[Congressional Record Volume 166, Number 218 (Monday, December 21, 2020)]
[Senate]
[Pages S7915-S7922]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
ENVIRONMENTAL LEGISLATION
Mr. BARRASSO. Mr. President, I have just recently been talking about
a number of pieces of legislation that have come through the
Environment and Public Works Committee: the water resources act, the
USE IT Act, the act called DERA to eliminate and reduce emissions from
diesels, as well as additional legislation on HFCs.
My partner in all of those is here on the floor now, and I would just
like to ask him if he would--since he has been such a great partner for
the last 4 years that I have chaired the committee--talk about this as
an accomplishment for the environment, for the committee, and for the
Senate and for the country.
So I am just kind of curious, from his standpoint, where he sees
things as a sign of success.
Mr. CARPER. Mr. President, if my colleague will yield.
As Senator Casey leaves, I thought his point about longest night and
every day that follows will be brighter, and some of the provisions
that Senator Barrasso and I, along with John Neely Kennedy, have
included in the Nation's major budget piece of legislation ensure that
it will be brighter.
One of the pieces of legislation, as Senator Barrasso knows, deals
with the phasedown of HFCs, hydrofluorocarbons. They are 1,000 times
worse for climate change than carbon dioxide. Under the legislation
that we have offered, it will phase down their utilization over the
next 15 years by 85 percent. What is that worth? It is worth a half a
degree Celsius--just this one thing, just this one provision.
A lot of people on this planet think the biggest challenge that we
face on this planet right now, an existential threat, is the fact that
our planet is getting warmer and that we need to do something about it.
In this legislation, we do take a big bite out of it.
And my hope is what it will be is that it will serve as a source of
encouragement for other Democrats and Republicans, maybe an Independent
or two, to take other steps as we come back into the new year with the
new administration and make further progress.
One of the great things that I love about our HFC legislation--
thanks, colleague.
One of the great things, Mr. Chairman, that I love about our HFC
legislation is that it shows that you can do good things for our planet
and create jobs. That is what I said: do good things for our planet in
the battle against climate change and create jobs. How many jobs? Tens
of thousands of jobs--in this country, in this country; billions of
dollars' worth of economic growth--in this country--and at the same
time doing good things with respect to climate change.
Interestingly, it is not every day you find legislation supported by
the National Association of Manufacturers, the U.S. Chamber of
Commerce, most major environmental groups, and cosponsored by, gosh,
two-thirds of the Senate--Democrats and Republicans alike.
[[Page S7916]]
In that case, we have done it. We threaded the needle. I just want to
thank the chairman for his leadership and for his patience and the
staff in working with us. And our thanks to Rich Russell, your staff
leader on the majority side; Mary Frances Repko, the staff leader on
our side; and everybody who worked with her.
But more than a decade ago, I remember standing next to my colleague
John Barrasso--I remember standing right over close to where he is
standing tonight, and a guy named George Voinovich came up to me--from
Ohio. He and I had been Governors together for a number of years. Love
the guy.
He said: I am looking for a Democratic cosponsor for a bill. He said:
Do you want to think about it? I said: Well, what is it? He said: It is
a proposal that fosters collaboration between businesses, folks who
have buses with diesel engines, trains with diesel engines, boats with
diesel engines, trucks with diesel engines; and it uses some Federal
money, some government money, in order to use technology that is
available to reduce the emissions from those diesel engines by more
than 80 percent.
I said: Tell me more. And he told me more, and about a day or two
later we signed on and introduced the legislation. He was kind enough
to let me be his Democratic lead.
One month later, it was enacted. I have been here 20 years; I have
never seen legislation with that kind of effect go through just like
that. It was pretty amazing. Every so often, we reauthorize it; we
increase the authorization. We have done it again with respect to
reauthorizing the Diesel Emission Reduction Act.
One of the things I love about it is that it gets a lot of different
stakeholders involved, and for a limited amount of Federal dollars, we
can have a multiplier effect that can be, for every Federal dollar, $5,
$6, $7, $8 that have come in from the private sector. That is the way
we ought to do it.
The last one is USE IT. Not many people think Delaware is a farm
State, but we raise a ton of chickens. I think for every person in my
State, there are like 300 chickens or more. Those chickens eat corn and
soybeans. We raise corn and soybeans. Our farmers have land that is
close to the beach. We have five-star beaches in Delaware: Rehoboth,
Bethany, Dewey, and others. There is always pressure for development
and encroachment on our farms, and developers are trying to buy out the
farmers and pave paradise and put up a parking lot. What we have
figured out how to do is--and it is not just--we haven't figured out
through this legislation, the so-called USE IT Act, but what we do is--
the idea is to take carbon out of the air and to use it for a better
purpose.
One of those better purposes is to replenish the soil in my State, in
Wyoming, in Montana, and other places so that our farmers will be less
inclined to leave the land. They will stay on the land. They will be
able to make money, support themselves and their families. It creates a
virtuous cycle. That is a wonderful thing.
I don't think we are going to be joined here yet--I called him just
to give him a heads-up, but I don't think he is able to get here that
quickly, but John Neely Kennedy from Louisiana was a big part of the
work we did on HFCs. I just want to say, in his absence, a real big
thank-you to him. I want to thank--gosh, I think 70-plus Senators--
Democrats and Republicans alike--who cosponsored our HFC bill. I want
to thank our leadership, especially on our side but on both sides, for
pushing to make sure these three bills would be included in the final
compromise.
In addition to all the other things that were accomplished--and
Senator Casey and others talked about that--we have actually done some
good things for our planet. Senator Barrasso is going to move over and
be the senior Republican on the Energy and Natural Resources Committee
come January. I will remain on Environment and Public Works, be the
senior Democrat. I want to say that this has been a wonderful
partnership, just a wonderful partnership--fun, funny, serious when we
had to be, collegial, and really focused on getting things done for
Wyoming, for Delaware, for the other 48 States as well.
So you are not going to be too far, and I will still be around. We
will have a chance to work on other things. It has been a real joy to
work with you on these three items, and hopefully in the future we will
have many, many more.
Mr. BARRASSO. I thank Senator Carper. I appreciate it.
You know, it is interesting: Senator Alexander recently gave his
speech, his farewell address, and he said that sometimes politics is
like a split-screen television set. On the one half, you see all the
fighting and contention and the dysfunctional side. And on the other
side of the screen, you see the functioning side. But not many people
look at that functioning side.
What we have been able to do as a partnership on the Environment and
Public Works Committee was functional--in a bipartisan way, coming up
with solutions. As you mentioned, there were over 70 cosponsors on the
one piece of legislation. All of them, I think, got through the
committee unanimously. That is something that made no news because
there wasn't a fight. There was cooperation for the betterment--to make
sure we protected the economy and, at the same time, preserved the
environment. That is what we need do: Continue to make sure that we can
protect both and continue with economic development as well as
environmental stewardship for our Nation.
With that, I yield the floor.
I suggest the absence of a quorum.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
The bill clerk proceeded to call the roll.
Ms. CANTWELL. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order
for the quorum call be rescinded.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
Appropriations
Ms. CANTWELL. Mr. President, I come to the floor tonight to talk
about many provisions that are currently moving their way through the
House of Representatives and on our way to us. Obviously, our
colleagues here are, I think, relieved that we have been able to give
relief to the American people; that is, that we have been able to
extend unemployment benefits and add bonuses to those unemployment
benefits in the amount of 300 extra dollars per week, and we have been
able to expand the COBRA tax credit programs to help people who have
been unemployed and not been able to continue their insurance be able
to continue health insurance. This is very important for laid-off
workers in the State of Washington, like the aerospace workers.
We are very glad that we were able to give a stimulus check of $600
per individual and $1,200 for married couples; that we were able to get
the PPP program that helps small businesses so that they can continue
to try to make ends meet as we continue to work our way through this
pandemic; and that we have been able to give $9 billion to healthcare
workers who are stretched so thin on these battle lines, who need every
support that we can give them.
I want to talk about the rental assistance. We are at a point where,
if we didn't act tonight, if we didn't act before we left here, many
more people were going to be without homes. It is so important for us
to have these provisions and programs like SNAP, the additional money
for broadband, for healthcare, and for other things that are essential
in helping to communicate during this pandemic for both healthcare and
for education.
I also wanted to mention work that was done in tandem with this
legislation, specifically on the affordable housing tax credit. The
affordable housing tax credit was always important. Affordable housing
was always important, but in a pandemic, in a COVID crisis, it becomes
even more important. The affordable housing tax credit is something
that Senator Young and I worked on with Senator Wyden and Senator
Isakson, and we wanted to say that we needed to do more than what our
current Tax Code could do in helping build more affordable housing.
The affordable housing tax credit has provisions that have been in
law since 1986, but, actually, using the tax credits and how they
worked have been a fluctuating rate, so the consequence is that the
historic rate of what people could get to use the tax credit has
changed, and this legislation will put a floor of 4 percent in to give
investors a
[[Page S7917]]
bigger idea of what this investment can do for the market.
We believe that it will add, in the State of Washington, more housing
that is needed immediately, more housing that is needed on the national
basis, and help us stabilize things in the near term so that we can
work on affordable housing and how we can put more incentives for
people to build affordable housing.
People know affordable housing doesn't just get built. People don't
just go out and say: I am going to build housing at this low rate.
The tax credit is a tax credit that helps people do it by giving
those borrowers the ability to work with the tax credit. But the
American people have been greatly impacted by so many trends--baby
boomers reaching retirement age, not being able to save, people being
pushed out of the last economic crisis into a rate of unaffordability.
It really has been a dramatic increase.
According to the Hudson Institute, 60 percent of our affordable and
low-cost housing was lost from the housing stock between 1985 and 2013.
That is the housing that we had that was affordable. Basically, the
time period ends, and they end up being swallowed up, like so many
places in Puget Sound, into market-based rates. Literally, people are
pushed out of their housing, and then there is no other affordable
housing in the region.
These tax credits can help us build more affordable housing for the
long run. Over the next decade, nearly 500,000 low-income housing tax
credit unions and 655 other subsidized units will reach the end of
their affordability period. Just like I was saying, they are going to
get to a point where they are no longer in a protection of affordable
housing, and the consequence is that growth and demand are pushing us
even higher.
For example, seniors--10,000 baby boomers retire each day. That means
that those low-income seniors, those woefully inadequate to pay for
increasing housing costs, are going to be growing every single day and
putting more demand on the system.
For veterans, nearly 2.5 million older veteran households--almost a
quarter of men and women who helped protect our country--are cost-
burdened. That means they spend more than 30 percent of their income on
housing. The lack of affordable housing in our country has been a
longstanding crisis, but the COVID crisis has made it much worse. One
in five renters is behind on their rent, and the eviction moratorium
expires in less than 2 weeks.
As I said, I am pleased that we are voting tonight, hopefully, on
this legislation that includes a 1-month eviction moratorium and $25
billion for rental assistance and that we will continue to work on
these issues. And I am glad that we are working on the passage of not
just the low-income housing tax credit fix of a 4-percent floor but
also that we will continue to work across the aisle on this legislation
moving forward.
At a minimum, the 4 percent could increase affordable housing
production by at least 130,000 affordable homes over the next decade.
That is critically important--130,000 more affordable homes over the
next decade. It could generate and help us with job growth--162,000
jobs and about $18 billion in wages and impacts to the economy.
Building more affordable housing helps us solve lots of problems. We
have an increase in demand, as I just articulated, and a COVID crisis.
Investing in affordable housing is very good for us in helping our
economy grow and putting a roof over people's heads.
I would also like to mention as part of the small business package,
the Paycheck Protection package, a provision that was supported by so
many of our colleagues to help make sure that we continue to get local
news and information out to the public. People understand that local
news has been threatened ever since the transition to an information
age and has certainly been challenged by what I think are unfair
practices by tech companies and the compensation for material and
proper reimbursement on advertising.
The issue for us is that COVID has created an environment where we
absolutely need to get the news, and we absolutely need to get the
local news. It is imperative that we do what we can in this legislation
to help small newspapers, small broadcasters, small radio stations that
didn't previously get helped in the last COVID package so they can
continue to communicate important local news to people throughout the
United States.
I want to thank Senators Schumer, Cardin, and, obviously, I want to
thank specifically Senator Boozman for working so hard on this
legislation with me and introducing legislation. I want to thank
Senators Klobuchar, Ernst, and many of our other colleagues who signed
on to that legislation, as well as our House colleagues,
Representatives Velazquez and Cicilline and Sensenbrenner, who also
worked hard on getting this provision in, and Senators Rubio and
McConnell for helping us in this process.
These provisions are important to help make sure that large public
institutions, like the University of Washington and others, continue to
also get information out to the public.
This news information and local information isn't going to go away
with the help and support of this bill, but it may be a lifeline in
helping us continue to make sure we have critical public health
information available to the public at all times, and, hopefully, we
will then go on to really understand what has happened to local news
and information and do something in the future Congress to help fix the
inequities that are existing today.
If I could, I also just mention quickly the issue about broadband.
This legislation that we are going to be voting on includes $7 billion
for more broadband priorities, $1 billion for connectivity issues for
Tribal country. I know, as the Presiding Officer knows, that Indian
Country needs a lot of connectivity. So getting more broadband into
those communities will be very helpful.
The COVID package also contains money, additional funding, that I
know Senator Wicker and others worked on for telehealth. Telehealth is
a critical path during the COVID crisis to make sure communities have
the ability to get expert advice into our homes, into our communities,
to connect people with information.
This telehealth grant is a very important program in the State of
Washington. I think we probably got something like $8 million
previously from telehealth, and this will help us continue.
I am disappointed that we did not include priorities in here for the
E-rate program to help close the homework gap. This is something
Senator Markey and others worked on very hard, and it is very
disappointing that we can't come to an agreement on something as
important as E-rate. This legislation provides the ability for hotspots
for people who may be going to college and not going to classes, but
are in or around a university.
I think that is a good idea, but we were prohibited from doing the
same thing for students at the K-12 level. One thing the pandemic has
shown us is that students are at home and need to be able to connect to
stay connected to their education schedule, to do their homework, and
to be part of the education system. I hope that we will address this
inequity in the bill in the future.
I am pleased that, working with Senator Wicker, we were able include
language that gives the Federal Trade Commission new authority to seek
civil penalties for scams and deceptive practices related to the COVID
pandemic. You probably think this is already something that was on the
books, but in reality, the way the Federal Trade Commission has
operated, they had to give a warning first, almost like a cease and
desist. The next thing you know, the same practice would pop up over
here, with somebody making a claim about how safe their product was or
how this would stop COVID or something of that nature.
In my home State alone, the FTC reports that consumers have been
scammed out of nearly $5 million since the pandemic and the number is
over $200 million nationwide. These scams can range in everything from
straightforward identity theft to making all sorts of accusations on
people during the quarantine period.
I want to thank Senator Wicker for working with us on this important
legislation. Now the FTC will be able to go after and find these people
on first-
[[Page S7918]]
time offenses. I think this is so important to do to make sure that we
are policing an environment where public health is so important.
I also want to thank Representative Schakowsky for leading this
effort on the other side of the Capitol.
I also want to talk about very important aviation legislation that we
were able to include as part of the larger omnibus package that is
moving through the House, as I said, tonight.
It is so important that we make safety a No. 1 priority in the United
States. If we want to be No. 1 in aviation, we have to be No. 1 in
aviation safety. Chairman Wicker and I worked with our colleagues on
both sides of the aisle to produce important legislation that improves
the safety reforms needed at the FAA--the safety reforms of oversight
of manufacturing and the certification process, and reforms that will
help us here in Congress better stay on top of the information as far
as the certification process.
This is so critical after the crash of the Lion Air 610 and Ethiopian
Flight 302, both involving Boeing 737 Max aircrafts and the loss of 346
lives.
I can never say how painful this incident has been for those
families. I can never say how much they have suffered in this horrific
tragedy that has befallen them, but I know that these reforms are what
are needed, and their help and support in passing this legislation has
been critical.
I want to thank all of the families who helped us in communicating
why the safety reforms are important, but I want to thank,
particularly, Michael Stumo and his wife, Nadia Milleron, who lost
their daughter Samya Stumo in the Ethiopian air crash, and to let them
know that, even though we are putting a big down payment on safety
reforms in the U.S. Congress by passing this legislation, this process
does not stop with the passage of this legislation.
We need to continue to do more to improve aviation safety and to
continue to act, even on a global basis, to be leaders--the United
States leading the way on what aviation safety needs to be.
I also want to thank our staff: Doug Anderson, Ronce Almond, David
Martin, Laurence Wildgoose, Jonathan Hale, Melissa Porter, and David
Strickland for their work. And on the other side of the aisle: Mike
Reynolds, James Mazol, Simone Perez, MaryAsa England, and John Keyes.
Many Members participated in the formation of this legislation. I
want to thank Senator Duckworth for her work with us on the NTSB
recommendations and flight deck alert system, which were part of this
package of bills to reform the FAA and the FAA process.
I want to thank Senator Moran for his focus on helping us build those
standards that we are talking about as far as the FAA going to ICAO and
saying: These are the continued standards for improvement in aviation
safety.
I want to thank Senator Blunt for his leadership on the Air Grants
Program, a very important program that we think will help build up the
expertise and knowledge of very, very technical subject certification
for people here throughout the process of oversight and legislating and
the executive branch.
I want to thank Senators Cruz and Blumenthal for working on such
critical elements in the legislation as to how the certification
process itself works and what we needed to do to continue to bolster
it.
Tonight, we are sitting one step closer to reforms that really will
be meaningful. It will return the FAA to being in charge of what are
the oversight members of manufacturers who are doing the work of the
certification process. It is clear that the individuals who are part of
this unit report to the FAA. They are supervised by the FAA. You can no
longer have incentives at the FAA for expediting work. You, basically,
now have a new whistleblower protection, thanks to my colleague Senator
Wicker and his incredible work on this legislation. You have better
accountability on misconduct. You create new safety reporting standards
for the FAA employees.
We repeal authorities that would permit a certification by industry.
That industry could continue to make recommendations about the
certification process is something, in specific provisions, that are
repealed here.
We also prohibit interference with FAA designees. That is, no one can
try to influence a manager or someone directly involved in the
certification of the process. We also tried to make sure the process
itself worked better. And, again, many of my colleagues played critical
roles in this.
On required safety system analysis on any plane coming through the
process--whether it was new or a derivative--you still have to do a
safety system analysis. You have to have regulations that are the most
up-to-date as it relates to making sure you comply, as we said in this
legislation, with the NTSB recommendations on flight crew alert systems
and to mandate a safety management system for manufacturers. This is
something that is long overdue. And in some instances, people said: Oh,
the OMB and executive branch don't think we need to do these things.
Oh, these things are cost prohibitive. These are regulations we don't
need to put in place.
Trust me, having a safety management system is essential, and we
should make sure that this is in place as this legislation requires
within the next few years.
This legislation also requires disclosure of safety critical
information. This was something, as I said, our colleagues, Senators
Blumenthal and Cruz and many others, worked on as part of this
legislation.
It also provides expert teams of panels. At the beginning of any kind
of certification process, the FAA will be assisted by the best experts
in aviation, whether they come from NASA or the Air Force or outside
individuals who understand the latest and greatest technology. Why do
we have that? Because we know that we are in an era of unbelievable
technological change in which now the human interface with technology
is so critical. Whether you are going to be in driverless cars or
whether you are in Amtrak with positive train control or you are in the
flight deck of an airplane and the software that is working with it, we
need to understand how people are going to respond to human factors.
We all get frustrated with our own computers and our own software,
but we need to put safety first when it comes to a pilot interacting
with that software in the cockpit of an airplane.
It also helps us make sure that the process for the certification
appeals are strengthened and that we tighten the process. We need to
listen to the engineers on the ground. The engineers are telling us
what we need to do, and we need to listen to them. I hope that the
leaders, both within manufacturing and the FAA, will do that.
As I mentioned, this legislation establishes a National Air Grant
Program. Some of you can think of it here on Capitol Hill as similar to
the Sea Grant Program, a program that was long-established to give us
technical expertise on OSHA and maritime issues here in Congress. We
want the same thing for aviation to exist.
It is too important of a sector and safety is too important to not
have a technical skill set here that can stay on top and replace
individuals as retirements happen throughout the aviation system.
It requires disclosures to Congress of post-crash assessments. If the
FAA goes and investigates a crash, you have to notify Congress of that
information. Why? We want to stay more on top of that information. It
requires an identification of safety trends. I have no doubt that we
are going to hear--when it comes back as these annual reports for the
next several years--that this issue of human interaction in a
technology cockpit is going to continue to be the largest safety trend
issue, just as it is going to be in the automotive area and just as it
is going to be in transportation.
Those are just some of the highlights of a very comprehensive safety
reform legislation.
I want to thank my colleague Senator Wicker for his help, his
leadership, his most recent report on whistleblower activity, and
helping us get this legislation over the goal line.
I also, as I said, want to thank, again, those families. Our hearts
and sympathies are still every day with you as you continue to face
moving forward. We are not going to forget. We are going to continue to
put safety as the biggest priority for us here in the U.S. Congress and
continue to move
[[Page S7919]]
forward on a process that puts the individual engineers on the line
responsible for safety to make sure everyone continues to listen to
their directives and their recommendations.
I yield the floor.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Kansas.
Remembering Allan Weber
Mr. MORAN. Mr. President, I rise out of respect and in memory of Gove
County Sheriff Allan Weber, who served his community faithfully over
the last two decades.
Allan was born and raised on his family's farm near Park, KS, and he
went on to marry Connie, his high school sweetheart. The couple has
three children--Andrea, Brandon, and Cory. To those who know Allan, it
was always clear that his family meant everything to him. His many
grandchildren were his pride and joy.
In 1996, he ran for Gove County sheriff and served his community
faithfully for over two decades since first elected. Gove County is out
in Western Kansas. It is flat. It is the prairie. It is windy. It is
hot in the summer and cold in the winter. It is farmers and ranchers.
It is often a struggle to earn a living in Gove County. I know the
county well. Despite those challenges, it is made up of people who work
hard, care for each other, and try to make good lives for themselves
and their families.
In rural areas like Gove County, the sheriff oftentimes wears
multiple hats, and Sheriff Weber was no different. In addition to
serving as sheriff, he was also the public information officer and the
emergency operations center community liaison.
Kansans also never fail to step up to help their neighbors in hard
times, and Allan did the same. After the tragic death of a neighboring
county's sheriff, he stepped up to serve as the interim sheriff in
Sheridan County, making him the first person ever to serve two counties
as sheriff at the same time--a first in Kansas's history. He saw his
brothers and sisters in blue as an extended part of his family, and he
held them in the highest regard.
His colleague in law enforcement, Sheriff Tim Morse of Jackson
County, which is on the other side of the State, wrote this:
Kansas has lost a great sheriff. Gove County Sheriff Allan
Weber has spent the last couple of months fighting COVID-19
in a Denver hospital. Today, Sheriff Weber was escorted back
to Gove County by Colorado and Kansas Highway Patrols along
with countless Kansas Sheriffs and law enforcement officers
for one last time . . . Sheriff Weber was an honorable man
who was respected by all. He will be greatly missed.
He respected those in blue, and those in blue respected him.
He was a dedicated public servant both in his home community and at
the State level. He served the Kansas Sheriffs' Association on its
board and as its president. I talked to the Kansas Sheriffs'
Association today, and they wanted me to recognize Sheriff Weber's
professionalism and his dedication and that he served as president of
the Association for two consecutive terms, which is a rare circumstance
and speaks to his effectiveness in the role and the admiration that his
colleagues held for him.
His community also loved and respected him. They came together to
welcome him home one last time with an honor parade down Highway 212,
in Quinter, this past Saturday night, with hundreds of cars and people
lined up to recognize his service and sacrifice over a lifetime.
Connie, his wife, said:
It was such a beautiful homecoming. I know he was bursting
with pride and love. After the November election, when he
woke up in the intensive care unit, I told him he was sheriff
for the next 4 years, and he gave me a small smile and nodded
his head. He loved the Gove County community's mind and was
always ready to give the ultimate sacrifice if he had to.
There were times that his heart broke doing his job, but he
did what was right. He lived life day-to-day and enjoyed it
and everyone. He worked hard and loved gently. He will be
missed by many.
The outpouring of love, support, and shared memories on their Quinter
Community Facebook page has been constant and speaks to the
interconnectedness of a small community.
I should tell you that the population of Gove County is about 2,612,
and the county seat of Gove has a population of 70. It is in places
like Quinter, like Gove, and like Gove County where the sheriff is
known by everyone, and the sheriff is interwoven into the life of the
community and the county.
So many of his friends and family have remarked on Allan's contagious
smile, how ornery he was, but, most importantly, as to the selfless way
he served people. Those of us in public service ought to look to Allan
as a role model in that selfless service of others. Sheriff Allan Weber
embodied so many values in Kansas--faith, family, fellowship, service,
and good old-fashioned hard work. He will be missed by many.
Robba and I extend our deepest sympathies to his family--both his
loved ones, which includes one of my staff members, Chelsey Ladd, his
cousin, and his brothers and sisters in blue.
May God bless Allan Weber. May we praise him for the life he lived,
and may we look to him as a role model to try to do what he has done.
I offer my condolences and respect, on behalf of the U.S. Senate, to
the family of Sheriff Allan Weber.
I yield the floor.
The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Kennedy). The Senator from Maine.
Coronavirus
Ms. COLLINS. Mr. President, later tonight, the Senate will vote on
comprehensive legislation to fund the government throughout the
remainder of fiscal year 2021 and to provide additional, long-overdue
funding to address the ongoing emergency needs of our country during
the persistent COVID-19 pandemic.
I am proud to have helped lead a bipartisan, bicameral coalition that
literally worked night and day to develop a commonsense plan that
provided the foundation for this final agreement.
There are many important components of the package before us,
including assistance for struggling families; additional funding for
testing, vaccine distribution, and healthcare providers; resources to
help our schools operate safely in a COVID environment; and aid for the
Postal Service and for airlines, airports, mass transit, and motor
coach companies that keep our country moving.
I come to the floor tonight, however, to focus on one aspect of the
agreement, and that is the extension and expansion of the Paycheck
Protection Program, better known as PPP.
As the Presiding Officer well knows, the PPP has been a critical
lifeline for more than 5 million small employers, at one point helping
to sustain the jobs of upwards of 50 million Americans. It was one of
the most successful programs in the CARES Act. It was so successful
that it went through the initial allotment of money in just 13 days,
and then we had to pass additional legislation replenishing it.
In the State of Maine, the PPP has provided nearly $2.3 billion in
forgivable loans to 28,000 small businesses--that is 3 out of 4 of the
small businesses in my State--and has helped sustain more than 250,000
jobs.
In its original form, the program provided one-time loans sufficient
to support 8 weeks of payroll, plus a limited amount to help cover
certain overhead expenses. All of this was completely forgivable as
long as the borrowers retained and paid their employees and kept within
the other parameters of the program. Our whole purpose was to help our
small businesses save jobs and pay their workers, keeping the employer-
employee relationship alive so that they could reopen and Americans
could quickly return to work when the pandemic subsided.
When Chairman Marco Rubio and I, together with Senators Ben Cardin
and Jeanne Shaheen, put the PPP together at the onset of the national
emergency, none of us could have imagined that the pandemic would still
be forcing shutdowns and curtailing operations and that extreme
mitigation measures would be necessary these many months later. Yet,
sadly, the virus is still spreading, and many of the steps taken to
fight it, although they may be necessary to protect public health,
threaten catastrophic damage to many of our small businesses and their
employees--small businesses that have now spent their PPP loan funds
but are still unable to return to normal operations.
I talked with a restaurant owner in Bangor, ME, where I live, who
told me that he, because of the size of his restaurant and to comply
with the public health spacing and social distancing guidelines, can
only have four tables a night. Because the Governor of Maine has
imposed a 9 p.m. curfew, he can't turn over those tables to compensate
[[Page S7920]]
for the reduced number of people he can serve at one time. It is so
tough, and I could hear the pain in his voice when he talked about
having to lay off some of his longstanding staff in order to just stay
alive.
That is why the $284.5 billion provided in this bill to extend and
expand the PPP is so vital. The program improvements in this bill are
the result of months of work on the part of Chairman Rubio, Ranking
Member Cardin, Senator Shaheen, and myself. I am pleased to see that so
much of the Continuing the Paycheck Protection Program Act that
Chairman Rubio and I introduced this fall is reflected in this final
bill.
The final bill also reflects the very hard work that our bipartisan,
bicameral coalition put into assistance to small business. Senator
Jeanne Shaheen and I had countless meetings, Zooms, and phone calls to
work out the details in conjunction with the rest of the members of our
group.
I would like to take a moment to outline a few of the key features
that are included in this package.
First, the bill will allow the hardest hit small businesses to
receive a second forgivable PPP loan. To ensure that assistance is
targeted to those most in need, eligibility for these second loans is
generally limited to small businesses with 300 or fewer employees that
have seen their gross revenues drop by 25 percent in some quarter this
year compared to an identical quarter in 2019.
Second, recognizing the severe impact that the COVID-19 mitigation
measures have had on our restaurants and hotels, the bill maintains the
general terms for the loans for these entities but with an important
enhancement. The maximum forgivable loan size for hotels and
restaurants is increased to 3.5 times their average monthly payroll
costs compared to 2.5 times for other borrowers. This increase in the
loan amount will be so critical to the very survival of businesses like
Simones' Hot Dog Stand and Restaurant in Lewiston, ME, and the Angler's
Family Seafood Restaurant, which has locations in Hampden, Searsport,
and Newport. These small businesses all received forgivable PPP loans
during the first round, but, faced with continuing dining restrictions
and a long, cold winter, they are really worried about their survival
and about being able to retain and pay their valued employees.
Third, forgivable expenses under the program are expanded in very
commonsense ways. Supplier costs and investments in facility
modifications and personal protective equipment needed to operate
safely during the pandemic will now be part of the forgivable overhead
expenses. This is especially important to restaurants struggling to
adapt dining restrictions or to get a high-quality food supply because,
through no fault of their own, they have fallen behind on their bills.
Fourth, the bill extends the PPP to small 501(c)(6) organizations
that are not lobbying groups and that have 300 or fewer employees, such
as local chambers of commerce and economic development organizations.
Fifth--and I want to give credit to our colleague Senator Cramer for
this concept--the bill greatly simplifies the loan forgiveness process
for small borrowers with loans of no more than $150,000 and directs the
Small Business Administration and the Treasury Department to develop a
simplified loan forgiveness form for these borrowers. I remember when
the first form came out and it was 14 pages long and so complicated
that you would need an advanced degree in economics or a CPA to help
you figure it out, even if you had a very small loan.
The bill, to guard against fraud and abuse, also provides the SBA
with $50 million in additional audit funding.
Finally, the bill sets aside funding for smaller businesses and
borrowers in underserved communities to ensure that they get the help
they need through, for example, CDFIs and minority business
associations and depository institutions. It also includes $25 million
for the Minority Business Development Agency.
Mr. President, the Paycheck Protection Program is the result of a
bipartisan commitment to support our small businesses and their
employees, to keep them afloat, the businesses afloat, and the
employees paid during this pandemic. It has been by any measure a
tremendous success, but many of these hardest hit small businesses
require more help now in order to survive, and this bill aims to
provide that help.
Before I close, I want to talk briefly about another provision of the
bill, and that is the grant assistance provided for live venues,
museums, and movie theaters. Let me make clear that I support funding
for our community-based live venues. I know they have really been hurt.
They have had to cancel their seasons. They have lost all their ticket
revenues. They are in real danger.
I have enjoyed these throughout Maine, like the Ogunquit Playhouse
and the Center Theater for the Performing Arts in Dover-Foxcroft. They
are the heart and soul of our smaller communities.
I was disappointed to see that the final bill had stripped provisions
from our bipartisan, bicameral group that we included in our package to
try to keep the focus of these grants on these smaller entities.
Specifically, our proposal would have limited the grant amounts that
related entities could receive to no more than $10 million and excluded
museums with endowments larger than $75 million--commonsense
safeguards. Now, I do appreciate that the legislation sets aside $2
billion for entities with 50 employees or fewer, but I am concerned
that, as drafted, many venues and museums with significant endowments
and other resources could be the largest beneficiaries of this section
because of the safeguards that were stripped out by the negotiators.
For example, a museum in New York City, say, with a billion-dollar
endowment could receive an outright grant as long as the museum has an
auditorium and meets the other eligibility requirements. That surely
does not seem like an appropriate use of taxpayer dollars to me and was
clearly designed to help large city venues that will survive without
our help.
Nevertheless, I am pleased to support this package. This COVID relief
is vitally needed for our struggling families, for our hard-hit small
businesses, for our challenged schools, for our stressed healthcare
system, to promote the distribution of the vaccine and more testing,
and to help our overwhelmed Postal Service. I urge support for the
package.
I yield the floor.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The majority leader.
Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent to complete my
remarks before the vote.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection.
Year-End Acknowledgments
Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, with the Senate poised to complete some
major business for the country and wrap up a most unusual year, I want
to express some gratitude to the men and women behind the scenes who
make our work possible.
Passing a historic rescue package and a full-year funding bill would
be a serious undertaking even in ordinary circumstances. And, of
course, this pandemic year has brought anything but ordinary
circumstances to the Senate, just like everywhere else.
For about 10 months and counting, COVID-19 has imposed new challenges
on hundreds of people who are already plenty busy enough.
After much of the Senate worked remotely in April, we came back to
work in early May--like the essential institution that we are. Month
after month, we have taken smart and careful precautions and remained
an exemplary safe workplace. All along, we have not just continued to
govern but completed landmark confirmations and historic legislation
for the American people. None of this would have been possible without
many people beyond the 100 of us with our names on these desks.
I want to thank the Office of the Secretary of the Senate, led by
Julie Adams and Mary Suit Jones. This team encompasses everyone from
the talented professionals who sit on the dais to the Official
Reporters of Debate, to Disbursing and many other offices.
Thanks to our Parliamentarian, Elizabeth MacDonough, who faithfully
calls the balls and strikes. She won the admiration of our temporary
presider, Chief Justice Roberts, before we reclaimed her as the
Senate's own.
Thanks also to Senate Sergeant At Arms--Mike Stenger and Jennifer
[[Page S7921]]
Hemingway and their whole team, from the doorkeepers to the IT team
that stood up enormous telework capabilities almost overnight, to the
workers who clean offices, move furniture, and keep this place running
in hundreds of ways.
Our Architect of the Capitol, Brett Blanton, assumed his role just
before the pandemic hit. He never missed a beat. His team tackled
cleaning in a way that exceeded industry standards, reconceived the
food services, and, again, physically kept the Capitol functioning.
Of course, very special thanks are due to our Attending Physician,
Dr. Brian Monahan, and the entire team he leads. Believe me, they
already had a full-time job caring for Members of Congress and the
Supreme Court. We have leaned on Dr. Monahan in countless ways all year
long. His expertise and wise counsel have been a credit to the Senate
throughout the pandemic.
Here in the Chamber, I want to thank our cloakroom teams, led by Gary
Myrick on the Democratic side and Robert Duncan on ours. Duncan had
only just stepped into his current role when the crisis began to
unfold. He navigated about 10 years' worth of big challenges in his
first 10 months in the top job. Thanks to him and his capable deputy,
Chris Tuck.
Another key group these past months has been our Rules Committee, led
by Chairman Blunt and his staff director, Fitzhugh Elder. The committee
has run point on coordinating many of the changes and adaptions that
have helped keep this body safe. They have done an outstanding job
without enough recognition or thanks.
We are grateful to the men and women of the Capitol Police, led by
Chief Steven Sund, who have stood their posts even when most of the
rest of us have worked remotely. They have stood strong during this
pandemic, during protests both peaceful and otherwise, and during the
other daily operations that they handle with courage and
professionalism.
Across the board, I want to thank all of our Senate staff. Both the
smaller footprint who have continued physically working at the Capitol
and those who kept up their hard work remotely have confronted all
kinds of novel challenges. Our institution and our country are grateful
to you all.
Last but not least, I want to thank my own team. My personal office,
led by departing chief of staff Phil Maxson, has fought every day for
Kentuckians' needs and priorities throughout this crisis. Our State
offices, steered by Terry Carmack, kept us connected to our
constituents in new ways. My communications director, Robert, Steurer,
and all their colleagues who staff these operations are invaluable to
me and to Kentucky.
Here in the Capitol, my leadership staff has given an incredible
amount of themselves to me, to our team, and to the Senate the entire
year.
Remember, this is somehow still the same calendar year that began
with an impeachment trial, continued through the CARES Act, other major
legislation over the summer, a Supreme Court vacancy and confirmation
this fall, and finally the all-out legislative sprint since
Thanksgiving.
First, my two deputy chiefs of staff. Stef Muchow runs our operations
in an incredibly historically complex time to handle operations. She
has worn about 10 different hats all year long--as usual. Scott Raab
handles policy. He has led his colleagues through a legislative year
like no other, from mammoth negotiations and historic rescue packages
to our most particular priorities and everything in between. We have
all leaned on Scott heavily, and he has been indispensable.
Beneath them, within our operation, are a lot of talented folks I am
lucky to have. I want to name them very briefly.
My chief counsel, Andrew Ferguson, offers brilliant advice, from
impeachment to policy to the judiciary.
Robert Karem, my defense policy expert, has brought critical
institutional leadership as 2020 tested everything from national
security to continuity of government.
Jane Lee handles her massive portfolio--and more besides--with
incredible effectiveness and calm under fire, and she sings the best
Christmas carols in the office.
Terry Van Doren is a policy master who delivers for Kentucky and the
country every time.
Erica Suares and Jim Neill are expert liaisons and advisers who keep
me connected inside the Senate and beyond.
Steve Donaldson has been my point man for all things election law
during this election year.
John Chapuis is a seasoned Senate veteran who picked quite the time
to join our team and cover economic policy.
Jody Wright fights to get good people in good positions with good
cheer.
Andy Quinn is a master of words and ideas.
David Popp heads my press team. He, Doug Andres, Scott Sloofman, and
their whole operation keep my message and the Republican conference's
message front and center.
Sarah Steinberg manages my days, and Alex Jenkins manages my office--
both with great humor and even greater professionalism.
Moon Sulfab keeps our technology systems running and our spirits
high.
I have to mention our healthcare expert Jen Kuskowski, who worked
remotely this spring while expecting her baby boy and has been cheering
us on while on maternity leave. We can't wait to get her back.
Thanks to Grace Graham and Peter Oppenheim, whom Senator Alexander
generously shared from his HELP Committee staff to help us in Jen's
absence.
Rounding out our leadership team are crack researchers Robert Utsey
and David Hauptmann; skilled communicators Dylan Vorbach, Valerie
Chicola, Suzanne Youngblood, Emily Hauck, and Katherine Grayson.
Our frontline troops, the jacks-of-all-trades who keep everybody in
line, are Victoria Mason, Elise Stebick, and Spencer Abraham.
Finally, at the head of this entire team is our fearless leader, our
chief of staff, Sharon Soderstrom. Everybody on Capitol Hill and
everybody in Washington knows that Sharon is one of the smartest, most
dedicated, and most effective staff leaders working at any level in any
branch of government. She is my first call and my last call on every
subject. She was in the leader's office before I was. She supported
both Trent Lott and Bill Frist. So I count my blessings on a daily
basis that I am lucky No. 3. Sharon bears the weight of the world on
her shoulders and not only delivers but somehow prioritizes lightening
everybody else's load while she is at it--a walking master class in
leadership.
I am proud of all that we have accomplished for the country in this
challenging year, and I couldn't be gladder to be heading into 2021
with these talented professionals at my side. So I thank them, Mr.
President. I thank them, one and all.
Vote on Soskin Nomination
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The question is, Will the Senate advise and
consent to the Soskin nomination?
Mr. McCONNELL. I ask for the yeas and nays.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there a sufficient second?
There appears to be a sufficient second.
The clerk will call the roll.
The legislative clerk called the roll.
Mr. THUNE. The following Senators are necessarily absent: the Senator
from Wyoming (Mr. Enzi), the Senator from Georgia (Mrs. Loeffler), the
Senator from Georgia (Mr. Perdue), and the Senator from South Dakota
(Mr. Rounds). -
Mr. DURBIN. I announce that the Senator from California (Ms. Harris)
is necessarily absent.
The result was announced--yeas 48, nays 47, as follows:
[Rollcall Vote No. 288 Ex.]
YEAS--48
Alexander
Barrasso
Blackburn
Blunt
Boozman
Braun
Burr
Capito
Cassidy
Collins
Cornyn
Cotton
Cramer
Crapo
Cruz
Daines
Ernst
Fischer
Gardner
Graham
Grassley
Hawley
Hoeven
Hyde-Smith
Inhofe
Johnson
Kennedy
Lankford
Lee
McConnell
Moran
Murkowski
Paul
Portman
Risch
Roberts
Romney
Rubio
Sasse
Scott (FL)
Scott (SC)
Shelby
Sullivan
Thune
Tillis
Toomey
Wicker
Young
NAYS--47
Baldwin
Bennet
Blumenthal
Booker
Brown
Cantwell
Cardin
Carper
Casey
[[Page S7922]]
Coons
Cortez Masto
Duckworth
Durbin
Feinstein
Gillibrand
Hassan
Heinrich
Hirono
Jones
Kaine
Kelly
King
Klobuchar
Leahy
Manchin
Markey
Menendez
Merkley
Murphy
Murray
Peters
Reed
Rosen
Sanders
Schatz
Schumer
Shaheen
Sinema
Smith
Stabenow
Tester
Udall
Van Hollen
Warner
Warren
Whitehouse
Wyden
NOT VOTING--5
Enzi
Harris
Loeffler
Perdue
Rounds
The nomination was confirmed.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The majority leader.
____________________