Richard Durbin

Mr. DURBIN

Mr. DURBIN. I announce that the Senator from New Mexico (Mr. Lujan) is necessarily absent.

Mr. DURBIN

Mr. DURBIN. I announce that the Senator from New Mexico (Mr. Lujan) and the Senator from Vermont (Mr. Sanders) are necessarily absent.

Mr. DURBIN

Mr. DURBIN. Madam President, our history books are filled with the names of great men and women who devoted their lives to others. One who may not be as recognizable as others is Norman Borlaug. He was an American biologist. He successfully developed a strain of wheat that grew more quickly and was disease-resistant. His work to feed the hungry has been credited with saving a billion lives worldwide. Madame Marie Curie was a Polish chemist who is remembered for her discovery of radium and polonium and her huge contribution toward finding a treatment for cancer. Of course, there are all the scientists throughout history who developed lifesaving vaccines: Edward Jenner, smallpox vaccine; Louis Pasteur, rabies; Albert Calmette, TB; Leila Denmark, whooping cough; Jonas Salk, polio. I might add Albert Sabin, too, because I was a kid and remember he came up with the oral version, which meant we didn't have to get a shot. Kids remember that. These men and women will be remembered for improving and saving lives with their breakthroughs in medicine, agriculture, and science. I want to nominate another person to be remembered in that same light. His name is Anthony Fauci. Born in 1940, Tony Fauci, the grandson of Italian immigrants, grew up a Yankees fan in Brooklyn. He was the captain of his high school basketball team. He worked construction jobs over breaks in the summer from school. He ultimately decided he wanted to pursue a career in medicine. Thank goodness he did. In 1972, Anthony Fauci accepted a senior researcher position at the National Institutes of Allergy and Infectious Diseases at the National Institutes of Health, and for the past 38 years, Dr. Fauci has been the leader of that Institute. He has advised seven Presidents of both political parties. He has guided our Nation and the world through countless public health crises--SARS, avian influenza, swine flu, Zika, Ebola. Aside from his work against COVID-19, he is best known for his work on HIV/AIDS. Anthony Fauci's tireless efforts on HIV/AIDS, both domestically and worldwide, through the creation of PEPFAR, the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, is the main reason why HIV/ AIDS is no longer a death sentence. Some of us can remember when HIV/AIDS was first discovered. I can recall coming to vote in the House and somebody stopping me on the sidewalk and saying: Did you hear Magic Johnson has AIDS? I can remember hearings in the House Budget Committee as a young Congressman when we thought it was a death sentence that we were all going to face eventually. There was ultimate panic in the air, but thank goodness there were talented people like Tony Fauci with the nerves of steel needed to confront that. Harold Varmus, a former NIH Director, once said: PEPFAR has turned around declining life expectancies in many countries and likely saved some countries--even an entire continent--from economic ruin. Larry Kramer, a prominent and well-known AIDS activist who recently passed away, called Dr. Fauci ``the only true and great hero'' among government officials of the AIDS crisis. For his work on HIV/AIDS, Dr. Fauci was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2008--our Nation's highest civilian honor--from then-President George W. Bush, who called Dr. Fauci ``my hero.'' Dr. Fauci has devoted his career and his life to improving public health. He has saved countless lives here and around the world. These days, he is working 18 hours a day, 7 days a week, shuttling from the NIH to the White House and back home. He is a classic example of American excellence, a brilliant scientific mind. Yet, despite all this, despite all that I have told you about this man, some Members of today's Republican Party have chosen to make him a political target. They think attacking Dr. Fauci will cause us to forget the real history of COVID-19. You see, the Republican Party has consistently failed the American people when it has come to COVID--from President Trump's refusing to take it seriously, to the discouragement of mask-wearing and vaccines, to promoting horse tranquilizers and bleach and bizarre theories as a cure. They have too little courage to face their communities and to do the hard work of governing during this public health crisis, so they have invented a political target, a convenient target, on which to focus their blame. Instead of addressing this public health crisis head on, they are trying to deflect and distract from it in attacking Dr. Tony Fauci. They are, without evidence, suggesting the false narrative that Dr. Fauci secretly and purposely funded illicit research that caused this virus. They are even criticizing his government salary, for goodness' sakes. He accrued that salary, I might remind them, over four decades of public service, as though he wouldn't make twice or three times that amount in the private sector today. They are questioning his financials and ties to the drug industry, even though he has made every requested document available, and no malfeasance or conflicts have been found. So why do they do this? Why are they determined to run this man down? Why would they attack this public servant who is working around the clock to keep us safe? It is because it is much easier to malign a person than it is to do the hard work of enacting policies to tackle this virus and keep America healthy. Their distractions have sunk so low that they are using these attacks to raise money for their political campaigns. We have Republican candidates, from Ohio to Florida, who are running ads entitled, ``Fire Fauci,'' who are promising to subpoena him and reduce his salary to zero if it is within their power, who are selling ``Freedom over Fauci Flip-Flops,'' which comes from none other than the Governor of Florida. A few of my Senate Republican colleagues have loaded up their websites with anti-Fauci fervor, conveniently located next to a ``donate here'' option. We have FOX News' anchors and podcast comedians giving air time to anti-vaxxers who are hoping to get their 15 minutes of fame by leveling baseless claims against Dr. Fauci, baseless claims that have resulted in death threats and harassment against Dr. Fauci, his wife, and his children. Let me ask you this: What have Dr. Fauci's most vocal critics done to advance the cause of public health? Nothing. They have done nothing. Worse than that, their lies about Dr. Fauci and about COVID are creating a toxic political environment that is literally killing people, as 900,000 Americans have now died from COVID. Some of these deaths could have been prevented with vaccinations. Americans who are unvaccinated--listen to this; the Presiding Officer knows it--are 97 times more likely to die from COVID than their vaccinated and boosted counterparts--97 times more likely to die. Yet, instead of spending their time encouraging vaccinations and promoting other proven, legitimate public health measures that would end this pandemic, many in the Republican Party want to get their 5 or 10 minutes of Sun on FOX TV, and they spend their time attacking Dr. Fauci. These attacks are a shameful fraud, and for what--to fundraise? to win another guest appearance on FOX? Working in politics, you get used to a lot of things--grandstanding, demagoguery, hypocrisy--but what some of my Republican colleagues are doing to Dr. Fauci is the lowest form of political life. They are lying about someone who has devoted his life to saving people--saving AIDS patients, containing and eradicating Ebola, preventing the spread of Zika and the avian flu. He is someone who has worked harder than anyone to end this COVID pandemic. David Relman, a microbiologist who has advised the U.S. Government for years on biological threats, said this of Dr. Fauci: Nobody is a more tireless champion of the truth and the facts . . . I am not entirely sure what we would do without him. Dr. Fauci's name is--and deserves to be--listed alongside our world's greatest scientific minds. History will reserve another place for those who lied about him for their own gain--inciting hatred, prolonging this pandemic, and contributing to needless pain and suffering. America is blessed to have the talent, dedication, and compassion of Anthony Fauci in the midst of this deadly pandemic. I ask unanimous consent to have printed in the Record an article from The Washington Post, entitled, ``Anthony Fauci is up against more than a virus,'' after these remarks.

Mr. DURBIN. Madam President, I yield the floor. I suggest the absence of a quorum.

Mr. DURBIN

Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, this week, the Senate will vote to confirm Judge Leonard Stark to serve on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. Judge Stark is an exceptional and experienced jurist. For the past 14 years, he has served the District of Delaware--first, as a magistrate judge and, since 2010, as a district court judge. He has presided over 6,000 civil and criminal cases, including 2,400 patent matters and 63 patent trials. This experience will be of particular importance on the Federal Circuit for two reasons. First, unlike the 12 other courts of appeals, the Federal Circuit has a specialized jurisdiction; it hears all of the Nation's patent appeals. Second, Judge Stark would replace the only active judge on the court who has previously served as a trial judge. This makes his extensive background as a trial judge especially valuable. Judge Stark brings with him considerable experience serving on Federal appeals panels. He has sat, by designation, on the Third and Federal Circuits, where he heard 54 appeals and authored 11 unanimous opinions. Before joining the bench, Judge Stark served as an Assistant U.S. Attorney for the District of Delaware for 4 years. He worked as a litigation associate at an international law firm. And he clerked on the Third Circuit. Judge Stark earned his bachelor of arts, bachelor of science, and master of arts simultaneously at the University of Delaware. He was awarded the prestigious Rhodes Scholarship and received a doctorate in philosophy from the University of Oxford. He also holds a J.D. from Yale Law School. With such impressive credentials, it is clear why the American Bar Association rated Judge Stark unanimously as ``Well Qualified'' to sit on the Federal Circuit. His expertise in adjudicating patents combined with his experience hearing appeals will be an asset to the Federal Circuit and to our industrious, inventive Nation. I will be voting for Judge Stark's confirmation, and I urge my colleagues to join me.

Mr. DURBIN

Mr. DURBIN. I announce that the Senator from New Mexico (Mr. Lujan) is necessarily absent.

Mr. DURBIN

Mr. DURBIN. I announce that the Senator from New Mexico (Mr. Heinrich), the Senator from New Mexico (Mr. Lujan), and the Senator from Vermont (Mr. Sanders) are necessarily absent.

Mr. DURBIN

Mr. DURBIN. I announce that the Senator from California (Mrs. Feinstein) and the Senator from New Mexico (Mr. Lujan) are necessarily absent.

Mr. DURBIN

Mr. DURBIN. I announce that the Senator from California (Mrs. Feinstein) and the Senator from New Mexico (Mr. Lujan) are necessarily absent.

Mr. DURBIN

Mr. DURBIN. I announce that the Senator from California (Mrs. Feinstein) and the Senator from New Mexico (Mr. Lujan) are necessarily absent.

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

Mr. DURBIN

Mr. DURBIN. I announce that the Senator from New Mexico (Mr. Lujan) is necessarily absent.

Mr. DURBIN

Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, I am sure that you, more than most Members of the Senate, remember our debate a few weeks ago on the Voting Rights Act. I remember your statement on the floor. It was powerful and really spoke to the truth of why we were meeting and debating this issue. We realize that, sadly, since the Civil War, when African Americans were finally given the right to vote, this has been a battle every year since. And yesterday, the Supreme Court decision tells us that we still have a battle to fight when it comes to voting rights in America. By a 5-to-4 vote yesterday, the Supreme Court's conservative majority allowed Alabama lawmakers to move forward with a congressional districting map that diminishes the power of Black voters in a State where Black Americans account for more than 25 percent of the population. You see, this case had been considered by a three-judge district court panel in Alabama, and they ruled in a unanimous decision that the map likely violated the Voting Rights Act of 1965, and they ruled that we should block that map because it would violate the right to vote of African Americans. I might say, for the record, this three-judge panel, two of the three judges were appointed by former President Trump, and yet they came to that conclusion. So the Supreme Court had a decision of whether to go along with this three-judge panel and stop the implementation of this map until they could have a full hearing on the subject or allow them to go forward. And, sadly, by a 5-to-4-vote, the Supreme Court's conservative majority stayed a lower court's decision, where they ruled unanimously that the district map was discriminatory. The Supreme Court did not issue a well-reasoned decision; they issued basically no reason. They did so on what is known as the shadow docket. We are seeing it more and more by this Court--no explanation, no full briefing, no signed opinion for the majority. What we have was a scant reaction by the Court. But I do want to note that Justice Kagan wrote that that decision by the Supreme Court in favor of allowing this Alabama map to go forward ``does a disservice to the District Court, which meticulously applied this Court's longstanding voting-rights precedent.'' She went on to note that ``most of all, it does a disservice to the Black people of Alabama who under that precedent have had their electoral power diminished in violation of the law this Court once knew to buttress all of American democracy.'' Yesterday's decision is the latest example of the Supreme Court hacking away the protections of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, one of the most important civil rights laws in our history--a law singularly responsible for decades of progress in minority representation in public office. As a result of these decisions, legal protections for voters of color throughout the country are being systematically dismantled by the Republican Party through State legislatures and, sadly, by our Federal courts. So now what do we do? Well, Congress must act. We must restore the Voting Rights Act to its full power and potential, and we can do that by enacting the John R. Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act. This legislation would strengthen and modernize the Voting Rights Act's protections, including by requiring Supreme Court Justices to actually explain their reasoning behind their decisions when they overturn a lower court's decision on a voting rights case. Is that too much to ask, that the Supreme Court explain to the American people why they are overruling a lower court's decision which says Americans are being discriminated against when it comes to their right to vote? I don't think the Supreme Court is that busy that it can't tell the American people its logic behind these decisions. Every day, we are seeing the consequences of this Senate's failure just a few weeks ago to protect the right to vote. Mr. President, you and I agree; we cannot wait any longer.

Mr. DURBIN

Mr. DURBIN. I announce that the Senator from California (Mrs. Feinstein), the Senator from New Mexico (Mr. Lujan), and the Senator from Rhode Island (Mr. Whitehouse) are necessarily absent.

Mr. DURBIN

Mr. DURBIN. I announce that the Senator from California (Mrs. Feinstein), the Senator from New Mexico (Mr. Heinrich), the Senator from New Mexico (Mr. Lujan), and the Senator from Georgia (Mr. Ossoff) are necessarily absent.

Mr. DURBIN

Mr. DURBIN. Madam President, if you have any memory of the Soviet Union, you can remember that when Moscow was in its ascendancy in that region of the world, their plan included a revision of history. They rewrote chapters of history to make themselves look stronger and better and smarter and more powerful than they ever were. And we used to mock that in the West and say: Don't they know that history speaks for itself? The facts speak for themselves. They did it time and again. It was usually the product of authoritarian rule, where one man-- strongman--would want his version of history to be written in the books and taught to the children. Last week, we saw an exercise in Soviet revisionism in, of all places, Salt Lake City, UT. The Republican National Committee met in Salt Lake City, UT, for a national conference, and representatives came from all over the United States. What they did to start that conference off was to censure two Republican House Members, Liz Cheney and Adam Kinzinger from Illinois. To me, it was the lowest of low tactics to attack these two individuals who are making a bipartisan effort with the January 6, 2021, House committee to get to the bottom of what happened that day and who was responsible for it. You might remember that there was a proposal from Speaker Pelosi that we create a bipartisan Commission wherein the House and Senate Democrats and Republicans would turn this matter over, as we have before to a group, to determine what happened that day and what was behind it to avoid its ever happening again and to get one clear definition for history from this bipartisan Commission. The Commission idea was stopped by Senator McConnell, the Republican leader in the Senate. He refused to agree on this bipartisan approach. So Speaker Pelosi, realizing she had a scant majority in the House, said that she was going to still try to put such an investigation together. She invited Republican participation, which didn't work out well. Eventually, two stepped forward--Congresswoman Cheney and Congressman Kinzinger--and said they would participate. I know Adam Kinzinger. He is from my State. We have worked on a few things together. I respect him for his political courage time and again to speak out as he has. I am sorry that he was the subject of that censure. Sadly, that was not the only mistake made in the Salt Lake City Republican revisionary meeting. What was even worse, if anything could be worse, was the declaration by the Republican National Committee that what happened in this building--in this room--on January 6, 2021, was somehow characterized by a unanimous vote as legitimate political discourse. The Acting President pro tempore remembers that day, and I do, too. I can't forget it. It was when Vice President Pence was sitting where you are today, and a few minutes after 2 o'clock, the Secret Service came in and whisked him off the platform. We were told there was an attack on the Capitol taking place. Earlier, there had been a rally, sponsored by President Trump, and he had incited this insurrectionist mob to come up to the Capitol to be heard and seen. They knew why that day was chosen. January 6 was the day we were counting the electoral college vote--the official vote on the selection of Joseph Biden as President of the United States. It was the intention of President Trump and those who came here to interrupt that constitutional process. It is interesting as well that last week, Vice President Pence, at a Federalist Society meeting, spoke out on the subject and said for the first time that I can recall since he was chosen as Vice President that, in fact, President Trump was wrong--wrong in believing that he had the power as Vice President to change the electoral college vote. Pence made it clear that he did not have that authority. Well, the Republican National Committee went further in trying to promote the Big Lie and called what happened on January 6 in this Capitol Building legitimate political discourse. Do they honestly believe that breaking down the windows and doors of this building to enter as an unruly mob is legitimate political discourse? Do they believe that spraying toxic bear spray in the faces of our policemen is legitimate political discourse? Do they believe that 140 injured policemen and 5 people who are deceased as a result of that mob action was somehow legitimate political discourse and that, as they came into the Chamber--these demonstrators who were aping themselves in front of cameras for their friends to take pictures--sitting in the chair where the Acting President pro tempore is sitting today and going through my desk and other desks here to see if there was anything they could take a picture of or steal--that that was legitimate political discourse? Do they believe that incitement to violence by President Trump to send this mob up here was legitimate political discourse? Shame on the Grand Old Party. Shame on Mr. Lincoln's party. They should know better. I am glad that a handful have stood up and spoken up. I wish more would. If we are ever going to put an end to Trumpism in this country and in the Republican Party, only the Republicans can get it done. They have to decide that enough is enough and step forward. It is interesting to me that, when Senator McConnell came to the floor a few minutes ago, he talked about the statement of some Big Ten professor--he didn't name his name--who was not respectful of our police. Of all of the things that happened in the last week that were not respectful of the police, I would certainly add the Salt Lake City Republican national meeting, where the attack on our police was characterized as legitimate political discourse. An incitement to violence was legitimate political discourse. America is better than that. I sincerely hope that real leaders within the Republican Party will reclaim their party and put an end to this madness that Trumpism has brought them.

Mr. DURBIN

Mr. DURBIN. Madam President, there was another set of numbers that was released last Friday that testifies to good news, and America needs it. It testifies to the resilience of the American people and the American spirit. Many economists had braced for a disastrous January jobs report. The most optimistic among them predicted that the U.S. economy might grow by 150,000 or maybe 250,000 jobs last month. Some warned that it could show massive job losses. Here is what we learned: Despite the Omicron surge and the global supply chain shortages, U.S. employers added 467,000 new jobs last month--467,000. On top of that, the Bureau of Labor Statistics shows us the economy added 700,000 more jobs in November and December than we initially calculated. All told, the U.S. economy has added 6.6 million jobs in the last year--the strongest first-year job gain of any President in history. When Joe Biden took over the office a little over a year ago, he inherited one of the weakest and fraught economies in generations. At the start of the pandemic, the U.S. unemployment rate spiked to 14.7 percent. Last February, the Congressional Budget Office forecasted that the United States would not see 3.9 percent unemployment for another 5 years. The unemployment rate now is actually 4 percent. America's economic recovery is breaking records. The United States was the first country in the G7 to recover all of its GDP lost by the pandemic. Average wages were up 5.7 percent last month from a year ago. The increases were not all at the top; workers in the middle and lower rungs of the economy earned more too. I have to say, as important as that is, we all know that people working in this economy are also facing inflation and higher prices. Whether it is for gasoline or groceries, they are finding it more expensive to meet the basic necessities of life. Although this is good news, that is bad news that we have to address and should address on a bipartisan basis. The progress that we have made was not inevitable; it was a product of good old-fashioned American ingenuity. It is also the result of bold and decisive economic decisions by the Biden administration. The American Rescue Plan, which Congress passed without the support of a single Republican Member of Congress--all Democrats all the way-- broke the grip of the pandemic on our economy. We were able to get shots in arms, help small businesses stay afloat, and rush emergency assistance to people who had lost jobs or had seen their hours cut drastically. That emergency help worked in Illinois, and it worked all over this country. We also passed the bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. Let me remind those who follow, if you are wondering about the infrastructure bill passed by the Trump administration, let me put your concern to rest. There was no bill. There was no legislation. There was no infrastructure plan despite President Trump's repeated promises to deliver one. He walked away from the table, and I was in the room when he did. He wouldn't even negotiate. We have not fixed all of the weaknesses in our economy. The jobless rate among Black workers is still twice that of White workers. Unemployment among teens and young adults is still too high. Research from the National Women's Law Center shows that, while men have recouped all job losses since the pandemic started, there are nearly 1.1 million fewer women in the workforce. Daycare is part of that calculation, I might add. If we want to reach our full economic potential, we need to help families find affordable, quality daycare, and we have to address the issue of inflation nonstop.

Mr. DURBIN

Mr. DURBIN. Madam President, on an entirely different subject, on March 26, 2020, America passed a grim milestone when 1,000 Americans died that day of COVID--front page news. Two months later, after Memorial Day, we passed another terrible milestone when 100,000 had died of COVID. As many Americans had died from COVID as from the Korean, Vietnam, Iraq, and Afghanistan wars combined. By this past September, the number of Americans who had been lost to COVID hit 695,000--memorialized in a heartbreaking sea of small, white flags that covered our National Mall. This weekend, the United States hit another staggering milestone--900,000 Americans dead from COVID. In Illinois, there have been 31,000 lives lost. COVID-19 is now the third leading cause of death in the United States, behind only heart disease and cancer. At the rate we are going, experts say it is likely the United States will reach 1 million COVID deaths in just a few weeks. What makes these numbers even more tragic is that so many of the deaths could have been prevented. COVID vaccines are safe and free and highly effective at preventing COVID hospitalization and death. Think about this: According to new data from the CDC, unvaccinated individuals are 97 times more likely to die of COVID compared to those who have been vaccinated and boosted--97 times more likely to die if you are unvaccinated. Just last night, I watched ``60 Minutes.'' There was a presentation by nurses in Louisville, KY, the home State of the Republican leader. They talked about the devastating toll on their emotions and even their physical bodies when it comes to the deaths that they have to witness every day. They are beaten down, these nurses. They say that some 25 percent, if I remember correctly, have already resigned and have said they can't take it anymore. And to think how many of those hospitalizations could have been avoided if vaccinations had become universal across this country as they should be. Well, this evening, Members of Congress will gather on the steps of the Capitol for a moment of silence to remember the 900,000 souls we have lost to this virus. May their families and loved ones find peace. We have the tools and knowledge to bring this pandemic under control if only we would use them.

Mr. DURBIN

Mr. DURBIN. Madam President, last year, for the first time in more than two decades, America's economy grew faster than China's. That is incredible. Let's keep that streak going by passing USICA, the bipartisan U.S. Innovation and Competition Act. We need to promote products made in the United States by Americans and purchased in the United States. We passed it in the Senate last June by a vote of 2 to 1. The House passed its version last Friday. Let's go to conference and get this bill into law. If we negotiate in good faith, I believe we can do that. I want to thank Leader Schumer and Senator Young, a Republican from Indiana, for their leadership. This will boost competitiveness with China and help to reindustrialize America, make investments in manufacturing and research, and provide seed money to create good new jobs. Importantly, it includes $52 billion for research and designing and manufacturing semiconductor chips--what Senator Cantwell, chair of the Commerce Committee, calls the ``oil of the 21st century.'' Let's agree to make those chips here in America and not be dependent on importing them from China. USICA also allows for new sanctions against China for human rights violations. We can stand up for American workers and American values. I yield the floor. I suggest the absence of a quorum.

Mr. DURBIN

Mr. DURBIN. I announce that the Senator from California (Mrs. Feinstein), the Senators from New Mexico (Mr. Heinrich) and (Mr. Lujan), and the Senator from Georgia (Mr. Ossoff) are 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. 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 York (Mrs. Gillibrand), the Senator from New Mexico (Mr. Lujan), and the Senator from Vermont (Mr. Sanders) are necessarily absent.

Mr. DURBIN

Mr. DURBIN. I announce that the Senator from New York (Mrs. Gillibrand) and the Senator from New Mexico (Mr. Lujan), are necessarily absent.

Mr. DURBIN

Mr. DURBIN. I announce that the Senator from New York (Mrs. Gillibrand), the Senator from Maine (Mr. King), the Senator from New Mexico (Mr. Lujan), and the Senator from Vermont (Mr. Sanders) are necessarily absent.