Chuck Schumer

Mr. SCHUMER

Mr. SCHUMER. Madam President, earlier today, leaders past and present from around the world joined together to celebrate the life of Madeleine Albright. While Secretary Albright may have been small in stature, she was a titan in American history; she was one of a kind and first of a kind; a mentor; a natural leader as well as a mother and grandmother. Her brilliance and sharp wit made her a formidable presence on the world stage, and her story inspired women and girls all across the globe. Today was a wonderful celebration of her life. My thoughts are with Secretary Albright's family as our Nation remembers her life and her great legacy.

Mr. SCHUMER

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 Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for the quorum call be rescinded.

Mr. SCHUMER

Mr. SCHUMER. Madam President, we have just gotten some very good news, and that is that the Senate has confirmed the U.S. attorneys and U.S. marshals who had been blocked for quite a long time. It is a good thing that our Republican colleagues finally stopped their indefensible obstruction of qualified U.S. attorneys and marshals. These nominees are vital to keeping our communities safe and secure, and they should never have been held up for leverage in partisan games. The nominees are vital to keeping our communities safe and secure. After months of waiting, communities in Georgia and Ohio and Nevada and Minnesota and New Hampshire and other States are finally getting the security they need with confirmed U.S. attorneys. So I am very glad that this has finally, finally happened. It took too long, but now it is done. I yield the floor.

Mr. SCHUMER

Mr. SCHUMER. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent to withdraw the cloture motion with respect to the Gordon nomination.

Mr. SCHUMER

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

Mr. SCHUMER

Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on the Judiciary be discharged from further consideration and the Senate proceed to S. Res. 588.

Mr. SCHUMER

Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, I am just going to say a word about this resolution. Ulysses Grant was an amazing human being. I became acquainted with him when I read the biography of Ulysses Grant written by Mr. Chernow, a Brooklyn resident, who was very eager for us to pass this. One of his crusades in life was to undo the smears against Ulysses Grant, often perpetrated by southern historians after we won the Civil War for the Union. And I commend to everybody Mr. Chernow's book. It is an amazing book.

Mr. SCHUMER

Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, I return to the floor tonight with a happy announcement on the jobs and competition bill: We have reached an agreement with Republicans that clears the path to entering into a conference with the House. Tomorrow, the Senate will hold two votes: one on cloture and one to approve our measure making the conference committee official. Next Tuesday and Wednesday, we will then hold floor votes on 28 motions to instruct--8 from Democrats, 20 from Republicans. Tonight's agreement is very good news for America, for good-paying jobs in America, for economic strength in America, for investments in the kinds of science and technology that will help us grow as a country and provide great futures for the next generation. This bill represents the next major step forward towards finally sending a jobs and competition bill to the President's desk. Of course, I wish it would have happened much sooner; but, nevertheless, the time has come to move forward on this bill. Let me add this: This will be the most votes on motions to instruct of any bill in decades--a sign of both the immense good will we have shown to our Republican colleagues and the fact that many Members on both sides of the aisle have a stake in seeing this bill finalized. We have a lot of work left to do, but this agreement is a big step forward towards finally enacting the legislation to lower costs, bring manufacturing back to America, and strengthen our supply chains so we can keep our economy strong for decades. I want to thank my colleagues from both sides of the aisle who worked in good faith to reach this point.

Mr. SCHUMER

Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that if a compound motion to go forward to conference on Calendar No. 282, H.R. 4521, is agreed to and the Chair is authorized to appoint conferees, the following Senators be permitted to make a motion to instruct, the text of which is at the desk; that these be the only motions to instruct in order; further, that at a time to be determined by the majority leader, following consultation with the Republican leader, the Senate vote in relation to the motions in the order listed; and that the only debate with respect to these motions be 2 minutes equally divided prior to each vote, with 60 affirmative votes required for adoption of the Lankford motion: Paul, Barrasso, Cruz, Menendez, Risch, Kelly, Lee, Blackburn, Cotton, Murkowski, Sullivan, Rubio, Johnson, Sanders on warrants, Scott of Florida, Hassan, Ernst, Lankford, Sanders on NASA, Cassidy on Mexico, Bennet, Warnock, Daines, Cassidy on college transparency, Capito, Toomey, Scott of South Carolina, Lujan.

Mr. SCHUMER

Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the mandatory quorum call for the cloture motion filed today, April 27, be waived.

Mr. SCHUMER

Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that when the Senate completes its business today, it adjourn until 10 a.m. on Thursday, April 28, and that following the prayer and the 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 resume consideration of the House message to accompany H.R. 4521; further, that the cloture motion ripen at 12 noon; finally, that if cloture is invoked, the vote on the compound motion to go to conference occur at 1:45 p.m.

Mr. SCHUMER

Mr. SCHUMER. 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. SCHUMER

Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, I understand there is a bill at the desk that is due for a second reading.

Mr. SCHUMER

Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, I enter a motion to reconsider the failed cloture vote.

Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent to withdraw the cloture motion with respect to the Bedoya nomination because we have some absences due to illness.

Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate resume consideration of Executive Calendar No. 800.

Mr. SCHUMER

Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, as we begin this 5-week work period, Senate Democrats' focus will remain the same as it has been since last year: fighting inflation and lowering costs for American families. At times, we will pursue this goal through legislation, as has been the case with our competition bill, with legislation to reform shipping practices that we passed recently, or finding ways to lower prescription drug costs. And to that end, today, the Agriculture Committee is also holding a hearing on legislation to improve transparency in meat prices. In addition to legislation, Senate Democrats will also help lower costs by confirming the right people to serve in the Federal Government. On that note, we will aim today to finish the confirmation of Lael Brainard to serve as Vice Chair of the Federal Reserve Board of Governors. Soon, the Senate will also work to confirm another very important nominee: Mr. Alvaro Bedoya to serve as Commissioner of the FTC, the Federal Trade Commission. Of all the Agencies in the Federal Government, the FTC is among the best equipped for protecting Americans from price gougers, manipulators, and those trying to rip off American consumers--or at least the FTC would be, if it had full membership. But, sadly, the FTC has been stuck at a 2-2 deadlock for well over a year, rendering it incapable of executing the full breadth of its agenda. We have had two Democrats, two Republicans. The Republican nominees have resisted going after Big Oil and so many of the other excesses of corporate America. And who pays the price? In a very literal sense, it is American consumers as they see prices rise on everything from groceries to the number that pops up every time they fill up their tank. But the story is grossly different in corporate America, and an FTC with full membership could shine a light as to why. While Americans across the board are making sacrifices to support themselves and their families, corporate America is raking in record profits. As one article from Yahoo Finance summarized earlier this year, corporate America's 2021 profits were higher than ever. Corporate America's profits were higher than ever. Perhaps no sector has evoked more frustration and anger from the American people as the largest oil and gas companies and the prices they are charging. Last year, the top 25 oil and gas companies reported $205 billion in profits. Where has that money gone? To help American consumers? No way. To ease our energy troubles? Not at all. According to one news source yesterday, 28 of the largest oil and gas companies gave out $394 million in CEO compensation. And in the fourth quarter last year, stock buybacks among these companies rose by more than 2,000 percent--2,000 percent. All this extra money they are making they put in the pockets of the CEOs and the wealthy shareholders who dominate in the oil company ownership. Just think about that. Americans are paying more and more at the pump and struggling to afford the basics, and oil companies, which are seeing their highest profits in years, prefer to reward executives and shareholders through corporate buybacks instead of American families. Once we have an FTC with full membership, they will finally have the will, the means, and the power to look under the hood of America's energy sector and shine a much needed light on why Big Oil is pumping out record profits, even as consumers struggle. So completing the membership of the FTC will be a priority, and we will work to finish the confirmation process of Mr. Bedoya as soon as we can.

Mr. SCHUMER

Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, I send a cloture motion to the desk.

Mr. SCHUMER

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

Mr. SCHUMER

Mr. SCHUMER. Now, before I begin the substance of my remarks today, I wanted to note how the Senate mourns the loss of one of its fine public servants. Senator Orrin Hatch, the longest serving Republican in the history of the Senate, the sixth longest serving Member ever, passed away Saturday at the age of 88. Senator Hatch was a friend, a respected colleague, and a legislator of rare skill. In our 20 years serving together, our disagreements were frequent. They often ran deep. But I always knew him to be a person of good faith who put the needs of his State above all else. While nobody ever mistook Senator Hatch for anything but a principled conservative, to his credit, he was never afraid to work with his Democratic colleagues when necessary to get things done, and he would make compromises. I was in the room many times when it happened, and I will always admire him for that. The people of Utah lost a titan this weekend, one that will not likely come through this Chamber again for a long time. My prayers and condolences go to all of Senator Hatch's family and friends, especially his wife, Elaine, and their six children and many, many grandchildren. May he forever rest in peace, and we thank him for his lifetime of public service.

Mr. SCHUMER

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

Mr. SCHUMER

Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, I move to proceed to executive session to consider Calendar No. 800.

Mr. SCHUMER

Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, I move to proceed to legislative session.

Mr. SCHUMER

Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, I move to proceed to executive session to consider Calendar No. 865.

Mr. SCHUMER

Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, I send a cloture motion to the desk.