Chuck Schumer

Mr. SCHUMER

Mr. SCHUMER. Well, Mr. President, as you know, as we all know, January 6 unleashed many horrors, but it also revealed many heroes. A day that many of us remember for its violence, anger, and destruction was not without its share of bravery, sacrifice, and selflessness. I am, of course, talking about the Capitol Police and the Metropolitan Police. In a few moments, my colleagues Senators Klobuchar and Blunt will ask the Senate to award them the Congressional Gold Medal. It is the highest expression of gratitude that Congress can bestow. I cannot imagine more worthy recipients than the men and women who put their lives on the line to defend this temple of democracy. I want to thank Senator Klobuchar, the chair of the Rules Committee, and Senator Blunt, the ranking member of the Rules Committee, for working so hard on this. And I want to commend the House and Speaker Pelosi and the House Members who voted for it as well. Now I must mention that I am still stunned by what happened in the House, where 21 Members of the House Republican caucus voted against this legislation. The Senate is different. I expect this to pass unanimously. That is why we are here doing it today. But those folks in the House were some of the same folks who likened the January 6 attack to ``a normal tourist visit,'' who deny the events that day were an insurrection. The same folks who screamed the loudest about the dangers of defunding the police refused to defend the police--the very police that shielded them--from the vicious mob on January 6. For the life of me, I don't know how they sleep at night. That is one of the many reasons this gold medal is so important. The gold medal is about setting the record straight and recognizing the true heroism on display that fateful day. My colleagues, we have a moral obligation to never forget what our first responders faced down. A mob of White supremacists and domestic terrorists stormed the barriers with vicious force, using flag poles as spears and fences as battering rams. Capitol Police officers were swarmed, beaten, crushed between the doorways, and tasered repeatedly. One hundred forty officers were assaulted that day. Fifteen required hospitalization. Seven people have lost their lives in connection with this attack. Just this week, sadly--I read this story and I ached--two more police officers took their own lives, heaping tragedy upon tragedy. These past 6 months have been the hardest in the history of the Capitol Police Force. And yet they still keep watch. They still stand guard. They do their jobs every single day with professionalism, excellence, and grace. Awarding the Congressional Gold Medal is a way to commemorate their sacrifice and make sure that the truth of January 6 is recognized and remembered forever. To our Capitol and Metropolitan Police, thank you, thank you, thank you for all that you do. This recognition is the very least you deserve. Once again, I want to give real praise to my colleague from Minnesota as I yield to her. She has done an amazing job as head of the Rules Committee in many different ways and this is one of many. And I want to thank Senator Blunt who always works in a spirit of bipartisanship. We are in quite a bipartisan week here, and that is a good thing. Senator Klobuchar.

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, Senators continue to work through the bipartisan infrastructure bill here on the floor. Members from both sides want to be able to consider as many germane amendments as possible, but we want to work efficiently to allow those votes. Yesterday was a positive day in that respect. Democrats and Republicans agreed to vote on three amendments, two of which were led by Republicans. Two bipartisan amendments--one led by Senators Thune and Tillis, another led by Senators Padilla and Moran--were adopted with over 90 votes. We have one--potentially two--more amendment votes lined up this morning. We can hold even more amendment votes today if our Republican colleagues grant us the consent to do so. The bottom line is this: The Senate can work through amendments rather efficiently when we have cooperation between the majority and the minority, as we have had in this bipartisan legislation. It can go rather slowly, of course, without that cooperation. In either case, the Senate is going to stay here until we finish our work. I will conclude my remarks now in order to give time to the other Members waiting to speak, but I will come back to the floor shortly afterwards to join the chair and ranking member of the Rules Committee asking the Senate to award the Congressional Gold Medal to members of the Capitol Police force who defended us from a violent mob on January 6. I yield the floor.

Mr. SCHUMER

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

Mr. SCHUMER

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

Mr. SCHUMER

Mr. SCHUMER. I ask unanimous consent that the mandatory quorum call for the cloture motion filed today, August 3, be waived.

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

Mr. SCHUMER

Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, yesterday evening, as everyone knows, the group of bipartisan Senators working on infrastructure finished the text of the bill. I immediately moved to make that text the base of the bill here on the floor, as promised. Last night, Democrats offered to begin the amendment process right away. There are three bipartisan amendments to the bill ready to consider. Two were led by Republicans: a Rounds-Smith amendment and Thune-Tester amendment, and another from Senators Padilla and Moran. Let me be clear. These three amendments would constitute only the first tranche of potential amendments. The Senate can and should consider more amendments afterward. I encourage Senators from both sides of the aisle to submit potential amendments to the bill. And, as we have already done several times this year--on the anti-Asian hate crimes bill and the U.S. Innovation and Competition Act, just to name two examples--the majority will work with the minority to put together packages of amendments for the Senate to vote on. At the moment, we need consent from our Republican colleagues to start the amendment process, and we await their answer. I hope we can use our time in the Senate efficiently. Let's start voting on amendments. The longer it takes to finish the bill, the longer we will be here. I yield the floor. I suggest the absence of a quorum.

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

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

Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the following amendment to the substitute be called up and reported by number: Lummis-Kelly No. 2181; further, that the Senate vote in relation to the amendment on Tuesday, August 3, at 11:45 a.m., with no amendments in order to the amendment prior to a vote in relation to the amendment, with 60 affirmative votes required for adoption and 2 minutes of debate equally divided prior to the vote.

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 ask unanimous consent that when the Senate completes its business today, it adjourn until 10:30 a.m., Tuesday, August 3, 2021; further, 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; and that upon conclusion of morning business, the Senate resume consideration of H.R. 3684.

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 ask unanimous consent that when the Senate complete its business today, it adjourn until 12 noon, Monday, August 2; 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 conclusion of morning business, the Senate resume consideration of H.R. 3684.

Mr. SCHUMER

Mr. SCHUMER. I see he doesn't have many notes, but it is all sui generis, I know that.

Mr. SCHUMER. No comment.

Mr. SCHUMER. Would my colleague just yield for a minute for a brief interruption? I will close the Senate but then allow him to speak for as long as he should choose.

Mr. SCHUMER

Mr. SCHUMER. I ask to dispense with the further reading of the amendment so we may get forward to other amendments.

Mr. SCHUMER. I call up the Sinema-Portman substitute amendment No. 2137.

Mr. SCHUMER

Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate now resume morning business, with all previous provisions in order.

Mr. SCHUMER

Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, well, I thank my colleagues for their fine speeches, and I very much appreciate them. Now, the bipartisan group of Senators has finished writing the text of the infrastructure bill, and in a moment, I will take the procedural steps to make their legislative language the base of the bill here on the floor. I want to congratulate the Members of the bipartisan group for their efforts. We haven't done a large bipartisan bill of this nature in a long time. I want to especially thank the staffs, who burned the midnight oil many a night, for their diligence, their hard work, their intelligence, and their skill. Thank you, staff, listening and a few in the room here tonight. These days, it isn't easy to do major bills in the Senate, especially bipartisan ones, so I have tried to prod the negotiators along when they have needed it and given them the space when they have asked for it. In the end, the bipartisan group of Senators has produced a bill that will dedicate substantial resources to repair, maintain, and upgrade our Nation's physical infrastructure. It has been decades-- decades--since Congress passed such a significant stand-alone investment, and I salute the hard work that was done here by everybody. In order for our workers, our businesses, our economy to succeed in the 21st century, we cannot have infrastructure that is stuck in the last century. The bipartisan infrastructure bill is designed to bring our infrastructure up to date for a new century, and that is a significant achievement. Now, for the future, for the information of Senators, here is how we plan to move forward. I will offer the text of the bipartisan infrastructure bill as a substitute amendment, as I promised, making it the base of the bill. Then the Senate will work to consider additional amendments to the bipartisan framework. Given how bipartisan the bill is and how much work has already been put in to get the details right, I believe the Senate can quickly process relevant amendments and pass this bill in a matter of days. Then I will move the Senate along the second track of our infrastructure effort and take up the budget resolution. A bipartisan infrastructure bill is definitely necessary, but to many of us, it is not sufficient. That is why soon after this bill passes the Senate, Democrats will press forward with a budget resolution to allow the Senate to make further historic, vitally important investments in American jobs, American families, and efforts to reverse climate change. Look, I have set out two very ambitious goals for the Senate this summer, and we are now on the way to achieving both. As I said, both tracks, this one and the other, are very much needed by the American people, and we must accomplish both. Now, after many days of waiting and a lot of hard work and a lot of compromise, I ask that the clerk report the pending business.

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 Lee. I yield back to the Senator from Utah.

Mr. SCHUMER

Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, from the very beginning, my stated goal for the July and August work period has been that the Senate pass both a bipartisan infrastructure bill and a budget resolution with reconciliation instructions. This is our so-called two-track strategy: both a bipartisan infrastructure bill and a budget resolution with reconciliation instructions. And despite some bumps in the road, always expected on two bills as large and comprehensive as these, we have remained firmly on track to achieve our two-track goal. On the bipartisan track, I have worked with my colleagues throughout the process to help produce an outcome that all parties find acceptable. I have tried to prod the negotiators when they have needed it and given them space when they have asked for it. Deadlines were necessary to advance the negotiations. We are here right now, during a rare weekend session, in order to move the bipartisan bill forward as quickly as possible. The idea here is to produce an outcome, a real bipartisan agreement that provides a significant down payment toward the level of infrastructure investment our country needs. The process from here is simple. Once the legislative text of the agreement is finalized--and I understand it is being finalized imminently--I will offer it as a substitute amendment, as I have always promised, and then the Senate can finally begin voting on additional amendments. Given the thoroughly bipartisan nature of the bill, I expect we will be able to consider all the relevant amendments and finish the bill in a matter of days. But we know that this bill is not everything our country needs. That is why, after the bipartisan infrastructure legislation passes this Chamber, I will immediately move to the other track: passing a budget resolution with reconciliation instructions, which will allow the Senate to make historic investments in American jobs, American families, and efforts to reverse climate change. Both tracks are very much needed by the American people and we must accomplish both. I yield the floor. I suggest the absence of a quorum.