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, JANUARY 28, 2021 No. 17 Senate The Senate met at 10 a.m. and was of Nevada, to perform the duties of the about it—he will be confirmed. This called to order by the Honorable JACKY Chair. dilatory action will not succeed, but it ROSEN, a Senator from the State of Ne- PATRICK J. LEAHY, will prevent the Senate from doing vada. President pro tempore. other important business. Ms. ROSEN thereupon assumed the It has become a point of pride for the f Chair as Acting President pro tempore. Republican leadership to say that they PRAYER Mr. DURBIN. Madam President, I are treating President Biden’s nomi- nees more fairly than Mr. Trump’s, but The Chaplain, Dr. Barry C. Black, of- suggest the absence of a quorum. I remind my colleagues that former fered the following prayer: The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tem- pore. The clerk will call the roll. President Trump had his first DHS Let us pray. Secretary, Secretary Kelly, confirmed Lord, we look to You for refuge. You The senior assistant legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll. on his Inauguration Day. are master of ocean, Earth, and sky. There is a reason that there has been Every good thing we have comes from Mr. SCHUMER. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the order bipartisan cooperation in the past to You. Your wisdom is worth much more confirm the Homeland Security Sec- than silver or gold. Though troubles for the quorum call be rescinded. The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tem- retary. Whatever our differences on multiply in our Nation and world, You policy, both parties have agreed that simply need to speak to bring order pore. Without objection, it is so or- dered. the prolonged delay of these nomina- from chaos and harmony from discord. tions is no good—no good—for our na- Lord, use our lawmakers and instruct f tional security. them in Your precepts. Inspire them to RECOGNITION OF THE MAJORITY That is particularly the case right live for Your glory. Use them to hasten LEADER now. Our government recently suffered the day when Your will will be done on The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tem- an unprecedented cyber attack. In the Earth, even as it is done in Heaven. wake of January 6, the threat of vio- We pray in Your loving Name. Amen. pore. The majority leader is recog- nized. lence and domestic terrorism remains f a great concern. But because of the f tactics of some Republican Members— PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE NOMINATIONS particularly the junior Senator from The Presiding Officer led the Pledge Mr. SCHUMER. Madam President, Missouri—Mr. Mayorkas’s nomination of Allegiance, as follows: over the past week, the Senate has is being needlessly stalled. My friends on the other side don’t I pledge allegiance to the Flag of the been confirming President Biden’s Cab- have to agree with Mr. Mayorkas on United States of America, and to the Repub- inet nominees with significant co- the final points of every policy. I am lic for which it stands, one nation under God, operation between both parties. Today, sure they don’t share the exact views indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. however, the Republican minority has of every appointment to a Democratic forced the Senate to jump through a f President’s Cabinet. But that is not a series of procedural hoops that will fur- sufficient reason to oppose a nomina- APPOINTMENT OF ACTING ther delay the confirmation of one of tion, especially one as important as PRESIDENT PRO TEMPORE our country’s chief national security Homeland Security. The PRESIDING OFFICER. The officials, the Secretary of Homeland You don’t have to take my word for clerk will please read a communication Security. it; listen to Michael Chertoff, Presi- to the Senate from the President pro It has now been 8 days since Presi- dent Bush’s former DHS Secretary. He tempore (Mr. LEAHY). dent Biden was sworn into office, and said: as a result of an objection from one The senior assistant legislative clerk If members of Congress want to contest read the following letter: Member—just one Member from the elements of [Biden’s] proposal[s], they are U.S. SENATE, Republican minority—it will be an- free to do so. But hostage taking is not PRESIDENT PRO TEMPORE, other 4 days until we can complete the an appropriate way to do this, particularly if Washington, DC, January 28, 2021. confirmation of Mr. Mayorkas to be a result of that is to put the lives of [the To the Senate: our next Secretary of Homeland Secu- American people] in jeopardy. Under the provisions of rule I, para- rity. What could have been the tidy Chertoff went on to say that actions graph 3, of the Standing Rules of the work of a few hours on President to thwart Mayorkas’s nomination were Senate, I hereby appoint the Honorable Biden’s first day will drag on for a ‘‘irresponsible and unconscionable.’’ JACKY ROSEN, a Senator from the State week and a half. Make no mistake ‘‘Irresponsible and unconscionable’’— ∑ This ‘‘bullet’’ symbol identifies statements or insertions which are not spoken by a Member of the Senate on the floor. S181 . VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:40 Jan 29, 2021 Jkt 019060 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 0624 Sfmt 0634 E:\CR\FM\A28JA6.000 S28JAPT1 dlhill on DSK120RN23PROD with SENATE S182 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE January 28, 2021 that is President Bush’s former Sec- al financial crisis and it took years— radicalism of the modern Democratic retary of Homeland Security, not a years—for the economy to get out of Party seems dug in. Fortunately, polit- Democrat. recession. We must not repeat that ical dynamics change, but the moral Well, the Senate is not going to tol- mistake today. truth does not. Executive orders can’t erate this irresponsible and uncon- So the Senate, as early as next week, alter the basic science of human life. scionable delay. Despite the tactics will begin the process of considering a So I thank my fellow Kentuckians and from the Republican side, the Senate very strong COVID-relief bill. Our pref- all Americans who are participating. will begin work on this crucial nomina- erence is to make this important work We will see you in person next year. tion today, and he will be confirmed. bipartisan, to include input, ideas, and f f revisions from our Republican col- leagues or bipartisan efforts to do the BUDGET CORONAVIRUS same. But if our Republican colleagues Mr. MCCONNELL. Madam President, Mr. SCHUMER. Now on COVID, decide to oppose this urgent and nec- now, on a totally different matter, the Madam President, quickly, this Cham- essary legislation, we will have to country has waited to see whether the ber must also consider additional relief move forward without it. We have a re- new administration would follow a pro- for the American economy and the sponsibility to help the American peo- job, pro-worker, pro-working family American people suffering from the ple fast, particularly given these new approach or give in to the far left and prolonged effects of COVID–19. Con- economic numbers. The Senate will put ideological concerns before kitchen gress must pursue a bold and robust begin that work next week. table ones. Unfortunately, we didn’t course of action to defeat the disease, I yield the floor. have to wait long. recover our economy, and get our coun- I suggest the absence of a quorum. As recently as October, now-Presi- try back to normal. Again, our country The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tem- dent Biden said: ‘‘You can’t [legislate] requires bold and robust action. pore. The clerk will call the roll. by executive action unless you’re a dic- A trio of economic news items this The senior assistant legislative clerk tator.’’ Well, in 1 week, he signed more week has underlined the glaring needs proceeded to call the roll. than 30 unilateral actions, and working in the country. Mr. MCCONNELL. Madam President, Americans are getting short shrift. First, the Federal Reserve issued a I ask unanimous consent that the order The President abruptly canceled the sobering warning yesterday that the for the quorum call be rescinded. Keystone Pipeline, a massive setback pace of economic recovery is weak- The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tem- for energy security in North America. ening, and as a result, they decided to pore. Without objection, it is so or- The Canadian leader called it ‘‘a gut leave interest rates low. dered. punch.’’ I imagine the 11,000 American Second, the unemployment report f workers, including 8,000 union workers this morning reminded us that jobless who were counting on that work, feel claims are still extremely high—at or RECOGNITION OF THE MINORITY the same way. near 1 million per week. That is a lot LEADER We have headed back into an inter- larger than usual. The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tem- national pact that would have us self- Third and maybe most astoundingly, pore. The Republican leader is recog- inflict serious pain on working fami- most striking, the Bureau of Economic nized. lies, has failed to curb China’s emis- Analysis this morning revealed that f sions, and without which our own emis- last year, the economy shrank by 3.5 sions have been dropping anyway. And percent—the worst year for economic MARCH FOR LIFE yesterday, the administration slammed growth since World War II and the first Mr.