[Congressional Record Volume 168, Number 51 (Tuesday, March 22, 2022)]
[Senate]
[Pages S1273-S1276]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                          LEGISLATIVE SESSION

                                 ______
                                 

   AMERICA CREATING OPPORTUNITIES FOR MANUFACTURING, PRE-EMINENCE IN 
   TECHNOLOGY, AND ECONOMIC STRENGTH ACT OF 2022--MOTION TO PROCEED--
                                Resumed

  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. Under the previous order, the 
Senate will resume consideration of the motion to proceed to H.R. 4521, 
which the clerk will report.
  The senior assistant legislative clerk read as follows:

       Motion to proceed to H.R. 4521, a bill to provide for a 
     coordinated Federal research initiative to ensure continued 
     United States leadership in engineering biology.


                   Recognition of the Majority Leader

  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The majority leader is recognized.


                  Nomination of Ketanji Brown Jackson

  Mr. SCHUMER. Well, Mr. President, today, the Senate Judiciary 
Committee continues a most historic hearing with a most qualified 
nominee to the most consequential Court in all of the land.
  Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson is unlike any other Supreme Court nominee 
in American history, but yesterday she made clear her approach will be 
the same as the great jurists who came before her, ``to support and 
defend the Constitution and this grand experiment of democracy that has 
endured over these past 246 years.''
  Her record shows that she is up to the task: a clerk for three 
judges, including Justice Breyer; a Federal judge for nearly 10 years; 
and a nominee who commands the endorsements of groups across the 
political spectrum, including both law enforcement and victims' rights 
groups.
  Two days ago, a cohort of nine organizations that aid survivors of 
sexual assault and domestic violence announced their support of Judge 
Jackson, citing her ``mix of common sense'' and ``thoughtfulness,'' 
while adding

[[Page S1274]]

that ``Judge Jackson's rulings reflect the judicial consensus.''
  A few weeks ago, the International Association of Chiefs of Police 
also celebrated the judge for ``her dedication to ensuring that our 
communities are safe and that the interests of justice are served.''
  And in early March, nearly 60 former DOJ officials, including scores 
of former U.S. attorneys, expressed their confidence that the judge's 
appreciation for how the criminal justice system works would be a 
critical addition to the Court.
  Now, when the facts aren't on your side, some are tempted to change 
the subject, and that is precisely what some Republicans tried to do 
yesterday. Republicans showed they don't have a plan for addressing 
Judge Jackson on her merits, so they expended a lot of ink and paper 
pushing arguments that range from irrelevant to downright misleading. 
As the judge's confirmation hearing continues today, I am confident 
that Americans are going to see right through these flimsy broadsides 
and focus on the judge's impressive, impressive record.
  So, as we enter day 2 of the hearing, I thank my colleagues on the 
Judiciary Committee who will engage seriously with the judge. I again 
express my confidence she is on track for final confirmation before the 
end of this work period.


                               H.R. 4521

  Mr. President, on the competition bill and costs, last night, the 
Senate cleared the first procedural hurdle on moving forward with jobs 
and competitiveness legislation that both parties broadly support. In 
fact, the vote last night was two more than the final passage a few 
months ago on the Senate bill.
  As a reminder, our long-term goal is to get to a conference committee 
with the House to finalize a bill we can send to the President. To do 
that, we must take the legislation that the House sent us, amend it 
with the bill the Senate passed last summer--USICA--and return it to 
the House so that they can request a conference. That is the elaborate 
process the Senate requires us to do.
  This legislation has been dissected and debated for well over a year 
now, but the need to pass this bill really boils down to two simple 
words: J-O-B-S, jobs, and C-O-S-T-S, costs. It will create more jobs by 
bringing manufacturing back to America from overseas. It will lower 
costs by taking aim at supply chains, address the chip shortage, and 
increase innovation. Equally important, this legislation will revive 
the grand tradition of American innovation that has fueled us and 
helped our economy grow for much of the 20th century.
  Our colleges, our universities, and our startups are some of our 
country's most prolific job creators. We need to pass this bill to 
strengthen each of them.
  Through this bill, we will also address the chip shortage--an 
especially severe scourge on American families. There is nothing 
abstract about the shortage of chips. It impacts Americans' abilities 
to buy cars, refrigerators, phones, and other household items. 
Americans have faced long delays in finding these goods, and when they 
are available, they now end up costing a lot more than they did before. 
By passing bipartisan legislation that invests in domestic chip 
production, we can help alleviate this vexing chips crisis.
  America used to lead the world in chip production. We produced about 
one-third of the world's supply. For the sake of American workers, 
American consumers, and our national security, we must lead the world 
again. Passing this bill is critical for achieving that goal.
  Our efforts in the Democratic Senate at lowering costs extend to 
other areas as well. Today, the Commerce Committee will hold a markup 
on bipartisan legislation by Senators Klobuchar and Thune to reform 
unfair shipping practices that are clogging up ports, diminishing 
American exports, and ultimately hurting consumers. This bipartisan 
shipping bill is exactly the sort of thing the Senate should focus on 
because when there is a logjam at the Port of Los Angeles, the tremors 
are felt by farmers in Minnesota and North Dakota, and ultimately 
American consumers pick up the tab.
  Chairman Murray will also hold a hearing today in the HELP Committee 
on another very important issue: lowering the costs of childcare and 
preschool. Today, families pay sometimes more than $10,000 per child on 
childcare--more than some might pay for their annual cost for a 
mortgage. Ten thousand dollars a year is simply out of reach for many 
families. Not only do our kids suffer when they don't have somewhere 
safe to stay, families suffer when parents can't enter the workforce, 
and our country suffers as our economy's productivity is diminished. 
The example of other countries that have better childcare is shown in 
greater participation in the workforce, particularly by women.
  I thank Chairman Murray and the members of the HELP Committee for 
focusing on this issue. Today's hearing will surely inform the work of 
Senate Democrats as we work on legislation we can consider which will 
lower costs for the American people.


                                 Russia

  Mr. President, finally, on PNTR, this week, Members from both parties 
must work together to take the next step in holding Putin accountable 
by passing PNTR legislation approved overwhelmingly by the House of 
Representatives. I believe it passed something like 224 to 8. Both 
Speaker Pelosi and Leader McCarthy are in support of the legislation.
  The clearest message we can send Vladimir Putin is that we are united 
in passing PNTR that will land a heavy blow against Putin's economy. 
The PNTR revocation was approved by the House, supported by the 
President, and would help make Putin pay a heavy price.
  Time is of the essence to pass PNTR because Putin's savagery against 
the Ukrainian people grows day by day and because the President is 
meeting with the G7 Ministers in Europe.
  On Monday morning, Putin's savagery showed itself once again. 
Missiles obliterated a 10-story shopping mall in the center of Kyiv, 
leaving an untold number of people dead in one of the largest attacks 
on the city to date. In the south, residents of the once-thriving port 
city of Mariupol fight on in what has become the most intense urban 
warfare that Europe has seen since World War II and the most brutal at 
Putin's hands.
  In the words of one Mariupol resident:

       The dead lie in the entrances, on the balconies, in the 
     yards. And you're not scared one bit. . . . Because the 
     biggest fear is night shelling. Do you know what night 
     shelling looks like? Like death.

  That is a person who lives in Mariupol. These words should ring in 
all of our ears.
  It must be unacceptable for any nation so willing to slaughter 
civilians as Russia to have normal trade relations with the United 
States and the rest of the world, so the Senate must act quickly to 
pass PNTR.
  Every drop of Ukrainian blood demands a response, and the United 
States has an obligation to stand behind this young democracy. Putin's 
regime is wicked, and the best message we can send to him is to pass 
the PNTR legislation with overwhelming bipartisan support.
  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.
  Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. 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.


                        Remembering   Don Young

  Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, last week, the U.S. Congress lost a 
one-of-a-kind colleague, and the State of Alaska lost an unbelievably 
devoted champion.
  Congressman Don Young, the dean of the House, was the longest serving 
Republican in the history of that Chamber. He arrived in 1973, and his 
fellow Alaskans rehired him to represent them every 2 years since.
  Over the decades, Congressman Young's leadership and advocacy had a 
literally transformative effect on his home State. He secured resources 
for Alaska's infrastructure and its people. I understand his office 
contains photographs of Don with no fewer than 10

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different Presidents, each of whom had signed into law a bill that he 
had written.
  Don Young first moved to Alaska back in 1959, the same year it became 
our 49th State. He once explained his rationale like this:

       I can't stand the heat and I was working on a ranch and I 
     used to dream of some place cold and no snakes and no poison 
     oak.

  Well, Alaska sure delivered for Don. And starting with a mayoral 
election in 1964, he spent practically his entire adult life delivering 
for Alaska in return.
  Our late colleague across the Rotunda wasn't just a legendary 
legislator and committee chairman; he was also a wildly unique 
character. Even after decades in public service, he remained every bit 
the former fisher, trapper, construction worker, gold miner, and 
tugboat captain.
  The Senate sends our prayers to Don's family, his staff, and his 
colleagues, who miss him already.


                            Border Security

  Mr. President, on a completely different matter, in 2021, the Biden 
administration's border crisis set a record. We saw the most arrests 
that Customs and Border Protection ever reported in a single year on 
the southern border. As the Washington Post put it at the time, illegal 
border crossings ``skyrocketed in the months after President Biden took 
office.''
  Well, the humanitarian and security crisis has only gotten worse. 
Last month was the busiest February for CBP migrant encounters in over 
two decades, exceeding February 2021 by 64 percent, and intelligence 
officials are reportedly ``bracing'' for an even steeper surge.
  The left spent years calling on Washington Democrats to ``abolish 
ICE.'' On the campaign trail, President Biden signaled support for 
subsidizing healthcare for illegal immigrants.
  Once in office, the administration spent months seemingly more 
interested in policing government terminology than policing our actual 
border. The Vice President, ostensibly tasked with leading the White 
House border security efforts, seemed keen to travel anywhere but the 
border.
  When Democrats' approach left border facilities overwhelmed, the 
administration diverted billions of dollars away from pandemic response 
funds to cover for their crisis.
  To prevent their border crisis from getting even worse, the 
administration has leaned heavily on an emergency authority that was 
originally invoked by the previous administration due to COVID. CBP has 
now used temporary title 42 permission more than 1 million times to 
avoid releasing migrants into the interior of the United States. You 
might think the Biden administration would have used the time afforded 
by this stopgap to actually hash out a strategy to secure the border, 
but they have not. No solutions are in sight.
  But now, unbelievably, the administration is reportedly on the cusp 
of caving to woke pressure and lifting the title 42 authorities 
altogether. This move would take our border from its current state of 
chaos into a whole new level of utter--utter--meltdown.
  Democrats say they are concerned about new COVID variants and may 
want more COVID funding. Yet they want to declare the pandemic over and 
finished at our southern border? But more broadly, why on Earth are 
Democrats accepting the far-left premise that we should only enforce 
immigration laws during a once-in-a-century pandemic?
  Well, in the near term, it would be wildly reckless for Democrats to 
simply stand down and let the flood gates open. Such a policy would be 
terrific news for human traffickers and drug cartels. It would be 
terrible news for the American people.


                               Inflation

  Now, Mr. President, on one final matter, America's working families 
continue to face strong headwinds as they try to make ends meet. The 
historic inflation kicked off by runaway liberal spending last year is 
still taking its toll, one paycheck at a time. For many Americans, 
eating out once in a while was already a treat. Now, restaurant menu 
prices are capping off the biggest 12-month price surge in more than 40 
years, just as lunch counters are beginning to see more traffic from 
workers returning to the office.
  Meanwhile, just putting food on the table at home has become a 
hardship. For one mother in Florida, a trip to the grocery store that 
used to cost her about $150 now costs $250 for exactly the same amount 
of food. She is reportedly ``cutting back on fresh produce and meat in 
exchange for less-nutritious but cheaper items . . . as it becomes 
harder to stretch her household's income and ensure that her family has 
enough to eat.''
  Of course, the price hikes consumers are seeing at the grocery store 
are due in part to the soaring cost of fuel. The regular gas working 
families use to fill up their cars was already nearly $2 a gallon since 
President Biden took office.
  But the diesel used in semitrucks and many commercial vehicles costs 
$1 more than it did just last month--1 month ago. According to one 
recent survey, more than half of small business owners say that the 
rising cost of fuel is impacting their operations. ``It's keeping me 
awake,'' reported the head of a small transportation fleet that serves 
people with disabilities in Pennsylvania. For the manager of a lumber 
dealership in Nevada, the free delivery his business took pride in 
might have to be put literally on hold.
  Unfortunately, Washington Democrats' response to these hardships has 
been as misguided as the war on American energy and runaway spending 
that helped create them. Several weeks ago, the Biden administration 
entertained the idea of suspending the gas tax but only long enough to 
give Democrats cover at the polls this coming November.
  This week, we learned the White House considered sending out gas 
cards through the IRS even as they keep up their war on domestic energy 
production.
  The Biden administration seems to be willing to try anything--
anything--but walking back their own disastrous economic policies. For 
the sake of working families, I hope they snap out of it sometime soon.
  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.
  Mr. THUNE. Mr. 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.


                                Ukraine

  Mr. THUNE. Mr. President, the Russian assault on Ukraine continues 
unabated. Each morning seems to bring a fresh horror. In the last few 
days alone, we have seen the Russians bomb an arts school where as many 
as 400 civilians had taken cover. We have seen the bombing of a theater 
where an estimated 1,300 women and children and the elderly were 
sheltered--not a military target, a theater providing shelter to 
civilians, to children--a theater that was clearly labeled with the 
word ``children.'' That is right. On the pavement outside, in large 
white letters, visible in satellite images, was the word ``children'' 
written in Russian.
  So it is pretty impossible that the Russians didn't know what or who 
they were bombing. But they bombed anyway.
  And this is just one example of the depravity of the Russian siege of 
Mariupol, which has largely destroyed this port city. Residents in 
Mariupol are without electricity, without running water, at times 
without food. As important as words are, they fail when it comes to 
describing the horrors that Ukrainians are experiencing, the inferno 
that so many of them now exist in on a daily basis.
  As we go about our lives in peace and security, most of us have no 
notion of what it means to live where air raid sirens have become 
commonplace, where bombed-out buildings line the streets you used to 
walk on, where crossing a road or leaving a building at the wrong 
moment can mean your death. The pictures convey some of the horror--the 
postapocalyptic streetscapes, the buildings gray with ash, the gaping 
holes in apartment blocks and businesses--images akin to the bombed-out 
cities seen in old World War II photographs, the total destruction of 
once vibrant places.
  Mariupol is perhaps the foremost example of the devastation Russia 
has wrought. The last EU diplomat to leave that city summed up the 
situation in stark words on Sunday:


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       What I saw, I hope no one will ever see. Mariupol will 
     become part of a list of cities that were completely 
     destroyed by war.

  ``What I saw, I hope no one will ever see. Mariupol will become part 
of a list of cities that were completely destroyed by war.'' We don't 
have to look far for the source of these horrors; they can be 
attributed to one man, to Vladimir Putin.
  To achieve his vision of a Russian Empire, he has laid waste to the 
country of Ukraine; thousands of lives sacrificed, on both sides, 
because he wants Ukraine, because he thinks Ukraine should be part of 
Russia. It doesn't matter that the people of Ukraine have made it 
unmistakably clear that they are their own people and a sovereign 
nation willing to lay down their lives for their freedom. Putin wants 
Ukraine, and he is apparently willing to destroy Ukraine to get it.
  All this evil, all this destruction, so many--so many--human lives 
wasted all because of one man's fixation on a Russian Empire. More than 
3.3 million refugees have fled Ukraine, including at least 1.5 million 
children, and around 6.5 million Ukrainians are internally displaced. 
That amounts to roughly one-quarter of Ukraine's population forced from 
their homes. And the numbers continue to grow.
  Last week, President Zelenskyy addressed Congress. In powerful words, 
he outlined a situation in Ukraine and asked for additional help as 
Ukrainians battle for their country. I am proud that the United States 
has provided Ukraine with substantial military assistance and has put 
in place strong sanctions against Russia, including sanctioning the 
lifeblood of the Russian economy, which is the Russian energy sector.
  But, Mr. President, we have to do more. However much current 
sanctions have hit the Russian economy, Putin is still prosecuting his 
war of aggression in Ukraine, and so we have to do more. We have to 
send the message, unequivocally, that Russia will be an outcast from 
the free world until it withdraws from Ukraine.
  There are additional sanctions the United States can put in place, 
and we need to immediately get to work unleashing American energy 
production so we can provide energy to our allies in Europe and lessen 
their dependence on energy from Russia. Every dollar--every dollar--
that goes to purchase Russian energy is a dollar that Russia can use to 
finance its war of aggression.
  The United States has correctly banned Russian oil and gas imports; 
now we need to help our allies in Europe permanently divest themselves 
of their reliance on Russian energy. Congress needs to act immediately 
on legislation to suspend Russia's favorable trading status. Membership 
at the World Trade Organization should be limited to countries that 
don't launch unprovoked wars on their neighbors. We also need to 
continue our shipments of arms to Ukraine. And the President needs to 
find a way to further enhance Ukrainian air defenses, whether that 
involves sending the S-300 air defense systems that President Zelenskyy 
asked for, or armed drones, or facilitating the transfer of MiG 
aircraft from NATO countries to the Ukrainian Air Force, or all of the 
above.
  Russia is currently unleashing devastation from the skies of 
Ukrainian cities, and we need to find a way of helping Ukrainians to 
reduce or eliminate that threat.
  Finally, we need to make sure that while we are sanctioning Russia on 
the one hand, we are not enriching it on the other with things like an 
Iran deal that could see Russia benefit to the tune of $10 billion.
  The people of Ukraine are not waiting for anyone to come and save 
them. They are fighting with everything they have to save their 
country, but they are asking for our help. They need arms and resources 
and humanitarian assistance to sustain their fight against Russian 
forces that are increasingly showing less and less restraint. And they 
are relying on us--on us--on our shared belief in freedom and self-
determination, on our shared commitment to human liberty.
  The Ukrainian people know what they want to be and that is a free 
people in a free country, and they have the will to stay in this fight. 
They just need our help. Let's not let them down.
  I yield the floor.
  I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Heinrich). The clerk will call the roll.
  The legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. KAINE. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for 
the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.

                          ____________________