[Congressional Record Volume 170, Number 189 (Thursday, December 19, 2024)]
[Senate]
[Pages S7201-S7205]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
1ST LIEUTENANT ANDRES ZERMENO POST OFFICE BUILDING
The bill (H.R. 6244) to designate the facility of the United States
Postal Service located at 1535 East Los Ebanos Boulevard in
Brownsville, Texas, as the ``1st Lieutenant Andres Zermeno Post Office
Building'' was ordered to a third reading, was read the third time, and
passed.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Kansas.
Tribute to Jon Tester
Mr. MORAN. Madam President, I have served on the House and now Senate
Veterans' Affairs Committee since I came to Congress, so about 14 years
in the U.S. House of Representatives and about 15 years in the U.S.
Senate. It has been a privilege to serve as a member and, from time to
time, a leader of the Senate Committee on Veterans' Affairs and,
preceding that, the House Committee on Veterans' Affairs.
For the last 4, almost 5 years, Senator Jon Tester and I have led the
Senate Veterans' Affairs Committee.
Not only did Jon and I both raise daughters and grow up in rural
America, but we both share the same sentiment that there is no one we
hold in higher regard than our Nation's veterans. This shared sentiment
has allowed us to work together for those we respect so much.
I will certainly miss the starting of our hearings in which Senator
Tester always said, ``Hello, Jerry.'' And you could hear that from time
to time as we met going down the Senate halls.
I have worked with Jon on the Senate Committee on Veterans' Affairs
since 2013, and we have introduced and sponsored and cosponsored many,
many pieces of legislation together. His leadership on the committee in
recent years has resulted in major pieces of legislation that have now
become law, that provide support and opportunities for veterans, their
loved ones, and their caregivers.
Some of those landmark and historic pieces of legislation include, in
the 115th Congress, VA Maintaining Internal Systems and Strengthening
Integrated Outside Networks Act of 2018--a lot of words that really
boil down to what we call the MISSION Act--designed to help make
certain that services for veterans, wherever they live and whatever
kind of services they need from the VA, are available to them.
In later Congresses, the Johnny Isakson and David P. Roe, M.D.
Veterans Health Care and Benefits Improvement Act of 2020; Commander
John Scott Hannon Veterans Mental Health Care Improvement Act of 2019,
implemented and designed to make certain that we
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reduce and eliminate the number of veterans who commit suicide;
Fairness for Korean DMZ Veterans Act of 2019; a COVID fix for GI bill
benefits to make sure our veterans, during COVID, were able to maintain
their educational benefits while their schools were shut down.
Later in the 117th, the Joseph Maxwell Cleland and Robert Joseph Dole
Memorial Veterans Benefits and Health Care Improvement Act; the
Sergeant First Class Heath Robinson Honoring our Promise to Address
Comprehensive Toxics Act of 2022--what we refer to as the PACT Act--
designed to make sure those who encounter toxic substances in Southeast
Asia and in Iraq and Afghanistan were eligible for benefits and
healthcare; the Colonel John M. McHugh Tuition Fairness for Survivors
Act of 2021.
Just within the last few days--in fact, within the last week--the
Senator Elizabeth Dole 21st Century Veterans Healthcare and Benefits
Improvement Act, an additional veterans' benefits improvement act.
I rise today here at my seat on the Senate floor to express my
gratitude for the time that Jon has spent in his career in improving
the lives of veterans and reforming the VA system that millions of
veterans rely upon.
Jon Tester has made a lasting impact on thousands of individuals,
their families, and their caregivers, those who serve veterans, and
those who are veterans, and their family members. He has made a lasting
impact upon their lives and well-being and helped us keep our
commitment to our promises that have been made to those who serve in
our military.
I would also like to take this opportunity to recognize Senator
Tester's team for their extraordinary work. We all know in the Senate
the importance of having a strong staff that researches well, that is
intentional with our constituents and values what we do.
I would like to thank: Tony McClain, who is from Salina, KS, and who
has led this committee for many years; Dahlia Melendrez; Carlos
Fuentes; Elizabeth Mackenzie; Janko Mitric; Faye Fernandes; Bill Van
Saun; Tess Wrzesinski; Abby Roubal; Weston Haycock; Liz Timmons;
Cameron Kroetz; Katie Adams; and Jackson Haney.
Your work--each of you--your work on this committee didn't go
unnoticed. Thank you for your kindness that you extended to me while
you were serving the chairman of the committee. Thank you for your
kindness to me when I was the chairman of the committee and you were
serving the ranking member. We know that without your help, without
your willingness to work with our staff and our team, we would not have
been able to provide the benefits and critical resources that our
veterans deserve and earned.
Finally, Jon Tester, certainly I say this on my behalf, but I say it
also on behalf of the other Members of the Senate, certainly the other
members of the Committee on Veterans' Affairs, and especially on behalf
of our Nation's veterans, thank you. Thank you for your leadership,
your friendship, and your dedication. Thank you for serving, as you did
so well, our Nation's heroes.
Kansas Aviation
Mr. MORAN. Madam President, last month, we celebrated National
Aviation History Month. We celebrated that across America, and I want
to make certain that we recognize the air capital of the world and the
State of Kansas and their contributions to the aviation industry both
historically and still today.
My home State of Kansas is an aviation hub. It has a rich history in
aviation manufacturing. This tradition dates back to a gentleman named
Albin Longren, who developed Kansas's first aircraft, the Longren
Flyer, which was fully designed, produced, and successfully tested in
Topeka in 1911, less than a decade after the Wright Brothers' first
historic flight.
Clyde Cessna went on to develop his pioneering aircraft, the
Silverwing, in 1911, which was designed and built in Kingman County,
KS. Clyde Cessna, Lloyd Stearman, and Walter Beech partnered to found
the Travel Air Manufacturing Company, which would later be spun off
into three companies with global recognition--the Cessna Aircraft
Company, Stearman Aircraft, and the Beech Aircraft Company, all of
Wichita, where they were headquartered.
Cessna, Stearman, Beech, and over a dozen other aviation
entrepreneurs in Wichita produced 120 airplanes each week at the outset
of Wichita's aviation dominance in the late twenties. It was then that
Wichita earned its title as ``Air Capital of the World.''
During World War II, tens of thousands of Kansans contributed to the
war effort by working in aircraft plants, making nearly 26,000 planes,
including over 1,600 B-29 Superfortress heavy bombers.
Following the war, the Boeing Company started testing midflight
refueling using the B-29 Superfortress and eventually delivered the KC-
135 Stratotanker to the U.S. Air Force in the fifties--still one of the
premier midflight refueling aircraft for the U.S. Armed Forces. Many of
these tankers are stationed at McConnell Air Force Base in Wichita and
some at Forbes Field in Topeka.
Other than agriculture, the aviation and aerospace industries in
Kansas support more jobs than any other sector, including more than
65,000 aerospace and defense jobs across more than 450 world-class
suppliers.
Kansas is the global leader in general aviation, producing 35 percent
of all general aviation aircraft in America and supplying 75 percent of
all general aviation aircraft since the Wright Brothers' first flight
at Kitty Hawk in 1903.
If you fly on a private plane, you are flying on a plane that was
either built in Kansas or the parts were manufactured in Kansas.
At the end of November, Bombardier, which has its defense
headquarters in Wichita, KS, delivered its first Global 6500 to the
U.S. Army in support of its next generation of intelligences
surveillance, and reconnaissance, the ISR platform. One week later,
Wichita State University's National Institute for Aviation Research
received a Boeing 747-8i as part of a strategic partnership with Sierra
Nevada Corporation on the Air Force's ``doomsday'' program. I would
also like to highlight that NIAR, the National Institute for Aviation
Research, a component headquartered on the campus of Wichita State
University, was recently ranked by the National Science Foundation as
the number one research and development expenditure university in the
country for aerospace engineering.
Our State is also diversifying its aviation and aerospace work with
companies like General Atomics and now has 17 Kansas manufacturers
working on NASA's Artemis program.
We are also developing essential components for commercial space
providers such as SpaceX, United Launch Alliance, Sierra Space, Rocket
Lab, and Blue Origin.
Additionally, Kansas is home to Crew-9 astronaut Nick Hague of Hoxie,
who is currently stationed at the International Space Station.
Museums across our State highlight our history, highlight our future.
They include the Kansas Aviation Museum in Wichita, the Amelia Earhart
Hangar Museum in Atchison. I also should highlight the importance of
Amelia Earhart being one of the Kansans who is a significant component
of our aviation history and whose statue now resides here in the U.S.
Capitol. There is a B-29 Museum in Pratt; the Mid-America Museum in
Liberal; and the Cosmosphere--world renown.
Incidentally, when I talked to the Artemis astronauts, they brought
up the topic and said: ``Do you know that you have the best space
museum in the world in Kansas?'' And they were talking about the
Cosmosphere in Hutchinson. It showcases the rich aviation history. They
point to the continued legacy of excellence in aviation and aerospace
in Kansas and represents a bright spot for our entire nation.
I wouldn't want to talk about aviation without talking about Kansas.
Kansas has played a key role in cultivating America's leadership in
aviation and is home to thousands of engineers and manufacturers who
have supported America's aviation heritage now for more than a century.
We are, and we will continue to be, air capital of the world not only
because we build airplanes, but because we have leaders and students
driving the industry forward with innovation, ingenuity, and a
relentless pursuit of excellence.
We will continue to be the air capital of the world because we have
the educational institutions across our State
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to train and educate engineers, flight mechanics, the whole array of
the people necessary for the industries that are located in our State
and that will soon locate in our State to have a highly trained,
educated, motivated workforce for aviation today and in the future.
I yield the floor.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The senior Senator from Louisiana.
National Flood Insurance Program
Mr. CASSIDY. Madam President, the holiday season is upon us and
should be a time filled with family, friends, and joy. But this year,
it is filled with financial anxiety for many Americans. They are
struggling to pay for their groceries, to heat their homes, struggling
with property and casualty insurance.
But I am here to speak to those who are struggling to afford flood
insurance. For over 50 years, Americans have relied on the National
Flood Insurance Program, or NFIP, to be a safety net in case of
disaster. The program covers 4.7 million homes, but the program has
become unaffordable, unaccountable, and unsustainable. And without
congressional approval, FEMA worsened this by implementing a new risk
assessment program called Risk Rating 2.0.
This program dramatically increased premiums, even for those who had
never flooded, and the skyrocketing prices brought on by Risk Rating
2.0 has left many Louisiana families and families in other States
struggling with a financial burden.
This financial strain has caused 52,000 Louisianans to drop their
coverage in just 1 year, leaving them with no way to protect their
homes. About half a million Americans nationwide have dropped their
coverage. And this was anticipated by this Risk Rating 2.0. When the
National Flood Insurance Program put it in place, they, again,
anticipated that up to 20 percent of the people would drop their
coverage.
Now, during this holiday season, the financial burden of this program
will only increase as Mom tries to give her kids a wonderful Christmas.
That is why this month I introduced the Flood Insurance Affordability
Tax Credit Act to give relief to Americans enrolled in NFIP. This
legislation gives low- and middle-income households a real-time 33-
percent refundable tax credit to combat the out-of-control flood
insurance premium. It is not a permanent solution. We need serious
reform. But cutting flood insurance bills by a third is a good place to
start.
I am working on a comprehensive NFIP program that protects families
from excessive premium hikes, strengthens flood mitigation efforts,
simplifies the claims process by cutting redtape. While we work to fix
the broken system--and believe me to say I am working hard to do this--
this tax credit provides relief for current policy holders, and it
provides a path for Americans who have been forced to drop their
coverage due to unaffordable premiums to reenroll at an affordable
price.
It directs the Treasury Secretary to establish a program where
premiums can be paid in advance. This benefits families when they need
it the most, like now during the holiday season after a period of years
of financial distress.
Parents shouldn't have to pick between putting food on the table,
wrapping presents under the Christmas tree, or paying for flood
insurance. And with a tax credit taking a third off of her flood
insurance bill, the mother trying to keep this together won't have to
make these sacrifices. She will be able to give her kids the merry
Christmas that they deserve and protect the home they sleep in.
By the way, I am from Louisiana, but this isn't just true for
families living in my State. It is true for families across the Nation.
This year's hurricane season showed us flooding is possible in areas
that don't typically make you think of flooding. Just think of the
homes devastated by flooding in North Carolina.
Americans need relief from Risk Rating 2.0. That is not the question.
And America needs to pass massive reform. However, perhaps most
importantly, Americans expect us to guarantee that the National Flood
Insurance Program will still be here come the new year. If nothing
happens, this program expires at the end of this week.
I should correct that. For those who think that the government
shutdown does not affect them, if the Government shuts down, the NFIP
program will have a lapse. During that period, the program cannot sell
or renew flood insurance policies or borrow from the Treasury to pay
claims for existing policies. So my hope is that we can find this debt
deal. I support Speaker Johnson in his attempts to do so, not the least
of which is it preserves the National Flood Insurance Program for
anyone that may call upon it during this intervening period.
So just frankly speaking, letting the program lapse, temporarily or
long-term, should not be an option. It is often the only flood
insurance option for many communities. And without it, we leave
millions vulnerable. That is why I am working with the entire Louisiana
delegation on legislation to reauthorize the program.
Today, I urge colleagues to support this reauthorization, giving
their constituents peace of mind and protection this holiday season.
Finally, I urge colleagues to look to the future. Passing the flood
insurance affordability tax credit would give relief to policyholders
and reauthorizing the program are only the first steps, but they are
critical steps this body must take. And unless we want to do a
disservice to the American people and NFIP, we should not stop here.
When we come back in the new year, we should commit to reforming the
program to make flood insurance affordable again.
Every single one of my colleagues have constituents who rely upon the
NFIP. If you look to this chart, every State in the union is shaded
representing the number of NFIP claims each State has. Those in dark
yellow have been hit hardest and have relied on NFIP the most. They all
have at least $1 billion in NFIP claims since 1978; and 44 States have
had over $50 million in claims over this time period.
It is clear Americans rely on the program. But if we continue down
this path, the program goes bankrupt.
So my message to my colleagues representing States that rely on the
National Flood Insurance Program--which is, frankly, all of us--let's
find a way forward. My team has worked on a bipartisan permanent
solution that rolls back Risk Rating 2.0, makes flood insurance
affordable and accountable again. I encourage my colleagues to join me
in the new year to get this done.
In the meantime, let our Christmas gift to Americans enrolled in NFIP
be a lower flood insurance bill and peace of mind by reauthorizing the
program.
I yield the floor.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The junior Senator from Nevada.
Unanimous Consent Request--Executive Calendar
Ms. ROSEN. Madam President, I rise today to urge my colleagues to
confirm a bipartisan group of four nominees--two Republicans and two
Democrats--to serve on the United States Postal Service Board of
Governors.
The Board of Governors is an independent, bipartisan body that
provides leadership, strategic vision, and oversight of the U.S. Postal
Service.
Confirming these four nominees--Val Demings, Gordon Hartogensis, Bill
Zollars, and Anton Hajjar--will give the board a full complement of
nine Senate-confirmed governors.
The bipartisan board is most effective when fully staffed with
individuals who bring a diverse range of perspective and experiences
and all who understand the critical mission of the Postal Service.
These individuals each have strong leadership and management
experience, and they have demonstrated their commitment to the Postal
Service as workers and its customers.
As we know all too well in my State of Nevada, the Postal Service has
been considering operational changes that will have severe impacts on
service to communities not just in Nevada but across this Nation.
I was proud to lead the charge against Postmaster DeJoy's misguided
effort to send Nevadans' letter mail out of State to be processed. But
without sufficient oversight from a full Board of Governors, the
Postmaster General will be able to pursue his agenda for the whole
country unchecked.
I want to repeat that. Without a full Board of Governors, the
Postmaster
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General will be able to pursue his agenda for the whole country without
oversight.
So it is more important than ever that we have a Board of Governors
that is committed to ensuring reliable, timely mail delivery and that
it will provide the necessary oversight of Postal Service leadership.
That is why I urge my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to confirm
these four highly qualified nominees to the Postal Board of Governors.
Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that, as in executive
session, the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs be
discharged from further consideration of PN2289 and that the Senate
proceed to the consideration of this nomination and Calendar Nos. 836,
837, and 840; that the Senate vote on the nominations in the order
listed; that if confirmed, the motions to reconsider be considered made
and laid upon the table without intervening action or debate; that no
further motions be in order to the nominations; that any related
statements be printed in the Record; and that the President be
immediately notified of the Senate's action.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there objection?
The junior Senator from Kentucky.
Mr. PAUL. Madam President, in reserving the right to object, the U.S.
Post Office faces drastic financial losses. Last year, they lost $6.5
billion. They are on target this year to lose $9.5 billion. We should
return these nominees and give President Trump the opportunity to
review the Postal Service, to review the postal picks, to review the
current situation, and allow him to determine who is best fit to fix
the Postal Service.
For that reason, I will be objecting to each of these nominees.
I object.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Objection is heard.
Ms. ROSEN. Madam President, may I just say to the Senator from
Kentucky that these nominees are bipartisan--two Democrat and two
Republican. I believe it is far past the time that we allow our Postal
Board of Governors to be filled.
I yield the floor.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The junior Senator from Massachusetts.
Children and Teens' Online Privacy Protection Act
Mr. MARKEY. Madam President, I rise today with deep disappointment
and frustration at the House of Representatives' failure to take up my
bipartisan, bicameral legislation with Senator Bill Cassidy--the
Children and Teens' Online Privacy Protection Act, COPPA 2.0.
Just a few months ago, the Senate passed COPPA 2.0 by a resounding
vote of 91 to 3 as part of the Kids Online Safety and Privacy Act. It
was a remarkable moment for a Chamber that has too often succumbed to
partisanship on key technology issues. Young people and families across
the country finally had a moment to celebrate that their government was
actually coming to their aid on a critical issue and that lawmakers
from across the aisle could hold hands and recognize that the youth
mental health crisis was raging in red and blue States alike.
This crisis demanded action, and the U.S. Senate was meeting the need
and the moment with a popular children's and teens' privacy bill. Help,
it seemed, was finally on the way. It was long overdue. For more than a
decade, I have been fighting to strengthen online protections for our
young people. In fact, if COPPA 2.0 were a person, it would have just
turned 13 and would have aged out of our current privacy protections
for children, which I first authored 26 years ago.
Over those 26 years, that law--the original Children's Online Privacy
Protection Act--has been critical to protecting children online, but
when I wrote COPPA, only birds tweeted, and ``TikTok'' was a sound that
a clock made. Today, our children and teens confront a far more
complicated and privacy-invasive online world--one that, according to
medical experts and the Surgeon General, is contributing to a youth
mental health crisis.
The stats are devastating. The stats are overwhelming. Listen to
these stats. Listen to the problem we have in our country: More than
one in four high school girls in the United States seriously considered
suicide in 2023--one in four teenaged girls--and at least one in eight
high school girls attempted suicide in 2023. Let me repeat it again.
One in eight teenaged high school girls attempted suicide in 2023.
Amongst LGBTQ+ youth, the number is more like one in five attempted
suicide in 2023.
COPPA 2.0 cuts to the heart of the emergency. COPPA 2.0 bans targeted
advertising to young people, ensuring that teenage girls stop being
targeted with weight loss pills and other harmful ads.
It empowers parents and teens by giving them an eraser button to
delete an ill-advised post, and it prevents companies from burying
their heads in the sand and ignoring the children and teens on their
platforms.
These policies specifically target Big Tech's financial incentives--
profitable targeted ads--that keep kids and teens clicking, swiping,
and scrolling on social media, even to their ill health. In fact, in
2022, the major Big Tech platforms earned nearly $11 billion from U.S.
users under the age of 18--$11 billion--and those are 11 billion
reasons to oppose any opposition to COPPA 2.0. But the tech companies--
they want to monetize the young people in our country, and we know they
are doing so at the expense of their mental health.
Who said it? The Surgeon General of the United States. Who said it?
The pediatricians of the United States who are the experts on children
and teenagers in our country--a mental health crisis largely created by
online social media.
So this is an incredible moment for us because, with that $11 billion
which the media companies and the big tech companies make, there are 11
billion reasons to turn their lobbying power on the House Republican
leadership and concoct farfetched theories for why a bill that passed
91 to 3 on the floor of the U.S. Senate should not even receive a
vote--at the height of a mental health crisis for young people in our
country--on the floor of the U.S. House of Representatives.
Unfortunately, House Republican leadership capitulated to the
pressure of Big Tech, with grave consequences for young people. The
House had a rare opportunity to show families across the country that
it cared about their children, about their teenagers; that money in
politics didn't drive their decision making; and that our youngest and
our most vulnerable came first and not Big Tech. House Republican
leadership--they failed that test. They sat for months on the
Children's Online Privacy Protection Act and then refused to even
consider it for passage at the end of the year. They want to wait until
next year and next year. We brought this bill out for three Congresses
in a row.
This is not a new issue. It is a crisis. Everyone knows it is a
crisis. Everyone knows that teenagers are getting addicted because of
deliberate strategies by Big Tech to absolutely harm them. We know
that, right now, if a teenaged girl has bulimia and she goes online to
get information about it because she has only told her mother and
father, that girl can be bombarded with ads from companies and from
others because that information is now out there that she Google-
searched.
Well, the impact on her psyche is dramatic if that happens, and it is
happening every single day because Big Tech monetizes that girl's
bulimia or anorexia problem. This is the bill that says you can't do
that. If the parents want all of that information erased or they don't
want the girl to be targeted with ads, you can't do it--91 to 3 on the
Senate floor, no vote in the House for three Congresses in a row.
They always want to wait until next year for a Republican Congress or
for a Republican President, yes, but what about right now? And are they
actually going to do it next year? And while they wait, our young
people will continue to suffer. Every day that this does not pass is
another day where platforms can serve dangerous, targeted ads to
children and teens. Every day that it does not pass is another day when
parents and teens don't have the tools they need to protect themselves
online.
Every day that COPPA 2.0 does not pass is another day when children
and teens are suffering from suicide, from anxiety, from depression.
This is the heart of the issue. This is the sinister side of
cyberspace. This is the harmful side of it.
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Are we going to do anything about it? Is it the Keynesian quality to
the internet? It is the best of technologies and the worst of
technologies simultaneously. It can enable. It can ennoble. It can
degrade. It can debase.
Yes, these companies tout all the wonderful things that they are
going to do, and they actually want to put it on steroids: AI. They are
going to find a cure for cancer. They are going to do all these other
wonderful things. We will see.
But at the same time, we don't have the safeguards built around the
harm they are doing right now--the mental health harm to teenagers and
children in our country. And it is only going to get worse--much
worse--as AI injects itself into the system more and more: more
suicide, more anxiety, more depression.
So it is a sad day for an institution that had a historic
opportunity. And I commend the Senate leadership for making a decision
in prioritizing the mental health of kids and teens. But I am deeply
disappointed in the House of Representatives, where I proudly served
for 36 years.
For decades, the House has lamented that the Senate's rules have
prevented us from taking action on important issues. And I have made
those arguments myself as a House Member years ago. But when the Senate
did act on an issue critical to families and to parents across the
country and when it acted decisively, House Republican leadership
decided to play politics with the lives of teenage children in our
country.
So to the kids and the parents and the advocates who have fought
courageously for stronger online privacy rights for children and for
teens, thank you. Don't go away. Keep your energy up. If you are
knocked down, you are hurting, just come right back. Come back the same
way the abolitionists came back, the same way the suffragettes came
back, the same way the anti-Vietnam movement came back, the same way
the same-sex marriage movement came back. Just get up again. We are
right; they are wrong. We have to get this passed.
So I have been honored to be with you. It is a very disheartening
moment--very disheartening. This is an ongoing, preventable crisis in
our country. And if we don't act and act soon, we are going to have
teenagers and children 20 years from now writing books about what their
Congressmen, their Senators--an older generation--inflicted upon them,
with no protections whatsoever. They will be talking about it. They
will be writing about it.
Let me finish, again, by giving you the numbers. These are, without
question, some of the most staggering numbers I have ever seen attached
to one single preventable issue. One in four high school girls in the
United States seriously considered suicide in 2023. Let me just say
that. One in four seriously considered it. One in eight high school
girls in the United States in 2023 actually attempted suicide--one in
eight. And one in five LGBTQ attempted suicide in 2023. And the Surgeon
General, the pediatricians of our country implicate--point the finger
at--social media, the self-image of these kids, as one of the leading
causes. And we are not going to pass this legislation.
And the actions of the House and now from Elon Musk and others who
are preventing this whole institution from working are going to
ultimately expose all of these young people to images, ideas, that are,
in fact, avoidable.
I thank you for giving me the time. And to all of those who worked so
hard on this legislation over the last 2 years, please get up and get
ready to come back again next year because this is a crisis in our
country. This is something that these young people do not deserve, and
their privacy cannot be monetized. It is just absolutely wrong and
preventable.
With that, I yield back the floor.
The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Booker). The Senator from West Virginia.
Mr. MANCHIN. Mr. President, West by God Virginia.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Blessed be West Virginia.
____________________