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

We take you live to the u. S. Senate where to date lawmakers who will be on a defense programs and policy bill. You are watching live coverage of the senate on cspan2. The president pro tempore the senate will come to order. The chaplain, dr. Barry black, will ohm the senate with prayer. The chaplain let us pray. God of grace and mercy, in these divisive and polarized times, remind us that words have consequences. Help us to remember that we are accountable to you for every idle and careless word we speak. Lord, teach our senators to be obedient to your commands, doing your will as your presence fills them with joy. Today, surround our lawmakers with the shield of your favor, as they labor to deep our nation to keep our nation strong. May they be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to anger. Manifest your power through their labors so that this nation will be exalted by righteousness. We pray in your mighty name. Amen. The president pro tempore please join me in the pledge of allegiance. 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. The presiding officer the senator from iowa. Mr. Grassley one minute for morning business. The presiding officer without objection. Mr. Grassley in june of last year, i held an oversight hearing about foreign threats to taxpayerfunded research. My goal is to ensure that government is doing its job to detect and deter these threats. Since covid, americas greatest minds are working hard to develop a vaccine. Their research will impact the health of americans and the world. Avoiding according to the f. B. I. , china has targeted our Covid Research to potentially steal our work product. Our government and private sector must guard and fight back against these malicious attacks by the Chinese Communist government. The health of our people and the world depend on it. I yield the floor. Mr. Mcconnell mr. President . The presiding officer the majority leader. Mr. Mcconnell first, my hometown of louisville, kentucky, is mourning a young man who was shot and killed on saturday at a protest in Jefferson Square park. Tyler girth was just 27 years old. He was a graduate of Trinity High School and the university of kentucky. He was an upandcoming photodjourn journalist with at love talent. He was attending demonstrations to speak up for Breonna Taylor as well as to document history. Instead, he lost his life. Investigations are still proceeding, but it appears the suspect in custody has been a frequent participant in these protests. Hed already been arrested once. It seems hed gotten into some dispute and fired indiscriminately. The definition of senseless violence. My sympathies and the sympathies of all kentuckians go out to the garth family. We are 30 days into these protests. Kentuckians and all americans deserve safe streets, safe communities, and peace. Now, on another matter, each time ive returned over the last several weeks, ive traveled to kentucky hospitals to safely meet with health care professionals, thank them for their incredible work as well as to listen to whats on their minds. For more than three months now, our nations doctors, nurses, and Health Professionals have been fighting day and night to heal strangers and protect our nation. I said in midmarch that our country was about to meet a lot of new heroes and that mopping them would be many people who wear scrubs, who rush toward the sick, and wash their hands until they bleed. Well, americans and families from coast to coast have met just such heroes. The frontline professionals im meeting are proud to do their work and you Better Believe that they are appreciative that the sacrifices and smart precautions taken by the American People stopped Health Systems from being overrun in the spring time, allowed this emto continue giving each allowed them to continue giving each patient the care they deserve and give our country the time to prepare for a gradual reopening. So, mr. President , until we have a safe and effective vaccine, it will remain all of our jobs as american citizens to help our nation settle into a middle ground between unsustainable emergency lockdowns and our ordinary life from before all this. In short, we cannot go back to april and we cannot go right back to normal. We need new routines, new rhythms, and new strategies for this new middle ground in between. Its the task of each family, each Small Business, each employer and all levels of government to apply common sense and make this happen. To name just one example, we must have no stigma none about Wearing Masks when we leave our homes and come near other people. Wearing simple face coverings is not about protecting ourselves. It is about protecting everyone we encounter. In fact, the more we hate the pain and suffering that accompanied the strict stayhome guidelines a few months ago, the happier we should be to take responsible small steps every day to ensure our country can stay on offense against the virus. The senate should take pride in the degree to wit our historic response to which our historic response has helped the country get where we are. All of the Health Leaders and professionals i meet continue to be glad for the cares act, the historic Bipartisan Legislation that Senate Republicans wrote and then negotiated across the aisle. We sent Historic Resources to hospitals and Health Providers to help them do their healing work and to fight this new invader. That was in addition to the historic relief we provided the households and Small Businesses which economists across the political spectrum say saved millions of jobs and prevented an economic freefall. In may and june, while the democratled house has been mostly absent, the senate has kept right on leading, in addition to legislating on other important subjects, weve continued to work all angles of the pandemic. By the end of this week, i believe our committees will have held more than 40 hearings on ski aspect of the crisis so this discussion can continue to learn and inform any future work. As ive been saying for weeks, the number of us are putting together strong Legal Protections for health care professionals, k12 schools, colleges, and universities and employers so our recovery is not promptly swamped by a second epidemic of frivolous lawsuits. While the Democratic House lapped together an absurd multitrillion dollar wicker list that even the Mainstream Media panned immediately, the senate has continued with our substantive, serious, factsfirst approach. That is the winning formula that built the historic, successful cares act and that is the formula we will replicate in any future recovery legislation down the road. Now, on a completely different matter, on thursday i noted in recent weeks the air force has scrambled air power from russia. On sat someday, according to the Defense Department, russian reconnaissance planes entered the alaska air Defense Identification Zone and lingered for eight hours. Obviously this is just the latest in a series of escalations from putins regime. Meanwhile, china has resumed its submarine intrusions in the japanese contiguous zones and picked deadly fights with india at High Altitude. North korean state media has stepped up its unhinged, antiamerican rhetoric reportedly declaring over the weekend the nuclear war was, quote, the only option left. And iran has issued a warrant for the arrest of the president of the United States because we took the mullahs top terrorist after the battlefield back in january. Our adversaries are as intent as ever in undermining peace, disrupting commerce, and threatening american citizens, our interests, and our allies wherever and whenever possible. So this Years National Defense Authorization act is as urgent and important as its been for 60 Consecutive Years. Thanks to chairman inhofe and Ranking Member reed, the legislation well consider is already the product of exhaustive bipartisan effort. It includes 229 bipartisan amendments adopted by our colleagues on the Armed Services committee. It may include more amendments before we finish with it here on the floor, but the primary missions of the legislation are already clear. On the home front, it will increase pay for Service Members, reform the military housing and Health Care Systems, and increase transparency in pentagon budgeting, hiring, and acquisition. Around the world, it will make clear our commitments to our allies in europe and the pacific. Investing key technologies from biotechnology to hypersonics and make sure that our men and women in uniform have the tools to remain the greatest fighting force in world history. So, mr. President , im grateful to our Committee Colleagues for giving the senate the opportunity to set strong priorities for our National Defense. Our job now is to follow their example, Work Together in a bipartisan way, and pass the ndaa on behalf of our men and women in uniform and the nation. And the nation they protect. Now, mr. President , i ask unanimous consent the senate proceed to the immediate consideration of s. 4091. The presiding officer the clerk will report the title of the bill. The clerk s. 4091, a bill to amend section 1113 of the Social Security act and so forth and for other purposes. The presiding officer is there objection to proceeding . Without objection. Mr. Mcconnell i ask unanimous consent the bill be considered read a third time. The presiding officer without objection. Mr. Mcconnell i know of no further debate on the bill. The presiding officer if there is no further debate, question is on the panel of the bill. All those in favor, say aye. Those opposed, say no. The ayes appear to have it. The ayes do have it. The bill is passed. Mr. Mcconnell i ask unanimous consent the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table. The presiding officer without objection. Under the previous order, the leadership time is reserved. Mr. Mcconnell i suggest the absence of a quorum. The presiding officer the clerk should call the roll. Quorum call quorum call mr. Schumer mr. President . The presiding officer the senate mr. Schumer i ask unanimous consent the quorum be dispensed with. The presiding officer without objection. Mr. Schumer mr. President , this morning the Supreme Court struck down a louisiana law that would have restricted abortion providers so severely that louisiana would have been left with only a single clinic. These types of laws have popped up in state after state as a back door means of abandoning abortion, if not in law then in practice. An insidious campaign to undermine the rights of women to make their own medical decisions. So todays ruling, todays ruling is a thunder bolt of justice for millions of american women who are at risk of having their Constitutional Rights invalidated by a reactionyear state reactionary state legislature as there are many throughout the country. After surprising but very welcome rulings on daca and lgbtq rights two weeks ago, the Supreme Court once again made the right decision. The Supreme Court is entering Buffalo Springfield territory. Theres something happening here. Truthfully, todays ruling should not have been a surprise. The louisiana law violated the courts precedent. In 2016 the court struck down a texas law that was virtually identical to the one in louisiana. The newest addition to the Supreme Court, however, despite promising the senate he would respect precedent dissented from the majoritys ruling today. Justice kavanaugh told senators he believed roe v. Wade to be settled law but in the very first ruling on a related issue, i decided the courts precedent was wrong and roe v. Wade could be greatly undermined. Thankfully kavanaughs view was not in the majority. And today america can breathe a sigh of relief that the Supreme Court kept the floodgates firmly shut against this particular attempt to nullify the landmark decision of roe v. Wade. Now on russia, on friday the New York Times and other Media Outlets reported that a russian Intelligence Unit was offering talibanlinked fighters bounties, bounties to kill american and Coalition Troops in afghanistan. It should go without saying that its our solemn obligation to support and protect our troops. If russian intelligence is conducting a Shadow Campaign to sponsor the murder of american troops, there must be swift, strong, and unmistakable consequences for putin and his cronies, something we should do in this ndaa bill. The New York Times reported that the Trump Administration was aware of these activities as early as march of this year and yet the Trump Administration has authorized no, no retaliatory actions. Russia gives bounties to kill americans . The administration does nothing . Donald trump, youre not being a very strong president here, as usual. At the very least, you would expect the president and his team would want to get to the bottom of this. The president claimed, however, that quote nobody briefed or told me about this report. President trump, you lose either way. If you werent briefed on this important report, how can you run an administration where something this important is not brought to your level . And if you were told about the report and did nothing, thats even worse. Shame on you. Shame on you. A few hours ago the White House Press secretary said the president still has not received a briefing from the Intelligence Community about these reports. The white house chief of staff, meanwhile, is reportedly briefing republican members of the house before the president of the United States gets a briefing. Is that amazing . Hes the commander in chief. Hes the one whos supposed to be protecting our soldiers. And theyre still twitling their thumbs instead of giving him a briefing, which who knows given his lack of respect for the truth, he may already received and just denied it. So it raises many, many questions. First, is it true the president was not told this information . If so, why not . Was there a concern about sharing this information with the president . And the president doesnt seem as outraged as you would think he would be if in fact the Intelligence Community had this vital and Important Information and had not briefed him. Something, something doesnt smell right here, especially when we have a president and an administration who has a great deal of trouble telling the truth. We need answers and we need them fast. So i am calling for the directors of National Intelligence and the c. I. A. To immediately brief all 100 senators on reports that russia placed bounties on u. S. Troops in afghanistan. Among many other things we need to know whether or not President Trump was told this information and if so, when. Because theres been an alarming pattern in this administration dating back to its first days of appeasement towards authoritarian leaders, especially Vladimir Putin, President Trump stood next to putin on the International Stage and accepted his word over the words of our own intelligence agencies. President trump has delayed or ignored congressional mandated sanctions on putin. The president has pondered withdrawing from nato, the organization whose very purpose is to defend the free world from Vladimir Putin. Only a few months ago the president mused about inviting russia back into the g7. If wed learned anything in the past three years, its that President Trump is inclined to ignore or forgive Vladimir Putins abuses on the International Stage, even in the face of an attack on our democracy. If we learned anything in the last three years, its that dictators, whether she or putin or the head of north korea play President Trump for a fool and get the advantage over him every time. This means we all need to speak up right now and make sure that congress and the executive branch is doing whats necessary to get to the bottom of these reports. The first step is a briefing for all 100 u. S. Senators. Despite what some Administration Officials are claiming, no such briefing has been scheduled and im not aware of in i senator whos been invited to a White House Briefing of any sort. Now, finally on covid19, unfortunately covid19 continues to surge in several states. Florida, texas, arizona are reporting new highs in case numbers. Last friday there were 45,000 new cases nationwide, the most in a single day. As the Public Health crisis continues, our country is facing one of the greatest economic challenges since the Great Depression. Over onefifth of the workforce has requested unemployment assistance, state, local, tribal governments are on life support and laid over 1. 6 million workers. Our perennially underfunded schools are fighting an uphill battle to prepare for the fall. As americans struggle to make rent payments and potential evictions, as our health care and child care systems face unprecedented burdens, Senate Republicans have been missing in action. Senate republican equal m. I. A. Over a month ago, leader mcconnell said that Senate Republicans, quote, have yet to feel the urgency of acting immediately. Well, it seems like he really meant it. Its been nearly three months since we passed the cares act on a bipartisan basis, 960. And over 45 days since the house passed the heroes act. Legislation that would deliver sorely needed resources to states, essential workers, american families, and our Health Care System. But leader mcconnell excuse me. Leader mcconnell continues to say that republicans, quote, need to assess the conditions in the country and insist that any future emergency relief bill be written in his office. Assess the conditions in the country when we have more unemployment than any time since the Great Depression . When a pandemic is killing tens of thousands of americans monthly . Ignore that, assess the conditions, and then for leader mcconnell to say the bill will be written in his office . Has he learned any lessons on covid 2, covid 3, covid 3. 5, the justice in policing act. When you try to do something major on a partisan basis, nothing happens and america desperately needs something to happen. Leader mcconnell knows he has to negotiate if he wants to pass legislation. Hes been around here a long time. He knows that. His refusal to engage in bipartisan talks on policing reform shows that maybe our republican friends are not interested in passing Bipartisan Legislation. But thats what needs to happen. Bipartisan negotiations on policing reform and bipartisan negotiations on covid. So this morning Speaker Pelosi and i sent a letter to leader mcconnell urging him to join democrats and sit at the negotiating table for the next round of covid relief legislation. Were on the precipice of several deadlines for millions upon millions of americans and other rent another rent payment is due this week. States are planning their buckets right now before the new fiscal year on july 1. The emergency boost in unemployment will run out by the end of next month. So this week Senate Democrats will force action on the floor on some of the most urgently needed measures to help working americans starting this evening when democrats will ask consent to pass crucial federal support for state, local, and tribal governments. Ill have more to say about this issue this evening. But i do want my republican colleagues to hear the words of state and local officials across the country. Today the big seven, the National Associations representing governors, mayors, state legislators, counties, city managers, all bipartisan groups with Many Republican members coming from the deepest red states to the darkest blue wrote the senate a letter pleading, pleading for federal support and warning of the dire consequences of delay. They write, these are the seven organizations representing governors and legislationors and counties and towns and cities. Heres what they write. Previous federal bills responding to covid19 provided important support yet none allow for the replacement of billions of lost revenues due to covid19. More robust and direct stimulus is needed for state and local governments to both rebuild the economy and maintain essential services in education, health care, emergency operations, and more. Public safety and more. Months have gone by and our communities continue to suffer. Americans have a history of standing together in times of crisis and must do so now. Republican colleagues, please listen to those words. Leader mcconnell, please listen. These are your own states are included here. Theyre demanding relief. To say we still dont see an urgent need to say maybe well get around to it in a month, to say the legislation will be written in mcconnells office, all setting up for failure and the desperately needed lack of relief that america needs. I yield the floor. The presiding officer morning business is closed. Under the previous order, the senate will resume consideration of the motion to proceed to s. 4049 which the clerk will repo report. The clerk motion to proceed to calendar number 483, s. 4049 arks brill to authorize appropriations for fiscal year 2021 for military activities of the department of defense and so forth and for other purposes. Ms. Cantwell mr. President . The presiding officer the senator from washington. Ms. Cantwell mr. President , i come to the floor as we start further consideration of the National Defense authorization act and ask my colleagues to pay close attention to whats included in this legislation. No one is going to be surprised that the National Defense authorization act might include something that had not gotten the bright light of day shown on it but im here to say to my colleagues what is in this act is really egregious and we need to correct it before we continue to move forward. This legislation mostly done behind closed doors is not unusual for the senate Armed Services committee, but when you think about the billions of dollars that were spending, we need to make sure that this policy out here on the senate floor is not just another rubber stamp. Were here to look at particular provisions that i think are troubling, particularly because it wrestles away civilian control of our Nuclear Arsenal and gives it to the military. Provisions that in the future would allow the Defense Department to raid dollars used by the department of energy for cleanup of Nuclear Waste, for r d, for our National Laboratories or maybe other infrastructure investment. I know the president presiding knows how much the review calls for in infrastructure. We would wrestle away our Nuclear Arsenal and give it to the military. These provisions are dangerous because, one, they would strip the secretary of energy the power over his own budget by requiring that he agree to a subcabinet member group of the Nuclear Weapons council to approve the National Nuclear security administrations budget. Thats right, that is why the Current Energy secretary and past Energy Secretaries oppose this language. Why . Because it basically tells the Energy Secretary what the majority or big chunk of his budget would be and would allow d. O. D. To prioritize things within the budget as they saw fit for making Nuclear Weapons instead of focusing on our federal priorities of Nuclear Waste cleanup, r d we want to see in our National Labs or other issues we want to see an investment in that energy is already doing. So this shift in control away from the secretary of energy into this subcabinet so that the Nuclear Weapons complex would be moving away from civilians to the military, i just cant even believe that its actually in this legislation. I do not believe the Nuclear Weapons council understands the department of energys priorities. How could they . Did they sit in on any of the meetings for the National Labs or the waste cleanup . I do believe that d. O. D. And Nuclear Weapons council know there is a long history of raiding the Nuclear Waste cleanup budget and other administrations have tried this, and these same individuals tried this in 2018 only to be shot down by our colleagues in the house of representatives. Now the n. S. A. , the National Nuclear Security Agency was created in 2000 to be part of the department of energy, to manage both the Nuclear Weapons complex and nonproliferation activities. Congress made them a part of the department of energy, not a part of the department of defense. We did that because we wanted to maintain a long longstanding civilian control over the countrys Nuclear Weapons. Giving the d. O. D. Now control over the Nuclear Weapons council and their complete power over this budget gives control of our Nuclear Weapons to the military. I cant believe that were here with all the things that we have to deal with a covid crisis, an economic crisis, Justice Reform and now we have to worry about people in the dark of night changing control of our Energy Budget and turning it over to the d. O. D. And giving them control of our Nuclear Arsenal. To say nothing of the concerns i have for what they will do to shortchange the hanford cleanup budget that is a challenge to the nation. It is an obligation that needs to be met every year, and i guarantee you there are always people looking at the Nuclear Waste cleanup budget and thinking they can either do it on the cheap, cut some of the funds early or just skip the obligation. Its a national obligation, and this bill undercuts it. But not only does it undercut it, it will be giving the department of defense greater say over building new Nuclear Weapons. Thats literally like obliterating some of the people here who have a say in the budget process, because basically, getting rid of the checks and balances that we have and instead putting this incredible process in place. So its no surprise that my colleagues, the Ranking Member and the chair of the Energy Committee, sent a letter in opposition to the Armed Services committee about this. This was last week. Im pretty sure they have been ignored. They were ignored before this and they are continuing to be ignored. But basically the letter says, quote, most immediately section 3111 would empower subcabinet level officials primarily from d. O. D. To make potentially sweeping decisions about d. O. E. s budget. We believe this goes against Good Governance and it is contrary of the department of energys Organization Act of 1977. So its clear my colleagues on the Energy Committee dont support this. So i dont know what the fake act of the ndaa bill is, but somehow you consulted with members of the Energy Committee, because i guarantee you, you didnt consult with them. Now every member of the Energy Committee has to worry about whether their priorities are going to be set by some subcabinet person at d. O. D. Or whether they will be questioning an Energy Secretary that will be able to give them an answer instead of saying, senator, i dont know. I have to go check with the department of defense. This is unacceptable. I know my colleague, senator manchin, has worked on this and is trying to get a change to this legislation. I hope that we are successful in either just pulling it out right now, admitting that its the wrong approach and has not been discussed with the committee of jurisdiction, or at least having our colleagues have a vote on this. It is unbelievable that we would be changing this big a National Policy stuck into the ndaa bill without the bright light of day shone on it. These provisions would allow the Nuclear Weapons council, as i said, made up of a subcouncil of officials primarily from d. O. D. To require significant modifications to the d. O. E. Budget, likely, as i said, where else are they going to get the money but at the expense of other critical d. O. E. Projects. Ive already told you why that is so important to me. But lets read from their report language. Basically theyre saying in their report language, quote, the secretary would be required to transmit a proposed budget request of the n. S. A. To the Nuclear Council and submit it to the office of bblg bblg budget management. This isnt like consider this, discuss this. This isnt like here are things we want you to consider. This is a total jam by the d. O. D. , neutering the department of energy on almost half of its budget to basically say we know better what to do. I hope my colleagues will speak loudly and clearly about this. This is a bipartisan issue. This is about the people that we should have listened to in the first place. I know some of my colleagues are going to say wait, wait, wait, wait, this is just a bureaucratic budget change. Its an interagency thing, its just accounting, it doesnt really mean anything. No, no, no, this is a very big change, and that is why i oppose subtitle b of the budget, the Nuclear Security administration, and why my colleagues should work in a very aggressive way to stop this legislation with this language in it. That is to say that they should take this language out. Or work with our colleagues to basically protect the department of energy and the department of energys budget and stop turning over to d. O. D. Something that the United States Congress Never had an intent to turning over civilian control of our Nuclear Weapons to the department of defense. I thank the president , and i yield the floor. Ms. Warren mr. President. The presiding officer the senator from massachusetts. Ms. Warren mr. President , i rise to speak about the fiscal year 2021 National Defense authorization act. For the 60th Consecutive Year the Senate Stands poised to pass legislation that authorizes funding for National Defense and sets the course for the department of defenses policies. This year we consider legislation during a moment of deep reflection and anguish as americans reckon with our ugly history of systemic racism and the original sin of chattel slavery. For weeks all across this nation americans have taken to the streets to call for justice and call for an end to the racist violence that has stolen far too many black lives. We say the names of george floyd and Breonna Taylor and Ahmaud Arbery and Atatiana Jefferson and so many other black men and women to reaffirm the simple but powerful truth that they matter. Their lives mattered. Black lives matter. This moment is about ending Police Brutality once and for all. It is also billion ending systemic racism and dismantling White Supremacy in every aspect of our economy and our society. It is about building an america that lives up to its highest ideals. The defense bill we are debating today takes an important step in this direction by addressing the honors that our nation continues to bestow on confederate officers who took up arms against the United States in the defense of chattel slavery. This bill denies those honors to military leaders who killed u. S. Soldiers in defense of the idea that black people are not people, but instead are property to be bought and sold. It has been more than 150 years since the end of the civil war, but ten u. S. Army posts around this country currently bear the names of officers of the Confederate States of america. Think about that. These bases were named to honor individuals who took up arms against our nation in a war that killed more than half a million americans. They took up arms to defend an institution that reduced black people to property. The defense bill now before us includes language i wrote that would require the secretary of defense to remove confederate names from all military assets. The senate Armed Services committee which has a long history of bipartisan leadership within this body, adopted this language with the support of senators from both parties, recognizing that this is an opportunity to correct longstanding historic injustice. This bill covers more than military bases. It also requires name changes for federal buildings and streets on those military bases and at other installations that celebrate the traitors who took up arms against the United States to defend slavery. The u. S. S. Chancellorville, for example, is named for a confederate battle victory, a defeat for the United States of america. The ships crest pays homage to confederate general robert e. Lee and stonewall jackson. Defenders of these symbols of oppression speak often in generalities, glossing over the details of the confederacy, the civil war and the specifics about the individuals whose names are attached to American Military installations. So how about we begin with the truth, the truth about the men for whom some of these bases are named . Fort benning, georgia, home of the infantry, is named for Brigadier General henry l. Benning. He led georgias succession from the union and commanded the confederate soldiers at gettysburg. He was a leader of the secessionist movement. Why . Because according to bennings own words, he had a, quote, deep conviction that a separation from the north was the only thing that could prevent the abolition of georgias slavery. End quote. He was fearful that the end of slavery would lead to, quote, black governors, black legislators, black juries, black everything. Is it to be supposed that the white race will stand for that . End quote. Fort gordon, georgia, is named for Major General john brown gordon. Historians believe he led the georgia chapter of the Ku Klux Klans murderous terrorists in years after the civil war. Fort picket in virginia is named for Major General george picket. During the war pickett ordered the execution of 22 former confederate soldiers, men whose crime was declaring their allegiance to the union, the United States of america. For this despicable act, he was later investigated for war crimes and forced to flee to canada after the war. Fort bragg, north carolina, is named for Major General braxton brad. Brad was a slave owner and like the others he chose to take up arms against the United States and kill u. S. Soldiers. But with an infamously poor record as a military commander, he wasnt very good at it. Widely regarded as the most disliked man in the confederate army, brad commanded forces that were so badly defeated at the battle of chattanooga in 1863 that he ultimately resigned. Those are just a few examples. Fort hood, fort lee, fort a. P. Hill, fort polk, camp bough bough beauregard. They are not named for heroes, not named for mens who risked their lives defending the United States and its soldiers. They are named for men who took up arms against the United States of america and killed american soldiers in the defense of slavery. They are the names of men who were directly responsible for the deaths of hundreds of thousands of americans in the defense of slavery. Those who complain that removing the names of traitors from these basis ignores history ought to learn some history themselves. These bases were not named in the years following the civil war, no, they were named decades and decades later during the jim crow era to try to strengthen a movement to reinforce white sprem sit. As the nation prepared to fight world war i, the army needed more bases to train new draftees, the military decided to establish half the new bases across the southern states. Only 40 years passed since the end of reconstruction and putting federal troops back into the south was a sensitive matter. Choosing confederate commander names curried favor with the same local politicians who were devoted to maintaining a brutal regime of white sprem supremacy. The strategy was successful. In august 1777, the magazine confederate veteran noted that for the First Time Since the war between the states, the United States government officially paid tribute to, quote, the military genius of confederate war chieftons in naming four of the training cams. After year camps of after years of resistance and denial, the department of defense is finally recognizing that it is time for our military to stop paying homage to individuals who betrayed the United States and who took up arms against it to defend slavery. Secretaries esper and mccarthy have both said they are, quote, open to a bipartisan discussion on the topic, end quote. Chairman of the joint chiefs of staff, mark milley also, quote, fully supports the discussion and secretary mccarthys efforts to explore this issue, end quote. General Robert Abrams announced on june 15 that is he he is prohibiting the Confederate Flag in all u. S. Installations in that country. The commandante of the marine corps has banned the con fed ra rat confederate battle flag worldwide because this symbol has shown it has power to inflame the feelings of division. End quote. The chief of Naval Operations admiral Michael Gilday prohibits the Confederate Flag aboard Navy Installations ships, aircraft and submarines, saying the step was necessary, quote, to ensure unit cohesion, preserve good order and discipline and uphold the navys core values of honor, courage, and commitment. It is time to follow the example of these military leaders and to take steps to move all forms of the commemoration of the Confederate States. Senate republicans have suggested that congress should simply study the issue the they suggest that forming a commission that prioritizes the wishes of state and local officials, but that doesnt make any decisions. Let me be completely clear. The current bill already includes a commission charged with thoughtfully executing the requirement to remove these names from u. S. Military installations and it requires consultation with local officials. The intent of the republican amendment is simply to erase the requirement currently in the bill that requires the confederate names to be eliminated, not studied, eliminated. Its been 150 years since lee surrendered at appear mat ox and the defense of owning human beings was finally put down. We know who these bases were named for. We know why they were named. There is nothing left to study. We are long past the time for action. The senate Armed Services committee has declared that the time for honoring the legacy of men who championed the cause of slavery and White Supremacy on military installations is now over. The committee voted to rename the installations where millions of Service Members of color have lived, trained, and deployed abroad in defense of our country. Now the entire senate has an opportunity to add its voice to the chorus, and im certain that the house will join us soon. President trump has already declared his opposition to this provision. He has instead chosen a wellworn path of hatred and division. So despite the fact that the department of defense already has the Statutory Authority it needs to change those names, it has hesitated to take actions in defiance of the commander in chief. Congress has the power and the responsibility to end decades of injustice. Service members of color have been pledging to support and defend the constitution of the United States for a long time. They have done so knowing they might be called upon to give what lincoln called the last full measure of devotion. And they have done so despite being surrounded by these visceral reminders that the military in which they serve honors men who fought to kill fellow americans and to keep their ancestors enslaifd. We can enshaved. We can enslaved. We can tear those visceral reminder down and we will. The confederate soldiers who betrayed the United States to fight for the confederacy were fighting for the institution of slavery, plain, simple, ugly. It is time to put the names of those leaders who fought and killed u. S. Soldiers in defense of a per vertd version of perverted version of america where they belong as footnotes in our history books not plastered on our nations most important military installations. Those who protested the appalling killings of black american men and women are calling upon all of us not just to say the words of black lives matter but to take a tangible step by making it true by breaking denied black americans opportunity and equal treatment. Being race conscience is not enough. It never was. We must be antiracists. Removing the names, symbols, displays, monument and paraphernalia that honor the confederacy and anyone who voluntary served it from military property is in the broader scheme one step toward erasing racism in our society, but it is an important step. It will bring us closer to acknowledging the truth of that ugly pass and it will give us a firmer foundation on which to build a Better Future for everyone. Thank you, mr. President. I suggest the absence of a quorum. The presiding officer the clerk should call the roll. Quorum quorum call mr. Reed madam president. The presiding officer the senator from rhode island. Mr. Reed thank you, madam president. I would ask that the quorum call be dispensed with. The presiding officer without objection. Mr. Reed madam president , i rise to further discuss the fiscal year 2021 National Defense authorization act. Senator inhofe will be speaking later today on the bill and i again want to thank him for his leadership and the bipartisanship throughout the drafting of this very important legislation. As i noted last week are, the Armed Services committee adoaptd this bill adopted this bill with the strong bipartisan support of 252. I am hopeful we can have productive consideration of this bill on the floor this week with votes on amendments and packages of cleared amendments so that we can conduct further efforts to improve and amend this legislation. The bill authorizes 662. 3 billion in base funding for the department of defense and energys Nuclear Programs and an additional 69 billion for overseas contingency obligations which align in the budget act of 2019. The while remaining within the constraints we set under the budget control act. The bill before us will provide muchneeded stability and predictability to the department of defense. For the army, the bill supports many modernization objectives including critical priorities such as longrange precision fires and the future vertical lift program. It also fully funds critical legacy platforms such as the m1 abrams tank that the army needs until new systems are fielded in the future. Further, the bill includes resources for active Protection Systems for combat vehicles as well as additional funding to support the armys Multidomain Task force, which is critical for the armys efforts in the pacific. For the navy and marine corps, the bill would add roughly 900 million to authorize a number of unfunded priorities identified by the chief of Naval Operations and the commandant. I am disappointed that we could not however fully fund the conos top unfunded priority, the 10th virginia class submarine. However, i am pleased that this bill provides sufficient funds to keep open the option for the tenth boat in fiscal year 2022 or 2023. It also mandates changes in the shipbuilding, changes that should help instill more rigger and discipline within the navy. Ing it up to air power, the bill helps improve oversight of the department by requiring the secretary of defense to submit an annual 30year plan for the procurement of the aircraft in the department of navy, the department of the air force, and the department of the army. This is similar to the 30year shipbuilding report that is already in statute. The bill also supports the departments efforts to achieve reduced operating and support coarse of the f35 program and motivates the department to lower costs in other weapon systems overall, which would be a critical factor going forward. In the area of special operations, our forces remain heavily engaged around the world and i am pleased that the bill authorizes the funding at the requested level of 13 billion. Including increased funding for highpriority requirements identified by the commander of u. S. Special Operations Command necessary to reconstitute capabilities lost in combat over the past several years. Further, the bill also includes provisions designed to enable the assistant secretary for special operations and lowintensity conflict to fulfill advocacicy and oversight responsibilities with regards to the special operations forces. Turning to personnel matters, the bill authorizes the active and reserve component end strength necessary to meet National Defense objectives, provides a 3 pay raise for the troops, and reauthorizes a number of bonus, special, and incentive pay authorities necessary to recruit and retain the highestquality individuals in military service. Further, the bill includes a number of additional provisions that support qualityof life for you are a military personnel. It authorizes 75 for the services to conduct better oversight of Privatized Housing and hire more staff in the housing arena. It also requires the department of defense Inspector General to conduct an audit of the medical conditions of Service Members and their families who lived in unhealthy military Privatized Housing. Im particularly pleased that this bill authorizes 50 million for supplemental impact aid and 20 million in impact aid for severely disabled military children and it reequitis why a proposal by the department rejects a proposal by the department to cut 172 teachers from to do h. D. O. D. Schools. The bill includes a provision sponsored by senator gillibrand which would allow victims of Sexual Assault to assault incidents without fear of being disciplined for minor misconduct that was collateral to the Sexual Assault. It further includes a provision for the tracking and response to child abuse on military installations. The bill authorizes an additional 79 million in Army Operations and maintenance to replace Child Development Center Playground equipment which will address safety issues and it provides a an additional 47 million in Army Operations and maintenance for six key Child Youth Program improvements across multiple installations. To help counter the effects of Climate Change, the bill authorizes 50 million in planning and design for military installation resilience for Climate Change adaptation projects. It also adds 8 million to the navys direct air capture and sea water carboncapture program. To reduce fuel accuracy the bill ads 65 million in Operational Energy capability Improvement Fund to pursue promising innovations to weapons platforms like hybrid electric drive for ships or improved turbine engines for aircraft that improve combat capability with less fuel. The bill also increases air force Operational Energy programs which reduce fuel such as using smaller fins and streamlining the c1340 fuselage. I am disappointed that the committee did not accept an amendment offered by senator shaheen which would have deemed the chemicals pfas and pf0. A as hazardous under d. O. D. Restoration programs. Elevated levels of p forks a class of manmade chemicals manufactured since the 1950s, may be contaminating Drinking Water in 33 states nationwide including my state of rhode island. Pfas has been linked to a variety of cancers, weakened immunity and other Serious Health problems. Senator shaheens amendment would have also codified secretary espers pfas task force, required bin laden testing of pfas in Service Members and their dependents as part of their annual checkups, stopped the incineration of pfas substances, reported on remaining installations not yet tested for pfas and all the d. O. D. Locations of pfas incinerations and also added 25 in o m for air force environmental restoration. I will continue to work with senator shaheen and other colleagues to gain acceptance of this levels i think its vitally important that we do so as we debate this bill on the floor. In the area of science and technology, i am pleased that the bill increases funding for Important Research activities it and includes provisions to support pentagon efforts to develop and deploy artificial intelligence, quantum computing and emerging biotechnologies to protect our National Security. It also includes several provisions that continue in our efforts to reform antiquated pentagon procurement practices and strengthen our domestic manufacturing and industrial base, including in critical sectors such as microelectronics, pharmaceuticals, and rareearth minerals and materials. In the area of spectrum management, this bill includes a provision sponsored by senator wicker along with chairman inhofe, senator cantwell, and myself. Im pleased that the provisions inclusion, which would add a common database to allow agencies to share finite spectrum resources efficiently. This is an example of bipartisan work between two important committees, the Armed Services committee and the commerce committee. And i hope we can continue to build upon it. Turning to cybersecurity, im pleased that this bill adopts 11 of the recommendations frustrate Cyberspace Solarium Commission which was cochaired by senator king. I want to commend senator king on his extraordinary work, his insect, his ability to work with others, his grasp of not only the present situation but whats emerging quickly in the future is extraordinarily commendable. He has done a remarkable job. The commission took an a tough issue and did a very, very thorough job. While we were able to include recommendations in the Armed Services committees jurisdiction in our bill, the commission has many more thoughtful recommendations that span across Many Committee jurisdictions, and i hope we can Work Together on the floor in this bill to incorporate those provisions. The bill also requires the department to present a strategy to the white house and congress to revive the manufacture of advanced microelectronics in the United States. This Defense Authorization bill includes a number of provisions that enhance the United States ability to compete with nearpeer competitors and are actively seeking ways in which we can prevent these competitors from undermining our National Security and indeed the international order. With regard to russia, this bill enhances our deterrence capabilities, including by fully funding the request to the European Defense initiative. In addition, the bill requires a report on Russian Support to ethnically motivated violent extremist groups in europe and the United States. The problem of racially and ethnically motivated violent extremist groups is an emerging National Security threat, not simply a Law Enforcement problem. As russia and russian agents or entities are working to advance Russian Strategic objectives by coopting, supporting and amplifying these groups to sow divisions and threaten our democratic institutions. The bill also maintains strong support for the ukraine through the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative and requires a fiveyear plan for helping ukraine build a capability the capabilities it needs to defend itself from russian aggression. Turning to china, the bill establishes the Pacific Defense initiative, a new authority for the department of defensemontholded after the European Defense initiative noddled after the European Defense initiative and authorizes militia of dollars in funding p. The bill also increases funding for the indopacific Maritime Initiative to ensure that our partner countries in asia are able to respond to chinese coercion in the South China Sea and beyond. The bill also includes a provision that was adopted during markup expressing the sense of the congress that the u. S. S. Shire and the u. S. S. Comfort should conduct poverty calls in taiwan to collaborate on Covid Response and best practices. While i applaud taiwans efforts on covid19, taiwan is not a sovereign state and conducting port calls is a larger policy issue that should be more fully discussed and debated. For those reasons i voted for the amendment in the committee. With respect to countering the continuing threat by isis, the bill extends the iraq and syria trainandequip programs at the requested funding levels while ensuring appropriate congressional oversight of the use of such funds. Specific to iraq, the bill continues efforts to normalize Security Assistance to iraq by transitioning funding to enduring authorities. For afghanistan, the bill extends the authority to train and equip Afghan Security forces at the requested funding level and enhances congressional oversight of such funds. It requires an assessment of the progress made on issues such as anticorruption, recruitment and retention of Security Forces and commits made by the Afghan Government in support of peace negotiations. It also includes a specific reporting requirement should the department elect to withdraw any Security Assistance to afghanistan. In addition, the bill includes a sense of the senate provision which i was proud to cosponsor expressing concern that a precipitous withdrawal of u. S. Military, diplomatic, and intelligence personnel from afghanistan without effective, countervailing efforts to secure gains in afghanistan may allow violent extremist groups to regenerate. These conditions would threaten the security of the Afghan People and create a security vacuum that could destabilize the region and provide ample safe havens for extremist groups seeking to conduct external attacks. It also requires a report on current and projected threats to the United States homeland and that of our allies emanating from afghanistan. Further, the bill includes a provision sponsored by senator shaheen to refine and clarify expectations for the department on the implementation of the woman peace and security act, which was adopted by unanimous consent during the committees markup. Turning to nuclear testing, i have concerns about the additional provisions sponsored by senator cotton which holds 10 million to cover costs of reducing the time to conduct necessary tests if they are deemed necessary. The United States has not conduct add nuclear test since 1992. Each year the three Lab Directors of our National Laboratories give a written assessment of the stockpile and whether it needs testing. For 22 years they have said weapons do not need to be tested as long as we continue the stockpile stewardship program. In addition, it would real realistically to be ready for h. For aest it. I dont believe we should be significant untiling that the nation is considering doing this testing without a full debate and lengthy debate of this issue by the congress and that was one of the reasons i opposed the amendment. Now for 18 years the senate Armed Services committee has struggled over the Defense Departments detaining policy, particularly regarding the detainees at guantanamo bay. For many years the policy has remained unchanged, but for the past several years the committee has annually adopted an amendment in markup that would allow detainees to be transferred to the United States for emergency medical treatment and then return to the detention facility at guantanamo. This is an aging population of detainees, and there are certain conditions that cannot be treated at guantanamo. And moving all the medical equipment and especially doctors to guantanamo would be cost prohibitive. However, i was very disappointed that this year the medical transfer amendment was defeated for the first time. Allowing detainees to be transferred to the United States for medical treatment is the most costeffective and humane way forward to ensure we treat detainees with dignity and in accordance with our obligations under the geneva convention. This is a problem that will only get more urgent as time passes, and i hope we can find a way forward on this issue. Finally, it is impossible to discuss this bill without discussing the many crises facing our nation. The crisis affecting every citizen is the exponential spread of covid19, and our military is not immune. As of today, 11,770 military personnel were infected. If you add in d. O. D. Families and civilians, the number is closer to 17,000. That number increased by over 1,500 individuals in the last 48 hours and continues to trend upwards. In the last 48 hours, 1,500 military personnel or family members have been affected by covid19. That is a startleing growth in these cases. Our National Guard members are on the front lines of this pandemic. These p infections affect the readiness of our force in the ability to deploy and to do so without worries about the health of their families. The Administration Response has been woefully inadequate and immediate action must be taken to help military personnel. Our nation has been engulfed by troats over the senseless murders of george floyd, Breonna Taylor, Rayshard Brooks and others at the hands of Police Officers and some civilians. These deaths magnify centuries of injustice and brutality against african americans. These protests have been occurring across the country and have been overwhelmingly peaceful, although there have been isolated exceptions. Our nation is in pain, but rather than call for unity and calm, President Trump has threatened to deploy military troops against peaceful protesters. While the president does have the authority to call military personnel under the insurrection act, it does not mean he should. It is used quite rarely as an exception to the broad principle embedded deeply in american democracy and history that the active armed forces should not be used to enforce state laws or to exercise police power reserved to the states unless absolutely necessary and as a very last resort. Therefore, i am pleased that this bill includes a provision that was overwhelmingly adopted during the markup to prohibit the u. S. The ability to take actions against u. S. Citizens that would infringe on their First Amendment rights to protest peacefully. Senator kaine of virginia was instrumental in the passage of that bill and senator blumenthal of connecticut has additional legislation which is very much worthy of consideration. In addition, the bill includes an amendment adopted by voice vote that requires the Defense Department within three years to implement the recommendations of a commission on how to remove all names, symbols, displays, monuments and paraphernalia from assets that honor or commemorate the confederacy, and such legislation is long over. Senior Department Officials have all indicated they are open to changing these names. There is bipartisan cooperation on this issue. This is the right thing to do and d. O. D. Needs to lead the way. To conclude, let me again commend chairman inhofe for his efforts in getting us to this point. Let me thank my colleagues on the committee especially for all their hard work on getting this bill our the committee. I out of the committee. I look forward to an open debate on the floor voting on amendments and getting this legislation passed. I look forward, in fact, to look back a bit to days when that was a routine procedure, when our defense bill was a way in which many people from different committees and different aspects of the senate could come forward, offer legislation, we could debate the legislation, vote, and then move forward, and at the end have a piece of legislation that this entire senate was extraordinarily proud of. And that is my hope, madam president , for this year. And with that, i would thank you and yield the floor. And i would note the absence of a quorum. The presiding officer the clerk will call the roll. Of quorum call mr. Cornyn mr. President. The presiding officer the senator from texas. Mr. Cornyn id ask consent that the quorum call be dispensed with. The presiding officer without objection. Mr. Cornyn madam president , the whole country knows now, in my state of texas weve recently lost some ground in our war against covid19. After seeing serious progress and flattening the curve, weve taken what Governor Greg Abbott has called a swift and dangerous turn. Over the last couple of weeks the data has trended in the wrong direction. Weve seen an increase in daily new cases, hospitalizations, and overall Positivity Rates. In response to these growing numbers, ive been working with leaders at every level of government to ensure that we have the resources necessary to continue and win this fight. Yesterday i was privileged to travel back to texas with Vice President mike pence for a briefing on texas Coronavirus Response efforts. We were joined by dr. Deborah birx and h. U. D. Secretary dr. Ben carson, two Coronavirus Task force members, for a meeting with Governor Abbott at u. T. Southwestern medical center. Governor abbott discussed the concerning picture painted by these growing numbers. We went from 2,000 new cases a case to more than 5,000, and the Positivity Rate soared from about 4 to more than 13 . Some of our largest cities have experienced singleday records of new cases, and weve relied on our growing testing capability and capacity to understand how quickly this disease is spreading. In several texas cities, communitybased testing sites have been integral as part of this effort. These locations are a partnership between the department of health and human services, local Public Health authorities and pharmacy and Retail Companies and have been a major driver of our largescale testing increase. Many texans have gone to these locations and received nocost coronavirus testing, and this information has been crucial to understanding the Community Spread of the virus. As case counts have recently climbed, the concern has only been magnified by an approaching deadline. Federal support for these testing sites was set to end tomorrow. The goal, of course, is eventually to shift these from federal to state and local partners. But to be frank, texas was not yet ready to make that transition. Until we are, shutting down these sites would leave us without valuable information about the growing number of infections. Last week senator cruz and i sent a letter to the administration to urge federal support, continuing federal support for communitybased testing in texas. Our cities need more time to prepare to take on the financial responsibility of these testing sites, and it would have been a tremendous risk, an unnecessary risk to cut off funding before that transition was complete. On friday we got some good news. The administration agreed to extend these operations in texas for at least two more weeks, with an ongoing evaluation period after that. This will make sure we can main taib the Testing Capacity our public and private partners have worked hard to establish. Now were up to roughly 1. 8 million tests taken. More testing will be the key to navigating the surge. I want to thank President Trump and his administration for taking swift action on our response to ensure that these critical testing sites will remain operational. Each day were learning more and more about this virus. That is maybe one of the most maddening things about it. When we started, we had no idea what the trajectory of this virus would be. We had models, to be sure, but many of those models proved to be wildly wrong. People were necessarily, or understandably anxious and some fearful about exactly what we were dealing with. I know we all manage risk in our daily lives, but uncertainty is hard to manage, and thats what we had at the very beginning. So weve learned a lot, dr. Birx pointed out yesterday, about the virus. We know it predominantly affects elderly people over the age of 80 and younger people with comorbidities, other underlying disease. Almost everybody else will recover from the virus. But because more and more people are turning up without symptoms themselves, they are a risk to those people at highest risk of fatality. And so, i also believe that we to remind ourselves of the simple lessons that we were told at the beginning. We were actually pretty good at it. Dr. Carson said we know what to do. We just quit doing it. We know we need to maintain social distancing, mask when we can. We need to wash our hands. And if you feel sick, stay home. Those are the sorts of things we do here in the United States senate which have allowed us to safely operate these last couple of months. But i also think, madam president , we need to come up with a different strategy when it comes to testing. We not only need more testing, we need a strategy for testing. Because until now, weve depended on people to show up and say, raise their hand, i want to be tested. But if youre asymptomatic, why in the world would you go in for a test . You would have no indication that you had the virus or were potentially a risk for Community Spread or the most vulnerable part of our population. So talking to dr. Birx and others, i think this is something that we all ought to think more about and that the administration, i know i talked to the Vice President about this as well, not only come up with a strategy for more testing, but a better strategy to make sure we are hitting as many people as we can so we can find those asymptomatic carriers, because that is primarily what we are finding now with more testing in texas. But we also know whether its a combination of memorial day, the opening of bars, where its hard to socially distance not a whole lot of that going on in the bars our gover our governor has tapped the breaks and has stop the gradual reopening of our economy until we get a handle on this worrisome spread of new cases. If you look at the demographic of new cases its between the ages of 20 and 59. But more and more who have Underlying Health problems are ending up in our intensive care units. And as we know from before when we wanted to flatten the spread so as not to impose an imposable surge on u. C. U. Beds, weve got to get our house back in order. For the most part not only does that mean that the federal government has to do their part, state and local government has to do their part, but we have to do our part. Each of us. Each american has to do our part to follow the guidelines and we will defeat this virus. But i know that in listening to secretary carson yesterday, i told him he must have some texas in his background because he made these comments, which i thought were so appropriate. He said we must learn to dominate this virus and not let the virus dominate us. I think thats exactly the kind of spirit that we all ought to have as we Work Together on an individual, state, and federal level to dominate this virus. Madam president , i yield the floor. And i would suggest the absence of a quorum. The presiding officer the clerk will call the roll. Quorum call ms. Murkowski madam president. The presiding officer the senator from alaska. Ms. Murkowski madam president , are we in a quorum call . The presiding officer we are, senator. Ms. Murkowski request that the quorum call be dispensed with. The presiding officer without objection. Ms. Murkowski thank you, madam president. I am waiting on my colleague from the Natural Resources committee to come and we will discuss the energy bill. But before we do that and before he arrives, i would like to comment on a matter that my friend and also fellow traveler on the energy and Natural Resources committee, senator cantwell raised on the floor about an hour ago, and this is with regard to the provision of the national Natural Resources act. This has to do with the Nuclear Weapons budget at d. O. E. She has raised the concerns and articulated them extraordinarily well. Know that as a chairman of the energy and Natural Resources committee i joined with the Ranking Member in sending a letter to the chairman of the Armed Services committee as well as the Ranking Member outlining the concerns that we had with this provision and really very, very clearly alarmed about the lack of the Energy Committees involvement in drafting this section 3111. But as senator cantwell had outlined, what this provision would do is effectively empower subcabinet level officials primarily from d. O. D. To make potentially sweeping decisions about d. O. E. s budget going against what we think is Good Governance in the convention of the energy Organization Act and as shea outlined it could put you in a situation where priorities from the department of energy through the secretary of energy, whether it is cleanup of defense waste, cybersecurity, funding for energy security, all of those priorities could basically be put at the wayside. We have significant significant concerns about this. I would ask that i submit for the record the copy that senator manchin and i sent to chairman inhofe and Ranking Member reed outlining the concerns that we have. The presiding officer without objection. Ms. Murkowski thank you, madam president. I have i have come to the floor this afternoon to be with my my good friend, the senator from west virginia, to talk about our American Energy innovation act. I talked on the floor, weve talked on the floor for a long while now talking about the process that we used. We spent more than a year working with members of our Energy Committee and many other members of this chamber to put together an overwhelmingly bipartisan package. We focus on a range of promising technologies including energy storage, renewable energy, carbon capture, advanced nuclear, cleaner vehicles, and energy efficiency. We worked to improve cybersecurity. It would help modernize the electric grid. It addresses known weaknesses in our mineral security, our supply chains. It focuses on boosting the workforce development, job creation, it renews a range of popular programs from arpae to weatherization assistance. It is a significant bill, and as you may recall, madam president , we were on this bill earlier in the year in february, and an unrelated matter stalled that measure out. It is stalled but it is it not dead and i will tell you that i remain 100 committed to advancing our bill into law before the end of the year. And i know senator manchin, this is something you and i agree very, very strongly on is that we continue our work to advance the the energy bill into law. Mr. Manchin senator, i sure do agree with you wholeheartedly. The presiding officer the senator from west virginia. Mr. Manchin madam president , the bills a product of over a year of work on a robust process on the Energy Committee and on the senate floor in early march, as you just said. 39 of the 53 bills are bipartisan, which you dont hear very often and 72 senators have sponsored or cosponsored language, including in the package, 72 out of 100 of our senators, democrats and republicans have participated in this Energy Policy. The American Energy innovation act would authorize 35 billion to technologies critical to an alloftheabove Energy Policy. I repeat, all of the above of, we need everything we have that keeps our energy, affordable and reliable while reducing emissions. It takes a balanced and forwardleaning approach to update our National Energy policy for the first time in over 13 years. This bill is necessary to help us chart the way to a cleaner and more secure energy future. As you mentioned, our bill was, unfortunately, derailed, chairman murkowski, back in march by an issue that is entirely outside entirely outside of the Energy Committees jurisdiction. We had no input in this whatsoever, but it stopped a piece of legislation that 72 senators were involved in. Since then, the world has dramatically changed and our hearts are heavy with the loss of over 128,000 americans due to the virus. What our country has gone through over the last few months reinforces the need for a comprehensive energy bill. As we heard just two weeks ago from experts testifying before our Energy Committee. Im steadfast in my commitment to getting our American Energy innovation act done this year. I think it is needed more now than even four months ago when you look at the same that our country is in. Its a stimulus bill, its basically an infrastructure bill, and it is a Reliable Energy portfolio that takes us well into the 21st century. Senator murkowski. Ms. Murkowski well, senator manchin, i think we both would agree we were more than ready to pass the bipartisan bill before the pandemic hit. And, as you point out, i think it is even more important, and i am certainly more ready than ever to pass that. As you mention, the u. S. Economy, our quality of life, our health all depend on stable and secure and Innovative Energy industry. And what we do within this bill, and again this very bipartisan bill, is we ensure that we remain a Global Energy leader while we strengthen our security, we make Timely Investments in clean technologies, rebuilding our supply chains. Weve been talking a lot about the imperative to focus on the supply chain and it helps tus to capture the industry of the future. As i mentioned before, it will help to improve our cybersecurity, fostering innovation and, you know, when you think about when you think about the Economic Growth that we have seen in this country since world war ii, it is that innovation that help spurs that economic recovery. So, again, i feel pretty strongly that this bill was pretty important before the pandemic and it is even more important now as we try to focus on our nations recovery. And i think that thats where we can also help, wouldnt you agree, senator manchin . Mr. Manchin agree that the senator innovation act is going to help our economy recovery. Weve never had a recovery coming off of a recession or a real shutdown the way weve just seen unless theres infrastructure and this is by far the best. Between march and april the Energy Industry lost 1. 3 million jobs, thats a 13 drop that wipes out industrywide job growth in the last five years. I repeat in the last five years its been wiped out over the last three months. Thats on top of the major shifts of the major Global Energy markets an proceeded in the pandemic with the catastrophic hit to the economy and most importantly to the workers. American workers need immediate relief as well as longerterm assistance and need jobs in the sectors of Tomorrows Energy economy. This Energy Package puts billions of dollars into research, development, demonstration and deployment of Energy Technologies that will create skill in highpay jobs while establishing workforce grants to ensure unemployed or new workers to have the skills and opportunities to get back to work as quickly as possible. On top of that, our bill would help develop technologies needed in four sectors of the u. S. Economy, pyro generation, commercial, and residential buildings. That contracts to 30 of the Greenhouse Gas emissions. While we expect a drop in the Carbon Dioxide from the Energy Sector in 2020, the largest drop ever because our economy was shut down, those emissions will bounce back as our country opens back up. Investing in technologies like carbon capture, energy storage, energy efficiency, are critical for rebuilding our economy, something that we desperately need right now while also reducing emissions. Senator murkowski, our bill invests in technologies across the board and across fuel types. Do you agree keeping this all of the above Energy Package together is by the far the best path forward . Ms. Murkowski it is absolutely the best path forward when you take the Good Committee work that we have engaged in, you then bring that to the floor as we have. Weve had substantive process. We are so close to to getting this this measure actually through the senate. But i think we recognize that as we do that that ideal package is not before us right yet. We have, as chairman and the Ranking Member on the committee, we have received requests from members who have items in our Energy Energy bill that are seeking to chiewf them as potential include them as potential amendments on the ndaa that is currently on the floor. I have actually filed two amendments to ndaa, one is the text of our Nuclear Energy leadership act, the other is our american mineral security act. Effectively to provide a second pathway in case we remain blocked on our energy bill. But i want to say thats not thats not the preferred path at all. That is not where we want to go with this bill. My clear, clear, clear and undeniable preference is that we enact all of these measures as part of the Energy Package. Stow colleagues who might think, we will, wait, i see a few energyrelated provisions. Whats going on . We are not taking our foot off the gas. Our American Energy innovation act. I know senator manchin, youve been working with us on some of these amendments that were dealing with within nda averages but i know you also greatly ndaa, but i know you also greatly prefer to pass them as part of our Larger Energy bill. Mr. Manchin weve put, senator murr cow cooperation our staffs have put together a bipartisan Energy Package which is comprehensive. Our country needs every part of it to be enacted. Every part of it. Our natural Energy Policy policy hasnt been updated since 2007. That was the same year of the iphones release. There has been ten different Iphone Models to keep up with a world that is constantly evolving since 2007. But we havent been able to do the same for Energy Policies. So its long overdue. Getting this updated and enacted is long overdue and i hope that every one of my colleagues will come together to support this bill in its entirety, in its entirety, rather than moving it in pieces. Thats what we want to prevent from happening. 72 of my fellow senators have language in this bill that theyve either sponsored or cosponsored. Lets move this bill as it is. Rather than piecemeal or even worse having to start from scratch for next year, which will put us behind even further. Do you agree, madam chairwoman . Ms. Murkowski the thought of having to start from scratch is the absolutely the wrong way to address our Energy Policies and the reforms that are needed. I completely and fully agree with you. It would be a significant mistake for congress to simply give up on Energy Policy for yet another year. As you have indicated, Congress Last enacted major energy bill in 2007. Thats more than 12 1 2 years ago. That is that is unacceptable. Thats the thing thats holding us back then. But even despite the fact that we have not been able to update our energy lurks weve seen an energy laws, the cost of renewables has what is missing here is the u. S. Congress coming together to modernize our nations Energy Policies. So i think it would be a mistake to decide that this is just too hard. Theres not enough time left. We have been down that road before. But, ladies and gentlemen, we are so far along in this process that we just need to keep pushing and keep moving. Were so far along. But the thinking would push us back to a reset, a restart. Its just not where we want to be. So, senator manchin, i will just ask one final question and thats whether you agree that there will be no giving up at any point from either one of us on this very important American Energy innovation act. Mr. Manchin thats exactly right, madam chairwoman. Weve worked so hard 0en this. This has gone through the process. We always talk about the process. Every piece of legislation has to go through process. Weve got 50 bills that have gone through the process in our committee and most of them all bipartisan. Doesnt get any better than that. We didnt have any disagreement at all until we got another piece of legislation trying to be thrown in. They shouldnt hold up this bill here. Hopefully theyre working out their differences in the other committee, as im sure they are. Im committed toworking with you to making to advancing this to get this completed once and for a it is something that i know we as a committee, that every member in this senate, 72 cosponsors, but truly the entire country needs. They need to have steppable, reliable, affordable n. R. C. They need that to be pragmatic and realistic, working with all the energies we have but demanding through innovation a much cleaner result. And a better environment for all of us. Thats what we do in this bill. We tackle every part of it. So im very pleased to be working with you and i am as committed as you are to get this done before we get out of here. Thank you, madam chairwoman. Ms. Murkowski we have come at it. Thank you. With that, i yield the floor. A senator mr. President . The presiding officer the senator from iowa. Mr. Grassley the past few months have resulted in some changes in our daily lives. We all know its because of the virus pandemic. But for americas farmers and the 86,000 iowa family farms, there were still crops to be planted, fields to be fertilized and livestock to care for regardless of the virus pandemic. These family farms take great satisfaction in the fact that theyre part of the most affordable, abundant, and safe supply of food of any country in the world. Theyre also proud to help fuel the country, knowing that almost every gallon of gas consumed in the United States is blended with renewable fuels. Family farmers have a lot to be proud of. And as one of two farmers serving in the United States senate, i can speak to that because i am one. One of the most enjoyable aspects a of my job is the opportunity to speak with farmers across the state during my annual 99county meetings. Being able to hear from them directly and to use my position on the Senate Agriculture committee to work on their issues is an honor around a privilege that i dont take lightly. At my meetings, farmers will introduce themselves by telling me how many generations of their families have made their living on the same land that they now operate. Third, fourth, and fifthgeneration farmers using the same soil and oftentimes the same tools and barns as generations before them. In fact, the Iowa Department of agriculture century farm database shows that out of these 86,000 family farmers in iowa, 20,060 farms in our state that have been in the same family for more nan 100 years for more than 100 years. Even more impressive, out of that 86,000 family farmers, we have a classification called the Heritage Farm database showing 1,360 farms have been in the same family for 150 years. Farming isnt just a profession. It isnt just a hobby or a personal passion. Farming is how many iowans leave their mark in our world. The legacy of many iowa families is built and created around life at that farm. And every farmer intends to leave harder land to their children better than they leave their land to their children better than they found it when it was entrusted to their care in the first place. Farmers live by that creed, and its reflected by the fact that iowa is a Global Leader in Sustainable Farming practices. Through farm bill programs that the u. S. Department of agriculture, the federal government has provennen it can successfully pardon with farmers to enhance conservation practices. At the state level, Governor Reynolds is leading the charge to implement the iowa nutrient reduction strategy, our way of cleaning up the rivers and helping the gulf of mexico not be as dead as it is so often. This includes techniques like notill, cover crops, Wetland Restoration to improve soil health, and enhance water quality. Researchers at Iowa State University continue to develop new conservation techniques like adding Tallgrass Prairie strips to fields and mottling when to best apply fertilizer. Iowa farmers have embraced voluntary stewardship investments and practices that allow them to stay productive and to be profitable. Maybe not so profitable now when corn is at less than 3 a bushel. But overall, time profitability. But over time, profitability. They do this while also ensuring their land can be productive for years to come, for when its time to give their children a chance to take over the farm. So while the federal government has shown an ability to pardon with the iowa farmers, there are also times when the federal government has overstepped its authority and attempted to regulate private landowners with onesizefitsall solutions. For example, in 2010, the usdas Natural Resources Conservation Service or it goes by nrcs in most states they determined that an illinois farmer by the name of kurt wilke and his family could not maintain and farm their land. Now, this was 2010. Today is 2020. We might have a resolution of this finally. The usda claimed the land contained wetlands, despite documentation to the contrary. So in early 2011, mr. Wilke started making improvements to his drainage tile system on that farm. Thats when the nrcs got involved, and for him it was a terrible life for the next several years. They told him to stop the work. In other words, stop your improving your land through the drainage tile system. And they warned him that he was putting Farm Program Payments at risk. Earlier this month, after nearly a decade of court battles, the nrcs farmer wilke was fighting the nrcs in court battles. So after a decade, a determination by the director of the Usdas National Appeals Division reprimanded this nrcs agency for overstepping its grounds. Can you imagine, stepping in to say that a farmer cant farm his farm . And usda stepped in because it failed to obey their own rules, and the Appeals Division favored mr. Wilke. This protective court battle should have been avoid. And in regard to that, madam president , im going to read and then ill im going to ask unanimous consent to put this in the record from the Iowa Farm Bureau federation newspaper called the spokesman. It started in 2010. Now so 2020, this finally ends, maybe in a way where one division of the u. S. Department of agriculture called the National Appeals division, because of their decision, mr. Wilke will have an opportunity to be reimbursed for tens of thousands of dollars of legal fees incurred while fighting for fair treatment. I ask unanimous consent. The presiding officer without objection. Mr. Grassley so he finally gets justice. But just think the life of mr. Wilke for the ten years that the u. S. Department of agriculture and that agency told mr. Wilke he could not farm his land the wait he wanted to and put in the tile system the way he he wanted to. You can see how they overstepped their bounds and how it hurt this farmer. I want to give you another example of government overreach. It was the obamaera regulations called waters of the United States, wotus. So most of you people know that as wat tu. S. Or woetus. The e. P. A. Regulated the navigable waters of the United States. Remember navigable waters . Its supposed to be the definition as far at big boats can go up a river. Thats federal regulation, beyond that its state regulation. But not for that previous administration, and wotus, theyre going to regulate the road ditches as an example. In fact, the obamaera rule would have claimed jurisdiction to require federal permission to do any number of activities, not just or near iowa rivers and streams but on 97 of iowas land to clear up the common confusion, this rule wasnt about regulating discharge of pollutions into the waterways, which is important and is done through other parts of the clean water act. It is also what this whole wotus rule was about, was requiring federal red tape for routine land use decisions with little or no environmental benefit. It was a power grab, pure and simple. One week ago today the Trump Administrations wotus rule went into effect. This rule balances the need to protect our navigable rivers while also protecting the private Property Rights of business, homeowners, and of course family farmers. This is a major accomplishment, and i congratulate President Trump and administrator wheeler for getting this rule over the finish line. I hope people remember four months from now when they go to the, particularly people that are farmers, remember what wotus would have done for you if it had been kept in place. You would have maybe had to get a permit from the government to do normal farming operations. Now you dont have to. You never have had to in 150, 160 years in iowa. For the time being these two examples of government overreach have been resolved. However, the United States congress and the executive branch must continue to advocate for fairness and common sense when passing legislation or regulations that will impact private landowners. Farmers understand the importance of environmental rules, and farmers will follow those rules. However, we must demand fair enforcement of those rules so that they dont disadvantage family farmers like mr. Wilke of illinois was disadvantaged for ten years fighting the bureaucracy. However, we must demand fair enforcement of these rules so that they dont disadvantage anybody, for that matter. The virus pandemic that were in has demonstrated the importance of supporting farmers and ensuring that we have stable, safe, and affordable food supply for our country. Through natural disasters, through droughts, through pests, through pandemics, americas families are still farming. Lets make sure that the federal government doesnt get in their way so that they can pass along their legacy and their farm to future generations. I yield. Ms. Duckworth mr. President. The presiding officer the senator from illinois is recognized. Ms. Duckworth thank you, mr. President. I come to the floor today appalled by what appears to be a total betrayal of our troops by the man who is supposed to be their commander in chief, the man who swore an oath to support and defend our constitution from our nations enemies. This weekend news broke that russia offered bounties to talibanlinked militants for the murders of u. S. Troops and other Coalition Forces in afghanistan. Bounties that have reportedly led to the death of at least one American Service member, and there may have been more. Yet while numerous news outlets confirmed that donald trump was confirmed on the matter months ago his administration has not taken steps to push back against russias blatant act of aggression. Far from authorizing any normal, reasonable expected retaliation, trump has actually refused to issue even a code word about the foreign adversaries colluding with terrorists to kill americans in exchange for cash. Instead hes continued to heap praise on russia and the tyrant at its helm, describing the, quote, great friendship between our countries as recently as last month, long after he reportedly learned about the bounty scheme. But despite many independent news reports claiming otherwise, the white house spent the weekend denying that trump was ever told of this intelligence. Well, saying that Trump Administration officials are prone to lying is like saying they are prone to breathing but there are two possible scenarios before us. Both are damning for the man who is supposed to be in charge. The first is that trump was never actually looped in. In this case, ignorance isnt exculpatory. I did know that our adversary was helping kill american troops because no one told me is not an excuse for the commander in chief of the greatest military on earth. It is in fact a confession of incompetence. If he was truly never told, then that means that his own staff either believes hes so compromised by russia or they consider him so counter productive to the running of the country that they thought it necessary to hide critical information about our National Security from him. And if it is true that those who knew of this threat of american lives failed to tell the president , then we should expect a president with such an afin alternative for firing affinity for firing senior l officials to have no qualms for removing officials who failed to share this information with him. The second far more likely option is that theyre covering for him, that trump knew, that of course trump knew. Yet, he still did not act. That this America First president went right on placing russian interests ahead of american lives, kept on acting as putins lackey trying to score russia an invite into what would be the g8 even as he learned that they were working with terrorists to target our troops. Then when the news finally broke on friday, he decided to lie about what he had known all along. Focus more on protecting his own personal reputation than protecting the troops sacrificing for our country overseas on his orders. Well, at least one American Service member is reportedly dead as a result of these bounties. And while he spent his weekend golfing, lying, and making sure the buck stopped anywhere but with him, our troops in hot spots around the world were forced to wonder whether they might be next, whether a bounty might be placed on their heads tomorrow, and whether President Trump would even care enough to respond if that was the case. Once again donald trump has abdicated any semblance of real leadership. Look, even if we somehow swallow the pill that the Trump Administration is so incompetent that no one ever told trump that a foreign power conspired to commit acts of terror against our troops, it still wouldnt explain his response now that he does know. Not once, not once since this story broke has he expressed his sorrow for those who lost a loved one or expressed awe at the bravery of the Service Members who were in harms way because they love their country so much that theyre willing to go to a war zone for her. Hes had time to call joe biden names, however. Hes had time to retweet a video promising white power. Hes had time to promote conspiracy theories and bolster russian propaganda efforts by questioning the american Intelligence Experts who work for him. But not once, not once in the past 72 hours has he found the time to express outrage that American Service men and women are dead. We, the American People, should be outraged by what hes choosing to prioritize instead. Im racking my brain for any justy fiebl reason for justifiable reason for trumps reaction. Does he think there may be good people on both sides of this debate, on the debate between killing american troops and protecting them . Does he think the word of putin is as good as Intelligence Officers who put themselves at great risk to make sure he has the best, most Accurate Information to make National Security decisions . Does he think that not retaliating will help bury the issue and that burying the issue, it will help keep his poll numbers from sinking any lower . Make no mistake, not responding here is a response in its own way, and its a response that further endangers our National Security. Just as he did when he pandered to another tyrant and announced hed sweep our troops out of syria last fall, just as he did when he wanted to look tough by ordering assassination of general Qasem Soleimani last winter, he has put americans in war zones and even greater danger than they were already in, in greater danger than they needed to be in. By refusing to call out this wrong, by decrying the reports as fake news, by being so incompetent in matters ranging from Foreign Policy to common decency, donald trump is making it more likely that other hostile powers will work with other terrorist networks to exchange other american lives for stacks of cash. Hes made it more likely that more spouses will be widowed and more moms and dads turned into gold star parents. Listen, i ran for congress so that when the drums of war started beating id be in a position to ensure that our elected officials fully considered the true cause of war not just in dollars and cents but in human lives. And if that war must occur, then of course i will support it. But what i never imagined was that i never ever imagined that id have to come to the floor of the United States senate to point out that the american president should be angry, even furious when another nation puts a bounty on the heads of our troops. That i would have to be here to point out for our president that the commander in chief of the most powerful fighting force the world has ever known should act like a commander in chief. Those troops deserve to know what the administration is doing to protect them and why trump has so far failed to take any action to protect them. Thats one reason why im demanding a Senate Hearing to hear testimony from the secretary of defense, the secretary of state, the director of the c. I. A. And others so we can get to the bottom of this once and for all. Donald trump has never understood what words like sacrifice or courage mean, so how dare he let his own personal coweredice, his inability or even worse, his disinterest in standing up to Vladimir Putin lead to a reality where those americans who are actually blain a uniform and serve are put at greater risk. How dare he let his own insecurities endanger our National Security. In the face of all hes done, all he continues to refuse to do, how dare he still call himself the commander in chief. And with that, i yield the floor. I suggest the absence of a quorum. The presiding officer the clerk will call the roll. Quorum call quorum call mr. Inhofe mr. President. The presiding officer the senator from oklahoma is recognized. Mr. Inhofe i ask unanimous consent that the quorum call in progress be vitiated. The presiding officer without objection. Mr. Inhofe well, mr. President , for 59 years in a row, congress has passed the ndaa almost always on a bipartisan basis. This year will be the 60th year in a row, and im proud to say that fiscal year 2021 National Defense authorization act continues to be that long bipartisan tradition. Theres not much around here anymore that passes every single year, let alone with the support of both parties. But we all know what the bill is all, its about support of our troops and our National Security. I hope well all keep in mind as we discuss the amendments to this bill to keep them on topic. Last week i talked a little bit about how were falling behind china and russia and how those two countries are now our biggest threats. And i think we all know how that happened. This happened the last five years of the obama administration. During those last five years, the president s budget took 25 of the military budget away from the military. Now, this has never happened before, and and, yet, thats what happened. Now, what happened at the same time, i dont think a lot of the members are aware of this, but china and russia, they are the enemies out there. They were the ones during the time that our president defunded the military by 25 , russia actually increased theirs by 34 . Weep went down by 25 , russia went up 34 . What was china doing during this time . China, while we were going down 25 , they went up 83 . And so you see what the problem is. They passed this up in a lot of areas and we could name those hypersonics and other areas where they just they they were i bill they were building up their military capabilities and building themselves up extra strategicaly around the world and they are showing up places theyve never been before. We have a strategy to counter them. Its called the National Defense strategy. I meant to bring that with me. The National Defense strategy is a document see if someone has that in the cloakroom. Its a document that was put together, 12 democrats and 12 republicans, all very top people in therms of their knowledge to terms of their knowledge to the military getting together and saying what should be our road map, what are we going to do to put ourselves in a position where we can counter russia and china . So we have the National Defense strategy. And it came out in late 2018. At that time the military services had been implementing this plan with the support of congress in previous ndaas. So this is the third year now that we that we have that. And what do we do this year is speed up the implementation. We set america on a course to make sure that were setting ourselves up for success no matter what threat comes our way, and we do that by using this document, the n. D. S. , National Defense Strategy Commission report. What this says is that we need to create a credible military deterrent that tells russia and china and anyone else who will do our harm, you cant win. We will win, no matter who you are, and thats what this ndaa does. It says we need to invest in the equipment, tools, weapons, resources and training our troops need to succeed in their mission. So we also make sure that they are in the right places at the right times, and thats what the ndaa that were considering right now that proceeding to right now will do. It says our biggest threats come from indopacific region, the ndaa creates a specific indo deterrent initiative to address key capability gaps and support our allies and partners over there. Now, this is something that we havent done before. The Strategic Pacific deterrent is like the european deterrent. It was very successful and thats what were doing now in the middle east. Several of us, including the chair, has been to South China Sea. We have watched china doing things, building islands, something thats never been done before, going into areas that they havent been before like djibouti. Right now its historically been the practice to do things in in china to be starting within their city limits, but thats not the way it is anymore. Its now all throughout africa, djibouti, as far south as southern tans tans. We have to keep up with children and russia who are building weapons that we have never heard of. The ndaa makes it easier for the pentagon to harness that innovation throughout the Defense Industrial base. We harden our supply chains so that china and russia cant be a threat to us there. Weve known we have issues there, but the pandemic really showed us where our weaknesses are. This bill helps us reduce our reliance on Foreign Countries and protects our supply chain and our key technologies from irn filtration and other infiltration and other risks. The n. D. S. Commission report also tells us how the pentagon massive bureaucracy can sometimes inhibit how we innovate and operate. The ndaa helps to fully implement the n. D. S. , improving the jujt budget and always making sure they are accountable to the taxpayer no matter what threats we face, no matter who and what and where or how the one constant is the men and women who make up the force. Now, these are the brave americans who volunteer to wear the uniform and put themselves in harms way because they believe in this nation, and they are willing to give their lives to defend it. At the end of the day, thats the most important thing this bill does. It takes care of our troops and their families. They sacrifice so much, they risk so much. Were all aware of that, and weve got to make sure that were taking care of them right and thats what this bill does. This is a very serious, sacred responsibility we have, and one i dont take lightly while im on the floor throughout the debate of this bill, im thinking about them. When were talking about this bill, the numbers were talking about, thats 740. 5 billion and 2. 1 million Service Members, the sheer size can make you forget sometimes that these are real people who rely on us to do things and to do things right. Thats one of the big differences. We hear people all the time, the antidefense crowd out there is talking about how, well, were spending more money on military than china and russia put together. Yeah, thats true because the one thing the most expensive part of a military are the peesm. Thats that most expense people. Thats the most expensive part. The communist countries dont care about the people. Just give them a rifle and go out and kill somebody. Here are a few of those people counting on us this week. And im thinking about one of my former interns who started his journey at the air force academy last week as well as all the other new cadets and midship men and the u. S. Naval academy and the 30 new soldiers i talked with before they took their oath of office on the gairtsdz of the birthday of the United States army. They are the future of our military. Im thinking about the sailors and marines serving overseas. I had the honor of meeting earlier this year. Im thinking about janet driver, a tireless military spouse. She was the one, if you remember, mr. President , she was in her husband was stationed at Tinker Air Force base, and she came to my office i was thinking it was just something happening at Tinker Air Force base and talking about the deplorable housing situation, it started with the privatization of housing and so she was talking about that. And i assume this was a problem that we needed to address only at Tinker Air Force base and then i found out it was all over the state of oklahoma and all five of our Major Military installations. And then we found out it was nationwide. And so this is something that we started working on. This is this is a privatization of housing and how its deteriorated. So we got on it right away again this is china and russia they dont have to take care of their people in a communist country. Im also thinking about christie roberts, a member of the 138th fighter wing of the National Guard who lost her husband Staff Sergeant Marshall Roberts in march. Each of them represent hundreds of thousands of other men and women who are serving our nation and we owe it to them to get this done. Im glad to my by my side the Ranking Member who shares my dedication and gratitude to our troops, senator jack reed. Ive got to thank jack reed for being the great partner and friend for his support of this bill. In fact, jack reed and i have worked together for three years now, and and we are we are singular in the effort that we want for our military system. Sure, there are occasionally some differences, and we dont agree on everything, but we we resolve the problems. Of course we wouldnt be here if it werent for our staff. We have john bonso for the majority and liz king for the minority. Ill talk about them later, but they deserve a lot of praise. They are used to working at night. They are used to working at odd hours. And they are just tireless. Theyve done tremendous work and proof that is overwhelmingly bipartisan, vote on vote things out of committee and the vote to move forward with the ndaa last thursday. It passed out of committee to the senate floor by a vote of 252. And the two that voted against it never vote for military anyway, so i call that unanimous. So im looking forward to seeing the same strong bipartisan support when we vote on this bill hopefully at et end of this week hopefully at the end of this week. We will give it careful consideration and i look forward to working with you all to make it better through the amendment process. And thats what were starting on right now. And i would ask, mr. President , i ask unanimous consent to grant floor privileges to the duration of the consideration of the ndaa to travis tarbucks and my defense fellow and julian scopio, our military detailee. The presiding officer without objection. Mr. Inhofe with that, i suggest the absence of a quorum. The presiding officer the clerk will call the roll. Quorum call quorum call the presiding officer without objection. The question is on the motion to proceed. Is there a sufficient second . There appears to be. The clerk will call the roll. Vote vote vote vote the presiding officer does any senator wish to change their vote . Has any senator not voted . The yeas are 89, the nays are 4. The motion is agreed to. The clerk will report the bill. The clerk calendar number 483, s. 4049, a bill to authorize appropriations for fiscal year 2021 for military activities of the department of defense, and so forth and for other purposes. The presiding officer the senator from oklahoma. Mr. Inhofe mr. President , i call up substitute amendment number 2301. The presiding officer the clerk will report the amendment. The clerk the senator from oklahoma, mr. Inhofe, proposes an amendment numbered 2301. Strike all after the enacting clause and insert the following. Section 1. Mr. Inhofe mr. President , i ask consent that the reading of the amendment be waived. The presiding officer without objection. Mr. Mcconnell i call up amendment number 2080. The presiding officer the clerk will report. The clerk the senator from kentucky, mr. Mcconnell, for mr. Portman, proposes an amendment numbered 20880 to amendment number 2301. Mr. Mcconnell i ask consent the reading of the amendment be waived. The presiding officer without objection. Mr. Inhofe mr. President , the information of all senators, senator reed and i have reached an agreement on the first managers package. We will be hotlining that list on both sides this evening with the hopes of clearing it and adopting those amendments tomorrow. Mr. Mcconnell mr. President. The presiding officer the majority leader. Mr. Mcconnell i ask unanimous consent the senate be in a period of morning business with senators permitted to speak for up to ten minutes each. The presiding officer without objection. Mr. Mcconnell i understand theres a bill at the desk. I ask for its first reading. The presiding officer the clerk will read the title of the bill for the first time. The clerk h. R. 7259, an act to allow acceleration certificates awarded under the parents for Humanity Program to be transferable. Mr. Mcconnell i now ask for second reading and in order to place the bill on the calendar under the provisions of rule 14 i object to my own request. The presiding officer the objection having been heard, the bill will receive its second reading on the next legislative day. Mr. Mcconnell i ask unanimous consent that the appointments at the desk appear separately in the record as if made by the chair. The presiding officer without objection. Mr. Mcconnell i ask unanimous consent that when the senate completes its business today, it adjourn until 10 00 a. M. Tuesday, june 30. Following the prayer and pledge, the morning hour be deemed expired, the journal of proceedings be approved to date, the time for the two leaders be reserved for their use later in the day, and morning business be closed. Further, following leader remarks, the senate resume consideration of calendar number 483, s. 4049. Finally, the Senate Recess from 12 30 until 2 00 p. M. For the Weekly Conference meetings. The presiding officer without objection. Mr. Mcconnell so if there is no further business to come before the senate, i ask that it stand adjourned under the previous order, following the remarks of our democratic colleagues. The presiding officer without objection. Mr. Wyden mr. President . The presiding officer the senator from oregon. Mr. Wyden mr. President , the covid19 pandemic has thrown our country into a nightmarelevel crisis of joblessness. The congress has not done enough to stop it and has not done enough to save the jobs of our people. I have come to the floor this evening to call for the . The to pass legislation thats to call for the . The to pass legislation thats all about key jobs that form the backbone of our local communities, our firefighters, our First Responders, our teachers, families, and so many others. They need our help, they need it now. Senate democrats have been warning since march when covid19 cases exploded and our economy went into lockdown that our states and cities and towns are now facing budgetary disasters unlike any we have gone through in recent memory. The shortfalls that state and local governments are facing due to the pandemic make the Great Recession look like a modest little economic hickup. Layoffs are now happening at nightmarish levels. In march, april, and may, there were 1. 5 million job losses. Among these key individuals, the firefighters, the First Responders, our Public Employees, folks who teach our kids, work in Public Health and Emergency Response and play a key role in maintaining our roads and highways. Im just going to take a few minutes to run through some specific examples of why Senate Democrats think this is so important. First, what kind of sense does it make to sit back and allow thousands and thousands of First Responders to lose their jobs in the middle of a pandemic . Covid19 cases spike now in places around this country. Our public Health Systems are getting hit like they were hammered with a wrecking ball. State and local governments are being forced to cut e. M. S. Workers at the exact moment they need more First Responders who know thousand keep the ailing who know how to keep the ailing of this country safe. Second, let me mention education. Our country is in danger of losing a generation of teachers if the congress does not act to save their jobs. The official jobs data show that in april alone, just one month, nearly half a million k12 employees lost their jobs. Half a million. Education experts have estimated that hundreds of thousands of teachers could be permanently laid off without action. Schoolchildren are already facing major setbacks due to the fact that they cant get the same level of facetoface instruction during the pandemic. Far too many kids come from working families and are falling behind because they dont have the technology, they dont have the support at home. Too many kids are hungry, too many kids are neglected. Nobody knows when theyre going to be back in class fulltime. Helping those young people catch up when this pandemic ends is already going to be incredibly hard, and itll be even harder if the nation loses hundreds of thousands of dedicated teachers in the meantime, and that is just k12. The covid19 crash is a disaster for americans who want to get an Affordable College degree as well. Our public colleges and universities are taking enormous losses. In my home state of oregon, the losses added up to 130 million this spring. States are facing big Higher Education budget cuts. School administrators doing their best to plan for the future, but still they dont know when their campuses are going to be back to normal. You only have to look back to the Great Recession to see whats likely to happen next. More and more costs getting pushed onto more and more students and their working families. Twothirds of the class of 2018 borrowed to pay for college. Those borrowers held an average of nearly 30,000 in debt on graduation. Someday soon that may be Something Like a bargain. Third, our country is our countrys already crumbling infrastructure is going to get worse if communities cant afford to invest in roads and highways and other essential infrastructure projects. Its a selfdefeating prospect. If the congress doesnt help now, theyll cost even more down the road and the maintenance backlog grows. Delaying these kinds of projects makes it even harder for local economies to recover because all those workers will be out of a job and a lot of businesses dont want to invest in places where theres a crumbling infrastructure. So the proposal i offer tonight with the democratic leader will help save these jobs and stave off a whole lot of preventable economic hardship. One of the key lessons the senate ought to remember from the Great Recession is that failing to support state and local budgets will prolong the suffering across this country. Itll slow down the recovery and itll guarantee the country does not bounce back quickly in 2020. Our proposal builds on legislation that has already passed the other body. It incorporates the state and local portion of the heroes act that rescues firefighters, First Responders, infrastructure jobs, and teachers. It also includes an important proposal for the rural west. Secure rural payments, whats called s. R. S. And pilt. Rural communities started with weaker economies, fewer Public Health resources, and, worse, access and worse access to health care. They were bound to have a harder time responding to and from the pandemic. Secure rural schools, which i authored with our former colleague, is all about bringing certainty and stability to communities and counties, often the Frontline Health care providers in faroff places. These are places where youve seen boom and bust, traditional dependence on resource extraction, and there have been cycles where its almost impossible, as the president of the senate knows, to plan for whats ahead. Our would create a our proposal would create a permanent endowment of funds to provide funding for rural Economic Development, roads and schools. Payment in lieu of taxes is all about providing that same kind of certainty to those who live in rural areas dominated by federal lands. They have the same right as anybody else to Reliable Services firefighters, highways, schools. Ten years of permanent mandatory payment in lieu of taxes will help those counties budget for the future. I am going to close with one last argument ive heard from the other side and then yield to the distinguished democratic leader. The other side often says that our ideas are some sort of a blue state bailout. That is wrong, wrong, wrong. Teachers are going to get pink slips in texas and kentucky, south carolina, and florida, and they arent going to believe that saving their jobs is a blue state bailout. And of the 42 states and territories covered by secure rural schools, less than a handful are blue states. The virus has absolutely no interest in political parties. It might hit Democratic States first, but its now sweeping many parts of the country, including states that voted for donald trump. Despite being small and relatively remote, county governments that rely on rural schools and payment in lieu of taxes are facing the same crisis as those in urban areas. This economic crisis is hitting everybody. I dont want to see hundreds of thousands of teachers laid off anywhere, not in oregon, iowa, not in texas, not in kentucky, especially when its safe for kids to go back to school in person, i dont want them packed into classrooms with 40 or 50 other students. I dont want First Responders to be laid off in the middle of a pandemic, i dont want our nations roads and highways to crumble into even worse disrepair because the congress failed to address the nationwide budget crisis. The senate has an obligation to ask im going to yield now to the distinguished democratic leader and then i will offer an unanimous consent request to actually advance this critically important cost. Mr. Schumer i thank my good friend from oregon for his excellent and eloquent words. I want to thank him for being such a leader on this issue and so many others, and i thank my colleague from New Hampshire, who will speak after me, and i think senator menendez is expected here as well to say a few words before the unanimous consent request that will be made by my colleague from oregon. Were a long way off from beating covid19. Our communities need federal relief as soon as possible. The disease continues to spread at an alarming rate across the south and west and our economy is facing probably the greatest economic challenge since the Great Depression. For over two months the Republican Senate has chosen to delay, delay, delay. First, senator mcconnell said another covid bill was likely in june. Now the earliest it could happen is late july an even then the republican leader said he wants to assess the conditions in the country. First, before writing a bill, quote, in his office. I make two points. Conditions in the country are terrible. You dont need to wait to assess them. We must act now. And, second, if the leader thinks writing a bill in his office will produce results, i ask him to look at covid 2335 where he wrote a bill in his Office Without democratic input and we insisted that we be included by not going forward. We got a much better bill. Thats what we hope he will do at the outset, work with us in a bipartisan way and work with the house as well to get something done. The time for waiting, the time for partisan posturing is over. Were on the precipice of several sedlines that require immediate deadlines that require immediate action from congress. There are several cliffs, but perhaps the most dangerous is for state and local government, so many who are finalizing their budget before the first of the fiscal year in two days. State and local and tribal governments have laid off 1. 6 million workers and it forced to cut critical services. 45 states have lost 25 million jobs. 25,000 jobs state and local in florida. What are we saying to them . Its 29,000 in kentucky. What are we saying to them . 93,000 in texas. What are we saying to them . These are not abstract numbers. They are teachers and firefighters and bus drivers and Health Care Workers and more. It includes so many Public Health workers essential to Contact Tracing so we can lick this disease once and for all. Without federal support, those jobs are going those job losses will continue and the loss of Vital Services will continue as well. So far the republican response the Senate Republican response to this potential crisis has been a giant shrug of the shoulders. Leader mcconnell had once said he would be in favor of allowing the states to use the bankruptcy route. Thats the republican leader telling states, red and blue alike, why dont you go bankruptcy . That is bankrupt. That is not acceptable to democrats. Im joining, senators hassan, carper and gillibrand and murphy to pass emergency funding so state and local and tribal governments can fight the pandemic and keep their communities safe. Unless people think this is a blue or red issue, i ask unanimous consent that the following letter be placed in the record. The presiding officer without objection. Mr. Schumer this letter is from the big seven National Associations, they represent the governors, democrat and republican, the mayors, democrat and republican, the state legislators, democrat and republican, the county leaders, democrat and republican, the city managers they all got together in a bipartisan way, as this chamber should do, and wrote the senate a letter pleading pleading for federal support and warning of the dire consequences of the delay. Let me read a passage from their letter. To leader mcconnell and myself, copied all republican and democratic senators, continue there are Many Organizations from red states signing this letter. Previous federal bills this is what they wrote, responding to covid19 provided important support, yet none allow for the replacement of millions of lost revenues due to covid19. More robust and direct stimulus is needed from state and local governments to maintain essential services in education, health care, emergency operations, Public Safety and more. Months have gone by andure communities to suffer, americans have a history of standing together in a time of crisis and must do so now. Let me repeat those words. For every member of this chamber to hear. Americans have a history of standing together in a time of crisis and must do so now. I urge my colleagues and my and particularly my republican colleagues to listen to those words. These are your states, your cities, your mayors, your counties, your state governments pleading with you for relief, not in a month, not later this year, right now. So i hope my republican friends will listen to their voices, the voices of their constituents and state leaders and consent tonight to passing federal support for state and local and tribal governments. Blocking it would send a terrible signal to the American People that this Republicanled Senate is unwilling to act with any urgency to pass the relief that our states desperately need. I now yield to my colleague from New Hampshire who has been such a strong leader, particularly pointing out how lost revenues hurt governments big, small, rural, urban, suburban, you name it. Ms. Hassan thank you, mr. President. I thank the distinguish leader and i thank my colleague from oregon, senator wyden for joining in this motion, senator wyden for making it because i rise today to join them in calling for urgently needed funding for state and local governments to support our communities as they continue to grapple with the covid19 pandemic. Across our country state and local governments have been at the forefront of responding to this crisis and providing people an businesses with the support that they need. State and local governments also employ millions of essential employees, including teachers, First Responders, and others who have been working around the clock to help keep the American People safe. But, mr. President , in the face of these unprecedented circumstances, state and local communities are facing new mounting costs and a catastrophic loss of revenue. Without additional federal resources, we will see even more job losses and further economic harm. We must do more to support the American People. Mr. President , just last week moodys analytics released a sobering report on what state state and local state and local governments are up against. This indicated without significant mec support economic support for state and local, four people people could lose their jobs. We worked together to save american jobs, why then would we sit and do nothing for pt people who make our communities run . States and cities employ essential workers who have been on the front lines of this crisis. We need these workers now more than ever and we should support the important work that they are doing, not leave their jobs at risk. In addition to job cuts, without additional support, state and local governments may also need to cut programs and services that the American People depend on. Forcing states to slash education, infrastructure, and Public Health budgets, among others, would be deeply harmful at any time, but in the middle of a pandemic and recession it has helped create, the Ripple Effect of those cuts would be even more staggering. Already states and cities are cutting or delaying fixing sewer lines or roads and delaying putting out critical contracts to bid with a Ripple Effect felt throughout the economy. Mr. President , it doesnt have to be this way. Senate democrats are focused on providing significant Economic Relief for state and local governments across the country. This would mitigate the job losses and further economic damage that we are seeing as a rlt of this crisis as a result of this crisis. I urge my republican colleagues to work with us to deliver this necessary relief and ensure that states have the flexibility to use this funding to back fill lost revenue and preserve jobs. The recent spike in cases in many states reinforces that the Public Health threat remains extremely serious and our economy will be feeling the effects of this pandemic for years to come. State and local governments need our strong support to help save lives and strengthen our economy, and they need it right now. Blocking this relief will only make a dire Economic Situation even worse. Thats the last thing the American People need. I join senator wyden and my colleagues in moving this u. C. Request. I thank you, mr. President , and i yield the floor. A senator mr. President. The presiding officer the senator from new jersey. Mr. Menendez mr. President , i rise today to join my colleagues to stress the urgency for congress to provider robust, flexible assistance to state and local governments on the front lines of the covid19 pandemic. Because this administration has failed to devise and deploy a National Response to a National Emergency. The burden of containing and defeating the virus is largely falling on our states, our counties, and municipalities. They are expanding enormous resources to expand testing, shore up hospitals, process unemployment claims, and get our residents the help they desperately need. At the same time, revenues have fallen off a cliff due to the economic fallout. Moneys collected from sales an property taxes, building permits, court fees, transit firms, you name it, they are all down. I served at every level of government in new jersey, school board, mayor, state legislature. I know exactly what they are going through. It isnt about any irresponsibility on their part. It is the consequences of a national pandemic. We didnt ask for 14,000 of our citizens in new jersey to die. We didnt ask for nearly 180,000 new jerseyans to ultimately be infected. But thats our reality and thats not our only reality, there are other states similarly situated. And unlike the federal government, virtually all state and local governments are constitutionally obligated constitutionally obligated to pass a balanced budget. 45 states have a june 30 deadline. Thats tomorrow. Others are fast approaching. Now, this isnt a blue state or red state issue. This isnt about pensions or some as some have tried to suggest. This is a red, white, and blue issue. It is an american issue. This virus doesnt see political boundaries. This is an issue of fiscal responsibility. No one no one is immune. We see it across the nation. Huge spikes taking place in florida in texas in arizona and others. Earlier today the bipartisan National Governors says, the National League of cities, the National Association of counties, the u. S. Conference of mayors, the National Conference of state legislatures, the counsel of state governments and International City management county association sent a joint letter to senate leader. I dont think ive ever been a part of those organizations at a different time, ive never seen them come together on any given issue. They came together on this one. Over 170 businesses and organizations signed on, all unified with a clear message, that in we fail to provide our states and communities with immediate assistance, we will only hamper our nations ability to fully recover and americans will needlessly suffer. According to the bower of labor statistics, nearly 1. 4 million Public Employees and counting have been laid off or furloughed across the country. Over 90,000 in texas, 65,000 in ohio, nearly 30,000 in kentucky, 25,000 both in colorado and florida. Every state and community is bleeding. Were talking about First Responders, teachers, nurses, sanitation workers, and other employees on the front lines of the covid fight. We need them on the job, not the unemployment line. It would be the height of irony that the result of the pandemic or, more importantly, our governments unwillingness to respond to the challenges of state and municipalities, is is that those we we needed the most, those who we still need the most, those who we will need the most tomorrow, are going to be laid off. And the essential services our residents and businesses rely upon are being slashed left and right. For instance, the National League of cities reports that more than 700 United States cities have halted roadway repairs, delayed equipment purchases to plug local budget holes. Were seeing deep, painful cuts across the board. And moodys projected last week that state budget shortfalls will top 500 billion over the next three years. Now, ive heard some in this body argue that if we just reopen our economy that we would negate the need for congress to act. Well, thats been proven a fallacy. Covid19 cases are spiking across the country, especially in those states that were quick to reopen. Were seeing daily records being set in places like arizona, florida, georgia, and texas, forcing some areas to tighten their restrictions. Yet in my home state of new jersey, which was second only to new york in the number of covid cases, we not just flattened the curve, our infection rates are dropping. As we methodically and responsibly reopen, there is no doubt that the emergency Protection Measures we took in new jersey helped stop the spread of covid19 and saved lives. But that progress has come with tremendous economic pain and personal sacrifice that no state and community will be able to escape. So, mr. President , we cant allow ourselves to be handcuffed to partisan ideology. This isnt about left or right, conservative or progressive politics. And i honestly believe that most of our colleagues on the republican side understand this. Most recognize that forcing states and communities to go bankrupt is not a conservative principle, that the last thing we need during an economic crisis is to send 3 million to 4 million Public Workers to the unemployment line without the ability for them to respond on our collective behalf. We need bold, bipartisan action to address this national crisis. Thats why the state and municipal assistance for response in transition, or the smart act, is a commonsense solution we need to give our Community Communities a fighting chance and to stop the economy from free falling. Want to thank senators cassidy, heighten, manchin and booker for joining me and we are working every day to build more support. The smart act provides 500 billion in flexible federal funds that will help our communities dramatically expand the testing and Contact Tracing we need to contain the virus, which is a necessary step to restoring Consumer Confidence and restarting the economy. It will help stave off massive layoffs, tax hikes and deep, painful cuts to essential services. It will keep our e. M. T. s, firefighters, Public Health workers, teachers and other essential employees on the job during this critical time. Because its not just about defeating covid19. We still need to keep our First Responders on the job, our children learning, the trash picked up, the roads maintained, the buses and trains running on time. And unless we act soon, we will see more mass layoffs, devastating tax increases, and a breakdown in Public Safety and essential services. We cannot in all good conscience sit back and watch our states, counties, cities, and towns fail. We cannot shift the federal governments responsibility and then leave them holding the bag. We cant turn our backs on the American People, a National Emergency requires a National Response. And it is this bodys sworn duty to act, to send our states and local communities the resources they desperately need to combat covid19 and to continue to serve the constituents weve all been elected to represent. If the safety and security of the American People is job one, this is also safety and security. And ill close with this. You know, i appreciate there are different points of view, you about i really get upset when i hear that states like mine or others somehow want to be bailed out. I tell you what, mr. President , new jersey would be happy to take the excess money it sends to the federal treasury than what it gets in return billions of dollars and say well handle the problem on our own. Wed like to see some of our fellow states here, who receive more money than they contribute to the federal treasury, return it. Were not at moocher state. Were a donor state. And so some of my colleagues here, they should look 20 billion, 30 billion more that they get from the federal government than they pay into the federal treasury. We in new jersey pay more than we get. And now that were in the midst of a National Emergency that we have thousands of our citizens dying, thousands more still infected, and did the right thing in order to stop the dying, we should pay a greater consequence because we did the right thing, from doing job number one, the safety and security of our citizens . I dont think so, mr. President. I dont think so. I yield the floor. The presiding officer the senator from oregon. Mr. Wyden mr. President , i thank my colleagues. A number have already given eloquent remarks. We still got more to come. And i know, per the agreement, that its time to propound the unanimous consent request. So, with the support, mr. President , of thousands of firefighters, First Responders, teachers, county Health Providers, and thousands of more americans of both political parties, with an extraordinary work ethic, i ask unanimous consent that the senate proceed to the immediate consideration of the state, local, and tribal Fiscal Relief and rural stability act. I ask that the bill be considered read three times and passed and the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table, with no intervening action or debate. The presiding officer is there objection . A senator mr. President . The presiding officer the senator from florida. Mr. Scott reserving the right to object this is clearly a challenging time for every level of government. I think well all admit that this crisis was unprecedented and congress has already taken bold action to stem the spread of the virus and save our economy. But if were not careful, congress will create another equally devastating crisis down the road, a crisis of our own making. Our National Debt and deficits already at unsustainable levels have skyrocketed as congress has spent almost 3 trillion 3 trillion to address this crisis. To put that in perspective, congress has spent 9,000 for every american. At some point we need to start thinking about the impact this spending will have on the future of our children and our grandchildren. How we are impacting our ability to fund our military and our safety nets like Social Security, medicare, and medicaid. Again, i know i know everyone here wants to help our states. I want to help our states, too, which is why i support maintaining the existing restrictions tied to the Coronavirus Relief fund included in the airs act to make sure the spending is for a Coronavirus Response. Congress has already allocated billions in direct and indirect aid to states and localities. Total direct funding from the federal government already exceeds 1 trillion. Let me just go through it. We gave them 150 billion for covid19 expenses. To put that in perspective, while i was governor of florida, we had four hurricanes. The federal government never funded 100 of my cost. We are funding 100 of the covid19 cost. We give in our state and local governments 500 billion in shortterm loans. Weve given them 45 billion in fema disaster funds. 30 billion in education funds, without any information on whether education costs have gone up. 34 billion for mass transit and community grants. 270 billion for cares act emergency appropriations. 50 billion for medicaid. And as weve all seen with the health care costs, medicaid costs are have gone down around the country. And even this doesnt begin to count another 1. 3 trillion in indirect assistance to Small Businesses, individuals, increased Unemployment Benefits to all of our families in our states and weve given 175 billion Tower Health Care community. Weve given 11 billion to our states to deal with testing. Now, my colleagues want to spend another 1 trillion before the other trillion dollars that was already allocated has a even been spent. I sent a letter this month to all u. S. Governors to get more details on exactly how they were allocating the federal Coronavirus Response funds that theyve already received. Ive only heard back from four states. You think ive heard back from new york . Of course not. And i dont expect them to. Because politicians in these liberal states have refused to live within their means for decades and they want floridians to backfill their budgets and pay for the incompetency of governors like adrew comb mow. He got elected when i got elected at the end of the financial crisis in 23010. I watched him in the eight years i was again. He doesnt balance his b he keeps borrowing more money year after year. The new york Editorial Board said it is why they should pay higher taxes to rescue a Political Class that refuses to constrain its spending. New yorkers increased their spend since 2010 by 43 billion, which is 570,000 per new resident. 570 per new resident. They already have state and local personal income tax 12. 7 . I know why they want money. They cant tax their citizens anymore. Theyve already done it. Because of all their taxes, people keep moving to states like florida. Theyve lost 9 poid 6 billion in adjusted gross income since 2018. So what these states have done is they dont live within their means. Now they want us to come be responsible for their bad budgets, their Pension Plans and things like that. One of my colleagues brought up this concept that some states are donors. Ive been up here 18 months. Ive lookeddality the federal budget. I havent seen a dime come from the states. It comes from taxpayers taxpayers in the states. It comes here to pay nor things like Social Security and medicare and then these citizens get sick sand tired of the high taxes in places like new jersey and new york and illinois i will and california and move to lowertax states is. Then they receive those benefits and people come up hered and say, oh, our government funded governments in other states. No, they dont. The citizens do it and then they get sick and tired of those high taxes and move. New york, california california, and i willville no problem use being hardearned tax dollars to fund their liberal priorities and to backfill their budget shortfalls and solve their longstanding fiscal problems. It is not fair to citizens of states like florida where as governors we made the hard choices to put our state son a financially disclosure path. Because we made those choices, the governor of florida was able to sign a responsible state budget today without having to beg the federal government for a bailout and guess what . There are teacher pay raises in there and increased funding for k12 education. American families make responsible budget decisions every day. Successful Companies Make responsibly budget decisions every day. States like florida have done it for years. It is time for new york, illinois, and california to do the today. We have to get serious about how were spending taxpayer money and this years federal budget deficit will be the largest in the history of this country. While it may be tempting to three money at the problem and believe that by removing the restrictions on funding will satisfy states for a bailout, i am are afraid my completion are mistaken. These funds are many states have not been shy about their desire for hundreds of billions of dollars in taxpayer bailouts for their liberal agendas. I am not going to let this happen. When you hear about all these letters that want more money. I spent eight years as governor of florida. I dont remember one time somebody said, why dont you spend less money. Of course everybody will ask for more money, more money, more money. It is somebodys money. I think about this the context of my seven grandchildren. We cannot sell them and children across the country with mountains of debt. In excess of 77,000 per person. 77,000 per american f you know, what it was in 1976 . 3 per american. It is 77,000. To take away the same tunchtses i had to live the American Dream for our children and grandchildren would not be a political failure trks would be an abdication of our moral responsibility. Its time to make the hard choices to put our nation on path of recovery, recovery from this virus, from the economic devastation, its brought with it and the fiscal calamity that for decades politicians have ignored. I hope my colleagues will join me in the fight for the future. I respectfully object. A senator mr. President . The presiding officer the objection is heard. The senator from oregon. Mr. Wyden to make a very brief response and i know my colleagues have been very patient. I just want to make sure that everybody can really put in context the remarks of the senator from florida. Hes basically saying if you dont address health care now, if you dont address education now, if you dont address roads now, that somehow there arent going to be any consequences. Well, there are going to be very real consequences. People are going to be sicker, for example. Were going to spend much more down the road. Well have a weakened and smaller economy and well have that for an unknown amount of time. My colleague mentioned his concern for weakened National Security. How can a semi permanently weakened economy not affect National Security . Of course its going to affect National Security and its going to affect National Security badly. And finally, ill just make one additional point and my colleagues i know are going to address this as well. My colleague from florida talks about deficits. Im the ranking democrat on the finance committee where we sat through my colleagues tax bill, a bill he voted for and strongly supported. He said its going to pay for itself. Whats to worry about. Nobody does deficits better than of that side of the aisle. Nobody does them better and bigger and in a more irresponsible way. So i just wanted to put that in context. I look forward to the remarks of my friends from contract and from connecticut and nevada. Mr. Scott i would like to respond to my colleague before he leaves. The presiding officer the senator from florida. Mr. Scott i wasnt here when the tax bill was done but i cut taxes over 10 billion. Revenues skyrocketed in my state. We cut taxes, fees, and what happened is our economy grew. We add 1. 7 billion jobs. Lets go back and look at n. We talk about money. Weve given 150 billion for the expenses. Weve given loans. Weve given fema disaster funds. Weve given education funds, mass transit funds. Weve given emergency appropriations for a variety of different sections. Weve Given Health Care dollars for medicaid and allocated 175 billion to our Health Care System and we gave our states 11 billion for testing. So its not like weve been up here and not responded. We have responded and by the way, the dollars have not all been spent so what we need to do is lets see what these governors come back with. Ive gotten a response from four governors so far. Lets look at what theyve said and then we can make a responsible decision how we spend our money going forward. A senator mr. President . The presiding officer the senator from connecticut. Mr. Murphy thank you, mr. President. Let me tell you how the bailout has worked. When covid hit this country and people were dying from a disease that we didnt have a vaccine for as Emergency Rooms all over the country were being overwhelmed, the federal government and the Trump Administration did nothing. They did nothing. They didnt stand up a National Testing program. They didnt stand up a National Trace and quarantine system. They didnt let the c. D. C. Do their job and Issue National guidelines around how to close businesses and schools. They didnt lead, proposing legislation before congress to tackle the costs of this responsibility. Of this response. President trump put in place a feckless travel restriction that still allowed tens of thousands of people to get here from the countries that were infected and then the federal government gave up. It did nothing. It left the entirety of the response to the states. So heres how the bailout works. The states have bailed out the federal government. By stepping up to the plate and being the primary responders to this epidemic. Hospitals and local public Health Systems have bailed out the federal government who did nothing to stop this virus. Thats how the bailout has worked. And all states are asking for is to help pay for the expense of confronting this virus. If a bailout if a bailout equals saving live, then im for a bailout. Because without help from the federal government, people are going to die. States that have to balance their federal budgets are not going to be able to erect the kind of antipandemic infrastructure that will save lives. And my colleague if florida has left but lets also be honest about the accounting here. Because he had a chart up about florida bailing out new york. If you want to do a deal in which connecticut and new york and new jersey get to keep all of the revenue that we send to the federal government that we get a guarantee for every dollar we send to washington and we get a dollar back, we are all in. I dont think that my friend from florida would take that deal because every single year on average a connecticut citizen gives 4,000 more to the federal government than that connecticut citizen gets back. The average new york citizen gives on average 1,700 more to the federal government than they give back. Now thats because we are wealthier states. You know what . We fight to try to get as much of that revenue back to our state as possible, we understand that because citizens in our states have done a little bit better, that we should help pay for the health care of people in florida. We should help pay for the education of poor kids in florida. And so we grouse about the amount of taxes we pay but we understand the deal if which because weve done a little bit better, were going to help states that need a little bit more help. But on an average year, the average florida recipient gets 2,700 more in federal assistance than they give. That sounds like a bailout. On an annual basis repeating year after year. And so what we are asking here is for some help to save lives. Were not asking to give out surplus checks to our constituents. Were asking for help to keep people alive all throughout this country. Because states and municipalities are the ones that are conducting the response because the Trump Administration has refused to do it. And its an expensive response. So if you want to keep people alive, then you have for help us pay for that expense. Youve got to help us pay for that expense. Because our revenues are cratering as the economy has been shut down. Our expenses are spiraling as we have been left holding the bag. And so when that happens, you can only do two things. If youre a state that has to balance your budget as connecticut is every year, we either can raise taxes and think about that, raising taxes in the middle of an economy in meltdown or we can laypeople off. Lay people off. Already across this country, 1. 5 million state and local workers have been laid off. And there are more to come. Many of them will be in the Public Health field, the very people that we need to be able to identify where the virus exists, trairs the contacts trace the contact, quarantine people to keep others safe. Those are the people who are going to be laid off. It becomes this downward spiral in which as the federal government refuses to help states pay for the virus response and the states can no longer effectively stand up a response effort, the virus wins. And that is one of the reasons that you are seeing the virus spread in places like florida or like texas because we dont have the infrastructure in place. The Trump Administration refused to build it. And now we are refusing to help states build it. 45 days its been since the house passed their legislation helping states to keep people alive. I was on this floor as my republican colleagues were literally jumping from their seats when Senate Democrats were insisting that we take an extra day or two to pass the cares act, to get it right. Jumping out of their seats with a sense of urgency. Well, the virus is back on the march again. The economy is in worst shape today than it was in march. Its been 45 days since the house sent us legislation to keep people alive and weve done nothing. And my colleagues, i want to leave you with just one with just one picture, really two pictures side by side for my state and just ask yourself after thinking about this, visualizing this, is this really the world you want to choose to live in through your inaction. We have our share of billionaires in connecticut. Theyre important to us. They pay a decent amount of taxes to the state of connecticut. They contribute fill an thropically but they have done very, very well over the course of the pald. A survey just came out that showed over half of those that count themselves as billionaires in connecticut had dramatically increased their net worth since this pandemic began. In fact, of all billionaires in connecticut, they had increased their total wealth by about 2 billion. 2 billion. Thats driven in part by a stock market that has priced in all of the Trump Administrations support for corporations. Its because of a stock market that has also priced in the mass extinction of lots of Small Businesses that will accrue to the benefit of those corporations. But i want you to think about the richest americans over the course of the last several months having seen their nest egg grow, grow. They can afford more. They can pass down more wealth to their children. Even with 20 of americans unemployed. Okay. Put that next to this visual. Jen sherman lives in my state, has a son, a 14yearold named gaffe vinl. And he gavin. And he is a special Education Student with a host of learning challenges. He hasnt been in school since march and he needs school because at school are his professionals, are his counselors, are his therapists. School is where his routine is. And jen says, my kid is falling apart in front of my eyes. It is making me physically ill watching him be out of school for going on four months. Hes just deteriorating on me. His Mental Health is concerning. Its the unknown. He has so many questions we cant answer. And so jen is getting ready to send gavin who is already broken down back to school. And as she is readying to extend him back to school, School Districts across the state of connecticut are talking about laying off the very professionals that will help gavin get back to that routine. Survey suggests that if we dont pass another Emergency Response package for states, 10 of teachers could be laid off. And you know whos going to come first . Its going to be those paraprofessionals, its going to be those counselors that build support services around the most vulnerable kids. And so as corporations and billionaires have done better and better, kids like gavin, lowincome families across this country, the masses of the unemployed are suffering, are suffering and wont be able to get back to normal unless we beat this virus. And we cant beat it if we dont help states and municipalities with the work that needs to be done. Its been 45 days since we watched the house pass legislation that could save lives and allow us to stand up a True National effort to beat this virus once and for all. And i would plead to my colleagues to not go home for a twoweek vacation without passing legislation to help us stand up the state and local response to covid19. I yield the floor. A senator mr. President . The presiding officer the senator from nevada. A senator thank you. Along with my colleague, i am astounded that we have gone this long without any type of relief for our state and local governments who are suffering right now. Ms. Cortez masto the last time this chamber passed legislation to address the coronavirus pandemic was april 21, 2020. That was over two months ago. And i can tell you and i know, mr. President , and all of my colleagues, youre hearing from your constituents in your state. Im hearing from my constituents. Ive heard from thousands of nevadans who find themselves lying awake at night trying to figure out how to pay the rent, feed their kids, and take care of family members at elevated risk from covid19. People in the silver state want to know what more the federal government is doing to help them, and rightly so. But they do not want to hear us on the floor of the Senate Chambers identifying and arguing that liberal states should not get some sort of relief right now. I dont even know and i just heard my colleague from florida identifying that liberal states shouldnt get funding. What is a liberal state . How do we define that . Does that mean its a Democratic State or a republican state . Because i can tell you, youve seen it, ive seen it, weve all seen letters from our governors across this country in a bipartisan way, a letter signed by democratic governors, republican governors, asking for relief and support from this congress. And its not just the governors. Its the mayors. It is the county chairmen, the county commissioners. I will tell you, in my state theres some beautiful places in my state, and we are nevadans. And whether youre a republican or youre a democrat, every single one of my mayors that ive talked to, every single one of the county commissioners and the county chairmen along with my governor and we come from beautiful, diverse backgrounds, theyre looking for additional support. And we cant put a pause on it now. We cant wait. I dont understand why weve been waiting since april. I will tell you in april state and local governments laid off one million workers across the country and froze or cut the salaries of thousands more. And in april, in my home state of nevada, unemployment was skyrocketing to 28 , the highest in the nation. Thats nearly one in three nevadans without a job. Let me put that in comparison. The highest National Unemployment rate america ever recorded during the Great Depression was 25. 6 . And on may 25 the house voted for the comprehensive heroes act to support state, local and tribal governments to bolster Health Systems to provide further stimulus payments and help frontline workers and strengthen this nations economy. At that time we as senators, we could have rolled up our sleeves right then and worked to find Common Ground with the house so that we could help. So that we could provide help and assistance to so many people across this country. But unfortunately on may 26 our majority leader told reporters that the senate would, we would probably, we would probably pass more legislation. Well, now its the end of june and we have no legislation from the senate on the greatest crisis facing this nation since world war ii, even though we are hearing constantly from our constituents and from our states. And meanwhile we are suffering. I can tell you nevadans are suffering, like almost every other state in the country, nevada has to balance its budget on july 1, just a few days from now. 46 states have similar budgets they have to balance. And unlike the federal government, states cant borrow to make up for shortfalls. Every state in this country is collecting less in taxes than it usually would. And every state in the country faces unprecedented and unforeseen expenses because of this pandemic. In my state the governors estimated that there will be a 1. 3 billion budget shortfall. Las vegas alone is facing a drop in revenue of over 100 million, and the city of reno expects a 30 million hold in its budget. These are real dollars that are going to come out of essential services. The thing is state, local, and tribal governments are absolutely on the front lines of this health crisis. The senate must join the house in passing this vital legislation to give assistance to so many in need right now across this country. You know, states and localities, they have to pay. We heard from my colleagues, they have to pay e. M. Ts, they have to pay police, firefighters, health care providers, those essential people who are on the front lines now of dealing with this health care crisis. According to to a study by the National League of cities, half the cities in the country expect that budget shortfalls will affect Public Safety, and state and local governments also fund schools and teachers. In the middle of this pandemic, they have to figure out ways to deliver Online Education to students who dont have computers or internet and work to support parents trying to help their kids learn. Theyre having to figure out how to feed kids in the next school year under inflexible Nutrition Program rules. Meanwhile, with these added challenges in nevada were having to consider cutting 125 million from Higher Education and 100 million from elementary and secondary education. In nevada, like so many other places, this is all going on against the backdrop of a tremendous economic pain. We have 300,000 people in the silver state claiming unemployment insurance, and those of those still waiting to receive their benefits. And this economic shock continues. People are going to start losing their homes are be evicted from their apartments if we dont do something to address it now. Nevada was already facing a tremendous Affordable Housing crisis. We need Urgent Solutions to prevent this wave of dislocations and homelessness. And equally urgent is help for our Small Businesses. I was just on a call earlier today with the executive directors of the chambers throughout our state. And i can guarantee you, i am not alone, and in your state and all of our states our Small Businesses are scrambling to find new Business Models and new sources of revenue. Many of these businesses are the heart of our communities, and if they go under permanently cities and towns will suffer as well. And our frontline medical workers, the true heroes continue to need support as cases climb in nevada. They are working tirelessly to save lives and prevent complications, and they need our support. And you know that our frontline medical workers and our states, they also rely on medicaid so that other people who are also struggling financially can still get Critical Health care when they need it. In nevada, nearly 45,000 people are newly reliant on the safety net coverage. Mr. President , without Additional Resources to cover the costs associated with their care, the states will be forced to cut back the doctors who serve them and this is in a state that already has one of the lowest rate of doctors per capita. Almost three out of four nevada providers are worried about the viability of of their practice. When we talk about funding state and local governments, we cannot forget our tribal governments. They dont collect taxes, theyre barred from doing so, yet they rely on businesses to fund services. And with nevadas economy so hard hit, our tribal communities need another source of funding, and they need support. And this is while many of my tribes in my state are still in lockdown, still triek trying to get access to sufficient covid19 testing and p. P. E. The Senate Majority leader still thinks things arent urgent. Its just wrong. Its just wrong. And the senate must move urgently to strengthen the very institutions across this country that are delivering essential service to americans. Its just a basic necessity. I understand that many of my colleagues want to make sure that we spend federal funds wisely, and i want to too. But the way to achieve this is for all of us to start working now. Nevadans need us to take action. The American People need us to take action. So i ask leader mcconnell to take up and pass the heroes act or convene on the floor of the senate or in our committees real bipartisan discussions so that we can pass the next economic stimulus package. Thank you, mr. President. I yield the floor. I yield to my colleague from connecticut. Mr. Blumenthal thank you. Im really honored to follow my colleague from nevada who. The presiding officer the senator from connecticut. The senator from connecticut. Mr. Blumenthal thank you, mr. President. Im honored to follow my colleague from nevada who knows so well the importance of Public Service and Public Servants. And one of the reasons why we are here is because many of those Public Servants doing such Great Service for our communities will be laid off or furloughed to the detriment of their communities and their states. As she knows in nevada and i know in connecticut. And what is necessary for them to continue their work is in fact the heroes act. Now weve been talking a lot about the frontline workers, the heroes like First Responders, police, firefighters, the doctors and nurses, the grocery checkers, the delivery people far and wide, high and low they have been doing great work, and many of them are going to be directly affected if we fail to pass the heroes act. Many of them and their work will be for naught if we fail to support the heroes act and enable state and local governments to continue to employ them and support them. I have been traveling across the state of connecticut over these last two naval months. Last two and a half months. What i have found is unparalleled hardship and heartbreak. Today i visited a Small Business, a restaurant called no leftovers, offering caribbean food. Its been in business for three years. Its owner has received no Paycheck Protection Program funding, and it is hanging by a thread. That story is repeated again and again and again. And one of the reasons that he is so fearful about the fut is that zoning has been delayed because people. That story is about the future of america and the American Dream that no loftovers and leftovers and Small Businesses like his exemplify and it is a blackowned business. The tragedy of blackowned businesses going under is one of the unwritten stories of this pandemic. 41 have failed through this pandemic often through no fault of Business Owners because they face this economic crisis and they face the loss of service if state and local governments in effect have to cut their workforces and their services to those businesses, not only blackowned but owned across the board by all americans and employing americans. Small businesses, as we know, no matter who owns them, are the major job creators today in the United States. So there are linkages here, as ive been hearing, as i go around the state talking to those Business Owners. Not only the big contractors, the defense providers, electric boats, sick sikorsky, but their supply chains, small and mediumsize businesses that will be a disaster to for failure to keep course and pass the heroes act. Those frontline workers deserve the heroes fund, hazardous duty pay, up to 25,000 retroactive to the beginning of this National Emergency. Again, recognizing Public Service not only rewarding it, but also retaining and recruiting more of them. State and local governments depend on those frontline workers whom we talk so glowingly about. Now is our chance to put the money where our mouth is, and we have not only a moral obligation, we have an economic duty and a patriotic duty as we go into july 4. Let me just say finally, and ive said it last week, the United States senate is about to leave town for two weeks, wanting america to believe that weve done our job. The the fact is we have failed to do our job unless we act on the heroes act. Failing to act on the heroes act is an abrogation of our duty. We cannot go back and talk about the spirit of the fourth of july, about the resilience and resoluteness of the founders if we cannot be sufficiently determined to do our job here. That aid to state and local governments is not a matter of convenience or luxury. It is a necessity for us to finance the Public Health departments that conduct testing and Contact Tracing as well as those Economic Development departments and landuse departments, health, firefighting, policing, teaching. These are the Core Functions of our government, and there will be layoffs massive layoffs across the country if we fail to do our job. Ive been reading a book called the great influenza by john berry. One of the failures of that pandemic is the failure to tell the truth is itself a failure that can lead to disaster. It can spawn fear and even terror. It can lead to complacency and inaction. The failure to tell the truth is all too common these days about this pandemic. The numbers tell with much greater accuracy the story of this pandemic than what weve been hearing in the white house. But now we have an obligation to make sure the triewltsdz is told and truth is told and that means about facing the obligation to act the way we can act is on the heroes act. The way we can tell the truth is to squarely lay before the American People what the challenges are, what the costs will be if we fail to act. The other great lesson of that book is that the failure by local health departments, by local leaders to command the resources and devote them to fighting the pandemic itself contributed to it. We need to learn the lessons of history. They are sometimes so simple and powerful that we look the other way. Let us, before we leave town, look squarely at the heroes act and do the right thing. Pass it and make sure america moves forward to conquer this Public Health emergency and economic crisis made all the more severe by the Unfinished Business of this country in dealing with racism and discrimination. We have that opportunity. The fourth of july holiday should not be a time off. It ought to be a time on for us to do the right thing and it is on us. Thank you, mr. President. I yield the floor. The presiding officer under the previous order, the Senate Stands adjourned until 10 00 a. M. Tomorrow. The presidie majority leader. Mr. Mcconnell first, my final your past. Irst, my first my hometown of louisvillele kentucky this morning a man who shot and killed in jeffersons square park. Tyler was 27 years old. As a graduate of High School University of kentucky. He was an upandcoming photojournalist with a lot of talent. He had been attending demonstrations to speak up Breonna Taylor as well as to document history. Instead, he lost his life. The investigation is still waiting but it appears the suspected custody been a frequent participant in these protests third period are you interested once, guarded some dispute and fired indiscriminately. The definition of senseless violence. My sympathies and those of all of the coop to the family. We are 30 days and protests packings and all americans deserve safe streets promise safe communities empty. No on another matter each time i go home i traveled hospital to safely meet with healthcare professionals, thank them for theirbl incredible work as well as to listen with on the lines. For more than three not months know our nations doctors, workers and Health Professionals have been healing day and night to strangers connect our nation. I said in march our country was about to meet a lot of new heroes and among them would be many people who were scrubs, we rush towards, and wash their hands until they believe. Well, americans from coasttocoast of met such heroes the frontline professionals in meeting meeting are proud to do their work. And youd Better Believe they are appreciative of the sacrifices and smart precautions by the American People helps suffering overrun the springtime allows giving each patient the what they deserve and thought our country time to have a safe and gradual reopening. Ne stop mr. President ially have a safe vaccine norman alder jobs as american citizens settle into an emergency between our ordinary life and lockdowns for referral of the spirit in short, we cannot go back to april and we cannot go right back to normal. Weou denude routines, new rhythms under strategies for this new middleground. Is the task of each family, each smallev business, each employer each area of government to apply common sense and this happen. I can name one example must have no stigma, none, about Wearing Masks, leave our homes and come near other people. Drinks will face coverings is not about protecting ourselves , it is f about protecting everyone we encounter. In fact, the more we hate the pain and suffering of the strict stayathome guidelines a few months ago, the happier weie should be to take responsible small steps every day to ensure our country and stay on the offense against the virus. The senate should take pride within the degree our historic responses help the country get where we are. All of the Health Leaders are glad heres an historic legislation that Senate Republicans wrote and then negotiated across the aisle. We set that was in addition to the historic relief we provided the households and Small Businesses which economists across the political spectrum say millions of jobs were saved and prevented an economic freefall. In may and june while the democrat led house had been mostly absent, the senate has kept right on leading in addition to legislating on other important subjects would continue to work all angles of the pandemic. By the end of this week i believe our committees will have helped more than 40 committees on the crisis so this institution can continue to learn and inform any future wor work. As ive been saying for weeks, the number of us are putting together strong Legal Protections for healthcare professionals, k12 schools, colleges and universities, and employers so our recovery is not swamped by second epidemic of frivolous lawsuits. The Democratic House slept together and absurd multitrillion dollar wish list that even the Mainstream Media panned immediately. The senate has continued with the substantive serious facts first approach. That is the winning formula historics s successful cares act and that is the formula will replicate in any future recovery legislation down the road. Mail on a completely different matter, on thursday i noted in recent weeks the air force scrambled jets to intercept intrusions by airspace in alaska. While on saturday it happened again. According to the Defense Department russian reconnaissance planes entered air Defense Identification Zone and lingered for eight hours. Obviously this is just the latest in a series of escalations. These are from putins regime. Meanwhile china has resumed its submarine intrusions of the japanese continue it sounds when picked deadly fights with india at High Altitude North Koreans say media has stepped up unhinged american rhetoric reportedly declaring over the weekend a nuclear war was the only option left. And iran has issued a warrant for an arrest of the president of the United States because we took the top terrorist off the battlefield back in january. Our adversaries are his intent as ever in undermining peace, disrupting commerce, and threatening american citizens, our interest and our allies wherever and whenever possible. So this Years National Defense Authorization act is as urgent as important as it has been for 60 Consecutive Years. Thanks to chairman and Ranking Member lee and john reed will be exhausted bipartisan eneffort. It includes 229 bipartisan amendments adopted by her colleagues on the Armed Services committee. It may include more amendments before we finish with it here on the floor. The primary missions of the legislation are already clear. On the homefront it will increase pay for Service Members, reform the military housing and Healthcare Systems , and increased transparency in pentagon budgeting hiring and acquisition. Around the world it will make clear our commitments to our allies in europe, and the pacific. Investing key technologies from biotechnology to hypersonic spirit and make sure our men and women in uniform have the tools to remain the greatest fighting force in world history. Soap mr. President im grateful to our committee collects forgiveness senate the opportunity to set prong priorities for National Defense are job now is to Work Together in a bipartisan way and pass this on behalf of the men and women in uniform and the nation they protect. On tuesday, Coronavirus Task force members dr. Anthony fauci, doctor robert redfield, doctor steven hahn and assistant secretary of Health Admiral testified before the Senate Health committee on what federal, state and local governments are doing to help americans go back to work and school in the fall is safely as possible. Watch live coverage beginning at 10 00 a. M. Eastern on cspan three, on demand on cspan. Org, or listen live wherever you are from the free cspan radio app. Cspans washington journal every day we are taking your calls live on air, on the news of the day and discussing policy issues that impact you. Coming up on tuesday morning, Princeton University discusses his new book, james baldwins america and its urgent lessons for our own. In the state of Race Relations after the death of george floyd. Also Ohio Republican congressman Ranking Member of the Small Business Committee Talks about the pandemics effect on businesses and economic recovery efforts. Watch cspans washington journal, live on tuesday morning. And be sure to join the discussion with your phone calls, facebook comments, Text Messages and tweets. Cspan has unfiltered coverage of congress, the white house, the Supreme Court, and Public Policy events. You can watch all of cspans Public Affairs programming on television, online, or listen on our free radio app. Be part of the National Conversation through cspan daily Washington Journal Program or through our social media feed. , cspan, created by americas Television Companies as a Public Service and brought to you today by your television provider. gentlemen, thank you for being on the communicators this week. Congressman, what have we learned when it comes to technology in the last couple of months and what is the role of congress in advancing that . Guest i think we have come to finally appreciate en masse as a nation how absolutely important it is that we maintain our technological