Floor Statements

Madam President, I move to proceed to legislative session.

Madam President, I move to proceed to executive session to consider Calendar No. 142.

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

Madam President, I move to proceed to legislative session.

Madam President, I move to proceed to Calendar No. 100,

I send a cloture motion to the desk.

I ask unanimous consent that the mandatory quorum calls for the cloture motions filed today, July 19, be waived.

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

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 have 2 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 dring today's session of the Senate:

Subcommittee on Cybersecurity

The Subcommittee on Cybersecurity of the Committee on Armed Services is authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on Monday, July 19, 2021, at 6 p.m., to conduct a hearing.

Subcommittee on Strategic Forces

The Subcommittee on Strategic Forces of the Committee on Armed Services is authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on Monday, July 19, 2021, at 5:30 p.m., to conduct a hearing.

Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that when the Senate completes its business today, it adjourn until 10 a.m., Tuesday, July 20; 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 Polite nomination; further, that the cloture motions on the Polite and Abruzzo nominations ripen at 11:30 a.m.; that if cloture is invoked on the Polite nomination, the Senate immediately vote on the motion to invoke cloture on the Abruzzo nomination; that the Senate recess following the cloture vote on the Abruzzo nomination until 2:15 p.m. to allow for the weekly caucus meetings; that if cloture is invoked on the Polite nomination, all postcloture time expire at 2:30 p.m. and that, if confirmed, the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table and the President be immediately notified of the Senate's action; finally, that if cloture is invoked on the Abruzzo nomination, all postcloture time be immediately expired and the Senate vote on the confirmation of the nomination at a time to be determined by the majority leader in consultation with the Republican leader on Wednesday, July 21.

Madam President, 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, every Senator, from every State, has witnessed the hollowing out of the middle class over the past few decades. Globalization and technology have changed the way that Americans work and compete. Productivity increased, but wages for the bottom 70 percent stagnated in this century, in this 20 years. Income equality spiked as wealth agglomerated to the top.

The financial crisis and the COVID pandemic heaped additional hardship on middle-class families that were already falling behind. The changes in the world--the swirling changes, economic and social--have made it harder to stay in the middle class and have made it harder to get to the middle class.

We Democrats feel an obligation to make it easier for those in the middle class to enjoy that middle-class life and stay there and for those struggling to get into the middle class to have those ladders so they can climb up to get there.

These are exciting and fundamental times to be here in the Senate. In short, we have a lot to do to restore the fundamental American promise of opportunity and economic mobility--the faith that, through hard work, any American can build a better life for themselves, their families, their children, and then pass even greater opportunity on to their children. That is the American dream. It has been fading, and that has allowed demagoguery and nastiness and divisiveness to become too great a part of our politics.

We want to restore that sunny optimism that Americans have always had, and that is why we are so intent on moving forward this month. The idea that Americans can build a better life for themselves and pass greater opportunity to their children is at the heart

of what Democrats are trying to achieve this year through the American Jobs and Families Plan, helping middle-class families stay in the middle class and breathe easier and helping poorer Americans climb that ladder to get there.

And nothing--nothing--will do more to advance that goal than the bill we are working on this year. The budget resolution agreed to by Democrats on the Budget Committee this week is the first step down a long road toward enacting a transformational change in our economy. It will allow us to pass the most significant legislation to expand support for American families since the era of the New Deal and the Great Society. If not quite Rooseveltian in scope, it is certainly near Rooseveltian. It is dramatic change to help average families do better.

The best way to understand the emerging legislation is in three broad categories: jobs, which will come through major infrastructure investments; families; and climate. We are going to create thousands upon thousands of good-paying jobs by investing in infrastructure and the training and apprenticeships that will help more Americans, including many of those who have been left out, get those jobs.

We are going to expand and strengthen the programs that support American families and introduce new ones, like paid family leave and a robust expansion of Medicaid to cover vision, dental, and hearing. I salute Senator Sanders for putting it on the map and now making it a real possibility to happen.

And we are going to act on climate in a bold and comprehensive way, to reduce emissions, make our infrastructure more resilient, and create the green jobs of the future to meet the President's goals of an 80- percent reduction in dirty carbon that goes into energy production and a 50-percent overall reduction in the carbon we send to the atmosphere.

When Republicans held the majority in the Senate, unfortunately, their signature legislative achievement was a massive tax break for corporations and the wealthy. From one report I read, the top 1 percent got 83 percent of the benefits when the Republicans had power. What a difference when Democrats are in power. You know what the top 1 percent got in the ARP bill? Zero. Nada. Nothing.

God bless them. They are doing great. They don't need it.

Democrats, instead, are strengthening the backbone of the middle class, and that is what we are going to do in this jobs and family plan. American workers, American families are going to benefit while we address the generational challenge of climate change.

And as I have said from the start, Madam President--as I have said from the start--the two tracks of infrastructure are going to move in tandem. We are making good progress on both tracks.

We in the Democratic caucus heard from the President yesterday on the budget resolution. The meeting was wonderful. The excitement was palpable. The opportunity to do so much good for so many American families was in the air in that meeting. It was exciting. And, as that happened, the bipartisan working groups had many meetings on the bipartisan infrastructure framework as well.

Today, I am announcing that I intend to file cloture on the vehicle for a bipartisan infrastructure bill on Monday of next week. Senators will have until Wednesday of next week before the initial vote on cloture on the motion to proceed.

Everyone has been having productive conversations, and it is important to keep the two-track process moving. All parties involved in the bipartisan infrastructure bill talks must now finalize their agreement so that the Senate can begin considering that legislation next week.

And I am setting the same deadline, next Wednesday, for the entire Senate Democratic caucus to agree to move forward on the budget resolution with reconciliation instructions. The time has come to make progress, and we will. We must

Madam President, now on another issue, marijuana, 20 years ago, roughly a third of the population supported the decriminalization of marijuana. Today that number is almost 70 percent. Even deep-rooted South Dakota voted to legalize the adult use of marijuana.

Americans' perception of marijuana has, justifiably, changed, and it is time that Congress caught up and reformed our laws to reflect the popular wisdom and the science. So, yesterday, I joined with Senator Booker, who has been such a leader on this issue for so long, and Chairman Wyden, who has been active on this issue as well, our Finance chairman, to introduce the Cannabis Administration and Opportunity Act, which represents a monumental change because, at long last, it would take steps to right the wrongs of the failed War on Drugs. It would remove marijuana from the Federal list of controlled substances and expunge the criminal records of those with low-level marijuana offenses.

Many States are rapidly moving toward legalization, including my home State of New York. The legislature did that in this past session. These States show the potential for new industries that can give opportunities to long-forgotten entrepreneurs. Our law would establish fair administration so small businesses and communities of color can get their fair shake in the marijuana business.

And we would deal with expungement--the tragedy of a young person being arrested because they had a small amount of marijuana in their pocket but, because of the historic overcriminalization, they have a permanent, serious criminal record that prevents them, inhibits them from moving forward in their lives.

Now, I am the first majority leader to say it is time to end the Federal prohibition on marijuana, and as majority leader I am going to push this issue forward and make it a priority for the Senate.

In short, the Cannabis Administration and Opportunity Act would help the Federal Government catch up with what much of the country already understands, that we need to rethink our approach to marijuana and end--end--decades of overcriminalization.

Madam President, on a final matter, the CTC, I have a little chart here. Over the past 20 years, the cost of raising children in America has become ludicrously expensive. Everything--from diapers to housing, to healthcare, to college tuition--has risen in price, some of it rather steeply and dramatically.

Wages, unfortunately, have not kept pace, putting strain--ever more strain--on American parents. The cost of childcare alone can be roughly equivalent to buying a new car every single year. That is a big burden for so many families.

The pandemic, of course, made life even harder on America's families. So, in the American Rescue Plan, Democrats made sure that it included a dramatic expansion of the Federal child tax credit, to give families a little extra help during the once-in-a-century crisis.

And today--today--I am very proud to announce that tens of millions of Americans are going to see extra money land in their bank accounts, the first of monthly checks that will be disbursed through the expanded child tax credit. Let me say that again. Because of this law passed by Senate Democrats--sadly, unfortunately, not a single Republican voted for this much needed measure that will help the middle class and the poor--a vast majority of Americans, because of what we did, what we Senate Democrats did, will begin receiving a monthly check of $300 for each child under 6 years old, and they will also receive $250 every month for each child between 6 and 17.

Combined with the credits that apply next tax season, these payments total up to $3,600 for every child under 6 and $3,000 for every child 6 to 17. In short, it will amount to a substantial and potentially life- altering tax cut--tax cut--for American families.

If you are a middle-class mom or dad, this money will help defer the cost of groceries, rent, childcare, and maybe diapers, if you have an infant. Boy, they are expensive. I remember when my kids were little, compared to today, the cost. You can spend that money on something else if you need it, and it is going to go a long way to reducing the burdens that families face.

It also helps those kids in poverty. The expanded child tax credit will cut

childhood poverty nearly in half. Four million American children, they expect, will be lifted. And when you are a child born into poverty, through no fault of your own, you may not have proper nutrition and food. You may not have proper education or healthcare or housing. And, by the time you are 14 or 15, you are in a big ditch. Now, many, to their credit, climb out on their own, but this will prevent so many from going forward into that ditch.

So it helps the poor, and it helps the middle class. We are proud of that.

To all of America's moms and dads, check your bank accounts this week. Check your bank account. You may not even know this is happening. If you filed taxes in either of the past 2 years, or in both of them, and you qualify for the credit, you will see this money automatically. If you didn't file taxes in either of the past 2 years, you can go online--irs.gov/childtaxcredit--and sign up today. Let me repeat that, folks, for you listening. Go to irs.gov/childtaxcredit and sign up. It is very simple and easy to sign up, and as long as your kids have a Social Security number, they can get it.

Republicans have for a very long time claimed to be the party of tax cuts, but when you read the fine print, it turns out that the Republican Party is the party of tax cuts for the wealthy and the well- connected.

Democrats are sending this check to American parents for the child tax credit, $300 per month, courtesy of President Biden and Senate and congressional Democrats. Again, unfortunately, every Republican voted no.

And I want to give a lot of credit to Senator Bennet of Colorado and Senator Brown of Ohio and Senator Booker of New Jersey and Senator Wyden of Oregon and so many others who fought for this issue and helped make it a reality that today is going to happen.

So we say to the parents of America: Starting today, help--real help, significant help--is on the way, not just for the wealthy, as the Republicans like to give it, but for the poor and the middle class.

I yield the floor.

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

Mr. President, I move to proceed to executive session to consider Calendar No. 195.

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