Floor Statements

Madam President, I move to proceed to Calendar No. 144, H.R. 4350, the National Defense Authorization Act.

I send a cloture motion to the desk.

Finally, I ask unanimous consent that the mandatory quorum call for the cloture motion filed today, November 15, be waived.

I yield the floor, and I thank the Senator from Tennessee for her courtesy.

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

Mr. President, I understand there is a bill at the desk, and I ask for its first reading.

Mr. President, I now ask for a second reading, and in order to place the bill on the calendar under the provisions of rule XIV, I object to my own request.

Mr. President, I come to the floor today a little sad but also immensely full of gratitude. Earlier today, our dear colleague Senator Patrick Leahy announced that he will retire from the Senate at the conclusion of his term.

Now, this Chamber has had a long history of many a dedicated public servant, but there has only been one Patrick Leahy. For eight terms, the gentleman from Vermont has been a Senator's Senator, one of only four in the history of the Senate to surpass 16,000 votes in service to his beloved home State.

Today, I can only say this: Thank you. Thank you, Pat, for your many years of friendship, leadership, and dedication to the Constitution and the rule of law. The Senate is better off because of you. Vermont is better off because of you. Our country is better off because of you.

Now, we still may disagree strongly about which State has the best maple syrup, but we never let that get in the way of doing great things together.

Pat, you are a great guy. It is bittersweet. You deserve a wonderful retirement with Marcelle and your beautiful children and grandchildren, but we are going to miss you dearly. I wish you and Marcelle the very best on the road ahead and the best of luck. Godspeed.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that when the Senate completes its business today, it adjourn until 10 a.m., Tuesday, November 16; that following the prayer and 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 Steele nomination postcloture; further, that at 11:30 a.m., all postcloture time be expired and the Senate vote on confirmation of the Steele nomination; that the Senate recess following the cloture vote on the Bonnie nomination until 2:15 p.m. to allow for the weekly caucus meetings; further, that if cloture is invoked on the Bonnie nomination, the vote on confirmation will be at 2:30 p.m.; and, finally, that if any nominations are confirmed during Tuesday'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.

If there is no further business to come before the Senate, I ask unanimous consent that it stand adjourned under the previous order.

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

Madam President, Democrats are closer than we have ever been to finalizing and passing legislation to achieve President Biden's Build Back Better agenda. We have made great progress since the President announced his framework last week, including by coming to an agreement that will, for the first time ever, empower Medicare to directly negotiate prices in Part B and Part D and lower prices for millions of seniors and American families.

We will also cap out-of-pocket expenses at $2,000 a year, and our agreement will make it so Americans with diabetes don't pay more than $35 per month on insulin. One of the great confounding mysteries over the last several years is, how did insulin--a drug that has been on the market for years and years and years; there is no patent--end up costing $600 a dose for people who can barely afford it? Diabetes affects so many people, and yet they have to pay all of this money.

So, as the House prepares to move forward, the Senate continues to achieve progress in our goal of passing Build Back Better before Thanksgiving. That is our goal. We are moving forward because the challenges American families and workers are facing are enormous, and President Biden's agenda has many things that will lower costs and help families pay the bills--lower costs and help families pay the bills.

Take childcare, for instance. Families sometimes pay more than $10,000 a year for a child just to take care of him--a truly backbreaking expense. Secretary Yellen warned that the slack

in the labor force is connected to childcare. Well, the President's framework provides the largest investments ever to help families afford childcare services.

I believe, of the 37 OECD nations, developed and semideveloped countries, we are the 36th in childcare. Once Build Back Better passes, that awful statistic will be gone.

Take pre-K. The President's framework will, for the first time ever, provide universal pre-K for 3- and 4-year-olds. Millions of kids will be able to get on the right track early in life because of this investment--long overdue.

We will also extend the child tax credit. This will help millions of parents better afford things like groceries and diapers and utilities and other daily essentials.

Of course, there are bold steps we are taking to fight climate change. Our country has had too many homes destroyed by hurricanes and flooding. Entire cities in the West are breathing toxic air caused by extreme wildfires. Heat waves and droughts endanger millions of Americans who make their living working outdoors or who don't have air- conditioning.

These disasters cost us tens of billions each year, so Build Back Better's investments will help us reach our climate goals and represent bold steps in the right direction. All the while, the President's plan will be fully paid for and help our country reduce inflationary pressures, as no less than 17 Nobel Prize-winning economists have affirmed.

We are going to keep pushing to get these great policies over the finish line. As we have said repeatedly, nobody is getting everything they hoped for in the final deal, but Build Back Better will have things that everyone wanted.

Passing transformative legislation isn't easy--it is hard, very hard--but the long hours we are putting in and the discussions we have had, some of them quite pointed, will be worth it when we produce a very good result for the American people. So we are going to keep working and keep working until we get this done.

Voting Rights

Now, Madam President, on voting, yesterday was a sad day because, for the fourth time this year, the Senate had an opportunity yesterday to begin debating on the right to vote, but, yet again, virtually every Senate Republican denied the Senate a chance to act as the world's greatest deliberative body. They filibustered the mere opportunity to debate an issue that has had a long bipartisan history in the Senate.

There was one bright note--one brave, courageous exception--and I want to thank my colleague, the Senator from Alaska, Ms. Murkowski, for voting in favor of beginning debate on the John R. Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act. I thank my Democratic colleagues--there are so many-- particularly Senators Leahy and Durbin, for spending weeks working with her to find a compromise.

Senate Democrats want to find a bipartisan way forward on the issue of voting rights. That is why we worked with Senator Murkowski. But, ultimately, it is up to Republicans to come to the table and join us. We have been trying to convince them for months--for months. This has not been a rush. We have offered four reasonable proposals in an attempt to merely begin debate--in June, in August, in October, and now here in November.

At no point did we call on Republicans to support our policies only but just agree to deliberate, to say what you think, and maybe we could have come to an agreement on something so important, as the Senate has always done in the past on this issue--bipartisan.

Off the floor, we held public hearings, numerous group discussions, and countless one-on-one meetings with the other side, including talks led by no fewer than seven Democrats--Manchin, Kaine, Tester, King, Durbin, Klobuchar, Leahy--and there were more, I am sure. At virtually every turn, we have met with resistance.

What has happened to the party of Lincoln? What has happened to that noble, noble view that voting rights are important on both sides of the aisle?

The Senate is capable of far more than what we have seen from our Republican colleagues on voting rights. Throughout our history, our predecessors used regular order to debate and compromise and to pass transformative legislation--Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, the Civil Rights Act, and, of course, the Voting Rights Act--but anyone who has served in this Chamber over recent years knows that the gears of the Senate have become stiff and slow to turn.

Who thinks that the original Social Security Act would have passed in this partisan Chamber today--or any New Deal legislation? If we were trying to create Medicare from scratch in 2021, who thinks that it would have survived a filibuster? The same Chamber responsible for those great, noble accomplishments in the past must be restored so it can take action in the modern era.

As I said a few weeks ago, I believe the Senate needs to be restored to its rightful status as the world's greatest deliberative body. Debate is central to this Chamber's character, but so is governing and so is taking action when required after debate has run its due course. The fight is far from over. Democrats will explore alternative paths to restore the Senate so it does what its Framers intended--debate, deliberate, compromise, and vote.

Just because Republicans will not join us to defend our democracy doesn't mean Democrats will stop fighting. It is too important. Even if it means going at it alone, we will continue to fight for voting rights and find an alternative path forward to get the Senate working again to protect our fundamental liberties as citizens.

Nominations

Now, Madam President, on nominations, today, the Senate is going to confirm Mr. Robert Santos to serve as the Director of the Census Bureau.

A native of San Antonio, who grew up in a Mexican-American family, Mr. Santos, in his 40-year career, has become one of the top statisticians in the country. If confirmed, Santos would be the first Hispanic and, in fact, the first person of color to become a permanent Director of the Census Bureau. He is exactly the kind of person our country needs overseeing our census--impartial, highly experienced, someone from outside politics. We must and need to protect our census from the pressures of partisan politics, and Santos is the perfect fit.

President Trump--true to form--spent years trying to politicize and weaponize our country's census, going as far as maliciously trying to include citizenship questions and have counts of undocumented immigrants. Mr. Santos will restore trust and integrity to one of the most important Agencies in government.

On Mr. Syed--of course, there are too many other qualified and uncontroversial nominees who are still awaiting their confirmations because of shameful Republican delay. Mr. Dilawar Syed is a particularly egregious example. Syed has been nominated to serve as second in command at the SBA. He is the definition--the definition--of a qualified, uncontroversial nominee. His nomination has been praised by no less than the U.S. Chamber of Commerce--hardly a liberal crowd-- and he would be the highest ranking Muslim in our government.

But our Republican colleagues on the Small Business and Entrepreneurship Committee have not just blocked his vote, they have even refused to give him a markup. Their justification keeps changing from one explanation to another, which is another way of saying there seems to be zero legitimate grounds for opposing him. Today, he has been scheduled to have a markup, but because of Republicans, it has been pushed back again on account of their ridiculous concerns.

The political right seems to relish in trying to score political points by connecting far too many of President Biden's nominees--many of whom happen to be individuals of color--to hot button, partisan issues whether or not they have any relevance.

It is shameful, unacceptable, and ridiculous for Republicans to keep stalling on Syed's nomination. He is eminently qualified to serve in the SBA. Why are Senate Republicans opposing Mr. Syed's nomination? Let me ask the question again. Why are Senate Republicans opposing Mr. Syed's nomination?

I urge my colleagues to drop their resistance and allow this excellent, straightforward nominee to receive confirmation.

I yield the floor.

I suggest the absence of a quorum.

Mr. President, I move to proceed to legislative session.

I move to proceed to executive session to consider Calendar No. 401.

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

I move to proceed to legislative session.

I move to proceed to executive session to consider Calendar No. 345.

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

I move to proceed to legislative session.