[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 158 (Tuesday, September 14, 2021)]
[Senate]
[Pages S6463-S6464]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                       BUSINESS BEFORE THE SENATE

  Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, we have a busy day in store for the 
Senate as we aim to hold a number of important votes before the start 
of Yom Kippur.
  Today, we will vote to advance four Presidential nominations. First, 
we will confirm James Kvaal to be Under Secretary of Education, and we 
will also confirm both David Estudillo and Angel Kelley to serve as 
district judges in Washington and Massachusetts, respectively.
  This afternoon, we will also advance the nomination of Ms. Veronica 
Rossman of Colorado, who has been nominated by President Biden to sit 
on the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals. Ms. Rossman has spent 
practically her entire legal career in public service as a Federal 
defender, giving a voice in the courtroom to those who often cannot 
afford legal representation.
  She is also an immigrant, who fled Russia with her parents as a child 
after her family endured anti-Semitic persecution in their home 
country. She understands personally the damage faced by those who 
endure discrimination.
  If confirmed, Ms. Rossman would be the only Federal defender to sit 
on the Tenth Circuit, and one of the few in the entire country. I am 
proud to have nominated Eunice Lee to the Second Circuit Court of New 
York. She, too, has been a Federal defender.
  We also have plenty of prosecutors and corporate lawyers wearing 
black robes.
  Like so many other of President Biden's judicial nominees, Ms. 
Rossman is going to bring a sorely needed perspective to our courts. 
The more we work to make our courts reflective of the diversity of this 
country, both demographic and professionally, the more we will 
strengthen the public's trust in our judicial system.
  Now, secondly, today, the Senate Democrats will also continue work to 
turn President Biden's Build Back Better agenda into law. It bears 
repeating: This is a historic effort. This is not just another simple 
piece of legislation. We are laying a foundation for another century of 
American prosperity. Just like the Great Society and the New Deal 
before it, our legislation will bring transformational change to help 
build ladders so that those can climb up into the middle class, while 
making it easier for those already in the middle class to enjoy that 
middle class life and stay there. Too many in the middle class worry 
they are going to slip out with all the changes occurring in our 
society. We strengthen their ability to stay.
  And too many who are trying to climb those ladders find the ladders 
steep and unavailable. We are providing those ladders so they can get 
there, too. It is strong, bold, important legislation, and it is really 
a privilege to be here in the Senate and consider something as strong 
and bold as this.
  Later today, our caucus will discuss the latest elements of the 
reconciliation bill. Working with our colleagues in the House, we will 
have met the target date of September 15 set in the

[[Page S6464]]

budget resolution for producing text to review.
  I expect our committee chairs will provide an overview of all the 
work that each of their committees have done over the last 4 weeks in 
drafting legislative text, and the entire caucus will have the chance 
to offer feedback so we can continue to move this process forward.
  This will continue to be a collaborative process. Everyone--
everyone--is going to have input into this legislation. But, of course, 
our unity is our strength, and if we are not unified with 50 votes, we 
can't get anything done. So we all must come together.
  Now, I am pleased to say, after working for weeks over the summer on 
our reconciliation bill, we are making great progress toward bringing 
the bill to the floor.
  Now, while Democrats are fighting to strengthen the middle class, our 
Republican colleagues, unfortunately, are resorting to the same, tired, 
predictable objections they raise about practically any Democratic 
proposal. Rather than explain why they oppose supporting families or 
expanding healthcare or taking action on climate change, they spent the 
last several months recycling old accusations about ``liberal wish 
lists.'' And rather than engage our policies on the merits and have a 
real debate, too often they raised unwarranted and incorrect points 
about how these programs will impact inflation.
  I remind my colleagues of a report released not long ago by the chief 
economist at Moody's Analytics, Mr. Mark Zandi. When Mr. Zandi examined 
the Democrats' two main legislative proposals, our infrastructure bill 
and our Build Back Better legislation, he concluded these packages 
would provide a massive boost to our economy. Specifically, he said our 
program would ``lift the economy's longer-term growth potential'' and 
would ``lift productivity and labor force growth''; that is, our 
proposal will do exactly what we said it would do, according to this 
impartial arbiter, Mark Zandi.
  And as for the Republicans' overheated rhetoric on inflation, Mr. 
Zandi dismisses such concerns as ``overdone'' and said our two 
infrastructure bills are designed to ``ease''--his words--inflation 
pressures.
  Let me repeat that. According to Moody's top economist--hardly a 
fervent liberal--the Democratic proposals would actually ease inflation 
pressures, not raise them.
  When you strengthen worker productivity, when you increase supply 
chains, the push to inflation decreases--decreases. And he also said 
that, in the long term, it would help grow our economy so that more 
Americans can get to and stay in the middle class.
  Compare that to the signature accomplishments that Senate Republicans 
forced when they were in charge: a massive tax break for corporations 
and the wealthy that did little to help everyday Americans.
  That is the difference between a Democratic majority and a Republican 
one. We are fighting to strengthen American workers and American 
families. Republicans seem only worried about protecting those at the 
very top.
  And, in addition, to those with inflationary concerns, we are going 
to pay for our proposal. The Trump tax cuts, which every Republican 
voted for, created a $2 trillion deficit.
  So let's be realistic here. Let's be honest here. The charges of 
runaway inflation are just wrong, especially when you consider we are 
paying for it, when Republicans were so willing to give tax cuts to the 
rich without paying for them at all.

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