Floor Statements

I announce that the Senator from Georgia (Mr. Warnock) is necessarily absent.

Mr. President, next week, our Nation will commemorate Veterans Day. It will be the first time in a generation that we will honor that day as a nation no longer at war.

With the conclusion of the war in Afghanistan--the longest war in our history--thousands of American troops finally came home. These heroes have returned to our shores, just as this Veterans Day stands as a reminder of everything we owe them, as well as every American who has served this Nation in uniform. More than 2,400 Americans perished in the war in Afghanistan. Thousands more return home with wounds--visible and invisible--that will stay with them for life.

Words are not enough to honor that sacrifice. We need to ensure that our veterans and families have access to the best healthcare in the world, affordable housing, programs that support them as civilians, whether it is students, employees or businessowners.

To serve our Nation in uniform takes a special measure of courage and devotion. For some members of our military, it also takes a great deal of persistence and determination.

Let me tell you about one. I am speaking, of course, of those members of our military who were born in other nations and want to serve America. Over the years, I have shared the story of one of these heroes--his name: Oscar Vasquez.

When Oscar was 12 years old, his family made the journey across the border from Mexico to America. They settled in Arizona. From the time he was a child, Oscar dreamed of serving America in the military. He studied hard in high school, even joined high school ROTC.

But during his junior here, he ran into a problem. He tried to sign up for basic training, but the recruiter informed him that he couldn't serve in the U.S. military without a U.S. birth certificate. It was a tough setback, but Oscar was determined.

He was awarded JROTC officer of the year by his high school, and he led a group of students in an underwater robotics competition. They squared off--these high school students--squared off against college students from schools like MIT. Guess what. They won. The victory led him to Arizona State University, where he earned a degree in mechanical engineering.

After graduating, Oscar got married and had a child, but his undocumented status still prevented him from reaching his full potential, so he moved back to Mexico--a country he hadn't lived in since he was a young boy--to apply for legal entry into the United States. He would have been barred from reentering the United States and separated from his family for 10 years without a special waiver, so he decided to call my office.

He reached out to us and said: ``Can you help me get a waiver?''

When the Department of Homeland Security finally granted it, Oscar came home to America.

What was the first thing that he did?

He got his paperwork in order and enlisted in the U.S. Army. Within 6 months of returning to the United States, he was off to basic training. Oscar served our Nation with honor as a cavalry scout in Afghanistan. And, today, he is finally an American citizen.

We spend so much time around here talking about immigrants in negative terms. You look at Oscar and the sacrifice he made to serve our Nation in the military--this man who came to the United States as a little boy, knew what his goal was, and it was to risk his life for this great Nation.

When I hear some of the speeches given on the floor--one yesterday about how the United States is going to give a million dollars to every one of these undocumented people--I think to myself, these preposterous, outlandish, exaggerated stories told about these immigrants belie the real determination many of them have to come to this country and make a difference in their lives and a difference in our future.

Oscar is a living example. Oscar, like so many others, fought for our Nation in every war in our history. But even those who are ready to risk everything in America, for them, our immigration system still is broken.

During this pandemic, thousands of DACA recipients and undocumented immigrants have actually helped save lives across America. They didn't enlist in the Army. They used their skills as doctors and nurses and paramedics and respiratory therapists. They may have saved a member of your family, these immigrants.

On farms throughout the country, thousands more performed backbreaking labor to put food on our table. Donald Trump's administration classified them as ``essential workers.'' I think, for once, President Donald Trump was right.

The pandemic has proven how much we depend on immigrants as members of the military, first responders, and agriculture workers. We couldn't function without them.

That is precisely why reforming our broken immigration system is an integral part of President Biden's Build Back Better. We must include protections for immigrants, like Oscar Vasquez, who have given everything they can to America.

If we want to rebuild our economy and drive its growth for years to come, we should begin by ensuring that immigrants can earn their place in the American story.

How many examples do each one of us know in our own families and other families where these immigrants came to America with literally nothing?

Many of them couldn't speak the language and went hard at work to establish a life, a family, a community, a business that ended up helping the entire Nation.

Immigration reform could boost our Nation's GDP by more than $1 trillion over the next 10 years--hundreds of thousands of new jobs. And don't buy this theory that it is zero-sum when it comes to the creation of jobs. We have found over and over again that a determined, hard-working person takes a job and helps create a new job in the process. It happens with the creation of business, the creation of jobs over and over again.

It is far past time to reform our immigration system. With the Build Back Better package, we can finally get it done.

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.

Madam President, today, the Senate will vote to confirm Toby Heytens to serve on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit.

He is an accomplished appellate advocate, with a depth of experience and a fair-mindedness that would make him an asset to the Fourth Circuit. He started as a clerk on the Third Circuit, completed a prestigious fellowship at the Justice Department's Office of the Solicitor General, and then he clerked for Ruth Bader Ginsburg. Not a bad resume.

After a few years in private practice, Mr. Heytens rejoined the Justice Department as an assistant to the Solicitor General. Most recently, he was Solicitor General for the Commonwealth of Virginia.

He is a distinguished academic--taught at Cornell Law School, joined the faculty at UVA Law School, codirected the Supreme Court Litigation Clinic.

Mr. Heytens has personally argued 10 cases before the U.S. Supreme Court--there aren't many people who can say that--and handled the briefing in more than 50 other cases before the Court, and the breadth of these cases is impressive.

With such credentials, it is not surprising he enjoys the strong support of Senators Kaine and Warner.

He has been unanimously rated ``well qualified'' by the American Bar Association, and his nomination is supported by leaders in the legal community, including three former Republican Solicitors General under President George W. Bush.

He is a dedicated public servant. I will be voting for him, and I hope my colleagues will join me.

Madam President, on another matter, this weekend saw the happy return of a tradition in many neighborhoods.

Last night, my senatorial assignment was to be at the front door of my home in Springfield, IL, and pass out candy to the trick-or- treaters.

After a year off because of COVID, Halloween was back. We had at least 80, maybe 100, kids show up, and they were all having a great time, as we all remember our own youth.

What a difference vaccines can make. Slowly but surely, we are putting this pandemic behind us. And after a difficult year-plus of remote learning, kids are going back to school across America.

Three days ago, we received some long-awaited news that will enable parents to breathe another sigh of relief and allow children to be safely vaccinated. The FDA authorized Pfizer vaccinations for kids between ages 5 and 11.

While it is true that healthy children generally are at lower risk from this virus, they are not immune, and testing had to take place, and it has taken place. The new lower-dose COVID vaccine can protect our kids--and grandkids, I might add. And I want to do everything I can to make sure that happens.

I usually tell the story, which dates me, but I know the reality of my impression on those who are watching. I have been around a few years, and I remember in the 1950s, when we were scared to death of polio, and along came Jonas Salk--God bless his memory--with a new vaccine, and we all lined up, rolled up our sleeves, and got

a shot, and there wasn't a question asked.

We saw the ravages of polio--the iron lungs, the crippled children, and some who lost their lives--and we did what we should do: we followed our parents' guidance, got the vaccinations. We virtually eliminated polio in America as a result of it.

We have got to do the same thing, when it comes to COVID, for children.

The new COVID vaccine for young children is just the latest proof that President Biden's leadership and efforts are working.

Not one Republican, I might add, not one, could see their way to vote for President Biden's American Rescue Plan. It was that same rescue plan which set up the program across America to administer vaccines.

Where would we be today if we were still struggling to do that?

I want to thank the Biden administration for that leadership. We are starting to see good results, despite the Delta variant. And I think that we can see at least the possibility of putting this pandemic behind us. But I hope more people will get vaccinated so that that will happen sooner rather than later.

Every week--and I have noticed--some of our Republican colleagues, including their leader, come to this floor to propose undercutting commonsense vaccine policies that exist to protect our Nation. These Senators, to my knowledge, have all been vaccinated; yet, when it comes to the mistruths and distortions about vaccinations, they are strangely silent. I think we know why.

Apparently, they think pitting Americans against each other is good politics, but it may be good politics one day and bad public health for a long time. It is corrosive to our public spirit. America is strongest when we are united.

We will no doubt hear our Republican colleagues cheer on the small minority of police and firefighters in cities like New York and Chicago, who continue to refuse to get vaccinated, despite mandates.

Here is a number that we should keep in mind, those of us who say, and I count myself as one, that we respect law enforcement and want them to be strong and safe--last year, five times more law enforcement officers died of COVID than died of gun violence.

Let me repeat that. Last year, five times more policemen died of COVID than died from gun violence.

COVID is the No. 1 killer of law enforcement officers in America today. And so when we talk about being on the side of the police, and you want to save their lives--I sure do. I want them to be safe on the job, but I also want them to be vaccinated so that they don't succumb to the illnesses that follow when they are not.

If you care about police safety--if you really care about police safety, put this pandemic behind us once and for all and get vaccinated, and speak up when people decide, on FOX TV and others, to peddle this anti-vax quackery that we see too often.

Madam President, on a related matter, when I listen to our Republican colleagues' rail on the economy, I am reminded of the old saying, attributed to H.L. Mencken, that: ``For every complex problem, there is an answer that is simply easy--and wrong.''

Four years ago, Republicans used the Senate's reconciliation rules to pass the Trump tax cuts. They didn't get a single Democratic vote.

Why? Because those tax cuts benefited the wealthiest people in America and the most profitable corporations.

So did it cost us anything? Did we make money on that as a nation?

It cost us $1.9 trillion over 10 years. That was Republican reconciliation 4 years ago. That is more than President Biden is now proposing for his entire slate of programs to ease the financial squeeze on working families and create millions of good jobs and protect our Nation from the dangers of climate change.

All the wailing and gnashing of teeth we are hearing from Republicans about deficits and debt? Where in the heck were they during the Trump years, when the debt went up 36 percent?

They were all voting for it.

Of course, now that President Biden is onboard, they are really deficit hawks. They have changed overnight. Well, you should have heard them during the Trump years, if they are sincere and honest.

Our Republican colleagues moan on and on about inflation. All Americans are concerned about that. The Senator from Kentucky pointed out the reality.

I filled my truck up with gas over the weekend. It is more expensive.

What is causing all that?

Well, part of it is we have no control over the price. The OPEC nations and others are determining what the price levels will be. And other things are part of it as well, yes.

Heating bills are going to go up this winter. When I talk to the people in the natural gas industry, they talk about the problems that they had. When the economy slumped during the pandemic, the production of natural gas went down, the storage of it went down, the price went up, and that is what we are paying for today.

So the pandemic itself has had an impact on our economy, which we cannot and should not ignore.

The pandemic closed down the global economy and sent demand for many products soaring. Getting back to normal is just going to take some time, and it will take thoughtful action, not political potshots.

To our Republican friends: If you are really concerned about the economic strain on middle-class and working families, you have got an opportunity to prove it this week.

President Biden's Build Back Better agenda is moving forward. A vote to give 35 million families enhanced child tax credits will help them meet the cost of living and save them hundreds, maybe thousands, of dollars a year.

A vote for good, free, early childhood education for every kid in America will put hundreds, even thousands of dollars more back in the hands of parents.

And unlike the Trump tax cuts, the Build Back Better agenda is paid for. That is right. We pay for it. We are not adding to the deficit, and no one earning less than $400,000 a year will face higher taxes to pay for the Build Back Better agenda.

And then there is the issue of climate change. I am joining a group that hopes we can go to Glasgow, Scotland, for this climate conference the President is attending today, and we hope that a bipartisan group delegation from the Senate can go at the end of this week, and I am looking forward to that possibility.

We are paying so much money out, almost on a weekly basis, for weather-related disasters. Hurricane Ida, this year, cost us $100 billion in damage. One storm cost roughly twice as much as we proposed to spend the whole year in reducing the harm of climate change for all America.

We need to work together to create a win for the American people and for our planet, and wouldn't it be nice if it were bipartisan for a change?

I announce that the Senator from New York (Mrs. Gillibrand) is necessarily absent.

I announce that the Senator from New York (Mrs. Gillibrand) is necessarily absent.

I announce that the Senator from California (Mrs. Feinstein) is necessarily absent.

I announce that the Senator from California (Mrs. Feinstein) is necessarily absent.

I announce that the Senator from California (Mrs. Feinstein) is necessarily absent.

I announce that the Senator from California (Mrs. Feinstein) is necessarily absent.

Madam President, I would just say to Senator Collins: You are my colleague and my friend. If they write the history of this place, they might make a footnote that we had a book club--a little one--between us. We exchanged a lot of books over the years. I thank you for your friendship and kindness, all the way through, and congratulations on this milestone.

I ask for the yeas and nays.

I announce that the Senator from California (Mrs. Feinstein) and the Senator from Vermont (Mr. Sanders) are necessarily absent.