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, JUNE 17, 2021 No. 106 Senate The Senate met at 10 a.m. and was appoint the Honorable JACKY ROSEN, a Sen- INFRASTRUCTURE called to order by the Honorable JACKY ator from the State of Nevada, to perform the duties of the Chair. Mr. SCHUMER. Madam President, on ROSEN, a Senator from the State of Ne- another issue, infrastructure, despite a vada. PATRICK J. LEAHY, President pro tempore. consensus in Washington that America f needs more investment in our infra- Ms. ROSEN thereupon assumed the PRAYER structure, it has been decades since Chair as Acting President pro tempore. Congress passed a stand-alone bill to The Chaplain, Dr. Barry C. Black, of- f address the issue. This Congress is fered the following prayer: RESERVATION OF LEADER TIME working hard to remedy that fact. Let us pray. As I have repeated, discussions about Eternal God, although we cannot see The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tem- infrastructure are moving forward You with our eyes or touch You with pore. Under the previous order, the along two tracks. One is bipartisan, our hands, we have experienced the re- leadership time is reserved. and the second deals with components ality of Your might and majesty. Every f of the American jobs and families plan, time we hear a newborn baby cry or which we will consider even if it lacks touch a leaf or see the sky, we know RECOGNITION OF THE MAJORITY LEADER bipartisan support—though, I would why we believe. note that a recent poll showed that Lord, send Your spirit to fill the The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tem- President Biden’s infrastructure and hearts of our Senators. As they journey pore. The majority leader is recog- family plan is broadly popular. Nearly toward eternity, may they walk, Lord, nized. 70 percent of Americans support Presi- this day on the path You have pro- f dent Biden’s infrastructure plan. More vided. Give them a passion to glorify AFFORDABLE CARE ACT than 60 percent support additional sup- You in their thoughts, words, and port for American families. deeds. Provide them with the wisdom Mr. SCHUMER. Madam President, Now, despite some overdramatized to embrace truth, honor, gentleness, ever since Democrats passed the Af- punditry, the truth is both tracks are and humility. fordable Care Act, expanding health moving forward very well, and both We pray in Your righteous Name. coverage and access to tens of millions tracks need each other. So we want to Amen. of Americans, we have had to fight work with our Republican colleagues f tooth and nail to preserve the law from on infrastructure where we have com- partisan Republican attacks. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE mon ground, and Democrats believe we For more than a decade, the assault have other priorities that the Senate The Presiding Officer led the Pledge on our healthcare law was relentless must consider above and beyond a bi- of Allegiance, as follows: from Republicans in Congress, from the partisan infrastructure bill, not the I pledge allegiance to the Flag of the executive branch itself and from Re- least of which is addressing the urgent United States of America, and to the Repub- publican attorneys general in the challenge of climate change. lic for which it stands, one nation under God, courts. In a landmark vote, we in the indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. Yesterday, I convened all 11 Members Senate prevented the Republicans from of the Senate Budget Committee to dis- f repealing the ACA in 2017. cuss the reconciliation track. And APPOINTMENT OF ACTING Each time, in each arena, the Afford- today, I will convene the group of PRESIDENT PRO TEMPORE able Care Act has prevailed, and once Democrats negotiating with Repub- The PRESIDING OFFICER. The again today, the U.S. Supreme Court, licans to discuss the bipartisan track. clerk will please read a communication in a 7-to-2 ruling, upheld the Affordable We set up the two tracks about a to the Senate from the President pro Care Act in the face of another legal month ago. Each is proceeding along, challenge. So let me say definitively: tempore (Mr. LEAHY). and the two tracks are parallel, work- The senior assistant legislative clerk The Affordable Care Act has won. The ing in concert, progressing well. read the following letter: Supreme Court has just ruled. The ACA f is here to stay. U.S. SENATE, And now we are going to try to make VOTING RIGHTS PRESIDENT PRO TEMPORE, Washington, DC, June 17, 2021. it bigger and better—establish once Mr. SCHUMER. Madam President, on To the Senate: and for all affordable healthcare as a voting rights, now we are here on the Under the provisions of rule I, paragraph 3, basic right of every American citizen. precipice of a momentous debate here of the Standing Rules of the Senate, I hereby What a day. in the Senate. Last night, I began the ∑ This ‘‘bullet’’ symbol identifies statements or insertions which are not spoken by a Member of the Senate on the floor. S4599 ® Pdnted on recycled papfil. VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:30 Jun 18, 2021 Jkt 019060 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 0624 Sfmt 0634 E:\CR\FM\A17JN6.000 S17JNPT1 SSpencer on DSK126QN23PROD with SENATE S4600 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE June 17, 2021 process to consider voting rights legis- cies that I just mentioned are now law. falsely accuse Democrats of wanting to lation here on the floor of the Senate They would also be in effect in Texas defund the police are actively refusing next week. The process I used will had Democratic lawmakers not walked to defend the police. allow the Senate to consider S. 1 or out of the chamber in protest. Since I wish I could say the Senate was to- compromise legislation that is cur- the beginning of the year, 14 States tally different than the House—the Re- rently being discussed. In either case, have enacted 22 laws—22 laws—to make publican House—but here we have a our goal remains crystal clear: protect it harder to vote. Senate Republican saying that it really the right to vote, strengthen our de- Now, I know what the Republicans wasn’t a violent insurrection. We have mocracy, and put a stop to the tide of are saying. They are saying: Oh, well, Senate Republicans refusing to include voter suppression flooding across our we are making it easier to vote but any mention of the causes for January country. We will not consider legisla- harder to cheat. 6 in committee reports, and the Repub- tion that does not achieve those objec- But when you look at what they are lican minority mounted a partisan fili- tives. The issue is too important. actually doing, it is perfectly clear buster against an independent, bipar- Republican State legislatures are that Republicans across the country tisan Commission. conducting the most sweeping attack are making it harder to vote and mak- That is what is happening in the on the right to vote since the begin- ing it easier to steal an election. They present-day Republican Party: a hor- ning of Jim Crow. What is their stated are targeting all the ways that poorer, net’s nest of conspiracy theories and reason for vicious assaults on voting younger, non-White and typically voter suppression in the States and a rights? They say it is election integ- Democratic voters access the ballot, Washington Republican establishment rity. and they are giving new tools to par- that is too afraid of Donald Trump to But listen to these policies and tell tisan election boards and unelected stand up for our democracy with con- me if you think they are about election judges to interfere with the results of a viction. integrity: democratic election—interfere with the So look, we Democrats wish the vot- Reducing polling hours and polling results of a democratic election. Does ing bill would be bipartisan. By all places. What does that have to do with that sound like a democracy? No, it rights, it should be. But the actions in election integrity? sounds like an autocracy, a dictator- State legislatures like Georgia, Iowa, Mandating that every precinct, no ship. and Florida were totally partisan. matter how large or how small, have When you lose an election, you are None of these voter suppression laws the same number of ballot drop boxes. supposed try to win over more voters, were passed with bipartisan support— What does that have to do with elec- not try to stop the other side from vot- not one. Washington Republicans seem tion integrity? ing. These laws are un-American, auto- dead set against all remedies, whether It is saying urban areas should have cratic, and against the very, very grain it is S. 1, some modified version, or the less ability to vote than rural areas. of our grand democracy, which, for im- John Lewis Voting Rights Act, which No after-hours voting, no 24-hours mediate partisan advantage, our Re- Senator MCCONNELL has recently op- voting, no drive-through voting. publican friends are trying to under- posed. So the idea that we can have Requiring absentee ballots to be ap- mine. some kind of bipartisan solution to proved by a notary public. So the Senate is going to debate this partisan attack on democracy be- Making it a crime to give food and what to do about these laws at the Fed- fuddles me.