Martin Heinrich

Mr. HEINRICH

Mr. HEINRICH. Mr. President, it is an honor to recognize over two decades of dedication and service to New Mexico from Dr. Dan Alpert, my senior legislative assistant, who is retiring after a distinguished career in the U.S. Senate. A dedicated public servant, Dr. Alpert began his career as a nuclear engineer at Sandia National Laboratories in Albuquerque, NM, working on nuclear power, renewable energy, and energy efficiency programs for 20 years. In 1997, Dr. Alpert took his extensive experience at Sandia to Capitol Hill for a 1-year fellowship sponsored by the American Association for the Advancement of Science, AAAS, in the office of my predecessor, Senator Jeff Bingaman. Since then, Dr. Alpert has served the people of New Mexico in the U.S. Senate for more than two decades. Dr. Alpert's dedication to New Mexico and expertise has been instrumental in steering my legislative priorities on the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee. Dr. Alpert's distinguished career includes leadership in energy storage research and development, cutting-edge energy transmission planning, and careful oversight and stewardship of our Nation's nuclear laboratories and the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant. While he probably did not plan on it when he was earning his nuclear engineering Ph.D., Dr. Alpert also served as a longtime and well-respected agriculture and infrastructure expert in Senator Bingaman's office. Anyone who has ever worked with Dr. Alpert also knows that his policy expertise is matched by his dedication to his colleagues and to mentoring the next generation of public servants. Dr. Alpert has demonstrated his heart of gold, a natural kindness, and wonderful sense of humor to all who have had the pleasure to meet him. I also recognize that Dr. Alpert could not be where he is today without the love and support of his sweetheart, Ann. On behalf of the people of the State of New Mexico and on behalf of my entire staff and Senator Bingaman's staff, I thank him for his service. I know I speak for so many when I thank Dr. Alpert for his contributions to New Mexico and to our Nation. I know that he will continue to make a difference in the lives of everyone he meets. I ask my colleagues to join me in recognizing the dedicated service of Dr. Alpert and congratulate him on his retirement from the U.S. Senate.

Mr. HEINRICH

Mr. HEINRICH. Mr. President, what is the status of the floor?

Mr. HEINRICH. Mr. President, I rise today in support of my colleague in the New Mexico congressional delegation, my Representative in the House of Representatives, and President Joe Biden's nominee for Secretary of Interior, Congresswoman Deb Haaland. Congresswoman Haaland is a member of the Pueblo of Laguna. She is what we like to call in New Mexico a 35th-generation New Mexican. As many have noted, she will make history as the first-ever Native American Cabinet Secretary, something that, frankly, should have happened a long, long time ago in this country. Deb also has lived experience--as a single mother, as a small business owner, as a Tribal administrator--experiences that will serve her well and bring real representation to President Joe Biden's Cabinet. She grew up in a military family. Her father was a decorated Marine combat veteran, and her mother is a Navy veteran. She grew up like a lot of kids with parents in the military, moving frequently, actually attending 13 different public schools over the course of her childhood. Before being elected to Congress, she owned her own business, she was the chair of the board of a tribally owned business, and also served as Tribal administrator for the Pueblo of San Felipe. Thanks to all of that experience, Congresswoman Haaland knows firsthand how the decisions that we make here in Washington, and particularly in the Interior Department, affect communities across the country, especially in Tribal communities and rural Western States. As Representative of the First District of New Mexico, my former district, Congresswoman Haaland has served as vice chair of the House Committee on Natural Resources and the chair of the Subcommittee on National Parks, Forests, and Public Lands, a position where she made us very proud. As a committee leader, she routinely demonstrated her commitment to working across party lines. Of all the Members of Congress newly elected in 2018, she introduced the most bills with bipartisan cosponsors. She has always shown the ability to bring people together, something evidenced by her introduction in our committee by Congressman Don Young, Republican of Alaska. She has an open door. She has an open mind and will listen and consult with a diverse range of stakeholders to try and build real consensus. I am confident that she is the leader that we need at Interior to take on the important work of restoring our landscapes, opening up new outdoor recreation opportunities for all Americans, and putting our public lands to work in confronting the climate crisis that too many of our colleagues have long ignored. Americans want the Department of the Interior to create more equitable access to our public lands, to stand for environmental justice, to find real solutions for the climate crisis, to protect wildlife and clean water, and support rural economic development. Many of us here in this body--in the Senate--demonstrated just last year, when we passed the historic and bipartisan Great American Outdoors Act, that making conservation and outdoor recreation a key part of our national economic recovery is a goal that has the ability to unite us all, Republicans and Democrats. Implementation of that new law will allow us to put many Americans back to work repairing our campgrounds, repairing our trail systems, building new visitor centers, and Congresswoman Haaland is eager to lead that work. She is also uniquely qualified to help us restore the Department of the Interior's nation-to-nation relationship with Tribal nations and to help Indian Country recover and rebuild from COVID-19. The Interior Department will play a leading role in implementing President Biden's American Rescue Plan in Indian Country. That historic rescue package, which the Senate just passed over the weekend--and I would point out did not have a single Republican vote--includes more than $31 billion in emergency support for Indian Country. Let me put that in perspective. That represents the single greatest investment in Indian Country in American history--in American history. This emergency support is desperately needed in Tribal communities. Over the past year, American Indians and Alaska Natives infected by COVID-19 have been hospitalized at a rate four times higher than White Americans and have died from the disease at nearly twice the rate. That is not just some statistic. I know firsthand because of the people I know and have lost in Indian Country. On top of these unacceptable public health outcomes, Tribal communities have also been disproportionately impacted by the educational and economic devastation of this past year--the lack of broadband, for example. These disparities reflect the persistent inequities that are the direct result of decades of chronic underinvestment by Congress in Indian Country. That is why the American Rescue Plan includes $20 billion in emergency funds for Tribal governments that have taken on enormous, unprecedented costs to protect the health and safety of their members. It also includes billions of dollars of investment in Indian Country to expand access to healthcare, education, transportation, housing, and even essentials that many of us just take for granted, things like broadband, like internet, like electricity or water. The Senate urgently needs to take up Congresswoman Haaland's nomination to lead the Department of the Interior so that Tribes will finally have the partner they need in effectively implementing the American Rescue Plan and to help them steer their communities out of this perilous moment. Finally, it is unfortunate, frankly, that this needs to be said, but I do need to take a moment to address characterizations of Congresswoman Haaland that were raised by some of my colleagues in the Energy and Natural Resources Committee that were neither accurate nor, frankly, appropriate to the kind of debate that we have in that committee. I was disappointed by the tenor of the debate in our committee, as some of my colleagues described Congresswoman Haaland as ``radical'' or as ``extreme'' for holding policy views that fall well within the mainstream and fairly represent many of her constituents--I would say the vast majority of her constituents. As a westerner, Congresswoman Haaland well understands that confronting the climate crisis, not denying it, and transforming our economy will not come without costs. We need to be honest about that. That is especially true for fossil fuel workers, including many of our fellow New Mexicans, who have long powered our economy and deserve our respect and support. But we need to be thorough on the details and thoughtful in preparing our traditional energy communities for a transition to the clean energy future that the market has already told us is coming--is here--and we need to be honest with them. I am absolutely certain that Congresswoman Haaland will be a true partner to Western States like New Mexico, Alaska, Colorado, Montana, and Wyoming as we navigate this challenging transition. As we confront the climate crisis that is already an existential threat to our land and water resources and the communities that depend on those resources in the West, we must diversify our economy. We must invest in those communities and remain a global leader in producing and exporting energy. Despite the objections that have been raised against her nomination and the holds that have unfairly held up her confirmation, I am confident in Congresswoman Haaland's commitment to work with every single one of us on these pressing challenges, and I am eager for the Senate to finally take up Congresswoman Haaland's confirmation so that she can get to work protecting our natural heritage for future generations. I yield the floor.

Mr. HEINRICH

Mr. HEINRICH. Mr. President, my friend from Wyoming and I disagree on many things. We disagree on the impact of this policy in the immediate, and we disagree on the speed of the energy transition to a zero-carbon economy. What we do not disagree about is that these communities we support-- we support their schools, and throughout this transition we should support the people who have kept the lights on and made this country the greatest energy country on the face of the Earth. So I would support this amendment because it is about supporting the schools in those communities. Vote on Amendment No. 653

Mr. HEINRICH

Mr. HEINRICH. For the information of all the Senators, the Senate will vote on the confirmation of the Buttigieg nomination at 12 noon tomorrow and on confirmation of the Mayorkas nomination at 2:30 p.m. tomorrow.

Mr. HEINRICH. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that when the Senate completes its business today, it adjourn until 10:30 a.m., Tuesday, February 2; further, that following the prayer and pledge, the morning hour be deemed expired, the Journal of proceedings be approved to date, the time for the two leaders be reserved for their use later in the day, and morning business be closed; that upon the conclusion of morning business, the Senate proceed to executive session to consider the Buttigieg nomination, as provided under the previous order; further, that upon disposition of the Buttigieg nomination, the Senate resume consideration of the Mayorkas nomination, as provided under the previous order, and then recess until 2:15 p.m. to allow for the weekly caucus meetings.

Mr. HEINRICH

Mr. HEINRICH. Madam 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. HEINRICH

Mr. HEINRICH. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to legislative session and be in a period of morning business, with Senators permitted to speak therein for up to 10 minutes each.

Mr. HEINRICH

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

Mr. HEINRICH

Mr. HEINRICH. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to the consideration of H. Con. Res. 10, which was received from the House of Representatives earlier today.

Mr. HEINRICH. I ask unanimous consent that the concurrent resolution be agreed to and the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table with no intervening action or debate.

Mr. HEINRICH

Mr. HEINRICH. Mr. President, I was unavoidably absent in 2019 due to a family medical emergency for rollcall votes Nos. 195, 196, 197, 198, 199, 200, 201, 202, and 203. Had I been present, I would have voted yea on votes Nos. 195 and 197 and nay on votes Nos. 196, 198, 199, 200, 201, 202, and 203.

Mr. HEINRICH

Mr. HEINRICH. I know of no further debate on the bill, as amended.

Mr. HEINRICH. I ask unanimous consent that the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table with no intervening action or debate.

Mr. HEINRICH. Mr. President, as if in legislative session, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to the immediate consideration of Calendar No. 608, S. 2165.

Mr. HEINRICH. I further ask unanimous consent that the Heinrich amendment to the committed-reported substitute amendment at the desk be considered and agreed to and that the committee-reported substitute amendment, as amended, be agreed to.

Mr. HEINRICH

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

Mr. HEINRICH

Mr. HEINRICH. Mr. President, as if in legislative session, I ask that the Chair lay before the Senate the message to accompany S. 212. The Presiding Officer laid before the Senate the following message from the House of Representatives: Resolved, That the bill from the Senate (S. 212) entitled ``An Act to amend the Native American Business Development, Trade Promotion, and Tourism Act of 2000, the Buy Indian Act, and the Native American Programs Act of 1974 to provide industry and economic development opportunities to Indian communities.'', do pass with an amendment. Motion to Concur

Mr. HEINRICH. I move to concur in the House amendment, and I know of no further debate on the motion.

Mr. HEINRICH. I ask unanimous consent that the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table.

Mr. HEINRICH. I suggest the absence of a quorum.

Mr. HEINRICH

Mr. HEINRICH. Madam President, it is my honor today to commend the senior Senator from New Mexico, my longtime partner in this Chamber, my good friend Tom Udall, for his years of service to our great State of New Mexico and to our Nation. Before I speak about Tom, I would like to quickly take a moment, too, to recognize the service of Congresswoman Xochitl Torres Small over these last 2 years. Congresswoman Torres Small actually served for a time in Senator Udall's office in Las Cruces, and for these last 2 years in the House of Representatives, she has dedicated herself to delivering resources for the people of southern New Mexico. And I am so very grateful to have served alongside Xochitl in our congressional delegation, and I am greatly looking forward to seeing how she will contribute her heart and her talents to New Mexico next. She certainly learned a great deal from our senior Senator.

Mr. HEINRICH

Mr. HEINRICH. Mr. President, I rise today as more than 220,000 Americans are dead from the coronavirus. There are more than 4 million fewer jobs than when Donald Trump took office. We are still squarely in the middle of this pandemic and an economic crisis, the likes of which we have not seen since the Great Depression. In recent weeks, cases of the coronavirus have risen dramatically. In my home State of New Mexico--and, frankly, across the entire country-- everyone is rightly worried about whether our schools, our childcare centers, and our small businesses can acquire the resources and the equipment they need to reopen safely. We still don't have enough resources or even a national plan for testing and contact tracing, much less for treatments and the eventual nationwide distribution of an FDA-approved vaccine that would allow us to finally get a handle on this virus. If we don't pass real economic relief in the coming weeks, many families in New Mexico will face desperate choices--between paying their bills, keeping a roof over their heads, and putting food on the table. Yet here we are, using valuable time on a Supreme Court confirmation process that should never have been taken up before the election. Senate Republicans say they aren't going to negotiate another coronavirus relief package. They say it is more important to ram a Supreme Court nominee through a broken and nakedly political process than it is to help the people that we were all elected to serve. Clearly, nothing--not even the lives or livelihoods of the American people--will get in the way of their power-grab design to reward their biggest donors and the most extreme interests. Let me say this clearly: I disagree. There is still so much that we need to do to stop the spread of the coronavirus and to support families, workers, and businesses that are struggling and to rebuild our communities. Let's move to that urgent action. But with Senate Republicans refusing to do that, let's discuss in real terms what they are doing instead. Considering and confirming Supreme Court nominees is one of a Senator's most solemn duties under the Constitution. We are supposed to take it seriously and deliberately, but Senate Republicans have thrown out the rule book. It started when, with nearly a full year remaining in President Obama's final term, Senate Republicans refused to even hold hearings on Merrick Garland, the nominee to replace the late justice Antonin Scalia. Then, they dismantled the rules that had ensured that both parties would have a seat at the table on Supreme Court nominations. Then, they bull-rushed the vetting process for Justice Kavanaugh's lifetime appointment to the Court, despite multiple, credible allegations of sexual misconduct. After all of that, I suppose it should have come as no real surprise that Majority Leader McConnell waited less than an hour after the announcement of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg's death to say that he was going to push the envelope even further. So here we are. Leader McConnell and Republicans are now forcing the Senate to rush through another partisan Supreme Court confirmation battle in mere weeks--and now mere days before election day. They are shamelessly discarding their own precedents, breaking their own rules, abandoning their own words, and they are trampling on the legacy of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. Before her death, Justice Ginsburg told her granddaughter that her ``most fervent wish'' was that her seat wouldn't be filled until after the next President is inaugurated. Justice Ginsburg served on our Nation's highest Court for nearly three decades and worked for decades before that to move our country's laws toward greater equality. She understood that the American people must trust that the Supreme Court Justices are acting above the partisan politics of the moment. The next Presidential election is now less than two weeks away. Millions of Americans have already voted for their next President and their next Senators. I believe that these Americans deserve a voice in this process. In the words of Majority Leader McConnell himself, as was reported in the Washington Post on February 18, 2016, ``Given that we are in the midst of a presidential election process . . . the American people should seize the opportunity to weigh in on whom they trust to nominate the next person for a lifetime appointment to the Supreme Court.'' The Senate should follow that precedent and should allow voters to decide who should fill this Supreme Court seat. What has changed for Majority Leader McConnell? Well, over the last decade, the Court has made razor-thin 5-to-4 rulings on women's rights, LGBTQ rights, workers' rights, immigration, voting rights, civil rights, climate change, and so much else. My Republican colleagues will say that these decisions were made by activist judges and that all they want are judges who will call balls and strikes. But what they really want are judges who will make those calls consistently biased toward wealth and power, rather than toward people. For all the talk of activist judges, it is my Republican colleagues who are right now attempting to add one whopper of an activist to the Supreme Court. Next month, the Supreme Court will take up President Trump's case to eliminate the Affordable Care Act in its entirety. That is right. In the middle of this pandemic that has now killed more than 220,000 Americans and infected millions more, the Supreme Court is taking up a case that could eliminate healthcare coverage for millions of Americans. Judge Barrett refused to answer questions about the Affordable Care Act during her confirmation hearing last week. But her views on the healthcare law are clear and they are exposed in the public record. Judge Barrett has repeatedly and publicly criticized the Affordable Care Act. She has said that the Supreme Court should have already invalidated it. If Senate Republicans have their way, she will have the opportunity to do just that. What would it mean if the Supreme Court overturns the Affordable Care Act? It means bringing back discrimination, higher costs, and even outright denial of coverage for more than 800,000 New Mexicans living with preexisting conditions like heart disease, diabetes, cancer, and now COVID-19. I am particularly worried about what this would mean for the people in Indian Country, who have been disproportionately impacted by this pandemic. In New Mexico, Tribal nations have experienced heartbreaking losses, and healthcare resources in Tribal communities have been incredibly strained. I have lost friends and mentors in Indian Country, and I know others who are still struggling to recover from this virus. I can't even imagine how much worse this situation could become if the health coverage provided by the Affordable Care Act were ripped away. When we passed the Affordable Care Act, I fought hard to include a permanent reauthorization of the entire Indian Health Care Improvement Act, which supports the care provided to Native Americans through the Indian Health Service. An estimated 290,000 American Indians and Alaskan Natives also gained health coverage through the Affordable Care Act's Medicaid expansion. All of that is at risk if the Supreme Court overturns the Affordable Care Act. If Judge Barrett is confirmed, she will also attack other important Supreme Court precedents, from Roe v. Wade to the recent marriage equality decisions. She dodged questions on these issues during her hearing. But her academic and judicial record made clear Judge Barrett's extreme beliefs and philosophy. In her hearing last week, Judge Barrett also refused to take a firm view on climate change. We have major wildfires burning right now in Northern New Mexico--in October-- Colorado and California are seeing much of the same. We don't have time to debate the undisputed facts and realities of climate change, especially with a judge who would strip us of the tools needed to address it. Tellingly, Judge Barrett also refused to agree to recuse herself from any decisions related to the upcoming Presidential election. Given that President Trump considers Judge Barrett ``his'' Justice, this creates a dangerous conflict of interest. It is also a very real threat to the foundation of the Supreme Court as an equal and independent branch of government. Meanwhile, instead of attempting to tear down our democracy, the House of Representatives has passed multiple coronavirus relief bills over the last 6 months that would help workers and families. And they are already willing and able to negotiate with the President, to negotiate with Leader McConnell to come to some sort of bipartisan agreement. Majority Leader McConnell and Senate Republicans have walked away from the negotiating table, leaving us with nothing but false promises and sham bills to provide themselves a little political cover before an election. We all know the real story here. Behind closed doors, Majority Leader McConnell is actively discouraging negotiations on a bipartisan relief bill. Let me say this to Majority Leader McConnell and all of my Republican colleagues: If voters reelect your Republican majority and President Trump, there will be plenty of time to move forward with a real and legitimate Supreme Court confirmation process. Right now, we should be focusing all of our energy on delivering the aid that Americans so desperately need, protecting the health and the economic well-being of Americans. That is what our country expects of us. That is our duty. Let's get to it. I yield the floor.

Mr. HEINRICH

Mr. HEINRICH. Mr. President, I want to start by thanking my colleague Senator Udall for organizing us to talk about the current Acting Director of the Bureau of Land Management. I say ``acting'' because this is an individual who would not be able to be confirmed by this body. But I want to take a step back and walk through a little bit about why this is important. There was once a strong young man who rose up through New York City society. He led American soldiers in battle and went west to learn what it meant to truly to work hard on America's western landscapes. This man took all of his hard-driving spirit with him to the White House and put it to work delivering for the American people. He took on big trusts and gigantic corporations that had monopolized the American economy and put a stranglehold on American workers. Despite coming from a wealthy New York family, this man focused on delivering a ``Square Deal'' to working-class Americans. But perhaps his most important and lasting legacy was this: After our country's previous century of explosive growth across the North American continent, he saw clearly that we needed to rein in the pillaging of our forests, the draining of our wetlands, the destruction of America's wildlife, and the loss of irreplaceable cultural resources. He saw that we had only one chance left to protect the splendors of our uniquely American landscapes for future generations. When Donald Trump looks up every once in a while from his television screen or from yet another tweetstorm portrait on his phone to the portrait of that great American President, I am sure he sometimes tells himself that he could be just like Teddy Roosevelt. I am sure he imagines that he is equally deserving of a place on Mount Rushmore and that if it weren't for his bone spurs, he could have been just as tough as Teddy, charging up San Juan Hill or riding on horseback through the Dakota Badlands rather than jumping into a golf cart. These delusions of grandeur reached a new height last week, when the President told a crowd in Florida that he has been ``the number one environmental president since Teddy Roosevelt.'' I don't really need to tell you that this claim is just about as absurd as saying that he has done a great job protecting Americans from the coronavirus that has now led to the deaths of nearly 200,000 of our countrymen or his claims, frankly, that he deserves a Nobel Peace Prize for sending love letters to a nuclear-armed despot in North Korea or making long-term peace in the Middle East even more out of reach. Let's pause and take a look at what President Trump's record has actually been on the environment. Yes, I will acknowledge that President Trump has signed some great pieces of conservation legislation that many of us here in the Senate worked hard to pass with veto-proof majorities. But since taking office, President Trump has also empowered an Army of former oil, coal, and timber industry lobbyists to roll back nearly every protection of wildlife habitat, clean air, and clean water that they could get their hands on. He has systematically attacked climate science, setting us up for worse and worse natural disasters like the fires that we are now experiencing across the West. Just 1 year into his Presidency, Donald Trump did something no President in the last 100 years would have ever thought to do. He completely erased national monument designation for treasured red rock landscapes in Southern Utah's Bears Ears. By doing so, he also gutted key protections for cultural sites that Tribal nations across the American Southwest hold to be sacred. That egregious and, I believe, illegal action cut against the very heart of the Antiquities Act. This is the law that many Presidents over the last century used to protect so many of our national monuments and national parks. The Antiquities Act was truly Teddy Roosevelt's landmark conservation achievement during his Presidency. Rather than carry on Roosevelt's legacy, President Trump used the Antiquities Act in a novel, new way. He used it to unprotect two national monuments--Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante. Now over 2 million acres of the most paleontologically important and culturally significant sites in the entire Southwest are open for uranium mining, ATV abuse, and fossil fuel extraction. Just a few weeks ago, in a similarly destructive act, President Trump opened up our Nation's marquee national wildlife refuge in the Arctic to industrial oil and gas drilling. It seems there are no landscapes that are too sacred to make a quick buck in this White House. Not even the calving grounds of the porcupine caribou herd will have been spared. He is also now threatening to allow previously unthinkable proposals, like uranium mining in the Grand Canyon. I don't think anyone in their right mind could call that a great record of conservation or environmentalism, not by any measure. That takes us to why we are here today--President Trump's decision to put William Perry Pendley in charge of the public lands that are the birthright of every American. We have a saying in New Mexico: ``Dime con quien andas y te dire quien eres.'' Loosely translated, it means: ``Tell me who you hang around with, and I will tell you who you are.'' I think it says a great deal that President Trump has chosen to hang around with William Perry Pendley. For the last 30 years, Mr. Pendley has been a driving force in a campaign fueled by anti-government propaganda--and propped up by special interests and extractive industry dollars--to seize and sell off the American people's public lands. As an industry-paid lawyer and lobbyist, Mr. Pendley has fought against hunting and fishing access laws and supported the elimination of protections for our national monuments. In fact, he has championed the repeal of the very law that Teddy Roosevelt used to protect our Grand Canyon. He has filed numerous lawsuits in State and Federal courts, seeking to deny access to public lands for sportsmen and attacking key protections for wildlife, clean air, and clean water. Now President Trump has placed him in charge of the Federal agency that manages so many of our public lands across the West. This is the man who is on record saying that we should ``sell all BLM lands'' east of the Mississippi. President Trump handpicked this zealot to lead the agency responsible for stewarding those very same public lands. What would Teddy Roosevelt think? William Perry Pendley's beliefs hearken back to the era right before Teddy Roosevelt's Presidency, when railroad barons, hard rock mining operators, and timber companies were given free rein over our landscapes and our natural resources. By putting Mr. Pendley in charge of the Bureau of Land Management, President Trump is saying loud and clear that he wants to take us backward to those same failed and destructive policies of the past. I am proud that the entire Senate Democratic caucus joined a broad coalition of hunters, fishermen, wildlife advocates, and outdoor recreation enthusiasts, all of whom called on President Trump to withdraw Mr. Pendley's nomination. Thanks to that widespread outcry from those of us who love our public lands, President Trump was forced to withdraw Mr. Pendley's nomination last month. But forcing the Trump administration to withdraw the Pendley nomination was only half the battle. In fact, William Perry Pendley is still sitting in his office today, leading the Bureau of Land Management in his previous ``acting'' role. President Trump has shown that he is willing to circumvent Congress and skip the constitutionally required confirmation process for other key Federal leadership posts by illegally placing people into unofficial and indefinite ``acting'' roles. Mr. Pendley has now been serving in one of these ``color outside the lines'' acting posts for well over a year. As long as the Republican Senate majority refuses to act on its constitutional duty to hold this administration accountable on nominations like this, Mr. Pendley and other Trump officials in ``acting'' roles can and will continue to operate with impunity. That is not right, and in this case, we are talking about someone whose whole career has been built on opposition to the very idea that public lands should remain in public hands. Mr. Pendley's role in the Trump administration represents a direct attack on Teddy Roosevelt's legacy for our environment. The mission of public land management should be focused on serving the American public and safeguarding the values that deliver benefits to the American people. In these times, that means that work by the leaders of our land management agency should be rooted in the conservation of our wildlife, our water, and our landscapes. Their mission should include expanding access to outdoor recreation, preserving biodiversity, restoring healthy carbon sequestering forests and productive watersheds. They should work alongside Tribal nations and rural communities to protect cultural landscapes and promote sustainable economic development--or as Teddy Roosevelt put it more simply and much more artfully than I could all those years ago: Here is your country. Cherish these natural wonders, cherish the natural resources, cherish the history and romance as a sacred heritage. . . . Do not let selfish men or greedy interests skin your country of its beauty, it is riches or its romance. The question before us here in the Senate is whether we will stand by as those greedy interests take what is our American birthright or whether we will stand up for our sacred heritage. I choose to stand up. I hope the Presiding Officer and my colleagues will join us.

Mr. HEINRICH

Mr. HEINRICH. Mr. President, as a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee and as the Senator from the great State of New Mexico, it is my honor to recognize all of the patriotic Americans who have contributed to 75 years of accomplishments and history at White Sands Missile Range, WSMR. In the final months of America's engagement in World War II and as the Manhattan Project's unprecedented scientific mission achieved its secret goal of harnessing nuclear power, the U.S. Army established the White Sands Proving Ground on July 9, 1945, in New Mexico's Tularosa Basin. Seven days later, the detonation of the first atomic bomb at the Trinity Site ushered in the nuclear era and began what would become three-quarters of a century of major scientific breakthroughs, critical weapons testing and evaluation, and military technology advances. We must acknowledge the sacrifices New Mexicans have made over the years that contributed to both the establishment and the enduring missions at WSMR. That includes the families whose historic homes and ranches were taken to create WSMR's land base. It includes local residents in the Tularosa Basin who were downwind from the Trinity test and whose lives continue to be impacted. It includes the local communities in southern New Mexico who play a vital role in supporting WSMR's success today. WSMR is a landmark of technological advances for all branches of the military. Following World War II, White Sands was where German scientist Werner Von Braun conceived, developed, and tested the long- range V-2 rockets, initiating America's space program. Since then, White Sands has continued to support essential defense and space exploration programs for the Department of Defense and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, alongside other important scientific research. Today's WSMR, which spans 3,200 square miles of the Tularosa Basin, is the Department of Defense's largest, fully-instrumented test range. It provides our Armed Forces, our allies, and defense technology partners with unrivaled terrain for research, testing, evaluation, experimentation, and training that ensures our defense readiness. WSMR executes an average of 5,000 tests each year. These tests, in emerging technologies such as swarming autonomous and unmanned systems, joint integrated air and missile defense, nuclear weapons effects, and space based capabilities, will keep WSMR at the forefront of our national defense for years to come. As part of the Army Test and Evaluation Command, WSMR is the Army Center of Excellence for Air and Missile Defense Test Bed and Precision Fires Rockets and Missiles. White Sands supports key capabilities in the National Defense Strategy and modernization priorities, including directed energy systems such as laser and high-powered microwave systems, kinetics, electromagnetic pulse, hypersonic and long-range precision fires, U.S. Space Program test support, nuclear weapons effects, and autonomous systems. While it is a U.S. Army installation stewarded by the Army, WSMR is chartered as a tri-service installation, home to elements of the U.S. Army, U.S. Navy, and U.S. Air Force. Other organizations conducting operations at WSMR include NASA, National Reconnaissance Office, Defense Threat Reduction Agency, the Research and Analysis Center, Center for Countermeasures, and Combat Capabilities Development Command (Data and Analysis Center and Army Research Laboratory). WSMR also hosts the Bataan Memorial Death March each year, a large and growing event that recognizes the heroism and sacrifice of the New Mexicans and others who endured and in many cases lost their lives to the horrors of World War II's Bataan Death March. I have had the distinct honor of joining this incredible event on a few occasions and treasure the valuable lessons it imparts on everyone who participates. I want to extend my sincere appreciation and congratulations to everyone who works hard every single day at WSMR to keep all of us safe. President John F. Kennedy stated it best, when he stood before your predecessors at WSMR during a visit on June 5, 1963. President Kennedy said: ``What you do here far and away from Washington, far away from our great capitals, far away from so many countries which depend upon us, what you do here, what progress you make, what dedication you demonstrate makes a significant difference to the security of our country and those who depend upon us.'' I could not agree more. I wish everyone at WSMR a happy 75th anniversary and will continue to support WSMR's critical work in defense of our great Nation.