[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 82 (Wednesday, May 12, 2021)]
[Senate]
[Page S2465]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                          BIDEN ADMINISTRATION

  Mr. McCONNELL. Now one final matter, Mr. President. This morning, I 
will be joining three other congressional leaders to meet with 
President Biden at the White House. There is certainly no shortage of 
important business to discuss.
  The President campaigned on a promise that his agenda would unite a 
divided nation. And he inherited a favorable situation. Vaccines were 
flooding America. Science had proven schools can reopen. Job openings 
were beginning to pile up.
  Republicans sought to continue the 2020 bipartisan streak on COVID 
relief, but our new President and our Democratic colleagues preferred a 
one-party approach. They used the end of the pandemic to pass what the 
President's own staff admitted--admitted--was ``the most progressive 
bill in American history.'' Not exactly shopping for consensus.
  Republicans were upfront with our concerns. We said these old liberal 
ideas would slow rehiring, slow down the reopening, and stoke 
inflation. Of course, just a few minutes ago, the Bureau of Labor 
Statistics published the most dramatic monthly inflation report in more 
than a decade. Many of the things American families buy have grown more 
expensive at a dizzying pace. Last week's incredibly disappointing jobs 
report showed what happens when Washington taxes working people to pay 
other people more to stay home.
  I am going to discuss these and other concerns with the President 
today, but I also hope we can begin to come together on pressing issues 
that should actually unite us.
  The last time Congress took comprehensive action on surface 
transportation infrastructure, 83 Senators signed on. By the way, that 
bill was produced by Senator Boxer, myself, and Senator Inhofe--a 
totally bipartisan effort across broad ideological lines. The last time 
we drilled down on water resources, the margin was 92 to 6. 
Infrastructure can and should be a bipartisan issue; the same for 
supporting working families; the same for supporting our national 
defense.
  If the President can remember that he promised to govern for all 
Americans, not just the far left, if my Democratic friends can remember 
they have just a 50-50 Senate and a closely divided House--not exactly 
a sweeping mandate for a socialist agenda--there is much we can deliver 
together for the country.
  I hope today marks the start of a new course correction from this 
White House and a more successful dialogue across party lines. That is 
what Americans need, and that is what they deserve.
  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. CORNYN. 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.

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