Shelley Capito

Mrs. CAPITO

Mrs. CAPITO. Madam President, I rise today to honor a good friend of mine and to thank Commissioner Henry C. ``Hoppy'' Shores for his many years of service to Kanawha County, WV, and America. Hoppy was born in Dunbar, WV, during the Great Depression. Hoppy lost his parents at a young age and moved in with his sister on the West Side of Charleston. In high school he attended a school which was then called Stonewall Jackson High School. Hoppy was a standout athlete. He played as a running back on the 1947 State championship team. In 1949, he won West Virginia's Kennedy Award, as the State's top high school football player of the year. It was also during his high school years that Hoppy got an interest in politics when he first ran for and won the senior class presidency. But the most important thing that happened during those formative years was on the first day of high school, when Hoppy first met the love of his life, Bronson Garcelon. They have been married since 1953, and I can personally attest--living in the same town--that they have been inseparable ever since. He repeated his high school success while he was in college at West Virginia University in the 1950s and again became the class president. He graduated from West Virginia University with a degree in business, and after college he enlisted in the U.S. Army, attaining the rank of major. During the years after his service, Hoppy grew a very successful career in the insurance business. In 1966, Hoppy was recruited to run for the Kanawha County Commission by a prominent local attorney. After he initially refused, he eventually said, OK, he would run. He won and served an initial term, and then decided, well, maybe that is it. He stepped out for a term, but he was pulled back into the political arena and served another 6-year term. After serving that second term, he then served and ran and won two separate terms for the West Virginia House of Delegates, representing Kanawha County, his home. In 1990, he decided to return to the Kanawha County Commission and was again elected to one of the three seats. Voters have sent him back, with my help, to the commission every year since, making him the longest serving commissioner ever in the entire State. During his 42 years on the Kanawha County Commission, Hoppy accomplished a host of successful initiatives on behalf of our citizens. Of particular interest and importance during his tenure, by the time Hoppy has left, or is leaving, 97 percent--and we have to get that to 100--but 97 percent of the county now has potable water. And I know that sounds like a given, but extending water service to some of the areas through rural West Virginia is not an easy task, but it was one that Hoppy always tackled. Hoppy always pushed for the health and well-being of others, and, as such, with his insistence, the commission instituted a program to provide free mammograms for county employees, leading to early detection of cancer and saving lives. Hoppy has always been a tireless advocate for the Kanawha County airport, now called the Yeager Airport, which was named after another famous West Virginian, whom we just lost, our aviator and American hero the late Chuck Yeager. I remember working closely with Hoppy in 2005, when the West Virginia National Guard's 130th Airlift unit was slated for closure in the Department of Defense 2008 BRAC. That is the Base Realignment and Cloture report. Of course, Hoppy won that battle, too, and the 130th proudly remains at Yeager Airport. Hoppy has accomplished so much during his time in office that I cannot possibly cover everything. However, I would be remiss if I did not mention his passion for parks; his passion for recreation; obviously, with his past, his passion for athletics; and, most importantly, the children in Kanawha County. Hoppy has advocated for public recreation. He has pushed for baseball, football, soccer fields, golf courses, tennis courts, county fairs, hiking trails, and modern park facilities. In fact, Coonskin Park in Kanawha County, which is the largest public park in our county, is one of the nicest in the State because of Hoppy's work. One of my favorite stories about Hoppy involves both Coonskin Park and Christmas. In the year 2006, when a small train that carried children and their families around Coonskin Park to see the holiday lights was in bad disrepair, Hoppy jumped in to save the day. He worked to find the money and a suitable replacement, lovingly dubbing it ``Hoppy's Little Express.'' And can you guess who the train conductor was? That is right-- Commissioner Hoppy Shores. At the time he said: When I look into a child's eyes, and see a smile, it warms my heart to know I was able to help them with a new playground, park, baseball field or a train ride at Christmas on Hoppy's Little Express. It is all about the children. Hoppy Shores knows what public service is all about. It is about the children and providing a better future for all those you care about. Hoppy never forgot that, and for that, he will never be forgotten. I am sure that Hoppy has had difficult times in his life but, you know what, you would just never know it by looking at him or knowing him. He is always wearing his signature smile and always has a kind word to offer. I have never met someone who did not like Hoppy Shores, even if they disagreed with his politics. So after 42 years of service to the Kanawha County Commission, it is my honor to congratulate Commissioner Shores on his retirement, which will take effect at the end of this month. While I will certainly miss him, as I am sure many of us will--and those, particularly, in the Kanawha County courthouse--I know Hoppy and Bronson are looking forward to spending more time with their four children--Scott, Lynn, Sherry, and Henry, who I think is called ``Little Hop,'' and their four grandchildren and great-granddaughter. I am also looking forward to my frequent run-ins that Charlie and I have with Bronson and Hop at The Grill, while we eat hotdogs on a Saturday afternoon on the West Side. So on behalf of the State of West Virginia, it is my honor to extend my best wishes to my friend--all of our friend--a friend of Kanawha County and really a friend to West Virginia, Commissioner Henry C. ``Hoppy'' Shores, on his retirement. Thank you, Hoppy, and congratulations. I yield the floor.

Mrs. CAPITO

Mrs. CAPITO. Mr. President, I rise to recognize Bill Raney, a dedicated West Virginian, who is retiring after serving 28 years as president and chief executive officer of the West Virginia Coal Association. Bill knows the value of coal--to our Appalachian communities, where it puts food on the table; to our State, where it provides tax revenues to pave our roads and fund our schools; and to our Nation, where it has helped power the greatest economic engine the world has ever known for more than a century. He also appreciates the challenges and dangers inherent in producing the black gold that creates all that well-being, starting his career working in public service to protect our miners. Starting in 1970, Bill--a graduate of his beloved West Virginia University--became familiarized with the coal industry working as a surface mine inspector for the West Virginia Department of Natural Resources Division of Reclamation. In recognition of his service, he was later promoted to assistant chief of that division. Moving to the private sector, Bill then served as vice president of the West Virginia Mining & Reclamation Association from 1977, until being named president of the West Virginia Coal Association in 1992. When the two organizations merged in 2000, he remained president of the newly formed organization, representing the whole of West Virginia's coal industry. Bill held these leadership positions serving the hard-working coal miners of West Virginia, while also serving his country in the West Virginia Army National Guard. During his time with the Guard, he served in various leadership roles, including commander of the 1092nd Combat Engineer Battalion, commander of the 111th Engineer Group, and special assistant to the Adjutant General at the rank of colonel. Following his personal service, Bill has continued advocating on behalf of our guardsmen as president of the West Virginia National Guard Association and chairman of the West Virginia National Guard Foundation. Bill's participation in civic organizations extends far beyond the military and the coal industry, as he has served as both chairman and as a current board member of the West Virginia Business & Industry Council; current board member of the West Virginia Youth Leadership Association's Youth in Government Program, former chairman and current board member of the West Virginia Kids Count Fund; advisory member of the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection Advisory Committee; member of the West Virginia University School of Engineering Mining Program Visiting Committee; as an elder at the First Presbyterian Church in Charleston; and volunteering his time with several other organizations. Bill has left an indelible legacy through his commitment to our State and our Nation's military, impacts that will be felt throughout and beyond the coalfields. Bill Raney's passion for the coal industry and the improvement of the State has earned him numerous honors and awards over the course of his distinguished career. This includes but is not limited to the Distinguished West Virginian Award, the WVU Alumni Association's Most Loyal Alumni Award, the National Multiple Sclerosis Association's Hope Award, and the Lewis McManus Service Award given by the West Virginia Youth in Government Program. Mr. Raney has also been inducted into the West Virginia Coal Hall of Fame and the First Tee Hall of Fame. It has been an honor to know and work with Bill during his distinguished tenure representing the coal industry and several esteemed civic organizations in West Virginia. He has been a great ally, resource, and friend to me over the years, and I will be forever grateful for his service. I wish him and his wife Pam many years of joy in this new phase of life. It is truly an honor to recognize and congratulate my friend Bill Raney on his well-deserved retirement.

Mrs. CAPITO

Mrs. CAPITO. Mr. President, I rise today to talk of one of West Virginia's very own--Police Officer Cassie Johnson. Officer Johnson was a member of her hometown of Charleston's police department, where she joined less than 2 short years ago. She was a devoted daughter, sister, a loyal friend, and a lover of animals. She had three dogs. She was formerly a humane officer, as well, in our community. And, boy, did she have a bright future ahead of her. On Tuesday, the Charleston Police Department received a call about a traffic complaint. Officer Johnson answered that call and responded accordingly, just as she would have any other call. Shortly after arriving at that location, she was shot in the chest. The bullet hit her badge and deflected into her neck, where it eventually struck a main artery. She was rushed to the hospital, and every effort was made to save her life. She was 28. She was 28 years old. Sadly, we learned yesterday that the decision was made to remove her from life support, and she will not be able to pull through. We also learned that Officer Johnson is an organ donor, which means she will be able to share the gift of life with others. I had the opportunity to speak with Officer Johnson's mother Sheryl just this morning, and she expressed to me her daughter's commitment to organ donation. She said that her daughter felt very strongly about giving this gift to others in the event that something like this could happen. She was very clear about her wishes, and I think that is a testament to the kind of person Officer Johnson was. As former Charleston Police Department Lieutenant Paul Perdue said, ``The end of her life will be the second beginning for others and that's just who she was.'' As you can imagine, our community is hurting, and all of our law enforcement across the country is hurting today for our community and Officer Johnson's family. But the outpour of support has just been incredible to witness. Throughout this week, West Virginians have been honoring Officer Johnson's life in so many ways, such as in Charleston, where our beautiful coliseum and civic center has been lit in blue in honor of her and our law enforcement. There has been a great money-raising effort to help Officer Johnson's family meet what is going to be a financial challenge. And what do we do with her pets? There has been an effort to have her pets adopted. I just read before I came in here that the GoFundMe page for Officer Johnson had already exceeded its goal, and, hopefully, it will continue to grow. Last night a candle vigil was held outdoors to honor her life and legacy, where the community leaders spoke and Officer Johnson's mother Sheryl spoke. It is a tough duty, a tough assignment for any mom. During the vigil, her mother spoke about Officer Johnson's love for her community, about her desire to protect everyone she was surrounded by. You know, when I talked to her mother this morning, she echoed those same sentiments in the phone conversation that we had, and she said that hundreds of West Virginians had reached out to her personally. Many had stopped by the hospital, wanting to say goodbye to Officer Johnson. These gestures have just been so touching, and I could tell it really helped her family and, in particular, her mother Sheryl. Charleston Police Chief Tyke Hunt told Officer Johnson's mother that she raised her right, and that Officer Johnson was ``a good-hearted soul who had to pay the ultimate sacrifice.'' Chief Hunt is right. It is a bitter pill. In a local interview following her swearing-in, Officer Johnson said: ``I am really happy to finally getting to follow my dreams in working with Charleston PD.'' She continued by saying: ``I've grown up and lived in Charleston my whole life. I just wanted to help make my city a better place--and be there and to be able to help the citizens of this city.'' This job was a dream come true for Officer Johnson. She loved her community, and our community loved her back. Like all of our law enforcement, Officer Johnson cared for us and was fiercely dedicated to protecting her community--and that is my community. When I think of Officer Johnson, I think of her protecting my family and my neighbors, my community, the larger community of Charleston. Police officers like Officer Johnson selflessly put their lives on the line every day for the safety of our communities. They never know what is around the corner. They never know. She thought she was going for a parking violation. It is a hard job and one that is rarely appreciated enough. I ask--if you have heard this today or if you have read about this-- that we all take a minute today and every day to thank our law enforcement and recognize the sacrifices that they make to ensure that our communities are safe and protected. I would also ask you to keep the Johnson family in your hearts and prayers--our chief, Chief Hunt of the Charleston Police Department, and all of her brothers and sisters in the police department and the first responders. Our mayor, Mayor Amy Goodwin, has done a wonderful job of bringing the community together and showing a wonderful show of support for Officer Cassie Johnson and her family, and I thank her. The entire city of Charleston is hurting, so please keep them in your hearts and prayers as well. With that very difficult time, I yield the floor.

Mrs. CAPITO

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

Mrs. CAPITO

Mrs. CAPITO. Mr. President, I am here today to join some of my fellow Senators here to talk about giving thanks to our military servicemembers and our veterans. Certainly, this is the thankful and grateful season that we are heading into. I think November has a lot of celebratory times both for our families and also for our veterans and military families. There is no question that this year has been most different and has looked very different than most. We have faced so many challenges and adjusted to a new norm of teleworking, telehealth, telecommuting, all kinds of different ways to communicate on our devices, FaceTiming--I do a lot of FaceTiming with my family--and other socially distanced activities, and I don't see that coming to an end in the near future. But in the midst of all of this, we certainly do have so much to be grateful for and thankful for. A little fun fact is, I was actually born on Thanksgiving Day, and my parents always joked that they were going to name me ``Thankful Ever Moore'' because my last name was Moore at the time. And while my parents, thankfully, decided to go a different route with my name, the meaning still holds true today. It is true because I am thankful evermore for many things, especially, as I said, as we approach this Thanksgiving holiday, which is just around the corner. And it is going to look a little bit different for a lot of people, but that doesn't mean it can't be just as special. I am thankful evermore for my own personal good health and that of my family's. I am very, very grateful and thankful for the first responders and the essential workers and now those workers in the hospitals who are really seeing a lot more patients coming in with COVID. I think about the grocery store workers, the truckers, and others who have really kept life moving during those first months when we weren't sure how to cope. I am very grateful for my wonderful community of Charleston, WV, where I have lived for over 40 years. And I am very grateful for the opportunity and the honor of a lifetime to represent the people of West Virginia in the U.S. Senate. I am grateful for our country and all of the great American thoughts and prayers that have carried many of us through these last few months. But I am especially thankful and grateful for the brave servicemembers who have put their lives on the line for our country year after year. I am grateful for the many veterans who have come before them and for the military families from all over the country who support the men and women who serve. Just last week, we celebrated Veterans Day. It is always a very special, kind of solemn day in our State, and it is very well attended. This year we couldn't have the parades. We did a lot of virtual celebrations, but it was no less special. This is a day to honor the men and women of the U.S. Armed Forces, both past and present, who have stood up to protect the freedoms that we hold dear. Our military is undoubtedly the very greatest in the world. From the ``greatest generation'' to our younger soldiers who have fought in Iraq and Afghanistan, all of our soldiers have served admirably, and I am pleased to be serving with some who have not just served several years ago but in recent times. My home State of West Virginia has a long and proud history of answering the call of duty. I think we have the highest percentage per capita of military veterans. I am the proud daughter of a World War II veteran and Purple Heart recipient. I grew up hearing stories about heroism displayed on and off the battlefield and have always been in awe of those who have served this country. Interestingly, too, in hearing my father's generation talk about their service to the country, it was always framed in terms of duty and love of country and never in terms of ``I had to do this'' or ``my parents thought it was a good idea.'' These were things deeply held inside of those veterans who wanted to be a part of something that they held dear--their love of country, their love of freedom, their love of liberty. Woody Williams is one of those individuals who lives in my State. Many of you have seen them. He did the coin flip at the Super Bowl last year, I think. I continue to be inspired by him every day. I have mentioned him more than a few times on the Senate floor, as have all of our proud West Virginians. He is a proud West Virginian himself and is one of the last remaining Medal of Honor recipients from World War II. He turned 97 last month. He valiantly fought in the Battle of Iwo Jima and rightfully earned the military's most prestigious medal for his actions during the war. We are so proud of him and all he does with our Gold Star families. We have memorials all throughout our State and across the country, where Woody inspires not just those who have served but those who support and the families who support those who serve. So we are very proud to call him our West Virginia own. We did rename the VA center, hospital, in Huntington after Woody. We had a grand opening. It was really fun. Whether it be the Korean war, the Vietnam war, the first Gulf war, the ongoing fight against terrorism in the Middle East, and all the conflicts that America has fought, our country's servicemembers have made the ultimate sacrifices to keep our liberties intact. Sometimes I think people get kind of down about where are we going, and it seems like we don't have the optimism as a country. Do you know what? I am very optimistic because of what I am talking about today. Without the sacrifices of men and women, we would not be able to have these many freedoms, and it is important to remember those men and women who have supportive family members. It is fitting also that this month is Military Family Appreciation Month. I think about the different moves or the nights of sleeplessness where you are unsure where your loved one is or how they are serving. This is a month to honor and recognize the sacrifices and challenges that military families face while supporting these brave men and women. Our military families do face unique challenges, and I think here in this body we take that into consideration quite a bit when we are looking at appropriations and ways to help our families. We are forever indebted to the sacrifices they make as their loved ones are fighting for our freedoms. They are often the ones behind the scenes, faced with difficult decisions every single day, and it is not easy. I have had the chance to meet many military families and hear about their experiences firsthand, and I have also heard from many of our own here, particularly Senator Joni Ernst, who served as well and is a veteran. Senator Martha McSally is also one of those whom I have been fascinated to hear her path and her service. Whether it is our current servicemembers, veterans, or military families, we are so grateful for their service. It is because of their sacrifice and courage that we are able to enjoy these freedoms and liberties that we all cherish. This Thanksgiving, take a moment to thank a veteran, a servicemember, and in this environment, a frontline worker, an essential worker-- someone who is giving of themselves, sacrificing time with their family and, in some way, putting themselves in precarious situations with meeting the health challenges of COVID. At the same time, this should not be limited to just Thanksgiving or to Veterans Day or Military Family Appreciation Month. We should be doing this every day, and we should be making sure that those who serve know our appreciation, that those who serve know--like the Senator from North Dakota, who is going to be after me--that their long history of service in our States--and, certainly, the Presiding Officer's State as well--all across this country are not going without recognition. Without this great sacrifice and dedication to defending the flag, this country would not be what it is today. I mentioned how optimistic and grateful and thankful I am to be an American. While this year has thrown a lot our way, and it may be difficult to see some of the positives, we must always remember that we have much to be thankful for. Thank you.

Mrs. CAPITO

Mrs. CAPITO. Mr. President, I am so proud to be here today to join my colleagues to discuss the current Supreme Court vacancy and, specifically, the excellent choice President Trump made in selecting Amy Coney Barrett to fill that vacancy. I, like my colleagues and many Americans, watched the Senate Judiciary Committee hearings on Judge Barrett's nomination last week. I also have had a chance to meet personally with the judge myself. During all of these occasions, I have been extremely impressed with Judge Amy Coney Barrett. I was especially impressed with her depth of legal knowledge, coupled with her demeanor. She very clearly and eloquently expresses herself. She reiterated many times in the hearing that judges don't make the law. She was levelheaded, open-minded, and firm in all of her responses. Judge Barrett is a model of professional and personal success. We have all heard that she is a mother of seven, which, in and of itself, is quite an achievement. And, if confirmed, she will be the first mother of school-aged children to serve on the Supreme Court. She is absolutely dedicated to her faith and to her community, and she is held in very high regard by the many students she has taught and mentored over the years. You could certainly tell from the questioning of the Judiciary Committee members during that hearing that she has been in the arena many times with very inquisitive people and students. In short, Judge Barrett is a stellar nominee who will show a new generation--our daughters and our granddaughters--that anything is possible in America. I plan to vote to confirm Judge Barrett, and here is why. Evaluating nominees for high government offices is an important responsibility for this body of Senators. That is even true when the nominee is being considered for a lifetime appointment to the Nation's highest Court. So I consider, really, three main questions when I am considering a Supreme Court nominee. First and foremost, is the nominee qualified? Second, does the nominee have a track record of independence and fairness that befits a judge who will apply our Constitution and laws as written, rather than make policy from the bench? And, third, do the West Virginians whom I represent believe the nominee is well suited to decide cases that impact their constitutional rights? Based on her impressive resume, Judge Barrett is clearly qualified for the Supreme Court. The nonpartisan American Bar Association rated her ``well qualified.'' That is the ABA's highest ranking for judicial nominees. Judge Barrett's judicial philosophy and record on the Seventh Circuit are those of a mainstream jurist who considers herself bound by the law, not free to decide cases based on her own personal opinions. She reiterated that time and again in the Judiciary Committee. That is so important because some of my Democratic Senate colleagues were seeking promises from her about how she will rule on certain cases in the future, and they sought to examine her belief on policy matters, such as protections for those with preexisting conditions. I, for one, strongly support--as most of us do--legal protections to make sure that individuals with preexisting conditions can purchase and retain health insurance. Passing laws like those are what we should be doing here in this body, not in the Supreme Court. After some of my colleagues were not given the hints that they were looking for on how Judge Barrett would rule on particular cases, they resorted to assuming that they knew what she would do. Specifically, they tried to tie Judge Barrett to those who had mentored her in the past and insinuated that she would judge exactly how they would judge. Well, when that happened, she responded: I assure you, I have my own mind. . . . Everything that he-- Meaning Scalia-- said is not necessarily what I would agree with or what I would do if I were Justice Barrett. It is clear that Judge Barrett has her own mind and will seek to be a fair and impartial judge. The role of judges is to apply our Constitution and laws as written to the cases before them and not implement their own policy agendas. As Judge Barrett put it in her own words, ``Judges can't just wake up one day and say: `I have an agenda . . . [I] am going to walk in like a royal queen and impose my will on the world.'' Instead, she explained that it is ``never appropriate for a judge to impose the judge's personal convictions in determining the outcome of a case.'' She also went on to say: A judge must apply the law as written. Judges are not policymakers, and they must be resolute in setting aside any policy views they might hold. Judge Barrett's success in applying the law is reflected in the fact that over 90 percent of the majority opinions she has written were unanimously agreed to by her colleagues on the Seventh Circuit. No decision she has written has ever been overturned or reversed by the Supreme Court. This record is only possible when a judge is deciding cases fairly and in accord with the mainstream views of colleagues appointed by both Republican and Democratic Presidents. West Virginians want a Supreme Court Justice with experience and integrity who will protect the Constitution and decide cases fairly. West Virginians want a Supreme Court Justice who will serve as a role model for our children and our grandchildren. That is why I will be proud to vote to confirm Judge Amy Coney Barrett to the U.S. Supreme Court. I yield the floor.

Mrs. CAPITO

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

Mrs. CAPITO

Mrs. CAPITO. Madam President, I rise to address broadband connectivity and broadband access in rural States like the Presiding Officer's State and my State of West Virginia. Our Nation has experienced a very tough couple of months because of the coronavirus pandemic. With the new normal consisting of teleworking, virtual learning, and telehealth appointments, there is no question that this has forced us to recognize and to reckon with the digital divide in this country. The ability to have affordable and reliable service is more valuable than ever. However, in 2020, my State remains one of the least connected States in the country. Over the last few months, I have heard from many constituents--hundreds of my constituents--who are having difficulties properly and efficiently working from home, helping their kids with their homework because they lack robust internet access. You know, I think about those children who either don't have connectivity or don't have an adult in the home who can really help them do their digital learning. We have to get our kids back in school, but in the meantime we have to have this connectivity. Some examples of this are Randy from Parkersburg, whom I spoke to recently during a tele-townhall meeting that I held with constituents. Randy expressed his frustration with not being able to access the internet, making it difficult for his kids to complete their homework. He was driving to a hot spot. Laura from Wheeling expressed her concern that her children will fall behind in school without access to their homework online. And Mandy from Elkins, who is a professor, needs internet because of required online learning at Davis & Elkins. These are just examples of the few of the concerns that I have heard from my constituents, but, unfortunately, there are many, many more just like those. I am sure you are hearing them as well in the great State of Iowa. The reality is that broadband buildout in rural areas of West Virginia and across our country are extremely expensive and take more time to complete because, in our case, we have those beautiful West Virginia mountains. I have always said that if we can communicate with somebody on the Moon, we can surely find a way to deliver broadband to individuals, families, and businesses all across this Nation. Fortunately, the FCC Chairman, Ajit Pai, understands this and has been working with the other Commissioners at the FCC to structure the future of rural broadband deployment. The FCC's upcoming Rural Digital Opportunity Fund--which I am going to call it RDOF, which is how we address it--is the largest Federal investment aimed at closing the digital divide. RDOF will award $20.4 billion over the next 10 years for broadband service in rural America, with a special emphasis at the beginning on those who are totally unserved and then moving to those who have some service, but it is inadequate. The first phase of the funding will be up to $16 billion deployed through a reverse auction, which is slated to begin next month. On Friday, I talked with Chairman Pai for an update on the RDOF Program and what it will mean to West Virginia. We also discussed where my State stands in the process. West Virginia is set to receive a significant amount of funding over the next 10 years to connect 121,000 eligible homes--so that is probably over 200,000 individuals--particularly those in the underserved areas, as I mentioned. During my call with the Chairman, I received assurances that the FCC has been diligently working to get as many providers into the RDOF Program as possible. The FCC has already provided feedback to providers on their short- form applications so that they may be prepared to bid in the upcoming auction next month. Another partner in my quest to close this digital divide is West Virginia Governor Jim Justice. Recently, the Governor signed an executive order to help expand broadband capabilities in West Virginia--very innovatively, I might add. His executive order would remove the regulatory cap on the amount of money that West Virginia's EDA can provide as loan insurance for broadband projects. In other words, the State is going to stand behind these providers to make sure we get our share of the RDOF money. This is an innovative and bipartisan Federal-State partnership that hopefully will allow more local providers to successfully bid on the majority of the RDOF census blocks in our State. These areas are oftentimes the most challenging to serve, and we need to ensure that our local providers--that are ready and able to connect their communities with high-speed broadband--have the ability to compete in the upcoming auction. Our Governor's bipartisan effort is supported by leaders in both the majority and minority party of both chambers of the West Virginia Legislature, including the Senate president, Mitch Carmichael; our house speaker, Roger Hanshaw; the Senate minority leader, Roman Prezioso--whom I would like to thank for his service, as he is leaving the senate--and also the house minority leader, Tim Miley, who is also leaving, and I would like to thank him for his service. So what is next and how do we continue to improve on this progress? One major undertaking is improving the FCC's broadband maps with more granular data. Far too often these maps show rural areas that are covered, but, in reality, if you are living in and around the area, you know they are not covered. There is no service. It is not the case. This data collection and correction is tedious but critical, as these maps often determine funding levels and what areas are prioritized, naturally. As cochair of the Senate Broadband Caucus, I cosponsored the Broadband DATA Act, which this body passed last year and President Trump signed into law in March. This new law will lead to the creation of a singular Federal broadband map, with new more granular data collected by the FCC from State and local governments, consumers, and other third parties, and will be updated biannually. It would create an online mechanism where individuals can challenge the coverage maps. Let's say you live in an area and you say: Well, they are saying I am covered, and you know darn well you are living in a place that is uncovered. You can submit that data online, and it will be submitted to the providers. It also requires regular auditing of data submitted by providers, allowing for crowdsourcing verification. This is important, too, because if you are grading yourself, you are going to give yourself a better grade, but if you are grading yourself and then you have a third-party verifier who is actually making sure that the data you are putting forward is correct, you might be just a little more circumspect about how accurate that data is. Another step forward would be dovetailing road infrastructure with fiber broadband buildout. We all recognize broadband is infrastructure, and a ``dig once'' approach would sure save time and money. Digging through those mountains is pretty tough so we only want to dig once if we have to. This is why I am happy to see that the Department of Transportation's Federal Highway Administration in mid-August made an announcement of a new rule to improve coordination in the use of highway rights-of-way to support the installation of broadband technologies. In other words, they are making it regulatorily easier at the Federal level to move forward. This proposed rule would help ensure that the digging required to install utilities would also be utilized for broadband infrastructure. That makes sense, doesn't it? This would help cut down on the expense associated with the deployment into rural areas. The good news is, this issue is one of the few issues that lawmakers on both sides of the aisle are eager to work on together. We will continue to have obstacles ahead as we seek to close this digital divide, but I believe it is important to note the progress that we have made up to this point. Five years ago, I created my Capito Connect Plan, which is a roadmap for bringing affordable, high-speed internet access to homes, businesses, and classrooms in my State of West Virginia. Each year, we have made significant strides, and I am proud of these accomplishments that have been made. Are we all the way there? No. That is why I am talking about it today--how important it is, especially in this COVID environment. So, for example, there is the Facebook Fiber Project. I personally asked founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg, during a Commerce Committee hearing, for his commitment to partner with West Virginia on rural fiber deployment. They announced they are investing 275 miles of long- haul fiber right through the southern portion of the State. I just drove by it on my way here. I can see the big coils, and they are moving forward with that. Other investments are the State's first fiber infrastructure investment from Zayo. They will be constructing a similar build through the northern part of the State. I have also worked to leverage Federal agencies like the USDA and their ReConnect Program to invest in West Virginia with Federal grants and loans. Since the launch of my initiative, I have successfully delivered $37 million in funding for residential broadband projects through the USDA Programs and will continue in those efforts. Last month, I was in rural Preston County, where I witnessed firsthand as broadband service was being installed to the home of Beverly and Jeff Stemple. This fiber installation project was funded by the USDA's Community Connect project and made possible by those initiatives. I also visited Lincoln Primary Care in Hamlin, WV, which received a telemedicine grant from the FCC to help provide better care in Southern West Virginia, and they have a great plan that they are going to put in their community health centers and about 5 or 6 counties in 17 locations. We have had a great deal of success with also identifying new areas for cell towers--one in Lincoln County. We visited with the providers there. As you can see, all levels of government, along with the private sector, along with our municipalities and our local leaders, have stepped up to the plate to work toward this common goal. Capito Connect is making a difference of connecting thousands of West Virginians. I have worked with colleagues on both side of the aisle through my committee work and also worked with the administration, which has truly prioritized this issue. Perhaps one upside to the pandemic--or I would say better maybe lessons learned--is that it has helped us better appreciate the time that we can physically spend with one another. But lessons learned are we cannot disadvantage certain parts of this country because you don't have what I consider to be one of the essentials in order to do business, to have healthcare, and to learn, and that is the deployment of high-speed broadband. Getting back to the human connection--wow. It is so important, and I know we miss it. A lot of us miss it. But it makes our work on broadband all that much more important. I yield the floor. I suggest the absence of a quorum.

Mrs. CAPITO

Mrs. CAPITO. Mr. President, I rise today to honor and thank a very good friend of mine, Mayor George Karos of the city of Martinsburg--I said his name wrong, and I don't want to do that because he is a good friend of mine--for his great service to the city of Martinsburg and the entire State of West Virginia. He was always really great to work with and always gave credit to staff, and he did it with such good humor. George is the son of Greek immigrants who did not speak English when they came to this country. They moved to Martinsburg before he was born. George was born in the early 1930s. George has called Martinsburg his home his entire life. Growing up, he worked at Patterson's Drug Store on Queens Street, where he swept the floors and rode his bike to deliver prescriptions. Over time, he worked his way up in the ranks, taking over the soda fountain and eventually worked as an assistant in the pharmacy section of the drugstore. George did leave Martinsburg briefly when he served his country in the U.S. Naval Hospital Corps, where he was stationed at both Bethesda Naval Hospital and Quantico Marine Corps Base in Virginia. He eventually returned to his home that he loved--Martinsburg--and he returned to Patterson's Drug Store, which he later bought in 1980 and operated until his retirement in 2015. He then began a career as a public servant. George was first elected to the city council as a councilperson-at- large in June of 1974, where he served for 26 years. Following this, he decided to run for mayor of Martinsburg, and he served as the mayor for about 20 years and will retire this year at the age of 88. George and I started our careers together. I started as his Congresswoman in the year 2000, and George started as mayor. I know I speak for all of those from the Martinsburg community when I say that Mayor Karos truly made Martinsburg a better place to work and live. I have had the honor and privilege of working closely with Mayor Karos during his entire time serving as the mayor of Martinsburg. We had a field hearing out in Martinsburg, and I remember the mayor being there and welcoming us. I see him at many ribbon cuttings and openings. I have been to his drugstore to be served at the counter. He is just a wonderful, wonderful man. One of my proudest moments with Mayor Karos was when we successfully secured the funds for infrastructure improvement, such as the Big Spring water plan and the Raleigh Street expansion project. George also helped create The Martinsburg Initiative most recently, which is a program I have spoken about before many times on the Senate floor. This initiative is spearheaded by the Martinsburg Police Department, the Berkeley County Schools, and Shepherd University, as well as a wide array of local partners, such as the Boys and Girls Club of the Eastern Panhandle. The goal of the program is to stem the horrible opioid addiction problem by identifying and trying to eliminate the basic causes of drug abuse in at-risk families. The mayor has been dedicated to this. The program is extremely successful and has made a tremendous impact in the Martinsburg community. It is also a perfect example of how a community can come together at different levels and work together to create a lasting and impactful solution to a big, big problem. Through the actions taken under Mayor Karos's administration, countless children in the Martinsburg area have now seen that there is a life away from illicit drugs and opioid addiction. George exemplified hard work, dedication, and loyalty. He still does. This is evident in the length of time he served his community and also through the results that came from his vision and his collaboration with so many others in Martinsburg. The rest of the State agreed with this because George was named ``Mayor of the Year'' and ``Public Official of the Year.'' This came as no surprise to me and many, many others. George's favorite motto is ``Plan your work and work your plan.'' That is what the mayor did. His second motto was something I think we could probably use around here: ``A closed mouth catches no flies.'' These were the words George followed every day when he was working as mayor. They helped to keep progress moving, and they perfectly describe how George conducted himself each and every day, which is why he was reelected many times but also so beloved in his community. After 46 years of devoted service to his city and the community, Mayor Karos is retiring. While I am sad that this chapter is coming to a close, I am grateful for the opportunity to work together with him to better the city of Martinsburg. His leadership, successes, and his life mottos will serve as an example to follow I really thank Mayor Karos for being a good friend and for letting me get to know him. I really thank him for his service and wish him the very best in his retirement. I yield back.

Mrs. CAPITO

Mrs. CAPITO. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that Emily Sammons, an intern in my office, be granted floor privileges through the remainder of the week.

Mrs. CAPITO

Mrs. CAPITO. Madam President, the world we are living in today is a very different one than we envisioned when we rang in the new year in the beginning of 2020 or even when we celebrated St. Patrick's Day in March. COVID has altered almost every aspect of our lives, from where we gather to celebrate or mourn to how our children are educated. Far too many across the country have lost loved ones to this disease, or they are living with health complications because of it. However, while we are rightly focusing much of our energy on the coronavirus, this is not the only health crisis we are battling. Unfortunately, across the Nation, drug overdose deaths are rising amidst the coronavirus, negating much of the progress we have made over the last several years. A White House Office of National Drug Control Policy analysis shows an 11.4-percent increase in fatalities for the first 4 months of 2020. My home State of West Virginia reported 923 overdose-related EMS calls in May, which is roughly a 50-percent jump from May of 2019. Our neighboring State of Kentucky--and I am sure the neighboring State of Ohio too--has estimated a 25-percent increase in overdose deaths between January and March. Is COVID-19 directly causing these overdose deaths? No. Is the pandemic exacerbating our Nation's addiction struggle? Absolutely. It is not hard to see why. The past several months have been difficult for all of us; however, for someone in recovery, this disruption may cause them to have a hard time keeping their treatment regimens in place. The need for social distancing makes in-person recovery programs that are a lifeline for some almost impossible. Social distancing may also lead to more individuals using drugs alone, raising the risk of overdose deaths because there is no one there to help or intervene. Last week, I had a chance to talk with CDC Director Redfield about where we are in our Nation's battle against addiction. The preliminary CDC data recently released showed drug overdose deaths climbed to a record high last year and how the addiction crisis continues to shift also, with overdose deaths rising in our other States, such as Alaska and the Dakotas. He also pointed out that deaths involving methamphetamine and cocaine have been steadily increasing despite the fact that deaths caused largely by synthetic opioids have been decreasing--or actually pills, have been decreasing. We talked about how issues like neonatal abstinence syndrome, where babies are born exposed to opioids, continue to spread. We talked about the work we have done here in Congress and what we continue to need to do. Over the years, as I mentioned, we have seen a decline in the deaths from prescription opioids. We have seen increases in access to treatment resources. Moreover, we have seen a recognition that, as a country, we have a real addiction crisis. However, these recent statistics and the evidence we are seeing related to substance abuse during our current pandemic show us there is so much more work to do, and it has a sense of urgency to it for many of us. This sentiment was also shared when I met with Director Carroll of the ONDCP. We met in Huntington just last Friday. Huntington is a town that is particularly hard hit by addiction. Director Carroll expressed his concern over the rising numbers of overdose deaths. He acknowledged that the public health threat posed by COVID-19 and the essential mitigation measures implemented across the country to slow the spread together have created unprecedented obstacles for Americans seeking drug treatment. We discussed some of the responses the Trump administration has taken to the pandemic and our new reality. The Trump administration has relaxed some of the rules related to the prescribing of medication- assisted treatment. That has been helpful. The increased role of telehealth in behavioral and mental health care--that has been helpful. The Director updated me on ONDCP's work in working to address the specific impact drug addiction is having on rural America. Just last month, ONDCP and other Federal agencies launched the Rural Community Toolbox, which is an online clearinghouse created with the express purpose of connecting rural leaders with funding, data, and information on how to combat drug addiction. We know resources in rural America are not as plentiful as they are in other areas of the country. We also discussed the administration's effort at the southern border to keep illegal drugs out of our communities. I am particularly interested in this area, as I chair the Appropriations Subcommittee on Homeland Security, a subcommittee of Appropriations. Through this role, I was able to focus on the needs on the interdiction side so that drugs do not even physically get to West Virginia in the first place. I have been to our southern border, which is actually where most of the drugs are coming from that end up in my State. I have worked with Customs and Border Protection, the TSA, the Secret Service, and the Coast Guard to make sure they remain focused on this incredibly important aspect of our national problem. I am also extremely proud of the work that the HSI division has done on homeland security. They have increased their presence in West Virginia and the number of officers, equipment, and partnerships, such as with Marshall University, to help supplement the work of our local law enforcement. HSI has expanded their presence at international mail facilities--something I have been a strong proponent of, and many of us in this body have as well. Earlier this month, the Department of Homeland Security issued a 2019 seizures report to Congress. This report confirms that a majority of drugs continue to come in from our southwest border, including cocaine, fentanyl, heroin, marijuana, and methamphetamine. Challenges as a nation and individually fill our reality today. How I wish the drug addiction epidemic did not have to continue to be one of them. Sadly, as many families across our Nation know all too well, it continues to ruin many lives. Wishing it away is not going to work. We must continue to keep our eye on the ball and provide the resources necessary to resume the progress we have begun to see. My colleagues and I on both sides of the aisle have worked with the Senate Appropriations Committee to commit much needed resources. Chairman Blunt has shown his dedication to the cause, both through the regular appropriations and through our stimulus bills. We continue to work to ensure that behavioral and mental health providers have the resources they need to continue to treat patients and keep their offices open. I am working with bipartisan colleagues on creative ways to address this crisis, whether by ensuring that doctors can offer non- opioid choices as they resume elective surgeries through my NOPAIN Act with Senator Jones, or by ensuring that those in treatment and recovery can use the technologies of today to connect virtually to peers and counselors through the Prescription Digital Therapeutics to Support Recovery Act that I introduced with Senator Shaheen, or by arming families with the information and resources they need to help their loved ones stay in recovery during these trying times through the Family Support Services for Addiction Act that I have worked on with Senator Gillibrand. Fortunately, we continue to not be alone in this fight. Despite the other demands they are currently facing, community and local organizations continue to rise to the challenge. Just last week, Shatterproof, which is a national nonprofit organization dedicated to reversing the addiction crisis in America, launched the Addiction Treatment Locator, Assessment, and Standards Platform, also known as ATLAS. ATLAS is the first resource of its kind to help those seeking addiction treatments find high-quality care and appropriate care. It was launched in six States. I am happy to say West Virginia was one of them, with the hope of expanding it to many more. Our Nation is facing unprecedented challenges; however, I remain confident that we can meet all of them, including resuming the progress we had begun to make on our Nation's addiction crisis. I am dedicated to this, passionate about it, and look forward to continuing to work with my colleagues on creative solutions

Mrs. CAPITO

Mrs. CAPITO. Mr. President, I rise to recognize Technical Sergeant Ralph H. Ray, who was a dedicated West Virginia serviceman in our U.S. Army Air Corps during World War II. T SGT Ralph H. Ray is being honored by the renaming of a bridge on U.S. Route 60 that spans the Greenbrier River in his native Greenbrier County, WV. T SGT Ralph H. Ray graduated from Frankford High School at the age of 17 in 1940. He left his home in West Virginia to complete his enlisted physical for the U.S. Army Corps on January 7, 1943, and subsequently earned the rank of technical sergeant. He earned his airplane mechanic diploma at the Ford Factory in Michigan the spring of 1943 and then completed gunnery school in Laredo, TX. During his service, T SGT Ralph H. Ray was assigned to a top-notch flight crew with whom he trained for 3 months. He and his crew traveled to Trinidad, Brazil, Africa, Morocco, and Wales before reaching the Tibenham Base in East England. While serving as a flight engineer during World War II, he and his crew flew 30 successful missions before returning to the United States and spending the last 10 months of his enlistment at the Air Transport Corps in Miami, FL. This dedicated and diverse military service is certainly worthy of admiration. After his release from the U.S. Army Air Corps, T SGT Ralph H. Ray worked as an airplane mechanic for Bollinger Airport in Davis Creek, WV, and while there, he earned his civilian pilot's license. T SGT Ralph H. Ray began working as a chemical technician for Westvaco in South Charleston, WV, in 1948. He married his wife Mary Madeline Hudson on April 16, 1948, and established a beautiful and loving family with four daughters: Valerie Ann Lyons, Angela Sue Ray, Verna Ray-Breaux, and Anita Ray-Kirk. T SGT Ralph H. Ray retired in 1984 and passed away on August 8, 2019. It is fitting that an enduring monument will be established to commemorate Technical Sergeant Ray and his contributions to our State and our country. As resolved by legislature of West Virginia, the locally known Caldwell Bridge, will henceforth be named the ``U.S. Army Air Corps T SGT Ralph H. Ray Memorial Bridge.'' I hope it provokes thought and appreciation for all of our military heroes and may the bridge be an enduring reminder of the life of dedicated serviceman, husband, father, and lifelong West Virginian.

Mrs. CAPITO

Mrs. CAPITO. Madam President, I would like to thank my colleagues from Florida and from Tennessee for their great service to our Armed Forces and our Armed Services and great support. I enjoyed hearing Senator Blackburn from Tennessee talk about her Tennesseans. I stand before you with my colleagues today to talk about the NDAA and how important it is to pass the National Defense Authorization Act. My State of West Virginia has some of the highest rates of veteran population. About 10 percent of our population are veterans, and nationally that average is only 7, so I think that service in the military and taking care of our military has always been a source of very much importance to me as their representative here in the Congress. I think we can all agree that our Armed Forces would not be what they are without the great service of our patriotic men and women in our All-Volunteer Force. That is why it is important that we continue to support them and the work that they do to protect our freedoms every single day. This important legislation does just that by authorizing vital resources for our Nation's troops, our wounded warriors, and their families. The Defense bill also includes programs which will directly impact the West Virginia National Guard. I have had the chance to regularly meet with servicemembers in my State and abroad, and I have enjoyed personally being able to thank them. Most recently, I traveled to Afghanistan, where I met a unit from West Virginia. During my visit with our West Virginia servicemembers and others, they shared with me their great pride, not just for our State and our country, and why they are proud to defend our freedoms. I have also had the chance to hear many of the challenges that they face on a day-to-day basis. The feedback has been so helpful to Congress as we better support our military. These brave men and women deserve our unified support, and I think they will get it, and should not be subject to the gridlock that has become so common in this body and certainly in Washington, DC. That is why Congress has come together for the 60th year to pass a bipartisan bill. The NDAA authorizes $740.5 billion in funding for the Department of Defense and national security programs to ensure that our military families are modernized and well equipped to handle the constant, evolving national security threats. The NDAA also designates the necessary funds to provide our Active- Duty servicemembers, veterans, and their families with the resources they have earned with their dedication and support. Another way that the NDAA looks out for our troops and their families is that it authorizes a 3-percent raise for our soldiers. This comes less than a year after a 3.1-percent raise for our servicemembers, which was the largest in a decade. Given the fact that our military is an All-Volunteer Force, it is important that we make it known that sacrifices do not go unnoticed. That is just one small way we can do that. The NDAA makes sure our military is trained and equipped to protect this country. We accomplish this in the bill by continuing to carry out the plans highlighted in the national defense strategic plan, which stresses that the United States strives for superiority on land, on the seas, in the air, and in cyberspace. The NDAA advances the DOD's cybersecurity strategies and cyber combat capabilities and enhances U.S. security efforts by countering competition from near-peer adversaries like Russia and China and defeating threats from rogue regimes like Iran and North Korea. I have had multiple conversations with the West Virginia National Guard on their desire to play a larger role in cyber defense. The NDAA establishes a National Guard cyber pilot which will allow National Guard men and woman to do just that I know many members of our West Virginia National Guard who would jump at the opportunity to defend against cyber attacks will be excited to learn about the pilot program. With technological advances, we are becoming increasingly reliant on critical minerals, particularly rare earth elements, which are predominantly produced in China. If you look at a chart of where they are produced, it is eye-popping. I am pleased that the base text of the NDAA included a priority of mine, which is to require DOD to submit a report to Congress concerning the security of the domestic supply chain of rare earth elements. West Virginia University has figured out how to extract these elements from acid mine drainage, which would hopefully reduce our need to purchase these from China. WVU is also a leader in looking into ways to advance our country's rare element capabilities, which is why it is critical for the DOD to begin to assess the security and best storage practices for these elements so that they can began to ramp up the domestic supply chain. Additionally, I am hoping that the two additional amendments that I put forward can be added to this bill because they will directly impact my State. The first is the one that would require the DOD to submit a report to Congress on the stockpiling of PFOS--the chemical PFOS--to build upon the progress we made last year in regard to this chemical. The second amendment I worked on with my colleague Senator Moran was to ensure that mothers-to-be who are members of the National Guard are compensated and receive retirement credits for the missing drill weekends that they have missed because of maternity leave. With West Virginia's strong history of military service, caring for America's service men and women could not be more important. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the members of the West Virginia National Guard and every other National Guard across this country have stepped up and gone above and beyond the duty. The NDAA will make sure that those who have responded to this pandemic receive the health benefits they deserve. While I believe we must put our Nation on a sound fiscal path to end our dependence on deficit spending, it is equally important to maintain our military readiness and provide necessary resources to those who serve our Nation. I want to thank my colleagues and Chairman Inhofe for their excellent work on the NDAA. This is an important bill--a must-pass bill--and I look forward to working with my colleagues on doing just that. I yield the floor.

Mrs. CAPITO

Mrs. CAPITO. Mr. President, I want to thank my colleague from Oklahoma, Senator Lankford, for his dedication to this issue and his very substantive output. I was privileged to serve on the minigroup that put a lot of work into this under Senator Scott's very able leadership. I am thankful for the way Senator Lankford always approaches issues, not disparaging motives but always looking at ways to improve and make this world a better place because that is what this is about. I have been listening to a lot of the arguments, a lot of the discussion, and I am saying to myself: If somebody watching this from afar--from Oklahoma or from West Virginia or from Vermont--I am thinking to myself, what is all this talk about 60 votes and cloture and all this? They are not focused on that. All they know is that we failed--this failed. This was an opportunity that we should have grasped. We had a chance to discuss the need for police reform and to look at the very serious issues of racial inequalities. I am exceedingly disappointed. I thought yesterday--no, actually Monday, I thought, good, we are going to get on this bill. We are going to have a healthy debate and amendments. We are going to be in front of the American people, giving our different opinions. We are going to vote up or down, and we are actually going to have a product here that is actually going to help. But it derailed. It derailed badly. I am very disappointed by that, as I think everybody in this country should be. Those who are protesting, those who are deeply hurt by what they have seen--they don't care about cloture and 60 votes and who gets the political point and who is going to be able to drag this to the election. They care about getting something done on a deeply emotional issue. We know that every American is entitled to equal protection under the law. We also know there are a lot of good police officers in this country--many, the vast majority. It is clear, though, that we have a real need to improve our law enforcement so that every American can have the confidence that officers are there to serve them equally. We should provide better resources to train police on not just deescalation but use of force and intervention, all of the issues that we saw come forward in the horrifying death of George Floyd. We should provide more body cameras. We wouldn't have known about George Floyd had there not been a camera. I don't believe there was a camera on the officer; it was a bystander's camera. But cameras can be so incredibly useful to protect the rights of the people who are confronted and to protect the rights of the police. So we need to make sure that those are not only provided and there for our law enforcement but that they are turned on. As we saw in Louisville, they were not turned on. We should make sure that bad police officers can't get passed from department to department and that their disciplinary actions and employment records are there, kept either locally or--the Pelosi bill says kept at the State; the President says kept at the Federal--anyway, in any event, kept for the transparency we need. We should eliminate the use of choke holds by officers unless the officer is in a situation where he can't get out of it, but quite frankly, I am for banning them in any circumstance. Those statements are really not very controversial, and most Americans really agree with them. How do we know that? Both the bill introduced by Senator Scott and cosponsored by 47 Republican Senators and the bill introduced by Senator Booker and supported by many Democrats included these provisions in each one of their bills. We have a nonpartisan Congressional Research Service that we rely on for nonpartisan advice. The quotes from their report in comparing both bills: Both bills seek to establish best practices for law enforcement officers and train officers in areas on the use of force and racial bias. Both bills would seek to increase the use of body cameras worn by State and local law enforcement--both bills. Both bills would contain provisions designed to enhance transparency concerning records of misconduct by law enforcement officers--both bills. Both bills include provisions designed to limit the use of choke holds by Federal, State, and local law enforcement--although the two statutes do differ in the breadth and approach. What happens when we differ with the House? We go to conference, and we work out our differences. But we are not having that chance today. Given these areas of common ground, it should have been easy for us to come together and to pass that motion to begin the debate on the Senate floor. That is what we are supposed to do. There are a few major differences in the bill, and this is where I think the American people would have really tuned in to the debate. We know that there is a difference on qualified immunity. Let's have a debate. Let's have a debate. Had we moved forward, I think we could have ended up with a bipartisan bill that could pass both the House and the Senate and signed into law. As we are now, do you know what we have, as Senator Scott said in the speech he gave about an hour ago? Nothing. We have nothing. We have people on the streets of every town in America begging us to do something positive to help the situation, and today, crickets--nothing--because we couldn't get cooperation. It would have made significant progress. I heard Senator Scott say-- and I didn't realize this until I heard him say it on the Senate floor--20 amendments and a managers' amendment he offered in conversations with the other side, and again, no--nothing. We don't want that. We don't have the best record on showing the American people that we can work together and get things done, but, boy, we could have shown them that today. We could have shown them that the rest of the week as we debate those issues. I can guarantee you, on some of the sticky issues, we would have had great agreement. Maybe we all wouldn't have agreed on it, but some of each from each part of our party and each part of the country would have agreed on those issues and formulated better, smarter, more efficient legislation. We could have demonstrated that we are united in support of the civil rights of all Americans and in support of the men and women in law enforcement. Instead, partisanship was allowed to carry the day. It should be clear, because I think it should be to the American people, that this motion--the other side says, ``We don't have a seat at the table''--would have provided the world stage for their seat at the table to debate this issue. We need 60 votes to continue, and here I am talking about the technicalities of how to get it done. But there would have been an enormous amendment process that probably would have been quite lengthy and very beneficial. I am very disappointed. I am disappointed to tell the American people that we are listening to you, but, you know, maybe it is not in our own political benefit to cooperate to move forward, so let's just draw it out, as Senator Lankford said. I think it is important to point out in the process, if we had an amendment debate, if we had a debate on the Senate floor, if we cultivated and came up with a final product, it is still within the 60- vote margin for the other side to say: No. Can't do it. It is not enough. Can't go there. OK. At least we tried. Now we have nothing. As we move forward--I was on several radio interviews today, and a lot of people want to know what is next. I don't know what is next. We have to do better than this. We have to do better, with what we see happening in our country and listening to the cries. When I heard Senator Scott's speech, when he talked of the communities that are most vulnerable, that have the most difficulties in all of the struggles of their lives, we owe it to them to have this debate on the floor of the greatest deliberative body, the Senate. We could have demonstrated a lot today, and it didn't work. It was denied by 44 Senators. And here we are having to go back to our constituents, go back to those folks who are very vulnerable, and say: It didn't matter enough to try to fix it. It didn't matter enough that we gave each other 20 amendments. It didn't matter enough that we were going to have the debate on the Senate floor. It didn't matter enough to have our experts come in and tell us what the best is. It didn't matter. I hope maybe, as time goes by, it will matter because this issue is not going away, and our passion to solve it as a collective body shouldn't go away. I am committed to seeing that it doesn't go away.

Mrs. CAPITO

Mrs. CAPITO. Mr. President, I am pleased to be here with my fellow Senator from Nebraska and the other Members of the small team that was really blessed to be asked to join Senator Scott as he led us to where we are today, which is introducing the JUSTICE Act. I am thinking about where the great talents lie in the Senate. One of the things we all know all of us do well is talk. We know how to talk. Sometimes we talk too much. Senator Scott doesn't talk that much. He even said that about himself. I can tell you the skill that he has that a lot of us need more of. Always, when I am asked by school children ``What is the best skill to have?'' I say it is the ability to listen. He has listened for years and years. He has not just lived this; he has listened. He said, just yesterday, he was with the family of one of the victims, and it was a very moving day for him. I am here today to rise with my colleagues in support of the JUSTICE Act. I join the overwhelming majority of Americans and West Virginians who, in sadness and frustration and sorrow, witnessed the horrifying video of the murder of George Floyd by the Minneapolis Police Department. It was absolutely unacceptable. The vast majority of our law enforcement officers here and around the country are just like us. They want to have a great and peaceful nation. They want to have great and peaceful communities. They want their families to feel safe in their homes and out in the streets of their communities just as we do. A lot of them take their oath seriously and do their best to protect our communities. It is not enough to say that the death of George Floyd was a terrible, isolated tragedy because we know many of these have preceded this date. I have said it is almost like popping a balloon and revealing all of this unrest underneath, all the questions and sorrow that have been festering. Here we are today. I think the great majority of us want to put all this energy and frustration into action. We want to have something substantive so we can tell the American people: We listened. We heard. We feel this. And we want to find solutions. We have to recognize that every time force is used inappropriately by law enforcement, our justice system has eroded. We have to understand our history, wherein Black Americans have been too frequently denied their basic rights. It is our job to make sure that Americans, regardless of race, can feel that law enforcement is there to protect them and their families and that they trust that. The trust factor is where the erosion has been most remarkably in view of all of us--the lack of trust. It is our job to hear these voices and to act. In my opinion, it doesn't mean defunding the police; it means improving the police and improving equal protections so that everybody has basic protections and we are all equal in the eyes of justice and the law. We have seen the looting. We have seen officers who have lost their lives. We have seen an underbelly to our country that has been difficult to watch. Yet what we have seen, too, is an outcry of the American citizens peacefully protesting what they see as inequities in their lives. When I look in the crowd--I was right there in Washington last week when a crowd of about 150 protesters walked by me very peacefully with signs and chanting in solidarity. Most of the people in that group were probably under 30 years old. There were a lot of Black faces, a lot of White faces, men and women, young people who felt that lack of trust. We look at how people have exercised their First Amendment rights. It is a beautiful thing to see. Unfortunately, it has been eroded by some of the destructive things that have come along with it, but at the base of it, we are hearing the same things in our States every day. While we want to know that our Declaration of Independence has lived up to--and that the 14th amendment, which guarantees that no government, including State and local governments, can deny basic constitutional rights, we haven't quite lived up to all of that. A century passed before we passed major civil rights legislation in 1964. One of the sources of great pride for me is that my father was one of the leading Republicans in the House of Representatives representing West Virginia in 1964 who helped make sure that passed. In my office, I actually have a pen that was used in signing that and a picture of my dad at the White House when it was signed. Our job is not done. When I hear the voices of mothers who say that they are fearful their son might not survive a simple traffic stop or they must have certain behaviors--as Senator Sasse said, it is so different from what he learned growing up as a young man about how to interact with police officers in that situation. We can't have those anguished cries and that double system anymore. That is what this bill is about. I am proud to be with Senator Scott introducing the JUSTICE Act. It has been interesting to watch him and all of us listen to the different segments of our society who have talked to us--friends, neighbors, police, members of communities of color, our religious communities, our news commentators. I did six interviews today on the TV about this. Every single one of them asked me one fundamental question, and I wish some of my friends on the other side of the aisle would be here. They asked: You don't have a very good history in this body of having Republicans and Democrats joining together to get something done. How do you think you can do this now? I said: Well, today we did. We did the Great American Outdoors Act. Several months ago we did the CARES Act. We can do it. Where there is a will, we can do it. If we don't do it, we are failing so many people. We are failing ourselves. We are failing our country, our communities, failing our law enforcement communities. I would say that we need to begin this job of a difficult conversation and make sure that we get this bill onto the Senate floor and debate it in front of the general public. When we start debating things on the Senate floor in front of the general public, do you know what happens? The same thing that happened during the impeachment trial. I know all of us were getting all kinds of input from people all around. People are watching it. They are seeing what is actually going on. That is what we need. If we want to have discussions on qualified immunity, if we want to ban choke holds, which I want to do and our bill does, essentially, but if you want something more definitively, yes, I am all for that. Let's have the discussion and talk about it in front of the American people. I believe that law enforcement has a lot of great people who work in and around law enforcement. They need the equipment. They need the cameras. They need to have the realtime evidence--the realtime evidence of wrongdoing and evidence of doing it right. It is a protective device. Everybody should have the availability of that in law enforcement. We also require that law enforcement agencies retain disciplinary records on officers and make sure that they check an officer's record from other agencies before making a hiring decision. I kind of thought that was going on anyway. I sort of did. We need to make sure and make clear that is what we absolutely want to do. The bill incentivizes State and local police agencies to ban choke holds. As I mentioned earlier, I am for even more definitive language on that. It also provides training in all kinds of areas--deescalation or if an officer is in a situation where another officer is using overwhelming force improperly, that officer is trained on how to interdict that situation. We saw that happen in Minneapolis. Sadly, the officers did not, but maybe they didn't know how to do it, when to do it, what form it should take. Let's explore that. To keep our communities safe, we need our police officers. We need trust in our law enforcement. There should be no conflict between a pro-civil rights bill and a pro-law enforcement bill. They should be able to be joined together. This supports our police officers while bringing about positive change that will guarantee equal protection to all of our citizens. The police reform bill will make a real difference in advancing our constitutional ideals and in making our communities safer. I am proud to stand with Senator Scott, but I want to stand with the entire body to talk about the ways to make this bill even better, to take the 70 percent of this bill that we have shared ideals on and shared ideas and put those into action and to not dither here, to not score political points, and to say to the American people: These are tough decisions, and we are going to make them. We are going to have this where you can see it, right here on the floor of the U.S. Senate. So thank you very much. I am proud to be with my colleagues. I yield the floor.

Mrs. CAPITO

Mrs. CAPITO. Mr. President, I am very pleased to join my colleague from Iowa to highlight the need to responsibly reopen America and our economy as we continue to fight this COVID pandemic.

Mrs. CAPITO

Mrs. CAPITO. Mr. President, it is an honor for me to be here with my fellow Senators. I was very moved by Senator Ernst's recounting not only of her service but of the service of so many Iowans, and Senator Blunt, as well, from Missouri, reminding me of what Memorial Day is for and how it is commemorated around the country for those brave soldiers from Missouri. So we are getting ready to commemorate Memorial Day, and we will be doing it differently than we have in the past years. But it is still just as important for us to honor the brave men and women of the U.S. armed services. They have selflessly served our country by standing up to protect the freedoms that we hold so dear and going into the line of fire in many ways. This Memorial Day is particularly momentous because 2020 marks the 75th anniversary of the conclusion of World War II. Earlier this month, on May 8, as Senator Blunt mentioned, we recognized V-E Day, or Victory in Europe Day, marking the anniversary of the Nazi surrender and the end of the Allies' European campaign. In a few months, on September 2, we will recognize the 75th anniversary of Japan's signing its surrender, subsequently ending the Pacific campaign and the war. During World War II, the United States lost over 400,000 soldiers, who were fighting to uphold our values and defend the liberties of those abroad as well. As the daughter of a proud World War II veteran myself, I had the chance to hear firsthand the acts of valor that my father, SGT Arch Moore, witnessed on the battlefield. I also had the honor this past December to travel with several of my colleagues to Luxembourg and Belgium to commemorate the 75th anniversary of the Battle of the Bulge. My dad was wounded just weeks before the battle, where he was, but his company went on to fight in Belgium, and only 3 of the 36 men made it out alive. I think about those 33 men and their families on this Memorial Day. Being able to attend those ceremonies and to honor all of the soldiers who fought during the Battle of the Bulge was a humbling experience that I will never forget, and those who returned to commemorate that occasion, most of them were in their nineties--mid to late nineties. The efforts of our servicemembers in both the European and Pacific theaters were great. A couple of months ago we marked the 75th anniversary of the Battle of Iwo Jima. I was hoping to go to commemorate that, as well, but the coronavirus got in the way. The U.S. Marine Corps and Navy were able to seize the island and to give America the stronghold needed to win the war months later. While this year marks the 75th anniversary of the conclusion of World War II, we must also never forget all of the Americans who have lost their lives in battle, whether it be the Korean war, the Vietnam war, the first Gulf war, or the ongoing fight against terrorism in the Middle East and in all of the conflicts that America has fought. Many of our country's servicemembers have made the ultimate sacrifice to keep our liberties intact. I recently read a book called ``No Surrender,'' by Christopher Edmonds. You may have heard of it. It is the true story of his father, Roddie Edmonds, who risked his life during the final days of World War II to save others from the Nazis. His heroic duty saved, I think, thousands of lives. He was captured and sent to a POW camp in Germany. He risked his life to prevent hundreds of others from Nazi persecution and possible death, but at the same time he witnessed horrific acts and he also witnessed many, many of his fellow soldiers losing their lives in the name of freedom. The members of the U.S. military have always put our country first and will continue to do so to keep our flag flying high, and Roddie Edmonds was a perfect example of this. West Virginians have always believed in putting our country and State first, and I am proud of all of the men and women in my State, of which we have a very high percentage--past and present--who have answered the call of duty. It saddens me that we will not be able to come together in person, as we normally do as a nation, to honor the heroic efforts of the brave men and women in our country who have given the ultimate sacrifice in service, but I know we will come together in spirit. While we might not have the usual parade and barbecues that we have become accustomed to on Memorial Day, we can use this time to reflect upon the sacrifices made by our Armed Forces and their families. Whether you are at home or with a small group of friends and family, I encourage everyone to take the time to remember those who lost their lives serving our country. Memorial Day is often considered the first unofficial day of the summer, but really it is a time to pay tribute to those who made America the great country that it is today. On Monday, take a moment to pray for those servicemembers who have lost their lives fighting for this country and for their families as well. For the children who are out of school, take time to learn more about the men and women who came before you and defended this country and its values. I want to say thank you to all of those who have served and to all of those families who have lost loved ones. Your sacrifice has not gone unnoticed, and we are forever grateful I yield the floor.

Mrs. CAPITO

Mrs. CAPITO. I ask unanimous consent that the order for the quorum call be rescinded.

Mrs. CAPITO. Madam President, I rise today to address the healthcare and economic crisis facing our Nation because of COVID-19. According to Johns Hopkins University, more than 1.5 million Americans have tested positive for COVID and more than 90,000 have died. And 1,509 West Virginians have tested positive for COVID, and 68 have died, according to our State's Department of Health and Human Services. We mourn each one of those lost lives and remember the families who grieve for them now and the friends who have lost a loved one. All of us join together, and we thank all of the heroes who are on the frontline performing lifesaving and life-sustaining jobs during this pandemic. The economic consequences of this pandemic have been devastating as well, but the health devastation is what really, I think, breaks all of our collective hearts. On the economic front nationally, the unemployment rate is 14.7 percent, and 36.5 million Americans have filed for unemployment since mid-March--an incredible number. In our small State of West Virginia, 164,000 unemployment claims have been processed since March, and the unemployment rate is over 15 percent. With these terrible facts and the urgency of them, it is right for Congress to come together to take bold action. We have enacted four major pieces of bipartisan legislation to help ease this crisis. Most significant of those, of course, was the CARES Act, which passed this body 96 to 0. With bipartisan support, the CARES Act provided $100 billion for our hospitals and medical providers to help them respond to this crisis. Together, we created the Paycheck Protection Program--PPP, as everybody knows it--to save jobs and to keep our employers and employees connected but also to save jobs at small businesses and help those businesses survive. As of this past weekend, 15,972 West Virginia small businesses had taken advantage of the PPP program. The CARES Act provided direct relief for the American people through payments of up to $1,200 apiece, and more than 780,000 payments totaling $1.3 billion have been sent to my fellow West Virginians. The CARES Act increased unemployment benefits to help meet the needs of those workers who lost their jobs due to the crisis, and we see the numbers. That has been a great benefit. It provided significant resources for our State and local governments. Our State of West Virginia has received $1.25 billion to help our State, city, and county governments. After the CARES Act, despite some delays, we came together again and passed additional bipartisan legislation that provided more funding for the PPP program and more resources for hospitals, more money for COVID testing. We just sent $57 million to the State of West Virginia for more testing. In a bipartisan way, Congress responded to the needs of our medical community, as we should. Our small businesses, our workers, our families, our State and local governments, and our heroes are essential workers. As our communities begin the process of carefully reopening, we know that more Federal resources and additional legislation will in all likelihood be necessary. We all hope that our economy, which only months ago was very strong, can rebuild quickly. But our small businesses and workers will need additional help. There is no question that will happen. As we face the possibility of a second wave of infections later this year, we should continue to build our stockpile of medical supplies and aid our hospitals. I have heard from our Governor, county commissioners, and our mayors across West Virginia about the lost State and local government revenues caused by COVID. Allowing the CARES Act funds to be used to replace these lost revenues will make sure that State and local governments can continue to meet the public safety and public health needs. This is critical. I have joined Senator Sullivan and others in supporting bipartisan legislation that would do just that. We should enact meaningful liability reform to protect our hospitals, doctors, businesses, college, universities, and nonprofits from lawsuit abuse. Those who do their best to treat patients, following government guidelines, and prevent the spread of the contagious virus should not be held liable when treatments fail or COVID spreads. Unless we act, lawsuit abuse could choke off our economic recovery. And we should hold China-- China--accountable for hiding the true scope of the COVID pandemic, making the global spread of this disease much worse. We should all work on all of these priorities going forward. It is appropriate that Congress should examine the effectiveness of the CARES Act--we have been doing that for the last several weeks; that is why I am glad we are here--as well as the ongoing need for resources before considering continuing new legislation to aid the Nation's response. But legislation passed in response to this crisis should be, as has been in the past--should be--bipartisan, and it should be tailored to respond to COVID and the economic problems that it has caused. Speaker Pelosi's legislation that passed the House of Representatives on Friday night fails on both of these counts. To the extent there was bipartisanship on Friday night, it came from the 14 Democrats who voted against the Speaker's wish list. The bill was certainly not tailored to help Americans respond to the COVID cases. There were things in there that did respond, but there was a whole lot more that I will talk about that I think was irrelevant. Speaker Pelosi's bill took a massive step toward federalizing our elections. That is the beauty of our elections. They are all different in every single State, and our States have the decisions to make. These decisions should be made by State and local officials and not micromanaged here in Washington. By the way, I think it makes our elections safer that they are not federalized. The bill prohibits States from requiring a photo ID to vote and requires States to allow same-day voter registration, something we do not do in the State of West Virginia. Aside from being bad policy, what does that have to do with COVID or helping small businesses and working families? The word ``cannabis,'' as we might have heard already today, appears in Speaker Pelosi's bill 68 times. The bill requires a report to make sure that women and minorities are able to fully participate in the cannabis industry, and it makes sure that cannabis businesses are able to access the banking system. By the way, that is an issue that has been worked on since I was in Financial Services 10 years ago. But what does that and how does that relate to COVID? By allowing stimulus payments to be sent to individuals without a verified Social Security number, Speaker Pelosi's bill would send taxpayer dollars to illegal immigrants, and the bill requires the Department of Homeland Security to review the files of every illegal immigrant in custody to determine if he or she should be released. Speaker Pelosi also appropriates $50 million for environmental justice grants. It sounds good--environmental justice. I am not sure what it has to do with COVID, but it sounds good. In reality, a lot of these funds, among other things, assist those who are working to stop industries that are very critical to my State, all the energy industries from coal and natural gas. That is exactly the opposite of promoting an economic recovery in the State I am from. While working families continue to struggle, Speaker Pelosi's bill offers significant tax relief for rich taxpayers in high tax States. Coincidentally, that is not my State; we run our State on a balanced budget--and very well. Overall, the House bill costs more than $3 trillion while doing little to help our economy recover and get our laid-off workers back on the job. There is a bipartisan model out there for working together in response to this crisis. We have done it four times, as I mentioned. But that model is certainly not what the House passed last Friday night. The Senate is continuing to hold hearings--we are having them today-- to learn more about the current crisis and provide oversight. More importantly, we are listening to the people in our States and their needs and their wants and their fears and their hopes and dreams. I am confident that we will take responsible action to build our economy together, that we will put people back to work together, and that we will help keep our families safe and healthy. Together we can do this. Speaker Pelosi's legislation will not become law, and she already knew that when she passed it. But we will continue to press forward to respond as one Nation and one people for this unprecedented disaster I yield back. I suggest the absence of a quorum.

Mrs. CAPITO

Mrs. CAPITO. Mr. President, I thank my friend from North Dakota. It is great to hear stories from his great State and to see how they are helping each other and how they are coming to each other's benefit. Really, as somebody who represents a State who has agriculture but not in the dimensions that Senator Hoeven has, it is wonderful to see how the ag community has stepped up not only in his State but in the rest of the country, and we are very, very grateful for that. We have seen so many people across this country step up in so many major ways. I often describe my State of West Virginia as one big small town. We always help each other in times of need, whether we know the person or not. The floods of 2016, I think, were a very good example of that. I call it our West Virginia spirit, and there is no question it has helped us through some very difficult times, like the time we are facing right now. Every day, each of us--and I am certainly no exception--hears stories about how someone or some group has stepped up to the plate and has gone above and beyond to help one's community, not to get attention and not because one is forced to, but because one genuinely, genuinely wants to help and make a difference. I join my colleagues today in highlighting some of those unsung heroes. Many of us have been able to telework. Here we are, serving in the Senate. We are here at our jobs. Yet most people who are on the frontlines don't have a choice. They are getting up every day and facing the challenges of this pandemic head on, but it does not come without some sacrifice. Kristin Schneider, who is a nurse in the cardiopulmonary intensive care unit at CAMC in Charleston, said that she quarantined herself from her family and friends due to the fear of giving the coronavirus to them since she cares for patients who have been affected by the disease. We forget sometimes that our nurses and doctors and those who care for folks who are afflicted have families too. Another nurse in the same unit said: No one felt like a hero when we gowned up or put our goggles on. We felt privileged. We got to hold the hands of our patients and to be their support, their friends, their family, and advocates because their loved ones were not allowed to be with them at this very difficult time. She goes on to say: I love my job. I love my team. I was never scared to go to work. Aspen Saunders, another emergency room nurse, said: The most moving gesture I witnessed was the prayer circle at the hospital's cancer center. That is a moment in my career that I will never forget. I was very overwhelmed with the power and volume echoed from those who came to pray. It was an inspirational depiction of community strength. During this time, I found that I am now more grateful for the things that I usually take for granted, such as my family being healthy. I thank these brave nurses, and I thank them for their great comments. I have also heard from teachers who have gone above and beyond the duty in making sure their students aren't falling behind, and they are creating programs for the students in their offering support for the communities across our State. Take, for example, Christy, who is a fourth grade teacher at Warm Springs Intermediate School in the Eastern Panhandle. She coordinated an effort with her fourth grade students to adopt a senior from the Berkeley County Senior Center, and through this program, they wrote letters. A lot of our seniors are living alone and are lonely and haven't been able to get out to connect with those seniors. Many students, like those at Ripley High School in Jackson County, are writing encouraging letters to healthcare workers to show them their support. Our first responders are also stepping up. I heard a very touching story about those at the Gilmer County Volunteer Fire Department--right in the heart of our State--and how they are driving around to different houses to celebrate the birthdays that are happening during this time. You can imagine what that could mean to a 4- or 5-year-old child to see a fire engine coming by in celebration of his birthday. Another inspiring story I heard was from a constituent in Wirt County. Her name is Deb. Deb realized the need for masks very early on, and she started an initiative called ``Sewing Faith.'' She has donated materials, and she and the women have sewn over 2,500 masks. They leave these masks on her front porch, in a sanitized container, for their healthcare workers. That makes it easy for them to pick them up. I have heard of businesses donating money to pay for the gas of healthcare workers. Our car dealerships are donating masks, and neighbors are donating food to the hospitals and to others who are not able to get to the store. Over the weekend, I heard of one of my neighbor's children. I asked: Where is he? They said he was across the street, talking to Sue. Sue was widowed recently. She is by herself, and he went in and had a cup of coffee with her. I have heard of West Virginians taking to the streets during this stay-at-home period and singing songs to brighten the days of their neighbors, and I have seen Facebook posts of young people who have offered to run errands for seniors or for those who are more vulnerable to this virus. This is the spirit of our country, and this is the spirit of my State, the West Virginia spirit. I could go on and on because there are 1,000 more stories like this, but do you know what? Just a few stories can give us hope, stories that help to shed some positivity on what is a very difficult, stressful, and lonely time. I have said on this floor many times that I am an optimist, and I know we will get through this because our country is strong, because our States are strong, and because my West Virginians are strong. We have heard some very inspiring stories this afternoon, and they are examples of kindnesses happening all across this country. This is the kind of kindness that we need today. We need it every day, but we really need it today. Think about all of these unsung heroes. Thank them, but also learn from them. Let's all learn a lesson here and spread some kindness throughout our communities. I yield the floor to my colleague from Indiana, who has, I am sure, some more inspiring stories to tell

Mrs. CAPITO

Mrs. CAPITO. Madam President, I am glad to be on the floor right now to hear the Democratic whip and the Democratic leader talk about the principles of a bill that we want to pass and wanted to pass 2 days ago. The principles of helping workers first, the principles of helping small business, the principles of looking after the healthcare system in its entirety--these are the fundamentals of the bill that we have worked on together, in a bipartisan way. Both the Democratic whip and the Democratic leader said that this is and has been a bipartisan bill. I just got off the telephone with my local radio station, and I had to fight back the notion that the bill that was before us yesterday and Sunday was a strictly Republican bill; it was not. The bill that has the small business provisions that the Democratic leader just said was worked on in a bipartisan way, which we all know was and is a great idea. Jointly, we agree on that. So I am glad to see the acknowledgement that, yes, we have been working together; yes, we have had conversations across the line; and, yes, we have worked on issues that we know are going to put workers and families across this Nation first. So I have spent a lot of time, as all of us have, talking to county commissioners, our mayors, the Governor, health professionals, small business owners, individuals, moms and dads, wondering, Is it safe to have somebody help me with the kids? What kind of contact should I have with my grandchildren? This is something I am in constant debate on myself with my own grandchildren. So I think what I get from everybody--more than anything--is not just the urgency of now but the urgency of yesterday and the day before. So I am glad to hear the leader say that we are close, on the 5-yard line or the 2-yard line. But let's not get into too many football analogies. We have all been to football games where we have been on the 2 and people have fumbled the ball. We can't do that because it has been fumbled long enough. So, for the past few days, I have been very frustrated, as have many of my colleagues. I know my fellow Senator from Iowa, who is here on the floor with me, and, certainly, the Presiding Officer from Georgia have had great angst and great frustrations that care has been delayed when Americans need it the most--both economic and healthcare. My West Virginians, they want to make sure that our hospitals, our community health centers, and other providers--our nursing homes, our extended-care facilities--have the resources that they need to provide the best coverage. That has been in this bill. I heard the urgency of PPE. We hear that all over the country, certainly in our State, and, also, swabs and other testing equipment. This is part of that bill but also our hospitals, which are hurting because they don't have the elective surgeries; they don't have the revenues to keep them going. The $75 billion that we have in it--sounds like it may be more--fine, good. Let's keep our hospitals going, particularly our rural hospitals in rural areas where they don't have the availability of healthcare like they have in other places. But, I tell you, we want our hospitals to be open. What West Virginians don't want is a delay in getting them the help they need just to score political points. The other things West Virginians want are the best medical care for our veterans. We have four medical centers. We have a very patriotic State that has some of the highest per-capita military and veterans in the entire country. We want help for our veterans. What we don't want is to use a crisis to advance a partisan or ideological agenda, which we have seen. West Virginians want to make sure that we have protective equipment for doctors, nurses, and first responders on the frontline. I talked to some of my volunteer fire departments. You don't think how deep this goes or how deep the need is for personal protective equipment until you start thinking about all the different ways people have contact. I tell you what--they don't want a Green New Deal in this bill; they want blue masks. West Virginians want research into new vaccines and treatments to help fight the coronavirus and end this epidemic. When we think about how we are going to get out of this, stopping the flow of the virus is certainly No. 1. But we also have to get confidence back that, if this comes back later, we have the vaccines or the therapeutics that are going to help people be healthier and fight the spread of the virus. What they don't want are regulations and bureaucracies that get in the way of action. Our bill helped a lot with alleviating some of those regulatory burdens that we see our healthcare providers fighting--at least in times of an emergency, alleviating those regulatory burdens. West Virginians want to allow more medical visits to be done by telemedicine during this crisis to keep our patients and our providers safe. What they don't want is to read tomorrow morning a newspaper article that says who are the political winners and losers in this because they know, essentially, people are the ones who are losing by the stall tactics that we have seen. West Virginians want to help small businesses. We are probably 99 percent small business in our State--a small State. We want to stay afloat and keep our employees on the payroll. What we don't want is for others to not realize the urgency that small business is feeling. As I said, not the urgency of now--the urgency of yesterday. We just had a shelter-in-place put in place in our State. Think of all the impacts this has across our State and the State of Iowa and others. West Virginians want a financial boost to our families during this uncertain time. This is in the bill. I heard the leader talk about it like it was a new concept. It has been there. It has been in the bill. They don't want us to leave our communities without the tools they need to confront this crisis West Virginians, we always really band together. We really do everywhere, but I have a particular pride, I think, in my State around neighbors helping neighbors. West Virginians want us to assist workers who have been laid off as a result of the emergency by extending unemployment benefits. Again, it is in there. It has been in there. They don't want for us to fail to show compassion for our fellow citizens during an emergency. West Virginians want to keep educating our students. We have a particular issue here with our tele-education because we don't have the broadband. That is a subject for a different day. I know part of that is in this bill, but if anybody joins with me in this fight, which many of us have, the urgency of yesterday is here on the delivery of broadband services into rural America. What we don't want is a Federal takeover of our election system that requires same-day registration and places Washington bureaucrats in charge of our local officials. West Virginia has a primary on May 12. I am working with the Secretary of State and the Governor to make sure that our State formulates how we can get as many people voting by mail as possible within the parameters of the way we want to conduct our elections. We don't need a one-size-fits-all here. We need to keep the States in charge. West Virginians want to stabilize our economy and do everything possible to avoid a long-lasting economic recession. What we don't want is to enact Speaker Pelosi's Christmas list that includes new regulations on carbon emissions, wind, and solar tax credits, corporate board diversity reports, and a cap-and-trade program for our airlines. We have a bill before us. We have had it before us for several days. It is appropriately called the CARES Act because it takes care of a lot of the priorities and issues that we have been talking about, that we hear about in our tele-townhalls or in talking to our neighbors and talking to our constituents, the urgency of not now--yesterday. We face a great public health threat, and we face a severe threat to our economy. I am a total optimist about everything. My glass is always half full and I know we are going to get through this and I know we are going to survive it. I know we are going to be better for it because we are going to learn lessons, but it sure is tough when you are in it. Even a full-blown optimistic person, I admit to myself and to you today, I have had some pretty low points during this whole thing, where I have wondered, where are we going? The last thing we need is the political debate that we have had over the last 2 days over programs and the parameters that were just laid out by the Democratic leader that were in the bill, have been in the bill. So we must come together--bipartisan. All of us work together. I work with the Senator from Delaware. We are on EPW together. He was born in West Virginia, so he can't get too far away from me, and we work together a lot across party lines. This is an example, and I think we are seeing that now. I think that, with the leader's comments, we see we are making great progress here. So I am encouraged that the deal is almost closed and that today might be the day that we will join together and that we will stop delaying care. Because today is the day--yesterday could have been the day, but today is the day--because I am an optimist, and I am always looking forward--today is the day we come together and take bold action for the American people. I know that is what Americans want, and I know that is what my West Virginians want. I yield the floor.

Mrs. CAPITO

Mrs. CAPITO. Mr. President, I rise today to discuss why I will be voting to acquit President Trump on both Articles of Impeachment tomorrow afternoon. Our Constitution makes clear that only a particularly grave act-- ``treason, bribery, or other high crimes and misdemeanors''--would justify a Senate voting to reverse the will of the people, the voters, and remove from office the person they chose to lead this Nation. Besides making clear just how serious an offense needs to be in order to warrant impeachment, our founding document allows the President to remain in office unless two-thirds of our body--the Senate--votes for impeachment. To me, that underscores the need for a national consensus that runs across partisan lines before undoing an election. The Senate has never in our history removed a President from office following an impeachment trial. Our Founding Fathers recognized that impeachment should not be used as a blunt partisan instrument. President Trump was duly elected by the people of this country to be President of the United States in 2016. Nothing that I have heard in this process has come close to providing a reason that would justify my voting to overturn the choice made by nearly half a million West Virginians and tens of millions of other Americans and even further-- even further--to remove him from the ballot in 2020. There is no doubt that the House impeachment process was partisan, politically driven, and denied President Trump some of his most basic rights of due process. At the same time, the product that was brought to our Chamber was obviously flimsy, rushed, and contained incomplete evidence. Time and again, House managers demanded that we do things here in the Senate that they neglected to do themselves during their House proceedings, such as calling witnesses they refused to call--witnesses they are now asking us to bring forward. Regardless of the failings of the House managers, it is the Senate's job and, indeed, our oath to do impartial justice. In keeping with that oath, I supported a trial process that was modeled after the Senate's precedent in 1999, when it received the approval of 100 Senators. I am glad we conducted this trial under that process because I felt it was fair to both sides. Both the managers and the President's attorneys were given 3 full days in the Senate to present their respective cases, and Senators spent 2 full days--16 hours--asking questions and receiving answers from the parties. Actually, I found that very instructive. The Senate heard testimony from witnesses in 192 video segments--some of them repetitive--and received more than 28,000 pages of documents. The House record, which we received here in the Senate, included the testimony of 17 witnesses. So there were witnesses. The House brought witness testimony into the Senate. I keenly listened to these presentations with an open mind, and I have concluded that the arguments and evidence do not provide me with a sufficient rationale for reversing the 2016 election and removing President Trump from the ballot in 2020. That is especially true considering the partisan nature of this impeachment process. In the cases of President Nixon and President Clinton, there was significant support from House Members of the President's party for opening impeachment inquiries. The impeachment inquiry into President Nixon was supported by more than 400 Members of the House, many of those--an overwhelming number of those--from his own party. And 31 House Democrats voted to open an impeachment inquiry into their President, the Democratic President, President Clinton. By contrast, in this case, not a single Member of the President's party voted in the House of Representatives to start an impeachment inquiry or to adopt either Article of Impeachment against the President. Many of the President's political opponents want--and have wanted for years--to have him removed from office, while virtually no one in his own party supports this impeachment. We have a mechanism in this country for dealing with issues that divide along party lines. That mechanism is not impeachment or removal. That mechanism, quite simply, is an election, and we have one in 9 months. So, beginning yesterday, we think, and in 9 months, we will have the certainty everyone desires. In the meantime, I am casting a ``no'' vote in this Chamber tomorrow. I am voting no on both of these articles. But do you know what? I am also going to do something else. I am going to take this opportunity to rededicate myself to the principles that this U.S. Senate stands for. I am going to take this opportunity to look at those principles and appreciate that these are the principles that are tied to making America better each and every day. Together we can do this, as Republicans and Democrats. During the impeachment process, Republicans approached me all the time--West Virginians approached me all the time, regardless of party, to ask why we were spending all of this time on a wasted process. They asked me questions like, Why don't you just get on with the business of giving America the confidence that you are working on the things that we care about--this was the butcher in the grocery store who asked me this very question--our families, making our families stronger, our lives better, and our jobs more permanent? When we rid ourselves of the shackles of politics, we can truly work together on issues like transportation, broadband, energy, ending the drug crisis, or strengthening our military. These are the issues that affect all of us. These are the issues that transcend the day-to-day lives of all the people we represent. They also transcend the day-to- day sound bites we hear from the constant barrage of both positive and negative media to which we are so attuned. No one has been served by this intense--and, at times, sensationalized--and very divisive proceeding. When we rid ourselves of the poisonous venom of partisan politics, we see more clearly. We know that we don't always agree. That is pretty clear. But we can certainly find common ground, and we do, as was envisioned by our Founders. So let's all just take a deep breath and move on from here. Let's listen to our better voices. Those are the Americans we represent, who remind us every day how important our freedom and our futures are to the country and to the constitutional institutions that gird our values. We sure have work to do. The American public expects us to do better. We should expect that of ourselves. After these wayward few weeks, there is no question we will need to rebuild that confidence. Do you know what? I am in this for the long haul, as I know the Presiding Officer is--the one where West Virginians and Texans and Americans see better days ahead for themselves and their children; the ones where West Virginians, Texans, and Americans drive to work each day and hear that Congress is actually doing its job. We were sent to Congress to work for the American people, to deliver results, to renew their faith in our institutions, to rise above our own parties, and to make life better. I have always been humbled by the confidence that has been placed in me by my fellow West Virginians. It is truly an honor to serve, and it is one that comes with great responsibility. We need to roll up our sleeves, stop the bickering, and deliver. I am looking at a lot of young people here in the Hall of the Senate, and I am thinking: How can I do better for you all? That is where our future lies. I am an eternal optimist. I always have been. I am optimistic that we can find the solutions that move our country forward. Sure, there will be differences of opinion. There will probably be some harsh and sharp words along the way and differences in our philosophies, but Americans and these young people expect that we will bridge those gaps. It is going to take a lot of hard work, but I am certainly ready for the challenge, and I hope you will join me. I yield the floor.

Mrs. CAPITO

Mrs. CAPITO. Mr. Chief Justice.

Mrs. CAPITO. Thank you. I send a question to the desk for the President's counsel.

Mrs. CAPITO

Mrs. CAPITO. Mr. President, I rise today in remembrance of the life of Brig. Gen. James Kemp McLaughlin, who passed away this week after living an impressive 101 years full of honor, integrity, and service to his Nation, State, and county. General McLaughlin was the epitome of what it means to be a member of the greatest generation. He worked hard, served his country, raised a family, and gave back to society more than he could have ever received in return. Born in Braxton County, WV, in 1918, Kemp, as his family and friends called him, was raised during the Great Depression, and like many others of his generation, he learned the value of a day's work, to be thankful for what you have, and most importantly, how to survive in the face of adversity. After high school, he traveled to Morgantown to attend college at West Virginia University, where his interest in military service and aviation were first piqued when the Army Air Corps testing team visited the school's campus. A year later, he enlisted in the U.S. Army at the age of 21. A year into his enlistment, the Japanese attacked the U.S. Naval Base at Pearl Harbor in Honolulu, HI, on December 7, 1941. It was not only ``a date which will live in infamy,'' as President Roosevelt so memorably declared, but it was also Kemp's 23rd birthday. Soon after, he was deployed to England as a copilot and second lieutenant in the Mighty Eight's 92nd Bombardment Group, flying the B-17 bomber. The unit's mission was to carry out strategic bombing campaigns in France and Germany during World War II. During his first mission in France, his aircraft took multiple direct hits. McLaughlin returned fire, engaged in air-to-air combat, and eventually took down the enemy. This, in addition to his 38 other combat missions during World War II, were some of the most pivotal air raids in our country's military history. The successful mission he took part in to bomb facilities in Norway is credited with halting Germany's efforts to produce an atomic bomb and potentially saved millions of lives. Upon returning to the United States in 1945, McLaughlin was recognized with numerous medals and awards, including the Distinguished Flying Cross with three clusters, the Air Corps Air Medal with eight clusters, the French Croix de Guerre, and a Presidential unit citation. He then accepted a commission as a lieutenant colonel before initially retiring in 1946, a retirement that would last 1 year, when he was asked to serve as the first commander of the West Virginia Air National Guard squadron. After the unit's service in the Korean war, he was promoted to full colonel and appointed as West Virginia's assistant adjutant general. McLaughlin was then promoted again in 1962 to brigadier general and continued to serve in leadership positions with the Air Guard until his retirement in 1977. In addition to serving his Nation in uniform, Kemp also served his community as a Kanawha County Commissioner from 1962 to 1968 and then again from 1974 to 1976, when he was appointed to serve in the West Virginia House of Delegates. Even after he retired from both his military and public life, Kemp continued to give back to his community and the Air Guard. In recognition of his contributions to the West Virginia Air National Guard, the Charleston base was fittingly renamed McLaughlin Air National Guard Base during a ceremony I was honored to attend in January 2014. In West Virginia, we are extremely proud of our military heroes, of which we have many. However, very few have had the impact on our State's military institutions and their reputation across the country as Brig. Gen. James Kemp McLaughlin. I am honored to have known him, West Virginia is fortunate to call him one of our own, and our Nation is forever thankful for his honorable service. Together, we grieve the loss of one of our greatest.