Transcripts For CSPAN2 U.S. Senate U.S. Senate 20240712

Our moms and dads struggling to purchase diapers, our child care providers and workers who have continued to look after our kids, our family caregivers who are helping iowa seniors and those most at risk during this pandemic. And to ensure we are prepared for whatever might come next, lets not only focus on the immediate needs but on the long term. National priority for critical medical supplies and other materials to be produced right here in the United States of america. We should never again depend on a foreign nation to protect our citizens, especially one like the communist party of china, which has been continually and unsurprisingly deceptive about this threat from the very beginning. Folks, while we still have a ways to go before we can return to life as we know it, we will get through this. And when we do, we will revive the great economy we built together and prepare for an Even Stronger future together. With that, mr. President , i yield the floor. Mrs. Capito mr. President . The presiding officer the senator from West Virginia. Mrs. Capito thank you, mr. President. I am very pleased to join my colleague from iowa today to highlight how to responsibly open america, our economy can as we continue to fight this covid19 pandemic. But before i talk about reopening america, i would like to address the tragedy of the brutal death of george floyd. Racial discrimination has absolutely no place in this country whatsoever. The senseless murder is unacceptable and those responsible should be held accountable. Im anguished at the death of george floyd. Im anguished at the violence that we are seeing all across our streets today. There is no question that we must do our part to change racist attitudes that, unfortunately, exist today, and this must be done in a peaceful way. Looting and violent riots are not the way to do this, and its not the way to honor george floyd. Or those that are protesting peacefully, which is the great majority of people. Georges brother encouraged all of us the other day to peacefully protest. He said that violence wont bring his brother back, and, no, it wont bring his brother back. It makes me sad to see the businesses destroyed, monuments honoring some of our nations bravest heroes destroyed, and violence happening in the cities across the nation. I say to West Virginia, there have been protests in my state of West Virginia, there have been protests, however, they have been peaceful. I commend my citizens of West Virginia to be peacefully protesting and i encourage them to continue this. We need to come together as a nation to listen to one another and to learn from one another. This is how real change can happen. President george w. Bush and mrs. Laura bush published a statement yesterday, and id like to read the last paragraph because i found it really quite moving as to how we are going to address this issue. Quote, the rule of law ultimately depends on the fairness and legitimacy of the legal system and achieving justice for all is the duty for all. This will require a consistent, courageous, and creative effort. We serve our neighbors best when we try to understand their experience. We love our neighbors as ourselves when we treat them as equals, in both protection and compassion. There is a better way. The wait of empathy and shared commitment and bold action and a peace rooted in justice. I am confident that together americans will choose the better way. And i appreciate so much the entire statement, but those last several words, as i said, really touched me. On the matter before us today, many communities in our country are starting to open, including in my state of West Virginia. Covid has had a terrible impact on our communities all across the country. The disease has affected every part of our lives. More than 105,000 of our fellow americans have lost their lives because of this terrible virus. That includes 78 West Virginians. The unofficial employment rate is 15 but in my state it is a shade over is a . And we expect those numbers to rise when the may numbers are published later this week. State and local officials across the country closed much of our economy in order to slow the disease. Our goal as a nation was to bend the curve in order to prevent our hospitals and other medical providers from being overrun. In West Virginia, as in most of the country, weve been successful in bending the conserve curve and reducing the spread of this terrible disease. It is important to reresponsibly reopen our economy. We should continue to follow the guidelines prepared by our Public Health experts. Washing our hands, social distance, avoid touching your face and wearing your mask. Following these guidelines will help make americas reopening successful. It will protect your health and the health of your community. By hindering the spread of the disease and allowing businesses to remain open following these guidelines, this will aid our economic recovery as well. Most americans understand that there is no way to choose between Public Health and a Strong Economy because there is you cannot have one without the other. We cant have a Strong Economy if we are not protecting people from becoming sick. And we will not be able to make the necessary longterm investments in Public Health if we dont have a Strong Economy. That is why a reresponsible stepbystep approach to reopening the economy that is driven by the data in states and local communities is so very important important. Our daily positive test percentages as of this morning was. 88 . This is despite the fact that West Virginia has tested a higher percentage of our residents than the National Average and all of our neighboring states. Even more encouraging is that our accumulative percent of positive tests has remained below 3 since april 25, even as we began reopening our businesses in may. But we have faced our challenges. Outbreaks at our longterm care facilities in among gayleia county among georgia heel la county have resulted in at that 23 deaths. We were the first state in the nation to set an example that many have followed. Just last week we had an outbreak at one of our prisons where we had 118 positive tests. So we know that this is still there and it still presents a danger. But im really proud of the way weve pulled together during this crisis and addressed these challenges. The progress reflected by the statistics are only possible because our States Residents have followed the guidelines. I want to thank all of the medical professionals, the first responders, front line workers, who have gone beyond the call of duty to protect Public Health and keep our communities running during this most difficult time. But opening our economy is paramount and opening it responsibly must be done. Even though the covid is still with us, we must continue working together, following the guidelines, so that we can protect both our economy and our health. Mr. President , i yield the floor. A senator mr. President . The presiding officer the senator from indiana. Mr. Young last week i traveled around the great state of indiana on my restart tour. I visited Small Businesses up and down the state, eight cities in fact, where weve seen so many hoosiers adversely impacted by this pandemic. Like many other states, indiana is starting to open up our economy, and i know so many hoosiers welcome that. Our governor, eric holcombe, have been implementing a fivestage plan for reopening indianas economy. The cities on my tour had businesses in various stages of reopening. Restaurants like catablu are open at 50 of capacity right now. The nonprofit tera haute Childrens Museum remains closed, unfortunately. Theyre struggling to pay their employees. I visited zimerbionet, enjoyed the tour visiting the employees. But discovered that sales have dropped 95 in march. Now, fortunately, they received a Paycheck Protection Program loan, and that enabled them to keep all 23 of their employees on the payroll. Its clear that we need to continue evaluating additional relief measures for Small Businesses and indianas nonprofits. In my restart act is a viable approach to keep our hardesthit businesses and nonprofits going. This restart act is a bipartisan measure ive introduced with senator bennet. The effort here is to build upon the success of the Paycheck Protection Program. Weve seen more than 74,000 hoosier businesses that have benefited from p. P. P. Loans total nearly 9. 4 billion in the state of indiana. Just for context, thats an average loan of 130,000. These are for Small Businesses like those that we see up and down our state. But the Paycheck Protection Program requires funds to be spent in just eight weeks, and most restaurants, gyms, boutiques and so many other businesses werent permitted to be open during part or all of that eightweek period. So the first part of the restart act merely extends the time frame to 16 weeks for our nations hardesthit businesses. Second, we know that p. P. P. Was meant to be a bridge to reopening the economy. But many Small Businesses have a much longer bridge to cross. Thats why our new restart program would provide loans covering up to six months of payroll and fixed operating expenses. Thats just for those businesses that have taken a substantial revenue hit during this coronavirus pandemic. So my restart initiative here would provide needed funds with flexibility for employers to pay bills, to implement social distancing measures like those plexiglass divide i saw at so many businesses, and more importantly to bring please back to works, which is exactly where they want to be. Over the last several weeks, ive spoken to more than 22,000 hoosiers by using zoom tellly conferencing capabilities, hopping on Conference Calls and through other means. And i have to say, ill truly inspired by the way hoosiers have come together to help one another during this pandemic. Everyone has done their part. Hoosiers want to work and Business Owners are eager to pay them. So the restart act can help make sure this happens and i hope my colleagues will give it strong consideration in coming days. Thank you so much, mr. President. And i yield. Mrs. Blackburn mr. President . The presiding officer the senator from tennessee. Mrs. Blackburn thank you, mr. President. I ask unanimous consent that senator braun and i be allowed to complete our remarks prior to the roll call votes. The presiding officer without objection. Mrs. Blackburn thank you, mr. President. I have to tell you, tennesseans are enjoying being out and about. They are so thrilled to see a restart on our economy. And whether youre going to hair salons or restaurants or the shopping center, the office park, the manufacturing facility, what we are hearing from tennesseans is, thank goodness we can get back to work. And theyre grateful that they have had the p. P. P. To help them bridge from the shutdown to the restart. 8. 8 billion has made its way into our state through the p. P. P. Program, and our governor, our tennessee General Assembly, our mayors are really working diligently to be certain that our economy opens up, that people are at work safely, and that we continue to defeat this covid19. Over the past few months, we have seen Congress Push forward with about 3 trillion into the economy for a restart, and state and local governments have already put over 139 billion worth of aid to good use. Supporting local health care, helping rescue businesses, and keeping Companies Working and local payrolls going, keeping people on the job and our governor and General Assembly in tennessee have Just Announced a new program that theyre doing in conjunction with local businesses. Now, imagine for a moment what it was like to watch the economy tumble what the perspective of a community that was already struggling trying to make ends meet. The pandemic caused catastrophic damage to the traditional economy and also to many of the Service Organizations that are there to meet needs. Now, in tennessee, as in many states, struggling communities are depending on these nonprofit groups. This is why we fought so hard to include eligibility for nonprofits in the rescue funding packages. And i will tell you, this is making a difference in tennessee for some of our nonprofit organizations like the east tennesseebased Appalachia Service project. Now, a. S. P. s teams travel all throughout central appalachia. They are repairing homes for lowincome families. Mayors in the communities that a. S. P. Visits are running on tight budgets, and they depend on volunteers to fix up unsafe or uninhabitable homes, so you can only imagine how it felt to the people at a. S. P. To watch their funding evaporate, knowing that the leaky roof that needed attention over in sneadville would end up turning into a rotten floor and a moldy wall and would be a safety hazard for the individuals that lived there. So fortunately a. S. P. Was able to get an s. B. A. Loan that gave them a little bit of breathing room, and although they had to cancel their volunteer program, their essential staff and contractors will be able to continue working all through the summer. The various rescue programs that congress agreed to implement were not perfect by any means, but did they have a positive effect . From what we are hearing in tennessee, they did, and they have been put to good use. I yield the floor. A senator mr. President. The presiding officer the senator from indiana. Mr. Braun im a main street entrepreneur. I spent my career building a little business into a large one over many years in my hometown, as well as my wife who has operated a Home Accessory and gift store on main street literally. Im elated to see the American Economy starting, getting off to a smart restart. The question of how to reopen our economy, i addressed it in a couple floor speeches before we left in march. I believe businesses are disciplined and ready to Pay Attention to the rules, the new normal to make sure their employees and their customers stay safe. Business owners will follow the rules. Its in their own best interests to do so. They have much to lose from a new spike in the coronavirus. Businesses are always more adept, more agile than government, and i am heartened to see that the innovative approaches many businesses are taking across our country to address this challenge. The virus does not affect all populations, industries, and areas of our country the same way, and the reopening in indianapolis will naturally be different from main street, jasper, indiana. We should remember that although this presents challenges, a onesizefitsall is rarely the best policy course of action, and decisions that affect citizens are best made by the level of government closest to them. Mayors, town councils, state governments. We cannot use the blanket approach that government took in shutting down the economy to reopen it. Instead, we need to provide the tools to empower local leaders and businesses who know their communities best to reopen safely so that our country can function again. I believe that through the perseverance and innovation that American Business has always exhibited, we can get our economy back on the path to recent hikes without yielding back any territory to the virus. I yield the floor. The presiding officer all postcloture time has expired. The question is on the measure. The nomination. Is there a sufficient second . There appears to be. The clerk will call the roll. 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 78, the nays are 17. The nomination is confirmed. Under the previous order, the motion to reconsider is considered made and laid upon the table t the president will be immediately notified of the senates action. The clerk will report the motion to invoke cloture. The clerk cloture motion we, the undersigned senators, in accordance with the provisions of rule 22 of the standing rules of the senate, do hereby move to bring to a close debate on the nomination of drew b. Tipton of texas to be United States district judge for the Southern District of texas, signed by 17 senators. The presiding officer by unanimous consent, the mandatory quorum call has been waived. The question is, is it the sense of the senate that debate on the nomination of drew b. Tipton of texas to be United States district judge for the Southern District of texas shall be brought to a close . The yeas and nays are mandatory under the rule. The clerk will call the roll. Vote vote vote vote the presiding officer the yeas are 53. The nays are 42. The motion is agreed to. The clerk will report the nomination. The clerk nomination, the judiciary, drew b. Tipton of texas to be United States district judge for the Southern District of texas. Mr. Schumer mr. President . The presiding officer the democratic leader. Mr. Schumer mr. President , in a moment i will ask consent to pass legislation that makes urgently needed reforms to the p. P. P. , to make the program much more functional for all, underlining all Small Businesses. Let me just name a few of the changes. First, it expands the loan period from eight weeks to 24 weeks. Currently workers may be brought back for the eight weeks but what good is it if theyre then laid off at the end of that short period. Its unrealistic. And Small Businesses need assistance that can cover the full length of this crisis. Second, the legislation removes the 25 restriction imposed by the Trump Administration on the use of loans for fixed cost, rents, mortgages, utilities, and replaces it with a new 60 40 payroll to nonpayroll expenses. This change will continue p. P. P. Support of bringing workers back on the payroll but giving Small Businesses more flexibility to survive in this crisis which is essential to the longterm employment prospect of the workers. From my home state of new york we have high rents, high utility costs. Many businesses were frozen out when there was 25 but 40 will get them in. And that applies to most of the more highcost areas throughout the country, even though these are Small Businesses. Theyre struggling under those costs. Third, the proposal extends the program to the end of the year and makes december 31 the deadline to rehire workers in order to get full forgiveness on the loan. We have a long way to go before the economy will come back in real ways. This will give businesses a more realistic timeline to get the help they need while bringing back employees. The bill ensures any amounts of the loan will not have to be forgiven any amounts of the loan not forgiven will have at least fiveyearterm of repayment so Small Businesses wont be saddled with the needs to be repaid in two years. The impact of this crisis is long lasting, requires lenient terms. We have all heard from Small Businesses in our states that while theyre glad theres the program. They would have gone under without it, its a very good thing, that it needed some changes to make it work for so many Small Businesses that had been left out or rejected. And i say to Small Businesses across the country, after this changes, apply again. If you even if you applied the first time because it will be easier to meet the requirements and criteria. Now, this is not controversial. The house of representatives passed this legislation with a vote of 4171. 4171. And we cant wait any longer. Businesses are really suffering for lack of these changes. And to wait and wait and wait, if someone wants to make changes, lets do it when we get to the heroes bill, to covid 4. But to delay another week or two weeks or three weeks to get this all boxed up . We cant afford to wait. Our Small Businesses cant afford to wait. These changes are universally agreed to as good ones and we shouldnt let someone who wants a small change say lets stop it until we go forward. The bill has the broad support of Small Businesses across industries, mom and pop restaurant, underserved businesses, minority businesses, nonprofits that have been hit hard by this pandemic. It should be passed by the senate right now. These fixes wont solve every problem in p. P. P. Too many truly small underserved and minorityowned businesses and nonprofits are still struggling to get the help they need in these historically troubled times. These fixes wont in any way diminish the urgency of passing legislation like the heroes act which provides additional help not only for businesses but homeowners, renters, essential workers, medical facilities, local and state governments, and more. Our republican colleagues must come to the table and work with us to pass future reforms. Nor will it divert our caucus in its quest for Police Reform and racial justice. We have to do that as well. But today we have an opportunity to pass meaningful reforms that our Small Businesses need now. We must get this done. Businesses are going under every day. Small Business People who struggled and sweated, my dad was one of them, who need help and cant get help because of certain problems in this bill will be so relieved when we pass this legislation which has already passed the house. I want to particularly thank two people on our side who have worked long and hard on this legislation who will speak now. One is senator cardin from maryland, the Ranking Member of Small Business, and one is senator shaheen, the senior senator from New Hampshire, also a very active member of the Small Business committee. I hope that passing this legislation in a bipartisan way as it did in the house will give us momentum to keep working on the medical, economic, and racial crises that still affect our nation. I yield the floor. Mr. Cardin mr. President , first let me thank senator schumer for bringing this issue to the floor at this time. Senator schumer has been a great leader on what we need to do to help to respond to covid19. He recognized from the beginning that we needed a balanced program to deal with the health pandemic, with a Marshall Plan to deal with the help to our state and local governments and to deal with the economic consequences of covid19. Senator schumer helped us develop a balanced approach to deal with the economic challenges. By, yes, helping the individual through Unemployment Insurance and direct checks from the i. R. S. , but also helping our businesses. For Small Businesses we created new tools. For larger businesses we had loans. I was proud to be part of a task force that was charged with developing the tools for Small Business. I want to thank my partner senator shaheen for her incredible help and leadership in crafting the programs of the Paycheck Protection Program and also i might say, mr. President , also dealing with the Economic Injury disaster Loan Grant Program which was new and a loan forgiveness program. We did this working with senator rubio and senator collins. It was truly bipartisan. We did it in a matter of literally a few days, a week or so. And we were able to get this program crafted in a way that it provided incredible relief to the Small Businesses of our country. So today what is the record . 4. 4 million loans have been issued under the Paycheck Protection Program. 510 billion has been made available to Small Businesses in this country. It has literally been a lifeline allowing Small Companies to continue to exist. You see, Small Companies are where we get more job growth than Larger Companies. We get innovative ideas on how to deal with economic challenges. But in economic downturns, they dont have the liquidity and resilience that Larger Companies have. Thats why we had to pass this type of help. Now, we did that in march. And when we passed these bills in march, quite frankly we thought that by now the economy would be in a much better shape than it is, that Small Businesses would be able to return to somewhat of a normal economy. Well, thats not the case. We recognize that certain businesses such as those in the hospitality field, health clubs, caterers, museums, and the list goes on and on have virtually not been able to open at all yet. And theyre going to need more help than just the eight weeks that was planned in the Paycheck Protection Program. Thats why the legislation that passed the house was part of this bipartisan, bicameral effort to give additional flexibility to those who have the Paycheck Protection Program loans. We recognize now that eight weeks is not long enough, and that is why this legislation would change that eight weeks to 24 weeks, giving Small Businesses a greater opportunity to qualify for a maximum amount of loan forgiveness and give Small Businesses more flexibility on how they allocate those funds between payroll and nonpayroll expenses. As we heard today in our first oversight hearing in the Small Business and entrepreneurship committee, all Small Business Small Businesses are different. Maybe eight weeks works for some. It doesnt work for others. Maybe 75 of payroll works for one but doesnt work if another. For another. We need to have a program that can fit the vast majority of Small Businesses and the changes that are reflected in the house bill represents those changes that if we would have recognized in march that this pandemic would have continuing impact on our economy well beyond eight weeks would certainly have been considered during that period of time. Now is the time to pass this. Mr. President , i just want to underscore this point. The eight weeks will expire for the first loans that were issued under the p. P. P. Program next week. Small businesses need predictability. They need to know whether this is going to be the law or not before they apply for their forgiveness. So we dont have any extra time. We need to pass this right now. It is a bipartisan effort. It is a bipartisan bill. And with senator what senator schumer said is absolutely correct. Well have other opportunities to deal with other provisions to help Small Businesses. Were not finished. We recognize that there are Small Businesses that are going to need additional help, particularly those that have seen dramatic reductions in their revenues and the smaller of the Small Businesses and those in underserved communities. We need to Pay Attention to do something about that. But lets get this program working right today. Lets give the notices to Small Businesses and get this passed through the senate today so that Small Businesses can plan on how to deal with the next several months. With that, mr. President , i would yield the floor. Senator shaheen i believe wishes to speak. The presiding officer the senator from New Hampshire. Mrs. Shaheen i am so pleased to be able to join leader schumer and my colleague and Ranking Member of the Small Business committee senator cardin. I am grateful for his leadership and for the partnership that we had back in march with senators rubio and collins. It truly was a bipartisan partnership to try and address the challenges that Small Businesses are facing across this country. In New Hampshire Small Businesses are our lifeblood and they were going under because of this pandemic. So the Paycheck Protection Program has been a life saver. But we know there are things that need to change about it in order for it to continue to help those businesses. In New Hampshire weve had 22,000 Small Businesses and nonprofits that have received over 2. 5 billion in forgivable loans under the program. But weve also heard from many of those businesses that there are improvements and fixes that are necessary. Businesses like the little grill, a New Hampshire restaurant with locations in littleton and woodsville. They said that p. P. P. Has been a lifesaver but they have only two weeks remaining on the term. If the terms are not addressed, the owners told us that theyll be back in the position that they were at the start of the pandemic and may be forced to lay off surtax and we heard from the portsmouth brewery, which received their p. P. P. Loan, but they need more flexibility and extensions to the program to resume operations. Then of course weve heard from big daves bagels and deli in north conwray. Way. His deli was predominantly takeout before the pandemic but he was able to keep his employees on and offer hazard pay because his approval for the pt. P. P. Loan came through at the very end of april. Now he needs flexibility in loan terms if he is going to keep his employees on the payroll. And i could go on and on with example after example. But the important thing is, as senators schumer and cardin have said so eloquently, those first loans are about to be about to end, and if we dont do something to help those businesses, theyre going to be back in the same place that they were in in march when the shelterathome and the stayathome orders began in New Hampshire and across can this country. So we need to do something. This legislation addresses the concerns that people have expressed. I think we also knead to provide additional funding or additional help over the next month until things open back up in the economy. But in the short term the legislation addresses the concerns that weve been hearing from Small Businesses, and i hope were going to see our colleagues pass it by unanimous consent so that there is some certainty for those businesses as they try and open back up in this very difficult environment. Thank you, madam president. Mr. Schumer so let me thank my colleagues from maryland and New Hampshire for their eloquence. Again, we need to act now. Weve waited long enough to make these changes. The house passed them 4171. There may be changes people want to make, but i would urge that we pass this bill now, we pass this bill immediately because Small Businesses need the certainty. In the next week or two, many will be affected negatively if we dont get this legislation passed. So i ask unanimous consent that the senate proceed to the immediate consideration of h. R. 710 which was received from the house, that the bill be considered read a third time and passioned and that the the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table. The presiding officer is there objection . Mr. Johnson madam president . The presiding officer the senator from wisconsin. Mr. Johnson i appreciate my colleagues desire to help Small Businesses. I dont think there is a stronger advocate of Small Business in all of congress. I think i proved that with my work on tax reform fighting for the American Businesses. I think my colleagues on the floor here today realize that what the house passed has one very significant flaw in this, probably technical drafter error but a significant flaw that says if you dont spend 60 of the p. P. P. Loan on payroll, you get no forgiveness, which is a dramatic difference from what it was when you have 75 . I am in favor of all those changes. As senator shaheen pointed out, there are a lot of problems with p. P. P. That need to be corrected. Thats my only objection. Before we put an authorization date all the way to december 31, we need to make sure those changes are made. So my only objection is we should not extend this without significant reforms that i would hope my colleagues would agree with. For example, the fact that many businesses i am not denying that p. P. P. Provided a lifeline. It worked worked from that stan. But in our haste we all knew that we had to do something massive and i can request. We also knew it was going to be far from perfect. In our haste, we made it possible for many businesses that didnt immediate it at all to have access to those funds, and we dont have an unlimited checking account. When we give money to support businesses that dont need it, were going to have less money to give to those that truly do need it. So, unfortunately, what were down here with this unanimous consent request, weve been working in good faith with the sponsors of the house bill, with the republican leadership. I reached out to democrat leaders saying, were very close. I think well probably be able to pass the house bill with assurances by unanimous consent, just not at this moment. I appreciate their thoughts. I am not disagreeing with the fact that we have to do something. I just want to make sure that if we dont something more money into this thing, it is not going to be flowing to businesses that do not need it. So, madam president , i object. Mr. Schumer madam president . The presiding officer objection is heard. The democratic leader. Mr. Schumer i respect the good faith and the sincerity of my colleague from wisconsin. I would say this if we change this bill and then go to conference with the house, we risk too much delay. We should move the bill now. Were willing to certainly look at the changes that my colleague from wisconsin proposes, and we can do that in a u. C. Tomorrow, next week, whenever. But not hold this bill up because even if he is right in his interpretation, which may be right or may be wrong, it doesnt affect 95 of the businesses in the next few weeks who need help. So we ought to pass this bill, help the urgent needs that those businesses have, and whatever corrections that my colleague from wisconsin wishes to make, i am sure my colleagues from maryland and New Hampshire and i would look at. But to hold this bill up now, which passed 4171 in the house, which does so many good and needed things unaffected by the provision that he is having trouble with, i think would be a sincere mistake. So i would ask him to reconsider. We need to pass this bill today. Mr. Johnson will the democrat leader yield . Mr. Schumer i would be happy to yield. Mr. Johnson so what were working on is not a change to this legislation. The way were working this is well still be able to pass this piece of legislation, unamended, unchanged, with a letter of intent from the chairs and Ranking Members of the Small Business committees of both the house and senate, to get a commitment from the majority leader and we can pass this as is. We dont have to delay t were just this close. Im objecting at this time. Give us a little more time to work that method. Then well be i believe to pass this measure with no changes. Then work in good faith to Work Together to make changes that need to be made in the future. Mrs. Shaheen madam president . The presiding officer the. A senator from New Hampshire. Mrs. Shaheen do i understand that you think you will have some resolution of this why noon . So you expect to come back at this point with another u. C. To pass this brill . Mr. Johnson yes, was cooperation from the senators, i think well be able to get thissen this done. My question my request is really simple. We dont want to see this automatically reauthorized until the end of december. It sounds like the intent was not to do that. It was just to allow people to spend money until the end of december. Mrs. Shaheen which is my understanding of the bill. It doesnt allow you to apply for the loan through december but only through the end of june. Mr. Johnson but c. R. S. Actually interprets it as a full authorization. Would end to show what that true intent is, put that letter in the congressional record so that we are certain that were not reauthorizing this or authorizing it through december 31, that the authorization does end june 30, so that if we do want to put more funds into a program like p. P. P. , that new program will have the type of directed reforms that i think we really could gain agreement on. Mr. Schumer madam president . The presiding officer the senator mr. Schumer i thank my colleague. It seems to me he has it a little backwards. We should pass this bill and then work on the chance. Not hold this bill up. Who knows what will happen . Weve waited two and a half days. We could have done the u. C. Monday. We waited until wednesday afternoon. Were leaving here tomorrow at about 1 00. The house is not in session now. It would be very, very wise and helpful to Small Businesses and ive talked to many of them all across the country to pass this bill now and then well work in good faith on the small change that my colleague wished to have. Mr. Johnson again, will the gentleman yield . Surely schumer id yield. Mr. Johnson the way were working this out, there will be no change required. Just a letter for the congressional record stating what the intent was allowing people to spend until the end of december. Were working on the details, then well be able to allow this to pass with unanimous consent. I have other members who were objecting to this to agree to this as well. Give us a little more time. Agree to that language. Hopefully the Ranking Member would agree with that. Pass this bill unchanged, and then in the future because this p. P. P. Will expire june 30, but the need does not. So if youve read my article in the wall street journal, ive got a number of innovative ideas on what we can do to restore capital to is abouts that will need it to reopen our economy. Ive obviously got experience in business and Small Businesses and would like to work with the chairman and rank member of the Small Business committee. Mr. Cardin madam president . The presiding officer the senator from maryland. Mr. Cardin youve mentioned several different issues. I appreciate the fact were trying to get there done today. Youre indicating we have a path forward to get this completed so it can go to the president , which is our objective, so that small Business Owners understand the 24 weeks before their loans expire and understand the additional flexibility on how they can bend spend the money because theyre making those decisions today. It appears like the one area that youre seeking consensus here deals with the authority to issue a loan under the pt. P. P. Program through jon under the p. P. P. Program through june of this year, and i dont believe its changed by the house bill. Is that the issue that you are seeking to get consensus from the Ranking Member and chairman . Mr. Johnson i believe so, but again theres dispute in terms of what the language actually says. Again, i have no problem in the full 660 billion thats already been appropriated to be spent whenever. But i dont want to reauthorize the program past june 30 without the types of reforms that we can talk about. Then well pass it in regular order. Just wait until we have this letter for the record of intent that were just asking the chairman and Ranking Member of the Small Business committees of both houses to agree to and sign. Then well pass this bill as is unchanged to give those Small Businesses the certainty we want to provide them. Mr. Cardin madam president , i was just trying to figure out what im supposed to be signing as Ranking Member of the committee. You had mentioned problems with the 60 punish. With the 60 . Mr. Johnson well deal with those in the future. I have no demands other than the one. Were so close. Were first working on our side. Then well consult you. Maybe we pass this tonight or early tomorrow morning. Mr. Schumer madam president . The presiding officer the democratic leader. Mr. Schumer if i would friend from wisconsin is willing to delay the other changes he wants, it would make eminent sense to delay this one as well and pass this bill. We should pass it today, not wait for tomorrow. We should pass it now, not wait a few hours. Lord knows what can happen. Businesses are crying o i think us moving here will move the process forward. It wouldnt have moved as quickly if we didnt move the bill. But it is still a better bet to help Small Businesses, even with the concern my colleague has, to pass this bill now. And id make one final plea lets pass it now. If not, we should pass it today. Mr. Johnson im happy to come back or let you come back and ask for another unanimous consent and get this hammered out. But at this point im going to object until we get it hammered out. Mr. Schumer okay. Mr. Johnson madam president , i object. Mr. Schumer i yield the floor. Mr. Cardin madam president . The presiding officer the senator from maryland. Mr. Cardin madam president , i rise today as the United States of america again faces the enormous challenge and responsibility of striving to live up to the preamble of the constitution of the United States. The preamble provides, we, the people of the United States, in order to form a more perfect union, establish justice, ensure domestic training quit, provide for the common defense, promote the common welfare and the bless of to ourselves and our prosperity, do ordain, establish this constitution for the United States of america. I nought that the our founders who were far from perfect when it came to racial issues thought that justice was more important than domestic tranquility. They listed justice first. Today america is grieving over the brutal and unnecessary death of george floyd in minneapolis on may 25. Both the state and federal Law Enforcement officers are moving quickly to bring the Police Officers in this case to justice and hold their accountability for their actions. As mr. Floyd crisis out i cant breathe went unanswered as life drained out of him. Video taken by several witnesses showed that george floyd, who is black and was unarmed, was handcuffed and pinned to the ground by a Police Officer who held out his knee against mr. Floyds neck as he pleaded for his life. Mr. Floyd was on the ground repeatedly telling the officer that he could not breathe, and despite that fact that the bystanders are all heard on video begging the officer to relent, he did not remove his knee from mr. Floyds neck until after an ambulance arrived, eventually mr. Floyd lost consciousness. He was pronounced dead after being transported to a local hospital. Madam president , as leaders, regardless of party, we cannot stay silent about George Floyds death. Black lives matter. George floyd was a father, a son, and a brother. His life mattered. He did not need to die. He and his family deserve justice. How many other black men and women have died at the hands of Law Enforcement or vigilante civilians due to the color of their skin, but not been caught on video . Those victims deserve justice, too. We must act working together to fundamentally reform the ways Police Across this nation interact with communities they serve. On monday night, President Trump once again failed to lead this nation in a time of crisis and he has forfeited his moral authority as president. Spraying tear gas at Peaceful Protesters to clear a path for a photo op is opposite to American Values and basic human rights. It violates civil and human rights under any circumstances. President trump fans the flames of racism and seeks to divide americans for political purposes , just as he did in charlottesville and far too many places since. He seems willfully blind to the reason people are protesting in the first place. To end systemic racism and the repeated and tragic targeting of blacks by Law Enforcement. Congress finally must act to pass a comprehensive plan to improve policeCommunity Relations, improve training, hiring of Police Officers and hold Police Accountable for misconduct and use of excessive force. We must rebuild trust between the police and the communities they serve. For those who are asking why did it take so long, the answer is we have been trying. It should not have taken so long, but if year after year too many of my colleagues have put partisanship before justice and equality. As both the house and senate are prepared to hold hearings on Police Reform and racial profiling issues, i want to bring to my colleagues attention two pieces of legislation that i have followed. The end racial and religious profiling act and the Law Enforcement trust and integrity act. If enacted, these two bills could make an enormous difference and constitute a giant step forward in reforming Police Departments in america and reBuilding Trust between Police Officers and the communities they are sworn to protect and serve. The end racial and religious profiling act is designed to enforce the constitutional right to equal protection under the law. By eliminating racial profiling at all levels of Law Enforcement, by changing the policies and procedures underlining the practice. First, the bill provides a prohibition on racial profiling, enforceable by declaratory or injunctive relief. It creates a standard definition of racial profiling which now includes religion, gender, and other protected categories for federal, state, and local Law Enforcement, enforcing criminal, civil, and immigration laws. It allows Law Enforcement can still provide a detailed description of a suspect that includes race, the answer is yes, but the bill prohibits blanket targeting solely based on race or one of the other protected categories. This bill also mandates training on racial profiling issues as part of federal Law Enforcement training. Collection of data on all routine and spontaneous investigatory activities, and creation for receiving and investigating and responding meaningfully to complaints alleging racial profiling by Law Enforcement. Systemic racism will not disappear overnight. Systematic racism will not disappear overnight. We must engage all Law Enforcement in aggressive training, and we have the data to show where there is progress and where the challenges remain. Our bill authorizes the department of justice grants for the development and implementation of best policing practices. The second bill is the Law Enforcement trust and integrity act that i have filed. The Law Enforcement trust and integrity act takes a comprehensive approach at addressing the issue of Police Accountability and Building Trust between Police Departments and their communities. This legislation provides incentives for local Police Organizations to voluntarily adopt performancebased standards to ensure that instances of misconduct will be minimized through appropriate management, training, and oversight protocols. The bill provides that in such instances if such instances do occur, they will be properly investigated. The bill provides Police Officers, the vast majority of whom perform their job professionally, putting their lives on the line daily, protecting their communities, with the tools necessary to improve Community Relations and enhance their professional growth and education. It authorizes 25 million for additional expenses related to the enforcement of civil rights statutes, including compliance with Consent Decrees or judgments regarding Police Misconduct brought by the department of justice. In baltimore city, for example, the Baltimore Police department voluntarily entered into a Consent Decree in 2017 with the u. S. Department of justice to overhaul the Police Department. An earlier department of justice report had found a widespread pattern and practice of the illegal and unconstitutional conduct by the Baltimore Police department through targeting African American residents for disproportionate and disparate treatment. The legislation that i have authored also authorizes appropriations for additional expenses related to conflict resolution, including programs managed by the department of justice Community Relations Services Within the civil rights division. Madam president , i am pleased that to date the protests in baltimore have been largely peaceful, especially compared to 2015 after the death of freddie gray in Baltimore Police department custody. I do hope that my fellow americans look to baltimore in 2020 as an example for how to peacefully protest and petition the government for redress of grievances as baltimore has willingly agreed to work with the u. S. Department of justice to overhaul its entire police force so that its policing, its citizens of its citizens is both fair and effective. As many of my colleagues have said before, civil rights is still the Unfinished Business of america. Prejudice, discrimination, and outright racism continues to limit the lives of a large number of our people. We must continue the struggle today in order to make urgent progress. As i close, i am reminded of my dear friend, the late representative Elijah Cummings who died last year. He was a felt baltimoreian, a fellow graduate of the university of maryland law school. He gave the eulogy for freddie gray in 2015 who died after being arrested and taken into Police Department custody. During the church service, he closed with a quote from the book of amos. I want justice, oceans of it. I want fairness, rivers of it. Thats what i want. Thats all i want. Elijah also asked a pointed question of those of us at the funeral that day, as well as to the news cameras that were broadcasting the event nationally and around the world. Elijah asked did anyone recognize freddie when he was alive . Did anyone see him . Elijah asked whether society had done all that it could have done when gray was struggling to simply be all god meant for him to be. Today i ask my fellow americans to ask that question when it comes to the lives of not only george floyd but tony mccade srks shaun reed, Breonna Taylor, ahmaud arbery. I say here today to black americans, i see you, i hear you. You are men and women. You have families. You have the same rights as every other individual in this country. In a 2019 interview with 60 minutes, steve croft noted cummings is not a patient man. Its a lesson he learned from his late grandmother who imparted her mindset shortly before she died. White people, she told him, have been telling African Americans to wait, and he shouldnt. She says your daddy, he had been waiting and waiting and waiting for a better day, cummings recalled. She said hes going to wait and hes going to die. She said dont you wait. Then in his late 60s, Elijah Cummings said that when he looks into the future, he also reflects on his life. Quote, i realize that with African American people where we have been blocked from being all that god meant for us to be, i dont have time to be patient. Yes, elijah often said of america that we are better than this. Lets prove elijah right. I urge the senate not to be patient any longer and wait for the next death of an African American in Police Custody before taking action. Let us hold our hearings and then expeditiously take up and pass legislation, including the two bills that i have explained on the floor today, as the next steps in establishing justice in our stillimperfect union. Madam president , i yield the floor. Mr. Cornyn madam president. The presiding officer the senator from texas. Mr. Cornyn madam president , i ask unanimous consent that i be allowed to complete my remarks before the vote occurs. The presiding officer without objection. Mr. Cornyn thank you. Madam president , since the federal bureau of investigation launched the crossfire hurricane investigation, a counterintelligence investigation in july of 2016, there has been no shortage of Media Coverage of russias involvement in our 2016 election. For the better part of three years, there have been news, there have been speculation, there have been rumors, there have been partisan accusations made about that topic. Trying to keep up with the names and the dates and the allegations left you feeling like an oldschool detective show. Names and photos pinned to a board with strings of yarn connecting all the pieces. Everyone expected the release of the special counsels report to be the moment when those dots were finally connected. It explained what happened and who was responsible. But its safe to say that did not happen. Even though the Mueller Report did not find any collusion or obstruction, there was a lot of information that has since been made public about its origins, its motivation, and the means by which that investigation occurred. In fact, rather than settling the matter, these revelations have prompted a whole new range of questions about the investigation itself. First of all, madam president , we had Rod Rosenstein in the Judiciary Committee. He, of course, was the Deputy Attorney general. I asked him whether he was aware of any precedent for what happened in 2016 when at the same time both major Party Political nominees for president of the United States were the subject of open f. B. I. Investigations. He said no. There is no precedent for that. First, of course, it was the hillary email scandal, after which director comey made another unprecedented move and had a press conference saying that even though she had been essentially grossly negligent in handling this private email server, that he thought that no reasonable prosecutor would bring charges against her. Well, as much as secretary clinton might have appreciated that announcement or not, a few weeks later, the f. B. I. Director wrote another letter and said hey, we have got some Anthony Weiner emails that came off of his laptop, so we need to reopen the investigation just a few days before the general election. Well, you can imagine secretary clinton didnt appreciate that. Many people have said that its because of the f. B. I. s unprecedented involvement in the middle of a president ial election that it damaged if not decided the election in 2016. And then, of course, there is the trumprussian influence investigation, better known as crossfire hurricane, leading up to the Mueller Investigation and where we are today. In the time since the special counsel completed his investigation and issued his report more than a year ago, we have learned more about the behindthescenes work that guided the russia probe. Thanks to Inspector General horowitz and his team at the department of justice, thanks to the d. N. I. , the director of national intelligence, and others for declassifying important information, we have a whole lot more insight and transparency into exactly what happened. But these revelations have given all of us cause for grave concern. Theyve highlighted a pattern of sloppiness and outright abuse of power at the highest levels of the federal bureau of investigation and beyond and raised red flags that must be addressed. Here in the senate, its our duty to get to the bottom of how and why this happened. I cant imagine any democrat, any republican, any american saying that what happened in the 2016 election to Hillary Clinton and to donald trump was okay. Our Law Enforcement agency should not play a starring role in an election leading up to the nations highest office. This morning, the first step into the investigation into the origins, methods into the crossfire hurricane began at the Judiciary Committee where we heard from former attorney depuy attorney general Rod Rosenstein. He wasnt the Deputy Attorney general until the spring of 2017 but he did play a key role into the investigation because he signed one of the applications for the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act warrant that allowed the f. B. I. To essentially surveil an american citizen. He was the one who appointed special counsel bob mueller and he ended up being not only an investigator but also a witness in the process. His account of what happened in the crossfire investigation is important to understanding both the actions and the motivations that drove that investigation. In fact, he said this morning in response to chairman Lindsey Grahams question, if you knew then what you know now, would you have signed . Would you have signed, sworn to this verified application for a warrant to surveil an american citizen, carter page . He said no. To his credit, he said no. If i knew then what i know now. Some of my greatest concerns stem from the department of justice Inspector Generals report about those fisa abuses as theyre called, Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act. This is extraordinary Authority Given by congress under very strict rules, and theyre supervised by the foreign Intelligence Surveillance court which was established to provide oversight of these surveillance activities including surveillance of american citizens under very narrow and restricted guardrails. If the u. S. Intelligence authorities or Law Enforcement agencies believe surveillance is critical to a National Security investigation, they submit an application to the foreign Intelligence Surveillance court to receive that authorization. This is an important step in protecting the rights of american citizens and make sure that our intelligence and Law Enforcement authorities perform their job consistent with congressional intent and direction. But these verified, in other words, sworn documents are critical in which accuracy is paramount. Thats why theyre required to be verified, that is sworn to, by the top officials at the department of justice. But we now know that the applications for former Trump Campaign aide carter page were riddled with errors. In the initial carter page fisa application, Inspector General horowitz identified what he called seven mistakes in the three renewals he found an additional ten. But these werent necessarily honest mistakes. In fact, they included significant and material errors, including the deliberate falsification, lying, lying to the foreign Intelligence Surveillance court about carter pages past service to the United States government. To make matters worse, even as new and exculpatory material came to light, this information was not reflected in renewal applications. It was sort of a cut and paste job. Those agents who prepared those materials that were signed by people like Rod Rosenstein, they lied to deceive the court so they could continue to surveil or spy on an american citizen, something we do not want to happen unless they are truly an agent of a foreign power, and theres probable cause to show that they are such. Well, these revelations were very troubling back in december of 2019, and theyre just as troubling today. It does also raise questions about the motivations for the investigation in the first place. Falsifying a fisa application is clearly not an action one would take if you were in pursuit of the truth. We need to know why the initial application and three renewals were riddled with lies and omissions and how these inaccurate applications were proved by highranking officials at the department of justice. Second, this raises serious questions about the way that investigations of average americans are being handled. Madam president , if these agents were able to break every rule in the book to spy on a president ial candidate who ultimately was elected and are facing no consequences, no accountability, what protections exist for the rest of us in america . Whos going to notice their errorridden fisa applications if its john or jane q. Public . Whats even more disconcerting is that if this happened once, and it did happen more than once, whats to stop it from happening again . The American People need and deserve answers to these questions, and todays hearing in the Judiciary Committee was the first step in getting the answers to those questions and hopefully corrective action. Chairman graham has been clear that well look at this investigation from all angles, covering the fisa abuses, unmasking requests, and the origins of both crossfire hurricane and the appointment of special counsel. The declassified transcripts that were recently released by the House Intelligence Committee are actually declassified by the director of national intelligence, only underscore the important need for oversight by the senate and by the congress. In reading these transcripts which were taken in secret in a secure facility and only recently made public, ive been shocked at some of the statements made by former Obama Administration officials. Based on the way chairman schiff has repeatedly claimed to have direct evidence, youd think these officials would provide the smoking gun to the committee, but, no, witness after witness confirmed they had no evidence of collusion, coordination, or conspiracy between anyone in the Trump Campaign and russia. But what did they do . They walked outside of that secure facility and they spoke to the tv cameras, assembled there, and they lied. They misrepresented what was said in those classified, during that classified testimony. So this really begs the question why did this investigation begin and how without evidence did it last for nearly two years. Additionally, i have a lot of questions about the sloppy and incomplete investigative work surrounding crossfire hurricane when it came to the use of something called a confidential human source. Christopher steele, former Intelligence Officer from the united kingdom, was hired by fusion g. P. S. To do Opposition Research against the Trump Campaign for the Hillary Clinton campaign. Yet at the same time he was considered by the f. B. I. As a confidential human source. Inspector general horowitzs report makes clear mr. Steel and his f. B. I. Handler didnt even agree on the terms of their arrangement steel said im a businessman collecting information. The f. B. I. Said this is just between us, and you cant talk to the public, which he clearly did. And he did so at the same time he was supposed to be a confidential human source. Well, the f. B. I. Background check into Christopher Steele was so sloppy, they didnt even get, they didnt even understand that his loyalties were not with the f. B. I. And the u. S. Government. They were with his paymaster, fusion g. P. S. , his employer. Well, thats one reason why there was such inaccuracies throughout this investigation, including the fisa applications. So we need answers and we need accountability. Based on what ive seen so far, one conclusion is that there was a coordinated effort to manipulate our Intelligence Community and Justice System for vindictive and biased purposes against a president ial candidate elected president of the United States. I realize thats a grave and serious charge, but i think that is one conclusion you could draw based on what we know. So its high time we learned the truth. The presiding officer the chamber will come to order. Mr. Cornyn if this kind of misbehavior and deception becomes routine, it will jeopardize important legal authorities that we rely upon to protect our National Security. Its counter to our value and a direct blow to the foundation of our democracy. So i appreciate chairman graham prioritizing these oversight hearings, and i know we have a lot of work to do. In order to restore Public Confidence to our Justice System as well as our Intelligence Community, the people charged with protecting the American People, we need to learn what really happened so we can make sure this never ever, ever happens again. I yield the floor. The presiding officer the question occurs on the nomination. Mr. Cornyn i ask for the yeas and nays. The presiding officer is there a sufficient second . There appears to be. The clerk will call the roll. Vote vote vote vote the presiding officer are there any senators in the chamber wishing to vote or change his or her vote . If not, the yeas are 52, the nays are 41. The nomination is confirmed. Under the previous order, the motion to reconsider can considered made and laid upon the table and the president will be immediately notified of the senates action. Mr. Durbin mr. President. The presiding officer the democratic whip. The presiding officer the senate will be in order. The democratic whip. Mr. Durbin thank you, mr. President. Mr. President , americans owe a great debt of gratitude to the Health Care Heroes on the front lines of the fight against the covid19 virus. Today id like to spend a minute talking about one special group of those Health Care Workers, immigrants. Consider this. One out of every six health care and social Service Workers in america are immigrants. Three million out of 18 million immigrants. Theyre playing a Critical Role in the battle against the pandemic. And yet our broken immigration laws do not allow many of them to fulfill their dreams of actually becoming americans. Ive come to the floor today to tell the story of our one of our immigrant Health Care Heroes ill continue to highlight these stories in the coming weeks. There has been so Much Negative publicity about immigrants, and yet when you follow whats happening in hospitals across america large and small, rural and urban, so many times you ask, doctor, where were you born, and you find they werent born in the United States, but they came here to practice medicine, and now their work is saving lives every day. I invite my colleagues and others to share stories from their own communities and their own states and to use the social media hashtag immigrant health heroes. Thousands of immigrant Health Workers are suffering because of a serious problem in our immigration system. Its called the green card backlog. If youre not an immigrant status, you may not know anything about it, but trust me, they do. This backlog puts them and their families at risk of losing their immigration status, and it hinders their ability to join in the fight against covid19. Under current law, there are not nearly enough immigrant visas, also known as green cards, available each year. As a result, many immigrants in the United States are stuck in crippling backlogs, not just for years, but for decades. Close to five million future americans, close to five million are in line waiting for green cards. Hundreds of thousands are working in the United States on a temporary visa while many more are waiting abroad, separated from their american families. Only 226,000 family green cards and 140,000 employment green cards are available each year. The backlogs are a real hardship on these families caught in immigration limbo. For example, children in many of these families age out and face deportation while their parents are waiting for the green card, the child reaches the age where they are deported at age 21. The green card backlog includes thousands of doctors currently working in the United States on temporary visas. These doctors face many restrictions due to their temporary status, such as not being able to take shifts at hospitals in covid19 hot spots where they may be desperately needed. The solution to the green card backlog is very clear. Increase the number of green cards. In 2013, i joined a group of four republicans and four democrats who authored bipartisan comprehensive Immigration Reform legislation. Our bill which passed the senate on a strong bipartisan 6832 vote would have eliminated this green card backlog. Last year, i introduced the relief act, legislation based on the 2013 comprehensive Immigration Reform bill that would clear the backlogs for all immigrants waiting in line for green cards within five years. Ill keep fighting to help these immigrants. Here in the United States, they simply want a chance to continue to serve this nation. Last month, joined with my colleagues, republican senators perdue of georgia, young of indiana, cornyn of texas, coons of delaware, and leahy of vermont, to introduce legislation to quickly increase the plight of immigrant doctors and nurses stuck in this green card backlog. This backlog poses a significant risk to our ability to effectively respond to this pandemic. Our bill, the Health Care Work force resilience act, is a temporary stopgap effort that will strengthen our Health Care Workforce and improve health care for americans in the midst of this national emergency. Our bill would reallocate 25,000 unused immigrant visas for nurses, and 15,000 unused immigrant visas for doctors. These are visas that congress has previously authorized but were not used. It is important to note that our bill requires employers to attest to a very important fact. They have to attest that immigrants from overseas who receive these visas will not displace an american worker. We want to ensure that the beneficiaries of this bill help build our workforce but not at the expense of those already here in the United States. Our bill now has 13 republican and 13 democratic cosponsors, broad support for the medical community. As Congress Works on the next legislation to address the covid19 pandemic, im going to join my republican colleagues and push for the Health Care Workforce resilience act to be included. Today let me tell you the story of one immigrant Health Care Worker stuck in this green card backlog, waiting indefinitely for years, and he would benefit from the Health Care Workforce resilience act. Dr. Parth natah. Born in india. As a child, he was inspired to pursue a career in medicine by his grandfather who worked as an assistant to a physician and by his older sister, who was a surgeon. Dr. Matah came to the United States in the year 2004. He has been here 16 years. He obtained a masters in Public Health at st. Xavier university in the city of chicago. He then completed his residency in internal medicine at st. Josephs hospital in chicago. In 2010, ten years ago, dr. Matah ban working at Unity Point Methodist Medical Center in down state peoria, illinois. He sent me a letter. Here is what he says about being a doctor. I quote him. I feel it is a great privilege to be able to help people, comfort them, heal them and make them better when they are most vulnerable. Dr. Matah lives in peoria with his wife and 10yearold son and 4yearold daughter. He writes in addition, we have called peoria home for ten years. We love this community here. We bought a home here. We built a career here. We plan to stay in this community as long as we can. Now, dr. Matah is on the front lines of the pandemic, treating covid19 patients. He was also selected as the Principal Investigator for a covid19 trial for which the hospital has applied. But unfortunately, dr. Matah is one of thousands of doctors who are stuck in this green card backlog. He has been on a temporary work visa for 13 years. He has been forced to renew his visa four times since he became a doctor. His green card petition was filed in 2011, but he will have to wait years and years and years before he receives a green card. In the midst of this pandemic, dr. Mehtas immigration status puts him at a great risk. If, god forbid, he contracts covid19 and becomes disabled or dies, his family would immediately lose their immigration status and be forced to leave the United States. Dr. Mehta has written goodbye letters to his wife and kids and prepared an emergency binder with all the necessary information for his family if he dies. To keep his family safe, dr. Mehta has isolated himself by living in the basement of his home. He is especially worried about his wife who has asthma. In march, she was diagnosed with pneumonia and was hospitalized for ten days, including a stay in the intensive care unit. Heres what dr. Mehta wrote to me about this. Seeing covid patients, treating them, taking care of them, and saving their lives is part of my job, and i will never shy away from doing my job, but how is it fair that my family gets no protection if i die on the job caring for these patients . Dr. Mehtas story makes it clear why Congress Needs to pass the Health Care Workforce resilience act. Under our bill, dr. Mehta and thousands of others like him could receive their green cards. They and their families would get permanent immigration status they deserve and be able to use their skills to serve on the front lines of the pandemic where they are needed most. Dont put a sign on your window saying that you love Health Care Workers, dont come out at 7 00 at night, beat on a pan to show that you care for Health Care Workers and ignore the reality that this man in peoria, illinois, is risking his life every day to treat those patients, and we have written a law that says you are basically not welcome in the United States. How can we say this to him and to thousands just like him, doctors and nurses who are really caring for the people that we love and risking their own lives in the process . It would be great in these times of Political Division if we could come together in this congress to quickly aid these immigrant Health Care Heroes. The bill that ive introduced with senator perdue, senator young and others is a step toward reality, toward realizing that people just like this make us a better nation and a stronger nation. To dr. Mehta and to his family, with all their fears, they should know that there are many here in congress, particularly here in the senate, who want to move as quickly as possible to make sure that their lives are better because theyve done so much to make the lives of others better. Mr. President , i yield the floor. A senator mr. President. The presiding officer the senator from utah. Mr. Lee i ask unanimous consent that the senate proceed to legislative session for a period of morning business with senators permitted to speak therein for up to ten minutes each. The presiding officer without objection. Mr. Lee mr. President , its with a very heavy heart that i stand today in the senate to talk about the death of two Americans Last week. One tragedy is tearing our communities apart. The other may well help show us a path back toward unity. We all know about the brutal, senseless killing of george floyd in minneapolis last monday. Theres no excuse for what the police did to mr. Floyd. His killers are being brought to justice. His death, we hope, will not be remembered for the senseless violence launched falsely in his name, but rather hopefully in the longterm reform of policing policies across our country. In my home state of utah, the city of ogden is mourning another death, that of Police Officer nate lydate. A woman called 911 saying her husband was threatening her life. Lyday and a group of officers arrived promptly at the house. The man began shooting at them from inside the home. Lyday was mortally wounded. He was just 24 years old. He was about to celebrate his fifth wedding anniversary with his wife ashley. He had been on the job as a Police Officer for just 15 months. By all accounts, he did that job honorably and completely up to the last moment. Nate lyday was an officer who was sought to uphold justice and protect the innocent, even making the ultimate sacrifice on behalf of a threatened and fearful family. Nate lyday was a son of ogden, as police chief randy watts said. Ogden was where he was born and raised, where he went to high school, and where he worked out on a regular basis at the fresh market on 20th street, and where he got his degree in criminal justice from weeber state university. And it was where he was proud to serve and protect his community as a sworn Police Officer. According to lieutenant brian inan, lyday was an officer who worked over and above the call of duty. He said that whenever he passed lyday in the hallways, the young officer would always smile at him even before he had a chance to smile first. As his colleagues, his friends, and his classmates remember him, nate lyday made everyone around him feel like a friend, no matter how well they knew him, because they were indeed his friends. This saturday while far too many other communities around our nation were tearing themselves apart, ogden came together. Hundreds of ogden residents gathered near the front steps of the ogden city Municipal Building to honor the memory of george floyd and to call for nationwide Police Reform. But this was not a divisive event designed to make everyone choose sides between police and protesters. As malik dayo an og dent activist said that day, quote, this is a peaceful protest. This is a solidarity rally. The protesters at that event honored georges memory. They condemned racism and they called for policing reforms, but they also thanked the officers who were there, the same officers who were there protecting them and protecting their First Amendment rights to speak freely and gather peacefully. And they honored the memory of officer lyday, who lost his life answering the call of duty just a few days before. I gave them my condolences for their fallen officer, our fallen officer, because were all part of the same community dayo said of the police after the protest. And dayo is right. Nate lydays loss is our loss. George floyds loss is our loss. And we ought to honor and remember them both. We must all work to uphold justice for all. Both of these tragic, horrific deaths last week show us how far we have to go to achieve this goal. Its work that must be undertaken by each and every one of us each and every day. But we cannot do that work by pitting ourselves against one another. Race versus race, police versus protester. We will never move forward if we continue to reduce human beings to the color of their skin or the color of their uniform. Were all one nation, and it will only be in standing and working together in peaceful solidarity that we can finally heal the wounds in our nation. What the people of ogden did this weekend is an example for us all, and it is a reason for hope. Thank you, mr. President. I yield the floor. Mr. Kennedy thank you, mr. President. I want to talk for a few minutes today, mr. President , about the gulf of Mexico Energy security act, the land and Water Conservation fund, the Great American outdoors act, and fairness. Let me start with the gulf of Mexico Energy security act, go mesa, as you know. Louisianians started drilling off the, our coast in the gulf of mexico in the 1930s. They were louisiana people, louisiana companies. There were some other states represented as well, but they were primarily louisiana companies. A lot of people laughed at us, said it cant be done. We know you can drill for oil and natural gas and supply the countrys energy need for onshore needs. But onshore, manure dreaming. We did it. Then we did it again and we did it again. And all of a sudden the federal government said theres money to be had. And the federal government came in and said, louisiana, you cant do that anymore. We own all the land under the oceans and the gulf of mexico. Well, predictably, louisiana disagreed. We went to court. After 30 years of litigation, louisiana lost. The courts ended up ruling that louisiana owns the land in the gulf from its coastline out to three miles. And the federal government owns the rest. And thats a little bit of a oversimplification, but not much. I always thought that was unfair. Texas, for example, our sister state i love texas. Texas owns from its coastline ten miles out. We only own three miles out. More oil and gas wells were drilled in the gulf of mexico. It became one of the major, if not the major sources of oil and natural gas for the energy needs of america up to the point that we were producing and still are producing about 5 billion that goes right into the treasury of the United States of america. In 2006, Congress Passed go mesa. Thank you, congress, for doing that. Go mesa said that the federal government is going to start sharing some of those oil and gas royalties. Were not going to share all of them. Were just going to share the oil and gas royalties from lands under the ocean in the gulf of mexico for all future leases after 2006. Not past leases. Only future leases. Heres the new deal, according to congress. On all these new leases drilled after 2006, the United States treasury will take 50 of oil and gas royalties. The gulf producing states will take 37. 5 . By the gulf producing states i mean louisiana, texas, mississippi, and alabama. And 12. 5 of oil and gas royalties from these new leases, not old leases, these new leases will go to the land and Water Conservation fund. Ill come back to the land and Water Conservation fund in a moment. Keep in mind, mr. President , when i said that under go mesa, louisiana, texas, alabama, and mississippi share in 37. 5 of all oil and gas royalties from the new leases, not the old leases. But the amount that we are entitled to receive is capped. To give you an idea of the money were talking about, in 2019, the four gulf producing states received about 350 million in offshore oil and gas royalties. Louisiana received 155 million of that 350 million. Theres a formula that apportions the money between and among the four gulf producing states. Go mesa caps in a fairly complicated formula the amount that the gulf producing states can receive under go mesa at 375 million. Our four states will hit that cap in 2024. It doesnt matter how much drilling increases in the gulf of mexico, the four gulf producing states can only receive 375 million split among themselves until i think 2055. Other states not located on coastlines also have federal lands on which oil and natural gas and coal and other minerals are produced, and im happy for them. They, as a result of congressional legislation, theye other states, 24 of them, they get 50 of the royalties of all the oil and gas and coal and other minerals produced from federal lands in their states. The feds get 50 , the states get 50 . I am happy for them. I couldnt be more pleased for my sister states. I wish we got 50 . We, meaning the gulf producing states. It seems unfair to me that we dont. We only get 37. 5 on certain leases. Our sister states onshore get 50 of all leases. Their money isnt capped. Ours is. Let me talk about the land and Water Conservation fund. As you know, mr. President , this is a fund that was set up in 1964. It had to be authorized every now and then. We made it permanent two years ago. We meaning of course congress. The purpose of the land, water, and Conservation Fund is to take money appropriated by congress and put into that fund and use it to buy land and water to make that land and water public so all americans can enjoy it. Im supportive of that. I think most of us are. The only money dedicated to the land and Water Conservation fund is that 12. 5 i talked about dedicated to the fund through gomesa. The other moneys that have been put into the fund through the years other than the gomesa moneys have had to be appropriated by congress on a yeartoyear basis. Once again, im supportive of the concept, and im happy as a clam in high tide that my sister states out west get 50 . I just think its unfair that we only get 37. 5 . As you know, mr. President , were going to consider a bill next week called the Great American outdoors act. And heres what it would do. Number one, it will set up a dedicated automatic Funding Source for the land and Water Conservation fund. And that dedicated source is going to come from oil and gas royalties produced in the gulf of mexico. Remember i told you on the go under gomesa, the federal government automatically gets 50 of the royalties from the new leases. Henceforth at least half of that 50 thats going into the federal treasury will now go into the land and Water Conservation fund. So thats number one. Permanent source of funding for the fund. Now, some have argued that were not having to borrow this money. Thats a good thing. But this money didnt fall from heaven. Its coming out of the moneys that u. S. Treasury would receive otherwise from oil and Gas Production offshore. So that means if the land and Water Conservation fund takes this money from the share that goes to the federal government and uses it for the fund, somebody else is going to get screwed because the money is going to be taken from somebody else and given to the water and Conservation Fund. The american outdoors act also the Great American outdoors act also does something else. It sets up another sort of separate fund that a good bit of the oil and gas money is going to flow into for deferred maintenance on public lands that we already own. And of course we all support that. I do. A lot of our parks are falling apart. They have roads that have holes big enough for a mac truck to fall through. They have a backlog of deferred maintenance of 12 billion. Were going to dedicate some money to try to chip away at that deferred maintenance. So thats a good thing, too. But heres what we end up with. We end up with a lot of our states getting 50 of all of the oil and gas and coal produced in their state with no cap. Now these states that have National Parks again, im happy for them. I love National Parks. Now theyre going to get an extra big slug of money from the gulf of mexico. In the meantime, the gulfproducing states, primarily louisiana but also texas, alabama, mississippi, were just going to be stuck at 37. 5 . And its capped. Its capped at a weany 375 million a year from now until 205. With inflation by 2055 it will be worth about seven bucks and 23 cents. It doesnt seem fair to me. Especially doesnt seem fair to me when you consider that basically the gulf of mexico is producing the money. Actually Oil Companies are. But how do the Oil Companies do that . They do it with louisiana most of the leases and wells are off louisianas coast. Im not putting down mississippi, alabama, or texas because theres drilling off their coast as well. But facts are facts. Most of the drilling is off louisianas coast. A lot of the workers are from la la. You know what makes drilling possible . Louisiana tax dollars. We pay for the roads that support port fucon which is vital and located in my state for that oil and Gas Production. We pay for the schools that educate the kids of the workers. We take all the risk. We know what happened with the bp oil spill. If theres another oil spill in the gulf, its louisiana and texas and mississippi that are going to get slammed. Its not going to be the inland states. So thats why i said were going to talk about fairness. Senator cassidy and i dont speak for senator cassidy. Please, understand. Hes my senior senator. But he and i are working on a way to improve the Great American outdoors act. Its going to make it so much better. Im introducing a bill tomorrow, and im going to offer an amendment to the Great American outdoors act that once again i dont speak for senator cassidy, but i think he will support, that is going to remove the cap on the amount of oil and gas royalties that the four gul gulfproducing states can receive under gomesa. Let me say it again. Right now nobody else is capped. Were capped. And the most that louisiana, alabama, mississippi, and texas can receive split among ourselves is 375 million. Were going to hit that cap in 2024 and it will remain until 2055. And we all know with inflation its not going to be worth 375 million in 2055. Its capped. And all im saying and all senator cassidy is saying and i think i dont speak for them either but my colleagues from the gulfproducing state, all were saying is lets be a little fair here. If you dont have a cap on shore, lets dont have a cap offshore. And my little old amendment would just remove that cap. And make the Great American outdoors act even greater. Now, senator cassidy and i and other senators from the gulfproducing states are also working on some other ideas that i dont feel comfortable talking about today, but we have some other ways and we think we can improve the Great American outdoors act. I just wanted to come here today, mr. President , and say once again im not im not criticizing any of my sister states. Im happy as i can be for all the states that dont have caps and that do get to share in 50 of the royalties. Im just asking for a little fairness and equity, just a little bit for the gulfproducing states by allowing us to remove that cap. So thank you for your attention, mr. President. And with that i either yield the floor or suggest the absence of a quorum, whichever the parliamentarian tells me to do. Ill suggest the absence of a quorum, mr. President. The presiding officer the clerk will call the roll. Quorum call read read mr. President. The presiding officer the senator from rhode island. Mr. Reed thank you very much, mr. President. For the past week our nation has been engulfed by excuse me, mr. President. I understand theres a quorum call. I would ask unanimous consent that the quorum call be dismissed. The presiding officer without objection. Mr. Reed thank you, mr. President. Mr. President , for the past week our nation has been engulfed by protests in dozens of cities over the senseless murder of george floyd and Breonna Taylor at the hands of Police Officers. Americans are angry, frustrated, and grieving not just for mr. Floyd and miss taylors deaths but for centuries of injustice and brutality against African Americans. The instances are too numerous to count yet these incidents of violence keep happening while meaningful reforms have not taken place. The protests are set against the backdrop of the deadly and Novel Coronavirus pandemic. As our country copes with this Public Health crisis, African American communities have suffered dispro dispoe portion natalie high infection and death rates. Compounding this tragedy, were in the midst of a downturn that rivals the Great Depression with communities of color bearing the brunt of economic fallout. Million, of hardworking americans have lost their jobs through no fault of their own. They are struggling to provide for their families, put food on the table, and keep a roof over their head. Mr. President , these protests are not isolated. They are taking place in every state in the nation and in many other countries. Protests are of every race and ethnicity and run the gamut in age from high school and College Students to parents and grandparents. The people participating in these protests represent the diversity that is the strength of america. The overwhelming majority of these protests are emotional but nonviolent. They embrace the fundamental tenet of Civic Engagement which is the american right and tradition of peacefully protesting to make their voices heard and to rectify injustice. On the fringes of these peaceful protests, there are opportunists who are sowing mistrust and division. Their primary goal is to loot and destroy property and cause chaos and put innocent lives in harms way. And let me state clearly theft and looting are a crime. They are unacceptable and undermine the powerful message of thousands demanding justice and change. They offer an easy way out to those who would rather turn away from this challenge of justice and simply indulge in their own petty objectives of violence, of diversion, and destruction. Mr. President , our nation is in pain. We need leaders who bring calm, unity, empathy, and aid and instead our nation has a president who treats it as a field of war. He has not even he does not even attempt to bring tomorrow together to listen to others or accept the reality that leaders in a democracy are neither infallible nor only potent omnipotent. On may 30 he said jacob frey of minneapolis never be mistaken for great Douglas Macarthur or george patton. Get tough and fight. Called on our nations governors. I think the sooner you mass and dominate the battle space the quicker this dissipates and we can get back to the right normal. These are American City streets they were talking about filled with americans exercising their rights, not battlefields filled with the enemy. And then in a statement in the white house rose garden on june 1, President Trump said, if a city or state refuses to take the actions that are necessary to defend the life and property of their residents, then i will deploy the United States military and quickly solve the problem for them. America learned shortly thereaftert