Congressional Record United States Th of America PROCEEDINGS and DEBATES of the 117 CONGRESS, FIRST SESSION
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E PL UR UM IB N U U S Congressional Record United States th of America PROCEEDINGS AND DEBATES OF THE 117 CONGRESS, FIRST SESSION Vol. 167 WASHINGTON, MONDAY, AUGUST 9, 2021 No. 144 House of Representatives The House was not in session today. Its next meeting will be held on Tuesday, August 10, 2021, at 10 a.m. Senate MONDAY, AUGUST 9, 2021 The Senate met at 12 noon and was U.S. SENATE, RECOGNITION OF THE MAJORITY LEADER called to order by the Honorable MI- PRESIDENT PRO TEMPORE, The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tem- CHAEL BENNET, a Senator from the Washington, DC, August 9, 2021. pore. The majority leader is recog- State of Colorado. To the Senate: nized. Under the provisions of rule I, paragraph 3, f of the Standing Rules of the Senate, I hereby H.R. 3684 PRAYER appoint the Honorable MICHAEL F. BENNET, a Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, now, Senator from the State of Colorado, to per- it may have taken all weekend, but the The Chaplain, Dr. Barry C. Black, of- form the duties of the Chair. Senate is now finally on the precipice fered the following prayer: PATRICK J. LEAHY, of passing major bipartisan infrastruc- Let us pray. President pro tempore. ture legislation. Eternal God, You rule forever. Lord, Mr. BENNET thereupon assumed the Last night, an overwhelming bipar- we see change and decay in our world, Chair as Acting President pro tempore. tisan majority of Senators voted to but Your power and might continue to f surmount the final few procedural hur- sustain us. Great is Your faithfulness. RESERVATION OF LEADER TIME dles and put the bill on a glidepath for You remain our shelter by day and de- passage tomorrow morning. The bill fense by night. The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tem- will represent a substantial downpay- Today, surround our lawmakers with pore. Under the previous order, the ment toward the level of infrastructure Your generous blessings. As they seek leadership time is reserved. investment our country needs, and for to honor You, provide them with the f the first time, the Senate has come to- wisdom to keep our Nation strong. gether around such a package in dec- Lord, bless them with Your compas- CONCLUSION OF MORNING BUSINESS ades. I will have more to say about it sion, mercy, and love as You continue before final passage. to answer their prayers. The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tem- BUDGET RECONCILATION We pray in Your strong Name. Amen. pore. Morning business is closed. Now, Mr. President, all summer, I f f have spoken about how the Senate PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE LEGISLATIVE SESSION would proceed along two tracks when The Presiding Officer led the Pledge it came to infrastructure: the bipar- of Allegiance, as follows: tisan bill we will vote on tomorrow as INVESTING IN A NEW VISION FOR well as the budget reconciliation bill I pledge allegiance to the Flag of the THE ENVIRONMENT AND SUR- United States of America, and to the Repub- that will allow Democrats to make his- lic for which it stands, one nation under God, FACE TRANSPORTATION IN toric investments in American jobs, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. AMERICA ACT—Resumed American families, and efforts to re- f The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tem- verse climate change. pore. Under the previous order, the In order to achieve such an ambitious APPOINTMENT OF ACTING legislative effort, I laid out two clear PRESIDENT PRO TEMPORE Senate will resume consideration of H.R. 3684, which the clerk will report. goals for this summer work period: The PRESIDING OFFICER. The The senior assistant legislative clerk pass the bipartisan bill and a budget clerk will please read a communication read as follows: resolution to set up the second track of to the Senate from the President pro A bill (H.R. 3684) to authorize funds for our process before we leave for August tempore (Mr. LEAHY). Federal-aid highways, highway safety pro- recess. The senior assistant legislative clerk grams, and transit programs, and for other Many folks called that two-track read the following letter: purposes. process unrealistic. Many others said it ∑ This ‘‘bullet’’ symbol identifies statements or insertions which are not spoken by a Member of the Senate on the floor. S6061 ® Pdnted on recycled papfil. VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:47 Aug 09, 2021 Jkt 019060 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 0637 Sfmt 0634 E:\CR\FM\A09AU6.000 S09AUPT1 ctelli on DSK11ZRN23PROD with SENATE S6062 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE August 9, 2021 is unachievable on such a short dental, vision, and hearing benefits— head on. We are not flinching; we are timeline and in such a slow-moving something that was left out of Medi- not wincing; we are going right at it. Chamber. But we have managed to care at the beginning. It never should As bad as COVID was this year, and it steer two trains at the same time. have been, and we can rectify it now. was horrible, 5 or 10 years from now— There have been some bumps. There By cutting taxes for tens of millions every year—climate change will make have been some delays. But the Senate of American families, we can expand things worse and worse and worse, even is on track to finish both tracks. opportunity and make it easier for par- worse than it was this year in COVID, Earlier this summer, I suggested the ents to pass on a better life to their because when climate changes, it is two-track strategy to President Biden children and their grandchildren. By such an overwhelming force that, un- and Speaker PELOSI. We all agreed it making further investments in infra- less we do something now, we may not was the best way to move forward, and structure, we can create tens of thou- be able to stop it down the road. we are working in concert to make it sands—hundreds of thousands—of good- So, taking a step back, at its core, happen. paying jobs. By finally tackling cli- the Democratic budget is about restor- This morning, Senate Democrats un- mate change, we can spare our country ing the middle class in the 21st century veiled our budget resolution with rec- and our planet the most devastating ef- and giving more Americans the oppor- onciliation instructions, which is the fects of global warming. tunity to get there. Unfortunately, the first step in unlocking the legislative Just this morning, a major new re- past 20 years in America have been a process for a budget reconciliation bill port from climate scientists at the story of middle-class decline. later this year. United Nations concluded that the na- We have all watched as globalization Several Members—many Members— tions of the world have only a small and technology transformed the way had a hand in crafting this package. We window to ‘‘prevent the most our economy works. Industrial manu- worked closely with our committee harrowing future’’—‘‘prevent the most facturing jobs were shipped overseas. A chairs, but I want to especially thank harrowing future’’—in the words of the global financial crisis cost Americans the chair of the Budget Committee, New York Times. their homes and their wealth. Giant Senator SANDERS. He kept his nose to Without immediate and bold action, conglomerates wiped out Main Street the grindstone and led our caucus on we are staring down ever worsening businesses from Arizona to Arkansas, the budget. He always kept the floods and heat waves, droughts and from Michigan to Maine. The cost of thoughts and needs of American work- sea level rise. The future of our planet raising a family—everything from ers and families at the top of his mind. looks bleak until we do something childcare to college tuition—has be- As a result, the Democratic budget will right now. The budget reconciliation come exorbitant, almost unaffordable, be the most significant legislation for bill will do more to combat climate even for those solidly in the middle American families since the era of the change than any legislation ever— class. New Deal and the Great Society. It is ever—in the history of the Senate. Now, after the worst pandemic in a big, bold change—the kind of change That is a promise. hundred years, American families are America thirsts for. While my Republican colleagues re- just starting to climb out of the rubble I want to thank other members of gurgitate the same tired talking points and look toward the future. We want the Budget Committee, like Senator about a Democratic spending spree, let them to look toward that future with WARNER, who worked closely with the me remind America that we plan to hope and with optimism, not with the White House and Chairman SANDERS to pay for this package by making the sourness and anger that we have seen develop a framework, and Senators wealthy pay their fair share. throughout the land—exacerbated, MURRAY and WYDEN and STABENOW and When our Republican friends held the played upon by the previous President. WHITEHOUSE and MERKLEY and KAINE majority in this Chamber, they chose What the future looks like, in large and VAN HOLLEN and LUJA´ N and to use the same process Democrats are part, depends on what we do here now. PADILLA, all of whom came together, using now—budget reconciliation—to These next few months are crucial for even though each had different views give corporations and the wealthy a the future of our country, even for our on different issues, to produce this re- massive tax break.