Floor Statements

Madam President, I am happy to report this morning that the leadership of both parties have finalized the organizing resolution for the Senate. We will pass the resolution through the Senate today, which means that committees can promptly set up and get to work--with Democrats holding the gavels.

For the information of the Senate, the Democratic caucus has announced its committee memberships for the next 2 years. I am confident our Members are ready to hit the ground running on the most important issues that face our country.

Senate Democrats are not going to waste any time taking on the biggest challenges facing our country and our planet. I have already instructed the incoming Democratic chairs of all relevant committees to begin holding hearings on the climate crisis in preparation for enacting President Biden's Build Back Better agenda, which includes major climate legislation.

It is long past time for the Senate to take a leading role to combat the existential threat of our time--climate. As we all know, climate change touches virtually every aspect of our economy and involves virtually every aspect of public policy. So as the Biden Administration prepares a whole-of-government approach to combating climate change, the Democratic majority will pursue a whole-of-Senate approach as well.

Some of this work has already started. Two years ago, Senate Democrats established the first-ever Senate Special Committee on the Climate Crisis. I have promised that any action we take on infrastructure, in particular, will prioritize green infrastructure and the creation of green jobs, and create many jobs--good-paying jobs--we will.

Personally, I have introduced legislation to speed our country's transition toward clean cars that has the support of the environmental community, the labor unions, and some of the car manufacturers.

Make no mistake, in several different ways, this Democratic majority will compel the Senate to forcefully, relentlessly, and urgently address climate change, beginning with work in all of the relevant committees.

So as we set up new committee structures, I look forward to working with the new Democratic chairs on ways their committees will address the climate crisis. I look forward to speaking

with my colleagues on the other side of the aisle about finding some common ground on this issue. And, most importantly, I look forward to propelling this Chamber into action on a crisis that concerns not only all of our futures but the futures of our children and our grandchildren. It is our solemn obligation to leave behind a planet upon which future generations can grow and prosper.

Coronavirus

Madam President, now on COVID, yesterday afternoon the Senate took the first step in preparing the rescue package for an economy and a country that is still in the throes of crisis. The $1.9 trillion budget resolution is designed to meet the needs of a country that has been devastated by disease and recession for nearly a year. It has been such a long time. We need real help.

Unlike most crises, which affect one particular sector of the economy or another, one part of the country or another, the COVID-19 pandemic affects the entire country and nearly every aspect of American life. There is not one person in America, in my judgment, whose life hasn't been significantly changed by this awful crisis. The challenges we must overcome are manifold. So we must produce a bill that addresses each of those changes and challenges in turn--housing and agriculture and education, help for th unemployed, small businesses, our healthcare system, and our State and local governments. And we cannot fall short of the needs of each of those areas.

History has taught us hard lessons about the cost of small thinking during times of big challenge and about the cost of delay during moments of great urgency.

Secretary Yellen told the Democratic caucus yesterday that it is her belief that if Congress fails to dedicate the necessary resources to meet the needs of the American people and survive this crisis, we will see long-term scarring in our economy and our country would be mired in the COVID crisis for years.

The income inequality and wealth inequality that plagues our Nation has been exacerbated by this crisis because it is certainly the lower half of the American people who have suffered the most and needs to be remediated. And that is what we aim to do.

We must not--must not--repeat the mistakes of the past and do too little, too reluctantly, and too late. We will not repeat the mistakes of the past.

Our goal is simple: to help the American people and the American economy and do it fast. Over the next 2 days, the Senate will be in session for debate on the budget resolution. There will be an open bipartisan amendment process. We invite participation from both sides of the aisle in that process, but I urge Members not to lose sight of what this legislation will mean for the American people.

For Americans who have lost their jobs through no fault of their own, this rescue package will extend enhanced unemployment benefits. For parents--I have spoken to so many who are desperate for the day they can send their children back to school safely--this rescue package will include resources for schools to make that happen quicker. For teachers and firefighters and busdrivers and nurses worried about the fate of their jobs, this rescue package will follow through on providing aid for State and local governments. For restaurants and bars, for theaters and farmers, for small businesses of every stripe, this rescue package will make another round of Federal loans and grants available to you. And for every American struggling to make ends meet, who, month by month, has fallen further behind on the rent or mortgage, who has the power or the heat or the water shut off, for every American who has had to choose which meal they were going to skip that day, this rescue package will send direct assistance in the form of a check.

And, of course, this rescue package will support the production and distribution of the vaccine that is the key to ending the crisis. The past administration--in terms of distribution, in terms of working with the States to get these vaccines out--has been so derelict. It has been one of the greatest failures of any Presidency. The new Biden Administration is focused on making more vaccines, getting them out quickly, getting them out fairly, and doing it effectively and efficiently. We have to help get that done.

So I, alongside the Democratic committee chairs responsible for drafting this legislation, will be meeting with President Biden at the White House today, a few hours from now. Our caucus is eager to discuss next steps, and we are united in our resolve to deliver on a rescue plan that provides the American people the relief they so desperately need.

I yield the floor.

I suggest the absence of a quorum.

I thank the Senator from Pennsylvania. I won't be that long

Organizing Resolution

Madam President, in addition to the organizing resolution to which the Republican leader and I have now agreed, Leader McConnell and I would like to engage in a colloquy regarding certain understandings we have reached on two related issues.

First, I have discussed with the Republican leader concerns that have been raised by many Senators about the floor procedure known as ``filling the amendment tree.'' At various points over the last several decades, Senators have been prevented from actively participating in the legislative process because the ability of Senators to offer and receive votes on amendments has been severely restricted. I appreciate and understand those concerns, and I want to assure Senators that it is my intention to have active and dynamic debates on the many issues and crises facing our Nation today. The 117th Congress will not shirk from the important issues; rather, we will discuss and debate legislative solutions to them. I am a strong supporter of the right of Senators to offer amendments and commit to increase dramatically the number of Member-initiated amendments offered in the 117th Congress. I am also opposed to limiting amendments by ``filling the tree'' unless dilatory measures prevent the Senate from taking action and leave no alternative. Senators from both sides will be able to offer amendments. That is how we will operate in the 117th Congress under the new Democratic majority.

Madam President, I thank the Republican leader for those assurances and for his cooperation in reaching agreement on the organizing resolution and the understandings we have just described. I look forward to working with him and all Senators to address the many urgent needs confronting our Nation.

Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to the consideration of S. Res. 27, submitted earlier today.

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

Madam President, pursuant to the provisions of S. Res 27, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to the consideration of S. Res 28, submitted earlier today.

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

Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to the consideration of S. Res 29, submitted earlier today.

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

Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to the immediate consideration of S. Res. 30, which was submitted earlier today.

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

Thank you, Madam President.

I thank my good friend, the Senator from Pennsylvania.

I yield the floor.

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

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate be in a period of morning business, with Senators permitted to speak therein for up to 10 minutes each.

Mr. President, pursuant to the provisions of S. Res. 27, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to the consideration of S. Res. 32, submitted earlier today.

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

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that when the Senate completes its business today, it adjourn until 10 a.m., Thursday, February 4; further, 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 the conclusion of morning business, the Senate resume consideration of S. Con. Res. 5, the concurrent resolution on the budget; further, that the time from 2 p.m. until 2:30 p.m. be equally divided between Senators Graham and Sanders, and that following their remarks, all time on the budget resolution be considered expired.

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.

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

Mr. President, the Capitol attack on January 6 unleashed many, many horrors, but it also revealed many heroes. One such hero was Capitol Police Officer Brian Sicknick, a New Jersey native, an Air Force National Guard veteran, and a 12-year member of the Capitol Police Force who tragically lost his life during the attack.

This evening, the body of Officer Sicknick will arrive at the Capitol, and he will lie in honor beneath the Capitol Rotunda. We will formally pay our respects to Officer Sicknick with a service on Wednesday.

I join with my colleagues and members of the Capitol Police Force in grieving the loss of one of their fellow officers. May his memory live forever as a model of service to our Nation, selflessness in the line of duty, and courage in the face of danger.

Mr. President, on another matter entirely, the Senate, this week, will continue confirming President Biden's Cabinet nominees, closing the book today on the nomination of Alexander Mayorkas to be the Secretary of Homeland Security.

Mr. Mayorkas's qualifications are unassailable. He is a 7-year veteran of the DHS and has already been confirmed by this Chamber three--three--times. Like most of President Biden's Cabinet nominees, his nomination is also history-making: He will be the first Latino and first immigrant to hold the top job at DHS. I look forward to confirming Mr. Mayorkas today.

We have a second outstanding nominee to confirm today as well--Pete Buttigieg for Secretary of Transportation. Mr. Buttigieg--known to many simply as Mayor Pete--has demonstrated an impressive familiarity with the entire Nation's transportation challenges--challenges that are pronounced in States like my own, where projects like the Gateway Tunnel are a top national priority.

I know that Mr. Buttigieg is committed to working with Members from both sides to improve rail and transit, highways, and more in rural communities, urban centers, and everywhere in between. I am excited to call him Secretary Pete by the end of the day and get to work with him immediately on helping the MTA--the Nation's largest transit network in the country--and moving Gateway forward after years of cynical obstruction by the Trump administration.

Mr. President, on COVID-19, even as we continue to confirm President Biden's nominees, the Senate will turn this week to the historic task of preparing a rescue package to lift our country out of the depths of the awful COVID-19 pandemic and set our country back on the path to normalcy. Despite the best efforts of Congress over the past year, the needs in our country are still great and still urgent.

The disease has been with us for nearly a year, and yet this January was officially the worst month to date. Nearly 100,000 Americans died just in the last month. Unemployment insurance claims remain at nearly 1 million a week. Schools remain closed, businesses unvisited, and all the familiar fixtures of daily life still remain on hold.

All of us in this Chamber are tired of seeing our constituents, our friends, our family, our country suffer. It is time to meet the challenges of the moment with boldness, with courage, and with urgency.

When Congress came together to pass an interim emergency relief bill in December, we all knew the job was not complete. Economic experts and the

President-elect at the time called it an important downpayment because that is what it was--a downpayment, not the final act. No one should be surprised that the first legislative act of the new Democratic majority is to build on that foundation and help the country defeat COVID-19 once and for all. So the Senate is going to move forward this week with the process for producing the next bold rescue package.

Yesterday, Speaker Pelosi and I filed a joint budget resolution for the 2021 fiscal year, totaling $1.9 trillion, which will give us another legislative tool to pass a COVID relief bill quickly and decisively. The Senate will vote to proceed on the budget resolution this afternoon. Time is a luxury our country does not have.

Let me be very clear. We are not going to dilute, to dither, to delay. We are not going to dilute, dither, or delay. The needs of the American people are so demanding, we need to think big, and we need to act quickly. The Senate must move forward today with the vote to begin debate on the budget resolution, and I am optimistic that the motion to proceed will pass.

I would say to my Republican colleagues that we want this important work to be bipartisan. We welcome your ideas, your input, and your revisions. We welcome cooperation. There is nothing about the process-- or a budget resolution or reconciliation, for that matter--that forecloses the possibility of bipartisanship.

I would remind this Chamber that since 1980, the budget process has been used 17 times--17 times--to pass serious bipartisan legislation. This process is open to bipartisanship.

So let me be clear to my colleagues this morning. There will be a bipartisan, open amendment process on the budget resolution this week. Democrats eagerly encourage participation from both sides of the aisle on this proposal. Again, there is nothing about the process itself that prevents bipartisanship. What has made recent reconciliation efforts by Senate Republicans so partisan was not the process but the legislation they sought to pass.

The former Senate majority--I heard the Senator from Texas crying crocodile tears about using reconciliation, but just a few years ago, he was an active participant in using it twice to pursue expressly partisan and deeply unpopular legislation--first, to repeal our Nation's healthcare law and kick millions of Americans off of their healthcare coverage, and second, to slash taxes for big corporations and the wealthy to the tune of a $1.7 trillion bill and hole in our deficit. Of course, Democrats opposed those efforts on the merits.

At the moment, however, we are talking about using the budget process to help small business--something we all support. We are talking about using the budget process to speed the production and distribution of a vaccine that everyone champions and everyone knows is the key to ending the crisis. We are talking about getting our country back on its feet and our economy back on track.

We want this entire effort to be bipartisan. We do. But helping the American people with the big, bold relief they need--that is job No. 1. That is job No. 1, which is so, so important. So, again, we are not going to dilute, dither, or delay because the demands of the American people are so real and so large. We need to think big and think quickly.

Helping millions of Americans who are still without work by extending the enhanced unemployment benefits that are now slated to expire in March. Helping parents waiting for the day their kids can finally go back to school safely. Helping teachers, firefighters, busdrivers, and other essential public employees at the State and local levels, preventing them from the risk of layoffs. Helping restaurants and bars and theaters, which were the first to close and may be the last to open. Helping every American struggling to make ends meet, to pay the rent, pay the mortgage, pay for groceries, keep up with that utility bill, by sending them direct assistance in the form of a check. That is job No. 1--helping the American people survive the toughest months of this crisis while hastening the end of the crisis itself.

In the months to come, millions of Americans will be vaccinated, and slowly but surely, life will return to normal once again. The rescue plan proposed by President Biden--the rescue plan that we begin to work on this week--will lay the foundation for our country's long-awaited comeback, while giving Americans a helping hand to stay safe and stay financially secure in the meantime.

I look forward to proceeding with this budget resolution and on the work of making this historic and vital rescue package a reality so it works for the American people

I yield the floor.

I suggest the absence of a quorum.

Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table and that the President be immediately notified of the Senate's action.