responsibility that each of us has, particularly as lawyers and national security community, national security lawyers and i want to say, i think you have done-- excuse me, you have done that with this panel. it was really just so outstanding contribution, and i think it should be in general, all across government and certainly governmental agencies and we'll be posting this, i want to thank you all for a terrific discussion, and thanks to all of you who tuned in. take care, everybody. >> we're going to take you live now to us senate. today lawmakers will be working on the nomination of the next small business administrator. at noon eastern lawmakers will work to limit debate on her

nomination, and the senate will work on katherine tye to be the next trade representative. take you live here on c-span2. the president pro tempore: the senate will come to order. the chaplain, dr. black, will open the senate with prayer. the chaplain: let us pray. father of life,

awaken in our senators the joy of living this day with all its new challenges and hopes. may they see in the challenges opportunities to grow in grace and in a deeper knowledge of you. may they find in their hopes seeds to plant that will bring a harvest of healing to our land. lord, fill their working hours with your redeeming radiance and their hearts with your peace. keep them safe, for they have found in you a refuge. instruct them with your truth,

as you give them faith to believe. to believe in the serpts of your ultimate triumph. we pray in your strong name. amen. the president pro tempore: please join me in the pledge of allegiance. i pledge allegiance to the flag of the united states of america, and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under god, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.

the president pro tempore: 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, small business administration, isabella casillas guzman of california to be administrator.

the president pro tempore: the

majority leader is recognized. mr. schumer: mr. president, the covid-19 pandemic has revealed just how important the federal government can be in helping workers, families, and businesses during a time of crisis. congress has passed trillions of dollars in urgent relief and we have relied on federal agencies to implement that aid quickly, reliably, competently. so while it might not normally be as high profile as other cabinet agencies, the small business administration has recently been in the spotlight. over the last 12 months the small business administration has overseen two pandemic-related programs that will doll out -- dole out more than $1 trillion to our nation's small businesses, nonprofits, and religious institutions. moving forward, it will play a prominent role in implementing the american rescue plan.

and today the senate will vote on president biden's nominee to take on that important job, ms. isabel guzman. ms. guzman could not be more ready. she comes from a family of small business owners herself. her dad ran his own veterinary clinic. not only is ms. guzman a veteran of the small business administration serving as deputy chief of staff in the obama administration, she has just finished a stint as a top official at california's office of business and economic development helping support the fifth largest economy in the world. for many americans, opening and operating a business is part -- is their own part of the american dream. i have every confidence that under ms. guzman's leadership, the s.b.a. will help small business owners hold on to their dreams until our economy comes roaring back.

this morning i also want to continue the theme of highlighting aspects of the american rescue plan that have not received enough attention. we've heard a lot about the progress that we've made on vaccines. i read this morning that 109 million americans have received at least one vaccination. so we are well on the path, well on the path to getting americans vaccinated. and checks have gone out the door. i was on a call with people from central brooklyn, b bedstuy and brownsville and many have already received their checks, very much needed, very much welcome. as president biden announced today on the vaccines, we've had a hundred million shots in people's arms and a hundred million checks in people's pockets. let's say that again. that sounds good to me, mr. president. a hundred million shots in people's arms. and a hundred million checks in people's pockets. democrats are delivering what we promised.

now, we've heard a lot about the american rescue plan will help americans who need it the most. the 20% of americans at the lowest levels of income will receive the highest levels of support. it's about time. we had the mirror image of that when our republican colleagues ran the senate where the top 1% did the best and the bottom 20% were totally ignored. that's backwards. god bless the people who are in the top 1% but they don't need the help. it's the people struggling to feed their families, pay the rent, help the kids in school that need the help. and we're doing it. first time in a while. experts predict that child poverty could be cut in half. meanwhile, the top 1% of americans will see an income boost of zero percent. as i said, god bless them but they're doing fine already. they're doing fine already. and we've heard a lot about how the american rescue plan will prime the american economy to

come roaring back. economists are already projecting that economic growth could double as a result of the american rescue plan. when over 75 -- 85 i think it is, percent of americans get some checks, the money goes out. it starts revitalizing our economy. people shop in the stores, eat at the restaurants, even begin to travel. see their relatives maybe for the first time if people are vaccinated. wow. this is great news. this is great news. so i think that america is turning the corner, and i think the attitude of americans is turning the corner as well. people now see a brighter future for this country and their regions. so today, though, as i said, there's so much in this bill but every day i want to focus on something else that may not be focused upon. since the senate is set to vote on the confirmation of the new

saab administration -- of the new s.a.b. administrator, today is a good opportunity to expound on just how the american rescue plan will help our nation's 30 million businesses. we all know small businesses are have been some of the hardest hit entities by the pandemic. early in the crisis, 80%, four out of five of small businesses reported having to close their doors at one point. just the other day, just the other day i heard of a local new york business owner was forced to close up shop after surviving most of the pandemic. you could hear the pain in their voice. they poured their entire soul into this business. i know. this hits home for me. my dad was a small businessman. he struggled. he had a little exterminating business all through my growing years, from the day i was born until the day i left the house.

my brother and sister and i still have vivid memories, mr. president, of dad pacing the floor sunday nights at 2:00 a.m. because he hated going to work monday morning. so many challenges, so much thrown at him, and not much he could do about it. he was wondering how he would actually provide for his family. now, praise god, he retired at around 70. he's now 97. he's been a happy man for these last 27 years. god is good. as you know, mr. president, better than most of us. but he struggled. and so when i hear about the anguish of small business people, i'll never forget i would work there sometimes weekends, summers, and he sent me out to collect checks from a landlord who had three or four buildings, smaller buildings. and we had -- my dad's company had done the exterminating.

the guy hadn't paid for six months. i traveled. took me about an hour, hour and a half on to buses to go to this man's door. i knocked. he opened the door. i said, you know, i'm chuck schumer, the son of abe schumer, century exterminating. you owe us six months. we've been doing a good job exterminating your house. you know what he said to me? your dad is a small businessman. he can't afford a lawyer. he can't afford anything to go after me. i'm not paying. the anguish that small business people face. so we need to help them. we need to help them. and that's one of the many reasons i'm so proud of the american rescue plan because it provides tens of billions of dollars support for small businesses that have suffered during the pandemic. the american rescue plan is nothing short of a lifeline for main street businesses from one end of this country to the other, main street businesses in

rural america, main street businesses in suburban america. main street businesses in urban america and in our inner cities. it's a lifeline. for starters, the american rescue plan provides $30 billion for restaurants and bars through the restaurants act, which was the first bipartisan amendment added to the bill sponsored by senators sinema and wicker. the american rescue plan also includes more than a billion dollars in additional support for our nation's small theaters and venues adding to a grand program i helped create in december called the save our stages act, these ven uses like rehe -- venues like restaurants. that's where people gather when they're not gathering, there's no income, whether it be the money they pay the small business, the check they pay at the restaurant, or the money they leave in the collection plate when they're not there in our religious institutions.

so this is a good thing. the -- and i want to say one more thing about save our stages. it not only includes more money for save our stains, it includes an amendment owe stages, it includes an amendment i offered to allow venue owners to apply for aid to save our stages without losing eligibility for traditional small business grant through the p.p.p. so that's a change that our art institutions, our independent venues, our theaters should know, they can both get p.p.p. and save our stages. these venues, the small businesses of many types, the nonprofits, they are the lifeblood of our communities. they were the first to close. they will be the last to open. i'm hopeful that the support we passed in the american rescue plan will help our small businesses, our theaters, and our music venues, our restaurants to hold on until we can all gather safely once

again. that's not all. the american rescue plan provides $15 billion in flexible, targeted grants to help small businesses that have had a hard time accessing relief over the last 12 months, including most nonprofits and churches. up to 90% of minority-owned small businesses will qualify for this funding, closing the racial gap and keeping local economies from deteriorating further. we invest $10 billion in state, local, and tribal small business financing programs. we expand the employee retention tax credit so that businesses of any size can more easily keep their workers on the payroll because that one doesn't have an employee number limit. and finally, we bolstered and expanded the popular paycheck protection program to include more nonprofits, including labor and agricultural organizations who unfortunately in december our republican colleagues wouldn't let in.

in a nutshell, the american rescue plan provides a colossal boost for our nation's small businesses and we'll make sure that all of them, not just those with the right connections, can access relief. it will help millions of americans keep their jobs, retain their incomes, support their families during this recovery. now, we know many of these businesses are not out of the woods yet. there is still some time until our country can fully open up, until families can eat inside their favorite restaurant or colleagues can meet at a bar for a happy hour, until we can see one of our favorite performers put on a concert, but we're already seeing signs of hope. as a "washington post" headline announced recently, companies are scaling back layoffs because of the american rescue plan. let me say that again, proudly and happily. companies are scaling back layoffs because of the american rescue plan. and the senate, i assure the

american people, is going to keep working to make sure that the support for our businesses remains intact over the next few months. i yield the floor. and note the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. quorum call:

the presiding officer: the republican leader is recognized. mr. mcconnell: i ask unanimous consent proceedings under the quorum call be dispensed with. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. mcconnell: mr. president, today i'd like to begin with a few quotations. quote, the legislative filibuster is the most important distinction between the senate and the house. without the 60-vote threshold for legislation, the senate becomes a majoritarian institution, just like the house. much more subject to the whims of short-term electoral change. no senator would like to see that happen. so let's find a way to further

protect the 60-vote rule for legislation. that was the -- that was the current democratic leader, senator schumer, in april of 2017, less than four years ago. here's another quote, mr. president. what about the nuclear option, doing away with the filibuster? i can tell you that would be the end of the senate as it was originally devised and created, going back to our founding fathers. we have to acknowledge our respect for the minority, and that is what the senate tries to do in its composition and in its procedure, end quote. that was the assistant democratic leader, senator durbin, in 2018, about three years ago. a few years ago, 33 members of the senate side signed a letter insisting that, quote, we preserve existing rules, practices, and traditions regarding legislation.

now under pressure from the outside, many of our democratic colleagues are abandoning their stated principles as fast as possible. yesterday, senator durbin said the filibuster is not a core principle but, quote, an offhanded clerical suggestion. an offhanded clerical suggestion. and a number of senate democrats are trying to pressure the senior senators from west virginia and arizona to abandon their own very recent commitments to honor the central rule of the senate. now, mr. president, the framers designed the senate to require deliberation, to force cooperation, and to ensure that federal laws in our big, diverse country earned broad enough buy-in to receive the lasting consent of the governed. james madison said the senate should be a complicated check against improper acts of

legislation. thomas jefferson said great innovation should not be forced on slender majorities. senate democrats parroted all these arguments when they were the ones benefiting from minority protection. when president trump pressed republicans to kill the filibuster, our democrat colleagues cried foul. and when our republican majority stood on principle and refused to wreck the rules, our democratic colleagues happily used the filibuster themselves. in some cases, they flat-out blocked legislation like senator tim scott's police reform bill. in many other cases, democrats did what minority parties always do and leveraged the existence of the filibuster to influence must-pass legislation long before it got to the floor. there is so much emphasis on the most extreme bills that either party might pass with a simple

majority. people forget that the senate's 60-vote threshold is the only reason, the only reason that any routine must-pass legislation is bipartisan except during divided government. big funding deals, appropriation bills, farm bills, highway bills, the ndaa. the senate's 60-vote threshold backstops all of it. it's not just about controversial items. it's about everything we do. the senate democrats who are pressuring our colleagues from arizona and west virginia to reverse themselves are not just arguing for some procedural tweaks. not a procedural tweak. they're arguing for a radically less stable and less consensus-driven system of government. forget about enduring laws with broad support. nothing in federal law would ever be settled. does anyone really believe the

american people were voting for an entirely new system of government by electing joe biden to the white house and a 50-50 senate? this is a 50-50 senate. there was no mandate to completely transform america by the american people on november 3. that may be what a few liberal activists want, but does anyone believe that millions of americans thought that's what they were electing? of course not. there's an ironic element to this whole conversation. some democratic senators seem to imagine this would be a tidy trade-off if they could just break the rules on a razor-thin majority, sure, it might damage the institution, but then nothing would stand between them and their entire agenda, a new era of fast-track policy making. but, mr. president, anyone who really knows the senate knows that's not what would happen.

so let me say this very clearly for all 99 of my colleagues. nobody serving in this chamber can even begin, can even begin to imagine what a completely scorched earth senate would look like. none of us have served one minute in a senate that was completely drained of comity and consent. this is an institution that requires unanimous consent to turn the lights on before noon, to proceed with a garden-variety floor speech, to dispense with the reading of lengthy legislative text, to schedule committee business, to move even noncontroversial nominees at anything besides a snail's pace. so,mr. president, i want our colleagues to imagine a world

where every single task, every one of them, requires a physical quorum, which, by the way, the vice president does not count in determining a quorum. everything that democrat senates did to presidents bush and trump, everything the republican senate did to president obama would be child's play compared to the disaster that democrats would create for their own priorities if -- if -- they break the senate. so this is not a trade-off between trampling etiquette but then getting to quickly transform the country. that's a false choice. even the most basic aspects of our colleagues' agenda, the most

mundane task of the biden presidency, would actually be harder -- harder -- not easier. -- for democrats in a post-nuclear senate that is 50-50, dead even. if the democrats break the rules to kill rule 22 on a 50-50 basis, then we will use every other rule to make tens of millions of americans' voices heard. perhaps the majority would come after the other rules next, perhaps rule 22 would just be the first domino of many, until the senate ceased to be distinct from the house in any respect. this chaos would not open up an express lane to liberal change. it would not open up an express lane for the biden presidency to speed into the history books. the senate would be more like a

100-car pileup, nothing moving. and then there's the small matter that majorities are actually never permanent. the last time a democrat leader was trying to start a nuclear exchange, i remember offering a warning. i said, my colleagues would regret it a lot sooner than they thought. in just a few years and a few supreme court vacancies later, many of our democratic colleagues said publicly that they did. touching the hot stove again would yield the same result, but even more dramatic. as senate republicans wind up back in the saddle, we wouldn't just erase every liberal change that hurt the country, we'd strengthen america with all kinds of conservative policies with zero -- zero -- input from

the other side. how about this -- nationwide right-to-work for working americans, defunding planned parenthood and sanctuary cities on day one, a whole new era of domestic energy production, sweeping new protections for conscience and the right to life of the unborn, concealed carry, reserve process city in all 50 states and the district of columbia, pardoning of security on our southern border. we saw during amendment votes just days ago that some commonsense republicans' positions actually enjoy more support right now than some of the democratic committee chairs' priorities, and this is with them and the majority.

so the pendulum, mr. president, would swing both ways, and it would swing hard. my colleagues and i have refused to kill the senate for instant gratification. in 2017 and 2018, i was lobbied to do exactly what democrats want to do now. a sitting president leaned on me to do it. he tweeted about it. what did i do, mr. president? i said to the president at that time, no. i said no repeatedly. because becoming a u.s. senator comes with higher duties than steam rolling any obstacle to short-term power. i meant it. republicans meant it. less than two months ago, two of our democratic colleagues said

they mean it, too. if they keep their word, we have a bipartisan majority that can put principle first and keep the senate safe. i suggest the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. quorum call: quorum

call: quorum call:

mr. thune: mr. president. the presiding officer: the majority whip is recognized. mr. thune: thank you, mr. president. mr. president, i ask unanimous consent that the quorum call be lifted. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. thune: mr. president, last week i introduced a bill to permanently repeal the death tax. i've been pushing to repeal the death tax for a long time because i've seen the consequences the tax can have for family farms and ranches and for family businesses. and i'm proud that we protected a lot of family farms and businesses three years ago with the tax cuts and jobs act by doubling the death tax

exemption. but the death tax is still a big problem. first of all, the change we made to the death tax in the tax cuts and jobs act isn't permanent. the increased exemption level expires at the end of 2025. second, democrats always eager to seize any possible revenue source have proposed not merely returning the exemption to its previous level but reducing it even further. and now -- and that would be a big problem for a lot of family farms and businesses. mr. president, the death tax is a fundamentally flawed idea both in theory and in practice. every american, of course, has an obligation to pay taxes to help support our government. but there should be a limit to how many times the government can tax you. and death should not be a taxable event. the money you leave at your death has already been taxed by the government at least once which makes the death tax double taxation.

mr. president, people who support the death tax tend to talk as if the death tax only affects the fabulously wealthy. but that isn't the case. small and medium size businesses, family farms and ranches spend a lot of time and money on a state -- on estate planning to avoid being hit by this tax. farmers and ranchers in my state now without careful and costly planning, the federal government can come around after their death demanding a staggering 40% of their taxable estate and their children won't have the money to pay without risking the farm or the ranch. why? well farming and ranching is often a cash-poor business. a farmer might technically be worth several million dollars but the vast majority of that is land and farming equipment. only a small fraction of it is money in the bank. the farm bureau reports that over the past ten years, the value of farm land has increased by nearly 50%. it's completely possible that a farmer's land might have substantially increased in value over the past decade while his

income has barely increased at all. or with commodity prices the past few years, maybe losing money. in fact it's perfectly possible that in a bad year, a farm will -- with several million dollars worth of land might barely break even income wise. so what happens when a farmer dies? well, the federal government will claim up to 40% of his taxable estate, but his liquid assets, in other words, the cash he has available will likely not come close to covering the tax bill from the federal government. and so the only thing left for his children to do will be to start selling off farm equipment and land. in some cases they'll be able to keep the farm, just a smaller version of it. in others they may have to sell off the family farm entirely. the same thing can happen with family-owned businesses. in the case of a larger family-owned business, the business owner may be worth $15

million or $20 million. but only a small fraction of that may be in the bank. the vast majority may be tied up in the business. in that case when the federal government comes around demanding 40% of the taxable estate, all the money that that business owner had in the bank won't even come close to covering the tax bill. to pay the federal government, the owner's descendants will have to sell off part or all of the family business. and this can happen again and again. think about a business that was started half a century ago and passed down from father to daughter to grandson. with every death the federal government will have -- will have come demanding a big chunk of that estate. by the time you get to the third generation, the business may be struggling to stay afloat if it's still around at all. i recently read testimony from a business owner who stated that without death tax reform, the

family company will end with him. why? because the company will have to be sold to meet the tax bill the federal government will hand his descendants. the company has already faced the death tax multiple times in its history and given millions upon millions to the federal government. this next death tax bill will be the death blow. mr. president, i'm proud that republicans improved the death tax situation for a lot of family farms and businesses by passing estate tax reform in the tax cuts and jobs act. but doubling the exemption is not enough. there are still family farms and businesses out there that aren't protected from this tax. in my view losing even one family farm or ranch or business to the death tax is one too many. not to mention the fact that in less than five years the expanded exemption will expire putting many farms and businesses back in the tax'

crosshairs. family farms and businesses play a vital role in the economy and in communities. family farms and ranches are the lifeblood literally of rural communities in south dakota. they are a source of jobs. they provide support for local businesses. they help build up local schools and local infrastructure. losing a local farm can hit rural communities very hard. mr. president, as mind boggling that the federal government imposes a tax that punishes all the things we should be encouraging, the death tax punishes hard work. it punishes success. it punishes innovation. success should not be a dirty word. and families and employees should not be punished because a family has worked hard and built up a successful farm or ranch or business.

on top of all this, the death tax is an inefficient tax that raises a small amount of revenue while placing a very large burden on farmers and ranchers and small businessmen and women. mr. president, repealing the death tax is an idea that has won bipartisan support in the parks including -- in the past, including support for more than one sitting democrat senator. i hope it will win bipartisan support in this congress as well. and i will continue to fight to ensure that no family farm or business has to worry about this punishing tax. i said it before and i'll say it again. one family farm or business lost is one too many. mr. president, i yield the floor and i suggest the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. quorum call:

quorum call:

the presiding officer: the majority whip. mr. durbin: i ask the quorum call be suspended. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. durbin: i ask to speak as if in morning business. the presiding officer: also without objection. mr. durbin: mr. president, it's flattering when the republican senate leader comes to the floor and mentions your name. senator mcconnell did just that this morning. the issue was the filibuster. senator mcconnell found a quote of several years ago where i spoke in favor of the

filibuster to protect minority rights in the senate. it's true. i did say that. it was based on life experience having already served in the senate for a number of years, i came to understand how it evolved as one of the procedures of the senate. but i will have to say to you that my impression of the filibuster changed, and the reason it changed was none other than the republican senate majority leader -- now minority leader, senator mcconnell. you see, the filibuster really was created in the senate through its own rules as i explained yesterday, and it came to define the senate in this respect. the founding fathers looked to the senate to provide two representatives and literally senators from each state, regardless of population. so smaller states back in the original colony, smaller states

like delaware would have the same number of senators as a large state like virginia, and that was their intention. so the protection of minority rights was kind of built into the definition of the united states senate, and the filibuster became its manifestation in the procedure, the daily procedure of the senate. and under that filibuster, of course, one senator could stop the debate or at least slow it down by insisting on a filibuster, only to be stopped by a -- an extraordinary majority of the senate voting to return to the regular business. that was the case in 1957 because in august of 1957, senator strom thurmond took to the floor of this united states senate and initiated the longest filibuster in its history. 24 hours and 18 minutes. the man stood by his desk and spoke without stopping.

he didn't have any permission to leave the floor for any reason, and certainly couldn't sit down without losing his filibuster. he did it. he did it for the wrong reason, i'm afraid, because he was trying to stop the march of civil rights in this country, but he did it, determined to achieve that goal. and when he did in 1957, that was the fifth filibuster in the history of the senate in the previous five decades. in other words, if you went back to 1919, all the way to 1957, strom thurmond was the fifth filibuster in history. once every decade, a filibuster emerged on the senate floor. well, that world has changed dramatically. we can now have five filibusters in a couple weeks. we now have an average of 80 filibusters a year because of the urging and direction of the

senator from kentucky, senator mcconnell. he has institutionalized the filibuster to the point where it is now the normal course of business, not an extraordinary procedure. i recounted the fact that i introduced the dream act 20 years ago. 20 years ago. durbin, what kind of a senator are you that in 20 years, you can't pass the dream act? well, i brought it to the senate floor on five different occasions and on five different occasions, it was stopped by the filibuster. other members can tell the story of their legislative experience on the floor, too. the point i am getting to is this -- it wasn't until senator mcconnell and the republicans who follow him decided to make the filibuster just daily business in the senate that it was abused to the point where the senate stopped doing regular legislative business. i'd like senator mcconnell to come to the floor the next opportunity he has and explain this to me. in the last calendar year, 2020,

the senate considered 29 amendments on the floor of the senate in the entire year. now, that doesn't count vote-a-rama, which is an aberration that i don't think would ever be accused of being deliberative. but 29 regular order amendments during the course of a year. embarrassing, isn't it? when you think of this great so-called debating society, 29 times we have brought an amendment to the floor. well, it was an improvement, an improvement over the previous year. 30% improvement, in fact, because in the year 2019 under senator mcconnell's leadership, we had 22 amendments. so when senator mcconnell and others come to the floor and plead for us to hang on to the traditions of the senate, i would tell you that their interpretation of the traditions is strangling this body. they have beaten the old

filibuster to the point where it is hardly recognizable and is now regular order of business in the united states senate. and that's why many of us, frustrated with having worked so hard to come here, wanting to do the best we can to represent the people who sent us here, are so frustrated by the current state of procedure. and for senator mcconnell and other republicans to come to the floor and plead for hanging on to this tradition is actually pleading for the senate to continue to do less and less each year. there are those of us now in control of the majority side, bare majority side of the democratic side who really believe there is much more to be done in the senate. the american people expect us to respond. now, you might ask, well, how did you pass the american rescue plan if there is a filibuster used so frequently? it was under a process called reconciliation which depends on a majority vote. you can't filibuster under

reconciliation. that's why this amazing bill, this new law, the american rescue plan by president biden, is so sweeping in its reach. we had to try to combine under this law so many provisions that have been affected by the pandemic and the state of the economy because we knew that returning to the regular order of business with a filibuster looming every single day would tie our hands just as sure as we have seen in the past several years. so senator mcconnell, thank you for mentioning my name, but if i became skeptical of the filibuster, it's because of your use of it, and i hope that you understand that you can't have it both ways. it can't be a rare procedure and be a procedure that dominates the actual business of the senate as this has done for so many years. mr. president, i ask that my following remarks be placed in a separate part of the record. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. durbin: last year, i came to the floor on multiple occasions to ask consent for a simple,

sensible resolution. it called for the united states to cooperate in global efforts to address the covid pandemic. at the time, that point was obvious. it's even more obvious today. pandemics don't respect borders. none of us are safe from highly infectious diseases until all of us are safe. that's especially important to keep in mind as we begin to turn a corner here in america. last week, during his first address to the nation, president biden announced that all adults in america over the age of 18 will be eligible for vaccinations on may 1 of this year. if all goes to plan, we can look forward, as president biden mentioned, to a 4th of july with family and close friends and a close -- at a close distance. considering what they inherited, the biden administration deserves credit for dramatically scaling up vaccinations in

america. the administration helped to strike an historic partnership between rival drugmakers, ramped up manufacturers of vaccine, and improved coordination with state officials everywhere. we're seeing the world of difference that this makes when you put competent, qualified leadership in charge in the white house and in state capitals, good things happen. our weekly vaccine shipments in illinois have nearly doubled. the federal government has erected a mass vaccination site in chicago and it's also supported partnerships with retail pharmacies to expand access to vaccines. cautious hopefulness is washing over america, but we can't lose momentum in our fight against covid. to put this pandemic really behind us and to bury it in history, we need to lend a hand to the many poor makes that have

yet to receive a single dose of vaccine. the inequities are stark. 10 countries have accounted for 75% of total vaccinations administered worldwide while approximately 100 countries have yet to administer any vaccine dosage. this dangerous shortfall has the potential to undermine the good work that's happening here in america. closing this gap is not only the right and moral thing to do, it's the safest and smartest thing to do to stop the threat covid and its increasingly contai schuss variants -- contagious variants pose to us all. remember a little over a year ago an obscure city in china generated a virus -- we think they did -- that ended up circling the world many times over and changing life on this planet. last month i received a briefing from dr. fauci on the new

genetic mutations of covid-19. he shared troubling news about variants that are emerging in the united kingdom, south africa and brazil. some of them may have more resistance to our current vaccines. he warn fundamental we fail to stamp out the vaccine globally, then we will continue to see risks within our own border oz. variants of the virus could counteract the progress we've made and the progress we're poised to make in the near future. as i said at the outset, viruses don't recognize borders. crushing the virus in other countries is a strategic investment in our own national safety and security. president biden understands this. he is serious will addressing the virus first in america and then around the world. he has set us on a pace to vaccinate all eligible americans over the course of the next several months. and let me urge those who are

hesitant or skeptical as to whether it is the right thing to do. do it, please, for your self, for those you love and for this nation. president biden wisely halted president trump's withdrawal from the world health organization. he joined the global covax vaccine effort and allocated significant funding towards global vaccination efforts, which is expanding. secretary of treasury janet yellen recently announced that the united states will support drawing rights, a type of i.m.f. foreign exchange reserve that can help poor countries buy vaccines and weather the whistle-blowing fallout from the pandemic, a welcoming move that i was a coauthor of with senator sanders. just last week, the president announced a partnership with key allies in the pacific region to

provide at least one billion covid vaccines to countries in asia. this is prescient global leadership, long overdue. the president's actions will save lives here at home and abroad, and these investments will fuel a global economic recovery, which we all want to see. to understand why a global strategy is called for, look at history. some of you who are witnessing this statement on the floor at home may be old enough to have a distinct circular scar on your upper arm. maybe you've seen it on the arms of a grandparent or parent. that is a relic from the eradication of the deadly smallpox virus. the fact that so few people living today remember the death and misery caused by that disease is a testament to global public health strategy that stopped it. smallpox was one of the most devastating diseases to afflict

mankind. it is estimated to have killed up to 300 million people in the 20th century, 500 million people in the last 100 years. in 1967 the world health organization launched an historic international effort to eradicate it. it was one of the most successful public health initiatives in human history. next month marks the 41st anniversary of that historic achievement, and in the years since, america has led efforts to stamp out diseases like polio and ebola. one day historians will one day add covid to that list. pursuing a global strategy is the most effective way, maybe the only way, to accelerate vaccine production and distribution in every corner of the world. by sharing our wealth of knowledge and resources with the world, we reap lifesaving benefits, not just around the world but right here at home. we all know public health is big

than partisanship and always has been. in the 2000's, i called on then-president bush to step stem the courages of aids through the historic pepfar program. many of my republican friends in the senate at the time supported it. i hope and expect they will do the same when it comes to addressing the global effort against covid-19. the moment calls for nothing less. public health experts understand that president biden understands -- i know we here in congress understand -- that we can end the threat of covid once and for all. it is within our power. i ask consent, mr. president, that the next statement i make be made -- put in a separate part of the record. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. durbin: mr. president, let me start this statement by saying, i'm a fan of the u.s. postal service. i have been throughout my life. i believe the men and women who make the postal service work do a great service to this country and distinguish us from many

countries in the world which don't have anything near our service or reliability in delivering the mail. having said that and believe it to my inner being, the postal service needs to take a hard look at what's going on within their ranks today. last month, the u.s. postal service great lakes area sent the equivalent of an s.o.s. is put how the a call to mail carriers in five surrounding states to come to illinois and help deliver a huge backlog of undelivered mail. it called for mail carriers to help deliver chicago's mail on sundays. ken labay is one of the mail carriers who answered that call for help. mr. labay has been a mail carrier just outside chicago for 28 years. he's the president of the local

letter carriers union. he's also quite an athlete. in 2002 he was the only mail carrier on the usps sponsored professional cycling team. he volunteered for the last sunday in february. he figured he had the knowledge and endurance to help reduce the mail backlog that had plagued the postal service in chicago. what he discovered, he said, stunned him. at every home he delivered to, he stuffed 20 to 30 pieces of mail in the mailbox. he worked 12 hours on that sunday from 6:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m., sun up to sun down, without a break, even for lunch. still he couldn't complete the assigned workload. the sheer volume of backlog mail was too great. inside the local post office, ken said, he found packages stacked everywhere. some appeared to have been there for about a month or more. the entire situation looked in his words like an episode of

extreme hoarders. a crisis. chicagoland is not the only postal chaos location, mr. president. nearly nine months after a new postmaster general unveiled his surprise reorganization plan, the postal service in much of the nation is eraddic. delays are longer than ever. the delivery times have shrunk to historic lows since louis did he joy took over last june. at the end of the december, the agency had an on-time rate of 38% from nonlocal mail. what was it one year earlier? 92%. 92% on-time rate descended to 38% under postmaster general did

he joy. before the louis dejoy took over, 91% of customers gave u.usps high marks. today postal customers across america, certainly in my state, wait for mail a rife weeks late. they keep tracking the website only to read that the package is is quote, out for delivery. in some neighborhoods in chicago, residents have given up hope of receiving mail at home. they stand in line for hours at the local post office to try to retrieve their mail themselves, often even that doesn't work. tracy otis is one of those people. one day last month she was one of 40 customers -- 40 -- waiting in line at the postal service station on the south idea of

chicago. ms. otis hadn't had regular mail delivery since christmas. she waited in line for hours hoping to retrieve a package of diabetic test strips before her current supply ran out. she told a "chicago sun-times" reporter that she would volunteer to sort the mail if it would help. she went home empty-handed that day not sure where her package was. last month my staff in chicago estimated that there might be 300 pieces of mail sitting undelivered in four chicago postal facilities. we based that on the number of complaint we'd received in our office. sooner after the postmaster general release add report that showed we were aroundst wrong. there weren't 300 letters undelivered. there were 19,000 undelivered pieces of mail in those four facilities a. since then, in my state, the chaos has stretched way beyond chicago. we hear from all over the state

-- springfield, champagne urbana, belleville, quincy, peoria, the quad cities in rockville, these days in illinois and across america we're seeing real hardship for tens of millions of americans waiting for mail delivery. patients and pharmacists complain about late medication. people are getting dinged for late payments. insurance policies are being canceled because of late payments. small businesses owners are forced to wait weeks or months for payments. others are flooded with calls and e-mails from customers wondering where their packages are. a good way to lose business. who is louis dejoy, the mastermind of this mess? did he come through the ranks of the postal service like four postmaster generals before him? no, his qualifications -- he's a former logistics executive who donated millions of dollars to donald trump and the republicans. no experience working at the

postal service before donald trump tapped him to head this agency last june. one month later in the middle of a pandemic that turned postal deliveries into a lifeline for many, mr. dejoy unveiled a radical plan to reorganize the postal service, after only one month on the job and no experience in the department. he slashed overtime headquarters, prohibited late and extra mail trips. in august with no public explanation, the postal service began removing mail sorting machines from postal facilities around the country, reducing their ability to process mail. amazingly, the postal service inspector general determined that the changes were ordered with no analysis and no understanding of how they might affect the timeliness of mail delivery. a federal lawsuit forced the agency to put the changes on hold until after the election. on february 6, mr. dejoy was

quoted in "the washington post" saying that his new plan for reorganizing the postal service would be ready for public service, quote, as earlier as next week. he said that on february 6. we're still waiting for it. waiting for the dej.o.i. plan to shape up the postal service. it's like waiting for a lost package. we noticed some of the biggest changes he intends to propose because he's confirmed them publicly. the plan for shaping up the post office is expected to call for the following -- service cusses, higher pricings, and slower mail delivery. if that sounds like a winning combination to you, i have some vintage computers to sell to your business. in short, this is not a solution. this is a sabotage of an essential public service and we shouldn't tolerate it. well, america has a new president who understands that affordable, efficient postal service is essential to america. five days after taking office, president biden replaced the

chair of the postal regulatory commission. late last month he filled three vacancies on the post only as board of governors, the body that hires the postal -- the postmaster general and oversees the postal service. i encourage president biden to make all the changes necessary to rescue the postal service. mr. dejoy has offered -- since he showed up. he says it's the pandemic, the christmas holidays, bad weather, racial justice protests, an election. he's got a list as long as your arm. i would remind him in 1864 we held a national election in the middle of a civil war and 150,000 union troops voted absentee from the field. the postal service is as old as america itself. it can adapt to crises with the right leadership. if mr. dejoy will not or cannot

provide that leadership, i suggest that he step down. i yield the floor. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. quorum call:

quorum call:

a senator: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from minnesota. ms. klobuchar: mr. president, i ask that the quorum call be vitiated. the presiding officer: without objection. ms. klobuchar: mr. president, today i rise in support of isabel guzman, currently the director of the presiding officer in calf to be the -- in california to be the administer of the u.s. small business administration. we all know the importance of small businesses and how they have been hit so hard during this pandemic. small businesses employ nearly half of all private sector workers and make outside contributions to the innovation that make america's economy

strong. yet the coronavirus has put millions of people out of business, hundreds of thousands of these mom and pop brick and more tar -- mortar retail shops out of business, restaurants out of business, and we are so pleased that there is, as we say in minnesota, a lighthouse that we're looking to now. i was up in duluth on sunday and instead of the light at the end of the tunnel which so many of us talk about with the end of this pandemic, the mayor there referred to it as a lighthouse. they have a lot of lighthouses on lake superior, mr. president. and the end of this pandemic is our lighthouse. and we see the blinking lights from a distance but we know we are not there yet. and to get there, we not only need to get this vaccine to every person and the president has said we will have available vaccines by the end of may for every adult in america, we have to get it distributed and our pandemic bill certainly is going

to be a major step toward getting that done. but we also need to get our business economy back in order. we need to be able to not be so far down in the ground that we can't climb out of where we are. and that's why having ms. guzman who served as deputy chief of staff and is the senior adviser at the small business administration during the obama administration, having someone with her record and her ability to lead in place is so impo important. she will oversee the paycheck protection program which we established on a bipartisan basis in march of 2020 as part of the cares act. she understands the need for greater equity in loan distribution and has shown commitment to transparency and accurate loan data. she has made clear she will make the paycheck protection program more accessible to businesses that have traditionally not had

the access to making relationships needed to secure loans and grants. and very significantly to me and to those of us that worked on the save our stages bill, including senator cornyn of texas who led the bill with me, she has made clear that she will move on the grant program immediately. we have been working with the staff there and we have made some -- given these venues who have been shuttered the first to close, the last to open, the ability to access p.p.p. loans which is really important right now. but we also want to get the grant program out immediately, get that money out, distributing over $16 billion in grants. our venues can't wait. they need that relief and ms. guzman will be key to leading our way out of this and helping senator schumer with his theaters in new york to the fargo theater in north dakota. we need to get this done.

restaurant relief. we just passed as part of the american rescue plan, major, major bill, the $28.6 billion restaurant revitalization fund which is going to be so key. when i was at the block food and drink restaurant in st. louis park on sunday and then headed up to duluth to the boat club with the mayor and the owners of the boat club, the stories i heard of servers who have been laid off and then came back, laid off and came back, the stories i've heard about the owners of some of these restaurants taking out repeated loans, they are hanging in there and we need to have their backs. one out of six restaurants in this country has permanently closed down during the pandemic. we don't want to just go as the leader of the antitrust committee in the senate. we don't want to give all of our

food service and action in the restaurant area to the big guys. we're pleased we have successful restaurant chains in this country, but that can't be the only thing we have. and that's why helping these smaller venues is so important and ms. guzman gets that. she is a lifelong proponent of small businesses, the daughter of a small business owner, and as a former entrepreneur, this makes her the right person for this job at the pivotal time in the life of our country. she has the backing of the u.s. chamber of commerce and numerous trade organizations. i know her leadership at the s.b.a. will put our struggling businesses in the best hands. with that, mr. president, i ask my colleagues to support the nomination of isabella guzman to be administrator of the small sl business administration. you must be proud, mr. president, as having someone who has done such good work in california in this job. we're excited about her and what

she can do and i also will put remarks on the record as i'm running out of time. i see my colleague from wisconsin is here. and we're going to have the vote ahead of us. put my statement on the record for xavier becerra. we're very excited about him as well to be the secretary of health and human services. thank you, mr. president. i yield the floor. the presiding officer: without objection. ms. klobuchar: i note the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. quorum call:

a senator: mr. president? i would ask consent that the quorum call be dispensed with. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. cardin: i would ask consent that i be permitted to finish my remarks before the vote. the presiding officer: also without objection. mr. cardin: thank you, mr. president. i rise today to voice my strong support for isabella guzman's nomination to serve as administrator of the small business administration. our nation passed the one-year mark of covid-19 being declared a national emergency last saturday, march 13. and thankfully the american people can now see the light at the end of the tunnel. already more than 20% of all americans have received at least one covid-19 vaccine dose with an average of more than 2.39 million additional doses being administered each day. we can see the light at the end of the-- of the tunnel but we're not there yet. the covid-19 pandemic has decimated small businesses. the worst effects have been felt by the most vulnerable small

businesses, especially those in black, latino, native, and rural communities. so s.b.a. must continue to be a lifeline in the coming months. that's why it's important that we confirm ms. guzman's nomination so they can provide the permanent steady leadership s.b.a. needs right now. when we passed the cares act, congress tasked s.b.a. with one of the most important aspects of covid-19 relief effort. we knew we had to support our small businesses because the public health restrictions on public gatherings which have saved thousands of lives and kempt our communities safe have been especially challenging for small businesses. we had to help small businesses so that we could get out of this pandemic when our economy returns, our small businesses emerge in a position to help our economy recover and continue to grow. the cares act included $377 billion in funds for small businesses and created the paycheck protection program, the

eidl advance program and the small business debt relief program to help small businesses that had traditional s.b.a. loans like 504. then in april we passed legislation to replenish the p.p.p. and eidl and eidl advanced grant program with $370 billion in additional funds. in december we passed a bipartisan economic aid act to provide another $325 billion to support small businesses, allow for a second round of p.p.p. loans and created shutter venue operators grant program. mr. president, in total last year congress appropriated more than $1 trillion to the s.b.a. for covid-19 relief programs. since the passage of the cares act, s.b.a. has proved more than 7.5 million p.p.p. loans worth more than $678 billion and more than $3.7 billion eidl loans worth more than $200 billion.

these loans and grants have saved millions of jobs and prevented millions of small businesses from closing their doors. i want to thank the s.b.a. personnel who have worked long hours, including nights and weekends to implement these critical programs. s.b.a. still has a lot of work left to do. as i mentioned. the december bill created the shuttered grants operator program which we expect s.b.a. to open in the coming weeks. s.b.a. also has to open a new $28.6 billion grant program for restaurants and bars created by the historic american rescue plan. the plan appropriated an additional $80 billion in economic relief for small businesses, including $15 billion to title eidl advance grants and additional funds to p.p.p. and $1.2 billion to shuttered venue grants.

there is also a navigator pilot program which is designed to help small businesses in underserved and underbanked communities with covid relief resources available to them. this will be key to economic recovery. that brings me to mrs. guzman's nomination. mrs. guzman has decades of experience working with and supporting and founding -- and supporting floundering small businesses. she was the state of california's director of small business advocate where she oversaw implementation of the covid-19 state grant program. mrs. guzman led the s.b.a. during the obama administration serving as the deputy senior staff advisor. during her nomination hearing,

mrs. guzman ensured saving the s.b.a. programs as well as new programs are implemented and will help small businesses in black, latino and other communities overcome the historic barriers they face. she is committed to ensuring the agency has the right systems, technology and operating procedures in place to advance the mission and reachle all of our small businesses an she's committed to ensure funds get into the hands of small businesses who have been hurt the most by the pandemic and the economic crisis through no fault of their own. mr. president, as we learn during the pandemic, s.b.a. has a key role to play in our nation's effort to fight systems of inequality that prevent many entrepreneurs and underserved and underbanked communities from starting new businesses. she will be an advocate for small businesses within the administration and a strong partner to us in congress as we

support small businesses through the coming economic recovery. mrs. guzman's commitment to equity and her deep knowledge and the needs of small businesses and the best policies to help them is why she received bipartisan praise during her nomination hearing and was advanced by the committee by a bipartisan vote. mrs. guzman has earned broad support from the small business community. her nomination has been endorsed by the u.s. chamber of commerce, u.s. hispanic chamber, the small business majority, the national federation of independent businesses and many other small business advocacies groups. s.b.a. needs an administrator who can hit the ground running and i know she the right person for the job. i spoke to colleagues who said they knee support from the s.b.a., that you join me and vote for mrs. guzman as the

s.b.a. administrator. with that, i yield the floor. 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, do hereby bring to a close debate on the nomination of executive calendar number 26, isabella casillas guzman, of california, to be administrator of the small business administration. the presiding officer: the question is, is it the sense of the senate that debate on the nomination of isabella casillas guzman, of california, to be administrator of the small business administration shall be brought to a close? the yeas and nays are mandatory under the rule. the clerk will call the roll. vote:

vote:

vote:

the presiding officer: the yeas are 80. the nays are 18. the motion is agreed to. the presiding officer: the senator from delaware. mr. coons: i ask unanimous consent that all postcloture time on the guzman nomination be expired at 2:30 p.m. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. coons: i have request for six committee meetings today. the presiding officer: duly noted. mr. coons: i yield the floor. the presiding officer: under the previous order, the senate previous order, the senate

the city will work on the nomination of kathryn tied to these united states trade representative. when the senate returns at 2:15 p.m. eastern the gentleman's time has expired. you can watch live coverage here on c-span2. >> mr. president, the covid-19 pandemic has revealed just how important the federal government can be in helping workers, families and businesses during a time of crisis. congress has passed trillions of dollars in urgent relief, and we relied on federal agencies to implement that aid quickly, reliably, competently. so while it might not normally be as high profile as of the cabinet agencies the small