Chuck Schumer

Mr. SCHUMER

Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to the immediate consideration of Calendar No. 288, S. 2089.

Mr. SCHUMER. I ask unanimous consent that the committee-reported substitute amendment be 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. I ask unanimous consent that the resolution be agreed to, the preamble be agreed to, and that the motions to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table with no intervening action or debate.

Mr. SCHUMER

Mr. SCHUMER. 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 with no intervening action or debate.

Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to the immediate consideration of H.R. 55, which was received from the House and is at the desk.

Mr. SCHUMER

Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, well, let me start off with some great news. When we vote later today, all of us will be able to say these four wonderful words: Senator Lujan, welcome back. He is not on the floor right now, but, Ben Ray, it was great to see you back here in this Capitol last week. It was great to see you today. We have missed you. We are thrilled to have you back on the job. We admire your strength and your courage and your fortitude--your quiet strength. Ukraine Mr. President, now, over the weekend, Members from both the House and Senate met virtually with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, and we reemphasized Congress's strong and unwavering commitment to providing robust and ample assistance to his country in this time of war. I told the Ukrainian President he was an inspiration to Americans, and I assured him that his pleas for help will not go unanswered. In particular, President Zelenskyy made a desperate plea for getting Eastern European countries to provide Russian-made planes to Ukraine. I strongly support the President's request, and yesterday I called on the administration to explore all feasible options to getting these fighter aircraft to Ukraine. These planes are very much needed, Ukrainian forces are familiar with them, and they will very much help in countering the Russians, especially as Putin massacres--massacres-- civilians in Ukraine. Democrats and Republicans broadly agree that this is a necessary step against Russia's illegal invasion, and today I reiterate my call for the administration to explore how to ensure the Ukrainians have the capabilities they need. I also spoke with the administration yesterday and was told they are looking closely at imposing a ban on Russian oil. Meanwhile, there are other steps Congress can take in the coming days to support the Ukrainian people. Above all, we must finalize a more than $12 billion emergency aid package to be included in the upcoming omnibus spending bill. This emergency aid will provide both humanitarian and military assistance for Ukraine--funding for refugees, medical supplies, emergency food supplies, as well as funding to support weapon transfers into Ukraine and help our eastern flank NATO allies. The clearest signal Congress can send to Vladimir Putin this week is passing a bipartisan aid package, leaving no doubt that the democratic nations of the world stand with Ukraine and against Putin's deeply immoral and bloody war. And again--let me say it again. The quickest--the quickest--way to secure an emergency aid package for Ukraine is through the omnibus, and I believe both sides are close--very close--to arriving at an agreement. Coronavirus Now, on COVID aid, at the same time, there is another important matter that Congress must address in the spending bill: additional COVID relief aid, which the administration has wisely urged Congress to approve. The Federal Government has completely exhausted all the public health funding approved last year as part of the American Rescue Plan. That means that to prepare for future variants, more Federal funding is needed now. Across the country, thank God, we have seen signs that the United States is turning the corner on COVID. Schools are open. Mask guidelines are being reversed. Vaccinations have surpassed 216 million Americans. And last Friday, we learned that more than 7 million jobs have now been created since President Biden took office. This is all great news. Cases are falling, unemployment is falling, and the country is on the right track. But experience has taught us that new variants can come back with a vengeance if--if--we aren't ready. The administration has been clear: If we want schools to stay open, if we want to preserve as much of normal life as possible when another variant arises--and the odds are quite high that one will--Congress must pass additional COVID funding now, not later. We have to have it ready. We have to have the therapeutics ready. We have to have the testing ready. We have to have the vaccines ready. We can't wait 2, 3 months after the variant hits to debate this issue and then allocate the money and then production starts. That would be terrible for the country. It will be too little too late. It is far better to prepare now than play catch-up later. We should have learned our lesson a long time ago, but now we are, hopefully. I have been strongly urging my colleagues to get a deal done on COVID. Failure to act is not an acceptable outcome.

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

Mr. SCHUMER

Mr. SCHUMER. For the information of Senators, we will continue to process the Postal Service Reform bill and hope to complete its action during Tuesday's session.

Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that when the Senate completes its business today, it recess until 10:30 a.m., Tuesday, March 8, and that following the prayer and pledge, the time for the two leaders be reserved for their use later in the day; further, that the Senate recess from 12:30 p.m. until 2:15 p.m. to allow for the weekly caucus meetings; finally, that all time during the adjournment, recess, morning business, and leader remarks be counted postcloture on H.R. 3076.

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, if there is no further business to come before the Senate, I ask unanimous consent that it stand in recess under the previous order.

Mr. SCHUMER

Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, as spring begins, daily new cases of COVID-19 have dramatically decreased since the height of Omicron. Hospitalizations, thank God, have steadily declined. Across the country, Americans are able to remove their masks as the spread of disease seems to be lessening. Crucially, schools are open, and we need to do everything we can in our power to make sure they stay open. All of these signs point in a positive direction. The country is turning the corner on the COVID pandemic. We are in a new moment of the fight. But we also are at a crossroads. Either we act now to secure the progress we have made, or we risk backsliding if another contagious variant emerges in the fall and winter. Just as we cannot allow COVID to rule our lives, neither can we fall into a false sense of complacency. That is why the White House has requested that Congress include $22.5 billion in additional COVID relief funding in the upcoming spending bill, and Congress should follow through with this request over the coming days. If not, we risk sliding back if another variant occurs. This morning on CNBC, former FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb reminded viewers of the key aspect of this disease. To paraphrase him loosely, cases can drop in the spring and summer, but the risk still exists for another wave to surge in the fall or winter. He is right. We all know this from sad experience. We also know what we must do to be ready. We know a lot more now what to do to be ready than we knew a year ago. If we want to keep our schools open, if we want to keep life as close to normal as possible, if we want to be ready for the possibilities of future variants, Congress must provide the resources needed before a new variant arrives. That is the surest way to minimize cases, hospitalizations, and deaths in the future. Let me repeat. To keep schools open, to keep life as normal as it can be, we need additional COVID investments now, not after a possible new variant arrives. Remember, by now, all public health funding provided by the American Rescue Plan has run out. If Congress waits until a new variant arises to pass new funding, it will be too late. And we are happy to make clear with our Republican colleagues about how this money is dedicated. The White House has already provided an explanation about how COVID money has been spent over time. Some Republicans may think it should have been spent differently, but the point is that it has been spent. We can't pull those dollars back, and we need to provide new funding for possible variants. Where has the COVID money been spent thus far? It has gone to vaccinate 215 million Americans. It has been used to keep schools open, to expand treatment, and to provide 1.2 billion vaccines to other countries. Last night, Acting OMB Director Shalanda Young sent Congress a 12- page letter detailing what the new funding would do: more vaccines for children, bolstering our testing supply chain, therapeutics, and more. If there is one thing both parties should be able to agree on it is that we should not shortchange the American people on vaccines, on testing, or on therapeutic medicines that greatly reduce the severity of the illness if you are able to take them and if we have the supply. Again, Congress must include new funding for COVID relief to ensure our schools and our communities face minimal disruption in case another variant comes, and we should do it ASAP. The most logical place immediately to do it is in the upcoming omnibus bill. Inflation Mr. President, on another matter, on costs to the American people, in the coming months and beyond, Senate Democrats will maintain a focus on one of the most vexing issues facing American families: lowering costs while building on the wage and job growth we have seen over the past year. The American economy is booming compared to a year ago. The number of new jobs added to the economy is staggering. We have added more than 6 million new jobs in a single year, including the most--the most--new manufacturing jobs in decades, but at the same time, we must fiercely confront the wave of rising costs resulting from COVID's worldwide disruptions. This is the biggest economic challenge that our country must focus on right now. Later today, at our DPCC lunch, at the request of Chair Stabenow, FTC Commissioner Lina Khan will join us to shine a light on the troubling pattern of corporate price hikes in the areas of oil and gas, prescription drugs, and other goods. This dimension of inflation cannot be ignored. Americans are being asked to pay more at the grocery store, at the pump, and for basic goods even as they watch incredulously as some of the Nation's biggest corporations post their most massive profits. In many instances, these profits resoundingly exceed prepandemic figures. Last fall, Bloomberg noted that U.S. corporations outside of the financial industry reported the biggest margins since 1950--since 1950--71\1/2\ years ago. It appears corporate profits are far outpacing inflation, and they are spending much of the profits on things like corporate buybacks, which are hitting record levels. So Americans are being asked to pay more, but many mega corporations are making a killing. That is a twisted thing to see as we recover from COVID. Democrats are working right now on a number of proposals and ideas that would ease the pressure Americans are feeling from rising costs. We must lower the cost of insulin to $35 a month. We must make all prescription drugs cheaper. We need to help make groceries more affordable. We need to look at fixing ocean shipping bottlenecks. I will also add that one of the best things we can do to fight inflation is to confirm President Biden's nominees to the Federal Reserve. I urge in the strongest terms possible for Republicans to drop their holds on these members. The Federal Reserve is so crucial for our economy right now, and to intentionally delay their confirmations is irresponsible. Most importantly, we must boost manufacturing, American manufacturing, and decrease our reliance on overseas producers. The war provoked by Putin is an illustration as to why this example is important. President Biden's State of the Union made clear that the United States remains strong and ready to face the immense challenges of our time, but to maintain that edge, we must focus like a laser on addressing costs. That is what Democrats will keep doing. Another thing we are doing today, that is happening today, is a hearing in the Commerce Committee on shipping costs and a bipartisan bill by Senators Klobuchar and Thune that will help reduce those costs. Shipping costs affect every American. Any good that comes from overseas has to be shipped here.

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

Mr. SCHUMER

Mr. SCHUMER. I will be brief as I conclude. Mr. President, as our country turns the corner on the COVID-19 pandemic, we stand at a crossroads. We can either take steps to keep America ready in case new variants arise--and the odds are high they will arise--or we can backslide and undo everything we have done, at great cost, to get our country closer to normal. Today, the Senator from Kansas is advancing a proposal that would precisely handicap the Biden administration's ability to fight the pandemic and heighten the danger that all our progress is suddenly unraveled in the future. We have learned how to fight the pandemic; we are better at it; this undoes it for some kind of ideological reason. This proposal to hinder our COVID preparedness is as damaging and risky as it is unnecessary, and it should be voted down. It is going nowhere if it passes. The national emergency declaration, which this proposal would immediately terminate, has been one of the most powerful and best tools for mobilizing the Federal Government to combat the pandemic. It has made it easier to acquire medical supplies, to provide resources for healthcare works, and has helped cut redtape under the Defense Production Act. It has also offered student loan borrowers critical relief by clearing the path for suspending student loan payments--a lifeline for tens of millions. Do we want that undone? Just as it looks like we are turning the corner, why on Earth would Republicans risk bungling it all by crippling America's ability to remain prepared for the future? The best way to ensure that we keep schools open and cases low is by staying at the ready, and that is what these emergency powers enable us to do. We don't know if new variants will come or not, but if they do, they can appear with frightening speed, and we need to be prepared. By prematurely terminating the national emergency declaration on COVID, it will be harder to ensure we have enough supplies, enough support for healthcare workers, and risks throwing tens of millions of student loan borrowers into needless uncertainty and anxiety. It is a wrong move. I will vote against it today. And I ask for the yeas and nays. Vote on S.J. Res 38

Mr. SCHUMER

Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to the consideration of S. Res. 530, submitted earlier today.

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, finally, I ask unanimous consent that when the Senate completes its business today, it adjourn until 10 a.m. on Thursday, March 3; 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 resume consideration of Calendar No. 273, H.R. 3076, Postal Service Reform.

Mr. SCHUMER

Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on the Judiciary be discharged from further consideration and the Senate now proceed to S. Res. 527.

Mr. SCHUMER

Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the committee-reported amendments be agreed to, 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. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to the immediate consideration of Calendar No. 276, S. 3103.

Mr. SCHUMER

Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, I further ask that the bill be read a third time and passed and that the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table, with no intervening action or debate read a third time.

Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to the immediate consideration of Calendar No. 224, S. 198.

Mr. SCHUMER

Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to executive session to consider the following nominations en bloc: Calendar Nos. 441, 445, 458; that the Senate vote on the nominations en bloc without intervening action or debate; that the motions to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table with no intervening action or debate; that any statements related to the nominations be printed in the Record; that the President be immediately notified of the Senate's action, and the Senate resume legislative session.

Mr. SCHUMER

Mr. SCHUMER. I ask unanimous consent that the mandatory quorum call for the cloture motion filed today, Wednesday, March 2, be waived.

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