Floor Statements

Finally, Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the mandatory quorum calls for the cloture motions filed today, March 18, be waived.

Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that when the Senate completes its business today, it adjourn until 3 p.m., Monday, March 22; 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 and resume consideration of the nomination of Martin Joseph Walsh to be Secretary of Labor as provided under the previous order; further, that if confirmed, the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table and the President be notified of the Senate's action.

For the information of Senators, on Monday, after the Senate convenes, we expect to swear in Karen Gibson to be Senate Sergeant at Arms.

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 following the remarks of Senator Cornyn.

Mr. President, in a second, I will move the PPP bill to the floor. I hope--and I ask our Republican colleagues to cooperate-- that we can move this bipartisan PPP proposal without delay. It passed the House overwhelmingly. A vast majority of Democrats and Republicans voted for it. I hope we can move it quickly here in the Senate as it expires on March 31, and there are some changes that were made in the ARP that people need time to adapt to and implement. To allow a lapse would not be the right thing to do for so many of our small business people across the country. So I am hoping that our Republican colleagues will move the bill with the same alacrity with which it passed in the House with an overwhelmingly bipartisan majority. I think there were fewer than 10 votes against it.

With that, Mr. President, I understand that 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, now let me proceed to my remarks.

First, on the terrible tragedy in Georgia, the people of Atlanta, GA, and the surrounding communities were just shocked last night by a series of shootings that left eight people dead, six of whom were of Asian descent.

The motivations behind this devastating tragedy are still unknown, but there is a legitimate concern that these killings may have been racially motivated. Over the past year, the Asian-American community has faced a rising tide of abuse and violence in the wake of COVID-19, driven by ignorance, by misinformation, and by age-old prejudices against the Asian-American community. Tragically, hate crimes against Asian Americans have skyrocketed.

There is bigotry in the land and far too much of it. These dark forces have always existed in America, but, recently, they seem to have been unleashed. The sort of superego that puts

these things down seems to have weakened, and the id seems to have strengthened.

We cannot lose for a moment our vigilance against these forces of hate, intolerance, bigotry, and discrimination.

I love the Asian American community. They have done so much for America. I see it in my borough of Brooklyn, in my city and State of New York, and throughout the country--hard-working people, people who do so much for our country at every level. They are welcome here. That is America. Yet, bigots have increased hate crimes and maybe even possibly led to the deaths of these people.

So I hope that all Americans first will realize that there is too much hate in the land, that hate against one group is hate against any group, and we should all, Americans of every background and race and creed, color, and religion, gender, and sexual orientation, band together against the haters. It is so un-American.

E pluribus unum--out of many, one. That is what America has always been. That is what America must continue to be, and our voices must speak out.

Second, on nominations, the Senate is once again making excellent progress this week confirming President Biden's nominees. We began the week by confirming a history-making Cabinet member, Interior Secretary Haaland. Yesterday, we confirmed Isabel Guzman as the SBA Administrator. Today, we will confirm another consequential administrative appointment, the U.S. Trade Representative.

President Biden has named Katherine Tai, the daughter of proud immigrants from Taiwan, a veteran of the Office of the Trade Representative under President Obama, and one of our country's most seasoned experts in international trade. That--Ms. Tai--is what America is all about.

We welcome her. We give her a great position of authority because of her expertise. And maybe--you know, I will leave it at that. It is a great contrast to the tragedy I was talking about a few minutes ago and the ascension of another proud American of Asian ancestry here.

As U.S. Trade Representative, Ms. Tai will play a crucial role in enforcing existing trade deals and making sure that American workers, businesses, and researchers can compete on a level playing field. She will be an essential player in restoring America's credibility with our trading partners and promoting international cooperation to tackle some of the world's biggest problems, from the global pandemic to climate change.

I have not a single doubt that Ms. Tai is the right person for the job, and I look forward to the Senate giving her a well-deserved promotion later today

Now on S. 1, democracy reform, today Senate Democrats are introducing the No. 1 bill of the 117th Congress, S. 1, to stand up to voter suppression, end dark money in politics, and reinvigorate American democracy in the 21st century.

Make no mistake, democracy reform must be a top priority of this Congress, and I will put S. 1, the For the People Act, on the floor of the Senate.

For too long, we have let really important parts of our democracy wither. Unlimited dark money flows into campaigns. Special interests have way too much influence in Washington. And worst of all, there is a concerted, nationwide effort to limit the right of American citizens, particularly people of color, to vote.

Throughout America's history, we have seen a continuous cycle of expansions in our democracy being met all too often by vehement backlash from those who wish to maintain an exclusionary status quo.

Earlier this year, we witnessed only the latest example in the form of a violent insurrection right here in this Chamber, right here in this Capitol, an attack fueled by the insidious lies of the former President aimed at overturning the results of a free and fair election.

In the wake of the November election, one of the safest and most secure in American history, dozens of Republican-led State legislatures have seized on the former President's big lie and introduced hundreds of bills aimed at tightening voting rules under the nasty guise--the nasty, malicious, and false guise--of election integrity. These bills, sadly, are aimed at Americans of color--Black Americans, Latinos, Native Americans.

Despicable efforts to target these historically disenfranchised communities have become a central component of the electoral strategy of one of America's major political parties. Shame on them. Shame. It is infuriating. Infuriating. When you lose an election, you are supposed to win over the people you lost, not stop them from voting. That is un-American, autocratic, and against the fundamentals of our democracy, but this is happening in States all across the country--all across the country.

Maybe the most reprehensible effort is underway in Georgia, where State Republicans are trying to limit absentee and mail-in voting, make it harder to post a ballot by drop box, and disallowing early voting on Sunday, a day when many churchgoing African Americans participate in voter drives. Does anyone on the other side of the aisle think taking away Sunday voting in Georgia is not bigoted? What is the rationale? Stop it, if you want to stand for equality and justice.

Our country has supposedly come a long way since African Americans in the South were forced to guess the number of jellybeans in a jar in order to vote. But some of these voter suppression laws in Georgia and other Republican States smack of Jim Crow in the 21st century rearing its ugly head once again.

These laws and their various cousins in Republican State legislatures across the country are collectively one of the greatest threats to modern American democracy. According to a recent report in the Washington Post, these laws could strain every available method of voting for tens of millions of Americans, potentially amounting to the most sweeping contraction of ballot access in the United States since the end of Reconstruction, when Southern States curtailed the voting rights of formerly enslaved Black men.

If one party believes ``heads we win; tails you cheated''; if one political party believes that when you lose an election, the answer isn't to win more votes but, rather, to prevent the other side from voting, then we have serious and existential threats to our democracy on our hands.

This is no political dispute. It goes way beyond that to the core-- the core--of what America is all about. That is why we need S. 1 so badly, a bill that would combat all of these voter suppression efforts by restoring critical parts of the Voting Rights Act; a bill that would make it easier, not harder, to vote by automatically registering American voters when they get a driver's license; a bill that would limit dark money and corruption in our politics and much more.

There are a lot of problems in our country--healthcare and climate change and income inequality--but we designed a democracy that would allow competing interests in our country to come together and agree on solutions. If our democracy doesn't work, we have no hope of solving any of our other problems.

S. 1 is going to be a top priority this Congress. We will fight and fight and fight to get this done legislatively. Failure is not an option. Too darn much is at stake

Now on the American Rescue Plan, I would like to continue shining a spotlight on different aspects of ARP. The legislation helped so many people and so much of the country, it is easy to forget many crucial parts of the bill. So later today, I will be joining my dear friend Representative Velazquez from New York to talk about how the American Rescue Plan helps Puerto Rico, which is too often an afterthought in Federal legislation.

The American Rescue Plan will do three historic things for the people of Puerto Rico, American citizens all.

First, it will deliver Federal dollars to the island's earned income tax credit for low-wage workers for the first time ever.

Second, it will expand eligibility for residents to claim the child tax credit. Prior to the ARP, only families with three or more children in Puerto Rico could claim the child tax credit. Why those American citizens were treated differently than all the others was beyond me and strikes me as nasty. But now every family can.

Third, the ARP bill will add $1 billion--$1 billion--in food assistance. Residents of American territories don't receive traditional food assistance programs like those in the United States, such as the SNAP program, but instead their governments receive block grants that have been capped by the Federal Government.

The American Rescue Plan makes sure that Puerto Rico, which suffers devastating rates of poverty, 43 percent, and especially childhood poverty--an unacceptable 57 percent of all the children in Puerto Rico live in poverty. So we want to make sure that Puerto Rico receives its fair share of Federal food assistance.

The American Rescue Plan may be the greatest anti-poverty effort in a generation, and we make sure that Puerto Rico is part of it.

Now let me turn my attention to schools. One of most enduring images of the COVID-19 pandemic will be the empty classroom. For 12 months, teachers have done their level best to keep their students engaged with remote learning, but there have been incredible difficulties. Too many students don't have reliable internet. Too many parents can't be there to help young kids log on and keep up with their work. Simply put, there is no replacement for having kids in the classroom. We need to get our schools to reopen as quickly and as safely as possible.

Now, my Republican colleagues have made a lot of noise about reopening our schools, but they don't want to dedicate any resources to actually getting it done. We need money to do this. There are many more expenses under COVID.

Through the American Rescue Plan, Senate Democrats delivered the single largest investment in American education ever. We are proud of that. Proud. Let me say it again. Through the American Rescue Plan, Senate Democrats delivered the single largest investment in American education ever--ever--$170 billion to repair the damage caused by this pandemic, three-quarters of which will go directly to K-12 education, prioritizing school districts that need it the most. This will help schools update ventilation, hire more nurses and janitors, make classroom sizes smaller, and make getting kids to and from school safe.

In short, the American Rescue Plan will greatly accelerate the safe and effective reopening of schools. Once kids are back in the classroom, the American Rescue Plan will help make sure they can stay there and succeed. After what has been a lost year for too many students, this bill provides significant support for learning recovery programs--afterschool programs, summer school programs, and other resources to help kids catch up and get back on track.

Through the American Rescue Plan, we have made a life-changing investment in our students. It is one of the many ways this bill will help us recover from the crisis and come back stronger than ever before.

I yield the floor.

I suggest the absence of a quorum.

Mr. President, the COVID-19 pandemic has revealed just how important the Federal Government can be in helping workers, families, and businesses during a time of crisis. Congress has passed trillions of dollars in urgent relief, and we have relied on Federal Agencies to implement that aid quickly, reliably, competently.

So, while it might not normally be as high profile as other Cabinet- level Agencies, the Small Business Administration has recently been in the spotlight. Over the last 12 months, the Small Business Administration has overseen two pandemic-related programs that will dole out more than $1 trillion to our Nation's small businesses, nonprofits, and religious institutions. Moving forward, it will play a prominent role in implementing the American Rescue Plan.

Today, the Senate will vote on President Biden's nominee to take on that important job: Ms. Isabella Guzman.

Ms. Guzman could not be more ready. She comes from a family of small business owners herself. Her dad ran his own veterinary clinic. Not only is Ms. Guzman a veteran of the Small Business Administration, in serving as the Deputy Chief of Staff in the Obama administration, she has just finished a stint as a top official at California's Office of Business and Economic Development, helping support the fifth largest economy in the world.

For many Americans, opening and operating a business of their own is part of the American dream. I have every confidence that, under Ms. Guzman's leadership, the SBA will help small business owners hold onto their dreams until our economy comes roaring back

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

Madam President, the past few weeks in the Senate have been extremely productive. Senate Democrats delivered on our promise to pass bold COVID relief legislation, and we have now confirmed 16 Cabinet-level officials. Today, we will continue moving the ball forward on the President's nominees by confirming Representative Deb Haaland to serve as President Biden's Secretary of the Interior.

Representative Haaland has already made history as one of two Members to become the first Native American woman to serve in the House of Representatives. She is a citizen of the Laguna Pueblo nation, and her family's roots in New Mexico can be traced back 35 generations. By her own account, she grew up poor, moving frequently. Her mother served in the Navy, and her father spent a 30-year career in the Marines. While the Federal Government has often mistreated and neglected Indigenous Americans, the Haaland family has proudly and bravely served this country. Now Representative Haaland is making history twice over as the first Native American Secretary of the Interior and as the first Native American Cabinet official in American history.

Representative Haaland's confirmation represents a gigantic step forward in creating a government that represents the full richness and diversity of this country because Native Americans were, for far too long, neglected at the Cabinet level and in so many other places.

Representative Haaland will have an important task ahead of her. She must refocus the Interior Department on preserving and protecting almost 500 million acres of public lands, combating climate change and environmental degradation, and upholding the Federal Government's obligations to Tribal nations. The Trump administration did more to undermine the relationship between the Federal Government and the sovereign Tribes than many have in decades--from desecrating sacred burial sites to build a border wall to neglecting the desperate situation of Native Tribes during the pandemic. Shame on them.

In elevating Representative Haaland to lead the Department of the Interior, we reset the relationship between the Federal Government and Tribal nations to one of cooperation, mutual respect, and trust, which is so different

from the last administration's attitude. I greatly look forward to voting in favor of Representative Haaland's nomination in a few short hours.

Throughout the week, the Senate will process even more of President Biden's highly qualified Cabinet nominees, including Xavier Becerra to serve as the next Secretary of Health and Human Services; Isabella Guzman to serve as the SBA Administrator; and Katherine Tai to serve as the U.S. Trade Representative.

As President Biden continues to fight the COVID pandemic and begins implementing the American Rescue Plan, he deserves to have his team in place ASAP, as soon as possible.

Madam President, now on the American Rescue Plan, late last week, President Biden signed the American Rescue Plan into law. The most significant Federal recovery effort in decades is now underway as $1,400 checks are heading out the door to 85 percent of American households. Relief for schools, businesses, families, and State and local governments is starting to arrive. Shots are going into the arms of Americans from coast to coast. More than 135 million doses of the vaccine have now been delivered, and over 100 million doses have now been administered. That is one-third of the population and much more quickly than had been previously projected.

And our economy is poised for its own shot in the arm. As the American Rescue Plan begins to take effect, economists are projecting that American economic growth could more than double as a result of this bold, strong legislation.

Already, Americans are more optimistic about businesses being able to reopen, jobs coming back, and the national economy taking off. As one headline read over the weekend, ``Americans see better days ahead in pandemic and economy.''

After the American Rescue Plan passed through the Senate, a little over a week ago, I have been highlighting parts of the bill that may have escaped notice, and there are so many. We all know about the $1,400 checks. We all know about the shots in the arm. But, today, I want to take some time explaining how it helps our Nation's students.

First of all, the American Rescue Plan provides substantial emergency relief to colleges and universities, weighted toward those colleges and universities without million-dollar endowments. Fully half of that funding must be used for emergency financial aid grants to students--at least $20 billion nationwide. And, of course, many students will benefit from the $1,400 checks. Any student with a young family will benefit from the historic expansion of the child tax credit. But these emergency financial aid grants are another way that students with exceptional need can access relief.

That is not all. The American Rescue Plan also sets the stage for President Biden to deliver incredibly meaningful student loan forgiveness by making all types of student loan forgiveness tax free through December.

At the moment, debt cancellation is usually treated as taxable income. So without this provision, forgiving a student's debt would stick them with a tax bill--giving with one hand and taking away with the other. This would apply to more than 100,000 students who are already in repayment programs that offer some student loan forgiveness. Crucially, this tax provision would apply to future efforts to forgive student loans as well.

I believe the current administration has the legal authority to forgive up to $50,000 in Federal student loan debt, a life-changing policy decision that would boost our economy and help close the racial wealth gap.

Twenty years after starting college, the median White borrower will owe 6 percent of their debt, while the median Black borrower owes 95 percent of their debt. Canceling up to $50,000 in student debt would close the racial wealth gap by 28 percentage points among those households. That is just one of the many reasons Senator Warren and I have been advocating this policy to cancel $50,000 of student debt. And, as I mentioned, it has become an issue of racial justice as well.

President Biden, to his credit, has already proposed some student loan forgiveness--up to around $10,000. But now, one of the objections that some in the administration have had, that students with forgiven debt will have to pay taxes, is gone, gone, gone because of the ARP.

I particularly want to thank Senators Menendez and Warren for their work on these provisions. For much of American history, education has been the ladder up. For too many these days, student debt has become the anchor weighting them down, making it harder to start a family, buy a home, plan a career, and so much more. The pandemic has stressed student finances even closer to the breaking point.

Thankfully, the American Rescue Plan not only delivers short-term relief but clears the way for long-term relief for American students by saying: When we forgive your debt, you don't have to pay taxes on it.

American students collectively bear more than $1.7 trillion in student debt. When you think of young people and they are starting out their lives, and there is so much excitement and enthusiasm, and then they have $1.7 trillion of debt on their shoulders weighting them down, that is not the American way of sunny optimism and can-do. This system sprung out of control in many ways. Going after the for-profit colleges, making sure they don't take advantage, is one way we are trying to curtail it. But for the students who have this debt, future actions won't do any good in terms of changing the way we finance colleges and how we deal with the for-profits. The best way is canceling $50,000 in student debt, and the good news is that the ARP makes sure no taxes are owed on any of that cancellation.

So no matter how their team performs during March Madness this weekend, the American Rescue Plan gives every student something to cheer about.

Go Syracuse.

I yield the floor.

I suggest the absence of a quorum.

I suggest the absence of a quorum.

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

Mr. President, just a word about the history-making nomination that was just approved by the Senate. We have now made history twice in the last few minutes. We have made history twice because we have nominated the first Native American Secretary of the Interior and the first Native American Cabinet official in American history.

The confirmation of Deb Haaland is amazing. It is a huge step forward, and now it creates a government that more embodies the full richness and diversity of this country. We have known for so long the Native American community was treated badly, and we have a long way to go but we have begun with the ARP. And now with the approval of Deb Haaland to be the Secretary of the Interior, we are moving forward, and she will do a great job as Interior Secretary. She represents a turnaround because the Trump administration did more to undermine the relationship between the Federal Government and Tribes than has been done in a long time. Deb Haaland will reverse that and move much further along. So we are proud of what the Senate has done.