0:00:00.000,0:00:03.793 When Senator Harkin was retiring[br]and I was in the House and running for 0:00:03.793,0:00:07.721 the Senate, he called me over and he said,[br]Tammy I’m handing the reins over to you. 0:00:18.766,0:00:22.727 It's just sort of fallen to me to champion 0:00:22.727,0:00:26.051 ADA issues being a wheelchair user. 0:00:26.890,0:00:30.415 And then, when Senator Harkin was retiring[br]and I was in the House 0:00:30.415,0:00:32.564 and running for the Senate,[br]he called me over 0:00:32.564,0:00:35.854 and he said, Tammy, I'm[br]handing the reins over to you. 0:00:35.854,0:00:39.135 I'm handing the torch to you,[br]and you need to be the torch bearer 0:00:39.245,0:00:44.079 and you need to really represent[br]the entire disability community 0:00:44.079,0:00:48.275 because you, frankly, wouldn't be here[br]had the disability community 0:00:48.275,0:00:50.525 not been there[br]before you even became disabled. 0:00:50.558,0:00:51.565 And he was absolutely right. 0:00:51.565,0:00:55.393 I find myself being the go-to person[br]on a lot of the issues 0:00:55.393,0:00:58.347 as they come up in Congress. 0:01:03.920,0:01:05.330 I said, yes, I was honored. 0:01:05.330,0:01:08.486 I mean, to be able to be handed[br]the mantle from 0:01:09.056,0:01:11.205 Tom Harkin is quite the honor. 0:01:11.574,0:01:14.293 You know,[br]I don't know that I can fill his shoes, 0:01:14.293,0:01:19.900 but I try every day to make sure[br]I do my best to represent the community, 0:01:19.900,0:01:23.492 but then also to just fight[br]for basic common- And this is what I did 0:01:23.962,0:01:26.648 in the army I fought for freedom-[br]I fought for people's rights. 0:01:26.648,0:01:28.662 And this is just a basic human right 0:01:29.199,0:01:34.269 to access the life that you want to access[br]and live the life that you want to live 0:01:34.269,0:01:37.089 and to not be confronted by barriers[br]at every turn. 0:01:44.239,0:01:48.301 I have been working on burn pit issues[br]for a very long time and it and it started 0:01:49.812,0:01:52.028 from just 0:01:52.028,0:01:55.956 my own experience[br]being exposed to the burn pits in Iraq. 0:01:56.392,0:01:58.407 We used to fly into Baghdad. 0:01:58.407,0:02:01.294 We were stationed in 0:02:02.234,0:02:05.624 Balad and we would fly into Baghdad[br]into the Green Zone. 0:02:05.624,0:02:06.632 And if you were on the ground 0:02:06.632,0:02:09.183 looking up, would always just the sky,[br]which is the little overcast. 0:02:09.183,0:02:14.084 It didn't look anything, you know,[br]ominous, but flying through about a 50 0:02:14.084,0:02:18.382 foot, 100 foot[br]layer of basically brown skies in the sky. 0:02:18.382,0:02:21.638 We used to burn the air crew’s lungs[br]and you go through the like, 0:02:21.672,0:02:24.592 oh, man, my eyes are watering,[br]my lungs are burning. 0:02:24.760,0:02:27.010 And I always said there was gonna be[br]some respiratory illnesses. 0:02:27.010,0:02:31.005 And then I started working on[br]Agent Orange issues within the VA, 0:02:31.005,0:02:33.590 and it was under President[br]Obama and Secretary Shinseki 0:02:34.127,0:02:36.275 that we finally 0:02:37.014,0:02:41.345 granted benefits to veterans[br]based on presumptive benefits. 0:02:41.445,0:02:46.917 If you develop Islamic heart disease,[br]if you develop leukemia B, 0:02:47.421,0:02:49.167 and you were in Vietnam,[br]we're going to presume that it's 0:02:49.167,0:02:50.040 because of your Vietnam service. 0:02:50.040,0:02:52.188 Obviously, we no longer force veterans to 0:02:53.162,0:02:54.370 prove that 0:02:54.370,0:02:57.493 their illness was caused by Agent Orange,[br]which is presumed. 0:02:57.963,0:03:00.413 And so that really started me[br]working on burn pits 0:03:00.413,0:03:03.099 after we were successful[br]with the Agent Orange Campaign. 0:03:03.468,0:03:06.389 And so it's pretty much been[br]continuous ever since, and I'm really glad 0:03:06.389,0:03:07.967 we got the contract passed. 0:03:07.967,0:03:11.593 There's more work to do,[br]but it's a great, great, great, great, 0:03:11.593,0:03:12.432 first start. 0:03:19.448,0:03:22.336 Yes. So I wrote a piece of legislation 0:03:22.738,0:03:26.465 called the ASAP Act to make all of our[br]transit stations accessible. 0:03:26.465,0:03:30.762 All Stations[br]Accessibility Program A.S.A.P. 0:03:31.400,0:03:35.294 I wrote it in this piece of legislation[br]and introduced it in the Senate. 0:03:35.462,0:03:39.323 Coming out of my experience with the CTA,[br]the Chicago Transit Authority. 0:03:39.524,0:03:43.116 I was invited by the CTA[br]when I was a congresswoman on the 0:03:44.157,0:03:47.145 25th anniversary of ADA,[br]so we’re on the 32nd anniversary. 0:03:47.145,0:03:51.039 So seven years ago[br]they invited me to a ribbon 0:03:51.039,0:03:54.732 cutting at a CTA station[br]and they were really proud, 0:03:54.967,0:03:57.888 really, really, really proud that[br]they were announcing that they were going 0:03:57.888,0:04:02.454 to begin this program[br]to make 100% of the Chicago 0:04:02.521,0:04:05.475 Transit Authority's stations,[br]whether it was bus or rail, 0:04:06.616,0:04:07.624 fully accessible. 0:04:07.624,0:04:09.034 And I said, this is great. 0:04:09.034,0:04:10.141 When is this going to be done? 0:04:10.141,0:04:12.189 He goes well it's a 25 year plan. 0:04:12.189,0:04:15.681 And I looked at him, Dorval Carter,[br]who is the president of the Chicago CTA, 0:04:15.681,0:04:19.508 and I said, So you mean a half century[br]after the passage of the ADA? 0:04:19.844,0:04:22.261 Is when we can count on this? 0:04:22.261,0:04:25.282 And then he went when you put it that way[br]it sounds terrible. 0:04:25.383,0:04:26.793 Like, yeah, it is terrible. 0:04:26.793,0:04:29.714 Number one, let me just say that[br]it's great that you're doing this. 0:04:30.150,0:04:33.373 And I said, Why are we here 25 years later[br]and we still have 0:04:33.944,0:04:34.649 stations that are not accessible. 0:04:34.649,0:04:37.167 I still to this day[br]don’t use the L in Chicago 0:04:37.167,0:04:40.054 because not all stations are[br]accessible and you never know 0:04:41.162,0:04:42.337 if one is going to be or not. 0:04:42.337,0:04:45.929 And he said, well, it's[br]because we have a limited amount of money. 0:04:46.332,0:04:50.192 And ADA accessibility[br]has always been a priority for us. 0:04:50.192,0:04:53.482 It's always been in the top three, but[br]we only have enough money for the top two. 0:04:53.785,0:04:59.693 And when I have to choose between safety,[br]as in buying a new train car 0:04:59.693,0:05:03.554 or safety equipment for the train car[br]versus building a ramp. 0:05:03.554,0:05:06.475 I'm going to choose buying[br]new safety equipment for the train car. 0:05:06.945,0:05:08.220 I said, so what we're fixing. 0:05:08.220,0:05:12.215 He goes, well, we need money[br]that is sectioned off 0:05:12.215,0:05:15.640 that cannot be used for anything else[br]other than accessibility. 0:05:15.875,0:05:18.594 And that would allow us to do this faster. 0:05:18.829,0:05:21.918 So then I wrote the bill on this[br]at the federal level, 0:05:22.253,0:05:25.913 and when we were starting to work,[br]when President Biden was sworn in 0:05:25.913,0:05:31.586 and Mayor Pete sorry- Pete[br]Buttigieg was appointed, I said, you know, 0:05:31.586,0:05:35.447 and I've known him from previously[br]and I said, listen, we got to do this. 0:05:35.447,0:05:36.387 We have to do this. 0:05:36.387,0:05:38.032 And let me tell you what I'm trying to do. 0:05:38.032,0:05:38.972 I invited him out 0:05:38.972,0:05:41.792 and he toured one of the CTA stations[br]where this work was going on. 0:05:41.792,0:05:43.303 I explained what we were trying to do. 0:05:43.303,0:05:47.029 I said, We can make this happen[br]in ten years if we fund this 0:05:47.298,0:05:51.326 and so in the bipartisan infrastructure[br]deal, we ended up losing 0:05:51.326,0:05:56.194 half the money, but,[br]we got the first five years funded and 0:05:57.235,0:05:58.108 you need to support it. 0:05:58.108,0:05:59.115 So he supported it. 0:05:59.115,0:06:01.834 It was great[br]because he elevated it as a priority. 0:06:01.968,0:06:05.964 I was able to make it stay even though[br]I lost half the money, I was able to make 0:06:05.964,0:06:09.455 it stay in the bipartisan infrastructure[br]bill instead of it getting dropped. 0:06:09.824,0:06:11.201 So this will be nationwide. 0:06:11.201,0:06:15.196 So what we did was we put aside[br]federal dollars that 0:06:15.934,0:06:17.982 first off, the legacy system 0:06:17.982,0:06:21.944 but all transit systems can apply[br]for those dollars to help them 0:06:22.246,0:06:25.234 make all of their stations accessible,[br]not just for like wheelchairs, 0:06:25.234,0:06:30.605 but it's got to be vision[br]hearing cognitive disabilities as well. 0:06:30.605,0:06:34.499 You know, when you have to buy a ticket[br]and it's all touch screen 0:06:34.499,0:06:38.058 and, you know, that doesn't help[br]somebody who has a visual impairment. 0:06:38.293,0:06:43.060 Cognitively, if you don't make your app[br]on the cell phone app, something that 0:06:43.295,0:06:47.357 that is friendly for those with cognitive[br]impairments, then it's not accessible. 0:06:47.357,0:06:50.983 So this covers[br]the full range of disabilities. 0:06:58.067,0:07:00.417 Well, it's certainly more partisan. 0:07:00.417,0:07:05.855 And after January 6th, it's[br]been difficult, especially compared 0:07:05.855,0:07:09.011 to my time in the House[br]where I had a lot of bipartisan work. 0:07:09.414,0:07:12.771 I will tell you, though,[br]that I've been able to be very bipartisan 0:07:12.771,0:07:15.222 since I've been here in the Senate. 0:07:15.222,0:07:17.538 My first piece of legislation[br]I passed it's 0:07:17.740,0:07:20.795 like the 64 day mark, which is the fastest[br]any senator had done it 0:07:20.828,0:07:21.634 since the seventies. 0:07:21.634,0:07:24.991 And I did it with Todd Young of Indiana,[br]my next door neighbor. 0:07:24.991,0:07:25.763 And it was very 0:07:26.804,0:07:29.490 bureaucratic, cutting red tape. 0:07:29.490,0:07:32.410 And that had to do[br]with municipal building projects. 0:07:32.410,0:07:34.458 But we got that done.[br]President Trump signed it into law. 0:07:35.029,0:07:37.950 I passed legislation to support veterans[br]becoming entrepreneurs, 0:07:37.950,0:07:39.561 and that was bipartisan. 0:07:39.561,0:07:41.575 And President Trump signed that into law. 0:07:41.575,0:07:44.664 I mean, it also will also reduce costs[br]for taxpayers. 0:07:44.832,0:07:49.431 Since January 6th, though,[br]it has become even more 0:07:50.573,0:07:51.848 partisan here. 0:07:51.848,0:07:54.937 So you really have to work[br]to find people to work with. 0:07:54.937,0:07:58.160 And sometimes you find folks to work with 0:07:58.160,0:08:01.786 that you never expected to because you[br]don't, you know, I'll give you an example. 0:08:01.786,0:08:07.056 I just pass the public safety officer[br]support back and my partner 0:08:07.056,0:08:10.850 in that was Senator Cornyn[br]actually Republican leadership from Texas. 0:08:10.850,0:08:12.864 I don't have a lot in common with him, 0:08:12.864,0:08:17.564 but it came out of January 6th[br]where we have Officer Smith 0:08:17.564,0:08:22.331 was one of the officers and we have him on[br]record on body camera footage being 0:08:23.809,0:08:25.420 beaten and receiving 0:08:25.420,0:08:28.576 concussive events at least three different[br]times, two of which he passed out. 0:08:29.012,0:08:31.060 And it's on camera 0:08:31.329,0:08:34.854 and he went back to work[br]two weeks later, got time off. 0:08:34.887,0:08:36.499 Went back to work. Was told you're fine. 0:08:36.499,0:08:36.969 Go back to work. 0:08:36.969,0:08:39.587 Two weeks later, and within days 0:08:39.587,0:08:42.508 ended up dying by suicide. 0:08:42.508,0:08:44.992 And that's when I found out[br]through his widow 0:08:45.395,0:08:49.927 that for our first responders,[br]like the police forces, 0:08:49.927,0:08:53.385 the Police Benefits[br]Association is not allowed to consider 0:08:54.627,0:08:59.596 post-traumatic stress[br]as being a result of their job. 0:08:59.596,0:09:01.845 And so because he died by suicide, 0:09:01.845,0:09:05.370 even though the coroner said[br]this was because he had a concussive event 0:09:05.874,0:09:08.660 and that post-traumatic stress,[br]he had damage to the part of his brain 0:09:08.660,0:09:10.003 that controls emotions 0:09:10.003,0:09:14.199 and that his death by suicide was as[br]a result of what happened on January 6th. 0:09:14.434,0:09:16.147 His wife still lost all her benefits 0:09:16.147,0:09:18.161 and she found out[br]she lost all of the widow's benefits. 0:09:18.161,0:09:21.552 Standing in line at CVS[br]to get prescription medication. 0:09:22.089,0:09:23.566 And I said, that is absolutely wrong. 0:09:23.566,0:09:26.487 And I talked to John Cornyn[br]and he joined me in it. 0:09:26.520,0:09:28.568 And so we passed it in a bipartisan way. 0:09:28.568,0:09:31.355 Pro law enforcement, pro first responders. 0:09:31.757,0:09:35.517 But really drawing on my work from VA,[br]so when I went to John, 0:09:35.517,0:09:39.580 I said, listen, here's what I know about[br]post-traumatic stress in my work at VA. 0:09:39.580,0:09:43.440 Will you work with me to help our police,[br]our first responders, our public safety 0:09:43.440,0:09:47.704 officers, that this is crazy,[br]that they can't claim PTSD 0:09:49.450,0:09:52.001 as being result of their job duties. 0:09:52.001,0:09:52.807 And he supported me. 0:09:52.807,0:09:53.445 And we were able- 0:09:53.445,0:09:56.265 we had a couple folks who tried to shut it[br]down on the Republican side. 0:09:56.265,0:09:58.044 But because Cornyn is Republican 0:09:58.044,0:10:01.368 leadership, we were able to work our way[br]through it and get to a yes. 0:10:01.401,0:10:03.885 And I had to stare down[br]one of my Republican colleagues 0:10:03.885,0:10:06.303 and threaten to make him defend[br]his position 0:10:06.303,0:10:08.518 against public safety officers[br]on the floor of the Senate. 0:10:08.518,0:10:09.425 And he backed off. 0:10:09.425,0:10:12.580 I won’t tell you who it is[br]because he didn’t 0:10:12.580,0:10:14.259 want to be on record[br]doing that on the floor. 0:10:14.259,0:10:15.434 So we got it passed. 0:10:15.434,0:10:17.851 So we can get things done. 0:10:17.851,0:10:22.216 Cynthia Lummis helped me[br]work on water infrastructure. 0:10:22.216,0:10:26.009 I wrote the drinking water[br]and wastewater portion of the bipartisan 0:10:26.009,0:10:29.836 infrastructure deal[br]and that included in a significant dollars 0:10:29.836,0:10:34.201 to get lead out of drinking[br]water supply via grant programs. 0:10:34.536,0:10:36.819 And she is on the same committee. 0:10:36.819,0:10:38.968 And I went to talk to her and I said,[br]What do you think about this? 0:10:38.968,0:10:42.191 And she said, Well, you forgot[br]all the people who are on well water. 0:10:42.493,0:10:45.346 This system- this grant program you’ve 0:10:45.346,0:10:47.864 written allows municipalities to 0:10:48.536,0:10:51.524 get reimbursement and gives them dollars[br]to fix these programs. 0:10:51.759,0:10:53.236 But what about people on well water? 0:10:53.236,0:10:54.579 Don't they deserve to not have lead? 0:10:54.579,0:10:56.996 And so I said,[br]absolutely, let's write that in. 0:10:56.996,0:10:59.144 So we specifically[br]wrote in the well water piece 0:11:00.151,0:11:00.689 and we got 0:11:00.689,0:11:03.072 89 votes on the floor of the Senate[br]because of it. 0:11:03.676,0:11:07.168 And then I come later on to find out that[br]I actually still have people in Chicago 0:11:07.504,0:11:08.444 who are still on well water. 0:11:08.444,0:11:11.196 So it wasn't just people on the water[br]across Illinois, which I knew about, 0:11:11.331,0:11:13.949 but I even have people in urban areas[br]who are still on, well, water. 0:11:13.949,0:11:15.796 And that was bipartisan. 0:11:15.796,0:11:18.012 She made the bill better.[br]She listened to me. 0:11:18.347,0:11:21.704 And even though we rarely vote[br]the same way on a lot of things, 0:11:21.704,0:11:24.256 we got 89 votes on the bill,[br]and I'm really proud of it. 0:11:29.258,0:11:30.131 There’s hope. 0:11:30.131,0:11:31.574 There’s hope, yeah. 0:11:31.574,0:11:34.730 Maybe if fewer cameras were watching us[br]and people don't have to play up 0:11:34.730,0:11:37.785 for the cameras. We’d get more done. 0:11:37.785,0:11:38.490 You know what? 0:11:38.490,0:11:41.915 Less people are[br]needing to do this, you know?