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Congressional Record United States Th of America PROCEEDINGS and DEBATES of the 117 CONGRESS, FIRST SESSION

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Congressional Record United States Th of America PROCEEDINGS and DEBATES of the 117 CONGRESS, FIRST SESSION 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, FRIDAY, JANUARY 22, 2021 No. 13 House of Representatives The House was not in session today. Its next meeting will be held on Monday, January 25, 2021, at 1:30 p.m. Senate FRIDAY, JANUARY 22, 2021 The Senate met at 10 a.m. and was NATIONAL GUARD We owe an enormous debt of grati- called to order by the President pro Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, now, tude to the men and women who tempore (Mr. LEAHY). it came to our attention last night worked to keep us safe on January 6 and the days since. A situation like f that members of the National Guard, after standing on duty to protect the last night will never happen again. PRAYER Capitol for Inauguration Day, keeping f The Chaplain, Dr. Barry C. Black, of- us safe, were sleeping in parking ga- BUSINESS BEFORE THE SENATE fered the following prayer: rages and cramped quarters without Mr. SCHUMER. Now, I have spoken Let us pray. proper space or ventilation. It was ut- about the Senate’s agenda for the next Sovereign King, our hope for years to terly unacceptable. several weeks. We have three essential come, deliver us from the sin of run- I have told those who run the secu- items on our plate: one, the confirma- ning from the truth. Remind us often rity of the Capitol that it can never tion of President Biden’s Cabinet and that truth brings freedom. happen again, and I pledge to every Na- other key officials; two, legislation to Thank You that You are our helper, tional Guard member that it will not provide desperately needed COVID re- sustaining our lives and keeping us happen again. lief; three, a second impeachment trial strong. You guide us through the wil- The minute I heard about this out- of Donald Trump. The Senate must and derness and protect us through life’s rage last night, we made sure it was will do all three—COVID relief, con- storms. fixed immediately. Every member of firmation of nominees, and an im- Lord, inspire our lawmakers to place the Guard was found proper accom- peachment trial. themselves into Your hands, permit- modations inside, and, as of this morn- Now, the first order of business is to ting You to fulfill Your purposes ing, everyone was accounted for and fulfill our constitutional duty to advise through their faithful toil. Fill them taken care of. and consent on the President’s appoint- with reverential awe and give them a This morning I went over to the CVC ments to his Cabinet. This morning the sanctified audacity, even when facing and I spoke to a number of Guardsmen Senate will vote to confirm President trials and setbacks. personally to make sure they were OK. Biden’s nominee for Secretary of De- We pray in Your loving Name. Amen. I want to thank Senators HASSAN, fense, Lloyd Austin. Mr. Austin will be DUCKWORTH, KELLY, and HEINRICH for the first African American to ever f their work on this matter last night, as helm the Defense Department in its ´ PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE well as Senator LUJAN, who went history—a powerful symbol of the di- around late at night to make sure versity and history of America’s Armed The President pro tempore led the things were OK, as well. And I want to Forces. Pledge of Allegiance, as follows: thank all the Members who were con- Mr. Austin has a storied career in the I pledge allegiance to the Flag of the cerned and lent a hand. Army, but those days are behind him. United States of America, and to the Repub- I also want to particularly thank As Secretary of Defense, he has prom- lic for which it stands, one nation under God, Acting Sergeant at Arms Jennifer indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. ised to empower and lift up his civilian Hemingway, who, when we told her staff, and I believe he will be an out- f about this situation, patrolled the standing Secretary of Defense for ev- floors of the Capitol Complex until eryone at the Pentagon—servicemem- RECOGNITION OF THE MAJORITY past 3 a.m. to ensure that no one was bers and civilian employees alike. LEADER left behind or not where they belonged. The Secretary of Defense, of course, The PRESIDENT pro tempore. The And she was back at her desk first has a hugely important task ahead of majority leader is recognized. thing today to follow up. him. He must once again demonstrate ∑ This ‘‘bullet’’ symbol identifies statements or insertions which are not spoken by a Member of the Senate on the floor. S95 . VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:56 Jan 23, 2021 Jkt 019060 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 0637 Sfmt 0634 E:\CR\FM\A22JA6.000 S22JAPT1 SSpencer on DSK126QN23PROD with SENATE S96 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE January 22, 2021 to the world that the U.S. military will We have offered to abide by the same since that time. In the meantime, we always support our friends, deter our agreement the last time there was a 50– need to make darn sure that we look adversaries, and, if necessary, defeat 50 Senate. What is fair is fair. That is after the men and women who look them. precedent. We could organize the Sen- after us. Lloyd Austin is the right person for ate today if both sides agreed to abide f the job. He has the experience, the vi- by the same rules as last time. sion, and the competence to run the The Republican leader, however, has FILIBUSTER largest agency in our government. I made an extraneous demand that Mr. MCCONNELL. Now, Mr. Presi- look forward to confirming his nomina- would place additional constraints on dent, on a totally different matter, tion shortly. the majority—constraints that have while business proceeds on the floor, Afterward, the Senate must continue never been in place before. In fact, his the Democratic leader and I are con- to install President Biden’s team by proposal would remove a tool that the tinuing to flesh out the structure of confirming Secretaries of State, Home- Republican leader himself used twice this 50–50 Senate. land Security, and Treasury. We need in just the last Congress to accelerate When Leaders Lott and Daschle Republican cooperation to confirm the confirmation of Republican nomi- wrote a similar agreement 20 years these nominees, but we expect that co- nees. ago, there wasn’t a need at all to reaf- operation to continue. The continuity Leader MCCONNELL’s proposal is un- firm the basic standing rules that gov- of our national security, military, and acceptable, and it won’t be accepted. ern legislation here in the Senate. It intelligence policy, as well as our abil- And the Republican leader knew that was safely assumed that no majority ity to effectively respond to the cur- when he first proposed it. would break this rule for short-term rent health and economic crises, de- Only 2 days ago, we celebrated the in- gain. pend on having these Cabinet officials auguration of a new President and the Floor remarks surrounding those 2001 confirmed. turning over of a new leaf. The Amer- discussions specifically cite the legisla- Now, as I mentioned, the Senate will ican people want us to work together tive filibuster as an important and un- also conduct a second impeachment and move past the meaningless polit- questioned part of the backdrop that trial for Donald Trump. I have been ical fights and gridlock that have lay beneath the negotiations on the speaking to the Republican leader plagued us for too long. finer details. It was assumed no one about the timing and duration of the It is time to get to work. A first step would ever take that step. trial, but—make no mistake—a trial is for the Republican caucus to agree After the fact, Leader Daschle, the will be held in the U.S. Senate, and to follow the same precedent that gov- Democrat, praised the legislative fili- there will be a vote on whether to con- erned the Senate the last time around. buster as a crucial rule. President vict the President. I yield the floor. Biden has praised this distinctive fea- I have spoken to Speaker PELOSI, f ture of the Senate on many occasions. who informed me that the article will Our current Democratic colleagues be delivered to the Senate on Monday. RECOGNITION OF THE MINORITY used it liberally—liberally—over the Now, I have heard some of my Repub- LEADER last several years when they were in lican colleagues argue that this trial The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. would be unconstitutional because the minority. More than two dozen MANCHIN). The Republican leader is Donald Trump is no longer in office— signed a bipartisan letter in 2017 saying an argument that has been roundly re- recognized. our Republican majority should not pudiated, debunked by hundreds of con- f break the rule by brute force. Let me say that again. Two dozen Democrats stitutional scholars—left, right, and NATIONAL GUARD center—and defies basic common sense. signed a bipartisan letter in 2017 saying Mr. MCCONNELL. Mr. President, yes- It makes no sense whatsoever that a our Republican majority should not terday evening, we learned that some President or any official could commit break this rule by brute force. I agreed. of the National Guard forces who were a heinous crime against our country I didn’t do it.
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