[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 198 (Monday, November 15, 2021)]
[Senate]
[Pages S8066-S8067]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                        National Adoption Month

  Mr. TUBERVILLE. Madam President, our great country was founded on the 
idea that freedom leads to prosperity, which is better known as the 
American dream.
  I have always said this country owes you only one thing, and that is 
an opportunity to succeed. This country gives you the opportunity to 
live the life you dream of because, with hard work, anything is 
possible. For a couple, the American dream may look like saving enough 
to buy their first home. For a small family business, it might look 
like opening its doors for the first time. For a first-generation 
college graduate, it might be walking across the stage, and for a 
soldier, returning from war with the hopes of starting a family. The 
American dream takes on many unique forms reflective of the opportunity 
that countless generations have strived to realize.
  At the core of the American dream, you will find the American family 
because for centuries, the American dream has been rooted in the idea 
of family and freedom. Strong families are the foundation of strong 
communities. That is why we need to uplift the American family rather 
than to continue to rip it apart.
  But recently, we have seen policies from the Democrats that inject 
politics into parenting, that insert the heavy hand of the Federal 
Government into the American home and stop at nothing to tell parents: 
We know best when it comes to raising your children.
  Threats to the American family are knocking on the front doors of 
homes across the Nation as the left becomes focused on telling the 
American people what they want rather than listening to what they need. 
A prime example is the Democrats' socialist spending spree, designed to 
create a cradle-to-grave welfare system that does more to tear the 
American family down than to build it up. Just look at the child tax 
credit--a once bipartisan policy initiative that has now been 
weaponized to benefit some families at the expense of others. If you 
are a working-class, married couple with children, you drew the short 
end of the stick. Then there is the Democrats' Federal childcare 
program. It is more focused on perpetuating government dependency than 
giving low-income families the means to stand on their own two feet.
  With these proposals in their reckless tax-and-spend spree, the 
Democrats are picking winners and losers, and the losers are the 
American family. Anti-family policies like these grow the size of the 
government while chipping away at American freedom. We should focus on 
pro-family policies that put families first, policies that make 
achieving the American dream a reality, not something to feel shameful 
about.
  If you are born with two parents in this country, you hit the 
lottery. So many children don't have the stable family that some have; 
they grow up with one parent or are raised by another family member. 
Then there are children who grow up with no parents, thrown into the 
foster system. It is a shame because we know stable families can 
provide foundations that children need to seize the American 
opportunities.
  As we talk about supporting the American family, I want to focus on 
an important issue to many families across the country; that is, 
adoption.
  November is National Adoption Month in the United States. In the 
United States, over 400,000 children a year don't have a safe place to 
call home or a loving family to care for them. The idea that children 
have a safe and stable home, with a family who loves them, should be 
something we should all agree on.
  In my career, I have traveled across the country for 40 years. People 
from all walks of life welcomed me into their homes. I have seen 
firsthand the immeasurable impact that family can have on a child's 
life. I have seen parents who provide stable foundations, who instill 
the belief that with hard work, grit, and determination, anything is 
possible.
  Success stories can be found across my State of Alabama. In fact, in 
2019, Alabama had 731 adoptions--the highest number in Alabama's 
history.
  One of those is Katie, who was adopted through the Heart Gallery of 
Alabama. Katie's parents adopted her at the age of 12, after years 
spent in and out of foster care. Her forever family provided her with 
the secure foundation she needed to jump-start her future. Now, Katie 
just completed her first year at Yale University.
  Like Katie, children in our foster care systems have endless 
potential but need the stability that having a family brings to unlock 
it. While we celebrate the heartwarming stories of families being made 
whole, we cannot forget about the children waiting for

[[Page S8067]]

their forever home. Those are the stories of kids who deserve these 
families and families who deserve kids.
  As a Christian, I believe life begins at conception, but too often, 
when discussing pro-life issues, we often refer to that life as the 
child's time in the womb. We should, however, be focusing on the life 
of a child after they are born, and that philosophy should apply to 
children all around the world.
  Many other countries don't place the same value on life as we do here 
in the United States. In some countries, parents may choose to abort 
babies who might have disabilities, and if a child is born with a 
disability, they are put up for adoption at much higher rates.
  China is one of these countries. Right now, there are several hundred 
American families who have been matched with or have begun the process 
of adoption with children in China, but the pandemic has indefinitely 
halted most of the adoptions from China moving forward.
  Back in May, I sent a letter to Secretary of State Antony Blinken 
asking for the State Department to have diplomatic discussions with 
China so these kids could go home to their new families, but here we 
are in November, and I have yet to receive a response from the State 
Department.
  Over 400 children are still stuck in China, with their families 
unable to bring them home. Most of these children have some type of 
medical or special need and are currently living in Chinese orphanages.
  One such child is Cherry. She is stuck in China while her forever 
family is waiting with open arms here in the United States. Cherry has 
Down syndrome and needs medical attention, which is currently being 
delayed.
  When speaking about Cherry, her forever family said:

       The sooner we can get little Cherry into our home, the 
     sooner we can give her all the attention, therapy, and love 
     to bring out her fullest potential in life.

  Cora Lee has lived in an orphanage for 3\1/2\ years, ever since she 
was an infant. Cora Lee has a medical condition that needs to be 
treated or could eventually lead to blindness. Here in the United 
States, there are parents, siblings, aunts and uncles, and a church 
family who are waiting for her to come home so they can help provide 
help in the future.
  Then there is Charlie, who recently had a fourth birthday. He has a 
family in Alabama who cannot wait to welcome him home. The first 
several years of Charlie's life have been tough. He needs specialized 
care that only a loving family can provide.
  Given that the Biden administration just reopened our borders to so 
many international travelers and that one of our COVID vaccines for 
children age 5 through 11 has just been authorized, I believe it is 
past time for us to get these children home to the families who have 
been waiting years to love them and care for them.
  Adoption is the gift that keeps on giving by providing children the 
opportunity to rise above difficult circumstances. We need to work 
together towards policies that make this gift more attainable for all 
who can provide a stable home. After all, family is the heartbeat of 
the American dream.
  Madam President, I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The clerk will call the roll.
  The legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. GRASSLEY. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order 
for the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Reed). Without objection, it is so 
ordered.


           Protecting America's First Responders Act of 2021

  Mr. GRASSLEY. Mr. President, the Senate has unanimously passed a bill 
entitled Protecting America's First Responders Act. I authored this 
legislation to expand benefits to first responders who are injured in 
the line of duty.
  The Public Safety Officers' Benefit Program, or PSOB for short, 
offers a one-time lump sum payment to first responders who are killed 
or permanently disabled in the line of duty. I think that legislation 
has been on the books since the 1970s.
  I started investigating this program when I heard complaints about 
long delays in processing payments. Those delays reached up to 3 years, 
on average. It is just not understandable why it should take 3 years 
for somebody who is killed in the line of duty to decide if the family 
should have help from that program. We fixed that particular issue with 
my 2017 bill entitled the Public Safety Officers' Benefit Improvement 
Act.
  However, my investigation uncovered a lot of other problems with that 
program, now 50 years old. The Justice Department was denying payments 
to folks who should have received those payments. In one case, a 
disabled police officer suffered a traumatic brain injury. The 
Department said that he wasn't disabled because he held a part-time 
position at Home Depot as a greeter.
  In another case, again, a police officer with brain injury was denied 
the benefit. Why? Because the officer tinkered around with motorcycles 
in his garage. It would take this officer months to do simple things 
that would otherwise have taken him just days. Still, the Department 
said that he wasn't disabled. They said it. It is unreasonable.
  But my bill that I described to you, which has now passed the Senate 
recently, will correct this problem. This legislation clarifies that 
first responders who are totally and permanently disabled but can still 
perform some very simple tasks can still get benefits. It adds a fair 
boost in payments to first responders who have waited years for these 
benefits. It provides the Justice Department with more tools so that it 
can process claims more quickly.
  Finally, my bill extends a presumption in the law that ensures that 
first responders who contract COVID on duty don't have to jump through 
hoops to prove it, because, you know, with COVID--did you get it when 
you were actually policing, or did you get it when you were in a 
restaurant, or did you get it when you were in church?--you don't 
really know. This bill will go a long ways in helping our first 
responders where it is impossible to show whether you got it when you 
were actually on duty.
  I would like to thank Senators Gillibrand and Booker, as well as all 
the other cosponsors.
  I also want to thank our House counterparts, specifically, 
Congressman Pascrell and his staff, who led the effort to pass the bill 
in the House of Representatives.
  Lastly, I want to thank the Justice Department for working closely 
with us to improve this language.
  Before I wrap up, I just want to say a few words about our first 
responders. Whether it is police officers, firefighters, or EMTs, first 
responders are the embodiment of the best qualities of Americans. Their 
daily sacrifices make our society better and safer.
  I am proud to have sponsored this legislation, and I urge the 
President to quickly sign the bill.