[Congressional Record Volume 170, Number 76 (Thursday, May 2, 2024)]
[Senate]
[Pages S3295-S3305]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
LEGISLATIVE SESSION
______
SECURING GROWTH AND ROBUST LEADERSHIP IN AMERICAN AVIATION ACT--MOTION
TO PROCEED--Resumed
The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. Under the previous order, the
Senate will resume consideration of the motion to proceed to H.R. 3935,
which the clerk will report.
The senior assistant legislative clerk read as follows:
Motion to proceed to Calendar No. 211, H.R. 3935, a bill to
amend title 49, United States Code, to reauthorize and
improve the Federal Aviation Administration and other civil
aviation programs, and for other purposes.
Recognition of the Majority Leader
The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The majority leader is recognized.
Abortion
Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, after spending decades pushing for a
national abortion ban, packing our courts with rightwing, extreme
judges, and annihilating Roe v. Wade, hard-right Republicans have
created a race to the bottom when it comes to reproductive rights.
This week, Florida outlawed abortion after just 6 weeks, before many
women even know they are pregnant. The Arizona Supreme Court recently
upheld a Civil War-era law from 1864 banning abortion almost entirely,
without exception for rape or incest. And 19 other States across
America now have near-total bans or severe restrictions on abortions,
beyond the standards set by Roe.
Let's not forget how we got here, because the extreme abortion bans
in Florida and Arizona didn't happen in a vacuum. They are the result
of MAGA Republicans' decades-long campaign to annihilate Roe and plunge
our country into chaos. Remember, Donald Trump boasted he was ``proudly
the person responsible''--those are his words--for the disastrous
decision to end Roe.
The extreme abortion bans are also a direct consequence of the Senate
Republican agenda to install rightwing, anti-abortion judges at every
level of the Federal court system, including the hard-right Supreme
Court Justices who voted to end Roe. Remember, most of the same
Republicans are on record supporting a national abortion ban.
The bottom line is that the extreme abortion bans are a direct
consequence of Republicans getting into power. That is precisely what
Republicans will do, given the chance to govern. They will try to take
us back to 1864, with draconian abortion bans and attacks on Americans'
personal freedoms.
And, make no mistake, Republicans in Arizona will have to answer for
their anti-abortion record in November. Republicans in Florida will
have to answer for their anti-abortion record in November. Republicans
across America will still have to answer for their anti-abortion record
in November.
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Federal Aviation Administration Authorization
Mr. President, on the FAA, today, the Senate will continue to move
forward on FAA reauthorization. We just have 8 days to go before the
current FAA authorization expires. So it will take bipartisan
cooperation to get this done before the deadline.
Both parties have every reason in the world to get FAA done as
quickly as possible and as smoothly as possible to keep our skies safe,
our airports safe, and our Federal employees taken care of. I hope the
Senate can come together to get this important legislation finished.
Federal Judiciary
Mr. President, on judge shopping, the central principle of America's
justice system can be boiled down to four words we all know so well:
``equal justice under law.'' When you go to court, a judge's personal
preferences should make no difference in the outcome.
But, recently, the hard right has turned ``equal justice under law''
on its head with the gross practice of judge shopping. Ideologues from
across the country bring their cases to courts of their choosing, to
pick and choose judges they know are friendly to their cause. Judge
shopping is how the hard right successfully revoked the FDA approval of
mifepristone nationwide a year ago.
Yesterday, MAGA Republicans took aim at President Biden's new
background check rules by flocking yet again to their favorite MAGA
judge in the country, Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk in the Northern District
of Texas. Judge Kacsmaryk has not even been a judge for 5 years--not
for 5 years--and already he has heard cases with nationwide
implications on things like reproductive care and Federal LGBTQ
protections and the ACA. There is a very clear reason why this single
Texas judge hears so many controversial cases. He is a living,
breathing rubberstamp for the hard-right agenda, and MAGA extremists
know he is friendly to their cause.
As I said before, and I will say it again, judge shopping jaundices
our legal system like few other abuses do. Picking and choosing a judge
to get a predetermined outcome is the definition of unfairness, and
Congress should fix this abuse with appropriate legislation. Even the
Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, hardly a liberal, has acknowledged
that judge shopping is a problem that ought to be addressed.
A few weeks ago, I led a group of 40 Senators introducing a bill that
would curtail judge shopping and restore fairness to the judicial
system. I would hope both sides can work together on this bill to make
sure nobody gets an unfair advantage in a court of law, simply based on
a judge's personal preferences.
Some of my colleagues on the other side have suggested that Congress
shouldn't do anything to improve how our courts work. That is plainly
ridiculous. When the Federal judiciary is being exploited by practices
like judge shopping, it is both proper and appropriate for Congress to
exercise its oversight authority.
Congress has clear authority under the Constitution to exercise
oversight of the courts. So we will continue weighing legislative
options to ensure that the Federal judiciary is committed to equal
justice under law.
Farm Bill
Mr. President, on the farm bill, again, I would like to applaud my
good friend and colleague Chairwoman Stabenow of the Agriculture
Committee, who yesterday released the substance of her farm bill.
Chair Stabenow's farm bill supports our farmers, feeds our families,
and bolsters our rural communities. By focusing on bipartisanship,
rather than playing partisan games with our farmers and families like
House Republicans, the bill she put together, the Rural Prosperity and
Food Security Act, holds the broad coalition needed to pass the farm
bill. I am proud of the chairwoman's dogged work on this legislation.
The bill includes more than 100 bipartisan priority pieces of
legislation, from improving rural healthcare and education to foreign
ownership of farm land. It ensures that SNAP reflects the reality of
how Americans buy and prepare food and keeps kids fed by making
significant investments to end childhood hunger. And it defends the
historic climate-smart agricultural investments that I fought so hard
to secure on the Inflation Reduction Act last summer.
We all know that about 10 percent of the carbon that is emitted into
the atmosphere comes from agriculture, and the bill does a good job by
reducing that amount, but still making sure farmers, particularly small
farmers, don't pay the price.
Tribute to Mike Kuiken
Finally, Mr. President, I want to close my remarks with one of my
least favorite words, but one which I say with immense gratitude:
Farewell.
I am sad, grateful, verklempt, happy, moved--all of the above--to pay
tribute this morning to one of the best staffers I have ever had, Mike
Kuiken, my national security adviser for over 5 years.
He has been an invaluable adviser, an extremely gifted thinker, and a
straight shooter for all the years he has been part of my team. I want
to say thank you.
Members from around the Senate, Democrats and Republicans alike, have
come to rely on his knowledge and his judgment. And, in many ways, he
has made the world a better and safer place--made America a better and
safer place--by his dedication to this field, to intelligence, and to
the military. He has done a great job.
I will so badly miss him. But like when many of my staffers leave
when they are going on to bigger and better things, I rejoice, as well.
So it is with mixed emotions that I say goodbye to Mike, and an
enormous thank you from me, the people of New York, and the people of
America for being so strong and firm in protecting America's interests
with balance, with care, with intelligence.
Mike leaves the Senate with a legacy he can truly be proud of. If he
did nothing else in his life, he can rest assured--he will do plenty
more, I know--but he can rest assured that he has been a great, great
contributor to this society. He has been on the forefront of every
major national security event America has experienced in two decades.
He joined Carl Levin's staff a few months before 9/11 and played a
hand in legislation protecting our troops during deployment in the
Middle East, expanding sanctions against Iran, responding to the Arab
Spring, strengthening counterterrorism efforts, resisting Russian
interference in the 2016 elections, outcompeting the Chinese
Government, and so much more. Whether in a war zone or inside the SCIF,
where he spends a lot of time learning all about classified
information, he has been invaluable.
Without Mike, I can say we would never have gotten the Chips and
Science Act done. He--with several other of my staffers--was there
shepherding this bill, all the way back to the days when I first called
it the Endless Frontier Act.
Without Mike, we wouldn't have gotten the NDAA done for so many
years. Without Mike, we would be nowhere in preparing for the future of
AI in the sphere of national security.
So, for sure, as I said, he can be really proud of what he has done.
Anyone who knows him well knows all these incredible things are
secondary to what matters most to him: his two kids. The number of
times I called him and he was at a swim meet or track meet or some
event for one of his kids, just reveling in their successes, I can't
count. He is always there. His wife Emily and his children, I am sure,
are excited they will be able to see a little more of him around the
House, at least for now.
Mike, thank you, thank you, thank you. Thank you so much, and my best
wishes on the road ahead. You will always have a place here in the
Senate and in what we call the ``Schumer family.'' You are part of our
family and always will be.
He is not here. He is probably in the SCIF or in a swim meet for one
of his kids.
I yield the floor.
Recognition of the Minority Leader
The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The Republican leader is
recognized.
National Security
Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, last Thursday, the Pentagon announced
for the second time in as many weeks that U.S. military personnel would
withdraw from years of work on security
[[Page S3297]]
cooperation with major nations in North Africa. America has now
effectively been pushed out of Chad, Niger, Mali, and Burkina Faso,
making more room for Russia and China.
Here at home, appropriators are parsing President Biden's fourth
straight proposal to cut defense spending in real-dollar terms, and
they are discovering, among other glaring red flags, that he intends to
meet China's surging spending on shipbuilding with the smallest request
for Navy ships in 15 years.
The Biden administration's national security strategy and national
defense strategy explicitly--explicitly--prioritize great power
competition, but does it sound like America is effectively engaged in
that competition? Does any of this look like the behavior of a
superpower that intends to maintain its influence and defend its
interests? It certainly doesn't to me. This administration behaves more
like an ostrich than a superpower.
For 2 years, Russia's war in Ukraine has called urgent attention to
shortcomings in Western stockpiles and production capacity for critical
munitions.
For months--months--defending against attacks from Iran and its
proxies has forced the United States to incur significant unplanned
costs and expend major stores of cutting-edge missiles and air defense
interceptors. But despite this surging demand, the President's request
leaves the budget for munitions stagnant.
I have said repeatedly that growing our production capacity and
munitions stockpiles in a sustainable way will require more than urgent
supplemental investments; it will take building these requirements into
our base budget.
We are facing growing interconnected threats from Russia, China,
North Korea, Iran, and a host of terrorist proxies--an axis bent on
eroding American influence, dominating our friends, and killing our
servicemembers. This is not news, and unfortunately neither is this
sort of willful blindness from Democratic administrations when it comes
to growing threats. After all, it was President Obama who decided to
let a budget number dictate national security priorities rather than
letting strategy inform spending. It was the Obama-Biden administration
that abandoned the ``two-war'' planning construct that had long guided
how we structure and resource our Armed Forces.
The risk that America and our allies will have to fight
simultaneously in two regions is real, it is growing, and it is time to
start taking the risk seriously.
It is absurd to pretend that we can outcompete the pacing threat from
China--let alone simultaneous conflicts--when the President won't even
submit defense budgets that keep up with inflation. We are spending
half as much on defense as a percentage of GDP as we did through
President Reagan's buildup, but we are facing even more serious threats
than we did back then.
Show me your budget, and I'll tell you what you value.
Those are the words of President Biden.
I had hoped that the chaos of world events would lead our friends on
the other side of the aisle to see the value in addressing grave and
growing threats to our national security, but the President's budget
request actually suggests otherwise. So does the latest suggestion from
the chair of the Appropriations Committee that she would pair any
increase in defense spending with more domestic spending on her party's
priorities.
So the game is up. We cannot afford to pretend it is business as
usual around here. We can't let partisan spending priorities hold the
common defense hostage. It is time to acknowledge that the growing
threats to our peace and prosperity deserve our utmost attention.
But if neither our Commander in Chief nor our Congress takes
investments in American leadership and American strength seriously, how
on Earth can we expect our adversaries to?
Energy
Mr. President, now on another matter, last week, the Biden
administration's EPA finalized new regulations targeting producers of
affordable and reliable American energy. The so-called Clean Power Plan
2.0 is just the latest front in Washington Democrats' long and
disastrous War on Coal. These regulations would effectively force many
powerplants to close, endanger more good-paying jobs in my home State
of Kentucky, and burden working Americans around the country with
higher electricity bills. They would put already steep emissions
standards even further out of reach for existing producers. They would
shrink the supply of baseload power as demand rises and an already
strained electric grid nears the breaking point.
As an industry advocate in Kentucky put it recently, ``The Biden
administration . . . has again shown it's disconnected from reality.''
Just last week, the Midcontinent Independent System Operator released
its latest report on electricity costs. The report showed that capacity
prices in its region had nearly tripled and that the increase was due
primarily to retiring coal plants.
This scheme isn't just profoundly bad policy, it is also illegal. The
Supreme Court overturned President Obama's original Clean Power Plan in
West Virginia v. EPA, and the Court's decision left no room for doubt
that the EPA requires clear--clear--authorization from Congress to
implement such regulations once again. Needless to say, Congress has
given no such authorization. In fact, the law couldn't have been
clearer in saying the opposite.
Back in 2015, I introduced a CRA disapproving of the original Clean
Power Plan, which passed the Senate with bipartisan support.
Last August, I joined Senator Capito and 37 of our colleagues in
urging the EPA to withdraw the proposed rule.
Last week, I was very proud to join a resolution Senator Capito will
introduce disapproving of the EPA's latest power grab. I am grateful
for our colleague's leadership, and I will continue to stand firmly
behind the Kentuckians and workers across coal country who need to keep
the lights on.
I yield the floor.
I suggest the absence of a quorum.
The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The clerk will call the roll.
The senior assistant legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for
the quorum call be rescinded.
The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. Without objection, it is so
ordered.
The majority whip.
Nomination of Adeel Abdullah Mangi
Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, as you well know, the Senate has confirmed
194 of President Biden's judicial nominees to lifetime appointments.
Each of these nominees has been questioned about their qualifications
and credentials. And as the Senate provided advice and consent on their
nominations, they move forward.
But Adeel Mangi, nominated to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third
Circuit has faced unprecedented and fundamentally unfair personal
attacks. Senate Republicans and dark money groups have made bigoted and
false claims about Mr. Mangi, the first Muslim American nominated to
the Federal Appellate Court.
Rather than focusing on Mr. Mangi's qualifications or credentials
during the hearing that he was subjected to in December, Republicans
subjected him to irrelevant, combative lines of questioning about the
Israel-Hamas war. They even asked--they even asked--whether he
celebrated the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. Can you imagine?
With no basis in his life experience, the fact that he was Muslim gave
them license to ask whether or not, in his home, they celebrated
September 11.
Throughout his confirmation process, Mr. Mangi has unequivocally
condemned anti-Semitism and acts of terrorism. Republican Senators have
tried to scapegoat Mr. Mangi for statements made by other people and
for events he didn't even attend and wasn't even aware of. That is
simply guilt by association, and it is wrong.
Any claim that Mr. Mangi is anti-Semitic is simply false. Yet just
this week, the Republican leader falsely claimed that Mr. Mangi's
confirmation would lead to ``radicalism on the Federal bench.'' The
fact that this man will be the first Muslim American allows these wild
accusations to take place, and it is unfair.
To claim that Mr. Mangi is ``radical'' ignores his record. For more
than two
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decades, he has focused on commercial litigation at a top-tier law
firm. He has served as counsel of record in more than 30 matters before
Federal appellate courts, as well as eight amicus briefs submitted to
the U.S. Supreme Court. In addition, Mr. Mangi has devoted more than
4,000 hours to his pro bono practice, representing clients in religious
discrimination and employment discrimination cases.
Mr. Mangi deserves to be evaluated based on his record, not on bad-
faith falsehoods and innuendo. I urge my colleagues to dismiss the
smear campaign against him and support his nomination.
Dream Act
Mr. President, on another matter, I would like to discuss an issue
that has been personal to me and a priority for more than 20 years, the
young immigrants known as the Dreamers. It was a little over 20 years
ago that I introduced the first DREAM Act. Before that, people
discussed the Dreamers in terms of a rock-and-roll group from Great
Britain. Now the Dreamers are known as young people who were brought to
the United States as children, with no decision on their own part, grew
up in this country, pledged allegiance to this American flag in their
classrooms, and simply want to be part of the future of America. That
is what this is all about. Many have gone on to serve our Nation as
first responders, nurses, and members of the Armed Forces. They are
American in every way, except under our law. And without congressional
action, they still spend each day in fear of deportation.
I first introduced the DREAM Act 23 years ago. I have reintroduced it
for the last several Congresses with my friend, the senior Senator from
South Carolina Lindsey Graham. The DREAM Act would provide a pathway to
citizenship for Dreamers. On several occasions, a bipartisan majority
of Senators have voted for the DREAM Act on the floor of the Senate,
but it has been blocked by filibuster each time.
Twelve years ago, in response to a bipartisan request from myself and
the late Senator Richard Lugar, Republican of Indiana, President Obama
established DACA, the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals Program.
Since 2012, DACA has protected from deportation more than 830,000 young
people, all of whom arrived in our country as children, some as young
as a few months old.
Today, I want to share the story of one of those impressive
individuals who has received DACA protection. This is the 142nd story
of a Dreamer that I have shared on the Senate floor.
Brian Garcia Valdez came to the United States from Mexico when he was
10 years old. He grew up in South Texas. He graduated from high school
with honors in the top 10 percent of his class.
Because of Brian's immigration status, he wasn't eligible for
financial aid to go to college, so he worked jobs, multiple jobs--
waiter, washing cars, construction--all to support his tuition cost at
Texas A&M. After 4 years of hard work, he graduated with a bachelor's
degree in biology in 2017. Brian is now a medical student at Loyola
Stritch School of Medicine in my home State of Illinois.
I want to give a shout-out to the school. Loyola School of Medicine
was the first in the Nation to open up the competition for the limited
number of slots they have to DACA students. They have had over 30 so
far. There is no quota. There is no allotment of a certain number.
These students just have to compete with everyone else and show that
they are ready to excel in medicine.
In addition to a busy academic schedule, Brian has worked as a clinic
coordinator in a health clinic assisting medically underserved
communities. He also received the 2023 Dream M.D. Physicians of
Tomorrow Scholarship for academic excellence. Brian will graduate next
week. He plans to attend the University of Rochester Medical Center for
his medical residency.
After completing his training, he hopes to return to South Texas to
serve medically underserved areas.
DACA allowed Brian to pursue his dream of being a doctor, but his
life is still in limbo because of the inaction of Congress. Since
President Obama established the DACA program, Republicans--many
Republicans--have waged a relentless campaign to overturn DACA and
deport the Dreamers back to the countries that many of them don't even
remember being part of.
Last September, one Federal judge in Texas declared DACA illegal as a
program. The decision left in place protections for current DACA
recipients while the appeal is pending, but has left them in constant
fear that any day another court decision will upend their lives. The
lower court decision also has prevented any more Dreamers from
registering for the program. This means that without congressional
action, thousands of Dreamers who already serve our country as doctors,
teachers, or first responders may never have that opportunity.
Next week, I will hold a hearing in the Senate Judiciary Committee on
the urgent need to protect these aspiring young people. It is time for
Congress to grant them the stability and certainty in their lives that
they so richly deserve.
When you look at this individual, Brian Garcia Valdez, ask yourself
the question: Now as he is on his path, on his way, becoming a medical
doctor in the United States and he wants to serve underserved people in
South Texas who don't have access to a good doctor, is our message from
Congress to him to go back to where you came from? That basically is
the issue before us. Is America a better country with Dr. Brian Garcia
Valdez in its ranks? You bet it is. Let's not lose this opportunity to
bring these quality individuals into full citizenship.
I yield the floor.
I suggest the absence of a quorum.
The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The clerk will call the roll.
The legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
Mr. THUNE. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for
the quorum call be rescinded.
The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. Without objection, it is so
ordered.
Protests
Mr. THUNE. Mr. President, over the past couple of weeks, we witnessed
a wave of anti-Semitism sweep college campuses across our country.
Under the guise of protest, an old hatred has made an ugly return and
not in some far corner of the world, which would be bad enough, but
here, in the United States, in 2024. Intimidation of Jewish students,
support for terrorists, calls for violence against fellow Americans--we
have seen it all, and more, on college campuses over the past few
weeks.
And too often this repugnant behavior has been abetted by the
action--or inaction--of campus faculty and administrators. Jewish
students simply walking around their campuses have heard things like:
``Hamas, we love you.'' ``Burn Tel Aviv to the ground.'' ``From the
river to the sea.'' ``We are Hamas.'' Every one of those slogans has
been used at protests.
A CBS article from a few days ago reported:
Near Columbia University, antisemitic slogans including
``go back to Poland'' were heard among the protesters'
chants. In one video, a demonstrator can be seen holding a
sign near Jewish students that reads: ``Al-Qassam's next
targets.''
Al-Qassam, of course, is the military wing of Hamas.
``Go back to Poland,'' ``Al-Qassam's next targets''? Anyone hearing
this could be forgiven for thinking that we are in 1930s Germany
instead of the United States of America, where I had hoped anti-
Semitism was a thing of the past, but apparently it is a thing of the
present.
And I have to wonder how we as a society have failed our young people
when they are incapable of opposing Israel's policies without attacking
the Jewish people, when they think that any means are justified in
pursuit of their goal, including the deliberate targeting and
slaughtering of the innocent. How have we gotten to a point where
apparently substantial numbers of young people are identifying with
terrorists, with an organization that mere months ago conducted a
deadly rampage that left hundreds of Israeli civilians, including
children, dead and saw more than 200 individuals, including children,
taken into captivity?
How have we gotten to a point where we have Jewish students afraid to
walk across their own campuses and, in some instances, being prevented
from entering campus buildings? Because that is where we are.
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Jewish students on too many campuses right now are living in fear as
intimidation and harassment of Jewish students becomes increasingly
commonplace.
One Jewish student at the University of Washington, which has also
seen a protest encampment, had this to say:
``When that [the protests] starts up, I do feel my heart
pounding, and I'm very anxious to be here.''
This is Olivia Feldman, a senior at the University of Washington and
copresident of Students Supporting Israel. She goes on to say:
``No, I do not feel safe on campus. I've been called names,
I've been spit at'' . . . Feldman is a great-granddaughter of
holocaust survivors.
She goes on to say:
``It is a very visceral feeling in me when someone tells me
to go back to the gas chambers,'' [she] said.
Another student--this one at Columbia University--said in February:
We have been attacked by sticks outside our library. We
have been attacked by angry mobs and we have been threatened
to ``Keep F-ing running.''
This is sickening. And the fact that this kind of behavior has become
widespread on some of these college campuses should be prompting some
serious soul-searching as to how we have let things get to this point--
and an immediate reckoning for students engaged in harassment, assault,
or other unlawful behavior.
And in addition to action from universities and local law
enforcement, the Biden Department of Education and Federal law
enforcement should immediately step in to investigate and prosecute
Federal offenses.
Protest is one thing. Colleges should be forums for debate and
discussion, and every American--every American--has a right to free
speech. But we are a long way beyond mere lawful protests. We are
talking about the harassment of and assaults on Jewish students. And it
is time for immediate action, including law enforcement action, where
warranted, to protect these students and ensure that they can attend
school in safety.
It is hard to believe that here in the United States I am having to
say something about ensuring Jewish students can attend school in
safety. And I hope that in addition to swift action from school
administrations and from law enforcement, we spend some time thinking
about what has gone wrong--what has gone wrong--with education in this
country that we are facing a situation where Jewish students are scared
to go to class because of the actions of their fellow students.
Something has gone seriously wrong when we have students at some of
our top schools embracing the actions of--and identifying with--
terrorists. That should be an unthinkable position. And I hope it will
become one again.
Finally, where is President Biden? The President has barely managed
to summon up a word on this most recent wave of anti-Semitism.
I understand that he was preparing for the White House
Correspondents' Dinner, but perhaps he could have taken a moment away
from cracking his jokes to address the fact that there are Jewish
students right now in the United States of America who are afraid to
walk across their campuses.
I am also waiting to hear the Attorney General and the Secretary of
Education's response to a letter I sent with a number of my Republican
colleagues regarding the administration's plans for enforcing Federal
law in relation to the anti-Semitism and protests on our college
campuses.
``No, I do not feel safe on campus. I've been called names,
I've been spit at. . . . It is a very visceral feeling in me
when someone tells me to go back to the gas chambers.''
That is something, I repeat, that Olivia Feldman, a student, has
said.
It is time to take action to close this disgraceful chapter and to
ensure that there are no more stories like Olivia Feldman's.
I yield the floor.
The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The Senator from Michigan.
Rural Prosperity and Food Security Act
Ms. STABENOW. Mr. President, yesterday, I announced the Rural
Prosperity and Food Security Act, put together by distinguished
colleagues on the Agriculture Committee, including the Presiding
Officer. We thank you so much for all of your leadership on so many
provisions here in Georgia and our entire country. So thank you for
that.
This is a serious bill that reflects bipartisan priorities to keep
farmers farming, to keep families fed, and to keep rural communities
strong. I hope those are values and priorities that we all share
together.
The foundation of every successful farm bill is built on a broad,
bipartisan coalition. That is how we get it done, as, Mr. President,
you know. We get it done because we bring everybody together. We don't
put forward things that lose votes; we put forward things that gain
votes so that we can do what we did in the last 5-year farm bill, 2018,
where we had 87 Members of the U.S. Senate come together, which was
extraordinary at that time, because we built the coalition. We
respected each other, and we did not look for policies that would
divide.
So it is important that farmers and ranchers, rural communities,
foresters, nutrition and hunger advocates, conservationists, bioenergy
advocates, local governments, and climate advocates come together. That
is a broad coalition, and there are so many more I could list on and on
that come together to be able to address a 5-year bill that addresses
rural America, our economy, feeding Americans, being there when they
need some help, protecting our land and water and air resources that
are so important, and investing in a rural quality of life, like where
I grew up in Northern Michigan, in Clare.
The Rural Prosperity and Food Security Act is a bill that holds the
coalition together. It is a bill that I put together with my Democratic
colleagues on the committee, but it includes 100 bipartisan bills--
actually, over 100 bipartisan bills--introduced this Congress through
the hard work of Republicans and Democrats on the committee as well as
off the committee and with the input of a broad farm bill coalition.
(Mr. FETTERMAN assumed the Chair.)
I would hope, at this point, we would be in a situation where we
would be bringing forward a bipartisan bill. We are not there yet, but
it is my responsibility as the leader of the committee to put forward
what I believe is the vision and the policies that can get us there,
and that is what this is talking about.
There are many things in here. I will not go through all of them, as
there are too many, but I will say this: We are strengthening the
important farm safety net by making meaningful investments that focus
our tax dollars, our American resources, on American farmers with dirt
under their fingernails, not billionaire Wall Street or foreign
investors, who, by the way, we ban from receiving commodity payments in
this bill.
This bill makes support for beginning farmers a priority. We need
more people who want to go into farming, either starting from scratch
or going home to their family farms. We need them. We need the people
being willing to do the critical work. They need to be a priority, and
they are a priority in this farm bill.
Our bill will provide farmers and ranchers with more choices that
provide timely and flexible assistance that meets their needs--lower
cost crop insurance, more effective commodity title, more opportunities
for affordable credit to operate their farms as input costs go up, and
the list goes on and on.
We, importantly, permanently authorize the agriculture disaster
assistance program, which, unfortunately, is having to be used more and
more and more. I want that to be clear, that that is a permanent part
of agricultural policy. This bill makes it a priority to help our
farmers and ranchers address the emerging risks that we know they all
face.
We also ensure that farmers are planting to meet market demand, not
to receive a government payment. We made major reforms in the 2014 bill
to emphasize that and then again in 2018, and it is important to keep
it going.
Farming has always been one of the riskiest ways to make a living. I
have said it is the riskiest business around. Nobody else has to
monitor the weather all day and night to figure out what is going on as
to whether or not their businesses are going to be OK, and the climate
crisis is making it even tougher. Think about the Michigan cherry
farmer who loses an entire crop due to an early warming and then a cold
[[Page S3300]]
snap--and this has happened in Michigan--or think of the wheat farmers
whose hard work is leveled as a violent summer storm pummels their
fields with hail.
Conservation programs are a vital part of our risk management for
farmers today. I am proud that they are voluntary, that they are
popular, that they are used, that farmers think they make a difference.
It is important that we continue to invest and protect those dollars.
This bill builds on our historic investment in those popular, voluntary
conservation programs by making the title--the conservation title--a
permanent investment, a permanent part of the farm bill, a permanent
authorization.
We invest to make sure we are confronting the climate crisis today
and in the future by taking the dollars that we have allocated for
climate-smart agriculture and putting it into the farm bill and
supporting these important, voluntary, climate-smart efforts. This will
put resources into farmers' pockets to continue the practices that they
are already doing and that they want to do more of on the farm and at
ranches around the country.
While the farm bill is the backbone of the farm safety net, it is
also the backbone of the family safety net through our nutrition title.
I want to thank our subcommittee chair who is presiding now, who
chairs our Subcommittee on Nutrition, for his leadership. I thank him
very much.
The Rural Prosperity and Food Security Act reflects our shared
belief, Republicans' and Democrats', that no American parent should
have to worry about whether or not they will be able to feed their
children. No American senior should have to choose between buying food
and paying for their medications. No American servicemembers should
experience hunger while serving their country.
This bill will help millions of hard-working Americans make ends meet
at a time when they really need it--in a time of crisis--by continuing
the 5-year update to the SNAP and the Thrifty Food Plan included in the
bipartisan 2018 farm bill to ensure that SNAP reflects the realities of
how Americans buy food and prepare food. It improves security measures
and cracks down on bad actors to strengthen the integrity of nutrition
assistance.
The bill invests in SNAP employment and training to help people
improve their job skills, and it excludes subsidized income earned
through employment and training from counting as income for SNAP so
that people will participate in these services and can finish their
training.
In rural development, this is such an important part of the farm
bill. This is about jobs; it is about quality of life. We have such an
exciting bioeconomy today. In the farm bill a number of years ago, I
put in a whole program called Grow It Here, Make It Here, where we
focused on biomanufacturing as well as our biofuels and what we could
do to add opportunities for farmers and income and jobs. We build on
that in this bill, whether it is biofuels, sustainable aviation fuel,
biomanufacturing, lifting up biopreferred labels so people know and can
feel confident in looking for those labels, American labels. We lift
this up.
We also strengthen our efforts with farmers and ranchers with clean
energy--clean energy efforts to lower costs for citizens in rural
America, to bring down their utility costs, but also to help our
farmers through the Rural Energy Assistance Program, which we
strengthen.
For the first time, we put not just authorizations but actually
mandatory farm bill resources--money--into the rural development title
to lift up really important quality-of-life issues that determine
whether or not people can actually stay and live in rural communities--
for instance, childcare; access to mental health and addiction
treatment facilities; rural housing, which is such a challenge. There
are so many things we need to be doing to create opportunities.
I am proud that we have already made rural communities a priority
through high-speed internet in rural communities and what we did in the
infrastructure bill. We also have made wastewater treatment and other
infrastructure issues in rural communities a part of what we have done
in other areas. But we need to do more as it relates to the quality of
life for families in rural communities, and the farm bill puts forward
a vision to do that.
The Rural Prosperity and Food Security Act is the product of a lot of
work. You know, Senator Boozman and I--my ranking member--started this
process 2 years ago at my alma mater, Michigan State University, with
our first field hearing to hear from all those impacted. We have both,
as well as other colleagues, traveled the country to hear ideas and to
hear what is important to do. But we are beyond that now. It is time to
get it done. It is time to get it done.
You know, I have been around here long enough to have participated in
six farm bills. It is the third one I have had the honor to lead. I
know what it takes. I am so honored and proud to have--I may be biased,
but I believe I have the smartest farm bill team there is. There are
talented people who have put this together, but we know how to do it.
We know how to do it.
I know that the only path forward is to hold together a broad,
bipartisan farm bill coalition. When you break the coalition up, it
never works. It never works. It fails time after time.
In some ways, the discussions and the attacks right now on nutrition
make me feel like it is ``Groundhog Day.'' We saw this in 2012 when the
House could not pass a bill because of the fight on nutrition. We saw
it again in 2018 when they couldn't pass a bill. It was voted down
again because of the fight on nutrition.
Breaking up the coalition and pitting the farmer safety net against
the family safety net will not get us a farm bill. It just won't.
I am so grateful that in doing our past farm bills, we have been able
to come together and understand that it is about recognizing broadly
the needs of farmers and food and jobs and all the other issues that
are so important to our rural communities and, frankly, urban
communities as well. That is why I am committed to doing that, because
that is the way we get a bill.
Our farmers, our families, our rural communities deserve the
certainty of a 5-year farm bill. There is no reason we can't do this.
There is no reason we can't do this if we take the lessons of the past,
if we creatively work together to meet the needs that we know need to
be addressed as more and more volatility affects our farmers and
ranchers across the country. We can do that. We can do that. I am
committed to doing everything in my power as chair of the Agriculture,
Nutrition, and Forestry Committee to make that happen.
I yield the floor.
I suggest the absence of a quorum.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
The 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 (Mr. King). Without objection, it is so
ordered.
The Senator from Tennessee.
Unanimous Consent Request
Mr. HAGERTY. Mr. President, in 2021, President Biden signed Executive
Order 14019. This Executive order directs Federal Government Agencies
to engage in voter mobilization using taxpayer resources, and it
requires that they submit a plan for doing so to the White House. This
includes helping with completing vote-by-mail materials and finding
third-party organizations to conduct voting-related activity on Federal
property.
This Executive order prompted questions and concerns. First, there is
no clear authority in Federal law allowing executive branch Agencies to
work with certain voters to complete mail-in ballot forms and bring in
outside organizations to help. And there is no authority for spending
congressionally appropriated funds on this activity, raising the
question of whether it violates the Antideficiency Act.
The same act prohibits Federal Agencies from accepting voluntary
services, which this Executive order blatantly violates by directing
Agencies to solicit third-party organizations to provide voting-related
services on Agency premises.
There is also the question of whether the Biden administration is
implementing this Executive order in a manner that violates the Hatch
Act. The Hatch Act limits political activity by
[[Page S3301]]
Federal employees. The Hatch Act is a Federal law that was enacted in
the 1930s for the very purpose of preventing this sort of government
activity.
It was an act enacted after the Roosevelt administration was accused
of using Federal employees and the WPA to boost Democrat candidates.
Does this sound familiar?
Think about VP Harris' recent announcement that Federal funds would
be used to hire college students as ``nonpartisan'' poll workers this
summer. As it turns out, her example that she used was a committed
partisan.
Back to Executive Order 14019 and the Biden administration's pledge
to be ``the most transparent presidential administration ever,''
surely, the Biden administration is going to go above and beyond to be
transparent and explain exactly how this order is being implemented,
right? Wrong.
In fact, in the 3 years since this order was issued, the Biden
administration has done the exact opposite. The White House has
stonewalled congressional requests to see the Agency plans that are
required under the order, despite the fact that congressionally
appropriated resources are being spent on these plans. They have gone
to court to fight open records requests to see the plans.
Last May, along with several colleagues, I wrote to the White House
asking for basic information on these plans. I never received a
response. We wrote again in November, and, again, were ignored by the
White House.
Now, I have introduced legislation that would simply require that the
Agencies disclose their plans and provide an update on their
implementation. That is it. They just have to explain what they are
doing. Will they? I will note that I am not alone in seeking
transparency regarding this Executive order. Several of my Democrat
colleagues recently wrote The General Services Administration
requesting its plan under the same Executive order. My legislation
simply broadens this request by seeking transparency from all Agencies.
The White House's continued and deliberate secrecy begs the question:
What are they hiding? What do they fear revealing? I think that we can
surmise that these plans take our Nation right back to the 1930s,
weaponizing government yet again, this time to recruit and to harvest
Democratic voters.
The facts that have slipped out seem to confirm just as much. The
Biden White House tasked a far-left organization called Demos, which
describes its mission as ``pioneer[ing] bold, progressive ideas.'' This
organization has been used by the White House to help implement this
Executive order. Demos recommended this voter mobilization strategy to
the incoming Biden administration in December of 2020.
Interestingly, Demos's former president was brought in to work in the
White House, which dutifully issued this order implementing the Demos
plan during President Biden's first year in office.
The Department of Health and Human Services has acknowledged that it
is working with groups like the ACLU and Demos to implement this
Executive order. A FOIA request also revealed that Demos is working
with the Department of Agriculture.
It seems that the idea is to use Federal Agencies to provide point-
of-sale voter mobilization, provide a Federal benefit, and then use
that exchange of Federal benefits to mobilize the voter.
There is a reason why the Hatch Act and other laws prevent Federal
employees from engaging in political activities--because Federal
employees are paid to serve all American taxpayers, not use government
benefits to activate voters. This sort of activity is fraught with
potential partisan impact, even if it is ostensibly framed as
nonpartisan.
Setting aside the clear policy and ethical concerns, all my
legislation requires is transparency. The Biden administration has
taken extraordinary steps to hide this information from the American
people. Not only does President Biden owe taxpayers this information
regarding how their hard-earned dollars are being spent on voter
mobilization, but it is a basic duty of this body to oversee how
congressionally appropriated funds are being spent, especially on
activities for which they were never appropriated.
In just a few months, tens of millions of Americans will cast their
vote for President. The American people deserve to know whether the
incumbent President is attempting to tip the scales in favor of his own
reelection using taxpayer dollars.
We all agree that free and fair elections are a foundational pillar
of the United States. The Founders of the United States rightfully left
that responsibility of carrying out Federal elections to the States,
not to the incumbent Federal President. This was to help ensure the
integrity of and ensure the confidence in our election system.
This Executive order is an extreme departure from the American model.
The President using the vast Federal bureaucracy to carry out his
secret voter mobilization operation months before the election is a
dangerous precedent, and it should alarm every one of us here in
Congress, and, frankly, it should alarm every American.
That is why I am requesting that the Senate pass legislation
requiring that the Biden administration disclose these plans and
provide the transparency that is necessary to address rightful concerns
about using taxpayer dollars in an unlawful and in a deeply disturbing
manner.
So, Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that, notwithstanding rule
XXII, the Senate proceed to the immediate consideration of S. 4239,
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 California.
Mr. PADILLA. Mr. President, reserving the right to object, I believe
that our democracy works best when as many eligible people as possible
participate in our democracy. That is not a controversial stance or a
partisan talking point. That is the bedrock of our democracy, and
something that I assume we all learned in high school civics class.
That is why, in March of 2021, President Biden issued Executive Order
14019 directing Federal Agencies to take commonsense steps to promote
nonpartisan voter registration and participation, including by
partnering with State voter registration offices.
Voter registration offices, by the way, are recognized and charged by
Federal law, right? We have the National Motor Voter law just as one
example from 1994. I am very familiar with this because, prior to
joining the Senate, I served as California's Secretary of State. So in
that lens, from that perspective, I enthusiastically support the
administration's efforts to ensure that all eligible Americans are able
to participate in our elections.
In a democracy, nobody should be afraid of encouraging more eligible
Americans to register to vote and to cast their ballot. Nobody should
be afraid of increasing turnout--certainly not U.S. Senators.
But at the same time, I also strongly support Congress's oversight
role. That is why I have already engaged in conversations with the
administration on the steps that they are taking to implement the
Executive order and help more eligible Americans to vote, because that
is what this straightforward Executive order does. It simply directs
Federal Agencies to take appropriate steps, mindful of the law, within
their existing authorities--not asking to do anything they haven't done
before--to help eligible Americans to vote. Nowhere in the order does
it say help Democrats or help Republicans--any eligible American.
So if my colleague is interested in joining me to receive these
updates from the administration on their implementation, I would be
more than happy to facilitate such a meeting and conversation.
But this bill, the bill before us now, is simply the latest
Republican attempt to undermine the Biden administration's efforts to
expand voting to all eligible Americans. Earlier this year, I voted
alongside my Democratic colleagues against efforts that would have
blocked funding to implement this Executive order, and I will continue
to work with my colleagues to protect the right to vote and efforts to
promote voter access.
[[Page S3302]]
And, again, I am more than happy to work with my colleague, any of my
colleagues, to have productive conversations with the administration,
but this bill? This bill will only serve to undermine the work being
done to promote voter registration and participation; so, therefore,
Mr. President, I object.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The objection is heard.
The Senator from Tennessee.
Mr. HAGERTY. Mr. President, I appreciate my colleague Senator
Padilla's outreach toward each other, and I look forward to working
with him on a number of issues in this regard. He has great expertise
in this arena. But I have a very basic question to ask, and that is:
What is this administration afraid of? Because all I am asking for is
transparency. I am just asking to see the plans that are commanded by
this Executive order, yet the administration stonewalls us on this. We
talk about having conversations, but why not just show the plans?
I fear that this is a return back to the 1930s, a return back to the
weaponization of government, delivering a point-of-sale benefit, and,
at the same time, bringing along a voter registration package and an
encouragement of voting for the incumbent administration.
Let's see the plans. Let's allay the concerns that I raise. This
administration is not doing that. This administration is stonewalling
us. In fact, my colleague Senator Padilla has also requested
transparency of the GSA to find out what they are doing with respect to
implementing this Executive order. Let's expand this to all Agencies.
Let's let the American public see what the Biden administration is up
to with this Executive order.
But the real motivation of this Executive order was the fact that the
Biden administration was disappointed that they weren't able to
federalize our election system. After the failure of H.R. 1 and S. 1
here in the Senate, this is the result, Executive order 14019. This is
the command to weaponize the Federal system for election year
activities. I think Americans deserve to see what these plans are, and
I would look forward to the transparency that I am asking for.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from California.
Mr. PADILLA. 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. TUBERVILLE. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order
for the quorum call be rescinded.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
Corporate Transparency Act
Mr. TUBERVILLE. Mr. President, I have come to the Senate floor today
to talk about the Corporate Transparency Act or, as we call it in DC--
in swamp speak--the CTA act.
The CTA, to me, is one of the worst examples of Big Government
overreach that I have seen since I got to Washington over 3\1/2\ years
ago. That is saying a whole lot, since our country is $34 trillion in
debt. The CTA was signed into law in 2021 as part of the fiscal year
2021 NDAA.
Simply put, the Corporate Transparency Act is an outright attack on
the 32 million small businesses in this country. This includes farmers,
restaurants, gyms, lawn service companies. The CTA specifically targets
working Americans with an LLC, and failure to comply could put you in
jail for up to 2 years per violation plus slap on $10,000 per
violation. That is quite a penalty.
You know, I don't know about you, but I have plenty of friends and
family members who have an LLC. It is just part of the way the U.S.
economy works--capitalism. Small business and LLC owners play a huge,
huge role in supporting this country and our way of life. I can tell
you most business owners have no idea that this law exists--none, not
one bit.
The Corporate Transparency Act requires individuals with substantial
control over a company or an equity position of 25 percent to disclose
personal data with the Treasury's Financial Crimes Enforcement Network.
Now, that is a long name. It is better known as FinCEN in swamp talk--a
government bureau most Americans have no idea as to what it is, and
they have never heard of it before. The CTA will impact small
businesses across the Nation, in addition to millions of citizens who
use LLCs to invest in real estate or protect their assets, which
millions of Americans do.
My State of Alabama is home to over 400,000 small businesses. Now,
small businesses are the backbone of Alabama's economy, making up more
than 99 percent of the business community and providing jobs to nearly
half of Alabama's working population.
But it isn't just Alabamans who will be impacted. Over 32 million
businesses across America are estimated to be affected by this
overreaching, Big Government, swamp law. Hardly anybody knows about it.
It is a well-kept secret, but it affects farmers, lawyers, accountants,
and business owners. They are directly and seriously impacted.
Under this law, millions of small business owners are required--they
are required--to report personal details to the Federal Government.
Business owners or anyone who qualifies for this massive government
overreach must disclose their names, their dates of birth, their
addresses, and scan their government-issued photo IDs to the Treasury
Department by the end of this year. Any time this information changes,
updated information must be submitted to FinCEN's database within 30
days. So, if you move, you have to let the Federal Government know
within 30 days that you have changed your address. The failure to file
with FinCEN can, again, lead up to 2 years of jail time and a $10,000
fine per violation.
By the way, I find it ironic that we are currently voting on
legislation cracking down on social media companies like TikTok and
Facebook for storing people's personal data. Meanwhile, the Federal
Government is doing the very exact thing that we have been discussing
here on this floor for months and months.
Why does the Federal Government need this information in the first
place?
Well, the goal of the CTA was to crack down on shell companies used
to commit crimes. That is what this was meant for, but the reality is
that criminals are not going to file with FinCEN. That is not going to
happen. Criminals don't go by the law. Instead, the law will be used to
go after hard-working Americans.
In recent years, we have lost over 150,000 farmers in this country.
You heard that right. Just in the last few years, 150,000 farmers have
gone out of business. They can't keep up with Joe Biden's high-priced
economy. It is not happening. They are not making any money. They are
selling out. Now the CTA is going to squeeze them for every last cent.
We need farmers in this country. We need small businesses. Where does
Joe Biden think our food comes from, by the way?
It is sad--it really is--but few in Washington and most outside the
beltway have no idea that this law actually exists. I continue to say
we have a law that has not been advertised. People haven't pushed it.
It is out there, and it is just hanging. They have no idea that this
law exists. Plus, they don't have an idea that the criminal penalty is
there, and it is a very high price.
To no one's surprise, large businesses--listen to this point--with
powerful lobbyists got a carve-out in the law, and they do not have to
comply with the CTA. That is right. If they had a very good lobbyist
and they are a big business, they don't have to comply with this law.
Companies like BlackRock, Facebook, Amazon--they don't have to comply
with this because the Federal Government is too busy going after your
local neighborhood restaurant or your daughter's favorite nail salon or
your family's dentist or your local farmer.
While the little guy has to struggle with all this redtape, LLCs with
more than 20 employees and greater than $5 million in revenue do not
file with FinCEN. That is right. It is only the small guy. It is only
the small person who is trying to make a living. Yet another win for
the swampy special interest groups while hard-working Americans who pay
their taxes--they will suffer.
The few small business owners who are aware of the CTA's existence
want to make sure they are compliant, but they have few places to turn.
Accounting and law firms do not want to take
[[Page S3303]]
on the responsibility of filing for these clients, and many industry
professionals are unaware of the penalties if you fail to file.
So Joe Biden has weaponized the IRS against Americans. He already
announced he is using American tax dollars to hire 84,000 new IRS
agents to go after everyday taxpayers--84,000. Now, if you remember,
President Biden promised: We are not going to go after anybody who
makes less than $400,000. Yet another lie from 1600 Pennsylvania
Avenue.
Now, some of these agents will target small business owners who fail
to disclose their personal information to FinCEN, not to mention
politically motivated prosecutors who will use the CTA to target
conservative business owners.
Sadly, the IRS has a history of singling out certain taxpayers based
on their religious and their political beliefs. Have we forgotten Lois
Lerner, who is living off her taxpayer-funded pension but should have
been prosecuted?
In an America where justice is becoming less equal by the day and
prosecutions have been used to target political opponents, the CTA is
just another way that this administration can use the Federal
Government to go after conservatives and Christians.
To add insult to injury, FinCEN has done little to nothing to educate
Americans on the CTA and the harsh consequences if you don't comply. It
is almost like they want Americans to be ignorant about the new law so
they can punish them for not complying. This is completely unfair. This
is not the American way. You would expect this from communist China.
But this is not going to happen on our watch. Next week, I am
introducing the Repealing Big Brother Overreach Act to overturn the CTA
in its entirety.
America used to be the land of freedom and opportunity. Under Joe
Biden, the American dream has become a nightmare for many small
business owners and farmers. My bill would provide millions of small
businesses and entrepreneurial Americans with regulatory and compliance
relief. They need a break. They don't need more regulations; they need
less. My bill would also remove a weapon used by rogue prosecutors who
would love to punish Republicans and Joe Biden's IRS that openly
targets conservatives every day.
It is past time we start standing up for our farmers, our store
owners, LLC holders, and small businesses who are the heartbeat of this
America.
I am proud to be joined in this effort by Congressman Warren Davidson
of Ohio, who is filing a companion bill in the U.S. House of
Representatives.
If Congress fails to act on this legislation, millions of American
small business owners could be in for a rude awakening next year.
I look forward to Leader Schumer bringing this bill to the floor and
helping millions of small business owners and helping those who are
counting on us to take on this huge government overreach.
I yield the floor.
The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Peters). The Senator from Arkansas.
Remembering David Pryor
Mr. BOOZMAN. Mr. President, I am here today to honor Senator David
Pryor, a lifelong advocate for Arkansas, who passed away on April 20 at
the age of 89.
Senator Pryor was a tremendous public servant who dedicated his life
to making Arkansas better. His trademark motto, ``Arkansas comes
first,'' wasn't only a sign on his desk; it was a mission he pursued
relentlessly with passion and a formidable intellect.
Senator Pryor represented Arkansas in this Chamber for three terms,
but public service at any level was something he learned from the
example of his family. His father and grandfather were both sheriffs,
and his mother was the first Arkansas woman to run for elected office.
That was a good foundation to start from, and the unique skills he
possessed to persuade and lead were tools he effectively used
throughout his career.
Those who worked with him described him as genuine and fair and were
in awe of his ability to make real, meaningful connections, whether on
the floor of the Senate with colleagues from across the aisle or the
folks in small Arkansas towns. Every interaction with David Pryor
conveyed that he cared and that he wanted to help.
That posture certainly worked to his advantage over decades in public
life. Voters elected Pryor to the State legislature in 1960, and in
subsequent years, they trusted him to be their U.S. Congressman,
Governor, and U.S. Senator.
It wasn't holding elected office that made him remarkable; it was his
honesty and hard work that demonstrated to Arkansans that he was
trustworthy.
In the Senate, he was a well-respected legislator who advocated for
seniors as chairman of the Senate Special Committee on Aging, where he
focused on prescription drug pricing and the prevention of nursing home
abuse. He championed the Taxpayer Bill of Rights to protect the hard-
earned money of Arkansans and all Americans. He also served as a Senate
liaison between the Senate and the White House when another former
Arkansas Governor, Bill Clinton, was President.
When Senator Pryor left elected office in 1997, he didn't slow down.
His commitment to civic engagement and the well-being of Arkansas never
faded as he took on a number of roles, including as the Fulbright
Distinguished Fellow of Law and Public Affairs at the University of
Arkansas and then also as the University of Arkansas System trustee and
founding dean of the Clinton School of Public Service.
David Pryor was an avid storyteller who relished any occasion to
teach a memorable lesson or simply reminisce. It is fitting that he is
still helping tell that story, the story of Arkansas and its citizens,
by establishing the David and Barbara Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral
and Visual History.
I will always appreciate the example he set. Even from afar, he was a
great role model for me and so many other Arkansans as we were growing
up.
I first met David Pryor after I was elected to serve the people of
the Third District of Arkansas. He was a true southern gentleman who
reached across the aisle and offered his assistance to help me navigate
Washington. He understood the importance of working together and was
willing to share his wisdom with anybody because it was another
opportunity to support our State.
He also passed the drive to public service down to his children. I
was honored to serve along with his son Mark and know that we are
immensely proud of the Pryor family.
Senator Pryor leaves behind a legacy of public service rich with
accomplishments that made a difference in the lives of Arkansans and
people all across our country. He modeled statesmanship and stewardship
so incredibly. We celebrate everything he represented in serving the
people of Arkansas.
I yield to my friend from Arkansas and colleague, Senator Cotton.
Mr. COTTON. Mr. President, I thank Senator Boozman.
I join with Senator Boozman to honor former Senator David Pryor--a
great Arkansan, statesman, and dedicated public servant.
David Pryor first entered public office in the Arkansas State House
of Representatives when he was only 26 years old. Not even 6 years
later, his fellow Arkansans elected him to Congress, where he served in
the House for 6 years. In 1972, he narrowly lost a race for Senate
against a longtime Democratic incumbent, having pushed the race into a
runoff, but the grace and magnanimity he showed in defeat that year led
him directly to victory 2 years later when he was elected Governor in
1974. After two successful terms in the Governor's mansion, he was
elected to this body in 1978. He served here with distinction for 18
years.
Over the course of his storied political career, David Pryor won an
impressive 12 elections and served the people in public office for more
than 30 years.
He was a reformer who opposed segregationist policies of his own
party, championed the interests of seniors and farmers, and was
respected by friend and foe alike. He fought for better conditions in
our nursing homes, lower prescription drug prices for our sick, and the
Taxpayer Bill of Rights to give relief to the average American.
He led Arkansas through recession and recovery and left an enduring
legacy on our State government. Throughout his time in political
office, he kept a plaque on his desk with three simple words:
``Arkansas comes
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first''--an example that continues to inspire me and Senator Boozman
and all of those who serve the Natural State.
After leaving the Senate, he didn't just retire or fade quietly away
or tend to his own private affairs; rather, he continued to serve
others. He supported the University of Arkansas, he established the
David and Barbara Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History,
and he contributed to a series of academic and humanitarian ventures.
David Pryor leaves behind a loving family, including his wife,
Barbara, of 66 years; three sons, including Mark, who also served in
the Senate for 12 years; and two sisters. My prayers and the prayers of
so many Arkansans are with the whole Pryor family during this moment of
their grief.
But David Pryor also leaves behind a grateful State. When he retired
from the Senate, he said:
Arkansas owes me nothing, and I owe Arkansas everything.
I would submit that is not quite right. Our State does owe David
Pryor quite a bit. It owes him a debt of gratitude for a life well
lived and committed to public service and inspiring so many others.
He fought for what he believed would make Arkansas better, and for
that, we will remember the life and legacy of David Pryor with
fondness, respect, and gratitude.
I yield the floor.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Oklahoma.
H.R. 3935
Mr. LANKFORD. Mr. President, this week, the Senate began
consideration of the FAA reauthorization bill. It is an incredibly
important piece of legislation that this body takes up every few years
to be able to evaluate where we are on safety of our national airspace.
There are a lot of aspects that are in it.
What some people may not know in this body is how incredibly
important this is, not only to our national air space and our safety,
but it is also something that is talked about often in my State of
Oklahoma.
Oklahomans are passionate about our national airspace for many
reasons. One is, we obviously love to fly and have a long heritage of
flying in our State, but it is also the unique relationship that FAA
has with the State of Oklahoma. There are only two FAA centers outside
of Washington, DC. One of those is actually in Oklahoma City, the Mike
Monroney Aeronautical Center.
I would safely say to everybody that if you have been on a flight
lately and it took off and landed safely, you can thank the folks in
Oklahoma City for that, because Oklahoma City, that operation of Mike
Monroney Aeronautical Center, that Center has functioned 70 years and
has provided a lot of services for the FAA for all seven of those
decades.
They were established in 1958, home to thousands of great Federal
employees there that serve our Nation every single day to keep our
airspace safe. But they do it in ways that sometimes people don't see.
Let me give you an example of that. The Center houses a lot of
different components and a lot of back-office things for a lot of
different Agencies. They are on 1,100 acres of land in Oklahoma City
with 133 buildings. And as you go through the complex, you think there
is a lot going on here. Let me give you just a few examples of those
things.
Civil Aerospace Medical Institute is housed in Oklahoma City. The
Civil Aerospace Medical Institute takes care of the medical
certification, the research, education, the occupational health wing
for the FAA. They conduct all their research and studies on the human
element of flight there. That is safety for pilots, flight attendants,
passengers, how to be able to handle pressurization, all those things.
They do that in Oklahoma City every single day.
The Mike Monroney Center is also home to the only FAA Academy. They
handle the first 60 days or so of developmental air traffic control
training before a student is actually placed in the field. Basically,
when you take off and land, any of their communication with air traffic
control anywhere in the country, it is very likely those folks were
initially trained in Oklahoma City.
The Oklahoma City air traffic control training has geared up to be
able to take on as many people as the Nation needs for air traffic
control. In fact, this particular bill encourages maximizing as many
people as possible actually getting through air traffic control
training. And the academy in Oklahoma City is well-prepared to be able
to step up to the challenge of that. They have space. They have great
trainers that come in from all over the country to be able to do the
training there. They are fully capable and have a great curriculum that
they have been able to train folks that now serve our Nation every
single day. The FAA reauthorization bill expands that capacity in
Oklahoma City, rightfully so, and they are fully ready and able to do
it.
They also set a new minimum hiring target for air traffic controllers
so the maximum number of individuals can actually go through the
academy. It is very important we train as many people as possible to be
able to make them ready.
Advanced air mobility is another element that is actually there at
the Mike Monroney Aeronautical Center. The focus there is the next
generation of what is going to happen in unmanned flights. While a lot
of folks talk about that in the future, that research is actually
happening on the ground in Oklahoma City every single day.
There are a lot of aspects of this bill that prepare us for the
future of aviation and continues to be able to make our airspace the
safest airspace in the world. Let's keep it that way. Let's continue to
be able to learn what we can and to be able to continue to advance the
future of aviation in the United States.
I look forward to the debate that will begin, officially, later on
today and will continue all the way through next week or, quite
frankly, until whenever the Senate is finished in the debate on this
bill because it is important we actually get the FAA bill done in the
days ahead.
I yield the floor.
I suggest the absence of a quorum.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
The legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
Mr. CASEY. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for
the quorum call be rescinded.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
The Senator from Pennsylvania.
Mr. CASEY. Mr. President, I would ask consent to speak as if in
morning business.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
Antisemitism Awareness Act
Mr. CASEY. Mr. President, I rise today to speak against anti-Semitism
and to speak about efforts we are undertaking here in the Senate to
combat anti-Semitism.
We see it throughout our society, including on college campuses, and
my friend from South Carolina, Senator Scott, and I have worked on
legislation not just this year but for many years on this issue.
We introduced together the Antisemitism Awareness Act and have been
trying to get that passed into law.
The significant rise in anti-Semitism across the country on college
campuses has made me--and I know so many other Members of the House and
the Senate in both parties--increasingly concerned regarding the safety
of Jewish students on campus.
Students, of course, have the right to peacefully protest, but when
it crosses a line, either into violence or discrimination, then we have
an obligation to step in and stop that conduct.
I stood on this floor in late 2022 to speak about this subject, anti-
Semitism in America, and the exponential rise we were seeing in the
years leading up to that point in time to 2022. I spoke, in particular,
about the hateful anti-Semitism that led to the murder of 11
Pittsburghers at the Tree of Life synagogue.
At that time, we were calculating the numbers as being much higher
for 2020, 2021, and going into 2022.
But after October 7, when a band of terrorists, Hamas, went into
Israel and killed 1,200 innocent civilians, since that date, the rise
in anti-Semitism across the country and across the world has increased
even beyond what we thought were exponentially high numbers in 2022.
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The Anti-Defamation League has tracked the highest number of anti-
Semitic incidents ever in the United States in 2023. These numbers have
undoubtedly continued to rise with the ongoing campus protest.
There were over 8,800 instances, including 2,177 cases of vandalism
and 161 assaults. We cannot tolerate any form of anti-Semitism, abroad
or here at home in America, on college campuses, in the workplace, at
our schools. Wherever we find it, we have to take action against it.
To address the 140-percent increase--just imagine that, a 140-percent
increase in anti-Semitic incidents, compared to last year--I have
introduced several bills aiming to strengthen civil rights enforcement
against anti-Semitism. The Antisemitism Awareness Act that I made
reference to earlier working with Senator Scott and a group of
bipartisan Senators would mandate that the Department of Education
considers a widely accepted definition of ``anti-Semitism'' in carrying
out its enforcement actions.
The Department of Education has an Office of Civil Rights. That
office is empowered to conduct these investigations, and we have to
provide more funding, by the way, for that office to do these
investigations.
They are badly, badly underfunded right now. But Senator Scott and I
have worked together on this anti-Semitism legislation for almost a
decade now, since 2016.
I want to thank our colleagues in the House who passed the Anti-
Semitism Awareness Act of 2023 yesterday with a vote of 320-91.
However, one finding in the House bill is different from my and Senator
Scott's bill and the Biden administration's Countering Antisemitism
Strategy; that the use of other anti-Semitism definitions impairs
enforcement. Taking this finding out is important because other
definitions of anti-Semitism also help to address this terrible
problem. But what is even more important is passing this bill today
with the unique opportunity that we have. In the Senate, we must take
up and pass this bill and pass it today.
The hotline to all Senate offices went out last night, but objections
on both sides of the aisle prevented us from bringing our bill to the
floor. We must bring it to the floor and pass it today.
But that is not all that is needed to counter discrimination and
harassment on college campuses. As I mentioned earlier, the office
responsible for enforcing anti-discrimination laws, the Department of
Education's Office for Civil Rights, is--and I will say it again--
badly, severely underfunded. That is why I am leading the Showing Up
For Students Act, which would double the funding for the Office for
Civil Rights to investigate incidents of harassment and discrimination,
including anti-Semitism, on college campuses nationwide.
In the months following the terrorist group Hamas's attack on Israel,
the Office for Civil Rights has seen a more than 1,300-percent increase
in complaints related to discrimination and harassment based upon
shared ancestry, including acts of anti-Semitism at schools across the
United States. This is a staggering increase in incidents and shows no
sign of abating.
We must meet the moment and ensure that students can learn free from
anti-Semitism, free from discrimination, and all--all--forms of hate.
We must pass the Antisemitism Awareness Act today to ensure that
Jewish students on campuses or anywhere else in our society are
protected against discrimination.
I yield the floor.
Vote on Motion
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The question is on agreeing to the motion to
proceed.
Mrs. BLACKBURN. Mr. President, I ask for the yeas and nays.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there a sufficient second?
There appears to be a sufficient second.
The clerk will call the roll.
The legislative clerk called the roll.
Mr. DURBIN. I announce that the Senator from New Jersey (Mr. Booker),
the Senator from Arizona (Mr. Kelly), the Senator from New Jersey (Mr.
Menendez), and the Senator from Vermont (Mr. Sanders), are necessarily
absent.
Mr. THUNE. The following Senators are necessarily absent: the Senator
from North Dakota (Mr. Cramer), the Senator from Wisconsin (Mr.
Johnson), the Senator from South Carolina (Mr. Scott), the Senator from
Alaska (Mr. Sullivan), and the Senator from Mississippi (Mr. Wicker).
The result was announced--yeas 81, nays 10, as follows:
[Rollcall Vote No. 158 Leg.]
YEAS--81
Baldwin
Barrasso
Bennet
Blackburn
Blumenthal
Boozman
Braun
Britt
Brown
Budd
Butler
Cantwell
Capito
Carper
Casey
Collins
Coons
Cornyn
Cortez Masto
Cotton
Crapo
Cruz
Daines
Duckworth
Durbin
Ernst
Fetterman
Fischer
Gillibrand
Graham
Grassley
Hagerty
Hassan
Heinrich
Hickenlooper
Hirono
Hoeven
Hyde-Smith
King
Klobuchar
Lankford
Lujan
Lummis
Manchin
Markey
Marshall
McConnell
Merkley
Moran
Mullin
Murkowski
Murphy
Murray
Ossoff
Padilla
Paul
Peters
Reed
Ricketts
Risch
Romney
Rosen
Rounds
Rubio
Schatz
Schmitt
Schumer
Scott (FL)
Shaheen
Sinema
Smith
Stabenow
Tester
Thune
Tillis
Tuberville
Warnock
Welch
Whitehouse
Wyden
Young
NAYS--10
Cardin
Cassidy
Hawley
Kaine
Kennedy
Lee
Van Hollen
Vance
Warner
Warren
NOT VOTING--9
Booker
Cramer
Johnson
Kelly
Menendez
Sanders
Scott (SC)
Sullivan
Wicker
The motion was agreed to.
____________________