i noticed who was driving. you've spent so many hours together and miles together in a state that, maybe doesn't have the most people, but it sure has lots of distance. and i know just a challenge to get home to wyoming every week and then get to the place you live in wyoming in gillette is often as you can and that is not often possible. but what an honor and privilege to serve with you, to spend this 24 years in the congress together, and for me to get to spend the last 10 years of your senate time here in the senate with you. it's a great honor. it's a great privilege. i'm trying to learn all i can about listening from the master listener who then takes all of that information and actually produces as we've heard here today, real results. thank you, mr. president. >> the united states senate is about to gavel in. lawmakers will continue work on executive and judicial

nominations today. at 11:30 eastern they'll vote on nomination of christopher waller to be a member of the federal reserve board of governors and a number of other votes are expected today. now to live coverage of c-span2. holy god, who desires us to prosper and experience health, give our nation such a harvest of righteousness that our land will be filled with peace, quietness, and unity. use our lawmakers to enable our citizens to live in safety, confidence, and peace. as our senators seek to serve you and country, give them the

wisdom and courage to bring harmony from discord. lord, be merciful to them as they wait with eager expectancy for your guidance. may they honor the promises they make, living lives that reflect the integrity of your kingdom. we pray in your great name. amen. the president o tempore: allegiance. me in the pledge of i pledge allegiance to the flag of the united states of america, and to the replic for which it stands, one nation under god, indivisible, withiberty and juste for all.

mr. graley: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from iowa. mr. grassley: i ask for one minute for morning business. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. grassley: the tuesday after thanksgiving has been known as giving tuesday, and i suppose this giving tuesday is receiving more attention than usual because of the virus pandemic that we've been in for the last 12 months. like many sectors, the nonprofit industry is hurting because of

covid-19. as part of the cares act passed last march, congress enacted key provisions encouraging charitable giving to help support organizations that are being called upon more than ever to help americans because of the virus pandemic. these charitable giving provisions that are in the cares act apply both to individuals who itemize their taxes and those who do not itemize. iowa is blessed to have an extensive network of charitable organizations who are support by incredible volunteers, who open up their pocketbooks to support their neighbors in need. this fall, senator ernst and i heard from at least 20 nonprofits in the cedar rapids

area about their challenges that they face because of the pandemic and natural disasters, and also we heard from the successes they've had this year. the work that iowa nonprofits do is inspiring and has tremendous impact. in this season of thanksgiving, i speak on behalf of my own state to thank these organizations, their employees and volunteers for the hard work and services that they deliver every day of the year to iowans in need. i yield the floor and suggest the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. quorum call: utáu test test

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mr. mcconnell: mr. psident. the presiding officer: the majority leade mr. mcconnell: i ask consent that further proceedings under the quum call be dispensed with. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. mcconnell: mr. president, anyone who's heard me speak about coronavirus relief, going back months has heard one central principle -- let's deliver right away on all the subjects where everybody agrees and argue over the rest later.

the solution to this impasse has been in plain sight for a long time now for anyone willing to see it. agree where we agree. back that progress. make law. take a whole lot of pressure off struggling people. and then keep debating the areas where we don't agree. there is a he no actual reason why the fates of commonsense policies like a second round of the job-saving paycheck protection program had to be linked to the fates of fringe proposals like stimulus checks for illegal immigrant. there is no reason why the fate for vaccine distribution or extending unemployment should have been tied to radical ideas like paying people not to work than essential workers earn on the job.

these linkages have been totally arbitrary. just a political decision that democratic leaders made many months back. democratic leaders have tried to create a narrative where it's taken for granted that the most bipartisan, commonsense cal reliefpologieses would live or die with their side's most outlandish ideas. well, that just isn't so. they've trade to create a dynamic where they move from one made-up number to a second slightly smaller arbitrary number and call it a meaningful concession. the truth is simple. this has always been about policy differences. we have two sides with two different visions for the best way to support our nation through what we hope will be the last chapter of the pandemic. now, that isn't new. we have disagreements all the time. our system can handle

disagreements, but both sides have to be willing to compile their commonalities and make law here. and up till now, our democratic colleagues have declined to do that. remember, their side said in march this pandemic was, quote, a tremendous opportunity to restructure things to fit our vision. so when republicans tried to pass commonsense relief measures in july and in september -- oh, and in october as well -- our democratic colleagues actually blocked policies they do not even oppose. now it's been heartening to see a few hopeful signs in the past few days. after months of arbitrary attachment to sky-high dollar amounts that the speaker of the house claimed were essential, that it would be an insult to settle senator a nickel less, those baseless claims have suddenly evaporated. that is at least movement in the right direction.

but the underlying reality, mr. president, is still with us. there are many important policies that have strong bipartisan support. there are many others that do not. and the way to help the country is for our democratic colleagues to finally let the former group be signed into law while we keep arguing over the rest. the targeted second round of paycheck protection that we've been trying to establish since july would help a huge number of small businesses survive to the finish line and help huge numbers of workers keep their jobs. and it could pass the senate today probably with 95 votes. with the apparent success of operation warp speed, it makes no sense to skimp on the systems to distribute and deliver vaccines around the country. those funds could pass the senate today, possibly unanimously. university presidents have made it clear they need legal

certainty for their reopenings. let me say that again. university presidents have made it clear they need legal certainty for their reopenings. that shouldn't be partisan. liability protection should be able to pass the senate today. a number of our democratic colleagues have focused especially on several of the unemployment relief programs that are set to expire in a matter of days. i specifically made sure to include those programs in my framework a few days ago. that extension could pass the senate today. the house of representatives is spending this week on pressing issues like marijuana -- marijuana. you know, serious and important legislation benefiting the national crisis. but here in the senate, i put forward a serious and highly targeted relief proposal including elements which we know the president is ready and willing to sign into law.

why should these impactful and noncontroversial life-preservers be delayed one second longer? at long last, let's do what congress does when we want an outcome. let's make law an all the subjects where we agree, on all the areas where president trump is ready to sign bipartisan relief into law. i promise our deep differences will still be here to debate. our disagreements will be right where we left them. but, you know what can't wait? what can't wait? american workers, american small businesses, k-12 schools, the vulnerable americans and frontline health care workers for whom speedy vaccine distribution will literally be a life-or-death matter. yesterday my home state of ten -- of kentucky experienced yet another dreadful record-setting day. kentuckians also know that hope is in sight.

our state's workers are standing by at the u.p.s. port in louisville and the public in northern kentucky, kilo just -- key logistic centers that are play roles in the distribution. they're ready for this fight. congress should not keep them waiting for reinforcements that should have arrived literally months ago. so compromise is within reach. we know where we agree. we can do this. let me say it again. we can do this. and we need to do this. so let's be about actually making a law. the presiding officer: under the previous order, the leadership time is reserved. morning business is closed. under the previous order, the senate will proceed to executive

session to resume consideration of the following nomination, which the clerk will report. the clerk: nomination, federal reserve system. christopher waller of minnesota to be a member of the board of governors. the presing officer: the clerk will call the roll. quorum call:

thpresiding officer: the senator from south dakota. mr. thune: is the senate in a the presiding officer: it is.

mr. thu: i would ask unanimous csent that the quorum call be lifted. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. thune: mr. president, i was pleased that the senate unanimously agreed yesterday to proceed to conference on the 2021 national defense authorization act. the ndaa is one of the most important pieces of legislation that we pass here every year. it's the bill that authorizes funding for our troops and lays out our defense priorities. like the last two ndaa's, this year's bill focuses on restoring military readiness and ensuring that our nation is ready to face threats posed by powers like russia and china. the national defense strategy commission release add report warning that our readiness had eroded to the point that we might struggle to win a war against a major power like russia or china. the commission noted that we would be especially vulnerable if we were ever called on to fight a war on two fronts. over the past two years we have made real progress in restoring

military readiness but we still have more work to do and this year's national defense authorization act continues our investment in ensuring that our military is prepared to meet current and future threats in any domain. of course, no matter what weapons or tanks we have, our greatest military resource we have will always be our men and women in uniform. this year's ndaa invests in improving the quality of life for our military members and their families a the bill supports a 3% pay raise for our troops, and it builds on previous measures to improve military health care and housing. it'll also provide support for military families in areas like child care and professional development for military spouses. mr. president, as i said, this bill is one of the most important measures that we pass every year, and we need to make sure that we pass the final version of this legislation before christmas. failing to pass this legislation would send the wrong message to our troops and our allies and to

our adversaries. while this may not be a perfect bill, it contains a lot of important provisions to rebuild our military and give our men and women in uniform the tools that they need to defend our nation. we need to pass it as soon as possible. mr. president, yesterday afternoon mike enzi delivered his farewell address. and while mike has more than earned his retirement over a long and dedicated year in washington and in wyoming, we're going to miss him here in the united states senate. mike is an accountant and spent years it is a a small business man a he brought that background and common sense to washington, d.c., with him. in many ways, he's been the conscience of the senate on spending issues, reminding us that we don't have an unlimited amount of money to spend and that every dollar we add to the debt is a burden that will have to be met by the our children and grandchildren. as chairman of the budget committee, he has passed budgets with an eye to restraining

spending and lessening the burden that we place on future generations. his 2018 budget also paved the way for the landmark tax cuts and jobs act which reformed america's outdated tax code, helped create jobs and opportunities for workers, and put more money in the pockets of american families. mike is an outstanding legislature. he's also one of the finest human beings that you will ever meet. i think all of us have benefited from his thoughtfulness at one time or another. i remember when i was experiencing heel pain a few years ago with an ailment called plantarfaciatas. it the wasn't a few weeks later when mike comes to me with heel inserts which i might add helped a lot. obviously he had a lot of experience through the years dealing with people with foot issues. but it was typical of mike

enzi -- thoughtful and practical. down to earth. in business, as everyone knows, the customer comes first and mike brought that attitude to his 24 years here in the u.s. senate. as a shoe salesman he put his customers first, and as a senator he always put his constituents and the american people first. he's never forgotten how to help people. he's never forgotten where he comes from. and he has worked hard every day that he's been here in the united states senate to make life better for the people of wyoming and for american citizens. he's an outstanding colleague and a friend, and i will miss his wisdom and expertise and his great fishing stories. mike, i wish you the very best of everything in your retirement. i'm glad you'll have more time to spend with diane and the kids and grandkids and more time to enjoy your beloved state, home state of wyoming.

while no state will ever compare to south dakota in my book, i've got to say that wyoming is speck tack larl beautiful, -- spectacularly beautiful and i'm glad you'll be able to be there more on a full-time basis but you'll be missed here and i want to thank you for your friendship and service. may god bless you and your family. mr. president, i yield the floor and suggest the absce of a quorum. the esiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. quorumall: the presiding officer: without objection. a senator: mr. president, thank you. i rise today to talk a little bit about what's happening in nevada. last week i had the opportunity to be home, and i went to one of our mobile food banks in east

las vegas just before thanksgiving. ms. cortez masto: a mobile food bank is one of our food pantries throughout nevada and this one is run by three square. i arrived around 8:00 a.m. in the morning to a line of cars waiting at the site. and that line sometimes gets so long, police have to direct traffic around it. literally, they lined up at 3:00 a.m. the food pantry doesn't even open until 7:00 or 8:00 in the morning, but they remember there at 3 -- but they were there at 3:00 a.m. around the block in their cars to stay safe from the covid-19 pandemic. but there were over 350 of them throughout that morning, and that is not unusual with what's happening in nevada right now. that is not unusual, and it should be. but because this pandemic has hit nevada and so many states so hard, we are seeing the consequences of inaction by this

body in the senate. you know, as i got there that morning, i imagine these people in the middle of the night with their lights and power off in their cars to save fuel in the cold desert night, and they waited patiently. they were quiet because they knew assistance would be there when morning comes. and sometimes that food runs out for those many people that are waiting, and then they have to come the next day. but because of the inaction in this chamber, most nevadans who are hurting don't have that reassurance that there will be immediate swift relief for them, because they don't know when federal help will come. and lifeline organizations like three square, which are working tirelessly to help families fill the gaps, are running out of resources. it's been 223 days since the senate last approved funds to help all americans endure this

once-in-a-lifetime catastrophe and meanwhile too many people in nevada are languishing in the dark hoping for economic assistance that hasn't arrived. in nevada we continue to have the second-highest unemployment rate in the country at 12%. that's almost twice the national rate. unemployment is so high in nevada because of the coronavirus pandemic. it has stopped conventions, our entertainment, hospitalivity and travel operations in the silver state and across the country. in august, in nevada, employment and travel and tourism was down 25% over last year. nationwide, spending on travel has declined by 42% compared to 2019. as a result, there are 60% fewer travelers to mccaren

international airport and 50% fewer travels in las vegas. the travel association estimates that without more funding nearly 70% of hotels may close by the end of this year. because of the devastation, what has been driving a thriving hospitality industry in nevada, many of the jobs aren't there right now, and too many workers in nevada can't pay their bills. more than 175,000 people in the silver state continue to claim unemployment insurance. people without jobs are struggling right now to pay rent or mortgages or health care. let me just tell you, housing assistance from the cares act helped tens of thousands of nevadans and millions of americans keep a roof over their heads. and that was legislation we passed immediately in a bipartisan way, one of four. but those funds have run out. they're gone and they need to be replaced. when the limited c.d.c. eviction

moratorium expires on january 1, nevada is bracing for 250,000 to 400,000 possible evictions. that's more than 20 times the national number of evictions in 2019. families and seniors can't get enough to eat. in august and september, 234,000 nevadans said their households were experiencing food insecurity. that's 1 1% of nevada households going hungry, the second-largest share in the country. 129,000 said that the children in their homes didn't have enough food. the longer we delay passing additional economic relief, the more jeopardy we create for our entire economy nationwide. and don't take my word for it. just listen to chairman powell of the federal reserve, who has been saying this over and over

again. most recently in a banking committee hearing that i'm a member of. the senate must do more to help people not just in my home state, but across the country, especially now as case counts are climbing. we're only months away from being able to give the population at large immunity to this deadly virus. we have to do everything we can to help people get to that time, to ensure that for coming months nevadans can stay in their homes, they can take care of kids, they can keep their businesses running, knowing that they will have an opportunity to open them in the future. and they can protect themselves from this virus. the only way to do that is to get them the relief they need now. that relief simply has to include more money for state, local and tribal governments which had to cut back on critical services in the middle of a pandemic.

it should include extended unemployment benefits and pandemic unemployment assistance as well as more loans for our small businesses and for p.p.p. it must have housing assistance to prevent a wave of homelessness and illness, and it should do more to protect workers, fund education, and stave off hunger for families. it also needs to include billions that states have asked for to help with vaccine distribution. we are going to be rolling out millions of doses of vaccines, all of which will need to be stored, handled and tracked across 50 states. health care workers not just in nevada but across the country will need training to administer the vaccine and the public needs education about vaccine safety and access. we've witnessed an amazing feat of human ingenuity in developing a vaccine faster than we've ever

done it before, but the federal government and this chamber still hasn't set money aside to make sure that vaccines get to those who need it. and it's also, also has to include money for testing and tracing so that we can contain the spread of this virus and get more people back to work. mr. president, nobody should be standing in the way of a comprehensive bipartisan relief package to help americans hold out until they can get the vaccines that we know are coming. they need relief now. and that's why i support the bipartisan proposal that our colleagues in the senate put together just recently. in that proposal, which they look at in a comprehensive way for all of our states, it includes money for state and local and tribal governments. it includes additional

unemployment insurance. it supports funding for small businesses, including paycheck protection program, idle disaster loans, stages. what i mean by stages are the life events in the hospitality industry that have been devastated and have not received any relief during the time we have appropriated funds to address the pandemic. it includes cdfi and community lender support. it includes transportation for our airlines, airports, buses, amtrak, and our workers there. it includes vaccine development and distribution and testing and tracing. it includes money for health care provider relief. it includes money for education, for student loans and, yes, housing assistance and rental assistance that is needed now. it also includes money for nutrition, for the food insecurity that i just talked about that i witnessed that morning in las vegas and that we

hear about constantly not just in nevada but across this country. it includes money for child care, for broadband, for the u.s. postal service, so many things. and it was well-reasoned and compromised and thought out and it was our colleagues coming together, republicans and democrats coming together for the best interest of this country. now, mr. president, i will tell you, we do not need unanimous support for this proposal. what we need is a vote on the floor of the senate. and that's why i'm asking mitch mcconnell to allow this proposal to come to the floor of the senate for a vote. some of my colleagues don't want to support any more relief, then they don't have to vote for it. but i would guarantee and i would suspect that there are more than enough of my colleagues on both sides of the aisle that want to pass relief for the many americans across this country in our states who

are suffering right now, but they have to be given the opportunity. now i get that right now there's only one person that gets to decide what goes on the floor of the senate. i don't agree with that. that's the way the rules are set. and mitch mcconnell decides every single day what legislation comes to the floor of the senate, what can be debated, what amendments can come. and i've watched these for years as mitch mcconnell, instead of including the democrats in bipartisan negotiation on some of these important bills, he puts them together in closed doors with only republicans and maybe the current administration, and then puts them on the floor of the senate for the first time, bypasses our committee hearings where there's bipartisan support usually for bills, bypasses that, puts them on the floor of the senate without any of the democrats' involvement and expects us to hold for it, and then holds the democrats

accountable, accountable, because we didn't have the opportunity to fight for our states and put important funding in there for state and local government, for broadband, for our health care workers, for our hospitality industry, for you name it. and that's not the way the senate should be operating, mr. president. you know that and i know that. we have to get back to a time when we compromise, when we all come representing our states. we all have equal votes. there's two of us from each state. we are fighting for our constituents in our states, and we should be able to have that debate, that conversation on the floor of the senate in a fair manner. and that's why i ask mitch mcconnell to allow a vote on this proposal. you know, i have the opportunity to watch one of my colleagues talk about this, and i absolutely agree with the senator from angus king. he said i sit in these

committees, in bipartisan committees, and i vote for relief for disasters,ing hurricane disasters, fire disasters, fire in the western states that i come from where you know so well that the fires are devastating our western states. but for the hurricanes that happen in texas, florida, you name it, i vote for relief because i know those constituents in those states are suffering. i don't look at them as blue states or red states. i look at them as americans who are in need right now, and i'm going to support that relief. so why are we doing that with this coronavirus relief package? i do not understand. it's not what the american people expect of us. i.t. not what they want, and it's not what they deserve. so, mr. president, i cannot stress this enough. it is time for the senate to get back to work on behalf of the american public, and that means

that we are willing to compromise. that means we are willing to do what is right and what is needed in our communities, because i can guarantee you, any one of us that go home to our state, we're all suffering, we all see it. and that's what the american people expect of us. so i'd hope mitch mcconnell allows a vote on floor for this bipartisan compromise that the senators have worked on. thank you, mr. president i yield the floor. mr. schumer: mr. president? the presiding officer: the minority leader. mr. schumer: thank you it mr. president. and first let me thank my colleague and friend, the senior

senator from the great state of nevada for her words. they're on point. i hope the republican leader was l.a.n.ing. i hope my republican colleagues were listening because her genuine concern for her state, which is suffering, just like mine is -- we're both states that depend on entertainment and tourism -- is real. we all want to get something done. and we're all willing to give to get something done. but the republican leader hold the key, and we hope he's open to compromise. i'll have more to say on that in a minute. but i thank her for her comment. we all know how desperate things are. yesterday we were leveled by some of the grimmest statistics of the pandemic. more than 100,000 americans were hospitalized. more than 2,700 americans died, the highest recorded number in a single date since the pandemic -- single day since pandemic began. more than 274,000 americans have died in total. that's the equivalent of a 9/11

attack every day for 92 days in a row. unlike the spring when the rates of infections and fatalities peaked before steadily declining, the winter months and the hangover from thanksgiving travel will likely cause these rates to get worse before they get better. the steady, yet staggering loss of american life is horrific, and because so many of us are isolated, because so many have contracted the disease and have experienced relatively mild symptoms and recovered quickly -- thank god -- there's a sense that things are not as bad as they seem. but raw accounting is unvoidable, and it is harrowing. the loss of our friends, parents shall neighbors, siblings, colleagues must be acknowledged and mourned and must inspire us to redouble our efforts to defeat this evil disease.

as covid-19 raced through much of the country, the economic fallout of the pandemic also broadens. many family budgets and small businesses are at their breaking point. economists are now warning that the u.s. economy could fall into double-dip recession without additional relief from congress. let me saw that again. we could have a double-dip recession unless there's relief, good, strong relief from congress. and that's why democrats have been so desperately trying to convince our republican colleagues and the republican leader in particular to work with us in a bipartisan fashion on another round of emergency federal relief. speaker pelosi and i made a new offer to leader mcconnell and leader mccarthy on monday in hopes of jump-starting serious negotiations, and leader mcconnell responded with another version of a

republican-only draft. so in the spirit of compromise, speaker pelosi and i believe that the bipartisan framework introduced on tuesday should be used as the basis, as a framework for immediate bipartisan negotiations. of course we and others will offer improvements but we believe with good faith negotiations we could very welcome to an agreement. we are already much closer to an agreement because of the bipartisan talks these eight senators have done -- have created. and we can build off their momentum. what's the alternative? another round of legislative failure, a failure to help the american people? and the republican leader came to the floor this morning to say compromise is within reach -- his words. before reiterating a long list of republican demands and blaming the democrats for everything. once again, the republican

leader argued that the senate should pass only what republicans approve of and leave the rest for later, and he now says that an emergency relief bill should be limited by only what president trump will sign. of course, we could say similarly the bill should be limited only by what a democratic house will pass. neither is true compromise. the leader knows that. but for some reason, in the midst of this generational crisis, republican leader mcconnell does not seem inclined to compromise, to actually get something done. but what he wants to do is posture, to put partisan bills on the floor and say, take it or leave it. the real answer here is to sit down and talk. let's use the bipartisan framework developed by eight senators from both sides as our startingpoint. we have precious little time left before the end of the year.

the country has some desperate needs -- unemployment remains too high, laid-off workers need our assistance until the economy fully recovers, small businesses need another round of support, with the imminent availability of a vaccine, it's crucial that there will be additional funding for manufacturing and distribution. the distribution efforts will be led by the states, which further increases the need to deliver assistance to state and local governments. as we take -- as we all take great hope and solace in the idea that a vaccine is just around the corner, we must make necessary preparations to ensure that we have enough doses, that it's distributed effectively, efficiently had and fairly, and that americans can access it affordablably. we can make a significant down-payment right now with an emergency relief bill before the christmas holiday. i yield the floor.

the presiding officer: the nator from ohio. mr. portman: i'm on the floor today to pay tribute to friends and colleagues who will be leaving the senate at the start of this new congress. i consider lamar alexander, who spoke yesterday, to be a friend and a mentor. he is an institution around here. he is what i would consider and old-school senator in the best way. he not only takes the time to learn the issues, but he also understands how to explain the importance of the policies that we work on up here to the people back home. by embodying the principles of collegiality and bipartisanship, he has accomplished a lot for the people of tennessee and all americans. in the senate, you need 59 other senators to say, that's a good

idea and to get anything accomplished. and it's critical then to get to know your colleagues, learn thousand -- learn how to work with them to get anything done. we've accomplished a lot under his leadership on a number of issues. i am going to mention two recent examples. first his 21st century cures act that passed in 2016. it provided needed authorization for investments in the national institutes of health and other research institutions to help create new breakthroughs in treatments and cancers for alzheimer's and other diseases taylored to each person's individual genome. it probably got less notice but also authorized and unprecedented amount of funding in the state opioid response grants to combat opioid epidemics that have hit almost all of our states a. certainly it's hit ohio and

tennessee hard. this has served as a complement to what's called the comprehensive addiction and refer act, which we passed earlier that year. without the 21st century cures act, we would not have made the progress we've achieved in the past few years in turning the tide in this deadly disease. and i've seen it firsthand in my state and around the country. we also could not have accomplished the landmark restore our parks act without his help. this bill will help rebuild our national park infrastructure by helping address that backlog, $subsidy billion now in maintenance projects. lamar didn't care about getting the credit for this historic bill, by the way. probably the most important bill for preserving lands in 50 years. he just wanted to get that done. jean and i have cherished our time with you and honey, lamar. here in the senate we'll miss

your experience and wisdom and your perseverance and determination to advance our country's priorities and get things done. another colleague who has focus on results in senator mike enzi, a true son of wyoming who has represented his home state with class in this chamber for nearly a quarter of a century. mike is swung i've gotten to -- someone is someone i've gotten to know and respect. mike as accomplished a lot for wyoming. as chair of the help committee, he helped lead the way on crucial pension reforms, complicated stuff but really important. promoted greater access to education and affordable health care and pushed for improvements to workplace safety, always willing to reach across the aisle. over the past three congresses, he's embraced his past life as an accountant and used his position as chair of the senate budget committee to push for smarter spending here in washington. that's a perspective we'll really miss in this time of exploding deficits. i have to say we've been envious

of mike's post-senate career plans. he tells meemies a. going back to spend time on the rivers of wyoming with his fly rod. mike, i hope sometime soon i'll be able to come out to gillette to join you and diana so you can show me your favorite fishing spots. congratulations on a well-deserved retirement. we're saying goodbye to another giant of the senate when senator pat robert leaves us. i saw him on the floor a moment a i see him now. i view him as the matt dillon of the united states senate. matt dillon, for those off you who know who he was, was a resident of dodge stirks just like pat. and like marshal dillon and the marine he is proud to be, pat knows how to lay down the law. but he does it with humor and smiles and a wink. and he does it in a way with that dry kansas sense of hugh

moor that it is very effective. and by the way, he is always look f. miss kitty. he's used that combination of toughness and hard work to accomplish a lot in congress. pat's focus has always been on the people of kansas and he's done a lot for people of kansas. but higgs work went far beyond kansas. it turns out he is the only person in america to have chaired the agriculture committee both in the house and in the senate. his tireless work to pass farm bills over those carries to help growers and ranchers has made him a friend to farmers everywhere. just as important was his work as chair of the senate intelligence committee. some may not recall this, but he is the one that spearheaded the reforms to our intelligence service after 9/11 to avoid another such tragedy. i hope you and frankie get a well-deserved retirement and i look forward to continuing to stay in touch. we're also going to be losing a

relatively young and energetic member of our caucus here who is also an accomplished bipartisan legislator when cory gardner leaves next year. only a few short years in the senate here, yet cory has proven that he knows thousand get things done -- how to get things done. he's a smart guy. we've worked together on a lot of critical issues to address some of the biggest issues facing our country. he loves the outdoors and his work for the outdoors is something i've had an opportunity to work with him on, including the great american outdoors act. permanent funding for the land and watered sequestration fund, a long-sought goal of the conservation and environmental community. frankly, it could not have been done without cory's involvement,

period. corey, we're going to miss your sunny disposition. he may be the most optimistic member of the united states senate, always got a smile on his face even when things seem bad, he manages to figure out a way for them to look good. and i'll miss working with you on some of these important projects. i wish you the very best as you start the next stage of your career. we're also sad to see martha mcsally go. i appreciated getting to know her over the past couple of years. in a short period of time, she was a passionate advocate for arizona, a member of the armed services committee. she used her own trail-blazing path as the first female fighter pilot to fly in combat to advocate for our men and women in uniform. we worked together on bipartisan legislation as an example to end cosmetics animal testing. she was involved in a lot of different issues. we want to thank you for all you have done in the chamber and look forward to staying in touch. senator tom udall has joined us here in the chamber. i call senator udall cousin

because of his cousin mark udall and our friendship, but tom udall has now served for 12 years in the united states senate for the people of new mexico. i have gotten to know him over that time through our work together on a number of different legislative projects. most around conservation and the environment. we have had a lot of success in that regard. we have been cochairs of what's called the international conservation caucus together. there is legislation called the tropical forest conservation act which we have been able to work together on to get reauthorized. this has been incredibly important legislation. probably the number three or four source of co2 emissions in the world is the burning forest. this has managed to save many millions of acres from the burning by simply saying to these countries we'll do a debt for nature's walk with you. if you owe a debt to the united states, which by the way many are unlikely to pay anyway, we will let you use that in exchange for protecting your forest. it has been remarkably

successful at a time when we seem to have a lot of partisanship and fights around here about global warming and climate change. this is one area where we have been able to find common ground. that's because tom has been willing to step up and be a great partner in that. he has also helped me pass legislation that requires that the u.s. postal service use its inventory of the saving vanishing species stamps to help protect the rich wildlife and natural resources that we have and protect endangered species. this results in $5 million, $6 million a year going for that effort. unfortunately, we have had to convince the postal service to continue allowing that great source of funding to be there for our vanishing species. but, again, tom has been very helpful in that. even in these past months, we haven't stopped on our work on environmental issues. earlier this year, we introduced the bipartisan replant act to help the u.s. forest service address the growing reforestation backlog across our country. this is supported by the trump

administration. it's also supported by tom udall, and therefore we're hoping it can get done. he leaves the senate with a legacy of tirelessly working to protect the natural beauty of his state and our country for future generations, and we wish him well in the future as he and jill continue to work on those issues together. finally, our colleague doug jones is going to be departing after serving the people of alabama for the past couple of years. i have gotten to know doug through our bipartisan efforts, focusing on standing up to unfair trade practices, our trade security act to reform section 232 i think is the right approach to be sure we hold those accountable who are violating our trade laws but also do it in a way that protects american jobs and n strengthens our u.s. economy. i will miss doug as a bipartisan partner in that effort, and i appreciate him working with us on those trade issues and other things. the senate is a body really prison by personal relationships between 100 members.

senators alexander, enzi, roberts, gardner, mcsally, udall, and jones have been key and valuable members of that 100-person group. we're going to miss them. they have all served this body well as legislators and as people. they are high character. they are the kind of folks that you want to work with, and they have been effective because of that. they will be missed, and i wish them all well. i yield back my time.

a senator: mr. president. the presiding offir: the senator from coloro. mr. gardner: i note the absen of a quorum. the presiding officer: t clerk will call the roll. quorum call:

mr. gardner: mr. president. the priding officer: the senator from colorad mr. gardner: i askhe quorum call be vitiated. the presiding officer: without objection. under the previous order, all postcloture time is expired. the question is on the waller nomination. mr. gardner: i ask for the yeas and nays. the presiding officer: is there a sufficient second? there appears to be. the clerk will call the roll. vote:

vote: vote:

vote:

a

the presiding officer: are there any senators in the chamber wishing to vote or wishing to change their vote? on this vote the yeas are 48, the nays are 47, and the nomination is confirmed. the senate will be in order. under the previous order, the motion to reconsider is considered made and laid upon the table and the president will

be immediately notified of the senate's actio. a senator: madam president. the presiding officer: the majority whip. mr. thune: i ask unanimous consent that the mandatory quorum call be waived. the presiding officer: without objection. the clerk will report the motion to invoke cloture. the clerk: cloture motion,e, the undersigned senators, in accordance with the ovisions of rule 22, do hereby bring to a close deba on the nomination of laim p. hardy, of virginia, to be a judge of the united states court of appeals for the armed forces. the presiding officer: by unanimous consent the mandatory quorum call has been waived, the question is, is it the sense of the senate that the nomination of liamp. hardy, of virginia, to be judge of the united states court of appeals for the armed forces, shall be brought to a close? under the rule and the clerky will call the roll.

vote:

vote:

vote:

e presiding officer: is there an senator in the chamber wishing to vote or wishing to change their vote? seeing none, the yeas are 61,

the nays are 34, and the motion is agreed to. the clerk will report the nomination. the clerk: nomination, the judiciary, liam. hardy, of virginia, to be a judge o the united states court of appeals for the armed forces.

the presiding officer: the senator for maryland. mr. van hollen: thank you, mr. president. i'm on the floor today to discuss a question of fundamental fairness to members of our armed force and to federal employees. i think we all may recall a few months ago when president trump ordered the department of the treasury to establish a system to push businesses, companies, and employers aroun the country to defer the collection of emoyees' payroll taxes. thosere the taxes that go to social security and medicare. and the key word here is defer, because this is really ahell game. any moneys that businses do not pay into social security

security/medicare now are going to have to be paid by tho federal employees right after the holidays, starting in january. d many employees around the country were at first confused. th thought they were getting a payroll tax holiday, with but ts not -- but that's not the case. the realitys whatever they didn't pay in t form of payrl taxes now and in the past couple of months, they would be required toay back right after those holidays. this and when workers andd at employees around the country looked at this, they overwhelmingly rejected it. they said they didn't want to participate. re's what u.p.s. said about this proposal, and i quote -- we recognize that for some, it may have been helpful to have more moneyn their paychecks in 2020, yet not all employees he

professional tax planning needed to prepare efftively for the added obligation they would face in 2021. so, mr. president, even though is payrollax deferral prosal got a bur of attention, it turned out to be meaningls for most workers around the country. most private sector employers didn participaten their -- andheir employees and workers didn't want them to participate. unfounately, the one big exceptionohis have been members of our armed forces, the folks who every day stand guard to protect our country, and federal employees who do the nation's busins with respect to important services they provide. an as the private sector has rejected this, we've heard from

thousand of federal employees who say we don't want to paicipate either. we've heard from members of the armed forces that say we don't want to be used as guinea pigs and required to participate. i want to be really cle that if we don correct this, the damage will continue to b done, and these members of our armed forces and federal employees will be forced to pay even more back after the holidays. treasury secretary mnuchin and to o.m.b. director vougt about this back in september, septemr 8, just as t deferral was starting. we were joined i that lettery 22 senators from both sides of e aisle. we had a simple bipartisan request. it was make this payroll tax

deferral optional. make it voluntary. if federal employees and members of our armed forces want to participate in this proposal, fine, let them do it, but don't force, don't require, don't coerce membe of our military and federal employees to participate. anand we didn't get a response o that letter to secretary mnuchin and c.b.o director vought, so i asked secretary mnuchin about this issue at a senate banking commtee hearing on september 24. i said, mr. secretary, why shouldn't we me this voluntary? why should you require members of our armed forces and federal employees to participate in a program if they don't want to? and his response was yh, it would be, quote, reasonable for the payroll tax to be voluntary. quote, i people don't want to

participate. sounds like common sense. from theecretary of thefollow-up treasury. nothing. so we sent a follow-up letter, again a bipartisan letter. nothing. so now it's december, and the trump administration is still forcing members of our armed forc and federal employees who don't want to participate in this now forced deferral program, they want to connue to force them to do it. and so we introduced a bipartisan piece of legislation lled the proteing employees from surprise taxes act. and it's pretty straightforward. itays if a federal employee or a member of our arm services wants to participate, great, let them participate. if they want to opt out, let them opt out of it. i want to stres mr. president,

that the federal workers we've heard from and the organizations and unions that represent federal workers, they strongly support this measure. and why not? it is hard to argue that we shouldn't l the folks who are standing guard to protect us make a choice about whether they want to participate in this program. also, jt to remind our colleagues -- maybe they haven't kept track of this -- the senate chose not to participate. the senate chose not to participate in this program whether on a mandatory or a the house of representatives chose not to participate in this progra so it's going to b interesting toear a senator say that they want to require memrs of our armed forces and federal employees to enroll in a program that this senate decided that

was not good for members of the senate staff. the house of representatives decide was not good for house staff. and yet if we don't support this proposal -- and this is simply passing the legislation, the bipartisan legislation mentioned to ge our members of the armed forces and federal employees that choice. if we don't pass this, we're going to require them to continue to participate in a program ty don't like. so, mr. president, i ask that as if in legislative session, i ask unanimousonsent that the finance committeee discharged om further consideration of s. 410 and the senate proceed to its immediate consideration. i further ask that the bill be read a third time and passe and the motion to reconsider be made and laid upon the tableith no inrveninaction or debate.

let me just clarify. s. 4810. the presiding officer: is there objectn? a senator: mr. president. the presiding officer: the senator for montana. mr. daines: reserving the right to object. the presiding officer: the senator from for montana. mr. daines: mr. president, i'm here to express support for this payroll tax holiday, and i think congress should do something much better than that, and that is come together and forgive these taxes, period. in march, i pushed for congress to include a payroll tax cut in the cares act, and i still support that today. because a payroll tax cut is about supporting workers who might have had their hours reduced. these are workers who are living paycheck to paycheck, workers across our country who are struggling to make ends meet because the impacts of covid-19

on our economy. allowing folks to keep more of their hard-earned money would make a big difference. it would provide immediate support, immediate support for montana families who are struggling to get by. importantly we would ensure it would have no impact, zero impact on social security because we transfer money from the general fund to the treasury. and this is not a new concept. it's been done by congress. in fact, it was done under the obama administration. as an example, a montana montanan who earns an annual salary of about 4540,000 tip -- $40,000 pays about $5,000 every year. forgiving the taxes during this payroll tax deferral would save that montanan about $827. what we should be doing is working together to pass a covid

relief package that delivers much-needed aid for families that have had a tough go over the last several months, and it's going to get tougher going forward not only for these families, their workers and small businesses. instead my colleagues across the aisle have continued to block very targeted relief several times right here on the floor of the united states senate that are holding montanans and the american people hostage. we could come together and agree on this targeted relief. we can agree to disagree on these other items but let's get the targeted relief items passed. instead of coming to the floor today to try to pass a bill that undermines a payroll tax holiday which would save folks more of their hard-earned money, i urge my colleagues here before us to work with members of his caucus and get the covid-19 relief passed. once again, we should be forgiving these taxes as a payroll tax holiday, not unlike what happened during the obama administration. and for these reasons, i

object the presiding officer: objecon is heard. mr. van hollen: mr. prident. the presiding officer: the senator for maryland. mr. van hollen: just to respond to the senator from montana, i think he well knows that it's been over six months since the hoe of representatives passed comprehensive covid-19 relief. they have also passed an updated heroes 2 act. we never even had a vote here in the united states senate on that provision. we've been blocked fro having that vote by the republican leader. i don't know where myolleague stands on the bipartisan framework that was just released. that's something that i can support and pursue. i've been listening to the senate majority leader. that.beenouring cold water on and, by the way, the measure that the senor from montana mentioned that we should pass right now for coronavirus reli, that doesn't have a payroll tax holiday. it doesn't do what the senator

just said he wanted to do. it doesn't say anything about that. so if the senator or others want to introduce legislation to have a proll tax holiday for those who have been enrolled in this program for the last four months, go ahead. but why youould allow another day to pass requiring members of our armed forces who don't want to participate to participate? or requiring federal employees who are out there providing public services to participate? that's all this ds. this doesn't preclude anything the senator talked about doing. all it does is say right now for thos people who are calling who don't want to be enrolled in this program, l them out. let them out. and what you are saying, the senator from montana, is, no, i want to continue to hd them hostage to pass a proposal that isn't even in the majity

leader's own bill. and that's what people get sick and tired of around this country. so let's just pass this. this is a simple, straightforwarbill. i welcome debate on the bipartisan proposal that's been pu forward by a number of republan senators, a number but don't try and mix this up into that larger debate. this is very simple. it just says to a member of the army or theavy or any of the services who doesn't want to be forced to participate in this right now that they don't have to. that's what this says. and by opposing this, you're saying you want to prolong the requirement that they participate in a program that they don't want to be part of. the presiding officer: the senator for montana. senator from maryland raising these points. in regards tohe proposal, the

bill was passed b nancy house., the speaker of the there's a reason we didn'take a vote on that bill here in the united states senate, because it was full of basically her wish list of many items that didn't really relate to covid-19 relief. we did put a targeted bill on the floor of the united states senate with nearly $600 billion thatrankly addressed many of the issues that the house had in their bill, and we had many issues we agreed on here in the senate that would be at least targeted. this is paycheck protection program, relief from schools. resources for the vaccine, for ditional p.p.e., for additional testing. it's a lg list including relief for the unitedtates postal service. i would hope we would -- of course we were blocked from even bringing that bill to the floor of the united states senate. we couldn't get debate on that bill i september when we came before the unid states senate. i appreciate the points.

obviously 've got a disagreement here. president trump pushed f congress to pass a payroll tax t. i'd rather see a cut, not a deferral. i supported it. that is the way to really help workers across this country. and when congress failed to act in july, the president enacted that deferral as a way to provide immediate relief to the american people. i would ask ife'd come together and l's forgive those taxes. let's forge them. they won't be getting a surprise tax increase if we do that. i yield back my time. mr. van hollen: very briefly in response, i think everyone knows what's going on here. this is a very simple proposal. if you want to participate in president trump's deferral, you can continue to participate in the deferral program. but if you're in the armed forces or a federal employee and you're being required to do that right now and you don't want to, we should let them opt out. that's all this is about.

and i am really surprised that our republican colleagues would block our members of our armed forces and federal employees from making a simple choice which they believe is in their best interest. so i'm disappointed with the objection and we'll continue to pursue this. thank you. mr. daines: mr. president. the presiding officer: the senator from montana. mr. daines: i ask unanimous consent to yield back the time and the vote would begin now. the presiding officer: is there objection? without objection.

the question occurs on the hardy nomination. mr. daines: i ask for the yeas and nays. the presiding officer: is there a sufficient second? there appears to be. the clerk will call the roll. vote

vote: