[Congressional Record Volume 168, Number 36 (Monday, February 28, 2022)]
[Senate]
[Pages S819-S826]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
LEGISLATIVE SESSION
______
WOMEN'S HEALTH PROTECTION ACT OF 2021--Motion to Proceed--Resumed
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Under the previous order, the Senate will
resume consideration of the motion to proceed to H.R. 3755, which the
clerk will report.
The bill clerk read as follows:
Motion to proceed to Calendar No. 139, H.R. 3755, a bill to
protect a person's ability to determine whether to continue
or end a pregnancy, and to protect a health care provider's
ability to provide abortion services.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The senior Senator from Illinois.
Remembering Richard C. Blum
Mr. DURBIN. Madam President, I want to begin my remarks by joining
Senator McConnell in expressing my condolences to our friend and
colleague Senator Dianne Feinstein on the passing of her husband and
partner Richard Blum.
Dick Blum was a trailblazer in the Senate family, one of the first
men to join the Senate Spouses club. He was proud of Senator
Feinstein's historic career in public service.
He was a success at business and invested his wealth in easing human
suffering--from the streets of San Francisco to some of the poorest
corners of the globe. He founded the American Himalayan Foundation to
assist the people of the Himalayas. He also founded the Blum Center for
Developing Economies at UC Berkeley to help teach students about
microlending, social enterprise, and other ways for poor people in
developing nations to lift themselves from poverty.
A story in today's Los Angeles Times contained an anecdote that
captured well Dick's good humor and generous spirit.
He said that in all the conversations he had over the years with
Buddhist friends in the Himalayas, no one had ever convinced him of the
likelihood of reincarnation. Maybe that is why he worked so hard to
achieve so much good in this one lifetime he was given. He did more to
ease human suffering than others might do in a dozen lifetime
opportunities.
To Senator Dianne Feinstein, their beloved daughters and
grandchildren, and all who knew and loved him, Loretta and I offer our
condolences.
Dick Blum's friendship was a gift, and his memory will be a blessing.
Nomination of Ketanji Brown Jackson
Madam President, on another note, there was a historic announcement
last Friday when President Joe Biden announced Judge Ketanji Brown
Jackson as his choice to serve as Associate Justice of the Supreme
Court. I am going to speak about her nomination at length tomorrow, but
a few words now.
She is an extraordinary person. To become the first African-American
woman nominated to serve on the Supreme Court, you have to be the
best--and she has proven throughout her life that she is.
She was a clerk to the retiring Justice Stephen Breyer, whose seat
she now aspires to. She worked in the practice of law in so many
different aspects and then on three different occasions came before
this U.S. Senate for approval, advise and consent. On all three
occasions, she emerged with bipartisan support, and we certainly hope
to see that revisited again.
She has authored some 500 different opinions, so there will be no
mystery about her jurisprudence or her judicial philosophy. She has
also been a person who has come before our committee as recently as
last year when she was approved by the committee in June to serve on
the DC Circuit Court.
I think she is an exceptional choice, and I want to make sure that
the hearing that is given to her is respectful, fair, and professional.
I have reached out to Senator Grassley, my friend and the ranking
member on the committee, to work toward that goal, and I hope all
members of the committee will join us.
Ukraine
Madam President, on a separate topic, I just returned from the Munich
Security Conference and a visit to our NATO allies in Poland and
Lithuania. On the latter part of that trip, I was joined by Senator
Chris Coons of Delaware and Senator Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire.
Many here in this Chamber have heard me talk about my connection with
my mother's birth in Lithuania and the fact that I have cared about
that country in a special way ever since I have served in Congress.
Life was bleak and oppressive for the Lithuanian people and all the
others in Eastern Europe living under the boot heel of the Russian
czar. Countries such as Poland, which saw such devastation during World
War II, found themselves suffering decades of communist dictatorship
following the war. So it was no surprise that when the Soviet Union
finally collapsed, these nations were determined to join the community
of democracies and NATO. In fact, the Baltic States of Lithuania,
Latvia, and Estonia helped lead this historic path to freedom.
I remember so many aspects of it. In the shivering cold winter of
1991, millions of people joined hands to form a human chain, connecting
all three nations in the Baltic area. They called for change. Then in
January 1991, the Soviets sent their tanks into Lithuania and Latvia
and other places. The net result was deadly. Those Soviet tanks killed
13 innocent people, and hundreds were injured in Lithuania. What were
they asking for? Freedom. A chance to vote for their own future. Well,
soon, the Baltic States stepped out even further and courageously
declared independence from the Soviet Union. They wanted to reclaim
their freedom.
I remember visiting Lithuania in those days, seeing sandbags stacked
up outside the Parliament, which they called the Seimas, and schoolkids
who were taking a break from class to come pray the Rosary in front of
those barricades, light a couple candles--basically to be there for
their country at that moment of testing.
If this sounds familiar with what we are hearing in Ukraine today, it
is.
Those earlier days of independence had many brave souls coming
forward with nothing but determination. Their small ``arsenal of
freedom,'' as they called it, which they brought me in the backdoor to
show me, consisted of a broom closet with about 8 or 10 rifles in it.
They were ready to stare down the Soviets if necessary.
I was so honored on this trip recently to visit with one of the
champions of the restoration of freedom and Lithuania's Vytautas
Landsbergis. Dr. Landsbergis is a music professor and was a leader of
their revolution back to freedom in Lithuania. At 95 years of age, he
remains a fierce champion of democracy, as he was in those early days
confronting the Soviets.
I also met with former Lithuanian President Valdas Adamkus, who left
Lithuania for Chicago as a teenager and returned decades later to serve
two terms as President and shepherd his nation, Lithuania, into the
European Union and NATO.
I visited military bases in both Poland and Lithuania, where I met
U.S. troops supporting the NATO mission to protect the young
democracies from Russian aggression. Among the servicemembers were
several from my State of Illinois--from Latham, IL, which is near
Decatur; Montgomery, IL, near Aurora; and Kankakee. They came and told
stories of their service in the Regular Army and how they were now
working in Lithuania to prepare their armies for any possible battles
in the future. It has been a wonderful, strong relationship.
In Poland, when you mention you are from Illinois, virtually every
military officer says they have been our friends for a long time, and
they have been because for over 20 years, the Illinois National Guard
has been a direct contact with the Polish military forces, modernizing
them and preparing them for any challenges that might come.
[[Page S820]]
Eastern European allies know the Russian threat far better than we
do. Look at these maps of Russian troop movements in and around Ukraine
and the borders of our NATO allies. As you can see here, Russia, Kyiv,
Kharkiv, Mariupol, they are in the news virtually on a constant basis.
You can see those troop movements, hundreds of thousands of troops
that are moving from the Russian front into Ukraine these days. With
the Russian troops now flooding into Belarus in the area of the far
corner here, they are essentially taking over that country too.
Nations on the other side--Poland you can see on that map--Poland,
Lithuania, and Latvia understand that the threat today is very real for
them. They share a 60-mile border that connects the Russian territory
of Kaliningrad with Belarus. And the Suwalki gap is one that they are
very concerned about keeping peaceful. It is a real threat, and they
worry that the Russians are going to take this opportunity in Ukraine
to extend their forces into Poland and into Lithuania and into Latvia.
Poland in particular is already generously hosting hundreds of
thousands of Ukrainian refugees pouring across the border. It is an
inspiration to me to see this country of Poland reach out to accept
these Ukrainian refugees. The United States has to step into this
picture with humanitarian assistance for Poland and all the other
countries, Moldova, Romania, and others taking in Ukrainian refugees.
We have to help them feed, clothe, and shelter these people during this
period of invasion by the Russians.
Russia is unleashing a brutal war of choice against a free nation
that wants to choose its own path, the path of democracy, and the
result is sickening.
This shows what is going on in the subways in Ukrainian cities.
People are bringing their children to escape the bombing that Putin is
initiating above. We have many millions of people in that country in
peril, and some are taking their kids and trying to escape to a safe
place like Poland.
There has been terrible destruction that has gone on there as well.
We have seen it on television right in the--this lady was in front of
her own home at the time a rocket attacked it on February 25.
This is a picture which I saw in this morning's Washington Post. It
is a most touching scene. You can barely see this father down here,
covered in blood, bringing his daughter to this paramedic. The
paramedic really tried to perform CPR on this little girl who was
injured in the shelling by Putin and his troops. Unfortunately, she did
not survive. That is the reality of what Vladimir Putin is doing today.
The American people know it, and the strength and courage of the people
in Ukraine resisting these advances is an example to the world.
We are seeing demonstrations of support across all of the world, the
people of Ukraine. The Eiffel Tower, Empire State Building--I have to
move some of these charts around. This one was especially impressive,
the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin. Look at the crowds supporting the
people of Ukraine.
It isn't lost on us because we have a wonderful Ukrainian community
in Chicago. Here they are at the church on Chicago Avenue just this
last weekend, and they have been coming back on a regular basis. I was
there on Friday. I spoke to many of these same people about the
situation which they are facing in Ukraine. They would come up to me
afterwards and say they have been on the telephone with members of
their family who are frightened for their lives, didn't know if they
could survive this aggression by Vladimir Putin.
When you think about what he has done, sadly, he has failed on so
many fronts. How could he get so many things so wrong?
He has unified NATO and support for NATO in a way which was
unimaginable just a few years ago. NATO stands unified now in defense
of Ukraine and in confronting the aggression of Vladimir Putin.
He has also unified the European Union. Countries like Sweden and
Switzerland, which famously have been neutral in most of these
conflicts, are now openly supporting the European Union's efforts to
put pressure on Vladimir Putin--sanctions that will stop him from this
aggression in Ukraine.
He has certainly, in the process, destroyed the reputation of his
country as a reliable partner in the future. The Germans had entered
into an agreement for a gas pipeline. Many of us questioned it from the
start, but that was their decision--Nord Stream 2, drawing natural gas
from Russia into Germany. Well, that pipeline is closed down now.
Chancellor Scholz has announced he is looking for other services, such
as LNG, to replace the gas resources which were supposed to be sent in
from Russia for a long time to come. It is going to lead to our energy
independence in Europe--independence certainly from the unpredictable
and unimaginable Vladimir Putin.
I remember not so many years ago--30 years, as a matter of fact--when
countries like the Baltics and Poland were finally given an opportunity
for freedom. There were extraordinary examples of courage in each of
those countries. I was lucky to be there to witness some of it. But
what we are seeing now today in Ukraine is exceptional. The military
experts thought they would last a matter of hours. Now, it is days, and
maybe it is weeks. I hope it is months and even longer because they
have the courage to stand up. Ordinary citizens who are showing up at
recruiting offices for homeland defense are being given Kalashnikovs
and other weapons sent out to stop the Russians. You can see that they
are inspiring the world, as they should. It is a reminder to all of us
that Vladimir Putin and his brand of aggression has been seen so many
times in history. Someone like him or Lukashenka in Belarus think they
are so powerful that they are above accountability, but that is not the
case. We have got to make certain, as we go forward, that we stand with
the people of Ukraine; that they know we are their friends; that we
aspire to the same values.
And I want to thank President Biden for his leadership. I am going to
be calling on him with many others. The first thing that I am going to
do is send a letter, which will be headed out this evening, signed by
colleagues on both sides of the aisle. What we are asking the President
to do--and it is within his authority--is to grant temporary protected
status to Ukrainians now on visas in the United States. Some of them
are tourists; some of them are students; and some are on work visas,
but oftentimes, those visas expire, and they are supposed to return
home to their own countries at the moment of expiration. If there are
circumstances in those home countries, the President has the authority
to give temporary protected status to allow them to stay in the United
States.
The Senators who are joining me in this letter will ask President
Biden to extend temporary protected status to the people of Ukraine who
are on visas in the United States and are present in our country. That,
to me, is a way to give him them some peace of mind. We certainly
wouldn't want them to return to that war scene that we have seen over
and over broadcast on television.
And there is more to do, whether it is humanitarian assistance in
countries like Poland or where it is lethal aid to help the insurgents
in Ukraine defend their country, the United States needs to be there.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Montana.
H.R. 3755
Mr. DAINES. Madam President, this evening, the U.S. Senate will be
voting on the most extreme legislation on abortion ever considered in
the history of this body. The deceptively named ``Women's Health
Protection Act'' is more accurately called the ``Abortion on Demand
Until Birth Act.'' No wonder it is being held on a Monday, as we call
these the flyback votes, in the midst of this crisis in Ukraine--that
it be tonight that they want to slip in this vote, the most extreme
abortion vote ever--ever--considered in the history of this body.
This bill would force every single State to be a late-term abortion
State. This bill allows abortion up until the very moment of birth
itself. That is simply infanticide.
This legislation goes beyond codifying the wrongly decided Roe v.
Wade case and would ban many lifesaving State laws currently in effect
that limit abortion and enjoy the broad support from Americans, I might
add.
[[Page S821]]
When our Founding Fathers laid out the founding principles of America
in the Declaration of Independence, they talked about life; they talked
about liberty and the pursuit of happiness. The bottom line is, you
can't have liberty and you can't have happiness, or even the pursuit of
it, without first having that inalienable right given by God, and that
is the right to life.
The ``Abortion on Demand Until Birth Act'' would impose a horrifying
abortion regime across the land that violates the right to life and is
completely contrary to the kind of Nation America is and aspires to be.
In this bill's America, every State, despite the voices of its own
citizens, would become New York or California, where abortion is
celebrated and unborn children are denied the most basic human rights.
In this bill's America, a pregnant mother could elect to have a birth-
day abortion for a full-term, 8-pound baby on the day of the baby's due
date. In this bill's America, late-term abortions could be committed on
demand through brutal dismemberment procedures in which the unborn
child bleeds and feels excruciating pain as she dies from being pulled
apart, limb from limb.
In this bill's America, an unborn baby could be cruelly targeted for
abortion because the parents learned she was a girl or that she might
have Down syndrome. In this bill's America, parents would not know or
have any say over whether their young daughter has a life-altering
abortion. In this bill's America, vulnerable women and girls could
receive dangerous, do-it-yourself chemical abortion drugs by mail
without ever seeing a doctor in person.
In this bill's America, pregnant mothers would be denied the
opportunity to see the ultrasounds of their babies. In this bill's
America, a doctor or a nurse who doesn't want to perform an abortion
could be forced to do so in violation of his or her deeply held moral
or religious beliefs. That is specifically struck out in this bill--the
religious exemption.
In this bill's America we would be only one of seven countries--
seven--including brutal regimes like North Korea and China, that would
allow abortion-on-demand after 5 months of pregnancy.
In this bill's America, a baby bald eagle or a baby sea turtle still
in its eggshell would be protected under Federal law while an unborn
child at any stage of pregnancy could be brutally killed with no
repercussions for the abortionists. In a nutshell, this radical bill
would make the United States of America one of the most dangerous
places in the world to be an unborn child.
According to a Marist poll just last month, the overwhelming majority
of Americans reject abortion-on-demand up to birth and especially its
imposition by the Federal Government on the States--71 percent of
Americans, including 70 percent of Independents and 49 percent of
Democrats, want abortion to be limited, at most, to the first 3 months
of pregnancy.
Sixty-one percent of Americans say abortion should either be illegal
or the policy decision should be up to the States. Rather than listen
to the American people--who don't want late-term abortion or a Federal
abortion mandate--the ``Abortion on Demand Until Birth Act'' would
enshrine in Federal law the most far-reaching goals of the predatory
abortion industry.
We are just a few weeks or months away from a pivotal point in our
Nation's history. I pray in the Dobbs Mississippi late-term abortion
case that we will see the Supreme Court right a historic injustice and
overturn Roe v. Wade. This will return the power to protect unborn
children to the people's representatives at the State and the Federal
levels, to modernize our laws to catch up with great advances in
science, technology, and medicine that indisputably show the humanity
of a child in the womb.
I would challenge anybody listening to these remarks tonight to take
their smartphone and Google ``15-week baby'' or ``20-week baby'' and
press on ``Images'' and look at that image.
Instead, the ``Abortion on Demand Until Birth Act'' ignores the
science entirely and would erase unborn children and even the most
modest protections of their right to life in the laws of every single
State. It is completely indefensible. It is extreme. It is an egregious
violation of the most fundamental of all human rights, and that is the
right to life.
I pray and I urge my colleagues to reject this horrific, barbaric,
extreme legislation that the Senate will vote on here in the next
couple of hours and take a stand for defending the most vulnerable
among us.
I yield the floor.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Oklahoma.
Mr. LANKFORD. Madam President, a week ago, the Senate went on a short
1-week recess back in our State. It was already scheduled for us to be
in our State getting a chance to be able to just interact with people
at home. It was a good week to be able to interact with a lot of people
back home for me personally. But we all watched as we were scattered
around the country in the past week, Russia rolled tanks into Ukraine.
And we watched in horror as Russian aircraft flew over Ukrainian
cities, as they fired their missiles into Ukrainian apartment
complexes, as they have slaughtered their neighbors because Putin
wanted their land and to dominate the region.
All of us, as we got back together this week, were ready to be able
to speak to the issues with Ukraine, ready to be able to stand with the
people of Ukraine, ready to be able to talk about the sanctions and
what was going to happen and how we were going to actually respond to
the Russians murdering their neighbors and a dictator thug trying to
dominate the region.
But instead of that, my Democratic colleagues decided not to talk
about Ukraine when we got back together, but instead they want to talk
about expanding abortion in America.
How incredibly tone-deaf is that?
The whole world is talking about Ukraine and the repression they are
experiencing, and the U.S. Senate is talking about how do we get more
abortions in America? That is what we are going to vote on? That is
what we are going to debate, is how do we increase abortions in America
when the world sees what is happening in Ukraine?
What in the world? How tone-deaf can we be?
This body should be the place we are actually debating the biggest
issues of the day, and, apparently, to my Democratic colleagues, the
biggest issue of the day is how many more abortions can we give in
America because that seems to be bigger than Ukraine, bigger than 7.5
percent inflation, bigger than $30 trillion in debt, bigger than
anything. The most important thing is, how can we take the life of more
children?
What has this body become when there is an obsession with abortion?
This is the most pro-abortion President this country has ever had and
the most pro-abortion Democratic Party our country has ever seen.
It is now impermissible to be a Democrat and to support the life of
children. You are pushed out of the party. And it has moved from where
it used to be that the vast majority of Democrats were pro-life
Democrats. Then it was fewer and fewer and fewer. And now it has moved
from you can't just not be pro-life, now you have to actually be pro-
abortion--well beyond pro-choice. Now you have to find ways to increase
abortions in America to be accepted in the party.
This is not where America is.
The bill that is being brought to the floor in just minutes from
now--in the middle of a war in Ukraine--is not about protecting
Ukrainians. It is not even about protecting children in our country. It
is about destroying children in our country.
This bill is being advertised as we are just going to codify Roe. It
is not just going to codify Roe. This is talking about stripping away
every protection from every child in the womb from any State in the
country.
This particular bill prohibits parental notification. If a child
wants to get an abortion, this bill says to the parents: You don't get
to know if your child is having an abortion.
By the way, name another medical procedure that the parents are not
allowed to be able to know about for their own child.
This takes away waiting periods. It takes away health and safety
standards for abortion clinics. Abortion clinics in every State can't
have health and safety standards because, for those clinics
[[Page S822]]
that take the lives of children, we don't care what they look like or
about the health and safety standards of them.
It takes away ultrasound requirements. This bill literally says to
expectant moms: You don't need to know what is going on in your body.
We will just take care of it for you.
So no State is allowed to be able to inform a mom of what is actually
happening in her own body because the goal of this is not getting
information to moms; the goal of this is to increase abortions because
all that happens with an ultrasound is the giving of information to the
mom and letting her choose. Oh, no. That is not acceptable because she
may choose life, and this bill is determined to increase the number of
abortions in America.
I remember a time when my Democrats used to talk about safe, legal,
and rare. Now, they just want it safe, legal, and common. What have we
become?
This bill is the ``1 Minute from Infanticide'' bill. It mandates
abortion in every State up to the moment of birth. That is North Korea.
That is China. It is not the United States of America except for this
Senate. They want to be more like North Korea and China, apparently,
and to be able to follow their great humanitarian example and be a
nation that takes the lives of children rather than protects each child
as precious.
They look in the womb and see a business model. I look in the womb
and see 10 fingers and 10 toes and a beating heart and a functioning
nervous system and DNA that is different than the mom's or the dad's
DNA. In every definition of science, that is a unique person and a
unique child, but it only seems to be a nuisance to some. I don't think
children are a nuisance; I think children are precious.
On a day when we should be talking and debating about protecting life
in Ukraine, this body, instead, and my Democratic colleagues don't want
to talk about Ukraine; they just want to talk about abortion--again. It
is heartbreaking that that is where we are.
It is also heartbreaking that this body has become this focused when
the rest of the country is saying: How can we add limits to abortion?
The latest poll reads that 71 percent of Americans want at least some
restrictions on abortion, but, oh, no, not in this body. Apparently,
there are people who disagree with the American people, and they say:
No limits--any moment, any time, any child.
I don't believe a single person in this Chamber should vote for this
bill, not only because of what it does to the States but because of
what it does to just decent people. If you are an individual, working
in a hospital today who, when you were hired, said, ``I went into the
medical profession to save life, not take it,'' and when you were hired
as a nurse or as a doctor, you said, ``I don't want to perform
abortions,'' that is allowed right now under law. It wouldn't be under
this. If you go into the medical profession, you will perform abortions
when the Democrats in DC tell you to perform abortions, because they
want more.
Conscience protections are taken away in this bill. People of
conscience, people of faith, who say ``I don't want to take the lives
of children'' will be required or they will lose their jobs. Oh. By the
way, if you try to slow someone down from getting an abortion, this
bill actually gives someone the right to sue you if you try to limit
them from having an abortion.
This is, by far, the most extreme pro-abortion bill that has ever
been put in front of Congress--ever. It was done when we should have
been debating Ukraine, but Ukraine is not important--abortion is. So my
Democratic colleagues did this instead, today, as the callback vote in
their response to Putin's aggression. Well, I disagree. I disagree.
I yield the floor.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Kansas.
Mr. MARSHALL. Madam President, at a time when Vladimir Putin is
killing Ukrainians, my Democratic colleagues want to kill more unborn
American children for any reason up until the moment the baby takes its
first breath--up until the moment the baby takes its first breath.
Indeed, this bill should be called the ``Abortion on Demand Until Birth
Act.''
This is the most egregious, horrific attack on the lives of unborn
children and the health of moms in American history. In fact, if my
Democratic colleagues had their way, this baby whom I delivered years
ago could have been murdered--aborted--the moment prior to this
cesarean section.
Listen, just for a moment, to what this bill would do.
No. 1, it goes far and beyond Roe v. Wade by invalidating State laws
that protect the unborn child and the health and the well-being of
moms. It would likely lead to taxpayer-funded abortions at home and
abroad.
It would tie up faith-based hospitals in courts for their not
offering abortion services.
This bill fully blows open the door to sex-based abortions.
It eliminates the requirement for informed consent or parental
consent.
It eliminates conscience protections. I can tell you, as a physician
myself, I wouldn't be surprised if half of the medical students in the
Nation and half of the nursing students in the Nation would quit
medical school or nursing school if they were going to be forced into
participating in abortions.
This bill has a total disregard for women's health. Instead of the
standards of a surgery center, this bill would allow for these services
to be offered in a garage or in a backroom apartment.
The bill provides the right to provide abortions by any healthcare
provider. No longer would it take a physician to do abortions. It would
allow nurse midwives, nurse practitioners, and physician assistants to
do abortions.
I had to take care of women who had gone through miscarriages at
every gestational age. This is not a job for a nurse midwife, a
physician assistant, a nurse practitioner. Before we would let
residents take care of this type of a miscarriage, they would have gone
through 4 years of medical school, and they would have been, most
likely, in their second or third year of training before we would have
entrusted them with this type of procedure. Again, for a woman who has
had a miscarriage, the risks of infection, of hemorrhage, and creating
infertility are too great.
This bill would allow States to go unrestricted as to any type of
telehealth abortions--abortion by phone. In my opinion, it is
malpractice to prescribe such a medicine without examining the patient,
seeing how big the uterus is, seeing what the size of the baby is. This
procedure is wrought with complications. I am the person who had to
take care of those complications. Wichita, KS, was home to one of the
biggest abortion clinics in the country, and just 2 hours down the road
was Great Bend. Time after time, patients would show up in our
emergency room with complications from the procedure or this pill.
I never--I never, ever--imagined, when I would come to the Senate,
that I would be fighting harder on the Senate floor to save the lives
of moms and babies than I did in the emergency room and the delivery
room.
Before I close, I want to say a heartfelt thanks to all of the pro-
life advocates across the country who have worked so hard, especially
those folks who are part of Kansans for Life and all the pro-life
advocates in Kansas who have worked so hard to pass previous
legislation to protect the lives of moms and unborn babies that this
bill would wipe out with one swoop. I am so proud of the Kansans for
Life and their advocacy of the Value Them Both amendment--again,
protecting the life of the mom and the baby.
Our work is not done yet. We can't let up. We have more work to do. I
can promise you I have only just begun to fight to protect the lives of
unborn babies and to protect the health and well-being of mothers.
I urge my colleagues tonight to vote no on this most extreme anti-
life legislation.
I yield the floor.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Minnesota.
Ms. SMITH. Madam President, I rise in support of the Women's Health
Protection Act.
I am here today because I believe, as do most in this country, that
people should have the freedom to receive the reproductive healthcare
they need, including abortion. The Women's Health Protection Act would
protect that freedom.
Now, I am the only Senator in this body who has ever worked for
Planned
[[Page S823]]
Parenthood. I learned firsthand in that job that, if people don't
control their reproductive lives, they don't control anything in their
lives. Working at Planned Parenthood in Minnesota was an honor, and I
had the opportunity to hear the stories of patients, each with
individual, unique, personal reasons for receiving an abortion. This is
still the case for the patients who visit all of these clinics today.
Here is one story about a woman named Liz from Edina, MN.
At Liz's 18th-week ultrasound appointment, Liz's doctor told her that
her pregnancy was incompatible with life. She would either miscarry or
the baby would die moments after birth. Because of this diagnosis, Liz
decided to have an abortion. It was an agonizing experience for her,
but she was able to make the decision on her own terms.
Another story I want to share today comes from a patient from
Minneapolis.
At the age of 20, they were in an abusive relationship and found
themselves 7 weeks pregnant. They went to Planned Parenthood for their
abortion, and that abortion helped them to break from their affiliation
with their abuser. They eventually got back on their feet, and they
could pursue their dream of going to law school and starting a
marketing firm and having a family with somebody who they loved.
These are the stories of people facing one of the most important
decisions we humans will ever make: whether to become a parent. They
were able to make these decisions freely and for themselves. We should
all have this freedom. We should all be able to make these decisions
for ourselves, free from politicians and judges looking over our
shoulders and deciding for us. A majority of Americans agree with this.
They agree that abortion should be legal, and they understand that
reproductive healthcare, including abortion, is healthcare.
Yet, today, the reproductive rights of women in this country are at
their greatest risk since Roe v. Wade was decided decades ago, and it
is no mystery as to how we got here. What is happening today is the
culmination of a nearly 40-year effort by conservatives in the
Republican Party to radically remake the courts. It is 2022, and that
moment is here. The Supreme Court seems poised to overturn Roe, and if
that happens, half the States in this country will ban abortion
entirely--half the States.
In anticipation of this moment, rightwing Republican State
legislatures have been working to pass laws that will gut women's
healthcare and severely restrict our freedom. What this means is that
women's freedom and autonomy over our own bodies--our right to
reproductive healthcare, the healthcare that we need--will basically
depend on who we are and where we live. Make no mistake. Abortion care
will always--it will always--be available to women who have money. It
will be poor women and women of color who will lose this right.
This is why the Women's Health Protection Act is so important. We
need to listen to the voices of the majority of Americans who agree:
Women deserve the freedom and the dignity to make their own decisions
about their own bodies and their own lives. But the reality is, we can
no longer rely on the courts to protect this right. That is why we need
to pass the Women's Health Protection Act.
In a few minutes, we will vote on this bill, which would protect the
right to abortion in every State. It would advance racial justice. It
would limit the structural barriers to accessing abortion care and
protect everybody's freedom to make the best decisions for themselves,
for their health, for their families, and for their futures.
Colleagues, I urge you to vote to pass the Women's Health Protection
Act.
I yield the floor.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Kansas.
``Six Triple Eight'' Congressional Gold Medal Act
Mr. MORAN. Madam President, I rise this afternoon to celebrate the
passage of the ``Six Triple Eight'' Congressional Gold Medal Act. This
bill honors the women of the only all-Black, all-female unit to serve
overseas during World War II as part of the 6888th Central Postal
Directory Battalion.
Passage of this legislation is long overdue and will award the
Congressional Gold Medal to these brave women of the Six Triple Eight
for their devotion to duty, military service, and their extraordinary
efforts to boost the morale of personnel stationed in Europe during
World War II.
Today, it is easy to connect with our loved ones through text,
emails, or social media. Communication is more convenient, and
consequently, many of us take the ease of that communication for
granted. But during World War II, the only connection people like my
mom and dad had while my father was deployed in Europe was our mail
system. The mail delivered love and inspiration to our troops huddled
in foxholes and fighting for our freedom. The mail kept them going
through the dark and troubled times of World War II. The mail anchored
our troops and connected them to home.
The women of the Six Triple Eight delivered the mail although the
deck was stacked against them from the start. While crossing the
Atlantic to Europe, the troop convoy carrying the Six Triple Eight
encountered German U-boats, forcing the convoy to take defensive
actions and change course. Shortly after their arrival in the European
theater, a German V1 dove at them, forcing them to take cover out of
fear of being bombed.
Physical dangers aside, the women of the Six Triple Eight faced
sexism and racism. In Birmingham, England, the very same soldiers the
Six Triple Eight were committed to helping spread vial rumors just
because they were Black women.
On top of the physical dangers and the social injustice they faced
were the challenges of the mail mission itself. Handling and sorting
the mail was no easy task. The Six Triple Eight found warehouses
crammed from floor to ceiling with mail whose delivery was long, long
overdue, sometimes over years. They found giant rats tearing apart the
undelivered Christmas care packages. There was little, if any,
organization. They had to sort this mail in poor working conditions--
warehouses that were poorly lit, damp, and without heat.
Undeterred, the women of the Six Triple Eight rolled up their sleeves
and dug in. Fixing the mail backlog was estimated to take at least 6
months, possibly even a year. The Six Triple Eight organized the
millions of letters and packages in just 3 months. They firmly believed
in the motto ``no mail, low morale.''
Their diligence, their commitment to excellence, dignity, and class,
and their relentless drive to get the mail into the hands of the troops
won them admiration throughout the European theater. Their actions
boosted the spirits of thousands of soldiers like my dad by
reconnecting them with their family and friends back home and giving
them a renewed vigor to fight.
I want to thank Representative Gwen Moore and Representative Jake
LaTurner for leading this effort in the House, and I want to thank my
colleagues in both the House and Senate who have supported this bill
and made awarding the Congressional Gold Medal to these brave women
possible. There were lots of challenges: Black women serving in the
military--only ones seemingly willing to volunteer to go to Europe to
meet the needs of those who serve.
I would also like to thank COL Edna Cummings for her dedication to
make certain the stories of the Six Triple Eight are remembered and
honored.
In 2018, I was at Fort Leavenworth in Kansas to dedicate the Six
Triple Eight monument. I was honored to meet these women and was
inspired to make certain more Americans knew of their incredible
service during World War II.
Of the over 300 members of the Six Triple Eight, I would like to
recognize and thank the surviving members and make sure their names are
included in the Congressional Record: Hilda Griggs, Anna Robertson,
Romay Davis, Cresencia Garcia, Fannie Griffin McClendon, and Lena
Kings.
The Six Triple Eight served our country selflessly and were a crucial
asset in the war effort. This is one more way our Nation can say to
these incredible women: Thank you for your service. We respect you, and
we love you.
It is my honor to celebrate the passage of this bill today.
Ukraine
Madam President, Vladimir Putin is a thug and is solely responsible
for the
[[Page S824]]
invasion of Ukraine. Putin--I condemn him, and he is even being
condemned by his own people in Russia and a growing alliance around the
world.
There is nothing that justifies Russia invading Ukraine. This is the
most significant intrusion from one country into another since the
beginning of the 1930s in what resulted in World War II. I pray for the
safety of the Ukrainian people and a rapid end to this unprovoked war.
As we hear stories about their bravery and resolve, I am inspired by
their dedication to defend their freedom. The United States is making
it clear we stand with and support them.
This war is a terrible tragedy, but it is also a wake-up call for the
United States of America. When it comes to defense spending, energy
production, and humanitarian assistance, our commitments to these
issues demonstrate our commitment to global security.
We must recognize that we have adversaries who seek to use force to
recover claimed territory, possess weapons of mass destruction, and
otherwise destabilize our country and our allies and partners. For
those of us in Congress, to ignore these threats would be derelict in
our duty to preserve American security and prosperity. We would be
derelict to the people of the United States of America.
This recognition begins with a strong national defense. It is
unacceptable that we have failed to pass appropriations for the
Pentagon, State Department, and other national security Agencies
essential to protecting and projecting our strength abroad. As a
result, new programs necessary to meeting the challenges in the years
to come are stuck in limbo.
In classified briefings for the Appropriations Committee, we have
heard about the advances the militaries of our adversaries are making,
and it is alarming.
For 6 months, Congress has imposed a spending freeze while other
countries press ahead. When the latest continuing resolution expires in
10 days, we need an agreement on this spending, and we should not allow
and we cannot afford another delay.
As we prepare to receive President Biden's budget for the coming
fiscal year, it will be important that his top-line figure for our
Nation's defenses exceed inflation. MacKenzie Eaglen at the American
Enterprise Institute writes that $2 to $4 billion is being lost per
month to cover inflationary costs, reducing the buying power of our
military. President Biden must take this into account.
He famously said: ``Show me your budget, and I'll tell you what you
value.'' When it comes to our national spending, our enemies are
watching also. Our values extend to our concern for the people impacted
by this war. Russia's war with Ukraine is already a humanitarian
calamity. Children have been killed and wounded and families split
apart as some flee and some loved ones stay. As of today, this conflict
has created more than 400,000 refugees, and the U.N. predicts that
number can climb to 5 million.
I commend our European allies for their response in welcoming
refugees, and I expect our own Nation will be generous with financial
support for those seeking safety. But this war will have a humanitarian
consequence that goes beyond those directly impacted by the fighting.
Ukraine and Russia account for more than one-quarter of the world's
wheat production. It is impossible to believe that such production
won't be impacted by the fighting and sanctions, especially as we have
seen their ports close. This will make food shortages around the world
more severe. No government in the world is as generous with its
resources for international food assistance as the United States, but I
again point out the excess production of our American farmers that can
be shared. There really is no excess production; the need is so great,
whatever we produce will feed people. Our government should utilize the
resources of its farmers and promote stability where hungry societies
are fragile.
Russia's aggression must also be a wake-up call to our dependence on
foreign oil. Prior to the invasion, the United States was directly
paying Russia, our third largest supplier of oil, around $70 million
per day for oil and refined products, or over 700,000 barrels of
petroleum products per day. We are financing with our oil purchases the
ability of Russia to do harm around the world.
Combined with our European allies, who are even more dependent on
Russian energy, Putin's profit before the invasion was $330 million
each day. We are subsidizing aggression in Moscow, and it extends to
the Middle East as well. This must end.
I believe in an ``all of the above'' approach to energy production,
and our oil and gas producers must play a role. The Biden
administration should reinstate the Keystone XL Pipeline and promote
commonsense solutions that boost jobs at home and keep money out of the
pockets of our adversaries. It also would be helpful in our battle
against inflation here in the United States.
Each of these challenges can be met if we in the Senate are unified
in purpose. The American people and the world view this body as
divided, unable to come together on many important issues. I don't
believe it has to be that way. I certainly stand willing and able to
work with my colleagues to find common ground as we respond to this
invasion.
We know lots of examples we can point to where we do work together
and pass critical legislation. We must find compromise and immediately
move on sanctions legislation. We must pass defense appropriations. We
must focus on an ``all of the above'' energy strategy to address our
dependence upon foreign oil. We have done it before, and we can do it
again.
Winston Churchill--in my view, the most inspiring leader of the 20th
century--I thought of him as I watched Ukraine's own inspirational
President and the response of his people. I share today a quote from
Churchill that meets the occasion:
Very few wars have been won by mere numbers alone. Quality,
will power, geographical advantages . . . the command of the
sea, and, above all, a cause which rouses the spontaneous
surgings of the human spirit in millions of hearts--these
have proved to be the divisive factors in the human story.
Americans--Americans of all stripes--share that human spirit with
Ukrainians today.
I ask God to bless Ukraine and its people, and God bless the United
States of America as we do our part to support their people.
I yield the floor.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Connecticut.
Mr. BLUMENTHAL. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the
following Senators be permitted to speak prior to the scheduled vote:
Myself for up to 5 minutes, Senator Murray for up to 5 minutes, and
Senator Schumer up to 3 minutes.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
H.R. 3755
Mr. BLUMENTHAL. Madam President, we will be voting in just a few
minutes on the Women's Health Protection Act, which I have proudly
sponsored, first introduced in 2013. I want to thank particularly
Senator Schumer for his leadership and Senator Murray for enabling us
to have this historic vote. It is historic, the first vote that we will
take guaranteeing the right of a provider to provide abortion care,
which is healthcare, and the right of a patient to receive that care.
There are very few votes that we will take in the U.S. Senate in the
course of our career that will have as profound and dramatic an impact
on the lives of all Americans.
Yes, reproductive healthcare is women's healthcare by and large, but
it is human healthcare. Women's rights are human rights. And the
decisions that women make about when and whether to become pregnant are
intensely personal. They should not be interfered with by any of us,
anyone from the government, anyone else. That right is protected by the
Constitution. Today's vote comes at a time of unparalleled attack on
equal access to abortion care in this country.
I clerked for Justice Harry Blackmun on the U.S. Supreme Court in the
term after he wrote the majority opinion in Roe v. Wade. And at that
time, we all believed that the decision would put an end to this
controversy, this debate, once and for all. And yet here we are, five
decades later; what was then unthinkable now has happened.
The U.S. Supreme Court has voluntarily taken a case that calls into
question a woman's right to choose. And
[[Page S825]]
the U.S. Supreme Court seems to be on track, based on its refusal to
stop implementation of the Texas 5-week ban on abortion, to overturning
Roe v. Wade.
Now, the U.S. Supreme Court will never say that ``we hereby overturn
Roe v. Wade.'' This majority, influenced by rightwing ideology, will,
in effect, overturn it without saying so because across the street in
Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Healthcare Organization, the question of
whether Mississippi's ban on abortion after 15 weeks is constitutional
is squarely before the Court. And, make no mistake, if the Court
upholds that Mississippi law, Roe v. Wade will no longer be the law of
the land. Planned Parenthood v. Casey will no longer be the law of the
land. Fifty years of jurisprudence will be gone without ever telling us
that Roe is overturned. The Court will move that goalpost, and Roe will
fall. And at least 20 States, through trigger laws, are prepared to
immediately prohibit abortion completely and entirely.
If you don't understand this threat, just ask the women of Texas.
They are currently living in a State without protections of Roe. That
dangerous anti-abortion law, SB 8, contains a 6-week abortion ban--6
weeks--far before many women even know that they are pregnant. And even
worse, the law's divisive bounty hunter provision deputizes a woman's
neighbors, friends, family, and acquaintances.
Last year alone, 19 States enacted 106 restrictions, including 12
abortion bans. For the first time ever, States enacted more than 100
abortion restrictions in a single year. My bill--the Women's Health
Protection Act--would put an end to this relentless and ever-growing
attack on reproductive rights. It would create a Federal statutory
right for healthcare providers to provide abortion care. It would
provide a right for patients to receive that care, free from medically
unnecessary restrictions that single out and impede abortion access.
Let's not forget for one moment the reality on the ground. The
reality is for millions of Americans, their futures--in some cases,
their lives--depend on accessible abortion care. And the implications
and ramifications affect men as well as women, families as well as
moms.
We have had enough meddling by politicians and politically motivated
judges getting between Americans and their personal healthcare
decision. We have had enough with the shameful assaults on people's
freedoms and futures. We can't go back, and we need this action now. It
is time. It is time to pass the Women's Health Protection Act.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Washington.
Ukraine
Mrs. MURRAY. Madam President, I want to first briefly address what is
happening in Ukraine. The Ukrainian people are being plunged into a
deadly and devastating war. We are already seeing hundreds of thousands
of refugees fleeing the destruction and leaving their lives behind. We
have seen heartbreaking images of children huddled in basements--all of
this tragedy for no other reason than the cruel ambition of one
dictator.
Make no mistake, every life lost, every community torn apart, the
fault for this conflict lies solely at the feet of Vladimir Putin.
I strongly support continued efforts to inflict severe sanctions on
Russia for this unjustified war of aggression. Russia must pay a
crushing price for invading a sovereign democracy unprovoked. This is a
time for our country and the world to remain united in strong support
of Ukraine and firmly against Putin.
So today I am thinking of my constituents with friends and family and
loved ones in Ukraine, and my heart is with the Ukrainian people who
only want peace. I want them to know I will continue to do everything
in my power to make sure the United States is doing its utmost to
support the Ukrainian people.
H.R. 3755
Now, Madam President, I want to address the vote we are about to
take. And I will start with a few simple questions for my colleagues:
Do you trust women? Do you trust patients? Do you trust doctors? Do you
believe every American should be able to make deeply personal decisions
about pregnancy and parenting according to their own beliefs without
the government interfering?
Well, if you answer yes to those questions, then your job tonight is
pretty easy, vote for the Women's Health Protection Act. What this bill
does is simple. It follows the Constitution in nearly a half a century
of precedent and gives patients the right to get an abortion and
doctors the right to provide abortion care no matter where in America
that patient or that doctor lives.
We might ask: Well, why do you need a bill like this if the right is
already in the Constitution? Sadly, we need this bill because too many
extreme rightwing politicians, too many well-funded conservative
interest groups, and too many conservative lawyers jammed into our
judicial system at every level clearly do not trust women or patients
or doctors.
Now, you might say that assertion is unfair. But I am looking at
actions not words, and here is what I see. In 2021 alone, Republican
legislators across the country passed more than 100 abortion
restrictions. In Texas, there is a law that has been in effect for
nearly 6 months that bans abortion before women even know they are
pregnant. And not only that, Texas has empowered citizens to sue one
another personally for the ``crime'' of helping someone get an abortion
or providing abortion care.
The Supreme Court has already rubberstamped this appalling divisive
law, and there is a very real threat that in a matter of months, they
will end the constitutional right to abortion in Roe v. Wade.
What Republicans like to say, if Roe v. Wade is gone, that abortions
will end. That is not true. Abortions will still happen. People will
find a way, but many won't have safe options, and their health and even
their lives will be at risk. Even more so than today, women who don't
have the money or the time off or some other way--don't have the
means--won't be able to get them.
And this cruelty will fall hardest on women of color, women who have
low incomes, women in rural parts of the country, and the LGBTQ
community. To me and to many Democrats here today, that is just so
wrong. A person's ability to make the right decision for themself about
pregnancy and parenting shouldn't only be available to the rich or
depend on what ZIP Code you live in.
Unfortunately, that is the future the Republican Party wants for
America, but it is not what Democrats want, and it is certainly not
what my constituents in Washington State want. And it is actually not
what the vast majority of Americans across the country want either.
Sometime in the next few months, we will very likely see a historic
reversal of a fundamental right Americans have known for nearly 50
years regarding one of the most personal decisions any individual can
make--a right generations of women and Americans have grown up
depending on and want to see it protected.
That means that this vote tonight is historic as well. This is each
Senator's chance to stand up for an individual's right to decide what
to do with their own body and their own future. Tonight the Democratic
position is clear: We trust women and patients, and we believe that Roe
should be the law of the land.
I hope Senate Republicans vote with us. But if they don't, make no
mistake, 72 million Americans of reproductive age today may soon lose a
constitutional right every generation has known since Roe was decided
in 1973. And if they do, they are going to know exactly who is
responsible--the Republican Party.
I yield the floor.
I suggest the absence of a quorum.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
The legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
Mr. SCHUMER. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the order
for the quorum call be rescinded.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered
Mr. SCHUMER. Madam President, the vote before the Senate asks a
simple question: As women's healthcare comes under assault in ways we
have not seen in living memory, shall the Senate respond? The
legislation we are
[[Page S826]]
considering today, the Women's Health Protection Act, is the first
time--the first time--the Senate has taken an affirmative vote on
stand-alone legislation to enshrine the right to an abortion in law.
And it is needed now more than ever, as reproductive rights are on
the chopping block in the legislatures, in the courts, and, most
dreadfully perhaps, even in the Supreme Court. The right to choose is
intensely personal, and, by and large, the American people support the
protections enshrined in Roe. So Americans deserve to know where their
Senators stand on this crucial issue. This vote--because we are in the
majority--will, for the first time, accomplish that. The other side did
not want to put this vote on the floor.
When the House passed abortion rights legislation last fall, I said
the Senate would act, and now we are holding a vote. I want to thank
Senators Blumenthal, Baldwin, and Murray for their leadership in
pushing the Women's Health Protection Act. And it is with strong
enthusiasm that I will vote yes.
I yield the floor.
Cloture Motion
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Pursuant to rule XXII, the Chair lays before
the Senate the pending cloture motion, which the clerk will state.
The legislative clerk read as follows:
Cloture Motion
We, the undersigned Senators, in accordance with the
provisions of rule XXII of the Standing Rules of the Senate,
do hereby move to bring to a close debate on the motion to
proceed to Calendar No. 139, H.R. 3755, a bill to protect a
person's ability to determine whether to continue or end a
pregnancy, and to protect a health care provider's ability to
provide abortion services.
Charles E. Schumer, Alex Padilla, Patty Murray,
Christopher Murphy, Edward J. Markey, Gary C. Peters,
Brian Schatz, Jack Reed, Tammy Duckworth, John W.
Hickenlooper, Sheldon Whitehouse, Tim Kaine, Richard
Blumenthal, Christopher A. Coons, Margaret Wood Hassan,
Jeanne Shaheen, Patrick J. Leahy, Debbie Stabenow.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. By unanimous consent, the mandatory quorum
call has been waived.
The question is, Is it the sense of the Senate that debate on the
motion to proceed to H.R. 3755, a bill to protect a person's ability to
determine whether to continue or end a pregnancy, and to protect a
health care provider's ability to provide abortion services, shall be
brought to a close?
The yeas and nays are mandatory under the rule.
The clerk will call the roll.
The legislative clerk called the roll.
Mr. DURBIN. I announce that the Senator from California (Mrs.
Feinstein), the Senator from New Mexico (Mr. Lujan), and the Senator
from Georgia (Mr. Warnock) are necessarily absent.
Mr. THUNE. The following Senators are necessarily absent: the Senator
from Oklahoma (Mr. Inhofe), the Senator from Louisiana (Mr. Kennedy),
and the Senator from Kentucky (Mr. Paul).
The yeas and nays resulted--yeas 46, nays 48, as follows:
[Rollcall Vote No. 65 Leg.]
YEAS--46
Baldwin
Bennet
Blumenthal
Booker
Brown
Cantwell
Cardin
Carper
Casey
Coons
Cortez Masto
Duckworth
Durbin
Gillibrand
Hassan
Heinrich
Hickenlooper
Hirono
Kaine
Kelly
King
Klobuchar
Leahy
Markey
Menendez
Merkley
Murphy
Murray
Ossoff
Padilla
Peters
Reed
Rosen
Sanders
Schatz
Schumer
Shaheen
Sinema
Smith
Stabenow
Tester
Van Hollen
Warner
Warren
Whitehouse
Wyden
NAYS--48
Barrasso
Blackburn
Blunt
Boozman
Braun
Burr
Capito
Cassidy
Collins
Cornyn
Cotton
Cramer
Crapo
Cruz
Daines
Ernst
Fischer
Graham
Grassley
Hagerty
Hawley
Hoeven
Hyde-Smith
Johnson
Lankford
Lee
Lummis
Manchin
Marshall
McConnell
Moran
Murkowski
Portman
Risch
Romney
Rounds
Rubio
Sasse
Scott (FL)
Scott (SC)
Shelby
Sullivan
Thune
Tillis
Toomey
Tuberville
Wicker
Young
NOT VOTING--6
Feinstein
Inhofe
Kennedy
Lujan
Paul
Warnock
The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Heinrich). On this vote, the yeas are 46,
the nays are 48.
Three-fifths of the Senators duly chosen and sworn not having voted
in the affirmative, the motion is rejected.
____________________