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.
“JOINT SESSION OF CONGRESS” mentioning Christopher Murphy was published in the Senate section on pages S2311-S2312 on April 29.
Of the 100 senators in 117th Congress, 24 percent were women, and 76 percent were men, according to the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress.
Senators' salaries are historically higher than the median US income.
The publication is reproduced in full below:
JOINT SESSION OF CONGRESS
Mr. SCHUMER. Madam President, last night, before a joint session of Congress, President Biden laid out a comprehensive, thoughtful vision for the country.
First, he spoke about what we have accomplished so far, and on that front, there was plenty to talk about.
The Democratic majority in Congress passed the most sweeping Federal recovery effort in a new generation, the American Rescue Plan, accelerating the pace of vaccinations and our economic rebound. As a result, the United States administered more than 200 million shots in less than 100 days. More than half of American adults have gotten at least one shot, and two-thirds of American seniors are vaccinated. Eighty-five percent of all Americans have received a stimulus check of
$1,400 through the American Rescue Plan. More than 160 million relief checks have been delivered.
Our economic recovery continues apace. The United States created more than a million jobs over the past 3 months--the most new jobs in a President's first hundred days in American history. And just this morning, we learned that jobless claims hit a new pandemic low for the third straight week. Today's numbers are an indication that our economy is back on track and should be going full throttle. America is turning the corner. America is turning the corner.
Over the first quarter, the American economy grew by 6.4 percent--6.4 percent. Under President Biden and Democratic majorities in Congress, America is turning the corner--6.4 percent growth, wow. That shows you that America is back, and that shows you that the kind of strong, active proposals that we Democrats have made are the right direction for the country and have the support throughout the country of Democrats, Independents, Republicans because it is the right thing to do--the right thing to do.
The story of the first hundred days is a story about shots going into arms, checks going into pockets, life getting back to normal, and the economy picking up a lot of steam. After one of the most difficult years in history, we have made extraordinary progress.
President Biden spoke last night about how and where we can build on that strong foundation. We can't rest. We have a lot more to do. We want to keep this country going at a strong rate of growth, creating new jobs, making America healthier. We want to continue to do that. We are not just going to stop with the ARP. We can't.
President Biden proposed commonsense investments and policies that will provide a pathway to success for working people and for America as a whole. In particular, the President's focus on jobs, middle-class incomes, and helping families and workers succeed in a 21st-century economy was very much welcomed.
America is breathing a sigh of relief to see Joe Biden in that chair and not the previous President, who just all too often, even in those speeches where he was supposed to rise to the occasion, appealed to the worst instincts of people.
The President's plan--President Biden's plan--will help restore that once innate American optimism that has really been shaken for the last 4 years. Now the Congress must act. And, as majority leader, I intend for the Senate to take up legislation to make President Biden's vision a reality.
Truthfully, a lot of what President Biden proposed last night should be bipartisan. Just because a Democratic President proposed a jobs and infrastructure plan doesn't mean jobs and infrastructure are Democratic issues. Just because a Democratic President proposed a comprehensive plan to address childcare and education and workforce training doesn't mean those are just Democratic issues. My Republican colleagues, in one way or another, have joined Democrats on legislation in those subject areas for years.
President Biden spoke at length about the need to outcompete China. That is something our two parties have long agreed on and a topic the Senate will address in the next work period.
Even on the very difficult subjects like police reform, gun safety, immigration, bipartisan compromise--strong bipartisan compromise, strong legislation coming out of bipartisan compromise--is never out of reach.
Senator Murphy continues to discuss bipartisan safety measures with Senator Cornyn and others. Senators Booker and Durbin continue to discuss bipartisan policing reform with Senator Scott, Karen Bass, Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee, and many others.
Just this morning, I met with George Floyd's brother, Eric Garner's mother, and Mr. Ben Crump, the lawyer for the family of George Floyd, and I told them that we are committed to getting meaningful, strong reform done--hopefully, in a bipartisan way, if we can.
Here on the Senate floor, we are proving that our two parties can work together on legislation, including on some of the issues that President Biden mentioned. Today's vote offers a great example. This afternoon, the Senate is going to vote on a bipartisan water infrastructure bill. We have agreed with the Republican minority to consider several amendments first, including three Republican amendments. I promised my caucus and the country that we would try to do things in a more open way, where amendments would be debated on the floor. We did that last week on the anti-Asian hate crimes legislation. We are doing it today on the water bill, and we hope to do it on the comprehensive America COMPETES Act when we come back next week.
So the bottom line is very simple: We are moving forward wherever we can in a bipartisan way.
I expect the Senate will pass the water infrastructure bill with a resounding bipartisan vote after the amendments are debated. So let it be a signal to our Republican colleagues that Senate Democrats want to work together on infrastructure when and where we can.
Certainly, the water bill is not the only example of bipartisan legislation this Congress. As I mentioned, a few weeks ago, nearly the entire Senate stood together to pass legislation to combat the recent surge in hate crimes, particularly against Americans of Asian descent, 94 to 1--94 to 1.
And just yesterday, the Senate passed, with bipartisan support, a measure to reinstate critical rules to reduce the emissions of methane into our atmosphere. It was the first significant action the Senate has taken to combat climate change in at least a decade, probably much more.
Even though our two parties have been divided in the past on the subject of climate change, we can no longer afford to have those differences foil our progress. The methane CRA must be the first--the first of many steps we take to tackle climate change.
So these past few months have provided a great example of what the Senate can do. The American people deserve a Congress that works and produces the kinds of change that Americans are demanding. President Biden pointed the way. He pointed the way forward on a number of issues last night. Now it is up to us, here in the Senate and in the Congress, to make progress, the progress for the American people, a reality.
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