Floor Statements

Madam President, I want to reiterate and underscore and expand on some of the comments made by Senator Kelly from Arizona in support of this legislation.

We know that, as he said, our servicemembers put their lives and health on the line to keep us safe. Even those who come home can face long-term health risks from their service. Too often, we have not provided veterans the care and the benefits they have earned and deserve, particularly those exposed to toxic substances while serving in uniform. We have the opportunity this week, finally, to change that.

This week in the Senate, we are on the verge of passing the most comprehensive expansion of benefits for veterans who faced toxic exposure, in our Nation's history. Providing healthcare and benefits for veterans who suffer from toxic exposure is a cost of going to war. We are willing to spend a lot of money going to war, as we need to, but we have never, never really stepped up taking care of our veterans-- those who return home--because it is also costly, but it is what we need to do.

If you were exposed--fundamentally this--if you were exposed to toxins while serving our country, you deserve the benefits you earned, period, no exceptions. The Senate is finally on the verge of recognizing that.

My office holds roundtables with veterans all over Ohio, and I have heard veterans raise this issue again and again and again. As many as 3\1/2\ million servicemembers in this country were potentially exposed to toxic smoke. Time is running out for these veterans.

For years, we have worked to highlight this long-ignored issue and the hurdles veterans faced after burn pits and, before that, exposure to Agent Orange. With Agent Orange, we expanded VA benefits. We had to do it condition by condition and location of service by location of service, and it took way, way, way too long. Far too many Vietnam veterans suffering from toxic exposure to Agent Orange died while Congress continued to slow-walk the kinds of benefits we should have done much more quickly. Too many veterans were left behind. Our veterans deserve better.

This bipartisan bill would guarantee that veterans who suffer because of toxic exposure will get the VA benefits they earned for the first time in our country's history. It would finally extend VA healthcare eligibility to all post-9/11 combat veterans. It would expand presumptions for veterans exposed to Agent Orange. It would add 23 burn pit- and toxic exposure-related conditions to VA's list.

The comprehensive legislation is named in honor of Ohio veteran SFC Heath Robinson, who deployed to Kosovo and Iraq with the Ohio National Guard. He passed away in 2020 from cancer as a result of toxic exposure during that military service.

His widow, Danielle Robinson, has been a determined advocate for this cause. She was the First Lady's guest at the State of the Union this year, to underscore the President's commitment to getting this done.

Her mother, Susan Zeier, and Heath's daughter, Brielle, Susan's granddaughter, are here this week, along with so many advocates from Ohio, like Andrea Neutzling, an Army veteran and advocate from Meigs County. Earlier today, Susan and her granddaughter, Brielle, the daughter of Heath Robinson, and Andrea and Tim and others from Ohio were in the Gallery. They are counting on the Senate to finally do the right thing.

This has been a long time coming. It will mean that more than 3 million toxic-exposed veterans will finally have the expanded access to healthcare which they deserve and which they earned. It is a good first step. It is late for veterans who have suffered for years.

I ask my colleagues to join me in finally keeping our promise to our veterans. We should never forget the debt we owe our veterans, and we are humbled by their commitment to service. It is time that we ensure that our veterans, after sacrificing so much for our country, receive the full benefits and care that they deserve and that they earned.

I ask for the yeas and nays.

Mr. President, I urge my colleagues to support Sandra Thompson's historic nomination to be the Director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency.

Ms. Thompson is an exceptional nominee, with decades of experience in mortgage markets and Federal financial regulation.

Since June 2021, Ms. Thompson served as Acting Director at FHFA, where she has played a vital role in promoting access to mortgage credit, to overseeing and supervising Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, and the 11 Federal Home Loan Banks, and to protecting the safety and soundness of the housing finance system.

Before being designated as Acting Director, Ms. Thompson served for 8 years as a Deputy Director for the Division of Mission and Goals at FHFA, so she is clearly very qualified.

She spent 18 years at the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation. While there, she worked for seven different chairpersons, obviously, from both political parties and in senior-level positions.

She will be the first woman. She will, notably, be the first Black woman confirmed to lead FHFA.

For the first time, we have an administration and a Senate Banking and Housing Committee that understand how important it is to have economic leaders who reflect the country, who look like the country and think like the country--people who make it work.

She will join a growing list of experienced, talented Black women who have come through our committee--Marcia Fudge, who was my Congresswoman in Cleveland. She is now Secretary of HUD; Cecilia Rouse, Chair of the Council on Economic Advisers at the White House; Reta Jo Lewis, a CEO of the Export-Import Bank; Lisa Cook, first Black woman ever in 109 years--109 years, the first Black woman--at the Federal Reserve; Alanna McCargo; Alexia Latortue, just to name a few.

Ms. Thompson has proven she will work and she will listen to lenders, and consumers, and both sides of the aisle.

Before the pandemic, housing was too expensive and too hard to find, even before the pandemic. Whether you are looking to rent or to buy, FHFA has an important role to play in bringing

down housing costs and empowering more families to be able to afford a safe and stable home.

I strongly urge my colleagues in supporting Ms. Thompson's nomination.

I yield the floor.

Thanks, Mr. President. I always enjoy following my friend from Oregon who has done such important work on tax and trade law and Medicare and Medicaid and everything since his career began as a young Gray Panther.

Mr. President, I urge my colleagues to support Todd Harper's nomination. He came out of my and Senator Smith's and the Presiding Officer Senator Ossoff's committee to be Chairman of the National Credit Union Administration.

Mr. Harper is an experienced regulator. He has the background, knowledge, and leadership experience to safeguard the credit union system, a very important component of our financial system, and to protect millions of credit union members.

We know that credit unions, more than Wall Street banks, really look out for the little guy and regular people and people who are, you know, mostly solidly middle class or aspiring to the middle class.

A career public servant with midwestern roots, Todd Harper understands the vital role that credit unions play in local communities, especially rural and underserved communities.

Being the first openly gay leader of any Federal financial regulatory Agency, the first NCUA career staff member to serve on the NCUA Board, he brings a vitally important perspective. We know that prior to this President taking over and my becoming chair of the Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee, we know most of the Federal regulators look like me and walk like Wall Street. Those days are behind us. Another reason for Todd Harper's nomination to NCUA.

Throughout his career as an NCUA Board member and Chair, he has worked with both parties. He has worked for advocates and industry to strengthen credit unions to fight for consumers. In 2019, the Senate confirmed Mr. Harper by voice vote to the three-member NCUA Board. In 2021, President Biden designated him as Chair.

As Chair of the NCUA, he has worked with his fellow Board members to advance bipartisan efforts on important issues facing credit unions and their members, like digital assets and emergency capital investment.

Prior to serving on the Board, he was Director of the Office of Public and Congressional Affairs. He was Chief Policy Advisor to former Chairs Deborah Matz and Rick Metsger.

Mr. Harper previously served as a staffer in the House of Representatives, as staff director for the Subcommittee on Capital Markets.

If confirmed, he will continue to work collaboratively. It is what we ask him to do, to represent all taxpayers to ensure that our credit union system is safe, sound, and works for all its members.

Mr. President, I encourage my colleagues to support the nomination of Todd Harper.

I yield the floor.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that Alan Cox and Fatima Sierra-Vargas, fellows of my Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee, be granted floor privileges for the duration of this Congress.

Madam President, I ask for the yeas and nays.

Madam President, I came to speak to the Senate about Police Week as we honor the law enforcement officers who made the ultimate sacrifice.

Before I do that, we know that Putin was shocked by two things. He was shocked by the amazing resistance and the strength and the resiliency of the Ukrainian people and the effectiveness of their fight back. Putin really couldn't believe that happened.

The other thing that Putin was shocked by was the skill with which President Biden put together this international coalition of countries that were not part of this in the past, part of something--Germany, Switzerland, Sweden, Finland--countries that now a couple of them want to be in NATO, and that really is the skill of the leadership of President Biden.

And I know, in spite of the Senator from Texas's comments--I know that most mainstream Republicans support what President Biden has done, support his work on putting together sanctions--first, providing aid for the Ukrainian people, the humanitarian aid, refugees going to Moldova, going to Poland, going to other parts of Eastern and Central and Southern Europe, and the skill with which he has gotten and the success with which he has gotten weapons to the Ukrainian people and the skills with which he put together sanctions.

The Presiding Officer, as a member of the Banking and Housing Committee, has been part of that with sanctions, and it has really made a difference in keeping these countries together at the fastest pace we could do it but keeping them together.

So most Republicans support what President Biden has done. But, you know, I am not saying that the Senator from Texas is part of this, but I have heard Congresswoman Cheney, who is nothing if not a conservative Republican, daughter of a very conservative

Vice President, active in the Republican Party and Republican leadership--she talks about the Putin wing of the Republican Party.

Again, I am not saying that she includes the Senator from Texas in that category. I don't know if she does or she doesn't. I didn't hear her mention names, but I do know that she thinks that a number of Republicans are part of this Putin wing of the Republican Party, and it is despicable, but it is true, and it is disappointing to all of us.

And I would add, too, that the Senator from Texas, maybe he missed the news as he was talking about chips, computer chips, about semiconductors. Intel made a huge announcement that they are coming to Ohio. They are going to invest billions of dollars. They are going to hire 5,000 building tradespeople--5,000 tradespeople--over a 10-year period to build these fabs. Imagine the size of that. I have never seen anything like that.

So I am excited about what we are doing, and that is why it is so important what Senator Wyden and I and others are doing on making sure that we pass the USICA--the Innovation and Competition Act. It is so important to our country. It is so important to workers. We are finally putting workers at the center of our economic policy, and that is a thrill.

And as President Biden said on the Senate floor, we are finally burying the term ``Rust Belt.'' We are burying it in Columbus with Intel. We are burying it in Northwest Ohio with solar manufacturing. We are burying it in Southwest Ohio with a new generation of jet fuel and jet engines. We are burying it in Cleveland with what we are doing with NASA. We are burying it in Youngstown with our manufacturing camps and all that we are doing for America Works.

Sure.

Madam President, I take back my time.

I have heard no Democrat talk about--I have heard nobody talk about the Putin wing of the Democratic Party. No Democrat believes that.

I hear just down the hall 100 yards, Congresswoman Cheney talk about the Putin wing of the Republican Party. I am not in intraparty fights; I am only pointing that out.

I want to get to this. We expect a vote soon after 6, and I want to get back to my remarks. I appreciate the engagement of Senator Cruz on this issue

Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the scheduled vote be called immediately.

Madam President, I ask for the yeas and nays.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that I be able to complete my remarks, which will be brief.

Mr. President, since President Biden took office, we have made tremendous economic progress as a country. Our economic growth last year exceeded that of China's for the first time in 20 years, and Federal Reserve nominees who have come before the Senate are crucial to continuing that progress. As Americans face rising prices caused by corporate greed, a global pandemic, and Putin's war, having a full Federal Reserve Board has never been more vital.

A few weeks ago, the Senate confirmed Lael Brainard to be Vice Chair of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System. Vice Chair Brainard has served as a member of the Federal Reserve since 2014, when she led bipartisan action to support families through the COVID-19 economic crisis and worked to create a better payments system that works for consumers and small banks. She has championed efforts to modernize and strengthen the Community Reinvestment Act, a landmark civil rights law to start to undo the dark legacy brought on by Jim Crow and, ultimately, redlining. We saw her tremendous efforts pay off. Last week, all three Federal banking Agencies moved forward with their new, historic CRA proposal.

Earlier this week, Democrats supported the historic nomination of Dr. Lisa Cook, who is a prominent economist with years of research and international experience on monetary policy, banking, and financial crises. She is the first Black woman to serve on the Board of Governors in the 109-year history of the Federal Reserve. She has seen how economic policy affects all kinds of people in different parts of the country, from the rural South where she grew up in Milledgeville, GA, to the industrial Midwest at Michigan State University--one of the great Midwestern State universities of this country--where she built her career.

Dr. Cook is a Spelman College alumna. She was a Marshall Scholar and a Truman Scholar. She studied at Oxford University. She earned her Ph.D. in economics at Berkeley. She is a tenured professor of economics and international relations at Michigan State.

Last night, the Senate confirmed Dr. Philip Jefferson, one of the country's leading thinkers on the economics of poverty. He will be a critical voice on the Fed. He is the vice president for academic affairs, dean of faculty, and Freeland professor of economics at Davidson College. He began his career as a Fed economist. He grew up, as he

says, in the shadow of RFK Stadium in the Southeast part of this city. He served as chair of the economics department at Swarthmore College, my daughter Emily's alma mater. Dr. Jefferson would be only the fourth Black man to serve as a Fed Governor.

Both Dr. Jefferson and Dr. Cook will bring important perspectives on poverty, inequality, and racial equity to the Fed--perspectives that have been missing for most of the last 109 years.

Today, we will vote on Jerome Powell, who has earned the opportunity--earned the opportunity--to lead the Fed as Chair for another term. He has been a steadfast defender of the Federal Reserve's independence, resisting unprecedented attacks by former President Trump to politicize the Fed. I know he will similarly resist those in Congress who see inflation not as a burden on American families but as a chance to blame the President of the United States for something that is complex due chiefly to things that happened before he was President and mainly to corporate greed and global events. Along with now-Vice Chair Brainard, he played an instrumental role in stabilizing our economy in the face of the coronavirus pandemic. He has been a reliable voice and a steady hand through this crisis.

All of the nominees for the Fed have received an unprecedented amount of support from across the political spectrum--more letters of endorsement than I have ever seen for Federal Reserve nominees--from State regulators, economists, bankers, and former government officials, consumer groups, civil rights advocates, and on and on and on.

I congratulate Vice Chair Brainard and Governor Cook and Governor Jefferson on their nominations and confirmations. I urge my colleagues to vote to confirm Chair Powell.

Last point. I will continue to work with my colleagues to round out the full complement of the Federal Reserve--it has not had a full seven members in almost a decade--when we confirm in a few weeks the Vice Chair of Supervision nominee, Michael Barr. The Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee will hold a hearing on Mr. Barr's nomination next week. We will move swiftly to vote.

I urge my colleagues to support Chair Powell today and to support Mr. Barr's nomination as Vice Chair soon.

I am confident all of the President's nominees will fiercely guard the Fed's independence and will work to bring down prices and, most importantly, put workers and families at the center of our economic policy.

I yield the floor.

I ask for the yeas and nays.

Mr. President, I have kind of heard it all today. I am not going to engage with the ranking member when he calls her unqualified. We know this is about a history of this committee's Republicans voting against very qualified African-American women. We have won that debate; we have won it with the American people.

And I was just handed--because I remembered this. I remembered hundreds, literally hundreds, of prominent people in the economics field and outside the economics field that supported Lisa Cook, they wrote letters. We got more letters, I believe, for Lisa Cook than any nominee for the Fed.

The ranking member knows, and he has voted for some pretty unqualified people, and that he would decide this is one he is voting against is just kind of sad. Let me give you some examples, 35 Marshall and Truman Scholars are supporting her--35; the National Bankers Association; Ben Bernanke, a Bush nominee who was chair of the Federal Reserve; all kinds of organizations, some political, some not political, many of them bank-based.

I will send these to the ranking member so he can get a look at them. I know he has already seen them before, but they seem to have slipped his mind.

I urge my colleagues to support Dr. Cook. She teaches at Michigan State, the presiding officer's proud institution. She would be a historic confirmation to the Board of Governors, we know that. She understands how economic policy affects all kinds of different people in different parts of the country, from the rural south where she grew up to the industrial Midwest where she built her career. One of the things I like about her, the Federal Reserve--I mean, I understand that economic conservatives in this body--and I think the ranking member would probably define himself that way; I admire his courage in voting against--

voting for the removal of President Trump, so I admired his courage. I just think he is wrong on these kind of nominees. But I just--I look at her, and I see how--what I like--one of the things I like about her is the Fed, for years, has just practiced this top-down economic policy. The people that sit on the Fed, they almost all look like me, historically.

In fact, Lisa Cook will be the first Black woman in 109 years ever to sit on the Fed, seven members of the Fed at any one time, and the terms are--usually they stay 5 to 10 years--so you can see how many people cycle in and out. But they almost all believe in this trickle-down economics that you give tax cuts to rich people and it will trickle down and the economy will be better.

Well, Lisa Cook is different. She doesn't come from the coast. She comes from what some people on the coast would call ``flyover country,'' Michigan or Ohio. She grew up in a small town in Georgia.

She went to college at Spelman, one of the best schools in the country. She was a Marshall and a Truman Scholar in England. She got her Ph.D. at Berkeley, and now she is teaching at Michigan State. And that tells me she has a sense of this country.

And he criticized her because of her emphasis on international relations. I like it that we have somebody at the Fed that not only knows the country, knows the great industrial Midwest in Michigan or Ohio--sort of the same in some ways. I like it that she studied on the west coast. I like it that she studied abroad. I like it that she spent time overseas learning about banking in economics and other countries, instead of the cookie-cutter people we always get on the Federal Reserve. Someone very important, speaks very seriously, has a good Ivy League education, but they don't know real people. And Lisa Cook knows real people.

She has years of research and international experience with monetary policy, banking, and financial crises. She has served as an economist under administrations to both parties, and as I said, she has support from across the political spectrum. All kinds of people endorsed her. They sent more letters supporting her than any Fed nom that I remember in front of this Banking Committee, and I have been on the Banking Committee a decade and a half.

She has demonstrated her commitment to Fed independence, the importance of making decisions based on fact. She agrees with Chair Powell that the Fed's most important task right now is to tackle inflation. She believes:

A strong and resilient financial system supports American

families, businesses, and our economy.

Those are her words.

Take a moment again and let me go back to why this is historical: the first Black woman in 109 years to serve in the Federal Reserve. Think about that. Think about that: the first Black woman in 109 years. This country is 12 percent Black. We have had dozens and dozens and dozens of Fed noms, yet we are going to need--probably need the Vice President to come in here and cast the tie-breaking vote because every single Republican, everybody on this side of the aisle, sitting behind every one of these desks is voting against the first African-American woman ever on the Federal Reserve. Spelman College, Truman Scholar, Marshall Scholar, Ph.D. at Berkeley, tenure at one of America's great universities, Michigan State University--and they say she is not qualified? And Judy Shelton was? Really.

She will protect the Fed's independence. She knows that workers drive our economic growth. She, like this President, understands you focus on workers, you put workers at the center of our economy. That is the kind of Fed governor she is going to be. She understands when everyone participates in our economy, it grows faster and stronger for all Americans.

We need her on the job today. I would add the other Senator from Michigan is here who has been a strong, strong supporter of Professor Cook. I join my two colleagues from Michigan and everybody on this side of the aisle to support Lisa Cook for the Federal Reserve.

I ask for the yeas and nays.