Take you live to the senate on cspan 2. The presiding officer the senate will come to order. The chaplain, dr. Barry black, will lead the senate in prayer. The chaplain let us pray. Eternal god, who alone spreads out the heavens and rules the raging of the sea. Give our Lawmakers Wisdom to draw near to you. May they daily seek your presence, as they reflect on your sacred word. Guide them with your instructions, keeping them from falling in lifes slippery places. May they strive to please and honor you by living with integrity. Mighty god, since we have you, what else could we possibly want on earth . We pray in your matchless name. Amen. The presiding officer please join me in reciting the pledge of allegiance to the flag. I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of america, and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under god, indivisible, with Liberty And Justice for all. The presiding officer the clerk will read a communication to the senate. The clerk washington, d. C. , july 12, 2021. To the senate under the provisions of rule 1, paragraph 3, of the standing rules of the senate, i hereby appoint the honorable mazie hirono, a senator from the state of hawaii , to perform the duties of the chair. Signed patrick j. Leahy, president pro tempore. The presiding officer under the previous order, the leadership time is reserved. Morning business is closed. Under the previous order, the senate will proceed to executive session to resume consideration of the following pg nomination, which the clerk will report. The clerk nomination, department of state, Uzra Zeya of virginia to be an Under Secretary of state. Mr. Schumer Madam President . The presiding officer mr. Majority leader. Mr. Schumer Madam President , six months ago the democratic majority began this congress by aggressively won fronting the covid crisis. We passed the american Rescue Plan, one of the largest federal stimulus measures in history to help bring an end to the economic downturn and prime our economy to come roaring back. Now millions of americans have come off the unemployment rolls and small businesses have reopened from coast to coast. More than 150 americans have been 150 million americans have been fully vaccinated. We need, of course, to keep up the effort to inoculate the rest of the country. But suffice it to say we are well on our way to bringing the country out of chaos, out of crisis, and back to normal. But the task is not done. As our country reopens and americans return to work, we must turn our attention to laying a foundation for the future. This upcoming Work Period will focus on exactly that, building a foundation for future american prosperity for years and decades to come through smart and bold investments in our nations infrastructure. As ive said for weeks, the discussions about Infrastructure Legislation continue along two tracks. On the bipartisan track, our committees are getting closer to turning the recent agreement between the White House and bipartisan Infrastructure Group into legislation. Im pleased to report we are making very good progress towards that goal. On the second track, the Senate Budget Committee is close to finalizing a Budget Resolution which will allow the senate to move forward with the remaining parts of the american jobs and families plan. The senate must pass the Budget Resolution and an eventual Budget Reconciliation Bill with or without republican support. The fact of the matter is brick and more Tar Mortar Infrastructure is very important but its not only the only type of infrastructure that matters in the 2 1s century. Human infrastructure, what many would call Family Support as our families come under increasing pressure in this modern society, things like Child Care, family leave, education, Health Care are just as essential to giving our Citizens Opportunity as building roads and bridges and railways. Both are very important. 21st Century Investment and broadband internet, the Grid And Retrofitting our economy to fight climate change in bold ways are just as important as roads and bridges and railways. We must do both. Its not one or the other. And we are going to do both. Before the week Work Period is over, it is my intention for the senate to hold votes on the bipartisan Infrastructure Bill and a Budget Resolution. Members should prepare for a busier Work Period than usual with the possibility of late night votes, weekend votes and changes to the august schedule. Its not going to be easy but its certainly going to be worth it. The federal government has not made a significant stand alone investment in infrastructure in decades. Were the worlds largest economy and yet our infrastructure ranks 13th. America has less generous Family Support policies than so many of our peers who are not as wealthy as we are. Its time to rebuild our infrastructure, create millions of goodpaying jobs, particularly to those who havent been able to get goodpaying jobs, and help american families keep up with rising expenses. If and when we succeed, the benefits, the benefits will reverberate across the country for generations to come. On nominations, the senate will also continue to confirm highly qualified nominations to the biden administration. This week the senate will confirm Uzra Zeya to serve as Under Secretary of State And Julie su to serve as Deputy Secretary of labor. Both zeya and ms. Su will add to the expertise, dedication, and diversity of President Bidens administration. As the week progresses, members should be advised there will be additional votes in all likelihood on additional nominees. Judicial appointments remain one of our highest priorities. Later this week the Judiciary Committee will vote to advance five additional judges, two Circuit Court nominees, including ms. Eunice lee, one of the great public defenders not only in New York but the country whom im proud to recommend to the second circuit and three District Court nominees. The senate has already confirmed more circuit and District Court judges before july 1 than in history. Well continue to work in the months to come to restore muchneeded balance to the judiciary. One final matter the Child Tax Credit. The biggest effort in over 50 years to reduce Childhood Poverty in america begins on thursday. Later this week, tens of millions of american families are going to see extra money hit their Pay Bank accounts when their first payments of the newly expanded Child Tax Credit are disbursed across the country. When senate democrats passed the american Rescue Plan in march, we included a provision to provide the majority of parents 3,600 per year for every child under six and 3,000 for every child between six and 17. These payments im happy to say are ready to begin this week, which means soon that most families with kids will start receiving 300 each month for each child under six and 250 each month for each child six to 17. I want american families to know, if you filed your taxes in either 2019 or 2020, or both, you will get these payments automatically. Youll see them in your bank accounts, without lifting a finger. For those who for whatever reason didnt file taxes in the past two years, i reasonably you i urge you, i strongly urge you to go online and register at i. R. S. Gov child i. R. S. Gov childtaxcredit or contact your representative for assistance. These payments are going to make an incredible difference to millions and millions of american families struggling with the cost of Child Care and groceries and housing and Health Care. Recent estimates by the center for Budget And Policy priorities predict that more than four million american four million children children will be lifted out of poverty. Childhood poverty in america cut almost in half. What an amazing thing that is. Just this morning i met with a group of parents in New York whose lives were dramatically improved, thanks to thispologies. Hearing their stories, i was moved to hear the relief in their voices that an extra little help is coming their way. The hope that their voices in their voices about giving their children a better future. This is an example of the difference between a democratic and a republican majority in the senate. As Leader Mcconnell openly reminds everyone, not a single republican voted in favor of expanding the Child Tax Credit through the american Rescue Plan. I am so proud that democrats found a way to help american families, help american kids with a brighter, stronger future, despite republican opposition. Unanimous republican opposition. And i believe that now we must press on and make these expanded payments a permanent part of our tax code. I yield the floor. I suggest the absence of a quorum. The presiding officer the clerk will call the roll. Quorum call mr. Durbin Madam President . The presiding officer the democratic whip. Mr. Durbin i ask consent that the Quorum Call be suspended. The presiding officer without objection. Mr. Durbin Madam President , today a the first day of what could be a productive and maybe even historic few weeks in the senate. I hope that we can live up to the challenges that we are facing. July 6 was an historic day in my Home State after illinois. For the first time in 476 days, illinois went 24 hours without losing a life to covid19. During the deadliest days of this pandemic, illinois was losing more than 150 People Day to covid. As our governor j. B. Pritzker said on the 6th, the vaccines have done the work. Thank god for the vaccines. I couldnt have said it better. 70 of eligible illinois residents have received at least one dose of those lifesaving covid vaccines, including 90 of seniors. But were at a Crate Icle Moment in illinois and across our nation. With a new, more dangerous dangerous Delta Variant now spreading across the nation, people who are unvaccinated are at a greater risk than ever of becoming sick and even facing death from covid. I hope that we can stop the Division And Disinformation and figure out how to protect the people from this deadly foe. I want to say a word about an issue i read this morning in an article in the New York times. The author of the article, tiffany shue, the title of the article is antivax Nation Rhetoric creeps from fringe to fox prime time. It is a lengthy article, and i commend it to everyone to read it on their own. It raises some important questions. If our sacred right to free speech can be limited by the timehonored test of crying higher fire in a crowded theater, is there any limit to extreme rhetoric in the midst of a pandemic . We know the republican party is enthralled by Donald Trump. They bought the big lie. A half to twothirds of republicans believe that he actually won the last election. And he didnt. 29 of republicans believe that Donald Trump will be reinstated as president ment, triumphantly returning from exile to take every 0 the White House again. Many of them believe that he will return to washington soon. Well, theres there was an interesting scene on the grounds of the capitol when i return Yod Today from illinois. For the first time since january 6, the fence that was erected to hold back the Insurrectionist Mob was removed. We hope that were prepared now protect this capitol and can get back to bus as usual. But we have to recruit additional Capitol Hill Police to be prepared. We have to work with the national guard units to be prepared. And we have to realize the obvious there was a decision made on the floor of the united States Senate by the republican Senate Leader just a few weeks ago to stop any bipartisan effort to establish a commission to ask what happened on january 6 and how it can be avoided in the future. Senator mcconnell objected, objected to a bipartisan, evenly split commission to investigate that terrible day. The g. O. P. Senate leader killed that idea several weeks ago. I want to commend speaker pelosi, who is trying her best through a special committee in the house of representatives, to have a bipartisan investigation. It should have been done through this commission. Senator mcconnell stopped it. There is one other element i want to raise when it comes to free speech in the time of pandemic. It caught my eye in this mornings paper, as is mention the earlier, was this article by fox prime time. It recounted the fact that over the last several months, fox had been losing ground to cnn, questioning the effectiveness of the covid19 vaccines became a Split Decision at the fox network. Some of the leaders at fox obviously believe very strongly in the vaccine, and i commend them i do, too. Rupert murdoch vaccinated in december. On a list of those who supported is the effort to encourage the use of vaccine across america was taken at fox, they put together a 30second Spot featuring Host And Anger steve doocy, harris faulkner, dana perino. Faulkner says, if you can, get the vaccine. President Trump Behr said in the Instagram Post he was grateful for the shot of vaccine. The host of fox and friends spoke of the relief they felt in being abouting vaccinated. Sean hannity himself said i believe in vaccinations. I do believe in science. Talk to your doctor, he said. You dont need to talk to people on Tv And Radio that arent doctors, which goes to the point of this message. There are two hosts of programs on fox prime time that can only be characterized as antivax quacks. Im referring of course to Tucker Carlson and Laura Ingram. They have been spreading what i consider to be irresponsible information about vaccines across america and about the effort of this nation to deal with them. Heres the reality. We have millions whove died across the world by this vaccine. We may never have an accurate count. We have hundreds of thousands who have died in the United States, and now it is said repeatedly that those who had headed to the hospital with the most serious strains of covid19, 99. 5 of them were not vaccinated. So the facts are obvious here. I know its an individual decision on whether to be vaccinated, and im sure there are maybe some senators whove decided not to do it, but i was happy to do it as soon as i could. I think the vaccines are protecting me and my wife and family. But in the meantime, to have these hosts of tv shows at fox in prime time peddling this nonsense about vaccines being unnecessary and covid19 being no threat can only be summarized in a statement which concluded this article. A recent Opinion Essa Foyer the daily beast by preston paden, a former highlevel executive at fox broadcasting, wrote that Fox News had, quote, contributed substantially and directly to the unnecessary deaths of many americans by fueling Hesitation And Doubt about the Efficacy And Safety of lifesaving covid19 vaccines. He singled out the channels prime time opinion programs for blame. I want to commend those at fox who have stood up and said the right thing about these vaccines, but i also croix tonight take issue with but i also want to take issue with those who are using this vaccine, for whatever purpose, to mislead and confuse the american people about its necessity and its effectiveness and its safety. They are not doing america any favors. And i hope that fox will come to its senses. If there are things that can remove you from the air from being said son a program, a i certainly hope that they will caution the management of the station will caution Tucker Carlson and Laura Ingram with the statements that they have made in opposition to vaccines. Madam president , the 4th of july of course is a night when you may not be able to get to bed early. A lot of fire with, celebration of our nation a lot of fireworks, celebration of our nations birthday. And it is celebrated from one corner of in earthquake to the next. But from corner of america to the next. Sad subsidy, in many places the noise you were hering was not fireworks. It was gun 13 fire. 104 people were shot in chicago. 104 people were shot in chicago on the 4th of july weekend. 19 died. Among the wounded were 13 children and two chicago police supervisors. The dead included in chicago a national Guard Member who was aspiring to join the chicago police department. The week before the holiday, a onemonthold Baby Girl was shot in the head. A 20yearold University of Chicago Student riding on the L Train coming home was hit by a stray bullet. He, too, died. Two days after the 4th of july weekend, two a. T. F. Agents and a chicago Police Officer on an undercover oppose reagan administration were shot and wounded oppose reagan administration were shot and operation were shot and rounded. It was the 36th chicago Police Officer shot in year. This is modness. This is madness. Chicago is is not alone with this Gun Violence experience. Life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness are just cruel taunts if anyone can be cut down anywhere in this great country by gunfire. Gun violence is a national crisis. At least 233 people were killed and 16 618 people were injured by gunfire in the United States over the fourth of july weekend, according to the Gun Violence archive. Shootings are up this year in big cities, but also in suburbs and rural areas. Dont believe its only blue cities. Its blue cities and red cities and purple cities and small towns. Already this year there have been nearly 23,000 Gun Violence deaths in america. Did you hear that . This year, 23,000 Gun Violence deaths in america. That includes more than 12,000 by suicide and fatalities for more than 340 Mass Shootings. Sadly, virtually every weekend is a Mass Shooting in the city of chicago i represent. 340 Mass Shootings, nearly two a day. No other nation on earth experiences this massive civilian slaughter. Neither should we. We must do more to keep guns out of the hands of criminals and others who are prohibited from having them. I met with the mayor of chicago to talk about the fourth of july weekend. We both agreed more has to be done, and were determined to work with President Biden who has committed to this issue as well. But we also believe that we need to enforce the laws that are on the books, specifically, we need to make sure that guns are not being sold to people without a Background Check. Convicted felons have no business buying a gun, nor do people who are mentally unstable. But unfortunately they can. There are many loopholes in the law. There are ways to sell these guns at a Gun Show without a Background Check or over the Internet Or Ghost guns, which have no basically identifying serial number. Weve got to do more to keep guns out of the hands of criminals, and we can if well just stand up, both parties stand up and say enough. This is ridiculous. It is cruel, and its heartbreaking. Ive spoken with the mayor about the crisis in chicago, and President Biden did the same when he came to illinois last week. Today the president is meeting at the White House with Law Enforcement, local elected officials and others to discuss his administrations efforts to reduce gun crimes. The american Rescue Plan, which passed the united States Senate without a single republican vote in support, included funding that communities can use for Youth Unemployment programs, mental health services, and other strategies to break the cycle of violence. The covid Rescue Plan also includes funding for local Law Enforcement to include Community Policing practices. The republicans like to make a big thing about statements from some people about defunding the police. I never supported that, and most of the people i know had nothing to do with it. But here they are defunding the police themselves in voting against the american Rescue Plan. That fund is going to provide Law Enforcement more resources. We want that money to be spent properly, and we certainly want Law Enforcement to discharge their duties in a professional way. But additional resources can be and will be used effectively. Im sorry that not one single republican senator voted for that plan. I think its not defending defunding the police. Its defending the police with the american Rescue Plan provisions. President bidens american jobs plan, which were now going to consider soon, is an opportunity for us to consider 5 billion to fund community violence, prevention programs. Ive introduced my bill, the rise from trauma act, which would implement the proposal by funding trusted members of the community to tackle trauma and the pain that is at the root of violence. Last month the president announced the creation of a new Strike Force to be headed by the Justice Department that will crack down on illegal Gun Trafficking in chicago, New York, los angeles, the san francisco bay area, and washington, d. C. I support this step. Madam president , we have before us a nomination. Im not sure when it will be called. It was a product of our Judiciary Committee of David Chipman, nominated by President Biden to serve as the next director of the bureau of alcohol, tobacco, firearms, and explosives. Madam president , you know the answer to this question, but most dont. When was the last time that agency had a director chosen by congress through the orderly process . Well its about six years ago. That was the last time and turned out to be the only time in the history of the agency. Why would an agency of the government go on for years without a duly selected director . It was an intentional strategy by those gun groups to make sure that this agency, as important as it is, didnt have a leader, and as a Consequence Wasnt as effective as it should be. David shipman, born in new hampshire, b. S. From american university, m. S. From johns hopkins, in our committee we recognize the fact that he had 25 years of Law Enforcement experience. He is a responsible Gun Owner himself. Hes advocated for Sequence Gun Safety for commonsense Gun Safety measures. He spent decades working in the a. T. F. Including serving as a special agent in virginia, texas, and michigan. Hed be the first former a. T. F. Agency to head the bureau and this experience has equipped him with the experience he needs. He would be the second confirmed director in the agencys history, as i mentioned. A lifelong Gun Owner, he knows firsthand the responsibility of Gun Owner and the commonsense safety measures that go hand in hand with it. He is uniquely positioned to counter a false narrative pushed by the gun lobby, that he has a radical or somehow contrary to the second amendment view. His knowledge of firearms and Gun Policy is unparalleled. He gained his insight not only working in Law Enforcement, but also as an advisor to one of the nations top Violence Prevention organizations. Congress and the biden administration must take action to address Gun Violence in the city of chicago, in the city of springfield, illinois, all across this nation. It is a rampant issue for all of us. Thats why we should pick as quickly as we can a leader like David Chipman to lead the a. T. F. Agency. Ill conclude by saying that this has been an unusual weather time in our country. Weve seen things happening that are unparalleled in history Extreme Weather from the chicago area, tornadoes, to the Baking 120degree Heat of the northwest, to even a warning of a tornado here in washington, d. C. Strange things are occurring. When you hear about these wildfires in california and oregon, theres a natural inclination if you dont live in that area to dismiss them, to say that didnt happen in my backyard, not in my backyard. Well, i have to say we ought to wake up to the reality. Extreme weather and the results of global warming are coming to everyones backyard. Weve got to take the realization that its time for us to prepare this nation to turn back the impacts of climate change and global warming. Those fires are burning in california and oregon, but they reflect a situation which is dangerous for all of us. We are waiting to investigate, bring in engineering groups with the surfside, florida, building collapse, that terrible tragedy which claimed, im sure, im sad to say, over 100 lives. We think climate change may have something to do with that, the rising Water Table and the infiltration of Salt Water from the oceans may have caused a decline in the stability of the foundation of that building. Well only know after the engineers can look at it more closely. In the area of the great lakes, we love our great lakes. Lake michigan is one of the most beloved aspects of our state and the city of chicago, but two or three days ago in the New York times there was a front Page Story about whats happening with the great lakes and the instability of that region. Were taking it seriously. Im glad to say that President Biden has joined in restoring the great Lakes Restoration Initiative which President Obama began. Great lakes are a great asset, but they are also a great reminder that we all face climate change in our own home areas. I yield the floor and suggest the absence of a quorum. The presiding officer caw the clerk will call the roll. Quorum call Quorum Call Quorum Call the presiding officer the senator from michigan p. Mr. Peters Madam President , i ask unanimous consent that the Quorum Call be vitiated. The presiding officer without objection. Mr. Peters Madam President , i rise in support of Jen Easterlys Nomination to serve as director of the Cybersecurity And Infrastructure Security Agency commonly referred to as cisa. Before the senate adjourned for the july 4 holiday, i stood right here and urged my colleagues to confirm her for this vital position. Was disappointed that a republican colleague blocked ms. Easterlys swift confirmation at that point but i appreciate he has now has resolved his concerns and we can move forward today. I warn that without confirming ms. E easterly, we risk leaving ourselves vulnerable to cyberattacks and in the two weeks since i last called on my colleagues to approve this critical nomination, Nation State actors and criminal organizations have continued their relentless targeting of the United States. Over the july 4 weekend, we learned that u. S. Software Company Company say Ya Kosaya was the vehicle of it a Ransom Ware Attack and affected thousands of world organization. Days later we saw reports that republican national Committee Contractor had been attacked in an attempt to target the r. N. C. Unfortunately these are only the latest of several recent cyberattacks that threaten our government, critical infrastructure, and key industries. These attackers will stop at nothing to infiltrate our networks and eurgently need qualified senateconfirmed cybersecurity leaders in place to fight back. With more than three decades of Cybersecurity Expertise and service in the public and in the private sectors, ms. Easterly is more than qualified to led cisa. We need her in place immediately so she can get to work with agencies, with businesses, and others to recover from recent cyberattacks and strengthen security defenses before cybersecurity defenses before the next attack. I appreciate that my colleagues on the other side of the aisle have withdrawn their objections and that the senate is prepared to confirm this highly qualified nominee on a bipartisan basis. I certainly look forward to working with her and my friends on both sides of the aisle here in congress to shore up Scieber Security Cybersecurity vulnerabilities and keep american families, businesses, and the federal government secure. Madam president , i ask unanimous consent that the senate proceed to consideration of the following nomination, Calendar Number 176. The presiding officer is there objection . Without objection, the clerk will report. The clerk nomination, department of roamland security, Jen Easterly of New York to be director of the Cybersecurity And Infrastructure Security Agency. Mr. Peters Madam President , i ask consent that the Senate Vote on the nomination without intervening action or debate, and if confirmed, the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table all without intervening action or debate, that no further motions be in order to the nomination, that any statements related to the nomination be printed in the record, and that the president be immediately notified of the senates action. The presiding officer is there objection . Without objection. The question is on the nomination. All in favor say aye. All those opposed no. The ayes appear to have it. The ayes do have it. The nomination is confirmed. Mr. Peters Madam President , i suggest the absence of a quorum. The presiding officer the clerk will call the roll. Quorum call mrs. Blackburn Madam President . The presiding officer the senator from tennessee. Mrs. Blackburn thank you, Madam President. I ask that we suspend the Quorum Call. The presiding officer without objection. Mrs. Blackburn thank you. Thank you, Madam President. This weekend the people of cuba rose up in opposition to their repressive socialist government. I think its important to be clear on that point because much of the mainstream media is reporting on these protests that makes it sound as if everything is pandemic related. But whats happening in cuba is not an economic fluke and every single person serving in this body working in the media and an losing the poll analyzing the policy implications knows better than to say otherwise. This isnt the Pop Socialism touted by the american left. Its not fashionable. There is no Empowerment Or Equality in the socialist regime. There is just starvation shortages, violence, and failure for 62 years. 62 years. The ruling communists have bled the cuban people dry and now armed thugs have taken to the streets to repress the opposition n. I. H. Cost. Make no mistake, this is a test for President Biden. He must draw a palestine in the sand you must draw a line in the sand. I call on my colleagues in the majority and on President Biden and the members of his cabinet to join me in supporting all who would risk their lives to expose the ravages of socialism in cuba. We must lead in discussions with the u. N. And the e. U. And coordinate opposition to this violence being carried out against the people of cuba. We must demand that the cuban government allow for a free and open Internet And Initiative investigations into and initiate investigations into if and how havana used technologies supported by the chinese communist party to cut off access to the internet just as the protests started gaining mainstream attention. We cannot stand by while communist Thugs Gun down their own people. We cannot let this become another venezuela. Just as we stand with the freedom fighters suffering in Hong Kong on Mainland China and in other socialist regimes around the world, we must stand with the people of cuba. Meanwhile, were six months into a new era in american politics. The biden administration is still treating government like a graduate seminar, and the american people are still wondering when their president is going to stop catering to the radical left and start doing his job. As i was back home in tennessee, i found out many tennesseans are absolutely disgusted. Theyve decided that our democratic colleagues are not serious about doing serious work. Their priorities and the president s priorities have never been further apart. Theyre looking at those line items the administration is checking off and all they can see is what the administration refuses to acknowledge that there are very real consequences to this outofcontrol agenda. When President Biden killed the keystone x. L. Pipeline, tennesseans did not cheer. All they saw on the horizon were higher gas prices and a vulnerable fuel supply chain. Not four months after biden signed the Executive Order, the colonial Pipeline Hack showed us what can happen when something interrupts the supply chain. When President Biden opened the border, they knew better than to believe all the hype about this socalled solution to our immigration crisis and their instincts were spot on. Now the chaos tearing apart communities in the american southwest is bleeding into communities in tennessee. For democrats here in d. C. , all of those line items came with zero consequences. Instead of focusing on reality, theyre making policy based on a perfectworld scenario were where consequences are simply collateral damage. Of course, here in the real world, when you talk about collateral damage, youre really referring to the people who pay the price for all of these absurd policies. You know, we read a lot in the news these days about what a struggle it is for the Senate Majority to get their bills to the president s desk. Madam president , no struggle over legislation or payfors will ever compare to what youre putting the average american through. If we want to take about payfors, lets talk about how americans are supposed to pay for gas to get to and from work. What happens when they just cant afford it anymore . Inflation is already taking a toll on the average Familys Ability to pay for their weekly groceries. Supply chain problems have made concerns over paying for raw materials like lumber obsolete. Theres nothing to pay for. The american people have lost so many simple things that used to be not easy but manageable, but now when they ask washington to shape up and give them a break, all they get in return is the assurance that Struggle And Loss is all part of the plan. Its july, and we still havent seen a reasonable infrastructure proposal. No, instead what we have is a truly insulting Twobill Scheme that senate democrats concocted in lieu of a Mandate Foretheir radical environmental for their radical environmental agenda. What will the american people get from this scheme . Well, just a fraction of what could be the largest Spending Initiative in history will go towards the roads, bridges, and broadband connections that people actually need and are willing to pay for. If democrats want the more radical line items, theyll have to force it through by abusing the reconciliation process. In a sane world, this wouldnt even be a choice. They wouldnt do it because democrats know that the kind of spending theyre talking about will exacerbate inflation and increase the deficit. Meanwhile, senate democrats have all but ignored their duty to keep the country secure. In may, customs and Border Protection caught more than 180,000 people trying to cross our southern border. Drug seizeures were up 18 more across the nation. As of the end of june in year, c. B. P. Hags aest ared more than one million migrants trying to come into this country. That is right. By the end of june, c. B. P. Has arrested more than one million migrants trying to come into the country. This is a vulnerability. And i would ask my democratic colleagues and President Biden why theyre not more concerned about it. I would also ask why theyre not more concerned about the impending collapse in afghanistan. The dominoes are falling. Iran wasted no time stepping in to negotiate a deal between the afghan government and the taliban. Lets be clear what the biden administration has done here. By turning their backs on 20 years of hard Work And Sacrifice in afghanistan, they created a Power Vacuum in a strategically important region, knowing that the worlds most belligerent State Sponsor of terror was waiting to fill the gap. Its time for President Biden to start listening to the people paying the price for his radical agenda. They feel like theyre losing their country. They are talking to us about their fear of losing their country and their freedom. Theyre out of time, and ill tell you what theyre about to be out of patience. If you bothered to ask them what they want, theyd tell you, get the spending under control, keep this country and our allies safe, and stop distracting yourselves with wishlist projects that serve no one but the moderate cal elements of the radical elements of the democratic party. They are not willing to pay for that wish list. I yield the floor. I note the absence of a quorum. The presiding officer the clerk will call the roll. Quorum call Quorum Call the presiding officer the senator from texas. Mr. Cornyn Madam President , are we in a Quorum Call . The presiding officer yes, we are. Coffin Corn Id ask. Mr. Cornyn id ask consent that the Quorum Call be dispensed with. The presiding officer without objection. Mr. Cornyn thank you, Madam President. Ahead of last Work Period, Senator Schumer, the Majority Leader, outlined his designedtofail agenda. He forecast a series of votes on legislation that stood zero chance of actually passing, legislation to exploit the cause of Pay Fairness to line the pockets of trial lawyers, to erode americans second amendment rights, to force schools and hospitals to comply with woke social norms, and of course the marquee bill, a partisan takeover of our elections. It was obvious from the outset that this Agenda Wasnt designed to achieve results. It takes bipartisanship. It takes rolling up your sleeve and working to build bipartisan consensus to get things done in the senate, especially so in an equally divided senate as we have now. So rather than put forward a number of bills that would earn that sort of bipartisan support and actually pass, Senator Schumer chose to spend most of the senates time last month putting on a show for the socalled progressive base of his party. And i expect even more political theater this month. So in the next few weeks, were told our democratic colleagues will put their dualtrack legislative approach to the test. One of those tracks will include a heavy dose of bipartisanship, and its something i applaud. Contrary to public opinion, republicans and democrats in the senate spend a lot of time working together. So far this year weve worked together to counter threats from china, support small businesses impacted by the pandemic, and combat the increase in hate crimes against asian americans. Weve done all of that together in a bipartisan way. Bipartisan solutions are also being crafted to address other major issues, from the Border Crisis to Drug Pricing to police reform. In the coming weeks, the senate is expected to vote on one of those bipartisan agreements. That is to rebuild and maintain our nations infrastructure. The process that brought us to this point certainly has been a roller coaster. After weeks of backandforth negotiation, a group of 20 senators reached an agreement with the White House just last month. But heres what, when things got very strange. Within minutes of the announcement, the president himself put the fate of that agreement into question. He said he wouldnt sign the bill unless democrats paired it with a multitrilliondollar Reconciliation Bill that will include a smorgasbord of leftist spending priorities and trillions in higher taxes and more debt for americans. Talk about whiplash. Both republicans and democrats were caught off guard. That hadnt been part of the discussions or negotiation. That isnt what they said they agreed to. Well, the reversal and unexpected announcement from the president that even though they were announcing a deal, they didnt have a deal, it prompted a weekend press cleanup, and the president issued a lengthy statement clarifying that it was not a veto threat. But we have no reason to suspect that the larger sentiment has changed. In a letter to his democratic colleagues last friday, the Majority Leader, Senator Schumer, said the senate will consider both the bipartisan deal on infrastructure and the partisan Budget Resolution with reconciliation instructions. The bipartisan deal is very much tied to the fate of a completely partisan Reconciliation Bill, notwithstanding President Bidens cleanup after his unexpected announcement at the White House. Madam president , our democratic colleagues dont have to listen to me, but i do believe they would be wise to avoid this path. They already went on a nearly 2 trillion Spending Binge earlier this year and sidelined every single republican in the congress during the process. They tried to build this ultra partisan legislation as covid19 relief, but we all know that only about 10 of the bill was directly related to the pandemic, and only 1 was tied to vaccinating the american people. The rest, 90 , was exactly the type of thing youd expect to see in a bill that has only the support of our democratic colleagues funding for climate justice, backdoor money for planned parenthood, and more funding for state and local governments than they know what to do with. Blue states are using that money to pay down old debts with the funding. Our democratic colleagues claim that that money was necessary for pandemic relief, but thats not what its being used for. So how are we faring after democrats passed this bill . Did the american Rescue Plan truly Rescue America . Well, when it comes to the virus, the answer is clearly no. As i said, only a small portion of this massive spending supported our fight against covid19. When this bill was signed into law, the majority of frontline workers had already been vaccinated and vaccine makers were working as quickly as possible to supply the rest of the american people who wanted them, with shots. Today twothirds of adults in america have received at least one dose of the vaccine. Twothirds. That progress came because of the bipartisan work that happened last year, not this year. And this legislation certainly didnt rescue our already sluggish economy. In fact, its created more hurdles for our economy. Democrats created an incentive for workers to remain on the sidelines of the Labor Market through the end of september by offering enhanced federal bonuses to state unemployment. For example, businesses of all types have struggled to find willing workers. For every industry from hospitality to retail to manufacturing to energy, help wanted signs can be found everywhere across my state. And were not alone. One Restaurant Owner said the government habits biggest competitor when it comes to finding workers. The Labor Squeeze has become so tight that half of the states, including texas, ended the supplemental unemployment benefits early because they were not compensating people who couldnt Work Or Couldnt find work, but paying people more than they would earn if they did work, when jobs were readily available. And those are just the problems that have been created with the Labor Market. Families across the country have felt the sting of inflation as they paid higher prices on everything from gasoline to groceries. This is exactly the scenario outlined by economists across the country, including those who call themselves democrats, people like larry summers who served as Treasury Secretary under president clinton and director of national economic council under President Obama. He was among the first to warn about inflation or rising costs for consumers. And, boy, he must have thought he was a skunk at the garden party. You think this might serve as a lesson to our democratic colleagues about shoveling money out the door as fast as they can, even when it creates massive debt and the threat of more inflation, but here we are once again, our democratic colleagues are preparing to spend trillions more dollars on top of the trillions of dollars weve already spent on a bipartisan basis to combat the virus, but then afterwards to spend more money on their chosen political priorities and not on the pandemic. So they want to now add additional trillions of dollars to that debt and to that spending, risking even more dangerous and volatile inflation. The details of what this round of spending might look like are still coming together, but we know if the chairman of the Budget Committee, bernie sanders, has his wish, that the Price Tag could come out as high as 6 trillion more. 6 trillion is a quarter of our gross domestic product. If you convert our Countrys World War ii spending to todays dollar, it only comes out to 4. 4 trillion. The chairman of the democratic, the democratic chairman of the Budget Committee wants to spend more money than we spent to defeat nazi germany and imperial japan during World War ii. But i want to be clear about another thing. This socalled human Infrastructure Plan which is just made up words indicating that theyre trying to mask the reality of what they want to spend money on. Its not about bridges and roads. Its not about broadband, things that we all understand are truly infrastructure. Its about a long list of political spending preferences, and it certainly cant be compared to spending the money we needed in order to win World War ii. For example, they want to spend trillions and trillions of dollars more on medicare is expansion, electric vehicle charges, homebased care, free college and a long list of liberal priorities. Were happy to debate those, but not to jam them in a 6 trillion spending package. And all of the spending would be in addition to the more than 1 trillion bipartisan Infrastructure Bill that apparently is currently being drafted. I know weve been talking for weeks about a bipartisan Infrastructure Bill, but ive learned as recently as today that there is no bill text, and the congressional Budget Office that scores these bills has not done so yet, so we can determine whether the socalled payfors are indeed legitimate and stand up to scrutiny. Our national debt is at the highest level since World War ii. This is not the time to spend and spend and spend until our grandkids are left sitting in a pile of debt so deep that they will have no hope of climbing out of it. And and we certainly Cant Tax and spend our way to prosperity. We need to take a hard look at our spending habits and make some tough choices, like most american families. They have to decide what are my priorities and what is the what are the resources i have to spend to fund those priorities, and thats exactly what we need to do here in congress. Folks on both sides of the aisle want to rebuild our nations infrastructure, rebuilding resilient roads, bridges, and broadband are top of mind for republicans and democrats. I know our colleagues are still working on text, as i said, for the bipartisan infrastructure deal, and im eager to see the details on how this massive investment is paid for, but again, this is only one half of the socalled dual Track Process announced by Senator Schumer. The exorbitant Price Tags being floated for ekd second track have raised serious concerns, not just among folks on this side of the aisle but on both sides of the aisle. I sincerely hope that some of our colleagues on the other side will stand up against irresponsible spending. As we know, it takes just one democratic senator to stand in the way of this abuse of the reconciliation process, and i hope one or more of them will have the courage to do so. Madam president , i yield the floor. Mr. Leahy Madam President. The presiding officer the senator from vermont. Mr. Leahy Madam President , over the weeks, i have been rising on the Senate Floor to urge that the senate take up and pass an emergency supplemental. So im rising again to tell you what that emergency supplemental is, even though i have stated it over and over again. Its a deal with the fallout from the violent insurrection that took place at the seat of our democracy on january 6. I have been making this call for two months now. Im frustrated. I have begun to feel a little bit like a broken record. Just days before this chamber left for the july 4 recess, i sounded the alarm that time was running out. Even more so today. The senate has only a few weeks left. If we do nothing, the Capitol Police will deplete salaries funding sometime in august. Anybody who hasnt looked at a calendar, thats next month. The means of the men and women who protect the seat of democracy and members of congress and the staff in this building and the Support Staff will keep the Building Running may face furloughs and significant impacts of the departments programs and mission, including the hiring of muchneeded new sworn officers. These are the same women and men who fought and bled and some died for everything this hallowed building stands for. That happened on january 6. We owe them more than just a paycheck. As a result of this budget crunch, purchases of critical equipment, respirators, ballistic helmets, protective gear, training, thats all been delayed. Efforts to implement the Departments Wellness Program to address mental health concerns, the fallout of the january 6 insurrection, they have been put on the back burner. Madam president , these Police Officers stood with us on that horrible day. Shouldnt we stand with them now and passed an Emergency Appropriation to address these shortfalls. I point out, Madam President , its not only the Capitol Police that we owe. The distinguished presiding officer served with distinction in our military. I think of the days after january 6 when tens of thousands of men and women from the national guard from all over the country came to secure our Nations Capitol ahead of the inauguration beyond. They were called, they came, and they appeared here. Like many other senators, i thank them for their service, but unless congress acts, the national guard will be forced to have the training they need to prepare for overseas deployments and responses at home to make up for the costs incurred as a result of january 6. If we have, as we often do, forest fires, hurricanes, floods that hit our individual states, we are going to want to call the national guard. We are saying now if we dont pass this bill, gee, come when we call you, and the check may be in the mail a year or two or three years later or never at all. Now, we dont budget for an insurrection, but its been 187 days since the violent mob stormed the very chamber were standing in now, standing at the same presiding Officers Chair where our distinguished presiding officer now sits. My memory of the growing roar of that mob echoing down the hallway as the Capitol Police whisked us to safety has not faded. It hasnt faded from the consciousness of the american people or the rest of the world. It has been 53 days since the house passed its own security supplemental. I was shocked that not a single republican voted for it. So i provided my republican colleagues here in the senate with a proposal to address these pressing needs and many others. I did that over a month ago. And i urge that we begin the negotiations in earnest. Only now they come to the table with a proposal. I appreciate them bringing something, but it is a pretty small something. Its a proposal that does not provide the appropriate resources to secure the capitol or address the urgent needs that have risen since january 6. The images of the mob breaking the windows and forcing their ways through doors expose the truth. The capitol and its office buildings do are not impenetrable, its not a fortress. The windows can be broken. The doors can be breached. This complex is no longer shrouded with the protection of belief that its not possible to storm these halls. Much like the windows, that protection was shattered and it was broadcast to the whole world on january 6. So the emperor has no clothes. Unfortunately, the republican proposal would not adequately address our vulnerabilities. I have been very clear over and over again i dont want to militarize our capitol in the wake of january 6. Its important that the Capitol Campus that i first saw as a teenager with my Mother And Father remain open for citizens from all walks of life to come and enjoy. Its their democracy, after all, but we can, remust invest and secure the capitol in a way that would address our vulnerabilities, protect members and staff, and still keep us open to the public. Im confident we could strike that balance. We also have the responsibility to pay for the costs of investigating and prosecuting these violent insurgents. The f. B. I. , the u. S. Marshal, d. C. Metropolitan police department, numerous other Law Enforcement agencies hurried to defend the capitol at the urge and call. We are all thankful for that. Federal prosecutors have charged more than 500 people in more than 40 states with participating in the attack and arrests continue almost daily. We have a responsibility to support these agencies in dealing with january 6 and its aftermath. Its not addressed in the republican proposal. Im tired of hearing people say we are in favor of Law And Order in Law Enforcement, we just dont want to pay for it. It should not be lost on us that we are not the ones to sweep up the shattered glass, scrub the floors and walls of this building on that day and throughout the night. We did not turn our we cannot turn our backs on the dedicated public servants, the women and men who had to process that trauma that day as they boarded up shattered windows and broken doors. Its a trauma that came at the end of a yearlong pandemic. It should not be lost on us that during the darkest hours of the pandemic, these are the same public servants who came to work to clean our offices, ensuring our safety and the safety of our staff. We have a responsibility to pay for these and other costs that were incurred as a result of the pandemic on the Capitol Complex and its staff. Now, of course we did not budget for an insurrection. We dont budget for a global pandemic. We have been forced to rob peter to pay paul to keep our congressional community safe and healthy. The scars of covid have not healed in our own capitol community. They have not been addressed in the other partys proposal. But we cant also ignore the world around us. We have another emergency brewing. This one in afghanistan. We have a moral responsibility to address it. We have been talking for two years now of an imminent departure from afghanistan. Now it is happening. And we must ensure that the brave afghans who stood with america are not abandoned as we conclude our mission in that country. And fortunately, this is bipartisan support for this effort. I think this is something republicans and democrats have to come together. We made a promise, whether you supported the war or not, we made a promise to the afghans who risked their own lives to support and protect our troops and our countries. We made a progress a promise to them. As a country, our word should be our bond, and we all agree, i believe both republicans and democrats, that bond is not going to be broken on our watch. If we dont address this now, if we dont keep our word now, then when . The bill i am introducing today includes funds to care for the inevitable flood of afghan refugees to neighboring countries. It increased the number of afghan special immigrant visas. They must be included in this package because the crisis is unfolding now. There is no dispute about the urgency, the importance of staying with our afghan allies. My colleagues on the other side do not address it in their proposal. I hope they will. So where are we, Madam President . The violent insurrection that we have never seen in our lifetime happened. A pandemic that we thought we would never see in our lifetime happened. And the president has announced the withdrawal of american troops from afghanistan, and these events created urgent needs that must be met. My republican colleagues are proposing that we deal with these problems piecemeal, address some of them now and others sometime, somewhere, someday. A piecemeal approach that jumps from one problem to the next is no way to govern. I have been here long enough to know that a promise of doing it later is no promise at all. Now, it has been 53 days since the house passed its security supplemental. Only now, my republican colleagues coming to the Negotiating Table are coming to the Negotiating Table. I dont want to wait another 53 days more before we address these pressing matters. We cant govern by crisis. And we cant legislate at the convenience of either party. So im introducing my comprehensive proposal today. And to make sure its not a surprise to anybody, i shared this proposal with my republican colleagues more than a month ago, a month ago. I am sharing it with the full senate today. It addresses all of the needs arising from the tragic n events of january 6 and the global pandemic. This is the best way forward. We owe it to our members, both parties. We owe it to our staff. We owe it to the Capitol Police. We owe it to the national guard. And we owe it to numerous senators. We must act. We must act in a comprehensive way. We have only one shot at this. We have a responsibility to get it right. And with that, Madam President , at the end of my remarks, i introduce a bill making an emergency supplemental appropriations for the fiscal year ending september 30, 2021, for other purposes. I ask it held at the desk. The presiding officer the bill is received. Leag i suggest ill i yield the floor. I see another senator waiting. Mr. Leahy i ask unanimous consent that Senator Scott of florida, menendez, Tuberville And Schumer be allowed to complete their remarks prior to the vote. The presiding officer is there objection . Without objection. Mr. Tuberville Madam President . The presiding officer the senator from alabama. Mr. Tuberville Madam President , last week when were all back home, we all got to celebrate the 4th of july. Cooking out, spending time with family and friends, watching fireworks is always special. Sitting there with my family, i thought about how blessed we are to live in the United States of america. We get to live in the most free and prosperous country in the history of the world. We owe that Freedom And Prosperity to the people who declared their dependence on july 4th, 245 years ago. They fought and won their freedom for an idea called america. That american idea lives on two and a half centuries later thanks to the generations of men and women who like many before them put on the uniform to defend this great country. Many gave their lives, the ultimate sacrifice to defend the United States. But many more are still with us, the future generations will continuing to volunteer to protect the freedoms and liberties this country affords us every day. Today weve got almost 20 million veterans in the United States. 400,000 of them call alabama home. Ive had the Honor And Pleasure to meet many alabama veterans the past few years. Im always heartened to talk with them about their service to our great country. But what i hear over and over again is that theres theres more we can do for all of our veterans. Better access to care, better opportunities to reenter civilian life, taking care of our veterans is personal for me. My dad served in World War ii and died on active duty after the war. But he taught me so many valuable lessons, like work ethic, perseverance, and love of country. When i meet with veterans, i see the same patriotism my dad lived out every day of his life. You know, i never served myself. The Vietnam War was over before i got out of college, but many guys i knew from back home served in vietnam. I saw how badly they were treated by the media, by hollywood, even by their fellow americans. They were just trying to serve their country. They watched their friends die. And when he this got home, they werent treated very well. I thank god we treat our Veterans Today better than we did when i was growing up. And veterans from the Vietnam Era are still the largest of the Veteran Group in this United States that we live in today. More than 100,000 vietnam vets live in alabama. But theres still more we can do to give them the care and resources that they need and deserve. Im honored to be a member of the senate veterans Affairs Committee where we can hear about the problems facing our veterans firsthand and work together on commonsense solutions. The biggest challenge our veterans face to access is the access to quality care. Weve all seen it in the news. Weve heard about it firsthand far too often Veterans Cant get the care they need in a timely manner. One veteran who doesnt have access to care is one too many. My main priority is to get veterans the care they need and they well deserve by whatever means at our disposal, period. A solution to help address that problem is the chaps act guaranteeing Health Care access to all personnel who served. Introduced by my friend in committee ranking Member Senator fromkansas. It would help craft innovative solutions to make certain all veterans receive quality and timely care, especially our veterans living in rural areas. The bill would also direct the v. A. To correct a telehealth strategic plan so that we can use modern methods to improve access to care. Im proud to cosponsor that legislation and it will be working with ranking Member Moran to get this bill passioned. We also need to do more to address the scourge of Veteran Suicide. Its absolutely tragic that more than 18 veterans take their own life every day. I partner with groups like americans Warrior Partnership who are gathering data on Veteran Suicide across the country to determine how we can combat this terrible epidemic leveraging both the v. A. And community resources. At the same time we must do more to make additional treatments available to veterans who havent had access, being treated for traumatic brain injuries or post extra pattic Stress Disorder traumatic Stress Disorder. One step is to pass my bill the hobot, stands for hype baric oxygen therapy. My bill would permit hbot as a Treatment Option for those veterans who have tried other evidencebased Treatment Options for t. B. I. Or ptsd but have not seen substantial improvement. Ive heard from veterans and veterans services organizations who point to hbot as a treatment thats produced positive results for individuals suffering from severe Head And Brain injuries. Many former football players including ones who played for me found success with hbot in treating their head injuries after suffering from concussions. Hbot is already approved by the Food And Drug administration as a Treatment Option for more than a dozen different conditions, including severe burns, infections, and decompression sickness. But the f. D. A. Does not recognize hbot as an approved Treatment Option for t. P. Inches or ptsd t. P. I. Or ptsd meaning Veterans Cant receive the care at facilities or must pay for it out of their own pocket if they do use it. My bill would change that. If veterans say they have improved after using hbot and if veterans services organizations have seen similar success, i say we listen to them. We should not leave quality options on the table while the Veterans Suicide Crisis worsens. I want to thank my Colleague Senator Hoeven and Senator Cramer as well as the american Legion And Patriot angels for supporting this important legislation. I hope my fellow colleagues will join me in passing this commonsense bill. Finally, we need to improve resources for veterans to find jobs after their service in the military. Too many faces, too many unnecessary hurdles in rejoining civilian life. They have some of the best skills you can ask for yet sometimes our veterans like so many others can fall prey to addiction, homelessness, or just flat out down on their luck. Thankfully weve got quality organizations that are doing good work helping veterans in need. One of these organizations is three hots and a cot based in play, alabama. Three hots is small, nonprofit organization founded by veterans for veterans. They get the funding mostly through donations but also through a veterans affairs supportive Housing Grant from the u. S. Department of housing and urban development. Three hots offers temporary assisting housing to 18 veterans at a time. Theyll drive the veterans to Health Care appointments at the v. A. , to Grocery Stores, and to job interviews, to church until they can get back on their feet. And the job doesnt stop once the veterans are settled in an apartment on their own. Three hots will help with the transition by doing tasks like stocking their pantry, getting new furniture and checking on them regularly. In ten years of operation, three hots has helped more than 1,600 veterans and family members with an 83 success rate. This is the holistic type of approach to a tough issue that we need more of. They meet veterans whether theyre at the community and help them find the resources available. There are more great organizations across the country offering to help veterans in need but oftentimes our veterans dont know these resources are available. Ill be working closely with my colleagues to better connect veterans with the resources that are out there so they can be equipped with the skills they need to success at home they need to succeed at home. Folks, simply without the brave men and women who wear the uniform, we wouldnt have the freedoms to enjoy and sometimes take for granted every day. Our service men and women risked everything by joining the military. The least we can do is to repay their Service And Sacrifice by taking care of them when they return home to the country they gave so much to defend. Thats what ill be doing on the senate veterans Affairs Committee and throughout my time here in the senate. In that spirit i want to call up my bipartisan Senate Resolution honoring the greatest generation. Senate resolution 238 as if in legislative session, i ask unanimous consent that the committee on the judiciary be discharged from further consideration and the senate now proceed to Senate Resolution 238. The presiding officer the clerk will report. The clerk Senate Resolution 238 recognizing and honoring the sacrifices and accomplishments of the greatest generation. The presiding officer is there objection . Without objection, the committee is discharged. The senate will proceed with the measure. Mr. Tuberville i ask unanimous consent that the resolution be agreed to, the preamble be agreed to, and that the motions to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table. The presiding officer without objection. Mr. Tuberville i yield the floor. The presiding officer the Majority Leader. Mr. Schumer i move to proceed to legislative session. The presiding officer the question is on the motion. All in favor say aye. Opposed no. The ayes appear to have it. The ayes do have it. The motion is agreed to. Mr. Schumer i move to proceed to executive calendar 121. The presiding officer the question is on the motion. All in favor say aye. Opposed no. The ayes appear to have it. The ayes do have it. The motion is agreed to. The clerk will report the nomination. The clerk nomination, equal Employment Opportunity Commission, Joslin Samuels of maryland to be a member. Mr. Schumer i send a Cloture Motion to the desk. The presiding officer the clerk will report. 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 executive Calendar Number 121, Jocelyn Samuels of maryland to be a member of the equal Employment Opportunity Commission signed by 17 senators as follows. Mr. Schumer i ask unanimous consent the reading of the names be waived. The presiding officer without objection. Mr. Schumer i move to proceed to legislative session. The presiding officer the question is on the motion. All in favor say aye. Opposed no. The ayes appear to have it. The ayes do have it. The motion is agreed to. Mr. Schumer i move to have proceed to executive calendar 120. The presiding officer the question is on the motion. All in favor say aye. Opposed no. The ayes appear to have it. The ayes do have it. The motion is agreed to. The clerk will report the nomination. The clerk nomination, department of labor, Seema Nanda of virginia to be solicitor general. Mr. Schumer i send a Cloture Motion to the desk. The presiding officer the clerk will report. 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 nomination of executive Calendar Number 120, seem Ma Nan did a of virginia to be solicitor for the department of labor signed by 16 senators as follows. Mr. Schumer i ask unanimous consent that the reading of the names be waived. The presiding officer without objection. Question is on the nomination. All those in favor, say aye. Those opposed, say no. The ayes appear to have it. The ayes do have it. The motion is agreed to. Mr. Schumer i move to proceed to executive session to consider Calendar Number 171. The presiding Officer Question is on the motion. All those in favor, say aye. Those opposed, say no. The ayes appear to have it. The ayes do have it. The motion is agreed to. The clerk will report the nomination. The clerk nomination, department of the treasury, j. Nellie liang of maryland to be an Under Secretary. The presiding officer i send a Cloture Motion to the desk. The presiding officer the clerk will report. 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 executive Calendar Number 171, j. Nellie liang of maryland to be an Under Secretary of the treasury, signed by 16 senators as follows. Mr. Schumer i ask consent the reading of the names be waived. The presiding officer without objection surely schumer i move to proceed to legislative session. The presiding Officer Question is on the motion. All those in favor, say aye. Those opposed, say no. Appear rap. The ayes do have it. The motion is agreed to. Mr. Schumer i move to proceed to executive consider 154. Er if Officer Question is on the motion. All those in favor, say aye. Those opposed, say no. The ayes appear to have it. The ayes do have it. The motion is agreed to. The clerk will report the nomination. The clerk nomination, department of veterans affairs. Donald Michael Remy of louisiana to be dependency secretary. Mr. Schumer i send a Cloture Motion to the desk. The presiding officer the clerk will report. 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 executive Calendar Number 154, Donald Michael Remy of louisiana to be Deputy Secretary of veterans affairs, signed by 17 senators as follows mr. Schumer i ask consent the reading of the names be waived. The presiding officer without objection. Mr. Schumer i move proceed to to legislative session. Er if officer the question is on the motion. All those in favor, say aye. Those opposed, say no. The ayes appear to have it. The ayes do have it. The motion is agreed to. Mr. Schumer i move to proceed to executive calendar 1936789. The presiding officer the question is on the motion. All those in favor, say aye those opposed, say no. The ayes appear to have it. The ayes do have it. The motion is agreed to. The clerk will report the nomination. The clerk nomination, the judiciary, Tiffany P. Cunningham of illinois to be united States Circuit Judge for the federal circuit. Mr. Schumer i send a Cloture Motion to the desk. The presiding officer the clerk will report. 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 executive Calendar Number 193, Tiffany P. Cunningham of illinois to be united States Circuit Judge for the federal circuit, signed by 17 senators as follows mr. Schumer i ask unanimous consent the reading of the names be waived. The presiding officer without objection. Mr. Schumer finally had i ask unanimous consent that the mandatory Quorum Calls for the Cloture Motions filed today, july 12, be waived. The presiding officer without objection. Mr. Schumer i yield the floor. Mr. Menendez Madam President . The presiding officer the senator from new jersey. Mr. Menendez i ask unanimous consent that my statement be allowed to take place before the vote . The presiding officer without objection. Mr. Menendez thank you. I rise today to express my support for the nomination of us a zeya to be the next Under Secretary of state for civilian security, democracy, and human rights. Ms. Zeya is immensely qualified to recenter our most fundamental values in our foreign policy efforts and to strengthen the bureau. Her experience and the more than 20 years has a foreign service officer, including as the acting Assistant Secretary of state for democracy, human righted, and labor in the State Department, make her the perfect fit for this position. The previous administration abdicated our global responsibility, but we now have the opportunity to restore u. S. Leadership and the fight for democracy, human rights, the rule of law around the world. It is an excising prospect for us but more importantly it will give hope to those still fighting for their rights. The millions of people around the world who look to the United States for Inspiration And Support in their own democratic struggles. We see that in places like cuba today. Looking around the globe, we see china stripping away Hong Kongs autonomy and freedoms at an alarming pace. Military dictators are cementing their illegitimate rule in places like burma and malley, eroding and eliminating the institutions of democracy while russia and bella reduce have imprisoned political opponents without accountability. At the same time, an unprecedented 80 million people have been forcibly displaced from their homes, communities, and countries. We must look into further than our own southern border to see the destruction, Desperation And Displacement wrought by violence, climate change, and lack of economic opportunity. All of these developments negatively impact american national security interests. Our secretary of state indeed our country needs senior human Rights Leadership of the caliber of ms. Zeya. The fact that the nomination of ms. Zeya, a nominee whose leadership is so essential to be build to rebuilding the State Department has languished for 82 days is a trave subsidy. I strongly urge my colleagues to join me in voting to confirm her to the position of as you understand secretary of state for civilian security, democracy, and human rights. And i hope my republican colleagues will stop blocking equal find critical nominees to the nations foreign policy and national Security Mission from moving forward. With that, Madam President , i yield the floor. The presiding officer the senator from florida. Mr. Scott Madam President , i rise today to talk about the new day of freedom dawning in cuba and the brave cubans marching for freedom across the island. For decades the cuban people have suffered atrocities, oppression, and misery at the hands of the castro regime. I repeated lid told the story of a cuban woman who was attacked by cuban security forces in 2015. They cut off her hand and stuck her hand in the mud to make sure it got infected. She complained that the regime was going to shut down a school in their neighborhood. I spoke about jose and the members of the patriotic union of Cuba Fighting every day to defend human rights, freedom, and the democratic movement in cuba. Being a visits like Jose Daniel ferrer a are the future of cuba, not the ruthless regime. Across cuba people are marching in the streets to protest against communist Rule And Demand that freedom, liberty, and basic human rights that have been stolen from them for decks. That he demands are simple libertad. What were seeing in cuba should send clear message to the World Communism is a failed ideology that leads to suffering and oppression. Communism doesnt work. Socialism doesnt work. The people of cuba are crying out for freedom. They are denouncing the oppressive communist rule that has brought ruin to their nation for more than 60 years. The message for the cuban people has never been more clear their time is up. And the regime is terrified of the cuban people. They are attacking peaceful protesters in an effort to silence them. Right now highway say Daniel Ferrera are reportedly mitting missing, likely kidnapped. This assault on the people of cuba cannot go unchecked. We cannot ignore this historic moment in the fight for freedom. We understand that value and importance of freedom in our everyday lives. It is our duty to stand for those oppressed by dictators and denied the right to live freely. Today i stand proudly with the freedom fighters across cuba that have taken to the streets to put an end to the castro dictatorship. Now the United States must lead the freedomloving nations a he was world in the denouncement of the castro regime in support of the liberty and human rights the cuban people call for and rightfully deserve. We must be clear for Decades Cuba has been the root of instability in latin america and represents a threat to the national security of United States. The castro regime harbors terrorist groups, has gotten rid of free and fair elections, arrested journalists and political activities and props up other ruthless dictators like maduro in venezuela. Today the u. S. Must join the freeloving cubans. We cannot lift sanctions or restore diplomatic relations. I urge the biden administration to oppose further sanctions is on the tyrannical cuban regime. We cannot let up. There must be consequences for this heinous oppression and attacks on peaceful protesters. To the people of cuba, you are not alone. I stand with you in this fight, florida stands with you in this fight. The United States of america stands with you in this fight. The freedom of cuba is closer than ever. We are not going to stop until we see a new day of freedom, democracy in cuba. I ask unanimous consent to address the senate in spanish. The presiding officer without objection. Mr. Scott [speaking in spanish] i yield the floor. The presiding officer 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 nomination of sensitive compartmented Information Facility 67, Uzra Zeya to be an Under Secretary of state, signed by 18 senators. The presiding officer by unanimous consent, the mandatory Quorum Calls has been waived. The question is, is it the sense of the senate that debate on the nomination of Uzra Zeya of virginia to be Under Secretary of state shall be brought to a close . The yeas and nays are mandatory under the rule. The clerk will call the roll. Vote . Vote Vote Vote the presiding officer the yeas are 71 is the face are 32. The motion is agreed to. The senator from ohio. Mr. Brown thank you, mr. President. Last Week Ohio and our nation lost a champion for civil rights, ms. Elsie Steward Young of highland county, a conservative rural county in southwest ohio. Ms. Elsie, as everyone called her, had just celebrated her 105th birthday. Her ccurrence, her leadership, made a difference for chirp, not only in her community but all across the country. In 1954 after the supreme court issued its landmark brown v. Board of Education Decision and ordered an end to segregation in american schools, the two allwhite primary schools in hillsboro, a small town, highland county, southwest of columbus, they refused to integrate much the district continued to send black opportunities to a single allblack school, which was woefully underfunded. I remember the stories my mother would tell me of growing up in mansfield, georgia. She said she knew and she told me when busing became such a controversy in the 1960s and 1970s. She told me she knew all about busing. In the gouge when she grew up in the 20s and 30s, they would bus black students passed the betterkept white schools to the segregated black schools falling apart. No criticism of quote, unquote forced busing in these days. That was what was going on in hillsboro, ohio. And Elsie Wouldnt stand for. She sand a group of mothers this is the 1950s, took matter into their own hands. They became the marching mothers of hillsboro. They marched for miles to the Towns Allwhite primary school. Every day they were sent home. They carried on. Eventually the community and the state and the country they notice. They joined with the naacp to join a lawsuit against the Hillsboro Board of education. Made it all to the supreme court and they won. Because of miss elsie and her fellow mothers advocacy, the courts ordered the schools to integrate and paved the wait for integration in other northern cities. Her activism showed us why ordinary students and ordinary citizens, what they can achieve when they join together to fight for justice. Its a reminder of how far weve come. How much work we have to do to achieve Justice And Opportunity for all children in our country. Years Elsie Steward young was up ducted into the civil Rights Hall of fame. That fall we honored the marching mothers of hillsboro and the children, now adalats, who marched, we honored them with our offices can canary aw. Thensenator Kamala Harris was scheduled to speak. She was already passed 100 at that point, miss elsie. We both had to stay in washington because of the supreme court votes. So many told me later that frankly im not sure that the Vice President the future Vice President and i missed that much, not with ms. Elsie there. She provided so much energy with their forceful and inspiring worded and during that conference she was 102. Throughout the conference, people lined up to get pictures with her. When the video played depicting the Bravery And Determination of the marchers, when ms. Elsie spoke accepting the award, of course there was hardly a dry eye in the audience. She talked about how she and other mothers only did what any mother would do for her children. So many ohioans will miss ms. Elsie Steward Young. Our thoughts are with her three surviving daughters, two surviving sons, and get this her 36 grandchildren. We know her legacy lives on through her success, victories, fight four justice, fight through the families, for the future generations a of young people that she inspired to stand against justice. I ask my colleagues to join me in honoring ms. Elsie Steward Young. Thank you, mr. President. Mr. President , i ask that the following words be placed in the a different place in it the record. Ifer if he without objection. Mr. Brown thank you. For the first time in decades, workers are beginning to gain some power in our economy. Because of President Bidens leadership, because of the american Rescue Plan, Americas Economy is roaring back. Weve had record job creation, we gained more than three million jobs since this president took office, more jobs created in the first five months of any presidency in modern history. Its not only the jobs numbers. Those are important, but those of course dont tell the full story. It is the quality of those jobs. Were starting to see signs of increased bargaining power, solid worker conditions, more control over their schedules, opportunities for Career Advancement all the things that turn into good, stable, middleclass careers. I want to see employers competing for workers. Thats a good thing. Its how you get rising wages, which gets in the community and then creates growth forren, whether this santa fe or columbus. For decades, corporations have had all the power. Its going to take a lot of work to undo those policies that gave corporations the upper hand. Were starting to see glimmers of progress. Wages are starting to go up. Wages have been rising all year. Theyre surging for weeks who have been paid too little for decades, working tough jobs in restaurants and hotels, in other service jobs. Last week the Washington Post declared, welcome to the year of wage hikes. They reported in the past three months, rankandfile employees have seen some of the fastest Wage Growth in years. What happens when you invest in people who make this country work, not the c. E. O. s, not multinational corporations, not money that never really trickles down. We invested in earthquake ins greatest asset, our workers, putting money directly in peoples pockets, pussing kids back in school, muting workers back in jobs. Thats starting to unleash the true potential of our economy. We dont stop here. On friday, President Biden issued add sweeping Executive Order to increase competition in the economy. Its one more way we start to tilt the Job Market toward workers. Capitalism without competition is just exploitation. Its just common sense when you have a tiny number of corporations, a Shrinking Number of corporations that get bigger and bigger that control entire industries and huge portions of the economy. It drives up prices and drives down wages. Research shows that Industry Consolidation decreases Worker Pay by as much as 17 . Companies force workers to sign noncompete agreements as a condition of getting a job, even if jobs like fastfood and construction. They tuck them into the fine print of job contracts, making it harder for workers to switch to betterpaying options. Sometimes theyre not even enforceable, but employers put them in there anyway, because it scares workers away from taking another job. Were putting a stop to this. No company should be able to tome you you cant take a job offering better way. All over ohio, were seeing what happens when companies merge and create just one employer in a community. It often means Plant Or Store closures. It means workers have no competitors in town to go to for higher wages. Rural towns in ohio and across the country watching companies come in knowing their the only game in town. They offer workers a takeit off take it or leave it job. Sometimes thats the whole point of the merger to cut what corporations tall merger costs, what the rest of us call paychecks, our live i hadhoods. Now we need to look at and take into account whether Theyll Lead to lower wages for workers. Our actions come down to increasing Workers Power by cutting through red tape that keeps workers wages down. We build in this progress, thee important steps by passing the protect the right to organize act. To have a strong growing middle class, we have to have strong unions. The protecting right to organize act would start to Level L playing field and finally give workers the Fighting Chance against corporate unionbusting tactics. We also saw what happened with amazon this year, one of the most powerful corporations in the world. They would not be raking in profits without the hard Work And Dedication of its hundreds of thousands of american workers. Yet it unleashed all of its billions and billions and billions of Dollars Worth of power to fight its own workers. When workers try to organize in 21st century america, it is never a fair fight. It this bill would strengthen the push against companies that violate workers right to organize and retaliate against union organizers. It would close loopholes and allow employers to misclassify their employees as supervisors and independent contracts often stripping them of their overtime and avoid paying their fair share and giving workers the benefits they deserve. A Union Card Stacte to middle class life. We just need corporations to let workers organize to take control over their career and their families a in closing, mr. President , last week i was up in the far northwest corner of my state in bryan, ohio, visiting the sprinkler candy company. A familyowned business, more than a century old. Theyve had success by treating their workers and the Teamsters Union who represents their workers as partners. They have the same goal to make a great product, to make the company successful. They work together. We in this body are the american Rescue Plan, we saved their union pensions that in a plan. Now the company is expanding production and hiring 40 more union workers. Thats what we can achieve when we invest in the people and places that make this country work. When you love this country, you fight for the people who make it work. Thats what President Bidens doing. Its what all of us must continue to do to respect the dignity of work. So all work pays off and workers finally have real power in this economy. Mr. President , i yield the floor. A senator mr. President. The presiding officer south florida. Mr. Rubio mr. President , the world watched images out of cuba, really unprecedented. In 62 years of communist tyranny on the island of cuba, theres never been, now its up to 40 cities in which people took to the streets organically, unorganized, grassroots, to ask for the end of that tyranny. And i think its important for a lot of people that are new to the issue to understand what that means and what its about. The first lesson we need to take away from it is that marxism, socialism doesnt work. The way socialism, the Way Marxism has worked, empowered itself is it goes to the people and immediately divides them. It says there is a Suppresser Class and then there is this victim class and these evil oppressors, capitalists, in the case of socialism or traditional marxism. They oppress the victims. What you have to do is you have to give us the power in government to take care of these oppressors, to go after these oppressors. And if you give us that power, we will deliver you security, we will protect you from the oppressors. They ask for security in exchange for freedom. That is always the price that socialism asks for security. And what you wind up with is a country of people that hate each other, angry at each other. A significant portion of the people in the country have to leave, have to flee, go to jail because they are the oppressor class. Their lives are destroyed, their family lives are destroyed. But the Socialism Cant deliver the security. And when it cant deliver the security, you dont get your freedom back. And in fact, when you start to complain about that, that is when the repression comes. Thats whats happening in cuba. Socialism and marxism has done cuba what it has done everywhere in the world that it has been tried. It has failed. It has failed. They gave up their freedom, or they were told give up your freedom in exchange for a worldclass Health Care system. Its not a worldclass Health Care system. In fact, its a Health Care system that does not even have the ability to deal with covid at its very basic level. That says give up your freedom for economic security. What economic security . People are hungry, homes are crumbling. There is no economy. There is no real economy in cuba. Give up your Freedom And Youll have an education, free education for everybody. That education, number one, youre a doctor. You can drive a Taxi Cab in cuba and make more money. Or number two, you guess sent, forced to go overseas and work basically on slave wages, no pay barely any pay at all. Its basically human trafficking, as our own department of state found when it looked at the cuban Doctors Program and how its been abused. Whats happened in cuba is socialism has failed. It has to repress the people who complain about it. You dont get your freedom back. And like socialists always do, they have to find someone to blame. And who do they blame . Number one, they blame anybody in the country that doesnt agree with them. Youre immediately a counter revolutionary. Youre immediately a pawn of the imperialists. And then of course they always blame the United States. The problem in cuba for the regime is the people arent falling for those lies anymore. Theyre not. The embargo, the first thing they blame, its the embargo. The embargo is causing all this. Why arent fishermen and farmers in cuba allowed to fish and grow things and sell it to people . Its not the embargo that keeps them from doing that. Its the regime. Why cant cubans own a small business . Why cant a cuban do in cuba what they can do in miami, what they can do in washington, what they do in countries all over the World War . They cant do it in cuba. They cant open a small business. Thats not the embargo that keeps them from doing it. U. S. Law allows them to trade and do commerce with small business independently owned by cubans. You know why Cubans Cant own small businesses . Its not the embargo, the u. S. Its the regime that doesnt allow it. People see these lies. How can they afford to build luxury, fourstar, Worldclass Holtz for tourists but they cannot afford to deal with the crumbling homes cubans are living in with roofs literally falling in over their head with Water Leaking into operating rooms in hospitals. Look what they do with the money. Its because you dont allow more money to be sent. When an american, cuban american sends money to their families in cuba in the past through western union the regime takes 10 off the top. They take the dollars sent, they force the cubans to convert it into a worthless currency. They keep the dollars. And if you want to buy anything, youve got to buy it from a Government Store and guess what the Government Store sells things for. Dollars. Thats not the embargo. Thats the cuban regime that does that. And who is it thats putting people in jail, get your head cracked open, get your door kicked down . There are at least 80 people disappeared overnight. The family doesnt know where they are. Thats not the embargo jailing people. Thats the regime. And thats what i tell people. You can open up all you want. We can pass a bill here that says open to cuba. 100 open. You can do whatever you want. Full, free trade, whatever you want. At the end of the day the cuban regime will control that opening. Its not just what we want to do. Its what they want to do. You want to do tourism . We tried that in 2015 when the obama changes. You know what they did . Thank you. We love the fact youre coming here as tourism. Guess what . All the tourist sites are hold by a company controlled by the cuban military so everything comes through our hands. You want to send them food, thats great. Guess who gets it . Alimport, which is a Government Military owned agriculture company. You cant sell it to a small Grocery Store in cuba. It goes to the cuban government. You want to send money, they take it. You know why . Because socialism is about control. And all of these things tourism, food, money, medicine its all about control. You want humanitarian aid . Lets get red cross, any of these vetted n. G. O. s in the world should be allowed into cuba. They wont allow it. A, because its embarrassing to them. They have a world class Health Care system, why do they need humanitarian aid . B, they want to control it. Send them vaccines. You put it in their hands, the government, the regime, guess who gets the vaccines . The people who behave. If youre not behaving, going along, you dont get the vaccine. They will use any opening as a tool, as a weapon against their people because thats what socialism does. Thats what these marxists do in cuba. They will use anything as a weapon against the people of cuba. What can we do is what people want to know. Number one, i hope we will all be clear about whose side were on. You dont have to even agree with anything ive said. What you should agree with is that people everywhere in the world, including 90 miles from our shore, should be allowed to go into the street, peacefully march, call for an end to dictatorship and not have their head cracked own. By the way, no one in cuba has guns except the military so why are these repressive forces walking around with rifles and people getting shot . Theyre shooting people that literally are unarmed. We should be clear in our language. We dont just condemn this tyranny, we condemn this communist, socialist tyranny. Call it for what it is. Number two, we should make clear nothing ising going to change. Theres not going to be any sanctions changed as a result of this. I hope the biden administration will announce they have finished their Review And Everything in place will stay in place. Number three, i hope we make it a top priority to allow the people of cuba to have free, unfettered open internet access. We should put the best minds to work on getting that done because if the cuban people have free and unfettered access to the internet, they can communicate with each other and receive information and communicate with the world. Its 90 miles from our shores. We should be allowed to do that. Number four, for all who believe and have faith in the international community, and i still hold hope that one day it will work again, wheres spain . Wheres the e. U. . Where are all these countries that for years have given Cover And Protection to the cuban regime and condemned america . They should speak out clearly that whats happening there is wrong, that repression is wrong. We should rally that. We should use our position of Strength And Power in the world, and our influence in diplomatic circles to make that happen. And number five, i hope the president will be very clear with the regime in cuba that we will not tolerate them encouraging a Mass Migration of them. Im warning you, this is what they do. Theyve done it twice already. Things get bad and they say if you dont lift sanctions, if you dont go back to the obamaera policies, dont get rid of the embargo, were going to have 50,000 people take to the Ocean And Head to the United States. They used that against us twice. They did it in 1994, they did it in 1980 with the Mariel Boat Lift and President Biden needs to be clear whether through private channels or publicly make it abundantly clear we will make Mass Migration towards the United States as a hostile Action And Act accordingly. That cannot be tolerated. I want to close with this. I recognize that most of the members of which chamber, most of the people in washington and most of the people in the country do not pay attention to cuba on a daily basis. I get it, i really do. But if youre not following the issue of cuba, you can be forgiven for not knowing that what were seeing, what we saw yesterday, whats happened recently, none of this was started by politicians. It wasnt started by me. It wasnt started by anybody in miami or florida. It wasnt started by any Think Tank in washington. You know who started whats happening in cuba . Artists. Poets, songwriters, writers, actors, musicians. They are the ones who started it. Because they came after them. And theres a song, a lot of people dont realize there was a song that came out earlier this year, a song that, by the way, if you play in cuba, you will go to jail. The Songs Name is. [speaking spanish] the slogan means Father Land or death. This song played on that. The song means Father Land and life instead of Father Land or death. The strong is powerful because it was written by people and sang by people who have lived this reality and are living this reality. So powerful, as i said, youll go to jail in cuba if you play it. What the song basically says is why cant people think different ways and not be treated as enemies . Why is life so good for party insiders and their families but theres no food for average cubans . There seems to be no embargo for the cuban regime and their family members. Why can you build luxury hotels whiling our homes are crumbling . Why do cubans have to suffer the indignities, the indignities of simple things of not being able to bathe with soap, not being able to use deodorant, not having toothpaste. Why do they have to deal with these indignities . The song also asks who told the regime that cuba belongs to them and only them . Shouldnt it belong to all 13 million cubans . The chorus, ill read first in english and then translate in spanish, because it actually plays on the domino, domino is a very popular game played by cubans, played by everybody, but cubans in particular. Its a big game there. The chorus reads. [speaking spanish] how it translates is basically it says its over. Your 59, mining 1959 meaning 1959, the Year Castro took over, but i have double twos. Everyone knows in the Domino Game at the end of the chain, both dominoes if no one has left to put down the game gets locked and you count numbers and you count dots to see who won. It says its over. Youre 59 but i have double twos. Its over. 60 years with the Domino Game locked up for us. I know this is very colloquial cuban way of expressing it but this is incredibly powerful. The people in cuba understood what this means. That means the ideology, the stuff they talk about, the lies with the regime worked out well for them. People dont believe it anymore and are not afraid anymore. Meanwhile their lives are ruined. Young people in cuba, artists in cuba realize that the only country on this planet where cubans are not successful is cuba, and theyre tired of it and we should stand with them. Mr. President , i yield the floor. A senator mr. President. The presiding officer the senator from New York. Mrs. Gillibrand i have one request for a committee to meet during Todays Session of the senate. It has the approval of the Majority And Minority leaders. The presiding officer duly noted. Mrs. Gillibrand mr. President , i rise today to once again call for every senator to have the opportunity to vote on a generational bill to fix how the military deals with sexual assault and other serious crimes. Its the military justice improvement and increasing Prevention Act. This bill will ensure that men and women who serve in our military have the opportunity for basic justice, basic civil liberties and basic protection under the law. I want to start by recognizing the monumental advance towards military Justice Reform made during our senate workweeks. The independent Review Commission on sexual assault in the comilt released their recommendations which included removing the prosecution of sexual assault and related crimes from the chain of command. Its a historic sign of progress after decades of obstruction. The secretary of defense has agreed with the commissions findings that the removal of sexual assault prosecutions from the chain of command and the professionalization of the military Justice System would benefit survivors and in no way diminish good order and discipline. It is also a historic sign of progress that President Biden has endorsed all of these recommendations. After years, years of pushing for this type of reform, this change in thinking from our military and executive leadership is truly monumentous. Every crime that the i. R. C. Reviewed, they recommended removing from from the chain of command. That is a clear recognition that the current military Justice System is not capable of addressing the epidemic of sexual assault among our ranks and that it is not providing justice for our service members. As President Biden said, quote, this is the beginning, not the end of our work, end of quote. While i welcome the i. R. C. s recommendations, i am deeply heartened to see that Secretary Austin and President Biden both endorsed the recommendation and will happily work with us to make them a reality. We also have to recognize that the i. R. C. Was provided a very limited task to review only sexual Assault And Harm in the military. No other crimes were under their per view. Their purview. Unfortunately, they were also not asked to look at other serious crimes that are related, such as murder. We as a congress have been tasked with a larger job. Its our job to ensure that the military writ large works for every service members. The reasonable scandals at fort hood, the murder, and deep racial disparities in prosecutions have made it plain that the need for reform in the military Justice System goes far beyond sexual assault. Veteran he is Vanessa Guillen was murdered and she was harassed. Serious crimes such as murder deserve the consideration of military lawyers who are trained with expertise, not commanders. For those who worry about the impact this reform would have on command authority, i would point to the head of the i. R. C. , the chairwoman, lynn rosenthal, who said, quote, the i. R. C. Rejects the notion that by removing legal decisions from prosecution from command structure, that commanders have no role. Its simply not the case. Commanders are responsible for the climate they create. They are responsible for working to prevent sexual assault and sexual harassment, and they are responsible for making sure that victims are protected when they come forward to report. So the idea that they would havn interest in solving this problem if they are not making a technical legal decision we think is simply false. The same logic extends to all serious crimes. Commanders will still be responsible for setting the culture that prevents them from protecting victims, from maintaining interest in solving these problems, even if they are not making these complex, technical decisions about whether or not a case should go to trial. And in a great number of these cases that do not go forward to trial, they come back to the commander for the commander to use his discretion, nonjudicial punishment, summary courtmartial, or special courtmartial, the many tools he still has. We must guarantee that we have a professional, unbiased system for all service members. Its our constitutional duty to provide Oversight And Accountability over the department of defense. We are the authors of the military justice code. We are the ones who put it in place. It is Congress Duty to update it and to make sure it works. We can do that by taking this Momentum And Building upon it and passing the military justice improvement and increasing Prevention Act this year. We have the votes to pass it in the committee. We have the votes to pass it on the floor. This is an issue we have been fighting for and talking about and having hearings on for eight years. I began calling for a full vote on the floor on this bill on may 24. Since then, an estimated 2,744 service members will have been raped or sexually assaulted. More will have been victims of other serious crimes. All of them deserve sufficient, and it is our responsibility to provide it. As if in legislative session, i ask unanimous consent at a time to be determined by the Majority Leader in consultation with the republican leader, the senate armed Services Committee be discharged from further consideration of s. 1520, and the senate proceed to its consideration. That there be two hours for debate equally divided in the usual form and that upon the use or yielding back of that time, the Senate Vote on the bill with no intervening action or debate. The presiding officer is there objection . Mr. Reed mr. President , i object to the Senators Request for the reasons that i have previously stated. And, mr. President , as the senator from New York acknowledged, on july 2, President Biden announced that he strongly supports the recommendations put forward by Secretary Austin based on the work of the independent Review Commission that would reform how the military prosecutes sexual assaults and related crimes. Subsequent to the president s statements, the administration forwarded to the committee their proposals to implement this reform. I support and commend the president , the secretary, and the i. R. C. Leadership and staff for the work for their work, and i look forward to working with them and the administration and my colleagues, particularly my colleagues on the armed Services Committee to enact this historic and momentous change for the department of defense. Sexual assault is an unconscionable crime and a pervasive problem in the military and in american society. While the military has taken steps to try to stop sexual assault in the ranks, it simply hasnt been enough. I strongly agree with the president s statement that, quote, sexual assault in the multiis doubly damaging because it also shreds the Unity And Cohesion that is essential to the functioning of the United States military and to our national defense. While this change will be important, enhancing prevention, education, and command climate and culture will also be vital. Its this reform if this reform to the ucmj is the only thing we do, then i think it will not not be successful on its own. We need to prevent these problems, not just prosecute them. I want to acknowledge senator Gillibrands Leadership on this issue. She has fought for eight years for this reform. That day with respect to sexual assault is coming. And indeed, just as a perhaps a footnote that the legislation that is being advanced would include every crime incident to a sexual assault so that if a victim is subject not just simply to sexual assault but to other crimes in that incident, all those crimes would be tried together. So the need to import crimes like Murder And Arson and other nonsexually related crimes is, in my view, not going to accomplish the goals that i think this senate has been focused on, particularly over the last six months or so. I intend to include the administrations proposals, next Weeks Markup of the annual Defense Bill Subject to amendment, and i think thats important to know, subject to amendment. The u. C. As proposed would not allow amendments. It would not allow colleagues on the floor to come up and say i have a better idea. We will do that in the committee, as we have always done it in the committee, or at least tried to do in the committee. I look forward to working with Senator Gillibrand and my other colleagues on the committee as we consider, debate, and vote on this and other proposals, but i still must reiterate my objection to the unanimous consent. And i would yield the floor. The presiding Officer Objection is heard. The senator from New York. Mrs. Gillibrand first of all, our bill is entitled military justice improvement and increasing Prevention Act. As the chairman has requested, there is a great deal of prevention in this bill. I dare say if the chairman was going to include all of the recommendations of the i. R. C. , we would have a very strong Base Bill on which to work from, but i do not have the sense that that will be done. In fact, i do not have the sense that all the recommendations are being considered. So i intend to offer amendments that encompasses all of the recommendations. Second, the reason why murder and other serious crimes must be included is because there are two challenges within the military. One, sexual assault cases are not handled properly. And unfortunately, too few go to trial and too few end in conviction. And the rate of going to trial and the rate of conviction have gone down. The second reason is if you only allow sexual assault cases to have a proper review, you will further marginalize survivors of sexual assault who more often than not are women who report those cases, because receiving special treatment and a special legal system will not create fairness within the military for them. And third, there is enormous evidence in the last three years of considerable racial bias against black and brown service members. In the marines, if you are a black man, you are up to 6. 1 times more likely to be punished. That is a serious problem, and this has been an issue that has been investigated for a long time. So i believe that the bright line of felonies, as our allies have already done in the u. K. , israel, canada, netherlands, germany, and australia, is meaningful because they did it for defendants rights, they did it to professionalize their military Justice System, and they did it to protect all service members. The service members of the United States military deserve nothing less. I yield the floor. The presiding officer the clerk will call the roll. Quorum call mrs. Gillibrand i ask to vitiate the Quorum Call. The presiding officer without objection. Mrs. Gillibrand i ask unanimous consent the senate proceed to legislative session and be in a period of Morning Business with senators permitted to speak therein up to ten minutes each. The presiding officer without objection. Mrs. Gillibrand i understand that there are two bills at the desk, and i ask for their reading en bloc. The presiding officer the clerk will read the titles to the bill for the first time. The Clerk S. 2311, a bill making supplemental appropriations for the fiscal year ending september 30, 2021, and for other purposes. H. R. 3684, an act to authorize funds for federalaid highways, Highway Safety programs, and transit programs, and for other purposes. Mrs. Gillibrand i now ask for the second reading, and i object to my own request, all en bloc. The presiding Officer Objection is heard. The bills will be read for the second time on the next legislative day. Mrs. Gillibrand i ask unanimous consent that when the senate completes its business today, it adjourns until 10 00 a. M. Tuesday, july 13. That following the prayer and pledge, the Morning Business be deemed expired, the journal of proceedings be approved to date, the time for the two leaders to be reserved for their use later in the day, and Morning Business be closed. Further, upon the conclusion of Morning Business, the senate proceed to executive session to resume consideration of the zeya nomination postcloture, that the Postcloture Debate time expire at 11 30 a. M. Further, that the Senate Recess following the Cloture Vote on the Su Nomination until 2 15 p. M. To allow for the weekly caucus meeting. That if cloture is invoked on the Su Nomination, that all postcloture time expire at 2 30. Finally, that if any of the nominations are confirmed, the motions to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table and the president be immediately notified of the senates action. The presiding officer without objection. Mrs. Gillibrand if there is no business further to come before the senate, i ask it to stand adjourned under the previous order, following the remarks of senator moran. The presiding officer without objection. Mr. Moran willpower . The presiding officer the senator from kansas. Mr. Moran i rise to express my support for the cuban people who have taken to the streets to advocate for a government who can meet their needs of food, Medicine Sand political rights. The cuban government is attempting to reflect the responsibility for the plight of its own people by blaming the United States of america. It is not our country that denies universal rights to cuban americans. These are the first significant protests in cuba in 25 years. People of cuba cannot be blamed for the actions of the cuban government. In response to the latest protests, the regime says it is, quote, prepared to do anything, unquote, to protect the current system. Along with most all american people, i stand in solidarity with the demonstrating cubans and in a particular way i seek to improve their lives by leading bipartisan legislation that would lift our Countrys 60yearold Trade embargo with cuba. While this legislation will provide a New Market for our own farmers, ranchers, and manufacturers, it also deprives the cuban government of its false Talking Point that the United States is somehow the cause of the misery of the cuban people. After 60 years of communist rule, 11 million cubans deserve better. They deserve freedom, killing knit, hope. We have witnessed this intense desire in a powerful way this weekend. The courage of cubans who are risking their livelihoods and possibly their lives that does not go unnoticed. They stand Ass Longsside those in Hong Kong and Minsk And Moscow that challenge governments. As demonstrations to enact change continue, i pray they be peaceful and effective at bringing about a brighter tomorrow for the citizens of cuba. Thank you, Madam President. The presiding officer the senate stands adjourned until senate stands adjourned until the senate is gambling out to parade they advance the nomination for the Under Secretary of state for civilian security, democracy and human rights, setting up a final but on confirmation this week along with folks on a number of biden administration nominees following live Senate Coverage here on cspan2. See spanish unfiltered view of government funded by these television companies and more including comcast. You think this a communities center its way more than that. Comcast is partnering to create wifi students and low income families can get the tools they need to be ready for anything. Public service along with these television providers giving you a front row seats to democracy. Tonight on the communicators. Republicans and democrats are attacking big tech from all sorts of angles and antitrust is sort of just one of them. But they have both coalesced on you have an antitrust law to after tech companies. They go on very different reasons for doing so. Even though they coalesce on the same solution. Typical for democrats but corporations its really tied to this cultural lower against technology in general where they perceive them as being biased against the conservatives. The antitrust portion is tied to the generals are tech Companies Route to get them very. Watch the communicators but the Reason Magazine elizabeth nolan brown on a recent article the bipartisan antitrust crusade against big Tech Tonight at eight eastern on cspan2. White House Press Secretary Jen Stocky took questions about antigovernment protest and cuba, booster rights in 40 minutes