[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 74 (Thursday, April 29, 2021)]
[Senate]
[Pages S2311-S2312]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
JOINT SESSION OF CONGRESS
Mr. SCHUMER. Madam President, last night, before a joint session of
Congress, President Biden laid out a comprehensive, thoughtful vision
for the country.
First, he spoke about what we have accomplished so far, and on that
front, there was plenty to talk about.
The Democratic majority in Congress passed the most sweeping Federal
recovery effort in a new generation, the American Rescue Plan,
accelerating the pace of vaccinations and our economic rebound. As a
result, the United States administered more than 200 million shots in
less than 100 days. More than half of American adults have gotten at
least one shot, and two-thirds of American seniors are vaccinated.
Eighty-five percent of all Americans have received a stimulus check of
$1,400 through the American Rescue Plan. More than 160 million relief
checks have been delivered.
Our economic recovery continues apace. The United States created more
than a million jobs over the past 3 months--the most new jobs in a
President's first hundred days in American history. And just this
morning, we learned that jobless claims hit a new pandemic low for the
third straight week. Today's numbers are an indication that our economy
is back on track and should be going full throttle. America is turning
the corner. America is turning the corner.
Over the first quarter, the American economy grew by 6.4 percent--6.4
percent. Under President Biden and Democratic majorities in Congress,
America is turning the corner--6.4 percent growth, wow. That shows you
that America is back, and that shows you that the kind of strong,
active proposals that we Democrats have made are the right direction
for the country and have the support throughout the country of
Democrats, Independents, Republicans because it is the right thing to
do--the right thing to do.
The story of the first hundred days is a story about shots going into
arms, checks going into pockets, life getting back to normal, and the
economy picking up a lot of steam. After one of the most difficult
years in history, we have made extraordinary progress.
President Biden spoke last night about how and where we can build on
that strong foundation. We can't rest. We have a lot more to do. We
want to keep this country going at a strong rate of growth, creating
new jobs, making America healthier. We want to continue to do that. We
are not just going to stop with the ARP. We can't.
President Biden proposed commonsense investments and policies that
will provide a pathway to success for working people and for America as
a
[[Page S2312]]
whole. In particular, the President's focus on jobs, middle-class
incomes, and helping families and workers succeed in a 21st-century
economy was very much welcomed.
America is breathing a sigh of relief to see Joe Biden in that chair
and not the previous President, who just all too often, even in those
speeches where he was supposed to rise to the occasion, appealed to the
worst instincts of people.
The President's plan--President Biden's plan--will help restore that
once innate American optimism that has really been shaken for the last
4 years. Now the Congress must act. And, as majority leader, I intend
for the Senate to take up legislation to make President Biden's vision
a reality.
Truthfully, a lot of what President Biden proposed last night should
be bipartisan. Just because a Democratic President proposed a jobs and
infrastructure plan doesn't mean jobs and infrastructure are Democratic
issues. Just because a Democratic President proposed a comprehensive
plan to address childcare and education and workforce training doesn't
mean those are just Democratic issues. My Republican colleagues, in one
way or another, have joined Democrats on legislation in those subject
areas for years.
President Biden spoke at length about the need to outcompete China.
That is something our two parties have long agreed on and a topic the
Senate will address in the next work period.
Even on the very difficult subjects like police reform, gun safety,
immigration, bipartisan compromise--strong bipartisan compromise,
strong legislation coming out of bipartisan compromise--is never out of
reach.
Senator Murphy continues to discuss bipartisan safety measures with
Senator Cornyn and others. Senators Booker and Durbin continue to
discuss bipartisan policing reform with Senator Scott, Karen Bass,
Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee, and many others.
Just this morning, I met with George Floyd's brother, Eric Garner's
mother, and Mr. Ben Crump, the lawyer for the family of George Floyd,
and I told them that we are committed to getting meaningful, strong
reform done--hopefully, in a bipartisan way, if we can.
Here on the Senate floor, we are proving that our two parties can
work together on legislation, including on some of the issues that
President Biden mentioned. Today's vote offers a great example. This
afternoon, the Senate is going to vote on a bipartisan water
infrastructure bill. We have agreed with the Republican minority to
consider several amendments first, including three Republican
amendments. I promised my caucus and the country that we would try to
do things in a more open way, where amendments would be debated on the
floor. We did that last week on the anti-Asian hate crimes legislation.
We are doing it today on the water bill, and we hope to do it on the
comprehensive America COMPETES Act when we come back next week.
So the bottom line is very simple: We are moving forward wherever we
can in a bipartisan way.
I expect the Senate will pass the water infrastructure bill with a
resounding bipartisan vote after the amendments are debated. So let it
be a signal to our Republican colleagues that Senate Democrats want to
work together on infrastructure when and where we can.
Certainly, the water bill is not the only example of bipartisan
legislation this Congress. As I mentioned, a few weeks ago, nearly the
entire Senate stood together to pass legislation to combat the recent
surge in hate crimes, particularly against Americans of Asian descent,
94 to 1--94 to 1.
And just yesterday, the Senate passed, with bipartisan support, a
measure to reinstate critical rules to reduce the emissions of methane
into our atmosphere. It was the first significant action the Senate has
taken to combat climate change in at least a decade, probably much
more.
Even though our two parties have been divided in the past on the
subject of climate change, we can no longer afford to have those
differences foil our progress. The methane CRA must be the first--the
first of many steps we take to tackle climate change.
So these past few months have provided a great example of what the
Senate can do. The American people deserve a Congress that works and
produces the kinds of change that Americans are demanding. President
Biden pointed the way. He pointed the way forward on a number of issues
last night. Now it is up to us, here in the Senate and in the Congress,
to make progress, the progress for the American people, a reality.
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