[Congressional Record Volume 168, Number 86 (Thursday, May 19, 2022)]
[Senate]
[Pages S2607-S2614]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




  SMALL BUSINESS COVID RELIEF ACT OF 2022--MOTION TO PROCEED--Resumed

  The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. King). Under the previous order, the 
Senate will resume consideration of the motion to proceed to S. 4008, 
which the clerk will report.
  The senior assistant legislative clerk as follows:

       Motion to proceed to Calendar No. 344, S. 4008, a bill to 
     provide COVID relief for restaurants, gyms, minor league 
     sports teams, border businesses, live venue service 
     providers, exclave businesses, and Providers of 
     transportation services.

  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Indiana.


                   Unanimous Consent Request--S. 4046

  Mr. BRAUN. Mr. President, I rise here today to talk about the IRS. It 
is not going to take long because it is so easy to understand.

[[Page S2608]]

  The IRS has a bad track record. They often fail to be good stewards 
of taxpayer money and protect highly sensitive information. Yet the 
President and congressional Democrats want to throw another $80 billion 
into the IRS with no real return on investment, the way I can see it.
  They have a history of weaponizing against conservative organizations 
and for hassling hard-working taxpayers and small business owners with 
audits. If you look at it statistically, they are hitting small 
businesses by number a lot harder than some of the fat-cat tax cheats. 
It is unacceptable to treat American taxpayers in this way.
  The IRS does not need more power; it needs to--we need to be assured 
that it is going to do a better job at what it is supposed to do. 
Solution? Last month, I introduced a bill with a number of IRS reforms 
to hold the Agency accountable and protect taxpayers. The Simplify, 
Don't Amplify the IRS Act would stop the Biden administration from 
growing the power of the IRS. The bill would stop attempts to target 
Americans and small businesses by snooping into their bank accounts, 
credit union accounts, Venmo, PayPal, and Cash App. It would repeal the 
Democratic ban on cutting State taxes. It would hold IRS employees 
accountable when they release private taxpayer information and ensure 
that the IRS spends time not doing its union activity when it should be 
helping Americans when they have an issue, especially during tax filing 
season.
  The taxpayer deserves the best possible service we can provide. We 
can debate how much money the IRS needs. It needs to do its job right 
first before we give it more money. The solution is the Don't Amplify 
the IRS Act.
  Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Finance Committee be 
discharged from further consideration of S. 4046 and that the Senate 
proceed to its immediate consideration. 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. WYDEN. Reserving the right to object.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Oregon.
  Mr. WYDEN. Mr. President, it is not an atomic secret around here that 
I very much enjoy working with our colleague from Indiana. We talk 
often about issues like healthcare and economic priorities. I will just 
say that I wish we agreed on this one as well.
  Colleagues, the net effect of this proposal is to hobble the IRS and 
let the wealthiest in America get out of paying what they owe. And 
there is a lot to discuss here. Like Senator Braun, I am going to keep 
this short.
  First, I think it is important to get at this back-and-forth between 
the political parties. I see the Presiding Officer in the chair, and 
he, too, has been interested in tax reform.
  Look, I would be the first to say that the tax system in many 
respects is just broken, just a mess. The debate with respect to the 
role of the parties needs to start with what happened in 2017.
  In 2017, we had the President's tax reform proposal, President 
Trump's proposal, comprehensive proposal, all kinds of changes. If 
Senate Republicans had wanted to fix the IRS and do what our colleague 
from Indiana is talking about and simplify the system, they could have 
done that in the 2017 tax law. It was a big opportunity with everything 
in front of us.
  I and others had worked on a bipartisan bill. Our former colleague 
Senator Gregg, our former colleague Senator Coats--he and I--the two of 
them--we had bipartisan bills. Part of it was simplifying the system, 
and Republicans in 2017 passed on that. They made the Tax Code even 
more complicated. That point No. 1.
  Point No. 2 is the Agency is struggling with basic services because, 
year after year, there have been Republican budget cuts that have 
decimated the ability of the Agency to meet people's needs. Now 
Republicans are the guy in the hot dog suit, swearing up and down that 
they are trying to find the guy who did this.
  I am just going to talk for a moment about how this happened because 
when the IRS struggles to enforce tax laws, wealthy tax cheats are able 
to skip out on paying what they owe, and they want to keep it that way.
  That was not always the case. Ronald Reagan--nobody's idea of 
somebody who worshipped Big Government--increased the number of 
employees at the IRS over his 8 years in office. There used to be 
bipartisan agreement on these kinds of big issues, just like I pursued 
with Senator Gregg, a former colleague, and Senator Coats. There used 
to be bipartisan agreement that the IRS was able to do its job if there 
was basic tax fairness, making sure that everybody paid their fair 
share. So much for those days. Now what we have are wall-to-wall 
attacks from our colleagues on the other side and budget cuts that hurt 
middle-class taxpayers and boost wealthy tax cheats.

  I will close with just a couple of specifics. If you want more 
secrecy and more dark money influencing our political system--and I 
have had more than a thousand open-to-everybody townhall meetings at 
home. There are no rallies for more dark money and more secrecy in the 
political system, but, regrettably, that is exactly what you bet with 
the proposal from our colleagues on the other side.
  In 2018, on the same day that the Justice Department unveiled charges 
against a Russian spy who was working to influence our elections, the 
Trump administration out of nowhere basically blindsided the public by 
opening the floodgates to foreign money and special interest dollars in 
our elections. The rule makes it even easier for powerful people to try 
to hot-wire our elections. As it stands today, that rule can be 
overturned. Regrettably, this proposal locks it in place with black 
letter law.
  We are coming up on the election season, of course. My home State 
just had primaries. Families from sea to shining sea get bombarded by 
political ads and mailers. When there is more dark money in politics, 
voters are thrown into the shadows. It is even harder for them to 
figure out who is trying to influence their vote. Is this ad paid for 
by a polluting corporation? Is it paid for by a foreign power who is 
looking to undermine our security? Is it paid for by a wealthy tax 
cheat who has absolutely no interest in working people in America?
  Across the street, there are six Republicans on the Supreme Court who 
seem to look at every opportunity and embrace it to have more dark 
money make its ways into the nooks and crannies of our political 
system. For example, just a few days ago, the Court ruled on a campaign 
finance case brought by our colleague from Texas, Senator Cruz. The six 
Republican Justices sided with the Republican Senator--a huge win for 
the most powerful political donors who, as far as I can tell, are going 
to be able to funnel more shady payoffs directly into the bank accounts 
of more wealthy incumbent Republicans.
  Colleagues, the Congress does not have to go along with what I think 
is just a pillaging of core democratic principles. There ought to be 
less money, less secrecy in our elections, not more. For these reasons, 
I object.
  I want to tell my colleague from Indiana that I look forward to 
getting back to working with him on topics where we have broad 
agreement.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Objection is heard.
  The Senator from Indiana.
  Mr. BRAUN. Mr. President, I enjoy working with my colleague because 
healthcare, in my opinion, is one of the biggest issues that beset the 
country. He has pledged to look to maybe try to reform it before we get 
more government involved with it.
  Hot off the press: $19 billion in improper earned income tax credits 
from the IRS. Let's fix the place before we give it more money.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Kentucky.
  Mr. PAUL. Mr. President, those Senators who voted to gift $40 billion 
to Ukraine argue that it is in our national security interest. I wonder 
if Americans across our country would agree if they had been shown the 
cost, if they had been asked to pay for it. If the supporters of 
foreign aid for Ukraine had been honest with Americans, they could have 
instituted a Ukraine war tax. I am sure it would have been quite 
popular because, by my calculation, each income tax payer in our 
country would need to pay $500 to support this

[[Page S2609]]

$40 billion, which by some accounts is a downpayment and will need to 
be replenished in about 4 months. So a $500 tax to every American 
income tax payer would pay for this. But that is not the way things are 
done in Washington. What we do is say: Put it on my tab. We don't want 
to be honest. We don't want to be transparent with the taxpayer. We 
just add it to the debt.
  We could have also taken the $40 billion from elsewhere in the 
budget. We could have said: Well, we spent $770 billion on our 
military, and that $770 billion is more than the next eight countries 
combined. We could have taken it out of our military budget. If it is 
in our national security interests, perhaps it could be a military 
expenditure.
  But, no, we don't want to tax the people. We don't want them to know 
there is a payment or punishment for this. We don't want to take it 
from somewhere else where somebody else is getting rich off of this 
money. No, what we do is simply borrow it. ``Put it on my tab'' is what 
Congress says, so, yes, that is what will happen.
  When Americans go to the grocery store, they will pay, yet again, 
higher prices. When Americans go to the gas pump, they will spend even 
more for their gas because there is no free lunch. Forty billion cannot 
be created out of thin air, although it sort of is by the Fed. In being 
creative and increasing the demand, it causes inflation. Debt leads to 
inflation.
  Now, when the ink is not even dry on the money that we are shoveling 
out the door for Ukraine, the Democrats are back. It hasn't yet been an 
hour. We are still in the same hour that $40 billion was given away to 
a foreign country.
  Now that the $40 billion is gone, they are somewhere, somewhere 
busily with a printing press printing that money up, the ink is not yet 
dry, now they want $48 billion more for COVID bailouts.
  Well, perhaps there was another alternative. Perhaps, instead of 
locking down the economy--which studies now show did not mitigate the 
virus, did not change the trajectory of the virus--perhaps instead of 
locking the economy down and ruining businesses, we could have not 
locked the economy down. That was an alternative and one--if this ever 
happens again, we should learn a lesson: The lockdowns did not change 
the trajectory of the virus; they bankrupted folks. But it is not the 
answer.
  The answer isn't to lock down the economy again and just bail people 
out because, guess what, almost $6 trillion was spent bailing out the 
economy. We didn't have it. We didn't have a rainy day fund. You can't 
go to the Federal Reserve and open a big safe door and say, ah, there 
is the money, we will give it to people that we ruined by shutting the 
economy down.
  There is no money. We are already a trillion dollars in the hole, if 
you just look at our ordinary expenses--Medicare, Medicaid, Social 
Security, the military, food stamps, a few more social programs--that 
is the budget. That is a trillion dollars short. What comes in, what 
goes out, we are a trillion dollars short, and in the last 2 years we 
borrowed $6 trillion more. Is it any wonder we have inflation?
  But the other side is not even saying they understand where inflation 
comes from. They think it is greed. I wouldn't accept that from a third 
grade class. It is moronic. What do they suppose? Everyone all got 
together, and the people that control the gas price became greedy last 
month. Well, that is absurd on the face of it. Greed has nothing to do 
with this. People are always self-interested. Inflation comes from an 
expansion of the money supply. M2 is a broad measure of the money 
supply. The last 3 years, the M2 has been expanding at a 15 percent 
annual clip. You cannot expand the money supply 15 percent and not get 
inflation.
  In January of last year, the M2 was expanding at an annualized rate 
of 27 percent. Why? Because we don't have money to pay for all the 
stuff we give to people. It is dishonest; it is deceitful. We give 
people stuff and say, here's free stuff. You don't have to work 
anymore; we are closing your business down. But here is some money. But 
we don't have it, so we are going to print it up or borrow it.
  That is what went on. Over the last 2 years, Congress went on a 
spending spree. More than $6 trillion was given away. What my 
colleagues may be shocked to learn is it is never really free. There is 
no such thing as a free lunch. In fact, lunch actually costs a lot more 
than it did before.
  Congress started spending all of this free money, but while the $30 
trillion national debt continues to climb, Congress continues to spend. 
You would think they would be chastened. We have nearly double digit 
inflation out there. You think they would be saying, oh, my goodness, 
we have to quit digging the hole deeper. No, instead we sent 40 billion 
out before lunch; they want to send 48 billion more after lunch.
  Last month, they sent over a $100 billion in subsidies out. They 
doubled the size of one of the most wasteful government organizations 
we have: the National Science Foundation.
  So, no, they are not chastened. Inflation is caused by borrowing and 
debt and the Fed monetizing it. So what are they doing in the last 2 
months? They are making it worse. After 2 years of running up the 
taxpayers' credit card by 6 trillion, you would think they would be 
beginning to grasp the problem. Small businesses, hard-working 
Americans simply can't spend any more of the money we don't have. We 
can't just keep giving away money. Maybe we shouldn't be surprised that 
Democrats have now come to the realization or have not come to the 
realization that their authoritarian lockdowns and endless spending 
caused the highest inflation in 41 years. Yet in today's exercise, 
Democrats want to spend another $48 billion.
  Where is the emergency? The lockdowns have mostly been ended over the 
last year, and yet there is this all, hurry up we must print up more 
money. The $40 billion we gave to Ukraine, the ink is not even dry, but 
we have to shovel out another 48 billion. Where is the emergency?
  There will be 40 billion in this for restaurants. New grants will go 
to yachts, yacht clubs, limousine businesses, racket clubs, and luxury 
gyms, and minor league sports. Oh boy, we have an emergency that we 
need to get the minor league sports involved with the bailout, while 
Americans across the country are getting poorer.
  Americans can't afford to put the gas in their car to go on vacation. 
Americans are losing income every day. The average American family is 
paying $100 more every week, $100 more; $5,200 a year is being lost to 
inflation for the average American family. What are we doing to protect 
them?
  I have great sympathy for businesses that were forced to shut down 
during the pandemic. The lockdowns should never have happened. And we 
have no evidence that the COVID lockdowns and restrictions altered the 
trajectory of the virus or saved one life. Petty tyrants have shut down 
businesses not based on science but based on a perverted political 
science.
  No government check, no passing out of a bailout can beat the 
operating of the market. The marketplace is the only thing that created 
the great wealth of our country and the only thing that can continue to 
help us. Yet the other side insisted on economic shutdowns, only to 
prop up the market with the taxpayers' wallet and borrowed money.
  Democrats need to wake up and realize that dumping more money in the 
economy is simply pouring $5-a-gallon gas on an already out-of-control 
fire. America can be a rising Nation again if we let it. The people 
have had enough with mandates and lockdowns. It is time to end the 
bailouts and, once again, let the free market reign again.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Utah.
  Mr. LEE. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the following 
Senators be permitted to complete their remarks prior to the scheduled 
votes: Senators Lee, Murray, Cardin, and Schumer.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.


                       Unanimous Consent Request

  Mr. LEE. Mr. President, in recent weeks, American moms and dads have 
been scouring supermarkets and drugstores looking for baby formula. 
Parents are desperate to feed their infants and repeatedly check brick-
and-mortar and online stores, ask family and friends to purchase and 
ship formula wherever they might be, purchase

[[Page S2610]]

mother's milk online, and even hospitalize their babies in some 
instances because they can't find formula. The situation is worse still 
for those parents who need specialty formula for babies with medically-
required diets.
  What parents experience today is rightly called the formula crisis. 
In one of the most stressful times of life, the parents of newborns are 
left in an unimaginable position. My heart breaks for those infants and 
for their parents. The sound of a baby's cry carries a different weight 
in times like these.
  Families in my own State feel this crisis quite acutely. Utah has the 
largest families, the most children per capita, and the highest 
birthrate of any State in the Union. Utah's families do, indeed, feel 
this acutely. I have read and I have heard so many heart-wrenching 
stories from Utah families. Their searches have expanded from the local 
grocery store to stores across town to the internet and, finally, to 
total desperation, as formula has become out of stock everywhere within 
reach.
  Unfortunately, when the White House was asked recently what parents 
should do, the White House said:

       Ask your pediatrician, who may have formula samples, for 
     possible alternatives.

  What an embarrassing stopgap measure.
  Now, look, not every crisis is one that, like this one, is a 
government's own creation. Not every crisis is one that, like this one, 
could, therefore, be resolved with fairly simple action. It is 
inexcusable that their response was to just ask your pediatrician 
because your pediatrician might have samples on hand.
  Then there are some in Congress who simply want to throw money at the 
problem without addressing the weaknesses in this critical supply chain 
or without removing the redtape that caused this problem to begin with 
and is now standing in the way of parents. American babies deserve 
better.
  Today, the Senate can help American families by immediately passing 
my bill called the FORMULA Act. This bill responds to the crisis in 
three simple ways that will help solve the formula crisis and feed 
American babies.
  First, my bill would suspend tariff collection and quantity on 
formula imports. Formula that we can bring in from abroad is taxed at a 
rate of 17.5 percent upon entering the United States. We can help ease 
the skyrocketing prices and encourage companies to import as much baby 
formula as possible simply by suspending this collection of tariffs.
  Second, my bill would temporarily allow formula imports from a number 
of safe countries like those in Europe from which we are comfortable 
importing pharmaceutical products. This will allow us to access 
plentiful and safe formula supplies coming from abroad and meet the 
needs that we have today.
  Finally, my bill would allow WIC recipients to buy imported brands of 
formula with WIC vouchers. Under the current system, most WIC parents 
can buy only a specific brand, the brand listed on the voucher label, 
which, in many circumstances, might be unavailable.
  My bill will allow these parents to buy from available stock and feed 
their children.

  Keeping American infants fed should be one of the least controversial 
proposals imaginable. American babies are going hungry, and the Federal 
Government is standing in the way.
  My FORMULA Act will help solve the formula crisis and make sure 
American babies do not go unfed.
  I am pleased to be joined in this effort by Senators Grassley, 
Daines, Cassidy, and Wicker. This bill has the support of a number of 
outside groups and countless Americans. If we can help solve this 
crisis today, we can make sure American babies' cries do not go 
unanswered. We must pass the FORMULA Act.
  To that end, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to the 
immediate consideration of S. 4261, 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 Washington.
  Mrs. MURRAY. Mr. President, reserving the right to object.
  As a mom and grandmother, I share my colleague's deep concern about 
the infant formula shortage; but I am concerned with the Senator's 
proposal to address it, and so I will be offering the Senate an 
alternative here in just a moment that addresses those concerns while 
building on common ground and the need to end this shortage.
  So I object to the Senator's proposal and seek recognition to offer 
my proposal.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The objection is heard.
  The Senator from Washington.
  Mrs. MURRAY. Mr. President, as a mom and grandmother, I share my 
colleague's concern about the infant formula shortage, and I have been 
pressing the FDA and infant formula manufacturers for answers and 
actions on this going back to when the Abbott recall was first 
announced back in February. And I am glad the Biden administration is 
taking some action to address this crisis: FDA's announcement earlier 
this week to make it easier to import baby formula during this crisis 
and President Biden's announcement yesterday that he will use the 
Defense Production Act to bring more formula to market, because I want 
to see formula back on the shelves as soon as possible.
  But I also want parents to know the formula that they are giving 
their child is safe, which is why I have serious concerns about the 
broad waivers of FDA authority in the bill that was just offered. For 
example, waiving the nutrient requirements for infant formula.
  FDA actually requires infant formula to include 30 essential 
nutrients--too much or too little of those nutrients can put the health 
of our most vulnerable at risk--or labeling requirements for directions 
on preparation and use, which are really important to keep babies safe.
  I want us to quickly find common ground on steps to end this shortage 
safely, give parents the formula they need, and make sure this 
situation never happens again.
  I am sure the Senator from Utah wants that too. I really do think we 
can get this done. And that is why I would like to offer to pass 
another bill I have right now, which ensures FDA can take the steps to 
increase supply without compromising standards and which, similar to 
Senator Lee's bill, would waive tariffs on importing baby formula 
during this crisis.
  And I do want to continue working on other bipartisan steps here. I 
know that Senator Stabenow and Senator Boozman are working on 
legislation at this very moment to make adjustments to the WIC program, 
similar to another part of Senator Lee's effort that I think is also 
crucial.
  So while I have concerns with how some of the proposals to waive FDA 
authority will make it harder for FDA to keep babies safe, I think 
there is a bipartisan path forward for some of these ideas, and I urge 
Senator Lee to work with me and our colleagues to find that.
  Mr. President, right now, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate 
proceed to the immediate consideration of my bill, which is at the 
desk, to temporarily allow the importation of infant formula free of 
duty and free of quantitative limitation and to require the Food and 
Drug Administration to issue guidance related to increasing the supply 
of infant formula. 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 Utah.
  Mr. LEE. Mr. President, reserving the right to object, I appreciate 
the remarks and the shared enthusiasm that my friend and colleague, the 
distinguished Senator from Washington, has expressed, a shared vision 
that we have for wanting to protect American babies.
  I am also disappointed that she has objected to a reform that would 
put direly needed infant formula onto shelves and into the hands of 
millions of Americans in need.
  This is not, of course, the time for political wins; it is a time for 
solutions. And it can't be ignored that Big Government has, in fact, 
caused the shortage and the crisis involving baby formula.

[[Page S2611]]

  If we walk away from this current crisis and we somehow try to 
attribute its causes simply to inflation and supply chain disruptions, 
we will have missed out on a bigger picture of involving how government 
regulations have contributed to the outcome.
  If there were not serious prohibitions and restrictions on trade, we 
would have a far larger baby formula import market. But because the FDA 
and other health regulators arbitrarily decided that other countries' 
standards for mixtures were not suitable for American infants, foreign 
products have been excluded from our grocery shelves at a time when we 
need them the very most.
  Now, make no mistake--the Abbott recall was not the cause of this 
shortage but, rather, the culminating event of a long, brewing storm.
  Unless we reshape our regulatory environment, we will continue to 
lack the formula that parents need to feed their children.
  The counteroffer that my colleague has presented today does three 
things. First, it fails to actually put formula into the hands of 
Americans. Second, it empowers the very actors that have created this 
shortage through overregulation. And, lastly, it fails to make any 
reforms to the WIC program.
  This proposal by my colleague misses the mark, and on that basis, I 
object and would like to offer a counter proposal.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Objection is heard.
  The Senator from Utah.
  Mr. LEE. Mr. President, and so although I object, as I stated 
previously, this is not the time for political wins; it is the time for 
solutions. So I would like to present a counteroffer to my colleague's 
proposal. I believe an agreement on meaningful solutions can and should 
be reached.
  This bill would incorporate provisions passed by the House yesterday, 
enabling WIC recipients to buy formula by granting the Secretary of 
Agriculture the permanent flexibility to waive certain WIC 
requirements.
  Additionally, this bill would incorporate my colleague's waiver on 
the tariffs on infant formula and import quantity restrictions.
  Further, it would waive the excessive regulations on infant formula 
that have made it impossible for safe formula to be available to 
American families in need.
  So to that end, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to 
the immediate consideration of S. 4262, 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?
  Mrs. MURRAY. The Senator from Washington.
  Mrs. MURRAY. Mr. President, reserving the right to object, and I 
really do appreciate the Senator's efforts to address some of the 
concerns I have here, but the bill that he is offering will still 
ultimately exempt formula from FDA standards that are really critical 
for safety. We owe it to parents to know that when they purchase 
formula, it is safe.
  So I would like to keep working with Senator Lee and our colleagues 
to make progress on this as soon as possible. I hope we can continue to 
do that; but at this point, I object.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Objection is heard.
  The Senator from Utah.
  Mr. LEE. Mr. President, it is important to note here that nothing in 
my proposal would put formula on the shelves that is not safe.
  By opening up some of the import restrictions and the regulatory 
restrictions, it adheres still to the same safety standards that we 
rely on. It does allow for the importation of some product from other 
countries--other countries that we have deemed sufficiently safe that 
we allow their imports in the pharmaceutical arena. There is no reason 
we can't do that here.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Maryland.


                                S. 4008

  Mr. CARDIN. Mr. President, shortly we are going to be voting on a 
motion to proceed to S. 4008. This is the bill that would replenish the 
restaurant revitalization fund for the 170,000 restaurants that were 
shut out of getting funds when the program was first enacted. A hundred 
thousand got the relief; 170,000 were shut out through no fault of 
their own.
  So this is a matter of basic fairness. It is also a matter of need. 
These restaurants--many of which are ready to go out of business--they 
need the money to pay off their debts that they took out to stay open, 
and they are competing with restaurants next door that have gotten that 
relief, and they can't compete on a level playing field.
  This has been a bipartisan bill from the beginning. We started with 
this last August, a bipartisan group working on it. We have placed 
guardrails on this bill. There is no double-dipping. You can't have 
both. The PPP money has to be subtracted. It has to be used for 
permitted uses such as paying down your debt or construction of outdoor 
seating or protective equipment. There is pro rata reduction if there 
are not enough funds that are appropriated so we don't have to come 
back again.
  Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent to have printed in the Record 
letters of support from the National Restaurant Association, Distilled 
Spirits Council, American Bus Association, National School 
Transportation Association, Minor League Teams and Community Gym 
Coalition. These are groups that we have added that have similar 
circumstances as the restaurants.
  There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in 
the Record, as follows:

                              National Restaurant Association,

                                                     May 18, 2022.
       Dear Senators Cardin and Wicker: The Senate is expected to 
     consider legislation that would finally replenish the 
     Restaurant Revitalization Fund (RRF), a critical program for 
     a sector still struggling with pandemic-related debts and 
     losses. On behalf of the restaurants and the communities we 
     support nationwide, we urge your full support.
       The RRF has been a lifeline for restaurants that received 
     grants last year. Initially funded at $28 billion, the RRF 
     worked as planned, helping restaurants stay in business and 
     serve their communities. In fact, 92% of RRF recipients said 
     the grant helped them pay expenses or debt that had 
     accumulated since the beginning of the pandemic, according to 
     National Restaurant Association research.
       As you are aware, the RRF's initial funding of $28 billion 
     was quickly depleted, leaving 177,000 restaurants that were 
     promised funds with nothing. While the restaurant industry 
     appreciates Congress' help in establishing the program, the 
     outcome unfairly pitted restaurants against each other in a 
     battle where Congress ultimately chose the winners and 
     losers.
       The Senate has before it an opportunity to right this wrong 
     by passing S. 4008--the Small Business COVID-19 Relief Act of 
     2022 to replenish the RRF and provide fairness and equity to 
     restaurants that have been desperately waiting for help. Our 
     research shows that additional round of RRF grants would be 
     just as effective as the first. Nearly 50% of restaurant 
     operators that did not receive RRF grants feel it's unlikely 
     that they will stay in business, and 94% said a future grant 
     would enable them to retain or hire back employees.
       Two years into the pandemic, these 177,000 restaurants 
     continue to struggle to survive as inflation, increased food 
     costs, a labor shortage, and supply chain disruptions 
     continue to place greater strains on them than ever before. 
     Unlike the nation's overall economy, which is showing signs 
     of improvement, the restaurant industry is still down nearly 
     800,000 jobs and $300 billion in lost sales.
       The RRF was born out of an emergency and helped restaurants 
     endure the disaster brought on by government ordered 
     shutdowns and capacity restrictions. Replenishing the RRF 
     should still be considered an emergency, no different than a 
     hurricane, tornado, or wildfires.
       On behalf of restaurants across the country, we strongly 
     support S. 4008--the Small Business COVID-19 Relief Act of 
     2022 and thank you for your tireless leadership to shepherd 
     this critical legislation through the Senate so that 
     restaurants can get back to serving their local communities.
           Sincerely,

                                                 Sean Kennedy,

                         Executive Vice President, Public Affairs,
                                  National Restaurant Association.

       Alabama Restaurant & Hospitality Association; Alaska 
     Cabaret, Hotel, Restaurant & Retailers Association; Arizona 
     Restaurant Association; Arkansas Hospitality Association; 
     California Restaurant Association; Colorado Restaurant 
     Association; Connecticut Restaurant Association; Delaware 
     Restaurant Association; Restaurant Association of 
     Metropolitan Washington; Florida Restaurant & Lodging 
     Association; Georgia Restaurant Association; Hawaii 
     Restaurant Association; Idaho Lodging & Restaurant 
     Association; Illinois Restaurant Association; Indiana 
     Restaurant & Lodging Association; Iowa Restaurant 
     Association; Kansas Restaurant & Hospitality Association; 
     Kentucky Restaurant Association; Louisiana Restaurant 
     Association; Hospitality Maine; Restaurant Association of 
     Maryland; Massachusetts Restaurant Association; Michigan 
     Restaurant & Lodging Association; Hospitality

[[Page S2612]]

     Minnesota; Mississippi Hospitality & Restaurant Association; 
     Missouri Restaurant Association; Montana Restaurant 
     Association; Nebraska Hospitality Association; Nevada 
     Restaurant Association.
       New Hampshire Lodging & Restaurant Association; New Jersey 
     Restaurant & Hospitality Association; New Mexico Restaurant 
     Association; New York State Restaurant Association; North 
     Carolina Restaurant & Lodging Association; North Dakota 
     Hospitality Association; Ohio Restaurant Association; 
     Oklahoma Restaurant Association; Oregon Restaurant & Lodging 
     Association; Pennsylvania Restaurant & Lodging Association; 
     Puerto Rico Restaurant Association; Rhode Island Hospitality 
     Association; South Carolina Restaurant & Lodging Association; 
     South Dakota Retailers Association; Hospitality Tennessee; 
     Texas Restaurant Association; Utah Restaurant Association; 
     Vermont Chamber of Commerce; Virginia Restaurant, Lodging & 
     Travel Association; Washington Hospitality Association; West 
     Virginia Hospitality & Travel Association; Wisconsin 
     Restaurant Association; Wyoming Hospitality & Travel 
     Coalition.
                                  ____


                                         Distilled Spirits Council


                                         of the United States,

                                                     May 18, 2022.
     Subject: Support the Small Business COVID Relief Act (S. 
         4008) on the Floor This Week.

       Dear Senators: When the Small Business COVID Relief Act of 
     2022 (S. 4008), comes to the floor this week, we respectfully 
     urge support for this important piece of COVID-19 economic 
     relief legislation.
       Among other things, this legislation would replenish the 
     Restaurant Revitalization Fund (RRF) and provide critical 
     funding to allow the U.S. Small Business Administration to 
     process the applications of eligible entities that previously 
     applied to the program.
       Demand for the Restaurant Revitalization Fund far exceeded 
     the initial tranche of funding: More than 278,000 
     applications were submitted to the program, but the U.S. 
     Small Business Administration was only able to fund 
     approximately 101,000. Hospitality industry businesses like 
     restaurants, bars, and distilleries that depend on in-person 
     visitors face a long, uneven recovery from the pandemic and 
     these funds are critical to businesses across the country. 
     According to research by the National Restaurant Association, 
     the RRF saved more than 900,000 jobs at restaurants that 
     received grants. Their estimates indicate that fully funding 
     the RRF will save more than 1.6 million restaurant jobs still 
     on the line.
       Please support the recovery of the hospitality industry by 
     supporting additional funds for the RRF and voting in favor 
     of the Small Business Covid Relief Act, S. 4008. Please don't 
     hesitate to reach out if you have any questions.
           Sincerely,
     Kelly Poulsen,
       Vice President, Federal Government Relations.
     Jessica Brady,
       Senior Director, Federal Government Relations.
                                  ____



                                     American Bus Association.

       The American Bus Association--the industry leader advancing 
     North American motorcoach travel and tourism--released a 
     statement of support today of the Senate Small Business 
     Committee's legislation to provide COVID relief to 
     restaurants and other small businesses.
       This vital legislation will help a still struggling 
     motorcoach industry, by provide an additional $2 billion for 
     grant funding to the Coronavirus Economic Relief for 
     Transportation Services (CERTS) program for motorcoaches, 
     school buses and passenger vessels. In addition, this 
     legislation would treat the CERTS grants like all other 
     pandemic aid programs by exempting the grants from treatment 
     as income.
       ``According to independent research, the motorcoach 
     industry recorded an 82.6 percent loss of business in 2020, a 
     60 percent loss in 2021 and continues to operate well below 
     pre-COVID levels because of the pandemic,'' said Peter 
     Pantuso, ABA President & CEO. ``While we saw limited recovery 
     over the past couple of years, the Delta and Omicron variants 
     significantly slowed down recovery. We are not like to see 
     full recovery until at least 2023 or 2024.''
       ``This industry is not asking for a government handout,'' 
     said Pantuso. ``But we need a bridge to help our industry 
     survive the pandemic. Nearly half of the motorcoach companies 
     have closed over the last two years, mostly small family and 
     minority businesses, and America can't afford for us to lose 
     more.''
       The American Bus Association thanks Senator Cardin (D-MD) 
     and Senator Wicker (R-MS) for their hard work in crafting 
     this important legislation and for their commitment to help 
     the nation's small businesses recover from this pandemic. The 
     American Bus Association urges all Senators to support the 
     Cardin--Wicker proposal when it comes up for a vote as an 
     amendment to the COVID Health Supplemental.


                   About the American Bus Association

       The American Bus Association (ABA) is the trade 
     organization of the intercity bus industry, with more than 
     1,000 motorcoach and tour company members in the United 
     States and Canada. Its members operate charter, tour, regular 
     route, airport express, special operations, and contract 
     services. Another 2,800 members are travel and tourism 
     organizations and suppliers of bus products and services who 
     work in partnership with the North American motorcoach 
     industry.
                                  ____

                                                   National School


                                   Transportation Association,

                                                    April 1, 2022.

Statement of the National School Transportation Association in Support 
    of the Cardin-Wicker Amendment to the COVID Health Supplemental

       The National School Transportation Association (NSTA) 
     supports the Cardin-Wicker planned amendment to the Covid 
     Health Supplemental to provide an additional $2 billion to 
     the CERTS relief program, as well as make CERTS grants tax-
     exempt.
       NSTA is the leading resource for school bus transportation 
     solutions and the voice for private contractors for over 55 
     years. We are a membership organization for school bus 
     contract-operators engaged primarily in transporting students 
     to and from school and school-related activities. Members 
     range from small family businesses serving one school 
     district, to large corporations operating tens of thousands 
     of buses across multiple states. Regardless of size, our 
     operators are staunchly committed to the safe and efficient 
     transportation of our nation's schoolchildren. Private school 
     bus contractors account for 38 percent of the nation's pupil 
     transportation services and employ more than 250,000 
     individuals as bus drivers, mechanics, maintenance workers, 
     dispatch, and office workers.
       Daily, almost 26 million K-12 students are transported by 
     an estimated 480,000 yellow school buses. Every day, the 
     lives of these children are entrusted to certified school 
     transportation professionals, who have received special 
     training and have the experience to ensure the safe transport 
     of students. School buses remain the safest way to transport 
     a child to-and-from school, and school-related activities, as 
     they are the most regulated form of transportation. Students 
     are significantly safer riding to and from school in a school 
     bus than walking, riding bikes, or riding/driving in their 
     family car. The number of fatalities of school age children 
     traveling to and from school, per 100 million vehicle miles 
     traveled (VMT), is 70 times higher in passenger vehicles than 
     in school buses.
       School bus companies suffered tremendous losses during the 
     pandemic as schools closed and many districts refused to pay 
     school bus contractors. NSTA estimates that 60 percent of 
     school districts did not pay contractors during school 
     closures, despite expressing the desire to have the 
     contractor keep their valued employees and be ready to 
     restart transportation on a moment's notice. The CERTS 
     program was crucial to help school bus contractors stay 
     viable and continue to employ our valued employees, however, 
     the CERTS program was initially appropriated at $2 billion. 
     The Department of Treasury received applications from 
     companies totaling over $8 billion in revenue losses from 
     2019-2020. This figure does not include additional revenue 
     losses our companies incurred in 2021 as the pandemic still 
     kept many schools shut down for much of last year as well.
       The amendment also includes a provision to provide tax 
     exemption for CERTS relief grants, consistent with other 
     Covid relief programs, such as the Paycheck Protection 
     Program, restaurant and venue relief programs. While we 
     deeply appreciate the CERTS grant funds designed as emergency 
     relief due to the devastating impacts of the pandemic on our 
     businesses, CERTS funds should be treated the same as other 
     covid relief when it comes to taxes.
       NSTA strongly supports the amendment to provide critical 
     additional funds and tax relief to help school bus companies 
     continue to recover, so that we can provide safe and 
     efficient school bus transportation to the nation's 
     schoolchildren.
                                  ____

                                                    April 5, 2022.
       Dear Majority Leader Schumer, Minority Leader McConnell, 
     Speaker Pelosi, and Minority Leader McCarthy: On behalf of 
     professional minor league sports teams across the country, we 
     are writing in support of the amendment to the COVID-19 
     supplemental bill offered by Senators Ben Cardin and Roger 
     Wicker to provide much-needed relief for our teams. Teams in 
     leagues across the spectrum of sports have lost tens of 
     millions of dollars since the outset of the COVID-19 
     pandemic, and action is desperately needed now to protect 
     these small businesses and safeguard their vital economic 
     contributions to communities across the nation.
       The first year of the pandemic was particularly devastating 
     for professional minor league sports teams, with many losing 
     more than 90 percent of their revenue during this first year 
     alone as a result of mandated closures. These financial 
     losses were compounded by challenges in year two including 
     limited attendance, canceled games, and increased costs as 
     teams worked to operate safely during the pandemic. As we 
     enter year three of the pandemic, teams continue to grapple 
     with decreased consumer confidence as a result of the COVID-
     19 variants, which is impacting ticket sales for the upcoming 
     minor league baseball season and causing postponements and 
     cancelations for the 2021-2022 minor league hockey season. So 
     far this

[[Page S2613]]

     season, approximately 100 games have been postponed or 
     canceled across the professional minor hockey leagues.
       Our teams were excluded from previous relief packages 
     enacted by Congress and therefore did not receive the help 
     that was made available to other small businesses in the live 
     entertainment industry. Unfortunately, our situation is only 
     worsening as a result of the Omicron variant. While we had 
     hoped to be past the pandemic at this point, persisting 
     variants have demonstrated that the pandemic is not yet over.
       Research generally suggests that the presence of minor 
     league sports teams is associated with an increase in per 
     capita incomes, which often may stem from teams generating 
     new spending by out-of-area visitors and encouraging 
     residents to spend inside the local economy. Minor league 
     sports franchises are pillars of the community and assets 
     that our cities and industries need, not only for the 
     economic impact they make on their communities and for the 
     significant charitable efforts made in their markets, but 
     also for their ability to draw in a strong workforce of 
     individuals who call their cities home, and these small 
     businesses continue to struggle to stay afloat in the absence 
     of relief from Congress.
       Our teams have been left behind and desperately need help 
     now. We ask that you support the Cardin-Wicker amendment to 
     provide critical relief for professional minor league sports 
     teams in the COVID-19 supplemental. We appreciate your 
     consideration of this request and your continued support of 
     our teams.
           Sincerely,
         Jason Freier, Executive Board Member, Minor League 
           Baseball, Reid Ryan, Executive Board Member, Minor 
           League Baseball, Scott Howson, President and Chief 
           Executive Officer, American Hockey League, Doug Price, 
           Commissioner, Southern Professional Hockey League, Chad 
           Volpe, Executive Board Member, Minor League Baseball, 
           Ken Babby, Executive Board Member, Minor League 
           Baseball, Ryan Crelin, Commissioner ECHL, Alec 
           Papadakis, Chief Executive Officer, United Soccer 
           League, Joshua Schaub, Commissioner, American 
           Association of Professional Baseball, Steve Tahsler, 
           Deputy Commissioner, Frontier League of Professional 
           Baseball, Dan Moushon, President, Appalachian League, 
           Rick White, President, Atlantic League of Professional 
           Baseball, Mike Shapiro, President, Pioneer Baseball 
           League.
                                  ____

                                          Community Gyms Coalition


                                                    and IHRSA,

                                                     May 17, 2022.
       On behalf of America's more than 40,000 fitness facilities 
     fighting to foster and strengthen Americans' health and 
     fitness, the Community Gyms Coalition
       (CGC) and IHRSA, the global health and fitness association, 
     enthusiastically endorse S. 4008, the Small Business COVID 
     Relief Act of 2022, and call on Congress to enact it as soon 
     as possible.
       COVID-19, and almost every state's response to it, has 
     devastated America's gyms and fitness facilities. As of 
     December, more than 25 percent of fitness facilities in the 
     U.S.--including 30 percent of studios--have closed 
     permanently. Operators have suffered revenue losses of over 
     $29.2 billion. These figures have undoubtedly increased, 
     leaving tens of thousands of operators struggling under debts 
     taken on so that they could continue improving Americans' 
     health and fitness.
       Federal programs to support small businesses struggling due 
     to COVID-19 have proven to be of little benefit for most 
     fitness facilities, leaving them little opportunity to 
     recover from the initial shutdowns and restrictions. The 
     Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) and Economic Injury 
     Disaster Loans (EIDL) do not meet the cost structures of 
     fitness facilities. The Targeted EIDL Advance, the 
     Supplemental Targeted Advance, and state-level grant programs 
     have not provided nearly the funding necessary to keep many 
     owners and operators from closing their facilities due to 
     accrued debt and deferred rent or mortgage payments.
       Due to these circumstances, gyms and fitness facilities 
     still require specific support in order to offer their 
     essential services. S. 4008 provides this support by 
     establishing the Gym and Fitness Center Recovery Fund to 
     dispense grants to distressed fitness facilities, and 
     appropriating $2 billion for that purpose. Publicly-traded 
     companies, facilities with pandemic-related revenue losses 
     less than 25 percent, and facilities which offer golf, 
     hunting, sailing, shooting, or riding are expressly 
     ineligible.
       Gyms and fitness facilities, much like restaurants and 
     other industries reliant on physical presence, were directly 
     harmed by government-mandated closures and restrictions. 
     Though gyms have suffered the same hardships as similarly 
     affected businesses, they have not yet received effective 
     aid. The Small Business COVID Relief Act would correct this 
     oversight, saving thousands of gyms and fitness facilities 
     across the country from bankruptcy.
       We commend Senator Cardin and Senator Wicker for 
     introducing the Small Business COVID Relief Act, and we urge 
     every senator to support its passage. There is nothing more 
     important than safeguarding the health and fitness of all 
     Americans.

  Mr. CARDIN. Mr. President, I know that there are Members who want to 
target this and so do we. We believe that we will be able to bring the 
cost of this bill down, but we first need to get on the bill.
  I particularly want to thank Senator Wicker and Senator Collins and 
Senator Murkowski for giving us suggestions, and we are going to permit 
amendments on this bill to bring its cost down.
  Senator Manchin has made a specific suggestion on making sure we 
prioritize the payment of debt.
  We also believe we can target this to the small businesses that need 
it the most.
  I want to thank Senator Ossoff. I want to thank Senator Murphy. I 
want to thank Senator King, our Presiding Officer there, and so many of 
our other Members who have been working with us in order to get this 
bill to the finish line.
  I would urge my colleagues to vote for the motion to proceed. This is 
a cloture; this is not the final passage. This is to get on the bill so 
we can take up amendments, target it to those small businesses that 
desperately need it.
  We have offsets in the bill. It is a responsible bill. It needs to be 
passed. It carries out our commitment, and I would urge our colleagues 
to support the legislation.
  Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, on another important issue, small 
businesses across the country are still reeling from the pandemic. And 
as the Nation finally begins to emerge from 2 years of lockdowns, our 
small business community is facing another set of challenges: supply 
shortages and inflation.
  Later today, the Senate is expected to vote on legislation that would 
help restaurants, gyms, minor league teams, and other small businesses 
find solid footing after years of unprecedented disruptions. These 
small businesses are the lifeblood of our communities, whether it be in 
Chicago, my hometown of Springfield, or other towns across Illinois.
  This bipartisan package would make sure that they can continue to 
recover and create jobs in their communities--because we know that, 
when these businesses struggle, our communities struggle. I have heard 
from small business owners throughout Illinois who want to keep workers 
on the payroll and provide a space for people to come together, but 
they need our help to get to the other side of the pandemic.
  That is exactly the situation Kevin Cary is in. He owns Begyle 
Brewing in Chicago and is one of the hundreds of thousands of business 
owners in America who has tried to do everything right during this 
pandemic. He followed the rules when Chicago's COVID precautions forced 
him to temporarily close his doors . . . he has kept his staff employed 
throughout the pandemic; and he has braced through multiple waves of 
COVID--from Alpha to Omicron, which infected his staff, and forced him 
to keep his doors closed through the holiday season, a big time for 
business.
  And Kevin is still doing his part to be a good neighbor. Even with 
the pressures of inflation, he has held off on raising prices because, 
in his words, ``we're a community-supported brewery. I personally have 
a problem with charging more . . . [I] would rather fight pressures on 
cost than . . . raise prices on consumers.''
  But there is only so much business owners like Kevin can do on their 
own. Without additional relief, the prospects are bleak. Replenishing 
the Restaurant Revitalization Fund would allow Kevin to pay Begyle's 
bills that are past due, help him afford increasing supply costs, and 
enable him employ more Illinoisans. But most importantly, Kevin will be 
able to have the peace of mind that his business--which supports him, 
his wife, and his one-year old daughter--will keep its doors open.
  Our favorite small businesses and restaurants bring us together. They 
have done their part to help us get through the pandemic, and now it is 
time for us to help them. I want to thank Senators Wicker and Cardin, 
as well as many other colleagues on both sides of the aisle, for their 
work on this bipartisan package. I hope more of my Republican 
colleagues will join us in passing this much-needed relief for small 
businesses in our communities.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The majority leader.
  Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, now 2 years after the start of COVID, our

[[Page S2614]]

country has come very far, but it would be a dreadful mistake to think 
the work is done.
  Today, the Senate should vote to move forward to give America's 
restaurants, local gyms, minor league teams, and other small businesses 
a much-needed lifeline. We will give our restaurants a much-needed 
lifeline to get back on their feet after the pandemic.
  Our restaurants and small businesses are suffering. They need help. 
This bill says help is on the way.
  These restaurants are the beating hearts of our communities. We are 
not talking about huge restaurants. They are not big venues with big 
publicity.
  The restaurants we are talking about are family-owned restaurants, 
family-owned businesses, where Americans have always come together. 
They are the beating hearts of our communities.
  To have banks foreclose on these places because they are struggling 
with loans left over from COVID when they were forced to close would be 
a tragedy--a tragedy for jobs lost, for the communities affected, and 
for creating future prosperity.
  So the Senate should be leaping into action to support our 
restaurants and small businesses.
  I want to thank the diligent, persistent work by the great Senator 
from Maryland, Ben Cardin--the work he has done.
  I want to thank his partner, Senator Wicker. This is a bipartisan 
bill.
  And to just debate how we can help these vital parts of the American 
economy, these vital parts of American communities, is not too much to 
ask.
  I urge both sides of the aisle for a strong yes vote.
  I yield the floor.


                             Cloture Motion

  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Pursuant to rule XXII, the Chair lays before 
the Senate the pending cloture motion, which the clerk will state.
  The legislative clerk read as follows:

                             Cloture Motion

       We, the undersigned Senators, in accordance with the 
     provisions of rule XXII of the Standing Rules of the Senate, 
     do hereby move to bring to a close debate on the motion to 
     proceed to Calendar No. 344, S. 4008, a bill to provide COVID 
     relief for restaurants, gyms, minor league sports teams, 
     border businesses, live venue service providers, exclave 
     businesses, and providers of transportation services.
         Charles E. Schumer, Benjamin L. Cardin, Tammy Duckworth, 
           John W. Hickenlooper, Gary C. Peters, Ron Wyden, 
           Elizabeth Warren, Jacky Rosen, Mark Kelly, Ben Ray 
           Lujan, Catherine Cortez Masto, Robert P. Casey, Jr., 
           Tammy Baldwin, Mazie K. Hirono, Maria Cantwell, Chris 
           Van Hollen, Margaret Wood Hassan.

  The PRESIDING OFFICER. By unanimous consent, the mandatory quorum 
call has been waived.
  The question is, Is it the sense of the Senate that debate on the 
motion to proceed to S. 4008, a bill to provide COVID relief for 
restaurants, gyms, minor league sports teams, border businesses, live 
venue service providers, exclave businesses, and providers of 
transportation services, shall be brought to a close?
  The yeas and nays are mandatory under the rule.
  The clerk will call the roll.
  The bill clerk called the roll.
  Mr. DURBIN. I announce that the Senator from Ohio (Mr. Brown), the 
Senator from Nevada (Ms. Rosen), and the Senator from Maryland (Mr. Van 
Hollen) are necessarily absent.
  Mr. THUNE. The following Senators are necessarily absent: the Senator 
from Iowa (Ms. Ernst) and the Senator from Kansas (Mr. Marshall).
  The yeas and nays resulted--yeas 52, nays 43, as follows:

                      [Rollcall Vote No. 192 Leg.]

                                YEAS--52

     Baldwin
     Bennet
     Blumenthal
     Blunt
     Booker
     Cantwell
     Cardin
     Carper
     Casey
     Cassidy
     Collins
     Coons
     Cortez Masto
     Duckworth
     Durbin
     Feinstein
     Gillibrand
     Hassan
     Heinrich
     Hickenlooper
     Hirono
     Kaine
     Kelly
     King
     Klobuchar
     Leahy
     Lujan
     Manchin
     Markey
     Menendez
     Merkley
     Murkowski
     Murphy
     Murray
     Ossoff
     Padilla
     Peters
     Reed
     Sanders
     Schatz
     Schumer
     Shaheen
     Sinema
     Smith
     Stabenow
     Tester
     Warner
     Warnock
     Warren
     Whitehouse
     Wicker
     Wyden

                                NAYS--43

     Barrasso
     Blackburn
     Boozman
     Braun
     Burr
     Capito
     Cornyn
     Cotton
     Cramer
     Crapo
     Cruz
     Daines
     Fischer
     Graham
     Grassley
     Hagerty
     Hawley
     Hoeven
     Hyde-Smith
     Inhofe
     Johnson
     Kennedy
     Lankford
     Lee
     Lummis
     McConnell
     Moran
     Paul
     Portman
     Risch
     Romney
     Rounds
     Rubio
     Sasse
     Scott (FL)
     Scott (SC)
     Shelby
     Sullivan
     Thune
     Tillis
     Toomey
     Tuberville
     Young

                             NOT VOTING--5

     Brown
     Ernst
     Marshall
     Rosen
     Van Hollen
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. On this vote, the yeas are 52, the nays are 
43.
  Three-fifths of the Senators duly chosen and sworn not having voted 
in the affirmative, the motion is rejected.

                          ____________________