Congressional Record, Senate, September 27, 2022 — H.R. 6833 Affordable Insulin Now Act
Summary
This is the Congressional Record, Vol. 168, No. 156, for Tuesday, September 27, 2022, from S5037, covering House and Senate proceedings. It states that the House was not in session and that the Senate met at 3 p.m. and resumed consideration of the motion to proceed to H.R. 6833, the Affordable Insulin Now Act. Under the heading Government Funding, Mr. McConnell states that Democratic colleagues released a draft short-term government funding deal that includes what he calls a poison pill on permitting reform. Under the heading Inflation Reduction Act, Mr. Durbin states that Americans have paid the highest prices in the world for prescription drugs, and a separate passage refers to a Rules Committee markup of changes to the Electoral Count Act of 1887.
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“Congressional Record, Senate, September 27, 2022 — H.R. 6833 Affordable Insulin Now Act.”
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Congressional Record
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117 th CONGRESS, SECOND SESSION
United States
of America PROCEEDINGS AND DEBATES OF THE
Vol. 168 WASHINGTON, TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 27, 2022 No. 156
House of Representatives
The House was not in session today. Its next meeting will be held on Wednesday, September 28, 2022, at 12 p.m.
Senate
TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 27, 2022
The Senate met at 3 p.m. and was to the Senate from the President pro Public Health Service Act, the Internal Rev-
called to order by the Honorable CHRIS- tempore (Mr. LEAHY). enue Code of 1986, and the Employee Retire-
TOPHER MURPHY, a Senator from the The legislative clerk read the fol- ment Income Security Act of 1974 to estab-
lish requirements with respect to cost-shar-
State of Connecticut. lowing letter:
ing for certain insulin products, and for
f U.S. SENATE, other purposes.
PRESIDENT PRO TEMPORE,
RECOGNITION OF THE MINORITY LEADER
PRAYER Washington, DC, September 27, 2022.
To the Senate: The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tem-
The Chaplain, Dr. Barry C. Black, of- Under the provisions of rule I, paragraph 3, pore. The Republican leader is recog-
fered the following prayer: of the Standing Rules of the Senate, I hereby nized.
Let us pray. appoint the Honorable CHRISTOPHER MURPHY, GOVERNMENT FUNDING
Eternal God, who daily showers us a Senator from the State of Connecticut, to Mr. MCCONNELL. Mr. President, last
with blessings, open our eyes to the perform the duties of the Chair. night, our Democratic colleagues re-
generosity of Your grace. PATRICK J. LEAHY,
leased a draft short-term government
Lord, help us to see in the beauty and President pro tempore.
funding deal. Big parts of the draft are
bounty that surround us the move- Mr. MURPHY thereupon assumed the unobjectionable because they were ne-
ments of Your loving providence. Chair as Acting President pro tempore. gotiated across party lines. Both sides
Remind our lawmakers of their re- f of the aisle want to prevent a govern-
sponsibility to use Your blessings to ment shutdown that no one wants.
RESERVATION OF LEADER TIME
make a better nation and world. Help Both sides want to keep resources flow-
them to understand that to whom The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tem-
ing to disaster-stricken communities.
much is given, much is expected. Lord, pore. Under the previous order, the
Both sides want to continue time-sen-
give our Senators the wisdom to re- leadership time is reserved.
sitive support for Ukraine.
lease their control and ask You to take f But, unfortunately, our Democratic
charge, guiding their steps by Your CONCLUSION OF MORNING colleagues decided to put in extraneous
power. BUSINESS partisan language—in fact, a poison
We pray in Your mighty Name. pill. This extraneous poison pill is not
Amen. The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tem-
pore. Morning business is closed. related to keeping the government
f open. It was not negotiated across the
f
aisle. In fact, both the Democratic
PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE LEGISLATIVE SESSION chairman of the Appropriations Com-
The Presiding Officer led the Pledge mittee, Senator LEAHY, and the Repub-
of Allegiance, as follows: lican vice chairman, Senator SHELBY,
I pledge allegiance to the Flag of the
AFFORDABLE INSULIN NOW ACT— have stated publicly that this poison
United States of America, and to the Repub- MOTION TO PROCEED—Resumed pill should not be in the underlying
lic for which it stands, one nation under God, The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tem- bill. The poison pill is a phony attempt
indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. pore. Under the previous order, the to address the important topic of per-
f Senate will resume consideration of mitting reform.
the motion to proceed to H.R. 6833, It is much too difficult to build
APPOINTMENT OF ACTING which the clerk will report. things in America and unleash Amer-
PRESIDENT PRO TEMPORE The legislative clerk read as follows: ican energy. Liberal regulations and
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Motion to proceed to Calendar No. 389, redtape are a huge—huge—part of the
clerk will please read a communication H.R. 6833, a bill to amend title XXVII of the problem. That is why Republicans are
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∑ This ‘‘bullet’’ symbol identifies statements or insertions which are not spoken by a Member of the Senate on the floor.
®
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S5038 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE September 27, 2022
the leaders on this issue. That is why ELECTORAL COUNT ACT The legislative clerk proceeded to
my colleague Senator CAPITO has intro- Now, Mr. President, on an entirely call the roll.
duced a strong, robust package that different matter, this afternoon, those Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, I ask
would actually move the ball forward. of us on the Rules Committee will unanimous consent that the order for
What our Democratic colleagues have mark up a bipartisan package of up- the quorum call be rescinded.
produced is a phony figleaf that would dates through the Electoral Count Act The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tem-
actually set back the cause of real per- of 1887. I strongly support the modest pore. Without objection, it is so or-
mitting reform. This is an issue where changes that our colleagues in the dered.
it should be very easy to improve upon working group have fleshed out after (The remarks of Mr. DURBIN per-
the status quo, but, amazingly, our literally months of detailed discus- taining to the introduction of S. 4962
Democratic colleagues have managed sions. I will proudly support the legis- are printed in today’s RECORD under
to write language that would actu- lation, provided that nothing more ‘‘Statements on Introduced Bills and
ally—listen to this—make things even than technical changes are made to its Joint Resolutions.’’)
worse. current form. INFLATION REDUCTION ACT
Senator MANCHIN’s bill goes out of its I particularly want to thank Senator Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, here is
way to avoid actually amending the COLLINS and Senators CAPITO, MUR- item No. 2.
National Environmental Policy Act or KOWSKI, PORTMAN, ROMNEY, SASSE, For decades, Americans have paid the
any other environmental law. It layers TILLIS, and YOUNG for their intense highest prices in the world for prescrip-
new bureaucracy on top of existing bu- work with Democratic colleagues to tion drugs. On average, we pay nearly
reaucracy. Its new requirements and get this right. four times more than the people in
deadlines are paper tigers with no en- Congress’s process for counting the Canada and other western nations for
forcement. Presidential electors’ votes was writ- exactly the same drug. This price
The few parts of this legislation that ten 135 years ago. The chaos that came gouging by Big Pharma hurts Ameri-
would actually change the status quo to a head on January 6 of last year cer- cans’ health and their financial secu-
would take things from bad to worse. tainly underscored the need for an up- rity.
For example, yesterday, a long list of date, so did Januaries 2001, 2005, and I have stories sent to me from time
State attorneys general wrote the Sen- 2017; in each of which, Democrats tried to time from the people I represent, es-
ate a panicked letter explaining that to challenge the lawful election of a pecially senior citizens, who tell me
Senator MANCHIN’s language would Republican President. Obviously, in these sky-high prescription drug prices
‘‘eviscerate states’ ability to chart every case, our system of government force them to choose between medica-
their own land-use and energy poli- won out. The Electoral Count Act ulti- tions and other basic necessities like
mately produced the right conclusion: food and shelter. Phillip has one of
cies.’’
‘‘Eviscerate states’ ability to chart certainty, finality, and the transfer of those stories.
their own land-use and energy poli- power to the winning candidate. But it Phillip lives in a small town south of
cies.’’ is clear the country needs a more pre- Chicago. He is 73 years old and is a dia-
Among other problems, they explain dictable path to that outcome. betic. After having several heart and
This bipartisan bill does not rashly
how this legislation creates a backdoor back surgeries, he can’t work any
replace current law with something un-
to sneak through an electricity grid longer. He takes several medications
tested. It keeps what has worked well
takeover much like the Obama admin- regularly. Now, you are going to recog-
and modestly updates what has not.
istration’s unconstitutional so-called The bill’s sponsors debated every pro- nize the name of one of them. It is
‘‘Clean Power Plan.’’ vision and found bipartisan consensus. called Trulicity—if you watch TV, you
These State-level officials are also Bad ideas were left on the cutting room have heard that one—a noninsulin
sounding the alarm about higher costs floor. The resulting product—this bill, treatment that he uses to control his
for their citizens. They write the as introduced—is the only chance to blood sugar and manage his diabetes,
Manchin proposal could impose ‘‘poten- get an outcome and to actually make Trulicity.
tially back-breaking costs on residents law. Do you know the 1-month prescrip-
who may see no true energy benefit Here is what the legislation does. tion cost for Trulicity? It is $2,000.
whatsoever.’’ It raises the threshold for objecting So what does Phillip do, who can’t
Democrats’ policies already have to the electoral count—preserving op- work and has a fixed income? He tries
electricity costs skyrocketing at the tions if something incredibly unlikely to cut the pills in half to make his pre-
fastest rate in more than 40 years. The were to happen but ensuring claims scription last longer. Sometimes he
last thing that struggling families need with hardly any support can’t paralyze just skips the medication altogether.
are more Democratic policies that the process. It makes the already plain He is not alone. One in five Ameri-
raise utility bills even higher still. fact of the 12th Amendment even clear- cans does not take the medications as
This phony figleaf is ‘‘permitting re- er: that the Vice President has never prescribed because they are too expen-
form’’ in name only. It was written to had, and will never have, discretionary sive. In Phillip’s case, even that isn’t
drain the political will for actual re- powers over the counting. enough. At the end of the day, he had
form without creating any meaningful It protects States’ primacy in ap- to refinance his home—what a time to
change that liberal special interests pointing their electors but ensures do it, huh, with the interest rates?—be-
might actually dislike. they publicize rules actually before the cause here in America, for too long, we
If tepid Democratic support for this election. It rejects unwise challenges have found it acceptable to allow phar-
phony figleaf is all that our colleague like creating new causes of action that maceutical companies to charge what
from West Virginia got in return for would leave every election up to the they wish. Not anymore.
approving yet another taxing-and- courts and create uncertainty. It We pressed for decades—both Demo-
spending spree during an inflation cri- makes modest technical updates to crats and Republicans gave these
sis, it is hard to imagine a worse bar- other pertinent laws such as the Presi- speeches; this was not just a Demo-
gain for a Senator or for the country. dential Transitions Act. cratic issue—to lower prescription drug
So, if the Senate votes today on pro- And Senator COLLINS’ bill does all of prices, at least for seniors. Last month,
ceeding to a bill that has this partisan those modest but important things we did it right here on the floor of the
poison pill jammed into it, I will be without capitulating to our Demo- Senate. The Inflation Reduction Act,
voting no, and I would urge all my col- cratic colleagues’ obsession with a which Congress passed without a single
leagues to vote no as well. sweeping Federal takeover of all of our Republican vote, is delivering real re-
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This all-Democratic government has election law. lief now for families who are struggling
a smooth and obvious path on govern- So I look forward to supporting the with high prices.
ment funding. The path is obvious. legislation as introduced in committee. A few minutes ago, the Republican
Drop the extraneous, partisan language I suggest the absence of a quorum. leader was on the floor, telling us what
and let the bipartisan CR move for- The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tem- a terrible bill that was, the Inflation
ward. pore. The clerk will call the roll. Reduction Act. He didn’t mention the
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September 27, 2022 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE S5039
fact that it is going to do some re- Third, the Inflation Reduction Act lates their basic religious liberty—reli-
markable things. It makes historic in- will curb the outrageous cost increases gious liberty. They picked a judge who
vestments to address the climate cri- that Medicare beneficiaries pay for has been friendly to them in the past.
sis. That is one thing. It includes in- medications. It does that by tying pre- This same judge in northern Texas
vestments in renewable, affordable en- scription drug price increases to the ruled that the Affordable Care Act was
ergy sources. That is certainly needed. cost of living. Pharmaceutical compa- unconstitutional. That was overturned
These investments in renewable energy nies that raise their prices faster are by the Supreme Court. Thank good-
can save families hundreds of dollars a going to pay a penalty if they do. The ness.
year in energy costs. That is real relief. days of Big Pharma raising prices they It has been 12 years since the ACA
Just as an aside, last month, my wife charge seniors at 5 or 10 times the rate became law. It is long past time for
and I decided to put solar panels on our of inflation are over. both parties to support this effort
home in Springfield, IL. We are not the Of course, the pharmaceutical giants which provides health insurance for
first in our town, but we are certainly and their lobbyists fought us every millions of Americans at an affordable
the first in our neighborhood. They step of the way. They said: If you put cost. We need to bring down the cost of
predicted it will reduce our electric bill limits on the prices we can charge, healthcare and prescription drugs for
by 85 percent a month. Think about then we are going to have to cut our all American families.
your own electric bill and what that research.
Guess what they didn’t tell you and The last item of good news comes
would mean: money in hand. from a blog that I read rather reli-
There are tax credits to put on solar what our colleagues on the other side
of the aisle did not admit: It isn’t true. giously by a lady in Maine, Heather
panels. How did we achieve that and Cox Richardson. Almost every day, she
put tax credits in for heat pumps and Studies have found that Big Pharma
could lose $1 trillion in sales over the publishes a column for those who want
electric water heaters? We put it in the to read it. I don’t know if there is a
Inflation Reduction Act, which Senator next decade, and it would still remain
the most profitable industry in Amer- subscription cost. She asks from time
MCCONNELL just came to the floor and to time if you want to contribute to
said was a terrible bill. I think you are ica. By the way, did you know these
pharmaceutical companies spend more her effort. I do.
going to see more and more Americans
money on advertising and marketing Well, today’s is one that, I think, is
making the choice our family made. I
than they do on research? worth reading and remembering.
think they should.
The Inflation Reduction Act is also Point 2, did you know that the re- She says:
going to lower healthcare costs—one of search that they are using is based on A headline in The New York Times today
the biggest items in every family’s research that was started at the Na- read: ‘‘Factory Jobs Are Booming Like It’s
budget. First, it will begin to let Medi- tional Institutes of Health at the ex- the 1970s.’’ The story explained that more
care negotiate fair prices for medica- pense of American taxpayers? I am all money in the hands of consumers thanks to
tions used by seniors. for the National Institutes of Health. Federal stimulus spending, along with a new
They use what the NIH develops to skepticism of stretched supply lines, has cre-
Is that a radical idea, that a Federal ated a rebound in American manufacturing.
Agency, on behalf of the people it make new drugs. It is a good thing to
do, and they are very profitable as they Since the 1970s . . . outsourcing and auto-
serves, negotiates for lower drug mation have meant that every recession has
prices? It is an idea that has been at do it, so I don’t want to hear that they
seen factory jobs disappear [in America] and
work in the Veterans Health Adminis- can charge less and that they are not
never return.
tration for years. The VA, our VA, in going to be able to survive. I don’t be-
lieve it. Well, there is good news. We now
serving our veterans—the men and know that we have not only regained
It is not only seniors who will save
women who serve this country—pays, all of the manufacturing jobs lost dur-
on healthcare costs. More than 14 mil-
on average, half of what Medicare pays ing the pandemic, we have added 67,000
lion Americans who receive their
for exactly the same drugs now because more.
health coverage through the Affordable
the VA could negotiate and Medicare
Care Act marketplace will save hun- Those numbers would be higher if the labor
could not. dreds—even thousands—of dollars on
The bill which Senator MCCONNELL market weren’t so tight, a condition leading
their monthly insurance premiums be- employers to offer higher wages and better
took exception to now gives Medicare benefits.
cause of the Inflation Reduction Act.
the power to negotiate lower prices for Under the American Rescue Plan, we The other point she makes is one
seniors, and 83 percent of Americans lowered monthly premiums for middle- that the National Economic Council
think that is a pretty good idea. How income families and for those with Director, Brian Deese, told reporters:
do we get 83 percent of Americans to ACA health plans. The Inflation Reduc- ‘‘One of the most striking things that
agree on anything? They agree on that, tion Act will continue this for another we are seeing’’ is that American com-
as that is a good idea, and 71 percent of 3 years, and I hope I am here to renew panies ‘‘are committing to build and
the people are from the party of the it. No one should go without medical expand’’ right here at home because of
Senator from Kentucky. care ever but especially not while we
Second, the Inflation Reduction Act supply chain concerns. ‘‘Meanwhile’’—
are fighting a worldwide pandemic. get this—‘‘the real net worth of the
will cap the price Medicare recipients Not only did our Republican col-
pay for insulin—insulin: $35 a month bottom 50% of U.S. households has
leagues vote against what I just de- climbed 60% [in the last year and a
for Medicare recipients. That is the scribed to you, lowering monthly pre-
limit—and it limits seniors’ out-of- half] . . . now reaching $67,524.’’
miums for families nationwide, but
pocket expenses for all medications to Inflation is a problem. Don’t get me
they went further and tried in every
$2,000 a year. Remember Phil? Phil was wrong; it is a challenge. Gasoline
way they could think to gut the Af-
paying $2,000 a month for Trulicity. prices seem to be creeping down, at
fordable Care Act.
Under this bill, which we passed here a Two weeks ago, a Federal judge in least in the Midwest. I can’t speak for
month ago without a single vote from the Northern District of Texas ruled all over the country. Food prices are
the other side of the aisle, we are going that the Affordable Care Act’s require- still too high. I have been to the super-
to limit seniors’ responsibility under ment that health plans offer free pre- market over the weekend. I know what
Medicare for prescription drugs to ventive health services, like vaccina- is going on. But we are seeing some
$2,000 a year. tions, was unconstitutional. In 2020, be- evidence of progress on the economic
By the way, I believe we should cap cause of the ACA, 152 million Ameri- front, and I certainly hope that it con-
the cost of insulin at $35 a month for cans received these preventive health tinues.
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everybody, not just seniors. Guess what services, with no out-of-pocket cost, Mr. President, I ask unanimous con-
radical nation—what socialist nation— often resulting in the early detection sent that this column by Heather Cox
does that? Canada. Canada does it. of cancer, heart disease, and other seri- Richardson be printed in the RECORD.
Pharmaceutical companies still make ous conditions. There being no objection, the mate-
a healthy profit. They just don’t make Now a group of Texas residents and rial was ordered to be printed in the
a killing on a lifesaving drug. businesses argues that that just vio- RECORD, as follows:
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S5040 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE September 27, 2022
SEPTEMBER 26, 2022 culates the cost over the next 30 years rather Storm Is Coming,’’ then using QAnon music
(By Heather Cox Richardson) than the usual ten, does not address the at a rally. Now, he has sent out an email
A headline in the New York Times today stimulus effects of the relief, and does not calling for the death penalty for drug deal-
read: ‘‘Factory Jobs Are Booming Like It’s take into account how much anyone would ers—a favorite theme of fascists since the
the 1970s.’’ The story explained that more actually have repaid. The estimate is, the 1930s and a major part of the program of
money in the hands of consumers thanks to CBO states in its letter, ‘‘highly uncertain.’’ former dictator Rodrigo Duterte of the Phil-
In contrast to Biden’s economic program, ippines, whom Trump admires—along with
federal stimulus spending, along with a new
on Friday the new government of Prime Min- the warning that ‘‘Under Democrat control,
skepticism of stretched supply lines, has cre-
ister Liz Truss announced the most radical the streets of our great cities are drenched in
ated a rebound in American manufacturing.
tax cuts in Britain since 1972, cutting the top the blood of innocent victims,’’ tapping into
Since the 1970s, authors Jim Tankersley,
income tax rate as well as corporate taxes to the QAnon themes of violent retribution for
Alan Rappeport, and Ana Swanson explain,
spur the economy. This unfunded cut will those they see as preying on America’s
outsourcing and automation have meant
mean borrowing at rising interest rates. Con- youth.
that every recession has seen factory jobs
cerns about inflation, already hammering ‘‘I certainly will do whatever it takes to
disappear and never return as employers
the British economy, made the value of the make sure Donald Trump isn’t anywhere
used downturns to move operations to coun-
pound, which is the English unit of currency, close to the Oval Office,’’ Representative Liz
tries with lower wage levels. This time,
drop to its lowest level since 1985. Cheney said this weekend at The Texas Trib-
though, American manufacturers have not These different economic visions are in une Festival, which highlights politics and
only regained all the jobs lost during the conflict here in the United States. Former policy. ‘‘And if he is the nominee, I won’t be
pandemic, they have also added about 67,000 Trump economic advisor Steve Moore re- a Republican.’’ She warned that a Repub-
more. Those numbers would be higher if the acted to the Truss tax cuts by saying: ‘‘This lican majority in the House would empower
labor market weren’t so tight, a condition is exactly what we should be doing in the Trump Republicans like Jim Jordan (OH),
leading employers to offer higher wages and US.’’ White House economic advisor Jared Marjorie Taylor Greene (GA), and Lauren
better benefits. Bernstein said: ‘‘President Biden has been
Biden has made it clear that he is trying to Boebert (CO).
very clear about the negative track record of And when asked if Trump should testify
overturn 40 years of ‘‘supply side’’ econom- trickle-down, Reagan-style tax cuts.’’ before the committee, Cheney answered:
ics, ushered in by President Ronald Reagan. Republicans have managed to keep voters ‘‘Any interaction that Donald Trump has
This system was designed to free up capital behind their economic program by with the committee will be under oath and
at the top of the economy through tax cuts downplaying it and emphasizing cultural subject to penalty of perjury.’’
and deregulation in the belief that putting issues, primarily abortion, which reliably
capital in the hands of the wealthy—the NOTES
turned out anti-abortion voters. Now that
‘‘supply side’’—would lead them to invest Jeff Stein@JStein WaPo
the Supreme Court has overturned the 1973
more in the economy, thus making it grow Roe v. Wade decision legalizing abortion, Re- Former Trump economic adviser Steve
more quickly and providing more jobs. While publicans have a demographic problem: a Moore on Liz Truss tax policy: ‘‘I’m very
Republicans came to embrace that ideology majority of voters support reproductive supportive of what they’re doing. This is ex-
wholeheartedly, in fact it never showed signs rights and are turning out to vote, and there actly what we should be doing in the US . . .
of increasing economic growth. What it did is no longer a reason for anti-abortion voters I’m surprised the market has not reacted
was to move wealth dramatically upward. It to show up. positively but I think that’s going to reverse
also made the measure of the economy the So Republican leaders are downplaying course.’’
health of Wall Street rather than Main abortion: reporter Eric Garcia noted today September 26th 2022
Street. that Republican representative and Senate https://www.nytimes.com/2022/09/26/busi-
Since Abraham Lincoln’s administration, candidate Ted Budd (R–NC), who is a cospon- ness/factory-jobs-workers-rebound.html
which faced a similar economic stratifica- sor of the House version of Senator Lindsey https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/
tion upward. Biden has followed in this tra- Graham’s (R–SC) national abortion bill, understanding-the-pounds-sudden-crash/2022/
dition. Insisting that he would build the didn’t mention his stance in a recent rally 09/4f195480-3d96-11ed-8c6e-
economy ‘‘from the bottom up and the mid- with former president Trump. They are also 9386bd7cd826_story.html
dle out,’’ he, along with the Democrats in inventing new cultural crises, most notably https://www.cbpp.org/research/poverty-and-
Congress, bolstered domestic manufacturing an attack on LGBTQIA folks but also a re- inequality/a-guide-to-statistics-on-histor-
with measures like the Bipartisan Infra- newed attack on immigrants. ical-trends-in-income-inequality
structure Law, the Inflation Reduction Act, Trump has gone further, jumping aboard https://fred.stlouisfed.org/graph/
and the CHIPS and Science Act. the QAnon train, which the FBI considers a ?graph_092257
Now, statistics show, that investment has domestic terrorism threat, as his own legal David Doney@David Charts
paid off. Chad Moutray, the chief economist troubles are mounting. His lawyers failed to Real net worth of the bottom 50% house-
for the National Association of Manufactur- slow down the criminal investigation into holds set another record in Q2 ’22, reaching
ers, told the New York Times reporters: ‘‘We his theft of documents, including many $67,524, up 10% from last quarter and up 60%
have 67,000 more workers today than we had marked with the highest levels of classifica- since Biden started.
in February 2020. 1 didn’t think we would get tion. New York Attorney General Letitia This is driven by home prices, big wage
there, to be honest with you.’’ James has sued Trump, his company, and his gains, and full employment.
National Economic Council director Brian children and two associates for fraud. And September 26th 2022
Deese told the reporters, ‘‘One of the most now the House Select Committee to Inves- https://www.cbo.gov/system/files/2022-09/
striking things that we are seeing now is the tigate the January 6th Attack on the U.S. 58494-Student-Loans.pdf
number of companies—U.S. companies and Capitol is beginning to turn up more infor- Ronald Klain@WHCOS
global companies—that are committing to mation. If you want apples-to-apples, note that this
build and expand their manufacturing foot- On Friday the committee subpoenaed Wis- is a THIRTY year score; most often, CBO es-
print in the United States, and doing so consin House Speaker Robin Vos to ask timates a program’s cost over its first TEN
based on their view that not only did the about a phone call he had with Trump in years.
pandemic highlight the need for more resil- July 2022 (not a typo) in which Trump tried When @POTUS announced this, the WH
ience in their supply chains, but that the to get him to change the 2020 result in Wis- said it would cost about $24b in the first
United States is creating a policy environ- consin. Vos is challenging the subpoena. year. This @USCBO estimate puts the first
ment that makes long-term investment here In the lead-up to Wednesday’s midday pub- year cost at $21B.
in the United States more attractive.’’ lic hearing of the committee, Zachary Cohen
Peter Baker@peterbakernyt
Meanwhile, the real net worth of the bot- of CNN reported today that election denier
tom 50% of U.S. households has climbed 60% Phil Waldron, a former Army colonel associ- Biden’s plan to wipe out significant
since Biden took office, now reaching $67,524. ated with Trump loyalist Michael Flynn, was amounts of student loan debt for tens of mil-
One of the things that will continue to feed in contact with White House chief of staff lions of borrowers could cost about $400 bil-
this change is the plan to forgive significant Mark Meadows in late December 2020 about lion, the nonpartisan CBO reports, renewing
student loan debt, especially among low-in- gaining access to the voting systems in Ari- the debate over his decision. @katierogers
come Black and Brown Americans. This zona and Georgia. Waldron referred to Ari- https://t.co/0flmC5O0bN
story is hitting the news today after the zona as ‘‘our lead domino we were counting September 26th 2022
Congressional Budget Office responded to a https://www.independent.co.uk/voices/
on to start the cascade,’’ to overturn the
series of questions posed by Senator Richard trump-north-carolina-abortion-roe-ted-budd-
election.
ctelli on DSK11ZRN23PROD with SENATE
Burr (R–NC) and Representative Virginia Meanwhile, Ginni Thomas, the wife of Su- b2175540.html
Foxx (R–NC), both fervently opposed to the preme Court justice Clarence Thomas, was Kyle Cheney@kyledcheney
program. The CBO’s responses to those spe- texting QAnon links to Meadows. And now, NEWS: The Jan. 6 select committee sub-
cific questions have been widely published, after flirting with QAnon since 2020, Trump poenaed Wisconsin House Speaker Robin Vos
suggesting the program will cost the U.S. has embraced it wholeheartedly, first over the weekend and is seeking his testi-
$400 billion. This is sparking cries about its ‘‘retruthing’’ social media posts featuring mony by *today* about a July phone call he
expense, but this particular CBO number cal- him as a QAnon hero and warning that ‘‘The had with Donald Trump.
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September 27, 2022 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE S5041
September 26th 2022 jority leader has raised the stakes even radical tax-and-spending spree bill was
https://www.cnn.com/2022/09/26/politics/ higher. He is not putting a clean fund- dead, the senior Senator from West
meadows-texts-phil-waldron-seize-voting- Virginia was negotiating a sweetheart
ing bill on the floor; he is weighing it
machines-election-fraud/index.html
down with partisan freight. This is part deal in secret, unbeknownst to Repub-
Brian Klaas@brianklaas
of a political horse trade that happened licans and, by the way, unbeknownst to
The former president, many of his aides,
a couple of months ago. In order to get all Democrats other than the majority
Republican members of Congress, and the
wife of a Supreme Court justice, are all di- the senior Senator from West Virginia leader. Fast-forward to today. When
rectly promoting QAnon—which the FBI to vote for his reckless tax-and-spend- that deal falls apart this evening, he
classifies as a domestic terrorism threat. ing bill, the majority leader promised will need to abandon his secret deal
The GOP has become an authoritarian, to attach permitting reform to the gov- with Senator SCHUMER.
conspiracist, extremist party. ernment funding bill. Forget the fact For our country’s sake, I hope the
60 Minutes@60Minutes that Senator MANCHIN’s permitting bill majority leader and Senator MANCHIN
Ginni Thomas, Supreme Court Justice was nowhere near complete; the major- won’t shut down the government. With
Clarence Thomas’ wife, texted links tied to ity leader blindly agreed to tack it on so much economic uncertainty already,
QAnon to ex-White House Chief of Staff to must-pass legislation. the last thing we need is a government
Mark Meadows, according to former Jan. 6th Senator MANCHIN, the senior Senator shutdown.
staffer Denver Riggleman, Riggleman says
from West Virginia, finally released his LEGISLATION
her actions ‘‘should be an eye opener for ev-
erybody’’ https://t.co/tgVPFfR661 https://t.co/ bill last week, and it became clear why Madam President, this is the last
zGFNwATIG5 he was so desperate to attach it to a week the House of Representatives will
September 26th 2022 must-pass continuing resolution. That be in session until after the election.
Jeff Sharlet@JeffSharlet is because the bill doesn’t even come Once the Chamber gavels out at the
Big: Trump follows up his full QAnon em- close to delivering the real common- end of the week, Members will go
brace with email labeled ‘‘The Death Pen- sense changes that were promised. The home, and they won’t return until No-
alty,’’ calling for execution of drug dealers & provisions meant to speed up the ap- vember 14. That doesn’t leave a lot of
signaling to Q, I’d argue, many more execu- proval process for new projects lack time to accomplish the work of the
tions after that. No question he’s borrowing teeth, making them unlikely to American people. In fact, after this
from former Philippines dictator Duterte,
produce any real progress. week, the House is scheduled to only be
whom he admires & envies.
September 26th 2022 The bill doesn’t touch the environ- in session for 4 more weeks this year.
https://www.texastribune.org/2022/09/24/liz- mental reviews, which cause a lot of As my colleagues here in the Senate
cheney-texas-tribune-festival delays to happen in the first place. On know, the House has a lot to do and not
Mr. DURBIN. I yield the floor. top of that, it is a power grab by the a lot of time to do it. Since the start of
I suggest the absence of a quorum. Federal Energy Regulatory Commis- the Congress, the Senate has passed a
The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tem- sion, granting them unprecedented au- long list of bipartisan bills that are
pore. The clerk will call the roll. thority to force electric transmission still awaiting action in the House.
The legislative clerk proceeded to lines on States. Under the current law, Many of these bills passed this Cham-
call the roll. States have the authority to decide ber unanimously and will provide crit-
Mr. CORNYN. Madam President, I whether or not to grant transmission ical support for our communities.
ask unanimous consent that the order lines to run through their States. It is Here is just one example. Last year,
for the quorum call be rescinded. part of something called State sov- Senator PADILLA, the junior Senator
The PRESIDING OFFICER (Ms. ereignty, federalism. Under this bill, from California, and I introduced a bill
SINEMA). Without objection, it is so or- that would change, though. The to support infrastructure and disaster
dered. unelected leaders at the Federal En- relief projects all across the country.
GOVERNMENT FUNDING ergy Regulatory Commission could Our bill would open up billions of dol-
Mr. CORNYN. Madam President, this override a State’s objection to a new lars for States and local governments
week, the Senate has one extremely project transmitting renewable energy. to put toward their most critical
important item on our agenda: to keep In short, if a State like Illinois needs projects without adding a penny to the
the lights on; in other words, to pass a a new interstate transmission line to deficit. That is because the money that
government funding bill. We are just 3 help meet its clean energy mandates, would be freed up has already been ap-
days from the end of the fiscal year, its neighbors will have no choice but to propriated for COVID–19 relief but is in
and the Democrat-controlled Senate oblige. It will be forced on them. Folks excess of what the States and local
has yet to pass a single appropriations in Indiana or Ohio or any other State governments need for that purpose.
bill—no funding for our military, no could be forced to help subsidize the Our bill would take the handcuffs off
funding for veterans services, no fund- costs of Illinois’ renewable energy. and allow them to spend that money if
ing for border security, nothing. This is a far cry from the kind of com- they want. They are not required to do
Now, this deadline does not sneak up monsense permitting reform that Sen- so, but if they want, they can spend up
out of nowhere; it arrives on the same ator MANCHIN has been talking about. to one-third of their excess funds on in-
day every year. Yet here we are, 3 days This bill falls short in almost every frastructure or disaster relief, and it
before the funding expires, and not a regard, which is why we have seen such doesn’t add another penny to the def-
single appropriations bill has been broad bipartisan opposition. There icit.
voted on. aren’t many Energy bills where my Over the last year and a half, I have
The majority leader conceded a long vote aligns with that of the junior Sen- heard from leaders all across my State
time ago that the regular appropria- ator from Vermont, Senator SANDERS, of Texas who are frustrated about the
tions bills would be punted to a later but this is one of them. handcuffs that have been put on them
date and we would pass a short-term Despite the strong opposition to Sen- when it comes to spending the money
funding bill to bridge the gap. As a gen- ator MANCHIN’s bill, the majority is that Congress had appropriated for
eral rule, I am not a fan of short-term still moving forward with a procedural COVID–19 relief. Senator PADILLA told
funding bills. They don’t provide the vote this evening. He knows it will fail. me he is hearing the same thing from
stability or predictability we need to It will not succeed. Then, Senator leaders in California. So we got to
plan for the future. That is especially SCHUMER, the majority leader, will work. We spoke with folks in our
true for America’s military, which is have a choice: pass a clean funding bill States as well as our Senate colleagues
operating in a dynamic threat environ- to keep the lights on, to keep govern- and administration officials, and we
ment with countless unknowns. In ment open, or shut down the govern- came up with legislation that was sim-
ctelli on DSK11ZRN23PROD with SENATE
order to plan for and prepare for the fu- ment over their reckless tax-and- ple but very effective in providing that
ture, government Agencies need a pre- spending spree deal cut behind closed sort of flexibility that our local com-
dictable budget, and stopgap bills sim- doors last summer. munities and our States have asked
ply don’t cut it. If you remember, a couple of months for.
As though this last-minute funding ago, at the same time he professed pub- With some places, that means pan-
gambit isn’t dramatic enough, the ma- licly and privately that the disastrous, demic-related expenses, which will
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S5042 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE September 27, 2022
take the priority. Our legislation won’t cess to treatment for their substance honored to be part of this with a Sen-
interfere with any plans to spend that use disorder; to facilitate more cross- ator who began his career active in the
money on already-approved pandemic border trade with our neighbors to the Gray Panthers. So his commitment to
expenses, but it will give the States north and the south; to support pro- Social Security almost goes back to al-
and localities without that need the grams and help individuals experi- most before I was born, if I can say it
option to invest those funds in infra- encing mental health crises; to provide that way.
structure projects. tax relief to survivors of human traf- Everything we do here—everything
Usually, what happens here in Wash- ficking; to equip law enforcement offi- we do here—should come back to the
ington is the U.S. Congress appro- cers with the tools they need in order dignity of work; the idea that hard
priates money, and it literally takes a to help people in crisis. work should pay off for everybody no
couple of years to get the money from It would be a shame if the Speaker matter who you are, no matter where
DC down to places like Austin, TX, declined to bring these bills up and you live, no matter what kind of work
where the Texas legislators can then pass them. I am sure they would pass you do to support yourself and your
figure out how to disburse those funds. by overwhelming votes in the U.S. family.
Now, we know they already have the House of Representatives, as they did When work has dignity, people al-
money in their hands, but they simply here in the Senate. But the House is ways, always, always should have a se-
can’t use it because of the restrictions only scheduled to be in session a few cure retirement. That means they can
placed on those funds. more weeks this Congress. It is time to count on Medicare. It means they can
Senator PADILLA’s and my bill would get moving on these commonsense, count on Social Security. It means we
remove those restrictions for impor- noncontroversial, nonpartisan bills. protect in this body—Senator MARKEY
tant purposes, like infrastructure and Otherwise, we will have to start back has been very involved in this, too, as
like disaster relief; things like wid- at square one next year. the Presiding Officer. It means we pro-
ening highways, constructing bridges, I yield the floor. tect people’s pensions. It means people
extending railways, expanding I suggest the absence of a quorum. should make enough to save.
broadband. Our bill includes a long list The PRESIDING OFFICER. The It is why we saved—this body. I re-
of qualifying expenses. clerk will call the roll. member sitting here with Senator
It also will allow leaders to put their The senior assistant legislative clerk CASEY on March 6, 2021, and saying to
funding toward disaster relief, which is proceeded to call the roll. him this was the best day of my career,
a major need in areas all across the Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, I ask when we voted 51 to 50 to save the pen-
country. Places like Texas and Ken- unanimous consent that the order for sions of 100,000 people in Ohio, over a
tucky, for example, have experienced the quorum call be rescinded. million workers around the country,
devastating flooding in the last few The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. MAR- the same day we passed the Child Tax
months. Puerto Rico, we know, has KEY). Without objection, it is so or- Credit extension, which dropped the
just been hit by a terrible hurricane dered. poverty rate in this country by 40 per-
and is still trying to restore power. RECOGNITION OF THE MAJORITY LEADER cent.
Florida is bracing for impact of Hurri- The majority leader is recognized. It is why we still fight for the Delphi
cane Ian as it makes its way to the gulf retirees who lost their pensions
CONTINUING RESOLUTION
coast. California continues to battle through no fault of their own, through
destructive wildfires. Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, I have
no wrongdoing of their own, through no
Our bill would allow leaders to open a short update on today’s vote for the
malfeasance or anything else of their
up disaster relief funds virtually in- information of all Senators.
own. They lost it because the system
stantly, as soon as the President signs Later this afternoon, the Senate is
didn’t guarantee it. It is why we will
the bill into law. They already have scheduled to hold a cloture vote on a
always, always fight back against at-
the funding in hand. They won’t have motion to proceed to a vehicle for the
tacks on Social Security. A secure re-
to wait for a Federal disaster declara- CR.
tirement should never be partisan.
tion or emergency funding from Con- Now, Senate Republicans have made Social Security and Medicare are two
gress; they could write the check them- very clear they will block legislation of the most popular and most unifying
selves and mobilize resources instanta- to fund the government if it includes institutions in the country.
neously. It is no surprise this bill bipartisan permitting reform because Think back. We have had Social Se-
passed the Senate 100 to 0. It was unan- they have chosen to obstruct instead of curity since the Roosevelt days. We
imous. work in a bipartisan way to achieve have had Medicare since the LBJ
These are the sorts of commonsense something they have long claimed they days—so 80, 90 years of Social Security.
things that will benefit communities wanted to do. The first Social Security check was in
all across the United States. This bill Because American families should 1940 to a woman in Vermont. We have
will open up tens of millions of dollars not be subjected to a Republican-manu- had Social Security for 82 years.
for infrastructure projects in commu- factured government shutdown, Sen- Medicare, passed by a Democratic
nities all across the country, and it ator MANCHIN has requested, and I have House and Senate, with some Repub-
will support critical disaster relief ef- agreed, to move forward and pass the lican support joining President John-
forts as well. It will empower State and recently filed continuing resolution son creating Medicare in the 1960s—
local leaders to make the best deci- legislation without the Energy Inde- again, two of the most popular and
sions for their communities. It will en- pendence and Security Act of 2022. most unifying institutions in the coun-
sure that this funding can deliver on Senator MANCHIN, myself, and others try.
its intended purpose, which is to allevi- will continue to have conversations Social Security is our government’s
ate the financial burden imposed by about the best way to ensure respon- promise to working men and women, a
the pandemic on our State and local sible permitting reform is passed be- promise they will be able to retire with
governments. I hope Speaker PELOSI fore the end of the year. dignity.
will bring up and pass this bill as I yield the floor. Support for Social Security among
quickly as possible. It would help her The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Sen- the voters, among the public, cuts
State of California, but more impor- ator from Ohio. across party lines, geographic lines, ra-
tantly, it would help the entire coun- SOCIAL SECURITY cial lines. Almost everybody in this
try. Mr. BROWN. Mr. President, I thank country supports Social Security.
But this is just one of many bipar- the majority leader for those com- Americans want to not only protect
ctelli on DSK11ZRN23PROD with SENATE
tisan bills that are currently sitting in ments and for his leadership on this Social Security and Medicare, but they
the House since the start of Congress— and so much else, including the subject want to make it stronger.
the Senate’s unanimously approved that Senator WYDEN and I will be talk- I said almost everybody in the coun-
bills that I have introduced to prevent ing about today: Social Security. try supports Social Security and Medi-
and identify child sexual abuse; to pro- I rise to discuss an issue that Senator care. Well, Mr. President, as you know
vide incarcerated individuals with ac- WYDEN and I have worked on, and I am and Chairman WYDEN of the Finance
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September 27, 2022 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE S5043
Committee knows, almost everybody this body—to think about the genera- is going to be thrown to the private
except a whole lot of people who come tions of Americans who have benefited market. They are a guarantee.
to the Senate and, down the hall, come from Social Security and the genera- What we hear from our colleagues on
to the House of Representatives and tions to come who are relying on the the other side is sort of a word salad,
think their mission is to privatize So- promise of Social Security. but it nearly always involves a state-
cial Security and privatize Medicare. I have listened to their speeches for ment about how much they want to
So why do they do that? years extolling the value of hard work. protect Social Security, but then we
Well, it is their answer to pay for ev- I have heard some of them trying to hear a lot about privatization, about
erything. How can we afford handouts run from their own plans to end Social portability, about investment.
to corporations? Well, the way to pay Security. But the American people are It is anything but what you just
for it is to cut Social Security and you on to Senate Republicans. heard Senator BROWN say; that Medi-
privatize Medicare. How do you pay for The American people watched as all care and Social Security are not some-
tax cuts for the wealthy? Well, you 50 Republicans voted against or essen- thing to be privatized; they are about a
wipe out the retirement security of tially did nothing to solve the multi- guarantee.
Americans. You cut Social Security. employer pension crisis. They are And we should make no mistake
You privatize Medicare. That is their watching—a few exceptions. Senator about it, seniors, others who are eligi-
answer, time after time after time. PORTMAN has been helpful on this, on ble for the programs have earned these
They don’t really want to talk about the bipartisan Delphi retiree fix, but benefits. They have earned these bene-
it this close to an election. As soon as many are trying to block it. fits.
this election is over, we know the cre- The public watches as the Republican And yet, somehow, our colleagues on
scendo; we know the loud voices, again, caucus tries to end Social Security for the other side of the aisle and can-
from Senator SCOTT, the leader, who good. didates don’t get what the programs
happens to also run the Republican If the American people don’t need to are really all about.
Senate Campaign Committee—the Sen- worry about the Republican Senate For example, not long ago, I saw a
ator from Florida who is a freshman plan to end Social Security, now is Republican Senate candidate out West
who believes that privatizing—that we your chance to prove it. This is your say in a primary forum: Congress
should have to renew Medicare and So- chance, by voting—this is your chance ought to ‘‘privatize Social Security and
cial Security every 5 years. Like we to live up to your own words and co- just get the government out of it.’’
don’t want anybody to feel comfortable sponsor this resolution that Senator ‘‘Just get the government out of it.’’
or be able to plan for the future or to WYDEN and I and Senator CASEY are Now, apparently, he is the nominee,
feel, like, just secure in their retire- leading. and he is for protecting Social Secu-
ment. Show Americans that if you work rity. He swears up and down he is for
So it is always the same plan from hard all your life, your government, protecting Social Security—huge
the corporate elite and think-tank ex- your Senator will be there for you and about-face.
tremists. that you are not working in this body I heard another westerner asked on
So when I said almost everybody, it to undermine the promise of Social Se- live TV about his thoughts on Social
was not quite fair to say it is only Re- curity. Security. And he said nothing about a
publican Senators and Republican Senator WYDEN and I have worked to- guarantee. He said: We ought to look
House Members. It is also the cor- gether to protect Social Security for at portability issues and individual ac-
porate elite, in many cases. It is the years. counts and benefit cuts are on the
people at these rightwing think tanks, What is at stake with these attacks? menu.
funded by billionaires, who think this Why do we need to show a united com- Again, this is kind of Washington
is some way that—they come up with mitment to Social Security in the U.S. lingo, Washington code for unraveling
some new scheme to disguise their un- Senate? the guarantee that is Social Security
popular agenda: privatize Social Secu- Senator WYDEN. and Medicare that I learned about in
rity or means-testing Social Security. Mr. WYDEN. Thank you very much, those days when I was codirector of the
Whatever it is, the plan is the same: to Senator BROWN. And I see in the Chair Oregon Gray Panthers.
kill off Social Security. another strong supporter of Social Se- And Americans don’t want their
This time it is Senator RICK SCOTT curity, the distinguished Senator from elected representatives to cut this cru-
and Senate Republicans’ plan to termi- Massachusetts. cial set of programs that are earned
nate Social Security. As I said, they And for colleagues who aren’t aware, benefits. And they certainly don’t want
want to get rid of this bedrock prom- Senator BROWN is our chair of the Sub- their elected officials and candidates to
ise. It doesn’t matter to them that committee on Social Security in the talk out of both sides of their mouth.
most Americans support Social Secu- Senate Finance Committee. This is a Now, I mentioned this question of
rity. crucial subcommittee for all the rea- westerners and where westerners stand,
That is why, this week, Senator sons that Senator BROWN just men- but apparently this opposition to these
WYDEN, who, as I said, began his activ- tioned, and I am just going to make a core principles of Social Security
ism as an activist for the Gray Pan- couple of points, and if my colleague is doesn’t just reside in the West. It
thers in Portland, OR; Senator CASEY, still on the floor, maybe we can have a seems to spread across the country.
who sits next to me, one of the leaders little bit of a colloquy. Senator RICK SCOTT has proposed end-
in this Senate, a Senator from Penn- The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without ing, again, the guarantees of these bed-
sylvania—he came to the Senate the objection, it is so ordered. rock programs—Social Security and
same day I did—who is one of the lead- Mr. WYDEN. Thank you. Medicare—and just sunsetting them
ers of this Senate and on Senator What Senator BROWN has illustrated after just a few years—sunsetting
WYDEN’s committee to fight to affirm again is the differences between the them.
that Social Security should remain a two parties on Social Security and So as I would say to my colleague,
guarantee for every American whom Medicare, and my colleague was kind who has worked with me on a lot of
we want because our government enough to go back to my past as co- these issues, let’s just unpack that for
should work for people, not against director of the Oregon Gray Panthers. a minute. We believe that Social Secu-
them. Ever since those days, the difference rity and Medicare are guaranteed.
When workers have dignity—when between the two parties has been that They are not subject to these annual,
work has dignity, we honor the retire- on our side of the aisle, we are very political kind of battles and pushed and
ctelli on DSK11ZRN23PROD with SENATE
ment security people earned. It should blunt when we get asked about Social prodded for political advantage. They
be an easy decision. Security and Medicare. As Senator are guaranteed. But yet, after quoting
I urge my Republican colleagues in BROWN just said, on our side, we make those in the West who want to come
this body—colleagues, frankly, with it clear that Social Security and Medi- join us, now we have a southerner in a
healthcare and retirement plans paid care are a guarantee. They are not a position of great importance who
for by taxpayers—we all have that in voucher. They are not something that wants to sunset programs like Social
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S5044 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE September 27, 2022
Security and Medicare after just a few never really believed in it, they can do Mr. WYDEN. He hasn’t talked about
years and, in effect, throw them to the nothing. They just do nothing. So it is it, but I think that would certainly be
winds to see what kind of politics up to the people who support Social Se- one of the questions our constituents
might be put in place. curity and Medicare to keep it going would ask about, because this issue of
I don’t believe that is acceptable. every 5 years. In other words, the bur- there being a double standard between
Senator BROWN, the chair of our sub- den is on the supporters, the public— seniors at home and their elected offi-
committee, doesn’t believe that is ac- which is, to me, 90 percent of the public cials would be very real. He hasn’t
ceptable. Social Security is among the who likes this. So that is the way it spelled out how he would deal with
most foundational principles in our works, right? that, but there is certainly the ques-
country’s history, providing financial Mr. WYDEN. You have stated it well. tion of elected officials, because we
security through guaranteed benefits It would mean that when you sunset it, have these retirement benefits that
for millions of Americans. Over 70 mil- you would have to have a brand-new have been part, again, of a program
lion Americans receive Social Security fight to reestablish its primacy as a that has been established for some
and Supplemental Security Income guarantee. You sunset it. time. They haven’t been talked about.
every year. Mr. BROWN. Well, go back to that. But I will tell you, I think the chair
Mr. BROWN. Senator WYDEN, would You said ‘‘a brand-new fight.’’ I am not of the Social Security Subcommittee
the Senator yield for one moment? a historian. I like reading history, but and myself on the Finance Committee,
Mr. WYDEN. I would be happy to I know enough about Medicare because we are going to go out there and say:
and, particularly, so you can tell ev- I care a lot about the history, as you No double standard.
erybody again why you feel so strong- do, of that—and Senator MARKEY and You can be sure of that. If something
ly. others and Senator LEAHY, who is on is sunsetted for working people and
Mr. BROWN. I would like to ask you the floor about it too. seniors and the disabled, we are cer-
this. You had said that Senator SCOTT, President Truman wanted to enact
tainly not going to let Senator SCOTT
who is the chairman of the Republican Medicare, but he couldn’t get the Con-
pretend that somehow it is business as
Senate campaign committee, rep- gress to do it. And then President Ken-
usual for elected officials.
resents the third largest State in the nedy wanted to enact Medicare, and he Mr. President, I think Senator
country, Florida. He said he wants to couldn’t get Congress to do it. It prob- BROWN started us off very well, and he
sunset? What exactly—just explain ably took the Kennedy assassination
is asking questions that I think mil-
that so my colleagues understand it. and all that was happening to sort of
lions of Americans are going to ask.
The word ‘‘sunset’’ doesn’t sound so light the fire under Congress to pass
My understanding is that my colleague
bad until you really explain it. And I Medicare.
So you would need that kind of polit- from Ohio, the chairman of the sub-
know Senator MARKEY understands it, committee, is going to be looking at a
ical will. In other words, it took almost
but explain that, if you would. lot of these issues in his subcommittee.
20 years to pass Medicare. So if Medi-
Mr. WYDEN. Yes. What ‘‘sunset’’ But certainly this last point, about
care were to expire, you would need a
means is you would unravel the basic politicians talking out of both sides of
huge public wave with elected officials
principles of Social Security and Medi- their mouth and saying somehow that
who want to do it to get it back, in ef-
care. We don’t subject them to annual we are going to have a program
fect.
or regular political fights. We have Mr. WYDEN. Nope, no question about sunsetted for seniors and the disabled—
said that people have earned those ben- it, and it would put in jeopardy funda- Social Security, Medicare and others—
efits, and we aren’t just going to set ar- mental core principles that seniors all but we are not going to even talk about
bitrary dates and say we are going to, across the country—in Ohio and Or- what happens for elected officials is an
in effect, move on and we will decide egon and Massachusetts—have been example of how you shouldn’t legislate.
what happens to seniors and the dis- able to count on. When you sunset it, It is an example of what I believe could
abled based on the politics of the mo- you say you can’t count on it. You be a double standard.
ment. have to wait for another political bat- And I will just close, unless Senator
It is a 180-degree departure from the tle. BROWN wants to. In fact, I am going to
kind of guarantee that you spelled out And I would just say to my col- let Senator BROWN do it. I thought, as
that I feel so strongly about. We don’t leagues—showing how extreme the po- I listened to Senator BROWN, and I put
say we are just going to have these ar- sition is of our colleague from Florida, it in the context of all these years with
bitrary changes that could put at risk Senator SCOTT—that Senator Orrin the Gray Panthers, that everybody can
the entire program. Hatch, the late Senator Hatch who understand what Senator BROWN is
Mr. BROWN. So he is saying then, so worked with us, when he was in the talking about. Medicare and Social Se-
I understand this right. Senator SCOTT, Senate said: We will update the Medi- curity are a guarantee—period—invio-
the chair of the Republican Senate care guarantee to start covering chron- late, as a result of the history that we
campaign committee, representing the ic care. This is something the Senator have had in this country where people
third largest State in the country, is from Massachusetts has worked with worked so hard for this.
saying that every 5 years, if the Senate me on, home care for seniors. So Sen- On the other side, we are talking
doesn’t say yes to Social Security and ator Orrin Hatch, our late colleague about privatization, we are talking
Medicare, then they are unraveled and and my personal friend, who was not about portability, and we are talking
they die. It is up to the Senate to say exactly a liberal, he understood what about lots of new cost analyses in the
yes every 5 years? you and I are talking about: that Medi- private sector and individualized pro-
Mr. WYDEN. My colleague from Ohio care and Social Security are a guar- grams. I am for individualized pro-
is being way too logical because, you antee. And when we talked about grams on top of Social Security, not in
bet, what this essentially means is if chronic care, he said: We are going to place of it.
you sunset it, the program and the ben- update the Medicare guarantee—noth- So I really appreciate your resolu-
efits are not going to continue as they ing about saying: Well, gee, maybe we tion, Senator BROWN, and I am going to
have. As you said, if people decide be- will do something after we sunset it. do everything I can to support it.
cause of some particular kind of flurry So my colleague has said it well. Mr. BROWN. Thank you, Senator
at the moment that for some cause Mr. BROWN. Let me ask another WYDEN. And I will yield back my time
they don’t want to continue it, the question. So if Senator SCOTT gets his in 30 seconds.
well-being and security of seniors is way or Senator MCCONNELL, the Repub- Mr. President, thank you for your in-
jeopardized. lican leader, gets his way, and all the dulgence. Senator LEAHY will be speak-
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Mr. BROWN. So if there is a Presi- new candidates Senator SCOTT is help- ing in a moment. And, Senator LEAHY,
dent and a Senate and a House in 5 ing to get elected, if they get their way chairman of the Finance Committee,
years that want to privatize Medicare and pass Senator SCOTT’s bill to sunset, we are just asking for cosponsors. We
and Social Security, or a President would Senator SCOTT still have govern- have a number of colleagues that have
who wants to veto it, or a Senate lead- ment healthcare and a government cosponsored this to make sure that So-
er, like Senator MCCONNELL, who has pension? cial Security is with us—a strong, good
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September 27, 2022 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE S5045
Social Security system—as long as we into law must be our top priority. We get ahead of monkeypox before it con-
are a nation. owe it to the American people who sent tinues to spread both in the United
I yield the floor. us here. States and overseas. Not providing
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Sen- This bill addresses several urgent and these resources is short-sighted, and I
ator from Vermont. pressing issues that cannot wait. The will continue to fight for the necessary
Mr. LEAHY. Mr. President, I under- third hottest summer on record has funding to continue to combat these
stand the floor vote is going to be soon. strained one of our most successful terrible diseases.
I ask unanimous consent that it be safety nets—the Low Income Home En- Now Congress must do its job and
after I finish my remarks. ergy Assistance Program, LIHEAP—as complete the appropriations process
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without families’ energy costs went up with the before the end of the year. I look for-
objection, it is so ordered. record-setting temperatures. This bill ward to working with Vice Chairman
Mr. LEAHY. Mr. President, listening contains $1 billion to bolster LIHEAP SHELBY, Chair DELAURO, and Ranking
to Senator WYDEN and Senator BROWN ahead of the winter, where Putin’s war Member GRANGER to get this done.
about Social Security, I would tell my on Ukraine and inflation are expected I yield the floor.
colleagues that the first recipient of to drive energy costs even higher. No CLOTURE MOTION
Social Security was a Vermonter. And family should have to choose between
Vermonters at that time, I believe, The PRESIDING OFFICER. Pursuant
heating their home or buying food, not to rule XXII, the Chair lays before the
were the most Republican State in the in Vermont and not in any community
Nation. Senate the pending cloture motion,
across the country. I am glad that we which the clerk will state.
I remember growing up as a child were able to secure these needed re-
hearing so many people say: Well, I The legislative clerk read as follows:
sources.
may disagree with a whole lot of things The bill includes $12.35 billion in CLOTURE MOTION
that President Roosevelt and the emergency assistance for Ukraine, fur- We, the undersigned Senators, in accord-
Democrats did, but Social Security, I ther demonstrating our resolve to ance with the provisions of rule XXII of the
am all for that. Standing Rules of the Senate, do hereby
stand with the people of Ukraine move to bring to a close debate on the mo-
And I learned that as a child, and it against President Putin’s illegal, bru- tion to proceed to Calendar No. 389, H.R.
has been part of my mantra ever since, tal war on their country. These funds 6833, a bill to amend title XXVII of the Pub-
along with Senator BROWN and Senator will provide much-needed training, lic Health Service Act, the Internal Revenue
WYDEN. Social Security is a contract, equipment, logistical support, supplies, Code of 1986, and the Employee Retirement
and we should follow it. and weapons to the military and na- Income Security Act of 1974 to establish re-
CONTINUING RESOLUTION tional security forces of Ukraine at quirements with respect to cost-sharing for
Mr. President, today, the Senate will this pivotal point in the war. These certain insulin products, and for other pur-
vote to invoke cloture on the motion poses.
funds will also be used to provide direct Charles E. Schumer, Raphael G.
to proceed to H.R. 6833 and take up a assistance to Ukraine to help its gov- Warnock, Tim Kaine, Sherrod Brown,
substitute amendment containing a ernment maintain day-to-day oper- Robert P. Casey, Jr., Angus S. King,
continuing resolution to fund the Fed- ations while it fights to repel Russia’s Jr., John W. Hickenlooper, Michael F.
eral Government through December 16. invasion. And it provides funding to re- Bennet, Cory A. Booker, Christopher
I will vote to invoke cloture and move plenish U.S. stocks of equipment that Murphy, Amy Klobuchar, Gary C.
the process forward. I urge my col- have been provided to the government Peters, Edward J. Markey, Benjamin L.
leagues to do the same. of Ukraine and to other countries in Cardin, Jeanne Shaheen, Richard
Funding the Federal Government is Blumenthal, Jeff Merkley, Alex
support of the cause. Padilla, Catherine Cortez Masto.
the most basic responsibility of Con- The bill provides $2.5 billion to sup-
gress. The continuing resolution before port recovery efforts following the Her- The PRESIDING OFFICER. By unan-
the Senate today will keep vital serv- mit’s Peak/Calf Canyon Fire in New imous consent, the mandatory quorum
ices running for the American people Mexico. The largest fire in New Mexi- call has been waived.
through December 16, provide critical co’s history has scorched hundreds of The question is, Is it the sense of the
support for Ukraine, secure the thousands of acres, destroyed homes, Senate that debate on the motion to
LIHEAP safety net ahead of winter, displaced thousands, and sparked a proceed to H.R. 6833, a bill to amend
and provide emergency relief to com- fresh water crisis in the community of title XXVII of the Public Health Serv-
munities recovering from natural dis- Las Vegas, New Mexico. This is not an ice Act, the Internal Revenue Code of
asters around the country. issue of red States or blue States, we 1986, and the Employee Retirement In-
However, let me be clear, this is only are the United States, and we must come Security Act of 1974 to establish
a temporary measure. As the chairman stand with communities in crisis wher- requirements with respect to cost-shar-
of the Senate Appropriations Com- ever they may be. ing for certain insulin products, and for
mittee, I am committed to completing The bill also includes $2 billion in other purposes, shall be brought to a
the work of the Appropriations Com- community development block grants close?
mittee before the end of this Congress. to help address unmet recovery needs The yeas and nays are mandatory
In a time of rising inflation, when ev- in communities experiencing major under the rule.
erything costs more—energy, food, disasters in 2021 and 2022, such as Ken- The clerk will call the roll.
fuel, housing—we must respond accord- tucky, Missouri, and Puerto Rico. And The legislative clerk called the roll.
ingly. Running on autopilot after De- with Hurricane Ian advancing in the Mr. THUNE. The following Senators
cember would be irresponsible, and the Gulf, the CR also includes an addi- are necessarily absent: the Senator
American people deserve more. tional $18.8 billion for the FEMA dis- from Wyoming (Mr. BARRASSO), the
Our Federal agencies run thousands aster relief fund. We must ensure Senator from North Carolina (Mr.
of programs every day that benefit FEMA has the resources to meet this BURR), the Senator from Tennessee
working families. From nutrition pro- challenge, and this bill provides those (Mr. HAGERTY), the Senator from Wyo-
grams to small business loans and resources. ming (Ms. LUMMIS), and the Senator
grants, from affordable housing to I am disappointed that, due to Re- from Florida (Mr. RUBIO).
healthcare for our Nation’s veterans, publican opposition, there is no addi- The yeas and nays resulted—yeas 72,
from childcare services to our Nation’s tional funding to combat COVID–19 or nays 23, as follows:
schools, the Federal Government pro- monkeypox. Reductions in the current [Rollcall Vote No. 349 Leg.]
vides services that impact nearly every infection levels for COVID–19 are a di- YEAS—72
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aspect of Americans’ lives. At a time of rect result of the investments we have Baldwin Cantwell Coons
rising inflation, we cannot fund these made in vaccines, therapeutics, and Bennet Capito Cornyn
critical programs at last year’s levels testing over the past 2 years. If we Blumenthal Cardin Cortez Masto
without cutting services or under- hope to avoid a surge this winter, we Blunt Carper Cotton
Booker Casey Duckworth
funding needs. It is simple math. En- need the resources to continue that ef- Boozman Cassidy Durbin
acting full year appropriations bills fort. And we should be investing now to Brown Collins Ernst
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S5046 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE September 27, 2022
Feinstein Markey Schumer Middle School were in session 5 days a He fostered this development by main-
Gillibrand McConnell Shaheen
Graham Menendez Shelby
week during the 2020 and 2021 school taining a consistent pro-job, pro-busi-
Grassley Merkley Sinema years. ness mentality, persistently pitching
Hassan Moran Smith It is my honor to recognize Dr. Doug Warren County to private sector inves-
Heinrich Murkowski Stabenow Reisig for serving the State of Montana tors as a premier location for expan-
Hickenlooper Murphy Sullivan
Hirono Murray Tester as an educator and for his dedication to sion opportunities.
Hyde-Smith Ossoff Tillis ensuring that Montana students have a His tenure has left a physical mark
Kaine Padilla Van Hollen very bright future ahead. on the surface of Bowling Green. From
Kelly Peters Warner
Kennedy Portman Warnock
Congratulations on your retirement, the Kentucky Transpark industrial
King Reed Warren Doug. You truly make Montana proud. park, which is now home to 2 dozen
Klobuchar Romney Whitehouse f companies employing some 3,000 peo-
Leahy Rosen Wicker ple, to Bowling Green’s downtown revi-
Luján Sanders Wyden MORNING BUSINESS talization, anchored by the Southern
Manchin Schatz Young
--- Kentucky Performing Arts Center, to
NAYS—23
TRIBUTE TO JUDGE-EXECUTIVE the county’s large and growing public
Blackburn Hoeven Rounds park system, his touch is apparent all
Braun Inhofe Sasse MICHAEL BUCHANON
Cramer Johnson Scott (FL)
across Warren County. Judge
Crapo Lankford
Mr. MCCONNELL. Mr. President, Buchanon is a builder, understanding
Scott (SC)
Cruz Lee Thune
after 29 years as Warren County judge- long ago that, for Bowling Green to
Daines Marshall Toomey executive, Mike Buchanon is retiring achieve the success it has found today,
Fischer Paul Tuberville at the end of his current term this Jan-
Hawley Risch its leaders needed to invest in projects
uary, leaving behind an impressive leg- that would be attractive to the resi-
NOT VOTING—5 acy of public service. He has overseen dents of the future.
Barrasso Hagerty Rubio explosive growth in his county over the Judge Buchanon has achieved success
Burr Lummis past three decades, developed Bowling in part because of his dogged efforts,
The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Green into a center for art and recre- but also in part because his long tenure
PETERS). On this vote, the yeas are 72, ation, and left an enduring mark on enabled him to plan and actualize
and the nays are 23. the residents, businesses, and new ini- projects over an extended timeframe.
Three-fifths of the Senators duly cho- tiatives he championed. Today, I ask That would not have been possible were
sen and sworn having voted in the af- my colleagues to join me in honoring it not for the support he has seen
firmative, the motion is agreed to. Judge Buchanon on his well-deserved among voters, time and time again,
The Senator from Montana. retirement and thanking him for his since his first election three decades
TRIBUTE TO DR. DOUGLAS REISIG contributions to Kentucky. ago. He has cultivated a close relation-
Mr. DAINES. Mr. President, today, I I have been proud to call Judge ship with his constituents, earning
have the distinct honor of recognizing Buchanon both a close colleague and a their trust and votes seven consecutive
Dr. Doug Reisig of Missoula County as personal friend during his three-decade times, a rare feat for elected officials.
Montanan of the Month for his distin- tenure on the job, working with him to No doubt, they are sad to see their
guished career as an educator and for promote job growth, workforce train- foremost champion depart after so
his devotion to Montana students, ing, and development in South Central many years of success, even as he plans
Montana parents, and the community. Kentucky. As a former judge-executive, to stay closely involved in Warren
Doug was born and raised in Mon- I know both the difficulties and re- County government.
tana. He earned his master’s degree wards of his position intimately. Judge But Judge Buchanon has undeniably
from the University of Montana and Buchanon shares the passion I felt for earned his retirement. His wife Ellen,
his Ph.D. from Montana State. Back my constituents during my time as two sons, Michael and Roy, grand-
home in Montana, Cat-Griz bipartisan- Jefferson County judge-executive. children, and great-grandchildren have
ship is what Doug has in his back- After all, they are not just your voters; stood by his side during his long public
ground. You see, Doug taught at Bil- they are also your neighbors, family, service career, offering support and un-
lings West High School before accept- and friends. Every achievement on the derstanding when he had to work long
ing a job at the St. Ignatius School job brings real, tangible change to the nights on behalf of his community.
District. It was in St. Ignatius that he community you call your home. Now, he looks forward to having ‘‘time
met his lovely wife Mary Jo. Doug and Judge Buchanon built his reputation to go to my grandkids’ ball games and
Mary Jo have been married for almost for diligent leadership in the face of in- travel some with my family.’’ He cer-
43 years and have raised two wonderful tense crises. From almost the moment tainly deserves the respite.
daughters, Megan and Callie. They are he started the job, a major snowstorm I would like to extend my sincere
now the proud grandparents of four battered Warren County, forcing Judge thanks to Judge Buchanon for his dec-
grandsons. Buchanon to declare an emergency and ades of service to his constituents and
Doug has been a teacher, building ad- call in the National Guard. Toward the the entire Commonwealth of Kentucky.
ministrator, and superintendent for 46 end of his career, he faced similar dis- Warren County’s future is bright be-
years, serving as superintendent at asters, first with the onset of the cause of his dedicated work. I ask my
Hellgate Elementary for the past 34 COVID–19 pandemic in 2020 and then colleagues to join me in congratulating
years. Prior to his retirement, he re- with last winter’s devastating tornado Judge Buchanon on his retirement and
ceived the G.V. Erickson Award from outbreak. In each of these emergencies, wishing him the best as he moves on to
the School Administrators of Montana he worked long days and nights to en- the next chapter of his life.
for his contribution to education in our sure the security and safety of his con- f
great State. stituents, deftly handling communica-
Since Doug took over as super- tion with my office and other Federal TRIBUTE TO JUDGE-EXECUTIVE
intendent, the school has seen a 33-per- authorities to ensure Warren County MIKE MALONE
cent increase in enrollment. He also received the assistance it required. Mr. MCCONNELL. Mr. President, in
oversaw the construction of the new When not dealing with crisis situa- his 8 years as Carter County judge-ex-
middle school, and during the height of tions, Judge Buchanon dedicated his ecutive, Mike Malone has battled
the COVID–19 pandemic, under Doug’s time to helping Warren County grow. Mother Nature, invited new develop-
leadership, Hellgate Elementary was a That growth came from a multitude of ment to his community, and tried to
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leader in delivering meals to children directions: the addition of tens of thou- bring neighbors on all sides of the po-
in need and even went the extra mile sands of new residents during his ten- litical aisle together around their
by selflessly donating his increase in ure, the arrival of major new busi- shared values. It hasn’t always been
salary to the Family Resource Fund. nesses, and the cultivation of one of easy, but with dogged determination,
With Doug’s direction and precautions Kentucky’s finest art scenes and public Judge Malone has left Carter County a
in place, both Hellgate Elementary and recreation systems, to name just a few. safer, more beautiful, more united
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