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, WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 4, 2021 No. 139 House of Representatives The House was not in session today. Its next meeting will be held on Friday, August 6, 2021, at 12 p.m. Senate WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 4, 2021 The Senate met at 10:30 a.m. and was to the Senate from the President pro A bill (H.R. 3684) to authorize funds for called to order by the Honorable BEN tempore (Mr. LEAHY). Federal-aid highways, highway safety pro- RAY LUJA´ N, a Senator from the State The senior legislative clerk read the grams, and transit programs, and for other of New Mexico. following letter: purposes. Pending: f U.S. SENATE, PRESIDENT PRO TEMPORE, Schumer (for Sinema) amendment No. 2137, PRAYER Washington, DC, August 4, 2021. in the nature of a substitute. To the Senate: Carper-Capito amendment No. 2131 (to The Chaplain, Dr. Barry C. Black, of- Under the provisions of rule I, paragraph 3, amendment No. 2137), to strike a definition. fered the following prayer: of the Standing Rules of the Senate, I hereby Carper (for Johnson) amendment No. 2245 Let us pray. appoint the Honorable BEN RAY LUJA´ N, a (to amendment No. 2137), to prohibit the can- Eternal God, in these challenging Senator from the State of New Mexico, to cellation of contracts for physical barriers days, our hearts are steadfast toward perform the duties of the Chair. and other border security measures for which funds already have been obligated and You. Empower our lawmakers to grasp PATRICK J. LEAHY, for which penalties will be incurred in the Your firm hand, depending on You to President pro tempore. ´ case of such cancellation and prohibiting the lead them through the darkness to the Mr. LUJAN thereupon assumed the use of funds for payment of such penalties. light. Chair as Acting President pro tempore. RECOGNITION OF THE MAJORITY LEADER Lord, lead them safely to the fortress f The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tem- of Your choosing, for You desire to give RESERVATION OF LEADER TIME pore. The Democratic leader is recog- them a future and a hope. Provide our nized. Senators with the power to do Your The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tem- Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, I ask will as they more fully realize that pore. Under the previous order, the unanimous consent that following Sen- leadership time is reserved. they are servants of Heaven and stew- ator KELLY’s maiden speech, that Sen- ards of Your gifts. May they make in- f ators JOHNSON, PETERS, and CARPER be tegrity the litmus test by which they CONCLUSION OF MORNING permitted to speak for up to 5 minutes evaluate each action as You keep them BUSINESS each prior to the start of the vote. from deviating from Your chosen path. The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tem- The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tem- We pray in Your great Name. Amen. pore. Without objection, it is so or- pore. Morning business is closed. f dered. f H.R. 3684 PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE LEGISLATIVE SESSION Mr. President, for information of the The Presiding Officer led the Pledge Senators, the vote scheduled at 12:15 of Allegiance, as follows: will likely begin closer to 12:30 p.m. INVESTING IN A NEW VISION FOR I pledge allegiance to the Flag of the As you have seen, as America has United States of America, and to the Repub- THE ENVIRONMENT AND SUR- seen, the Senate is moving full steam lic for which it stands, one nation under God, FACE TRANSPORTATION IN ahead on the bipartisan infrastructure indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. AMERICA ACT bill. Since the legislative text of the f The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tem- bill was finalized, the Senate has con- pore. Under the previous order, the sidered eight amendments. Five APPOINTMENT OF ACTING Senate will resume consideration of amendments were led by Senators from PRESIDENT PRO TEMPORE H.R. 3684, which the clerk will report. the Republican minority, and seven The PRESIDING OFFICER. The The senior assistant legislative clerk amendments have received rollcall clerk will please read a communication read as follows: votes. One amendment offered by the ∑ This ‘‘bullet’’ symbol identifies statements or insertions which are not spoken by a Member of the Senate on the floor. S5791 ® Pdnted on recycled papfil. VerDate Sep 11 2014 06:36 Aug 05, 2021 Jkt 019060 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 0637 Sfmt 0634 E:\CR\FM\A04AU6.000 S04AUPT1 ctelli on DSK11ZRN23PROD with SENATE S5792 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE August 4, 2021 uncommon pairing of Senators While yesterday’s announcement by I want to thank Chairman MENENDEZ, WARNOCK and CRUZ was adopted yester- the CDC was very welcome, it is only Senator KAINE, and every Republican day by voice vote. Miracles happen the first step. In the weeks ahead, the cosponsor of the bill for working to even here in the Senate. administration must continue working bring this issue to the floor. So the Senate is making great with State governments to better dis- As majority leader, in consultation progress on amendments, and we are tribute emergency rental assistance with Chairman MENENDEZ, I intend to going to make further progress very that Congress has appropriated at the bring up the repeal for a vote on the soon. While the specific number of ad- end of the last year. The money is Senate floor later this year. Members ditional amendments has yet to be there. We in Congress provided it. should be on notice: We are going to agreed to, I believe we can consider an- I want to call out my State of New vote on this. other substantial tranche on the floor York, which has done a poor job at dis- JUDICIAL NOMINATIONS today. Senators should expect multiple tributing this money. Two weeks ago, Now, Mr. President, finally, judicial rollcall votes this afternoon. along with housing advocates, I called nominations. One of our most impor- EVICTION MORATORIUM on the State to move things more tant jobs here in the Senate is to con- Mr. President, yesterday afternoon, quickly. A week before that, New York firm President Biden’s judicial ap- millions of American families were State along with South Carolina were pointments. The Democratic majority able to breathe a sigh of relief as the the only two States that sent out no in the Senate is committed to swiftly Biden administration announced an ex- dollars—no dollars. Some of our local- and consistently filling judicial vacan- tension of the eviction moratorium ities that didn’t cede the money to the cies with highly qualified, ideologically that expired last month. State have done a better job, like Mon- mainstream, and professionally and de- According to the CDC, the new ban roe County, where Rochester is. But mographically diverse jurists. Later on evictions will apply for 60 days too much of the money is just sitting this week, the Senate will have the op- across regions of the country that are up there in Albany. portunity to confirm another judge experiencing high levels of COVID in- We need Mike Hine, who is head of who meets all three of these criteria. fections. In total, roughly 90 percent of the relevant administrative depart- Last night, I filed cloture on the American renters—90 percent—will be ment in the State, and all of the State nomination of Eunice Lee to serve on protected by this order. That is what to get that money out fast. the Second Circuit Court of Appeals. the head of the CDC told me yesterday. An eviction ban is a good thing. It Since the Second Circuit covers my There are so many individuals who prevents people from being kicked out home State of New York and is one of helped make this happen. First, I ap- of their homes. Once the eviction ban the most important Federal courts in plaud the President—President Biden— ends, if there is not rental assistance, the country, it was my honor to have and the CDC for taking action to pro- we are back in the same boat. We need recommended Ms. Lee to the White tect American families. I want to com- the States to get that money out. House for an appointment. She will be mend Speaker PELOSI. She and I State governments—my State of New the fourth circuit judge confirmed in worked closely together to get this York—must do a better job of getting the first 7 months of the Biden admin- done from our first conversations with that support out the door and into the istration. the President at the White House on hands of Americans who need help. Eunice Lee is not only an excellent Thursday, on through the weekend and One other thing, there is not Treas- lawyer, with sound judgment and a ju- the beginning of this week. ury bureaucracy in the way. States rist’s temperament, but she brings the But I also want to recognize the like Texas, like Monroe County, have kind of legal experience that is all too amazing courage of my colleagues, in- been able to get out a lot of the money. rare on the Federal bench. Ms. Lee cluding Representatives OCASIO-COR- The fault lies in the State governments spent her entire career in public serv- TEZ, JONES, and GOMEZ and, above all, that are not doing this, and they have ice, representing criminal defendants Representative CORI BUSH. to move. who could not afford counseling.