[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 56 (Thursday, March 25, 2021)]
[Senate]
[Pages S1791-S1792]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                       BUSINESS BEFORE THE SENATE

  Mr. SCHUMER. Madam President, despite unprecedented obstacles, the 
Senate has had an extremely productive first period of business.
  It has been a little over 60 days since Democrats assumed the 
majority in the Senate and Joe Biden was sworn in as President. In that 
relatively short amount of time, the Senate has confirmed every 
available Cabinet Secretary--a group filled with a bevy of historic 
firsts--faster than under the prior two administrations.
  Every single Cabinet nominee has received a bipartisan vote of 
approval here on the floor, a tribute to their character, their 
qualifications, and their caliber.
  The Senate also conducted a fair and honest impeachment trial of the 
former President, resulting in the largest and most bipartisan 
conviction

[[Page S1792]]

vote in the history, in the history of Presidential impeachments.
  And, of course, the Democratic majority in the Senate passed the most 
sweeping Federal recovery effort in decades, the American Rescue Plan.
  Again, despite several unprecedented obstacles, not only did we get a 
late start on our work, a result of the runoff elections in Georgia, we 
have had to contend with the aftermath of an armed insurrection at the 
Capitol, an impeachment trial, and the difficulty of navigating an 
evenly divided Senate.
  Let's take a quick look at the scoreboard.
  Economists project that the American Rescue Plan could double 
economic growth while cutting child poverty in half--the biggest anti-
poverty effort in a generation.
  We have made the single largest investment in American education and 
Native Tribes ever.
  Experts have called the American Rescue Plan the most significant 
legislation for Black farmers since the Civil Rights Act.
  The American Rescue Plan provides a lifeline to Main Street 
businesses from one end of the country to the other. Companies are 
already scaling back layoffs.
  In less than 100 days, the Biden administration and Democratic 
majorities have helped deliver more than 100 million shots in people's 
arms and 100 million checks in people's pockets. As a result, the 
American people are more optimistic than at any time over the past 
year, and for the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic began, a clear 
majority of Americans believe our country is back on track.
  Just this morning, the jobs report showed that applications for 
unemployment benefits fell by nearly 100,000 people--a sign that 
businesses are reopening and Americans are optimistic about getting 
back to work. After one of the most difficult years in American 
history, the country is finally turning the corner, and the Senate is 
off to a fantastic start.
  Now looking forward, of course the job certainly isn't done yet. Now 
that we have passed the American Rescue Plan, the Senate must continue 
to make progress on other issues facing the American people. When the 
Senate returns to session, our agenda will be no less ambitious than it 
was over the past few months.
  We will focus on three areas: one, voting rights, civil rights; two, 
economic recovery and jobs, with an emphasis on climate change and 
building back better; and three, health and gun safety.
  This Senate will once again be the forum where civil rights are 
debated and historic action is taken to secure them for all Americans.
  Last week, the Judiciary Committee held the first-ever hearing on the 
Equality Act, landmark legislation that would enshrine as a matter of 
law that no American shall be denied justice based on their gender or 
sexual orientation.
  In the coming work period, the Democratic majority will also seek to 
repeal a Trump administration rule that gives employers an unfair 
advantage over workers when settling discriminatory claims.
  At the same time, the Judiciary and Rules Committees have started 
their work responding to the concerted, nationwide, despicable attack 
on voting rights. In one State after another, new restrictions on the 
franchise are taking aim at communities of color in ways we haven't 
seen since the days of Jim Crow.
  Yesterday, I attended the Rules Committee hearing on S. 1, the For 
the People Act, and I listened to my Republican colleagues try to 
defend these outrageous voter suppression laws. One member on the 
committee told us not to worry about them because many are just 
proposals and won't become law. Later that day, the same day, the 
Montana State Senate advanced a bill to end same-day voter 
registration.
  Another member on the committee defended limits to early voting on 
Sundays--a day when many African Americans go to vote after church--by 
quoting the Bible and the Commandment to keep the Sabbath holy. I don't 
know where to begin with that one, but I will start by reminding my 
colleagues of the separation between church and state, and, frankly, 
the Bible passage she talked about comes from the Old Testament, when 
the Sabbath was on Saturday.
  This is getting beyond ridiculous. Across the country, the Republican 
Party seems to believe that the best strategy for winning elections is 
not to win more voters but to try to prevent the other side from 
voting. That is not America. That is not democracy. And this Senate 
will take action to protect the voting rights of tens of millions of 
Americans. The Senate will vote on the For the People Act.
  We will also keep a laser focus on our economic recovery. In the 
coming months, the Senate will consider legislation to rebuild our 
infrastructure and fight climate change, boost research and development 
and domestic manufacturing, reform our broken immigration system, and 
grow the power of American workers. Finally, the Senate will address 
health and gun safety.
  When the Senate gavels back into session, we will vote on Senator 
Hirono's COVID hate crimes bill, which my colleague Grace Meng has 
sponsored in the House. It will give the Department of Justice and our 
local police departments crucial tools to fight the wave of racist 
violence we have seen against Asian Americans.
  I have also committed to put a bill on expanded background checks on 
the floor of the Senate.
  On the health front, we will take aim against the former 
administration's decision to roll back limits on methane emissions from 
oil and gas production--gases that pack a much greater punch than 
carbon dioxide when it comes to our climate. Senators Heinrich, King, 
and Markey have been working very hard on this issue. I applaud them. 
The Senate will take up a Congressional Review Act measure to reinstate 
the commonsense regulation of methane emissions to fight climate 
change.
  The bottom line is this: The Senate of the 117th Congress has 
accomplished a lot in its first few months, but we have a lot of work 
left to do. The challenges our country still faces are immense, and 
there is no reason both sides cannot work together on issues that will 
affect our country and our children's future. We won't agree on 
everything, but we must agree that inaction is unacceptable. The Senate 
must help the country finish the job against COVID while continuing to 
build a more equal economy and a more just society.
  I yield the floor

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