Floor Statements

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the memberships on the twelve subcommittees of the Committee on Appropriations for the 118th Congress be printed in the Record. I thank my vice chair on the committee, Senator Collins, for her leadership and cooperation with me in making these important assignments.

Mr. President, I rise today to recognize the Lieutenants

Peggy Dente and Lyndsay Evans of Naval Air Station Whidbey Island for making history on February 12, 2023, as part of the first-ever all- women flyover at the Super Bowl pregame, commemorating 50 years of women serving in the U.S. Navy.

Both of these extraordinary women represent the best of what Washington State--and our Nation--has to offer. Not only do the two share over a decade of friendship, they also bring with them a keen sense of duty and deep commitment to excellence in aviation.

In 1973, eight women broke new ground by being selected for naval aviation training for the first time in our Nation's history. Five decades later, we are seeing more women and girls express interest in taking to the skies through service and leadership at every level of naval aviation. In performing their first ever flyover, Dente and Evans have quite literally proven that with women at the helm, the sky is the limit.

I know breaking into a field dominated by men isn't easy, when I first got to the Senate, there wasn't even a women's bathroom off the Senate floor. But every day, women like Lieutenants Dente and Evans are setting an example for young girls that with hard work, they can follow their dreams and achieve their goals.

I offer my sincere thanks to the lieutenants for their service to our country and my congratulations for proudly representing Washington State on the national stage. I ask my colleagues to join me in celebrating this tremendous accomplishment.

Mr. President, it was 30 years ago to this very day that I came here to give one of my first speeches on the Senate floor, and I talked about a friend of mine back in Washington State. She was a mom. She had just gotten heartbreaking news. Her son was dying of leukemia. And then another gut punch: Her employer told her she had to choose between being in the hospital with her son or being at her job, and if she wasn't there, she was going to lose it.

To this day, that makes me so angry. No one should face such a cruel decision. No one should ever be forced to choose between taking care of themselves and their loved ones and being able to make ends meet.

So at the time, 30 years ago, I was on the floor to urge my colleagues to pass the Family and Medical Leave Act, which provided job-protected, unpaid leave to workers across the country, because the bottom line was that every worker should know that if they have a family emergency, they can prioritize their family's health without jeopardizing their family's economic security.

I was so thrilled when, just a few days later, we won, and that bill became law. But even back then, it was clear that bill was just a first step. It was clear we needed to keep fighting for the next one. And I am still here, and I am still fighting because we are way behind where we should be. We are way behind our peers in the world when it comes to giving working families the support they need, and it is holding us back.

For one thing, there are still too many loopholes that leave people without the simple promise of unpaid leave. Too many workers today in this country are denied the basic protections of the Family and Medical Leave Act that we passed into law 30 years ago. I have been fighting to close those loopholes and expand protections for decades so workers are not left out in the cold during an emergency just because they work at a small business or they work part time or just because their family might look little different--for example, if they are a caregiver for a niece or a nephew or a grandchild. No one should be punished for that. So it is time that we pass legislation to guarantee that those workers get the same protections as everybody else.

Let me be clear. Passing bills to do this, that is just updating our laws to guarantee unpaid leave for all. That is just making good on the promise we made to workers 30 years ago. In other words, that is just the next step, but it is far from the last one. Our families need a lot more. They deserve so much better. There is no excuse for our utter lack of a national paid leave program. It is bad for families, as any working mom or dad can tell you or anyone who cares for a family member with a serious health condition. They know this all too well.

By the way, it is bad for our economy because the lack of paid leave means that employees lose their wages and businesses lose their workers. We are facing serious workforce shortages in key sectors of our economy today. Let me tell you, the lack of a national paid leave program is not helping; it is hurting. We are the only Nation among our peers that has not figured that out yet. We are the only one that hasn't gotten this done. The reality is, it makes our economy less competitive on the world stage. But you don't have to look at other countries to see how urgent this is; just listen to people right here.

I shared my friend's story all those years ago, but today, across the country, there are still so many families facing unthinkable choices. There are still so many people--working moms in particular--sharing their own deeply personal stories about this, stories of the painful recovery after giving birth and the incredibly special but, let's face it, pretty tough first weeks of bonding with a newborn child; stories of the grief and the pain of caring for a seriously ill child; sitting at a hospital bedside of a seriously ill parent recovering from surgery or coping with a cancer diagnosis; with the added stress, at that hardest time of your life, about how you are going to make your next month's rent if you have to take unpaid time off of work. Anyone who has been in those situations knows it is hard. You have so much you are worried about.

Here in Congress, we should be working to make that an easier time for families. We should be taking that worry off of parents' shoulders. We should be making sure that no worker has to choose between their family and their job, between their family and their paycheck.

So as we mark the anniversary today of the Family and Medical Leave Act, I want to urge my colleagues, let's celebrate the legacy of that bill, of course, by building on it. Let it be this Congress that we finally, at long last, take the much-needed next steps that families have been waiting for, that they have been calling for. Let's ensure that the Family and Medical Leave Act protects all working families. Let's establish a national paid leave program.

Let's tackle the childcare crisis with bold reforms. Let's build an economy that actually works for our families here.

Now, I want to end today with the same words that I actually said 30 years ago right here on the Senate floor:

If one mother is able to sit with her seriously ill son

without fear of losing her life savings, if one son is able

to hold the hand of his dying mother, if one of us--you or

I--is able to care for someone we love when they need us the

most, then the time and the energy spent on [these issues has

been] worth it.

I yield the floor.

Mr. President, I rise today to celebrate Alfie Alvarado- Ramos, the Director of Washington State's Department of Veterans Affairs, who will retire on January 31, 2023, after serving Washington State and our veterans for over 29 years. Alfie's impressive career is marked by many well-earned accolades, but most of all by her dedication to serving Washington State and the Nation.

Throughout her military service, Alfie's service has been recognized with awards and decorations, including the Legion of Merit, Order of Military Medical Merit, Expert Field Medical Badge, and Meritorious Service medal. After 22 years, she retired from Active Duty in August 1993 as the command sergeant major of Madigan Army Medical Center and Troop Command, Joint Base Lewis-McChord.

She has also proven herself a distinguished and passionate leader in the management of medical services delivery and human resources management, especially for our veterans. Alfie is an alumna of the Harvard University John F. Kennedy School of Government Executive Program, the University of Washington Executive Management Program, and holds a master's degree in healthcare administration, and a licensed nursing home administrator.

As director of Washington State's Department of Veterans Affairs, Alfie was a member of Governor Jay Inslee's executive cabinet and chaired the Washington State Military Transition Council. In this capacity, she has helped the agency lead statewide efforts for the seamless transition of servicemembers and their families to Washington State's communities. As a leader in our State, she has been honored with many well-earned local, State, and national awards, including the Governor's Distinguished Management Leadership Award and the Department of Veterans Affairs Secretary's Leadership Award.

Alfie's extraordinary commitment to servicemembers and veterans is unmatched. Anyone who has worked with Alfie, as I have been honored to do for many years, knows her tireless dedication and relentless drive to improve services for members of the military, veterans, and their families. From mental health to education and training, military spouse employment, to emergency funding for State veterans homes in the depths of the COVID pandemic, Alfie has been an incredible partner.

Although there are so many stories I could share about the way Alfie has fought for veterans in Washington State, there is one in particular that I will never forget. Back in 2013, the State of Washington, thanks to Alfie's leadership, secured Federal funding for a veterans home in Walla Walla. Unfortunately, through a series of bureaucratic mishaps, our State was in danger of losing that funding--that is, until Alfie stepped in. She called to let my office know about the problem and was absolutely furious the Federal Government would pull the rug out from under those veterans who needed care the most. I couldn't have agreed more. It was unacceptable--so we didn't accept it. Together, we fought to keep the funding, and we won. There is now a beautiful veterans home in Walla Walla thanks to Alfie's tireless dedication to Washington State veterans.

I will miss working with her in the years ahead, but it has been an honor to know Alfie throughout her career as dedicated mentor, teacher, and guide for the next generation of military and veteran leaders. I know Washington State and the Nation will be in good hands, thanks to her and her legacy will continue far beyond her own retirement.

I offer my deepest appreciation for Alfie's dedicated service to the United States of America and Washington State. I ask that my colleagues join me in congratulating Alfie on her well-earned retirement and wishing her many years of enjoyment with her family.

Mr. President, reserving the right to object, 6 months ago, the Supreme Court ripped away the right to abortion; and, since then, Republicans have enacted abortion bans in States across the country. The outcry against Republicans' cruelty has been loud and clear and overwhelming.

In every single State where abortion was on the ballot, voters backed abortion rights. They made their voices clear: Women must be able to control their own bodies. They want us to protect abortion access. They want us to stand up against the wave of extreme bans and bills and partisan attacks on abortions and on doctors from Republicans.

That is exactly what this bill is, another attack on abortion that will make it harder for women to get the care that they need.

If my colleague really wants to talk about protecting healthcare providers, let's talk about the sharp rise in threats and violence against abortion clinics and what we are doing about that. Let's talk about the providers back home in my home State of Washington who tell me they are worried they could be punished for providing an abortion to patients from out of State. In my State, it is legal.

Let's talk about how Republican State lawmakers have already discussed a bill to make it a crime to provide abortion care to a resident even in another State where it is legal.

Yet, if you are one of the many, many doctors and nurses who believe they have a duty to provide abortion care, this bill does nothing to protect you for doing your job, not even if your patient's life is in danger. It is silent on the legal threats that these providers are facing from Republican States, not to mention the increasing physical threats that they face. That

violence, that science speaks volumes about the real point of this bill.

By the way, if you are a patient, well, then, the message from this bill is even more clear and even more outrageous. This bill says the ideology of your boss, of your health insurance company, of your pharmacist, or your doctor is more important than your personal decision, your medical needs, or your well-being.

That is dangerous, it is wrong, and I will not stand for it. Therefore, I object.

Mr. President, I do know that lawmakers on both sides of the aisle support high-quality charter schools because they are an important part of many States' public school system, which is why I come to the floor today to urge my colleagues to vote against the resolution.

I want to be clear: This resolution will cause unnecessary chaos, undermine simple accountability measures to ensure that our Federal funds are well spent and delay funding from supporting new, high- quality charter schools and the students that they would serve.

Earlier this year, after responding to over 25,000 comments from charter schools, parent organizations, and others, the Biden administration issued their final rule laying out various criteria for Federal charter school grants. This is a common step in administrating the charter school program--one the previous administration took as well. And the latest rule included some commonsense ideas to increase community and parent involvement, to strengthen the fiscal transparency to make sure that taxpayer dollars are being used properly.

The goal of the rule is simple: to help make sure our Federal dollars support high quality charter schools. Passing this resolution now would upend a balanced rule that is a result of months of careful work from the Department of Education.

The Biden administration has already used this rule to issue 12 awards now, totaling $65 million across 11 States, and it is currently now in the middle of a grant competition, which charter school management organizations are now applying for.

So let's not disrupt the plans of Mississippi and Tennessee and Georgia and the other States that have already received awards under the new rule and that were counting on that funding. That is not fair. It is not good for schools, teachers, parents, or students.

So I hope no one here wants to see our schools disrupted, accountability

weakened, or learning undermined, which is why I am here today to urge everyone to join me in voting against this resolution and to work with me and the Department of Education to continue to support high-quality charter schools, while improving oversight and transparency of our Federal funds.

I yield the floor.

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

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that Senator Baldwin be authorized to sign duly enrolled bills or joint resolutions today.

Mr. President, I am here today because no one should have to choose between their job and a healthy pregnancy.

It is outrageous that pregnant women in our country have been pushed out of their jobs by their employers because, as you just heard, they asked for an additional bathroom break or because their doctors say they need to avoid heavy lifting or because their employer can't be bothered to simply provide them a stool to sit down on.

It is unconscionable that people who are looking forward to welcoming a new family member are having their lives upturned or losing the paychecks they depend on to make rent or buy groceries or pay for childcare, all because their employers refuse to provide basic, commonsense, low-cost and even no-cost accommodations. We have got to do better.

That is why I am here with Senator Casey, who has been a relentless champion on this issue, to urge all of my colleagues to let us pass the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act, which is a bipartisan bill that will make sure that no one is forced to choose between a job and a healthy pregnancy and everyone can get the reasonable workplace accommodations they need when they are pregnant.

Let me be clear: This is, fundamentally, a bipartisan bill that we have worked closely with our Republican colleagues on. Senator Cassidy coleads this bill. He has been an amazing partner. It passed out of the HELP Committee overwhelmingly. It is supported by my ranking member Senator Burr, and it passed overwhelmingly on a bipartisan House vote.

There is no reason to stand in the way. We can send this to the President's desk right now.

We are really not here asking for much. This is very simple. Give pregnant workers a break, give them a seat, and give them a hand. Give them the dignity, the respect, and basic workplace accommodations that they need.

This is way overdue, and I can't think of a more commonsense, less controversial bill, and I hope that we can get it done today.

I yield the floor.

Madam President, let me add my thanks to Senator Portman for his tremendous work here. I wish him the very best in his future as well.

Mr. President, last month, Lois Curtis, the lead plaintiff in the landmark Supreme Court decision Olmstead v. L.C.-- which affirmed the rights of people with disabilities to live in their own communities--passed away from pancreatic cancer. Today, I join so many touched by Ms. Curtis' advocacy in mourning her passing, remembering her life, and paying tribute to the invaluable contributions she made to civil rights.

Ms. Curtis, a Black woman with intellectual and mental health disabilities, spent her childhood and young adult life living in State institutions. But she wanted to get out of the institution she had been confined to and finally have the ability to live in her own community. So she took her case to court in 1995 and eventually became the lead plaintiff in Olmstead v. L.C., in which the Supreme Court ruled for the first time in 1999 that unjustified segregation of people with disabilities constitutes discrimination in violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act.

The landmark ruling established that people with disabilities have the right to receive the services and supports they need to live in their own communities, not just State institutions. Ms. Curtis' courage and refusal to accept the status quo helped propel the disability rights movement, made our country more just, and improved the lives of so many people with disabilities.

After winning her case and gaining her independence, Ms. Curtis dedicated her life to advocacy work and became a renowned artist. In 2011, she showcased her artwork in the White House for the anniversary of the Olmstead decision.

Ms. Curtis' life's work improved the lives of so many

across our country. She will be remembered fondly.

Madam President, I ask for the yeas and nays.

Madam President, I ask unanimous consent to print the following letter in the Record.

Mr. President, reserving the right to object, let me just say at the start, title 42 is a public health tool, and how it is used should be guided by public health experts, looking at data, looking at science--not politicians looking to score political points.

And let's be clear, drug trafficking is a serious problem and one we do have law enforcement agencies responsible for. We should leave that work to them and support their efforts. But instead of proposing real legislative solutions to address drug trafficking based on what will keep people safe, Republicans want to use title 42 now as the means to keep out anyone seeking asylum and create a political talking point.

And while I welcome the opportunity to work with my Republican colleague on serious bipartisan solutions to address drug trafficking, I object to this at this time.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent to have printed in the Record a copy of the transmittal and commitment letters from the Secretary of Health and Human Services to the chair and ranking member of the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions of the Senate and the chair and ranking member of the Committee on Energy and Commerce of the House of Representatives regarding reauthorization of the Prescription Drug User Fee Act, Medical Device User Fee Amendments, Generic Drug User Fee Amendments, and Biosimilar User Fee Act.