Transcripts For CSPAN2 U.S. Senate U.S. Senate 20240713

Commitment to bringing you live gavel to gavel coverage of the u. S. Senate. You can continue watching this hearing online at cspan. Org. And now live to the floor of the u. S. Senate here on cspan2. The president pro tempore the senate will come to order. The chaplain, dr. Black, will lead the senate in prayer. The chaplain let us pray. Eternal god, we continue to depend on you to fulfill your purposes for our lives. You have told us that your purpose for us is that we live for your glory. As our lawmakers strive to do your will, bringing honor to your name, have your way in all they say and do. Send them your help from celestial portals, so that they will please you and be your ambassadors during these challenging times. Rescue them from anything that will keep them from remembering that nothing is impossible for you. Be exalted, o god, above the highest heavens. Let your glory shine in our nation and world. We pray in your loving 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. Mr. Grassley mr. President. The presiding officer the senator from iowa. Mr. Grassley i ask to speak inning morning business for one minute. The presiding officer without objection. Mr. Grassley covid19 has put america through the ringer. There will be many Lessons Learned and stories to tell from this chapter of our history. Today i salute the heroes working on the front lines during this pandemic. I cant overstate the debt of gratitude that we owe the Health Care Professionals who selflessly put their own lives on the line to care for covid19 patients. Our doctors, nurses, respiratory terpists, working home nurses and First Responders are among those who have shouldered physical and mental exhaustion to heal the sick. In fact, today is National Nurses day so i give our nurses an extra applause on this, their day. To the legions of Health Care Professionals across america, thank you for the devotion that you have shown to our community and to your great country. I yield the floor. 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, office of the director of national of intelligence, William Evanina to be director of the National Counterintelligence Security Center. Mr. Mcconnell mr. President. The presiding officer the majority leader. Mr. Mcconnell the core business of our nation does not stop while we fight the coronavirus. This week Senate Committees are committing oversight and holding hearings. Members are tracking the implementation of the cares act. Were discussing how congress could do everything from further strengthening the Health Response to ensuring that a second epidemic of frivolous lawsuits does not redirect the National Recovery into a trial lawyer bonanza. Here on the floor, were filling major vacancies in the federal government. Today well confirm William Evanina to lead the National Counterintelligence and Security Center as our nation grapples with challenges at home, it is important that a complement of skilled professionals keep watch on our foes, adversaries and competitors. He will be the first Senate Confirmed director of the cnsc. He is the senior most expert in counterintelligence. He has served three decades as a special agent with the f. B. I. As chief of the c. I. A. s Counterespionage Group and one of the principal advisors to the director of the National Intelligence. His long professional experience has given him al welltrained eye and hes made clear hes been focused on the most severe espionage threats facing our country today. Chinas insidious efforts to steal our industrial, governmental, technological and political secrets and russias continuing efforts to meddle in our democracy. So we have a qualified professional who is tailored made for an important job. Our colleagues on the Intelligence Committee report him out on a unanimous bipartisan basis, twice. The vice chairman senator warner said that bill evanina should be confirmed without further delay, but even still our democratic colleagues choose to obstruct his nomination on the floor and require a full day of floor time to confirm him. Ironically, at the same time weve also heard some of our democratic colleagues complain that we spend too much time voting too much time voting on nominations. Its bad enough to spend three years three years delaying nominations to an historic degree and deliberately making the process painful, but it reaches a new level of irony for my democratic friends to do all that and then complain complain that their own strategy is inconveniencing their schedules. Essential matters of government do not cease because of the coronavirus. And they do not cease because of partisanship either. As long as Senate Democrats continue to make incredibly qualified nominees travel the hard way, including someone whom their own democratic Ranking Member has openly praised, then i assume i will assure them that well need to show up and cast votes. The countrys business will not go undone. Now, speaking of nominations, this morning our colleagues on the Judiciary Committee are examining the qualifications of judge Justin Walker the judge walker is a fellow kentuckian. Hes a district judge for the Western District of enkentucky and he of kentucky and he is a nominee to serve on the court of appeals for the district of columbia. Im grateful to chairman graham and all the other chairmans finding creative ways to perform government business. The work of the senate must and can continue all albeit in new. To respect this time in social distancing, i will offer this on the floor instead of over in the committee. Since judge walker was tapped to serve the people of kentucky on the Federal District bench, hes wasted no time in expanding his strong reputation for intellectual brilliance, legal acumen and total fairness and impartiality. In just the last few weeks judge walker has won National Attention for an eloquent and persuasive opinion that forced kentuckys amendment freedom of religion and he has earned a wellqualified rating from the leftleaning American Bar Association that the Senate Democrats like the democratic leader has frequently described as the gold standard. So let me say that again. In the span of just a couple of weeks, almost simultaneously, judge walker has won praise from religious redom advocates freedom advocates nationwide and the approval of the a. B. A. Which democrats call the gold standard. That illustrates the kind of impressive individual that the committee is considering this morning. Already judge walkers reputation as a brilliant legal rising star precedes him. When you consider the full scope of his educationern experience, its hardly a surprise. Judge walker graduated from Duke University summa cum lauda and he edited the law review. And then prestigious law clerks for Justice Kavanaugh and for thenjustice anthony kennedy. He learned at the elbows of legal giants. Then he moved on to skilled performance in private practice and then to a distinguished scholarship at Louisville Law School with expertise in National Security, Administrative Law and the separation of powers. Indeed, an impressive record. But as kentuckys secretary of state mike adams put it recently, judge walker is more than just a c. V. Hence the outpowering of praise from his peers, colleagues, and neighbors in kentucky who know him well. 100 kentucky lawyers, many of whom practiced before judge walker in the District Court wrote about his courage to apply precedence faithfully. 16 judges said that he weighs the facts against the law as it is written, not as he wishes it to be. So, mr. President , im confident our colleagues on the committee will find this nominee possesses a generational legal mind, a kind heart and total judicial impartiality. President trump made an outstanding choice when he asked kentuckians to take Public Service to the next level. Im confident judge walker will not disappoint. So i urge the committee to approve his nomination. I look forward to confirm him soon here on the senate floor. Mr. Mcconnell i suggest the absence of a quorum. 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 call be dispensed with. The presiding officer without objection. Mr. Schumer now, mr. President , the senate is here, open for business. The janitors and food service workers, the Police Officers, and all the staff that operate the floor are here. Theyre all here. Capitol police are doing their usual excellent job. The republican leader called us back despite the obvious health risks, but we are ready to do the business our country demands. So theres a question that loom . Why isnt the senate focused on responding to the covid19 pandemic . There hasnt been a single vote here on the senate floor related to coronavirus, not even a nominee related to coronavirus. Rather than focusing on covid19 with laserlike intensity, the senate Judiciary Committee today will waste precious time on the nomination of leader mcconnells protege, Justin Walker, to serve on the d. C. Court of appeals, the second most powerful court in the country. Mr. Walker is a 37yearold Federalist Society disciple who has more experience as a cable news commentator than he does trying cases in court. Mr. Walkers qualifications pale in some pair son to those previous nominees to the d. C. Circuit, democrat and republican. Nominees by democratic president s and republican president s all were deeply steeped in the law, just about every one, and here we have this what leader mcconnell is doing to the courts is nothing short of disgraceful. The judges currently sitting on the Second Highest Court in the land have had decades of experience in Supreme Court advocacy, appellate work, criminal law, private practice, academia, and so on prior to their nominations. Mr. Walker has been a District Court nominee a District Court judge, rather, for less than a year. Less than a year. He had no trial experience retire to that. Inexperience aside, bad enough as that is, walkers views are way out of the mainstream. In 2018, he described chief Justice Roberts opinion upholding our Health Care Law as indefensible and catastrophic. Meanwhile, he praised a dissenting opinion by thenjudge kavanaughs road map for the Supreme Court to validate it. Every republican who votes for this nominee, mr. Walker, will be voting to dismantle the a. C. A. And take millions of Peoples Health care away from them if his statements prove to be how he judges things, which seems very likely, given previous experience of other nominees like this. This week, legal briefs are due in the Supreme Court case that will determine the future of our Health Care Law. In the midst of a global pandemic, at a time when our Health Care System has never been more important, Senate Republicans are preparing to jam through a judge who Police Chiefs it should all be crashing down. Tens of millions of people would lose their Health Insurance and protections for americans with preexisting conditions would be eliminated. Mr. Walkers nomination would be controversial in normal times, to say the least. Less experience in the court than on tv. During this Public Health crisis, his nomination is nothing short of a disgrace. The senate should be focused on helping the country. Hospitals and doctors, nurses and Health Care Workers, essential employees and Small Businesses and families suffering from huge financial hardship. There are millions of newly unemployed americans, but the only jobs issue the republican majority seems to be focused on this week are the jobs of rightwing judges who wish to dismantle health care at a time when health care is needed more than ever. Let me say that again. There are millions of justly unemployed americans, but in the senate, the republican majority is spending time giving jobs to rightwing judges. Now, lets get back to what matters. Democrats are focused on helping workers, Small Businesses, and american families. In times of crisis and economic hardship, these average americans, working people, they take it on the chin. Thats where our focus needs to be. Not on legal immunity for big corporations. Not on big oil or gas companies. Not on juicing the markets. The focus should be on average folks. Thats who all of us in congress should be focused on helping right now. Now, on administration. Congress can only do so much. Ive actually been very proud of how both parties have come together over the past few months to pass historic legislation. 960. 960. With a great deal of input and improvement by the democratic minority. But to make this legislation work, we need a competent, steady, focused administration to not only implement our laws but coordinate our national response. It is no secret that the Trump Administration has been anything but focused, anything but steady, anything but competent. President trump seems to spend more time deflecting blame, attacking others, pushing quack medicines, and hiding from the truth than he does actually leading our nations response to this crisis. Last night, in an interview on abc news, the president said that his failure to prepare our National Stockpiles with medical equipment was because, quote, he had a lot of other things going on. The National Stockpile for the vital p. P. E. That our frontline workers need and other materials, the president failed to prepare our stockpiles with this equipment because he had a lot of other things going on . Thats a president . Vice president pence yesterday confirmed that the white house was winding down its Coronavirus Task force long before the disease has been contained, waving the white flag of surrender to covid19 long before the battle is over. A report in todays New York Times details the failures of the administration, and mr. Kushner in particular to procure critical supplies at a time when we lack masks, gloves, and other equipment protective equipment. Instead of appointing a military person with experience in command and control, as i suggested, mr. Kushner recruited a team of consultants who, quote, had little to no experience with Government Procurement procedures or medical equipment. And now we are reading reports of a whistleblower from the department of health and Human Services who reports that there was, quote, pressure from h. H. J. Leadership to ignore scientific merit and expert recommendations and instead to award lucrative contracts based on political connections and cronyism. This whistleblower is scheduled to appear before a House Committee next week. This whistleblower should come before the senate as well. Senators have many questions to ask him. I believe senators on both sides of the aisle would have those questions. So this was and is a time when the American People need the executive branch to lead a coordinated response to this evil virus. To listen to medical experts, to heed their advice, to respect and listen to science. But President Trump seems unwilling and unable to handle the truth. And it is hurting our country each and every day. I yield the floor. And note the absence of a quorum. The presiding officer the clerk will call the roll. Quorum call mr. Thune mr. President . The presiding officer the majority whip. Mr. Thune mr. President , i ask unanimous consent the quorum call be dispensed with. The presiding officer without objection. Mr. Thune mr. President , today is the first day of National Nurses week, an annual commemoration each may celebrating the contributions of nurses. So today seemed like a fitting day to come down to the floor and talk about the contributions of nurses and other essential workers over the past couple of months. Mr. President , we think about heroism, we tend to think of striking actions that take place in extreme circumstances. Running into burning buildings, jumping on to a grenade to save a fellow soldier. Racing out under fire to rescue a wounded comrade. And its right that when we think of heroes and we think such acts, acts of super human courage, generosity and selfsacrifice. But the past couple of months have also reminded us of another kind of heroism, the quiet heroism of doing ones duty, of getting up and going to work and doing your job day after day in difficult circumstances. Even when youre tired, even when youre scared, even when you know that doing your job could place you in danger. Weve seen a lot of that heroism over the past couple of months. A lot of americans have been able to telework during the coronavirus crisis. But many, many more have had to go out and do the work that cant be done from home. Police officers, First Responders, pharmacists, grocery sore employees store employees, farmers and ranchers, food supply workers, cleaning personnel, Bank Employees, utility workers, delivery drivers, and most of all, doctors and nurses. Over the past few weeks weve come to realize how much we rely on these individuals. And that society couldnt operate without them. All the food in the world wont do us any good if it doesnt make it to Grocery Store shelves. That prescription from the doctor for lifesaving Blood Pressure medication is useless without a pharmacist to dispense the drug. We tend to take our utilities for granted, but what would we do during this crisis if no one was picking up our trash or making sure that the water keeps running and the electricity keeps flowing. Sometimes heroism looks like running into a burning building and sometimes it looks like putting on a mask and gloves and stocking the shelves with bread and pasta and cereal. Mr. President , i want to say a special word about medical personnel. Of all the essential workers who have gotten up and gotten on with their duty in these days of the pandemic, medical personnel have displayed a special courage. Theyve been on the front lines of this battle, the ones directly confronting the disease. Every day when they come to work, theyve come to work knowing that today could be the day that they catch the virus from a sick patient, but theyve come to work anyway. Theyve read about and sometimes seen colleagues die from the disease. At times theyve lacked adequate protective equipment. But theyve come to work anyway. Those nurses that were celebrating this week, theyve worked 12hour shifts providing medical care in a highstress environment and have still found time to sit with and comfort patients. Ive read more than one story about nurses making sure coronavirus patients separated from family and friends dont die alone. To our nations doctors and numberses and other medical personnel, thank you. We are so grateful for your courage and for your sacrifice. Mr. President , before i close i want to say a special thank you to the essential workers around the capitol complex ear in washington here in washington. While senators have been able to do aspects of our job remotely, weve also had to be here in the capitol to do the critical work of responding to the crisis. And we simply couldnt be here without the contributions of a number of individuals. The men and women of the capitol police, the cleaning staff, the food service workers, the Maintenance Technicians and other support staff, the staffers who have to be in the office for the senate to be able to operate, and the staffers right here on the floor. Door keepers and cloakroom staff and individuals from the offices of the secretary and the parliamentarian. I know these are stressful days to be coming to work. I know youve been asked to exceed your normal duties. And i am incredibly grateful and i know all of my colleagues are incredibly grateful for everything youve done to keep the senate operating safely. Its because of you that were able to keep getting our work done for the American People. Mr. President , sooner or later, were going to get through this pandemic and life will return to something reassembling normal. But i hope well still remember to be grateful for the people who have kept our society running during this crisis. Who have shown us in a difficult and challenging time how to get up every day and do our duty. Mr. President , i yield the floor. Mr. Wyden mr. President . The presiding officer the senator from oregon. Mr. Wyden mr. President , i rise to oppose the confirmation of William Evanina who we will be voting on shortly because of his failure to protect whistleblowers. Leaning leading whistleblower protection organizations support the 07 decision opposition to mr. Evaninas confirmation. And mr. President , i would now ask unanimous consent that the statements of four organizatio organizations, true advocates of whistleblower rights at this crucial time, be included in the record at this point. The presiding officer is there objection . Without objection. Mr. Wyden mr. President , it is currently open season on whistleblowers under the Trump Administration. Donald trump and those around him have made it clear that anyone who speaks up about waste, fraud, abuse, or law breaking can be punishedful you are a whistleblower under the Trump Administration. Donald trump himself and his echo chamber will publicly call you a liar. They will threaten to make your name public, even at the cost of your physical security. They will prevent your complaints from getting to the congress. And they will fire the inspectors general who investigate your complaints. Now more than ever courageous whistleblowers deserve leaders who are going to protect them, defend them, and vigorously advocate and work for them. They deserve leaders who are going to stand up to donald trump and anybody else who tries to punish those who are going to speak truth. Truth especially to those in power. And im rising today taking this time of the senate to speak on behalf of whistleblowers who feel under siege right now. Im on the floor to oppose the confirmation of william evanin evaninas track record, his track record of inaction and why he should not be the director of the National Counterintelligence and Security Center. The fact is, mr. President , mr. Evanina has failed repeatedly the key test on protecting whistleblower rights. Specifically he failed to enact whistleblower protections that the congress required in 2014. Think about that. All those years to get the job done and he wouldnt do it. Thats a sixyear track record of letting down whistleblowers and failing to follow the law. Today congress ought to stand up for whistleblowers, protect our democracy and the rule of law. And when congress does act and pass whistleblowers protection legislation, the way this body did in 2014, the Congress Must not reward those who ignore the whistleblower protection laws. And here you have a case of exactly that, refusal to implement it for almost six years, and the person were discussing with that track record of not being there for whistleblowers at a crucial time is being considered for a job promotion in the senate. I want to unpack for a few minutes what the world looks like now to a potential whistleblower in todays intelligence community. One of the biggest threats faced by whistleblowers who work with classified information is that their bosses are going to retaliate against them by revoking their security clearances. Without clearances, they cant do their jobs. Their livelihoods are ruined. Their families suffer. That threat has a Chilling Effect on potential whistleblowers and makes it less likely that abuses are going to be investigated and brought to light. The congress has cared about this for years. Its why in 2014 the Congress Passed legislation specifically prohibiting the revocation of security clearances as a form of retaliation against whistleblowers. So heres what the question was. What happens if a whistleblowers boss simply sinces that they revoke the security clearance for some other reason . What if they say it wasnt for retaliation for being a whistleblower does the whistleblower have any recourse . Is there an appeals process . Or are whistleblowers who stick their neck out to report waste, fraud, and abuse, just out of luck . The congress then stood with whistleblowers. In that same 2014 law, congress required the director of National Intelligence, in consultation with the attorney general and secretary of defense, to develop and implement policies and practices to make that appeals process for whistleblowers a reality. In other words, the congress recognized that if whistleblowers were truly going to be protected from retaliation, there had to be a meaningful process for them to defend themselves against agencies that always have all the power and always have an obvious incentive to silence those who speak up about abuses. So this important law was passed by congress on july 2014, as of that day in 23014, the director of National Intelligence should have been drafting those policies. But they didnt do it in 2014, nor in 2015, nor in 2016, nor in 2017 or 2018 or 2019. All those years of inaction and certainly they havent done it in 2020, not because of the pandemic but despite the pandemic, because this is a crucial time when whistleblower protection is needed now more than ever because we need those folks to be speaking truth to policymakers. And i want to tell the senate who was at the helm every single one of those years of inaction, the person the senate is thinking about promoting today, William Evanina. Six years have passed. Mr. Evanina has not produced those whistleblowers protection policies required by law. During that time, there have been five directors of National Intelligence. The congress made the director of the ncsc a senateconfirmed position. Mr. Evanina kept his job, becoming both acting director and the nominee. Meanwhile, Congress Reached out to ask, whats the story on these policies . Is anybody actually moving to protect the whistleblowers, as congress required in 2014 . And i want to say it again. On mr. Evaninas watch, Nothing Happened in 2014, Nothing Happened in 2015, Nothing Happened in 2016, Nothing Happened in 2017, 2018, 2019, and not in 2020. No policies. Lots of empty rhetoric.  no policies. Without the actual policies, mr. President , whistleblowers are vulnerable. And when they tell the truth and push for accountability, they suffer. Every day donald trump steps up his attacks on, which on inspectors general, on the whole system of accountability that has traditionally been bipartisan. Congress has pushed back, passing laws to protect whistleblowers, but the laws have to mean something for the sake of whistleblowers and the rule of law. Congress should not reward those who ignore the law and leave whistleblowers vulnerable. That is what mr. Evanina has done for six years. Thats why i cannot support his confirmation. He has defied the law, failed to protect whistleblowers. Im going to state the obvious. When the Congress Passes a law, its got to be implemented. When Congress Directs the congress to protect whistleblowers, thats something that is priority business. In 2014 this body tried to protect whistleblowers. A law was passed. Mr. Evanina has ignored it all these years. Thats just not acceptable. Now, with donald trump and his administration feeling free to publicly attack whistleblowers again and again, conduct an unremitting assault on the entire whistleblower system, laws to protect them are especially important to our democracy. Day after day, we see the costs of campaign to silence people who speak up about abuses. We see it in his efforts to cover up his failed, p often corrupt responses to the covid19 crisis. We see it across the board. Now it when this country needs officials who are going to demonstrate leadership, who are going 0 stand up for the brave and the people who are willing to put their neck out to report misconduct. Whistleblowers deserve it. The country deserves it. Now, the last 00 point im going to make, mr. President , my colleagues probably have heard theyre going to hear it i believe again that mr. Evanina is going to promise once more, after six years of empty promises, mr. Evanina is going to promise once more to complete these critical whistleblower protection policies. What id ask senators is, enough is enough, right . After six years, six years of unfulfilled promises, the senate ought to say, the country deserves better, the country deserves action, the country deserves real protection for whistleblowers. Mr. Evanina remains the acting director. I want him, even after he hasnt done it for six years, i want him to complete those whistleblower protection policies. When they are completed and the law Congress Passed is implemented, it seems to me thats the time for the senate to discuss again whether mr. Evanina should get a promotion. Now, last, i just want to come back to how i started, mr. President. Im not the only one who feels this way. The countrys leading whistleblower organizations have made it clear they oppose mr. Evaninas confirmation due to his failure to produce policies. They include such organizations as the Government Accountability project, the project on government oversight, whistleblower aid, National Security counselors. Its not just one member of the United States senate whos here to say that it is time to finally ensure that these courageous americans, these patriots who are willing to come forward when all the incentives in American Government are to stay quiet, not put yourself at risk, dont put your career in jeopardy, when all the incentives are for them to stay quiet, in this country right now we need them speaking truth more than ever before. I oppose this nomination because there is a long, long track record of not being willing to stand up for these courageous whistleblowers, and i intend to vote against the nominee. Mr. President , i yield the floor. The presiding officer the senator from virginia. Mr. Warner mr. President , i rise today in strong support of William Evanina to be the first senateconfirmed director of the National Counterintelligence and Security Center, or ncsc. I believe the bill is an American Patriot and an american success story. Raised in peakville, pennsylvania, with very modest means, he was the first in his family to go to college. Prior to join the f. B. I. In 1996, his first job was with the General Services administration in philadelphia. Over his 24yearlong career with the f. B. I. , bill investigated organized crime and violent crimes. He investigated the 9 11 terrorist attacks, the anthrax attacks, the daniel perle kidnapping. Bill also led the Counterespionage Group. He earn add reputation as the consummate counterintelligence and security professional, fiercely dedicated to the mission with unquestionable honor. Then in june 2014, thendirector of National Intelligence jim clapper, someone who i know and respect very much, appointed bill to serve as the director of the ncsc. Many technical and complex activities fall under ncscings including pennell security policy, Information Technology protection standards, c. I. Cyber operation risk, and damage assessments from spies and unauthorized disclosures. And ive partnered in my role as vice children of the committee with bill on many topics to include educating industry about the threats posed by china and reforming an antiquated vetting system. The intelligence authorization act for fiscal year 2016 recognized the vital work that ncsc does and made the position subject to president ial nomination and senate confirmation. In february 2018, President Trump nominated bill to be the first senateconfirmed director. The senate Intelligence Committee considered the nomination in may of 2018 and unanimously unanimously with some concerns from my colleague from oregon, but unanimous lay recommended his confirmation to the full senate. Did the nomination get taken up because a member on the opposite side had a concern. We considered his nomination again in february 2019 in the new congress. And again our Committee Voted Unanimously in favor of his nomination. Unfortunately, over the last two years, despite universal recognition of bills qualifications for the position, his nomination became entangled in unrelated matters. Despite the delay and i think bill had plenty of opportunities to leave the government bill stayed the course. Committed to the mission above all else. Now, i share my colleague from oregons concerns about whistleblowers. I have seen this administration and this white houses disregard for whistleblowers. I tell you this i believe i have bills commitment that the matters of processing the procedures on whistleblower protections will be dealt with. I also feel extraordinarily strongly that at this moment in time when there is not a single senateconfirmed appointee in the whole office of director of National Intelligence, now more than ever we need at least one career intelligence professional with a good record, confirmed by this senate, standing guard over an operation that right now unfortunately seems to be directed too often by political appointees that both disregard protection for whistleblowers and, in my mind, too often disregard protections for our whole intelligence community. So the fact that weve now gotten rid of the unrelated matters that were precluding bills confirmation by my colleague on the majority, i think we deserve to give this nominee what he and the country deserve a vote, and my hope will be a very strong vote of confirmation so we can send someone that is a career professional, a commitment to holding truth first and foremost above political interference. We need bill evanina confirmed in this position, so i look forward to mr. Evaninas confirmation today so that he can continue addressing the many important counterintelligence and security challenges facing our nation. Mr. President , i yield the floor. The presiding officer the clerk will report the motion to be invoke cloture. The clerk cloture motion, we, the undersigned senators, in accordance with the provisions of rule 22, do hereby bring to a close debate on the nomination of William Evanina, of pennsylvania, to be director of the National Counterintelligence and Security Center, signed by 17 senators. The presiding officer by unanimous consent, is it the sense of t Senate Debate on the nomination of William Evanina to be director of the National Counterintelligence and Security Center shall be brought to a close. The yeas and nays are mandatory. Vote vote vote vote the presiding officer on this vote, the yeas are 87 83, the nays are 7, the motion is agreed to. Mr. Gardner mr. President . The presiding officer the senator from colorado. Mr. Gardner thank you, mr. President. Early last december or at least sometime later last year, people in wuhan, china, began showing symptoms of what was at that time an unidentifiable respiratory disease in increasing numbers. We now know the virus as covid19 and it has completely uphelded our life in the United States and around the globe. This virus has infected over 3. 5 Million People around the world and killed tragically over 86,000 people in the United States and that includes over 900 incredible and great coloradans, my home state. We certainly mourn with those families who have lost loved ones and well keep fighting for a path forward as we get through this together. I want to commend in the strongest terms possible our frontline workers, whether its been our First Responders, our Health Care Professionals, or those that have allowed us to continue to enjoy a safe and secure food supply, people in essential businesses that each and every day dont complain but go to work to help make sure that our communities can get back to work. And the list of heroes in our communities, those who have i have goin so much, goes on and on and on. And i think its important to recognize that as we have addressed the coronavirus challenge in this country, the measures that we have taken, the steps that have been laid out by mayors and governors and the president , theyve been to comply with guidances and Health Directives and to comply with the best scientists and science that our country has, not out of fear of the coronavirus, not because people are afraid of covid19, but theyve done it out of love, love for their community, love for their parents and grandparents, whom they hope to keep safe and healthy, love for our country to stop the spread and flatten the curve. And so to all of our Incredible Health care workers, the frontline workers, grassry clerks, gas station workers, mechanics at Farm Equipment dealerships that have remained open to keep tractors running during spring planting, to our ranchers and farmers who have kept our food supply flowing, thank you. Emeverywhere across people everywhere across colorado are hurting because of this pandemic. Ive heard numerous stories across our great state. Ive held tell low phone town halls speaking directly with coloradans who have lost their jobs or who are unsure how to feet their families. Ive heard from restaurant workers in denver who were laid off when they are restaurant closed. Ive heard from Restaurant Owners whove done everything they can to keep their restaurant workers employed, preparing meals, providing them to the hungry and the homeless. A Small Business owner shared with me how difficult it was to lay off 35 dedicated staff workers but not having a choice. I have talked tobitions near Colorado Springs who used the last prepaid minute oz an cell to into participate in our town hall to try to figure out where they could get food. Ive talked to elderly coloradans who were afraid to go to the Grocery Store because they didnt know if they had special hours. They had an underlying condition and didnt know if they could go safely. Our staff was able to help this person get the groceries this they needed and the disinfectant that they had requested and leave information about the special hours for people who needed more space, more time, a safer environment to go out. But the effects of the coronavirus arent because somebody intentionally decided to hurt our economy, but theyre hurting because of the necessary Public Health actions their government has taken. Its in large part the governments responsibility to help get them through this because it was the government that said to them, stay at home, close your doors, dont go to work. It is our responsibility to provide the help that our economy needs to get moving again, to get people back to work because it was the advice of governments from the local levels to the federal level that said, these are the things you need to do to stop the spread and flatten the curve. Throughout this entire pandemic, i have approached it with a threeprong strategy. These are not steps that should be taken one at a time. You dont accomplish step one, then aattempt a accomplish step two. These are things that need to be done all at the same time. First we must obviously address the Immediate Health crisis. The second prong we must make sure we are providing realtime assistance to real individuals who are really hurting across the state of colorado and the country. And the thirds prong is to make sure we are supporting our businesses through this crisis, to make sure that when the Health Emergency is over, we can have an economy thats able to snap back and run strong. These steps have to be again, these steps have to be down all at the same time. But the first prong have been critical. Congress has taken many steps to support the Health Response, including 175 billion to support Health Care Providers, 73 billion to the strategic medical stockpile and a recent infusion of 25 billion to support testing and included dedicated funding for states and tribes. We also spent funding to support scientists as they rapidly develop new testing technologies and work to get them to the work as quickly as possible. Its going back to the bravery of the Health Care Workers, our First Responders, Public Health experts and the innovation of scientists who have served as beacons of light during this difficult time and help us get through this emergency. On prong two, providing individuals with the assistance they need. We have continued to do that and must continue to do that to address this Health Emergency. Because when we started the very first steps we said to every american, please stay home. Figure out how to socially distance. As a result, unemployment claims have skyrocketed to record numbers as americans grapple with job losses and overall changes to our daily lives. It is important that congress acted quickly to provide individuals with that immediate assistance. In the cares act we provided direct individual assistance to millions of individuals and married couples across the state and across the country. We allowed federal student loan borrowers to defer payments for six months. We have an Unemployment Assistance Program for those who are selfemployed and independent contractors whose livelihoods have been impacted by the pandemic. People who might not have a place to go. One message i have heard from countless coloradans through the pandemic, they appreciate the bipartisan efforts, but its beyond that. Its not simply a bipartisan effort, its actually nonpartisan. Because republicans and democrats realize theres no reason to bear that mantle of party. Because so many people are hurting and we know what needs to be done for the country to Work Together to be nonpartisan, to provide the relief that real individuals need in real time. But we have to keep fighting in this nonpartisan way, this bipartisan way to make testing more widely available to support state and local governments and to set up our economy to return as strong as it was before the pandemic, and thank goodness our economy was as strong as it was when we went into this. Imagine where we would be if we had a weak or struggling economy as we entered the Health Emergency. Prong three requires support for businesses, the Economic Relief that was provided through the Paycheck Protection Program under the cares act continues to be an essential tool to support our Small Businesses and families across all four corners of colorado, over 10 billion in round one and round two of Paycheck Protection Program has been delivered to keep people on payroll in colorado. The Paycheck Protection Program was created to keep employees on payroll and to help keep bills paid so workers can keep their jobs, salary and benefits, they can keep them and so Small Businesses can hit the ground running when they are able to resume operation. You think about the millions of Small Businesses in our country responsible for over 6 trillion in salary every year in this country. We often talk about Small Businesses being the backbone, the foundation, the bet rock of our bedrock of our economy, and it is absolutely true. Small businesses employ nearly half of all American Workers and make up 99. 5 of all colorado businesses, employing more than 1. 1 million coloradans. Because of clarifications to the program i fought for just last week i heard from three rural hospitals in colorado that received the Paycheck Protection Program loans through their local community bank. They were within a matter of a week or weeks of having to lay off employees and in some cases shut down the access to the Paycheck Protection Program was an absolute game changer for these critical and vital rural hospitals. Now, these hospitals can continue to provide both Critical Health Care Services to their communities and jobs for their employees and in many communities these rural hospitals are the largest employer in that community. These actions and programs are essential corner stones to our recovery, but we must finish laying the foundation to ensure our economy snaps back and runnings strong runs strong. While governments can allow businesses to open, the American People simply wont return they wont fully return to the economy until they have confidence that the virus is under control. The first step to tackling any problem is seeing it and thats especially true with covid19. How do we see it . Through widespread testing. Widespread testing is important for the fight of the virus. Our country relies on our ability to see where the illness is and where it is not. Where it is spreading and where it is declining. That, in turn, depends on our ability to ramp up testing. Research into the benefits applications of Antibody Testing will help show which coloradans have been exposed to covid19 and the percentage of our population that has already recovered. This will better inform local schools, businesses, and governments as they make their own demtions about the path forward. It will help provide peace of mind as they visit their families and return for routine Preventive Services and return to their jobs. It will help state and local Health Departments decide what other response measures are necessary. My approach to this pandemic has been an allhands on aproasm. When our government says they need more tests, masks, i get to work fighting to find that assistance. Working together with the governor, leaders at the federal level and our allies abroad, weve been able to secure hundreds of thousands of masks for our state and we are working around the clock for more. Without effective widespread testing and corresponding strategy to support monitoring, we cannot have a realtime response to the virus. Rapid testing and the ability for Public Health departments to inform individuals with positive cases quickly so they can take appropriate action and further revent prevent spread is critical. The dollars we have provided through various phases of action as it relates to help emergency will help provide that testing to help mobilize new testing to prevent the type of test we need, the opportunities we have to rapidly let the people of this country know what is happening, what is not happening and how we should tailor our Public Policies to fit the spread of the virus, the decline of the virus, the reopening of our economy. We need a test that is so ubiquitous that people can buy a big gulp at seven ee lefn and buy a test kit so they can have the actual results instead of shutting down a household or a community or a country, we can get the results to implement better Public Policies then and there. Congress must also make sure that the Paycheck Protection Program continues to be funded and improved and improved where needed better to support americas Small Businesses and the employees that they are able to keep on payroll as a result. We must make the program flexible enough to be effective and make the rules so clear so clear that people will be confident that they can use it. Ive seen the headlines about big businesses taking this money when they might not really need it. But ive also talked to 15 Employee Companies that have needed 30,000 or 40,000 to pay their workers who are now terrified of crossing federal prosecutors. I heard from a coloradan ive known my entire life who is working with her sons business this is an essential business that remained open because of the role they play in our food supply. They went to the bank, got the loan under the Paycheck Protection Program and received a letter, hey, are you sure you needed this loan, maybe you didnt. And now they dont know whether they should keep it or in the. They are terrified to use it. And so while we have to make sure that our programs arent abused, we have to make sure that we dont create a Chilling Effect on businesses that truly need it. I understand the need to be careful about who gets this money, but when we are scaring businesses that we will all agree need assistance the most, maybe things have gone too far and congress is no longer helping. Congress should act to make rules that are clear, we should help guide those rules to be clear and bring confidence to the program to make sure that people can be at work, keep their jobs, keep their benefits. And when the foundation is secure and we have this foundation secure, we should then explore the immediate opportunities for Economic Activity and employment. The opportunities that will benefit every american and create the conditions for a quicker recovery. Until the American Consumer is fully back with confidence in our economy, we need to look for ways to fill the gap. Weve long talked about the need to rebur fish our infrastructure, now is the time to do it. This Health Crisis has laid bear the cyberdesert that exists in our rural communities. We should make a concentrated effort to make Rural Broadband a reality. We should permanently fund the land and Water Conservation fund and put funds to the lands that would create immediate jobs that will create the kind of Job Opportunities that many of our highmountain towns desperately need as a result of this Health Emergency and now economic emergency. Ive introduced a bill that has the president s support on both sides of the aisle. The president has the president s support and support on both sides of the aisle and certainly the ideas are are supported across both chambers of congress. The Great American outdoors act, communities throughout the nation would benefit and these funds would help to contribute to that strong and growing Outdoor Recreational economy one of the strongest drivers in colorado and many states. In short, we need to take some big and bold steps to make sure that our economy is back on track and to help accelerate it once again the we need these big steps because weve taken a hard shot in the past couple of months. We also need to support Mental Health efforts. Prior to the pandemic, 70 of colorados Mental Health need was unmet and on average one coloradan died by suicide every seven hours. Before covid19 i was working on a number of legislative efforts to improve Mental Health support and covid19 has only underscored how time sensitive these matters are, particularly my legislation, the National Suicide hotline designation act. In a mental Health Emergency, its almost impossible to remember the current intenddigit hotline. Sometimes theres more than one tendigit hotline. Establishing 988 as a National Suicide prevention hot line will save more lives and help people access critical Mental Health support. S. 2661, the National Suicide hotline designation act is more than smart policy that will help save lives, it is a statement that our government recognizes the crisis and is working across party lines to address it. Establishing 988 as a National Suicide prevention hotline will help access critical Mental Health support. I have been pushing for the funding for the thaicial suicide pre National Suicide prevention hotline. Lets come together and lets get this done. Access to Mental Health care is especially important during this trying time filled with grief and uncertainty for so many people. We must ensure we are doing everything we can to prevent these devastating outcomes from occurring. No matter how bleak our situation looks, its important to remember that america has faced its fair share of challenges. We have persevered and persisted through world wars and economic disasters, september 11 terrorist attacks and much, much more. While this virus will not be the last challenge our country faces, we know that this too shall pass and together we will make it to the other side stronger than ever. I have faith and confidence in the American People and in our ability to pull together and to continue to meet this challenge head on. Colorado has been that shinning example of resiliency in so many instances and it will continue to bel over these past several months, i have spoken to countless coloradans all unsure of what the future holds, but they are certain that we will get through this by looking up to that great Rocky Mountain horizon. Coloradans are meeting this challenge, they are donating food, donating had personal effective equipment. Individuals and businesses across colorado and across the country are seeing needs and responding to those in need. To the brave Health Care Providers fighting around the clock, the reliable farmers and ranchers working day in and day out to keep food on the table and to all the essential workers who continue to selflessly put themselves at risk to ensure that others are taken care of first, i give my deepest thanks and praise. In colorado weve lost two First Responders on the front lines. Deputy hawk inns served in the. He passed away from covid19 at the age of 41, one day after he was diagnosed with covid19. His death was determined to be a line of duty death, a reminder to all of us that our brave First Responders are in harms way every day, but especially during this pandemic. We also recently lost paul kerry who worked as a firefighter and paramedic in aurora for more than 30 years. Paul was 66 years old, and he selflessly drove, selflessly drove 27 hours straight to new york in an ambulance to help out in the battle against covid19. There he was tending to patients and transporting them to hospitals. After falling ill with the virus, paul died on april 30. Coloradans lined the streets to give him a heros farewell. To deputy hopkins, to paul kerry and the countless heroes like them who are risking their own held and safety every day, thank you. First responders and medical professionals across our state continue to make sacrifices on our behalf. The long hours and time away from loved ones, the undeniable mental toll that this pandemic takes on those in the front lines and health risks, these sacrifices dont go unnoticed. We must do everything we can to make sure that the First Responders of covid19 have the resources, the support, and the personal protective equipment needed to fight this pandemic. We will never be able to fully show our deep appreciation for our Health Care Providers, frontline employees, and First Responders who are working to keep vital parts of our country moving. We have got to do everything we can to try to make up what they have done for us. Big ways and small ways every day. In colorado, we dont look back. We look forward. We look out across the great plains, the great high plains after that majestic Rocky Mountain horizon for that next optimistic day. In the middle of the Health Emergency, a couple weeks ago, i received a letter in the mail. It had a pair of pliers in this letter. I really didnt know what it was. It sat on my desk. And i opened it up, not knowing what it was. And i would ask, mr. President , unanimous consent that i be allowed to share an item show an item on the floor that was sent to me during the health pandemic. The presiding officer without objection. Mr. Gardner in the letter, this pair of pliers came, and i opened it up. Heres what it said. Senator gardner, i want to thank you and everyone at your office profusely for everything that you have done for me. You have allowed for me to continue receiving uninterrupted benefits and care for combat injuries that i sustained while serving as an officer in the u. S. Army. In 2014, you came to visit me in the ward of walter reed while i was still bandaged and pretty beat up, missing my dominant hand and overall pretty haggard. You told me a story about the corpse, my moms side of the family in yuma county. At this point, i remembered very clearly the story i had told this young story. You told me a story about walking into your familys Hardware Store and stress testing pliers. It was a story i received from my granddad about these two brothers that would come in years and years ago, decades ago, and they would grab a pair of pliers on the parts counter. They would squeeze them, they were so strong, they would snap the pin in the pliers. I told him that story. He wrote in his letter, apparently my ancestors wouldnt buy a pair if they didnt stand up to the grip of a man that i can only imagine was pretty strong in the arms. And while im sure they only broke a few sets and got away with it by being, expletive, i have enclosed a pair as recompense. After you visited, i took that story with me. After five years as an amputee, i have been an infantry officer, and i spent years training as a special forces officer. The only amputee to ever passe assessment and selection. Its been inspiring to grip this set of pliers and try to snap them. And then he wrote sometimes with our tools break, sometimes its our fault. Sometimes they are not flat and sturdy to begin with. Sometimes these tools have just been used to the point of failure. Every time, though, what really matters is what we do once that tool is broken. We fix it. Get a new one. Or we improvise something better. Either way, we figure out how to finish the job because people are depending on us to get it done. Captain u. S. Army, fort bragg, north carolina. We face a tremendous challenge unlike we have ever faced in our lifetimes. And while were going to use every tool we have to help fix what has happened, we know that everyones not going to be perfect, but we have to keep trying because thats what the American People do every day. They make it work. They fight. They get back on their feet. We have to be in this fight with them. Mr. President , thank you. I yield the floor. The presiding officer the senator from connecticut. Mr. Murphy thank you very much, mr. President. I think all of us are in awe on a daily basis of those that we have a responsibility to serve, the people of colorado, the people of texas, the people of connecticut doing just absolutely extraordinary things. And i hope that over the next several weeks, we get to hear more of those stories. I at the end of last week got a chance with my governor to go down to a Health Care Facility in bridgeport, connecticut, a Health Care Facility that has been designated to serve only covid19positive patients. And the nurses and staff came outside into the parking lot area to have a socially dis distanceed masked conversation with us. While they have struggles and while they need help, they have a sense of mission about them that is impressive. Theyre working double shifts. They barely get to see their kids. They know that their life is in danger every time they go into a facility where there are only patients that tested positive for covid, and yet they know that they are doing something with their life today that they will be able to tell their kids and their grandkids about. They are making a difference. I think about those individuals that arent a first responder, that arent a health care worker, but have found a way to do heroic things just in their neighborhoods. Luciana lirra was already making a difference. She was a bilingual teacher in the stamford, connecticut, Public School system, but she heard about a crisis that one of her students was having. One of her students mothers had contracted the virus, had gone into a coma, but was pregnant and delivered a child while she was in a medically induced coma. Her husband also had the virus, as did one of their children. And so you know what luciana did . Do you know what this teacher did . She took the baby in to her home. While she taught her students online during the day, she warmed up bottles and fed that baby at night. Jerry sicardi is 100 years old. He lives in stratford, connecticut. Even at 100 years old, he decided to get together with his daughter judy and start making masks. We all have these stories from our states, just folks who started sewing masks and giving them out to people who needed them. Jerry gave them out to his neighbors. He sent some to the bridgeport correctional center. He gave them to former students. Then when folks learned that jerry was pretty good at making masks, they would call, and he would make them on order. These are the stories that could, frankly, fill up the whole day from each one of our states. And while my constituents in connecticut who are as generous as that would have undertaken those actions regardless of the effectiveness of the response from their government, their actions are all the more important given the failures of their federal government to do the right thing by them. And i want to spend a few minutes today talking about the Trump Administrations response to the crisis that we are facing. If were going to be here in washington, i think its important for us to talk about what is missing. There has been a lot of ink spent already criticizing the Trump Administrations response to the crisis, that the strategy was wrong or the focus was in the wrong place or the level of activity wasnt high enough, but i really think that this is the wrong paradigm. Its the wrong lens through which to have this discussion, because the problem really isnt that President Trumps response to coronavirus has been ineffective. Its that he hasnt responded at all. For all intents and purposes, there has been no response to coronavirus from this administration. There have been press conferences, there is a social media presence, but they arent running a national response. From the beginning, the response has been left to states, to cities, to counties, to hospitals, to School Districts, to Nursing Homes, to shelters, to food banks, to charitable organizations, really to every publicfacing entity that isnt the administration. And we shouldnt lose sight of how remarkable that is. In the face of the most serious National Crisis since 2001, perhaps since vietnam or world war ii, the administration has effectively chosen to stand down and let others lead. Now, i know that sounds like hyperbole because there is a task force, right . There is precedents on tv every day. But hear we out. At the beginning, the president didn do nothing. He fanned the flames. He called coronavirus in the early days a hoax, perpetuated by his political opponents. He telegraphed to the country that this wasnt something we needed to be prepared for because it was just going to go away. Despite all the experts telling him differently. On 12 different occasions, he praised the chinese response, said that president xi was doing an excellent job responding to the crisis, praised specifically their transparency. At a moment when the International Community was trying to get into china to find out with what they knew so we could start developing vaccines and treatments, the chief apologist in the early days for the chinese response was our own president. Now, arguably, the most significant action that the Trump Administration undertook really, the only action that the president mentions to this day when pressed for tangible things that he has done was the set of travel restrictions. But Public Health experts told the president that the restrictions wouldnt work, especially since they were filled with loopholes. We now know that 400,000 people ended up getting to the United States from the countries that were subject to the restrictions list. The travel ban was feckless. It was a failure. And after that, the administration effectively gave up, they gave up. Now, what could they have done as the travel ban started to prove ineffective at stopping the virus and cases started to mount . What could they have done . Well, they could have decided to lead a National Effort to make sure that we can the supplies that we had the supplies necessary to fight the virus. Members of Congress Told the Administration Early on that we needed to appropriate dollars to make sure that we had things like masks and gowns and ventilators. They could have created a National Effort to ramp up Domestic Production of personal protective equipment. They didnt do that. The administration could have come up with a National Testing plan. They could have done an early assess many of how many tests were going to be needed, taking control of the supply chain necessary to make those diagnostic machines, the cartridges that go inside them. They didnt do that. They could have begun the work of building a national Public Health workforce. Every expert told the administration that it wasnt just the machines and the equipment. We were going to need Public Health workers to do the testing, to then trace the spread of the disease, to help support quarantines. They could have started to put together a plan to build that work force at the National Level or at least help states build that workforce, but they didnt do that. They could have early on worked with the states to create uniform standards for school and business closings. This didnt have to be left to states and municipalities and individual superintendents. The administration could have chosen to lead on the question of how and when we chose to close our economy and our School Systems down, but they didnt do that. They could have joined with other countries to jointly produce a vaccine. And in fact, there was an entity set up at the beginning of the Trump Administration specifically for that purpose, the coalition for epidemic preparedness innovations. They could have made an investment in that International Organization after having refused to join early on during the president s term, but they didnt do that. They could have increased aid for developing nations, refugee camps. They could have gone on the International Offensive like president obama did during the ebola epidemic and made sure that we were helping every country beat the virus because, as we know, due to the failure of the travel restrictions, if you dont stop it everywhere, youre really not stopping it anywhere, but they didnt do that. They could have made sure everybody in this country had insurance. The Trump Administration could have stopped pushing junk plans. They could at least temporarily put on hold the lawsuit to try toandz the a. C. A. To end the Affordable Care act and the 20 Million People insured through that but they didnt do that. They could have worked to create a National Commitment to make sure every student has the ability to distance learn, has Internet Access or proposed a plan to ramp up education funding, make sure theyre protecting kids with disabilities during this crisis. They didnt do that. And, finally, they could have proposed any of the various programs that congress developed and passed, the p. P. P. Program, the state stabilization fund, the hospital relief fund, the National Testing program fund. None of these were initiatives from President Trump. Early on as negotiations were beginning on these relief packages, the president s only idea was a payroll tax cut. Frankly, it is still the president s only idea. The president didnt need to leave all of the legislative leadership to congress. He and his team could have laid out detailed new programs to combat the virus or save the economy and pressed congress to pass them. But they didnt even do that. Now, im not saying there arent meetings. Im not saying there arent press conferences. But my state, one of the hardest hit in the nation, has had to effectively fend for itself. When i talk to state leaders or Hospital Executives or food pantry director, none of them talk to me about all of the help theyre getting from the Trump Administration. They talk about the programs that congress has passed but they dont talk about any meaningful, impactful responses to this crisis run by the Trump Administration. You know why . Because they dont exist. And even when the Trump Administration tries to do something meaningful, they screw it up. Take, for instance, the much heralded plan to reopen america. Now, that was a good idea, a serious set of guidelines for states to use to judge when the right time is to reopen. Now, i may have quibbles with certain elements of that plan, but i thought they were generally on the right track, giving states some specific guidelines so that we could have some consistency across the country as to when states decide to reopen schools and business businesses. The administration stuck with that plan for about a week, and now President Trump is calling on states to reopen regardless of whether any of the benchmarks have been met in his own plan. And now hes talking about Health Care Workers and cafeteria workers as warriors. Apparently prepping them for a summer during which his experts tell him there will be 3,000 coronavirus deaths a day because of these early reopenings. If thats true, the president s socalled coronavirus warriors would be dying at a daily total ten times that of the warriors who fought in world war ii. And not all of this was avoidable. China where the virus started bears serious responsibility for the global spread. But the epidemic did not have to become the crisis of the magnitude we witnessed today we witness today. A normal president would have been able to take steps early on and throughout that could have controlled the spread. Our president effectively chose to stand aside and leave 50 states and thousands of cities and hospitals to manage the response instead. They were left largely helpless without significant federal support competing against each other for scarce resources, and now our country is in desperate straits. So once again it is up to congress to lead. And i agree with my friend from colorado that there vtion been remarkable there has been remarkable bipartisan support in this body in order to fill the vacuum that has been created by the refusal of our president to lead. And so we will have to do it again. And so let me leave my colleagues with a few suggestions as to the path that we should take going forward, to build upon those suggestions proffered by my colleague from colorado. First and foremost, we have to admit what is true. The states and the cities are in charge of the response. The Trump Administration is not. Ive heard my colleagues talk about aid to states or municipalities that are fighting the virus as a bailout. That is nonsense. It is more accurate to talk about what the states and cities are doing as a bailout of the federal government. When the Trump Administration refused to run a national response, it was the states like mine, cities like those in my state that stepped up to lead the response. All we are asking is that we share in the cost of the states and cities efforts to save lives. Second, our schools are going to be overwhelmed with need when they reopen. Im one of the few parents of school age children, Public Schoolchildren. My kids are lucky enough that they dont have special learning needs and theyve got two parents who are able to telework from home and support their distance learning. But there are millions of kids who have learning disabilities, who have needs totally unmet during this time who are going to show back up at school way behind and in crisis. And we need to appropriate money right now, especially for special education, so that School Districts across the country can start to do planning now, this spring and this summer so that there are supports around those kids when they show back up. Every kid is going to have to catch up, but especially for kids with serious learning disabilities, they are going to need extra help. And states who are going to have expended all of the money available to them to fight the virus and who have cratering revenues because of the shutdown of the economy are not going to be able to fund those special Education Needs themselves. It is going to have to be us. It is going to have to be us. So why wait until the fall. Lets make a downpayment on that assistance for kids with disabilities, do it now. Food pantries in connecticut are running dry. Theyre running dry. We need more support in the next bill for nutrition assistance. We have to start thinking creatively about how to make sure that everybody has access to food. Right now if youre on a snap benefit, you have to go to a Grocery Store. Well, those arent safe places for everybody on snap benefits. Some of the corner bodegas have closed down. The only place that might be open is a long way away. So restaurants can be a life line right now. Traditionally we dont allow you to use your snap benefits in restaurants, but i think we should temporarily allow for that in the next package we pass. That would be a win for people who need more food options who are on assistance. It would also be a win for the restaurants. Theyre looking for customers. Fourth, weve got to build that Public Health workforce. Again, states wont be able to afford it themselves. Every medical expert tells us its not just testing. Its tracing the contacts that that individual had. Its quarantining those they had contact with and that cant be done just with an app. There have to be workers that help do that tracing, that help support the quarantine. Weve got to build that workforce. Again, theres no conceive able way that states can pay for that by themselves. And then lastly, we need to get back into the game internationally. It was a fallacy from the beginning to think that we could just shut our borders and protect ourselves. Thats not how viruses work. In an interconnected economy today, theres from practical way to completely shut down your borders from individuals or products that move across international boundaries. And so we have offers right now to engage with our partners internationally on ways that could end up helping save lives in the United States. I mentioned the Trump Administrations refusal to join cipi which is the International Body working on a vaccine. Why . Why is europe and canada and australia and japan and saudi arabia and india all working jointly on a vaccine and were on the outside . It doesnt mean that we would have to stop doing our own congressionallyfunded work to develop a vaccine. But why not also join the interNational Effort so that were not on the outside if they develop that vaccine. Thats an easy thing that we can do in this next bill. Make sure that we are both working on a vaccine domestically but also working internationally. When this crisis is over and life is returned to relative normal, there will be a grave, serious accounting of how badly the Trump Administration failed this nation. That it was sworn to protect. Im grateful for my colleagues stepping up time and time again in a bipartisan way to try to fill that vacuum that has been created by the failure to lead by the executive branch. And hopefully when we do that accounting, it will allow us to learn lessons. But for now, this congress has got to soldier on and do our best to muster a term response a federal response that if not for our actions would be practically nonexistent. I yield the floor. Mr. Cornyn madam president . The presiding officer the senator from texas is recognized. Mr. Cornyn madam president , like other senators, around this time of the year im used to welcoming folks from home who are traveling to washington, d. C. Between spring break trips and industry flyins, spring is normally a very busy season here at the capitol. And i always look forward to seeing both new and familiar faces, spending time with my constituents and talking about the challenges that theyre facing and the changes that they would like to see coming out of congress. But as we all know, this is not a typical springtime in washington. Normally busy sidewalks and hallways are largely empty as our constituents hunker down at home while we continue working to get them the help they need. Just as texans have adopted new routines to meet social distancing requirements, so have i. So have all of us. Over the last few weeks and i know im not alone among my colleagues ive logged some serious hours on phone calls and videoconferences with folks across texas. Actually, ive been a little bit surprised at how efficient it is in terms of reaching large numbers of people. And i think it will probably change some of the way we work here and some of the way we interact with our constituents in the future. But ive spoken with those in the medical field about the ongoing challenges to our frontline Health Care Workers, the progress toward developing a vaccine, antibody tests, and the like. Ive talked with the texas farm bureau, our farmers and ranchers, our Grocery Store workers, our food Bank Employees about the need to make sure that all texans can access the food they need, especially during a time like this. With mayors, connecticu county d other leaders in our communities, i talked to them about the work theyre doing. I was listening to our friend and colleague from connecticut who believes that the response needs to be coming out of washington, and that we all need to simply fall in line according to the dictates of the National Government. Well, it raises interesting questions about the Constitutional Convention and the agreement to have a federal system, not a national system. We have sovereign states that have their own sphere of responsibility. Our cities and counties are best able, in my view, to respond to local conditions. And rather than a command and control response, what weve had in texas and i dare say in most other place, weve had a collaborative approach, working with the National Government to provide the resources and some of the guidance that is very important, but with our governors who control the National Guard that have come out to help do testing, help stock food banks, help build temporary hospital facilities. And our mayors and county judges and local officials have really done an outstanding job. Im very proud of the work theyve done. But we havent just taken orders on high from the federal government. Weve worked together hand in glove with the federal government. Well, of course ive talked to countless Small Business owners across our big cities and Small Business towns an everywhere in between about the financial strain caused by the pandemic, and it is significant. To say the least. Many of course were forced to close their doors or dramatically scale back their operations and many have just had to make really hard decisions to stay afloat. I was just emailing with a friend of mine in dallas who has ownership in a company that just declared chapter 11 bankruptcy. Our Small Businesses are the heart and soul of our communities. Theyre our favorite locally owned restaurants, the florists we call upon on anniversaries and birthdays and other holidays, the dry clearance, the barber shops, the gyms, the pharmacies, all the places weve been going going for years. They feel like an extended part of the our family. They are part of what make our communities enique. They are a huge driver of our economy. In texas and across the country, Small Businesses employ nearly 50 of the local workforce. For many of these workers, the closures and cancellations brought on by the coronavirus have put their livelihoods in jeopardy, with many losing some or all of their income and many their job entirely. As the senate was working on our third response package back in march, we knew that without a serious investment in our Small Businesses, the result would be catastrophic. Thats why we created the Paycheck Protection Program through the cares act to provide cashflow assistance for our Small Businesses. As we know, those lowinterest loans can be used to cover everything from payroll to supply chain disruptions to rent or mortgage, and if the employers are able and i underline the word able if theyre able to keep their employees on the payroll until june, then much of those loans can be turned into grants. During my calls and videoconferences with chambers of commerce and Small Business owners throughout texas, i have been able to talk about the benefits of these loans and how to access them. Small Business Administration staff has joined me on dozens of these calls to answer technical questions about the loan program and other types of assistance offered by the s. B. A. , which has been really valuable and appreciative by everyone. And appreciated by everyone. My Small Businesses in my state have jumped at the opportunity to take advantage of the p. P. P. Loans and Start Talking about their banks and gathering their paperwork and going through the formal application process. As we know now, it became quickly obvious how popular the p. P. P. Program was and that it would exceed the funding levels after two weeks two weeks. That indicates the kind of demand and the kind of need, and our response was actually hitting the target. But after two weeks, the first 350 billion was exhausted, depleted. From that first 350 billion, 135,000 Small Businesses in texas received loans. More than any other state. That Program Brought approximately 28. 5 billion to texas Small Businesses and protected thousands of jobs. Well, we know after a little bit of jockeying back and forth with the house, Congress Finally replenished the Paycheck Protection Program with an additional 320 billion and that money is flying out the door as we speak. You dont have to look far to see why this program was so popular. Valerie gonzalez owned delicious tamales in my hometown of san antonio. Like other restaurants across the country, her business has struggled as the stayathome orders were put in place. Delicious tamales closed two weeks last month but was able to reopen because of the 232,000 loan they received through the paycheck treks program. All 38 employees returned to work. Valerie called the Paycheck Protection Program a lifesaver. For patients at a clinic in tyler, texas, these loans could be a literal lifesaver. Bethesda Health Clinic ensures services to the tight letter area. It doesnt receive federal funding and onethird of their funding comes infrastructure the Thrift Stores that they operate which were forced to close. The clinic had to furlough their employees in order to survive the financial squeeze but was able to take advantage of the Paycheck Protection Program. Christie mcgua is the chief financial and operations officer. She said, this has erased a lot of worry and allowed the furloughed employees to turn back to work. Its also enabled them to continue to serve the public during a time of heightened health care concerns. The patient Protection Program has been vital to texas Small Businesses, and i had dare say to the nations Small Businesses. And im glad congress, working together, as we should during a time of national emergency, was able to provide this lifeline and replenish these funds when they ran dry. Thats not to say, though that this program has been implemented without a hitch. When you do something this big and this fast, there are bound to be some hiccups. We expected there would be some small holes or gaps in what was needed, and over the last few weeks, those have become pretty clear. One of those issues is the taxdeductible expenses for the business that take advantage of these loans. Businesses are normally able to deduct wages and other business expenses. But the notice issued from the i. R. S. Says that Small Businesses cannot deduct these expenses, which is exactly the opposite of what we intended to do. To give you an idea of how harmful this could be, if a Small Business payroll during the eightweek period covered by a loan were 100,000, that amount could not be deducted as a business expense when they file their taxes. Our goal with this legislation was to help, not hurt to help Small Businesses to remain solvent and keep their employees on the payroll so they can recover from this pandemic as soon as possible and be ready for what i hope is a vshaped bounceback in our economy once we defeat this virus. We certainly didnt intend to make next year years tax season a nightmare or to add to the burdens of these Small Businesses. But based on the i. R. S. s guidance, thats the path were headed down. We have to right this wrong. Yesterday i introduced the bipartisan Small Business expense protection act with chairman and Ranking Members of the finance committee, senators grassley and senator wyden. Along with senator rubio, who chairs the Small Business committee and senator harper who serves on the finance committee. This would clarify that Small Businesses can still deduct the expenses that were paid for with the forgiven paycheck protection loan from their taxes. Without this clarification, Small Businesses will be up the creek without a paddle when they file their taxes next year. This program was created to reduce the financial barriers our Small Businesses are trying to overcome, not to add more. This bipartisan bill has already received support of the American Institute of c. P. A. s, certified public accountants, and is critical to ensuring americas Small Businesses receive the full intended benefits by congress in the Paycheck Protection Program. As we continue to provide relief for americas workers and Small Businesses, its critical that this fix be included. Texas Small Businesses saw the Paycheck Protection Program as a lifeline during this incredibly challenging time. Lets not make them regret grabbing ahold of it. Madam president , on another matter, i have a unanimous consent request. Or actually permission for committees to meet. I have five requests for committees to meet during todayings session of the senate. They have been approved by both the majority and naturals. The presiding officer trial noted. A senator mr. President . The presiding officer the senator from virginia. Mr. Kaine i ask permission to speak for up to the full ten minutes. The presiding officer without objection. Mr. Kaine thank you, madam president. I rise to discuss the next steps the senate should take in he will donting with the covid19 global pandemic. I applaud the bipartisan resolve that congress has shown in passing four important pieces of legislation to provide trillions of dollars of aid to americans in the midst of this countering americas adversaries through sanctions act. In the midst of this can a it is a strophe e 675 americans had died from the coronavirus. Out in more than 72,000 have. In the few weeks we have been away, the numbers of deaths have increased by more than 70,000. Millions have been diagnosed. Those numbers are rising every day. The crisis has been the most severe economic shock that our nation has experienced, even more severe that the economic collapse of 20082009. Madam president , just personal privilege. I know four people whove died of coronavirus, jeanette galiano died in a senior facility in new orleans in the last few weeks. Lois shaver, the mother of one of our closest friends, the godmother of our middle son. She died in a nursing home in fairfax, virginia. Gerald glenn was a minister, bishop, pillar of the richmond faith community, somebody i appointed to boards when i was governor. Senator warner did the same. Bishop glenn passed away right after easter of coronavirus. Dol some of the n anderson, his wife linda was one of my agency heads when i was governor, as dol some of the n was providing care for linda, he contracted coronavirus and after 16 days 0en a ventilator died. Two other names my nextdoor neighbor, my wife ann and i have lived next to them for 28 years. Dean died within the last two weeks after a long battle with lung cancer, not coronavirus but what coronavirus meant for dean and so many like him is he couldnt have family with him in the normal way, couldnt have a funeral or a Memorial Service or gather family to grieve in the normal way because of peoples worry bo infection. And then lorna. She was a charlottesville native who was working as an Emergency Room Physician at new york presbyterian and was so stressed out by what she saw, she developed coronavirus. She went back to the hospital to work as soon as she could. And it was too much for her. She went home to be with her family in charlottesville and about ten days ago died by suicide, facing a tremendous burden of being a first responder. I want to mention all of them and all of those, everyone in this chamber has direct personal excans. The suffering is massive and likely to continue. And because of this, congress should do more. The american publics expects us to, we shouldnt let them down. So what should be our next priorities . One way to look at the legislation that weve already passed is this. Congress has provided aid to five basics pillars, aid to i had haves and families, grants to Small Businesses and nonprofit organizations, loans to medium and largesized businesses, aid to local and state governments, aid to hospitals, Health Care Providers and the Health Care System. The three bills we passed in march made Major Investments in each of these five pillars. By april we realized that the depth of the crisis was so great, that we needed to do more. And while we realized that our action was going to be partial rather than comprehensive, we did step up to do more to provide support for two of those p5 pillars, Small Businesses, hospitals, and Health Care Providers. After providing 350 billion in forgivable loans for Small Businesses under the cares act, we added another 370 billion in april for Small Businesses through additional loans to the p. P. P. Program, s. B. A. s eidl Grant Program and direct resources to Small Businesses. In he can aring that this is fundamentally a Public Health emergency, we also added 100 billion in new health funds, 75 billion for Health Care Providers, 25 billion to enable the u. S. To finally support development of a competent Testing Program we did not hesitate to act in providing more resources to two key pillars Small Businesses and our health system. And that tells me what our next step should be. We should direct more resources to individuals and families as well as state and local governments. Individuals and families are hurting. 30 million americans have applied for unemployment, people have lost jobs, some have businesses that may never reopen. Theyve seen other unplanned expenses for health care or child care as local schools are closed. Rent and mortgage payments, car payments, utility bills, food and medicine many these expenses continue and the pressure on working americans is intense. When we passed the cares act in march, i was struck by the fact that the p. P. P. Program for Small Businesses was 350 billion but the direct payments to family was 295 . Given we added another 3,770,000,000,000 in aid for Small Businesses, i think we should add an equal amount for individuals and families. Whether this is a second round of direct payments or combination of direct payments and other support, child care, rent, mortgage assistance, we should show the public that we value the needs of families and individuals as much as we value Small Businesses. And the second think we should do is provide more assistance and flexibility to state and local governments. The cares act provided 150 billion to states and localities. It was to deal with unanticipated costs connected with covid19. Mr. President , heres an odd thing, the funds for businesses were to help them deal with revenue losses. The hospital and health care provide funding was designed to help deal with revenue losses experienced as we postponed elective surgeries and clinical businesses. The funds were to provide layoffs. The aid to individuals were to help families cope with lost wages and lost salary. But the cares bill would not allow state or local governments to use funds to backstop lost revenue. I was a mayor and governor. I know 68 states have a fiscal year that starts on july 1. That means most states and local governments are working on their budget right now they have to project income and expenses for the next year and write their budget accordingly. What are state and local governments seeing . Massive decline in mass revenue, lodging taxes, income taxes all declining. Jurisdictions are trying to figure out the decline. In virginia the town of be aing don is predicting a revenue loss of 15 , fredericksburg more than 10 , blacksburg nearly 18 . The list goes on and on. The commonwealth of virginia is predicting revenue losses of 2 billion to 3 billion over the next two fiscal years. In cities and towns and counties and states lose revenues what are their options . Theyll be portion toed to cut teachers, Police Officers, firefighters, and e. M. T. s. That is happening in virginia and all over the country. There are furloughs for everyone including First Responders. Prince William County has removed Police Officers from their budgets. Be aing don is laying off employees. Every state, city, and county in this town and country is making the same decisions right now and it shouldnt be this way. We provided funds to businesses to backstop revenue losses. We provided funds to hospitals to backstop revenue losses so they could avoid layoffs. We need to allow our state and local governments to backstop revenue losses so they can avoid layoffs. Mr. President , its never a good time to lay off teachers, firefighters, police, sheriffs, e. M. T. s, never. But the worst time to do it is in a national Health Emergency. The overwhelming majority of First Responders work for state and local governments. Why would we want to lay them off . President trump said he doesnt want to bail out states and local governments. And he criticized them. Didnt name call businesses that didnt want to help. He didnt say we wont bail you out. He has his taxes on state and local government is state and local leaders are handling this crisis. Senator mcconnell advanced the idea that state and local governments should consider bankruptcy. He didnt say that about businesses that wanted aid. Promoting bankruptcy, which would mean layoffs and broken promises to pensioners is heart less. This isnt a democrat or republican thing. There are as Many Republican governors as democrats, there are as many cities and counties managed by both republicans and democrats. There was 150 billion for state and local government relief. Weve done over 1. 2 trillion for state and local businesses. Dont the communities where we live and work, send our kids to school, pray and play deserve help to get through this crisis too . Does anyone really believe that well be better off as a nation in fighting this emergency if teachers, firefighters, police, sheriffs, e. M. T. Are laid off all over the country. I will close and ask my colleagues, we stepped up big to refill the tank for Small Businesses and hospitals. It is time to step up for state and local governments and families. With that, mr. President , i yield the floor. The presiding officer the question is on the nomination. Is there a sufficient second . There appears to be. The clerk will call the roll. Vote vote vote vote vote the presiding officer are there any senators in the chamber wishing to vote or change their vote . If not, the yeas are 84, the nays are 7. The confirmation is or the nominee is confirmed. Under the previous order, the motion to reconsider is considered made and the president will be immediately notified of the senates action. Mr. Durbin mr. President . The presiding officer the senator from illinois. Mr. Durbin mr. President , its been five i spent five weeks in my home in springfield, illinois, following orders, good ones, to suggest that i had to get out of circulation and so should everyone else. It was an interesting moment. My wife and i think it may have been the longest stretch weve ever spent under the same roof together. And we got along, which is good. And i thought to feel the neighborhood a little more than i usually do, as i travel back and forth almost every week, get to know the people a little more irk waving from a distance. I look around and noticed that almost every lawn had a sign on it saying, we love Health Care Workers. And many people had signs in their windows to back that up, too. And we should. These doctors, these nurses, these people who work in Nursing Homes caring for the elderly, making certain theyre in a good, safe environment, theyre important and theyre risking their lives for the people we love. We thank them over and over again. There is one part of that group that i would like to highlight for a few moments. I want to spend a few minutes talking about one special group of Health Care Workers immigrants. One in six health care and social service workers, 3. 1 million out of 18. 7 million, are immigrants. You must notice. When they come on television and give us a breakdown of whats going on in the Emergency Rooms and the likelihood of our success in communities in dealing with this coronavirus, so many times you look at them and think, they may be newcomers to the United States, many of them are. These immigrants are playing a Critical Role in the battle against this pandemic. And yet the president of the United States and many around him continue to disparage immigrants, falsely claiming that theyre just a drain on society. All theyre doing is taking our jobs away. And we really wouldnt miss them if they were gone. So i came to the floor today to tell a story about one of them, an immigrant health hero. Ill be joined by some of my colleagues who have similar stories to tell. Were inviting people to share their own stories on social media, using the hashtag immigranthealthheroes. Ill put it up so anyone that wants to check in can do so. Many are young immigrants who came to the United States as children. Theyre known as dreamers. American in every way except nor their Legal Immigration status, brought here at an early age by parents who didnt give him a vote on the decision, grew up in the United Statess went to our schools, sometimes all the way through college and professional school, want to make a life in this country, have no criminal record, just looking for a chance. It was nine years ago when i joined republican senator dick lugar on a bipartisan basis asking president obama to use his executive authority to protect these dreamers from deportation. He responded, he created the deferred action for childhood arrivals, or daca. Daca provides temporary protection from deportation for dreamers if they register with the government, pay a substantial fee, go through a criminal background check. More than 800,000 dreamers came forward and received president obamas daca protection. Daca unleashed the full potential for these dreamers that they never dreamed they would have, and they started contributing to america as soldiers and teachers and Small Business owners. And, listen, more than 200,000 Daca Recipients are now categorized as, quote, essential, Critical Infrastructure workers. Essential Critical Infrastructure workers. Who came up with that name . Its the definition of President Trumps own department of homeland security. One out of four of these daca protectees are essential Critical Infrastructure workers. And among these essential workers are 41,700 Daca Recipients in the health care industry. It includes doctors and intensive conveyor nurses, respiratory therapists. On september 5, 2017, President Trump repealed daca. Hundreds of thousands of dreamers, because of that action by the president , face losing their jobs but, more importantly, face being deported, many to countries they barely remember if they remember at all. The courts stepped in and block the president from enforcing this daca decision, but he took on the appeal of that decision. And now it is in the supreme sue court just cross the street just across the street. I was proud to lead 172 current and former members of congress on a bipartisan brief asking the Supreme Court to rule against President Trumps appeal of daca. These young Daca Recipients are being protected while the case is being considered by the Supreme Court but a decision could come down any day, could come down any day and basically make these young people subject to deportation and take away any legal right they have to work. If the court rules in favor of President Trump on daca, 200,000 essential American Workers will be sidelined and deported, even as we fight this pandemic. Last month i sent a letter to the president. 37 of my colleagues joined me, urging him to extent the Work Authorization for Daca Recipients. Dont make their future depend on what happens in the court. The president has the authority to say at least until the end of the calendar year, or beyond i hope, we are not going to deport these young people, we are not going it take their jobs away, tuckly those particularly those in the health care industry. If you consider President Trumps attitude towards immigrants, you know he is likely to forge ahead with his decision to deport the dreamers. That means we have to do our part. I work with republican senator lindsey graham, chairman of the senate Judiciary Committee, to include a provision to automatically extend Work Authorizations for Daca Recipients in the cares act that Congress Just passed a few weeks ago. We presented it to the leaders on a bipartisan basis. We had the approval of every leader except one the republican leader in the senate. He stopped us. He stopped us from extending this exprosecute. This protection u i dont know what his protection is in ken, but i can tell you in illinois we need every one of these Health Care Workers we have today. We cant afford to lose them. To think that 41,000 Daca Recipients and another 11,000 t. P. S. Critical Health Care Workers would be deported would mean that Many Americans who count on these great professionals are going to get less care and perhaps terrible results. As Congress Debates the next legislation to address the covid19 pandemic, ill continue pushing for this provision. It is not too much to ask if these people simply want to be working in e. R. s and hospitalsific aring their lives for all of us that they at least have the peace of mind that they know they can stay until the end of the calendar year. Thats all im asking for. Is it too much to ask . Some of them are suffering and some of them are dying and their families are suffering, too. All they want is the authority to stay here. Last year the house of representatives passed the dream and promise act based on the dream act with a strong vote. Senator mcconnell has refused to call it in the senate. I wish he would reconsider. I have come to the floor over 100 times and told the stories of dreamers. I dont think there is any better way to make the case. Meet them, know them, realize what theyve brought to america and what they bring each day. Today i want to tell you the story of this man. His name is manual bernell. Emergency department advocate for christ medical center. Manuel grew up in memphis, tennessee. Always wanted to become a doctor. He wrote me a letter and he said, early on i developed a appreciation for the medical profession when i witnessed the Compassionate Care received by a loved one at saint Jude Childrens Research hospital. Manuel graduated in the taxpayer 10 of his high school class. He was a leader of several High School Honor societies. In his spare time he was a swimmer and Football Player and volunteered at the saint jude club. He continued his education at the university of tennessee at chattanooga. Graduated summa cum laude