[Congressional Record Volume 168, Number 39 (Thursday, March 3, 2022)]
[Senate]
[Pages S961-S965]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                          LEGISLATIVE SESSION

                                 ______
                                 

               POSTAL SERVICE REFORM ACT OF 2022--Resumed

  The PRESIDENT pro tempore. Under the previous order, the Senate will 
resume consideration of H.R. 3076, which the clerk will report.
  The senior assistant legislative clerk read as follows:

       A bill (H.R. 3076) to provide stability to and enhance the 
     services of the United States Postal Service, and for other 
     purposes.

  Pending:

       Schumer (for Peters) amendment No. 4955, to modify the 
     deadline for the initial report on the operations and 
     financial condition of the United States Postal Service.

  The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Ossoff). The Senator from Vermont.
  Mr. LEAHY. 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.
  Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order 
for the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.


                   Recognition of the Majority Leader

  The majority leader is recognized.


                              Coronavirus

  Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, as spring begins, daily new cases of 
COVID-19 have dramatically decreased since the height of Omicron. 
Hospitalizations, thank God, have steadily declined. Across the 
country, Americans are able to remove their masks as the spread of 
disease seems to be lessening. Crucially, schools are open, and we need 
to do everything we can in our power to make sure they stay open.
  All of these signs point in a positive direction. The country is 
turning the corner on the COVID pandemic. We are in a new moment of the 
fight.
  But we also are at a crossroads. Either we act now to secure the 
progress we have made, or we risk backsliding if another contagious 
variant emerges in the fall and winter. Just as we cannot allow COVID 
to rule our lives, neither can we fall into a false sense of 
complacency.
  That is why the White House has requested that Congress include $22.5 
billion in additional COVID relief funding in the upcoming spending 
bill, and Congress should follow through with this request over the 
coming days. If not, we risk sliding back if another variant occurs.
  This morning on CNBC, former FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb reminded 
viewers of the key aspect of this disease. To paraphrase him loosely, 
cases can drop in the spring and summer, but the risk still exists for 
another wave to surge in the fall or winter. He is right. We all know 
this from sad experience.
  We also know what we must do to be ready. We know a lot more now what 
to do to be ready than we knew a year ago. If we want to keep our 
schools open, if we want to keep life as close to normal as possible, 
if we want to be ready for the possibilities of future variants, 
Congress must provide the resources needed before a new variant 
arrives. That is the surest way to minimize cases, hospitalizations, 
and deaths in the future.
  Let me repeat. To keep schools open, to keep life as normal as it can 
be, we need additional COVID investments now, not after a possible new 
variant arrives.
  Remember, by now, all public health funding provided by the American 
Rescue Plan has run out. If Congress waits until a new variant arises 
to pass new funding, it will be too late.
  And we are happy to make clear with our Republican colleagues about 
how this money is dedicated. The White House has already provided an 
explanation about how COVID money has been spent over time. Some 
Republicans may think it should have been spent differently, but the 
point is that

[[Page S962]]

it has been spent. We can't pull those dollars back, and we need to 
provide new funding for possible variants.

  Where has the COVID money been spent thus far? It has gone to 
vaccinate 215 million Americans. It has been used to keep schools open, 
to expand treatment, and to provide 1.2 billion vaccines to other 
countries.
  Last night, Acting OMB Director Shalanda Young sent Congress a 12-
page letter detailing what the new funding would do: more vaccines for 
children, bolstering our testing supply chain, therapeutics, and more.
  If there is one thing both parties should be able to agree on it is 
that we should not shortchange the American people on vaccines, on 
testing, or on therapeutic medicines that greatly reduce the severity 
of the illness if you are able to take them and if we have the supply.
  Again, Congress must include new funding for COVID relief to ensure 
our schools and our communities face minimal disruption in case another 
variant comes, and we should do it ASAP. The most logical place 
immediately to do it is in the upcoming omnibus bill.


                               Inflation

  Mr. President, on another matter, on costs to the American people, in 
the coming months and beyond, Senate Democrats will maintain a focus on 
one of the most vexing issues facing American families: lowering costs 
while building on the wage and job growth we have seen over the past 
year.
  The American economy is booming compared to a year ago. The number of 
new jobs added to the economy is staggering. We have added more than 6 
million new jobs in a single year, including the most--the most--new 
manufacturing jobs in decades, but at the same time, we must fiercely 
confront the wave of rising costs resulting from COVID's worldwide 
disruptions. This is the biggest economic challenge that our country 
must focus on right now.
  Later today, at our DPCC lunch, at the request of Chair Stabenow, FTC 
Commissioner Lina Khan will join us to shine a light on the troubling 
pattern of corporate price hikes in the areas of oil and gas, 
prescription drugs, and other goods.
  This dimension of inflation cannot be ignored. Americans are being 
asked to pay more at the grocery store, at the pump, and for basic 
goods even as they watch incredulously as some of the Nation's biggest 
corporations post their most massive profits.
  In many instances, these profits resoundingly exceed prepandemic 
figures. Last fall, Bloomberg noted that U.S. corporations outside of 
the financial industry reported the biggest margins since 1950--since 
1950--71\1/2\ years ago. It appears corporate profits are far outpacing 
inflation, and they are spending much of the profits on things like 
corporate buybacks, which are hitting record levels. So Americans are 
being asked to pay more, but many mega corporations are making a 
killing. That is a twisted thing to see as we recover from COVID.
  Democrats are working right now on a number of proposals and ideas 
that would ease the pressure Americans are feeling from rising costs. 
We must lower the cost of insulin to $35 a month. We must make all 
prescription drugs cheaper. We need to help make groceries more 
affordable. We need to look at fixing ocean shipping bottlenecks.
  I will also add that one of the best things we can do to fight 
inflation is to confirm President Biden's nominees to the Federal 
Reserve. I urge in the strongest terms possible for Republicans to drop 
their holds on these members. The Federal Reserve is so crucial for our 
economy right now, and to intentionally delay their confirmations is 
irresponsible.
  Most importantly, we must boost manufacturing, American 
manufacturing, and decrease our reliance on overseas producers. The war 
provoked by Putin is an illustration as to why this example is 
important.
  President Biden's State of the Union made clear that the United 
States remains strong and ready to face the immense challenges of our 
time, but to maintain that edge, we must focus like a laser on 
addressing costs. That is what Democrats will keep doing.
  Another thing we are doing today, that is happening today, is a 
hearing in the Commerce Committee on shipping costs and a bipartisan 
bill by Senators Klobuchar and Thune that will help reduce those costs. 
Shipping costs affect every American. Any good that comes from overseas 
has to be shipped here.


                               H.R. 3076

  Mr. President, on the post office, Democrats have been working all 
week with Republicans to push the biggest postal reform bill in years 
over the finish line, and, today, we are close. Today, we continue 
negotiations with the other side on their proposed list of amendments 
to the bill.
  As we continue to work on a deal, I filed cloture last night on the 
postal bill in order to keep the momentum going. At the end of the day, 
the vast majority of Democrats and Republicans wants to see this bill 
sent to the President's desk quickly, so I hope we can arrive at an 
agreement to finish before the weekend.
  I want to thank my colleagues on both sides of the aisle for their 
continued work, especially Chairman Peters and Ranking Member Portman.
  This postal reform bill has been a long time coming, and when passed, 
it will ensure that tens of millions of Americans who rely on the post 
office every single day for medicines, Social Security checks, and 
other goods can make sure that the post office remains in good hands 
and is strengthened.


 Ending Forced Arbitration of Sexual Assault and Sexual Harassment Act 
                                of 2021

  Mr. President, finally, I want to close by noting, this afternoon, 
President Biden will sign into law bipartisan legislation ending forced 
arbitration for sexual assault and sexual harassment.
  All of us have heard the searing testimonies--searing--of those who 
have faced harassment or abuse at work, only to discover their jobs 
offered precious little in accountability. Countless careers have been 
derailed or undone. Worse still, countless lives have been forever 
damaged. For decades, workplace practices like mandatory arbitration 
have perpetuated cultures of abuse and unaccountability.
  We can't ignore a basic reality of these clauses: They deprive 
victims of sexual harassment and assault of their basic rights by 
mandating that they seek remedy only behind the closed doors of private 
arbitration, with no other alternative. With the President's signature 
today, that will come to an end.
  I want to thank Senator Gillibrand for leading the fight for years, 
and I am glad I was able to work with Senators Graham and Ernst to push 
this bill over the finish line.
  By the end of today, we will be able to say: The Senate acted; the 
House acted; the President acted; and now forced arbitration reform is 
law.
  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. McCONNELL. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order 
for the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.


                   Recognition of the Minority Leader

  The Republican leader is recognized.


                  Nomination of Ketanji Brown Jackson

  Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, yesterday morning, I hosted Judge 
Ketanji Brown Jackson, the President's nominee to replace Justice 
Breyer on the Supreme Court, in my office. I was glad to meet with 
Judge Jackson. We enjoyed a cordial discussion.
  Like I have been saying, Republicans fundamentally believe the 
nominee, the Court, and the country all deserve better than the 
disgraceful displays that Senate Democrats have routinely visited on 
nominees of Republican Presidents. The Senate's process should be 
dignified, but it also must be vigorous, exhaustive, and painstaking. 
We are talking about a lifetime appointment to our Nation's highest 
Court.
  This is a moment when issues relating to the law and the judiciary 
are directly hitting American families, from skyrocketing murders and 
carjackings, to soft-on-crime prosecutors' effectively repealing laws, 
to open borders. This is also a moment when the far left has declared 
open season on the very concept of judicial independence itself. 

[[Page S963]]

President Biden even bowed to the radicals and set up a Court-packing 
Commission.

  Now, Justice Breyer has distinguished himself by loudly and proudly 
putting those radicals in their place. He has consistently denounced 
the concept of partisan Court packing and defended the Court's 
legitimacy.
  One would hope his successor would follow suit, but curiously the 
same radicals who want to turn Democrats into the party of Court 
packing also badly wanted Judge Jackson for this vacancy. It is a 
matter of record that this nominee was the anointed favorite of these 
fringe groups. At this time last year, they were already spending dark 
money to raise her profile.
  So I intend to explore why groups that are waging political war 
against the Court as an institution decided Judge Jackson was their 
special favorite.
  Like I said, I enjoyed meeting the judge. She is clearly a sharp 
lawyer with an impressive resume, but when it comes to the Supreme 
Court, a core qualification is judicial philosophy. Our citizens need 
Justices who treat all parties fairly, apply our laws and Constitution 
as written, and leave legislating to us here in Congress.
  I raised all these matters yesterday. I look forward to gaining more 
clarity about Judge Jackson's positions during the vigorous and 
thorough Senate process to come.
  (Ms. ROSEN assumed the Chair.)


                                Vaccines

  Madam President, now on another matter, our Nation faces serious 
challenges to our citizens' health and wellness. COVID-19 has been one 
of them. Abuse of illegal drugs and prescription pills is another. 
Heart disease, cancer, and diabetes are ever present. Many of these 
health crises hit Middle America especially hard and specifically rural 
America.
  Data show that rural Americans are disproportionately likelier to die 
from a number of potentially preventable causes. That is why I have 
been focused on expanding local treatment centers and telehealth and 
fighting the drug epidemic tooth and nail.
  Last week, I hosted Dr. Rahul Gupta, the administration's drug czar, 
in Kentucky. Opioid abuse is a staggering problem in our State and 
throughout the country. Last year, even during COVID, fentanyl abuse 
alone was the biggest cause of death among Americans aged 18 to 45. 
That is not even all drugs, just fentanyl alone.
  In short, this may literally be the worst time in American history to 
deliberately cut healthcare access in rural America, but that is just 
what the Biden administration has done. President Biden told every 
thinly stretched doctor's office and hospital that accepts Medicare 
that they had to fire workers who didn't want the COVID vaccine.
  Now, I have been a consistent advocate for getting vaccinated. They 
offer powerful personal protection against hospitalization and death, 
but they do not prevent people catching or transmitting the current 
variant. There is no moral justification for sweeping mandates. The 
benefits accrue to the person who gets the shot.
  What is more, the CDC's own research says that prior infection 
provides protection that is at least as strong as the vaccines. But the 
President's overreaching mandate ignores that. His policy 
unscientifically discriminated against people who have immunity from 
prior infection. They had to comply anyway or lose their job.
  The President tried to force such a mandate on all kinds of workers 
across America. The courts slapped that down easily. But his mandate 
targeting healthcare workers remains in effect.
  It is unfair on a personal level, but even just looking at public 
health, it is terrible policy for rural America. We cannot have 
President Biden mass firing doctors and nurses when hospitals are 
already short-staffed.
  One hospital leader in Marshall County, KY, told me that ``this is an 
absolute disaster. We are a small critical access hospital with 250 
employees. . . . We have begun assessing areas that may have to be 
[literally] shut down.''
  A head of a hospital in Calloway County told me that ``I can afford 
to lose not one more nurse.'' He said the Biden mandate ``makes no 
sense''--no sense--``for rural healthcare.''
  The head of a critical access hospital in Hardinsburg says that ``the 
mandate is devastating for Kentucky hospitals.''
  Clearly, many of my colleagues are hearing similar things. Yesterday, 
over the objections of every Senate Democrat who voted, Republicans 
stood up for Americans' right and Americans' healthcare access. We 
passed a resolution to overturn President Biden's mandate that would 
drain doctors and nurses out of middle America.
  If Washington Democrats could safely hobnob in the Capitol all 
Tuesday evening with no masks, then they ought to stop pushing mass 
firings on essential health workers.
  Unfortunately, if we know anything about this Democratic House, this 
commonsense measure may well die on Speaker Pelosi's desk.
  I sincerely hope our colleagues across the Capitol will see reason 
and pass this bill.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Delaware.


                   Federal Reserve Board Nominations

  Mr. COONS. Madam President, since President Biden took office, we 
have seen historic job growth and a dynamic economy. Wages are rising, 
and they are rising fastest for working-class Americans.
  But despite this significant economic progress, today, too many 
American families are still facing pressing economic challenges: a 
global pandemic now entering its third year, ongoing disruptions to 
international supply chains that result in rising prices, and now the 
economic shocks caused by Putin's aggression, his invasion of Ukraine 
and the response by the West--a united effort to impose sanctions on 
Russia, which will also have consequences for the global economy.
  The Federal Reserve exists, in part, to address issues just like 
these. The Fed doesn't just set interest rates and control our money 
supply; it oversees banks, ensures efficient and reliable payments, 
promotes consumer protection and community development.
  When our economy is facing such foundational challenges like the ones 
we are up against right now, it is crucial our institutions are at full 
strength.
  The Fed is at its strongest with a full Board of Governors, and 
President Biden has nominated five of the finest economic and legal 
minds our country has to fill its vacancies: Jerome Powell, to serve as 
chair; and Lael Brainard, to serve as Vice Chair--both folks who have 
ably guided our economy in the years they have served at the Fed; Sarah 
Bloom Raskin, whom I know from college, has been nominated to serve as 
Vice Chair for Supervision and has demonstrated through a long career 
in public service at both the State and Federal level to be a highly 
competent regulator who has advanced the financial system that would 
work for all Americans; Philip Jefferson, nominated to serve as a Board 
Governor, has deep expertise in how monetary policy impacts employment 
and economic growth and an important understanding of inequality and 
poverty in America today; last, my good friend, Lisa Cook, whom I have 
known for decades. We knew each other as young Truman Scholars, folks 
who were volunteering a week of our time to help mentor and encourage 
younger Truman Scholars--a federally funded memorial to President Harry 
Truman.
  I have known her since a stage in her life where neither one of us 
might have guessed that someday I would be on this floor speaking as a 
Senator, and I would be speaking in support of her nomination to the 
Federal Reserve.
  She would bring a valuable new perspective to the Fed Board. Lisa, 
from her time growing up in a small rural town in Georgia, going on to 
earn advanced degrees from our Nation's finest institutions, and now as 
a teacher at one of our great public universities, she has built world-
class expertise in economics, innovation, and banking. She understands 
not just abstract economic theory but how those theories impact 
Americans and their families in all walks of life.
  Lisa served under President Obama at the White House Council of 
Economic Advisers, where she dealt with financial crises both here in 
the United States and abroad, and she has studied the macroeconomics of 
foreign markets in Europe and in Africa, including the way central 
banks have dealt with

[[Page S964]]

high inflation--one of the issues right before us.
  She has expertise in an emerging area of the economy that is 
increasingly important for our central bank regulators to understand: 
digital currencies and financial technology. She has supported sensible 
regulation of cryptocurrencies that enables innovation and allows more 
people to access secure and low-cost financial services.
  Her data-driven approach would help the Fed navigate our continued 
economic recovery, and her focus on financial inclusion will be a 
critical perspective on the Fed Board that would help ensure all 
Americans can see the benefit of continued economic growth and job 
gains.
  Overall, these are five nominees to the Fed Board with sterling 
credentials and strong character. All of them, on their merits, deserve 
the seats to which they have been nominated.
  I respect the desire on the part of my Republican colleagues to 
conduct a full evaluation of these nominees, and all five of them have 
responded repeatedly, fully, and with transparency to the hundreds of 
questions that have been pressed to them. They have answered all the 
questions put to them.
  The time has come to advance and confirm these nominees, and I call 
upon my Republican colleagues to allow a vote to proceed. To block a 
vote in the Banking Committee of this Senate by simply denying a quorum 
is no way for this allegedly greatest deliberative body in the world to 
conduct itself. If we are, in fact, facing the crisis of inflation and 
rising prices, the Federal Reserve Board must have its full membership.
  So my colleagues, please, stop blocking these capable and qualified 
nominees and allow them to proceed.


                  Nomination of Ketanji Brown Jackson

  Madam President, I serve on the Senate Judiciary Committee. And in my 
dozen years here, I have had the honor of participating in, and even 
presiding over, confirmation hearings for Federal District Courts, 
Circuit Courts, and the Supreme Court.
  We have before us now President Biden's first nominee to our Nation's 
highest Court. Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson is an exceptionally well-
qualified jurist whose experience, whose credentials, and whose 
evenhanded approach to the administration of justice make her an 
outstanding nominee for the U.S. Supreme Court.
  This is an important step forward toward making our Supreme Court 
look more like and reflect more the diversity of people in our Nation 
and the diversity of experience of those who serve in the bar.
  Last year, Judge Jackson was confirmed by this Senate on a bipartisan 
basis to serve on the DC Circuit Court, one of the most complex and 
significant of the circuit courts of the United States. Before that, 
she was unanimously confirmed to the U.S. District Court for the 
District of Columbia where she has honorably served for 8 years. She 
has issued over 500 opinions, so we have a very clear idea of her 
approach to judging and her interpretation of the law; and she brings 
great professional diversity of experience to the Bench as well.
  If confirmed, she will be the only Supreme Court Justice to have 
served as a Federal public defender. That kind of perspective on our 
highest Court is critical. Her work as a public defender is just one 
example of the breadth of experience Judge Jackson will bring to the 
U.S. Supreme Court.
  She has also served as Vice Chair and Commissioner on the Sentencing 
Commission that interprets and applies criminal law and as a lawyer in 
private legal practice for some of our Nation's leading law firms. And, 
most importantly, she clerked for the Justice for whom she has been 
nominated as the successor, Justice Stephen Breyer.
  Our President has promised to nominate someone in the mold of Justice 
Breyer; and Judge Jackson--in temperament, in ability, and approach--
certainly fits that bill. It is my hope, it is my expectation, that 
this Senate and the Senate Judiciary Committee will meet this historic 
moment by swiftly, appropriately, and respectfully questioning this 
nominee in front of the Senate Judiciary Committee, bringing her to a 
vote on the committee, and then voting to confirm her nomination here 
on the floor of the U.S. Senate.


                     Executive Calendar Nominations

  Madam President, if I might, the last topic I come to speak to on 
this floor today is the critical need for us to be as attentive to the 
advice and consent role for nominees as ambassadors, as senior members 
of the State Department, and USAID positions.
  There are so many positions that have been held for months and 
months; and many of them are being held by my colleague from the State 
of Texas because of a disagreement over sanctioning the Nord Stream 2 
pipeline. Today, finally, we stand in a place where the policy of this 
administration, the policy of our close and valued ally in Europe, 
Germany, and the positions of folks in the Senate are all aligned. 
There are now sanctions on Nord Stream 2. It has been stopped.
  Thankfully, my colleague has lifted his holds. Yet there still remain 
holds from other Members of this body on other nominees, all of them 
well-qualified. Eight of them would serve under the jurisdiction of my 
Foreign Relations Committee subcommittee on economic and energy policy 
multilateral organizations.
  So while I respect the right of my colleagues on both sides of the 
aisle to hold a nominee for a specific, relevant policy issue, we have 
to provide advice and consent in a timely and respectful manner of the 
President's nominees.
  President Biden has been President more than a year now. We have 
crises all over the world--whether it is in Ukraine, the violence and 
the aggression carried out by Putin's Russia or its competition with 
China or its dealing with North Korea or its advancing our interest 
with respect to Iran and their proliferation--we have places all over 
the world for which we need qualified nominees.
  That is why, in a few moments, I hope to take action on the floor; 
but I am not yet going to take that action unless it is clear we are 
all prepared.
  Let me briefly, in conclusion, if I might, speak to some of the folks 
who should be confirmed.

  The Ambassador to Botswana, Howard Van Vranken, career foreign 
service officer in a country I have visited, a country that is an 
important partner to allies in Southern Africa, and where the absence 
of an ambassador means an absence of American leadership.
  Eric Garcetti, mayor of Los Angeles, ready to serve as our Ambassador 
to India, a country that is a continent-wide, multifaith, multilingual, 
multiethnic democracy--a vital partner and ally to the United States 
where we currently have no ambassador.
  Marcia Bernicat to be Director General of the Foreign Service. If we 
are to recruit, retain, motivate, and place the greatest diplomats 
possible in the world, we need a Director General--a DG--who leads the 
Foreign Service from a human resources perspective.
  Julieta Noyes to be Assistant Secretary for Population, Refugees, and 
Migration. A million refugees have fled the violence in Ukraine; and 
yet PRM has no Senate-confirmed Assistant Secretary. Think about that 
as a dereliction of duty by this body.
  Oren Whyche-Shaw to be Ambassador to the African Development Bank. If 
we want to see inclusive development on the continent of Africa, how 
can we have no ambassador for this multilateral development bank?
  Enoh Ebong to be Director of the United States Trade and Development 
Agency, the USTDA. TDA plays a critical role in bringing into the 
United States opportunities for trade and development--again, a 
critical vacant seat.
  Christopher Hill to serve as Ambassador to Serbia. There are 
developments in the Balkans too complex and concerning for me to take 
this body's time with right now. But let me simply say, any seat, any 
ambassadorial post in the Balkans vacant is a missed opportunity for 
American leadership.
  Laura Holgate to be Ambassador to the Vienna Office of the United 
Nations and Representative to the IAEA. We are engaged in critical 
final-stage negotiations, I am told, in Vienna about whether or not we 
will be able to further constrain and better understand Iran's 
dangerous conduct with regards to enrichment. We have no ambassador to 
the IAEA. Think about how irresponsible that is.
  If I might, we cannot confront our global challenges alone, and we 
need these diplomats in place so we can successfully address these 
threats from

[[Page S965]]

Russia, climate change, COVID-19, from Iran, from terrorism.
  It is my hope that my colleagues who have holds reportedly on many of 
these nominees will relent, and I look forward to continuing to press 
that case today.
  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. THUNE. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for 
the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Booker). Without objection, it is so 
ordered.

                          ____________________