nominee to head the medicare and medicaid agency. also today the senate is voting on a nominee to serve on the u.s. postal service board of governors. this is live coverage on c-span2. the presiding officer: the senate will come to order. the chaplain, dr. barry black, will lead the senate in prayer. the chaplain: let us pray. almighty god, continue to guard the path of the godly. lord, you have filled us with reverential awe for you, so please keep our feet from stumbling or slipping.

we acknowledge that without the shield of your favor, our lawmakers labor in vain. bless them as they embrace your promise in psalm 84:11, which states, "the lord will withhold no good thing from those who do what is right." may this promise motivate our senators to refuse to deviate from integrity. mighty god, be a refuge and strength for us all. we pray in your loving name. amen. the presiding officer: please join me in reciting the pledge of allegiance to the flag. 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 presiding officer: the clerk will read a communication to the senate. the clerk: washington, d.c., may 12, 2021. to the senate: under the provisions of rule 1, paragraph 3, of the standing rules of the senate, i hereby appoint the honorable mark kelly, a senator from the state of arizona, to perform the duties of the chair. signed: patrick j. leahy, president pro tempore. the presiding officer: under the previous order, the leadership time is reserved.

the presiding officer: the majority leader. mr. schumer: good morning, mr. president. now later this morning the four congressional leaders will meet with president biden and vice president harris at the white house. speaking for the democratsification our hope is to come together and find common ground and work if a bipartisan way to overcome the many challenges of our time. we cannot be smallminded or passive, we must be big and bold to meet the changes in the world, the rapid changes that are occurring in the world. the world is rapidly changing and has been for some time. just like the steam engine launched the industrial revolution and a century of tumultuous change and electricity changed things dramatically in the latter half of the 19th and early parts of the 20th century, the internet has launched the text million to

logical revolution. we are living through that period of massive change everywhere -- in media, communications, transportation, how we learn and work and live. the world is not going back to the old way that it was. and america needs to adapt so our workers, families, and businesses can compete and prosper in the 21st century. there are so many different changes. let me just point out one that our society has basically neglected. that is about child care. when i was a kid in the late 1950's and early 1960's, the typical american family had two spouses, only one of whom worked. i'd get home from school every day and there would be my mom for me, my brother, and sister with milk and cookies -- make sure we draining our milk; she didn't care if we ate our cookies. she was keeping an eye on us

playing in the streets. one of the places i learned the most. but in any case, that's not true anymore. the typical american family is not the way it used to be. the vast majority are either single-parent families or two-parent families where both work. and that means that child care is much more needed to maximize both the happiness and productivity of our society in the 21st century. parents sweat over child care. they need to go to work, but who's going to watch the kids? can they afford child care? is it good enough for the children? of course who they love, our children are our most precious possession. and if we don't dramatically change child care, we're going to fall far behind. far behind. i read somewhere that of the 37

oecd nations, only turkey is lower. in general, these things should not be partisan issues. infrastructure and jobs, putting our economy on firm ground should be the work of both democrats and republicans. another change, obviouslyification is climate. in the 1950's and 1960's, we didn't even imagine a world with climate change. in the last 20 years it has become apparent that we better do something about it or we could have worse times than it covid year, every 10 or 15 years from now, the changes that would discombobulate our society and risk our health and economy, just as covid did will happen if we don't do anything. so fighting climate change and making sure america leads the world in emerging industries that deal with climate should be the work of both democrats and republicans. this congress has prove than we can legislate in a -- has proven

that we can legislate in a bipartisan way. just recently on a bipartisan water infrastructure bill. i believe we'll continue that trend by taking up and passings a bipartisan competition bill this work period. so as we head to the white house today, i hope our other leaders are thinking about how we can come together to solve our nation's problems in a bold and lasting way. 100% of democrats' focus -- and i think i can speak for speaker pelosi as well as myself and president biden -- is on delivering help to the american people. now, speaking of bipartisan legislation, today the commerce committee will begin marking up the endless frontier act, one of the most significant investments in american innovation in generations. the bill will be at the core of comprehensive legislation to address american competitiveness and security in the 21st century. once again, for the information of the senate, it is my

interception for the senate to consider -- it is my intention for the senate to consider and finish competitive legislation before the end. month. there have been productive, bipartisan talks over the last week to improve the endless frontier act. this is an issue i have he worked -- this is an issue i've worked on with my colleague from indiana. i appreciate his work. and, of course, senator cantwell, our chairman of the commerce committee, and senator wicker, our ranking member, have come together and everyone had to give a bit here and there and everywhere, but i think we have a strong bill that should get strong bipartisan support. and the simple truth is very simple -- the endless frontier act is legislation our country desperately needs. for decades, after the second world war, our country led the world in science and technology, from health care to computers,

from telecommunications to defense. our workforce brought these innovations to the world economy and produced a half a century of prosperity. people in the last half of the -- the last 50 years from 1950 to 2000 thought the future was going to be better than the present, and it created the usual american optimism, but things have changed, and one of the things that's changed is years of federal investment in sciences, and they have exposed long-term weak spots, serious weak spots, in our economic competitiveness. this could hurt us dramatically in the next 50 years. the longer we put off investing in sciences, the likelier it is that other countries, like china, but others, too, will overtake america as the global leader in innovation, a understand that will have pro-upped -- and that will have

profound consequences for our economy, our national security, even the future of human liberty, and it will have a lot to do with whether americans believe that the future economically will be better for them than the present. which is part of the american hallmark and trademark, our sunny optimism, which we must restore. there's been a sourness in the land lately. it is our mission to restore it. so, to take the initiative back, the endless frontier act provides $is -- $100 billion for basic research focusing on the critical technologies of tomorrow, where we have to stay the leader. a.i., quantum computing, cybersecurity, 5g, so much more, battery storage. this bill will nurture tech labs, tech hubs across the country in places where they are not now. we have to spread the wealth.

the clock is ticking on the need to make these critical investments. the chinese communist party has gone to extraordinary lengths to steal a generation of american intellectual property and cheat their way to economic growth. we definitely do not -- democrats, republicans, liberals, conservatives do not want a future where the chinese communist party dictates the order of the global order and how the world uses 5g, artificial intelligence, quantum computing. that's why the frontier act is resounding isly bipartisan. we have six sponsors from each side, six democrats, six republicans, because these issues reflect the future of our entire country. i greatly look forward to the good work that chair cantwell and the commerce committee will do to advance the bill this week. final topic -- i'm not in the

hackett -- i am not in the habit of commenting on the house minority. earlier today, the house g.o.p. out offed liz cheney from the party leadership. her crime? telling the truth -- that joe biden is the legitimate president of the united states and donald trump is lying when he says the election is stolen. congresswoman cheney spoke truth to power and for that she's been fired. make no mistake, the congresswoman and i disagree on so many policy issues, but we both agree that truth matters, and she, like so so many characs in history -- i am thinking of sir thomas more -- had the courage to tell the truth and paid a big price for it. so this is sad. a very dark moment for the republican party. republicans are seeking to

perpetuate and act upon the big lie that the election was stolen simply to placate the most dishonest president in american history. this president lies at will. he doesn't care of the consequences for the future of our grand, great, and wonderful democracy. he only cares about himself and feeding his ego, and truth has nothing to do with that. what happened matters a great deal and what the president is trying to do hurts our country dramatically. the former president's lies right now are poisoning our democracy, eroding our faith in government, and exciting a plague, often nasty, sometimes racist, of voter suppression laws. i thought that january 6 revealed the devastating consequences of the big lie. i thought that the invasion of our capitol by an armed mob, a mob that sought to delay the peaceful transfer of power, a

mob that i was within 15, 20 feet of at one moment, would demonstrate to all of my colleagues on both sides of the aisle, both ends of the capitol the awful price of donald trump's lies. but after a brief and all-too-short period of introspection, it appears that the big lie is no longer on the retreat among republicans but snead is spreading like a cancer. far be it for me to tell house republicans who should lead them, but it's truly a dangerous, dangerous sign of our times that the price of admission in today's republican party is silence in the face of provable lies. 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. mr. mcconnell: i ask that further proceedings under the quorum call be dispensed with. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. mcconnell: a one-party takeover of our political system. that's what senate democrats brought to the rules committee just yesterday. their side's top priority for multiple years now, the supposed rash analysis for the bill continue to change. a few years ago, when majorities of democrats were mistakenly convinced that foreigners had hacked voting machines and tampered with tallies in 2016, this was markedded as an

election security bill, but it keeps morphing to suit new headlines. lately it's been called a racial justice bill. some senators say it's really a response to some recent state-level legislation even though their bill predates those bills by multiple years. a partisan power grab in search of a justification. that's what we have here. voter turnout last november was the highest in decades. african american turnout was twice as high in mississippi as it was in massachusetts. democrats' hysterical attacks against the new election law in the state of georgia have been dismantled even by typically left-leaning fact-checkers. there's no crisis. our democratic friends just want the power to rewire our democracy on a partisan basis.

the federal election commission, the bipartisan panel that regulates elections and private citizens' speech and make it a partisan body run by the democrats. it would let washington democrats act like a nationwide board of elections on steroids, neutering popular things like voter i.d. and for thing legalized ballot harvesting onto all 50 states. this bill would let bureaucrats snoop around more in free speech, attack citizens' privacy so dramatically that even the liberal aclu is unhappy, and even send public funds -- get this -- public funds directly to politicians. republicans put forward amendments to fix those things. if democrats had wanted real bipartisan solutions, republicans were there right at the table and ready, but

democrats voted us down. they wouldn't even let us redirect any of that public money to the opioid crisis. they wanted that cash for their own campaigns. this partisan power grab failed to advance out of committee for the same reason it must never, ever become law as currently written. it will shatter public confidence in our democracy if the democratic party decides it can rig the rules. now, on a different matter, yet again air raid sirens have been sounding in israel. israeli civilians have been huddling in basements, shelters, and hospital stairwells. hamas rocket attacks are lighting up the skies, hitting buildings, and terrorizing, injuring, and killing innocent people. of course, hamas and palestinian

islamic jihad receive significant support from iran. fortunately, our remarkable percentage of the incoming rockets have been intercepted in midair by israel's iron dome system. americans should take some pride in our own -- defending our friends with these high-tech defenses which we have helped israel bring online, and have advanced our own joint missile defense efforts at the same time. missile defense is expensive but vital. it's yet another reason i'm concerned that this administration's intention to underfund defense. whatever complaints palestinians have with israel's government, wanton violence against civilians is completely and totally inexcusable. this is a barbaric terrorism, not a legitimate protest. nor is it legitimate for israel's obsessive critics to suggest any equivalency

whatsoever between these inexcusable attacks and israel's measured and quite targeted response against terrorists. yesterday, here in washington, street protesters screamed -- listen to this -- israel is a terrorist state. on the streets of washington, screamed israel is a terrorist state. some democratic members of congress echoed that rhetoric almost exactly. look, the state of thrall has every right of self-defense. its national security leaders have continued to display restraint and invest so much in precision and avoiding civilian casualties. that has been the approach of the israeli government. israel must know that their friends and allies here in the united states stand with them as they seek to restore deterrence. that we support their right to peace and security, and that we

will not relax our efforts to hold terrorists and terrorist supporters to account. now, one final matter, mr. president. this morning, i will be joining three other congressional leaders to meet with president biden at the white house. there is certainly no shortage of important business to discuss. the president campaigned on a promise that his agenda would unite a divided nation, and he inherited a favorable situation. vaccines were flooding america. science has proven schools can reopen. job openings were beginning to pile up. republicans sought to continue the 2020 bipartisan streak on covid-19 relief. but our new president and our democratic colleagues preferred a one-party approach. they used the end of the pandemic to pass what the president's own staff admitted, admitted was, quote, the most progressive bill in american history, end quote. not exactly shopping for

consensus. republicans were up front with our concerns. we have said these old liberal ideas would slow rehiring, slow down the reopening, and stoke inflation. of course, just a few minutes ago, the bureau of labor statistics published the most dramatic monthly inflation report in more than a decade. many of the things american families buy have grown more expensive at a dizzying pace. and last week's incredibly disappointing jobs report showed what happens when washington taxes working people to pay other people more to stay home. i'm going to discuss these and other concerns with the president today, but i also hope we can begin to come together on pressing issues that should not -- that should actually unite us. the last time congress took

comprehensive action on surface transportation infrastructure, 83 senators signed on. and by the way, that bill was produced by senator boxer, myself, and senator inhofe. a totally bipartisan effort across broad ideological lines. the last time we drilled down on water resources, the margin was 92-6. infrastructure can and should be a bipartisan issue. the time for supporting working families. the same for supporting our national defense. if the president can remember that he promised to govern for all americans, not just the far left, if my democratic friends can remember, they have just a 50-50 senate and a closely divided house. not exactly a sweeping mandate for a socialist agenda. then there is much that we could

deliver together for the country. i hope today marks the start of a new course correction from this white house and a more successful dialogue across party lines. that's what americans need and that's what they deserve. i suggest the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. quorum call:

the presiding officer: the senator from texas. mr. cornyn: i ask consent that the quorum call berescinded. the presiding officer: without objection. morning business is closed. under the previous order, the senate will proceed to executive session and resume consideration of the motion to discharge the brooks-lasure nomination. the senator from texas is recognized. mr. cornyn: thank you, mr. president. mr. president, more than four million texans, including half of the children in my state,

depend on the stability of the state's medicaid program to provide health care for themselves and their families. everything from emergency room visits to mental health care, medicaid funding is vital to the health of our most vulnerable friends and neighbors. 0 the same is true in virtually every state across the country. unfortunately, a recent move by the biden administration has put the health care of these vulnerable citizens in jeopardy. a few weeks ago the biden administration rescinded approval of texas' 1115 waiver extension. i know that's an obscure reference to most folks, but basically here's the long and short of it. the previous administration reached an agreement with the state that will enable billions of dollars to flow to texans in

need. now for some reason the biden administration is trying to stop it. the real question is why. why would the biden administration try to jeopardize the health care for four million texans? well, the president has consistently talked about ensuring every american has access to quality health care. two weeks ago in his joint session to congress, he said health care should be a right, not a privilege in america. so why would the administration take an unprecedented action to reduce access to health care for some of the most vulnerable people in my state? well, the official answer from c.m.s. is to correct an administrative error. but two federal health officials did an unusual thing in washington, d.c., albeit anonymously. they told the truth. they told "the washington post" that this was done to, quote,

push state officials toward accepting the affordable care act's medicaid expansion. it's pretty bold to admit that this was not about an administrative error at all, but about forcing a medicaid expansion on to the state of texas. many people will recall that this was a portion of the affordable care act, which was held unconstitutional in an opinion written by chief justice roberts. chief justice roberts said the federal government cannot put a gun to the head of the state and force them to accept the medicaid expansion, since it is a joint program between the federal government and the states. now the administration is engaged in a game of political chicken with four million texans on the line and only once that are getting hurtle are the

low-income and -- that are getting hurt are the low-income and uninsured texans whose health care relies on this safety net. this move by the administration would have been damaging during normal times, but it's even more damaging after this unprecedented year for our health care providers. in fact, it's downright reckless. hospitals and providers in texas have been pushed to the brink during the pandemic. on top of the additional expenses associated with covid-19, they face serious financial shortfalls from the pause on nonessential medical procedures as well as the hesitancy of patients to seek care because they're worried about contracting the virus. now, more than ever, hospitals and health care providers need reliable funding to plan ahead for the financial -- for their financial stability and uncompensated health care costs.

if this funding stream goes away or is disrupted, it directly threatens health care for uninsured texans, and it harms the livelihood of health care providers as a whole. in rural areas and those that are already underserved, the consequences of this move could not be more dangerous. let's say the biden administration refuses to change course and texas loses billions of dollars in medicaid funding. if uninsured patients in small towns go only to local hospitals for emergency care, they will receive that emergency care because that's another federal law. but without federal funding to offset those costs, how would these hospitals make ends meet? these patients aren't paying out of their pocket and the federal government is not helping to cover the costs.

what will happen? well, it's pretty simple actually. without funding, the rural hospital will close. so those same uninsured patients start visiting the second closest hospital. in my state -- it is a big state -- maybe that's 30 minutes down the road. maybe it is more than an hour away. what will happen if well, that hospital will close, too. we will descend into a death spiral of hospitals and health care providers that close their doors because they can no longer afford to provide health care. and the hardest-hit patients won't those with heroins' health insurance. it will be those with no health insurance. so the consequences of this irresponsible move by the biden administration could not be more serious.

and they will be felt far and wide because this funding is vital to our health care system as a whole. ititit is not hyperbole to say t these are going to have life-and-death consequences. while patients in texas may be the first to get caught in the game of political chicken, they will not be the last. there are only four states that don't have approved or pending 1115 waivers -- four, only four don't have approved or pending is -- pending 1115 waivers. every state could find themselves in the same situation. florida was granted a waiver around the same time as texas. what will happen to floridians? tennessee is already facing legal challenges to their waiver. will their providers be in jeopardy, too?

north carolina, south carolina, missouri, idaho -- the list of states that could be impacted by this life-or-death game of chicken goes on and on. the most vulnerable patients in states across the country could lose access to health care because of the biden administration's irresponsible and reckless actions. something must be done. to state the obvious, the nominee to lead c.m.s., ms. brooks-lasure, did not rescind the texas medicaid waiver approval. she hadn't been confirmed. but because her nomination can advance, members of the senate deserve a commitment from the administration that it won't try to force the hand of states by putting health care millions on the line. if we don't step up now and push back against this reckless move, which state will be next? how far will the administration go in the words of chief justice

roberts to put a gun to the head of the states, forcing them to dance to washington's tune? i've asked the administration to work with texas, to ensure that millions of impacted individuals won't lose access to health care. but so far there's been zero progress. the administration has been unwilling to provide any assurance that texas -- that an agreement with texas could be reached before the end of this fiscal year, something that would have dire consequences for our providers and especially those in mental and behavioral health. as a reminder, c.m.s. said the only issue with the texas waiver was an administrative error. now they won't even commit to reliable care forethese patients -- for these patients. this unprecedented action by c.m.s. threatens the security of the texas medicaid program. it disrespects the continuity of this agreement and it erodes the

partnership between the states and the federal government. i think it also violates the constitutional authority of the states. the federal government is one of delegated powers with the rest retained by the state and we the premium. that was the basis -- and we the people much that was the basis upon which the supreme court of the united states struck down the compulsory medicaid expansion under the affordable care act. but now the administration seeks to do through the back door what they could not do through the front door. this sets a dangerous precedent of administrations undoing agreements negotiated in good faith between the states and the federal government for purely political reasons and could have cascading consequences across the country. i appreciate ms. brooks-lasure working with states in

developing these measures. but she doesn't have any authority to force the biden administration to undo its terrible and reckless mistake -- at least not yet. but it will texas can receive a waiver -- but until texas can receive a waiver and assurance that this will be rectified and the rug will not be pulled out from under other poorest patients, i cannot support this nomination. i urge my colleagues to stand up for the health care for their most vulnerable population and push the administration to find an alternate path forward. if they're willing to do this to my state, they'll be willing to do to your state and every other state in the nation. mr. president, i yield the floor. and i'd note the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. quorum call:

quorum call:

quorum call:

mr. durbin: mr. president. the presiding officer: the democratic leader. mr. durbin: i ask consent that the quorum call be suspended. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. durbin: mr. president, i have 15 requests for committees to meet during today's session of the senate. they have the approval of the majority and minority leaders. the presiding officer: duly noted. mr. durbin: mr. president, they did it in a closed room. no one in the public was allowed to watch. they did it by a voice vote so that there would be no physical record of individual congressmen and how they voted. and they decided to remove a member of the republican

leadership in the house of representatives this morning in that fashion. these proud, courageous disciples of donald trump didn't want to be on the record publicly as to where they stood on the fate of congresswoman cheney. this is the same congresswoman cheney who was reelected to leadership in the house just a few weeks ago. this is the same congresswoman cheney who is one of the most ideologically conservative members of the house. she voted with president trump nearly 93% of the time while she was in office. and with a name like cheney, it's hard to question her republican credentials. no, the decision in private, in secret this morning by a voice vote was about not a disagreement over policy, but the issue as to whether or not liz cheney dares to tell the

truth. she refused to defend or ignore the big lie that the 2020 election was stolen from donald trump. and in today's republican parties, it seems like that is all that's necessary for grounds for removal. more than six months after the 2020 election was held, it's clear that the big lie has been spread in a big way, and that lie is not just a threat to the future of the republican party. it's a threat to our democracy. since the start of this year, republican state legislatures, inspired by donald trump's big lie that the election was stolen, have introduced more than 360 bills with restrictive voting provisions in 47 states. one of the most notorious examples, the state of georgia. remember the state of georgia

hotly contested in the 2020 election, and then the trump troops came in and went to court over and over and over again, suggesting there was election fraud and dishonesty in the georgia election. and the georgia election officials, virtually all republicans, stood up and said it was an honest election, a close one but it was an honest election. they were challenged over and over again to the point where the former president of the united states, while he was still in power, called an election official in georgia and basically threatened him that if he didn't change the votes and give president trump what he thought he needed to win, he would pay a price for it. it went that far. to his credit, this election official stood up and said the results are accurate, and i stand by them, and i'm not going to change them. it went that far. and there was a big turnout in georgia. in fact, there was an amazing

turnout in the runoff election for the two u.s. senate seats, won by jon ossoff and raphael warnock, our colleagues here in the united states senate. even with that big turnout and even with the certainty that the election was honest from start to finish, the georgia legislature decided to change the laws for voting in georgia. it wasn't volume they were looking for. it was loyalty. they wanted to make sure that the voters in the future would be friendlier to the republicans, and so they changed the georgia election law and made it harder for people, particularly people of color, young people, the elderly, people of limited means to vote. that law represents that -- that georgia voting law represents a blatantly political effort to subvert our democratic process. republicans of conscience know this, but it seems there's no future for those republicans if

we reflect on the vote taken this morning in the house of representatives republican caucus. liz cheney's expulsion from her role in the republican conference is just the latest example of what happens to republican officials who dare to speak truth about the 2020 election. they're not only silenced, they're purged from the party ranks. our own colleague, senator mitt romney, not long ago a republican candidate for president of the united states, was just comprehensive -- is en sewered by a -- was cessewered cessewered -- he was censured. some have joined donald trump in declaring war on the basis of our economy.

this week the rules committee held a hearing on a measure that would combat voter suppression and protect our democratic process. it's known as the for the people act. this is a democracy defense plan. it will ensure that all eligible americans can exercise their constitutional right to vote without facing burdensome barriers at the ballot box. the for the people act invests in election infrastructure, provides state and local officials with resources to run safe, secure elections. in addition to combatting voter suppression, the bill also reforms a broken campaign finance system that gives wealthy donors and big corporations far too much influence in our electoral process. by passing it, we will say loud and clear that america's elections are not for sale to the highest bidder. above all, this legislation will strengthen the integrity of our democratic process, put more power in the hands of the

people. i know some of my colleagues on the other side of the aisle have been attacking the bill as a, quote, takeover of the nation's election system. the truth is american elections have already been taken over by special interests. this bill will start to restore our democracy and make it more accessible to every eligible american. i would love to know why my republican colleagues find it so objectionable about the legislation's core provisions. listen, it automatically registers american voters when they get a driver's license, guarantees at least 15 days of early voting, ending partisan gerrymandering nationwide, bringing greater transparency to campaign finances. these are reforms that will make our democracy whole again, and they are desperately needed, particularly at this moment in our history. because the world's greatest democracy -- and the world's

greatest democracy, people shouldn't have to wait in line for hours on end to have their voices heard, and yet that's the reality for voters in states just like georgia. and it's not an accident. it's intentional. look at the people standing in the lines, and you can understand why they are being discouraged from voting by waiting so long. let's be honest about these restrictive voting provisions being passed in state legislatures across the country because they're grounded in one lie after another. the truth is that president trump's own officials at the department of homeland security declared the 2020 election was the most secure election in american history. the truth is judges across the country, including many appointed by president donald trump, threw out more than 63 lawsuits that his followers filed challenging the results of last year's elections.

why? there was no evidence, no basis in fact for the big lie. but the truth is the big lie won't just die with the 2020 election. it will sow distrust in our election system for years to come unless our republican colleagues act with courage. a few have done so. this morning one paid a heavy price. the question to all of us is are we prepared to either discredit democracy or defend it. rejecting the big lie is the defense of our democratic process. we have to join together in making certain that every americans' right to vote is defended. mr. president, i yield the floor and suggest the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. quorum call:

quorum call:

a senator: mr. president. the presiding officer: the senator from arkansas. mr. cotton: i ask that the quorum call be ended. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. cotton: mr. president, our nation just concluded national correction officers and employees week because the senate was not in session last week, i want to take this opportunity to recognize these heroes and everything they do to protect our people and uphold the rule of law. every day correctional officers go into work to guard and

operate our federal prison, state prisons, local jaistles. they not only administer just on behalf of victims, they also defend the guilty from unjust adversity. they combat the drug trade so addicts can recover. they fight back against prison gangs to inmates can find redemption instead of resifdism. they confront the most violent offenders so persons with short minimum security prison sentences don't turn out to have what is a death sentence. without safety, security, and destruction, our jail would devolve into ang arcky. correctional officers combat these forces of disorder so these facilities can be centers of self-improvement and, indeed correction. as result, many inmates are able to pursue education, learn

marketable skills an find solace in god. the profession of a correctional officer is noble and dangerous. fewer than 450,000 correctional officers protect and police approximately 1.5 million inmates in a normal year around the clock every minute of every day. riots, jail break attempts and targeted police violence are common results in particularly high-risk positions for correctional officers. in a nine-year period, by the national institutes of health, correctional officers had 125,000 injuries and 118 tragically lost their lives. correction officers willingly endure this danger, suffer these injures and sometimes give their lives so that our families and

communities can be safe. the least we can do is express our gratitude. this year our correctional officers did even more than usual. for the past 14 months, they've worked tirelessly to keep our inmates healthy in the middle of this global pandemic. they've shifted normal confinement arrangements and they maintained order among a population under enhanced stress due to coronavirus protocols. correctional officers have done an amazing job and saved so many lives during this crisis. sadly some even paid the ultimate price for their work. they should be proud of their work and we ought to be -- out to be proud of them. from the floor of the united states senate, i can say i am proud of our correctional officers. but our nation should go beyond gratitude. we ought to give correctional officers the funding, the equipment, and the facilities and the support that they need. to start, congress can finally

crack down on contraband cell phones. inmates use them to maintain their criminal enterprises behind bars and terrorize those that put them there. they also use them to victimize upon other inmates and prey on other inmates beyond prison walls. they use the cell phones to undermine the life's work of correctional officers. contraband cell phones are even used as tools of retribution against the officers themselves. in 2010 a gang member in prison in south carolina used a contraband cell phone to order the murder of captain robert johnson. captain johnson was then mers -- mercilessly shot three times in the chest and stop increase in his own -- stomach in his own house. he survived and is taking action against contraband cell phones. regrettably the use of

contraband cell phones shows no sign of slowing. on the contrary they're becoming ubiquitous weapons inside of our prisons. while available technologies can be helpful, it's also increasingly clear they're not capable of solving the problem alone. so that's why i'll soon be introducing my cell phone jamming reform act. this bill would empower state prisons to install jamming technology and turn contake band cell phones -- contraband cell phones into nothing but useless paperweights. this easy and commonsense step will honor the hard work of correctional officers to clean up our streets and to keep our nation safe. the men and women of this country, law-abiding citizens and those that serve their time alike owe a debt to our nation's correctional officers. so i once again want to thank them for their courageous and diligence service and i hope they took time last week to celebrate national correctional

officers and employees week because they certainly deserved it. mr. president, i request that the following remarks appear in a separate part of the record. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. cotton: mr. president, a few years ago, mainstream news articles trumpeted supposedly stunning moves. iceland was close to eliminating down syndrome. eureka, fantastic. how is it possible? had these ice landic scientists discovered some miraculous new gene therapy? no, they hadn't because iceland wasn't eliminating down syndrome. iceland was eliminating babies with down syndrome. using prenatal testing to identify genetic anomalies and

then aborting the babies that had those anomalies. according to one icelandic genetic counselor -- and this is a direct quote. i'm not making it up. you might think i am. quote, we don't look at abortion as murder. we look at it as a thing that we ended. imagine how ghoulish that is. that's what this counselor and some like him believe. that a baby is just a thing. but if they're honest with themselves, i think if they look in their hearts, they know the truth. babies with down syndrome aren't just things. they are living human beings of inest -- inestimable value who are loved by their creator even if they aren't protected by the law or valued by too many in society.

sadly, iceland is no exception. in many parts of the world, a down syndrome diagnosis is tantamount to a death sentence. and while in america thankfully we are more welcoming, sadly we still terminate roughly two-thirds of babies diagnosed with this genetic condition. that needs to change. a civilized nation has a responsibility to protect our most vulnerable people and that means we have an obligation, especially to protect unborn babies with down syndrome. my home state of arkansas passed a law to do just that, to make it illegal for an abortionist to perform an abortion if they know it is motivated solely by down syndrome diagnosis. you would think this law would be uncontroversial. you would think a country that cares about ending discrimination against people

with disabilities would leave it the chance to outlaw a particularly evil and final forum of discrimination. after all, this congress has taken many steps in recent years to protect those with disabilities. but, no, you would be wrong. that's not what happened. the abortion lobby kicked into high gear and got a liberal judge to block arkansas' pro-life law from going into effect. the pro-abortion guttmacher institute denounced the laws to protect babies with down syndrome as dangerous. this shouldn't be surprising coming after the guttmacher institute, after all it's named after a leader of a society. many can trace their lineage to the dark so-called science of eugenics early last century. these modern day iew generalists

and a few liberal activist judges are putting babies with down syndrome at grave risk every day. these babies can find no refuge under the laws of many of our states and our nation. but thankfully that may be changing. the state of arkansas is fighting to save its pro-life law in court and tomorrow i and representative ashley henson along with many of my colleagues in congress will submit an amicus brief urging the court to protect these most innocent and vulnerable young babies. time will only tell if the courts will hear these pleas. but while we will make the most persuasive legal arguments available on the law and the facts, i must add that the most effective advocates for justice will always remain those little babies with down syndrome and the parents who brought them

bravely into this world. they'll be the first to tell you that a person with down syndrome isn't a burden. it isn't just a thing, to quote the icelandic iew generalist -- eugenist. these are persons and they are fearfully and wonderfully made. they are created equal in the eyes of an image of god, just like each and every one of us. so let us fervently pray that one day soon our laws will reflect this very basic truth and protect these innocent children. mr. president, i yield the floor and i note the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. quorum call:

quorum call. a senator: without objection. the presiding officer: under the previous order, the question somebody on the motion to discharge. is there a sufficient second? there appears to be. the clerk will call the roll. vote:

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brooks-lasure. brooks-lasure. vote:

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the presiding officer: on this vote, the yeas are 51, the nays are 48. the motion to discharge is agreed to. pursuant to s. res. 27 and the motion to discharge having been agreed to, the nomination will be placed on the executive calendar. the clerk will report the motion to invoke cloture. the presiding officer: 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

numbered 108, ronald stroman, of the district of columbia, to be governor of the united states postal service, signed by 18 senators. the presiding officer: by unanimous consent, the mandatory quorum call has been waived. the question is, is it the sense of the senate that debate on the nomination of ronald stroman, of the district of columbia, to be a governor of the united states postal service, shall be brought to a close? the yeas and nays are mandatory under the rule. the clerk will call the roll. vote:

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