particularly among five Repub- allows us to get these things done with doing its job by helping the American
licans and five Democrats, who spent a the requisite knowledge and expertise. people we represent through a historic
lot of long days and nights negotiating I also want to thank all of the non- investment in our Nation’s infrastruc-
the framework of this legislation. partisan staff here in the U.S. Senate ture that will serve the American peo-
Some of us had worked together before for their work as well. I know that over ple for decades to come.
at the end of the year in putting to- the past few weeks, especially, the leg- I yield the floor.
gether the so-called 908 framework for islative counsel has worked closely The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Sen-
the COVID–19 bill that passed late last with my staff and the staffs of other of- ator from West Virginia.
year, that was also bipartisan. fices to help formalize this proposal Mrs. CAPITO. Mr. President, I ask
To my friends and colleagues, Sen- into final text before us today. They unanimous consent that I be allowed to
ator SUSAN COLLINS, MITT ROMNEY, worked weekends. They worked late speak for up to 10 minutes, followed by
LISA MURKOWSKI, BILL CASSIDY, JOE nights. Senators CARPER and SCHUMER for up
MANCHIN, JEANNE SHAHEEN, MARK WAR- The same with the Joint Committee to 10 minutes each.
NER, and JOHN TESTER, thank you for on Taxation and the Congressional The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without
your efforts these past few months. Budget Office, they have worked objection, it is so ordered.
I also want to give special thanks to Mrs. CAPITO. Mr. President, well, it
around the clock to get us to this
our colleague, KEVIN CRAMER, who is great to be on the floor today. I
point.
joined our group late but was instru- And the staff here on the floor, they think we have much to celebrate. We
mental in finalizing this agreement. have been here just as early as we have have a lot of tired people, I think, who
I want to thank the White House and and stayed just as late as any of us, in have devoted a lot of time and energy
especially Steve Ricchetti and Brian fact, later, to ensure that this could be to this effort. And so, after a long week
Deese and Louisa Terrell for their sup- possible. I thank them. of amendments, it is time to get this
port of this effort and their commit- I also want to thank the more than done.
ment to trying to work in a bipartisan Isn’t it, Senator CARPER, my chair-
100 industry associations, unions, and
way to get it done. man on EPW?
trade groups that came forward to en- We have talked all week about how
I also want to thank Senator TOM dorse this Infrastructure Investment the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs
CARPER, who just joined us in the and Jobs Act. That includes business Act delivers for the American people,
room. Along with Senator CAPITO, he groups, like the chamber of commerce, and I am proud that the foundation of
was the EPW chair. He was the ranking the Business Roundtable, and the Na- this bill—the foundations of this bill—
member that laid much of the founda- tional Association of Manufacturers. It is, as the Senator from Ohio just men-
tion for this legislation, particularly also includes labor groups, like the tioned, based off of the two very bipar-
with regards to our roads and our AFL–CIO Building Trades Council, the tisan, unanimously bipartisan, EPW in-
bridges. International Brotherhood of Team-
I want to thank my other colleagues frastructure bills that we passed in the
sters, the Laborers International Union spring.
in the so-called G–22, who helped in the of North America. This historic investment reflects our
22 different working groups that were It also includes supporters from all commitment to keeping America safe,
formed to help put this legislation to- levels of government, including the Na- improving our global competitiveness,
gether: RICHARD BURR, LINDSEY GRA- tional League of Cities; the U.S. Con- and growing our economy. So I am
HAM, MIKE ROUNDS, THOM TILLIS, TODD ference of Mayors, who endorsed it; the going to go through a few of the high-
YOUNG, JERRY MORAN, CHRIS COONS, National Governors Association. lights because I think they are impor-
MAGGIE HASSAN, JOHN HICKENLOOPER, It includes more than 30 agricultural tant for the American people to know
MARK KELLY, ANGUS KING, JACKY groups, including the American Farm exactly what this bill does.
ROSEN—11 Democrats and 11 Repub- Bureau. It provides $303.5 billion over 5 years
licans. These organizations, and so many for Federal highway programs—a 35-
And then to my colleagues who voted others like them, have been critical to percent increase from the last bill.
with us repeatedly to advance this bill encouraging Members of the Senate to There is a new $2 billion rural surface
toward final passage and helped us to do the right thing. transportation grant that will dedicate
get to this point by giving us good And, finally, I want to, again, thank resources to the Appalachian Develop-
input that was incorporated in the leg- my staff and the staffs of all the Mem- ment Highway System that runs
islation—MIKE CRAPO, ROY BLUNT, bers who worked for months to get this through many of our States and other
CHUCK GRASSLEY, JOHN HOEVEN, JIM bill to the finish line. We would not be critical projects across rural America.
RISCH, DEB FISCHER, ROGER WICKER, here without them. There is no ques- Combined, the overall package in-
JOHN CORNYN, DAN SULLIVAN—thank tion about that. cludes $40 billion in dedicated re-
you for your input, your encourage- On a personal staff level, I want to sources for bridges—the single largest
ment, and your support. thank Kevin Smith, Sarah Peery, investment in bridge infrastructure
I want to give a particular thank you Avery Pierson, Anne Gordon, Mike construction of the Interstate System.
to my friend and colleague our Repub- Sinacore, Lydia Denis, Adeline Ewing, I am from a small State. I got a lot
lican leader, Senator MITCH MCCON- Connor Rabb, Connor Hinson, Kalyn of bridges. I got a lot of bridges, and,
NELL. I want to thank him for his en- Swihart, Matt Lloyd, and our entire unfortunately, a lot of them are not in
couragement and his support through- comms team: Angie Youngen and Nate the best condition. This would be a
out this process, for sticking his neck Dehmlow, Stephanie Mertz, and Chris monumental improvement in what I
out. I know he is probably the only per- Mitchell. see every day in my State.
son who is as happy as I am in this On my Homeland and Security Gov- The bill authorizes $35 billion for
Chamber to see us move forward with ernmental Affairs staff, I want to water projects across the country, with
this legislation that will help us find a thank Pam Thiessen, Amanda Neely, a focus on upgrading aging infrastruc-
long-term solution to a major bridge, Sam Mulopulos, Cara Mumford, Trey ture. This is a bill that we passed out
the Brent Spence Bridge that links our Hicks, Liam McKenna, Jeff Post, and of our EPW Committee.
dlhill on DSK120RN23PROD with SENATE
home State of Ohio and Kentucky. Emily Benavides. It invests in innovative technologies
I want to thank the committee Again, we wouldn’t be standing here and provides assistance to rural and
staffs, who did so much to lay the and about to have this vote without low-income communities to help them
groundwork for this legislation. About them working their hearts out, staying keep their water safe and clean.
73 percent of the pages in this final late, getting in early, and ensuring This package represents the largest
2,700-page legislation are legislation that every single part of this bill has investment in clean drinking water in
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August 10, 2021 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE S6201
our Nation’s history. That is some- yard line. Maybe not so quite, but I got So thank you, both, very, very much.
thing that I think we all can be proud the ball rolling, and I got it moving in It is time to bring this bill home and
of. the right direction, and then they did do the work that the American people
There is funding for broadband—es- the tough sledding ahead, and I thank expect us to do, which is to find bipar-
sential to this 21st-century economy— them for that. tisan, consensus-driven solutions to
education, tourism, healthcare, and all I would also like to thank my coun- our Nation’s pressing challenges. And
of the things we have realized that terpart, Chairman CARPER. He has been this is a pressing challenge.
broadband brings us and how impor- great in managing this bill on the floor Again, I urge a vote of yes on this
tant it is for each family and each busi- but also to keep the guardrails on that historic bipartisan bill that will im-
ness to have it; ports, airports, locks we established to make sure that the prove our core infrastructure.
and dams. Funding for the Corps of En- group—the bipartisan group—was fol- If we pass this important legislation,
gineers will improve our water re- lowing along with what the committee I hope that the House will move swift-
sources infrastructure, facilitating the had unanimously passed and how we ly—and as a former Member of the
movement of goods and mitigating felt would be the most effective way to House, as we all are, the House can
flood risks. invest in our infrastructures for the fu- move swiftly when they need to—and
Reauthorization of the AML Program ture. get this bill to the President’s desk
will provide billions of dollars to clean I would like to thank my entire EPW quickly.
up abandoned mine sites. It is impor- Committee team, starting with my I yield the floor.
tant in our State. Pennsylvania has got staff director, Adam, who has been The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Sen-
a lot of them too. with me for many, many years. What ator from Delaware.
We are fighting against climate you don’t know, and what I know, is Mr. CARPER. Mr. President, Senator
change, and we are cleaning up our en- that Adam was back in the back with CAPITO has been very, very gracious in
vironment. Mary Frances, and they were the traf- her thanks and praise, and it is now her
This legislation doesn’t just invest in fic cops through the whole amendment turn to be on the receiving end.
our infrastructure, but it will allow process, working with the committees, We have all heard of the Gang of 20 or
projects to move more quickly. Far too the different five committees; Repub- the Gang of 22—the Group of 20 or 22—
often, infrastructure projects are de- lican, Democrat; leadership, leader- but before there was a gang or a group
layed because of the expensive and ar- ship; all of the different individual of 22, there was a gang of 1—the Sen-
duous environmental review and per- Members. ator from West Virginia, my native
mitting process. So I am going to give Adam 1 day off, State.
An environmental impact statement and then I think he will be right back She joined in with the President and
under the NEPA Act for highway at it. But he is really irreplaceable to the President’s team to really get the
projects takes an average of 7 years. our committee but also to this whole ball rolling and sort of took the hand
Think about how long that is and how process. off from what we had done working
much more money that costs. And also in the Chamber with us with the administration, meeting with
The highway bill unanimously ap- today, Lauren Baker and Murphie Bar- the administration, meeting with the
proved by our EPW Committee in- rett have many, many hours of just in- President.
cludes numerous project delivery pro- credible depth of knowledge in this But with the President, after our
visions to provide a more efficient, pre- area. We couldn’t have done it without meeting, they decided to engage. They
dictable process. you. decided to engage with the Senator.
Notably, it codifies ‘‘One Federal De- I am going to name the rest of my And, eventually, to use a football
cision.’’ One Federal Decision for high- staff who is not here with us: Libby analogy here, she might not have got-
way projects would establish a 2-year Callaway, Georgianna Clemmons, who I ten the ball into the end zone, but I say
goal for completing environmental re- announced has still not had her baby— to the Senator, you certainly got it
views. This isn’t skirting the environ- I announced it last I time mentioned into the red zone, and we are grateful
mental process. This isn’t running her; she is still waiting—Marli Collier, for all of your work, and, really, your
roughshod over it. This is putting a Travis Cone, Sarah Delavan, Will good humor and good treatment when
time clock on it. Let’s move it. Dixon, Elizabeth Horner, Max Hyman, things were tough.
It requires predictable schedules co- Tyler Jenkins, Jess Kramer, Jake Ken- Sitting right here on my left is Mary
ordinated by Agencies and requires a nedy, Matt Lupes, Kayla McMurry, Frances Repko, the staff director of
single environmental document with Taylor Meredith, Jacob Mitchell, our EPW Committee on the Demo-
concurrent reviews, providing account- Kelley Moore, Katherine Smith, Travis cratic side. And she is joined today, I
ability and transparency. Voyles, and Andy Zock for their tire- think, on the floor by John Kane, by
The EPW bill that we passed makes less efforts that have helped advance Mackie McIntosh, and by Tyler Hoff-
other commonsense reforms, like al- our committee’s infrastructure legisla- man. And we have Adam over here sit-
lowing States to be reimbursed for tion. ting next to the ranking member—
early utility relocation necessary for a On my personal team, I would like to Adam.
project while the process is ongoing. thank my chief of staff, Joe Brubaker I have gone before through the names
Additional provisions in the broader and J.T. Jezierski for their leadership. of your staff, but I will just say you all
legislation will extend the FAST–41 I really want to thank Senator CAR- are back here, and we are grateful for
permitting reforms, with which Sen- PER’s EPW staff, especially Mary the great support and work that you
ator PORTMAN is very, very instru- Frances Repko, who is on the floor have done, each one of you.
mental, to help us build other types of with the Senator today, but also Re- I would be remiss if I didn’t thank—
infrastructure more efficiently. becca Higgins, John Kane, Greg you don’t get to be floor managers
The reforms and investments this bill Dotson, Laura Gilliam, Heather Dan, without somebody in the leadership
makes aren’t just for now but for the Mackie McIntosh, Annie D’Amato, saying: Well, we would like you to be
next generation. Kenneth Martin, and Tyler Hoffman- floor managers. So to Senator SCHUMER
We have had a very lengthy and ro- Reardon for their dedication to this and Senator MCCONNELL, thank you for
bust debate on the Senate floor. I process as well. putting your confidence and trust in
would like to thank Senators PORTMAN I will say, under Mary Frances’s lead- Senator CAPITO and me.
and SINEMA; Senator COLLINS, who is ership and Adam’s leadership on my To the floor staff, the folks who work
on the floor; Senator PORTMAN, Sen- committee, I think they have dem- for the leaders, thank you very much
dlhill on DSK120RN23PROD with SENATE
ator SINEMA, all of the group of 20. If I onstrated to many committees, and for keeping us on the straight and level
start naming them, I am going to leave certainly to us as the chairman and and heading in the right direction.
somebody out. But, particularly, Sen- ranking member, that you can have ROB PORTMAN is still here on the
ators PORTMAN and SINEMA picked up conversations, communications, and floor. I don’t see KYRSTEN SINEMA. ROB
the ball where I left it. You know, I you can work things out. You can work is here. ROB, Senator PORTMAN, suc-
would like to think I got it to the 5- things out if you just stick with it. ceeds George Voinovich. He was a dear
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S6202 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE August 10, 2021
friend as Governor. We were Governors That bill targets the most impover- the moment for our Nation. And on
together and Senators together. I miss ished communities across America to this day, leaders in this body from
George every day, but you have more help them meet their drinking and across the political spectrum have
than filled his shoes, my friend, and I wastewater treatment needs. come together in shared purpose, in
salute you for your leadership. I am proud—we are proud—of the common cause, and commitment to
KYRSTEN SINEMA is relatively new work that our committee has done, find a way forward.
here, but she has really, really im- made possible by the partnership that I want to close with the thought that
pressed a lot of people, taken the bull we enjoy. I think of the work that we there is a lot of bridge money in here,
by the horns, never gave up, just did—I think of it as laying the founda- a lot of money to fix bridges all over:
wouldn’t give up. And because of her tion. Clean drinking water, wastewater West Virginia, Delaware, Ohio, Maine.
efforts and the partnership she has sanitation, roads, highways, bridges, You name it. There is a lot of troubled
with Senator PORTMAN, we are here climate really are the foundation on water in our country, troubled water.
today. which this package was built. And I would like to think, with this
I quoted a couple of times during de- And we tried to provide an example legislation, crafted together across the
bate the words of Winston Churchill. to the rest of the Senate and the other aisle, bipartisan, with the administra-
Winston Churchill, when he was committees of jurisdiction, and I like tion, we have created a bridge over
thrown out of office at the end of World to think that maybe we did that. troubled waters. Think about that: a
War II, was asked as he left 10 Downing Leadership is all about leading, and bridge over troubled waters—and right
Street: Is this the end? the President sought and encouraged at a time when we really needed one.
He replied, famously: This is not the us to try to lead earlier this year, and And we could use a few more as we go
end. This is not the beginning of the I think we have met that request and along.
end. This is the end of the beginning. then some. I want to thank him. He Sometimes when I travel people ask
The end of the beginning. And so it is didn’t give up either. And he has been me—they say: What do you do? What
here with us today. negotiating with Senator CAPITO and do you do anyway?
We are nearing the end of a debate negotiating with the team, the gang of They don’t know what I do, on the
and the final vote on the Infrastructure 22. He never gave up. A lot of people airplane or whatever. I say: I help peo-
Investment and Jobs Act of 2021. And said this was a fool’s errand. He never ple.
before we take a vote on the adoption They say: How do you help them?
gave up. I am proud of him and the
of this measure, I just want to take a I think the best way we can help peo-
leadership that he has provided.
moment to reflect briefly on how this The bill that is before this body ple is help them find a job, have a job
bipartisan infrastructure bill came to today builds on the strong bipartisan where they can support themselves and
be. work of our committee, Environment their families. We can help make sure
Senator CAPITO has already referred
and Public Works, as well as the good that they have clean water to drink.
to this, but I wanted to reinforce it. In
work done by our colleagues on other We can help make sure they have clean
February of this year, at my encour-
committees—the Commerce Com- air to breathe.
agement, President Biden invited Sen-
mittee and the Energy and Natural Re- Those are ways that we are helping
ator CAPITO, Senator CARDIN, Senator
sources Committee among them. My people with this legislation—big time,
INHOFE, and me—all senior members of
appreciation to all who worked so tire- big time—and we will be doing it for a
the Environment and Public Works
lessly on this Herculean undertaking. long time.
Committee—to the White House to dis-
Now, let me be clear. This legislation Colleagues, on this day, we can vote
cuss the need to make bold investment
isn’t perfect. It has been said before. to make a downpayment on a brighter
in our Nation’s crumbling infrastruc-
You will hear that again. I have never future for our country. I want to ask
ture. He asked us, the Environment
written a bill that was perfect, and this you to join me in seizing the day in
and Public Works Committee, to lead
certainly, even though we had a fair voting to advance this legislation to-
the effort to address that need; to get
hand in writing a lot of it, is not per- gether. On this day, let us seize the
to work in our committee by crafting
fect. In spite of making real progress, day. Carpe diem. Carpe diem.
and reporting to the full Senate, to
it doesn’t go as far as we would like to I yield the floor.
this body, surface transportation legis-
lation—roads, highways, bridges—as go in advancing equity, the way we RECOGNITION OF THE MAJORITY LEADER
well as drinking water and water sani- treat other people—the Golden Rule, The PRESIDING OFFICER. The ma-
tation infrastructure, climate change treating other people the way we want jority leader is recognized.
legislation by springtime. That was the to be treated—in tackling the existen- Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, first
request. tial crisis of our time, and that is cli- let me, before I begin, thank Senators
In the weeks that followed, working mate change. CARPER and CAPITO for managing this
together with all 22 members—20 mem- There is much more work to do on bill and doing it in such a fine way—
bers, rather, of the Environment and these issues—issues that, in my mind, and their staffs as well.
Public Works Committee, that is ex- we have a moral obligation to address. Now, Mr. President, it has been a
actly what we did—10 Democrats, 10 So rest assured I will be joining my long and winding road, but we have
Republicans working together. In May, colleagues in fighting for progress on persisted, and now we have arrived.
we reported out of our committee a 5- these fronts in the days and weeks There were many logs in our path, de-
year transportation bill with a unani- ahead. tours along the way, but the American
mous bipartisan vote of 20 to 0. But let’s not make the perfect the people will now see the most robust in-
By more than a third, we increased enemy of the good. And make no mis- jection of funds into infrastructure in
investments in our roads, our high- take, the bill before us does a whole lot decades.
ways, and our bridges, with a historic of good. It is the largest long-term in- In a few moments, the Senate will
climate title to help address the most vestment in our Nation’s infrastruc- pass the bipartisan infrastructure bill,
serious challenge facing our planet, ture in almost a century—almost a dedicating over a trillion dollars to
and that is the threat of global warm- century—and the largest Federal in- strengthen every major category of our
ing. vestment in history when it comes to country’s physical infrastructure. It
That Transportation bill is at the public transit, clean energy trans- has been a long time in coming. Our
core of the legislation we consider mission, climate resiliency, clean economy is No. 1 in the world, but in-
today, along with the drinking water drinking water, and wastewater infra- frastructure ranks No. 13. You will find
and wastewater infrastructure legisla- structure. better roads, bridges, airports, and
dlhill on DSK120RN23PROD with SENATE
tion that was also reported unani- Now, on this day, the American peo- broadband in the United Arab Emirates
mously out of the Committee on Envi- ple are looking for us to strengthen our than in the United States of America.
ronment and Public Works earlier this economy and support our communities Today, the Senate takes a decades-
year and passed by the full Senate and build for our future. On this day, overdue step to revitalize America’s in-
right here, earlier this year, by an 89- we have a President dedicated to mov- frastructure and give our workers, our
to-2 vote. ing past partisan divides and meeting businesses, and our economy the tools
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August 10, 2021 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE S6203
to succeed in the 21st century. The bill ing families—middle-class families— Cassidy Kelly Romney
Collins King Rosen
will make large and significant dif- cope and on climate will restore that Coons Klobuchar Sanders
ferences in both productivity and job bright, sunny optimism that has been Cortez Masto Leahy Schatz
creation in America for decades to part of this American psyche for cen- Cramer Luján Schumer
come. turies. Crapo Manchin Shaheen
Duckworth Markey Sinema
To my colleagues, particularly the At its core, what we want to do is Durbin McConnell Smith
group of 10, then 11, then 22 who this: We want to cut taxes for families. Feinstein Menendez Stabenow
worked so hard in a bipartisan way, We want to create millions of jobs Fischer Merkley Sullivan
Gillibrand Murkowski Tester
congratulations. Congratulations on a while tackling the climate crisis, and Graham Murphy Tillis
job well done. Thank you to our com- we want to pay for it by making cor- Grassley Murray Van Hollen
mittee chairs and ranking members porations and the wealthy finally pay Hassan Ossoff Warner
whose expertise was required at several Heinrich Padilla Warnock
their fair share. Hickenlooper Peters Warren
stages. And to the staff who sacrificed After we pass the bipartisan infra- Hirono Portman Whitehouse
weekends, family gatherings, and most structure bill this morning, Senators Hoeven Reed Wicker
often sleep in order to finish this bill, should expect to vote to proceed to the Kaine Risch Wyden
thank you. budget resolution, and we will begin NAYS—30
Thank you to President Biden and the process for debating amendments Barrasso Hawley Paul
his team at the White House. President shortly thereafter. Blackburn Hyde-Smith Rubio
Biden has been in office for only 7 Democrats are prepared to move Boozman Inhofe Sasse
months, and already the Senate is Braun Johnson Scott (FL)
quickly and decisively through the Cornyn Kennedy Scott (SC)
about to pass the first major infra- amendment process so we can finish Cotton Lankford Shelby
structure package in over a decade, on what we set out to do before the end of Cruz Lee Thune
a bipartisan basis, with his complete Daines Lummis Toomey
the work period. The longer it takes to Ernst Marshall Tuberville
and total involvement. finish, the longer the Senate will be in Hagerty Moran Young
Throughout the process, I have tried session.
to prod the negotiators along when NOT VOTING—1
At the start of July, I set two ambi-
they have needed it and given them Rounds
tious goals for this Chamber before our
space when they have asked for it. At August recess. One was to pass a bipar- The bill (H.R. 3684), as amended, was
times, it took a deadline to kick nego- tisan infrastructure bill to boost our passed.
tiations into high gear; other times it economy, something the Senate has The VICE PRESIDENT. The majority
required a few extra days to allow com- not achieved in many years, and this is leader.
promise to gel. But when the Senate is a strong and bold accomplishment. The Mr. SCHUMER. Madam President,
run with an open hand rather than a second was to pass a budget resolution once again, congratulations to all of
closed fist, Senators can accomplish with the kinds of transformative those who worked so hard on this very
big things. changes I have mentioned. Pundits significant and very important bill,
So despite this long road we have called it wishful thinking in a Chamber and now we proceed to the second
taken, we have finally, finally reached known for unhurried deliberation. track.
the finish line. Well, we are moments away from
Of course, we Democrats believe we f
achieving the first goal, and I am con-
need to do much more. The bipartisan
fident that very soon the Senate will SETTING FORTH THE CONGRES-
infrastructure bill is a very significant
take the first major step toward SIONAL BUDGET FOR THE
bill, but our country has other very
achieving our second goal. The Senate UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT
significant, very important challenges.
is on track to finish both tracks and FOR FISCAL YEAR 2022 AND SET-
Working families need help. Small
deliver an outstanding result for the TING FORTH THE APPROPRIATE
businesses need a leg up. Climate
American people. BUDGETARY LEVELS FOR FIS-
change threatens the future of our
VOTE ON H.R. 3684 CAL YEARS 2023 THROUGH 2031—
planet. Our Tax Code needs to be
straightened out. Other parts of our in- The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Motion to Proceed
frastructure not addressed in this bi- PADILLA). Under the previous order, all Mr. SCHUMER. Madam President, I
partisan bill still need focus, attention, postcloture time is expired. move to proceed to Calendar No. 122, S.
and help. The amendments were ordered to be Con. Res. 14, the concurrent resolution
So to my colleagues who are con- engrossed and the bill to be read a on the budget.
cerned that this does not do enough on third time.
Motion to proceed to Calendar No. 122, S.
climate, for families, and making cor- The bill was read the third time. Con. Res. 14, a concurrent resolution setting
porations and the rich pay their fair The PRESIDING OFFICER. The bill forth the congressional budget for the United
share, we are moving on to a second having been read the third time, the States Government for fiscal year 2022 and
track, which will make generational question is, Shall the bill, as amended, setting forth the appropriate budgetary lev-
transformation in these areas. pass? els for fiscal years 2023 through 2031.
Once this bill is complete, the Senate Mr. SCHUMER. I ask for the yeas VOTE ON MOTION TO PROCEED
will immediately turn to the second and nays. Mr. SCHUMER. Madam President, I
track in our two-track strategy, pass- The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there a ask for the yeas and nays.
ing a budget resolution that will sufficient second? The VICE PRESIDENT. Is there a
unlock historic investments in Amer- There appears to be a sufficient sec- sufficient second?
ican jobs, American families, and the ond. There is a sufficient second.
fight against climate change. The two- The clerk will call the roll. The clerk will call the roll.
track strategy is proceeding full steam The senior assistant legislative clerk The senior assistant legislative clerk
ahead. called the roll. called the roll.
At its core, the Democratic budget— Mr. THUNE. The following Senator is (Mr. PADILLA assumed the Chair.)
both parts—is about restoring the mid- necessarily absent: the Senator from Mr. THUNE. The following Senator is
dle class in the 21st century and giving South Dakota (Mr. ROUNDS). necessarily absent: the Senator from
more Americans the opportunity to get The result was announced—yeas 69, South Dakota (Mr. ROUNDS).
there. Too many in the middle class nays 30, as follows: The yeas and nays resulted—yeas 50,
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are worried about their future. The [Rollcall Vote No. 314 Leg.] nays 49, as follows:
sunny American optimism has turned [Rollcall Vote No. 315 Leg.]
YEAS—69
into a sourness, an anger, a divisive- YEAS—50
Baldwin Booker Capito
ness in the land. Bennet Brown Cardin Baldwin Booker Cardin
Bold, transformative action on both Blumenthal Burr Carper Bennet Brown Carper
traditional infrastructure and on help- Blunt Cantwell Casey Blumenthal Cantwell Casey
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