Category: US Senate

Source: United States Senator for Illinois Dick Durbin

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Source: United States Senator for Illinois Dick Durbin

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Source: United States Senator for Illinois Dick Durbin

06.13.23

Today, Durbin spoke at the award ceremony, where he acknowledged Congresswoman Cheney’s courage in her efforts to hold former President Trump accountable for his actions on January 6, 2021

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) today delivered remarks at the University of Illinois award ceremony for the Paul H. Douglas Award for Ethics in Government and introduced this year’s honoree, former U.S. Representative Liz Cheney.  In his remarks, Durbin praised Congresswoman Cheney’s efforts to hold former President Donald Trump accountable for the incitement of the Capitol insurrection on January 6, 2021, despite pushback from the Republican Party.  

Durbin began his speech by recounting Congresswoman Cheney’s upbringing in the Republican Party, and how she stood up to party leadership when faced with the decision to defend the actions of President Trump for the sake of party unity or stand for integrity and accountability in government.

“Congressman Liz Cheney is not just any Republican.  She is the scion of a Republican dynasty… She was elected to the House by the people of Wyoming, the state that gave Donald Trump 70 percent of its votes in 2020, the largest margin of any state… As chair of the House Republican Conference, she was the highest-ranking elected woman in the history of the Republican Party,” Durbin said.  “With our democracy in grave peril, Liz Cheney made a decision that seemed to some to defy her upbringing.  She stood up to her party.  At great personal and political risk, she told the truth.  And she insisted on accountability.  Even when threatened with the loss of her leadership post and her seat in Congress, she refused to defend the man who had summoned the mob, or parrot his lie that the 2020 Presidential election was stolen.”

Durbin continued, “She was one of only 10 Republican House members who voted to impeach Donald Trump for his role in inciting the insurrection.  She defied her party’s leadership by supporting the establishment of an independent, bipartisan commission to investigate the January 6th attack on the Capitol.”

Durbin concluded his remarks by noting that Congresswoman Cheney’s legacy will be her bravery and commitment to democracy even when it was not politically expedient.

“History will recall Liz Cheney for her singular role as vice chair of the January 6th Commission and for her fearless and unequivocal resolve to tell the truth, no matter what it cost her,” Durbin said.  “For that alone, Congresswoman Cheney deserves our nation’s thanks.  And I commend the University of Illinois and the Institute of Government and Public Affairs for acknowledging her patriotism and courage, and awarding her the 2023 Senator Paul Douglas Ethics in Government Award.”

Named for the former Illinois Senator, the Paul H. Douglas Award for Ethics in Government is presented to a person whose public actions and contributions have demonstrated a deep understanding and respect for ethical behavior and standards in government.  Past recipients include former President Barack Obama, the late Senator Paul Simon, retired Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor, and the late Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens.

Photos from the event are available here.

Durbin’s full remarks as prepared for delivery appear below:

Remarks by Senator Richard J. Durbin

Senator Paul H. Douglas Ethics in Government Award

I want to thank our hosts: University of Illinois President Tim Killeen; Vice President Jones and the talented staff at the Institute of Government and Public Affairs. 

I also want to acknowledge my dear friends Jean and Ned Bandler and members of the Douglas family.  Jean is Senator Douglas’s daughter.  Former members of Mr. D’s staff.  There are still a few of us lucky folks around and family and friends of Congresswoman Cheney. 

After our long COVID hiatus, the Paul H. Douglas Award for Ethics in Government is back! 

And I am delighted.

Paul Douglas taught me that true patriotism is not the loud braying of a mob.  Often, it is the quiet resolve to stand up to the mob.

And he showed me that preserving democracy can sometimes demand great personal sacrifice.  It certainly did of him.  Paul Douglas lost the use of his left arm fighting in some of the fiercest battles of World War II.

I think it’s a safe bet that joining the Marines at the age of 50 and insisting on being sent into combat was not a choice many would have predicted from an economics professor-turned politician who had been raised as a Quaker.  But that was Paul Douglas’s choice.

Today, we honor a woman whose brave choices to defend our democracy may strike some as equally unlikely.

 Congressman Liz Cheney is not just any Republican.  She is the scion of a Republican dynasty.  The daughter of a former Congressman … Defense Secretary … and Vice President of the United States. 

She was elected to the House by the people of Wyoming, the state that gave Donald Trump 70 percent of its votes in 2020, the largest margin of any state.  A state so conservative that political choices there are sometimes described as “red” and “redder.”

As chair of the House Republican Conference, she was the highest-ranking elected woman in the history of the Republican Party.  There were whisperings that she might one day become the first Republican woman President of the United States.

Then came January 6^th and the violent attempted coup against American democracy.  The first and only time in our nation’s history that a President used political violence to try to overturn an election and prevent the peaceful transfer of power. 

With our democracy in grave peril, Liz Cheney made a decision that seemed to some to defy her upbringing.  She stood up to her party.  At great personal and political risk, she told the truth.  And she insisted on accountability.

Even when threatened with the loss of her leadership post and her seat in Congress, she refused to defend the man who had summoned the mob, or parrot his lie that the 2020 Presidential election was stolen. 

She was one of only 10 Republican House members who voted to impeach Donald Trump for his role in inciting the insurrection. 

She defied her party’s leadership by supporting the establishment of an independent, bipartisan commission to investigate the January 6^th attack on the Capitol.

When Senate Republicans twice filibustered the creation of that independent commission, Liz Cheney and one other courageous Republican House member – someone many of us know, Congressman Adam Kinzinger of Illinois – agreed to serve on a House Select Committee to investigate January 6^th.

Both chose conscience over capitulation.  Both endured intense personal threats to their safety.  Both were rebuked publicly by their party – the first time the Republican National Committee had ever censured sitting Republican members of Congress. 

 In the end, both sacrificed their seats in Congress for their defense of democracy and the truth.

 I was there on January 6th, and I can tell you, it was one of the most frightening days of my life—not simply because of the danger the mob posed to members of Congress, but because of the grave danger it posed to democracy itself. 

Remember what we saw – what the world witnessed that day: 

A defeated President whipping a mob into a frenzy … directing them toward the Capitol … and commanding them to, quote, “fight like hell” to stop the peaceful transfer of power.

 Thousands of rioters – many of them armed – laying siege to the Capitol … bludgeoning police officers for hours with fists, flags, and whatever weapons they could find.  Five officers who fought the mob ultimately died, and more than 140 others were seriously wounded.

Remember the mob marauding through the Capitol … the gallows erected on the Capitol lawn. 

 And remember the silence from the White House.  The hours-long failure of President Trump to dispatch the National Guard.  That was not simply neglect.  It was approval. 

Our freedom cannot be preserved by constitutional requirements, norms, or institutional guardrails alone.  In the end, democracy must be defended by brave individuals, true patriots, who are willing to sacrifice their comfort, their careers, and even their lives for democracy and the truth.

Many such patriots arose on January 6^th, and in the days preceding and following it.  I mentioned Congressman Adam Kinzinger.

America is indebted to many others as well, including state leaders who stood up to intense pressure to overturn their states’ election results … Justice Department officials who refused to say that the election results were fraudulent … election workers who refused to stop counting every ballot … and the brave police officers who defended the Capitol.

Among all of these patriots, and more, history will recall Liz Cheney for her singular role as vice chair of the January 6^th Commission … and for her fearless and unequivocal resolve to tell the truth, no matter what it cost her. 

Along with the commission’s chair, Congressman Bennie Thompson, her unflinching work helped clarify for the American people what really happened on January 6^th … how close we came to catastrophe … and how important it is for each of us to defend our democracy if and when history calls us to do so.

For that alone, Congresswoman Cheney deserves our nation’s thanks.  And I commend the University of Illinois and the Institute of Government and Public Affairs for acknowledging her patriotism and courage, and awarding her the 2023 Senator Paul Douglas Ethics in Government Award.  

And now, please join me in welcoming Senator Douglas’s grandson, John Bandler, who is speaking today on behalf of the Douglas family.

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Source: United States Senator for Illinois Dick Durbin

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Source: United States Senator for South Dakota Mike Rounds

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Source: United States Senator for Indiana Todd Young

June 14, 2023

**Click here or above to watch Senator Young’s floor speech.**

WASHINGTON – On Flag Day, U.S. Senator Todd Young (R-Ind.) spoke on the Senate floor today about the legacy of Hoosier Alice Sanger. The Indiana native was the first woman to serve on a president’s staff and helped establish the celebration of Flag Day.

“Our flag represents the promise of freedom and self-government, that any man or woman can live their life in pursuit of happiness,” said Young. “But it is also a reminder that the work of honoring those ideals goes on. It is fitting then, that on Flag Day, we remember Indiana’s Alice Sanger. This Hoosier served her country so faithfully in an era where pathways for women to do so were few.”

To watch the full floor speech, click here.

Senator Young’s full remarks, as prepared for delivery:

I often speak of Hoosiers whose service, patriotism, and sacrifice capture the spirit we celebrate on civic holidays. 

For Flag Day, however, I rise to share the story of a Hoosier who did not merely embody the occasion – she helped establish it.

And she made history too.

Alice Sanger played such an important part in Benjamin Harrison’s presidential campaign in 1888 as a stenographer that he made her part of his presidential staff.

So, Alice left her Indianapolis home for Washington D.C. to become the first woman ever to serve on a President’s staff.

The historic distinction doesn’t quite capture the breadth of Alice’s service to the president and the nation.

Neither did her title of “clerk” or contemporary reporters’ descriptions of her, which often dwelled on her looks and clothes.

Let me share with you what this “clerk” did in the White House.

A renaissance woman who was skilled with a paintbrush and had an ear for music, Alice could take dictation at 200 words a minute without a single misspelling.

She had a discretion seldom seen in Washington and was known as a “jewel of secrecy” in the White House.

Not only did she type President Harrison’s annual address to Congress, but she was given sole responsibility of safekeeping it until it was sent here to the Capitol.

She personally read through all of the President’s and First Lady Caroline Harrison’s correspondence and answered much of it in her own hand.

During the late 19th Century, no woman’s signature was better known in America.

In 1893, after losing his bid for reelection, Harrison left the White House. But Alice remained.

She was so essential to the Executive Branch’s function, that the new president, from a different political party, Grover Cleveland, asked her to stay.

In 1894, she moved over to the Post Office Department, which was then a cabinet level agency. She was she no less indispensable there.

For decades, she managed budgets and advertising, kept track of regulations and postal laws, and assembled the 700-page directive that guided the operations of every post office in the country.

A masterful organizer, she planned war bond drives, donations to the Red Cross, and holiday celebrations – including the one we mark today.

Now, the idea of commemorating the day in 1777 when the Continental Congress created our national banner was not her own. Celebrations of the American flag were staged periodically around the country dating back to the 1860s. 

But in 1908, Alice, as part of her responsibilities at the Post Office, planned and staged a grand celebration for Flag Day.

The sound of bands and distinguished speakers lifted out of the Old Post Office building’s courtyard, where a giant American flag hung.

In the years that followed, other government departments joined in the celebration with their own Flag Day festivities, in large part due to Alice’s efforts.

States followed suit, many with input from Alice who advised local Post Offices on appropriate celebrations.

Presidents Wilson and Coolidge recognized Flag Day with proclamations, and in 1949, the 81st Congress passed and Harry Truman signed legislation formally establishing its observance.

There is some harmony between Alice’s career and her work to promote Flag Day.

When we look up at the Stars and Stripes, we catch America’s reflection.

It is a symbol of our ideals, after all. 

Wherever it waves – on battlefields where we have defended it, alongside the graves of those who have died for it.

In front of the places where its democracy lives – courthouses in our towns, statehouses in our cities, the dome under which we meet, and from the homes across the Republic for which it stands.

Our flag represents the promise of freedom and self-government, that any man or woman can live their life in pursuit of happiness.

But it is also a reminder that the work of honoring those ideals goes on.

It is fitting then, that on Flag Day, we remember Indiana’s Alice Sanger.

This Hoosier served her country so faithfully in an era where pathways for women to do so were few.

So, on Flag Day, we raise a pair of salutes –

One to Old Glory. Forever may she fly.

And a second to the trailblazing spirit of Americans like Alice. Long may it live.

Source: United States Senator for Commonwealth of Virginia Mark R Warner

WASHINGTON – U.S. Sens. Mark R. Warner (D-VA) and Tim Scott (R-SC) joined by U.S. Reps. Vern Buchanan (R-FL-16), Chairman of the House Ways & Means Health Subcommittee, Debbie Dingell (D-MI-06), Diana Harshbarger (R-TN-01), and Terri Sewell (D-AL-07) today reintroduced legislation that will ensure patients maintain access to home infusion therapy. The Preserving Patient Access to Home Infusion Act protects access to Medicare’s home infusion benefit by making clear that pharmacy services for home infusion therapy can be reimbursed and sets an appropriate rate for such services.

“We have seen for years that patients are better off when they can receive quality care from the comfort of their own homes,” said Sen. Warner. “This legislation would ensure that millions of Americans who suffer from life threatening conditions such as immune diseases, cancer, serious infections, and heart failure can receive the care they need without having to make frequent, sometimes costly trips to the hospital.”

“High-risk patients who are more susceptible to contracting disease shouldn’t have to visit a hospital and further risk their health to receive life-saving treatment,” said Sen. Scott. “This commonsense legislation ensures that millions of Americans have the option to receive the care they need in the comfort and safety of their own homes.”

“The coronavirus pandemic taught us that home health services are invaluable for seniors in my district and across the country,” said Rep. Buchanan. “The aptly-named Preserving Patient Access to Home Infusion Act will ensure that Medicare recipients can continue to receive life-saving drugs in a safe and effective way from the comfort and convenience of their own home.”

“We know that the majority of people would prefer to receive care in the home when possible, and over the last few years, we have seen the effective expansion of many home care services, which can result in significant savings for patients and providers” said Rep. Dingell. “The legislation’s commonsense reforms will expand access to home infusion services for Medicare beneficiaries, saving the Medicare program millions of dollars, cutting patient costs, and ensuring people receive safe and adequate care in the comfort of their own home. I look forward to working with my colleagues to move this bipartisan legislation forward so we can effectively care for people and save money by doing so in a home setting.” 

“For Medicare patients living in rural areas, regular visits to healthcare providers to receive infusion services often prove to be costly and burdensome,” said Rep. Harshbarger. “It is critical that common-sense reforms are passed to address CMS’ flawed implementation of home-based care for Medicare patients, which is why I am proud to co-sponsor the Preserving Patient Access to Home Infusion Act. This legislation is vital to our many seniors who receive infusion treatments, ensuring patients have access to effective therapies from the safety and comfort of their homes, while producing cost-savings for both the Medicare program and patient.”

“Countless Alabamians, especially those in rural communities, rely on home infusion services for life-saving care,” said Rep. Sewell. “It has never been more critical to ensure that patients continue to receive this care safely in their homes. I’m so proud to introduce this bipartisan bill and urge my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to give it their full support.”

Sen. Warner originally included provisions in the 21st Century Cures Act and the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2018 to create a professional services benefit for Medicare Part B home infusion drugs in order to maintain patient access to home infusion by covering professional services including assessments, education on administration and access device care, monitoring and remote monitoring, coordination with the patient, caregivers and other health care providers, and nursing visits.

Despite Congress’ intent, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) improperly implemented the benefit by requiring a nurse to be physically present in the patient’s home in order for providers to be reimbursed. As a result, provider participation in Medicare’s home infusion benefit has dropped sharply and beneficiaries have experienced reduced access to home infusion over the last several years.

The Preserving Patient Access to Home Infusion Act provides technical clarifications that will remove the physical presence requirement, ensuring payment regardless of whether a health care professional is present in the patient’s home. The legislation also acknowledges the full scope of professional services provided in home infusion — including essential pharmacist services — into the reimbursement structure.

Specifically the legislation would:

• include pharmacy services as part of covered home infusion therapy under Medicare, encompassing assessments, drug preparation and compounding, and care coordination and documentation;
• direct CMS to pay 50% of the nursing rate on home infusion days when a nurse is not present;
• allow nurse practitioners and physician assistants to establish and review the plan of care for home infusion therapy.

“The National Home Infusion Association (NHIA) applauds Senator Warner and Senator Scott for their leadership on common sense legislation that will ensure Medicare patients have access to home infusion therapy,” said Connie Sullivan, NHIA’s President and CEO. “Americans have overwhelmingly demonstrated they prefer to receive medical treatments at home when given the option — and this legislation marks an important step in making that option available to our Medicare beneficiaries.”

A copy of the bill text is available here.

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Source: United States Senator for Alaska Dan Sullivan

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Source: United States Senator for Nebraska Deb Fischer

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Deb Fischer (R-Neb.), a member of the Senate Commerce Committee, spoke on the Senate floor recently about the importance of protecting rural communications and media, including rural and agricultural television and radio programming.

As the top Republican on the Senate Rules Committee, Senator Fischer recently approved the addition of RFD-TV to the Senate TV network. RFD-TV is one of the preeminent sources of rural news in the country.

Senator Fischer also has led legislation to protect access to AM radio in automobiles and improve broadband mapping to benefit unserved rural areas.

Click the image above to watch video of Sen. Fischer’s remarks
Click here to download audio
Click here to download video

Following is a transcript of Senator Fischer’s remarks as prepared for delivery:

According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Economic Research Service, 46 million Americans live in rural areas. This includes 35 percent of the residents in my home state of Nebraska.

Often, in the government, we focus on the majority of Americans living in urban population hubs. But we have just as much of an obligation to the millions of rural citizens in our country.

Communications access is foundational to our quality of life, especially in rural areas where the closest neighbor can be many miles away.

That’s what I want to focus on today. As a member of the Senate Commerce and Agriculture Committees, I have the privilege to regularly advance communications policy that benefits all Americans, including those in rural areas.

I’ve led multiple pieces of legislation to improve broadband mapping to benefit unserved, rural areas—including the Broadband Funding Map that the president signed into law as part of the bipartisan infrastructure package.

It’s vital that every last mile and acre of our country has access to reliable Internet—whether for telehealth appointments or to make use of more efficient agricultural technologies.

But broadband isn’t the only type of communication rural communities rely on. Especially for households without Internet service, they rely on television programming to keep updated about the world around them.

The wellbeing of rural Americans and a robust media made up of diverse viewpoints are important to me and Nebraskans throughout the state. And access to rural and agricultural programming benefits all Americans.

Farmers and ranchers in Nebraska depend on this content for relevant news, information, and lifestyle programming. We’re talking about everything from in-depth reports on weather patterns, agribusiness news, commodity market swings, western sports, and more.

This programming delivers essential information to producers that directly impacts the way they manage their operations and plan for the future.

At the same time, Americans on the coasts and in major urban and suburban areas also benefit from programming that helps them understand major issues affecting the country that originate in the heartland. And rural programming doesn’t mean old reruns of Green Acres or The Beverly Hillbillies.

Rural and agricultural programmers are in a unique position to educate the public on what it means to be a family farmer and rancher. On how producers are some of the best stewards of our natural resources. And on what the future of agriculture—and producing the food we all need—looks like.

This is one reason I was pleased, as Ranking Member of the Rules Committee, to recently approve RFD-TV to be added to the Senate TV network. RFD-TV is one of the preeminent sources of rural news in the country. 

Networks like RFD-TV work hard to cover the issues affecting the agricultural sector and rural communities. The Senior Senator from Minnesota and I approved its addition to the Senate TV network because that unique perspective and expertise is a must-have here in Washington, where we all work on policies affecting rural America every single day.

And it’s not just TV programming that provides critical news and information to rural communities. Millions of Americans use AM radio to stay up to date on what’s affecting them.

In Nebraska, we have a long history of farm broadcasters who help farmers and ranchers thrive. Today there are still over 40 AM stations based in the state.

Unfortunately, some have lost sight of the fundamental role broadcast radio plays in rural America. A number of automakers announced plans this year to remove AM broadcast radio access from some of their vehicles.

This would deal a blow to the millions who need AM radio access to receive emergency alerts in remote areas, as well as be aware of local news and weather conditions. AM radio is not just a luxury—as the backbone of our Emergency Alert System, it can be a question of life or death for people during natural disasters and severe storms.

My colleagues and I are concerned about how this decision will affect the safety of Americans—that’s why we introduced a bicameral, bipartisan bill to preserve AM radio access despite some automakers’ efforts to get rid of it.

Our bill, the AM for Every Vehicle Act, would direct the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, to issue a rule requiring all motor vehicles to have access to AM broadcast stations.

The legislation is already having an impact. It recently spurred Ford Motor Company to reverse course and restore access to AM radio to its upcoming car models.

But passing our bill into law is the only way to prevent other automakers from abandoning AM radio, against the best interests of the millions of people in rural areas where wireless warnings can be difficult to receive.

The American people who travel to work and school on rural roads each day are relying on us to ensure they don’t lose access to local news, weather, emergency alerts, and public safety announcements from AM radio.

As members of the U.S. Senate, we represent millions—millions—of people in rural communities across the country. We can’t let rural voices be put aside while we prioritize other issues. Let’s continue to appreciate rural TV and radio and advance legislation that supports the critical services they provide.

Thank you. I yield the floor.

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