Congressional Record, Senate, September 22, 2022: Page S4959
Summary
Page S4959 of the Senate section of the Congressional Record for September 22, 2022, printed in interleaved columns. One speaker on border policy says cartels are more emboldened than ever and cites seizures in the past week of $211,000 worth of cocaine and $2.3 million worth of meth on the Texas border and 187 pounds of fentanyl pills in one bust in Arizona. Another speaker credits Democratic victories, naming the American Rescue Plan and the Inflation Reduction Act, and says Democrats will reach across the aisle on national and economic security. A further passage criticizes the Mountain Valley Pipeline and eminent domain.
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“Congressional Record, Senate, September 22, 2022: Page S4959.”
Original at www.govinfo.gov. Archived at Pandemic Darlings, https://pandemicdarlings.com/source-documents/crec-crec-2022-09-22-crec-2022-09-22-pt1-pgs4959-238dd2fd8f/
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September 22, 2022 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE S4959
cartels are more emboldened than ever not come over into the United States Some of our accomplishments have
to send as many deadly drugs as pos- and wait; wait in Mexico, and let’s go been solely Democratic victories; nota-
sible to the border because they know through your process. If people know bly, the American Rescue Plan and the
they can take advantage of the crisis they will not be allowed into the Inflation Reduction Act. I regret that
that has been unfolding here for 2 United States, they will not make the we were unable to convince our Repub-
years. Just in the past week, officers journey to our border knowing that lican colleagues to join us on those
have seized $211,000 worth of cocaine they will have to wait. As of last week, bills because they advanced public poli-
and $2.3 million worth of meth coming we had accepted into this country peo- cies and enjoyed broad bipartisan sup-
across the Texas border—and 187 ple from 180 different countries. That is port among the American people.
pounds of fentanyl pills hidden in a ve- a long travel if you know that you may Democrats will always reach across the
hicle in one single bust in Arizona. To not get in. aisle to pass legislation that enhances
put that in perspective, that is enough And, lastly, Democrats could do a our national and economic security,
fentanyl to kill more than 42 million much better job of supporting law en- but we are prepared to work alone, if
people, nearly 10 times the population forcement to address human smuggling necessary.
of my State of Alabama. and trafficking efforts at the border. Our most recent accomplishment is
And that is what our Border Patrol As long as the border is wide open, car- the Inflation Reduction Act. The Sen-
agents have stopped. Imagine what has tels will take advantage of the situa- ate passed this legislation just before
gone undetected through this new tion. They are making billions of dol- the August recess on a party-line vote.
open-border policy. More than 71,000 lars a year by moving people and drugs That legislation will make it easier for
Americans died so far this year of into the United States, and it is get- American families to afford health in-
fentanyl overdoses—71,000. That is 195 ting worse every day. surance and help seniors with prescrip-
people a day in this country who are Americans are dying. Cities are being tion drug costs. Extending the Afford-
dying because we refuse to stop the overrun. Criminals are getting rich. able Care Act enhanced health insur-
fentanyl from coming into our country. Those are the consequences of Presi- ance premium subsidies through 2025—
And, along with that, the drug car- dent Biden’s border crisis. Those are just this one provision of this bill—and
tels are becoming more and more rich the problems that our Democratic col- will save medium-income Marylander
and more and more compelled to do ex- leagues have to fix. families about $2,200 annually.
actly what they want to do. It is yet While President Biden and Demo- For tens of thousands of Marylanders
another problem Democrats refuse to crats celebrate the White House with on Medicare who use insulin, the Infla-
discuss or address out of fear of back- celebrities, Americans are suffering be- tion Reduction Act caps their insulin
lash from the radical, open-bordered cause of these failures—most notably, costs at $35 per month. We tried to ex-
ideologues running this administration their inability and unwillingness to tend that cap to Americans with pri-
and its immigration policy. Somebody keep our country safe. vate insurance. Our Republican col-
So here is to the Democrats’ record-
has got to control this. One day we will leagues blocked this effort, but Demo-
breaking year: record inflation, record
find out. crats will continue working to make
crime, record drugs, record-shattering
But Democrats are quick to call out that a reality.
illegal immigration. We can only hope
the problem when it ends up on their For the more than 1 million Mary-
they run out of things to celebrate in
front porch. Mayors in New York, Chi- landers and all other Americans cov-
the very near future.
cago, and right here in DC have cried I yield the floor. ered by Medicare, the Secretary of
foul and even declared an emergency The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Sen- Health and Human Services finally will
when the border crisis was delivered ator from Maryland. have the authority to negotiate lower
here to this city and others. They have drug prices for the Medicare Program.
f
no problem ignoring, excusing, and This will help ensure that Medicare pa-
misrepresenting the facts of the crisis SENATE ACCOMPLISHMENTS tients get the best deal possible on
when it is hitting small towns far away Mr. CARDIN. Madam President, we high-priced drugs, saving taxpayers ap-
in Texas, Arizona, and their southern have a 50–50 Senate, with 50 Repub- proximately $100 billion.
neighbors, but when those illegal im- licans and 50 Democrats. Vice Presi- The healthcare provisions in the In-
migrants streaming across the border dent HARRIS provides the Democrats flation Reduction Act are significant,
become problems of theirs, they sud- with our majority. The House of Rep- but they are only part of the bill. The
denly see an emergency. But whom do resentatives has a very slim Demo- legislation makes a historic invest-
they blame? Obviously, it is the Repub- cratic majority: currently, 221 to 212, ment to shift our economy from fossil
licans, not the leader of their party. with 2 vacancies. fuels to clean energy. This will help us
President Biden has created this When the 117th Congress began, I cut our carbon emissions 40 percent by
mess. They blame local and State lead- think most Americans were doubtful 2030. The Inflation Reduction Act will
ers who are drowning in a humani- that we would be able to pass legisla- lower electricity costs and emissions
tarian crisis that the Democrats are tion to help them, their families, their and will create up to 9 million good-
making every day and refusing to stop. communities, and our Nation. I am paying jobs here in America in the
Even as news reports how his own DHS happy to report that, despite the odds, growing clean energy sector.
planned to ship illegal immigrants to the 117th Congress has been a histori- I authored a provision in the legisla-
sanctuary cities across the country, cally productive Congress. This is not a tion to provide production tax credits
President Biden condemns Republican statement I make lightly, nor did I pre- to our existing fleet of nuclear power-
leaders for doing the same. It is hypoc- dict this many legislative accomplish- plants. They produce 20 percent of the
risy at its highest degree. ments when we began the 117th Con- Nation’s electricity and over 50 percent
What is worse is their refusal to fix gress in January of 2021. of its carbon-free electricity.
the problem, even though they are well I knew America’s doubts, but I also A new analysis estimates that this
aware of the steps that could be taken shared their fervent hope that Congress legislation will lower the average
to secure the border. First and fore- would somehow find a way to beat the household electricity bill by approxi-
most, finish the wall that they have odds. And we have, sending numerous mately $170 to $220 annually over the
stopped building. Although the wall major bills to President Biden to be next decade. Maryland homeowners
itself will not solve everything, it signed into law. Some of our accom- will be eligible for tax credits for resi-
could certainly help address the num- plishments have been genuinely bipar- dential solar, wind, geothermal, and
ber of people who get away—a number tisan, especially the Infrastructure In- biomass fuel improvements now
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averaging 1,000 per week in some loca- vestment and Jobs Act and the so- through 2034. They also will be eligible
tions. called CHIPS and Science bill. That is for a larger tax credit for energy effi-
Secondly, fully reinstate the wildly gratifying because I believe that Con- ciency home improvements through
successful migrant protection proto- gress, especially the Senate, is at its 2032, as well as tax credits for the pur-
cols which require individuals awaiting best when it works in a bipartisan fash- chase of new and used clean energy ve-
asylum proceedings to wait in Mexico— ion. hicles, including electric vehicles.
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S4960 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE September 22, 2022
Maryland farmers will see tangible Let me talk a little bit about the to the Moon as a prelude to sending hu-
benefits from the more than $20 billion CHIPS and Science Act. Semiconduc- mans to Mars is fully authorized and
of funds included for climate-smart ag- tors are crucial to nearly every sector funded.
ricultural practices through existing of our economy. They are in our cars, The science provisions in this bill
farm bill conservation programs, in- our trucks, medical devices, 5G tele- also extend the International Space
cluding the Regional Conservation communications equipment, and the Station through 2030 and support a bal-
Partnership Program and Natural Re- list goes on and on and on. America anced science portfolio, including
sources Conservation Service technical created the semiconductor industry in Earth science observations and contin-
assistance for reducers. These are very the 1960s. We ceded the global leader- ued development of the Nancy Grace
valuable programs for Maryland farm- ship in the seventies. We regained it, to Roman Space Telescope. We are the
ers who are meeting their obligations an extent, in the nineties but have lost leaders of the space telescope. I am
in regard to the Chesapeake Bay Pro- it again. In 1990, the U.S. share of semi- proud of all the work that is done in
gram. conductor manufacturing was 37 per- my State of Maryland and the images
The Inflation Reduction Act also bol- cent. By 2020, that share had declined that we see from outer space.
sters resilience programs to help Mary- to 12 percent. The provisions codify the Planetary
land communities prepare for extreme The CHIPS and Science Act gets the Defense Coordination Office and re-
storms and other changing climate United States back on track with re- quires NASA to continue efforts to pro-
conditions. We live in a coastal State spect to domestic semiconductor man- tect Earth from asteroids and comets.
so Marylanders fully understand the ufacturing, which is crucial for our na- In this regard, this Monday, the Double
need to address climate change, cut tional and economic security. This is a Asteroid Redirection Test—a Johns
greenhouse gas pollution, and protect national security issue that provides Hopkins University Applied Physics
the Chesapeake Bay. Our State and Lab mission—will deliberately crash a
$54 billion in grants to domestic manu-
local governments will be eligible for probe into a ‘‘moon’’ of a double aster-
facturers and another $24 billion in tax
new and expanded grant programs to oid to shift its orbit.
credits through the Creating Helpful
improve public health, decrease pollu- It is amazing that we can do this. We
Incentives to Produce Semiconductors
tion, increase climate resiliency, and are the leaders in science, and we are
for America Fund.
promote environmental equity. making sure we are going to be the
The substitute amendment also au-
The legislation pays for these smart leaders in science and in space moving
investments while reducing the deficit thorizes $102 billion over the next 5
years for the National Science Founda- forward.
and without raising taxes on working I introduced the Cleaner, Quieter Air-
families and small businesses. In fact, tion, the Department of Commerce,
planes Act in the previous Congress
according to a nonpartisan analysis, and the National Institute of Stand-
and again in this Congress, and I am
many working families may actually ards and Technology—a $52 billion in-
pleased the CHIPS and Science bill di-
see lower taxes on a net basis over the crease over the Congressional Budget
rects NASA to continue research in
next couple of years as a result of the Office baseline.
aeronautics, including the use of exper-
These funds will be a shot in the arm
legislation. imental aircraft to advance aircraft ef-
This legislation and its targeted in- for domestic manufacturing. Here is a
ficiency and supersonic flight.
vestments aimed at lowering costs for list of some firms that plan to use the The PACT Act, in addition to pro-
American families is only one of a funding to expand or establish manu- viding the historic relief to toxic-ex-
string of positive accomplishments facturing facilities right here in the posed veterans, boosts claims proc-
that we have been able to do in this United States: Intel and TSMC plan to essing; bolsters the Veterans’ Adminis-
Congress, coordinating with President build factories in Ohio and Arizona; tration’s workforce; and invests in VA
Biden. Other major legislation in the GlobalFoundries wants to expand a fa- healthcare facilities nationwide to en-
117th Congress includes the bipartisan cility in Upstate New York; SkyWater sure the Agency can meet the imme-
CHIPS and Science Act, which will Technology and Purdue University diate and future needs of every veteran
make America more competitive by want to collaborate on a new $1.8 bil- it serves, including the 300,000-plus vet-
bringing home domestic production of lion factory and research facility in erans who live in the State of Mary-
semiconductors and investing in inno- West Lafayette, IN; IBM and State land. I will tell you, it provides for im-
vation and science; the bipartisan Ser- University of New York at Albany provements to the community health
geant First Class Heath Robinson Hon- want to establish a semiconductor re- centers in Prince George’s and Balti-
oring Our Promise to Address Com- search center in Albany. And the list more City for our veterans.
prehensive Toxics Act, known as the goes go on and on and on. We are pre- The Safer Communities Act closes
PACT Act, which provides healthcare paring for America to continue to lead loopholes that allowed convicted do-
benefits for all generations of toxic-ex- in manufacturing, particularly high- mestic violence abusers to buy fire-
posed veterans for the first time in our tech manufacturing. arms legally. It boosts funding for com-
Nation’s history and will improve ac- I also want to highlight the science munity violence intervention and pre-
cess to care for all our veterans—prom- provisions in the bill. It authorizes $20 vention initiatives, and it provides
ises made, promises kept; the Bipar- billion to the first-of-its-kind NSF Di- hundreds of millions of dollars in fund-
tisan Safer Communities Act, which is rectorate of Technology, Innovation ing to improve and expand mental
the first major gun safety legislation and Partnerships, which will accelerate healthcare.
Congress has approved in decades; the domestic development of critical na- On the bipartisan infrastructure
bipartisan Infrastructure Investment tional and economic security tech- package, funding is flowing right now
and Jobs Act, one of the biggest, most nologies such as artificial intelligence, to improve Maryland’s transit, ports,
comprehensive Federal commitments quantum computing, advanced manu- roads, and bridges; expand broadband
to repairing and modernizing our Na- facturing, 6G communications, energy, availability; and fix our aging drinking
tion’s infrastructure in modern his- and material science. We are going to water and wastewater system. The bill
tory; the Keep Kids Fed Act, which the be the leaders in these areas. We should provides $17 billion in port infrastruc-
Senate passed unanimously, that ex- be. ture and waterways. Congestion in
tended essential funding for schools, It authorizes $9 billion—$4 billion American ports was a key factor in the
daycare providers, and communities to over CBO baseline for several National disruption of the global supply chain.
ensure healthy meals for children Institutes of Science and Technology Expanding and modernizing port infra-
throughout the school year and sum- programs, including tripling of funding structure will help ensure that Amer-
mer; and the American Rescue Plan for the Manufacturing Extension Pro- ican manufacturers and producers can
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Act, which Democrats passed in March gram, leveraging that program to cre- move their goods to markets around
of 2021 to provide billions of dollars in ate a National Supply Chain Database, the world. The bill also invests $25 bil-
relief to help Americans recover from which will assist businesses with sup- lion in our airports. Modernizing our
the COVID–19 pandemic. plier scouting and minimize supply airport infrastructure will help keep
We have done all this, and we are re- chain disruptions; and with NASA, the people and products moving around the
ducing the deficit by $2 trillion. Artemis Program to return Americans country and the world.
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September 22, 2022 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE S4961
I am particularly pleased the legisla- I hope we choose to remain on that that the actual landowners never got a
tion includes $238 million for the path—Democrats and Republicans chance to speak. And when they did get
Chesapeake Bay Program. The bill also alike—because there is still so much to speak, their input wasn’t being
includes my bipartisan legislation to we can do and need to do to help the taken seriously.
make permanent and expand the Mi- American people. So, in 2017, I introduced my first per-
nority Business Development Agency, I yield the floor. mitting reform bill to deal exactly
which is the only Federal Agency dedi- The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Sen- with some of the same kinds of issues
cated to supporting minority-owned ator from Virginia. that Senator MANCHIN has included in
businesses. f the Energy Independence and Security
The American Rescue Plan provides Act.
tens of billions of dollars to support ENERGY INDEPENDENCE AND
So I am here to say, I am all for per-
vaccination and COVID–19 testing, SECURITY ACT
mitting reform. I am all for permitting
driving down the death rate from the Mr. KAINE. Madam President, I rise reform. And I believe that there is a bi-
virus by 90 percent. The bill also in- to talk about a piece of legislation that partisan majority—indeed, a super-
vested in hard-hit communities and was announced last night by a very majority in this body—that were we to
brought concrete relief to the Nation close friend of mine, Senator MANCHIN undertake this in regular order, we
at a time of great need. I was espe- of West Virginia—the Energy Independ- could come up with a permitting re-
cially proud of the investments we ence and Security Act of 2022. Senator form bill that, together with the infra-
made to help save so many small busi- MANCHIN and I were Governors to- structure bill that we did and the Infla-
nesses throughout Maryland and the gether, and we sit next to each other tion Reduction Act that we did, will
Nation. on the Senate floor. And we are often help us power forward American inno-
From the American Rescue Plan to in agreement. And on this particular vation, especially in leading the world
the Inflation Reduction Act, and every- bill—it is 91 pages long, and there are in clean energy.
thing in between, these and other legis- 24 sections—we are in agreement on 23 So that is 86 pages of the bill. And I
lative accomplishments have helped of the 24 sections and 86 of the 91 pages. strongly approve of the bill. The legis-
address important needs across Mary- I want to talk about the permitting lation that I introduced in 2017 isn’t in
land and our Nation. reform provisions in the bill that I sup- it. I would like to get it added in. But
At the peak of the COVID–19 pan- port, but then I want to point out sig- even if it weren’t added in, there is
demic, over 20 million Americans had nificant concerns with section 24 of the enough good in this bill for me to sup-
lost their jobs. And the unemployment bill that is sort of an anti-permitting port it.
rate rose to 14.7 percent in April of reform bill. It would take one project But what I want to talk about with
2020. The number of employed Ameri- that is in my State, the Mountain Val- an equal degree of passion is my strong
cans now exceeds the prepandemic ley Pipeline, out of permitting proc- opposition to section 24 of the bill,
high—the second fastest job market re- esses, out of judicial review, and have dealing with the Mountain Valley Pipe-
covery since 1981. The number of Amer- Congress put our thumb on the scale, line.
icans working is at an alltime high. advancing the project immune from The Mountain Valley Pipeline is a
And the unemployment rate has
the normal permitting process and ju- 304-mile natural gas pipeline in West
dropped a half-century low of 3.5 per-
dicial review. Virginia and Virginia. About two-
cent. I would like to start by saying I am
Since President Biden assumed of- thirds of it is in West Virginia and one-
a strong supporter of American energy third is in Virginia. The pipeline is pro-
fice, the economy added nearly 700,000
independence, and I applaud the efforts posed to withdraw natural gas from the
new manufacturing jobs. This rep-
resents the strongest manufacturing of my colleague Senator MANCHIN to do Marcellus shale—one of the great
job growth since the 1950s. Manufac- the same. American reserves of natural gas—and
turing job growth in 2021 alone exceed- I voted with a number of Senators a then transmit that gas first through
ed any other single year going back few years ago to end the ban on export West Virginia and then Virginia where
nearly 30 years. of crude oil from the United States. it could hook up with other pipelines
Over the past year, the construction And I have strongly supported liquefied to be distributed around the country or
and new manufacturing facilities in the natural gas exports to help nations to ports where it could be liquefied and
United States has grown by an esti- around the world wean themselves off potentially sold overseas.
mated 116 percent. In recent surveys, of energy dependence on dictators like The Mountain Valley Pipeline has
the CEOs, 80 percent were either in the Vladimir Putin. had a star-crossed history in recent
process of moving manufacturing oper- I also firmly believe in the need for years. It has had multiple Federal au-
ations back to the United States from permitting reform. The heart of the thorizations vacated. It has accrued
China or were considering doing just Energy Independence and Security Act over 350 violations of water quality-re-
that. is a recognition that permitting for en- lated protections, both in Virginia and
While unemployment continues at ergy transmission and other projects in in West Virginia. And it currently
historic lows and gas prices are declin- this country is essentially broken; that lacks several necessary Federal au-
ing rapidly, we are still facing chal- it takes too long. It is too inconsistent. thorizations to continue construction.
lenges. Food prices, rent, and other I filed my first permitting reform bill My constituents in Virginia have
costs are still too high. The Federal in 2017 as a recognition of the fact that complained significantly about work-
Reserve has had to raise interest rates, natural gas pipelines proposed in Vir- manship problems in the Mountain
which is painful for families and busi- ginia were running into very signifi- Valley Pipeline. And work on the pipe-
nesses alike. Most mainstream econo- cant challenges, in particular. These line has been stopped by State agencies
mists believe that we can avoid a reces- pipeline programs require the use of because of slipshod quality that dam-
sion and the economy will have a soft eminent domain. So you are taking ages water and that damages people’s
landing despite the supply chain chal- people’s property to build these pipe- property.
lenges we continue to face because of line projects. And if the government is I am not opposed to the Mountain
COVID and Russia’s war in Ukraine. going to take people’s property, we Valley Pipeline. I don’t think Congress
This would be a truly historic accom- ought to have a process that is fair. should be in the business of approving
plishment. But what I heard from my constitu- pipelines or rejecting them.
President Kennedy said: ents in Virginia is that they were being Madam President, you were an attor-
Our responsibility is one of decision, for to ignored; that there was inadequate ney general dealing with eminent do-
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govern is to choose. public hearing. The hearings were main. We generally don’t let legislative
Our legislative achievements over scheduled hundreds of miles apart, far bodies decide whose property is going
the last 20 months demonstrate that away from the landowners themselves. to get taken.
Congress can be productive and the They would get to the public hearings Eminent domain matters are usually
Federal Government is a powerful force and people had presigned up, often en- for courts and administrative agencies.
for good. couraged by the pipeline proponent so So as the Mountain Valley Pipeline has
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