Floor SpeechUrgent2024-12-20

HOLCOMBE RUCKER PARK NATIONAL COMMEMORATIVE SITE ACT

TaxesEnvironmentForeign PolicyTradeEducationSocial SecurityVeterans

Context

On 2024-12-20, Senator Thom Tillis (R-NC) delivered a floor speech titled "HOLCOMBE RUCKER PARK NATIONAL COMMEMORATIVE SITE ACT" in the Senate. The speech addressed taxes and also covered the environment, foreign policy. It referenced legislation including HR6852, HR8012, S7287, among other bills.

Full Text

HOLCOMBE RUCKER PARK NATIONAL COMMEMORATIVE SITE ACT

Congressional Record, Volume 170 Issue 190 (Friday, December 20, 2024) [Congressional Record Volume 170, Number 190 (Friday, December 20, 2024)] [Senate] [Pages S7287-S7288] From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [ www.gpo.gov ] HOLCOMBE RUCKER PARK NATIONAL COMMEMORATIVE SITE ACT Mrs. GILLIBRAND. Mr. President, if you have ever had kids, you know how important it can be to encourage their education. But with many competing priorities, you sometimes need to use creative strategies to inspire success. That is something that Holcombe Rucker did. Rucker was a Black World War II veteran and teacher in the 1940s in Harlem. He started a small outdoor basketball team for Black youth and encouraged his players to maintain good grades and decorum. Some say he is the father of outdoor organized basketball for youth and helped give thousands of kids better pathways to higher learning. Holcombe Rucker grew up a poor parentless kid from 141st Street. He served in the Army during World War II before earning his bachelor's degree from City College. He then taught English at a Harlem junior high school, while also serving as a recreation director for both the St. Phillip's Church Community Center and the city parks department. When Rucker formed his youth basketball tournament in the late 1940s, however, he didn't get much support from city recreational leaders. So he often paid out of his own shallow pockets to provide refreshments and T-shirts and other essentials for players. Rucker would even share his lunch with his students, often coming home to his wife with an empty stomach. Rucker believed education and supervised recreation could make an enormous difference in the lives of his students. It is no surprise then why many of his players saw him as a father figure and credited him with helping to set them on a better path. As Rucker's summer tournaments grew in popularity, parks department officials finally moved them to a more desirable location. That would ultimately become the Holcombe Rucker Park. The court attracted the city's most talented young basketball players, including future professional basketball stars like Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Wilt Chamberlain, and Julius ``Dr. J'' Erving. I want to thank Congressman Espaillat for championing this bill, and I am proud to lead the effort in the Senate to designate this park, which is located on 155th Street, on the banks of the Harlem River, as the ``Holcombe Rucker Park National Commemorative Site.'' This bill would allow for an educational exhibit, a plaque or another marker to be installed that would help memorialize the legacy of Mr. Rucker for generations to come. I want to thank Senator Rubio for his assistance. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources be discharged from further consideration of H.R. 6852 and the Senate proceed to an en bloc consideration of the following bills: H.R. 8012, which was received from the House and is at the desk; and H.R. 6852. There being no objection, the committee was discharged of the relevant bill, and the Senate proceeded to consider the bills en bloc. [[Page S7288]] Mrs. GILLIBRAND. I ask unanimous consent that the bills be considered read a third time and passed and the motions to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table, all en bloc. The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered. The bill (H.R. 8012) to establish the Jackie Robinson Ballpark National Commemorative Site in the State of Florida, and for other purposes was ordered to a third reading, was read the third time, and passed. The bill (H.R. 6852) to designate Holcombe Rucker Park, in Harlem, New York, as a National Commemorative Site, and for other purposes was ordered to a third reading, was read the third time, and passed. =========================== NOTE =========================== On page S7288, December 20, 2024, first column, the following appears: The bills (H.R. 8012 and H.R. 6852) were ordered to a third reading, were read the third time, and passed. The online Record has been corrected to read: The bill (H.R. 8012) to establish the Jackie Robinson Ballpark National Commemorative Site in the State of Florida, and for other purposes was ordered to a third reading, was read the third time, and passed. The bill (H.R. 6852) to designate Holcombe Rucker Park, in Harlem, New York, as a National Commemorative Site, and for other purposes was ordered to a third reading, was read the third time, and passed. ========================= END NOTE ========================= Mrs. GILLIBRAND. 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. CRAPO. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for the quorum call be rescinded. The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered. Social Security Fairness Act Mr. CRAPO. Mr. President, I expect that sometime this evening, the Senate will move to the consideration of the Social Security Fairness Act, which would repeal two Social Security provisions: the windfall elimination provision, pronounced ``WEP,'' and the government pension offset, GPO. I agree with my colleagues that the WEP and GPO should be improved to ensure that teachers, firefighters, police officers, and others receive fair treatment under Social Security; however, I am disappointed that the Finance Committee did not have the opportunity to examine ways to address the WEP and GPO that would be fair to all Social Security beneficiaries and not hurt Social Security's long-term solvency. In its current form, the Social Security Fairness Act would cost nearly $200 billion over the next 10 years and exhaust the balance of the old-age and survivors insurance trust fund roughly 6 months earlier for all Social Security beneficiaries. The share of OASI benefits that could be paid when the trust fund is exhausted would be smaller under this bill than under current law, meaning all Social Security beneficiaries will see their Social Security benefits reduced earlier, and their benefits then will be even smaller than they would have been. I filed an amendment that would delay the implementation of the Social Security Fairness Act until changes are made that would offset the bill's negative impact on Social Security's actuarial balance as determined by the Social Security Board of Trustees. The amendment does not specify what the changes should be or how the changes should be determined. While I continue to have concerns with the approach taken in the Social Security Fairness Act, at the very least, this amendment needs to be adopted so that we do not have a negative impact on Social Security's solvency and impact the Social Security benefits of all Social Security recipients. I urge my colleagues to support this amendment when it comes up. That will be the Crapo amendment No. 3331. I yield the floor. The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from North Carolina. Mr. TILLIS. Mr. President, I just wanted to get up and explain why I will be voting against the passage of the Social Security Fairness Act a little bit later tonight. I am going to try to keep the volume down and maybe the frustration down a little bit more tonight than I did yesterday, but I thought it was important to again explain why sometimes the tough vote is the right vote. To kind of lay the groundwork, I am from North Carolina. I am up for reelection in November of 2026. I have heard some people walk up and down the hallway and say that they really oppose the bill, but they are up for reelection in 2028 or are up for reelection in 2030, and they are worried about the politics of it. I never worry about the politics when I am convinced in my heart of hearts it is the right decision, and let me explain why. The Social Security Fairness Act is trying to address what I think is an inequity and a problem. Unfortunately, it is doing it in a way that is at the expense of $200 billion out of the Social Security trust fund, without a dime offsetting it. Now, some of my fiscal conservative colleagues have said: Well, no, it is not really depleting it because it is the Social Security trust fund. So it is not adding to our debt. What they are forgetting is that when the Social Security trust fund becomes insolvent, the fairies don't come back and replenish the Social Security trust fund. We don't have trust fund fairies. What we have is a debt that is already over $33 trillion that we are going to be expected to write another check out of, and we are headed toward a debt crisis. This bill, by everyone's agreement--even those who are going to vote for it tonight--pulls forward its insolvency. The consensus right now is that it is going to occur 9 years from now. This pulls it forward by 6 months. So I have to vote against this bill and not because I don't ultimately want to fix an injustice for a very small percentage of people who deserve a few hundred dollars more a month, but the way we have gone about it, it is going to be costly, and it is being done at a time when we are not plussing the accounts back up. I feel like, in my vote-casting, I am likely to be on the losing side. I understand that. None of these amendments are going to pass because, if they do, the bill fails, and we know that. So, for anybody who is pulling for one amendment or another, let me just show you how I can tell the future: Not a single one will pass. This bill will be voted out this evening, and it will be sent to the President's desk. Once the President signs it, he will have guaranteed that the Social Security trust fund will become insolvent 6 months sooner. Think about it this way: 8\1/2\ years from now versus 9 years from now. It is going to pull $200 billion out, causing that to occur. It is actually going to provide some benefit that I don't believe the beneficiaries deserve. It is really confusing that handf

Referenced legislation: HR6852, HR6852, HR8012

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HOLCOMBE RUCKER PARK NATIONAL COMMEMORATIVE SITE ACT Congressional Record, Volume 170 Issue 190 (Friday, December 20, 2024) [Congressional Record Volume 170, Number 190 (Friday, December 20, 2024)] [Senate] [Pages S7287-S7288] From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [ www.gpo.gov ] HOLCOMBE RUCKER PARK NATIONAL COMMEMORATIVE SITE ACT Mrs. GILLIBRAND. Mr. President, if you have ever had kids, you know how important it can be to encourage their education. But with many competing priorities, you sometimes need to use creative strategies to inspire success. That is something that Holcombe Rucker did. Rucker was a Black World War II veteran and teacher in the 1940s in Harlem. He started a small outdoor basketball team for Black youth and encouraged his players to maintain good grades and decorum. Some say he is the father of outdoor organized basketball for youth and helped give thousands of kids better pathways to higher learning. Holcombe Rucker grew up a poor parentless kid from 141st Street. He served in the Army during World War II before earning his bachelor's degree from City College. He then taught English at a Harlem junior high school, while also serving as a recreation director for both the St. Phillip's Church Community Center and the city parks department. When Rucker formed his youth basketball tournament in the late 1940s, however, he didn't get much support from city recreational leaders. So he often paid out of his own shallow pockets to provide refreshments and T-shirts and other essentials for players. Rucker would even share his lunch with his students, often coming home to his wife with an empty stomach. Rucker believed education and supervised recreation could make an enormous difference in the lives of his students. It is no surprise then why many of his players saw him as a father figure and credited him with helping to set them on a better path. As Rucker's summer tournaments grew in popularity, parks department officials finally moved them to a more desirable location. That would ultimately become the Holcombe Rucker Park. The court attracted the city's most talented young basketball players, including future professional basketball stars like Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Wilt Chamberlain, and Julius ``Dr. J'' Erving. I want to thank Congressman Espaillat for championing this bill, and I am proud to lead the effort in the Senate to designate this park, which is located on 155th Street, on the banks of the Harlem River, as the ``Holcombe Rucker Park National Commemorative Site.'' This bill would allow for an educational exhibit, a plaque or another marker to be installed that would help memorialize the legacy of Mr. Rucker for generations to come. I want to thank Senator Rubio for his assistance. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources be discharged from further consideration of H.R. 6852 and the Senate proceed to an en bloc consideration of the following bills: H.R. 8012, which was received from the House and is at the desk; and H.R. 6852. There being no objection, the committee was discharged of the relevant bill, and the Senate proceeded to consider the bills en bloc. [[Page S7288]] Mrs. GILLIBRAND. I ask unanimous consent that the bills be considered read a third time and passed and the motions to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table, all en bloc. The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered. The bill (H.R. 8012) to establish the Jackie Robinson Ballpark National Commemorative Site in the State of Florida, and for other purposes was ordered to a third reading, was read the third time, and passed. The bill (H.R. 6852) to designate Holcombe Rucker Park, in Harlem, New York, as a National Commemorative Site, and for other purposes was ordered to a third reading, was read the third time, and passed. =========================== NOTE =========================== On page S7288, December 20, 2024, first column, the following appears: The bills (H.R. 8012 and H.R. 6852) were ordered to a third reading, were read the third time, and passed. The online Record has been corrected to read: The bill (H.R. 8012) to establish the Jackie Robinson Ballpark National Commemorative Site in the State of Florida, and for other purposes was ordered to a third reading, was read the third time, and passed. The bill (H.R. 6852) to designate Holcombe Rucker Park, in Harlem, New York, as a National Commemorative Site, and for other purposes was ordered to a third reading, was read the third time, and passed. ========================= END NOTE ========================= Mrs. GILLIBRAND. 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. CRAPO. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for the quorum call be rescinded. The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered. Social Security Fairness Act Mr. CRAPO. Mr. President, I expect that sometime this evening, the Senate will move to the consideration of the Social Security Fairness Act, which would repeal two Social Security provisions: the windfall elimination provision, pronounced ``WEP,'' and the government pension offset, GPO. I agree with my colleagues that the WEP and GPO should be improved to ensure that teachers, firefighters, police officers, and others receive fair treatment under Social Security; however, I am disappointed that the Finance Committee did not have the opportunity to examine ways to address the WEP and GPO that would be fair to all Social Security beneficiaries and not hurt Social Security's long-term solvency. In its current form, the Social Security Fairness Act would cost nearly $200 billion over the next 10 years and exhaust the balance of the old-age and survivors insurance trust fund roughly 6 months earlier for all Social Security beneficiaries. The share of OASI benefits that could be paid when the trust fund is exhausted would be smaller under this bill than under current law, meaning all Social Security beneficiaries will see their Social Security benefits reduced earlier, and their benefits then will be even smaller than they would have been. I filed an amendment that would delay the implementation of the Social Security Fairness Act until changes are made that would offset the bill's negative impact on Social Security's actuarial balance as determined by the Social Security Board of Trustees. The amendment does not specify what the changes should be or how the changes should be determined. While I continue to have concerns with the approach taken in the Social Security Fairness Act, at the very least, this amendment needs to be adopted so that we do not have a negative impact on Social Security's solvency and impact the Social Security benefits of all Social Security recipients. I urge my colleagues to support this amendment when it comes up. That will be the Crapo amendment No. 3331. I yield the floor. The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from North Carolina. Mr. TILLIS. Mr. President, I just wanted to get up and explain why I will be voting against the passage of the Social Security Fairness Act a little bit later tonight. I am going to try to keep the volume down and maybe the frustration down a little bit more tonight than I did yesterday, but I thought it was important to again explain why sometimes the tough vote is the right vote. To kind of lay the groundwork, I am from North Carolina. I am up for reelection in November of 2026. I have heard some people walk up and down the hallway and say that they really oppose the bill, but they are up for reelection in 2028 or are up for reelection in 2030, and they are worried about the politics of it. I never worry about the politics when I am convinced in my heart of hearts it is the right decision, and let me explain why. The Social Security Fairness Act is trying to address what I think is an inequity and a problem. Unfortunately, it is doing it in a way that is at the expense of $200 billion out of the Social Security trust fund, without a dime offsetting it. Now, some of my fiscal conservative colleagues have said: Well, no, it is not really depleting it because it is the Social Security trust fund. So it is not adding to our debt. What they are forgetting is that when the Social Security trust fund becomes insolvent, the fairies don't come back and replenish the Social Security trust fund. We don't have trust fund fairies. What we have is a debt that is already over $33 trillion that we are going to be expected to write another check out of, and we are headed toward a debt crisis. This bill, by everyone's agreement--even those who are going to vote for it tonight--pulls forward its insolvency. The consensus right now is that it is going to occur 9 years from now. This pulls it forward by 6 months. So I have to vote against this bill and not because I don't ultimately want to fix an injustice for a very small percentage of people who deserve a few hundred dollars more a month, but the way we have gone about it, it is going to be costly, and it is being done at a time when we are not plussing the accounts back up. I feel like, in my vote-casting, I am likely to be on the losing side. I understand that. None of these amendments are going to pass because, if they do, the bill fails, and we know that. So, for anybody who is pulling for one amendment or another, let me just show you how I can tell the future: Not a single one will pass. This bill will be voted out this evening, and it will be sent to the President's desk. Once the President signs it, he will have guaranteed that the Social Security trust fund will become insolvent 6 months sooner. Think about it this way: 8\1/2\ years from now versus 9 years from now. It is going to pull $200 billion out, causing that to occur. It is actually going to provide some benefit that I don't believe the beneficiaries deserve. It is really confusing that handf Referenced legislation: HR6852, HR6852, HR8012