Ron Wyden

Mr. WYDEN

Mr. WYDEN. I urge opposition to the Scott proposal. Vote on Motion to Commit

Mr. WYDEN. Mr. President, I oppose this amendment for two reasons. The first is, it would water down the new negotiations program, so it would be harder to negotiate over the most expensive drugs in Medicare today, including cancer drugs, which are at the top of our list. Second, it would water down the efforts at the Internal Revenue Service to beef up tax enforcement against wealthy tax cheats. I would urge opposition to the Marshall amendment. Vote on Amendment No. 5389

Mr. WYDEN. Mr. President, unfortunately, this amendment is just bad news. This amendment lowers capital gains taxes, and it is more tax giveaways to the most fortunate. And if you are a wealthy tax cheat, you can rest easy because Republican budget cuts at the IRS mean you can get away with breaking the law scot-free. I urge my colleagues to vote no.

Mr. WYDEN. Mr. President, once again, this sends the bill back to committee and kills Democratic efforts to reduce the cost of prescription medicine, reduce health insurance premiums, reduce carbon emissions, and crack down on wealthy tax cheats. And if you are a wealthy tax cheat, you can rest easily because Republican budget cuts at the IRS mean that you can get away with breaking the law scot-free. I urge my colleagues to vote no.

Mr. WYDEN. Madam President, what Americans don't want is wealthy tax cheats to be able to rest easy because Republican budget cuts to the IRS mean that they can get away with breaking the law scot-free. And I want everybody in this body to understand that, on our watch at the Finance Committee, we are watchdogging this Agency every single day because there is no evidence of what the Senator from Texas has said is going on with respect to the privacy of innocent Americans, and on our watch it is never going to. I urge opposition. Vote on Amendment No. 5263

Mr. WYDEN. Madam President, the Senator from Georgia is absolutely right in his description of this moral abomination where the citizens he represents have no healthcare decency. And he is right that it stems from the decisions of Republican Governors. He is talking about individuals with too much to qualify for Medicaid and not enough to get ACA subsidies. Tragically--and I have talked with my colleague about this--to preserve the rest of this bill's health, climate, and tax policy, it is just not possible--as much as I want it--to get this fixed today. I will just close by saying to my colleague that I will work with him every day, day in and day out, until his citizens get the healthcare decency he so correctly calls for this morning. Reluctantly, I oppose the amendment.

Mr. WYDEN. Mr. President, I rise in opposition to this amendment. This, again, is about delay, about postponing, about putting off the job that needs to be done. What the focus of this bill is all about is cutting costs. What I have said to colleagues--and my friend, the Presiding Officer of the Senate, knows this--is that our bill on prescription drugs kicks in this fall. We really kick in on the efforts to hold down price gouging when medicine is going up faster than the rate of inflation. I urge my colleagues to oppose this. We can't afford any further delay in priorities like saving senior citizens from their medicine costs.

Mr. WYDEN

Mr. WYDEN. Mr. President, there are no tax increases on small businesses in our bill. The only companies that are paying under our bill are corporations with at least $1 billion in profit per year. Republicans are calling private equity giants and foreign corporations with at least $1 billion in profits small businesses because they want private equity and foreign corporations to get more favorable treatment. Rather than close loopholes for billion-dollar private equity firms, Republicans would raise taxes on those making less than $400,000 per year. I urge a ``no'' vote. Vote on Amendment No. 5472

Mr. WYDEN

Mr. WYDEN. I appreciate the question. For those unfamiliar with geothermal energy, it is generally produced by delivering geothermal brine and steam from underground reservoirs to the surface, where the resource then runs turbines to generate electricity. In some cases, there is a de minimis of amount of naturally occurring noncombustion emissions released in the renewable generating process and the electricity produced is considered emissions free. Thanks in part to the relentless efforts from Senator Cortez Masto, the Inflation Reduction Act provides the same incentives for geothermal energy resources placed in service after December 31, 2024, as it does for electricity produced by solar, wind, and other renewable resources. Indeed, all geothermal energy is included among the resources meeting the definition of ``qualified facility'' for the purposes of the new sections 45Y and 48D included in the Inflation Reduction Act. I thank my colleague from Nevada for her dedication to and leadership on geothermal energy incentives. I am pleased to have worked with her on these incentives, and I most certainly agree that electricity produced from geothermal resources property qualifies for the production and investment incentives provided by sections 13701 and 13702 of the Inflation Reduction Act. That has been my intent throughout the course of drafting this legislation. Geothermal resources are critical to our clean energy future, and I thank my colleague for her collaboration in developing these robust new tax credits for clean energy.

Mr. WYDEN

Mr. WYDEN. Madam President, Oregonians will soon gather to honor an American hero, Ethyle O'Neal. Ethyle will be posthumously awarded the Congressional Gold Medal next month in McMinnville, OR. When the Senate voted to award the medal to Ethyle and her fellow Civil Air Patrol volunteers from WWII, it was with the heroism and devotion to service she embodied in mind. Since I won't be able to attend the ceremony, I want to spend a few minutes today to honor her outstanding legacy, her service, the communities she bettered, and the family she has left behind. Born and raised in my hometown, Portland, 14-year-old Ethyle E. Kremers was the first from her high school to volunteer for the Civil Air Patrol, or CAP. With the U.S. military tied up in WWII, the CAP was tasked with patrolling America's borders to detect threats, deter submarine attacks, and protect vital shipping lanes. Ethyle trained as a radio-communicator and support person, as well as taking on the responsibilities of cadet training at dozens of CAP camps across the country. Six years after joining the CAP, Ethyle used her training to single-handedly save the life of a young child and assist in the rescue of four more during the Vanport Flood disaster. For the rescues, she became the first CAP cadet to receive the program's highest honor, the Distinguished Service Award. Soon after, Ethyle joined the U.S. Air Force and trained as a medical laboratory assistant at Edwards Air Force Base, where she met her future husband Theodore O'Neal. The two went on to have four wonderful children: Timothy, Ken, Kathy, and Susie. After years traveling with her family to Air Force bases around the world, Ethyle returned to Portland. She shortly resumed work with the CAP as commander of the Milwaukie and then Beaverton Cadet Squadrons. Tasked with training new recruits, Ethyle's dedication to the role was matched only by the compassion she showed to her cadets. Her family still remembers Ethyle inviting cadets over to her house to study and practice maneuvers around the dining room. For her service, Ethyle was awarded the CAP's highest award for adult officers, the Gill Robb Wilson Award, and the grade of lieutenant colonel. In addition to training new cadets, Ethyle began flying search and rescue sorties as a mission observer, took the role of director of cadet programs, earning numerous commendations for her work. Ethyle was also an active member of her community outside of the CAP. For 13 years, she worked as a bus driver for children with special needs, ensuring education remained accessible for the most vulnerable in society. She also loved teaching local children to fly model rockets. A model of selflessness, Ethyle's accomplishments survive her, reminding us that the efforts of a determined few can raise, or even save, the lives of many. Ethyle's success as a woman in the Armed Forces and work with children with special needs inspire me to continue my own work for these underrepresented groups. It is an honor to remember her achievements, and I can think of nobody more deserving of the Congressional Gold Medal. It is my sincere hope that her story continues to inspire the best in all who hear it, in Oregon and across the Nation.

Mr. WYDEN

Mr. WYDEN. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent to print the following letter in the Record.

Mr. WYDEN

Mr. WYDEN. Mr. President, I want to thank my colleague from Hawaii for making these very important remarks today with respect to expanding access to family planning. And, Senator Hirono, let me also, while you are on the floor, tell you how much I appreciate your leadership on the My Body, My Data Act. I am thrilled to be, I believe, one of your sponsors here in the Senate. It is hugely consequential, because we have known from even the draft Alito opinion that women were going to have their personal data weaponized against them. I know you have a busy schedule, but I just wanted the body to know how extraordinarily important this is, because when we look at technology and, particularly, what technology can do today, what your legislation does--with our colleague from the House, Congresswoman Jacobs--is it gives us a chance to get back to the fundamental issue of privacy rights. We are going to start looking more at the contractual relationships between women and various companies because a lot of those privacy policies aren't worth the paper they are written on. I just want you to know I am so honored to be your cosponsor on a very related piece of legislation. Your leadership has made a big difference.

Mr. WYDEN. I just say to my colleague, sometimes it is a little difficult to figure out where a piece of legislation is going. That is not the case with your bill. My Body, My Data sums it up. Again, thank you so much for your leadership. Unanimous Consent Request--S. 4550 Mr. President, I also want to briefly touch on the important legislation that Senator Smith--my Pacific Northwest colleague--Senator Murray, and Senator Warner have recently introduced. They have an important proposal called the Expanding Access to Family Planning Act. I am proud to cosponsor this legislation. This is another area where Chair Murray and I work very closely together because a lot of these issues can often involve Medicaid, for example. And I just so appreciate my colleague bringing up her important bill with respect to family planning. The proposition behind this is pretty straightforward. The Supreme Court overturned Roe against the will of the American people. States are criminalizing abortion. Many women and girls are now being forced to carry pregnancies to term and give birth. If they are going to stand by this forced-birth agenda, then you better guarantee basic health for women and families. That is really Senator Murray's challenge to Senate Republicans. You can't be pro-life and pro-family if you are against healthcare that saves lives and protects families. The Murray legislation, with Senator Smith and Senator Warren--I am pleased to be for it today--is centered on a significant increase in what is known as title X funding, which goes to basic essential services like HIV tests, contraception, treatment for infections, and pregnancy counseling. And one of those services is really so vitally important. I just want to mention it, and that is cancer screenings. Cancer screenings are a particularly important issue now that the Supreme Court has overturned Roe. Over the last few weeks there have been a wave of these horrendous stories, as Senator Murray knows better than anyone, about the chaos this radical Supreme Court ruling has unleashed on women's healthcare-- drawn-out miscarriages, potentially fatal complications left untreated, physicians unsure of what treatments they are legally allowed to perform. And we know one of the absolute nightmares for women living in forced-birth States is getting pregnant and having cancer at exactly the same time. And the question is: In a world where a miscarriage could lead to criminal charges, how do you treat a pregnant woman with cancer? So we ought to think about that. And could getting chemo be a crime in a forced-birth State, Senator Murray? In forced-birth States, how many Americans are going to die because they waited too long to begin treatment for breast cancer or cervical cancer or because they didn't maybe get treated at all? It is appalling that Americans are facing this kind of awful, I think, unthinkable situation, all because six Republicans on the Supreme Court threw 50 years of settled law on abortion rights into the dustbin. In the parlance of the Senate, Senator Murray, I yield to you. I think your legislation is extraordinarily important. Uh-oh. I have to reverse some parlance of the Senate and yield to Senator Klobuchar, who also has been a champion of this issue. And I just want the Senate to know, because we are in the Pacific Northwest, we talk about these issues. People ought to make no mistake about it-- Senator Murray has put years and years into the cause of women's health. And I really enjoy being junior partner in the whole effort and look forward to her leadership. And I yield to Senator Klobuchar.

Mr. WYDEN

Mr. WYDEN. Mr. President, our economy is as resilient as any in the world. At the same time, we know that it is important to always look to modernize key economic policies, particularly as it relates to fundamental questions of research and development and also production and manufacturing, in order to create high-skilled, high-wage jobs from sea to shining sea. Now, I come from a State that is a leader in technological innovation, not just for our country but for the world. Oregonians know how important it is to invest and make sure that the United States stays at the forefront of technological breakthroughs. The reality is, when it comes to chips, we have some important work to do, so I want to take just a few minutes to describe why it is so essential for the Congress to get this legislation done now. First of all, our bill is going to bring down costs for consumers and businesses. Everybody knows there are chips in laptops, phones, and cars, but there are also chips in refrigerators and even vacuum cleaners, as we saw at Stark's in Southeast Portland recently. From the time you pick your head up off your pillow until the time you go to bed at night, you are interacting with chips. That is what made it such an economic nightmare when the pandemic hit and the supply of semiconductors got cut short. Prices for a host of important goods went into the stratosphere. Some products weren't available at all. Factories in America went dark because they couldn't get component parts. Anybody who has had to buy a car in the last few years probably can tell you a horror story about the buying process. This legislation is going to go a long way to increasing the production and manufacturing of chips in this country and bringing down consumer costs and addressing the shortages by increasing the supply here in America. That leads to my second point. Investing in domestic chip production is going to create a huge, huge number of good-paying jobs. Oregonians know well that the jobs at these chipmakers can become an economic fuel for a whole region in the country. We need to guarantee that investment happens here in America instead of overseas. Third, the bill is going to help shore up our national security and our economic security. With respect to the economy, when there aren't enough chips to keep our factories running and our shelves stocked, workers and the American economic system suffer. And when the vast majority of chips are produced in just a few sites overseas, there is a big risk that the United States won't be able to get its hands on the chips needed to keep the American people safe in a conflict. I am a member of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence. I can't get involved in classified matters that I have some access to. But I want everybody in the Senate to know this is a top-tier national security issue. Producing more chips here at home means that our economy will be more resilient for the days ahead and our country will be safer and more secure. One last comment in this short statement. The Senate passed a larger version of this bill last year, and it included a trade package that Senator Crapo and I, our colleague from Idaho, worked together on. It focused on cracking down on China's worst trade abuses, including the horrendous practice of forced labor, including proposals that went after authoritarian censorship overseas and a growing danger of freedom of speech here in America. I also sought to update the system for job training and workers' support, so key to our workers having access to high-skill, high-wage jobs. That trade package is not included in this slimmed-down version of the CHIPS legislation. I can promise, however, as chairman of the Finance Committee, we will keep working on these issues. Cracking down on trade cheats, fighting for investments and jobs in America is at the top of the priority list for the Finance Committee. I look forward to continuing our work on those issues in the weeks and months ahead. This legislation is long overdue. It is a serious, fresh commitment to innovation in America. I am proud that I was able to lead the effort in the Senate Finance Committee to focus on producing and manufacturing more semiconductors in America. It is hugely important for my State, which really does research and development for the entire country. But it is important for all Americans every single day because, from the time you get up in the morning until the time you go to bed at night, you are using these chips. This is, in my view, the first step of many that we have to take to promote more innovation and the path to creating high-skill and high-wage jobs in America. Let's take the first step with this important legislation. Pass this bill. I urge my colleagues to vote for it later when we get to the final vote. 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, in a few minutes, I am going to put forward a request for the Senate to confirm the nomination of Rebecca Jones Gaston to serve as Commissioner on Children, Youth, and Families within the Department of Health and Human Services. I briefly want to talk about why her confirmation is so important and what makes her the right person for the job. The Administration on Children, Youth, and Families may not grab national headlines every day, but its work is essential to the well- being of millions of young people and families across the land. That is particularly true for vulnerable children, including those in the child welfare system. One of its big jobs over the last few years has been the implementation of the Family First Prevention Services Act. The landmark reform of the child welfare system was written by the Finance Committee on a bipartisan basis. And for colleagues who remember the late Orrin Hatch, who cared so much about children and particularly welfare reform, this and the extension of the Children's Health Insurance Program for 10 years--the longest extension ever--were the two bills for children that Chairman Hatch really felt strongly about. The underlying goal of the legislation, which I was proud to cosponsor with him, was simple. The foster care system was breaking families up too often. We designed the Family First Act to keep families together whenever it was safe and possible to do so. Maybe a grandparent is the right person to step in as a caretaker for their grandkids. I have been particularly involved in having grandparents play a bigger role in our human services programs. It is known as kinship care. We have been working on it for well over a decade. Chairman Hatch helped us expand it. Maybe all that is needed for a family to thrive is to help with mental healthcare for mom or dad. And with a little more flexibility in the program, a little more support, more families stay together and get ahead. The underlying goal that Chairman Hatch and I had was simple, but implementation has certainly been a challenge. It has required a lot of close collaboration between the Department of Health and Human Services, the Finance Committee, and State and local agencies. My view is, when you are talking about reforms dealing with the well- being of our youngest, particularly most vulnerable kids, it is just critical to get it right. That is why Rebecca Jones Gaston is the right person to lead the Administration on Children, Youth, and Families. She serves as the child welfare director for Oregon's Department of Human Services. She is showing herself to be an effective leader and a strong advocate for the vulnerable. She served in a similar role in the State of Maryland under a Republican Governor. So this is somebody who shows up every single day, willing to work with elected officials on both sides of the aisle. All in all, she brings nearly 25 years of experience in public policy dealing with support for families and children. The Finance Committee approved her nomination on a bipartisan basis in March. My view is, the full Senate has waited long enough. Ms. Gaston is a highly qualified nominee, and the Administration on Children, Youth, and Families needs a confirmed leader. Therefore, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate consider the following nomination: Calendar No. 763, Rebecca E. Jones Gaston to be Commissioner on Children, Youth, and Families, Department of Health and Human Services; that the Senate vote on the nomination without intervening action or debate; that the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table; and that any statements related to the nomination be printed in the Record.

Mr. WYDEN. Mr. President, just speaking briefly again, let me tell my colleague from Tennessee that I have very much enjoyed working with him on various policies here in the Senate. My understanding is that my colleague believes that his State has some ideas for showing that you can essentially meet Medicaid standards for health services for vulnerable people and that the State of Tennessee is interested in trying out some new approaches. I want to assure my colleague that we are interested in hearing more about this. There is a specific waiver provision, for example, in the Affordable Care Act to try out new approaches consistent with these guardrails so that people actually get healthcare coverage. My colleague has said to me that he is interested in pursuing those kinds of ideas. I want him to know that the Finance Democratic staff is available to hear his staff out on this, and I hope we can work it out, and I hope we can move Rebecca Gaston quickly. This is a program that really makes a difference. Prior to Chairman Hatch working with me on this, we had essentially two alternatives for these vulnerable kids, neither of them particularly valuable. One was just sending the kids off to foster care--some of those facilities are good; some of them, not so good--or keeping them at home in a less than desirable situation. What we did on a bipartisan basis is find a third path for these vulnerable youngsters, where, for example, if a parent was having difficulty with alcohol or drugs, they could get treatment and stay as the parent. So this is an important program. Rebecca Gaston knows how to run it well. I want to see her confirmed as quickly as possible, and I want to tell my colleague I recognize his concern today and will be interested in following up with him and his staff to hear more about the program in the days ahead. I yield the floor.

Mr. WYDEN

Mr. WYDEN. Mr. President, many colleagues want to speak, and I am going to be brief. The name of Senator Cortez Masto's bill sums up what this is really all about. The Senator has proposed--and she is a former attorney general, a very skilled lawyer--she has proposed legislation, the Freedom to Travel for Health Care Act. I just want us to take a second to think about the name of my colleague from Nevada's legislation. I would submit to the Senate that you know something has gone horribly wrong in America when the Senate is forced to consider a proposal entitled the ``Freedom to Travel for Health Care Act.'' Colleagues, just look at those words, the ``freedom to travel for health care.'' My colleague has introduced a bill that is as basic as it gets--freedom. The fact is, six Republicans on the Supreme Court have ripped that freedom out by the roots. Now State governments are moving toward criminalizing travel for healthcare. They are even moving towards criminalizing helping--helping--people travel for healthcare. That is unthinkable, in my view, except millions and millions of Americans are, in fact, thinking about it and being terrified every single day. In my home State of Oregon, we are fortunate to live in a State that protects women's health and women's basic freedoms. My home State is going to be there for people to get the healthcare they need, including an abortion. But the fight cannot be left up to the States. That is why I am so pleased to stand with my colleague from Nevada, Senator Cortez Masto, and my partner from the Pacific Northwest, Senator Murray, to call for the Senate to pass legislation with the name the ``Freedom to Travel for Health Care Act.'' What my colleague's legislation does is protect women and doctors, and she does it by protecting a constitutional right--the constitutional right to interstate travel. Colleagues, even 3 weeks after the ruling that overturned Roe, it is shocking and appalling to see what has come next. We see States sprinting towards banning and criminalizing abortion outright. Are you a victim of rape or incest? No exceptions. Are you a child? You will still be forced to birth a child. Is your life in danger if you carry a pregnancy to term? You better get your affairs in order. That is the world millions and millions of American women are living in now that the Republicans on the Supreme Court have ripped away Roe v. Wade. More women's lives are in danger. More American freedoms are disappearing. The legislation proposed by my colleague from Nevada is as basic as it gets. The Senate needs to act now, and it needs to act without any further delay. I yield the floor.

Mr. WYDEN

Mr. WYDEN. Mr. President, this is an exciting time for my home State of Oregon. The eyes of the sports world are turning to the city of Eugene, where thousands of elite athletes have arrived for the World Athletics Championships that start Friday. For those who may not have been paying attention, Eugene, OR, is known in track-and-field circles as TrackTown USA. Eugene has fewer than 200,000 residents, but it punches far above its weight as one of the athletic capitals of the world, particularly the newly rebuilt Hayward Field on campus at the University of Oregon. My view is, you are not going to find a better track-and-field venue anywhere else. And that is not only because it is where the Oregon Ducks routinely fly past the competition; it is the home of track and field in the United States dating back decades to when Bill Hayward first had his vision for the sports in Eugene. It is a vision that picked up speed when Oregon's own Steve Prefontaine provided drills for me when I was a law school student at the University of Oregon, as well as millions of running fans the world over. And, of course, Hayward Field has been home for Olympics trials in greatness, as well as dominance by my fellow Ducks in college meets. The legacy of athletics in Eugene is a big reason why it is the first ever American city to host the World Athletics Championships. This year, the games are known as Oregon22. Two thousand top Olympic-level athletes are going to compete. They come from nearly 200 countries. They are the best of the best, ready to break records and make their home countries proud. A little bit ago, I was home, and I talked with the fantastic team of workers who have been working for years on this event. It has been a colossal team effort carrying the baton over the line, but now, the games are about to start. And I can tell you an awful lot of Oregonians are thrilled at the prospect of witnessing this level of unique competition in person at Hayward Field and across the Willamette River in the streets of Springfield. This is also a spectacular showcase for my home State. Not only is Eugene playing host to thousands of athletes, organizers, staff, media, and fans, the games will be broadcast to an audience of a billion people around the world--let me repeat that--a billion people who are going to learn something about what makes my home State so special and different. London has hosted this competition. Paris has hosted this competition. Tokyo has hosted this competition. Now it is our turn in Eugene, OR, and I could not be more proud. So, Mr. President, I would just say everybody ought to tune in from July 15 to July 24. The athletes are going to put on an amazing show, and so is my home State of Oregon. I yield the floor.

Mr. WYDEN

Mr. WYDEN. Mr. President, I am honored to recognize Karen Fisher for her decades of leadership toward innovation and systematic change to improve the health of Americans. Karen may be retiring from a momentous health policy career, but the Nation will long feel the positive impact of her work. From 2011 to 2016, the Senate Finance Committee was fortunate to benefit from Karen's expertise on the Medicare program and other key health policy issues. Serving as senior health counsel, Karen led the committee's work in 2015 to permanently repeal the outdated and flawed sustainable growth rate--SGR--formula previously used to determine Medicare physician payments and to replace it with a new payment system that advances value-based care for the millions who rely on the Medicare program as a lifeline. In addition to her historic role in permanently retiring the SGR, Karen oversaw legislative activities related to the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation--CMMI--and the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute--PCORI--as she uplifted the transformative effect alternative payment models could have in driving greater commitments to quality and value in healthcare. She also served--and continues to serve--as a mentor to early-career staff on the Committee and across Capitol Hill, offering professional guidance and networking opportunities for the next generation of female leaders. At the Association of American Medical Colleges--AAMC--Karen has continued her commitment to improve healthcare through public policy. Throughout her nearly 6 years as chief public policy officer, the AAMC has been an important voice on the need to expand access to healthcare nationwide by strengthening coverage through both the Affordable Care Act and the Medicaid program and by addressing shortages of physicians and other health professionals. Her more than 25 years of experience also have been an essential asset during the COVID pandemic, as she liaised between Federal policymakers and the academic medicine community to support the heroic efforts of the country's health professionals and scientists in treating patients, expanding access to telehealth, developing and administering COVID tests, advancing research on new countermeasures, developing and deploying vaccines, and enhancing health equity interventions. I know that I speak for health policy professionals nationwide as I express my gratitude for Karen's dedication, talent, mentorship, leadership, and persistence in public service and in betterment of the Nation's health. Thank you, Karen. I am wishing you and your family all the best for a very well-deserved retirement.

Mr. WYDEN

Mr. WYDEN. Mr. President, Senator Merkley and I wish to recognize the 50th anniversary of the Juneteenth Oregon Celebration in our hometown of Portland, OR. Every year on June 19, people in Portland and across the State of Oregon and the Nation join together to celebrate when, on June 19, 1865, more than 250,000 enslaved people in Texas were finally declared free more than 2 years after the signing of the Emancipation Proclamation. Juneteenth is a celebration of freedom and recognition that emancipation was delayed for many enslaved people even after the Civil War was over. This day is among the most important days of commemoration in our Nation. The Juneteenth celebration was brought to Oregon in 1945 by the late and beloved community leader Clara Peoples. She led the first-ever Juneteenth celebration in Oregon at work. When her supervisor told her that if the celebration ran over 15 minutes she would be fired, she announced to her coworkers, ``Hear ye, hear ye. It's Juneteenth. We have 15 minutes to celebrate.'' Thanks to Clara's tireless efforts in the community and her work to create the nonprofit organization Juneteenth OR, the first official citywide celebration of Juneteenth occurred 50 years ago on June 19, 1972--and is today celebrated with a parade and other festivities like delicious food, art and live music. Clara Peoples continued fighting for her community by lobbying at all levels of government to make Juneteenth a recognized holiday on the State and national level. While, sadly, Clara did not live to see her efforts realized, she clearly paved the way for Juneteenth to at long last be declared a Federal holiday and a State holiday in Oregon. Today, we remember and honor her as, in the words of the Rev. Dr. Ronald Myers, ``the mother of Juneteenth.'' Soon after Clara Peoples passed away in 2015, her granddaughters Jenelle Jack and Jynnefer Robinson took over as leaders of Juneteenth OR. Jenelle and Jynnefer continue to champion this special and important event, creating and coordinating online celebrations for 2 years during the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic. They even sent Oregon's candidate for last year's Miss Juneteenth, Aceia Spade from Eugene, OR, to Galveston, TX, where she was crowned National Miss Juneteenth Queen. It was through Jenelle and Jynnefer's efforts--and the efforts of the dedicated staff and volunteers of Juneteenth OR--that Portlanders and Oregonians across the State will once again be able to celebrate Juneteenth in person this year. We look forward to another Clara Peoples Freedom Trail Parade this year, as well as another Miss Juneteenth competition where young Black women will have the opportunity to showcase who they are, their talents, and their confidence. While celebrating a victory in the fight to keep the film ``Birth of a Nation,'' which celebrated the terrorism of the Ku Klux Klan, from being played in Portland, another Oregon hero and notable civil rights advocate Beatrice Morrow Cannady said, ``human rights, the greatest of all rights, and human happiness once again triumphed.'' So we want to say that when enslaved people in Texas finally learned that they were free, human rights and human happiness triumphed. When Juneteenth became a citywide celebration in Portland 50 years ago, human rights and human happiness triumphed. When Juneteenth became a national holiday in 2021, human rights and human happiness triumphed. And now, on the 50th anniversary of Portland's first Juneteenth and the first time that Oregon has recognized this important day as a State holiday, human rights and human happiness have triumphed. Juneteenth is an opportunity to celebrate the emancipation of Black Americans and progress made in the fight for human rights and human happiness. It is also a reminder, however, that the fight for true equity for all Americans is far from over. Together, we must press forward and never stop until all are equal.

Mr. WYDEN

Mr. WYDEN. Mr. President, I rise today to recognize Millie Brother, the founder of Children of Deaf Adults, also known as CODA. As the name implies, CODA is an international group that works to support children of deaf adults, including helping them pursue higher education. Millie grew up in Palo Alto, CA, where I first met her in high school. She was raised in a household with two deaf parents and a hearing sister. Describing her life moving between the deaf and hearing worlds, Millie said ``I felt comfortable in both but not fully immersed in either. The CODA world would become my third option where I felt balance between my Deaf and hearing cultural experiences.'' After Millie finished her graduate program at Gallaudet University, she established CODA in 1983. It began its work to serve both the hearing and nonhearing community. Millie's vision and leadership has allowed CODA to grow from a small, grassroots organization to a worldwide entity with strong familial bonds reaching across global borders, international languages, and societal boundaries. It has become a respected, well-regarded, and vital resource for families that navigate both the hearing and deaf world. CODA works to connect children of deaf parents and support them by organizing conferences and retreats, as well as providing scholarships and financial aid. The Millie Brother Scholarship is an annual financial award given to hearing children of deaf adults to help them pursue their postsecondary education. Over the past few years, scholarships have been awarded to students pursuing postsecondary educational opportunities in Ghana, Nigeria, South Africa, England, New Zealand, Zambia, and the United States. I want to express my profound appreciation to Millie Brother for her life's work, dedication, and advocacy for CODAs around the world. The recent Academy Award-winning movie ``CODA'' underscored the numerous challenges facing families with deaf parents and hearing children. Millie Brother personally understood those challenges and used them as fuel to create a global organization that provides support, compassion, and friendship to CODAs everywhere.

Mr. WYDEN

Mr. WYDEN. Mr. President, it seems very appropriate that Senator Murray, our chair of the HELP Committee--she and I--I am the chair of the Finance Committee--often work together on these issues. As Northwest colleagues, we see how serious and how incredibly damaging the last 24 hours have been to our country. I am going to speak in a few minutes about a Health and Human Services nomination, but I want to pick up where Senator Murray left off with respect to guns and specifically talk about the atrocity--the atrocity--that took place yesterday in Texas. I think Senators can barely begin to imagine the pain the families in Texas are feeling at this moment. They are living every parent's worst nightmare. This morning, around the country millions and millions of parents dropped kids off at school, and they were fearful. In a country that we all believe is and must continue to be the greatest country on Earth, parents drop their kids off at school in fear that a gunman would walk into their classrooms and murder them. Let's think about that. And it has been going on for decades--decades--in our country. We can remember the sinking, empty feeling after Sandy Hook. For a few days, there was a glimmer of hope that the Senate would do something on a bipartisan basis, but then the other side caved to the gun lobby. Congress has done nothing in response to all this carnage in our schools, in our grocery stores, in our churches. Atrocity after atrocity after atrocity, and yet people still live in fear that their kids are next. They live with hopelessness due to the fact that their elected officials are unwilling to act. There are no excuses left. This happened in a State that is flooded with guns. There was armed security at the school and still 19 kids and two teachers are dead, still their families are broken. No excuses. Perhaps that is why I have heard multiple Republicans say today that there is nothing you can do to stop the shootings; that they are just going to happen. That is the way it is. They are going to happen regardless. I just believe with all my being that is just nonsense, and it is ridiculous coming from so many Senators who haven't lifted a finger to do anything about the violence. My wife always says I am a glass-half-full guy. I try to be positive, always about bringing the two sides together. But on this issue, I don't know what else to say. The truth is that if we act, then maybe-- maybe--it will be possible to prevent another massacre in another school. That should be enough. That should be enough. The 100 of us here in the Senate are the ones with the power to act-- not anybody else. It is about us. So, Senators, we have got a choice, either we can choose to act on moral courage or just let the fear and hopelessness win out. As far as I am concerned, if you don't have the moral courage to act here on the Senate floor or at least try to prevent more of these massacres, then you ought to hang it up, go home, and let somebody else have the job.

Mr. WYDEN

Mr. WYDEN. Madam President, I come to the Senate floor today to speak about Senator Orrin Hatch, and I think it is very fitting that the distinguished Senator from Nevada be in the chair because she has been doing very good work on the Senate Finance Committee. And as she knows, Senator Hatch was my partner in leading the Senate Finance Committee for 5 years. The Senate greatly mourns his passing, and I am going to take a few minutes to reflect on the important work he did serving the people of Utah and all Americans, particularly with respect to the Finance Committee. It is no secret that Senator Hatch and I did not always agree 100 percent of the time. We had differences on taxes. We had differences on asylum and immigration. We had differences on the environment. One thing that the two of us did agree on was the value of showing up every day and searching for bipartisanship and for common ground. And we were able to do that, sometimes defying the odds on the Senate Finance Committee, and I am going to briefly recount some of those accomplishments in honor of his memory. First, the landmark reauthorization of the Children's Health Insurance Program, for a decade, the longest ever commitment to children's health since the program was created. And by the way, Senator Hatch was the coauthor of the original bill with his Democratic partner, the late Ted Kennedy. What a success CHIP has been shown to be. A wonderful State-Federal partnership. More than 9 million kids have affordable, quality healthcare thanks to CHIP. Within 2 years of becoming law, 47 States have set up a CHIP program, and today every State participates in CHIP. As my friend from Nevada knows, sometimes it is hard to get the States to agree on whether you might buy a 7Up, all the States, but the CHIP program is a huge effort, and what a remarkable accomplishment, led by Senator Hatch, in keeping kids covered and healthy. In fact, just 5 years after the program was enacted, CHIP reduced the uninsurance rate for children by half. Now, the road to a 10-year reauthorization was not exactly smooth. In fact, the authorization actually expired for nearly 4 months, but despite the setbacks and, as I say, taking on long odds, Chairman Hatch and I just kept at it, focusing on the impact that this historic legislation would have on the reason we all do public service, which is to make people's lives better. And it was clear that this was a real opportunity to make a lasting investment in the well-being of kids, and we were committed to doing that together. So, now, thanks to the leadership of Chairman Hatch, the healthcare for millions of America's kids is secure until 2027. And I know because I remember looking over just a few desks away to Chairman Hatch and wondering if we were going to be able to keep this effort bipartisan, if we were going to actually get it done. He would smile, and he would look over at me in that kind of way, just sort of ``Stick with me, colleague,'' because he so often treated me almost like a son. And it always made me feel that there was a chance, as I said, to show people that even in a very polarized and divisive time, we could get something really important accomplished like standing up for kids. Now, the next item that I want to mention involves transforming the Medicare Program. As my friend from Nevada knows, my roots are with the Grey Panthers, a senior citizens group. When I was coming up, Medicare was a program for acute illness--if you broke your ankle, if you had a horrible case of the flu, you went to a hospital, you saw your doctor-- not Medicare today in Nevada and Oregon. Today, Medicare is about chronic illness: cancer, diabetes, heart disease, strokes, COPD. That is overwhelmingly the Medicare Program today. And when I briefly was chairman of the Finance Committee, I held the first hearing on updating Medicare to place the focus squarely on updating what we always have called the Medicare guarantee. Medicare isn't a slip of paper; it is a guarantee. And Chairman Hatch graciously agreed to continue that effort. It began when I was the chair. And it took the better part of 2 years and a lot of guts for Chairman Hatch to take that on because the rule-- the rule at that time--was you didn't even bring up fundamental Medicare reform because everybody went to opposite sides, and that was the end of the discussion. Chairman Hatch said: Not on my watch. We are going to do something very different. And there were groundbreaking developments in that chronic care bill that make a difference today for Americans. Throughout the pandemic, it was clear that we needed to make bold reforms to increase the role and opportunity for telehealth to serve our people. All our colleagues would come back from a visit home, do something about telehealth. Well, what happened was that the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services was trying to move quickly, and they were looking for a model. And I remember then-Secretary of Medicare and Medicaid Services Seema Verma called me up and said essentially: Would you mind if we used the model for expanding telehealth which Chairman Hatch and you led in the Finance Committee? And we said: We are thrilled, all in, let's go. And today that model continues to expand. As my colleague from Nevada knows, in the recent major budget bill, we expanded it to audio only because we had so many rural communities where they didn't have broadband, where there was a big senior population, and they wanted to expand telehealth. None of that was possible unless Chairman Hatch was willing to take on a big Medicare reform undertaking, updating the guarantee, recognizing that in the 21st century it wasn't like Medicare when it began, and it really is going to make a big, big difference. And as I say, we are going to keep expanding telehealth. My colleague knows we are looking to have a major mental health reform effort in this session. A big part of it will be expanding telehealth in covering mental health services. Chairman Hatch did so much to make that debate possible. Finally, a third area--and this was all in one Congress, three major bills--and I could take kind of another prism and talk about the chairman, but we passed the Family First Prevention Services Act. What an incredibly important task that was. We saw with foster care families, there was a challenge in getting the care that people needed in those facilities, and we saw that many families who weren't in the foster care system were trying to make decisions about how to do what was best for their family. Maybe a loved one, a parent of a child had had some drug challenges, an alcohol challenge, and the choice at that time--Madam President, I think you will recall this--was essentially two options: One, keep the child in a family situation that was far from desirable or, two, send the child off to a foster care facility that left something to be desired, some good foster care, some not so good. Chairman Hatch led the effort to a third path, Family First, so that now when you have families, there might be an older relative, a grandparent, it is called Kinship Care. The grandparent can step in and help the family as a parent might be dealing with that alcohol challenge. And States all over this country now are moving to use Family First. They are moving to make it possible for a grandparent to step in as a caretaker for grandkids. Building flexibility into the system, as my friend from Nevada and I have often talked about, that is not a Democratic or a Republican issue, that is just common sense. And often--often--Chairman Hatch would say: What is just a commonsense approach here? I am going to talk for the remainder of my time about what a pleasure it was to be with Senator Hatch, personally. We met almost every week, alternating between our offices. He would tell stories. He wore a mezuzah with great pride because he so valued his friendship with the Jewish people. He told wonderful stories about his childhood in Pittsburgh, saving up money to take the trolley to the symphony, and fascinating stories about his friendship with Muhammad Ali, which almost invariably led to putting his fists in the air and showing me a little bit about the shadowboxing that he did with his wonderful friend, Muhammad Ali. And then, of course, you would always hear about his side career as a platinum-record-selling musician and composer. And, finally, he was so good to his friends; he almost invariably inflated their accomplishments to those he was with, such as he did for years with me about basketball. He loved talking about books, especially history books. I gave him books that my father had written; he read them closely. He would often bring big books to the floor of the Senate on a late night. And I see so many of our wonderful staff who can probably picture Chairman Hatch sitting right there--and I see the nods--with a big book, reading, and that was a special moment as he made his way through a thick history volume and then told us a little bit about it. What an accomplished Senator. What a good man. Nancy and I send our condolences to Elaine, to their children, to the many staffers who worked with Chairman Hatch over the years. And I want to close this way because this is how Chairman Hatch often closed a meeting. We would meet in each other's offices every week. And I remember, often he would stand up at the end of the meeting, giving me one of those inimitable Orrin Hatch smiles, and he would look at me and he would go: ``So long, friend.'' That was Orrin Hatch today. I yield the floor. I suggest the absence of a quorum.

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