Floor Statements

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to executive session to consider Calendar No. 3, Treaty Document No. 115-3; that the treaty be considered as having advanced through the various parliamentary stages up to and including the presentation of the resolution of advice and consent to ratification; that any committee conditions, declarations, or reservations be agreed to as applicable; that any statements be printed in the Record as if read; further, that the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table; that the President be immediately notified of the Senate's action, and the Senate resume legislative session.

I ask for a division vote on the resolution of advice and consent to ratification.

Mr. President, I have eight requests for committees to meet during today's session of the Senate. They have the approval of the Majority and Minority Leaders.

Pursuant to Rule XXVI, paragraph 5(a), of the Standing Rules of the Senate, the following committees are authorized to meet during today's session of the Senate:

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that when the Senate completes its business today, it adjourn until 10 a.m. on Wednesday, July 20; that following the prayer and the pledge, the morning hour be deemed expired, the Journal of proceedings be approved to date, the time for the two leaders be reserved for their use later in the day, and morning business be closed; that upon the conclusion of morning business, the Senate proceed to executive session to resume consideration of the Williams nomination; further, that the cloture motions filed during yesterday's session ripen at 11:30 a.m., and that if cloture is invoked on the Williams nomination, all postcloture time be expired at 2:30 p.m.; finally, that if any nominations are confirmed during Wednesday's session, the motions to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table, and the President be immediately notified of the Senate's action.

For the information of the Senate, there will be one rollcall vote at 11:30 a.m., two rollcall votes at 2:30 p.m., and additional rollcall votes later in the day.

Mr. President, if there is no further business to come before the Senate, I ask that it stand adjourned under the previous order, following the remarks of Senator Klobuchar.

Now, Madam President, the Senate gavels back in for the second week of an exceedingly busy work period. There is a lot we must do quickly to lower costs and improve the lives of American families.

On the nominations front, we will continue confirming as many of President Biden's qualified judges and administrative appointees as possible. Last week, the Senate confirmed our 70th Biden-appointed Federal judge, on a voice vote, and this week we intend to keep going by confirming Judge Michelle Childs, of South Carolina, to serve as a circuit judge on the very, very important DC Circuit.

Very soon, the Senate must also take swift action to pass the PACT Act for a second time in order to correct a technical error that arose in the House. This legislation will be the most important healthcare reform bill that our veterans have seen in years, and there is absolutely no justification--none whatsoever--to delay the swift passage of this bill.

And, most importantly, the U.S. Senate must finish work on one of the most urgent priorities facing this Chamber: addressing the chip shortage that is hurting American consumers, decimating our supply chains, and endangering our national security.

For the information of all, tomorrow, we are going to hold the first procedural vote on legislation to address these critical issues, which both sides have been working on for months. As we speak, Democrats and Republicans are hashing out the final details on a bill so we can move forward this week.

The chip shortage is not some abstract issue; it is impacting the daily

lives of millions of Americans. Cars, refrigerators, and other household appliances require chips to function, but supply shortages mean prices have gone up and up and up for those goods, and Americans have to wait months just to get a hold of them. If you want to help with inflation and get it down, this bill is an important bill to vote for, and we can take a giant step toward fixing this problem if we act now.

Last week, the Secretaries of Commerce and Defense told us plainly that ``our economic and national security depends on our ability to invest in the technologies of today and tomorrow.''

So, again, we need to move quickly.

Right now, some of the most important manufacturers in our country are weighing where to make their investments in semiconductor production. Many of them are holding off on final decisions to see what Congress does, but they are not going to wait around forever.

As one company told the Wall Street Journal, ``Without these incentives [from Congress], the capital investment required for [expanding production] is not economically viable in the United States given other global alternatives.''

Other countries have copied our legislation, and they are offering companies huge amounts of money to locate there, and that, of course, will endanger our security--economic and national. The message is not subtle. If countries do not think it is profitable to make chips here in America, they are going to go somewhere else.

Countless good-paying American jobs are on the line, and billions of dollars in economic activity are on the line. As I said, our national security is at stake. For these reasons, I urge my colleagues to move forward tomorrow.

Of course, as we work on chips legislation this week, I urge my colleagues on the conference committee to continue finalizing the larger jobs and innovation package that both sides have been working on for months.

I want to see this Chamber send a compromise bill to the President's desk because this is so important for the future of our country and for our national security. I have worked for more than a year with Republicans to get a competition and innovation bill done, so I strongly support my colleagues as they keep working.

In the meantime, we must take steps to get chips done as soon as we can. This is about lowering costs, increasing manufacturing, and making sure we are competitive with our rivals abroad.

The 21st century will belong to nations willing to invest in the technologies and innovations of tomorrow. I want to get there first, but to do that, the Senate must act this week.

Madam President, first, let me thank all of my colleagues for their kind words during my time isolating due to COVID last week. As you can see, I have made a full recovery after experiencing only mild symptoms, thank God. COVID has done incalculable damage to scores of American families, but because I was fortunate enough to be vaccinated and double boosted, my case was not as bad as it could have been.

I urge all Americans who have not been vaccinated yet to talk to their doctors and get the vaccine, if possible, and then get boosted when the time is right. Speaking from personal experience, it makes all the difference in the world.

Madam President, I move to proceed to legislative session.

Madam President, I move to proceed to executive session to consider Calendar No. 989.

Madam President, I send a cloture motion to the desk.

Now, Madam President, I move to proceed to legislative session.

Madam President, I move to proceed to executive session to consider Calendar No. 971.

Madam President, I send a cloture motion to the desk.

Finally, I ask unanimous consent that the mandatory quorum calls for the cloture motions filed today, July 18, be waived.

I yield the floor.

I suggest the absence of a quorum.

Madam President, as we approach the conclusion of a truly consequential work period, the Senate this morning will take the next major step toward accomplishing something that hasn't been done in decades, passing a strong gun safety bill.

The bill can be described simply in three adjectives: common sense, bipartisan, lifesaving. And if Republicans work with us, we could very well finish the job in its entirety before the day is done.

Later this morning, the Senate will vote to invoke cloture on the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act, and I expect that vote to have robust bipartisan support, just as we saw earlier this week.

We are not going to leave until we pass this bill. After this morning's vote, it is my intention to work with Republican colleagues to reach an agreement to secure a vote on final passage before the day is out.

As the author of the Brady bill nearly 30 years ago, the last legislative effort to fight gun violence, I am so pleased that we are at last on the precipice of taking action once again. It has been a long time, but this breakthrough is welcome. So I urge my Republican colleagues, let's get this bill passed and pass it today. Let's pass it so we can send it to the House; they can send it to the White House; and the President can sign it. Americans have waited long enough. Let us finish our job today.

As we take the final steps in this process, few could have anticipated we would reach this point just a few weeks ago. The morning after the tragedy in Uvalde, the U.S. Senate faced a choice: We could surrender to gridlock, and we could swiftly vote on a bill with provisions many of us would have wanted, but because of rigid opposition from the other side had no hope of passing the Chamber--it would have failed--or we could choose to try and forge a bipartisan path forward to pass a real bill, as difficult as that may have seemed to many.

Over the past 4 weeks, we chose to try and get something done. Immediately after Uvalde, I spoke with Senator Murphy, who asked me to give negotiators time and space to do their work. With his deep experience in this area, he believed that given the opportunity, maybe, maybe, maybe these

talks could succeed; although, of course, there was no guarantee.

I was happy to agree because I knew that even if there was a chance to get something positive and tangible done on gun safety, it was worth the effort. So I told Senator Murphy I would give him the space he needed. That quickly became the consensus of our caucus and the consensus of many of our gun safety advocates who pressed us to secure real progress. Senator Murphy and I called them the day after Uvalde, and they agreed, get something done, even if it wouldn't be everything we would all want.

We were all on the same page. Instead of voting on a bill that would fail, we would try and get something real passed in the Senate. In the end, it was the right decision because before long we had a bipartisan guns framework. A week later, we had legislative text. A few days ago, that bill came before the Senate with strong bipartisan votes. And today--today--we can take final steps to passing the first major gun safety bill in nearly 30 years.

As I said, this is not a cure-all for all the ways gun violence affects our Nation, but it is a long overdue step in the right direction. It is significant; it is going to save lives; and it is my intention to get it done as soon as we can.

I want to thank all of my Democratic and Republican colleagues for working together to reach this point, and I want to thank the leaders of the effort: Senators Murphy and Sinema, Senators Cornyn and Tillis, as well as all of our colleagues on the bipartisan working group, all of our chairs and Members who contributed their expertise and their leadership in shaping the bill. I also want to thank every single survivor of gun violence, every family who has spoken up, every advocate who has organized, and every voter and concerned citizen who has pushed this body to take action for so many years. Even with the holes in their heart, the lost loved ones through needless, cruel gun violence, so many advocates persisted and persisted and persisted. And without them keeping that candle burning, even in the darkest of moments, we wouldn't have gotten this done. I salute them. I thank them. America thanks them. And I say to all of them, all the advocates who worked so hard and so long on this, very soon your efforts will bear real fruit.

We are going to keep going until we finish the job. So I urge my colleagues to reach an agreement with us to do precisely that.

Now, Madam President, on a different and sadder subject, I wish to offer a few words this morning in honor of Leona Faust, the Senate Librarian, who passed away after decades of working to serve in this body.

In Psalm 19, it is written:

Day after day they pour forth speech;

Night after night they reveal knowledge.

This Chamber is well accustomed to long speeches from many Members day after day, but for a century and a half, it has been the responsibility of one person, the Senate Librarian, to help reveal, preserve, and safeguard the knowledge and work of this body. For 44 years, that was the work Leona dedicated herself to with intelligence and grace.

Leona's first day on the job was very different from what library employees might encounter today. When she was first hired in 1978, her responsibilities were primarily to manage hundreds of calls that came every day inquiring about the status of this or that piece of legislation.

In time, Leona, who became the Librarian in 2010, worked dramatically to improve the efficiency of the Library. She modernized it, digitized it, and made it far more accessible for Members and their staffs. Her accomplishments forever changed the way information flows across the Senate and democracy--democracy itself--is better off for her work.

But most of all today, we pay tribute to Leona not for what she did but for what she was--a beloved member of the Senate community, a friend to so many, and someone whom we will miss very, very dearly.

Today, all of us keep her memory permanently in our hearts and her family in our prayers.

Madam President, I want to congratulate our Journal Clerk Billy Walsh on his retirement from the Senate.

The Senate could not function without the hard-working staff here in the Chamber. Billy began his career as assistant bill clerk, and he has been with us for 19 years. A native of Cumberland, MD, he is retiring as the 21st Journal Clerk of the U.S. Senate.

We all wish him a happy and healthy retirement. And as Billy has said, ``Those umbrella drinks by the ocean aren't going to drink themselves.''

Enjoy your libations and your retirement--to the wonderful, wonderful, wonderful and always smiling Billy Walsh.

I yield the floor.