Floor Statements

Now, Madam President, on the subject of our business here on the floor, the Senate has had a very productive week.

We began the week by passing landmark, bipartisan legislation to supercharge American innovation and lay

the groundwork for another century of American leadership on the world stage. It passed with nearly 70 votes--an overwhelming and rare display of bipartisan support. As I mentioned yesterday, we are going to work with Speaker Pelosi and the relevant committee chairs in the House to move this bill forward as quickly as possible. It is vital to our Nation's future that the House and Senate must come together to send President Biden a bill that he can sign into law.

The Senate also confirmed the first judicial appointments of President Biden's tenure--two district court judges--and we will confirm a third today, the first Muslim American to serve as an article III judge in our history. On Monday, the Senate will confirm President Biden's first circuit court nominee, the amazing Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson, and next week, this Chamber will take up additional, highly qualified nominees to the executive branch, including Lina Khan for the Federal Trade Commission and several others.

The Senate Democratic majority will move swiftly to perform our constitutional duty to advise and consent on the President's nominees.

Madam President, on another matter, ransomware, over the past few months, there have been a number of high-profile cyber attacks against the U.S. Government, American businesses, and critical infrastructure. From the cyber winds attack last year to a ransomware attack on the city of Baltimore and the Colonial Pipeline, cyber crime is a real and growing threat.

Just last week, the MTA, our vast subway system in New York, was the victim of an attack.

While the Attorney General has announced an intensified effort to combat this scourge of ransomware attacks, we in Congress have a responsibility to conduct oversight and determine whether our government needs an additional authority and resource to take the fight to cyber criminals and foreign intelligence services.

Congress must ensure that Federal Agencies, like the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, have the necessary resources to take on this growing threat and support State and local governments under assault. So earlier this week, I called for Congress to increase CISA'S budget by $500 million to fight this growing threat, and today I am asking Chairman Peters--Gary Peters of our Homeland Security Committee--and the other relevant committee chairs to begin a government-wide review of these attacks and determine what legislation may be needed to counter the threat of cyber crime and bring the fight to the cyber criminals.

Madam President, on one final matter, I want my colleagues to be aware of the number ``29 percent.'' That is the percentage of Republican voters who believe that President Trump will be ``reinstated'' as President later this summer--29 percent. Almost a third of Republican voters believe he will be reinstated as President. According to that recent poll by Morning Consult, nearly a third-- nearly a third--of Republican voters believe Donald Trump will be reinstated.

Of course, the idea of ``reinstatement'' comes from the disgraced former President Trump himself and is nothing more than the deluded ramblings of a defeated politician. But it is a glaring warning that the Big Lie has created fertile ground for all sorts of insane conspiracy.

It is a depressing fact of our times that there is an audience out there who will literally believe anything the former President says, no matter how unrealistic or untrue. They believe him when he just abjectly lies.

The blame here, however, does not rest only with the former President. The blame falls heavily on Washington Republicans and the political right who have not done enough to stand up to the Big Lie.

After making a few brave noises in the wake of January 6, Republican leadership here in Washington now seems to have traded political courage and truth for appeasement.

The Republican minority leader in the House called Donald Trump ``morally responsible'' for the attack on January 6. He empowered his deputies to take part in painstaking negotiations to establish an independent commission to study those events and then promptly voted against it. He convened his entire conference to deliver a pink slip to the one Member of his leadership team who dared repeat the truth that President Biden is the President.

Here in the Senate, the Republican leader gave a strong speech on January 6 and was willing to hold Donald Trump responsible for what happened that day. Several months later, however, the Republican leader whipped his Members into a partisan filibuster of an independent commission, which he called a ``purely political exercise.''

The Republican Party is now wrapped around the axle of the Big Lie, and a big reason why is that Republican leaders are unwilling to move on from Trumpism.

We are watching the results play out in State after State, where Republican legislatures have swallowed the Big Lie whole and are rapidly constricting the right to vote and fumbling through old ballots for traces of bamboo.

The truth is, the Big Lie has consequences. It erodes our trust in elections, faith in our democracy, and it is gnawing away at the very right to vote in America.

After 4 long years during which the Republican Party foolishly tried to ride the tiger of Donald Trump, it seems as though many of them wound up inside.

I yield the floor.

I suggest the absence of a quorum.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that notwithstanding rule XXII, it be in order to proceed to file cloture on Executive Calendar Nos. 119 and 107.

Mr. President, I move to proceed to Executive Calendar No. 119.

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

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

Mr. President, I move to proceed to executive session to consider Calendar No. 107.

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

Mr. President, finally, I ask unanimous consent that the mandatory quorum calls for the cloture motions filed today, June 10, be waived.

I yield the floor.

Mr. President, now, 68 to 32, that was the final vote tally last night for the U.S. Competition and Innovation Act--USICA--an overwhelming display of bipartisan support, a rarity on a major bill in this Senate.

I believe the final vote reflects the importance of the bill--of rededicating the Federal Government to science and technology; to outcompeting our adversaries, especially the Chinese Communist Party; to strengthening critical supply chains as well as our partnerships and alliances abroad.

I believe that future generations will look back on this competition bill as the turning point for American leadership in the 21st century.

I think the depth of the bipartisan support reflects the process we took as well. The kernel of the bill is legislation I wrote with Senator Todd Young, the Endless Frontier Act. We ultimately included legislation from six committees and input from every Member. Over 3 weeks, the Senate considered more than 20 amendments, the vast majority from Republicans. In fact, the Senate even accepted an amendment from Senator Paul by voice vote. That doesn't happen too often around here.

Excluding budget resolutions, nearly as many amendments have received

rollcall votes on this one bill as on all the bills in 2017, when the Republicans were in the majority--nearly as many amendment votes on this one bill as over that entire year. We are running the Senate in a different way.

So I want to thank my colleagues on both sides for their efforts, Senators Cantwell and Wicker for their excellent management of the bill, Senator Young for working with me from the beginning until the very end, Senators Menendez and Risch as well as Murray, Durbin, Peters, Brown, and Wyden, whom I am committing to working with to put real teeth into the anti-censorship provisions of this bill before it becomes law. Senator Wyden has been a hallmark on that.

Of course, the job is not done until the legislation moves through the House and onto the President's desk.

Now that the bill has passed the Senate, we are going to work with Speaker Pelosi and the relevant committee chairs in the House to move this bill forward as quickly as possible.

Of course, the House can bring in additional priorities, but I am intent on seeing the major thrust of this legislation become law. The bill is so important to the future of America that the House and Senate must come together and send President Biden a bill he is very, very eager to sign.

Yesterday, the Senate took a bold, strong step toward boosting American science, technology, and innovation for decades. We are going to keep at it, keep at it until we cross the finish line.

Mr. President, on paycheck fairness, almost immediately, however, we saw the limits of bipartisanship in the Senate last evening, right after we voted on USICA, the U.S. Innovation and Competition Act.

Minutes after coming together to pass that sweeping competition bill, Senate Republicans mounted a partisan filibuster against a very straightforward piece of legislation to help provide equal pay to women.

The vote was party line. Not a single Republican Senator voted in favor of even debating the bill. Sure, my colleagues might not like every aspect of Democratic legislation. I understand that. But if you want to change the bill, you have to let the Senate debate it and amend it.

It is shocking that my Republican colleagues believe that the Senate has no role to play in defending the rights of women who are unfairly and illegally discriminated against in the workplace. For a reason that I can't understand, the issue of pay equity has become a partisan one, sadly. Democrats in favor; Republicans opposed--despite the fact that the issue isn't all that partisan out in the country. A solid majority of voters see pay equity as a problem and believe Congress has a role to play in solving it.

It reminds me of gun safety. Ninety to ninety-five percent of America supports expanding background checks so that people who shouldn't get a gun--felons and others--don't. The vast majority of Republicans in the country, the vast majority of gun owners in the country, support that policy. Only in DC, among Republicans here in the Senate and in the House, is that issue remotely partisan, where Washington Republicans have traditionally opposed it.

So before the press writes the latest Republican filibuster of equal pay legislation as just another chapter in the typical partisan games, just remember that the only place this issue is partisan is in Washington, with Republicans way out of touch with what the American people want.

Americans across the country expect their government to make progress on big issues, even if we don't agree on everything. But yesterday, sadly, Senate Republicans once again chose the path of obstruction and gridlock

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

Madam 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.

Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to the consideration of S. Res. 266, submitted earlier today.

I ask unanimous consent that the resolution be agreed to, that the preamble be agreed to, and that the motions to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table with no intervening action or debate.

Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that when the Senate completes its business today, it adjourn until 10:30 a.m., Thursday, June 10; 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; further, that upon conclusion of morning business, the Senate proceed to executive session to resume consideration of the Quraishi nomination; further, that the cloture vote on the Jackson nomination occur immediately following the cloture vote on the Quraishi nomination; that if cloture is invoked on the Quraishi nomination, all time expire at 1:45 p.m.; finally, that if any of the nominations are confirmed, that the motions to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table and the President be immediately notified of the Senate's action.