Floor Statements

I ask for the yeas and nays.

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 President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for the quorum call be rescinded.

Mr. President, I rise today in opposition to amendment No. 1911. It is an amendment that claims to be about protecting free speech but that could actually have a very chilling effect on speech at our institutions of higher education.

I share the goal of fostering campus environments that protect free speech and the free exchange of ideas, but I have multiple concerns with the way this amendment goes about advancing those goals. It is not the role of the National Science Foundation or the inspector general of the National Science Foundation to police speech on campuses.

Deciding what is appropriate regulation of speech should not be left to agencies that are not experts in constitutional analysis or in issues related to First Amendment protections at our institutions of higher education.

I believe it would be a mistake to use today's amendment to make substantial change without the opportunity for input from students, educators, and stakeholders. I have heard from many institutions of higher education, as well as civil rights groups, who strongly share my concerns.

I urge my colleagues to vote no.

Madam President, I was just here yesterday reminding my colleagues that this is a bipartisan bill to help families across our country by boosting American's competitiveness. I have said it already. I will say it again. That means we have to ensure that American research is guided by science, not ideology.

This amendment does the exact opposite and undermines scientifically significant research that could actually help develop new treatments and ultimately lead to lifesaving organ transplants.

If we are serious about bipartisan commitment to American innovation, we have to stop these ideological attacks on medical research and focus on the science and ultimately the health of our patients.

I urge a ``no'' vote. Thank you.

Vote on Amendment No. 1771

Mr. President, this bill is an important opportunity for Congress to put partisanship aside and help families in our country by boosting American competitiveness. This means making sure American research is guided by science, not by ideology.

Unfortunately, with this amendment, the Senator is doing the exact opposite. This amendment says, loud and

clear, that even during a pandemic, supporters will put ideology ahead of science and ahead of patients' health and gladly undermine the same type of research that helped develop new therapies for COVID-19.

This is an irresponsible, ideological attack on science and medical research. And it not only undermines doctors and researchers and patients' healthcare, it also undermines the goal of this whole bill, which is to boost American innovation and competitiveness. I urge a ``no'' vote.

Vote on Amendment No. 1891

Mr. President, I move to proceed to legislative session.

Mr. President, right now, Democrats are hard at work building back an economy that works for everyone, not just those at the top. We are committed to fighting for workers. And we have big, bold ideas to do that, like establishing national paid sick, family and medical leave policies; rebuilding our childcare infrastructure; raising the Federal minimum wage to $15 an hour; ending the wage gap; and strengthening our Nation's labor laws.

But after 4 years of nonstop attacks on workers' rights, it is also critical that we undo the damage done by the Trump administration. So I am urging my colleagues to join me in voting to overturn a Trump administration rule that imposed strict limits on the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission's ability to address workplace discrimination.

The EEOC is a critical Agency. It is responsible for holding employers accountable for following workplace discrimination laws. And when they don't, it is one of the few places a worker can go to make sure they get a fair hearing, accountability, and justice. But in January, the Trump administration's Republican Commissioners voted to finalize a rule that tipped the scales in favor of employers in EEOC's process to settle discrimination cases.

That rule gave employers access to information about the worker's case, but not the other way around. It made it easier for employers to demand the identity of victims and witnesses, increasing the risk of retaliation. And it was set to worsen the backlog of cases at the EEOC, forcing workers to wait longer for justice. Put simply, that rule was designed to make it easier for employers to delay or deny justice to workers who have experienced discrimination on the job.

We cannot accept a system that is designed to let employers get away with violating workers' rights. So we absolutely cannot let this rule stand. Let's overturn this rule and restore a fair settlement process for the tens of thousands of workers who file discrimination charges with the EEOC each year.

This is a small but important step in the fight to build a more fair and inclusive economy for all workers, and I believe every one of us who thinks workers deserve to do their jobs free from harassment and discrimination can support this.

Thank you.

Mr. President, I move to proceed to S.J. Res. 13.

I ask for the yeas and nays.

I ask for the yeas and nays.

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

Madam President, reserving the right to object, I understand the position of my colleagues from Alaska and Florida who want to see a return to cruising by July 4. I am there with them. The cruise industry in my home State supports over 5,500 jobs and creates $900 million in annual local business revenue. Those jobs and that impact on the local economy have been severely disrupted, but we have to ensure the safety of our friends and our families on these cruises before they disembark.

We have seen firsthand how devastating COVID outbreaks on cruise ships can be. Just last year, we saw thousands of passengers stranded on cruise ships--people put in quarantine or refused entry to ports as borders closed.

Over 31 million Americans have contracted COVID, and 560,000 have died

from this disease. Cruise ships require specific focus and protocols in place to prevent future outbreaks.

While I am as eager as anyone else to see a return to travel, we cannot cut corners. Doing so risks lives and will only further delay returning to normal, hurting our economy more in the long run.

We must trust the science, and we must allow the CDC to continue its work to help us return to what we love as safely as possible.

So I will continue to work with the CDC and the administration as they develop the next phase of their cruising guidance, but for now, I object.

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

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

Madam President, I rise today to strongly urge my colleagues to support the nomination of Dr. Rachel Levine. She is a highly qualified public health expert to serve as Assistant Secretary for Health.

As the highest ranking health official in Pennsylvania, she led the State's COVID-19 response by focusing on transparency and clear, science-based communication; giving daily briefings on the status of the pandemic; and advocating for the resources and support Pennsylvanians needed.

Dr. Levine has been on the frontlines of this pandemic, which is why she knows firsthand what our States and communities need from the Department of Health and Human Services. Even before this crisis, Dr. Levine established herself as a trusted voice to the people of Pennsylvania on matters of public health through her work to establish opioid prescribing guidelines and education for medical students, make lifesaving treatment for opioid overdoses widely available, combat eating disorders, increase health equity, and help the LGBTQ community get healthcare.

She was confirmed to both of her positions in the State with broad bipartisan support. She passed out of the Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee with support from Republican colleagues last week, and I hope she will be confirmed today in a strong bipartisan vote as well.

I want to take a moment to acknowledge what her confirmation today would represent for our country because, in addition to being a high qualified nominee, Dr. Levine is also a historic one. Upon confirmation, she will be the highest ranking openly transgender official in our government and the first one ever confirmed by the Senate.

I have always said the people in our government should reflect the people it serves, and today we will take a new, historic step toward making that a reality.

I am proud to vote for Dr. Levine and incredibly proud of the progress this confirmation will represent for our country and for transgender people all across it who are watching today. I hope all my colleagues are as well.

I would also say how glad I am that yesterday we voted to confirm Dr. Murthy as Surgeon General.

During his last tenure as Surgeon General, Dr. Murthy established himself as a trusted voice on matters of public health, helped see our Nation through the Zika outbreak, and published groundbreaking reports on the opioid epidemic and rising youth tobacco use.

I am pleased to have Dr. Murthy returning to the role of Surgeon General at this critical time.

When it comes to ending this pandemic, we have a lot of work to do and

no time to waste. We are going to need all the help we can get, particularly from experts like Dr. Murthy and Dr. Levine to get it done.

I yield the floor.

I ask for the yeas and nays.

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

Mr. President, I come to the floor today to support the nomination of Mayor Marty Walsh to serve as Secretary of Labor.

Across the country, working families are really desperate for help. Even before this pandemic, the deck was stacked against workers and especially against women, workers of color, and workers with disabilities, thanks to an unlivable Federal minimum wage and subminimum wage for tipped workers and workers with disabilities that do leave millions of workers struggling to make ends meet; a pay gap that makes getting by even harder for women, in particular, women of color; a lack of a national paid family, sick, and medical leave policy and quality, affordable childcare for working families; a failure to protect workers from pandemics and workplace accidents and harassment and discrimination and more; and a wave of job loss and economic uncertainty that is upending the lives of workers and retirees across our country.

This pandemic has laid bare the painful fact that while our economy might work for the biggest corporations and wealthiest individuals, it isn't working for working families. And all of these challenges--unsafe workplaces, lost jobs, low wages--are even worse for people of color due to longstanding inequities that are rooted in systemic racism and are widening due to this pandemic.

Our country cannot fully recover from this crisis unless we begin to change that by rebuilding a stronger, fairer economy. And that starts by making sure we have a Secretary of Labor who will actually champion workers and working families.

As a union leader, a State representative, and as a mayor, Mayor Marty Walsh has done just that. He has a clear track record as a collaborative leader who worked across coalitions with labor groups and the business community to build up Boston's middle class. Under his leadership, 135,000 new jobs have been created in Boston.

He fought for a $15 minimum wage and paid leave policies to help ensure women, workers of color, and workers with disabilities can succeed in the workforce and get the pay they deserve.

During this pandemic, Mayor Walsh has continued to show a deep commitment to his frontline workers who have kept this country running by providing funding for emergency childcare and other resources his essential workers needed to weather the pandemic.

And he would bring an important perspective as the first union leader to head the Department in decades.

His unwavering commitment to put workers first was plain to see during our confirmation hearing. In his testimony Mayor Walsh spoke powerfully about the importance of protecting frontline workers who do so much to keep our communities and our country running and rooting out the inequities that have done so much damage to communities of color. Mayor Walsh made clear he will work with Congress to help ensure every worker has a fair, livable wage; a safe workplace; paid family, sick, and medical leave; access to quality, affordable childcare; a secure retirement; and the right to join a union and collectively organize.

I was impressed by his answers during our hearing, and I wasn't the only one. Mayor Walsh's nomination passed out of our HELP Committee with strong bipartisan support in an 18-to-4 vote, and I hope he will now be confirmed with similar, overwhelming, bipartisan support because even before this pandemic and even before President Trump's 4-year crusade against workers, we had a long road ahead to build a truly fair, inclusive economy that works for working families. But, now, not only is the road longer, the clock is ticking.

Workers who are the backbone of our economy have been pushed to the brink. They need us to confirm Mayor Marty Walsh so we have a Secretary of Labor who will take quick action to address the urgent challenges we face and be a valuable partner in helping our economy come back stronger and fairer for all workers.

While we made important progress in the American Rescue Plan to extend unemployment benefits and provide much needed tax relief for those benefits, provide direct payments for families, and protect the pensions millions of workers and retirees depend on and while President Biden is taking important steps to reverse Trump-era rules that undermined workers' rights, this road to recovery is long, and there are still many steps we need to take, including raising the Federal minimum wage to one fair wage of $15 an hour, passing the PRO Act into law to strengthen workers' right to join a union, and passing the BE HEARD in the Workplace Act to protect people from harassment, assault, and discrimination.

We have a lot to do and no time to waste. I urge all of my colleagues to prove to families back home they understand we need a Secretary of Labor we can trust to stand up for workers and not huge corporations. I urge my colleagues to join me in voting to confirm Mayor Walsh.

Thank you.

I yield the floor.

I suggest the absence of a quorum.