Jon Tester

Mr. TESTER

Mr. TESTER. Madam President, the Committee on Veterans' Affairs has adopted rules governing its procedures for the 117th Congress. Pursuant to rule XXVI, paragraph 2, of the standing rules of the Senate, on behalf of myself and Ranking Member Moran, I ask unanimous consent that a copy of the committee rules be printed in the Record.

Mr. TESTER

Mr. TESTER. Mr. President, I have a request for one committee to meet during today's session of the Senate. It has the approval of the Majority and Minority leaders. Pursuant to rule XXVI, paragraph 5(a), of the Standing Rules of the Senate, the following committee is authorized to meet during today's session of the Senate: Committee on Foreign Relations The Committee on Foreign Relations is authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on Monday, February 8, 2021, at 6 p.m., to conduct a classified hearing.

Mr. TESTER

Mr. TESTER. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that I be able to finish my remarks before the vote.

Mr. TESTER. Madam President, I rise today in support of Denis McDonough. Denis is President Biden's choice to lead the Department of Veterans Affairs. Though there is a great political divide in our Nation, I believe that veterans across the country and Members on both sides of the aisle are united by a very basic expectation: that the next VA Secretary be an individual of honesty, integrity, and vision. This individual must listen to veterans and put their well-being above all else. Denis McDonough has demonstrated that he is, unequivocally, the man for this job. And to be clear, this is not an easy job. But Denis is used to making tough calls. He has shown an exemplary commitment to public service and a strong willingness to do right by those who have worn the uniform and sacrificed on behalf of our liberties. As White House Chief of Staff, he quickly earned a reputation for getting the job done, working across Federal Agencies, and finding common ground. For the last 20 years, he has played a key role in many decisions surrounding sending our military men and women to war and knows that taking care of these folks when they return home is a cost of war and a shared responsibility. Veterans need someone like Denis fighting in their corner, but the truth is there is simply too much at stake. With more than 400,000 Americans dying from COVID-19 in less than a year, the VA Secretary's top responsibility will be ensuring that the Department has everything it needs--from vaccines to personal protective equipment, to additional healthcare and supportive services--to care for veterans and to protect the VA's employees. He will be held accountable when it comes to swiftly implementing a number of historic reforms, from the John Scott Hannon Veterans Mental Health Care Improvement Act, a bill that is out-of-box thinking to help our veterans in the mental health challenges and suicides that have resulted, to the Deborah Sampson Act, an act to help the largest or the fastest growing group of veterans, our women veterans, have access to care, to the expansion of presumptive coverage for thousands of additional Vietnam veterans exposed to Agent Orange and overdue coverage for our Vietnam veterans--not to mention a myriad of other critical priorities that have been in the works for years and need serious attention, such as the Caregivers Program and the electronic health record modernization effort. But Denis is fully prepared to take on these responsibilities. He is ready to build the trust of our Nation's servicemembers, veterans, and their families, and treat them with the respect that they have earned. Now more than ever, veterans need a strong leader who will prioritize delivering timely and quality healthcare and benefits over making political points. I am confident that, as VA Secretary, Denis will be squarely focused on serving these needs. I ask my colleagues to join me today in confirming him to this role, where I have no doubt that he will be successful. Our Nation's veterans are counting on us. Now, unfortunately, my friend and colleague, the ranking member of the Senate Veterans' Affairs Committee, Jerry Moran, couldn't make it back in time for this nomination due to bad weather and flight delays. But he was planning on voting to advance this nomination today because he believes Denis McDonough is someone who shares his commitment to taking care of our veterans. With that, I yield.

Mr. TESTER

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

Mr. TESTER

Mr. TESTER. Mr. President, I rise today to urge my colleagues from both sides of the aisle to support this veterans COVID-19 relief package, to do right by the millions of veterans across our country struggling with this pandemic. For months, I have been hearing from folks back home in Montana on the need for Congress to put together a smart, targeted package that will quickly provide communities across the country with the resources they need to weather this storm. This includes delivering assistance and vaccines to those who have worn the uniform and sacrificed for our liberties. If this year has taught us anything, it is that we need to secure additional resources to expand medical services, mental healthcare, and telehealth capabilities to protect and support our most vulnerable populations. And we need a distribution plan that will provide more predictability when it comes to administering vaccines. That way, we could get more vaccines into the veterans' arms as quickly as possible. Today, we are putting a bicameral proposal on the table that delivers tangible relief to veterans and families and all Americans who need them. As we all know, proposals are rarely ever perfect, and this package is no different. But the truth is, we have good provisions in this bill that allow us to provide serious relief to those who swore an oath to protect our country. It will slow the spread of the virus, and it will help save lives. A previous package that was put forth by my Republican colleagues--I would say, thank you for doing that, but unfortunately, that package didn't put as much as a dime to support our veterans and families. Now, there are a lot of things we disagree upon in this body, but delivering for our Nation's veterans should never be one of them. That is why my colleagues and I worked with the Biden administration on this new relief package that allocates $17 billion in critical resources and assistance to the men and women who have served this country. The truth is that out of almost 7 million veterans that the VA serves nationwide, only 638,000 veterans have been vaccinated so far. Serious efforts need to be made to reach more veterans, especially those veterans who live in rural or country areas. Additional funding under our proposal allows the VA to increase vaccine distribution and outreach efforts to remote areas, ensuring all veterans who want a vaccine can receive one. It even goes a step further in accelerating the deployment of VA's supply chain modernization initiative to improve the Department's preparedness and response to public health emergencies. It takes an aggressive approach in assisting vulnerable veterans by providing mental health care options, medical equipment, and additional services to women vets, those at risk of homelessness, and those who face unemployment. Make no mistake, this pandemic is taking a dangerous toll on our veterans. Veterans are experiencing job losses at unprecedented rates. The veteran unemployment rate for December was roughly double what it was this time last year, up from 2.8 percent to 5.3 percent. And with older veterans continuing to face more difficulty in the job market, it makes this package even more necessary today. Our proposal helps tackle veteran unemployment by establishing a VA Rapid Retraining Assistance Program that will strengthen existing job opportunities and establish new resources to get veterans employed and back on their feet. And for folks burdened by healthcare costs, our provisions waive copayment billing and debt collection, as well as costs for COVID-19 testing, treatment, and vaccine services, because no veteran should have to worry about choosing between accessing essential healthcare and providing for their family during a global pandemic and an economic crisis. When veterans elect officials to Congress, they do so with the expectation that they will get the job done. So while this proposal is not a silver bullet, it is our best shot, however, at getting more folks vaccinated and our economy back on track. There should be no excuses. Veterans and all Americans are looking at us to do the right thing. We do need bipartisan support in this Chamber if we are going to put this pandemic behind us, and we do need it today. I yield the floor. I suggest the absence of a quorum.

Mr. TESTER

Mr. TESTER. Mr. President, I have 4 requests for committees to meet during today's session of the Senate. They have the approval of the Majority and Minority leaders. Pursuant to rule XXVI, paragraph 5(a), of the Standing Rules of the Senate, the following committees are authorized to meet during today's session of the Senate: Committee on Armed Services The Committee on Armed Services is authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on Thursday, February 4, 2021, at 9:30 a.m., to conduct a hearing. Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs The Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs is authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on Thursday, February 4, 2021, at p.m., to conduct a hearing nominations. Committee on Foreign Relations The Committee on Foreign Relations is authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on Thursday, February 4, 2021, at 10 a.m., to conduct a hearing. Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions The Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions is authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on Thursday, February 4, 2021, at 10 a.m., to conduct a hearing on a nomination.

Mr. TESTER

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

Mr. TESTER

Mr. TESTER. Madam President, I rise to speak about a friend of mine, Ali Mayorkas. He is President Biden's choice to head up the Department of Homeland Security. Now, I don't need to tell the folks in this Chamber how big of a job this is, but let me be clear: It is our duty to put somebody in this role who is up to the task of getting things done, and I am here to assure you that Ali Mayorkas is that man. I worked closely with Ali when he was Deputy Secretary of Homeland Security in the Obama administration. It is obvious that he has the understanding of the challenges that this country is facing--from the coronavirus pandemic to immigration, to cybersecurity, to threats from our foreign adversaries and now, more than ever, from our domestic ones. Perhaps, most importantly, he has demonstrated that he is going to listen and learn about the unique problems facing each State in this Union. He proved that to me when I brought him to Montana back in 2015. We flew along the Montana-Canada border and visited the Ports of Piegan and Sweetgrass before hosting a roundtable on human trafficking in Havre, just a little more than 50 miles from where I live. We also held listening sessions on law enforcement and first responders in Helena. We met with local businesses to discuss cross-border trade and even met with union representatives from Customs and Border Protection. He traveled thousands of miles to hear firsthand what Montanans had to say, and because of it, he understood what our State needed from him in order to be successful with our homeland security. That, folks, is what leadership looks like. Over the past 4 years, we have seen the Department of Homeland Security in turmoil with six different Secretaries. We need a steady hand, a steady hand like Ali Mayorkas's, to get us back on track. After all, he spent 7 years in leadership roles in the Department of Homeland Security. He understands the challenges. He understands it is going to take a lot of work. He understands that we are going to have to bring people together, and he understands that this job is a 24/7 job. He understands because he has lived it. He has the knowledge and the experience to lead our Nation's Homeland Security today and prepare for the challenges of tomorrow. Now, it is my understanding that tomorrow, at 2:30, we will vote on Ali Mayorkas as Secretary of Homeland Security. I would hope that we would get a strong vote for him out of this body because, quite frankly, after the events of January 6, we have no time to waste. I yield the floor. I suggest the absence of a quorum.

Mr. TESTER

Mr. TESTER. I object.

Mr. TESTER

Mr. TESTER. Mr. President, I rise today to honor a great man and Montanan. Donald Lee Clark was a soldier, husband, father, professor, author, and mentor who loved, lived, and learned for all of his 90 years. He tested positive for COVID-19 on November 28, 2020, and died 7 days later. At a time when it is easy to be a cynic, Clark was unusually optimistic, surrounding himself with family and friends who admired and loved him. Throughout his accomplished life in the Air Force, where he served our Nation as a colonel, Clark never lost sight of making time to enjoy the world or people around him. He earned a 3rd degree black belt in Judo from the Kodokan Judo College while stationed in Japan. He learned to scuba dive as an attache in the Soviet Union in hopes of diving in the world's deepest lake. He taught himself to ride a unicycle just for the fun of it and took up skiing in his 40s while living in New Hampshire as a research fellow at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University. He skied the Alps while serving as an action officer assigned to the joint staff in the Office of International Negotiations. He was born in Dallas, TX, to Victor and Sheppard Clark. Don is survived by his wife of 65 years Patricia Conway Clark, their two sons Brian and his wife Marie of Kalispell, Darren and his wife Myrna of Rancho Santa Margarita, CA, and three grandsons Kellin Clark and his wife Lauren Fox of Washington, DC, and Ryan Clark and Kevin Clark of California. He was preceded in death by his older sister Delores. Don and his sister were raised in Dallas by their single mother Sheppard. He attended Southern Methodist University on theology and ROTC scholarships and graduated with a degree in sociology. He later earned his masters in political science from George Washington University while in the Air Force. He met and later married the love of his life Patricia Conway in 1955 at Perkins Chapel on the campus of Southern Methodist University. After graduating from SMU, Clark began his military service career, which included assignments around the U.S. and the world. During his military career, he served in the Strategic Air Command as a B29 navigator, Air Training Command, Security Service, and Intelligence. Most of his 23-year military career was focused on intelligence. He was a Soviet specialist for numerous U.S. delegations including the Strategic Arms Limitation Talks, Law of the Seas, and Mutual and Balanced Force Reductions. He retired from the Air Force as a colonel in 1974 and moved his family from DC to Bozeman to ski at Bridger Bowl and become the assistant to the president at Montana State University. Six years later, he became the director of international education where he also taught courses in political science. He later started MSU's International Education programs while teaching classes in international affairs. While at MSU, he wrote a weekly newspaper column for several Montana dailies, excerpts from which were sometimes broadcast over Voice of America. His writings also appeared in ``Skiing'' magazine, the Air University Review, the ``Alternative,'' and Defense Analysis. After 20 years of teaching at MSU, Clark retired again and moved with Patricia to Flathead Lake just outside of Bigfork, MT. In his retirement, Clark started writing fiction and published several novels intertwining his passion for politics, world affairs and the human condition. In his 70s, Clark also volunteered his time to numerous community groups. Clark joined CASA--Court Appointed Special Advocates--and became a key volunteer working with families and children in need. He served on the State advisory board for CASA and on the United Way and Red Cross advisory boards in Montana. Don was never a victim in life or in death, but his loss is his final teaching moment. Even as his mind was fading with Alzheimers, he maintained his positive attitude. He never failed to tell his family how proud he was, how much he loved them, and what a wonderful life he had lived. Don will be missed.

Mr. TESTER

Mr. TESTER. I am going to be very, very short. The truth is that serving with Doug Jones has been a once-in-a- lifetime opportunity for me. This guy's last name shouldn't be Jones; it should be ``Justice.'' He is somebody like nobody I have ever seen, whose moral compass is so tuned into right that it has just been an incredible pleasure for me to be able to serve with him and to know him and to also wish him the best moving forward. I don't think we have heard the last of Doug Jones. Doug is not the kind of person who will shrink away. There will be another moment where he can exhibit his ability of common sense, as he has done here in the U.S. Senate for the last 3 years. I am deeply going to miss his friendship and his ability to sort the wheat from the chaff because he has been able to do that from day one and continued today with his farewell speech. I just want to say, God bless you, Doug Jones, and God bless your family. I yield the floor.

Mr. TESTER

Mr. TESTER. Mr. President, I thank the minority leader. I would just say that the presumptive conditions that the fighting men and women were exposed to in Vietnam are real, and the fact of the matter is these folks are getting old enough now that these conditions are putting them in a world of hurt healthwise. It is the right thing to do to support our Vietnam veterans when it comes to the presumptive conditions that were caused by Agent Orange, and it needs to be in the NDAA.

Mr. TESTER

Mr. TESTER. Mr. President, as we come here this week, back to Washington, DC, to deal with next year's funding package and hopefully a COVID package, I want to step back for a second and talk about really what is the most important thing in this body, and that is relationships. Now, as a U.S. Senator, we have relationships with the people who elect us and for whom we work. Some of those relationships are outstanding; some may be not so outstanding. We also have relationships with the people who work for us, and, once again, some of those relationships are outstanding; some of them could use a little work. Today, I get to talk about somebody who is retiring from my office who has had an outstanding relationship with everybody in my office, which is a feat that not a lot of folks are able to accomplish. But she is retiring. She is my scheduler. Her name is Trecia Bickford McEvoy. I would just say that Trecia is not here today. Hopefully, she is watching on C-SPAN. The reason she is not here is because of COVID. My wife is not here today, and my wife dearly wanted to be here today to hear this speech in person. She is not here greatly in part because of COVID. But the bottom line is, when it comes to Trecia McEvoy--and any Senator knows this--the most difficult job in any office in the U.S. Senate is the person who schedules the Senator's time. It is tough enough to be able to get to the committee meetings on time and be able to deal with the floor schedule and make sure you are meeting with constituents all in a timely order, not holding anybody up. But in my particular case, it is even more difficult because, as the folks in this body know, I still farm. So getting back to Big Sandy, MT, to that farm 12 miles west, to be able to do the things that I need to do, whether it is planting, whether it is harvesting, whatever it is, in a timely manner is also really important. Not only did Trecia have to deal with my schedule here in the Senate, she had to deal with a very, very uncertain schedule on the farm. Let me give an example. I may be peeling out of here on a Thursday night with full intentions to plant some peas the next day. When I call my wife Sharla and say ``What is the weather like?'' she will say ``It is raining,'' to which I call back Trecia and say ``Trecia, you have to schedule for me for work in the State because I can't do any farming'' to which she would go to work and over the next 12 hours, starting at about 4 or 5 in the afternoon, would help schedule, working with my State schedule and working with the staff, a full day of work the next day. That didn't happen once in a while. That happened almost every weekend because, as those of us involved in agriculture know, it either rains too much or not enough; the Sun either doesn't shine enough or it shines too much. The truth is, Trecia had to juggle all of those balls in the air to make sure that everything got done, to make sure that I was able to do my job as a Senator, that I was able to meet with those constituents, that I was able to meet with those trade groups that were out there, and that I was able to meet with different businesses around the State of Montana and then also have time enough to be able to operate the farm. She did it, and she did it with a smile on her face. The reason that is important is because sometimes those calls didn't come at 5 in the afternoon; sometimes those calls came at midnight Montana time, which, incidentally, is 2 in the morning here, and she always answered the phone--always--and she was always there with a solution to any problem I might have. It made life so much easier. That is why, when I hired Trecia McEvoy, it was the best hire I have ever made in my nearly 14 years in this body. Trecia, when I hired her, was already a seasoned veteran. She spent more than 15 years scheduling for Senator Jim Jeffords before I was able to hire her. We asked her former colleagues in Jeffords' office to reminisce on their time working with Trecia. One of them was something that is perfectly Trecia McEvoy. The quote goes like this: Trecia was a fierce keeper of the gate and protector of Senator Jeffords. The staff didn't worry too much about Jim getting mad at us but, rather, Trecia getting mad at us. Whether she was protecting his time with an important dignitary, protecting his popcorn and his frozen yogurt lunches, or making sure that Jim wore his Senate softball uniform underneath his suit to hit the field after the vote, she never missed a beat. Coincidentally, here in the Senate, she met her husband Jeff when she worked in Jeffords' office. Some of you may know Jeff. He is one of the Senate's longest serving photographers. Jeff was an Army veteran, serving from 1981 to 1989. Coming to the Senate after his retirement, where he has been ever since, he worked his way up, holding positions as official photographer, lead photographer, photographic services supervisor, and lastly, branch manager. Jeff and Trecia still have--at least until the pandemic hit--lunch in the Dirksen cafeteria every single day. Between the two of them, they had two kids, Zach and Ian. It has been a privilege of my lifetime to watch those kids grow up, to go to an occasional hockey game--something that I know nothing about--and have Trecia tell me how the sport works. Look, it is never easy when you have somebody who sits right outside the door of your office--usually the first person you see when you come into the office, and it is usually the last person you see when you leave it. But Trecia was a pro. She is a pro. Today I should feel sad, but I don't. I actually feel very happy for her because she gets to retire, and she gets to move up to New Hampshire. I think, if she is watching in Washington, DC, right now, she is probably sitting on cardboard boxes full of clothes or dishes or whatever it might be because my guess is, as of tomorrow, she will probably be in New Hampshire in short order. But the truth is, she will be able to go up there and enjoy life and look back at her time here in the Senate and understand that she has done a job well done. I would just say that the next chapter in her life, I have no doubt, will be just as exciting as the last one. Trecia said: I remember there was a day--she told me that when she retires, she will look up at the dome and no longer feel a sense of wonder. I don't believe that is true. I think now that she is retired, she will look up at this dome that we all work under and think of the incredible stories and the incredible experiences and the incredible people, that she was able to enrich their lives and make life better for them. Even though, Trecia, you are going to be a shot up north in New Hampshire, you will always be a part of my team, Team Tester. And I will tell you that Sharla and my kids and my staff and I thank you for everything you have done. Hopefully you won't be a stranger. Hopefully you will come back on occasion, come into the office and tell us what we are doing wrong and what we are doing right, because you are the best. I yield my time. I suggest the absence of a quorum.

Mr. TESTER

Mr. TESTER. Mr. President, I was absent due to a family health matter requiring my attention when the Senate voted on vote No. 227 on the motion to invoke cloture on Executive Calendar No. 863, Aileen Mercedes Cannon, of Florida, to be United States District Judge for the Southern District of Florida. On vote No. 227, had I been present, I would have voted yea. Mr. President, I was absent due to a family health matter requiring my attention when the Senate voted on vote No. 228 on confirmation of Executive Calendar No. 863, Aileen Mercedes Cannon, of Florida, to be United States District Judge for the Southern District of Florida. On vote No. 228, had I been present, I would have voted yea. (At the request of Mr. Schumer, the following statement was ordered to be printed in the Record.)

Mr. TESTER

Mr. TESTER. Madam President, I was absent due to a family health matter requiring my attention when the Senate voted on vote No. 226 on confirmation of Executive Calendar No. 865, James Ray Knepp II, of Ohio, to be United States District Judge for the Northern District of Ohio. On vote No. 226, had I been present, I would have voted yea.

Mr. TESTER

Mr. TESTER. Mr. President, I was absent due to an urgent family matter requiring my attention when the Senate voted on vote No. 200 on the motion to invoke cloture on the motion to proceed to Calendar No. 551, S. 4653. On vote No. 200, had I been present, I would have voted yea.

Mr. TESTER

Mr. TESTER. Mr. President, I was absent due to an urgent family matter requiring my attention when the Senate voted on vote No. 196 on the motion to invoke cloture on H.R. 8337, the continuing resolution. On vote No. 196, had I been present, I would have voted yea. Mr. President, I was absent due to an urgent family matter requiring my attention when the Senate voted on vote No. 197 on passage of H.R. 8337, a bill making continuing appropriations for fiscal year 2021. On vote No. 197, had I been present, I would have voted yea. Mr. President, I was absent due to an urgent family matter requiring my attention when the Senate voted on vote No. 198 on the motion to proceed to the Message to accompany S. 178, UIGHUR Act of 2019. On vote No. 198, had I been present, I would have voted nay. Mr. President, I was absent due to an urgent family matter requiring my attention when the Senate voted on vote No. 199 on the motion to table Tillis amendment No. 2673. On vote No. 199, had I been present, I would have voted yea.

Mr. TESTER

Mr. TESTER. Yes. The bill before us, H.R. 561, seeks to crack down on the unfair practice of using veteran and service-disabled owned small businesses as pass-throughs for larger contractors to secure Federal contracts. I would like to thank Senator Cardin for working diligently on this issue and for his leadership as ranking member of the Senate Small Business and Entrepreneurship Committee. I look forward to working closely with him to ensure this legislation meets congressional intent once it is enacted.

Mr. TESTER

Mr. TESTER. May I ask the Senator from Delaware a question? Did that young man lose his life in battle?

Mr. TESTER. I want to thank the Senator from Delaware You know, this isn't the first time--this isn't the first time the President has denigrated our military. It is not the first time and will not be the last time because there is a total lack of appreciation by this President of the people who serve our country in our military. I don't have to talk about the bone spurs that gave him how many deferments? Five deferments? He found a way to not fight in Vietnam. Thank God his daddy had enough money to allow him to do that. Then we think back to John McCain, the decorated war hero. Oh, no, no, no, not in President Trump's mind. It didn't matter that he was a prisoner of war. He was no war hero, the President said. I am going to tell you, everybody in this body knew John McCain. Everybody in this body probably had a scrap with John McCain and everybody in this body had the highest amount of respect for John McCain. He truly was a war hero. Then there are the veterans who served in Vietnam, which Agent Orange got the best of them. They are now in their seventies, and they are dying because of their exposure to Agent Orange. Let me tell you, the President denied them their benefits--denied them the benefits. If it wasn't for this body and the House, they still wouldn't have those benefits. Then there is the time that Vladimir Putin put a contract out on our military. Did the President speak up? No, not to his good buddy Vladimir. No, he wouldn't do it. Then there was the privatization of the VA. It cost Secretary Shokin his job because he said no, and in a bipartisan way we said no. Well, it is time to say no again in a bipartisan way. This President has crossed the line. ``Suckers'' and ``losers'' in our military do not belong in the same sentence, especially when you are talking about the ``greatest generation'' in Europe who gave their lives for this country. It is time. It is time not for resolutions that are political games, but it is time to tell this President that he has screwed up in a big, big way. If we don't, it will affect this country's future long after he steps down from the Presidency. I yield the floor.

Mr. TESTER

Mr. TESTER. Mr. President, I thank the chairman of the VA Committee, Senator Moran, for his leadership. What we have done here today is a very, very good thing. I think the biggest challenge facing the VA today is that we are losing 20 veterans a day to suicide. It has been that way for some time. People have been looking for solutions--looking for solutions--and the fact is that there is no silver bullet. But what we have done today is give the VA more tools in their toolbox to be able to address this problem of mental health and veteran suicide amongst our veterans. I thank Chairman Moran for his comments about CDR John Scott Hannon, after whom this bill is named. As Senator Moran has pointed out, this Navy SEAL served our Nation for 23 years. And after combat, Scott returned to Helena, MT, but, unfortunately, the invisible wounds of war followed him right back home. He was open about his journey to recovery, getting involved in the Montana chapter of the National Alliance on Mental Illness and using animal therapy and programs at Montana Wild. But, unfortunately--and I know his family is watching right now--on February 25, 2018, Scott succumbed to the wounds of war that caused his mental illness. As Chairman Moran has pointed out, this bill honors his legacy by supporting the kinds of programs that helped improve Commander Hannon's quality of life by expanding our understanding of mental health conditions and the treatments that may have made diagnosing the conditions easier. I am not going to go into everything the bill does because Senator Moran did a fine job on that. All I can say is that we have a great VA Committee in this U.S. Senate. It is a committee that works to get things done in a bipartisan way. I have had the honor of serving with Johnny Isakson as chairman and now with Chairman Moran, and we haven't missed a step. We continue to work together to support our veterans across this country. There is no better way of supporting our veterans than to pass this bill, which is what we just did in the U.S. Senate about 2 minutes ago. The bottom line is this: This isn't the final bill we are going to pass out of the U.S. Senate dealing with veterans. We have plenty more. In fact, I think we passed a dozen bills in the VA Committee today, dealing with a myriad of different issues that impact our veterans in this country. The bottom line is that today we can be proud. We can be proud of Senators in the U.S. Senate for doing something that needed to be done that is going to help our veterans and move this country forward. I am going to close by going where I started, and that is to say thank you, Senator Moran. Thank you for your leadership. Thank you for your friendship. Thank you for your trust. It is great working with you, and I look forward to doing many more good things before this Congress ends. Thank you.

Mr. TESTER

Mr. TESTER. Madam President, I want to thank Senator Grassley for his leadership on this issue. He has known for a long time, as I have known, that something is amiss in the competition in the cattle business. I rise today to speak about that. It isn't talked about enough in this body or in the United States in general, but the fact is that rural America is being cast aside, and it is falling prey to corporate interests whose only concern is about making a quick buck. The truth of the matter is that the American cattle ranchers are suffering. It is an open secret that meat packers have been taking advantage of small-scale ranchers, family ranchers, and the small and medium-sized feeders for years. While some of us have been raising the issue for some time, it is now becoming apparent and it has come into the national spotlight. Almost 1 year ago exactly, a fire at a beef packing plant in Holcomb, KS, halted 5 percent of our country's beef distribution capacity. It caused the price of meat in grocery stores to skyrocket and caused a sharp decline in cattle prices at the farm gate. It was Montana producers and producers across this country who took the hit while the meatpacking industry reported record profits. Following that fire, Senator Grassley and I demanded that the Department of Agriculture conduct an investigation looking into price manipulation by the largest packers. Although this investigation is ongoing, their findings thus far have been disturbing. Their findings clearly show that markets are being manipulated and the packing industry is walking all over America's ranchers and consumers. Just when we thought that conditions for producers couldn't get much worse and as we saw cattle prices drop lower than they have been in decades, ranchers were hit with yet another disaster. That disaster was the coronavirus pandemic. This virus forced many of the largest packing plants to shut their doors, depleting the Nation's beef capacity by nearly 40 percent. Yet again, it was our small-scale cow calf operators, along with everyday consumers, who have seen skyrocketing beef prices throughout the last year, and we have seen lower and lower prices for the cow calf operators and the small to medium-sized feeders. They are the ones taking the hit. In April and May of this year, we saw the largest ever price discrepancy between the price of boxed beef and the price received by the cattle owner, growing from $66 per hundredweight on the boxed beef to $279. I need to repeat that, because it is nothing short of ridiculous. From early April to the middle of May, the price for what American cattle ranchers were selling for the beef shipped to stores across this country increased by 323 percent. Mission control, we have a problem here. Our ranchers and the American public are being taken advantage of in the midst of a global health crisis that has also driven us into an economic crisis. To top it off, cattle transactions on the cash market took a steep decline following the Holcomb Fire, allowing for even more price manipulation by the packers while the number of cows slaughtered increased by 5,000 head. Now, it is obvious to anybody who looks at this situation that the packers are using these crises to force markets to work for them only. One of the ways the packers get away with this is by limiting transactions that take place on the spot for cash markets. Instead, they set prices with formulas that allow them to use unfair market power to put corporate profits over families, ranchers, feeders, and over consumers. That is why Senator Grassley and I wrote a bill requiring large-scale packers to increase the proportion of spot transactions to 50 percent of the total cattle purchases. This would hold corporate packers accountable; make pricing fairer for our producers--cow-calf operators, small- and medium-size feeders; and bring more money into rural economies and into the pockets of these families who are feeding this country and the world. I fear these words are falling on deaf ears. The fact is, we need more support from this body. We need our colleagues on both sides of the aisle to sign on to this critical legislation so that we can ensure that folks who have been raising our food for generations are able to meet the bottom lines and that families in both rural and urban areas who rely on affordable beef can keep putting food on the table. We needed you to join us yesterday because rural America needs help today. Folks across my State need help now. I know many of my colleagues--especially those of you who are on the campaign trail--are always looking for ways to show support for rural America. I am calling on you to join Senator Grassley and me in standing up against this profiteering. Another way you can help American ranchers today is by supporting a bill that my colleague Senator Rounds and I wrote, the New Markets for State-Inspected Meat and Poultry Act. It is a critical bill that will cut needless redtape preventing ranchers from properly utilizing State- inspected meat facilities to be able to sell their products across State lines. We have an opportunity to work on these commonsense bills together-- something that doesn't happen very often in this Senate. We have a critical chance to support folks who are the very reason we can enjoy a juicy burger or a tender steak. Let me close with the words of a person who is in the cattle industry on the ground in Montana who told me about 60 days ago that we are at a crisis point in production agriculture when it comes to beef. If something is not done on this issue of packer control of prices in the marketplace, if something isn't done to ensure that capitalism isn't working here and that we need to put some sideboards on this to funnel some of the money down to the growers and the small- and medium-sized feeders, then our food chain for red meat will change. I know for the vegetarians in the crowd that might sound like a good deal, but it is not because the fact is, when the food chain in rural America goes bust--because that is what we are on the verge of--this whole country will be diminished by that. So it is important that my colleagues here in the Senate work with Senator Grassley and me to fix this problem. It will not be fixed by not doing the things we need to do in this body. Senator Grassley and I have a bill, and Senators Rounds and King have a bill, and we need to get those two bills passed and move on to ensure fairness in the marketplace. I yield the floor.

Mr. TESTER

Mr. TESTER. Mr. President, I was absent when the Senate voted on vote No. 152 to confirm Executive Calendar No. 770, Derek Kan, of California, to be Deputy Director of the Office of Management and Budget. On vote No. 152, had I been present, I would have voted no on the motion to confirm Mr. Kan.

Mr. TESTER

Mr. TESTER. Mr. President, I was absent when the Senate voted on vote No. 152 to confirm Executive Calendar No. 770, Derek Kan, of California, to be Deputy Director of the Office of Management and Budget. On vote number 152, had I been present, I would have voted no on the motion to confirm Mr. Kan. Mr. President, I was absent when the Senate voted on vote No. 153 on the motion to proceed to the House Message to accompany S 178. On vote No. 153, had I been present, I would have voted no.