[Congressional Record Volume 168, Number 41 (Tuesday, March 8, 2022)]
[Senate]
[Pages S1023-S1031]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
LEGISLATIVE SESSION
______
POSTAL SERVICE REFORM ACT OF 2022--Resumed
The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The clerk will report the bill by
title.
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.
Recognition of the Majority Leader
The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The majority leader is recognized.
Emmett Till Antilynching Act
Mr. SCHUMER. Madam President, in 1922, the first robust antilynching
bill was successfully passed by the House of Representatives. Once it
came to the Senate, a block of Southern segregationists mounted a
filibuster to kill it in its tracks.
Over the decades, similar bills met similar fates. Throughout the
20th century, scores of antilynching bills were introduced, only to be
promptly buried into obscurity. In 2018, Congress came closer than ever
to finally passing antilynching legislation before it was thwarted at
the eleventh hour.
But last night, finally--finally--after more than 200 failed attempts
to declare lynching a Federal crime, the Senate succeeded in taking
long, overdue action by passing the Emmett Till Antilynching Act.
Hallelujah. Congress has finally declared lynching a Federal crime,
as it should have done more than a century ago. That it took so long is
a permanent, bitter stain on American history; but, finally, a
century's worth of efforts has now paid off.
To say this is a historic accomplishment is impossibly inadequate.
Generations of civil rights leaders and advocates dedicated their lives
to getting Congress to recognize the humane, obvious truth: that
lynching was an intolerable injustice inflicted primarily on
disenfranchised Black Americans.
Thousands upon thousands of Black Americans have been victims of
lynch mobs across the country, and indifferent States have rarely
responded, if ever. Many of the sworn officers of these States and
localities not only ignored but often participated when these
atrocities occurred.
Despicable. Horrible. America should be so ashamed of this chapter in
her history. And while no single congressional action can fully erase
the injustices committed against victims of lynching, last night was an
important step in the never-ending work of perfecting our Union. Only
by confronting the darkest elements of our history can we make straight
the path toward a brighter and more just future.
I want to really applaud Senator Booker. He has been diligent and
hard-working and valiant in getting this to happen. He had a great
partner in Senator Scott--bipartisan. And on the
[[Page S1024]]
House side, the person who lit this candle and kept it glowing even in
the most disappointing of times was Bobby Rush. He never gave up.
Congress has finally taken action, and this bill now heads to
President Biden's desk, finally--finally--for signature.
Government Funding and Coronavirus
Madam President, now on COVID, Republicans and Democrats continue
making good progress toward reaching a deal to fund the government. We
are almost there. We are very, very close, and, hopefully, it will be
done in the next few hours.
This bill, the spending bill, comes at a consequential moment. War in
Europe has focused the energies of Congress into getting something done
and getting it done fast, quickly. But one crucial element of the
funding bill is getting less attention, and it is as important as just
about anything in this bill. That is approving a new round of COVID
preparedness funding.
For all the important priorities we must address in this spending
bill, I believe the COVID funding will go down as one of the most
important--one of the most important--elements of the omnibus, and I
have been pushing really hard to get it done, working across the aisle
to convince our Republican colleagues that we need it.
Now that all the Federal COVID aid under the American Rescue Plan has
run out, approving new COVID funding is about insurance--far better to
prepare for new variants today than to play a frantic game of catchup
tomorrow, when it would be too late. We cannot let it be said that
America, after the third or fourth variant hits our shores, is
unprepared; does not have adequate testing, therapeutics, vaccines. We
cannot let that be said again.
The first time it happened, of course, we were unprepared. We didn't
know what had happened. But, unfortunately, even in the second and
third, President Trump's administration was not very eager to move
forward, trying to ignore it, saying it didn't really present a danger,
which, of course, it has.
So now Democrats and Republicans, thankfully, have come together, and
both sides of the aisle have come to realize that new COVID funding
today is about insurance--far better to prepare today than play a
frantic game of catchup tomorrow, when it is too late. The funding will
support more vaccines, testing, therapeutics, and healthcare workers,
and that is why I have been pushing so hard to get it done.
Across the country, life is returning to normal, thankfully. Cases
are falling. More people are going about without masks. Restaurants,
churches, and stores are filling up. I see that in my hometown of New
York. Most importantly, classrooms are full; schools are staying open.
Now that we are turning the corner, now that we are getting back to
normal, the last thing we can afford to do is let our guard down, lest
a new variant comes back with a vengeance and catapults us all back to
square one, a place where we all do not want to be.
Sadly, we know from experience that another variant is a very real
possibility. No one can say for certain how the virus will mutate, but
today we have the tools and know-how to fight this virus the minute it
hits our shores, while preserving as much of normal life as possible.
All that is needed is the Federal funding, and $15 billion of that
funding will be in the omnibus bill. So that is why I pushed so hard to
get COVID funding into the spending bill. I am encouraged to see that
Members have come around to recognize its importance, and I hope we can
get it done very, very soon.
Furthermore, I am pleased that we are likewise close--very close--to
passing a strong and ample aid package that will help the people of
Ukraine fight against Putin's immoral war. They desperately need
humanitarian aid, as millions of people are without food, without heat,
without shelter, without medicine. They desperately need the arms to
defend themselves against brutal Russian aggression, often viciously
aimed at civilians who are escaping. We pledged to get something big
done, and in the coming hours I expect we will be able to announce that
we have followed through.
H.R. 3076
Madam President, on another matter--a lot is going on in the Senate
this week--I am pleased to report that as soon as today the Senate is
set to deliver for the post office. The post office usually delivers
for us, but today we are going to deliver for them.
Every single day, tens of millions of Americans rely on the post
office for life's daily essentials. Seniors and veterans rely on it for
their medication. Small business owners rely on it to keep their
operations going. Small towns and rural Americans use it to stay
connected, and every time we receive a wedding invitation, birthday
message, or postcard from a relative, it is almost always the post
office at work, making us happy, receiving those nice letters and
birthday cards from brothers and sisters and relatives and friends from
far-flung places.
But we all know the frustrations of waiting on packages that fail to
arrive on time. We all know that when the post office is forced to cut
hours of operation or delivery routes or lay off workers, the rest of
us are worse off.
Thankfully, for the past few months, Democrats and Republicans have
been working together in good faith to reform some of the most troubled
parts of the Postal Service. Now, we are only one rollcall vote away
from sending this bill to the President's desk, and that vote is likely
to come today.
After the Senate votes on this bill, we will happily be able to say
that, finally, postal reform is signed, sealed, and delivered for the
American people. I look forward to getting this done and thank my
colleagues, especially Senators Peters and Portman, for their
bipartisan work.
Costs
Madam President, on costs--the costs that the American people face
when they buy things weekly through their daily lives--yesterday, we
saw another instance of Republicans going out of the way to show the
American people where their priorities lie.
A few months ago, the junior Senator from Florida callously called
inflation a ``gold mine'' for the Republican Party. People are
suffering and paying more, and the Senator from Florida says it is a
``gold mine'' for the Republicans?
A few weeks ago, we saw what he meant. That same Senator released a
party platform that openly called for raising taxes on millions of
American families, potentially by more than $1,000 a year.
People can't afford that.
And, yesterday, the junior Senator from Wisconsin called for the GOP
to revive their failed efforts to rip away affordable healthcare for
tens of millions of Americans--a fresh reminder of an old desire that
Republicans have harbored for over a decade.
Cheerleading inflation, raising taxes on working Americans, repealing
affordable healthcare: Is that the platform of today's Republican
Party? At this point, perhaps the Senator from Wisconsin should join
the Senator from Florida in creating a new ``Hurting Working Families
Caucus'' so we can more easily track their truly repressive vision for
the American people.
Meanwhile, Democrats believe we should be lowering costs for
Americans, not raising them. We should be working on a bipartisan basis
to fight inflation, not root for it to go up. So, tomorrow, Democrats
will hold our annual DPCC retreat to discuss our plan to lower costs,
building on historic job growth, and expand opportunity for the middle
class.
Over the next few months, my colleagues will be holding hearings and
markups on many of our cost-cutting proposals. Among the ideas we are
working on are included bills to cap insulin costs at $35 a month,
lowering the cost of meat at the grocery store, reforming unfair
shipping practices that raise the costs of American goods for
everybody, and fixing domestic supply chains.
These are issues that the American people need help with. It is what
Democrats will maintain a focus on. And I thank my Republican
colleagues for helping us remind the American people which party truly
stands in their corner.
I yield the floor.
I suggest the absence of a quorum.
The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The clerk will call the roll.
The senior assistant legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
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Mr. McCONNELL. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the
order for the quorum call be rescinded.
The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. Without objection, it is so
ordered.
Recognition of the Minority Leader
The Republican leader is recognized.
Ukraine
Mr. McCONNELL. Madam President, as I mentioned yesterday, Senators
had the chance to hear directly from Ukraine's President Zelenskyy over
the weekend. He and his constituents--the brave people of Ukraine--have
won the hearts and minds of all of us all across the world.
Their pain, of course, is Putin's fault, but as I and others warned
for weeks before the invasion, that pain has been compounded by the
West's hesitation and sluggishness in helping Ukraine prepare for this
onslaught, which we could all see coming. This crisis was not only
foreseeable; it was, in fact, foreseen.
Republicans spent months urging President Biden to put more lethal
aid in Ukrainian hands before Russian invasion made those deliveries
much more difficult. We urged the administration to reinforce our
eastern flank NATO partners before Putin escalated his war against
Ukraine rather than playing catchup. We called for heavier sanctions
before Putin had fully committed his forces and his pride. We warned
repeatedly that the Biden administration must not let these actions be
slowed down to the speed of bureaucracy. But that is, of course, what
happened.
As President Zelenskyy himself said publicly last week, while he
appreciates all the Western help, much of it is ultimately arriving
``too late.''
The Biden administration is now finally doing many of the things they
slow-walked months ago as too provocative or too escalatory: providing
Stingers, sharing intelligence, deploying more forces to NATO's eastern
flank, finally, getting out of the way of sanctioning Nord Stream 2.
Now, as supplies dwindle and safe resupply and transit corridors
narrow, friends of Ukraine will have to work even harder to help the
citizens and their government stay in the fight.
It has been obvious for some time that Ukraine would benefit from
receiving Soviet-era aircraft and air defense systems from our eastern
flank NATO partners that still maintain inventories of such weapons.
The United States can help these allies worried about giving up such
capabilities by helping to backfill with American-made and NATO-
standard weapons. I understand the administration may be finally coming
around to support this but, again, at the stately pace of bureaucracy.
This needs to get done and get done yesterday.
(Mr. PADILLA assumed the Chair.)
Meanwhile, the Congress is acting; that includes additional security
assistance funding for Ukraine and for our eastern flank NATO allies in
the supplemental appropriations bill, along with funding for loan
guarantees to help eastern flank countries buy American weapons to
shore up our collective defenses.
I appreciate the Democratic leader working in good faith to
accommodate my request that the funding bill significantly increase the
security assistance drawdown fund available to the President and to
backfill our DOD stockpiles that are helping our friends in harm's way.
I hope we finalize those steps soon.
This supplemental is urgent, but the fact is, the White House has,
thus far, taken steps to limit their own options and made them miss the
window to provide impactful assistance. This administration not only
reportedly refused a request prior to the conflict to increase the
number of U.S. military trainers in the country but moved the advisers
we had to the far west of the country and then pulled them from the
country entirely, like they also pulled out our entire diplomatic
mission.
These noncombat advisers could have helped facilitate more shipments
of weapons to the field and more training to teach Ukrainians how to
use them. They could have laid important logistical groundwork to
ensure weapons could continue to flow through the frontlines after the
conflict began.
In area after area, the record shows the Biden administration pulled
their punches, even though everyone knew--knew--that the war was
coming, and even so, the Ukrainians are mounting an incredible and
brave resistance.
Imagine where these brave people might be now if the administration
had moved at the speed of necessity rather than the snail's pace of
bureaucracy. Now we must commit to keep lethal aid flowing.
We have to continue strengthening NATO and deepening our security
partnerships and interoperability with other European partners. We need
to encourage more commitments like the German Chancellor's recent
announcement that they will massively step up their investment in their
own defense and in NATO. And perhaps most important of all, we cannot
have Washington politicians in the business of shortchanging our own
defense spending at the very time when we are pleading with Western
Europe to increase theirs.
We have to lead by example and make the kind of robust investments
needed for long-term competition with Russia and China.
In the meantime, the sobering reality is that Ukraine is very likely
to see more and escalating brutalities in the days and the weeks ahead.
The world remembers the butchery in Grozny and the cold-blooded
targeting in Aleppo, and the world will remember this moment as Russia
sics conscripts on Ukrainian civilians and arrests its own people when
they object.
For all of the Kremlin's lies about Ukraine, about how it is
supposedly just an extension of Russia and its people are really
Russians, we now know for certain that Russians and Ukrainians do have,
in fact, at least one thing in common: Vladimir Putin considers their
lives equally disposable.
Biden Administration
Mr. President, now on a related matter, the price of gas jumped more
in the past week than any week on record. This, of course, began long
before Russia invaded Ukraine. Even before that, families across
America were paying dramatically higher gas prices than they faced when
President Biden took office. I expect our Democratic friends will now
try to blame the entire increase in prices on our efforts to punish on
Russia, but don't be fooled. This is more than a year in the making.
Back in November, President Biden's Secretary of Energy was asked
about any efforts--any efforts--to ramp up production of our own
abundant American energy, and she literally laughed at the question.
``That is hilarious,'' Secretary Granholm said.
The Secretary suggested that increasing domestic production would be
futile because the market for oil is global. Well, it sure is. But
right now the free world is considering making this market a little bit
less global to punish Russia for its brutal conquests in Ukraine.
So it would sure be nice if America had gone into this crisis with
more headroom on supply and on gas prices. Just 3 years ago, under
Republican policies, we had become a net oil exporter for the first
time since World War II.
But Democrats are completely committed to their ideological holy war
on affordable energy. From the campaign trail, then-candidate Biden
promised, ``I guarantee you we are going to end fossil fuel.'' And in
office, the Biden administration has used its considerable Executive
authority to actively target affordable American-made oil and natural
gas.
On his first day in office, the President canceled the pipeline
project that would have sped the safe transport of reliable fuel. The
very next week, he suspended all new Federal leases on oil and natural
gas exploration.
So Washington Democrats spent months trying to pass policies that
would drive the most affordable, reliable, and abundant forms of
America energy--and the jobs they support--literally into extinction.
Just yesterday, as even our Western European friends are realizing
that green fantasies can't fuel their countries and are trying to turn
back toward nuclear, coal, and domestic natural gas, Biden
administration officials gave a press conference where they repeated
the same--the very same--platitudes about renewables.
You really can't make this stuff up. The Democrats in charge of the
United States of America want us to embrace the same failed strategies
from which our European friends are frantically backpedaling as fast as
they can.
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So while the Ukrainians are fighting Russia, Democrats are trying to
fight a war on the law of supply and demand. They only want to have to
look at solar panel and windmills here at home. So they want to get our
oil and gas from everywhere else, but many of the biggest players in
the global market are countries that don't much care for the United
States. And now the Biden administration's green hostility to domestic
energy production has been going hat in hand begging our antagonists to
increase production. After spending a year hammering America's own
energy producers, the Biden administration appears to be commencing a
world tour to try to buy oil from people who don't like us.
As I mentioned yesterday, the administration appears close to a deal
that would help Iran enrich more nuclear material and enrich its
economy by lifting oil export sanctions.
Reports also suggest U.S. officials have met with the Maduro regime
with the aim of relaxing sanctions on Venezuelan oil as well. This
administration wants to ramp up energy imports from Iran and Venezuela?
That is the world's largest state sponsor of terror and a thuggish
South American dictator, respectively.
So they would rather buy from these people than buy from Texas,
Alaska, or Pennsylvania. Just let that sink in.
The administration is also apparently making similar overtures to
Saudi Arabia. Obviously, the Saudis are not an adversary like these
other countries, but I doubt the American people are thrilled to see
President Biden trying to increase our dependence on Middle Eastern oil
and OPEC while declaring America's own resources off limits.
A green light for the Arabian Gulf and a red one for the Gulf of
Mexico--what sense does that make? The political left thinks that
affordable energy is dirty and bad so they are happy to export the
dirty work and import the oil. Let's ask our friends in Europe how that
plays out.
Outsourcing even more production to dictators and theocrats is not
the answer. Dumping more subsidies into solar panels and charging
stations, praying everything works out, is not the answer. The answer
is to let Americans produce American energy.
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. THUNE. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for
the quorum call be rescinded.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
Inflation
Mr. THUNE. Mr. President, it took several months and the worst
inflation in 40 years, but finally--finally--Democrats are
acknowledging that we have an inflation problem.
The President actually acknowledged inflation in the State of the
Union last week. But, unfortunately, while Democrats may finally be
talking about inflation, they still don't seem to understand how we got
here, and they are continuing to push a whole raft of terrible
proposals that would hurt working families and make our inflation
crisis even worse.
So how did we get here? Why are Americans currently struggling with
huge grocery bills and big price increases on essential goods? It is
true that supply chain issues and the reopening of economies after
COVID shutdowns created certain inflationary pressure, but a big part
of the reason things are so bad in the United States right now is
because of the American Rescue Plan spending spree the Democrats passed
last March.
When Democrats took office last January, inflation was at 1.4
percent, well within the Fed's target inflation rate of 2 percent. And
it might have stayed there had Democrats not decided that they needed
to pass a massive partisan $1.9 trillion spending spree under the guise
of COVID relief--mere weeks, I might add--after Congress had already
passed a major COVID bill. That is right. President Biden and
congressional Democrats took office right after Congress had approved a
fifth--fifth--bipartisan COVID relief bill, and it was abundantly clear
that we were not in immediate need of trillions more in government
spending.
But that didn't matter to Democrats. Now that they were in control of
Congress and the White House, they wanted to take advantage of the
COVID crisis. So in the name of COVID relief, they pushed through a
massive partisan piece of legislation filled with unnecessary spending
and handouts to Democratic interest groups.
And, of course, the results were predictable. The bill flooded the
economy with unnecessary government spending, and the economy
overheated as a result. In the words of Jason Furman in a January New
York Times article, `` `The United States has had much more inflation
than almost any other advanced economy in the world,' said Jason
Furman, an economist at Harvard University and former Obama
administration economic adviser. The difference, he said, comes because
`the United States' stimulus is in a category of its own.' ''
Unfortunately, Democrats seem unable--or unwilling--to recognize that
it was their policies that helped push us into our current inflation
crisis. In fact, the President used his State of the Union Address to
push for even more--more--excessive government spending, a sure way of
making our inflation crisis even worse--and not just increased in
spending but major new entitlements.
Yes, our Nation is massively in debt, inflation is soaring, and
Democrats think now is a good time to create major new entitlements,
and, of course, to raise taxes to pay for them. The President claims
that he won't raise taxes on anyone making less than $400,000, but that
is not actually the case. Analysis of Build Back Better proposals
reveals more than one tax hike would hit Americans with incomes below
$400,000. And then there are the indirect costs.
A centerpiece of the President's tax plans is increasing taxes on
corporations. While that may sound like a tax hike on the uber rich,
the truth is that the burden of corporate tax hikes would fall heavily
on ordinary workers in the form of lower wages, decreased job
opportunities and retirement savings, and a less vibrant economy.
The President likes to talk about tax fairness, about hiking taxes on
corporations and wealthy Americans so that they pay ``their fair
share.'' Of course, he ignores the fact that wealthy Americans pay a
disproportionately large share of taxes in this country and that the
Federal Government has seen a huge increase in corporate tax receipts,
thanks in part to business growth in the wake of the Tax Cuts and Jobs
Act.
All that aside, I find the President's call for wealthy Americans to
pay their fair share highly ironic considering the Democrats managed to
include a tax break for wealthy Americans in their Build Back Better
plan. That is right. The Democrats' SALT proposal would
overwhelmingly--overwhelmingly--benefit affluent taxpayers in high-tax
States. Apparently, making wealthy Americans pay their fair share only
applies to wealthy Republican Americans or until wealthy Democrats
start asking for tax breaks.
On the corporate tax side, in the State of the Union Address, the
President highlighted the corporate minimum tax he is proposing. What
he didn't mention was that his corporate minimum tax isn't actually a
minimum tax at all. Thanks to the clean energy and affordable housing
tax credits the President is advocating, among other credits, companies
that take action on Democrats' preferred policies could end up
completely evading Biden's so-called minimum tax. So much for making
corporations pay their fair share.
In his State of the Union Address, the President highlighted ``the
revitalization of American manufacturing.'' He said, ``Companies are
choosing to build new factories here when just a few years ago, they
would have gone overseas.'' He said that in the State of the Union
speech.
The revitalization of American manufacturing is, indeed, something to
celebrate. But, unfortunately, President Biden wants to undo the very
tax policies that helped create the conditions for this manufacturing
renaissance in the first place.
Before Republicans passed the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act in 2017, we were
experiencing a wave of inversions, which is a wonky way of saying that
companies were moving their headquarters overseas. Why were companies
moving
[[Page S1027]]
overseas? Because of the punishing corporate tax system we had in the
United States. Prior to the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, the United States
had the highest corporate tax rate in the developed world. That put
American businesses at a real disadvantage next to their foreign
counterparts, and it created a significant incentive for U.S. companies
to move jobs or their entire companies overseas. The Tax Cuts and Jobs
Act addressed this problem by lowering our Nation's massive corporate
tax rate and bringing the U.S. international tax system into the 21st
century.
How did it work? Well, in the wake of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act,
inversions stopped--stopped--and as the President pointed out,
companies are building here in America. To quote the President of the
National Association of Manufacturers:
Reducing tax rates drove historic growth in the
manufacturing sector.
Unfortunately, if the President has his way, this manufacturing
renaissance would likely drastically slow or come to an end altogether.
Hiking taxes on American companies, as the President wants to do, would
once again put American companies at a competitive disadvantage next to
their foreign counterparts.
If the President hikes corporate taxes, we won't be seeing a surge of
new building in America or companies keeping jobs here at home.
Instead, we will be seeing fewer American jobs and more jobs and
companies heading overseas. Democrats have already wreaked a lot of
economic harm on American families with their American Rescue Plan
spending spree. And the other policies that they are pushing and the
tax hikes and new entitlements the President outlined in his State of
the Union Address would prolong our inflation crisis and do further
damage to our economy and to American workers and families.
I am glad the Democrats are finally recognizing that inflation is a
problem, but it would have been nice if they could also recognize how
their spending helped get us into this mess in the first place and how
their current tax hike and spending plans would hurt Americans and
result in a less prosperous economy in the future.
I yield the floor.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Tennessee.
Iran
Mr. HAGERTY. Mr. President, much of the news media today is focused
on Russia's unprovoked invasion of Ukraine--and rightfully so--but not
enough attention is being paid to negotiations that are happening today
and have been happening in Vienna.
The Biden administration seems dead set on reviving, at any cost, the
Iran nuclear deal. Worse, President Biden's chief negotiator Rob
Malley--who, I observe, is not a Senate-confirmed official--outsourced
our negotiations for reviving this flawed Iran deal to the Russians.
This is outrageous.
Let me get this straight. We are working hand in glove with Vladimir
Putin to reach a deal that will help Russia evade sanctions being
imposed for its aggression in Ukraine and work with its ally Iran.
This is not the way to protect the safety and the interest of the
American people.
This is what Russia's chief negotiator to the Iran talks had to say
about what he has accomplished for the Biden administration:
I am absolutely sincere in this regard when I say that Iran
got much more than it could expect, much more.
He recently told reporters, adding:
Realistically speaking, Iran got more than, frankly, I
expected or others expected. This is a matter of fact.
Again, this is Russia's chief negotiator making this statement.
Most alarmingly, this revived deal would pave Iran's path to a
nuclear weapon. News reports also suggest that the revived deal would
quickly unleash $90 billion in frozen funds to Iran--again, the world's
biggest state-sponsor of terrorism. Moreover, Iran can expect to earn
roughly $50 billion annually in renewed oil exports.
It is unconscionable that the Biden administration appears more eager
to unleash the energy production in Venezuela and Iran than right here
in America. The Biden administration is so stubborn and blinded by its
ideological green energy fantasies that it would rather work with
terrorists and dictators--folks with some of the worst human rights
records in history--than admit it was a mistake to abandon America's
energy independence. This administration would rather work with killers
than with American drillers.
As before, the Iranian regime will use this massive windfall of
sanctions relief to fund terrorism and aggression against our ally
Israel, against our Arab partners, and against Americans serving in the
Middle East.
Let me be clear. The Trump administration was right to withdraw us
from the Iran nuclear deal in May of 2018. But I am not here today to
debate the pros and cons of resurrecting the Iran deal. We will likely
have that debate in the days to come, probably sooner than most people
think.
Rather, I am here today to argue for preserving the role that
Congress--amid concerns that the Biden administration will not submit
their new Iran nuclear deal for review and for an up-or-down vote--that
Congress must maintain its role as required by U.S. law.
If news reports are to be believed, the Biden administration may be
nearing the end of negotiations for an agreement to resuscitate the
Iran deal. As Reuters reported recently:
The draft text of the agreement, which is more than 20
pages long, stipulates a sequence of steps to be implemented
. . .
In 2014 and 2015, many lawmakers passionately argued that the
original Iran deal should have been submitted to the Senate as a
treaty, requiring our advice and consent under the U.S. Constitution.
But because the Obama administration refused to follow the
Constitution, Congress was compelled to enact the Iran Nuclear
Agreement Review Act, or INARA. INARA passed the Senate in a 99-to-1
vote--99 to 1. This is nearly unanimous, a bipartisan vote that
reflects how frustrated the Senate is that the executive branch was
trying to circumvent Congress on such an important matter. INARA
clearly requires that any agreement--I repeat, any agreement--related
to the nuclear program of Iran should be submitted to the Senate and to
the House for congressional review, including for an up-or-down vote.
It is beyond debate that the Biden administration is required by law
to submit any new agreement for reviving the Iran deal to Congress for
congressional review, but the Biden administration has not clearly
committed that it will submit whatever agreement it is negotiating in
Vienna for our review and an up-or-down vote by Congress.
If the Biden administration refuses to submit its new Iran agreement
to Congress, it will be ignoring the law and undermining the role of
this body in foreign policy.
Last year, I was concerned this might happen. That is why I
introduced the Iran Sanctions Relief Review Act of 2020. My bill
borrows a provision from the Countering America's Adversaries Through
Sanctions Act, or CAATSA, an act that overwhelmingly passed Congress in
2017.
The CAATSA provision allows for congressional review and an up-or-
down vote on any Presidential waiver of Russia's sanctions. My bill
takes word-for-word that same provision and applies it to any
Presidential waiver of Iran sanctions. This is important because any
new agreement to revive the Iran deal will require once again the
executive branch to waive Iran sanctions. In other words, my bill
protects the role of Congress if the executive branch ignores INARA and
refuses to submit the new agreement to the Senate and to the House.
So far, 37 Senators have cosponsored the Iran Sanctions Relief Review
Act with me. This number is significant because 37 Senators would be
more than enough to deny the Senate's advice and consent if the
executive branch actually followed the Constitution and presented a new
Iran agreement to the Senate as a treaty.
I urge my colleagues who have not yet cosponsored the Iran Sanctions
Relief Review Act to join me and to do so. We must protect the first
branch of government from an executive branch that seeks to encroach
upon it or even to ignore it.
I also remind the Biden administration, the Iranian regime, and the
world of a fact that should be patently obvious by now: Any agreement
to revive the Iran nuclear deal that lacks the Senate's advice and
consent under the
[[Page S1028]]
Constitution--that is, that lacks the support of 67 Senators--will not
survive multiple Presidential administrations. It will be ripped up
just like it was the last time. And I have zero doubt that, as before,
the next Presidential administration will end this deal again and will
snap back sanctions--with a vengeance--against the Iranian regime and
those countries that were foolish enough to trade with it.
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.
Ms. MURKOWSKI. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order
for the quorum call be rescinded.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
Postal Service Reform Act
Ms. MURKOWSKI. Mr. President, I have come to the floor to speak in
support of the Postal Service Reform Act, which is now pending before
the Senate.
The mission of the U.S. Postal Service since the Continental Congress
appointed Benjamin Franklin as our Nation's first Postmaster General in
1775 has been to ``bind the Nation together.''
So it sounds kind of like a pretty quaint, outdated idea, but it is
actually serious; it is actually statutory.
And 39 U.S.C. tasks the Postal Service with binding our Nation
together by delivering all of our mail to every American promptly,
reliably, and efficiently, no matter where we live.
The Postal Service Reform Act will improve the Agency's ability to
meet that requirement, including in large, geographically remote
places, like Alaska, where it certainly has a significant impact on our
lives.
We count on the Postal Service to deliver not only the letters and
the magazines and the bills, but also necessities of life: food,
medicine, business inventory, spare parts. Just about anything you
could possibly think of for daily life comes to us in Alaska through
the mail service.
The Postal Service is unique in its universal service obligation and
the fact that it delivers both mail and packages to Americans in every
community, whether you live in Key West, FL, or Utqiagvik, AK. No other
Federal Agency or commercial enterprise does this.
But it is becoming more and more difficult for the Postal Service to
accomplish the swift completion of their appointed rounds, as we
recall.
And believe me, I certainly hear about the Postal Service's
decreasing ability to provide its services promptly, reliably, and
efficiently. I hear about it as soon as I get off the airplane when I
get back home. I hear from individuals all over the State, telling me
the concerns that they have about mail that is late or perhaps not
delivered at all.
Our phones ring in our offices around the State because a small post
office has been closed for a period of days because the postmaster has
left, and there is no replacement available.
I hear about the long lines to pick up mail, the long lines to just
even buy a stamp in some of our smaller communities that get inundated
by tourists in the summer.
So we know. We hear the strains on our Postal Service. Despite postal
workers' dedication, the fact of the matter is that the Agency is in
trouble, and it needs the reforms that are contained in the bill that
is pending before us.
While many Americans believe the Postal Service is supported by the
American taxpayer, that is not the case. Congress only reimburses it
for mailing audio books to the blind and ballots to overseas voters.
That is it.
The Postal Service has to meet its payroll and fund retiree health
benefits; maintain its facilities, equipment, and vehicles; deliver the
mail to its destination on time with its own revenue from the sale of
postage. But their financial instability is making those
responsibilities harder and harder to fulfill.
So we are debating this legislation on the floor today to give the
Postal Service the tools that it needs to be successful and to fulfill
its essential mission and to hold the USPS accountable for improved
performance because we all want to see that.
So this legislation that we will hopefully vote on later today is not
without controversy. Reform legislation is never without controversy,
but that is why I appreciate the opportunity to outline what I think
are some of the positive provisions.
Importantly, the bill increases the Postal Service's accountability
for on-time delivery and requires greater transparency in achieving the
goal. The bill requires that mail delivery not only be prompt and
economical but also consistent and reliable and provided in a manner
that increases operational efficiency.
It requires the USPS to develop a new, searchable public performance
dashboard that is updated weekly so both Congress and the public can
keep a close eye on whether or not they are living up to our
expectations.
It also requires new regular reporting to the Postal Regulatory
Commission, the PRC, and to Congress on a variety of indicators,
including the impacts of price changes and information about
reliability, efficiency, and cost effectiveness, Postal workforce
recruitment and retention, and how investments in equipment and
infrastructure are impacting service.
In addition, the PRC and the Postal Service's inspector general must
identify why there are inefficiencies in the collection, sorting,
transportation, and delivery of large envelopes, newsletters, and
magazines.
These findings will be reported to Congress and the Postmaster
General. USPS would then have 6 months to put in place PRC-approved
changes that will fix whatever faults may have been found.
The bill will also do what many of us have advocated for, which is
reform the cost of healthcare for USPS employees and their retirees.
So it provides needed stabilization for the USPS health benefits
system, and, hopefully, it will relieve the pressure on their budget
and support sustainable benefits for employees and retirees. This is a
key provision.
The bill also codifies an appropriations rider that has long required
the USPS to integrate the delivery of letters and packages for 6-day
delivery and includes a fair compromise on the attribution of costs for
processing and delivering packages.
One of the--I guess--top complaints that I hear from Alaskans is that
the cost of shipping via commercial package services is oftentimes more
than the price of the item itself. Integrated delivery of mail and
packages saves the U.S. Postal Service money by allowing it to be more
efficient.
And while UPS and FedEx charge most Alaskans extra for delivering
their packages, these companies then drop their packages off in
Anchorage at that hub and let the Postal Service take care of what we
call last mile delivery. Well, in Alaska, that often means the last
several hundred miles.
Now, some are concerned that USPS subsidizes the cost of packages
with revenue derived from delivering letters. But in fact, the law that
we passed in 2006, the Postal Accountability and Enhancement Act,
forbids the Postal Service from cross-subsidizing revenue to make sure
that it is competing fairly with commercial package carriers.
Current law also requires that package delivery covers all of its
attributable costs, and while the Postal Regulatory Commission and the
Federal courts have examined and upheld the cost attribution
methodology, the Postal Service Reform Act requires yet another look,
which I think is probably a fair compromise.
Importantly for Alaskans and for me, this legislation will not result
in cost increases for the essential bypass mail program. This is what
it says it is. It is essential. It is a program that allows rural
Alaskans who live in communities that are not connected by roads--about
80 percent of our communities are in that situation--but allows them to
receive pallets of food, whatever necessary mailable matter that comes
from stores in Anchorage or Fairbanks, without millions of individual
boxes of goods going through Postal facilities. And that benefits the
consumer, and it saves the Postal Service tens of millions of dollars a
year in operating costs and untold millions in facility costs.
While the Postal Service Reform Act directs the PRC to engage in
another review of attributable costs, I have
[[Page S1029]]
been assured by both sides of the Homeland Security and Governmental
Affairs Committee, by the PRC, and by the Postal Service that this
provision will not impact bypass mail, and I certainly intend to hold
them to their word.
Another concern that I want to address over this bill is allowing
USPS to partner with State, local, and Tribal governments to provide
nonpostal services. Now, I understand where this comes from, but this
legislation specifically requires that any nonpostal services must
cover their own costs without any degradation to regular Postal
services.
So, in my view, if the U.S. Postal Service can help deliver
additional services to the American public under these two caveats,
then they should be allowed to do so.
So H.R. 3076 is a big step forward in helping the Postal Service
achieve financial stability. It will enable the Agency to continue to
bind the Nation together with efficient and cost-effective universal
service and allow postal employees to achieve the swift completion of
their appointed rounds. It is supported by a wide array of businesses,
both large and small, all who rely on our Postal Service. It is
supported by Postal employees, by retired Federal employees, and the
Postal Service itself.
It has received overwhelming bipartisan support in the House of
Representatives. I certainly hope that it will draw the same here in
the Senate, and I want to commend the chairman of the Committee on
Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, as well as Ranking Member
Portman, for the good work that they have done in bringing this bill to
us today.
(Ms. ROSEN assumed the Chair.)
International Women's Day
Madam President, now, while I am still here on the floor, I want to
take just a moment and acknowledge that today, March 8, marks
International Women's Day.
This is a day for us to recognize the achievements and the
contributions that women are making in communities across the globe,
and, as an Alaskan, I am going to start local first, because I have got
so many, many phenomenal women in my State who are doing incredible
things, and I am exceptionally proud of them.
I was home over the weekend. We were celebrating the start of the
50th running of the Iditarod race. This is an extraordinary feat of
just strength and grit and determination and resilience.
There were 49 mushers that left Willow on Sunday; 17 of those mushers
who will make the trek to Nome are women--17 women. So we have got a
very, very strong field, but running a race like this, where it is the
musher and your team of dogs going through the wilderness of Alaska--we
have got deep snow throughout. The moose are not in a very cooperative
mood right now. There are dangers along the trail, and who knows what
the conditions are going to be like a week from now. And so it takes an
extraordinary individual.
And to know the strength of women, as they have taken on the
Iditarod--when award-winning or world-renowned winner Susan Butcher
first won that race--she has won that race four times--but when she ran
it about three decades ago, there was a popular bumper sticker that was
going around the State at the time. It was, ``Alaska, where men are men
and women win the Iditarod.'' We were pretty proud of Susan Butcher. We
are hoping that our women do well and all of our mushers do well.
But like these female mushers who are racing, women leaders are
virtually in every field, from healthcare to resource development, to
fishing, to our universities, and everything in between, and many of us
are very proud to know that they have become somewhat household names,
some of them.
This year, we were able to celebrate Emma Broyles, a young woman from
Anchorage, 20 years old. She became the first Alaskan and the first
Korean American to ever be crowned Miss America in the 100-year history
of that event. So we are very proud of her. I was able to celebrate
with her this weekend at the Iditarod itself.
Another young woman that we have celebrated this past year is Lydia
Jacoby. Lydia is from Seward, AK, and at 17, she competed in her first
Olympics. She brought home the gold medal for this country, winning the
100-meter breaststroke race. So we were all eyes on Lydia. So proud of
her.
And there are so many who deserve our thanks and our gratitude. I
always like to give a shout-out to an exceptional leader in our State,
who has provided critical leadership and guidance throughout the
pandemic, Dr. Anne Zink.
It is so important to know that it is not necessarily finishing at
the end of a race or a crown or a medal. It is just the endurance that
goes with the day-to-day completion of your work.
I was on the floor just last month to recognize the work of Native
civil rights advocate Elizabeth Peratrovich, who pushed the Territory
of Alaska, our legislature at the time, to pass the first
antidiscrimination act in the Nation. We did this in 1945. We are so
proud of how she, as a Native woman leader, made our State and our
Nation a more inclusive and more representative democracy.
So, today, on International Women's Day, it gives us an opportunity
to recognize the impressive feats that women have taken on and have
accomplished. It is a day to thank women for their daily
contributions--again, both big, where they win the awards and they make
the headlines, but also for those day-to-day contributions that they
make to raising healthy, strong children, to being the fabric in the
family, to being that contributor in the workplace.
But this isn't a day that we just look back and recognize those who
have made great accomplishments. It is also a day that we look ahead at
the work that we have to do to continue to advance equality and justice
for all women.
Just down the hallway from here in the Rotunda is the Portrait
Monument. We all see it; we walk by it; and maybe we don't even notice
it anymore but take a look at it next time. We know the pioneering
women who are represented on it: Lucretia Mott, Elizabeth Cady Stanton,
and Susan B. Anthony.
But we need to look at it more carefully, and we need to remember
there is a fourth bust that Adelaide Johnson did not sculpt, and the
base of the monument is also unfinished. It is a reflection of the
unfinished struggle for women's rights and equality.
So for all the progress that we have made, and we know it has been
considerable, Madam President, as you are sitting in that chair and
this woman from Alaska is addressing you--we have made great progress,
but the struggle is unfinished.
The data documents the gaps in gender equality in our country, and
too many women feel it firsthand in their daily lives. So on
International Women's Day, I also want to remind the Senate of a couple
important ways that we can help further women's rights.
And I am pleased that my colleague Senator Cardin is on the floor at
this moment because we have been working together. We have been working
together to try to do this unfinished business when it comes to
ratification of the Equal Rights Amendment, to ensure women's equality
is expressly recognized in our Constitution.
Three-quarters of the States have now ratified that amendment. Alaska
did it back in 1972, Virginia most recently in 2020. I am hopeful that
its time has come.
And to help facilitate that, Senator Cardin and I have introduced a
resolution to remove the arbitrary ratification deadline from the ERA
so it can finally take effect. I think the Senate needs to take this
resolution up and pass it like the House of Representatives did last
year.
Another step--a critical step--that we must take now is the
reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act to help ensure that
there is a path to justice for survivors of interpersonal violence.
I was very proud to introduce the new VAWA bill with Senator Durbin,
Senator Ernst, and Senator Feinstein last month. I am pleased--so
pleased--that we have 22 total cosponsors, 11 from each party.
Our bipartisan bill modernizes the nearly three decades' old Violence
Against Women Act, and it reauthorizes important programs that provide
services to survivors. It directs resources to prevent further violence
and hold perpetrators accountable for their
[[Page S1030]]
actions. And it takes needed and important steps to address domestic
violence, sexual assault, dating violence, and stalking.
I mentioned dating violence. We have a provision that I have included
and we have named after an Alaskan victim of dating violence, and that
is Breanna Moore.
We focused on improving access to medical forensics for victims of
violence, including through training for medical professionals that
will allow them to provide evidence-based and trauma-informed care.
We have a strong Tribal title in this VAWA bill. It builds on VAWA
2013 by closing the gaps in the law to protect Native people. The
Tribal title also includes an Alaska pilot program which provides a
targeted solution to help empower Tribes in a way that recognizes the
unique and complex jurisdictional landscape that we have in my State.
It is a recognition that Tribes are valuable partners. They are
critical partners that can play a larger role in providing public
safety while reducing the burden on my State.
As I have said many times before, there should be nothing--nothing--
partisan about keeping people safe from violence. And our VAWA
reauthorization is a result of many years of hard work and negotiations
by advocates and stakeholders alike. I hope that we can consider this
and pass this very, very soon.
I recognize the great work of Senator Ernst on our side and Senator
Durbin and Senator Feinstein on the other side of the aisle. It has
been an effort that is timely, is needed, and is necessary.
So I am happy to be able to recognize, for just a few moments on this
International Women's Day--as we celebrate the many, many incredible
women in our lives and in our country, we also recognize that our work
for true equality remains unfinished, but we have got some good paths
forward if we can just try.
I yield the floor.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Maryland.
Mr. CARDIN. Madam President, first, let me thank Senator Murkowski
for her leadership on behalf of women's issues here in the U.S. Senate.
I join her in calling for the reauthorization of the Violence Against
Women's Act. I am glad that she mentioned that. I join her as her
partner in the ratification of the Equal Rights Amendment. We have to
pass a resolution here extending the date. Senator Murkowski has been a
leader on all these issues.
During Women's History Month, I am using this time to point out the
progress we have made. Senator Murkowski mentioned that we have made
tremendous progress on behalf of gender equality in the United States,
but we still have a path in front of us. I was pleased to see Senator
Murkowski point out the challenges that still exist and the reason why
we need to be active in regard to gender equity issues, including the
reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act and the passage of
the Equal Rights Amendment. So I thank her for her leadership, and I am
glad to be her partner on many of these issues.
So today, we can celebrate the progress that has been made and call
attention to the obstacles that exist. Throughout our Nation's history,
generations of women have won hard-fought battles in pushing closer and
closer toward securing full citizenship and all that entails.
Our Nation today is stronger from this progress, reaching new
milestones in gender equality. President Biden announced earlier this
month his historic selection of Judge Jackson to fill the role of the
retiring Supreme Court Justice Breyer on the highest Court in our land.
Judge Jackson would be the first Black woman to serve on the Court and
only the fifth woman to serve as a Justice of the total of 115 who have
served on the Supreme Court throughout our history.
I was pleased, along with Senator Van Hollen, to recommend Lydia
Griggsby to serve on the U.S. District Court for the District of
Maryland. She is the first Black female judge to serve in the State of
Maryland.
Yes, we have a lot to celebrate during Women's History Month here in
March.
During President Biden's recent State of the Union Address, which I
attended, I was struck by the image of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and
Vice President Kamala Harris flanking President Biden. Vice President
Harris is our first woman and first woman of color to hold the second
highest office in the land. Though they undoubtedly both experienced
significant challenges and obstacles on their career path due to their
gender, they are now serving in two of the highest ranking offices in
our government.
President Biden has appointed one of the most diverse Cabinets in
history, including the first women to serve as Treasury Secretary and
Director of National Intelligence.
We have a lot to celebrate on our path for gender equality in
America, but we still have more that needs to be done.
At the same time, structural disadvantages and inequalities on
account of gender persist across so many areas here in America. As one
example, as chair of the Small Business Entrepreneurship Committee,
where the Presiding Officer also serves, I have been working over the
course of the COVID-19 pandemic to understand the economic effects on
small businesses and to help provide needed resources. In this role, I
have seen firsthand the structural disadvantages experienced by women-
owned small businesses and how they have been compounded by the
challenges of this pandemic. We need to take action to help in regard
to that issue.
Further, the Supreme Court actions to date in cases related to
reproductive freedom indicate an alarming openness to overturning the
precedents that have given women control over their own bodies and
futures for decades. Among many other very important reasons, full
reproductive autonomy is essential in ensuring that women are able to
participate fully as citizens in all facets of our democracy.
I am pleased that President Biden established the first Gender Policy
Council to advance gender equity across the entire Federal Government
and that the Gender Policy Council issued the first-ever national
gender strategy to support the full participation of all people,
including women and girls in the United States and around the world.
Yes, we have unfinished business in regard to gender equity issues. I
am committed to working to advance the Equal Rights Amendment that
Senator Murkowski talked about. The two of us are the lead sponsors of
the resolution in this body that would remove the arbitrary time limit.
This simple amendment, the Equal Rights Amendment, first written by
Alice Paul in 1923, states:
Equality of rights under the law shall not be denied or
abridged by the United States or any state on account of sex.
The Congress shall have the power to enforce, by appropriate
legislation, the provisions of this article.
I can't understand any objection to including that fundamental
protection in the Constitution of the United States.
As President Biden stated in his Presidential Proclamation during
this Women's History Month, ``But despite the progress being made,
women and girls--especially women and girls of color--still face
systemic barriers to full participation and wider gaps in opportunity
and equality . . . The Congress sent the Equal Rights Amendment to the
States for ratification 50 years ago and it is long past time that the
principle of women's equality should be enshrined in our
Constitution.''
And as Senator Murkowski said, the requisite number of States have
ratified the Equal Rights Amendment to the Constitution. The arbitrary
time limit that was put on by Congress is the only reason we haven't
had a certification process.
The vast majority of Americans agree with this principle today. A
2020 AP poll found that 74 percent of Americans--74 percent--favor the
Equal Rights Amendment. A second spring poll conducted by Pew found
that 78 percent of respondents were in support of adding women to the
Constitution. In a nation as divided as ours has become, a principle
with this level of support on this important topic compels our
attention and our action.
Given that so much has changed since this amendment was first written
and since it was first proposed by Congress to the States, it is worth
explaining some of the practical effects it
[[Page S1031]]
could have if formalized today. First, it would expand legal recourse
against gender discrimination. Second, it would empower those of us in
Congress to enact stronger laws preventing gender discrimination across
a wide array of issues. Third, it would require the Supreme Court--or
courts--to use a higher standard of review than is currently applied in
the cases of gender discrimination.
The ratification of the ERA could be expected to have effects across
such diverse areas as pay discrimination, LGBTQ rights, gender-based
and domestic violence, sexual harassment, and more. This constitutional
amendment would provide a firmer foundation for existing laws and
create new authority for Congress to pass laws in areas in which it has
historically lacked a constitutional prerogative.
Our Constitution is a framework of, by, and for the people. It must
be able to evolve to meet the changing views and beliefs of the people.
Already a majority of the U.S. Senate has cosponsored the bipartisan
resolution that I referred to, S.J. Res. 1, that Senator Murkowski and
I introduced to remove the procedural deadline that Congress once set
to honor the clear will of the people and to make the legitimacy of our
28th Amendment clear beyond a doubt.
The House of Representatives has already passed this resolution
twice. It is time for us to do the same. I look forward to the
opportunity to bring this resolution to the floor in the coming months
and would strongly urge every one of my colleagues to support that
resolution. Thirty-eight States have already ratified it. Most
Americans already think it is in our Constitution. Let's get that job
done.
Bicentennial Birth of Harriet Tubman
Madam President, March 8, as has been pointed out, is International
Women's Day. It happens during the month of March, which is Women's
History Month, here in the United States.
I wish to commemorate the bicentennial birth of one of Maryland's
most iconic leaders, a true American hero who has inspired global human
rights' defenders, and that is Harriet Tubman.
As we close this year's chapter of Black History Month and ring in
Women's History Month, what better way to celebrate these annual
observances than by honoring the valor, journey, and life of Harriet
Tubman and her fight for freedom, which intersects with our modern-day
fight for civil rights, climate action, and environmental justice.
Harriet Tubman was born Araminta Ross in Dorchester County, MD, along
our Eastern Shore, around 1822. She was the ``Moses of her people,''
personally leading at least 70 enslaved people to freedom. She is a
cherished daughter of Maryland. She did this at great personal
sacrifice to her own safety and freedom on the Eastern Shore of
Maryland.
This year, in 2022, we observe the bicentennial of the start of her
life as a key leader in the abolition and women's suffrage movements.
She embodied extraordinary courage and took immeasurable risks as a
soldier, spy, and conductor on the Underground Railroad, leading her
family and communities to freedom. In an unjust country to her race,
she was there, working for America's future and helping to liberate the
enslaved people.
In Maryland, this year also marks the 5-year anniversary of the
Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad Visitor Center, which opened its
doors to the public in 2017. In its first year, it drew nearly 100,000
visitors from every State and more than 70 countries, exceeding all
expectations. It is inspirational to see this visitor center and to see
her journey through life and what she was able to accomplish. One
person can make a difference. As Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., told us
frequently, ``Each one of us in this world can make a difference.''
Harriet Tubman made such a difference throughout her lifetime.
The visitor center houses exhibit space that shares Tubman's
compelling story, surrounded by landscape and waterways preserved to
resemble how they would have appeared to her over 200 years ago in her
early life as an enslaved child, young woman, and freedom seeker. The
Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad National Monument and National
Historical Park preserve these characteristics in her early home on
Maryland's Eastern Shore.
The visitor center serves as an orientation center to the national
monument and historical park and gateway to the larger Harriet Tubman
Underground Railroad Scenic Byway, which includes the Brodess Farm,
where Harriet Tubman lived as a child; Bucktown General Store, where
she first stood up against the oppressors as a young girl; and other
places that were part of the Underground Railroad in Dorchester,
Talbot, and Caroline Counties.
I recently introduced legislation with my colleagues in the Baltimore
congressional delegation, S. 3744, reauthorizing the designations of
the Baltimore National Heritage Area, which encompasses listings on the
Underground Railroad network.
Harriet Tubman was not only a fierce defender for freedom from
slavery but also for the women's rights movement, particularly for
Black women. Following her treacherous journey to freedom, Harriet
Tubman spoke on the importance of women's suffrage in New York,
Washington, and Boston. In 1896, she was one of the first guests to
speak at the National Association of Colored Women and was hailed a
strong advocate. Women secured the right to vote in 1920 with the 19th
Amendment, but it wasn't until 1965 that voting rights became a reality
for Black women.
Let me conclude my comments on Women's History Month by once again
quoting from President Biden.
As President Biden proclaimed Women's History Month this month, he
said:
As we reflect on the achievements of women and girls across
the centuries and pay tribute to the pioneers who paved the
way, let us recommit to the fight and help realize the deeply
American vision of a more equal society where every person
has a shot at pursuing the American dream. In doing so, we
will advance economic growth, our health and safety, and the
security of our Nation and the world.
I yield the floor.
____________________