John Barrasso

Mr. BARRASSO

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 President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for the quorum call be rescinded.

Mr. BARRASSO

Mr. BARRASSO. Mr. President, in the 2020 elections, Americans chose an evenly-divided Senate--half Republican, half Democrat. Evenly divided. Since the Vice President is able to break a tie when it comes to specifically organizing the Senate, Democrats have the majority. Now some Democrats want to lower the threshold for all the votes so that to pass anything, all they would need to do in case of a tie vote would have the Vice President be the tiebreaker. That is the way that a majority works. When there is a tie and the Vice President is in one party, they get to break the tie in that direction, of course. What we need to make sure of, though, is that there is fairness in the process. The traditions and how this institution works are that we have a filibuster. Sixty votes is how legislation is passed. We know that the press and sometimes folks in Congress say it is hard to pass a law. Well, it is not supposed to be easy. It takes discussion. It takes negotiation. It brings people together. That is the idea of needing 60 votes--to bring people together to get a bipartisan consensus so that all the voices are heard; that there is a majority, and the minority voice is heard, and it forces us to find common ground. Frankly, I think there is too little of finding common ground in Washington already. The last thing America needs is even more divisiveness. This is a big, diverse country. We don't need 50 percent of the country plus one to run roughshod over all the others. That is why our Founders were so careful to protect the rights of the minority. That is why they created the Bill of Rights, why they created the electoral college, and why they created the U.S. Senate. The Founding Fathers didn't want the Senate to be a copy of the House. We are intended to be a check on the House. There is a story that President Washington compared the Senate to a saucer used to cool down a cup of tea. President Madison compared it to a fence. We are not supposed to be a smaller version of the House of Representatives. The Senate is supposed to cool things down. We are supposed to think things through. We are supposed to stop bad ideas and stop the House from moving too fast. Changing the rules of the Senate would make that impossible. Lowering the bar to 50 votes could also be a blatant power grab, which is 50 votes and the Vice President. The Democrats could even add States to the Union--specifically States that would elect more Democrats to the Senate. It would give them even more Senate seats, could even give them a permanent majority in the Senate. With 50 votes plus the Vice President, Democrats could also pack the Supreme Court with liberal activist judges--judges who legislate from the bench, not judges who apply the law as written. That would give them a permanent majority both in the Senate and on the Court. With a single rule change, one branch of government, one Chamber of Congress, could be under permanent Democratic control. It is no surprise that it is tempting to Senate Democrats and that the far-left branch of that party is demanding that occur. You remember that when President Trump was in office, Republicans had a chance to do exactly the same thing. In fact, former President Trump repeatedly asked us and told us that we should do just that. In one particularly memorable example, he tweeted: ``The U.S. Senate should switch to 51 votes.'' He said: ``Dems would do it, no doubt.'' More than 30 different times, President Trump asked that Republicans end the filibuster. We didn't. We stuck to the intentions of our Founding Fathers. We protected the rights of the minority, and we put country before party. If Democrats won't stop the power grab for the good of the country, then they should at least do it for their own good. Democrats have had 50 votes and the Vice President for only a few days. In fact, when Democrats were in the minority, 33 Democratic Senators said they didn't want to change the rules. They signed a letter, and that letter called for the preservation of the rights of the minority. Twenty-seven of those Democrats are still Members of the Senate today. One of those Democrats is now the Vice President of the United States, Vice President Kamala Harris. Even President Biden called the idea of eliminating the filibuster ``a very dangerous move.'' The White House Press Secretary told us last week President Biden still opposes changing the rules. If Democrats go down this road and break the rules of the Senate, they are doing more than just hurting the institution; they are admitting their ideas don't have broad bipartisan support. Think about that. If the Democratic agenda had the support of the American people, then they wouldn't need to change the rules. If Democrats could find bipartisan support to pass their tax increases, they would leave the rules alone. If Democrats could find bipartisan support to pass the Green New Deal and higher energy costs that come with it, they would leave the rules alone. If they could restrict gun ownership, they would leave the rules alone. They can't, and they know they can't. They know the American people have looked at their progressive agenda and said: No, thank you. President Biden's inaugural address last week talked a lot about unity. He said that ``with unity we can do great things.'' I agree. I ask my Democratic colleagues if they agree with the President's inaugural address, or do they really think that they want to make the U.S. Senate more partisan, more divided. Do they really want to take power away from individual Senators and give it to whoever has 50 votes and the tiebreaker at the moment? If it is hard for Democrats to pass laws, then they should try talking with us. Propose bipartisan solutions to our Nation's challenges. Persuade your colleagues. Make progress together. As my friend, former Senator Lamar Alexander, said in his farewell address just a month ago--he said: ``We don't need a change of rules. The Senate needs a change of behavior.'' I urge my Democratic colleagues to reject this blatant power grab. Stop this rush to take more and more power. Come to the center. Reach across the aisle. Find common ground. Senate Republicans are ready to work together to help the American people, to get people back to work, to get our kids safely back to school so they don't fall further behind, and to get the virus behind us. Join us. Let's work together. Let's do what is right for the people we serve. I yield the floor

Mr. BARRASSO

Mr. BARRASSO. Madam President, on Tuesday, January 12, 2021, the 2021 General Session of the Wyoming Legislature got underway. Noticeably absent from the first day of the session was State Senator Henry H.R. ``Hank'' Coe. Hank had been present in Cheyenne for the first day of the annual legislative session for 32 consecutive years. In March of 2020, on the last day of the 2020 Wyoming legislative session, Hank announced his plan to retire. Senator Coe represented the people of Park County from 1988 to 2020. Hank was a respected and effective legislator. He earned a reputation for being a kind, thoughtful, persuasive legislator of great integrity. Hank always had a remarkable grasp of the issues facing the state and his home community. He could see short and long-term needs and offer solutions to address those needs. During his time in the legislature, Senator Coe served on numerous committees, was elected as majority floor leader, and, in 2001, served as president of the senate. For 17 years, Hank proudly served as the chair of the senate education committee. He was a strong proponent of local control and high-quality education. Hank showed students that through hard work and dedication to their studies, there was a world of opportunities within their reach. He understood the importance of investing in our young people, recognizing their achievements, and providing them with the tools needed to succeed. When I served in the Wyoming State Senate, I had the great honor of working with Hank Coe on one of our proudest legislative initiatives, the creation of the Hathaway scholarship program. We were able to create a scholarship fund with a $400 million permanent endowment. Income from the fund continues to fund scholarships for Wyoming high school graduates today. The Hathaway scholarship program allows every Wyoming student, regardless of economic background, to qualify for a merit-based scholarship to attend the University of Wyoming or any of our State's seven community colleges. Senator Coe's leadership was a driving force behind passage of this legislation. Thousands of Wyoming students without the resources to obtain a college education have benefited from this scholarship. Hank's contribution to public service extended far beyond Wyoming's capitol. He was a mentor to many in his hometown of Cody. He participated fully on local boards and committees. The Cody Chamber of Commerce, Cody Medical Foundation, Cody Yellowstone Air Service, Wyoming Air Service, Buffalo Bill Museum of the West, and the Park County Commissioners all benefited from Hank's committed service. When Hank retired, he released the following statement, which was printed in the Cody Enterprise on March 13, 2020: ``The Wyoming Legislature continues to be one of the most effective and civil deliberate bodies in the nation. It is my sincere hope that this tradition will continue and Wyoming can be an example to the rest of the nation,'' said Coe. ``Serving in the Senate has been a true honor and a privilege. I'm eternally grateful to the people of Park County who put their faith in me to represent them for so many years. To my community, friends, family, fellow lawmakers and the exceptional legislative staff, I say thank you.'' Hank had a calling to serve. He took that calling and ran with it. His life's work has made a difference in the lives of the people in Park County and in every corner of our great State. History will look kindly upon the contributions and achievements of Hank Coe. Hank passed away today, January 21, 2021. He leaves behind a remarkable legacy, and he will be greatly missed by a grateful State. To Hank's entire family, especially his children and grandchildren: son H.R. and grandson Henry, daughter Carey Coe Johnson and husband Jeff and grandchildren Madeline, Jagger, and Jrakke, and daughter Bethany Coe Boydstun and grandchildren, Jackson, Tyler and Lily--our prayers and well wishes are with you. I ask my colleagues to join me in celebrating the remarkable life of Hank Coe. His dedication to service will have a profound impact on our state for generations. Thank you Hank.

Mr. BARRASSO

Mr. BARRASSO. I thank Senator Carper. I appreciate it. You know, it is interesting: Senator Alexander recently gave his speech, his farewell address, and he said that sometimes politics is like a split-screen television set. On the one half, you see all the fighting and contention and the dysfunctional side. And on the other side of the screen, you see the functioning side. But not many people look at that functioning side. What we have been able to do as a partnership on the Environment and Public Works Committee was functional--in a bipartisan way, coming up with solutions. As you mentioned, there were over 70 cosponsors on the one piece of legislation. All of them, I think, got through the committee unanimously. That is something that made no news because there wasn't a fight. There was cooperation for the betterment--to make sure we protected the economy and, at the same time, preserved the environment. That is what we need do: Continue to make sure that we can protect both and continue with economic development as well as environmental stewardship for our Nation. With that, I yield the floor. I suggest the absence of a quorum.

Mr. BARRASSO. Mr. President, I have just recently been talking about a number of pieces of legislation that have come through the Environment and Public Works Committee: the water resources act, the USE IT Act, the act called DERA to eliminate and reduce emissions from diesels, as well as additional legislation on HFCs. My partner in all of those is here on the floor now, and I would just like to ask him if he would--since he has been such a great partner for the last 4 years that I have chaired the committee--talk about this as an accomplishment for the environment, for the committee, and for the Senate and for the country. So I am just kind of curious, from his standpoint, where he sees things as a sign of success.

Mr. BARRASSO

Mr. BARRASSO. Mr. President, I come to the floor today to discuss critical parts of today's funding bill that is before us this week. These are the result of bipartisan work that we have done. And the Presiding Officer is a member of the Environment and Public Works Committee, a valued member who has contributed significantly to the legislation before us. As chairman of that committee, I am so grateful for your participation because I am going to talk about some things that we have been able to do on the Environment and Public Works Committee together and in a bipartisan way. You have done such a remarkable job with the Save Our Seas legislation, and we continue to support that. Now I am going to talk about a couple of additional things that are part of this end-of-the-year legislation that we will be voting on later this evening. The first is historic, bipartisan climate innovation legislation. The second is comprehensive legislation to upgrade America's water infrastructure. So I want to talk about two different things: One is the climate innovation legislation and then what is commonly known as the WRDA bill, the Water Resources Development Act. Both of these measures passed the committee with unanimous bipartisan support. The Republicans and Democrats on this committee have worked together to reduce emissions and to do it through innovation--not taxation, not regulation, but do it through innovation--free market innovation, not punishing government regulations. I believe that is the best way to go as we address the challenges of our environment and our climate. We have reached a historic agreement in the committee, and we will on the floor tonight in the Senate, to include environmental innovation provisions in this government funding bill. The environmental innovation agreements include three specific bills that will significantly reduce greenhouse gases. I have had the privilege of working closely with my friend, the committee ranking member, Tom Carper from Delaware, on each of these three. The first is called the USE IT Act. This legislation ensures that Washington is a willing partner in the research and the development of carbon capture technologies and projects. Carbon capture holds the key to significant carbon emission reductions. These captured emissions can be used to create building materials, medical supplies, even clothing. They can also be used to extract more natural resources to provide more energy for all of us. The USE IT Act is going to expedite permitting so that important carbon capture projects can get moving. It supports the research and the use of carbon capture. It includes direct air capture--actually, carbon dioxide from the atmosphere--that will take carbon emissions straight out of the air. It is very innovative. This kind of research is now already happening in my home State of Wyoming, in Gillette, WY, at the Integrated Test Center, which is associated with the University of Wyoming School of Energy Resources. I have worked closely with Senators Whitehouse and Capito and Carper on the USE IT Act in having it passed, first, through our committee, then through the full Senate, and tonight, in a bill that will be ultimately sent to the President of the United States for his signature. The second measure, part of this innovative work, is a bill sponsored by Ranking Member Carper to reauthorize the Diesel Emissions Reduction Act. This program has already significantly reduced the amount of black carbon in our air by replacing older engines in buses--school buses and trucks and other vehicles. This is working well. These replacement engines make diesel equipment cleaner and more efficient. The legislation that we will reauthorize this evening sees that this important program will then continue all the way through the end of 2024. The last element of our bipartisan agreement will phase down the use of chemicals known as HFCs. These chemicals are in every home in America, from cars to refrigerators to air conditioners. This agreement is going to authorize a 15-year phasedown on the production of these chemicals. Innovative breakthroughs in chemistry have led to the development of cleaner replacement chemicals. This legislation tonight will help protect our air while keeping costs down for the American people. Importantly, the agreement, the bipartisan agreement we have come up with, safeguards the essential use of HFC chemicals when substitute chemicals are less effective. Some examples including bear spray. We use it in Wyoming. I know they use it in Alaska. It protects hikers. It is also used in fire suppression systems on planes that protect travelers. And we need it. I know in my hometown of Casper, the defense spray manufacturer, the Safariland Group, employs about 75 people. They use HFC chemicals to make defense sprays. It is a critically important part of their business. If they were forced to use replacement chemicals, those sprays would be far less effective. Well, if you are around a bear, you want to make sure you have the most effective spray available. So with the changes we have negotiated into this important bill, companies like the Safariland Group will be able to continue making high-quality products that people want and people need and that can save their lives. We also made sure that the manufacturers using these chemicals have a clear set of rules to go by--one clear set of rules to go by. So our agreement preempts State and local laws to ensure that the specific essentials that are being used are protected. Now the manufacturers won't have to deal with different sets of rules in different States, which has been a real problem. This clears that up. The end result is clean air and clear rules. We need both of those. I really want to thank Ranking Member Carper, Senator John Kennedy of Louisiana for working with me to reach an agreement that will reduce the use of HFC chemicals while protecting consumers and manufacturers alike. All of these three measures support market innovation. All three will reduce greenhouse gases, and they will do it in ways that will not harm the economy. The government funding bill that we are going to be addressing a little later this evening also includes bipartisan water infrastructure legislation. I know in the Presiding Officer's home State of Alaska and in my home State of Wyoming, water is critical, as it is across the entire country. But you and I have focused specifically on this. Certainly, in Wyoming, dams, levees, ports, reservoirs, and water systems are important to every community all across the country. The infrastructure is critical. People say the word is ``infrastructure,'' but when we think about it, what it really means is dams, ports, reservoirs, levees, and water systems. That really, I think, shows more what we are talking about than just this overall word ``infrastructure.'' It protects all of us from dangerous floods and storms, while also providing water for our families and our farms. The government spending bill tonight includes the Water Resources Development Act of 2020. It is the result of months of negotiations between committee leaders from the Senate and the House of Representatives. The bipartisan legislation is fiscally responsible. It helps grow the economy; it cuts redtape; and it makes our communities safer. It will spur economic growth by creating jobs and by authorizing vital projects. In my home State of Wyoming and across the Rocky Mountain West, access to consistent water supply is essential for ranchers and farmers. The water that we need in our home States to grow crops and raise cattle has to be delivered on time. In several communities, the water reservoirs that serve farmers and ranchers happen to be old. These aging reservoirs and irrigation systems need maintenance or full rebuilding. This bill makes these projects a significant priority. The legislation will also establish a new Army Corps of Engineers program for construction of new, small water storage projects or the expansion of existing ones. It will also authorize the Army Corps of Engineers to carry out sediment removal projects in water reservoirs. This improves water quality, and it increases water quantity. The bill authorizes projects to maintain shipping lanes, to deepen ports, to upgrade aging dams, and to increase water storage across the West. Maintained shipping lanes ensure that American-made goods are shipped from the heartland to the coasts and around the world. Deepened ports result in increased commerce. If our major ports are dredged and deep, then more ships can use them to export more goods. These projects that we are getting ready to adopt tonight will all create jobs and expand commerce in America's cities and the heartland. To ensure these important projects get moving, the bill cuts redtape to speed up the Army Corps of Engineers' process. The Water Resources Development Act is going to expedite the permitting, the construction, the repair, and the maintenance of many Army Corps projects. Communities can't afford to wait years and years for flood management or water storage projects to be completed. They need them now. Finally, this legislation will make communities safer. The critical infrastructure projects included here will help prevent damaging floods by maintaining dams and levees. Floods can take a terrible toll in property damage and on human life. The legislation allows the Army Corps of Engineers to focus efforts on fixing aging flood management infrastructure. It prioritizes the dams and levees most at risk. I would like to really thank the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee chairman, Peter DeFazio, and the ranking member, Sam Graves, for working with us to get this legislation to the finish line. I want to thank Infrastructure Subcommittee Chair Capito and Ranking Member Cardin for their work as well. I say to the Presiding Officer, as I wrap this up and thank you for your involvement, I want to thank every member of the Environment and Public Works Committee, and specifically the ranking member, Tom Carper--whose staff has worked so closely with mine--for working with me on this bill. I am so grateful for his partnership as we have worked together over the last 4 years as I served as chair and he served as ranking member. We have not always agreed on every issue, but we have respected the positions of each of us. We have worked and found common ground, found solutions, and I believe made a real difference for the economy and, most importantly here, the environment. Thank you. I yield the floor.

Mr. BARRASSO

Mr. BARRASSO. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent to engage in a colloquy with my friend and colleague from the State of Delaware, Tom Carper.

Mr. BARRASSO

Mr. BARRASSO. Mr. President, I ask for the yeas and nays.

Mr. BARRASSO

Mr. BARRASSO. Mr. President, reserving the right to object, I do appreciate the work the Senator from Oregon has done on this public lands bill. I know the amount of effort that has gone into this legislation is significant. Locally driven public lands bills take an incredible amount of time to get right. This legislation has gone through intensive local stakeholder involvement, very similar to what we have done in Wyoming with the Wyoming Public Lands Initiative in my home State. The Wyoming Public Lands Initiative was spearheaded by our Wyoming County Commissioners Association. This initiative was started in order to resolve, through local negotiations, the status of so-called ``temporary'' wilderness study areas in Wyoming that have now, seemingly, become permanent. I recognize and understand that public lands negotiations often result in compromise. This give-and-take is a good thing, for it lets people closest to the issue have a significant voice. So I appreciate the efforts the stakeholders on the ground in Oregon have made to get this bill to where it is today. However, I believe additional work is still needed. I would let my friend from Oregon know that I will work with him and any other Senators with public lands issues before the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources. We may not always agree on a given outcome, but I am committed to having those discussions with Members of this body. For this reason, I object.

Mr. BARRASSO

Mr. BARRASSO. Mr. President, I come to the floor today to ask our Democratic colleagues to join us Republicans in providing immediate relief--relief in the fight against coronavirus and economic relief for the people of this country. Americans don't ask much of their government, but they are asking us for something right now. No. 1, they are asking to help control the spread of the coronavirus, and, No. 2, they are asking to help with an economic recovery. America and Americans shouldn't have to choose between staying open and staying healthy. We need both, and Congress needs to provide a path beyond the pandemic. A path forward, as the Presiding Officer knows, is something Republicans have been proposing now for a long time. We have done it, first, with the CARES Act, and we need to do it right now with additional coronavirus and economic relief legislation. Our bill is practical. It supports our neighborhoods--men and women working on Main Street in our small towns and communities all across the country. We also need to provide unemployment help for those who, for no reason of their own, happen to find themselves out of work as a result of the pandemic. We need to get the vaccine to as many Americans as we can as quickly and safely as we can, especially during this holiday season, when we are really looking at a medical miracle. Now, what we have seen from the other side is gridlock--no path forward on the economy, no path forward on coronavirus. We have seen them play politics with the pandemic. House and Senate Republicans have tried now 40 times--40 different times--to get something accepted that can be sent to provide that relief for the American public. The Democrats, each and every time, blocked it. The gridlock must end today. Mr. President, I would like to spend just a moment on this historic vaccine discovery. It is, to me as a doctor, comparable to insulin, comparable to the vaccine for polio, and comparable to penicillin as an antibiotic. It is going to be that dramatic in terms of the change in the world. As we gather on the floor today, planes, trucks, UPS, and Federal Express are all taking vaccines across the country to many, many locations--over 636 this first week. So it is not just a scientific triumph. It is also a logistical triumph. Every newspaper in the country yesterday, I believe, had a picture of somebody receiving the vaccine, receiving the shot in that local community. It is a remarkable time for our Nation. As Christmas packages are being delivered, so is this great hope for people receiving the vaccine. All told, this week, there were 3 million doses distributed to people around the country, in 636 sites. In my State alone, Wyoming, there are 5 different locations where the vaccine has arrived and over 5,000 people being vaccinated this week. By the end of the year, there will be 15,000. I am sure in the Presiding Officer's State of Indiana, there are more locations than that, more people being vaccinated. The frontline workers are getting it first, and that is the way we need to do it. As part of the CARES Act--the Presiding Officer and I voted for it-- $10 billion went to help develop the vaccine and money spent to distribute the vaccine. But we need to do more. About $6 billion is additionally needed to help in a full distribution of the vaccine. Well, I am ready to vote for that. I want to make sure we have that money so the vaccine, which has been amazing in terms of the speed of development, can also be deployed similarly to what was done. This vaccine was done in an unprecedented scale--the number of people who are going to be vaccinated, the success, the timeline. A safe, effective, and powerful vaccine is truly astonishing. Never has a vaccine been developed or distributed faster. It truly is this Senate, under the CARES Act, and this administration, under Operation Warp Speed, which stood this operation up and made it successful. So we are seeing the real effects as people are getting the shot. When you think about it in the big picture--and you know this, Mr. President, from your background in business and contributing in your community--this is what we talk about when we talk about American ingenuity. It is why people around the world look to America for answers, because when things that are critical occur, it is America that finds the solutions, as we have done right now with this vaccine. We have come together, public as well as private, over the last 8 months--the FDA--to approve a vaccine. It is interesting: Who should get it first--the doctors, the nurses? I know firefighters are getting it here in the District of Columbia. Firefighters have been getting it at home in Wyoming, and people like the healthcare providers, and then, of course, those who are most vulnerable, people who are in our nursing homes right now and in assisted living facilities, people who are most vulnerable. That is who ought to get it first. I know when the time comes for me, I am going to get it. My wife is going to get it. We will be saying yes because I believe it is safe, I believe it is effective, and I believe it is the solution that gets us through this. It gets us through the disease, and it gets the economy back on track. I talked to one of the doctors who runs the intensive care unit at Wyoming Medical Center. The healthcare personnel are exhausted. They have been working double shifts. If one gets sick, others have to pick up the workload, as more and more people show up in the hospitals and the emergency rooms with coronavirus. This is very welcome relief. I talked to a physician who works in the emergency room. She is going to be vaccinated on Friday. So this is what we need. It is so interesting. The pundits talk about the dark winters of the coronavirus surge, but for the healthcare providers in our home communities, they have to keep the doors open every day and keep the lights on and take care of these patients, one after another after another. Once the first one came--and the wave hit different parts of the country at different times--once the first patient came, they continued to come, and they are still coming today. That is why this vaccine is such a welcome relief and why, for the healthcare providers who have done such remarkable work, we can say this is their finest hour. They have kept us going, kept patients, offered of themselves, and now the vaccines have arrived. We need to do more in this body. We have healthcare workers leading by example. We have folks in assisted living. Close to half of all the people who lost their lives because of coronavirus were residents of assisted living. But of those millions of healthcare workers, we need to make sure that the vaccines continue to flow to them and to all of society and to all people in this country. It is by doing that, that we will put this disease behind us. We will be back to our strong, robust, and growing economy. Our kids will be back full time in school. The universities will be returning to the robust future that we know is ahead of them. It is because of the work of this body, months ago, with the CARES Act. But our work is not done. As we approach the Christmas holidays, there is more work to be done. I turn to my colleagues on the other side of the aisle and say: Please, join us this holiday season to make sure that the American people, who don't ask for much, are able to continue to keep their lives on track, get back on track, and move forward into the year 2021 with a vaccine available to everyone and for a much better new year. Thank you. I yield the floor.

Mr. BARRASSO

Mr. BARRASSO. Mr. President, I have 4 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: Committee on the Judiciary The Committee on the Judiciary is authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on Thursday, December 10, 2020, at 10 a.m., to conduct a hearing on nominations. Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship The Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship is authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on Thursday, December 10, 2020, at 10 a.m., to conduct a hearing. Subcommittee on Surface Transportation and Merchant Marine Infrastructure, Safety and Security The Subcommittee on Surface Transportation and Merchant Marine Infrastructure, Safety and Security of the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation is authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on Thursday, December 10, 2020, at 9:30 a.m., to conduct a hearing. Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations The Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations of the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs is authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on Thursday, December 10, 2020, at 10 a.m., to conduct a hearing.

Mr. BARRASSO

Mr. BARRASSO. Madam President, I come to floor today in complete support of Senator Inhofe, the chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, and I come in support of the National Defense Authorization Act. I come to speak to that, and I am so grateful for the Senator from Oklahoma and for his ongoing, determined leadership in making sure that our Nation remains safe and secure and free. And it is because of the work done by Senator Inhofe and his committee and this body and this legislation that we will be voting on. I am so grateful for the leadership of the chairman, and I want to talk, specifically, about the reason I think it is important that we do pass the legislation that the committee has worked so hard on. So the Presiding Officer knows, as a member of that committee, that this critical national security legislation lays out America's defense and national security priorities, as the Senator from Oklahoma just made up, for the years to come. It sets the policies to defend our Nation, and it supports America's service men and women here at home, as well as those abroad. I was honored to spend Thanksgiving, again this year, with Wyoming National Guard troops, members of our Air National Guard, and they are serving at this time in Qatar, in the Al Udeid Air Force Base in the Persian Gulf. And when I think of the National Defense Authorization Act, this legislation before us today, I think of them. I think about the members there--Charlie Med, doing medical evacuations and medical transport. First, I will tell you that, in terms of these Wyoming soldiers who are there, if you are in need of medical care or medical transport, you would be in very capable hands. You also know they have what they need to be able to do the job. I think of them, and I think of their families--the sacrifices that are being made by the families at home, because the families play a significant and important role in this as well You know, it is interesting, with so many deployed overseas right now, some of them have found that their deployments have been extended. Because of coronavirus, they are unable to do the transports of moving people back to the United States for the holidays and then back into the fields, so that they have many who felt that they would be home for the holidays who are going to find that they are not able to be home for the holidays. So I think it is very important that the Senate send a strong message that we have their backs, just as they have ours. This is an incredibly bipartisan piece of legislation--one of the most bipartisan pieces of legislation every year when it comes to the floor of the Senate. It reflects equal input from Republicans and from Democrats. The Senate Armed Services Committee adopted 229 bipartisan amendments before it approved the NDAA this summer by a vote in the committee, on which the Presiding Officer also sits, of 25 to 2. It is also in line with the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2019. It supports $741 billion in defense funding for the 2021 fiscal year. The NDAA is really a proud tradition of this institution and of our Nation. This is the 60th year in a row that the Senate has taken up the NDAA, and it has passed this body every year. We need to make sure this year is no exception. The world may be distracted by other things that are going on--certainly, the issue of a coronavirus pandemic--but, make no mistake, China and Russia still have global ambitions, and they pose grave threats to our Nation's security. The Chinese military has actually stepped up its aggression against its neighbors, and we see it in the South China Sea. Russia is using energy as a weapon against its neighbors, and it continues cyber attacks against governments and institutions around the globe. This legislation will help keep China and Russia in check. It maintains our high-tech edge, as the chairman of the Armed Services Committee has just said. It modernizes our nuclear weapons system with funding for the Ground Based Strategic Deterrent. It invests in new technologies--hypersonic weapons, biotechnologies, artificial intelligence, cyber security--all of which are designed to help keep us safe and free. It implements the National Defense Strategy to promote a strong military deterrent and to strive for lasting peace, and it delivers a well-deserved pay raise for our troops, along with high-quality housing, healthcare, and childcare for military families at home, as well as abroad. So I do want to thank Senator Inhofe and Ranking Member Senator Reed of Rhode Island for their work in bringing this bill to the floor. Democrats have a history of opposing sometimes stronger defense funding, especially during the Obama-Biden years, but this makes longer term funding uncertain, and it becomes even more important to do what we need to do now to stand up against our adversaries. No, we can't afford to slow our Nation's critical defense investments now. This NDAA will protect American leadership and values all around the world, and it will give our Nation what we need to confront the aggressors that I mentioned, like China and Russia. This legislation is strategic, and this legislation is strong. It is smart, and it supports our troops, and it stands up to our enemies. The Senate needs to pass this, the 60th National Defense Authorization Act. Coronavirus Madam President, I would now like to take a moment to discuss another topic, and that is coronavirus relief for American families. Increasingly, we are seeing communities across the country asking for a clear path forward--a path forward to put the virus behind us and to help us grow our economy. The takeaway from last Friday's job report is we really have no time to waste. For the first time since we passed the CARES Act, the jobs report showed signs of a slowing recovery-- recovery, yes, but not as rapid as planned. The sectors hardest hit at the beginning of the pandemic are now hard hit again--retail and food services. The Republican-led CARES Act secured the swiftest, strongest economic recovery in our Nation's history. It added more than 12.3 million jobs in the last 7 months. It has been a great American comeback. At the end of this month, provisions of the CARES Act are expiring-- things like sick leave, unemployment benefits, and tax provisions. We need to extend those. For small businesses, I believe we need to reestablish and refurbish the popular Paycheck Protection Program. The money has gone. I talked to small businesses in Wyoming, talked to county commissioners last night, and talked to our Wyoming stock growers yesterday. We need to replenish the Paycheck Protection Program. We need to reallocate unused funds for immediate needs now. Republican priorities are American priorities in terms of relief from coronavirus. We want to make sure, certainly, to fund the distribution of the vaccine, which is ready to go. We need to provide relief for individuals and small businesses, and we need to get kids back into the classroom safely so they don't fall further behind. The job we need to do is significant, it is serious, and relief is necessary. We need to get a bridge to the point where people have either received the vaccine or there is immunity in communities. Republicans are offering a path forward. We are doing it legislatively. What we have heard from the Democrats are hard lines, all-or-nothing demands. We have heard them for the last 7 months. Democrats have offered no new proposals for COVID relief. They passed their $3 trillion Fantasy Island bill in May and never lifted a pen after that. In the last 6 months, Democrats have blocked relief that we have offered on the Senate floor four different times. Last week, Speaker Pelosi said--admitted--that she had held up all those 6 months of coronavirus relief for the American public for political gain, for politics. And we heard it from the minority assistant leader just yesterday, admitting the same, punishing the American people for politics. It is a sad commentary on where that party has been as the American people are asking for relief. Democrats don't have a plan. They played politics with the pandemic. Again, our path forward is to do the things that we know need to be done: distribute the vaccine, provide Americans with relief, and get Americans' lives back on track. What we hear from Democrats are more lockdowns, more taxes during a pandemic, and more special projects for the far left. It is sad. The Democrats' policies don't meet the moment. We need to get relief to the public now. Democrats are ignoring where we really are in terms of the cost the Americans have borne and the progress that we have made in the recovery, and they have done it for political purposes. Scientists and researchers are within several days of approval of the vaccine and a distribution nationwide. The country is soon going to have several highly effective vaccines distributed to every State. In Wyoming, we are looking forward to 5,000 vaccines as early as Monday and 15,000 by the end of the month. I talked to the head of the intensive care unit at the Wyoming Medical Center just the other day-- the hospital where I had been chief of staff, where there are increasing numbers of patients in the intensive care unit on respirators, where the staff is exhausted. They say: We need the vaccine for the staff, for the frontline workers, for the healthcare workers, for the elderly, and for the nursing home patients so they don't end up in the hospital and on ventilators. These are the healthcare heroes of the day, the doctors and nurses taking care of these sick patients. We are going to administer vaccines to them, to the nursing home patients, and to those at high risk. Over the next 3 months, over 1 million people will be vaccinated. Relief is necessary. In our State, we have lost 299 citizens to coronavirus--a number that I would have thought would not have occurred. This is with people trying to social distance, people trying to do the kinds of things in terms of wearing masks--a behavior that we know, with hygiene, would minimize the spread--but still the disease continues to spread. The vaccine is the solution, but between now and the time the people can get vaccinated, help is needed, and it is up to this body to act. We still have work to do on behalf of the American people. I hope that the Democrats will join us in this effort this holiday season to get that relief to folks who need it. In the meantime, I say let's continue to do the things that we know work so we can stay safe and our businesses and our country can stay open. With that, I thank you. I yield the floor I suggest the absence of a quorum.

Mr. BARRASSO

Mr. BARRASSO. Madam President, just a little reflection on Tom Udall and working together on the Indian Affairs Committee that I chaired, and he was the ranking member. I will tell you that I will miss my friend Tom Udall. Bobbi and I will miss your life partner Jill as well. We are so grateful for your friendship and your leadership in this body. When Senator Udall started today on the floor, he mentioned that he was a son of the West and mentioned that it is something that runs in the family. Madam President, Tom's father, Stewart Udall, was Secretary of the Interior of the United States. If you go to the Interior Department office, you will see it is the Udall name on the building because of this ongoing commitment and love that the Senator has spoken about today. What many don't know is the relationship between Wyoming and the Udall family. It was Stewart Udall, Secretary of the Interior, who came to Wyoming with a young President a number of years ago. That President was John F. Kennedy. It was September of 1963. I went back to the archives at the University of Wyoming and found photos of Tom's dad and the President at the time, John Kennedy, and a number of Wyoming leaders at the time. I gave copies to Tom and to Jill to share the bond of our States. It would surprise many, I think, in this body to know that I have a picture, actually, of John Kennedy hanging in my office up in the Dirksen Office Building--John Kennedy addressing the crowd at the University of Wyoming Arena-Auditorium in September of 1963. As Tom this morning talked about conservation, John Kennedy talked of conservation that very day that he gave that speech with your father on the stage, together so many years ago. At the time, John Kennedy talked of the living balance between man's actions and nature's reaction to it and the living balance that must exist. So, today, I come and thank my friend for his stewardship, for his leadership, and for his friendship, and I say this with a great deal of appreciation and admiration and respect. I yield the floor.

Mr. BARRASSO

Mr. BARRASSO. Mr. President, I come to the floor today to pay tribute to this great Wyoming leader. For nearly a quarter of a century, Mike Enzi has represented the people of Wyoming in Washington, and he has done it with intelligence, with intensity, and with integrity. The Cowboy State and the Capitol are going to sorely miss Mike Enzi. He has truly supplemented his legacy as the trusted trail boss of the Wyoming congressional delegation, and it has been an incredible honor and a great privilege for my wife Bobbi and me to serve the people of Wyoming alongside Mike and his wife, Diana, who is with us today. Mike is truly a devoted family man, as well as a man of great and deep faith. In fact, Mike taught Sunday school over the decades. Many in the Wyoming faith community know that Mike's first Sunday schoolteacher in Thermopolis, WY, was my wife Bobbi's mother Jerry Brown. Jerry and her husband Bob, a World War II and Korean war veteran, both passed away this past year, and they had been married 70 years. She taught Sunday school in Thermopolis, WY, and her star pupil was Mike Enzi, to the point that she actually gave Mike Enzi his first Bible, and he still has that today. Here in the Senate, Mike has been not just a close friend to me and a mentor to me, but he has been that to many Members of this body. Mike was sworn in 1997. Throughout four terms in the U.S. Senate, he has never wavered in his commitment to God, to family, to country, and, of course, to Wyoming. He is known by many as the Senate's moral compass. He is a remarkable spiritual leader of our bipartisan Prayer Breakfast. I am a member of that group and a number of Senators are as well. We met today, and Mike led us in prayer. I have seen firsthand just how much Republican and Democrat Members depend on Mike for his moral and ethical guidance. He really is a bipartisan not just policymaker but also a peacemaker, and we have all seen it within this body. His legislation--he talked about the 80-20 rule. It has a long history of garnering overwhelming bipartisan support. Over 100 Enzi bills have become law. I have been proud to sponsor and cosponsor many of them with him in my time in the Senate. The thing he didn't point out is that most of the bills passed with over 80 votes. It is rare for an Enzi bill to get to the floor and pass with any more than 15 to 18 ``no'' votes. It is a remarkable accomplishment. It is important to note that these bills have been signed by Republican and Democrat Presidents. When you go into his office, his whole conference room walls are filled with bills and pens--signed into law with the pens being used by Bill Clinton, by George W. Bush, by Barack Obama, and by President Donald Trump. Behind all of these, as he just talked about, is that very successful 80-20 rule--a rule that he learned while in the Wyoming State Legislature, and it has worked extremely well for him here in Washington as well. But such is the practical Western wisdom in Mike Enzi. Born in 1944 in Bremerton, WA, his father was there serving in the naval shipyards during World War II. He moved his family to Wyoming shortly thereafter, and that is when he started elementary school in Thermopolis, WY. They moved to Sheridan, where he graduated from high school. Mike didn't talk about this today, but there Mike earned his Eagle Scout award. He is a proud Eagle Scout, as is his son Brad. His grandson is working on it as well. Mike has been named a ``Distinguished Eagle'' by the Scouts. He has a bachelor's degree in accounting from George Washington University and an MBA in retail marketing from the University of Denver in Colorado. Mike and Diana moved to Gillette in 1969, where they started their own small business. It is wonderful to listen to Mike talk about small businesses. It is called NZ Shoes, not as he spells his last name, E-N- Z-I, but the letter ``N'' and the letter ``Z'' so people could remember NZ Shoes. They later expanded their successful family business to Miles City, MT, and to Sheridan, WY. But Gillette, WY, is Mike's true home and where his heart is. He served 2 terms as Gillette's mayor. During his 8 years as mayor, Mike led Gillette to their first economic boom. He served 10 years in the Wyoming State Legislature as a State rep, as well as a State senator. Wyoming is Mike's world. Family means the world to Mike. They are the proud parents of three: Amy, Emily, and Brad; and even prouder grandparents of four: Megan, Allison, Trey, and Lilly. Now, anyone who knows Mike knows that he loves to fish. Even during Prayer Breakfast today, when you watched on the Zoom call, behind Mike you could see on the wall the fishing rod and all the lures he uses in fishing on display. He is an accomplished and avid fly-fisherman. In August 2015, he achieved every fly-fisherman's dream, completing his Wyoming Cutt-Slam. This Wyoming Game and Fish Department program increases appreciation for our native cutthroat trout. If you want to talk to Mike about anything, talk to him about fishing. His passion comes through with his love of nature for spending so much time in nature's cathedral of the great outdoors. He fishes in majestic spots throughout Wyoming and all over the world. Well, here in Washington, Mike has been a leading voice on budget, on tax, and on healthcare issues. He serves on the Senate Budget Committee and has been chairman since 2015. As the first accountant to chair the Budget Committee, Mike is committed to making government more accountable to hard-working American taxpayers. He has been a tremendous Budget chairman. That is because he learned valuable lessons in the Wyoming Legislature where, like all American families, you need to balance your budget every year and live within your means. Under Mike's leadership, Congress passed balanced budget resolutions for fiscal years 2016 and 2017 and 2018. He worked tirelessly to pass these budgets--even working through the night all week for the marathon floor debates called vote-aramas. His budget blueprints offered a better fiscal path by reducing wasteful spending, by lightening tax burdens, and by boosting economic growth. Mike's fiscal year 2018 budget not only provided a path to balance; it paved the way for pro-growth, pro-jobs tax relief legislation, the most comprehensive reform in the Tax Code in over a generation. As a reconciliation bill, this historic 2017 tax reform bill, the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, went through Mike's Budget Committee. As Budget chairman, Mike has also focused on the soaring national debt, budget process reform, and oversight of Federal programs. Mike also served as a member of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee since his arrival in the Senate. And as a former chairman and ranking member, he championed the efforts to ensure a quality education for all. He expanded access to affordable, quality healthcare, and he spearheaded the most significant pension reform in 30 years, securing millions of Americans' retirement. He is also a member of the Senate Finance Committee, Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, and the Joint Committee on Taxation. Other policy successes include improving mine safety, helping end the AIDS epidemic in Africa, and passing mental health parity. Mike's highest priority, of course, has always been helping the people of Wyoming. As he said in announcing his retirement, ``I am an advocate for Gillette and Campbell County and Wyoming.'' He went on to say, ``I point out that everyone lives at the local level. No one lives at the Federal level--or even the state level.'' He said, ``So Diana and I are your Chamber of Commerce and economic development people for every town and county in Wyoming all the time.'' Mike started several annual events to boost our State--the Inventors Conference, the Procurement Conference, and Wyoming Works Tours. In 2009, Mike and I started Wyoming Wednesdays, and it quickly became a big hit. This is a great tradition. When people of Wyoming come to Washington, we greet them every week and get together for coffee and host a time of doughnuts and friendship, and people love to attend. But Mike, as well as Diana, are a force in the Senate. Diana did it again just recently. Mike has called Diana ``the most thoughtful person'' in the world, and that is no exaggeration. Here in the Senate, every year Diana hosts a Christmas cookie party to thank, as they describe, the ``real workers'' who keep the Senate running--the janitors, cleaning crews, electricians, police officers, and food service workers. Every year, Diana and her friends work hundreds of hours and bake hundreds of dozens of cookies. All the Senate workers look forward to Diana's 200-dozen cookie thank-you event. That is not 200 cookies. It is 200 dozen cookies. It is not unusual for people to come up to Diana in the hallway and ask when the party is. Mike is the wonderful cohost. This year, because of coronavirus, she couldn't do all the baking, but they have the cookie festival with baked cookies. Those who couldn't get to receive them in locations, Mike and Diana walked the halls of this building and the Senate office buildings to make sure that the guards and the custodians and janitors and others got their Christmas cookies. Mike is usually a man of few words, but in a recent Prayer Breakfast, he reminded everyone about the importance of thinking before we speak. He titled his presentation ``Me and My Big Mouth.'' He reminded us that our mouths cannot be trained--as you said, Mike--only guarded. Mike is a true Wyoming gentleman, someone who will always be a great friend and a mentor to me, to younger people in Wyoming, and to everyone here in the Senate. In my office, there is a picture on the wall of my first day in the Senate, right here in 2007, being sworn in by then-Vice President Cheney, with Senator Enzi, along with former Senator Malcolm Wallop, standing behind. It has been a tremendous privilege to serve with Mike from the very first day in the U.S. Senate. The people of Wyoming owe him an incredible debt of gratitude for his tireless and faithful service. Mike's character, his courage, and his credibility have cemented his legacy as a highly respected leader of the Senate. So today many Senators are here gathering to listen to, to honor, and to thank Mike Enzi for his decades of distinguished service to the Nation. I yield the floor.

Mr. BARRASSO

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

Mr. BARRASSO

Mr. BARRASSO. Mr. President, I would like to take the opportunity to express my appreciation to Jackson for his hard work as an intern in the Environment and Public Works Committee. I recognize his efforts and contributions to my office as well as to the State of Wyoming. Jackson is a native of Wyoming. He is a graduate of Colorado College, where he studied political science and journalism. He has demonstrated a strong work ethic, which has made him an invaluable asset to our office. The quality of his work is reflected in his great efforts over the last several months. I want to thank Jackson for the dedication he has shown while working for me and my staff. It is a pleasure to have him as part of our team. I know he will have continued success with all of his future endeavors. I wish him all my best on his journey.

Mr. BARRASSO

Mr. BARRASSO. Mr. President, I would like to take the opportunity to express my appreciation to Adam for his hard work as an intern in the Environment and Public Works Committee. I recognize his efforts and contributions to my office as well as to the State of Wyoming. Adam is a native of Florida. He is a student at Florida State University, where he is studying environment science and policy. He has demonstrated a strong work ethic, which has made him an invaluable asset to our office. The quality of his work is reflected in his great efforts over the last several months. I want to thank Adam for the dedication he has shown while working for me and my staff. It is a pleasure to have him as part of our team. I know he will have continued success with all of his future endeavors. I wish him all my best on his journey.

Mr. BARRASSO

Mr. BARRASSO. Mr. President, I would like to take the opportunity to express my appreciation to Benjamin for his hard work as an intern in my Casper office. I recognize his efforts and contributions to my office as well as to the State of Wyoming. Benjamin is a native of Nebraska. He is a student at the University of Wyoming, where he is studying political science and communications. He has demonstrated a strong work ethic, which has made him an invaluable asset to our office. The quality of his work is reflected in his great efforts over the last several months. I want to thank Benjamin for the dedication he has shown while working for me and my staff. It is a pleasure to have him as part of our team. I know he will have continued success with all of his future endeavors. I wish him all my best on his journey.

Mr. BARRASSO

Mr. BARRASSO. Mr. President, I would like to take the opportunity to express my appreciation to Logan for his hard work as an intern in the Environment and Public Works Committee. I recognize his efforts and contributions to my office as well as to the State of Wyoming. Logan is a native of Virginia. He is a graduate of the University of Tulsa College of Law. He has demonstrated a strong work ethic, which has made him an invaluable asset to our office. The quality of his work is reflected in his great efforts over the last several months. I want to thank Logan for the dedication he has shown while working for me and my staff. It is a pleasure to have him as part of our team. I know he will have continued success with all of his future endeavors. I wish him all my best on his journey.

Mr. BARRASSO

Mr. BARRASSO. Mr. President, I would like to take the opportunity to express my appreciation to Quentin for his hard work as an intern in my Washington, DC, office. I recognize his efforts and contributions to my office as well as to the State of Wyoming. Quentin is a native of Cody. He is a student at George Washington University, where he is studying international relations. He has demonstrated a strong work ethic, which has made him an invaluable asset to our office. The quality of his work is reflected in his great efforts over the last several months. I want to thank Quentin for the dedication he has shown while working for me and my staff. It is a pleasure to have him as part of our team. I know he will have continued success with all of his future endeavors. I wish him all my best on his journey.

Mr. BARRASSO

Mr. BARRASSO. Mr. President, I would like to take the opportunity to express my appreciation to Thayne for his hard work as an intern in my Cheyenne office. I recognize his efforts and contributions to my office as well as to the State of Wyoming. Thayne is a native of Casper. He is a student at the University of Wyoming, where he is studying political science, world languages, and history. He has demonstrated a strong work ethic, which has made him an invaluable asset to our office. The quality of his work is reflected in his great efforts over the last several months. I want to thank Thayne for the dedication he has shown while working for me and my staff. It is a pleasure to have him as part of our team. I know he will have continued success with all of his future endeavors. I wish him all my best on his journey.

Mr. BARRASSO

Mr. BARRASSO. Mr. President, I would like to take the opportunity to express my appreciation to Payton for her hard work as an intern in my Washington, DC, office. I recognize her efforts and contributions to my office as well as to the State of Wyoming. Payton is a native of South Carolina. She is a graduate of Clemson University, where she studied political science and women's leadership. She has demonstrated a strong work ethic, which has made her an invaluable asset to our office. The quality of her work is reflected in her great efforts over the last several months. I want to thank Payton for the dedication she has shown while working for me and my staff. It was a pleasure to have her as part of our team. I know she will have continued success with all of her future endeavors. I wish her all my best on her next journey.

Mr. BARRASSO

Mr. BARRASSO. Mr. President, I would like to take the opportunity to express my appreciation to Nicholas for his hard work as an intern in my Washington, DC, office. I recognize his efforts and contributions to my office as well as to the State of Wyoming. Nicholas is a native of New Jersey. He is a student at American University, where he is studying international studies. He has demonstrated a strong work ethic, which has made him an invaluable asset to our office. The quality of his work is reflected in his great efforts over the last several months. I want to thank Nicholas for the dedication he has shown while working for me and my staff. It is a pleasure to have him as part of our team. I know he will have continued success with all of his future endeavors. I wish him all my best on his journey.

Mr. BARRASSO

Mr. BARRASSO. Mr. President, I would like to take the opportunity to express my appreciation to Madison for her hard work as an intern in the Senate Republican Conference. I recognize her efforts and contributions to my office as well as to the State of Wyoming. Madison is a native of Florida. She is a graduate of Samford University, where she studied journalism mass communications. She has demonstrated a strong work ethic, which has made her an invaluable asset to our office. The quality of her work is reflected in her great efforts over the last several months. I want to thank Madison for the dedication she has shown while working for me and my staff. It was a pleasure to have her as part of our team. I know she will have continued success with all of her future endeavors. I wish her all my best on her next journey.

Mr. BARRASSO

Mr. BARRASSO. Mr. President, I come to the floor to talk about what the voters of America told the elected representatives in Washington about the election earlier this month. There has been a lot of analysis about what happened this year in the elections--who got what right, who got what wrong. The pollsters, the prognosticators, and the pundits-- well, they are already taking a beating for their many wrong predictions. The American people in States all across this country and, certainly, in Wyoming, rejected this far-left agenda. They saw what the Democrats were offering, and they said: No, thank you. Voters looked at the violent leftwing protests that have wrecked large cities and small cities across the country. People saw the death, injuries, and destruction of property, and Americans went to the polls and said: No, thank you. They rejected the Democrats' calls to defund the police; rebuffed the Democrats' threats to pack the Supreme Court; and said no to one-size-fits-all, government-run healthcare. They snubbed the Democrats' embrace of the Green New Deal and rejected this far-left plan to end American energy production. Basically, Americans said no. Many Democrats ran on this far-left agenda. They lost despite spending hundreds of millions of dollars trying to convince Americans otherwise. The Democrats must be asking themselves: What did we get wrong? No matter how much the Democrat Party pushes and their candidates push, America is not a far-left country. Americans don't want to blow up the Senate or the Supreme Court. They don't want to add more States to the Union or more Justices to the Court. They don't want to kill our energy economy and the good jobs it provides. People do not want to pay $10 a gallon for gasoline when they fill up under the Green New Deal. They don't want more government meddling in their personal healthcare decisions. I know what the people of Wyoming want, and Members ought to know this. Americans want jobs and security. They want to get back to work in a free enterprise economy, not a socialist one. They want their kids back in school safely to make sure they don't fall further behind. People are smart enough to know that the free stuff for everyone means the American taxpayer will be left footing the bill. Between now and the end of the year, we have very important things to do for the Nation in this body, the U.S. Senate. We need to fund the government. We need to pass the National Defense Authorization Act. We need to confirm well-qualified nominees to the Federal judiciary. Senate Republicans are ready to get that work done. There is also work to be done in our fight against the coronavirus. The Democrat House has played politics with American lives and livelihoods for months now. With the election behind us, I hope it will take a more sensible approach to this Nation's most pressing problem right now. For months, Senate Republicans put forward targeted proposals--first in September, again in October--that provided comprehensive coronavirus relief, that focused on the coronavirus. There were 52 Republicans who came to the floor of this Senate and voted in favor of the proposal. Not a single Democrat voted for it. It is our plan to get people back to work, to get kids back to school safely, and to put the disease behind us. Just last week, Pfizer announced a vaccine that could be 90 percent effective in the fight against the coronavirus. This morning, it found out, with more testing and more time, that it will be, actually, 94\1/ 2\ percent effective. Now Moderna and the National Institutes of Health have developed a vaccine that is almost 95 percent effective. There are four other vaccines in the trials, and one of the Members of this body, the Senator from Ohio, is part of the trial of one of those. I believe additional vaccines will be coming down the pipeline as well. It was a front-page story yesterday in every major paper in America-- the good news about vaccines and that the light at the end of the tunnel of the coronavirus is upon us. Today there was an announcement of an at-home test for coronavirus-- very, very promising. But when we think about the vaccine and why this all happened, Congress wisely invested $18 billion for vaccine treatment and for research, and it is paying off. The Governor of New York, astonishingly, called this bad news. He said this is bad news. It had to do with the fact that this is coming out now, and he wanted it to wait for a couple of months, after a Presidential inauguration. Why is it bad news that, through innovation and the work of the Cures Act, which came out of this body under the Republican majority and was then accepted by unanimous consent in the House--why is it bad news that we may be able to save millions, if not tens of millions, of lives all around the world? Why is it bad news, as the Governor of New York calls it? Why is it bad news that American invention and innovation and an investment by this body has brought about such a tremendous--what I would call as a doctor--modern medical miracle? Now, we still need to provide additional funding for vaccine distribution, and there is going to be a briefing tomorrow for all the Senators on both sides of the aisle with Operation Warp Speed to talk with the heads of research and distribution about how to make sure we can continue on this path to success--a path that the New York Times yesterday described as one that could lead to 20 million people being vaccinated before the end of this year. Bad news, says the Governor of New York, because it came this year rather than after January 20. It is distressing that an elected official would behave that way, in such a callous manner toward the lives, as well as the livelihood, of so many Americans. We still have work to do. At every turn, Democrats have blocked our path. They are keeping us stuck and America stuck in this coronavirus crisis by demanding funding for things unrelated to coronavirus, per the Speaker of the House. You say: Oh, no, she wanted this $3 trillion for all sorts of things unrelated to coronavirus. She has more money in that bill to send direct paychecks to illegal immigrants--people in this country illegally--than she does for coronavirus vaccines. That is the kind of opposition and leftist thinking that we have been running into here in this body and that the American people rejected on election day and said: No, we want a path forward. We want to continue the great American comeback. We want our jobs. We want our kids. We want that path forward. There is still more work to be done, and we are ready to do it. I yield the floor.