Lose about ten members of the senate. Sometimes a couple more, sometimes a couple less and this year it is seven. You look at georgia and what what has to go through to or gee amount of money being spent and the amount and the number of things said in those two races that there might be a shortage of people today who wanted to follow senator Prescott Bushs advice. But apparently not. Instead of ten people leaving this year, its only seven. And only four of us are retiring voluntarily. Id like to say just a minute or two about each of the other six United States senators who will not be coming back in the next congress. Martha mcsally arrived with the same enthusiasm when she set records for women in combat as a pilot. Shes a warrior. She knows how to take a hill. If you listen to her maiden address, and her farewell address, which i did, she has a great sense of purpose. And she had her usual effectivings in during her relatively short period of time in the United States senate. She was able to pass eight pieces of legislation, turn them into law. She made her mark during the time she was here. Cory gardner of colorado, when he leaves the senate, it will become a little bit dimmer as a place because cory gardner has such cheerfulness. Everyone recognizes that. He wakes up happy, and he goes to bed happy, insofar as any of us here knows. And he came to the senate with the same amount of enthusiasm. Came to me early on and wanted to be and agreed to be the head of the america competes effort. That legislation passed in 2005 and 2006 before he got here. Cory took the lead and led the reauthorization of it. Then this year he became a leader in the american outdoors act, the Great American outdoors act, which everyone agrees not many times you can say that here but everyone agrees, from the left and the right, up and down, that the Great American outdoors act is the most significant piece of environmental and Outdoor Recreation legislation in at least the last halfcentury, since the eisenhower years really. And it was a parade a bipartisan pa raise a bipartisan parade of senators, which is the way you get things done. Cory along with steve daines was the drum major in the parade. And he deserves credit for that. Mike enzi is retiring after 24 years from wyoming. Mike is an unassuming fellow. He is an accountant. He drives 200 or 300 miles every weekend to every ice cream social that had been invented. If had hadnt been invented, he and diana created it. While he was here, he has created the 80 20 rule. Lets look for the 80 we can work together. He was persistent on this work on the marketplace fairness act, which kept the federal government from telling states what to tax and what not to tax and allowed states to collect sales tax for goods that are sold in their state from out of state. That passed the senate, thanks to mikes work. It didnt pass the house, but the Supreme Court agreed with senator enzi and most states are grateful in this covid period of time to have their revenues enhanced by the work of mike enzi. The perkins act, helping create a better workforce in the United States, was a difficult bill to pass, but mike enzi was the one who put it together. And, of course, he left his opportunity to be chairman of the committee i can now chair health, education, labor, and pensions so that he could be chairman of the budget committee. And while there, he worked hard to solve a problem that still needs to be solved, which is balancing our federal budget, which in the end will require finding a fair way to control the growth of entitlements. Pat roberts came to the senate in 1967 the way a lot of us have come as a senate aide. I came the same year. He i worked for senator baker. He was working in the house of representatives at the time. But weve seen the senate through all of that time, its pluses and its minuses, and weve learned our way. Pat learned his way especially well. I suppose he learned longer on the ethics and Agriculture Committee longer than anyone, particularly if you count his office in the house and the senate on the Agriculture Committee and his good humor and his resoluteness in terms of Rural America and making sure that the farmers of our country have an environment in which they can succeed are legendary. I suspect all of us when we go to sleep at night, if pat roberts comes into our brain, the words Crop Insurance come right along behind it. Doug jones only served a short period of time, like martha mcsally, but he made his mark as well. When he made his farewell address, i was here and i said, he reminded me of ted kennedy in this way he kept his liberal principles. I never seen him deviate from them. Just like ted kennedy did. He was stand back there and roar about this, that, and the other. I used to say when i was elected that if they elected my opponent, my opponent would come up here and move Fred Thompsons desk over and hed set it right down between ted kennedy. And republicans like that because they heard ted kennedys liberal speeches. But i also say that when i made my maiden address, without my knowing it, senator kennedy went around and got 20 democratic cosponsors. He feels all working to get a result where he could. And doug jones has been the same way here, and i want to congratulate him for that. He had a distinguished record in civil rights, a courageous record, in alabama prosecuting a klansman, and he worked with tim scott, senator patti murray, and me senator tim scott last year to permanently fund historically black colleges, a goal that had been sought for many years and take a big step on simplifying the faff if a, federal aid application court of appeal, a form that millions of families fill out every year. Tom udall and his wife are friends of my wife honey and i. Tom came to the senate with a distinguished heritage. Its hard to talk about the environment in this country over the last 75 years without mentioning Stewart Udall and mo udall and now tom udall and his cousins as well. He, too, was an important part of the Great American outdoors act. Hes work hard on the interior appropriations committee, working with senator murkowski not only to clean up the Nuclear Waste and to defending our national laboratories. We worked together on that. But hes worked in another area, too, and thats to make the senate work and be more effective. He and i have had some different opinions about how to do that, but i have no doubt that during his time here that if hes been one of the that hes been one of the senators that one might call an institutionalist, someone who understands, as clean air thomas once said about the Supreme Court when someone asked him, how can Justice Ginsburg and you get along when you have different opinions, he said, we try to remember that the institution is more important than any of our opinions. I would say thats been the attitude of senator tom udall about the senate. So seven of us will be leaving this press that senator Prescott Bush said that everybody in politics ultimately wants to be. Given how hard it is to get here and how hard it is to stay here, you would think it would be a place that people want to be. And my view of the senate is just that. Its hard to get here. Its hard to stay here. But while youre here, you might as well try to accomplish something good for the country. All of these colleagues of mine have done that, and i wanted to come to the floor today to salute each one of them. I ask consent that my remarks about each one of they will be printed i ask consent that my remarks about each one of them be printed as much as practical in the congressional record. The presiding officer without objection. Mr. Alexander i yield the floor. A senator madam president. The presiding officer the senator from arkansas. A senator thank you, madam president. Mr. Boozman i rise today with my friend and colleague from arkansas to honor west Helena Police officer Travis Wallace who made the you ultimate sacrifice in the line of duty. He was trying to apprehend a suspect. Using his patrol car to block the exit of the parking lot where he spotted the suspect in the vehicle, he was fired on. Officer wallace returned fire but was struck during the gun fight. Officer wallace was targeted because he was a Law Enforcement officer in pursuit of justice. This is a somber reminder of the dangers Police Officers and other members of the Law Enforcement community face every day. They do so willingly, not knowing the challenges they will experience when they leave the comforts of their homes and their loved ones. Officer wallace served with professionalism and dedication during his ten years in Law Enforcement. For half his career, he worked for the helena, west Helena Police department where he demonstrated his passion and commitment for helping those in need. The helenawest Helena Police officer described officer wallace as an ambitious leader who was eager to help the community. Another fellow officer applauded his influence on his career and thanked him for the skills he taught his brothers in blue that have helped better protect that community. The outpouring of support from the Helenawest Helena residents, citizens across arkansas and the members of the Law Enforcement community has given the Police Department strength as members mourn the loss of this brave officer. I join with all arkansans in expressing our gratitude for officer wallaces service and his sacrifice. We celebrate his life, an example of courageous, selfless Public Service. May his family, including his son travis jr. , find peace in knowing their loved one lived and died a true american hero. I yield to my colleague, senator cotton. Mr. Cotton thank you, senator boozman. One of the most solemn eulogies any man can deliver for a fallen officer killed in the line of duty, as senator boozman and i had to deliver too many of these eulogies already and we regret that we must do so again, that we want to celebrate the life and service of Police Officer Travis Wallace for the Helena Police department who died last month at age 41 while attempting to bring a murder suspect into custody. Officer wallace and his partner recognized the dangerous suspect in a vehicle in a motel parking lot. They conducted a traffic stop and the suspect got out of his vehicle and immediately opened fire. Officer wallace passed away in the hospital despite the valiant efforts of doctors to save his life. Officer wallace believed policing was his lifes calling. He worked in Law Enforcement for almost a decade including five years with the helenawest hell lana Police Department his life was tragically cut short. In that brief time officer wallace established himself as a leader and not just in this department. He was also a loving father, son, and brother, known for his sense of humor and his ability to make people smile. And he was a man of faith, serving as a dee dee deacon at the saint luke missionary baptist church. He served with honor. Hes the fourth Law Enforcement from arkansas killed this year and the 279th officer nationwide. Like every officer, he dedicated his life to protect and defend his community. That commitment takes courage. It requires officers to run towards danger, to approach dangerous men whenever human instinct might scream to run away. Officer wallace did his job and did his duty with honor. Now his watch ended but we will always remember the great sacrifice he made to keep his community and our state safe. May he rest in peace. I yield the floor. And i note the absence of a quorum. The presiding officer the clerk will call the roll. Quorum call quorum call is quorum call quorum call a senator madam speaker. The presiding officer the senator from West Virginia. Capito mrs. Capito could we vitiate the quorum call. I rise to thank henry c. Hop pi shores for his years of service to to kennaw county. He was born in dunbar during the great depression, he lost his mother at a young age and moved in with his sister. In high school he attended a School Called Stonewall Jackson high school. Hop pi was a standout athlete. He played in the 1947 state championship team. In 1949 he won West Virginias kennedy award as the states Top High School Football Player of the year. It was also during his High School Years that hopiy got an interest in politics when he won the senior class presidency. The most important thing that happened during those formative years was on the first day of high school when hoppy met the love of his life. They have been married since 19 1953 and i can personally attest have been inseparable ever since. He repeated his High School Success in college in the 1950s and again became the class president. He graduated from West Virginia university with a degree in business and after college he enlisted in the u. S. Army, attaining the rank of major. During the years after his service, hoppy grew a very successful career in the insurance business. In 1996, hoppy was recruited to run for the kennaw county commission by a prominent local attorney. After he initially refused, he eventually said okay he would run. He won and served an initial term and then decided welshing maybe thats well, maybe thats it, stepped out for a term but he was pulled back into the political arena and served another sixyear term. Afterring after serving that second term, he ran and won two separate terms for the be West Virginia house of delegates representing kennaw county. In 1990 he returned to the kennaw county commission and won one of the three seats. Voters sent him back ever year since making him thing longest serving commissioner in the entire state. During his years in the kennaw county commission he accepted a host of of importance capito mrs. Capito 97 of the county now has potable wur water. It is not an easy task but one that hoppy tackled. Mrs. Capito the commission instituted a program to provide free mammograms for county employees leading to a fight against cancer. He has been tireless advocate for the Yeager Airport named after the late chuck yeager. I remember working closely with hoppy in 2005 when the West Virginia national guard, the 130th airlift unit was slated for closure in the department of defense 2008 brac. Thats the base realignment and closure report. Of course hoppy won that battle too and the 130th proudly remains at yeager airfield. Hoppy accomplished so much during his time in office that i cannot cover everything. However i would be remiss if i did not mention his passion for parks. His passion for recreation, obviously with his past, his passion for athletics and most importantly the children in kanawaha county. He have has advocated for public recreation, pushed for baseball, football, soccer fields, tennis courts, county fairs, hiking trails and modern park facilities. Is coon skin park in Kanawha County, the largest in the county is one of the nicest in the state because of the hopp. Hopp. Hoppys work. When a small train carried families around the park to see holiday lights, it was in bad disrepair and hoppy jumped in to save the day. He worked to find the money and a suitable replacement lovingly dubbing it hoppys little express and can you guess who the train conductor was . Thats right, commissioner hoppy shores. At the time he said, quote, when i look into a childs eyes and see a smile, it warms my heart to know i was able to help them with the new playground, park, baseball field, or a train ride at christmas on hoppys little express. Its all about the children, end quote. Hoppy shores knows what Public Service is all about, its about the children and providing a Better Future for all those that we care about. Hoppy never forgot and for that hell never be forgotten. Im sure hopiy has had difficult times in his life but you would never know it by looking at him or knowing it. Hes always wearing his signature smile and always has a kind word to offer. I have never met someone who did not like hoppy shores, even if they disagreed with his politics. After 42 years of service to the Kanawha County commission it is my honor to scon congratulate commissioner shores on his retirement which will take effect at the end of this month. While i will certainly miss him and im sure many of us will and those particularly in the Kanawha County courthouse i know hoppy and bronson are looking forward to spending time with their children and their grandchildren and greatgranddaughter. Im looking forward to eating at the grill on the west side. On behalf of of the state of West Virginia it is my honor to extend my best wishes to my friend, all of our friends, a friend of Kanawha County and a friend to West Virginia, commissioner henry c. Hoppy showers. Thank you, hoppy and congratulations. I yield the floor. A senator madam president. The presiding officer the senator from alaska. Mr. Sullivan madam president , i ask unanimous consent to engage in a colloquy with my colleagues. The presiding officer without objection. Mr. Sullivan madam president , i want to talktodo with my colleagues talk today with my colleagues, senator menendez, senator whitehouse, on a really important piece of legislation thats heading to the president s desk. This is save our seas 2. 0. Its the followon to the save our seas act that we passed in the Congress Last congress, and that was an important one, mostly about Ocean Cleanup, but we thought we could do more. We thought working with different groups, so many groups, and the executive branch of the Trump Administration, we could do a lot more, and so we got to work. I want to thank my colleagues on the floor today, senator whitehouse of rhode island, senator menendez of new jersey, for their work, their leadership, their cooperation. Senator whitehouse in particular i really want to single out as probably the member of the u. S. Senate who is focused on our oceans. He and i started collaborating on these issues about six years ago right after i first came to the United States senate, and i have learned a lot from senator whitehouse on these issues, and we have kind of been an odd couple. Dont always agree on everything politically, but on these issues and a lot of other issues, we not only agree our teams work together, we work together, and importantly, were getting a lot, a lot done. There has been a lot of folks who have really helped us in this record, and again in a bipartisan way, this bill is an important bill. This bill had three committees of the u. S. Senate, eight committees in the house, and so members, whether it was chairman barrasso, Ranking Member carper, the e. P. W. Committee as i mentioned on Foreign Relations, chairman risch, and of course senator menendez as the Ranking Member on the commerce committee, chairman wicker, Ranking Member cantwell, on the house side i just got off the phone with the dean of the house, congressman don young, a great, great, great congressman. Representative bonnemici. She also has been a great advocate. We all were aware of the challenge. This is a huge challenge, ocean debris plastics. Its a gigantic challenge for my state. Now, i drag about alaska a lot. Here is a little bit more bragging. We have more coastline than the rest of the country combined in terms of their coastline. So we see the garbage. We see the trash. We see it unfortunately washing up on the shores of alaska that impacts negatively, not just the environment, but the economy, our fishing industry, our fishing communities, our coastal communities. And, madam president , you may have heard about this World Economic forum study that said if we dont do anything about the pollution challenge that relates to plastics, by 2050, there could be more weight in terms of plastics in the ocean than there is fish. Think about that. That is a challenge. So we got to work, and heres the thing that i think is so exciting, is that this is a solvable issue. The estimates are up to 80 of all plastic in the ocean around the globe come from ten rivers in asia and africa. So of course its got a Huge International component to it, but i just want to thank both senators whitehouse and menendez. Im going to turn the floor over to senator menendez to say a few words on this, particularly the international side, which is so important. I will talk a little bit more about whats in the legislation, but this is an example. And it happens a lot. You dont always read about it, of this body coming together on big issues and making a big impact. So save our seas 2. 0 heading to the president s desk. I do want to compliment the president and his team. They had a lot to do with this. They have been very motivated on these issues as well. That is everybody coming together to address a problem that we know is a problem, but that we can solve, and were putting American Leadership up front which will be good for alaska, good for rhode island, good for new jersey, good for america, and good for the world. Senator menendez. Mr. Menendez madam president , let me thank the presiding officer the senator from new jersey. Mr. Menendez thank you. Let me thank senator sullivan for his introduction of our efforts here today and to really commend him for working in such a bipartisan spirit to drive an important piece of legislation to really address the future of future generations of alaskans, rhode islanders, and New Jerseyans, and americans, as well as other people across the world. And i agree with you, senator sullivan. Senator whitehouses name is synonymous with the oceans, and his focus on this is singular, and his perspective is of the utmost importance. So i want to rise to join my colleagues from alaska and rhode island to celebrate the enactment of save our seas 2. 0, and to thank our colleagues both in the house and the senate for their votes in support of the most comprehensive piece of legislation to address the growing Global Environmental threat of Plastic Waste in our oceans. I want to thank representative Suzanne Bonomici of oregon and don young of alaska for their leadership in shepherding the bill to the house. To my colleagues, senator sullivan and senator whitehouse, it has been a great pleasure working with you on these issues. The passion, the knowledge, the persistence you have brought to solving the problem of Plastic Waste in the worlds oceans is incredible, and it was essential to our shared success. Plastic pollution in our oceans is truly a global problem that literally washes up on new jerseys shores impacting businesses and communities across our state. This calamity is yet another reminder that americans are directly impacted by the policies and practices of countries around world. Plastic debris in our oceans does not respect international borders. The abundance of Plastic Waste in power ocean requires comprehensive action alongside the fight against Climate Change. Save our seas 2. 0 will boaster Global Leadership and engagement to combat Plastic Waste and Marine Debris, improve Plastic Waste management and enhance innovation. As the Ranking Member of the Senate Foreign relations committee, i take special pride in the International Title of this Bipartisan Legislation which formalizes u. S. Foreign policy to address this issue, supports u. S. A. I. D. s work to curb Ocean Plastic and encourages the United States to explore the development of an International Agreement to foster cooperation on addressing Plastic Waste globally. I think this legislation can be the catalyst for that. The oceans are a Global Resource that sustains life everywhere, whether it is your cannes, state, our district that has a coastline or is landlocked. 80 of New Jerseyans live in a coastal area and our economy is heavily dependent on these vibrant communities. Families who depend on our fishing, real estate, hospitality, Outdoor Recreation industry rely on clean and safe oceans. These families know that beyond their daily livelihoods, plastic pollution also threatens human health on a global scale. Once in the environment, plastics accumulate in and both contaminate both human and animal food chains. Save our seas calls on us to reassess the effect of plastics so that we can better understand the way plastic is dangerous to humans. Even at a time and this is what ill close on when washington seems more politically divided more than ever before, this represents a significant bipartisan victory that i sincerely hope will serve as a steppingstone towards more progress to tackle this growing global problem. Theres no single solution to the Marine Debris crisis. Ocean stewardship is critical to preventing the collapse of marine ecosystems and support Global Fisheries that feed the people around the world. Addressing Plastic Waste in the ocean supports Economic Growth and trade, Public Health, and safe recreation. So i look forward to building upon the bipartisan support weve achieved with this bill and working with the next administration on ensuring the dutiful execution of the programs we established in s. O. S. 2. 0 and securing appropriations in support of the bills goals and abives. So again with my congratulations to my colleague and the work that theyve done together, ill yield the floor to my colleague from rhode island. Mr. Whitehouse madam president . The presiding officer the senator from rhode island. Mr. Whitehouse today is a happy day for me to be joining my friend, senator menendez, and senator sullivan on the senate floor to celebrate the successful conclusion of a Second Chapter in a long effort to address the problem of Ocean Plastics pollution, which has been described so well by my friend, senator sullivan. When we began, there was actually no program whatsoever on Ocean Plastics in the senate. Thered nevada been legislation in this thered never been legislation in this area. So with senator sullivans support, we decided to see what the traffic would bear, see what the senate and the house might tolerate in terms of legislating in a new area, and for that, we undertook the save our seas bill. And at the end of the day, after a certain amount of static on both sides of the aisle, we were able to get save our seas passed by unanimous consent. Every Single Member of the senate had to agree to it. So, to me, that was a really exciting test to the proposition that senators actually care about this. And one of my favorite moments in that whole episode was when a senator with whom i am often at war, senator inhofe of landlocked oklahoma, became an ally and a friend and a supporter of save our seas, the original bill. And he did so because he had childhood experiences on the gulf coast with sea turtles that made him care about the plastic that was piling up in the oceans and strangling and drowning sea creatures. So it has this topic a gift, i guess, for bringing people together and based on that success and that unanimous consent and it cleared the house the same way on what they call suspension over there we undertook 2. 0. And 2. 0 is going to be bigger better than 1. 0. And it sure is bigger better. And the role of senator menendez in putting some real structure to the International Component of this was essential. Senator menendez is our Ranking Member on the Foreign Relations committee, and in that role, he was essential in seeing to it that this bill with such a big Foreign Relations committee footprint cleared that amendment and was good to go. So were now in the happy position that 2. 0 has passed as well. It creates a new Marine Debris foundation, it creates a genius prize for innovation in trying to get rid of or reinvent or reimagine our plastic disposal system. It creates new research to tackle this issue, focuses more, as i said, directly on our International Relations because so much of marine Plastic Waste comes out of foreign shores and down foreign rivers. And it also focuses on our domestic Waste Management program. So this is a good step. Now, i have heard people say that 2. 30 2. 0 is not enough. Darn right it is not enough, but this is how you build momentum. You prove that you can do something and that the senate is willing to act on it. Then you stand on that platform and you build a bigger, better bill and you get that passed and now senator sullivan and i are already discussing what 3. 0 might look like. Im not in a position to speak for senator sullivan, but im interested in looking under the hood of the recycling industry. When you put your Plastic Waste into a blue bin to go off and get recycled, how much of it actually does get recycled . How can we make sure that there is in fact a circle in which plastic gets manufactured, put into use, brought back out of the system, and not left in the ocean, not left as waste on our lands . How can you develop what is called the circular economy for plastic because plastic is a weird thing. Nature hasnt seen plastic before. It doesnt biodegrade the way things that were made by the lord biodegrade. Nothing eats it. If something does eat it, it just piles up in its body or goes through it neutrally. It provides no nutrition or value to anything. Its just this new thing out there, and we need to figure out how to deal with it, and we need to get it the heck out of our oceans. So more to come on this, but let me take this moment to thank senator menendez or his leadership, particularly on the foreign side of this, and senator sullivan for his leadership and for being such a terrific ally in this cause. With that, i yield back. Mr. Sullivan madam president . The presiding officer the senator from alaska. Mr. Sullivan let me just wrap up here by mentioning that, as we already talked about, the Congressional Research service has called this the most comprehensive Ocean Cleanup legislation ever to come out of the congress. And as senator whitehouse said, six years ago we were starting at nothing. Then we got save our seas 1. 0, primarily about cleaning up our own coastlines. A lot of funny stories there, but we did have a really interesting and i thought entertaining signing ceremony at the white house with the president and senator whitehouse the two hadnt met before. They got along really well, particularly talking about this issue. And it did motivate the Trump Administration to start focusing more you may have seen in the new nafta, its got a whole section on Ocean Cleanup and a whole section on sustainable fisheries. So this is really important precedent for the u. S. Government, regardless of party. And as senator menendez mentioned, a lot of focus internationally. I want to thank him again in terms of the Foreign Relations committee on our ability to help other countries were certainly not perfect, but the big challenge on a lot of the oceans in terms of cleanup and what comes on the shores of the United States, what comes on the shores of alaska in terms of plastics and pollution comes from overseas. So we need to help there. And as senator whitehouse also mentioned, improving our domestic infrastructure to prevent Marine Debris, so were set something our own example, not just helping other countries, and then enhancing our own domestic response. This is a congressional chartered private organization. There are not many in the country. This is a big deal. I thank the red cross, the american legion. These are congressional chartered organizations that will give this effort Publicprivate Partnership energy to address the problem. Thats exactly what were focused on here, and thats why we thought it was so important to have a Marine Debris foundation as an enduring element of the u. S. Leadership that is now exemplified by save our seas 2. 0. Ill mention one final thing, madam president. You know, one of the things that i thought was very important were going to keep this together is we worked hard not to single out one industry or one area, hey youre not doing a good job, you need to get your act together. What we said was were going to bring in all the stakeholders, democrats, republicans, the executive branch, federal agencies, industry, key environmental groups, ocean conservancy, World Wildlife foundation, and get everybody together the alliance to end Plastic Waste, which is an initiative in the private sector, and say, what can we do together to solve this problem . And thats what we did. All the stakeholders came together. Everybody worked closely together, good ideas, pulling on the same oar. And thats how we got this done. You know, madam president , one of our finest senators, lamar alexander, gave his Farewell Speech just last week, and i talked about this idea of a split screen in the senate. Yeah, theres conten. Yeah, theres battles yeah, theres contention. Yeah, theres battles. The media loves to play them up. But theres also another element of what we do here, where there is strong bipartisan support on really big issues, the cares act, the ndaa, the Great American lands act, a probably the biggest conservation bill in 50 years, 21st century cures. These are all things that were getting done here, that matter to the American People in a bipartisan way you dont always read about them in the press, but theyre still happening. And now we can add to that list the biggest Ocean Cleanup legislation in the history of the country, going to the president s desk for signing here in the next couple of days, and its something our fellow americans should know about and, as senator whitehouse said, were going to build on that, too. I yield the floor. The presiding officer the senator from rhode island. Mr. Whitehouse madam president , i should add a few other thank yous because this obviously took a lot of effort to get through all these different committees in the senate and the house and to get it passed on the senate and house floor. And the i want to start on and i want to start on the house side with my the equivalent of the whitehousesullivan show is the young bonamici show on the other side, representative bonamici and representative young who senator sullivan mentioned were the key people working this issue through there. I want to thank my delegation, jim langeman and david cicilline. Because they jumped in with their leadership and with their colleagues to help move things along and i believe representative young did as well. And then i want to thank the majority leader, steny hoyer, who at a really critical moment when this could have gone one way or the other, made sure it went the right way and made sure we got the things teed up in the house and back over here in the senate. And in the senate, i have spoken about senator menendez. As chairman, senator risch also had to permit this to go forward. It had to clear commerce. Senator wishing indeed has been a member of our wicker has been a member of our oceans caucus and has been very helpful. The environment and public works committee, chairman barrasso and senator carper were very supportive. Things dont get done without a lot of people pulling together and i want to make sure i thanked all of them as i close out here on this subject. Thank you. A senator madam president. The presiding officer the senator from iowa. Mr. Grassley as we approach the holiday season, many of us will be celebrating differently. Covid19 may be limiting travel travel, family members we see in person or other holiday traditions. Yet, theres much to be grateful for. For me, im thankful for my health, my family, my country, and my staff. Im also grateful to serve iowans and work in the senate to tackle legislation, conduct oversight, and work for the best interest of the people of iowa. Im also thankful to reflect upon previous accomplishments. This time of year coincides with the milestone achievement, that being the anniversary of the passage of the First Step Act. And remember that criminal Justice Reform bill we call the First Step Act is the most be comprehensive overhaul of criminal justice legislation in a generation. On december 18, 2018, the Senate Passed the most significant criminal Justice Reform legislation in a generation. Three days later President Trump signed the bill into law. The First Step Act is an example of what the senate can accomplish when we reach across the aisle to address our nations most pressing problems. Im proud that the First Step Act has been law of the land now two years. The past two years have been uniquely challenging. In the first year of the laws tenure, i worked with Senate Partners to oversee implementation efforts. This included meeting with critical stakeholders in the Justice Department, viewing the status of the laws implementation, and ensuring that the laws application reflects congressional intent. In that first year, we accomplished a lot together in a bipartisan way. Because of the First Step Act, thousands of inmates received the benefits of the Retroactive Application of the fair sentencing act to resolve sentencing disparities that came about from legislation, i suppose almost 30 years ago. The different disparity between those convicted for crack and those convicted for cocaine. The Justice Department also his first year released its risk and Needs Assessment system, a tool used to individually review the recidivism risk of each federal inmate and place those inmates in programming to prevent future criminal acts. The bureau of prisons also issued procedures for more efficient access and use of home confinement program. Implementation efforts have faced significant challenges, however. Namely, the covid19 pandemic. Fortunately the First Step Act provided tools that the administration has been able to use to help vulnerable inmates. Its become apparent during the pandemic that inmates confined in federal prisons are among the most vulnerable populations in the United States as they are in federal custody. Its quite obvious the federal government has a duty to ensure that theyre treated humanely. To that end, senator durbin and i urged increased review of compassionate release and elderly home detention cases in light of the covid19 cases within our federal prisons. We also asked the Justice Department Inspector General to review the use of home confinement authority and the preventive Safety Measures connected with it. Covid19 testing, screening and isolation measures and the availability of the access by inmates to electronic communications. Im pleased to say that this Administration Responded to many of our requests, though more work needs to be done as we continue to grapple with the effects of covid19 in our federal prisons. One of the most important issues that we must address is a key provision of the First Step Act, that being the requirement for the bureau of prisons to make programming available to prisoners to help them to live Productive Lives once they leave the prison, and that makes it less likely then that they will return to a life of crime. The coronavirus has made it impossible for the bureau of prisons, at least at this time, to provide this programming as the law intended and requires because, you know, inmates must be socially distanced from each other to prevent the virus spread, which flies in the face of meeting in person to participate in recidivism reduction programming. Therefore, as we move forward balancing effective programming access with the c. D. C. Approved Safety Measures is critical. As i return to leadership of the Judiciary Committee, whether thats as Ranking Member or chairman, depending upon the outcome of the georgia races, i want everybody to know that im going to continue to make implementation of the First Step Act a priority and make sure the Justice Department and the bureau of prisons faithfully execute the law. Lastly, as we embark on a new congress and a new year, i urge my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to seek the middle ground on criminal Justice Reform. Weve done it before and we can do it again, and more needs to be done. The First Step Act has made a difference in the lives of thousands of prisoners and will continue to impact many in the federal criminal justice system. It gives prisoners a better opportunity to leave their criminal behind and become productive members of society. In fact, we learned that from states like texas, mississippi, north and South Carolina where they actually did a good job of preparing people to return to society with Productive Lives, saving the taxpayers money if theres not recidivism. Some of those states have even shut down some prisons. Alerted to that, too often congress waits to learn something from our laboratories of our political system the states. We learned a lot that brought about the First Step Act. Theres more that we can learn. We can build on the First Step Act. Its remarkable what we were able to achieve two short years ago. Im hopeful to carry that spirit into 2021 and beyond, whether im chairman or Ranking Member of the senate finance, or Senate Judiciary committee. Now, madam president , on one other short point ried like to make point id like to make, and it deals directly with negotiations going on right now on either covid19 package that were trying to put together some people call it a stimulus package or something that could be put in the omnibus appropriations bill. So this goes back to the cares act that we passed in march. Congress authorized the creation of a special inper capita general for Pandemic Recovery to oversee the billions of dollars of new federal spending. Hence, to make sure that those federal h dollars were spent according to law. In the past when congress created a special Inspector General to fill a sudden need in new government oversight, this Congress Quickly followed with additional legislation to provide the i. G. s expedited hiring authority to staff their new offices and also to begin timely oversight operations. Such timely oversight operations is particularly needed now because so much of this cares money appropriated in march has gone out the door. So in the tradition of past congresses set up other special idea to filling a sudden need, i introduced s. 3751, a bipartisan piece of legislation modeled on past special i. G. Expedited hiring authority language. My bill provides the i. G. A short sixmonth window to quickly hire the staff he needs to build his organization and begin carrying out the oversight mandates by the congress under the cares act. However, as of today, my bill still hasnt passed. I. G. Miller has been left to work with an office that is still highly understaffed. Thats an outcome that should concern everyone here in the senate, if youre passionate about government oversight and making sure that money is spent responsibly. Whenever the government spends large sums of money as we have in addressing this pandemic, there will always be bad actors somewhere out there lying in the wait to test the system, seeing how much they can steal. We need a fully staffed and fully functional i. G. In place to meet those bad actors head on, to serve as effective check, waste, fraud, and abuse. Despite broad support for my bill on both sides of the aisle, ive heard rumors that some of my colleagues across the aisle may be weary of granting expedited authority to the i. G. Because they dont agree with the personal politics for the individual confirmed for that position. This amounts to an attempt to nullify the i. G. s confirmation by limiting his ability to conduct oversight and hopefully to make sure that all the money that were spending under all these pandemic appropriations weve made is spent according to law and hopefully that i am please responsibly spending the money. That implies responsible belittle spending the money. Congress always made the decision to establish this i. G. Now we need to give the office the resources that it needs to succeed. Personal and political disagreements are not reasons to deny the American People oversight of how billions of their tax dollars are being spent. Once the i. G. Hires staff and has the ability to begin the substantive oversight work mandated by congress, there will as always be an important place for congressional oversight to ensure the i. T. Is doing his job. I intend to conduct the same level of oversight of this i. G. That i have for others. I expect my colleagues will do the same. Thats why i urge my colleagues, regardless of any personal differences that they have, to support this Bipartisan Legislation granting expedited hiring authority to the special i. G. For Pandemic Recovery and included in the forthcoming covid legislation. Now, ive heard rumors within the last hour that theres already been a decision that they are not going to move ahead on this money for hiring to get this job. If thats true, i dont want anybody, whether its republican or democrat, to ever complain about something that comes to light that the money wasnt spent the way it was intended to be spent or was wasted here or wasted there. Dont complain to me. I yield the floor. The presiding officer the senator from rhode island. Mr. Whitehouse madam president , while senator grassleys on the floor, let me thank him for his remarks on the First Step Act and let him know that i look forward to working with him on the Judiciary Committee to advance that. As the senate knows the grassleydurbin segment and the cornynwhitehouse segment were key pieces of the bill and its terrific to hear the chairman at the time shows support for seeing that work. So im grateful. What id like to do now is follow the conversation we had about oceans a minute ago in the context of my time to wake up speeches. Obviously the oceans are taking a colossal beating from Climate Change, from the warming, from the chemical acidification that it causes. Its warming at a rate of multiple detonations of hiroshima level, thats the amount of heat if you want to put an image to it. We have done some good things on ocean in this congress. I would like to summarize some of those. One is the 2. 0 which i just discussed but we also have a Little Package of enforcement provisions in the National Defense authorization act that focus on what is commonly called illegal and unreported fishing, which is a really boring and bureaucratic name for extremely bad behavior. Essentially it is modern slavery at sea for the crew who are miserably trapped on these illegal pirate fishing vessels. They are also an avenue for trafficking of humans, of narcotics, of arms or whatever once youre out in a boat outside the realm of law and operating illegally, and operating for money, you will do whatever you can. In addition to ransacking our common seas, these pirate fishing fleets are factors for criminal conduct. Im glad that the navy is reporting on its imple mennation implementation of previously passed measures and we worked with the coast guard who has jurisdiction over all of this to work with the private sector in involved in solutions to this. There are such things as private sector satellites that track the wake and the signal of these illegal fish being vessels and koord naig naturing coordinating that with our intelligence and reserve i think will really help in fighting that battle so that were sharing the information that we can and gathering the information that we can to be more effective. And, finally, as i recall from my travels with the late senator mccain, when you went to coastal countries near china you always heard the same complaint. We went to the philippines and heard it, we went to vietnam and heard it, we went to indonesia and heard it. I could probably add to that list. But the complaint was that the chinese fishing fleet is aggressive and trespassing into foreign sovereign waters and fishing outside any respect for the protective nature of these nations and is often violently protected by chinese vessels, by navy or other vessels of the chinese government. So focusing on that as a place to push back and protect our oceans while at the same time diminishing its bad behavior by china is also a good thing. So that was our suite of progress on pirate fishing in the ndaa. In the omnibus we expect at least 75 million to go for the first time into a new fund to tackle ocean blastics and for plastics and for Ocean Plastic work in the administration. So those are bits of good news and im delighted those good things have happened. The less good news in the past year is that coasts remain sadly underfunded and we missed some real opportunities. Two of the accounts that shows how bad these coasts are are the coasts are the land and Water Conservation fund which should be called the inland and Conservation Fund and the coastal storm damage reduction fund. If you go back and look at how this money actually gets spent, for every dollar that the land and Water Conservation fund spends in a landlocked state per capita, it spends only 40 cents in a coastal state. 1 per capita inland, 40 cents per capita coastal and that understates the coastal discrepancy because it doesnt count the spending in coastal states that isnt on coasts. Youve got coastal states like new york, pennsylvania, and texas that have big, big upland inland areas in which most of the land and Water Conservation fund money goes. So what we really ought do is call this what it is, which is an inland and fresh Water Conservation fund and have a parallel and coastal and saltWater Conservation fund to make sure that coasts are treated fairly. I didnt even get the chance to ask for some adjustment to treat coasts more fairly as an amendment when we considered the land and Water Conservation in the socalled Great American outdoors act, which was frustrating because everybody at least on my side of the aisle talks a good game about how we need more amendments. That deal was locked down before we got to the floor. Nobody was allowed an amendment. That deal was frustrating but we will fight on because coasts need to be treated fairly and with sealevel rise and storms worsening and more hurricanes, the dangers to the coasts are greater, not less. On the army corps account, thats even more extreme. If you go back through the last ten years, the best year the coasts had in the flood and coastal storm damage account was one coastal dollar for every 19 inland dollars. 1 coastal dollar for every 19 inland. Tell me how that is fair for coasts facing those same risks. And thats the best year. The worst year was 120 times more for inland projects than for coastal projects. Less than a penny on the dollar. Less than a penny on the dollar for americas coasts. So we have a lot of work to do to make sure that we are doing what we need to do for our coasts. Im hoping that we can move the offshore act. Theres even a faint chance of getting it done in the last few days. It had a successful hearing in energy and natural resources. It has 19 bipartisan cosponsors including Congress Chairman wicker and it would treat Wind Energy Offshore the same way for revenues that we treat oil drillings offshore, 105 offstate, 12. 5 to the dedicated fund. It would be the coastal and oceans fund because it is ocean and coastal. Its one of the ironies that most of the money that comes off of coastal oil drilling, offshore oil drilling gets moved into the land and Water Conservation fund where it goes out west and spent on inland, not coastal projects. We continue to have more work to do, the blue glow back, which i have with senator murkowski on data monitoring in the graicts and oceans great lakes and oceans, our blue carbon bill which will help us address blue carbon, things like growing mangrove, kelp and sea grass, to get that Research Done and to get the work done to deacidify our oceans while well still have reefs that are alive. My ideal would be a big blue bill that includes blue carbon and others and for once finally, finally, finally, finally takes our oceans and coasts seriously. I get we are ter a lot of our economies are dependent on our oceans and the health of the planet is dependent on the cooling and oxygen provides. I hope that the Biden Administration will take Climate Change as deadly seriously as it needs to be taken and that it will step up a significant step from the degree of attention Climate Change got in the obama administration. We have to recognize the danger to our future if we remain edge in neglect. If the fossil fuel industry does not want what is best for people and the oceans and environment, it wants what is best for its profits, period, and end of story. So we really, really, under the Biden Administration, need a serious climate bill to safeguard the oceans on the only planet that we call home. I yield the floor. A senator madam president. The presiding officer the senator from pennsylvania. Mr. Casey madam president , i would ask consent to speak as if in morning business. The presiding officer without objection. Mr. Casey thank you. Madam president , i rise today to, unfortunately, look back with sadness on the deadly toll of covid19 this year. Ill focus my remarks on my home state of pennsylvania, but, of course, the stories that i will relate about individuals that we lost could be, of course, many of them could be told in so many other states. As of today, the middle of today, there have been some 301,264 deaths in the United States due to covid19, including 12,890 12,890 deaths in pennsylvania. While i wish i could recognize and honor the memories of those individuals of each of those individuals, that recognition, of course, would take longer than i have time set aside on the floor to speak. So instead ill share the stories of just five pennsylvanians who have lost their lives to this terrible disease. Five stories, five families from one corner of our state to the other, east to west throughout our 67 counties. The first person ill talk about is walter rossage. Walter moved into whitehome moner, which is whitewhom manor which son the which is on the border of our state next to new jersey. Socalled lehigh valley. He moved into that longterm care facility in october of 2019. He shared his story his son shared his story with my office. Walter was a widower and he had two sons and two daughters and he was a beloved grant father to eight and a greatgrandfather to seven. He was also an avid toy collector of matchbox cars. Some of walters favorite past times were working in the garage, hunting and fishing with his children, also with his grandchildren, of course his greatgrandchildren. Walter retired after 42 years working as an electrical inspector for the steel industry. Walters nursing home locked down when the pandemic hit, and his family, like so Many American families, was no longer allowed to visit. On april 20 of 2020 that was a monday his son received a call that his father was going to the hospital with a fever of 102. Walters family learned that walter had passed away on did pass away on april 24, just four days later. Thursday, april 24, 2020. He was 86 years old. And they learned that he was the third resident of his nursing home to die of covid19. So we express our condolences to walters family. Second, karen porter of philadelphia, who spent 35 years as an investigator for the federal equal Employment Opportunity commission, which many know as the eeoc. As many people know, the eeoc is responsible for enforcing federal antidiscrimination laws in the workplace, protecting workers or job applicants who have faced discrimination. Karen was from philadelphia, as i mentioned, and raised her granddaughter, kristen. According to kristen, karen loved to travel, she loved to swim and to dance, and she was an avid shopper. Everyone loved karen, and she was always the life of the party. Karen got sick with covid19 right after her 69th birthday, and died in april of this year. In remembering her grandmother, kristen said, and i quote, to know her was to love her, unquote. Like so many families as well, karens death was very sudden, and like too many others this year all across our state and across the country, she has left behind a family in grief as they endure her passing. So we send our sympathies and condolences to karen porters family. Third, we go from one end of our state to the other, from philadelphia all the way to pittsburgh to talk about a third pennsylvanian. This individuals name was allen cohen. Allen cohen was a civil rights leader and advocate from pittsburgh. He was 93 years old when he passed away on july 31 of this year. Allen spent his life fighting for justice. As a young adult, he traveled to mississippi to help black voters to register to vote. He was here in washington to hear the reverend dr. Dr. Martin luther king jr. s famous i have a dream speech in 1963, part of the great march on washington that year. Allen was a lawyer. He went to the university of pittsburgh both for his undergraduate degree as well as his law degree. He specialized in fighting for the underdog, as his son norman said in allens obituary, taking on personal injury cases for bluecollar workers, just by way of one example. He was also a dedicated family man. Allen cohen and his wife lois were married for 66 years. They raised two sons. Allens wife lois contracted covid19 and has been fortunate to recover. Their family describes this couple as, quote, the perfect match, unquote. In retirement, allen liked to audit classes at the university of pittsburgh, his alma mater. He also liked to garden. His son norm recalled, quote, the best vacations, unquote, as a child, including a crosscountry road trip. Once norm and his Brother Lawrence were grown up, they would take their father allen and their mom lois on vacations instead. I guess as a way to return the favor for those vacations when they were young. Allens family remember him, of course, as a civil rights advocate, a skilled orator who loved to travel. In the words of his granddaughter, molly, as quoted in his obit. Irey, quote in his obituary, quote, what i admire most about my grandpa is his integrity and how he always made life light and fun, unquote. Molly went on to say when things in the world are unjust, grandpa always speaks up and does what he can to make a difference, unquote. In addition to his wife, his sons, his granddaughter molly, allen left behind seven other grandchildren and one greatgrandchild. So were thinking today of allen cohens family and offer our condolences and sympathies. Now we go back to the eastern side of the state to bucks county, pennsylvania, to talk about dr. Victor rivera who was a retired pediatrician from language langh orn, which is very close to philadelphia, just north of the new jersey border as well. Dr. Rivera practiced medicine for over 40 years, treating thousands of local children. He volunteered for missions and cared for children abroad. He leaves behind a loving family. His wife mila and four children and extended family all around the world. Dr. Rivera was finally remembered by his community after he died from covid19 complications in april of this year. They described dr. Rivera as a father figure, someone dedicated to his patients but also his staff, who connected with his patients. In the words of one person, quote, a kind, gentle soul, unquote. In some cases, dr. Rivera treated multiple generations of the same family. When his patients grew up, they brought their own children back to his care. Many people commented on his big heart, his warm smile, and his magical singing voice. Even when he was hospitalized with covid19, dr. Rivera was singing to the nurses in the intensive care unit and cracking jokes. After retirement, he kept working shifts. When he wasnt working, he and mila would travel, and thats how he contracted covid19, returning from an International Trip just as the pandemic was worsening. Dr. Rivera, like so many others who have died from covid19, leaves a big hole in his community. So we also offer our condolences and sympathies to dr. Riveras family. Finally, the fifth pennsylvanian that i will talk about, we go back out to the western, or northwestern end of the state, northwestern pennsylvania, Crawford County. Three theodore watts, known as ted. He was born in pittsburgh, pennsylvania, but he spent most of his life in meadville, which as i mentioned is Crawford County, just south of erie, just to give people the geography. Ted was a lawyer who first served his country in the jag corps of the United States army. After a separating from the army, ted married shirley barnett, and they settled in meadville, pennsylvania, where ted went into private practice. Ted also served as the solicitor for the penn crest School District and served as the Crawford County solicitor and the legal representative for the Housing Authority and Water Authority of meadville in Crawford County. One of his most significant professional accomplishments came through his time as an attorney for the Redevelopment Authority during which time he helped set the stage for future brownfields legislation to safely reclaim contaminated industrial sites. Ted is remembered by his family, friends, and colleagues for being community oriented, a mentor, and someone who would, quote, do anything, as someone said, for the people he cared most about. He was an avid runner, finishing more than 40 marathons, and was the power behind the thurston classic, a large hot air balloon rally. Ted loved the pittsburgh steelers, holding season tickets, and was both an athlete and a great coach for soccer and a referee for football. Ted passed away from complications of covid19 in october of this year and leaves behind an extended family as well as many people in meadville in Crawford County whose lives he touched through his years of Public Service. We, of course, offer our condolences and sympathies to teds family. Mr. President , let me say in conclusion the pennsylvania stories i have shared today are, of course, just a fraction, a fraction of the now 12,890 deaths in our commonwealth. Sadly, given the current rate at which the virus is spreading nationwide and within our state, the death toll will only rise higher in the coming weeks and months. On a day like today and i hope on so many other days, we pray for these grieving families who have loved and lost. They have lost someone they were very close to, someone they cared about, someone that brought joy to their lives, someone that they will miss. Im reminded again of a great song by Bruce Springsteen, youre missing. He wrote it after 9 11. It has application, of course, to all kinds of circumstances where someone has lost a loved one. Lost a loved one in 9 11. Lost a loved one in iraq or afghanistan or so many other tragedies. In this case, youll use it to talk about what these families have lost because of this terrible virus and the covid19 pandemic. I wont recite, of course, all the lyrics, but Bruce Springsteen in the song youre missing has a refrain youre missing when i shut out the lights, youre missing when i close my eyes, youre missing when i see the sunrise. And he goes on to sing the rest of the song about a person missing. All of these families will miss their loved ones, not only when they are shutting out the lights or when they rise in the morning, but every day and in many cases every hour of every day. So we pray for them. And i think we have an obligation ourselves to these families to honor those we have lost, we must all do our part. What does that mean . It means following Public Health guidance regarding social distancing, wearing masks, and other steps we can all take, each of us, to reduce the spread of covid19 and save as many lives as possible until the vaccines are widely available. Lets do what we can. Of course we should express condolences and sympathy. Of course we should pray for an end to this terrible scourge, but we all have an obligation to do more, to get those death numbers down. But i wanted in some small way to recognize these pennsylvanians representative of all 12,890, which we pray will not grow very much from that number, just to say a word about these lives lived and the families they left behind. May god bless all of them. Mr. President , i would yield the floor and note the absence of a quorum. The presiding officer the clerk shall call the roll. Quorum call quorum call a senator mr. President . The presiding officer the senator the senator from wisconsin. A senator i ask unanimous consent that vitiate the quorum call. The presiding officer without objection. Ms. Baldwin i ask unanimous consent that our vote begin now. The presiding officer is there objection . Seeing none, so ordered. Under the previous order, all postcloture time is expired. The question is on the kirsch nomination. Is there a sufficient second . There appears to be. The clerk will call the roll. Vote vote vote vote the presiding officer is there any senator in the chamber wishing to vote or to change their vote . If not, on this nomination, the yeas are 51, the nays are 44, the nomination is confirmed. Under the previous order, the motion to reconsider can considered made and laid upon the table and the president will be immediately notified of the senates action. The clerk will report the motion to invoke cloture. The clerk cloture motion. We, the undersigned senators, in accordance with the provisions of rule 22 of the standing rules of the senate, do hereby move to bring to a close debate on the nomination of katherine a. Crytzer of tennessee to be United States district judge for the Eastern District of tennessee, 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 katherine a. Crytzer of tennessee to be the United States district judge for the Eastern District of tennessee shall be brought to a close. The yeas and nays are mandatory under the rule. The clerk will call the roll. Vote vote vote the presiding officer the the motion is glead agreed to. The clerk will report the nomination. The clerk nomination, katherine a. Crytzer of tennessee to be United States district judge for the Eastern District of tennessee. The presiding officer the senator from louisiana. The clerk will call the roll. Vote quorum call quorum call mr. Sasse mr. President. The presiding officer the distinguished senator from nebraska is recognized. Mr. Sasse thank you, mr. President. I ask unanimous consent to suspend the quorum call. The presiding officer without objection. Mr. Sasse mr. President , i rise because in a few minutes, im going to ask unanimous consent to enter into the record a new report released last night by adrian zens of the victims of communism foundation. Now, it isnt often that we enter into the report, into the congressional record reports that are really things that we want our constituents to read, but this report is different. This report is a report that every american needs to know about because it makes clear two things. First, it makes clear that cotton from xinjiang, which is about 20 of all the worlds cotton, its about 85 of the cotton coming out of china, but its about 20 of the global cotton and its the best cotton on the globe is stained by slave labor. And the second thing that it makes clear is that a lot of this cotton is destined for the United States. We are the ones demanding it, and our people are making a market for this, this blood cotton. Mr. President , your honor the guise of orwellian terms like poverty alleviation, the Chinese Communist party is forcibly mobilizing minority labor, the uighurs, to replace the majority Chinese Labor market that it has traditionally picked some of the xinjiang cotton. Very young and very elderly folks are often sent into facilities and everybody in between, everybody who has a body that can move into the fields, can being sent into the cotton fields for the months long cottonpicking season. It is backbreaking labor. And these uighurs that are being forced to do this as slaves are under constant surveillance. Theyre subjected to very long work hours and forced to participate in political indoctrination sessionsment some of todays pickers have also done shifts and turns in c. C. P. Internment camps as well. We should be very clear about whats happening here. What is happening here is an unmitigated evil. There isnt another interpretation for this slave labor that is producing the xinjiang blood cotton. This is an unmitigated evil. And it is obviously far more comfortable to ignore evil than to confront it head on. And despite our many promises, it is easy to forget the human toil of totalitarianism. It is easier to just look away. And that is what the communist leadership is counting on. Theyre counting on the fact that u. S. Citizens and corporate leadership and politician will just be busy and say, well, that would be messy to have to confront, so we should just look away. We said we would never forget, but lets just not notice. So we should state this truth over and over again. Chairman xis dictatorship is enslaving more than half a million uighurs and theyre being forced to pick blood cotton. That is what this report from the victims of communism Foundation Last night clearly demonstrates, and the Chinese Communist party is convinced that the American People and that the institutions of the United States government will simply look away. So we need to say again and again that chairman xis dictatorship is enslaving more than half a million uighurs. They are being forced into slavery in the cotton fields, much of that cotton is destined for u. S. Markets, and chairman xi and his underlings are counting on the fact that though america raises a light of liberty in our rhetoric, theyre expecting that we will just playbook away in practice that we will just look away in practice and in fact in our marketplaces. We cannot give them that victory, mr. President. Beijing doesnt care about basic Human Dignity. We need to distinguish every time we talk about topics like this, we need to distinguish between the leadership of the communist party in beijing and the regular 1. 4 billion chinese citizens, many of whom have nothing to do with these evils and wouldnt countenance them if they had the power. But the genocidal power of the leadership in beijing is running systematically oppressive slave regimes against the muslims and against other ethnic minorities. Their cruelty is unmatched. They are ripping families apart. They are forcibly separating parents from chairman. They send goons in to rape the wives, whose husbands have been sent away, hoping they can impregnate them with other ethnic children to sort of extinguish the uighur population. Theyre brainwashing children and weaponized forced abortion and sterilization. They have systematically demolished mosques. What is happening in xinjiang is not gray. What is happening in xinjiang is evil. Chairman xis underlinks do not believe that the uighurs are human and the racist party in beijing believes that these men and women are little better than animals and can be exploited at slaves. In xinjiang, cotton is king. How does beijing try to explain this away . There are a whole bunch of lies they use to try to cover it up. According to the propaganda, the uighurs and other ethnic minorities are lazy and need help to overcome their laziness and they need work and need to be helped out of poverty. These are the sort of topline versions of their disgusting lives. They they dont really think that anybody is persuaded by these lies. What they expect is that the money will do the persuading for them. They dont think that these lies are rolled out in a way that is really going to be compelling to anyone. What they really expect is that we wont Pay Attention to where highquality, cheap cotton often comes from and that well just look away. And heres the painful truth. The Global Supply chains that have benefited from this blood cotton have gotten some really good cotton at really cheap prices. An estimated 70 of xinjiangs cotton was picked by hand making it some of the highestquality cotton in the world, some of the most desirable cotton at any marketplace and it is incredibly cheap because it is picked by slave labor. Xinjiang produces by 80 of chinas cotton and about 20 of the worlds to the ton. It is impossible to separate blood cotton from other cotton. Here is what that means in america and around the world. It meanings that we are living in a sea of hypocrisy because we have a whole bunch of u. S. Companies that celebrate individuality individualism, makes them unbelievably good commercials and talk about the expansion of human potential, at the same time being cosponsors of slave fields. Thats what were talking about here, and we cant and we shouldnt simply look away. The extensiveness of the c. C. P. s forced labor programs are such that many u. S. Companies, including at least 82 identifiable global brands, have benefited from the xinjiang slave cotton labor. Gap and nike are two of the companies most obviously singled out and the c. C. P. Has helped them cut their costs and expand their market access. And in exchange what they ask for is a really polite seenoevil policy. The commercials that are aired in the prime time and major sporting events of the u. S. Are aired by companies that at the same time say, please dont ask us about our supply chains. We dont want to have to give any account for that. These companies spend billions of dollars a year running ad campaigns touting values like selfdetermination and yet theyre quietly importing communist values. Particularly about the lack of Human Dignity. We dont want those values imported in the United States. We dont want to look away. We dont want to be people who say, never again and never forget and then to just casually say, i dont want to notice. We dont want to be those people. Ive written letters to both gap and nike asking them to please help make transparent to the American People what they know about their supply chains and how we should clean them up. We need to tackle the problem of this blood cotton from xinjiang and we need to give the american public, the American Consumer a transparent look into what these supply chains look like, where they come from, and how much blood theyre tainted with. In the coming weeks, i and others will be reaching out to more companies than gap appeared nike, but those are gap and nike, but those are the two letters i sent today. Americans in business and government and even americans as we go to store with our wallets as consumers in the retail marketplace, we need to be aware of whats happened. We need to be a people that believe in indistinguishing human rights. That believe in defending human rights. It is very profitable and so Many Companies are fighting this change, this transparency. As attention has moved to supply chain concerns, companies have begun to the hire highpaid lobbyists on capitol hill. Businesses that claim a fundamental respect for Human Dignity ought to share with their consumers and their shareholders how they ensure the integrity of their chains because 20 of the worlds cotton comes from this part of china and 85 of that cotton looks like its tainted by blood cotton. Companies need to come clean in they have been asked by the c. C. P. To stay silent about the human rights abuses in china. Companies need to reevaluate the costs and benefits and the costs are high, of partnering with a genocidal regime. They need to do it themselves. These Companies Need to do it themselves because it is right and they need to be pushed to do it because it is hard and because the competitive marketplace has many of their other Peer Companies and Competitor Companies also benefiting benefiting from this same slave cotton. The United States congress has increasingly become concerned about the c. C. P. s paytoplay to shake down americas companies. There are going to be many more bills and pieces of legislation like this coming and companies should do it for the pragmatic reason of getting in front of this because this attention is not going to go away. The concern in this body and in this congress is bipartisan about the blood and the slave supply chains in many of these industries. The United States celebrates the ideals of universal Human Dignity. The Chinese Communist party rejects these ideals. In this ideological competition, beijing is working to exploit something. Theyre working to exploit the moral concessions of american c. E. O. s, c. E. O. s and boards, you need to do better. American consumers, you need to ask hard questions, and this Congress Needs to do some serious investigating. American Global Companies that find their roots in these freedomloving worlds and countries and that express our public support for fundamental human freedoms that produce their success must act now. There is more to do than maximize the bottom line. That is not the only value and the senate is increasingly willing to act to ensure that American Companies do not import misguided Chinese Communist party values into these shores. Right now it is too easy, it is too comfortable, and it is too profitable for Many American and Global Companies to simply ignore the evil. We need to make the suffering in xinjiang known. We need to speak about the uighurs, these men, women, and children have godgiven dignity, and we should not look away. Americans need to know about this evil so that we can together confront it. We need to dismantle chairman xis lies and we need to make it unconscionable for american businesses to profit from chairman xis injustices. And so, i ask unanimous consent that we would enter into the congressional record this report from the victims of communist foundation released last night about the blood slave labor in xinjiang. The presiding officer without objection, it is so ordered. Mr. Sasse thank you, mr. President. Mr. Sasse mr. President. The presiding officer the distinguished senator from nebraska is recognized. Mr. Sasse i ask unanimous consent that the senate proceed to the en bloc consideration of the following nominations executive calendar 875 and 881. The presiding officer without objection. The clerk will report. The clerk nominations, department of state, julie d. Fisher of tennessee to be ambassador to the republic of belarus. Jonathan pratt of california to be ambassador of the United States of america to the republic of djibouti. Mr. Sasse i ask unanimous consent that the nominations be confirmed block, the president be immediately notified of the senates actions. The presiding officer without objection. The question is on the confirmation. All those in favor say aye. Those opposed nay. The ayes have it. The nominations are confirmed. Mr. Sasse i ask unanimous consent that the senate proceed to legislative session and be in a period of morning business with senators permitted to speak therein for up to ten minutes each. The presiding officer without objection. Mr. Sasse mr. President , i have two requests for committees to meet during todays session of the senate. They have the approval of the majority and minority leaders. The presiding officer duly noted. Mr. Sasse i ask unanimous consent the senate proceed to the immediate consideration of calendar number 488, h. R. 7259. The presiding officer the clerk will report. The clerk calendar number 488, h. R. 7259, an act to allow acceleration certificates awarded under the patents for Humanity Program to be transferable. The presiding officer without objection. Mr. Sasse i ask unanimous consent that the bill be considered read a third time and passed and the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table with no intervening action or debate. The presiding officer without objection. Mr. Sasse i ask unanimous consent the senate proceed to the immediate consideration of h. R. 8354 which was received from the house and is at the desk. The presiding officer the clerk will report. The clerk h. R. 8354, an act to establish the Service Members and Veterans Initiative within the Civil Rights Division of the department of justice and further purposes. The presiding officer without objection. Mr. Sasse i ask unanimous consent that the bill be considered read three timed and passed and that the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table. The presiding officer without objection. Mr. Sasse i ask unanimous consent the senate proceed to the consideration of s. Res. 801 submitted earlier today. The presiding officer the clerk will report. The clerk s. Res. 801 authorizing the use of the atrium in the Hart Office Building for a piano performance by senator lamar alexander. The presiding officer without objection. Mr. Sasse i ask unanimous consent the resolution be agreed to and the motions to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table with no intervening action or debate. The presiding officer without objection. Mr. Sasse i ask unanimous consent the senate proceed to the immediate consideration of calendar number 604, s. 3152. The presiding officer the clerk will report. The clerk calendar number 604, s. 3152, a bill to require the federal Communications Commission to incorporate data on Maternal Health outcomes into its Broadband Health maps. The presiding officer without objection. Mr. Sasse i ask the committeereported substitute be agreed to, the bill as amended be read a third time and passed and the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table with no intervening action or debate. The presiding officer without objection. Mr. Sasse i ask unanimous consent that the committee on Veterans Affairs be discharged from the further consideration of h. R. 4356 and the senate proceed to its immediate consideration. The presiding officer the clerk will report. The clerk h. R. 4356, an act to amend the Service Members civil relief act to allow certain individuals to terminate contracts for telephone, multichannel video programming or Internet Access service and for other purposes. The presiding officer without objection, the committee is discharged and will proceed. Mr. Sasse i ask unanimous consent that the bill be considered read a third time and passed and the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table. The presiding officer without objection. Mr. Sasse i ask unanimous consent that the Judiciary Committee be discharged from further consideration of s. 2032 and the senate proceed to its immediate consideration. The presiding officer the clerk will report. The clerk s. 2032, a bill to expand research on the canibadeo and marijuana. The presiding officer without objection the senate will proceed. Mr. Sasse i ask unanimous consent that the feinstein substitute amendment at the desk be considered and agreed to and that the bill be amended and that the bill as amended be considered read a third time. The presiding officer without objection. Mr. Sasse i know of no further debate on the bill as amended. The presiding officer is there further debate . Hearing none, the question is on passage as amended. All those in favor say aye. Opposed no. It appears a very close vote but that the ayes have it. The bill as amended is passed. Mr. Sasse i ask unanimous consent that the motions to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table. The presiding officer without objection. Mr. Sasse i ask unanimous consent that the committee on banking, housing, and urban affairs be discharged and that the senate proceed to the immediate consideration of s. 2054. The clerk s. 2054 a bill to posthumously award the gold medal to glen doherty it, tie roone woods tie roone woods and sean smith in recognition to the contribution to the nation. The presiding officer without objection, the committee is discharged, the senate will proceed. Mr. Sasse i ask unanimous consent that the markey substitute amendment number 2692 be considered and agreed to, the bill as amended be considered read a third time and passed and that the motions to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table. The presiding officer without objection. Mr. Sasse i ask unanimous consent the Judiciary Committee be discharged from further consideration of h. R. 6100 and the senate proceed to its immediate consideration. The presiding officer the clerk will report. The clerk h. R. 6100, an act to amend title 18 United States code to clarify the criminalization of female genital mutilation and for other purposes. The presiding officer without objection, the committee is discharged, the senate will proceed. Mr. Sasse i further ask that the bill be considered read a third time and passed and the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table with no intervening action or debate. The presiding officer without objection. Mr. Sasse i ask unanimous consent that when the senate completes its Business Today it adjourn until 10 00 a. M. Tomorrow, wednesday, december 16. Further, that following the prayer and pledge the morning hour deemed expired, the journal of proceedings be be approved to date, the time for the two leaders be reserved for their use later in the day and morning business be closed. Following leader remarks the senate proceed to executive session and resume consideration of the crytzer nomination. Further that not withing standing rule 22 all postcloture time on the crytzer time expire at 11 a. M. If confirmed the motion to reconsider were the to the crytzer nomination be considered made and laid upon the table and the president be immediately notified of the senates action. The presiding officer without objection. Mr. Sasse mr. President , if there is no further business to come before the senate i ask that it stand adjourned under the previous order. The presiding officer the Senate Stands adjourned until Senate Stands adjourned until the senate is out for the night. Earlier today members confirm the nomination of Thomas Kirsch to be a judge on the seventh Circuit Court of appeals. He replaces judge Amy Coney Barrett who now serves on the Supreme Court. For more debates and nominations are expected this week. Also possible work on covid19 relief legislation and federal spending. Current governments by the funding expires this friday. Follow the senate live on cspan2 when members return wednesday you are watching cspans to your unfiltered look at government. Its a Public Service and brought to you today by your television provider. Cspans washington journal, every day we take your calls live on the air. On the news of the day and we discussed policy issues that impact you. Coming up wednesday morning, advancing help equity founder and ceo on covid19 vaccine and how to build Public Confidence in them particularly in communities of color. Then Yell University American History professor david blanke on the history of the elections in the u. S. And parallels between this past election and the election of 1860 which led to the civil war. Watch cspans washington journal, light at seven eastern on wednesday morning. Fisher to join the discussion with your phone calls, facebook comments, Facebook Messages and tweets. Issues surrounding the 2020 Election Security at administration will be examined by the Senate Homeland security and Governmental Affairs committee at a hearing wednesday morning. Watch that life beginning at ten eastern on cspan three, on live at cspan org. Or listen on the free cspan radio app. Select the food and Drug Administration meets an open session to approve Moderna Vaccine for covid19. Live coverage thursday 9 00 a. M. Eastern on cspan three. Stream live and ondemand at cspan. Org. Or listen on the free cspan radio app. Earlier today Senate Majority leader Mitch Mcconnell and other republican members held a News Conference with reporters at the capitol. They spoke about covid19 relief legislation, and the upcoming legislative agenda. This is 20 minutes