Floor Statements

Mr. President, I understand that there is a bill at the desk that is due for a second reading.

In order to place the bill on the calendar, under the provisions of rule XIV, I would object to further proceeding.

I suggest the absence of a quorum.

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 President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for the quorum call be rescinded.

Mr. President, I have one request 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 recess until 10:30 a.m., Tuesday, March 8, and that following the prayer and pledge, the time for the two leaders be reserved for their use later in the day; further, that the Senate recess from 12:30 p.m. until 2:15 p.m. to allow for the weekly caucus meetings; finally, that all time during the adjournment, recess, morning business, and leader remarks be counted postcloture on H.R. 3076.

For the information of Senators, we will continue to process the Postal Service Reform bill and hope to complete its action during Tuesday's session.

Mr. President, if there is no further business to come before the Senate, I ask unanimous consent that it stand in recess under the previous order.

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 President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for the quorum call be rescinded.

Mr. President, as spring begins, daily new cases of COVID-19 have dramatically decreased since the height of Omicron. Hospitalizations, thank God, have steadily declined. Across the country, Americans are able to remove their masks as the spread of disease seems to be lessening. Crucially, schools are open, and we need to do everything we can in our power to make sure they stay open.

All of these signs point in a positive direction. The country is turning the corner on the COVID pandemic. We are in a new moment of the fight.

But we also are at a crossroads. Either we act now to secure the progress we have made, or we risk backsliding if another contagious variant emerges in the fall and winter. Just as we cannot allow COVID to rule our lives, neither can we fall into a false sense of complacency.

That is why the White House has requested that Congress include $22.5 billion in additional COVID relief funding in the upcoming spending bill, and Congress should follow through with this request over the coming days. If not, we risk sliding back if another variant occurs.

This morning on CNBC, former FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb reminded viewers of the key aspect of this disease. To paraphrase him loosely, cases can drop in the spring and summer, but the risk still exists for another wave to surge in the fall or winter. He is right. We all know this from sad experience.

We also know what we must do to be ready. We know a lot more now what to do to be ready than we knew a year ago. If we want to keep our schools open, if we want to keep life as close to normal as possible, if we want to be ready for the possibilities of future variants, Congress must provide the resources needed before a new variant arrives. That is the surest way to minimize cases, hospitalizations, and deaths in the future.

Let me repeat. To keep schools open, to keep life as normal as it can be, we need additional COVID investments now, not after a possible new variant arrives.

Remember, by now, all public health funding provided by the American Rescue Plan has run out. If Congress waits until a new variant arises to pass new funding, it will be too late.

And we are happy to make clear with our Republican colleagues about how this money is dedicated. The White House has already provided an explanation about how COVID money has been spent over time. Some Republicans may think it should have been spent differently, but the point is that

it has been spent. We can't pull those dollars back, and we need to provide new funding for possible variants.

Where has the COVID money been spent thus far? It has gone to vaccinate 215 million Americans. It has been used to keep schools open, to expand treatment, and to provide 1.2 billion vaccines to other countries.

Last night, Acting OMB Director Shalanda Young sent Congress a 12- page letter detailing what the new funding would do: more vaccines for children, bolstering our testing supply chain, therapeutics, and more.

If there is one thing both parties should be able to agree on it is that we should not shortchange the American people on vaccines, on testing, or on therapeutic medicines that greatly reduce the severity of the illness if you are able to take them and if we have the supply.

Again, Congress must include new funding for COVID relief to ensure our schools and our communities face minimal disruption in case another variant comes, and we should do it ASAP. The most logical place immediately to do it is in the upcoming omnibus bill.

Inflation

Mr. President, on another matter, on costs to the American people, in the coming months and beyond, Senate Democrats will maintain a focus on one of the most vexing issues facing American families: lowering costs while building on the wage and job growth we have seen over the past year.

The American economy is booming compared to a year ago. The number of new jobs added to the economy is staggering. We have added more than 6 million new jobs in a single year, including the most--the most--new manufacturing jobs in decades, but at the same time, we must fiercely confront the wave of rising costs resulting from COVID's worldwide disruptions. This is the biggest economic challenge that our country must focus on right now.

Later today, at our DPCC lunch, at the request of Chair Stabenow, FTC Commissioner Lina Khan will join us to shine a light on the troubling pattern of corporate price hikes in the areas of oil and gas, prescription drugs, and other goods.

This dimension of inflation cannot be ignored. Americans are being asked to pay more at the grocery store, at the pump, and for basic goods even as they watch incredulously as some of the Nation's biggest corporations post their most massive profits.

In many instances, these profits resoundingly exceed prepandemic figures. Last fall, Bloomberg noted that U.S. corporations outside of the financial industry reported the biggest margins since 1950--since 1950--71\1/2\ years ago. It appears corporate profits are far outpacing inflation, and they are spending much of the profits on things like corporate buybacks, which are hitting record levels. So Americans are being asked to pay more, but many mega corporations are making a killing. That is a twisted thing to see as we recover from COVID.

Democrats are working right now on a number of proposals and ideas that would ease the pressure Americans are feeling from rising costs. We must lower the cost of insulin to $35 a month. We must make all prescription drugs cheaper. We need to help make groceries more affordable. We need to look at fixing ocean shipping bottlenecks.

I will also add that one of the best things we can do to fight inflation is to confirm President Biden's nominees to the Federal Reserve. I urge in the strongest terms possible for Republicans to drop their holds on these members. The Federal Reserve is so crucial for our economy right now, and to intentionally delay their confirmations is irresponsible.

Most importantly, we must boost manufacturing, American manufacturing, and decrease our reliance on overseas producers. The war provoked by Putin is an illustration as to why this example is important.

President Biden's State of the Union made clear that the United States remains strong and ready to face the immense challenges of our time, but to maintain that edge, we must focus like a laser on addressing costs. That is what Democrats will keep doing.

Another thing we are doing today, that is happening today, is a hearing in the Commerce Committee on shipping costs and a bipartisan bill by Senators Klobuchar and Thune that will help reduce those costs. Shipping costs affect every American. Any good that comes from overseas has to be shipped here.

I will be brief as I conclude.

Mr. President, as our country turns the corner on the COVID-19 pandemic, we stand at a crossroads. We can either take steps to keep America ready in case new variants arise--and the odds are high they will arise--or we can backslide and undo everything we have done, at great cost, to get our country closer to normal.

Today, the Senator from Kansas is advancing a proposal that would precisely handicap the Biden administration's ability to fight the pandemic and heighten the danger that all our progress is suddenly unraveled in the future. We have learned how to fight the pandemic; we are better at it; this undoes it for some kind of ideological reason.

This proposal to hinder our COVID preparedness is as damaging and risky as it is unnecessary, and it should be voted down. It is going nowhere if it passes.

The national emergency declaration, which this proposal would immediately terminate, has been one of the most powerful and best tools for mobilizing the Federal Government to combat the pandemic. It has made it easier to acquire medical supplies, to provide resources for healthcare works, and has helped cut redtape under the Defense Production Act. It has also offered student loan borrowers critical relief by clearing the path for suspending student loan payments--a lifeline for tens of millions. Do we want that undone?

Just as it looks like we are turning the corner, why on Earth would Republicans risk bungling it all by crippling America's ability to remain prepared for the future? The best way to ensure that we keep schools open and cases low is by staying at the ready, and that is what these emergency powers enable us to do. We don't know if new variants will come or not, but if they do, they can appear with frightening speed, and we need to be prepared.

By prematurely terminating the national emergency declaration on COVID, it will be harder to ensure we have enough supplies, enough support for healthcare workers, and risks throwing tens of millions of student loan borrowers into needless uncertainty and anxiety. It is a wrong move. I will vote against it today.

And I ask for the yeas and nays.

Vote on S.J. Res 38

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

Mr. President, I understand that there are three bills at the desk due for a second reading en bloc.

In order to place the bills on the calendar under the provisions of rule XIV, I would object to further proceeding en bloc.

Mr. President, now for my remarks.

Earlier this morning, it was an honor--a truly rare honor in my time in public service--to meet with Judge Jackson for the first time since her nomination to the Supreme Court. Before the meeting, I said Judge Jackson was brilliant and beloved, but now that I have met her, I will add another word: ``belongs.'' She is not only brilliant and beloved but belongs on the Supreme Court.

I believe her nomination certainly merits a good number of votes from both parties, and I hope we see that as we move forward in the process. I am certain that when other Senators have a chance to meet with Judge Jackson, they will understand why she is beyond qualified to replace Justice Breyer on the Supreme Court.

For one, if confirmed, Judge Jackson would have one of the most diverse professional backgrounds of any sitting Justice. Throughout her career, she has been a Federal defender; worked in private practice; sat on the U.S. Sentencing Commission; served as a district judge and as a circuit court judge on the DC Circuit; and of course, she was a clerk to Justice Breyer, the very same Justice whose seat she would now fill.

As a district judge, Judge Jackson rendered more than 550 rulings and was rarely reversed by higher courts, illustrating her evenhanded application of the law and facts. Then, when you meet with her, you see that she has brought that broad experience and adopted it into her being. She empathizes with people. She emphasized to me that as a judge, she should try to understand both sides. You could tell, when you met her, that she really believed it and, since, has sort of integrated all of her experiences into her being. She had an incredibly phenomenal interview, as well as has an amazing record.

For all of these reasons, Judge Jackson's nomination has already won support from individuals and organizations across the political spectrum. She is supported by civil rights advocates; she is supported by conservative judges and lawyers; she is supported by the Fraternal Order of Police. Someone who was a public defender is now supported by the Fraternal Order of Police? You can't get much better than that. And she is supported by scores of

men and women who had the honor of working with her over the years.

I have gone through her record. You can hardly find a single person she has met, as she has walked through life and met people, who has said a bad thing about her. And when you meet her, you can see why. When you meet her, you can see why.

America will be much better off with someone like Judge Jackson on the Supreme Court. Our country deserves someone deeply experienced, broadly supported, and someone whose elevation as the first Black woman Justice signifies a long overdue step toward perfecting our Union.

I am grateful to have had the chance to have met with the judge. I thank her for her time this morning, and I look forward to working with my colleagues to elevate this outstanding nominee to the Supreme Court very soon.

In having met her and having studied her record, she deserves the support of Members from the other side of the aisle, and I am hopeful she will get a good number of them to support her.

Mr. President, on the State of the Union, last night, before a joint session of Congress, President Biden made the case to the Nation and to the world that in the face of immense challenges, the United States remains strong and ready to meet the tests of our time.

In an hour-long speech delivered before a Chamber that was much fuller than last year, President Biden demonstrated, yet again, the kind of leader he has been all of his life: optimistic, unifying, decent, and honest. He is honest about where we are today and where we must go. I applaud President Biden for laying out a bold, strong, and comprehensive vision that will resonate with the vast majority of Americans.

In particular, I was glad the President focused on three important things. First, he united the parties in supporting Ukraine and against Putin. Second, he showed how under Democratic leadership America has turned the corner on COVID. Third, he confronted the urgency of lowering costs for American families, something our caucus has been focusing on.

First, I was glad that President Biden united the room, the country, and the world in opposing Vladimir Putin and his savage assaults on Ukraine. It is obvious that the President has done an incredibly good job in unifying the Europeans and the West as a united front against Putin. That was felt by people on both sides of the aisle.

When the President called on the Chamber to stand up and applaud Oksana Markarova, the Ukrainian Ambassador, the feeling in the room reminded me of the unity we all felt after 9/11. But just like on 9/11, that unity comes with the sobering recognition that the scale of Putin's brutality in Ukraine is worsening. Ukraine's State Emergency Service reported this morning that more than 2,000 civilians--2,000 men, women, and children--children--have now been killed as a result of Putin's savage brutality.

What is happening in Ukraine is carnage, and the blood of every one of those innocent people falls on the hands of Vladimir Putin and on his band of crony oligarchs. This evil man must be stopped.

As an important step, last night, the Senate unanimously passed bipartisan legislation that will protect America, our government, and our critical infrastructure from cyber attacks. Finally, the holds were lifted from the other side of the aisle, and we passed unanimously this cyber legislation. It is more important now than ever before because Putin is brandishing a cyber weapon.

Cyber warfare is truly one of the dark arts perfected by Putin's authoritarian regime. It is a weapon he is happy to employ around the world. When our authorities in government know of these attacks, they can prepare against future attacks. They will know who is attacking, where they are attacking, how they are attacking, and that will allow them to strengthen our defenses against future cyber attacks.

Many in the industry--at times, I believe even the Chamber of Commerce--were not for this legislation, but with the urgency of the moment--the need to protect ourselves from cyber attacks--finally, the Senate rose to the occasion. So I thank Senators Peters and Portman for getting this bill done.

The passage of this bill was little noticed because it came right before Congress adjourned for the State of the Union, but it is a giant step forward to protecting ourselves, and I am glad that we got it done last night. But, of course, we must do more.

The Senate must keep working on a bipartisan basis to pass a robust aid package in the upcoming omnibus so we can send an unmistakable message to Ukraine that we stand with them and a message to Putin that we stand against him. The quickest way we can assure that aid reaches Ukraine is through the omnibus, which needs to get done next week; so I am glad that we seem to be having bipartisan support to get that done.

Second, I was also glad President Biden showed how the country under Democratic leadership is turning the corner in the fight against COVID- 19. By passing legislation last year to fund vaccines, expand testing, and support our healthcare workers, we are beating this disease.

What the President said last night was absolutely correct in that we cannot--we cannot--have COVID control our lives anymore, but neither can we let our guard down. Right now, as cases are dropping across the board, Congress must pass more funding for vaccines, testing, and therapeutics.

``Therapeutics'' is a word for medication that helps alleviate the virulence of COVID. Very few people who take the therapeutics have to be hospitalized. We also have to ensure that our doctors and nurses and healthcare workers are prepared in case another variant comes this way so that we can stay as close to normal as possible even if another variant arrives. We have to have an ample supply of vaccines, of therapeutics, and of testing ahead of time. We cannot wait. Some of our Republican colleagues seem to be saying: Oh, we don't need this now.

We do need it now while we still have the chance. If Congress waits until another variant arrives, it will be too late.

Let me say that again. Even as cases drop across the board, we cannot be complacent against COVID. Congress must pass more COVID funding now so we can be ready by funding vaccines, testing, therapeutics, and supporting our healthcare workers. If Congress waits until another variant arrives, it will be too late. So we need our Republican colleagues to join us in a bipartisan way, just as they are joining us on Ukraine.

Finally, I am glad that President Biden zeroed in on cutting costs for American families. A year into the President's first year, the economy is surging and creating an unprecedented number of jobs. But people are struggling because costs are also going up. Your wages are going up, but if the costs keep going up, it eats up those wage increases.

Now, why are costs up? Costs are up because of supply chain disruptions stemming from COVID and pent-up demand, as people during COVID didn't buy a lot of things. All the while, Americans are watching incredulously as some of our largest corporations are raising prices despite growing profits. In some cases, executives are seeing lavish pay increases, and in the end, Americans are footing the bill.

Senate Democrats will not stand for this, and we are working with the President to lower costs and build upon the wage growth we have seen over the past year. We are laser-focused on reducing America's costs, from lowering the costs of insulin so no one pays more than $35 a month, to lowering the cost of all prescription drugs, to lowering the cost of meat at the grocery store, to fixing our ocean shipping lines so the bottlenecks don't raise their costs. Shipping costs have gone way up, as the President mentioned.

Do you know what else we can do to lower costs? We can innovate. Congress should continue working to finalize our bipartisan, bicameral jobs and supply chains bill so we can boost American manufacturing, solve our chip crisis, and make our country less dependent on foreign tech companies.

In short, despite everything the world faces, President Biden reminded supporters and critics alike why the American people entrusted him with

the Presidency. He didn't shy away from our challenges but, rather, advanced an optimistic and unifying plan for how to meet the moment.

Senate Democrats will continue working with the President to precisely move our country forward on lowering costs, on addressing COVID, and on defending our democracy in this hour of peril.

I thank the President for his leadership. Let us continue in our work.

I yield the floor.

I ask unanimous consent that at 11 a.m. on Thursday, March 3, S.J. Res. 38 be discharged from the Committee on Finance and the Senate proceed to its consideration; further, that there be 3 hours for debate only, with the time equally divided between the Leaders, or their designees, on the joint resolution; and that following the use or yielding back of that time, the joint resolution be

read a third time and the Senate vote on the resolution, with no intervening action or debate.

Mr. President, I am about to file cloture on the postal reform bill, so let me say a few words about that. So this week the Senate has kept making progress toward our goal of passing and ultimately enacting the largest bill to support the U.S. Postal Service in a long, long time.

This is a bipartisan bill, long overdue and far-reaching in how it will place our post office on secure footing for the future.

Democrats have spent the day working with Republicans on a list of amendments that they want to hold with regard to this bill, and these negotiations are ongoing.

So while we work on an agreement--and to keep the process moving--I will be filing cloture so that we can take the next steps toward the final passage.

It is my hope that we can arrive at an agreement tomorrow and finish this bill before the weekend. There is every reason in the world to do so.

At the end of the day, the vast majority of Democrats and Republicans want to see this bill sent to the President's desk quickly.

I want to thank my colleagues on both sides of the aisle for their continued work, especially Chairman Peters.

This postal reform bill has been a long time coming, and when passed it will ensure that the tens of millions of Americans who rely on the post office every single day for medicine, Social Security, checks, other goods, they can be sure that the post office remains in good hands and is strengthened.

Cloture Motion

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

I ask unanimous consent that the mandatory quorum call for the cloture motion filed today, Wednesday, March 2, be waived.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to executive session to consider the following nominations en bloc: Calendar Nos. 441, 445, 458; that the Senate vote on the nominations en bloc without intervening action or debate; that the motions to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table with no intervening action or debate; that any statements related to the nominations be printed in the Record; that the President be immediately notified of the Senate's action, and the Senate resume legislative session.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate be in a period of morning business, with Senators permitted to speak therein for up to 10 minutes each.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to the immediate consideration of Calendar No. 224, S. 198.

Mr. President, I further ask that the bill be read a third time and passed and that the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table, with no intervening action or debate read a third time.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to the immediate consideration of Calendar No. 276, S. 3103.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the committee-reported amendments be agreed to, the bill, as amended be considered read a third time and passed, and that the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table.