[Congressional Record Volume 168, Number 85 (Wednesday, May 18, 2022)]
[Senate]
[Pages S2566-S2567]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                                Abortion

  Mrs. MURRAY. Mr. President, this is a dark, enraging moment for our 
Nation. I have made that clear already, and so have so many of our 
Democratic colleagues. But I am speaking on the floor today because we 
cannot back down for a minute. We cannot lose sight of the terrifying 
reality that Republicans want to end the right to abortion, and they 
are within weeks of accomplishing that goal.
  Very soon, the Supreme Court is set to overturn Roe v. Wade and 
fulfill Republicans' decades-long goal of controlling women's bodies 
and rolling back everyone's fundamental right to decide whether or not 
to start a family.
  Let me say that again because it is shocking, and it is true. In a 
matter of weeks, women across the country will lose a constitutional 
right they have had for half a century. The steady march forward to 
secure women's rights that generations before us fought for will be 
reversed, and my daughter and granddaughters will have fewer rights 
than I did.
  Women will be forced to carry pregnancies to term when it is not 
right for them, and Republicans will be responsible. This is the future 
that they have been fighting for. This is the America that they want, 
and they are not done yet.
  Republicans are hell-bent on rolling back the clock. Last week, they 
blocked our bill to protect Roe and the right to abortion, but they are 
not going to stop at overturning Roe and shredding patients' rights to 
make decisions about their own bodies. In States across the country, 
Republican lawmakers are banning abortion without exceptions. They are 
targeting people who help a women get an abortion, doctors who are 
providing essential healthcare, friends and family members who are just 
supporting a loved one, and even the drivers just doing their job and 
helping patients get to medical appointments.
  Republicans are working around-the-clock to make it harder for women 
and families to control their own futures. They are coming after the 
birth control and IUDs that tens of millions rely on to plan a family 
on their own terms. They are coming after Plan B. They are even putting 
patients' ability to get the IVF care they need to help start a family 
at risk.
  My Republican colleagues right here in the Senate have made clear 
that they have their sights set on something really extreme: They want 
a nationwide ban on abortion. Republicans aren't content with some 
States banning abortion and creating health crises that spill across 
State lines; they want to eliminate the right of every woman in America 
to get an abortion in Washington State and everywhere else. It is not 
hypothetical, and it is not some far-off worry. It is appalling, and it 
is completely backward.
  Republicans want to force us all with them into their time machine, 
but we are not going to let them. Democrats are fighting Republicans' 
increasingly extreme policies at every step of the way.

  In the coming weeks, we are going to remind each and every American 
of the rights that Republicans want to rip away. We won't allow 
Republicans to run and hide from the reality of their extreme agenda. 
We are going to be on the floor each week highlighting how Republicans 
are doing everything they can to hit rewind on our rights, highlighting 
every protection and freedom that Republicans are ripping away from 
people across the country, and we are going to show the country how 
Republican policies hurt everyone. We are going to expose the 
Republicans' radical and unpopular views on everything from abortion to 
family planning to sex ed. We are going to make clear who is hurt most 
by their extremism.
  This fight did not end when the Republicans blocked the Women's 
Health Protection Act last week--far from it. People across the country 
are fed up with Republicans' attacks on their rights. They are fired 
up, and they are fighting back, and so am I, and so are my Democratic 
colleagues.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Florida.


                   Unanimous Consent Request--S. 4249

  Mr. SCOTT of Florida. Mr. President, last week, President Biden tried 
to blame me for the current inflation crisis. In a speech where he 
couldn't even get my State right--I proudly represent Florida, in case 
he needs another reminder--he attacked me and tried to blame the record 
inflation he created on Republicans. I guess he has also forgotten that 
he is the President and that it is his policies that created this mess. 
And, by the way, Democrats are in control of the House and the Senate.
  What is clear to the American people is that Joe Biden is to blame 
for the inflation that is hurting them more every day. Families I talk 
to in Florida are sick and tired of this President's failures. They are 
sick and tired of seeing an incoherent, confused man ramble on in the 
White House, with no plan but to blame everyone else but himself for 
the problems he created.
  Last week, the Biden administration reported that the Consumer Price 
Index, our main measure of inflation, increased 8.3 percent year-over-
year, and the latest Producer Price Index, released just a day later, 
showed wholesale inflation in April increased 11 percent over the year. 
These price hikes hurt real families, and they are impacting every 
industry. We see it in the price of groceries, like milk, eggs, and 
meat. We see it in the price of gas at the pump and electricity for 
your home. We see it in the price of used cars and in the cost of 
transportation. Everything is going up, and some products, like baby 
formula, are nearly impossible to find.
  It is causing families to make impossible choices. In March, a Census 
Bureau report found that over the last year, 24 percent of Americans 
reduced or went without basic items such as food and medicine as a way 
to afford their energy bills. In my home State, 26 percent of 
Floridians had to make this impossible choice.
  Let's be clear. The financial pinch families are facing, the supply 
chain crisis families are facing, and the skyrocketing prices families 
are seeing are because of the radical spending agenda being pushed by 
President Biden and Democrats in Washington. Their reckless government 
spending has sent our economy into a downward spiral. Our debt has 
grown to over $30 trillion, and Biden wants to push it up to $45 
trillion even as our GDP is contracting. Inflation has risen to the 
highest levels in over 40 years. It is wrecking our economy.
  We need bold action to fix this mess and help families struggling to 
keep up.
  I came to the floor to stop the insanity and introduce a budgetary 
point of order. My bill would stop any nondefense discretionary 
spending that would increase the deficit over the 10-year budget window 
when the average annual CPI inflation is 3 percent or higher. The 
Federal Reserve's target for inflation is 2 percent, so setting the bar 
for the point of order 50 percent above this target is totally 
reasonable.
  My point of order would not even apply during time periods when 
inflation is at or slightly above the Federal Reserve's target. Of 
course, we need flexibility for emergencies, so my bill would allow 
this point of order to be waived if two-thirds of the Senate agree that 
deficit spending during times of elevated inflation is desperately 
needed. Further, my point of order would not apply to funding our armed 
services nor would it apply to any mandatory spending, such as Medicare 
or Social Security.
  This is commonsense legislation. This bill would put in place the 
same scrutiny that families, especially poor families like mine when 
growing up, use in order to stay on budget. It is the same kind of 
careful examination that small business owners have to do to make sure 
they can pay their employees and make ends meet. The inflation we are 
seeing right now is unsustainable. It is time for action. I hope we 
will all come together to agree to this point of order.
  As in legislative session, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate 
proceed

[[Page S2567]]

to the immediate consideration of S. 4249, which is at the desk. I 
further ask that the bill be considered read a third time and passed 
and that motion to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the 
table.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there objection?
  The Senator from Vermont.
  Mr. LEAHY. Mr. President, in reserving the right to object, if the 
Senator from Florida's bill were to pass, it would make routine 
domestic spending bills nearly impossible to be passed in the U.S. 
Senate, freezing spending at current levels.
  I worry that the Senator from Florida believes the false impression 
that inflation does not impact the millions of Americans who benefit 
from nondefense discretionary programs. These are people who have to go 
to work every single day and try to figure out if they are going to 
have enough money to put groceries on their table. This bill would make 
things worse for the American people, not better.
  As an example, this year, the cost of the veterans medical care 
system is expected to grow by $21 billion. We have all heard the 
patriotic speeches of how we stand behind our veterans when they answer 
the call, but I wonder how many VA hospitals and clinics in Florida 
would have to be closed if this proposal were to be approved. I know 
there are a lot all over the country that would have to be closed.
  Natural gas costs have grown by 35 percent this year. Do any of us 
who may be from a State where the weather can get warm want to tell our 
constituents who rely on the LIHEAP program to cool their homes ``No, 
you don't need air conditioning because the money is not going to be 
there''?
  If Florida is struck by another hurricane this summer and the Senator 
from Florida's constituents look to FEMA for fuel, food, and water, 
will the Senator tell his constituents ``Sorry. Inflation was too high. 
You are on your own. We can't respond to that emergency''?
  In 2017, Members on the other side of the aisle lined up to vote for 
a $1.9 trillion tax cut for the wealthy--a tax cut that I believe has 
contributed to the inflation we now see in the country. There is 
nothing in this request to roll back those tax cuts. So I object.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Objection is heard.
  The Senator from Florida.


                   Unanimous Consent Request--S. 4250

  Mr. SCOTT of Florida. Mr. President, I disagree with my colleague's 
objection, but I think this issue is too important not to try to get 
something done today.
  So, instead of enacting this point of order when the CPI reaches 3 
percent, how about we raise it to 8 percent? Our current CPI level is 
at 8.3 percent. We see how bad things are right now. When the CPI gets 
close to where we currently are--inflation levels that we haven't seen 
since the 1980s--that is when this point of order would take effect.
  At 8 percent inflation, we have reached a crisis point. It only 
stands to reason for Congress to start looking closely at every bill 
that increases the deficit. Such deficit-increasing bills should only 
be passed by Congress when absolutely needed.
  Again, this point of order could be waived in the Senate with a two-
thirds majority. I think this is reasonable and that we owe it to 
American families to start holding Congress accountable for the 
reckless spending that we know fuels inflation. Hopefully, my 
colleagues can agree to pinning this point of order to inflation at 8 
percent.
  As in legislative session, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate 
proceed to the immediate consideration of S. 4250, which is at the 
desk. I further ask that the bill be considered read a third time and 
passed and that the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid 
upon the table.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there objection?
  Mr. LEAHY. I object.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Objection is heard.
  The Senator from Florida.


                   Unanimous Consent Request--S. 4251

  Mr. SCOTT of Florida. Mr. President, I was hoping we could arrive at 
a deal today, so let me try it one more time.
  Eight percent inflation, I think, is really high. Remember that the 
Federal Reserve's target is 2 percent. I am just here to see if we can 
work something out and get something with which we can control excess 
spending. So I am going to try one more time. I want to give Democrats 
a chance in Congress to step up and fight for families all across 
America who are being devastated by raging inflation. There is no 
reason not to get this done.
  My colleague objected to setting this point of order at 8 percent, 
but certainly no one can object to saying that, at 12 percent 
inflation, things need to change. Inflation over 12 percent would be an 
even bigger emergency. We haven't seen the CPI that high since Jimmy 
Carter.

  Think about it this way: Things are really bad now, and 12 percent 
inflation would be a 50-percent increase over the already sky-high 
prices we are seeing today. Remember, we started at 3 percent. Now I am 
offering my colleague a point of order that can only be triggered at 12 
percent.
  As in legislative session, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate 
proceed to the immediate consideration of S. 4251, which is at the 
desk. I further ask that the bill be considered read a third time and 
passed and that the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid 
upon the table.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there objection?
  The Senator from Vermont.
  Mr. LEAHY. Mr. President, in reserving the right to object--and I 
will--I think back over the years to some of the debates.
  I remember, during the Reagan administration, when we heard so many 
speeches from President Reagan and his supporters on how they had to 
balance the budget. He did this at a time when he doubled and tripled 
the national debt, all the time telling everybody how they were 
balancing the budget.
  Then I heard the objections to President Clinton's budget, saying 
that it didn't do the wonderful things that the Reagan budget did even 
though, of course, it gave the United States the first surplus it had 
had in decades.
  Every so often, reality catches up with rhetoric, and because of 
that, I object.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Objection is heard.
  The Senator from Florida.
  Mr. SCOTT of Florida. Mr. President, I am clearly disappointed that 
we have had three opportunities to try to do something here that was 
going to try to stop the reckless spending that is causing this 
inflation.
  I think all of us know that inflation is way too high. We also all 
know that reckless government spending is driving up the cost of 
inflation all across this country. I hope the Democrats in Washington 
will start figuring out how we can get inflation under control. It 
starts by living within our means. It starts by making sure that we 
live within our budget and that we stop wasting money.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Vermont.
  Mr. LEAHY. Mr. President, one of the ways you try to save money is, 
again, not with rhetoric but with reality.
  I would urge everybody to join with us on both sides of the aisle who 
are working to get our appropriations bills together so we can reflect 
the actual needs and go forward with that. Again, rhetoric is easy; 
reality is a tad more difficult.
  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. HAGERTY. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order 
for the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.