Sherrod Brown

Mr. BROWN

Mr. BROWN. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the preambles be agreed to and that the motions to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table, all en bloc.

Mr. BROWN. Madam President, I will speak briefly. I know we are expecting a vote at 5:30. I will not speak nearly that long, but I know we are about to vote on the Congressional Review Act on an issue that I happen to disagree with the President on. My whole career has been standing up for workers. My whole career has been standing up for, sometimes, the Presidents--the Presidents of both parties. I think, if you look at the history of trade in this country and what we have done, we have seen, frankly, that this body, that down the hall in the House of Representatives, and that the White House have historically not stood up for workers. I grew up in Mansfield, OH, in a small, industrial city of about 50,000 people. It was a very industrial city, less so now. I went to Johnny Appleseed Junior High School, and I remember walking the halls with the sons and daughters of machinists who worked at Tappan Stove and rubberworkers who worked for Mansfield Tire and steelworkers at Empire in Detroit. ``Empire-Reeves,'' I believe, was the company's name then. I remember the autoworkers who worked at General Motors, a number of electrical workers at Westinghouse, and also the sons and daughters of people in the trades, who were electricians and carpenters, insulators and pipefitters, plumbers and operating engineers and laborers--people highly skilled who built America. Companies and corporations--particularly in my part of the country but also in Nevada and everywhere--began to shut down plants in the industrial Midwest. They moved those plants to low-wage areas--Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, Georgia, North and South Carolina especially. Because those wages weren't quite low enough to satisfy the greed--I think there is no other word other than the ``greed'' of corporate America--then those same companies began to lobby Congress. One of my first votes as a Member of Congress many years ago was in opposition to the North American Free Trade Agreement. Those of us who opposed NAFTA predicted with almost certainty what was almost certainly and inevitably going to happen. Once you pass a trade agreement giving these companies the opportunity to go to Mexico and then to China with no tariffs and to go for very low wages to exploit workers in those countries, which is what they did, you begin to see plants shut down. We know what happened. We know that far too many of our colleagues in the House and Senate were willing to pass these free-trade agreements, like NAFTA. We also know that, down the hall, the House of Representatives did the same thing; the Senate did it; and, frankly, we had Presidents of both parties who sold out American workers. The lobbyists were here, pushing for NAFTA and pushing later for the PNTR with China, weakening the rules there so that these companies were up and gone. They left. They left Ohio. They left Indiana. They left Illinois. They left so much of the industrial Midwest because this Congress and the Presidents of both parties, from Trump all the way back to Clinton--I would include Obama and both Bushes and Clinton and Trump--were willing to sell out American workers to the lobbyists who pushed for these trade agreements as they could seek cheaper wages in China. There is another thing that happened with China. What we did when we moved all of these jobs to China was we built up the Chinese military because we provided the technology and the wealth to the Chinese Communist Party that then was able to build up a high-tech military-- not quite rivaling ours, but it was certainly dangerous enough that we paid attention. My vote against NAFTA was one of my proudest votes and my vote against the PNTR with China, the most favored nation status with China. So we are seeing what that has yielded. In the end, it is a simple choice: Whose side are you on? Are you on the side of the Chinese Communist Party or are you on the side of American workers? That, to me, is what this vote is about today with the Congressional Review Act about solar tariffs. I would add full disclosure. One of the biggest solar manufacturers-- I believe still the biggest single solar manufacturing plant in America--is near Toledo, just south of Toledo, in Northwest Ohio. Those workers will benefit if we vote yes and then override the President's veto. It is what I urge my colleagues to do today--to pass this simple resolution to continue these tariffs on China--because as long as they keep cheating, as long as American companies are willing to take the products from slave labor and underpaid labor and exploited labor and bring them into this country, these problems will continue for our industrial base. I heard the President of the United States down the hall, I believe, in his last State of the Union, saying the term ``Rust Belt'' and that we are burying the term ``Rust Belt.'' I have talked to the President about burying that term. He mentioned it that day, in the State of the Union that evening. Mostly, we are starting to see in this country a reindustrialization of America. We are seeing chips now. Chips were invented in the United States, but 90 percent of them are made mostly in Taiwan and China. The light bulb was invented by an Ohioan, Thomas Edison. He grew up not far from where I grew up. Now 100 percent of LEDs are made overseas. So if we are going to reindustrialize this country and bring these jobs back, that is what the CHIPS legislation is all about, and that is what we are doing with Intel in Columbus. This sets us back. The President's veto of this bill sets us back a couple more years in redeveloping and bringing these jobs back and doing the kind of in-sourcing that Senator Casey and others have fought for here. As I wrap up, I am asking my colleagues to vote yes on this Congressional Review Act on solar tariffs because, again, whose side are you on? Are you on the side of the Chinese Communist Party or are you on the side of American workers? To me, it is as clear as day which side to be on.

Mr. BROWN

Mr. BROWN. Mr. President, I rise in support of the CRA that we will be voting on soon. This vote presents a pretty simple choice: Do you stand with American manufacturers and American workers or do you stand with China and do you stand with our continuing to lose our industrial base? I fought my whole career for fair trade. One of my first and proudest votes was against the North American Free Trade Agreement, as a Member of the House. We saw what that agreement did to Vermont, did to Ohio, and did to Kansas--and Senator Moran just spoke. We saw what NAFTA did. These trade fights are not a new fight. Some years ago--about 20 years ago--when I was a Member of the House, I wrote a book called ``Myths of Free Trade.'' The book wasn't exactly a bestseller. I can live with that. But telling the truth on trade has not been popular in this town--by Presidents of both parties, majorities in Congress, and corporate leaders and CEOs who were lobbying Congress. Essentially, these trade agreements sold out American workers. These trade agreements were signed or, at least, negotiated by American Presidents and voted for by far too many Members of Congress, lobbied by the most powerful interest groups in Washington. I remember that during NAFTA--there were two things during NAFTA, particularly. One was that someone said that there were more corporate jets at National Airport than they had ever seen, because CEOs were all flying in to push for NAFTA--to get us to vote for NAFTA--because it was more money in their pockets because it was fewer dollars in workers' pockets. The other thing I remember was one of the--this was a two-party thing. Democrats were pretty bad. Republicans were actually slightly worse. But both parties were guilty, and Presidents from both parties--from Trump and all the way back to Clinton, since I came here. One of the Democratic leaders on this issue in the House said to me: You know, I hate these congressional recesses because when our Members go home and go to county fairs and start meeting with people, they decide that they don't think NAFTA is such a great idea. So every time we went home, this guy, who was a Member of Congress who was pushing for NAFTA, had more work to do because the more the public heard from workers--the more that Congressman heard from workers and from the public--the less they liked this agreement. Workers from Ohio and around the country watched the people who are supposed to represent them and stand up for them sell out to corporations again and again. Let me tell you a real quick story. I grew up in Mansfield, OH, an industrial city at the time that was roughly halfway between Cleveland and Columbus. I worked on a family farm nearby through most of my teen years. But I remember walking the halls at a school called Johnny Appleseed Junior High. In Johnny Appleseed Junior High, I walked the halls with the sons and daughters of electrical workers at Westinghouse, autoworkers at General Motors, rubberworkers at Mansfield Tire, and machinists at Tappan Stove; and with the sons and daughters of trades people, laborers, electricians, insulators, sheet metal workers, plumbers, pipefitters, and operating engineers. Those kids had a chance in life. Those kids had a pretty good solid middle-class life because their parents carried a union card. They had that advantage. We were a country where management would sit down with workers, and they would negotiate. Management would do well, not the kind of $10 million-a-year CEO salaries as today, but they would do well. But workers would do well and be able to buy a car and a decent home and send their kids to Mansfield OSU or North Central Technical College or whatever. By the time I got to Mansfield High School, you could see those jobs starting to be lost. By the time, years later, when I represented Mansfield in the legislature, so many of those jobs were gone because those companies were using words like--first, they moved south for cheap labor. Then they moved to Mexico. Then they moved to China. Those companies were moving their production overseas in the name of ``efficiency.'' Efficiency is always business school speak for lower wages: We want more efficiency. Actually, we really want lower wages, but we can't say that in public. Corporations searched the globe for cheap labor. First, they shut down production in Mansfield, OH, and Toledo and Dayton. Then they moved to Alabama and Mississippi. Wages were low, and the unions were not particularly active there because the governments in those States kept them out, and the businesses kept them out. Then those wages weren't cheap enough, and that is when they started going overseas. They lobbied for tax breaks and bad trade deals always in search of lower wages. And, you know, Wall Street would reward them over and over. Norfolk Southern I pay attention to because of their irresponsibility and greed and what they did to a community in my State. Every time they lay off workers--Norfolk Southern laid off a third of its workforce in the past 2 years. Every time they lay off workers, their quarterly earnings report gets a little better, and their profits get a little better. What does Wall Street do? Wall Street rewards them with a higher stock price. Then what happens is those CEOs and top executives are able to cash in, in a bigger and bigger way, with stock buybacks and other ways. So look at where we have ended up because of this corporate- dominated, corporate-ridden trade policy. An Ohioan invented the light bulb. Today, 99 percent of LED bulbs are made in China. On the west coast, an American invented the semiconductor. Today, 90 percent of them are made overseas. We cannot and will not make that mistake again with the technologies that power our economy over the next century. We have heard a lot of talk in the Senate over the past year about supporting manufacturing and innovation so we can better compete with China. Senator Cornyn is on the floor. He and Senator Casey are working on a really important bill on corporate outsourcing that I hope we pass, and it will absolutely matter. It is why, in the end, we passed the CHIPS Act, to bring semiconductor production back home where it belongs. We passed a bipartisan infrastructure bill. I worked with Senator Portman, the other Senator from Ohio, on that and on a number of other bills that rebuild our bridges and roads. We passed the Inflation Reduction Act to make sure we lead the world in new renewable energy technologies, like solar. But, now, suspending those solar tariffs is antithetical to the good work we did. We take four steps forward and, today, move three steps backward. That is not the progress we need. President Biden has talked about how we are essentially--and I have been talking to him about this, and he has been repeating it--that we are burying the term ``Rust Belt'' in my part of the country. You can't say you want American manufacturing to lead the world and then allow Chinese companies, subsidized always by their government, to skirt the rules and dump solar panels in the United States. We have in my State--I believe it is still--the largest solar manufacturing company in America. First Solar employs 2,000 workers in Northwest Ohio. These workers are ready to lead the world in this industry. They just need a level playing field. We know China cheats. The Chinese Government, as they have for generations--unfortunately, American politicians helped them do it, and American corporations helped them do it, and we build up the Chinese military that now we are concerned with. China illegally subsidizes industry, from steel to solar. They have been doing it for years. They are always coming up with new ways to cheat. It is sort of a Whac-A-Mole problem, where we stop this cheating, and then it goes somewhere else. We stop that, and it goes somewhere else. We put tariffs on their illegally dumped products, and they move some aspect of production to other nearby countries to get around those rules. They move to Cambodia, Malaysia, Taiwan, Vietnam, and wherever they can find to cheat and to ignore the rules. Blame them--and I certainly do--but we have allowed it. We have allowed it because American politicians, Presidents of both parties, and far too many people in this Chamber--I would certainly say the Presiding Officer is an exception to that--far too many people in this body have gone along with it as corporate America has lobbied and lobbied and lobbied aggressively. This isn't just a guess. The administration's own Commerce Department conducted an independent investigation. They released preliminary results in December. And surprise, surprise, they found that, yes, four leading Chinese solar cell manufacturers are dodging U.S. tariffs by routing some of their operations through Southeast Asia. We can't let them keep doing it. That is what this vote today is about. It has real consequences for our leadership in my State in manufacturing and for American leadership in one of the leading energy industries of the future. To my colleagues who say we must allow these Chinese imports for the time being in order to fight climate change, I disagree. Nobody in this body is more concerned and more active in terms of understanding environmental issues. As a senior in high school, I started the first Earth Day in Richland County in 1970. My commitment is absolute. But when people say this is about climate change, surely, it isn't. It is about ceding our leadership to other countries, and it will not result in long-term success. American workers must know we have their backs. They need to know they aren't a little side issue: We are for workers, except when we are doing this; we are for workers, except when we are doing that. If you believe in the dignity of work, if you put workers at the center of our economic policy, it makes things better. We have seen how dangerous it is when we cede American leadership to other countries in key industries like semiconductors. Now we play catch up. American workers have proven they can make these solar panels. It is not a hypothetical. Americans are manufacturing solar panels that can power our economy right now, today. They need a level playing field. How are businesses going to expand and scale up production if they are constantly dealing with a flood--I mean a flood, one after another after another wave--of illegally subsidized imports? It comes down, as the Presiding Officer knows, to whose side are you on? Do you stand with workers in Ohio or stand with the Chinese Communist Party? Do you stand with the American solar industry or do you stand with the solar industry in a country that cheats time after time? It is that simple. If you love this country, you fight for the people who make it work. I ask my colleagues to join me in standing up for workers in Ohio and around the country.

Mr. BROWN

Mr. BROWN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for the quorum call be rescinded.

Mr. BROWN

Mr. BROWN. I ask for the yeas and nays.

Mr. BROWN

Mr. BROWN. Mr. President, I rise today to pay tribute to Linda Robertson in honor of her storied career in public service, including as a key member of the Federal Reserve's staff for over 13 years. Her career has touched many of the most important economic events of the past 40 years. Originally from Oklahoma, Linda first came to Washington to work for Congressman Jim Jones. She quickly made her mark working on taxation and finance matters both in his office and for the Committee on Ways and Means. It was in this job that she had a front row seat to the 1986 tax reform effort made famous by books like ``Showdown at Gucci Gulch.'' While continuing her work in Congress during the day, she attended classes at night to earn her master of laws in taxation. Based on her exceptional congressional experience and knowledge of policy, Linda was later nominated and confirmed to serve as Assistant Secretary for Legislative Affairs and Public Liaison at the U.S. Department of the Treasury. Following her service at the Treasury Department, she worked as the top public advocate for Johns Hopkins University and Johns Hopkins Medicine. Linda returned to public service in August 2009 as an assistant to the Federal Reserve Board and head of its congressional liaison office. She began this position at a time of immense challenge for the country and as Congress and our regulatory Agencies worked to stabilize the financial system following the great recession of 2008. From the global financial crisis through the pandemic, Linda has served as a trusted advisor to the Federal Reserve Board and has played an invaluable role in keeping Congress and the public apprised of the Federal Reserve's work to fulfill its mandates on behalf of the American people. Federal Reserve Board Chairs Bernanke, Yellen, and Powell all benefited from Linda's experience and dedication to public service. Linda also returned to Treasury in 2021 to advise Secretary Yellen as she became the first woman to serve as Treasury Secretary. Linda's work was vital last year when we confirmed President Biden's slate of Federal Reserve Board nominees. With her countless hours of hard work, we were able to confirm a full Federal Reserve Board, something that had not been done in nearly a decade. Linda's lasting legacy also includes those that she worked with and mentored throughout her career. Those that had the privilege of learning from her wisdom have gone on to fill positions throughout Washington. One of Linda's former interns from her time at the Treasury Department is my scheduler, Diana Baron, also from Oklahoma, who has been with me on my staff for nearly 25 years. I am sure many of my colleagues have similar stories. Her commitment to public service, formidable talent, and immense knowledge will be missed by those at the Federal Reserve and many of us on Capitol Hill, particularly those of us on the Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee. I wish Linda much success in her next chapter which--without hearings to prep for or bills to review--I expect will include ample time spent with family and friends.

Mr. BROWN

Mr. BROWN. Madam President, I thank Senator Rubio for his comments. Whenever I hear my colleagues rail against China--and I agree with that 95 percent of the time. Whenever I hear them say things like that they want to be the world's most powerful country, the most powerful government, I agree with that. But, as Senator Rubio said--this isn't a debate between him and me. I just want to make a couple of comments. I want to talk about worker safety, in a moment, which I know the Presiding Officer cares so much about. I go back half a generation. Senator Rubio wasn't here then, but many of his ideological soulmates were here then. This Congress couldn't stop itself, from Presidents Clinton and Bush 1 and Obama and Bush 2 and Trump--couldn't help themselves--from giving all kinds of breaks to American corporations and incentives to American corporations to go to China, to move to China. So they shut down production in Duluth, MN. They shut down production in Mansfield, OH, my hometown, and Toledo and Youngstown. As corporations were lobbying Congress, I worked and I teamed up with Lindsey Graham, a Republican, against that. We were unsuccessful, as corporations lobbied Congress to give China something called permanent normal trade relations. So they shut down production in Ohio. They moved that production to China. And what happened? They taught China a whole lot about manufacturing, and they created a whole lot of wealth in China. Now we are surprised about TikTok. We are surprised that the Chinese military is as powerful as it is. I just think it is important that we remember, when we listen to corporate interests in this body who lobby here to weaken, to push jobs overseas, that these are the kinds of things that happen. And I hope we learn from that, and I hope we take a lesson and apply it to TikTok into the future. So, Senator Rubio, thank you for raising the issue. Worker Safety Madam President, I want to talk about worker safety for a moment. On Friday, seven American workers went to work in West Reading, PA, at the RM Chocolate Factory to provide for their families. I spoke to Senator Casey about this, who is the senior Senator from Pennsylvania and who is one of the leaders in fighting for worker safety in this body. I spoke with him about it a few minutes ago. Those seven workers never came home after an explosion leveled the plant. Our thoughts are with the families who lost sons and daughters, workers who were paid decent wages, not exorbitant wages--decent wages--and never returned home to their families. We will learn more about what went wrong. I know Pennsylvania workers will always have an ally with Senators Casey and Fetterman on this issue and so much more. This struck me in a more emphatic way because I believe it was 1 day before the 112th anniversary of the Triangle Shirtwaist factory fire. That tragedy woke up the Nation to the dangers that workers face in their jobs--dozens of workers, because the management had locked the factory doors because they were afraid that some of these low-paid, mostly women, some of them very young, workers might steal a blouse or two. They locked the factory doors. So when this fire broke out in a very flammable environment, workers jumped out the windows to their deaths-- dozens and dozens of workers. That made a huge difference in Congress finally dealing with worker safety. In fact, a woman who was nearby, heard the sirens, and came to the scene was named Frances Perkins. She became the first female Secretary of Labor, under President Roosevelt. She stayed with him his entire 12- plus years in office and played a big role, with Senator Wagner, in writing the most pro-worker legislation in this Nation's history, especially on worker safety. Now, Madam President, I wear this pin on my lapel. I have worn it since it was given to me 25 years ago, at a workers' Memorial Day rally, by the steelworkers. It is a picture of a canary in a bird cage. The mine workers, 120 years ago, used to take a canary down in the mine. If the canary died from toxic gas or lack of oxygen, the mine worker got out of the mine. He had no union, in those days, strong enough to protect him. He had no government, in those days, that cared enough to protect him. We changed that because of worker safety laws. We changed that because of unions. This tragedy in West Reading, PA, reminds us that our work to protect workers and make workplaces safer never ends. I think about those steelworkers who lost their lives near Toledo in an explosion in a refinery in Oregon, OH, last year. Max Morrissey and Ben Morrissey were brothers who died in that accident. I think about the Norfolk Southern worker who worked for Norfolk Southern, and, because of its culture of laying off workers and compromising safety and paying big compensation bonuses to executives, the worker at Norfolk Southern lost his life earlier this month. No worker should have to worry about returning--kissing her husband goodbye, kissing his wife goodbye, kissing his or her children goodbye, they should not have to worry about returning home. That is why we should stand up to corporate lobbies that always want to cut costs-- worker safety be damned. We know what happened. We saw in East Palestine what happened because the railroad laid off a third of its workers and then they compromised on safety. We saw what happened in Silicon Valley Bank when they didn't pay attention to consumers and regulators and the public interest. And, again, workers always pay the price. We know what will happen. Every time there is an industrial accident, people are upset; they worry about it. But the companies continue to lobby regulators for weaker laws. We see it here with corporate lobbyists. We see it in the regulatory Agencies, when they always want to weaken consumer laws, they always want to weaken environmental laws, they always want to weaken worker safety laws, and communities always pay, and workers always pay. That is why a union card is so powerful. It means higher wages, better benefits, and a safer workplace. If you love this country, you fight for the people who make it work, whether they punch a clock or swipe a badge or whether they work for tips or whether they work on salary. You fight to keep people safe on the job. That is our job here, to make sure we do that better than we have in the past. I yield the floor.

Mr. BROWN

Mr. BROWN. Mr. President, if there is no further business to come before the Senate, I ask that it stand adjourned under the previous order, following the remarks of Senator Cantwell.

Mr. BROWN

Mr. BROWN. Mr. President, I understand there are three bills at the desk, and I ask for their first reading en bloc.

Mr. BROWN. I now ask for a second reading, and I object to my own request, all en bloc.

Mr. BROWN

Mr. BROWN. Mr. President, I, first, want to compliment the President pro tempore of the Senate and her leadership here for now 30-plus years and her courage. She saw January more up close than most of us did. I say to the Senator: I believe you were with your husband in your office and heard those sounds and, I assume, had those fears. I appreciate your courage then and how you have talked about it in specific terms. Your genuineness really matters. So thank you for that.

Mr. BROWN

Mr. BROWN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to legislative session and be in a period of morning business, with Senators permitted to speak therein for up to 10 minutes each.

Mr. BROWN

Mr. BROWN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that when the Senate completes its business today, it stand adjourned to convene for a pro forma session, with no business being conducted, at 8:45 a.m. on Friday, March 17, and when the Senate adjourns on Friday, it stand adjourned until 3 p.m. on Tuesday, March 21; that, on Tuesday, following the prayer and pledge, the morning hour be deemed expired, the Journal of proceedings be approved to date, the time for the two leaders be reserved for their use later in the day and morning business be closed; that following the conclusion of morning business, the Senate resume consideration of the motion to proceed to Calendar No. 25, S. 316, postcloture; further, that the postcloture debate time on the motion to proceed be considered expired at 5:30 p.m.

Mr. BROWN

Mr. BROWN. Mr. President, it shouldn't take a train derailment for elected officials to put partisanship aside and work together for the people whom we serve--not work for corporations like Norfolk Southern. That is why, this morning, I introduced bipartisan legislation with Senator Vance, my new Republican colleague, who has been here only about 2 months, and our colleagues Senator Rubio, Republican from Florida; Senator Casey, a longtime friend and Democrat from Pennsylvania; Senator Fetterman, also a freshman who has been here a couple of months, from Pennsylvania; and Senator Hawley from Missouri, to make trains safer as they go through places like East Palestine, OH. Railroad company lobbyists spent years fighting every effort that we could make to make our trains and our rail lines safer. Now Ohioans have seen it, and Georgia has seen it, and the Presiding Officer, the senior Senator from Georgia, has seen it in his State. Ohioans have seen these rail crashes, these derailments, just in the last 4 months. The one in East Palestine is the best known because the damage was the greatest. But there was also one in Sandusky, on Lake Erie, the greatest body of fresh water in the world, in the Great Lakes; and also in Steubenville, on the Ohio River. Those are the two greatest natural resources that our State has, the Ohio River and Lake Erie. It affects drinking water and all kinds of things--recreation for so many people. We have seen that all three of these communities are paying a price. Over the past month, I have been in East Palestine multiple times, talking with residents, the mayor, the fire chief, business owners, parents. I have heard their fears for what this means for their town, for their futures. I met with Melissa Smith, who runs a company, a candle-making company. I learned something from her and from my wife--that the best candles now are made from soy, not wax. They smell better and burn cleaner. Thank you for acknowledging that. Perhaps, it is better for the environment. But she owns this candle company that she and her daughter run. She and her husband, about 4 miles away, have a small farm. They have 25 beef cattle. I think she said 25. She has regular customers. This isn't some huge stockyard. She has regular customers, and these customers, whom she sells to every year, buy a side of beef or a full beef and she tells me she is getting calls from these customers saying: I don't know if I am going to buy this year. Is your beef safe? She can't promise that, and they don't know. We agree we need to do everything in our power to make sure an accident like this never happens again and make sure these residents-- the 4,500 residents of East Palestine and the township, Unity Township, around it; and east of Unity Township, the township east is in western PA, Darlington Township--to make sure people's lives return to normal. Our bill would do a few key things. It includes new safety requirements for trains that carry hazardous materials. Governor DeWine, who served in the Senate before he was Governor, is particularly upset that these trains--these tanker train cars--can come in that are carrying hazardous material and not tell the State or local governments or, more importantly, not tell firefighters and people who are not trained to fight hazmat kinds of fires. The bill would also mean new rules to prevent wheel bearing failures like we saw in this crash. We know wheel bearing failures are the No. 1 mechanical cause of derailments. It would require two-person crews on every train. Think about this. This train was more than 150-cars long, more than a mile. It has one locomotive at the front, then a locomotive about two- thirds of the way or halfway back to help pull the train. There were only two employees. There were three this time: two employees and a trainee. But the railroads want there to only be one human being riding these trains--one human being on a train a mile long, 150 cars. We require a minimum two-person work crew on every train. It is a good first step toward making train and rail lines safer and protecting rail workers. It means real accountability when accidents happen. It raises the fines that, right now, are so low that they don't even make a dent in the profits of these big companies; it is just the cost of doing business. We have seen what happens: dangerous derailments over and over. There were three in Ohio just in the last few months. As Norfolk Southern's profits have gone up, accidents have gone up. That is not exactly shocking. They don't care about these communities and the damage they do, as long as they still bring in enough to do billions in stock buybacks to reward their executives. Last year, they did $3 billion in stock buybacks. This year, they were planning to do several billion more. They backed off after the train derailment, of course. In the last 10 years, Norfolk Southern laid off one-third of their workforce. You know what that means? It means track inspections by Norfolk Southern employees are more cursory, not as thorough, not as safe, not done as well. They can't be because these workers are so harried and have so much work to do. The rail companies cut costs by cutting corners and, as I said, cutting workers, leaving crews overworked and unsafe. It happens quarter after quarter. They report every quarter back to their Wall Street analysts all the ways they have cut costs, cut costs, cut costs. Communities like East Palestine be damned. These are the places that are so often exploited by corporate America. When I talk about the dignity of work, I understand that my job is to fight for those workers and fight to make sure this never happens again. I will work with anyone to do this. I am thrilled that Senator Vance, my freshman colleague in his second month in the Senate, a Republican--we don't agree on the big issues, but we have listened to the same people and sure as heck agree that we need to do this. I will work to get these reforms passed that hold Norfolk Southern accountable to make sure they pay for every cent of the cleanup. As I said, Senator Vance and I come from different parties, but we come together for the people in our State, as I did with Senator Portman. Again, we have major differences on the big issues, but we are working together for Ohio. We pressed Federal officials to take legal action. We pressed for monitoring of potential long-term health effects. That is how you get things done. You listen to the people whom you serve and you find common ground with the elected officials, who should be your partners, regardless of party. As I said, it is what we did with Senator Portman again and again. We found agreement wherever we could and got things accomplished. Right after Senator Portman left office--he was maybe out of office for 2 days in January--he and I and Senator McConnell, who sits at this chair and is the Republican leader, with Governor DeWine, a Republican, and the Governor of Kentucky, a Democrat, and the President of the United States stood at the Brent Spence Bridge, a project we have been working on for 10 years. Three percent of GDP crosses over that bridge, connecting Senator McConnell's State and Cincinnati in my State. Senator Portman and I worked together to come up with the strongest ``Buy American'' laws ever; to strengthen our trade enforcement laws to protect Ohio workers and Ohio businesses, like Whirlpool; expanding access for opioid addiction; the PACT Act, taking care of veterans exposed to those football field-sized burn pits and, maybe 2, 3, 5, 10 years later, develop a cancer or bronchial illness. They need treatment and they show up at the VA, and because of the PACT Act that Senator Tester, my colleague and the principal writer, and I, who also helped write--which is named after an Ohioan--the PACT Act will save lives. I am hopeful that we continue that bipartisan Ohio tradition with Senator Vance, starting with these commonsense reforms to prevent other Ohio communities from facing another disaster. As I told the residents of East Palestine, I am here for the long haul. The last time I was there, I said to the mayor: I am going to keep calling you on the phone. I am going to keep calling the fire chief. I am going to keep calling Melissa Smith, who owns that candle company. I am going to show up. I am not going away until this is fixed, until people's lives are back to normal, and until Norfolk Southern is held accountable. When people who don't live in Ohio pack up in a week or two, we are still going to be there for months, for the next year--for the next 10 years, if that is what it takes to make this right. I hope my colleagues of both parties will show that same commitment that Senator Vance is saying and Senator Rubio and Senator Casey and Senator Fetterman and Senator Hawley. Join us to get something real done for the people whom we serve.

Mr. BROWN

Mr. BROWN. Mr. President, if there is no further business to come before the Senate, I ask that it stand adjourned under the previous order following the remarks of Senators Lankford and Cruz.

Mr. BROWN

Mr. BROWN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to the immediate consideration of S. 619, which is at the desk.

Mr. BROWN. I ask unanimous consent that the bill be considered read a third time and passed and that the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table.

Mr. BROWN

Mr. BROWN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to legislative session for a period of morning business, with Senators permitted to speak therein for up to 10 minutes each.

Mr. BROWN

Mr. BROWN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that when the Senate completes its business today, it stand adjourned until 10 a.m. on Thursday, March 2; that following the prayer and pledge, the morning hour be deemed expired, the Journal of proceedings be approved to date, the time for the two leaders be reserved for their use later in the day, and morning business be closed; that following the conclusion of morning business, the Senate proceed to executive session and resume consideration of the Lawless nomination postcloture; further that at 11:30 a.m., the Senate vote on confirmation of the Lawless nomination and the motion to invoke cloture on the Gallagher nomination; that if cloture is invoked, all postcloture time be considered expired and the confirmation votes on the Simmons and Gallagher nominations be at a time to be determined by the majority leader in consultation with the Republican leader; further that the Senate recess following the cloture vote on the Gallagher nomination until 1:45 p.m.; and that at 1:45 p.m., the Senate vote on confirmation of the Grey nomination; finally, if any nominations are confirmed during Thursday's session, the motions to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table and the President be immediately notified of the Senate's actions.

Mr. BROWN

Mr. BROWN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for the quorum call be rescinded.

Mr. BROWN

Mr. BROWN. Mr. President, I rise today to honor Trudy Perkins, my communications director and the former acting chief of staff of my office, as she moves on to a new, well-deserved chapter--retirement. Trudy's career has been unparalleled to say the least. She has spent 20 years working in Congress. Her service has made a difference for her colleagues and for so many Americans. She grew up in Albany. If you take Route 90 just about 150 miles west--well, about 200 miles west, you will hit Cleveland. If you drive about 110 miles west, you will hit my wife's hometown of Ashtabula, OH. It is fitting that her final role in the Senate brought her back to a city on I-90. Trudy is a proud member of the Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority and is an alumna of the State University of New York at Oswego. She spent the early years of her career working in television news, first in Albany-- I know, in the Presiding Officer's State, you say ``All-ba-nee,'' but up north, we say ``All-buh-nee''--and then in Baltimore. In 2002, she started on Capitol Hill with one of the real superstars in the House, now the late Representative Elijah Cummings, where she worked her way up to communications director and deputy chief of staff during her almost 20 years with that office. She served as an invaluable adviser to Representative Cummings. He trusted her with anything and everything. He often gave her phone number out to constituents and told them ``Why don't you call Trudy'' because things always got done. You know how Members of Congress don't always get them done, but people like Trudy Perkins do. He knew, no matter what the task was, that Trudy wouldn't just deliver, but she would do it kindly; she would do it with a smile; and she would do it with a positive attitude. It was easy for anyone to see her dedication to public service and always, always, always to the constituents she served. She was dependable. She was hard-working. She was an integral member of their team and of the Cummings' office family. Trudy has been an integral and trusted leader in my office. We were so lucky to have inherited her, in a sense, after the death of Representative Cummings. In January 2020, she joined my staff as the communications director. At the time, she was the only Black communications director serving in a Senate personal office. She had a talent for communications and press and the experience to prove it. That was clear to me before we ever spoke. As I got to know her, I learned how much she cared about the issues that I care about and that Senator Wyden does and Senator Warnock, the Presiding Officer, does. I learned how much she cared about those issues that matter most: civil rights, labor rights. She understood this from the writings about Dr. King's speeches, when Dr. King spent a lot of time talking to labor unions. Dr. King, in his last weeks of life, went to Memphis because of a labor strike of sanitation workers, and she understood, as I do and as John Lewis did, how Dr. King wove workers' rights and civil rights and women's rights and human rights all together. Trudy gets that. From day one, she proved to be such an asset in our office by stepping in and leading a robust communications team during some of the most tumultuous years in the Senate that I have ever seen. In her first month, we faced domestic and foreign crises that she navigated with a steady hand. During her second month, the COVID-19 pandemic broke out. It was an uncertain time. We all know that, and all of us in the country know that. We had never seen anything like it. Trudy stepped up and delivered for Ohioans and for her team in our office. She transitioned our press shop from an in-person operation to a virtual one. It was a transition nobody had ever tried before that brought challenges and technical difficulties but also new opportunities to connect with Ohioans and with the Ohio media. At every turn, Trudy Perkins led with grace. She made sure that Ohioans got the information they needed to navigate the pandemic. She made a difference for so many in our office and in our State. Her impact can't be measured just by her ability to meet challenge after challenge as her leadership also extended far beyond the technical aspects of a difficult job. She was a compassionate resource for everyone on her staff. She took time to get to know the team and understand how they operated as a unit and who they are as individuals. She listened. She truly cared. And for the communications team, Trudy Perkins was a rock. She was a smiling face on Zoom calls. She organized virtual game nights and made a difficult time a little easier as our office and world settled into a ``new normal.'' A couple of years later, when our chief of staff took a temporary leave from the office, it wasn't even a close call. We knew Trudy was the right choice to lead the entire office in the interim. It was a big job to take on. She stepped up. The transition was seamless. She led the office through a historic year that brought so many wins for Ohioans: the CHIPS Act, the PACT Act, the Inflation Reduction Act. She led our shift back to an in-person work. To say the least, it has been an eventful 3 years. Through it all, Trudy has been a dedicated member of this office. She has been a leader. This office wouldn't be the place it is today without her. As a communications director, she always had her team's back. She went to bat for them. She supported them in and out of the office, attending events on her personal time, like choir concerts, to cheer them on. As a manager, she gave junior staff the room they needed to grow. She listened. She recognized potential. She invested in every member of our team. She made sure everyone was set up for success so they would move forward even after she would leave. She is a trusted adviser, a talented brainstormer. She is an advocate for women, especially for women of color, across the Senate. She makes colleagues feel appreciated and seen. Most of all, Trudy believes in this office and this institution and the good that each of us can do for Ohioans and Americans. Every member of our staff--from the interns to the senior staff--have learned from Trudy Perkins, whether it is her communications expertise or how to stay calm in stressful situations or even just to show kindness and smile after a long day. We have certainly picked up a few of her sayings along the way, like ``no ma'am pam'' and ``hot diggity dog.'' She doesn't always talk that way, but sometimes. We will miss her sense of humor. We will miss her laugh, which you can hear from any corner of the office. And if the microphones were loud enough, you could have just heard it then from this corner. I know every member of Team Brown will miss having her as part of this team. At the beginning of this Congress, I asked each member of my staff to share a meaningful memory from the 117th Congress--and this is where the Presiding Officer comes in. Trudy reminded me of the Letter from a Birmingham Jail reading that she organized after former Senator Jones asked me to continue the tradition. We chose three Republicans and three Democrats to read Dr. King's immortal words. Trudy asked that Senator Warnock read the final section, as Raphael is the first Black Senator from Georgia and serves as the senior pastor of Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta, where Dr. King attended and Dr. King's father was the pastor. It was a moment of immense symbolism and joy as he read his predecessor's words on the Senate floor. That letter also includes perhaps my favorite Dr. King quote: Human progress never rolls in on the wheels of inevitability. I will say that again: Human progress never rolls in on the wheels of inevitability. Progress rolls in because we make it so. It rolls in because we organize, we push, we work every angle for as long as it takes. Progress rolls in because of people like Trudy Perkins who dedicate their lives to fighting to make a difference in this world. Our country is a better place because of her service and because of her leadership. Trudy will be spending more time with her mother in Maryland. Her dedication to her family has always been unwavering. Trudy, you will be missed more than you know. We will continue to fight for the values that you hold dear and make a difference in the lives of all Ohioans. On behalf of everyone in our office, the staff on the Banking and Housing Committee, some of my colleagues who know Trudy, and all those who have had the honor of working with her, we congratulate Trudy Perkins on her career. We wish her well in retirement. We thank her from the bottom of our hearts for her terrific service to our Nation.

Mr. BROWN

Mr. BROWN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent to print the following rules adopted by the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs into the Congressional Record.

Mr. BROWN

Mr. BROWN. Mr. President, I ask my colleagues to join me in recognizing and celebrating the Ohio University E.W. Scripps School of Journalism on their centennial. One hundred years ago, Scripps first opened its doors and, since then, has shaped generations of journalists and reporters and writers. The E.W. Scripps School of Journalism is one of our Nation's best journalism schools and provides a unique experience where faculty empower students to think critically, write clearly, and expand their horizons. The curriculum extends far outside of the classroom with student newspapers, internship opportunities, and student-run media platforms to ensure that students have the skills necessary to excel after graduation. Scripps students go on to do great things. Scripps alums are leading their industries, whether it is broadcast, print or digital media. They are producing award-winning content, reporting at the national, State, and local level and delivering the stories that matter most to Ohioans and Americans. Scripps journalists tell the stories that impact our daily lives and dig for those that might not be told otherwise. They are tenacious and dedicated in their pursuit of knowledge. They ask tough questions, challenge conventional wisdom, and connect us all with our communities and our world. That wouldn't be possible without their time at Ohio University. Most importantly, Scripps is rooted in the values essential for a democratic society, the values of truth, accuracy, and independence. I can't think of better values to instill in the next generation of journalists. In recent years, we have seen attacks on the free press, making it even more important that the journalists of today and tomorrow are prepared to fight for truth and transparency. A free, independent press is vital to our democracy. It is enshrined in our Constitution. And Scripps journalists uphold it daily. To the faculty and staff at Scripps, the students, and the alumni: Thank you for all you do to make Scripps the institution what it is today, an institution respected around the world for its ability to create the leaders of tomorrow. Thank you for your commitment to journalism and dedication to the college. And thank you to Dr. Hugh Sherman and Dean Scott Titsworth for your leadership. I am proud that Scripps calls Ohio home, and I look forward to its next hundred years. Congratulations on the centennial.

Mr. BROWN

Mr. BROWN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for the quorum call be rescinded.

Mr. BROWN

Mr. BROWN. Mr. President, this is becoming a regular appearance on the Senate floor to talk about Social Security. It is something that most Americans think that Congress supports almost unanimously. It is a program that has been with us. President Roosevelt, on August 14, 1935, signed the Social Security Act. Out of that came Medicare, when a Democratic Congress in 1965, with President Johnson's signature, signed it. We know what Medicare means. We know what Social Security means for people who live longer, healthier lives. No matter your income, no matter if you have been a Senator for 20 years, no matter if you are a CEO, no matter if you are a UAW member and at a Ford plant in Avon, no matter if you are a low-income worker at the Hilton Hotel on West Market in Akron, no matter your work, you are eligible, at a certain age, for Social Security and Medicare. So what is the debate about? Well, the debate is philosophical, and I am not even sure what. It is partly my conservative colleagues who generally want to privatize Medicare and Social Security. For them, it seems to be something philosophic or ideological or sometimes it is just people wanting to support the insurance industry because if you privatize Medicare and Social Security, yes, it will help the insurance companies; yes, it will help the banks. If you privatize the VA, like many want to do--the Veterans' Administration--undermining what veterans have earned by serving their country, it may help some private sector corporations. It will help pad their bottom line. It will help many CEOs make even more money, but it is wrong. When work has dignity, people have a secure retirement, veterans have benefits, and pensions are protected, Americans can count on Medicare and count on Social Security. A secure retirement shouldn't be a partisan issue. It wasn't a partisan issue, particularly in the 1930s. It is not a partisan issue to the American people. I don't think you can tell a Republican from a Democrat who is 70 years old or 80 years old drawing Social Security and Medicare. They know they have earned it. They have paid into it for decades. As I have said, they have earned it. It is one of the most unifying institutions in the country. Americans want to protect Social Security and Medicare. They want to make those programs stronger, Americans do. But elected officials--far too many people on this side of the aisle, as the Senator from Connecticut knows--far too many people from this side of the aisle think that we should privatize those programs; that they will be more efficient or some such philosophical jargon that they throw forward. But we know what will happen: insurance companies will make more money, banks will make more money, and people who have worked in this country and played by the rules all their lives get squeezed. Today, down the hall--especially straight down the hall in the House of Representatives down there--the Republicans are threatening, in order to raise the debt limit--the debt limit is simply, we should pay our bills. The Trump administration and all administrations have run this deficit up. We should pay the bills. That is what it is about. They are refusing to pay the bills our Nation owes, and they are saying that if we don't do what they want to do, then they are going stop Social Security checks from going out. They are going to try to privatize Social Security. They want to take this country and the American economy to the brink of default. They want to leverage their fiscal lunacy. It really is leveraging their fiscal lunacy, frankly, to cut your Social Security. It is that simple. Then, as I said, there is privatizing Social Security. The details differ. The terms may change, but the goal is the same. I have been in the Senate now, this is the beginning--it is my 17th year. Every couple of years, a few of the ``wunderkinds'' on that side of the aisle want to try to find a way to privatize Social Security, privatize Medicare, and privatize the Veterans' Administration. It is nothing less than an attempt to go back on a bedrock promise. (Ms. CORTEZ MASTO assumed the Chair.) The Senator from Nevada understands that people pay into Social Security every paycheck. They tend to pay into Medicare every--well, that is not actually true. If you are really, really, really rich, you only pay into Social Security for the first part of the year because you have already paid enough for the year, and it is some philosophy that I don't really understand. But it is a bedrock promise to all of us. You pay in; you get those benefits. Last year, I introduced a resolution--the Senator from Nevada cosponsored it--affirming the Senate's commitment to protecting and expanding Social Security. It was pretty simple. It simply said we affirm, we pledge we will protect Social Security and Medicare from any kinds of cuts from the far right that doesn't believe in the program. Almost every Democrat signed on. Not one Republican signed on. Not one Republican committed to our promise, recommitted to our promise to the American people, that if you work hard all your life, Social Security will be there for you. So Americans shouldn't have to worry that politicians, secure with their government pensions, are going to try to take away their retirement. I urge my colleagues to do what the American people want us to do overwhelmingly. They want us to protect and expand Social Security and Medicare. As I said, just look down the hall in the House of Representatives. There is a new majority there--a new majority controlled by the far right--of what used to be a pretty centrist Republican Party, from the far right, that--whenever they try to privatize Social Security and Medicare, they get all kinds of contributions from the rightwing and from Wall Street and from some big healthcare companies and some big energy companies and all that, and it is wrong. We know it is wrong. Whether it is Nevada, whether it is Las Vegas or Cleveland, whether it is Reno or Columbus, whether it is Carson City or Dayton, we know that overwhelmingly people in this country want a strong Social Security that will always be there for our kids and our grandkids and our great- grandkids. They want a Medicare that will provide healthcare to people regardless of your wealth, regardless of your income, regardless of your station in life. That is my pledge. I know the Senators on the floor from Connecticut and Nevada also support that commitment and pledge. It is where we are as a country. It is not, unfortunately, where some of my colleagues sit. Madam President, I yield the floor.