Floor Statements

Madam President, before I even start, I do want to compliment the staff--later, I will put all of the names in the Record--who worked weekends and late at night. I remember times when I would get off the phone with them at 11 o'clock at night and 12 midnight. I could go to bed, but they were still there working until 3 or 4 in the morning.

Yet, after all of those months of negotiations, the Committee on Appropriations introduced the $1.5 trillion fiscal year 2022 Omnibus appropriations bill. As I will explain, this is the consolidation of 12 annual appropriations bills to fund the Federal Government for the remainder of the fiscal year. Last night, the House passed it on a bipartisan basis. It is now before us, and we need to act on it quickly.

Our annual appropriations bills are where we reflect on our national priorities. In total, this bill includes $730 billion in nondefense funding. That is a $46 billion increase over fiscal year 2021. This 6.7-percent increase is the largest in 4 years for nondefense programs. It allows for significant investments in the American people that will expand the middle class.

The bill also provides urgent funding for the people of Ukraine as they battle Vladimir Putin's immoral, unprovoked, and brutal invasion-- an invasion which, actually, labels Vladimir Putin as a ``war criminal.''

It is unquestionably in the interest of the American people that the Senate act quickly to pass this bill and send it to President Biden. I will tell you why it is so important.

In the wake of the pandemic, children and schools across the country have been falling behind in math and reading, and children in low- income and minority communities have been falling even further behind their peers. One study found that third graders who are attending school in low-income communities tested 17 points lower in math than they did just in 2019. We can't allow a global pandemic to set these children further back on the path to a bright future.

The bill includes $17.5 billion--the largest increase in more than a decade--for title I-A grants. These grants provide funding for more than half of our Nation's public schools to help students, particularly in low-income communities, meet college and career-ready academic standards.

And to help these children succeed before they even step foot in the classroom, the bill includes more than $11 billion for Head Start. The bill also increases the maximum Pell Grant award by $400--also the largest increase in more than a decade--so that as these students succeed they can go on to pursue a college education. Pell Grants help more than 7 million students pursue a postsecondary education every year.

Now, of course, we are investing in these children, but we are also investing in their families. Ask any young family and they will tell you that the pandemic exacerbated the childcare crisis. Parents, and particularly women, are being forced out of the

labor market because they cannot afford the high cost of childcare. The bill provides more than $6 billion for childcare and development block grants. That is a 4.4-percent increase over last year. These grants will assist low-income families in gaining quality childcare that fits their needs to prepare their children to succeed in school.

Across this country--the wealthiest and most powerful Nation on Earth--more than 38 million people, including 12 million children, are what can be called food insecure. Many of us in this room cannot even imagine the heartbreak and pain a parent must feel when they cannot put enough food on the table for their child. So the bill increases support for nutrition programs. These programs are a lifeline to these American families.

It also ensures that over 4 million low-income women and children will not see their benefits reduced at the end of April by extending the WIC Cash-Value Voucher Program. It is a special $35 monthly benefit for purchasing fruits and vegetables. It fully funds $6 billion for the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children--WIC--to help support 6.2 million low-income women, infants and children younger than 5 years old every month. It also includes more than $140 billion, which is a 23-percent increase, for SNAP. SNAP provides assistance to more than 40 million people every year in this country.

It also keeps families in their homes by providing billions of dollars to build and support public housing. This includes a 75-percent increase for Choice Neighborhoods, which helps to transform communities by revitalizing public and assisted housing. It provides an 11-percent increase to build new affordable housing through the HOME program. And it includes $4.8 billion for community and economic development.

We understand that hundreds of thousands of Americans are homeless. The 2020 Annual Homeless Assessment Report found that on a single night more than 580,000 people experienced homelessness. People who are struggling with homelessness have been robbed of a central pillar of the American Dream--having a place that they can call their own. The bill provides $3 billion--a 6.6-percent increase--for homeless assistance grants.

We know it is a bipartisan priority in Congress to keep our communities safe so the bill provides a 15-percent increase for Department of Justice grants to State and local law enforcement and communities to prevent and respond to crime. It provides COPS Hiring grant funding to place more than 1,700 officers on the streets to keep our communities safe. But as a country, we have collectively grieved the loss of life that inspired the Black Lives Matter movement. So this bill provides new resources to fund deescalation training, implicit bias training, training that emphasizes the duty of fellow officers to intervene, and providing crisis intervention teams.

It is also a commitment to the future of scientific research, development, and innovation in this country. It provides the largest increase in 12 years for the National Science Foundation. The NSF funds a quarter of all federally supported basic research conducted by colleges and universities in this country. It provides a 6-percent increase for the Department of Energy Office of Science and a 5.3- percent increase for the National Institutes of Health to speed the development of new therapies, diagnostics, and preventative measures.

I think it also, importantly, includes $1 billion to launch the Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health, the ARPA-H, as President Biden's bold and promising proposal to revolutionize how we prevent, treat, and cure devastating diseases like cancer, Alzheimer's, and diabetes.

Marcelle, my wife, and I had the opportunity to listen to then-Vice President Biden speak about this at the University of Vermont's medical school a few years ago and then again to hear President Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris, and Dr. Jill Biden speak about it at the White House. I was committed to making sure that it would be in the Omnibus bill, and I am pleased that it was included and that that request was joined by numerous other Senators.

The bill closes the chapter on 4 years of denying the existence of the climate crisis by the previous administration. It provides billions of dollars to support climate research, mitigation, and adaptation. This includes $900 million in NSF funding to support climate and clean energy research, $40 million for NOAA climate-related projects, $425 million for clean air programs, and an historic investment in Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, EERE.

We also provide hundreds of millions of dollars to support international climate change adaptation and mitigation programs. We included this funding because the scientific communities are in agreement that we are running out of time before the damage to our planet is irreversible. So we are taking a small but long-overdue step to confront that reality.

The bill also backs up our commitment to our veterans. It provides $97.5 billion--an 8.7-percent increase--for VA medical care. That provides essential health services for 9.2 million veterans, those men and women who have served our country and whom we always promised to back up, as they did us. Now, we are. This includes funding for rural health programs, veterans' homelessness prevention, and mental health resources.

Consistent with long tradition, the bill includes billions of dollars for food and other humanitarian aid for victims of war and natural disasters, $700 million to support global health security programs to prevent and prepare for future pandemics, and it provides the funds to support PEPFAR's global HIV-AIDS program.

It provides the funds to support our embassies and other foreign missions around the world. And it supports organizations like the Global Fund to Fight HIV/AIDS, TB and malaria, the National Endowment for Democracy, the U.S. Institute of Peace, the Peace Corps, the Millennium Challenge Corporation, and the International Development Finance Corporation.

Anybody who is watching the news knows what is happening with the war crimes that are being imposed on Ukraine by a much larger neighbor, Russia, under the unbelievable, irresponsible leadership of Vladimir Putin.

So we have included a $13.6 billion bipartisan agreement to provide emergency assistance to Ukraine and our NATO allies--$13.6 billion. That has the necessary resources to bolster the defense capabilities of the Ukrainian military but also our regional allies and partners. It also supports the implementation of economic sanctions and export restrictions on Russia.

Importantly, it addresses the evolving humanitarian crisis--this horrible, tragic humanitarian crisis--that has resulted from President Putin's unprovoked attack on the Ukrainian people, an attack I call a war crime. The escalating crisis President Putin has inflicted on Europe poses the greatest threat to democracy and sovereignty in a generation.

The American people overwhelmingly support the people of Ukraine. This is not a Democratic or Republican issue; this is a human rights issue. This is where America stands with the people of Ukraine.

I remember a few years ago when I was chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, I joined with my friend Mike Crapo, another Senator, and we reauthorized the Violence Against Women Act. We dramatically increased it and improved it. We added Native Americans, we added the LGBTQ community, and we added the sexual exploitation of children.

Well, the Violence Against Women Act has been stuck. It hasn't been reauthorized. This bill reauthorizes the Violence Against Women Act.

VAWA continues to be one of the most consequential laws addressing the scourge of violence against women and domestic violence in our country. I remember how bad it was when I was a prosecutor, but it has become far, far worse today. We need the tool of VAWA, and the bill includes the highest funding level ever of grants to support these programs. It provides crucial support for programs and initiatives designed to support survivors of domestic violence, sexual assault, dating violence, and stalking.

Of note, this bill also reforms and reauthorizes the EB-5 Visa program, which has been abused by corrupt actors for too long. I have championed

these bipartisan reforms for many years, and I am proud that we are finally going to enact them.

In total, the bill includes $730 billion in nondefense funding, a 6.7-percent increase. The bill includes, $782 billion in defense funding, a 5.6-percent increase over fiscal year 2021.

This is a product of months of negotiations--sometimes weekends, sometimes evenings, sometimes days, over and over again--negotiations between myself and dear friends Vice Chairman Shelby and House Chair DeLauro and Ranking Member Granger.

I mentioned earlier our staffs who spent countless late nights working through the details of this bill. Those are not just weekday nights; those are weekends too, giving up plans they might have had, personal plans, family plans, whatever. So I think of specifically Charles Kieffer, Chanda Betourney, Jessica Berry, and Jay Tilton on my staff and Bill Duhnke and David Adkins on Vice Chairman Shelby's staff and so many, many more who worked those nights and days--far too many names to say right now.

Madam President, I ask unanimous consent to have a list of the staff printed in the Record.

Madam President, this is a good bill. It is a bill that reflects American priorities and invests in future prosperity and our health. It reduces everyday costs for millions of Americans, such as childcare, a college education, and heating and cooling costs. It is a bill that invests in us--us--the American people.

We know that a government shutdown on Saturday would be senseless. Look at the impression it would give the rest of the world when we are telling everybody to stand up and be strong. We know that a delay would be senseless, so I strongly urge all Members to vote aye when the bill comes to the floor.

I suggest the absence of a quorum.

Mr. President, I know Senators are waiting on movements on both sides, but I just want to reiterate what I said earlier this afternoon. We have before us a message from the House--the omnibus. I would point out that both Republicans and Democrats have had an enormous amount of input into this for over the past several months. I know that because the Appropriations Committee staff has worked so hard on it--again, both sides of the aisle.

Earlier today, I put into the Record the names of members of my staff who have worked on this. I would just mention to other Senators, there are many times I would be on phone calls with them and conference calls at 10 and 11 at night. I can then go to bed. They were still there at 2 or 3 o'clock in the morning. I know that a number of them have given up time with their families over the weekend. I would be checking in with them or come down and meet with them, but I could go home. They kept on working. I think we have to understand, if it were not for such dedicated staff members, this Senate could not exist.

We have a complex package before us, but in a way, what we have here is a simple matter. Everybody has had input into it. As chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee, I tried to make it open to everybody. The vice chairman, Senator Shelby, a close friend of mine, has done the same on his side. People have been heard.

Now comes the time when we have to vote. The government runs out of money at midnight tomorrow. Look what faces our country. We, as the leading democracy in the world, are trying to stand up for Ukraine.

I applaud President Biden. He and I sometimes joke that when I came here, I was accused because I was 34 years old--the Presiding Officer can understand this feeling--I was accused by very senior Senators of being too young to be in the U.S. Senate. Fortunately, I was not the youngest. The youngest was Senator Joseph Biden of Delaware. We formed a bond over that. We worked together on so many things. I watched him in the Foreign Relations Committee; I watched him in the Judiciary; and I watched him as Vice President and now as President.

I have seen him tirelessly, quietly, a lot of it not in the full light of the press but just doing what he has to do, calling leaders who respect him around the world, forming a coalition in Ukraine, to say: Here is how we will stand up against Russia.

I know so many of the Russian people are good people but being led by a person who has demonstrated activities which make him a war criminal. What has happened when mothers, fathers, and their children are machine-gunned to death on the streets of the city they grew up in by Russian invaders? This is a war crime when Vladimir Putin sends them there.

In this omnibus, we have support for the Ukrainian people. Let's stand up. Let's deliver this support. Let's do what we should do. Let the Senate be the conscience of the Nation. Let's not have a dozen or more amendments that are designed more for ``Here is how I can get 30 seconds on the news'' or in a Twitter account or somewhere. Let's do what is best for this country. Let's do what is best for the people in Ukraine.

Look at the lies--look at the lies that have come out of Russia. I don't say it lightly after 48 years here to call the leader of a country a war criminal, but Vladimir Putin has been a war criminal. He has been a war criminal in having people go in and do the horrible crimes--blowing up maternity hospitals where women are giving birth,

killing children, bombing schools, destroying families, innocent civilians--for what? To return a dream of a Soviet Union that never existed; to return a dream of being a modern-day czar when that is not something you really want to be? No.

Let us Senators--Republicans and Democrats--stand up and say: OK. We are going to do our job. We are going to vote for our legislation. We are going to vote for appropriations to help the President of the United States stand up and help the people of Ukraine. We all know what we are going to do. We all know what the stakes are. We all know what is here. Let's stop the press releases. Let's stop the grandstanding. Let's stand up and vote. Vote yes or vote no. Don't stand behind something where you say: Well, I might be judged this way or I might be judged that way on a vote.

Just as the Presiding Officer has cast tough votes, we all do. I voted 17,000 times on this floor. I was proud to do it. Was I right on every single vote? I am sure I can go back over those and say: What was I thinking? But I tried to do what is best.

We know what is best now: fund our government, pay for our young people, pay for our schools, pay for our nutrition, pay for feeding Americans but also pay for helping Ukrainians who are standing up against a war criminal.

We all proudly say we stand for democracy and the ideals of democracy. Let's do it. The people of Ukraine are.

When I think of the malignant lie--terrorist things that come from Russia against the proud people of Ukraine--I think of the Putin group calling President Zelenskyy a Nazi. He is Jewish and proud of it. He couldn't be further away from being a Nazi. He is a man who could have fled his country as so many others have. He stayed there to protect his country, to stand with his country. Shouldn't we stand with him too? I think we should.

I urge my Senate colleagues, come in here. You go home and talk about how I voted for this; I voted for that. Well, come and vote. Come and vote. Let's get this bill passed.

I will probably say more as we go forward in this. I know there are other Senators--like the distinguished senior Senator of Michigan who is about to speak.

I will yield the floor on this. I have been here and had to vote over and over. As I said, I voted 17,000 times. I think there is only one person in history who has voted more than that. These haven't all been easy votes. I have had to wrestle with my conscience.

I go back to one of the first critical votes I cast as the newest, most junior Member of the Senate--a 34-year-old Member of the Senate-- the junior-most member of the Armed Services Committee. We were asked to vote to continue the war in Vietnam. I campaigned against the war in Vietnam, and, ironically enough, at that time, the majority in Vermont supported the war. I did not. In my own conscience, I did not. So we had five votes in committee to continue. Each time, the vote to continue failed by one vote. I was the newest and youngest member of that committee, and I voted no. I became the only Vermonter ever to vote to end the war in Vietnam, and I was told that would end my Senate career; I was done. I think back 48 years to that time, and I know at the end of this term, I will leave, but I will leave on my own accord, not because of a vote I cast.

Every one of us should know, cast what is right in your conscience. Cast what is right in your conscience. That is worth more than an election.

Vote for this. Get it done. Show Ukraine that the greatest democracy and the longest lasting democracy currently in the world--the United States--stands with you.

I yield the floor.

Madam President, the Senator asked those who love this institution to speak up. I am the Dean of the U.S. Senate. I have served here for 48 years. I love this institution.

I know the Constitution vests the power of the purse in the Congress. Certifications of these earmarks have been available to the public on our committee website at my request and Senator Shelby's request for 8 months. Everybody knows what is here.

Vote for them or not; but, frankly, if I have to speak of what is needed for my State of Vermont, I want to be the one speaking for it-- not somebody downtown. I would hope every Senator feels the same way.

I yield back the rest of my time. I oppose the amendment.

(Applause.)

Vote on Amendment No. 4990

Madam President, the distinguished Senator from Alabama, Senator Shelby, and I have been friends for decades. I applaud his work on this. I applaud his staff. I applaud our staff and the Appropriations Committee.

I thank those Senators of both parties who came together to come here. We stand up for America. We stand up for the needs of America. But we also stand up for Ukraine, which is being attacked by a war criminal, Putin of Russia.

I yield back my time.

I ask for the yeas and nays.

Madam President, I am delighted to see the vote, and I thank the Senators who voted with us.

I would note that a lot of Senators, along with Senator Shelby and me, on both sides of the aisle worked so hard on this.

I especially want to say again that I don't know how many times on weekends and in the evenings I could leave and go home at 10 or 11 o'clock at night, but our staffs were still there at 2, 3, and 4 o'clock in the morning, doing this. They are the ones who deserve so much credit in doing this.

This is the reality. This is our government. This is how we protect our country. It is also how we show our responsibility to a country--in this case, Ukraine--that is being attacked by a war criminal, Vladimir Putin.

So I thank every Senator who voted this way. I thank the distinguished majority leader, who worked with us every step of the way to make sure we had the schedule so we could do this. I thank the Republicans and Democrats who worked with us.

I yield the floor.

Madam President, the State Opioid Response grant program has been critically important to communities that have been affected by the ongoing opioid epidemic.

Rates of substance use disorders have grown exponentially, particularly during the pandemic, taking lives across the country, and opioids are the main driver of drug overdose deaths. Congress developed the State Opioid Response grant program to enhance our response to the opioid epidemic. As a result of this funding, States have been able to expand access to lifesaving prevention, treatment, and recovery services to frontline communities

I know this funding has been important to Vermont in addressing the opioid crisis, and I ask the senior Senator from Washington if this has been her experience with the program as well.

Madam President, I would like to ask the junior Senator from New Hampshire about her experience with this program.

Madam President, I would like to ask, given this context, if the Senator from New Hampshire agrees that both the House and the Senate have made clear that funding cliffs for this program will hamper States' ability to effectively address the opioid epidemic?

Madam President, I thank the Senator for clearly laying out the Senate's intent for the ongoing administration of this program--I agree. I would like to ask the Senator from Washington if she agrees as well?

Madam President, I thank the senior Senator from Washington, and I echo the call for HHS and SAMHSA to prevent significant funding cliffs.

The State Opioid Response grant program must facilitate the ongoing work States are performing to preserve communities and save lives. Now is not the time to be cutting funding from communities that are just barely beginning to heal from the opioid epidemic.

Madam President, I would like to thank the Senators from Washington and New Hampshire for coming to the floor to discuss this important program.

Mr. President, I suggest the absence of a quorum.

Mr. President, I had just spoken about this, but it is imperative that we take up and pass H.R. 6617; that is the Further Additional Extending Government Funding Act. Of course, we call it the

Mr. President, reserving the right to object, and I think my friend from Florida knows I will. This entire issue is a misnomer. There have been a few online things to try to make a big deal out of it, and I am sorry that some have fallen for it, but the Biden administration produced a letter this week clarifying this misunderstanding.

The administration stated clearly they never authorized use of Federal funding for smoke pipes and will not in the future. In fact, I don't think any administration has.

Of course, the bill that the Senator from Florida is proposing goes much further than Republicans say it would. It would severely cripple our ability to respond to addiction, which has taken 100,000 lives a year right now, including lives in his State and mine.

We offered an alternative; but that was rejected.

We actually have to go to the CR now. The House is gone. We have to pass it--the CR and send it to the President without amendments or our government funding runs out.

And I might just say--I mean, everybody has the right to speak about anything they want. Everybody has the right to make any kind of political point for any group they want, but let's talk about being U.S. Senators.

A war is about to start in Ukraine, in all likelihood. And what we are saying is we will start putting all of these things in, slow up a continuing resolution so the United States Government will have to shut down tomorrow night.

And we can stand there and Putin can say: Why should I listen to them? Three or four people can go on their Senate floor and shut down the government. Why should I listen to them?

So I object.

Mr. President, the suggestion is many people aren't here to vote. Well, let's bring up the continuing resolution. Let's vote it up or down. Let's say to the rest of the world, including Russia, the most powerful nation on Earth can stay open or a few Senators can say: No, golly, we got to get something on television. We ought to close down the government.

The Senator from Florida is welcome to bring up his bill sometime in regular order. Let's not slow up things now. So let's vote on the continuing resolution. Let's show the United States of America and the rest of the world that we can stay open and that we are not afraid to stay open. We will stay open, and we all--I think we could probably say unanimously, I would hope--oppose what Russia apparently is planning to do in Ukraine.

I suggest the absence of a quorum.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to the immediate consideration of Calendar No. 267, H.R. 6617; that the only amendments in order be the Lee amendment No. 4929, Braun amendment No. 4930, Cruz amendment No. 4927; that at 5:15 p.m., the Senate vote in relation to the amendments in the order listed; that upon disposition of the Cruz amendment, the bill be considered read a third time and the Senate vote on passage of the bill, as amended, if amended, with 60 affirmative votes required for adoption of the Braun amendment and on passage of the bill; and that there be 2 minutes for debate equally divided in the usual form prior to each vote, all without further intervening action or debate.

Mr. President, the amendment offered by the Senator from Indiana would mandate extreme, across the board cuts to Federal programs that the American people rely on.

Under this amendment, Congress would need to callously slash $1.4 trillion in a vain effort to close the budget deficit through spending cuts in the 10th year of a budget resolution. Spread evenly across all Federal programs, this would result in a $350 billion cut to Medicare, a $180 billion cut to Medicaid, and an $82 billion cut to veterans' programs, in just 1 year.

Nutrition programs that help families make ends meet by putting food on the table would be slashed by a quarter. Affordable housing, healthcare, education, name the Federal program that people in your communities rely on, and it will be cut by a quarter.

The Senator's amendment would require a two-thirds vote to pass any budget resolution that does not balance the budget in the 10th year. The last two budget resolutions written by Senate Republicans would have violated this rule.

Being responsible stewards of Americans' hard-earned tax dollars is a bipartisan priority, but this is not responsible stewardship. I urge a no vote.

Mr. President, I have 5 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:

Mr. President, I ask for the yeas and nays.

Mr. President, it is appropriate to take a moment here in the Senate to recognize David Ferriero, the 10th Archivist of the United States. Mr. Ferriero has held the top position at the National Archives since 2009, overseeing the maintenance and preservation of critical documents like the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence, along with 10 million maps, 13 million pages of text, and tens of millions of photographs. On January 13, 2022, Mr. Ferriero announced his intention to retire in April.

Prior to his nomination and confirmation to be Archivist of the United States, David Ferriero spent decades as a librarian and library administrator for some of the largest research institutions and public library networks. After service in the U.S. Navy during the Vietnam war, Mr. Ferriero worked as a librarian at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology for over three decades. In 1996, he moved to North Carolina, where he served as the vice provost for library affairs at Duke University, where he helped to develop the Triangle Research Library Network to facilitate greater access to research materials and collaboration across universities. Later, Mr. Ferriero was appointed the Andrew W. Mellon director and chief executive of the research libraries of the New York Public Library system.

David Ferriero was nominated by President Obama and confirmed to be Archivist of the United States by the Senate in November 2009. Throughout his tenure as the leader of the National Archives, Mr. Ferriero made it his goal to bring the Archives and its vast range of historical records into the 21st century. He focused on digitizing the Archives' materials and improving availability of these materials online so that more Americans could access and benefit from these primary source records. Under his leadership, the National Archives also embraced social media and worked hard to bring more Americans into the creation, organization, and maintenance of our Nation's history and records.

The documents and records maintained by the National Archives reflect the foundation and continuing story of our democracy and our Nation. They outline and define the evolution of the United States, documented throughout the pages of history, and preserved at the Archives as original source material. At this critical juncture in our endless march toward a more perfect union, our history becomes even more instructive.

Mr. Ferriero's commitment to making our Nation's archives more open and more available to all of us is to be commended and will be a hallmark of his tenure as the Archivist of the United States. I wish Mr. Ferriero and his wife, Gail, all the best in the next chapter of their lives.

I ask unanimous consent that a profile of Mr. Ferriero, appearing in The Washington Post on January 13, 2022, be printed in the Record.

Mr. President, the holiday season having just passed is a wonderful reminder that the products of many small, local businesses often make the best gifts. I would like to take some time today to highlight Maple Landmark Woodcraft, a

Vermont business that I have turned to year after year for gifts for our children, grandchildren, other relatives and friends.

Today, Maple Landmark is one of the most prominent handmade wooden toy manufacturers in the United States. However, like many businesses, it started small, in Mike Rainville's family woodshop in rural Vermont in the 1980s. Mike's business began with building and selling mostly cribbage boards and tic-tac-toe games, but quickly grew to encompass a wide range of toys, games, puzzles, and home decorations. Among Maple Landmark's most famous products are the wooden letter train sets that have graced the bedrooms of millions of children across the country. They are also in the Leahy homes.

Over the past 40 years, due to its beautiful craftsmanship and joyful products, Maple Landmark has been able to expand its sales operation to toy stores and distributors throughout the United States and abroad. All the while, it has maintained all manufacturing and sourcing operations in Vermont, at their facility in Middlebury. Mike and his team's devotion to their craft has allowed for the development of a strong homegrown business in Vermont that has helped to show the world all that our State has to offer.

In March 2020, as much of the world shut down and many families and children began learning, working, and spending more time at home, the popularity of Maple Landmark's toys and games exploded. Facing an unprecedented increase in orders from across the United States, Maple Landmark has been firing on all cylinders. This past holiday season was its busiest yet.

Unfortunately, Landmark Maple has not been immune to the labor shortages that continue to strain businesses nationwide. While labor shortages are nothing new for many businesses across rural communities in Vermont, those brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic have been particularly challenging. The inability to find a sustainable workforce coupled with the greater effort necessary to recruit and train new workers has made it more difficult for Landmark Maple to take advantage of rising demand that would otherwise be a boon for the business.

The story of Landmark Maple is far from unique, and it reaffirms that we need to do all we can to control the pandemic, vaccinate the population, and fully restore the economy. Everyone who can get vaccinated must get vaccinated. Everyone who is eligible for a booster shot, must get their booster shot. If we make these responsible choices and continue to prioritize the collective health and safety of our families and communities, more Americans will be willing and able to enter, reenter, and remain in the workforce. In doing so, we will be able to ensure that businesses like Maple Landmark Woodcraft can continue to operate and contribute to their communities for years to come.

Maple Landmark was profiled in a November 10, 2021, article published in the Washington Post. I ask unanimous consent that the article titled, ``Ho, ho, no: For maker of wooden toys, the struggle ahead of Christmas is not finding supplies, but finding workers'' be printed in the Record.

Madam President, today, February 7th, 2022, marks the 60th anniversary of the day the U.S. economic embargo against Cuba first went into effect. Just think of that--60 years. It is three generations, 12 Presidents, 60 sessions of Congress, six transformational decades ago, and dating all the way back to the middle of the Cold War.

The goal of the embargo, which has been expanded multiple times, was unmistakable. It was to depose the Cuban Government by imposing a vast web of punitive sanctions designed to crush the Cuban economy and incite a popular uprising. In fact, to be precise, in a declassified April 1960 State Department memo confidently entitled ``The Decline and Fall of Castro,'' they said the purpose was ``denying money and supplies to Cuba, to decrease monetary and real wages, to bring about hunger, desperation, and the overthrow of [the] government.'' What a remarkable, humanitarian attitude on the part of people who had absolutely no idea of what history is or what might happen.

Sixty years later, hunger and desperation are pervasive in Cuba, but the Cuban Government remains under the firm grip of the Communist Party. No opposition party has been allowed to function or to challenge it. Free and fair elections are as elusive as they were 60 years ago. Political dissent is not tolerated.

But the U.S. embargo, which we proudly and consistently have kept, is opposed by every other nation in this hemisphere. In fact, it is opposed by every other nation in the world except Israel. In other words, after 60 years, we have convinced only one other government-- just one--to join us and not a single government in our own hemisphere. This failed attempt to isolate Cuba succeeded only in isolating ourselves.

Those responsible for this administration's policy toward Cuba have apparently decided that, despite Candidate Biden's pledge to the contrary; despite the failure of the embargo to achieve any of its objectives, which the CIA acknowledged in a declassified report back in 1982; despite a worsening human rights situation; and despite contributing to the misery of the Cuban people, whom the White House insists it wants to help, there is no reason to change course.

Today, hard hit by COVID and the administration's cutoff of remittances and restrictions on travel by Americans to Cuba, life for most Cubans is an increasingly desperate struggle. Popular protests against the government's mishandling of the pandemic, mishandling of the economy, and autocratic rule have been met with a fierce crackdown, summary trials, and lengthy prison sentences, including for young people.

I have spoken many times about the stark disconnect between the administration's policy toward Cuba and the reality in Cuba, so I am not going to repeat what I said before. I am as outraged by the crackdown on protesters in Cuba as anyone. Unlike many others, I have actually said that to Cuban authorities. No one condones acts of vandalism or violence, but provocations and abuse of peaceful protesters are inexcusable.

I also know that trying to bludgeon the Cuban authorities into submission does not work. What is the proof of that? We tried it for 60 years, and it hasn't worked. It has only made things worse. It emboldens the hardliners in the government who can then blame the United States for their own failed policies.

They are determined to hold on to power, and if they fail at something, they just blame it on the United States.

But it hurts the Cuban people, impeding their ability to obtain medical supplies as basic as syringes and masks to fight COVID and preventing small businesses from accessing U.S. products.

I visited a lot of those small businesses. They actually want to deal with America, and we are cutting them off. It flies in the face of our belief in the power of diplomacy through engagement with countries whose governments we disagree with, especially a country 90 miles away whose people we share so much in common with.

Sooner or later--and I hope it is sooner--the administration needs to face the fact that continuing Donald Trump's policy of punitive sanctions and vitriol has backfired. The longer they delay that day of reckoning, the worse it will be. And we can do better than this. We can defend human rights, as we should. We can stand up for the right of people to choose their leaders in free and fair elections, as we should. We could also do what we do with virtually every other government in the world with which we disagree: find areas of common purpose for the benefit of the people in both countries.

So on this 60th anniversary of a Cold War policy of sanctions and isolation that has failed in every conceivable way, let's dedicate ourselves to a new way forward that our allies and partners in this hemisphere will support, that the American people support, that supports the Cuban people, and most importantly, that we can show the rest of the world it is worthy of the United States, worthy of us. What we are

doing right now is not. We can do better. We must do better.

I think of so many young people I have talked to and met in Cuba who want a different world and can't understand why the United States slams the door on them. We can do better. We have to do better. I pray we will do better.

I suggest the absence of a quorum.

Mr. President, serving in the U.S. Senate for as long as I have, I have seen dedicated, talented staffers come and go from my team. Some come to my office fresh out of college, spend some time, and move on to other opportunities or to further their education. Some have come to stay for years. And others join my team, already seasoned veterans of the Senate--and leave for higher office.

So is the story of my dear friend, Sonceria Ann Berry, the 34th Secretary of the Senate, and my former deputy chief of staff. It was with great pride when, on March 1, 2021, I administered the oath to Ann as she became our own Madam Secretary. And it should come as no surprise that Ann brought to the esteemed position decades of experience in the Senate. A seasoned professional who has seen changes in leadership through the Congresses, Ann has counseled and mentored, quite literally, hundreds of staffers young and old. Her appointment as the Secretary of Senate was a source of great pride for me, and I am sure the other Members for whom she worked, including Senator Carper and former Senator John Edwards, as well as the late Senators Daniel Patrick Moynihan and Howell Heflin, share that pride.

Secretary Berry is a 1978 graduate of the University of North Alabama, where she earned her bachelor degree in education. She recently returned to the University of North Alabama to deliver the fall commencement address. I found her words inspiring to the new graduates she addressed and instructional for those embarking in postgraduate life.

I would like to ask unanimous consent that Secretary Berry's commencement remarks be printed in the Record.

Mr. President, in 1961, when I was deciding where to attend law school, I was looking for an institution where I could not only learn about the law in the abstract, but also how it is applied, interpreted, and written. I was immediately drawn to the Georgetown University Law Center, given that is steps from the U.S. Capitol and Supreme Court. The education that I received in my years at Georgetown Law helped me to understand that the way in which the law is written directly impacts the lives and livelihoods of millions of people, affirmed the importance of working to uphold and improve the law, and guided me toward a career in public service.

And I am not the only person in the Senate who had this experience at Georgetown Law. Senators Hirono, Durbin, Van Hollen, and Sullivan all count themselves as alumni. House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer was my classmate. Graduates of Georgetown Law also work in offices across the Capitol, including my own, using their legal education to help serve constituents, drive measureable change in our communities, and better our legal system.

For many Americans, the events of the past few years have brought into focus the importance of preserving our Nation's institutions and the collective work that must be done to ensure that they work better for all Americans. As a result, thousands more Americans have flocked to law school in recent application cycles. With its location in Washington, DC, and its wealth of courses, incredible practitioners and faculty, and innovative research centers, Georgetown Law has been well- positioned to take advantage of the heightened interest in the legal field.

For the 2021-2022 academic year, Georgetown University Law Center received a record 14,052 applications, an increase of 41 percent of the previous year. This incredible achievement demonstrates Georgetown Law's strength as a leader in the field of legal education. Congratulations to Georgetown University Law Center for this exceptional record. I have full confidence that Georgetown Law will continue to shape future leaders for years to come, preparing them to address the myriad challenges our society faces and to fight for justice for every person and every community.

Dean William Treanor does a superb job of leadership, and we often speak of the inspiring path of the law center over so many decades.

Georgetown University Law Center was featured in an article in the Washington Post late last year. I ask unanimous consent that the article titled, ``The country's most popular law school got an unexpected jolt'' be printed in the Record.

Mr. President, I join with the vice chairman of the Appropriations Committee, Senator Shelby, in honoring Joanna Capps on her retirement on January 21, 2022, after more than 33 years of distinguished service to the Congress. Joanna, better known as Jodi, has supported the annual appropriations process throughout her career. Republican and Democratic staff of both Chambers hold Jodi in high esteem for her deep expertise of appropriations law and budget process and for her steady, even-keeled collegiality.

Jodi came to Capitol Hill in 1989, joining the staff of the Senate Appropriations Committee. For 4 years she worked as a professional staff member of the full committee, productively and reliably working for lawmakers on both sides of the aisle to support the orderly development of appropriation bills by coordinating the compilation and presentation of scoring data across all subcommittees. During her time at the committee, Jodi gained invaluable expertise and insight into the highly detailed and fast-paced nature of appropriations-related work, as well as the myriad budget-related rules and procedures that govern Senate consideration of those bills.

In 1994, Jodi transitioned to a new role within the Congressional Budget Office's Budget Analysis Division, where she has worked as a scorekeeper for the past 28 years. In that capacity, she has been a valuable asset to eight CBO Directors. Initially tasked with scoring the Energy-Water and Interior appropriation bills, Jodi served as the primary or backup scorekeeper for multiple bills, expanding her substantive expertise and institutional knowledge along the way. For the past several years, she has handled both the vast Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education bill and the legislative branch bill, coordinating CBO's analyses of the President's budget request for those bills and compiling scores for countless versions at each stage of Congressional consideration. She also supported the production of baseline projections, cost estimates for authorizing legislation, CBO's annual report on Expired and Expiring Authorizations of Appropriations, and other vital efforts related to the Budget Analysis Division functions.

Throughout her congressional career, Jodi nurtured strong, collaborative relationships that enabled her to act as a trusted and effective liaison between appropriations staff and CBO analysts. Staff of the Senate Appropriations Committee value her candor and ability to juggle multiple requests with a calm, steady demeanor. Within CBO, Jodi is regarded as a generous and amiable team player who goes out of her way to support colleagues, both professionally and personally.

Jodi is also known for her many creative talents and her civic- mindedness. From setting out trays of homemade scones for CBO colleagues to enjoy with their morning coffee to leading lunch-time tutorials on how to create a floral centerpiece, Jodi has an eye for elegance and enjoys sharing her gifts. She is a committed volunteer who makes time to support causes that benefit her community and boost people's spirits. But perhaps above all, Jodi is famously known as an avid animal lover, a passion she shares with her husband of many years, Alan.

Jodi's expertise, institutional knowledge, and generous spirit will be sorely missed throughout Capitol Hill. We are grateful for her 33 years of exemplary service to the Congress and wish her the best in the years to come.