Floor Statements

Mr. President, I can't think of a more important thing to be debating here in these Chambers than the right to vote. We can't even get to that. We can't even get to that because of the use of the filibuster to prevent us from having a vote, a discussion, on the Voting Rights Act.

In America, the path toward justice has always, always been intertwined with the right to vote. Progress and enfranchisement have always been braided together.

Billy clubs, whips, barbed wire, wrapped tubing--that is what awaited John Lewis at the end of that Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma because it has never been easy--it has never been easy--to fight for enfranchisement or to fight for the right to vote. There has always been a price to pay by those who focus on justice.

Shouted slurs, explosions of tear gas, pained screams, and the crack of clubs against bone--those were the sounds that filled the air as Lewis and hundreds of his fellow Americans tried to march forward as they tried to bring their country forward one step at a time.

Most of us in this room know of those mothers and fathers of the civil rights movement, what they did for us that day. They raised their voice on that bridge so that fellow Americans could raise their voices at the ballot box. Tragically, we also know that many in this Chamber today appear unwilling to do their part to protect the rights those heroes fought for.

More than a half century ago, in this very building, Senators from both sides of the aisle came together to pass the Voting Rights Act, a bill designed to protect Black Americans--to protect all Americans-- from the kind of racial discrimination that was so common in State-run elections at that time.

Of course, it is not possible to list out all the changes that have taken

place since that moment. More and more civil rights advocates stood up and sat in. More and more Americans marched through and then laid down in the streets. And the moral arc of the universe that Dr. Martin Luther King spoke of bent a little more toward justice with every hard- earned right they secured and every fight that they won.

But, sadly, damningly, one other change stands out to me as I speak here today. More than 50 years after the Voting Rights Act became law, we can no longer say that a bipartisan majority of the Senate is willing to protect the most basic tenet of our democracy. Heck, we don't even have all of the Senators in the room to discuss this. Every American's right to make their voice heard is so critically important to our democracy. We can't say this because Senate Republicans have spent the past year blocking every Democratic attempt to even begin debate on strengthening voter legislation.

Even as Republicans in States around the country pass more and more restrictive voter suppression laws aimed at silencing the voice of the people, we still struggle and beg to have this debate, and they will not vote to allow us to do so.

Republicans in Georgia made it illegal to peremptorily mail out absentee mail out absentee ballots to registered voters, a law that hurts all groups that rely on voting by mail, from communities of color to Americans living with disabilities.

It also hurts military voters currently serving in harm's way overseas. I myself voted by mail when I was serving our country in Iraq. After all, I was a little busy flying combat missions, so I don't know if I would have had the chance to request an absentee ballot 15 days before the election if my unit had not assisted in that effort. Not every unit may do that. And so not having their ballots mailed to them would make it immeasurably harder for our troops to vote wherever they may be serving.

I can't understand why Republicans would want to make it harder for brave Americans, defending our democracy abroad, to participate in it, but that is what they are doing.

And I can't understand how my Republican colleagues can sit here today and ask paid staffers and pages to bring them water, at exactly the temperature they like, with or without ice, sparkling or not sparkling, as they make their voices heard on the Senate floor and then say nothing--nothing--to stop a law that makes it illegal to give water to Americans waiting hours in line at polling stations as they seek to simply have their voices heard at the ballot box.

Listen, my five-times great-grandfathers, who were likely indentured servants without the right to vote, didn't fight in the Revolutionary War and earn that right to vote just so people claiming to be the leaders of our generation could chip away at the fundamental idea that founded this Nation: that everyone is equal.

And my buddies and I and Senator Cotton didn't sign up to defend our democracy in war zones thousands of miles away only to watch it crumble at the hands of powerful people more focused on their own self- interests than in the foundational component of this extraordinary experiment that we call America; that everyone, regardless of social status, wealth, skin color, sex, has a right to vote.

Page after page in our Nation's history is marred by bigotry, tainted by intolerance, by injustice, but through every chapter--however dark the night--some brave Americans have willed that there would be light.

That march forward has always been to expand access to the polls, not to decrease it--expanded access for those who didn't own land, for Black Americans after the Civil War, for women, for all Americans.

In World War II, Black Americans fought overseas for the same country that forced their families to sit at segregated lunch counters back home. Then they came home and were forced to guess how many jelly beans were in a jar before they, themselves, could vote in a country that they had fought for.

Asian Americans fought to end slavery in the Civil War, sacrificed to preserve this Union, and then had their earned citizenship stripped away. Decades later, their grandsons fought in Europe even as their loved ones were interred in camps on American soil. And we march forward, and we march on, and we expand the right to the ballot box.

In the sixties, White Americans hopped on buses and risked their lives Freedom Riding through the South so those with darker skin could walk into the ballot box without fear of billy clubs.

And Americans of all backgrounds have packed their rucks, laced up their boots, and gone to war in places like Iraq, lost their lives in places like Afghanistan, to defend the most American belief: that we all have a voice and we all have the right to use it, including at the polls, because voting to elect one's own government is the core of that right.

I am not asking anyone to do anything nearly as difficult as putting on a uniform and going to war or crossing a bridge and being met with billy clubs. I am not asking anybody to do anything that difficult today. I am not asking my Republican colleagues to risk their lives on a bus or a bridge, in the heat of the American South or under the scorching Sun of a desert in the Middle East. All I am asking for is the bare minimum. All I am begging them to do is merely to not sit in silence in the face of grave injustice, to not let being partisan keep them from being a patriot.

For the sake of all who have sacrificed for this Nation, I, at least, refuse to remain silent. That is why I am voting for these bills. That is why I am trying to claw back some of the protections that Republicans have spent the last year trying to erode on the back of the Big Lie, including expanded voter purges, increased barriers for voters with disabilities, and harsher voter ID requirements.

That is why I am asking my colleagues who claim to represent the party of Lincoln, as a junior Senator from the ``Land of Lincoln,'' I ask you to act in a way that will further the cause of justice. That is why I am working to restore the Voting Rights Act, to expand early voting and vote-by-mail, to limit special interest money in politics, and to actually try to protect underserved communities and our servicemembers' rights to vote--because not only can our country do better, we have done better. Back when we passed the Voting Rights Act all those decades ago, not only can our Chamber do more, we have done more, including the 16 Republicans who are still in the Senate today who have previously voted to reauthorize the Voting Rights Act.

And we owe more to those heroes who fought these fights before us, those trailblazers who marched those bridges while those in power broke their bones, whose skulls were cracked, whose blood was shed, yet whose will never bent, whose determination never wavered, those heroes who never let what was hard deter them from doing what was right. We owe it to each of them--and to those whose rights are at risk today--to pass this bill.

I yield the floor.

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

Mr. President, I rise today on Pearl Harbor Day to remind my colleagues that on December 7, 1941, Imperial Japan attacked not only Pearl Harbor but also the Philippine Islands, Guam, Wake Island, Howland Island, Midway, Malaya, Singapore, Hong Kong, Shanghai, and Bangkok.

In the Philippines that day, 89 men from Maywood, IL, who made up Company ``B'' of the 192nd Tank Battalion--federated National Guard units from Illinois, Wisconsin, Kentucky, and Ohio--defended Clark Field from invading Japanese forces. They had arrived in the Philippines less than 3 weeks earlier.

These Illinois tankers watched helplessly as Japan's modern planes flew beyond the reach of their guns and destroyed the airfield. They then fought valiantly on the Bataan Peninsula with antiquated weapons and dwindling supplies. Relief from the United States never came. Though they held out for months, the men, overcome with fatigue, starvation, and disease, were surrendered by their commanders on April 9, 1942.

What followed was the infamous Bataan Death March 100 miles up the peninsula to a makeshift prison camp. Thousands died. Maywood, a hamlet outside of Chicago, had the greatest number of men from any single American town on the Death March. They would not all make it home.

Those who survived the initial march endured 3 and a half years of death camps, brutal forced labor, and unimaginable abuse. More than half the Americans taken prisoner on Bataan died before they could see the war's end. Of the 89 Maywood men of Company ``B'' who left the U.S. in 1941, only 43 returned home in 1945.

For 79 years, Maywood has celebrated and remembered its heroes of Bataan with an annual September Memorial. Like many important celebrations in COVID, this was the second year that the memorial had to be postponed. But we do not forget the men of Maywood. From the Bataan-Corregidor Memorial Bridge in Chicago to Maywood's Bataan Memorial Park, my home State of Illinois recalls daily their sacrifice for liberty.

As a retired member of the Illinois National Guard myself, today is a solemn day--a day that will forever live in infamy--when we are reminded of the sacrifices made and the brave lives lost in service to our Nation. I am proud to have served with my Illinois National Guard family and work to continue to bring respect, remembrance, and honor to such a strong legacy.

Therefore, I ask my fellow Senators to join me on this 80th anniversary of Japan's surprise attack on Pearl Harbor and to remember the other Americans who fought and died throughout the Pacific that day. Although the aim of the December 7 surprise attack on Hawaii's Pearl Harbor was to destroy the U.S. Pacific Fleet in its home port and to discourage U.S. action in Asia, the other strikes served as preludes to full-scale invasion and brutal military occupation.

I further ask my colleagues to join me in commending the hard work and dedication of Maywood Bataan Day Organization President Col. Richard A. McMahon, Jr., and his board of directors, as well as Ms. Jan Thompson, president of the Illinois-based American Defenders of Bataan and Corregidor Memorial Society, who are committed to honoring and preserving the history of the men and women of Bataan who gave so much in the fight against tyranny and fascism. They, too, are the part of the story of Pearl Harbor Day and in keeping the memory of the men of Maywood alive to this day.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate consider the following nomination: Executive Calendar No. 438, C.B. Sullenberger III, for the rank of Ambassador during his tenure of service as Representative of the United States of America on the Council of the International Civil Aviation Organization.

I ask unanimous consent that the Senate vote on the nomination without intervening action or debate and that if confirmed, the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table, all without intervening action or debate; that no further motions be in order to the nomination; that any statements related to the nomination be printed in the Record; and that the President be immediately notified of the Senate's action.

I yield the floor.

Madam President, I rise today to pay tribute to the remarkable life of Retired BG Charles E. Fleming, a 35-year veteran of the Illinois Army National Guard who passed away on September 8, 2021.

General Fleming was a graduate of the University of Illinois, Western Illinois University, and the U.S. Army War College. He honorably served his country in the Army National Guard from 1970 to 2005, obtaining the rank of brigadier general. He assumed duties as assistant adjutant general in September of 2001 and was responsible for the preparation and deployment of Illinois Army National Guard units in support of Operations Santa Fe and Enduring Freedom immediately following the September 11, 2001, terrorists' attacks, and the beginning stages of the National Guard's transition from a strategic reserve to an operational force.

General Fleming served as principal assistant to the adjutant general in all matters pertaining to supervision and management of the Illinois Department of Military Affairs and the Illinois Army National Guard. Throughout his military career, he achieved many awards and decorations including; the Meritorious Service Medal, Army Commendation Medal, National Defense Service Medal, the Humanitarian Service Medal, and the Army Service Ribbon.

General Fleming also molded citizens as a teacher for Kewanee School and a principal and superintendent of schools for the Cuba School District and founding assistant commander of the Chicago Military Academy at Bronzeville. He leaves behind his wife of 53 years, Gayle, and their 2 children, daughter Nichole and son Robert. May his legacy of service and kind spirit serve as an inspiration to us all.

Mr. President, I rise today to pay tribute to the remarkable life of Officer Christopher

Neil Oberheim, a 20-year veteran of the Illinois police force who was fatally shot on May 19, 2021, while serving in the line of duty. Officer Oberheim started his remarkable career at the Decatur Police Department before transferring to the Champaign Police Department in 2008.

Throughout his years of protecting and serving, Officer Oberheim earned two medals of valor and countless letters of commendation for his courageous acts of selfless bravery. He will be remembered by his colleagues as a model officer and someone who looked forward to making memories with his fellow officers at the annual State softball tournament hosted by the Police Benevolent and Protective Association of Illinois.

Officer Oberheim was not only a dedicated law enforcement officer, but also a devoted father and citizen who was loved and respected in his community. Officer Oberheim invested a great deal of time off duty to coaching several successful girls' softball teams, and the Monticello Sages Softball team paid tribute to his legacy as a coach and mentor: ``Chris Oberheim was the ultimate girl dad and was so proud of his girls. He has given so much to the program and we are blessed to have known him.''

Officer Oberheim was tragically killed in the line of duty while fulfilling his oath to serve and protect the people of the city of Champaign, and I am grateful for his years of service. He leaves behind his wife Amber and their 4 daughters Hannah, Avery, Addison, and Aubree. May his service, sacrifice, and kind spirit serve as an inspiration to us all.

Madam President, I have an amendment at the desk.

Madam President, last week, our Nation marked the 31st anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act. More than three decades have passed since President George H. W. Bush signed the ADA into law and proudly declared ``[L]et the shameful wall of exclusion finally come tumbling down.''

This past week was a time for celebration and reflection on the progress we have made over the last 30 years. Yet, when it comes to the ADA's guarantee of equal access to public transportation for people with disabilities, many transit and commuter rail systems continue to fall short.

This amendment is not racist. This amendment does not call any particular Agency racist. In fact, what this amendment does--the substitute amendment includes $1.75 billion to expedite accessibility upgrades at existing legacy rail fixed guideway public transportation systems. My amendment simply ensures that recipients of these critical Federal resources fully consider the goals and requirements of the ADA and develop a plan to maximize accessibility across their systems.

This is common sense and good government. It ensures accountability that taxpayer dollars are used to fulfill promises made decades ago and are used wisely, with maximum effectiveness

Thirty years after we committed to a goal of inclusive and equitable transportation, transit operators should be held accountable for meaningful accessibility upgrades. It is not enough for grant recipients to add cosmetic upgrades and pat themselves on the back. Disabled commuters deserve the accessibility that others take for granted.

This is not a partisan issue. I call on every Member in this Chamber to stand with me in supporting equity for people with disabilities and supporting good stewardship of taxpayer dollars

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

Mr. President, I suggest the absence of a quorum.

Mr. President, I remember sitting in a House Oversight Committee hearing years ago on the Flint water crisis. At the time, my oldest daughter Abigail was just a year old.

I remember looking out into the audience and seeing just a hand holding a baby bottle up from the middle of a crowd in that hearing room. That baby bottle looked exactly like the one that my own baby drank out of. It was a little bottle with a pink top.

But unlike my daughter's bottle, the water in this one was brown, a muddy, murky brown.

I couldn't, and all these years later I still can't, begin to imagine what it would have been like to have to drink that water while I was pregnant or to have no choice but to give it to my baby because the system that I trusted to provide my family with clean, safe drinking water had failed me.

But that kind of nightmare remains the everyday reality for far, far too many parents across this country.

It has been 7 years since the leaders of the city of Flint tried to save a few dollars by swapping out its drinking water supply from Detroit's system to the Flint River, setting off a chain of events that poisoned nearly 9,000 kids in just 18 months.

But the damage inflicted on that community will never go away, and while Flint was a tragedy, it was not an anomaly. According to both the EPA and CDC, there is no known safe level of lead in a child's blood. Yet more than 6 million homes continue to get water from lead service lines, including in my own home State of Illinois, which has more known lead service lines than any other State in the country.

And despite lead service lines being banned nearly 35 years ago, as of 2019, roughly half a million children under the age of 6 still had elevated levels of lead in their blood--something that can cause permanent brain damage.

And lead is just one of the many issues that communities struggle with every day due to our outdated and dilapidated water systems.

But instead of working to address these known issues, the Federal Government's share of capital spending in the water sector fell from 63 percent in 1977 to a meager 9 percent in 2017.

And now, our dwindling Federal and State investments into our water infrastructure are allowing countless Americans to be exposed to pollutants, whether it is from taking a sip from their kitchen faucets or even just living near an outdated stormwater system.

Part of the problem with water infrastructure is that it is expensive and no one sees it--out of sight, out of mind. But that only lasts until there is a major problem, like in Texas, where over 15 million people were temporarily left without access to clean water.

Well, we have to stop waiting for our infrastructure to fail before we invest in it. We cannot wait around for another crisis to sicken our families before we decide to put real State and Federal dollars into rebuilding our drinking water and wastewater systems.

Imagine if your child was one of those who had gotten sick because legislators refused to take action on such an obvious crisis. Imagine if you had to be the one to get your newborn to sip on water too opaque to see through.

We should not let even one more parent suffer through that worst-case scenario. Access to clean water is a human right, and every American deserves access to clean water, no matter their ZIP Code, the color of their skin, or the size of their income.

It is long, long past time that we turn that right into a reality by investing in the kinds of projects that would put Americans back to work rebuilding our crumbling water infrastructure. We must dramatically increase Federal investments to provide every family access to the most basic human needs--clean water.

That is one reason why I introduced the Drinking Water and Wastewater Infrastructure Act of 2021. If our Nation

truly wants to build back better, we can't only pour money into fixing our roads while failing to repair the pipes beneath them.

Because water infrastructure is infrastructure, everyone needs it in every corner of this country.

My bipartisan bill would invest significant Federal dollars to help States, communities, and schools fix and upgrade aging water systems to improve water quality, while fostering economic growth throughout the country.

Our legislation seeks to reauthorize and enhance State revolving loan funds, which are the most effective tools we have to provide States with Federal investments that empower local leaders to modernize water systems, implement lead reduction projects, and rebuild stormwater overflow infrastructure.

Our bill would also continue getting shovels into the ground and support quality jobs by reauthorizing the WIFIA financing program, an initiative that already helped finance nearly $20 billion for water infrastructure projects and created 49,000 jobs in just under 7 years.

It would provide more than $700 million in lead testing and reduction programs, in part through a program very close to my heart, the voluntary lead testing in schools and childcare facilities program, expanding it to go beyond testing to include lead reduction

Of course, it is not sufficient to simply increase investment levels--we must enact policies that effectively distribute critical dollars in a fair and just manner that prioritizes the most vulnerable Americans, and the most pressing public health and safety needs.

That is why my bipartisan legislation prioritizes environmental justice by providing direct help to small, disadvantaged, rural and tribal communities that have been ignored for far too long.

By lowering non-Federal cost-shares, creating new grants and allowing for debt forgiveness, we can help communities that typically struggle to afford traditional loans. This includes Centerville, IL, a community that needs resources to kick start projects that will rebuild their catastrophically failing systems that allow sewage to seep into my constituents' homes whenever it rains.

Look, we must face the awful reality that a community's racial and economic composition are the top predictors of waste facility locations--and we should be outraged that these environmental justice communities are often neglected in favor of wealthy areas that are home to rate payers that can cover the cost of safe water.

Congress cannot abandon American communities simply because they cannot afford to update their water infrastructure . . . especially when we know that the Federal Government failed to prevent this crisis from happening.

Concerns about the health effects of lead pipes date back all the way back to the late 1800's--yet Congress didn't ban the use of lead service lines until 1986! And even then, the Federal Government allowed lead pipes already in the ground to remain . . . forcing too many of our communities to essentially drink through a ``lead straw'' to this very day.

We helped create this problem. Now, it's on us to help fix it.

Our mission lies right before us: work together to protect the health of our most vulnerable neighbors and achieve a reality where: no elementary-schooler is scared to use their school's drinking fountain;

no parent questions whether it's safe to give their child a glass of water before bedtime; and

no family comes to expect that their house will be flooded by sewage every time it rains.

At the end of the day, it's simple the condition of our water infrastructure is a crisis. It is a crisis that is daunting, yes, and devastating, certainly--yet it's a crisis that is solvable. Every dollar we spend improving our water systems can help save the health of our future generations. And that is why I hope my colleagues will join me in voting yes on the Drinking Water and Wastewater Infrastructure Act of 2021.

Amendment No. 1471, as Modified, to Amendment No. 1460

Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to executive session and resume consideration of Executive Calendar No. 65, Cynthia Minette Marten, to be Deputy Secretary of Education.

Madam President, first it was 5 minutes. Then it was 10.

Then, 15. I had no idea where she was, and, at the time, barely even knew who she was. All I knew was that on her first day, as not just a volunteer but a full-time employee, our latest hire was ridiculously late to pick me up to drive me to the next campaign stop. Not a great look for her first task on the job.

Twenty minutes passed. Then, 25. Then, 30. She still wasn't there.

Her name was Kaitlin ``Something,'' I remembered. Well, whenever Kaitlin ``Something'' deigned to show up--if Kaitlin ``Something'' deigned to show up at all--she would get a lesson in working for a former military officer who believed in the sanctity of clocking in at 0855 hours if your commanding officer told you to report at 0900 hours.

Thirty-five minutes went by. Then, 40.

It was only after 45 minutes had passed that I saw her car coming around the bend. And while I could not have noted at the time, Kaitlin ``Something'' was about to become one of the most important people in my life. But on that day, she made me miss an event because we were too late.

In the 15 years since that day that she showed up so incredibly late, Kaitlin Fahey has gone from being an intern to being in charge of interns, to, well, being in charge of me as my scheduler and then as my chief of staff.

She has become a trusted political adviser, a confidant, a close friend, and an honorary member of my family--someone I knew I could turn to for a gut check and for the most brutally honest advice, the person who can both calm me down and rev me up and who can switch between the two on a dime.

From greasy fast food stops along campaign routes to the hallowed halls of the Capitol Building that I am speaking in today, Kaitlin has never left my corner. She has always pushed for what was good and right, for what was best not just for me but for the people I represented--never, ever accepting the word ``no'' when a ``yes'' might be better to help even one family in one far-flung town of our home State of Illinois.

Day after day, year after year, in role after role, she worked tirelessly, not on my behalf but on behalf of every Illinoisan, every American, proving along the way that you don't need to wear a nation's uniform to serve our country; that you can serve America without ever going to basic training or picking up a rifle; that you can serve America, and change her forever and for the better, simply by caring deeply and working tirelessly to make tomorrow a little bit better, a little fairer than today.

There are a million stories I could tell about the work that Kaitlin has done and all that she has accomplished, but I will hold myself to just one: when she helped change Senate rules to allow babies onto the floor for votes so that new parents could fulfill their duties to both their children and the Constitution, showing moms and dads in every pocket of this country that they shouldn't need to choose between having jobs and having kids.

You can see why I call her ``The Hammer'' and why she is one of the only people in the world who scares the living daylights out of me, but in the best way possible. And you can also see why I have been so lucky to have her in my corner all these years, to have her as a partner in office pranks, and to have her as a sister, who I could count on to simply sit in silence on the other end of the phone and cry with me after my miscarriage.

This month was Kaitlin's last as my chief of staff. So, today, I just want to say thank you to her.

Thank you to Kaitlin's wonderful family also--Scott, Ronan, and Brenna--for lending us your wife and your mom.

And thank you, Kaitlin, for every moment of the last 15 years. Thank you for imparting your humor and for humoring me, for showing that warmth and strength can be one in the same, for not quitting when I tried to get you to wear a wedding dress made out of camouflage material, or when I got the office to take part in ``Talk like a Pirate Day'' and do every memo in ``Pirate.'' Thank you for being the kind of person who would jump out of a car and run out into the middle of the street to help save a lost dog--which she actually just did this past election day.

Thank you for keeping me in line and for building our team from the ground up, running our office--first in the House and then in the Senate--with grace, precision, and brilliance; prioritizing empathy and compassion, common sense, and common decency; wearing a million hats all at once yet always making sure our staff felt valued, heard, and ever able to serve the people of Illinois. Thank you for being my ``Hammer.''

I don't thank you for not letting me get a Margarita machine for the office, however. But I also thank you for being my friend, for showing up to drive me in your car that day, albeit 45 minutes late. You were worth waiting for every one of those minutes. I love you

I yield back.

Madam President, I know of no further debate on the motion to proceed.

Madam President, I call up amendment No. 1460, and I ask that it be reported by number.

Madam 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.

Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the Presiding Officer of the Senate be authorized to appoint a committee on the part of the Senate to join with a like committee on the part of the House of Representatives to escort the President of the United States into the House Chamber for the joint session to be held at 9 p.m., on Wednesday, April 28, 2021.