[Congressional Record Volume 166, Number 193 (Thursday, November 12, 2020)]
[Senate]
[Pages S6667-S6669]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                         End-of-Year Priorities

  Madam President, finally, while the election updates have dominated 
headlines over the last week or so, the work of the 116th Congress is 
far from being finished.
  As I mentioned yesterday, my top priority is to pass another 
coronavirus relief package. We need to ensure that our researchers and 
scientists have the resources they need to continue to make progress on 
the therapeutics and eventual vaccine and the money and the logistical 
organization needed to deploy the vaccine once it is finally approved. 
I suspect that there will not just be one vaccine but, hopefully, 
multiple vaccines available.
  We also need to make sure that our ongoing economic recovery keeps 
trending in the right direction.
  While addressing this pandemic should be our top priority, we can't 
take our eyes off of other threats. Over the last few months, I have 
been working with a bipartisan group of Senators and others in the 
House to advance legislation to address our vulnerabilities in one of 
our most critical supply chains. This is one of the most significant 
lessons this virus has taught us--the vulnerability of some critical 
supply chains. One of those is for semiconductors.
  Regardless of how much the average consumer knows about 
semiconductors, these chips, these integrated circuits, are everywhere. 
They are in the technology for everything, including our cell phones to 
the advanced weapons systems that support our national security and 
defense. Yet, for all of the ways our dependence on products that use 
semiconductors has grown, so has our vulnerability, because the U.S. 
production of these chips has declined over the last two decades. It 
will come as no surprise that other countries have stepped in to fill 
the void.
  China has gone from manufacturing zero semiconductors to 
manufacturing 16 percent of the world's supply. You can bet it doesn't 
plan to stop there. China is preparing to invest another $1.4 trillion 
in semiconductor technologies. If you are looking for a reason that 
this is so dangerous, just look at the personal protective equipment 
shortages we faced at the start of this pandemic. The need was so high 
that hospitals asked the public to help boost their supplies. They took 
donations from folks who had extra boxes of N95 masks in their garages, 
and they took gloves from salons that had closed their doors to help in 
the mitigation efforts.
  We didn't reach that point because of there being a lack of 
preparation by hospitals but, rather, because of our reliance--our 
dependence, if you will--on other countries, notably China, to produce 
this medical gear. It has been a wake-up call and a reminder that we 
need to take action today to protect our most critical supply chains 
from similar vulnerabilities. If we are going to regain lost ground in 
semiconductor manufacturing, it is going to require a strategic 
investment by the Federal Government.
  That is where the legislation I introduced with our colleague, the 
senior Senator from Virginia, Senator Warner, comes in, which is called 
the CHIPS for America Act. It creates a Federal incentive program, 
through the Department of Commerce, to encourage semiconductor 
manufacturing in the United States. This will, we hope, help to 
stimulate domestic advanced semiconductor manufacturing and boost both 
our national security and our global economic competitiveness.
  We worked hand in glove with Senator Cotton from Arkansas and with 
Senator Schumer, the Democratic leader, in drafting an amendment that 
was adopted by the whole Senate by a vote of 96 to 4 in the national 
defense authorization bill. So, as you can see, this is a priority for 
both the Republicans and the Democrats in the House and in the Senate, 
and I am optimistic that it will head to the President's desk with the 
full National Defense Authorization Act in the coming weeks. Yet this 
just means we are halfway there.
  The next step is funding. I am working with colleagues on both sides 
to ensure we can provide the full funding for this legislation and 
finally restore American leadership in semiconductor manufacturing. 
This is key to our long-term national security and economic 
competitiveness, and it will be one of my top priorities in the coming 
weeks as the Senate prepares to consider appropriations bills.
  It is no longer possible for us just to leave this sort of laissez-
faire free market economics. Our competitors--notably, Communist 
China--are investing billions of dollars in everything from 5G to 
artificial intelligence, to quantum computers. They don't have to go 
through a democratic or constitutional process like we do in order to 
appropriate money for that purpose.
  I just think it is time for us to rethink and maybe reset the way we 
view our vulnerabilities and our need to be competitive and, indeed, to 
win that competition with countries like Communist China, which do not 
play by the same set of rules as we do.
  Before the end of the year, I also hope we can get another piece of 
legislation across the finish line called the Jenna Quinn Law, which is 
the ultimate example of noncontroversial, consensus legislation. 
Senator Hassan of New Hampshire is my partner on this particular bill. 
It is named for an inspiring Texan who is one of more than 42 million 
adult survivors of child sexual abuse nationwide. Sadly, these victims 
often stay silent for months, years, or some for even a lifetime, and 
as a result, they and countless other victims continue to be subjected 
to abuse.
  Jenna has devoted her life to interrupting this cycle. She was the 
driving force behind a State law in Texas which requires training for 
teachers and caregivers and other adults who work with children on how 
to prevent, recognize, and report child sexual abuse. The signs of 
child sexual abuse are unique from other forms of child abuse, and 
correctly identifying these signs is integral to bringing children out 
of an abusive situation.
  After our State law passed in 2009, one study found educators 
reported child sexual abuse at a rate almost four times greater after 
training than they did before training. It was one of the first child 
sexual abuse prevention laws in the United States to mandate such 
training, and now more than half of the States have adopted some form 
of Jenna's Law.
  Well, you might ask, if the States are passing these laws, why would 
we need to pass one here at the Federal level? Many States that have 
required training simply don't have funding for these programs. The 
Jenna Quinn law, when we pass it out of the House and it is signed by 
the President, will change that. It will allow the Department of Health 
and Human Services to make grants to be used for specialized training 
for students, teachers, and caregivers to learn how to identify, safely 
report, and hopefully prevent future child sexual abuse. It encourages 
States without similar laws to implement innovative programs to address 
child sexual abuse.

[[Page S6668]]

  The Jenna Quinn Law passed the Senate unanimously here in September, 
and common sense would lead you to think it would pass in the House 
quickly and land on the President's desk without delay. Unfortunately, 
common sense doesn't always prevail here in Washington. Some in the 
House have chosen to hold this lifesaving legislation in an effort to 
advance a partisan bill that has no chance of passing in the Senate.
  That is what many people hate about this place--holding hostage a 
consensus, bipartisan, child sexual assault victim prevention bill to 
help advance another partisan bill that has no chance of passing. We 
all know that an all-or-nothing approach here in Washington and 
particularly in Congress leaves you in the end with nothing. And when 
it comes to something as grave and consequential as child sexual abuse, 
that should not be an option.
  As I have said before, this is a bipartisan bill that received 
unanimous support here in the Senate.
  I have worked with several House Democrats on this legislation, 
including Congresswoman Susan Wild, who is the lead sponsor, and 
Congresswoman Haley Stevens, both of whom are members of the committee 
that has so far not even taken up the bill in the House. I have also 
been joined by two fellow Texans--Congressmen   Michael McCaul and Ron 
Wright--who have seen the incredible impact Jenna's Law has had in our 
State.
  I hope our Democratic colleagues will push back on their leaders who 
are basically dragging their feet on this legislation and get it passed 
so we can save lives.
  As families have isolated at home during the pandemic, signs of abuse 
have been harder and harder to identify. Teachers, education 
professionals, and other support staff at schools, like busdrivers, are 
responsible for more than half of the child sexual abuse reports, but 
obviously, if our children aren't going to the classroom, those reports 
are declining.
  With children at home during the pandemic--out of sight from their 
teachers and other adults who would otherwise see them on a routine 
basis--we have seen a 40-percent decrease in reports compared to the 
same time last year. Well, normally, that would be great news. Any 
reduction in reports of child sexual abuse would be great news. But 
based on everything we know about the stresses and circumstances 
created by this pandemic and the fact that the children have to be in 
school to get identified as being a victim, this reduction in reports 
is distressing for all the obvious reasons. It is just not being 
identified or reported like it should be.
  The need to pass this legislation to help our most vulnerable escape 
the cycle of abuse has never been greater. So I would urge all of our 
colleagues and particularly our House colleagues to pass the Jenna 
Quinn Law without delay so we can get it to the President's desk so we 
can provide the help victims of child sexual abuse need as soon as 
possible.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Virginia


                             2020 Elections

  Mr. KAINE. Madam President, on November 9, 2016, I had one of the 
most memorable experiences of my life.
  I stood on a hotel stage in New York City and, as my party's nominee 
for Vice President, introduced Secretary Hillary Clinton to address her 
supporters and the Nation for a concession speech. The polls in the 
Western United States had just been closed for about 10 hours, and it 
was a mere 8 hours after news organizations had called the 2016 
election for Donald Trump.
  Hillary Clinton had made history. She was the first woman nominee of 
a major party for President, and she had won the popular vote by 
millions of votes.
  She was also deeply concerned about the election itself. Candidate 
Donald Trump had openly solicited help from a foreign adversary to win 
the election. While the dimensions of the foreign misinformation 
campaign were not yet fully clear, the Nation's intelligence community 
had publicly warned that a foreign country was active in efforts to 
undermine Secretary Clinton's candidacy and create chaos and division 
in the American electorate.
  But Hillary Clinton was and is a patriotic American. She knew that 
she was behind by nearly 77,000 votes in the key States of 
Pennsylvania, Michigan, and Wisconsin. She knew that it was highly 
unlikely that recounts would change any of those three deficits in any 
appreciable way.
  I watched Secretary Clinton struggle with the war between her 
personal feelings and her earnest search for what was right for the 
country, and I struggled with those same feelings. I was proud of 
Secretary Clinton when she walked to a microphone and said these words:

       Last night, I congratulated Donald Trump and offered to 
     work with him on behalf of our country. I hope that he will 
     be a successful president for all Americans. This is not the 
     outcome we wanted or we worked so hard for and I'm sorry that 
     we did not win the election for the values we share and the 
     vision we hold for our country.
       We have seen that our nation is more deeply divided than we 
     thought. But I still believe in America and I always will. 
     And if you do, then we must accept this result and then look 
     to the future. Donald Trump is going to be our next 
     president. We owe him an open mind and the chance to lead.
       Our constitutional democracy enshrines the peaceful 
     transfer of power and we don't just respect that, we cherish 
     it.

  It takes a strong moral compass to quickly set aside personal 
disappointment and choose country over your own personal feelings. 
Hillary Clinton demonstrated leadership that day.
  I take the floor today to ask why Donald Trump won't put the country 
over his personal feelings, but I particularly want to ask my 
Republican Senate colleagues: Why won't you ask the President of your 
party to do the right thing and put the interests of the country over 
personal or partisan pursuits?
  It is now 9 days after election day. It is 5 days since all major 
news organizations called the Presidential election for Joe Biden and 
Kamala Harris. Donald Trump is now behind in the popular vote by more 
than 5 million votes, and that number is rising. Some suggest that the 
ultimate margin will be closer to 7 million votes. Donald Trump is 
behind in the key States of Pennsylvania, Michigan, and Wisconsin--not 
by the 77,000-vote margin of 4 years ago but by nearly 220,000 votes, 
and that number is going up every day. Donald Trump has lost two other 
key States that he won in 2016--Georgia and Arizona. Yet how is 
President Trump acting? Like a spoiled child.
  But it is not just a childish refusal to concede a loss; in his 
weakness, he is willing to speak and act in ways destructive to our 
democracy. He has not reached out to President-Elect Biden. He has not 
conceded. He and his White House team are instructing Federal agencies 
not to cooperate with the Biden transition. He is not allowing 
congressionally appropriated moneys to be used by the Biden transition. 
He is spreading unfounded rumors about voter fraud or irregularities 
without meaningful evidence. He is trashing hard-working election 
officials--even Republican officials--with his baseless claims. As 
reported yesterday by Military.com, his legal team is even branding as 
fraudulent ballots sent in by American service men and women and their 
families.
  Just as ominous, President Trump is starting a purge of officials at 
the Pentagon, beginning with the firing of Defense Secretary Mark 
Esper. The officials the President is now jamming into short-term 
acting roles at the Pentagon include some who are unqualified and some 
who even Republican members of the Senate Armed Services Committee have 
previously determined are unfit to serve. These actions send a message 
of chaos and instability to adversaries around the world at the very 
time when the United States should be trying to send a message of calm 
and order.
  It is futile to ask President Trump to put country over his personal 
interests. He has not been willing to do that. But I do ask my Senate 
Republican colleagues: Won't you concede that the country has elected a 
new President? Won't you speak out against baseless claims of voter 
fraud that whip up dangerous division at home, demean hard-working 
election officials, and paint an embarrassing picture of the United 
States around the world? Won't you demand that the Trump administration 
allow the Biden transition team the resources that we in Congress have 
provided to assist in that important task?

[[Page S6669]]

Won't you ask the President to avoid massive firings or other personnel 
actions in the lameduck period that heighten the sense of American 
instability? Won't you stand up for the proposition that peaceful 
transfers of power are a sacred part of our American heritage?
  I recently took a look at comments that I made on the floor at this 
very spot on February 4. I was worried then, but my comments read even 
more frightening now. I stood here to explain my vote for 
impeachment. I said then:

       ``Unchallenged evil spreads like a virus. We have allowed a 
     toxic President to infect the Senate and warp its behavior. 
     An acquittal will lead to worse behavior.''

  The acquittal of this President has led to worse behavior. He is 
willing to demean our democracy in the eyes of the world because he is 
too weak to acknowledge that he lost an election. But there is still 
time for the Senate to be the adult leaders that this Nation so badly 
needs. Patriotic and mature leadership will not come from the President 
or the administration. The Senate must provide it.
  And in the Senate, at this moment, strong Republican leadership to 
condemn President Trump's foolishness is key. When we Democrats stand 
up against the President, it makes little difference. We just get 
discounted by the President and his supporters. They are quickly 
forming a dangerous ``Lost Cause'' mythology about a stolen election. 
Every single Member of this Chamber knows that the myth that is being 
perpetrated is a lie. But some people will fall for the myth unless 
Republicans are willing to stand up and call out the lie.
  The next 10 weeks are filled with peril. With COVID cases rising, 
hospitalizations increasing, deaths tragically multiplying, and people 
and businesses still suffering, we should be laser-focused on crushing 
this virus and rebuilding the American economy. The United States does 
not have the luxury to engage in conspiracy theories and multiple bogus 
election challenges.
  To my colleagues, especially my Republican colleagues, the Nation 
needs the Senate right now to send a message of calm transition to a 
new administration. Please put our country first.
  I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Scott of Florida). The clerk will call the 
roll.
  The senior assistant legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. BLUNT. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for 
the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.

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