Floor Statements

Madam President, I move to proceed to executive session to consider Calendar No. 193.

First, I have a message for the information of the Senate.

I understand there is an important meeting at the White House this morning that several Members are attending. So in order to accommodate them, the first vote will start at 10:45 a.m., not at 11 a.m., and we are going to have to move quickly on that vote so people can get their votes done and get to the White House.

So, Members, please take notice.

Madam President, before we reach the conclusion of the June work period, the Senate will confirm yet another one of President Biden's highly qualified nominees to the Federal Bench: Candace Jackson-Akiwumi to serve on the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals.

A graduate of Princeton and Yale Law School, Ms. Jackson-Akiwumi left a career at a big law firm to work for 10 years as a Federal defender in Illinois. She was a voice in the courtroom for Americans who often had no one else to speak for them: the mentally ill, folks who could not afford an attorney.

We have plenty of former prosecutors and corporate lawyers on the bench. Ms. Jackson-Akiwumi would bring a sorely needed perspective. The more our courts reflect our country as a whole, the more faith Americans will have in the equal application of the law.

Ms. Jackson-Akiwumi will make an outstanding addition to the Seventh Circuit, and I urge all my colleagues to vote for her later today.

Now, I want to reflect for a moment on the pace of judicial nominations in the Democratic-led Senate so far this year. Typically, the first several months of a new administration don't feature a ton of judicial nominations. New Presidents often have ambitious legislative agendas, and it takes a lot of time for a new President to make appointments and to get them to go through all of the background checks and for the Judiciary Committee to advance nominees to the floor. So in administrations past, the first 6 months are a fallow period for judges.

For all the focus that the Republican leader put on judges during the previous administration, the Senate only confirmed one--one district or circuit judge--before July 4 in the first year of Donald Trump's Presidency. By the end of today, the Senate will have confirmed more judges this week than in all 6 months of Donald Trump's first year in office.

In fact, with the confirmations this week, the Senate will have confirmed more district and circuit court judges to the Federal bench in the first 6 months of President Biden's first year than any other administration in 50 years.

Let me say that again so people hear, because I know there is a lot of worry--justified--that President Trump shifted the bench so far to the right that we need to rebalance it, and we need to make that a very high priority. Well, we have. After the confirmation of Ms. Jackson- Akiwumi, the Senate will have confirmed more district and circuit court judges in the first year of a

Presidency in over 50 years, including the first 6 months of Donald Trump's Presidency. So we are making good, good progress, and we have done it with judges who break the Federal mold--Federal defenders, civil rights lawyers, voting rights lawyers, the first Native American judge, the first Muslim American judge. Those make me proud that we are constantly expanding who in America can get to the bench. All of these folks have one thing in common: They are individuals of impeccable character and impressive credentials.

The Democratic Senate is restoring balance to the judiciary with highly qualified, mainstream jurists who reflect the diversity of this country, and we are going to keep at it when we come back in July and beyond

Madam President, on another matter, infrastructure, our Nation's economic potential depends on the quality of its infrastructure. Our businesses, workers, farmers, manufacturers--you name it--they all depend on the infrastructure networks that connect our country. And here in the 21st century, electrical grids and broadband internet access are just as important as roads, bridges, and highways.

But it has been decades--decades--since Congress passed a significant, stand-alone bill to increase Federal investment in infrastructure. Our roads and bridges are crumbling. Children learn in dilapidated schools. Large swaths of rural America lack access to broadband internet.

We need to refashion much of our infrastructure to address the existential threat of climate change. That is so important and essential to the overwhelming majority of my caucus. So the Senate, this summer, is going to move forward on multiple legislative proposals to make historic investments in our Nation's infrastructure. And when we say that, we mean both types of infrastructure: the concrete and steel and that kind of infrastructure--the physical infrastructure--but also the human infrastructure, so that we can maximize the potential of our people which, after all, is our greatest resource--our greatest resource.

So we are pursuing on multiple--we are making two tracks. The first legislative track is bipartisan. The second track will incorporate elements of the American jobs and families plan and will be done through the budget process, which must pass even if it is not bipartisan.

There has been significant progress this week on both tracks.

Yesterday, a bipartisan group of Senators announced that they had reached an agreement in concept for a bipartisan infrastructure proposal, and I have encouraged them to move forward. But I made it explicit to every one of them, together and separately, that we have to pass both tracks together.

Speaker Pelosi and I were made aware of the concepts of the agreement--the bipartisan agreement--last night. And while we have yet to see the details, I am encouraged by the progress the bipartisan group of Senators has made. I have supported these bipartisan discussions from the beginning, and I want to thank my colleagues for their hard work.

Senate Democrats have also made significant progress on preparing a budget resolution.

These two efforts are tied together. Let me make that clear. The bipartisan infrastructure bill and the budget resolution are tied together. If the Senate is going to move forward with a bipartisan infrastructure bill, we must also move forward on a budget resolution, as well. I have discussed this with President Biden directly on several occasions, and he agrees that we cannot do one without the other, and he has let the participants know that. Speaker Pelosi agrees that we cannot do one without the other. All parties understand that we won't get enough votes to pass either unless we have enough votes to pass both.

When the Senate returns in July, it will be time to take the next step and hold the first votes on the bipartisan infrastructure bill on the floor of the Senate. Senators should also be prepared to consider a budget resolution that will clear the way for the budget reconciliation bill as soon as possible.

The bottom line is, both tracks need to make progress concurrently.

This is about building a foundation for the United States to remain the world economic leader in the 21st century. We are the largest economy in the world, but our infrastructure ranks 13th, behind South Korea, Germany, Japan, and even the United Arab Emirates.

There isn't a community in this country without some glaring infrastructure challenge--certainly, in my home State of New York. If America is going to prosper in the 21st century, we can't have infrastructure that is stuck in the last century.

We need to pass major investment in infrastructure, both physical and human, this year, and I look forward to holding the first votes when we return for the July work period.

I yield the floor.

I suggest the absence of a quorum.

Madam President, I move to proceed to legislative session.

Madam President, I move to proceed to executive session to consider Calendar No. 67.

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 executive session to consider Calendar No. 63.

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

I ask unanimous consent that the mandatory quorum calls for the cloture motions filed today, June 24, be waived.

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

Madam President, yesterday, the Senate was given an opportunity to begin debate on a subject that by all rights should be beyond debate: protecting the right to vote.

As we all know, Republican legislatures across the country are passing some of the most draconian restrictions on the right to vote in decades--a throwback to Jim Crow.

Every single Democrat yesterday voted to begin debate on legislation to fight back against this assault--and that is what it is, an assault on our democracy--every single one. It was the first time in this Congress that we have united all 50 Democrats on moving forward with strong and comprehensive voting rights legislation.

Senate Republicans, to the very last Member, voted against allowing the Senate to even have a debate on voting rights. Not a single Republican voted to move forward with a simple debate. In fact, the Republican leader went so far as to say that ``regardless of what may be happening in some states''--voter suppression laws, phony audits, or the partisan takeover of election boards--he believes the Federal Government should not intervene. Who said that? Southern Senators from the Civil War all the way through said States' rights--used as a tool to prevent particularly people of color from voting. And to invoke that in 2020? The majority leader is way off--way off base. It is disgraceful that he would even invoke that.

Yesterday's vote was another piece of evidence that voter suppression is now part of the official platform of the Republican Party. But I want to be clear about one thing. As I said last night, the fight to protect voting rights is far, very far from over. Yesterday's vote was the starting gun, not the finish line.

As the Senate majority leader, I reserve the right to bring up this issue for debate again. Yesterday was the first time we tried to consider major voting rights legislation, but it won't be the last. Democrats will explore every option available to us for reconsidering legislation on this topic. We will leave no stone unturned. Voting rights are too important. The fight against modern-day voter suppression is just beginning.

One other point. Some of them like to make this point: Oh, this is just a partisan fight. Bull. This is a fight for the soul of America, and it shouldn't be partisan, and it never was in the past. When legislatures try to prevent poor people, people of color, urban people, and young people from voting, that is not a political fight; that is what America is all about. So don't try to hide under that guise.

It is Republican legislatures doing this. But in the past, when legislatures, usually in the South, tried to do these things--and in other places--both parties united to stop it. No more, sadly. Shame, shame, shame, shame on my Republican colleagues. This is a very bad day for them that history will recognize.

Madam President, now on another matter, this week, the Senate will continue restoring balance to the Federal courts by considering more of President Biden's judicial appointments.

Over the next 2 days, we will consider Deborah Boardman to serve as district judge in Maryland and Candace Jackson-Akiwumi to serve as judge on the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals. Together, Ms. Boardman and Ms. Jackson-Akiwumi have had over 20 years of experience as Federal defenders.

I believe that bringing professional diversity as well as personal diversity to the bench should be and is now a top priority. There are plenty of former prosecutors and corporate lawyers wearing black robes. It is time that some voting rights attorneys, civil rights attorneys, and former Federal defenders, like these two nominees, bring their perspectives to the bench.

A final vote on Ms. Boardman's nomination will come this afternoon, and then we will proceed to the nomination of Ms. Jackson-Akiwumi, which we will finish before the end of the week. Again, the Senate will not leave for the week until we finish considering these judges. The Democratic majority in the Senate will continue to swiftly fill judicial vacancies.

On a related note, today, Chairman Peters will ask the Senate to approve two critical cyber security nominees: Jen Easterly to be the Director of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency and Robin Carnahan to be the Administrator of the GSA. Both of these Agencies play a critical role in our Nation's cyber security.

The threat of ransomware attacks and other cyber crimes is on the rise from State actors as well as cyber bandits who were given sanctuary by our adversaries. We need people at the helm on these important Agencies to focus on hardening our Nation's cyber security. This should be a completely nonpartisan issue, and my Republican friends should not object

Madam President, in addition to our important work on judicial appointments, the Senate is moving forward on multiple legislative proposals to make historic investments in our Nation's infrastructure.

We have a chance in this Congress to get something big and bold done on infrastructure--something we haven't managed in a very long time. If we want America to prosper in the 21st century, we can't do it with infrastructure that is stuck in the last century. This is our chance to update, modernize, repair, and rebuild for another century of American economic growth, creating thousands upon thousands of good-paying jobs in the process.

Later today, Speaker Pelosi and I will meet with representatives from the White House to discuss the next steps on this very topic. Here in the Senate, Democratic members of the Budget Committee continue to build on the fruitful conversations we had last week. In fact, earlier today, I spoke with all of our committee chairs about a forthcoming budget resolution.

As I have said, discussions about infrastructure are progressing along two tracks. The first is bipartisan, and the second incorporates elements of the President's American jobs and families plan. The second track is something we must support even if it doesn't get any Republican support. For several weeks, the trains have been chugging down both tracks quite well. When the Senate returns after the July 4 work period, it will be time to take the next step forward.

This summer, the Senate will begin considering the fiscal 2022 budget resolution and a bipartisan infrastructure bill on the floor. It is my hope to have both a bipartisan infrastructure bill and a budget resolution for the Senate to consider this summer. I believe the progress we have made in recent weeks will ultimately produce the result that will set our economy on a path to prosperity for generations to come.

Madam President, one final matter: student loans. Today, I have joined Senator Warren and a number of my House and Senate colleagues to urge the Biden administration to extend the pause on payments and interest for the vast majority of Federal student loans.

For millions of student borrowers, one of the most difficult challenges is balancing their debt with their dreams of starting a career, starting a family, and buying a home. When the pandemic hit, these challenges were magnified a hundredfold. Job opportunities disappeared, and our economy came to a halt. The pause on student loan repayment during the pandemic was a life-altering policy that allowed tens of millions of young people to escape financial ruin.

Right now, the current pause on repayment of student debt is set to expire on September 30. I believe that is too soon. Our economy is still recovering. Americans are still pulling themselves up and dusting themselves off after one of the greatest economic crises in our history. The October 1 expiration date could risk putting millions of student loan borrowers back into financial hardship.

Very simply, I am urging the Biden administration to extend the pause on student loan repayment by another 6 months, until March 2022. Even as the economy recovers, young people, borrowers with a load of debt, will struggle more than most to get back on their feet. Why not give them a little more breathing room?

I urge the Biden administration to extend the pause, and I will continue working with Senator Warren on ways to provide even more comprehensive, life-changing student loan forgiveness--a policy, I believe, that will expand opportunity for millions, millions of young Americans.

I yield the floor.

I suggest the absence of a quorum.