[Congressional Record Volume 166, Number 39 (Thursday, February 27, 2020)]
[Senate]
[Pages S1163-S1164]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]





                MEASURE PLACED ON THE CALENDAR--S. 3339

  Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, I understand there is a bill at the 
desk due for a second reading.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will read the title of the bill for 
the second time.
  The legislative clerk read as follows:

       A bill (S. 3339) to restore military priorities, and for 
     other purposes.

  Mr. McCONNELL. In order to place the bill on the calendar under the 
provisions of rule XIV, I would object to further proceedings.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Objection having been heard, the bill will be 
placed on the calendar.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The majority whip.
  Mr. THUNE. Mr. President, I want to join with the leader and my 
colleagues in thanking and recognizing Laura Dove, who is leaving us 
and the Senate at the end of the week. I don't think there is anybody 
else more identified with the U.S. Senate by Senators and their staffs 
than Laura.
  When the leader was arriving here as a freshman Senator, I was 
arriving as a young 24-year-old staffer and happened to, I think, 
overlap, as well, when Laura was a page here. So she has been here; 
this has been her life; and many of us have had the opportunity through 
the years to observe her in action and to realize not only how talented 
and gifted she is but what a person of incredible integrity and 
character as well.
  She spent more than two decades serving in the Senate and three weeks 
serving as my seatmate during the impeachment trial, which I am hoping 
wasn't the last straw in convincing her to retire.
  For the last 7 years, she has been the Secretary of the Minority and 
Majority, a role that involves managing the Republican cloakroom, 
helping develop the floor schedule, keeping Members informed about 
votes, and providing Members with legislative and parliamentary 
counsel.
  Laura has done all that and more over the past 7 years and has done 
it with distinction. All of us on this side of the aisle rely on her 
counsel, and there is no way we would have been able to accomplish all 
that we have accomplished in the past few years without her wisdom and 
expertise. She has the rare ability to tell Senators no--always with a 
smile--and actually have them listen.
  I have sought Laura's advice many times, especially since becoming 
whip last year, and I will greatly miss her counsel, although I am 
hopeful she will be leaving a forwarding address for future questions.
  As the leader pointed out, you might say Laura was raised on the 
Senate. Her father Robert ``Bob'' Dove twice served as Senate 
Parliamentarian and had a Senate career that spanned nearly 40 years, 
so Laura grew up steeped in Senate procedure and tradition.
  But her own career began as a Senate page, and I think perhaps her 
proudest accomplishment in the Senate has been mentoring literally the 
scores of pages who have passed through the Republican cloakroom on her 
watch. I know she has made their experience a richer and more 
meaningful one.
  So, Laura, we thank you for your tireless work, the long days and the 
nights you put in. Your wisdom, patience, and unfailing good humor will 
be sorely missed by Senators and staff of both parties. We wish you all 
the very best in your future endeavors, and I hope that your next job 
will involve fewer late nights and more time for leisure, including 
loading up the RV and making another trip to the Black Hills of South 
Dakota.


                                   5G

  Mr. THUNE. Mr. President, most of us think that today's internet is 
pretty fast. We receive traffic updates basically in realtime, get 
emails within a second or two, and stream our favorite shows whenever 
and wherever we want. But as advanced as today's internet is, the next 
generation of internet 5G will make 4G look like dial-up.
  For instance, 5G mobile broadband technology will deliver speeds up 
to 100 times faster than what today's technology can deliver. It will 
be vastly more responsive than 4G technology, and it will be able to 
connect 100 times--100 times--the number of devices that can be 
connected with 4G.
  While that will make it even easier to do the things we do today, 
like check our email or stream our favorite shows, the biggest benefits 
of 5G will lie in the other technologies it will enable--precision 
agriculture, medical and surgical innovation, safer vehicles, and much 
more.
  The technology for 5G is already here, but there is more work to be 
done to get to nationwide 5G deployment. A key part of getting to that 
point is developing the workforce that will be required to install and 
maintain the 5G network.
  Current internet technology relies on cell phone towers, but 5G 
technology will require not just traditional cell phone towers but 
small antennas called small cells that can often be attached to 
existing infrastructure like utility poles or buildings.
  Wireless providers will have to install nearly 800,000 small cells 
around the Nation to support a nationwide 5G network. Of course, after 
installation, every one of those small cells will have to be monitored 
and maintained. That will require a substantial increase in the 
telecommunications workforce.
  It is estimated that deploying the necessary infrastructure for 5G 
will create approximately 50,000 new construction jobs each year over 
the build-out period, and that is just for construction. Right now 
there simply aren't enough workers with the necessary training to meet 
the needs of nationwide 5G.
  Industry and community colleges have stepped forward to provide 
training opportunities, but more work needs to be done if the United 
States wants to step forward into the 5G future.
  As past chairman of the Commerce Committee and the current chairman 
of the Subcommittee on Communications, Technology, Innovation and the 
Internet, 5G has long been a priority of mine. I have spent a lot of 
time focused on advancing 5G deployment, especially to rural States 
like my home State of South Dakota. I was very proud to be in Sioux 
Falls a few months ago when the city unveiled one of the first 5G 
networks in the country.
  In 2018, the President signed into law legislation that I developed 
to increase access to critical spectrum, and I have also introduced 
legislation to facilitate small cell deployment, especially in rural 
areas.
  Today, I am introducing legislation to address the other part of the 
5G equation--creating a large enough workforce to deploy and maintain 
all those small cells. As I said, industry and community colleges have 
both stepped forward to provide programs to train workers. Places like 
VIKOR Teleconstruction and Southeast Tech in Sioux Falls, SD, are 
already helping to train the 5G workforce of the future. But more work 
needs to be done.
  My Telecommunications Skilled Workforce Act would help increase the 
number of workers enrolled in 5G training programs and identify ways to 
grow the telecommunications workforce to meet the demands of 5G. My 
bill would require the Department of Labor to bring together our 
Federal partners, as well as individuals on the ground, deploying next-
generation telecommunications services. The resulting working group 
would be required to identify any current laws or regulations that are 
making it difficult for educational institutions and businesses to 
establish programs to help meet the workforce needs of the telecom 
industry.
  It would also be required to identify existing Federal programs to 
help address workforce shortages, as well as ways the Federal 
Government could encourage or incentivize growth in the 
telecommunications workforce, including the deployment of fixed 
broadband in our rural areas. My bill would also direct the Department 
of Labor and the Federal Communications Commission to issue guidance 
for States to help them leverage existing Federal resources for growing 
their telecommunications workforces and to help them improve 
recruitment for industry-led telecommunications development programs 
like the Wireless Infrastructure Association's Telecommunications 
Industry Registered Apprenticeship Program.
  I appreciate my colleagues, Senators Tester, Moran, and Peters, for 
partnering with me on this bill.
  Getting to 5G in the near future is important for our whole country--
both economically and for the advances it will bring in fields like 
medicine and

[[Page S1164]]

auto safety--which is why it has been a major priority of mine over the 
past few years.
  I am particularly motivated by the benefits that 5G could bring to my 
home State of South Dakota. The ability to deploy precision agriculture 
on a wide scale would have huge benefits for South Dakota farmers. 
Better access to telemedicine could bring better healthcare to 
thousands of residents in my home State and other rural areas. To get 
to these benefits, we have to ensure the telecommunications companies 
are able to find the workers they need.

  I hope we can quickly advance this legislation so the United States 
can continue her march into the 5G future.
  I yield the floor.
  I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mrs. Hyde-Smith.) The clerk will call the 
roll.
  The legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. GRASSLEY. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the order 
for the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.

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