Floor Statements

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

Mr. President, October 2--9 days from today--is an important date in the life of one of the bravest people I have ever met. On October 2, 2005, Army SGT Eric Edmundson was on patrol near the Iraq-Syria border when a roadside bomb exploded beneath his armored vehicle.

He survived the blast, but went into cardiac arrest while awaiting transport to an American military hospital in Germany. Doctors worked for 30 minutes to restore his pulse. They did, but Sergeant Edmundson had already suffered severe brain damage from lack of oxygen.

Doctors told his parents that Eric would spend the rest of his life in a vegetative state and that the best thing they could do for him was choose a good nursing home. But Eric's family refused to accept that fate for him. They searched for the best rehabilitation hospital in America, somewhere where Eric could receive the very best medical care and make the fullest possible recovery.

The hospital they chose was the Shirley Ryan AbilityLab in Chicago, then known by its original name: the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago.

I visited him there several times. His family was always there, right by his side. I will never forget the time Eric's dad told me, ``Eric has a present for you.'' I couldn't imagine what it was. Then I watched as that brave soldier stood up from his wheelchair and took several halting steps. There wasn't a dry eye in the room.

Six months after he arrived, I watched Eric Edmundson, in his Army dress uniform, walk out of that amazing hospital and into the arms of his wife and their 2-year-old daughter.

I thought of Eric Edmundson and his miraculous recovery when I learned earlier this month of the death of Dr. Joanne Smith, a medical visionary and the longtime president and CEO of Shirley Ryan AbilityLab. She died at home, with her family at her side, after battling cancer privately for 5 years. She continued to lead Shirley Ryan right up to the end.

Loretta and I offer our condolences to her husband of 33 years, Rory Repicky, their children, Claire and Michael, Joanne's 16 nieces and nephews, and her family, colleagues, and friends, who are too numerous to count.

Dr. Joanne Smith was a once-in-a-lifetime leader and a national treasure. With her brilliance, determination, and compassion, she reinvented the field of physical medicine and rehabilitation. As president and CEO of Shirley Ryan AbilityLab, she imagined--and then led the drive to create--the world's first-ever ``translational'' research hospital for rehabilitation medicine. She pioneered the concept of a cutting-edge research facility within a hospital, with scientists, innovators, technologists, and clinicians all working together to heal patients. Seeing her team work miracles with wounded veterans, injured police officers, or stroke survivors made you a believer.

Joanne Smith originally planned to be a nurse but changed her major to pre-med after working as a hospital orderly. A chance meeting during medical school with a young girl at a free health clinic in Detroit changed her life--and the future of rehabilitation medicine.

The young girl had had both legs amputated because of spina bifida, but she had learned to walk using her arms as legs and her hands as feet. She was happy. But her mother wanted her to have a more ``normal'' appearance, so doctors fitted her with a sort of harness that included two prosthetic legs and gave her a wheelchair.

Dr. Smith said it disturbed her to see how a once-happy girl became sad and less able as a result of a change in her appearance to fit society's biases and expectations. She would spend the rest of her life working to discover cures that made patients more able, not less.

She came to Shirley Ryan, then called the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago, for her residency in 1988, fresh out of medical school, and thank goodness, she never left. In 2006, a few years after earning her MBA from the University of Chicago, she became president and CEO. At that point, the hospital had been ranked at the No. 1 rehabilitation hospital in America by U.S. News & World Report for nearly two decades.

If Joanne Smith had done nothing as president and CEO except more of the same, she would have been at the top of her field. But ``more of the same'' was not in her makeup. She resolved to create a new model for rehabilitation hospitals--the research institute within the hospital--so that new discoveries could reach patients in real time.

The reimagined hospital opened with a new name in 2017. Just recently, it was ranked as the best rehabilitation hospital in the Nation for the 31st year in a row, a record unmatched by any hospital.

Physical and rehabilitation medicine is a relatively new field of medicine. It began after World War II, with doctors and researchers searching for ways to help injured servicemembers regain as much of their abilities as possible.

Today, advanced rehabilitation hospitals such as Shirley Ryan AbilityLab work with children and adults with severe, complex conditions--from traumatic brain and spinal cord injuries, to amputations or serious birth defects, enabling them to live as fully and independently as possible. The demand for such medical innovations is large and growing.

The partnership at Shirley Ryan of brilliant doctors and researchers working with brave patients has resulted in some breathtaking discoveries. In 2006, doctors there outfitted a man with a prosthetic arm that he could move with his thoughts. With his thoughts. That surgery--the first of its kind in the world--has since helped revolutionize treatment for people who have lost limbs.

More recently, researchers at Shirley Ryan created the world's first manual standing wheelchair, that allows users to move while seated or standing.

Shirley Ryan serves more than 50,000 patients year from nearly every State and more than 70 countries. It is miraculous, but it is not alone. There are a handful of rehabilitation innovation centers like it in America. These are the best of the best, cutting-edge research labs within world-class hospitals that also prioritize training the next generation of doctors and healers.

My friend, Senator Cassidy of Louisiana, has seen similar miracles at TIRR Memorial Hermann, a world-class rehabilitation hospital in Houston, TX, where many people from Louisiana and around the world go for advanced treatment.

The discoveries at America's best rehabilitation innovations centers are revolutionizing medicine, and they are reaching people far beyond their own walls. But making such discoveries and propelling the field of rehabilitation medicine forward costs money--more money than these nonprofit centers can afford on their own.

That is why, today, Senator Cassidy and I are reintroducing our bipartisan proposal to recognize and support some of America's best rehabilitation innovation centers. Our bill does two things. First, it directs the Department of Health and Human Services to set criteria for such ``rehabilitation innovation centers'' and to share best practices and teachings from these institutions with health providers throughout the Nation and the world.

Second, our bill directs HHS to study whether Medicare's existing payment system is adequate to support the groundbreaking treatment, research, and medical education that is taking place at these hospitals.

When I first introduced this bill in 2013, I had a different Republican cosponsor, Senator Mark Kirk of Illinois. In 2012, Senator Kirk suffered a stroke that left him partly paralyzed and unable to walk. A year later, after months of grueling work at R.I.C., he was able to walk up the 42 steps to this Capitol Building.

In honor of the doctor whose brilliance and compassion helped transform the field of physical and rehabilitation medicine that led to the astonishing feat and so many others, Senator Cassidy and I have agreed to rename our bill the Dr. Joanne Smith Memorial Rehabilitation Innovation Centers Act.

I will close with this thought from another brave person who helped to revolutionize rehabilitation medicine. Christopher Reeve was America's Superman in the movies--until he was paralyzed from the shoulders down in an equestrian accident in 1995.

During the last decade of his life, he regained limited movement in his arms and legs. He also spent a great deal of time raising awareness of and money for the kinds of cutting-edge treatments that are pioneered at institutions such as Shirley Ryan.

In his last public appearance, he spoke at Shirley Ryan. He said, ``It gets lonely sometimes to [urge people] `Come on, let's take reasonable risks. Let's try and be safe--but let's be bold at the same time.' ''

Christopher Reeve said, ``Doctors should take the word `impossible' out of their lexicons.''

That courageous, bold optimism--be safe, but be bold at the same time--is what drove Dr. Joanne Smith and what inspires the work at America's best rehabilitation centers of innovation. Our bipartisan bill, we hope, will help advance their work.

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

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

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:

Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry

The Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry is authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on Thursday, September 23, 2021, at 10 a.m., to conduct a hearing.

Committee on Armed Services

The Committee on Armed Services is authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on Thursday, September 23, 2021, at 9:30 a.m., to conduct a hearing on a nomination.

Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs

The Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs is authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on Thursday, September 23, 2021, at 10:15 a.m., to conduct a hearing.

Special Committee on Aging

The Special Committee on Aging is authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on Thursday, September 23, 2021, at 9:30 a.m., to conduct a hearing.

Subcommittee the Constitution

The Subcommittee the Constitution of the Committee on the Judiciary is authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on Thursday, September 23, 2021, at 9 a.m., to conduct a hearing.

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

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that Senator Thune and I be allowed to complete our remarks before the vote is taken.

Mr. President, this week, the Senate will vote on Florence Pan's nomination to the District Court for the District of Columbia.

She is highly qualified, with more than a decade of experience on the bench. If confirmed, she would be the first Asian-American woman to serve on that court.

She graduated summa cum laude from the University of Pennsylvania and received her law degree with distinction from Stanford.

After clerking on the Southern District of New York in the Second Circuit, she decided to pursue a legal career in public service. In 1995, she was selected for the prestigious Bristow fellowship in the Office of the Solicitor General. After completing her fellowship, she served as attorney in the Appellate Section of the Criminal Division of the Justice Department and senior advisor to the Department of the Treasury.

Beginning in 1999, Judge Pan worked as an assistant U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia for 10 years. In this role, she litigated local and Federal courts at the trial and appellate level.

In 2009, President Obama nominated her to serve on the DC Superior Court. She was confirmed with unanimous support by the Senate.

Years later, President Obama nominated her to serve on the DC district court, and her nomination was reported out of the Republican- controlled Judiciary Committee by a voice vote. Unfortunately, she didn't receive a floor vote in time, though lawmakers on both sides of the aisle recognized that she was eminently qualified.

Since 2009, Judge Pan has presided over more than 650 trials: criminal cases, family court cases, civil cases. She was unanimously rated ``well qualified'' by the American Bar Association. She has the strong support of Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton, who submitted a statement for the record and described her as an exceptional nominee.

Last month, she was voted out of the Senate Judiciary Committee on a bipartisan vote of 18 to 4.

What is more, the historic nature of Judge Pan's nomination will help build a Federal bench that reflects full diversity.

I urge my colleagues to join me in supporting her.

Mr. President, less than 2 miles from this Capitol, there are 666,000 small white flags stretching across the National Mall like a sea of suffering and loss. Each of these flags represents an American life lost to COVID--666,000. Let me tell but one of them. Her name was Candace Ayers. She lived in my hometown of Springfield, IL.

Early last March, as soon as they could, Candace and her husband Terry received their second coronavirus vaccinations. That was a day of joy and relief for the family because Candace lived with rheumatoid arthritis, which weakened her immune system.

In July, she traveled to Mississippi--a State, sadly, with one of the lowest vaccination rates--to console a friend who had lost her husband. At the time, COVID infections were at a low point, and the Delta variant was just starting, so Candace thought she would be safe, having been vaccinated.

Soon after the trip, she tested positive for COVID. She was hospitalized and moved to an ICU, and she spent the last few weeks of her life on a ventilator.

She died on September 3 at the age of 66, leaving behind her husband, their son and daughter and 5-year-old triplet grandchildren.

In the obituary in my hometown paper, her family wrote: ``She was vaccinated but was infected by others who chose not to be. The cost was her life.''

I read that to my wife the morning it was printed and said I have never seen a sentence or two like that in any obituary.

Experts call what took Candace Ayers' life a ``breakthrough'' COVID infection, meaning an infection that occurs after an individual has been vaccinated. Breakthrough infections are typically mild, but can be devastating for immunocompromised people like Candace.

With the rise of the Delta variant, it is not just the elderly or immunocompromised who are at risk. Children made up only 3 percent of COVID cases at the start of this pandemic. Today, children account for 27 percent of new COVID infections, and the school year is just starting.

We are in the midst of yet another wave of this pandemic. COVID is once again overwhelming America's health system, and the rate of COVID infections and deaths are dramatically higher in the areas of lower vaccination.

An article in last Friday's Chicago Tribune tells the story in Illinois. Last Thursday was the fourth day in a row that every ICU bed in Southern Illinois was filled. In a 20-county area--home to 400,000 people--there were no ICU beds available.

Doctors, nurses, and first responders are working around the clock to care for sick patients, but after 18 grueling months, they are reaching a breaking point. And with our healthcare system pushed to the brink, everyone is feeling it.

If you live in Southern Illinois and you have a heart attack, a stroke, a serious accident, or a life-threatening condition, bad news: There are no ICU beds available for you. Hospital staffs in those areas have to call hospitals sometimes hundreds of miles away in Nashville, TN; St. Louis, MO; Kansas City, MO, to try to find a bed.

Compare the situation to Chicago, some 300 miles away but a world of difference. COVID infection rates are starting to decrease. Public health officials are hopeful they are finally turning a corner.

Why the great disparity between the Chicago regional area and Southern Illinois? One reason: vaccinations. In Chicago, two in three adults are fully vaccinated against COVID. In Southern Illinois, the figure is only one in three.

So much of the suffering and expense could be avoided if we could take the politics out of the COVID debate and stop the spread of misinformation that is literally killing people. As Candace Ayers' family would tell you, the most important thing is that more people get vaccinated. Vaccines are safe, effective, and free--and widely available to anyone over the age of 12.

Here is a statistic that should trouble everyone. The New York Times tracks COVID vaccinations around the world using figures supplied by national governments. Where do you suppose the United States of America ranks globally compared to other countries on vaccination rates? Well, you would guess the top three, right? The top 10 for sure. How about top 20? You would be wrong. Last week, the United States ranked 55th globally for the percentage of people vaccinated. We are just behind Cambodia.

And in the wealthiest Nation on Earth and in the country that led the research and development in finding these vaccines, that is sad; it is inexcusable; and it is deadly.

Now, listen, all Americans respect individual rights, but the only way to end the pandemic is for everyone to accept the personal responsibility for our shared well-being. That is why I support President Biden's recent action to strengthen America's defense against COVID and bring this pandemic finally to an end.

Many responsible employers, large and small, have already decided on their own to require that their workers get vaccinated. I encourage more to do it. A strong majority of Americans support this policy. President Biden's decision to extend that policy to much of the Federal workforce and to private employers with 100 or more workers means that two out of three American workers will be required to get vaccinated.

We even have a situation in the Federal Bureau of Prisons where the infection rate of Federal prisoners is six times the national average. Yet fewer than half of Federal prison guards have been vaccinated-- fewer than half. That is inexcusable.

Other nations have already instituted policies which encourage vaccinations. It is time for us to do the same. If we are ever going to see this pandemic come to an end, kids get back in school, and life return to normal, more Americans have to roll up their sleeves and face the reality that vaccination is the pathway to that result.

Now, sadly, while this debate is going on nationally, politicians in two dozen States, with vaccination rates below the national average, are threatening to sue the Biden administration over its new COVID policy. In other words, these Governors are saying to the President: Stop any requirement for masks; stop any requirement for vaccinations. In the war against COVID, these lawmakers in these two dozen States are siding with the virus. Their actions, if they follow through on these threats, will result in more illness, more death, and more harm to the economy.

Now, how can I say that? Well, I will tell you how--by taking a look at the numbers. Take a look at the numbers from the 24 States threatening lawsuits. The infection rate is 3,471 for every 100,000 people. How about the other States that are not filing a lawsuit against President Biden? Coincidentally, COVID death rates in those 24 States where these attorneys general are threatening lawsuits against President Biden is 31 per 100,000. The COVID death rates in the rest of the country: 11 per 100,000.

Vaccination rate: 49 percent in those States, 57 percent in the States that are not suing the President. That tells a story.

They are exalting liberty over life. This notion that we don't have a responsibility to ourselves and our family and innocent people to step forward is exactly the point that was being made by Candace Ayers' family. We do. We bear that responsibility, and we should accept it.

Since June, the average rates of COVID infections in the 24 States threatening to sue President Biden have been double the rates of COVID infection in the other 26 States. COVID death rates in those States have been nearly three times worse than the rest of the country. These reckless political actions have deadly, real-world consequences.

President Biden's actions are reasonable; they are necessary; and a majority of the American people believe it. Politicians hoping to gin up their base by suing the President should stop and start fighting the virus instead of the President's ambitions to bring this pandemic to an end. The sooner we do that, the sooner we can end this pandemic once and for all.

I yield the floor.

I suggest the absence of a quorum.

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.

I announce that the Senator from California (Mrs. Feinstein) and the Senator from West Virginia (Mr. Manchin) are necessarily absent.

I move to proceed to legislative session.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate be in a period of morning business, with Senators permitted to speak therein for up to 10 minutes each.

Mr. President, I understand there are two bills at the desk, and I ask for their first reading en bloc.

Mr. President, I now ask for a second reading, and I object to my own request, all en bloc.

Mr. President, I move to adjourn until 8:22 p.m. today.