[Congressional Record Volume 168, Number 107 (Thursday, June 23, 2022)]
[Senate]
[Pages S3104-S3108]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                          LEGISLATIVE SESSION

                                 ______
                                 

JOSEPH WOODROW HATCHETT UNITED STATES COURTHOUSE AND FEDERAL BUILDING--
                                Resumed

  The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Booker). Under the previous order, the 
Senate will resume legislative session to resume consideration of the 
House message to accompany S. 2938, which the clerk will report.
  The legislative clerk read as follows:

       Message to accompany S. 2938, a bill to designate the 
     United States Courthouse and Federal Building located at 111 
     North Adams Street in Tallahassee, Florida, as the ``Joseph 
     Woodrow Hatchett United States Courthouse and Federal 
     Building'', and for other purposes.

  Pending:

       Schumer motion to concur in the amendment of the House to 
     the bill, with Schumer (for Murphy) amendment No. 5099 (to 
     the House amendment), relating to the Bipartisan Safer 
     Communities Act.
       Schumer amendment No. 5100 (to amendment No. 5099), to add 
     an effective date.
       Schumer motion to refer the message of the House on the 
     bill to the Committee on Environment and Public Works, with 
     instructions, Schumer amendment No. 5101, to add an effective 
     date.
       Schumer amendment No. 5102 (to the instructions (amendment 
     No. 5101) of the motion to refer), to modify the effective 
     date.
       Schumer amendment No. 5103 (to amendment No. 5102), to 
     modify the effective date.


                             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 bill 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 
     concur in the House amendment to S.

[[Page S3105]]

     2938, a bill to designate the United States Courthouse and 
     Federal Building located at 111 North Adams Street in 
     Tallahassee, Florida, as the ``Joseph Woodrow Hatchett United 
     States Courthouse and Federal Building'', and for other 
     purposes, with amendment No. 5099.
         Charles E. Schumer, Richard J. Durbin, Christopher 
           Murphy, Kyrsten Sinema, Martin Heinrich, Jack Reed, 
           Debbie Stabenow, Jeff Merkley, Sheldon Whitehouse, 
           Tammy Duckworth, Richard Blumenthal, Tim Kaine, Edward 
           J. Markey, Patrick J. Leahy, Alex Padilla, Patty 
           Murray, Mazie K. Hirono.

  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 concur in the House amendment to S. 2938, a bill to designate 
the United States Courthouse and Federal Building located at 111 North 
Adams Street in Tallahassee, Florida, as the ``Joseph Woodrow Hatchett 
United States Courthouse and Federal Building'', and for other 
purposes, with amendment No. 5099, 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. THUNE. The following Senator is necessarily absent: the Senator 
from North Dakota (Mr. Cramer).
  The yeas and nays resulted--yeas 65, nays 34, as follows:

                      [Rollcall Vote No. 240 Leg.]

                                YEAS--65

     Baldwin
     Bennet
     Blumenthal
     Blunt
     Booker
     Brown
     Burr
     Cantwell
     Capito
     Cardin
     Carper
     Casey
     Cassidy
     Collins
     Coons
     Cornyn
     Cortez Masto
     Duckworth
     Durbin
     Ernst
     Feinstein
     Gillibrand
     Graham
     Hassan
     Heinrich
     Hickenlooper
     Hirono
     Kaine
     Kelly
     King
     Klobuchar
     Leahy
     Lujan
     Manchin
     Markey
     McConnell
     Menendez
     Merkley
     Murkowski
     Murphy
     Murray
     Ossoff
     Padilla
     Peters
     Portman
     Reed
     Romney
     Rosen
     Sanders
     Schatz
     Schumer
     Shaheen
     Sinema
     Smith
     Stabenow
     Tester
     Tillis
     Toomey
     Van Hollen
     Warner
     Warnock
     Warren
     Whitehouse
     Wyden
     Young

                                NAYS--34

     Barrasso
     Blackburn
     Boozman
     Braun
     Cotton
     Crapo
     Cruz
     Daines
     Fischer
     Grassley
     Hagerty
     Hawley
     Hoeven
     Hyde-Smith
     Inhofe
     Johnson
     Kennedy
     Lankford
     Lee
     Lummis
     Marshall
     Moran
     Paul
     Risch
     Rounds
     Rubio
     Sasse
     Scott (FL)
     Scott (SC)
     Shelby
     Sullivan
     Thune
     Tuberville
     Wicker

                             NOT VOTING--1

       
     Cramer
       
  The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Schatz). On this vote, the yeas are 65, 
the nays are 34.
  Three-fifths of the Senators duly chosen and sworn having voted in 
the affirmative, the motion is agreed to.
  Cloture having been invoked, the motion to refer the amendments 
thereto fall.
  The Senator from New Mexico.


                                S. 2938

  Mr. HEINRICH. Mr. President, like many of my constituents in New 
Mexico, I am a gun owner. I have a sincerely held respect of law-
abiding gun ownership.
  Many of my own most cherished memories involve the responsible use of 
a firearm to feed my family and to forge memories with my sons and my 
closest friends. But those same sons grew up doing active shooter 
drills in their classrooms, something that would have been absolutely 
unimaginable when I was their age. And just this spring, my son's high 
school was on lockdown when I arrived, due to a nearby shooting that 
actually involved students from that high school. That type of 
experience has become all too common in our country.
  The gun violence our communities are experiencing is appalling, and 
it is unacceptable. It is evident from the unthinkable mass shootings 
that we have witnessed in Uvalde and Buffalo and Tulsa and Vestavia 
Hills and El Paso. And it is evident in the mounting number of gun 
homicide and gun suicides that have taken tens of thousands of lives 
each year.
  My home State of New Mexico continues to struggle with one of the 
highest rates of gun deaths in the country; and in recent years, far 
too many New Mexicans have lost friends and family members to this 
epidemic of violence.
  I personally refuse to accept the idea that we are so divided in this 
country that we can't do something to make this situation better. That 
is why I join my good friend Senator Chris Murphy of Connecticut and a 
number of my colleagues from both sides of the aisle to try and chart a 
meaningful path forward. Over these past weeks, we have engaged in 
challenging but productive conversations. We found areas of agreement 
on real solutions that we can and we will pass here in the U.S. Senate.
  Our bipartisan negotiations and the legislation that they have 
produced prove that we can work together in this body. And they show 
that when we set aside the vicious politics that have held us back for 
too long on this particular issue, we can actually create policies that 
save lives.
  The Bipartisan Safer Communities Act includes Federal resources to 
help States and Tribes implement crisis intervention programs.
  New Mexico passed a law to establish one of these programs just last 
year. The goal was to ensure that deadly weapons were kept out of the 
hands of those that a court, with due process, determined to be a 
significant danger to themselves or others. But as of last month, New 
Mexico had only used our law nine times, primarily due to a lack of 
funding and resources and training.
  Just last month, on Mother's Day, New Mexico tragically lost two 
teens, shot and killed by a man who very likely could have had his 
firearm removed using New Mexico's crisis intervention law.
  The alleged suspect had been issued a temporary restraining order at 
the request of his former girlfriend and the mother of one of the 
victims. The restraining order showed that he was in possession of two 
firearms. Unfortunately, the local sheriff's office failed to recognize 
the threat that he posed and didn't use our State's law to remove the 
firearms that he used to take the lives of two young New Mexicans.
  If we can provide our law enforcement officers and courts the funding 
and training they need to make crisis intervention laws effective, we 
can protect our communities and ensure that future lives are not lost. 
The Bipartisan Safer Communities Act will help us do just that.
  Our legislation also enhances the review process for firearms buyers 
under 21 years of age. This new process will require an investigative 
period to review criminal and mental health records, including checks 
with State databases and local law enforcement.

  Over the last 4 years, six of the nine deadliest mass shootings were 
by people who were 21 or younger. The Bipartisan Safer Communities Act 
ensures we respond to this deadly trend in a meaningful way.
  Our legislation also makes clear who the Federal firearm licensing 
requirements apply to, leading to more firearm sales that require a 
background check.
  We are finally making sure that convicted domestic violence abusers 
and individuals subject to domestic violence restraining orders are 
included in the Federal background check database, whether or not the 
abuser is married to the victim. That has long been a major failure in 
Federal law, and it has allowed dangerous abusers, who are dating but 
not married to their partners but whom we know pose a violent threat, 
to acquire deadly weapons. This provision alone will save an enormous 
number of lives.
  Our legislation will also make historic investments in community 
behavioral health and school-based mental health services, and it will 
increase access to behavioral health services through telehealth.
  The bill will help support school violence prevention efforts and 
provide training to school personnel and students so that they can 
recognize the signs that so often precede some of these violent 
shootings events.
  Over the course of our negotiations, I worked especially hard on a 
few key provisions with my colleague from Maine, Senator Susan Collins. 
Our provisions will crack down on straw purchasing and trafficking of 
firearms. These provisions will directly reduce gun violence in our 
home States and internationally. Let me take a moment to explain how.

[[Page S3106]]

  Under current law, it is a minor paperwork offense to buy a gun for 
someone else. And even then, that only applies if you buy the gun from 
a Federal firearm licensee. Under the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act, 
we are making it a serious crime to buy a gun for someone else when you 
know that person will use the gun to commit a felony or that they are 
not allowed to buy a gun themselves. That applies whether you buy the 
gun from a Federal firearm licensee or not.
  The consequences of this simple change will be real. It will keep 
deadly weapons out of the hands of people who would use them to hurt 
others, and it will level serious consequences for those who break the 
law.
  Just last year, a New Mexico State Police officer was tragically 
killed during a traffic stop in Deming, NM. Officer Darrion Jarrott was 
shot and killed by a convicted felon whose wife had allegedly purchased 
the gun for him. She is now being prosecuted under the paperwork 
offense that is currently on the books. But under the Bipartisan Safer 
Communities Act, she would be facing more severe and deserved 
consequences for her role in the death of a State police officer.
  This legislation will also stop the type of organized straw 
purchasing and trafficking that we have seen too often in New Mexico 
and elsewhere. Right now, law enforcement has to watch as an organized 
chain of straw purchases happen one after another, intended to protect 
the person most at fault--the mastermind of the operation--by keeping 
them far removed from the purchase that happens at an FFL, at a Federal 
firearm licensee.
  Our law enforcement watched this happen, but they can only go after 
the person who walked into the FFL and made the very first of that 
series of straw purchases--that is usually the person least involved in 
the scheme. But that is about to change. Soon, these ringleaders won't 
be able to distance themselves from the law anymore.
  With our new straw purchase provision, law enforcement will be able 
to go after every link in the illegal chain of purchases to take down 
the entire ring, not just the vulnerable individuals these rings 
sometimes rely on to make the initial purchase.
  There is more. While trafficking firearms into the United States is a 
major Federal crime under existing law, trafficking firearms out of the 
United States has not been. For years, this has meant that firearms 
trafficked out of the United States are the primary supply of guns used 
to commit violent crimes in Mexico, in El Salvador, in Honduras, and in 
Guatemala.
  It has also invited dangerous firearm trafficking into communities on 
both sides of our Nation's southern and northern borders. We saw this 
in my home State about a decade ago when a major firearms trafficking 
ring was uncovered in Columbus, NM. This trafficking operation involved 
the chief of police, the mayor, a village trustee, and an estimated 190 
firearms, including large numbers of handguns and assault rifles. And 
the crime they were charged with? Lying on their paperwork.
  Not anymore. The Bipartisan Safer Communities Act takes this violence 
on with the severity that it deserves. It gives law enforcement the 
tools they need to stop this activity and the violence it directly and 
indirectly creates in our communities and within our borders. By taking 
on the violence that families are fleeing in their home countries--
violence that our inadequate gun laws have actually contributed to--we 
are also taking meaningful action to address a root cause behind so 
many refugees coming to our country.
  Now, I fully recognize that the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act is a 
compromise. Many of the parents and students who have raised their 
voices to demand action on gun violence would like us to go further. 
But progress has to start somewhere. The hardest part of every 
negotiation is letting go of the perfect for the possible, and I am 
confident that the legislation we are voting on will make a real 
difference in reducing gun violence--a difference that will be measured 
in lives. It will boost public safety, it will invest in mental health, 
and it will keep more firearms out of the hands of those who would use 
them against their communities.
  The painful truth is that we can never bring back those precious 
children whose lives were cut short in Uvalde, TX; in Parkland, FL; in 
Newtown, CT; or Aztec High School, West Mesa High School, Deming Middle 
School, and Washington Middle School in my State. We can never offer 
enough words to heal the grieving families all across the country who 
have lost their sons and daughters and their brothers and sisters and 
their fathers and mothers to gun violence. But what we can do by voting 
to pass this legislation in the Senate is to honor their memory--not 
just with condolences and hopes and prayers but with concrete action.
  I would encourage all of my colleagues to support the Bipartisan 
Safer Communities Act. Each life that we save by passing this 
legislation will mean literally everything to that person's loved ones, 
and that is what this is all about.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Alabama.


                   Unanimous Consent Request--S. 251

  Mr. TUBERVILLE. Mr. President, today is a great day. Today marks the 
50th anniversary of title IX. For half a century, we have witnessed the 
impact title IX has had on generations of women in sports. Title IX 
provided women the long-denied platform that had always been afforded 
men. It ensured female athletes have the same access to funding, 
facilities, and athletic scholarships, but it also gave young women the 
opportunity to compete, to learn the life lessons of hard work and 
perseverance, to go to college on an athletic scholarship, to overcome 
obstacles in order to reach their God-given potential.
  Since 1972, female participation in sports at the college level has 
risen more than 600 percent, and today, 43 percent of high school girls 
participate in some competitive sports, compared to 50 years ago--only 
3 to 5 percent. What a turnaround.
  For all these reasons, decades later, we have proof that title IX has 
worked. Sports can transform lives. I have seen it. I began my coaching 
career as a high school girls basketball coach just a few years after 
title IX was enacted, and now, 50 years later, America's female 
athletes are not only the best performing on the world stage in team 
and individual sports, but they also are the leaders in our communities 
and in our country.
  Title IX sent an incredible--an incredible--message to female 
athletes across the Nation, which is, you can compete, you can win, and 
you will be afforded a fair and level playing field to do so.
  I have personally witnessed how title IX protections allowed young 
women to gain all the opportunities and life lessons that participating 
in sports has to offer. That is why, just 3 months into my time as a 
U.S. Senator, I introduced an amendment to prohibit Federal funding to 
schools that allow biological males to compete in women's sports. And 
I, along with 23 of my colleagues, introduced the Protection of Women 
and Girls in Sports Act. This bill would make it a violation of Federal 
law for a recipient of Federal funds who operates or sponsors athletic 
programs to permit biological males to compete in women's sports 
activities. The bill also establishes the long-needed definition of 
``sex'' in title IX to be recognized based solely on a person's 
reproductive biology and genetics at birth.
  Democrats have turned their backs on these efforts, and by doing so, 
they have turned their backs on female athletes all across our country. 
Just last month, I sent a letter to U.S. Department of Education 
Secretary Miguel Cardona warning the administration to rethink their 
rule change.
  On this 50th anniversary, we should be asking ourselves how we can 
preserve title IX and preserve fairness for all female athletes across 
our country, but unfortunately, women's athletics are currently under 
attack by the Biden administration. Just this morning, we learned that 
the Department of Education will publish a proposed rule to change 
title IX to align with the administration's progressive agenda. These 
proposed changes would allow biological males to compete in women's 
sports. What a tragedy. It would take a wrecking ball to the five 
decades of title IX success for women. The Biden administration's 
proposed rule flies in the face of the so-called science that Democrats 
are quick to pledge their allegiance to by ignoring the scientific

[[Page S3107]]

differences in the biological makeup of male and female athletes. 
Apparently, science only matters when it conforms to Democrats' 
partisan agenda.

  Allowing biological males to compete in women's sports will set 
women's rights back 50 years, to a time before title IX. It will 
discourage young girls from entering the court, jumping in the pool, or 
walking onto the field, knowing that they have to compete with the deck 
stacked half against them, and the winner will already be determined. 
With the proposed rule change, female athletes can only hope--can only 
hope--to finish in second or third place. There is no pregame speech or 
halftime talk that you can give a woman or girl who feels like they 
aren't competing on a fair playing field.
  The Biden administration should do the right thing and rethink their 
decision to disenfranchise female athletes of the future.
  This fight is far from over. The very least the Senate can do for the 
future of female sports is to reinforce the protections already 
afforded women in title IX.
  Mr. President, that is why I call up S. 251, the Protection of Women 
and Girls in Sports Act of 2021. I ask unanimous consent that the 
Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions be discharged from 
further consideration of S. 251 and the Senate proceed to its immediate 
consideration; further, 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 Hawaii.
  Ms. HIRONO. Mr. President, reserving the right to object, I rise 
today in opposition to S. 251, legislation that would ban transgender 
women and girls from participating in sports consistent with their 
gender.
  My Republican colleagues falsely claim that allowing transgender 
women and girls to play sports is harmful to cisgender women and girls. 
They continue to hurl insulting lies about transgender girls dominating 
sports, but what is true is that these bans are deeply harmful to 
transgender girls, particularly transgender girls of color, girls who 
are gender-nonconforming or born with intersex traits, as well as 
cisgender girls.
  These sex tests invade every girl's privacy and open the door to 
harass anyone who is perceived as different.
  If my Republican colleagues were actually worried about women and 
girls in athletics, they would join in our efforts to address unequal 
athletic opportunities in school, unequal pay, sexual abuse and 
harassment, and more. But this isn't about supporting women and girls; 
this is about discrimination.
  Earlier today, I stood in Statuary Hall as we unveiled the portrait 
of the late Congresswoman Patsy T. Mink on today's 50th anniversary of 
title IX becoming law. Title IX, which was renamed the Patsy T. Mink 
Equal Opportunity in Education Act, says:

       No person in the United States shall, on the basis of sex, 
     be excluded from participating in, be denied the benefit of, 
     or be subjected to discrimination under any education program 
     or activity receiving Federal financial assistance.

  Thirty-seven words that are just as relevant today as they were 50 
years ago.
  Patsy fought for equal opportunities for all, and this bill stands in 
direct opposition to her work. And to listen to my colleague talking 
about title IX as being that act that is going to support his bill, I 
can tell you, as someone who knew and was friends with Patsy T. Mink, 
she would be standing right next to me to say that title IX in no way 
or shape supports what my colleague is attempting to do.
  Republicans have the wrong priorities. We shouldn't be banning anyone 
from playing sports; we should be fighting the discrimination that all 
women and girls continue to face in athletics, in the classroom, and in 
workplaces.
  I am proud to stand up and oppose this harmful legislation and 
continue to advance Patsy Mink's legacy of equal opportunities for all.
  Mr. President, for these reasons, I object.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The objection is heard.
  The Senator from Alabama.
  Mr. TUBERVILLE. Mr. President, what I would like to say about equal 
opportunity is that over the last few years, biological males playing 
in women's sports have won 22 championships. The girls--other girls--
were playing for second and third.
  I am disappointed that my colleague thinks this is not about equal 
rights. I am disappointed that my colleague won't stand up for women 
and women's rights. We should all be here fighting for the same thing.
  I yield the floor.
  I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The senior assistant legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. 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.


               Supreme Court Security Funding Act of 2022

  Mr. HAGERTY. Mr. President, I rise today to speak in support of the 
Supreme Court Security Funding Act of 2022, which I introduced with 
Senator Warner just last week. Yesterday evening, the Senate approved 
by unanimous consent this bipartisan legislation, which provides 
emergency security resources to the Supreme Court of the United States 
and to the U.S. Marshals Service.
  The House of Representatives must approve this bill without amendment 
or delay and send it to the President's desk before adjourning this 
week. The need is urgent and obvious. There is no question the Supreme 
Court, its Justices, their families, and Court employees are under 
unprecedented and unexpected threat. This includes recent highly 
publicized threats against Justice Kavanaugh and Justice Sotomayor. 
These threats may well become more acute in the coming weeks as the 
Court concludes its term.
  There is no question that protecting the Court from these threats 
requires additional resources in Fiscal Year 2022 because unexpected 
resources are being deployed. This legislation provides those necessary 
resources.
  More specifically, the U.S. Marshals Service has been providing 
around-the-clock security for the nine Justices at their homes and 
needs 10.3 million in emergency funding to cover these costs for the 
remainder of this fiscal year. The Supreme Court needs 9.1 million to 
cover its increased security costs for this fiscal year. These include 
overtime pay for Supreme Court Police officers, mutual aid payment to 
assisting law enforcement agencies, and increased physical security 
around the Supreme Court Building.
  If Congress doesn't immediately provide this funding, the Court and 
Marshals Service may be forced to transfer funds from other critical 
functions and entities, like the U.S. District Courts and U.S. Courts 
of Appeal. That is an unacceptable outcome given the obvious and urgent 
need for this security funding and the gravity of the threat against 
one of our three constitutional branches.
  Congress recently passed--and the President signed into law--
legislation by Senators Cornyn and Coons to increase the scope of 
authorized Supreme Court Police protection to include the Justices' 
immediate family members. Congress rightly provided this additional 
security authorization to protect the Court.
  These expanded authorities are important, but there should be no 
question regarding whether Congress will separately provide the 
resources necessary to protect the Supreme Court during its hour of 
need.
  I thank my colleague from Virginia, Senator Warner, for working with 
me on this legislation. I also want to thank the senior Senator from 
Alabama, Vice Chairman Shelby, and his staff, as well as the senior 
Senator from Vermont, Chairman Leahy, for their help and their 
guidance. Finally, I thank my Senate colleagues for their cooperation 
in ensuring the swift passage of this legislation in the Senate.
  Now, I urge the House of Representatives to promptly send this bill 
to the President's desk before it adjourns later this week.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. King). The Senator from South Dakota.


                          Great Outdoors Month

  Mr. THUNE. Mr. President, June is Great Outdoors Month. It is a theme

[[Page S3108]]

that definitely speaks to me. I am an outdoors guy through and through. 
I love pheasant hunting, boating, swimming, running. I will shoot hoops 
whenever I get the chance, indoors or outdoors, but this is nothing 
better than doing it outdoors.
  When I was a kid, my dad attached a basket to a pole in our backyard, 
and there was nothing my siblings and I liked better than spending long 
summer days and sometimes fall days and spring days shooting hoops in 
our backyard in Murdo.
  The outdoors was a huge part of my life as a kid. We spent the long 
summer days outside, barring the hour every day my mother made us come 
inside to read. On summer evenings, my dad would take us to get ice 
cream cones, and then we would drive down to the White River to watch 
the sunset.
  Another outdoor pastime we embraced was hunting. My dad taught my 
siblings and me to hunt, and I loved going out with him. Pheasant 
hunting remains one of my favorite outdoor activities, and I get 
excited every year as the third Saturday in October--the official start 
to pheasant season--rolls around.
  It is a tradition that I am happy to be able to share with the next 
generation, as my dad shared it with me. There is nothing better than a 
day spent outdoors with friends and family, followed by a communal 
meal, sometimes involving pheasant.
  Being in the outdoors isn't just enjoyable; I think it is a part of 
the good life. The health benefits of time spent outdoors are well-
established, and I know a day--or even an hour--out in the fresh air 
always clears my mind and refreshes my spirit.
  With more and more of our life spent in front of screens, I think 
time spent outdoors and disconnected is even more important than ever. 
I am grateful for all those hours we spent as kids running around 
outside and for family activities outdoors, like our summer trip to the 
Black Hills. We used to go out there for Labor Day, stay in this little 
non-air-conditioned cabin and just enjoy the outdoors.
  We would hike, and we would visit caves. We would go to Mount 
Rushmore, head to the lake--I loved and still love visiting Sylvan Lake 
in South Dakota.
  I loved being there with my parents and siblings, and I loved taking 
my daughters there on trips like the ones I took growing up. Nobody who 
visits South Dakota should miss the Black Hills.
  I am not sure there is a more beautiful place on Earth--the interplay 
of light and shadow on the trees and rocks late on a summer afternoon, 
the endless South Dakota sky reflected in the blue of Sylvan Lake and 
other lakes in the Black Hills, the Milky Way carpeting the night sky 
with millions of diamonds. There is no better place to spend time in 
the great outdoors than South Dakota.
  Our State is filled with natural wonders, the Missouri River, Jewel 
Cave and Wind Cave, two of the longest caves in the world. Together, 
they offer hundreds of miles of underground passageways to explore, 
filled with glimmering crystals and remarkable rock formations.
  We have the magnificent Black Hills National Forest in Custer State 
Park, rolling prairies, and, of course, the Badlands. If you haven't 
experienced the rugged beauty of the Badlands, you are missing out--
extraordinary layered rock formations that look like they might have 
come from another planet, a wealth of fossils.
  Everybody should see the sunset over the Badlands at least once in 
their life, turning the tops of the rocks to a sea of fiery orange.
  And, of course, no mention of South Dakota's great outdoors would be 
complete without a mention of Mount Rushmore, one of our national 
treasures. Nature got a little help from man here, and the result is 
magnificent. You can't help but be awed when you see Mount Rushmore 
soaring up in front of you. And you can't help but feel a little 
prouder to be a citizen of this great land.
  Our Nation's great outdoor spaces need to be cared for so that we can 
preserve them for future generations--from wildlife enthusiasts to 
hikers and runners to farmers and ranchers. I am a longtime supporter 
of the Conservation Reserve Program.
  Agricultural producers are familiar with the Conservation Reserve 
Program, or what we call CRP, which provides incentives for farmers, 
ranchers, and landowners to take environmentally sensitive land out of 
production for 10 to 15 years.
  The Conservation Reserve Program helps the environment by improving 
soil health and water quality and providing habitat for wildlife, 
including endangered and threatened species. I pushed for an increase 
in the CRP acreage cap in the 2018 farm bill, and the final bill raised 
that acreage cap to 27 million acres.
  Currently, I am working on further improvements of CRP that I will 
work to get included in the 2023 farm bill. Based on my conversations 
with farmers and ranchers, I developed the Conservation Reserve Program 
Improvement Act, which I introduced in March. This legislation would 
make CRP grazing a more attractive option by providing cost-share 
payments for all CRP practices for the establishment of grazing 
infrastructure, including fencing and water distribution.
  It would also increase the annual payment limit for CRP--which has 
not changed since 1985--to help account for inflation and the increase 
in land value.
  This would enhance the appeal of CRP for farmers and ranchers, 
improving their bottom line while helping to protect the environment 
and increase wildlife habitat.
  Another priority of mine is improving forest management in the Black 
Hills National Forest to reduce the risk of wildfires and damaging 
insect infestations.
  I have introduced two pieces of legislation during this Congress to 
help improve management of our national forests, including the Black 
Hills. Currently on-the-ground management activities, including timber 
thinning, are significantly lagging in the Black Hills National Forest 
and other forests throughout the country.
  My Expediting Forest Restoration and Recovery Act would require the 
U.S. Forest Service to expedite treatment of more than 70 million acres 
of National Forest System lands to reduce the threat of insect and 
disease infestations and catastrophic wildfires.
  My Black Hills Forest Protection and Jobs Preservation Act is also 
designed to help expedite forest management projects in the Black Hills 
and elsewhere. The bill, which I introduced with my Wyoming colleague, 
Senator John Barrasso, would require the U.S. Forest Service to quickly 
issue National Environmental Policy Act decisions that are necessary to 
carry out forest management projects, including thinning of overly 
dense timber stands in the Black Hills National Forest.
  Our bill would also expedite timber production projects in the Black 
Hills National Forest and neighboring national forests to help maintain 
the timber sale program that plays a critical role in keeping these 
forests healthy while also supporting the regional economy.
  I am grateful to live in a State that has so much to offer when it 
comes to the great outdoors. And I will continue to work to protect and 
preserve our national treasures, and I hope every American will take 
advantage of Great Outdoors Month to get outside and enjoy our natural 
world.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Utah.

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