Congressional Record, Senate, March 3, 2022 — S.J. Res. 38 on the National Emergency
Summary
This is S965 of the Congressional Record, Senate, March 3, 2022, in a document titled S.J. Res. 38 on the National Emergency, with interleaved columns. The page contains floor remarks by a speaker who calls for sanctioning Russia's energy sector and says the Biden administration is focused on alternative energy technology, with the views attributed to the speaker. Under the heading Relating to a National Emergency Declared by the President on March 13, 2020, the Committee on Finance is discharged from further consideration of S.J. Res. 38 and the Senate proceeds to the joint resolution, with 3 hours for debate only.
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“Congressional Record, Senate, March 3, 2022 — S.J. Res. 38 on the National Emergency.”
Original at www.govinfo.gov. Archived at Pandemic Darlings, https://pandemicdarlings.com/source-documents/crec-crec-2022-03-03-crec-2022-03-03-pt1-pgs965-cfe9ddc4fc/
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March 3, 2022 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE S965
Russia, climate change, COVID–19, is hostile to conventional sources of lem. It is a problem because the more
from Iran, from terrorism. energy; namely, oil and natural gas. we rely on foreign sources of energy,
It is my hope that my colleagues who When it comes to energy, he is focused the more vulnerable Americans are to
have holds reportedly on many of these almost exclusively on alternative en- energy price spikes and to global short-
nominees will relent, and I look for- ergy technology—specifically on elec- ages. It is a problem because relying on
ward to continuing to press that case tric vehicles, which his administration foreign sources of energy often means
today. has clearly picked as its preferred win- relying on energy from tyrannical gov-
I yield the floor. ner in the clean energy stakes. ernments in volatile areas of the world.
I suggest the absence of a quorum. Now, I should say I am a longtime U.S. imports of Russian energy have
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The supporter of clean energy. In South Da- spiked during the Biden administra-
clerk will call the roll. kota, we derive a significant amount of tion, and the current conflict in
The senior assistant legislative clerk our energy from hydropower and wind. Ukraine is a reminder of just how big
proceeded to call the roll. In fact, in 2020, 80 percent of our util- of a problem that is. In the first place,
Mr. THUNE. Mr. President, I ask ity-scale generation was renewal, the dollars we or other nations spend
unanimous consent that the order for about half of that from hydro. I have importing energy from Russia are dol-
the quorum call be rescinded. long championed cleaner burning re- lars Russia is free to use to prosecute
The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. newable fuels like ethanol and bio- its unjustified invasion of Ukraine and
BOOKER). Without objection, it is so or- diesel. any other country that it decides to at-
dered. But the fact of the matter is, our Na- tack. In the second place, when you
f tion is not going to be fully rely on another country for your en-
RELATING TO A NATIONAL EMER- transitioning to 100 percent zero-emis- ergy needs, you end up beholden to
GENCY DECLARED BY THE sion energy anytime soon no matter that country.
PRESIDENT ON MARCH 13, 2020 how much the administration would Now, while we have imposed heavy
like it to. There are a lot of hurdles to sanctions on Russia, we have yet to di-
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Under be crossed before we can rely solely on rectly sanction Russia’s energy sector,
the previous order, the Committee on clean energy. Consumers, first and and other countries have also held
Finance is discharged from further con- foremost, need affordable and reliable back on sanctioning Russian energy.
sideration of S.J. Res. 38, and the Sen- energy supplies, especially consistent There is little question that this reluc-
ate will proceed to the consideration of baseload energy. tance stems from both fears of price
the joint resolution, which the clerk Clean energy technology has simply hikes as a result of sanctions and from
will report. not advanced to the point where it fears of lessening the availability of
The senior assistant legislative clerk needs to be in order for us to rely on Russian energy supplies.
read as follows: clean energy exclusively. We are going The truth is, we should be sanc-
A joint resolution (S.J. Res. 38) relating to to need an ‘‘all of the above’’ energy tioning Russia’s energy sector. Energy
a national emergency declared by the Presi- portfolio for a while yet, including oil production is the lifeblood of the Rus-
dent on March 13, 2020.
and natural gas, and it is a disservice sian economy, and sanctioning Russian
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Under to the American people to pretend oth- energy would be one of the most effec-
the previous order, there will be 3 erwise. tive ways of halting Putin’s imperial
hours for debate only, with time equal- We should absolutely continue to in- ambitions.
ly divided between the two leaders or vest in clean energy and pursue clean It is unfortunate that the President
their designees. energy technologies in a fiscally re- has not put our Nation on stronger
The Republican whip. sponsible manner, but we also have to footing energy-wise so that we could
ENERGY ensure that our Nation has the oil and more easily weather these challenging
Mr. THUNE. Mr. President, as of Jan- natural gas that it needs for our econ- times. The only acceptable American
uary, energy prices were up 27 percent omy to run and for Americans to be energy policy is an ‘‘all of the above’’
across the board. Gas prices were up 40 able to afford to heat their homes and energy policy that invests in both
percent from a year ago. Natural gas to get where they need to go. clean energy technologies and conven-
was up 24 percent. Fuel oil was up 46 As I said, since taking office, Presi- tional energy sources. That is the only
percent. dent Biden has pursued an agenda hos- way—the only way—to keep energy
High energy prices have a huge im- tile—hostile—to conventional energy prices down and ensure America’s en-
pact on our economy. Obviously, they production. He set the tone on his first ergy needs are met no matter what is
represent a significant, direct burden day in office when he canceled the Key- going on in energy-producing countries
on Americans trying to fill up their stone XL Pipeline—an environmentally around the globe.
cars or pay the utility bills, but they responsible pipeline project that was Now, if the President really wants to
also contribute to price hikes across already underway and that was to be lower energy prices for American fami-
our economy. High gas prices and other paired with $1.7 billion in private in- lies, as he indicated in his State of the
energy costs contribute to price in- vestment in renewable energy to fully Union Address on Tuesday, he could re-
creases on a whole host of other goods. offset its operating emissions. He also verse his rejection of the Keystone XL
Manufacturers facing higher transpor- almost immediately froze new oil and Pipeline, which would be a much wel-
tation costs thanks to high gas prices, gas leases on Federal lands, sending a come recognition that liquid fuels will
for example, are often forced to pass on clear signal to oil and gas producers be part of our energy composition well
at least some of those increased costs that his administration would be reluc- into the future.
to consumers in the form of price tant to work with them to increase He could fast-track environmentally
hikes. American energy production. responsible domestic oil and gas pro-
Now, while Democrats helped create He has continued along the same duction on Federal lands.
our current inflation crisis with their lines ever since. He seems to think that He could work to overturn the Fed-
so-called American Rescue Plan spend- he can hurry along the clean energy fu- eral Energy Regulatory Commission
ing spree last March, President Biden ture he dreams of by discouraging oil decision that will make it more dif-
is not solely responsible for high en- and natural gas production here at ficult to get approval for natural gas
ergy prices. He is responsible, however, home, but he can’t. As I said, clean en- pipelines.
for the fact that he is pursuing an en- ergy sources are simply not at the He could ensure that the Department
ergy agenda that is almost guaranteed point where they can solely power of the Interior releases new land for re-
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not only to increase American energy American homes or our economy. sponsible oil and gas development—
prices long term but also to increase The only effect of curbing conven- something the Department is required
our reliance on foreign sources of en- tional energy production would be to to do quarterly by law.
ergy. force Americans to rely more on for- He could encourage financial institu-
Since the day he took office, Presi- eign sources of oil and natural gas, and tions to invest in conventional energy
dent Biden has pursued an agenda that that is a big problem. It is a big prob- production and reinstate the January
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S966 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE March 3, 2022
2021 proposed rule that would prevent Instead, we need policies that help porting—in the midst of this conflict,
large American financial institutions our economy smoothly transition off of in the midst of Russian aggression, the
from blacklisting the conventional en- oil, while at the same time give con- United States is importing—buying
ergy sector. sumers more choices to fuel their cars, from Russia to the tune of 670,000 bar-
Finally, he could also get serious their trucks, and their vans. We need rels of oil every single day. It has near-
about leveraging American agriculture to give consumers real fuel choices ly doubled just in the past year.
as an energy solution, specifically re- that are domestically produced, better Now, I would submit to you that
storing integrity to the renewable fuel for the climate, and that aren’t tied to whatever you think about this admin-
standard. This means not only setting global oil markets. The choices could istration’s geostrategic policies—this
robust blending targets and rejecting include electricity from nuclear en- is, after all, an administration that has
specious small refinery exemptions but ergy, an issue on which the Presiding managed to lose two sovereign nations
approving advanced fuels from corn Officer and I strongly agree; biofuels in the space of 6 months—whatever you
kernel fiber and restoring the year- made by our farmers, which Senator think of that record, this is not sus-
round sale of E15. THUNE strongly agrees and has alluded tainable. This is not good for the
These measures and others like to; and fuel cells running on clean hy- world. This makes America weaker,
them, combined with clean energy in- drogen produced in many cases by our not stronger, and this is a time for
vestment, would help lower energy refineries. All of these options are American strength.
prices now and in the future and help things that we should be pursuing— What did Joe Biden do when he came
put our Nation on a path to long-term, that we should be pursuing—and on to the Office of the President of the
full energy independence. It is the best which there is wide consensus. In doing United States just over a year ago?
decision President Biden could make so, we buffer our economy against the Well, among his first actions was to
for American families struggling with threat of Russia and the threat of cli- cancel the Keystone Pipeline, to halt a
high energy prices, and it is the best mate change. leasing program in Alaska, to issue a
decision he could make for the long- With that, when it is appropriate for halt on all new oil and gas leases, as
term security of our country. me to object, I am ready to object. well as drilling permits on Federal
I hope he will rethink his hostility to I am yielding the floor to our col- lands and Federal waters. By the way,
conventional energy production and league from Missouri, Senator HAWLEY. that accounts for about 25 percent of
spend the next year of his administra- And let me say to him, I don’t object U.S. energy production.
tion embracing the kind of ‘‘all of the lightly, and my hope is that we will— He directed Federal Agencies to get
we haven’t had a chance to talk about rid of all support for fossil fuels. He im-
above’’ energy strategy that this Na-
this before today, but I look forward to posed new regulations on oil and gas
tion so desperately needs.
I yield the floor. that conversation in the days ahead. and methane emissions. He hired new
I yield the floor.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The sen- The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Sen- SEC regulators to propose new climate
ior Senator from Delaware. ator from Missouri. regulations, and the list goes on and
Mr. CARPER. Mr. President, I re- on.
UNANIMOUS CONSENT REQUEST—S. 3741
serve the right to object. I will say to And these policies have had their ef-
Mr. HAWLEY. Mr. President, I rise
Senator THUNE while he is still on the fect. I will give the President credit
today in opposition to this administra-
floor, he knows I have great respect for where credit is due. His policies to
tion’s dangerous policy of American
him and his views on all kinds of throttle down our energy production
weakness and in support of the strong
issues. have been successful. He has succeeded
men and women of the United States’
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Senator, in making this Nation energy depend-
energy sector, who are ready to step
there is nothing to object to. ent.
forward to return this Nation to energy
Mr. CARPER. All right. Then I will In 2019, in 2020—for the first time,
independence, to burnish this Nation’s
just wing it. When I do have the oppor- certainly, in my lifetime—the United
strength, and to show the Russians
tunity to object, I want to explain why. States actually exported more energy
what the United States is capable of.
Having said that, Senator THUNE It will be lost on no one that we are than it imported. We were energy inde-
knows we look for opportunities to approximately a week into the largest pendent, and, even better, we were be-
work together. This is just one of those conventional military attack in Europe coming the energy supplier for the
instances where we don’t see entirely since 1945. Vladimir Putin’s brutal war world.
eye to eye. of choice against the Ukrainians con- Who is the energy supplier for the
Mr. President, right now, the Amer- tinues as we speak. It grows worse, world now? It is Vladimir Putin, and
ican people face two existential threats more devastating, and more brutal by that is because, at least in part, of the
to our way of life. One is the threat the hour, and it is time that, in the policies that this administration and
really to the world order posed not so midst of this war, we confronted a President Biden have deliberately
much by Russia but by Putin, the basic fact: that Russia isn’t so much a sought to pursue.
President of that country. The other is country as it is a gas station, and Look, the statistics don’t lie. Why is
the threat of climate change. Vladimir Putin’s gas station is open for Russia able to pursue this war of ag-
The legislation we are discussing business and pumping away, and this gression in Ukraine?
today assumes that we must ignore the administration—this administration— Well, at least in part because of this:
threats of climate change in order to has made the decision to make this They supply 20 percent of Europe’s
wean our Nation off of foreign oil from country more dependent on Russian oil—Russia alone, 20 percent of Eu-
countries like Russia, but this is a oil, to make the world more dependent rope’s oil—40 percent of its gas, 20 per-
false choice. on Russian oil, to embolden and em- cent of its coal. Russia supplies to the
Since the Arab oil embargo of 1973, power Vladimir Putin at a time when tune of 55 percent of Germany’s nat-
some have argued that if we simply the world can ill afford it, and it is ural gas alone—just Germany’s, 55 per-
drill more oil, we can be free of the time to change course. cent. Now, can we wonder why our Ger-
price whiplash caused by international And we can change course. We can man partners were slow to want to
disruptions in the global oil market. change our energy production policy. sanction Russia, to provide lethal aid
This wasn’t true during the Arab oil We can open up our energy sector to to Ukraine when they needed it before
embargo. It wasn’t true during the Ira- make us once again the dominant en- the invasion occurred? It is because
nian revolution. It wasn’t true during ergy producer in the world, to make us Russia has Europe in a stranglehold.
the 1990 Gulf war or, more recently, truly energy independent, to make us And that should be no excuse. I am
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during the Iraq war. And it is not true energy strong, to put Russia in its not saying that the Europeans deserve
today. Yet the legislation before us place, and to put the United States at an out—not at all. But I am saying
clings to a false understanding of oil the head of the energy sector world- that Vladimir Putin has used his
markets. We have drilled more, but the wide. power, his energy production, to try
oil prices that we pay are still im- But that is not where we stand right and project new power in Europe, and,
pacted by global events. now. Today, the United States is im- unfortunately, he is having success.
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March 3, 2022 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE S967
It ought to be our policy to reverse proceed to its immediate consider- can agree on that, and that is what we
his power projection, to shut down his ation. I further ask unanimous consent ought to be doing.
gas stations—his gas station of a coun- that the bill be considered read a third So having said that, the legislation
try—by returning this country to en- time and passed and that the motion to we are discussing assumes that we
ergy independence and energy domi- reconsider be considered made and laid must ignore the threats of climate
nance, and we can do it. upon the table. change in order to wean our Nation off
This is not a pie-in-the-sky pipe The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there of foreign oil from countries like Rus-
dream. We have been there before. We objection? sia. This is a false choice. This is a
were just energy independent, just a Mr. CARPER. Reserving the right to false choice.
few years ago. We know what to do. It object. Since the Arab oil embargo of 1973,
is actually pretty simple. All we have The PRESIDING OFFICER. The sen- some have argued that if we simply
to do is roll back the disastrous poli- ior Senator from Delaware. drill for more oil, we can be free of the
cies that this administration imposed Mr. CARPER. Mr. President, our col- price whiplash caused by international
just a year ago, roll those back and league from Missouri was not on the disruptions in the global oil market.
allow the American worker to get back floor when I spoke earlier. I want him This was not true during the Arab oil
to work on our pipelines, on our rigs, to have the opportunity to hear some embargo. This was not true during the
drilling and pumping natural gas and of the concerns that I and a lot of other Ukrainian revolution. It was not true
producing biofuels like the ones that people in this Chamber and this coun- during the 1990 Gulf war or, more re-
we produce, the kind that we produce try have with respect to the request cently, during the Iraq war, and it is
in my State. Put American energy that he is making. not true today.
back to work. It is actually pretty sim- So I reserve the right to object, and Yet the legislation before us today
ple. let me just take a minute or two to clings to false understanding of oil
Sometimes, Ronald Reagan once again state why that is. markets. We have drilled more, but the
said, there actually are simple solu- Today, the American people face two oil prices we pay are still impacted by
tions, not easy ones but simple ones. existential threats to our way of life. global events.
This one is simple, it is direct, and it is No. 1 is the threat to the world order Instead, we need policies that help
time that we took it. posed not by the Russian people but by our economy smoothly transition off of
And that is why I have introduced Vladimir Putin, their leader. And the oil, providing good-paying jobs for a lot
legislation, along with Senator GRASS- other is the threat of climate change to of Americans, while at the same time
LEY and Senator HAGERTY and Senator us. giving consumers more choices in the
TUBERVILLE, that would do just this. It We just received from the National way that we fuel our vehicles—our
would reverse the disastrous energy Oceanographic and Atmospheric Ad- trucks, our cars, our vans.
policies of this administration, the ministration an update 2 weeks ago We need to give consumers real fuel
policies that have emboldened and en- about what it is going to look like in choices that are domestically pro-
abled and empowered Vladimir Putin this country in the years to come. duced, better for the climate, and that
and the Russian military, and return We have already seen the sea level are not tied to the global oil market.
this country to energy strength, return rise roughly a foot in the last several The choices could include electricity
this country to energy dominance. decades, and what we are going to see from nuclear energy, something the
I can’t put it any better than this: If in the years to come is more of the Presiding Officer and I and others
you will give—if the President of the same, only faster. agree on. The choices could include the
United States would give—the Amer- If you add up the GDP of every coast- biofuels made by our farmers, some-
ican worker a chance—give the folks al county in this country—from the thing that Senator THUNE was speak-
who man those pipelines, give the folks east coast, the gulf coast, the west ing about earlier. The choices could in-
who work the oil rigs—give them a coast, the Great Lakes—it adds up to a clude fuel cells running on clean hydro-
chance to show what they can do, and GDP that would be making the third gen produced by our refineries. All
I will tell you what they will show you: largest country in the world. And what these options are things we should be
They will show you that they are the we are going to see is a great assault— pursuing. As it turns out, if we do—and
best in the world. They will show you a continued assault—on those coastal there is a lot of bipartisan support for
that they are the strongest in the counties, whether it is New Jersey or doing what I have just outlined—we
world. They will show you that this whether it is Delaware, whether it is will actually address this climate crisis
country is the strongest in the world, Louisiana, California—whatever. that we face on this planet, and we will
and they will put the Russian energy In Louisiana, they lose to the sea produce one heck of a lot of jobs for
sector to shame. every 100 minutes a piece of land the people throughout this Nation. In
And, by the way, Joe Biden’s policy size of a football field. The Presiding doing so, we buffer our economy
was to green-light the Russian pipe- Officer spent some time on a football against the threat of Russia and the
line, Putin’s pipeline, Nord Stream 2. field. And every 100 minutes—think very real threat of climate change.
He lifted sanctions on it when he came about that—the size of land in Lou- And with that, reluctantly, I must
to office; imposed limits on our own en- isiana, the size of a football field goes object to the gentleman’s unanimous
ergy production but lifted them on the back to the sea. consent request.
Russians. Our State of Delaware is the lowest The PRESIDING OFFICER. The ob-
Here is a suggestion: Shut down lying State in the country. The seas jection is heard.
Putin’s pipelines. Shut down Putin’s around us are rising. My State is sink- The Senator from Missouri.
energy sector. Open ours up. Do just ing. We have seen, gosh, five storms on Mr. HAWLEY. Mr. President, I want
the opposite of what President Biden the west coast bigger than my State. to thank the Senator from Delaware
did a year ago. Shut down the Russian We have seen winds—hurricane-force for his remarks, which I appreciate. It
energy production, open up American winds—in Iowa destroying like half the is a privilege to serve with him, as we
energy protection, and show the world crops. We have seen temperatures—90- do, on the Homeland Security Com-
what the American people can do. degree temperatures—in the Arctic mittee, and work with him as we do—
And that is what the bill that I have Circle, the hottest summers on record as I have—and I look forward to work-
introduced, along with my cosponsors, year after year after year. Something ing together, hopefully on this issue,
who I am proud to have with me—that is happening here. and others in the future.
is what it would do. It is very simple, And with apologies to Stephen Stills, We do disagree on this issue. We have
ctelli on DSK11ZRN23PROD with SENATE
Mr. President, and I would suggest to it is exactly clear. And what the prob- an honest and, I think, principled dis-
you that the time is of the essence. lem is—it is way too much carbon in agreement. It is one that we ought to
I ask unanimous consent that the our air, and it is increasing. We need to talk about. I am glad we are talking
Committee on Energy and Natural Re- address that. We need to address that about it here today, and I suspect it is
sources be discharged from further con- in ways that will actually create jobs, one, ultimately, that the American
sideration of S. 3714 and the Senate a lot of good-paying jobs. I think we people are going to have to weigh in on
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S968 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE March 3, 2022
because the differences are pretty sig- I yield the floor. who are frustrated that they can’t have
nificant. And that is fine. That is de- The PRESIDING OFFICER. The sen- in-person meetings.
mocracy. ior Senator from Iowa. We all know that backlogs persist
But I just want to highlight two CORONAVIRUS across the Federal Government and
things where I think we have a prin- Mr. GRASSLEY. Mr. President, 2 show no signs of abating. The National
cipled disagreement. The first is the years ago this month, things started Personnel Records Center, responsible
idea that, if we produce more energy in shutting down due to COVID. We shut for providing service records to vet-
this country, it won’t have any effect down the American economy; basi- erans seeking their benefits, has not
on prices, energy prices, or make us en- cally, 22 million people, all of a sudden, been fully staffed since March of 2020.
ergy independent. were unemployed. I think we learned a They have a backlog of records. Those
I would just ask the American peo- lot in the last 2 years, and if we have requests are so massive that it would
ple, I mean: Does gas cost more today another pandemic, I don’t think we take years to correct. For 2 years now,
than it did before Joe Biden became would do it that way again. I think we the Agency has been processing emer-
President? Yes, it does. Are you paying have learned a lot from mistakes, and gency requests only while the other re-
more for groceries? Are you paying a lot of bad mistakes resulted from quests just pile up. This Agency needs
more, if you are a farmer, for fertilizer? that decision. employees in the office to function.
Are you paying more for every input So, in March 2020, employees were They are currently staffed at just 25
that is associated with energy today furloughed or sent home to work from percent capacity. They have announced
than before Joe Biden was President? home; schools were closed; events were that they will not return to full oper-
Unfortunately, yes, you are. canceled. Everyone was told to stay ational status until ‘‘the public health
Inflation is out of control in this home. emergency has ended.’’
country. Inflation associated with the Now, 2 years later, a lot has changed Now, who knows when that will hap-
fuel that Americans use to fill up their in the fight against COVID. Tests and pen?
trucks and their vans and that they use treatments have been developed. Any- I guess veterans waiting to finish
to heat their homes is out of control, one who wants a vaccine can get one. their application for benefits will just
and there is a reason for that. This is High-quality masks are available free have to wait as well.
the reason for that. We are not pro- for anyone who chooses to wear a Now, we know the abysmal record of
ducing energy in this country like we mask. Those masks protect the one the IRS. It only answered 9 percent of
were. We were energy independent in wearing it, regardless of the choices of its calls, and those are called customer
2019 and 2020. It is not as if it can’t be others around them, whether they support calls. They are already warn-
done. It has been done. Prices were make a choice to wear a mask or not. ing that this tax filing season is going
lower. It is basic supply and demand. Restaurants, theaters, and sports to be a mess for those filing, and there
But there is also a national security venues are filling back up again. De- is still a backlog of unprocessed re-
aspect to this. Why would we want to mand for air travel is above turns from last year. Yet thousands of
be dependent on a totalitarian state IRS employees remain out of the of-
prepandemic levels.
that is invading its neighbors and is Yet our Federal Government remains fice.
seeking to establish energy control of frozen in time, operating as if it were Those trying to become U.S. citizens
Europe and beyond? still the spring of 2020. Federal Agen- have been stuck in limbo for years.
Why wouldn’t we seek to thwart it?
cies remain shuttered to the taxpayers Records that the USCIS needs to proc-
And why would we ask the American
who fund it. Expensive office buildings ess their applications are locked in the
people to pay more, day in and day out,
in downtown DC are sitting deserted. Federal records centers which are only
to heat their homes, for fuel for their
Fifty percent of the executive branch open 25 percent of capacity.
cars? Why would we put them through
workforce is still working remotely, Even a few Agencies that have an-
that? Why would we ask them to do
and most have no plans to return to nounced a plan to return to in-person
that?
I just submit to you that there is a the office. work are not acting with any sense of
real tradeoff here, and the administra- Some Agencies, such as the Veterans’ urgency. The Social Security Adminis-
tion has chosen the wrong side of the Administration, had previously an- tration announced the reopening of
tradeoff. Put the American energy sec- nounced efforts to return to in-person field offices in April. So I guess they
tor back to work. work. Those plans have been indefi- figure those who have already been
One other comment. I know that the nitely postponed. The U.S. Capitol waiting for 2 years can wait another 2
Special Presidential Envoy for Cli- Building, where we are right now, is months.
mate, former Senator Kerry, has ex- closed to the public, despite nearly My staff who help Iowans with their
pressed similar concerns about climate every State capitol building in the casework told me that the average
change and has said recently that he country finding a way to reopen. number of days to get assistance from
fears that the crisis in Ukraine will Federal employees are here, as we all a Federal Agency has doubled now to
distract from the urgency of climate know, to serve the taxpayers. Agencies 335 days. It takes almost a year to get
change. like the Veterans’ Administration, the an issue with a Federal Agency re-
Well, I submit to you that the crisis Internal Revenue Service, and Social solved. This is completely unaccept-
in Ukraine—the existential threat to Security Administration that are re- able.
that proud and sovereign nation which sponsible for processing benefits and In the spring of 2020, it seemed as if
is now in danger of being extinguished, tax refunds need to be fully oper- there was no choice. Caution at that
the threat to stability in Europe that ational. It is pretty plain and simple. time was warranted. But I might re-
Russia now exerts, and the threat that The U.S. Department of Agriculture mind the heads of Federal Agencies
China will exert to the world—yes, in- Farm Service offices, located in every that even at that time, millions of
deed, that may distract from climate Iowa county and most counties in most Americans did not work from home. We
change, but that is just reality. It is States, are responsible for signing up saw it on television all the time, and it
time we face the most pressing secu- farmers for the Conservation Reserve is still a problem in a lot of places—not
rity threats that we have. And putting Program and for crop insurance. Right enough nurses, doctors. But regardless,
Americans back to work and lowering now, those county offices are the busi- they didn’t work from home. Nurses,
their gas prices and their fuel prices, est as farmers prepare for the upcom- doctors, and first responders still went
making American families safer and ing crop year. These county offices still to work in person. Employees at gro-
more secure and making our enemies require employees to work from home. cery stores, delivery drivers, and ware-
ctelli on DSK11ZRN23PROD with SENATE
less secure, that is a good policy, and it The U.S. Department of Agriculture house workers still showed up to work
is one that I hope we can have. employees have to meet with farmers in person at the height of this pan-
So, again, I thank my colleague and to go over detailed maps of their land, demic, when nobody really knew what
my friend, the Senator from Delaware, making it nearly impossible even with was all involved. For millions of Amer-
and I suspect it won’t be the last time video calls. I have received letters from icans, working from home was never an
we talk about this. farmers and USDA employees alike option. Their jobs were essential and
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March 3, 2022 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE S969
they continued to work to keep our so- in the United States of America, in In his State of the Union Address,
ciety and economy functioning. Washington, DC, on a beautiful spring- President Biden urged Congress to ap-
While some Federal employees may like day. But I have to reflect for a mo- prove billions of dollars in emergency
be able to do their job effectively from ment on what life must be like at this military and humanitarian assistance
home, the persistent lack of respon- very moment in Kyiv, in Ukraine, and for Ukraine. Sign me up. I will vote for
siveness from Federal Agencies make what it must be like in Lviv; two cities that in a second, and I hope it comes
it clear that not all can work from in Ukraine that I visited where bombs soon. We need to agree on an aid pack-
home. are raining down on innocent people— age without delay and get it to the
It is certainly not acceptable to tell children, women, and men who are los- President as quickly as possible, not
taxpayers that they must wait for serv- ing their lives because Vladimir Putin just for the humanitarian purpose but
ices that they need because those in believes that he can restore the Soviet for the purpose of showing American
charge are too skittish to make a re- Union to its borders. unity with the resistance in Ukraine.
turn-to-work plan. It is past time for We have all seen the video of the Ukrainian ordinary citizens are
Agencies and their heads to set a date Ukrainian grandmother, armed with dying today because of Vladimir Putin
for employees to return to serving the nothing more than sunflower seeds and and the bombs and missiles he is
people in person. courage, confronting Russian soldiers. launching. As in every war, innocent
That is why I was very glad to join We have seen ordinary Ukrainian Ukrainians will soon be facing greater
Senator WICKER in an introduction of a men and women and teenagers taking suffering, greater hunger—even starva-
bill that he calls, by the acronym, the up arms, making Molotov cocktails, tion. In the year 2022, is it imaginable
RETURN Act, which would require building barricades, taking down high- that this is happening in Europe? We
Agencies to share their plans to bring way and road signs to confuse the in- must rally the world to support those
back the workforce within 30 days. I vading Russians—even laying down still in the Ukraine, assist our allies in
would urge my colleagues to support their lives to stop Russian tanks and neighboring nations who are housing
this bill and get the government back and feeding neighboring Ukrainians
convoys.
to work. In the back of my mind, I am sure I who have fled their homeland. They es-
I also urge President Biden—and am thinking what many Americans are timate 800,000 to a million Ukrainians
when I bring up the name ‘‘President thinking: Could I do the same thing? have left the country to find safety
Biden,’’ don’t forget that some of this nearby.
Could I bring together the courage at
Once again, let me thank the people
stuff started under the Trump adminis- this moment to stand up and fight if
of Poland. They have been opening
tration and continues today, so this is my home is at stake, if my family is at their doors to the people of Ukraine for
not just a Democratic problem when I stake, if my country is at stake? many years, and now, they are being
say President Biden. But I also urge The Ukrainians are answering that
called on in an extraordinary way to
President Biden, now in charge, to fol- message every minute of every day.
harbor these refugees and to take care
low the example of Iowa’s Governor Their courage and unity in the face of
of them at this moment of need. They
Reynolds and show leadership on this this Russian barbarity is inspiring the are fleeing Putin’s war, and their num-
matter. Iowa schools have been fully world. bers are growing dramatically. Some
open in Iowa for more than a year. For months, President Biden, Sec-
have suggested that a humanitarian
Governor Reynolds has ended the retary of State Tony Blinken, and oth-
airlift is a possibility. I don’t want to
State’s public health disaster emer- ers in the Biden administration have
rule that out. Let’s explore that and
gency proclamation. This doesn’t mean worked behind the scenes to revitalize see whether that is the best way to pro-
ignoring the spread of COVID–19 going the NATO alliance. That critical alli- vide relief to those still in Ukraine fac-
forward. Of course, there should be ac- ance emerged after the last great land ing Putin’s attack.
commodation for those at high risk, war in Europe in 1945 from the allies President Biden also promised to
but there is absolutely no justification who came out of it and said: Never form a high-level task force to enforce
for maintaining a state of emergency again. We will stand together to stop U.S. sanctions against Putin, sanctions
as if it were still March of 2020. any invader against the NATO coali- against Russia’s political elites, and
Taxpayers have a right to have their tion, the NATO alliance. sanctions against the corrupt
government be responsive. Americans The Biden administration has worked oligarchs. That always brings a cheer
are back to work. It is time for the behind the scenes to remind this alli- here in America because people think
Federal Government to catch up. ance that there comes a moment when that those who have been engaged in a
I yield the floor. you have to bring to this alliance the kleptocracy in the name of personal
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The courage and direction to stand for the greed should be held accountable. The
Democratic whip. kind of democracy which we are all thought that they are shopping in New
STATE OF THE UNION ADDRESS committed to. York City or buying luxury condos and
Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, on Tues- Two years ago, we had a President apartments in London or are harboring
day evening, President Biden delivered who took Putin’s word over the assess- their yachts in any country is dis-
his first State of the Union Message to ment of America’s own intelligence gusting.
Congress and to the American people. Agencies and said he threatened to pull They need to pay a price. We
His remarks were timely, strong, and the United States participation out of shouldn’t just freeze their assets; we
statesmanlike. NATO. Today, we have a President who ought to seize their assets and hold
He touched on many topics. I think actually shared U.S. intelligence with them to rebuild Ukraine amid the dev-
his message really boiled down to two our allies to show Putin for the liar astation that the Russians are causing.
profound questions: How do we protect that he was from the very start. Putin wants to be a czar. He and his
democracy in other nations, particu- NATO is more unified today—thank cronies have become a pariah.
larly in Ukraine, which is now entering you, Vladimir Putin, for that—than it We will support Ukraine, but we also
the second week of a horrific and has ever been since the Cold War or the have work to do to strengthen our own
unprovoked invasion by Russian forces; end of World War II. In fact, nations democracy. We also have to remember
and then he asked, how can we protect that are not formally part of NATO— that the bordering nations, the Baltic
and preserve democracy here in Amer- Sweden and Finland, for example—have States of Lithuania, Latvia, and Esto-
ica? stepped up, in concert with the NATO nia, are especially vulnerable to Rus-
Dictators like Vladimir Putin and Xi alliance, to stand our ground and pro- sian aggression. They, as members of
Jinping want the world to believe that test what is happening in Ukraine and the NATO alliance, know that they
ctelli on DSK11ZRN23PROD with SENATE
democracy is nothing more than chaos to protect Europe—even Switzerland. have friends at their back, but we have
and gridlock. The people of Ukraine are Switzerland, which is famously neutral got to reinforce that to the people of
showing the world just how wrong in all major conflicts, has come out of those small countries who worry about
these despots are. its neutrality and made it clear that their very survival.
I speak to you today from the com- they, too, stand against the Putin in- Let’s take a look at home. As the
fort and safety of the Senate Chamber vasion. President said, we have finally moved
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S970 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE March 3, 2022
to a safer direction with the pandemic. say all roads lead to Chicago. At the dustry in America, and he eventually
What a relief it was to go to the State turn of the 20th century, workers from rose to be president of the largest
of the Union Address and not wear a all walks of life and from every corner steelworkers union in America, Local
mask. Following doctors’ orders, I of the globe joined together in support 1010, in East Chicago, IN. Tom has been
might add, we listened to the medical of a simple but profound belief: An in- helping lead the charge for justice for
experts who told us it is safe now not jury to one is an injury to all. all since he was in middle school—mid-
to be wearing a mask unless you are in Few leaders have embodied that phi- dle school—when he and his siblings
a particular category of people. So losophy of solidarity and mutuality were the only White kids in class to
most of us enjoyed one of the first pub- more than Tom Balanoff, president of protest racial segregation in American
lic gatherings of a political nature the Service Employees International schools.
where we were without masks and re- Union—SEIU—Local 1 in Chicago and By the time Tom was ready to follow
lieved to be so. We need to get back to the union’s State council. If you are a in his family’s tradition of union activ-
our normal routines. We need to get worker in Illinois or a worker any- ism, America’s economy was going
our kids back in school—all of them— where in America, there is a good through a dramatic shift. Factories
as quickly as possible. chance you know Tom. He has devoted were shuttering and good-paying union
We added 6 million new jobs last his life not only to building a strong jobs disappearing, shipped overseas. As
year, an alltime record. Things are labor movement but a more inclusive more and more Americans left the fac-
good and positive, but inflation still is one. tories and found new opportunities in
haunting this Nation. Wages are up; in- Now, he is retiring from his post as airports, hospitals, nursing homes, of-
flation is up. But it is not just our Na- president of Local 1. Though his leader- fices, and coffee shops, Tom discovered
tion. Inflation is a global problem. ship will be missed, he leaves behind a his life’s mission: defending the rights
COVID–19 constricted the economy of formidable legacy. of the service workers who make our
the world. We are now emerging from He helped build a global labor move- economy tick. To complement the
it with new jobs, new businesses, new ment, led by essential workers. I am commitment to economic and labor
appetites, and new consumption. It is talking about janitors, security offi- justice that runs in the Balanoff fam-
all good. But the cost of it is inflation. cers, airport staff, and nursing home ily’s veins, Tom earned a master’s de-
I trust that we can bring this under and home healthcare workers who are gree in labor and industrial relations
control soon. Inflation is real. It is eat- reclaiming their power in the work- from the University of Illinois.
ing away at families’ wages and sav- place. For decades, whenever and wherever
ings and their faith in the future. When As president of Local 1, Tom Balanoff his skills were needed to protect the
people work hard and can’t get ahead, transformed the chapter into one of the rights of workers, you could count on
that is not just an economic problem; most influential forces in the Amer- Tom Balanoff to be there. He worked
that can be a threat to our democratic ican labor movement, and every step of for the International Association of
spirit because it can open the door for the way, he held true to the chapter’s Firefighters here in Washington, for
anti-democratic demagogues. progressive roots. Formed in Chicago the Allied Industrial Workers in Chi-
In his State of the Union Address, in 1921, Local 1 was the first racially cago, and the Cement, Lime and Gyp-
President Biden laid out a plan to help integrated union in America, bringing sum Workers in Kansas City before
American families afford big-ticket together immigrant janitors from then-SEIU president, John Sweeney,
items that are essential; restore the across the globe who were fighting for spotted Tom’s exception abilities and
enhanced child tax credit; help parents better working conditions. brought him to work for SEIU in Wash-
raise their kids and themselves out of From that moment on, SEIU has ington, DC.
poverty; help families with quality af- been synonymous with merging the Tom would go on to serve as trustee
fordable daycare, childcare; expand fight for workers’ rights with the fight of John Sweeney’s old SEIU local,
family and medical leave so workers for social equality, and Tom has car- Local 32BJ, in New York City. After a
don’t have to choose between caring for ried that legacy to new heights. He has successful tenure there, he returned to
an ailing member of their family or a been a steadfast champion of racial Chicago, first as SEIU Local 46 trustee
terminally ill parent and keeping their equality, gender equality, and pro- and eventually as president of both
jobs; make healthcare more affordable tecting the rights of immigrant work- SEIU Local 1 and president of the Illi-
and accessible; expand veterans’ health ers, and he has assembled the most di- nois State Council.
benefits to cover more cancers and verse leadership team in SEIU’s his- Tom always has seized opportunities
other service-related health conditions; tory. to uplift disempowered workers. In
and make prescription drugs more af- Importantly, Tom’s commitment to 2005, he traveled down to Houston to
fordable by letting Medicare negotiate leading a socially conscious labor help unionize janitors who were being
the price for medication. movement is steeped in a proud family paid as little as $20 a day. In the heart
Just one simple thing seems to be so tradition. It began when Tom’s grand- of one of the most anti-union States in
popular across this country, cap the father, James Balanoff, immigrated to the country, Tom secured a contract
monthly cost of insulin at $35—$35. America from Bulgaria and found work for more than 5,000 janitors that dou-
There are some 34 million people who in a live chicken shop on Commercial bled their pay.
are suffering from diabetes in this Avenue in Chicago. Since then, each Never content to settle, Tom kept
country, and of course their families generation of the ‘‘Battling Balanoffs’’ the victories coming. Just a few
are pulling for them every day. Think has been grounded in a commitment to months later, he helped thousands of
of all of the lives that could be im- defending the rights of working people janitors in Cincinnati, Columbus, and
proved if insulin were affordable. If a in and outside of the workplace. Indianapolis win a similar contract. It
fourth or half of those who are diabetic The Balanoff family notes with pride was a testament to his lifelong belief
have to now ration their insulin and that both Tom’s father and grandfather that, when working people of all identi-
risk their health, that is just wrong in attended the 1937 Memorial Day Mas- ties come together, they win.
a great nation. We should have insulin sacre, where police opened fire on un- In the world of politics, my friend
at affordable prices, and $35 a month is armed protesters at the gate of the Re- Tom has been a champion of the down-
that. It is an outrage that the price of public Steel Company in South Chi- trodden. Several years ago, he helped
insulin has been raised countless times cago, killing 10 men and injuring scores launch the progressive caucus in the
to more than $300 a vial. of others. If the police had hoped to Chicago City Council, despite facing
As we support the Ukrainian people fracture union solidarity, the massacre significant political headwinds. Today,
ctelli on DSK11ZRN23PROD with SENATE
and their immense courage, I hope we had the exact opposite effect on the more than a third of the city council
will also find the courage to protect Balanoff family and many others. members belong to that caucus.
America’s future. The Balanoff family has stood by Perhaps the most consequential deci-
TRIBUTE TO TOM BALANOFF workers. Tom’s father, James Jr., orga- sion Tom ever made as a political
Mr. President, when it comes to the nized steelworkers at a time when changemaker was in the year 2003,
American labor movement, I selfishly manufacturing was the dominant in- when he became an early endorser of a
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March 3, 2022 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE S971
community organizer running for the omy that rewards hard work, not just sion and irresponsible, unprovoked es-
U.S. Senate by the name of Barack wealth. calation. Ukraine meanwhile is fight-
Obama. That endorsement helped pave Loretta and I wish him a long, joyous ing for freedom.
the way for former President Obama’s retirement with his wife Hetty and Vladimir Putin believes himself to be
stratospheric rise in the world of poli- their two kids. some sort of neoimperialist, actively
tics. Tom, I am looking forward to seeing attacking neighboring democracies in
And a few years later, Tom became you some day soon in Highland Park— an attempt to restore the Russian Em-
the first labor leader in America to en- watermelon juice on me. pire.
dorse Barack Obama’s campaign for I yield the floor. Well, today, I want to speak to all
President. At the time, Tom and I were The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. the Ukrainians who found a home in Il-
part of the same lonely club. I was the SCHATZ). The Senator from Illinois. linois and all of them who are strewn
first U.S. Senator to endorse President Ms. DUCKWORTH. Mr. President, I across Europe who have been forced to
Obama’s candidacy in 2007, and for join the senior Senator from Illinois’ flee their nation in the wake of this vi-
more than a year, I was the only Sen- affection for Tom Balanoff. He truly is olence and to all who are still in
ator to do so. But Tom and I knew that an icon for labor, not just in Illinois Ukraine praying that they will be able
Barack Obama was the leader this but across the country. to wake up again tomorrow. Let me
country needed. UKRAINE say this clearly: We are with you. The
We had seen firsthand the amazing Mr. President, I rise today to speak free world has not been fooled by Vladi-
work he had done in Chicago, helping on Ukraine. mir Putin’s schemes and lies. We know
displaced workers rebuild their lives With Russian troops firing outside, that he is no hero for Russians or any-
and partnering with churches to launch one Ukrainian woman was rushed out- one else. He is a violent mobster and a
job training. We knew that President side and down out of the hospital by bully, an egomaniac who uses his own
Obama had what it took to unite our hospital staff. She was reportedly power to abuse those with less power, a
country. And without Tom’s support, forced to give birth in a makeshift ICU tyrant who uses the levers in his con-
his candidacy may never have gotten in the hospital’s basement with the trol to level those who are in his way,
off the ground. sound of shelling surrounding her and someone who uses weapons of war to
Tom has said one of the leaders who with more than 100,000 Russian troops murder children from afar, who turns
inspired him most during his career closing in on the area. toddlers into orphans from hundreds of
was Nelson Mandela. A few years after Elsewhere in Eastern Ukraine, moth- miles away from the safety of his hal-
the end of apartheid, Nelson Mandela ers and their newborns are being hur- lowed halls and heavily fortified man-
wrote: ‘‘To be free is not merely to cast ried from neonatal intensive care units sions.
to makeshift bomb shelters, with the And yet, even with less power and
off one’s chains, but to live in a way
blankets swaddling their babies the less money, despite being outnumbered
that respects and enhances the freedom
and outgunned, Ukraine has shown an
of others.’’ only armor they have protecting them
Tom has dedicated his life to enhanc- incredible will to fight, putting up the
from the explosions and missiles criss-
ing the freedom of others. He has stood fiercest of resistance against Putin and
crossing the skies above them.
And all across Ukraine, little boys all that he stands for. That is because
for immigrant workers so that they
cowardice will always falter in the face
could find a voice in the workplace. He and girls are being born in subway car
of courage.
has stood in solidarity with Black shelters, where some of the first words
Ukrainians are redefining that word
workers protesting against racial in- they hear are the cries of older chil- ‘‘courage’’ every day that they repel
justice. And he has worked to protect dren asking their own parents: Putin’s unprovoked aggression. That is
our communities and our children by ‘‘Mommy, will we die here?’’ because those fighting for reasons of
demanding climate justice as well. This is the everyday, every-moment
ego and greed will always stumble in
In one of his final acts as president of waking nightmare for those who call the face of those fighting so that their
Local 1, Tom helped make history Ukraine home right now. This is the children can climb out of bomb shel-
again. He handed the reins of leader- new normal for new moms struggling ters, so that their third graders can go
ship of that storied local to the first to learn how to breastfeed their back to school, so that their families
Black president of the SEIU’s State newborns; the new reality for new par- don’t need to live every hour, breathe
council. Greg Kelley is a proven cham- ents who, just last week, were trying to every breath with the kind of fear that
pion of working people in Illinois and figure out how to afford both diapers Putin thrives on.
across the country. And I might add and next month’s rent, yet who are And while I wish more than anything
that when I sat down for breakfast to now just desperate to get their 1-week- that Putin had never started this war
congratulate Greg on this new oppor- old to the 2-week-old mark. and that those tanks had never rolled
tunity, he reminded me that he had Why is this their new reality? For through their nation’s streets, now the
once been an intern in my Senate of- what? For a brutal and senseless war, a world will know the strength that typi-
fice—something I am very proud of. war as unjust as it is unjustifiable, as fies the Ukrainian people. They will
Tom Balanoff is leaving his post at a needless as it was unprovoked; a war know that Kyiv is synonymous with
promising moment for the working whose violence has already torn fami- courage. They will know that though
people of America. Since the beginning lies apart, yet whose cruelty has failed buildings in Odessa may crumble, the
of the pandemic, service workers have to fracture the unity of Ukraine itself. heart of the Ukrainian people will
come together to demand safer work- Three decades ago, with the collapse never waiver.
ing conditions, higher wages, and bet- of the Soviet Union, the United States I am in awe of those men, women,
ter benefits. and Russia asked Ukraine to give up and children. I am in awe of the troops
For instance, in December, workers their nuclear weapons in exchange for doing everything in their power to pro-
in Starbucks in Buffalo, NY, voted to security guarantees under the Buda- tect them. And I am honored that the
unionize. It will be the company’s first- pest Memorandum. Ukraine did so vol- Illinois National Guard helped train
ever union. And those workers will untarily, handing them over instead of some of those Ukrainian soldiers, with
soon be represented by Starbucks keeping them for their own defense be- our Guard members advising Ukrainian
Workers United, an affiliate of SEIU. cause the Ukrainians so desperately forces just last year on how to improve
This moment is a culmination of Tom’s sought peace and a democratic rule- their defense capabilities.
decades of service to the labor move- based order. They are our brothers and sisters in
ment. Now, Russia has unilaterally broken arms; and their bravery, their resil-
ctelli on DSK11ZRN23PROD with SENATE
I want to thank Tom Balanoff for ev- that agreement, shattering that peace, ience, and their determination over
erything he has achieved for working and Ukrainians are once more laying this past week has reminded the world
families in Chicago, throughout Amer- down their lives for those same demo- that, as a certain retired U.S. Army
ica, and literally around the world. He cratic principles. lieutenant colonel and son of Ukraine
has cultivated progressive political The contrast is stark. Vladimir Putin once said in this very Chamber: Right
power and helped build a fairer econ- is fighting for autocracy, using aggres- matters.
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S972 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE March 3, 2022
They have shown us once more that a attack its competition, Russia today is Unfortunately, the energy cards in
tyrant’s lies will never blot out the using the same tactic to boost its own Europe are currently stacked in Rus-
courage and the goodness of a people profits and enhance its power. sia’s favor. From day one, the Biden
determined to fight with and for one The Office of Director of National In- administration has taken hostile ac-
another. telligence released a report in 2017 out- tions toward American energy sup-
That is just one reason why I support lining some of Russia’s disinformation pliers and sent even more business to
President Biden’s request to dedicate campaign, on everything from U.S. Russia.
at least $6.4 billion in humanitarian elections to U.S. energy policy. Only hours after the President was
and military aid to help those under Of course, one of the Kremlin’s favor- sworn in on January 20, 2021, he can-
siege in Ukraine, and it is why I am ite tools is its intentional propaganda celed the permit for the Keystone XL
doing everything in my power to help outlet known as RT, formally known Pipeline and halted all new energy
keep Ukrainians in the United States as Russia Today. leasing and permitting on public lands
safe by granting them temporary pro- According to the report, RT ran anti- and waters. His administration effec-
tected status. fracking programming in the United tively discouraged investments in new
Look, this is no 21st-century Cold States that highlighted environmental production, and now the United States
War; it is Putin’s war. It is a coward’s and public health concerns. That is is producing less oil and less natural
war. Vladimir Putin is no savior. He right. The propaganda arm of the Rus- gas. Production is, in fact, down about
will bring no glory to the Russian peo- sian Federation, RT, was running anti- 1.2 million barrels a day in the United
ple. All he will bring them is travesty fracking programming in the United States, and that has to be made up
and economic ruin. He is no champion. States. And you might ask yourself: somewhere because the world con-
He is an embarrassment, and the his- For what purpose? tinues to consume energy. It needs en-
tory books will reflect as much. Well, the Director of National Intel-
ergy in order to survive and to thrive.
Twenty-eight years ago, when we ligence report in 2017 said: This is like-
Where does it get that energy when the
asked Ukraine to give up those nuclear ly reflective of the Russian Govern-
United States does not produce it?
weapons, they did so, choosing peace, ment’s concern about the impact of
Well, you guessed it—it gets it from
choosing to end the threat of bloodshed fracking, which is a device to release
Russia, and it gets it from OPEC, in-
and destruction, choosing democracy. natural gas from shale. The report said
cluding the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
So now, we must stand with them as this is likely reflective of the Russian Sadly, the buck doesn’t stop there. In
they so desperately seek peace once Government’s concern about the im- light of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine,
more. pact of fracking in U.S. natural gas the Biden administration hasn’t taken
They have chosen democracy time production on the global energy mar- any effective action against Putin’s en-
and again. Today and all the days that ket and the potential challenges to ergy weapon. Even though the adminis-
this terrible war wages on, it is time Gazprom’s profitability—Gazprom, of tration has imposed sanctions on Rus-
for this democracy to choose them. course, being the Russian Federation’s sian banks and oligarchs, the country’s
I yield the floor. energy company. lucrative oil and gas industry remains
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The sen- In short, all of this propaganda on
untouched. This is their primary finan-
ior Senator from Texas. Russia today and the opposition to
cial asset.
fracking that they were encouraging
ENERGY I remember our friend John McCain,
would be good for the sale of Russian
Mr. CORNYN. Mr. President, 15 years when he was still alive, used to joke
gas as opposed to natural gas produced
ago, an environmental group called the that Russia is a gas station
here in the United States.
Clean Sky Coalition launched an ad Russia can’t seem to dominate the masquerading as a country, making
campaign targeting coal. The ads fea- global energy market on its own, so it the obvious point in a humorous way.
tured faces covered in soot, with the Russia continues to use these oil
tries to take down the competition. It
headline: ‘‘Face it, Coal is Filthy.’’ sales and natural gas sales and the cap-
is not just a matter of dollars and
Of the many controversial ad cam- cents; it is a matter of geopolitical tive markets that it has in Europe and
paigns we have seen over the years, power. This isn’t a farfetched con- in other places around the world in
this doesn’t seem particularly note- spiracy theory that was crafted to order to finance its war against inno-
worthy, but these ads at the time combat the Green New Deal. As I said, cent Ukrainians. There is no question
sparked so much outrage that they it comes from an unclassified report but that the revenue from these ex-
were eventually pulled. from the Director of National Intel- ports—and we have seen the price of oil
You might wonder why. An environ- ligence Office 5 years ago—2017. since Putin invaded Ukraine again—
mental group attacking coal is hardly Knowledge of this practice likely pre- the price of a barrel of oil go up to $115
front-page news. Why was this ad cam- dates that report by a number of years. a barrel. And there is no question that
paign different? This wasn’t a matter Reporting indicates that even Hillary he is using the revenue derived from
of what was being said; it was a matter Clinton spoke about those malign ac- the sale of that $115 barrel oil to kill
of who was saying it and why. tivities in a 2014 speech. She warned innocent Ukrainians and to violate
It quickly came to life that the group about what she called ‘‘phony environ- their sovereignty and to commit war
behind the ad was only about 2 weeks mental groups’’ that were funded by crimes. We simply cannot continue to
old, and the entire ‘‘pro-environment’’ the Russians. supply Russia with the blood money it
effort was sponsored by a natural gas Russia is no stranger—in fact, they needs to carry out its nefarious ac-
company seeking market share over are expert at disinformation cam- tions.
coal. paigns, and it doesn’t abide by the I am proud to cosponsor legislation
As they say, politics makes for same moral and ethical codes as the that was introduced by our friend from
strange bedfellows—in this case, envi- rest of the world. Kansas, Senator MARSHALL, to ban the
ronmentalists and natural gas compa- The past several days have shone a purchase of Russian oil in the United
nies were both anti-coal, though, for light on how far Putin is willing to go States. We have the great fortune of
very different reasons. to increase his own power. I am not living in a resource-rich country, and
Knowing that the American people suggesting that all environmental there is no reason we should be import-
wouldn’t respond to the argument that groups are funded by the Russian Gov- ing Russian oil, now more than ever.
coal is bad because it means less busi- ernment—not in the slightest—but we The President said he does not want
ness for the gas companies, this par- need to be clear-eyed about Russia’s ef- to target Russian oil and gas because
ticular company found a deceptive and forts to shape U.S. policies and Euro- of the impact it will have on prices
ctelli on DSK11ZRN23PROD with SENATE
manipulative way to help shape public pean policies for their own benefit. We here at home. Well, we already know
opinion. need to be hyperaware of the ways de- that because of inflation—because of
Today, we are seeing a similar push cisions made in Washington could ben- shoveling money out of Washington,
but with much greater reach and far efit Moscow and empower Putin to the DC, out into the great American econ-
higher stakes. Just as one company detriment of our allies in NATO and in omy, inflation has already caused
used the guise of environmentalism to Europe. prices at the pump and prices in the
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March 3, 2022 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE S973
grocery stores to rise. Given the fact to be energy secure. Right now, Europe the Ukrainian people. We have a moral
that gas prices have already risen 40 is not energy secure; it is energy inse- moment here to cut off the money
percent since President Biden took of- cure because of the intentional acts of pipeline that is funding the missiles
fice, I understand his concerns, but Vladimir Putin to make Russia the and the tanks that are destroying the
that doesn’t mean Russia should get a sole source of energy needs for coun- homes of the Ukrainian people. And we
free pass. tries in Europe and the policies re- have a moral moment here to reject
Rather than identify ways to offset stricting the development of our Amer- the bad-faith arguments that are using
global demand for Russian energy, ican-made energy here in the United this horrifying invasion to push for
President Biden is inadvertently play- States. more drilling and money to fossil fuel
ing into Putin’s hand. He is not calling Just a few years ago, we were almost companies, more lands and waters lost
for any more American-made oil and there when it came to energy security. to the extraction of oil and gas, and
gas; he is calling for less. In 2019, the United States became a net more profit for Big Oil at the expense
Tuesday evening, President Biden total energy exporter for the first time of American pocketbooks as our con-
said he wants to double America’s since 1952—a net total energy exporter. sumers are tipped upside down at the
clean energy production, including The last time we did that, it was 1952, gasoline pumps all across our country,
sources like wind and solar. I want to and we maintained that status through shaking money out of those pockets
be clear, I support an ‘‘all of the the year 2020. But President Biden has, and sending it to Big Oil and sending it
above’’ energy policy. As I have said for reasons that are inscrutable to me, to Russia.
time and time again, Texas produces turned back the clock, taking us from During 2021, Russia supplanted Mex-
more energy from wind than any other an era of energy independence back to ico as the second largest exporter of
State in the country, and it is an im- the oil crisis of the 1970s. crude oil and petroleum in the United
portant part of our energy mix. For decades, leaders in our country States. On average, we bought more
Every day, though, Texas is also fought to reduce our reliance on for- than 600,000 barrels of oil from Russia
making serious strides in energy inno- eign oil in anticipation of a global cri- every single day of 2021. That is more
vation. This is the way to solve the sis exactly like the one we are facing than $17 billion in American money
problem; it is to innovate—not to regu- now. We can’t erase all of this progress going to Putin and his oil-soaked
late, not to tax, not to punish, but to we have made at the exact moment oligarchs.
innovate. We need to continue to find We need to shut that money pipeline
when we need that progress and that
ways to innovate cleaner sorts of en- to Putin off before it does any more
production the most.
ergy as we eventually transition, as we damage. That is why I announced my
Russia will always use energy as a
must at some point in the future— Severing Putin’s Immense Gains from
weapon to tear down and intimidate its
maybe decades from now—from petro- Oil Transfers, or the SPIGOT, Act this
adversaries. The United States, con-
leum-based products to some other week. This bill would conclusively lift
versely, must use it as a tool to lift up
source of energy. the veil on the Russian fossil fuel in-
our allies and improve global energy
I believe we need to continue to en- dustry’s corrupt dealings, while requir-
security.
courage innovation and diversification ing the United States to eliminate car-
I yield the floor.
of our energy sources, but the fact re- The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Sen- bon-polluting imports from Russia,
mains today that renewables are not moving the United States toward a fu-
ator from Massachusetts.
close to being able to supply the energy Mr. MARKEY. Mr. President, I rise ture that is no longer dependent upon
needs that our country demands. As it today to decry yet again Putin’s hor- Russian oil but dependent upon our
stands today, renewables—solar, own renewable resources.
rific actions against Ukraine and the
Global oil markets will adjust in the
wind—comprise less than 20 percent of Ukrainian people.
short term and long term to our import
our electricity generation. We know As we bear witness to this deadly war
ban on oil. In the short term, we can
the Sun doesn’t always shine and the and the consequences of this fossil fuel-
actually supplant any supply disrup-
wind doesn’t always blow, and when funded invasion, I stand here again to
tions with an additional release from
Mother Nature fails to deliver an ade- denounce our own addiction to fossil
the Strategic Petroleum Reserve. A 10-
quate supply of energy, we need some fuels, along with Big Oil’s relentless at- percent release of the Strategic Petro-
other source of that energy, which tempts to sabotage clean and renew- leum Reserve would backfill all of our
means American-produced natural gas able energy with the support of the Re- Russian imports for 100 days or, to put
and oil. publican Party. it another way, we have a Strategic Pe-
If the President continues to wage a We can see in the coverage on tele- troleum Reserve of 600 million barrels.
war on American oil and gas compa- vision that the corporate profiteering If we deploy 600,000 barrels a day, we
nies, we won’t be able to protect our- by Big Oil and the American Petroleum can do it for 1,000 days in a row in order
selves or our allies. Institute—the American Prevarication to make sure the Russians understand
One of the great things about the Institute—has once again played a part that we are dead serious about this.
shale gas revolution is our ability to in war and destruction. And all are en- Putin’s $630 billion central bank re-
ship energy overseas to our friends and abled by the GOP’s fealty to oil, gas, serve that he thinks is going to protect
allies around the world. Unfortunately, and the fallacy of American energy him and his economy—well, that chest
the infrastructure has not kept up with independence. It is a tale of Republican is filled with the spoils of oil and nat-
the demand, leaving our friends and al- hypocrisy, all funded by the fossil fuel ural gas. A lot of it is money from
lies dependent on Vladimir Putin and industry. It would be absurdly comic if American consumers. It is not just the
the Russian Federation for their only it weren’t so horribly tragic. sales to the United States or Europe
choice. We need to provide them more Oil profits are the engine of Russia’s but the interconnected dirty energy
choices, and that means produce more economy, and natural gas is the geo- markets that feed off this fuel-soaked
here in America of clean-burning nat- political weapon it wields to threaten firestorm.
ural gas and then exporting that LNG Europe’s energy security. Nearly 40 If we want to truly dial-up the pres-
to our friends and allies around the percent of Russia’s entire revenue is sure on Putin and his oligarchs, we
world so they aren’t subject to Putin’s derived from oil and gas exports. Rus- need to end our deadly addiction to
extortion and demands. sia’s tanks, armored vehicles, and ar- Russian fossil fuels and help our allies
Our top priority needs to be, when it tillery are funded by dirty fossil fuels to do the very same thing. If we want
comes to energy, to pursue independ- purchased by other countries, includ- to truly say no more to fossil-fueled
ence. If we are able to bolster renew- ing the United States of America. We war, we need to pursue the pathway to
ctelli on DSK11ZRN23PROD with SENATE
ables, invest in carbon capture tech- are part of the funding of Vladimir peace that is powered by domestic
nologies, and take other steps along Putin’s war of aggression against clean energy—international clean en-
the way to reduce emissions, that is a Ukraine. We import oil from Russia. ergy revolution led by the United
great goal for us to pursue. But our No. That oil goes to Putin and his cronies. States.
1 priority here, today, and now should We have a moral moment here to pro- But instead what I hear from Repub-
be for the United States and our allies vide all possible humanitarian aid to licans and on FOX News and from the
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S974 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE March 3, 2022
American Petroleum Institute is the The Big Oil-backed push to extract tute. It is about Big Oil and Big Gas
same classic refrain of: ‘‘Drill, baby, more and more from American lands getting a higher price on the inter-
drill.’’ Their insidious answer to war, and waters was never about helping national market than they get on the
to rising prices, to any crisis that they Americans at the pump. It was about domestic market. That is what it was
can use for their own purpose is more pumping up the profits of Big Oil by all about from the very beginning. We
drilling and more leases. getting a higher price out on the inter- have an opportunity here to stop, fi-
Well, where has the ‘‘American Pre- national marketplace for American oil, nally, Big Oil’s relentless quest for
varication Institute’’ argument gotten for American natural gas. That was profit, which is funding Putin’s war at
us so far? One, skyrocketing exports, their plan. the same time it undermines our com-
which hike up our prices to American I am sick of the hypocrisy. I am sick petitiveness with China.
consumers and feed into the global fos- of letting the American Petroleum In- More leases are not going to help our
sil fuel addiction; public lands and stitute’s prevarication triumph over allies in Europe. We are already send-
waters the size of Indiana that are the truth. I am sick of watching Amer- ing our oil to the highest bidder. Oil
locked down by unused fossil fuel icans deal with the climate crisis with and gas companies already have leases
leases, which companies squat upon to dirty air, with dirty water, with high the size of Indiana. Let me say that
pad their own asset base and prevent gas prices just to help the oil compa- again. The oil and gas industry has bid
renewable development; wars and na- nies make a buck by getting the high- for, over the last two decades, leases to
tional security threats, driven and paid est price they can on the international drill on the property owned by the
for by Big Oil’s craving for more prof- market exporting American oil. American people. And 53 percent of
its; climate chaos with more than $700 The Republicans’ push to use the cri- those leases have yet to be drilled
billion worth of damages caused by ex- sis in Ukraine to line Big Oil’s pockets upon. That is the truth. If they are se-
treme weather disasters in the United isn’t about addressing inflation at rious—which they are not—they should
States over the last 5 years alone—$700 home. It is about inflating fossil fuel start drilling. If their crocodile tears
billion worth of damage to us, to the profits for Big Oil and big gas. In 2021, are real, in fact, they should just start
United States, from climate in the last as gasoline prices increased by over 50 drilling.
5 years. percent, ExxonMobil, Chevron, Shell, But, of course, they are not going to
In 2015, Congress repealed the crude BP and Total Energies recorded their because they—by squatting on those
oil and gas export ban that had been in biggest profits that they had seen in 8 lands—keep the price of oil high. They
place for 40 years in our country so years. keep the price of natural gas high. And
that we would keep our oil here. It was In 2015, before the Republicans lifted Japan and South Korea and China right
repealed with unanimous support of the export ban—before the American now get more of our imports than any
the Republican Party, on the other side Petroleum Institute got the Congress other country. If oil companies really
of the aisle, and it allowed for the sale to vote to lift the ban on the export of wanted to help Europe get off Russian
of U.S. crude and natural gas on the American oil—China imported 191,000 gas, they could do that right now with
global markets. barrels of oil from the United States. the resources they have. Let me say
I warned at that time it would be a Now we send four times as much oil to that again. Oil companies could help
huge mistake for our country to take China as we did back in the beginning Europe get off Russian natural gas
that action. It was the worst of all of 2016 after the ban was lifted. To put right now with the resources they
worlds. It led to recordbreaking it another way, we now import from have, but that is not what they want.
amounts of U.S. oil going to foreign na- Russia 600,000 barrels of oil a day, and They want unfettered profit, more pub-
tions without benefiting U.S. con- we export to China 600,000 barrels of oil lic lands, and more power on the global
sumers. Pain at the pump was not a day. What is wrong with that pic- market. And that profit—that oil-
eased and neither was our dangerous ture? soaked power—has directly fueled
dependence on illicit foreign oil. And Our natural resources go to China, Putin’s war on Ukraine.
every time—every time—the Repub- which they then use to fabricate prod- So there is a different pathway, and
licans call for more leasing, for more ucts, which then they sell back to us we have to commit to destroying de-
pipelines, for deepening our addiction undermining our own industries. And mand for Putin’s dirty energy business
to fossil fuels, they cry crocodile tears. meanwhile, to make up for it, we im- model by powering our country with
They said we need to plunder our own port 600,000 barrels of oil from Russia clean, American-made renewable en-
lands and waters in order to lower and line the pockets of Putin, which al- ergy. And we can power our way to
prices for Americans, in order to en- lows him to buy the tanks, the planes, peace. An additional 16 million electric
sure national independence from for- the infantry to assault and destroy a vehicles on the road in the United
eign oil sources, and then they ex- democracy in Ukraine. States would replace all of the oil that
ported that oil overseas. That was This is a formula for failure of his- we import from Russia on a daily basis.
their plan all along. It wasn’t so secret. toric magnitude. And it was all so clear By passing the $555 billion invest-
It was obvious because that is how the in that debate in 2015 when the Repub- ment in clean energy and climate jus-
American Petroleum Institute—the licans led the effort to lift the ban on tice, we can build a ‘‘made in America’’
American Prevarication Institute— the export of our oil. It was oh-so clear clean energy economy that delivers
works. what was going to happen, which is real energy independence. We can
But that argument is now leakier why I led the fight here on the Senate unlock a safe, healthy future and
than an old oil tanker, and it has been floor to block the lifting of that ban. untether ourselves from Putin’s dirty
proven again and again. Every bill that But I don’t want to hear from the Re- profits. With tax credits and rebates in
came up approving the Keystone XL publicans with their crocodile tears wind and solar, offshore wind, trans-
Pipeline—drilling for oil off our coast, how much they care about importation mission, electric vehicles, heat pumps,
selling off our public lands to whatever of oil from Russia because the bottom and advanced domestic manufacturing,
bidder showed up—I just asked the line is, we now import 8.6 million bar- we can cut costs at home while cutting
same thing every single time. In 2011, rels of oil a day into the United States. off Putin’s money pipeline. These in-
in 2012, in 2015, every time, I asked Re- We now have a crisis on our hands that vestments would reduce our depend-
publicans if they would agree to ban we have to ultimately deal with. We ence on global oil markets and instead
any exports from these projects and export 8.6 million barrels of oil a day. power our country through localized
keep Americans from bearing the envi- We export out of our country 8.6 mil- clean energy.
ronmental and health burden from lion barrels of oil a day. Our Federal climate policies, our
ctelli on DSK11ZRN23PROD with SENATE
projects that provide no benefit to So I hear from Republicans, ‘‘Oh, we Federal energy policies are exactly
their own families, to their own States. need energy independence.’’ Well, what what we need in this moment—this na-
And every time, the Republicans are we doing exporting 8.6 million bar- tional security, moral, and economic
blocked or rejected my amendments— rels of oil a day? What is that all moment. We don’t need to power our
every time. That proved their argu- about? We know what it is all about. It Nation on Russian oil and sell off our
ments won’t hold water. is about the American Petroleum Insti- forest and seas for an unnecessary Big
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March 3, 2022 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE S975
Oil land grab when they already have down Vladimir Putin, stand with what the American people sent us here
an area the size of Indiana that they Ukraine, and end this conflict. They to do.
are not drilling on because that in- are not just feeling the impacts of the The fight for Ukraine doesn’t end
creases their profits right now. We invasion at the gas pump, the grocery today. I will continue to advocate for
don’t need to pay for Russia’s invasion store, and in their retirement ac- already procured equipment and capa-
of Ukraine through Russian imports counts; they feel it in their hearts. bilities that are programmed, budg-
while paying higher prices at the pump We are the greatest Nation on the eted, contracted, purchased, and sit-
to support profiteering and exports. face of the planet. We stand for free- ting in containers unused to go to
Let’s wake up and win the renewable dom. But our greatness and our stand- those who need it the most.
race to the future. Let’s reject fossil- ing are only as strong as our world. Let’s execute our oath today.
fueled greed for what that is—just The American people know it, and they I yield the floor.
greed. Let’s protect our allies by de- are looking for us to act. The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Sen-
stroying Putin’s business model and Unfortunately, the U.S. response to ator from Indiana.
delivering a future powered by domes- this point is at best incomplete. It is S.J. RES. 38
tic clean energy. That is the promise of tepid. It is halfhearted and impassive Mr. BRAUN. Mr. President, I rise
peace. That is the promise to the whole to the Russian bear that is looking to here today—we are going to be voting
world, to live on a safe planet. This is clamp down on the free world. This here later on. In a recent Monmouth
the promise we must make to the next President and his administration are poll in January, respondents were
generation of American young people allowing the Germans, the Canadians, asked if they agreed with this state-
and young people of the world, that we the Latvians, the Dutch, and the Swiss ment: ‘‘COVID is here to stay and we
are going to power a clean energy revo- to lead in arming Ukraine. just need to get on with our lives [and
lution of wind and solar and all-electric This body, my colleagues, I implore live with it].’’ Seventy percent said
vehicles and battery storage tech- you, we can do more, and we can do it they did agree with this, including half
nologies, and we are going to destroy better. We have seen the classified re- of all Democrats.
the business model of Russia and de- ports. We all understand, all 100 of us, We have been through 2 years where
stroy the business models of other that the Ukrainians are in dire need of we have been from here to there on it—
petrostates around the world with our aid right now—not tomorrow, not if an early believer, take it seriously.
American innovation. next week, now. We also know the vol- We didn’t know what it was going to
That is what the young people of our ume of not just combat capability but have in store for us, but I think we do
country and the world should expect logistics supplies, secure communica- now.
from this generation and this Senate in tions equipment, and medical kits that So often you hear: Listen to the data;
2022 on the floor of the United States we have purchased and staged all look at the science. Too often, it has
Senate. That is the debate which we around the world to secure our part- kind of been the political science of it.
should have this year on behalf of a ners. Vaccinations and natural immunity
safer, more peaceful, more healthy, and My amendment does not spend an- mean that a large majority of our
more moral world. other dime of taxpayer money; it calls country is already protected. Hos-
I yield the floor. on the Secretary of Defense to mobilize pitalizations, serious illness, and even
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Sen- existing equipment, including provi- death from COVID we can see are real-
ator from Iowa. sions meant for Afghanistan, to arm ly going in the right direction, thank
UKRAINE Ukraine. This equipment will never be goodness.
Ms. ERNST. Mr. President, I call on used by U.S. forces, but it is simply sit- As therapeutics continue to improve,
this body to support the people of ting in warehouses across the world. It it is clear that most Americans are
Ukraine fighting for their lives right belongs at the Polish border and in the right—COVID is here to stay. It is en-
now, today. Our mandate to act is hands of Ukrainians, who are fighting demic. We can’t marinate in fear. We
clear. for their lives as I am speaking here on can’t have lockdowns. We can’t have
Here is a little bit of history for this the floor today. one-size-fits-all for across the country.
body. In 1994, in the months following We know we have capabilities that We have got to get on with our lives.
the end of the Cold War, Ukraine was we bought for the Afghans that could President Biden recently extended
very fragile, working through the chal- be loaded and flown to Poland to help the Federal state of emergency under
lenges of establishing and sustaining our counterparts. That is open source. the National Emergencies Act indefi-
democratic government, while sitting That information is out there. We have nitely. I would like to point out, he is
atop the world’s third largest stockpile other capabilities as well that you all not alone there in the sense that most
of nuclear weapons, arms abandoned in know belong in the hands of our of our Governors have done the same. I
the final days of the Soviet Union. Ukrainian friends. This administra- only think in Florida and in Iowa—I
The United States intervened. In ex- tion’s doctrine of appeasement has pro- would say that I am guessing most citi-
change for protection by the greatest vided more arms for the Taliban than zens living in a lot of these places
superpower in the history of the world, for the sovereign nation of Ukraine, would like their Governors to do like-
Ukraine dismantled and surrendered and it is not even close. wise. This state of emergency makes
their nuclear armament entirely. That The administration’s abandonment of robust powers available to the Presi-
agreement made the world a safer Afghanistan drew deserved condemna- dent during a crisis. It includes for-
place, but Vladimir Putin called the tion from Democrats and Republicans giving student loans, imposing travel
United States to the carpet on our in this body, but today and every day restrictions, capital investments in
agreement last week. He gambled that we don’t act to arm our partners in neighborhoods deemed to be dispropor-
America would again abandon our part- Ukraine, we will be held to account. If tionately affected by COVID.
ners, as we did in Afghanistan. Putin we don’t act now, this body’s lack of When this emergency was first de-
gambled that U.S. treaties and agree- immediate attention and action on this clared 2 years ago this week, it was
ments are no more valuable than the matter will be recorded in history. needed. It was uncertain. It was grati-
paper they are written on. He didn’t We took an oath to ‘‘support and de- fying to see that, in a bipartisan way,
bet against the Ukrainians, where he fend the Constitution of the United in March of 2020, we came together.
has every military advantage in a States against all enemies, foreign and But we have learned so much since
head-to-head conflict. His criminal in- domestic.’’ That obligates us to secure then. Now, I think it has become a bur-
vasion—now a bloody war of aggression the homefront but also to stand with den.
ctelli on DSK11ZRN23PROD with SENATE
against Ukraine—was a bet against our allies and partners. Our oath de- I cite 3 weeks ago—it was in a class-
American supremacy. mands Congress—just as it demands room in Las Vegas. You ought to look
We cannot allow Putin to get away our men and women in uniform—pro- it up. It was announced there—this is
with it. The American people don’t tect the American people. That vow different, but it was a mandate. It was
want us to either. Over 80 percent of compels us to honor our commitments that you had to wear a mask in the
Americans want us to do more to bring abroad, stand with freedom, and do classroom. The kids, I think, embodied
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S976 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE March 3, 2022
what this whole process has been about Health Organization had declared 80 percent, and deaths are down 98 per-
and that we are at a different place. It COVID–19 as a global pandemic. Little cent. Nationally, we are seeing drastic
looked like they won the State cham- was known about the rapidly spreading decreases in these same three cat-
pionship in something. virus at the time, but President egories as well. But perhaps even more
We are there. Congress has a respon- Trump’s declaration was intended to importantly, today, at least 94 percent
sibility to vote on whether to approve grant himself, as Chief Executive, addi- of Americans have some level of immu-
these emergency declarations, as we tional authorities to bolster the Fed- nization.
will today. eral Government’s efforts to control Accordingly, States in every corner
Every State and community is easing the virus and ease the burden on our of the Nation are repealing indoor
COVID restrictions, and many of them healthcare system. mask mandates, including blue States
have eliminated them entirely. Ideally, Less than a week later, California be- that have most adamantly enforced
you fight something like this with came the first State to issue a state- them. Yes, indeed, freedom-loving
maybe general guidance from here, but wide stay-at-home order, and Americans who are worn out by the
you let government where it is closest lockdowns, mask mandates, school clo- draconian lockdowns and mandates are
to the people dictate how this stuff sures, and capacity limits commenced giving a sigh of relief.
should happen and how long it should all across the Nation. Despite all these advances in our po-
be there. These were the earliest and most sition of a much greater understanding
It is past time for the President and frightening days of the pandemic, when of the virus, President Biden stealthily
Governors across the country to give our understanding of the virus was extended the national emergency dec-
up the extra powers granted to them minimal and all measures were needed laration once again on a late Friday
under the COVID emergency declara- to react to a globe contagion unlike afternoon 2 weeks ago.
tions. If we are going to live with this anything seen in nearly a century. Next, let us lay out some of the ef-
virus and move forward as a country, Almost a year later, and just over a fects these policies have had on the
we must end the national emergency month after his inauguration, in Feb- American people and why we must
authorization, and other Governors ruary 2021, President Biden justifiably abandon this approach, shrink the Fed-
across the country should follow suit. went on to extend the COVID–19 na- eral response, and move toward a more
I yield the floor. tional emergency declaration for an- nimble and effectively locally based
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Sen-
other year, a requirement under the community strategy that allows indi-
ator from Kansas.
Mr. MARSHALL. I rise today in sup- National Emergencies Act that had it vidual citizens and local health offi-
port of S.J. Res. 38, a resolution to ter- not been acted on, would have resulted cials to exercise and promote old-fash-
minate the COVID–19 national emer- in the automatic termination of the ioned self-responsibility and individual
gency declaration. declaration. choice.
After nearly 2 years of living under At the time of President Biden’s ini- The first COVID–19 wave in the
this state of emergency, the American tial extension, only 50 million doses of spring of 2020 took the world by sur-
people are worn out and yearning to the vaccine had been administered, and prise. The spread of the cases globally
breathe free. They long for their God- eligibility was largely limited to and in the United States was met with
given freedoms and for leaders to take healthcare workers, first responders, government-ordered lockdowns abroad
their side. and the most vulnerable populations. It and here at home. In just a few weeks,
We as a nation must begin to learn to would still be weeks or months before lockdowns put more than 10 million
live with COVID. The robust powers all adults would be eligible in all 50 Americans out of work, with 6.6 mil-
this emergency declaration provides States. Viral treatments and thera- lion people applying for unemployment
the Federal Government are no longer peutics were scarcely available to the benefits in the last week of March
necessary, and Congress must debate public. All the while, the potentially alone.
and ultimately repeal them in order to more severe and contagious Delta vari- These lockdowns, some of which ex-
begin the process of unwinding the ant was brewing in other regions of the tended for months in certain States,
powers the government took hold of world before it was detected and be- and the subsequent mandates and re-
during the peak of the crisis. came the dominant variant here at quirements that still remain in place
As we contemplate what returning to home. have had dramatically negative im-
normal means, most Americans accept The situation on the ground in the pacts on our quality of life and had
that COVID will likely never be en- United States has changed drastically been minimally beneficial.
tirely behind us, and setting zero since those early stages of the pan- A recent study from Johns Hopkins
COVID cases as a victory condition is demic. Thanks to American innovation University found lockdowns only re-
more harmful than good. and Operation Warp Speed, the United duced the COVID–19 death rate by 0.2
That being said, of course, we have to States has now multiple vaccines percent—0.2 percent—2 out of 1,000.
respect the virus and protect the vul- available to all Americans over the age These researchers noted that while
nerable, but we also must accept that of 5. Everyone ages 12 and older is eligi- ‘‘lockdowns have had little to no public
personal responsibility, not govern- ble for a booster shot if they want that health effects, they have imposed enor-
ment mandates and restrictions, must inoculation. mous economic and social costs where
govern our approach to the virus going In fact, more than 550 million shots they have been adopted.’’
forward. have been administered in the United These costs have been felt at an
We must repeal this emergency dec- States, with 215 million people fully alarming rate in a number of aspects of
laration today to deliver a symbolic vaccinated, including 89 percent of in- American life. Drug overdose deaths
victory to our citizens that normalcy dividuals 65 and older. Additionally, rose by 30 percent in 2020, hitting the
is around the corner and that limited the FDA has authorized two oral highest number ever recorded. Symp-
government and our constitutional antivirals, and monoclonal antibody toms of anxiety or depressive disorder
rights still reign supreme. It is high treatments are available for those at and the use of mental health care
time to stop talking about restrictions high risk of becoming seriously ill. among adults increased by 36 percent
and the unknown. We must chart a new Well done. Well done. from August 2020 to February of 2021.
course to victory today that respects Omicron is now the dominant variant The numbers for our children are
the virus and our freedoms. in the United States, accounting for 97 even more troubling—our children, our
Let’s look back on the recent history percent of the cases. While more con- grandchildren. The CDC found between
of this national emergency declaration. tagious, Omicron tends to result in March and October 2020, emergency de-
ctelli on DSK11ZRN23PROD with SENATE
On March 13, 2020, President Trump more mild symptoms in infected indi- partment visits for mental health
first declared the national emergency viduals. In Kansas, the daily case aver- emergencies rose by 24 percent for chil-
concerning the novel coronavirus dis- age in recent weeks has decreased 99 dren ages 5 through 11 and 31 percent
ease outbreak. percent. Let me say that again. The for children ages 12 to 17 years.
Two days prior, following an alarm- daily case average has decreased 99 per- In addition, emergency department
ing rate of transmission, the World cent. Hospitalizations are down about visits for suspected suicide attempts
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March 3, 2022 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE S977
increased nearly 51 percent among girls sary, heavy-handed health restrictions, The most recent internal review of
ages 12 through 17—51 percent—in early was meant to implement drastic title 42 submitted by CDC Director
2021 compared to the same period in changes in our way of life and system Walensky on February 2 found that the
2019. of governance and expand Big Govern- order needed to remain in place. Re-
School closures in the 2020–2021 aca- ment socialism, not to mention it has publicans agree—we agree—that the
demic year left students, on average, 5 resulted in the highest level of infla- external threat of COVID coming
months behind in mathematics and 4 tion we have seen in this country in 40 across the border unchecked from
months behind in reading. Disadvan- years. As one economist put it, the other nations preserves the need for
taged and low-income schools dis- U.S. stimulus has been in a ‘‘category this order to remain in place and for us
proportionately, of course, felt that of its own’’ and has resulted in more to pass legislation outside of these
impact. inflation than almost any other ad- emergency declarations to further se-
These societal ills have been com- vanced economy in the world. cure our porous border.
pounded by mask mandates, vaccine With hundreds of billions of dollars of Second, terminating the emergency
mandates, and isolation orders. Keep- funds for schools and State govern- declaration would not impact the waiv-
ing this emergency declaration in place ments unspent, the President an- ers issued by the HHS Secretary. Let
will cause—will cause—public health nounced during his State of the Union me say that again. Terminating the
officials and governments at all levels that he plans to send a supplemental emergency declaration would not im-
to maintain the possibility of allowing COVID relief funding request to Con- pact the waivers issued by the HHS
them to remain or resurrecting them. gress. Our Nation’s emergency posture Secretary. These critical flexibilities—
And much like America’s alcohol to this virus is driving out-of-control including increased access to care via
prohibition a century ago, these man- spending, fueling inflation, and strap- telehealth—have been crucial to our
dates will make criminals out of all of ping our children and, again, our ability to combat the virus. The tele-
us, as we all are guilty of disregarding grandchildren, with more than $30 tril- health waivers will not be impacted by
them at one time or another. This only lion in debt. removing the NEA.
creates more disrespect for law and Indeed, at this time, our national And, in fact, I am a cosponsor of leg-
order. We can’t allow this to happen. debt is a greater threat to our Nation islation to make many of these suc-
And I have to add this: The mortality than COVID. This alone is another rea- cessful telehealth waivers permanent,
rate from COVID for the United States son to end this declaration. and we must do so after the public
is 75 percent higher than Sweden’s—75 Now let me turn to the executive’s health emergency expires, and we re-
percent higher than Sweden’s—despite emergency authority—the executive turn to normal.
Sweden issuing no shutdowns or mask branch’s emergency authority and Until today, Congress has failed to
mandates. Not surprisingly, Sweden’s Congress’s role in delegating those fulfill our duty and oversight respon-
economy is humming ahead of ours at powers. Since article II of the Constitu- sibilities laid out in the National
a 5-percent rate above prepandemic tion does not grant the President emer- Emergencies Act, ceding immense, un-
levels. gency powers, all such authority is checked power to the executive branch.
All this being said, once again, I beg granted by Congress. Many of these au- We must, as the Democratic Represent-
this administration and the national thorities are provided through three ative from the great State of Ken-
media to stop fearmongering, to share laws: the National Emergencies Act, tucky, Romano Mazzoli, stated when
all the science, and, please, let our peo- which is what we are focused on today; this bill was being debated in 1975. I
ple go. the Stafford Act; and the Public Health will quote Representative Mazzoli, the
The Democrats’ COVID obsession has Service Act. Democrat from Kentucky.
also resulted in out-of-control spending All three have been applied by this Consciously and deliberately [we must]
and massive debt. Congress has appro- administration to the COVID response, force ourselves to come to grips periodi-
cally—and ultimately—[deal] with the vex-
priated $6 trillion. That is 6 times 10 to but the National Emergencies Act
ing problems of national emergencies. The
the 12th—6 with 12 zeroes after it—$6 grants congressional oversight over a blame as well as the glory will be on the
trillion to respond to this crisis. This declaration by the President. Before I shoulders of the Congress. . . . But that is as
means Federal spending to combat the get into the need to exercise that con- it is supposed to be—that is the responsible
pandemic has well surpassed the $4.1 gressional authority, let me quickly course.
trillion the United States spent waging discuss what repealing this emergency The blame and the glory should re-
World War II. Throw in the roughly $1.5 declaration will not do. Let’s talk main on the shoulders of Congress, and
trillion on World War I, the Korean about what it won’t do. that is why we are here today. We are
war, Vietnam, and the Gulf war com- First, terminating this emergency here today to debate this responsible
bined, and it still would not exceed declaration will not impact the title 42 course moving forward.
what has been spent on COVID relief. order currently in place and being exer- While the COVID–19 emergency dec-
Let me say that another way. We cised at our southern border that al- laration has not utilized all powers
borrowed from my children, my grand- lows border officials to expel illegal provided to the President, major ac-
children, your children and grand- aliens. Again, this will not impact title tions have been taken as a direct result
children. We borrowed and spent more 42. The crisis at the United States-Mex- of the declaration. Our Ready Reserve
money on COVID than all the major ico border has been fueled by this ad- remains active, our Coast Guard is
wars combined form the 20th century. ministration’s decision to resume stretched, and the staggeringly expen-
While the $2.2 trillion CARES Act catch-and-release, halt construction of sive student loan relief remains in
passed with nearly unanimous consent the border wall, and promise half a mil- place.
in both this body and the House, Presi- lion dollars to immigrant families who More importantly, though, this dec-
dent Biden and the Democrats in Con- broke our laws. laration drives our Federal Govern-
gress insisted more was needed. As a result, the number of illegal ment to maintain its massive emer-
Despite warnings from economists on aliens crossing our southern border is gency response infrastructure and
all ends of the political spectrum that at the highest level in more than 20 drives leftwing politicians in Congress
it would harm our economy, Democrats years under President Biden. to push harmful mandates and unre-
rammed through a highly partisan $1.9 I can assure you, Republicans’ inten- strained spending.
trillion more of a spending package tion is not to take away the only tool These powers are no longer needed.
that has overheated our economy. This being utilized at our southern border to We have tools to minimize the impact
bill was in response to a problem that stem the tide of illegal immigrants of this virus and truly live with it.
ctelli on DSK11ZRN23PROD with SENATE
was already fixing itself. pouring in. The authority for this order This idea of living with COVID is not
Shockingly, I have to point out, only lies within the Secretary of Health and a fringe position held by Republicans.
9 percent of this funding was related to Human Services’ public health emer- Democratic New Jersey Governor Phil
healthcare, and less than 1 percent was gency declaration made on January 31, Murphy recently said it was time to,
dedicated to vaccines. Instead, the 2020, under the Public Health Service and I will quote him, ‘‘learn how to
funding, like the drawnout, unneces- Act. live’’ with it. Democratic Governors in
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S978 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE March 3, 2022
Nevada, Rhode Island, New York, Cali- three doses for every person—three nity provided a strong defense against
fornia—I will say California again— doses per American. Do they plan to COVID infection and severe symptoms.
Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, and mandate these? Dr. Fauci recently led They have been wrong nearly every
Oregon have announced they are lifting us to believe that indeed might be the step of the way during the response to
certain mask mandates and easing case, and I will quote Dr. Fauci: ‘‘The this pandemic—always a day late and a
other restrictions. potential future requirement for an ad- dollar spent in the wrong direction.
Internationally, the United Kingdom, ditional boost . . . is being carefully Yet here they are, these same individ-
Australia, and New Zealand are work- monitored in real time.’’ uals who now reside in the White House
ing towards ‘‘living with COVID’’ While we prevented separated mem- and hold majorities in Congress, telling
phases. Just last week, the British bers of the military from receiving dis- us it would be detrimental to our own
Prime Minister announced that part of honorable discharges for choosing not health to repeal the President’s na-
his ‘‘living with COVID’’ plan would to get the vaccine, the Defense Depart- tional emergency declaration. Their
even include the repeal of legislation ment has kicked out hundreds of our motivation is not genuine. It is a bla-
and legal requirements for those who bravest service men and women. tant effort to further extend the mas-
test positive for COVID to self-isolate. How can the President downplay the sive accumulation of power that the
While President Biden claimed dur- progress we have made in our ability to Federal Government has extended
ing his State of the Union Address combat the virus? And, more impor- across America for the last 2 years.
that—and I will quote him—‘‘we are tantly, how can he continue to pursue Today, the Senate has an oppor-
moving forward safely, back to . . . an invasive and coercive Federal re- tunity to act to rein in this control and
normal routines,’’ his actions don’t sponse that has eroded our freedoms reassert our article I authorities. The
match his words. His call for a ‘‘reset’’ and spread misery throughout this Na- Constitution demands it. The authors
and claims to be loosening government tion? Does he not hear the cry of the of the National Emergencies Act de-
intrusion into our lives by way of people who have given him the power mand it. The protection of American
COVID restrictions are only half- to be President? liberties demands it.
truths. We know this because all these As the United States enters the third We have the tools to protect the vul-
next items are true: year of COVID–19, 70 percent of Ameri- nerable and our populous is near full
Despite being presented with the dev- cans agree that it is time we accepted herd immunity, with 94 percent of
astating effects of lockdowns, school that COVID is here to stay and that we Americans having some level of immu-
and indoor mask mandates, and other just need to get on with our lives—70 nity now. Let’s not listen to those who
restrictions, the President renewed the percent of Americans. We can’t get have wronged us and have been proven
Federal Government’s national emer- Americans to decide where to go to incorrect countless times before
gency declaration again. In fact, the lunch together, let alone on an issue throughout this pandemic. Let’s listen
President just hours ago issued a veto this big, and 70 percent of Americans to common sense and reason. Let’s lis-
threat of this resolution should it maintain these policies are no longer ten to science, and let’s listen to the
make it to his desk—the President about science or about public health or people.
promising a veto before we even have the will of the people. That is all a Let’s abandon the COVID obsession
this vote on the Senate floor. guise. and groupthink that has infiltrated the
The CDC continues to hide data This is about power and using a glob- highest ranks of government, and let’s
points they believe would be ‘‘misinter- al pandemic to grow government and return the ability to make decisions re-
preted’’ by those outside of the swamp lurch our Nation toward socialism. The lated to the virus back to the Amer-
they view as ignorant. The people—the suffering caused by the government’s ican people.
people—are so much smarter than they actions has had an immense impact on I yield the floor.
are given credit for. This data gives in- the daily lives of Americans in ways The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr.
formation on who is receiving booster that will take years to correct, if ever. KING). The Senator from Montana.
shots, the effectiveness of vaccines for We now know that these actions were UNANIMOUS CONSENT REQUEST—S. 3214
certain age groups, and figures related wrong. The same people who argued to Mr. DAINES. Mr. President, all in 1
to reinfections. This allows the Federal keep this emergency declaration in year, President Biden killed the Key-
Government to suppress information place are the same people who were stone XL Pipeline; he banned new oil
that contradicts their one-size-fits-all wrong in their advocacy for these gov- and gas leases on Federal lands; then,
policy and approach and preserves in- ernment actions. of course, he ended up begging OPEC
trusive government policies. They were wrong when they told you and Russia to produce more abroad and
Next, despite the President patting not to be afraid to go to Chinese New then gave the green light to Russia’s
himself on the back for relaxing mask Year celebrations when the first cases Nord Stream 2 Pipeline. These actions
mandates, we still have in place the were detected in the United States. diminished American energy security.
CDC order that requires masks on air- They were wrong when they said it It hurt our allies and empowered our
planes, in Ubers, and on your children’s was racist to suspend inbound travel adversaries. They put the United
schoolbuses. from China. States and our partners in the cross-
The administration has only with- They were wrong when they called hairs of Russia and Vladimir Putin.
drawn one of their vaccine mandates, you a conspiracy theorist for believing At the State of the Union Address, I
the OSHA mandate on employers with it was possible for this virus to have heard the President say we need more
more than 100 employees, after—only developed in nature or to have leaked ‘‘made in America,’’ ‘‘made in Amer-
after—the Supreme Court struck it from a laboratory. ica,’’ ‘‘made in America.’’ What I didn’t
down. Three mandates are thankfully They were wrong when they told you hear him say was that we needed more
enjoined by the courts, but deadlines lockdowns must remain in place. ‘‘made in America’’ energy or more
for the CMS mandate on healthcare They were wrong when they told you ‘‘made in America’’ oil and natural gas.
workers are beginning to be enforced. masking your children was the only My bill, the Supporting Made in
Just yesterday, on this floor, 44 Sen- way they could attend in-person class- America Renewable and Traditional
ate Democrats voted to keep the man- es safely. Energy Act, or the SMART Energy
date in place despite its constitutional They were wrong when they told you Act, will help get the United States
violation of State police powers, harm massive stimulus spending was nec- back on track and ensure that our
to an already weak healthcare work- essary and would not lead to inflation. country will remain not only energy
force, and outdated science that guided They were wrong when they told you independent and energy secure but that
ctelli on DSK11ZRN23PROD with SENATE
the promulgation of the rule. that inflation would be transitory. it will become a global energy domi-
Next, the President’s National And they were wrong when they de- nant player.
COVID–19 Preparedness Plan asks Con- nied that natural immunity provided a My bill supports an ‘‘all of the
gress to approve funding that would ex- strong defense against COVID infection above’’ American energy portfolio. I
pand the production of vaccines to 1 and severe symptoms. They were wrong want to emphasize that. It is an ‘‘all of
billion doses a year. That equates to when they denied that natural immu- the above’’ American energy portfolio.
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March 3, 2022 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE S979
It doesn’t exclude renewables; it in- considered read a third time and passed natural gas to heat their homes. That
cludes renewables by requiring the and that the motion to reconsider be has been their plan since 2015, to lift
Biden administration to restart oil and considered made and laid upon the the ban on the exportation of American
gas leasing and kick-start renewable table. oil and natural gas.
energy development on Federal land The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there Still, they are unfinished, and they
and waters because now, more than objection? want to be able to drill and frack every
ever, we need to be supporting Amer- The Senator from Massachusetts. single inch of our national forests, our
ican energy development to help lower Mr. MARKEY. Mr. President, in re- public lands, our coastlines. They want
energy costs for American families and serving the right to object, I rise today to add to their stockpiles of leases that
support our allies. to object to the motion from the Sen- they are squatting on already. Here are
Take a look at what is happening in ator from Montana to pass this bill the numbers. It is absolutely astound-
Europe and Russia as it relates to en- through unanimous consent. ing. Again, it is all part of the Amer-
ergy prices and national security, all of This push to put every square inch of ican Petroleum Institute’s control of
which, of course, are interconnected. Federal land up for sale is not a new our domestic and foreign policy.
We should examine what Germany has one. It has been the plan of the Amer- Right now, onshore, in our forests
done over the course of the last 10 to 15 ican Petroleum Institute from the be- and fields and plains, 53 percent of all
years as an example of what not to do. ginning of recorded time. It is not help- of the leases that the American Petro-
By the way, it takes, I guess, a war on ing the Ukrainians in their fight, and leum Institute—Exxon, Chevron, you
Germany’s doorstep to suddenly pro- it is not helping our European allies. It name it—already has one. By the way,
vide clarity for the Germans to see, is helping inflate the profits of big oil it is 2 bucks an acre—2 bucks an acre.
yes, they need to be increasing their and big gas companies. They are not drilling on them, and
investment in NATO. Now, they just in In 2021 and 2020, we exported more they have had their leases for 5 years,
the last 2 weeks decided they are going crude oil and petroleum than we im- for 10 years, for 15 years, for 20 years.
to permit two new LNG ports. While ported. Since 2015, when every Repub- Then we hear from the American Pe-
looking in the rearview mirror, they lican on their side lifted the ban on the troleum Institute that we need more
shut down 11 nuclear plants, and they exportation of American oil—that is land that you will lease to us on public
what they wanted is their plan, that of lands that we can buy for a couple of
shut down coal plants. They were not
the American Petroleum Institute—we bucks, and we promise—we promise—
moving forward with LNG plants. In-
now export 8.6 million barrels of oil out we will start drilling on it, but just
stead, they wanted that Nord Stream 2
of our country every single day. With- give us more land—even though they
Pipeline built to Russia. Well, they
out question, whenever I have heard already have an area the size of Indi-
have changed their thinking on it.
We can’t let America get to that anything about energy independence, ana that they have bid for and now,
well, that was the natural consequence from the American people, on public
same point of following this path of the
of lifting the ban on the exportation of lands, have the right to drill. But they
very dangerous ideology of shutting
our oil, and now, it is up to 8.6 million are not doing it.
down ‘‘made in America’’ energy be- Offshore is even worse. On our pris-
cause, as Europe has continued to stop barrels a day.
As a matter of fact, in 2021, we actu- tine coasts from Maine to Florida, 77
investing in traditional energy, they percent of the existing leases which the
have become more dependent on adver- ally exported 650,000 barrels of oil a day
to China as we were importing 600,000 American Petroleum Institute has,
saries like Russia for energy, and now, they haven’t even drilled on them yet.
the cost of energy is skyrocketing. barrels of oil a day from Russia be-
cause that is what the American Petro- They are sitting there. Yet they are
Sadly, this, indeed, is a sneak peek coming here and saying: We need even
into the path that America is headed leum Institute wanted—a globalization
more that we can get at this bargain
down if the Biden administration con- of this oil market—with the American
basement price of a couple of bucks an
tinues to stonewall traditional Amer- consumer and the American economy
acre.
ican energy development. We can’t let just caught, ultimately, in an eco- That is their business plan, and it is
this happen. nomic crossfire, which is where we are just so disingenuous for the American
Listen, I support an ‘‘all of the right now. We give China our natural Petroleum Institute to just continue to
above’’ energy portfolio. I am grateful resources so that they can produce a try to exploit crises while they, them-
I represent a State that has ‘‘all of the finished product. Meanwhile, we have selves, are not doing their own job, be-
above energy.’’ We have bright skies; to import 600,000 barrels of oil from cause it is inconsistent with the huge
we have solar potential; we are a head- Russia to make up for that, which they profit-making goals which they have.
water State; we have amazing hydro then use to pay for the planes for the Using the crisis in Ukraine and rising
resources; we have got winds that come navy and for the infantry, right now, oil prices to push for more pro-oil poli-
off of our mountains for wind energy. working to destroy the democracy of cies doesn’t make sense. Our oil addic-
Yet an ‘‘all of the above’’ approach in- Ukraine. tion is what added more than $17 bil-
cludes not just renewables but oil, gas, So the answer is for the United lion to Putin’s pockets last year. Let
nuclear, and coal. States to chart a new course. In 2021, me just say that again. We in the
That is why it is critical that we pass 2020, 2019, and 2018, we exported more United States, at the gas pump, sent
my bill today to promote renewable natural gas than we imported. We don’t $17 billion to Putin for his war machine
and traditional energy here in the have a fossil fuel supply problem in the just in 2021.
United States. It is good for growing United States at all. We are supplying So let’s just not pretend that we need
jobs, strengthening our energy secu- fossil fuels all around the world right to plunder every inch of our country in
rity, supporting our allies, and keeping now. We are sending our fuel to Japan, order to protect our allies or to lower
a reliable and cost-effective source of to China, to South Korea. Fossil fuel gas prices. Oil and gas companies want
energy for the American people. companies are sending their products to frack and extract so they can con-
The question we should all be asking anywhere they can get the highest tinue to send American fuel abroad
ourselves is, Do we want the world to price—raising costs for all of us at while they plead energy independence
be looking to Russia for energy or to home. and send that to China as the highest
the United States for energy? By the way, again, understand that bidder.
My bill supports the latter, and I that is the key. Once they get it out of That is not our plan. It can’t be our
urge my colleagues to pass it. the United States and put it on a ship— plan. We have to have a true, clean en-
Mr. President, I ask unanimous con- natural gas or oil—they then get the ergy independence that helps rid the
ctelli on DSK11ZRN23PROD with SENATE
sent that the Committee on Energy highest price in the world for it, but world of Putin’s business model and
and Natural Resources be discharged they leave behind less oil and natural leads the way to an American-led,
from further consideration of S. 3214 gas in the United States. With that di- international clean energy revolution.
and that the Senate proceed to its im- minished supply, that leads to an in- The Republicans right now are block-
mediate consideration. Further, I ask crease in prices for consumers for home ing the clean energy package that we
unanimous consent that the bill be heating oil, for gasoline, and for the have in the U.S. Senate.
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S980 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE March 3, 2022
For every 16 million all-electric vehi- We need more ‘‘made in America’’ en- stroy the long-term threat fueled by
cles we deploy, we back out the equiva- ergy. It is the Green New Deal, purely our own addiction to energy, Europe’s
lent of all the oil we import from Rus- clean energy and not including an ‘‘all addiction to fossil fuels, and it will just
sia. With the next 16 million, we back of the above’’ energy portfolio that I send us on a clean energy future.
out all of the oil we import from Saudi believe is a very dangerous direction to But in order to do it, we need a true
Arabia. That is the plan for young peo- head, as we have seen exactly what ‘‘all of the above’’ strategy, not ‘‘oil
ple in our country and for young people Germany has encountered over the above all.’’ That is how we got here.
around the world. If we do that in co- course of the last 10 years. And if we are going to do it, we have to
ordination with our allies, that de- They marched down that path, and pass that comprehensive clean energy
stroys, in the long term, the business now, they find themselves in a very, package out of the Senate this year
model of Russia and of the Middle very dangerous position. And they have and put it on President Biden’s desk.
Eastern nations that have us addicted had to reverse the course because they That will scare Putin and his cronies
to their oil. had the same kind of ideals that the vacationing in Sochi. That will put a
I just think that we are at a critical Senator from Massachusetts was talk- fear into the hearts of the oil monarchs
time, and we need big plans; but one of ing about. Now, they have had to wake of the Middle East because they will
them cannot be that we are saying to up and look at the reality of the situa- know once and for all that we are seri-
the oil industry that you can exploit tion and change course. ous about not allowing our American
this crisis, because if they are serious— By the way, it is not every inch. This consumer dollars to fuel conflicts
and I will just finish on this note. bill simply says we need four lease around the world.
When we debated in January of 2015 sales. We are asking for a minimum of Again, I appreciate the time.
the Keystone Pipeline, I made the four lease sales. That is what we are I yield the floor.
amendment here on the Senate floor, asking for. I suggest the absence of a quorum.
saying, if we build this Keystone Pipe- And when the President shuts down The PRESIDING OFFICER. The
line, that we have to keep all of the oil the Keystone Pipeline, shuts down oil clerk will call the roll.
here in the United States—it is the and gas leasing in this country, com- The bill clerk proceeded to call the
dirtiest oil in the world, the tar sands bined with what we see going on with roll.
of Canada. In a straw that they wanted FERC being major impediments to Mr. LANKFORD. Mr. President, I ask
to build right through the United building more pipelines, combined with unanimous consent that the order for
States, with all the environmental nominees and those who have been ap- the quorum call be rescinded.
risks taken by the American people, pointed in the Biden administration The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without
they would then export it. So my and who are very anti-oil and gas, it objection, it is so ordered.
amendment said, if we build this pipe- chills the capital markets. This is a The Senator from Oklahoma.
line and take all of the environmental long-term direction we have got to con- Mr. LANKFORD. Mr. President, I ask
risks, that the oil should stay here. tinue to go down. unanimous consent that the following
Every single Republican voted not to Senators be permitted to speak prior to
Again, this bill also includes wind,
keep it here. They all said that that oil the scheduled vote: Senator LANKFORD,
solar, and geothermal priorities as part
can be exported to any country in the myself, up to 5 minutes; Senator MAR-
of it. So it is all of the above.
world. SHALL for 2 minutes; Senator SCHUMER,
Secondly, back when I was in the I just think it is very dangerous to
say we are going to bet the Nation’s fu- up to 5 minutes.
House of Representatives, I would The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without
make the amendment each year. If you ture on only one segment of the energy
economy and not also ensure we have objection, it is so ordered.
want to drill off the coastlines of the
United States, then any oil which is oil and gas and coal as part of our S.J. RES. 38
found has to stay here in America; oth- broader portfolio. Mr. LANKFORD. Mr. President, we
erwise, the beaches and the fishing in- Just ask the Germans if they thought are about to vote on an issue dealing
dustries of the United States take all that was a good idea when they went with the national emergency here in
the risks, and the oil companies reap down this path 10 to 15 years ago. the United States dealing with the pan-
all of the profits by putting that oil Thank you. demic.
and natural gas on the international The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Sen- There has been no great shock that
markets. ator from Massachusetts. we have functioned under a lot of addi-
Every Republican voted no. We are Mr. MARKEY. Mr. President, just in tional authorities that are happening,
not going to have a ban on the expor- response to the Senator, we have never but I want to provide a bit of clarity
tation of that oil and gas even though had an ‘‘all of the above’’ strategy, into this conversation as well.
it endangers the drilling and would en- truly. We have had an ‘‘oil above all’’ The measure that we are dealing
danger the beaches and the fishing in- strategy. That is the problem that we with right now dealing with COVID and
dustries of the United States. have. That is the hole that we have dug the pandemic that is here, we also
So it has always been about an ex- for ourselves. know there is a global pandemic; and
port strategy, and that is all this is as It is time for the United States to fi- improving the medical situation here
well. It is an attempt to get more nally put a plan in place that backs out doesn’t necessarily mean improving
leases that they would then hoard— the imported oil from Russia, backs the medical situation everywhere, nor
squat on—wait for the price to go high- out the imported oil from the Middle should it change what is called title 42.
er, and then in their own good time, East, and the only way we can do it is A quick explanation on this. The
they would begin to drill, but it would if we pass the climate provisions in Surgeon General, the CDC, and HHS all
only be in their interests, not our na- President Biden’s plan. work together with the President to be
tional interests. By 2030, the goal is to have 40 percent able to recommend that, based on the
As a result, because of the long, un- of all of our vehicles being all elec- public health crisis that we are cur-
fortunate history of the relationship tric—no oil, no gasoline. Do you know rently under, title 42 states this:
between the American people and the what that does? It destroys the busi- Whenever the Surgeon General determines
American Petroleum Institute, I ob- ness model of Russia. It destroys the that by reason of the existence of any com-
ject. business model of the countries in the municable disease in a foreign country there
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Objec- Middle East that need that petrol dol- is a serious danger of the introduction of
tion is heard. lar from the American consumer in such disease in the United States, and that
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Sen- order to fund all of their nefarious ac- this danger is so increased by the introduc-
ctelli on DSK11ZRN23PROD with SENATE
tion of persons or property from such coun-
ator from Montana. tivities.
try that a suspension of the right to intro-
Mr. DAINES. Mr. President, clearly, Germany is going 65 percent all-elec- duce such persons and property is required in
we have two different philosophies and tric vehicles by the year 2030—9 years the interest of the public health, the Sur-
strategies moving forward as we deal from now, 65 percent all electric. geon General, in accordance with the regula-
with the crisis that is unfolding in Eu- So if we put this together and we are tions approved by the President, shall have
rope and Ukraine. serious about it right now, we will de- the power to prohibit . . . the introduction
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March 3, 2022 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE S981
of persons and property from such countries Capitol. We meet them in the Crypt, for the future? The best way to ensure
or places [they] shall designate. and we go through the Old Supreme that we keep schools open and cases
That is title 42. Court, and we walk up the back steps low is by staying at the ready, and that
Why that does matter to us? Because into the Capitol’s Rotunda. And I love is what these emergency powers enable
in the last 2 years, our country along to say nothing. I love to just watch the us to do. We don’t know if new variants
our border has been managing much of folks look up at the walls and gaze at will come or not, but if they do, they
the border based on title 42. Now, it is all the famous statues—statues of Ei- can appear with frightening speed, and
no secret to anyone in this room—I senhower and Reagan. we need to be prepared.
would assume everyone in this room There are portraits in that Rotunda, By prematurely terminating the na-
knows—we had the highest number of each with a story to tell. Perhaps my tional emergency declaration on
border encounters—that is people ille- favorite portrait is one by John Trum- COVID, it will be harder to ensure we
gally crossing our borders—last year in bull; it is a painting of General George have enough supplies, enough support
the history of our country. Over 2 mil- Washington, depicting in 1783 his re- for healthcare workers, and risks
lion people illegally crossed our bor- signing his commission as Commander throwing tens of millions of student
ders. What some may not know is, last of the Continental Army. Everyone loan borrowers into needless uncer-
year, 900,000 of those were brought into looks at that painting, and they see in tainty and anxiety. It is a wrong move.
the system in the United States; 1.1 the President—at that time General— I will vote against it today.
million of those were turned around at George Washington’s hands his com- And I ask for the yeas and nays.
the border with title 42 authority; mission, that piece of paper that he is VOTE ON S.J. RES 38
meaning, because of the pandemic, be- handing off to the Continental Army. The PRESIDING OFFICER. Under
cause of the risk and the crisis, the in- Behind him, there is a throne; and the previous order, the clerk will read
troduction of additional individuals importantly, it is an empty throne the title of the joint resolution for the
who are likely to have COVID, they with King’s robes on it, seemingly to third time.
were turned around at the border. say that George Washington said: I will
The joint resolution was ordered to
The concern is—and I have raised not be a King; I will throw my robes
be engrossed for a third reading and
this concern over and over with CBP— off, and we will have a Republic, a de-
was read the third time.
what is your plan postpandemic for the mocracy.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Under
title 42 authority? I would ask our President to throw
Now, I want everyone to think about the previous order, the joint resolution
off his robes. I would ask him to listen
last summer—last summer what was having been read the third time, the
to the people and end this declaration
happening in Donna, TX, last summer question is, Shall the joint resolution
of emergency.
what was happening in multiple places I yield the floor. pass?
along the border where our facilities The PRESIDING OFFICER. The ma- The yeas and nays have been re-
were overrun with people and not man- jority leader is recognized. quested.
ageable. That was when we were intro- Mr. SCHUMER. I will be brief as I Is there a sufficient second?
ducing 900,000 people into the country. conclude. There appears to be a sufficient sec-
What does that look like this summer Mr. President, as our country turns ond.
if there are 2 million people in that the corner on the COVID–19 pandemic, The clerk will call the roll.
group coming across? we stand at a crossroads. We can either The bill clerk called the roll.
That is why I want to make it very take steps to keep America ready in Mr. DURBIN. I announce that the
clear that what we are voting on now case new variants arise—and the odds Senator from California (Mrs. FEIN-
has no effect on title 42 authority. We are high they will arise—or we can STEIN), the Senator from Arizona (Mr.
continue to have serious health con- backslide and undo everything we have KELLY), and the Senator from Cali-
cerns, as title 42 states, in many other done, at great cost, to get our country fornia (Mr. PADILLA) are necessarily
countries; and I have continued to en- closer to normal. absent.
courage DHS to have a plan in place. Today, the Senator from Kansas is Mr. THUNE. The following Senators
Currently, they do not. It appears that advancing a proposal that would pre- are necessarily absent: the Senator
their plan is, once title 42 goes away, cisely handicap the Biden administra- from North Carolina (Mr. BURR) and
all 2 million will get into the country. tion’s ability to fight the pandemic and the Senator from Oklahoma (Mr.
I think that is a serious problem, and I heighten the danger that all our INHOFE).
think it is something we should ad- progress is suddenly unraveled in the The PRESIDING OFFICER. Are there
dress. future. We have learned how to fight any other Senators in the Chamber de-
In the meantime, we should not re- the pandemic; we are better at it; this siring to vote or change their vote?
lieve title 42, and this vote does not undoes it for some kind of ideological The result was announced—yeas 48,
change anything with the Surgeon reason. nays 47, as follows:
General’s decision on title 42. By the This proposal to hinder our COVID [Rollcall Vote No. 68 Leg.]
way, it is a Surgeon General position preparedness is as damaging and risky YEAS—48
that has been in two administrations as it is unnecessary, and it should be Barrasso Graham Portman
in a row to be able to be maintained on voted down. It is going nowhere if it Blackburn Grassley Risch
this. passes. Blunt Hagerty Romney
The national emergency declaration, Boozman Hawley Rounds
So just to clarify, for this body, this Braun Hoeven Rubio
vote has nothing to do with title 42; which this proposal would immediately Capito Hyde-Smith Sasse
that is a Surgeon General responsi- terminate, has been one of the most Cassidy Johnson Scott (FL)
bility; but this body needs to do addi- powerful and best tools for mobilizing Collins Kennedy Scott (SC)
Cornyn Lankford Shelby
tional oversight to make sure DHS is the Federal Government to combat the Cotton Lee Sullivan
paying attention to what is happening pandemic. It has made it easier to ac- Cramer Lummis Thune
at our southern border because we quire medical supplies, to provide re- Crapo Marshall Tillis
sources for healthcare works, and has Cruz McConnell Toomey
could very well have 1.1 million addi- Daines Moran Tuberville
tional people illegally cross into the helped cut redtape under the Defense Ernst Murkowski Wicker
country, not just across the border and Production Act. It has also offered stu- Fischer Paul Young
be returned but actually into the coun- dent loan borrowers critical relief by NAYS—47
try in the days ahead. clearing the path for suspending stu-
ctelli on DSK11ZRN23PROD with SENATE
Baldwin Casey Hickenlooper
I yield the floor. dent loan payments—a lifeline for tens Bennet Coons Hirono
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Sen- of millions. Do we want that undone? Blumenthal Cortez Masto Kaine
ator from Kansas. Just as it looks like we are turning Booker Duckworth King
Mr. MARSHALL. Mr. President, one the corner, why on Earth would Repub- Brown Durbin Klobuchar
Cantwell Gillibrand Leahy
of my favorite tasks up here is to give licans risk bungling it all by crippling Cardin Hassan Luján
folks from back home a tour of this America’s ability to remain prepared Carper Heinrich Manchin
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S982 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE March 3, 2022
Markey Rosen Tester Now, here we are. Russia is the Russia is now our third largest sup-
Menendez Sanders Van Hollen
Merkley Schatz Warner
world’s largest gas depot; Europe is on plier of crude oil. The EU gets around
Murphy Schumer Warnock the brink of an energy crisis; and the 40 percent of its gas imports and more
Murray Shaheen Warren world is dipping into strategic petro- than a quarter of its oil from Russia.
Ossoff Sinema Whitehouse leum reserves to avert chaos. Yes, we Instead of using Keystone to send
Peters Smith Wyden
Reed Stabenow are all in this mess together, but we 830,000 barrels of crude oil per day to
ought not to be. It did not have to be refiners in Nebraska and Texas, we de-
NOT VOTING—5
this way. pend on Russia to give us over 600,000
Burr Inhofe Padilla
Feinstein Kelly
It is hard to believe that before Joe barrels per day.
Biden took his oath of office, the Our German friends have finally
The joint resolution (S.J. Res 38) was United States of America was energy questioned the wisdom of their failed
passed, as follows: independent. That is correct. Go back energy scheme with Moscow, but they
S.J. RES. 38 and look at the numbers, 2019, 2020—en- are still vulnerable. Everyone is vul-
Resolved by the Senate and House of Rep- ergy independent. It took a lot of hard nerable.
resentatives of the United States of America in Putin is using energy as a weapon.
work, but, yes, we got there.
Congress assembled, That, pursuant to section This is not up for debate.
202 of the National Emergencies Act (50
President Trump opened up all Fed-
eral lands for new oil and gas explo- There was an interesting article in
U.S.C. 1622), the national emergency declared Tuesday’s Wall Street Journal, reveal-
by the finding of the President on March 13, ration. He also approved the Keystone
2020, in Proclamation 9994 (85 Fed. Reg. 15337) XL Pipeline, which created thousands ing that Russia is still exporting its oil
is hereby terminated. of jobs and would have brought energy and natural gas throughout the world.
production closer to home. Gazprom and Rosneft pull in around 30
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Sen-
Trump also used sanctions against percent of Russia’s budget revenues.
ator from Tennessee.
Russian energy companies when he That is right—two companies. As I
ENERGY
needed to. He used them against said, Russia, is a big oil depot, and
Mrs. BLACKBURN. Mr. President, in they have an army. Thirty percent of
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Gazprom and the Nord Stream 2 Pipe-
line, and also against Rosneft for help- the country’s oil revenues are from
Zelenskyy’s speech to the European Gazprom and Rosneft. And as of right
Parliament this week, he made it clear ing Venezuela evade oil sanctions. It
worked. The proof was right there in now, they have been able to completely
that the time for long-winded negotia- avoid major Western sanctions. Shame-
tions is over. He said that in Ukraine, front of us. You could see it.
Then, along comes President Biden, ful.
‘‘We’re dealing with reality . . . we’re They have managed to do this even
dealing with real life.’’ and what did he choose to do? He had a
choice. He made a decision. Yes, it was though we know this gives Moscow
The footage coming out of Ukraine is some level of control over the rest of
absolutely horrifying. Putin has intentional. It was to satisfy the left-
the global economy. These companies
shocked the world with the level of ists who are running the Democratic
are Putin’s economic lifeline and his
brutality he is inflicting on civilians— Party.
So what did Joe Biden do? He crushed best leverage against the West, his best
men, women and precious children. But leverage against Ukraine.
remember that none of this happened American energy. That is right. He sus-
I am quoting from the Wall Street
overnight. These last 3 months of blus- pended all of those oil and gas leases on
Journal article:
ter and buildup from Moscow were Federal land. On the very first day of
In recent months, Mr. Putin deployed
more than just idle threats. We saw it his administration, he took great pride Gazprom, the largest exporter of natural gas
coming. And still, it is abundantly in saying one of his first actions, one of to the European market, as a geopolitical
clear that Joe Biden and his advisers the very first things that he did, was to tool by throttling deliveries to the con-
have not accepted this reality. kill the Keystone Pipeline, and then he tinent, European officials and analysts have
I have come to the floor more times blocked new energy infrastructure. said. That exacerbated an already-growing
than I can count to remind my col- And then, for good measure, he made gas deficit and led to a surge in prices.
those pesky Nord Stream 2 sanctions Both companies have always denied having
leagues how dangerous it is to remain a political agenda and insisted they are pur-
entangled with governments controlled go away. suing legitimate business interests, but in
by dictators and mad men. What had Vladimir Putin asked for? recent years European officials and foreign-
I am encouraged by the growing level He wanted Nord Stream 2, no sanc- policy experts have said Gazprom in par-
of bipartisan awareness of this danger tions. Joe Biden gave it to him. He did ticular has been acting as a foreign-policy
but discouraged by how long it has not even put any conditions on it. instrument for the Russian government.
taken us to get there. It took the bet- None. Zip. Old buddy, old pal, this is The article goes on to detail how
ter part of 2 years for this body to rally what you wanted? I am going to give it Putin is financing his war against
around supply chain security. to you. I will give you Nord Stream 2— Ukraine with the help of these puppet
I am sorry to say my Democratic col- at the same time locking down U.S. en- corporations. Energy is his most pow-
leagues’ priorities were out of order ergy production. erful economic weapon, and the only
during the height of the pandemic, For the Members of this Chamber way to neutralize it is to cut off the
even when it came to something as who come from energy-producing revenue stream.
simple as holding Beijing accountable States, if you are supporting President Sanctions related to the SWIFT
for unleashing COVID and destroying Biden in this endeavor, then you are banking system and other financial
the global economy. supporting actions that disadvantage punishments are important, but they
Too many people had fooled them- your State. Think about that—jobs, are not going to be a silver bullet.
selves into believing that diplomacy Keystone, having energy independence, The Biden administration has repeat-
with China required dependence on which, as we are seeing, this has quite edly said that sanctions against the
China. And just like that, we found an impact on our Nation’s security and Russian energy sector would be too
ourselves at the mercy of Xi Jinping. on our global security. radical, but I would suggest that per-
It has taken all-out war in Ukraine Well, for all of those actions that haps the Biden administration is not
for many of my colleagues to learn the stopped energy production, the Demo- the best judge of what is too radical
same hard lesson about Vladimir Putin cratic Party loved him for it, of course. when it comes to regaining energy
and our entanglement with Russia’s As I said, they are being run by the far- independence.
state-controlled energy sector. left wing. The environmental lobby? I would remind my Democratic col-
It is the same old story. What started Oh, they loved and praised Joe Biden leagues that it was the Biden adminis-
ctelli on DSK11ZRN23PROD with SENATE
out as interdependence has turned into for this, and at first the Europeans tration that decided that oil and gas
a serious vulnerability. It is especially kind of liked it also. leases on Federal lands were too rad-
true for our European counterparts But then look where it got us. We fell ical; that the Keystone Pipeline was
who bet everything on their gamble out of energy independence and into a too radical; and that sanctions on
with Moscow and played right into rat’s nest of entanglements with one of Putin’s pipeline to Western Europe,
Putin’s hands. the world’s most belligerent dictators. that was too radical.
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March 3, 2022 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE S983
Joe Biden didn’t let energy independ- low their example. Do your duty and boast about record high farm income
ence slip away. He was and is the archi- put yourselves between the American but never acknowledge the fact that
tect of its destruction. people and the evil that Putin will the financial gains family farmers,
When you go fill up your car, every surely inflict on us if we don’t use ranchers, and foresters will see will
time, $20, $25 more, Joe Biden did that. every option available at our disposal soon be reduced by record high produc-
When you look at logistics costs and to stop him. tion costs. Land, machinery, labor,
delivery fees that are coming to you I yield the floor. fuel, seed, and livestock feed prices are
because of the price of gas, you can The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Sen- all increasing dramatically. Fertilizer
thank Joe Biden that you are paying ator from Arkansas. prices have spiked as much as 300 per-
these higher delivery fees. When you STATE OF THE UNION ADDRESS cent in some parts of the country, and
look at the cost of packaging and prod- Mr. BOOZMAN. Madam President, at the same time the administration is
ucts and it is costing you more, be- while we gathered in the House Cham- levying tariffs on our fertilizer im-
cause energy affects inflation, this is ber for the State of the Union Address, ports. Every portion of the food chain
what Joe Biden has done in 1 year—in the whole world was watching for remains strained as labor shortages
1 year. President Biden’s comments on Putin’s and supply chain issues continue to
We were energy independent. We rapidly escalating invasion of Ukraine. hinder our ability to get food from
were a net exporter of oil and gas—an I thought the President did a good job farms to tables.
energy exporter. And now look at expressing our steadfast support to For many, the increased costs of
where we are. Ukraine. That strong message was con- farming are deterring them from con-
In this week’s State of the Union Ad- veyed to the international community tinuing in the industry. It is pushing
dress, the President made no indication during his address, and the apprecia- the next generation of farmers down a
he intends to clean up the mess he has tion from both sides of the aisle was re- different career path instead of car-
made. Why is that? It was intentional. flected in our collective response. It rying on the family business. The fam-
This is what they intended to do to was a moment when we felt complete ily farm operations that once popu-
you, the American citizen. This is what unity in the Chamber. lated my home State of Arkansas in
they have done: Keystone, new pipeline Unfortunately, it was the only mo- large numbers will be eroded away if
infrastructure, returning us to having ment of unity in the entire address. we don’t make rural America and farm-
to ask OPEC—who, by the way, the The overwhelming majority of the ing more economically stable.
OPEC nations, they are the third larg- President’s speech was geared toward a This is bad news for rural America.
est holder of U.S. debt. specific audience—his liberal base. In most of our rural communities, agri-
You know, colleagues, this makes no Over the course of an hour, the Presi- culture is all that is left. Agriculture is
sense. When you could be exporting en- dent boasted about spending billions on Arkansas’ largest industry, adding
ergy, but you are importing it from unnecessary wish list items, pushed his around $21 billion to our economy
people who do not wish us well, from ‘‘climate first’’ agenda, and laid out his every year and accounting for approxi-
Russia—from Russia—who is using Big Government social justice plat- mately one in six jobs.
those proceeds to carry out this war in form. But rural Arkansas is hurting. My
It was a message tailored for resi- home State has 75 counties, and 55 of
Ukraine, this makes no sense. It is why
dents of the Hamptons rather than them lost population in the last cen-
the President does not intend to clean
those who live in Hampton, AR. The sus. I suspect the same trend is likely
up this mess.
No, the climate-obsessed Biden ad- voters in Austin, TX, but not Austin, happening in each of our colleagues’
AR. States. The exodus is fueled by the de-
ministration is going to drag the coun-
Arkansans are worried about paying sire to leave rural America to pursue
try into a future defined by many of
their bills, putting food on the table, economic opportunities outside of
the same unsustainable green energy and the price of gasoline. The cost of farming. And that is so unfortunate, as
policies that threw Europe into chaos. almost everything is on the rise, and the family farms that color the land-
They would rather buy Russian oil and every American is feeling the pinch. scape of rural America are the true
fund a war in Ukraine than produce oil And we are not talking about luxury building block for a better future.
here in the USA. items here; we are talking about neces- Reversing this trend should be at the
This is a policy that defies logic. sities. A gallon of gas costs almost a top of our to-do list. Our agenda needs
The time for passing the buck is at
dollar more than last year. Electricity to benefit more than urban and subur-
an end. Sanctions on the Russian en-
bills are skyrocketing, and food infla- ban America. It needs to reach and
ergy sector aren’t radical; they are a
tion is at its highest rate since the Car- help the 60 million Americans living in
means of survival, and we need to use
ter administration. our rural communities. When people
them now. The main thing my constituents and, leave our small rural towns, we run the
This week, we saw some truly stun- quite frankly, most Americans outside risk of losing schools, hospitals, and
ning demonstrations of solidarity with of the beltway needed to hear was a other vital infrastructure needed to
Ukraine. And on behalf of our common plan to bring down inflation, end the sustain these communities. We must
cause for freedom and liberty, the free supply chain bottlenecks, and restore find solutions to rebuild economies and
world has said no to Putin’s war. But if our workforce to full strength. Presi- secure livelihoods in rural America.
we don’t back up those declarations, dent Biden barely touched on these President Biden only mentioned the
we are inviting more chaos. issues. When he did, it was to cast word ‘‘rural’’ once in his entire State
This week, Ukraine’s Ambassador to blame for inflation on businesses and of the Union Address. He continued to
the U.N. reminded us of the cost of this industries that are doing their very push his Build Back Better agenda,
willful blindness—and, yes, it is willful best to maintain operations in the face which favors big city liberals at the ex-
blindness. He said: of historic supply chain and labor chal- pense of rural America and pledged to
If we fail to respond now we will face much lenges. resurrect this doomed package.
more than criticism. We will face oblivion. The President claimed that busi- My advice to President Biden: It is
It must not happen. Now it is time to nesses should simply lower costs to re- time to stop pushing that boulder up
act, time to help Ukraine, which is now duce inflation, as if lowering costs in the hill. Instead, make good on your
paying the ultimate price for the free- the face of increasing government pledge to unite the fractured country.
dom and security of itself and of the mandates, increasing input costs, labor That starts by abandoning these mis-
world. shortages, and overregulation was pos- placed priorities and focusing on the
Joe Biden won’t be able to soft-talk sible. There is a major disconnect be- needs of all Americans.
ctelli on DSK11ZRN23PROD with SENATE
his way out of this impending disaster tween the struggles Americans experi- With that, I yield the floor.
that is unfolding right before our eyes. ence every day and the image the The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Sen-
I would implore all of my colleagues, President and his team are desperately ator from South Carolina.
each and every one who claims to be trying to project. POLICE REFORM
inspired by President Zelenskyy and This is most apparent in rural Amer- Mr. SCOTT of South Carolina.
the Ukrainian freedom fighters, to fol- ica. The President and his team often Madam President, this week President
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S984 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE March 3, 2022
Biden’s State of the Union speech ad- efforts to ensure law enforcement offi- I hope that the other side is hearing
dressed an issue I have long worked on. cers come from diverse backgrounds that because I think there is an oppor-
It is the issue of police reform. After that reflect the communities that they tunity now to come together, particu-
years—and I do mean years—of Demo- serve, but Democrats refused to sup- larly in light of the speech the other
crats’ touting unpopular ‘‘defund the port those efforts. night by the President, to say, let’s do
police’’ policies, they have finally seen Fast-forward to 2021. The legislation two things. One, let’s help these com-
the light—maybe it is the light on that I was negotiating over the last munities to be able to be safer and help
their sinking polling numbers—and are year would ban choke holds, with the the people who live there, but, also,
now voicing support for funding our only exception being the life of the of- let’s increase the amount of respect
men and women in uniform. ficer. We took a strong stance on no- and gratitude for our police officers.
Crime is one of the top issues people knock warrants. We worked to provide Those two are not inconsistent. In fact,
across this country are facing. Homi- support for officers who were experi- they are complementary. That is why I
cides are up 44 percent in major cities encing PTSD, and we supported pro- appreciate the work that he has done
since 2019, and minority communities viding co-responders to scenes where and will do.
that have been impacted the most are there was a mental health episode hap- UKRAINE
crying out for help. pening. Madam President, tonight, in
Eighty-five percent—85 percent—is The truth is, we were almost there— Ukraine, the bombs are already raining
the number of the increase from 2019 to getting a bill done—when my negoti- down on the cities of Kharkiv, of Kyiv,
2020 in the murders and the violent ating partners left the table. and other towns and cities throughout
crimes in Black and Hispanic commu- In this election year, I am glad to Ukraine. Indiscriminate bombings—ar-
nities. In addition, last year was one of hear that President Biden and Demo- tillery, missiles—are killing innocent
the most dangerous, deadliest years for crats are now, suddenly, talking posi- civilians. Already, thousands of civil-
law enforcement on record, with the tively about an issue that every com- ians have been killed.
most officers being shot in the line of munity around the country has been This was a totally unwarranted, un-
duty since they began tracking the talking about for the last 2 years. justified, atrocious invasion of a free
numbers. That is nearly a 70-percent I want more than talk. I want to see country, of an independent sovereign
action. I am still at the table. I am country. Here on the floor of the Sen-
increase in officers being shot while
still waiting for anyone, from any- ate we have an opportunity to do some-
simply trying to do their duty, take
where, at any time, to show up at this thing about it, which is to act on legis-
care of the community, and return to
table and take care of our police offi- lation called the supplemental appro-
their families.
cers so they can continue to take care priations bill, which provides more
So this is not an issue between law
of our communities. I look forward to funding and help for two things: one,
enforcement or the minority commu-
reintroducing legislation very quickly the military response.
nity; this is an issue of both. Today, 80 We need to do everything we can—we
to refund the police after so many ef-
percent of African Americans all over need to flood the zone—to help the
forts to defund the police have suc-
the country want the same level of po- Ukrainians be able to defend them-
ceeded in cities across our great Na-
licing or higher levels of policing. They selves. They want more help, and they
tion.
want their neighborhoods safe because I urge my colleagues on the other need more help, and I think the Amer-
they understand more than anyone side of the aisle to come back to the ican taxpayer, from what we have al-
else—with the 85-percent increase, they negotiating table, which I never left, so ready done, should be proud of that,
understand the importance of the pres- that we can ensure the proper level of but we need to do more and do it quick-
ence of character-driven law enforce- funding for our officers, who provide ly. We can’t wait for the redtape and
ment officers patrolling our commu- great levels of safety for our commu- the bureaucracy to finish up before we
nities. nities. send small arms, before we send more
The numbers simply do not lie. Also, for the last 3 years, I have Stingers to be able to shoot down air-
That is why we must increase fund- worked really hard with my friends planes, or more Javelins to stop these
ing for police departments so they can across the aisle on lynching legisla- tanks that are coming into Kyiv. You
have the training and the equipment, tion—lynching legislation that has saw that long column.
the resources necessary to do their failed in this body 200 times—and we We should do more. We should pro-
jobs, keeping themselves safe and the passed it. We passed it twice under Re- vide more funding for the kind of air-
neighborhoods that they patrol safe at publican leadership, in this Senate, planes that we don’t have but that
the exact same time. only for it to fall apart in the House. other countries do that they might be
In his speech this week, President Well, the House has taken up that leg- willing to provide, we are told, if we
Biden named things I have been work- islation, and they have renamed it. provide compensation to them—MiG
ing on and supporting for years along That is a good thing if they will pass fighters that they can use—because
with my Republican colleagues. We it. If it takes a new name and minor airpower is so important.
have literally been supporting the tweaks to get this legislation signed We should provide more in terms of
issues he raised for the last 2 or 3 into law—legislation that has failed 200 the drones that countries like Turkey
years. times—I welcome a new name; I wel- can provide, and we can help finance,
My legislation, the JUSTICE Act, come some technical changes. I think to be able to give them the ability to
was filibustered on this very floor by we are almost there on this, too. do things like stop that murderous col-
Senate Democrats in 2020. It contained This is the year, and now is the time umn that is on its way to kill civilians
hundreds of millions of dollars for the that we do the right thing, not for Re- in Kyiv tonight.
very things President Biden, under du- publicans or Democrats but for Ameri- So my hope is that, on both sides of
ress and in an election year for so cans, who have watched with bewil- the aisle, we put aside whatever dif-
many Democrats, is now advocating dered eyes and confused hearts the gov- ferences we have and focus on this im-
for. ernment fall short on issues of impor- mediately. The funding is needed to be
In my bill, as an example, we funded tance to them again and again and able to ensure that we have a sustained
training; we funded storage; and we again. Let this year be the year we put effort here—because this is not going
funded the purchase of more body-worn politics to the side, and we get it done. to be a matter of hours or days; it is
cameras for our officers because the The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Sen- going to be a matter of weeks and
polling and the stats are undeniable. ator from Ohio. months—and we need to do everything
When violent crime against our officers Mr. PORTMAN. Madam President, I we can do to help the freedom-loving
ctelli on DSK11ZRN23PROD with SENATE
goes down, violent crime against the want to start by commending my col- people of Ukraine defend their liberty,
community goes down. league from South Carolina. He just their freedom, their independence,
We funded training on alternatives spoke about his police modernization their sovereignty.
for the use of force. We funded deesca- efforts over the years and of his pas- H.R. 3076
lation training. We addressed the sionate commitment to this issue, Madam President, today, on the floor
issues of behavioral health. We funded which comes from his heart. of the Senate, we are also talking
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March 3, 2022 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE S985
about Postal Service reform. This is been paying into Medicare their entire CBO has now made that very clear. I
about saving the post office. It is in big careers to actually enroll in Medicare have made it clear on the floor, and so
trouble. Part B and Part D. have others. If that is the reason you
In my view, if we don’t put some re- These are the hospital visits or pre- are not supportive of this legislation,
forms in place in the post office and do scription drugs. That saves the post of- you ought to look twice at it because it
it quickly, we are going to have a situ- fice money, but it also saves the tax- does not affect the solvency.
ation where, in the next few years, the payer a bunch of money because, right This bill also, as we have found out
post office will become insolvent. What now, those employees—about 25 per- from the CBO, does not impact or in-
will we do then? A huge taxpayer bail- cent of them, of the postal employees— crease the Part B or the Part D pre-
out. do not go into Medicare; they stay in miums. Again, some people have said
We have an alternative, which is to the Federal Employees Health Benefits that. It is just not true. We know this
put in place reforms now, both through Program, soon to be the Postal Health because one of my colleagues asked the
congressional action—passing a law Benefit Plan, which is a more generous CBO these questions in a letter. Some
that I will talk about in a second—but plan that will still be there to back it of us were already saying this because,
also through internal reforms at the up. But these employees going into as an example, with regard to Part A,
post office itself. With the current Medicare will help to save the post of- people have been paying in their whole
Postmaster General committed to fice. lives, but they are also already eligible
those reforms, I am confident that Third, we require the Postal Service for Part A. So they are not going to
those can move as well. The combina- to maintain its current standard of 6-
tion of those two things means saving add to Part A.
day delivery.
the post office, and it is really impor- This colleague of mine wanted to be
Now, this is very important because
tant. sure and get the answer from the CBO.
a lot of Members in this caucus, on my
Think of the veterans you represent, So he asked the CBO this question:
side—the Republicans—feel very
if you are a Member here in the Senate, strongly about this, but so do Members What is the effect of the legislation on the
who get their medication prescriptions of the Democratic side, particularly if Medicare Hospital Insurance Trust Fund?
from the mail. I am sure you have they represent rural areas. The 6-day Here was the answer from the CBO:
heard from them, because I have. They delivery, as I said, is so important for
don’t like it when their drugs are a day Most people aged 65 or older are entitled to
things like the Social Security checks, benefits under Medicare Part A (Hospital In-
late, much less 2 or 3 days late or a the rent checks, paying your utility
week late, because of the post office’s surance) if they have worked and paid Medi-
bills, ensuring that you have the abil- care taxes for an adequate number of quar-
not being able to perform. ity to get your prescriptions through ters; nearly all Medicare-eligible USPS—
How about the people who get their
the mail. So that is in this legisla- That is the Postal Service—
Social Security checks in the mail? I
tion—but also doing it through an inte-
have heard from them, too, and I am annuitants are already covered. Because en-
sure the Presiding Officer has. They grated delivery network of mail and
titlement to Part A is related primarily to a
want a strong post office. They know packages. Think about first-class mail person’s age and employment history, CBO
that that universal service obligation— and other mail and packages. To have estimates that the legislation’s Medicare re-
meaning the post office—goes to every those in this integrated service is far quirements would not increase the number of
mailbox. It is critical to them and more efficient for the post office, obvi- people receiving benefits under Part A;
their ability to get those lifesaving So- ously. That is what they are doing now. therefore, the agency estimates that H.R.
So this legislation simply says the sta- 3076 would not result in additional spending
cial Security checks. from the Hospital Insurance Trust Fund.
What about the voters who vote ab- tus quo should continue there. Other-
sentee? In Ohio, we have no-fault ab- wise, it would be terribly inefficient for No impact.
sentee. It works very well. It is a sys- us to have a separate system for pack- My colleague also asked the CBO:
tem that is fair, and it is a system that ages and a separate system for mail.
The combination of all of these So what is the effect upon Medicare pre-
is secure, but it is a system that relies miums in Part B and Part D?
on the post office’s doing its job— things, by the way, means that the
right?—to be sure those ballots are de- Congressional Budget Office estimates The trust funds there, as you know,
livered properly both to the voter but that this legislation will save the tax- are funded by people paying premiums.
also back to the boards of elections. payer $1.5 billion. So it doesn’t cost But the question is, Are the premiums
So the post office is critical. Again, anything—this is not an appropria- going to go up in Part B and Part D?
no one else is going to pick up this tion—but over 10 years, it does save The question really is, What is the ef-
function. That last mile is not going to $1.5 billion. fect on everybody?
be done by somebody else. The post of- In response to legitimate concerns Here is CBO’s reply:
fice is absolutely critical to save be- that I have heard from the shipping
Our preliminary analysis suggests that the
cause it is absolutely critical to the and the banking communities, let me legislation is unlikely to have an effect.
American people. also note what this bill does not do. CBO does not expect that Part D (Drug
So what does our legislation do? Ba- No. 1, it does not appropriate any Coverage) premiums would change under
sically, it just does a few things. new funds to the U.S. Postal Service— H.R. 3076. Monthly premiums from Part B
First, it eliminates a burdensome period. are set by the Secretary of Health and
prefunding requirement for retiree No. 2, it does not change the account- Human Services to finance one-quarter of
health benefits that the post office has ing or costing structure for packages the expected annual monthly Part B spend-
to make that nobody else does. and letters. So it does not disadvantage ing for all enrollees age 65 or over, rounded
Congress mandated this back in 2006. private sector carriers. That is very to the nearest multiple of 10 cents. To cause
I am not quite sure why. They man- important. a change under H.R. 3076, the group of new
enrollees would need to be large enough and
dated it for all current employees re- No. 3, it does not allow the Postal
their healthcare costs would need to be suffi-
gardless of age. This has crippled the Service to enter into new commercial ciently different from the current averages
post office financially. No other Fed- services like postal banking—period. to affect [the] average. CBO projects that
eral Agency or Department does that, Those are important things that have under current law, Part B enrollment will in-
by the way. The Federal Government sometimes been misrepresented as I crease from 64 million people in 2025—the
does not require the prefunding of re- have heard people talking about this year that 3076 would begin requiring certain
tiree health benefits nor does the pri- legislation. UPS annuitants to enroll in Part B—to 73
vate sector, frankly. In the private sec- Finally and very importantly, de- million [people by] 2031. CBO estimates that
ctelli on DSK11ZRN23PROD with SENATE
spite the claims of some of the oppo- under the legislation enrollment in Part B
tor, it is basically Medicare. So we
would increase by between 13,000 and 40,000
take away that onerous burden, which, nents of this legislation, this bill does
people over that period of time, or less than
again, is crippling the post office finan- not impact the solvency of the Medi- 0.1 percent of the program’s total enroll-
cially. care Part A trust fund—period. For the ment. It is unlikely that an increase of that
Second, we require the post office re- people who keep saying that, you are magnitude would affect the monthly Part B
tirees who are retiring and who have wrong, and you know it because the premiums.
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S986 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE March 3, 2022
In other words, what they are saying of justifiable criticism for many years. The LEGISLATIVE SESSION
is it won’t affect the premiums because agency has been on the Government Ac-
countability Office’s High-Risk List since Ms. CORTEZ MASTO. Mr. President,
it is a drop in the bucket. We are talk- I move to proceed to legislative ses-
2009 due to its unsustainable business model
ing about 60 or 70 million people, and sion.
and financial condition. There have been 15
we are talking about 13,000 to 40,000 consecutive years of net losses since 2007, to- The PRESIDING OFFICER. The
people coming into Part B and Part D. taling $91.2 billion. question is on agreeing to the motion.
By the way, again, these people paid H.R. 3076 does not address all of the agen- The motion was agreed to.
their HI taxes all throughout their ca- cy’s problems, including closing excess fa-
f
reers. cilities, high labor costs, and greater work
CBO then continued, relative to part sharing. But Section 202 of the bill codifies EXECUTIVE SESSION
D—this is the drug benefit: an integrated delivery network of packages
H.R. 3076 would require PSHB— and mail together six days a week. This pro-
vision is supported by the USPS, the Postal EXECUTIVE CALENDAR
That is the Postal Health Benefit Regulatory Commission (PRC), mailers,
Plan— shippers, and pro-taxpayer organizations. Ms. CORTEZ MASTO. Mr. President,
to deliver prescription drug benefits using an Requiring the USPS to create separate deliv- I move to proceed to executive session
Employer Group Waiver Plan under Medi- ery systems for packages and mail would in- to consider Calendar No. 547.
care Part D. Part D premiums are based on crease costs, slow down delivery, and raise The PRESIDING OFFICER. The
the national average monthly bid amount, as prices for customers. question is on agreeing to the motion.
calculated by the Centers for Medicare & According to the PRC, separate networks The motion was agreed to.
Medicaid Services using information from would cost more than $15 billion annually for
applicable plan bids. Because Employer
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The
a new fleet of vehicles and tens of thousands
Group Waiver Plans are excluded from that of new employees. That would make it high- clerk will report the nomination.
calculation, CBO estimates that the legisla- ly unlikely that the USPS would ever be The legislative clerk read the nomi-
tion’s requirements would not affect Part D profitable, and very likely that taxpayers nation of Maria L. Pagan, of Puerto
premiums. would be paying for a significant bailout, Rico, to be a Deputy United States
So let me, again, put it clearly. The along with a large annual subsidy. Trade Representative (Geneva Office),
bill does not impact the solvency of the H.R. 3076 also prevents the USPS from get- with the rank of Ambassador.
hospital trust fund—the Part A trust ting into financial services and other non- CLOTURE MOTION
postal commercial businesses. There is
fund—which is the trust fund we all ample evidence that such activities are Ms. CORTEZ MASTO. Mr. President,
talk about here—period. And the bill doomed to fail. In the fall of 2021, USPS I send a cloture motion to the desk.
does not increase Medicare Part B and began providing Visa cards of up to $500 to The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clo-
Part D premiums. customers who used business checks for the ture motion having been presented
By the way, because of this and be- transactions. They sold six cards between under rule XXII, the Chair directs the
cause this saves the post office, this September 13, 2021 and January 12, 2022, clerk to read the motion.
legislation passed the House with bringing in $37.50 in fees, which is equal to The legislative clerk read as follows:
strong bipartisan support. Just a cou- the pay for about two hours of work for one
USPS clerk. As the USPS said in 2014 in re- CLOTURE MOTION
ple of weeks ago, it passed by a vote of We, the undersigned Senators, in accord-
sponse to the suggestion by the USPS in-
342 to 92. Not much gets passed in the spector general that the agency should pro- ance with the provisions of rule XXII of the
House with those kinds of big bipar- vide financial services, its ‘‘core function is Standing Rules of the Senate, do hereby
tisan numbers these days, but saving delivery, not banking.’’ move to bring to a close debate on the nomi-
the post office is pretty popular, par- The bill also increases financial trans- nation of Executive Calendar No. 547, Maria
ticularly when it is done the way this parency and strengthens inspector general L. Pagan, of Puerto Rico, to be a Deputy
is done. oversight. United States Trade Representative (Geneva
This was worked out between Mem- While H.R. 3076 does not solve all the Office), with the rank of Ambassador.
issues currently facing the USPS, the legis- Charles E. Schumer, Alex Padilla, Chris-
bers on both sides of the aisle and be- topher Murphy, Edward J. Markey,
tween both sides of the Capitol. We did lation sets the agency on the path to a more
sustainable future. For these reasons, I urge Gary C. Peters, Brian Schatz, Jack
it carefully. We did it in a way that, Reed, Tammy Duckworth, John W.
you to support H.R. 3076. Any votes related
yes, will save the post office, along to H.R. 3076 may be among those considered Hickenlooper, Sheldon Whitehouse,
with the other reforms internally we for CCAGW’s 2022 Congressional Ratings. Tim Kaine, Richard Blumenthal, Chris-
talked about, but in a way that is actu- Sincerely, topher A. Coons, Margaret Wood Has-
ally a money-saver for the taxpayer. TOM SCHATZ, san, Patrick J. Leahy, Debbie Stabe-
It is also pretty popular with con- President. now.
stituents. It is popular with postal Mr. PORTMAN. So I encourage my f
workers because they want to have a colleagues to join us in support of this LEGISLATIVE SESSION
post office that continues to survive. It legislation. Let’s put the Postal Serv-
is supported by the Citizens Against Ms. CORTEZ MASTO. Mr. President,
ice in a position to succeed, and let’s I move to proceed to legislative ses-
Government Waste, which wrote a let- provide those essential services to the
ter acknowledging the importance of sion.
small businesses, veterans, the elderly, The PRESIDING OFFICER. The
this bill for ensuring the solvency of rural constituents, who rely on it so
the post office. question is on agreeing to the motion.
much—the prescription drugs we The motion was agreed to.
Madam President, I ask unanimous talked about, the Social Security
consent to have that letter printed in checks, the rent checks, the utility f
the RECORD. checks, and the ballots. EXECUTIVE SESSION
There being no objection, the mate- I appreciate working with my col-
rial was ordered to be printed in the league Senator GARY PETERS on this,
RECORD, as follows: over time, to try to find a consensus, EXECUTIVE CALENDAR
COUNCIL FOR CITIZENS to try to find a way forward that was Ms. CORTEZ MASTO. Mr. President,
AGAINST GOVERNMENT WASTE,
bipartisan, bicameral, where we could I move to proceed to executive session
February 7, 2022.
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, actually do something after years and to consider Calendar No. 719.
Washington, DC. years of talking about what bad shape The PRESIDING OFFICER. The
DEAR REPRESENTATIVE: You will soon be the post office is in financially, to do question is on agreeing to the motion.
voting on H.R. 3076, the Postal Service Re- something to right the ship, to ensure The motion was agreed to.
ctelli on DSK11ZRN23PROD with SENATE
form Act of 2021. On behalf of the more than it will be there for the future. The PRESIDING OFFICER. The
one million members and supporters of the Let’s pass this bill, and let’s do en- clerk will report the nomination.
Council for Citizens Against Government
sure that the post office is healthy for The legislative clerk read the nomi-
Waste (CCAGW), I urge you to support this
legislation. all the folks we represent going for- nation of Ed Gonzalez, of Texas, to be
The United States Postal Service (USPS) ward. an Assistant Secretary of Homeland
has been the subject of a significant amount I yield the floor. Security.
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