Catherine Cortez Masto

Ms. CORTEZ MASTO

Ms. CORTEZ MASTO. Mr. President, immediately after a tragedy, we wake up each day and feel the full force of it again. The shock, sorrow, and anger can hit us so strongly, it is hard to breathe, and that is the first part of mourning. Eventually, the darkest times in our lives start to feel more familiar. They still hurt as much as ever, but they don't surprise us, and they become part of us. Three years ago tonight, bullets split the air at the Route 91 Harvest Music Festival in my hometown of Las Vegas, NV. They sounded like fireworks, like a celebration, but these were the first shots in the worst mass shooting in modern American history. Within minutes, those present at the outdoor festival understood at least some of what was happening. A gunman, high up in a hotel room, had taken aim at the people blow. Hundreds of people were shot, and hundreds more wounded trying to get to safety. Fifty-eight people lost their lives that night and 2 more have passed from grievous wounds since. Within minutes, Nevadans began working together to save lives and help those in need. From those with years of training as first responders to just bystanders whose only qualification to help was a car at the ready, Las Vegans pulled together. Nurses and doctors rushed to hospitals, and ordinary Nevadans stood in line to give blood. Individuals and corporations donated their time and energy, as well as blankets, food, and other support. In the 3 years since, many all over the State of Nevada have worked to mark what happened through memorial crosses, sculpture, a commemorative community center, and many scholarships honoring the memory of those who lost their lives. Those 3 years have not erased the loss of the victims, the pain of the survivors, or the scars of the first responders who rushed into danger to save lives. If anything, the legacy of the Route 91 shooting has expanded during that time, not contracted. Like ripples on a pond, the impacts of this shooting linger. It affects different people in different ways. For many, fireworks on the Fourth of July are a reminder of what they went through that day. Geena Marano has learned to prepare herself for Independence Day and New Year's Eve, but if a car backfires unexpectedly, she has to start the process of reminding herself: You are safe. It is OK. Her sister Marisa, who was also at the festival with her, says that her own daughter has picked up the habit of reacting to loud noises. She says: ``It breaks my heart because my trauma has passed to her.'' The fear resurfaces for these sisters in so many situations--on anniversaries, including of all the shootings since then; at high schools where Geena was doing outreach to students and feared that she was putting herself at risk of another shooting; passing the Strip, eerily empty during the pandemic like it was on the days after the festival; anywhere where there is darkness and music, even on an evening out. The Marano sisters are not alone. While the tragedy of the Route 91 shooting may be 3 years behind us, for many survivors, a moment can bring it all roaring back. This is one of the reasons I am so committed to getting more funding and support for mental health and substance abuse treatment in this country. Just because you can't see many of the scars from the Route 91 festival, it doesn't mean they are not there. That is true for mental health in general. So many Americans deal, on a daily basis, with challenges that even their closest loved ones can struggle to understand. Many first responders, for instance, carry the trauma they see at scenes of crime, disaster, and tragedy with them. I introduced legislation to provide confidentiality to Federal law enforcement who use peer counseling services and to track law enforcement suicides in order to develop more effective prevention programs for our first responders. For everyone struggling with mental health concerns, peer support can be key, which is why I have introduced the Virtual Peer Support Act to help these key behavioral health programs move online to meet huge community needs during this pandemic because it really does take a community of support to help people through tough times. Treating the wounds, visible and invisible, from the Route 91 Harvest Festival shooting is only one part of what we owe the survivors. The other part is to take more action at the Federal level, to prevent attacks likes this in the first place, to reduce the gun violence that we have become far too accustomed to. Overwhelming majorities of Americans want commonsense gun reform, including many responsible gun owners like those in my own family. We can do this here in Congress. Nevada has done it. At the State level, we have banned the bump stocks used in the Route 91 shooting; we have closed the loophole that lets private sellers sell guns without background checks. We can and should do all of these things at the Federal level. I have pushed for all of these things during my time here in the Senate because no family should have to go through what I saw that Monday night at the Reunification Center in Las Vegas when families were waiting to hear what happened to their loved ones the night before at that concert. No one should have to struggle for years with chronic pain, physical or mental, when we can take sensible measures to prevent it. To all of the families I met who have been touched by this tragedy and for the hundreds more that I have spoken with, I want you to know that Nevadans haven't forgotten you. We are all still Vegas Strong. We are all still here with you. We are still working together to get you what you need in the wake of a tragedy whose impact has not faded over time; it has just changed and shifted. Tonight, at home, let us all remember those who felt the impact of the Route 91 shooting, from survivors, to families, to firefighters, nurses, and volunteers. Let us move toward an America that protects its communities from violence and that helps those who lived through it heal. I yield the floor.

Ms. CORTEZ MASTO

Ms. CORTEZ MASTO. Mr. President, I rise to enter into a colloquy with the junior Senator from Nevada, regarding sections 2861 and 2862 of title XXVIII of the National Defense Authorization Act that was recently considered by the Senate. These two sections of the bill include complex, intertwined history of public lands, Nevada's cultures and economy, Native American Tribes, and the Silver State's proud role in hosting and training our men and women in uniform.

Ms. CORTEZ MASTO. Mr. President, I appreciate the Senator's partnership on this matter and share the Senator's commitment to ensuring an effective answer to the previously noted public policy questions. While the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2021 that was approved by the Senate on July 23, 2020, does not address the breadth of issues covered in our legislation, I hope it will provide an impetus for continued engagement so that we can build momentum within Congress, the Department of Defense, the Department of the Interior, and in Nevada for our bill. I will, and I am sure I speak for my colleagues in the Nevada delegation on this matter, commit to work with any and all reasonable parties on this matter. I hope that we can solve this matter with an eye towards its history in Nevada, our commitment to Native American Tribes, our precious public lands, our men and women in uniform, and our national security. In addition, I would like to recognize Congressman Horsford and the other members of the Nevada congressional delegation for their efforts in the House to ensure that impacted Nevadan stakeholders will be properly engaged and have a voice in the management and of the Federal lands on which the Air Force operates in southern Nevada. His efforts will help guarantee improved decision making and collaboration amongst the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the U.S. Air Force as it pertains to the joint use of the Nevada Test and Training Range and Desert National Wildlife Refuge. I welcome his contributions in a final product approved by the full Congress. Would the junior Senator also care to comment on section 2861?

Ms. CORTEZ MASTO. Mr. President, I appreciate that question, because the process by which we find ourselves considering this legislation began on August 25, 2016, when the Air Force published a notice in the Federal Register to notify the public that it would begin preparing a legislative environmental impact statement related to the NTTR. This process, pursuant to the National Environmental Policy Act, kicked off public, Native American, and government agency engagement on any potential expansion of the NTTR. The outreach and scoping process on the proposed update to the legislative environmental impact statement was flawed from the beginning. For instance, in a letter dated March 8, 2018, Nevada's former Governor Brian Sandoval, a Republican, wrote to the Air Force that ``during the preparation of the legislative environmental impact statement, there was little interaction with our state agencies'' and that ``better coordination with the Nevada Department of Wildlife would have led to a more complete analysis and an opportunity to develop a compromise alternative that would both enhance training opportunities for the Air Force and continue to provide essential protections for Nevada's wildlife and outdoor recreational experiences.'' Unfortunately, the process for incorporating concerns expressed with the Air Force's plans for the NTTR have not improved over time. All told, more than 30,000 comments were submitted to the Air Force during their consideration of the legislative environmental impact statement, but these concerns were largely ignored by the Air Force and left unaddressed in the final documents released by the Air Force in October 2018. The issue was considered by the 80th session of the Nevada Legislature which, on a nearly unanimous basis, passed Assembly Joint Resolution 2--AJR 2. AJR2 strongly urged Congress to ``reject any proposal by the United States Air Force to expand its use of land or exercise of jurisdiction within the Desert National Wildlife Refuge beyond that which it currently possesses and to limit any proposal to extend the Air Force's authority over the Nevada Test and Training Range to not more than 20 years.'' The legislature further urged Congress ``to work collaboratively with all interested parties to develop a compromise alternative that would both enhance training opportunities for the United States Air Force and continue to provide essential protections for Nevada's wildlife and outdoor recreational experiences for Nevadans and visitors.'' The inability for the legislative environmental impact statement to yield a consensus, compromise proposal was a major factor in my decision to begin developing my own legislation on this subject with my colleagues in the Nevada congressional delegation. My goal was to find a solution that would allow the Air Force to modernize its training while also respecting and preserving one of the country's largest wildlife refuges. This process included extensive discussions and engagement with Nevada stakeholders including Tribal communities, conservationists, sportsmen and hunters, private landowners, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and the United States Air Force. Among other items, our legislation, S. 3145, firmly establishes public access to the Desert National Wildlife Refuge, provides that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service maintain primary jurisdiction over the entirety of the Refuge, preserves Fish and Wildlife Service jurisdiction on Refuge lands east of the historic Alamo/Old Corn Creek Road, creates several Wilderness areas, and establishes an interagency committee for resolving management conflicts between the U.S. Air Force and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. It also allows for the Air Force, in consultation with the Department of the Interior, to place up to 15 threat emitters to maximize and enhance realistic pilot training, provides a buffer zone west of the historic Alamo/Old Corn Creed Road, and provides a modest expansion of the NTTR to facilitate increased training activity on an additional 86,000 acres.

Ms. CORTEZ MASTO. Mr. President, I thank the junior Senator for the question. To begin, as before, it is important to understand the larger history in this area of Nevada before one can reasonably understand the magnitude of historical issues at play. The military's history in Fallon dates back to 1942 when the Civil Aviation Administration and Army Corps of Aviation began construction of an airfield as part of the Western Defense Program. The Navy assumed control in 1943, and the following year, Naval Auxiliary Air Station Fallon was commissioned. In the early 1950s, additional training ranges were established under Public Land Order 898 which withdrew 56,011 acres of public land for military use. In 1986--P.L. 99-606--and 1999--P.L. 106-65--Congress enacted legislation on this general subject by withdrawing additional public lands for military activities. The law passed in 1999 was especially noteworthy. This law represented a major change to the local customs, culture, and economy because it withdrew approximately 201,933 acres of land for military use for 20 years. The Fallon Range Training Complex now encompasses more than 230,000 acres of public land because of numerous map revisions and land surveys by the BLM since 1999. These land withdrawals, which took effect on November 6, 2001, expire on November 5, 2021, absent congressional reauthorization. While this history is important, it is also important to understand that the history in this area did not begin when the military became an integral part of the community. One such example is the Walker River Paiute Tribe, a federally recognized sovereign nation. One range, Bravo 19, of the larger Fallon Range Training Complex, is located directly adjacent to WRPT reservation land and the Navy, as far back as 1942, has conducted military testing and training on lands adjacent to the WRPT reservation. The National Congress of American Indians--NCAI--go into more detail on the close physical proximity between these entities in Resolution No. ECWS-19004. The NCAI notes that the Walker River Paiute reservation land is ``south and adjacent to Bravo 19, which is one of the training areas for Naval Air Station (NAS) Fallon'' and that the ``Navy has encumbered tribal land (est. 6,000 acres), which has been contaminated with live ordinance, caused historical damage to range wells and facilities and has left such land useless as this land cannot be totally cleaned up of ordinance and bombs.'' The Fallon Paiute-Shoshone Tribe has an equally important mark on the history of this unique area in northern Nevada. As detailed by the Inter-Tribal Council of Nevada in Resolution 06-ITCN-19, the Fallon Paiute-Shoshone Tribe is federally recognized and have lived, hunted, and prayed on their ancestral lands which encompass many significant areas in this region of the Silver State. This has resulted in a range of issues for the Fallon Paiute-Shoshone Tribe, including, but not limited to, access to traditional lands, including spiritual and cultural sites. These impacts are not trivial to the Fallon Paiute- Shoshone Tribe, but it should be noted that the current Chairman of the Fallon Paiute-Shoshone Tribe, Len George, published a piece in their March 2020 Tribal newsletter expressing his support for reauthorization of the existing withdrawn lands, but not for the expansion as proposed by the Navy The broader community in and around NAS Fallon also has a long history with this military base. Churchill County and the city of Fallon are the proud home of NAS Fallon, and both want to remain the proud home of NAS Fallon. That being said, this military base and training range is only one part of a larger community which each have to work together to balance its activities on public land against a range of other interrelated activities such as agriculture, clean energy development, hunting, outdoor recreation, and mining. Given these factors, it is easy to understand the amount of attention the Department of Navy received in August of 2016 when it published its notice in the Federal Register that it was initiating its process under the National Environmental Policy Act to ``assess the potential environmental consequences of maintaining and modernizing the Fallon Range Training Complex (FRTC) in Nevada, which would include land range expansion through additional land withdrawal and land acquisition, airspace modifications, and public land withdrawal renewal.'' Scoping meetings drew hundreds of attendees, and the Navy's Draft Environmental Impact Statement resulted in the submission of nearly 1,500 unique comments. Unfortunately, the robust scoping meetings and good-faith efforts to work together ultimately has not fully resolved some of the fundamental issues with the Navy's proposal. The shortcomings of this process have been apparent and was captured in 2018 by our former and our current Governor in letters sent to the Navy in December 2018 and November 2019. Since then, the Navy has undertaken a serious effort to understand local concerns through a series of ongoing discussions and pledged commitments. The National Environmental Policy Act process was subsequently completed in March of 2020 with a signed Record of Decision from the Navy. The Navy's ROD proposes an expansion that includes approximately 600,000 acres of public land and approximately 66,000 acres of private land located primarily in Churchill County, but affecting a total of five counties. When considering associated airspace modifications, the Navy's proposal will affect over half of all Nevada counties. While affected counties, Tribes, and State agencies worked with the Navy to identify key assurances in the ROD, which reflected the Navy's serious engagement, the ROD could not and did not alleviate all concerns. Shortly before the Navy made their decision in March of 2020, Senator Rosen, Congressman Horsford, and I wrote a letter to the Senate and House Armed Services Committees where we noted that the lack of consensus left us with ``no choice other than to initiate our own process to gather input from as many of our constituents as possible.'' With regards to both sections of the National Defense Authorization Act, we continue to seek that consensus, and I would note in particular that Governor Sisolak and his administration have been helpful with this effort, especially in working with affected counties and the Nevada Association of Counties to bring State agencies, local governments, and Tribes together. I would also like to acknowledge the efforts of Churchill County which also worked with the State and the aforementioned stakeholders to collaboratively compile a list of outstanding concerns and suggested means of addressing those concerns with the Navy's proposal. The combined efforts from stakeholders in our State has been an invaluable resource. In the meantime, I appreciate that this bill does not attempt to force a solution upon the Silver State which has virtually no support from my constituents. Rather, by authorizing new 20-year extensions of the public land withdrawals, it removes uncertainty by reinforcing the critical mission of the U.S. military in Nevada and its efforts to modernize while enabling Federal, State, local, and Tribal stakeholders to continue their dialogue to find the right way forward.

Ms. CORTEZ MASTO. Mr. President, I thank the junior Senator from Nevada for her partnership on these important questions. This year's annual defense authorization bill is more than 1,000 pages long, but sections 2861 and 2862 together take up less than one page. As the Senator knows, while the legislative text seems quite simple, significant and historical public policy questions underpin these two sections of the bill. Section 2861 provides for a 20-year extension of the public land withdrawals specific to Fallon Range Training Complex which is utilized by the U.S. Navy. Section 2862 provides for a similar 20-year extension of the public land withdrawals specific to the Nevada Test and Training Range, otherwise known as NTTR, which is utilized by the U.S. Air Force. The reality of what this legislation means to our constituents in Nevada, our Nation's public lands, and its potential impact for current and future generations is far more complex. Given the importance of the public lands, Native American Tribes, Nevada's culture and economy, and our Nation's military, can the junior Senator from Nevada provide more detail on that history with respect to NTTR?

Ms. CORTEZ MASTO. Mr. President, I thank the junior Senator for her question and would begin by noting that the mountains of southern Nevada are sacred lands, where Native Americans carved their stories onto its mountains and cliffs and left artifacts which detail how they lived and thrived. The bighorn sheep which are central to this area are sacred to Nevada's Native American Tribes, including the Moapa Band of Paiutes, who are among the most acutely impacted by these public policy questions raised by Senator Rosen. The creation story told by the Moapa Band of Paiutes include references to bighorn sheep, and the Las Vegas Paiutes also regard the Desert National Wildlife Refuge as culturally significant. With the history of the Refuge properly established, can my colleague, a former member of the House Armed Services Committee, help provide history on NTTR?

Ms. CORTEZ MASTO. Mr. President, I thank the Senator for her partnership.

Ms. CORTEZ MASTO

Ms. CORTEZ MASTO. Mr. President, I rise today to talk about what we are seeing in this country in the West with the horrific wildfires that are happening right now. I have to say, so many of my colleagues have been speaking out, and rightfully so. My heart, along with all of theirs, goes out to everyone who has been affected by the fires raging across the West and, most of all, to those who have lost members of their families or their homes. You know, I am thinking of the hundreds of thousands of people in Oregon under evacuation orders, of the brave firefighters in California who are battling flames in the middle of a pandemic, of Nevadans whose skies are blanketed with hazardous smoke--everyone in the West who is pooling all of their efforts and resources to support one another from Washington to Oregon, to California, to Nevada--everywhere that we have seen I also want to honor the efforts of two courageous pilots who died in a crash over Caliente, NV, in July while dropping fire retardant on the Bishop Fire. David Blake Haynes and Scott Thomas lost their lives while protecting the people of Nevada, and I join all Nevadans in sharing my condolences with their families. You know, Americans are up against the brutal reality of the climate crisis. Science tells us that climate change is making the West hotter and drier and contributing to wildfires. Scientists have been sending a consistent message about climate change for the past 30 years. In the entire Western United States, we have seen just some of the dire effects scientists have predicted. That is why we need Federal action to slow the very clear effects of climate change. We have seen those effects in my home State of Nevada where, this year alone, almost a quarter million acres have burned so far. Since I have been in the Senate, over 2\1/2\ million acres in Nevada have burned in tragedies like the Poeville Fire, the South Sugarloaf Fire, the Range 2 Fire, and the Martin Fire, which was the State's largest fire in our country. That is why the entire Nevada delegation has worked so hard to get Nevada the resources it needs to prepare for these fires, combat them when they occur, and rebuild afterward. We have helped get funds to the University of Nevada, Reno, for its ALERTWildfire Program, which uses state-of-the-art cameras to monitor the fires. We have requested that the Nevada Air National Guard get the tools it needs to combat these fires, including C-130J aircraft that could fight fires all over the West. Yet, inexplicably, this request was turned down earlier this year. Along with my colleagues in the Senate, we have worked to pass a bill to create a permanent Forest Service contingency account so that Federal agencies aren't left empty-handed when they need the money the most. Last summer, I convened the first of its kind wildfire summit in Nevada. I was honored to join our firefighters, our ranchers, our conservationists, our scientists, our power companies, and representatives of government agencies in thinking through new ways to coordinate and collaborate around how to address these wildfires. There is so much that we can do working together--from developing innovative digital platforms to monitor the fire to funding research, to restoring native plants, to helping neighborhoods plan for and adapt to fire seasons. We need to make our farms and landscapes more resilient. We need to preserve our national treasures and improve the health and well-being of those who live in our cities and rural areas alike because the truth is that it is not getting cooler. Anyone in Los Angeles, which saw temperatures of 120 degrees Fahrenheit this month, or in Las Vegas, which hit 113 degrees in July, can tell you that. Taking climate seriously shouldn't be a partisan issue. This is about safeguarding property, protecting local economies, and saving lives--lives of first responders who have too much to do with too few resources and lives of civilians throughout Nevada and the West frightened by what they are seeing literally in their backyards. So I plan to listen to what the scientists are telling us. I am listening to Nevadans in places like Winnemucca and Elko, where ranchers and local officials have lived through these fires. I am listening to Nevada's Tribal leaders, whose people have been stewards of the land for millennia, and to other communities of color that are among the hardest hit when disaster strikes. And, yes, I am listening to my colleagues who have devastating stories of what is happening to their own constituents in their States right now. The climate crisis is all around us--from the wildfires we are seeing in the West to the hurricanes we are seeing right now in the South. It is time for us to take bipartisan action, address the climate crisis, and make sure we are doing what we do best: funding short-term and long-term policies and goals to address these issues. I look forward to working with my colleagues around the States. I yield the floor.

Ms. CORTEZ MASTO

Ms. CORTEZ MASTO. Mr. President, as I listen to my colleagues, I am honored every day to serve with them in the U.S. Senate. In 2018, in Minden, NV, I had the honor of commemorating the opening of the Moving Wall, which is a replica of the Vietnam war memorial that travels the country so the public can pay its respects to Vietnam veterans. I will always remember the stories that veterans and their families shared with me that day--stories of coming home from a divisive war to an equally divided public. The pain of that reception was still fresh for many of them decades later. America's servicemembers make an implicit pact with our country. They agree to put their lives on the line, and in exchange, they deserve our support, our care for them and their families, and our respect. Last week, The Atlantic magazine published a story in which anonymous sources claimed that Donald Trump doesn't demonstrate that respect. The article described a Commander in Chief who calls his own country's fallen soldiers ``losers'' and ``suckers.'' The story has fit a pattern from other anonymous sources over the years, some having described the President as lashing out at generals and calling them ``dopes'' and ``babies.'' Now, granted, these are from anonymous sources, so let's set them aside for just a moment. As the saying goes, journalism is the rough draft of history, and sometimes that rough draft gets things wrong. What do we know? What we do know from the President's public statements is that Donald Trump does not understand the sacrifice and heroism that America's Armed Forces demonstrate on a daily basis, and that makes him unfit to lead them. How can a Commander in Chief make life and death decisions for our troops when he doesn't understand the very nature of the sacrifice he is asking? I am not making up Donald Trump's refusal to understand military sacrifice. You just have to look at the record, and you have heard some of it today. That record is part of the public record that, in 1968, showed that Donald Trump avoided military service through a medical deferment. Although Donald Trump did not serve in the military, he has felt free to criticize others who have and their families. In 2015, we heard then-Candidate Donald Trump say that John McCain was ``not a war hero. . . . I like people who weren't captured.'' He was talking about a man who endured torture during the 5 years he spent as a prisoner, a man who upheld the highest standards of our military by turning down the release that his captors offered him in order to stay with his fellow POWs, a man who refused to denounce his country even when his captors informed him it could earn him his freedom. Clearly, this President has no conception of that integrity and that sacrifice. A President who refuses to honor men and women who were captured doesn't understand what heroism is. In 2016, as the Republican nominee for President, Donald Trump attacked the family of CPT Humayan Khan, who was killed in Iraq while trying to stop a suicide bomber. For his brave and self-sacrificing actions that day, Captain Khan received a Bronze Star and a Purple Heart. Accompanied by his wife at the Democratic National Convention, Mr. Khan spoke about his son's sacrifice. In response, after seeing Mr. Khan and his wife, Donald Trump said: If you look at his wife, she was standing there. She had nothing to say. She probably--maybe she wasn't allowed to have anything to say. Can you imagine criticizing a mother for not being able to articulate the pain of losing her son? A President who mocks a military family's pain doesn't understand what selflessness is. Just this Monday, we heard Donald Trump say that the top people in the Pentagon want to do nothing but fight wars so that all of those wonderful companies that make the bombs stay happy. A President who attacks America's generals as valuing profits over the men and women they command doesn't understand what leadership is, and because, even after 3 years as Commander in Chief Donald Trump can't understand or appreciate the commitment and sacrifice of America's servicemembers, he cannot effectively lead them. At the end of the day, Donald Trump does not understand the very purpose of our military. He seems to believe that the military is his personal police force. He doesn't get that the allegiance to which our Armed Forces swear is to the American Nation, its people, and its Constitution. We saw this when, in June, President Trump threatened to use the Insurrection Act to send Active-Duty troops to police the streets of this country. I was in Washington on the day this administration ordered police on horseback, armed with tear gas and concussion grenades, to disperse protesters who were peacefully protesting against police violence--all so that Donald Trump could stage a photo opportunity in front of a church while he held a Bible. On that same night, I could hear the noise overhead from the National Guard Black Hawk helicopters that engaged in a show-of-force display on the streets of Washington. I come from a family of servicemembers. My father was stationed in Korea after the war. My grandfathers both served in the U.S. Army, and I had a great uncle who was on the beach at Normandy. My father-in-law piloted LCM-3s in Korea for the Army, and I keep on the shelf in my Senate office a photo that he took of the Korean War Veterans Memorial, here in Washington, in winter. That stark image of troops in the snow, moving cautiously through danger, is a reminder to me of the humanity and sacrifice of our servicemembers, including of my father and father- in-law. Each year, when I celebrate the induction of new Nevadans to the service academies, I see the next generation devoting its idealism and its courage to our country, and I consider the weighty sacrifice of people who are so very young. After reading the stories in the news and reflecting on the history of comments from our current Commander in Chief, I just want to say one simple thing to veterans, servicemembers, and their families in Nevada and throughout this country: Thank you. I will always stand with American troops who put their lives and bodies on the line to protect our country, and the American people deserve a Commander in Chief who will do the same. I yield the floor.

Ms. CORTEZ MASTO

Ms. CORTEZ MASTO. Mr. President, you know, as I sit and listen to my colleague from Virginia, I can't agree more. Now is the time, really, for us to come together to do what the Senate traditionally does best, and that is working on the best interests of the people across this country who are struggling right now. Compromise is not a bad word. It is time for us to get in a room and really do the job that the American public expects us to do, and that is looking out for their best interests at a time when we have a healthcare pandemic. Now, keep in mind that this is a once-in-a- lifetime pandemic--once in a lifetime. So that requires us to come together and really focus on how we help Americans across this country who are struggling right now. They shouldn't be penalized. We have asked them to stay home and shelter in place because we are trying to address how we do the research that is necessary for a vaccine. Hopefully, one day, we will have that vaccine. We need to ramp up the testing that is needed so everybody can feel safe and comfortable knowing whether they have this virus or not or the antibody, but we are not there yet because more work needs to be done, particularly by this Congress. The American public has heard us, and they are sheltering in place, they are staying home, and they have shuttered their businesses. Now, more than ever, this country needs the Senate to act. The House has done its job 2 months ago. They worked a comprehensive package, and I say ``comprehensive'' because we can't just pick and choose winners and losers here. This isn't what this is about. This is about making sure we are bringing relief and helping those across this country. Everybody is impacted. We have promised them: If you do what we say and we help stem the spread of this virus, we are going to have your backs, and we are going to take care of you. I will say that we have failed at that. This administration has failed. We have failed at that promise. I know when we all go to our offices or we go home to our States, we are hearing from our constituents. We get emails, we get calls, and we get letters. I know you all feel the same as I do, and we read them and we listen to them. I don't know of one State in this country right now where somebody is not suffering from this pandemic who needs our help. I know that is why I am here, because we all took the oath. We said we are going to be here to work in the best interests of our States and this country and to make sure that those individuals across this country who pay our salaries--those taxpayers--expect us to do our jobs and work. And that is what I am asking for right now. You know, I have been to the floor of the Senate this week to talk about the struggles that I see in my State. We all get letters, and I do want to focus today on one. There are so many, and that is why a comprehensive package is necessary. Right now, I would love to talk to you about what I am seeing in my home State when it comes to our seniors and those who are in need right now with funding to help nursing homes. Let me just start with letters because I think this is how it starts with all of us--calls into our offices and letters coming from our constituents. There are two calls that I received. One of them was from a daughter who called in for her father, who is in a VA nursing home in Boulder City, NV, and because he isn't showing symptoms, he isn't getting tested. With so many cases there, how is this possible? Where are the tests? This is a daughter who is concerned for her father, knowing that if we just get people tested, there is that comfort in knowing whether or not you have this virus and whether you should be quarantined or how we protect you, particularly those in nursing homes. Then, another call I received was from a mother. She is also a certified nursing assistant at a nursing home, and she is telling me that many there quit because they don't have the proper PPE. They want to work, but they don't want to expose themselves. So what are we doing right now to address all of these needs? And, listen, there is so much. It is overwhelming. I know it. That is why we were sent here for the hard decisions, not the easy ones, to make sure we are all working in the best interests of the people in our States. I know you all feel the same way. I have to tell you this. There are thousands of Nevadans that know the anxiety that comes because there is a spouse, a parent, or a grandparent in a nursing home, and they are unable to visit with them or hug their loved ones for fear of giving COVID-19. You have seen it. You have heard it, and I have heard it. Too many loved ones have lost their loved ones because of this virus, and they were not able to be there. Do you know who was there with them in the nursing home? Those incredible heroes on the frontlines, who are sacrificing their own health to be with them, for those who passed away because of COVID-19. There are so many factors that raise a coronavirus risk for nursing home residents. The majority of the residents, as we all know, are seniors. Many have underlying conditions. They live in closed quarters, and they share common spaces. And we also know this: Residents and staff of these facilities shouldn't be an afterthought. They are a core part of our communities and our healthcare system. They are the elders, and they are the keepers of our stories. We have to do more to protect them. We need to protect the workers in these homes, too, many of whom belong to communities of color and who are struggling to provide care to a population with unique needs. The reason why I bring this up is because there is legislation out there to do just what I am talking about and what we need in our communities. It is not something new. It has already been introduced. My colleague Bob Casey introduced the Nursing Home COVID-19 Protection and Prevention Act to get nursing and long-care facilities in Nevada and across this country more PPE, the testing that they need, and the staffing to help the staff and those who are in those communities. These homes need support to slow the spread of the virus and to respond rapidly when it crops up, using all we have learned from combating this virus so far. The bill funds teams of nurses and other critical staff to lend emergency help at nursing homes with outbreaks and to bring the best practices to bear in helping sick residents. This bill ensures folks in my home State and across the country are being taken care of and that families have peace of mind that there is accountability for providers and protections in place for workers. I am hearing from family members and loved ones with those in nursing homes in my State. I am hearing from caregivers and healthcare workers. I know all of you are as well, and one thing that comes from all these people is a feeling of being forgotten. No one--no one--in America should feel forgotten right now. It is time for us to come together. We need to make sure nursing homes follow guidelines and that, if they fail to do so, they will be held accountable. We also must arm them with the tools they need to face a virus that has been relentless in attacking seniors. We should make sure that the next coronavirus package that we should be negotiating and working on right now does everything it can to support the most fragile in our communities because they are also some of our most precious I yield the floor.

Ms. CORTEZ MASTO

Ms. CORTEZ MASTO. Mr. President, I so appreciate the comments of the minority leader.

Ms. CORTEZ MASTO

Ms. CORTEZ MASTO. Mr. President, oftentimes, when I am home and I am talking to constituents in Nevada, they look at Washington as a bubble. They don't really think that things happen here unless they see it on the news or they have no trust in us really coming together to work on behalf of our constituents. I think it is time we focus on what needs to be done in the best interest of our country than focusing on political gain or gamesmanship. The reason why I say that is, I don't know about the President pro tempore, but I know every single Senator comes from a State, and they care about their constituents. They get emails from their constituents and letters from their constituents. When we go home, we claim to be in a recess, but it is not really a recess. We are home working. We are talking to our constituents and businesses and the individuals who are there. And if we are really listening to our constituents, particularly at a time like now, when this pandemic has created the worst health crisis we have seen not just in this country but around the world and has contributed to an economic crisis, then we are hearing from our constituents that they are struggling right now. The reason they are struggling is because we have asked them to stay at home and shelter in place to stem the spread of this virus. We have said: Listen, we don't have a vaccine. We are working on it, but we don't have it right away. We need to ramp up our tests so we can make sure you can get it, and quickly, to determine whether you have this virus or the antibodies so we can then quarantine you and shelter you. But until we even get to that point, we have asked everybody to stay home. And they have done it. I know in my State of Nevada, we have the highest unemployment rate in this country right now--25 percent. Businesses have shuttered. People have stayed home to help us stem the spread of this virus. What we told them months ago is that, if you do this, we will be there. Our Federal Government will be there to work with you. We will help you. We will make sure you have money in your pocket so you can afford healthcare, so you can pay your bills, so you can pay your rent, you can pay for your food, so you do not have to have any economic insecurity. We made that commitment to them. We promised them. I have to say that we still have to follow that obligation. They are doing their part, so why aren't we doing ours? At the end of the day, the President pro tempore and I both know, and all of our colleagues know, that there is more economic insecurity in this country right now than we have ever seen before because of this pandemic: food insecurity, housing insecurity, job insecurity, education insecurity. There is a homework gap. We know it. It is happening. So now it is time for us to stop the posturing, stop the political gamesmanship and really do what we committed when we swore an oath to this office when we were sworn in, that we were going to do right by people across this country, looking out for their interests-- not our interests but the best interests of this country. So I come to the floor today to really ask my colleagues: Let's try and do what is right for the best interests of this country, now more than ever. I know you get them. I get letters. I have letters from constituents right now--I can't tell you--and I have been inundated with them. A constituent from Nevada wrote: I urge you to extend the federal eviction moratorium and include at least $100 billion in funding for emergency rental assistance in the next . . . relief [package]. [This] assistance will enable households, including those who have lost jobs or who already were struggling to pay rent before the pandemic, to remain stably housed and avoid the devastating and long-lasting harms of eviction. That is from a constituent. I didn't write that. They sent it to my office. In this letter, this constituent from Nevada goes on to say: It is important to be kind and compassionate. Especially during this time. We have the opportunity to learn and to do better always. No one should be forced out of their home during a global pandemic. Those are similar to other letters I receive. I know you receive them. I know our colleagues receive them. That is why, today, it is important for us to focus on so much that is happening, including that economic security. Right now I want to focus on one piece of it that we need to address that should be part of a global piece, which is this idea that, right now, millions of Americans are concerned about being evicted from their homes. In the middle of a pandemic, when people need a safe place to call home, they are concerned that they don't have the money to pay their rent because we have asked them to stay home. I have said this before on the floor of the Senate. I will say it again. In the middle of a pandemic, housing is healthcare. Security in your own home is healthcare. Yet we have millions of people across the country on the brink of eviction. In mid-July, a quarter of adults reported that they were housing insecure. That is one in four. In more than half of the States in America, eviction bans have expired. That means, across the Nation, more and more families will have to pack up everything that they can carry in the space of hours. There could be 40 million evictions nationwide by the end of the year, and what we have seen amongst the data that comes in to all of our offices is that families of color are likely to be the hardest hit. In my home State of Nevada, experts believe that nearly half a million people are at risk of eviction--perhaps as many as 300,000 of them in Nevada by September. Among renters, up to 47 percent face that risk. Staving off Nevada evictions could cost Nevada $850 billion in rental assistance over the next year. That is just one State. But do you know what? The States, the local governments, everyone has been impacted by this pandemic, and they are rightly looking to Congress to address it. They are desperate for us to pass meaningful legislation to get them money to pay their bills, to enact protections that let them stay in their homes and apartments. We need to help them now. We can't turn our backs. We cannot turn our backs on Americans now, more than ever. They need our help. And we need the administration, we need leadership--Republican leadership--coming to the negotiating table to get real relief passed, not hollow political gestures. We need a package that will include housing and rental assistance, prevent an epidemic of homelessness, and stabilize the housing markets because, if we don't, the consequences are going to haunt families and our economy for years. Now, I know this. Take it from me. In Nevada, we saw 200,000 families lose their homes because of the 2008 housing crisis. That foreclosure crisis hit Nevada so hard, and it has been a long, long road back for so many Nevadans. I am determined not to ever see that happen again and to bring relief. If I am in a position--as we all are here in Congress--to bring that relief, why aren't we in a room negotiating it? Why are we not talking regularly? We did it with the CARES Act immediately. We saw the need, and we did something about it. Nevadans are already struggling to find work, to afford food, and to stay healthy during this pandemic; plus, they are helping their children learn as schools start to reopen. They cannot effectively do that--none of it--without a safe place to stay, a roof over their head. Housing is the key to any sense of stability in our chaotic world right now. It is time to end the political games. Americans expect it. They need a roof over their head. That is why it is so vital we pass legislation, not just to help Nevadans but people all over the country pay their rent and utility bills when they cannot safely go to work because of this health pandemic We already have legislation that is out there. We know it. The House, months ago, passed the Heroes Act, which addresses this issue. Our colleagues have introduced legislation--Senator Brown's Emergency Rental Assistance and Rental Market Stabilization Act is out there-- that can do the job. We can talk about how we bring this bill forward that helps so many families. It is not just rental stabilization but to help families keep a roof over their head. Remember, there are a lot of small businesses that are landlords. There are many businesses that are landlords who are shouldering the missed opportunities, and they are struggling. Landlords have bills to pay as well. They have mortgages; they have taxes; they have insurance, staff--let alone their families whom they have to take care of. Without assistance, many of them will go bankrupt or can be forced to sell their properties. So let's focus on the essentials, the basic need for things like shelter. Let's keep people safe and off the streets. Let's pass Senator Brown's rental assistance bill. Senator Reed has a housing assistance fund bill to help homeowners avoid foreclosure. Senator Menendez has a housing counseling bill. There are so many others. They are in front of us. We have an opportunity to do the right thing here. The Senate just needs to do its part by making sure those homes are safe and stable, by passing legislation that is going to have a positive impact on so many Americans across this country. I thank the Presiding Officer for listening. I thank my colleagues for at least having the ability and the will to try to do something through the legislation that was introduced, but now more needs to be done. We can't just introduce legislation. Now is the time to do our jobs as Senators: to come to the floor of the Senate, bring legislation to the floor, and debate it. Let the American public actually see us work and do our jobs that we promised them we would be doing. It is OK to debate legislation. It is OK to compromise and come forth with good government and good policy that is going to lift all of us up. That is what the Senate should be doing, and that is what I look forward to from my colleagues. I yield the floor.

Ms. CORTEZ MASTO

Ms. CORTEZ MASTO. Madam President, in a couple of weeks, students in Nevada and around the country are going to begin their studies again. I want what every parent in America wants--a safe school year that allows schoolchildren to thrive in mind and body. To make that happen, students and parents need the flexibility to make decisions that are best for their families. They need school systems that can afford the technology, the equipment, and the resources to keep students and staff safe. They need access to the internet and the devices that will support education as well as allow parents to work from home and supervise their kids. I have been working to bridge the digital divide for Nevadans as part of my Innovation State Initiative, which helps Nevada develop groundbreaking solutions to 21st-century problems. That is why last month I held a statewide conversation about broadband. I heard local officials in rural communities talk about the challenges they faced getting high-quality internet access to their communities. A 9-year-old student told me how she struggled to do schoolwork because she only had her mother's cell phone for internet access. I also heard stories about how libraries in my State are stepping into the digital breach through the FCC's E-rate Program, which subsidizes internet access for schools and libraries. Most of all, we talked about how widespread the issue is in my State. The FCC's own figures show that half of rural Nevadans and 6 percent of people statewide can't even get high-speed wired internet. That is not counting people who can't afford services or devices or those who can't get reliable wireless services. We are talking hundreds of thousands of people in the Silver State without the ability to stay connected to one another during a time of social distancing. Students in Nevada need internet access not just to attend class remotely but to submit homework online. Between 12 million and 16 million students across the country can't complete their homework because they lack access. It is not just families with school-age kids who need better broadband access; businesses need it, too, to reach new customers and offer new services, particularly during a time when we are dealing with a healthcare crisis and asking people to shelter in place. That is why we must build on the $2 billion the CARES Act included for various broadband technology investments and allocate funds in this next coronavirus package to make access to broadband more affordable in every ZIP Code. With my colleagues, I introduced the Accessible, Affordable Internet for All Act to invest over $100 billion in things like E-rate support, including Wi-Fi on schoolbuses, and digital literacy training. That investment can fund vouchers to offset broadband costs for those who might not otherwise be able to afford it. It can go toward establishing a one-stop clearinghouse of Federal broadband program information for communities and organizations that need it and offer the ability to track funds, through my bipartisan ACCESS BROADBAND Act. Fundamentally, it can help a confused high school sophomore watch a video explaining her geometry homework, while her parents video-conference with colleagues in the next room and her little sister talks with her grandparents. It is our job at the Federal level to ensure that Americans across this country have the resources and tools they need as local districts so that those districts can decide what is best for their communities as we move forward. To do that, we need to set aside those proposals that force schools to make decisions they are uncomfortable with. We need to listen to local teachers on the ground who know what is best for their school districts, not legislators in Washington trying to mandate what schools must do. Local districts are in touch with their leaders and are monitoring the actual spread of the virus in our local communities Yet, unfortunately, some of my colleagues want to withhold two-thirds of schools' funding unless students are physically present at school. It makes no sense to make schools all over the country move in lockstep. We need to listen to local school boards, to parents, to teachers, and to our public health experts about the safest way to teach in our local communities. Back home in Nevada, I am listening to my school districts, to parents and teachers. I am fighting to get the resources and support they need so that everyone can feel safe and learn in an environment that is best for them right now. I want to make sure we get our families and school districts alike the resources and tools they need for the safest possible year ahead. I want to let them do it on their terms, whether that is in person or online. But that requires Congress and this Senate to ensure we are doing everything in the next package to put funding into broadband so that we can ensure every student has equal access to the opportunity to learn and no one is left behind. I encourage all of my colleagues to come together in a bipartisan way so that we can fund the necessary relief when it comes to broadband and any other relief that is necessary for our families and our students and our teachers and our staff during this healthcare crisis. I yield the floor to my esteemed colleague, the senior Senator from Rhode Island.

Ms. CORTEZ MASTO

Ms. CORTEZ MASTO. Mr. President, you can hear the passion not only in my colleague Senator Rosen, with whom I am proud to stand side by side to represent the great State of Nevada, but in all of the Senators on the floor today in their talking about this particular issue. At kitchen tables all over the country, including in Nevada, families are sitting down and are pouring over their budgets. Too many of them are trying to figure out how to stretch those budgets with no income, and they are making difficult decisions on which bills need the most urgent attention. Our State and local and Tribal governments across this country are doing the same thing. With the economic downturn caused by the coronavirus pandemic, State and local governments have less revenue at a time when they need those resources to combat the virus and keep Nevadans safe. That is why, when Congress passed the CARES Act in March, the Democrats fought so hard for funding for State, local, and Tribal governments. We wanted to make sure that State and local governments had enough cash on hand to cover the urgent costs of the pandemic so that they could keep services running and expand their responses during this crisis. We needed to guarantee these governments could cover the costs of emergency shelters for COVID patients. We had to make sure that frontline responders had enough personal protective equipment on hand for them to do their jobs. We also wanted local governments to help people stay in their homes. We allocated $150 billion from the coronavirus relief fund for State, local, and Tribal governments in March. That was a compromise. We came together. We worked together to solve that problem. I heard on the floor of the Senate today that there is bipartisan support for this funding as well, but we all knew back in March, when we passed the $150 billion as part of the CARES Act, that it was not going to be enough. We weren't sure, but now we know it is not enough, and we have to do something about it. We are seeing across the country how local governments and States are dealing with this pandemic. Senator Rosen just noted that in Nevada, we are in the middle of a special session. The Governor had to call a special session of our legislature because we have a budget hole of about $1.2 billion related to COVID-19 pandemic and the impact it has had. What is that impact? It is the impact we all have asked across this country. Listen, we are in the middle of a health crisis. Until we have that vaccine, we have to keep people safe. And the one thing that we have asked them across the country, including in the State of Nevada, in every county, is that if you shelter in place, if you go home, if you shut your business and help us stem the spread of this virus, we will take care of you. We will help you put food on the table. We will help you pay your rent, make sure you have a roof over your head, pay your utility bills. We will put money in your pockets. Oh, and by the way, we will make sure that those small businesses have access to liquidity so that when we can come outside and outdoors again safely and securely, our economy will spring back that much quicker. Unfortunately, when we asked everyone across the country to follow that advice and stay safe, we made a commitment to them as well--a long-term commitment--that we would continue to work together in a bipartisan way to solve this problem and make sure that people and individuals had money in their pockets and that businesses had access to liquidity so that we could get through this crisis together. In Nevada--and we have seen this conversation happening across the country--schools are opening in just a few short weeks, and many of the leaders in my State at the State and local level are looking to Washington for help. Most States aren't allowed to borrow to meet these expenses, and I know our esteemed majority leader has thought that bankruptcy is an option for them, but I can tell you that for me and for Nevada, this is not an option. It just cannot happen. In the State of Nevada, like most States, they are required by law to balance their budgets. Tribal councils, county commissions, and the Nevada State Legislature are doing what families have been asked to do--they are coming together to ask themselves how they can pay the most urgent bills in that big stack of bills that are coming due right now. They are working around the clock to get Nevadans the support they need to deliver the services they expect--everything from fighting wildfires that are happening right now in Nevada and across the West to rethinking how we address and open our schools safely for our kids and for our staff, for the teachers and the administrators. But those repairs that are required for our roads and bridges--the work that still needs to be done on a daily basis--have to continue. So governments across this country are continuing to juggle those many needs. On top of all of that, we know we want them to all securely hold 2020 elections. We want to make sure that our families are connected to school and work, that there is no homework gap, and that Medicaid benefits to those in need are available. We need to keep EMTs on the job and help businesses comply with safety regulations during the middle of this pandemic. With all these demands, States haven't been able to keep up with those essential bills. I will tell you this: I have talked to, in my State, like many of us do--we go home, or when we are here, we make sure that we are communicating with so many people across our State. In Nevada, we have beautifully diverse communities, and we have urban and rural areas. I have talked to the leaders of all of our counties, our city governments, and our Governor. Whether they are Republican or Democratic or Independent, there is still one thing in common: They want us to come together to find a solution to help and support them during this time when there is no revenue coming in because our economy has been ground to a halt as we address this health crisis. They have all asked both me and Jacky Rosen, Senator Rosen: Please continue to fight for us and make sure that the money not only is there and available, because we need it to keep our constituents safe, but make sure it is flexible. Make sure we have the opportunity not just to work through the State, but that the money goes directly to some of our local governments, who I have found--and I don't know, as you all go home, but I have found that the money that we did give to them through the CARES Act has been put to good use because--do you know why-- because local and State governments and Tribal governments know what their communities need. Why should we dictate to them if they want to use that money to help people who need rental assistance at this point in time or if they want to use that money to put food on people's tables because they are not working? I mean, isn't that what this is about--all of us working together to help our families across this country, to make sure we can all stay safe but still pay those bills and still keep our families safe and make sure our businesses are taken care of. But I know this: At the end of the day, in the middle of a crisis, our governments at the State, local, and Tribal government level are the social safety nets. Where do you think our constituents go when they need that help? So I think and know that we have an obligation at the Federal level to continue to work with our State and local governments and our Tribal governments to provide them the necessary resources that are needed right now in the middle of this pandemic because our economy has been ground to a halt. So I think it is time for our body to come together and do what the American people expect of us, which is to work in a bipartisan way to solve this problem and really look at how we can continue the funding that is necessary for our State and local governments. Families not only in Nevada but across this country expect that of us now. So I would hope the majority leader would be willing to bring to the floor whatever bill is appropriate to have this discussion. And I will tell you, there are three out there right now. There is the Heroes Act, there is the SMART Act, which has bipartisan support, and there is the Coronavirus Community Relief Act. There are three bills. Let's bring them to the floor. Let's have this discussion, with the focus on coming together to get the funding to our State and local governments and our Tribal communities that is needed right now. I yield the floor

Ms. CORTEZ MASTO

Ms. CORTEZ MASTO. Mr. President, I rise today to recognize the career of Robert J. Halstead, or as most of us know him, Bob. To some, this name might sound familiar. He has appeared before Congress on a number of occasions on behalf of the State of Nevada to provide expert witness testimony on nuclear waste storage and transportation. His name graces the archives at the Nuclear Regulatory Commission and the Department of Energy, and he has been a fierce and dedicated partner in the fight against the Yucca Mountain project. In 1988, the year after the ``screw Nevada bill'' recklessly designated Yucca Mountain as the Nation's sole high-level nuclear waste repository site, Bob brought his knowledge of Federal radioactive waste programs and activities to help arm Nevada in its fight against the broken and misguided processes that led to the Yucca Mountain designation. At the time, he may not have known how long of a fight he was signing up for, but Bob never looked back. He threw himself into helping Nevada, learning every aspect of the complicated and far-fetched license application, analyzing the geography of the site, and leaving no stone unturned when reviewing proposed transportation routes that would ship one of the most dangerous materials known to man across the country to Nevada. For more than 30 years, he helped guide the State on nuclear transportation matters, poured over environmental impact statements, submitted contentions to the Yucca Mountain application, and represented the State in technical proceedings that involved the proposed repository. These are just a few of the things we have to thank him for. Since 2011, Bob served as the executive director of the Nevada Agency for Nuclear Projects, always making himself available to assist the Governor. Before coming to the Senate, I had the pleasure of working alongside Bob during my time as the Nevada Attorney General. No matter the day or hour, Bob always made time to review materials and provide well-informed, robust responses not just to me, but to my staff. It was comforting knowing someone with his exceptional experience was at the helm, guiding the State on an issue that is so important to Nevadans and trying to right the wrongs of the Federal Government's reckless mismanagement of nuclear waste. Just last year, when the State learned of secret weapons-grade plutonium and mischaracterized waste shipments having been received at the Nevada National Security Site, Bob once again proved how instrumental he is to the State of Nevada. His institutional knowledge of Nevada's nuclear history and depth of experience provided the State with an unmatched resource as it rose to challenge the shipments. Bob has been a vital contributor and colleague; and as he embarks on his well-deserved retirement, I want to share my deepest appreciation and gratitude for his decades-long commitment to helping Nevadans as they have worked to bring fairness, reason, and science back to the repository site designation process. It is my understanding that Bob will be returning to his home in Wisconsin, where he will live with his wife, Margaret. Bob is looking forward to having more time with his two grown children and finally having time for one of his favorite past times: fishing. As he casts a line in one of the many beautiful lakes Wisconsin has to offer, I hope he knows how much the State of Nevada and I appreciate the sacrifices he has made to protect the safety of Nevadans and the time he has dedicated to one of our State's greatest fights.

Ms. CORTEZ MASTO

Ms. CORTEZ MASTO. Madam President, I am here today to support my colleagues and our cause to keep Americans in their homes. It is very simple. The House has already passed a number of bills to do just that, and the Senate needs to do the same thing. In this pandemic, housing is healthcare. I know that a lot of Americans have had their lives upended by this coronavirus pandemic, but I would like you to imagine for a moment how much more chaotic your life would feel if you found out that tomorrow you are going to be evicted. Imagine trying to make sure you are washing your hands while you are living in your car. We are in the middle of a public health crisis where we need people to be socially distancing, and that means they simply must have a safe, stable place to be at the end of the day. We realized this months ago in my State, and that is why Governor Sisolak put a hold on evicting residents through August 31 of this year. And Congress? Well, we passed the CARES Act to provide unemployment benefits and one-time relief. Those funds, plus the ban on evictions, were intended to help keep families in their homes. We are 60 days away from resuming evictions in Nevada. In my State and across the country, the wave of evictions we have been holding off for a month is going to come crashing down if we do not act now. Nevada has the highest unemployment rate in the entire country. In May, it was over 25 percent--as high as the national rate during the worst of the Great Depression. On top of that, some Nevadans haven't yet received their unemployment benefits or their pandemic unemployment benefits. Across the country, almost half of workers earning under $40,000 a year have lost income. Some people just don't have the ability to fully pay for the rent or mortgage, particularly when we are asking them to shelter in place. The thing is, in Nevada, we were already in the midst of a housing crisis even before this pandemic hit us. Almost half of Nevadans are renters. That is 45 percent. Of those renters, half are cost-burdened in some way, meaning that they pay more than 30 percent of their income in rent. Now, the Silver State has the biggest shortage in the country of affordable housing for the very lowest income Nevadans. We have just 19 units for every 100 that we need. Eviction isn't just a matter of spending a few days scrambling to find a new place. The financial consequences can follow families for years, and as for the effects on children's physical and mental health, well, there is no way to undo that. Believe me. I know. The foreclosure crisis hit Nevada in 2008, and I saw up close the pain that caused throughout my State when people were evicted from their homes. Lenders took the homes of more than 219,000 Nevada families during that period of time. That is why it is so vital that we pass legislation now to help Nevadans and people all across the country pay their rent and utility bills when they cannot safely go to work. I support Senator Brown's Emergency Rental Assistance and Rental Market Stabilization Act, as well as other bills introduced by my colleagues to keep homeowners in their homes. These bills provide essential stability to the rental and mortgage market. We can't expect landlords to keep shouldering the burden of missed payments. Landlords have bills to pay, as well--mortgages, taxes, insurance, and staff. Without assistance from us, many of them may go bankrupt or can be forced to sell their properties. Experts estimate that Nevada is going to need nearly $1 billion in rental assistance to keep families housed this year. Landlords can't lift the load and neither can State budgets that are already stretched too thin. So let's focus here on the essentials, the basic need for things like shelter. Let's keep people safe and off the streets. Let's pass Senator Brown's rental assistance bill, Senator Reed's housing assistance fund bill to help homeowners avoid foreclosure, and Senator Menendez's housing counseling bill, and the others we need to prevent an epidemic of homelessness. Across the Nation people are responding to the pandemic by staying at home because we asked them to do so. Now the Senate needs to do its part by making sure those homes are safe and stable so that Nevadans can continue to teach their children, care for loved ones who are ill, and avoid spreading coronavirus to others. In the midst of a global pandemic, housing is healthcare, and we owe this to each other. So let's act now on behalf of the American public and American families. I yield the floor.

Ms. CORTEZ MASTO

Ms. CORTEZ MASTO. Mr. President, along with my colleague, I am astounded that we have gone this long without any type of relief for our State and local governments that are suffering right now. The last time this Chamber passed legislation to address the coronavirus pandemic was April 21, 2020. That was over 2 months ago. I can tell you, I know, Mr. President and all of my colleagues, you are hearing from your constituents in your States. I am hearing from my constituents. I have heard from thousands of Nevadans who find themselves lying awake at night trying to figure out how to pay the rent, feed their kids, and take care of family members at elevated risk from COVID-19. People in the Silver State want to know what more the Federal Government is doing to help them, and rightly so, but they do not want to hear us on the floor of the Senate Chamber identifying and arguing that liberal States should not get some sort of relief right now. I just heard my colleague from Florida identifying that liberal States shouldn't get funding. What is a liberal State? How do we define that? Does that mean it is a Democratic State or a Republican State because I can tell you--you have seen it and I have seen it--we have all seen letters from our Governors across this country in a bipartisan way--letters signed by Democratic Governors and Republican Governors asking for relief and support from this Congress. It is not just the Governors; it is the mayors; it is the county chairmen, the county commissioners. I will tell you, there are some beautiful places in my State, and we are Nevadans. Whether you are a Republican or you are a Democrat, every single one of my mayors I have talked to, every single one of the county commissioners and the county chairmen, along with my Governor-- we come from beautiful, diverse backgrounds--they are looking for additional support. We can't put a pause on it now. We can't wait. I don't understand why we have been waiting since April. In April, State and local governments laid off 1 million workers across the country and froze or cut the salaries of thousands more. In April, in my home State of Nevada, unemployment was skyrocketing to 28 percent, the highest in the Nation. That is nearly one in three Nevadans without a job. Let me put that in comparison. The highest national unemployment rate America ever recorded during the Great Depression was 25.6 percent. On May 25, the House voted for the comprehensive Heroes Act to support State, local, and Tribal governments, to bolster health systems, to provide further stimulus payments, to help frontline workers, and strengthen this Nation's economy. At that time, we as Senators could have rolled up our sleeves right then and worked to find common ground with the House so we could provide help and assistance to so many people across this country. Unfortunately, on May 26, our majority leader told reporters that the Senate would probably--we would probably pass more legislation. Now it is the end of June, and we have no legislation from the Senate on the greatest crisis facing this Nation since World War II, even though we are hearing constantly from our constituents and from our States. Meanwhile, we are suffering. I can tell you, Nevadans are suffering like almost every other State in the country. Nevada has to balance its budget on July 1, just a few days from now. Forty-six States have similar budgets they have to balance. Unlike the Federal Government, States can't borrow to make up for shortfalls. Every State in this country is collecting less in taxes than it usually would, and every State in the country faces unprecedented and unforeseen expenses because of this pandemic. In my State, the Governor has estimated there will be a $1.3 billion budget shortfall. Las Vegas alone is facing a drop in revenue of over $100 million. The city of Reno expects a $30 million hole in its budget. These are real dollars that are going to come out of essential services. State, local, and Tribal governments are absolutely on the frontlines of this health crisis. The Senate must join the House in passing this vital legislation to give assistance to so many in need right now across this country. We heard from my colleagues that States and localities have to pay EMTs, police, firefighters, healthcare providers--those essential people who are on the frontlines dealing with this healthcare crisis. According to a study by the National League of Cities, half the cities in the country expect that budget shortfall will affect public safety. State and local governments also fund schools and teachers. In the middle of this pandemic, they have to figure out ways to deliver online education to students who don't have computers or internet and work to support parents trying to help their kids learn. They are having to figure out how to feed kids in the next school year under inflexible nutrition program rules. Meanwhile, with these added challenges in Nevada, we are having to consider cutting $125 million from higher education and $100 million from elementary and secondary education. In Nevada, like so many other places, this is all going on against the backdrop of tremendous economic pain. We have 300,000 people in the Silver State claiming unemployment insurance and thousands of those still waiting to receive their benefits. This economic shock continues. People are going to start losing their homes or be evicted from their apartments if we don't do something to address it now. Nevada was already facing tremendous affordable housing crisis. We need urgent solutions to prevent this wave of dislocations and homelessness. And equally urgent is the help needed for our small businesses. I was just on a call earlier today with the executive directors of the chambers throughout our State. I can guarantee you, I am not alone. In your State and all of our States, our small businesses are scrambling to find new business models and new sources of revenue. Many of these businesses are the heart of our communities, and if they go under permanently, cities and towns will suffer as well. Our frontline medical workers--the true heroes--continue to need support. As cases climb in Nevada, they are working tirelessly to save lives and prevent complications, and they need our support. Our frontline medical workers and our States also rely on Medicaid so that other people who are also struggling financially can still get critical healthcare when they need it. In Nevada, nearly 45,000 people are newly reliant on this safety net coverage. Without additional resources to cover the costs associated with their coverage, the State will be forced to cut payments to the doctors who serve them, and this is in a State that already has one of the country's lowest rates of doctors per capita. Almost three out of four Nevada providers are worried about the financial viability of their practices in the face of the current crisis. When we talk about funding State and local governments, we cannot forget our Tribal governments. They don't collect taxes. They are barred from doing so. Yet they rely on businesses to fund services. With Nevada's economy so hard hit, our Tribal communities need another source of funding, and they need support. This is while many of the Tribes in my State are still in lockdown, still trying to get access to sufficient COVID-19 testing and PPE and even key data. The CARES Act funding wasn't even released to Tribal governments across the country for 60 days, and the Senate majority leader still thinks things aren't urgent? It is just wrong. The Senate must move urgently to strengthen the very institutions across this country that are delivering essential service to Americans. It is just a basic necessity. I understand that many of my colleagues want to make sure we spend Federal funds wisely, and I want that, too, but the way to achieve this is for all of us to start working now. Nevadans need us to take action. The American people need us to take action. I ask Leader McConnell to take up and pass the Heroes Act or convene on the floor of the Senate or in our committees real bipartisan discussions so we can pass the next economic stimulus package. I yield the floor.

Ms. CORTEZ MASTO

Ms. CORTEZ MASTO. Mr. President, today, the Senate confirmed the nominations of David Wright and Christopher Hanson to serve as Commissioners on the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, NRC. While I am pleased that these nominees will provide the NRC with a full Commission, I remain deeply concerned with Mr. Wright's history of strongly supporting efforts to move the Yucca Mountain repository forward and oppose his confirmation today. Shortly after Mr. Wright joined the Commission in 2018, the State of Nevada called for Mr. Wright to recuse himself from matters pertaining to Yucca Mountain licensing. He refused. Mr. Wright is on the record calling for the ``expeditious implementation of the Yucca Mountain program'' and founded the Yucca Mountain Task Force. His refusal to recuse himself denies Nevada its right to an unbiased Commissioner on the NRC and furthers the distrust that plagues the Nation's management of nuclear waste. More than 30 years ago, Nevada was thrown into the center of the nuclear waste debate, when Congress dismissed the siting process it established in the Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1982 and named Yucca Mountain the sole nuclear waste repository for the Nation over the strong objections of Nevadans. The site is physically unsuitable and puts at risk the safety, security, and economic well-being of the State. The decision broke the trust of the American people in the government's ability to responsibly manage nuclear waste. The reappointment of Mr. Wright to the NRC does nothing to regain the trust of Nevadans or establish confidence in nuclear waste repository licensing processes. Commissioners serving on the independent agency must be neutral and unbiased in order to ensure confidence in the guidance, regulations, and determinations issued by the NRC. Mr. Wright can make the decision to recuse himself from Yucca Mountain licensing matters, and it is my hope that he will chose to do so to bring integrity to the Commission and to restore the rights of the State of Nevada. I also acknowledge the importance of Mr. Hanson being confirmed to the NRC today. He will help bring balance to the Commission with his decades of experience on nuclear energy and waste issues. I will continue to work with my colleagues in the Senate to ensure Congress continues to utilize its authority to oversee the work of the Commission and hope all Commissioners will approach all matters, including those that pertain to Yucca Mountain licensing, without preexisting bias and conflicts of interest.

Ms. CORTEZ MASTO

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

Ms. CORTEZ MASTO

Ms. CORTEZ MASTO. Mr. President, I rise, along with my good friend and colleague, the senior Senator from Illinois, to stress the importance of what is happening in this country right now and who is on the frontline during this healthcare crisis and why we need to support them. There is no doubt. I just came from Nevada. There are so many essential workers who are risking their lives, as well as their loved ones, to provide essential care and help for individuals, not just in Nevada but across the country. We are talking about healthcare workers. We are talking about transit drivers, sanitation workers, first responders. We are talking about those who are working with the grocery stores, showing up every day to make sure that individuals in need can have the groceries they so require during this healthcare crisis. So much is at stake right now. I do not want to forget all of those State and local government workers. Right now in my State, there are so many State workers who are showing up to ensure that individuals get the essential paycheck or the expanded unemployment insurance that we fought to make sure they can receive, and they are showing up, as well. I, too, stand with my colleague because I think it is important that we recognize not only our healthcare workers but some of those who need extra help from this legislature. We have spent, unfortunately, the last 3 years of this administration attacking them. These are our immigrants in Nevada and across this country who are actually going out every day and risking their lives to help others in need, and they are working in our healthcare. One of them I rise to talk about today is Anna Ledesma. She is a DACA recipient in Nevada, and she works in a pediatric ICU in Nevada as a nurse, in Las Vegas. Anna has been in the United States since she was 7 years old. She got interested in medicine because an aunt who was a nurse thought it would be the perfect career for her. Her aunt was right. Anna loves biology and she loves learning how disease process works. But, most of all, Anna loves her patients. She said: ``I love connecting with them over Disney stuff.'' Anna will tell you: ``I think I'm a good pediatric nurse because at heart, I'm still a kid too.'' All across Nevada, immigrants like Anna are working on the frontlines to help others in need during this healthcare crisis. They are working as teachers for children learning from home. They are staffing retirement homes, taking care of at-risk seniors in the middle of a pandemic that targets our elders. They are harvesting, they are shelving, and they are cooking food for all of us. More than 200,000 DACA recipients in the United States are on the frontlines of healthcare, education, agriculture, and other essential jobs. There are almost 5,000 of them in Nevada alone among the 12,000 Nevada DACA recipients. These are our friends, and they are our neighbors. Yet this administration continues to demonize them with anti- immigrant rhetoric and has turned their lives upside down by trying to end DACA. These are the young professionals at risk if the Supreme Court upholds President Trump's decision to terminate DACA. These young men and women have grown up in our communities, and they are giving back. Even in the face of their uncertain futures, they are still showing up to work each shift and still demonstrating by their everyday heroism that they belong here. Now, more than ever, we need to understand that those who come to America in search of a better life don't diminish us. They enrich us. You can see how cruel and twisted the immigration debate in this country has become if you just think about this: In the middle of a worldwide health crisis, when they should be focused on keeping their patients alive and limiting their own exposure, the 27,000 DACA recipients in healthcare have to worry about their own legal status. Anna says that the health crisis her hospital is facing has almost managed to push out the fear that is always in the back of her mind about attacks on DACA and attacks on her future--almost, because it never really goes away. A few weeks ago, Anna was transferred to other parts of the hospital to help adult patients with COVID-19. She told me about the utter isolation of these patients who are fighting for their lives far from their loved ones. She told me about former University Medical Center friends and colleagues, now in New York and in Seattle, who are witnessing the same scenes. Lately, the number of children suffering from COVID-19 has increased in Nevada. Anna is back in the pediatric ICU, where patients are mostly asymptomatic. With these healthier patients, it is easier to do what she does best, which is to teach kids the things they need to know about a procedure or an operation they are facing, distracting them and making them laugh. We need to let Anna do her job. We need to let the thousands of immigrants who are on the frontline right now continue to do their jobs. We must allow her to keep serving the only community she has ever known. We need to create a pathway for citizenship for so many like Anna. We need to give them all the tools they need to keep themselves and the rest of us healthy. Anna's story is an American story--one of struggle, courage, and sacrifice for your community in order to build a brighter future for those who come after. I am going to continue to fight for DACA recipients and immigrants like Anna and everyone else who has contributed, not just in my State but in this country, to not only enrich all of our lives but to continue to contribute to our economy and to make our lives better. The least we can do is to give them peace of mind and let them know that the only country they have ever known is one they can stay in forever. That is my fight. I hope that is the Presiding Officer's fight and of many of my colleagues. This is something that must be done. We have to pass legislation to make sure Dreamers in this country and their parents have every opportunity to stay and find that pathway to citizenship. They are already contributing. I yield the floor.

Ms. CORTEZ MASTO

Ms. CORTEZ MASTO. Mr. President, I rise today to let all Nevadans know the important steps Congress is taking to respond to the pandemic we are facing right now. The novel coronavirus represents a global challenge to the health and economic security of Nevada and the United States. My thoughts today are with those in Nevada who are ill or suffering with the virus, and with the families of the six Nevadans who have died because of this disease. I also want to thank the brave men and women on the frontlines of this crisis--the first responders and healthcare workers who are battling to save lives, putting their own health and the health of their families at risk. I know there is a lot of fear and confusion in our communities right now. Please know this, though: I am working closely with Governor Sisolak and the Nevada delegation to ensure that our State gets the resources it needs to stem the spread of the coronavirus, to treat those who need medical attention, and address the needs of struggling families and businesses. I also know that we are Nevada strong. I have seen over and over again that when things get difficult, Nevadans come together. When a gunman attacked the Route 91 Harvest Festival in Las Vegas, I saw how Nevadans from all over the State worked heroically to help victims and support families. Nevadans are uniting now too. I am proud to say that across the Silver State, people are doing their part to reduce the impact of COVID-19. Our Governor, Steve Sisolak, has shown tremendous leadership in working to slow the spread of the coronavirus. As Governor Sisolak has pointed out, if ``Home Means Nevada,'' we need everyone who can to ``stay home for Nevada.'' Our nurses, doctors, and other health officials are working tirelessly to care for the sick and to increase our capacity to deal with the cases in the future. First responders, local health authorities, sanitation workers, and retail workers are on the job around the clock to make sure essential services are available to Nevadans. Our gaming, entertainment, and hospitality industry leaders took unprecedented steps to stop the spread of infection, including by closing their doors. So many Nevadans are contributing by working from home when they can, caring for school-aged children, volunteering to help make masks or buy groceries for elderly neighbors, and avoiding social interactions that could spread the virus. Everyone--every single Nevadan and each and every American--has a role to play in this crisis. We need everyone to do their part by following the advice of the experts and taking practical, commonsense steps such as washing hands and practicing social distancing. My colleagues and I in Congress have done our part as well. The Senate has come together in a remarkable and bipartisan fashion to act on three bills to address key healthcare priorities and to protect workers and industry from the economic impacts of the public health crisis. Earlier in March, we set aside $8.3 billion to support hospitals, community health centers, public health offices, medical suppliers, and researchers across the country. Next, we passed the bipartisan Families First Coronavirus Response Act to provide free coronavirus testing, expand food assistance, and mandate paid sick and family leave for workers. I am proud to have fought alongside my colleagues in the Nevada congressional delegation, including my friend and colleague Senator Jacky Rosen, to pass today's third relief bill. We must pass this today. It is quite simply the greatest single investment in our economy and healthcare system in modern American history, and we need it. In 2007, our State was hit hard by the recession. Through tremendous effort, we came through it, but our economic recovery was slow. This time, we want to make sure that our economy springs back quickly after this crisis has passed and that workers have good jobs to return to when it does. That is why we need to pass these far-reaching measures to provide immediate relief to individuals, families, and businesses suffering from the economic impact of this pandemic. Nevada has an economy that is unique in the Nation. Our hospitality industry generates nearly $68 billion annually and supports more than 450,000 jobs across the State. So I have been focused on standing up for our gaming, tourism, and hospitality workers. I also wanted to make sure that when we offered relief to big companies, there was oversight, transparency, accountability, and worker protections in place. This bill does that. I am grateful to the many small businesses in my State that have taken the hard but necessary action and closed their doors or reduced their services at this critical time. This bill supports them as well by providing forgivable loans and grants so they can open their doors again as soon as it is safe for them to do so. Most of all, I wanted to make sure we supported Nevada's workers and their families, the hard-working people our industries employ. That is why I worked with my colleagues to ensure key protections for Nevadans and all Americans were included in this relief package. We fought to expand unemployment assistance so it includes part-time, self-employed, and seasonal and gig economy workers, who make up a key part of our workforce in the Silver State. Whether you are a dishwasher at a hotel on the Strip or a hair stylist in Carson City, you will be eligible for up to 4 months of unemployment benefits. Yes, we locked down direct payments of $1,200 for each adult and $500 for each child, up to a certain income level, so our hard-working families would have money in their pockets to recover from this pandemic. We successfully pushed to shore up our hospitals and our healthcare infrastructure, to get them more money for protective gear, supplies, and tests so they can provide patients the best possible care, while at the same time protecting themselves. We made sure that we also included our local, State, and Tribal communities. We set aside $150 billion for our governments that are bearing the brunt of the costs for their local healthcare systems. That is why I support this legislation, and that is why we have to pass this tonight. I would be remiss if I did not say thank you to the incredible staff who worked so hard these past few days, 24/7, to put this relief package together in a bipartisan way--Leader Schumer's staff and Leader Schumer, the negotiating team, the Senators whom I get to work with every single day, their hard-working staffs, and my staff as well, who worked late nights to make sure that we were fighting on behalf of Nevadans. I know this is a difficult time for everyone, but we are going to get through this just as we persevered before. We will do it by rallying around one another, as Nevadans always do. There will be moments of challenge ahead, and each of us has a responsibility to answer these questions. Let's listen to the experts, let's take care of one another, and let's be kind and understanding of what we are all going through. But let's not lose sight of the beauty of our everyday lives, that familiar rhythm we are all eager to restore. In Nevada and across the country, we will be back at our workplaces again, solving our everyday problems. Our children will be back at school learning for themselves how to make the world a better place. Yes, we will begin the long task of grieving those we have lost, but we will also be celebrating marriages again and marking births with a newfound joy. We will get through this together, and I promise everyone in the Silver State that I will be fighting in the Senate to make sure we rebound from this stronger than before so that Nevadans can get back to work. I yield the floor

Ms. CORTEZ MASTO

Ms. CORTEZ MASTO. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for the quorum call be rescinded.

Ms. CORTEZ MASTO. Madam President, I rise today to oppose my colleagues' legislation that would limit women's healthcare choices. These bills that are being introduced are part of a wave of efforts to turn back the clock on women's healthcare. In my home State of Nevada, with the only majority-women legislature in the Nation, we are moving in the opposite direction. We have been fighting to protect a woman's right to choose for decades. I am inspired by women like Sue Wagner, the first woman elected as Nevada's Lieutenant Governor, whose grit and leadership sparked a movement in the 1990s to enshrine women's reproductive freedom in the State's constitution. Just this year, with women at the helm of the Nevada legislature, the Trust Nevada Women Act was signed into law to remove undue burdens on reproductive rights. Nevadans understand that reproductive rights are part and parcel not just of women's health but of their economic security. When women can't control whether and when they have children, they are more likely to struggle financially. Eighty-three percent of Nevadans are pro-choice, and I stand with them. I am going to continue to fight for what the American people want: comprehensive healthcare and reproductive justice. Bills to protect women's health are what we should be voting on, like the bipartisan legislation to cover preexisting conditions, to reduce prescription drug prices, to prevent violence against women, and many more that are languishing, unfortunately, on Leader McConnell's desk. That includes pushing for meaningful legislation to protect mothers and babies at a critical time in their lives, like the Healthy MOM Act to expand healthcare coverage for pregnant and postpartum women. Leader McConnell is more focused on passing an extreme political agenda than on protecting women's health in Nevada and across this country. You know, we really have to stop the assault on women's right to choose and their reproductive healthcare. The rights of American women to make their own health decisions should not be up for debate. These are our fundamental rights, and they are worth fighting for and protecting. I yield the floor. I suggest the absence of a quorum.

Ms. CORTEZ MASTO

Ms. CORTEZ MASTO. Mr. President, the decision I make today is not an easy one, nor should it be. I have approached this serious task with an open and impartial mind, as my trial oath required. I have studied the facts and the evidence of the case before me. I have been an attorney for over two decades, and I was the attorney general of Nevada for 8 years. And I keep coming back to what I learned in the courtroom. The law is a technical field, but it is also based on common sense. You don't have to study the law for years to know that stealing and cheating are wrong. It is one of the first things we learn in our formative years. And you don't have to be a law school professor to realize that a President should not be using the job the American people gave him to benefit himself personally. Abraham Lincoln reminded us that our Nation was founded on the essential idea of government ``of the people, by the people, for the people.'' As I sat on the Senate floor thinking about President Lincoln and listening to the arguments in President Trump's impeachment trial, I thought of the awesome responsibility our Founding Fathers entrusted to each Senator. I also thought about all of the Nevadans I represent--those who voted for President Trump and those who did not. For those who did, I put myself in their shoes and considered how I would respond if the President were from my political party. The removal of a sitting President through impeachment is an extraordinary remedy. It rarely occurs, and no Senator should rush into it. Yet impeachment is a key part of our constitutional order. When our Founding Fathers designed the Office of the Presidency, the Framers of the Constitution had just gotten rid of a King, and they didn't want another one. They were afraid that the President might use his extensive powers for his own benefit. To prevent this, the Framers provided for impeachment by the House and trial by the Senate for ``treason, bribery, or other high crimes and misdemeanors.'' They didn't have to do things this way. They could have left it up to the courts to hold the trial of a President accused of wrongdoing. But they wanted to make sure each branch of government could be a check on the other, which would bring balance to our system of government. And the Framers were specifically concerned with the idea of an all- powerful Executive who might abuse his power and invite foreign interference in our elections. This concern is reflected in the Articles of Impeachment laid out by the House managers. Putting aside the biases I heard coming from both political parties, I focused on getting to the truth of the case--like any trial attorney. The truth in any case that I have been involved with starts with the facts. For 2 weeks I listened to the arguments presented by both sides, took notes, posed questions, and identified the facts that were supported and substantiated and those that were not. With a heavy heart and great sadness, I became convinced by the evidence that President Trump intentionally withheld security assistance and a coveted White House meeting to pressure Ukraine into helping him politically, even though Ukraine was defending itself from Russia. This wasn't an action ``of the people, by the people, for the people.'' President Trump used the immense power of the U.S. Government not for the people but, rather, for himself. We know these facts from President Trump's own words in a phone call to Ukrainian President Zelensky in July and in statements to the press in October. We also know it through the testimony of 17 American officials--many of them appointed by the President himself. Those officials indicated that over the spring and summer of 2019, through both his personal lawyer, Rudy Giuliani, and through American diplomats, President Trump asked Ukraine to publicly announce investigations that would influence the 2020 elections in his favor. We also know through testimony provided during the House investigation that President Trump tried to pressure Ukraine to announce those investigations, first by conditioning a visit by President Zelensky to the White House on them and later by denying $391 million in security assistance to Ukraine. Some of my colleagues don't dispute these facts. President Trump's actions interfere with the fundamental tenets of our Constitution. Citizens do not get to govern themselves if the officials who get elected seek their own benefit to the detriment of the public good. The Framers knew this. They were very aware that officials could leverage their office to benefit themselves. In Federalist No. 65, Alexander Hamilton explained why we had the impeachment power in the first place: it was to respond to ``those offenses which proceed from the misconduct of public men, or in other words, from the abuse or violation of some public trust.'' With the undisputed facts condemning the president, I listened to the President's counsel argue that the Articles of Impeachment were defective because abuse of power and obstruction of Congress are not crimes. However, many constitutional scholars soundly refuted this argument, and precedent supports them. The Impeachment Articles in President Nixon's case included abuse of power and obstruction of Congress. During this impeachment investigation, the President blocked all members of his administration from testifying in response to congressional committee requests and withheld all documents. This action is absolutely unprecedented in American history. Even Presidents Nixon and Clinton allowed staff to testify to Congress during impeachment investigations and provided some documents. The executive branch has no blanket claim to secrecy. It works for the American people, as do Members of Congress. In the Senate, the President's counsel argued that the House investigators should have fought this wholesale obstruction in court. Yet at the same time, in a court down the street, other administration lawyers contended that the courts should stay out of disputes between Congress and the President. The President's counsel also argued that the American people should decide in the next election whether to remove President Trump for his actions. But if this were the standard, then the impeachment clause could only ever be utilized in the second term of a Presidency, when no upcoming election would preserve the country. Most importantly, isn't the impeachment clause pointless if a president can abuse his power in office and then completely refuse to comply with a House impeachment investigation and a Senate trial in order to delay until the next election? The Framers themselves actually argued about whether Americans could rely on elections to get rid of bad presidents. They decided that if they didn't put the impeachment power into the Constitution, a corrupt President would be willing to do anything to get himself reelected. James Madison said that without impeachment, a corrupt President ``might be fatal to the Republic.'' And through my oath of office as a Senator, I swore to protect not just Nevadans but also our great Republic. Our country, unfortunately, has never been more divided along party lines. It played out in the House impeachment investigation and in the Senate trial. The Senate rules for the trial were not written by all of the Senators with bipartisan input. Instead, they were written behind closed doors by one man in coordination with the President. In so doing, the Senate has abdicated its powerful check on the executive branch. Without this important check, I am concerned about what the President will do next to put our Republic in jeopardy. We have seen that President Trump is willing to violate our Constitution in order to get himself reelected. He has disrespected norms and worked to divide our country for his own political gain. He has undermined our standing in the world and put awesome pressure on foreign leaders to benefit himself, rather than to advance the interests of our country. I have also learned from this trial that the President is willing to take any action, including cheating in the next election, to serve his personal interest. No act in our country is more sacred and solemn for democracy than voting, and nothing in our system of government is more vital to the continued health of our democracy than its elections. No American should stand for foreign election interference, much less invite it. American elections are for Americans. That is why I cannot condone this President's actions by acquitting him. Finding the President guilty of abuse of power and obstruction of Congress marks a sad day for our country and not something I do with a light heart. But I was sent to Congress not just to fight for all Nevadans but also to fight for our children and their future. To leave them with a country that still believes in right and wrong, that exposes corruption in government and holds it accountable, that stands up to tyranny at home and abroad. In my view, President Trump has fallen far, far short of those lofty ideals and of the demands of our Constitution. That requires the rest of us, regardless of party, creed, or ethnicity, to work together all the more urgently to defend our democracy, our elections, and our national security. I have faith in Americans because I have seen time and time again in Nevada our ability to come together and work with one another for our common good. America is more than just one person, and like President Lincoln's, my faith will always lie with the people.