c-span, c-span.org, or by downloading the free c-span now mobile video app. >> c-span is your unfiltered view of government. we are funded by these television companies and more including mint hill. -- midco. ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ >> midco supports c-span as a public service, along with these other television providers, giving you a front-row seat to democracy. >> and the senate is about to gavel in on this tuesday morning. today lawmakers will continue work on a house passed postal service bill. senators voted 74-17 yesterday-17 yesterday to limit debate and advance the legislation.

later this week they plan to consider executive nominations and need to pass government-funded before friday's midnight sunday to avert a shut in. you watching live coverage of the senate on c-span2. the chaplain, dr. barry black, will lead the senate in prayer. the chaplain: let us pray. eternal god, your majestic name fills the earth. nature testifies to your might, wisdom, and love. lord, your glory is higher than the heavens. as our lawmakers depend upon your strength to silence the enemies of freedom, deliver us

all from evil. defend the righteous who cry to you even in the night seasons, send your angels to protect those who stand up against the fury of their enemies. arise, o lord. wake up and bring justice to our nation and world. we pray in your powerful 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., march 8, 2022. to the senate: under the provisions of rule 1, paragraph 3, of the standing rules of the senate, i hereby appoint the honorable tammy baldwin, a senator from the state of wisconsin, 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 clerk will report the unfinished business. the clerk: calendar number 273, h.r. to 76, an act to provide stability to and enhance the services of the united states postal service and for other purposes.

mr. schumer: madam president? the presiding officer: the majority leader. mr. schumer: now, in 1922, madam president, the first robust anti-lynching bill was successfully passed by the house of representatives. once it came to the senate, a block of southern segregationists mounted a filibuster to kill it in its tracks. over the decades, similar bills

met similar fates. throughout the 20th century, scores of anti-lynching bills were introduced only to be promptly buried into obscurity. in 2018, congress came closer than ever to finally passing anti-lynching legislation before it was thwarted at the 11th hour. but last night, finally -- finally -- after more than 200 failed attempts to declare lynching a federal crime, the senate succeeded in taking long overdue action by passing the emmett till anti-lynching act. hallelujah! congress has finally declared lynching a federal crime, as it should have done more than a century ago. that it took so long is a permanent, bitter stain on american history. but finally a century's worth of efforts have now paid off.

to say this is an historic accomplishment is impossiblily inadequate. generations of civil rights leaders and advocates dedicated their lives to getting congress to recognize the obvious -- the humane, obvious truth -- that lynching was an entail rabble injustice inflicted -- intolerable injustice inflicted primarily on disenfranchised black americans. thousands upon thousands of black americans have been victims of lynch mobs across the country and indifferent states rarely responded, if ever. many of the sworn officers of these states and localities not only ignored but often participated when these atrocities occurred. despicable, horrible. america should be so ashamed of these -- of this chapter in her history. and while no single congressional action can fully erase the injustices committed against victims of lynching,

last night was an important step in the never-ending work of perfecting our union. only by confronting the darkest elements of our history can we make straight the path towards a brighter and more just future. i want to really applaud senator booker. he has been diligent and hard-working and valiant in getting this to happen. he had a great partner in senator scott, bipartisan. and on the house side, a person who lit this candle and kept it glowing even in the most dispointing of times was bobby rush. he neff gave up -- he never gave up. congress has finally taken action, and this bill now heads to president biden's desk, finally, finally, for signature. now, on covid. republicans and democrats continue making good progress towards reaching a deal to fund the government. we are almost there. we are very, very close, and

hopefully it will be done in the next few hours. this bill, the spending bill, comes at a consequential moment. war in europe has focused the energies of congress into getting something done and getting it done fast, quickly. but one crucial element of the funding bill is getting less attention, and that is as important as just about anything in this bill, and that is approving a new round of covid preparedness funding. for all the important priorities we must address in this spending bill, i believe the covid funding will go down as one of the most important, one of the most important elements of the omnibus, and i've been pushing really hard to get it done, working across the aisle to convince our republican colleagues that we need it. now that all the federal covid aid under the american rescue plan has run out, approving new covid funding is about

insurance, far better to prepare for new variants today than play a frantic game of catch-up tomorrow when it would be too late. we cannot let it be said that america, after the third or fourth variant hits our shores, is unprepared, does not have adequate testing, therapeutics, vaccines. we cannot let that be said again. the first time it happened, of course, we were unprepared. we didn't know what had happened. but unfortunately, even in the second and third president trump's administration was not very eager to move forward, trying to ignore it, saying it didn't -- it didn't really present a danger, which of course it has. so now democrats and republicans thankfully have come together, and both sides of the aisle have come to realize that new covid funding today is about insurance

far better to prepare today than play a frantic game of catch-up tomorrow when it's too late. the funding will support more vaccines, testing, therapeutics and healthcare workers, and that's why i've been pushing so hard to get it done. across the country life's returning to normal, thankfully. cases are falling. more people are going about without masks. restaurants, churches, and stores are filling up. i see that in my hometown of new york. most importantly, classrooms are full, schools are staying open. now that we're turning the corner, now that we're getting back to normal, the last thing we can afford to do is let our guard down, lest the new variant come back with a vengeance and catapults us all back to square one a place we all do not want to be. sadly, we know from experience that another variant is a very real possibility. no one can say for sure how --

no one can say for certain how the virus will mutate. but today, we have the tools and know-how to fight this virus the minute it hits our shores, while preserving as much of normal life as possible. all that's needed is the federal funding and $15 billion of funding will be in the omnibus bill. so, that's why i pushed so hard to get covid funding into the spending bill. i'm encouraged to see that members have come around to recognize its importance, and i hope we can get it done very, very soon. furthermore, i am pleased that we are likewise close, very close, to passing a strong and ample aid package that will help the people of ukraine fight against putin's immoral war. they desperately need humanitarian aid, as millions of people are without food, without heat, without shelter, without medicine.

they desperately need the arms to defend themselves against brutal russian aggression, often viciously aimed at civilians who are escaping. we pledge to get something big done, and in the coming hours i expect we'll be able to announce that we have followed through. and another matter, a lot is going on in the senate this week, i'm pleased to report that as soon as today the senate is set to deliver for the post office. the post office usually delivers for us, but today we're going to deliver for them. every single day tens of millions of americans rely on the post office for life's daily essentials. seniors and veterans rely on it for their medication. small business owners rely on it to keep their operations going. small towns and rural americans use it to stay connected. and every time we receive a wedding invitation, birthday message, or postcard from a relative it's almost always the

post office at work. making us happy, receiving those nice letters and birthday cards from brothers and sisters and relatives and friends from far-flung places. but we all know the frustrations of waiting on packages that fail to arrive on time. we all know that when the post office is forced to cut hours of operation or delivery routes or lay off workers, the rest of us are worse off. thankfully, for the past few months, democrats and republicans have been working together in good faith to reform some of the most troubled parts of the postal service. now we are only one roll call away from sending this bill to the president's desk, and that vote is likely to come today. after the senate votes on this bill, we will happily be able to say that finally postal reform is signed, sealed, and delivered for the american people. i look forward to getting this done, and i thank my colleagues,

especially senators peters and portman, for their bipartisan work. and on costs, the costs that the american people face when they buy the things that make -- that they biweekly through their daily lives. yesterday we saw another instance of republicans going out of the way to show the american people where their priorities lie. a few months ago, the junior senator from florida callously called inflation, quote, a gold mine for the -- for the republican party. people are suffering in pain more, and the senator from florida says it's a gold mine for the republicans? a few weeks ago we saw what he meant. that same senator released a party platform that openly called for raising taxes on millions of american families, potentially by more than a thousand dollars a year. people can't afford that. and yesterday, the junior senator from wisconsin called for the g.o.p. to revive their

failed efforts to rip away affordable healthcare for tens of millions of americans. a fresh reminder of an old desire that republicans have har poured for -- harbored for over a decade. cheerleading inflation, raising taxes on working americans, repealing affordable healthcare. is that the platform of today's republican party? at this point, perhaps the senator from wisconsin should join the senator from florida in creating a new hurting working families caucus so he can more easily track their truly repressive vision for the american people. meanwhile, democrats believe we should be lowering costs for americans, not raising them, we should be working on a bipartisan basis to fight inflation, not root for it to go up. so tomorrow democrats will hold our annual dpcc retreat to discuss our plan to lower costs, building on historic job growth, and expand opportunity for the

middle class. over the next few months, my colleagues will be holding hearings and markups on many of our cost-cutting proposals. among the ideas we're working on include bills to cap insulin costs at $35 a month, lowering the cost of meat at the grocery store, reforming unfair shipping practices that raise the costs of american goods for everybody, and fixing domestic supply chains. these are issues that the american people need help with. it is what democrats will maintain a focus on. and i thank my republican colleagues for helping us remind the american people which party truly stands in their corner. i yield the floor. know of the the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. quorum call:

quorum call:

mr. mcconnell: madam president. the presiding officer: the republican leader. mr. mcconnell: i ask consent that further proceedings under the quorum call be dispensed with. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. mcconnell: as i mentioned yesterday, senators had the chance to hear directly from ukraine's president zelensky over the weekend. he and his constituents, the brave people of ukraine, have won the hearts and minds of all of us all across the world. their pain of course is putin's fault, but as i and others

warned for weeks before the invasion, that pain has been compounded by the west's hesitation and sluggishness in helping ukraine prepare for this onslaught which we could all see coming. the crisis was not only foreseeable, it was in fact foreseen. republicans spent months urging president biden to put more lethal aid in ukrainian hands before russian invasion made those deliveries much more difficult. we urged the administration to reinforce our nato partners before putin escalated his war against ukraine rather than playing catch-up. we called for heavier sanctions before putin had fully committed his forces and his pride. we warned repeatedly that the biden administration must not let these actions be slowed down to the speed of bureaucracy, but that is of course what

happened. as president zelensky himself said publicly last week, while he appreciates all the western help, much of it is ultimately arriving too late. the biden administration now finally doing l many of the things they slow-walked months ago as too provocative or too escalatory, providing stingers, sharing intelligence, deploying more forces to nato's eastern flank, finally getting out of the way of sanctioning nord stream 2. now as supplies dwindle and safe resupply and transit corridors narrow, friends of ukraine will have to work even harder to help their citizens and their government stay in the fight. it's been obvious for some time that ukraine would benefit from receiving soviet-era aircraft and air defense systems from our eastern flanked nato partners.

the u.s. can help to backfill with american-made and nato-standard weapons. i understand the administration may be finally coming around to support this, but again at the stately pace of bureaucracy. this needs to get done and get done yesterday, mr. president. meanwhile, the congress is acting. that includes additional security assistancing funding for ukraine and for our eastern flank nato allies in the supplemental appropriations bill along with funding for loan guarantees to help eastern flanked western countries. i appreciate the democratic leader working to accommodate my request for the drawdown fund available to the president. in the backfill, our d.o.d. stockpiles that are helping our

friends in harm's way. i hope we finalize those steps soon. this supplemental is urgent, but the fact is the white house has thus far taken steps that limit their own options and made them miss the window to provide impactful assistance. this administration not only reportedly refused the request prior to the conflict to increase the number of u.s. military trainers in the country, but moved the advisors we had to the far west of the country and then pulled them from the country entirely like they also pulled out our entire diplomatic mission. these noncombat advisors could have helped facilitate more shipments of weapons to the field, more training to teach ukrainians how to use them. they could have laid important logistical ground network ensure weapons could continue to flow through the front lines after the conflict began.

in area after area, the record shows the biden administration pulled their punches, even though everyone knew -- knew -- that the war was coming. and even so, the ukrainians are mounting an incredible and brave resistance. imagine where these brave people might be now if the administration moved at the speed of necessity rather than the snail's pace of bureaucracy. now we must commit to keep lethal aid flowing. we have to continue strengthening nato and deepening our security partnerships and interoperability with other european partners. we need to encourage more commitments like the german chancellor's announcement that they will massively step up their investment in their own defense and in nato. and perhaps most important of all, we cannot have washington politicians in the business of shortchanging our own defense

spending at the very time when we are pleading with western europe to increase theirs. we have to lead by example and make the kind of robust investments needed for long-term competition with russia and china. in the meantime, the sobering reality is that ukraine is very likely to see more and escalating brutality in the days and the weeks ahead. the world remembers the butchery in groznia and the cold-blooded targeting in aleppo, and the world will remember the moment as russia sinks conscripts, six conscripts on ukrainian civilians and arrests its own people when they object. for all of the kremlin's lies about ukraine, about how it's supposedly just an extension of russia and its people are really russians, we now know for certain that russians and ukrainians do not have at

least -- do have in fact at least one thing in common -- vladimir putin considers their lives equally disposable. of now on a related matter, the price of gas jumped more in the past week than any week on record. this of course began long before russia invaded ukraine, even before that families across america were paying dramatically higher gas prices than they faced when president biden took office. i expect our democratic friends will now try to blame the entire increase in prices on our efforts to punish russia, but don't be fooled. this is more than a year in the making. back in november, president biden's secretary of energy was asked about any efforts, any efforts to ramp up production of our own abundant american energy, and she literally laughed at the question. that is hilarious, secretary granholm said. the secretary suggested that

increasing domestic production would be futile because the market for oil is global. well, it sure is, but right now the free world is considering making this market a little bit less global to punish russia for its brutal conquest in ukraine. so it would be sure be nice if america had gone into this crisis with more head room on supply and on gas prices. just three years ago, under republican policies, we had become a net oil exporter for the first time since world war ii. but democrats are completely committed to their ideological holy war on affordable energy, from the campaign trail then-candidate biden promised, i guarantee you we're going to end fossil fuel. and in office, the biden administration used its considerable executive authority to actively target affordable american-made oil and natural

gas. on his first day in office the president canceled the pipeline project that would have sped the safe transport of reliable fuel. the very next week he suspended all new federal leases on oil and natural gas exploration. so washington democrats spent months trying to pass policies that would drive the most affordable, reliable and abundant forms of american energy and the jobs they support literally into extinction. just yesterday, as even our western european friends are realizing that green fantasies can't fuel their countries and try to turn back toward nuclear, coal, and domestic natural gas, the biden administration officials gave a press conference when they repeated the same, the very same platitudes about renewables you really can't make this stuff up. the democrats in charge of the united states of america want us to embrace the same failed strategies from which our european friends are frantically

backpedaling as fast as they can. so while the ukrainians are fighting russia, democrats are trying to fight a war on the law of supply and demand. they only want to have to look at solar panels and windmills here at home, so they want to get our oil and gas from everywhere else. but many of the biggest players in the global market are countries that don't much care for the united states, and now the biden administration's green hostility to domestic energy production has them going hat in hand begging our antagonists to increase production after spending a year hammering's america's own energy producers, the biden administration appears to be commencing a world tour to try to buy oil from people who don't like us. as i mentioned yesterday, the

administration appears close to a deal that would help iran enrich more nuclear material and enrich it's economy by lifting oil export sanctions. reports also suggest u.s. officials have met with the maduro regime with the aim of relaxes sanctions on venezuelan oil as well. this administration wants to ramp up energy imports from iran and venezuela? that is the world's largest state sponsor of terror and a thuggish south american dictator respectively. so they'd rather buy from these people than buy from texas, alaska, or pennsylvania. just let that sink in. the administration is also apparently making similar overtures to saudi arabia.

obviously the saudis are not an adversary like these other countries, but i doubt the american people are thrilled to see president biden trying to increase our dependence on middle eastern oil and opec while declaring america's own resources off limits. a green light for the arabian gulf and a red one for the gulf of mexico, what sense does that make? the political left thinks that affordable energy is dirty and bad, so they're happy to export the dirty work and import the oil. let's ask our friends in europe how that plays out. outsourcing even more production to dictators and theocrats is not the answer. dumping more subsidies into solar panels and charging stations, praying everything works out, is not the answer. the answer is to let americans produce american energy.

mr. mcconnell: i suggest the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. quorum call:

mr. thune: mr. president. the presiding officer: the republican whip. mr. thune: mr. president, i ask unanimous consent the quorum

call be lifted. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. thune: mr. president, it took several months and the worst inflation in 40 years, but finally, finally democrats are acknowledging that we have an inflation problem. the president actually acknowledged inflation in his state of the union address last week but, unfortunately, while democrats may finally be talking about inflation, they still don't seem to understand how we got here and they're continuing to push a whole raft of terrible proposals that would hurt working families and make our inflation crisis even worse. so how did we get here, mr. president? why are americans currently struggling with huge grocery bills and big price increases on essential goods? mr. president, it's true that supply chain issues and the reopening of economies after covid shutdowns created certain inflationary pressures. but a big part of the reason things are so bad in the united states right now is because of the american rescue plan

spending spree the democrats pass last -- passed last more. inflation might have stayed there had democrats not decided that they needed to pass a massive partisan $1.9 trillion spending spree under the guise of covid relief. mere weeks, i might add, after congress had already passed a major covid bill. that's right. president biden and congressional democrats took office right after congress had approved a fifth -- fifth -- bipartisan covid relief bill, and it was abundantly clear that we were not in immediate need of trillions more in government spending. but that didn't matter to democrats. now that they were in control of congress and the white house, they wanted to take advantage of the covid crisis. so in the name of covid relief,

they pushed through a massive, partisan piece of legislation filled with unnecessary spending and handouts to democrat interest groups. and, of course okay the results were trible. the bill flooded the economy with unnecessary spending and the economy overheated as a result. or in the words of jason furman, in a january "new york times" article, and i quote, the united states has had much more inflation than almost any other advanced economy in the world, said jason furman, an economist at harvard university and former obama administration economic advisor. the difference, he said, comes because the united states stimulus is in a category of its own, end quote. unfortunately, democrats seem unable or unwilling to recognize that it was their policies that helped push us into our current inflation crisis. in fact, the president used his state of the union address to push for even more -- more --

excessive government spending, a sure way of making our inflation crisis even worse. and not just increases in spending but major new entitlements. yes, our nation is massively in debt, inflation is soaring, and democrats think now is a good time to create major, new entitlements. and, of course, to raise taxes to pay for them. now, the president claims that he won't raise taxes on anyone making more than $400,000. but that's not actually the case. analysis of build back better proposals reveals more than one tax hike that would hit americans with incomes below $400,000. and then there are the indirect costs. a centerpiece of the president's tax plan is increasing taxes on corporations. while that may sound like a tax hike on the uber rich, the truth

is that the burden of corporate tax hikes would fall heavily on ordinary workers in the form of lower wages, decreased job opportunities, and retirement savings and a less vibrant economy. mr. president, the president likes to talk about tax fairness, about hiking taxes on corporations and wealthy americans so they pay, quote, their fair share. of course he ignores the fact that wealthy americans already pay a disproportionately higher share of taxes in this country and that the federal government has seen a huge increase in corporate tax receipts thanks in part to business growth. but all that aside, i find the president's calls for wealthy americans to pay their fair share highly ironic considering that democrats managed to include a tax break for wealthy

americans in their build back better plan. that's right. the democrats' salt proposal would overwhelmingly -- overwhelmingly -- benefit affluent taxpayers in high-tax states. apparently, making wealthy americans pay their fair share only applies to wealthy republican americans or until wealthy democrats start asking for tax breaks. on the corporate tax side, in his state of the union address, the president highlighted the corporate minimum tax. what he didn't mention is that his corporate minimum tax isn't actually a minimum tax at all. thanks to the clean energy and affordable tax credits the president is advocating, companies that take action on

democrats' preferred policies could end up completely evading biden's so-called minimum tax. so much for making corporations pay their fair share. mr. president, in his state of the union address, the president highlighted, and i quote, the revitalization of american manufacturing. he said companies are choosing to build new factories here when just a few years ago they would have gone overseas. he said that in his state of the union speech. well, mr. president, the revitalization of american manufacturing is indeed something to celebrate. but, unfortunately, president biden wants to undo the very tax policies that helped create the conditions for this manufacturing renaissance in the first place. before republicans passed the tax cuts and jobs act of 2017, we were experiencing a wave of inversions, which is a wonky way

of saying that companies were moving their headquarters overseas. and why why companies moving overseas? because of the punishing corporate tax system we had in the united states. prior to the tax cuts and jobs act, the united states had the highest corporate tax rate in the developed world. that put american businesses at a real disadvantage next to her foreign counterparts, and it created a significant incentive for u.s. companies to move jobs or their entire companies overseas. the tax cuts and jobs act addressed this problem by lowering our nation's massive corporate tax rate and bringing the u.s. international tax system into the 21st century. and how did it work? well, in the wake of the tax cuts and jobs act, inversions

stopped -- stopped. and as the president pointed out, companies are building here in america. to quote the president of the national association of manufacturers, and i quote, reducing tax rates drove historic growth in the manufacturing sector, end quote. unfortunately, if the president has his way, this manufacturing renaissance would likely drastically slow or come to an end altogether. hiking taxes on american companies, as the president wants to do, would once again put american companies at a competitive disadvantage next to their foreign counterparts. if the president hikes corporate taxes, he won't be seeing a surge of new building in america or companies keeping jobs here at home. instead, we'll be seeing fewer american jobs and more jobs and companies heading overseas. mr. president, democrats have already wreaked a lot of

economic harm on american families with their american rescue plan spending spree and the other policies that they're pushing, and the tax hikes and new entitlements the president outlined in his state of the union address would prolong our inflation crisis and do further damage to our economy and to american workers and families. i'm glad that democrats are finally recognizing that inflation is a problem. but it would have been nice if they could also recognize how their spending helped get us into this mess in the first place and how their current tax hike and spending plans would hurt americans and result in a less prosperous economy in the future. mr. president, i yield the floor.

mr. hagerty: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from tennessee. mr. hagerty: mr. president, much of the news media today is focused on russia's unprovoked invasion of ukraine, and rightfully so. but not enough attention is being paid to negotiations that are happening today and have been happening in vienna. the biden administration seems dead set at reviving at any cost the iran nuclear deal. worse, president biden's chief negotiator, rob malley outsourced our negotiations to the russians. this is outrageous. let me get this straight. we're working hand in glove with vladimir putin to reach a deal

that will help russia evade sanctions being imposed for its aggression in ukraine and work with its ally, iran. this is not the way to protect the safety and the interests of the american people. this is what russia's chief negotiator to the iran talks had to say about what he's accomplished for the biden administration. and i quote -- i'm absolutely sincere in this regard when i say that iran got much more than it could expect, much more. he recently told reporters, he added, realistically speaking, iran got more than, frankly, i expected or others expected. he says, quote, this is a matter of fact. again, this is russia's chief negotiator making this statement. most alarmingly, this revived deal would pave iran's path to a nuclear weapon. news reports also suggest that

the revived deal would quickly unleash $90 billion in frozen funds to iran. again, the world's biggest state sponsor of terrorism. moreover, iran can expect to earn roughly $50 billion annually in renewed oil exports. it's unconscionable that the biden administration appears more eager to unleash energy production in venezuela and iran than right here in america. the biden administration is so stubborn and blinded by its ideological green energy fantasies that it would rather work with terrorists and dictators, folks with some of the worst human rights records in history, than admit that it was a mistake to abandon america's energy independence. this administration would rather work with killers than with american drills. -- drillers. as before, the iranian regime will use this massive windfall

of sanctions relief to fund terrorism and aaggression against our ally -- aggression against our ally israel, against our arab partners and against americans serving in the middle east. let me be clear -- the trump administration was right to withdraw us from the iran nuclear deal. but i'm not here to discuss the pros and cons of resurrecting the deal. we'll have that debate in the days to come. i'm here today to argue for preserving the role that congress, amid concern that the biden administration will not submit their new iran nuclear deal for review and for an up-or-down vote, that congress must maintain its role as required by u.s. role. the biden administration may nearing the end of negotiations for an agreement to resuscitate the deal. as reuters reported recently,

quote, the draft text of the agreement, which is more than 20 pages long, stipulates a sequence of steps to be implemented. mr. president, in 2014 and 2014, many lawmakers passionately argued that the original iran deal should have been submitted to the senate as a treaty, requiring our advice and consent under the u.s. constitution. but because the obama administration refused to follow the constitution, congress was compelled to enact the iran nuclear agreement review act. it passed the senate in a 99-1 vote. this is nearly unanimous, a bipartisan vote that reflects how frustrated the senate is that the executive branch was trying to circumvent congress on such an important matter. inara any agreement related to the nuclear agreement of iran should be submitted to the

senate and the house for a review, including for an up-or-down vote. it's beyond debate that the biden administration is required by law to submit any new agreement for reviving the iran deal to congress for congressional review. but the biden administration has not compleerl committed it will submit whatever agreement is negotiated in vena for a upor down vote by dong congress. if the biden administration refuses to submit the new agreement, it will be ignoring the law and undermining this body in foreign policy. last year, i was concerned this might happen. that's why i introduced the iran sanctions relief review act of 2020. my bill borrows a provision from the countering america's adversaries through sanctions acts, or caatsa, that overwhelmingly passed in 2016.

this uses an upor down vote on any waiver of russia's sanctions. my bill takes word for word that same provision and applies it to any presidential waiver of iran sanctions. this is important because any new agreement to revive the iran deal will require once again the executive branch to waive iran sakes sanctions -- sanctions. in other words, my bill protects the role of congress if the executive branch ignores inarra and refuses to submit a new agreement to the senate and house. so far, 37 senators cosponsored the act with me. this number is significant, because 37 senators would be more than enough to deny the senate's advise and consent if the executive branch would follow the constitution and present the new iran agreement to the senate pass a treaty. mr. president, i urge my colleagues who have not yet cosponsored the iran sanctions relief review act to join me and

to do so. we must protect the first branch of government from an executive branch that seeks to encroach upon it or even to ignore it. i also remind the biden administration the iranian regime and the world of a fact that should be patently obvious by now -- any agreement to revive the iran nuclear deal that lacks the senate's advice and concept under the constitution -- and consent under the scube, -- under the constitution, will not survive multiple generations. it will be ripped up just like it was last time. i have zero doubt that, as before, the next presidential administration will end this deal again and will snap back sanctions with a vengeance against the iranian regime and those countries foolish enough to trade with it. mr. president, i yield the floor and suggest the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll.

quorum call:

>> once it came, a block of

southern segregationists now did a filibuster to kill itin its tracks . over the decades, similar bills meant locates. throughout the 20th century course of anti-lynching bills were introduced, only to be promptly buried in obscurity. in 2018, congress came closer than ever to passing anti-lynching legislation it was boarded at the 11thhour . last night, finally, after more than 200 failed attempts to declare lynching a federal crime the senate succeeded in taking long-overdue action by passing the emmett till anti-lynching. hallelujah. congress has finally declared wrenching a federal crime as it should have done more than a century ago . that it took so long is a permanent bitter stain on american history. but finally, century's worth of efforts have now paid off.

to say this is a historic accomplishment is impossibly inadequate . generations of civil rights leaders and advocates dedicated their lives to getting congress to recognize the obvious, the humane obvious truth that lynching was an intolerable injustice. inflicted by primarily on disenfranchised black americans. thousands upon thousands of black americans have been victims of lynch mobs across the country . and in different states rarely respond with it ever. many of the sworn officers of these states and localities not only ignored but often participated when these atrocities occurred. it's horrible. america should be so ashamed of this chapter in our history and while no single congressional action can

fully erase the injustices committed against victims of lynching, last night was an important step in the never-ending work of putting our union. only by confronting the darkest elements of our history can we make straight the past to a more just future. i want to applaud senator booker. he's been diligentand hard-working and valiant in getting this to happen . he had a great partner in senator scott, bipartisan and on the house side, a person who lifted scandal and kept it glowing even inthe most disappointing of times was bobby rush. he never gave up . congress has finally taken action and this bill now heads to president biden's desk finally for signature. now, on kobe, republicans and democrats continue making good progress towards

reaching a deal to fund the government . we are almost there. we are very close and hopefully it will be done in the next few hours. this bill, the spending bill comes on inconsequential moments. war in europe has focused the energies of congress into getting something done . getting it done fast. but one crucial element of the funding bill is getting less attention that is as important as just about anything in this bill. that is approving a new round of preparedness funding. for all the important priorities we must address in this spending bill i believe the covid funding will go down as one of the most important elements of the omnibus. and i've been pushing hard to get done working across the aisle to give our republican colleagues that we needed. now, that all the federal aid under the american rescueplan has run out , approving new

funding is about insurance. far better to prepare for new variants today then play a friendly game of catch up tomorrow when it would be too late. we cannot let it be said that america after the third or fourth variance it's our shores is unprepared. does not have adequate testing. therapeutics, vaccines. we cannot let that be said again. the first time it happened course we were unprepared. we didn't know what had happened but unfortunately, even in the second and third president trumps administration was not very eager to move forward trying to ignore it saying it didn't really present a danger which of course it has. so now democrats and republicans thankfully have come together and both sides of the aisle have come to realize that new funding

today is about insurance. far better to prepare today and play a friendly game of catch up tomorrow when it's too late. the funding will support more vaccines, testing, therapeutics and healthcare workers and that's why i've been pushing so hard to get it done . across the country , life is returning to normalthankfully . cases are going. more people are going about without masks. restaurants, churches and stores are filling up. i see that in my hometown of new york. most importantly, classrooms are full. schools are staying open. now that we're turning the corner, now that we're getting back to normal, the last thing we can afford to do is let our guard down to lest a new variants come back with a vengeanceand catapults

us all back to square one, a place where we do not want to be. sadly ,we know from experience in other variant is a real possibility . no one can say for sure how the virus will mutate but today we have the tools and know how to fight this virus the minute hits our shores while preserving as much of normal life as possible. all that's needed is the federal funding and $15 billion of that funding will be in the omnibus bill. so that's why i pushed so hard to get covid funding into the spending bill. i'mencouraged to see members have come around to recognize its importance and i hope we can get it done very very soon . furthermore i am pleased that we are likewise close, very close to passing a strong and ample a package that will help the people of ukraine fight against putin's immoral war. they desperately needed humanitarian aid as millions

of people are without food, without heat,without shelter, without medicine . they they desperately need the arms to defend themselves against brutal russian aggression often viciously aimed at civilians who are escaping . we pledged to get something big on and in the coming as i expect we will be able to announce to follow through. i'm pleased to report as soon as today the senate is set to deliver for the post office. post office usually delivers for us but today we're going to deliver for them. every single day tens of millions of americans rely on the post office for life's daily essentials. seniors and veterans rely on it for their medication. small business owners who rely on it to keep their operations going. small towns and rural americans use it to stay connected and every time we receive wedding invitation or

postcard from a relative it's almost always post office at work. making us happy. you see those nice letters and birthday cards from brothers and sisters and relatives and friends from far-flung places. but we all know the frustrations of waiting on packages that failed to arrive on time. we all know when the post office is forced to cut hours of operation or delivery routes and lay off workers the rest of us are worse off. thankfully, for the past few months democrats and republicans have been working together in good faith to reform some of the most troubled parts of the postal service. now we are on only one rollcall away from sending this bill to the president's desk. >> we asked proceedings be dispensed with. i come to the state in support of the ppostal service reform act

the postal service is unique in its universal service obligation and the fact that it delivers both mail and packages to americans in every community whether you live in key west, florida, or utgavik, alaska. no other federal agency or commercial enterprise does this. but it's becoming more and more difficult for the postal service to accomplish this swift completion of their appointed rounds, as we recall. and believe me, i certainly hear about the postal service's decreasing ability to provide its services promptly, reliably and efficiently. i hear as soon as i get off the airplane, when i get back home, i hear from individuals all over the state telling me the concerns that they have about mail that is late or perhaps not delivered at all. our phone rings in our offices around the state because a small post office has been closed for

a period of days because the postmaster has left, there's no replacement available. i hear about the long lines to pick up mail, the long lines to just even buy a stamp in some of our smaller communities that get inundated by tourists in the summer. we know, we hear the strains on our postal service. despite postal workers' dedication, the fact of the matter is the agency is in trouble and it needs the reforms that are contained in the bill that's pending before us. while many americans believe the postal service is supported by the american taxpayer, that's not the case. congress only reimburses it for mailing audio books to the blind and ballots to overseas voters. that's it. the postal service has to meet its payroll and fund retiree health benefits, maintain its facilities, equipment and vehicles, deliver the mail to its destination on time with its

own revenue from the sale of postage. their financial instability is making those responsibilities harder and harder to fulfill. so we're debating this legislation on the floor today to give the postal service the tools that it needs to be successful and fulfill its essential mission and to hold the usps accountable for improved performance, because we all want to see that. so this legislation that we will hopefully vote on later today, not without controversy -- reform legislation is never without controversy, but that's why i appreciate the opportunity to outline what i think are some of the important provisions. importantly, the bill increases the postal service's accountability for on-time delivery. the bill requires that mail delivery not only be prompt and economical but also consistent and reliable and provided in a manner that increases

operational efficiency. it requires the usps to develop a new searchable public performance dash board that's updated weekly so both congress and the public can keep a close eye on whether or not they're living up to our expectations. it also requires new, regular reporting to the postal regulatory commission, the p.r.c., and to congress on a variety of indicators, including the impacts of price changes and information about reliability, efficiency and cost effectiveness. postal resource recruitment and retention and how investments in equipment and infrastructure are impacting service. in addition, the p.r.c. and the postal service's inspector general must identify why there are inefficiencies in the collection, sorting, transportation, and delivery of large envelopes, newsletters and magazines. these findings will be reported to congress and the postmaster

general. there will be six months to put in plaibs -- place approved changes. the bill will also do what many of us have also advocated for which is reform the cost of health care for usps employees and their retirees. it provides needed stabilization for the usps health benefits system and hopefully will relieve the pressure on their budget and supporting sustainable benefits for employees and retirees. this is a key provision. the bill also codifies an appropriations rider that has long required the usps to integrate the delivery of letters and packages for six-day delivery and includes a fair compromise on the attribution of cost for processing and delivering packages. one of the, i guess, top complaints that i hear from alaskans is that the cost of shipping via commercial package services is oftentimes more than

the price of the item itself. integrated delivery of mail and packages saves the u.s. postal service money by allowing it to be more efficient. and while u.p.s. and fedex charge most alaskans extra for delivering their packages, these companies then drop their packages off in anchorage as that hub and let the postal service take care of what we call last-mile delivery. in alaska that often means the last several hundred miles. some are concerned that usps subsidizes the costs of packages with revenue derived from delivering letters. but in fact the law that we passed in 2006, the postal accountability and enhancement act, forbids the postal service from cross subsidizing revenue to make sure that it's competing fairly with commercial package carriers. current law also requires that package delivery covers all of its attributable costs.

and while the postal reform commission, or the postal regulatory commission and the federal courts have examined and upheld the cost attribution methodology, the postal service reform act requires yet another look, which i think is probably a fair compromise. importantly, for alaskans and for me, this legislation will not result in cost increases for essential bypass mail program. this is -- it is what it says it is. it's essential. it is a program that allows rural alaskans who live in communities that are not connected by road -- about 80% of our communities are in that situation, but allows them to receive pallets of food, whatever necessary, mailable matter that come from stores in anchorage or fairbanks without millions of individual boxes or goods going through postal facilities. and that benefits the consumer and it saves the postal service

tens of millions of dollars a year in operating costs and yun told millions in -- untold millions in facility costs. while the postal service reform act directs the p.r.c. to engage in another review of attributable costs, i've been assured by both sides of the homeland security and governmental affairs committee by the p.r.c. and by the postal service that this provision will not impact bypass mail. and i certainly intend to hold them to their word. another concern that i want to address is over this bill allowing usps to partner with state, tribal and local governments. i understand where this comes from, but this legislation specifically requires that any nonpostal services must cover their own costs without any degradation to regular postal services. in my view, if the u.s. postal service can help deliver

additional services to the american public under these two caveats, then they should be allowed to do so. so, madam president, h.r. 3076 is a big step forward in helping the postal service achieve financial stability. it will enable the agency to continue to bind the nation together with efficient and cost-effective universal service and allow postal employees to achieve the swift completion of their appointed rounds. it's supported by a wide array of businesses both large and small, all who rely on our postal service. it's supported by postal employees, by retired federal employees, and the postal service itself. it has received overwhelming bipartisan support in the house of representatives. i certainly hope that it will draw the same here in the senate. and i want to commend the chairman of the committee and homeland security and government

services as well as ranking member portman for the good work that they have done in bringing this bill to us today. madam president, while i am still here on the floor, i want to take just a moment and acknowledge that today, march 8, marks international women's day. this is a day for us to recognize the achievements and the contributions that women are making in communities across the globe. and as an alaskan, i'm going to start local first because i've got so many, many phenomenal women in my state who are doing incredible things, and i'm exceptionally proud of them. i was home over the weekend, we were celebrating the start of the 50th running of the iditarod race. this is an extraordinary feat of just strength and grit and determination and resilience. there were 49 mushers that left

willow on sunday. 17 of those mushers who will make the trek to nome are women. 17 women, so we've got a very, very strong field. running a race like this, where it is the musher and your team of dogs going through the wilderness of alaska -- we've got deep snow throughout. the moose are not in a very cooperative mood right now. there's dangers along the trail. and who knows what the conditions are going to be like a week from now. and so it takes an extraordinary individual, and to know the strength of women as they have taken on the iditarod. when award-winning or world-renowrnd -- renowned winner susan butcher won that

race, she won the race four times, but when she ran it about three decades ago, there was a popular bumper sticker that was going around the state at the time. it was alaska: where men are men and women win the iditarod. we were pretty proud of susan butcher. we're hoping our women do well and all of our mushers do well. like these female mushers who are racing, women leaders are virtually in every field, from health care to resource development, to fishing, to our universities, everything in between. many of us are very proud to know that they have become somewhat household names, some of them. this year we were able to celebrate emma broyles, a young woman from anchorage, 20 years old. she became the first alaskan and the first korean american to ever be crowned miss america in

the 100-year history of that event. we're very proud of her, was able to celebrate with her this weekend at the iditarod itself. another young woman that we have celebrated this past year is lydia jacoby, from seward, alaska. at 17, she competed in her first olympics. she brought home the gold medal for this country, winning the 100-meter breaststroke race. we were all eyes on lydia, so proud of her. and there's so many who deserve our thanks and our gratitude. i always like to give a shoutout to an exceptional leader in our state who has provided critical leadership and guidance throughout the pandemic, dr. ann zinc. it is, it's so important to know that it's not necessarily finishing at the end of a race or a crown or a medal.

it is just the endurance that goes with the day-to-day completion of your work. i was on the floor just last month to recognize the work of native civil rights advocate elizabeth pertravich who pushed our legislature at the time to pass the first antidiscrimination act in the nation. we did this in 1945. we're so proud of how she as a native woman leader made our state and our nation a more inclusive and more representative democracy. so today on international women's day, it gives us an opportunity to recognize the impressive feats that women have taken on and have accomplished. it's a day to thank women for their daily contributions. again, both big where they win the awards and they make the headlines, but also for those day-to-day contributions that they make, raising healthy, strong children, to being the

fabric in the family, to be that contributor in the workplace. but this isn't a day that we just look back and recognize those who have made great accomplishments. it's also a day that we look ahead at the work that we have to do to continue to advance equality and justice for all women. just down the hallway from here in the rotunda is the portrait monument, and we all see it. we walk by it. maybe we just don't notice it anymore. but take a look at it next time. we know the pioneering women who are represented on it. lucretia mott, elizabeth cady stanton and susan b. anthony but we need to look at it more carefully. there's a fourth bust that adlai johnson did not sculpt and the base of the monument is also unfinished and it's a reflection of the unfinished struggle for women's rights and equality. so for all the progress that

we've made and we know it has been considerable, madam president, as you're sitting in that chair and this woman from alaska is addressing you, we've made great progress but the struggle is unfinished. the data documents the gaps in gender equality in our country, and too many women feel at firsthand in their daily -- feel it firsthand in their daily lives. on international women's day i want to remind the senate of a couple of important ways we can help further women's rights. and i'm pleased that my colleague, senator cardin, is on the floor at this moment, because we've been working together. we've been working together to try to finish off, to do this unfinished business when it comes to ratification of the equal rights amendment, to ensure women's equality is expressly recognized in our constitution. three-quarters of the states have now ratified that amendment. alaska did it back in 1972. virginia most recently in 2020. i'm hopeful that it's -- that

its time has come. and to help facilitate that senator cardin and i have introduced a resolution to remove the arbitrary ratification deadline from the e.r.a. so it can finally take effect. i think the senate needs to take this resolution up and pass it like the house of representatives did last year. another step, a critical step that we must take now is the reauthorization of the violence against women act to help ensure there sr. a path to justice -- there is a path to justice for survivors of interpersonal violence. i was very proud to introduce the bill with senator durbin, senator ernst and senator feinstein last month. i'm so pleased that we have 22 total cosponsors, 11 from each party. our bipartisan bill modernizes the nearly three decades old violence against women act. and it reauthorizes important programs that provide services to survivors. it directs resources to prevent further violence and hold

perpetrators accountable for their actions. and it takes needed and important steps to address domestic violence, sexual assault, dating violence, and stalking. i mentioned dating violence. we have a provision that i had included that we have named after an alaskan victim of dating violence and that is brianna moore. we focused on improving access to medical forensics for vehicle ims of vie -- victims of violence including free training for medical professionals that will help them provide evidence-based and trauma informed care. we have a strong tribal title in this bill. it builds by closing the gaps in the law to protect native people. the tribal title also includes an alaskan pilot program which provides a targeted solution to help empower tribes in a way that recognizes the unique and complex jurisdictional landscape that we have in my state. it's a recognition that tribes

are valuable partners, they're critical partners that can play a larger role in providing public safety while reducing the burden in my state. as i have said many times before, there should be nothing, nothing partisan about keeping people safe from violence. and our reauthorization is the result of many years of hard work and negotiation by advocates and stakeholders alike. i hope that we can consider this and pass this very, very soon. i recognize the great work of senator ernst on our side and senator durbin and senator feinstein on the other side of the aisle. it has been an effort that is timely, is needed, and is necessary. so, madam president, i'm happy to be able to recognize for just a few moments on this international women's day as we celebrate the many, many

incredible women in our lives and in our countries. we also recognize that our work for true equality remains unfinished, but we've got some good paths forward if we can just try. and with that, madam president, i yield the floor. mr. cardin: madam president. the presiding officer: the senator from maryland. mr. cardin: first, let me thank senator murkowski for her leadership on behalf of women's issues here in the united states senate. i join her in calling for the reauthorization of violence against women's act that she mentioned. i join her as her partner in the ratification of the equal rights amendment. we have to pass a resolution here extending the date. senator murkowski has been a leader in all these issues. and during women's history month, i am using this time to point out the progress we've made. senator murkowski mentioned that, that we've made tremendous

progress on behalf of gender equality here in the united states. but we still have a path in front of us. and i was pleased to see senator murkowski point out the challenges that still exist and the reason why we need to be active in regards to gender equity issues, including the reauthorization of the violence against women act and passage of the equal rights amendment. i thank her for her leadership, and i'm glad to be her partner on many of these issues. so today we can celebrate the progress that has been made and call attention to the obstacles that persist. throughout our nation's history, generations of women have won hard-fought battles in pushing closer and closer towards securing full citizenship and all that entails. our nation today is stronger from this progress reaching new milestones in gender equality. president biden's announcement earlier this month of his historic selection of judge

jackson to fill the role of the retiring supreme court justice breyer on the highest court in our land. judge jackson would be the first black woman to serve on the court and only the fifth woman to serve as a justice of the total of 115 that have served on the supreme court throughout our history. i was pleased along with senator van hollen to recommend lydia griggsby to serve on the united states district court for the district of maryland. she is the first black female judge to serve in the state of maryland. yes, madam president, we have a lot to celebrate during women's history month here in march. during president biden's recent state of the union address which i attended, i was struck by the image of house speaker nancy pelosi and vice president kamala

harris flanking president biden. vice president harris is our first woman and first woman of color to hold the second highest office in the land. though they undoubtedly both experience significant challenges and obstacles on their career path due to their gender, they are now serving in two of the highest ranking offices in our government. president biden has appointed one of the most diverse cabinets in history, including the first woman to serve as treasury secretary and director of national intelligence. we have a lot to celebrate on our path for gender equality in america, but we still have more that needs to be done. at the same time structural disadvantages and inequalities on account of gender persist across so many areas here in america. as one example, as chair of the small business and entrepreneurship committee where the presiding officer also serves, i've been working over the course of covid-19 pandemic to understand the economic

effects on small businesses and to help provide needed resources. in this role i've seen firsthand the structural disadvantages experienced by women-owned small businesses and how they have been compounded by the challenges of this pandemic. we need to take action to help in regards to that issue. further, the supreme court actions to date in cases related to reproductive freedom indicate and an alarming openness to overturning the precedence that have given women control over their own bodies and futures for decades. among many other important reasons full reproductive autonomy is essential in ensuring women are able to participate fully as citizens in all facets of our democracy. i am pleased that president biden established the first gender policy council to advance gender equity across the entire federal government and that the

gender policy council issued the first ever national gender strategy to support the full participation of all people, including women and girls in the united states and around the world. yes, we have unfinished business in regards to gender equity issues. i am committed to working to advance the equal rights amendment that senator murkowski talked about. the two of us are the lead sponsors of the resolution in this body that would remove the arbitrary time limit. this simple amendment, the equal rights amendment, first written by alice paul in 1923 states, equality of rights under the law shall not be denied or abridged by the united states or any state on account of sex. the congress shall have the power to enforce by appropriate legislation the provisions of this article. end quote. i can't understand any objection to including that fundamental

protection in the constitution of the united states. as president biden stated in his presidential proclamation during this history women's month, and i quote the president, but despite the progress being made, women and girls, especially women and girls of color, still face systemic barriers to full participation and wider gaps in opportunity and equality. the congress sent the equal rights amendment to the states for ratification 50 years ago and it's long past time that the principle of women's equality should be enshrined in our constitution. end quote. as senator murkowski said, a requisite number of states have ratified the constitution, that equal rights amendment. it was the arbitrary time limit that was put on by congress is the only reason we haven't had the certification process. the vast majority of americans agree with this principle today and in a 2020a.p. poll found that 74% of americans, 74% favor

the equal rights amendment. a second spring poll conducted by pew found that 78% of the respondents were in support of adding women to the constitution. in a nation as divided as ours has become a principle with this level of support on this important topic compels our attention and our action. given that so much has changed since this amendment was first written and since it was first proposed by congress to the states, it's worth explaining some of the practical effects that it could have if formalized today. first, it would expand legal recourse against gender discrimination. second, it would empower those of us in congress to enact stronger laws preventing gender discrimination across a wide array of issues. third trks would require the -- it would require the supreme court or courts to use a higher standard of review than is currently applied in cases of

gender discrimination. the ratification of the effort r.a. could be -- e.r.a. could be expected to have effects across diverse areas such as pay discrimination, lgbtq right, gender based and domestic violence, sexual harassment and more. this constitutional amendment would provide a firmer foundation for existing laws and create new authority for congress to pass laws in areas in which it has historically lacked constitutional prerogative. our constitution is the framework of, by, and for the people. it must be able to evolve to meet the changing views and beliefs of the people. already a majority of the united states senate has cosponsored the bipartisan resolution that i refer to, s. j. res. 1 that senator murkowski and i introduced to remove the procedural deadline to honor the clear will of the people and make the legitimacy of our

28th amendment clear beyond a doubt. the house of representatives has already passed this resolution twice. it's time for us to do the same. i look forward to the opportunity to bring this resolution to the floor in the coming months and would strongly urge every one of my colleagues to support that resolution. 38 states have already ratified it. most americans already think it's in our constitution. let's get that job done. madam president, march 8 as has been pointed out is international women's day. it happens during the month of march which is women's history month here in the united states. so i wish to commemorate the by seen tennian birth of one -- bicentennial birth of one of maryland's most iconic heroes, would has inspired human rights defenders and that is harriet tubman. also we close this year's chapter of black history month and ring in women's history month. what better way to celebrate

these annual observances than an hoaring -- than honoring the life of harriet tubman and her fight for freedom which intersects with today's fight for justice. harriet tubman was born armeta ross along our eastern shore, around 1822. she was the moses of her people, personally leading at least 70 enslaved people to freedom, and as a cherished daughter of maryland. she did this at great personal sceark to her own safety -- sacrifice to her own safety and freedom on the eastern shore of maryland. this year, in 2022, we observe the bicentennial of her start of her life as a key leader in the be a list and -- abolition and women's sufficient raj movement. she took immeasurable risks as a soldier, spy, conductor of the underground railroad, leading

her family and communities to freedom. in a -- she was there working for america's future in helping liberate the enslaved people. in maryland this year, also marks the fifth year anniversary of the harriet tubman underground railroad visitors center, which opened its doors to the public in 2017. in its first year, it drew nearly 100 ,000 visitors from every state and more than 70 countries, exceeding all expectations. it's inspirational to see this visitor center and her journey through life and what she was able to accomplish. what one person can make a difference, as dr. martin luther king jr. tells us frequently, we quote, each one of us in this world can make a difference, and harriet tubman made such a difference during her lifetime. the visitors center houses exhibit space that shares tubman's compelling stories, surrounded by landscape and waterways preserved to resemble

how they would appear to her over 200 years ago in her early life as an enslaved child, young woman, and freedom seeker. the harriet tubman underground railroad national monument and national historic park preserves these characteristics in her early home on maryland's eastern shore. the visitor center serves as a orientation center to the national monument and historic park and gateway to the larger harriet tubman underground railroad seenic byway, which includes the farm where tubman lived as a child, bucktown general store where she first stood up against the oppressors as a young girl, and other places that were part of the underground railroad in dorchester, talbot, and caroline counties. i recently introduced legislation with my colleagues in the baltimore city congressional delegation, s. 3744, reauthorizing the designation of the baltimore national heritage area, which encompasses listings on the

underground railroad network. harriet tubman was not answer a -- only a fierce defender for freedom from slavery, but also women's rights movement, particularly black women. following her treacherous journey to freedom, harriet tubman spoke on the importance of women's sufficient raj. in 1896, she was one of the first guests to speak at the national association of colored women, and was hailed as a strong advocate. women secured the right to vote in 1920 with the 19th amendment, but it wasn't until 19of 5 that voting -- 1965 that voting rights became a reality for black women. madam president, let me conclude my comments on women's history month by once again quoting from president biden. as president biden said as he proclaimed women's history month this month, he said, and i quote, as we reflect on the achievements of women and girls across the centuries and pay

tribute to the pioneers who paved the way, let us recommit to the fight and help realize the deeply american vision of a more equal society, where every person has a shot at pursuing the american dream. in doing so, we will advance economic growth, our health and safety and the security of our nation and the world. madam president, i yield the floor. i ask that the senate now recess until 2:15 p.m.. the presiding officer: without objection. the senate stands in recess the senate stands in recess >> the sin is in recess until 2:15 p.m. eastern time today for weekly party caucus lunches. when they returned they will continue work on a house passed postal service bill. as always you can follow live

coverage of the senate when it returns here on c-span2. >> now available for preorder in the c-span chap, c-span's 2022 congressional directory. go there today to order a copy of the congressional directory if this compact spiral-bound book is your guide to the federal government with contact information for every member of congress including bios and committee assignments. also contact information for state governors and the biden administration cabinet. preorder today@c-spanshop.org or scan the code with your smart phone. every c-span shop purchase helps support c-span's nonprofit operation. >> assistant attorney general for civil rights kristin clark testified before the senate judiciary committee about the increase in hate crimes. watch tonight at eight eastern on c-span2, online at c-span.org or full.org or full coverage on our free video app c-span now.

>> c-span is your unfiltered view of government. we are funded by these television companies and more including charter communications. >> broadband is a force for empowerment. that's why charter has invested billions golding infrastructure, upgrading technology, empowering opportunity in communities of big and small. charter is connecting us. >> charter communications support supports c-span is a public service along with these other television providers giving you a front row seat to democracy. >> next, health and human services secretary xavier becerra spoke with the "washington post" about overcoming health care disparities in latino communities and the current response to the covid-19 pandemic. 40 minutes. >> licking is among the community is hit hardest by the