Chuck Schumer

Mr. SCHUMER

Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, I have one request for committees to meet during today's session of the Senate. They have the approval of the Majority and Minority Leaders. Pursuant to Rule XXVI, paragraph 5(a), of the Standing Rules of the Senate, the following committees are authorized to meet during today's session of the Senate:

Mr. SCHUMER

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 President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for the quorum call be rescinded.

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

Mr. SCHUMER

Mr. SCHUMER. Madam President, first on COVID negotiations, yesterday, I met with a group of my colleagues--Senators Murray, Coons, Romney, Blunt, Burr, and Graham--for another round of talks as we work toward a bipartisan COVID agreement. We spoke throughout the day; we talked late into the night; our staffs are continuing talks this morning. The gap has been narrowed greatly, and we are intent on working with Republicans to cross the finish line because this is vital for our country if, God forbid, a new variant arises in the future, and that is all too likely. We would like considerably more money than our Republican colleagues, but we need to reach 60 votes to get something passed through the Senate, and so we are going to push as hard as we can. When it comes to replenishing COVID response funding, we simply can't afford to kick the can down the road. The White House has been more than clear and more than transparent about the fact that public funds for COVID are at risk of running out. We all know that a possible future variant can quickly undo much of the progress we have made against the virus, so it makes no sense whatsoever to hold off on COVID funding that we know is very much needed right now. The more we wait, the bigger the problem will be later, God forbid a variant hits. The bottom line is this: Both sides should work to complete COVID funding soon because that will mean more vaccines, more therapeutics, and more testing so we can keep schools and communities open. We can stay ``back to normal,'' which we are doing right now. Woe is us if a future variant extends its nasty tentacles across the country, and we don't have the resources in place to respond. Woe is us. So, again, I am pleading with my Republican colleagues: Join us. We want more than you do, but we have to get something done. We have to get something done. We will keep working to arrive at a deal in good faith, and we hope-- hope, hope, hope--our Republican colleagues ultimately join us in supporting a robust enough package to deal with this problem. As I said, we are making good progress. We are getting closer and closer, but the sooner we get this deal done, the better for the country. Business Before the Senate Madam President, on cost cutting, it has been a productive few days here on the Senate floor as we pass legislation that will help reduce costs, relieve supply chains, and build on the incredible economic growth we have seen under President Biden. I am glad to announce that the Senate is on track to pass bipartisan legislation by Senators Klobuchar and Thune to reform unfair shipping practices that are clogging up our ports, diminishing American exports, hurting our farmers, and ultimately hurting consumers. It hurts both ways when shipping costs go way up, as they have. The exports we send over--a lot of it agricultural goods--the imports that come back--a lot of it consumer goods--all are higher priced, and Americans pay that higher price. So the bipartisan shipping bill is exactly the sort of thing the Senate should focus on because when there is a logjam at the Port of Los Angeles, it hurts farmers and small businesses in Minnesota, North Dakota, and across the country, and it hurts consumers in every corner of the country, from Portland, ME, to San Diego, from Seattle to Miami, New York, and everywhere in between. So I am glad we are making progress to getting this legislation done. The sooner the better, again. The legislation, of course, is not the only step we have taken this week to strengthen supply chains to help lower costs throughout the economy. Earlier this week, the Senate passed a strongly bipartisan jobs and competitiveness bill in the works for over a year, which will help increase our domestic manufacturing, help address the critical chip shortage, and grow our economy by investing in American innovation. Yesterday, the House passed a motion requesting a conference committee, and the Senate will soon do the same. We are on track to initiating a conference, hopefully, before the end of this work period. Off the floor, committees held numerous hearings zeroing in on the many dimensions of our lowering cost agenda. To name just a few examples, the Banking Committee held a hearing on Monday on the growing burden of medical debt, a problem that is facing so many Americans. The Small Business Committee also held a hearing yesterday exploring the supply chain crisis and its implications for smaller businesses, including struggling restaurants. And, today, the Banking Committee is on the matter of seniors who struggle with affordable housing. These are just a few examples of how, both off the floor and on, Democrats are continuing our focus on legislation that will lower costs, help American families, and solve the deep and difficult challenges that everyday Americans face to make ends meet. And we are going to keep pushing in the months ahead to translate these ideas into legislation we can consider here in the Chamber, as we are doing with shipping right now. I suggest the absence of a quorum.

Mr. SCHUMER

Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, I have an update on today's floor schedule. At 1:45, the Senate was scheduled to hold a procedural vote related to a shell legislative vehicle we could use to pass COVID response funding. Our Republican colleagues have requested that we do not hold a cloture vote on the motion to proceed at the present as we are getting close to a final agreement that would garner bipartisan support. We are working diligently to finalize language, scoring, and a final agreement on what should be funded in the final COVID package, both domestic and international. As a sign of good faith and to encourage us to come to a final agreement, I will reschedule today's procedural vote to a later time.

Mr. SCHUMER

Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to the immediate consideration of Calendar No. 309, H.R. 3197.

Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the bill be considered read a third time and passed and that the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table.

Mr. SCHUMER

Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, the Senate has just passed very significant and much needed legislation that will reduce costs for the American people by passing a bipartisan bill to reform unfair shipping practices hurting exports and consumers alike. We have all seen pictures of scores of ships lining up in ports from Los Angeles to Seattle, to New York, to Savannah. Supply chain backlogs have made it harder for goods to leave these ports and get to their international destinations. Every single day that goods lie idle in our ports, it costs producers more and more money. It is a serious problem, rippling from one coast to the other. These backlogs have created serious price hikes. Today, according to one study, the price to transport a container from China to the west coast of the United States costs 12 times as much as it did 2 years ago--12 times. Talk about supply chain backlogs. This is it--a glaring, glaring example. And, of course, it hurts both ways when shipping costs go up. It affects exports that we send overseas. It affects many of our farmers, who need to export their goods. It also affects the imports that come back. It affects all the goods that Americans buy from overseas-- appliances and food and so many other things. When the cost of shipping is higher, the cost of the goods are higher, and people have to pay too much--a whole lot more. At the end of the day, it is the American consumer that pays the higher price. Thankfully, this bill will make it harder for ocean carriers to unreasonably refuse American goods at our ports while strengthening the Federal Maritime Commission's ability to step in and prevent harmful practices by carriers. This bipartisan shipping bill is exactly the sort of thing that the Senate should focus on. It is cost cutting; it is bipartisan; and it will directly give relief to small businesses and consumers alike. And I would like to thank a good number of my colleagues who helped with this legislation. It was put together and sponsored in a bipartisan way by Senators Klobuchar and Thune. And Senator Cantwell, who understands the maritime industry probably better than any other Member in this Chamber, was relentless in pushing this legislation. It went through her committee, and now it has passed the Senate and, hopefully, will become law soon, and she deserves our kudos and accolades for the good job she has done for American consumers, farmers, manufacturers, and everybody else. I yield the floor.

Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to the immediate consideration of Calendar No. 311, S. 3580.

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

Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, I further ask that the committee-reported amendment be withdrawn; that the amendment, which is at the desk, be considered and agreed to; and that the bill, as amended, be considered read a third time.

Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, I know of no further debate on the bill.

Mr. SCHUMER

Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to the immediate consideration of Calendar No. 297, S. 1320.

Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the committee-reported amendment be considered and agreed to; that the bill, as amended, be considered read a third time and passed; and that the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table.

Mr. SCHUMER

Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, due to the current events happening in Europe, the minority leader and I have agreed to increase the membership of the Senate NATO Observer Group by two additional Senators. For the additional Democratic Senator, I ask that Senator Rosen be added to participate in the Group.

Mr. SCHUMER

Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, the third criminal trial arising out of the events of January 6, 2021, is scheduled to begin on April 4, 2022, in Federal district court in the District of Columbia. One of the two defendants in this case pleaded guilty earlier this month. The remaining defendant, Thomas Robertson, is going to trial and is charged with six counts: obstructing the counting by Congress of the electoral ballots for President and Vice President; obstructing the grand jury investigation related to the events of January 6, 2021, and his Federal prosecution by altering and destroying one or more cell phones; impeding and interfering with law enforcement officers during a civil disorder; entering and remaining in a restricted area within the U.S. Capitol and its grounds; and two counts of engaging in disorderly and disruptive conduct. The prosecution has requested trial testimony from Daniel Schwager, formerly counsel to the Secretary of the Senate, related to the obstruction count, including his knowledge and observations of the process and constitutional and legal bases for Congress's certification of the electoral college vote. The prosecution is also seeking testimony at trial, if necessary, from Nate Russell and Diego Torres, custodians of records in the Senate Recording Studio, which operates under the authority of the Sergeant at Arms and Doorkeeper of the Senate, to authenticate Senate video of the proceeding that day. Senate Secretary Berry and Senate Sergeant at Arms Gibson would like to cooperate with these requests by providing relevant testimony in this proceeding from Messrs. Schwager, Russell, and Torres, respectively. In keeping with the rules and practices of the Senate, this resolution would authorize the production of relevant testimony from Messrs. Schwager, Russell, and Torres, with representation by the Senate Legal Counsel.

Mr. SCHUMER

Mr. SCHUMER. Members, we have three more votes coming up. If we stay in our seats and stay close, we can get them done quickly. So, please, hang around.

Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent the Senate now vote on the motions to invoke cloture on Executive Calendar Nos. 718, 717, and 716; that the remaining votes tonight be 10-minute votes; that if cloture is invoked on any of these nominations, all post-cloture time be considered expired and the Senate vote on confirmation of the nominations at a time to be determined by the majority leader or his designee following consultation with the Republican leader.

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, so today is going to be a very busy day on the Senate floor, as we continue advancing even more of President Biden's well-qualified nominees. Later this morning, we hold an especially important vote to proceed on the nomination of Alvaro Bedoya, tapped by President Biden to sit as a Commissioner of the Federal Trade Commission. The FTC right now is one of the best Agencies for protecting Americans from price gougers, manipulators, and those trying to rip off American consumers, or at least it would be if it had full membership. Instead, the FTC has remained deadlocked for just about the entirety of the Biden administration because of Republican obstruction, and the consequences for American consumers have cascaded one after the other. We all know that prices have been going way up and hurting a lot of Americans. There are serious reasons to fear a lot is due to some gouging and manipulation. The FTC is about the best Agency to look for this. But as long as its membership is deadlocked, it cannot act. This is especially urgent when it comes to energy prices. Americans are seeing higher prices at the pump, despite massive profits for oil companies. So we need a fully operational FTC to investigate and take action if warranted. That is why moving forward on Mr. Bedoya is so urgently needed. And, frankly, the obstruction over Mr. Bedoya is truly unacceptable, given the FTC is so important for fighting potential price manipulations. Republicans know this. Yet his nomination has been deadlocked not once but twice at the committee level. For all the howling our Republican friends are doing about rising costs, they are truly content with dragging their feet on public servants who could actually help solve the problem. So shame on those who are blocking that. Without Mr. Bedoya, the FTC and members are left handicapped and incapable of moving forward. So today's motion to discharge is a matter of immense importance, and I hope all my colleagues who care about fighting inflation and price manipulation and collusion vote to proceed with Mr. Bedoya's nomination. And on one other point I wanted to make, I read that stock buybacks by the oil companies have dramatically increased this year. Why is that money going into stock buybacks instead of into other much more productive uses? This is another thing the FTC could take a look at. Now, as the day progresses, I also want my colleagues to realize the possibility of additional votes later today. On Monday, I filed cloture on five individuals to fill other important roles across the administration. Today, we will move on the first of these nominees, but we are working to move forward with the rest as soon as we can.

Mr. SCHUMER

Mr. SCHUMER. If there is no further business to come before the Senate, I ask that it stand adjourned under the provisions of S. Res. 565, following the remarks of Senator Cantwell.

Mr. SCHUMER

Mr. SCHUMER. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to the consideration of S. Res. 565, submitted earlier today.

Mr. SCHUMER

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

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, I move to proceed to Calendar No. 310, H.R. 4373.