Chuck Schumer

Mr. SCHUMER

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

Mr. SCHUMER

Mr. SCHUMER. Madam President, I move to proceed to executive session to consider Calendar No. 668.

Mr. SCHUMER

Mr. SCHUMER. Madam President, this week has been a continuation of that commitment to working with the other side when possible. The legislation on forced arbitration is a prime example. And yesterday we saw another example: Appropriators from both parties announced that they reached a framework agreement for a yearlong appropriations package. This is a huge step forward for arriving at an omnibus, and it is great news for our goal of avoiding a yearlong CR, which would have been painful and costly. There is a lot of work left to do before we pass a government spending bill, but yesterday's announcement shows appropriators are now on a very good path. We are driving forward toward an omnibus, and I am very, very hopeful and optimistic that we will get there. In the meantime, the Senate will do the responsible thing by passing a temporary CR next week in order to give the appropriators enough time to put their funding packages together.

Mr. SCHUMER

Mr. SCHUMER. Madam President, finally, on cannabis legislation. All of these issues I have mentioned--forced arbitration reform, appropriations, VAWA, and postal reform--have been bipartisan efforts. They reflect a commitment that Democrats made at the start of the year to work with the other side when the opportunities presented themselves, and I thank my Republican colleagues for working with us. Before I close, there is one more appeal I want to make for bipartisan cooperation, and that is on cannabis reform. This morning, I joined with Senators Booker and Wyden in sending a ``Dear Colleague,'' inviting Members from both sides of the aisle to join in an effort to draft and finalize comprehensive cannabis reform. Last summer, I joined with Senators Booker and Wyden in introducing our framework legislation for Federal reform of cannabis, and we want to build on this framework as we prepare to introduce legislation in the near future. Today, millions--hundreds of millions of Americans live in States, both blue and red, where cannabis has been legalized in some way. It is long past time for the Federal Government to catch up. This is about individual freedom and about basic fairness. For decades, Federal cannabis laws have caused immense damage to millions of Americans, particularly Black and Hispanic people, who have been unfairly targeted by these laws. We need to change that. We need to create opportunities for entrepreneurs and small businesses to legitimately pursue new opportunities, and comprehensive Federal cannabis legislation is critical--critical--to reaching that goal. I want to thank Senators Booker and Wyden and all my colleagues who have worked with us on this important and long-overdue change. I hope we can make more progress on cannabis reform in the near future.

Mr. SCHUMER

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

Mr. SCHUMER

Mr. SCHUMER. Madam President, now on postal, there is one more sign of progress this week that I want to mention, another bipartisan effort like VAWA and like all of the other bills I have mentioned--arbitration and the CR--and this is the bipartisan efforts by both Chambers to pass the most significant postal reform bill in decades. Later today--soon--I will file cloture on the postal reform bill approved overwhelmingly by the House earlier this week. For the information of all Senators, this will set up the first vote this coming Monday evening. Postal reform has been decades in the making and is one of the best steps we can take to strengthen one of our country's most important institutions. Tens of millions of Americans depend on the post office every day. Seniors and veterans need it for things like medication. Businesses need it to function. Rural communities need it to stay connected. Countless people rely on the post office to connect with each other for things like birthdays, travel, the holidays, or any one of life's many, many special occasions. By passing postal reform, we can ensure that Americans will continue to rely on a speedy, dependable, and well-run post office. We have all heard complaints about how the mail delivery has slowed down. This is a strong, important effort to rectify that bad problem. It will be a win for everyday Americans and for the dedicated men and women who work to deliver our mail every single day.

Mr. SCHUMER

Mr. SCHUMER. Madam President, yesterday, our colleagues from both sides of the aisle came together to announce an agreement on reauthorizing the Violence Against Women Act, which was last acted on nearly a decade ago by this Chamber. I want to commend my colleagues Senators Feinstein and Durbin, as well as Senators Ernst and Murkowski, for all the work they have done to bring us closer to reauthorizing VAWA. I also want to thank my colleagues who are cosponsoring this legislation. And I have a particular interest because when I was in the House, I helped carry the original VAWA legislation that became law and has now lapsed. Most importantly, I want to thank every single person who participated in yesterday's press conference who shared their own experiences of abuse. The Violence Against Women Act is one of the most important laws passed by Congress in the last 30 years, and it is my hope that the Senate can take action on this bill in the near future. There are nine Republicans cosponsoring this legislation so we need one more, at least, in order to clear a path forward. If we can find more support for VAWA, I would expect that the Senate will seek to take action. VAWA must be reauthorized. We cannot allow inaction to persist for a moment longer, and with yesterday's bipartisan announcement, we are closer than ever to achieving that goal.

Mr. SCHUMER

Mr. SCHUMER. Madam President, it has been a busy, productive, and truly bipartisan week here in the U.S. Senate. After days of fruitful cooperation from both sides, the Senate is now a few moments away from approving one of the most significant changes to employment law in years, eliminating for good the awful practice of forcing victims of sexual harassment and assault into arbitration. An hour from now, we will be able to say this: The House has acted; the Senate has acted; and we are sending bipartisan forced arbitration reform to the President's desk. It is a momentous reform bill and one that is painfully overdue. For decades, arbitration clauses have been routinely tucked into the fine print of employment contracts. Today, they impact about 60 million Americans. And many people may not even realize such clauses affect them, until it is too late. All of us have heard the searing testimonies of those who have faced harassment or abuse at work, only to discover their jobs offered precious little in accountability. Countless careers have been derailed or undone. Worse still, countless lives have been forever damaged. And for decades, workplace practices, like mandatory arbitration, have perpetuated cultures of abuse and unaccountability. We can't ignore a basic reality of these clauses. They deprive victims of sexual harassment and assault of their basic rights by mandating they seek remedy only behind closed doors of private arbitration, with no other alternative. This is wrong; it is unfair; and it is about time it changed. And that is exactly what we will accomplish through this bipartisan legislation. It will not only ensure that those who have suffered sexual harassment or assault have the option to go to court if they choose, it will also be retroactive. People locked into these clauses right now will benefit just as much as new employees will in the future. That is an important point that hasn't gotten enough attention. It will undo the pernicious effect of these clauses that already exist. I want to thank my friend and fellow New Yorker, Senator Gillibrand, for spending years advocating for this legislation. This accomplishment wouldn't be possible without her leadership and her commitment to working with the other side. Likewise, I want to thank Senator Graham and Senator Ernst for reaching across the aisle and working with us to get this bill done. Yesterday, Senators Graham and Ernst met in my office, and we came to an agreement to move this forward. And we very much appreciate that. It was truly a collaborative effort by the Senate, and thanks to everyone's work, forced arbitration for sexual assault and harassment will soon be a thing of the past. As I said in my very first speech as majority leader, Democrats will always be open to working with Members of the other side of the aisle when the opportunity arises. The differences between the parties are real and cannot be ignored, but we can neither ignore the genuine chances for progress when both parties agree to move forward on certain topics. Last year, it was precisely this majority's commitment to bipartisan cooperation that cleared the path for historic hate crimes legislation. Together, we also passed a historic jobs and supply chain bill, which we hope is enacted soon. And together, Democrats and Republicans secured the first stand-alone infrastructure package in years.

Mr. SCHUMER

Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, those are all bills that we hope to move forward, and so that is why I have rule XIV'd them.

Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, as if in legislative session, I understand that there are three bills at the desk due for a second reading en bloc.

Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, in order to place the bills on the calendar under the provisions of rule XIV, I would object to further proceedings en bloc.

Mr. SCHUMER

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

Mr. SCHUMER

Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. 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. SCHUMER

Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, yesterday, by a margin--a large margin-- of 342 to 92, Congress took the first steps toward creating the most important upgrade to our post office in decades by passing a bipartisan reform package that has been years in the making. With an overwhelmingly bipartisan vote in the House, it is my intention for the Senate to quickly take up and pass this bipartisan, bicameral Postal reform bill. We hope to take action here on the floor and pass the bill before we go to the Presidents Day recess. The post office is, quite simply, one of the most important institutions of American life. Every day, tens of millions of Americans, veterans, small businesses, people living in rural communities, seniors rely on the Postal Service for their medicines and prescriptions, for getting essential goods, for voting, for correspondence, for their livelihoods, and to get close to one another on special occasions like birthdays and anniversaries and things like that. But, nevertheless, our Postal Service has needed reform for over a decade. Its budgets are severely strained, its delivery services are overwhelmed, and the disruptions unleashed by the internet have made it harder for it to meet its obligations to the American people and to its own employees. Every one of us has heard objections about letters arriving far too late. In many instances, whether they be checks that people depend on for their livelihoods or prescription drugs or whatever, these complaints are growing and growing and growing. The bipartisan Postal reform bill offers a much needed reset. It will guarantee delivery services continue 6 days a week; it will put the post office on a path back towards solvency; and it will ensure that we take care of our dedicated Postal workers while also saving the post office over $50 billion. Let me summarize again. If this legislation is passed, it would ensure continued 6-day delivery service, make deliveries more efficient and timely, and will put the post office on a path to stability. I want to recognize my colleagues who have made it possible for this legislation to move forward. First, I thank my friend and colleague Senator Peters, chairman of the Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee, for his leadership in bringing this bill together. I also want to thank Ranking Member Portman for working across the aisle on this commonsense reform bill. And I want to thank all my House colleagues who worked assiduously for a long, long time pushing for portal reform. Both the chair and the ranking member of the relevant committees supported the bill on the floor of the House yesterday. I have always said Democrats will work on a bipartisan basis whenever we can pass commonsense legislation that will improve the lives of the American people. Last year, bipartisan cooperation helped clear the way for such things as the historic Anti-Asian Hate Crimes bill, a much needed competition bill, and our bipartisan infrastructure package. This work period alone, we have already made great progress on bipartisan priorities, like ending forced arbitration for sexual harassment and assault. As I have mentioned, we will soon act on the post office. And I expect both sides will support passage of the short-term CR that will keep the Federal Government open before next week's deadline. I want to thank the appropriators from both sides of the aisle for working in good faith, and I am optimistic that soon they will arrive at an agreement for an omnibus package, which is far more preferable to the alternative of a yearlong CR. We are getting very, very close to coming to an agreement on top-line numbers, and as I said, I am more optimistic than I have been in a very long time that we will get an omnibus bill done for government spending for the rest of the year. So all these priorities--forced arbitration, Postal reform, and government funding--are bipartisan items that I expect the Senate will act on before the recess. As I have always said from my first day as majority leader, we will work in a bipartisan way whenever we can. We did it in our first year with things like the Anti-Asian hate crimes legislation, the competition bill, and the bipartisan infrastructure package. And these 2 weeks now represent a productive continuation of that commitment. So on this issue, I am optimistic that very soon we will see the first major reform of America's Postal system in decades. It will be a win for our dedicated Postal workers and for the American people who rely on the post office every single day.

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 and I ask for its first reading.

Mr. SCHUMER

Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that notwithstanding rule XXII, upon the conclusion of morning business tomorrow, February 10, the Senate proceed to consideration of Calendar No. 264, H.R. 4445; that the time until 11 a.m. be equally divided between the two leaders or their designees; that at 11 a.m. the bill be read a third time and the Senate vote on passage of the bill without further intervening action or debate; further, that upon on disposition of H.R. 4445, the Senate proceed to executive session and resume consideration of the Vekich nomination and, at 11:45, the Senate vote on the motion to invoke cloture on the nomination, and, if cloture is invoked, the Senate vote on confirmation of the Vekich nomination at 1:45 p.m.; finally, if any nominations are confirmed during Thursday's session, the motions to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table and the President be immediately notified of the Senate's action.

Mr. SCHUMER

Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, for the information of Members, we are going to have four more votes tonight. I urge Members to sit in their seats so we can get these done quickly, like we did last week. I ask unanimous consent that the votes be 10 minutes each.

Mr. SCHUMER

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

Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, I ask that the Senate now vote on the motion to discharge the Bagenstos nomination, as under the previous order.

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, February 10; 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 proceed to the consideration of Calendar No. 264, H.R. 4445, as provided under the previous order.

Mr. SCHUMER. For the information of Senators, we expect to have one rollcall vote at 11:45 a.m. and one vote at 1:45 p.m.

Mr. SCHUMER

Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate vote on confirmation of the Stark and MacBride nominations.

Mr. SCHUMER

Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, before I get into my remarks, just some brief housekeeping.

Mr. SCHUMER

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