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LEGISLATIVE SESSION
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WOMEN'S HEALTH PROTECTION ACT OF 2021--Motion to Proceed--Resumed
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Under the previous order, the Senate will resume consideration of the motion to proceed to H.R. 3755, which the clerk will report.
The bill clerk read as follows:
Motion to proceed to Calendar No. 139, H.R. 3755, a bill to protect a person's ability to determine whether to continue or end a pregnancy, and to protect a health care provider's ability to provide abortion services.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The senior Senator from Illinois.
Remembering Richard C. Blum
Mr. DURBIN. Madam President, I want to begin my remarks by joining Senator McConnell in expressing my condolences to our friend and colleague Senator Dianne Feinstein on the passing of her husband and partner Richard Blum.
Dick Blum was a trailblazer in the Senate family, one of the first men to join the Senate Spouses club. He was proud of Senator Feinstein's historic career in public service.
He was a success at business and invested his wealth in easing human suffering--from the streets of San Francisco to some of the poorest corners of the globe. He founded the American Himalayan Foundation to assist the people of the Himalayas. He also founded the Blum Center for Developing Economies at UC Berkeley to help teach students about microlending, social enterprise, and other ways for poor people in developing nations to lift themselves from poverty.
A story in today's Los Angeles Times contained an anecdote that captured well Dick's good humor and generous spirit.
He said that in all the conversations he had over the years with Buddhist friends in the Himalayas, no one had ever convinced him of the likelihood of reincarnation. Maybe that is why he worked so hard to achieve so much good in this one lifetime he was given. He did more to ease human suffering than others might do in a dozen lifetime opportunities.
To Senator Dianne Feinstein, their beloved daughters and grandchildren, and all who knew and loved him, Loretta and I offer our condolences.
Dick Blum's friendship was a gift, and his memory will be a blessing.
Nomination of Ketanji Brown Jackson
Madam President, on another note, there was a historic announcement last Friday when President Joe Biden announced Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson as his choice to serve as Associate Justice of the Supreme Court. I am going to speak about her nomination at length tomorrow, but a few words now.
She is an extraordinary person. To become the first African-American woman nominated to serve on the Supreme Court, you have to be the best--and she has proven throughout her life that she is.
She was a clerk to the retiring Justice Stephen Breyer, whose seat she now aspires to. She worked in the practice of law in so many different aspects and then on three different occasions came before this U.S. Senate for approval, advise and consent. On all three occasions, she emerged with bipartisan support, and we certainly hope to see that revisited again.
She has authored some 500 different opinions, so there will be no mystery about her jurisprudence or her judicial philosophy. She has also been a person who has come before our committee as recently as last year when she was approved by the committee in June to serve on the DC Circuit Court.
I think she is an exceptional choice, and I want to make sure that the hearing that is given to her is respectful, fair, and professional. I have reached out to Senator Grassley, my friend and the ranking member on the committee, to work toward that goal, and I hope all members of the committee will join us.
Ukraine
Madam President, on a separate topic, I just returned from the Munich Security Conference and a visit to our NATO allies in Poland and Lithuania. On the latter part of that trip, I was joined by Senator Chris Coons of Delaware and Senator Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire.
Many here in this Chamber have heard me talk about my connection with my mother's birth in Lithuania and the fact that I have cared about that country in a special way ever since I have served in Congress.
Life was bleak and oppressive for the Lithuanian people and all the others in Eastern Europe living under the boot heel of the Russian czar. Countries such as Poland, which saw such devastation during World War II, found themselves suffering decades of communist dictatorship following the war. So it was no surprise that when the Soviet Union finally collapsed, these nations were determined to join the community of democracies and NATO. In fact, the Baltic States of Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia helped lead this historic path to freedom.
I remember so many aspects of it. In the shivering cold winter of 1991, millions of people joined hands to form a human chain, connecting all three nations in the Baltic area. They called for change. Then in January 1991, the Soviets sent their tanks into Lithuania and Latvia and other places. The net result was deadly. Those Soviet tanks killed 13 innocent people, and hundreds were injured in Lithuania. What were they asking for? Freedom. A chance to vote for their own future. Well, soon, the Baltic States stepped out even further and courageously declared independence from the Soviet Union. They wanted to reclaim their freedom.
I remember visiting Lithuania in those days, seeing sandbags stacked up outside the Parliament, which they called the Seimas, and schoolkids who were taking a break from class to come pray the Rosary in front of those barricades, light a couple candles--basically to be there for their country at that moment of testing.
If this sounds familiar with what we are hearing in Ukraine today, it is.
Those earlier days of independence had many brave souls coming forward with nothing but determination. Their small ``arsenal of freedom,'' as they called it, which they brought me in the backdoor to show me, consisted of a broom closet with about 8 or 10 rifles in it. They were ready to stare down the Soviets if necessary.
I was so honored on this trip recently to visit with one of the champions of the restoration of freedom and Lithuania's Vytautas Landsbergis. Dr. Landsbergis is a music professor and was a leader of their revolution back to freedom in Lithuania. At 95 years of age, he remains a fierce champion of democracy, as he was in those early days confronting the Soviets.
I also met with former Lithuanian President Valdas Adamkus, who left Lithuania for Chicago as a teenager and returned decades later to serve two terms as President and shepherd his nation, Lithuania, into the European Union and NATO.
I visited military bases in both Poland and Lithuania, where I met U.S. troops supporting the NATO mission to protect the young democracies from Russian aggression. Among the servicemembers were several from my State of Illinois--from Latham, IL, which is near Decatur; Montgomery, IL, near Aurora; and Kankakee. They came and told stories of their service in the Regular Army and how they were now working in Lithuania to prepare their armies for any possible battles in the future. It has been a wonderful, strong relationship.
In Poland, when you mention you are from Illinois, virtually every military officer says they have been our friends for a long time, and they have been because for over 20 years, the Illinois National Guard has been a direct contact with the Polish military forces, modernizing them and preparing them for any challenges that might come.
Eastern European allies know the Russian threat far better than we do. Look at these maps of Russian troop movements in and around Ukraine and the borders of our NATO allies. As you can see here, Russia, Kyiv, Kharkiv, Mariupol, they are in the news virtually on a constant basis.
You can see those troop movements, hundreds of thousands of troops that are moving from the Russian front into Ukraine these days. With the Russian troops now flooding into Belarus in the area of the far corner here, they are essentially taking over that country too.
Nations on the other side--Poland you can see on that map--Poland, Lithuania, and Latvia understand that the threat today is very real for them. They share a 60-mile border that connects the Russian territory of Kaliningrad with Belarus. And the Suwalki gap is one that they are very concerned about keeping peaceful. It is a real threat, and they worry that the Russians are going to take this opportunity in Ukraine to extend their forces into Poland and into Lithuania and into Latvia.
Poland in particular is already generously hosting hundreds of thousands of Ukrainian refugees pouring across the border. It is an inspiration to me to see this country of Poland reach out to accept these Ukrainian refugees. The United States has to step into this picture with humanitarian assistance for Poland and all the other countries, Moldova, Romania, and others taking in Ukrainian refugees. We have to help them feed, clothe, and shelter these people during this period of invasion by the Russians.
Russia is unleashing a brutal war of choice against a free nation that wants to choose its own path, the path of democracy, and the result is sickening.
This shows what is going on in the subways in Ukrainian cities. People are bringing their children to escape the bombing that Putin is initiating above. We have many millions of people in that country in peril, and some are taking their kids and trying to escape to a safe place like Poland.
There has been terrible destruction that has gone on there as well. We have seen it on television right in the--this lady was in front of her own home at the time a rocket attacked it on February 25.
This is a picture which I saw in this morning's Washington Post. It is a most touching scene. You can barely see this father down here, covered in blood, bringing his daughter to this paramedic. The paramedic really tried to perform CPR on this little girl who was injured in the shelling by Putin and his troops. Unfortunately, she did not survive. That is the reality of what Vladimir Putin is doing today. The American people know it, and the strength and courage of the people in Ukraine resisting these advances is an example to the world.
We are seeing demonstrations of support across all of the world, the people of Ukraine. The Eiffel Tower, Empire State Building--I have to move some of these charts around. This one was especially impressive, the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin. Look at the crowds supporting the people of Ukraine.
It isn't lost on us because we have a wonderful Ukrainian community in Chicago. Here they are at the church on Chicago Avenue just this last weekend, and they have been coming back on a regular basis. I was there on Friday. I spoke to many of these same people about the situation which they are facing in Ukraine. They would come up to me afterwards and say they have been on the telephone with members of their family who are frightened for their lives, didn't know if they could survive this aggression by Vladimir Putin.
When you think about what he has done, sadly, he has failed on so many fronts. How could he get so many things so wrong?
He has unified NATO and support for NATO in a way which was unimaginable just a few years ago. NATO stands unified now in defense of Ukraine and in confronting the aggression of Vladimir Putin.
He has also unified the European Union. Countries like Sweden and Switzerland, which famously have been neutral in most of these conflicts, are now openly supporting the European Union's efforts to put pressure on Vladimir Putin--sanctions that will stop him from this aggression in Ukraine.
He has certainly, in the process, destroyed the reputation of his country as a reliable partner in the future. The Germans had entered into an agreement for a gas pipeline. Many of us questioned it from the start, but that was their decision--Nord Stream 2, drawing natural gas from Russia into Germany. Well, that pipeline is closed down now. Chancellor Scholz has announced he is looking for other services, such as LNG, to replace the gas resources which were supposed to be sent in from Russia for a long time to come. It is going to lead to our energy independence in Europe--independence certainly from the unpredictable and unimaginable Vladimir Putin.
I remember not so many years ago--30 years, as a matter of fact--when countries like the Baltics and Poland were finally given an opportunity for freedom. There were extraordinary examples of courage in each of those countries. I was lucky to be there to witness some of it. But what we are seeing now today in Ukraine is exceptional. The military experts thought they would last a matter of hours. Now, it is days, and maybe it is weeks. I hope it is months and even longer because they have the courage to stand up. Ordinary citizens who are showing up at recruiting offices for homeland defense are being given Kalashnikovs and other weapons sent out to stop the Russians. You can see that they are inspiring the world, as they should. It is a reminder to all of us that Vladimir Putin and his brand of aggression has been seen so many times in history. Someone like him or Lukashenka in Belarus think they are so powerful that they are above accountability, but that is not the case. We have got to make certain, as we go forward, that we stand with the people of Ukraine; that they know we are their friends; that we aspire to the same values.
And I want to thank President Biden for his leadership. I am going to be calling on him with many others. The first thing that I am going to do is send a letter, which will be headed out this evening, signed by colleagues on both sides of the aisle. What we are asking the President to do--and it is within his authority--is to grant temporary protected status to Ukrainians now on visas in the United States. Some of them are tourists; some of them are students; and some are on work visas, but oftentimes, those visas expire, and they are supposed to return home to their own countries at the moment of expiration. If there are circumstances in those home countries, the President has the authority to give temporary protected status to allow them to stay in the United States.
The Senators who are joining me in this letter will ask President Biden to extend temporary protected status to the people of Ukraine who are on visas in the United States and are present in our country. That, to me, is a way to give him them some peace of mind. We certainly wouldn't want them to return to that war scene that we have seen over and over broadcast on television.
And there is more to do, whether it is humanitarian assistance in countries like Poland or where it is lethal aid to help the insurgents in Ukraine defend their country, the United States needs to be there.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Montana.
H.R. 3755
Mr. DAINES. Madam President, this evening, the U.S. Senate will be voting on the most extreme legislation on abortion ever considered in the history of this body. The deceptively named ``Women's Health Protection Act'' is more accurately called the ``Abortion on Demand Until Birth Act.'' No wonder it is being held on a Monday, as we call these the flyback votes, in the midst of this crisis in Ukraine--that it be tonight that they want to slip in this vote, the most extreme abortion vote ever--ever--considered in the history of this body.
This bill would force every single State to be a late-term abortion State. This bill allows abortion up until the very moment of birth itself. That is simply infanticide.
This legislation goes beyond codifying the wrongly decided Roe v. Wade case and would ban many lifesaving State laws currently in effect that limit abortion and enjoy the broad support from Americans, I might add.
When our Founding Fathers laid out the founding principles of America in the Declaration of Independence, they talked about life; they talked about liberty and the pursuit of happiness. The bottom line is, you can't have liberty and you can't have happiness, or even the pursuit of it, without first having that inalienable right given by God, and that is the right to life.
The ``Abortion on Demand Until Birth Act'' would impose a horrifying abortion regime across the land that violates the right to life and is completely contrary to the kind of Nation America is and aspires to be.
In this bill's America, every State, despite the voices of its own citizens, would become New York or California, where abortion is celebrated and unborn children are denied the most basic human rights. In this bill's America, a pregnant mother could elect to have a birth-
day abortion for a full-term, 8-pound baby on the day of the baby's due date. In this bill's America, late-term abortions could be committed on demand through brutal dismemberment procedures in which the unborn child bleeds and feels excruciating pain as she dies from being pulled apart, limb from limb.
In this bill's America, an unborn baby could be cruelly targeted for abortion because the parents learned she was a girl or that she might have Down syndrome. In this bill's America, parents would not know or have any say over whether their young daughter has a life-altering abortion. In this bill's America, vulnerable women and girls could receive dangerous, do-it-yourself chemical abortion drugs by mail without ever seeing a doctor in person.
In this bill's America, pregnant mothers would be denied the opportunity to see the ultrasounds of their babies. In this bill's America, a doctor or a nurse who doesn't want to perform an abortion could be forced to do so in violation of his or her deeply held moral or religious beliefs. That is specifically struck out in this bill--the religious exemption.
In this bill's America we would be only one of seven countries--
seven--including brutal regimes like North Korea and China, that would allow abortion-on-demand after 5 months of pregnancy.
In this bill's America, a baby bald eagle or a baby sea turtle still in its eggshell would be protected under Federal law while an unborn child at any stage of pregnancy could be brutally killed with no repercussions for the abortionists. In a nutshell, this radical bill would make the United States of America one of the most dangerous places in the world to be an unborn child.
According to a Marist poll just last month, the overwhelming majority of Americans reject abortion-on-demand up to birth and especially its imposition by the Federal Government on the States--71 percent of Americans, including 70 percent of Independents and 49 percent of Democrats, want abortion to be limited, at most, to the first 3 months of pregnancy.
Sixty-one percent of Americans say abortion should either be illegal or the policy decision should be up to the States. Rather than listen to the American people--who don't want late-term abortion or a Federal abortion mandate--the ``Abortion on Demand Until Birth Act'' would enshrine in Federal law the most far-reaching goals of the predatory abortion industry.
We are just a few weeks or months away from a pivotal point in our Nation's history. I pray in the Dobbs Mississippi late-term abortion case that we will see the Supreme Court right a historic injustice and overturn Roe v. Wade. This will return the power to protect unborn children to the people's representatives at the State and the Federal levels, to modernize our laws to catch up with great advances in science, technology, and medicine that indisputably show the humanity of a child in the womb.
I would challenge anybody listening to these remarks tonight to take their smartphone and Google ``15-week baby'' or ``20-week baby'' and press on ``Images'' and look at that image.
Instead, the ``Abortion on Demand Until Birth Act'' ignores the science entirely and would erase unborn children and even the most modest protections of their right to life in the laws of every single State. It is completely indefensible. It is extreme. It is an egregious violation of the most fundamental of all human rights, and that is the right to life.
I pray and I urge my colleagues to reject this horrific, barbaric, extreme legislation that the Senate will vote on here in the next couple of hours and take a stand for defending the most vulnerable among us.
I yield the floor.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Oklahoma.
Mr. LANKFORD. Madam President, a week ago, the Senate went on a short 1-week recess back in our State. It was already scheduled for us to be in our State getting a chance to be able to just interact with people at home. It was a good week to be able to interact with a lot of people back home for me personally. But we all watched as we were scattered around the country in the past week, Russia rolled tanks into Ukraine. And we watched in horror as Russian aircraft flew over Ukrainian cities, as they fired their missiles into Ukrainian apartment complexes, as they have slaughtered their neighbors because Putin wanted their land and to dominate the region.
All of us, as we got back together this week, were ready to be able to speak to the issues with Ukraine, ready to be able to stand with the people of Ukraine, ready to be able to talk about the sanctions and what was going to happen and how we were going to actually respond to the Russians murdering their neighbors and a dictator thug trying to dominate the region.
But instead of that, my Democratic colleagues decided not to talk about Ukraine when we got back together, but instead they want to talk about expanding abortion in America.
How incredibly tone-deaf is that?
The whole world is talking about Ukraine and the repression they are experiencing, and the U.S. Senate is talking about how do we get more abortions in America? That is what we are going to vote on? That is what we are going to debate, is how do we increase abortions in America when the world sees what is happening in Ukraine?
What in the world? How tone-deaf can we be?
This body should be the place we are actually debating the biggest issues of the day, and, apparently, to my Democratic colleagues, the biggest issue of the day is how many more abortions can we give in America because that seems to be bigger than Ukraine, bigger than 7.5 percent inflation, bigger than $30 trillion in debt, bigger than anything. The most important thing is, how can we take the life of more children?
What has this body become when there is an obsession with abortion? This is the most pro-abortion President this country has ever had and the most pro-abortion Democratic Party our country has ever seen.
It is now impermissible to be a Democrat and to support the life of children. You are pushed out of the party. And it has moved from where it used to be that the vast majority of Democrats were pro-life Democrats. Then it was fewer and fewer and fewer. And now it has moved from you can't just not be pro-life, now you have to actually be pro-
abortion--well beyond pro-choice. Now you have to find ways to increase abortions in America to be accepted in the party.
This is not where America is.
The bill that is being brought to the floor in just minutes from now--in the middle of a war in Ukraine--is not about protecting Ukrainians. It is not even about protecting children in our country. It is about destroying children in our country.
This bill is being advertised as we are just going to codify Roe. It is not just going to codify Roe. This is talking about stripping away every protection from every child in the womb from any State in the country.
This particular bill prohibits parental notification. If a child wants to get an abortion, this bill says to the parents: You don't get to know if your child is having an abortion.
By the way, name another medical procedure that the parents are not allowed to be able to know about for their own child.
This takes away waiting periods. It takes away health and safety standards for abortion clinics. Abortion clinics in every State can't have health and safety standards because, for those clinics that take the lives of children, we don't care what they look like or about the health and safety standards of them.
It takes away ultrasound requirements. This bill literally says to expectant moms: You don't need to know what is going on in your body. We will just take care of it for you.
So no State is allowed to be able to inform a mom of what is actually happening in her own body because the goal of this is not getting information to moms; the goal of this is to increase abortions because all that happens with an ultrasound is the giving of information to the mom and letting her choose. Oh, no. That is not acceptable because she may choose life, and this bill is determined to increase the number of abortions in America.
I remember a time when my Democrats used to talk about safe, legal, and rare. Now, they just want it safe, legal, and common. What have we become?
This bill is the ``1 Minute from Infanticide'' bill. It mandates abortion in every State up to the moment of birth. That is North Korea. That is China. It is not the United States of America except for this Senate. They want to be more like North Korea and China, apparently, and to be able to follow their great humanitarian example and be a nation that takes the lives of children rather than protects each child as precious.
They look in the womb and see a business model. I look in the womb and see 10 fingers and 10 toes and a beating heart and a functioning nervous system and DNA that is different than the mom's or the dad's DNA. In every definition of science, that is a unique person and a unique child, but it only seems to be a nuisance to some. I don't think children are a nuisance; I think children are precious.
On a day when we should be talking and debating about protecting life in Ukraine, this body, instead, and my Democratic colleagues don't want to talk about Ukraine; they just want to talk about abortion--again. It is heartbreaking that that is where we are.
It is also heartbreaking that this body has become this focused when the rest of the country is saying: How can we add limits to abortion?
The latest poll reads that 71 percent of Americans want at least some restrictions on abortion, but, oh, no, not in this body. Apparently, there are people who disagree with the American people, and they say: No limits--any moment, any time, any child.
I don't believe a single person in this Chamber should vote for this bill, not only because of what it does to the States but because of what it does to just decent people. If you are an individual, working in a hospital today who, when you were hired, said, ``I went into the medical profession to save life, not take it,'' and when you were hired as a nurse or as a doctor, you said, ``I don't want to perform abortions,'' that is allowed right now under law. It wouldn't be under this. If you go into the medical profession, you will perform abortions when the Democrats in DC tell you to perform abortions, because they want more.
Conscience protections are taken away in this bill. People of conscience, people of faith, who say ``I don't want to take the lives of children'' will be required or they will lose their jobs. Oh. By the way, if you try to slow someone down from getting an abortion, this bill actually gives someone the right to sue you if you try to limit them from having an abortion.
This is, by far, the most extreme pro-abortion bill that has ever been put in front of Congress--ever. It was done when we should have been debating Ukraine, but Ukraine is not important--abortion is. So my Democratic colleagues did this instead, today, as the callback vote in their response to Putin's aggression. Well, I disagree. I disagree.
I yield the floor.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Kansas.
Mr. MARSHALL. Madam President, at a time when Vladimir Putin is killing Ukrainians, my Democratic colleagues want to kill more unborn American children for any reason up until the moment the baby takes its first breath--up until the moment the baby takes its first breath. Indeed, this bill should be called the ``Abortion on Demand Until Birth Act.''
This is the most egregious, horrific attack on the lives of unborn children and the health of moms in American history. In fact, if my Democratic colleagues had their way, this baby whom I delivered years ago could have been murdered--aborted--the moment prior to this cesarean section.
Listen, just for a moment, to what this bill would do.
No. 1, it goes far and beyond Roe v. Wade by invalidating State laws that protect the unborn child and the health and the well-being of moms. It would likely lead to taxpayer-funded abortions at home and abroad.
It would tie up faith-based hospitals in courts for their not offering abortion services.
This bill fully blows open the door to sex-based abortions.
It eliminates the requirement for informed consent or parental consent.
It eliminates conscience protections. I can tell you, as a physician myself, I wouldn't be surprised if half of the medical students in the Nation and half of the nursing students in the Nation would quit medical school or nursing school if they were going to be forced into participating in abortions.
This bill has a total disregard for women's health. Instead of the standards of a surgery center, this bill would allow for these services to be offered in a garage or in a backroom apartment.
The bill provides the right to provide abortions by any healthcare provider. No longer would it take a physician to do abortions. It would allow nurse midwives, nurse practitioners, and physician assistants to do abortions.
I had to take care of women who had gone through miscarriages at every gestational age. This is not a job for a nurse midwife, a physician assistant, a nurse practitioner. Before we would let residents take care of this type of a miscarriage, they would have gone through 4 years of medical school, and they would have been, most likely, in their second or third year of training before we would have entrusted them with this type of procedure. Again, for a woman who has had a miscarriage, the risks of infection, of hemorrhage, and creating infertility are too great.
This bill would allow States to go unrestricted as to any type of telehealth abortions--abortion by phone. In my opinion, it is malpractice to prescribe such a medicine without examining the patient, seeing how big the uterus is, seeing what the size of the baby is. This procedure is wrought with complications. I am the person who had to take care of those complications. Wichita, KS, was home to one of the biggest abortion clinics in the country, and just 2 hours down the road was Great Bend. Time after time, patients would show up in our emergency room with complications from the procedure or this pill.
I never--I never, ever--imagined, when I would come to the Senate, that I would be fighting harder on the Senate floor to save the lives of moms and babies than I did in the emergency room and the delivery room.
Before I close, I want to say a heartfelt thanks to all of the pro-
life advocates across the country who have worked so hard, especially those folks who are part of Kansans for Life and all the pro-life advocates in Kansas who have worked so hard to pass previous legislation to protect the lives of moms and unborn babies that this bill would wipe out with one swoop. I am so proud of the Kansans for Life and their advocacy of the Value Them Both amendment--again, protecting the life of the mom and the baby.
Our work is not done yet. We can't let up. We have more work to do. I can promise you I have only just begun to fight to protect the lives of unborn babies and to protect the health and well-being of mothers.
I urge my colleagues tonight to vote no on this most extreme anti-
life legislation.
I yield the floor.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Minnesota.
Ms. SMITH. Madam President, I rise in support of the Women's Health Protection Act.
I am here today because I believe, as do most in this country, that people should have the freedom to receive the reproductive healthcare they need, including abortion. The Women's Health Protection Act would protect that freedom.
Now, I am the only Senator in this body who has ever worked for Planned Parenthood. I learned firsthand in that job that, if people don't control their reproductive lives, they don't control anything in their lives. Working at Planned Parenthood in Minnesota was an honor, and I had the opportunity to hear the stories of patients, each with individual, unique, personal reasons for receiving an abortion. This is still the case for the patients who visit all of these clinics today.
Here is one story about a woman named Liz from Edina, MN.
At Liz's 18th-week ultrasound appointment, Liz's doctor told her that her pregnancy was incompatible with life. She would either miscarry or the baby would die moments after birth. Because of this diagnosis, Liz decided to have an abortion. It was an agonizing experience for her, but she was able to make the decision on her own terms.
Another story I want to share today comes from a patient from Minneapolis.
At the age of 20, they were in an abusive relationship and found themselves 7 weeks pregnant. They went to Planned Parenthood for their abortion, and that abortion helped them to break from their affiliation with their abuser. They eventually got back on their feet, and they could pursue their dream of going to law school and starting a marketing firm and having a family with somebody who they loved.
These are the stories of people facing one of the most important decisions we humans will ever make: whether to become a parent. They were able to make these decisions freely and for themselves. We should all have this freedom. We should all be able to make these decisions for ourselves, free from politicians and judges looking over our shoulders and deciding for us. A majority of Americans agree with this. They agree that abortion should be legal, and they understand that reproductive healthcare, including abortion, is healthcare.
Yet, today, the reproductive rights of women in this country are at their greatest risk since Roe v. Wade was decided decades ago, and it is no mystery as to how we got here. What is happening today is the culmination of a nearly 40-year effort by conservatives in the Republican Party to radically remake the courts. It is 2022, and that moment is here. The Supreme Court seems poised to overturn Roe, and if that happens, half the States in this country will ban abortion entirely--half the States.
In anticipation of this moment, rightwing Republican State legislatures have been working to pass laws that will gut women's healthcare and severely restrict our freedom. What this means is that women's freedom and autonomy over our own bodies--our right to reproductive healthcare, the healthcare that we need--will basically depend on who we are and where we live. Make no mistake. Abortion care will always--it will always--be available to women who have money. It will be poor women and women of color who will lose this right.
This is why the Women's Health Protection Act is so important. We need to listen to the voices of the majority of Americans who agree: Women deserve the freedom and the dignity to make their own decisions about their own bodies and their own lives. But the reality is, we can no longer rely on the courts to protect this right. That is why we need to pass the Women's Health Protection Act.
In a few minutes, we will vote on this bill, which would protect the right to abortion in every State. It would advance racial justice. It would limit the structural barriers to accessing abortion care and protect everybody's freedom to make the best decisions for themselves, for their health, for their families, and for their futures.
Colleagues, I urge you to vote to pass the Women's Health Protection Act.
I yield the floor.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Kansas.
``Six Triple Eight'' Congressional Gold Medal Act
Mr. MORAN. Madam President, I rise this afternoon to celebrate the passage of the ``Six Triple Eight'' Congressional Gold Medal Act. This bill honors the women of the only all-Black, all-female unit to serve overseas during World War II as part of the 6888th Central Postal Directory Battalion.
Passage of this legislation is long overdue and will award the Congressional Gold Medal to these brave women of the Six Triple Eight for their devotion to duty, military service, and their extraordinary efforts to boost the morale of personnel stationed in Europe during World War II.
Today, it is easy to connect with our loved ones through text, emails, or social media. Communication is more convenient, and consequently, many of us take the ease of that communication for granted. But during World War II, the only connection people like my mom and dad had while my father was deployed in Europe was our mail system. The mail delivered love and inspiration to our troops huddled in foxholes and fighting for our freedom. The mail kept them going through the dark and troubled times of World War II. The mail anchored our troops and connected them to home.
The women of the Six Triple Eight delivered the mail although the deck was stacked against them from the start. While crossing the Atlantic to Europe, the troop convoy carrying the Six Triple Eight encountered German U-boats, forcing the convoy to take defensive actions and change course. Shortly after their arrival in the European theater, a German V1 dove at them, forcing them to take cover out of fear of being bombed.
Physical dangers aside, the women of the Six Triple Eight faced sexism and racism. In Birmingham, England, the very same soldiers the Six Triple Eight were committed to helping spread vial rumors just because they were Black women.
On top of the physical dangers and the social injustice they faced were the challenges of the mail mission itself. Handling and sorting the mail was no easy task. The Six Triple Eight found warehouses crammed from floor to ceiling with mail whose delivery was long, long overdue, sometimes over years. They found giant rats tearing apart the undelivered Christmas care packages. There was little, if any, organization. They had to sort this mail in poor working conditions--
warehouses that were poorly lit, damp, and without heat.
Undeterred, the women of the Six Triple Eight rolled up their sleeves and dug in. Fixing the mail backlog was estimated to take at least 6 months, possibly even a year. The Six Triple Eight organized the millions of letters and packages in just 3 months. They firmly believed in the motto ``no mail, low morale.''
Their diligence, their commitment to excellence, dignity, and class, and their relentless drive to get the mail into the hands of the troops won them admiration throughout the European theater. Their actions boosted the spirits of thousands of soldiers like my dad by reconnecting them with their family and friends back home and giving them a renewed vigor to fight.
I want to thank Representative Gwen Moore and Representative Jake LaTurner for leading this effort in the House, and I want to thank my colleagues in both the House and Senate who have supported this bill and made awarding the Congressional Gold Medal to these brave women possible. There were lots of challenges: Black women serving in the military--only ones seemingly willing to volunteer to go to Europe to meet the needs of those who serve.
I would also like to thank COL Edna Cummings for her dedication to make certain the stories of the Six Triple Eight are remembered and honored.
In 2018, I was at Fort Leavenworth in Kansas to dedicate the Six Triple Eight monument. I was honored to meet these women and was inspired to make certain more Americans knew of their incredible service during World War II.
Of the over 300 members of the Six Triple Eight, I would like to recognize and thank the surviving members and make sure their names are included in the Congressional Record: Hilda Griggs, Anna Robertson, Romay Davis, Cresencia Garcia, Fannie Griffin McClendon, and Lena Kings.
The Six Triple Eight served our country selflessly and were a crucial asset in the war effort. This is one more way our Nation can say to these incredible women: Thank you for your service. We respect you, and we love you.
It is my honor to celebrate the passage of this bill today.
Ukraine
Madam President, Vladimir Putin is a thug and is solely responsible for the invasion of Ukraine. Putin--I condemn him, and he is even being condemned by his own people in Russia and a growing alliance around the world.
There is nothing that justifies Russia invading Ukraine. This is the most significant intrusion from one country into another since the beginning of the 1930s in what resulted in World War II. I pray for the safety of the Ukrainian people and a rapid end to this unprovoked war.
As we hear stories about their bravery and resolve, I am inspired by their dedication to defend their freedom. The United States is making it clear we stand with and support them.
This war is a terrible tragedy, but it is also a wake-up call for the United States of America. When it comes to defense spending, energy production, and humanitarian assistance, our commitments to these issues demonstrate our commitment to global security.
We must recognize that we have adversaries who seek to use force to recover claimed territory, possess weapons of mass destruction, and otherwise destabilize our country and our allies and partners. For those of us in Congress, to ignore these threats would be derelict in our duty to preserve American security and prosperity. We would be derelict to the people of the United States of America.
This recognition begins with a strong national defense. It is unacceptable that we have failed to pass appropriations for the Pentagon, State Department, and other national security Agencies essential to protecting and projecting our strength abroad. As a result, new programs necessary to meeting the challenges in the years to come are stuck in limbo.
In classified briefings for the Appropriations Committee, we have heard about the advances the militaries of our adversaries are making, and it is alarming.
For 6 months, Congress has imposed a spending freeze while other countries press ahead. When the latest continuing resolution expires in 10 days, we need an agreement on this spending, and we should not allow and we cannot afford another delay.
As we prepare to receive President Biden's budget for the coming fiscal year, it will be important that his top-line figure for our Nation's defenses exceed inflation. MacKenzie Eaglen at the American Enterprise Institute writes that $2 to $4 billion is being lost per month to cover inflationary costs, reducing the buying power of our military. President Biden must take this into account.
He famously said: ``Show me your budget, and I'll tell you what you value.'' When it comes to our national spending, our enemies are watching also. Our values extend to our concern for the people impacted by this war. Russia's war with Ukraine is already a humanitarian calamity. Children have been killed and wounded and families split apart as some flee and some loved ones stay. As of today, this conflict has created more than 400,000 refugees, and the U.N. predicts that number can climb to 5 million.
I commend our European allies for their response in welcoming refugees, and I expect our own Nation will be generous with financial support for those seeking safety. But this war will have a humanitarian consequence that goes beyond those directly impacted by the fighting.
Ukraine and Russia account for more than one-quarter of the world's wheat production. It is impossible to believe that such production won't be impacted by the fighting and sanctions, especially as we have seen their ports close. This will make food shortages around the world more severe. No government in the world is as generous with its resources for international food assistance as the United States, but I again point out the excess production of our American farmers that can be shared. There really is no excess production; the need is so great, whatever we produce will feed people. Our government should utilize the resources of its farmers and promote stability where hungry societies are fragile.
Russia's aggression must also be a wake-up call to our dependence on foreign oil. Prior to the invasion, the United States was directly paying Russia, our third largest supplier of oil, around $70 million per day for oil and refined products, or over 700,000 barrels of petroleum products per day. We are financing with our oil purchases the ability of Russia to do harm around the world.
Combined with our European allies, who are even more dependent on Russian energy, Putin's profit before the invasion was $330 million each day. We are subsidizing aggression in Moscow, and it extends to the Middle East as well. This must end.
I believe in an ``all of the above'' approach to energy production, and our oil and gas producers must play a role. The Biden administration should reinstate the Keystone XL Pipeline and promote commonsense solutions that boost jobs at home and keep money out of the pockets of our adversaries. It also would be helpful in our battle against inflation here in the United States.
Each of these challenges can be met if we in the Senate are unified in purpose. The American people and the world view this body as divided, unable to come together on many important issues. I don't believe it has to be that way. I certainly stand willing and able to work with my colleagues to find common ground as we respond to this invasion.
We know lots of examples we can point to where we do work together and pass critical legislation. We must find compromise and immediately move on sanctions legislation. We must pass defense appropriations. We must focus on an ``all of the above'' energy strategy to address our dependence upon foreign oil. We have done it before, and we can do it again.
Winston Churchill--in my view, the most inspiring leader of the 20th century--I thought of him as I watched Ukraine's own inspirational President and the response of his people. I share today a quote from Churchill that meets the occasion:
Very few wars have been won by mere numbers alone. Quality, will power, geographical advantages . . . the command of the sea, and, above all, a cause which rouses the spontaneous surgings of the human spirit in millions of hearts--these have proved to be the divisive factors in the human story.
Americans--Americans of all stripes--share that human spirit with Ukrainians today.
I ask God to bless Ukraine and its people, and God bless the United States of America as we do our part to support their people.
I yield the floor.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Connecticut.
Mr. BLUMENTHAL. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the following Senators be permitted to speak prior to the scheduled vote: Myself for up to 5 minutes, Senator Murray for up to 5 minutes, and Senator Schumer up to 3 minutes.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
H.R. 3755
Mr. BLUMENTHAL. Madam President, we will be voting in just a few minutes on the Women's Health Protection Act, which I have proudly sponsored, first introduced in 2013. I want to thank particularly Senator Schumer for his leadership and Senator Murray for enabling us to have this historic vote. It is historic, the first vote that we will take guaranteeing the right of a provider to provide abortion care, which is healthcare, and the right of a patient to receive that care. There are very few votes that we will take in the U.S. Senate in the course of our career that will have as profound and dramatic an impact on the lives of all Americans.
Yes, reproductive healthcare is women's healthcare by and large, but it is human healthcare. Women's rights are human rights. And the decisions that women make about when and whether to become pregnant are intensely personal. They should not be interfered with by any of us, anyone from the government, anyone else. That right is protected by the Constitution. Today's vote comes at a time of unparalleled attack on equal access to abortion care in this country.
I clerked for Justice Harry Blackmun on the U.S. Supreme Court in the term after he wrote the majority opinion in Roe v. Wade. And at that time, we all believed that the decision would put an end to this controversy, this debate, once and for all. And yet here we are, five decades later; what was then unthinkable now has happened.
The U.S. Supreme Court has voluntarily taken a case that calls into question a woman's right to choose. And the U.S. Supreme Court seems to be on track, based on its refusal to stop implementation of the Texas 5-week ban on abortion, to overturning Roe v. Wade.
Now, the U.S. Supreme Court will never say that ``we hereby overturn Roe v. Wade.'' This majority, influenced by rightwing ideology, will, in effect, overturn it without saying so because across the street in Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Healthcare Organization, the question of whether Mississippi's ban on abortion after 15 weeks is constitutional is squarely before the Court. And, make no mistake, if the Court upholds that Mississippi law, Roe v. Wade will no longer be the law of the land. Planned Parenthood v. Casey will no longer be the law of the land. Fifty years of jurisprudence will be gone without ever telling us that Roe is overturned. The Court will move that goalpost, and Roe will fall. And at least 20 States, through trigger laws, are prepared to immediately prohibit abortion completely and entirely.
If you don't understand this threat, just ask the women of Texas. They are currently living in a State without protections of Roe. That dangerous anti-abortion law, SB 8, contains a 6-week abortion ban--6 weeks--far before many women even know that they are pregnant. And even worse, the law's divisive bounty hunter provision deputizes a woman's neighbors, friends, family, and acquaintances.
Last year alone, 19 States enacted 106 restrictions, including 12 abortion bans. For the first time ever, States enacted more than 100 abortion restrictions in a single year. My bill--the Women's Health Protection Act--would put an end to this relentless and ever-growing attack on reproductive rights. It would create a Federal statutory right for healthcare providers to provide abortion care. It would provide a right for patients to receive that care, free from medically unnecessary restrictions that single out and impede abortion access.
Let's not forget for one moment the reality on the ground. The reality is for millions of Americans, their futures--in some cases, their lives--depend on accessible abortion care. And the implications and ramifications affect men as well as women, families as well as moms.
We have had enough meddling by politicians and politically motivated judges getting between Americans and their personal healthcare decision. We have had enough with the shameful assaults on people's freedoms and futures. We can't go back, and we need this action now. It is time. It is time to pass the Women's Health Protection Act.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Washington.
Ukraine
Mrs. MURRAY. Madam President, I want to first briefly address what is happening in Ukraine. The Ukrainian people are being plunged into a deadly and devastating war. We are already seeing hundreds of thousands of refugees fleeing the destruction and leaving their lives behind. We have seen heartbreaking images of children huddled in basements--all of this tragedy for no other reason than the cruel ambition of one dictator.
Make no mistake, every life lost, every community torn apart, the fault for this conflict lies solely at the feet of Vladimir Putin.
I strongly support continued efforts to inflict severe sanctions on Russia for this unjustified war of aggression. Russia must pay a crushing price for invading a sovereign democracy unprovoked. This is a time for our country and the world to remain united in strong support of Ukraine and firmly against Putin.
So today I am thinking of my constituents with friends and family and loved ones in Ukraine, and my heart is with the Ukrainian people who only want peace. I want them to know I will continue to do everything in my power to make sure the United States is doing its utmost to support the Ukrainian people.
H.R. 3755
Now, Madam President, I want to address the vote we are about to take. And I will start with a few simple questions for my colleagues: Do you trust women? Do you trust patients? Do you trust doctors? Do you believe every American should be able to make deeply personal decisions about pregnancy and parenting according to their own beliefs without the government interfering?
Well, if you answer yes to those questions, then your job tonight is pretty easy, vote for the Women's Health Protection Act. What this bill does is simple. It follows the Constitution in nearly a half a century of precedent and gives patients the right to get an abortion and doctors the right to provide abortion care no matter where in America that patient or that doctor lives.
We might ask: Well, why do you need a bill like this if the right is already in the Constitution? Sadly, we need this bill because too many extreme rightwing politicians, too many well-funded conservative interest groups, and too many conservative lawyers jammed into our judicial system at every level clearly do not trust women or patients or doctors.
Now, you might say that assertion is unfair. But I am looking at actions not words, and here is what I see. In 2021 alone, Republican legislators across the country passed more than 100 abortion restrictions. In Texas, there is a law that has been in effect for nearly 6 months that bans abortion before women even know they are pregnant. And not only that, Texas has empowered citizens to sue one another personally for the ``crime'' of helping someone get an abortion or providing abortion care.
The Supreme Court has already rubberstamped this appalling divisive law, and there is a very real threat that in a matter of months, they will end the constitutional right to abortion in Roe v. Wade.
What Republicans like to say, if Roe v. Wade is gone, that abortions will end. That is not true. Abortions will still happen. People will find a way, but many won't have safe options, and their health and even their lives will be at risk. Even more so than today, women who don't have the money or the time off or some other way--don't have the means--won't be able to get them.
And this cruelty will fall hardest on women of color, women who have low incomes, women in rural parts of the country, and the LGBTQ community. To me and to many Democrats here today, that is just so wrong. A person's ability to make the right decision for themself about pregnancy and parenting shouldn't only be available to the rich or depend on what ZIP Code you live in.
Unfortunately, that is the future the Republican Party wants for America, but it is not what Democrats want, and it is certainly not what my constituents in Washington State want. And it is actually not what the vast majority of Americans across the country want either.
Sometime in the next few months, we will very likely see a historic reversal of a fundamental right Americans have known for nearly 50 years regarding one of the most personal decisions any individual can make--a right generations of women and Americans have grown up depending on and want to see it protected.
That means that this vote tonight is historic as well. This is each Senator's chance to stand up for an individual's right to decide what to do with their own body and their own future. Tonight the Democratic position is clear: We trust women and patients, and we believe that Roe should be the law of the land.
I hope Senate Republicans vote with us. But if they don't, make no mistake, 72 million Americans of reproductive age today may soon lose a constitutional right every generation has known since Roe was decided in 1973. And if they do, they are going to know exactly who is responsible--the Republican Party.
I yield the floor.
I suggest the absence of a quorum.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
The legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
Mr. SCHUMER. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for the quorum call be rescinded.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered
Mr. SCHUMER. Madam President, the vote before the Senate asks a simple question: As women's healthcare comes under assault in ways we have not seen in living memory, shall the Senate respond? The legislation we are considering today, the Women's Health Protection Act, is the first time--the first time--the Senate has taken an affirmative vote on stand-alone legislation to enshrine the right to an abortion in law.
And it is needed now more than ever, as reproductive rights are on the chopping block in the legislatures, in the courts, and, most dreadfully perhaps, even in the Supreme Court. The right to choose is intensely personal, and, by and large, the American people support the protections enshrined in Roe. So Americans deserve to know where their Senators stand on this crucial issue. This vote--because we are in the majority--will, for the first time, accomplish that. The other side did not want to put this vote on the floor.
When the House passed abortion rights legislation last fall, I said the Senate would act, and now we are holding a vote. I want to thank Senators Blumenthal, Baldwin, and Murray for their leadership in pushing the Women's Health Protection Act. And it is with strong enthusiasm that I will vote yes.
I yield the floor.
Cloture Motion
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Pursuant to rule XXII, the Chair lays before the Senate the pending cloture motion, which the clerk will state.
The legislative clerk read as follows:
Cloture Motion
We, the undersigned Senators, in accordance with the provisions of rule XXII of the Standing Rules of the Senate, do hereby move to bring to a close debate on the motion to proceed to Calendar No. 139, H.R. 3755, a bill to protect a person's ability to determine whether to continue or end a pregnancy, and to protect a health care provider's ability to provide abortion services.
Charles E. Schumer, Alex Padilla, Patty Murray,
Christopher Murphy, Edward J. Markey, Gary C. Peters,
Brian Schatz, Jack Reed, Tammy Duckworth, John W.
Hickenlooper, Sheldon Whitehouse, Tim Kaine, Richard
Blumenthal, Christopher A. Coons, Margaret Wood Hassan,
Jeanne Shaheen, Patrick J. Leahy, Debbie Stabenow.
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 motion to proceed to H.R. 3755, a bill to protect a person's ability to determine whether to continue or end a pregnancy, and to protect a health care provider's ability to provide abortion services, shall be brought to a close?
The yeas and nays are mandatory under the rule.
The clerk will call the roll.
The legislative clerk called the roll.
Mr. DURBIN. I announce that the Senator from California (Mrs. Feinstein), the Senator from New Mexico (Mr. Lujan), and the Senator from Georgia (Mr. Warnock) are necessarily absent.
Mr. THUNE. The following Senators are necessarily absent: the Senator from Oklahoma (Mr. Inhofe), the Senator from Louisiana (Mr. Kennedy), and the Senator from Kentucky (Mr. Paul).
The yeas and nays resulted--yeas 46, nays 48, as follows:
YEAS--46
Baldwin Bennet Blumenthal Booker Brown Cantwell Cardin Carper Casey Coons Cortez Masto Duckworth Durbin Gillibrand Hassan Heinrich Hickenlooper Hirono Kaine Kelly King Klobuchar Leahy Markey Menendez Merkley Murphy Murray Ossoff Padilla Peters Reed Rosen Sanders Schatz Schumer Shaheen Sinema Smith Stabenow Tester Van Hollen Warner Warren Whitehouse Wyden
NAYS--48
Barrasso Blackburn Blunt Boozman Braun Burr Capito Cassidy Collins Cornyn Cotton Cramer Crapo Cruz Daines Ernst Fischer Graham Grassley Hagerty Hawley Hoeven Hyde-Smith Johnson Lankford Lee Lummis Manchin Marshall McConnell Moran Murkowski Portman Risch Romney Rounds Rubio Sasse Scott (FL) Scott (SC) Shelby Sullivan Thune Tillis Toomey Tuberville Wicker Young
NOT VOTING--6
Feinstein Inhofe Kennedy Lujan Paul Warnock
The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Heinrich). On this vote, the yeas are 46, the nays are 48.
Three-fifths of the Senators duly chosen and sworn not having voted in the affirmative, the motion is rejected.
____________________
SOURCE: Congressional Record Vol. 168, No. 36
The Congressional Record is a unique source of public documentation. It started in 1873, documenting nearly all the major and minor policies being discussed and debated.
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