[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 68 (Tuesday, April 20, 2021)]
[Senate]
[Pages S2043-S2045]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                          LEGISLATIVE SESSION

                                 ______
                                 

                   COVID-19 HATE CRIMES ACT--Resumed

  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. Under the previous order, the 
Senate will resume consideration of S. 937, which the clerk will 
report.
  The senior assistant legislative clerk read as follows:

       A bill (S. 937) to facilitate the expedited review of 
     COVID-19 hate crimes, and for other purposes.

  Pending:

       Schumer (for Hirono/Collins) Amendment No. 1445, of a 
     perfecting nature.


                   Recognition of the Majority Leader

  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The Democratic leader is 
recognized.


                  Remembering Walter Frederick Mondale

  Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, last night, the country lost a giant of 
Democratic politics, a kind and revered public servant, a Vice 
President who reimagined the position and expanded Americans' views of 
who could hold America's highest offices. Walter Mondale, known to 
friends and foes alike as ``Fritz,'' died at the age of 93.
  As President Carter's right-hand man, Fritz revolutionized the role 
of the Vice Presidency. There is an old yarn about two brothers: One 
went off to sea, and the other became Vice President. Neither was heard 
from again. That is not true of Walter Mondale.
  Walter Mondale was an uncooperative subject for those Vice 
Presidential comedians. Not only was he often the last person in the 
room with the President when the tough decisions were made, but he 
became an unofficial ambassador for the administration. His 
relationship with Prime Minister Begin of Israel helped paved the way 
for a peace treaty between Israel and Egypt at Camp David in 1978.
  In his ultimately unsuccessful run for the Presidency, Walter 
Mondale's pick of my fellow New Yorker, the late Geraldine Ferraro, as 
Vice President was an early crack in the glass ceiling that our current 
Vice President, Kamala Harris, would eventually shatter.
  Vice President Mondale will be remembered as a lion of progressive 
politics; an ardent defender of civil rights, aid to schoolchildren, 
childcare, healthcare, and consumer protections. Mondale once said:

       My whole life I worked on the idea that government can be 
     an instrument for social progress. We need that progress. 
     Fairness requires it.

  Indeed, as Mondale said, we need government to make social progress.
  As we say goodbye to one of our country's most decent public 
servants, let us follow in his example.


                               Marijuana

  Mr. President, now on a much different subject, today is what you 
might call a very unofficial American holiday, 4/20. It is as 
appropriate a time as any to take a hard look at our laws that have 
overcriminalized the use of marijuana and put it on a par with heroin, 
LSD, and other narcotics that bear little or no resemblance in their 
effects

[[Page S2044]]

either on individuals or on society, more broadly.
  The war on drugs has too often been a war on people, particularly 
people of color. For decades, young men and women--disproportionately, 
young men and women of color--have been arrested and jailed for even 
carrying a small amount of marijuana, a charge that often came with 
exorbitant penalties and a serious criminal record from which they 
might never recover, being rejected from job after job because this 
minor, minor deviation from the law was listed as a serious criminal 
record.
  It makes no sense. It is time for change. I believe the time has come 
to end the Federal prohibition on marijuana in this country, and I am 
working with Senators Booker and Wyden on legislation to do just that. 
My thinking on this issue has evolved.
  A number of States--including, very recently, my home State of New 
York--have legalized the recreational use of marijuana for adults, and 
those experiments, by and large, have been a success. The doom-and-
gloom predictions, when States like Colorado or Oregon went forward and 
decriminalized and legalized marijuana, never occurred.
  In State after State, through ballot initiatives and constitutional 
amendments, the American people are sending a clear message that they 
want this policy changed. Senators Booker, Wyden, and I are going to 
continue to work on our legislation, and in the near future, we hope to 
have a draft of a comprehensive reform effort, not only to end the 
Federal prohibition on marijuana but to ensure restorative justice, 
protect public health, and implement responsible taxes and regulations. 
This was the approach taken by legislators in New York. I believe it is 
the right approach, and it serves as a model for how we should deal 
with the issue in Congress.
  Hopefully, the next time this unofficial holiday, 4/20, rolls around, 
our country will have made progress in addressing the massive 
overcriminalization of marijuana in a meaningful and comprehensive way


                             Voting Rights

  Mr. President, now on voting rights, today in the Judiciary 
Committee, Senators will hear testimony from a number of public 
officials and experts about the surge in voter suppression laws since 
the 2020 election, including former Georgia gubernatorial candidate 
Stacey Abrams.
  These voter suppression laws--more than 250 proposed laws in more 
than 40 States--constitute a grave and immediate threat to the very 
core of our democracy. In ways both large and small, they seek to 
restrict the franchise, often targeting minority communities, younger 
voters, and dense urban districts.
  Our Republican colleagues have tried in vain to defend these laws as 
meaningful and appropriate protections against voter fraud. In many 
cases, those attempts have been just laughable.
  Just to take one example from earlier this week, the Republican-led 
Montana State Legislature passed a law that ends election-day voter 
registration and would no longer allow student IDs to be used as a sole 
ballot form of identification. Just think about that for a moment. What 
problems are the Republicans in Montana trying to solve there? Has 
there been a rash of 40-year-olds showing up with student IDs to commit 
voter fraud? No, there certainly hasn't been. We all know what is going 
on here. Younger voters have been shown to be more Democratic. So 
Montana Republicans have made it harder for them to vote. It is 
despicable--just despicable--and these laws are moving through State 
legislatures all across the country, including the most recent one in 
Georgia, which, among other crucial reforms, makes it a crime--a 
crime--to provide food and water to voters waiting in line at the 
poles, even though in minority areas the lines are often much longer 
because there are fewer polling places.
  I know my Democratic colleagues on the Judiciary Committee are going 
to shine a spotlight on all of these efforts, and I applaud Chairman 
Durbin for holding this very important hearing today. Voting rights are 
a topic that deserves continued national attention. It is a top 
priority for this Democratic Senate majority.


                              Puerto Rico

  Finally, Mr. President, you couldn't find a better study in contrasts 
than the Trump administration and the Biden administration. On so many 
issues, the executive branch is finally returning to competence, 
undoing the damage wrought by 4 years of Trump's Presidency.
  One important example came last night. Beginning in 2017, the Trump 
administration maliciously held back billions of dollars in 
congressionally approved disaster aid to Puerto Rico, which was 
devastated by Hurricane Maria, resulting in the deaths of thousands of 
Americans. This was vicious on the part of Donald Trump--nasty, so 
typical of the pettiness and inhumanity of his administration.
  Well, the Biden administration has finally ended this appalling delay 
and will release the much needed disaster relief funds that Puerto Rico 
has waited for, for almost 5 years. The release of these funds means 
the people of Puerto Rico can finally and fully rebuild their homes, 
their schools, their businesses.
  Puerto Rico, unfortunately, has too often been an afterthought to 
work here in Washington. Funds that would normally go to any State 
after a natural disaster like Hurricane Maria got delayed for years 
over the course of an entire administration.
  Puerto Ricans are American citizens and should be treated exactly as 
such when disaster strikes. That is why, in the American Rescue Plan, 
Democrats passed the largest, most comprehensive relief package for the 
people of Puerto Rico in a long, long time. I am proud to have worked 
with my House colleagues, particularly Representative Nydia Velazquez, 
to get that done.
  Prior to the American Rescue Plan, the Federal Government had never 
supported Puerto Rico's tax credit for low-income workers. We did that 
for the first time ever.
  Shockingly, prior to the American Rescue Plan, only families with 
three or more children in Puerto Rico could claim the child tax credit. 
That seems, to me, to be racist in its application. We fixed that and 
made sure that every family in Puerto Rico can claim the credit, just 
like every other American family.
  So as long as Democrats have a majority here in the Senate, I am 
going to make sure that Puerto Rico is treated fairly and gets its fair 
share of support. When it comes to this disaster aid, I am so glad the 
Biden administration is rectifying the issue. I hope we never repeat 
such a shameful delay.
  I yield the floor.
  I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The clerk will call the roll.
  The senior assistant legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order 
for the quorum call be rescinded.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. Without objection, it is so 
ordered.


                   Recognition of the Minority Leader

  The Republican leader is recognized.


                            Border Security

  Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, the situation on our southern border is 
bad and getting worse. Last month saw overall migrant totals hit a 
nearly two-decade high. More unaccompanied minors arrived than during 
any prior month on record.
  These kids, crowded in underequipped facilities, tended by 
increasingly overwhelmed personnel, have become the heart-wrenching 
face of this crisis. Yet the most resolve, the most strength that this 
administration has shown on the border has been their commitment to 
their talking points, their refusal to call the crisis a crisis.
  This past weekend, the President of the United States himself slipped 
up and used that forbidden word. But--get this--he was then overruled 
by his own staff. Yesterday, his Press Secretary said President Biden 
actually didn't intend to describe the situation as a crisis. 
Fascinating.
  But then, yesterday, at last, we saw this administration take some 
new action on immigration. Finally, some proactive steps. Memos were 
issued to Immigration and Customs Enforcement and CBP with new 
instruction. Were they new policies to stem the crisis? No. Stepped-up 
enforcement? No. A way to fix the administration's signals that have 
induced these new waves of

[[Page S2045]]

vulnerable people to try their luck? No, not this either.
  Here was the big news: The government will be adopting new, more 
politically correct rhetoric. Under this administration, we will no 
longer have ``illegal aliens,'' not because they will secure the 
border; just because they now will be called ``noncitizens'' or 
``undocumented migrants'' and so on.
  These priorities are almost a parody of leftwing governance: not 
securing the border, not a better plan for the children, just woke 
proofreading. This is not going to get the job done.


                            Opioid Epidemic

  Mr. President, on a related matter, of course, the flow of actual 
people is not our only border security problem. Americans are dying and 
communities are being hollowed out because foreign drug dealers and 
profiteers have taken our opioid crisis as a business opportunity.
  Fentanyl and fentanyl analogues that pour into our country impose a 
staggering, tragic loss. In 2020, the CDC recorded more overdose deaths 
than any year on record. They attributed the spike primarily to 
synthetic opioids like fentanyl.
  My home State of Kentucky logged a 50-percent year-on-year increase 
in overdose deaths. Fentanyl and its constantly changing analogues are 
as toxic and lethal an illegal drug as there is. We are talking about 
substances that can be orders of magnitude more potent than morphine.
  Customs and Border Protection say fentanyl seizures jumped more than 
70 percent in fiscal year 2020. They are on pace for another record 
year in 2021. Much of this poison is manufactured in and exported from 
China.
  The scope of this crisis is truly staggering. But incredibly, some on 
the political left want to respond to this national crisis by letting 
the criminal status of fentanyl analogues lapse this spring.
  People want to let these drugs become legal. They actually want to 
let these drugs become legal. I am not making this up. Fentanyl 
analogues are poised to fall off the schedule of controlled substances 
in just a few weeks if Congress does not act, and some corners of the 
soft-on-crime left want us to do nothing. They are unhappy with the 
sentences that be can be imposed on drug dealers as a result.
  These people are seriously arguing--seriously arguing that we should 
let these substances flow even more freely through American streets and 
American neighborhoods, costing who knows how many additional American 
lives to help some drug dealer avoid prison.
  I understand that even among Democrats who say they don't want to 
decriminalize these poisons, there is some effort to kick the can a few 
months with a temporary extension so that a soft-on-crime bill could be 
crafted and forcibly paired with this step.
  Look, these are terrible ideas, just terrible ideas. The right thing 
to do is obvious. This isn't a trick question. We need to permanently 
schedule fentanyl analogues, take this permanent step to protect 
Americans, and be done with it. We should not just kick the can down 
the road for 2 months or 5 months or 12 months. We should not let this 
commonsense step be held hostage for liberal horse trading. We simply 
need to do the right thing.
  Congress cannot hold American lives and communities hostage to try to 
grease the skids for drug dealers. Continuing to ban these analogues is 
not even a recipe for mass incarceration. The main effect is to cut 
down on the incoming supply of these poisons by changing the incentives 
for producers in China and other foreign countries.
  The Department of Justice reports that, in the last 3 years, only 8 
people--8 people would have qualified for the mandatory minimum 
sentences that some people are complaining about. More than anything 
else, scheduling these terrible drugs is a harm reduction and 
prevention tool. It works upstream. It disincentivizes their 
manufacture and their import into our country.
  Too many of our neighbors have already been taken from us. Too many 
communities have already been hollowed out. There is simply no excuse 
for inaction.
  It should not just be a Republican priority to slam the door on the 
opioid epidemic in every possible way. This should actually be a 
bipartisan no-brainer. Let's permanently schedule these analogues and 
keep this poison out of our land and out of our citizens' bloodstreams.


                              Afghanistan

  Mr. President, now, on one final matter, this afternoon, President 
Biden is sending his top national security officials to brief Members 
on his misguided plan to abandon the battlefield in Afghanistan.
  As I said when this decision was announced, the enemies that threaten 
America, our allies, and the people of Afghanistan are not vanquished. 
Taliban retribution and repression and the terror of al-Qaida, ISIS, 
and the Haqqani Network will likely only grow after we have left.
  I know many colleagues on both sides of the aisle share my concerns. 
I expect that the administration's representatives will face tough 
questions about the rationale behind their plan for a rushed 
withdrawal.
  So it is appropriate to ask: Does the Taliban share the 
administration's commitment to a negotiated solution, to not harming 
Afghan women or girls or seeking vengeance on those who have worked 
with the United States to root out terror? Somehow I doubt it.
  Does the administration have a plan for keeping terrorists off-
balance in the absence of troops and leverage in the region? Will it 
seek to maintain the 2001 AUMF, which authorizes the ongoing 
counterterrorism operations that have actually kept our homeland safe 
for 20 years?
  How does the administration plan to maintain our insight into 
terrorist activities or our ability to strike them without a presence 
on the ground, to sustain our partners who are doing the fighting? I 
worked hard to find common ground with this administration on foreign 
policy, but if the White House is serious about making America, our 
allies, and our interests more secure, it will need to start tacking 
toward a more enduring approach centered on strength, grounded in 
reality and not wishful thinking.
  I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The clerk will call the roll.
  The senior assistant legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order 
for the quorum call be rescinded.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT PRO TEMPORE. Without objection, it is so 
ordered.


                           Order of Procedure

  Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that 
notwithstanding the order of yesterday, the Senate recess from 12:30 
p.m. until 2:15 p.m. and that at 2:15 p.m., the Senate proceed to 
executive session to resume consideration of the Gensler nomination and 
the Senate vote on the motion to invoke cloture on the nomination; that 
following the cloture vote, the Senate resume legislative session and 
the Senate recess until 4 p.m. to allow for the all-Senators briefing; 
further, that if cloture is invoked on the Gensler nomination, all 
postcloture time be considered expired at 5 p.m.; that immediately 
following the disposition of the Gensler nomination, the Senate resume 
consideration of the Monaco nomination and vote on confirmation as 
provided under the previous order; that if either nomination is 
confirmed, the motions to reconsider be considered made and laid upon 
the table and the President be immediately notified of the Senate's 
action; finally, that following the confirmation vote on the Monaco 
nomination, the Senate resume legislative session.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT PRO TEMPORE. Without objection, it is so 
ordered.
  Mr. SCHUMER. Therefore, Senators should expect one rollcall vote at 
2:15 p.m. and two rollcall votes at 5 p.m.

                          ____________________