Chuck Schumer

Mr. SCHUMER

Mr. SCHUMER. Madam President, I move to direct the Sergeant at Arms to request the attendance of absent Senators, and I ask for the yeas and nays.

Mr. SCHUMER

Mr. SCHUMER. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the filing deadline for second-degree amendments be 10:30 a.m. with respect to the cloture motions filed on S. 1260.

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 provisions of S. Res. 245 as a further mark of respect to the late David Gambrell, former Senator from Georgia.

Mr. SCHUMER

Mr. SCHUMER. Now, Mr. President, on the competition act, the Senate today will continue work on the bipartisan U.S. Innovation and Competition Act, legislation that will supercharge American innovation and preserve our competitive edge, not just for the next few years but for generations to come. It will be true that our children and even our grandchildren will benefit from this legislation. Right now, this legislation doesn't get the big focus of the press-- A, because it is bipartisan; there aren't too many clashes; B, because it is positive; and, C, because it is long term. It won't have an immediate effect tomorrow, but it will have a profound effect 3, 4, 5 years from now and generations after. So it is really important legislation. I think it is one of the most important things this Chamber has done in a very long time. And the hallmark of the bill has been its bipartisanship. It pulls together bipartisan legislation from no fewer than six Senate committees and includes the input of nearly every Member of the Senate. The vote tallies you are seeing on this bill are from another era, maybe the John Warner era--24 to 4 in the Commerce Committee, 21 to 1 in Foreign Relations. The Senate, as a whole, voted to proceed to the bill by 86 to 11. And the process here on the floor is no less bipartisan. I have heard it from Members on both sides of the aisle: Let's try to do regular order. Let's get on the floor and do amendments the way we used to. Well, we are doing just that. We have already considered 10 amendments--more than I can remember in a long time--8 of which were led by Republicans. So it is hardly that the Democratic majority is only doing what we want. Three Republican amendments were adopted by voice vote last night. I mean, who would have ever thought that the Senate would adopt an amendment from Senator Rand Paul by voice vote? We did it. So, look, we are moving forward in a very bipartisan way. We will consider at least another three amendments of the bill today, and if both sides continue in good faith to schedule amendment votes and debate, and there are no eleventh-hour decisions to delay or obstruct, there is no reason we can't finish this bill by the end of the week. That is my intention. Taking a step back, the depth of bipartisanship on this bill reveals two things. One, Members want to work together if given a chance. This bill came through the regular order. Senate committees drove the process, and here on the floor, Members have participated in robust debate and a robust amendment process. But, second, and maybe even more importantly, it reveals that Democrats and Republicans are united in our efforts to preserve and maintain American leadership on the world stage. We all know that investing in sciences, innovation, and technology holds the key to our future--the key. It has been one of the great hallmarks of America from 1950 on, maybe even earlier, from Thomas Edison on, maybe even earlier than that. But today--today--we have let that lag. We became far too complacent. The United States commits less than 1 percent of its GDP toward basic science research--1 percent. That is the fault of government, but it is also the fault of the private sector. The world is so competitive, and global competition is so severe. Companies feel they can't invest as much in the kind of research that might payoff profits 5 or 10 years down the road. So while all this is happening, the Chinese Communist Party spends nearly 2.5 percent on research and has pledged to the world that they will increase scientific investments by 10 percent in the future. If that happens unchallenged, the days of America leading the world in science and innovation, the days of America being the leading economic power of the world will be over, and we will regret it and look back 10 or 20 years from now and say: Why the heck didn't we do this? It was so simple and easy. But we have to. I heard my friend from Illinois, Senator Durbin, say that in 1990, the United States produced 37 percent of the world's semiconductors--a technology we invented. Today, we produce less than 12 percent, and it is going down. Some have predicted--many have predicted--that at this rate, we will produce less than 6 percent of them a few years from now. If we don't step up our game right now, we will fall behind the rest of the world. That is what this legislation is ultimately about--righting the ship, investing in science and tech, so we can outinnovate, outproduce, and outcompete the world in the industries of the future, some of which we know and some of which we don't even know, but we know that scientific investment will produce them. And if we are at the forefront of this, we will have America continue to be the leader in these new technologies yet unimagined. Around the globe, authoritarian governments smell blood in the water. They believe that squabbling democracies like ours can't come together and invest in national priorities the way a top-down, centralized, and authoritarian government can. They are rooting for us to fail so they can grab the mantle of global economic leadership and own innovations that will define the next century. We cannot--we cannot--we must not let that happen. I do not believe we will let it happen. The bipartisan--the strongly bipartisan--work on this competition bill has revealed that in this Chamber we still believe--Democrats and Republicans alike, united and moving forward--that another American century lies on the horizon. Let's move forward. Let's finish our work and pass the U.S. Innovation and Competition Act as soon as possible, certainly before the end of the month this week.

Mr. SCHUMER

Mr. SCHUMER. I further ask 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. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to the immediate consideration of S. Res 245, submitted earlier today.

Mr. SCHUMER

Mr. SCHUMER. On another matter, the January 6 Commission. Last night, I filed cloture on the House-passed legislation to create an independent Commission and report on the events of January 6. There is an obvious and urgent need to establish such a Commission. What happened on January 6 was a travesty, the culmination of months of deliberate lies about our elections, propagated by the former President, a dishonest man, and his allies. The Capitol was breached for the first time since the War of 1812. Capitol Police officers were brutalized. One was killed in the attack. I shouldn't need to remind this Chamber of the scene on January 6. We were all there. At one point, I was within 20 feet of these White supremacist hooligans. That day continues to haunt us. Faith in our elections, in our democracy has nosedived. Listen to this. In a variety of polls, more than half of the Republican Party believes the election was rigged and Joe Biden isn't the real President. That is a flashing red warning sign for our democracy. If the American people, if a large chunk of them believe the Big Lie, if the majority of Americans believe that our elections are not on the level, we are on the road to ruin. This grand, beautiful, wonderful, several-century-old democracy could teeter when people don't believe it is fair, when people don't believe the elections are on the level. All the fighting in the past, all the internecine fighting--I can't remember a moment in history where people doubted the veracity of our elections. They may not have liked the outcome, but they believed they were on the level. We stop believing that and, believe me, it will spread. One side will feel that way one day and then the other side will feel that way the next day, and then nobody will believe in this democracy. But right now, unfortunately, there is a lack of courage from the other side when it comes to defeating these lies. Down the hall, House Republicans have started to make ridiculous claims about January 6-- defending the mob, blaming antifa for the attack, pretending the entire event was just a peaceful protest. Congresswoman Cheney, a brave woman, was literally fired for saying that Joe Biden is President--for just saying the simple fact that Joe Biden is President. We need an independent, trusted, bipartisan Commission now more than ever. It is critically important to establish a trusted record of events and begin to restore faith in our democracy. And I think our Republican colleagues know it or at least they used to because over the last few months, a funny thing has happened. Our Senate Republican colleagues have gone from mostly supporting the idea of an independent Commission to mostly opposing one. And they can't seem to get their story straight. Over the weekend, one Senate Republican told a national news program that it was ``too early'' to establish a Commission on January 6, even though more than 5 months have gone by. Another Republican Senator worried the Commission's work would end up ``dragging on indefinitely.'' Which is it, too early, too late? Of course, both concerns are silly. There is no justification for a waiting period, and the legislation itself includes a firm deadline for the Commission to issue a report no later than December 31 of this year. One Republican said that he wouldn't vote for a January 6 Commission ``until it was bipartisan.'' Of course, the legislation we are talking about was negotiated by the Republican ranking member on the House Homeland Security Committee, the committee of jurisdiction; House Democrats accepted every change requested by the House Republican leadership; and the bill received 35 votes in the House and, likely, a lot more if House leadership didn't flip their position at the last minute. Despite the pressure of Donald Trump to go along with his Big Lie, 35--35--House Republicans voted to go forward. They are brave, should be commended, and it shows that this truly is a national need, a bipartisan national need. Another Republican Senator, in worried tones, said the January 6 Commission should be more like the 9/11 Commission and be chaired by outside independent investigators appointed by both parties. Hello. I hate to break it to my Republican colleagues, but the legislation passed by the House is modeled after the 9/11 Commission and, you guessed it, would be chaired by outside independent personnel appointed by both parties. They say they want that in the bill. It is in the bill. So what is really going on here? Why the various, shifting reasons why Republicans can't support a simple bipartisan, down-the-middle, 50- 50 Commission to report on a very serious event in our Nation's history? Well, it seems the real reason has nothing to do with the structure of the Commission, nothing to do with the details of the bill. It all has to do with politics. According to POLITICO this morning, the Republican leader, Senator McConnell, told his Members behind closed doors that ``regardless of tweaks to the bill . . . approving the Commission could hurt the party's midterm election message.'' Again, that is a quote from a report in POLITICO magazine or POLITICO newsletter--whatever POLITICO is. Let me repeat that. According to this report, the Republican leader of the Senate opposes any independent inquiry into the January 6 insurrection because he is worried the truth could hurt the Republicans politically. Look, I am sorry if an independent Commission to study an attack on our democracy isn't the Republican ad maker's idea of a good time. This is too important--too important. We cannot let the Big Lie fester. We cannot let faith in our elections continue to erode. We must get at the truth and restore Americans' confidence in this beautiful, noble, ongoing experiment in democracy. The Senate will vote on the Commission. I hope our Republican colleagues rise to the occasion. I yield the floor.

Mr. SCHUMER

Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, we were greeted this morning by some very sad news, that our former colleague Senator John Warner of Virginia had passed away at the age of 94. A five-term Senator, he was a consummate public servant, a consensus builder, an authority on military affairs--one of the last World War II veterans to serve in this Chamber. And he actually interrupted his law school studies to join the Marine Corps during the Korean war. The kind of stature that he had, his great, great reaching across the aisle in bipartisanship is something this Chamber misses, and we miss him. At my request, the flags around the Senate side of the U.S. Capitol will be lowered to half-staff in his honor. On behalf of the Senate, I want to express our condolences to his family and his friends and our gratitude for his amazing service to America throughout his life.

Mr. SCHUMER

Mr. SCHUMER. As if in executive session, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate vitiate the previous action on Executive Calendar No. 135.

Mr. SCHUMER

Mr. SCHUMER. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that when the Senate completes its business today, it adjourn until 10 a.m., Thursday, May 27; 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 Calendar No. 58, S. 1260.

Mr. SCHUMER. Madam President, let me just say that we are making very good progress. We had a whole bunch of amendments again tonight. We have had more amendments on this bill than on any bill I can recall in a very long time. We have cooperated with the minority and given them many different amendments, and we have had good debate. This is how the Senate can function when we work in a bipartisan way and agree to work together, and I hope we can have an amiable conclusion tomorrow.

Mr. SCHUMER

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

Mr. SCHUMER

Mr. SCHUMER. I further ask 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. 111.

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 ask unanimous consent that the resolution be agreed to, that 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. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to the consideration of S. Res. 235 submitted earlier today.

Mr. SCHUMER

Mr. SCHUMER. Madam President, I move to proceed to executive session to consider Calendar No. 134.

Mr. SCHUMER

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

Mr. SCHUMER

Mr. SCHUMER. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate 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 send a cloture motion to the desk.

Mr. SCHUMER

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

Mr. SCHUMER. Madam President, I move to proceed to H.R. 3233.

Mr. SCHUMER

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

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