[Congressional Record Volume 166, Number 112 (Wednesday, June 17, 2020)]
[Senate]
[Pages S3027-S3038]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                          LEGISLATIVE SESSION

                                 ______
                                 

                  TAXPAYER FIRST ACT OF 2019--Resumed

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

       A bill (H.R. 1957) to amend the Internal Revenue Code of 
     1986 to modernize and improve the Internal Revenue Service, 
     and for other purposes.

  Mr. McCONNELL. Madam President, 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. THUNE. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the order 
for the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.


                              Justice Act

  Mr. THUNE. Madam President, in the wake of recent tragic deaths of 
several African Americans at the hands of the police, our country has 
reached a turning point.
  Americans of every race, background, and political persuasion are 
calling for change. Too many Americans feel unsafe right now. Too many 
Americans live in fear that what happened to George Floyd could happen 
to their own fathers, sons, and brothers. Too many Americans see in law 
enforcement officers individuals to be feared rather than trusted.
  Americans are ready for all of that to end. They want reform and 
increased accountability. They want to make sure that we are holding 
our law enforcement officers to the highest standards. And they want 
their fellow Americans to feel confident that what happened to George 
Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and too many others will not happen to their 
loved ones.
  Members of Congress have been listening. I have been listening. 
Today, I am proud to rise in support of Senator Scott's policing reform 
bill, which I am cosponsoring.
  Senator Scott's Just and Unifying Solutions to Invigorate Communities 
Everywhere Act, or the JUSTICE Act, is the product of a lot of serious 
work--years of it, in fact. The JUSTICE Act is an extensive bill that 
addresses various aspects of policing reform. One important section of 
the bill is the George Floyd and Walter Scott Notification Act, which 
would correct deficiencies in law enforcement reporting of use-of-force 
incidents.
  Right now, the FBI National Use-of-Force Data Collection receives 
data on only about 40 percent of law enforcement officers. That needs 
to change. The only way we can understand the scope of the problems we 
are facing is to have full and accurate data. A complete data picture 
will allow us to pinpoint problems, identify troubled police 
departments, and develop best practices for use of force and 
deescalation training.
  There are many, many police departments across our Nation that are 
doing an exemplary job of policing, that have excellent relationships 
with the community, and that are already implementing a lot of best 
practices. But there are also more troubled police departments.
  Police departments that fail to train their officers properly 
overlook officer misbehavior. We need to identify those police 
departments and demand their reform. Collecting full and accurate data 
on use-of-force incidents will help us do that.
  One policing measure that has been found to reduce both officers' use 
of force and complaints against police officers is body cameras. Body-
worn cameras record every officer interaction with the community, which 
encourages appropriate behavior and helps to create an accurate record 
of events. These cameras keep both citizens and police officers safer. 
But implementing the use of these cameras can be costly, as can storing 
the copious data that accumulates. So the JUSTICE Act will create a new 
grant program to help local police departments purchase body-worn 
cameras and associated data storage. Funding eligibility will be 
conditional on the department's implementation of best practices for 
these cameras, and any department that fails to properly use the 
cameras that it has purchased using the grant program will face a 
reduction in Federal funding.
  Another important section of the JUSTICE Act focuses on police 
deescalation and duty-to-intervene training. Sometimes police end up 
using force in situations where it could have been avoided simply 
because they lack the necessary training to deescalate a situation 
without the use of force. It may be understandable that well-meaning 
but overwhelmed police officers in dangerous circumstances have 
sometimes resorted to the use of force too quickly, but that is not a 
situation we can accept.
  Every police officer in this country should be given the kind of 
training that will ensure that use of force is restricted only to those 
situations where it is absolutely needed.
  I expect to see a lot of support for this bill from my Republican 
colleagues here in the Senate. I wouldn't be surprised if this bill 
receives a lot of support from law enforcement, as well, because most 
of our Nation's law enforcement officers want to implement policing 
best practices. They want to develop strong relationships with the 
communities they protect, and they want to avoid use-of-force incidents 
that place both officers and suspects in jeopardy.
  I met with local law enforcement leaders in my home State of South 
Dakota last Friday. What I heard from them was a real desire to do 
everything they can to serve every member of their communities. They 
have already been participating in forums to listen to community 
concerns in the wake of George Floyd's death, and they are supportive 
of JUSTICE Act measures to help departments expand their minority 
hiring, to improve deescalation training, and to develop and promulgate 
best practices. I wouldn't be surprised if they and a lot of other law 
enforcement agencies end up backing this bill.
  I really hope Democrats will come to the table as well. Senator Scott 
has produced a bill that should have the support of every Member of the 
Senate, and I hope that it will.
  We have made a lot of progress as a nation when it comes to 
overcoming the sins of our past, but it would be a mistake to think 
that because we have made progress, our work is over. There is still 
much to be done and many wounds to heal.
  We must make those tasks a priority. We must continue to work toward 
a more perfect Union, toward the full realization of our founding 
promise that all men are created equal, and toward

[[Page S3028]]

an America where there is truly liberty and justice for all.
  I yield the floor
  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. Madam President, 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.


                             Police Reform

  Mr. SCHUMER. Madam President, this morning we have a tale of two 
Chambers. The House of Representatives is starting the consideration of 
the Justice in Policing Act, led by Senators Booker and Harris in the 
Senate and developed in conjunction with the Congressional Black Caucus 
and House Democrats. The bill represents comprehensive, strong, and 
enduring reform to police departments--the most forceful set of changes 
in decades.
  This morning in the Senate, Republicans have put forward a separate 
proposal, led by the Senator from South Carolina. We have had the bill 
for only a few hours and are reviewing it. But what is clear is that 
the Senate Republican proposal on policing does not rise to the moment.
  The Democratic bill has a ban on no-knock warrants in Federal drug 
cases, while the Republican bill only requires data on no-knock 
warrants. The Democratic bill has a publicly available nationwide 
database on misconduct so that abusive police officers who are fired 
can't simply go to another department somewhere else in the country and 
get hired. The Republican bill would keep such information almost 
entirely shielded from public view.
  The Democratic bill bans choke holds and other tactics that have 
killed Black Americans. The Republican bill purports to ban choke holds 
but only those that restrict air flow and not blood flow and provides 
exceptions when deadly force is needed. Who determines when deadly 
force is needed? Usually the police themselves, and the courts defer to 
their judgment.
  The Republican bill is silent on racial profiling and militarization 
of local police departments. Perhaps the greatest flaw in the 
Republican proposal is that it is missing real, meaningful 
accountability for individual officers' misconduct.
  There are no reforms to qualified immunity or pattern-and-practice 
investigations. This is critically important. Without accountability 
measures, we are merely exhorting police departments to do better, 
crossing our fingers and hoping for the best. Real change comes with 
accountability. As drafted, the Republican bill doesn't provide it.
  So we have a tale of two Chambers, a glaring contrast between a 
strong, comprehensive Democratic bill in the House and a much narrower 
and much less effective Republican bill in the Senate.
  I am glad that Leader McConnell has listened to our demands to bring 
a police reform bill to the floor before July 4. I have been asking him 
to do this for 3 weeks, and he has finally acceded. I am glad 
Republicans have finally joined the debate and put a proposal forward 
after much pressure from the public, but any final product must be 
strong and must make real and lasting changes.
  I would note that before we even get to a police reform proposal, the 
Republican leader wants to approve a circuit court judge next week--the 
same week we are doing police reform--Cory Wilson, who has a record of 
hostility toward voting rights, a nominee who advocated baseless claims 
of voter fraud and called the concern over voter suppression and 
discrimination ``poppycock.''
  This is sort of the two-faced approach that we are seeing. On the one 
hand, they say ``Let's do something on police reform''; on the other 
hand, they put judges who come in exactly the opposite place and take 
away voting rights and healthcare rights and other things that affect 
African Americans, particularly poor African Americans.
  The Senate is a place where you can succeed only if you convince a 
substantial majority of the Chamber that you have good legislation. We 
expect our Republican colleagues to work with us to make significant 
improvement to any legislation in order for it to pass. We take this 
very seriously. As we continue to review the Republican legislation, I 
will be talking to my caucus about the best way to strengthen it. This 
bill will need dramatic improvement.
  Let me be clear. This is not letting the perfect be the enemy of the 
good. This is about making the ineffective the enemy of the effective.
  Let me repeat that. This is not about letting the perfect be the 
enemy of the good. This is about replacing what is ineffective with 
what is effective, and we must have effective change.
  The question is whether legislation will bring the change we so 
desperately need or fail to make those necessary changes, fail to stop 
more Black Americans from dying at the hands of police. The question 
is, Will it work? The Republican bill has a long way to go to meet this 
moment.
  There has been a lot of talk from the Republican leader about the 
``real challenge'' of getting onto a bill. Frankly, the ``real 
challenge'' is whether Senate Republicans will be able to step up to 
the plate and rise to the moment and vote for a bill that actually 
solves the problem. We Democrats are going to try to get them there
  It is important that we get this right. The vast majority of 
Americans from both political parties support far-reaching reforms. 
More than 75 percent want to allow victims of police misconduct to more 
easily sue police departments for damages. More than 80 percent want to 
ban choke holds and racial profiling. More than 90 percent support 
independent investigations of police departments that show patterns of 
misconduct. And more than 90 percent want a Federal requirement that 
police wear body cameras. There is no reason to scribble our changes in 
the margins or nibble around the edges of this large, difficult, and 
persistent problem. The moment calls for bold action, and the American 
people are behind it.
  Yesterday, we all got a good look at what window dressing looks like 
and what we must all strive to avoid. The President celebrated an 
Executive order that supposedly was about police reform, but, in 
reality, it was a bunch of vague incentives to suggest that police 
departments change on their own. The ``ban on choke holds'' wasn't a 
ban at all. Even the databases proposed by the Executive order are 
voluntary, not mandatory.
  Befitting the seriousness of the topic, the President spent the 
majority of his press conference demonizing peaceful protesters, airing 
unjustified grievances against past administrations, and suggesting 
that the same scientific expertise that led to the AIDS vaccine will 
lead to a COVID vaccine. Of course, there is no AIDS vaccine.
  This was the President's conference on police reform--unbelievable 
what he said at this serious moment.
  We have to do a much better job here in Congress. The President isn't 
going to lead on these issues. He is not going to engage with the 
legislation or propose effective reforms. He is too busy threatening to 
sue news organizations over unflattering polls.
  We, in the Congress, have to take up the mantle, and I am glad we 
will be turning to this subject next week. We must all set our sights 
on achieving real, strong, effective reforms to police departments in 
America.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Democratic whip is recognized.
  Mr. DURBIN. Madam President, there are moments in history when you 
think: This is going to make a difference. One of them was in a first-
grade classroom in Connecticut. A person walked into that classroom 
several years ago and opened fire on first grade students--6 years of 
age, 7 years of age--their teachers, and assistants. They were killed 
at their desks at Sandy Hook.
  I thought that would make a difference. I thought there would be a 
national conversation about gun safety and the memory of those 
beautiful little children who died so senselessly because the person 
had a gun that gave them the power to kill them en masse. It didn't 
happen.
  Then, when that gunman in the hotel in Las Vegas opened fire with a 
gun that he had converted into an automatic weapon and killed those

[[Page S3029]]

concertgoers at that country western concert, just shot at them at 
random, I thought: Now, that will make a difference. That is the moment 
when we can sit down and honestly talk about gun safety in America. It 
was so graphic, and it was so horrible that at least we can come 
together for a bipartisan conversation about making America a safer 
place for first graders in Connecticut, for concertgoers in Nevada, and 
for all of the many other gun tragedies we have had in America. It 
didn't happen. The President promised to do something. He didn't. What 
happened in the U.S. Senate in terms of addressing this issue? 
Nothing--nothing, not even an effort to keep guns out of the hands of 
people who have no business owning them: convicted felons, people who 
are mentally unstable. The types of guns that are for sale in the 
United States go far beyond any need for sport, hunting, and, in many 
cases, even self-defense. Yet we couldn't even open the conversation on 
gun safety in light of those horrible tragedies.

  Then several weeks ago, a patrolman in Minneapolis put his knee on 
the neck of George Floyd, and America changed. You see that video, 
which we have all seen over and over again. It was so graphic, so real, 
so personal, you just cannot escape it. Here was a policeman, in 8 
minutes and 46 seconds, killing George Floyd. What was the charge that 
he was being accused of? Perhaps passing a phony $20 bill--a $20 bill.
  I think the image that still sticks with most of us, in the 8 minutes 
and 46 seconds as George Floyd died, were all the people begging the 
policeman to stop, imploring him: Please.
  Floyd was crying out ``I can't breathe! I can't breathe!'' mentioning 
his mother's name in those desperate, final moments of his life as that 
patrolman stared into that video camera with those cold, hard eyes. You 
cannot escape the reality of that video moment and the impact it has 
had on America and beyond.
  George Floyd's image and name are now the subject of rallies not just 
across America but around the world. In my own home State of Illinois, 
it is understandable that in cities like Chicago, which have a diverse 
population, that African Americans know what it is like to be the 
object of racial discrimination when it comes to law enforcement. What 
has amazed me in my home State and in many other places, with my 
colleagues, is that this is not just a conversation in the big cities 
of America.
  This last Sunday afternoon at 4 o'clock I went to Jerseyville, IL, 
for a Black Lives Matter rally. What an unlikely location. I don't how 
many African-American families live in Jersey County or Jerseyville, 
but there aren't many. It didn't stop 300 to 400 people from gathering 
on the courthouse lawn to make clear that they want things to change 
when it comes to policing in America--and change, it must.
  I want to salute my colleagues, particularly Senators Booker and 
Harris. They came together and put a bill in place with the 
Congressional Black Caucus, with Karen Bass, a Congresswoman from 
California. It is a bicameral proposal that has been introduced now in 
the House and Senate. I am proud to be a cosponsor. It is 
comprehensive, and it takes into consideration the reality that these 
moments of historic opportunity come along very seldom, and when they 
come, we need to seize them to make a difference in this great Nation.
  Let's not be halfhearted. Let's be committed to doing something that 
makes a difference, and that means a bipartisan effort.
  Tim Scott is my friend, a Republican Senator from the State of South 
Carolina. I like him, and I respect him. He has done and said things 
that I think have made a real impact on this Nation. His observations 
as an African-American Senator from South Carolina and what he has gone 
through--not just in his State but in his life and even in Washington, 
DC--touch my heart. I know that they are genuine, and so is he. When he 
was chosen on the Republican side to lead the effort to come up with 
some way to bring justice to policing, I thought that was a good 
choice, and I still do.
  Now we are off to a start in this conversation, but it is an unusual 
and awkward start. My colleagues, Senators Booker and Harris, put the 
legislative proposal, the Justice in Policing Act, on the floor and 
have described it in detail over the last several days. It has been 
there for those who support it, as I do, and for those who are 
critical. We are obviously looking at this from a lot of perspectives.
  Yesterday, the Senate Judiciary Committee held a lengthy hearing on 
police misconduct, and there were references throughout to the Booker 
and Harris bill, as both of them serve on the Judiciary Committee. 
Senator Scott's bill we saw just a few hours ago, and Senator McConnell 
came to the floor earlier to the Senate and said that we are moving to 
this bill. It will be the next item of business.
  I am glad that Senator McConnell now feels a sense of urgency when it 
comes to reforming policing. Now is the moment for us to work together 
to come up with a bipartisan bill that can pass the U.S. Senate. Let us 
not miss this opportunity, this historic moment, to do something that 
will make a difference.
  How many times, how many commissions, how many agencies, how many 
experts have issued reports on dealing with racism in law enforcement 
in America? Scores of them.
  Going back to the 1960s, the former Governor of Illinois, Otto 
Kerner's commission, that long ago--60 years ago--was considering the 
same issues, many of the same issues we are considering today.
  The hearings yesterday brought in some talented people--experts--to 
talk to us in the Senate Judiciary Committee about this measure and 
this challenge that we face--community leaders, civil rights activists, 
and experts on the subject. I think Senator Graham, the chairman of the 
Senate Judiciary Committee on the Republican side, would agree that 
hearings are important and we should continue them, but they are never 
enough.
  We need to do something that the Senate rarely, if ever, does. We 
need to legislate. We ought to do it in a process that was established 
in this Senate generations ago, bringing this matter to the floor for 
amendment and debate.
  I understand the numbers in the Senate. As the whip on the Democratic 
side, I think the skill that is necessary to succeed is to be able to 
count to 60. I learned that very early in my Senate career. We know 
what the numbers really are. There are 47 Democrats and 53 Republicans. 
If you need 60 votes in most procedural questions in any debate, it 
must be bipartisan. If it is going to be bipartisan, it means that 
people have to sit down and be willing to listen to one another and be 
willing to compromise. I think we can do that. I have seen it done.
  I can remember 2 years ago when the Senate passed the FIRST STEP Act. 
I started on this mission 10 years ago, after the passage of the effort 
on the drug crimes bill in the House of Representatives over 20 years 
ago, it was clear that bill was fatally flawed. That law resulted in 
unjust outcomes, as well as ineffectiveness when it came to fighting 
drugs. I started 10 years ago to try to change it, to change the 
disparity between crack and cocaine sentencing guidelines. I managed to 
get some part of it done, but when I took on the bigger issue of 
mandatory minimum sentencing, which was involved in this, as well, I 
ran into a blockade by the name of Chuck Grassley
  Chuck, the senior Senator from Iowa, didn't see eye to eye with my 
approach at all, and I realized my bill was going nowhere with him. He 
was chairman of the Judiciary Committee. We sat down for a year--for a 
year--and we came up with a bill we both agreed on. It wasn't what I 
wanted--it wasn't the original bill, by any means--and it wasn't what 
Chuck Grassley wanted. But we filed a good bill called the FIRST STEP 
Act, and he became the lead sponsor on the Grassley-Durbin bipartisan 
bill. That bill passed the House, passed the Senate, and was signed 
into law by President Donald Trump. Who would have guessed that Donald 
Trump would have signed a bill on criminal justice reform? But he did, 
and he bragged about it afterward and continues to this day. I guess 
the lesson learned here is if the right people sit down with the right 
goal, we can achieve an important victory for the American people.
  I understand now, having been to these rallies of Black Lives Matter, 
how determined and desperate people are across the United States to see 
us change when it comes to racism and

[[Page S3030]]

law enforcement. They are desperate, primarily in our younger 
populations. It is interesting. Even the largest rallies are being led 
by high school students who are bringing together hundreds and, in some 
cases, thousands of people to peacefully demonstrate on behalf of 
justice in law enforcement. The message is pretty clear. They do not 
want to grow up and they don't want to raise their families in the 
shadow of racism.
  We have fought this issue in America for over 400 years. That is how 
long it has been since slavery came to our shores. The racism that 
followed from it and was part of it is still very much alive in America 
and is seen in video after video. These young people are telling us 
once and for all: Change it, grownups. You are supposed to be in 
charge. You are supposed to have the authority.
  So what we say on the Democratic side is that we cannot waste this 
historic moment, this singular opportunity. Let us not do something 
that is a token, halfhearted approach. Let us focus on making a change 
that will make a difference in the future of America.
  When I take a look at the bill we put together, the Justice in 
Policing Act--again, I want to salute Senators Booker and Harris--we 
establish standards for criminal police misconduct under the law. We 
talk about qualified immunity reform. Allow me to say a word about 
this.
  That was the one thing that Senator Tim Scott said on Sunday was a 
major sticking point on the Republican side. We discussed it yesterday 
in the Senate Judiciary Committee hearing. What does it mean? It means 
that if a policeman is guilty of discriminatory misconduct against a 
person, they can be liable for civil damages. An obvious case--if 
somebody is shot and killed and there is a belief that the policeman 
was guilty of misconduct in the process, that policeman can be found 
guilty in court and liable for civil damages to the family, much the 
same as wrongful death or personal injury. But the problem is that the 
courts have taken this qualified immunity and basically said that if 
you cannot find an identical fact pattern for that policeman's 
misconduct, you can't pursue the civil recovery of damages for the 
family who lost the breadwinner, for example. The argument for that 
position has been made by some Republicans that even if a patrolman or 
policeman has done something that is terribly wrong, you shouldn't take 
their home away from them to compensate that victim's family. So the 
Republicans have said that they don't want to change the qualified 
immunity standard.
  Now let's move from that debate to the real world, and I know just a 
little bit about it. There was a sheriff in a downstate county in 
Illinois who was sued many years ago and accused of misconduct for 
imprisoning and mistreating prisoners in his county jail. When he was 
sued in court, much the same as the qualified immunity situation I 
described earlier, he was defended in that court. Who defended that 
sheriff for his misconduct and potential damages that he owed to his 
victim? I did. I didn't do it as a U.S. attorney or State's attorney or 
in any official public capacity. I did it representing an insurance 
company. DeWitt County, the county that employed the sheriff, 
considered him a county employee for their purposes and had bought an 
insurance policy which said that if there is any wrongdoing by county 
employees, the insurance company will pay whatever is owed. I 
represented the insurance company. We went forward with the case. The 
point I am getting to is that sheriff was not going to lose his home or 
car or motorcycle. It was a lawsuit being brought in court for that 
sheriff's responsibility in creating a loss to the plaintiff that 
merited damages from the court and jury. So this argument that we 
cannot hold policemen responsible for their misconduct on a civil basis 
for damages overlooks the obvious--that 99 to 100 percent of damages 
paid out are paid out not by the individual law enforcement official 
but usually by the insurance company. The insurance company indemnifies 
the defendants; in other words, it takes on the responsibility of 
defending them and paying out any verdict that is filed or any 
settlement that is reached.

  Why would we want to go ahead and allow this civil recovery? Because 
it is a lesson learned for that county when it comes to the conduct and 
training and hiring of individuals. If they know that certain things 
are going to result in a liability--even through their insurance 
company, with higher insurance premiums as a result--they will think 
twice, won't they? It is human nature.
  The opposite result is true. If the Republicans have their way and 
don't touch qualified immunity, then, in fact, you have created a 
defense wall for any potential defendant who is in law enforcement from 
civil liability, and you have taken away the incentive of their 
employer or that department to improve the way they administer justice. 
I think it is pretty obvious that if we want the right outcome, there 
should be a price to be paid for wrongdoing, and there certainly should 
be compensation for a victim's family.
  So I don't understand the resistance on the Republican side. We need 
to talk because we cannot move forward on this issue of police 
responsibility and say there is a whole area of immunity when it comes 
to the police being sued for civil damages in court.
  We also need pattern and practice investigations. What that means is 
there comes a moment when the Department of Justice needs to take a 
look at local police departments. I know about that. The shooting of 
Laquan McDonald in the city of Chicago was an event that still has an 
impact on the people who live there. I joined with the attorney 
general, Lisa Madigan, in asking the Department of Justice to 
investigate the police department after the shooting of Laquan 
McDonald. It wasn't a popular decision with some people, but I thought 
it was the right thing to do. We will be better for it. The city of 
Chicago will make changes that need to be made, and I am sure there 
need to be more in the future, but extending and advancing pattern and 
practice investigations in the Department of Justice is long overdue. 
In the Obama administration over 20 of these investigations took place 
across America; under the Trump administration, one. It is time for the 
Department of Justice to do its job, and that is part of what we are 
setting out to do.
  We also have the Law Enforcement Trust and Integrity Act included in 
the Booker-Harris bill. Police departments lack uniform standards to 
ensure an adherence to best practices in communities of color with 
accountability. We call on the Attorney General and the Department of 
Justice to move them in the right direction of training and retraining 
when it comes to reducing the use of force and reducing the killings 
that are taking place that are unnecessary.
  We need to establish a national police misconduct registry, which is 
part of the Booker-Harris bill, so no police officer who loses his or 
her job because of misconduct can go to a nearby jurisdiction or 
another State and escape the scrutiny of taking a review of the history 
they have as members of a police department.
  We need to require States to report to the Justice Department 
incidents in which force is used against a civilian or against a law 
enforcement officer. I bet 99 percent of Americans believe there is 
automatic reporting, for example, of the shooting of unarmed people by 
police across the United States. There isn't. It turns out that the 
only source you can find is the Washington Post newspaper, which 
decided in 2015 to start collecting that information by reading news 
outlets and information and putting it all together. Let's get the data 
so we will understand if we are falling behind or making progress when 
it comes to the administration of justice.
  We need to prohibit Federal, State, and local law enforcement from 
racial, religious, and discriminatory profiling. This is an issue I 
have been working on for years. Others feel the same. Profiling needs 
to come to an end. We know it is a real problem. We need real training 
on racial bias and a duty to intervene. This gets to the heart of 
policing.
  Policing runs parallel to our military in the standards and rules 
that they operate under. We talk about peer intervention. We ask 
ourselves, why didn't the other three policemen in Minneapolis say to 
that policeman with his knee on the neck of George Floyd, ``Stop. You 
are killing him''?

[[Page S3031]]

They didn't because of the so-called chain of command. We need to have 
peer scrutiny and peer intervention, particularly in life-and-death 
situations.
  We believe we should ban the no-knock warrants in drug cases. We know 
what happened in the city of Louisville. We want to make certain it 
doesn't happen again.
  We want a clear ban on choke holds and carotid holds. We want the 
police to exercise absolute care with everyone with a standard of 
reasonableness to prevent death and serious bodily injury.
  Consider what happened in that Wendy's parking lot in Atlanta. There 
are a number of factors involved here, but what was at the heart of the 
issue? At the heart of the issue was a man who drank too much and fell 
asleep in his car in the drive-in line at Wendy's. That is what started 
the police call and everything that followed. At the end of 40 minutes, 
the man who fell asleep in his car was shot dead in that parking lot. 
When you try to bring and measure the response and the result against 
the original charge, it is like the $20 counterfeit bill. You think to 
yourself: Did that merit pulling a gun and killing a man because he 
fell asleep in his car? He shouldn't have been driving while 
intoxicated, but there is no evidence he was involved in any accident. 
There was certainly a better way to bring that to a conclusion other 
than the confrontation that led to his death.
  We also need the Camera Accountability Act, requiring Federal 
uniformed police officers to wear body cameras and have dashboard 
cameras and make sure they are operable. We also need to finally pass 
the Justice for Victims of Lynching Act. I spoke on that yesterday, and 
I will not dwell on it today, but this is long, long overdue.
  One of the first Federal anti-lynching bills was introduced after 
World War I by a Republican Congressman in St. Louis named Leonidas 
Dyer, a World War I veteran who served as an officer in the Army. He 
was prosecuting attorney for St. Louis County. On July 1, 1917, there 
was a horrendous race riot in my hometown of East St. Louis, IL, where 
7,000 African Americans were rousted out of their homes and forced to 
cross the bridges into the city of St. Louis to escape death. The 
estimates of how many were killed are just that, but they range in the 
hundreds of African Americans who were lynched and murdered.
  As a result of that horrible experience in East St. Louis and the 
race riot, Congressman Dyer, Republican of St. Louis, introduced the 
Federal anti-lynching law. He passed it in the House of 
Representatives. There were 119 negative votes. Among the negative 
votes were four Members of the House who went on to become Speakers, 
but all four voted against the Dyer Federal anti-lynching bill. It was 
sent to the Senate where it died by design. A combination of those who 
opposed it, including southern Democrats, stopped the bill from being 
considered. It faced a filibuster--end of story but not the end of 
lynching, by any means.
  Lynching is a blight on America's history. There is absolutely no 
reason why we should not include the Federal anti-lynching statute, 
which passed the House 410 to 4, in this package that is being 
considered. I believe it may be part of Senator Scott's bill as well. I 
hope it will pass. I hope the one Senator on the other side of the 
aisle who has held it up can be convinced otherwise. History demands 
that we bring an end to this miserable, bloody chapter in American 
history, which touches so many of our States.
  We have a job to do. We now have two bills, and we are seeing the 
Republican bill for the first time this morning. Many of us believe it 
is at least an indication of the urgency of the issue but not as 
responsive as it should be. Let us not escape this moment in history. 
Let us not avoid it. Let's face it, and let's use it. We can make this 
a better Nation. We can say to those young people, Black, White, and 
Brown, those young women and men who are leading the marches in my 
State and across the Nation: We hear you. We understand you want to 
grow up in a different world, in a different Nation. We understand that 
you want to see discrimination and racial mistreatment come to an end 
in this country. This generation, the ones who are elected to do 
something about it, will do just that. We will respond.
  I hope what Senator McConnell said this morning about opening this 
debate on the floor of the Senate is not just a one-and-done, take-it-
or-leave-it approach on the majority side of the aisle. Let's have a 
real debate. Let's have real effort to find common ground. I think it 
can work.
  Senator Grassley and I proved that with the FIRST STEP Act, a 
bipartisan bill signed by President Trump that made a difference. 
Literally, thousands of Federal inmates were released from prison who 
had been serving lengthy, impossible-to-explain sentences for 
nonviolent drug activity. They are home now. They are back out of 
prison now, as they should be. They did it on a bipartisan basis, and 
we compromised to reach it.
  Let us make sure that at the end of the day, what we do pass makes a 
difference in the future of America, not just a quick press release but 
something we can live with and be proud of for years to come.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Sasse). The Senator from Montana


                               H.R. 1957

  Mr. DAINES. Mr. President, today, we will make history in the Senate. 
Today, we will vote on one of the most important conservation bills not 
just in years but in decades.
  Today, we get one step closer to protecting our outdoor heritage for 
our children, our grandchildren, for future generations of Montanans, 
and for all Americans because today we will be casting the final vote 
on this historic bipartisan bill entitled the ``Great American Outdoors 
Act.''
  Today, for the first time ever in the U.S. Senate, we will vote to 
make funding for a critical conservation program, the Land and Water 
Conservation Fund, full and mandatory. This funding will protect the 
program and provide certainty for our land managers, for 
conservationists, for sports men and women.
  I spoke with Montanans across our State about the importance of this 
program. What is interesting is no matter what the ideologies are, 
these ideologies across the board, from left to right--they agree that 
this program will protect our outdoors for current and future 
generations.
  As a Senator from Montana, Big Sky Country--in fact, we like to call 
Montana ``The Last Best Place''--I know just how important it is that 
we have access to our public lands and the opportunity to enjoy our 
outdoors. In fact, it is a major driver of our economy, the outdoor 
recreation economy.
  The Land and Water Conservation Fund enables better public access to 
our public lands. It is going to help create jobs in a time when we 
need them the most. It will help protect wildlife habitat. It will help 
improve land management. It links conservation to a strong energy 
sector, and it costs the taxpayers nothing.
  Today, by voting on the Great American Outdoors Act, we will also 
provide a significant downpayment to address the maintenance backlog 
that is facing our national parks and our public lands. I chair the 
National Parks Subcommittee here in the Senate. As a fifth-generation 
Montanan who grew up going to our national parks--I grew up in the 
shadows of Yellowstone National Park, just about 1\1/2\ hours from my 
home--because of enjoying the outdoors with my family, this has been 
one of my top priorities.
  You see, our national parks and our public lands set us apart from 
the rest of the world, but our parks have seen an increase in 
visitation--in fact, record visitation for many of our parks. That is a 
really good thing.
  Our park infrastructure is at risk of being loved to death, leading 
to dilapidated infrastructure that can compromise the visitor 
experience and safety. There is nearly $12 billion in maintenance 
backlog facing our national parks across the Nation, including over 
$700 million in Glacier and Yellowstone National Parks, an additional 
$34 million throughout other national parks in Montana. We have a great 
opportunity today to address this by getting this bipartisan bill, the 
Great American Outdoors Act, done and passed out of the Senate and send 
it over to the House.
  As a kid who grew up in Bozeman, I went to kindergarten through 
college in Bozeman. I was a Bozeman Hawk in

[[Page S3032]]

high school and proud Montana State University Bobcat. I know just how 
important it is to get this done for Montana.
  I am also fortunate to have the opportunity to enjoy Montana outdoors 
with my sweet wife, Cindy, and our four children and our granddaughter, 
Emma, and soon-to-be new grandson in just a few months. You see, 
Montana's public lands are part of our Montana way of life. They are 
part of our heritage, who we are as Montanans.
  I have been very fortunate to be able to fly fish many of Montana's 
rivers and their streams. In fact, my son took that picture of me up in 
the Beartooth a few years ago. I remember that distinctly. Just around 
the corner of where that picture was taken, I was working my way up 
that stream and got a real nice cutthroat and ripple. In fact, Cindy 
and I backpack in the Beartooth, in the wilderness area, every August. 
We take along two of our dogs, Ruby and Reagan. In fact, I took that 
picture of our son, Michael, up in the High Country of Montana. We get 
places like this where there are virtually no trails. This is wild 
country.
  It is unique to the world that we have places that are so pristine 
and still remain so relatively untouched. My wife and I have instilled 
in our family the same passion and love for outdoors that we have 
shared for so long.
  Here we are at a backpack, again, up in the Beartooth. This is not 
too far from Granite Peak, Montana's highest point. Some of our best 
memories are spending time with our son, Michael, there, the dog, 
Cindy, and me there.
  I want to show you this next picture because that sums up probably 
who we are as a couple. We went back up to the Hyalite area south of 
Bozeman a few years ago. That peak is Hyalite Peak. Back in 1986, that 
is where I asked Cindy to marry me. We got engaged on top of that 
mountain, a peak over 10,000 feet high.
  This is more than just some theoretical discussion that we are having 
today on the floor of the Senate. This is about protecting our Montana 
outdoor way of life. It is the very heart and soul of who we are as 
Montanans. In fact, since I came to Congress, I made it one of my 
highest priorities to protect and expand access to our public lands.
  I am proud to be standing here today, ready to vote on this historic 
conservation bill. Today, I urge my colleagues--it doesn't matter 
whether you are a Democrat or Republican--to come together and pass 
this bipartisan bill that will benefit generations. I think we are 
going to have a really strong vote today. My sense is it will be an 
overwhelming affirmation of this important legislation. I look forward 
to seeing that. I look forward to passing the Great American Outdoors 
Act today, working to get it out of the House, which is our next step, 
and getting it onto President Trump's desk. I spoke with him today, and 
he is excited to sign this historic piece of legislation into law. 
Montana is ready. I am ready. Let's get her done
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Washington.
  Ms. CANTWELL. Mr. President, I come to join my colleagues to talk 
about the final passage of the Great American Outdoors Act and to 
discuss what it really means to all of us.
  Obviously, the great outdoors means a lot to the State of Washington. 
Nobody probably needs that explained to them. I recently read a quote 
from George Vancouver when he was discovering the Pacific Northwest. 
Even in his remarks, he was so astounded that this was such a beautiful 
place. It tells you it lasts for generations, and that is what this 
bill is about. This bill is making it last for generations beyond us.
  I want to thank the bipartisan effort of five Democrats and five 
Republicans who joined together to originally put the parks' backlog 
and maintenance together by fully funding the Land and Water 
Conservation Fund.
  People should realize that the Land and Water Conservation Fund, over 
its history--and I followed it closely because Scoop Jackson, a long-
time Senator from the State of Washington and the original sponsor of 
the Land and Water Conservation Fund, understood that America was 
urbanizing, and we needed to make an investment in open space. That 
open space gives us park and recreational area.
  It has literally provided 5 million acres of protected land since its 
inception. There are 5 million acres of land throughout the United 
States of America that we can identify in every State of the United 
States to give Americans access to open space.
  I mentioned Gas Works Park in the State of Washington and Seattle 
because it is so iconic. I don't think people would think that Lake 
Union would be the same without Gas Works Park.
  It was a great idea by the leaders of our Congress at the time to 
pass the Land and Water Conservation Act. We had a fight, literally, in 
the last 10 or 15 years between people who didn't want to fully fund or 
even support the Land and Water Conservation Act. We let it expire 2 
years ago, and people were in an argument about how to reauthorize it. 
People then wanted to say that we don't really want to do new land; we 
want to take care of the backlog. That debate went on for a time.
  I think we really tried to emphasize the great economy related to the 
outdoors because taking this revenue from oil and gas offshoring and 
putting it into land conservation has been a big win for the American 
people. Not only do they get open space and be able to recreate, but it 
puts money back into our economy as well because the outdoor economy is 
a big juggernaut at $877 billion.
  We are ending this debate today. We are ending this paradigm that has 
existed between some Members who have said: Yes, I care about the parks 
that are already there, and maybe we should take care of the backlog, 
but I don't want any new money going to the Land and Water Conservation 
Fund.
  The Land and Water Conservation Fund has dedicated across the United 
States 5 million acres as open space for all Americans to enjoy. That 
is a big win--ending this debate and ending this, I would say, 
misdirected discussion that tried to pit land against one another and, 
basically, people who didn't want more open space and public land.
  I think we are ending that debate on a very firm note today that says 
the Senate really believes that open space is a great driver of our 
economy, but more importantly, it is an essential aspect of American 
life, and we are going to continue to invest in it.
  For us in the State of Washington, we have received something like 
$700 million over the life of this project since the 1960s. With this 
legislation today, we are basically making sure the Land and Water 
Conservation Fund dollars connected from offshore oil revenue is spent 
in the Land and Water Conservation Fund. We will receive hundreds of 
millions more--between $200 million and $300 million more in Land and 
Water Conservation Fund investment.
  I can't wait to see what that does for us in the Northwest. As I 
said, starting with George Vancouver and on down to today, everybody in 
the Northwest knows that the environment is so precious to us. It is 
great for its restorative value but also great for our economy so we 
want to keep it, and we want to keep investing in it.
  The backlog and maintenance we are talking about is a phenomenal 
investment. I encourage all of my colleagues to visit Mount Rainier 
sometime if you are in the Pacific Northwest. You can drive up to 
Paradise and visit. Those roads and the facilities there need 
maintenance. Even several years ago we used the Land and Water 
Conservation Fund for the Carbon River improvement on a road that kept 
washing out every year, and now we moved it to higher ground, expanding 
the park. That makes it more beneficial for people to go to that side 
of the mountain as well.
  I am reminded what Teddy Roosevelt said: ``The nation behaves well if 
it treats the national resources as assets which it must turn over to 
the next generation increased, and not impaired, in value.''
  That is what we are doing today. We are returning that value to the 
next generation.
  I want to specifically thank Senator Manchin for his leadership on 
our side of the aisle on this. Having sponsored this legislation myself 
2 years ago with Senator Burr and getting it out of the committee, we 
were sad to see that it got stuck on the Senate floor. We are glad this 
coalition of five Democrats

[[Page S3033]]

and five Republicans led by Senator Gardner has managed to get it to 
this point.
  I also want to mention that Senator Burr's leadership over the last 
two Congresses--actually, all the way back to 2010, where he fought to 
make sure that this Land and Water Conservation legislation was 
reauthorized and that we make this investment--has played a pivotal 
role in making sure that people understand what that investment means 
to the United States.
  So a huge day for public lands in the U.S. Senate and a huge day to 
say that Americans will be getting more open space and that our parks 
will be getting a little bit of a facelift, if you will, around their 
roads and bridges and facilities, their trails, the management of our 
forests, the infrastructure that is entailed in giving public access to 
these public spaces.
  It couldn't be a more important investment, and it couldn't give 
America a bigger return.
  So I thank my colleagues. I look forward to getting this rapidly 
through the House of Representatives.
  I yield the floor
  Mr. LEAHY. Mr. President, this Nation faces an uncertain future. 
Gripped by a pandemic, economic disruption, and racial injustice, the 
American people are yearning for bold, forward-thinking leadership. Now 
is the time for elected leaders to stand up and make the investments 
necessary to secure a better world for our children and grandchildren. 
The Great American Outdoors Act, which I am proud to cosponsor, does 
that. While it addresses a narrow set of challenges and opportunities, 
it should remind us all that we are capable of meaningful, forward-
looking action. If enacted, our bipartisan bill would be the most 
significant conservation achievement in more than 50 years and would 
provide benefits for generations to come.
  Throughout my service in the Senate, it has been an honor to bring 
Vermont's values to Washington. And for Vermonters, stewardship of the 
land and water is a bedrock value. Our agrarian tradition, sense of 
place, and outdoor economy all rely on preserving open spaces and 
conserving our natural resources. This bill reflects those values on a 
grand scale.
  The Great American Outdoors Act would secure full, permanent funding 
for the Land and Water Conservation Fund. As is true for States across 
the country, the LWCF has played an unparalleled role in permanently 
protecting some of Vermont's most important and iconic landscapes, and 
I am proud to have been able to take a leading role in championing this 
program and these investments. In the 55 years since its creation, LWCF 
investments totaling nearly $150 million have helped conserve more than 
275,000 acres in Vermont. From the Green Mountain National Forest, to 
Camel's Hump, to the Long Trail and Green River Reservoir State Park, 
this program has played a role in protecting Vermont's invaluable 
natural spaces. It has also helped Vermont towns conserve local 
treasures and facilities, such as Rutland's Pine Hill Park and the 
school playground in Pomfret.
  As chairman of the Senate Agriculture Committee, I was proud to lead 
the creation of the Forest Legacy Program in the 1990 Farm Bill. This 
voluntary program recognizes the critical stewardship role that private 
landowners play by helping them conserve working forest lands. In so 
doing, the Forest Legacy Program supports timber sector jobs and the 
forest products economy, and it sustains all the other benefits 
provided by intact forests: outdoor recreation, fish and wildlife 
habitat, and air and water quality. Since the Forest Legacy Program's 
first project at Cow Mountain Pond in Vermont's Northeast Kingdom, more 
than $39 million in Federal Forest Legacy funds have supported the 
permanent conservation of thousands of acres of private working forest 
lands in my State.
  The conservation ethic embodied in this bill is not just about green 
mountains and open waters. This is a conservation bill, a stewardship 
bill, and a jobs bill. Passage of the Great American Outdoors Act would 
provide immediate and sustained economic stimulus to States and 
communities that desperately need it. Vermont's outdoor recreation 
sector alone contributes an estimate $5.5 billion annually, supporting 
51,000 jobs. Our forest products industry supports more than 10,000 
jobs and generates nearly $1.5 billion in economic output. Maintaining 
the land base that these sectors depend on through LWCF investments is 
essential to Vermont, particularly as our State's economy gets back on 
its feet. An analysis by the Trust for Public Land estimates that every 
dollar invested in LWCF returns $4 in economic benefits. I call that a 
wise investment, particularly considering that LWCF is funded by 
revenue from offshore oil and gas leases.
  The 116th Congress began with the passage of a sweeping, bipartisan 
public lands package, the John D. Dingell Jr. Conservation, Management, 
and Recreation Act. That bill established permanent authorization for 
LWCF. How fitting that we should continue the work we started by now 
establishing permanent funding for this legacy program and by finally 
addressing the maintenance backlog facing our National Parks and other 
public lands. During such an uncertain period for our Nation, it is 
clearer than ever that access to trails and public lands is essential 
for the physical, emotional, and economic health of every community. 
The Great American Outdoors Act embodies the spirit of stewardship that 
Vermonters have cultivated for generations, and I am proud to support 
it. We should celebrate the Senate's leadership today and thank the 
broad coalition of conservation stakeholders in Vermont and across the 
country that has helped make this moment possible.
  Mr. BURR. Mr. President, I am very pleased to support the Great 
American Outdoors Act. This is an effort that is many years in the 
making, so I am gratified the majority leader has taken this historic 
step for the future of our natural landscape.
  When the President signs this bill into law, as he has indicated he 
will do, it will do two incredibly important things. It will finally, 
after 55 years, fully fund the Land and Water Conservation Fund at its 
authorized level. It will also address the deferred maintenance backlog 
in our national parks and public lands. This will be an historic 
achievement to preserve America's most treasured places for generations 
to come, and I could not be more proud to be a part of it.
  As my colleagues know, I have long been a champion of LWCF. LWCF is 
America's most successful conservation program. It is effective. It is 
proven. And it costs taxpayers nothing. Over the years, LWCF has 
supported more than 42,000 outdoor recreation projects. It has 
benefited every State in the country. In North Carolina, it has helped 
preserve parks, trails, and outdoor sites from the Great Smoky 
Mountains to the Outer Banks. After a hard-fought battle by those of us 
who have long recognized LWCF's centrality to our conservation efforts, 
last year, Congress permanently authorized the program.
  But there was still one essential piece missing: full funding. In 
recent years, the program consistently received less than half the 
amount it was authorized for. I must remind my colleagues that this was 
essentially theft from the program. It derives its own funding to 
achieve its $900 million level, yet we have given it far less than that 
nearly every year it has been in existence. This bill will change that. 
Going forward, the $900 million that annually flows into the fund will 
finally be fully dedicated to the good things LWCF provides, from 
securing access to recreational and hunting lands, to protecting 
watersheds and preserving habitats for wildlife and endangered species.
  In addition to fully funding LWCF, the Great American Outdoors Act 
will address the deferred maintenance backlog in our national parks, 
forests, and fish and wildlife refuges. My home state of North Carolina 
is blessed with some of the most iconic public lands in the world: 
Great Smokies National Park, the Blue Ridge Parkway, Cape Hatteras and 
Cape Lookout National Seashores, Pisgah National Forest, and Lake 
Mattamuskeet National Wildlife Refuge, just to name a few. Millions 
visit these special places each year, and they support tens of 
thousands of jobs.
  Unfortunately, the Federal Government has not been able to provide 
the resources necessary to maintain these treasures at the level they 
deserve. For

[[Page S3034]]

example, at the Blue Ridge Parkway, as of 2018, the maintenance backlog 
was over $500 million, but the parkway receives only $15 to $20 million 
a year for maintenance work. This bill will help fill those gaps by 
dedicating $1.9 billion a year from energy development on Federal lands 
to address maintenance needs at our national parks and public lands.
  We would not be here without the efforts of many people, but I would 
like to give special thanks to our colleagues Cory Gardner and Steve 
Daines. I have been on the frontlines on this issue for years, and I 
know they worked extremely hard to build the bipartisan coalition 
behind this bill. I would also like to thank my colleagues on both 
sides who I have worked with for years to get to this point on LWCF: 
Joe Manchin, Maria Cantwell, Lamar Alexander, and many others.
  I encourage each and every Senator here today to support this 
critical legislation. Future generations will thank them for it.
  Mrs. FEINSTEIN. Mr. President, I rise to add my support for the 
passage of the Great American Outdoors Act.
  This landmark bipartisan bill directs significant funding to public 
lands nationwide, which will benefit communities across the country. 
This investment will continue to pay dividends for future generations.
  The purpose of this legislation is twofold. First, it provides $900 
million per year in permanent funding for the Land and Water 
Conservation Fund, which supports the protection of Federal public 
lands and waters, including national parks, forests, wildlife refuges, 
and recreation areas, and voluntary conservation on private land.
  Importantly, this dedicated new funding would come from a portion of 
royalties on offshore oil and gas development, not the American 
taxpayer.
  Secondly, the bill establishes the National Park and Public Lands 
Legacy Restoration Fund. Similar to the Land and Water Conservation 
Fund, this is also funded through onshore and offshore energy revenues 
over 5 years, up to $1.9 billion annually for a total of $9.5 billion.
  Its sole purpose is to address the deferred maintenance needs of the 
National Park Service, U.S. Forest Service, U.S. Fish and Wildlife 
Service, Bureau of Land Management, and Bureau of Indian Education.
  Currently, the National Park Service alone has a backlog of 
approximately $12 billion. This legislation will go a long way in 
helping to complete priority maintenance projects across America's 
public lands.
  As we face a severe economic crisis as a result of the COVID-19 
pandemic, I particularly want to highlight the fact that this 
legislation before us today is more than just a public lands bill; it 
is also a jobs bill that will help fulfill Congress's commitment to 
make public lands accessible to all Americans.
  The National Park System welcomed a record 327 million visitors last 
year, adding nearly $42 billion to our national economy and supporting 
more than 340,000 existing jobs.
  According to Pew Charitable Trusts, this bill would also create 
110,000 additional jobs repairing infrastructure in our national parks.
  The Great American Outdoors Act also upholds Congress's long-standing 
commitment to ensuring access for all Americans to public lands.
  My hope is the investments made by this legislation will continue to 
fulfill the purposes laid out in the Land and Water Conservation Act of 
1965, articulated as ``. . . preserving, developing, and assuring 
accessibility to all citizens of the United States of America of 
present and future generations . . . and to strengthen the health and 
vitality of the citizens of the United States.''
  As our population continues to grow, it is even more vital to help 
all communities, regardless of race or income levels, enjoy access to 
America's beautiful open spaces, historical sites, and natural wonders.
  California is home to nine national parks--more than any other 
State--and we understand the tremendous value our public lands provide.
  According to the National Park Service, in 2019, 39.6 million park 
visitors spent an estimated $2.7 billion in local communities while 
visiting National Park Service lands in California. These expenditures 
supported a total of 36,000 jobs and $4.3 billion in economic output.
  That is an impressive amount by any measure, and I have witnessed the 
power of investments in our national parks with my own eyes in places 
like the California desert.
  For example, in 1994, I was proud to help enact the California Desert 
Protection Act which designated Joshua Tree as a national park and 
protected an additional 234,000 acres.
  Today, Joshua Tree is one of the most visited national parks in the 
country and welcomed 3 million visitors in 2019, according to the 
National Park Service. These visitors spent approximately $150 million 
in local communities surrounding the park and supported 1,860 jobs.
  In addition, California has been the largest recipient of Land and 
Water Conservation funds in the program's five-decade history. This 
funding has helped protect beloved places like the Lake Tahoe Basin, 
California Desert, Point Reyes National Seashore, Headwaters Forest, 
San Diego and Don Edwards National Wildlife Refuges, and the National 
Forests of the Sierra Nevada.
  According to a recent study, every $1 million spent from the Land and 
Water Conservation Fund supports as many as 30 jobs. Simply stated, an 
investment in our public lands is an investment in the health, welfare, 
and economies of our communities.
  In closing, I would like to thank all of my colleagues on both sides 
of the aisle who came together to prioritize these investments in our 
Nation's prized public lands and the communities that rely on them.
  Thank you.
  Mr. CARDIN. Mr. President, today I rise to reflect on land 
conservation as the Senate is poised to make an historic commitment to 
our public lands and waters. S. 3422, the Great American Outdoors Act, 
contains two core components. The first establishes the National Park 
Service and Public Lands Legacy Restoration Fund to support deferred 
maintenance projects on Federal lands. The second makes funding for the 
Land and Water Conservation Fund permanent. Taken together, these 
policies will conserve land for the enjoyment of the public for 
generations to come and ensure that we continue to protect our shared 
resources.
  The Restoration Fund must be used for priority deferred maintenance 
projects that are administered by the National Park Service, the Forest 
Service, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the Bureau of Land 
Management, and the Bureau of Indian Education. Our National Parks 
desperately need help, a situation President Trump's disastrous 2018-
2019 shutdown exacerbated. There is an estimated $11 billion 
maintenance backlog within the National Park System alone. Visitor 
numbers have increased in recent years and are likely to continue to do 
so, particularly as the public seeks respite at available units from 
the constraints that the novel coronavirus--COVID-19--pandemic has 
placed on daily life. Parks have been indispensable assets for 
communities during the ongoing public health emergency, allowing people 
to exercise and enjoy the outdoors safely with precautions, including 
staying local, practicing physical distancing, and using face 
coverings.
  The LWCF is one of our Nation's most successful conservation 
programs. Congress established the LWCF in 1964. Since then, it has 
protected nearly 5 million acres of Federal lands and supported over 
41,000 State and local projects through matching grants. LWCF has 
enjoyed bipartisan support since its inception; however, permanent 
funding will provide the fund with the long-term security and 
stabilization it deserves.
  Maryland has benefited immensely from Federal investment in public 
land. Open spaces are particularly important to just over 6 million 
Marylanders who live and recreate in a highly developed State. Outdoor 
enthusiasts have a significant economic impact on the Maryland 
communities they visit. In 2019, nearly 7 million park visitors spent 
an estimated $233 million in local gateway regions while visiting 
National Park Service lands in Maryland. These expenditures supported 
2,960 jobs, $117 million in labor income, and $313 million in economic 
output in the Maryland economy, according to the latest annual report, 
National Park Visitor Spending Effects.

[[Page S3035]]

  Consideration of this legislation coincides with Chesapeake Bay 
Awareness Week--June 6-14, 2020--leading up to the 6-year anniversary 
of the Chesapeake Bay Watershed Agreement. The agreement outlines five 
themes with 10 goals for the restoration and protection of the 
watershed region, including conserved lands, engaged communities, and 
climate change. On June 16, 2014, the Chesapeake Executive Council 
signed the Chesapeake Bay Watershed Agreement. Signatories include 
representatives from the entire watershed, committing for the first 
time the seven headwater jurisdictions--Maryland, Delaware, New York, 
Pennsylvania, Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia--to 
a full regional partnership with State, Federal, local, and academic 
watershed organizations in the Chesapeake Bay Program.
  Permanently funding the LWCF furthers the goals of the Chesapeake Bay 
Watershed Agreement--foremost, the land conservation goal: to conserve 
landscapes treasured by citizens in order to maintain water quality and 
habitat; sustain working forests, farms, and maritime communities; and 
conserve lands of cultural, indigenous, and community value. Stormwater 
runoff from urban and suburban areas is the fastest growing contributor 
of pollution to the Chesapeake Bay. While States have improved their 
urban and suburban stormwater regulatory programs, overall loads in the 
sector continue to increase due to population growth and development. 
Land conservation is a powerful tool for reducing this type of runoff. 
Protecting open spaces and sensitive natural areas reduces the water 
quality and flooding impacts of stormwater runoff, while providing 
recreational opportunities for residents.
  Public lands serve as essential cultural education centers, as is the 
case with the Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad National Historical 
Park. Congress established this park in 2014 in Cambridge, MD, within 
the Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge, a LWCF beneficiary site. The 
park memorializes the life of American hero Harriet Tubman, known for 
her contributions as a Civil War spy and nurse, suffragist, 
abolitionist, and Underground Railroad agent. The park allows visitors 
to explore the landscape in Dorchester County where Harriet Tubman was 
born into slavery. This unit is crucial to understanding Maryland's 
history and celebrating the life of Harriet Tubman and complements the 
stewardship goal to increase the number and diversity of local citizen 
stewards and local governments that actively support and carry out the 
conservation and restoration activities that achieve healthy local 
streams, rivers, and a vibrant Chesapeake Bay.

  The LWCF advances the Climate Resiliency Goal to increase the 
capacity of the Chesapeake Bay watershed, including its living 
resources, habitats, public infrastructure and communities, to 
withstand adverse impacts from changing environmental and climate 
conditions. With more than 3,000 miles of coastline, Maryland is 
particularly vulnerable to climate change impacts related to sea level 
rise, increased flooding, and extreme weather events according to the 
Maryland Commission on Climate Change and numerous peer-reviewed 
scientific studies. While advanced technology is necessary to combat 
climate change, we must not forget nature's carbon sink: our wetlands 
and forests. Natural capital, also known as green infrastructure, is a 
cost-effective way to support sustainability, including by protecting 
water resources and enhancing resilience. LWCF funds, particularly 
grants through the Forest Legacy Program, have enormous dividends by 
protecting forests and wetlands that have the natural ability to store 
excess carbon via photosynthesis. Best management practices can help 
protect these stores of carbon and the ability of forests and wetlands 
to sequester it. While this legislation is not explicitly linked to 
climate change, it is an example of how we can find commonsense, 
bipartisan climate change solutions.
  LWCF programs are also terrific examples of successful partnering 
with State and local government and private partners. Broad Creek in 
Dublin, MD, is an excellent example of forest stewardship in a rapidly 
urbanizing landscape. The Baltimore Area Council of the Boy Scouts of 
America owns this 1,964-acre property located within the Chesapeake Bay 
watershed and uses it for national and regional Boy Scout events. 
Several Federal- and State-listed rare, threatened and endangered 
species exist on the property. LWCF supported this conservation effort 
while supporting Boy Scout and environmental education activities, in 
Harford County, MD, in line with the Chesapeake Bay Watershed 
Agreement's environmental literacy goal: Enable students in the region 
to graduate with the knowledge and skills to act responsibly to protect 
and restore their local watershed.
  For Conquest Waterfront Preserve, $1,750,000 in LWCF resources helped 
protect Maryland's Eastern Shore. This 76-acre acquisition helped 
complete a 758-acre waterfront park in Queen Anne's County in 
partnership with the State, county, and the fund. Situated on a 
peninsula with 5 miles of shoreline along the Chester and Corsica 
Rivers, the project preserves important waterfowl habitat and wetland 
areas and expands public access to the Chesapeake Bay--another 
Chesapeake Bay Watershed Agreement goal: Expand public access to the 
Bay and its tributaries through existing and new local, State and 
Federal parks, refuges, reserves, trails, and partner sites.
  Communities across the globe are asking their leaders to consider how 
their policy decisions affect all of their constituents. The Great 
American Outdoors Act expands our opportunities for growth as a nation. 
This historic legislation represents the product of concerted 
bipartisan effort to invest in our Nation's future. By investing in our 
National Parks and other similar assets, we are helping to conserve our 
natural environment and create educational, accessible spaces for 
future generations of visitors. I am proud of what this body has 
accomplished and urge enactment of the Great American Outdoors Act into 
law.
  I do have one regret. I understand the legislation represents a 
carefully crafted compromise, but I think it is unfortunate that 
Senators have not been able to offer amendments to the bill. I filed an 
amendment, S. Amdt. 1636, to establish a Fallen Journalists Memorial 
here in Washington, DC. June 28 will mark the 2-year anniversary of the 
fatal shooting that occurred at the offices of the Capital Gazette, a 
newspaper serving Annapolis, MD. I based my amendment on legislation I 
introduced, S. 1969, the Fallen Journalists Memorial Act, which Senator 
Portman, Senator Manchin, and 10 other Senators have cosponsored. The 
amendment reflects changes the House Natural Resources Committee made 
when it marked up the bill and ordered it to be reported favorably by 
voice vote. The changes the committee made, in turn, reflect input from 
stakeholders including the National Park Service, which supports the 
bill. The legislation is bipartisan, noncontroversial, and does not 
impose any cost to taxpayers. The memorial would serve as a fitting 
tribute to the Gazette's staff and to all other journalists who have 
died in the line of duty and to our Nation's commitment to a free 
press. I hope that I can work with Senators Murkowski and Manchin, the 
chair and ranking member of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources 
Committee, respectively, to secure this bill's passage as soon as 
possible.
  Ms. CANTWELL. 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. MANCHIN. 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. MANCHIN. Mr. President, in a few minutes, we are going to be 
voting to pass the Great American Outdoors Act, and before this bill 
crosses the finish line, I thought it would be a good opportunity to 
reflect upon all the work that it took to get us here today.
  You see my colleagues around. This has truly been a labor of love 
from all of us who love the outdoors. If there is one thing we have 
found about the outdoors, it is no matter whether you are a Democrat or 
a Republican, you love it. We all participate in it; we all enjoy it; 
and we want to pass it on to our children and grandchildren and next 
generations to come.

[[Page S3036]]

  I am proud to be joined by every Member of the Democratic caucus in 
supporting this legislation to permanently fund the Land and Water 
Conservation Fund and to put $9.5 billion toward maintenance backlogs 
on our treasured public lands, and I am very appreciative and very 
proud to be working with our Republican friends who are joining us to 
support the Great American Outdoors Act. It truly has been 
bipartisanship at its best, and it is something we need so much more 
of.
  Passing permanent LWCF authorization last year was an important step, 
but securing a permanent, dedicated funding source for the multiple 
conservation programs funded by the LWCF has been the ultimate goal of 
the Democratic leaders of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources 
Committee all the way back to Senator Jeff Bingaman. So it goes back 
quite a ways.
  Many other Senators, Democratic and Republican, Members of the House, 
both retired and here today, have been champions for the LWCF and 
helped to pave the way to where we are today. We are within striking 
distance of realizing the goal of permanent, mandatory funding, 
especially since we have only seen the full funding twice in 55 years. 
To have it now, where it is going to be permanent, and the $21 billion 
that went down the black hole, that will no longer happen. We will be 
able to make sure that the projects in all of our wonderful States--and 
I think almost every county in the country is going to benefit. It is 
on a personal basis. It truly is a long, hard-fought caucus 
achievement, and I am incredibly proud that as the current ranking 
member of the Senate Energy and National Resources Committee, as a 
sponsor of the LWCF Permanent Funding Act, and one of the lead 
Democrats on this bill to be part of getting this legislation done.
  I have my good friend Senator Heinrich of New Mexico, who has worked 
so hard. Then we have had Senator Cantwell. We have had Senator Ron 
Wyden and all who have been former chairs of the committees or ranking 
members. On the Republican side, all my colleagues there will be 
speaking on behalf of bringing so many people together.
  So its time has come. It is a testament to the importance of this 
historic conservation legislation that has brought so many of us 
together in support. Something this impactful doesn't happen overnight. 
It takes time and hard work. I would like to recognize the work of my 
colleagues and thank them again.
  We had a lot of votes. We have had a lot of votes that we have had to 
shepherd through and make sure that everybody understood how important, 
how historic, and the timing of something--to be able to say that you 
were in this body, you were able to vote and participate on a piece of 
legislation so our country, the United States of America, is going to 
be able to share with every inhabitant we have and all the visitors 
coming from around the world for years and years and generations to 
come, that is pretty historic. To have that happen, I think, is one of 
the most important things we have done in the conservation world in the 
last 50 years.
  So we are very proud of that. Sixty of my Senate colleagues have 
cosponsored the Great American Outdoors Act, and 20 more joined us last 
week, resulting in strong bipartisan votes to begin consideration of 
the historic bill. The beauty of our Nation's great outdoors truly 
brings them together.
  All of us have been able to speak and show you pictures of our 
wonderful, beautiful States. These are some beautiful pictures from my 
beautiful State of West Virginia. This is Cheat River Canyon here. 
Anybody who has ever rafted that or hiked it or been on top and looked 
down to the beautiful vista, this is just truly as rugged as it looks 
right here. It is something gorgeous when you pass through it on a 
raft. It is really unbelievable.
  I would invite everybody to come and visit. We are only a 5-hour 
drive from about half the population of the United States, right here 
in West Virginia.
  This other photo is of the Dolly Sods Wilderness, a beautiful place. 
This is what we call Bear Rocks. I have a little, little place right 
down in the Canaan Valley area here, and I intend to be there this 
weekend with my family. This is something we enjoy. This is an 
unbelievable vista here. Again, it is only 3 hours from Washington, DC, 
by driving
  So we invite you all to West Virginia. We would love everybody to 
come visit and enjoy what sometimes we take for granted. When you have 
these types of views, you can never take that for granted, what the 
Good Lord gave us all. Every one of our States has so much to offer.
  At the end of the day, this is an opportunity for us to pass down a 
legacy to our kids, our grandkids, and of course generations to come.
  I believe this will be the most impactful nationwide conservation 
legislation since the Land and Water Conservation Fund was first 
created over 50 years ago.
  From what we have seen from the votes over the last week and a half, 
I anticipate we will see again today. It is a shining example of 
Democrats and Republicans coming together to put politics aside to do 
what is best for conserving this great Nation's natural resources.
  So I would like to say thank you to all of them.
  Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent to have printed in the Record 
a list of all of my staff who have worked on this. I am sure my friends 
on the Republican side would do the same because there has been a lot 
of effort put forth. People have worked long nights and long weekends 
to make this happen
  There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in 
the Record, as follows:

     H.R. 1957--Great American Outdoors Act Staff (Senator Manchin)

       David Brooks, Democratic General Counsel; Renae Black, 
     Democratic Staff Director; Sam Fowler, Democratic Chief 
     Counsel; Samantha Runyon, Democratic Communications Director; 
     Bryan Petit, Democratic Senior Professional Staff Member; 
     Elliot Howard, Democratic Professional Staff Member; Melanie 
     Thornton, Democratic Professional Staff Member; Charlotte 
     Bellotte, Democratic Research Assistant; Adam Berry, 
     Democratic Research Assistant; Cameron Nelson, Democratic 
     Research Assistant; Jeremy Ortiz, Democratic Digital Manager; 
     Peter Stahley, National Park Service Bevinetto Fellow; Lance 
     West, Chief of Staff; Wes Kungel, Legislative Director.

  Mr. MANCHIN. I have got David Brooks, who has been on the committee 
for 30 years. He probably knows more about this process. I know he is 
fretting over is every word right, is every comma in the right place, 
every dot in the right place, but we have confidence in David and Sam 
Fowler and Renae Black doing a great job with the committee on the 
ranking member's side.
  To every one of them who have worked so hard, thank you. God bless 
each and every one of them for a job well done, and it is something 
that we can all take pride in.
  Someone said: How was your work in the Capitol? I said: We had a 
great week. We had a great week, and today is going to be the 
culmination of that great week.
  So I want to thank you, Mr. President, for allowing me to make these 
comments. I want to make sure we enter into the Record all the people 
who deserve the credit. I want to thank my colleagues for being here 
also.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Colorado.
  Mr. GARDNER. Mr. President, I want to thank my colleague from the 
great State of West Virginia for his work on this over the past many, 
many years, as we have worked on, individually, the Land and Water 
Conservation Fund and the Restore Our Parks Act, for his leadership on 
the Energy and Natural Resources committee. I am grateful to Senator 
Manchin for his leadership and friendship.
  So many people worked on this together: Senator Burr and the work he 
did, tirelessly, year after year, on the Land and Water Conservation 
Fund; of course, Senator Heinrich, Senator Warner, Senator Portman, 
Senator Alexander on the Restore Our Parks Act, Senators King, 
Cantwell--all crucial to the success this bill will see today--Senators 
across both sides of the aisle coming together for what one newspaper 
in Colorado described as the holy grail of conservation legislation.
  But it is the staff as well. I start with Senator Daines and his 
leadership on the Land and Water Conservation Fund, the Restore Our 
Parks Act, his

[[Page S3037]]

leadership on the Parks Subcommittee and the Great American Outdoors 
Act; Senator Daines and his staff, Jason Thielman, Darin Thacker, 
Joshua Sizemore, Holly Hinojosa; Senator Warner, Elizabeth Falcone, 
Micah Barbour; Senator Portman, along with Pam Thiessen and Sarah 
Perry--incredible work by staff members.
  In Senator King's office we were greatly aided by Chad Metzler and 
Morgan Cashwell; Senator Alexander's great team of David Cleary, 
Allison Martin, and Anna Newton; Senator Cantwell's, Amit Ronen; and 
Senator McConnell, Terry Van Doren.
  Obviously, for the floor time, I am very grateful to Senator 
McConnell for bringing us to the floor to allow this debate to take 
place over the last week and a half and the work that we did to achieve 
and secure the President's support for the Great American Outdoors Act.
  Senator Heinrich, Lio Barrera, Maya Hermann; Senator Manchin, Lance 
West, Renae Black, David Brooks; Senator Burr's staff of Natasha 
Hickman, Joshua Bowlen; and of course on my team, the outstanding 
work--they have to overcome a lot working with me, Ashley Higgins, 
Spencer Hamilton, Dustin Sherer, Jennifer Lorain, and Curtis Swager. I 
am grateful to all of them for their work and their support.
  The Great American Outdoors Act is the culmination of two things that 
have taken this Congress a long time to be able to pass. In fact, we 
tried last Congress to get it out of the House, and we couldn't do it 
alone under the Restore Our Parks Act. We tried and we got pieces and 
parts of the Land and Water Conservation Fund done, but we couldn't 
quite get the whole thing until we brought these two bills together.
  Senator Manchin, Senator Burr, Senator Daines--the whole group of 
people whom I mentioned, working bipartisan across the aisle to make 
this happen.
  The two bills together will help create significant opportunity for 
all of America. This isn't a bill that just benefits the East or the 
West. This isn't a bill that just benefits the coastal States or the 
interior States.
  This is a chart that shows the States that benefit from the Great 
American Outdoors Act. The States that are in green shows who benefits 
from the Great American Outdoors Act. The States in orange are the 
States that do not get the benefit from the Great American Outdoors 
Act.
  There are no States in orange. The entire country, from Alaska and 
Hawaii to Florida and Maine and everywhere in between, benefits from 
the Great American Outdoors Act.
  We know this is going to create jobs across the country: $495 million 
dollars a year in the Land and Water Conservation Fund. For every $1 
million a year invested in the Land and Water Conservation Fund, it 
supports between 16 and 30 jobs. This bill will assure full and 
permanent funding in the Land and Water Conservation Fund--$900 million 
a year--the opportunity to create between 16 and 30 jobs for every $1 
million spent.
  On national parks, you think about the national park economic 
benefits. In 2018, economic benefits from national park visitor 
spending increased by over $2 billion. If you look at the number of 
just in Colorado alone, we had 7.6 million national park visitors. 
Those visitors helped create 7,000--over 7,000 jobs paying over $258 
million in income.
  Overall, we know this bill on the park side alone will create over 
100,000 jobs--100,000 jobs in the communities that were hardest hit by 
the first waves of the coronavirus; communities in our public lands 
that saw their ski areas shut down, their outfitters canceled.
  This will create jobs and opportunity. In Colorado, thousands of jobs 
will be created by this portion of the bill alone.
  You know, it has been said by some of our greatest advocates that 
within our national parks is room--glorious room--in which to find 
ourselves, in which to think and hope, to dream and plan, to rest and 
resolve.
  In 1893, Katharine Lee Bates visited Colorado Springs and climbed up 
Pikes Peak. While looking out over the land, she wrote a poem that we 
all know very well. She wrote the words to ``America the Beautiful''--
of spacious skies and amber waves of grain. She talked about purple 
mountain majesties.
  Our lands define who we are--our struggles and triumphs, our homes 
and our futures. From the solemnity of the redwoods to the vastness of 
the everglades, they inspire us and give us space to dream. In Hawaii, 
these lands crackle as new Earth forms from molten rock. In 
Pennsylvania, they bear the blood of a nation on the hallowed grounds 
of Gettysburg and Flight 93. In Colorado, they are a testament to 
prairie and peak, to plateau and pioneer. From sea to shining sea, our 
public lands are the story of America.
  All of these lands--every single acre--tell the story of a nation 
formed out of hope for fairness, justice, equality, and freedom. Acre 
after acre shows our Nation's continued struggle to form a more perfect 
Union, a nation never content but committed to learning from the 
mistakes of the past to become a better place tomorrow than we are 
today, and to assure the Nation's greatest treasure, our youth, has 
these lands to learn from, to live with, and to prosper on for 
generations to come. Long after this Congress adjourns, they will give 
life to America, these great and wild places.
  In just a few minutes, we will take a vote on a very historic piece 
of legislation, and I hope that my colleagues will find it within them 
to vote yes on this important piece of legislation for generations to 
come.
  I yield the floor to Senator Heinrich.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from New Mexico.
  Mr. HEINRICH. Mr. President, I thank my colleague from Colorado. I 
really thank my colleague from West Virginia and the incredible 
teamwork that has played out here on the U.S. Senate floor.
  This is a time in our country when we don't always have that kind of 
teamwork. Let's be honest. This has been a year when much of the 
country has been divided, but we have been able to come together around 
the one thing that truly unites us. Certainly, in having lived through 
the last 3 months, when many people have been shuttered in their homes 
for weeks and weeks at a time, I think it has really driven home for 
many of us that the outdoors is not just a luxury but is something we 
need.
  I see we are now joined by my colleague from Montana as well, who did 
great work on this, which also drives home the fact that nothing around 
here gets done by one single individual or one party. It gets done when 
we come together.
  I want to take just a minute and thank Senator Jeff Bingaman, who 
held my seat before I did, who made this the centerpiece of his work 
while he was in the Senate and plowed the ground on which we walk 
today.
  I thank all of my staff, especially Maya Hermann and Lio Barrera, for 
all of their good work. I also thank Senator Gardner for recognizing 
all of those on our staff--all of the good people who made this happen.
  In New Mexico, we have protected such incredible landscapes with the 
Land and Water Conservation Fund. The Valles Caldera--New Mexico's 
Yellowstone--is known for its herds of elk, its hot springs, its 
enormous volcanic caldera, and places like Ute Mountain that wouldn't 
be in the public trust were it not for the Land and Water Conservation 
Fund.
  I was so proud to work with Senator Lamar Alexander on a bill called 
Every Kid Outdoors. This is the bill that will allow us to make sure 
that every kid will be within walking distance of a neighborhood park.
  I hope that all of our colleagues will find it in their hearts to 
support this legislation today and will send a strong message to the 
House of Representatives to take up this legislation quickly.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Under the previous order, all postcloture time 
has expired.
  The amendment was ordered to be engrossed and the bill to be read a 
third time.
  The bill was read the third time.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The bill having been read the third time, the 
question is, Shall the bill pass?
  Mr. DAINES. Mr. President, I ask for the yeas and nays.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there a sufficient second?
  There appears to be a sufficient second.

[[Page S3038]]

  The clerk will call the roll.
  The legislative clerk called the roll.
  Mr. DURBIN. I announce that the Senator from Massachusetts (Mr. 
Markey) and the Senator from Washington (Mrs. Murray) are necessarily 
absent.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Lankford). Are there any other Senators in 
the Chamber desiring to vote?
  The result was announced--yeas 73, nays 25, as follows:

                      [Rollcall Vote No. 121 Leg.]

                                YEAS--73

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

                                NAYS--25

     Barrasso
     Blackburn
     Braun
     Cassidy
     Cornyn
     Crapo
     Cruz
     Enzi
     Fischer
     Hawley
     Hyde-Smith
     Inhofe
     Johnson
     Kennedy
     Lankford
     Lee
     Moran
     Paul
     Risch
     Romney
     Rounds
     Sasse
     Scott (FL)
     Shelby
     Toomey

                             NOT VOTING--2

     Markey
     Murray
       
  The bill (H.R. 1957), as amended, was passed


                           Amendment No. 1618

  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that 
the title amendment No. 1618 be considered and agreed to and that the 
motion to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table with no 
intervening action or debate.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there objection?
  Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The amendment (No. 1618) was agreed to, as follows

                     (Purpose: To amend the title)

       Amend the title so as to read: ``An Act to amend title 54, 
     United States Code, to establish, fund, and provide for the 
     use of amounts in a National Parks and Public Land Legacy 
     Restoration Fund to address the maintenance backlog of the 
     National Park Service, the United States Fish and Wildlife 
     Service, the Bureau of Land Management, the Forest Service, 
     and the Bureau of Indian Education, and to provide permanent, 
     dedicated funding for the Land and Water Conservation Fund, 
     and for other purposes.''.

                          ____________________