[Congressional Record Volume 166, Number 107 (Wednesday, June 10, 2020)]
[Senate]
[Pages S2841-S2852]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                          LEGISLATIVE SESSION

                                 ______
                                 

         TAXPAYER FIRST ACT OF 2019--MOTION TO PROCEED--Resumed

  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Under the previous order, the Senate will 
resume consideration of the motion to proceed to H.R. 1957, which the 
clerk will report.
  The senior assistant legislative clerk read as follows:

       Motion to proceed to Calendar No. 75, H.R. 1957, a bill to 
     amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to modernize and 
     improve the Internal Revenue Service, and for other purposes.

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call be rescinded.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


                   Recognition of the Minority Leader

  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Democratic leader is recognized


                        Justice in Policing Act

  Mr. SCHUMER. Madam President, yesterday at the Fountain of Praise 
Church in Houston, TX, a funeral service was held in honor of the life 
of George Floyd, whose death has moved hundreds of thousands of people 
across America and around the world to peacefully march against police 
violence. Today, his brother Philonise Floyd will testify in front of 
the House Judiciary Committee.
  It is hard to imagine the courage it takes, so soon after the tragic, 
awful, and brutal loss of a family member, to not only grieve in the 
national spotlight but to turn that pain into action. There have been 
many reasons for Americans to be shocked and outraged, angry and 
frustrated with the injustice they have seen in their country, but the 
entire Floyd family has given the Nation reason to hope.
  Now, Democrats in the House and Senate have proposed legislation that 
would directly respond to the issues of racial bias and excessive force 
in our police departments. The Justice in Policing Act would ban the 
use of choke holds, limit the transfer of military equipment to local 
departments, make it easier to hold police misconduct accountable, and 
institute a whole lot of reforms to help prevent that misconduct in the 
first place. It is a comprehensive proposal, and many of the experts on 
racism, discrimination, and inequality in police departments have had 
large input into the bill.
  We need action on the Justice in Policing Act as soon as possible, 
and we Democrats in the Senate will work like hell to make it happen. 
The moment calls for bold and broad-scale change. We need wholesale 
reform, not piecemeal reform. We cannot approach this debate by cherry-
picking one or two reforms and calling the job complete. It is my worry 
that is what our Republican colleagues intend to do. We need a strong 
bill. The Justice in Policing Act is where we should begin.
  The Senate is a collaborative institution, at least by design, but 
there is one person alone who decides what legislation reaches the 
floor, and that is Leader McConnell. For 2 weeks I have asked him to 
commit to a debate and a vote on a police reform bill by July 4--an 
open debate and certainly an ability to vote on the Justice in Policing 
Act. I still have not received an answer.
  Is it too much to ask that, as hundreds of thousands, if not 
millions, are in the streets, when the vast majority of Americans think 
we need reform, that the leader spend some floor time here so we can 
debate this issue and maybe move forward for the first time in a long 
time? I don't think so. But our leader is silent, missing in action, as 
he is on so many different major issues that face America.
  After House and Senate Democrats released the draft legislation on 
Monday, yesterday, Senate Republicans announced they would put together 
``a working group'' to prepare their own set of proposals. Working 
groups are all fine and well, but it is critical that we pursue 
comprehensive reform, not seek the lowest common denominator, and it is 
critical that we get a real commitment to consider strong legislation 
on the floor.
  Unfortunately, in the aftermath of other recent moments of national 
strife, particularly the mass shootings, President Trump, Leader 
McConnell, and Senate Republicans make the right noises--let's study 
it; let's consider it--but never follow through.
  Leader McConnell once promised that a debate on expanding background 
checks would be ``front and center'' on the Senate floor after 
shootings in Dayton and El Paso. ``What we can't do is fail to pass 
something,'' he said. Yet there was no debate on expanding background 
checks, and the Republican majority in the Senate did exactly what 
Leader McConnell said that it could not--it failed to pass anything on 
gun safety.
  So while I welcome ideas from our Republican colleagues, we need a 
hard and fast commitment from the Republican leader to put real, broad-
scale police reform on the Senate floor before July 4.
  Americans, please, be watching the Senate. Watch the leader. Watch 
the Republicans.
  Is this going to be another situation just like with gun control, 
just like with background checks, where they talked a good game, tried 
to let the issue fade away, and did nothing? The Nation--the Nation--
will not let this issue fade away, I assure my Republican friends.


                              Coronavirus

  There is another major crisis in the country at the moment as well. 
COVID-19 continues to kill and infect Americans. Case numbers are 
rising in Western States--Arizona, New Mexico, California, and Oregon. 
The massive disruption to economic activity initially left more than 40 
million--40 million--Americans without work.
  This week it became official: The United States has been in 
recession--the first one in many years--since February.
  In truth, the issues of racial justice and COVID-19 are not 
unrelated. The COVID-19 pandemic disproportionately kills Black 
Americans. Communities of color have less access to quality healthcare, 
greater food insecurity, greater percentages of poverty, and a 
disproportionate number of our frontline essential workers--41.2 
percent--are African American and Latino. Yet you are starting to hear 
my friends on the other side strum sunny chords because one jobs report 
wasn't quite as awful as it might have been, awful as it was.
  The President made a revolting comment that the recent jobs report 
was a great day for George Floyd and equality, even though it showed 
African-American unemployment continuing to rise. What a horrible 
comment.
  Everyone is rooting for our country to return to normal as quickly 
and as safely as possible and for our economy to rebound with similar 
speed, but unemployment sits at 13 percent--higher than any point since 
the great recession--and the President and my Republican colleagues are 
ready to declare victory.
  After saying that another COVID relief bill was likely in June, 
Leader McConnell has told the Republican caucus not to expect another 
relief bill until late July at the earliest--late July at the earliest, 
as millions are out of work, millions risk being removed from their 
homes, millions can't feed their families
  Racial justice, civil rights, a global pandemic, an economic 
disaster--this is truly a time of historic challenge, and Leader 
McConnell and the Senate Republicans are missing in action. No

[[Page S2842]]

commitment to consider comprehensive police reform. No urgency to 
provide our country the desperately needed relief from COVID-19. 
Instead, Leader McConnell is likely to schedule votes next week on two 
circuit court nominees--Justin Walker and Cory Wilson--both of whom 
have expressed deep-seated antipathy toward our healthcare law. And I 
am not aware of either of them embracing civil rights, voting rights so 
desperately needed in this country.
  That is right--in the middle of a public health crisis, the 
Republican majority is planning to confirm rightwing judges who have 
spoken out against our healthcare law. Watch what they do, not what 
they say. And what they are doing is regressiveness--it is not even a 
lack of moving us forward; they attempt to move us backward with 
rightwing judges who want to turn the clock back.


                      FBI Misconduct Investigation

  Even more shocking--do you think it can get worse? It does with this 
Republican majority. The Judiciary Committee tomorrow will hold a 
hearing. The Republican chairman will continue his pursuit of President 
Trump's wild conspiracy theories about the 2016 election, asking for 
scores of subpoenas to chase down alleged misconduct by the FBI.
  Let me get this straight: The Republican Party will eagerly focus on 
law enforcement that affects President Trump, but they aren't ready to 
commit a focus on law enforcement, on racial equality when Americans 
demand it? I don't hear anyone other than the President and his 
acolytes demanding a reinvestigation as it affects President Trump on a 
largely discredited conspiracy theory. But that is what our Republican 
Senate friends are doing, showing how removed they are from the 
national needs and the national sentiment.
  Senate Republicans are ready to issue nearly 100 subpoenas to trash 
the FBI to protect President Trump, but they can't commit to debate on 
one bill to reform police departments to protect African Americans. 
Instead of addressing the real challenges African Americans face, the 
Republican conspiracy caucus is obsessed with visciously attacking the 
FBI for protecting our national security while Putin interfered in our 
democracy. What a bizarre and outrageous inversion of our Nation's 
priorities.
  Now I am glad my friend from Illinois is here because it was his 
leadership that will cause, in the Senate Judiciary Committee, Senate 
Democrats to request subpoenas for Trump administration officials like 
Rick Gates, George Papadopoulos, and Michael Flynn, among others. These 
officials at one time or another have pled guilty to offenses related 
to Putin's interference in the election. If the Republican conspiracy 
caucus wants to waste the Senate's time dredging up old conspiracy 
theories, we are at least going to try to show and get the story 
straight and not just call a list of witnesses that they want. It is 
just crazy. Kangaroo court, kangaroo hearing.
  Let's see if the Republicans have any--any--strength of conviction 
about what they are doing. If they did, they would allow the witnesses 
that Senator Durbin and the other members of the Judiciary Committee 
have proposed to come forward and tell their side of the story--quite 
contradictory to the witnesses that the Republican majority and the 
Republican chairman are calling


                                Protests

  That is one crazy conspiracy theory, but yesterday the country was 
treated to another one. We seem, in Trump land, in the Trump world, to 
live in a world of conspiracy theories. Some crazy, discredited, 
rightwing blogger--sometimes with Russian information--tweets or writes 
something, and then President Trump goes right ahead and tweets it and 
talks about it.
  I am not in the habit of responding to every Presidential tweet--
something I am sure my Republican colleagues are familiar with--but 
yesterday morning, the President tweeted a vicious attack on a 75-year-
old constituent of mine who was seriously injured in Buffalo, NY. The 
President said he might have belonged to a radical group and that the 
event might have been a setup because the man ``fell harder than was 
pushed.''
  It was disgusting, even for a President known for disgusting attacks. 
How small a man do you have to be to slander a 75-year-old protester 
recovering in a hospital? This is the President of the United States, 
you have to remind yourself from time to time. This is what the 
President of the United States is doing--acting like a little 12-year-
old schoolyard bully.
  Apparently, the conspiracy theory the President repeated on Twitter 
was originally posted on an anonymous blog and then amplified by a 
reporter who used to work for a Russian state media organization.
  It feels like it shouldn't need to be said, but it has to be in a 
democracy where we believe in facts and truth: The President has an 
obligation to check out information before giving a platform to crazy 
conspiracy theories. He is the President, not just some guy. He can't 
shrug his shoulders and say: Hey, I am just asking questions. He has 
access to national intelligence.
  I call on the President to apologize. I don't expect he will. He 
never does. So I will just say to my Republican colleagues: You know 
how wrong his behavior is. You know it. Say so. Say so. Say something. 
How much do you let this President get away with? How long will you 
grimace inside or whisper to each other how crazy he is but not say a 
thing? You, my Republican Senate colleagues, may be the one check left 
on this President. Where are you? Where are you?
  I applaud the few Republicans who have spoken out, but just far too 
many have danced the familiar ``hear no evil, see no evil'' routine. 
Leader McConnell was directly asked and couldn't conjure a word of 
criticism for the President.
  If Republicans can't call out the President on this instance, then 
what the heck are they doing here? If we can't do legislation on the 
floor, even during one of the greatest national crises this country has 
faced, then what the heck are our Republican friends doing here?
  On COVID, on police reform, and all too often when the time comes to 
place a check on the President, the Republican majority is simply 
missing in action.


                            Georgia Primary

  Madam President, one final word on the Georgia primary--yesterday, 
the State of Georgia held its primary election. Across numerous 
counties and dozens of polling locations, Georgians waited 3, 4, and in 
some cases up to 7 hours to cast a ballot. I saw the pictures of the 
long lines. Numerous polling places failed to open on time; new voting 
machines may have malfunctioned. Most disgracefully, many of the 
problems we saw yesterday occurred in precincts with high populations 
of people of color.
  Of course, in past years, the Voting Rights Act would have empowered 
the Federal Government to oversee and approve the changes that the 
State of Georgia made to its election process--changes that may well 
have caused this election disaster. But the Roberts Court, in one of 
the most misguided decisions in recent Supreme Court history, gutted 
the Voting Rights Act in the Shelby County decision and opened the door 
for the confusion we saw yesterday.
  The idea that seems to be in the Court's mind--at least the majority 
of the Court--that the need for section 5 preclearance had passed is 
clearly refuted by what happened in Georgia yesterday. We have 
legislation passed by the House that would fix this problem and protect 
voters against racial discrimination and disenfranchisement, but it has 
been gathering dust here in the Senate, condemned to Leader McConnell's 
all too full legislative graveyard. Once again--once again--the 
Republican majority is missing in action, and this time it is on voting 
rights.

  The right to vote in a free and fair election is sacrosanct in this 
country. Yesterday, Georgia failed miserably for the second election in 
a row. There ought to be an immediate investigation, and the errors 
ought to be corrected before the general election. The Senate should 
take up H.R. 4 and at the very least deliver the necessary resources to 
election officials in the next COVID relief bill.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The majority whip is recognized.


                               Healthcare

  Mr. THUNE. Madam President, one of the things that we have really 
seen

[[Page S2843]]

during the COVID-19 pandemic is the value of telehealth. As a resident 
of a rural State, I have long been a proponent of telehealth for the 
access it gives to rural communities.
  If you live in a major city, you usually don't have to think too much 
about where you will find a doctor if you need one. If you need a 
cardiologist, for example, you don't spend a lot of time worrying 
whether you will be able to find one within driving distance. In fact, 
there is a good chance you will have a choice--a wide range of choices 
for cardiologists. If you have a heart attack, you know you are in 
reach of at least one hospital and maybe several.
  That is not always the case for Americans in rural areas. In the 
smallest towns in America, access to specialty care can be a challenge. 
The only providers may be a primary care provider, a nurse, or a 
pharmacist. These providers are essential to rural families, but 
sometimes specialty care is needed. When there isn't a specialist close 
by, telehealth can help get these rural providers and their patients 
the medical care they need from a remote location through the use of 
technology.
  The coronavirus has highlighted the fact that telehealth is a 
valuable resource for every American. During the pandemic, we have seen 
healthcare providers of all types turn to telehealth to continue 
serving their patients without running the risk of spreading the virus. 
Telehealth has always allowed patients to access a variety of services 
that might have been risky to obtain at an office or hospital during 
the height of the pandemic.
  Telehealth's usefulness will extend long beyond the coronavirus 
crisis. While telehealth has particular value for rural areas, rural, 
urban, and suburban areas alike experience provider shortages and a 
lack of access to care. The Association of American Medical Colleges 
estimates that there will be a shortage of up to 122,000 doctors in the 
United States by the year 2032. Even in areas without shortages, 
telehealth can make life easier for patients by reducing the number of 
times that they have to visit a doctor's office for care.
  While there will always be a need to see a doctor in person, for many 
patients, some office visits can be replaced with telehealth 
appointments. That can make a big difference for individuals whose 
health requires them to see a doctor frequently. It is also a 
convenience for patients in the workforce or caring for children or 
other family members who may need to be able to access services quickly 
and easily.
  I was very pleased when Congress expanded access to telehealth in the 
coronavirus relief bills that we passed.
  We advanced the principles of value-based insurance design by 
allowing high-deductible health plans to cover telehealth services 
prior to a beneficiary's reaching his or her deductible.
  We also permitted the Secretary of the Department of Health and Human 
Services to waive certain Medicare restrictions on telehealth during a 
public health emergency, which has been hugely helpful to both seniors 
and the providers who care for them. With this waiver authority, 
providers can be paid for seeing patients in their homes, regardless of 
whether the patient lives in a rural area.
  We also expanded the types of services that are reimbursable via 
telehealth under Medicare. In addition to video, providers are able to 
offer telehealth appointments using audio-only technology, which is 
helpful for patients who don't have access to internet or to a smart 
device.
  Congress's coronavirus legislation also increased telehealth access 
for community health centers, rural health clinics, home health 
hospice, and home dialysis for the duration of the pandemic.
  I would like to see us make many of these measures permanent. I will 
be pushing for that in the Senate over the coming months, along with 
the CONNECT for Health Act, which I have cosponsored with Senators 
Schatz, Wicker, Cardin, Warner, and Hyde-Smith for the last several 
Congresses.

  This legislation, which influenced many of the Coronavirus Aid, 
Relief, and Economic Security Act telehealth provisions, addresses 
restrictions that limit the use of telehealth in Medicare, including by 
providing waiver authority for the Secretary of Health and Human 
Services. In addition, the legislation would remove restrictions that 
affect Medicare reimbursement for Indian Health Service and facilitate 
the use of telehealth for emergency medical services and mental health 
care.
  I will also continue to urge passage of the bill I introduced in 
March to increase telehealth services in nursing facilities. My 
Reducing Unnecessary Senior Hospitalizations Act, or what we call the 
RUSH Act, would allow Medicare to establish agreements with a medical 
group to provide care to nursing home patients remotely, with the goal 
of reducing instances of avoidable trips to the emergency department. 
Access to on-demand support from providers equipped to treat seniors 
would enable a nursing home's onsite staff to immediately address a 
patient's needs without waiting for emergency room transport or for a 
doctor to arrive. As a result, patients would be more likely to receive 
early intervention and avoid hospital visits, which can pose 
significant risk to the elderly, especially, of course, during the 
current pandemic.
  Reducing the costs that come from untreated medical complications or 
expensive emergency room visits would also be a win for taxpayers and 
for the Medicare Program. One healthcare provider in my home State of 
South Dakota conducted a telehealth pilot program to provide 
specialized care to nursing home patients and ended up saving Medicare 
more than $342 per beneficiary per month. That is a significant 
savings. It is a savings that came from providing nursing home patients 
with better and faster care.
  One of the many reasons I push so hard to expand access to high-speed 
internet in rural areas and to ensure that rural communities have 
access to 5G is because of the opportunities this provides for the 
expanded use of telehealth, which translates into greater access to 
care for rural Americans.
  I will continue to do everything I can to make telehealth more 
available to underserved patients in rural communities and to the 
country as a whole. The coronavirus pandemic has highlighted just how 
valuable a resource telehealth can be for literally every American, and 
we should ensure that all Americans can access its benefits.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The minority whip


                                  DACA

  Mr. DURBIN. Madam President, I would like to follow up on the speech 
just made on the floor by my colleague from South Dakota because his 
observations about shortages when it comes to healthcare across America 
affect not just his State, South Dakota, but certainly affect Illinois 
and many other States as well.
  We are in desperate need of additional doctors and nurses and 
dentists and medical professionals. We are in need of more technology--
telehealth, of course, is one of those technologies--to make sure we 
expand the reach of Medicare in the United States. In the midst of this 
coronavirus pandemic, we understand that now more than ever. That is 
why I have introduced legislation called the Health Heroes 2020 Act 
with specific design to dramatically expand the number of healthcare 
professionals.
  There is one way to reach that goal, I believe, and that is to 
incentivize medical students and dental students in America to make a 
commitment to serve in areas of greatest need in this country for at 
least 2 years and to remain in a reserve, if needed, for medical 
emergency. What would they receive in return? Forgiveness of the cost 
of their medical education.
  Do you know that most doctors and dentists who graduate have a 
minimum of $240,000 in additional student debt over and above the 
undergraduate experience--$240,000 in debt when they become licensed 
doctors and dentists? Some have even more. Imagine if those young men 
and women with all this talent and all this determination want to serve 
in the areas of greatest need but throw up their hands and say: I have 
to pay off this loan. I have no choice but to go to a different place.
  If we had the National Health Service Corps expanded to provide loans 
for the cost of medical education, with the incentive that those new 
medical professionals would serve in areas of great need, it would 
certainly help to solve a major problem in America. We feel it in the 
inner cities, but we feel it as intensely, if not more so, in the rural 
and

[[Page S2844]]

smalltown areas of the Senator from South Dakota's State and my State 
of Illinois. Could we work together to do this? Could we work to come 
up with the money to make sure these medical professionals are there?
  When we talk about doctors and nurses, don't overlook the need for 
dentists. There are millions of people in my great State of Illinois 
who do not have ready access to dental care. The Illinois Dental 
Society once or twice each year has a free dental service weekend, and 
they--usually on a Saturday--will allow any patient to come in and have 
dental care given to them for nothing. People wait in a queue, in a 
line overnight for this opportunity.
  Can you imagine having a problem with your teeth, some pain or 
discomfort or perhaps a disfigurement, and being unable to afford the 
care you need? For many of these people, this is their last chance, to 
wait in line all night to get in for free dental services from the 
Illinois Dental Society. I have seen it. It is remarkable, and my hat 
is off to the dental society and the dentists who provide these 
services. What an eye-opener to see all of these people who are in 
desperate need of dental care.
  We need more dentists. We need to make certain that they are 
accessible and affordable for Americans wherever they may live. I 
support the suggestion of the Senator from South Dakota when it comes 
to telehealth, but let's make sure we have the men and women on the 
front end of the process who are still an important and critical and 
essential part of the kind of professional medical service and dental 
service we all need.
  There is another way to help make sure we have enough dentists and 
doctors. It is to make sure that those who are currently in the United 
States in dental school or medical school, who are protected by DACA, 
have a chance to remain in this country.
  By way of background, 20 years ago, I introduced a bill called the 
DREAM Act. The DREAM Act was designed for those brought to the United 
States as children, infants, and toddlers, who were brought into this 
country perhaps on a visitor's visa and overstayed their visa and 
didn't file the necessary documents and soon became undocumented in 
America. They didn't leave. They grew up here. They were little kids 
who grew up in this country going to our schools, being part of 
America, and believing America was their future.
  Usually, sometime in their adolescence, their parents would sit down 
and tell them the grim reality that they have no legal right to be in 
this country. Despite the fact that they knew no other country, spoke 
no other language, pledged allegiance to the same flag we do, they were 
technically not legally in America.
  We introduced the DREAM Act to give them a chance. If they completed 
school and had no serious criminal issues, they would be given a chance 
to become American citizens. The bill went back and forth. It would 
pass the House one year and pass the Senate the next year. It would 
come up the majority of the Senate but not 60 votes.

  It languished until I appealed to the President of the United 
States--then Barack Obama--and asked him if he would consider creating 
by Executive order some protection for these young people, and he did. 
This was the DACA Program, and under DACA, these same Dreamers I 
mentioned earlier would pay a substantial filing fee, go through a 
criminal background check, and be given, for 2 years, the--be spared of 
any threat of deportation and be given the right to legally work in 
this country.
  How many young people showed up for this Obama DACA Program and went 
through it successfully? There were 800,000. There were 800,000 from 
all around the country just to get a chance to go to school, to 
complete their dream, and to even serve in America's military. They 
just want to be part of this country--800,000.
  What was going to happen to this program when a new President named 
Donald Trump came to office? The very first time I met President Trump 
was just minutes after he had been sworn in as President. There was a 
lunch for him--an inaugural lunch--in Statuary Hall, and I went up to 
him and introduced himself.
  I said: Mr. President, I am begging you, do what you can to extend 
the protection of DACA to these 800,000 young people. They are counting 
on it.
  He leaned over, and he looked at me, and he said: Oh, Senator Durbin, 
don't worry. We are going to take care of these young people.
  Well, that was the President's assurance, but unfortunately he didn't 
keep his word. He decided, unfortunately, to abolish the DACA Program, 
saying that President Obama had no authority by Executive order to give 
this kind of protection.
  Then a number of people filed a case in court saying that the 
Executive order of the President should or should not be sustained. It 
had to be contested in court. Luckily, for the DACA recipients--800,000 
of them--while the court case has been pending, they have been 
protected by court order from being deported. But the decision is going 
to be made by the Supreme Court, and it could be made next week or in 
the 2 weeks that follow. So in the month of June, the fate of 800,000 
of these young people will be decided across the street in the Supreme 
Court.
  These are the young people who have become an important part of 
America. When the Republican Senator from South Dakota talks about 
shortages in medical personnel, I hope he knows that 41,000 of those 
DACA recipients are currently providing vital healthcare services in 
this pandemic that we are facing as a nation, and if they are judged to 
be deported and illegal to work in this country and leave, it will 
leave a gap in the medical services that this country desperately, 
desperately needs.
  Some of these young people are incredible. Their stories are nothing 
short of amazing. I would like to tell you of one here at this moment--
Mariana Galati. This is her photograph. Today, I want to tell you that 
she is the 122nd Dreamer whose story I have told on the Senate floor.
  Mariana came to the United States from Mexico when she was 5 years 
old. She grew up in Camden, NJ. It wasn't an easy life. She grew up in 
a single-parent household, and her mother did not speak English. Here 
is what she told me about it:

       I had to fend for myself at a young age. I feel like I 
     never got to have a childhood. I tried to never let that 
     backdrop define me or stop me from my dreams.

  What was her dream? To become a nurse. While working at a bakery, she 
went to a technical school to become a medical assistant, and then in 
2012 President Obama created DACA. Mariana was able to work as a 
medical assistant. Here is what she said about DACA:

       Before DACA, I had no future, purpose, or chance of a 
     better life. The fear with DACA is that it can go away--an 
     expiration date approaching that means that I would have to 
     go back to the way things were. Now I understand why we are 
     called Dreamers--it is because before DACA all we could do 
     was dream of the life we wanted to have--a dream about being 
     ``someone.''

  While working as a medical assistant, Mariana is studying to become a 
nurse. She is now a junior at Rutgers University Nursing School. Here 
is what she said about that experience:

       To be a nurse is a way of living. I do not look at it as a 
     job, it is beyond that for me--it's a calling. Advocating for 
     and giving people a voice is a reward within itself. Helping 
     people in their time of need where they are most vulnerable 
     is a privilege.

  Mariana is currently on the frontlines of fighting the COVID-19 
pandemic. She is a registered medical assistant at the Jefferson Cherry 
Hill Hospital COVID-19 testing center. She faces exposure to that virus 
every day that she goes to work. She takes every shift that she is 
offered. She said:

       I have to be there. I want to be there. I am not scared, 
     but I am scared at the same time. I know what the risks are.

  I want to thank Mariana Galati for her service. She is an immigrant 
health hero. She is putting herself and her family at risk to save 
American lives. She shouldn't have to worry about whether she is going 
to be deported next week.
  We can do better for Mariana and for thousands of other DACA 
recipients just like her. They are counting on those of us who serve in 
the Senate to solve this crisis that President Trump created.
  I cannot imagine, as I tell the 122nd story of a Dreamer on the floor 
of the Senate, that anyone listening believes we would be a better 
country if Mariana were deported. That is the option that the President 
has created. He has

[[Page S2845]]

failed and refused to consider any solution or any effort to rescue 
people like Mariana and to give them a chance to be part of America's 
future.
  When we look at those in essential services, medical and social 
services, it turns out that one in six of them are immigrants to this 
country. I know it is not a popular thing to say to this 
administration, but I have to remind him that we are a nation of 
immigrants. My mother was an immigrant to this country, and her son has 
been fortunate enough to be elected Senator and represent the great 
State of Illinois. That is my story. That is my family's story, but it 
is also America's story.

  We are in this together. People from across the world have come to 
this country to be part of its future. Mariana is an example--a young 
woman who could have thrown up her hands and said: I am undocumented. I 
am not going to have any way of legally being part of America. My 
dreams are just going to be put on hold.
  But she didn't. She was determined to make the best of her life. Then 
when President Obama created DACA, a door opened for her that she 
couldn't have imagined. She had the opportunity to move from medical 
assistant to become a nurse. She is studying at Rutgers for that 
purpose.
  Really, Mr. President, do you think New Jersey or America would be 
better if Mariana is deported out of this country?
  As soon as next week, maybe even next Monday, the U.S. Supreme Court 
is about to rule on the future of DACA. The President of the United 
States can solve this problem if they decide that DACA is to be 
abolished. He can fix this himself.
  There is another person who has a critical role, too, and that is 
Senator McConnell, the Republican leader in the Senate. He has the 
power to bring this issue to the floor of the Senate for a debate and a 
vote.
  The House of Representatives has already passed the Dream and Promise 
Act, which would solve the challenge that would be created if the 
Supreme Court abolishes the DACA Program. Are we overwhelmed with 
business in the U.S. Senate, as I peer at an empty Chamber with my 
wonderful speech being the only thing as an item of business at this 
moment? We have time. We have more than enough time to deal with this 
issue. For 800,000 protected by DACA, it is literally a life-and-death 
issue.
  I would appeal to Senator McConnell to use his power as the 
Republican leader to solve this problem, to address this issue, to say 
that, if you qualify for the DACA Program, you are going to be 
protected until the end of the year or, beyond that, given an 
opportunity to become citizens of the United States, a goal which I 
have been seeking for the 20 years that I have worked on the Dream Act.
  We know that we need the help of wonderful young people like Mariana 
Galati to make this a better nation. The question is whether the 
President ever will realize that or whether Senator McConnell would 
make room in our schedule for us to debate this issue.
  Let's get this right. Let's make sure that we have sensible 
immigration policies in America. The notion of abolishing DACA and 
saying to Mariana, ``you will now be deported back to a country you 
cannot even remember,'' is not the answer.
  I yield the floor.
  I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Sasse). The clerk will call the roll.
  The senior assistant legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. WYDEN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for 
the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.


                               H.R. 1957

  Mr. WYDEN. Mr. President, the Senate has taken up and will be voting 
soon--I hope successfully--on watershed environmental legislation that 
will provide for municipal, county, State, and national parks and 
public spaces in America for generations to come.
  This is legislation I have been working on for years--legislation 
that I pushed hard to advance as chairman of the Senate Energy and 
Natural Resources Committee and legislation for which I am now a 
cosponsor.
  The bill is going to repair public spaces, making them usable by all, 
while creating new public spaces that reflect the continuing story that 
is our great country.
  In my view, when the Senate debates this kind of legislation, the 
debate also has to include a discussion about a particularly important 
topic, and that is jobs.
  A major component of this bill is, of course, the Land and Water 
Conservation Fund, which puts funding into natural wonders all over the 
country, in cities and in rural areas. Today, I want to speak for a 
moment specifically about those rural areas and rural economies.

  The economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic has hit so many of our 
rural communities like a wrecking ball. These are communities that have 
been struggling going back a long time, and building back up after 
COVID-19 is going to be enormously challenging. So the Senate ought to 
be looking at every good idea that can help get these rural economies 
moving again.
  The Land and Water Conservation Fund isn't just about opening up the 
country's treasured areas for everyone to enjoy and to help people get 
outdoors. It has a proven track record of boosting the economy in 
communities near those lands. The Land and Water Conservation Fund is 
the ultimate win-win approach because with this program you focus on 
recreation that involves protecting our natural wonders and jobs. That 
is a big step forward. So what I wanted to do was just spend a few 
minutes talking about how we could do even more.
  For some time now, I have been working with my colleagues from the 
Pacific Northwest--Senator Crapo, Senator Merkley, and Senator Risch--
trying to help secure two economic lifelines for the rural communities 
of the Northwest and for much of our Nation. I am talking about Secure 
Rural Schools and Payments in Lieu of Taxes Programs. They are known as 
SRS and PILT.
  In the West, there are a lot of areas that have long depended on 
resource extraction and a lot of areas made up of Federal lands. So we 
went through a lot of boom-and-bust cycles that defined those economies 
for generations, and nearly always those boom-and-bust cycles proved to 
be harmful and unsustainable. So some time ago--a number of years ago--
former Senator Larry Craig and I wrote the bill that created the Secure 
Rural Schools Program. It provided years and years of reliable revenue 
for rural counties so they could plan budgets and provide services for 
people who live in their borders.
  But after a while, Secure Rural Schools got caught up in the 
knockdown, back-and-forth fiscal battles that happen in Congress too 
often. So once in a while, the program would lapse. It then meant that 
from all over the country, county leaders from rural communities came 
to Washington and had to plead for extensions of the Secure Rural 
Schools Program that has always been successful and a model.
  It involves local input. Extending this program should have been a 
no-brainer all along. It expired just last year before Congress stepped 
up at the last minute to reauthorize the program, but these start-and-
stop authorizations do nothing for certainty.
  I remember one year that to keep the Secure Rural Schools Program up, 
the distinguished Senator from Alaska, Ms. Murkowski, and I were 
involved in selling off the helium reserves. That gave us some money--
some key money--for the Secure Rural Schools Program in the West. I 
remember when we sold off the helium reserves to get money for Secure 
Rural Schools, a number of editorial writers out West had a lot of fun 
with it and basically said: Well, we always knew Ron Wyden was full of 
a lot of hot air.
  The point is, we have got to end that cycle, that boom-and-bust 
cycle, instead of going through these routines at the end of the 
period, when Secure Rural Schools was helping the roads and schools.
  I worked with Senator Crapo to propose reforms that would upgrade the 
Secure Rural Schools Program into a stable, predictable source of 
funding for rural counties. Our bill would establish a permanent 
endowment fund, like funding for county economic development and roads 
and schools. That is where the money goes. It goes into

[[Page S2846]]

economic development. It goes into roads and schools.
  By the way, when you are helping those rural communities with their 
budget, when they have those funds secure, it frees up money for them 
for important things like mental health. We have certainly seen a 
demand for mental health increase dramatically in the last few months.
  After Congress makes an initial investment into the fund under our 
proposal, which would establish a permanent endowment to provide 
funding for county economic development into roads and schools--
Congress makes that initial investment into the fund--the principle 
will be invested, and the interest will be used to make SRS payments to 
counties. So you have Senator Crapo, Senator Merkley, Senator Risch, 
and I proposing a way to move away from this roller coaster in the West 
to upgrade Secure Rural Schools into a stable, predictable source of 
funding. You have a permanent endowment fund that provides money for 
the roads and the schools and the counties, and the principles are 
invested, and the interest will be used to make SRS payments to 
counties.
  The proposal is backed by 100 percent of Oregon's U.S. Senators and 
100 percent of Idaho's U.S. Senators--four U.S. Senators, two Democrats 
and two Republicans, having worked closely with rural groups, the 
National Associations of Counties, and others to advance this idea.
  Our proposal also directs revenue-sharing payments from forest 
management to be deposited into the endowment each year. That way, the 
payments to the counties will grow, and the safety net they provide for 
their constituents can expand.
  In my view, these are the basics of an economic toolkit for rural 
areas. If you focus on roads, if you focus on schools, if you make sure 
that counties have the money for services so they can, for example, 
take care of mental health needs, that is the key to building up rural 
economies and helping to create good-paying jobs for residents.
  Now, payments in lieu of taxes is a program that exists for similar 
reasons. People who live in these rural counties dominated by public 
lands also deserve support. They, too, rely on local governmental 
services and deserve a safety net like everyone else. They ought to be 
able to budget and plan and create jobs like bigger cities can. Our 
amendment to really promote Secure Rural Schools and PILT would extend 
PILT for 10 years to give these counties the certainty and 
predictablity they need.
  I am going to wrap up here in a moment, but I just hope that the 
majority leader is going to set up a process for real debate on these 
ideas and these amendments.
  This is a bipartisan proposal. When we have offered in the past--
Senator Crapo, Senator Merkley, Senator Risch, and I and others--to 
extend this program, we nearly always get at least 70 votes here in the 
U.S. Senate because there is an awareness of how important it is that 
these rural communities have certainty for schools and roads and basic 
kinds of services that our efforts support.
  The COVID-19 pandemic is causing enormous pain everywhere, but we 
have seen big corporations--we talked about this yesterday in the 
Finance Committee. Some colleagues think: Well, we ought to cut the 
unemployment benefits in half, but it is fine to make available 
trillions of dollars to the biggest corporations in America.
  So the COVID pandemic is causing pain everywhere, but it seems to me, 
with so many resources going to big corporations and powerful interests 
in intensely populated areas, the U.S. Senate has an obligation to make 
sure rural economies and rural workers and rural businesses aren't just 
left behind. Upgrading Secure Rural Schools and extending PILT is a 
targeted way to advocate for rural communities.
  We are going to be home for several weeks in July, and my hope is to 
be able to have conversations with folks in person in those areas. I 
haven't been able to do as much of that. I have had 970 townhall 
meetings in person, just there to be able to respond and answer 
questions. So I really hope that we are going to be able to do that 
again soon.
  When we have those discussions, you can be very sure that, in those 
rural communities, front and center will be Secure Rural Schools, and 
front and center will be Payments in Lieu of Taxes. Folks will zero in 
on those areas because they will say, as they have to me since Larry 
Craig, our former colleague from Idaho, and I wrote this program: Ron, 
what Secure Rural Schools is doing is giving us a chance to make sure 
we have a real education program.
  Before we got that program going, people thought they would have 
school 3 days a week. So people will say: Ron, we need Secure Rural 
Schools. We need it for education. It is a key to our roads program.
  The roads program for these smaller counties is an absolute key to 
being able to have rural life. Without those rural roads and without 
rural schools, the heart of Secure Rural Schools, you can't have rural 
life. So these two programs are a solution based on providing certainty 
and predictability to help build thriving economies and good jobs in 
rural areas.
  I am going to keep pushing for support here in the Senate. I know my 
colleagues Senator Crapo, Senator Merkley, and Senator Risch are going 
to continue to do so as well.
  I yield the floor.
  I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. WHITEHOUSE. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order 
for the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  Mr. WHITEHOUSE. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent to speak for 
up to 20 minutes as in morning business.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  Mr. WHITEHOUSE. Mr. President, this week we consider a measure for 
permanent funding of the Land and Water Conservation Fund and for our 
national parks.
  I would support this measure joyously if there were a similar program 
for America's coasts and bays and oceans. As it is, I support this 
measure but with a heavy and frustrated heart as, once again, the 
urgent needs of coastal communities go unaddressed. Put bluntly, the 
Land and Water Conservation Fund massively favors inland and upland 
States and projects, as indicated by the prevalence of advocates for it 
here on the floor from landlocked States. It fails to meet the needs of 
coastal communities.
  Over the past decade, for every dollar the fund sent to inland 
States, per capita, coastal States just got 40 cents. The imbalance 
against coasts gets worse if you factor in that there is greater 
coastal than inland economic activity, and the imbalance against coasts 
worsens further when you factor in that much of the Land and Water 
Conservation Fund's spending in coastal States is for upland, inland 
projects. Coasts and saltwater are not treated fairly. The upland 
freshwater imbalance is not justified, and we ought to make it right.
  Look at Rhode Island. People from around the Nation and around the 
globe visit our wonderful beaches and beautiful Narragansett Bay, and 
they drive a huge amount of our economic activity. In 2018, Rhode 
Island's Commerce Corporation reckons 25 million people visited our 
State, supporting $100 million in State and local tax revenue and over 
86,000 jobs. In total, travelers to Rhode Island generated $6.8 billion 
in our economy. Our coast attracts that economic activity. It is a big 
deal for us.
  Rhode Island isn't alone. Over half of Americans live in a coastal 
county. Nearly 60 percent of the Nation's gross domestic product 
derives from coastal counties. According to the American Shore and 
Beach Preservation Association, ``more than twice as many people 
visited America's coasts as visit State and national parks combined; 
consequently 85 percent of all tourism related revenue in the U.S. is 
generated in coastal States where beaches are the leading attraction. 
Beach tourism supports 2.5 million jobs, $285 billion in direct revenue 
and . . . $45 billion in taxes annually.''
  For all that, the Land and Water Conservation Fund gives 40 cents to 
coastal States for every dollar that it sends to inland States. That 40 
cents is per capita, not adjusted for the great coastal economic 
activity and greater

[[Page S2847]]

coastal tax revenue, and it doesn't adjust for upland uses in coastal 
States. Coasts are overlooked.
  I wish it were just the Land and Water Conservation Fund. Look at the 
inland-to-coastal disparity in the Army Corps' Flood and Coastal Storm 
Damage Reduction Fund. Over the past 10 years, the Corps has spent out 
of that fund, in various years, between 19 and 120 times more on inland 
work than it has spent on coastal work. Let me repeat that: $19 to 1 
coastal dollar was our coast's best year and 120 inland dollars to 1 
coastal dollar was our worst.
  Coastal communities are exposed to storms, to sea level rise, to 
shifting fisheries, to all manner of other conservation and 
infrastructure challenges, but across the decade, they received less 
than 3 pennies out of each dollar spent from an Army Corps program that 
has ``coastal'' in its name.
  This persistent and unfair imbalance against coasts ignores the 
massive and unique risks that coastal communities, coastal features, 
coastal infrastructure, and coastal economies now face. Look at the 
dire warnings of coastal property value crash. Freddie Mac, which is 
not an environmental group, has estimated that somewhere between $238 
and $507 billion worth of coastal real estate will be gone, below sea 
level, by 2100. Freddie Mac warns about that: ``The economic losses and 
social disruption [of that] . . . are likely to be greater in coastal 
than those experienced in the housing crisis and Great Recession.''
  Are we listening?
  Along the east coast, the First Street Foundation estimates property 
values already took a $15 billion hit due to sea level rise. The 
Providence Journal, using First Street and Columbia University data, 
reported that Rhode Island lost over $44 million in relative coastal 
property value from 2005 to 2017. First Street data show that Maine, 
New Hampshire, Massachusetts, and Rhode Island lost a combined $403 
million during that stretch. Hundreds of millions of dollars are gone 
already, and the worst is yet to come.
  Look elsewhere along the coast. Do you want to know why Senator 
Cassidy is so motivated? His entire Louisiana coast is in a declared 
state of emergency. A recent headline from the Times Picayune said: `` 
`We're screwed': The only question is how quickly Louisiana wetlands 
will vanish, study says.''
  That Tulane University study says sea level rise will flood 5,800 
square miles of Louisiana coastal wetlands. The report concludes: 
``This is a major threat not only to one of the ecologically richest 
environments of the United States but also for the 1.2 million 
inhabitants and associated economic assets that are surrounded by 
Mississippi Delta marshland.''
  That is obvious, but are we listening to Senator Cassidy?
  In Florida, coastal communities already see flooded streets on sunny 
days. Researchers project over 2\1/2\ feet of sea level rise in the 
next 40 years affecting 120,000 Florida coastal properties in or near 
rising seas. Some studies say Miami Beach's iconic South Beach has 2 
decades left. Communities in southern Florida are considering 
abandoning public infrastructure to the sea because of the sticker 
shock of protecting it.
  Fish, manatees, dolphins, sea turtles, and other sea creatures have 
washed up dead on Florida beaches due to toxic algae as the oceans 
there warm. The iconic Everglades are imperiled
  Who is listening?
  In North Carolina, the Outer Banks face erosion and sea level rise 
such that the National Parks Service warns that swathes of the area 
will be inundated. As the Outer Banks wash into the sea, there go 
millions of annual visitors, thousands of local jobs, and a local 
economy worth over $250 million.
  Over 5,500 homes in coastal Texas are projected to flood in the next 
decade. These homes are worth $1.2 billion.
  Coastal South Carolina, just since 2017, has been hit by four 
different billion-dollar hurricanes.
  The list of what our coasts are facing goes on and on, and the 
projected losses are enormous. Here is Moody's Investor Service's 
warning for coastal communities issuing bonds:

       The growing effects of climate change, including climbing 
     global temperatures, and rising sea levels, are forecast to 
     have an increasing economic impact on U.S. State and local 
     issuers. This will be a growing negative credit factor for 
     issuers without sufficient adaptation and mitigation 
     strategies.

  I would like to ask my colleagues, if you are a small community on 
the coast, where are you going to go to get sufficient adaptation and 
mitigation strategies for Moody's? Where are we in helping those 
communities?
  Here is the Union of Concerned Scientists: ``By the end of the 21st 
century, nearly 2.5 million residential and commercial properties, 
collectively valued today at $1.07 trillion today, will be at risk of 
chronic flooding.''
  Chronic flooding makes those properties uninsurable and 
unmortgageable, which is one of the reasons for Freddie Mac's warning 
about a coastal property value crash. The Land and Water Conservation 
Fund is not listening.
  Our coastal public lands and resources, like coastal private 
property, face enormous peril, and the Land and Water Conservation Fund 
virtually ignores that peril. That is why I am offering a commonsense, 
bipartisan amendment--not a spoiler amendment, not a partisan 
amendment, not a ``gotcha'' amendment, not a poison pill. It is a 
commonsense, bipartisan amendment. My amendment takes nothing away from 
the Land and Water Conservation Fund. It leaves the Land and Water 
Conservation Fund and its upland bias intact. It separately provides 
coastal revenues dedicated from offshore wind and renewable energy 
development to support coastal States, coastal resiliency, coastal 
infrastructure, and coastal adaptation.
  Unless we do this, millions of dollars in offshore wind energy 
revenues will bypass coasts and go straight to the Federal Treasury, 
unlike offshore oil and gas energy revenues, which go in significant 
part both to Gulf Coast States and, ironically, to the predominantly 
upland and inland projects of the Land and Water Conservation Fund.
  Don't get me wrong. I don't begrudge our landlocked colleagues their 
funding. I do begrudge them refusing me the opportunity to add 
something for coasts. There should be a coastal and saltwater program 
to balance the upland and freshwater bias of the Land and Water 
Conservation Fund.
  Our landlocked colleagues are wrong to stop this amendment. It does 
them no harm. The situation along our coasts is dangerous and 
worsening. Let me repeat that. The situation along our coasts is 
dangerous and worsening. I am going to vote for this bill, but I will 
do so, as I said, with a heavy and frustrated heart.
  I will continue pushing as hard as I can for the day when we get 
parity for coastal communities because what we are doing here by 
refusing this amendment is both shortsighted and unfair.
  This is not my first rodeo on this subject. I have to tell you that I 
am sick to death of people telling me: You are right; we need to do 
something for coasts. And then, as soon as the Land and Water 
Conservation Fund passes, they are gone--``zippo,'' vanished.
  My environmental friends say: You are right, Sheldon. Just help us on 
this, and we will help you with coasts.
  And then you don't.
  My colleagues say: You are right, Sheldon. Just help us on this, and 
we will help you with coasts.
  And then you don't.
  And now, by making the Land and Water Conservation Fund permanent, we 
are permanently baking in its inland and its upland bias, and there is 
nothing added for coasts, and everyone is saying: Yes, you are right, 
Sheldon, but just help us on this, and we will help you with coasts.
  Well, my friends, bitter experience tells me otherwise. But you will 
have my vote, and you will have my help to protect your inland and 
fresh water resources, as we should, and we from coasts and saltwater 
States will, again, have to await our day. Today is not our day in 
coastal States. Today is not our day, but maybe one day--and one day 
soon, I pray--all this talk will finally turn into action for our 
coasts. A sense of decency and a sense of urgency would both seem to 
demand that.
  I yield the floor.
  I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The bill clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. GARDNER. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order 
for the quorum call be rescinded.

[[Page S2848]]

  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  Mr. GARDNER. Mr. President, the Senate is considering landmark 
legislation. I call it that because it is indeed landmark legislation, 
but also it is about the great landmarks of our Nation.
  We have a chance to lead this country this week with a historic 
package of bills. The Great American Outdoors Act combines the Land and 
Water Conservation Fund--our crown jewel of conservation programs--with 
the Restore Our Parks Act, legislation which would help to make a 
dent--help to catch up on our deferred maintenance backlog throughout 
our National Park System. It is more than just our national parks, 
though; it addresses the needs of our National Forest System, our 
Bureau of Land Management lands, Fish and Wildlife Service, as well as 
the Bureau of Indian Education.
  This legislation affects all four corners of Colorado, but it also 
affects every part of this country. In fact, this chart shows a map of 
the States that get support from the Great American Outdoors Act, shown 
in green. The States that don't get support from the Great American 
Outdoors Act are highlighted in orange. It may be hard to see because 
there are no orange-highlighted States. Every State in the Union 
receives support through the Great American Outdoors Act, from sea to 
shining sea.
  The Land and Water Conservation Fund, the Restore Our Parks Act, and 
the Great American Outdoors Act will provide billions of dollars in 
opportunities for recreation, hiking, fishing, camping, conservation, 
and access to lands that the public already held but didn't have access 
to until the Land and Water Conservation Fund. Ninety-nine percent of 
the land and water conservation funds go to lands the American people 
already hold, inholdings within a national park. In fact, one of the 
most recent purchases the Land and Water Conservation Fund performed in 
Colorado was in Rocky Mountain National Park, acquiring one of the land 
holdings within the national park, helping to complete the great Rocky 
Mountain National Park, the third most visited national park in the 
country.
  This legislation gives this Congress a chance to lead on a bill that 
affects everyone, from Maine to California, from Texas to Alaska, from 
Maine to Hawaii, Hawaii to Utah, Utah to Alaska, and beyond.
  I know there are some who believe this is a Federal land grab. That 
simply is not true. As I mentioned, 99 percent of the dollars in the 
Land and Water Conservation Fund go to purchasing inholdings.
  There are some who believe this is mandatory spending. Remember how 
this bill was passed. In 1965, the Land and Water Conservation Fund was 
authorized at $900 million a year. It was authorized to take certain 
dollars over time, and it became $900 million, but it only reached that 
level twice in the history of the program.
  Throughout the past 55 years, though, dollars had been diverted away 
from the Land and Water Conservation Fund. What this legislation does 
through its permanent funding is make sure the dollars we authorized 
beginning in 1965 and reaffirmed by this Congress in the permanent 
authorization in the John Dingell Conservation, Management, and 
Recreation Act by a vote of 92 to 8--to make sure those funds would not 
get diverted and to stop funds from being syphoned off and instead go 
to what they were intended to go to in the Land and Water Conversation 
Fund beginning in 1965. We have an opportunity to stop that diversion.
  This is not new. This is paid for--not by the taxpayers but by oil 
and gas revenues. These dollars are generated from the revenues that 
come from offshore. Those energy revenues--the boat excise tax, the 
boat fuel excise tax, and a couple of other allocations--it is not 
coming from the taxpayers.
  It is an opportunity to protect our land, our most precious spaces, 
to catch up on our deferred maintenance of national parks, and to make 
sure we are doing that across the country without costing the taxpayers 
money.
  This land is purchased. There is no Federal land grab. There is no 
eminent domain. They don't use eminent domain for this. There is no 
premium that the Federal Government gets to buy land to crowd out other 
people. There is a formula that is used that doesn't allow for 
premiums. So this, indeed, is another stick in the bundle of property 
rights for landowners.
  We also know the positive impact this bill has right now on our 
economy. You know, when we started working on this legislation, we were 
talking about its economic impact and what it would mean, but we were 
talking about it in terms of the overall outdoor recreation economy, 
which in Colorado is $28 billion and growing. There are 5.2 million 
Americans employed in the recreation economy.
  When COVID hit, we saw what happened in western Colorado as ski 
slopes shut down 2 months early and as hotels and restaurants emptied. 
This bill will create over 100,000 jobs, restoring our national parks, 
repairing trails and forest systems. It does so at a time when we have 
high unemployment rates in those communities surrounded by public lands 
because of the shutdown as a result of the coronavirus.
  This is an economic and jobs package as much as it is a conservation 
package. For every $1 million we spend in the Land and Water 
Conservation Fund, it supports between 16 and 30 jobs. It is our chance 
to not only protect our environment, to catch up on deferred 
maintenance, but also to grow our economy when our economy needs the 
growth.
  After spending the last several months in the great indoors, it is 
time to get out to the great outdoors, and this bill accomplishes both 
of those goals.
  It is historic in another way. We received support from over 850 
groups across the country representing significant spectrums of 
purposes and ideologies, from sportsmen, to The Nature Conservancy, to 
all the groups who touted this effort. This is a list of over 850 
groups strongly supporting this legislation.
  Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that this letter from these 
850-plus organizations be printed in the Record
  There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in 
the Record, as follows:

                             [May 11, 2020]

              Support for the Great American Outdoors Act

       Dear Majority Leader McConnell, Speaker Pelosi, Minority 
     Leader Schumer, and Minority Leader McCarthy: Our 
     organizations, and the members we represent, strongly support 
     passage and subsequent enactment of the Great American 
     Outdoors Act (S. 3422) as quickly as possible. This bill is 
     necessary to support the public lands we all rely upon by 
     achieving the twin goals of protecting America's special 
     places and repairing deteriorating infrastructure. We urge 
     you to vote in favor of this crucial legislation and to 
     oppose any amendments to it.
       The bill will help address priority repairs in our national 
     parks and on other public lands by directing up to $9.5 
     billion over five years to address maintenance needs within 
     the National Park System, other public land agencies, and 
     Bureau of Indian Education schools. It will also fully and, 
     permanently dedicate $900 million per year already being 
     deposited into the Land and Water Conservation Fund, our 
     nation's most important conservation program, to ensure 
     protection of and access to irreplaceable lands and local 
     recreation opportunities.
       This legislation was introduced on March 9 and has the 
     strong bipartisan support of a majority of the Senate. It is 
     consistent with legislation supported by a surpassing 
     bipartisan majority in the House, and the President has 
     specifically requested this bill for his signature, creating 
     an unprecedented opportunity for a historic win for the 
     American public and the places they care about.
       The Great American Outdoors Act will ensure a future for 
     nature to thrive, kids to play, and hunters and anglers to 
     enjoy. National parks and public lands provide access to the 
     outdoors for hundreds of millions of people every year and 
     habitat for some of our country's most iconic wildlife. These 
     treasured places also tell the stories that define and unite 
     us as a nation. Funds provided in this bill will secure these 
     vital resources while preserving water quantity and quality, 
     sustaining working landscapes and rural economies, increasing 
     access for recreation for all Americans no matter where they 
     live, and fueling the juggernaut of our outdoor economy.
       In 2018, over 318 million national park visits led to $20.2 
     billion in direct spending at hotels, restaurants, 
     outfitters, and other amenities in gateway communities, 
     supporting over 329,000 jobs and generating over $40.1 
     billion in total economic output. Nationally, outdoor 
     recreation contributes $778 billion in consumer spending and 
     supports 5.2 million jobs.
       The Great American Outdoors Act will ensure that our parks 
     and other public lands continue to preserve our nation's 
     heritage and recreation opportunities, and that local 
     communities and economies in these areas will continue to 
     flourish.

[[Page S2849]]

       We urge you to support our parks and public lands by voting 
     for the Great American Outdoors Act (S. 3422) as a clean bill 
     with no amendments. Thank you for considering this request.
           Sincerely,


                                National

       American Battlefield Trust; American Conservation 
     Coalition; American Endurance Ride Conference; American 
     Forests; American Hiking Society; American Horse Council; 
     American Littoral Society; American Mountain Guides 
     Association; American Rivers; American Society of Civil 
     Engineers; American Sportfishing Association; American 
     Trails; American Woodcock Society; Appalachian Mountain Club; 
     Appalachian Trail Conservancy; Archery Trade Association; 
     Audubon Naturalist Society; Back Country Horsemen of America; 
     Backcountry Hunters & Anglers; Bonefish & Tarpon Trust; Boone 
     and Crockett Club; City Parks Alliance; Clean Water Action; 
     Cliff Garten and Associates Inc.; Coalition for American 
     Heritage; Coalition to Protect America's National Parks; 
     Coalitions & Collaboratives.
       Congressional Sportsmen's Foundation; Continental Divide 
     Trail Coalition; Defenders of Wildlife; Diving Equipment & 
     Marketing Association; Docomomo US; Environment America; Fly 
     Fishers International; GreenLatinos; Heart of the Rockies 
     Initiative; HECHO (Hispanics enjoying Camping Hunting and the 
     Outdoors); Hipcamp; Hispanic Access Foundation; Hispanic 
     Federation; Izaak Walton League of America; Just Get 
     Outdoors; Land Trust Alliance; League of Conservation Voters; 
     Marine Retailers Association of the Americas; Moonshot 
     Missions; Motorcycle Industry Council; National Association 
     of RV Parks and Campgrounds; National Coast Trail 
     Association; National Deer Alliance; National Forest 
     Recreation Association; National Marine Manufacturers 
     Association; National Park Foundation; National Park 
     Hospitality Association.
       National Parks Conservation Association; National 
     Recreation and Park Association; National Shooting Sports 
     Foundation; National Trust for Historic Preservation; 
     National Washington-Rochambeau Revolutionary; Route 
     Association; National Wildlife Federation; National Wildlife 
     Refuge Association; Natural Gear Camouflage; Natural 
     Resources Defense Council; Outdoor Alliance; Outdoor Industry 
     Association; Outdoor Recreation Roundtable; Pacific Crest 
     Trail Association; Partnership for the National Trails 
     System; Patagonia; PeopleForBikes; Piragis Northwoods Co; 
     Public Lands Alliance; Quality Deer Management Association; 
     Recreational Off-Highway Vehicle Association; REI Co-op; 
     Ruffed Grouse Society; RV Industry Association; Scenic 
     America; Sierra Club; Society of Outdoor Recreation 
     Professionals; Specialty Equipment Marketing Association.
       Specialty Vehicle Institute of America; Student 
     Conservation Association; Surfrider Foundation; The 
     Archaeological Conservancy; The Brice Institute; The 
     Conservation Alliance; The Conservation Fund; The Corps 
     Network; The Cougar Fund; The Evangelical Environmental 
     Network; The Garden Club of America, Inc.; The Lyme Timber 
     Company; The Nature Conservancy; The Pew Charitable Trusts; 
     The Trumpeter Swan Society; The Trust for Public Land; The 
     Trust for the National Mall; The Wilderness Land Trust; The 
     Wilderness Society; The Wildlife Society; Theodore Roosevelt 
     Conservation Partnership; United States Tour Operators 
     Association; UrbanPromise Ministries; US Water Alliance; 
     Wildlands Network; Winter Wildlands Alliance.


                                Regional

       Accokeek Foundation; American Farmland Trust--Pacific 
     Northwest; Assateague Coastal Trust; Blue Mountain Land 
     Trust; Chesapeake Conservancy; Damascus Citizens For 
     Sustainability; Eastern PA Coalition for Abandoned Mine; 
     Reclamation; Great Divide Pictures; Great Smoky Mountains 
     Association; Kaniksu Land Trust; MassConn Sustainable Forest 
     Partnership; Montana Conservation Corps; Natchez Trace 
     Parkway Association; National Bobwhite Conservation 
     Initiative; New England Forestry Foundation; Nez Perce Trail 
     Foundation; Northeastern Minnesotans for Wilderness; Northern 
     Forest Center; Northwest Youth Corps; Northwoods Alliance 
     Inc.; Nuestra Tierra Conservation Project; Old Spanish Trail 
     Association.
       Opacum Land Trust; Open Space Institute; Openlands; 
     Partners in Forestry Coop; Partnership for the Delaware 
     Estuary; Potomac Chapter, American Society of Landscape 
     Architects; Potomac Riverkeeper Network; Potomac Valley 
     Audubon Society; Rock Creek Conservancy; San Juan Citizens 
     Alliance; Santa Fe Trail Assoc; Singletrack Trails Inc.; 
     Southeast Tourism Society; Southeastern Climbers Coalition; 
     Southern Appalachian Highlands Conservancy; Sustainable 
     Northwest; The Anza Trail Foundation; The Lands Council; The 
     Mountain Pact; Upper Saco Valley Land Trust; Western National 
     Parks Association; Western Rivers Conservancy; Wild Salmon 
     Center.


                            State and Local

       10,000 Friends of Pennsylvania; 15 Minute Field Trips; 1785 
     Inn; 350 Maine; 508 Main St; A Walk in the Woods; 
     AdventureKEEN; Adventures on the Gorge; Ala Kahakai Trail 
     Association; Alachua Conservation Trust; Alamosa Convention & 
     Visitors Bureau; Alaska Alpine Adventures, LLC; Alaska State 
     Parks; Alaska Trails; Alice Austen House; Alice Ferguson 
     Foundation; All Good; Allegheny-Blue Ridge Alliance; Alliance 
     for the Shenandoah Valley; Amazing Earthfest; American 
     Anthropological Association; American Society of Landscape 
     Architects; American Society of Landscape Architects--Prairie 
     Gateway Chapter; American Society of Landscape Architects--
     Alabama Chapter; American Society of Landscape Architects--
     Kentucky Chapter; Anacostia Watershed Society; Andy Laub 
     Films.
       Angler Action Foundation; Animaashi Sailing Company; Anza-
     Borrego Foundation; Aquanauts Adaptive Aquatics, Inc.; 
     AQuashicola/Pohopoco Watershed Conservancy; Arboretum 
     Foundation; Archaeological Society of New Jersey; Archaeology 
     Southwest; Arizona Heritage Alliance; Arizona Land and Water 
     Trust; Arizona Trail Association; Arkansas Hospitality 
     Association; Arkansas Wildlife Federation; Arroyos and 
     Foothills Conservancy; Asheville Area Chamber of Commerce; 
     Ashford Conservation Commission; Aspen Valley Land Trust; 
     Atlantic Salmon Federation; Audubon Everglades; Audubon 
     Society of Rhode Island; Audubon South Carolina; Back Country 
     Horsemen of Colorado; Back Country Horsemen of Uwharrie, NC; 
     Backcountry Horsemen of California; Baltimore Tree Trust; Bar 
     Harbor Chamber of Commerce; Bass Anglers Sportsman Society 
     (B.A.S.S.); Bay Area Ridge Trail Council; Bay County 
     Conservancy, Inc.; Bayou Land Conservancy; Bear Warriors 
     United; Bicycle Coalition of Maine.
       Big Hole River Foundation; Big Sur Land Trust; Big Thicket 
     Natural Heritage Trust; Bighorn River Alliance; Bird 
     Conservation Fund; Blowing Rock Chamber of Commerce; Blue 
     Bike Burrito; Blue Goose Alliance; Blue Ridge Conservancy; 
     Blue Scholars Initiative; Blue Water Baltimore; Bold Archery 
     Design; Boone Area Chamber of Commerce; Boston Harbor Now; 
     Boulder County; Boulder County Parks & Open Space; Bowling 
     Green Area Convention and Visitor Bureau; Brandywine 
     Conservancy; Bryson City Outdoors Inc.; Bucks County Audubon 
     Society; Building Bridges Across the River; Burney Chamber of 
     Commerce.
       Business for Montana's Outdoors; California Habitat 
     Conservation Planning Coalition; California League of 
     Conservation Voters; California Mountain Biking Alliance; 
     California Native Plant Society; California Waterfowl 
     Association; California Wilderness Coalition; Californians 
     for Western Wilderness; Camp Denali; Cape Coral Friends of 
     Wildlife; Capital Region Land Conservancy; Carefree of 
     Colorado; Catawba Lands Conservancy; Catawba Lands 
     Conservancy and Carolina Thread Trail; Catskill Center for 
     Conservation and Development, Inc.; Central Arizona Land 
     Trust; Charleston Audubon; Charlevoix Main Street DDA; 
     Chattahoochee Parks Conservancy; Chelan-Douglas Land Trust; 
     Cherry Republic; Chesapeake Legal Alliance; Chesapeake 
     Wildlife Heritage; Chesterfield Chamber of Commerce; Chicago 
     Neighborhood Initiatives; Chickasaw Nation.
       Chispa Arizona; Chuck Robbins Chapter 656 of Trout 
     Unlimited; Citizens for Pennsylvania's Future (PennFuture); 
     Citizens For Water; Citizens United to Protect the Maurice 
     River; City of Michigan City Indiana Department of Parks and 
     Recreation; City of Roseburg; Clean Ocean Access; Coalition 
     of Oregon Land Trusts; College Republicans at Belmont 
     University; Collette Travel; Colorado Mountain Club; Colorado 
     Youth Corps Association; Columbia Land Trust; Community 
     Training Works Inc.; Concerned Off-Road Bicyclists 
     Association; Concrete Safaris Inc.; Congaree Land Trust; 
     Connecticut Audubon Society; Connecticut Forest & Park 
     Association; Connecticut Land Conservation Council; 
     Connecticut Ornithology Association; Conservancy for Cuyahoga 
     Valley National Park; Conservation Alabama; Conservation 
     Council For Hawaii; Conservation Legacy; Conservation 
     Minnesota; Conservation Northwest; Conservation Trust for NC; 
     Conservation Voters of South Carolina; Conserving Carolina; 
     Contour Design Studio LLC.
       Cornerstone Studios; Cowboy Trail Rides; Cradle of Texas 
     Conservancy, Inc.; Cycle for One Planet; Cypress Chapter, 
     Izaak Walton League; Dade Heritage Trust, Inc.; Dana Bronfman 
     LLC; Darby Communications; Davidson Lands Conservancy; 
     Delaware Center for the Inland Bays; Delaware Electric 
     Vehicle Association (DEEVA); Delaware Greenways; Delaware 
     Nature Society; Delaware Wild Lands, Inc.; Delta Waterfowl; 
     Denali Citizens Council; Denali Mountain Works; Deschutes 
     Land Trust; Dishman Hills Conservancy; Dolores River Boating 
     Advocates; Door County Kayak Tours, llc.; Downeast Salmon 
     Federation; Dry Creek Trial Riders; E Mau Na Ala Hele; Eagle 
     Valley Land Trust; EarthCorps.
       East Bay Regional Park District; East Bay Regional Parks 
     Association; East Coast Greenway Alliance; East Cooper Land 
     Trust; Eastern RI Conservation District; Eastern Sierra Land 
     Trust; Eastham Chamber of Commerce; Ecological Connections; 
     Edward Hopper House; Elks Run Watershed Group; Empire Chamber 
     of Commerce; Enchanted Circle Trails Association; Endangered 
     Habitats League; Eno River Association; Environment 
     California; Environment Colorado; Environment Connecticut; 
     Environment Florida; Environment for the Americas; 
     Environment Georgia; Environment Maine; Environment Maryland; 
     Environment Massachusetts; Environment Michigan; Environment 
     Minnesota; Environment Missouri; Environment Montana; 
     Environment NC; Environment Nevada; Environment New Jersey; 
     Environment New Mexico; Environment Oregon; Environment 
     Texas; Environment Virginia; Environmental Justice Center at 
     Chestnut Hill.

[[Page S2850]]

       United Church; Estes Park ATV rentals; Evergreen Mountain 
     Bike Alliance; Excelsior Sewing LLC.; Experience Learning; 
     Explore Asheville; Flathead Lakers; Flathead Land Trust; 
     Florida Bay Forever; Florida Chapter of the American Society 
     of Landscape Architects; Florida Keys Environmental Fund, 
     Inc.; Florida Trail Association; Florida Trust for Historic 
     Preservation; Florida Wildlife Federation; Foothills 
     Conservancy of North Carolina; Footloose Montana; Forest 
     issues Group; Forests Forever; ForeverGreen Trails; Forterra; 
     Four Corners Back Country Horsemen; Frankfort-Elberta Area 
     Chamber of Commerce; Friends of Acadia; Friends of Apostle 
     Islands National Lakeshore; Friends of Arthur R. Marshall 
     Loxahatchee; National Wildlife Refuge.
       Friends of Blackwater, Inc.; Friends of Friendship of 
     Salem; Friends of Hawai'i Volcanoes National Park; Friends of 
     Ironwood Forest; Friends of Johnston, Inc.; Friends of 
     Katahdin Woods and Waters; Friends of Kenilworth Aquatic 
     Gardens; Friends of Lafitte Greenway; Friends of Lower Haw 
     River State Natural Area; Friends of Malheur National 
     Wildlife Refuge; Friends of Metro Parks; Friends of Nevada 
     Wilderness; Friends of Nulhegan Basin Fish and Wildlife 
     Refuge, Inc.; Friends of Quincy Run Watershed; Friends of 
     Shiloh National Park; Friends of the A.R.M. Loxahatchee 
     National Wildlife Refuge; Friends of the Big Sioux River; 
     Friends of the Boston Harbor Islands Inc.; Friends of the 
     Cheat; Friends of the Chickasaw National Recreation Area; 
     Friends of the Desert Mountains; Friends of the Heinz Refuge; 
     Friends of the Inyo; Friends of the Mariana Trench; Friends 
     of the Mississippi River; Friends of the Moshassuck; Friends 
     of the Mountains-to-Sea Trail; Friends of the Oregon Caves 
     and Chateau; Friends of the Rappahannock; Friends of the San 
     Pedro River, Inc.; Friends of the Sonoran Desert.
       Friends of the Upper Delaware River; Friends of Valle de 
     Oro National Wildlife Refuge; Friends of Women's Rights 
     National Historical Park, Inc.; Gaia Graphics Associates; 
     Gallatin Valley Land Trust; Gathering Waters: Wisconsin's 
     Alliance for Land Trusts; Genesee Valley Audubon Society; 
     George Grant Chapter Trout Unlimited; Georges River Land 
     Trust; Georgia Chapter--American Society of Landscape 
     Architects (ASLA); Georgia Conservation Voters; Georgia River 
     Network; GERRY Outdoors; Gilroy Growing Smarter, Gilroy 
     Historical Society; Golden Properties; Goulding's Lodge; 
     Grand Canyon Conservancy; Great Basin Institute; Great Egg 
     Harbor Watershed Association; Great Outdoor Store; Great Pond 
     Mountain Conservation Trust; Greater Hells Canyon Council; 
     Greater Lovell Land Trust.
       Greater Munising Bay Partnership/Alger County Chamber; 
     Greater New Jersey Motorcoach Association; Greater 
     Philadelphia Cultural Alliance; Greater Yellowstone 
     Coalition; Green Horizon Land Trust, Inc.; Green Valleys 
     Watershed Association; Greens N Grains; Greensboro Land 
     Trust; Greenwood SC Chamber of Commerce; Groundwork Lawrence; 
     Guadalupe-Blanco River Trust; Guam Preservation Trust; 
     Guardians of the Brandywine; Harriet Tubman Boosters, Inc.; 
     Hawaii Audubon Society; Hawaii Department of Land and Natural 
     Resources; Henderson County Tourism Development Authority; 
     Hendry-Glades Audubon Society; Henrys Fork Wildlife Alliance; 
     Hill Country Conservancy; Hill Country Land Trust; Historic 
     Atlanta; Historic Boston Inc.; Historic Madison, Inc; 
     Historic Pullman Foundation; History Nebraska; Hoosier 
     Environmental Council; HospitalityMaine; Hudson Highlands 
     Land Trust.
       Idaho--Montana Chapter of American Society of Landscape 
     Architects; Idaho Coalition of Land Trusts; Illinois Division 
     of the Izaak Walton League; Illinois Environmental Council; 
     Indiana Chapter ASLA; Indiana Dunes Tourism; Indiana Forest 
     Alliance; Indiana Parks Alliance; Indigo Bluffs RV Park & 
     Resort; Institute for Ecological Health; Interfaith Partners 
     for the Chesapeake; International Inbound Travel Association; 
     Izaak Walton League--Cypress Chapter; Jackson Hole 
     Conservation Alliance; James River Association; Jefferson 
     County Convention & Visitors Bureau; Jefferson County 
     Democratic Party; Jefferson County Open Space; John Burroughs 
     Association; Joshua's Tract Conservation & Historic Trust, 
     Inc.; Kalmiopsis Audubon Society; Kansas Land Trust; Katmai 
     Conservancy; Kennebec Land Trust; Kentucky Association of 
     Convention and Visitors Bureaus; Kentucky Travel Industry 
     Association; Kern Audubon Society; Kestrel Land Trust; 
     Kingsport Chamber; Kingston Greenways Association; LA 
     Conservation Corps.
       Lafayette Flats Boutique Vacation Rentals; Lafayette Inn; 
     Lake Charles/SWLA CVB; Lake Hopatcong Foundation; Land Trust 
     of Napa County; Landmarks Illinois; LANL Foundation; League 
     of Women Voters Iowa; Lemhi Regional Land Trust; Leominster 
     Trail Stewards; Lewis and Clark Trail Heritage Foundation, 
     Inc.; Lewis and Clark Trust, Inc.; Linn County Conservation 
     Board; Littleton Conservation Trust; Loon Echo Land Trust; 
     Los Angeles Neighborhood Land Trust; Los Angeles River State 
     Park Partners; Los Padres ForestWatch; Loudoun Wildlife 
     Conservancy; Louisiana Hypoxia Working Group; Louisville 
     Tourism; Lowcountry Land Trust; Lowelifes Respectable 
     Citizens Club; Lowell Parks & Conservation Trust; Lower 
     Nehalem Community Trust; Lummi Island Heritage Trust.
       LuvTrails Inc; LWV Mid-Hudson Region; MA Association of 
     Conservation Commissions; Magic City Fly Fishers Trout 
     Unlimited 582; Mahoosuc Land Trust; Mahoosuc Pathways, Inc.; 
     Maine Appalachian Trail Land Trust; Maine Audubon; Maine 
     Conservation Voters; Maine Outdoor Brands; Maine Outdoor 
     Coalition; Maine Outdoors; Maine Recreation and Parks 
     Association; Maine Tourism Association; Mainspring 
     Conservation Trust, Inc.; Manassas Battlefield Trust; Maple 
     Street Bed and Breakfast; Maryland League of Conservation 
     Voters; Maryland Native Plant Society; Massachusetts 
     Historical Society; Massachusetts Land Trust Coalition; 
     Mayfly Outdoors; Mayo Civic Association, Inc.; McKenzie River 
     Trust; MCM Company, Inc.; Mendocino Land Trust; Miami 
     Waterkeeper; Michigan Bed & Breakfast Assoc; Michigan League 
     of Conservation Voters; Midpeninsula Regional Open Space 
     District; Mile High Youth Corps; Miles Partnership; Mill 
     Basin Civic Association; Millennium Development; Milwaukee 
     Preservation Alliance; Milwaukee Riverkeeper; Minnechaug Land 
     Trust; Minnesota Chapter of The Wildlife Society; Minnesota 
     Office of School Trust Lands.
       Minnesota School Trust Lands Commission; Miriam's Inspired 
     Skin Care; Missouri Life magazine; Missouri Parks 
     Association; Missouri Prairie Foundation; MN House District 
     10B; Mojave Desert Land Trust; Molokai Land Trust; Monmouth 
     Conservation Foundation; Monocacy National Battlefield 
     Foundation; Monson Conservation Commission; Montachusett 
     Regional Trails Coalition; Montana Association of Land 
     Trusts; Montana Outdoors Foundation; Montana Trout Unlimited; 
     Montana Wilderness Association; Montana Wildlife Federation; 
     Mormon Pioneer National Heritage Area; Mormon Trails 
     Association; Morris County Tourism Bureau; Mountain Mamas; 
     Mountains to Sound Greenway Trust; MS Tourism Association; 
     Musconetcong Watershed Association; Mystery Ranch; 
     Natchitoches Convention and Visitors Bureau; National 
     Aquarium; National Aviation Heritage Alliance; National Pony 
     Express Assoc.; Native Fish Society; Native Prairies 
     Association of Texas; Natural Lands; Natural Resources 
     Council of Maine.
       Nature for All; Naturesource Communications; NEMO 
     Equipment, Inc.; Nevada Outdoor School; New Hampshire 
     Audubon; New Hampshire Rivers Council; New Jersey Audubon; 
     New Jersey Campground Owners and Outdoor Lodging Association; 
     New Jersey Conservation Foundation; New Jersey Highlands 
     Coalition; New Jersey Recreation & Park Association; New 
     Jersey Sustainable Business Council; New Mexico 
     Archaeological Council; New Mexico Horse Council; New Mexico 
     Wild; New River Conservancy; New York League of Conservation 
     Voters; New York-New Jersey Trail Conference; Nisqually Land 
     Trust; No Barriers USA; Norcross Wildlife Foundation; North 
     American Grouse Partnership; North Carolina Coastal Land 
     Trust; North Carolina Friends of State Parks; North Carolina 
     Outdoor Recreation Coalition; North Carolina Wildlife 
     Federation; North Cascades Institute.
       North Country Trail Association; North Florida Land Trust; 
     North Shore Community Land Trust; North Shore Land Alliance; 
     Northern Forest Canoe Trail; Northern Prairies Land Trust; 
     Northern Rockies Conservation Cooperative; Northern Virginia 
     Conservation Trust; Northstar Canoes; Northwest Rafting 
     Company; Northwest Watershed Institute; Norwell Conservation 
     Commission; NW WI Equestrian Friends Network; NY/NJ 
     Baykeeper; NYH2o; Ocmulgee Mounds Association; Ocmulgee 
     National Park & Preserve Initiative; Ocmulgee Outdoor 
     Expeditions, LLC; Ohio Mayors Alliance; Ohio Veterans 
     Outdoors, Inc.; Opossum Creek Retreat LLC; Oregon Chapter of 
     American Society of Landscape Architects; Oregon Desert Land 
     Trust; Oregon Equestrian Trails; Oregon Outdoors Coalition; 
     Otsego County Conservation Association; Our Montana, Inc; 
     Outdoor Afro; Outdoor Alliance California; Outdoor Gear 
     Builders of WNC; Outer Banks Visitors Bureau; Over Mountain 
     Victory Trail Association; Pacific Forest Trust; Pacific 
     Northwest Trail Association; Pajarito Environmental Education 
     Center; Park Rx America; Park Watershed; Parks & Trails New 
     York; Parks California; Paula Lane Action Network (PLAN); 
     Pawtuxet River Authority; Peace River Audubon Society.
       Pee Dee Land Trust; Peninsula Open Space Trust; 
     PennEnvironment; Pennsylvania Council of Churches; 
     Pennsylvania Parks and Forests Foundation; Pennsylvania 
     Recreation and Park Society; Peoria Audubon Society; 
     Petersburg Battlefields Foundation; Pheasants Forever and 
     Quail Forever; Pie Ranch; Piedmont Land Conservancy; Pikes 
     Peak Outdoor Recreation Alliance; Pinelands Preservation 
     Alliance; Platte Land Trust; Pocono Heritage Land Trust; 
     Prairie Rivers of Iowa; Preservation New Jersey; Preserve 
     Arkansas; Presumpscot Regional Land Trust; Public Land 
     Solutions; Quimby Family Foundation; R&R Fly Fishing Guide 
     Service; Rangeley Area Chamber of Commerce; Rappahannock 
     League for Environmental Protection; Rappahannock Tribe; Red 
     Rooster Coffee House; Revolution House Media; Rhode Island 
     Bicycle Coalition; Rio Grande Valley Broadband of the Great 
     Old Broads for Wilderness.
       River Through Atlanta Guide Service; RiverLink; Rocky 
     Mountain Conservancy; Rocky Mountain Field Institute; Rocky 
     Mountain Youth Corps; Ruffwear; Rutabaga Paddlesports; 
     Sagebrush Steppe Land Trust; San Bernardino Mountains Land 
     Trust; San Bernardino Valley Audubon Society; San

[[Page S2851]]

     Diego Audubon Society; San Diego Mountain Biking Association; 
     San Juan Back Country Horsemen; San Luis Valley Great 
     Outdoors; Sanibel-Captiva Conservation Foundation; Santa 
     Clara Valley Open Space Authority; Santosha on the Ridge; 
     Save Historic Antietam Foundation, Inc.; Save Our Heritage 
     Organization (SOHO); Save The Lakes Rhode Island; Save the 
     Redwoods League; Scenic Galveston, Inc.; Scenic Rivers Land 
     Trust; Scenic Virginia; Schuylkill Headwaters Association; 
     Scottsbluff/Gering United Chamber; Sea and Sage Audubon 
     Society; See Plymouth; Sequoia Riverlands Trust; Sereia 
     Films; Sevier County.
       Shenandoah Valley Bicycle Coalition; Sheridan Community 
     Land Trust; Shine Beer Sanctuary & Bottleshop; Shirley Heinze 
     Land Trust; Sierra Foothills Audubon Society; Siskiyou 
     Outdoor Recreation Alliance; Skagit Audubon Society; Sleepy 
     Creek Watershed Association; Smith River Alliance; Snake 
     River Fund; Snowy Mountain Chapter Trout Unlimited #610; Soap 
     Creek Outfitters LLC; Society for Historical Archaeology; 
     Society for the Protection of NH Forests; Sonoma Land Trust; 
     Soul River Inc.; South Carolina Wildlife Federation; South 
     Coast Tours; South Dakota Hotel & Lodging Association; South 
     Florida Wildlands Association; Southern Maine Conservation 
     Collaborative; Southern Nevada Conservancy; Southern Off-Road 
     Bicycle Association; Speak Up Wekiva, Inc.; Spice Acres in 
     the CVNP; St. Croix River Association; St. Mary's River 
     Watershed Association; Studio ray; Superior Hiking Trail 
     Association; Susquehanna National Heritage Area; Tangled Up 
     In Hue; Teens to Trails; Tennessee Citizens for Wilderness 
     Planning; Tennessee College Democrats; Tennessee College 
     Republican Committee; Tennessee Conservation Voters; Texas 
     Land Conservancy; Texas Land Trust Council; The Carpenters' 
     Company; The Cultural Landscape Foundation; The Custer 
     Beacon.
       The Friends of Rachel Carson National Wildlife Refuge; The 
     Good Talk, LLC; The Jersey Shore Partnership; The Land 
     Conservancy for Southern Chester County (TLC); The Land 
     Conservancy of New Jersey; The Land Trust for Santa Barbara 
     County; The Mountaineers; The Oblong Land Conservancy; The 
     Ohio Environmental Council Action Fund; The Open Space 
     Council for the St. Louis Region; The Otos Group, LLC; The 
     Piedmont Environmental Council; The Star-Spangled Banner Flag 
     House; The Trustees; The UNPavement; The Vital Ground 
     Foundation; The Wetlands Conservancy; The Wetlands 
     Initiative; The Wilderness Society--Wyoming; The Wildlands 
     Conservancy; The ZaneRay Group; Three Rivers Land Trust; 
     Tishomingo County Tourism Council; TOGETHER Bay Area; 
     Tookany/Tacony-Frankford Watershed; Partnership; Town of 
     Athol, Massachusetts, Open Space And Recreation Committee; 
     Town of Littleton Parks and Rec; Town of Lyme Open Space 
     Commission; Town of Palmer Conservation Commission; Trail 
     Angels; Trails Inspire, LLC; Trails Utah.
       Transylvania County Tourism Development Authority; 
     Travelers' Rest Connection; Traverse City Tourism; Treeline 
     Coffee Roasters; TreePeople; Triangle Greenways Council; 
     Triangle Land Conservancy; TripHero; Tropical Audubon 
     Society; Trout Unlimited, Pat Barnes Chapter, Helena, MT; 
     Troyer Group; Upstate Forever; Urbana Park District; Utah 
     Restaurant Association; Valley Creek Restoration Partnership; 
     Valley Forge Park Alliance; Valley Forge Trout Unlimited; 
     Vancouver Audubon Society; Vast Horizons Music, Inc.; Ventana 
     Wilderness Alliance; Vermilionville Living History Museum; 
     Vermont Conservation Voters; Vermont River Conservancy; 
     Vinalhaven Land Trust; Virginia Conservation Network; 
     Virginia Eastern Shore Land Trust; Virginia League of 
     Conservation Voters; Visit Moffat County / Moffat County 
     Tourism Association; Visit Southern WV; VisitLEX; Volunteers 
     for Outdoor Colorado; Voyageurs National Park Association; 
     Walker Basin Conservancy; Wallowa Land Trust.
       Ward 8 Woods Conservancy; Ward Walker 7 Oaks Ranch; Warm 
     Springs Watershed Association; Washington Association of Land 
     Trusts; Washington Conservation Voters; Washington 
     Environmental Council; Washington Trails Association; 
     Washington Wildlife and Recreation Coalition; Washington 
     Wildlife Federation; Washington's National Park Fund; Water 
     Stone Outdoors; West Sound Cycling Club; West Virginia 
     Environmental Council; West Virginia Highlands Conservancy; 
     West Virginia Land Trust; West Virginia Rivers Coalition; 
     West Virginia Wilderness Coalition; Western Foothills Land 
     Trust; Western Pocono Trout Unlimited; WestSlope Chapter 
     Trout Unlimited; Wetland Strategies and Solutions, LLC; 
     Whatcom Land Trust; Whitted Bowers Farm; Wilbarger Creek 
     Conservation Alliance; Wildlife Management Institute; 
     Willington Conservation Commission; Willistown Conservation 
     Trust; Wilmington Rowing Center; Wimberley Valley Watershed 
     Association; Windham Regional Commission; Wisconsin 
     Environment; Wissahickon Trails; Wolf Trap Foundation for the 
     Performing Arts; Wood River Land Trust; Wood-Pawcatuck 
     Watershed Association; Woonasquatucket River Watershed 
     Council; WV Citizen Action Group; Wyoming Outdoor Council; 
     Wyoming Pathways; Wyoming Untrapped; Wyoming Wilderness 
     Association; Wyoming Wildlife Advocates; Yellowstone River 
     Parks Association Inc; Yellowstone Safari Company; YMCA of 
     the Rockies; York Land Trust.

  Mr. GARDNER. There is another historic feature I am particularly 
grateful for, and that is, the previous Secretaries of the Interior 
have signed a letter to Congress urging the passage of the Great 
American Outdoors Act. This letter includes two Secretaries of Interior 
from Colorado--Senator Ken Salazar, who was Secretary of the Interior 
under Barack Obama from 2009 to 2017, and Secretary Gale Norton, who 
was the Interior Secretary under President George W. Bush from 2001 to 
2006. This letter was sent to us on June 3, 2020. It is a historic 
letter with six previous Secretaries of the Interior signing on to it, 
including Secretaries Zinke, Jewell, Kempthorne, Norton, and Babbitt.
  Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that this letter from the 
Secretaries of the Interior be printed in the Record
  There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in 
the Record, as follows:

                                                     June 3, 2020.
       Dear Speaker Pelosi, Minority Leader McCarthy, Majority 
     Leader McConnell and Minority Leader Schumer: During our time 
     as Secretaries of the Interior, we had the privilege and 
     responsibility of stewarding some of America's most 
     incredible landscapes and natural and cultural treasures. 
     Now, more than ever, we are all cognizant of the critical 
     role of public lands in our lives, as places to recreate, to 
     recharge and to seek solace in the midst of great 
     uncertainty--and, also, to create jobs.
       Together, we write to strongly urge swift passage and 
     enactment of the Great American Outdoors Act (S. 3422) 
     without any amendments. This bill (and its expected House 
     companion) is critically needed to support the public lands 
     upon which all Americans rely. The Great American Outdoors 
     Act will advance the protection of America's special places 
     and invest in the repair and restoration of deteriorating 
     infrastructure. The bill will help address priority repairs 
     in our National Parks and on other public lands by directing 
     up to $9.5 billion over five years to address maintenance 
     needs within the National Park System, other public land 
     agencies, and Bureau of Indian Education schools. It will 
     also fully and permanently fund the Land and Water 
     Conservation Fund, our nation's most important conservation 
     program, as authorized at $900 million every year to ensure 
     protection of and access to our public lands.
       The Great American Outdoors Act will help ensure a better, 
     brighter future for nature and for all of us. As Secretaries, 
     we have all experienced how public lands managed by the 
     Department provide vital functions like wildlife habit while 
     preserving water quantity and quality, sustaining working 
     landscapes and rural economies, increasing access for 
     recreation opportunities, and stimulating the outdoor 
     economy. Nationally, outdoor recreation contributes roughly 
     $778 billion in consumer spending and supports 5.2 million 
     jobs. The Great American Outdoors Act will ensure that our 
     parks and other public lands are maintained and enhanced so 
     that they can continue to provide these critical benefits for 
     generations to come.
       We are pleased to see strong bipartisan support from the 
     House and Senate--and from the President--for the Great 
     American Outdoors Act. Americans need these public lands. And 
     Americans need your continued leadership to deliver this 
     historic legislation into law.
           Sincerely,
     Ryan Zinke,
       Secretary of the Interior 2017-2019.
     Ken Salazar,
        Secretary of the Interior 2009-2013.
     Gale Norton,
       Secretary of the Interior 2001-2006.
     Sally Jewell,
       Secretary of the Interior 2013-2017.
     Dirk Kempthorne,
       Secretary of the Interior 2006-2009.
     Bruce Babbitt,
       Secretary of the Interior 1993-2001.

  Mr. GARDNER. We have a chance to lead. We have a chance to show the 
American people that Congress can work together. We have a chance to 
show the American people that indeed Republicans and Democrats can come 
together for the good of their country to provide great things for 
future generations. Despite the bickering seen on nightly talk shows, 
this Congress can come together and pass the Great American Outdoors 
Act, which can restore faith in our government to do what people hope 
we will do, and that is to come together and to work together and to 
inspire each other with those dreams of previous generations who 
protected our lands and had the idea and forethought to create national 
parks, to create national forests, to say that there are places in our 
great land

[[Page S2852]]

that can and should be enjoyed for generations to come.
  It is also about ballparks and swimming pools because not all of 
these dollars go to purchase land. In fact, here is a photo of a 
ballpark in Pueblo, CO. Runyon Park was funded through the Land and 
Water Conservation Fund. We have swimming pools across Utah and Alaska 
that were funded through it as well. States determine a great portion 
of it.
  Listed here is Paradise Sports Park in Paradise, UT. It sounds like a 
great place. In 2015, $80,000 was used for that park in Paradise.
  In Alaska, the Kenai Peninsula, there is the Kenai soccer park in the 
city of Kenai, which received $321,000 from the Land and Water 
Conservation Fund.
  Let's lead. Let's inspire. Let's show the American people that, 
indeed, from sea to shining sea, across America, the beautiful, the 
Great American Outdoors Act can stand as a testament to a Congress that 
realizes generations ahead of us need for us to work for them as well.
  I will end this with a quote from the Father of Rocky Mountain 
National Park, who said: ``Within National Parks is room--glorious 
room--room in which to find ourselves, in which to think and hope, to 
dream and plan, to rest and resolve.''
  I hope my colleagues will join me in supporting the motion to 
proceed, the rollcall vote we are about to take. I would encourage my 
colleagues to vote yes
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Lankford). All time has expired.
  The question is on agreeing to the motion.
  Mr. GARDNER. Mr. President, I ask for the yeas and nays.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there a sufficient second?
  There appears to be a sufficient second.
  The clerk will call the roll.
  The senior assistant legislative clerk called the roll.
  Mr. THUNE. The following Senators are necessarily absent: the Senator 
from North Carolina (Mr. Burr) and the Senator from Mississippi (Mrs. 
Hyde-Smith).
  Mr. DURBIN. I announce that the Senator from Massachusetts (Mr. 
Markey) is necessarily absent.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Romney). Are there any other Senators in 
the Chamber desiring to vote?
  The result was announced--yeas 79, nays 18, as follows:

                      [Rollcall Vote No. 116 Leg.]

                                YEAS--79

     Alexander
     Baldwin
     Bennet
     Blackburn
     Blumenthal
     Blunt
     Booker
     Boozman
     Braun
     Brown
     Cantwell
     Capito
     Cardin
     Carper
     Casey
     Collins
     Coons
     Cornyn
     Cortez Masto
     Cotton
     Cramer
     Daines
     Duckworth
     Durbin
     Ernst
     Feinstein
     Fischer
     Gardner
     Gillibrand
     Graham
     Grassley
     Harris
     Hassan
     Hawley
     Heinrich
     Hirono
     Hoeven
     Jones
     Kaine
     King
     Klobuchar
     Leahy
     Loeffler
     Manchin
     McConnell
     McSally
     Menendez
     Merkley
     Murkowski
     Murphy
     Murray
     Perdue
     Peters
     Portman
     Reed
     Roberts
     Rosen
     Rubio
     Sanders
     Schatz
     Schumer
     Scott (FL)
     Scott (SC)
     Shaheen
     Sinema
     Smith
     Stabenow
     Sullivan
     Tester
     Thune
     Tillis
     Udall
     Van Hollen
     Warner
     Warren
     Whitehouse
     Wicker
     Wyden
     Young

                                NAYS--18

     Barrasso
     Cassidy
     Crapo
     Cruz
     Enzi
     Inhofe
     Johnson
     Kennedy
     Lankford
     Lee
     Moran
     Paul
     Risch
     Romney
     Rounds
     Sasse
     Shelby
     Toomey

                             NOT VOTING--3

     Burr
     Hyde-Smith
     Markey
  The motion was agreed to.

                          ____________________