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Floor Speech

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Mr. CORNYN. Mr. President, the 117th Congress is drawing to a close, and there is a lot we need to do before the end of the year when the 117th Congress is no more.

At the top of that list, of course, are must-pass bills. In the next couple of weeks, the Senate is expected to pass a short-term funding bill to avert a government shutdown. Later this year, we will either have to pass another short-term extension or a full government funding package, otherwise known around here as an omnibus.

On top of that, Congress needs to pass the National Defense Authorization Act, which it has done 61 years in a row. The majority leader has, so far, declined to put that bill on the floor. This is a piece of legislation that provides our men and women in uniform the training they need and the equipment they need to fight and win America's wars and, hopefully, to prevent a war. It also supports our military families, and with an all-volunteer military like we have, it is critical that Congress step up and not only provide for those who wear the uniform but for those who also serve as members of that military member's family.

Even though these major pieces of legislation garner most of the attention, there are countless other bills that need to reach the President's desk before the end of this Congress. As the Presiding Officer knows, if a bill passes one Chamber but doesn't pass both and isn't signed into law, it literally expires. Many of these bills pass the Senate with overwhelming bipartisan support but continue to collect dust on the House calendar.

One of those bills is the Jenna Quinn Law, which I have spoken about many times here on the Senate floor.

This legislation carries the name of a brave young woman from Texas who was a survivor of child sexual assault. Jenna, as a result of her own terrible experience, has made it her mission to end the cycle of abuse that harms children and communities across the country. Her work is having a big impact. She was the inspiration behind the 2009 Texas law that requires training for teachers, caregivers, and other adults who work with children on how to prevent, recognize, and report child sexual abuse. Since then, a number of other States have passed similar laws, but this training lacks a source of funding in many instances, and that is where the Jenna Quinn Law comes into play.

I introduced this bill with Senator Hassan of New Hampshire to finally back those training sessions with Federal funding through grants from the Department of Health and Human Services. We initially introduced the bill last Congress, and it passed the Senate unanimously. Unfortunately, it became a political hostage and was used to try to exert leverage to advance a partisan bill that stood no chance of passage. So here we are, 2 years later, and the bill is, once again, stuck in House purgatory. It has now passed the Senate twice-- both times with unanimous support--but for some inexplicable reason, the House refuses to even hold a vote.

This is an issue that is way too important for politics. The children who suffer as a result of child abuse and neglect continue to suffer. As for the caregivers who might be able, as a result of the training they receive, to identify a child who is suffering from the abuse, that training is not occurring as a result of the intransigence of the House of Representatives.

So I would implore of Speaker Pelosi, Leader Hoyer, and other Democratic leaders in the House who control the majority to please pass this critical legislation.

Here is another great example of a bill that passed the Senate but which is stuck in the House.

Last year, the Senate passed a bipartisan bill I introduced with Senator Whitehouse of Rhode Island, called the Residential Substance Use Disorder Treatment Act, to help incarcerated individuals who are struggling with drug abuse.

There is a well-established link between drug abuse and crime. In order for these individuals who have the requisite desire to try to turn their lives around to have the best shot at living healthy and productive lives, they need to break the cycle of addiction. The Residential Substance Use Disorder Treatment Act provides incarcerated individuals with access to treatment for their substance use disorders. This treatment is coupled with programs to prepare these men and women to reenter society, and it provides them with community-based treatment once they are released.

We learned, from experience in Texas, that it is not enough just to give people who commit nonviolent crimes an opportunity to improve themselves while they are in prison. There also needs to be follow-on services to support them, particularly if they are trying to recover from their addictions.

Our bill updates the program and expands access to treatment in jails and prisons around the country so we can reduce recidivism and build safer and healthier communities. More than two dozen organizations have endorsed this bill, including law enforcement, criminal justice, and behavioral health groups. It passed the Senate with unanimous support last year, but for some unknown reason, it still is lingering on the House calendar.

This is a commonsense, nonpolitical bill that will help get folks the critical assistance they need in order to break the cycle of addiction and to live healthier, productive lives. So why won't the House pass a bill that will help fund law enforcement and bolster our fight against drug abuse? Well, we are not receiving any sort of answers.

The third bill I would like to mention is one I introduced with Senator Padilla, the Senator from California, to support infrastructure projects and disaster relief across the country.

Last year, State and local governments received huge sums of money for COVID-19 relief, but as more people have gotten vaccinated and we have learned, somehow, to live with this virus, many of these governments at the State and local levels have found themselves with huge amounts of cash that they can't use for the agreed-upon purpose and that they don't need anymore for that purpose.

So the idea behind the bill is pretty simple: Give the State and local leaders the flexibility they need to invest in the most critical projects in their communities. In some places, that may mean pandemic relief-related expenses still, eliminating hospital staffing shortages, and supporting more vaccinations. But in places where the need is simply not there, our bill gives these leaders the option to invest in things that are actually needed and that will have a lasting impact. That includes infrastructure projects like constructing bridges, extending railways, modernizing ports, and expanding access to broadband. It also includes disaster relief, which is a major need in many States across the country.

Both Texas and Kentucky, for example, have experienced devastating flooding in the last couple of months. Jackson, MS, is in the midst of a water crisis that has dragged on for weeks, with no end in sight. The Speaker's home State of California continues to battle destructive wildfires.

If this bill becomes law--again, it passed the Senate 100 to 0--State and local leaders will be able to put a portion of the COVID-19 relief dollars toward disaster relief. This is voluntary on their part. There is no requirement that they do so, but if they need it and they don't need it for COVID-19 purposes, then, we ought to give them the authority to use it. Again, these funds are already appropriated. So there is no worry about an inflationary appropriation of additional funds. Local leaders know their communities best, and they should be able to use this funding in a way that makes the most sense for them.

Senator Padilla and I worked with our Senate colleagues and the White House to craft language that everyone could live with. We built broad bipartisan support for the bill, and it passed the Senate, as I said, 100 to 0. Once again, 8 months later, the House has done nothing. Speaker Pelosi, so far, has declined to let this bill pass even though it would support disaster relief in her own State and even though it passed by huge bipartisan majorities.

Those are just three of the bills that are stuck in the House that have passed the Senate.

The Senate has unanimously advanced legislation to support programs for those experiencing mental health crises, to provide tax relief to survivors of human trafficking, to equip law enforcement officials with the tools they need to help people in mental health crises, to increase cross-border trade with Canada and Mexico, and to beef up security for cargo at ports of entry. There are bills to cut redtape, to increase payments to the child support program, and to ensure noncustodial parents have the opportunity to spend more time with their children.

Our colleagues have even refused to pass a bill naming the post office in Arlington, TX, after their late colleague and my friend Congressman Ron Wright. There is no particular reason for it. They just haven't done it, with no explanation.

All of these bills I have named are just a handful of the ones I have introduced that are waiting in House purgatory. Add in the long list of bills led by our colleagues on both sides of the aisle, and you have got a major legislative pileup in the House.

Unlike the Senate, the House has not been in continuous session, and the House is only scheduled to be in for 6 more weeks this year. Unless Speaker Pelosi allows movement on these commonsense bipartisan bills, we are going to have to start all over again come January. It is time to get these bills moving.

I know our colleagues in the House don't necessarily embrace all the legislation that is passed by the Senate, but when commonsense legislation passes with unanimity or broad bipartisan support, there just doesn't seem to be any excuse for not acting.

These aren't controversial bills. We are talking about preventing child sexual abuse, breaking the cycle of drug abuse, strengthening disaster relief, supporting people in crisis, and so much more.

As I said, these bills are just one step away from heading to the President's desk for his signature. So I implore Speaker Pelosi to please take up these Senate-passed bills and allow the House to vote on them, pass them, and send them to the President for his signature.

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