[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 208 (Thursday, December 2, 2021)]
[Senate]
[Pages S8904-S8906]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                          LEGISLATIVE SESSION

                                 ______
                                 

                FURTHER EXTENDING GOVERNMENT FUNDING ACT

  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Under the previous order, the Senate will 
resume legislative session and proceed to the consideration of H.R. 
6119, which the clerk will report.
  The bill clerk read as follows:

       A bill (H.R. 6119) making further continuing appropriations 
     for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2022, and for other 
     purposes.

  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Utah.


                           Amendment No. 4868

  Mr. LEE. Mr. President, 45 million Americans, 45 million hard-working 
moms and dads, neighbors, and friends are being threatened right now 
with losing their jobs. They are being threatened not due to cyclical 
economic conditions, not because jobs aren't available, not because of 
some war or other calamity; their jobs are being threatened by their 
own government--a government that has chosen to tell them if they don't 
comply with a Presidential medical orthodoxy, they will be fired.
  This is unfortunate. This is most unfortunate. It is most unfortunate 
that this power has been exercised this way. The President doesn't have 
that power. Congress hasn't given the President that power. Congress 
doesn't have that power to begin with. This is not a power that belongs 
in the Federal Government to begin with.
  As a result of that, 45 million Americans are being threatened with 
their jobs. They are being forced to choose between an unwanted medical 
procedure and losing their job.
  Look, I want to be very clear. I have been vaccinated. My family has 
been vaccinated. I believe the development of the vaccine is something 
of a modern medical miracle. I am grateful for the vaccine. I think the 
vaccine is helping Americans be safe from the effects of COVID. It is 
not the government's job. It is not within government's authority to 
tell people that they must be vaccinated, and if they don't get 
vaccinated, they will get fired.
  It is wrong. It is immoral. You don't tell someone that if they don't 
do exactly what you want them to do, that they are going to lose their 
job. The American people overwhelmingly agree.
  In fact, according to a recent Axios poll, only 14 percent of all 
Americans agree with the President of the United States that if someone 
declines to get the jab, they should lose their job.
  Now, this is a huge percentage of the workforce in many States--most 
States, in fact. Somewhere between a quarter and a third of all workers 
are now being faced with the possibility of losing their job because of 
these vaccine mandates. This, at a time when Americans are struggling 
just to put food on the table, in part, because we have a government 
that is spending too much money it doesn't have.
  It is churning up money, printing it, in effect, in a way that 
results in rampant inflation; in a way that makes limited paychecks go 
less far, less capable of buying bread to put on the table. And amidst 
all of this government-manufactured crisis, government is making it 
worse; threatening to not just make that paycheck go even less far than 
it already does because of government but to take it away altogether. 
That is not kind; that is not the neighborly way in which we like to do 
things; it is not moral; and it is not constitutional.
  Look, it is tragic that this many Americans have to have their jobs 
threatened as a result of a Presidential temper tantrum. There is 
nothing about it that is OK. Deep down, we all know that it is not OK.
  I will tell you, there is another thing that is not OK. It is not OK 
that those who want to take away those jobs, those who are just fine 
with the President exercising this authority fought tooth and nail to 
prevent the U.S. Senate from taking the vote that we are preparing to 
take tonight, a simple vote--a simple vote that simply allows us to 
weigh in and decide whether or not we are going to fund that part of 
government, that feature of our government that is going to enforce the 
vaccine mandate.
  Those in this Chamber who shamefully were refusing over and over 
again to let us even cast a vote on that simple measure threatened to 
shut down all of government because they didn't want to have us have a 
chance, as the people's elected lawmakers, to decide whether or not we 
should proceed with vaccine mandate enforcement. They would rather shut 
down the government and make everything worse than they would stand 
accountable for what they are doing.
  Fortunately, this part of the story at least has a happy ending. We 
are going to be able to vote on that tonight. We are going to be able 
to vote on whether or not we fund vaccine mandate enforcement at the 
Federal level.
  This is wonderful. This is fantastic. It should not have resulted in 
days and days of shutdown threats and days and days of deflection, 
accusing other people of wanting to shut down the government when all 
we wanted to do was have a vote, to give a chance to the hard-working 
mom or dad, soldier, sailor, airman, or marine struggling to put food 
on the table. That is all we wanted. And all they wanted to do is use 
it as an excuse to deflect onto others that which they are doing.
  We can do better than this. We must do better than this. The American 
people deserve better than this. That is why I am so glad and grateful 
that we will be casting this vote tonight.
  But know this: This issue is not going away. I hope with everything 
in me that when we cast this vote tonight, that a majority of us will 
do the right thing and that we will vote the way that we know we should 
vote; that we will stand with those people who may lose their 
jobs. Thirty-one percent of the workers in my State--and in other 
States, it is higher. Thirty-nine percent of the workers in West 
Virginia stand to lose their jobs, 37 percent of the workers in 
Alabama, 33 percent of the workers in Georgia. In State after State, 
you see hard-working moms and dads being threatened.

  This isn't right. It is not even an authority that the President has. 
It is not authority that the Congress has. We shouldn't be doing this. 
Deep down, we all know that is right. We also know that some of these 
problems result from the fact that when we fund the government, we have 
made significant mistakes as a result of the fact we have allowed so 
many spending decisions to be concentrated in one vote on one bill,

[[Page S8905]]

such that all of government tends to be funded or none of it gets 
funded.
  Sometimes the only opportunity we have to weigh in on a particular 
matter of public policy, one affecting 45 million American workers in 
this instance--the only chance we have to do that is on a spending 
bill, and we don't even get that chance unless we agree we can vote on 
an amendment on that. That should never result in a shutdown threat.
  When those threats are made, we should acknowledge who is making 
them. Never once has any one of us wanted to shut down the government. 
We wanted to give the American worker a chance for us to vote for them, 
a chance for us to stand with them.
  I urge--I implore--my colleagues: Please join me in voting to protect 
the American worker. Don't take away the job of hard-working Americans. 
Don't fire people because they are not inclined to adhere to 
Presidential medical orthodoxy. Please support me in this amendment.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Kansas.


                           Amendment No. 4868

  Mr. MARSHALL. Mr. President, I call up my amendment No. 4868 and ask 
that it be reported by number.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will report the amendment by number.
  The bill clerk read as follows:

       The Senator from Kansas [Mr. Marshall] for himself and for 
     Mr. Lee, proposes an amendment numbered 4868.

  The amendment is as follows:

  (Purpose: To prohibit the use of Federal funds for implementing or 
                  enforcing COVID-19 vaccine mandates)

       At the appropriate place, insert the following:

     SEC. __. PROHIBITION ON FUNDING FOR COVID-19 VACCINE 
                   MANDATES.

       None of the funds appropriated or otherwise made available 
     under this Act may be obligated or expended to--
       (1) implement or enforce--
       (A) section 1910.501 of title 29, Code of Federal 
     Regulations (or a successor regulation);
       (B) Executive Order 14042 of September 9, 2021 (86 Fed. 
     Reg. 50985; relating to ensuring adequate COVID safety 
     protocols for Federal contractors);
       (C) Executive Order 14043 of September 9, 2021 (86 Fed. 
     Reg. 50989; relating to requiring Coronavirus Disease 2019 
     vaccination for Federal employees);
       (D) the interim final rule issued by the Department of 
     Health and Human Services on November 5, 2021, entitled 
     ``Medicare and Medicaid Programs; Omnibus COVID-19 Health 
     Care Staff Vaccination'' (86 Fed. Reg. 61555); or
       (E) the memorandum signed by the Secretary of Defense on 
     August 24, 2021, for ``Mandatory Coronavirus Disease 2019 
     Vaccination of Department of Defense Service Members''; or
       (2) promulgate, implement, or enforce any rule, regulation, 
     or other agency statement, that is substantially similar to a 
     regulation, Executive Order, rule, or memorandum described in 
     paragraph (1).

  The PRESIDING OFFICER. There will now be 6 minutes of debate equally 
divided prior to a vote on amendment No. 4868.
  Mr. MARSHALL. Mr. President, this amendment is simple. It prohibits 
moneys from this bill to be used to fund or enforce the White House's 
COVID vaccine mandates on the American people for the duration of the 
CR.
  As a physician, I have always supported the vaccine, and I encourage 
Americans to talk to their doctor about getting vaccinated and about 
the booster. But whether to receive the vaccine or not is a personal 
choice. It should not be mandated via unconstitutional Executive 
actions that the administration acknowledged earlier this year they 
didn't have the authority to put in place.
  No precedent exists in American history for punishing private 
employers who don't enforce government vaccine edicts. As we all know, 
multiple Federal courts have put a stop to the OSHA mandate, as well as 
the Federal contractor and CMS mandates.
  What is more, thank goodness, the White House even delayed 
implementing their mandate for Federal workers until after the 
holidays. This is an opportunity to right a wrong--for each Member in 
this body to right a wrong. Let's get employers certainty and employees 
peace of mind that they will still have a job this new year.
  Make no mistake, these vaccine mandates are not about public health 
or science. If they were, the White House would recognize the 92 
percent of Americans--92 percent of Americans--who already built up 
immunity to this virus between vaccines and natural immunity.
  Beside me is a photo of upset union workers in Topeka, KS. These are 
people who keep our electricity on and houses warm in the winter. These 
are hard-working Americans who put their lives on the line throughout 
the pandemic. Tonight, I am their voice. I am their voice and I am 
proud to be here to keep fighting for them, for their families, and 
their right to earn a living in this greatest country in the world.
  Tonight, I ask my colleagues to join me in this fight and support our 
amendment and avoid an economic shutdown, avoid brownouts, further 
supply chain disruptions, labor shortages, higher inflation, and 
weakening our national security.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Washington.
  Mrs. MURRAY. Mr. President, COVID-19 has killed over 780,000 people 
in our country. This pandemic has a higher body count than any war we 
have ever fought in, and it is not over.
  We should be doing everything we can to stop this virus. We should be 
using every tool to keep America safe. We all know the damage this 
virus can do to our communities and to our economy. That is why the 
Biden administration has taken steps to urge employers to make sure 
their employees are fully vaccinated or test negative for COVID-19 
before they come to the workplace. That is a move that is widely 
popular with the American people. No one wants to go to work and be 
worried they might come home to their family with a deadly virus.
  Even businesses support this step. The Chamber of Commerce is urging 
businesses to comply with the administration's emergency temporary 
standard. Perhaps, more importantly, it is a move that will save lives. 
We have already seen these requirements have a huge impact. In fact, 
many businesses with vaccine requirements have seen vaccine rates rise 
well above 90 percent. OSHA estimates that the Federal standard--which 
Republicans are fighting to undermine--will help protect 84 million 
workers, prevent thousands of deaths and over 200,000 hospitalizations 
from COVID-19.
  I do not understand why--after all families have been through, after 
all we have lost and all the hard work we have done to rebuild--would 
anyone want to throw that in jeopardy and throw away one of the 
strongest tools we have to get people vaccinated, keep them safe, and 
end this pandemic once and for all. It is senseless. It is reckless. I 
urge my colleagues to vote against it.
  I yield the rest of my time to the Senator from Virginia.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Virginia.
  Mr. KAINE. Mr. President, I rise to support the position of my 
colleague.
  When you are unwilling to describe something accurately, it betrays a 
weakness in your position. I heard my colleagues complain about the 
vaccine mandate. It is not a vaccine mandate. It is a vaccine or 
testing mandate. If you don't want to get a test--if you don't want to 
get a vaccine, don't get a vaccine. Get a test so you can go to work 
each week without infecting your colleagues with the deadly disease.
  What my colleagues are asking is that people be protected so that 
they can go to work with a deadly disease, infect coworkers, and still 
get a paycheck--and still get a paycheck. If you don't want to get a 
vaccine, get a test. If you are unwilling to protect your coworkers, 
don't demand a paycheck.
  I urge my colleagues to oppose this amendment.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Utah.
  Mr. LEE. If you don't want to get the virus, get the vaccine.
  The answer to someone not agreeing to your medical advice is not to 
fire them. It sure as heck isn't to have the President of the United 
States fine every employer in America that doesn't want to do this, 
whether they have religious objections or otherwise. This is wrong. We 
know it is wrong. We can stop this right now.
  Please join me in opposing and taking down and refusing to fund for 
the duration of this continuing resolution that part of government 
charged with enforcing this immoral, indefensible, unconstitutional, 
and illegal mandate.

[[Page S8906]]

  



                       Vote on Amendment No. 4868

  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The question is on agreeing to the amendment.
  Mr. MARSHALL. I ask for the yeas and nays.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there a sufficient second?
  There appears to be a sufficient second.
  The clerk will call the roll.
  The bill clerk called the roll.
  Mr. BARRASSO. The following Senators are necessarily absent: the 
Senator from Tennessee (Mr. Hagerty) and the Senator from South Dakota 
(Mr. Thune).
  The result was announced--yeas 48, nays 50, as follows:

                      [Rollcall Vote No. 476 Leg.]

                                YEAS--48

     Barrasso
     Blackburn
     Blunt
     Boozman
     Braun
     Burr
     Capito
     Cassidy
     Collins
     Cornyn
     Cotton
     Cramer
     Crapo
     Cruz
     Daines
     Ernst
     Fischer
     Graham
     Grassley
     Hawley
     Hoeven
     Hyde-Smith
     Inhofe
     Johnson
     Kennedy
     Lankford
     Lee
     Lummis
     Marshall
     McConnell
     Moran
     Murkowski
     Paul
     Portman
     Risch
     Romney
     Rounds
     Rubio
     Sasse
     Scott (FL)
     Scott (SC)
     Shelby
     Sullivan
     Tillis
     Toomey
     Tuberville
     Wicker
     Young

                                NAYS--50

     Baldwin
     Bennet
     Blumenthal
     Booker
     Brown
     Cantwell
     Cardin
     Carper
     Casey
     Coons
     Cortez Masto
     Duckworth
     Durbin
     Feinstein
     Gillibrand
     Hassan
     Heinrich
     Hickenlooper
     Hirono
     Kaine
     Kelly
     King
     Klobuchar
     Leahy
     Lujan
     Manchin
     Markey
     Menendez
     Merkley
     Murphy
     Murray
     Ossoff
     Padilla
     Peters
     Reed
     Rosen
     Sanders
     Schatz
     Schumer
     Shaheen
     Sinema
     Smith
     Stabenow
     Tester
     Van Hollen
     Warner
     Warnock
     Warren
     Whitehouse
     Wyden

                             NOT VOTING--2

     Hagerty
     Thune
       
  The amendment (No. 4868) was rejected.
  (Mrs. MURRAY assumed the Chair.)
  The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. King). The clerk will read the bill by 
title for the third time.
  The bill was ordered to a third reading and was read the third time.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. There will be 6 minutes of debate equally 
divided prior to a vote on the passage of the bill.
  The Senator from Vermont.
  Mr. LEAHY. Mr. President, I will be very brief.
  I will note that, as chairman of the Appropriations Committee, this 
bill was negotiated on a bipartisan-bicameral basis to keep the 
government open and operating until February 18.
  I urge every Member to vote ``aye.'' We have to pass it tonight, but 
I warn and remind every Senator: It is not a substitute for doing our 
work. We have to use the next 2 months to negotiate and enact full-year 
appropriations bills. I hope my Republican friends will come to the 
table to negotiate toplines. The Democrats have made a fair offer, a 
strong offer, and we need a response.
  So I thank Vice Chairman Shelby for his cooperation and hard work on 
this bill. I look forward to working with him, as I did earlier today, 
and will continue to until we get an agreement on a topline and all 12 
appropriations bills by February 18.
  Let's get to work and show the country the Senate can do its work.
  I yield the floor.


                           Vote on H.R. 6119

  Mrs. GILLIBRAND. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that all time 
be yielded back.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  With all time having been yielded back, the question is, Shall the 
bill pass?
  Mrs. GILLIBRAND. Mr. President, I ask for the yeas and nays.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The yeas and nays have been requested.
  Is there a sufficient second?
  There is a sufficient second.
  The clerk will call the roll.
  The senior assistant legislative clerk called the roll.
  Mr. BARRASSO. The following Senators are necessarily absent: the 
Senator from Tennessee (Mr. Hagerty), the Senator from Oklahoma (Mr. 
Inhofe), and the Senator from South Dakota (Mr. Thune).
  The result was announced--yeas 69, nays 28, as follows:

                      [Rollcall Vote No. 477 Leg.]

                                YEAS--69

     Baldwin
     Bennet
     Blumenthal
     Blunt
     Booker
     Brown
     Burr
     Cantwell
     Capito
     Cardin
     Carper
     Casey
     Cassidy
     Collins
     Coons
     Cornyn
     Cortez Masto
     Duckworth
     Durbin
     Feinstein
     Gillibrand
     Graham
     Hassan
     Heinrich
     Hickenlooper
     Hirono
     Hyde-Smith
     Kaine
     Kelly
     Kennedy
     King
     Klobuchar
     Leahy
     Lujan
     Manchin
     Markey
     McConnell
     Menendez
     Merkley
     Moran
     Murkowski
     Murphy
     Murray
     Ossoff
     Padilla
     Peters
     Portman
     Reed
     Rosen
     Rounds
     Rubio
     Sanders
     Schatz
     Schumer
     Shaheen
     Shelby
     Sinema
     Smith
     Stabenow
     Tester
     Tillis
     Van Hollen
     Warner
     Warnock
     Warren
     Whitehouse
     Wicker
     Wyden
     Young

                                NAYS--28

     Barrasso
     Blackburn
     Boozman
     Braun
     Cotton
     Cramer
     Crapo
     Cruz
     Daines
     Ernst
     Fischer
     Grassley
     Hawley
     Hoeven
     Johnson
     Lankford
     Lee
     Lummis
     Marshall
     Paul
     Risch
     Romney
     Sasse
     Scott (FL)
     Scott (SC)
     Sullivan
     Toomey
     Tuberville

                             NOT VOTING--3

     Hagerty
     Inhofe
     Thune
  The bill (H.R. 6119) was passed.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The majority leader.
  Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, I am happy to let the American people 
know the government remains open.
  (Applause.)
  Mr. SCHUMER. Thank you.

                          ____________________