Congressional Record, Senate, March 30, 2022: Page S1849

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Page S1849 of the Senate section of the Congressional Record for March 30, 2022, in interleaved columns. One speaker says Tennesseans feel they are fighting a losing battle against the erosion of basic values, with government drowning in debt and the crime rate rising. Another speaker on COVID-19 says 91 percent of Marylanders 5 and older have had at least one vaccination shot, that antiviral pills are in short supply, and that additional funding is critically important for vaccinations at home and abroad. A further passage refers to a committee discussion.

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“Congressional Record, Senate, March 30, 2022: Page S1849.” Original at www.govinfo.gov. Archived at Pandemic Darlings, https://pandemicdarlings.com/source-documents/crec-crec-2022-03-30-crec-2022-03-30-pt1-pgs1849-c777f7450f/, SHA-256 8008bfb15986c91690da504968b3b5082c9fd5e94124ef7c3b4204ac91cd3b93.

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March 30, 2022 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE S1849
I hear from Tennesseans every single had a booster. In Maryland, 91 percent antiviral pills, all of which are already
day who feel like they are fighting a of Marylanders 5 and older have had at in short supply.
losing battle against the erosion of our least one COVID–19 vaccination shot. Additional funding is critically im-
basic values. Their government is Overall, we have made significant portant if we want to see the United
drowning in debt. The crime rate has strides in fighting the COVID–19 pan- States continue its leadership role in
gone from bad to absolutely terrifying. demic, but the threat is not over. Many distributing vaccinations across the
And classrooms have become battle- Americans have children who are too world to prevent more and worse
grounds in the culture war between young to be vaccinated and are variants from taking off and arriving
woke bureaucrats and parents who just immunocompromised or otherwise at on our shores.
want to rear their children as they see high risk, so they may not be able to I will continue to fight to ensure that
fit. resume normal activities. While posi- we get additional COVID–19 funding.
Slowly but surely, activists are forc- tivity rates and hospitalizations are The American Rescue Plan Act dem-
ing themselves between parents and decreasing, almost 700 Americans still onstrated our ability to pass legisla-
their children, stripping words and in- are dying, on average, each day. tion that quickly ramped up pandemic
stitutions of their meaning and using Additionally, new variants continue response efforts and effectively miti-
their power to eliminate dissent. It is to emerge. Countries across Europe and gated the negative economic impact of
no way to run a classroom, and it is no Asia have seen new spikes in cases due the pandemic. This legislation has been
way to run a country either. But right to a more contagious version of Omi- critical in helping individuals and com-
now, these parents I am talking to are cron known as BA.2. We could soon see munities respond to the challenges
looking at Washington and seeing the a renewed surge as we are oftentimes brought on by the pandemic. Local
left use these same tactics to convince only weeks behind rising cases in Eu- governments have had to provide es-
whoever gives credence to these un- rope. This latest subvariant already sential services at an unprecedented
hinged headlines that reality is some- makes up 35 percent of the cases here level, and they have risen to the occa-
how up for debate. in the United States. sion without falling into financial ruin.
They are not going to tolerate it any- Fortunately, at this stage, BA.2 ap- Now is not the time to take the foot off
more, not from Congress, not from the pears no more severe than the original the gas.
White House, and certainly not from Omicron variant. In the United King- Restaurants, for example, still need
the Supreme Court. dom, however, as BA.2 increased, chil- help. The American Rescue Plan cre-
I think it bears repeating that the dren 2 to 11 years old had the highest ated the Restaurant Revitalization
purpose of the Supreme Court is to in- rate of infections of any group in the Fund, but the $28.6 billion provided to
terpret the law, not to take up arms in country, the younger children. the program was not enough to meet
a culture war. I cannot in good con- To respond rapidly to emerging demand. I remain gravely disappointed
science give my endorsement to a Su- variants, we must keep financing pan- that the fiscal year 2022 omnibus
preme Court nominee whose first in- demic prevention and response needs. spending package Congress passed ear-
stinct was to chip away at the very The White House and the Department lier this month did not include addi-
foundation of the law rather than chal- of Health and Human Services have tional assistance for restaurants and
lenge the expectations of radical polit- made it clear that at least $22.5 billion other hard-hit small businesses. For
ical activists. of additional funding is necessary to the last 2 years of the pandemic, nearly
I yield the floor. replenish pandemic prevention pro- all restaurants have been under great
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Sen- grams that are nearing completion or strain as they have struggled to keep
ator from Maryland. have already been depleted. Without staff and adapt to the new variants,
CORONAVIRUS these funds, we will have to cut back while facing increased pricing due to
Mr. CARDIN. Mr. President, we are on critical aspects of the pandemic re- supply chain disruptions and inflation.
at a critical point in our battle against sponse. And those have been the restaurants
COVID–19. While we are still losing Here are some examples. Our na- fortunate enough to survive the pan-
Americans to the virus, we have tional testing capacity will decline, demic. Thousands have closed their
reached a stage where most of us are leaving us vulnerable and less able to doors for good.
able to resume many of the daily ac- detect emerging variants. It will be- More than 100,000 restaurants re-
tivities we used to regard as normal. come harder to diagnose infections ceived grants from the Restaurant Re-
But our sustained effort to improve early enough to take effective treat- vitalization Fund that have helped
health outcomes and keep our economy ments. Also, uninsured individuals may them keep their doors open, but more
on track is running out of funding. Now no longer be able to access vaccines, than 180,000 restaurants that submitted
is the time to act. tests, and treatments for free. This will their applications on time to receive
Over the last 2 years, our commu- cut off a critical support for uninsured funds—their applications were there—
nities have taken necessary mitigation individuals and health providers who have received no funds at all. That is
measures. Healthcare and frontline care for them if they become ill with not fair, and they desperately need our
workers have given everything they COVID–19. help.
have to care for our loved ones. The In addition to testing and acute care, If Congress had not acted quickly to
Biden administration, with funding vital COVID–19 research will suffer if replenish the Paycheck Protection
provided through the American Rescue we do not provide sufficient funding. Program when it ran out of money
Plan, has worked hard to ensure we had Continued development of new medica- weeks after it opened in April 2020—and
the resources necessary to continue to tions and vaccines is critical, but with- we did that, by the way, with strong,
adapt our response to COVID–19. out additional funding, research will almost unanimous support, and it was
After the peak of the Omicron vari- stop, leaving us potentially vulnerable hundreds of billions of dollars that we
ant, the reduced COVID–19 trans- to a variant resistant to our current were short—the program would have
missions has made it safer to reconnect arsenal. Specifically, the National In- been a half-measure, necessary but not
with friends and family and resume stitutes of Health may shut down some sufficient. Instead, we extended the
some of the activities we have all of its COVID–19 research. emergency aid needed to meet the cri-
missed during the past 2 years. Due to Further, the Food and Drug Adminis- sis we faced, and that is exactly what
the tireless work of the Biden adminis- tration recently granted an emergency we need to do again with the Res-
tration, testing capacity and thera- use authorization for a new monoclonal taurant Revitalization Fund.
peutics are more available than they antibody treatment that is effective For the past 2 years plus, I have

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have been at any time during the pan- against the Omicron variant. Without worked hard to secure vital resources
demic. Over 81 percent of Americans additional funding, however, the Fed- to fight the COVID–19 pandemic and
who are 5 years or older have had at eral Government won’t be able to con- ensure that those who are struggling
least one COVID–19 vaccination, and tinue ordering the monoclonal anti- from the economic effects or emotional
nearly 50 percent of Americans who are body treatments, vital therapies for toll have the necessary support going
eligible are fully vaccinated and have immunocompromised patients, and forward. I will continue that fight.

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S1850 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE March 30, 2022
The novel virus continues to chal- at a time. Education is one of the most So that order is in place right now.
lenge our Nation and the world, so we impactful ways we can do that, and I Here is how that has worked. If you
must be prepared. I urge the Senate to appreciate President Scott’s dedication look at this chart, you will see the peo-
pass necessary additional funding for to serving students for the past 30 ple who have been turned away because
COVID–19 relief so Americans can con- years. of title 42, in orange. Those are the
tinue to face this challenge head-on I also appreciate how closely he has numbers in orange. Those who have
and prevail. worked with me and my staff to advo- been allowed to come into the country
I suggest the absence of a quorum. cate for Kansas higher education and are in blue.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The identify ways the Federal Government You will see here, at the end of the
clerk will call the roll. can invest in the campus to move both last administration, in the Trump
The senior assistant legislative clerk Kansans and Kansas forward. years, when we had for the most part a
proceeded to call the roll. President Steve Scott will be cele- secure border, we had very few illegal
Mr. MORAN. Mr. President, I ask brated this Friday in Pittsburg and entries. We had about 75 percent of the
unanimous consent that the order for step down from his position as presi- people who were coming in who were
the quorum call be rescinded. dent in June, but before he does so, I turned away by title 42.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without want him to know how grateful I am In this administration, it is closer to
objection, it is so ordered. and Kansans are for his service. about 50 percent. About 50 percent of
TRIBUTE TO STEVE A. SCOTT He is a public servant through and the people are being turned away by
Mr. MORAN. Mr. President, this through, and I look forward to seeing title 42.
evening, I want to take just a few mo- what he does next. Whatever it may be, Why is this important? Well, obvi-
ments to recognize Pittsburg State I wish him and Cathy the very best. ously, we are making progress on
University President Steve Scott. His President Scott, thank you for your COVID. COVID–19, we all hope, is not
long tenure at PSU—over three decades friendship. Thank you for making a dif- going to be here forever. There may be
in total—has shepherded the university ference in so many lives. We are grate- another variant out there, but as we
through various challenges and a pe- ful for what you have done at Pittsburg are relaxing mask mandates and tell-
riod of growth. State University. Best to you and your ing people that they don’t have a vac-
Since taking the helm as president in family. cination mandate anymore to be able
2009, he has led through a recession, en- I yield the floor. to come to work or travel across our
rollment and recruitment challenges in I suggest the absence of a quorum.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The borders, we are hearing reports that
a global pandemic.
Early on during the pandemic, as our clerk will call the roll. the Biden administration may rescind
world was shutting down, I hosted a The senior assistant legislative clerk title 42, so get rid of this authority
Crawford County virtual check-in with proceeded to call the roll. within the next several weeks.
area leaders. President Scott was on Mr. PORTMAN. Mr. President, I ask And do you know what? Unless we
that Zoom call. It was one of the many unanimous consent that the order for have a new variant, God forbid, that
Zoom calls we have made over the last the quorum call be rescinded. comes in and causes a new health cri-
several years. During that conversa- The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. sis, they are probably right. Title 42
tion, President Scott said that there KELLY). Without objection, it is so or- shouldn’t be used in this way because
were three things to do when leading dered. it is a public health authority, not an
during difficult times: One, tell the BORDER SECURITY immigration law. The problem is that
truth; two, give people hope; and three, Mr. PORTMAN. I am here on the if that happens—remember, we already
tell people how they can help. That ad- floor today to talk about border secu- have an unprecedented number of peo-
vice has stuck with me and has helped rity, an issue that is intertwined with ple coming into the country. Look at
guide my work and my conversations our national security and, certainly, this chart. If that happens, then all
with Kansans ever since, and it is good with the drug epidemic that we see in these folks who are being turned
advice that we can follow yet today. our communities around the country. away—the orange bars here—are going
But President Scott’s legacy is not We are in the middle right now of the to be coming across the border also
only marked by challenges. Pittsburg worst border crisis in the history of our without title 42 in place to have them
State has seen tremendous growth and country. be turned away. This is why the Border
opportunity over the past decades: the This chart tells the story. Patrol tells me—and I know the Pre-
Bicknell Family Center for the Arts, Monthly border crossings are at an siding Officer hears the same thing all
Block22, the expansion of the Overman unprecedented level. Customs and Bor- the time—that they are already over-
Student Center, the Plaster Center, der Protection reports that there were whelmed. But they say it will be out of
and many other positive developments. 164,973 encounters at the border in Feb- control.
These encouraging things highlight ruary. By the way, that is equal to the Now, some may argue it is already
his emphasis on being a good commu- population of Dayton, OH. Actually, it out of control. But it is going to get a
nity partner and his success in further is far greater than the population of whole lot worse. So they are worried on
integrating the university with the Dayton, OH. the border, and rightly so, that the cur-
city of Pittsburg, Crawford County, So we have never had this kind of il- rent crisis is going to become far
and the region. legal migration into the country—this worse.
If you have ever been to Pittsburg on many people being apprehended. They My two colleagues from Arizona,
game day to cheer on the Gorilla’s told us last week that they are seeing both Democrats, to my understanding,
football team, it is clear how well the over 7,000 migrants per day in this have just asked President Biden to
university pulls the community to- month, in March, and this is while keep title 42 in place. And I think that
gether. something called title 42 is in effect. makes sense to keep it in place right
I have always enjoyed walking What is title 42? now because we are not ready for a
through Gorilla Village with President Well, despite these really big num- huge increase of migrants coming
Scott to visit with students and com- bers you see here in terms of the num- across the border. We can’t handle the
munity members—with ‘‘Welcome to ber of people being apprehended at the current wave. The information we re-
the Jungle,’’ of course, playing in the border, under what is called title 42, ceived from the Department of Home-
background. which is a public health authority—it land Security is that they are planning
It is during these events that it is has nothing to do with immigration, for a massive increase of migrants
clear how well he relates to students, really. It is about public health, and it when this happens.

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how much he cares for them and enjoys is in place because of COVID–19. It al- I am the ranking Republican—the
hearing their goals and their dreams lows the Customs and Border Protec- top Republican—on the Department of
or, for graduates, what they have ac- tion folks to say: Sorry, you can’t Homeland Security oversight com-
complished since leaving campus. come into the United States for public mittee, called the HSGAC Committee,
I am of the view that we change the health reasons. And, therefore, they or Homeland Security and Government
world one soul, one student, one person can be turned away. Affairs Committee. We are talking to

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