[Congressional Record Volume 168, Number 30 (Tuesday, February 15, 2022)]
[Senate]
[Pages S692-S694]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                        Nomination of Gigi Sohn

  Mr. TILLIS. Madam President, I always strive to treat each and every 
nominee--regardless of party affiliation--with dignity and respect. I 
evaluate their credentials and make a decision on whether to support 
them based on their qualifications, their temperaments, and whether 
they will serve the interests of all of the American people.
  That is actually why, in my role on the Judiciary Committee, I have 
voted for almost half of President Biden's nominees. In my judgment, 
some were qualified and deserved confirmation, and in my judgment, some 
weren't. Again, I evaluate each nominee on an independent and fair 
basis. With this in mind, I hope my colleagues will take seriously what 
I have to say today.
  I rise to speak in opposition to, perhaps, one of the most radical 
nominees the President has put forward to date.

[[Page S693]]

I am talking about the nomination of Gigi Sohn to be an FCC 
Commissioner.
  Ms. Sohn is exactly the type of radical activist we should avoid 
confirming to lead any Agency, especially an Agency as critical as the 
FCC. Her radical activist track record and her out-of-the-mainstream 
views on everything from free speech to intellectual property indicate 
to me she will weaponize the FCC against the American people.
  Ms. Sohn has made no secret of the fact that she loathes Republicans, 
conservatives, and any media organization that doesn't share her world 
view. One need look no further than her deeming FOX News as ``state-
sponsored propaganda.'' She has supported State governments and used 
their power to destroy conservative news outlets. When California's 
liberal legislature tried to pressure broadcasters into dropping 
conservative news organizations, she supported--yes, she supported--
their effort.
  It doesn't stop there. If confirmed, she will have the power to 
censor conservative media and retaliate against any view that is 
different from her own.
  Worse than her disdain--probably even hatred--for conservative news 
media, she has also made it clear that she simply detests Republicans 
as people. She has claimed Senate Republicans are a threat to ``our 
Republic'' and claimed their ``ideology has overtaken their duty to 
serve their constituents.'' She even claimed that Republicans can only 
win elections by ``suppressing the vote'' and destroying democracy.
  As someone who won reelection in a State with a nearly 80-percent 
turnout in the last election, I can tell her that that isn't the case.
  As if her disdain for conservative media and Republicans isn't 
enough, she has also demonstrated she is a radical, anti-copyright 
activist who will use every lever of power at her disposal to harm 
America's content creators.
  For years, she dismissed the economic harms that our outdated 
copyright laws have caused content creators. She belittled their 
demonstrated pain and suffering, and she opposed efforts to fix the 
failed copyright system. During her time at the FCC as a senior adviser 
to FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler, Sohn championed the FCC's attempt to 
unlock pay-TV set-top boxes.
  This disastrous policy would have destroyed the intellectual property 
rights of copyright owners to the benefit of big tech companies like 
Google, and these big tech companies have conveniently funded Sohn over 
the years.
  She has never apologized for this disastrous policy. In a 2016 op-ed, 
Sohn downplayed any concerns with this proposal by proposing only a 
hypothetical solution to address them.
  Finally, anyone who doubts her radical views on intellectual property 
need look no further than to the fact that she literally served on the 
board of directors of a company named Locast, whose sole purpose was to 
engage in illegal copyright infringement.
  Let that sink in.
  Gigi Sohn, a longtime anti-copyright activist who worked on policies 
at the FCC to destroy copyright owners' rights, then subsequently 
served on the board of a company that made money by infringing on 
copyright and likely made money from the illegal activity in the 
process and, not only that, I have real concerns that she appears to be 
hiding relevant information to the lawsuit. She failed to disclose the 
fact that the amount of money exchanged by Locast was much lower than 
the reported $32 million settlement. As an explanation, she stated that 
she answered the questions within the confines of the settlement 
agreement.
  Playing ``hiding the ball'' while seeking a position of public trust 
is not acceptable. I believe her nomination would undermine public 
confidence in the FCC and our government.
  If this were any other nominee, especially a Republican nominee, any 
one of these issues would be enough for my colleagues on this side of 
the aisle to stand up and ask the President of our party to withdraw 
the nominee. I hope my Democratic colleagues will review Ms. Sohn's 
record, just like I have, in a fair and impartial manner, and reach the 
only reasonable conclusion; that she cannot and must not be confirmed.
  I again call on President Biden to withdraw the nomination of Gigi 
Sohn. If he won't, I hope I can count on 51 Senators to stand with me 
and make it clear that we won't allow such a radical activist to be 
confirmed to the FCC.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Tennessee.


                 Unanimous Consent Request--S. Res. 512

  Mr. HAGERTY. Madam President, for nearly 2 years, the U.S. Capitol 
Building and Senate offices have been largely closed to the American 
people whom we serve. Our constituents have been unable to enter the 
Senate buildings to meet with their representatives, and Americans of 
all ages, from schoolchildren to seniors, have been deprived of the 
patriotic sense of wonderment that comes from visiting the hallowed 
halls of the Capitol Building. The openness of the Halls of Congress 
and public participation in the legislative process have always been 
hallmarks of American democracy.
  It is long past time for the Senate to reopen its doors to the 
American people. Thanks to Operation Warp Speed, vaccines have been 
available for more than a year for those who want them. Americans have 
learned how to safely gather and enter public places despite the 
pandemic. Over 70,000 people attended the Super Bowl in Los Angeles on 
Sunday, in fact. Yet there are reports that some of the leadership in 
this building want to significantly limit the number of lawmakers who 
are allowed to attend President Biden's State of the Union Address in 
just a couple of weeks.
  From stores to venues and most workplaces and schools, the rest of 
the United States has reopened to gatherings and regular business. 
Shouldn't the Senate, whose buildings belong to the public, do the 
same? That is why I have introduced a resolution providing that the 
Senate, first, recognizes the importance of reopening the Capitol and 
Senate office buildings to the public and, second, supports returning 
to the pre-COVID visitor policies for areas within Senate jurisdiction. 
I am pleased that 26 of my colleagues have joined me as cosponsors of 
this resolution.
  Importantly, if there are operational matters that need to be worked 
out as part of reopening, this resolution provides no obstacle to doing 
so. It simply states that the Senate supports reopening and recognizes 
the importance of doing so.
  I am asking my colleagues to join me today in support of the access 
to American democracy and a return to normal life and in opposition to 
endless pandemic lockdown, and I am pleased to be joined here today by 
my colleague from Indiana.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Indiana.
  Mr. BRAUN. Madam President, as ranking member of the Legislative 
Branch Appropriations Subcommittee, I rise today in support of the 
Senator from Tennessee's resolution to reopen the Capitol and the 
Senate office buildings. As he said, for nearly 2 years, we have not 
been operating from what I was used to for the short time I had been 
here prior to that. Governors across the country finally are beginning 
to do the same thing, even in places where they were almost in lockstep 
with the way we were doing things here.
  Today, you can only enter the Capitol Complex with an escort by a 
staff member. One of the things constituents from back in Indiana 
enjoyed most--the senior Senator from Indiana, Todd Young, started it 
before I got here--was the Hoosier Huddle. From 9 to 10 every Tuesday, 
every Wednesday, we had folks from all over our State coming into the 
Capitol so we could have that conversation on issues that were 
important. Now we do it by Zoom.
  The rest of the country is saying: Enough is enough; we want to get 
back to at least some of the ways that were in place prior to COVID.
  Now, Washington lobbyists are allowed in because of their close 
connections with congressional staff, but the American people don't 
have that same access, and that is just wrong.
  The legislative branch Agencies have continued to provide support to 
Congress throughout the pandemic. It is time that Congress reopens the 
Capitol to the American public, including Hoosiers from my home State.
  I yield the floor.
  Mr. HAGERTY. Madam President, as if in legislative session, I ask 
unanimous consent that the Senate proceed

[[Page S694]]

to the consideration of S. Res. 512, submitted earlier today. Further, 
I ask unanimous consent that the resolution be agreed to, the preamble 
be agreed to, and that the motions to reconsider be considered made and 
laid upon the table with no intervening action or debate.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there objection?
  The Senator from Minnesota.
  Ms. KLOBUCHAR. Madam President, reserving the right to object, I 
object.
  As chair of the Rules Committee, with oversight of the security of 
this Capitol, I share Senator Hagerty's goal and Senator Braun's goal 
of ensuring that this building is open and accessible to the public. I 
agree with them that it is important to reopen the Capitol, and I 
personally can't wait to have my constituents back as well for our 
Thursday morning breakfasts. But we must do this in a way that takes 
into account the health and safety of everyone who works here and not 
just the Senators.
  This is a decision for the Capitol Police Board, in consultation with 
the medical experts in the Office of Attending Physician.
  While the worst of the Omicron surge is behind us--and that is such a 
good thing--they have told us there is still work to do. At the same 
time--and I think this is one of our challenges as we look at how we 
are reopening and how we do it, because I think we will end up doing 
this incrementally, and I hope we can start soon--at the same time, 
ongoing staffing challenges facing the Capitol Police are an important 
consideration that must be managed carefully by the Capitol Police 
Board. The Capitol Police are already stretched thin. More than 130 
officers have left the force since the January 6 insurrection last 
year.
  At a Rules Committee hearing that I held with Senator Blunt just last 
month, Chief Manger testified that the Department is down 447 officers. 
Let me repeat that: 447 officers. The officers who remain have had 
vacations canceled and have worked significant overtime. The 
Department, as we learned at our oversight hearing--we had two in the 
last 3 months--has taken steps--and I personally asked about this, 
Senator Hagerty, because I care so much about reopening the Capitol--
they have taken steps to address these shortfalls, including addressing 
the number of recruit classes, with the goal of recruiting 280 officers 
per year for the next 3 years. That is additional officers. The 
Department has also taken steps to retain officers already on the 
force, including by issuing retention bonuses and hazard pay.
  We took a very important step last summer on a bipartisan basis to 
provide funding for security improvements at the Capitol and to ensure 
that the Capitol Police have the resources to do their jobs when we 
passed the emergency funding bill led by Senator Leahy and Senator 
Shelby that the President signed into law. But, as Chief Manger just 
said at a public hearing when he explained that we were 447 officers 
short--which, of course, means who is the at the doors, what doors are 
open, and what backup do they have--he said we still have a ways to go 
before he has officers to staff all the posts needed to safely reopen 
to the public.
  So there is still much more work to do. I, for one, am in favor of 
making changes so we can begin the process of reopening as soon as 
possible. The Capitol Complex should, of course, reopen so Americans 
from across the country can visit and see our democracy at work. We are 
simply relying on the health and security experts to ensure that how 
and when we do reopen, we do it safely for everyone who works here, 
including the staff.
  For these reasons, Madam President, I object.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The objection is heard.
  The Senator from Tennessee.
  Mr. HAGERTY. Madam President, I greatly respect my colleague from 
Minnesota, and I have enjoyed working with her on the Rules Committee, 
but her objection to this resolution provides an unfortunate but clear 
answer: No, Democrats don't support reopening the Senate.
  Hopefully sometime soon, my Democratic colleagues will wake up to the 
fact that Americans are sick of endless lockdowns and the condescending 
message that it sends to the American people that they need government 
to tell them what to do.
  With regard to the objection that we need a more measured process in 
consultation with various officials, I talked to the Capitol Police 
Chief last week, and we can work with his team and the Sergeant at Arms 
to address any specific operational issues. We can also work with the 
Attending Physician. All of that is downstream of the basic question 
here, which is whether the Senate supports reopening. If the Senate 
supports reopening, then we can figure out the rest.
  Senate leadership sets the policy for the Capitol Building and the 
office buildings that are under Senate jurisdiction. That is why we 
have different COVID policies than the House. If it was up to the 
Attending Physician or the Capitol Police, the policy probably wouldn't 
change at the midpoint of the Capitol Building, as it does today.
  We are the elected officials in the building. We are the ones who 
were elected to make decisions. We shouldn't dodge that responsibility, 
and we need to lead by making a clear statement that it is time to 
reopen the Senate to our constituents. It is unfortunate that many of 
my Democratic colleagues don't feel the same way. We need to reopen the 
Senate now.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Tennessee.