Floor Statements

I ask for the yeas and nays.

Mr. President, I rise today to honor Dr. Lester Carter, who passed away on January 31, 2022, at the age of 90. Dr. Carter was a pharmacist who founded one of Milwaukee's first Black-owned pharmacies and worked there for over five decades.

Dr. Carter enlisted in the U.S. Navy and served in the Korean war. He was sent to the Hospital Corpsman School in Portsmouth, VA, for training in healthcare and was later assigned to the USS Tortuga for 2 and a half years. After being discharged in 1954, he attended pharmacy school at Creighton University in Omaha, NE, and became the school's first African-American graduate in 1958. Dr. Carter worked at a ``Whites only'' pharmacy in Omaha for 6 years, only being allowed to work in the backroom out of public view.

After filling in at a pharmacy in Milwaukee, WI, Dr. Carter was offered a position at the store and moved to the city. He then began looking for his own store and found out about a pharmacy located on North 24th and West Burleigh where the owners wanted to retire. Dr. Carter purchased the pharmacy and set up shop in what at the time was a majority White and German neighborhood. Dr. Carter learned German phrases and quickly earned a great deal of respect and trust from his customers.

During his career on Burleigh Street, Dr. Carter always welcomed everyone with a smile. He touched thousands of lives in positive ways, making time to talk and get to know his customers well. Dr. Carter saw many children grow up and become adults during his career, and some went on to become pharmacists due to his influence.

Dr. Carter never retired after his pharmacy merged with Hayat, working part-time as the pharmacy's herbal specialist. Recognizing people's concern for medication side effects he developed 12 herbal formulas to resolve health issues his customers were having. He always listened to customer concerns and invested himself into the care of the community.

Dr. Carter served as an example for Milwaukee on how to break down barriers. He treated everyone with dignity and respect. A common consensus was that once you left his store, you were already feeling better just by being in his presence. In 2018, North 24th Street was named in his honor. While Dr. Carter will be missed, he will be remembered by the generations of families he helped take care of and by the community he helped shape.

I thank the Presiding Officer for covering the presiding Chair for a little longer than usual to allow me to make an address to the Senate.

Madam President, I rise because it is time for the Senate to stand on the side of protecting our very democracy and the freedom to vote.

You know, this used to be a bipartisan issue, and I was proud to know, in the history of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, it passed the Senate 77 to 19. Then, in 1982, when it was reauthorized, when we extended it, President Reagan said:

I've pledged that, as long as I'm in a position to uphold

the Constitution, no barrier will come between our citizens

and the voting booth. And this bill is a vital part of

fulfilling that pledge.

When I served in the House of Representatives, the dean of the Wisconsin delegation, Representative Jim Sensenbrenner, a Republican, led the bipartisan effort for the Voting Rights Act

Reauthorization and Amendments Act of 2006. You know, today, we can't even get a vote in the Senate on the Voting Rights Act.

Why have today's Republicans walked so far from those who came before them?

There is a simple answer: Too many of my colleagues on the other side of the aisle refuse to stand up for democracy and, instead, choose to stand on the side of Donald Trump and his Big Lie about the 2020 election being stolen from him.

It wasn't. Trump lost fair and square, and President Biden won, and that is simply a fact. To suggest otherwise is a fraud that undermines people's faith in our very elections. Enough is enough. We must act. We have the responsibility to do so. The threat posed by this Big Lie is all too real, and in my home State of Wisconsin, we have a stark example of it.

I come from a purple swing State. We have had many, many closely decided elections in recent history. In 2000, then-Vice President Gore won the State by less than 6,000 votes--a mere .22-percent margin of victory. Four years later, John Kerry carried the State by about 11,000 votes--a .38-percent margin. In both cases, despite these narrow margins, those elections went smoothly and were fair. Their outcomes were not disputed. George W. Bush declined to request a recount. No credible person, let alone the leader of a political party or an elected official, claimed the election in Wisconsin wasn't fair, free, and properly decided by the voters. Once again, in 2016, we had a pretty close Presidential election in Wisconsin and another equally as close one in 2020. President Biden won Wisconsin by about 20,000 votes--a margin of victory of .63 percent.

In 2020, Wisconsinites exercised their right to vote in record numbers. More than 75 percent of eligible Wisconsinites voted. Wisconsin voters broke the record for the highest turnout ever measured in the State--with every one of Wisconsin's 72 counties producing an increase in turnout, benefiting both Presidential candidates. Wisconsin State and local officials and citizens who volunteered from both political parties did heroic work to ensure our election was smooth, safe, and fair. They took important steps to make our election system worked safely and securely for all voters while the COVID-19 pandemic raged in my home State.

Wisconsinites cast their ballots for Democrats and Republicans, up and down the ballot, and after Wisconsin county clerks in all 72 counties canvassed the results, Joe Biden won with a margin of over 20,000 votes. The voters of Wisconsin chose Joe Biden and Kamala Harris to receive our State's 10 certified electoral votes, but the scrutiny of those election results, through the channels provided by law, continue.

After an official vote count showed Trump lost, his campaign requested a recount and targeted Wisconsin's two most diverse counties--Milwaukee and Dane. When the recount was completed, it came to nobody's surprise that it didn't change the outcome. Trump lost, and President Biden won. The votes had been counted and recounted, but that did not stop President Trump from filing a lawsuit, trying to throw out 220,000 legal votes in Wisconsin.

Fortunately, our State's highest court rejected this attempt to disenfranchise Wisconsin voters and find more votes for himself. As two Wisconsin Supreme Court justices wrote, in concurring with the majority decision of dismissing Trump's campaign case, ``The evidence does show that, despite a global pandemic, more than 3.2 million Wisconsinites performed their civic duty. More importantly, as it relates to this lawsuit, these voters followed the rules that were in place at the time.''

To borrow Justice Hagedorn's metaphor, ``Wisconsin voters complied with the election rule book. No penalties were committed, and the final score was the result of a free and fair election.''

But that wasn't the end of the road for Republican efforts to sow distrust in the 2020 results in Wisconsin.

In February 2021, a committee of the Republican-controlled Wisconsin State legislature, by a party-line vote, directed the nonpartisan Legislative Audit Bureau to review the administration of the 2020 election. The bureau, according to its report, spoke with the staff of the bipartisan Wisconsin Elections Commission and surveyed all 1,835 municipal clerks and 72 county clerks in the State. They also reviewed a host of records regarding the election, including a total of 45 sworn complaints, pertaining to the election, that had been filed with the elections commission. In October, the bureau issued its report, which did not find any evidence of widespread voter fraud or wrongdoing in the election.

Separately, a conservative think tank, the Wisconsin Institute for Law and Liberty, conducted its own review of the election. Their report, released in December 2021, also concluded that there was no evidence of widespread voter fraud in Wisconsin.

The fact is that our bipartisan Wisconsin Elections Commission conducted a free, fair, safe, and secure election, just as local elections clerks did across our State.

Trump has still not provided any credible evidence of voter fraud or election irregularities. In fact, Federal judges appointed by Trump rejected on the merits his false claims about the Wisconsin election. Despite all of this, the Republican leadership of the Wisconsin legislature authorized yet another sham process to question the integrity of the 2020 election, with a budget of at least 680,000 of Wisconsin taxpayer dollars to boot.

I would be remiss if I didn't point out that this unnecessary partisan charade came shortly after the former President called out these Republican leaders by name for trying to prevent a forensic audit of the election results. This was no mere coincidence. A Wisconsin State Republican named Michael Gableman led this effort after he famously said--and without evidence--right after the November election, that it was somehow stolen. He is who is leading this probe.

In August, Gableman traveled to Arizona, on Wisconsin taxpayers' dime, to learn about that State's widely discredited audit, supported by the cyber ninjas.

Then he was off to South Dakota to attend a symposium on voter fraud, led by My Pillow's chief executive and infamous conspiracy theorist, Mike Lindell. In no effort to show nonpartisanship or to be a neutral arbiter, Gableman hired partisan actors like a former Trump administration official and the head of a group that asked the Supreme Court to throw out the results of Wisconsin's election and force the Wisconsin legislature to certify electors instead.

Gableman has issued wide-ranging subpoenas to local officials in Wisconsin's largest cities and has even threatened to jail them if they fail to comply with this taxpayer-funded promotion of Trump's Big Lie.

Separately, the Republican leader of the Wisconsin Assembly's elections committee began her own set of investigations, issuing subpoenas to clerks in Milwaukee and Brown Counties, the latter being home to Green Bay. She had also traveled to Arizona and, in a press release, when announcing her inquiries, stated that Wisconsin similarly needs a ``transparent, full, cyber-forensic audit.''

To put it simply, there has been a constant drumbeat undermining the integrity of our elections in Wisconsin since President Biden was duly elected. Casting doubt and undermining confidence in our elections has real consequences. It has led to harassment and threats of the hard- working State and local elections officials who worked tirelessly during an unprecedented public health crisis to make sure Wisconsinites could safely and securely exercise their right to vote. Elections officials across the State have received dangerous threats and harassment for simply doing their jobs.

The executive director of the Milwaukee Election Commission reported being told she deserved to be hung in the public square. She received a threatening letter at her home, calling her a traitor and a profane insult that I will not repeat on the floor of the Senate. She also received a profanity-laced voice mail, telling her she should be convicted and hanged.

Another Wisconsin clerk reported being called every name you can imagine and received threats that led to a local police department's having to conduct a security review of the clerk's office and having the clerk feeling the

need to install a camera at her house for security.

In Rock County, WI, the county clerk's office asked the local sheriff for protection in the wake of angry calls after a news report had misstated the county's votes. One of the members of the Wisconsin Elections Commission had pictures of her home posted on social media, and she received threatening messages about her children.

Even elected officials are attacking the role of these individuals in administering our elections. A Republican sheriff has called for the five members of the bipartisan Wisconsin Elections Commission to face criminal charges for guidance they provided during the pandemic about collecting absentee ballots from nursing homes.

Let's be clear. On January 6, 2021, Donald Trump not only incited a violent insurrection against our democracy, he also incited an ongoing attack on voting rights across America. Across the country, we have seen more than 400 bills that restrict access to voting that have been introduced in 49 States.

In Wisconsin, the Republican-controlled State legislature has advanced legislation curtailing voting rights and has put up barriers to make it harder to vote. Last year, they passed measures that would make it harder for voters to turn in their absentee ballots. They have passed legislation that threaten election officials with felonies for assisting voters with minor issues on their ballots, and they want to make it harder for people with disabilities and who cannot make it into the polls to exercise their right to vote. Thankfully, our Wisconsin Governor has vetoed these measures.

Despite drop boxes being a safe, secure, and effective way for voters to turn in their ballots and have their votes counted and despite previous support for their use from Republicans in the State legislature, Trump's Big Lie has pushed them to now oppose the use of drop boxes statewide. In fact, there is now a push to override guidance from the Wisconsin Elections Commission to make drop boxes for legal ballots illegal in Wisconsin.

At the same time, the Republicans in the State legislature are advancing a redistricting proposal that will double down on Wisconsin's unprecedented level of hyperpartisan gerrymandering, where politicians pick their voters instead of people choosing their elected officials.

Not to be outdone, the New York Times has reported that my fellow Senator from Wisconsin--and this is a quote--``believes Democrats cheat.''

This false accusation was accompanied by a proposal from this U.S. Senator to change the rules in Wisconsin and have the Republican- controlled State legislature seize control over the administration of our elections, taking this nonpartisan process out of the hands of our bipartisan, independent Wisconsin State Elections Commission.

As was reported, ``Senator Ron Johnson, a Republican, said that G.O.P. state lawmakers should unilaterally assert control [over] federal elections, claiming that they had the authority to do so even if Gov. Tony Evers, a Democrat, stood in their way--an extraordinary legal argument debunked by a 1932 Supreme Court decision and a 1964 ruling from the Wisconsin Supreme Court.''

That is from the New York Times.

For my part, I believe voting rights are fundamental to our democracy, and that is why I will keep on working to pass the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act and the Freedom to Vote Act, so we stop voter suppression efforts and protect the right to vote. We must ensure that, regardless of where you live in this country, you have the same access to the ballot box and faith that our elections are fair and safe.

I yield the floor.

Mr. President, I rise today to join my colleagues in marking a very solemn anniversary. A year ago, our former President, Donald Trump, and his Big Lie about the 2020 election incited a violent insurrection on our Nation's Capitol and an attack on our very democracy.

We must never forget this dark day in our Nation's history. We must never forget the heroic work of the Capitol Police, the Metropolitan Police, and the National Guard to protect all of us and this institution and its critical work from that violent mob. We must never tolerate such an attack on our democracy and our democratic values.

That disgraceful day led to the deaths and injuries of brave people in uniform, created lasting scars for countless members of our community, and further opened the door to undermine our trusted democratic process for generations to come.

I applaud the ongoing efforts of the House Select Committee, bipartisan in nature, to uncover the truth, to provide accountability, and to ensure that this never happens again in our country. But Congress cannot stop at making clear to the American people how January 6 came to be and ensuring those who contributed to this tragic attack on our Nation and its institutions face the consequences of their actions.

We must also act to protect the right of every eligible American to vote and to secure the integrity of our elections against partisan interference because the Big Lie hasn't gone away--far from it. Across the country, Republican State legislatures are using it to justify attacking our democracy time and time again.

In the last year alone, more than 400 pieces of legislation--bills-- that restrict access to voting have been introduced in 49 of our States, and in at

least 19 of those States, these measures have become law.

In my home State of Wisconsin, the Republicans in the State legislature are willing to disregard the clear reality that Wisconsinites from across the political spectrum exercised their right to vote in record numbers in a secure, fair, and safe election in 2020. Instead, they are pushing Trump's Big Lie to gain a partisan advantage by curtailing voting rights and putting up barriers to make it harder to vote.

They are today fleecing taxpayers to support a sham, partisan process under the false guise of election integrity, undermining people's faith in our elections. At the same time, they are advancing a redistricting proposal that will double down on Wisconsin's unprecedented level of partisan gerrymandering, all while our hard-working election officials are facing threats against their lives simply for doing their jobs.

Enough is enough. That is why the Senate must take up and pass the Freedom to Vote Act and the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act without delay.

Regardless of where you live in this country, you should have the same access to the ballot box and faith that our elections are fair and safe. Voting rights has long been a bipartisan issue, but, unfortunately, my Republican colleagues are obstructing us from taking up this incredibly important legislation and obstructing us from taking action to stop voter suppression and protect voting rights.

The Freedom to Vote Act will counter election interference by protecting election officials from the kind of threats, intimidation, and harassment that we are seeing across the country and, very specifically, we are seeing in Wisconsin. It will put an end to the partisan gerrymandering that lets legislators choose their voters, something we have seen all too clearly in my home State. And it will ensure that there are commonsense, nationwide standards on early voting and voting by mail that make it easier for more people to exercise their constitutional right to vote, particularly in challenging circumstances like this global pandemic.

The John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act will restore protections under the Voting Rights Act against the type of efforts to restrict access to the ballot that we continue to see in States across the country.

January 6, 2021, is a day none of us will ever forget. The images of insurrectionists assaulting our brave people in uniform, our seat of government and democracy, will forever be burned into my mind. But far too many would like to whitewash the violent day and pretend the insurrection was not an existential threat to our democracy.

We have colleagues who have inexplicably and falsely said the violent mob was a group of mere ``tourists.'' My Republican counterpart from the great State of Wisconsin even called January 6 a ``peaceful protest.'' These fly in the face of the truth. This is not right, and we cannot allow the truth to be buried.

We must all condemn this insurrection in no uncertain terms, as well as the Big Lie about the 2020 election that drove the mob to desecrate this hallowed Chamber. And we must honor and strengthen our democracy by passing legislation that puts an end to these ceaseless attacks on voters and the integrity of our elections.

I yield the floor.

Shortly, I will request unanimous consent to confirm the nomination of Mr. Chris Coes to be Assistant Secretary for Policy at the Department of Transportation.

As we have discussed, we face supply chain challenges created by several compounding factors, increased demand for goods, a growing reliance on e-commerce, as well as production and labor market disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Additionally, we have underinvested in our freight infrastructure for decades. The bipartisan infrastructure law reverses that trend. It provides a historic $567 billion for the Department of Transportation. This includes $37 billion for freight infrastructure investments.

The Department of Transportation will be responsible for implementing and managing these funds, including INFRA and the Port Infrastructure Development Program. The Department needs leaders like Mr. Coes to coordinate implementation of these programs and get the funding Congress has approved out to the States and local governments.

Mr. Coes is very qualified to serve as Assistant Secretary for Transportation Policy for the Department of Transportation, having served as the Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for Transportation Policy.

He received strong and bipartisan support in the Commerce Committee. In fact, there are several nominees, including Mr. Coes, who have been passed out of the Commerce Committee with bipartisan support for key posts at the Department of Transportation, the Department of Commerce, the Surface Transportation Board, and the Federal Maritime Commission who all play integral roles in addressing the ongoing supply chain issues.

And yet some of our Republican colleagues are refusing to provide these Agencies with the leadership resources necessary to help address the supply chain crisis.

The issues facing our supply chain are complex and have been years in the making. They will not be fixed overnight, and that is why it is important to have confirmed, sustained leadership at the Agencies responsible for helping to address these multifaceted issues over the next several years.

So I ask that it be in order to make the same request with respect to Executive Calendar No. 549, Christopher A. Coes to be Assistant Secretary of Transportation.

Mr. President, December 7 marks the 80th anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor, which thrust the United States of America into World War II. I rise today to pay tribute to those who served and sacrificed at Pearl Harbor and throughout World War II to defend our liberty and freedom.

The attack on Pearl Harbor killed 2,403 servicemembers and civilians and injured a further 1,178 people. Today, as we commemorate this anniversary, I want to share the story of the Barber brothers of New London, WI: Navy Fireman 1st Class Malcom J. Barber, 22; Navy Fireman 1st Class Leroy K. Barber, 21; and Navy Fireman 2nd Class Randolph H. Barber, 19.

The three Barber brothers all enlisted in the U.S. Navy in 1940, and together joined the crew of the USS Oklahoma as firemen, which was anchored at Ford Island, Pearl Harbor. When Pearl Harbor was attacked, the USS Oklahoma sustained multiple direct hits and capsized. Malcom, Leroy, and Randolph all died, as did 426 other crewmembers who were on board. Eventually, their remains were recovered, but could not be identified and were buried as unknown remains at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific in Honolulu, HI.

Six years ago, the remains of 388 individuals were exhumed from the cemetery as part of a program launched by the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency--DPAA--which eventually was able to identify 355 individuals and allow their remains to be returned home. This past June, nearly 80 years after the attack on Pearl Harbor, the remains of the brothers were finally identified and returned home to New London. On September 11, 2021, the Barber brothers were buried with full military honors in their hometown of New London.

I am pleased that the brothers are finally home, and I am grateful for the work of those at the DPAA who worked to ensure that as many families as possible could receive closure and bring their family members home to rest. As we commemorate this solemn anniversary, I reflect on the service and sacrifice of 320,000 Wisconsinites who served in World War II and honor their contributions in defense of our Nation today and always.

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

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that all remaining time be yielded back.

Mr. President, I ask for the yeas and nays.

Mr. President, on Sunday, November 21, the joy and celebration of Waukesha's annual Christmas parade was shattered by a horrendous, senseless act of violence that took the lives of six individuals and injured scores of others.

Immediately, the community responded. Waukesha police and firefighters leapt into action, as did other first responders and so did parade-goers, providing aid and comfort to the injured and their families and those who witnessed such horrendous violence. They escorted some to safety. Many used personal vehicles to bring victims to area hospitals. These were acts of extraordinary heroism at a moment of immense tragedy.

I, too, joined in the interfaith vigil the following evening, where I joined hundreds upon hundreds in Waukesha and the surrounding area. This is a first step of an infinite number of steps in both the grieving and healing process. And while the entire vigil was moving in so many ways, I just remember the end where neighbor turned to neighbor to light their candles, and the light was passed on and on.

In that night, after dusk had passed, the area lit up, a symbol of both hope and unity, as well as grief and remembrance.

I want to be very clear where I stand, as I stand together with the Waukesha community. I think it is simply wrong and disrespectful to the innocent lives that were taken away for anyone to play politics with this horrific tragedy. We know this is not a political issue asking for division; it is a community standing together in unity, asking for

support to heal and asking for our love and support as we move forward together.

So we remember Wilhelm ``Bill'' Hospel, Virginia ``Ginny'' Sorenson, Leanna ``Lee'' Owen, Tamara Durand, Jane Kulich, and 8-year-old Jackson Sparks.

I yield back to my colleague to ask for a moment of silence in their memory.

Mr. President, today I rise to honor Wisconsin residents James ``Jim'' and Marty Harris for their humanitarian work in Southeast Asia and their embrace of those displaced from that region. These two lifelong educators have made it their life's mission to welcome Hmong and Lao refugee families to Central Wisconsin, as well as make a positive impact for those living in Laos.

Over the course of more than 20 years, the Harris' have made over 20 trips to Laos. Beginning in 2000, they began the effort to reconnect families from their Wisconsin community with friends and relatives left behind when they departed their homeland. During these trips, they assisted Lao villagers in desperate need of medical care, helped provide hospitals with medical supplies, and provided many Lao schools with their very first library, a most appropriate endeavor for the now retired elementary school principal and retired English and art teacher.

However, their largest impact comes with their assistance in the removal of bombs, land mines, and other unexploded ordnances that dot the Laotian landscape after years of war and turmoil. As Jim told me during a visit I made to Laos several years ago, ``Many villagers are waiting 40 years for four days of help.'' To address this, the Harris's founded the nonprofit ``We Help War Victims,'' an organization that assists survivors of war and other conflicts to rebuild their lives. With half of its annual budget stemming from fundraising sales of Lao coffee beans, it allows paid teams to continue ordnance removal even when Jim and Marty aren't able to be halfway around the world. Countless lives and limbs have been saved because of this continuing work and dedication. Now, villages can enjoy expanded gardens and rice fields. This increased agricultural output allows these populations to better sustain themselves and provide food for neighboring communities.

With every trip, Jim returned to Wisconsin with relics and mementos gathered during his time in Laos. Slowly, this collection has amassed to become one of, if not the largest, known private collection of Southeast Asian artifacts in all of the United States. Jim started off by displaying some of these items at the school he worked at as principal. In 2016, he made the collection more accessible by developing an exhibition called ``From Laos to America: The Spirit of '76'', which was housed at the Wausau Center Mall in Wausau, WI. Since then, more than 10,000 people have visited the museum.

The ``From Laos to America'' collection now enters into a new chapter in 2021. This impressive collection has found a new home in Washington Square in downtown Wausau. Jim and Marty have also partnered with the Hmong American Center to ensure that this collection remains in central Wisconsin. This new home will highlight the full collection and provide educational opportunities so the community and visitors alike can learn more about the Southeast Asian refugee experience. I am pleased to celebrate this important partnership and the new home for this important collection, and I am proud to commend Jim and Marty on their tireless humanitarian work and advocacy in Southeast Asia and in central Wisconsin.

Mr. President, today I rise to recognize the 50th anniversary of Milwaukee Metropolitan Community Church in Milwaukee, WI, an inclusive Christian community of faith. Milwaukee Metropolitan Community Church began as Prince of Peace Metropolitan Community Church in 1971 under the leadership of Reverend Paul Sydman. It was renamed Metropolitan Community Church in 1977 and finally Milwaukee Metropolitan Community Church in 1993.

In its first 20 years, the church changed worship locations multiple times within the city of Milwaukee and held services in other churches before establishing its current home at 1239 West Mineral Street in Milwaukee's Walker's Point neighborhood in 1993. With this purchase, the church became the first LGBTQI+ organization to own property in the city of Milwaukee, as well as the entire State of Wisconsin.

Milwaukee Metropolitan Community Church--MCC--is the oldest LGBTQI+ organization still in existence in Milwaukee and the State ofWisconsin. The church was originally started to provide a place for LGBTQI+ people to worship and has a long tradition of welcoming all people looking for a spiritual place where they can feel welcomed and accepted. It became a member of the Global Movement of Metropolitan Community Churches in 1984. This denomination was founded by the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender--LGBT--community in 1968.

Current Pastor Reverend Tory V. Topjian began his pastorate as senior minister on June 1, 2016. It was within his first 10 days of service that the country and the LGBT community experienced the great tragedy of the Pulse Night Club shooting in Orlando, FL. Reverend Tory and Milwaukee Metropolitan Community Church took an active role in helping the Milwaukee community grieve following the shooting.

In 2020, after waiting for nearly 20 years, both the Interfaith Conference of Greater Milwaukee and the Wisconsin Council of Churches finally recognized Metropolitan Community Churches to be a viable and important community of faith. Milwaukee MCC was invited to sit on councils of both these vital community organizations and offered a well-deserved voice and vote.

Milwaukee Metropolitan Community Church, like most churches, adjusted and adapted to the pandemic and its impact on church community since the spring of 2020. Virtual worship and programming were offered to keep the congregation safe while maintaining community.

The year 2021 marks 50 years since the beginning of this important community within Milwaukee, WI, and the LGBTQ community. A welcoming place for all, its foundation is built on community and inclusiveness. Earlier this year, the Milwaukee Historical Society honored this community being the oldest LGBTQI+ organization still in existence. Its significance and impact on countless members over the years is profound. Please join me in celebrating this historically and spiritually important community.

Mr. President, I rise to speak in support of legislation that I have recently joined Senator Warren in introducing. It is called the Stop Wall Street Looting Act, and it concerns some of the practices and the business model of what I would describe as predatory private equity firms.

Now, before I dive into the details, I want to say that there are very good private equity companies that invest in the businesses they have purchased and the communities and the workers.

But, unfortunately, this is something that I have firsthand knowledge of, the impact of predatory private equity businesses on workers and communities in my home State of Wisconsin. Several historic Wisconsin companies have been driven into bankruptcy or had their facilities moved overseas by the private equity funds and companies that acquired them.

The first company that I want to talk about is ShopKo. For those who weren't in the ShopKo footprint in the United States, ShopKo is a retailer that was founded in 1961 in Ashwaubenon, WI. ShopKo was bought by a private equity firm, after many profitable years of existence, back in 2005. The firm was Sun Capital Partners.

Sun Capital immediately executed what is known as a sale-leaseback. A sale-leaseback is a textbook private equity maneuver in which the fund sells the company's real estate right out from under it. Real estate and the facilities were the most major asset that ShopKo had.

Certainly, they also had inventory and workers, but they owned the real estate, and this private equity firm basically sold ShopKo's 351 locations with hundreds of millions of dollars, and they were sold to a company that would lease the land and buildings back to ShopKo.

Sun Capital promised to reinvest the proceeds of the sale back into the company, but instead it paid out cash to itself in the form of dividends and management fees. Not only was ShopKo prevented from using its cash to reinvest, it was also loaded up with $200 million more in additional debt to fund even more payouts to Sun Capital executives.

After years of being starved of investment, ShopKo was forced into bankruptcy and liquidation in 2019. The 3,000 Wisconsin workers were promised severance pay in exchange for working through the company's final days.

I mean, if you think about that, you have a retail store. You don't want everybody to--the day they find out that store is ultimately going to close--to go out and find other jobs or you don't have the way to wind down your business. So they were promised severance pay in exchange for working through the company's final days. But when the time came to pay the workers, Sun Capital said it didn't have any money.

When I met with these ShopKo workers, I remember meeting Kristi Van Beckum. She said to me:

I always felt proud to work at ShopKo because it was a

Wisconsin-based company and it invested a lot in the

community. But I saw how Sun Capital sold out ShopKo's

properties and [literally] destroyed the company, all for

their own benefit. They made millions while I didn't even get

the severance I was promised. Sun Capital ran a company we

loved into the ground.

More recently, I visited with workers at Hufcor, a company that has operated in Janesville, WI, for over 120 years. In 2017, the manufacturer was acquired by a private equity firm called OpenGate Capital.

Wisconsinites are sadly already familiar with OpenGate. This is an L.A.-based private equity fund that bankrupted another Wisconsin firm, Golden Guernsey Dairy, back in 2013, only 2 years after acquiring it, laying off hundreds of workers in Waukesha, WI.

Dairy workers showed up one day to find the doors locked. They were given no notice of their layoff, and they had to fight OpenGate for 8 years just to get their back pay.

This past summer, OpenGate notified the 166 workers at Hufcor that their jobs would be terminated, and the workers soon learned that the manufacturing operations would be moved to Monterrey, Mexico.

When I visited with the workers this summer, I learned this from Michelle, who had worked for Hufcor for 23 years. She told me she is anxious about what training she might need to get another job that will pay what she earned at Hufcor.

Then I also heard from Jesse. He was diagnosed with cancer 2 years ago, and he depends upon the health benefit provided by Hufcor for his treatment.

These workers had great benefits because of their representation by the Communications Workers of America union and because of their employment at Hufcor, but they were left with an uncertain future because OpenGate has decided to move their jobs to Mexico.

These stories illustrate the devastation that the predatory private equity business model has wrought on my State. These workers deserve better. We need to rip up private equity's predatory playbook that enriches looters, but leaves workers with nothing but pink slips.

I was proud to work with Senator Warren to introduce the aptly named Stop Wall Street Looting Act. This legislation will prevent private equity firms from enriching themselves by starving businesses of investment and running them into bankruptcy or shipping their jobs overseas. This bold reform will help rewrite the rules of our economy and protect workers from the predatory practices so that we can start to reward hard work, not just wealth.

Thank you for the opportunity to share the stories from my State, and I look forward to working to pass this important legislation.

Mr. President, I rise to speak in support of legislation that I have recently joined Senator Warren in introducing. It is called the Stop Wall Street Looting Act, and it concerns some of the practices and the business model of what I would describe as predatory private equity firms.

Now, before I dive into the details, I want to say that there are very good private equity companies that invest in the businesses they have purchased and the communities and the workers.

But, unfortunately, this is something that I have firsthand knowledge of, the impact of predatory private equity businesses on workers and communities in my home State of Wisconsin. Several historic Wisconsin companies have been driven into bankruptcy or had their facilities moved overseas by the private equity funds and companies that acquired them.

The first company that I want to talk about is ShopKo. For those who weren't in the ShopKo footprint in the United States, ShopKo is a retailer that was founded in 1961 in Ashwaubenon, WI. ShopKo was bought by a private equity firm, after many profitable years of existence, back in 2005. The firm was Sun Capital Partners.

Sun Capital immediately executed what is known as a sale-leaseback. A sale-leaseback is a textbook private equity maneuver in which the fund sells the company's real estate right out from under it. Real estate and the facilities were the most major asset that ShopKo had.

Certainly, they also had inventory and workers, but they owned the real estate, and this private equity firm basically sold ShopKo's 351 locations with hundreds of millions of dollars, and they were sold to a company that would lease the land and buildings back to ShopKo.

Sun Capital promised to reinvest the proceeds of the sale back into the company, but instead it paid out cash to itself in the form of dividends and management fees. Not only was ShopKo prevented from using its cash to reinvest, it was also loaded up with $200 million more in additional debt to fund even more payouts to Sun Capital executives.

After years of being starved of investment, ShopKo was forced into bankruptcy and liquidation in 2019. The 3,000 Wisconsin workers were promised severance pay in exchange for working through the company's final days.

I mean, if you think about that, you have a retail store. You don't want everybody to--the day they find out that store is ultimately going to close--to go out and find other jobs or you don't have the way to wind down your business. So they were promised severance pay in exchange for working through the company's final days. But when the time came to pay the workers, Sun Capital said it didn't have any money.

When I met with these ShopKo workers, I remember meeting Kristi Van Beckum. She said to me:

I always felt proud to work at ShopKo because it was a

Wisconsin-based company and it invested a lot in the

community. But I saw how Sun Capital sold out ShopKo's

properties and [literally] destroyed the company, all for

their own benefit. They made millions while I didn't even get

the severance I was promised. Sun Capital ran a company we

loved into the ground.

More recently, I visited with workers at Hufcor, a company that has operated in Janesville, WI, for over 120 years. In 2017, the manufacturer was acquired by a private equity firm called OpenGate Capital.

Wisconsinites are sadly already familiar with OpenGate. This is an L.A.-based private equity fund that bankrupted another Wisconsin firm, Golden Guernsey Dairy, back in 2013, only 2 years after acquiring it, laying off hundreds of workers in Waukesha, WI.

Dairy workers showed up one day to find the doors locked. They were given no notice of their layoff, and they had to fight OpenGate for 8 years just to get their back pay.

This past summer, OpenGate notified the 166 workers at Hufcor that their jobs would be terminated, and the workers soon learned that the manufacturing operations would be moved to Monterrey, Mexico.

When I visited with the workers this summer, I learned this from Michelle, who had worked for Hufcor for 23 years. She told me she is anxious about what training she might need to get another job that will pay what she earned at Hufcor.

Then I also heard from Jesse. He was diagnosed with cancer 2 years ago, and he depends upon the health benefit provided by Hufcor for his treatment.

These workers had great benefits because of their representation by the Communications Workers of America union and because of their employment at Hufcor, but they were left with an uncertain future because OpenGate has decided to move their jobs to Mexico.

These stories illustrate the devastation that the predatory private equity business model has wrought on my State. These workers deserve better. We need to rip up private equity's predatory playbook that enriches looters, but leaves workers with nothing but pink slips.

I was proud to work with Senator Warren to introduce the aptly named Stop Wall Street Looting Act. This legislation will prevent private equity firms from enriching themselves by starving businesses of investment and running them into bankruptcy or shipping their jobs overseas. This bold reform will help rewrite the rules of our economy and protect workers from the predatory practices so that we can start to reward hard work, not just wealth.

Thank you for the opportunity to share the stories from my State, and I look forward to working to pass this important legislation.

Madam President, let me start by asking unanimous consent that the vote on the motion to discharge the Lhamon nomination occur at 3:30 p.m. today.

Madam President, I rise today to talk about the opportunity we have before us to deliver results for the people we work for.

Right now, too many Americans are struggling to make ends meet and get ahead because of the cost and availability of childcare, healthcare, home care, and prescription drugs.

In my home State of Wisconsin, people like Zena, a human resources representative from Twin Lakes, needs us to pass the Build Back Better Budget that invests in working families.

Zena has been battling several severe autoimmune diseases, and she has been battling this for more than 15 years. She fell very ill after contracting norovirus, and she was unable to work and ultimately lost her job, as well as her employer-sponsored healthcare that came with it.

Sick and uninsured, she turned to our State's BadgerCare program for help. But because the Republicans in the Wisconsin State Legislature have refused a Federal investment to fully expand Medicaid coverage, Zena was locked out of the program and unable to access necessary healthcare coverage. Like millions of Americans, Zena found herself in the Medicaid coverage gap and was forced to make choices that no one living in the United States should have to face, choices like paying for life-sustaining medication or paying her mortgage.

Right now, the people we work for are paying two to three times more for their prescription drugs than people in

other wealthy countries. This needs to change, and we have an opportunity to get the job done if we simply make the superwealthy and most profitable corporations, like the big drug companies, pay their fair share of taxes.

For years, Congress has been talking about lowering the cost of prescription drugs, so let's finally do it by giving Medicare the power to negotiate lower prescription drug prices that will save taxpayers money. Let's stand on the side of seniors, who should no longer be at the mercy of Big Pharma.

In addition to lowering the cost of needed medications, our Build Back Better budget provides the opportunity to expand Medicare benefits to include vision, dental, and hearing. The last time I checked, your ears, eyes, and teeth are all a part of your overall health, and there is no good reason not to include them in Medicare coverage.

Right now, the United States is also in the midst of a long-term care and caregiving crisis. Hundreds of thousands of older adults and people with disabilities who need and qualify for home- and community-based care services are unable to access them. I know something about this. I was my grandmother's caregiver, and I know firsthand the challenges that family caregivers face.

But we can do something about this, and we should, with Build Back Better legislation that invests in long-term care; creates new, good- paying home-care jobs; and raises wages for care workers who often work around the clock to care for our loved ones yet live in poverty.

All of this and more is doable if Washington finally says we are not going to continue spending trillions of taxpayer dollars on tax loopholes and tax giveaways for huge, profitable corporations, millionaires, and billionaires.

This is all to say that we face an urgent choice: Do we work for the powerful special interests who have too much influence in Washington, or do we work for people like Zena and others like her who simply look for a little help from us to even the playing field and to get ahead?

This is our moment to prove to the American people--to people like Zena--that their government works for them, not just those at the top. I have faith that we can do this for Zena, for Wisconsin, and for the millions of Americans counting on us to get the job done for them.

I yield.

Mr. President, shortly, I will be making a unanimous consent request to confirm the nomination of Ms. Karen Hedlund to be a member of the Surface Transportation Board.

Ms. Hedlund served as Deputy Administrator of the Federal Railroad Administration, and before that, as Chief Counsel at the Federal Highway Administration. She has spent most of her career in the development and financing of infrastructure projects across the United States, including improvements to the national freight rail system.

She is well qualified to be a member of the Surface Transportation Board, which we know is so critical to the movement of freight; and her appointment comes at a time when there are many important issues and decisions before the Board.

Ms. Hedlund was nominated by the President in April. She received bipartisan approval in the Commerce Committee now over 2 months ago, and it is time for the full Senate to do the same.

So I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to the following nomination: Calendar No. 315, Karen Jean Hedlund, to be a member of the Surface Transportation Board for a term expiring December 31, 2025. I further ask unanimous consent that the nomination be confirmed, the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table with no intervening action or debate; that no further motions be in order to the nomination; and that the President be immediately notified of the Senate's action.

I suggest the absence of a quorum.

Mr. President, I have 10 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: