Chuck Schumer

Mr. SCHUMER

Mr. SCHUMER. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the resolutions be agreed to en bloc, the preambles be agreed to en bloc, and that the motions to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table with no intervening action or debate.

Mr. SCHUMER. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to the immediate consideration of the following resolutions that were submitted earlier today en bloc: S. Res. 262 and S. Res. 263.

Mr. SCHUMER

Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, let me thank the Senator from Washington for her incredible leadership not only on this bill but on this issue for pretty close to a decade, and it is long overdue. You know, we have been working in a very bipartisan way on numerous subjects, including the competition bill that just passed, but it appears there are real limits to bipartisanship here in the Senate. We are about to vote just to start debate--just to start debate on a bill that is very simple--provide equal pay for women. It is a modest proposal to address a real problem in our economy. Women with the same jobs and same qualifications as their male colleagues often make less money. It is too hard for too many women to overcome that pay discrimination. This makes it easier for women to achieve pay parity, and like the previous bill, will help unleash strong economic forces to help America go forward because when women are not getting the pay they deserve, it impedes our whole economy and all of the human resources that we need. Every Senate Democrat is ready to start debate on the Paycheck Fairness Act, but Senate Republicans seem to be mounting another partisan filibuster against this bill. It is ridiculous that Senate Republicans will not even allow the Senate to debate a straightforward piece of legislation to help provide equal pay for working women in America, just like it was ridiculous for the Republican minority to filibuster bipartisan legislation to create an independent Commission on January 6. Americans expect their government to make progress to improve our country, but Senate Republicans once again seem to be choosing obstruction. I yield the floor.

Mr. SCHUMER

Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, first, I, too, would like to thank Senators Cantwell and Wicker for an amazing, bipartisan job; and Senators Menendez and Risch, another great bipartisan contribution. All the Members--just about every Member has contributed to this bill. I do want to single out two of my staff members who just slaved over this bill relentlessly, and that is Mike Kuiken and Jon Cardinal. Mike is there. I don't know if Jon is here. But they deserve tremendous kudos for what they did. Without them I don't think we would have had a bill, to be honest with you--and everybody else, all the other staffs who worked so hard. Now, this is a quote from Dr. Vannevar Bush: ``Without scientific progress, no amount of achievement in other directions can insure our health, prosperity, and security in the modern world.'' That was Dr. Vannevar Bush, the head of the U.S. Office of Scientific Research, writing in 1945. His report to President Truman was titled: ``Science--The Endless Frontier''--an inspiration to the legislation we considered today. In the wake of Dr. Bush's report, we created the National Science Foundation. We funded the National Laboratories. We split the atom. We spliced the gene. We landed a man on the Moon. We unleashed the internet. We generated 75 years of American prosperity and fostered an innate sense of optimism in the American spirit. We face a challenge now--in this century--to replicate the success of the previous one. But the Federal Government's commitment to science, unfortunately, has waned. As a percentage of GDP, we spend less than half as much as the Chinese Communist Party on basic research. We rely on foreign nations to supply critical technologies that we invented, like semiconductors. That sunny American optimism has flickered as well. The world is more competitive now than at any time since the end of the Second World War. If we do nothing, our days as the dominant superpower may be ending. We don't mean to let those days end on our watch. We don't mean to see America become a middling nation in this century. We mean for America to lead it. Passing this bill--now called the U.S. Innovation and Competition Act--is the moment when the Senate lays the foundation for another century of American leadership. Let me say that again. This bill could be the turning point for American leadership in the 21st century, and for that reason, this legislation will go down as one of the most significant bipartisan achievements of the U.S. Senate in recent history. Around the globe, authoritarian governments believe that squabbling democracies like ours can't unite around national priorities. They believe that democracy itself is a relic of the past and that by beating us to emerging technologies, they--many of the meritocracies-- will be able to reshape the world in their own image. Well, let me tell you something. I believe they are wrong. I believe that this legislation will enable the United States to outinnovate, outproduce, and outcompete the world in the industries of the future. I believe that the strongly bipartisan work on this bill has revealed that in this Chamber, we all believe that another American century lies on the horizon. I urge my colleagues to vote yes. I yield the floor. Vote on S. 1260

Mr. SCHUMER

Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, the Senate, today, will achieve an important milestone for the session. We will confirm the first of President Biden's judicial nominees--the first but, certainly, not the last, not even close. We will soon confirm Julien Neals to be a judge for the District of New Jersey. Afterward, we will turn to the nomination of Regina Rodriguez to be a judge for the District of Colorado. I greatly look forward to confirming what will be the first of many judicial appointments during the Biden administration.

Mr. SCHUMER

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

Mr. SCHUMER

Mr. SCHUMER. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that, as if in executive session, the nomination of Arun Venkataraman, of the District of Columbia, to be Assistant Secretary of Commerce and Director General of the United States and Foreign Commercial Service received in the Senate May 27, 2021, be jointly referred to the Committees on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs and the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation.

Mr. SCHUMER

Mr. SCHUMER. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that when the Senate completes its business today, it adjourn until 10:30 a.m., Wednesday, June 9; 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; further, that upon the conclusion of morning business, the Senate proceed to executive session to resume consideration of the Quraishi nomination.

Mr. SCHUMER

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

Mr. SCHUMER

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

Mr. SCHUMER

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

Mr. SCHUMER

Mr. SCHUMER. Finally, I ask unanimous consent that the mandatory quorum call for the cloture motions filed today, June 8, be waived.

Mr. SCHUMER

Mr. SCHUMER. Madam President, I move to proceed to executive session to consider Calendar No. 131.

Mr. SCHUMER

Mr. SCHUMER. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on the Judiciary be discharged from further consideration of S. Res. 184 and the Senate proceed to its immediate consideration.

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

Mr. SCHUMER

Mr. SCHUMER. Madam President, I move to proceed to executive session to consider Calendar No. 129.

Mr. SCHUMER

Mr. SCHUMER. Madam 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. Madam President, the Senate returns to session with a busy and consequential work period ahead of it. We will consider landmark legislation to establish paycheck fairness, legislation to boost American innovation in the 21st century, and in the final week of June, legislation to protect voting rights and American democracy. The Senate will consider all three of these issues this month. We will start by finishing the U.S. Innovation and Competition Act, now known as the USICA Act. The bipartisan legislation will be the largest investment in scientific research and technological innovation in generations, setting the United States on a path to lead the world in the industries of the future. It includes the input of virtually everyone in this Chamber--a product of over six committees and dozens of amendments from our Republican colleagues. Tomorrow, the Senate will consider a couple of final amendments before passing this historic legislation. It will be one of the most important things we will have done in a very long time. It will be the largest investment in scientific research and technological innovation in generations--decades.

Mr. SCHUMER

Mr. SCHUMER. Madam President, on judges, in addition, today and tomorrow, the Senate will confirm the first of President Biden's nominees to the Federal bench: Julien Xavier Neals of New Jersey and Regina Rodriguez of Colorado. I also look forward to confirming other highly qualified jurists later this work period, including Ketanji Brown Jackson to serve on the DC Circuit Court of Appeals. These are the first of many jurists that the Democratic Senate will consider to restore the balance to the Federal judiciary. Under President Trump and Leader McConnell, the Senate became a conveyor belt for nearly 200 judges. Many were woefully inexperienced and far outside the judicial mainstream. Some were so extreme on issues of race and voting rights that even some of our Republican colleagues joined the Democrats in rejecting those nominations. On the flip side, President Obama appointed 320 judges, and President Biden now has the opportunity to fill more than 80 vacancies. Under this Democratic majority, the Senate will swiftly and consistently confirm President Biden's appointments to the Federal bench, bringing balance, experience, and diversity back to the judiciary. Mr. Neals and Ms. Rodriguez are two great examples, along with Ms. Brown Jackson. In the same vein, today, I also announced two judicial recommendations to President Biden: Myrna Perez, the director of voting rights at the Brennan Center for Justice, to serve on the prestigious Second Circuit Court of Appeals, and Dale Ho, the leader of the voting rights project at the ACLU, to serve on the Southern District of New York. Ms. Perez and Mr. Ho are two of the foremost voting rights and election experts in the country. With a national focus on voting rights right now, their elevation is timely, and their perspectives will be invaluable. Ms. Perez would also be the first Latina to serve on the Second Circuit Court since now-Justice Sonia Sotomayor. Diversity on the Federal bench is very important to me, both demographic diversity and diversity of experience. The courts have long been packed with former prosecutors and corporate lawyers. It is about time that civil rights attorneys, voting rights attorneys, and Federal defenders start getting the nod. My recommendations of Ms. Perez and Mr. Ho are part of that effort. Last month, I also recommended Eunice Lee, an appellate attorney with the Federal Defenders of New York, to serve as a judge on the Second Circuit. Lee could become just the second Black woman to sit on this prestigious appeals court, a court that has never--never--had a former Federal defender on its roster. Just like Ms. Perez and Mr. Ho, Eunice Lee will bring demographic and professional diversity to the Federal bench. The three of them, in tandem, will bring dynamism, brilliance, and a real diversity of experience to courts in New York. As a Senator from New York and as majority leader, I am intent on restoring balance to a judiciary that has been thrown out of whack by 4 years of President Trump's selections.

Mr. SCHUMER

Mr. SCHUMER. Madam President, finally, on paycheck fairness, tomorrow, the Senate will decide whether to take up legislation to address the gender pay gap. Right now in America, women earn, roughly, 82 cents for every dollar a man makes. The gap is even wider for women of color. Even when you account for educational attainment, Black and Latina women earn only 65 to 70 percent of what a White man makes with the same degree, whether it is a bachelor's degree or an advanced degree. Many women with advanced degrees actually make less than their male counterparts who don't have them. So, looking at the facts, women with the same jobs, the same degrees--sometimes better degrees than their male colleagues-- are making less money. That is the very definition of gender discrimination, and it is holding back women in every industry and area of the country. The pandemic has only made matters worse. Faced with impossible choices between careers and childcare, women have fallen out of the workforce at an alarming rate. By one measure, the COVID-19 pandemic has set women's labor force participation back by more than 30 years, leading some economists to describe the 2020 year not as a recession but as a ``she-cession.'' So there is a lot of work to do to not only recover from a devastating year for women in the workplace but also establish an equal playing field where women are paid what they deserve. Senate Democrats have put forward a bill that would make it much easier for women to petition for pay equity. It doesn't mandate that employers set wages at a certain level. It doesn't have the government reach into the private sector. It merely makes it easier for women to overcome pay discrimination. In my view, this straightforward, unobjectionable piece of legislation should merit bipartisan support and should not require changes. All 50 Democratic Senators are cosponsors of the bill--all 50. Will our Republican colleagues step up to the plate and join us tomorrow to advance this commonsense legislation? I yield the floor. I suggest the absence of a quorum.

Mr. SCHUMER

Mr. SCHUMER. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to legislative session for a period of morning business, with Senators permitted to speak therein for up to 10 minutes each.

Mr. SCHUMER

Mr. SCHUMER. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs be discharged from further consideration of S. 1828 and the Senate proceed to its immediate consideration.

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

Mr. SCHUMER

Mr. SCHUMER. Finally, Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that when the Senate completes its business today, it adjourn until 10 a.m., Tuesday, June 8; 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; further, that upon the conclusion of morning business, the Senate resume consideration of the Neals nomination postcloture; that at 11:30 a.m., all postcloture time expire; that following the cloture vote on the Rodriguez nomination, the Senate recess until 2:15 p.m. to allow for the weekly caucus meetings; further, that the postcloture time on the Rodriguez nomination expire at 3 p.m.; that the order of Friday, May 28, with respect to S. 1260 be executed immediately following the disposition of the Rodriguez nomination; that the cloture motion on the motion to proceed to H.R. 7 ripen following the disposition of S. 1260; and finally, that if any of the nominations are confirmed, that the motions to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table and the President be immediately notified of the Senate's action.