Floor Statements

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent for the motion to reconsider with respect to the treaty document No. 112-8, Tax Convention with Chile, be considered made and laid upon the table and that the President be immediately notified of the Senate's action.

I suggest the absence of a quorum.

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 President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for the quorum call be rescinded.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that I be able to complete my remarks before the vote starts.

Mr. President, I come to the floor today to honor distinguished Washington State senator, Tribal leader, and my friend John Richard McCoy.

State Senator McCoy dedicated his life and career to public service. John served in the Air Force for two decades. He was a steadfast and fearless leader for the Tulalip Tribes in the State of Washington. And he was one of the longest serving Native legislators in Washington State history.

His story is an inspiration and testament. He overcame unbelievable odds. And most importantly, he showed what one person can achieve in the service of others. John led a life and career that will be remembered for generations.

He was born in 1943 in Washington. He was born in the middle of World War II and started his career as a commercial fisherman in Puget Sound before he joined the Air Force. He served in the Air Force for 20 years, retiring as a technical sergeant at Andrews Air Force Base in Maryland, near here.

He was then recruited as a computer programmer before computer programming was really hip and was assigned to staff the Reagan White House situation room. His skills as a computer programmer and technical expertise led the late Stan Jones--one of our other Tribal legends who was then Chair of the Tulalip Tribes--to recruit him back to Washington to help transform the Tribe's communications system. At the time, the Tribe was struggling to build the infrastructure that was needed to take advantage of economic development and continue to move forward with their plans.

But John took this project and telecommunications infrastructure and helped the Tribe build one of its greatest economic successes. The Quil Ceda Village is about a 500-acre unique business park that was approved in 2001. It was so successful that in 2005, the Puget Sound Business Journal named him Executive of the Year for his contributions to the successful project. He not only brought computers and high-speed internet access to the village, he made the whole thing a reality for the Tribe.

John McCoy never lost his ideas about public service. In 2003, he was elected to the Washington State House of Representatives, and he served our State legislature for 17 years. Senator McCoy served the 38th Legislative District in Northwest Washington covering Tulalip, Everett, and Marysville. During that time, he became a standout legislator for the State of Washington. He was a tireless advocate for K-12 education, healthcare, the environmental policies, and, most importantly, he was outspoken on Tribal issues.

One important piece of legislation John championed and created was the ``Since Time Immemorial: Tribal Sovereignty in Washington State'' curriculum which is now taught in all Washington State public schools. ``Since Time Immemorial,'' endorsed by all of Washington State's 29 federally recognized Tribes, is a curriculum that focuses on their history in the State of Washington. The lessons help students understand the importance of treaties, the history of Tribes in the Pacific Northwest, and the challenges of reservation life. It also teaches students the influence of geography and where Tribes are located in the State of Washington--and, importantly, the distinct cultures of the 29 federally recognized Tribes in Washington State. The knowledge our students are gaining about Tribes is invaluable. And this is just one example of Senator McCoy's leadership in the State of Washington.

He also helped expand dental care. He passed legislation requiring telecommunications companies to provide call location information to emergency responders. He helped emergency responders locate victims and patients more quickly. And he passed a bill that allowed our State to provide jurisdiction to Tribes over criminal and civil matter on Tribal lands to Federal and Tribal governments. These were all important roles, and we can never give enough thanks to him and his family for his contributions.

He also served in leadership roles. Senator McCoy was elected by his colleagues to serve as caucus chair for the then Washington State Senate Democrats. He served as chair of the National Caucus of Native American State Legislators, playing a Tribal leadership role nationally. And something he always took pride in was not only serving the Tribe he grew up in, but he took great pride in serving the rest of Everett and Marysville. He never lost sight of what it meant to represent the people of the 38th District. That is the kind of person he was, dedicated to his Tribe, but also dedicated to all his neighbors.

He retired from the Washington State Senate in April of 2020, and he said, ``Through the changes in committees, leadership roles and even chambers over the course of my legislative career, it was always an immense privilege to represent my neighbors . . . I am deeply grateful for that privilege.''

Senator John McCoy will go down in our State's history as one of our most effective local leaders, someone who came up against roadblocks and found ways to bypass those roadblocks to get progress for our State.

He will be missed by all of us, especially his wife of 58 years, Jeannie McCoy--my heart goes out to her and her family--his siblings; his children: Angela McCoy, Sheila Hillaire, and Cara Tohanniep; and his grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

We all thank you for sharing your father with us. He will be missed not only as a leader in our State, but also a leader that helped us across the United States to better understand Indian Country and certainly the leadership of the Tulalip Tribe.

Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the scheduled vote occur immediately.

Madam President, I have 10 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 during today's session of the Senate:

The following executive report of a nomination was submitted:

Ms. CANTWELL. Mr. President, for the Committee on Commerce,

Science, and Transportation I report favorably the following

nomination list which was printed in the Record on the date

indicated, and ask unanimous consent, to save the expense of

reprinting on the Executive Calendar that this nomination lie

at the Secretary's desk for the information of Senators.

The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.

*Coast Guard nominations beginning with Alaina M. Accumanno

and ending with Kristen E. Zelman, which nominations were

received by the Senate and appeared in the Congressional

Record on March 14, 2023. (minus 1 nominee: Andrew D. Ray)

*Nomination was reported with recommendation that it be confirmed subject to the nominee's commitment to respond to requests to appear and testify before any duly constituted committee of the Senate.

Mr. President, I come to the floor this afternoon to talk about a court decision that is likely to come down anytime now that could be an attack on abortion rights and access to healthcare across the country. This is an important issue affecting the removal of access to mifepristone, a drug that can lead to a termination of a pregnancy but in the comfort of someone's home. The latest is an example of a radical court in Texas trying to further restrict access to safe and legal medication for abortion, which has been safely used by millions of women over the past 22 years. Since Roe v. Wade was overturned last summer, abortion patients and providers across the country have faced a growing challenge, misinformation, threats, and inability to get reproductive care--even in States like mine where abortion is still legal.

Last week, I and Senator Murray met with abortion providers in Seattle who told me about the growing fear and confusion among patients since Roe has been overturned. The medical director at a clinic told me, in the past 9 months, it has become routine for patients to ask whether it is OK to even talk about abortions in the exam room. Patients have been more hesitant to say where they live in fear of legal retaliation. Mind you, this is in a State where the people in the State voted to have abortion rights protected in a vote in 1991. This assault on women's reproductive health is already having an impact on women, even keeping them from talking about their options with their healthcare providers.

Anti-abortion extremists are now turning their attention to Medicaid abortion. Nearly a quarter of a century ago, the FDA approved mifepristone, a drug that is safer, in some people's minds, it says, than Tylenol. Today, more than half of all abortions and procedures in the United States, including 55 percent of those in the State of Washington, are performed through this medication.

This drug is not only safe and legal to use, but it also makes abortion more accessible, but we know that this access could be threatened through areas like telehealth, where a patient doesn't have to travel long distances to see a provider. The access is important for Planned Parenthood clinics. The medical director of Planned Parenthood told me a story of a patient who traveled thousands of miles from her home State to Washington to get abortion care. She couldn't afford a hotel room, so she stayed with a friend, and the patient had to take off time from work to make this trip. After all this effort, the woman had a miscarriage while waiting in the waiting room.

People shouldn't have to travel all the way across the country just for the kind of healthcare they deserve. This is why the court case on Medicaid abortion is so dangerous. Should one judge in Texas decide to overturn the FDA's approval of this safe drug from more than two decades ago, it would effectively ban the drug on a nationwide basis.

The kinds of things that are already happening to intimidate or not provide this in the pharmacies in our State are alarming. This ruling would mean that every State, including those like mine that have already expressed their opinion with the codification of Roe v. Wade, could have some of its healthcare denied. The ruling would mean that in Washington State, where abortion has expressly been under our State law for more than 30 years, a person who needs or elects to terminate their pregnancy could no longer safely do it at their home if they can't get access to this drug.

Indeed, we will continue to fight for these issues. We want women in America to have access.

This judge's decision in Texas could cost people in our State. It could cost them time to travel, cost them time of healthcare, and certainly we are seeing an uptick in the number of people coming to Washington to get access to care.

We are also seeing people upping the ante in places like Spokane, where they are trying to publicly humiliate people coming to clinics by protesting. This is not a way to run healthcare. And we can't have a judge in Texas deciding what FDA and scientists nearly a quarter of a century ago said was a safe procedure.

We know that this is depriving women even in States where their rights are guaranteed. It is impacting their access to safe and legal abortions. There is a reason why we have an FDA and the science, and we need to continue to listen to them.

Let's be clear. We are not going to let a decision like this go unchallenged. People will not stop getting pregnant. And if this one judge decides to substitute his opinion for the FDA's, women will continue to look for this drug, and they will look for safe options.

I hope we can continue to educate people on how this is affecting people in States that have already voted by law to protect a woman's right to choose. This is eroding our rights, it is impacting our providers, and it is basically telling young women that we are not sure if you are going to be able to get access to this drug.

I hope the courts will not go down this errant path, and I hope that we here will get our colleagues on the other side of the aisle to vote with us to clarify and protect a woman's right to choose at the Federal level.

I yield the floor.

Madam President, I join my colleagues this afternoon who come to the floor and speak about the introduction of the Women's Health Protection Act and codifying access to reproductive freedom for women in America.

It has been a little over 8 months since a radical Supreme Court overturned the 50-year-old landmark ruling guaranteeing the right to privacy and the right to obtain an abortion.

I want to take this time to highlight the impacts that this decision has had, not just on our country but even in my State, in the State of Washington.

We in Washington voted in 1991 to codify abortion as a legal right. We did that by a vote of the people. But we still need to worry about this issue because the problems that are causing the erosion of abortion rights in some parts of the United States are even causing hardship in our State.

Abortion clinics in Washington are facing rising caseloads and rising costs. Planned Parenthood in Spokane reported that in January, their clinics saw a 75-percent increase in the number of Idaho patients who were traveling across the line to get abortions. Physicians are rightly concerned that they could be arrested or sued for providing reproductive care to patients from abortion-restrictive States.

Pregnant women have it worst of all. If they go to a reproductive clinic for whatever reason, they can face a gauntlet of protesters. Yes, there are protesters right outside the Planned Parenthood clinic in Spokane. They are trying to set up fake clinics with fake names to divert women into their facilities instead of the actual care that they need.

I will note that it wasn't that long ago--just a few years ago--that the Planned Parenthood clinic was bombed in Whitman County, just south of Spokane. So these issues are a problem.

We even have had healthcare officials tell us that Washingtonians trying to get access to the morning-after pill had to go to four different pharmacies, only to find that it was not available. This drug has been an FDA-approved drug for decades, but all of a sudden, in Washington, it is not available.

Since this ruling was released last summer, 24 States have enacted near-total bans or stringent restrictions on the ability to get an abortion. People are still getting pregnant, and they are coming to Washington to exercise that opportunity, and we want to make sure we have a healthcare system that can deliver.

You know, employers are starting to avoid these abortion-restrictive States. I don't know if someone has thought through this issue. But I recently spoke to the cofounder of a very successful aviation company that just had one of the best demonstrations of the future of aviation. They are building a new facility, and he told me point blank he won't even consider locating in a State that doesn't provide reproductive freedom. He said he couldn't imagine having to ask an employee, who was enjoying that right in the State they live in now, to transfer to a State where that freedom was lost. He said it is absurd.

We know that people are aggressively trying to restrict access to abortion. They are aggressively pursuing even more anti-choice policies, such as restricting the use of the FDA-approved abortion drug even though 5.6 million patients in the United States have used that drug successfully since the year 2000.

It is plain to see that they are not going to stop, and that is why we are introducing this legislation and continuing the fight and awareness for reproductive health for women in the United States of America. We must put an end to these practices by passing the Women's Health Protection Act, which would make this a decision left up to women and their families and allow the future to be decided by them and not the interference of our government.

Madam President, I know you know--because you have been a law enforcement officer in the State you represent--you know the challenges of having individuals' privacies protected. This now is up to us to make sure we are protecting these rights and protecting women's access to reproductive freedom.

I yield the floor.

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

Mr. President, I come to the floor this afternoon to support the nomination of Jamal Whitehead to serve as a judge for the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington. Mr. Whitehead is extremely well qualified and has demonstrated an allegiance to the rule of law throughout his very impressive law career.

My Senate colleagues on the Judiciary Committee saw what an exceptional judicial candidate Mr. Whitehead is, and they recognized how valuable his perspective would be on the Federal bench. I was pleased to see that he was voted out of committee with a bipartisan vote of 11 to 9.

Mr. Whitehead has spent his entire career in the Western District, making him uniquely knowledgeable of the district in which he will be serving. Throughout his career, he has defended workers from discrimination and enforced Federal employment discrimination laws. He has been dedicated to ensuring equal justice under the law and has demonstrated a profound commitment to public service.

Mr. Whitehead has also sought to promote diversity in the legal field through outreach and education and is deeply involved in the community. He serves on the Executive Committee for the ACLU of Washington as well as on the board of Amara, a child welfare organization in the Seattle and Tacoma area dedicated to meeting the needs of children and families who have been impacted by foster care.

In addition to his outstanding qualifications, Mr. Whitehead's confirmation continues the President's commitment to ensuring that the Federal bench better reflect the American public. Mr. Whitehead is the first judicial nominee by President Biden to have a physical disability. Now confirmed, he will be one of only a handful of Federal judges with a disclosed disability.

Jamal Whitehead is well prepared to serve on the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington. This is a historic confirmation. I am pleased to see that my colleagues supported Mr. Whitehead's confirmation to our Federal court.

I yield the floor.

I suggest the absence of a quorum.

Mr. 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.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Armed Services be discharged from further consideration and that the Senate now proceed to S. Res. 49.

I ask unanimous consent that the resolution be agreed to, the preamble be agreed to, and that the motions to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to the consideration of S. Res. 66, submitted earlier today.

I ask unanimous consent that the resolution be agreed to, 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.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate now proceed to the en bloc consideration of the following Senate resolutions introduced earlier today: S. Res. 67, S. Res. 68, S. Res. 69, and S. Res. 70.

I ask unanimous consent that the resolutions be agreed to, the preambles be agreed to, and that the motions to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table, all en bloc.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to the immediate consideration of Calendar No. 15, S. Res. 59.

I further ask 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 stand adjourned until 10 a.m. on Thursday, February 16; 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 following the conclusion of morning business, the Senate proceed to executive session and resume consideration of the Martinez-Lopez nomination postcloture; further, that if any nominations are confirmed during Thursday's session, the motions to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table and the President be immediately notified of the Senate's actions.

Mr. President, for the information of the Senate, there will be two rollcall votes at 11:30 a.m. and one rollcall vote at 1:45 p.m.

Mr. President, if there is no further business to come before the Senate, I ask that it stand adjourned under the previous order.