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, THURSDAY, JULY 15, 2021 No. 124 House of Representatives The House was not in session today. Its next meeting will be held on Friday, July 16, 2021, at 9 a.m. Senate THURSDAY, JULY 15, 2021 The Senate met at 10 a.m. and was CONCLUSION OF MORNING changed the way that Americans work called to order by the President pro BUSINESS and compete. Productivity increased, tempore (Mr. LEAHY). The PRESIDENT pro tempore. Morn- but wages for the bottom 70 percent f ing business is closed. stagnated in this century, in this 20 years. Income equality spiked as PRAYER f wealth agglomerated to the top. The Chaplain, Dr. Barry C. Black, of- EXECUTIVE SESSION The financial crisis and the COVID fered the following prayer: pandemic heaped additional hardship on middle-class families that were al- Let us pray. EXECUTIVE CALENDAR God of mercy and light, we are in ready falling behind. The changes in Your hands and rejoice because of the The PRESIDENT pro tempore. Under the world—the swirling changes, eco- power of Your presence. the previous order, the Senate will pro- nomic and social—have made it harder Lord, we are grateful that You have ceed to executive session to resume to stay in the middle class and have promised never to leave us. In the chal- consideration of the following nomina- made it harder to get to the middle lenge of decision making, with its fluc- tion, which the clerk will report. class. We Democrats feel an obligation to tuating intricacies, give each law- The senior assistant legislative clerk make it easier for those in the middle maker a deeper appreciation for culti- read the nomination of J. Nellie Liang, class to enjoy that middle-class life vating a conscience void of offense to- of Maryland, to be an Under Secretary of the Treasury. and stay there and for those struggling ward You and humanity. to get into the middle class to have Today, show mercy to the Members The PRESIDENT pro tempore. The Senator from Nevada. those ladders so they can climb up to of this legislative body. Lord, let Your get there. sovereign hand be over them, and Your Ms. ROSEN. I suggest the absence of a quorum. These are exciting and fundamental Holy Spirit be with them, directing all times to be here in the Senate. In their thoughts, words, and works for The PRESIDENT pro tempore. The clerk will call the roll. short, we have a lot to do to restore the Your glory. fundamental American promise of op- The senior assistant legislative clerk We pray in Your merciful Name. portunity and economic mobility—the proceeded to call the roll. Amen. faith that, through hard work, any Mr. SCHUMER. Madam President, I American can build a better life for f ask unanimous consent that the order themselves, their families, their chil- for the quorum call be rescinded. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE dren, and then pass even greater oppor- The PRESIDING OFFICER (Ms. The President pro tempore led the tunity on to their children. That is the ROSEN). Without objection, it is so or- Pledge of Allegiance, as follows: American dream. It has been fading, dered. I pledge allegiance to the Flag of the and that has allowed demagoguery and United States of America, and to the Repub- RECOGNITION OF THE MAJORITY LEADER nastiness and divisiveness to become lic for which it stands, one nation under God, The PRESIDING OFFICER. The ma- too great a part of our politics. indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. jority leader is recognized. We want to restore that sunny opti- f AMERICAN JOBS AND FAMILIES PLAN mism that Americans have always had, Mr. SCHUMER. Madam President, and that is why we are so intent on RESERVATION OF LEADER TIME every Senator, from every State, has moving forward this month. The idea The PRESIDENT pro tempore. Under witnessed the hollowing out of the mid- that Americans can build a better life the previous order, the leadership time dle class over the past few decades. for themselves and pass greater oppor- is reserved. Globalization and technology have tunity to their children is at the heart ∑ This ‘‘bullet’’ symbol identifies statements or insertions which are not spoken by a Member of the Senate on the floor. S4911 ® Pdnted on recycled papfil. VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:25 Jul 16, 2021 Jkt 019060 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 0637 Sfmt 0634 E:\CR\FM\A15JY6.000 S15JYPT1 SSpencer on DSK126QN23PROD with SENATE S4912 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE July 15, 2021 of what Democrats are trying to We in the Democratic caucus heard manent, serious criminal record that achieve this year through the Amer- from the President yesterday on the prevents them, inhibits them from ican Jobs and Families Plan, helping budget resolution. The meeting was moving forward in their lives. middle-class families stay in the mid- wonderful. The excitement was pal- Now, I am the first majority leader dle class and breathe easier and helping pable. The opportunity to do so much to say it is time to end the Federal pro- poorer Americans climb that ladder to good for so many American families hibition on marijuana, and as majority get there. was in the air in that meeting. It was leader I am going to push this issue And nothing—nothing—will do more exciting. And, as that happened, the bi- forward and make it a priority for the to advance that goal than the bill we partisan working groups had many Senate. are working on this year. The budget meetings on the bipartisan infrastruc- In short, the Cannabis Administra- resolution agreed to by Democrats on ture framework as well. tion and Opportunity Act would help the Budget Committee this week is the Today, I am announcing that I intend the Federal Government catch up with first step down a long road toward en- to file cloture on the vehicle for a bi- what much of the country already un- acting a transformational change in partisan infrastructure bill on Monday derstands, that we need to rethink our our economy. It will allow us to pass of next week. Senators will have until approach to marijuana and end—end— the most significant legislation to ex- Wednesday of next week before the ini- decades of overcriminalization. pand support for American families tial vote on cloture on the motion to CHILD TAX CREDIT since the era of the New Deal and the proceed. Madam President, on a final matter, Great Society. If not quite Everyone has been having productive the CTC, I have a little chart here. Rooseveltian in scope, it is certainly conversations, and it is important to Over the past 20 years, the cost of rais- near Rooseveltian. It is dramatic keep the two-track process moving. All ing children in America has become lu- change to help average families do bet- parties involved in the bipartisan infra- dicrously expensive. Everything—from ter. structure bill talks must now finalize diapers to housing, to healthcare, to The best way to understand the their agreement so that the Senate can college tuition—has risen in price, emerging legislation is in three broad begin considering that legislation next some of it rather steeply and dramati- categories: jobs, which will come week. cally. through major infrastructure invest- And I am setting the same deadline, Wages, unfortunately, have not kept ments; families; and climate. We are next Wednesday, for the entire Senate pace, putting strain—ever more going to create thousands upon thou- Democratic caucus to agree to move strain—on American parents. The cost sands of good-paying jobs by investing forward on the budget resolution with of childcare alone can be roughly in infrastructure and the training and reconciliation instructions. The time equivalent to buying a new car every apprenticeships that will help more has come to make progress, and we single year. That is a big burden for so Americans, including many of those will. We must. many families. who have been left out, get those jobs. CANNABIS ADMINISTRATION AND OPPORTUNITY The pandemic, of course, made life We are going to expand and strength- ACT even harder on America’s families. So, en the programs that support Amer- Madam President, now on another in the American Rescue Plan, Demo- ican families and introduce new ones, issue, marijuana, 20 years ago, roughly crats made sure that it included a dra- like paid family leave and a robust ex- a third of the population supported the matic expansion of the Federal child pansion of Medicaid to cover vision, decriminalization of marijuana. Today tax credit, to give families a little dental, and hearing. I salute Senator that number is almost 70 percent. Even extra help during the once-in-a-century SANDERS for putting it on the map and deep-rooted South Dakota voted to le- crisis. now making it a real possibility to galize the adult use of marijuana. And today—today—I am very proud happen. Americans’ perception of marijuana to announce that tens of millions of And we are going to act on climate in has, justifiably, changed, and it is time a bold and comprehensive way, to re- Americans are going to see extra that Congress caught up and reformed duce emissions, make our infrastruc- money land in their bank accounts, the our laws to reflect the popular wisdom ture more resilient, and create the first of monthly checks that will be and the science.