[Congressional Record Volume 165, Number 185 (Tuesday, November 19, 2019)]
[Senate]
[Pages S6644-S6645]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                         Remembering Kay Hagan

  Mr. BENNET. Madam President, I want to spend a few minutes 
recognizing our late colleague and my friend Senator Kay Hagan.
  Kay and I both came to the Senate in 2009. I had the privilege of 
working with her on two committees--HELP and Banking. As a former vice 
president of the North Carolina National Bank, she had a lot more to 
offer to that committee than I had, and I tried to learn from her 
whenever I could. Kay and I both came to the Senate in the middle of 
the worst recession since the Great Depression. We were losing 700,000 
jobs a month, and millions were losing their homes. It was an 
incredibly difficult moment for the country, but it brought out all of 
Kay's best qualities.
  Everyone knew that Kay faced some of the toughest politics of any 
Member of our caucus, but in those early days, I saw her take vote 
after vote on some of the hardest issues. She never wavered. She voted 
for the Recovery Act to save the economy when we were in free fall. She 
voted for Dodd-Frank to restore confidence and accountability to the 
financial sector, which was something she knew quite a lot about. She 
spoke out against amendment No. 1 in North Carolina and for marriage 
equality. She also cast a decisive vote for the Affordable Care Act.
  As a Democratic Senator from North Carolina and as a freshman 
Senator, none of those positions were easy to take, but she knew they 
were the right places to be for her State and for the country. Because 
Kay did what she did, millions of Americans kept jobs they would have 
lost, and millions of Americans gained quality, affordable health 
insurance for the first time in their lives. In her home State, the 
LGBT community had a Senator in Washington who, for the first time in 
history, was willing to fight for their full and equal rights.
  One of our colleagues, the senior Senator from Tennessee, likes to 
say: If you have come to Washington just to hear yourself talk, just 
stay home and get a job on the radio. It is not worth the trouble of 
your coming all the way here.
  Kay didn't come to Washington to talk. She came to work and to lead.
  Over her term, Kay was a fierce and principled advocate for North 
Carolina. As a member of the Committee on Armed Services, she helped to 
prevent cuts to tuition programs for veterans. She sponsored the Lilly 
Ledbetter Fair Pay Act to help close the gender pay gap across the 
country. She worked across the aisle to promote conservation and 
outdoor recreation, which is something we appreciate in my home State 
of Colorado.
  She was a lot less interested in the empty politics of this town and 
a lot more interested in making progress for the people of North 
Carolina and for our country. She was a voice of reason, pragmatism, 
and humility in this body, which sorely lacks all three. In other 
words, Kay took her job seriously but never herself, and no matter how 
difficult it might have been, she never failed to put the people of 
North Carolina ahead of the politics of the moment. It is why she 
earned deep respect from both sides of the aisle, not only for her work 
ethic but for her kindness, her warmth, and her grace. There was not a 
room in this complex, including the one I am standing in right now, 
that wasn't brightened the moment that Kay Hagan walked in.
  To Chip, her husband, and to their kids--Jeanette, Tilden, and 
Carrie--I hope you know how proud we all are of Kay. She represented 
the best qualities of North Carolina. It is why her colleagues adored 
her. It is why her staff loved her and revered her, and it is why all 
of us who had the privilege of working with her in this body will miss 
her terribly.
  I yield the floor.

[[Page S6645]]

  I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The senior assistant bill clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. WICKER. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the order 
for the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.


  Satellite Television Extension and Localism Act Reauthorization Act

  Mr. WICKER. Madam President, I rise this afternoon because there is a 
legislative deadline in front of this body that we dare not miss. Even 
as I speak, our colleagues in the House Energy and Commerce Committee 
are considering the Satellite Television Extension and Localism Act 
Reauthorization, or STELAR. For 30 years, STELAR and previous versions 
of the law have allowed people who live beyond the reach of a broadcast 
signal to receive broadcast programming nonetheless.
  Some Senators believe that in 2019, STELAR has outlived its 
usefulness and want it to expire, but other Senators want to extend 
some of these provisions--at least in the short term--to prevent 
consumers from losing these broadcast signals; still others want to use 
the STELAR reauthorization legislation as a vehicle to implement other 
reforms.
  I have introduced new legislation, the Satellite Television Access 
Reauthorization--or STAR--Act to move this process forward. The 
existing STELAR statute expires December 31. So absent congressional 
action before the end of the year, the provisions included in STELAR 
that enable nearly 870,000 Americans to access broadcasting TV signals 
will no longer be the law of the land. These Americans who depend on 
STELAR are mostly in rural parts of this country, like my home State of 
Mississippi. They include truckers, tailgaters, and RV drivers, and 
they include Americans living in very remote areas.
  I say to my colleagues, now is the time for Senators to make their 
positions clear. Over the course of this year, I have been polling 
Members to ascertain what this body wants. As chairman of the Senate 
Commerce Committee, I will act according to the majority wishes, but 
time is running short. Many people point to the fact that the media 
landscape is changing. There are more options for video content than 
ever before. New programming is coming out every day that is being 
streamed through new services. Those are all great things.
  As I said at a June Commerce Committee hearing, we are living in the 
golden age of television. The Commerce Committee has been working to 
close the digital divide between rural and urban America to make sure 
all families can access those choices and all families can be a part of 
the golden age, but there are still Americans without Internet access 
and without broadcast signals. They deserve the ability to view basic 
television services just like everyone else.
  Without the reauthorization of STELAR, many Americans will not be 
able to watch broadcast news or enjoy access to programming that is 
available for the rest of the country. They will be on the wrong side 
of the digital divide, and there will be a wide cultural divide, as 
they would be cut off from the flow of programs and information.
  If Members of this body are of a mind to move forward with some 
extension of this statute, we will work with our colleagues in the 
House. That may include improvements and enhancements to STELAR that 
address good faith requirements, level the playing field in the 
marketplace, promote access to programming, and ensure robust 
competition, but we don't have much time.
  After this week, Senators will go home for Thanksgiving. Many of 
those across the country who benefit from STELAR in our States will 
watch football games and the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, thanks to 
the STELAR law. They will enjoy time with their families, and I look 
forward to doing the same, but when Congress returns, there will be 
just 2 weeks--10 legislative days--to finalize any legislation and send 
it to the President for his signature.
  In this body, taking no action is easy. It comes naturally. But in 
this case, no action equals the repeal of the STELAR law in its 
entirety, and Members should know that. They have 10 days to ensure 
870,000 Americans will be able to watch the same programs next year 
that they are seeing this year, or we can let STELAR expire and take 
the risk of letting the chips fall where they may.
  To repeat, my colleagues should be advised they need to make a voice 
that is heard on whether the STELAR legislation needs to be extended or 
expire.
  Thank you, Madam President.
  I yield the floor. I suggest the absence a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The bill clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. CASEY. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for 
the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Cassidy). Without objection, it is so 
ordered.