here is what happened. the majority of the night was a calmpent listening to speakers, chanting, singing marching. toward 11:30-ish folks gathered on the the justice center. i intentionally positioned at the front of the line with the moms to see for myself the truth. there were definitely some idiot kids yelling stupid and mainly wey, sweating in the heat, holding signs chanting in solidarity with black lis matter. more experienced protester told masks to get af people back since they knew to expect c.s. gas again tonight. the only physical actions taken before all hell broke loose is that some of the protesters were banging and kicking loudly on the thick plywood wallstructed to block the entrance to the justice center. we waited, and then suddenly some kind of bullets started shooting out of a small hole cut in the plywood. i felt a few stings pebbles or but it scared some kind

of smoky stuff was in the already couldn't see very well my swim googles fogged up. i didn't feel any burning. those without respirators began leaving. huge explosions were going off in front and behind us.s linked arm and stood together suddenly all of these big officers in riot gear with about atons trying to push us off the steps of the justice center. we tried to holdd but then one mom was pulled group of officers and they started to drag her away. she must have said something inflammatory but she was linked r officers who said, pull her down, get her on ground. they pulled me to the ground and

grabbedac someone from the moms said, let's go. they are surrounding us, we can't do anything now. bu swim goggles had leaked and my eyes were burning and tearing and i couldn't crouched on the ground in a ball and put both hands up. then i if i was okay, if i could stand. i couldn't because i couldn't see. at least one of them said, i'm trying to help you. the crowd was yelng leave her alone and c from behind me and coaching me to stand still. stood there shaking getting my bearings and finally i asked if i was being detained. heard back and forth conversations from officers about, shees r away. someone elsed, if she's willing to leave let her go. i scoot back on my butt and some kind soul asked me if he could help me get away from the gas

and walked park. some other kind soul asked if we needed maalox for our it helped a felt sorryicers, actually who were doing what they were told byher ups that is to disperse nonviolent force. as my experience last night some to maybe because i'm white i'm and i'm wearing yellow to i got away with some knees and some metallic taste but worse heart.s senseless out there. i don't have answers and amnger convinced that showing helping anything, however i am pretty if't beenhis would have as productive -- about the actual issues police brutalitocialnequities for people of color now look at we look at these

protesters who are justice for policing t equally that doesn't fro file, doesn't provide public safety protection to ignore others, thatsn v some citizens a the centizens ast, that doesn't change theirl) actions when they group with white skin versus black skin andnversation byhe p america. 's trying to replace that argument forrica that treats people with respect and honors the civil rights of all with a different america where secret police are deplo to beat thelk peaceful protesters and then put up campaign ads say he'll it. we cannot let this go unanswered. at a collectively us should say no secret police. identifiers for identifiers, and don't gts of our city. they stay to protect the federal propertyed to protect. they d

protesters with and tear gas and pepper spray and rubber bullets and about atons. we don't do that in america. i hopell stand yes very simple amendment that i.d. uniforms, it there's no secret police, and yes to staying near your property so don't have folks on unrestricted mission of grab being p an intoans like we have in portland. i'm asking this senate to job, address this issue hold the debate,ong or short as my colleagues would prefer, and vote. it's important we raise our voice. it's important we vote. it's important that we have accountability and it's important that defend thes and theu, president. mr. president.

the presiding officer: the senator mr. president, i ask unanimous consent that the following called up en bloc and on adoption of the amendments en bloc with no intervening action or before i read the names, which i will do, i make thatéd requestanimous consent for the following amendments to be called up en bloc and the sen

l of the amendments so t no misunderstanding.reason this, we talked about this last night. these hotlined. these are a total28 amendments, and i recor that asking consent$ 21880 rubio 2305, grassley 2399 fischer 4431, perdue 2449, perdue 2459, tlis, 2484, r 1 -- 2421, 1752, cardin 1876, heinrich, 2221, klobachar, 2225, udall 2407, schumer 2410, booker 2412, king king 2439 grassleyan 24 of 46 asodified, 2453, 2430,fied klobachar

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; unemplmeut work and the of a 40-hour workweek, down to an average of about hour being abl of their reguloesnal mts than they they actually now, fact has b been newsrchers and administration trea secretary tim geithncil on economic p on top of unemploymt insurance thro cross my time. ple who runam. they tell me people areh more than ifed where you have employe there hoping, looking foro pay people more to not work than to work. of trying to address this identifiable and correctable pro payments and untargeteon m pelosi, speaker of the hli these the way until mi would b wetconomy. people back to -- e it's likely wouldrillion -- $1sident and much of that we're talkingo not wor in toint doesn'tn not working than they would makee working upon a plan now to providl the÷f

unemployed. if they can't go back to work there isn't availablehey can't go out a being to work, but do it in way that the democrats hav mr. president, that they proposed. and we much more closelyages. so we're going to be i mr. president. i hope m engage with us in that effort. for these reasons mr. president, i object. president? the presiding officer objection is heard. the senator fromgoing to get into the substance colleag arguments in a moment but just want to be clear to a in america, the 30-plus wh making rent having problems buying groceries, who in just two--e a positio they'reli kids, hey you probably have to eat a unemployment is ending. so that folks would be able rent buy groceries. on this the democratic leatroduced legislation tie the befits to economic ground. theenefits

oughtd if unemployment goes what our bill does. that it0 are on an economic tightrope this weekend side of the aisle been ready go for weeks essentially months to have bipartisan negotiations to w this iss as of this afternoon benefits expiring in two days on offer. & let mepeaton on t(- aisle they write lots of bills to help multinational lots of bills to help the powerful a special afternoon there is not help those folks to be saying we to make rent in a few days, we're not going to ba able to feed our families going to be able to pay for the car insurance. people aren't spending this money on luxuries. it onto a gre th months. the other point

i want to tha happen. not only do we have legislationto discuss with our co incorporate some of theiraching again mitch took all of jul off when he could have been getting thif legislation together, those big two weeks the together, basically by osmosis -- actively gave shrihe unemployed and made no whatever, even though we continually republicans saying that this weekend, and the pain that working families have this weekend didn't have to happen, and we wanted to do everything we can working wit our colleagues to prevent it. for purposes fergget discussion, i want to -- for

purposes of this discussion i want to make sure people really means workingntry. i was out at home with food banks and the like, lines for blocks mr. president people who had never neede a pantry or a food program were waiting in line because they have been hit by this economic wrecking ball. there a worried about losin their fill andut whatave to tell your kid you ought to eat less becausew cash to stock the pantry next month. i said, republicans' response to this over the last weeks i went to school basketball scholarship, and i remember when you could basically go into four corners offense basically run down the clock. and then at the end as my distinguished colleaguerom wyoming tried to do, say well,

it's the fault of the poor people.r people. and i'mo touch on what this reall about. now, mr.gan the negotiations and i was the point person for the democrats, in the finance room i offered basic wage as our position for dealing with this issue. secretary oftz labor scalia can't be the states can't administer it. western civilization is pretty much going t if we try to do this. and then he folded arms and for days basically refused to negotiate about alternatives. so understand that we started approach of basic wage replacement.

secretary scalia said can't be done. statesck i didn't disagre t gave $1 billion to the states to help them update but i said we're not going workers we're not going t workers to pounce sand. so i basically said we're going to average the benefit. $600 sa bit more than they would some people are going to get a bit less. but families are going to to have a chance based on what the state employment offices told to actually get benefits. now i know that it hasn't worked out too well in the state of florida. the president of the senate, and i'm so t this in the debate. but at least millions in this country got a chance toe rent buy medicine because we said we're going to take a sum of money that the states told us they could actually for the most part administer. now the finance committee held a

hearing on unemployment insurance this summer, and i particularlyow we might look at administering these benefits in the future because i knew that we would all want to hear if there have been reforms and what the case might be during that hearing just a few weeks ago the national association of state workforce agencies the experts on this re to the administered, said that -- their words -- any reduction or change in will absolutely lead to lapse benefits. now you other side would say my goodness we don't want that to happen. these state workforce agencies said that there in benefits the amount,

d last a weekentially up to a well i've been pointing out to senators you can't eat retro activity. and yet everything i've heard about what colleagues want to do now -- remember, they a bill. they do not have a bill. they are taking the weekend off. we've got a bill on this side. de leader, myself, supported by our caucus, we've got a bill. we're ready to talk. they don't have a bill to do anything for those people who are going to be weekend. but after that hearing, you would have thought people republican senators on the other side would say you know, we've got to figure out what to do. we've got to make sure people aren't going to fall between the cracks, through no fault ofq their own. remember so many of them are at home because

policies of quarantine. and of course the pattern is particularly ominous now because folks who were furloughed at the beginning then got brought back and now with the spike they're getting laid off but there you have it. the association of state workforce agency says that any change can lead to lapse in benefits. and i guess my colleagues on the other side walked out of there and said no big deal, it's just a few weeks. well tell that to the people who aren't going to have enough make rent and buy groceries next week. tell that to face rather than just leave town and say we'll talk about it another time and we'll see about twor weeks and

what people are going to have to do without this lifeline. i believe it's going to to be a disaster. the lapse that is being forced on thisntry right now is because senate republicans would not step up at along way, after the hearing, during the july break, they did not step up. the lapse is going to lead to evictions, it's going to lead to hunger, it's going to lead to desperation for millions of americans. and the only way to avoid it is by acting now by passing the american workforce rescue act that senator schumer and i introduced. we just tried to passif our bill had passed, the people who are going to be hurting this weekend who aren't going to be able to make rent and aren't going to be able to buy groceries would have some

sense security. they would be able to go to bed night this weekend had our bill passed knowing that there would be an opportunity to work with the other body and get this resolved and get it resolved quickly. now people know one thing, thatú& better plan for yet more uncertainty and more pain. as my colleagues on the other side of the aisle say well maybe it will get worked out in a few wthey're talking about working out -- remember there is no bill. we've never of paper. but they're talking about cutting the lifeline over 50%. that's their proposal, cutting it more than 50%. now at a minimum at a minimum i believe that what the

republicans are now looking at is some kind of approach that after secretaryca s the senate that the states can't do full-wage replacement for individual workers that they're not capable of doing it the technology is too old it can't get the math, it can't get individually tailored benefits out in timely way apparently my colleagues are using that model for their so-called idea that ey talk about.'ve already mentioned the fact that they believe the for this is that it could be done people hurting for tho nobody has an answer to that. but everybody ought to understand that i was the first one to offer full wage replacement, i would say to the

president and it was secretary scalia whot couldn't be administered and has never changed hisind obltions point. so my view is thatle lot of complexity to the unemployment system is a proposal designed to fail. that apparently is what senate republicans are talking about. so at minimum this delay in the senate is going to cause a lapse in benefits. on top of that, it's beenrted the republicans could attempt to cut the b by well over 50% i just ask, how can anybody look at the state of the country powerful people and special interests can be doing so well and then decide to cut the economic lifeline for working families by well over 50% when the country is in the middle of a pandemic, when

there are 60,000 or 70,000 new covid cases every day and climbing when there are 800 900, 1,000 case cass covid cases every day and climbing, when the number of new unemployment claims which before this year never crossed 1.3 million or in fact, the number of cl first time since april an that the recovery is going in reverse. and as i mentioned what i'm hearing about businesses that reopened in may and jun off their workers for a second time. a third of americans couldn't make their last parents who lost their jobs are wondering how they're going to feed their children. and i just says who may be following this, t an unthinkable level of pain and suffe and unc needlessly inflict on 30 million americans. and it's not just about those who work. it's about the millions of others who are worried that their pink slip might come in august or september or october.

they nrt too. and in fact the papers are full of businesses closing and -- and mr. president closing permanently. and i expect allf those people are worried that o laid off pink slip may be coming their way in aep or october can have a word or two forir senators who are going to find plenty of time to write bills to multinational corporations but can't find the time to stand up for unemployed folks who are hurtin is afternoon, mr. president, i want to touch on this argument that republicans have flogging away on for now thatmployment benefits are generous and somehow theynced that it makesnse to insult the american

worker and say that all these around lazily at home instead of going back to that argumentot pass the test. and i'm going to be very specific about why that argument trotted again by my friend from wyoming is way off base. first of all same republicans whoy and june josh reports are now -- may and june job reports are talking about how lazy workers are by refusing to go back their you simply can't have it bh ways. second, not one of my republican to suggest turning done work. these antidotes don't hold recent analysis, workers went back to jobs that paid less than supercharged unemployment benefits. third it's an insult to workers to say t home t pay work. if anyone of my colleagues were to meet the oregonians that i have spoken to and were laid

during the pandemic, they desperately want to go back tot's the dignity of work, people who want to provide for their families and it's an insult to lazy. mr. president want to kind o notef reality into this because my republican colleagues have been so fixated on this are argument. i've talked to a lot of unemployed workers and i said, you know back east the senate republicans say all unemployed folks are lazy and they don't want to work and all the many of unemployed look at mncus and they say,$d ron how in the world have they coatomy idea. and they usually say if i'm given a choice between chance to

have a job in the private economy where i have a future build upward economic mobility, they usual say, tell those republicans in washington, d.c. it's a no-brainer. it's a no-braine the opportuni work in the p the ladder economic mobility. i'm going to take tha time ratr than unemployment that certainly uncertain. so that's my response to the offbase kind of argumentesented by senator barrasso and if republic home this weekend the millions of americans who believe in the dignity of work,heir constitutional right. the country obviously is nowhere near the end of this pandic. businesses are going to keep

closing, some temporarily others permanently. we're looking at the worst unemployment crisis since the grea depression, and put together initially, the super-charged unemployment benefits -- and i'm especially that we said that the law which really hadn't been updated since 1930's, that we would modernize the law and allow gig workers and the self-employed and independent contractors and part be brought into the s those super-charged benefa the finance committee room -- which way were signed off by secretary mnuchin. this was not the dead only one side going along with the effort. these we negotiated with secretary mnuchin who actually endorsed it at terence. these s been the one thing

that has kept millions oons of families from a position where they couldn't feed their fami rent, andd of fear that has made, mr. president the number of requests for mental health services go throughhere because people are so worried and this question of their economic future is just one reason. super-charged unemployment benefits has helped afloat, has helpedrue meltdown and even withine, s/g many are hanging they fall behind bills. i mentioned the threat of hunger. myow important it is to act on housing assistance. it would be an historic morally and economically to slash thiseline that is so important getting workers through a pandemic. the democraticnator i carefullyoes. the factp are

unemployment for some said, let's come up with a dependable safety netha some measure of predictability with respect government is going to approach these issues in the future. my colleagues have said that they want a system that has the benefits off goes down. democratic leader and i have proposed does exactly that, but whenyesterday there was a story post," i think8king about 5%. unemployment reaches those we saw that story, people waiting and waiting for hours and in fact, mr. president, i don't have the exact percentage. i think i ask unanimousla that story about the unemployment calamity in oklahoma into the record at this point. the presiding officer: without objection.n so i so i close by way

of saying that i came to the floor sometime ago to ask unanimous consent to make weekend when millions of hurting -- remember, starts in two days. starts saturday two days, in in oregon, in wyoming, all over country. and mitch was let's take a break. we can take off. he didn't to see those hurting people in to say to him this weekend. bu i think it's for senate republicans to haverittered away weeks we could have had a dialogu when we

coulde talked ideas. he's been about health care. so ioy talking to my colleagues and working on ideas to way to concerns and solve there one single effort, not one to pick up on any of that i've been discussing here. in fact, i tried to reach colleagues on the other side and said i heard you heard you said repeatedly benefits shouldsoes down. well, that's part of -- that's the heart of our bill on this side. so t hurt and pain that working families are going to face this saturday and sunday, two days from have to happen. it didn't have to happen. our side has a bil work on,

the other side, i gather, has

mcconnell: mr. president as i saiduesday our nation stands aritical midway point in our fight against t it through

the springtime lockdos. americans'rifices saved our medical system. and the act helped millions of families make it through. this still with us. it kills more americans every day. some areas that have reopened have seen cases spike. our hospitals, health care providers and especially our vulnerable citizens are nowhere near out of meanwhile although the early days of our economic recovery have beaten expectations and surprised the experts, we have really only begun to repair the damage. more than 17 million americans are still far too many families are still hurting. this is not o america's fight continues and so congress support for must continue as well.ate majority has assembled a framework for cares two. the administration has requested

additional time the fine details, but we will be laying down this proposal early next week. we have an agreement in principle on t shape of the package. it is the framework that will enable congress to make law and deliver more relief to the american people that is tailored precisely to this the crisis. chairman grassley, alender collins, rubiolunt and senators cornyn and romneyheaded a part of cares two. and so on monday these committee chairmen and republican members will introduce each component. the sum of these efforts -- the sum of these efforts will be a strong targeted piece of legislation aimed directly we face right now. so, mr. president our country is in a months ago and the future day when the vaccine will put all this

finall us. our project now is to build a middle ground thatmart and safe but more sustainable. we are still waging a health care war against the virus and we cannot let up on that. we need to continue to strengthen the defenses we have built, encouraging mas wearing supporting testing, and racing toward treatments and vaccines. at theame time the greatest country needs to get back on offense. we need to carefully but proactiv back normalcy. this disease has already stolen the lives of more than 140,000 americans. it has stolen a half a year of our national life. we cannot let the robbery continue without a fight. we cannot let this pandemic rob us indefinitely of our educations and the liveli 17 million americansamerican workers.

we need to get americans back to work and school while continuing to fight for our nation's health. that is what cares two is designed to do. ou not waste the american people's time with go nowhere socialist fantasies. we aren't choreographing political stunts or teeing up the same old warfare. our proposal will focus on three things. jobs, and health care. number one kids needs to educate its children and young adults. our kids need us to in their future and working parents need some certainty. we need as many k-12 schools colleges, and universities as possible to be safely welcoming students this fall. so chairman alexander chairman shelby and chairman blunt are finalizing an ambitious package of funding and policy to help our schools reopen.

they will lay out a reopening-relate funding package for schools and universities north of $100 billion. that's more money than the housesed for a similar fund. and there will be several important policies to help child care providers grant new flexibility to elementary and secondary schools and more. number two jobs and the economy. two provisions of the cares act worked especially well to help households stay afloat and help us a many workers as possible to stay employed. so will explain, republicans won't descend a second -- won't send a second round of direct payments to american households and senator collins and senator rubio have crafted a sequel to their historic and incredibly successful paycheck protection would give the hardestit businesses an opportunity

second loan if pay their workers. we also intend to continue some temporary federal supplement to insurance while fixing the obvious craziness of paying people more to remain out of the. small business owners across the country have explained how this dynamic is slowly rehiring and recovery. so we're going to provide help but make sure i suited to reopening the economy. relief cannot be our end game. americans do not just want to scrape by. they want to thrive again. they want a road back to the incredible job market we had just a few months ago. so chairman grassley will also lay out bold policies to incentivize retention encourage offelp obtain the p.p.e. testing, and employees and inties customers -- entice customers. think of it this way, mr.

president. in the spring our economy needed life support. to continuing to support families, we must also get the economy into physical therapy so it can actually regain its strength. and finally looking torm the covid-19 crisis has weakened the critical federal trust funds that americans rely on. so as senator romney will explain, our proposal includes a bipartisan bill cosponsored by senate democrats to help a future congress evaluate bipartisan proposals for protecting and strengthening the programs that americans count on. now, our third policy -- our third pillar is the most important of all. health care. our entire reopening and recovery depend on knocking this awful virus on to its heels. so as chairman alexander blunt grassley, and shelby will

explain, cares two will continue to treat the root causes of this medical crisis. more resources for hospitals and health care workers. more help to keep sprinting toward diagnostics treatments, and vaccines. new policies to shield seniors from a spike in medicare premiums. and new legislation that will leave us wit surge capacity to produce medical countermeasures right here at home the next time a crisis strikes. there is one more essential element that ties schools jobs, and health care all together. legal protections to prevent our historic recovery efforts from simply lining the pockets of trial will preserve accountability in cases of actual gross negligence

or intentional misconduct, but we're going to make sure that nurses and doctors who f unknown are not swamped by a tidal wave of malpractice suits. and wll make sure that school districts, colleges, churches, employers that obey official guidance do not have to delay reopening because they're afraid they'll spend ten years in court. so this is where senate republicans are f for health care, more direct help for american families and strong policies to help our country pivot into a safe reopening. we will propose to continue and renew some of the most successful cares act policies while adding bold, new ideas to help and jobs open for the american people. this is the country needs. this is what we will introduce.

we are repeating the successful strategy that produced historic bipartisan cares act back in march. first, i asked a number of republicans to spearhead a serious first draft. then we put those elements together and invited our democratic colleagues to the table and guided by our road map working with the administration, the senate reached a bipartisan outcome. earlier this week even speaker pelosi and leader schumer seemed to concede that things go better when republicans lead. they themselves said the real work on this next bill would laid out the framework. well i'm glad my democratic friends see things the same way i do. i just hope they meet our serious, fact-based proposal with the that got us the cares act rather than the cynical partisanship that led them to block police reform just last month.

doctors and nurses will need democrats to come to the table the. unemployed americans will need democrats to come to the table. working parents and schoolchildren will need democrats to come to the table. we've known all along the american people would defeat this virus by understanding that we're all in this together -- every single one of us. if we want to deliver more historic relief, the senate will need to remember the very same thing. mr. president? the presiding officer: the majority leader. mr. mcconnell: i ask unanimous consent that notwithstanding

rule 22, theture time on the hardy nomination be considered expired and the confirmation vote on that nomination occur at 5:30 p.m. on monday july 27. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. mcconnell: i move to proceed to legislative session. the presiding officer: question is on the motion. you will those i all those opposed no. the ayes appear to have it. the ayes do have it. the motion is disagreed to. mr. mcconnell: i move to proceed to executive session to consider calendar number 647. the presiding officer: the question is on the motion. all those in favor, say aye. those opposed, say no. the ayes appear to have it. the ayes do have it. the motion is agreed to. the clerk will report the nomination. the clerk: nomination, the judiciary. david cleveland joseph of louisiana to be united states district judge for the western district of louisiana. mr. mcconnell: send a cloture

motion to the desk. the presiding officer: the clerk will report the motion. the clerk: cloture motion: we, the undersigned senators, in accordance with the provisions of rule 22 of the standing rules of the senate, do hereby move to bring to a close debate on the nomination of david cleveland joseph of louisiana to be united states district judge for the western district of the louisiana, signed by 17 senators as follows -- mr. mcconnell: i ask the reading of the names be waived. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. mcconnell: i move to proceed to legislative session. the presiding officer: question is on the motion. all those in favor, say aye. those opposed, say no. the ayes appear to have it. the ayes do have it. the motion is agreed to. mr. mcconnell: i move to proceed to executive session to consider calendar number 641. the presiding officer: question is on the motion. all those in favor, say aye. those opposed, say no. the ayes appear to have it. the ayes do have it. the motion is agreed to. the clerk will report the nomination.

the clerk: nomination, department of housing and urban development. dana at the wade of the district of columbia to be an assistant secretary. mr. mcconnell: i send a cloture motion to the desk. the presiding officer: the clerk will report the motion to invoke cloture. the clerk: cloture motion: we, the undersigned senators, in accordance with the provisions of rule 22 of the standing rules of the senate, do hereby move to bring to a close debate on the nomination of dan in a t. wade of the district of columbia to be an assistant secretary of housing housing and urban development. mr. mcconnell: i ask the reading of the names be waived. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. mcconnell: i move to proceed to legislative session. the presiding officer: question is on the motion. all those in favor, say aye. those opposed, saye it. the ayes do have it. the motion is agreed to. mr. mcconnell: i move to proceed to executive session to consider calendar number 705. the presiding officer: question is on the motion. all those in favor, say aye. those opposed, say no.

the ayes appear to have it. the motion is agreed to. the clerk will report the nomination. the clerk: nomination, national labor relations board. marvin kaplan of kansas to be a member. mr. mcconnell: i send a cloture motion to the desk. the presiding officer: the clerk will report the motion to invoke cloture. the clerk: cloture motion: we, the undersigned senators, in accordance with the provisions of rule 22 of the standing rules of the senate, do hereby move to bring to a close kaplan of kansas to be a member of the national labor relations board. signed by 17 senators as follows -- mr. mcconnell: i ask that the waived. the presiding officer:, would. proceed to legislative session. the presiding officer: question is on the motion. all those in favor, say aye. those opposed, say no. the ayes appear to have it. the ayes do have it. the motion is agreed to. mr. mcconnell: i move to proceed to executive session to consider calendar number 707. the presiding officer: question is on the motion. all those in favor, say aye. those opposed, say no.

the ayes appear to have it. the ayes do have it. the motion is agreed to. the clerk will report the nomination. the clerk: nomination, national labor relations board. lauren mcgarity mcferran of diumbia to be a member of the. mr. mcconnell: i send a cloture motion to the desk. the presiding officer: the clerk will report the motion to invoke cloture. the clerk: cloture motion: we, the undersigned senators, in accordance with the provisions of rule 22 of the standing rules of the senate, do hereby move to br the nomination of lauren mcgarity mcferran of the district of columbia to be a member of the national national labor relations board signed by 17 senators as follows -- the presiding officer: i ask that the -- mcconnell i ask that the reading he was names be waived. officer if without objection. mr. mcconnell: i ask unanimous consent that the motions for the cloture motions be waived. the presiding officer: without

ms. hirono: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from hawaii. ms. hirono: as we finally begin negotiations on the next covid bill, i know that democrats are ready to come to the floor with a sense of urgency at least two years ago when the house passed the heroes act. before i begin my remarks on education today i want to pay tribute to the life appeared work extraordinary public servant, my friend congressman john was a remarkable man whose deep convictions and concerted actions made an indelible mark on american history. and we c hours chronicling his contributions to public life. from his speech on the march on march and the mash across the

edmund pettus bridge on bloody sunday his leadership on gun safety civil rights and voting rights during his time inress john meant so much to our country but he also meant a lot to each of us who had the privilege to call him a friend and colleague. almost everyone who served with john in his 30-plus decades in the house has a story or two to tell. i certainly do. i fondly remember traveling with john to ireland as part of a peace and reconciliation summit organized bid the faith in politics -- by the faith in politics institute in 2014. during our trip, i remember how young irish activists connected with john's powerful work as a civil rights leader, committed to nonviolent resistance to oppression and peaceful reconciliation. the following year, marched across the edmund pettus bridge with john to mark the 50th anniversary of blood did i sunday, one of the most

ice one of john, me, and the late hawaii congressman dekay. and we were all wearing bayh from hawaii. mark who we also lost too soon, organized a delivery of hundreds of lei that day to commemorate the giftcwa can a to dr. -- akaka to dr. martin luther king jr. 50 years ago for the third march in selma. news footage from that time showed dr. king and other leaders wearing the white carnation lei reverend akaka, the brother of the akaka. over the years that photo of the leave it us in our fresh lei has always brought a smile to my face. i know many similares to share and it's been meaningful to hear so many people on both sides of the aisle recognize john's life and work in statements and speeches. it is certainly appropriate to honor john with our words but

it would be better i honored john through our actions. because while john was certainly a gifted orator, he was also a man of action, of good trouble. the best way for us to honor john's extraordinary life's work would be for the senate to vote on and pass the voting rights advancement act now renamed in jo action not just words. on education mr. president last week we heard two unbelievable and frankly horrifyi from the trump administrts push to reopen our schools. on cnn's "state of the union" betsy devos claimed that, quote there's nothing in the data that suggests that kids being in school is in any way dangerous end quote. later in the week, white house press secretary responded to

criticism of the president's position on school reopenings, said quote the science should the way of this, end quote. these comments reflect a president and admistration's disregard for the health and safety of our teachers, students and families. the president's and his enablers accuse democrats of pushing back on his administration's reckless policies for political reasons. the truth is, if there's noun one president trump has made clear time and again is that he doesn't do anything without a self-serving political motive. come on, we all want our schools to open. including the parents and the students i've spoken with. but, of course, we want schools safely, without exposure to the virus. and i really don't understand why betsy devos doesn't get reopening our schools safely in the midst of this pandemic woul even with competent leadership in the

white house and the department of education. instead we have a president and secretary of education who threaten to withhold funding for schools who refuse to reopen, who support sweeping mandates for schools reopen before it's safe to do so, who push the c.d.c. to weaken its guidelines on school reopenings. the cavalier disregard for our studentse staff hasuced uncertainty in states and local communities already under this pandemic. increasingly states are forced to create their own guidelines leaving teachers, students, parents, and principals unsure about how to return to school safely. this uncertainty ito a growing anxiety across our country. but it's more approximate concern in hawaii where schools are scheduled to reopen on august 4 less than t away. earlier this summer, the hawaii department of education and the hawaii state teachers

association collaborated on a plan to provide individual sc decide howest to begin the school at the time the low numbers of covid optimism that some schools could reopen for at least some in-person instruction at the beginning of the school year. an evolving set of facts on the ground including a rise in new covid infections in our state led the hawaii state teachers association to announce its opposition to res in-person instruction on august 4. the hawaii government employees association h.g.e.a., united public workers represent school support staff and both unions have joined h.hgea to delay students returning to classrooms citing lack of health strategies to mitigate the spread of campuses. end q importance of relying on s health data decisions about our schools.

if the circumstances warrant our policy should change to learn environment. as school districts confront difficult choices with painful trade-offs, our students and educators deserve resources, and sup the federal government. i heard this message consistently in mytudents in hawaii over the last two weeks during our state work period. teachers are particularly concerned about how looming bu hawaii could lead to aayoffs or furloughs and broader budget cuts to education programs would have devastating consequences for educators their families, and the students they teach. elementary teacher in hawaii told me how the threat of furloughs and budget cuts are impacting his life. he is a son of central american up grants and a first-generation college graduate. he and his fiance who is also a teacher would like to buy a home and start a family, but they can't proceed with their plans under the furloughed. he's been a teacher for nine

years and loves his job. teachers are concerned about being forced to return to school to teach their own school age children. some of whom may be physically in classrooms or not. a middle schoolteacher had to quit her job and return to maryland so that her parents could care for her infant daughter. the school has been forced to fill the position with substite teachers who are not certified. another major concern for teachers is the learning loss that accelerates when students are not in class. a high school science teacher in maui is worried that his students do not have the technology and successful assistance learning model. and teachers there must share computer cards because their school doesn't have enough laptops for each student. he's also worried about how his students will complete their assignments if they are learning from home two or more days a week. a teacher at my alma mater added that many of her students due to

economic necessity either shareptops or don't have access to a laptop or tablet at home. student government with have also shared their concerns about loss and how the pandemic has transformed their educations. a recent graduate headed to college in boston commented that distance learning was difficult for her to navigate because she did not have access to technology growing up. she described the move to as frantic and explained that it was discouraging to continue her studies without the student teacher interactions she previously had. a rising senior in honolulu shared how difficult it was to stay motivated through distance learning especially as his peers stopped participating. he acknowledged that he had probably experienced learning loss. another senior found it hard to learn online because she is a visual learner. some of her teachers did not

offer visual lessons so she had to teach herself. she also found less interaction with teachers made it more difficult to complete her assignments. these stories underscore the urgency and immediacy of the challenges we face in reopening our schools. it's past time for the senate to confront this crisis in american education and the first thing we should is pass the heroes act legislation our colleagues in the house two months ago. heroes provides an in an education stabilization fund. but we should go enfurther. recently i joined 40 my democratic colleagues to request an additional $175 billion for k-12 schools through the elementary and secondary emergency relief fund. these funds would help schools purchase cle laptop computers and implement programs to make sure we are meeting the social, emotional and academic needs of our students.

hawaii's superintendent estimated this need would cost $234 million for our students just in hawaii. a about students k-12. these programs are especially important for our vulnerable students from economically disadvantaged backgrounds students with disabilities, english languagrners, and others. and we should also pass the child cares essential act which would provide $50 billion for child care providers who desperately need financial assistance to continue operating. how can we work if they don't have child care options? this crisis in american education requires a robust national effort to meet the need. instead of stepping up to meet this moment, we have a president and an education secretary who have shown they do not care about hour students and our teachers. that means the rest of us must care. the senate. we are a separate coequal branch

of government. we must step up to fill this enormous vacuum of leadership by putting the safety of our teachers our children before the president's political self-interests. mr. president, i yield the floor. ms. hirono: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from hawaii. ms. hirono: i note the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk quorum call:

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eader. mr. mcconnell: i ask unanimous consent the senate proceed toe en bloc consideration of the followingns -- executive calendar 567 and 629. the presiding officer: without objection. the clerk will report the nominations en bloc. the clerk: grant y. jaquith of new york to be judge of the united states court of appeals of veterans claims. scott lower to be judge of the claims. mr. mcconnell: i ask that if confirmed the motions to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table en bloc, the president be immediately notified of the senate's action.

the presiding officer: without objection. the questions under consideration are the nominations en bloc. all in favor say aye. opposed no. the ayes appear to have it. the ayes do have it. the nominations are confirmed. mr. mcconnell: i ask unanimous consent the senate proceed to legislative session for a period of morning senators permitted to speak therein for up to ten minutes each. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. mcconnell: i have five requests for committees to meet during today's session of the senate. they have the approval of the majority and minority leaders. the presiding officer: duly noted. mr. mcconnell: i ask unanimous consent the appointments at the desk appear separately in the record as if made by the chair. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. mcconnell: i ask unanimous consent the committee on finance be discharged from further consideration of s. 3841 and the senate proceed to its immediate consideration. i further ask the bill be considered read a third time and passed and the motion to

reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table. further, that the bill be held at the desk, and should the senate receive from the house of representatives a bill, the text of which is identical to that of s. 3841, the senate proceed to its immediate consideration the bill be considered read a third time and passed, the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table witho intervening action or debate, and s. 3841 be indefinitely postponed. the presiding officer: is there objection? without objection, so ordered. mr. mcconnell: so, mr. president, i ask unanimous consent that when the senate completes its business today it adjourn until 4:00 p.m. monday, july 27. further, that following the prayer and pledge, the morning business be deemed expired the journal of proceedings be approved to date, the time for the two leaders be reserved for their use later in the day and morning business be closed. finally, following leader remarks, the senate proceed to

executive session and resume consideration of the hardy nomination under the previous order. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. mcconnell: so if there is no further business to come before the senate, i ask that it stand adjourned under the previous order. the presiding officer: the senate stands adjourned until 4:00 p.m. on monday.mr. mcconnell: are we in a quorum call? the presiding officer: no. mr. mcconnell: mr. president as i said tuesday our nation stands at a critical midway point in our fight against mr. president as i said tuesday our nation stands at a critical

midway point in our fight against coronavirus. we made it through theri springtime lockdown. americans sacrificed and saved our medical system and the historic cares act helped millions of families make it through. this terrible virus is still with us. it kills more americans every day. that have reopened have seen cases fight or their hospitals and health care providers especially our full mobile citizens are nowhere near out of the woods. mean