Sherrod Brown

Mr. BROWN

Mr. BROWN. Madam President, earlier this week, we celebrated Labor Day, a day when Americans come together to honor the people who make this country work. Whether you punch a clock, whether you swipe a badge, whether you earn a salary, whether you make tips, whether you are caring for children or an aging parent, all labor has dignity. When work has dignity, hard work pays off for everyone, no matter who you are, where you live, what kind of work you do. Yet we know that for so many Americans, their work simply doesn't pay off like it should. Look at what has happened in Minnesota, Ohio, and Rhode Island--and I know Senator Grassley is coming out--and in Iowa. Look what has happened over the last 30, 40 years. Executive salaries have soared. CEO pay is up 1,300 percent since 1978--1,300 percent. Corporate profits have risen. Stock prices are up. Workers are more productive than ever before. But for decades--for decades--wages barely budged for most Americans. Their purchasing power has largely been flat for some five decades because Wall Street rewards corporations that raise prices without raising paychecks. Wall Street rewards stock buybacks. Wall Street rewards union busting. Wall Street really rewards shipping jobs overseas. Wall Street rewards automating jobs. Wall Street rewards outsourcing full-time, in-house work to contractors. Wall Street analysts actually downgrade stock prices when American companies invest in American workers, in American production. If a company owns a new factory in Ohio, Wall Street might often downgrade its stock. If that same company instead buys back its own stock, sending 40 percent of the returns to foreign investors, Wall Street rewards it. We work to change that. For the first time in far too long, we have a government on the side of workers. We have a dues-paying union member as Labor Secretary. Contrast this Labor Secretary--a laborers' union activist who carried a union card before he came; I think he still does as Secretary of Labor--contrast that with the Trump Secretary of Labor, who worked for one of the major world leaders in union busting and who made millions of dollars a year by busting unions. We took on Big Oil--I am sorry. We have a National Labor Relations Board actually looking out for workers and willing to go after union busting. We passed the most pro-worker infrastructure bill ever, the strongest ``buy American'' provisions ever in a piece of legislation. We have taken historic steps to put workers first, to invest in American workers, to make our economy work for every American, not just CEOs and not just Wall Street. That is what you came to the Senate from Minnesota for, and that is what Senator Whitehouse came from Rhode Island for--to make these fights. We passed the CHIPS Act to bring our supply chains home, to bring down prices for American families, and to create thousands--tens of thousands of good-paying union jobs in Ohio and across the country. This groundbreaking that President Biden and I and Congressman Ryan and others are going to do this Friday in Licking County, OH, will mean, at a minimum, 5,000 good-paid, union, building trades jobs-- carpenters, electricians, pipefitters, laborers, ultimately millwrights, so many others--at least 5,000 over the next 2 or 3 years that will last at least for 10 years. Passing the CHIPS Act brings our supply chains home to bring down prices for American families. We passed the Inflation Reduction Act, taking on three of the most powerful special interests in Washington. We took on the big drug companies, Big Pharma, to bring down drug prices. We took on Big Oil to lower energy prices and create jobs, union jobs, in the industries of the future. We took on Wall Street, finally taxing stock buybacks that reward CEOs and executives at the expense--always at the expense--of workers and jobs. These are big wins for workers--together, the biggest steps we have taken in decades to create an industrial policy that puts our most valuable resource--American workers--first. It counters the business model where corporations hopscotch the globe in search of lower wages and lower wages and lower wages. From the infrastructure bill, the CHIPS Act, the Inflation Reduction Act, we have laid down a new marker. The technology of the future, from semiconductors to batteries, to electric vehicles, will be developed in America, made in America by American workers. It hasn't been easy. Our work is far from finished, but I am optimistic. I see more momentum behind the labor movement than at any time in my career. All over the country, more and more workers are seeing that unions are the best way to have a voice, from Starbucks to Amazon. Seventy percent of Americans--I don't ever remember it being that high--70 percent of Americans approve of unions; for sure, the highest level of support in 50 years. More people than ever want to join a union. They know that carrying a union card means higher wages. It means better benefits. It means better working conditions. It means more control--particularly for young families or families taking care of an aging parent--more control over your schedule. We know what workers are up against when they organize. Corporations unleash all their power to fight their own workers--too often, illegally. It is why I will never stop fighting to pass the PRO Act to finally level the playing field between workers and corporations in union organizing. This week, we honor the workers who built this country. We recommit ourselves to the fights ahead because when work has dignity, every American is paid the living wage they have earned. When workers have dignity, all workers can afford childcare and healthcare and housing. When workers have dignity, American workers have retirement security and paid leave and power over their schedules and their lives--because when you love this country, you fight every day for the people who make it work. That is what the labor movement has done for a century; it is what I will continue to do.

Mr. BROWN

Mr. BROWN. Madam 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. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the resolution be agreed to, the preamble be agreed to, and the motions to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table.

Mr. BROWN. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on the Judiciary be discharged from further consideration and the Senate proceed to S. Res. 737.

Mr. BROWN

Mr. BROWN. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that when the Senate completes its business today, it adjourn until 10 a.m. on Thursday, September 8, and 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 upon the conclusion of morning business, the Senate proceed to executive session to resume consideration of the Mathis nomination, postcloture; and that all postcloture time on the nomination be considered expired at 11:30 a.m.; further, that following the vote on the Mathis nomination, the Senate resume consideration of the Mendoza nomination; that the cloture motions filed during yesterday's session ripen at 1:45 p.m., and that at 1:45 p.m. the Senate vote on the motion to invoke cloture on the Mendoza nomination; finally, that 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 notified immediately of the Senate's action.

Mr. BROWN

Mr. BROWN. Finally, Madam President, if there is no further business to come before the Senate, I ask unanimous consent that it stand adjourned under the previous order, following the remarks of my colleague, Senator Grassley.

Mr. BROWN

Mr. BROWN. Madam President, Senator Sanders is right. The child tax credit is one of the most important things this body did. It brought down the child poverty rate by 40 percent almost immediately. We passed it in March. The Secretary of the Treasury had it up and running by July. It made a huge difference in people's lives. I appreciate especially the work that Senator Bennet and also Senator Booker and Senator Warnock have done on this. But I ask my colleagues to vote no because this will bring the bill down--a very good bill. We will continue to work hard on this every step of the way. I yield to Senator Bennet.

Mr. BROWN. Madam President, Senator Sanders, the arrangement on this is that all 50 Democrats are for this. We know every single Republican has voted against the child tax credit--not once last March but twice. We know that this is a fragile arrangement, and we have to pass it. As much as I like--

Mr. BROWN

Mr. BROWN. Mr. President, the men and women at the company Delphi Technologies helped make General Motors the world's largest automaker. Yet those workers lost the retirement they earned through no fault of their own when their company went bankrupt during the great recession. That was a time--some of us were here then; Senator Crapo and I were both here then--when Washington bailed out Wall Street, the people who caused the crisis, but left too many Americans like the Delphi retirees--again, who did nothing wrong--on their own. Now, after years of effort by workers and retirees in Ohio and in other States, it is past time for the U.S. Senate to do its job to restore full retirement benefits for the thousands of Ohioans and tens of thousands nationally of Delphi salaried retirees across the country. I have been fighting for them and urging the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation to do the right thing since 2009. I thought we had this problem solved years ago when I blocked President Obama's nominee to head the PBGC, Josh Gotbaum. We hoped that would signal to the President that we were serious: PBGC needed to do the right thing for Delphi workers. Unfortunately, Delphi retirees know what happened: He got the job anyway; they didn't get the help they needed. President Obama didn't do it. The next President, President Trump, promised, went to Youngstown, went to Dayton, promised he would take care of these retirees, and Ohioans voted for him. Ohioans thought President Trump, this time, would be different, that he would do something. Once again, American workers were left on their own. We kept working. These retirees never gave up. This year, we reintroduced legislation--with Congressman Ryan, a Democrat from Ohio; Congressman Kildee, a Democrat from Michigan; Congressman Turner, a Republican from Ohio--to save these pensions. We named the bill in honor of Susan Muffley, a Delphi retiree so cash-strapped after losing her pension that she avoided seeing her doctor, and she passed away too early as a result. It is a bipartisan bill. We have Senator Portman and Senator Young on board in the Senate, along with 39 Republicans who joined Congressman Turner from Dayton voting for this in the House last week. The White House supports it as well. The White House said: By ensuring that those who put in a career of hard work will receive the pension benefits they earned, this legislation supports a secure retirement for affected workers. That is what the White House said. So we have Senator Portman and Senator Young here. We have 39 House Republicans on board. A number of Democrats are on board. The President of the United States is on board. Promises from President Obama and President Trump--now is the time. These Ohioans and workers across the Midwest earned these pensions. It is past time to restore them. The Senate has that opportunity today. I hope my colleagues of both parties will join Senator Portman and me. I yield the floor to my friend from Ohio.

Mr. BROWN. Mr. President, I thank my friend Senator Portman for our work together on this. Mr. President, as if in legislative session, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to the immediate consideration of H.R. 6929, which was received from the House and is at the desk; 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 with no intervening action or debate.

Mr. BROWN. Mr. President, I thank Senator Crapo. Senator Crapo and I have worked together on a number of things. He was chair of the Banking Committee the last 4 years. I was his ranking member and worked with him and Greg and his staff on a number of things. I take him at his word. I know that Senator Portman and Senator Crapo and I sit also on the Finance Committee. And I am serious about this. I just had a private conversation with Senator Crapo. He seems serious. I know Senator Portman is. We have waited too long. There are far too many people. It is not a huge number, as Senator Portman said--not a huge number of people--but it is awfully important to them. I know what it means to a community that is struggling, like the Mahoning Valley and the Miami Valley. Those two communities happen to have hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of these retirees. When their pension shrinks like this, it affects their buying power, it affects their standard of living, and it affects the prosperity of the community. So we will be back together working on it. I thank Senator Crapo. I am disappointed, but I thank him. Tribute to Bill Nell Mr. President, I rise today on a cheerful duty, if you will, to recognize Bill Nell, who retired this month after a long career of service, not working in the Senate but sort of working around the Senate. Bill was deputy director of the Congressional Program at the Aspen Institute, something not particularly known to the public. It is a nonprofit working to bring together diverse perspectives to solve challenges facing the United States and the world. Bill was the second hire when the Aspen Institute's Congressional Program began. He is one of the Aspen Institute's longest serving employees--35 years at Aspen. Almost every week, for as long as I can remember, that the Senate and the House were in session, Bill brought together Democrats and Republicans from across the ideological spectrum for breakfast and conversations with leading public policy scholars. Typically on a Thursday morning at 8, you could come, and there would be 10 or 15 or 20 House and Senate Members--fairly evenly divided, depending on the topic, perhaps, between the parties--and a scholar or an activist or someone that Bill generally recruited came in and talked to us. It helped educate us, for sure. It brought us together in ways that the public doesn't necessarily see but helped us discuss issues with each other. And we learned in so many ways about each other and about these public issues. We learned from experts. We learned from each other. Bill helped host 636 breakfasts--someone counted them at Aspen--over his career of service. During the hustle and bustle of the workweek, these Aspen breakfasts were a welcome respite where Members of Congress could come to listen and discuss and learn from experts, with little partisanship involved. But Bill had brought in these experts. We learned from them. We learned from one another. I wish everyone could sit in on those breakfasts and see the thoughtfulness of so many Members of both parties in Congress. It really taught me a lot about partisanship and that most of my colleagues here--I would not say everyone, but most of my colleagues here--are here for the right reasons and want to do a good job, and the thoughtfulness exhibited in those meetings was so important. Bill was diligent about bringing a balanced presentation of topics and experts at the forefront of their fields. These breakfasts helped us to consider others' perspectives and think about things we might not have thought about otherwise. Sometimes we found common ground, an experience or opinion or a priority that our constituents share. It is how we got things done. Whenever we could find agreement, we worked together to accomplish things for the people whom we served. It brings to mind one of my colleagues who is about to retire, Roy Blunt from Missouri. He served with me in the House. I knew him, actually, even before that. He one time said--and he is a conservative Republican, and I am decidedly not. He said: I have known Sherrod Brown for 30 years, and we have agreed exactly five times. Then he laughed, and then he said: But all five of those are Federal law. And that is what really matters. Senator Crapo and I look at the world very differently. Senator Portman and I look at the world very differently, but Senator Portman and I put together the strongest language ever in Federal law on ``Buy American.'' We have done a number of issues like that. You may look at things differently, but you find things you can agree on, and you go to town and make it happen. So back to Bill. Those who work closely with him describe him as one of the hardest working people they know, and you can see that in these records. By virtue of his diligence and his preparation, Bill was able to make his job, which was anything but this, appear effortless. His longtime colleague, former Ag Secretary, Congressman Dan Glickman, recognized Bill as the ``soul of Aspen,'' as a natural leader and a jack-of-all-trades. His current boss, until his retirement last week, former Congressman Charlie Dent--Glickman is a Democrat; Dent is a Republican--called Bill an anti-procrastinator when I called him on the phone to talk about him. It is a title rare in a town where ``procrastination'' seems to be everyone's middle name. Bill's enduring personality is kindness, and he was nothing if not kind. He brought so many together. He made people feel comfortable. He made people heard. I have no idea what his ideology or his party was. We didn't talk about that. He just served and helped us understand. He seemed to have no enemies in doing his job. In retirement, Bill is spending time back in his beloved Montana, just outside of Yellowstone, one of my favorite places in the country, where I, years ago, took my daughters, as a single parent, on a train to see Yellowstone for a week. He is spending time in his beloved Montana with his beloved wife Cindy, a retired public school teacher and an education activist. The Aspen breakfast will continue. Bill will be missed by all of us who were blessed by his kindness, his curiosity, and his capability. He made this place work better. He reminded us of the importance of self- government, of democracy. It is up to us to uphold that legacy, to keep working with each other towards a better future for the people whom we serve. Thank you so much, Bill Nell. We wish you the best in retirement.

Mr. BROWN

Mr. BROWN. Mr. President, I have four requests for committees to meet during today's session of the Senate. They have the approval of the Majority and Minority Leaders. Pursuant to rule XXVI, paragraph 5(a), of the Standing Rules of the Senate, the following committees are authorized to meet during today's session of the Senate:

Mr. BROWN

Mr. BROWN. Madam President, I was in the Chamber and heard Senator Sanders' speech. I appreciate his passion about globalization and what he and I--it brought back--and I spoke to him after he spoke. It brought back to me the memories of standing shoulder to shoulder--he in his second term, I in my first--against the North American Free Trade Agreement and then a few years later standing shoulder to shoulder with him in opposition to PNTR, Permanent Normal Trade Relations, with China. And we know what that meant, especially in my State and especially in the industrial Midwest, especially in places that the Presiding Officer represents and places like East St. Louis and downstate Illinois and so much of the industrial plants that were steel, especially east of Chicago and Indiana and Illinois. We are on the verge of a big win for Ohio, a win that will create jobs, will bring down prices, and bring home supply chains. As a kid growing up in Ohio, I walked the halls of Johnny Appleseed Junior High School with the sons and daughters of union workers: electricians, electrical workers at Westinghouse, sons and daughters of autoworkers from General Motors and machinists from Ohio Brass and carpenters and pipefitters and electricians who built our city and service these large companies. But by the time I graduated from Mansfield Senior High School, those plants were shutting down one after another. Why? Because corporate America wanted cheap labor. First, they went to anti-union States in the South. A plant might shut down in Mansfield or Barberton, OH, and move to Alabama; a plant might shut down in Shelby, OH, or Springfield, OH, and move to Georgia; a plant might shut down in Toledo or in Wadsworth, OH, and move to North Carolina or Arkansas or Virginia. They went to anti-union States. They went to anti-union States with low wages. But do you know what? Then those CEOs, all paying themselves a really, really good income, raising--you could see already, then, the average pay for a worker. In those days, when I was, I guess, in junior high school, a CEO made about--the plant manager made about 25 times what the worker made or even a smaller proportion of that. Now it is hundreds of times what workers make because 25 times what workers made just wasn't enough for a lot of these companies. So then they shut down a lot of these factories in the anti-union, right-to-work South, and they moved to Mexico. They wanted NAFTA to pass--the North American Free Trade Agreement--so they could do it. They wanted PNTR--the Permanent Normal Trade Relations with China--to pass so they could go to China; always in the name of efficiency, always in the name of we have just got to be more efficient, always in the name of efficiency. As you know, Madam President, ``efficiency'' is business school speak for ``pay our workers less.'' Those CEOs--and some of you remember these nicknames. These CEOs earned the names of ``Chainsaw Al'' and ``John the Cutter'' and ``Larry the Knife'' and ``Neutron Jack.'' To the CEOs themselves, they may kind of like those names, but they were not bestowed on them out of respect; they were given those nicknames because they were willing always to cut the pay of workers in Mansfield, OH, and hurt those families and partially destroy those communities. They were always willing to do that. So their companies made more money, and they got bigger paychecks, and all the executives in the corporate suites all did much, much better. The workers didn't, the communities didn't, but who really cared. They lobbied Congress to make outsourcing easier, and politicians were all too happy to do their bidding; first, with NAFTA, as I said, then Permanent Normal Trade Relations with China. That transformation hollowed out manufacturing in Ohio and parts of the Presiding Officer's State in Illinois throughout the Midwest, and then--here is where it hits us most poignantly in our face today--ended up with too long, too fragile supply chains that stretched all over the world. So, first, my friends' families, my friends' parents lost their jobs and ended up in jobs making a third less or half less, and the communities were never really--many of these communities never really recovered, these proud communities. But now, today, everyone is paying for those decisions to go overseas and to shut plants in Ohio and in the United States to go overseas. Now everyone is paying with higher prices. Why? A big reason for the inflation we see today is decades of offshoring our supply chains. We need to bring that production back home. That is what this bill is all about--investing more in America, making more in America, particularly the most critical inputs that cause the most problems right now, like semiconductors. Think about that. Think about these American companies. They were founded in America. The investment, the research was done in America, but think about this technology that started in this country, was probably patented in this country, was developed by Americans or immigrants to our country, and got tax incentives from our country, but then these companies began to move offshore. Today, semiconductors that were invented in the United States, 90 percent of them are made overseas. We only make 10 percent of semiconductors in this country. We make 10 percent of semiconductors, but we make zero percent of the highest end semiconductors because these companies all thought, Well, there are more profits overseas. That is the hand we are dealt now. Over the past year, Ohio manufacturers have faced severe shortages and long waits for semiconductors. Ford and GM plants in Ohio are forced to implement short-term plant closures because of chip shortages. Ohio manufacturers rely on semiconductors. They all suffer when there is a shortage. Let me just list some of these companies. I believe I have been in every one of these factories or these companies: Ford in Lima, OH, a city just like Mansfield where I grew up; Ford in Avon Lake, I used to live 3 miles from that plant; Jeep in Toledo, my wife and I drive a Jeep made in America with union workers; Navistar in Springfield; Whirlpool in Clyde, I have been to that plant maybe five or six times, fought alongside them on enforcing trade rules; Kenworth in Chillicothe; GE in Evandale, near Cincinnati; STERIS in Mentor; Nucor in Marion; ArcelorMittal in Cleveland; Cleveland-Cliffs in Toledo, in Coshocton, right across the river from Steubenville in Weirton, WV. Half the workers there are Ohioans. These businesses and their workers need chips. The United States invented the semiconductor. We started the industry. Ninety percent are made overseas. We allowed that to happen because of the corruption of this place, where people were happy to vote to give tax breaks to companies to move overseas for whatever reason. Too many Presidents, from Trump all the way back to Clinton, went along with those corporate interests as those companies betrayed us and moved overseas. What does that mean today? It means higher prices; it means backorders; and it means we are all paying too much for too many products. The CHIPS Act is about reshoring those supply chains, investing in Ohio manufacturing, and bringing down prices for every American. It is not enough to invent technology here. We have seen it over and over. Take a look at the label on a phone, on any smartphone. It probably says ``Developed in California,'' ``Made in China.'' ``Developed in California,'' that means the invention was in California, the research was in California with U.S. investment of tax dollars, one way or the other, but then they made it in China. Why? Because they wanted cheap labor, and they can make more money by making it in China. Now they raise the price because the supply chain is spread all over the world. So we get tech jobs in Silicon Valley but not the production jobs we need throughout the country because, frankly, people on the coast don't think a lot about what is happening in the internal part of the country--and that is not good enough. Our national security and our economic competitiveness depend on having a vibrant domestic manufacturing sector, not just a tech development sector on the coasts. When you outsource production, you outsource innovation along with it. We keep doing this. It is not like these companies where the production is happening are stupid people. These are smart people too, and they are going to take our inventions and our innovation--because we know so much of innovation takes place on the shop floor--they are going to pass us with their brainpower and their innovation and their inventions. Ohioans know that ideas and improvements come directly from the shop floor. That is why we were so good at it in the forties and fifties and sixties and seventies and eighties. It is why this bill invests in our great asset, the greatest asset, American innovation, American workers. It allows Intel to move forward in Columbus--10,000 good-paying jobs up and down the supply chain. This historic investment is going to impact far more than just Central Ohio. When you establish an industry like this, it has ripple effects around the State, around the region, and around the country. It is not just these jobs, it is the way they attract other suppliers. They incubate talent that in turn attracts other business, the way it used to be in this country. It is just the beginning. We will see a lot more companies create a lot more jobs. Ohioans know how to make things. We know what that means. For our country, it is a decision to invest in American ingenuity, American workers, American communities. It is a big win for Ohio. It is a big win for the American industrial Midwest. It is a big win for our country. It is what I have been fighting for my whole career: good- paying jobs. When you love this country, you fight for the people who make it work. More manufacturing innovation, more technology stamped ``Made in Ohio''--it is how we bury the term ``Rust Belt.'' I suggest the absence of a quorum.

Mr. BROWN

Mr. BROWN. Mr. President, I thank Senator Cantwell for her leadership and especially Senator Cortez Masto for her legislation which I am about to address. I know that she is running to things today--was in the Banking, Housing Committee and is doing this on the floor. I am so appreciative of her time and efforts from housing to protecting women's health and protecting women's rights. I want to comment on some of the things that she said and that Senator Cantwell said about this issue and then one specific thing that has happened in my State, which is outrageous and immoral. The extreme decision a few weeks ago of five Justices took away women's freedom to make their own personal healthcare decisions and hand it over to politicians. We are also seeing how this put women's health at risk. Senator Cortez Masto and many others on the floor already said that. My State is, unfortunately, worse in what has happened. Fewer than 10 hours after the Supreme Court's announcement, Ohio's 6-week abortion ban took effect. They even banned abortion in cases of rape and in cases of incest. That night, women across Ohio received calls from their doctors letting them know their appointments had been canceled. They need to travel to another State for necessary medical care. Ohio politicians are forcing Ohioans--those that can--to take extra time off work to find childcare, to spend resources that they may not have to travel to get the lifesaving care that they need. One group at a roundtable I did--I do this job much by listening to roundtables of 10 or 15 or 20 Ohioans who talk to me about veterans' care or healthcare or, in this case, women's health or jobs or all the things that I learn and take back to Washington. I did a roundtable recently where I was hearing from doctors that because Ohio's laws are so extreme--so extreme--that women and men-- especially women but men, too--young doctors who might do their residency at some of the best hospitals in the world, the Cleveland Clinic or University Hospital or Cincinnati Children's or Nationwide Children's--that doctors are having second thoughts about wanting to move to Ohio because these abortion laws are so radical and so immoral and so extreme. I am also hearing that prestigious colleges or colleges of all kinds that we attract--Ohio has more small colleges and small universities, private 4-year schools, than almost any other State in the country. We have great State universities in Ohio and great community colleges. I am hearing from college Presidents that students who are considering coming to Ohio to go to school are having second thoughts, again, because of the extremism of this legislature on abortion and, as the Presiding Officer knows, the Senate's expert on this issue, the extremism on gun laws in Ohio. One candidate was campaigning for Congress in Northwest Ohio, and he had a holster--under a new Ohio law, he had a holster with a gun in it as he was walking along the side of the street handing candy to children. It is just ludicrous. Back to this issue that Senator Cortez Masto is leading on. Earlier this month, a 10-year-old girl--a child, a survivor of rape--was forced to travel to Indiana from Ohio to receive healthcare. She was past the 6 weeks. Republican politicians first tried to deny it. They mocked her. They mocked this--they didn't know who she was at this point. They mocked the story. They said it couldn't be true. Then the man who did it was arrested. There was no real apology from these well-known Republican politicians, Members of Congress, statewide officeholders. They had mocked this story just saying it couldn't be true when it was true. Yet did they apologize? No. They should look into a camera-- they should stand in front of many of us and say: I am sorry. They should apologize to that little girl's family, that little girl's doctor, that little girl's support group that she has. No 10-year-old--no American--should have to go through what she went through. Since May, 50 reports of rape or sexual abuse involving children under the age of 15 have been reported in Columbus alone. Fifty--5-0--reports of rape or sexual abuse involving children under 15, 14, 13, 12, 11, 10--10 years old--children who have been abused like that have been reported in Columbus alone. I don't know. Are the rightwingers in the legislature who think abortion should have no protection--that no women should be protected, rape, incest, life and health of the mother, that they just deny any of this happened--are they going to do that again and continue to attack these families? Now, because of the Ohio Legislature's fixation on controlling women's bodies, victims of rape in Ohio won't be able to access the care that they need. Even in cases where it may technically be allowed, doctors will be afraid to provide it. I heard the fear in doctors' voices in that round table in Cleveland earlier this week. And I heard Senator Murray talk about this, who has joined us in the Chamber. I heard doctors talk about the fear that their colleagues have to even get near a pregnant patient who might have another healthcare issue. Women and girls shouldn't have to travel around the country to receive care--in many cases, care that will save their health or their lives. Doctors shouldn't have to wait on lawyers to tell them if they can provide the care. Again, the fear of these doctors--these were brave women--two women and a man--who were talking to me, they were talking about the fear in others, other physicians, that they are afraid they are going to have to wait on lawyers to tell them if they can provide the care their patients need. That is what happens when politicians insist on making medical decisions for women and for girls that doctors and the women and girls themselves in their family should be making. Now, anti-choice politicians attacking Senator Cortez Masto's bill are trying to criminalize interstate travel. Politicians can't hold pregnant women and girls hostage. Politicians should not be able to decide who can travel where. This is America. In my State, it is Ohio. You are allowed to travel wherever you want, whenever you want. As long as you are doing it legally, interstate travel is a constitutional right. That is why the Senate must pass the Freedom to Travel for Healthcare Act to protect that right, to protect Ohio women and girls, to protect the healthcare professionals who serve them, all of them. When, how, and whether to have a family is the most personal and meaningful decisions we make in life. The freedom to make those decisions for yourself free from political interference should be available to everyone--everyone. We can't accept a world where our daughters and our granddaughters have fewer rights and less freedom than their mothers. As soon as I heard about that decision, about the Dobbs case and Roe v. Wade, first thing I thought about is my wife who will celebrate her 65th birthday in 2 weeks, and I thought that my mother--my deceased mother--and my wife have more rights than my daughters in their thirties and early forties and my granddaughters who are still too young to really understand what this is about. What kind of world is that where people of my generation had more rights than we are bequeathing to our children and our grandchildren? I won't stop. I know Senator Murray won't stop working to protect women's freedom--all Americans' freedoms to have life, to have families, and live their lives how they want, when they want, free from meddling politicians. I yield the floor.

Mr. BROWN

Mr. BROWN. Madam President, I urge my colleagues to join me in supporting the nomination of Michael Barr to be a member of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System and the Vice Chair for Supervision. His confirmation is expected today, but we hold votes on these things to find out for sure. His confirmation will mean that the Federal Reserve, for the first time in years, will have a complement of all seven members. I credit the Biden administration for being aggressive in doing that. I credit the committee, which I chair. The Acting President pro tempore is a prominent member of that committee, Senator Warren, and I thank her for her work on this. It is a big deal. Mr. Barr is a qualified nominee who came out of the Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee with strong bipartisan support. Five Republicans, including Ranking Member Toomey, and all 12 Democrats supported his nomination. It is clear why. He is a leading expert with decades of experience in helping to guide and protect our economy, including having experience with financial institutions and financial regulation. He has served this country at the Departments of Treasury and State as well as at the White House. At the Treasury Department, as Assistant Secretary for Financial Institutions, Mr. Barr played a critical role in responding to the 2008 financial crisis when Wall Street greed and recklessness crashed our economy. I know especially, as I said on the floor, what it did to my community, even to my neighborhood. The ZIP Code in which Connie and I live in Cleveland, 44105, had more foreclosures in the first half of 2007 than had any ZIP Code in America, and we still live with that. We passed the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform Act back then. Among the many steps the legislation took to prevent another crisis, we created the Vice Chair for Supervision to identify and to stay ahead of risks to our country's financial system, like cyber threats, volatile cryptocurrency, or the climate crisis. We created this job to hold the biggest banks accountable so that Wall Street wouldn't put working families and businesses on Main Street at risk again. We know Wall Street puts its own interests first always. We know, too often, it is at the risk of small businesses, at the risk of working families, at the risk of the middle class, and at the risk of low- income people. We understand that that is their behavior, and the purpose of Dodd-Frank was as far as we could go to fix that. Mr. Barr has worked for a quarter century to make our financial system safer and fairer. He has focused on developing and evaluating financial regulatory policies. Most importantly, he has a keen understanding of the type of risks that pose threats to our financial stability. Mr. Barr will join the Federal Reserve Board of Governors at a critical time for our economy, maintaining Federal Reserve independence along the way. In response to a question for the record, Mr. Barr told us the following: Independence is critical for the Federal Reserve to effectively carry out its congressional mandate to promote maximum employment and price stability. Politics should play no role in setting monetary policy. . . . I am committed, if confirmed-- He wrote-- to adhere strictly to a non-political, data-driven, independent approach to policy making. I support Mr. Barr's nomination in this critical role. Once confirmed, as I said, we will have a full Federal Reserve Board, with all seven members. It has been almost a decade since we have been able to do that. It has taken this new President and this new majority in the Senate to do that, and I thank all of my colleagues who have played a role in that. I urge my colleagues to support the nomination of Michael Barr.

Mr. BROWN

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

Mr. BROWN

Mr. BROWN. Madam President, I ask my colleagues to join me in honoring Jack Graney, Cleveland Indians player and broadcaster, as he is posthumously awarded the Ford C. Frick Award by the Baseball Hall of Fame on July 23, 2022. Jack Graney was born on June 10, 1886, in St. Thomas, Ontario, Canada, but his professional career on the baseball diamond began with the Cleveland Naps in 1908. Over his 14-year Major League career, Jack led the American League in walks during the 1917 and 1919 seasons and played in three World Series games, helping the Naps to victory in 1920. His daughter fondly remembers growing up on the road and watching her father in action on the field. Jack spent each of his seasons in Major League Baseball with Cleveland. After 14 seasons, Jack retired with 1,178 hits, 420 runs batted in, and a career .250 batting average. Jack made baseball history over the course of his career; he was the first at bat against Babe Ruth in the big leagues, the first 20th century big league player to bat with a number on his uniform, and the first to transition from player to broadcaster. In 1932, Jack returned to baseball when he joined WHK-AM, which had just began broadcasting Cleveland games. He would go on to be the voice of the Cleveland Indians for the next 22 years. Rumor had it, when the Indians played, you could hear Jack's voice echoing through the streets of Cleveland. While radio was only local at the time, Jack was committed to providing a narrative of every single game to Cleveland fans. During away games, he broadcasted from Cleveland, using the ticker-tape that came through from the live game. Jack's detailed descriptions of plays, stadiums, and fans brought the game to life. Throughout his career, he broadcasted for various Cleveland stations and with different partners. In 1935, he commentated on the World Series and the All-Star Game for national audiences. Jack's final broadcast aired in 1953. For more than 20 years, Jack brought baseball to Cleveland fans. On April 20, 1978, Jack passed away at age 91. His legacy lives on today through his family and through all those he inspired to love America's game and to pass on that love to their own children and grandchildren. In 2012, Jack was posthumously inducted into the Cleveland Baseball Hall of Fame for his tenure as a player. And this month, the Baseball Hall of Fame will present the Ford C. Frick Award to Jack for his major contributions to baseball. Recipients are chosen based on their commitment to excellence, quality of broadcasting abilities, reverence within the game, popularity with fans, and recognition by peers. Jack embodied each of these qualities and made our city proud. Today, we celebrate his contributions to baseball, his commitment to Cleveland, and his extraordinary life.

Mr. BROWN

Mr. BROWN. Madam President, last week on the Fourth of July, a day meant to celebrate freedom and independence, we witnessed another act of senseless violence--this time, in the Chicago suburb of Highland Park. Yet again, more Americans have been murdered while going about their daily lives--this time, attending an Independence Day parade. Yet again, a community grieves. Yet again, we ask: How many times are we going to allow this to happen? The bipartisan gun safety bill was important--long overdue progress, finally. Today, we have the opportunity to keep up that work together and take another important step in protecting Americans from violent gun crimes by confirming a permanent ATF Director. I urge my colleagues to support President Biden's nominee, Steve Dettelbach, from Cleveland, to be Director of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives. There is no better person for this role than Steve Dettelbach, a son of Ohio, a career public servant, with the experience and the record to combat violent crime and keep Americans safe. As U.S. attorney for the Northern District of Ohio, Steve worked with law enforcement, including ATF, to prosecute tough cases. I have known Steve Dettelbach for years. I have watched him tackle some of the Department of Justice's most sensitive cases--cases at the intersection of law enforcement and civil rights. He prosecuted a White supremacist who tried to burn down First Azusa Apostolic Faith Church, a predominantly Black church in my wife's home county of Ashtabula, in a community called Conneaut, OH. Steve not only prosecuted the man responsible, he helped create a clergy group, United Against Hate. When he prosecuted the firebombing of the largest mosque in Northwest Ohio, Steve, a practicing Jew, attended worship services there as a show of solidarity. He has lived the value of religious freedom. He has consistently stood up against extremism and hate. Steve Dettelbach understands that politics must play no role in running the ATF. His experience, his record bear that out. That is why he has broad support from across the ideological spectrum, including prosecutors, including law enforcement officials who understand what it takes to do this job. This includes law enforcement groups like NOBLE, the National Organization of Black Law Enforcement Executives; the Hispanic American Police Command Officers Association; Women in Federal Law Enforcement; the International Association of Chiefs of Police; the Major County Sheriffs' Association; the National Sheriffs' Association. It includes more than 140 former Federal prosecutors, 8 former ATF Directors, the Federal Law Enforcement Officers Association, the association representing the men and women of the ATF. He has the support of civil rights organizations--the National Urban League, the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, and faith organizations like the Jewish Federation of North America. They understand that Steve is the right person to lead this vital law enforcement Agency. Following the horrific shooting in Highland Park, local law enforcement was able to capture the murderer so quickly because of the help provided by the heroes--the men and women of the ATF. Yet there are some out there who not only don't want an ATF Director, for whatever reason, they may oppose Steve Dettelbach. That is not even it. They want to abolish the ATF entirely. That is one stupid idea. You know who thinks that it is a terrible idea? Every single law enforcement officer who has to combat gun crimes on a daily basis. They know how important the ATF is, even though some fringe politicians and just some fringe, conspiracy-minded characters think the ATF should be abolished. Abolishing the ATF, these law enforcement officers argue, rightly-- abolishing the ATF would make our communities less safe. In their letter endorsing Mr. Dettelbach, the National Sheriffs' Association said that he would work to bring ``people together by working closely with state and local law enforcement to ensure that resources are adequately allocated to combat violent crime.'' The sheriffs went on to write they appreciated Steve's ``goal of being a value-add to local law enforcement by not only adding resources to urban areas, but rural as well.'' Rural crime and rural terrorism and rural--abuses like that are just as likely in rural areas as cities. Mr. Dettelbach has emphasized the importance of ``boots on the ground'' task forces and pledged to provide forensic help to local law enforcement at crime scenes. Sadly, our local law enforcement personnel need this help. Fortunately, the ATF, with Steve Dettelbach, I hope, confirmed and soon at the helm, will be there to provide that help. I can think of no better way to support law enforcement, to reject hate, to keep Americans safe from violent crime than for the Senate to confirm Steve Dettelbach ATF Director. I urge my colleagues to join me in supporting his confirmation.

Mr. BROWN

Mr. BROWN. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the scheduled vote occur immediately.

Mr. BROWN. Madam President, I ask for the yeas and nays.

Mr. BROWN

Mr. BROWN. Mr. President, I would like to honor a longtime member of the Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee staff, Colin McGinnis, as he moves on to a new, well-deserved chapter: retirement. He will be spending more time with his beloved wife Claire--and with the first person he visited upon retirement--his 95-year-old mother Barb, at her peaceful lake home in Minnesota. Colin is a lifelong public servant. He spent 33 years working in Congress. Even when he briefly left this institution, he remained in service, working for the Orthodox Relief Service. To say the least, Colin's career is unparalleled. Colin grew up in Morris, MN, and attended Carleton College in Northfield, MN. He went on to earn his masters of divinity from Yale University--and we saw those divinity school values woven throughout his career. Colin's congressional career began in service to his home State. He worked for Representative Jim Oberstar, Representative Bruce Vento, Representative Terry Sabo, and the former Carleton College professor, Senator Paul Wellstone. In each office, he made a positive difference for Minnesotans. Colin was serving as chief of staff to Senator Wellstone at the time of his tragic death in 2002. It was a catastrophic loss for Minnesota and for our country. And for his staff, it was a heartbreaking personal tragedy. Colin took care of his colleagues and got them through an unimaginably difficult time. He was a rock for the office and led with composure and grace while grieving a mentor he met while he was a student at Carleton, then later worked with for a decade. In 2008, Colin became the acting staff director of the Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee under Chairman Dodd. He led the committee through one of the worst financial crises in U.S. history. As always, Colin stepped up. It was a scary time. The economy was in freefall. We had never seen anything like that in our lifetime. Colin was the steady hand that Senator Dodd and the committee needed. He was a trusted and an invaluable adviser to Chairman Dodd, Chairman Johnson, and to me. For the last 9 years, Colin has served as the committee's policy director. I remember when I first took over as ranking member on the committee, meeting with the staff in our hearing room on the fifth floor of Dirksen in late 2014. I didn't know anyone yet, and these talented public servants were experts in their field. Many had spent years working for the committee. Frankly, I was a little nervous. And at the end of the meeting, of course it was Colin who came up to talk to me, reassure me, break the ice. He could not have been more kind and welcoming. Colin's many, many accomplishments with the Banking and Housing Committee include his instrumental work on the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action--the Obama administration's diplomatic success to limit Iran's nuclear program--the bipartisan Countering America's Adversaries Through Sanctions Act in 2017, and the historic Anti-Money Laundering Act and the Corporate Transparency Act in 2020. That bill was the product of over a decade and a half of attempts and months of bipartisan negotiations--often expertly shepherded by Colin. Today, its passage is giving law enforcement new, modern tools to stop human traffickers and other criminals and root out shell companies. In his 30-plus years on the Hill, Colin has seen administrations and majorities of both parties come and go. And through them all, he had an uncommon skill at fostering relationships across the aisle. Throughout his career, Colin also became known for his deep knowledge on international sanctions--he was the one that everyone wanted to work with. Sanctions have become one of our country's primary foreign policy tool over the last decade. And Colin was the expert. And of course, that expertise has probably never been more relevant than it has this year, as we have worked to unite this body in support of the President's strong sanctions on Russia. But these wins are only a small part of Colin's lasting legacy on the Hill--he impacted everyone he worked with. He could work effectively with pretty much everyone--Republicans and Democrats alike, through Presidential administrations of both parties. Colin impressed all of us with that effectiveness, with his dedication to his work, and, perhaps most of all, with his kindness. He worked toward big-picture goals--from mental health parity to international sanctions--but he never lost sight of the individuals: the people whom he worked with and the people whom we serve. Those who were lucky enough to work alongside Colin describe him as someone who makes the hard things look flawless, day in and day out--an impressive feat in this line of work. Among staff, he was known for his love of language. Colin sometimes referred to his work as ``toiling in the legislative vineyards''--one of many examples that reflect his natural optimism. He is a voracious reader, and he made good use of the Library of Congress, often getting several books a week delivered to the office. He always had time for his coworkers, regardless of their position-- from the staff director to the interns. He carved out space for everyone to grow professionally and personally. He challenged us, too. Colin had an open-door policy. His office was always tidy and decorated with pictures of friends and family. And most days, you could find a member of staff--sometimes Banking and Housing, but often from other offices--sitting on his couch asking for advice and counsel. Colin always had wisdom to share. Colin commuted every day from Baltimore for 24 years--rain or shine. He came in to work early so that, most days, he could catch the 5 p.m. train back to Baltimore and sit down at the dinner table with his family. To his wife Claire and their children Killian and Patrick: Thank you for sharing him with us. Colin's dedication and commitment to public service made a difference for so many. Our country is a better place because of his service. And each of us are better because of his leadership. On behalf of everyone in my office and on the committee and all those who had the honor of working with him, we congratulate Colin on his career, we wish him well in retirement, and we thank him for his service.

Mr. BROWN

Mr. BROWN. Madam President, I want to reiterate and underscore and expand on some of the comments made by Senator Kelly from Arizona in support of this legislation. We know that, as he said, our servicemembers put their lives and health on the line to keep us safe. Even those who come home can face long-term health risks from their service. Too often, we have not provided veterans the care and the benefits they have earned and deserve, particularly those exposed to toxic substances while serving in uniform. We have the opportunity this week, finally, to change that. This week in the Senate, we are on the verge of passing the most comprehensive expansion of benefits for veterans who faced toxic exposure, in our Nation's history. Providing healthcare and benefits for veterans who suffer from toxic exposure is a cost of going to war. We are willing to spend a lot of money going to war, as we need to, but we have never, never really stepped up taking care of our veterans-- those who return home--because it is also costly, but it is what we need to do. If you were exposed--fundamentally this--if you were exposed to toxins while serving our country, you deserve the benefits you earned, period, no exceptions. The Senate is finally on the verge of recognizing that. My office holds roundtables with veterans all over Ohio, and I have heard veterans raise this issue again and again and again. As many as 3\1/2\ million servicemembers in this country were potentially exposed to toxic smoke. Time is running out for these veterans. For years, we have worked to highlight this long-ignored issue and the hurdles veterans faced after burn pits and, before that, exposure to Agent Orange. With Agent Orange, we expanded VA benefits. We had to do it condition by condition and location of service by location of service, and it took way, way, way too long. Far too many Vietnam veterans suffering from toxic exposure to Agent Orange died while Congress continued to slow-walk the kinds of benefits we should have done much more quickly. Too many veterans were left behind. Our veterans deserve better. This bipartisan bill would guarantee that veterans who suffer because of toxic exposure will get the VA benefits they earned for the first time in our country's history. It would finally extend VA healthcare eligibility to all post-9/11 combat veterans. It would expand presumptions for veterans exposed to Agent Orange. It would add 23 burn pit- and toxic exposure-related conditions to VA's list. The comprehensive legislation is named in honor of Ohio veteran SFC Heath Robinson, who deployed to Kosovo and Iraq with the Ohio National Guard. He passed away in 2020 from cancer as a result of toxic exposure during that military service. His widow, Danielle Robinson, has been a determined advocate for this cause. She was the First Lady's guest at the State of the Union this year, to underscore the President's commitment to getting this done. Her mother, Susan Zeier, and Heath's daughter, Brielle, Susan's granddaughter, are here this week, along with so many advocates from Ohio, like Andrea Neutzling, an Army veteran and advocate from Meigs County. Earlier today, Susan and her granddaughter, Brielle, the daughter of Heath Robinson, and Andrea and Tim and others from Ohio were in the Gallery. They are counting on the Senate to finally do the right thing. This has been a long time coming. It will mean that more than 3 million toxic-exposed veterans will finally have the expanded access to healthcare which they deserve and which they earned. It is a good first step. It is late for veterans who have suffered for years. I ask my colleagues to join me in finally keeping our promise to our veterans. We should never forget the debt we owe our veterans, and we are humbled by their commitment to service. It is time that we ensure that our veterans, after sacrificing so much for our country, receive the full benefits and care that they deserve and that they earned.

Mr. BROWN

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

Mr. BROWN

Mr. BROWN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that Alan Cox and Fatima Sierra-Vargas, fellows of my Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee, be granted floor privileges for the duration of this Congress.

Mr. BROWN

Mr. BROWN. Mr. President, I urge my colleagues to support Sandra Thompson's historic nomination to be the Director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency. Ms. Thompson is an exceptional nominee, with decades of experience in mortgage markets and Federal financial regulation. Since June 2021, Ms. Thompson served as Acting Director at FHFA, where she has played a vital role in promoting access to mortgage credit, to overseeing and supervising Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, and the 11 Federal Home Loan Banks, and to protecting the safety and soundness of the housing finance system. Before being designated as Acting Director, Ms. Thompson served for 8 years as a Deputy Director for the Division of Mission and Goals at FHFA, so she is clearly very qualified. She spent 18 years at the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation. While there, she worked for seven different chairpersons, obviously, from both political parties and in senior-level positions. She will be the first woman. She will, notably, be the first Black woman confirmed to lead FHFA. For the first time, we have an administration and a Senate Banking and Housing Committee that understand how important it is to have economic leaders who reflect the country, who look like the country and think like the country--people who make it work. She will join a growing list of experienced, talented Black women who have come through our committee--Marcia Fudge, who was my Congresswoman in Cleveland. She is now Secretary of HUD; Cecilia Rouse, Chair of the Council on Economic Advisers at the White House; Reta Jo Lewis, a CEO of the Export-Import Bank; Lisa Cook, first Black woman ever in 109 years--109 years, the first Black woman--at the Federal Reserve; Alanna McCargo; Alexia Latortue, just to name a few. Ms. Thompson has proven she will work and she will listen to lenders, and consumers, and both sides of the aisle. Before the pandemic, housing was too expensive and too hard to find, even before the pandemic. Whether you are looking to rent or to buy, FHFA has an important role to play in bringing down housing costs and empowering more families to be able to afford a safe and stable home. I strongly urge my colleagues in supporting Ms. Thompson's nomination. I yield the floor.