Floor Statements

I ask for the yeas and nays.

I announce that the Senator from California (Mrs. Feinstein) and the Senator from New Mexico (Mr. Lujan) are necessarily absent.

I announce that the Senator from California (Mrs. Feinstein), the Senator from New Mexico (Mr. Lujan), and the Senator from Rhode Island (Mr. Whitehouse) are necessarily absent.

I announce that the Senator from New Mexico (Mr. Lujan) is necessarily absent.

Madam President, if you have any memory of the Soviet Union, you can remember that when Moscow was in its ascendancy in that region of the world, their plan included a revision of history. They rewrote chapters of history to make themselves look stronger and better and smarter and more powerful than they ever were.

And we used to mock that in the West and say: Don't they know that history speaks for itself? The facts speak for themselves. They did it time and again.

It was usually the product of authoritarian rule, where one man-- strongman--would want his version of history to be written in the books and taught to the children.

Last week, we saw an exercise in Soviet revisionism in, of all places, Salt Lake City, UT. The Republican National Committee met in Salt Lake City, UT, for a national conference, and representatives came from all over the United States.

What they did to start that conference off was to censure two Republican House Members, Liz Cheney and Adam Kinzinger from Illinois. To me, it was the lowest of low tactics to attack these two individuals who are making a bipartisan effort with the January 6, 2021, House committee to

get to the bottom of what happened that day and who was responsible for it.

You might remember that there was a proposal from Speaker Pelosi that we create a bipartisan Commission wherein the House and Senate Democrats and Republicans would turn this matter over, as we have before to a group, to determine what happened that day and what was behind it to avoid its ever happening again and to get one clear definition for history from this bipartisan Commission.

The Commission idea was stopped by Senator McConnell, the Republican leader in the Senate. He refused to agree on this bipartisan approach. So Speaker Pelosi, realizing she had a scant majority in the House, said that she was going to still try to put such an investigation together. She invited Republican participation, which didn't work out well. Eventually, two stepped forward--Congresswoman Cheney and Congressman Kinzinger--and said they would participate.

I know Adam Kinzinger. He is from my State. We have worked on a few things together. I respect him for his political courage time and again to speak out as he has. I am sorry that he was the subject of that censure.

Sadly, that was not the only mistake made in the Salt Lake City Republican revisionary meeting. What was even worse, if anything could be worse, was the declaration by the Republican National Committee that what happened in this building--in this room--on January 6, 2021, was somehow characterized by a unanimous vote as legitimate political discourse.

The Acting President pro tempore remembers that day, and I do, too. I can't forget it. It was when Vice President Pence was sitting where you are today, and a few minutes after 2 o'clock, the Secret Service came in and whisked him off the platform. We were told there was an attack on the Capitol taking place.

Earlier, there had been a rally, sponsored by President Trump, and he had incited this insurrectionist mob to come up to the Capitol to be heard and seen. They knew why that day was chosen. January 6 was the day we were counting the electoral college vote--the official vote on the selection of Joseph Biden as President of the United States. It was the intention of President Trump and those who came here to interrupt that constitutional process.

It is interesting as well that last week, Vice President Pence, at a Federalist Society meeting, spoke out on the subject and said for the first time that I can recall since he was chosen as Vice President that, in fact, President Trump was wrong--wrong in believing that he had the power as Vice President to change the electoral college vote. Pence made it clear that he did not have that authority.

Well, the Republican National Committee went further in trying to promote the Big Lie and called what happened on January 6 in this Capitol Building legitimate political discourse.

Do they honestly believe that breaking down the windows and doors of this building to enter as an unruly mob is legitimate political discourse?

Do they believe that spraying toxic bear spray in the faces of our policemen is legitimate political discourse?

Do they believe that 140 injured policemen and 5 people who are deceased as a result of that mob action was somehow legitimate political discourse and that, as they came into the Chamber--these demonstrators who were aping themselves in front of cameras for their friends to take pictures--sitting in the chair where the Acting President pro tempore is sitting today and going through my desk and other desks here to see if there was anything they could take a picture of or steal--that that was legitimate political discourse?

Do they believe that incitement to violence by President Trump to send this mob up here was legitimate political discourse?

Shame on the Grand Old Party. Shame on Mr. Lincoln's party. They should know better. I am glad that a handful have stood up and spoken up. I wish more would.

If we are ever going to put an end to Trumpism in this country and in the Republican Party, only the Republicans can get it done. They have to decide that enough is enough and step forward.

It is interesting to me that, when Senator McConnell came to the floor a few minutes ago, he talked about the statement of some Big Ten professor--he didn't name his name--who was not respectful of our police. Of all of the things that happened in the last week that were not respectful of the police, I would certainly add the Salt Lake City Republican national meeting, where the attack on our police was characterized as legitimate political discourse. An incitement to violence was legitimate political discourse.

America is better than that. I sincerely hope that real leaders within the Republican Party will reclaim their party and put an end to this madness that Trumpism has brought them.

Madam President, on an entirely different subject, on March 26, 2020, America passed a grim milestone when 1,000 Americans died that day of COVID--front page news. Two months later, after Memorial Day, we passed another terrible milestone when 100,000 had died of COVID. As many Americans had died from COVID as from the Korean, Vietnam, Iraq, and Afghanistan wars combined. By this past September, the number of Americans who had been lost to COVID hit 695,000--memorialized in a heartbreaking sea of small, white flags that covered our National Mall. This weekend, the United States hit another staggering milestone--900,000 Americans dead from COVID. In Illinois, there have been 31,000 lives lost.

COVID-19 is now the third leading cause of death in the United States, behind only heart disease and cancer. At the rate we are going, experts say it is likely the United States will reach 1 million COVID deaths in just a few weeks.

What makes these numbers even more tragic is that so many of the deaths could have been prevented. COVID vaccines are safe and free and highly effective at preventing COVID hospitalization and death. Think about this: According to new data from the CDC, unvaccinated individuals are 97 times more likely to die of COVID compared to those who have been vaccinated and boosted--97 times more likely to die if you are unvaccinated.

Just last night, I watched ``60 Minutes.'' There was a presentation by nurses in Louisville, KY, the home State of the Republican leader. They talked about the devastating toll on their emotions and even their physical bodies when it comes to the deaths that they have to witness every day. They are beaten down, these nurses. They say that some 25 percent, if I remember correctly, have already resigned and have said they can't take it anymore. And to think how many of those hospitalizations could have been avoided if vaccinations had become universal across this country as they should be.

Well, this evening, Members of Congress will gather on the steps of the Capitol for a moment of silence to remember the 900,000 souls we have lost to this virus. May their families and loved ones find peace.

We have the tools and knowledge to bring this pandemic under control if only we would use them.

Madam President, there was another set of numbers that was released last Friday that testifies to good news, and America needs it. It testifies to the resilience of the American people and the American spirit.

Many economists had braced for a disastrous January jobs report. The most optimistic among them predicted that the U.S. economy might grow by 150,000 or maybe 250,000 jobs last month. Some warned that it could show massive job losses. Here is what we learned:

Despite the Omicron surge and the global supply chain shortages, U.S. employers added 467,000 new jobs last month--467,000. On top of that, the Bureau of Labor Statistics shows us the economy added 700,000 more jobs in November and December than we initially calculated. All told, the U.S. economy has added 6.6 million jobs in the last year--the strongest first-year job gain of any President in history.

When Joe Biden took over the office a little over a year ago, he inherited

one of the weakest and fraught economies in generations.

At the start of the pandemic, the U.S. unemployment rate spiked to 14.7 percent. Last February, the Congressional Budget Office forecasted that the United States would not see 3.9 percent unemployment for another 5 years. The unemployment rate now is actually 4 percent. America's economic recovery is breaking records. The United States was the first country in the G7 to recover all of its GDP lost by the pandemic. Average wages were up 5.7 percent last month from a year ago. The increases were not all at the top; workers in the middle and lower rungs of the economy earned more too.

I have to say, as important as that is, we all know that people working in this economy are also facing inflation and higher prices. Whether it is for gasoline or groceries, they are finding it more expensive to meet the basic necessities of life. Although this is good news, that is bad news that we have to address and should address on a bipartisan basis.

The progress that we have made was not inevitable; it was a product of good old-fashioned American ingenuity. It is also the result of bold and decisive economic decisions by the Biden administration.

The American Rescue Plan, which Congress passed without the support of a single Republican Member of Congress--all Democrats all the way-- broke the grip of the pandemic on our economy. We were able to get shots in arms, help small businesses stay afloat, and rush emergency assistance to people who had lost jobs or had seen their hours cut drastically. That emergency help worked in Illinois, and it worked all over this country.

We also passed the bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. Let me remind those who follow, if you are wondering about the infrastructure bill passed by the Trump administration, let me put your concern to rest. There was no bill. There was no legislation. There was no infrastructure plan despite President Trump's repeated promises to deliver one. He walked away from the table, and I was in the room when he did. He wouldn't even negotiate.

We have not fixed all of the weaknesses in our economy. The jobless rate among Black workers is still twice that of White workers. Unemployment among teens and young adults is still too high. Research from the National Women's Law Center shows that, while men have recouped all job losses since the pandemic started, there are nearly 1.1 million fewer women in the workforce. Daycare is part of that calculation, I might add. If we want to reach our full economic potential, we need to help families find affordable, quality daycare, and we have to address the issue of inflation nonstop.

Madam President, last year, for the first time in more than two decades, America's economy grew faster than China's. That is incredible. Let's keep that streak going by passing USICA, the bipartisan U.S. Innovation and Competition Act. We need to promote products made in the United States by Americans and purchased in the United States. We passed it in the Senate last June by a vote of 2 to 1. The House passed its version last Friday. Let's go to conference and get this bill into law. If we negotiate in good faith, I believe we can do that.

I want to thank Leader Schumer and Senator Young, a Republican from Indiana, for their leadership.

This will boost competitiveness with China and help to reindustrialize America, make investments in manufacturing and research, and provide seed money to create good new jobs. Importantly, it includes $52 billion for research and designing and manufacturing semiconductor chips--what Senator Cantwell, chair of the Commerce Committee, calls the ``oil of the 21st century.'' Let's agree to make those chips here in America and not be dependent on importing them from China.

USICA also allows for new sanctions against China for human rights violations. We can stand up for American workers and American values.

I yield the floor.

I suggest the absence of a quorum.

I announce that the Senator from California (Mrs. Feinstein), the Senator from New Mexico (Mr. Heinrich), the Senator from New Mexico (Mr. Lujan), and the Senator from Georgia (Mr. Ossoff) are necessarily absent.

I announce that the Senator from California (Mrs. Feinstein), the Senators from New Mexico (Mr. Heinrich) and (Mr. Lujan), and the Senator from Georgia (Mr. Ossoff) are necessarily absent.

I announce that the Senator from New York (Mrs. Gillibrand), the Senator from New Mexico (Mr. Lujan), and the Senator from Vermont (Mr. Sanders) are necessarily absent.

I announce that the Senator from New York (Mrs. Gillibrand) and the Senator from New Mexico (Mr. Lujan), are necessarily absent.

I announce that the Senator from New York (Mrs. Gillibrand), the Senator from Maine (Mr. King), the Senator from New Mexico (Mr. Lujan), and the Senator from Vermont (Mr. Sanders) are necessarily absent.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the text of the bill be printed in the Record.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the text of the bill be printed in the Record.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that Senators Braun, Murray, and I be able to complete our remarks prior to the scheduled votes.