Today, inspire our senators to embrace your promises. May they remember your promises to supply their needs, to never forsake them, and to prevent anything from separating them from your love. Lord, bestow your blessings upon our lawmakers, making them wiser, stronger, and better, glorifying you in their labors. Use them to advance your kingdom in our nation and world, as they attune their will to your purposes. We pray in your blessed name. Amen. The president pro tempore please join me in reciting the pledge of allegiance to our flag. I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of america, and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under god, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. The presiding officer the senator from iowa. Mr. Grassley i ask to speak for one minute in morning business. The presiding officer without objection. Mr. Grassley id like to bring my colleagues uptodate on atoa bipartisan bill to lower drug prices and also at the same time give you an update on the pharmaceutical industrys opposition to this legislation. So beware, the next time big pharma claims what were trying to do to lower drug prices, in their words, undermines the free market. Just remember this when you hear that. The pharmaceutical industry supported obamacare. Big pharma doesnt want a free market so take note that this industry opposes every proposal that would cost it money and supports every proposal that ensures another government revenue stream. Thats exactly what obamacare did and thats what medicare and medicaid do now. Big pharmas become so big and entitled, they have the gal to claim gall to claim t taxpays somehow socialism, and you know obamacare has a stream that does that, medicare and medicaid does as well. So, in fact, this is what ending corporate welfare and depending accountability demanding accountability to taxpayers is all about. It seems to me that when you end those subsidies that would be a very conservative principle. The grassleywide prescription bill saves tens of millions of dollars and has no impact on pharmaceutical innovation, and thats exactly what c. B. O. Said, and thats why the Libertarian Cato Institute has endorsed this legislation. So i encourage my republican colleagues to join me and wyden in that effort, a bipartisan effort. I yield the floor. Mr. Mcconnell madam president. The presiding officer the majority leader. Mr. Mcconnell today every senator will be able to take a clear moral stand. Well have the chance to proceed to commonsense legislation that would move our nation closer to the International Mainstream with respect to defending innocent human life. There are only seven nations left in the entire world where an unborn child can be killed by electing abortion after 20 weeks, and the United States of america, unfortunately, is one of them. Set aside all the farleft rhetoric that will greet senator grahams straightforward legislation and consider this simple fact. To do your democratic colleagues really believe that what our country needs is a radical fringe position on elective abortion that we only share with china, north korea, and four other countries in the entire world . The American People dont seem to think thats what we need. One recent survey found that 70 of all americans believe that at a minimum at a minimum, elective abortion should be limited to the first three months of pregnancy. That even includes half of the respondents who selfidentified as prochoice. So i hope this body will vote to proceed to senator grahams paincapable unborn child act later today. I see no reason why at the very least our democratic colleagues should vote against even proceeding to this legislation and having the debate. If there is a persuasive and principled case why america should remain on the radical International Fringe on this subject, let us hear it. Let us have the debate. Few americans agree with that radical position, but lets have the debate. If my democratic colleagues block the senate from even proceeding to debate this legislation later today, the message they will send will be chilling and clear. The radical demands of the far left will drown out common sense and the views of most americans. The same goes for senator sasses legislation, the born alive abortion survivors protection act, even if most washington democrats resist in their insistence for any common protections for the unborn, surely we must be able to agree that children who are born deserve protection. Surely that much cannot be controversial. Theres surntly no federal man currently no federal mandate that children delivered alive following attempted abortion receive medical care. No guarantee every child born alive in the United States whether they were intended to be or not is intended to be given the same lifegiving medical attention. The people in kentucky cant understand why this would be a hotly debated proposition. It almost defies belief that an entire Political Party could find cause to object to this basic protection for babies. And yet today we will see if our democratic colleagues permit the senate to proceed to even this legislation. Well see whether if even something this simple and this morally straightforward is a bridge too far for the far left. I would urge all my colleagues, lets advance these bills. Lets take these modest steps. Lets have the courage to say the right to life must not seclude the most vulnerable among us. Now, madam president , on a totally different matter. I have the duty this morning that somehow ranks among my favorite activities and least favorite activities simultaneously. The good news is i get to recognize a key member mf my staff who my staff who ive come to know and admire a great deal. The bad news is the occasion. This week, after 15 years of outstanding service, hes bidding farewell to the senate. So im unhappy with the circumstances but i could not be happier to talk about jay costla. For just shy of two years, jay has served as my chief Economic Policy counsel, trade, taxes, banking, and financial services, pensions, and retirement, housing. For two years any answer i needed on any of these subts was one subjects was one phone call, one email or one quick meeting away. You can go a long way in this town if you master either the policy details of big issues or the politics surrounding those issues. Jay has mastered both. When you have a lot of talent and intelligence, Major Projects tend to find their way to your desk. So consider the fact that jay has been at the center of practically every major Economic Policy achievement over the past decade plus. Jay arrived as a Young Health Care staffer for thenmajority leader bill frist. Talk about an opening act. Not just working for a majority leader, but one who is also an m. D. And who focused on health care. The bar was set high, but jay, of course, exceeded it. He then moved to the budget committee. Then he crafted a policy for senator mccains president ial campaign, and then he returned to work for senator hatch and the finance committee. Before long, jay was senator hatchs secret weapon, and as he rose through the ranks, policy director to staff director, he rapidly became a not so secret weapon, an invaluable asset to the chairman, to the committee, and really to our entire conference. His relationships extended across the aisle as well. Our democratic colleagues respect him greatly. His colleagues on the committee remembered that even when it might have been easier to pull back behind party lines and just try to craft a bill within the majority, jay stayed stubbornly dedicated to the bipartisan process as long as possible. A team player, an honest broker, jay doesnt want to get big things dont odone, he wants to get big things done, he wants to get them done the right way. Trade Promotion Authority in 2015, historic tax reform in 2017, usmca this year. These huge accomplishments and many more Like Fighting the Opioid Epidemic and fixing the growth rate of medicare. All of this had the staff leader right at the center. In many cases his work started months or years in advance, meeting with leaders, pouring the foundation for new policy, and he stayed on the case right through to the finish line. So, needless to say, this is a resume that basically anyone in washington would kill for, but effectiveness is only part of jays magic. The colleagues whom jay supervise at the finance committee remember a boss who is kind, generous, patient, unflappable even as he guided them through legislation of the highest consequence. More recent we in the Majority Leaders Office have relished his laugh out loud punch lines, his dead pan sarcasm and creative nicknames. Jay is willing to take everyone down a peg when they need it, including himself. Ive worked with all kinds of talented staff, but i have to say the demeanor jay brings to work is somewhat unique. Despite being so knowledgeable, connected, and hardworking, jay seems to flow through all the challenges with confidence and calmness that almost border on relaxation. If you didnt know better, youd almost be suspicious. Somehow you never see jay sweat. Well, at least not in the office. Jays colleagues like to rib him about the personal training regimen he maintains along with the ultra healthy diet and other enviable aspects of worklife balance that he seemed to carve out in this place that is so notorious for none of that. It is all part of the unique jay costla magic. He includes emails with a funny photo of a cat dangling from a tree branch captioned hang in there. Someone who answers pressing questions from senators with a smile and a catch phrase, i have a feeling its all going to work out. Somebody less accomplished would never get away with this from someone with less mastery of the details you would scoff and find someone else to talk to, but when its jay, you know everything will actually work out. Because hes the one on the case. Jay jay helps make everyone around him as calm, confident, and cheerful as he is. Its not just because of his charisma. Its because hes so good at what he does. So look, madam president , its never fun to bid farewell to someone who is a big part of the brains of your operation, and its never fun to say goodbye to someone who is a big part of the heart of your team either. So its really no fun to say goodbye to somebody who has managed to be both. Jays only formally worked for me for a couple of years, but he has been a trusted advisor and an honorary part of my team for a lot longer. He has been a big part of the senate for more than a decade. But when i say that jay knows how to prioritize, i mean it, and his real bottom line is family. He and his beloved wife lisa have two boys, sesha and asher. They form a tightknit unit together with jays parents, vijay and sumen and his sister. Jay might have made it look expeditiously easy all these years, but jobs like this are never easy, least of all on your family. It turns out that the costla clan would like to see a little more of this guy, and jay doesnt mind the sound of a new chapter and some new challenges either. So were really going to miss him. We thank him for everything. But we feel certain his next chapters will bring New Happiness all their own. As a wise man once told me, i have a feeling its all going to work out. The presiding officer under the previous order, the leadership time is reserved. Morning business is closed. Under the previous order, the senate will proceed to executive session to resume consideration of the following nomination which the clerk will report. The clerk nomination, the judiciary, Robert Anthony molloy of the Virgin Islands to be judge for the District Court of the Virgin Islands. The presiding officer the clerk will call the roll. Quorum call mr. Schumer mr. President. The presiding officer the democratic leader. Mr. Schumer i ask unanimous consent the quorum be dispensed with. The presiding officer without objection. Mr. Schumer madam president , the coronavirus has already spread to 30 countries, and 53 confirmed cases here in the United States. Officials at the World Health Organization are now warning World Governments to begin preparing for a pandemic, a pandemic. But here in the United States, the Trump Administration has been caught flatfooted. The administration has no plan to deal with the coronavirus, no plan, and seemingly no urgency to develop one. Even now, after the virus has already become a Worldwide Health crisis with with rapidly growing economic problems, the Trump Administration is scrambling to respond. We have a crisis, and the Trump Administration is trying to build an airplane while already in mid flight. The harsh fact of the matter is the Trump Administration has shown towering and dangerous incompetence when it comes to the coronavirus. Coronavirus testing kits have not been widely distributed to our hospitals and Public Health labs. Those without these kits must send samples all the way to atlanta rather than testing them on site, wasting precious time as the virus spreads. The administration has eliminated, eliminated the Global Health security teams. Global health security. Just what we need now. They have eliminated the teams from both the National Security council and the department of homeland security. And thanks to years of cuts to the Global Health division at the centers for Disease Control by the Trump Administration, the c. D. C. Has been forced to reduce the number of countries it operates in from 49 to 10. These are our front lines. If we can deal with these diseases before they get to the United States, were a lot safer, and the administration has mercilessly and thoughtlessly cut, cut, cut these teams. And then only a month ago, even as we began to hear about the coronavirus in china, the administration sent us a budget that proposed cutting the c. D. C. Budget by 16 . The c. D. C. The agency on the front lines to keep us safe, to keep us healthy, to prevent american lives from being lost. Four words describe the administrations response to the coronavirus towering and dangerous incompetence. When officials at the c. D. C. Recommended that infected passengers from a cruise ship not be flown to the United States alongside the noninfected passengers, the state department overruled them. Shockingly, they put infected and noninfected on the same plane. Was this on the same plain. Was this because of politics where somebody called President Trump or someone else . There were rumors to that effect. We dont know if they are true. They should be checked out. Typical of this administration, though, or certainly typical in so many different instances, decisions were made based on politics and optics rather than on the informed opinion of our scientists and doctors. Its like the soviet apparatchiks overruling the Nuclear Scientists at chernobyl to avoid embarrassment to the regime. Federal agencies have been so hollowed out that one of the key figures in responding to the coronavirus in our government is ken cuccinelli, an negligence hardline ideologue with no Public Health expertise. Yesterday mr. Cuccinelli actually posted a tweet asking for information about the spread of the coronavirus. The one person the administration can come up with to help deal with the issue, then emails and asks for information. Of course because he has no knowledge. Hes not a scientist. He is not a disease preventer. This is towering and dangerous incompetence. Now, President Trump, meanwhile, has side that the coronavirus might, quote, miraculously fade once the weather gets warmer. Towering and dangerous incompetence. With no plan to deal with this potential Health Crisis, the Administration Last night issued an emergency budget request. It was too little and too late. And asked and it asked congress to reprogram funding dedicated to fighting ebola, still considered an epidemic in the democratic public of the congo to deal with the coronavirus, robbing peter to pay paul. Its further evidence that the administration is not taking the coronavirus as seriously as it should. I said as much last night here on the floor. The president seemed upset about my criticism of his Budget Proposal this morning. Im glad he has noticed. Maybe hell start taking this issue more seriously. Now that ive gotten the president s attention, i want to lay out five things the Trump Administration must do to get a handle on the coronavirus. The Administration Must at a minimum restore the cuts to the c. D. C. Budget. Trumps cuts to the c. D. C. Budget have had dramatic effects, shrinking the agencys footprint abroad to combat pandemics. The Administration Must commit now to reverse them. The Trump Administration must appoint a point person, a czar, to implement a real plan to manage the coronavirus, an independent, nonpartisan Global Health expert with real expertise. Not a political appointee like cuccinelli. Somebody who is a scientist, who knows these issues, and can coordinate the myriad federal agencies to fight the fight and prevent american lives from being lost. The Administration Must increase its emergency budget. The Administration Must increase its emergency budget request to at least 3. 1 billion, with no cuts, no cuts for ebola funding which is still raging in africa. 3. 1 billion is the amount our Public Health organizations say is necessary. The funding must also include a commitment to reimburse states and localities for all expenses related to addressing the outbreak. The Trump Administration must expedite delivery of diagnostic testing kits to all 50 states and Public Health laboratories so the tests dont have to be sent the samples dont have to be sent to atlanta and people wait, wait, and wait for a result as the disease spreads. And finally, the Administration Must stop the proliferation of junk insurance plans that do not even cover coronavirus tests and other related health care services. This is typical of why we have opposed these junk plans. They cover hardly anything. Now that we have this crisis of coronavirus, so many people who have these junk plans will not get tested because they cant afford it and because their plans dont cover it. A glaring example of why junk health plans, the administrations solution, it seems, to the Health Care Crisis are totally inadequate and dangerous. These are five basic steps that any competent administration would have already taken in preparation for the pandemic. There may be others as well. But this is what happens when you have an administration and a president so skeptical of science, so contemptuous of expertise, so practiced at obscuring inconvenient facts, so disdainful of organization and preparation. Mr. President , you need to get your act together now. This is a crisis. We need you to act. We need this administration to finally do the right thing after weeks of dithering and exhibiting towering and dangerous incompetence. On another matter also related to health care, today leader mcconnell and Senate Republicans have scheduled votes on two divisive antichoice, antiwomen, antifamily bills. The senate has voted them down before. It will again. After weeks of complaining that the impeachment trial of President Trump was preventing the senate from doing the peoples business, this is what the Senate Republicans have proposed. Fake, dishonest, extreme legislation that is nothing to do with improving the lives of ordinary americans. I say fake because these bills pretend as if we dont already have laws on the books that protect infants. Additional legislation is completely unnecessary, irrational, a show with no positive effect on the women of america who need health care, health care, mr. President. Health care, republican senators. Health care. Thats what women want. Not these show bills that appeal to an extreme few. The American People know it. The american women know it. Additional legislation such as proposed today is at best unnecessary and irrational, but it is dishonest because these bills are not intended to fix real problems faced by real americans. Theyre intended to provoke fear and misunderstanding about a very difficult issue so republicans can score political points with their farright base. But any senator who thinks this is going to appeal to the mainstream of their constituen constituents, women throughout their states are missing the point. I say these bills i say extreme because these bills wouldnt affect criminalized womens reproductive care and intimidate health care provide providers, another example of the Senate Republicans war on roe v. Wade and a womans constitutionally protected right to make her own private health care decisions, to not have politicians tell a woman what to do. Putting these already defeated bills up for a show vote is not a good faith attempt to improve the lives of everyday americans, particularly everyday american women, as republicans claim they want to desperately do. Every single Senate Republican knows that these bills cannot and will not pass. But theyre putting them on the floor anyway to pander to the hard right and to cover up the fact that they wont provide Good Health Care for women, that theyre voting day in and day out to take away the rights to health care of women throughout america and letting the administration led by President Trump do just that. If republicans were serious about getting back to the peoples business, theres no shortage of Bipartisan Legislation we could consider. Nearly 400 bills have passed the house, hundreds of them on a bipartisan basis. And theyve collected dust in this chamber. Theyve gone into leader mcconnells legislative trash can. On health care alone, we have legislation to protect americans with preexisting conditions, legislation that would eliminate junk insurance plans, legislation to reduce maternal and infant mortality rates which my colleague from illinois will talk about i believe shortly. All of these bills have languished in leader mcconnells legislative junk yard. When leader mcconnell and any republicans say oh, impeachment stopped us from doing things, look at what were not doing today, not only what were doing which is meaningless to women but what were not doing, protecting their health care, protecting roe v. Wade which to thirds of american women want protected twothirds of american women want protected. Any of the proposals that are in mcconnells legislative graveyard would be better than this antichoice, antiwomen, antifamily legislation. But typical of leader mcconnell, republicans have chosen once again to play politics on the senate floor. Leader mcconnell should stop wasting the few votes he does schedule with these shameless political stunts and instead bring legislation to the floor that would actually, actually improve the health care of the American People and of american women in particular. I yield the floor. The presiding officer the democratic whip is recognized. Mr. Durbin madam president , id like to note this morning that at 8 00 a. M. An unusual meeting took place in this capitol building. It was in the area of the building that is reserved for top secret classified briefings. All members of the senate were invited. The issue at that briefing was the coronavirus. I sat through the major part of that briefing before i had to leave for another meeting. There wasnt anything in there that should have been classified or top secret. If theres ever a time when we need to be open, honest, and complete in telling the whole story to the American People, its this moment when we face a coronavirus which started, we believe, in china and thousand is spreading across the world. What the democratic leader said earlier i back up. Because the request was made at this meeting for some 2 billion in the United States to respond to this coronavirus threat. When we question the administration as to why that number and what they were going to do with it, the answers were limited and in fact, when it came to the source of the money, they had no answer at all. Remember, this is an administration which has consistently asked to cut the funding for the centers for Disease Control. It has been a low priority of the Trump Administration until we face this threat and now theyve suddenly awakened and it turns out that even in the next fiscal year which begins in october 1, the Trump Administration is asked to cut the money for the center for Disease Control again. You ask yourself who is in charge over there. Who is making the basic decisions. Well, it could be the person who has decided that every available dollar needs to be put into a wall on the mexican border. Think of this for a moment. 10 billion currently sit in an account for the building of this wall unspent. They cant spend it. And yet the president recently asked for 3. 8 billion more for building his almighty wall which i thought mexico was going to pay for. And now comes at the last minute asking for some 2 billion for the coronavirus. When it comes down to it, as one senator said in this meeting this morning, if our business is to protect the American People, isnt the highest priority to stop the spread of this virus in the United States . Of course it is. And thats why it should be a higher priority. No wall is going to stop that virus from coming into the United States. The president ought to wake up to that reality. When you look at the efforts that are being made here in the United States and around the world, we can and should do more. I support this request for a dramatic increase in funding for this purpose now, now before it spreads across the United States which god forbid it ever does. We dont want it to. We want to make sure weve done everything in our power to stop it. That means empowering those in charge with the knowledge, with the expertise, and with the authority to protect our Families First and foremost protect american families. Thats a much higher priority than any Campaign Promise this president made about a wall on our southern border. I support the effort by senator schumer asking for some top doc or some individual with management authority, management experience, and the knowledge of the Public Health threat that we face with this coronavirus to be put in charge to coordinate the myriad agencies which will be touched by this campaign to protect america. Now is the time to do it. The time to do it at least now but it should have been much earlier with more money dedicated to this purpose rather than cutting back on these key agencies. Madam president , on a related topic, related to health, this morning senator Mitch Mcconnell came to the floor and said that today, this afternoon, we are likely to take up to votes on motions to proceed. This is so typical now of what we do in the United States senate. Instead of bringing a measure to the floor with an understanding of an amendment process so that we can discuss it fully, vote on it and many different aspects and then come to a conclusion in a majority vote of this body, senator mcconnell comes to the floor with another driveby political hit on the issue of womens reproductive health. We know what this issue is all about. Many of us who served for years know that theres a fundamental difference among those of us here in the United States senate. And we know what the outcome of this vote will be because at least one of these votes has been cast last year on exactly the same topic. So why would senator mcconnell bring it back to get that driveby shooting when it comes to this particular political issue . That to me is unfortunate. And id like to suggest theres a better alternative. Madam president , this is black history month. And i want to take the time to celebrate a person who made history when it came to health care. Helen octavia dickens was born in dayton, ohio in 1909, the daughter of a former slave. She attended Crane Junior College in chicago now malcolm x. In 1934 she graduated from university of Illinois College of medicine, chicago is the only African American woman in her class of 137 students. She was the universitys first black woman physician graduate. Dr. Dickens became a specialist in obstetrics eventually moving to philadelphia to work in a birthing center where she provided care to the poor. While there she broke barriers by becoming the first African American woman to be admitted to the American College of surgeons, received board certification in obstetrics and gynecology and practiced medicine in philadelphia. Her work to help heal and guide women of all ages is nothing short of inspiring and her efforts to shine light on the troubling issue of Health Disparities in the United States continues to this day. Let me be specific. America has had a long history of medical inequality and sadly we know that history has not ended. From premature births to premature deaths, people of clr disproportionately bear the brunt of americas troubled health care system. On average they live sicker, die sooner, and go without needed medical care more often. Communities of color suffer disproportionately from h. I. V. , heart disease, stroke, diabetes, kidney failure, Prostate Cancer and other medical conditions. President obama signed the Affordable Care act into law nearly ten years ago. It is still one of my proudest votes. Thanks to that law, 20 million americans gained health insurance. More than one million in my home state of illinois. Im proud to say that law has made strong steps to address racial inequalities in health care across america. A report last month found that the Affordable Care act helped narrow racial and ethnic disparities in health care, access and coverage, especially in states like mine, illinois, that expanded the reach of medicaid. And yet we know that better is not nearly good enough when if comes to health care. Nearly half, nearly half of black americans, 46 , live in the 15 states that did not expand medicaid coverage after the Affordable Care act was passed. Another area of Racial Disparity is maternal and infant health. I raise this issue because instead of these driveby issue votes which senator mcconnell insists on without debate, without amendment, we should be addressing an issue that should have bipartisan support. And let me be specific about what i mean. The United States ranks 32nd ought of the 35 wealthiest nations when it comes to infant death, infant mortality. Let me repeat that. Our nation ranks 32nd out of 35 wealthiest nations when it comes to infant mortality, babies of color ared hardest are the hardest hit. If you were an African American infant born in america darks you are twice as likely to die in the first year of birth compared to white infants. The mother giving birth in the United States African American women are three to four times more likely to die giving birth than other women in this country. In illinois, sadly, they are six times more likely to die. The United States is one of the 13 countries in the world where the Maternal Mortality rate is worse now than it was 25 years ago. Instead of impaling ourselves politically on the issues that divide us, can we come together on an issue that could unite us, that we are going to do something in america to reduce the infant and Maternal Mortality, particularly among African Americans. Ive given a lot of thought of what we should try to do to bridge this racial divide to help women and babies of congress. For the past two congresses i introduced with illinois congresswoman kelly, called the mama act. It would cover new moms from 60 days after birth to a full year postpartum to ensure adequate care after the child is delivered. The bill would also ensure implicit bias and cultural competency training for Health Care Providers to help disparaged communities of color. Were simply not doing enough to correct this injustice and save the lives of new moms and babies across the country. Instead Senate Republicans are pushing two antichoice bills this day that will do nothing nothing to help improve maternal and infant outcomes in america nor help address Racial Disparities that currently exist. If they actually wanted to save and improve the lives of new moms and babies, they should consider passing legislation like the mama act, which i just described. Im going to try to call this to the floor this afternoon. Wouldnt it be a breath of fresh air in the United States senate if on a bipartisan basis we could agree to do something about this public Health Crisis affecting infants and mothers across america . The fact that we rank so low in the world standings of safety when it comes to delivering a baby among African American parents in this country is just unacceptable and unforgivable. Can we muster the courage to stop the political shootings on the floor, this driveby shooting of political issues and address an issue that is truly a life and death party that we should all agree on. The republicans will have a choice to join me this afternoon in this effort. Im proud to stand here today and honor helen dickens, the African American doctor, which i described earlier, who passed away in 2001. Her fierce advancement in the medical field helped pave the way for future doctors, particularly women of color, and led to important discoveries in womens health. Today much of what we know about the importance and effectiveness of annual ob gyn visits was started by her hment she helped train general practitioners to give doctors what they needed to know about cancer. In 1982, the university of illinois honored dr. Dickens with the distinguished alumni award. While the United States has a troubled past in addressing racial inequality, we need to learn from the mistakes of the past to ensure all americans receive the health care they deserve in the future. Dr. Helen dickens and many other African American pioneers give me a hope for a briert future. Brighter future. Madam president , i yield the floor and suggest the absence of a quorum. The presiding officer the clerk will call the roll. Quorum call mr. Thune madam president. The presiding officer the majority whip is recognized. Mr. Thune madam president , is the senate in a quorum call . The presiding officer we are. Mr. Thune i ask unanimous consent that the quorum call be lifted. The presiding officer without objection. Mr. Thune madam president , today we will vote on two prolife bills, the born alive abortion survivors protection act and the paincapable unborn Child Protection act. These bills, madam president , should be completely uncontroversial. Every one of us in this chamber ought to be able to agree that infants who are born alive during an abortion procedure should receive the same care that a baby born alive in a hospital would receive. And every one of us ought to agree that at the very least we should not be aborting babies after the point they can feel pain. Unfortunately, madam president , the abortion extremism and the Democratic Party is such that its unlikely these bills will even get a chance to be debated. Madam president , we shouldnt even need the born alive abortion survivors protection act. It should be obvious that any baby born alive, wherever he or she is born ought to receive care. But with more than leading democrat over the past year refusing to rule out infant side, its become clear that we need to underscore that being born alive in an abortion live instead of a hospital doesnt eliminate a babys right to care. The pain capable unborn Child Protection act should be a nobrainer. This legislation would ban abortions beginning in the sixth month of pregnancy, a point at which science has clearly demonstrated that the unborn child is able to feel pain. And not only able to feel pain, by this point in a pregnancy, approximately 20 weeks, babies are almost able to survive outside of their mothers. Babies have survived after being born at 25 weeks, at 24 weeks, at 23 weeks. And like elle snyder who attended the state of the Union Address with her mom, at 21 weeks. It is unthinkable that we are killing babies so far advanced that it is possible for them to survive outside of their mothers, but we are. In 2016, somewhere around 11,000 babies were aborted after the 21week in pregnancy. 11,000 in one year. Madam president , democrats like to point to European Countries to support their push for governmentrun health care and other socialist policies, but they never mention they never mention that almost every european country has more limits on abortion than we have here in the United States. In fact, the United States is one of just seven countries in the entire world that allow elective abortions after 20 weeks of pregnancy. Among the other countries are china and north korea. Not exactly the kind of company we want to be in when it comes to keeping and to protecting human rights. Because make no mistake, madam president , thats what were talking about with abortion, human rights. Abortion denies unique individual human beings with their own fingerprints and their own d. N. A. The most basic of human rights, the right to life. And it is happening on a massive scale. Every year in the United States alone hundreds of thousands of irreplaceable human beings are killed by abortion. And thats not just some mum that the Prolife Movement has cooked up. Thats straight from the proabortion institute formally affiliated with planned parenthood, which reports, and i quote, 862,320 abortions were performed in 2017. 862,320. Most of us cant even fathom a number that big, but to put it in perspective, 862,000 is roughly equivalent to the population of the entire state of south dakota, my home state. Thats right. Think about that, madam president. In 2017 alone the number of babies killed by abortion was roughly equivalent to the population of the entire state of south dakota. Madam president , we can do better. Americans are better than this. Our country was founded to safeguard human rights, not to take them away. And while we havent always lived up to that promise, we never stopped trying. Its time for us, as a country, to stand up and to start protecting the rights of unborn human beings. Madam president , the born alive protection survivors protection act and the pain capable unborn Child Protection act wont stop all or even most abortions but they are an important step, a chance for us, as americans, to draw a line in the sand and to start standing up for the rights of babies who are able, or nearly able, to survive outside of their mothers. Its time for us to join the vast majority of the Global Community in prohibiting elective abortions past 20 weeks. Its time for us to make it clear that no matter what some extreme democrats may say, americans believe that all children, whether born alive in a hospital or in an abortion clinic, deserve protection and basic medical care. Madam president , i hope my colleagues across the aisle will take a stand for human rights and for human decency and allow debate move forward on these two important prolife bills. Madam president , i yield the floor and i suggest the absence of a quorum. The presiding officer the clerk will call the roll. Quorum call quorum call quorum call quorum call mrs. Fischer mr. President . The presiding officer the senator from nebraska is recognized. Mrs. Fischer madam president , i would ask that the quorum call be vitiated. The presiding officer without objection. Question occurs on the nomination. Is there a sufficient second . There appears to be. The clerk will call the roll. Vote . Oot vote vote the presiding officer are there any senators in the chamber wishing to vote or change their vote . If not, the ayes are 97, the nays are zero. The nomination is confirmed. Under the previous order, the motion to reconsider is considered made and laid upon the table and the president will be immediately notified of the senates actions. The clerk will report the motion to invoke cloture. The clerk cloture motion we, the undersigned senators, in accordance with the provisions of rule 22 of the standing rules of the senate, do hereby move to bring to a close debate on the nomination of sylvia carrenocoll of puerto rico to be United States district judge for the district of puerto rico signed by 17 senators. The presiding officer by unanimous consent, the mandatory quorum call has been waived. The question is, is it the sense of the senate that debate on the nomination of silvia carrenocoll of puerto rico to be United States district judge for the district of puerto rico shall be brought to a close. The yeas and nays are mandatory under the rule. The clerk will call the roll. Vote vote the presiding officer are there any senators in the chamber wishing to vote or change their vote . If not, the yeas are 96, the nays are 1. The motion is agreed to. The clerk will report the motion to invoke cloture. The clerk cloture motion we, the undersigned senators, in accordance with the provisions of rule 22 of the standing rules of the senate, do hereby move to bring to a close debate on the nomination of Katherine Macgregor of pennsylvania to be depend secretary of interior, signed by 17 senators. The presiding officer by unanimous consent,ed mandatory quorum call has been waived. The question is, is it the sense of the senate that debate on the nomination of Katherine Mack greggor of pennsylvania to be dependency secretary of interior shall be brought to a close . The yeas and nays are mandatory under the rule. The clerk will call the roll. Vote vote the presiding officer are there any senators in the chamber wishing to vote or change their vote . If not, the ayes are 59. The nays are 38. The motion is agreed to. The clerk will report the nomination. The Clerk Department of interior, Katherine Macgregor of pennsylvania to be deputy secretary of the interior. The presiding officer under the previous order, the Senate Stands in recess until on the agenda a number of judicial and executive nominations, theyre also working on a couple abortion related measures with procedural votes this afternoon. Follow live Senate Coverage here on cspan2. Defense secretary mark esper and mark millie testify on the president s budget request wednesday morning at 10 am eastern on cspan3, online at cspan. Orgor you can listen live on the free cspan radio app. During this election season, the candidates beyond the talking points are only revealed over time but since you cant be everywhere, there is cspan. Our campaign 2020 programming differs from all other political coverage for one simple reason. Its cspan area we brought you your unfiltered view of government every day since 1979 and this year we are bringing you an untrue filtered view of the people who bring you that government this november. In other words your future so thiselection season , see the biggest picture for yourself
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