Ron Wyden

Mr. WYDEN

Mr. WYDEN. Thank you very much. Mr. President, there isn't information about this crime or these crimes at the Federal, State, and local levels. So, again, we are back in exactly the same place. The Senator from Texas wants to hold up the checks to millions and millions of people in spite of the fact that he voted--he voted earlier--for a system that got the checks to everybody in a timely way. And when you don't have the information about the specific crimes at the Federal, State, and local levels, it becomes impossible to carry out what the Senator from Texas seeks to do. And the net effect is, again, that millions and millions of Americans aren't getting the funds that they need to pay for essentials, rent and groceries. I object.

Mr. WYDEN. Reserving the right to object.

Mr. WYDEN

Mr. WYDEN. Mr. President, just two quick points. First, this is not really about prisoners. This is about disrupting payments to families all across the country who need the money to make rent and pay for groceries. Here is why. The IRS administers the tax system for millions and millions of Americans. The Cruz amendment has the practical effect of keeping these folks who are hurting from getting that check that they are going to use to pay for essentials. That is because their check would be on hold while the IRS sets up the system envisioned by this amendment. Now, I guess that is what my colleague from Texas wants. After all, he opposed the bill. He opposed these payments from the get-go. So if he passes this amendment, he gets what he wants, but for all those folks who are hurting, their checks are on hold. The last point I want to make is that it wasn't always this way for Republicans and our colleague from Texas. Republicans were for these payments before they were against them. They voted for two rounds of relief checks going out to all the people who are being discussed here when they controlled the White House and the Senate. Senator Cruz voted for the CARES Act. It passed unanimously. There were 44 Republicans for the December relief bill, with no exception like the Senator from Texas wants. Donald Trump was so happy with the checks going to prisoners that he put his name on them. The only difference between the CARES Act relief checks that Republicans unanimously supported and America Rescue Plan relief checks is the party in the White House. Mr. President, I object.

Mr. WYDEN

Mr. WYDEN. Reserving the right to object.

Mr. WYDEN. Mr. President, I want to read, specifically, what the IRS has told us, because I gather my colleague would like to just continue this for some time. But here is what the IRS says: In the information the IRS receives from the Bureau of Prisons and State prison systems, we do not get the crime for which the person is incarcerated. So we can have a host more of these amendments, if my colleague wants to do it. But I get why he is so anxious to have his amendment passed-- because he was always for keeping people from getting checks, and his amendment, if passed, would put those checks on hold. So that is why I have objected, and we will put this into the record as well. I object.

Mr. WYDEN

Mr. WYDEN. Reserving the right to object, Mr. President.

Mr. WYDEN. Mr. President, once again, our colleague from Texas is offering an idea that would disrupt the system in a way that would keep millions and millions of Americans who are hurting from getting help in a timely way. He has come back with, essentially, one version after another because he thinks that, somehow, this is the kind of sensational idea that will cause people to rally to his side. I believe what he has been proposing--now, I gather, four times--is so disruptive, so unworkable that it is going to hurt the millions of people whom this Congress wanted to help, and that is what the Senator from Texas has sought to do from the very beginning. I object.

Mr. WYDEN. Here is what we are for. We are for making sure that needy people get help to pay for groceries and make rent rather than have one of our colleagues come out with something that is unworkable and disruptive and is going to keep those people from getting help. That is what this debate is all about, something that is unworkable. I read the direct comment from the IRS with respect to not having the information or getting help to people who are hurting. I yield the floor.

Mr. WYDEN

Mr. WYDEN. Mr. President and colleagues, very shortly, the Senate will have the opportunity to confirm Attorney General Becerra to be the next Health and Human Services Secretary, and what this means is, after 4 years of going in reverse on health policy, it will be possible to drive and actually make progress for the American people in addressing their healthcare needs--progress in terms of lowering the cost of healthcare. We spent $3.8 trillion last year. So we have to lower costs, and we have to do it in a way that enhances quality, and Attorney General Becerra is going to be laser-focused on the key priorities for the days ahead. We all know that at the heart of that agenda is making it possible to end this pandemic. Now, central to his agenda is going to be the distribution of vaccines because there are a lot of pieces to the challenge of beating the pandemic, but right at the heart of it is distribution of those vaccines and PPE and bringing together all the people at Health and Human Services and in our country to have a coordinated strategy for dealing with the pandemic. We didn't have that in the past. I remember--and I am sure the Presiding Officer remembers--at one point, we didn't have any idea who was in charge. One day it was going to be the States. The next day it was going to be Jared Kushner. There was just bedlam for weeks and weeks with respect to who would even coordinate this country's strategy against the pandemic. With Xavier Becerra there, that will not be the case. I just want--because I see colleagues also wanting to speak--to talk about another crucial aspect about having Xavier Becerra at the Department of Health and Human Services. What he is going to have to do is move quickly to reverse some of those flawed policies of the Trump administration, like junk insurance, barely worth the paper it was written on, the mindless restrictions that were placed on coverage. For example, that made it harder for people to get access to Medicaid. And some of what they did just defied common sense, making it tougher for people to enroll in the Affordable Care Act, and having modest efforts in New Jersey and Michigan and elsewhere to do outreach and to tell people about the availability of coverage. What in the world is healthcare about? It is about getting coverage out to people, not inventing barriers to their getting care. Finally, I just want to mention some of the exciting things from the recovery legislation that he will be able to focus on. I am sure my colleague from Michigan is going to be talking about these issues, as well, in the days ahead. But what is going to be done in terms of delivering postpartum care, an area where there has been enormous racial injustice, is going to make a huge difference--a major part of the recovery plan--the home and community-based services, which build on some of the work being done in the community. I remember from my days when I was director of the Gray Panthers, helping seniors and the disabled. And we are so excited about mental health officials and law enforcement officials coming together for what is known as the CAHOOTS Program from my home State, dealing with the racial tensions on the streets. So Xavier Becerra has been running this mammoth agency in his State. You know, people say: What is his experience? He was on the Ways and Means Committee for years and years, the committee of jurisdiction as it relates to these issues, and then has been in California taking on monopolies, fighting those who would rip off the healthcare system, sticking up for the Affordable Care Act. So he has had frontline experience on these issues. He should have been confirmed a long time ago, but now we are on the precipice of finally getting somebody who is going to take us forward in that key Agency in terms of meeting the healthcare needs for our colleagues. When we have this vote shortly, I urge in the strongest possible way for the Senate to vote to confirm Attorney General Xavier Becerra for this crucial position. I yield the floor to my colleague.

Mr. WYDEN. I thank my colleague.

Mr. WYDEN

Mr. WYDEN. Mr. President, as in legislative session, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to the immediate consideration of S. 823 introduced earlier today. The bill would provide for protection of recovery rebates. I further ask that the bill be read a third time and passed and the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table with no intervening action or debate.

Mr. WYDEN. Mr. President, I rise in support of legislation developed by our colleague, Senator Brown, and me to protect $1,400 relief payments from being garnished by predatory private debt collectors. We know that millions of American families are hanging on by a thread. They are counting on these payments to make rent and pay for groceries and medicines. Now Senator Brown and I want to include these protections in the American Rescue Plan. We wanted to include them, just like we had done in the December relief bill, but the problem was that Senate rules didn't allow Senator Brown and me to include these protections in the American Rescue Plan, just like we had done earlier. If the Senate doesn't pass this bill, predatory debt collectors will continue to seize relief payments for everything from credit cards to medical debt. And as we talk about this right now, I would like to give an example of what this really means. If you have two parents who have lost their jobs, through no fault of their own, and they can't pay the rent because their relief check has been seized to cover a child's outstanding hospital bills--that is what is going to happen if you don't pass the legislation Senator Brown and I are advocating. So I think this one is cut and dry. The Senate will either stand today for the working families who desperately need this help, like that couple who are hurting, through no fault of their own, or the Senate is with private debt collectors reaching their hands into those families' pockets. Now, these protections that we are talking about were included in the December package, with Republicans fully supporting it. Families' financial situations haven't changed so I hope that Republicans will allow for the passage of this measure offered by Senator Brown and me. It is just common sense. And I am going to yield now--the minority is aware--to Senator Brown. He, too, will have short remarks, and then we will engage with our colleague on the other side. I yield the floor.

Mr. WYDEN. Mr. President, just briefly. I think the key kind of question--and the checks are still going out, and we want them to get out as quickly as possible, but the key issue here is the Republicans, back in December, wanted to help that couple that I was talking about, the person laid off, through no fault of their own. They wanted to help those folks to make sure their relief check wouldn't be seized to cover a child's outstanding hospital bills. So what we heard are discussions about all kinds of, you know, other issues, but the fact is, in December, just a few weeks ago--just a few weeks ago--Republicans were supportive of the families Senator Brown and I are seeking to help today. That is what the question is all about. Will the Senate today help the folks who are hurting that Senator Brown and I have been talking about? In December, Republicans said: You bet we are going to be there. Now it is a question, really, of whom the Senate is for. Senator Brown and I are for those folks who are hurting, and they have been laid off through no fault of their own, and Republicans, unfortunately, with checks still going out--still going out--have decided they are for the private debt collectors. I think it really shows whose side you are on, and Senator Brown and I and members of our caucus are on the side of the people who are hurting, through no fault of their own, and we especially care about them at this time when checks are still going out. I yield the floor.

Mr. WYDEN

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

Mr. WYDEN

Mr. WYDEN. Mr. President, the Senate will soon vote on the nomination of California Attorney General Xavier Becerra to lead the Department of Health and Human Services. Moving this nomination forward required an additional procedural step and more floor debate than others, so I will make just a few quick points this afternoon. First, in our lifetime, America has never faced a greater public health challenge than the pandemic we face today. The Department of Health and Human Services is our point Agency, the leading Agency to coordinate the effort to end the pandemic as soon as possible. Right now, for example, it is coordinating the distribution of vaccines. It is working to get PPE, the critical protective equipment, into the hands of nurses and doctors and all those providers who desperately need more of it. The Department supports rural hospitals to keep them afloat so that rural patients have access to care. The Department's work includes the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, the Centers for Disease Control, the National Institutes of Health, the National Guard, all 50 States and the District of Columbia, as well as private healthcare systems, doctors, and many individuals across the country. The American people, we all know, are ready for this pandemic to end. They certainly understand that having a person to coordinate the critical efforts of the Department of Health and Human Services confirmed and on the job is part of that effort. There simply is no argument for delaying this confirmation any longer. Attorney General Becerra has the right leadership experience and the right health policy experience to succeed in this critical job. He currently heads the Nation's second largest department of justice. He is in charge of a billion-dollar budget and more than 4,000 employees. He is the top law enforcement official in what would be the fifth largest economy in the world. In terms of health policy, which is in the area I try to specialize in, I can tell Senators that Xavier Becerra has spent years and years on these issues at the Ways and Means Committee, the key committee in the other body with jurisdiction over healthcare. He has been through major policy debates, including the Affordable Care Act. As California's attorney general, he defended the act in court. When the pandemic hit, he fought to protect the health and well-being of all Californians, particularly nurses and doctors and those workers who found themselves in harm's way. Attorney General Becerra has the health policy savvy and the leadership savvy and the experience in both areas to run this Department, no question about it. Attorney General Becerra made it clear to members of the Finance Committee that he will follow the law. Quaint idea. He said it again and again in response to a barrage of questions. He is going to be accessible to Senators. He is going to work to find common ground on key healthcare issues. I was glad he said it because that is heavy lifting. Most of the time, that is really all you can ask of nominees of the other party. Healthcare is oftentimes a divisive subject. I think every Senator understands that. It is particularly true when it comes to women's healthcare. But it is clear to me that Attorney General Becerra wants to bring the two sides together. That is a great place to start after the last 4 years of knockdown, drag-out battles over healthcare issues that clearly took America in the wrong direction. I am going to close with just one thought about why this position is so important. I don't know of any prospect more unifying among Americans than ending the pandemic and getting life back to normal as quickly as possible. Parents want their kids back in school. Grandparents want to hug their grandkids. Everybody wants to feel safe and get out in their communities. Getting our country to that point is the essence of what this job is all about. Heading the Department of Health and Human Services focuses exactly on those things people want to have the country come together on. But we need to come together to beat the pandemic, and the Department needs its leader confirmed and on the job now. I was pleased that there was bipartisan support for discharging Attorney General Becerra's nomination from the Finance Committee. I hope the Senate gives his nomination bipartisan support once again when it is time to vote on his confirmation. I look forward to working with him in the months and years to come. I yield the floor.

Mr. WYDEN

Mr. WYDEN. Madam President, reserving the right to object.

Mr. WYDEN. Madam President, today the Republicans are showing some real chutzpa. On this issue, Republicans were for it before they were against it. Today, they claim to want to target prisoners. The real harm they are doing is to innocent children and families. I object.

Mr. WYDEN

Mr. WYDEN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table and the President be immediately notified of the Senate's action.

Mr. WYDEN

Mr. WYDEN. Madam President, I certainly share the good Senator's views with respect to Mrs. Guzman as well.

Mr. WYDEN

Mr. WYDEN. Madam President, I would ask unanimous consent that the scheduled vote occur immediately.

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

Mr. WYDEN

Mr. WYDEN. Madam President, the Senate will soon take a procedural vote on the nomination of Katherine C. Tai to serve as the next U.S. Trade Representative. For Senators who watched any of Ms. Tai's nomination hearing before the committee, you will know that Ms. Tai has a whole lot of fans on both sides of the aisle here in the Senate. So I am just going to take a few minutes to discuss some of the reasons why I think Ms. Tai is a terrific choice for this job. First, she knows that the name of the game when it comes to this country's trade policy is protecting and creating high-skill, high-wage jobs. Our country saw, for the past 4 years, that a strategy of sending mean tweets and acting on chaos does not translate into more good jobs. Under President Biden, and with Katherine Tai leading USTR, I am confident we will have a more effective approach Ms. Tai also has exactly the right experience for the job. She led crackdowns against China's trade cheating and job rip-offs. As the top trade staffer on the Ways and Means Committee, she was at the forefront to improve the new NAFTA when the Trump administration handed to Congress a deal that just wasn't strong enough for American workers. She already has a long track record of achieving wins for America's workers, businesses, farmers, and ranchers. Second, Ms. Tai has committed to the Finance Committee that she will work to bring more transparency to trade policy. Bringing more sunlight to the country's trade agreements ought to be a priority that every Senator shares. That is why I am glad that President Biden has chosen somebody with congressional experience for the role of USTR. The Constitution gives the Congress authority over international trade. Unfortunately, Congress, over the years, has delegated some of its power to the executive branch. So what that means is, now, all sides need to work together as partners, with open channels of communication, accountability, and transparency. And when I talk about transparency, I am talking about transparency with the American people. I know that Ms. Tai will continue to raise the bar for transparency and communication with Congress because she has been on our side of policymaking, and she has already proved that that kind of openness and accountability is a key priority for her. With a former Senator in the White House and a former House staffer at USTR, I believe there would be a productive partnership with Congress so we can get trade done right and make sure that trade policy creates those high-skill, high-wage jobs that are a priority for every elected official. Finally, there is another Finance Committee priority that I will just mention. On Thursday, the committee will hold a hearing on the subject of stamping out forced labor around the world. Forced labor is evil, it is morally repugnant, and it is a direct attack on workers in our country because, when American workers have to compete against slave labor, everybody loses. It is truly a race to absolute rock bottom when it comes to labor rights. Ms. Tai is committed to President Biden's Build Back Better agenda. A key part of that agenda is ensuring that our workers are competing on a level playing field with the rest of the world. It is certainly not a level playing field when other countries are producing goods with slave labor. Our government has laws on the books that can crack down on countries using slave labor and keep those products out of our market, but it is going to require an unwavering commitment to tough trade enforcement. This will continue to be an area of special focus for the Finance Committee. Our colleague Senator Brown and I have worked on this issue for a long, long time. I know Ms. Tai is committed to working with us on it, and I know that she will work with colleagues on the other side of the aisle on this and other issues. It is an opportunity to stand up for what is right around the world and protect American jobs and wages at the same time. So Katherine Tai is qualified. She has the right diversity of experience. She has her priorities right, which is to get more American workers into the winner's circle of trade policy, and she is going to do it in a way that promotes openness, accountability, and transparency. I believe Ms. Tai is going to have strong bipartisan support here in the Senate when we vote in just a few minutes. I want Senators on both sides of the aisle to know that Ms. Tai has consistently, throughout her time in public service, worked in a bipartisan way with respect to ensuring that, at a time when modern communications and transportation have, to some extent, shrunk the world and trade has gotten to be more and more important, she is going to be on the side of workers. She is going to be on the side of trade done right. I am with her 100 percent of the way. I urge all Senators to support Katherine Tai for this crucial post at USTR. I yield the floor.

Mr. WYDEN

Mr. WYDEN. Mr. President, the Senate is now debating the motion to discharge from the Finance Committee the nomination of California Attorney General Xavier Becerra to head the Department of Health and Human Services. As chairman of the Finance Committee, I am going to begin with a simple message: Holding up the nomination of Attorney General Becerra has been blocking urgent anti-virus work that needs to get done now. So it is time for the Senate to act quickly, without politics getting in the way, to confirm this nominee. I also believe moving quickly on this nomination will help to achieve something I heard a lot of Senators talk about over the last few days. A few days ago, I spent almost 24 hours here at this desk while the Senate was debating a number of different issues. Over the course of that debate and in the weeks before it, many Senators talked about how important it was to get past some of the longstanding disagreements and find unity. I will say to my colleagues: There could not be a more unifying prospect for America than ending this public health nightmare as quickly as possible, preventing as many COVID-19 deaths as possible, and helping the American people get back to the activities that they enjoy, that they consider part of their normal daily routine. Having a confirmed Secretary leading the Department of Health and Human Services is a linchpin for accomplishing that task. The Department is right at the effort, at the forefront, to end this contagion. It is leading the distribution of vaccines. It is working to get PPE into the hands of nurses and doctors who still--still-- desperately need more of it. It is getting new resources to rural hospitals to keep them afloat and to keep their doors open to patients who literally had nowhere else to go during this crisis. Health and Human Services is right in the center of the government- wide COVID response. They coordinate work at the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, with the Centers for Disease Control, with the National Institutes of Health, with the National Guard, with all 50 States, with the District of Columbia, with private healthcare systems and doctors across the country and more individuals and organizations that are just too numerous to name. Now, that is what the job is all about and why it is so critical right now. I want to turn to some of what I have heard discussed with respect to Attorney General Becerra. I have heard some say that, well, he doesn't have the right leadership experience. That is a comment being made about the head of America's second largest department of justice. This nominee is in charge of a billion-dollar budget. This nominee is in charge of more than 4,000 employees as the top law enforcement official in what would be the fifth largest economy in the world. This is the work of somebody who really knows how to run a mammoth government agency. Then there have been suggestions about his healthcare background. This is one that, to me, is just bizarre, given the track record. He spent years and years on the House Ways and Means Committee, which is one of the key committees in the country with respect to jurisdiction over healthcare policy. He wrote and debated major pieces of healthcare legislation, including playing an important role in the development of the Affordable Care Act. As California's attorney general, he defended the Affordable Care Act in court. When the pandemic hit, he stepped up and fought to protect the health and well-being of millions of Californians, particularly nurses and doctors and other workers who found themselves in harm's way. When one is in the Senate, you understand that Members of the opposing party are going to have disagreements on policy issues. That goes with the turf. Women's healthcare was obviously one of those issues that came up during the nomination hearing. I will tell you that Attorney General Becerra's response is what we ought to expect of responsible public officials and of nominees. He made it clear to members of the Finance Committee. He said again and again and again that he will follow the law. He will be accessible to all Senators. He is going to work to find common ground on key healthcare issues. I can tell you, having specialized in healthcare since my days with the Oregon Gray Panthers, that is heavy lifting. By the way, I think it is pretty refreshing after 4 years of just blather about repeal-and- replace and empty rhetoric and promises on pharmaceutical price-gouging and partisan policies that favor insurance companies over the typical American consumers. In my view, Attorney General Becerra proved in his nomination hearing that he knows healthcare policy inside and out and that he is ready to lead the Department of Health and Human Services. I don't think anybody ought to be particularly surprised because he has a decades-long track record in healthcare leadership and policy experience that is going to help him succeed in the job. We all understand the country's healthcare system is still under extraordinary pressure and strain. On Saturday, the Senate passed one of the largest public health packages in our country's history, designed to crush this pandemic. So we are starting to see some light. We are starting to see the end of the tunnel. The Biden administration is doing everything it can to acquire more vaccines, to get more shots into arms. I think we all understand it is not a task completed yet. I will just close by way of saying that when our country faces a healthcare crisis, it needs a Secretary of Health and Human Services confirmed and on the job as soon as possible. It doesn't need more political games and delay that only sets back our effort to end the pandemic. So we will be voting, I believe, in less than an hour, and I just want to say that I hope colleagues will support this nomination discharged from the Finance Committee. I have known the attorney general for a number of years. As I say, this is the area that I have specialized in over the years. And I know that Senators have differences of opinion with respect to healthcare. I get that. But those differences of opinion shouldn't stand in the way of a qualified public official who has managed thousands of people in his current job, for example, from having the opportunity to do what has to be done for this country, and that is to get a confirmed nominee for a critical position so that he can attack those challenges that are in front of us right now and help patients and speed up the efforts to end the pandemic. I yield the floor. I suggest the absence of a quorum.

Mr. WYDEN

Mr. WYDEN. Mr. President, on Monday, the Senate will vote on the nomination of Congresswoman Deb Haaland to serve as Secretary of the Interior. I have had a chance to vote on a number of nominations over the years. I want to tell the Senate that, on Monday, the Senate can make history. The Congresswoman--and she faced some strong questioning in the committee--understands that protecting public lands and boosting rural communities and jobs are two sides of the same coin. Too often, in the debates in Washington, DC, they really involve something resembling false choices. You can either be for jobs or you can be for protecting your treasures. The Congresswoman understands that those two are not mutually exclusive and that, in the West, particularly when you look at our exciting recreation economic engine, this is a chance to really generate more jobs, protect treasures, and enhance our quality of life. Now, I recognize that there have been powerful interest groups that try, for example, to protect the interests of big oil companies at taxpayer expense, at the expense of clean air and clean water, and, as I say, at the expense of everybody who wants to get outside. I know that part of the debate is propping up a dirty environmental policy and declining industry that, mostly, adds to the current climate crisis. In the long run, what we need to do is find fresh ways to bring Americans together around areas, particularly for rural communities, that are going to bridge the urban-rural divide, reduce inequality in America, and be a long-term solution for rural economies. The Congresswoman, our nominee on Monday, knows that there is a better way to protect and create rural jobs, and I will give you just one example. Congressman Neguse and I have introduced a major piece of legislation to create the 21st Century Civilian Conservation Corps. Our legislation would create thousands of jobs in rural America, and these workers would help to preserve public lands and prevent the kind of massive wildfires America has seen in recent years. What I can say to colleagues is that a major effort like this will create scores and scores of jobs for local businesses and local vendors. Certainly, we are talking about the local hardware store, chainsaw outlets, and those who sell logging equipment. There are going to be lots of opportunities for private sector employment stemming from the arrival of the 21st Century Civilian Conservation Corps. We will also have a lot more opportunity for outdoor recreation, boosting tourism revenues, and fewer communities reduced to ash by wildfire--a win all around. Now, the Congresswoman also talked to us about another priority for rural America, and that is helping Native American Tribes across the country build and repair drinking water infrastructure and that she would make it a priority to help Tribes where there is a lack of drinking water, threatening the health of those Tribal members. This is especially a problem in Oregon, wherein the Warm Springs Tribe has burst pipes and regular ``boil water'' notices, but I will tell you that Warm Springs is not alone in this country, and the Congresswoman understands. She said: Water is a basic human right. The next point that I want to touch on with respect to this exceptional Member of Congress is that she really has a track record of bringing parties together with differing views. Now, I know some Members of the Senate have gone to great lengths to say: Oh, she is some kind of far-out radical. Colleagues, that just doesn't pass the smell test. She has been a leader in generating bipartisan support for efforts in the House. She has one of the most conservative Members of the House singing her praises in coming before the committee, and I went several times just because I wanted to hear the Congresswoman address this crucial issue of how important rural jobs are, how rural jobs and protecting the environment are not mutually exclusive, and how you can bring people together. On each of these points, she conveyed the kinds of views that make her an ideal choice for serving as the Secretary of the Interior. I was also interested in her thoughts on a major piece of legislation for rural Eastern Oregon. It is the Malheur County Owyhee legislation, which seeks to resolve differences in this extraordinary part of my State, the Owyhees--differences that have literally gone on for decades. We brought together ranchers and Tribes and environmental folks, and we said: Here again, what we can do is create rural employment. We can protect the ag economy and the farmer's way of life. We can also create great opportunities for recreation in that part of the State. The Congresswoman got it in a second. She said that is exactly what we need to do--build models that bring farmers and ranchers together with environmental folks and scientists who understand the nature of some of these challenges from a scientific and climate standpoint. I will tell you that I have gone to more than my share of nomination hearings, but what I saw was a nominee with exceptional backbone and decency, who was being clear, being straightforward. At times, it was a little hard to take because the questioning, I thought, was not just strong but over the line. At the same time, the Congresswoman showed her calm, her knowledge, and her perseverance in the face of this. I am just going to close with this. Colleagues, I have tried to kind of make my calling card a public service of bringing people together, finding fresh ideas, and the very kinds of approaches that the Congresswoman talked about during two, I felt, very draining kinds of sessions. My view is that it is critical for the Senate to be able to recognize there are going to be disagreements. The Senate is made up of a lot of people with very strong views, and what I believe we ought to insist on of all candidates is a level of decency and respect for all concerned. The Congresswoman showed that in the face of some very strong questioning. When I was done, I said: Not only am I going to support you because of your views on rural jobs and your recognizing that protecting jobs and the environment are not mutually exclusive--that we can do both-- but because of your track record of bipartisanship, featuring Congressman Young's coming here. Also, I come to the floor of the U.S. Senate to say that I was there for both sessions, and I saw an elected official, a Congresswoman, handle a lot of very tough, strong questions, and at every level, she tried to stick to the facts. She tried to make the case for what she thought was a great opportunity, especially in the West, but that she would be in all of the communities that the Department of the Interior is responsible for and that everyone would get a fair shake. Every Democrat and every Republican would get a fair shake. That is the kind of fundamental decency we want in a nominee. And I will close with this: It sure stands in sharp contrast to what we saw over the last 4 years, two Secretaries, essentially, infamous rather than famous, who too often were willing to set aside the science and support the powerful and those who were going to walk away making quick dollars at the expense of the environment. People of this country now have a chance, almost like you take a dilapidated stage out of an auditorium, and now we have got a chance to start anew. We have got a nominee who is qualified. She is fair. She is going to concentrate on bringing people together, and she is going to make history. It is long, long, long past time, colleagues, that this country had a Native American leading the Interior Department. So I pledge after that second hearing, I am going to come back on the floor and not just vote for her but speak for her because her decency, her thoughtfulness--I see my friend from New Mexico here--that sense of caring and that fairness in the face of some very, very aggressive questioning makes me feel that this is a very special sort of leader. Congresswoman Haaland has my full, unqualified support, and westerners are looking forward very much to working with her, get her to Oregon, and see what our challenges are. I urge all Members of the Senate on Monday to support the historic nomination of Congresswoman Haaland to head the Interior Department. I yield the floor.

Mr. WYDEN

Mr. WYDEN. Madam President, right now, the Senate is debating, having been started by our colleague Senator Sanders, whether it is OK to pay starvation wages in the United States. You heard that right, starvation wages. Receiving that starvation wage, single moms are skipping meals as they try to make rent and buy groceries for their family. These moms get paid $7.25 an hour, often work two jobs, and go to bed every night worried that the next morning is going to bring financial calamity. Senators, is this OK in a country as rich and strong as ours? Here in the U.S. Senate, nobody has got to worry where their next meal is coming from, but that is an everyday struggle for too many families across the land. Senators, let us think about those who are hurting as the vote on the Sanders minimum wage amendment approaches. It is time for that single mom to get a fair wage for a fair day's work, a living wage, not a starvation wage. There has never been a stronger case for a $15 minimum wage than there is right now during the pandemic. I think about grocery store and pharmacy workers, home health aides, food processing and packing workers, restaurant employees interacting with maskless customers. So many workers in Oregon and across the country are going to work in a dangerous environment each day. Many of them are Black and Latino workers, people from the communities that have suffered the most from COVID-19. They have kept our country going through the last year. I have heard a whole lot of Members of the Senate, Democratic and Republicans, talk about those workers as heroes of the pandemic. So the question is, Will the Senate stand up and give those heroes of the pandemic the raise they deserve, the raise they have waited for, for 12 years? There are 30 million Americans who earn less than $15 an hour. It would be closer to 40 million if not for the fact that the coronavirus put so many Americans out of work. That is just immoral and unacceptable. Now, if you want to see inequality baked into the law, just look at how the country treats its lowest income workers compared to those at the top. The minimum wage has been stuck for 12 long years, and a flat minimum is nothing but a slow-moving pay cut for those who make the least. Minimum wage workers cannot afford the average rent in any State in America, not one. It doesn't account for utilities, food, gas, car payments, medical bills, school supplies. Here is a fact: Living is expensive for the poor in America. Meanwhile, the most well-to-do keep winning with their investments in the stock market. The entire Tax Code is rigged to favor the income of billionaires over the income of wage- earning families. Republicans passed the $2 trillion Trump tax law promising trickle- down benefits. They have been talking about that for decades, even though those magical benefits never actually trickle down. The Trump administration actually made it A-OK in the eyes of the law for corporations to steal from their employees' tipped wages. A country that aspires to be pro-work should not be this anti-worker. Members of the Senate might forget it now, but minimum wage used to go up all the time. It happened 22 times since the minimum wage was enacted in 1938. Through the fifties, sixties, and into the seventies-- the post-war period that many looked as the boom years of the 20th century--the minimum wage went up all the time, and Congress expanded the range of workers it covered. Now, colleagues, these increases did not lead to the end of Western civilization back then, and raising the minimum wage isn't going to do it today either. That is because--folks might want to sit down when I say this--it is good for everybody when there are fewer poor people in America. This is the longest the Congress has gone without raising the minimum wage since its origin. In recent years, the grassroots movement has picked up the slack and made a lot of progress in cities and States all over the country, including my home State of Oregon. But the Congress cannot wait any longer. The powerful could pull the levers around here in a hurry, and they get more than their share of benefits and attention. Right now, the Congress has a chance to prove, to actually prove that it is looking after working people, and that means raising the minimum wage to $15 an hour. Every single Senator says they want to incentivize hard work, and, folks, a living wage does just that. The single mom skipping meals to feed her kids deserves better. The Senate can do better starting today. I appreciate my colleague Senator Sanders leading the effort to raise the wage for years and years. As chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, I am all in with Senator Sanders on this fight. Senators, support our amendment. Give tens of millions of America's hard-working people a raise. And before I yield the floor, I just briefly want to provide an update with respect to the issue of trying to make sure that folks who have been laid off, laid off from their jobs through no fault of their own, are going to be able to get an unemployment benefit where they can make rent and pay groceries. We are having conversations now, bringing people together, I believe, around two core principles. One is avoiding a cliff in August where you would have something like 11 million people lose their benefits. We have to do that. It defies common sense to have a cliff in the middle of August when you have the Senate out of session. Second, we are making a lot of progress on preventing an unemployment tax surprise. This is a matter that Senator Sanders and I have spoken about at length for weeks. A number of colleagues on both sides of the aisle have a great interest in this. I think we have made a lot of headway. We will have more to discuss with the Senate, but I am really hopeful that this can bring all sides of this debate together. I have personally felt the benefit should be $400. It should certainly run into September, but I know some of my colleagues feel otherwise. So what we are looking at is making sure that we can get a benefit so that people can make rent and pay groceries, that we prevent that cliff, and, by God, we sure as hell shouldn't let folks who are unemployed pay taxes on those unemployment benefits that they secured in 2020. Senator Sanders and I will continue to prosecute this question of tax forgiveness very strongly as well. I appreciate his leadership. I see Senator Murray, the chair of another important committee with jurisdiction over this matter. I yield the floor.