September 14, 2020 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE S5573 United States foreign assistance for Alaska (Mr. SULLIVAN) were added as (Mrs. HYDE-SMITH) was added as a co- global health security, and more effec- cosponsors of S. 4402, a bill to amend sponsor of S. Res. 679, a resolution ex- tively enable partner countries to the Federal Water Pollution Control pressing appreciation and support for strengthen and sustain resilient health Act to clarify certain activities that essential employees with disabilities or systems and supply chains with the re- would have been authorized under Na- who are blind during the COVID–19 sources, capacity, and personnel re- tionwide Permit 12 and other Nation- pandemic and beyond. quired to prevent, detect, mitigate, and wide Permits, and for other purposes. respond to infectious disease threats S. 4431 f before they become pandemics, and for At the request of Mrs. FEINSTEIN, the other purposes. names of the Senator from Idaho (Mr. SUBMITTED RESOLUTIONS S. 4150 RISCH) and the Senator from Idaho (Mr. At the request of Mr. REED, the CRAPO) were added as cosponsors of S. names of the Senator from Nevada (Ms. 4431, a bill to increase wildfire pre- SENATE RESOLUTION 689—CON- ROSEN), the Senator from Kansas (Mr. paredness and response throughout the DEMNING THE CRACKDOWN ON ROBERTS) and the Senator from Illinois United States, and for other purposes. PEACEFUL PROTESTORS IN (Ms. DUCKWORTH) were added as cospon- S. 4453 AND CALLING FOR sors of S. 4150, a bill to require the Sec- At the request of Ms. STABENOW, the THE IMPOSITION OF SANCTIONS retary of the Treasury to provide as- names of the Senator from Nevada (Ms. ON RESPONSIBLE OFFICIALS ROSEN), the Senator from Maine (Mr. sistance to certain providers of trans- Mr. RISCH (for himself, Mr. MENEN- KING), the Senator from New Hamp- portation services affected by the novel DEZ, Mr. MURPHY, Mr. RUBIO, Mr. DUR- shire (Mrs. SHAHEEN) and the Senator coronavirus. BIN, Mr. GRAHAM, Mrs. SHAHEEN, Mr. from Maine (Ms. COLLINS) were added S. 4245 as cosponsors of S. 4453, a bill to pro- CARDIN, Mr. ROMNEY, Mr. COONS, Mr. At the request of Mr. LANKFORD, the tect the continuity of the food supply JOHNSON, Mr. PORTMAN, and Mr. KAINE) name of the Senator from New Hamp- chain of the United States in response submitted the following resolution; shire (Ms. HASSAN) was added as a co- to COVID–19, and for other purposes. which was referred to the Committee sponsor of S. 4245, a bill to develop and on Foreign Relations: S. 4561 deploy firewall circumvention tools for At the request of Mr. PETERS, the S. RES. 689 the people of Hong Kong after the Peo- name of the Senator from New York Whereas Alyaksandr Lukashenka has ruled ple’s of China violated its (Mr. SCHUMER) was added as a cospon- Belarus as an undemocratic dictatorship agreement under the Joint Declara- sor of S. 4561, a bill to clarify and in- since the first in tion, and for other purposes. crease the restrictions on political ac- Belarus in 1994; S. 4255 Whereas subsequent presidential elections tivities that are applicable to the in Belarus have been neither free nor fair At the request of Mr. WARNER, the members of the Board of Governors of and have been rejected by the international name of the Senator from Minnesota the United States Postal Service, in- community as not meeting minimal elec- (Ms. SMITH) was added as a cosponsor cluding the Postmaster General and toral standards, with the jailing of opposi- of S. 4255, a bill to amend the CARES the Deputy Postmaster General, and tion activists frequently used as a tool of Act to establish community invest- for other purposes. government repression before and after the ment programs, and for other purposes. S. 4562 elections; Whereas, in response to the repression and S. 4275 At the request of Ms. SMITH, the violence during the 2006 presidential elec- At the request of Mr. THUNE, the name of the Senator from New Mexico tion, Congress passed the Belarus Democracy name of the Senator from Arkansas (Mr. UDALL) was added as a cosponsor Reauthorization Act of 2006 (Public Law 109– (Mr. COTTON) was added as a cosponsor of S. 4562, a bill to amend the Public 480); of S. 4275, a bill to require recipients of Health Service Act with respect to the Whereas, in March 2011, the Senate unani- Pandemic Unemployment Assistance collection and availability of health mously passed Senate Resolution 105, to provide employment documentation, data with respect to Indian Tribes and which— and for other purposes. Tribal organizations, and for other pur- (1) condemned the December 2010 election poses. in Belarus as ‘‘illegitimate, fraudulent, and S. 4334 not representative of the will or the aspira- S. RES. 578 At the request of Ms. MCSALLY, the tions of the voters in Belarus’’; and name of the Senator from North Caro- At the request of Mr. WYDEN, the (2) called on the Lukashenka regime ‘‘to lina (Mr. TILLIS) was added as a co- names of the Senator from Nebraska immediately and unconditionally release all sponsor of S. 4334, a bill to amend title (Mrs. FISCHER), the Senator from Or- political prisoners in Belarus who were ar- 10, United States Code, to improve the egon (Mr. MERKLEY), the Senator from rested in association with the December 19, process by which a member of the Delaware (Mr. COONS), the Senator 2010, election’’; from Indiana (Mr. BRAUN) and the Sen- Whereas, in advance of the August 2020 Armed Forces may be referred for a presidential elections in Belarus, authorities mental health evaluation. ator from Alaska (Mr. SULLIVAN) were added as cosponsors of S. Res. 578, a acting on behalf of President Lukashenka ar- S. 4375 rested journalists, bloggers, political activ- resolution condemning the Govern- At the request of Mr. ALEXANDER, the ists, and opposition leaders, including three ment of Iran’s state-sponsored persecu- names of the Senator from Hawaii (Mr. leading presidential candidates (Syarhey tion of its Baha’i minority and its con- Tsikhanouski, Mikalay Statkevich, and SCHATZ) and the Senator from Mis- tinued violation of the International ), who were barred from sissippi (Mr. WICKER) were added as co- Covenants on Human Rights. running in the election by the Central Elec- sponsors of S. 4375, a bill to amend title S. RES. 672 tion Commission of the Republic of Belarus; XVIII of the Social Security Act to At the request of Mr. GRAHAM, the Whereas, while the three opposition can- make permanent certain telehealth names of the Senator from Mississippi didates were imprisoned, two of their wives flexibilities under the Medicare pro- and one of their campaign managers, (Mrs. HYDE-SMITH), the Senator from gram related to the COVID–19 public , Veranika West Virginia (Mrs. CAPITO) and the health emergency. Tsepkala, and Maria Kalesnikava, joined to- Senator from Missouri (Mr. BLUNT) gether and ran in place of the candidates; S. 4380 were added as cosponsors of S. Res. 672, Whereas thousands of Belarusian people At the request of Mr. RUBIO, the a resolution designating September demonstrated their support for these can- name of the Senator from New Jersey 2020 as National Democracy Month as a didates by attending rallies, including one (Mr. BOOKER) was added as a cosponsor time to reflect on the contributions of rally that included an estimated 63,000 par- of S. 4380, a bill to provide redress to the system of government of the ticipants; the employees of Air America. United States to a more free and stable Whereas, on August, 5, 2020, the Senate unanimously passed Senate Resolution 658, S. 4402 world. which calls for a free, fair, and transparent At the request of Mr. CORNYN, the S. RES. 679 presidential election in Belarus, including names of the Senator from North Caro- At the request of Mr. BRAUN, the the unimpeded participation of all presi- lina (Mr. BURR) and the Senator from name of the Senator from Mississippi dential candidates;

VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:05 Sep 15, 2020 Jkt 099060 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 4624 Sfmt 0634 E:\CR\FM\A14SE6.009 S14SEPT1 SSpencer on DSK126QN23PROD with SENATE S5574 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE September 14, 2020 Whereas presidential elections were held in (3) halting the publishing of two inde- peaceful protesters, opposition leaders, Belarus on August 9, 2020, under undemo- pendent newspapers; and human rights activists, and independent cratic conditions with reports of malfea- (4) stripping the accreditation of journal- media by authorities in Belarus; sance on the part of Lukashenka’s govern- ists working for foreign news outlets; (5) condemns the unjustified detention and ment, including early voting ballot stuffing, Whereas internet access in Belarus has forced or attempted expulsion of members of ballot burning, pressuring poll workers, and been repeatedly disrupted and restricted the Coordination Council in Belarus; removing bags full of ballots by climbing out since August 9, 2020, which independent ex- (6) demands the release of all political pris- of windows; perts and monitoring groups have attributed oners and those arrested for peacefully pro- Whereas incumbent president Alyaksandr to government interference; testing, including those arrested before the Lukashenka declared a landslide victory in Whereas after employees of state media August 9, 2020 election; the election and claimed to have received outlets walked off the job in protest rather (7) applauds the commitment by foreign more than 80 percent of the votes cast in the than help report misleading government diplomats in to engage with Coordina- election; propaganda, Lukashenka confirmed that he tion Council member and Nobel Laureate, Whereas the leading opposition candidate, ‘‘asked the Russians’’ to send teams of Rus- , and encourages an on- Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya— sian journalists to replace local employees; going dialogue with her and with other lead- (1) formally disputed the government’s re- Whereas Lukashenka appealed to Russian ers of the democratically-oriented political ported election results; President Vladimir Putin to provide security opposition in Belarus; (2) explained that her staff had examined assistance to his government, if requested, (8) calls on the to the election results from more than 50 poll- and Putin confirmed that a reserve police uphold its human rights obligations, includ- ing places; and force was ready to be deployed if ‘‘the situa- ing those enumerated in the International (3) found that her share of the vote exceed- tion gets out of control’’; Covenant on Civil and Political Rights; ed Lukashenka’s share by many times; Whereas the Belarus Ministry of Defense (9) calls on the United States Government Whereas, on August 10, 2020, Sviatlana threatened to send the army to confront to impose targeted sanctions, in coordina- Tsikhanouskaya was detained while attend- protestors, warning that in case of any viola- tion with the European Union and other ing a meeting with the Central Election tion of peace and order in areas around na- international partners, against officials in Commission of the Republic of Belarus and tional monuments, ‘‘you will have the army Belarus who are responsible for— forced to flee to Lithuania under pressure to deal with now, not the police’’; (A) undermining democratic processes in from government authorities; Whereas, according to the Viasna Human Belarus; or Whereas, on August 11, 2020, Lithuanian Rights Centre, at least 450 detainees have re- (B) participating in human rights abuses Foreign Minister Linas Linkevicˇius an- ported being tortured or otherwise ill-treat- related to political repression in Belarus; nounced that Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya was ed while held in incommunicado detention (10) encourages the United States Govern- safe in Lithuania and has continued to be 1 for up to 10 days, including through— ment to continue working with its partners of the strongest voices supporting the pro- (1) severe beatings; in Europe, particularly the Organization for (2) forced performance of humiliating acts; democracy movement in Belarus within the Security and Co-operation in Europe, to sup- and European Union and globally; port the people of Belarus; and (3) sexual violence and other forms of vio- (11) supports— Whereas, on August 11, 2020, the European lence; (A) the continued territorial integrity of Union High Representative for Foreign and Whereas at least four have Belarus; and Security Policy, Josep Borrell, issued a dec- been killed at protests, and dozens of (B) the right of the Belarusian people to laration on the presidential election in Belarusians who were detained during the determine their future. Belarus stating that the elections were nei- protests are still missing; ther free nor fair; Whereas, on or around September 6, 2020, f Whereas, on August 18, 2020, Sviatlana the opposition leader, Maria Kalesnikava, SENATE RESOLUTION 690—DESIG- Tsikhanouskaya announced the formation of and members of the Coordination Council, a Coordination Council to oversee a resolu- including Anton Ronenkov, , NATING SEPTEMBER 2020 AS tion to the crisis in Belarus and a peaceful and Maxim Bogretsov, were detained by au- ‘‘NATIONAL WORKFORCE DEVEL- transition of power; thorities who sought to forcibly expel them OPMENT MONTH’’ Whereas, on August 19, 2020, European to Ukraine; Mrs. FEINSTEIN (for herself, Mr. Council President Charles Michel announced Whereas opposition leader Maria ENZI, Ms. BALDWIN, Mr. YOUNG, Ms. that the European Union would impose sanc- Kolesnikova tore up her passport at the tions on a substantial number of individuals Ukrainian border in a successful effort to CORTEZ MASTO, Mr. CARPER, Mr. responsible for violence, repression, and elec- prevent this expulsion, subsequently dis- BRAUN, Mr. BLUMENTHAL, Ms. HASSAN, tion fraud in Belarus; appeared, and was discovered in a Minsk Mr. VAN HOLLEN, Mr. DURBIN, Ms. Whereas, on August 28, 2020, United States prison on September 9, 2020; HIRONO, Mrs. SHAHEEN, Mr. MURPHY, Deputy Secretary of State Stephen Biegun Whereas the International Covenant on Ms. ROSEN, Mr. BARRASSO, Ms. CANT- declared that the August 9th election in Civil and Political Rights, done at New York Belarus was fraudulent; WELL, Ms. STABENOW, Mr. MANCHIN, Mr. December 19, 1966, was ratified by Belarus in KAINE, Ms. KLOBUCHAR, Ms. Whereas, since the sham election on Au- 1973, guaranteeing Belarusians the freedom DUCKWORTH, Ms. SMITH, Mr. CARDIN, gust 9, 2020, tens of thousands of Belarusian of expression and the freedom of association; citizens have participated in daily peaceful and Mr. MERKLEY, Mrs. MURRAY, Mr. protests calling for a new, free, and fair elec- Whereas, in 2006, President George W. Bush PETERS, Mrs. HYDE-SMITH, Mr. SCOTT of tion, and the release of political prisoners; issued Executive Order 13405, titled ‘‘Block- South Carolina, Mr. ROBERTS, Mr. Whereas according to Amnesty Inter- ing Property of Certain Persons Under- CRAMER, and Mr. DAINES) submitted national, on August 30, 2020, Belarusians held mining Democratic Processes or Institutions the following resolution; which was one of the largest protest rallies in the coun- in Belarus’’, which authorized the imposition considered and agreed to: try’s modern history in Minsk and in other of sanctions against persons responsible for— S. RES. 690 cities, which was attended by at least 100,000 (1) undermining democratic processes in people who demanded the resignation of Belarus; or Whereas investment in the education, President Lukashenka and an investigation (2) participating in human rights abuses training, and career advancement of the into the human rights violations in Belarus; related to political repression in Belarus: workforce in the United States, known as Whereas women have played a leading role Now, therefore, be it ‘‘workforce development’’, is crucial to the in the protests, including by forming peace- Resolved, That the Senate— ability of the United States to compete in ful solidarity chains of thousands of (1) finds that— the global economy; Belarusians symbolically dressed in white; (A) the elections held in Belarus on August Whereas collaboration among Governors, Whereas more than 7,000 Belarusian citi- 9, 2020, were neither free nor fair; and local governments, State and local edu- zens have been detained by government au- (B) the results announced by the Central cation, workforce, and human services agen- thorities, mostly for taking part in or ob- Election Commission of the Republic of cies, community colleges, local businesses, serving peaceful protests, with many of these Belarus are invalid; employment service providers, community- arrests followed by beatings and torture at (2) stands in solidarity with the people of based organizations, and workforce develop- the hands of Belarusian law enforcement; Belarus, including human rights defenders, ment boards provides for long-term, sustain- Whereas authorities in Belarus have con- bloggers, and journalists, who are exercising able, and successful workforce development sistently restricted press freedom as part of their right to freedom of assembly, freedom across traditional sectors and emerging in- the crackdown, including— of expression, and rule of law; dustries; (1) the arrest of dozens of journalists, six of (3) recognizes the leading role of women in Whereas middle-skill jobs, which require whom report for Radio Free Europe/Radio the peaceful protests and pro-democracy more than a high school diploma but not a 4- Liberty; movement in Belarus; year degree, comprise 52 percent of the labor (2) blocking more than 50 news websites (4) condemns the unrelenting crackdown market, but only 42 percent of workers in that were covering the protests; on, arbitrary arrests of, and violence against the United States have been able to access

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