Congressional Record, Senate, May 4, 2022, Page S2294
Summary
A page of the Congressional Record, Senate, dated May 4, 2022, at page S2294. A Senator argues that Democrats have undermined police and parents, citing a city survey in which 75 percent of officers would leave for another police department, and criticizes training programs and school policies. The Senator says a bipartisan majority adopted Senator Thune's resolution of disapproval on a Biden administration rule on masking children in Head Start programs. Mr. Cardin then speaks on National Small Business Week and on the Justice Alito draft opinion that would overturn Roe v. Wade, calling it outrageous and saying thirty-six million women of reproductive age would be at risk. The remarks are the speakers' own.
Summary drafted by a model from the document's text below and checked by script against that text before publication. It is a navigation aid, not a reading of what the document proves. Where AI is used
Cite this document
“Congressional Record, Senate, May 4, 2022, Page S2294.”
Original at www.govinfo.gov. Archived at Pandemic Darlings, https://pandemicdarlings.com/source-documents/crec-crec-2022-05-04-crec-2022-05-04-pt1-pgs2294-3-14294dcea1/
, SHA-256 babaffb22d6128f2fcab2f2488c1df95cd7149647fa63c881e0700cc7b0b9389.Full text
S2294 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE May 4, 2022
compiled by the city of Louisville last They’re not somebody else’s children. side-the-home childcare, and nothing—
year found that morale—morale— They’re like yours when they’re in the class- nothing at all—for families who choose
among our officers is alarmingly low. A room. to have a full-time parent or another
full 75 percent would leave for another Unfortunately, this wasn’t a mis- family member look after their kids;
police department. Not surprisingly, take. It was actually a rather accurate just the latest example of a massive
this has led to a severe staffing short- summary of the increasingly radical overreach the American people never
age on the force. Our police chief even way he and his party think of children asked for.
took out billboard ads in Atlanta—in in America. The Biden administration is having a
Atlanta—to try to recruit officers from When it comes to the respective roles hard enough time with basic governing
other cities. of parents and teachers, Democrats responsibilities like national security,
Now more than ever, we need to fund have used the past 2 years of the pan- energy independence, and controlling
law enforcement, support police offi- demic disruptions to show their true inflation. American families, and espe-
cers, and back the blue, but too many colors. They have shoveled money into cially children, will be a whole lot bet-
Democrats are apparently bent on woke training, like the North Carolina ter off the sooner the Democrats stop
doing just the opposite. The far left’s program to help preschool teachers looking for even more ways to fail
call to defund the police has taken root ‘‘deconstruct whiteness’’— them.
at every level of government. Elected ‘‘deconstruct whiteness.’’ They have I suggest the absence of a quorum.
officials—sworn to preserve, protect, torn up time-tested procedures as in The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tem-
and defend the Constitution—have cho- one California district’s move to insti- pore. The clerk will call the roll.
sen instead to amplify distrust of the tute an equity lottery for admissions. The senior assistant legislative clerk
men and women who work every day to Last fall, the former chair of the proceeded to call the roll.
enforce our laws. Democratic National Committee ran a Mr. CARDIN. Mr. President, I ask
So let’s just consider whom the Biden gubernatorial campaign, saying: unanimous consent that the order for
administration has prioritized for con- I don’t think parents should be telling the quorum call be rescinded.
firmation to top jobs in the Justice De- schools what they should teach. Suffice it to The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tem-
partment. say, parents in Virginia saw things dif- pore. Without objection, it is so or-
There is the new U.S. attorney with a
ferently. dered.
Across America, parents have re- U.S. SUPREME COURT
reputation for pushing to cancel entire
jected the radical liberal campaign to Mr. CARDIN. Mr. President, I have
categories of the Criminal Code and
make education a ‘‘one size fits all gov- taken this time to talk about National
the assistant attorneys general who
ernment knows best’’ proposition. Small Business Week, but because of
have advocated for efforts to ‘‘decrease
From coast to coast—even in deep-blue the events of the last 48 hours, I need
police budgets’’ and ‘‘invest less in po-
bastions like San Francisco—they have to comment on the Justice Alito draft
lice.’’
sent rogue local administrators pack- opinion that, if it were adopted by the
There is the newly minted Supreme
ing and asserted their rights and re- Supreme Court, would overturn Roe v.
Court Justice who advocated in her
sponsibilities as the first and most im- Wade.
last job that the COVID pandemic was
portant teachers of their children. I find this draft opinion to be out-
an appropriate reason to let inmates
Yesterday, Senate Republicans made rageous. It puts the health, well-being,
out of jail right here in Washington.
clear once again that we stand with the and constitutional rights of women
Just last week, our colleagues on the parents of America. A bipartisan ma- across the Nation in great jeopardy,
Judiciary Committee considered a jority adopted Senator THUNE’s resolu- particularly those low-income women.
nominee to the circuit court with an tion of disapproval on one of the Biden Thirty-six million women of repro-
unapologetic record of hostility toward administration’s most egregious viola- ductive age would be at risk if the
law enforcement. Without any basis in tions of parents’ rights and kids’ well- Alito opinion became the ruling of the
fact, Nusrat Choudhury suggested that being. Supreme Court.
police murdering unarmed Black men Masking children as young as 2 in We look to our courts to protect and
‘‘happens every day.’’ Happens every Head Start Programs across the coun- expand our constitutional protections,
day? try, including outside on the play- not to contract and weaken the con-
When our colleague the junior Sen- ground—including outside on the play- stitutional protections, reversing near-
ator from Louisiana called her out on ground—flies in the face of what even ly 50 years of legal precedent of Roe v.
it, the nominee tried to claim that she the World Health Organization con- Wade.
had only made the statement as an act siders settled science. And it has seri- What we need to do is to make sure
of ‘‘rhetorical advocacy’’—‘‘rhetorical ously damaged parents’ confidence in that this body does everything we can
advocacy’’—on behalf of a client. the systems to which they entrust to protect women’s rights and to pro-
Unsurprisingly, that answer hasn’t their children for hours every day. tect their healthcare right to make
done much to ease the concerns of So I was proud to join a majority of their own decision.
America’s law enforcement commu- my colleagues last night to express the I am pleased that 16 States, including
nity. Major organizations representing Senate’s opposition to this unconscion- the District of Columbia, have taken
officers—from the Sergeants Benevo- able policy. Ah, but make no mistake: action to protect women’s rights, in-
lent Association to the National Sher- This is not the last we will hear about cluding my own State of Maryland, but
iffs’ Association, to the Fraternal the far left’s efforts to grab more con- we need to do more. We need to pass
Order of Police—have voiced strong, trol over how America raises its kids. the Women’s Health Protection Act. I
strong opposition and called on Presi- As we speak, Senate Democrats are am a cosponsor of that—proud to be a
dent Biden to ‘‘take a stand against trying to resurrect portions of the cosponsor of it—which would codify
this dangerous and absurdly’’—ab- failed reckless taxing-and-spending Roe v. Wade to protect reproductive
surdly—‘‘divisive rhetoric.’’ spree they spent most of last year try- rights for women. I hope we will have
Well, needless to say, the President ing to ram through on party lines. the opportunity to do that. I think we
and his administration need to do a lot That proposal includes the Toddler all recognize that we have a responsi-
more than that to prove to the men Takeover that would stick American bility to act before the Supreme Court
and women of law enforcement that families with dramatically higher costs makes its ruling that could jeopardize
they have their backs. and dramatically less choice in the the constitutional rights.
SSpencer on DSK126QN23PROD with SENATE
S.J. RES. 39 market for childcare. NATIONAL SMALL BUSINESS WEEK
Now, Mr. President, on another mat- More redtape for independent pro- Now, Mr. President, I do want to
ter, last week, President Biden offered viders, special subsidies for bureauc- speak about National Small Business
a particularly candid look at his view racies’ preferred one-size-fits-all sys- Week, which is this week, May 1
of education in America. In speaking at tems, outright hostility toward the through 7.
an awards ceremony for public school faith-based options that are preferred I have the honor of chairing the
teachers, he remarked: by a majority of families who use out- Small Business and Entrepreneurship
VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:17 May 05, 2022 Jkt 029060 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 4637 Sfmt 0634 E:\CR\FM\G04MY6.002 S04MYPT1
May 4, 2022 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE S2295
Committee here in the U.S. Senate, other initiatives that we passed during So Congress cannot mistake the
and I have the opportunity as chair to that period of time. hopeful indicators of recovery for a
talk about small businesses 52 weeks a We have appropriated more than $1 sign that restaurants and bars are back
year and to brag about what small trillion to the Small Business Adminis- to where they were prior to the pan-
businesses are doing. tration to fund these initiatives and demic. They are not. Many bars and
This week gives us the opportunity others, and it has been critical to the restaurants are still months behind on
to highlight for every American the in- survival of small businesses and now to rent and other bills, and they also
credible contributions small businesses our own economic recovery. must deal with increased supply costs
make to our economy. Several independent studies have as a result of supply chain issues and
National Small Business Week is an confirmed that the SBA’s implementa- labor costs. They still need our sup-
annual reminder of how important tion of these programs was largely suc- port. The need is still there, and fair-
small businesses are to the success of cessful and improved over time, espe- ness requires us to act.
America. Small businesses are the life- cially in terms of equity reaching the I want to thank Senator WICKER for
blood of our national economy and our underserved communities. The im- working with me to introduce bipar-
local communities. There are more provement is the result of thoughtful tisan legislation that will replenish
than 32 million small businesses across policies Congress has implemented, as this critical program and provide sup-
the Nation, and they support more well as the Biden administration’s ef- port to other hard-hit industries.
than 61 million jobs. forts to invest in underserved entre- In the longer term, there are three
As Congress works to address the preneurs. policies that Congress should enact to
myriad of challenges facing our coun- Americans registered a record-set- better support the surge of interest in
try from climate change to foreign ting 5.4 million new small businesses entrepreneurship and make our econ-
conflicts, the issues facing small busi- this last year, which was a 1-million in- omy more diverse and resilient in the
ness owners can be drowned out. That crease over the prior record of 4.4 mil- future.
is why I asked to be a member of the lion. So we are responding. The small First, Congress should create a direct
Small Business Committee when I first business community is vibrant. Even lending program at the SBA that will
entered the U.S. Senate in 2007. better, this increase is occurring in allow for another avenue for access to
The committee is one of the smaller some of our most underserved commu- capital, filling the current gaps in our
committees in terms of resources and nities with minorities—specifically mi- financial ecosystem. A reimagined di-
staff, but I know that it was going to nority women—driving the entrepre- rect lending program would allow en-
be a place where I could support entre- neurial surge. trepreneurs to apply directly to the
preneurs, those in my home State of So this year’s theme for National SBA or through community lenders for
Maryland and nationwide, who are fo- Small Business Week, ‘‘Building a Bet- small Federal loans.
cused on creating the companies, prod- We know that many underserved en-
ter America Through Entrepreneur-
ucts, services, and technologies of the trepreneurs are discouraged even from
ship,’’ could not be more fitting, and it
future. applying for a business loan because of
should serve as a clarion call for every
That is where job growth will take the high rates of rejection. Commercial
Member of Congress.
place in this country. More jobs are We simply cannot let this oppor- banks tend to deal with their existing
created through small business than customers. They also tend to want
tunity pass us by. Instead, we in Con-
through larger companies. That is larger loans or the larger of the small
gress must tap into and bolster the en-
where innovation takes place in this businesses, not the smaller, the
trepreneurial spirit that is sweeping
country, where we find ways to deal startups of the small businesses. A di-
our Nation to build a fairer and more
with challenges, as we saw during rect lending program from the SBA
just economy for all.
could help.
COVID–19. But it is also where small The good news: We already know how
Second, Congress should codify the
businesses do not have the same resil- we can do this because that is what we
Community Advantage loan program.
iency to deal with downturns in our did during the pandemic. Several inde- The loan program is particularly suc-
economy. That is why it was so impor- pendent studies have confirmed that cessful in getting capital to under-
tant for us to act in regard to the small business relief programs we cre- served entrepreneurs. We have a track
COVID–19 pandemic. ated over the past 2 years improved record under the Community Advan-
Two years ago, as our Nation faced a over time. The improvement was the tage Program. It works. It reaches
threat of a once-in-a-century global result of policies, many of which were those communities that have been left
pandemic, supporting our small busi- bipartisan, that directly addressed the out in the past.
ness owners was one of my top prior- structural barriers that make it more I am grateful for the Biden adminis-
ities. I will always be proud of the difficult for women, minorities, and tration’s recent announcement that it
swift, bipartisan action this body took other underserved entrepreneurs to will extend the program for 2 years and
to ensure that our vibrant small busi- start and grow successful businesses. implement changes to make the pro-
ness sector would not be a casualty of In the years ahead, Congress must le- gram more helpful to underserved
the COVID–19 pandemic. verage the inroads that the SBA has small businesses. For example, the ad-
Since the beginning of the pandemic, made into these previously underserved ministration will increase the max-
Congress has created several new pro- communities so that critical services imum loan size and expand the number
grams to support small businesses, in- and business loan products can better of lenders in the program to provide
cluding the Paycheck Protection Pro- reach entrepreneurs who need them the loans to more underserved entre-
gram that was there to protect the most. preneurs.
workforce in small business; the EIDL The most immediate action we can Third, Congress should give SBA the
Advance Grant Program, which pro- take is to replenish the Restaurant Re- tools and resources to nurture the next
vided some capital for small businesses vitalization Fund. This is a matter of generation of entrepreneurs by cre-
during the pandemic and provided, basic fairness. There are still more ating a network of incubators and ac-
through its loan program, the longer than 177,000 outstanding applications celerators on the campuses of our Na-
term capital that was needed during for the Restaurant Revitalization tion’s historically Black colleges and
this period of time; the Shuttered Fund. These are restaurants that quali- universities, minority-serving institu-
Venue Operators Grant Program that fied for the relief but, because there tions, and community colleges.
dealt with businesses that were basi- were not enough funds in the program In Maryland, our State HBCUs and
SSpencer on DSK126QN23PROD with SENATE
cally ordered to close during the pan- appropriated by Congress and because community colleges play a key role in
demic because of the public health of the original confusion on application the entrepreneurial ecosystem. They
risk; the Restaurant Revitalization priorities, they were not able to get the are resource partners for the SBA.
Fund that was aimed at an industry funds even though they were eligible They host business incubators and ac-
that was so badly devastated as a re- and they needed the funds. In some celerators, and they leverage their re-
sult of COVID–19 when people would States, as many as 6 in 10 requests for lationship with the underserved com-
not go out to restaurants; and several grants remain unmet. munities to lift up the entrepreneurs in
VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:43 May 04, 2022 Jkt 029060 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 4637 Sfmt 0634 E:\CR\FM\G04MY6.004 S04MYPT1
S2296 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE May 4, 2022
those communities. We need to do the U.S. Senate by abolishing the Senate The fight to defend life is in keeping
same on a national scale and support filibuster rule—again, in order to be with our highest ideals, our passion for
our resource partners. sure that they can get the legislative justice, our dedication to human
These are commonsense policies that outcome they want in response to this rights, and our compassion for the in-
will unlock the growth potential of our possible decision in the Dobbs case. nocent and the vulnerable. I am grate-
Nation’s entrepreneurs and help us to Mr. President, regardless of what side ful for all the Americans who have
recover from the COVID–19 pandemic you are on in this debate, you should fought to make sure the right to life of
in a stronger, fairer way. be willing to stand up for the rule of vulnerable human beings is protected
As we celebrate National Small Busi- law and the integrity of our institu- and have spent their time and their re-
ness Week, let us also double down on tions. That shouldn’t be a partisan sources helping moms in need. I look
the investments we have made in our issue. Our system of government de- forward to a day, which I hope is soon
entrepreneurs over the past 2 years. pends upon the rule of law, which is approaching, when innocent, unborn
Let us once again put partisanship based upon an independent judiciary, Americans will enjoy the full protec-
aside and pass thoughtful legislation free of political pressure or partisan in- tion of the law.
that addresses the root causes of the fluence. I yield the floor.
issues that our Nation’s entrepreneurs Do Democrats really want a future in I suggest the absence of a quorum.
face on a daily basis. which Supreme Court decisions are The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tem-
We can do this. During this week, let made based on political pressure or pore. The clerk will call the roll.
us rededicate ourselves to help Amer- bullying rather than on the Justices’ The senior assistant legislative clerk
ica’s small businesses, help fairness impartial application of the law and proceeded to call the roll.
and opportunity in this country, and the Constitution to the case before Mr. BARRASSO. Mr. President, I ask
help our economy grow even stronger. them? Maybe they do. But if they con- unanimous consent that the order for
I suggest the absence of a quorum. tinue to push in that direction, they the quorum call be rescinded.
The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tem- will end up sacrificing our system of The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tem-
pore. The clerk will call the roll. government in the process. pore. Without objection, it is so or-
The senior assistant legislative clerk Mr. President, I have strong beliefs dered.
proceeded to call the roll. in any number of issues, including ENERGY
Mr. THUNE. Mr. President, I ask abortion, but above all, I believe in our Mr. BARRASSO. Mr. President, I
unanimous consent that the order for system of government and in the rule come to the floor today to talk about
the quorum call be rescinded. of law. While I will fight passionately
the need that we have here in this
The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tem- in support of the causes I believe in, I
country for more energy—and specifi-
pore. Without objection, it is so or- will not sacrifice the integrity of our
cally, more American energy.
dered. institutions for what would ultimately On Thursday, Leader SCHUMER and
U.S. SUPREME COURT
be nothing but temporary political
NANCY PELOSI held a press conference,
Mr. THUNE. Mr. President, Monday’s gain. It is starting to seem like most of
and they announced they had finally
leak of a draft opinion in the Dobbs Su- my Democratic colleagues disagree
come up with an energy plan. After
preme Court case was an unprece- with that position. That may possibly
nearly a year—a year of Joe Biden’s en-
dented and deeply disturbing breach of be a recipe for political success, but it
ergy crisis where he killed the Key-
is also a recipe for destroying free gov-
confidentiality that almost always sur- stone XL Pipeline, struck down leas-
ernment.
rounds Supreme Court deliberations. It ing—it is good to see they finally have
I am glad that Chief Justice Roberts
is difficult to think this was anything has taken steps to investigate this un- a plan.
but an escalation in the radical left’s precedented breach of trust at the It turns out this official Democrat
campaign to bully the Supreme Court Court, and I hope that he will receive energy plan is not going to create one
into delivering decisions in line with the full support of the Department of more drop of American energy. So
the priorities of the Democratic Party. Justice should this turn out to be a what will the plan do? Well, if you look
From Court-packing threats to threats criminal matter. It is difficult to over- at it, you will see it sends bureau-
from the Democratic leader himself state how much this breach could erode crats—unelected, unaccountable,
that were directed to specific Justices, trust among Justices and Supreme heavy-handed bureaucrats—to shake
attempting to intimidate the Supreme Court staff, and I hope the damage is down energy companies. Instead of pro-
Court has become par for the course for minimized by a quick identification of ducing more American energy, they
liberals, but Monday’s leak represents the party responsible. I hope every one want more Federal investigations into
a new low. of the Justices will continue to feel American energy.
Almost as disturbing as the leak has free to do their jobs and follow the It won’t lower the price of energy—
been the reaction from my Democratic facts, the law, and the Constitution. no, not by a single penny. If anything,
colleagues. Their hysterical comments At least one Democrat has suggested it might actually increase energy costs
have been focused almost entirely on Republicans are spending more time across our country. People in Wyoming
the prospect of their getting an out- commenting on the leak than on the this past weekend were paying $4 a gal-
come they don’t want in the Dobbs content of Justice Alito’s draft because lon for gasoline. It doesn’t take a Fed-
case. I have seen almost no concern we are somehow scared to talk about eral investigation to figure out what is
about how the leak will affect the in- our pro-life decision. Let me be per- wrong here with energy in America. We
tegrity of the Supreme Court as an in- fectly clear: We are not. I am proud to know why prices are up: supply and de-
stitution, and their activist base has defend the right to life, and I know my mand. Very simple. Demand for energy
gone out of its way to praise the colleagues are as well. is up, and supply is not. Supply is actu-
leaker. I think most of us have refrained ally down.
More than one Democrat has actu- from commenting because we don’t yet Yet, after a year of high prices,
ally called for undermining the integ- truly know the outcome. But I will say Democrats still refuse to admit it, ig-
rity of the Supreme Court by packing this. I hope Justice Alito’s opinion noring inflation, not facing the facts
the Court with additional Justices. ends up being the majority opinion. As that we have the American energy in
Yes, that is the result of what hap- I have long believed, Roe v. Wade was the ground here and they won’t let us
pened yesterday among Democrats. a terrible decision by an activist Court get it out.
More than one Democratic Senator be- But now the Democrats are coming
SSpencer on DSK126QN23PROD with SENATE
that reached far beyond the Constitu-
lieves that the proper response to a Su- tion and the Court’s interpretive role up with election-year conspiracy theo-
preme Court decision you don’t like is to impose a new abortion regime on the ries. They say high prices aren’t hap-
to add additional Justices to the Court entire country. I hope the Supreme pening because of the law of econom-
until you can be confident that you Court overturns Roe and returns the ics. They are saying it is happening be-
will get the outcomes you want. question of abortion to the American cause of secret backroom deals. Demo-
Other Democratic Senators have pro- people and their elected representa- crats claim it is an international con-
posed undermining the integrity of the tives, where it belongs. spiracy rigged by a global oil market.
VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:43 May 04, 2022 Jkt 029060 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 4637 Sfmt 0634 E:\CR\FM\G04MY6.005 S04MYPT1
File and source
- File
- CREC_crec-2022-05-04_crec-2022-05-04-pt1-pgs2294-3.pdf
- Size
- 228,495 bytes
- SHA-256
- babaffb22d6128f2fcab2f2488c1df95cd7149647fa63c881e0700cc7b0b9389
- Original
- www.govinfo.gov