Richard Durbin

Mr. DURBIN

Mr. DURBIN. I announce that the Senator from Pennsylvania (Mr. Casey), the Senator from West Virginia (Mr. Manchin), the Senator from Vermont (Mr. Sanders), and the Senator from New Hampshire (Mrs. Shaheen) are necessarily absent.

Mr. DURBIN

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

Mr. DURBIN. I announce that the Senator from Pennsylvania (Mr. Casey), the Senator from West Virginia (Mr. Manchin), and the Senator from New Hampshire (Mrs. Shaheen) are necessarily absent.

Mr. DURBIN. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to executive session and vote on the confirmation of Executive Calendar No. 682, the nomination of Ruth Montenegro, under the previous order.

Mr. DURBIN

Mr. DURBIN. I announce that the Senator from Pennsylvania (Mr. Casey), the Senator from West Virginia (Mr. Manchin), and the Senator from New Hampshire (Mrs. Shaheen) are necessarily absent.

Mr. DURBIN

Mr. DURBIN. I announce that the Senator from New Hampshire (Mrs. Shaheen) is necessarily absent.-

Mr. DURBIN

Mr. DURBIN. I announce that the Senator from New Hampshire (Mrs. Shaheen) is necessarily absent.

Mr. DURBIN

Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the text of the bill be printed in the Record.

Mr. DURBIN

Mr. DURBIN. I announce that the Senator from New Hampshire (Mrs. Shaheen) is necessarily absent.

Mr. DURBIN

Mr. DURBIN. I announce that the Senator from West Virginia (Mr. Manchin) and the Senator from New Hampshire (Mrs. Shaheen) are necessarily absent.

Mr. DURBIN

Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, I was fortunate early in my political life to meet several people who became my heroes and mentors and led me to take up public service as my life's calling. The first was a Senator from Illinois named Paul Douglas, and I met him when I was a college intern in his office. And he introduced me to a man named Paul Simon; Simon, who was a Lieutenant Governor in our State, State legislator, Congressman, and, ultimately, the Senator who preceded me in this Senate seat. After Paul Simon passed away, I approached his family and talked about a tribute to him, and they basically said: Well, you remember Paul. He would have been the last person in the world who ever wanted a statue and really didn't care much about having anything with his name on it. That just wasn't his approach to politics. But I thought to myself there were some things that he valued that maybe I can try to help in my own way in his memory. And one of them was in 2014, when I introduced a bill called the Paul Simon Water for the World Act. Simon had written a book that didn't make the New York Times best seller list. It was entitled ``Tapped Out.'' He had a theory many years ago that the issue with the 21st century was going to be water. And he made a pretty convincing case, and, frankly, the events and evidence since then have backed him up. So this bill, the Paul Simon Water for the World Act, was designed to build on the success of an earlier effort called Paul Simon's Water for the Poor, which had passed 10 years before and sought to bring clean water and sanitation programs to the world's poorest communities. Today, as we mark World Water Day, I want to recognize what we have accomplished with these two pieces of legislation. They have helped provide, for the first time, access to clean drinking water and sanitation for more than 60 million additional people around the globe. Those successes have also improved global health, economic development, and educational attainment. And they have proven how far just a little Federal funding invested in the right area can go. Both of those laws were passed on a bipartisan basis, and in recognizing the compounding benefits of clean water and sanitation, Congress has sustained the programs. My staff has traveled to countries like Kenya, Ghana, Senegal to see these programs in action. They have shared stories and photos with me about schools and villages that, for the very first time, have access to clean, drinkable water. In Ghana, for example, these laws have helped fund something called the Digni-Loo Program. It has provided rural villages with clean, sustainable toilets and helped eliminate waterborne diseases in entire districts of the country. This World Water Day, I hope we can reaffirm our commitment in this Senate to supporting legislation in the name of my friend and mentor, the Senator Paul Simon Water for the World Act, that will help bring global health for years to come. Nomination of Ketanji Brown Jackson Mr. President, in just a few days, America's eyes will turn to the Senate Judiciary Committee as we begin the process of considering Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson for her nomination to the Supreme Court. It is going to be a historic moment on Monday as Judge Jackson appears before the Committee, and gaveling the hearing to order as chair of the committee will rank as one of the highest honors of my career in Congress. Next week, the American people will have a chance to meet Judge Jackson, learn about her, her professional record, and her life experience. But, for now, let me briefly share a few things that have impressed me the most. By now, I am sure, many have heard about her experience. Judge Jackson has clerked at every level of the Federal judiciary. Most lawyers would consider a clerkship in any court as an achievement that they could brag about for years. She served as a clerk at every level of the Federal judiciary, including the Supreme Court. She served in many roles in the courtroom as a public defender, a lawyer in private practice, and a district and circuit court judge at the Federal level. She was confirmed by the Senate unanimously to serve on the U.S. Sentencing Commission, and she would be the first Justice since Thurgood Marshall with considerable defense experience. Her qualifications are exceptional. In every role she has held, she has earned a reputation for thoughtfulness, evenhandedness, and collegiality. Just as impressive as Judge Jackson's record is her character and temperament--humble, personable. She has dedicated herself to making our legal system more understandable and more accessible for everyone who came into her courtroom. Finally, of course, there is the perspective that Judge Jackson will bring to the High Court. Over the course of its history, 115 Justices have served on the Supreme Court. If she is confirmed, Judge Jackson will be the 116th, but she would be the first Supreme Court Justice who is the daughter of parents who felt the crushing oppression of segregation and the first Justice who has represented an indigent as a public defender. Judge Jackson comes from a law enforcement family and has a deep appreciation for the risk of police officers, like her brother and uncles. And I believe one served in the Baltimore Police Department. Indeed, with Judge Jackson's confirmation, the Supreme Court would come closer to fully reflecting the diversity of America. When Justice Breyer announced his retirement, I promised that the process for confirming his successor would be fair and timely. Well, it has been. For instance, the committee sent a bipartisan committee questionnaire to Judge Jackson. In response she provided materials which shed considerable light on her record, her accomplishments, her writings, and her legal reasoning. Notably, this included more than 12,000 pages of public records from Judge Jackson's time on the Sentencing Commission. The committee also sent a bipartisan document request to the Obama Presidential Library. That request sought documents relating to Judge Jackson's nomination to both the Sentencing Commission and the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. In response to that request, the Obama Library produced more than 70,000 pages of material. Additionally, Judge Jackson has written hundreds of opinions--almost 600 now--which provide extensive insight into her legal philosophy. In short, the committee has all the information it needs to evaluate Judge Jackson's qualifications to sit on the Supreme Court. We have sent a lot of followup requests for information, too, and she has always responded in a timely way. So we are going to proceed with her hearing come Monday. This process will provide committee members an opportunity to question Judge Jackson to learn more about her approach to judicial decision making, her views on precedent, and her record on and off the bench. Here is how the hearing is going to work. Each member of the committee will be allocated 10 minutes to make opening statements. Each member will have a total of 50 minutes to question Judge Jackson. There are 22 members on the committee. If you do the math, there is plenty of opportunity for questions to be asked and answered. I expect it to be a substantive hearing. I expect members on both sides of the aisle to ask tough but fair questions and to give her an appropriate time to respond, and I expect that the committee will diligently perform our role in the Senate's advice and consent function. When the hearing is complete, I believe the American public will be keenly aware of just what an outstanding nominee Judge Jackson is. I will also get to see what I have seen in meeting with her personally. She is thoughtful, brilliant, kind, and has a good sense of humor. She has already inspired young people across the country--young people who are just beginning to discover their passion for law. You see, she graduated from Miami's Palmetto Senior High School, a public high school in Pinecrest, FL. Right now, the halls of Palmetto High are buzzing with pride in anticipation for next week's hearing. One school administrator told my office that, even though students will be out on spring break next week during beach season in Florida, many will be coming together for a virtual watch party as Judge Jackson appears before our committee. The administrator said that many of these students see themselves in Judge Jackson, particularly the members of the speech and debate team, which Judge Jackson was once a member of herself. In fact, Judge Jackson has cited her time on the speech and debate team as one of the most formative experiences of her life. She described it as ``the one activity that best prepared me for future success.'' Well, today, Judge Jackson is more prepared than perhaps anyone to serve on the Supreme Court. So to all the students at Palmetto High who are following in her footsteps, working long hours to hone their rhetorical skills, you are on the right track. While Judge Jackson may be the first Palmetto Panther to serve on the Supreme Court, there is no reason she should be the last. Years from now, who knows, maybe one of you will be preparing for your hearing before the Senate committee. Until then, you should all be so proud of Judge Jackson. I would like to add another element to this--a personal element. When I spoke to Judge Jackson about her family, she was naturally proud of her husband, who is a surgeon, but she talked about her two daughters and showed me pictures of them. They are teenagers and obviously good kids. She is so proud of them. She told the story that when there was a vacancy announced on the Supreme Court several years ago, one of her daughters picked up a pen and wrote a personal letter to President Obama and said: Why don't you pick my mom? It is that kind of support every parent lives for, and I am sure it means a lot to her. She is a good person, a good mother, a good parent, and she will be a great member of the Supreme Court. I also want to say that there are elements that obviously the public has paid attention to. This being the fourth time before the Senate Judiciary Committee, many people in America know Judge Jackson or they have heard about her or they have read about her. They believe in a positive way that she will bring diversity to the Court; that she has the experience that is necessary to serve effectively; that she will uphold our constitutional values of liberty, equality, and justice; and that she will protect the constitutional rights of everybody, not just the wealthy and powerful. She has ethics and integrity, and she will place justice before politics. I am looking forward to this hearing. I am happy that the Republicans have said publicly that they want to make it a respectful hearing, and I certainly hope they live up to it. I will do everything I can to convince the Democratic side to aspire to the same goal. This can be a historic moment for America in the selection of this Justice. I hope the Senate Judiciary Committee rises to the occasion, and I have confidence that it will. I yield the floor.

Mr. DURBIN

Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, this week, the Senate will consider 12 outstanding judicial nominees. These nominees represent the continued efforts of President Biden and Senate Democrats to bring much-needed professional and demographic diversity to the Federal bench. This latest lineup of nominees include legal academics, public defenders, civil rights lawyers, sitting State and Federal judges, prosecutors, and private practitioners. Each of these nominees has the character, temperament, and qualifications to serve with distinction. The first nominee is Judge Jacqueline Corley, nominated to the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California. For more than a decade, Judge Corley has served as a Federal magistrate judge in the Northern District of California. She has handled cases implicating a variety of complex statutory and constitutional questions, from immigration to employment to national security matters. And in her time on the bench, she has amassed a record that reflects her evenhanded, impartial approach to the law. Earlier in her career, Judge Corley spent nearly two decades working in private legal practice and as a career law clerk to Judge Charles Breyer, who also serves on the Northern District of California. Judge Corley received a unanimous rating of ``Well Qualified'' from the American Bar Association, has the strong support of Senators Feinstein and Padilla, and received overwhelming bipartisan support in the Judiciary Committee. Next, we have Fred Slaughter, who has been nominated to serve on the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California. Judge Slaughter currently serves as a judge on the California Superior Court for Orange County. In 2014, Governor Jerry Brown appointed him to this position, and since then, Judge Slaughter has presided over a wide variety of cases, including civil cases, felony criminal cases, and juvenile justice proceedings. After graduating from the UCLA School of Law, he started his career as a deputy city attorney with the Los Angeles City Attorney's office, before moving to the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Central District of California as an Assistant U.S. Attorney. He prosecuted a wide range of cases and developed a deep understanding of the district to which he has been nominated. Judge Slaughter has the strong support of both his home-State Senators, Mrs. Feinstein and Mr. Padilla, and he was rated unanimously ``Well Qualified'' by the American Bar Association. His deep commitment to public service, coupled with his broad experience, makes him an excellent nominee to the Federal bench. The Senate will also consider the nomination of Ruth Montenegro to the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California. Since 2018, Judge Montenegro has served as a U.S. magistrate judge in the Southern District of California. Prior to that, she served as a State court judge. With her combined experience on federal and State courts, Judge Montenegro has been on the bench for nearly 8 years. She has presided over thousands of cases, including more than 30 jury trials and over 100 bench trials. Judge Montenegro was unanimously rated ``Qualified'' by the American Bar Association, and both Senators Feinstein and Padilla strongly support her nomination. A graduate of UCLA School of Law, Judge Montenegro worked as an attorney for more than 19 years before assuming the bench. Judge Montenegro is also the child of immigrants and a first- generation college graduate. Throughout her career, she has made it a priority to give back to the community. In 2018, she served as chair of the California Bar Foundation's scholarship committee, and, for many years, she served as president and chair of the scholarships committee for the El Centro Education Foundation. Judge Montenegro was voted out of the Judiciary Committee with bipartisan support. I urge my colleagues to support her nomination. Next is Victoria Calvert, nominated to be a judge on the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia. Ms. Calvert is a highly experienced litigator with a proven commitment to ensuring equal justice for all. Ms. Calvert attended Duke University and received her law degree from the New York University School of Law. She then spent 6 years working in private practice before dedicating her career to public service. Currently, she serves as a staff attorney with the Federal defender program in the Northern District of Georgia, a position she has held since 2012. In this role, she has represented hundreds of indigent clients. Ms. Calvert has the strong support of her home-State Senators, Mr. Ossoff and Mr. Warnock. And she received a unanimous ``Well Qualified'' rating from the ABA. I have said many times that public defenders are vastly underrepresented on our Nation's courts, and I believe that Ms. Calvert will bring a valuable perspective to the bench, including an appreciation for the real world impact of judicial decisionmaking. We also will be considering the nomination of Julie Rubin, who has been selected to serve on the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland. For the past 8 years, she has served as an associate judge on the Circuit Court for Baltimore City. In this role, Judge Rubin has presided over nearly 950 civil and criminal cases that have gone to verdict or judgment, including 122 jury trials. Prior to assuming the bench, Judge Rubin spent 15 years litigating in private practice and tried 17 cases to verdict or judgment. She also rose to become the vice president of her firm. Judge Rubin received her undergraduate degree from Mount Holyoke College and her law degree from the University of Maryland School of Law. And she received a unanimous ``Well Qualified'' rating from the American Bar Association. Judge Rubin has the strong support of her home State Senators, Mr. Cardin and Mr. Van Hollen. She also received bipartisan support in the Judiciary Committee. As a native Marylander with a wealth of trial experience on and off the bench, Judge Rubin will make an excellent addition to the District Court. Next we have Hector Gonzalez, nominated to serve on the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York. Mr. Gonzalez is an accomplished litigator. Over the course of his career, he has tried more than 20 civil and criminal cases, the majority of them as chief counsel. Mr. Gonzalez served as a prosecutor for almost 10 years, serving in both the Manhattan District Attorney's Office as well as the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York. In addition to the criminal law expertise he developed as a prosecutor, Mr. Gonzalez has also gained considerable civil litigation experience, managing complex litigation matters involving bankruptcy, antitrust, and professional liability. In recognition of his long career as an accomplished litigator, Mr. Gonzalez was inducted as a fellow into the American College of Trial Lawyers. The ABA found him unanimously ``Well Qualified.'' In addition, he has the strong support of Senators Schumer and Gillibrand. Next we have John Chun, who has been nominated to serve on the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington. Judge Chun has served on Washington State courts for the past 7 years, first as a judge on the King County Superior Court and currently as a judge on the Washington Court of Appeals. Throughout his time on the bench, he has presided over 90 civil and criminal cases that have gone to verdict or judgment. These cases have been almost evenly split between jury and bench trials. Prior to his judicial appointment, Judge Chun spent 10 years as a commercial and employment litigation attorney. Practicing in both Federal and State court, he tried five cases to verdict or judgment and became partner at his firm in just 6 years. Judge Chun received his undergraduate degree from Columbia University and his law degree from Cornell Law School. He then began his legal career by clerking for the Honorable Eugene A. Wright on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. Judge Chun has the strong support of Senators Murray and Cantwell. He received a bipartisan vote in the Senate Judiciary Committee. He also received a unanimous ``Well Qualified'' rating from the American Bar Association. Judge Chun's demonstrable commitment to justice and the rule of law will serve him well as a district court judge. Next is Sarah Geraghty, nominated to the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia. Since 2003, Ms. Geraghty has been an attorney at the Southern Center for Human Rights, where she has advocated for the fair and equal treatment of people in the criminal legal system, regardless of their ability to afford counsel. Ms. Geraghty has approximately 20 years of litigation experience, during which time she has handled every stage of the legal process, from pretrial investigations to briefing and arguing appeals. Ms. Geraghty has been widely recognized for her work. In 2020, she was named Attorney of the Year by Georgia's primary legal publication, the Fulton County ``Daily Report''. In 2017, Emory University School of Law's public interest committee gave Ms. Geraghty its Unsung Devotion to Those Most in Need Award. Ms. Geraghty was rated ``Qualified'' by the American Bar Association, and both Senator Ossoff and Senator Warnock strongly support her nomination. In addition to her legal practice, Ms. Geraghty is a lecturer at Emory Law School and a part-time instructor at Georgia State University College of Law. Ms. Geraghty has received numerous letters of support, including from law enforcement officials and attorneys who have opposed her in litigation. These letters demonstrate that Ms. Geraghty's approach to resolving legal disputes has always been, as one letter put it,``collaborative rather than confrontational.'' Another letter stated that she has always ``approached conflicts between the parties with flexibility and an open mind.'' These qualities will serve her well on the bench. Ms. Geraghty received bipartisan support in the Judiciary Committee. I urge my colleagues to vote in favor of her nomination. We will also consider Georgette Castner, who has been nominated to serve on the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey. She is an experienced litigator with a deep knowledge of the District of New Jersey. A graduate of the College of New Jersey and Rutgers Law School, Ms. Castner has spent almost 15 years in private practice, representing a range of individual and corporate clients. Over the course of her career, she has litigated matters spanning various areas of civil and criminal law. Ms. Castner received a ``Qualified'' rating from the ABA and has the strong support of her home-State Senators, Mr. Booker and Mr. Menendez. Next is Judge Cristina Silva, nominated to the U.S. District Court for the District of Nevada. Judge Silva currently serves on Nevada's Eighth Judicial District Court, where she handles a mix of civil and criminal proceedings. In her time on the bench, Judge Silva has presided over 15 trials, the vast majority of which were jury trials. She has also remained active in the local legal community, including through service on the board of directors of the Nevada Latino Bar Association. Before her appointment to the bench, Judge Silva served as both a local and Federal prosecutor. She helped lead the domestic violence unit of the Miami- Dade State's Attorney's Office and then served for nearly a decade as an Assistant U.S. Attorney in the District of Nevada, ultimately becoming the chief of that office's criminal division. Judge Silva received a unanimous rating of ``Well Qualified'' from the ABA and has the strong support of Senators Cortez Masto and Rosen. We also will be considering the nomination of Anne Traum, who has likewise been chosen to serve on the U.S. District Court for the District of Nevada. Professor Traum is currently a professor of Law at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, William S. Boyd School of Law, a position she has held since 2014, and associate dean for experiential legal education. Her commitment to the university is admirable: She founded, and now leads, the appellate clinic, which allows students to brief and argue cases before the Ninth Circuit or the Nevada Supreme Court. Additionally, she took 1-year leave of absence from the university from 2015 to 2016 to serve as special counsel with the U.S. Department of Justice's Office for Access to Justice. The breadth of her career does not stop there, though. She was an assistant federal public defender in the Federal public defender's office in Las Vegas from 2002 to 2008 and, prior to that, served as an Assistant U.S. Attorney in the Civil Division of the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Nevada from 2000 to 2002. Professor Traum has the strong support of her home-State Senators, Ms. Cortez Masto and Ms. Rosen, and was rated ``Well Qualified'' by the American Bar Association. Finally, we will be considering Judge Alison Nathan, who has been nominated to serve on the Second Circuit Court of Appeals. Judge Nathan is an experienced litigator and an accomplished jurist. She has served on the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York since 2012. While on the bench, she has authored over 1,500 opinions and has presided over 45 trials that have gone to verdict or judgment. With that long record, her reversal rate is an impressive 1 percent. I have no doubt that she will be a valuable addition to the Second Circuit. After attending Cornell University and Cornell Law School, Judge Nathan clerked for Judge Betty B. Fletcher on the Ninth Circuit and for Justice John Paul Stevens of the U.S. Supreme Court. From there, she began her legal practice, where she specialized in civil litigation and developed a large pro bono practice focused on LGBTQ rights and appeals for inmates on death row. She also held positions in government and academia. Judge Nathan has the strong support of Senator Schumer and Senator Gillibrand, and she was unanimously rated ``Well Qualified'' by the American Bar Association. Her record on the bench is deeply impressive. She has proven, without a doubt, that she understands the difference between a policy advocate and a judge, and I am certain that she will continue to administer justice in a thoughtful, evenhanded manner. I support all of these outstanding nominees and encourage my colleagues to join me in voting for their confirmation.

Mr. DURBIN

Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, I want to thank Raymond ``Ray'' Drake for his extraordinary service to the United Parcel Service, UPS. Earlier this year, Ray announced that after 46 years at the UPS, including 11 years as vice president of UPS State Public Affairs, he will be retiring this April. Ray has a profound record of service to UPS, rising through the ranks and serving with a deep sense of loyalty and respect. In 1976, Ray was first hired at UPS as a package handler while attending the College of New Jersey. While balancing his studies, Ray was promoted to part-time hub supervisor. Upon graduating with a degree in political science, he moved to the metro New York district to become a package car driver. Just 2 years after his graduation from college, Ray was promoted to a full-time management position, joining engineering and operations, where he spent 35 years of his career. Working in engineering and operations, Ray took on a number of assignments, holding positions in three UPS districts and numerous package and air divisions. In these roles, Ray utilized his strong leadership, technical, and analytical skills to develop and deploy operational practices throughout UPS. For the last 11 years, Ray brought his talents in leadership and advocacy to the UPS's State public affairs team, where he worked tirelessly with key policymakers in Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, and Wisconsin. In Illinois, Ray has served far beyond his responsibilities with the UPS. Ray was deeply involved with the State chambers of commerce and is the former commerce chairman, the only UPS manager to chair a State chamber. Ray currently serves on several boards and committees, including the Illinois Chamber Foundation Board, the Chicagoland Chamber Board of Directors, the Chicagoland Chamber's Public Policy Committee, and the Board of Directors of Illinois' Civic Federation. In support of UPS's international initiatives, Ray serves on the Illinois advisory council for the U.S. Global Leadership Coalition and the advisory council for North Rhein Westphalia-Invest, and previously served as vice chairman of the Illinois International Business Council, an organization he helped found. In this role, Ray has used his decades of experience in transportation and operational leadership to educate and engage community leaders on investments in development and diplomacy and has used these relationships to help strengthen Illinois' economy. In the true spirit of his own legacy at UPS, Ray was a leader in developing the wildly successful Chicagoland Regional Education Programs, which has allowed thousands of young Illinois residents the opportunity to go to college while working at UPS. I want to close by congratulating Ray Drake on his distinguished career with the UPS and thank him for all he has done and all he will continue to do to serve communities in Illinois and across the world. Chicago is grateful for all of his service and sacrifice. Now, as he enters the next chapter in his life, I want to wish Ray and his family the very best in a long and happy retirement.

Mr. DURBIN

Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the text of the bill be printed in the Record.

Mr. DURBIN

Mr. DURBIN. I announce that the Senator from Vermont (Mr. Leahy), the Senator from Vermont (Mr. Sanders), and the Senator from New Hampshire (Mrs. Shaheen) are necessarily absent.

Mr. DURBIN

Mr. DURBIN. I announce that the Senator from New Hampshire (Mrs. Shaheen) is necessarily absent.

Mr. DURBIN

Mr. DURBIN. I announce that the Senator from New Hampshire (Mrs. Shaheen) is necessarily absent.

Mr. DURBIN

Mr. DURBIN. I announce that the Senator from New Hampshire (Mrs. Shaheen) is necessarily absent.

Mr. DURBIN

Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, the Republican leader referred to the American Rescue Plan, which did not receive a single Republican vote in support. He referred to it as runaway Federal spending. What did we buy with the American Rescue Plan? We bought vaccines, and we bought an administration and management of delivering those vaccines to the American people in the midst of a pandemic that was claiming American lives every day. Runaway Federal spending--how much stronger would this Nation be if we were still in the depths of this pandemic? We are emerging from it, thank God. But it wasn't for lack of effort on our part on this side of the aisle. Yes, we spent the money. We administered the shots, and people across America are now protected from hospitalizations and death because of it. No apologies here to my colleague from Kentucky. It was money well spent, not just for that--and that was the number one public health purpose--but, secondly, to keep businesses afloat so they can reopen their doors as the pandemic ebbed. That investment in the capital of America, in the businesses of America, paid off for business owners who otherwise would have lost their life savings and family investments and for their workers who finally returned to work. I think it helped the small businesses, and I think it helped the families. The child tax credit, which cut in half child poverty in America--that child tax credit, according to the Senator from Kentucky, was runaway Federal spending. Tell that to the family who lives paycheck to paycheck and tries to provide the basics in life for their children. No apologies here for the American Rescue Plan. And when you ask the American people, ``What about this inflation,'' it is a problem. Of course, it is. We see it as they do. And we see it all across the world. Inflation isn't confined to the United States. It is reflected in a world that is emerging from COVID-19, where economies--local economies--were strangled and choked and restricted. Now, they are expanding. People are expanding their needs and spending on that side of it. If the supply doesn't keep up with it, then inflation results. We have a battle ahead of us and many plans here to try to address it with a number of items to reduce the cost of living for families.

Mr. DURBIN

Mr. DURBIN. I announce that the Senator from New Jersey (Mr. Menendez) and the Senator from New Hampshire (Mrs. Shaheen) are necessarily absent.

Mr. DURBIN

Mr. DURBIN. I announce that the Senator from New Jersey (Mr. Menendez) and the Senator from New Hampshire (Mrs. Shaheen) are necessarily absent.

Mr. DURBIN

Mr. DURBIN. I announce that the Senator from New Hampshire (Mrs. Shaheen) is necessarily absent.

Mr. DURBIN

Mr. DURBIN. I announce that the Senator from New Hampshire (Mrs. Shaheen) is necessarily absent.

Mr. DURBIN

Mr. DURBIN. I announce that the Senator from Vermont (Mr. Leahy) and the Senator from New Hampshire (Mrs. Shaheen) are necessarily absent.

Mr. DURBIN

Mr. DURBIN. I announce that the Senator from Vermont (Mr. Sanders), the Senator from Vermont (Mr. Leahy) and the Senator from New Hampshire (Mrs. Shaheen) are necessarily absent.