[Congressional Record Volume 170, Number 120 (Wednesday, July 24, 2024)]
[Senate]
[Pages S5328-S5329]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                              Election Day

  Mr. President, on another matter, election day, November 5, is only 
104 days away. On November 5, the voters will head to the polls to 
chart a new direction for our country.
  The Presidential race, of course, has garnered the most attention 
given the

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surreal events of the last 10 days. In the last several days, the 
Democratic candidate has dropped out of the race, and the Republican 
candidate has survived an assassination attempt. You couldn't make this 
up. If you wrote this as a novel, people wouldn't believe it.
  This Presidential race is unprecedented and with high stakes, but 
there is more on the line this November than just the future of the 
White House. From the top of the ballot to the bottom of the ballot, 
the American people will vote for candidates to represent their 
interests at every level of government--at the local level: mayors, 
city councilmen; to Governors; to Members of Congress, including the 
U.S. Senate.
  As we know, election years are not known for their productivity here 
in the Senate. Our colleagues are always eager to spend more time at 
home campaigning, which does present some serious scheduling problems.
  Historically, the prospects of legislating grows dimmer as election 
day grows closer. Even still, the outlook for the next few months looks 
pretty shocking and pretty dismal.
  Including today, the Senate is scheduled to be in session for 18 
days. Let me say that again. We have 104 days until the election, and 
the Senate is scheduled to be in session for only 18 days. That is 
about 1 day a week.
  If the Senate had already completed its most basic duties, this might 
not be quite shocking and alarming. But the truth is, we have a 
mountain of critical work that needs to be completed before the end of 
the fiscal year.
  Before the end of September, which is the end of the fiscal year, we 
need to pass the National Defense Authorization Act--something we have 
done, I think it is, 63 years in a row--which is essential to our 
military's readiness. As I said earlier, this is the most dangerous 
time we have seen since World War II. You would think the National 
Defense Authorization Act would be a priority, but apparently not for 
Leader Schumer. I had hoped the Senate would take up and pass this bill 
before the end of July, but that is clearly looking unlikely at this 
point.
  Then we have to pass all 12 annual appropriations bills to fund 
everything from national defense to processing passports, to veterans' 
benefits, to administering Social Security, Medicare--you name it. 
Failure to complete that job on time could result in a government 
shutdown.
  We also need to pass a farm bill to support our mighty agriculture 
industry and the dedicated farmers and ranchers and producers who 
depend on it. This task should have been completed last fall, but 
Congress punted that deadline. We can't keep our ag producers, farmers, 
and ranchers in limbo forever, but that is what is happening.
  These are three basic functions of governing: funding the government, 
strengthening our national defense, and protecting our food supply. All 
these deadlines were known well in advance, but the Senate has not 
taken up or passed even one of these bills.
  We know it is not uncommon for a single bill to occupy a couple weeks 
of floor time, but the majority leader has given us 18 days to complete 
14 bills.
  If the Senate had spent its time working on other important matters, 
I might understand the legislative pileup like we are facing today, but 
that has not been the case at all.
  This Chamber is barely in session, and even when we are in 
Washington, our time is wasted on show votes and occasional nominees. 
The past few session weeks have been dominated by votes on radical 
nominees and partisan messaging bills--not the best use of our time.
  The situation has been so common that I was shocked to hear that 
Senator Schumer planned to put two real bipartisan bills on the floor 
this week, and I am appreciative of his willingness to do so. We need 
to do more of that, not less of it.
  We all know that the age of social media has created serious safety 
risks for America's children. We have heard countless stories about the 
devastating impact social media has on children's mental health. More 
and more children and teens are dealing with bullying and harassment 
online. It is no surprise teen depression rates are on the rise, and 
parents are eager for something to change. So this is one of the bright 
spots of bipartisan cooperation, where Republicans and Democrats have 
made this issue a priority.
  We have held countless hearings across multiple committees to learn 
about the danger kids face online as well as Big Tech's failures to 
keep our children safe.
  Senators have authored a number of bipartisan bills to keep kids 
safe, and we have been clamoring for a long time for the majority 
leader to put those bills on the Senate floor. So I am glad that 
Senator Schumer has hit the pause button on partisan show votes for at 
least a week so we can take action on two critical bills to address 
this crisis.
  The first is the Kids Online Safety Act introduced by Senators 
Blumenthal and Blackburn. It provides children and parents tools and 
safeguards they need to keep safe online. It includes keeping harmful 
content about suicide, eating disorders, and substance abuse out of 
children's algorithms. More than two-thirds of the Senate has 
cosponsored this bill, and I am proud to be one of them.
  We are also expected to build on the Children and Teens' Online 
Privacy Protection Act introduced by Senators Markey and Cassidy. This 
bill prohibits internet companies from collecting personal information 
from the youngest users and establishes better safeguards to protect 
children's privacy.
  In short, it does what Big Tech has failed to do. It prevents Big 
Tech from tracking and targeting kids with the most addictive content 
possible.
  These are complex issues, and I want to commend my colleagues 
Senators Blackburn and Cassidy for their work in this area. They 
managed to draft legislation that balances the First Amendment rights 
of online users with the safety of our children. These bills are on the 
verge of passing the Senate, and that would not be the case without 
their dedication and tireless efforts.
  Again, I am proud to cosponsor these bills, and I am glad the Senate 
will finally vote on them this week. They will make critical 
advancements to keep kids safe from the dangers lurking online and 
finally provide parents across the country with a little peace of mind.
  It is great the Senate is finally doing some productive work for a 
change, but it is embarrassing that it has taken this long to put this 
legislation on the floor, which only the majority leader can do. He 
sets the schedule.
  Once it passes, we hardly have time, though, to celebrate because of 
the mountain of bills we need to advance before the end of September: 
the NDAA--the Defense Authorization Act--12 appropriations bills, the 
farm bill. All of those need to be dealt with by the end of September. 
But to state the obvious, this was entirely avoidable, this crunch 
time.
  Again, election day is 104 days away, and in my book, it can't come 
soon enough.
  The past 3\1/2\ years have brought us one crisis after another under 
the current administration, most notably at the border.
  We need new leadership, and I am eager for the American people to 
make their voices heard at the ballot box in just a few months. Until 
then, we have a lot of work to do. I just hope the majority leader will 
give us the opportunity to do it.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Iowa.