Chuck Schumer

Mr. SCHUMER

Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, for the information of Senators, there will be three rollcall votes beginning at 12:30 p.m.

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, February 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 proceed to executive session and resume consideration of the Baker nomination, notwithstanding rule XXII; and further, that the Senate recess from 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. for the all- Senators briefing.

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, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate consider the following nominations: Calendar Nos. 695 through 700 and all nominations on the Secretary's Desk in the Air Force, Army, Coast Guard, Marine Corps, and Navy; that the nominations be confirmed en bloc; that the motions to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table with no intervening action or debate; that no further motions be in order to any of the nominations; and that the President be immediately notified of the Senate's action.

Mr. SCHUMER

Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate consider the following nomination: Calendar No. 571, Shelly C. Lowe, of Arizona, to be Chairperson of the National Endowment for the Humanities for a term of four years; that the Senate vote on the nomination without intervening action or debate; that the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table with no intervening action or debate; that any statements related to the nomination be printed in the Record; and that the President be immediately notified of the Senate's action.

Mr. SCHUMER

Mr. SCHUMER. Madam President, yesterday, we all received the awful and frightening news that one of our dear friends, Senator Ben Ray Lujan of New Mexico, suffered a stroke last Thursday after experiencing dizziness and fatigue while back in his home State. Our thoughts, our prayers, and our most fervent well-wishes go out to Ben Ray and his family. I was glad and relieved to hear that he is expected to make a full recovery, and all of us are rooting for him every step of the way between now and the day he makes his return to the Senate. Senator Lujan has served in this Chamber for only a year, but already he has become one of the most beloved Members of this body. Public service literally runs in the family, and you will be hard pressed to find someone who fights for their home State like Ben Ray does for New Mexico. As Senator Lujan begins his path to full recovery, I want to offer encouragement and praise for his superb staff, who will continue their work providing vital constituent services for the people of New Mexico. In the days to come, we will continue working and communicating with Senator Lujan's staff about his recovery process, and all of us are hopeful and optimistic that he will be back to his old self before long. In the meantime, the U.S. Senate will continue to move forward in carrying out its business on behalf of the American people.

Mr. SCHUMER

Mr. SCHUMER. Thank you.

Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, I am asking the Members to stay here in the Chamber or in close proximity of the Chamber so we can get these votes done expeditiously. And, in that regard, I ask unanimous consent that we move the remaining votes from 15 minutes down to 10.

Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the previous order be modified so that the cloture vote on Executive Calendar No. 495 occur following the cloture vote on Calendar No. 474 and that all other provisions of the previous order remain in effect.

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 following the remarks of Senator Lankford.

Mr. SCHUMER

Mr. SCHUMER. For the information of the Senators, we have one vote tonight; there will be three votes tomorrow at 12:30. I yield the floor.

Mr. SCHUMER. Yes, Mr. President, it is good news. People will want to hear it. I ask unanimous consent to withdraw the cloture motions with respect to the Camarillo and Hunter nominations and that the Senate resume consideration of the nominations and the Senate now vote on the confirmation of the nominations in the order listed, with all other provisions of the previous order in effect.

Mr. SCHUMER

Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, since the time John Jay was inaugurated as the first Chief Justice, only 115 individuals have been chosen to sit on the U.S. Supreme Court. Out of these 115 Justices, only 5--only 5--have been women. Only two--only two--have been African Americans. Only one--just one--has been Hispanic. And to date, never--never--has an African-American woman sat on the highest Court in the land. Soon, President Biden will have an opportunity to make the Supreme Court look more like America by nominating the first Black woman in U.S. history to serve as a Justice. Every single Member of this Chamber, regardless of party, should embrace the President's commitment to make sure that our courts--and especially the Supreme Court--better reflect our country's diversity, and nominating a Black woman as Justice is a long overdue step toward achieving that goal. Past Presidents, from Eisenhower to Johnson to Reagan, were clear about their intentions of nominating historic and barrier-breaking individuals to the Supreme Court. President Biden's commitment to nominate a Black woman is a continuation of that important effort. And once President Biden announces his nominee, I intend to have the Senate move quickly so we can fulfill our constitutional duty to advise and consent and, ultimately, confirm the President's pick. We will have a fair process but also a quick process so that the work of the Supreme Court continues uninterrupted. If our democracy is to prosper in the 21st century, the American people must have confidence that our Federal courts will faithfully adhere to the solemn principle of ``equal justice under law.'' The more our judges reflect our Nation's vibrancy and rich diversity, the more effectively they will be able to administer equal justice. And make no mistake, a more balanced, more diverse judiciary has been one of the Senate Democrats' top priority in our work with the Biden administration. Over the past year, we have worked at a record pace to confirm the most judicial nominees in the President's first year since the time of Ronald Reagan, and we have done it with nominees who bring diversity in their backgrounds, their life experiences, and professional expertise--something that didn't happen, really, in a large way until this year. One day, I hope the barrier-breakers of today will be closer to the norm of tomorrow. We want more women to sit on our courts, especially the Supreme Court. We need more people of color, more public defenders, more civil rights lawyers, more children of immigrants to sit on our courts to reflect the broad diversity that America is and will continue to be. In fact, it will continue to grow. The more Americans look at our courts and see people who look like them and come from the same backgrounds and share similar experiences, the better off our justice system and our democracy shall be. And nowhere else is this more important than the Supreme Court. So I applaud the President's commitment to choosing a qualified and historic nominee, and the Senate stands ready to work quickly to confirm President Biden's pick when we get it.

Mr. SCHUMER

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

Mr. SCHUMER

Mr. SCHUMER. Madam President, last Thursday, Associate Justice Stephen Breyer announced that after 27 years of service, he will retire from the Supreme Court at the conclusion of this term. Shortly after his nomination was first announced in 1994, then-Judge Breyer mused publicly about what he expected his time on the High Court would bring. He told reporters it was his hope to ``make the average person's ordinary life better.'' Nearly three decades later, we can safely say that Justice Breyer has met that mark and then some. Throughout American history, only 115 individuals have sat on the Nation's High Court, and few have served as long and as effectively as Justice Breyer. From his opinions on voting rights, environmental protections, women's reproductive freedom, and protecting access to affordable healthcare, Justice Breyer's impact upon our Nation will last for generations. America is a more perfect Union today because of Justice Stephen Breyer. Of course, Justice Breyer's legacy of service extends beyond even his remarkable time on the Supreme Court. For 13 years, he also sat on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit. Before that, he served for 8 years as a member of the Army Reserves. And, of course, Members of this Chamber cannot forget that he was once a part of the Senate itself, serving as an aide on the Judiciary Committee in the seventies, where he worked closely with our dear friend, the late Senator Ted Kennedy. At every step of the way, he remained his essential self-- decent, brilliant, and dedicated to our democracy. Now, with this new vacancy on the Court, President Biden will have an opportunity to make history by nominating the first ever Black woman to serve on the Supreme Court. I am confident that the President will select an outstanding individual to fill Justice Breyer's seat, and we intend to move quickly on our constitutional duty to act on his nominee when announced. I can assure all Senators that the Senate will have a fair process that moves quickly so we can confirm President Biden's nominee to fill Justice Breyer's seat as soon as possible. Today, Members of this Chamber say thank you to Justice Breyer for his lifetime of public service.

Mr. SCHUMER

Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, I move to proceed to executive session to consider Calendar No. 495.

Mr. SCHUMER

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

Mr. SCHUMER

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

Mr. SCHUMER

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

Mr. SCHUMER

Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, I move to proceed to executive session to consider Calendar No. 473.

Mr. SCHUMER

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

Mr. SCHUMER

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

Mr. SCHUMER

Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, I move to proceed to executive session to consider Calendar No. 496.

Mr. SCHUMER

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

Mr. SCHUMER

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