Floor Statements

I ask that the Senate vote on cloture as under the previous order.

This vote--I know that Members are probably not all here right now, so we will keep it open for a little while. I urge Members to get here soon.

Mr. President, now we have worked long, hard, and collaboratively to finish this important bipartisan bill.

The Senate has considered 22 amendments during this process, and we have been willing to consider many more. In fact, we have been trying to vote on amendments all day but have encountered numerous objections from the other side.

However, we very much want to finish this important bill, so we will reconvene Saturday at noon to vote on cloture, and then we will follow the regular order to finish the bill.

I yield the floor.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the text of the bill be printed in the Record.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that Benjamin Lockshin, a detailee in Senator Brown's office, be granted floor privileges for the remainder of today's session.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that following Senator Kelly's maiden speech, that Senators Johnson, Peters, and Carper be permitted to speak for up to 5 minutes each prior to the start of the vote.

Mr. President, before I close, I have some brief remarks.

First, on the bill that just passed, let me thank my colleagues for passing this very important bill.

It stems from the fact that, in 2018, 20 lives were lost in a tragic limousine accident in Schoharie, NY. The families came from the small city of Amsterdam, the people. They had done just the right thing. It is a group that went out. They knew they might be enjoying themselves, and so they hired a big, long stretch limo. Unfortunately, as the limo came down the hill in Schoharie, it crashed, and 20 people died.

I met the families. These were young people in the prime of life. I met one mom. She lost four daughters--four daughters--in this crash. This community of Amsterdam and these families have endured endless tragedy.

But instead of cursing the darkness, they have lit a candle, and they are pushing for the fact that there is a hole in regulation. We regulate trucks, and we regulate smaller limos, but when it is a large limo, and they are not sure what it is classified as, then there is virtually no regulation. This legislation fills that hole. The accident was preventable.

There was another accident on Long Island--four young women in the prime of life killed in the same way. That was preventable.

Now Congress finally has the opportunity to address the gaps and loopholes that have allowed limousines to escape the basic safety standards that cover other vehicles.

My amendment--and that with Senator Gillibrand--would ensure that limousines meet minimum safety standards. It mandates seatbelts and seat safety standards, and it will save lives. So I thank my colleagues for supporting this amendment.

It is a beautiful thing what these families are doing. The hole in their heart will never go away. The hole in the heart of the whole city of Amsterdam, which lost so many of their vital young men and women, will never go away. But instead of cursing the darkness, they are lighting the candle, and, tonight, the candle was lit thanks to the bipartisan cooperation we have here. So I thank my colleagues.

Now, Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that when the Senate completes its business today, it adjourn until 10:30 a.m., Thursday, August 5; 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 resume consideration of H.R. 3684.

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

Mr. President, I yield the floor.

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

Mr. President, Senators continue to work through the bipartisan infrastructure bill here on the floor. Members from both sides want to be able to consider as many germane amendments as possible, but we want to work efficiently to allow those votes.

Yesterday was a positive day in that respect. Democrats and Republicans agreed to vote on three amendments, two of which were led by Republicans. Two bipartisan amendments--one led by Senators Thune and Tillis, another led by Senators Padilla and Moran--were adopted with over 90 votes.

We have one--potentially two--more amendment votes lined up this morning. We can hold even more amendment votes today if our Republican colleagues grant us the consent to do so.

The bottom line is this: The Senate can work through amendments rather efficiently when we have cooperation between the majority and the minority, as we have had in this bipartisan legislation. It can go rather slowly, of course, without that cooperation. In either case, the Senate is going to stay here until we finish our work.

I will conclude my remarks now in order to give time to the other Members waiting to speak, but I will come back to the floor shortly afterwards to join the chair and ranking member of the Rules Committee asking the Senate to award the Congressional Gold Medal to members of the Capitol Police force who defended us from a violent mob on January 6.

I yield the floor.

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

Well, Mr. President, as you know, as we all know, January 6 unleashed many horrors, but it also revealed many heroes. A day that many of us remember for its violence, anger, and destruction was not without its share of bravery, sacrifice, and selflessness.

I am, of course, talking about the Capitol Police and the Metropolitan Police. In a few moments, my colleagues Senators Klobuchar and Blunt will ask the Senate to award them the Congressional Gold Medal. It is the highest expression of gratitude that Congress can bestow. I cannot imagine more worthy recipients than the men and women who put their lives on the line to defend this temple of democracy.

I want to thank Senator Klobuchar, the chair of the Rules Committee, and

Senator Blunt, the ranking member of the Rules Committee, for working so hard on this. And I want to commend the House and Speaker Pelosi and the House Members who voted for it as well.

Now I must mention that I am still stunned by what happened in the House, where 21 Members of the House Republican caucus voted against this legislation. The Senate is different. I expect this to pass unanimously. That is why we are here doing it today. But those folks in the House were some of the same folks who likened the January 6 attack to ``a normal tourist visit,'' who deny the events that day were an insurrection. The same folks who screamed the loudest about the dangers of defunding the police refused to defend the police--the very police that shielded them--from the vicious mob on January 6.

For the life of me, I don't know how they sleep at night.

That is one of the many reasons this gold medal is so important. The gold medal is about setting the record straight and recognizing the true heroism on display that fateful day.

My colleagues, we have a moral obligation to never forget what our first responders faced down. A mob of White supremacists and domestic terrorists stormed the barriers with vicious force, using flag poles as spears and fences as battering rams. Capitol Police officers were swarmed, beaten, crushed between the doorways, and tasered repeatedly. One hundred forty officers were assaulted that day. Fifteen required hospitalization. Seven people have lost their lives in connection with this attack.

Just this week, sadly--I read this story and I ached--two more police officers took their own lives, heaping tragedy upon tragedy. These past 6 months have been the hardest in the history of the Capitol Police Force. And yet they still keep watch. They still stand guard. They do their jobs every single day with professionalism, excellence, and grace.

Awarding the Congressional Gold Medal is a way to commemorate their sacrifice and make sure that the truth of January 6 is recognized and remembered forever.

To our Capitol and Metropolitan Police, thank you, thank you, thank you for all that you do. This recognition is the very least you deserve.

Once again, I want to give real praise to my colleague from Minnesota as I yield to her. She has done an amazing job as head of the Rules Committee in many different ways and this is one of many. And I want to thank Senator Blunt who always works in a spirit of bipartisanship. We are in quite a bipartisan week here, and that is a good thing.

Senator Klobuchar.

Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the vote on the Johnson amendment No. 2245, scheduled for 11 a.m. tomorrow, occur at 12:15 p.m. tomorrow, August 4.

Madam President, I move to proceed to legislative session.

Madam President, I move to proceed to executive session to consider Calendar No. 250.

I might parenthetically add, a great nominee from New York.

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

I ask unanimous consent that the mandatory quorum call for the cloture motion filed today, August 3, be waived.

Madam President, under the rule, this cloture vote on the nominee will occur 1 hour after convening on Thursday.

For the information of Senators, the process of confirming this nominee will in no way interfere with the Senate's continued consideration of additional amendments of the bipartisan infrastructure bill. We already have a vote on an amendment scheduled tomorrow and expect further votes as well.