Quorum call the presiding officer the senator for mississippi. Without objection. Under the previous order, all postcloture time has expired. The question is on the nomination. A senator i ask for the yeas and nays. The presiding officer is there a sufficient second. There appears to be. The clerk will call the roll. Vote vote vote the presiding officer are there any other senators wishing to vote or change their vote . If not, the yeas are 556789 the nays are 42. The nomination is confirmed. Under the previous order, the motion to reconsider is considered made and laid upon the table and the president will be immediately notified of the senates action. A senator mr. President . The presiding officer the senator follow alaska. Mr. Sullivan mr. President , i ask unanimous consent the senate proceed to legislative session for a period of morning business with senators permitted to speak therein for up to ten minutes. The presiding officer without objection. Mr. Sullivan mr. President , i want to come down and speak today about a very important sector of the economy, for alaska, for america. Thats our fishermen and some important legislation, very Bipartisan Legislation that im trying to move right now that im hopeful that everybody can agree to. The senate has agreed to it previously and im hopeful we can do it again right now. I talk about the great state of alaska b being the super power f seafood. Over 60 of seafood, commercial, recreational harvested in america comes from my great states water. 60 . So this is a vital industry in my state but also vital industry in the country. And my colleagues know that our fishermen are some of the hardest working americans. Theyre also some of the americans who have been hit the hardest by this pandemic. The salt and saw kennedy act helps these hardworking men and women across the country by providing consistent funding for research and development and related programs, grant programs, very popular. Decades ago, mr. President , congress authorized a group of experts from all around the country, alaska, east coast, vessel owners, fishermen, distributors to advise the secretary of commerce how to distribute the funds. Makes sense since theyre close to the action. And over time unfortunately this group was disbanded. Nobody thought that was a good idea. Abolishing this Advisory Committee and then you had the National Marine fisheries essentially determine how all of these salt and stall kennedy funds would be diggs butted to fishermen. So with all due respect to d. C. Bureaucrats, theyre the ones making the decisions. So we have a bill, my bill by the way, passed the senate previously, unanimously that members in the Fishing Community from all over the country be chosen to determine how to get these funds out to our fishermen, whether in new york or North Carolina or alaska. And, mr. President , everybody thinks that makes sense. Our fishermen need support right now. Theres no doubt. Theyre being hammered by this pandemic. So the legislation which i am hopefully going to be able to pass in the senate mere in a couple of minutes here in a couple of minutes has cosponsors, broad across the broad political spectrum in the senate. Senator cantwell, markey, warren, murkowski, myself. Mr. President , i am aware of no policy objections to this important piece of legislation. To the contrary. Its already passed the senate unanimously. I am, however, aware of an unrelated dispute between the democratic leader and some of my Senate Colleagues from the east coast regarding an entirely different bill. Now, i respect disagreements over regional issues. I certainly hope my colleagues can work them out. This issue is thousands of miles away from alaska and my constituents, the people i represent who are hurting. And moreover, mr. President , the bill im getting ready to reduce, s. 494, helps all fishermen nationwide, new york, North Carolina, alaska. So, mr. President , the american fisheries act, s. 494, should not be Collateral Damage or a hostage taken in an unrelated fight. If my colleagues want to try and Work Together, ill certainly help them work out their differences, but i dont think its constructive to hold hostage this important legislation for a fight thats thousands of miles away from alaska. So, mr. President s, i ask unanimous consent that the senate proceed to the immediate consideration of calendar number 179, s. 494, that the bill be considered read a third time and passed, that the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table, with no intervening action or debate. The presiding officer is there objection . Without objection. A senator objection. The presiding officer objection is heard. The senator for new york. Mrs. Gillibrand reserving the right to object, i ask unanimous consent that the request be modified so that in addition to the request from the senator from alaska, the senate proceed to the immediate consideration of calendar 317, senate bill 908, the fluke fairness act. I request that the bill be read a third time and passed and that the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table, with no intervening action or debate. The presiding officer is there objection to the modification . A senator reserving the right to object the presiding officer the senator from North Carolina. Mr. Tillis thank you. Ive been in the senate for five and a half years and i dont consider anyone to be a better friend and advocate for his state than senator sul van. Even though senator gillibrand and inside have differenced, we found way to Work Together. What i have before me is something very important to understand. I agree with everything senator sullivan said. His measure, i suspect, has broad support, probably support on its own. But what we have here is the addition by the motion of senator gillibrand that affects my state, North Carolina, and it has to do with reallocation of quotas that would particularly affect the flounder industry in North Carolina. I hope that were able to work out differences and get senator sullivans bill passed but because it has been amended to include something is that hurts my fisheries and hurts my fishermen when theyre suffering like everybody else from the covid crisis and all the challenges that produces, i do object. The presiding officer objection is heard. A senator mr. President . The presiding officer is there objection to the original request . Mrs. Gillibrand i object. The presiding officer objection is heard. The senator from alaska. Mr. Sullivan mr. President , while i am disappointed, and these are two good friends of mine here on the National Floor who ive worked with on numerous pieces of legislation. They both represent their states very well. But, mr. President , this is a missed opportunity for the fishermen of america america, not just alaska. But for the whole country new york, North Carolina, and im certainly hopeful that my good friend from new york and North Carolina can work this out. I will certainly lend my efforts, my staffs efforts, because we shouldnt have a regional fight blocking what will benefit everybody, particularly when fishermen right now are really hurting. Theyre one of the sectors of the u. S. Economy that have been hammered by this pandemic, and this kind of legislation, although it is not going to solve all their problems, shows that were working for them. So, mr. President , we will live to fight another day here soon. I hope that were able to pass my legislation, commonsense legislation, the american fisheries Advisory Committee act, that will help every fishermen in america. I yield the floor. The presiding officer the senator from hawaii. Ms. Hirono mr. President , the covid19 pandemic has revealed the people doing the truly essential work in our country, and it isnt the fortune 500 c. E. O. Or inbanker. It is the Home Health Care worker, the delivery truck driver working a 12hour shift bringing food, medicine, and other critical supplies to people who need it. Its a Grocery Store clerk working a checkout line or stocking shelves to keep up with the skyrocketing demand. It is the migrant agricultural worker picking berries or standing on an Assembly Line at a meatpacking plant. It is the housekeeper custodian, working longer hours to clean our hotels and other Public Places a. It is the Child Care Worker coming in every day to care for other children while being unable to afford care for their own. And its a bus driver who, despite operating in a tightly he is enclosed place, transports hundreds of people to work every day. These people, and others like them doing essential work, are literally risking their lives every day for the rest of us and theyre earning muchdeserved recognition during this pandemic. But, let me be clear, these workers have always been essential, even if our Economic System has not valued the jobs they do or treated them with the respect they deserve. Valuing appeared respecting essential valuing and respecting essential workers is about more than calling them heroes when thats the popular thing to do. Its about recognizing and calling out how these workers have been treated in our economy and its about doing something to fix it. For too long, people doing the work now deemed essential during the pandemic have been forced to work for low wages that are either at or just above minimum wage. They have jobs that offer no paid family or medical leave, have little access to affordable child care, have jobs that offer no employersponsored health care coverage, and have been forced to work in dangerous conditions. Coping with these inequities in normal times was challenging enough for our essential workers, but the pandemic exacerbated by Donald Trumps failure of leadership, is creating new problems and is making existing problems worse. The administrations failure to implement emergency Safety Standards is creating unsafe workplaces for essential workers. Meanwhile, its pushing to provide businesses immunity from coronavirusrelated lawsuits. If theyre successful, employers would have even less incentive to provide safe workplaces for employees or to protect customers and consumers. Its failure to fully and effectively use the defense production act means the most vulnerable workers continue to face shortages of personal protective i want request, putting them at greater risk for contracting the coronavirus. And its failure to implement a national tracing Program Means that essential workers also face testing delays and may never be notified if a coworker has test positive for covid19. As donald trump refuses to act responsibly to keep our essential workers safe, their needs has fallen to state, local governments, and the private sector. In hawaii, we are fortunate to have responsive state and county governments, strong unions, and one of the lowest uninsured rates in the country, thanks to Hawaiis Prepaid Health Care act. These advantages, however, have not shielded hawaiis essential workers from the danger of the pandemic. Let me share a few of their stories. A few weeks ago i spoke to a group of transit workers who operate the bus in honolulu. A simple shower curtain separates the drivers from passengers boarding their buses. Many passengers do not wear masks putting the drivers and others at risk. Drivers are facing threats and physical violence when they ask passengers to put on a mask. One passenger even spat on the bus driver. Many of the bus drivers live in multigenerational families. They spoke about the fear that they will contract the virus on the job and bring it home. Three Bus Operators have already tested positive, including one just this week. Transit workers in other industries have also experienced challenges relating to coronavirus safety. A group of hawaii flight attendants i recently spoke with are unable to be tested regularly due to supply shortages, despite showing up to work every day, and they also spoke about their daily challenges, convincing passengers to wear masks. Essential workers are also providing child care during this pandemic so that other essential workers can continue to do their job. Kate cheeks a nanny on oahu, has provided child care for essential workers and military families on oahu during the paneled. She lives with her mom who has been battling stagethree cancer for years. She is worried she might bring this virus home with her from work. In april, katie received a scare when one of the families she worked with told her they might have been exposed. Katie is like so much other essential workers in hawaii and across the country who live with uncertainty about their jobs and families every day. More firefighters, Grocery Store workers, bank tellers, postal workers, Community HealthCenter Employees and paramedics tested positive for covid19 this week. They certainly wont be the last. Something as simple as showing up to work every day shouldnt be an act of bravery. But thats exactly what were expecting from our essential workers every day. If they can show up and do their job, congress should certainly step up and do our job. Its why Senate Democrats have been fighting so hard to pass the heroes act, to bring this to the floor, to debate the heroes act. The heroes act includes a number of strong provisions that will support essential workers during this pandemic. It establishes a 200 billion fund to provide up to 10,000 of hazard pay to each essential worker. It requires the Occupational Safety and Health Administration to issue an Emergency Temporary Standard within seven days of enactment. It prevents employers from retaliating against workers who report Workplace Safety issues. It adds another 75 billion for covid19 testing, Contact Tracing and isolation measures. And it also provides every american access to free treatment for covid19. It provides access to free and affordable child care options for essential workers who are expected to show up to their jobs regardless of the whether they have someone to look after their children. And it provides permanent paid sick and family leave so that people dont have to choose between their jobs and the health of their families. The heroes act is a bold worker and family centric bill. We should have passed it months a instead is the bill has been sitting on the majority leaders desk for more than three months now. He called it taking a pause. The people in our country didnt have the luxury of taking a pause three months ago. They sensely dont have the luxury to take a pause now. As senators, we are able to telework. We can attend hearings remotely, stay socially distant. Maybe this is one reason some republican senators dont have sufficient empathy or sense of urgency to pass the next covid reef bill that would actually help the bus driver who cant drive a bus from home, the u. P. S. Driver who cant deliver packages from home, a Health Care Aide who cant administer medications to seniors from home, an agricultural worker who cant pick coffee beans from home hand a postal worker who cant deliver the mail from home. Millions of people are suffering today. They should be able to count on the senate to especially is it up and take action to help them. And at this very moment, negotiators are deciding who we will help and who will be left behind. Democrats are fighting to protect essential workers and help the unemployed. Republicans are fighting to protect businesses from their own negligence and allow Corporate ExecutivesCorporate Executives to write off their business lunches. These are very different priorities that reflect very different values and point out whats at stake in these negotiations. Protecting and assisting essential workers is of value. It isnt enough to simply tell them, thank you very much, and call them heroes. Actionsspeaklloweder than words actions speak louder than words. It is time to being a. It is long past time to act. Mr. President , i yield the floor. The presiding officer the senator for hawaii. Ms. Hirono i note 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 for oklahoma. Mr. Lankford i ask unanimous consent that we set eight side set aside the quorum call. The presiding officer without objection. Mr. Lankford mr. President , last week thousands of radical islamists rallied on friday in northwestern pakistan in support of a man who early this week walked into a courtroom and gunned down a u. S. Citizen on trial for blasphemy. Thats how the New York Times started their article on this issue last week. The american, he died of his wounds before he could be taken to the hospital while the gunman was taken into custody. U. S. State Department Said nasim was on trial and entrapped by the blasphemy law. The blasphemy law calls for the Death Penalty for anyone found guilty of insulting islam, but in pakistan the mere allegation of blasphemy can cause vigil antes to kill those accused. At the rally, rallying in support of the person who murdered the american citizen, at the rally, the demonstrators carried signs praising the murder for killing murderer for killing and calling for his Immediate Release from jail saying that he killed naseem bec