Floor Statements

Madam President, on March 8, 2023, the Joint Committee on the Library organized, elected a chair, a vice chair, and adopted committee rules for the 118th Congress. Members of the Joint Committee on the Library elected Senator Amy Klobuchar as chair and Representative Bryan Steil as vice chair. Pursuant to rule XXVI, paragraph 2, of the Standing Rules of the Senate, I ask unanimous consent that a copy of the committee rules be printed in the Record.

Madam President, as in legislative session, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to the consideration of S. Res. 57, submitted earlier today.

Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the resolution be agreed to, the preamble be agreed to, and that the motions to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table with no intervening action or debate.

Madam President, I rise with my colleague Senator Smith, who will be speaking shortly, to recognize the life of Senator David Durenberger, who passed away on January 31, 2023, leaving behind his loving wife Susan, to whom he was married over 27 years, as well as his four sons, two stepchildren, and 14 grandchildren.

Last week, I had the honor of attending Dave's funeral at St. John's Abbey in Collegeville, MN. Attendees included Governors of both parties. Governor Pawlenty was there, Governor Walz and Governor Dayton.

It was a fitting venue because in so many ways, Dave was St. John's College. He was raised there by his parents, George and Isabelle, both of whom were faculty members. And as a student at St. John's Prep and St. John's University, he grew up fully immersed in the Benedictine values of faith, listening, respect, stewardship, and justice. Those values shaped what he did.

Shortly after I won my first Senate race, Dave invited me to breakfast, and there is actually a photo of us on the wall when we had that breakfast in that restaurant. He had a few lessons he wanted to share with me. He didn't sugarcoat anything. He said that Washington can ``eat you up'' and that, too often, the value of stewardship is missing.

He told me to join the prayer breakfast, because he said it was one place where people could talk to each other, nothing would leak, and you could build trust and take a moment and put things in perspective.

I did join the prayer breakfast, and 2 years later, as often happens in these things, I was actually cochairing it with former Senator Johnny Isakson, another good Senator we will miss very much.

Dave also gave me a small book called ``The Teachings of Jesus'' and told me to keep it in my office, which I did. It is on my bookshelf. And as he predicted, I did look at it in moments of good and moments of bad.

One of the teachings stood out to me as I was reflecting on Dave's life. From Matthew 5:16:

Let your light shine before others so that they may see

your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.

That is Dave. Through the bluster of Washington, Dave found ways to bring his good work and his belief in public service to the rest of the country.

Dave took volunteerism seriously. We saw it in how he lived his life. He paired up with his then-Democratic colleague, Senator Paul Wellstone, on the legislation that created AmeriCorps. As a result of their efforts, millions and millions of Americans have gotten the support that they have needed to better their communities.

Dave's devotion to stewardship is also clear when you look at what he did to promote conservation. It was in that spirit that he worked to successfully secure protections for the Boundary Waters Canoe Area, for Voyageurs National Park, and for the Mississippi River. He wanted his grandkids and their kids to be able to experience the natural treasures that Minnesotans have enjoyed for generations.

You simply can't talk about Dave's time in Washington without noting what he did to advance the rights of those with disabilities. From his faith, he carried with him the values of respect for all people, and from his time in former Republican Governor LeVander's office, in working on disability issues, he carried with him a steadfast commitment to improving the lives of disabled people across the country.

Once, through his work in the Governor's office, Dave visited a hospital where he saw patients with disabilities, and in his words, they were warehoused. Most of them, he said, didn't even have clothes on. He knew that as a society we could and must do better, and in Washington, he saw to it that we did.

As I know the Acting President pro tempore is aware, given the leadership torch passed on to her, through his leadership on the Americans with Disabilities Act, he helped to usher in a whole new era of disabilities rights--one where people in wheelchairs weren't trapped in their homes as a result of a lack of ramps, one where disabled people weren't systematically excluded from the workforce, and one where the destitute facilities that once motivated him to take action were phased out in favor of community residential treatment and care services.

In the years that followed, he found a loving partner in Susan, his wife, whose dedication to mental health reform eventually led her to write her book ``The Crusade for Forgotten Souls,'' a rich history of the campaign to provide dignified care to Minnesotans with disabilities. And Minnesota, back through the time of Hubert Humphrey, when he gave his famous speech at the 1948 Democratic National Convention, has always been ahead of itself and the rest of the country when it has come to people with disabilities.

Dave, a Republican, carried on that torch from the other side of the aisle. From the outside, Dave's work often looked like a manifestation of faith in action, but the way he saw it, he was just doing his job-- the good deeds--in letting his light shine onto others.

When Dave left the Senate, it wasn't easy. It has been quite documented what happened. He could have been bitter or he could have just hidden away and ducked down and not taken responsibility, but he didn't. He apologized and kept working. He taught. He would bring his students out here on healthcare. He was an advocate for healthcare reform, and he still spoke around the State. He showed us that that kind of resilience only comes when something happens to someone where they have to decide, Am I going to sink down further in a valley or am I going to rise up on the mountaintop and do good again? That included mentoring new Senators and new people in public office, which included me.

He did good both while he was in the Senate, before he got here, and then, of course, after he left. He had a higher purpose, and he found a way, one way or another, to improve people's lives as a Senator, as an educator, as a husband, as a dad, and as a grandpa. Dave lived every day of his life trying to do good. He learned that, of course, growing up at St. John's, but he brought it to this Chamber and beyond.

Today, Senator Smith and I are coming together to introduce this resolution, which we are honored has passed, honoring Senator Dave Durenberger, a man whose higher purpose led our country to a higher ground.

I yield the floor.

Mr. President, the Committee on Rules and Administration has adopted rules governing its procedures for the 118th Congress. Pursuant to rule XXVI, paragraph 2, of the Standing Rules of the Senate, on behalf of myself and Senator Fischer, I ask unanimous consent that a copy of the committee rules be printed in the Record.

Mr. President, I rise to mark the new security cooperation agreement through the Department of Defense's State Partnership Program between the Minnesota National Guard and the Kingdom of Norway, which will be celebrated in Minnesota on Saturday, February 4, 2023. This partnership will provide a key avenue to deter aggression and assist in both of our nation's national security while broadening and deepening our long-standing relationship.

Norway has been critical to Minnesota's heritage and culture ever since the first Norwegian settlement was established in Spring Grove back in the early 1850s, a few years before Minnesota officially became a State. Today, Minnesota is the proud home of more than 860,000 Norwegian Americans. Some of our most beloved Minnesotans have been of Norwegian ancestry, including my late friend and mentor, Vice President Walter Mondale. At the end of last year, we had the honor of welcoming Her Majesty Queen Sonja to Minneapolis to celebrate the opening of Norway House's new Innovation and Cultural Center.

In addition to our cultural heritage, Minnesota and Norway share a strong, time-tested military relationship. In 1973, Norwegian Home Guard's Major General Herluf Nygaard invited the chief of the National Guard, Major General Francis S. Greenlief, to visit their Home Guard. What came out of that meeting was the Norwegian Reciprocal Troop Exchange, also known as NOREX.

Through this program, members of the Minnesota National Guard and the Norwegian Home Guard have gotten the opportunity to participate in field training exercises with an appropriate emphasis on winter tactical training. For Minnesota guardsmen, it has meant skiing through the mountains of Norway and sleeping in tents and snow shelters. For Norway's soldiers, it has meant winter training at Camp Ripley. Every participant is taken in as a guest by a local family, making NOREX a true cultural exchange.

For 50 years, the program has strengthened the militaries of both our nations while fostering goodwill and lifelong friendships. This new State Partnership Program brings with it the opportunity to build on that progress while offering reassurance to our friends throughout the globe and deterring our foes. This partnership will promote and deepen trust, familiarity, and interoperability between Minnesota and Norway.

Norway is one of Minnesota's best friends around the world. They have stood with us. We have stood with them. And we will continue to stand together. Our friendship is unshakeable. Our progress toward initiating this new State Partnership Program is a testament to that.

Mr. President, I rise in support of the resolution that I lead with Senator Grassley to designate January 2023 as a focus on stalking awareness.

This year's resolution has eight bipartisan cosponsors. This resolution builds on Congress's recent efforts to curb domestic violence. We already passed the reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act, which back in 2013 included the bipartisan STALKERS Act to improve Federal anti-stalking laws. Last year, once again, we reauthorized the Violence Against Women Act. But there is so much more work that needs to be done.

You know, not so long ago, stalking was not seen as the harmful crime we know it to be today. It was only in the 1990s that the first anti- stalking legislation was passed in the United States. Without a consistent definition of ``stalking'' or resources for those in crisis, too often victims struggle to find the support they need to name and identify the harm they were experiencing.

Through the tireless work of law enforcement officers, prosecutors, and service providers, we have seen progress. In the three decades since the first anti-stalking legislation was passed, every State in the country has passed anti-stalking laws. My home State passed it in 1993--3 years before Congress made stalking a crime.

But we know our work is not done. Approximately one in every three women in the United States has experienced stalking. Each year, more than 13 million people report that they are victims of stalking. According to one study, young adults between the ages of 18 and 24 experienced stalking more than any other age group.

As a former prosecutor, I know the emotional toll this crime takes. I know what the victims suffer from. Nearly 70 percent of those who are stalked by an intimate partner are physically abused by their stalkers, and three in four women who were killed by an intimate partner were stalked by their killers in the year leading up to their deaths.

By passing this resolution today, we can show how deeply we appreciate the work of law enforcement, that we are there for the victims, and we will do all we can to provide the services, safety, and stability they need.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the vote scheduled for 1:45 begin immediately.

I ask for the yeas and nays.

Mr. President, I thank my colleagues, Senator Lee and Senator Cotton.

We are united on this, as is Senator Grassley, the ranking member of the Judiciary Committee, as is Senator Durbin, the chair of the Judiciary Committee. These proposals got through our committee unanimously. We were able to pass them in different forms through this Senate on parts of different bills. And now this combined grouping of bills that the three of us have led have now passed the House of Representatives.

If you look at what is going on in our country right now, we have a competition problem in over 75 percent of our industries, ranging from ag to pharma to tech. A small number of large companies, more and more, are controlling more of the business than they did decades ago. Look at what just happened with Ticketmaster. The lack of competition is estimated to cost the median American household $5,000 per year.

We all believe--we agree on some things, and we disagree on some things--but we all agree that we need to update our laws in some way. One of the ways you do this is to make sure that our enforcers can take on the cases against the biggest companies the world has ever known. The Agencies are now shells of their former selves. In 1980, when the Antitrust Division was working to break up AT&T, it had 453 lawyers. As of April of 2021, that number had fallen to 299. The FTC had 1,719 employees in 1980. Now it is down to 1,100. We cannot take on the biggest companies the world has ever known or put fair rules of the road in place if we expect the enforcers to use bandaids and duct tape. Not only that, they bring in money when they bring these cases.

So I am proud of the work Senator Lee and I have done together. I would note the leaders of both parties support

these concepts, including the former Assistant Attorney General in charge of Antitrust, Makan Delrahim, as well as the current administration, including the former Republican FTC Chair, Joe Simons, in addition to the current leadership in this administration.

Capitalism is built on the foundation of competition and open markets. To quote Adam Smith, the so-called godfather of our capitalist system, the invisible hand of competitive entrepreneurship is key, but he also said that we must watch out for the overgrown standing army of monopolies.

There is an old cartoon with a bunch of monopolies, sitting up there where our guests are, looking down. It used to be railroads. It used to be all kinds of other trusts. Now there are new guys in town, and it is equally as dangerous to capitalism.

I appreciate the work of Senator Lee and Senator Cotton.

I yield to Senator Cotton.

I will take off where Senator Hoeven left off.

Listening to Senator Hoeven talk, I was thinking, what are we going to do--John and me--without Rob here to give us grief about our joint events that we do between Fargo, ND, and Moorhead? Several times, we have told Rob that we were heading out to do some esoteric event together, and he would give us a lot of grief. But then we would always send him pictures of the event to verify that this actually happened, and we had a lot of fun doing that.

I was actually thinking as I heard our colleagues talk about how Rob always teaches. This is something John mentioned. He always passes on the torch. My favorite example of that--and you are going to remember this story, Rob--was when my daughter started college, and Senator Portman was going to speak at the college because his son was there, and he figured out that she was there, and he personally invited her to his talk at a residential college. She was a brandnew freshman. She went in there and sat down. She told me how nervous she was.

Two hours later, she comes back and calls me. Rob had spoken in his typical way, in a very, very authoritative manner but in a very nice way--maybe a little critical of the then-President, President Obama, where he didn't agree with him. My daughter, a freshman in college, calls me and says: Mom, you know, Senator Portman said this. Why didn't President Obama do this? Why did this happen that way?

I said: Honey--I explained everything, and I said: Abigail, you have lived with me for 18 years, and I would hope that you would give some credence to what I said. You have been with Rob Portman for an hour and a half.

She said: But Mom--I will never forget this--Senator Portman is really distinguished, Mom. Senator Portman has a lot of dignity, Mom.

Anyway, this was a family story for a long period of time, and I think part of that was he was able to reach out to students at a school, able to make his case, make the world bigger for my daughter in that way, just as he has made the world bigger for all of us.

For me, it started with our work on human trafficking under both Democratic and Republican Presidents. It extended into, I remember, the work on the USMCA. There was a moment where we feared Canada was not going to be with us and it was just going to be USMA, and the head of the Canadian Inter-Parliamentary Group reached out to Rob and many other Senators. But Rob was incredibly helpful in working with the previous administration to work out some details and get that done.

You mentioned in your speech, Rob, fentanyl and our work together on that. You have just been tremendous in understanding that there are two sides of this: prosecution, going after the bad guys and doing everything we can to keep drugs out of the hands of people who don't deserve to get addicted to them, but also the treatment and the--what we did, along with Sheldon Whitehouse and, way back then, Kelly Ayotte and many others, with the First Step Act and your understanding of the need to work on addiction.

For me, lastly, I will just say there is no better sign that you were someone, as Senator Blunt was saying, who wasn't just kind of ending your time with doing nothing--far from it. There is everything from the infrastructure bill--I see Senator Sinema here--to the work you have done with so many.

For me, it was your devotion to Ukraine. People who will never know your name, who will never know how many times you went there to stand up for the people of their country against the inhuman barbarism of Vladimir Putin--I remember standing with you at that mass grave, at those burned-out apartment buildings, and the way you were able to make the case, working with the State Department, for what the people of Ukraine needed and what would work and the thoughtful and considerate way that people at our Embassy--all the work that they did. I remember the joy we took in finding out that one of the top names that week for new babies in Ukraine was HIMARS and the smile on your face.

Rob, we are going to miss you so much, but just as John said, I have a feeling that this is not your last act and that, along with Jane and your wonderful family, there will be much more to come.

Thank you, Senator Portman.

Mr. President, I come to the floor today to support Elizabeth Bagley's nomination to serve as Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to the Federative Republic of Brazil.

Elizabeth brings to this position significant experience in diplomacy, law, and foreign affairs. Over the course of her incredible career, she has served our country as Ambassador to Portugal, as a senior adviser to multiple Secretaries of State, and as congressional liaison to the Helsinki Accords and the Camp David Treaties.

At the State Department, she was the first person to serve as the Special Representative for Global Partnerships, an office which worked to advance foreign policy priorities through private sector engagement. She has a background in international law and shared that expertise with the students at Georgetown University Law Center. Through her years advising key leaders like Madeleine Albright, Hillary Clinton, and John Kerry, Elizabeth gained the experience needed to represent our country on the world stage.

We all know about the key role Ambassadors play in diplomacy. U.S. and broader democratic efforts suffer when we do not have an Ambassador in place--someone to officially represent the U.S. Government, to lead our Foreign Service Officers abroad, and to strengthen diplomatic ties with other nations.

This is particularly true of Brazil, a country that is home to a U.S. Embassy, four consulates, a branch office, and decades of partnership. More than 40,000 students, teachers, and professionals have participated in exchanges between the United States and Brazil. The United States is Brazil's second largest trading partner, and our governments and law enforcement agencies work closely together to combat money laundering, arms trafficking, and human trafficking.

To manage the many challenges facing the world today--food shortages from Russia's invasion of Ukraine, rising temperatures and extreme weather events, continuing recovery from the pandemic, and China's growing influence around the world, we need capable Ambassadors in place to share democratic values and secure America's place in the world. Time and time again, Elizabeth Bagley has proven herself to be the kind of leader who is up for the task.

Don't take it just from me. Elizabeth has been awarded the Secretary of State's Distinguished Honor Award, given for those who have made significant contributions to the Agency's mission, and the Portuguese Government has conferred upon her the Grand Cross of Prince Henry the Navigator, Portugal's highest civilian honor.

I am proud to say I will be voting for Elizabeth Bagley as Ambassador to Brazil, and I urge my colleagues to do the same.

Madam President, I want to thank Roy. We have been through a lot together, and I am so proud to call him a friend, as well as Abby. I have such fond memories of our work together. I have really fun memories of when we once went to Canada--remember that?--with all the Canadian interparliamentarian groups; the work we did on adoption when no one thought we could get anything done, and we stood up for a number of really important bills; and the work we did on travel and tourism to make sure our country could compete with other countries around the world when it came to foreign tourists.

One of my favorite ones was when Senator Duckworth was pregnant and wanted to have permission to bring her baby on the floor just for the first year or 6 months when there were late-night votes and the like. I thought that was

going to be really easy, and I told her we could get it done. Then, every single month, I looked at her, and she was getting more and more pregnant, and I realized I wasn't accomplishing my job. Roy and I worked on that together.

One of my fond memories of that is Senator Hatch being surrounded by media and being asked about it, and he said: Well, that is OK if we have 1 baby on the floor, but what if we have 10 babies on the floor? I said: We already have 10 babies on the floor.

In any case, we were able to get that done.

As Roy mentioned, on a more serious topic, the sexual harassment rules--we instituted training, but we also updated the rules, which is a very difficult issue. We were working with Senator McConnell and working with Senator Schumer, as well as the House, to get that done.

Our work on protecting election officials--Roy, having been a previous election official, understood that. We had a bipartisan hearing with the secretaries of state from red States and blue States. That was a major moment for me.

But probably the thing I most remember was on January 6 when we had started the morning with this beautiful celebration and the ceremony of this walk with the young women with the mahogany boxes. Everyone here knows exactly what I am talking about. The insurrection went on, and Roy showed so much leadership that entire day in working with his colleagues, because while the police were on the frontlines, as we recognized today, Roy was doing a lot of work in working out how the process was going to work once we got through there. You know, he was the guy who made that work late into the night.

Then, in the end, at about 3:30 in the morning, it was Vice President Pence and Roy and myself and those three pairs of pages with the mahogany boxes, walking through the corridors, where we knew that throughout the Capitol there was broken glass and spray-painted columns, and Roy just kept doing his job.

Afterwards, when we got to the House, we knew that democracy had prevailed.

We came back to the Senate--remember this?--and the Sun was coming up. It is like 4 in the morning at this point, and we decided to go down to the Parliamentarian's offices, which were destroyed. One of the beloved members of our Parliamentarian's staff's family picture was on the floor. The whole thing was a mess. We stood there and committed that we were going to not just clean up the Capitol and improve the security but make this all better. That kind of drove my work in the last year.

But what I most remember about that particular moment at 4 in the morning is that we walked out of that room, which was ransacked, and Roy looked at me, and he looked at me with that typical Roy understatement, and he said: Well, see you tomorrow morning. And I go: OK, Roy.

That is Roy. He did what he said he would do. We did a report immediately on security in the Capitol--we got it done in 6 months-- with Senator Peters and Senator Portman about what had to be done. We made a bunch of changes. We hired a new chief, and we went on from there, because, for Roy, it is always, I will see you in the morning.

And we know, Roy, that we are going to see you in the morning, that you are not going to be a stranger, that you will stay a friend to so many of us. Thank you for your incredible service to the people of your State, to this Senate, and to the United States of America.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for the quorum call be rescinded.

Mr. President, I rise in support of the nominee to be the next U.S. district court judge for the District of Minnesota--that would be Jerry Blackwell.

I would like to thank Senator Durbin, chair of the Judiciary Committee, and all the members of the Judiciary Committee, including yourself, Mr. President, for shepherding Mr. Blackwell's nomination through the committee, and I would like to thank Leader Schumer for making time for the Senate to consider his nomination, and my colleague Senator Smith for her work as well in support of the nomination.

Jerry Blackwell is one of the most respected and accomplished litigators in the State of Minnesota. He has nearly 35 years of trial experience, has been named Minnesota Attorney of the Year five times, has argued over 1,000 motions in State and Federal court, and served as lead counsel in over 100 cases.

This is why he received a bipartisan vote in the Judiciary Committee, including with the support of the ranking member, and why I hope my colleagues on both sides of the aisle will support his confirmation.

Jerry has always been driven by his commitment to serve others--a commitment that started early in his life. His dad was a truckdriver who started working after the 10th grade, and his mom worked in a textile mill. She struggled with health conditions and was on dialysis from the time Jerry was 5 years old. They raised Jerry in a textile mill town in North Carolina in a home without running water. And although they did not have much, they raised their kids to believe that no matter what their life circumstances were, it was their responsibility to give back to their community. As Jerry said at his nomination hearing, his mom taught him at a young age that ``in serving others we find our own well-being.'' Those words inspired Jerry's brother to serve as a police officer and led Jerry to use his skills as an attorney to improve the lives of others.

He was the first in his family to attend college. He attended the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill as a recipient of the prestigious Morehead Scholarship. He went on to earn his J.D. from the University of North Carolina School of Law and then had the wisdom to move to Minnesota to begin his legal career at a firm in Minneapolis.

After working at several prominent Minneapolis law firms, Jerry went on to found Blackwell Burke, one of the largest minority-owned trial law firms in our State. The firm was, at one point, the second-largest Black-owned law firm in the United States of America. It is highly regarded by the Minnesota legal community and has been rated Minnesota's top litigation firm by Benchmark Litigation for 4 years in a row.

Jerry is also known for his humility--so much so that I did not learn until after his nomination hearing, when his aunt told me, that Jerry has never lost a case in the nearly 35 years he has been practicing.

I then went to Jerry and said ``Your aunt was probably kind of exaggerating?'' And he said ``No, it's true. I've never lost a case.''

As an attorney in Minnesota, Jerry never lost touch with his commitment to serve others. Even while he maintained a busy private practice, he always found ways to give back. He was widely praised for his work obtaining the first posthumous pardon in State history for Max Mason, a young Black man who was wrongfully convicted of rape in 1920. And he captured the attention of our State and the country during his time as Special Assistant Attorney General in one of the most high- profile criminal trials in the history of our country: the prosecution of Derek Chauvin for the murder of George Floyd.

Many of the pages in this room and many of the people watching today will remember Jerry's argument at the trial and the fine lawyering that he demonstrated. He didn't make it about himself. He didn't make it about some hotshot litigation move. He made it about George Floyd, and he made it about the community members and the police officers who came to testify against Derek Chauvin at that trial. It was an extraordinary job, along with his colleagues that also prosecuted the case and Attorney General Ellison who supervised it.

Jerry has broad respect in Minnesota's legal community. He was initially recommended by a judicial selection committee that I convened with Senator Smith consisting of accomplished Minnesota judges, attorneys, and legal scholars, headed up by Alan Page, the former Minnesota Supreme Court justice, also known as an extraordinary Minnesota Viking.

Jerry earned support from 25 experienced Federal prosecutors from across the political spectrum, who wrote to the Judiciary Committee in support of his nomination that he ``distinguished himself as a civil practitioner and has earned a national reputation as a skilled and persuasive advocate.''

The Judiciary Committee also directly heard from a number of current and former police chiefs in Minnesota who wrote:

We are confident that as a federal district court judge,

Mr. Blackwell will approach each case with an open mind and

will apply the law consistently and fairly.

That is why he got the highest rating from the ABA. That is why he got bipartisan support in the Judiciary Committee.

I am so proud to have Jerry as our nominee, and I ask my colleagues to join me in supporting his nomination.

It is not often that you have a nominee with this breadth of experience, this breadth of support, and also the willingness to take on one of the hardest cases our Nation has ever known and win it.

I yield the floor.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for the quorum call be rescinded.

Mr. President, I rise in support of the Respect for Marriage Act, and I am proud to be a cosponsor.

I come from a State that has long been at the cutting edge of progress. Minnesota began protecting LGBTQ people against workplace discrimination in 1993. At that time, it was the first and only State in the Nation to outlaw discrimination based on gender identity. And two decades later, in 2013, we became the 12th State to legalize marriage equality.

Across the country, as we know, many States have made advances. Today, 23 States have laws protecting people from discrimination based on

sexual orientation or gender identity. And in 2015, the Supreme Court recognized that the U.S. Constitution guarantees same-sex couples the right to marry.

But as far as we have come, we still have miles to go until LGBTQ Americans can live their lives with freedom, authenticity, and equality. And we must also make sure that we protect the progress we make.

From what happened recently with the Dobbs decision, as we know, rights that people take for granted--nearly 50 years of Roe v. Wade-- can vanish with one mark of a pen, with one signature on a piece of paper.

In fact, when it comes to gay marriage, when it comes to the protections granted by the Obergefell case--it was actually raised in one of the Justice's written opinions--we know that this is on the chopping block.

That is why, when a Supreme Court Justice signals that the hard-won legal protection for marriage equality could be on that chopping block, putting the legal rights of countless married couples and families in jeopardy, we felt--a number of Republicans and Democrats--on a bipartisan basis, that we had to step in. That is why we are here.

The way I see it, all three branches of government have a responsibility to protect people's rights. This is why our system of government was set up this way brilliantly. If one branch doesn't do its job, then it is up to another to step in. Yes, it is a system of checks and balances. Checks. If someone's power is out of control, as I believe happened here--out of the mainstream, out of consistency with the American people--that is a check. That is why we have it this way.

That is why you are seeing today--thanks to the leadership of our friends Senator Feinstein, Senator Baldwin, Senator Collins, Senator Sinema, Senator Portman, Senator Tillis, and so many others--that we have reached a bipartisan agreement to move this bill forward.

As you know, in July, the House of Representatives passed the Respect for Marriage Act to protect marriage equality. They did that on a bipartisan basis as well. Forty-seven Republicans voted for that bill in the House of Representatives.

For our Senate bill, I will note that the bipartisan text also has broad support from faith-based organizations to more than 250 businesses, including Minnesota's own Target and Best Buy.

We have before us a bill that requires States and the Federal Government to respect marriages legally entered into in other States, regardless of the sex or the race of the people who are married.

This is the kind of bill that should get 100 votes. It is about equality; it is about dignity; and it is about love. It is about saying that we won't go back to the days when a patchwork of State laws determined whether the union of two people who loved each other would be recognized by their government; that we won't go back to the days when a gay soldier, killed on the battlefield, was denied the honor and the respect of an official notification of next of kin. And we won't go back to the days of hospital patients being left to spend their final moments alone without the person they love most by their side.

This bipartisan vote today, and the one that we will have in the coming days, is about, no, we will not go backward. We will not go backward in this Chamber. We will not follow the way that the Supreme Court has been going when it comes to folding back rights and denying rights. That is not what America is about.

We should all be able to agree that States shouldn't be able to discriminate against people based on whom they love. This bill gives each and every one of my colleagues the opportunity to make that statement.

We know that there is more to be done to make sure all Americans are entitled to equal protections under the law, but this is an important step toward ensuring that no American experiences discrimination because of whom they love.

This is a great moment. It is a wonderful moment because my colleagues were able to reach an agreement across the aisle. It is a wonderful moment because we are fulfilling our constitutional duty of checks and balances. It is a moment of joy.

We have to remember that sometimes in our job, we have these moments that actually people say thank you for what you just did. They stop you in an airport, as the Presiding Officer knows, and say thank you. A lot of people are going to be saying that this week because they know this is the right thing to do, regardless of people's political views, regardless of their religious beliefs. It is why we are so proud that so many religious organizations are supporting this bill.

I yield the floor.

I suggest the absence of a quorum.

Madam President, today I rise to honor and pay tribute to Todd Haugen, a Minnesota legend who is retiring on November 18 after 42 years as a local radio host in Bemidji.

A proud graduate of Bemidji State University, Todd did not always intend to become a radio host. He graduated with a major in geography with no radio experience, originally hoping to pursue a legal career and only taking a part-time gig as an afternoon radio DJ to earn some more money. Todd figured that any job where he got to meet and interview Barbara Mandell, one of the biggest country singers in the country, couldn't be half bad. But he fell in love with his part-time pursuit, drawn to the critical role that local radio stations play in keeping communities informed.

Todd has been a staple on local airwaves since 1980 when he first joined the team at KB101. With the exception of 6 months in 1985, Todd has remained at KB101 throughout his entire career, where he has hosted the morning show for almost four decades.

For generations of families in the Bemidji area, Todd's voice was as integral to their mornings as their breakfast and coffee. Commuters counted on him for weather updates, students looked to him for the score of high school sports games, and the entire community depended on him for honest news reporting and candid interviews.

Through his daily Chatabout public affairs show, Todd has interviewed countless local elected officials and leaders, highlighting the issues that matter the most to his listeners, from city council agendas and school board meetings, to public safety guidance and flu season tips. As Todd says, public service and helping people is the best part of his job.

But not all of Todd's conversations were so serious. Throughout his four decades in local radio, he also got the chance to show off his light-hearted side, participating in cow milking contests, riding elephants, and even introducing a wrestling match--all for the enjoyment of his listeners.

Todd's engaging and entertaining work has won him a record six National Association of Broadcasters Crystal Awards, a National Association of Broadcasters Crystal Heritage Award, and two National Association of Broadcasters Education Foundation--NABEF--Service to America Awards. He has also been a two-time finalist for the National Association of Broadcasters Marconi Award for Small Market Personality of the Year.

Todd's service to his community has gone beyond just keeping them informed and entertained on the radio.

He has done so much to give back, from hosting Hubbard Bemidji's annual Radiothon To End Child Abuse since the event's inception in 1988 to serving on the local school board this year to fill a vacancy. After all Todd has done for Bemidji, he deserves the chance to spend more time with his wife and his two daughters and to finally turn off his alarm clock.

Todd, even though Bemidji will miss having you on the airwaves, I am wishing you and your family all the best in your next chapter.

I rise today in support of the nomination of Robin Hutcheson to be Administrator of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration.

As the Presiding Officer knows, her experience as Deputy Administrator and, currently, as Acting Administrator will serve her well. I am proud to say that she used to call Minnesota home, where she served as Director of Public Works for the City of Minneapolis for many years.

Ms. Hutcheson brings much experience with her to this job. She has served in three roles at the U.S. Department of Transportation: Deputy Assistant Secretary for Safety Policy, FMCSA Deputy Administrator, and currently, as Acting Administrator. She has a strong track record on safety.

As the Deputy Assistant Secretary for Safety Policy for U.S. DOT, she was instrumental in developing the National Roadway Safety Strategy and the new Safe Streets and Roads for All program.

She also has local experience managing transportation systems in three States across the country: Minnesota, as we discussed, Utah, and Montana. In her role as Director of Public Works for the City of Minneapolis, she oversaw a 1,100-person team across nine divisions, including all transportation functions.

During a time when our supply chains are being tested to their limits, I believe that her public and private experience, as well as her experience at both the local and Federal level, will bring a unique perspective to the role and improve the safety of our transportation networks.

I will address her unanimous consent proposal in a minute.

Madam President, I am now going to turn to the next item on my agenda before we all adjourn, and that is a speech in support of the DISCLOSE Act and the need to take action to get secret money out of our elections.

I want to thank Senator Whitehouse for his leadership on this legislation and testimony at the Committee on Rules and Administration hearing I held on it this summer.

Senator Whitehouse has championed this bill since 2012, and I have been proud to support it alongside him in every Congress.

I also want to thank Leader Schumer for holding a vote to advance this bill today. While the vote was ultimately unsuccessful, it is important that the people of this country understand that Senate Democrats--and only Senate Democrats, it appears--remain committed to addressing secret money in our election.

This vote could not have come at a more important time, as we are seeing an unprecedented flood of money into our elections. Over $14 billion was spent during the 2020 election, the most expensive in our country's history.

As we approach the general election in November with 48 days left, this is already--and we still have 48 days left--the most expensive midterm election ever. One estimate expects that nearly $10 billion will be spent just on political advertising this election cycle, more than double the $4 billion in the 2018 midterm elections.

As spending on elections increases, the sources of the spending are less accountable than ever before. One investigation found that more than $1 billion was spent on the 2020 elections by groups that do not disclose their donors at all.

I want people to think about this. One billion was spent on the 2020 election, one billion--not million--$1 billion, by groups that do not disclose their donors at all. No one likes that; I don't care if you are Democrat, Republican, or Independent, you at least want to know what money is being spent and who is paying for these negative ads that you see all over TV.

As spending on election increases, the sources of that spending are less accountable than ever before. Americans know there is way too much

money in our elections, and for our democracy to work, we need to know where the money is coming from. It is that simple.

But since the Supreme Court's decision in Citizens United opened up the flood of outside money, overturned so much of the bipartisan work that had been done by our former colleague Senator McCain--who we miss dearly--as well as Senator Feingold, our neighbor in Wisconsin, but since that time and the overturning of those requirements of the McCain-Feingold campaign restrictions, there have been no significant improvements made to disclosure laws or regulations.

Unlimited, anonymous spending in our elections doesn't encourage free speech; it drowns out the voices of you. It drowns out the voices of the American people who want to participate and be treated like everyone else. They have one vote just like a billionaire has a vote. Yet, what do we see? The billionaire gets to have undue influence, and we don't even know who he is because it is shrouded in secrecy because there is no requirement that the name be disclosed.

This unrelenting secret spending will continue unless we take action to address it. That is why we need to pass the DISCLOSE Act.

The DISCLOSE Act would address this tidal wave of secret money by requiring outside groups that spend in our elections to disclose their large donors--those that contribute more than $10,000.

How could anyone be opposed to this? We are not talking about a lot of paperwork. We are talking about people who give more than $10,000. Looking around the Gallery, looking at the pages, I just find it hard to believe there are people right here that are going to give over $10,000 and then hide behind some kind of curtain of nondisclosure. That is what is happening. We just want to know who they are.

Importantly, the bill also makes it harder for wealthy special interests to hide their contributions to cloak the identity of donors, and it cracks down on the use of shell companies to conceal the donations of foreign nationals.

Let me repeat that. Who could be against trying to figure out whether shell companies are hiding the donations of foreign nationals, of people who don't even live in America who are trying to influence our elections?

I held a hearing on the bill in the Committee on Rules and Administration on the DISCLOSE Act this summer, where we heard about the effects that secret money is having on our democracy and why we need to pass this legislation.

Senator Whitehouse testified at the hearing, and he spoke powerfully about the impact that secret money is having on our government, affecting all aspects of our lives, from the makeup of our courts to people's healthcare decisions to addressing climate change.

We also heard from Montana's Commissioner of Political Practices Jeff Mangan, who told us how his State's version of the DISCLOSE Act passed in 2015 with bipartisan support. Let me repeat that. In Montana, red and blue worked together and got this passed. I couldn't agree more that transparency in our democracy should not be a partisan issue, and regardless of political party, we should know who is spending on our elections.

The American people know what is at stake. So it is no surprise that campaign finance disclosure laws have overwhelming support. One recent poll found that in swing States, 91 percent of likely voters-- Republicans and Democrats--those are States that go red or blue, may be considered purple--91 percent of likely voters--Republicans and Democrats--support full transparency of campaign contributions and spending in our elections.

Another poll from 2019 found that across America, 83 percent of likely voters support public disclosures of contributions. Those are people regardless of their political stripes. There is also a long history of bipartisan support for reducing the influence of money in our democracy.

In fact, the very first limits on corporate campaign contributions came in 1907, the Tillman Act, the landmark Federal Election Campaign Act then passed in 1972, and as I noted, the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act in 2002 was also bipartisan, supported by Senators John McCain and Russ Feingold. They joined together to champion, to pass this really important bill. Guess what. All three of those bills I just mentioned, the one in 1907, the one in 1972, the one in 2002, they were all signed into law by Republican Presidents. This has always been a bipartisan issue in our country.

Former Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia, never one to hide his opinions, was also a staunch supporter of campaign finance disclosure. In a 2010 case, Doe v. Reed, he wrote:

For my part, I do not look forward to a society which,

thanks to the Supreme Court, campaigns anonymously . . .

hidden from public scrutiny and protected from the

accountability of criticism.

These are his words:

This does not resemble the Home of the Brave.

You can't get much more conservative than former Justice Scalia. This is a bipartisan issue. We ask our colleagues to change their minds. Ensuring the transparency of our elections has been and should continue to be a bipartisan value.

These issues are at the very heart of our democracy, and this commonsense bill would protect the right of voters to make informed choices and know who has been trying to influence our elections.

As we move forward, I urge my colleagues to join me in supporting these measures in the future as well as the measures in the Freedom to Vote Act, which the DISCLOSE Act was part of that I led in the Senate that would give us baseline--baseline--rules of the road for the voters of this country to be able to make sure they can cast their votes regardless of whether they live in Minnesota or Texas.

With that, I would like to turn to a few other matters that will help to close the Senate that I will receive in a few minutes. I have one. I will get started. Here we go. This is very exciting, happening in real time for all those watching. See, we are all prepared.