[Congressional Record Volume 168, Number 27 (Thursday, February 10, 2022)]
[Senate]
[Pages S640-S641]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
BLACK HISTORY MONTH
Mr. CARDIN. Mr. President, I rise today in recognition of Black
History Month.
Black History Month provides an opportunity for our Nation
collectively to reflect on and celebrate the contributions and legacies
of Black Americans. And while we have chosen this month, February, to
engage in collective celebration, we must also remember that we benefit
from the contributions and legacies of these great Americans every
single day.
Today, I would like to focus my remarks on our Nation's black
entrepreneurs. From Madame C.J. Walker to Baltimore's own Reginald F.
Lewis and beyond, Black entrepreneurs have long been vital to the
success of the American economy.
Unfortunately, throughout history, those who seek to hold back the
progress of the Black community view the successes of Black
entrepreneurs as a threat.
One need only look to the 1921 Tulsa Massacre--a dark incident in our
Nation's history that has belatedly entered our collective
consciousness.
White residents of Tulsa, OK, bombed, burned, and destroyed the
Greenwood District. In addition to an untold number of lives lost--
estimates range from dozens to hundreds--the riot destroyed homes,
churches, schools, and businesses in the district. At the time,
Greenwood was known as ``Black Wall Street'' due to its thriving Black
middle class and successful businesses, and its destruction was one of
the worst instances of racial violence in our Nation's history.
It is with instances like Greenwood and the dozens like it in mind
that I stand here today because while Black entrepreneurs no longer
work under the threat of such violence, they still face many
longstanding systemic barriers.
My late friend and mentor, former Congressman Parren J. Mitchell,
believed very strongly that the Federal Government had an important
role to play in our efforts to right these historical injustices and
support Black entrepreneurs.
In 1977, Congressman Mitchell fought to pass an amendment to a $4
billion Federal public works program requiring city and State
recipients to set aside 10 percent of the funds for minority-owned
businesses. He would go on to call the amendment his proudest
congressional accomplishment.
I was incredibly proud last year to build on his legacy by working
across the aisle and finally codifying the Minority Business
Development Agency, MBDA, and giving the agency the resources and
leadership necessary to help support entrepreneurs in the Black and
other minority communities.
This accomplishment is particularly important in Maryland, as the
Presiding Officer knows, since we are the home to the highest
concentration of minority-owned businesses in the country.
While we have made progress, we must also continue working together
to address these systemic inequities.
At the height of the pandemic, we came together to create the
Paycheck Protection Program, the PPP program, and we worked in a
bipartisan manner to improve the program once it became clear that it
was leaving far too many of our most vulnerable small businesses
behind.
We invested in non-bank financial institutions like the community
depository financial institutions and microlenders. We strengthened
relationships between the Small Business Administration and our
Nation's historically Black colleges and universities and minority-
serving institutions. We created grant programs that reduced structural
barriers instead of reinforcing them.
Recent studies have shown that these policies directly address the
inequities present during the phase 1 PPP, which favored larger
businesses. Through thoughtful policy, we made the program more
equitable with the share of loans made to minority-owned businesses
during phases 2 and 3 of the program in proportion with their overall
share of small businesses.
As I speak here today, the Senate is still trying to find a path
forward on President Biden's Build Back Better budget, which implements
many of the lessons we have learned over the past 2 years. The bill
contains many key provisions that will provide the SBA and the MBDA
with resources to empower Black entrepreneurs even more.
For instance, the Build Back Better Act would create a direct loan
program at the SBA. It would create a new Uplift Accelerator program to
deepen the relationships between SBA and HBCUs, and it would make the
SBA existing loan products more accessible and affordable.
The pandemic has demonstrated that when we come together to address
the problems in our society free from partisanship and in good faith,
we are able to make great strides. It also confirms that the Federal
Government has a key role to play in addressing the historic injustices
that have harmed--and continue to harm--Black entrepreneurs and the
Black community at large.
This Black History Month, let us commit to pairing our words with
actions, just as we did during the pandemic. We need to enact these
proven policies as quickly as possible. We cannot let this opportunity
pass us by.
Mr. President, I suggest the absence of a quorum.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
The senior assistant legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
Mrs. FISCHER. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order
for the quorum call be rescinded.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
Tribute to Judge John Gerrard
Mrs. FISCHER. Mr. President, I rise today to celebrate the
distinguished career of a Nebraska public servant, U.S. District Court
Judge John Gerrard.
After just over 10 years on the Federal bench in the District of
Nebraska,
[[Page S641]]
he announced Monday that he will move to senior status starting next
year. Judge Gerrard's impressive career has spanned more than four
decades, and it is not over yet. After his successor is confirmed, he
will remain on the bench with a reduced caseload.
Judge Gerrard is a native Nebraskan. He grew up in Schuyler and
attended Nebraska Wesleyan University in Lincoln. He left the good
life, temporarily, to pursue an MPA at the University of Arizona and a
JD at the University of the Pacific in California.
I am grateful that he came home to Nebraska after law school. In
1981, Judge Gerrard began his career in private practice in Norfolk. A
year later, he also began serving as a part-time city attorney for the
neighboring community of Battle Creek. That was the start of 40 years
and counting of selfless public service.
In 1995, he was appointed to the Nebraska Supreme Court by then-
Governor Ben Nelson. He was just 41 years old at the time, making him
the youngest-ever Nebraska Supreme Court Justice.
After more than 15 years on our State's highest court, he was
nominated by President Obama to the Federal judgeship he holds now in
2011, serving as chief judge for 3 of those years.
At every turn, Judge Gerrard has used his respect for the law to
advance the greater good of Nebraskans and all Americans. During his
time on the bench, I have appreciated hearing his views about many
pressing judicial matters. His perspective as a sentencing judge has
also been crucial in helping me to unpack how proposed legislation in
Congress would affect Federal judges.
It has been an honor to know Judge Gerrard and to work with him for
over a decade. He is an accomplished, skilled, and respected jurist,
and I am glad that he has chosen to continue his service after moving
to senior status.
Everyone who knows Judge Gerrard can attest that his wisdom extends
far beyond the law. He has never failed to impress me with his keen
observations about life. He is a good man with a servant's heart, and I
am proud to call him a friend.
On behalf of all Nebraskans, I would like to thank him for his four
decades of dedicated public service. I look forward to working with
President Biden to confirm a district court judge who will live up to
Judge Gerrard's legacy of ruling fairly in accordance with the
Constitution.
I yield the floor.
I suggest the absence of a quorum.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
The senior assistant legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
Mr. MORAN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for
the quorum call be rescinded.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
Red Cross National Blood Supply Shortage
Mr. MORAN. Mr. President, last month, the American Red Cross began
sounding the alarm on a national blood crisis, the first they have ever
declared. COVID-19 has added extra volatility to the blood supply, and
this shortage strains hospitals and patient care throughout America.
We continue to face that critical blood supply shortage today, with
Kansas's blood supply standing at a 1- to 2-day inventory.
I have heard from medical professionals--doctors, nurses, others in
Kansas about the tough decisions rural doctors and healthcare providers
are having to make, including canceling surgeries, blood transfusions,
and possibly not delivering babies because bleeding complications may
require blood that these facilities just don't have.
My hometown of Plainville, KS, has a population of about 2,000. We
are fortunate to have a county hospital with dedicated healthcare
professionals and physicians. One of my hometown physicians, Dr.
Sanchez, who I am told is not on Facebook very often but posted his
plea--his plea for people to donate blood.
Dr. Sanchez's Facebook post says--this is his story: Today we had to
tell a patient with heart disease that the blood transfusions that had
prolonged his life with marked improvement in quality could no longer
happen at Rooks County Health Center. My patient and his son were
understandably upset. It just so happens that the same patient was told
a few days previous that the melanoma cancer that he beat for 40 years
back returned. And now no blood transfusion.
The doctor said that the hospital is considering canceling surgeries,
possibly even not delivering babies. Our stock of common blood type A-
positive and donor O-positive blood units are down over 30 percent,
from six units to four units. Universal donor O-negative blood has been
in short supply for months and maybe for years. Blood supplies are
usually replenished at the American Red Cross every 3 weeks, but we
have had no new units given or replaced.
That is one doctor, one hometown, one hospital--but it is people. It
is people in Kansas. It is people in this country whom we know and care
for, people we love, people in our families, and people we don't even
know.
The most vulnerable patients among us rely on blood donations for
transfusions to support essential treatments such as those of battling
cancer or living with chronic diseases. There is no substitute. There
is no alternative.
Our Nation can turn to the absence of blood donations. The only
answer is for each of us stepping up to donate, helping to end this
crisis and contribute to saving lives of those in our communities.
The shortage is severe, and it is affecting Kansas health providers
and their ability to care for their patients. It will cost us lives.
Kansans pull together in times of need, and I encourage everyone in
Kansas and across the country to donate. In the United States, every 2
seconds someone needs blood or platelets, and donating blood is one of
the most tangible actions we can give to help save lives.
Donation centers provide specific guidance on blood donation process
and safety measures taken within their centers. You can find a location
that is accepting blood donations near you, and you can visit the
American Red Cross website.
So this is a plea that we all consider donating blood to help save
the lives of our friends, our neighbors, and our fellow Americans.
I yield the floor.
I suggest the absence of a quorum.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
The senior assistant legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
Mr. DURBIN. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the order
for the quorum call be rescinded.
The PRESIDING OFFICER (Ms. Cortez Masto). Without objection, it is so
ordered.
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