Cory Gardner

Mr. GARDNER

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 President I ask unanimous consent that the order for the quorum call be rescinded.

Mr. GARDNER

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

Mr. GARDNER

Mr. GARDNER. Mr. President, yesterday I came to the floor and spoke about the forest fires in Colorado, and luckily we have had a great deal of snow on some of the most problematic conflagrations, and it has slowed the fires down tremendously and has given us a chance to fight back and make some containment progress. So the news on the fire front is generally a good-news story today, with more challenges to come down the road. Nomination of Amy Coney Barrett Mr. President, this morning I come to the floor to talk about the nomination of Judge Amy Coney Barrett to be placed on the U.S. Supreme Court. That will be the third Supreme Court Justice I have had the honor and privilege of voting on this Congress and the previous Congress, including Neil Gorsuch, Colorado's own Neil Gorsuch. We have heard a lot of discussion about the Federalist Papers and our Founding Fathers and the intent and the role of the Senate. The language of the Constitution points out that the President shall nominate and, with the advice and consent of the Senate, place Justices throughout our judiciary. We have heard in Federalist 69 by Alexander Hamilton, the President is to nominate and, with the advice and consent of the Senate, to appoint Ambassadors and other public ministers, Justices of the Supreme Court. In Federalist 69, Hamilton goes on to compare the power of appointment that the President has or the Chief Executive has to that of the King of Great Britain, even comparing the power of appointment to the Governor of New York--Alexander Hamilton in Federalist 69 did-- and he stated that both the King and the Governor of New York at that time had a greater power of appointment than the President due to the requirement of advice and consent and the ability of the Governor of New York to actually cast a vote on the matter himself. To quote Alexander Hamilton, ``In the national government, if the Senate should be divided, no appointment could be made.'' He pointed out that the President has a concurrent authority in appointing offices and the President is not the sole author of these appointments. It is clear in Alexander Hamilton's writings that this power was intended to be diluted; that it was to be balanced amongst the Chambers; that the judicial branch was viewed as the weakest of the three branches of government, not because it wasn't equal in power but because it didn't have some of the mechanisms that the other two branches do to protect it. While the President makes that appointment, it is this Chamber--the sole duty of this Chamber, in the Constitution, to agree or disagree with that nomination. We saw that disagreement occur in 2016 when this Chamber did not give its consent to a nomination. Later, Neil Gorsuch--Colorado's Neil Gorsuch--was confirmed to the Supreme Court. And just a matter of a little more than a month ago, we lost a trailblazing leader in Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, leaving open another seat on the Supreme Court that we are now asked to fill. Federalist 78, also written by Alexander Hamilton, has been referenced many times on the floor this past year, and particularly during this debate. He wrote about the Constitution being fundamental law, that it is the will of the people and that the courts are the only true guardians--the only true guardians--of the Constitution; that the Constitution is the highest manmade law, that any legislative act to the contrary must be held void by the court, since ``the interpretation of the laws is the proper and peculiar province of the courts''--that it was the guardian of the Constitution. When Madison was talking about this in the First Congress, he introduced, of course, the amendments that became what we call the Bill of Rights today. He said that the courts would ``consider themselves in a peculiar manner the guardians of those rights; they would be an impenetrable bulwark against every assumption of power in the legislative or executive; they will be naturally led to resist every encroachment upon rights expressly stipulated for in the Constitution by the declaration of rights.'' That idea of this ``guardian of the Constitution'' that the courts play is a hallmark of our democracy today. And whether or not a Justice has the support of a Member of this Chamber, I don't believe that anyone would deny that role that our courts must play, and that is that role as guardian of the Constitution. It is clear in the confirmation hearing for Judge Barrett that some people believe the guardian of the Constitution takes on a different hue, that there is more to that role than simply looking at the law and making a decision based on the law. As some called it--I believe it was Justice Scalia and perhaps paraphrased by Justice Gorsuch--a judge's role is to call balls and strikes. I would add to that it is not their role to call the pitch. But what we saw during the Judiciary Committee hearings, of course, was a viewpoint of some that a judge should be more than calling balls and strikes. A judge should be, in effect, a super legislator; that a judge should accomplish things that this Chamber, this Congress, has failed to do; that if there is a shortcoming in a policy, a judge or Justice would look the other way and fill in that policy or write that policy or proactively create that policy. That is, again, going back to what we have known throughout this country as the guardians of the Constitution. The guardians of the Constitution don't make up policy. They don't fill voids of new policies that the legislators didn't do or couldn't do because they couldn't get it through their Chamber. So they decided they would count on a judge to do it somewhere else. That is not the role of the courts. It is certainly not the role of a guardian of the Constitution. A guardian of the Constitution is somebody who looks at the law and makes decisions on the law and upholds and protects that will of the people, the fundamental law of the people. And, of course, an activist judge--an activist Justice--would be reaching into the law to fit their own personal opinion or beliefs to craft something that they believe is perhaps more in line with what they thought somebody wanted and more in line with their own opinions, instead of looking at that letter of the law. I think it is important that we keep in mind that that is not the role of the courts. If this Chamber can't pass a policy or a law, if it can't have its own victory in carrying the day in an argument, it is not up to a judge or a Justice to fill in the blank. They have to rule and carry out the law. So that is a real key distinction that we saw during the Judiciary Committee debates--that role of policymaker that some wish Judge Barrett to be versus that role of protector, that guardian of the Constitution, calling balls and strikes. I look at any nominee for the courts, whether it is for district court or appellate court or the Supreme Court, through this lens: Are they going to protect that Constitution? Are they going to uphold the Constitution? Are they going to fight and defend and be the guardian of the Constitution? Are they going to protect and do the same with the law, outside of the Constitution--the laws, the statutes that this body enacts and passes and are signed into law by the President? Will that judge or Justice uphold and defend that law--not make that law, not change that law but uphold the law? And, of course, there is that guardian of the Constitution role that they will play. There is no doubt that Judge Barrett's qualifications are immense. Her qualifications as a member of our great American community and somebody with a beautiful family is mind-boggling. Jaime and I have a challenge with our three kids, making sure they get to school on time and making sure they are getting their homework done. I can't imagine seven children, while also carrying the schedule that their family does. But it is a testament to the incredible power and the leadership of their family and their dedication to being upstanding citizens of this Nation and giving back to this Nation with this new pursuit. We know about that key intellect that has been shared with this country over the last several years in the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals. We know of her time as a law professor, and we have had the opportunity to look over a decade-plus worth of work. We know that she is a person of faith in our community and has come under incredible attacks because of that faith. We know in this Chamber that our Constitution actually forbids the kinds of attacks that we have seen on her faith. Our Constitution makes it clear that there is no religious test. Our Constitution actually makes it very clear that you cannot vote or deny public service appointment to someone because of their religious beliefs. We have seen it done. We have seen it tried, especially over the last Congress. We saw it done at the Budget Committee with the nomination of Russ Vought to be the deputy director of the Office of Management and Budget, when a colleague of ours basically said that because of his deeply held Christian beliefs that he was not qualified to be a public servant in this country. I hope the American people are hearing what is happening in some of these debates, that Amy Coney Barrett is attacked because of her faith. But it is not just limited or isolated to her. There are others who are more and more accustomed, or who feel more and more empowered, emboldened to use a person's faith to deny them their vote to a position in our government. That is an unconstitutional test that some in this Chamber are starting to rely on, and I hope the American people will use this opportunity to see through it, to reject it, and to get back to the values of our Constitution and the intent of that language. I had a conversation with Judge Barrett. I had a chance to visit with her, and I talked about those three qualifications to uphold the Constitution. Will you fight to protect the Constitution? Will you protect the law? And will you avoid being that activist legislator? Will you avoid legislating from the bench? And I received her commitment. That is exactly the kind of judge that she will be, somebody to be that guardian of the Constitution, the protector of law, and to call balls and strikes. I talked to her about the importance that I know that the vote that I cast for her is something that matters not just next year or the next year but 10 or 20 years from now, as she is on that Court and that that same view will remain, and she assured me that it will because of the same reason that I want it to. That is the future of our kids and their kids, and she knows it means everything to her children as well--to protect our Nation's laws and Constitution and to avoid that attempt, that desire, that pull at the heart to legislate. Even if you want to come out with an opinion that is different than your own interpretation of the law, you have to follow the law, and that is what she has assured me she has done. She has assured me that there are moments in rulings that she has issued that she would have preferred a different outcome personally, but that is not what the law required, and that is why she ruled the way that she did. In talking to my colleagues on the Judiciary Committee, they talked about her understanding of the law, and in watching the hearings, you could sense the deep commitment and devotion to the law. There was a time several decades ago, when President Ronald Reagan went to introduce Justice Sandra Day O'Connor to a group of Federal judges at the White House, and Ronald Reagan in his speech talked about what it means to be a judge. He talked about the exacting standards of integrity and fairness and intellect that are required for a Federal judgeship--that it provides reassurance to all of us that our ideals of liberty and justice are alive and well. He went on to talk about the most important quality that we could have in a judge, and that was wisdom. That wisdom is the quality that we look for most, and I think you could sense a great deal of wisdom in Amy Coney Barrett. He went on to say that we demand of our judges a wisdom that knows no time, has no prejudice, and wants no other reward. We entrust judges with our ideals and freedom, and our futures depend on the way that judge defines them. It requires the lonely courage of a patriot. And he went on to say: A judge is a guardian of freedom for generations yet unborn. So, I hope that my colleagues will support the nomination of Amy Coney Barrett. If you could take the politics out of the place, she would probably have a unanimous vote. Unfortunately, the politicization of this nomination is going to prevent that. But I just urge my colleagues to look past the politics, to look past the partisanship, and to vote for a truly qualified justice who is committed to the law and to the Constitution, who is committed against activism on the bench, and who will make sure that our country, for generations to come, has a protector of that guardian of the Constitution with the wisdom to get the job done. I urge my colleagues to support Justice Amy Coney Barrett, and I am honored, in just a few hours, to know that I will be able to cast a vote in support of soon-to-be Justice Amy Coney Barrett. I yield the floor.

Mr. GARDNER

Mr. GARDNER. Mr. President, I look forward to coming to the floor and speaking about the nomination that is currently before the U.S. Senate, the nomination of Judge Barrett to be placed on the U.S. Supreme Court, but at this point, I think it is important that we talk about what is happening in Colorado as we speak because of the heroic men and women who continue to fight our Nation's fires and certainly the devastating and catastrophic fires that we are seeing right now in Colorado. This year we have already seen two of the largest fires in Colorado history burning over 200,000 acres--wildfires that started out at 20,000 acres, 25,000 acres, and then within hours grew 80-, 90-, 100,000 acres in a day. It is unheard of growth for wildfires. The picture that I am showing you here is Estes Park, CO. Most people may be familiar with Estes Park. It is the gateway to Rocky Mountain National Park. You can see Lake Estes here and the town here. The town has been evacuated. A town of thousands of people has been evacuated because of two fires that are now threatening the area. One fire is the Cameron Peak Fire, which became the largest fire in the State's history, only to be challenged by another fire coming through Rocky Mountain National Park called the East Troublesome Fire. Both are impacting Rocky Mountain National Park. The city of Estes Park, the city of Grand Lake, and the city of Granby, overnight, they did receive a winter storm. It is snowing now, and it is reducing the fire activity. It will not put the fire out. But my prayers and thoughts continue with the men and women who are fighting this fire so valiantly and the people in these communities who are in harm's way. We know that homes have been lost. We don't know how many, but we know that homes have been lost, and we certainly acknowledge the loss of life that has already occurred. A couple in Grand Lake, who stayed in their home when the fire came through--they were together, but we pray for them and their families, and we mourn their loss. The East Troublesome Fire, which is the Medicine Bow-Routt National Forest and Thunder Basin National Grassland, has a Type 1 management team already assigned. It is the No. 1 priority of the U.S. Forest Service in the country right now because of the aggressive fire behavior, with spotting that has threatened places like Estes Park. There are evacuations, road closures, trail closures, and has over 500 people, right now, assigned to this fire. The Cameron Peak Fire has about 1,100 personnel working on the fire right now. We know about 470 structures have been lost. It is over 208,000 acres. The Calwood Fire in Boulder County has a Type 2 management team fighting the fire right now. Their evacuation is in effect. There are nearly 400 people fighting this fire. There were 28 structures lost. The Ice Fire--an ironic name--in the San Juan National Forest, near Silverton, CO, we know that it is about 600 acres right now. There is the Williams Fork Fire, which has been burning for months in Colorado and Grand County. In Arapahoe and Roosevelt National Forests, we know that there have been several communities and energy infrastructure threatened by all these fires. If you think about this entire town being evacuated, in the Colorado- Big Thompson Project, which provides a great deal of water to the Front Range of Colorado and through the South Platte River Valley, diversions were stopped, energy production impacted, and major utility transmission lines have been lost. And, of course, there is the loss to some of the most magnificent areas of Rocky Mountain National Park, perhaps an untold story that we will learn about in the coming days. This Congress and past Congresses have not been idle in the work that we have done to protect our resources. In fact, in this last Congress, we put an end to a practice that was known as ``fire borrowing,'' which involved raiding accounts that were not meant to go to suppression of wildfires to pay for increasingly expensive firefighter seasons. The fix for fire borrowing was included in the 2018 spending package. What that means is we will no longer be cannibalizing funding for fuel reduction for mitigation that could have prevented a fire like this. Instead, we will be fully funding the firefighting effort and allowing those mitigation dollars and those fuel reduction dollars to be continued to be used so we can prevent this kind of fire from occurring. We have also passed legislation for water resilience projects and categorical exclusions to help with forest management. We passed Healthy Forest Restoration Act language that includes fire and fuel breaks. We have worked on 20-year stewardship contracts with cottonwood reform. We have proceeded with reforms to fire hazard mapping initiatives and to fuels management for protection of electric transmission lines and Good Neighbor Authority to help make sure we continue to give tools to our land managers. The 2018 farm bill built upon many of the reforms that we passed in the 2014 farm bill changes. We have worked to expand the Collaborative Forest Restoration Program. We doubled its funding to help expand Good Neighbor Authorities to Tribes and to counties. All of these tools will help us deal with the wildfires, but, certainly, they are not going to put this fire out today. So I come to the floor just to thank the men and women who are fighting these fires. To the leaders in these communities, the county commissioners, the sheriffs, the law enforcement personnel, first responders who have done a magnificent job in protecting structures, protecting their communities, protecting their people, I commend you, and know that you have the support of everybody here in our efforts to give you the tools you need to do your jobs, to be safe, and to protect our greatest resources and communities. So, again, I look forward to coming to the floor to speak about Judge Barrett and her nomination, but, for now, I think it is important that we take this time to recognize the challenge that Colorado faces and the need for continued work in this Chamber to address forest management and Healthy Forest Initiatives to make sure that we can prevent these fires. These are some of the original beetle kill areas that came in 30, 40 years ago. It was an insect that deadened and downed trees that we knew at some point could be a major challenge if there was a fire, and that is exactly what we are seeing. I hope that all of my colleagues will join me in prayers for our State and States across the country that have been affected by wildfires and know that we have more work to do to prevent the loss of some of our greatest natural resources. I yield the floor.

Mr. GARDNER

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

Mr. GARDNER

Mr. GARDNER. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the vote scheduled for 11:30 begin now.

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

Mr. GARDNER

Mr. GARDNER. Mr. President, if there is no further business to come before the Senate, I ask unanimous consent that it stand adjourned under the previous order.

Mr. GARDNER

Mr. GARDNER. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that when the Senate completes its business today, it adjourn until 10 a.m., Thursday, September 10; further, that following the prayer and pledge, the morning hour be deemed expired, the Journal of proceedings be approved to date, and the time for the two leaders be reserved for their use later in the day; and further, that following leader remarks, the Senate proceed to executive session to resume consideration of the Jarbou nomination under the previous order.

Mr. GARDNER

Mr. GARDNER. 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.

Mr. GARDNER

Mr. GARDNER. Mr. President, over the past several weeks, I have had the opportunity to visit with Colorado families and businesses across the four corners of our great State, talking about the challenges that Colorado faces when it comes to our economy as a result of the pandemic, talking about the health challenges that have been created for our State and so many of us around the world when it comes to the pandemic and the work that needs to be done and the work that this Congress needs to do to come together to stop the partisanship, to stop the fighting, to stop the arguing, and actually develop real solutions for the people of this country. Congress has done that time and time again over the past several months. If you go back to March 6, the passage of the Coronavirus Preparedness and Response Supplemental Act, that was signed into law that day. That is the first action that this Chamber took when it came to coronavirus response. March 18, a couple of weeks later, Congress passed the Families First Coronavirus Response Act. That was signed into law March 18. These were unanimous consent bills--many times unanimous consent, but had the support of every Republican and every Democrat. The work we were doing was so evident, and we needed to do it immediately. March 27, as economies were shutting down, as restaurants were closing, as hotels were closing, Congress passed the CARES Act--the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act. It was signed into law on March 27. This is when you started to see some of the partisanship that was developing as that bill's passage was delayed in the Senate. Nonetheless, it passed, delivering trillions of dollars in support for the American people, support for unemployment benefits-- creating new categories of help for people who had seen their jobs eliminated, furloughed, or hours reduced--support for farmers and ranchers, support for a vaccine, support for education, mass transit, telemedicine, and beyond--trillions of dollars, almost a year's worth of appropriations, a year's worth of funding in one bill, to help make sure that we were meeting the needs of the American people. The actions that we take can be focused, at least the way I see it, through three primary lenses: No. 1, what we were doing to make sure we are stopping the spread and flattening the curve of coronavirus; No. 2, making sure that we are helping individuals who are in need, who are worried about how they are going to meet their rent payments, how they are going to make their mortgage, making sure that they are going to be OK. The third filter, the third lens of actions that we need to takeis to go back to our businesses and making sure they are able to keep people employed, making sure they keep their doors open, making sure that our economy can snap back to its full strength and even stronger than ever once the health pandemic is over. We passed the Paycheck Protection Program and Health Care Enhancement Act on April 24 to provide additional dollars for the Paycheck Protection Program. We passed legislation that would extend the Paycheck Protection Program into August, which changed the way some of the payments are able to be made within that time and what expenses could be utilized within that timeframe. We passed the Great American Outdoors Act, which will create thousands of jobs across the State of Colorado--100,000 jobs across this country. We continue to do more work. There is no alpha and omega legislation when it comes to a coronavirus. There is no one single package of legislation that we can walk away from, spike the football and say: Our job is done here. We passed one bill, two bills, three bills, four bills--and we will continue to do more because the American people need it, and the American people need that support. I met with a restaurant owner in Pueblo, CO, who talked about the restrictions they are facing at their restaurant. They can have only 50 people in their restaurant regardless of social distancing. They can have only 50 people in their restaurant. They have a bar in their restaurant, but because they are a restaurant, they can have only 50 people. The bar down the road can have 100 people in it because they are a bar, but the restaurant can have only 50 people because they are a restaurant, even though they have a bar. They are trying to figure out and understand the regulations, the guidance they are under, making sure their customers are safe, making sure their employees can be paid, making sure they survive this and get through this. This is what the Paycheck Protection Program represents. That is what the help we passed with unemployment benefits means. It is to help people get through this so that we can get back on our feet as a country. I met with farmers in Eastern Colorado who were struggling to find help, who couldn't find the labor that they needed, who saw challenges to their prices before coronavirus. They saw challenges because of coronavirus to their supply chains and what was happening to the markets. The CARES Act provided aid and relief to many in agriculture across the State of Colorado, but there is more work to be done. I met with schools across the State of Colorado that are trying to open, that are trying to figure out the best way to keep their students safe and their teachers safe and make sure they can stay open. Some were doing online learning; some were doing in-person learning. All of them were trying to figure it out. The CARES Act and other pieces of legislation we passed provided billions of dollars for our educational institutions from kindergarten to 12th grade on up through higher education--billions and billions of dollars--but more work needs to be done. My wife turned to me a couple of weeks ago before our three children started school and said: It is time for spring break to end. Our kids have been out since spring break in March. A week ago, they did start, but there are people and families across the State of Colorado who are unsure about whether their classes will continue in person. Maybe they never got that far. We have to make sure we are providing help with childcare, making sure families have a place where they can take their kids when they go to work. In a country where more and more families have both parents in the workplace, it is very difficult to continue that job and to do it effectively when you don't have childcare. We have all this supply problem where we don't have enough places for families to take their kids and we have a demand challenge where you have people who need to take their kids to daycare because their schools aren't open. The CARES Act and other legislation we passed addressed that need. There is more work yet to do. I have heard from my colleagues across the aisle that they support the Paycheck Protection Program and that they support funding for businesses so that they can keep people employed, so that businesses can hire people and get them to return to work because we made a decision that it is better to have people on the job at the workplace than in the unemployment insurance office. We passed the Paycheck Protection Program. Look at these numbers in Colorado. We have a total loan amount of over $10 billion that went to Colorado alone to help make sure that businesses were staying open, that they could keep people on the payroll, that they could survive the orders to shut down that came from mayors and the States and the President. We did it out of love for our community to make sure that we could stop the spread, flatten the curve, and get through this together. As a result, we have an obligation to make sure that our economy comes back and that we help those businesses and those individuals through this to make sure our Nation gets back on its feet. The legislation that we passed has done part of that. If you look back to May 15, you think about an economy that lost 20.5 million jobs. The unemployment rate as of May 15 was 14.7 percent. Today, just a week ago, it is 8.4 percent, with more work that needs to be done. I have heard from my colleagues on the other side of the aisle that there is a need to support childcare and a need to support education, a need to support our efforts to get a vaccine, a need to support efforts to continue research, a need to support the post office. I have heard from our colleagues on the other side of the aisle that there is a need to make sure we have unemployment benefits that continue for the American people. I completely agree that we should make sure the Paycheck Protection Program continues. We should make improvements to the Paycheck Protection Program and make sure we improve the Paycheck Protection Program so that it benefits more businesses so that unrepresented communities have better access to the Paycheck Protection Program, that we get more people involved in unbanked and underbanked communities-- nontraditional lenders--so we can get the Paycheck Protection Program out to them and save more jobs and get more people to work. I completely agree. Let's work together, and let's pass that. There are people who aren't as fortunate. There are people who have lost their jobs. There are people who have seen their hours reduced, and they are terrified about how they are going to make ends meet, about what they are going to do for their job and their family. The bills don't stop. They keep coming, and they have to be paid. We should help them. We should pass unemployment insurance benefits. We should pass unemployment benefits to help the American people. Let's vote on that. Let's do that. Let's make it happen. We should help people who need childcare. Let's make sure we are funding childcare. Let's pass it tomorrow. Let's pass it tomorrow to provide billions of dollars for childcare services. We don't have to wait; we can pass it now. We should provide additional assistance to our farmers and ranchers. Thank goodness that we have the ability to produce our food in the United States. Imagine what would happen if we were reliant for 70 percent of our food on somebody else, like China. We have seen what happens in this country when we are reliant on China for our medications and for other personal protective equipment. Imagine if we relied on our food coming from somewhere else to the same extent. We are blessed that we have farmers and ranchers who wake up each and every day and work hard to put food on our table, but they are struggling right now. Let's help them. We don't have to wait. We don't have to wait another week or another month. We can pass it and vote on it tomorrow--$20 billion for our farmers and ranchers. We should continue our work on vaccines. I had the chance to stop at the University of Colorado to visit with Dr. Tom Campbell to learn about the trial that is taking place at the University of Colorado School of Medicine on the Anschutz Campus. They are working with the Moderna vaccine there, making sure that it goes to those who need it to get the best representative sample of how we can get the vaccine to succeed, to work, and get it into our community, but we need more help. We need more work. We need more research and development dollars. Let's vote on $31 billion on activities like vaccine development and distribution. Let's make that happen now--$16 billion for testing and related containment efforts. Let's build up a personal protective equipment stockpile once again. We know we need it. Let's vote on it. Let's vote on that tomorrow--$16 billion. Let's pass it. This $105 billion is more money than the House of Representatives passed. There is $105 billion for education--for K-12 and for higher education. We have heard the need from our teachers. We have heard the need from our colleges. Let's pass that tomorrow in the bill that we are going to be voting on to provide that help. We don't have to debate; we don't have to delay. We can pass it tomorrow. The post office--I live in rural Colorado, and my grandfather was a rural letter carrier. I remember as a child traveling with him on county roads out in Yuma County, delivering mail. Let's provide $10 billion to the Postal Service to make sure they have the resources they need because it matters in rural Colorado. We can pass that tomorrow. We are going to have a chance to vote on it tomorrow. Let's pass it. Let's make it happen. Let's get it done now. Everything here that we are voting on tomorrow--$105 billion to support students' safe return to in-person learning and educational opportunities, that is in the bill we are going to be voting on tomorrow. That $105 billion is more than the House of Representatives asked for. There is $16 billion for testing and related containment efforts in the bill. Let's vote on that tomorrow. There is $31 billion in vaccine and development distribution, $20 billion in farm assistance, $15 billion to support childcare services, changes to the Paycheck Protection Program that will allow for a second loan. I met with restauranteurs in Denver and across Colorado who said that the Paycheck Protection Program is what kept them in business. I met with Mother Pearl in Colorado Springs--a Cajun restaurant--where they said: This saved us. But they are still struggling. They are not up to full capacity yet. Let's give them a chance to get a second loan through the Paycheck Protection Program so that they can bring their employees back, keep their employees employed and paid, and get their doors open and through this. Let's simplify the loan forgiveness application process so that people who have $150,000 or less have certainty and clarity about what is going to happen to that loan. If you look at Colorado, the vast majority of the loans that represent $10.5 billion in Paycheck Protection Program loans--95,000 loans were below $150,000 in Colorado; 95,000 businesses could have certainty that their loan is forgiven. Let's pass that. Let's pass that tomorrow. That is in the bill. There are enhanced unemployment benefits of $300 a week. The State could contribute up to $400 a week, lasting through December at the end of this year. We can pass that tomorrow. It is in the bill. Ten billion dollars in assistance to the post office is in the bill. Every single point that we have made here is supported by my colleagues. They want money for education. We are giving more money to education than the House of Representatives passed. They want dollars for testing. They want dollars for vaccine and distribution. They want dollars and help and support for farm assistance. They want dollars for childcare. They want dollars for the Paycheck Protection Program. They want to keep businesses open and people employed and people hired. They want to help people and businesses have more certainty in how their loans are going to be handled. They want additional unemployment benefits for the American people, and they want help for the post office. There is not a single person who has come to the floor and said: I oppose money for higher education. They haven't done that because they agree. They agree with us. They agree with the testing and the research for the vaccine. They agree with support for childcare. They agree that we need to do it. Maybe somebody wants more. We passed one, two, three, four, five, six--this could be the fifth, sixth, or seventh bill, depending on how you count the various pieces of legislation that have gone toward coronavirus relief. We will do more, and we should do more. But why on Earth would you vote no tomorrow and tell the people of this country to go pound sand because you didn't get everything you wanted? Why would you tell the people who are on unemployment benefits and need it now: I am sorry, but I didn't get a tax deduction for wealthy people in California or New York so you are not getting yours. Why would you tell the people who need the dollars in education to support our kids and our teachers: I am sorry, but you are not getting yours because somebody has a nice house in Los Angeles who needs a tax cut. Why would you tell businesses that they may not be able to keep their doors open because that house in Manhattan is really nice and you want to make sure they keep their big house tax deduction? My colleagues on the other side of the aisle would have you believe that the American people can wait for unemployment benefits, that they can wait for more help for businesses. They would have you believe that they don't need to vote yes on this, even though they agree with it. The American people expect us to do our jobs. The American people have the chance to see this Congress work not in a bipartisan fashion tomorrow but in a nonpartisan fashion--getting back to the very beginning of the work we did together to pass legislation to benefit and help the American people, who acted out of love to stop their economies because they wanted to stop the spread of the coronavirus. They shut their businesses and their hotels emptied out all because they were complying with efforts to socially distance in order to end this pandemic. We have a chance tomorrow to vote on a bill that will provide unemployment benefits that will help people in ranch communities--that will provide them with billions of dollars in aid--but they are saying no because they didn't get everything. Their theory seems to be, if I can't get everything I want, you don't get anything, period. Is that the message the American people are going to get tomorrow, that it is their way or the highway? You are not going to get the help that everybody agrees on because I just didn't get everything that I thought I should. Look, our family business is a farm equipment dealership, and I have talked about it many times on this floor. I have never seen somebody come into that dealership and say, ``My tractor is broken. I would like a Republican to fix it,'' or ``My planter needs to be repaired. Can you please find a Democrat to fix it?'' That is not the way people come into the store in our economy and do business. They don't go into Target or Walmart that way. They don't go to that restaurant in Pueblo, in Colorado Springs, or in Denver and ask, ``Could you serve me the Republican meal today, please, made by a Democrat cook?'' They expect us to get the job done. There are some in this Chamber who argue that, if we just delay a little bit longer, we will put a big, big package together. Vote tomorrow. Bring amendments. Have the debate. Don't hide behind closed doors and argue that, if we just hold out a little bit longer, maybe my tax cuts will come for that mansion in Beverly Hills or for that place in the Hamptons. That is what they are doing. That is what they are doing to the American people. They are saying, even though we agree, because we didn't get our way, no one gets their help, that no one gets the help they need because they didn't get their way on everything. Tomorrow's vote isn't a final vote by any means, and even if it were, there is more work to be done. We will have additional pieces of legislation that we will continue to provide relief for, but tomorrow is the beginning of the debate. It is the first step in making sure that we have that for the American people; yet they are going to say no. They are going to vote no. They are afraid to debate. They won't even bring amendments. The Paycheck Protection Program has saved millions of jobs around the country. We have a chance to extend it, to make it work for more people. Unemployment insurance has expired. Look, we worked over August to make sure we had an extension of unemployment insurance and unemployment benefits for the people of Colorado and this country, as well as payroll tax breaks and help with rent. This was over the last several weeks. We need to act to extend it, and we have a chance to vote on it tomorrow. Vote yes, and we can provide that relief. Vote no, and you are telling the American people that politics is more important than policy, and that is wrong. If this body is interested in results and policy, they will vote yes to provide this relief that everybody agrees on. Some people find the politics of pandering and partisanship way too intriguing, inviting, and alluring. The American people find it sickening. Vote yes. Get on this bill. Bring your amendments. Have the debate. Let the American people know that relief is on the way--or vote no and continue this shameless charade of people who posture about helping the American people but who are simply interested in the electoral outcome. This vote is going to tell us a lot about people tomorrow. This vote is going to tell us about people who are interested in finding that way to relief for the American people--the opportunity is here--or is it going to simply be a chance to provide yet one more grandstand, yet one more finger-wagging, tongue-wagging opportunity for the American people to see how embarrassing the debate has become? The people of Colorado are strong, resilient, and optimistic. They see optimism in every vale and valley as they work to climb that next peak, but they need partners to help them, and we have a chance tomorrow to vote to provide that help. Do not be fooled by arguments that this doesn't do enough. We can do more, and we will do more, but let's start with the unemployment benefits now. Let's start with the business help now to keep people employed. Let's start with the vaccines and the research now. Let's start with the help for education now without delay. Tomorrow, I hope the outcome is a surprise, and I hope that we will see people come together in a way that we saw at the beginning of this debate. There is always more to be done. I ask unanimous consent to have a letter printed in the Record following my remarks that I wrote on April 16, with my colleague Senator Bennet and Governor Polis, that asks for more to be done. In this letter, we talk about the need for State and local funding--a half a billion dollars for State and local funding. We also talk about other programs, including additional benefits for food nutrition. I still support that. I am still fighting for that. I still want to do those things we listed in this letter, but I am not going to let that stop me from voting yes tomorrow because the American people need it. I hope that my colleagues will stop the partisanship, stop the gamesmanship, stop the power hungry approach to politics. Put it aside for the American people. Do what is right for the American people. Vote yes. I am delivering this critically important relief to our country so that we can stand united, as our country has stood united for months, and get through this together. In the weeks before the economy shut down and we could no longer go to church in person, we were reviewing a passage in the Bible which read that out of our struggles and tribulations comes perseverance, that out of that perseverance is built character, and that out of that character comes hope. We can provide that hope tomorrow. The American people deserve nothing less

Mr. GARDNER. I yield the floor.

Mr. GARDNER

Mr. GARDNER. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that, notwithstanding the provisions of rule XXII, the Senate vote on confirmation of the Jarbou, Cullen, and Gujarati nominations, in that order, at 11:30 a.m. tomorrow and that the cloture motion with respect to the motion to concur with amendment No. 2652 to the House amendment to S. 178 ripen following the disposition of the Gujarati nomination.

Mr. GARDNER

Mr. GARDNER. Mr. President, I rise today to recognize Morgan Community College in celebration of its 50th anniversary. Since the first day of class in 1970, Morgan Community College has prepared students from all walks of life for future success with dedication and compassion. The institution plays a critical role on the Eastern Plains of Colorado with programs that provide a strong knowledge base and serve as a springboard to future economic prosperity. As part of its commitment to providing high-quality, affordable higher education opportunities, Morgan Community College offers an expansive assortment of over 80 courses and a variety of curriculum tracks to ensure that students are able to find an educational path that best supports their goals. Furthermore, Morgan Community College is nationally recognized for its high graduation and transfer rates into 4-year institutions, indicating its ability to serve students' unique objectives. Morgan Community College continues to innovate and develop groundbreaking new programs to support the needs of the local communities. On August 17, 2020, the college celebrated the opening of Poplar Hall, an educational building to be utilized for the college's precision agriculture program. The development of Poplar Hall demonstrates the college's investment in and dedication towards the next generation of Colorado farmers and ranchers. The indispensable services Morgan Community College provides to its students have been recognized on multiple occasions, earning the college a top 10 ranking in SmartAsset's 2020 Best Community Colleges in America. In addition, Morgan Community College has been continuously named a ``great college to work for'' by the Chronicle of Higher Education. Morgan Community College offers immeasurable value to communities in Eastern Colorado, and the institution has a bright future. Sincerest congratulations on this 50th anniversary milestone.

Mr. GARDNER

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

Mr. GARDNER

Mr. GARDNER. Madam President, Congress has no greater responsibility than providing for a strong national defense and keeping Americans safe. The National Defense Authorization Act is one of the most important pieces of legislation that is considered each year by the U.S. Senate. It authorizes the weapons systems, programs, and resources that support the men and women who serve our country in the Armed Forces as well as their families. Last week, the Senate completed its work on the fiscal year 2021 National Defense Authorization Act for the 60th consecutive year. The bill received, as it should, wide bipartisan support in an 86-to-14 vote. I was proud to support the NDAA. In my home State of Colorado, our military installations, including Fort Carson, the Air Force Academy, Buckley, Peterson, and Schriever Air Force Bases, along with Cheyenne Mountain Air Force Station, are on the cutting edge of space operations, military training and readiness, and protecting our national security. I want to thank Chairman Inhofe and the ranking member for their bipartisanship at the Senate Armed Services Committee and for doing such a great job in fulfilling their tremendous responsibility in providing for national defense. It cannot be overstated enough how grateful we all are, and I appreciate the time and work they dedicated to this effort. The security of the United States should always be more important than any partisan politics, and I appreciate their commitment to placing national defense above partisan bickering. We have seen how even in the most rancorous political times Republicans and Democrats can come together through the Defense Authorization Act to renew the country's commitment to a free and open Indo-Pacific region, such as when the Asia Reassurance Initiative Act became law in December 2018. As was stated in the U.S. Department of Defense ``Indo-Pacific Strategy Report,'' which was released in July of last year, ``This legislation [ARIA] enshrines a generational whole-of-government policy framework that demonstrates U.S. commitment to a free and open Indo- Pacific region and includes initiatives that promote sovereignty, rule of law, democracy, economic engagement, and regional security.'' Now the U.S. Senate has taken the next step toward renewing the country's commitment to the Indo-Pacific region by passing this NDAA bill, enshrining and establishing a new Pacific Deterrence Initiative, PDI, that will complement ARIA and implement its vision of a more robust U.S. military presence in the Indo-Pacific. This initiative will enhance the security commitment set forth in ARIA and help guide the Congress and the Pentagon in making the tough choices necessary to prioritize the Indo-Pacific and to extend critical deterrence initiatives to check our adversaries. Earlier this summer, Chairman Inhofe and I authored an op-ed entitled ``Renewing America's Commitment to the Indo-Pacific.'' It described the Pacific Deterrence Initiative, which will complement the Asia Reassurance Initiative Act and implement its vision of a more robust U.S. military presence in the Indo-Pacific. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent to have the op-ed in the Diplomat of July 2, 2020, be printed in the Record

Mr. GARDNER. I would also like to thank my colleagues for their bipartisan work on the Defense bill. We had a number of bipartisan amendments included and provisions that improve the use of secure facility space and make sure military communities have access to clean and safe drinking water--an incredibly important issue facing Colorado, Colorado Springs, the Fort Carson area, and others as they address the PFAS issues this Nation has dealt with. I think it is important to remember that when one member of the family serves our country in uniform, the entire family serves, and this legislation supports military families in Colorado and truly all over the world. It provides a much needed pay increase for our military members and continues to support military spouses seeking employment. The NDAA addresses the challenges servicemembers and their families face living in privatized housing. It expands resources to continue to address PFAS water contamination in our military communities. In Colorado, we are proud to play a very key role in defending the United States. Our military installations are critical to national security and supporting operations in space. This year's defense authorization includes language to ensure there is transparency when it comes to selecting the final home for the headquarters--the permanent basing decision of U.S. Space Command--and that Space Command's critical mission drives the decisionmaking process. That is what we ensured through the Defense Authorization Act. The bill also supports the ongoing standup of our Nation's newest military branch, the U.S. Space Force, to include my legislation establishing the Space Force Reserve. The Space Force Reserve will mirror its sister military service branches, and as a result, the Space Force will better organize the military to handle Space Force's operations and bring all military members working in the space domain under the same organizational umbrella. General Raymond is working hard to make sure the U.S. Space Force is agile and prepared to respond to national security threats in the space domain. As we continue to work in establishing the U.S. Space Force, Colorado is proud to continue its support of our Nation's military operations in space. That is why in the coming weeks I will be working with my colleagues in the Senate to establish the U.S. Space Force Caucus, led by bipartisan co-leads and chairs. The caucus will provide my colleagues and their staff the opportunity to learn more about military space operations and the critical threats we face in the space domain. I welcome my colleagues' support and participation in the establishment of this caucus. Again, I thank my colleagues, Chairman Inhofe and Ranking Member Reed, for their work on this important bill, and I am proud to support legislation that authorizes $268 million for military construction projects in Colorado and provides a 3-percent pay raise for the men and women serving our Nation in uniform. With that, I yield the floor.

Mr. GARDNER

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

Mr. GARDNER. Mr. President, 6 weeks ago, I stood here as the Senate prepared to begin deliberating historic conservation legislation--the Great American Outdoors Act. I introduced this legislation with Senator Manchin, of West Virginia, along with so many other bipartisan champions for the outdoors and our public lands. Senators Daines, Portman, Warner, Alexander, King, Cantwell, Burr, and Heinrich are just a few of the champions who helped to shepherd this historic legislation through this Chamber. I remarked on that day that it was not often the Senate had a chance to make history, but, indeed, history we made. The Senate came together in an overwhelmingly bipartisan fashion and passed the Great American Outdoors Act 73 to 25, and just moments ago, the U.S. House of Representatives joined us in making history by passing the Great American Outdoors Act with a vote of 310 to 107. This legislation is headed today to the desk of the President of the United States for his signature. The President has already supported the bill, noting the nature of this historic bill and the huge conservation victory that it is. In the weeks since Senate passage, I have traveled all over the great State of Colorado and have visited with land management officials, professionals, stakeholders, and constituents to discuss what the Great American Outdoors Act will really mean on the ground on a personal, local level for Colorado and Colorado's public lands. I would like to share some of those stories with you today. Here we have a picture of an amphitheater that is outside of the Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park. If you would just go a little bit further to the right, you would actually be in the canyon. This is an amphitheater that was built, basically, in the 1960s. The park itself is now about 20 years old. It had over 430,000 people visit it last year. It has a deferred maintenance backlog of $7.7 million, and this South Rim Amphitheater facility is part of that backlog. It is currently being used, but it needs significant upgrades. If you actually sat on one of those benches, you probably wouldn't be able to sit anywhere else for quite a long time because of the splinters and the gouges that you would receive from the shards of wood that are on those benches, and there are electrical outlets that are popping up from an old projection system. This is supposed to be used for education and educational opportunities. With the right improvements, they will be able to restore this and get it back to its original purpose. New park benches and electrical work are among just a bit of this amphitheater's needs-- a $200,000 deferred maintenance project alone, this site for education for experiential learning. Within the rest of the park, there are millions more in maintenance projects like this one that need to be performed and carried out. Our lands are busy. People are loving them. This is one example, and it is one example of a project that will be completed thanks to the Great American Outdoors Act. Yet it is not just national parks that have maintenance needs. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue joined me in Colorado in mid- June, and we toured the Mizpah Campground, which is in the Arapahoe and Roosevelt National Forests, that has been closed for a decade. This is a beautiful river, and the campground is back here. There is only one problem: There is no bridge. This river wiped out the culvert and the bridge a decade ago. This is a campground without access because, 10 years ago--a decade ago--a flood came through--high water came through--and wiped out the access. You can't even use this public facility because of a decades-long maintenance backlog at this facility alone. The Great American Outdoors Act will provide line-of-sight funding for projects like these, which will no longer have to compete for a small pool of funding with every other national forest in the country. When I talk to these professionals--when I talk to the forest rangers and the park superintendents--they talk about how they are able to accomplish building structures in their parks, how they are able to build campgrounds in their parks, and how they are able to keep up with restroom facilities, but they have had no line-of-sight funding for additional help down the road. This means that, as the facilities age, they may just have to be closed or, in this case, as access gets wiped out, you will just never regain that access. What a loss to the American people that is, but what a benefit to the American people the Great American Outdoors Act will become. It is not just the national parks or the national forests or the Bureau of Land Management that will benefit from the Great American Outdoors Act. This is a picture of the Runyon Sports Complex in Pueblo, CO. This area has a number of ballparks from little leagues to adult leagues. In fact, they just had their first pitch of the season last week--a day that I was actually at the Runyon Sports Complex in Pueblo, CO, to kick off a tournament to celebrate the beginning of a season that had been much delayed thanks to COVID-19. This area saw people like Pee Wee Reese play baseball and Babe Ruth visit this same area to play baseball. Now Coloradans of every generation are able to go to the Runyon Sports Complex and enjoy it. It has become a regional draw to help benefit the city economically and to teach kids about sports and teamwork. That is what this means. The Land and Water Conservation Fund, yes, helps forests and parks, but 40 percent of the Land and Water Conservation Fund's funding is dedicated to projects at the State and local levels. If you grew up on the Front Range of Colorado and played baseball, the odds are good that you will have spent some time on the field at Runyon or at any other number of places that have been funded by a Land and Water Conservation Fund project. Runyon has received over $100,000 in LWCF funding over the years, and the complex continues to be a vital part of the community today. The LWCF is not just about our public lands; it is about your local ballpark, about your local swimming pool, about playground facilities, and urban parks that otherwise wouldn't give minority communities access to recreation. That is what it is about. Just up the road from Runyon Field, in El Paso County, CO, and the communities within them, they have benefited greatly from the LWCF. We visited a project in El Paso County that received hundreds of thousands of dollars. It is a county that has received $5 million in funding over the years and has provided benefits for everything from building parks to tennis courts and trails. The State has received over $2 million in funding to improve the Cheyenne Mountain State Park facilities within El Paso County, CO. Local, regional, and State outdoor recreation projects will only further benefit when the Great American Outdoors Act is signed into law. With the Great American Outdoors Act, Congress is finally fulfilling its commitment to fully and permanently fund the LWCF, which will benefit every State in the Nation. The passage of this historic legislation could not come at a more critical time. Our economy has suffered during the coronavirus pandemic, and stay-at-home orders have kept Americans cooped up indoors for the last several months. Millions of people and families are facing uncertain futures. Will school return in the fall? Will my business survive this challenging time? Will I receive my next paycheck? When the first waves of the virus hit and shutdown orders went into place, some of Colorado's mountain towns and rural areas were the hardest and first hit. Community restaurants closed; hotels emptied; and their stores' doors were closed to visitors. These are challenging times, no doubt, but one glimmer of hope will always be our public lands and the great outdoors This Nation does not have Republican or Democratic public lands. This is not a partisan issue. Preserving and taking care of our public lands provides a benefit to the entire country, and it will provide a benefit for generations to come. Yet, not only is this legislation about preserving and protecting our lands, it is also about job creation and economic recovery--more hope for the people of this country. Passing the Great American Outdoors Act will create over 100,000 jobs by addressing the park maintenance backlog alone. In my home State of Colorado, it will create thousands of jobs across the State as the mission of the Great American Outdoors Act is fulfilled. There will be more jobs created as the work begins to address maintenance projects on other Federal lands. The Forest Service, the Bureau of Land Management, our National Wildlife Refuges, and the Bureau of Indian Education's schools all have needs that will be addressed by this legislation. These will be important opportunities to create jobs when the projects are finally and fully funded. I mentioned this statistic quite a bit during the consideration of the Great American Outdoors Act here in the Senate. For every $1 million we spend on the Land and Water Conservation Fund, it supports between 16 and 30 jobs. That is a figure above and beyond the 100,000 jobs that we created by the parks' provisions of the legislation alone. This is a bill that will put people to work. It is a bill that will put people to work by building playgrounds, fixing trails, cleaning up ballparks, and protecting our iconic landscapes for generations to come. This is a bill that reminds us that our communities and our shared, public outdoor spaces are worth investing in. It is a bill that reminds people that we have hope for America. It is a bill that reminds people that your public lands are waiting for you and that Congress was able to come together, during these trying times, in a bipartisan fashion that was so strong and so great that you will be able to enjoy the great American outdoors the way they were meant to be enjoyed. I am pleased that the House of Representatives affirmed all of this by passing the Great American Outdoors Act today with such a strong, bipartisan vote. I thank my colleagues on both sides of the aisle and in both Chambers for their hard work and dedication to passing this historic conservation legislation. I look forward to the President's signing this bill in the days ahead. I look forward to getting out into the great outdoors, and I look forward to these lands as they continue to inspire the hopes and dreams of kids and adults alike for generations to come. I yield the floor.

Mr. GARDNER

Mr. GARDNER. Without objection, it is so ordered

Mr. GARDNER

Mr. GARDNER. Mr. President, I rise today to speak about the Republic of Korea on this June 25, the 70th anniversary of the start of the Korean war. The Republic of Korea is a longtime ally and partner that resides in one of the most prosperous and one of the most dangerous parts of the world. When most of us hear about Korea, we instinctively focus on the threat emanating from the bizarre failed state in the north, and we often forget about the incredible successes and stories of success in the south that was made possible largely by the United States-South Korea Alliance. When I visited the Korean War Memorial in Seoul in July of 2017, I read the names of Americans and Coloradans that died answering the call to defend a country they never knew and a people they never met. I think that, today, we owe it to our fallen soldiers to recognize what the world has gained from their sacrifice. On June 25, 1950, Kim Il-sung's army crossed the 38th parallel to invade South Korea. In response, the United States mobilized the international community under the U.N. flag and sent hundreds of thousands of U.S. troops to defend Korea. To this day, thousands of U.S. soldiers remain unaccounted for. Over 1 million Korean civilians perished. Most survivors have never seen or spoken with their families across the border. The U.S. decision to intervene in that war transformed the future of Asia. South Korea has blossomed from a war-torn state to an economic powerhouse, a thriving democracy, and, in recent months, a global leader in response to a public health crisis. South Korea boasts the 12th largest economy in the world and has become a leader in critical future technologies such as telecommunications, electronics, and semiconductors. They managed to do this despite having a population of only 50 million people, few natural resources, and effectively operating as an island restricted to maritime trade. South Korea's hard-fought transition from authoritarian governments to vibrant democracy took time, it took perseverance, and it took grit, but they did it. It is now a democracy with a highly educated and active civil society that embraces the rule of law and human rights and stands in stark contrast to its authoritarian neighbors in North Korea and China. As our South Korean ally has grown more prosperous and more capable, it has also taken on an outsized global responsibility. Since the Korean war, South Korea has fought alongside the United States in all four of our major conflicts. Once a recipient of foreign aid, Seoul is now a worldwide donor of aid. It has become a critical pillar in upholding the postwar order, playing a valuable role in the global nonproliferation regime, global emissions reduction, peacekeeping, cybersecurity, counterterrorism, and postconflict stabilization. South Korea has also become a key stakeholder in various international organizations, including the United Nations, World Trade Organization, G-20, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, and the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperative forum, just to name a few. The alliance has proven to not only be crucial for U.S. economic and national security interests but for our health as well. This was most evident as South Korea led a pivotal response to the COVID-19 pandemic. I worked closely with our South Korean allies and the Colorado Governor Jared Polis to obtain hundreds of thousands of COVID-19 testing kits for Colorado, which will continue to be vital as we get through this ongoing pandemic. Weeks ago, President Trump invited President Moon of South Korea to the upcoming G7 meeting. I fully endorse this decision, and at the current juncture, I believe it is time to explore new avenues to broaden cooperation with South Korea on the global stage, including in global health, the environment, energy security, and emerging technologies. South Korea is situated in one of most precarious neighborhoods in the world. Koreans have historically explained their geography of being a ``shrimp among whales.'' Indeed, northeast Asia holds a number of nuclear-capable states, economic mammoths, and the largest standing armies in the world. In our alliance, we vow to defend one another from attack, but it often goes unstated that South Korea bears the frontline burden of this defense. While North Korea has only recently tested an ICBM capable of reaching the continental United States, Seoul has been under the threat of artillery, short-range missiles, an armed invasion for decades. In the shadow of this threat, South Korea has invested considerably in defense, over 2.5 percent of its GDP. It also funded over 90 percent of the costs of Camp Humphreys, what is now the largest overseas U.S. military base in the world. These are just a few of the ways in which South Korea remains a model alliance partner. Against the backdrop of rising tensions in recent weeks, we should swiftly conclude negotiations on the Special Measures burden-sharing agreement, which would provide strategic stability on the Korean Peninsula and strengthen the U.S.-South Korea alliance. The United States and South Korea maintain a tightly-integrated combined forces command that is unique to the world. This demonstrates the immense trust and combined capability between our two militaries. This unique structure makes credible our ability and commitment to meet those threats at a moment's notice. It also allows us to stand shoulder to shoulder as allies and say ``kachi kapshida'' or ``we go together.'' But the alliance faces greater threats today than at any time in the past. Chinese coercion in the Yellow Sea and the East China Sea, as well as militarization of the South China Sea, have all increased in recent years. As China has grown, it has also become more aggressive. We must come together with regional partners to resist this coercive behavior. Only with a concerted voice can we preserve global norms and international law, and South Korea plays a growing role in upholding this regional order. Our North Korea policy has for decades failed to achieve denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula. However, the U.S.- South Korea alliance has succeeded in deterring Pyongyang, retaining regional stability, and maintaining conditions for the growth and prosperity of every country in the region, except for Pyongyang. We stand ready to welcome the people of North Korea into the international community, but this requires Pyongyang to commit to economic reform, to treat its people with dignity, and to refrain from menacing others with weapons of mass destruction. I believe U.S. policy toward North Korea should be straightforward. Until we achieve the denuclearization of North Korea, the United States will deploy every economic, diplomatic, and, if necessary, military tool at our disposal to deter Pyongyang and to protect our allies. Pyongyang recently exploded the inter-Korean liaison office in Kaesong and began rolling back its commitments under the April 2018 Panmunjom Declaration. Since February 2019, since that summit in Hanoi, Pyongyang has rebuffed working-level negotiations with the U.S. In March of this year, Kim launched a record number of missiles in a single month and continues to unveil new missile systems that impose novel threats to our allies South Korea and Japan. Kim Jong Un is showing that he simply doesn't want diplomatic and economic engagement on the terms offered by the United States and the international community but wants only to deepen his country's self- isolation and build his weapons programs. The United States must respond with our allies. We must consider restoring military exercises with our partners in Seoul and Tokyo, enhance missile defense, and remain in close consultation to reassure our allies of our commitment to defend them from any aggression or coercion. Kim Jong Un must not underestimate the resolve of the United States to defend our allies. The peaceful resolution of the North Korean problem also requires the international community to finally join together in fully implementing United Nations sanctions. In this effort, we require greater cooperation from Beijing. China accounts for 90 percent of North Korea's trade, including virtually all of North Korea's exports. The most recent U.N. Panel of Experts report to the North Korean Sanctions Committee provided clear evidence of illicit ship-to-ship transfers between North Korean and Chinese ships just off the Chinese coast. These blatant violations of sanctions must end now. In 2016, I led the North Korean Sanctions and Policy Enhancement Act, which passed the Senate by a vote of 96 to 0. The Trump administration has the opportunity to use these authorities to build maximum leverage not only with Pyongyang but also with Beijing. If China will not act to ensure its entities comply with international law, then perhaps pressure from the U.S. Treasury and the Department of Justice will make it a priority for Beijing. I was initially encouraged by the administration's decision in June of 2017 to sanction the Chinese Bank of Dandong. This conveyed an unprecedented statement that we were serious about the maximum pressure campaign, and it got results. However, even as we saw Chinese sanctions enforcement wane after summits in 2018, the pace of designations and indictments has slowed tremendously. The administration, with congressional support, should now make clear to any entity doing business with North Korea that they will not be able to do business with the United States or have access to the U.S. financial system. Last month, the U.S. Department of Justice charged 28 North Koreans and 5 Chinese citizens with using a web of more than 250 shell companies to launder over $2.5 billion in assets through the international banking system. This is a good sign, but individual indictments have not effectively deterred further sanctions violations. We need to pressure Chinese banks that serve as the illicit conduit between North Korea and the outside world. As for any prospect of engagement, we must continue to make it clear to Beijing and Pyongyang that the United States will not negotiate with Pyongyang at the expense of the security of our allies. Maintaining robust U.S. alliances in the Asia-Pacific, in fact, should be our No. 1 priority. That is why last Congress I authored and passed the Asia Reassurance Initiative Act. ARIA outlines a long-term strategic framework to double down on engagement in the Indo-Pacific, to protect U.S. interests, and to uphold the post-war order that has benefited the United States, its allies, and much of the world over the past 70 years. Maintaining peace and prosperity on the Korean Peninsula and throughout the Indo-Pacific is an effort that can no longer be and never could be accomplished without our allies, without our friends. That is what makes America so strong. Today I hope my colleagues in the Chamber will aid me in passing this resolution commemorating those Koreans and Americans who fell in defense of freedom on the Korean Peninsula 70 years ago. There is no greater way to honor their sacrifice than to look back on all that our two peoples have accomplished over the past 70 years and to continue to nurture the steadfast alliance between the United States and South Korea. I urge my colleagues to support the resolution. I yield the floor.

Mr. GARDNER. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the vote scheduled for 1:30 p.m. begin now.

Mr. GARDNER

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

Mr. GARDNER

Mr. GARDNER. Mr. President, I want to thank my colleague from the great State of West Virginia for his work on this over the past many, many years, as we have worked on, individually, the Land and Water Conservation Fund and the Restore Our Parks Act, for his leadership on the Energy and Natural Resources committee. I am grateful to Senator Manchin for his leadership and friendship. So many people worked on this together: Senator Burr and the work he did, tirelessly, year after year, on the Land and Water Conservation Fund; of course, Senator Heinrich, Senator Warner, Senator Portman, Senator Alexander on the Restore Our Parks Act, Senators King, Cantwell--all crucial to the success this bill will see today--Senators across both sides of the aisle coming together for what one newspaper in Colorado described as the holy grail of conservation legislation. But it is the staff as well. I start with Senator Daines and his leadership on the Land and Water Conservation Fund, the Restore Our Parks Act, his leadership on the Parks Subcommittee and the Great American Outdoors Act; Senator Daines and his staff, Jason Thielman, Darin Thacker, Joshua Sizemore, Holly Hinojosa; Senator Warner, Elizabeth Falcone, Micah Barbour; Senator Portman, along with Pam Thiessen and Sarah Perry--incredible work by staff members. In Senator King's office we were greatly aided by Chad Metzler and Morgan Cashwell; Senator Alexander's great team of David Cleary, Allison Martin, and Anna Newton; Senator Cantwell's, Amit Ronen; and Senator McConnell, Terry Van Doren. Obviously, for the floor time, I am very grateful to Senator McConnell for bringing us to the floor to allow this debate to take place over the last week and a half and the work that we did to achieve and secure the President's support for the Great American Outdoors Act. Senator Heinrich, Lio Barrera, Maya Hermann; Senator Manchin, Lance West, Renae Black, David Brooks; Senator Burr's staff of Natasha Hickman, Joshua Bowlen; and of course on my team, the outstanding work--they have to overcome a lot working with me, Ashley Higgins, Spencer Hamilton, Dustin Sherer, Jennifer Lorain, and Curtis Swager. I am grateful to all of them for their work and their support. The Great American Outdoors Act is the culmination of two things that have taken this Congress a long time to be able to pass. In fact, we tried last Congress to get it out of the House, and we couldn't do it alone under the Restore Our Parks Act. We tried and we got pieces and parts of the Land and Water Conservation Fund done, but we couldn't quite get the whole thing until we brought these two bills together. Senator Manchin, Senator Burr, Senator Daines--the whole group of people whom I mentioned, working bipartisan across the aisle to make this happen. The two bills together will help create significant opportunity for all of America. This isn't a bill that just benefits the East or the West. This isn't a bill that just benefits the coastal States or the interior States. This is a chart that shows the States that benefit from the Great American Outdoors Act. The States that are in green shows who benefits from the Great American Outdoors Act. The States in orange are the States that do not get the benefit from the Great American Outdoors Act. There are no States in orange. The entire country, from Alaska and Hawaii to Florida and Maine and everywhere in between, benefits from the Great American Outdoors Act. We know this is going to create jobs across the country: $495 million dollars a year in the Land and Water Conservation Fund. For every $1 million a year invested in the Land and Water Conservation Fund, it supports between 16 and 30 jobs. This bill will assure full and permanent funding in the Land and Water Conservation Fund--$900 million a year--the opportunity to create between 16 and 30 jobs for every $1 million spent. On national parks, you think about the national park economic benefits. In 2018, economic benefits from national park visitor spending increased by over $2 billion. If you look at the number of just in Colorado alone, we had 7.6 million national park visitors. Those visitors helped create 7,000--over 7,000 jobs paying over $258 million in income. Overall, we know this bill on the park side alone will create over 100,000 jobs--100,000 jobs in the communities that were hardest hit by the first waves of the coronavirus; communities in our public lands that saw their ski areas shut down, their outfitters canceled. This will create jobs and opportunity. In Colorado, thousands of jobs will be created by this portion of the bill alone. You know, it has been said by some of our greatest advocates that within our national parks is room--glorious room--in which to find ourselves, in which to think and hope, to dream and plan, to rest and resolve. In 1893, Katharine Lee Bates visited Colorado Springs and climbed up Pikes Peak. While looking out over the land, she wrote a poem that we all know very well. She wrote the words to ``America the Beautiful''-- of spacious skies and amber waves of grain. She talked about purple mountain majesties. Our lands define who we are--our struggles and triumphs, our homes and our futures. From the solemnity of the redwoods to the vastness of the everglades, they inspire us and give us space to dream. In Hawaii, these lands crackle as new Earth forms from molten rock. In Pennsylvania, they bear the blood of a nation on the hallowed grounds of Gettysburg and Flight 93. In Colorado, they are a testament to prairie and peak, to plateau and pioneer. From sea to shining sea, our public lands are the story of America. All of these lands--every single acre--tell the story of a nation formed out of hope for fairness, justice, equality, and freedom. Acre after acre shows our Nation's continued struggle to form a more perfect Union, a nation never content but committed to learning from the mistakes of the past to become a better place tomorrow than we are today, and to assure the Nation's greatest treasure, our youth, has these lands to learn from, to live with, and to prosper on for generations to come. Long after this Congress adjourns, they will give life to America, these great and wild places. In just a few minutes, we will take a vote on a very historic piece of legislation, and I hope that my colleagues will find it within them to vote yes on this important piece of legislation for generations to come. I yield the floor to Senator Heinrich.

Mr. GARDNER

Mr. GARDNER. Madam President, this article is entitled the `` `Holy Grail' conservation bill advances in U.S. Senate.'' If you take a look at the article, it quotes conservationists and people across the country who are working on the legislation, and it ends with this: ``We've been working on this for years and years and this is the holy grail of conservation community,'' Cors said. We're ecstatic that this is happening. That is from a member of the Nature Conservancy. The article from the Denver Post talks about the legislation and, again, the conservation community that supports the legislation. ``This will be a remarkable gift for the future and also is important for the present. It's going to put up to 100,000 people to work each year fixing our national parks,'' said Tracy-Stone Manning, associate vice president for public lands at the National Wildlife Federation, a conservation group with 6 million members. It goes on to point out ``cities such as Denver and Missoula, where urban voters are pushing leaders to acquire more land for parks and other open space.'' This is an opportunity for us to achieve those goals in our urban areas. Finally, Madam President, I ask unanimous consent to have printed in the Record a letter from a number of Coloradans in support of the Great American Outdoors Act sent to Congress a few weeks ago