Bernie Sanders

Mr. SANDERS

Mr. SANDERS. So there we are. We have got 650 environmental and social justice organizations, representing millions of people, and we have got the entire scientific community saying we have got to cut carbon emissions. And then on the other side, we have the fossil fuel industry and all of their campaign contributions. So that is what it is. Today, I ask my colleagues to stand up for our kids, for our grandchildren, and for future generations. We have got to have the courage to finally tell the fossil fuel industry that the future of this planet is more important than their short-term profits. I yield the floor.

Mr. SANDERS

Mr. SANDERS. Madam President, pursuant to section 904 of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974, I move to waive section 313 of that act for purposes of this amendment, and I ask for the yeas and nays.

Mr. SANDERS. Madam President, the American people are sick and tired of being ripped off by the greed of the pharmaceutical industry, which makes tens of billions of dollars per year in profit, charging us by far the highest prices in the world for our medicine. This bill as currently written allows Medicare to negotiate prices with the drug companies but not until 4 years from now and then for only 10 drugs--a tiny fraction of the total. That is a very weak proposal and not what the American people want. They want us to lower prescription drug costs now, not in 4 years, and they want all drugs covered. The VA has been negotiating drug prices for 30 years and pays half--half--as much as Medicare pays. My amendment is simple. It says that Medicare should not pay any more than the VA for prescription drugs. If we do that, we will cut the cost of Medicare prescription drugs in half and save $900 billion. Please support this amendment.

Mr. SANDERS. Mr. President, pursuant to section 904 of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974, I move to waive section 313 for purpose of this amendment-- Wrong point of order. Let me try again. Mr. President, I raise a point of order that the pending amendment violates section 4106 of the concurrent resolution on the budget for fiscal year 2018, H. Con. Res. 71 of the 115th Congress, the Senate pay-as-you-go point of order.

Mr. SANDERS. Mr. President, I call up amendment No. 5211, as modified, and I ask that it be reported by number.

Mr. SANDERS. Mr. President, in the richest country on Earth, millions of seniors should not have teeth rotting in their mouths or be unable to afford hearing aids or eyeglasses. In America today, the reality is that a quarter of Americans 65 and older are missing all of their natural teeth, and 20 percent have untreated dental cavities. Further, one in three seniors suffers from hearing loss, while 75 percent who need a hearing aid cannot afford one. And further, it can cost seniors up to $300 for a routine eye exam and over $200 for a pair of glasses, which many seniors simply are unable to afford and do without. This amendment is simple. It expands Medicare to provide dental, vision, and hearing benefits to our seniors. This should not be a particularly tough vote, given the fact that the last poll I saw had 84 percent of the American people in support of this concept. I urge a ``yes'' vote on this amendment.

Mr. SANDERS. Mr. President, I call up amendment No. 5209, and I ask that it be reported by number.

Mr. SANDERS. Mr. President, the driving force behind the fight against climate change has been young people here in the United States and abroad. They have marched. They have demonstrated. They demanded institutional disinvestment in fossil fuel companies. In short, they have fought for a world in which they and their kids and grandchildren could live in a healthy and habitable planet. This legislation invests some $300 billion in energy efficiency and sustainable energy, and that is a good thing. But it invests very little in giving our younger generation the opportunities to roll up their sleeves and get to work in moving our energy system away from the fossil fuel which is destroying our planet. This amendment invests $30 billion in a Civilian Conservation Corps, which would create 400,000 jobs for young people. They will be paid a living wage, given benefits toward higher education, and be trained for good union, clean-energy jobs. Let us stand with the young people who have led the fight against climate change. I urge a ``yes'' vote for the Civilian Conservation Corps.

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

Mr. SANDERS. Madam President, I call up amendment No. 5208, as modified, and I ask that it be reported by number.

Mr. SANDERS. Madam President, pathetically, the United States has the highest child poverty rate of almost any major country on Earth, and it is especially high among young people of color. This is the wealthiest Nation on Earth; we should not have the highest rate of childhood poverty of almost any country. The American Rescue Plan included a $300-a-month child tax credit, which ended up lowering the child poverty rate in America by over 40 percent--over 40 percent reduction in childhood poverty, which, in my view, was an extraordinary achievement. Unfortunately for the millions of working parents who benefited from this program, it expired in December. This amendment would restore the expanded child tax credit for 4 years and give millions of working families the opportunity to raise their children in dignity and security, and it would be fully paid for by restoring the top corporate tax rate from 21 percent to 28 percent. Let us reduce child poverty in America. Let us demand that the largest corporations start paying their fair share of taxes. I urge my colleagues to vote for this amendment.

Mr. SANDERS. Madam President.

Mr. SANDERS. If I could ask my friend from Ohio, why would passage of this amendment or getting 48 votes on this amendment bring the overall bill down?

Mr. SANDERS. Mr. President, I call up my amendment No. 5281 and ask that it be reported by number.

Mr. SANDERS. Mr. President, let me quote from a July 29 letter from over 350 environmental organizations, including Friends of the Earth, Food and Water Watch, and the Climate Justice Alliance, sent to President Biden and Senator Schumer, expressing concerns about this bill. Any approval of new fossil fuel projects or fast-tracking of fossil fuel permitting is incompatible with climate leadership. Oil, gas, and coal production are the core drivers of the climate and extinction crisis. There can be no new fossil fuel leases, exports or infrastructure if we have any hope of preventing ever-worsening climate crises, catastrophic floods, deadly wildfires, and more--all of which are ripping across the country as we speak. Therefore, we're calling on you to fulfill your promise to lead on climate, starting with denying approvals for the Mountain Valley Pipeline, rejecting all new federal fossil fuel leases onshore, in the Gulf of Mexico, in Alaska and everywhere else, and preventing any fast-tracked permits for fossil fuel projects. This was from 350 environmental organizations, and I agree with those organizations. My amendment would eliminate all of the provisions in this bill that would benefit the fossil fuel industry, including opening up to 700 million acres of public lands and waters for oil and gas drilling. There is a reason why BP and Shell--some of the largest oil companies in this country--are supporting this bill, and it is not for a good reason. I urge my colleagues to support the amendment.

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

Mr. SANDERS

Mr. SANDERS. Madam President, I call up my amendment No. 5210.

Mr. SANDERS. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent to dispense with the reading of the amendment.

Mr. SANDERS. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that, for the duration of the Senate's consideration of H.R. 5376, the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022, the majority and Republican managers of the bill, while seated or standing at the managers' desks, be permitted to deliver floor remarks, retrieve, review, and edit documents and send email and other data communication from text displayed on wireless personal digital assistant devices and tablet devices. I further ask unanimous consent that the use of calculators be permitted on the floor during consideration of the bill; further, that the staff be permitted to make technical and conforming changes to the bill, if necessary, consistent with the amendments adopted during Senate consideration.

Mr. SANDERS. Madam President, I want to take a moment to say a few words about the so-called Inflation Reduction Act that we are debating this evening. I say ``so-called,'' by the way, because, according to the CBO and other economic organizations that have studied this bill, it will, in fact, have a minimal impact on inflation. Let me put this reconciliation bill into the context of where we are as a nation politically and economically. The answer to that, as to where we are, is that we are not in a good place. According to the most recent Gallup poll, the approval rate for Congress is at 16 percent, with 82 percent of the American people disapproving of the work we are doing here. There are 16 percent who think we are doing a good job and 82 percent who think not. Further, according to a recent University of Chicago poll, a strong majority of Americans--and this is extremely important, and I hope Members of Congress hear this--the majority of Americans believes that the government is ``corrupt and rigged against me.'' People believe the government is corrupt and rigged against them. Further, according to a USA TODAY poll that came out last week, a very strong majority no longer believes that the Democratic or Republican Parties are responding to their needs and that we need to move to a multiparty system. I think what is most frightening in terms of where the American people are politically today is that there is actually a growing number of Americans who believes that they may have to take up arms--take up arms--against their own government in order to accomplish what they think needs to be done. All of this speaks to a very, very dangerous moment for American democracy, and in a number of ways, it resembles the conditions that existed in Europe in the 1920s and early 1930s, which led to fascism and totalitarianism. In other words, at a time when so many of our people are hurting, many of them no longer believe that, in our democratic system, government is capable of responding to their needs, and they are losing faith in our democracy. The people of this country believe--and in my view correctly--that we have a corrupt political system, dominated by the wealthy and the powerful, and that we have a rigged economy in which large corporations are seeing huge profits--in some cases, the heaviest profits ever-- while the middle class and working families continue to see a decline in their standard of living. Let me just give you one small example of what is going on, and that is within the last few weeks. While Americans continue to pay outrageously high gas prices at the pump--prices are going down, but they are still a lot higher than they were a year ago or 2 years ago--ExxonMobil, Shell, and BP reported a recordbreaking $46 billion in profits during the second quarter. People pay more at the gas pump, and the major oil companies are seeing huge profits. In terms of the extremely high price of prescription drugs, three large pharmaceutical companies--Pfizer, Johnson & Johnson, and AbbVie-- increased their profits last year by 90 percent to $54 billion, a 90- percent increase in their profits, while so many of our people cannot afford the high cost of prescription drugs. That is what a rigged economy is all about--huge corporate profits while working people cannot afford the basic necessities of life. Let us be clear about where we are as a nation, and that is that the American people are tired of press releases; they are tired of 30- second ads; they are tired of speeches. They are hurting, and they are begging their elected officials to respond to their needs. If you want to know why there is so much anger and so much frustration and so much disillusionment within our society today, it is important to understand that real weekly wages for the average American worker are lower today than they were 49 years ago, and, clearly, the inflation of today is pushing the average person even further behind. Not so many years ago, when I was a kid, it was possible for one worker in a family-like my father, who never made enough money--to earn enough money to take care of his kids and the family. Today, that is a rarity. Today, it is necessary in almost all cases for two workers in a family to have to go out to work. Today, despite the huge increases in our economy, despite the tremendous explosion of technology, everything being equal, our younger generation will have a lower standard of living than their parents-- having a harder time finding a home and having a harder time affording being able to have a family. Imagine that. Our younger generation having a lower standard of living than their parents. Half of our people today live paycheck to paycheck, and many millions are working for starvation wages: 9, 10, 11 bucks an hour. Further, many workers around the country who want to join a union and engage in collective bargaining at companies like Starbucks, Amazon, and other places are facing fierce and illegal anti-union resistance. I have to say that this legislation does not address any of their needs. This legislation does not address the reality that we have more income and wealth inequality today than at any time in the last 100 years, where three people own more wealth than the bottom half of America; doesn't address the fact that 95 percent of all new income is going to the top 1 percent; doesn't address the reality that CEOs of major corporations are making 350 times what their workers are making. I think everybody knows that we have a completely dysfunctional healthcare system. We now spend over $12,000 a year per person--more than double what other countries spend. Today, over 70 million Americans are uninsured or underinsured, and there are studies out there that say that some 60,000 people a year die because they are uninsured or underinsured, and they don't get to a doctor on time. Meanwhile, every year, the insurance companies make tens of billions of dollars in profit. So we have a system in which the cost is outrageously high, people are dying because they don't get to a doctor on time. This bill does nothing to address the systemic dysfunctionality of the American healthcare system. It does nothing. In terms of our kids--the future of our Nation--shamefully, we have the highest rate of childhood poverty of almost any major nation on Earth. This bill, as currently written, does nothing to address that. Our childcare system is dysfunctional. If a working family is lucky enough to find a slot for their young one, on average, they will pay about $15,000 a year for childcare, an impossibly high sum of money. Imagine that. Fifteen thousand dollars a year for childcare if you are making 40 or 50,000 bucks. That is an absurd sum of money. Yet this bill turns its back on the working parents of the country and our children, does not even begin to address the childcare or pre-K crisis that we face. A nation will be as great and competitive as its educational system is. Yet, today, hundreds of thousands of bright young kids all across this country are unable to afford a higher education. Imagine that. In the richest country in the history of the world, when we need the best educated workforce possible, you have got hundreds of thousands of young people who cannot afford a higher education. And we have 45 million Americans who are struggling with student debt, sometimes outrageous levels of student debt. This bill, as currently written, does nothing to address it. Today, millions of elderly Americans and half of our senior citizens are trying to survive on $25,000 a year or less. Millions of senior citizens are unable to afford to go to a dentist. Imagine that. In the richest country on Earth, elderly people can't afford to go to a dentist. Their teeth are rotting in their mouth; they can't afford hearing aids in order to hear what their kids, grandchildren have to say; and they can't afford eyeglasses. This bill ignores that issue. It does nothing to expand Medicare to cover those very basic healthcare needs. The result, millions of seniors will continue to have rotten teeth and lack the dentures, hearing aids, or eyeglasses they deserve. I hear this all the time in Vermont, and I expect my colleagues hear it as well, so many--so many--of our elderly or disabled people would much prefer to stay in their homes rather than be forced into nursing homes. They need someone to come to their home to help them with their basic needs. I don't think anyone denies that we have a major crisis in home healthcare, and the people who are doing home healthcare now--and God bless them all--are usually overworked and underpaid. This bill, as currently written, does nothing to address that crisis. Again, no debate; everybody agrees that we have a major housing crisis in America. Some 600,000 people are homeless, sleeping out on the streets in every State in this country. In addition to the homeless issue, nearly 18 million households are paying 50 percent or more of their limited incomes for housing. Imagine that. Imagine what it means when you don't have any money to do anything else when you are paying 50 percent of your limited income for housing. Yet this bill does nothing to address the major housing crisis that we face or build one unit of safe and affordable housing--just another issue that we push aside. And I would say--and every working person understands this--that while ordinary people are struggling with childcare, with healthcare, with housing, with the basic necessities of life, the people on top today are doing phenomenally well. During the pandemic alone, the billionaire class saw an almost $2 trillion increase in their wealth. So that, in a snapshot, is where we are as a nation today: Working people are hurting; in many ways, their standard of living is in decline; and people on top are doing phenomenally well. That takes us to where we are this evening. The importance of the bill that we are considering this evening is that it is not a normal-- not a regular piece of legislation. It is a reconciliation bill. I know that to anybody outside of the beltway, that doesn't mean much. But what it does mean is that, unlike regular legislation here in the Senate, this bill does not require 60 votes to get passed. All we need to get this bill passed are 50 votes, plus the Vice President, if it is a tie. Now, I say this in all honesty, that it is extremely sad to me--and I think the American people--that up to this point, we have not had one Republican come forward and say: You know what? I want to work on the housing crisis, on the healthcare crisis, on the education crisis, on the home healthcare crisis. Sadly, we have not had one Republican come forward who is prepared to stand up for working families, for the children, for the elderly, or for the environment. That is a sad state of affairs. But here is the truth: If all 50 Members of the Democratic caucus were to stand together today, we could pass some enormously important amendments, which would have a profound impact on improving the lives of working people in our country and maybe, just maybe, could begin the process of restoring faith in our democracy. Poll after poll makes it clear that not only are the American people hurting, they want Congress to take bold action to improve their lives. And under the budget reconciliation process, we have the opportunity to do that. If we don't do it now, when all we need are 50 votes, it is quite questionable as to when, in fact, we will ever do that. In other words, what I am asking today is for all 50 Members of the Democratic caucus to come together and begin the process of addressing some--not all, some--of the major crises facing working families. It is absolutely imperative that we show the American people that we are capable of representing the needs of ordinary people, not just billionaire campaign contributors, not just lobbyists but ordinary people who are hurting today. And if we cannot do that, not only will people continue to hurt and suffer, but, to my mind, it is questionable for how long we remain a democracy. Let me say a few words about what is in this legislation, a bill which has some good features but also, in my view, has some very bad features. This bill deals with three major areas: prescription drugs, climate, and taxation. Let me deal with at least two of them. Prescription drugs. Now, I know that in Vermont, and I suspect in Wisconsin and all over this country, people are outraged at the fact that they are paying so much for prescription drugs. They are outraged that in some cases, we pay 10 times more than Canada and other countries for the same exact product. Now, the good news is that this bill, this reconciliation bill, will do what should have been done many years ago--something that many of us called for many years ago--in that it will allow Medicare to begin negotiating prescription drug prices with the pharmaceutical industry. Now, that is not a radical idea. That is an idea that exists in probably every other major country on Earth, and that is why their prices are so much lower. They don't let the drug companies charge any price that they want. That is the good news. But here is the bad news, and we must be honest about it: At a time when so many of our people cannot afford the prescription drugs they need, one out of four Americans can't even fill the prescriptions their doctors write, this Medicare-negotiating provision will not go into effect for 4 years, at which time only 10 drugs will be negotiated, with more to come in later years. So if anybody thinks that as a result of this bill we are suddenly going to see lower prices for Medicare, you are mistaken. It ain't gonna happen next year, the year after, the year after, and the year after that. By the way, given the incredible power of the pharmaceutical industry, I would suspect even money that they will figure out a way to get around this provision if it takes 4 years to implement. Furthermore, this provision will have no impact on the prices for those Americans who are not on Medicare. So if you are under 65, this bill will not impact you at all, and the drug companies will be able to continue to go on their merry way and raise prices to any level that they want. Under this bill, at a time when the drug companies are enjoying huge profits, the pharmaceutical industry will still be allowed to charge the American people by far the highest prices in the world for prescription drugs. So that is the reality of this bill. What do we do? Well, if we are serious about responding to what the American people want--and the polling that I have seen, it is like 70 or 80 percent of the people understand that prescription drugs are much too high. They want us to act. This bill, unfortunately, does not do that. If we are serious about reducing the price of prescription drugs, we know exactly how we can do it. For over 30 years, the Veterans' Administration has been negotiating with the pharmaceutical industry to lower the cost of prescription drugs. Moreover, for decades, virtually every other country on Earth has been doing the same thing. The result of where we are today is that Medicare pays twice as much for the exact same prescription drugs as the VA and people all over this country. In some cases, as I mentioned earlier, we may pay up to 10 times as much for a particular drug. In other words, when it comes to reducing the price of prescription drugs under Medicare, we do not have to reinvent the wheel; we could simply require Medicare to pay no more for prescription drugs than the VA. That is not a radical idea; that is a simple idea. You have one government Agency doing what they are doing for 30 years. All we have to do is have Medicare do the same. If we did that, we could literally cut the price of prescription drugs under Medicare in half in a matter of months, not years. That is why I am introducing an amendment today to do just that. Under this amendment, we could save Medicare $900 billion over the next decade. This is nine times--nine times--more savings than the rather weak negotiation provisions currently in the bill. We could save $900 billion by negotiating rather than $100 billion. The reason that we pay the highest prices in the world for prescription drugs is not hard to understand. During the past 20 years, the pharmaceutical industry has spent over $5 billion on lobbying and over half a billion dollars in campaign contributions. Further, the pharmaceutical industry has over the years mounted an unprecedented lobbying effort in Washington and in States all across this country. Now, what is unbelievable--if you want to know what a corrupt political system is about, if you want to know what money in politics is about, if you want to know what corporate greed is about, if you want to know why we pay the highest prices in the world for prescription drugs, please understand that right now, at this moment, the pharmaceutical industry has more than 1,700 well-paid lobbyists on Capitol Hill to protect their interests, including former congressional leaders of both major political parties. They buy Democratic leaders; they buy Republican leaders; they buy former Members of Congress--1,700 well-paid lobbyists--to make sure they continue to rip off the American people and charge us the highest prices in the world for prescription drugs. That is over 3 lobbyists for every 1 Member of Congress; 535 Members of Congress, 1,700 lobbyists. (Mr. WHITEHOUSE assumed the Chair.) Mr. President, just yesterday--now, this is really interesting, and I think it brings it all out--the CEO of PhRMA, whose name is Stephen Ubl, I think, basically said--and I appreciate his honesty and straightforwardness--he said anybody who votes even for this incredibly tepid bill--he said: We are going to go after you. He stated--and I love this kind of modesty--he said: Few associations have all the tools of modern political advocacy at their disposal in the way that PhRMA does. In other words, if you dare to vote in any way to lower the cost of prescription drugs, we are going to spend all of the money we have--and we have endless, unlimited amounts of money--against you. That is what a corrupt political system is about. That is what corporate greed is about, basically the CEO of PhRMA saying: You vote for this bill, you can expect millions and millions of dollars of 30-second ads against you. That is where we are in the state of our democracy today. Prescription drugs is a huge issue, but it is not the only issue that is dealt with inadequately in this legislation. It is my view, I think it is the view of the majority of the American people, and it is certainly the view of the scientific community that climate change is an existential threat to the planet. Now, that sounds like a big word, ``existential,'' but what it means is that if we don't get our act together, there may not be a planet that is healthy and habitable for our children and grandchildren. It is very fundamental. Do we protect future generations? This legislation provides $370 billion over the next decade to combat climate change and to invest in so-called energy security programs. Now, the good news--and it is good news--is that this legislation as currently written would provide more funding for energy efficiency and sustainable energy than has ever been invested before. That is the good news. But the bad news is that this bill as currently written includes a huge giveaway to the fossil fuel industry, both in the reconciliation bill that we are considering and in a side deal that was just made public a few days ago. Under this legislation, the fossil fuel industry will receive billions of dollars in new tax breaks and subsidies over the next 10 years on top of the $15 billion in tax breaks and corporate welfare they already receive every year. Interestingly enough, that may well be the reason why BP, one of the largest oil companies in the world, supports this bill. It may be the reason why Shell, another huge oil company, supports this bill. It is the reason, I suspect, why the CEO of ExxonMobil is pleased by many of the provisions included in this deal. So we ought to think a little bit about what it means when major oil companies that are in the process of destroying this planet support this legislation. Under this bill, up to 60 million acres of public waters must be offered up for sale each and every year to the oil and gas industry before--before--the Federal Government can approve any new offshore wind development. To put that in perspective, 60 million acres is the size of the State of Michigan. Further, under this bill, up to 2 million acres of public lands must be offered up for sale each and every year to the oil and gas industry before leases can move forward for any renewable energy development on public lands. In total, this bill will offer the fossil fuel industry up to 700 million acres of public lands and waters to oil and gas drilling over the next decade-- far more than the oil and gas industry could possibly use. And that is not all. The fossil fuel industry will not just benefit from the provisions in the reconciliation bill as currently written; a deal has also been reached to make it easier for the fossil fuel industry to receive permits for their oil and gas projects. This deal would approve the $6.6 billion Mountain Valley Pipeline, a fracked gas pipeline that would span over 300 miles from West Virginia to Virginia and potentially on to North Carolina. This is a pipeline that would generate emissions equivalent to that released by 37 coal plants or by over 27 million cars each and every year. Let me quote from a July 29 letter from over 350 environmental organizations, including Friends of the Earth, Food & Water Watch, and the Climate Justice Alliance, expressing concerns about this bill, and I quote: Any approval of new fossil fuel projects or fast-tracking of fossil fuel permitting is incompatible with climate leadership. Oil, gas and coal production are the core drivers of the climate and extinction crises. There can be no new fossil fuel leases, exports, or infrastructure if we have any hope of preventing ever-worsening climate crises, catastrophic floods, deadly wildfires, and more, all of which are ripping across the country as we speak. We are out of time. Therefore, we're-- These 350 organizations-- calling on you-- That is the President, leadership of Congress-- to fulfill your promise to lead on climate, starting with denying approvals for the Mountain Valley Pipeline, rejecting all new federal fossil fuel leases onshore, in the Gulf of Mexico, in Alaska, and everywhere else, and preventing any fast-tracked permits for fossil fuel projects. Mr. President, I would ask unanimous consent to print the full letter into the Record.

Mr. SANDERS. Mr. President, here is what the Center for Biological Diversity had to say on this bill: This is a climate suicide pact. It's self-defeating to handcuff renewable energy development to massive new oil and gas extraction. The new leasing required in this bill will fan the flames of the climate disasters torching our country, and it's a slap in the face to the communities fighting to protect themselves from filthy fossil fuels. Now, in my view, we have to do everything we can to take on the greed, the irresponsibility, the destructiveness of the fossil fuel industry, not give billions of dollars in corporate welfare to an industry that has been destroying our planet. That is why I will be introducing an amendment today to strike all of the benefits to the fossil fuel industry that are in this bill, and I will be asking for a rollcall vote on it. Let me say a word about some of the other amendments that I will be introducing. I will be introducing an amendment that is wildly popular--the concept is wildly popular--and that is to expand Medicare to include dental, vision, and hearing benefits. This amendment is fully paid for by demanding that the wealthiest people start paying their fair share of taxes. Further, I will be introducing an amendment to provide $30 billion to establish the Civilian Conservation Corps, which would create 400,000 jobs for young people to combat climate change. The entire younger generation wants to roll up their sleeves and get involved in the effort to transform our energy system away from fossil fuel, and this amendment and the establishment of a Civilian Conservation Corps would allow them to do that. Further, I will be introducing an amendment to expand the $300-a- month child tax credit for the next 5 years by restoring the top corporate tax rate from 21 to 28 percent. As you know, we made significant progress in lowering childhood poverty in America--we reduced it by 40 percent--with the establishment of a child tax credit, but unfortunately that was not continued in this year, and I think it needs to do so. So, bottom line, this is where we are at. The American people are hurting. Tens of millions of workers are falling further and further behind. The elderly are hurting. The kids are hurting. And people are looking to their elected representatives in Washington to finally address the crises they are facing. In a reconciliation bill, where we only need 50 votes and the Vice President, we have the capability, if we pass these amendments, of taking a giant step forward not only in addressing the needs of our kids, our elderly, and working families but in maybe--just maybe-- beginning to restore the confidence of the American people in their democracy, in believing that their elected officials are listening to them and not just lobbyists and wealthy campaign contributors. I look forward to offering these amendments and getting them passed. I yield the floor.

Mr. SANDERS

Mr. SANDERS. Madam President, section 3002 of S. Con. Res. 14, the fiscal year 2022 congressional budget resolution, allows the chairman of the Senate Budget Committee to revise budget aggregates, committee allocations, and the pay-as-you-go ledger for legislation considered under the resolution's reconciliation instructions. I find that amendment No. 5194, as modified, fulfills the conditions found in section 3002 of S. Con. Res. 14. Accordingly, I am revising the allocations for nine of the reconciled committees and revising other enforceable budgetary levels to account for the budgetary effects of the amendment. I ask unanimous consent that the accompanying tables, which provide details about the adjustments, be printed in the Record.

Mr. SANDERS

Mr. SANDERS. Madam President, section 3002 of S. Con. Res. 14, the fiscal year 2022 congressional budget resolution, allows the chairman of the Senate Budget Committee to revise budget aggregates, committee allocations, and the pay-as-you-go ledger for legislation considered under the resolution's reconciliation instructions. I find that amendment No. 5209, fulfills the conditions found in section 3002 of S. Con. Res. 14. Accordingly, I am further revising the allocations for five reconciled committees and other enforceable budgetary levels to account for the budgetary effects of the amendment. This adjustment applies while this amendment is under consideration. Should the amendment be withdrawn or fail, this adjustment will be null and void and the adjustment for amendment No. 5194 shall remain active. I ask unanimous consent that the accompanying tables, which provide details about the adjustments, be printed in the Record.

Mr. SANDERS

Mr. SANDERS. Madam President, section 3002 of S. Con. Res. 14, the fiscal year 2022 congressional budget resolution, allows the chairman of the Senate Budget Committee to revise budget aggregates, committee allocations, and the pay-as-you-go ledger for legislation considered under the resolution's reconciliation instructions. I find that amendment No. 5211, as modified, fulfills the conditions found in section 3002 of S. Con. Res. 14. Accordingly, I am further revising the allocations for the Committee on Finance and other enforceable budgetary levels to account for the budgetary effects of the amendment. This adjustment applies while this amendment is under consideration. Should the amendment be withdrawn or fail, this adjustment will be null and void and the adjustment for amendment No. 5194 shall remain active. I ask unanimous consent that the accompanying tables, which provide details about the adjustments, be printed in the Record.

Mr. SANDERS

Mr. SANDERS. Madam President, section 3002 of S. Con. Res. 14, the fiscal year 2022 congressional budget resolution, allows the chairman of the Senate Budget Committee to revise budget aggregates, committee allocations, and the pay-as-you-go ledger for legislation considered under the resolution's reconciliation instructions. I find that amendment No. 5472 passed earlier today fulfills the conditions found in section 3002 of S. Con. Res. 14. Accordingly, I am further revising the allocations for the Committee on Finance and other enforceable budgetary levels to account for the budgetary effects of the amendment. I ask unanimous consent that the accompanying tables, which provide details about the adjustments, be printed in the Record.