[Congressional Record Volume 168, Number 153 (Thursday, September 22, 2022)]
[Senate]
[Pages S4959-S4961]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         SENATE ACCOMPLISHMENTS

  Mr. CARDIN. Madam President, we have a 50-50 Senate, with 50 
Republicans and 50 Democrats. Vice President Harris provides the 
Democrats with our majority. The House of Representatives has a very 
slim Democratic majority: currently, 221 to 212, with 2 vacancies.
  When the 117th Congress began, I think most Americans were doubtful 
that we would be able to pass legislation to help them, their families, 
their communities, and our Nation. I am happy to report that, despite 
the odds, the 117th Congress has been a historically productive 
Congress. This is not a statement I make lightly, nor did I predict 
this many legislative accomplishments when we began the 117th Congress 
in January of 2021.
  I knew America's doubts, but I also shared their fervent hope that 
Congress would somehow find a way to beat the odds. And we have, 
sending numerous major bills to President Biden to be signed into law. 
Some of our accomplishments have been genuinely bipartisan, especially 
the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act and the so-called CHIPS and 
Science bill. That is gratifying because I believe that Congress, 
especially the Senate, is at its best when it works in a bipartisan 
fashion.
  Some of our accomplishments have been solely Democratic victories; 
notably, the American Rescue Plan and the Inflation Reduction Act. I 
regret that we were unable to convince our Republican colleagues to 
join us on those bills because they advanced public policies and 
enjoyed broad bipartisan support among the American people. Democrats 
will always reach across the aisle to pass legislation that enhances 
our national and economic security, but we are prepared to work alone, 
if necessary.
  Our most recent accomplishment is the Inflation Reduction Act. The 
Senate passed this legislation just before the August recess on a 
party-line vote. That legislation will make it easier for American 
families to afford health insurance and help seniors with prescription 
drug costs. Extending the Affordable Care Act enhanced health insurance 
premium subsidies through 2025--just this one provision of this bill--
and will save medium-income Marylander families about $2,200 annually.
  For tens of thousands of Marylanders on Medicare who use insulin, the 
Inflation Reduction Act caps their insulin costs at $35 per month. We 
tried to extend that cap to Americans with private insurance. Our 
Republican colleagues blocked this effort, but Democrats will continue 
working to make that a reality.
  For the more than 1 million Marylanders and all other Americans 
covered by Medicare, the Secretary of Health and Human Services finally 
will have the authority to negotiate lower drug prices for the Medicare 
Program. This will help ensure that Medicare patients get the best deal 
possible on high-priced drugs, saving taxpayers approximately $100 
billion.
  The healthcare provisions in the Inflation Reduction Act are 
significant, but they are only part of the bill. The legislation makes 
a historic investment to shift our economy from fossil fuels to clean 
energy. This will help us cut our carbon emissions 40 percent by 2030. 
The Inflation Reduction Act will lower electricity costs and emissions 
and will create up to 9 million good-paying jobs here in America in the 
growing clean energy sector.
  I authored a provision in the legislation to provide production tax 
credits to our existing fleet of nuclear powerplants. They produce 20 
percent of the Nation's electricity and over 50 percent of its carbon-
free electricity.
  A new analysis estimates that this legislation will lower the average 
household electricity bill by approximately $170 to $220 annually over 
the next decade. Maryland homeowners will be eligible for tax credits 
for residential solar, wind, geothermal, and biomass fuel improvements 
now through 2034. They also will be eligible for a larger tax credit 
for energy efficiency home improvements through 2032, as well as tax 
credits for the purchase of new and used clean energy vehicles, 
including electric vehicles.

[[Page S4960]]

  Maryland farmers will see tangible benefits from the more than $20 
billion of funds included for climate-smart agricultural practices 
through existing farm bill conservation programs, including the 
Regional Conservation Partnership Program and Natural Resources 
Conservation Service technical assistance for reducers. These are very 
valuable programs for Maryland farmers who are meeting their 
obligations in regard to the Chesapeake Bay Program.
  The Inflation Reduction Act also bolsters resilience programs to help 
Maryland communities prepare for extreme storms and other changing 
climate conditions. We live in a coastal State so Marylanders fully 
understand the need to address climate change, cut greenhouse gas 
pollution, and protect the Chesapeake Bay. Our State and local 
governments will be eligible for new and expanded grant programs to 
improve public health, decrease pollution, increase climate resiliency, 
and promote environmental equity.
  The legislation pays for these smart investments while reducing the 
deficit and without raising taxes on working families and small 
businesses. In fact, according to a nonpartisan analysis, many working 
families may actually see lower taxes on a net basis over the next 
couple of years as a result of the legislation.
  This legislation and its targeted investments aimed at lowering costs 
for American families is only one of a string of positive 
accomplishments that we have been able to do in this Congress, 
coordinating with President Biden. Other major legislation in the 117th 
Congress includes the bipartisan CHIPS and Science Act, which will make 
America more competitive by bringing home domestic production of 
semiconductors and investing in innovation and science; the bipartisan 
Sergeant First Class Heath Robinson Honoring Our Promise to Address 
Comprehensive Toxics Act, known as the PACT Act, which provides 
healthcare benefits for all generations of toxic-exposed veterans for 
the first time in our Nation's history and will improve access to care 
for all our veterans--promises made, promises kept; the Bipartisan 
Safer Communities Act, which is the first major gun safety legislation 
Congress has approved in decades; the bipartisan Infrastructure 
Investment and Jobs Act, one of the biggest, most comprehensive Federal 
commitments to repairing and modernizing our Nation's infrastructure in 
modern history; the Keep Kids Fed Act, which the Senate passed 
unanimously, that extended essential funding for schools, daycare 
providers, and communities to ensure healthy meals for children 
throughout the school year and summer; and the American Rescue Plan 
Act, which Democrats passed in March of 2021 to provide billions of 
dollars in relief to help Americans recover from the COVID-19 pandemic.
  We have done all this, and we are reducing the deficit by $2 
trillion.
  Let me talk a little bit about the CHIPS and Science Act. 
Semiconductors are crucial to nearly every sector of our economy. They 
are in our cars, our trucks, medical devices, 5G telecommunications 
equipment, and the list goes on and on and on. America created the 
semiconductor industry in the 1960s. We ceded the global leadership in 
the seventies. We regained it, to an extent, in the nineties but have 
lost it again. In 1990, the U.S. share of semiconductor manufacturing 
was 37 percent. By 2020, that share had declined to 12 percent.
  The CHIPS and Science Act gets the United States back on track with 
respect to domestic semiconductor manufacturing, which is crucial for 
our national and economic security. This is a national security issue 
that provides $54 billion in grants to domestic manufacturers and 
another $24 billion in tax credits through the Creating Helpful 
Incentives to Produce Semiconductors for America Fund.
  The substitute amendment also authorizes $102 billion over the next 5 
years for the National Science Foundation, the Department of Commerce, 
and the National Institute of Standards and Technology--a $52 billion 
increase over the Congressional Budget Office baseline.
  These funds will be a shot in the arm for domestic manufacturing. 
Here is a list of some firms that plan to use the funding to expand or 
establish manufacturing facilities right here in the United States: 
Intel and TSMC plan to build factories in Ohio and Arizona; 
GlobalFoundries wants to expand a facility in Upstate New York; 
SkyWater Technology and Purdue University want to collaborate on a new 
$1.8 billion factory and research facility in West Lafayette, IN; IBM 
and State University of New York at Albany want to establish a 
semiconductor research center in Albany. And the list goes go on and on 
and on. We are preparing for America to continue to lead in 
manufacturing, particularly high-tech manufacturing.
  I also want to highlight the science provisions in the bill. It 
authorizes $20 billion to the first-of-its-kind NSF Directorate of 
Technology, Innovation and Partnerships, which will accelerate domestic 
development of critical national and economic security technologies 
such as artificial intelligence, quantum computing, advanced 
manufacturing, 6G communications, energy, and material science. We are 
going to be the leaders in these areas. We should be.
  It authorizes $9 billion--$4 billion over CBO baseline for several 
National Institutes of Science and Technology programs, including 
tripling of funding for the Manufacturing Extension Program, leveraging 
that program to create a National Supply Chain Database, which will 
assist businesses with supplier scouting and minimize supply chain 
disruptions; and with NASA, the Artemis Program to return Americans to 
the Moon as a prelude to sending humans to Mars is fully authorized and 
funded.
  The science provisions in this bill also extend the International 
Space Station through 2030 and support a balanced science portfolio, 
including Earth science observations and continued development of the 
Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope. We are the leaders of the space 
telescope. I am proud of all the work that is done in my State of 
Maryland and the images that we see from outer space.
  The provisions codify the Planetary Defense Coordination Office and 
requires NASA to continue efforts to protect Earth from asteroids and 
comets. In this regard, this Monday, the Double Asteroid Redirection 
Test--a Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Lab mission--will 
deliberately crash a probe into a ``moon'' of a double asteroid to 
shift its orbit.
  It is amazing that we can do this. We are the leaders in science, and 
we are making sure we are going to be the leaders in science and in 
space moving forward.
  I introduced the Cleaner, Quieter Airplanes Act in the previous 
Congress and again in this Congress, and I am pleased the CHIPS and 
Science bill directs NASA to continue research in aeronautics, 
including the use of experimental aircraft to advance aircraft 
efficiency and supersonic flight.
  The PACT Act, in addition to providing the historic relief to toxic-
exposed veterans, boosts claims processing; bolsters the Veterans' 
Administration's workforce; and invests in VA healthcare facilities 
nationwide to ensure the Agency can meet the immediate and future needs 
of every veteran it serves, including the 300,000-plus veterans who 
live in the State of Maryland. I will tell you, it provides for 
improvements to the community health centers in Prince George's and 
Baltimore City for our veterans.
  The Safer Communities Act closes loopholes that allowed convicted 
domestic violence abusers to buy firearms legally. It boosts funding 
for community violence intervention and prevention initiatives, and it 
provides hundreds of millions of dollars in funding to improve and 
expand mental healthcare.
  On the bipartisan infrastructure package, funding is flowing right 
now to improve Maryland's transit, ports, roads, and bridges; expand 
broadband availability; and fix our aging drinking water and wastewater 
system. The bill provides $17 billion in port infrastructure and 
waterways. Congestion in American ports was a key factor in the 
disruption of the global supply chain. Expanding and modernizing port 
infrastructure will help ensure that American manufacturers and 
producers can move their goods to markets around the world. The bill 
also invests $25 billion in our airports. Modernizing our airport 
infrastructure will help keep people and products moving around the 
country and the world.

[[Page S4961]]

  I am particularly pleased the legislation includes $238 million for 
the Chesapeake Bay Program. The bill also includes my bipartisan 
legislation to make permanent and expand the Minority Business 
Development Agency, which is the only Federal Agency dedicated to 
supporting minority-owned businesses.

  The American Rescue Plan provides tens of billions of dollars to 
support vaccination and COVID-19 testing, driving down the death rate 
from the virus by 90 percent. The bill also invested in hard-hit 
communities and brought concrete relief to the Nation at a time of 
great need. I was especially proud of the investments we made to help 
save so many small businesses throughout Maryland and the Nation.
  From the American Rescue Plan to the Inflation Reduction Act, and 
everything in between, these and other legislative accomplishments have 
helped address important needs across Maryland and our Nation.
  At the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic, over 20 million Americans had 
lost their jobs. And the unemployment rate rose to 14.7 percent in 
April of 2020. The number of employed Americans now exceeds the 
prepandemic high--the second fastest job market recovery since 1981. 
The number of Americans working is at an alltime high. And the 
unemployment rate has dropped a half-century low of 3.5 percent.
  Since President Biden assumed office, the economy added nearly 
700,000 new manufacturing jobs. This represents the strongest 
manufacturing job growth since the 1950s. Manufacturing job growth in 
2021 alone exceeded any other single year going back nearly 30 years.
  Over the past year, the construction and new manufacturing facilities 
in the United States has grown by an estimated 116 percent. In recent 
surveys, the CEOs, 80 percent were either in the process of moving 
manufacturing operations back to the United States from China or were 
considering doing just that.
  While unemployment continues at historic lows and gas prices are 
declining rapidly, we are still facing challenges. Food prices, rent, 
and other costs are still too high. The Federal Reserve has had to 
raise interest rates, which is painful for families and businesses 
alike. Most mainstream economists believe that we can avoid a recession 
and the economy will have a soft landing despite the supply chain 
challenges we continue to face because of COVID and Russia's war in 
Ukraine. This would be a truly historic accomplishment.
  President Kennedy said:

       Our responsibility is one of decision, for to govern is to 
     choose.

  Our legislative achievements over the last 20 months demonstrate that 
Congress can be productive and the Federal Government is a powerful 
force for good.
  I hope we choose to remain on that path--Democrats and Republicans 
alike--because there is still so much we can do and need to do to help 
the American people.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Virginia.

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