Transcripts For CSPAN2 U.S. Senate U.S. Senate 20240711

And the vote is set for 11 eastern advancing nomnation for the u. S. Court of International Trade. Live Senate Coverage is here on cspan2. Thpresiding officer the senate will come to orde the chaplain dr. Barry black will lead the senate in prayer. The chaplain let us pray holy god, continue to be our strength and shield. Extend your powerful hands to aid and deliver us. Lord, inspireur senators to bieve that you continue to work for the good of those who love you. Let your favor shine upon our lawmakers, and sustain them with your unfailing love. Lord, release to them the pleasings you have stored for those who honor you. You are our god, and our future is in yourands. Remind us al to seek first to understand before we stri to be understood. We pray in your sacred name. Amen. The presiding officer please join me in reciting the pledge of allegiance. I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of america, and to the republic one nation under god, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. The esiding officer the clerk will read a communication to t senate. The clerk washington d. C. , november 18, 2020. To the senate under the provisions of rule 1, paragraph 3, of the standing rules of the senate, i hereby appoint the honorable key loeffler, a senator from t state of georgia, to perform the duties of the chair. Signed chuck grsley, president pro tempore. The presiding officer uer the previous order, leadership time is reserved. Morning business i closed. Under the previs order the senate will proceed to executive session to resume consideration of the flowing nomination which the clerk will report. The clerk nomination, the judiciary, stephen a. Vaden of tennessee to be a judge of the United Statesourt of inteational trade. Mr. Mccoell madam president . The presiding officer the majority leader is recognized. Mr. Mcconnell yesterday something extremely rar happened here in this chamber. Something so unusual that only a few of us currentenators had ever seen it before. A roll call vote that did not include the name of o president pro tempore and distinguished colleague from iowa, senat Chuck Grassle before yesterday the senior senator of iowa had not missed a single vote in this body since 1993 when he was in iowa helping with historic flooding. Since then across 27 years and 8,927 votes, senator grassley has shown up for every single one. It is by far t longest such streak in senate history. Senator grassley broke the previous record back in january of 2016. And obviously continued to exnd it for almostive years. This show of diligence and dedication is remarkae by any measure but because of who senator grassley is, it hasnt seemed remarkable atll. That incredie commitment to serving iowans and working around the clock is just who our colleague is. That devotio is just his daily routine. This is the senator who manag to visit all 99 counties in iow every single year. We call it the full grassley. Nearly 9,000 consecutive senate votes must have seemed like a cakewalk back by comparison. But yesterday o colleagues stak had to be temporarily placed on hold. On the advice of doctors after close contactith someone who had lat tested positive for the coronavirus, senator grassley began selfquarantining yesterday morning later in the dayur colleague let us know he h tested positive himself undergoing underscoring why his good jument to follow doctos orders while awaiting his test resu was the right decision. So our colleagues historic run has been put on pause for the same reason it was compiled in the first place. Leadership, rvice to others, and a determination to set t right example. On monday in his floor remks our colleague reminded all americans of our duties in this moment. Quot although promising vaccines for the coronavirus are the horizon, it is more important than ever to stop the surge. Wash your hands, limit your activi outside your household, social distance, wear a mask, were all goingo get through is together but we need everyone to do their part. Alall of the senate thoughts ae with our colleague. He reported yesterday evening he still feels fine. We hope that will remain the case. Certainly if any member of this body has the good health and stamina to kick the virus to the curb, its senator grassley. So wellook forward to seeing him soon. Now, madam president , on an entirely different matter, Senate Republicans have spent months, months trying to get other bipartisan rescue package passed and signed into law for the American People. For monthsur position has been entirely consistent. We want to Reach Agreement on all thereas where compromise is well within reach. Send hundreds of billions of doars to urgent and uncontroversial programs, and let washington argue over the rest later. Theres no reason why doing right by struggling families should wait until we resolve every difference on eve issue. But unfortunately, both Speaker Pelosi and the democratic leader have bee equally consistent and they dont think cgress should do anything at all. Anything unless they get the cash out a farleft ideologic wish list including this with zero relationsp to the present crisis. They have continued to inis insist that Congress Pass their socalled heroes act or do nothing at all. The problem is that their proposal is a multitrillion dollar laughingstock that never had a chance of becoming law. Lets recall what Speaker Pelosis own membersaid when she first released this proposal. Quote, i think the heroes act went too far. It got loaded up with a bunch of political wish list things. Quote, this is washington politics at its worst, a partisan wh list. Quote, its a middle finger to the American People. These are all reactions, madam president , of house demrats. And no wonder because here are just some of the demands the speaker will not drop. A massive tax cut specifically for wealthy people in blue stat. A colossal slush fund for consistently mismanaged state and cityovernments with no linkage to actua pandemic needs. These things are included but they managed to completely leave ou listen to this leave out entirely any new funng for a second rou of the jobsaving Paycheck Protection Program, something we made sure to incle in every republica offering. They want to spend 3 trillion but couldnt find one cent, one cent of new money for the jobsang program that have kept Small Businesses afloat from coast to coast. Oh, and by the way, because the far left cided in the summertime, they didnt much like the m and women of Law Enforcement anymore, between the first and second versis of this proposal, the speaker literally took out listen to this took out hundreds of millions of dollars for hiring, equipping, and training local Law Enforcement. I guess by their account, the police dont count as heroes any nger. By playing all or nothing hardball with a proposal this radical, our colleagues have thus far guaranteed that American Workers and families get nothing a all. The pace of our economic recovery and the promise of vaccines on the horizon give us reasons forajor hope, but we are nowhere near, nowhere near out of the woods yet. Vooks will need to b distributed nationwide and quickly. Republicans targeted proposals provided blions of dollars to make that happen, but democrats blocke it. The p. P. P. Has helped millions of American Workers and Small Businesses hang on thus far, but now in the homestretch, they need more help. Republicans targete proposal would have renewed that lifeline for the hardest hit Small Businesses, bu again democrats blocked it. So think about it, madam president. We moved hean and earth and spent mountains of money to help workers keep their jobs and help Small Businesses keep the lights on from the springtime all the way up to now, but now, but now after all that, with the end seemingly in sight, we might lose the hardestit Small Businesses in the homestretch because democrats have refused, refused to let us continue helping. We kept Family Businesses alive for months and months, only to see some of them fail now. With vaccines on the horizon, beuse democrats have blocked another round of p. P. P. Well, its not too late to make a difference. Republicans stand ready to deliver this urgent aid. Lets not fund all the programs where there is no real disagreement just the ones where there is no disagreement and lets do it now. We just need democrats to finally get serious abouthis. I suggest the absence of a quor. The presiding officer the clerk will cl the roll. Quorum call quorum call mr. Schumer mam president . The presiding officer the senatorial. Mr. Schumer i ask unanimous consent that the quorum call be dispensed with. The presiding officer , would. Mr. Schumer first, madam president , let me join all of my colleagues in wishing the senate pro tempore, the senior senator om iowa, senator grassley, a speedy and quick recovery. We know hes a strong man, and we havevery confidence he will beat this back, as he has beaten many other adversities back in the past. Now, its been nearly two weeks since every Major News Network calledhe president ial election for joe biden. Preparations for the Incoming Biden Administration are well under way and still still President Trump refuses to accept reality. This morning brought a fresh series of president ial delusions on twitter. President trump declared, sometimes in capital letters, that the election ras a fraud, a joke, even unconstitutional. Imagine that, an constitutional election. Thats because trumps ego is such, when you doesnt win, everything is wrong, false, et cetera. President trump, get out of your bubble. You lost. Joe biden will be sworn in as the next prison january 20. Theres will be sworn in as the next predent of the United States o january 20. Theres nothing you can do about it. Last night President Trump fired our chief Election Security officer, chris krebbs because he confirmed that our elections were secure, reinforcing the numberone rule of working for donald trump you can never tell the truth. But no matter who he fires o how many times he tweets, President Trump cannot change reality. He lost the president ial election. Joe biden will be the next president of the United States. And its time for President Trump to quit the nonsense, admit the truth and move on. Anytime tie republican colleagues want to tell him that would be fine by me. Now, on another matter entirely, this country the country is facing the worst phase of the pandemic. As the number of new infections d hospitalizations threaten once again to overwhelm the capacities of our Health Care System, we need to make shoe that our nurses and doctors and all of our Health Care Professionals have the p. P. P. They need to protect the p. P. E. They need to protect themselves and their patients. Remember the early days of the crisis when Health Care Professionals were asked to injury rig masks. The recent surge in cases might bring this all back to or beyond what we saw earlier this year. We must do everything in our power to avoid a repeat of the wide p p. E. Shortages. So i am joining senators murray, peters, baldwin and murphy. And we are introducing now new legislation that authorizes 10 billion for the Strategic National stockpile to purchase large quantities of p. P. E. Including n95 respirators, gloves, masks, face shields and surgical masks. N95 masks dont need to be worn by every american on a daily basis. But they provide a much higher degree of protection to our Health Care Professionals and frontline workers who are exposed to the virus more regularly. Thats why we need the defense production act and get those n95 masks in the hands of any Health Care Professional who needs it. We are calling once again for the defense production act, grossly underutilized by the current administration, to be invoked in order to expand industrial capacity to meet surge in demand. Our bill will create a 1 billion Grant Program for Small Business to retool their facilities to assist in the production of p. P. E. For months, our communities have been held together by the quiet heroism nurses, doctors, caregivers and essential workers. We call them frontline workers because theyre like our soldiers putting their own lives at risk to protect the lives of others. Just as we would never send our troops into battle without helmets or bulletproof vests, we must never leave our frontline workers without the equipment they need. Like gloves and government shutdowns that serve as their armor. So our bill to, the protect our heroes act of 2020, should be part of the bipartisan discussion on the next covid reef bill. Our bill will allow frontline workers to get the n95 masks they neeand deserve. We urge bipartisan support for this proposal. Great urgency to get somethinga done here in congress to defeat the virus, save american lives, and forestall even greater pain for our workers and businesses. Speaker pelosi and i have negotiated for months in goo faith with the Trump Administration to find an agreement on aovid relief bill. Democrats lowered our proposals by 1. 2 trillion to move closer to our republican counterparts. Meanwhile, leader mcconnell and Senate Republicans refuse to take part in those negotiations. Instead, the republican leader has asked the senate to accept several inadequate partisan proposals, and in every version of the covid relief legislation that the republican majority has put on the floor, there have been poison pills included to ensure the bill will fail. Many members of the Republican Senate caucus want to spend no dollars, so leader mcconnell ha to terrorist himself twt himself in pretzels to put any bill on the floor. The only way he can get support of his caucus is to put poison pills in so he can wink at them and say, hey, this wont pass. So republican Senate Republicans are seein this pandemic as an opportunity to try and make it harder to hold corporations accountable when they put their workers at risk. I heard the republican leader this morning give the same long, tired speech that prends as if democrats havent been trying to negotiate with our colleagues, that we havent been trying over and over again to get our republican colleagues to talk with us. The leaders position hasnt changed over the past few months. He said it again this morning. Its the republican proposal or nothing at all. I would remind the republican leader, the house has passed a bill. The senate has not. And the only senate bill that the leader brings to the floor gets zero democratic support. And yet the Republican Leaders sition . If you dont take my bill, get nothing, when you knows his bill cant pass cant pass the senate, cant pass the house. Its a feeble position, as the pandemic rages. And it just doesn fly. We democrats have lowed our proposal by over 1 trillion to move closer in negotiations. And what did Senate Republicans do . They didnt move in our direction. They moved further away. By cutting their alreadyinadequate proposal in half, making compromise even more difficult. So, look. We need to reset the conversation here. The country is in desperate straits, maybe more than it has ever been. The consensus view of economists and experts is that the country requires a substanal injection of aid, meaning relief to our schools, Small Businesses, the unemployed, state and the local governments, our Health Care System and other things. These are not frivolous. These are not someones whim. These are the despera needs of people crying out for help. Almost none of them covered adequately in the Republican Leaders bill. This morning new yorks m. T. A. Announced a cut to subways and buses, a flashing warning sign about how desperate we need transit relief. We a going to fight hard for transit relief. None of it is in leader mcconnells bill. The two vaccines in Development Must be produced and distributed on a massive scale, and they must reach underserved and minority communities. The house heroes bill goes much further inest going that done in getting that done than the mcconnell bill. So its time for our two parties to sit down together and hash out a compromise on a bill that meets the needs of the American People. Weve been going around in circles, the republican leader in particular, for if a too long. For far too long, with nothing new added to the conversation. So Speaker Pelosi and i have formally invited the republican leader and our Senate Republican colleagues to join us in bipartisan talks. Our colleagues face a simple choice they can put the election behind them and work across the aisle to get something done or they can remain in their partisan corner defending the poisonous lies of a flailing president refusing to do the peoples desperately needed business. I yield the floor. Thune madam president . The presiding officer the majority whip is recognized. Thune thank you, madam president. Madam president , i think its we discuss the issue ofthat as Coronavirus Relief, the Senate Republicans have now not once but twice brought a bill to the floor of the United States senate that enjoyed the support of a majority of United States senators. Mr. Thune 52 senators voted for Coronavirus Relief, not once but twice. Once in september, once in october, not a single democrat voted for it. The democratic leader was just talking about the house of representatives where they passed a bill. Yeah, they passed a bill. Didnt have a single republican on it. It was a massive, multitrilliondollar bill, liberal wish list, that included all kinds of things like bailouts for blue states, the taxpayers would have to finance. It included tax cuts for millionaires in places like new york and california and left a lot of the American People who are really suffering from the coronavirus holding the bag. We believe, madam president , that there are things that need to be done and just because we cant do everything, what the democrats want to do on their liberal wish list that we shouldnt do something. And republicans came together behind a bill that increased the support above and beyond what unemployed workers would normally get through unemployment insurance, increase that by 300 a week, that also provided a significant amount of funding for schools as they continue to deal with the cost of the trying to stay open safely, that put significant investments into vaccines, testing, therapeutics, support for providers, all the things that will help on the health care fro defeat this virus, and of course provided an infusion of additional dollars for the Paycheck Protection Program which has been so success until assist our small l businesses. As they try to keep operating and keep our one operating in this country. Those are all things, all things, madam president , on which there is bipartisan support and for which there should be votes, not just among republicans in the senate but among democrats as well. Unfortunately, the democrats have opted not to sit down in a reasonable way and come up with a reasonable proposal. What came over from the house that they continue to tout would never get passed in the senate and never signed into law. The bill Senate Republicans passed i shouldnt say passed but got majority support here in the United States senate not once but twice would in fact get signed into law. And its something that could pass here in the United States senate and i believe in the use of representatives, too. Because there are all things that enjoy broad bipartisan support, the difference being that our bill was targeted to those areas wch need the support the most. It was fiscally responsible recognizing that we have a 16 trillion debt growing by the day and that every dollar that we spend is a borrowed dollar from our children and grandchildren, and its important that when we do this, we do this in a way that is thoughtful, deliberative, reasonable, and with an eye toward making sure that were getting a good return for the american taxpayer and delivering assistance in a targeted way to those folks who need it the most. Unemployed workers, those who are employed, the Small Businesses that employ them, the health care frontline workers who are out there every day fighting this fight against this virus, making sure that they have the p. P. E. To protect them and then of course the important investments that were making in vaccines and therapeutics and testing and all the things that will help defeat this. Money for schools, colleges, universities, elementary, High School Students and faculty and administration, those who are trying to keep our kids in school, keep them educated but dealing with a lot of additional costs related to providing that education in a safe way. Those are all things on which there is broad bipartisan agreement. We could pass it today. We could pass itoday, madam president , in the United States senate. But the democrats insist on a liberal wish list which includes a multitrillion dollar proposal, multitrillion dollar proposal with a liberal wish list and agenda that in many cases has nothing to do with combating or fighting the coronavirus but simply is an attempt to deliver on a liberal agenda for their political base. So lets just make that point very clearly here when we talk about what we should be doing. And i believe what we should be doing is sitting down and working on a reasonable bill, rgeted bill, a fiscally responsible bill and republicans have been more than willing to do that and more than willing to compromise, but the democrats both in the hoe and senate coinue to insist upon a multrillion dollar bill which consists again of a bunch of liberal wishlist items, taxpayer bailouts for blue states, tax cuts for millionaires across this country, putting money into diversity studies on cannabis instead of the targeted things, the things that are really going to be necessary to help the American People and our economy recover from the coronavirus. Madam president , as i begin day, i just want to say that our thoughts are with senator chuck gassily after his coronavirus diagnosis. It was a strange day in the senate yesterday with Chuck Grassley not voting because he broke a 27yearlong streak of showing up for every single vote. Madam president , we are praying for his swift recovery and his speedy return to the United States senate. Madam president , a couple of eks ago we confirmed o of the most qualified Supreme Court justices in living memory. This week were confirming more District Court judges bringing the total number of judges that weve confirmed over the last four years to nearly 230. Confirming good judges is one of the most important responsibilities that we have as senators and its a responsibility, madam president , that i take very seriously. In fact, one of the main reasons i was first elected to the senate was to make sure that outstanding judicial nominees were confirmed to the federal bench. Its hard to imagine now but confirming judges used to be a pretty bipartisan affair. President s of both parties generally got the majority of their judicial nominees but all of that changed back in the early 2000s after president george w. Bushs election democrats decided that the president s iecial nominees judicial nominees might not deliver the results that demoats wanted. So they decided to adopt a new strategy. Blocking judicial nominees on a regular basis. That became the routine here in the senate. I was one of theany americans who were upset by the blockade of impressive, well qualified nominees and it was one of the main reasons that i ran for the senate in 2004. I promised south dakans that if they elected me, i would help put outstanding, impartial judges on the bench. And im proud to have delivered on that promise. The list of outstanding judicial nominees weve confirmed over the past four years is long. Weve confirmed brilliant, accomplished men a women wh superb equal caixes. But most qualifications. But most importantly we confirmed men and women who understand the proper role of a judge, who know that the job of a judge is to interpret the law, not make the law, to call balls and strikes, not to rewrite the rules of the game. Madam president , its here that republican judicialhilosophy diverges from the judicial philosophy of a lot of democra democrats. Republicans believe that the job of a judge is to look at the law and the constitution and then rule based on how those things apply to the facts in a particular case. Judges, we believe, should leave their politics and their personal opinions at the courtroom door and base their opinions solely on what theaw and the constitution say. For democrats, on the other hand, what matters most is not how judges reach their conclusion, not whether or not they applied the law but what outcomes they deler. If a judge can deliver the right outcome by following the plain meaning of the law, then great. But if she cant, then democrats want judge to reach beyond the plain meaning of the statute to deliver what democrats see as an appropriate rest. Thenpresident ial candidate brack back in 2007 barack obama back in 2007 and i quote, what is in the justices heart, what is their Broader Vision of what america should be, end quote. Madam president , that is a very dangerous standard. Its not the job of a judge to impose his or her Broader Vision of what america should be. Its the job of a judge to determine what the law says and then applyhe law to the particular case before it. President obama famously said that he wanted judges with empathy. Well, thats all very well until youre a party in a case and you have the law on your side, but the judge empathizes with the opposing party. What happens then . Madam president , the only way to preserve the rule of law in this country is to confirm judges who understand that their allegiance must be to t law and to the constitution, not to their personal feeling, their personal beliefs, their political beliefs, or their Broader Vision of what america should be. Otherwise youve replaced the rule of law with the rule of a bunch of individual judges. So im very thankful, madam president , that we have confirmed so many judges who understand that the job of a judge is to apply the law, not make it, and who wont try to usurp the role of congress by legislating from the federal bench. I want to thank the majority leader for making judicial confirmations such a priority. And i look forward to confirming more outstanding judicial nominees this week. Madam president , i yield the floor. Suggest the absence of a quorum. The presidinofficer the clerk will call the roll. Quorum call quorum call . Scott i ask to vitiate the quorum call. The presiding officer without objection. Mr. Scott thank you. I ask unanimous consent that the mandatory quorum call with respect to the vaden nomination be waived. The presiding officer without objection. The clerk will report the motion to invoke clotu. The clerk cloture motion. We, thundersigned senators, in accordance wh the provisions of rule 22 of the standing rules ofhe senate, do hereby move to brinto a close debe on the nomination of steven a. Vaden o tennessee to be a judge of the United States court of International Trade, signed by 17 senators. The presiding officer by unanimous consent, the mandatory quorum call has been waived. The question is, is it the sense of the senate that debate on the nomination of steven a. Vaden of tennessee be to be a judge of the United States court of International Trade shall be brought to a close. The yeas and nays are mandatory under the rule. The clerk will call the roll. Vote vote vote vote the presiding officer is there any senator wishing to vote or to change his or her vote . If not, the yeas are 49. The nays 44. The motion is agreed to. Mr. Barrasso mr. President . The presiding officer the senator from wyoming bar thank urks mr. President. Mr. Barrasso than you, mr. President. I come to the floor to tell what voters of america told elected officials in washington about the election earlier this month. There has been a lot of analysis about what happened this year in the elections. Who got what right, who got what wrong. Weve had the pollsters and prognosticators and the put knits pundits. Theyre taking a beating for their many wrong predictions. American people in states all across this country and certainly in wyoming rejected this farleft agenda. They saw what democrats were offering and they said no thank you. Voters looked at the violent leftwing protests that have wrecked large cities and small cities across the country. People saw the death, the injuries, the destruction of property. Americans went to the polls and said no thank you. They rejected democrats calls to defund the police, rebuffed democrat threats to pack the Supreme Court, and said no to onesizefitsall governmentrun health care. They snubbed the democrats embrace of the green new deal, rejected this farleft plan to end American Energy production and basically americans said no. Many democrats ran on this farleft agenda. They lost despite spending hundreds of millions of dollars to try to convince americans otherwise. Democrats must be saying to themselves what did we get wrong . Well, no matter how much the Democrat Party pushes and their candidates push, america is not a farleft country. Americans dont want to blow up the senate or the Supreme Court. They dont want to add more states to the union or more justices to the court. They dont want to kill our Energy Economy and the good jobs it provides. People do not want to pay 10 a gallon for gasoline when they fill up under the green new deal. They dont want more government meddling in their personal health care decisions. I know what the people of wyoming want and members ought to know this. Americans want jobs and security. They want to get back to work in a Free Enterprise economy, not a socialist one. They want their kids back in School Safely to make sure they dont full further behind. And people are smart enough to know that the free stuff for everyone means the american taxpayer will be left footing the bill. Now, mr. President , between now and the end of the year, we have very important things to do for the nation in this body and the United States senate. We need to fund the government. We need to pass the National Defense authorization act. We need to confirm well qualified nominees to the federal judiciary. And Senate Republicans are ready to get that work done. Theres also work to be done in our fight against the coronavirus. Now, the democrat house has played politics with american lives and livelihoods for months now. With the election behind us, mr. President , i hope that theyll take a more sensible approach to this nations most pressing problem right now. For months Senate Republicans put forward targeted proposals first in september, again in october, that provided comprehensive Coronavirus Relief focused on coronavirus. 52 republicans came to the floor of this senate and voted in favor of the proposal. Not a single democrat voted for it. Its our plan to get people back to work, to get kids back to School Safely, and to put the disease behind us. Mr. President , just last week pfizer announced a vaccine that could be 90 effective in the fight against coronavirus. This morning they found out with more testing and more time that its actually 94. 5 effective. Now, ma dern that and the moderna and the National Institutes of health have developed a vaccine thats almost 95 effective as well. There are four other vaccines in the trials. One of the members, our colleague, the senator from ohio is part of that. It was a frontpage story in every paper in america, major paper yesterday, the good news about vaccines and that the light at the end of the tunnel of coronavirus is upon us. Today was announced an athome test for coronavirus coronavirus. Very are very promising. When we think about the vaccine and why this all happened, congress wisely invested 18 billion for Vaccine Research and its paying off. The governor of new york astonishingly called this he said bad news. He said this is bad news. It had to do with the fact this is coming out now and he wanted it to wait for a couple of months after a president ial inauguration. Mr. President , why is it bad news through innovation and the work of the cures act that came out under this body under the republican majority and then voted by unanimous consent in the house, why is it bad news that we may be able to save millions if not tens of millions of lives around the world. Why is it bad news as the governor of new york calls . Why is it bad news that american innovation, investment by this body has brought apart such a modern medical miracle. Now, we still need to provide additional funding for Vaccine Distribution and theres going to be a briefing tomorrow for all of the senators on both sides of the aisle when operation about operation warp speed to talk with the head of research and distribution about how to make sure we can continue on this path to success, the path that the New York Times described yesterday one that could lead to 20 Million People being vaccinated before the end of this year. Bad news says the governor of new york because it came this year rather than after january 20. Its distressing, mr. President that an elected official would behave that way in such a callous manner towards the lives as well as the livelihood of so many americans. Mr. President , we still have work to do. At every turn democrats have blocked our path. They are keeping us stuck and america stuck in this Coronavirus Crisis by demanding funding for things unrelated to coronavirus, per the speaker of the house, saying, oh, no, she wanted this 3 trillion for all sorts of things unrelated to coronavirus. She has more money in that bill to send direct paychecks to illegal immigrants, people in this country illegally than she does for coronavirus vaccine. Thats the kind of opposition and leftist thinking had that weve been running into here in this body and that the American People rejected on election day and said, no, we want a path forward. We want to continue the Great American comeback. We want our jobs. We want our kids. We want that path forward. Mr. President , theres still more work to be done and we are ready to do it. Thank you, mr. President. And i yield the floor a senator mr. President. The presiding officer the senator from oregon. Mr. Merkley mr. President , i come to the floor today to recognize the distinguished service of one of medford, oregons own and asking my colleagues to join me in support of the United States marine corps private first class delbert patrells hon honorary promotion to corporal. He served in the 14th marine regiment 14th marine division. His service was marked by a combat history of notable intensity and duration. He fought in five pivotal battles that together changed the tide of the war in the pacific theater. The gilbert and marshal Island Campaign between february 19 3 and 1933 and the battle of sypan july 1944. The battle of tine rch n, the battle of iwo jima between february 19, 1945, and march 26 of 1945, and fifth, the battle of okinawa between april 1, 1945 and june 22, 1945. What an outstanding contribution to make to the fight for freedom and what a remarkable bit of history to be part of. And as administrative officers noted, private first class latrelle performed excellently time and time again. He shoul have received this promotion a long time ago. The units he served in, however, were under constant enemy bombardment and the kind of administrative submissions were often misplaced or incomplete in the midst of the assaults. It wasnt until earlier this year threequarters of a century later, that the marine corps Advisory Panel reviewed the comprehensive record of service to the marine corps and to the National Security of the United States of america. And after reviewing the record, commandant of the marine corps recommended his promotion to the rank of corporal which was endorsed soon after by the secretary of the navy. Both of these leaders recognized mr. Latrel lerchs unique contribution with the secretary of the navy noting the indelible mark that he has left on the history of the marine corps and the United States navy. The state of oregon, and our entire nation, are proud of his Meritorious Service throughout world war ii. His remarkable combat history and actions in support of freedom mean that this recognition is long overdue and im proud that this son of oregon, who i hope is watching right now, is finally receiving this special honor. Colleagues, i know that you join me in honoring, respecting, appreciating delbert latrelle and his fight for freedom, his legacy of service to our nation with the distinction of corporal in the United States marine corps. Thank you, mr. President. And i note the absence of a quor. The presiding officer the clerk will call the roll. Quorum call quorum call quorum call the presiding officer the senate is in a quorum call. Mr. Brown i ask unanimous consent to dispense with the quorum. The presiding officer without objection. Mr. Brown thank you, mr. President. The American People sent a clear message in this election. They want us to get to work to empower with a plan to fight this virus and to get people back to work, back back to schol school, back to their lives. They gave president elect biden a commanding victory to do that of. Its time to get to work. Weve had more than a million new cases just in the past week, yet, what has senator mcconnell do to keep the Senate Session . He puts essential workers at risk to ram through an unqualified nominee whom pretty much everybody in this body knows has no business serving in the federal reserve. Lets be clear what is this about. The outgoing president who lost the popular vote by five Million People, lost the electoral vote by a landslide and is trying yesterday, luckily, senators of both parties rejected that effort. 8 ol million americans voted 80 million americans voted, most ever, voted in this election. Judy shelton promises more trump chaos. You the cant say you support working people while putting someone in charge who has no problem whatsoever threatening their jobs and savings to push a bizarre intellectual agenda. She has no idea how to handle an economic crisis like the one were in. Her position is not traditionally conservative, which we could debate. I could vote for conservatives as i have before if i think they are qualified and their thinking is not so far far right out of the mainstream. But his positions arent conservative, they are disqualifying. She has advocated returning to the gold standard. No person, progressive, moderate, conservative, no person believes in the gold standard. She opposeses federal deposit insurance, insurance that protects your money when you put it in the bank. Shes flipped flopped on this issue several times during the nomination. The oinl thing she is consistent the only thing she is consistent with is she wants to do what trump wants to do. Americans have moved on from donald trump, 80 million strong. Its time for the senate to move on from this failed nomination and this failed presidency. This nomination was a waste of time. Look at what we should have been doing instead. You all know that. Every moment we spend is on necessary on unnecessary, unqualified nominees like this. Its the time the senate isnt spending saving lives. Its time to get to work delivering results for the people whom we serve. Were watching hospitals fill up again from oklahoma to ohio. Our Health Care System is getting overwhelmed, gig workers, selfemployed workers will lose their insurance at the end of the year. Small businesses and local governments are running out of money. It doesnt have to be this bad. Ive had enough and i think colleagues from both parties have had enough between saving the economy and fighting the virus. We have to do both and can do both. Its not unsolvable, we have the resources. Were the greatest, wealthiest country on earth. We have some of the best workers, best scientists, we have natural resources, we have the worlds reserves, we have all of those things, but President Trump and senator mcconnell want you to believe we cant solve big problems. We cant use our resources to help ordinary families. We cant use our talent to p. P. E. And not use ingenuity to open schools safely. They essentially have thrown up their hands and said sorry, america, youre on your own. They want us to believe this is the best america can do. Americans have made it clear they dont buy that. Theyve had enough of aiming low and being told we cant do that, we cant solve this problem, its too big. We cant afford it. We can do big things. We did big things in world war ii, with we did big things combating commune itch and communism. We did it past spring when we passed the cares act unanimously, one study said that people were kept out of poverty because of the 600 to unemployment insurance, because of local governments because we helped people stay in their homes. 12 Million People kept out of poverty in the individual checks sent out. Since then, essentially that expired in july and august. Since then, we have seen literally thousands of americans a week falling into poverty. We kept millions of americans from falling into poverty. We can do it again. We can keep americans from losing their homes. We put in place an eviction moratorium, and gave support to Small Businesses. Why are we not doing that again . Why does senator mcconnell not want to do that again . We can rise to this moment and restore peoples faith in this government. We cant allow President Trump to sabotage this economy and sabotage this government from within creating chaos wherever he can after voters decisively, decisively, decisively rejected him with an Electoral College landslide and rejected him with more than fivele million votes. The five million votes. The voters have sent a clear message to all of us to get to work. Mr. President , iote the absence of a quorum. Will call the roll. Er the clerk quorum call quorum call mrs. Capito mr. President . The presiding officer the senator from West Virginia. Mr. President. Hank you, i am here today to the presiding officer the senate is in a quorum call. Mrs. Capito i wou request that we vitiate the quorum call. The presiding officer ithout objection. Mrs. Capito thank you, mr. President. Im here tod to join some of my fellow senators here to talk about giving thanks to our military Service Members and our veterans. Certainly this is the thankful, gratef season that we are heading into, and i think november has a lot of celebratory times, both for our families but also for our verans and military families. Theres no what he this year theres no question that this year has been very different and has looked very different tha most. Weve faced so many challenges and adjusted to a new norm of teleworking, telehealth, telecommuting. I da theove facetiming with my family, and other socially distanced activities, and i dont see that coming to an end in the near future. But we certainly do have so much to be grateful for and thankl for. A little fun ct is, i was actually born on thanksgiving day and my parents always joked that they were going to name me thankful evermore because my last name was moore athe time. And while me parents thankfully decided to go a different route holds true today. Meaning still it is true because i am thankful evermore for many things, especially, as i said, as we approach this thanksgiving holiday, which is jt around the corner, and its going to lack a lot different for a lot of peopleut that doesnt mean it cante just as special. Im thankful f my health and that of my familys. Im grateful for theirst responders and eential workers. Now those workers in the hospitals who are really seeing a lot more paties coming in with covid i think about the Grocery Store workers the truckers, the others that really kept life moving during those first months when we werent sure how to cope. Im very gratefu nor my wonderful for my Wonderful Community of charleston, West Virginia, where ive lived for many years. And im grateful for the honor to represent the people of West Virginia. Im grateful for our country and all of the Great American thoughts and prayers that have carried many of us through these last few months. Butm especially thankful and grateful for the brave Service Members who have put their lives on the line for our country year after year. Im gteful for the many veterans that have come before them and for the military families from all over the country that support the men and women who serve. Just last week we celebrated veterans day. Its always a very special kind of solemn day in our state, and its very well attended. This year we couldnt have the parades. Did a lot of virtual celebrations, buto less special. This is a day to honor the men and women of the uted states armed forces, both past and present, w have stood up to protect the freoms that we hold dear. Our military is undouedly the greatest in the world. From the greatest generation to our younger soldiers who have fought in iraq and afghanistan, all of our soldiers have served admirablably and im pleased to be serving with some who hav not just served in several years ago but in recent times. My home state of West Virginia has a long and proud history of answering the call of duty. I think we have the highest percentage per capita of military veterans. Im the proud daughter of a world war ii veteran and purple heart recipient. I grew up hearing stories about heroism displayed on and off the battlefield, a ive always been in awe of those who have served this country. Interestingly, t, is in hearing my farmers generation talk about my fathers generation talk about their service to the country, it w always in terms of duty and love of country and never in terms of i had to do this or my parents thought it was a good ide these were things deeply held inside of those veterans who wanted to be a part of something that they held dear, their love of country, their love of freedom, their love of liberty. You know, Woodie Williams is one of those individuals w lives in my state. Many of you have seen him. He did the coin flip at the super bowl last year, i think. I continue to be inspired by him every day. Ive mentioned him more than a few times on the senate floor, as are all of our proud West Virginians. Hes proud West Virginian hielf and is one of the last medal of honor recipient from world war world war ii. He turned 97 last month. He valntly fought in the battle of iwo jimand won a medal for his actions during the war. We are so proud of him and the inspiration that he does with our gold star families. We have memorials all through our state and across the country where woody inspires not just those who serve but those who support andhe families that suppor those who serve. So we are very proud to call him our West Virginia own. We did rename the hospital in huington after woody and we had a grant opening. It was really fun. Whether it be the korean war, the vietnam w, the first gulf war, the ongoing fight against terrorism in the middle east and all the conflicts that america has fought, our countrys Service Members have made the ultimate sacrifices to keep our liberties intact. You know, sometimes i think people get kind of down about where are we going . And it seems like we dont have the optimism as a country. You know what . Im ver optimistic because of what im talking about tay. Without the sacrifices of men and women weould not be able to have these many freedoms. And it is important to remember those those men and women who have supportive family members. Is is also military family appreciation month. Think about the different moves or the nights of sleeplessness when yourre unsure whereour loved one is or they how theyre serving. Challenges that militargnize the families face while supporting these brave men and women. Our militaryamilies do face unique challenges, and i think here in this body we take tha into consideration quite a bit when were looking a appropriations and ways to help our families. And we are forever indebted to their sacrifices that they make as their loved ones are fighting for our freedoms. Theyre often the ones behind the scenes faced with difficult decions every single day. And its not easy. Ive had the chance to meet many military families and hear about their experiences firsthand, and ive also heard from many of our n here, particularly senator joni ernst, who served as well and is a vetan. Senator Martha Mcsally i also one of those that ive been fascinatedo hear her path and her service. Veterans or military families,ce were so grateful for their service. Its becau of their sacrifice and courage that we are able to enjoy tse freedoms and lts that we all crish. This thanksgiving, take a moment to thank a veteran, a Service Member, and in this environment a frontline worker, an essential worker, someone whos giving of themselves, sacrificing time with their fily and in some ways putting themselves in precarious situations in meeting the Health Challenges of covid. At the same time, this should not be limited to just thanksgiving or to veterans day or mitary family appreciation day. We shoulde doing this every day, and we should be making sure that those who serve kw our appreciation, those who serve know, like the senator from north dakotahos going to be after me, know that their long history of service in our states and certainly, mr. President , your state as well, all across this country are not going without recognition. Without this gre sacrifice and dedication defending the flag, this country would not be what it isoday. And i mention how optimistic and grateful and thankful i am to be an american. Ile this year has thrown a lot in our w, and it may be difficult to see some of the positives, we must always rember that we have much to be thankf for. Thk you, mr. Esiden mr. Rounds mr. President . The presiding officer the senator from south dakota. Mr. Unds thank you you mr. President. I nt to acknowledge and express my appreciation for the comments of the senator from West Virginia. Her fathers service and t service of so many interhaves is as well as the other veterans of our colleagues he in the senate today and say tha you thanksgiving, for our veterans and all those who serveoday, we appreciate them so much. Mr. Hoeven and of course thats what this colloquy saul abou for us to come down today veterans, thank you to those who serve. Your state has a number ofer, military bases and a large contingent of Service Members, and they are truly fan it is a sticks. They are fantastic. They are just amazing. We he two large air bases in my state. And of course our guard and others tha serve in our military. Im impressed every y when i see wt they do and how they serve. And we are so deeply appreciative. Thats what today is all aut. It is thanking our veterans an making the point, i think, that we need to be there for our veterans and o Service Members no not just on veterans d, but every day. Tangle them for all they do thanking tm for all they do, and to their families. And keep in our hearts all of those deployed aroun the world today, kping uses safe. In my state of north dota, we have a rich tradition of service, and im so proud of all of our North Dakotans who have served in the military and serve today. And sinci was governor of north dakota, from 2000 tough 2010 and even sin ive been here in the senate since then, i dont think ive ever missed participating at home on veterans day in cerenies for our Service Members. Really, because we were in session last week, this is the first time in i think more than 20 years that i wasnt able to attend services at home for our veterans on veterans day so what did is i went over to arngton cemetery and spent some tim there. I also went to the u. S. Marine corps memorial and i particularly wanted to go ove to the marine cps memorial because my father was marine. And of course for his life he died when he was 87 years old. But throughout his life you could ner say he was a marine. Because once a marine, always a marine. So even when he was in his 80s, he sll is a marine. And so i you said was a marine, then hed get mad at you. But now that hes pasd, i can say that he was a marine. But he was awfully proud of it of his service. And as i looked at that marine corps memorial, it made me think of him. And it just is aga a recognitiofor all of us of how muche owe our veteran and so its about thanking them and acknowledgeing. But its also very important at we show our gratitude in other ways, rht . By making sure that our Armed Service forces, members, as well as all of our veterans receive the cakes the benefits the care, theenefits, the recognition, the things that our nation has promised them for their service. We nd to follow through on those things in this congress. Weve worked to do that. We need to continue to work to that. Some of the things that weve strengthen t v. A. s ability to provide the continuum of care. Not only the care to medical care but the continuum of care as they get older. We talk about our wor war ii generation the americas greatest generation as laid out in tom brokaws book in that famous acknowledgment of all that they did in world wa world. Soany of them were losing how. It highlights the need to make sure we he the continuum of care, bothare in terms of nursing home care but also homebased care as well. We need to make sur those options are available to them. We also need to recognize that members of our military sfer inries both seen and unseen. You know, theres the wounds that you can see, but then theres also the wounds, the battles, the scars of war that you cant see. In terms of what the v. A. Does for our veterans, we need to make sure that the Mental Health care and the Suicide Prevention programs are in place there as well. Last month the commander john scott hannon, veterans alth care improvement a was signed into law i was pleased to be able to advance a more comprehensivelp approach to address the tragedy of veteran suicide. Itlso expands access to alternative Treatment Options like hype baric hyperbaric oxygen therapy for veterans who have not been able to benefit or recover using tradional therapiesor posttraumatic stre. Last year working with others i was able t secure for the fargo v. A. A designation as the fifth location in the nation forn hhbot pilot program. Weecently extended that prografor a longer period of time and added an Additional Service area in jamestown, north data as well. I have to say our health care facility, our v. A. , Veterans Health care facility in fargo is second to none. They do a tremendous job, and i talk to veterans that go there not only from north dakota but from much of minnesota. Sometimes we hea these stories and have great concern about veterans facilities where theyre not doing a good job and we need to address that. I can say that our fargo, north dakota v. A. Health facility is tops. And the veterans i talk to on a regular basis tell me that. Were very appreciative of all the Health Care Providers that workhere and do a very good job for our veters. So we need to continu to provide at type of care as well. Also i join with senator sinema and sator sullivan in introducing the reded unemployment for veterans ofll ages act which enables veterans regardless o when they served access to the vocational habilitation and Employment Benefits that makes sense, particularly durg this pandemic. Wee seen the challenges of unemployment for evebody. And making sure that our great veterans have access to work and employme when ty come back or leave the service is always a priority. It is obviously very mh a priority as we work our way through this pandemic. And so pasng this legislation woul help provide veterans with greater selfsufficiency, better financial security, and, of course, a Higher Quality of life. Al as chairman of the senate commite on Indian Affairs, i ensure that our nation fulfills its promise to our native American Veterans. And native americans serve in our milary in a higher percentage than any other ethnic grouwhich is tru remarkable and a tremendoushing. According as i say, for all of our veterans, we have to be there but we certainly have to make sure then that we are providing help and support for our native American Veterans who have serve as well. They say clearly native American Veterans face some unique challenges related to homelessness and housing. Thats a function of being on the reservation. They have some unique challenges, and we have to work to address those challenges. So he workedith senator udall, e vice chairman on the Indian Affairs commiee along with senator tester who i think is ranking on the Veterans Affairs committee. And we introduced the tribal h. U. D. Act which would provide rental Housing Assistance as well as housingor eligible for native American Veterans who are homelessness. T risk of ouregislation has passedhe senate and we are certainly hoping that it receives action in the house very soon. As we continue to sport our Service Members, i also am a member of the Senate Defense appropriations comttee. We need to continue to work to invest in our military and ensure that our Service Members have the tools they need to complete their missions. Inorth dakota we he many active duty service mbers at our air force bases as well as others i the ste. They perform incredibly Important Missions and we need to make sure were supporting them and our Service Members across the country and deployed around the gbe, and that they have wha they need to do their missions. And that applies equally for our members of the National Guard and the reserves. And as a former governor and i know the presiding officer, a former governor himself, the amount that we rely on the National Guard is unbelievable. And their level of service is unbelievable, wther its fire or flood or hurricane or rnadoes or any kind of Natural Disaster here at home or whether its deploying to the global war on terror in afghanistan or iraq or anywhere ee around the world, ourational guard is there. They do an incredible, incredible job. So we need to make sure were supporting our guardeserves just as we support our active duty forces. As a matter of fact right now on of our guard units is actuallyeployed for a ninemonth assignment defending the nations capitol. Washington, d. C. Ending its just again, talk to ybody who is a former governor, a governor or former governor and theyll tell you just how incredible the National Guard i and those deployments arent easy. Whetr theyre deployed overseas whrrks theyre overseas, whether theyre deployed somewhere in the United States, down at the border, whatever it may be they serve and we cant forget that their when theyre gone, the families have to pick up the slackt home and they do. Thats one reaso each yea since coming to the senate ive resolution proclaiming ae Senate National d of the deployed to recognize and thank our deployed Service Members and their family members, active duty,uard, and reserves. With thanksgiving approaching were reminded that many freedoms and blessings that we enjoy as a nation all of which have been secured by the men and the women who have served and do serve in our armed forces. D tod and every day, not just on veterans day, but today and every day we say thank you and god bless you. With that, mr. President , i yield the floor. A senator mr. President . The presiding officer the senator from nebraska. Mrs. Fischer thank you, mr. President. Next thursday is thanksgiving, and we are hereoday because en during a tough year like this one, we have so many things to be thankful for. In that spirit id like to tell a short story about a nebraskan whose contribution to the history of our country is pretty extraordary. In 1886 Andre Jackson higgins was born in the small town of columb, nebraska. He spent mos of his childhood in omaha and he served in the Nebraska Army National Guard after the turn of the 20th century before moving to alabama the age of 20 to work in the lumber industry. He worked a wide veatf jobs ping to learn variety of jobs hoping to learn enough to eventually start his own business he succeeded in his dream. In 1922 when he founded higgins lumber and exportico which export company which quickly grew to become one of the largest lumber companies in north ameca. Four years later his company designed the eureka boat, a to sail in just a few feet ofle water. At the time lumber could only be loaded on to ships at port, but a craft that could operate in and o of rink banks rivern banks enabled higgins export company to load and unload its lumber just about anywhere. In short Andrew Higgins built the eeka boat simplyo make his employees lives easier. Andhat was an honorable goal. But throughout the next decade as it became clear that hitler desired to plunge the world back into war,he u. Military began to search for a w to land soldiers directly on to beache. They turned to the eureka boat which beat the navys design in a headtohead test in 1939. There was just one problem. The only way to get onr off the boat was by jumping over the sides, and this would leave soldiers exposed to enemy fir in combat. Asked higgins to add a ramp door to the boats bow. Design just a month later, and the higgins boat was born. To produce over3,000 of theseon boats, and his design worked so well that the allies trusted them to carry our soldiers ross the English Channel on dday. Mr. Presint, without the higgins boat, we may not have turned the tide of world war ii at normandy. We may never have liberated rope from hitlers grasp. In fact, president Dwight Eisenhower who was the supreme allied comnder in europe on dday wents far as to say that Andrew Higgins was, quote, the man who won the war for us. It was an honor to attend the 75th anniversary of dday last year at omaha beach, to see firsthand the beach where the greatest generation jumped out of those boat that arew higgins built to save the world from naziism. I am thankful for them and i am thankful forhe sacrifices that all of our veterans in active and active duty Service Members make each and every day. We all know that thanksgiving is going be a little diffent this year. As important as it is to spend time with our extended family, many of whom we only see once a year, it is just as importa to do what we can to protect tho we love from this virus. Wont pretend that its easy to spend thanksgiving apart from these large gatherings of loved ones, but i hope the far greater sacrifices, our soldiers and veterans have made will hel us to keep this hardship in perspective. This thanksgiving lets give thanksor ourilitary. Lets give thanks forndrew higgin and the higgins boat which saved the lives of so many of our soldiers on dday. And lets give thanks for our veterans and those currently servin this country in the armed forces. Without the sacrifices that they have made and continue to make every day, our country wldnt be as great as it is today. Their Service Makes thanksgivin possible. This yea and every year. Thank you. Mr. President , would suggest the absence of a quorum. The presiding officer the clerk will call the roll. Quorum call quorum call a senator mr. President. The presiding officer the senator from kansas. Mr. Roberts i ask unanimous nsent at the quorum call be dispensed with. The presiding officer without objection. Mr. Roberts m president , i am rising today, along with others, givi thanks to our mitary and Service Members and our veterans. And our family inur family, this comes naturally. I am the son of wes roberts, a world war ii marine veteran who fought at okinawa and iwo jima. As a ma reap vetan myself, i say with certainty and pride, there is no greater dutyhan to stand with those who have put country before self. I might add that my dad was age 41 he lied about his age, said he was 39. There was a niche in the marine corps at that time to be an air grnd officer. That quick turned into a combat situation, both in okinawa and iwo jima. I thank i am very thankful that he was spared, and i would also like to addhat i thank former president truman for making a decision that allowed him and 800,000 other americans to come home. It is the utmost importance, mr. Chairman pardon me. President , especially today to pause and t recognize and thank veterans everywhere for their service in defending our nation from threats, both overseas and here at he. Another point of privilege i would like to point out, before theandemic, we were set to dedicate the devise d. Eisenhower memorial the dwight d. Eisenhower memorial on may 8. Ats the 75th anniversary of victory in europe, an anniversary with worldwide significance. But due to the ongoing pandemic, we dedicated the memorial in septemr and now after decades of work, the memorial dedicated to our president and the supreme allied commander and kansas favorite son, dwight d. Eisenhower, is attracting vitors it. I dve by it on independence avenue on my way home. Theres always peoe taking pictures of dwight and also the supreme allie commander. He was a man who basically saved eight years of peace andgave us prosperi as president. The memorial encourages all visitors to learn me about the Critical Role that ike played in not only saving our nation and shaping our nation and defining the age but leading the nation to peace and prosperity. He rognized the promise of america and the recy procal responbility of his people to serve the natio that serves em. As he said in us in first inaugural address, it is the firm duty of each of our three citizens to place theause of this country before t comfort and convenience of himself. It was eisenhowers decision to launch the dday invasion that helped turn the tide of war in europe and save western democracy and while the memorial pays tribute to his valian leership, it also pays tribute tohe greates generation. Thout their bravery and sacrifice during world war ii, the world no doubt would be a very different place. Now, we ha another favorite son in kansas, my dear friend and mentor, senator bob dole, is another one of the heroes of the greatest generation, and he made a tremends effort in making the world war ii memorial a reality. In talking with bob about his effort and then his key role in playing theuccess, or making actuality and being successful, now anybody that is a world war iieteran and those numbers are decreasing dramatically every year owever, they can get some transportation up here on independence avenue and pay homage to their commander in chief. And salute them as they would have liked to hav done years back. Madam chairwoman, i would point out through my 40 years in both the house and senate, i have said many times that the numberone priority of our feral government is to provide for the safety and security of our gre nation. And to encouge those who protect us and to give them due and it has also been an honor to serve as a marine and to serve the great state of kansas in washington. But our nation is forever indebted to the acts of bravery and sacrifice of the service men and women who repeatedly answered the call of duty and stepped forward to defend the freedoms we all hold dear. Each and eve one of us more especially in this body have give the thanks of a grateful nation to our nations veterans. I would be remiss if i did not close by stating semper fi. I yield the floor. Have determined that there is not quorum present, madam esident. The presiding officer the clerk will call throll. Quorum call quorum call the presiding officer the senator from mississippi. Mr. Wicker i ask unanimous consent that the quorum call be vitiate. The presiding officer without objection. Mr. Wicker i ask unanimous consent that the confirmation vote on the vaden nomination occur at 2 15 p. M. Today. The presiding officer without objection. Mr. Wicker i have eight requests for committees to meet during todays session of the senate. Theyve been approved by the majority and new orleans. Minority leaders. The presiding officer duly noted. Mr. Wicker at this point im joined on the floor by the senator from North Carolina and i think a few additional members will be coming to talk about thangiving day and about one of the things that we are most thankful about in this nation and that is the servi of our veterans who give us the freedom thats we enjoy today. Terans like my 96yearold ther who was in world war ii, who was recognized at the ole missouth carolina game saturday night as onef the surviving world war ii veterans. So i want to te a personal moment to recogze my dad and people like him who who seed so many, many decades ago. They kept us safe and defend our most important freedoms, including the freom that american exercised just this month, the freedom to cast a ballot. Im a veteran myself and im a proud veteran. Of course my accomplishments do not compare with those of my world war ii veteran dad. And im the proud father of an air force major today, major mcdaniel wicker. So being a veteran is a proud tradition in our famy but also it is its a proud recognition that we make as care that the promises tha weake made to armed Service Members that have stepped forward, donned the uniform and tha those promises are kept. That is whyt is important to make sure that during this pandemic, that federally run Retirement Homes like the retirement home in gulfport, mississippi, have the resources they need. It means to reform the v. A. , which we have done on a bipartisan basisn recent years. Legislation like the v. A. Mission act and the v. A. Accountality and whistlebler protection act. These laws have reduced wait times, expanded access to telemedicine and private care and allowed the department of Veterans Affairs to fire employees who have engaged in poor performance and i might add that as i say that when talk to veterans who have used the services of the v. A. So many times they are complimentary of the geners in their praise of employees of the department of Veterans Affairs. For those who don get the job done and perform poorly, we now have the ability under this important leglation to get rid of them and replace them with meone who will join t majority of v. A. Employees in getting the job done. I have introduced legislation with senator kaine to designate september 30 as natiol veterans suicide pvention day. Andts something that, again, weve word with worked on in a bipartisa manner down through the congrses. This month is not only thanksgiving month and election appreciation month. Itary family and showing our thankfulness to veterans also includes showing our thankfulness to the families of our military members. So i am im pleased to join colleagues today and yield the floor in just a few moments to my colleague from North Carolina. Just today members of the hou and senate are working on the final paragraphs and the final provisions that remain undecided about the National Defense auorization act. It will be named this year after retiring colleague of ours, representativeack thornberry, of texas, who did not seek reelection this year. I can tell you members of this senate and members of this republican conference are working hard today t make our National Defense authorization act a reality again for the 60th Straight Year and to serve those veterans and future terans who have done smuch to make our country free. And at that point at this point i will yield the floor and suggest the absence of a quorum. The presiding officer will the senator withdraw his request . Mr. Wicker id be happy to withdraw my request. A senator madam president. The presiding officer the senator from North Carolina. Mr. Tillis before i senior senator from mississippi leaves, id like tohank him for his mments and his service to the nation. He actually snt some quality North Carolina when he wasn the air force. Senator wicker,hank you for your service and your fathers as well. Madam president i rise for the same purpose to tha our men and women in uniform and those who are actely serving. In North Carolina we have one of the Fastest Growing populatio of veterans in the nion. We will have surpassed a million over the next couple of years. We also have over 100,000 acte duty Service Members servi bravely from fort bragg, seymour river. We have a welldecorated National Guard and lgest air station in this the coast guard in the northeast part of our state. We have a proud tradition of military service and im proud to serve them asheir u. S. Senator. I also have the privilege of serving on the senate Armed Services on the Veterans Affairs committee where we work every day to try and make life better for our men and women servg today and our veterans who are served have served in the past. I have to say on the Veterans Affairs gminute, its one of my favoriteommittees because American People need t that the recognize that we are almost always coming together, republics and democrats, to continue to make installments on a debt we can never fully repay. Setor wicker talked about some of the progress we made. The mission act, making sure we provide the veterans who need care the best possible care they can get. I also have to thank the secretary of the v. A. , robert lkie, for his leadership, also a north carolinian who has taken an organization and Veterans Affairs out of 18 veters agenci was 17th and nowt is the top five. Our satisfaction rating among veterans is over 90 . I would put what they are doing up against any of the west Health Care Systems in the prieft sector. Madam president , we have a lot 0 of work to do and i want all the veterans to know were going to hor their service by doing our work here in the senate to madam president , i also want to talk about the fact that its military familappreciation month. I think that the real silent heroes out there are the spouses and the family members who are hind when youre deployed or in training. We have to continue to make many people may not appreciate. What its like if youre in a career as a spouse and youre being moved from station to station ery couple of years how difficult it is to get a job because for many certified positions, it can take a year or more for you to get job in anotr state and by that tim youre already plarning for another deployment. Plannin for another employment. We made a lot of progress in this area but haveore to do. Military families who are in military housing on our installations across the world, at fort bra and cam lejeune. Own were not done making sure you have the best, safest, cleanest housing you could possibly have. We made a lot of progress in this congress but we have a lot of work to do. So im going to make a commitment to every Service Member and every veteran a long as im inhe u. S. Senate, were going to work to continue to repay that debt and were looking for your feedbk, were looking for your input so we can do right by you. But for all veterans, for all military families, i wanto thank you from the bottom o my heart for all that youveone and all that you continue to do. And on a final note to the Veterans Services organization who i worked with closely on the vetera affairs committee, thank you for your continued service. You served ou nation in the Armed Services and you continue to serve by helping veterans and helping be voice up here in congress. To the veterans and military families, god bless you and thank you for your service. Madam president , i yieldhe floor. A senator madam predent. The presiding officer the senator from iowa. Ms. Ernst i want to thank my colleague from North Carolina for joining us today to tal about our veterans and how important they are and thank you, North Carolina, of course, is home to many of our active duty installations, housing, many of our brave men and women from across the united stes. Many