Congressional Record, Senate, December 16, 2021, Page S9243
Summary
A page of the Congressional Record, Senate, dated December 16, 2021, at page S9243, carrying remarks by Senators, including a Senator from Montana, urging confirmation of nominees. They say the Department of Transportation needs an Administrator of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration for trucking safety and the infrastructure law, and that nominees for the Department of Commerce and a nominee for the Federal Maritime Commission are needed to address supply chain problems and hold shippers accountable. They describe the infrastructure investment as once in a generation and refer to an objection by a Senator from Florida. The remarks are the speakers' own.
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“Congressional Record, Senate, December 16, 2021, Page S9243.”
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December 16, 2021 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE S9243
being able to be fully confirmed by this guarantee you there are a lot of trucks This is a once-in-a-lifetime, once-in-
body to do the work that it takes to in Montana. There is a lot of moving of a-generation investment that we have
implement that legislation. product. You have to have trucking to make. But they have to have people
I know this is incredibly important safety, and you have to have help in over there to make the investment and
to people across the United States of administering that. And if you have to they have to have people to be fully
America because we know how popular have help administering that, then, staffed. And we have to make sure that
that bill was. My colleagues are with you need to have an Administrator of these important steps that the Presi-
me tonight—two members of the Com- the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Ad- dent is taking on supply chain are met.
merce Committee—who worked hard ministration. That is why these issues of working on
and contributed mightily to the Sur- These are basic positions. These are various logistics of operations, of pric-
face Transportation Act that passed positions that are part of the infra- ing, of transparency, and overseeing
out of the Commerce Committee in a structure that we need for the Depart- shippers and making sure that some of
robust bipartisan fashion to come here ment of Transportation and, as I men- our largest shippers are committed to
to the floor. It was added with other tioned, the Department of Commerce. moving cargo during off-peak hours are
legislation from other committees. These are issues that are important to important.
So we are here tonight—myself, my us. My colleagues on both sides of the
colleague from Montana, who has a Let me just say a few words about aisle know how important agricultural
State as big as any State in the United Commerce nominees. We have someone products being delivered to market on
States. It probably is the largest State. who is supposed to do the analysis of time is. And we need to make sure that
All I know is it takes me at least an industry for the Department of Com- our farmers, our people who have U.S.-
hour to fly over it. So I guarantee you merce. We have someone who is sup- manufactured products, like in the
that is a lot of roads, that is a lot of posed to help us with trade and inter- State of Wisconsin, are getting a fair
bridges, that is a lot of railroad, that is national matters. deal on their shipping.
a lot of infrastructure. If it is not fixed I am pretty sure my colleague from And that is why we also have to have
and it is not taken care of, then the Florida, who is objecting to some of the nominee for the Federal Maritime
Montana economy is hurt. these nominees, is going to say: It is Commission and get somebody on the
My colleague from Wisconsin is here, about the supply chain. Commission who is going to hold peo-
and she played a major role in the in- These are the very people that we ple accountable to make sure that our
frastructure bill as well. She made sure need for the supply chain. You need the products get somewhere safely and se-
that we focused on at-grade crossings analysis and the construct of the De- curely and in a timely fashion.
and the safety of our rail system. Why? partment of Commerce to say: These So these issues that we are facing on
Because we have to move products are the problems that we have with the the supply chain are complex. They are
from the Midwest to reach Asian mar- Department moving forward on various not going to be fixed overnight, but
kets. If they can’t get there because issues that we have with a major focus they have to have people in the jobs.
they are stuck in congestion, then, we on our infrastructure. They have to have people who are
aren’t going to be competitive as a na- The infrastructure bill provided $1.2 going to answer the questions, work to-
tion. trillion in funding for transportation, gether, and to get this done.
It is ridiculous that we are in this po- for energy, for disparities that we have So I would ask my colleagues, who I
sition tonight, ridiculous that there
in our infrastructure and that has to know are going to join me in making
are dozens of nominees from the De-
get spent, and it has to get spent as several nominations, I ask unanimous
partment of Transportation and the
soon as possible. consent to consider the following nomi-
Department of Commerce that the ma- Markets in China and India are ex- nation: Executive Calendar No. 315,
jority of our colleagues support, but pected to be worth $26 trillion by 2030,
they are being held up by one or two Karen Jean Hedlund, of Colorado, to be
but some people think: Well, we will a Member of the Surface Transpor-
people who don’t want to see them
just take that money we gave to move tation Board for a term expiring De-
move through the process.
I am talking about nominees that are ahead on our infrastructure—some- cember 31, 2025; that the Senate vote
part of the Federal Railroad Adminis- thing that has been dilapidated for a on the nomination without intervening
tration—the Administrator. We are long time. action or debate; that the motion to re-
That is what people don’t under- consider be considered made and laid
giving a bunch of money to the Federal
stand. Over several administrations, upon the table with no intervening ac-
Railroad Administration so they can
put grants out, authorize this new pro- our investment in transportation infra- tion or debate; that any statements re-
gram for at-grade crossings to improve structure fell to less than 1 percent of lated to the nomination be printed in
the speed of moving our product, and GDP, and we didn’t correct it. The last the Record; and that the President be
people don’t want the FRA, or the Fed- administration didn’t correct it, but immediately notified of the Senate’s
eral Railroad Administration, to have this administration came in—a Demo- action.
an Administrator. I don’t know what cratic administration—and said we are The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there
possibly could be wrong with that. going to correct that because econo- objection?
Someone doesn’t want us to have the mists will tell you that you are not Without objection, it is so ordered.
CFO for the Department of Transpor- keeping pace if your infrastructure in- The question is, Will the Senate ad-
tation. The CFO—you don’t want us to vestment is less than 1 percent. Now vise and consent to the Hedlund nomi-
have a CFO? How political could the President Biden is going to get that nation?
CFO of the Department of Transpor- number up over the next several years, The nomination was confirmed.
tation be? I guarantee you, not very and that is the kind of investment we UNANIMOUS CONSENT REQUESTS
political. The CFO is a person who is need to make. Ms. CANTWELL. Mr. President, I ask
going to make sure that we spend the We don’t need to slow down because that it be in order to make the same
money correctly, administer the new there is a big world economy, and 95 request with respect to Calendar No.
programs as they get set up, and make percent of consumers live outside the 550, Max Veckich to be the Federal
sure the money goes out the door. It is United States. But, OK, let’s just take Maritime Commissioner for a term ex-
hard to imagine a lot of money will go our sweet time in implementing this piring June 30, 2026.
out the door of the Department of bill and getting U.S. products to inter- The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there
national markets, when 95 percent of
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Transportation if we don’t have a CFO. objection?
There are other people here that are consumers are outside the United Mr. SCOTT. Mr. President.
part of the transportation system on States. Let’s just take our sweet time The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Sen-
analysis. There are people I am pretty because someone wants to object to ator from Florida.
sure my colleague from Montana will these nominees—the CFO, the Adminis- Mr. SCOTT of Florida. Reserving the
talk about. trator, these people who have been right to object, as my colleague is
The Federal Motor Carrier Safety moved out of committee in a bipar- aware, I have an outstanding request
Administration—why? Again, because I tisan fashion. with the Commerce Committee, which
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S9244 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE December 16, 2021
my colleague chairs, for us to hear tes- is why he used his leadership to make Transportation Board, and the Federal
timony from Commerce Secretary sure that we made major infrastruc- Maritime Commission who all play in-
Raimondo and Transportation Sec- ture investment so we could move tegral roles in addressing the ongoing
retary Buttigieg or their Senate-con- products. That is why he has gotten supply chain issues.
firmed leadership about the supply the ports to work 24 hours to move And yet some of our Republican col-
chain crisis. product more expeditiously. leagues are refusing to provide these
I have been clear that until we hear That is why he has been focused on Agencies with the leadership resources
from these Agency leaders, either in all of the infrastructure needs in mov- necessary to help address the supply
the Commerce Committee or in an ing our country forward and con- chain crisis.
open meeting, that I would be holding tinuing to deal with chokepoints, The issues facing our supply chain
all Department of Transportation and whether they are on the highways, our are complex and have been years in the
Department of Commerce nominees ports, or our rail system. making. They will not be fixed over-
from moving forward in an expedited My colleague knows, too, that the night, and that is why it is important
manner. Secretary of Transportation and the to have confirmed, sustained leader-
We have had crisis after crisis due to Secretary of Commerce—whom I am ship at the Agencies responsible for
the failed leadership of President Biden sure he has talked to—are working helping to address these multifaceted
and his appointees. Just look at the in- very diligently on this. I am sure they issues over the next several years.
flation crisis caused by the Democrats’ are willing to talk to him. So I ask that it be in order to make
reckless spending that is hurting fami- There is no secret here. There is the the same request with respect to Exec-
lies and putting too many Americans administration and a bipartisan group utive Calendar No. 549, Christopher A.
in the position of deciding whether to of people who are working together to Coes to be Assistant Secretary of
fill their gas tank, heat their house try to solve these issues, but there are Transportation.
this winter, or put food on the table. those on the other side of the aisle, The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there
Just this week, I spoke with a vet- probably those who didn’t support the objection?
eran in Land O’ Lakes, FL. He is a infrastructure investment, who also The Senator from Florida.
small business owner, and he has seen don’t support having people spend the Mr. SCOTT of Florida. Mr. President,
prices on raw materials rise by 50 per- money and make the investments. I still can’t understand, if the Biden
cent just this year. Even though he has I am going to yield to my colleagues administration is doing so many
seen greater demand, he is not making who are also here to try to move some things, why wouldn’t they want to
more money because of the rising of these important nominees to make come brag about it? Why wouldn’t they
prices. this investment work in the United want to tell all Americans exactly
If he tries to pass those costs on to States. what they are doing?
his customers, he will lose business. On The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Sen- The reason they don’t want to do it is
top of that, rising gas prices are mak- ator from Wisconsin. it is not getting better. I am still hear-
ing it difficult to afford taking his kids Ms. BALDWIN. Shortly, I will re- ing day in and day out from people all
to basketball and karate practices. quest unanimous consent to confirm over my State who are hurting because
I have also talked to an operator of a the nomination of Mr. Chris Coes to be the Biden administration is not doing
food bank in Osceola, FL. She used to Assistant Secretary for Policy at the anything to solve the supply chain cri-
see 15 families each day, and now she is Department of Transportation. sis.
seeing upward of 70 families each day. As we have discussed, we face supply Therefore, I object.
Food prices have gone through the chain challenges created by several The PRESIDING OFFICER. The ob-
roof, making it more expensive for her compounding factors, increased de- jection is heard.
to get food to give to people who are mand for goods, a growing reliance on The Senator from Montana.
hurting at the very time demand is up. e-commerce, as well as production and Mr. TESTER. Mr. President, I rise
I talked to a mom in Punta Gorda, FL. labor market disruptions caused by the today to speak in support of Meera
Her gas costs have more than doubled, COVID–19 pandemic. Joshi to be the head of the Federal
and her monthly grocery budget Additionally, we have underinvested Motor Carrier Safety Administration.
doesn’t go as far as it used to. in our freight infrastructure for dec- Now, there may be some folks out
Recently, she has started visiting her ades. The bipartisan infrastructure law there who are not familiar with this
local food pantry once a month so she reverses that trend. It provides a his- Agency, but I can tell you Montanans
has enough to feed her kids. That is toric $567 billion for the Department of are. I can tell you commercial truckers
something she has never had to do be- Transportation. This includes $37 bil- are because this is an Agency that is
fore. These are real Floridians who are lion for freight infrastructure invest- critical to tackling our supply chain
hurting. Thank goodness for organiza- ments. issues and lowering costs for American
tions like food pantries and everyone The Department of Transportation families. Let me repeat that again be-
else who is helping families who are will be responsible for implementing cause this issue has been brought up
struggling because the Biden adminis- and managing these funds, including before.
tration has spent months doing noth- INFRA and the Port Infrastructure De- This Agency, of which Ms. Joshi is to
ing to solve this crisis. velopment Program. The Department be the head of, is critical to attacking
In fact, they are actively hurting needs leaders like Mr. Coes to coordi- our supply chain issues and lowering
them as inflation rises to record highs nate implementation of these programs the costs for American families.
and is threatening to rise even more as and get the funding Congress has ap- In my real life, I am a farmer. I use
Biden pushes his reckless tax-and- proved out to the States and local gov- a Peterbilt truck to get my product to
spend agenda. ernments. market, my food to market, so I know
I cannot and I will not consent to al- Mr. Coes is very qualified to serve as more about this than the average per-
lowing these nominees to move forward Assistant Secretary for Transportation son who serves in the Senate.
in an expedited manner. We should Policy for the Department of Transpor- And I know what a huge role that
take a vote so every Senator can get on tation, having served as the Principal trucking plays in our supply chain and
the record with their support or opposi- Deputy Assistant Secretary for Trans- our economy. And I am going to tell
tion to these nominees. portation Policy. you, the American trucker is one of the
He received strong and bipartisan hardest working people in this country.
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Therefore, Mr. President, I object.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The ob- support in the Commerce Committee. I know that because I tried to do it for
jection is heard. In fact, there are several nominees, in- a while. It is hard work.
The Senator from Washington. cluding Mr. Coes, who have been passed They have been on the frontlines of
Ms. CANTWELL. Mr. President, I out of the Commerce Committee with this pandemic delivering goods to
think my colleague knows darn well bipartisan support for key posts at the every corner of this country. And a
the President of the United States has Department of Transportation, the De- strong and a stable, safe trucking
been doing something about this. That partment of Commerce, the Surface workforce that offers good-paying jobs
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December 16, 2021 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE S9245
to millions of truckdrivers is a critical of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety partment of Commerce come before the
lifeblood of our economy. Administration. committee?
Our quality of life in this country is The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there Look, we are all U.S. Senators here.
simply not possible without the hard objection? Pick up the phone. Give him a call.
work that truckdrivers put in day and The Senator from Florida. With this kind of attitude—you
night. They deserve more credit than Mr. SCOTT of Florida. Mr. President, talked about the fact that food was
they get. reserving the right to object, you going up. Why aren’t we demanding the
And there are a lot of challenges out know, my father was an over-the-road Secretary of Agriculture show up?
there: our outdated infrastructure, the truckdriver. He drove for Admiral You said there are small business
COVID–19 pandemic, a historic—a his- Freight Line. My uncle was an over- problems. Why aren’t we demanding
toric—volume of goods moving through the-road truckdriver. He drove for a the Small Business Administration
our economy that have strained capac- consolidated freight line. show up?
ity across our supply chain, including I watched the difficulties my father This could go on forever.
trucking. and my uncle had performing their If you really want to fix a problem,
The Agency is critical in ensuring jobs, and it was at a time when truck- let’s look for solutions. And the solu-
that goods moving by truck do it safely ers weren’t paid well, and, actually, tions we have here tonight—this one—
and efficiently. most truckers were laid off by Thanks- is to confirm Ms. Meera Joshi to the
Now, as the chairman of the Com- giving because most of the goods were Federal Motor Carriers Safety Admin-
merce Committee has already pointed there for the Christmas season. istration.
out, the President last month signed In my father’s case, I don’t remember We can make excuses all the time
the bipartisan infrastructure package a Christmas that my dad was actively about why we are going to do this, why
into law. It included $568 billion in working. So I think it is very, very im- we are going to do that. Pick up the
portant that we do everything we can phone. Give them a call. Ask them to
transportation funding that will im-
to help truckers, and I am glad that meet with you.
prove freight bottlenecks, ease
truckers today are paid better than That is all it would take. You don’t
chokepoints across ports, rails, and
they were back when my father and my need to shut down the whole adminis-
highways.
uncle drove. tration, shut down the Motor Carriers
The middle-class markets in China
My uncle actually died in a trucking by not putting the head in.
and India are expected to be worth a accident. So I think it is very impor- This is ridiculous.
combined $26 trillion by 2030. Now, if tant that we do everything we can to Mr. President, I now want to speak of
we want to grow this U.S. economy, support our truckers. And what I still my support for the nomination of
maintain our position as an economic can’t understand is why the Commerce Amitabha Bose to be Administrator of
world leader, we must be able to grow Committee does not want to hear ex- the Federal Railroad Administration.
our reach to those huge market oppor- actly what the Secretary of Transpor- Consisting of almost 140,000 miles of
tunities. tation or the Secretary of Commerce is railroad track, the U.S. freight rail
The bipartisan infrastructure pack- doing to help our truckers. What are network is the largest in the world and
age also included parts of my HAULS they doing to improve the supply carries 1.4 billion tons of freight every
Act. The HAULS Act will cut burden- chain? year worth $430 billion to our economy.
some hour-of-service requirements so You would think they would want to Some estimate that the global de-
that Montana’s egg and livestock haul- come down here to say exactly what mand for freight will triple by 2050,
ers can do their jobs and do their jobs they have done to make the life of which is why we need to improve the
safely, but we need a head of the Fed- truckers better so that we get more capacity for our system to meet the
eral Motor Carriers Safety Administra- people in trucking rather than less. supply chain needs of today and pre-
tion to be able to say that earnestly. So I think we should—I cannot allow pare for the future.
If we are going to effectively imple- these nominees to go forward in an ex- Last month, as the chair of the Com-
ment these new guidelines that will pedited manner. Therefore, I object. merce Committee has already pointed
boost our economy in rural America The PRESIDING OFFICER. Objec- out, the President signed my bipar-
and across this country, we need to tion is heard. tisan infrastructure package into law
confirm Ms. Joshi as soon as possible, The Senator from Montana. that included $567 billion in transpor-
which is why I am here tonight. Mr. TESTER. So if you truly want to tation funding that will improve
Ms. Joshi is a qualified nominee to help the trucking industry, and it freight bottlenecks, ease chokepoints
lead this Agency. She passed through sounds like you have personal experi- across our ports, railways, and high-
the Senate Commerce Committee with ence with it—the good Senator from ways. It will lower costs for families. It
overwhelming bipartisan support. She Florida—putting the head of the Fed- will grow our economy.
is backed by the trucking industry. eral Motor Carrier Safety Administra- Gosh, does this sound familiar? It is
It is unfortunate that a few of my tion would be a great start. If you want awful lot like the last nominee.
colleagues—a minority of the minor- to reduce the problems with our supply And this legislation also includes the
ity—are blocking this confirmation at chain, putting a head into the Federal Right Track Act, which I support and
a time when we need transportation Motor Carrier Safety Administration which I sponsored. My bill addresses
and commerce Agencies fully staffed would be a great start. If you want to blocked rail crossings—by the way, a
and empowered to carry out their make our roads safer for everybody— bipartisan bill—which improves rail
work, reducing costs for families, truckers, cars, everybody—I would say safety at rural train crossings and ad-
smoothing the supply chain, and grow- putting in the head of the Federal dresses instances of blocked highway
ing our economy. Motor Carrier Safety Administration railroad crossings across the United
The Senate has had an opportunity would be a good start. States that put our families in danger
to address supply chain issues and I am going to tell you that the objec- and slow down our economy.
lower costs by confirming this nomi- tions of the good Senator from Florida I point that out because all too often
nee. I am going to say it again. The ring hollow. I have heard the good Sen- we have accidents involving a train and
Senate has an opportunity tonight to ator from Florida stand up in com- a car. Get this person confirmed, and
address supply chain issues and lower mittee and stand up on this floor and we can hold people accountable.
costs by confirming this nominee. talk about how the administration— The infrastructure package also in-
There is absolutely no reason to keep cluded $15 million to study Amtrak’s
SSpencer on DSK126QN23PROD with SENATE
this administration—has failed. Yet
this critical position vacant, and I urge that very same person who claims that long-distance passenger rail travel
my colleagues to support her confirma- this administration has failed is stand- service, including authorization to
tion tonight. ing up here and perpetuating the prob- form working groups, like the Greater
Mr. President, I would also ask that lems that we have because we can’t get Northwest Passenger Rail Working
it be in order to make the same request Agencies staffed up. This is ridiculous. Group, to study and advocate for in-
with respect to Executive Calendar No. So you ask yourself: Why can’t the creased access to long-distance pas-
464, Meera Joshi, to be Administrator Department of Transportation and De- senger rail travel.
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S9246 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE December 16, 2021
These freight rail programs are ad- ference between their infrastructure here. Very few nominees have come
ministered by the FRA, and grants bill and what we did while I was Gov- through.
must get out the door as quickly as ernor of Florida is this: I actually The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Sen-
possible if we are going to get the bang spent our infrastructure money on ator from Montana.
for the dollar, if the taxpayer is going roads, bridges, airports, and seaports, Mr. TESTER. Very crafty—fifty per-
to get the bang for the dollar. and, at the same time, we spent $85 bil- cent is used on roads, bridges, and sea-
Holding up Amit Bose’s nomination lion in 8 years in one State doing that. ports, and you make it sound like the
risks delaying these critical resources We also cut taxes and fees 100 times, rest isn’t used on infrastructure.
from reaching local communities. and we actually reduced our debt by a Since when did water not become in-
Now, that might make some people third, over $10 billion. frastructure? Since when did improving
in here happy. There was a bunch of The infrastructure bill—the so-called our transmission lines not become in-
folks—it passed by 69 votes, but there infrastructure bill—had less than 50 frastructure?
were 30-some folks that voted against percent of it in infrastructure. People The fact of the matter is this bill is
it. So maybe they don’t want this. said it was paid for, and it wasn’t. a really good bill, and that is why 69
Maybe they don’t want infrastructure. So I am glad people want to keep people in this Senate voted for it, and
Maybe they want to turn the keys of saying that it is a so-called infrastruc- it did not raise taxes on a single Amer-
the economy over to China. Maybe that ture bill, but let’s remember: It wasn’t ican family.
is what they want. paid for; they said it was. And it wasn’t You can make excuses all you want,
But the fact is that these critical re- all for roads, bridges, airports, and sea- but the facts are this: That infrastruc-
sources will end up enriching our com- ports, which is what they said it was in ture bill will help set us up for a vi-
munities, improving our freight rail the beginning. brant economy for generations to
service, and growing our economy. So, therefore, I object. come, and the most important thing
Additionally, the FRA is working The PRESIDING OFFICER. Objec- that infrastructure bill will do is it will
closely with railroads to provide regu- tion is heard. help us compete with China, unless you
latory expertise and assistance to en- The Senator from Montana. want to give the reserve currency to
sure that significant operational Mr. TESTER. Mr. President, facts them.
changes—including setting up new rail are a nasty thing. Do you know that? And the fact of the matter is, unless
I would ask the good Senator from the Agencies are staffed up, we can’t
yards that can help move goods across
Florida to read the damn bill. This bill implement that infrastructure bill.
our country, solving the supply chain
is to put money into roads and bridges, And if that is the impetus for this,
problem—is done both quickly and
to put money into our electrical grid, shame on the folks who have objected
safely.
Mr. Bose is a very qualified nominee to put money into our ports, to make to this, because the last time I
to lead the FRA, having previously our ports safer, to put money into checked, we are U.S. Senators, and we
worked in multiple roles at FRA, in- water systems—the list goes on and on are not here for ourselves. We are here
cluding Deputy Administrator, Chief and on. for this Nation, to make this Nation
For you to say that 50 percent of this great, to keep this Nation great, to
Counsel, Senior Adviser, and Director
bill is all that goes into infrastructure move this Nation forward.
of Governmental Affairs.
is not factual at all, and I will debate Our forefathers worked to do that.
He, too, received a strong bipartisan
you on that until midnight tonight and They didn’t have these kinds of silly
support in committee and, in fact, ad-
longer—until Christmas Eve, because it arguments on the Senate floor.
vanced by a voice vote.
is not factual. The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Sen-
Once again, it is unfortunate—and
But I will tell you what is factual: ator from Florida.
maybe it won’t happen on this one— Mr. SCOTT of Florida. Mr. President,
The fact is that you, the good Senator
that some of my colleagues are block- so I think my colleague doesn’t under-
from Florida, have stopped Amit Bose
ing nominees from confirmation at a stand that when you borrow money,
from being Administrator of the Fed-
time when we can’t afford to leave our you eventually have to pay it back.
eral Railroad Administration, thereby
Agencies understaffed, and they are The government doesn’t produce in-
stopping any sort of improvements in
blocking it because of supply chain come. It takes money from people.
the supply chain that we have, thereby
issues and because of the high costs for That means that when that bill—the
stopping any sort of lowering of costs
small business. And with the blockage so-called infrastructure bill—runs defi-
for small businesses and working fami-
of these nominees, what is ending up cits, somebody’s taxes are going up.
lies in this country. That is a fact.
happening is that the supply chain And if you would like to respond to Whether they go up today or tomorrow,
issues will get worse, which, maybe, that, I would be more than happy to they are going to go up.
that is what they want. yield. And, by the way, it is part of why the
But that is not why I am here. I am That is a fact. The truth is the same Democrats had to raise the debt ceiling
here to get things done, to move this people who stand up here and say this by $2.5 trillion, and that is $2.5 trillion
country forward. I know what China is administration has got problems are that Americans families are going to
doing right now, and it is why we had creating those problems, because a mi- have to pay for.
69 people vote for the bipartisan infra- nority of the minority are stopping The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Sen-
structure bill. good people from being in positions in ator from Montana.
But if we leave the Agencies under- this administration. That is a fact. Mr. TESTER. So are you suggesting
staffed, then maybe that is going to The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Sen- we shouldn’t raise the debt and not pay
help somebody. I don’t know who it is ator from Florida. our debts and default? Is that the sug-
going to help. But there is no reason to Mr. SCOTT of Florida. Mr. President, gestion?
keep this critical position vacant, and first of all, facts are facts. Less than 50 The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Sen-
I would urge my colleagues to support percent of the bill had anything to do ator from Florida.
his confirmation. with roads and bridges, airports and Mr. SCOTT of Florida. Mr. President,
Therefore, I would ask that it be in seaports. I would do what I did in Florida. I
order to make the same request with We were told all along it was going to walked into a $4 billion budget deficit.
respect to Executive Calendar No. 465, be paid for; it wasn’t. The Congres- I balanced the budget. I cuts taxes and
Amitabha Bose to be Director of the sional Budget Office confirmed that. fees 100 times. I paid off a third of the
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Federal Railroad Administration. So facts are facts. State debt. I never increased my State
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there On top of that, the majority leader debt. I actually cut it by $10.5 billion.
objection? could have, if these were important That is exactly what we ought to be
The Senator from Florida. nominees, as my colleagues keep say- doing here. We can’t keep wasting
Mr. SCOTT of Florida. Mr. President, ing they are, they could have filed clo- money because somebody is going to
reserving the right to object, you ture and done these nominees. pay for it.
know, my colleagues keep talking I mean, think of what we have done The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Sen-
about the infrastructure bill. The dif- this last 2 weeks that we have been up ator from Montana.
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December 16, 2021 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE S9247
Mr. TESTER. Did the good Senator how bipartisan this effort was. He Let’s remember why I am here.
vote for the CARES Act? knows that he is not joined by a bunch For weeks, I have been asking the
Mr. SCOTT of Florida. Say again? of other colleagues here tonight, you chair of the Commerce Committee to
Mr. TESTER. Did the good Senator know, in making these objections. It is invite the Secretaries of Transpor-
from Florida vote for the CARES Act? because they want these nominees. tation and Commerce to come tell us
Mr. SCOTT of Florida. Absolutely. They voted for them. what they are doing to fix this supply
Mr. TESTER. Was it paid for? To come from a State like mine, chain crisis. We still have 100 cargo
Mr. SCOTT of Florida. Part of it. where one in four jobs is related to ships off the coast of California. Is it
Last year, what we did was suspend the trade, it is all about infrastructure. It getting better? No, it is not getting
debt ceiling. is about our ports, our airports, our better. I was on a call this week, and I
Mr. TESTER. Yes, it wasn’t paid for. railroads, our roads. It is about getting did not hear one thing that has been
It added to the debt. Had the good Sen- the products from Montana out to the done to solve this supply chain crisis.
ator been here when we passed the Pacific and to those destinations. It is When I was the Governor of Florida,
Trump tax cuts, that also added $2 tril- all about making this infrastructure we had hurricanes. We had to work
lion a year to the debt, and he would investment, and we finally have a hard to make sure we didn’t run out of
have justified that. President who is willing to put every- fuel. To make that happen, what we
If you want to talk about building thing on the line to get us back to would do is we would put everybody to-
our economy, there are two things you making an infrastructure investment gether. I often went to the ports to
could do to build our economy: No. 1 is that is more than 1 percent of GDP and make sure that we got the fuel
to invest in infrastructure, and the who is smart enough to know that through, and we did. We got it done.
other one is to invest in education and those ports and everything else are not I have not seen the Secretary of
workforce training. going to function well and that we are Transportation go out to the Port of
If we are going to get the infrastruc- not going to be competitive with Can- Palm Beach to solve any problems at
ture part of this stuff out the door, we ada or with South America or with all. I have not heard of anything the
cannot have a minority of the minority Secretary of Commerce has done to go
other places if we don’t make this in-
on the other side continuing to object out to California and solve this supply
vestment.
to people in the very Agencies that will Well, now we have made it. We have chain crisis. On these nominees, clo-
help get this infrastructure built up. made the investment. Now, we just ture could have been filed by the ma-
That is the truth. jority leader. For whatever reason, the
need the people to execute on it, and
I yield the floor. majority leader decided not to do it.
our colleague doesn’t want those indi-
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Sen- Therefore, I object.
viduals to be part of this process. He is The PRESIDING OFFICER. Objec-
ator from Florida. not ready for them. tion is heard.
Mr. SCOTT of Florida. Mr. President, Everybody gets frustrated with the The Senator from Washington.
my experience is totally different than position of an administration. Every- Ms. CANTWELL. Mr. President, my
my colleague from Montana’s experi- body wants to hear from a nominee. I colleague knows very well that, just
ence. have called nominees. You would think yesterday, the Deputy Secretaries of
My experience is you build your that some of those people might call Commerce, Transportation, and Agri-
economy by growing jobs. You build me, but, no, I have had to pick up the culture met with—and it may have
your economy by investing in edu- phone and call them and say: Here is been on a Zoom call or on the phone—
cation, where you get a return. So, in what my concern is. Where are you Senators to talk about exactly what is
my 8 years as Governor of Florida, we going to be on this issue? What are you going on to help work on the supply
added 1.7 million jobs. We cut taxes and going to do about this problem? chain. The Senator knows very well.
revenues grew. It allowed us to make Did I have everything guaranteed? Now, he may not have liked exactly
record investments in education, in Did I have every policy that I wanted what he heard in the outcome, but
transportation, and in the environ- to see for that nominee? No, but I there are no harder working people
ment. By the time I left office in Flor- picked up the phone and got the com- than the Secretary of Commerce and
ida, we had the second lowest tuition of mitment that I needed to see things the Secretary of Transportation in im-
higher education in the country. Ac- through and get things moving. plementing the things that need to be
cording to the U.S. News & World Re- So, now, the fact that we have these implemented to keep our country mov-
port, we were No. 1 in education, but nominees who continue to be held, as ing.
we did it by getting a return on all of my colleague said, by a minority of the The problem, I think, is that the Sen-
the dollars. We didn’t do it by just minority because they don’t want to ator from Florida may not understand
spending money without getting a re- see the infrastructure investments that that there is a huge upside. We just had
turn. we have already voted on put in place a hearing yesterday with all of the air-
I yield the floor. is just really holding up government. It lines, and we acted on the Payroll Sup-
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Sen- is just holding it up. port Program. The end result of that
ator from Montana. I think the President deserves to has been a big boon to our economy be-
Mr. TESTER. Mr. President, I heard have his nominees. We deserve to get cause they were there and in place to
the Senator from Florida just say that to vote on them. We deserve to give the capture the upside when the vaccines
he invested in education, workforce President of the United States our worked and the flying public returned.
training, and infrastructure. If he opinion, but we also deserve to have So we, the United States of America,
would have not had an administration these nominees voted on and not held have outdone Europe and Asia and Can-
that would have been able to have got- in this process so that the govern- ada. Basically, the upside is having our
ten that money out the door, then he ment—so the actual functioning of the air transportation system now back up
wouldn’t have been able to have suc- infrastructure bill—can’t be imple- to 90 percent of capacity. We did that
ceeded. All we are asking is that we mented even though the majority of because we acted. We made an invest-
offer the President of the United States the Senate voted that way. ment, and the investment is paying off,
and this Nation, as a whole, that same Mr. President, I ask unanimous con- and it kept a workforce that otherwise
opportunity. sent that it be in order to make the would have been on unemployment
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Sen- same request of Executive Calendar No. benefits.
ator from Washington. So this administration is working.
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468, Mohsin Raza Syed, of Virginia, to
Ms. CANTWELL. Mr. President, my be an Assistant Secretary of Transpor- This administration is working, and it
colleague from Montana is making tation. needs people to help them implement
some great points in this debate. The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there the bill we just passed. The administra-
I can’t emphasize this enough to my objection? tion has been working with major ports
colleague from Florida, a member of The Senator from Florida. to have night and weekend cargo oper-
our committee. He knows how hard we Mr. SCOTT of Florida. Mr. President, ations. It has been working with com-
have all worked on these. He knows reserving the right to object. panies to improve the transparency of
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S9248 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE December 16, 2021
logistics and pricing. It has been work- coast of California. I want to hear ex- I don’t understand why so many of
ing with shippers to get the cargo and actly what they are doing and so do the these nominees my colleague has to ob-
containers in and out of the ports fast- citizens of my State. ject to because these nominees are in-
er. Therefore, I object. dividuals who are part of our infra-
He is urging some of the largest ship- The PRESIDING OFFICER. Objec- structure investment and, in this case,
pers—Walmart, Target, Home Depot, tion is heard. are part of where we are with the De-
Samsung, FedEx, and UPS—to commit The Senator from Washington. partment of Commerce in under-
to moving cargo during off-peak hours Ms. CANTWELL. Mr. President, standing what is even happening in the
and making those commitments. these nominees we are talking about supply chain and what we also want to
Two major railroads—Union Pacific are nominees who are literally just the do.
and BNSF—have announced that they people who are going to help get these Mr. President, I ask unanimous con-
will create new incentives for cargo things done within the Agencies. The sent that it be in order to make the
owners to move cargo on the weekends. Senator is basically denying people the same request with respect to Executive
CMA CGM—one of the largest car- ability to have analysis, to talk about Calendar No. 355, Grant T. Harris, of
riers—has begun providing $100 dis- competition, to talk about the effec- California, to be an Assistant Sec-
counts on the containers if they are tive strategies that we need to put in retary of Commerce.
picked up immediately, which is help- place. The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there
ing move them off the docks. One of The Commerce Committee has had objection?
three hearings on the supply chain. In The Senator from Florida.
the problems is that empty containers
fact, we had some fabulous testimony, Mr. SCOTT of Florida. Mr. President
have been left on the docks, and this reserving the right to object.
has caused congestion at the ports. So starting in—I think it was—February
I want to be clear. I like infrastruc-
the administration has worked with or March, about the supply chain. It
ture. I spent $85 billion on infrastruc-
these carriers to help incent people was a fabulous panel of experts, and it ture. With $10 billion a year, we had a
who have been part of the shipping sys- was about the complexity of what was dramatic increase in infrastructure. It
tem to get that product off of the happening to the supply chain and is part of the reason we added 1.7 mil-
docks. We have begun to see positive what our problems were going to be. lion jobs. I also did a lot of work to try
results from this. The one thing that is clear is that to make sure we increased trade in
This month, the CEOs of the major this isn’t an issue for just COVID; that Florida. We have 15 seaports. I believe
retailers told President Biden that the this isn’t an issue for just this adminis- in all of this.
supply chain conditions have begun to tration; and that this isn’t an issue I also believe we have a supply chain
show signs of improvement. This is even for the next, you know, few years. crisis right now. It is not getting bet-
from the major retailers. This is an issue about the fact that, in ter. I am shocked that my colleague
As to the issues that we are focusing the world economy in 2019, prior to the does not want to ask the Secretary of
on here, we are talking to two people pandemic, something miraculous hap- Transportation and the Secretary of
who are out fixing the problem. The pened: The majority of the population Commerce to explain to the American
Senator had a chance to talk to their of the world reached middle class. That public why this is not getting better.
Deputies about this. These are people meant the majority of people outside Therefore, I object.
who are definitely available to be the United States was going to be a The PRESIDING OFFICER. The ob-
talked to about this problem. Yet they huge market opportunity for our goods jection is heard.
are asking us to continue to have a and our products. It is a huge economic Ms. CANTWELL. Mr. President.
workforce. opportunity that 95 percent of con- The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Sen-
Mr. President, I ask unanimous con- sumers are outside the United States. ator from Washington.
sent that it be in order to make the That means we have to get things to Ms. CANTWELL. We are here on
those markets cost-effectively and whatever today is—December 16. We
same request with respect to Executive
competitively. are here, you know, as Congress ca-
Calendar No. 469, Victoria Marie
For us in Seattle, the Port of Seattle reens toward trying to get some work
Baecher Wassmer, of the District of Co-
has to compete with the Port of Van- done before we break for the holiday
lumbia, to be Chief Financial Officer,
couver. The Port of Vancouver and the season.
Department of Transportation. I am sure that my colleague knows
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there infrastructure of—Canada has made all
very well where the administration is
objection? sorts of infrastructure investment all
on getting its nominees. We are not
The Senator from Florida. across Canada with rail and port in-
even the only committee that is out
Mr. SCOTT of Florida. Mr. President, vestment so that they can have the
here on a weekly basis complaining
reserving the right to object. state of the art and so that it can be
about the number of nominees who are
First, I want to thank my colleague cheaper to ship through Canada than
not allowed to serve. Even though they
from Washington for holding the hear- the United States. The same thing is come out of committee with bipartisan
ing with the airlines, and there are two happening in South America and other support, they are not being allowed to
things about that. parts of the world. This is about who is be taken up and acted upon.
I was surprised that I didn’t get a going to reach the Asian market and We have had people out here from the
very good answer from the airlines how fast they are going to reach the Foreign Affairs Committee. We have
about, did we get a return on the— Asian market. had nominees. We have had various
what?—$54 billion we provided the air- The infrastructure investment was committees—the HELP Committee. So
line industry? I was extremely dis- critical. It was critical to making sure we are just here now talking about the
appointed that United Airlines was that our railroads worked, that our Transportation Committee.
cavalier with the employees in my ports worked, that our motor carriers So, yes, we have a minority within
State who were basically let go or laid had the right people and had the right the minority that doesn’t want the ad-
off without pay only because they de- safety. This was, literally, upgrading ministration to have the nominees it
cided not to get the vaccine for reli- our infrastructure that had been ig- needs to get things done. In this case,
gious purposes. nored—basically kept on life support— it is infrastructure. The importance of
In coming back to this issue, I still for so long, and now, we have a Presi- that is that the majority of people
am waiting for the Secretary of Trans- dent and a bipartisan group of people voted for infrastructure. The majority
portation and the Secretary of Com- who are going to make the investment.
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of people have voted for these nomi-
merce to come to a public event so all So the fact that those Agencies now nees, and these nominees deserve to get
of our constituents in my State can need people—even the next nominee we in their place so that individuals can
hear exactly what they are doing to are talking about—it is just literally do their work.
solve the supply chain problem. I can about making investments so that they If the Senator from Florida doesn’t
tell you that I was on this phone call, can figure out the strategy and the want to support—didn’t want to sup-
and this problem is not getting better. strategy moving forward on these indi- port the infrastructure bill, doesn’t be-
There are still 100 cargo ships off the viduals. lieve that it was done just like he
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December 16, 2021 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE S9249
would do it, I would ask him to con- Ms. CANTWELL. Mr. President. Founders intended, to pass laws that
sider the fact that his colleagues, the The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Sen- will protect the right to vote and pro-
majority of whom did support it, are ator from Washington. tect American democracy.
now going to be delayed in getting Ms. CANTWELL. Mr. President, I In States across the country, par-
those resources out the door. think we have had a good discussion of tisan politicians are calling into ques-
Now, maybe that is what he wants. exactly what these individuals—the tion the sacred American right to free,
Maybe he is playing a game of the cal- Secretary of Commerce and the Sec- fair, and impartially administered elec-
endar. He is just hoping that those retary of Transportation—have been tions. These politicians are trying to
nominees won’t ever get into these doing. They have been making their reject the will of the people, trying to
spots, that it will take forever for us to deputies available for conversations interfere with elections and, yes, over-
get these programs implemented. Our about supply chains. We have had sup- turn results. This is not an idle threat;
economy can’t wait for that. Our econ- ply chain hearings. We will continue to it is happening right now.
omy and the investments that we all address this issue. I am pretty sure As the Presiding Officer well knows,
decided to make can’t wait for this they will take his phone call. earlier this year in Georgia, a new law
kind of gamesmanship. The small busi- I am pretty sure that the reason we enabled the legislature to seize control
nesses that my colleague from Mon- are out here is because when the other of the State election board, allowing
tana talked about can’t wait for that side of the aisle holds up so many elected legislators to install a partisan
gamesmanship. nominees, there are only so many clo- majority beholden to that legislature,
I guarantee you those Secretaries ture motions that you can file. But I with the ability to suspend and replace
will be in front of the Commerce Com- guess we will be here this weekend, and local election officials.
mittee in the new year at some point we will find out exactly how many clo- In Arizona, legislators have proposed
in time. I guarantee it. That is what ture motions and how long it will take a bill that would enable the State leg-
happens around here. I am pretty sure to continue to get these nominees. islature to override an election certifi-
they will be asked these questions. I I yield the floor. cation with a simple majority vote.
am sure they are asked these questions The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Sen- These efforts threaten the integrity
every single day. I am pretty sure they ator from New Hampshire. of our election system. That, in turn,
would take a call from my colleague ELECTIONS threatens our peace, stability, and cer-
tonight or tomorrow. I am pretty sure Ms. HASSAN. Mr. President, I rise tainty—the very rule of law that
they would have the input from him today to speak about a grave threat makes individual liberty, a vibrant
that he would want to give in these sit- that we face, a threat to the very idea economy, and, yes, the peaceful trans-
uations. of America. fer of power possible.
But this is an issue about whether By law, every 2 years, Americans There is no single aspect of American
you are for the infrastructure invest- cast their votes for Federal office on a life that isn’t related to free, fair, and
ment and whether you are for making Tuesday in early November. Like many impartially administered elections. We
that a reality by having the people Americans, I have always treasured have public schools, safe neighbor-
whom it takes to implement it. And if that day. I have gone to my polling hoods, access to healthcare, support for
you don’t have CFOs, if you don’t have place, and I have cast my vote. When I small businesses, and access to the
the Administrators of the Agencies, if have left, usually from a townhall or a great outdoors all because ordinary
you don’t have the people who are tar- school, I have done so with the con- Americans can make their voices heard
geted to do the investment, I am not fidence that the votes would be count- and hold their government—a govern-
sure how you can do it. ment of, by, and for the people—ac-
ed, a winner declared, and my town,
One of those nominees, Arun
my State, and my country would move countable.
Venkataraman, currently serves as a
forward, accepting the results not be- In America, as imperfect as we are,
counselor to the Secretary of Com-
cause of which candidates won but be- everybody has the opportunity to suc-
merce on trade and international mat-
cause of our confidence that the elec- ceed because everyone has the oppor-
ters. He has more than 20 years of expe-
tion system was run impartially by tunity to vote. But that all changes
rience in working on these issues and is
people who believe in our democracy when our election system is corrupted
somebody who could benefit us in this
and believe that democracy is about by politicians who are more interested
analysis of the challenges that we are
free, fair, and impartially administered in clinging to power than being respon-
facing to get our products into these
elections. sive to the people whom they were
markets and get them into these mar-
This great democracy of ours depends elected to represent.
kets quickly.
on the existence of a free and fair cast- When those in power work to create
So I ask unanimous consent that it
ing and telling of the votes and the a partisan electoral system where the
be in order to make the same request
public’s acceptance of that result. That focus is not on ensuring that every
with respect to Executive Calendar No.
is the prerequisite for a functioning de- vote is counted but is instead on ensur-
586, Arun Venkataraman to be Assist-
mocracy, and every other piece of our ing a predetermined outcome, those in
ant Secretary of Commerce and Direc-
society, from our economy to our na- power become less and less responsive
tor General of the United States and
tional security, depends on it. to the will of the people. And as citi-
Foreign Commercial Service.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there Without free, fair, and impartially zens become disenfranchised and angry,
objection? administered elections, the United those in power increasingly rely on au-
Mr. SCOTT of Florida. Mr. President. States of America as we know it would thoritarian methods to stay in power.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Sen- not exist. Yet, right now, our beloved That is the road that we risk going
ator from Florida. democracy is under attack. down if this systematic undermining of
Mr. SCOTT of Florida. Reserving the In States around the country, par- our elections and our democracy con-
right to object, the one thing that has tisan lawmakers are proposing to ig- tinues.
not been addressed is, if this were so nore properly cast votes, essentially Authoritarian regimes like China,
important, why didn’t my colleagues trying to throw out the votes and si- Russia, Iran, and North Korea would
go to the majority leader—same lence the voices of those with whom like nothing more than to see our great
party—and ask him to file cloture on they disagree. These partisans are American experiment fail, to see Mem-
these nominees? more concerned about losing power bers of this Congress stand by while
than protecting the rights of citizens our democracy withers on the vine.
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I still also have never been told why,
when I have been asking for this for and preserving the foundation of our When Americans lose trust in our de-
weeks, these two Secretaries won’t country. mocracy, when the integrity of our
show up and tell my citizens why they Here in Washington, a set of arcane elections is thrown into doubt, neither
can’t solve the supply chain problem. Senate rules are being used as an ex- Republicans nor Democrats win; our
Therefore, I object. cuse not to act. This cannot stand. We enemies do.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The ob- must change the rules to allow a sim- But we in the Senate can stop this
jection is heard. ple majority of this body, as our threat to our democracy by acting to
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