[41:04] The Senate will come to order the Senate's chaplain, the Reverend Dr. Barry Black, will leave the Senate in prayer.

[41:40] of bringing healing to our nation and world, strengthen our lawmakers as they deal with unattended

[41:53] needs and unsolved problems, make them eager to lift burdens and ready to respond in service

[42:06] to humanity. Lord, help each of us to feel a bit of the responsibility for the challenges

[42:18] that hang heavy over our land. In your unfailing love, give us the wisdom to follow

[42:28] the leading of your powerful

[42:32] providence.

[42:35] We pray in your holy name.

[42:42] Please join me in reciting the pledge of allegiance to the flag.

[42:47] A pledge of allegiance to the flag of the United States and America,

[42:52] and to the Republic for which the sense,

[42:54] one nation of my entire life,

[42:56] into this world.

[43:05] The communication to the Senate.

[43:06] Washington, D.C. March 30, 2023 to the Senate under the provisions of Rule 1, paragraph 3 of the Standing Rules of the Senate.

[43:14] A hereby appoint the Honorable Raphael G. Warnock, a senator from the state of Georgia, to perform the duties of the chair.

[43:20] So I'm Patty Murray, president for a temporary.

[43:42] Under the previous order, the leadership time is reserved.

[54:01] Mr. President, the majority leader. First on our work period recap, well, 66 to 30, that's the final count of yesterday's vote to repeal the Iraq AUMFs of

[54:13] 2002 and 1991, bipartisan success years in the making. That was a very good moment here on the floor yesterday, a sign that senators on both sides want to see bipartisan

[54:26] and ship continue in this chamber. We can see it again if members work together on issues

[54:32] that Americans care about, like lowering costs, preserving America's competitiveness, and

[54:38] in yesterday's case stopping endless wars in the Middle East. It's my hope.

[54:55] Mr. President,

[54:55] And it is my hope that the AMF you repeal can be a model.

[55:00] A blueprint for how the Senate operates in the coming years. It's not easy, but it's very much possible.

[55:07] And I thank my Republican colleagues, particularly Senator Young for their cooperation.

[55:14] AUMF repeal was the conclusion of a successful busy work period, five week work period that we just completed in the Senate.

[55:23] a busy and successful five-week work period on and off the floor. We confirmed another

[55:30] 14 highly qualified judicial nominees to lifetime appointments to the bench, 13 district

[55:36] and one circuit court judge, bringing our total to 119 new judges, 119 new judges. That

[55:43] makes us proud, under President Biden. I also want to recognize our committee chairs for their

[55:50] good work over the past month or so, holding a number that was hearing after hearing day after day

[55:56] on important issues that Americans care about, like rail safety, the health of our banks,

[56:01] the rights of working Americans, the President's budget, and more.

[56:05] The Senate will hit the ground running when we return from the April State Work Period

[56:09] by taking up much-needed fire grants and safety act.

[56:13] It's my hope that yesterday's 96-0 vote in favor of moving forward for 10s for swift action, argued very strongly and argues very strongly against

[56:25] Delatory tactics.

[56:27] Let's do the same thing we did on AUMF.

[56:29] We're willing to allow some amendments.

[56:31] We've got to move forward.

[56:32] This is something that is supported broadly, as shown by the 96-0 vote.

[56:37] Just this week, 29 fire and emergency service groups warned Congress that with summer around the corner,

[56:45] local fire departments of all kinds are woefully understaffed underfunded and underrequipped

[56:49] to meet their obligations to keep people safe.

[56:53] So when we return, the Senate must move quickly to pass fire grants legislation without unnecessary

[57:00] delays to this overwhelmingly bipartisan legislation.

[57:04] Now, on the Senator from Alabama is holding up military nominations, the Senator from Alabama

[57:11] continues to hold, continues his hold on more than 180 now, promotions, military promotions,

[57:19] blatantly ignoring many warnings of the harm he is causing to our national security.

[57:24] It's reckless. It's just reckless. Yesterday, Secretary of Defense, Lloyd Austin, warned that

[57:31] talking these promotions, quote, creates a ripple effect through the force that makes us far less

[57:37] ready than we need to be. Do you hear that senator from Alabama? The Secretary of Defense

[57:42] is saying that what you do makes us far less ready than we need to be at a time when China and

[57:49] Iran and Russia are all causing all kinds of security problems and threats. But Secretary

[57:56] where he lost and also emphasized another point, very important one.

[58:01] The senator's stonewalling is having consequences, bad consequences, heart wrenching consequences

[58:07] for our military families.

[58:09] By blocking these promotions, the senator from Alabama is blocking pay raises for these

[58:14] officers and their families.

[58:16] By blocking these promotions, the senator from Alabama is blocking military kids from starting

[58:21] new schools, setting them back in their education.

[58:25] When a member of the military serves, their family serves too.

[58:29] Does the senator from Alabama understand the disruption in chaos?

[58:33] He is causing to military families.

[58:37] These are people serving us.

[58:38] They're not political.

[58:39] They've worked hard.

[58:40] They've done a good job.

[58:41] They've got a promotion.

[58:43] A promotion means moving.

[58:45] Change is a venue.

[58:47] Change is a school.

[58:48] It means a career path.

[58:50] How long you've been at one rank and then to another?

[58:56] The Senator from Alabama is playing havoc with so many military families who are non-political,

[59:05] who have served our country well, who thought they were ready for promotion until this cruel act of the Senator from Alabama stop them.

[59:15] These military families have done nothing, nothing to deserve the disrespect and disdain shown by the Senator from Alabama.

[59:23] It's insulting to our service members that one senator just one is holding up what is long been a routine and nonpartisan process.

[59:33] Again, I urge my colleague from Alabama to think this through and stand down.

[59:39] We understand he has passion on the issue.

[59:41] We disagree with it vehemently, so to most Americans.

[59:45] But passion on the issue was not an excuse for causing havoc in the military in terms of force

[59:52] and in terms of the lives of the families and I would again plead with my Republican colleagues whether it's public or private.

[1:00:00] To go to the Senator Alabama and dissuade him from his folly.

[1:00:06] On the budget, and debt ceiling, and show us your plan. House Republicans are starting to see why. They themselves are starting to see why.

[1:00:15] There attempts to threaten default to secure spending cuts was a terrible idea from the start. It's not only reckless, it's not only dangerous. It turns out they can't even follow through on it. This week, the chairman of the House Financial Services Committee admitted,

[1:00:31] that he doesn't even see a path to an agreement for lifting the debt ceiling.

[1:00:35] And at least 16 Republicans have never voted to raise the debt ceiling at all.

[1:00:40] Even under President Trump, that's true.

[1:00:45] But the problem here isn't that there is in a path, of course there's a path.

[1:00:49] It's staring Republicans in the face.

[1:00:52] The solution is what we Democrats have said from the start.

[1:00:56] Instead of threatening default, instead of bringsmanship,

[1:00:58] Republicans should work with us on a clean extension of the debt ceiling.

[1:01:03] We did it three times under Donald Trump.

[1:01:05] We've already done it under President Biden, and we should do it again.

[1:01:10] If Republicans want to push a separate discussion on the budget, that's their prerogative.

[1:01:15] And in fact, it has been done many times by both parties in the past.

[1:01:20] But the Republicans would be reckless to take the full faith and credit of the United States

[1:01:25] hostage in order to force a conversation on the budget, particularly when there's an alternative

[1:01:31] tried and true path that has been used before, separate debt ceiling and raising the ability

[1:01:39] of us to pay our debts and discussings on the budget on taxes and on spending which we always

[1:01:44] do. It's tying the two together. That's reckless.

[1:01:50] And so it's becoming clearer and clearer

[1:01:52] to Republicans themselves, even those in the House, that the only legitimate path forward is this.

[1:01:59] Let's have a bipartisan and clean extension of the death ceiling, as we've done many times before.

[1:02:05] And then Republicans can push a separate discussion on the budget.

[1:02:10] The American people have listened to us.

[1:02:12] A month and a half, and go, I started telling the Republican leader, show us your plan.

[1:02:17] President Biden, how came Jeffries and many others have joined in in that call.

[1:02:24] And it's resonating from one end of America to the other, of course, you can't sit down

[1:02:28] and discuss something if you don't have a plan.

[1:02:33] Leader McCarthy just says, let's meet, but what are they going to do?

[1:02:36] Discuss the weather, the rearrangement to the furniture?

[1:02:40] Come on,

[1:02:42] do it the right way, you're beginning to see what we have said all along, that

[1:02:49] The best way to do this is no hostage taking no brinksmanship on the debt ceiling and a strong

[1:02:59] habit and passionate discussion on the spending issues one separate from the other.

[1:03:05] House Republicans cannot show us their plan and as we said, they're going to have a ravice

[1:03:11] we've predicted two months ago, a month and a half ago, it's going to be very hard for

[1:03:16] them to get two hundred eighteen votes on any plan.

[1:03:19] So, come on, look at the mirror, see what's going on, and do it the right way.

[1:03:27] Santa McCarthy, today is March 30th.

[1:03:30] It's been long enough, you still haven't come up with a single specific cut that makes

[1:03:37] any difference in debt that you want to do.

[1:03:41] Show us your plan, drop the bringsmanship, join Democrats on a clean extension of the debt ceiling,

[1:03:49] And finally, on HR1, the house is expected today to vote on Republicans partisan, un-serious and so-called energy package that they call HR1.

[1:04:01] So first, once again, I want to make it clear.

[1:04:04] HR1 is dead on arrival in the Senate.

[1:04:07] Not because of politics, but because it's so ridiculous,

[1:04:11] and has been drawn up by a bunch of pro-oil senators, of no regard for anything else,

[1:04:15] No Democrat has been consulted, so obviously the Republicans knew that in the house when they passed it.

[1:04:23] But they want it seem to go back, in HR1, they go back to the Magus supporters back home, the big oil companies.

[1:04:32] The oiled wild caters in so many of the oil states,

[1:04:37] who don't want to pay any taxes, who don't want anything to do with moving us forward as the climate gets worse and worse.

[1:04:46] The Senate is not going to waste our time on a bill that sets America back decades in our

[1:04:53] transition to clean energy.

[1:04:56] All it takes is a brief glance at HR1 to realize it's just a giveaway to-

[1:05:00] Big oil. House Republican so-called energy package just got some important safeguards, environmental

[1:05:07] safeguards on fossil fuel projects. It would lock America into expensive, erratic and dirty

[1:05:14] energy sources while setting us back more than a decade on our decision to move forward on clean

[1:05:20] energy, which this nation fully supports. Transmission, of course, is usually important

[1:05:27] to increasing access on clean energy, but the Republican plan hardly even mentions it.

[1:05:34] So, again, the way to do this, Republicans in the House, is in a bipartisan way.

[1:05:41] We have a Republican House, we have a Democratic Senate.

[1:05:44] No party is going to be able to jam its way through without consulting the other side.

[1:05:48] That's true on debt ceiling, that's true on budget, and it's certainly true on HR1.

[1:05:53] There are Republicans in the House and Democrats in the House.

[1:05:58] There are Republicans in the Senate and Democrats in the Senate who want to sit down and do

[1:06:02] a serious energy package.

[1:06:04] We need to do it.

[1:06:06] Let's stop this, bring somemanship, let's stop this political game playing, let's stop this

[1:06:12] throwing bones to the Magahard Wright, which represents maybe 5% of America.

[1:06:17] Let's roll up our sleeves.

[1:06:18] Let's get down to work and get something done on energy and on so many other issues.

[1:06:22] I yield the floor.

[1:06:25] I yield the floor.

[1:06:32] That missed it.

[1:06:34] Let the chair do.

[1:06:35] Let the chair do anything.

[1:06:37] When in businesses close under the previous order, the Senate will resume consideration of

[1:06:41] the motion to proceed to S-870, which the clerk will report.

[1:06:45] Motion to proceed to S-870, a bill to amend the Federal Fire Prevention and Control Act of 1974

[1:06:52] and so forth.

[1:06:54] On to the previous order, all post-culture time is expired.

[1:06:58] The question is on the motion to proceed, all in favor say aye.

[1:07:02] Those opposed no.

[1:07:04] The eyes appear to have it.

[1:07:05] The eyes do have it.

[1:07:07] The motion is agreed to.

[1:07:09] The clerk will report the bill.

[1:07:10] Calendar number 28 as 870, a builder will amend the Federal Fire Prevention and Control Act

[1:07:16] of 1974 and so forth.

[1:07:21] I send an amendment to the desk and I ask that it be reported by

[1:07:25] Number.

[1:07:26] The Clerk will report.

[1:07:27] The Senator from New York, Mr. Schumer, proposes an amendment, number 58.

[1:07:33] Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that 1145 AM, the Senate proceed to executive

[1:07:39] session to consider calendar 69, Richard R. Verma, to be Deputy Secretary of State for

[1:07:45] Management and Resources that there be five minutes for debate equally divided in the usual

[1:07:49] form on the nomination that upon the user yielding back at the time the Senate vote without

[1:07:54] intervening action or debate on the nomination, that if the nomination is confirmed,

[1:07:58] the motion to reconsider, be considered, made and laid upon the table, and the President

[1:08:02] would be immediately notified of the Senate's action, and then the Senate resumed legislative

[1:08:06] business.

[1:08:08] With the objection?

[1:08:08] So ordered.

[1:08:10] I yield the floor and note the absence of a quorum.

[1:08:12] The clerk will call the roll.

[1:08:14] Ms. Baldwin.

[1:08:32] Mr. President.

[1:08:35] The majority would ask consent to Corme called me suspended.

[1:08:37] With the objection.

[1:08:39] Mr. President, when I took the chair.

[1:08:41] It took the devil as chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, one of my first goals and objectives

[1:08:47] was to restore the committee's oversight role.

[1:08:51] Since the beginning of the 117th Congress, we've kept close watch on those agencies in the

[1:08:56] executive branch, which are within our jurisdiction.

[1:09:00] We've held oversight hearings on the Justice Department, FBI, and the Federal Bureau of

[1:09:05] President's Dimension, a few.

[1:09:07] So this last Tuesday we continued that tradition with a second oversight hearing on the Department

[1:09:13] of Homeland Security.

[1:09:15] It's worth noting that under the previous administration, the previous president, the Homeland

[1:09:21] Security Secretary, only appeared before our committee one time in four years.

[1:09:27] So we're glad to welcome Secretary Mayorkas back to the hearing room and learn about the work

[1:09:32] that he is undertaking to keep America safe.

[1:09:34] As I mentioned on Tuesday, I think Secretary America's has one of the hardest jobs in Washington.

[1:09:41] Department of Homeland Security is responsible for defending our nation for a wide range of threats.

[1:09:46] From domestic terrorism, narcotics trafficking, climate crisis, even cyber attacks.

[1:09:53] But despite this broad mandate, our discussion kept returning to one subject last Tuesday.

[1:09:59] America's broke.

[1:10:00] Immigration System. It was interesting to hear the Republican senators on my committee, critical

[1:10:07] of the job that Mr. Mayorkus is doing as head of the DHS. One of the same time, it has been

[1:10:15] over 30 years since this body, the United States Senate, has enacted legislation to upgrade

[1:10:22] and modernize our immigration system. 30 years, trust me, the world has changed dramatically in

[1:10:28] period. The Senate has refused to keep pace. It's easy to criticize Secretary

[1:10:34] America's about our border situation, and he faces some amazing challenges.

[1:10:38] But let's face it. We share in the responsibility for this situation, and we

[1:10:44] certainly share in the burden of coming up with solutions that help. For years, I've

[1:10:51] tried my best to pass appropriations reform. There was, by partisan moment, 10 years

[1:10:57] ago, when a so-called gang of eight senators, four Democrats, four Republicans, and I was

[1:11:03] included in that group, set down and wrote a comprehensive immigration reform package.

[1:11:09] I think it was pretty good, in fact, it was so good that it passed on the floor of the

[1:11:12] United States Senate with over 60 votes in favor of it.

[1:11:16] We had our fingers crossed and sent it across the Rotunda over to the Republican control

[1:11:20] house, and for two years they refused to even consider it.

[1:11:26] They even call it for a debate, to offer any of their own amendments.

[1:11:30] They did nothing, nothing, and we are paying the price for that today.

[1:11:36] So here's the question after this week's hearing.

[1:11:39] Are we going to keep pointing our fingers and mugging for the cameras, or are we going to come

[1:11:44] together to fix any immigration system?

[1:11:47] I'm ready.

[1:11:48] I certainly hope the members of the House are ready, but we need it by partisan consensus

[1:11:52] to get that done.

[1:11:54] On another topic, Mr. President, it's a problem that I'm going to discuss that affects roughly

[1:11:59] a hundred million Americans.

[1:12:01] In the wealthiest nation in the world, nearly one in three people, in this nation,

[1:12:07] live an area with two few doctors.

[1:12:10] You know the story in your home-stated Georgia.

[1:12:12] I know it in Illinois.

[1:12:14] I've seen it whenever I visit a clinic or hospital outside of Chicago, I hear the same thing.

[1:12:21] Our health care system is understaffed, underfunded, and under-equipped to address the health

[1:12:28] needs of American families.

[1:12:30] The greatest health care system in the world is suffering from serious shortages and deficiencies.

[1:12:38] The pandemic brought this to light.

[1:12:41] It may not have broken us, but it showed us where our health system has broken.

[1:12:45] Over the past three years, our doctors, nurses, and other health care providers have been

[1:12:49] to the brink. And as a result, nearly one out of every five health care workers is quit

[1:12:54] through jobs. Think about that, 20 percent quit their jobs. These departures have taken a massive

[1:13:01] toll on health care in America. And in the years ahead, as our population ages, our needs

[1:13:07] grow and more providers leave the profession, those challenges will get worse, unless we

[1:13:13] in Congress do something. In the next decade, America has expected the face of shortage of more

[1:13:19] 120,000 doctors. By 2025 we may face a deficit of nearly a half a million nurses, and that's

[1:13:28] on top of our current shortage. 100,000 dentists that we need now, hundreds of thousands

[1:13:34] of mental health care professionals. This is a ticking time bond for every community in America,

[1:13:40] especially rural communities and communities of color, but already have less access to

[1:13:46] affordable care. So here in Congress, we need to prevent these looming shortages from becoming

[1:13:51] a crisis. Earlier this month, Senator Marco Rubio, Republican of Florida, and I joined

[1:13:57] an introducing the Restoring America's healthcare workforce and readiness act. It's a bipartisan

[1:14:04] measure to address the healthcare work shortage in America. Over the next three years, our

[1:14:10] bill would provide hundreds of millions of dollars to the National Health Service Corps

[1:14:15] scholarship and loan repayment program, more than doubling the current funding level.

[1:14:21] This program is vital to pay for the education and training in recruitment of the next

[1:14:27] generation of doctors, nurses, dentists, and behavioral health specialists.

[1:14:33] Now why is this program in particular so important?

[1:14:35] Well, let me tell you one of the biggest drivers of American healthcare workers shortage

[1:14:39] is the cost of medical education.

[1:14:42] Doctors graduating medical school with $2 or $300,000 in student loan debt or more can hardly consider taking post and rural and underserved areas.

[1:14:56] They've got to pay off those loans.

[1:14:58] And so because of those debt.

[1:15:00] That's, they may not be able to do what they want to do. Give care and professional treatment to some of the

[1:15:07] most needy people in America. We take our best and brightest. We educate them so well, but we

[1:15:13] heap debt on them unimaginable that makes some real difference in their career choices. So with

[1:15:20] the National Health Service Corps and Nurse Corps, aspiring health professionals have another option.

[1:15:27] If they will serve in areas of need, we will forgive student loans, in fact, in some cases

[1:15:33] providing scholarships for those who are in medical training.

[1:15:37] The National Health Service Corps was created 50 years ago.

[1:15:41] More recently we've seen the difference it can make.

[1:15:43] In the American Rescue Plan, the Congress passed in 2021.

[1:15:48] I included a one-time $1 billion funding increase for scholarships and loan repayments

[1:15:54] in the National Health Service Corps.

[1:15:56] It was the largest single-year appropriation

[1:15:59] for our health workforce in the history.

[1:16:02] And at this very moment,

[1:16:03] that funding is supporting thousands,

[1:16:05] thousands of doctors, nurses,

[1:16:07] dentists, and other professionals across America.

[1:16:10] Today, 21 million Americans receive health care

[1:16:14] from National Health Service Corps personnel.

[1:16:17] I recently received a letter from one of those

[1:16:20] who provide that kind of health care.

[1:16:22] Her name is Shannon.

[1:16:23] She's a licensed clinical social worker in Illinois.

[1:16:27] First generation college student from a working class family tells me her lifelong dream was to have a professional career in social work.

[1:16:36] But her ambitions were limited because of the cost of graduate school.

[1:16:40] She just couldn't imagine taking on that debt.

[1:16:43] Then in July 2022, she found a path forward.

[1:16:47] She was accepted into the program I described.

[1:16:50] In Shannon's words, quote, being accepted into this program has changed my life, has given

[1:16:55] me a chance at financial freedom, and professionally this program allowed me to grow into

[1:17:00] my career.

[1:17:01] Today, Shannon is working as a behavioral health care provider in Carmedale, Illinois, wonderful

[1:17:07] Jackson County.

[1:17:09] In Shannon's words, this role allows her to quote, come into contact with those in rural

[1:17:14] southern Illinois who are in great need of behavioral health services such as counseling.

[1:17:19] It's hard to imagine a better investment in America's future than programs like the National

[1:17:24] Huskers Corps and Nurse Corps.

[1:17:26] In Shannon's case, this program enabled her to pursue her lifelong passion.

[1:17:31] The community's winning, Shannon's winning, it's a win-win situation.

[1:17:35] We need to make more stories like Shannon's possible, and we have a chance to do it with

[1:17:39] the bipartisan bill that Senator Rubio and I have.

[1:17:42] If you go home to your state as a United States Senator and you visit and ask local health

[1:17:48] care providers, they're going to tell you the same thing from one corner of America to the

[1:17:53] other corner.

[1:17:54] We're in desperate need of medical professionals to care for people who are underserved

[1:17:59] now.

[1:18:00] What are we going to do about it?

[1:18:02] What is the Senate going to do about it?

[1:18:04] What will our generation do about it?

[1:18:06] Can we put together the resources now to meet these shortages and needs in the health care workforce?

[1:18:13] That's the challenge that we face.

[1:18:16] The National Health Service Corps is up for reauthorization this fall.

[1:18:19] I'll be working with the health chair, Bernie Sanders,

[1:18:23] ranking member Bill Cassidy to pass our legislation.

[1:18:26] One last point I'd like to make.

[1:18:28] It was several years ago that I was visited by a couple of emergency medical service personnel from Illinois.

[1:18:35] Mark and Mavis Kennedy, their EMTs in Navu, Illinois,

[1:18:41] of a storied and historic town on the western part of

[1:18:46] Downstate Illinois, and they told us about trying to provide

[1:18:50] ambulance and emergency health services in a rural county,

[1:18:54] in this case, Amcott County, where Navu is located.

[1:18:58] They talked about the expense of upgrading the equipment

[1:19:02] in their ambulances so that they can make sure that the person that they're trying to help

[1:19:08] gets all of the necessary medical care on the way to the hospital. We dreamed of an idea

[1:19:13] and I want to credit the Kennedy's of Navu as well as Andrew Jackson for Chief in Magnolia.

[1:19:21] And many others who said, why don't we have a grant program specifically for our equipment in

[1:19:26] these ambulances and for the training of emergency medical personnel? So at the time we

[1:19:32] We're debating the Farm Bill, I think it was about four or five years ago.

[1:19:37] I went to the Chairman of the Farm Agriculture Committee, Senator Pant Roberts of rural

[1:19:44] Kansas, and said, in Pat, I think we've got an idea here that's going to help communities

[1:19:49] not only in our states, but across the nation.

[1:19:52] He generously agreed to serve as my co-sponsor on a bill that we called the Siren Act.

[1:19:57] And the Siren Act said to these...

[1:20:00] Hamiltonian services and emergency medical responders, you can apply for assistance and help to the federal government, and we will try to help you buy the new equipment you need to make sure that your ambulance is right where it needs to be.

[1:20:14] You have to understand if you don't live in a rural area that some of these ambulance services are really the difference between life and death.

[1:20:21] They are the first responders, in fact, they are the only responders.

[1:20:26] They come to scenes across small town America and provide the kind of medical services

[1:20:31] to keep people alive for those precious minutes on the way to a hospital.

[1:20:36] And so the idea of giving them the best and the most modern equipment makes all the difference

[1:20:41] in the world.

[1:20:42] Well, thanks to Senator Roberts who has since retired from the state of Kansas, we included

[1:20:47] the Siren Act in the Farm Bill several years ago.

[1:20:51] I've talked to Senator Debbie Sabinow of Michigan, who has now the Chairman of the Agriculture

[1:20:56] Committee, and told her that I hope we can reauthorize this program in the next form

[1:21:00] bill.

[1:21:01] She supports it.

[1:21:02] I'm going to talk to the Republicans on the committee as well.

[1:21:05] I hope that we can do that.

[1:21:07] What we've done has been able to make grants available, first $5 million in fiscal year, $10

[1:21:14] and a half million in 2023, and we hope to even go higher in the years to come.

[1:21:20] Does it make any difference?

[1:21:22] Well, just a few minutes ago, Mark and Mavis Kennedy

[1:21:24] have not available an eye were in my office.

[1:21:27] They're in uniform and they're very proud of the work

[1:21:29] that they do in Handcock County.

[1:21:31] Because of the assistance that we've provided to them

[1:21:34] in one of their applications, they've been able

[1:21:36] to extend their emergency medical services

[1:21:38] to virtually all the towns in Handcock County.

[1:21:42] What it means is for their ambulance service.

[1:21:44] Instead of 140 calls a year,

[1:21:47] They're now receiving 361 virtually a call every single day for services and they have the equipment and the personnel well trained by the same Siren Act to respond and save lives as are transporting people living at county to nearby hospitals.

[1:22:05] If it's someone you love in your family, it was a desperate medical need.

[1:22:10] If it's your child, or your grandchild, or your parents, and you have that one phone

[1:22:16] call to make.

[1:22:16] You want that ambulance there as quickly as possible, and the people on board is well trained

[1:22:21] as possible.

[1:22:22] The Siren Act does that.

[1:22:24] It's small by federal standards.

[1:22:26] I hope it will increase in the years ahead, but it just proves that when people are willing

[1:22:31] to sacrifice, volunteer, and help in local communities.

[1:22:35] And we stand by them and give them a helping hand

[1:22:37] in as the difference between life and death.

[1:22:39] So I hope all my colleagues will join us in

[1:22:42] this effort to reauthorize the Siren Act

[1:22:44] as part of our commitment to increase health care personnel

[1:22:47] and their qualifications across the United States.

[1:22:50] Mr. President, I yield the floor.

[1:22:52] Thank you.

[1:29:01] The Republican whip. President sent in a quorum call. We are not. We are not. Okay? All right.

[1:29:09] This President, in January of this year, a former Democrat Senator Pendant Oppaid urging Democrats to do away with the Senate

[1:29:15] tradition of blue slips. This was followed within weeks by an editorial from the New York Times, and an

[1:29:23] at the Washington Post making similar arguments.

[1:29:27] And while the Democrat chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee has indicated his desire

[1:29:31] to maintain the blue slip process, talk of abandoning blue slip remains concerning, especially

[1:29:38] given Democrats' attempt last year to do away with a legislative filibuster, a mainstay

[1:29:44] of Senate procedure in a garntor of minority party representation.

[1:29:50] This present blue slips, the so-called, because they are literally blue slips of paper, requesting

[1:29:57] perspective on judicial nominees from their whole-

[1:30:00] Some state senators are a long-time Senate tradition. They serve the important function of ensuring that

[1:30:06] senators are consulted about judicial appointments from their state. And that is particularly relevant

[1:30:13] when it comes to nominees to serve as federal district court judges. This President, the founder,

[1:30:18] set up a Senate, set up a Senate in such a way as to provide a voice for states in the national

[1:30:29] in a way that a representative in the House of Representatives does not simply because he or

[1:30:35] she only represents a single district.

[1:30:39] State representation is a particular relevance when it comes to the most numerous type

[1:30:43] of judicial nominee, and that's the Federal District Court Judges.

[1:30:48] Unlike Circuit Court Judges, there's Supreme Court Justice's Federal District Court Judges

[1:30:52] are responsible for a limited physical jurisdiction that is entirely contained within a

[1:30:58] state, and they are regularly required to interpret state law as well as federal law.

[1:31:05] Given that fact, Senators, as the representatives of their states, should have a particular

[1:31:11] say and who will receive a lifetime appointment to interpret their state's laws.

[1:31:16] This President Constitution gives the President the power to appoint judges by and with

[1:31:21] the advice and consent of the Senate.

[1:31:25] And the blue-slip process in the Senate encourages presidents to seek that advice, not to just send

[1:31:31] a nominee over to the Senate for consideration and vote, but to actually discuss an nominee

[1:31:38] with the relevant home state senators before sending that name over.

[1:31:43] Blue slips also serve as a check on more extreme or problematic nominees.

[1:31:48] First, by encouraging the President, not to nominate excessively controversial candidates

[1:31:53] and second, by providing a way for home-state senators to block a nomination for their state if the president

[1:31:59] does nominate someone problematic. Senators of both parties regularly return blue slips for judicial

[1:32:06] nominees. In other words, they sign off on the nomination of judicial nominees who would not be their first

[1:32:13] choice, but who may recognize as suitable to sit on the bench. And when the nominee in question

[1:32:19] has problems beyond just not being a home state senator's preference, blue slips have provided

[1:32:25] away for senators of both parties to stop the nomination. Mr. President, in the pieces

[1:32:32] that have come out in support of abolishing the blue slip process, I've noticed two strands

[1:32:37] of thought in particular, one that things have gotten so partisan that we should just do

[1:32:42] away with things that are meant to foster bipartisanship. And two, that doing away with blue slips

[1:32:48] is worth it for the political goal to be achieved, and that is getting more Democrat judicial

[1:32:54] nominees confirmed.

[1:32:56] Well, when it comes to the first Mr. President, the idea that things have gotten so partisan

[1:33:00] that we should just give up and embrace it, I would say that I think the last solution,

[1:33:06] the last solution to increased partisanship, is to abolish measures that promote collaboration

[1:33:14] and comedy.

[1:33:16] We've seen a lot of virulent partisanship around here lately, but the truth is that by partisanship still exists, even though it may not always receive the same kind of sensational coverage that major disputes between the parties receive.

[1:33:31] And anything that promotes by partisanship that encourages members of both parties to work together to listen to each other's concerns and to compromise when possible is a good thing.

[1:33:42] But while I may not agree that the solution to increase partisanship is to just give into it,

[1:33:49] I am really troubled by the second idea put forward by those who want to abolish blue slips.

[1:33:56] That it's worth abandoning a significant Senate tradition.

[1:34:00] A tradition that promotes compromise, checks, unfettered majority power, and serves as a critical

[1:34:08] check on the President for the sake of temporary political gain.

[1:34:15] This, of course, is hardly the first time we've seen this attitude during the Biden

[1:34:18] administration.

[1:34:19] We've also seen it displayed with Democrats' attempt to abolish the legislative filibuster.

[1:34:24] The Senate rule that today, almost unquestionably, does more than anything else to preserve

[1:34:29] the founder's vision of a Senate as a place of stability and deliberation and a check on

[1:34:35] the power of faction.

[1:34:37] It's present, I'll be frank, the legislative filibuster can be frustrating in the extreme.

[1:34:45] When Republicans were in control of the Senate, we took multiple votes on the Born-A-Live

[1:34:49] Abortion Survivors Protection Act, a piece of legislation that would enshrine what should

[1:34:55] be the most common sense thing imaginable, and that is they living.

[1:35:00] Breathing child born after a boxed abortion should be granted protection, and the born-alive abortion survivors protection act would have passed without the legislative filibuster.

[1:35:15] So there's no question that the filibuster can stop good legislation from getting passed. This is a blue slip could prevent a good judge from being confirmed.

[1:35:24] But that is not a reason to do away with either of these Senate procedures, and above all,

[1:35:35] it's not a reason to do away with a legislative filibuster.

[1:35:39] Yeah, the filibuster can be frustrating, and it can certainly be used to stop good bills,

[1:35:44] like the Born Alive abortion survivors of protection act.

[1:35:47] But, it is a powerful protection against bad legislation.

[1:35:54] Without the legislative filibuster, there is very little of anything to prevent terrible legislation

[1:35:59] from getting passed by an extremely narrow or even merely technical senate majority.

[1:36:06] And the legislative filibuster offers a host of other benefits, encourages compromise.

[1:36:13] It discourages extremism and it provides a voice for Americans represented by whatever party is in the minority who also deserve representation.

[1:36:27] This present the founders knew that tyranny didn't just come in the form of individual despots and dictators.

[1:36:34] They knew that majorities could be tyrants as well and trampled on the rights of Americans in the minority.

[1:36:41] And the legislative filibuster helps guard against that.

[1:36:49] And so, Mr. President, I believe very firmly in the Senate rules and traditions that

[1:36:54] preserve the founder's vision of the Senate as a place of consensus and deliberation

[1:37:00] and that help prevent tyrannical majority from trampling on rights and representation

[1:37:05] for members of the minority.

[1:37:07] It was present while the legislative filibuster or the blue slip process may prevent a good piece

[1:37:14] of legislation from getting passed or a good nominee from getting confirmed.

[1:37:19] The alternative, the alternative, which is a system without meaningful representation from

[1:37:25] the minority party, and the Americans it represents without a meaningful check on extreme

[1:37:31] nominees or legislation threatens our constitutional rights is in fact much, much worse.

[1:37:40] So before Democrats think about abolishing key Senate protections against extremism or the

[1:37:46] tyranny of the majority, I hope that they will consider what things might look like when

[1:37:53] they are once again in the minority and they want to stop a nominee or a piece of legislation

[1:37:59] in that they view as dangerous or extreme.

[1:38:03] And I hope that they will decide in favor of checks and balances and Senate institutions.

[1:38:12] It's present by Yield of Floor, and I suggest the absence of a corn.

[1:38:15] The clerk will call the road.

[1:38:17] It's Baldwin.

[1:40:34] Mr. President, Senator from Montana, we're in a quorum call. We ask the quorum call be a visceral. Without objection. I would ask unanimous could set the Tim Ben Reagan, fellow in my office, be granted four privileges for the remainder of the 118th Congress. Without objection.

[1:40:51] So just the absolute quorum, clerk will call the roll.

[1:40:55] This is Paul van.

[1:41:05] From Montana.

[1:41:06] Ask quorum call be a visceral. Without objection.

[1:41:09] Mr. President, mind candidates proudly serve in our armed forces at one of the highest rates

[1:41:14] in the nation.

[1:41:15] These veterans put their lives on the line to defend our freedoms every day.

[1:41:22] Their families make sacrifices too.

[1:41:25] These veterans and their survivors who depend upon VA benefits deserve certainty when it comes

[1:41:30] to providing for their families.

[1:41:32] As chairman of the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee, I'm proud to have introduced

[1:41:35] by partisan legislation with my good friend Jeremiah Moran to ensure that these benefits

[1:41:40] are keeping pace with the cost of living.

[1:41:43] This bill, the Veterans Cost of Living Adjustment Act, is legislation that must pass.

[1:41:50] Each year, millions of disabled veterans, surviving spouses and their children rely on tax

[1:41:55] fee compensation for disabilities sustained during their military service.

[1:42:00] This income helps cover groceries and prescription medications, rent, electrical bills, it also helps

[1:42:07] veterans replace clothing damage by their prosthetic orthopedic devices.

[1:42:13] Our bill directs a VA to increase veteran compensation so the folks across the country, including

[1:42:17] 30,000 veterans in Montana, and survivors, get the support that they need to stay afloat.

[1:42:26] In a time when many mountains are struggling with rising cost from housing, the health care

[1:42:30] to groceries, this cost of living increase will help give our veterans a little more piece of

[1:42:35] mind.

[1:42:36] Today, we have the opportunity to put political differences aside and come together for the men

[1:42:42] of women who risk their lives for this country.

[1:42:45] Let's pass this bill.

[1:42:46] With that, I will turn it over to my friend, Senator Jerry Moran.

[1:42:49] Mr. President.

[1:42:50] Senator from Kansas.

[1:42:51] Thank you, Mr. President. I rise today to join the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Veterans Affairs in asking that the Senate Pass, the Veterans Compensation Cost of Living Adjustment, the Colour Act of 2023.

[1:43:03] This is not the first time we've done this. This is an annual occurrence, and it is good to be back in suggesting to my colleagues that this nonpartisan bill we once again come together to pass in this year 2023.

[1:43:17] This legislation makes certain that the VA's compensation benefits, which millions of Americans,

[1:43:24] thousands of canzons receive, and that their survivors rely upon, that it keeps pace

[1:43:30] with Social Security and is adjusted to match the consumer price index. As we enter another year

[1:43:36] of crushing inflation, as we unfortunately enter another year of crushing inflation,

[1:43:41] this common sense legislation is necessary so that veterans and survivors are able to keep

[1:43:46] with rising costs, make ends meet, and continue to receive the support they have earned and deserve.

[1:43:54] Yesterday, March 29th was National Vietnam War Veterans Day, and the 50th anniversary of the

[1:44:01] last combat troops leaving Vietnam. This is an opportune time for us as a Senate, us as a Congress,

[1:44:08] as a country, to once again commit to making certain veterans and their survivors receive the

[1:44:14] to support the due respect and the due recognition they deserve.

[1:44:20] I want to take a moment to address a concern that veterans have brought to me regarding

[1:44:26] a December 22 report from the Congressional Budget Office and a proposal that was put forth

[1:44:31] to means test veterans disability benefits.

[1:44:35] I do not support this idea nor I am aware of any member of Congress who is pursuing that

[1:44:40] But it's running around on social media, and if we can assure our veterans that that's not a likelihood

[1:44:46] That is a valuable thing to do and provide them some certainty and eliminate some fear that they and their families may have

[1:44:53] Let me assure veterans and their loved ones right now. I would oppose any legislation to enact that

[1:45:01] As ranking member of the Senate Committee on Veterans Affairs, I know it is our responsibility, not only in our committee, but within this Senate chamber, to take care of our veterans, many who rely upon the Department of Veterans Affairs for financial support.

[1:45:15] This bill, once again this year, will help do that. I appreciate the cooperation from the Chairman from the committee, and with that, Mr. President, I yield the floor.

[1:45:25] Senator Moran, Mr. President.

[1:45:27] Senator Montana.

[1:45:28] Senator Moran, I appreciate your comments.

[1:45:30] So I mean, it's testing.

[1:45:31] It is absolutely a non-starter.

[1:45:32] And that information is revolving around on the hill,

[1:45:36] and it's best to nip it in the bones.

[1:45:38] Thank you for that.

[1:45:40] Mr. President, I would ask consent committee on veterans affairs.

[1:45:44] Be discharged from and the Senate proceed to the mid-it consideration of S777.

[1:45:51] Clerk will report.

[1:45:54] As 777, a bill to increase effective as of December 1st, 2023, the rates of compensation for veterans with service-connected disabilities and so forth and for other purposes.

[1:46:09] Is there a objection to proceeding to the measure?

[1:46:13] Without objection? Mr. President?

[1:46:15] Senator one time?

[1:46:16] I further asked the bill be considered or at a third time and passed and the motion to reconsider,

[1:46:20] be considered made and laid upon the table with no intervening action or debate.

[1:46:24] Is there objection?

[1:46:26] Without objection.

[1:46:27] Mr. President.

[1:46:28] Senator Fontana.

[1:46:29] Thank you.

[1:46:30] The Senate has just come together to do our job by passing the Veterans Coal Act.

[1:46:36] We would now urge our House colleagues to quickly follow suit.

[1:46:40] Let's continue to show our fighting men and women that when you get set off to war, it's

[1:46:46] But the promise that we will be cared for when you return home, not through words, but by

[1:46:51] action.

[1:46:52] With that I yield before.

[1:46:57] Kirk, call the roll.

[1:47:00] He's a palm win.

[1:56:43] Senator from Mississippi. I ask unanimous consent that the Court will be officiated.

[1:56:48] Without objection. Thank you, sir. And Mr. President, I come to the floor today to discuss, again,

[1:56:56] a key constitutional duty to provide for the common defense. The Constitution lays this

[1:57:02] weighty task at the feet of Congress. We hold the first strings, and today our task is to provide

[1:57:08] for sustained growth in the capacity and capability of our own forces.

[1:57:14] For 30 years, we've lived off the military investments of the 1980s and these investments

[1:57:20] have kept China and Russia and others from attacking us.

[1:57:25] They have kept us safe.

[1:57:27] Today, those investments have largely expired and both Beijing and Moscow are acting increasingly

[1:57:35] adversarial.

[1:57:36] In particular, China's military is growing so quickly that we will not long deter them unless

[1:57:44] we invest more in our military, too.

[1:57:48] It will cost a lot to deter a regime, but it will cost a lot more if you do not.

[1:57:54] In February, I deliver this speech on our most dire national security challenge, preventing

[1:57:58] the Chinese aggression against Taiwan.

[1:58:02] Defending our security and prosperity means defending Taiwan.

[1:58:07] If the island falls, the global balance of power tilts for decades, our children and

[1:58:13] grandchildren would then not live in an American-led 21st century.

[1:58:19] Today, I will focus on the Chinese Communist Party's rapid military build-up and the United

[1:58:23] States opportunities to boost our military capability.

[1:58:26] I will show how both demand sustained real growth in our defense budget alongside increased

[1:58:34] reform and prioritization.

[1:58:39] inexplicably in the face of these facts, the President has proposed another military cut.

[1:58:46] Twice now he has proposed cuts and twice Congress has replied with an emphatic and bipartisan

[1:58:53] And no, instead Congress has added over the last two fiscal years, $70 billion of targeted

[1:59:02] investments to our military to help us catch up with China.

[1:59:07] I am confident on a bipartisan basis, again, Mr. President.

[1:59:11] We will do this for the next fiscal year.

[1:59:14] So let's begin by outlining the rising threat of the Chinese Communist Party.

[1:59:19] As Congress considers this year's military spending commitments, we need to consider

[1:59:23] What we are up against, the U.S. military investment must counter Chinese military investment if we do not

[1:59:33] History may one day bestow on our moment on this time the ignominious title of a pre-war period.

[1:59:43] I hope we're not in a pre-war period. If we are prepared it is uh there's a much greater chance that we can avoid

[1:59:51] a war in the future. We know China intends to dominate the Pacific. They boast about it in public speeches and they're building a military.

[2:00:00] Capable of turning their revenue into reality. We have debated what year we should be worried about. Some say 2023, 2023, 25, 2027. Some say

[2:00:12] 2035. Secretary Blinken says China wants to seize Taiwan on a much faster timeline than we had previously thought.

[2:00:28] The

[2:00:29] and window, it's based on Xi Jinping's orders to his military about when he expects them

[2:00:35] to be ready.

[2:00:37] We would all do well to remember that dictators often start wars of aggression before their

[2:00:42] militaries are ready, look no further than Germany and Japan and World War II and look

[2:00:51] at Putin's Russia.

[2:00:53] Today, if Putin's invasion of Ukraine taught us anything, it is that the plans of

[2:00:59] dictators are often driven as much by delusions of grandeur, as by honest assessments of relative

[2:01:06] military capabilities. This is what makes the next few years so dangerous. Last year,

[2:01:12] Xi Jinping fully consolidated his control over the Chinese Communist Party. Beginning

[2:01:20] a historic third term, which lasts through 2028, with very few restraints on his power,

[2:01:29] and it shows. As the People's Liberation Army grows more capable, and the Chinese Communist Party

[2:01:35] faces growing domestic turmoil, bashing may soon decide that its power is peaking, that may prompt

[2:01:44] them to act sooner rather than later. China is certainly signaling a sinister intent. Last

[2:01:51] August they concluded unprecedented military drills around Taiwan's most trafficked

[2:01:57] waterways and flight routes. They did so arguably to project strength in response to Nancy Pelosi's

[2:02:06] visit to the island when she was then speaker of the house. They built replicas of U.S. Navy ships,

[2:02:13] aircraft and air defense systems, they regularly practice striking these replicas.

[2:02:21] Their military buildup is the strongest signal of their intent to dominate the Pacific.

[2:02:26] I, along with many other senators, have seen the sobering classified reports, but the

[2:02:32] public picture is grim enough.

[2:02:34] The Chinese Communist Party just announced the expansion of its defense budget by 7.2% for

[2:02:42] this year about six times the increase, the Biden administration proposed, Beijing has increased

[2:02:50] its military spending every year for more than 20 years, and we know Mr. President

[2:02:56] that they actually hide many portions of their defense budget.

[2:03:02] By simply looking at Beijing's quantitative and qualitative improvements, we see that Beijing

[2:03:07] spent freely on its military. China has expanded to nuclear forces faster than anyone thought

[2:03:13] possible. Already they have more ground-based nuclear weapon launchers than we do. This changes

[2:03:20] our entire nuclear readiness calculus. For seven decades we focused on matching the Russian nuclear

[2:03:28] arsenal. But we experience a new sputnik moment when we watch the Chinese hypersonic

[2:03:36] live vehicle, perform maneuvers, we had never contemplated.

[2:03:42] China has also rapidly expanded its conventional sea air and rocket forces.

[2:03:46] Their Navy outnumbered hours, they will have more than 460 ships by 2030.

[2:03:55] U.S. Naval intelligence indicates these ships may already be as high quality as our own,

[2:04:02] yet our senior Navy leadership continues

[2:04:05] to underestimate Chinese capabilities.

[2:04:09] China's civilian fleet is expanding also,

[2:04:11] and the People's Liberation Army has used it

[2:04:14] in mock and fibious invasions, the civilian fleet.

[2:04:20] The Chinese Air Force has shared its third generation

[2:04:23] Vietnam Air of Fighters and built an impressive fourth generation

[2:04:27] fighter force.

[2:04:29] They are building fifth generation fighters at scale today,

[2:04:33] just like we are.

[2:04:34] And their air to air missiles have greater range than U.S. missiles.

[2:04:42] China's air warfare training has advanced beyond anything we thought possible five years ago.

[2:04:47] The Chinese rocket force points thousands of short-range ballistic missiles at Taiwan

[2:04:53] and hundreds of long-range missiles at U.S. bases in Japan, Guang and elsewhere.

[2:05:00] China has not restricted its advances to traditional military domains either. It has a major player on the cyber battlefield.

[2:05:11] Top United States cyber commander, General Nakasoni, says the increase in Chinese cyber warfare capabilities has been unlike anything he's ever seen, unlike anything General Nakasoni has ever seen.

[2:05:24] Earlier this year, our top military cyber official told us the Chinese would combine and attack on Taiwan if that occurs with broad attacks on U.S. cyber infrastructure and that certainly makes sense.

[2:05:40] Beijing has also overtaken Russia in space. Russia is now the junior partner to Communist China.

[2:05:48] Not only in space communications and intelligence satellites, but also in space, in work-fighting

[2:05:56] capabilities.

[2:05:57] And finally, China is building a multinational syndicate of bad actor nations, measuring

[2:06:03] ambitions to self as the central character in an anti-US coalition that includes Junior

[2:06:10] Partner Russia, as well as North Korea.

[2:06:12] Xi Jinping took a significant step in that direction last week when he visited Latamir Putin.

[2:06:20] A man he has described as his best, most intimate friend, as China's military rises.

[2:06:30] Regrettably, the United States military has traded water.

[2:06:36] I will identify five areas of improvement to help our military catch China.

[2:06:41] First, we have not focused nearly enough on honing our capabilities in a set of key areas we need to win.

[2:06:49] Our efforts to build a series of modern and flexible commanding control networks are just now gaining steam.

[2:06:56] We still possess no relevant, mine warfare capabilities.

[2:07:01] After three decades of neglect, we are just beginning to rebuild core competencies in electronic warfare.

[2:07:08] We have finally begun to build the right basis and the right locations in the Western Pacific,

[2:07:14] and we have senators read and in-off the authors of last year's in the AAA to thank for that.

[2:07:24] So I issue my thanks to this bipartisan team, Mr. President.

[2:07:29] Our munitions industrial base is in woeful shape, and we have only begun to scratch the surface of our production capacity.

[2:07:37] I'm pleased to see the Pentagon moving in the right direction, but it remains clear to me

[2:07:41] that Congress can take additional actions should take additional actions this year to accelerate

[2:07:48] and expand for that.

[2:07:50] Secondly, we should rapidly work to expand our naval fleet.

[2:07:54] As I said, China's fleet has eclipsed hours, and yet the Department of Defense proposes

[2:07:59] ship decommissioning. The Marine Corps was unable to assist victims of the earthquakes

[2:08:06] in Turkey just a few months ago because the Navy lacked enough amphibious ships. Yet President

[2:08:14] Biden's budget proposes to end an entire amphibious ship production line, an entire

[2:08:21] production line. I do not believe this Congress will allow that to happen. Our Navy Secretary

[2:08:28] recently noted that one Chinese shipyard, one Chinese shipyard has more capacity than all

[2:08:33] of ours combined.

[2:08:36] For many years we've tried to ring more efficiency out of our existing shipbuilding industrial

[2:08:41] base, and for many years we have largely failed without a massive change in direction

[2:08:46] and an infusion of funds.

[2:08:49] We are unlikely to grow the fleet beyond 300 ships over the next decade, and I would

[2:08:56] to remind my colleagues that the statutory minimum requirement enacted by this Congress

[2:09:02] and signed by the President of the United States is 355 ships at a minimum.

[2:09:08] It's time for the U.S. Congress to lead the nation and expanding the shipbuilding and

[2:09:13] just real base.

[2:09:14] Third, our Reagan era Air Force fleets grow older.

[2:09:18] For years, we've known we need to purchase 72 tactical aircraft each year to have a healthy

[2:09:25] fleet.

[2:09:25] 72 years. For years, we failed to do so, Mr. President. Our next generation fighters are still

[2:09:32] nearly a decade away as our significant numbers of autonomous wingmen for them. And the Air Force

[2:09:40] remains almost 2,000 pilots short this year. Fourth, we are on the leading edge of recruitment crisis.

[2:09:48] By the end of this year, the Army could be 40,000 soldiers smaller than it was.

[2:09:56] Just 18 months ago, 40,000 soldiers short.

[2:10:00] Even as its missions continue to increase. The Navy and Air Force are not far behind. The recruiting crisis is a complex problem that will require a multi-faceted solution.

[2:10:15] And we had the chief of staff of the Army before the Armed Services Committee, along with the Secretary of the Army, just this morning, Mr. President, to discuss this and other important issues.

[2:10:27] However, the budget can, right away, provide one solution, we should set aside funds for barracks

[2:10:33] and facilities improvements.

[2:10:35] Potential recruits have frequently cited poor living conditions, as one reason, not

[2:10:41] to enlist.

[2:10:42] Fifth, we must boost our defense infrastructure.

[2:10:45] Almost two years ago, I led an amendment amendment on the infrastructure bill, not the

[2:10:50] defense bill, the infrastructure bill, along with senators, Shelby, and in-half, that

[2:10:56] would have devoted $50 billion to begin boosting this foundational infrastructure.

[2:11:03] We never got a vote, unfortunately, that amendment was blocked.

[2:11:06] Our shipyards, military, family housing, high-personic test ranges, ammo plants and other

[2:11:11] sites are key in enabling our military to be ready and capable.

[2:11:17] Perhaps such an amendment would pass today with broad bipartisan support.

[2:11:24] the fact certainly call for it.

[2:11:26] And finally, we must link increased investment with accelerated reform in the Pentagon.

[2:11:32] The Department of Defense has audit championed by a former Secretary David Norquist, Deputy Secretary David Norquist,

[2:11:41] progressed more in the last five years than in the last 25 years before that.

[2:11:44] The Marines may become the first service to earn a clean financial bill of health this year.

[2:11:51] That's good news.

[2:11:51] Deputy Secretary Hicks has also embraced and accelerated efforts begun by Deputy Secretary

[2:11:59] Norquist to bring 21st century data-driven management practices to DOD.

[2:12:04] This work has already saved us tens of billions of dollars.

[2:12:10] Congress will continue to lead and partner with the Pentagon in ongoing and new reform efforts.

[2:12:16] This year experts with the Pentagon Budgeting Commission will help Congress find ways to

[2:12:22] innovate more quickly and improve the relationship between Congress and the Department

[2:12:27] of Defense.

[2:12:28] I also believe the Office of Strategic Capital will help us partner with American private

[2:12:34] capital.

[2:12:35] American capital is an advantage we have.

[2:12:40] Yet we do not leverage it often enough in the national security space.

[2:12:45] The Office of Strategic Capital can help diversify our defense industrial base to compete with the People's Republic of China and a cost-effective manner.

[2:12:56] Cost-saving measures, though necessary, will not be enough.

[2:13:00] Counter-intuitively, many reforms cost money up front, Senator Inhoff, my predecessor, as ranking member of the committee was correct when he said,

[2:13:12] We cannot spend our way out of the challenges we face, but we can spend too little to give

[2:13:19] ourselves a chance.

[2:13:22] This President, the United States, has not faced national security challenges on this scale,

[2:13:30] scope and complexity since World War II.

[2:13:34] This moment is a fork in your road.

[2:13:37] Neither the peace we've enjoyed nor the war, some predict, are inevitable.

[2:13:42] decisions we make will determine whether that occurs.

[2:13:48] Effective deterrence will be a complex operation, but it's starting place as simple.

[2:13:55] We must once again, for the third year, increase the military budget.

[2:14:00] And as we grow the budget, we will save where we can, prioritize the most effective purchases,

[2:14:08] and share the load with our allies and partners and insist that they do our share.

[2:14:14] Again, it will cost a lot to deter China, but it will cost a lot more if we do not.

[2:14:23] And thank you, Mr. President.

[2:14:25] I don't know if there are other speakers.

[2:14:50] Mr. President.

[2:14:51] Mr. President, five years ago, I stood in this chamber and condemned Saudi military.

[2:15:01] Today I rise once again and to condemn the egregious violence that continues to haunt the Yemeni people. Last weekend, marked the 8th year anniversary of the start of the conflict. Eight years of families being torn apart by war. Eight years of children going without access to food, health care and quality education.

[2:15:28] Eight years of destruction that has caused one of the greatest humanitarian crises since World War II.

[2:15:37] The Republic of Yemen has been torn apart by multiple armed conflicts.

[2:15:42] And as a result, many people have been caught in between an internal power struggle, as well as a regional proxy conflict.

[2:15:50] Saudi Arabia has taken advantage of Yemen's domestic strife and led a military campaign that has only heightened the conflict

[2:15:58] and caused further destruction.

[2:16:02] The previous conflicts along with the current war have collectively eroded central governance

[2:16:07] in Yemen, and left more than 24 million of Yemen's 31 million citizens in dire need

[2:16:15] of assistance and protection.

[2:16:19] I am proud that Michigan is home to the largest Yemeni population outside of Yemen.

[2:16:25] The diaspora community is vibrant and has endured harms that no community should have to.

[2:16:34] The circumstances under which many have immigrated to the United States is truly devastating.

[2:16:42] It has estimated that there are roughly 4.5 million displaced Yemenis as a result of this conflict

[2:16:48] with a majority of those displaced still in Yemen.

[2:16:51] Those that remain continue to face food and housing insecurity with over half of the total population requiring humanitarian assistance.

[2:17:03] We have failed the Yemeni people with our longstanding military support for the Saudi Arabian military coalition in Yemen.

[2:17:11] And I applaud, I applaud President Biden's decision to end all U.S. support for offensive operations in Yemen.

[2:17:19] We must continue to build on this measure and ensure that the United States is in no way in no way involved in the continuation of this war.

[2:17:28] The failure of warring parties to come to an agreement to extend the UN back to the

[2:17:35] truth demonstrates that this conflict is, unfortunately, far from over.

[2:17:41] The United States must continue to leverage all diplomatic tools available to assist

[2:17:46] in the peace process.

[2:17:48] And as we enter into the ninth year of this conflict, I encourage all of my colleagues

[2:17:53] to reflect on the lives lost, the children who never got to grow up, and the communities

[2:18:01] that will never be the same.

[2:18:05] The Yemeni people have remained resilient in the face of extreme adversity, and it is

[2:18:12] our responsibility to ensure that we continue to be strong partners in providing aid and securing

[2:18:18] peace.

[2:18:21] Thank you, Mr. President.

[2:18:28] Mr. President. Mr. President, earlier this week, myself, Senator Cassidy and Senator

[2:18:37] Cornean, along with 35 of our Republican colleagues, introduced an effort to block President

[2:18:45] Biden's plan to transfer student loan debt onto the backs of hardworking Americans.

[2:18:52] This includes ending the pause on student loan payments, which has been extended six times

[2:19:00] since the start of the pandemic.

[2:19:04] What might seem like a free pass in making payments on student loans is actually a scheme orchestrated by the Biden administration

[2:19:15] that could cost taxpayers and estimated $900 billion.

[2:19:24] Let's break it down. $400 billion to cancel student loan debt.

[2:19:33] $195 billion to pause loan payments and interest accrued during the pandemic.

[2:19:41] And, $200 billion to implement President Biden's loan repayment rule.

[2:19:51] Folks, $900 billion is more than the federal government has...

[2:20:00] However, spent on higher education in our nation's history. To give you some additional perspective,

[2:20:10] this radical proposal costs, get this folks, three times more than what the government will

[2:20:19] spend on pilgrrants in this decade, in this decade.

[2:20:28] A program designed to help our neediest students.

[2:20:34] Mr. President, this is not debt cancellation.

[2:20:38] It's socialism.

[2:20:40] President Biden is rewarding those who chose the path

[2:20:45] of higher education by strapping their debt onto the backs of those who did not.

[2:20:55] This is a personal issue to me.

[2:21:01] My brother chose to enter the workforce directly out of high school.

[2:21:08] My brother is a hard working union laborer.

[2:21:16] My sister worked to put herself through community college.

[2:21:22] She received an associate's degree in Southwest Iowa.

[2:21:27] She works for a trucking company and farms.

[2:21:32] Their stories are similar to many Iowans across my home state.

[2:21:37] Why should countless Americans who made responsible financial planning decisions be forced to take on the debts of others?

[2:21:50] Buying's plan is unfair and unaffordable.

[2:21:53] It is feigning the flames of inflation and is a driving factor in our growing federal debt.

[2:22:02] Most importantly, this transfer of student loan debt does nothing to address and may actually be contributing to the real issue of rising costs to attend college.

[2:22:17] What message does this send to veterans who pursue higher education through the GI Bill or medical professionals who join the National Health Service Corps?

[2:22:33] I was able to cover a portion of my college tuition at Iowa State University through an ROTC scholarship.

[2:22:43] Joining the Army after graduation was a privilege and an honor.

[2:22:51] I made a commitment to my country and in return they made a commitment to me to help me receive my college degree.

[2:23:03] President Biden's radical proposal invalidates many other successful loan forgiveness and repayment programs

[2:23:11] designed to incentivize participation in critical fields, including the military, public service, and medicine.

[2:23:24] Instead of putting a band-aid on the problem and passing the buck, we should be giving students and their families a clear picture up front about the true costs associated with their education.

[2:23:40] That's why I'm working in a bipartisan way to ensure students know before they take out

[2:23:47] a loan, the estimated total interest amount based on their repayment plan.

[2:23:56] Folks, we've warned for years that the left is on the march toward socialism.

[2:24:02] Look no further than Biden's student debt transfer plan.

[2:24:09] I'm proud to join my Republican colleagues in working to stop this scheme, and with that

[2:24:16] Mr. President, I yield the floor.

[2:24:23] Mr. President.

[2:24:24] Mr. President, Mr. President, I am extremely pleased that the Senate will be voting shortly

[2:24:30] to confirm Ambassador Richard Vermer to be the Deputy Secretary of State for Management

[2:24:35] and Resources at the Department of State.

[2:24:38] This role is one of the most critical positions at the Department of State.

[2:24:44] DMR, as it's known, has wide-ranging responsibility for overseeing personnel, ensuring

[2:24:51] the Department is sufficiently resource to carry out effective U.S. diplomacy.

[2:24:56] And there are no shortages of challenges.

[2:25:00] As we reorient our foreign policy towards strategic competition with China, as we counter malign influence by Russia across the globe, as we work to address global health, food insecurity in the climate crisis, it is imperative that our democratic core, I'm sorry, diplomatic core, has the tools they need to address the challenges ahead.

[2:25:23] Ambassador Verma is superbly qualified to lead this part of the department and confronting

[2:25:30] these challenges.

[2:25:32] His long public sector career, which includes service in the Air Force, the Senate, and

[2:25:38] the State Department will help him be an effective leader who can advance to the department's

[2:25:43] modernization agenda.

[2:25:45] And as our first ever Indian-American ambassador to New Delhi, he has first-hand experience

[2:25:51] leading a major U.S. embassy and a deep understanding of the strategic advantage of cultivating

[2:25:58] and retaining a diverse and expert workforce. I have full confidence that Ambassador Verma will

[2:26:05] be a constructive partner with Congress and work to make sure the Department has the support,

[2:26:10] the resources, and the leadership it needs to succeed. Given the challenges ahead,

[2:26:15] I am pleased that we are finally voting to confirm Ambassador Verma today and I urge all

[2:26:21] my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to support this nomination and with that

[2:26:25] Mr. President, I yield the floor.

[2:26:28] Under the previous order, the Senate will proceed to executive session to consider the

[2:26:32] following nomination on which the clerk will report.

[2:26:38] Nomination, Department of State, Richard R. Burma of Maryland to the Deputy Secretary of State

[2:26:44] for Management and Resources.

[2:26:48] There will now be five minutes equally divided on the nomination.

[2:26:55] That objection?

[2:26:57] Question is on the nomination.

[2:27:01] Is there sufficient second?

[2:27:04] There appears to be.

[2:27:05] Clerk will call the roll.

[2:27:09] This is Walman, Mr. Baraso.

[2:27:12] Mr. Bennett.

[2:27:13] Mrs. Blackburn.

[2:27:14] Mr. Belumanthal.

[2:27:15] Mr. Booker.

[2:27:16] Mr. Boseman.

[2:27:17] Mr. Braun.

[2:27:18] Mr. Brett.

[2:27:20] Mr. Brown.

[2:27:20] Mr. Bud.

[2:27:21] Ms. Cantwell.

[2:27:22] Mrs. Capato.

[2:27:23] Mr. Carden.

[2:27:25] Mr. Carper.

[2:27:25] Mr. Casey.

[2:27:27] Mr. Cassidy.

[2:27:27] Mr. Collins, Mr. Koen, Mr. Cornen,

[2:27:31] Mr. Cortez Mastel, Mr. Cotton, Mr. Cramer, Mr. Crapo.

[2:28:24] Mr. Cruz, Mr. Deans,

[2:28:30] Mr. Duckworth,

[2:28:34] Mr. Durbin,

[2:29:12] Mr. Duckworth, Mr. Durbin, Ms. Ernst, Mrs. Feinstein, Mr. Fetterman, Mrs. Fisher,

[2:29:24] Mr.

[2:29:28] Graham, Mr. Grassley, Mr. Haggerty,

[2:29:37] Ms. Hassan,

[2:29:40] Mr. Holy,

[2:29:44] Mr. Heinrich,

[2:29:52] Mr. Hickenlooper,

[2:29:55] Ms.

[2:29:56] Roanow.

[2:30:00] Mr. Hogan,

[2:30:04] Mrs. Hyde Smith, Mr. Johnson,

[2:30:12] Mr. Keene,

[2:30:17] Mr. Kelly,

[2:30:20] Mr. Kennedy,

[2:30:25] Mr. King,

[2:30:29] Ms. Klobuchar,

[2:30:33] Mr. Lankford,

[2:30:37] Mr. Lee,

[2:30:41] Mr. Luhan,

[2:30:45] Ms. Lumis,

[2:30:49] Mr. Manchin,

[2:30:54] Mr. Marky,

[2:30:59] Mr. Marshall,

[2:31:03] Mr. McConnell,

[2:31:08] Mr.

[2:31:08] Mr. Menendez,

[2:31:38] Mr. Markley, Mr. Moran, Mr. Mullin,

[2:31:44] Ms. McCalski,

[2:31:53] Ms. McCalski, Mr. Murphy, Mrs. Murray,

[2:31:59] Mr. Ossoff,

[2:32:02] Mr. Padilla,

[2:32:06] Mr. Paul,

[2:32:11] Mr. Peters,

[2:32:15] Mr. Reed,

[2:32:19] Mr. Ricketts,

[2:32:24] Mr. Rush,

[2:32:29] Mr. Romney,

[2:32:34] Ms. Rosen,

[2:32:41] Mr. Rounds,

[2:32:46] Mr. Rubio,

[2:32:47] Mr.

[2:32:52] Sanders,

[2:32:57] Mr. Shots,

[2:33:01] Mr. Schmidt,

[2:33:06] Mr. Schumer,

[2:33:12] Mr. Scott of Florida,

[2:33:16] Mr. Scott of South Carolina,

[2:33:35] Mr.

[2:34:24] Mr. Warner,

[2:34:30] Mr. Warnock,

[2:34:36] Mr. Warren,

[2:34:42] Mr. Welch,

[2:34:50] Mr. White House,

[2:34:55] Mr. Wicker.

[2:35:00] Mr. Widen,

[2:35:04] Mr. Young.

[2:35:23] Senator's voting in the affirmative. Collins, Kramer, Krapo, Durbin, Gillibrand, Grassley,

[2:35:34] Heinrich, Hickenlufer, Luhan, Manchin, Menendez, Peters, Reed, Ricketts, Stabinel, and Warner.

[2:35:48] Mrs. Brett voted

[2:35:49] Mr.

[2:35:57] Kelly, Mr. Kelly, I,

[2:36:26] Mr. King, Mr. King, I,

[2:36:39] Mr. Kornin, Mr. Kornin, I,

[2:39:26] Mr.

[2:39:26] Mr. Hogan, no.

[2:39:30] Mrs. Murray, Mrs. Murray, aye.

[2:39:35] Mrs. Capitone, Mrs. Capitone, aye.

[2:39:59] Ms. Warren, Mrs.

[2:40:00] Mr. Warren, aye, Mr. Moran, Mr. Moran, aye,

[2:40:32] Mr. Bennett, Mr. Bennett, aye,

[2:40:37] this is Blackburn. Mrs. Blackburn, no.

[2:40:48] Mr. Rounds, Mr. Rounds, aye.

[2:40:56] Mr. Schatz, Mr. Schatz, aye. Mr. Daines, Mr. Daines, no.

[2:41:05] Mr. Cain, Mr. Cain, aye.

[2:41:34] Ms. Ernst,

[2:41:39] Mr. Warnock, Mr. Warnock, aye.

[2:41:48] Mr. Scott, Mr. Scott of Florida, no.

[2:41:58] Mr. Murphy, Mr. Murphy, aye.

[2:42:02] Mr. Wyden, Mr. Wyden, aye.

[2:42:17] Mr. Duckworth, Mr. Duckworth, aye.

[2:43:01] Mr. Tuberville, Mr. Tuberville, no.

[2:43:23] Mr. Schumer, Mr. Schumer, aye.

[2:44:20] Ms. Cinema, Ms. Cinema, I.

[2:44:41] Ms. Smith, Ms. Smith, I.

[2:45:38] Mr. Shihin, Mr. Shihin, aye, Mr. Booker, Mr. Booker, aye, Mr. Graham, Mr. Graham, aye,

[2:45:54] Mr. Wicker, Mr. Wicker, no.

[2:46:01] Mr. Sullivan, Mr. Sullivan, no.

[2:47:06] Ms. Cantwell, Ms. Cantwell, aye.

[2:47:21] Mrs. Hyde Smith, Mrs. Hyde Smith, no.

[2:47:44] Mr. Tellis, Mr. Tellis, aye.

[2:48:10] Mr. Young, Mr. Young, aye.

[2:48:29] Mr. Bud, Mr. Bud, no.

[2:50:18] Mr. Brown, Mr. Brown, aye.

[2:50:57] Mr. Whitehouse, Mr. Whitehouse, aye.

[2:51:25] Mr. Thin, Mr. Thin, aye.

[2:53:02] Mr. Padilla, Mr. Padilla, aye.

[2:53:13] Mr. Casey, Mr. Casey, aye.

[2:54:11] Mr. Romney, Mr. Romney, aye. Mr. Rubio, Mr. Rubio, no, Mr. Cassidy, no, Mr. Cotton, Mr. Cotton, no.

[2:54:24] Mr. Markley, Mr. Markley, I.

[2:55:21] Ms. Rosen, Ms. Rosen, aye, Mr. Van Hollen, Mr. Van Hollen, aye,

[2:56:19] Mr. Coons, Mr. Coons, aye, Ms. Lummus, Ms. Lummus, no,

[2:57:54] Mr. Kardon, Mr. Kardon, aye,

[2:58:27] Mr. Klobichar, Ms. Klobichar, aye,

[2:58:59] Mr. Langford, Mr. Langford, no,

[2:59:14] Mr. Boseman, Mr. Boseman, aye, Mr.

[2:59:18] Mr. Marky. Mr. Marky.

[2:59:21] I.

[2:59:41] Mr. Johnson. Mr. Johnson.

[2:59:43] No.

[2:59:47] Mr. Marshall. Mr. Marshall.

[2:59:50] I.

[2:59:52] Mr. Sanders.

[2:59:53] Mr. Sanders. I.

[3:00:06] Mr. O'Sough, Mr. O'Sough, aye, Mr. Vance, Mr. Vance, no,

[3:01:37] Mr. Paul, Mr. Paul, no,

[3:02:40] Mrs. Fisher, Mrs. Fisher, no,

[3:04:17] Mr. Baldwin, Mr.

[3:04:47] Welch, Mr. Welch, aye.

[3:07:05] Mr. Braun, no.

[3:07:24] Ms. Hassan, aye, Ms. Cortez Masto, aye, Mr. Scott of South Carolina, no.

[3:07:46] Mr. Lee, no.

[3:09:33] Ms. Ferrano, aye.

[3:11:24] Mr. Riff, aye.

[3:12:57] Mr. Kennedy. No.

[3:13:14] Mr. Holly. No.

[3:15:09] Mr. Blumenthal, aye,

[3:17:15] Mr. Carper, aye,

[3:19:17] Mr. Mullin, aye.

[3:29:49] Mr. Cruz, now.

[3:30:09] On this vote, the Yays are 67, the Nays are 26, and the nomination is confirmed. Under the previous order, the motion to reconsider is considered made and laid upon the table and the president will be immediately notified of the Senate's action. Under the previous order, the Senate will resume legislative session.

[3:30:27] Mr.

[3:31:32] President, Senator for Texas,

[3:31:36] Mr. President,

[3:31:39] I wish we were not here facing these issues

[3:31:44] yet again.

[3:31:47] In recent days, our nation is seeing yet another horrific school shooting.

[3:31:54] It's September of last year, I stood on the Senate floor and tried to pass legislation

[3:32:03] to stop these school shootings. There have been too many of them. I've been there on

[3:32:11] around at two dead many of them.

[3:32:17] Santa Fe High School in Texas, about 45 minutes away from my house.

[3:32:23] The morning of that shooting, I got the call within minutes of the shooting.

[3:32:26] I was down on campus just over an hour after to courage.

[3:32:33] I saw the tragedy, the tears, the grieving parents, the children in shock,

[3:32:42] you've

[3:32:42] all the time.

[3:32:44] I was there shortly after that shooting as well.

[3:32:48] the horror, the mayhem,

[3:32:55] too many of our children,

[3:32:58] have been murdered by deranged lunatics.

[3:33:03] This president, when you and I were kids,

[3:33:06] this wasn't a thing.

[3:33:09] When you went to school, when I went to school,

[3:33:13] there wasn't a single day that I woke up going to school worried

[3:33:16] that some idiots, some sociopath,

[3:33:21] was going to shoot up the school.

[3:33:23] You might worry about getting punched at recess,

[3:33:28] but this didn't happen 30, 40, 50 years ago.

[3:33:34] Now it is a brutal reality over and over again. There are lots of causes that we could debate for a long time.

[3:33:44] causes in our culture,

[3:33:49] causes of disconnected, emotionally disturbed young men who want to become

[3:33:56] famous.

[3:33:59] I think Colin Bond may have started this whole tragic cycle, or an angry young person seeks

[3:34:09] to lash out by murdering little kids

[3:34:15] with respect to becoming famous, one rule I try to

[3:34:19] is that I will never say the names of these mass murderers.

[3:34:25] If they want to be well-known, I hope everyone

[3:34:28] in elected office.

[3:34:28] I'd like everyone in the news media to follow that role as well.

[3:34:32] They deserve to be forgotten in utter obscurity.

[3:34:38] But we also have an obligation to stop this.

[3:34:43] Every time there's a mass murder, there's a pattern that plays out.

[3:34:50] Number one, there's an expression of grief of love

[3:34:54] for the community.

[3:34:57] They're millions of us who lift the community up and prayer.

[3:35:01] Inevitably, that produces a response from the political left, where they scream in units and thoughts and prayers aren't enough.

[3:35:13] I'll tell you, Ms. President, I believe in the power prayer.

[3:35:16] And I will continue praying for communities that are hurting whether from a natural disaster or horrific crime or anything else.

[3:35:26] But I agree with the sentiment, thoughts and prayers are not enough.

[3:35:31] that is exactly right. We need action. And what is so infuriating is every time there's

[3:35:41] a mass shooting, Democrats in this chamber stand up and they don't actually want to do

[3:35:48] something to stop the murders. Instead, they want another gun control bill to disarm

[3:35:56] providing citizens that won't actually stop the murders, that won't actually protect our

[3:36:04] kids. In September of last year, I introduced legislation that would be the most far-reaching

[3:36:12] school safety legislation ever enacted.

[3:36:19] It would double the number of police officers

[3:36:21] on campuses, devoting $15 billion,

[3:36:27] to putting armed police officers on campus to protect our

[3:36:30] kids.

[3:36:30] The single most important step we can do.

[3:36:34] It would also devote $10 billion for mental health professionals on campuses because

[3:36:41] so many of these troubled murderers had warning signs leaping off the page.

[3:36:50] It also devotes $2.56 billion for physical security at schools

[3:36:59] to help enhance the security

[3:37:02] at schools.

[3:37:06] When I introduced this bill, it first came up

[3:37:13] as an amendment on the much touted by

[3:37:18] partisan gun control bill last year that did nothing to stop violent crime.

[3:37:24] But it satisfied the left-wing donors of the Democrat party.

[3:37:32] When my amendment was voted on in the Senate floor, I'm sorry to say, every single Democrat in this chamber voted no.

[3:37:39] All of them, every one.

[3:37:43] Afterwards, I went to this floor.

[3:37:45] I stood on this floor and I tried to pass the bill by unanimous consent.

[3:37:51] And when that happened,

[3:37:54] the Senator from Connecticut stood up and objected.

[3:37:58] Now,

[3:38:01] I have to say

[3:38:06] leading up to that unanimous consent request, numerous reporters that

[3:38:12] ask me in the hallway.

[3:38:15] Why are the Democrats objecting to this?

[3:38:18] And I was forced to say, I do not know

[3:38:23] because today they have not articulated any reason.

[3:38:28] They have not explained why they oppose more police officers in schools.

[3:38:32] They have not explained why they oppose more mental health counselors in schools.

[3:38:36] They have not explained why they oppose more funding for enhanced physical security in schools.

[3:38:43] So I was quite interested to hear the senator from Connecticut give his reasons.

[3:38:52] I was disappointed that day.

[3:38:54] Senator from Connecticut stood up in other two words. I object.

[3:38:58] Then he sat down.

[3:39:00] That was it.

[3:39:02] His answer was just no.

[3:39:05] President, I stood on this floor there and I said something that I said, God forbid,

[3:39:12] there is going to be another school shooting.

[3:39:15] I pray to God there isn't.

[3:39:19] But we're going to find today when another one of these happens, another orange lunatic

[3:39:25] commits this kind of mass murder.

[3:39:29] And if there is not a police officer at the front door,

[3:39:35] I said, remember this moment, remember

[3:39:38] this moment.

[3:39:42] Because if the Senator from Connecticut had not stood up and said, I object,

[3:39:48] this bill would have passed the Senate unanimously.

[3:39:52] If this bill had passed in the law,

[3:39:55] $15 billion to double the number of police officers on campus.

[3:40:00] And that was available at public schools, at private schools at Perokiel schools,

[3:40:08] what that would have meant,

[3:40:12] is that there's a very real possibility an armed police officer would have been at the front door of the Covenant School in Nashville.

[3:40:20] As we look at what happened, every one of us, every one of us that's a parent or a grandparent, is beyond horrified at what sort of deranged person murders little children.

[3:40:32] But we also know that that shooter came to the front door and shot the front door open.

[3:40:41] This bill had passed, funding for school security, that front door could have been made

[3:40:48] more secure.

[3:40:50] So the shooter couldn't have blasted in, but even more importantly, like many of us have

[3:40:59] the body can flage.

[3:41:03] It's horrific, it's deeply disturbing, but I'll tell you it's also

[3:41:06] awe-inspiring.

[3:41:09] You saw the Nashville police officers arrive on campus about 15 minutes after the shooting began.

[3:41:15] They enter the campus, they're scared, they don't know what's going on, but they're looking for the shooter.

[3:41:22] They're wearing bulletproof vests, they're going, they're searching for the shooter, they're going up the stairs.

[3:41:26] And they hear the sound of gunshots and the police officers do what police officers should do.

[3:41:32] They head towards the shots.

[3:41:35] They risk their lives.

[3:41:38] And they encounter the shooter and shoot the shooter dead.

[3:41:43] The heroism of those officers saved lives that day.

[3:41:51] If this bill had passed,

[3:41:55] those officers might not have been 15 minutes away.

[3:41:57] They might have been standing at the front door.

[3:42:00] The purpose of this bill was to have those officers at the front door so that when the

[3:42:06] deranged shooter showed up and tried to shoot in the door, the officers could stop the

[3:42:13] shooter right there and then, which would have meant that not a single child needed to

[3:42:19] die.

[3:42:26] I told this body if we didn't act,

[3:42:32] the consequences would be horrific.

[3:42:35] And yet the sad reality, I do not understand why our Democrat colleagues in this body do not support having police officers keep our kids safe.

[3:42:49] Why when it comes to this issue, the only thing that interests them is disarming the people at home who pose no threat rather than protecting our kids.

[3:43:05] As I said, Ms. President, I wish I wasn't back here today.

[3:43:09] I wish this had passed last year.

[3:43:13] I wish Democrats were willing to work together on really solving this problem,

[3:43:23] but sadly this

[3:43:24] pattern replays over and over again.

[3:43:28] I have two different bills that I'm going to put before this body, but I'm going to start

[3:43:31] with the first one, the one I've just described.

[3:43:34] $15 billion for police officers to double the number of police officers on campus to protect

[3:43:41] our kids. You know, when you go to the bank and you deposit money in the bank, there are

[3:43:48] police officers in the bank. Why? Because we want to protect the money we say. Why on earth

[3:43:53] do we protect a stupid deposit more than our children?

[3:44:01] If there are parents that don't want

[3:44:03] police officers protecting their kids, I don't know those parents.

[3:44:10] Well, we have the opportunity

[3:44:12] right now to double the police officers on campus and keep kids safe.

[3:44:17] Therefore, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to the immediate consideration

[3:44:21] of S-108-2, which is at the desk.

[3:44:25] Further that the bill be considered red a third time and passed, and that the motion to reconsider

[3:44:31] be considered made and laid upon the table.

[3:44:34] Is there objection?

[3:44:36] Mr. President?

[3:44:36] Senator for consent or a Connecticut.

[3:44:39] Thank you, Mr. President.

[3:44:40] We're observing the right to objective as I understand that the senator has two unanimous consent requests.

[3:44:47] I will objective both, and I will make my comments when the senator makes his second unanimous consent request.

[3:44:57] So for now on this first.

[3:45:00] Objection, and his first request. So it's to save time. I'll wait for my comments on the second, and simply object to this one. I object.

[3:45:10] Objection is heard.

[3:45:12] Mr. President.

[3:45:13] Senator from Texas.

[3:45:14] So history is repeated. We still don't have an explanation as to why police officers on campus is not a good thing.

[3:45:21] Maybe we'll get it. We were told we'll get a speech.

[3:45:25] So we'll see what that is.

[3:45:26] That's what happened last time.

[3:45:30] All right.

[3:45:32] The Democrats don't like that.

[3:45:36] Let me give you a simpler bill.

[3:45:43] A simpler bill that would spend unused

[3:45:54] COVID education funds.

[3:45:57] There are over $100 billion in funds that Congress has appropriated to the schools.

[3:46:05] That under the restrictions put in place from the Democrats that money cannot be used for school safety.

[3:46:14] That money cannot be used to make our kids safer.

[3:46:19] In September, I introduced this bill as well. It's a one-page bill. It's a very simple bill.

[3:46:25] It says the schools can choose to use that money to enhance school safety.

[3:46:30] It says if a school wants to use some of that money to hire a police officer, the school can

[3:46:36] do so.

[3:46:38] It says if the school wants to use some of that money to enhance their physical security,

[3:46:43] the school can do so.

[3:46:44] It gives flexibility to the schools

[3:46:51] in September when I attempted to pass this.

[3:46:55] I asked, why would anyone possibly oppose this?

[3:47:00] I don't know how a Democrat Senator goes home to your state.

[3:47:06] I don't know how you go home to Connecticut, or New Jersey, or Michigan, and look in the eyes of a super-intinent look in the eyes of a teacher and say, no, I will not let you spend the money on school security.

[3:47:21] Doesn't matter if your kids are afraid, doesn't matter if your teachers are afraid.

[3:47:25] We, the Democrats in Congress, know better than you, and you may not spend a dollar of this on school security.

[3:47:34] And let me be clear, this would have passed in September except for two magic words uttered

[3:47:44] by the senator from Connecticut.

[3:47:46] I object.

[3:47:48] Now last time he went on a discourse about how this was not the full legislative process

[3:47:55] that we hadn't negotiated with him in goodness.

[3:47:59] That must be comfort to the parents who are scared at home that we hadn't sat there

[3:48:04] a detailed negotiation. Every year, this body passes bill after bill after bill by unanimous

[3:48:14] consent. Every senator here knows how to do that. The reason it doesn't go through

[3:48:20] committee process, by the way, is because the Democrats control the committees and they

[3:48:24] don't want to debate this.

[3:48:30] So if you hear a bunch of process arguments from the senator

[3:48:34] from Connecticut. Gosh, what he said last time, this isn't real. It is only not real because

[3:48:41] the Democrats are objecting. That's what makes it not real because they are blocking it.

[3:48:50] But to say, it's not passing because I'm objecting

[3:49:00] is like the arsonist complaining there's

[3:49:02] a fire.

[3:49:07] I ask you an all seriousness, Mr. President. How do you explain to a parent?

[3:49:14] back home. How do you explain to a superintendent? How do you explain to a teacher?

[3:49:21] There's

[3:49:21] something wrong with you having the ability to spend this money on school safety. I don't know

[3:49:30] how to articulate that. I am looking forward to hearing it. We'll see if we do.

[3:49:40] Therefore,

[3:49:42] I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to the immediate consideration of S-1081,

[3:49:48] on which is at the desk.

[3:49:50] Further, at the bill be considered read a third time, and passed, and that the motion

[3:49:55] or reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table.

[3:49:58] Is there objection?

[3:50:00] Senate for Connecticut. Thank you, Mr. President. The senator is right. I have very little interest in engaging on the merits of these proposals in a dialogue on the floor of the Senate because they are not serious attempts to make our kids safer.

[3:50:26] These unanimous consent requests that Senator Cruz makes, they're going to get a lot of clicks online.

[3:50:34] The confrontation that he's looking for will probably lead to a bunch of cable news appearances being booked.

[3:50:44] But it's not going to save any kids lives.

[3:50:49] The Senator knows this is not how the Senate works.

[3:50:54] This isn't an autocracy, it's not a dictatorship.

[3:50:58] You don't come down here and introduce a piece of legislation

[3:51:02] and two minutes later to demand that the entirety of the Senate

[3:51:06] agreed to it without any debate and any negotiation.

[3:51:12] The Senator says these are the same bills he introduced

[3:51:14] he introduced last year.

[3:51:17] But as far as I can tell, he introduced the bills he's making

[3:51:20] the United States consent requests on minutes ago.

[3:51:24] They're not even fully formed pieces of legislation.

[3:51:31] This thing is so ham-handed, one of the bills, that there's literally brackets and

[3:51:37] question marks in the text.

[3:51:41] The legislative draft, at least in the version that I see, haven't made decisions on when

[3:51:47] the money is being spent.

[3:51:53] Senator says that there's this pattern that plays out after these shootings in which Democrats

[3:52:00] make demands about taking people's guns away, but aren't serious about making our kids safer.

[3:52:11] Is that how it played out after the shooting in New Valdi?

[3:52:15] Is that what happened last summer?

[3:52:18] No, that's not what happens. What happened last summer after the shooting in the Senator's

[3:52:25] is that serious members of this body, members of this body who are more interested in

[3:52:31] legislating than enacting political theater, sat down together, and negotiated a bill

[3:52:42] to save children's lives. Did it solve all of the problems in this country? Did it guarantee

[3:52:47] every child's safety, no it did not, but let's be clear. Senator Cruz never expressed

[3:52:55] one Iota of interest in being part of those negotiations. Other Republican

[3:53:00] senators did, and while I understand he objects to the gun provisions in

[3:53:06] that bill, guess what? That bill also put $15 billion in the school safety, into

[3:53:14] mental health into hardening our schools, into community anti-gun violence programs.

[3:53:21] I can't speak about the other members of the group that authored that bill, but I never

[3:53:26] got a single phone call from Senator Cruz during the month of negotiations suggesting

[3:53:33] that we add the language he's talking about to that proposal.

[3:53:37] So last summer there were serious legislators who come to this floor to enact legislation

[3:53:46] to set aside our differences and pass legislation that makes our kids safe, willing to

[3:53:53] make compromise.

[3:53:56] Senator Cruz didn't even sniff that room.

[3:54:04] He references the NAMS consent request he made later last year that I objected to.

[3:54:09] I think I suggested then as I suggest now that the result of that unanimous consent request was to create political theater and book cable news hits.

[3:54:20] The result was not going to be a piece of legislation being enacted.

[3:54:26] And I figured that if I was wrong about that, if the senators purpose was to pass a piece of legislation,

[3:54:35] that the result of my objection would have been to get outreach from the senator's office.

[3:54:41] It's try to figure out a way forward to try to find a compromise and I waited and I waited

[3:54:51] and I waited and I waited and I waited and I waited and I waited but not once the senator

[3:54:58] crews reach out and say let's work together.

[3:55:00] To get this done,

[3:55:04] which confirmed my suspicions

[3:55:09] that these unanimous consent requests are not about passing legislation.

[3:55:16] They're just about creating conflict for the sake of conflict.

[3:55:24] This legislation was introduced minutes ago.

[3:55:27] So I'm not able to debate the merits of it on the floor of the Senate right now.

[3:55:34] It appears to make a whole bunch of changes to the not-for-profit security grant program that the presiding officer knows very well.

[3:55:43] Changes that have little to do with school safety.

[3:55:47] It seems that there's a bunch of processes changes to the not-for-profit security grant program.

[3:55:52] That's probably something worth having a conversation with the chairman of the committee about before we pass it by unanimous consent.

[3:56:00] It makes broad structural changes to Title IV, which is a very important program to schools.

[3:56:07] They use that money for school security, but they also use that money for a host of other important

[3:56:14] programs.

[3:56:14] That's probably worth having a conversation with the members of the Education Committee about a

[3:56:23] very quick look at this bill, suggested it likely opens up the use of those funds to arming

[3:56:28] teachers in our school.

[3:56:31] I think that's a terrible idea.

[3:56:35] This is all to say that this isn't how the process works.

[3:56:39] You don't drop a piece of legislation on the floor of the Senate

[3:56:42] and two minutes later demand that the whole Senate pass it.

[3:56:45] You do that if your intent is to create conflict

[3:56:50] for the purposes of publicity.

[3:56:53] I don't know what the senators intentions are,

[3:56:55] but if that was your intention, this is what you do.

[3:56:57] If you were interested in actually passing something, you would have dialed up the authors

[3:57:03] of the bipartisan safer communities act and asked to be part of that negotiation.

[3:57:08] You'd have reached out to my office after the objection last year and said, what's your

[3:57:14] objections?

[3:57:14] Let's sit down and do something together.

[3:57:17] That's how legislation gets passed in this place.

[3:57:19] I know because I've done it on this topic and I'm not saying that the bipartisan safer

[3:57:24] communities act solve the problem. I know we have more work to do. I know it because I spend

[3:57:29] time with those same families every single week. I know it because I live in a dangerous

[3:57:34] neighborhood in South Hartford. I talk to those kids who have to fear for their life when

[3:57:39] they go to school and that's why my purpose for being in the Senate is to work like hell across

[3:57:46] the aisle through compromise.

[3:57:50] Not by coming down here dropping a bill on the floor and then

[3:57:54] immediately demanding that the entire Senate vote for it.

[3:57:59] That's not how we save kids' lives, compromising,

[3:58:05] working towards compromise, behind the scenes,

[3:58:07] not always in front of the cameras.

[3:58:13] I've checked.

[3:58:15] Objection is heard.

[3:58:16] Mr. President.

[3:58:17] Senator from Texas.

[3:58:18] As the Senator from Connecticut walks away

[3:58:20] because he's unwilling to debate the topic,

[3:58:26] I will note several things he said not a word about.

[3:58:28] But let's focus on he set out this bill is very hard to figure out.

[3:58:32] It's very complicated.

[3:58:35] Well, the second bill, the one he just objected to, is all of one page long.

[3:58:39] I'm going to read you the statutory text.

[3:58:42] The Center for New Jersey here.

[3:58:44] He is a learned senator.

[3:58:46] It says the unobligated balance of funds made available in the COVID funding,

[3:58:51] and I won't read the actual citation, but the COVID funding.

[3:58:54] The unobligated funds made available.

[3:58:56] So shall be made available to local educational agencies to keep elementary schools and secondary

[3:59:03] schools served by such agencies physically secure.

[3:59:07] That is the entirety of the bill.

[3:59:10] You can use the $100 plus billion that Congress is appropriated to make schools safer.

[3:59:18] Now, not a word from the Senator from Connecticut address that bill.

[3:59:23] He just said, I object, and as for his counterwalling, that the first Bill got, he can't figure

[3:59:32] out what's in it, you don't do it this way.

[3:59:36] I will point out the first time I introduced it, it was Cruz Baraso, and every Senator voted

[3:59:41] on it because I introduced it as an amendment to the Bill, the Senator from Connecticut,

[3:59:47] Now, mind you in the wake of you, Valdi, with great fanfare.

[3:59:51] Center for Connecticut passed a meaningless gun control bill that did nothing to prevent

[3:59:58] what happened in Nashville.

[4:00:00] It's not going to prevent the next mass murder. Why? Because it doesn't target criminals. It doesn't go

[4:00:05] after the bad guys. It doesn't put police officers in a position to protect our kids.

[4:00:13] I find

[4:00:13] some rich irony that the senator from Connecticut suggested, gosh, the purpose of this is to get

[4:00:20] on cable news. I don't know if the senator from Connecticut has difficulty getting on the news.

[4:00:29] But

[4:00:29] I can assure you that I don't.

[4:00:34] What I do know is this is about stopping these damn murders.

[4:00:44] Senator, if we're going to have to get suggest,

[4:00:46] this is about conflict with him.

[4:00:48] I can assure him,

[4:00:53] very few people outside of Connecticut,

[4:00:56] have any awareness of what he says.

[4:01:00] Why is that?

[4:01:01] Well, for one thing, when we did this last time,

[4:01:03] there were zero reporters in the gallery.

[4:01:05] Now they're two.

[4:01:07] The corporate media doesn't report on this.

[4:01:11] If you turn on cable news, they won't tell you that the reason there wasn't a police officer

[4:01:17] at the Covenant School is because every Democrat in the Senate voted against it.

[4:01:24] Corporate media won't tell you the reason the Covenant School couldn't spend these funds

[4:01:29] on hiring a police officer and hardening that front door so you couldn't shoot through it

[4:01:35] is because the Senator from Connecticut objected.

[4:01:39] He knows he knows to an absolute certainty that a dishonest press corps will not tell anybody.

[4:01:46] By the way, he great fanfare of saying, well, the legislative tax has a bracket.

[4:01:52] What he didn't tell you is his staff gave him an old version of the bill, not the one that is filed.

[4:01:58] And he was focused in particular on the one edit that was made, which was to change the fiscal year because we're now one year later.

[4:02:06] So, it was to alter the date from the appropriate date last year to the appropriate date this year.

[4:02:15] That was the amendment, and he reported,

[4:02:17] well, gosh, no one knows what's in this.

[4:02:21] You've all voted on it.

[4:02:25] You know what he didn't say once why having police officers,

[4:02:30] more police officers in schools is a bad thing.

[4:02:36] He didn't talk at all about $10 billion for mental health counselors.

[4:02:38] Mr.

[4:02:41] President, I'm tired of these games.

[4:02:44] I told you that he would give you process arguments

[4:02:47] and who boy did he?

[4:02:48] He said, gosh, Cruz didn't call me.

[4:02:52] I guess his feelings were hurt.

[4:02:56] I've also done this a long time.

[4:03:00] I've seen the political posturing

[4:03:02] that too many Democrats do on this issue.

[4:03:05] Center for Connecticut suggests

[4:03:07] that this is a newfound interest.

[4:03:08] I've served 11 years on the Senate Judiciary Committee.

[4:03:11] I have fought for 11 years.

[4:03:13] I've introduced legislation

[4:03:14] after legislation after legislation to lock up gun criminals.

[4:03:19] If you commit a crime with a gun, you should be prosecuted and go to jail.

[4:03:23] If you're a felon or fugitive or someone with serious mental illness and you try to illegally buy guns,

[4:03:28] you should be prosecuted and sent to jail.

[4:03:33] And repeatedly Democrats block those bills.

[4:03:37] The sad reality of this body is if you're a mom at home who wants to be able to protect your kids,

[4:03:44] the Democrats are really eager to disarm you,

[4:03:49] but if you're a gang-vanger in Chicago,

[4:03:53] they're not interested in a gun task force to lock you up and take the murderers off the street.

[4:04:04] Mr. President, why is it an unreasonable question?

[4:04:10] To ask, what's wrong with having more police

[4:04:14] officers to protect our kids?

[4:04:18] And I want to show you how little interest the Democrats have.

[4:04:21] The Center for Connecticut has gone.

[4:04:25] He gave his little speech and ran away.

[4:04:29] This is supposed to be the world's greatest deliberative body.

[4:04:33] But as long as the press doesn't do its job,

[4:04:38] the Center for Connecticut can send out a

[4:04:40] fundraising email tonight to all the gun control groups,

[4:04:47] saying, guess what, we're coming

[4:04:48] after the Second Amendment, please click here.

[4:05:00] Now to the kids who are scared at home right now.

[4:05:05] The solutions put forth by the Democrats in this

[4:05:08] body are not designed to stop crime. This bill is,

[4:05:24] you know, for a long time,

[4:05:28] in the weeks

[4:05:28] and months following you've already, there's been a talking point raised by the left on Twitter

[4:05:37] and echo just moments ago by the senator from Connecticut.

[4:05:42] That says, well, we don't want more police

[4:05:45] because the police don't stop these crimes

[4:05:49] and they point to you, of all day.

[4:05:51] Now, I will say having been in you

[4:05:53] of all day right after that shooting.

[4:05:57] What the police officers did there was tragic.

[4:06:03] Hundreds of officers showed up at that school

[4:06:05] and for an hour and 14 minutes,

[4:06:10] They did nothing, they didn't go in and take out the shooter.

[4:06:17] That was true even a shots rang out repeatedly.

[4:06:20] That was true even as little children were calling 911 begging for help.

[4:06:25] For over an hour, they didn't go in.

[4:06:30] I agree the conduct of law enforcement that day was inexplicable and indefensible.

[4:06:38] I will say, when I went to you of all the immediately after the shooting,

[4:06:43] Seeing your law enforcement there and you've all the satin room and lied to me and lied to

[4:06:50] John Corden and lied to Greg Abbott the governor about what happened.

[4:06:54] The story they described was utterly false as would come out in the days to follow.

[4:07:00] One of the things they claim that day is they said, oh an officer was there when the shooter

[4:07:03] arrived.

[4:07:04] That was not true.

[4:07:07] You want to know why having an officer there matters, watch the body cam footage.

[4:07:14] In Nashville, those heroic officers who heard the sounds of gunshots and ran towards them,

[4:07:20] risking their lives.

[4:07:25] There are children who are thank God alive because of the heroism of those officers.

[4:07:31] Is it too much to ask how things would have been different if the officers could have been

[4:07:37] at the front door to begin with?

[4:07:40] They could have been.

[4:07:42] If not, for Senate Democrats.

[4:07:46] Now, the Senator from Connecticut said, gosh, he hasn't had time to read this bill that

[4:07:51] he's voted on before that he's objected to before.

[4:07:53] But you know, it really did make his head hurt to have to read this legislative language.

[4:08:00] Well, I'll tell you what, we're getting ready to go in a two week recess.

[4:08:04] When we come back, we can do this again.

[4:08:07] Senator from Connecticut, take two weeks to read the bill.

[4:08:11] It's not complicated and then I look forward to the center from Connecticut telling me why on the

[4:08:18] half of the Democrat party.

[4:08:21] He thinks having police officers on school campuses is a bad idea.

[4:08:25] And by the way, I would note, even though it's just the center from Connecticut objecting

[4:08:31] every Democrat in this body voter against this bill and not a single Democrat has come

[4:08:36] to the floor to say they disagree with what the center from Connecticut is doing.

[4:08:39] When he stands up and does this objection, he's doing it on behalf of the whole Democrat party.

[4:08:46] I'll make an invitation to any one of you.

[4:08:51] If there is a Democrat member in this body that actually believes that having police officers protect our kids would be a good thing,

[4:09:01] that actually believes having mental health counselors in our schools would be a good thing,

[4:09:05] that actually believes that providing funding

[4:09:08] to enhance physical security and schools would be a good thing,

[4:09:13] and come join me.

[4:09:17] I don't have a whole lot of optimism that's gonna happen.

[4:09:23] But if it doesn't,

[4:09:27] this is all gonna happen again.

[4:09:32] The bill passed last fall.

[4:09:35] Nobody, nobody, nobody, nobody, nobody, nobody.

[4:09:37] Things it is going to do anything to stop mass murders.

[4:09:45] What was designed to do that was designed to a swage gun control activists.

[4:09:55] You want to stop mass murderers go after the murderers.

[4:09:58] If you want to stop mass murderers, stop mass murderers.

[4:10:00] Yes, murders, protect our kids. We can do this.

[4:10:07] But to do it, we've got to have someone from the Democrat Party willing to stand up and say, let's actually get it done.

[4:10:20] Right now today the answer from Democrats is thoughts and prayers.

[4:10:25] I agree, thoughts and prayers are not enough. How about action? And by the way, they do want action. They'd be happy to confiscate all the law-abiding citizens' firearms, which doesn't work and wouldn't have kept anyone safe.

[4:10:37] How about action to keep our kids safe?

[4:10:49] If the Democrats had an objective in September of 2022,

[4:10:54] this horrific murder and Nashville could have been prevented.

[4:10:59] It should have been prevented.

[4:11:03] And we have a responsibility to do everything

[4:11:05] we can to prevent the next one.

[4:11:09] I yield a floor.

[4:11:14] Mr. President.

[4:11:15] Senator Minita, Mr. President, I'm back again

[4:11:18] seeking unanimous consent for the passage of my free bird act.

[4:11:23] Now, previously, my request for unanimous consent was met with an objection.

[4:11:30] Objection on the grounds that we're still in the midst of a public health emergency.

[4:11:36] It was ovated, this objection that this unanimous consent request was objected to on

[4:11:45] the grounds that if we were going to do this, we should end the vaccine requirement for foreign

[4:11:51] and the public health emergency at the same time to do this in the words of the

[4:11:57] objector to make it clean. Well Mr. President, just last night the Senate voted to

[4:12:03] terminate COVID-19 pandemic national emergency order. That makes this as clean as

[4:12:10] it gets. We've passed this now and early this morning the White House announced

[4:12:15] that the President will be signing that measure which had previously been passed

[4:12:20] by the House in the law, so that's happening now, that makes it means that this is as clean

[4:12:24] as it gets.

[4:12:26] He thinks would go out at the same time with a bang, as well they should.

[4:12:31] Now, it also means that there's no reason why we shouldn't end this particular restriction.

[4:12:37] The restriction on unvaccinated foreign travelers coming into the United States today.

[4:12:43] Now, to those who might think that the Senate passed something last night that might somehow

[4:12:50] make it unnecessary to pass the free bird act, make it unnecessary separately to enact legislation,

[4:12:58] ending the foreign traveler vaccine requirement. They're mistaken. And they're mistaken

[4:13:04] because those two legal documents that are proclamation issued by President Trump in 2020 declaring

[4:13:13] national public health emergency and the October 2021 executive order issued by President Biden

[4:13:22] putting in place the foreign traveler vaccine requirement. There are separate things.

[4:13:28] Neither depends on the other. And so the fact that the public health emergency executive order is

[4:13:34] now on its way out the door it will be no more in a matter of hours or days. It makes no difference

[4:13:40] this one. This one remains in effect, unless or until it's undone. So, to paraphrase the words of the

[4:13:51] member of the Senate from the Democratic Party who objected to this just a few days ago, we can make it clean.

[4:13:58] Now, we should make it clean, in fact. We should make it clean by getting rid of this just as the other expires.

[4:14:04] Now look, so it begs the question, why does this matter so much, why do we care about the

[4:14:10] fact that we're requiring foreign travelers to prove that they've been vaccinated prior

[4:14:15] to entering the United States? Well, we care and we should care because it's levying

[4:14:19] a really heavy cost on state and local economies and on the American economy and on American

[4:14:27] relationships across this country. Continuing to keep this mandate in place and it's

[4:14:33] when President Biden himself is declared that the pandemic is over, and is prepared apparently

[4:14:38] to sign into law legislation passed by both houses, officially ending the order declaring

[4:14:45] the existence of the public health emergency over COVID.

[4:14:51] It doesn't make any sense to continue this.

[4:14:54] especially, you know, time when this body is voted, and the present.

[4:15:00] Prepaired to sign the other measure.

[4:15:05] Look,

[4:15:07] those who oppose this really are unjustified in what they're trying to do, especially because they're ignoring the new risk calculus that is affording Americans a renewed sense of normalcy, much needed normalcy after three years of chaos.

[4:15:27] This policy has separated loved ones for far too long.

[4:15:32] It's time to end the COVID-19 vaccination requirement for foreign travelers,

[4:15:37] prohibit using federal funds to carry out the requirement

[4:15:41] and prevent the CDC from ordering future COVID-19 vaccine mandates for foreign travelers.

[4:15:48] It's costing us too much.

[4:15:52] Mr. President, in 2021 alone, you talk visitors,

[4:15:56] Travelers coming into Utah spent nearly $11 billion generating over $130,000 and almost $2 billion in state and local tax revenue.

[4:16:08] Look, Utah's tourism sector experienced so much decline during COVID, particularly during 2020.

[4:16:20] by 2021 and even more so by today, it really has recovered quite well, except in one area.

[4:16:28] We still haven't recovered much less made in the gains with regard to foreign visitors

[4:16:34] to the state of Utah.

[4:16:37] Why?

[4:16:37] Well, I think a lot of it has to do with this unnecessary draconian requirement, a requirement

[4:16:43] that the developed world no longer recognizes the need for.

[4:16:49] We're outliers in the free world for keeping this in place.

[4:16:53] But by lifting the vaccine mandate, Utah and the United States

[4:16:57] stand to benefit tremendously from increased international travel.

[4:17:02] Look, it's not just that it's costing us tourism.

[4:17:06] It's costing us meaningful connections,

[4:17:09] connections that enrich and promote our shared humanity.

[4:17:11] Right now, foreign travelers, including family members, including friends, business relations,

[4:17:18] and even international sports figures, are being kept off of U.S. soil arbitrarily due

[4:17:25] to this draconian vaccine mandate.

[4:17:27] Look right now, today, this very moment, we have the opportunity to reverse course.

[4:17:32] In fact, the House of Representatives has already passed this very bill ending the vaccine

[4:17:38] mandate.

[4:17:38] And it's pasted with bipartisan support.

[4:17:41] Today, we can restore our personal and business relationships.

[4:17:47] Boost our tourism, not just in Utah, but across America,

[4:17:51] and re-engage in the competitive spirit that brings nations

[4:17:55] together.

[4:17:58] It's time Mr. President to end this mandate.

[4:18:00] It's time to join the rest of the developed and the free world.

[4:18:05] It's time to free the bird and to pass the free bird act.

[4:18:13] Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to the immediate consideration

[4:18:17] of calendar number 14, HR185, further that the least substitute of amendment at the

[4:18:22] desk be considered and agreed to, that the bill has amended be considered red a third

[4:18:27] time and pass and that the motions to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table.

[4:18:33] Is there an objection?

[4:18:36] I'm Mr. President.

[4:18:37] Reserving the right to object.

[4:18:38] Senator from New Jersey.

[4:18:40] Mr. President, I am here on behalf of Senator Sanders, who was pulled away from the

[4:18:46] floor on an important matter.

[4:18:48] He asked me to object on this matter.

[4:18:54] He gave me some documentation and some points.

[4:18:57] I don't want to burden the Senate with reading everything that I was given.

[4:19:00] But I would like to ask permission to enter into the record the objection on behalf of Mr. Sanders if there's no objection to that, sir.

[4:19:10] Without objection.

[4:19:11] And I will say, I really feel so blessed to be a senator.

[4:19:18] And one of the great blessings for me has been getting to know my colleagues.

[4:19:23] And I know folks on both sides of the aisle and have sincere friendships and admiration.

[4:19:27] Senator Lee is one of the people I respect in this body, the most he's learned it, I have learned from him.

[4:19:34] My positions on issues have evolved from taking the time to actually listen to my colleague from Utah speak.

[4:19:41] And he's passionately, I now see both colleagues from Utah here.

[4:19:46] I need to get Menendez down to this floor and get some firepower here.

[4:19:51] But I've also learned a lot about Utah itself.

[4:19:54] And when he talks about the reasons for getting rid of this, they're very compelling to me.

[4:19:58] The reality is...

[4:20:00] Tourism is one of our greatest industries that creates jobs and opportunities. When he talks about sports teams, I'm not sure it's because he's a sports fan. I think he understands that sports teams help create economic growth and economic opportunity.

[4:20:14] And even more than that, what I've learned from my colleague and my friend is that Utah is a very special place. I remember you told me the Center for Utah told me that I think one of the cities in Utah is one of the places in America that most foreign languages,

[4:20:29] is our spoken and mastered in all of our country.

[4:20:32] And I imagine, because of the extensive foreign travel,

[4:20:35] there's real connections, and he said something

[4:20:38] that resonated with my spirit, which is his idea

[4:20:40] that it's affecting families.

[4:20:42] We might have blended families.

[4:20:43] Americans do often marry people from outside of our country.

[4:20:47] All those reasons I feel are very compelling.

[4:20:50] When I read Senator Sanders remarks here,

[4:20:52] though I found him compelling as well.

[4:20:55] And one of the things I found most compelling,

[4:20:56] I don't know about the senator from Utah.

[4:21:00] I actually have a science degree, a political science degree.

[4:21:04] So I tend to rely on health professionals.

[4:21:08] And the Senator Sanders remarks, all of which I'll put in the record,

[4:21:11] talk to the point about the fact that people are still

[4:21:15] dying in the United States from COVID.

[4:21:17] But the also point that COVID didn't originate here.

[4:21:20] We know it came from another country.

[4:21:22] we know that a zutonic disease spread from wet markets and other countries into human beings

[4:21:31] that then travel to our nation most likely and spread it to us.

[4:21:35] We know that variants are still happening.

[4:21:38] Many of them can come from outside of our country and there are many health professionals

[4:21:41] who believe that doing the right thing and showing people our vaccine may help us to stop a future

[4:21:49] variant.

[4:21:49] But now, again, there are reasonable objections on the other side on this.

[4:21:54] And my hope is that perhaps we as a body can come together and find a just way forward.

[4:22:03] We are, indeed, a body where a lot more happens in a bipartisan way than I think most of

[4:22:08] the public understands.

[4:22:10] And I know for my experience of nine years in the Senate that a lot of the bipartisan legislation

[4:22:14] I've respected most, Senator Lee, especially in our judiciary committee, has been involved

[4:22:19] than those. So I, on behalf of Senator Sanders, am objecting, because of his reasons, but

[4:22:26] I do hope to continue my personal conversations with Senator Lee on that. So I officially

[4:22:31] Mr. President, I object.

[4:22:34] Mr. President.

[4:22:35] Mr. President.

[4:22:35] Senator, for me.

[4:22:36] I just respond very quickly because I know that floors backed up, and I want to help people

[4:22:40] get back on schedule. First of all, I really appreciate the kind remarks from the Senator

[4:22:45] from New Jersey, who's a dear friend.

[4:22:48] I'm a former resident of his state and I first heard his name when I lived there about 25 years ago.

[4:22:56] I've always enjoyed working with him and I appreciate the dignified manner in which he responded to this request today.

[4:23:03] You drew this short stick and you've got a job to do I get it.

[4:23:06] I do look forward to working with you on this.

[4:23:08] I suspect you and I can get to the point where we agree on this.

[4:23:12] I would love nothing more than to add you as a co-sponsor.

[4:23:14] The bottom line is I haven't reviewed what Senator Sanders has submitted to Senator Booker but I look forward to doing that.

[4:23:22] I surmise based on the summary that these are relying on certain experts.

[4:23:28] Some of the same experts who have given some phenomenally bad advice much of which turned out to be wrong.

[4:23:32] Same experts that told us that it didn't leak from a lab.

[4:23:36] Same experts that told us that it wouldn't spread among the vaccinated, the same experts that told us that we should

[4:23:43] have to mask two-year-old children when getting on a plane, there would be no adverse consequences

[4:23:49] from sending children to school during COVID, and that it was absolutely necessary in

[4:23:55] a pair to do so. Some of the same experts who tell us to vaccinate young children sometimes

[4:23:59] infants with this particular vaccine. So I have great reluctance to defer to those same experts

[4:24:07] when especially considering the fact that even though some of those very same experts are

[4:24:12] telling us not to end the public health emergency, we've now done so, and President Biden's

[4:24:17] going to sign that into law.

[4:24:19] Let's end the madness of difference to experts who have proven time and time again to be

[4:24:26] wrong.

[4:24:26] Thank you, Mr. President.

[4:24:29] Senator from Louisiana.

[4:24:31] Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that I be amounted to 10 minutes before our vote.

[4:24:43] Is there a objection?

[4:24:50] A objection insert?

[4:26:14] Under the previous order, the Senate will proceed to executive session to resume consideration of the following nomination, which the clerk will report.

[4:26:23] Now, the nation, Department of Defense, Laura Calay, of California, to be an assistant secretary.

[4:26:33] Questions on the nomination?

[4:26:36] Senator from New Jersey?

[4:26:37] I ask for the A, A, for the A's and Nays or whatever means yes and no.

[4:26:44] Is there sufficient second?

[4:26:46] There appears to be.

[4:26:47] The clerk will call the wrong.

[4:26:49] Ms. Baldwin, Mr. Baraso, Mr. Bennett, Mrs. Blackburn, Mr. Blumenthal, Mr. Bucker.

[4:27:10] Mr. Boseman, Mr. Braun,

[4:27:17] Mr. Brant,

[4:27:26] Mr. Brown, Mr. Bud,

[4:27:32] Mr. Cantwell,

[4:27:36] Mr. Capito,

[4:27:40] Mr. Cardin,

[4:27:43] Mr. Carper,

[4:27:46] Mr. Casey,

[4:27:49] Mr. Cassidy,

[4:27:53] Mr. Collins,

[4:27:55] Mr. Coons,

[4:28:00] Mr. Cornon,

[4:28:08] Ms. Cortez Masto,

[4:28:16] Mr. Cotton,

[4:28:28] Mr. Cotton, Mr. Cramer, Mr.

[4:28:30] Crapham, Mr. Cruz, Mr. Daines, Ms. Duckworth, Mr. Durbin, Ms. Ernst,

[4:29:21] Mr. Durbin,

[4:29:25] Ms. Ernst,

[4:29:29] Mrs. Feinstein,

[4:29:32] Mr.

[4:29:32] Mr. Fatterman,

[4:29:41] Mrs. Fisher, Mrs. Gillibrand, Mr. Graham, Mr. Grassley,

[4:29:54] Mr. Haggerty, Ms. Hassen.

[4:30:00] Mr. Holly.

[4:30:03] Mr. Heinrich.

[4:30:10] Mr. Haken Lupa.

[4:30:13] Mr. Ronaldo.

[4:30:17] Mr. Holvin.

[4:30:20] Mr. Height Smith.

[4:30:24] Mr. Johnson.

[4:30:28] Mr. King.

[4:30:51] Mr. Height Smith. Mr. Johnson. Mr. King.

[4:30:57] Mr. Kelly. Mr. Kennedy.

[4:31:03] Mr. King.

[4:31:06] Mr. Clobechar.

[4:31:11] Mr.

[4:31:12] Mr. Langford, Mr. Lee,

[4:31:17] Mr. Luhan,

[4:31:20] Ms. Lomas,

[4:31:24] Mr. Manchin, Mr. Markey,

[4:31:30] Mr. Marshall,

[4:31:33] Mr. McConnell,

[4:31:36] Mr. Menendez,

[4:31:40] Mr. Merkley,

[4:31:43] Mr. Moran,

[4:31:49] Mr. Mullen,

[4:31:50] Ms.

[4:31:54] McCalski,

[4:31:58] Mr. Murphy,

[4:32:02] Mrs. Murray,

[4:32:05] Mr. Aasov,

[4:32:11] Mr. Petia,

[4:32:15] Mr. Paul,

[4:32:24] Mr. Peters,

[4:32:28] Mr. Reed,

[4:32:32] Mr. Ricketts,

[4:32:36] Mr.

[4:32:41] Romney,

[4:32:48] Ms. Rosen,

[4:32:53] Mr. Rounds,

[4:32:56] Mr. Rubio,

[4:33:06] Mr. Sanders,

[4:33:09] Mr. Shots,

[4:33:13] Mr. Schmidt,

[4:33:17] Mr. Schumer,

[4:33:20] Mr. Scott of Florida,

[4:33:24] Mr. Scott of South Carolina,

[4:33:30] Mr. Shaheen,

[4:33:35] Ms. Sinema,

[4:33:38] Ms. Smith,

[4:33:42] Ms. Stabba now,

[4:33:45] Mr. Sullivan,

[4:33:49] Mr. Tester,

[4:33:53] Mr. Thun,

[4:33:57] Mr. Tillis,

[4:34:01] Mr. Tuberville,

[4:34:07] Mr. Van Holland,

[4:34:12] Mr. Bams,

[4:34:16] Mr. Warner,

[4:34:21] Mr. Warnock,

[4:34:26] Ms. Warren,

[4:34:30] Mr. Welch,

[4:34:33] Mr. White House,

[4:34:37] Mr.

[4:34:37] Mr. Wicker,

[4:34:41] Mr. Widen, Mr. Young.

[4:35:00] Senators voting in the affirmative. Booker, Brown, Casey, Collins, Coons, Durbin, Gillibram, Grassley, Hassan, King, King, Manchin, Menendez, Murphy, Murray, Padilla, Reed, Romney, Shaheen, Sinema, Tester, Welch, White House,

[4:35:29] Widen N. Young.

[4:35:32] Senators voting in the negative.

[4:35:34] Cassidy, Krapo, Ernst, Hyde Smith, Johnson, Kennedy, Marshall, Paul, and Taberville.

[4:35:50] Mr. Peters, Mr. Peters, I.

[4:36:34] Ms. Smith, I.

[4:36:44] Mr. Asof, Mr. Asof, I.

[4:36:56] Mr. Cardin, Mr. Cardin, I.

[4:37:18] Mr. Hickenlooper, Mr. Hickenlooper, I. Mr. Braun, Mr. Braun, no.

[4:37:48] Mr. Rubio, Mr. Rubio, no.

[4:37:55] Mrs. Blackburn, Mrs. Blackburn, no.

[4:38:08] Mr. Shots, Mr. Shots, I.

[4:38:28] Mrs. Britt, Mrs. Britt, no.

[4:39:02] Mr. Cotton, Mr. Cotton, no.

[4:39:04] Mr.

[4:39:25] Kornin. Mr. Kornin. No.

[4:39:53] Mr. Warner. Mr. Warner. I.

[4:40:11] Mr. Bud, Mr. Bud, no. Mr. Tillis, Mr. Tillis, aye.

[4:40:26] Mr. Vance, Mr. Vance, no.

[4:40:50] Mr. Deans, Mr. Deans, no.

[4:40:56] Mr. Rounds, Mr. Rounds, aye.

[4:41:09] Mr. Fisher, Mr. Fisher, aye.

[4:41:15] Mr. Ricketts, Mr. Ricketts, aye.

[4:41:28] Mr. Rish, Mr. Rish, no. Mr. Rono, Mr. Rono,

[4:41:32] I,

[4:42:34] Miss Sabanel, Miss Sabanel, I,

[4:42:43] Miss Clobachar, Miss Clobachar, I,

[4:42:58] Mr. Bozman, Mr. Bozman, I,

[4:43:11] Mr. Van Hallen, Mr. Van Hallen, I,

[4:43:24] Miss Warren, Miss Warren, I,

[4:43:38] Mr.

[4:45:07] Mr. Lankford, Mr. Lankford, no.

[4:45:24] Mr. Schumer, Mr. Schumer, aye, Mr. Warnock, Mr. Warnock, aye.

[4:46:05] Mr. Lee, Mr. Lee, no. Ms. Baldwin, Ms. Baldwin, aye. Mr. Scott, Mr. Scott of Florida, no.

[4:46:19] Mr. Merkley, Mr. Merkley, aye.

[4:46:31] Mr.

[4:46:43] Marky.

[4:47:28] Mr. Mullin.

[4:47:30] No.

[4:47:39] Mr. Cruz.

[4:47:40] Mr. Cruz.

[4:47:42] No.

[4:48:15] Mr. Luhon.

[4:48:16] Mr. Luhon.

[4:51:26] Ms. Rosen, Ms. Rosen, aye,

[4:51:40] Ms. Lumis, Ms. Lumis, no.

[4:51:53] Mr. Thune, Mr. Thune, aye.

[4:52:20] Mr. Wicker, Mr. Wicker, aye.

[4:52:38] Mr. Scott, Mr. Scott of South Carolina, no.

[4:52:45] Mr. Sullivan, Mr. Sullivan, no.

[4:54:35] Mr. Kelly, Mr. Kelly, aye.

[4:56:48] Mr. Carper, Mr. Carper, aye.

[5:00:29] Mr. Heinrich, Mr. Heinrich, aye,

[5:02:40] Ms. Duckworth, Ms. Duckworth, aye.

[5:05:36] Mr. Blumenthal, Mr. Blumenthal, aye,

[5:06:46] Mr. Holly, Mr. Holly, no,

[5:09:17] Mrs. Capitone, Mrs. Capitone, aye,

[5:09:51] Ms. Cortez Masto, Ms. Cortez Masto, aye.

[5:11:09] It's vote. The Yays are 63, the Nays are 27, and the nomination is confirmed.

[5:11:17] Under the previous

[5:11:17] order, the motions to reconsider is considered made and laid upon the table, and the president

[5:11:22] will be immediately notified of the Senate's action. Under the previous order, the Senate will

[5:11:27] resume legislative session.

[5:11:34] Mr. President, the senior senator from Texas.

[5:11:38] Thank you, Mr. President.

[5:11:41] Earlier this week, the Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security

[5:11:45] testified before the Senate Judiciary Committee. Under a Secretary of my

[5:11:50] Arcus's leadership, over these last two years, we've seen more than 4.8

[5:11:56] million migrants encountered at the Southern border. We've seen deadly drugs pouring

[5:12:03] into our country, killing more than 108,000 Americans in a single year. And there's

[5:12:11] Not no question, but that the transnational criminal organizations, known as the cartels,

[5:12:17] are fueling the chaos and the destruction.

[5:12:22] When Attorney General Merrick Garland testified before the Judiciary Committee just a few

[5:12:26] weeks from earlier, I brought up the role that the cartels were playing in this ongoing crisis.

[5:12:33] I asked the Attorney General what he was familiar with, the business model of the cartels.

[5:12:40] flood the border with migrants, overwhelmed law enforcement, and then allow the movement of the illegal drugs across the border and into the interior of the United States.

[5:12:55] Attorney General Garland said yes, he was aware. Not only that, he highlighted actions that he had taken at the Department of Justice to crack down on these operations.

[5:13:08] First, earlier this week when I posed the same question to Secretary Mayorkas, I asked

[5:13:13] if he was familiar with this tried and true strategy of the cartels.

[5:13:19] And he was clueless.

[5:13:21] He said, I'm not aware of any such strategy.

[5:13:27] Well, Mr. President, I don't know how that could possibly be true.

[5:13:30] So this is a well-known tactic that's been used throughout Secretary of my orcas' tenure.

[5:13:38] One of the most notable examples was in 2021, when the small town of Del Rio, Texas, all

[5:13:46] of a sudden was flooded with 15,000 migrants from Haiti.

[5:13:51] 35,000 people live in that small town, and they were overwhelmed by the huge volume of people

[5:13:58] from, I know it's hard to imagine, but from Haiti.

[5:14:04] To state the obvious, the Del Rio Border Patrol sector

[5:14:07] doesn't have the capacity to process or care

[5:14:09] for that many individuals at one time.

[5:14:12] And it attempt to help the administration

[5:14:14] moved agents from other checkpoints to the sector

[5:14:18] where their surge was happening.

[5:14:21] But after all, that's exactly what the car tells

[5:14:23] had hoped for.

[5:14:25] As there was a surge of agents to Del Rio, that left other portions of the border unprotected.

[5:14:35] Administration officials later told Congressional staff that this massive surge of migrants

[5:14:40] was a coordinated effort by the cartels.

[5:14:44] They directed Haitian migrants to a single location so that other areas would be left uncovered

[5:14:52] and clear a path for their illicit trade.

[5:14:58] Officials from the Biden administration.

[5:15:00] It admitted that this surge was coordinated by the card tells, but yet, the Secretary of Homeland Security is unaware.

[5:15:08] How could that possibly be? Well, Secretary my orchestra is either trying to deceive the Senate,

[5:15:21] or is completely unaware of the reality on the ground.

[5:15:24] I think both of those are fireable offenses,

[5:15:29] either you're lying or you're completely oblivious.

[5:15:35] So the threat to public safety posed by the current crisis, which is singularly of the making of the Biden administration,

[5:15:46] and they're unwillingness to use the tools that they have, the laws that already are on the books in order to deal with this crisis.

[5:15:53] this humanitarian crisis, this public health crisis.

[5:15:58] So every day the United States is getting played and criminal organizations whose illegal

[5:16:05] businesses are making them a lot of money are getting richer.

[5:16:12] These groups are what I like to call commodity agnostic because they deal in any product or

[5:16:19] service that makes the money, they really don't care, they certainly don't care about the

[5:16:23] migrants who are frequently abused and many of whom, unfortunately, are left to die on

[5:16:32] that long and dangerous journey from their home.

[5:16:36] We're well aware of their drug trafficking operation, which brings all sort of illegal drugs

[5:16:41] in the United States, and over the years law enforcement has interdicted everything from

[5:16:46] marijuana, the methamphetamine, to cocaine and heroin, but recently we've seen an alarming

[5:16:53] rise of fentanyl.

[5:16:55] When I was in Mexico City just a couple of weeks ago visiting with the Drug Enforcement

[5:17:01] Administration, they said fentanyl is made from chemicals that are imported from China

[5:17:08] to Mexico, where the cartel simply mixed them up, and then put them through a industrial

[5:17:16] size pill press, and make it look like regular prescription drugs, although these are

[5:17:25] laced with fentanyl, a deadly drug in very, very small amounts.

[5:17:31] We know a lot of communities throughout Texas and throughout the country have experienced

[5:17:36] waves of deaths caused by unintentional fentanyl poisoning.

[5:17:41] In other words, the person taking the pill usually, usually a teenager, thinks they're

[5:17:47] taking something innocuous that won't kill them, certainly.

[5:17:53] They may think they're taking anything from a pain killer or other sorts of prescription drugs

[5:17:59] and then they unknowingly ingest a lethal dose of fentanyl.

[5:18:04] Well, and of course the cartels continue to get rich and the destruction caused by these

[5:18:10] overdoses and drug abuse continue.

[5:18:17] But we know that these cartels, again, are commodity agnostic.

[5:18:21] They just don't traffic and drugs.

[5:18:23] They also pray on vulnerable people to want to come to the United States.

[5:18:28] They what spin a web of lies and false promises to convince migrants to make the journey

[5:18:33] to our border under their care, but it, like all other things, that the car

[5:18:39] tells deals in, it comes at a price.

[5:18:43] And there are a lot of factors that determine how much it costs somebody to make

[5:18:47] their way to our front doorstep on our southern border.

[5:18:52] Typically, it's thousands of dollars ahead, but really it just depends on where you're coming

[5:18:56] from.

[5:18:57] Because recently in New My Arizona, a sleepy little agricultural community, the Board of Patrol

[5:19:04] Chief welcomed at bipartisan delegation of senators there and said, we've encountered

[5:19:11] people who speak 200 languages from 176 countries in this sleepy little-ag community.

[5:19:19] Senator Mark Kelly from Arizona said, well, it's all, it all likelihood people are flying

[5:19:26] to Mexico, which is a city in northern Mexico, and then simply calling an Uber and making

[5:19:36] their way to the border and then claiming asylum only to be released by the Biden administration

[5:19:41] into the interior of the country.

[5:19:48] Those are the lucky ones. Those who turn themselves over

[5:19:51] to the coyotes, the human smugglers, frequently end up dead.

[5:19:58] We all remember last June when it was true.

[5:20:00] Contractor Trailer Rig, smuggled migrants in San Antonio, which was found abandoned in sweltering conditions. 53 people died, trapped in the back of that truck.

[5:20:16] Those that did survive often arrived malnourished or abused.

[5:20:22] Many women and men

[5:20:27] are injured or otherwise abused.

[5:20:30] Many women and girls are raped along the way.

[5:20:33] Some arrive pregnant.

[5:20:37] As we know the customers of these criminal organizations aren't limited to Mexican or Central

[5:20:43] American citizens, these are international criminal

[5:20:47] networks. Last year, consisted with what the U.M. Board of Patrol chief told us, last year,

[5:20:57] customs and border protection encountered migrants from 174 countries. People from every

[5:21:03] corner of the globe are traveling to Mexico and crossing the U.S. Southern border. All in

[5:21:10] the tender care of these transnational criminal organizations.

[5:21:18] Of course, given the nature

[5:21:19] of this business, it's tough to estimate just how much the cartels are making from their

[5:21:24] human smuggling operations.

[5:21:27] But last year, Homeland Security Investigations estimated that the cartels were making

[5:21:32] roughly $13 billion a year, just from migrants smuggling alone.

[5:21:39] And there's no question that their success is built on a breakdown of enforcement by the

[5:21:45] Biden administration.

[5:21:46] If our border was truly secure, if people knew that they would not be able to just enter

[5:21:53] our country, willy-nilly, but had to follow legal pathways, the cartels wouldn't be

[5:21:58] able to flood the zone with migrants to clear the way for their smuggling operations.

[5:22:04] Unfortunately, instead of making the cartels job harder, the Biden administration's policy

[5:22:11] of open borders just keeps making it easier.

[5:22:15] Rather than secure the border and enforce our laws, the Biden administration continues to send a message loud and clear that our border is open for anyone to come across.

[5:22:28] For more than two years the administration has refused and forced the law ensuring that the cartels illicit gateways remain wide open.

[5:22:38] They've released hundreds of thousands of migrants into the United States.

[5:22:42] Some of whom will wait as long as ten years before they can even begin the immigration

[5:22:48] court process.

[5:22:50] Talk about a major pull factor.

[5:22:53] If someone is on the fence about making the dangerous journey to the United States, but

[5:22:57] sees that virtually anybody that shows up is able to stay in the United States for

[5:23:03] a decade, at least even before facing an immigration judge, their decision to come

[5:23:08] is far easier. As though the cartels don't have enough business already, there are

[5:23:16] about to be given the gift of a lifetime. When Title 42 ends in six weeks on May 11th,

[5:23:24] Title 42, of course, is a public health law which is given the Board of Patrol one tool to

[5:23:30] deter and to return migrants out of the country.

[5:23:37] It's given the Department of Homeland Security,

[5:23:39] the ability to quickly expel migrants and prevent our border facilities and local communities

[5:23:45] from becoming even more overwhelmed than they already are.

[5:23:49] But once it disappears, in May, the floodgates will be wide open.

[5:23:55] Law enforcement and border communities have been bracing for the migration surge that

[5:23:59] sure to come once Title 42 goes away.

[5:24:03] They're worried that they don't have the people, the facilities, or resources to manage

[5:24:08] this flood of humanity, and the administration has done zero to inspire confidence.

[5:24:16] Just last week, Secretary my orcas visited El Paso, which has been at the epicenter

[5:24:22] of this crisis since late last year. The streets and the shelters have been filled with vulnerable

[5:24:28] migrants with nowhere else to go, and its leaders are very anxious about what will happen on May 11.

[5:24:34] But

[5:24:38] during his visit, Secretary Myorcus met with board of patrol agents and customs and board

[5:24:42] of protection, office-of-field operations officers to thank them for their hard work.

[5:24:48] These men and women have been on the front lines of this crisis for more than two years

[5:24:52] than they deserve our unending gratitude for the sacrifices they made.

[5:24:58] But they deserve more.

[5:25:00] Then our thanks. They deserve our help, so that they can do the law enforcement and do the job that

[5:25:09] things have pledged to do. But we've designed the system to fail because we've made it impossible

[5:25:17] for them to do their job the way they're trained to do.

[5:25:23] Well, Secretary Mayorca's couldn't

[5:25:24] be bothered to meet with other stakeholders in help pass, so he might have actually learned

[5:25:28] something. When I visited the city in January with a bipartisan group, we took the time to meet

[5:25:35] with law enforcement, local elected officials, business owners, non-governmental organizations,

[5:25:41] and many others. And they told us about the strain this crisis had placed on the entire

[5:25:47] community. And they shared their fears about what might happen once Title 42 has lifted if there's

[5:25:54] alternative plan put in place. Unfortunately, during his most recent trip, Secretary of

[5:26:01] my office didn't take the time to hear from a full range of stakeholders who were

[5:26:05] on the front lines. He didn't sit down with those elected officials to discuss the

[5:26:11] care of hands of migrants that are forming just across the border in water as across

[5:26:15] from El Paso. He didn't offer advice about how the community should prepare for

[5:26:21] what happens when Title 42 is eliminated or what the federal government was prepared to do to help.

[5:26:29] So once again, our Board of Communities and Texas are doing the back-breaking work of managing

[5:26:36] this crisis with little or no support from the Biden administration.

[5:26:42] But at the end of Title 42 in sight, the administration needs to prepare for what's to come,

[5:26:48] And they need to help get ready to deter this huge flood of humanity.

[5:26:56] They simply can't ignore the problem and hope it goes away.

[5:26:59] That had worked for the last two years, and it certainly won't work now.

[5:27:05] March is quickly coming to a close, and the challenges are only going to grow from there.

[5:27:10] As the spring months are typically some of the busiest for migration.

[5:27:14] That's because mild temperatures make the journey a little less dangerous, and folks want

[5:27:19] to come to the United States, many to work during the summertime.

[5:27:24] Our border communities are bracing for this perfect storm of policies and circumstances

[5:27:31] that will hurt everybody except the cartels.

[5:27:35] Their drugs trafficking and human smuggling have never been more profitable, and they're

[5:27:40] up for an even bigger windfall thanks to the Biden administration and the end of Title 42.

[5:27:47] These criminal organizations will continue to extort and profit off the backs of vulnerable

[5:27:52] migrants, they'll coordinate migration surges to distract and overwhelm law enforcement,

[5:27:58] and they'll smuggle fentanyl and other dangerous drugs into every corner of this country.

[5:28:05] And they'll get richer, while migrants and communities throughout America suffer.

[5:28:12] The administration has six weeks to come up with a plan.

[5:28:16] They know the clock is ticking, and they'd better get to work.

[5:28:20] And even more significantly, they ought to work with us on a bipartisan basis to come up

[5:28:26] with the solution.

[5:28:27] Senator Sinema from Arizona, and I, and require a Democrat from

[5:28:33] Moreado, Tony Gonzalez, Republican from the largest border district in the country.

[5:28:38] The four of us introduced the bill called the bipartisan border safety act.

[5:28:44] We did that almost two years ago, and yet our Democratic colleagues, even though they've

[5:28:50] had the majority for two years preceding this last election, did nothing to have

[5:28:56] hearings on that proposed legislation, or to offer a mark-up or vote on the bill.

[5:29:06] And certainly, we were happy if somebody had a better idea to come forward, but all we

[5:29:10] heard were crickets.

[5:29:15] Well, the top clock is ticking, and we know what's going to happen in May unless something

[5:29:20] changes, and I hope it will, a yield of four.

[5:29:33] President.

[5:29:33] Senator from Virginia. Mr. President, I take the floor because of a letter that I received in my office a few days ago.

[5:29:43] This was a letter that was mailed to our office via email on March 23rd and I just want to read it.

[5:29:51] Hello Senator, my name is, I'm going to omit the name.

[5:29:55] My name is, and I am terrified to go.

[5:30:01] I've lived in your state for almost six years and never have I been more scared than I am when I go to school every day.

[5:30:10] My father was in the Army, my mother works with where blue run to remember a military nonprofit for gold star families.

[5:30:19] I am no stranger to death, and yet I am scared that one day that may be waiting for me at school.

[5:30:28] I lived in Lakewood, Washington, I went to St. Francis,

[5:30:32] cabrini, and we once had a lockdown, because a car ran down our fence while

[5:30:36] children were at recess. I was present during the shooting at Ford Hood in 2013.

[5:30:43] My sister can't remember, but she was so close to the perpetrator. I still have

[5:30:48] nightmares from both of these incidents. I'm supposed to be safe at school, but

[5:30:54] Today, when it was rumored that someone was planning to target our school out of revenge

[5:30:59] on an ex-partner, I was reminded of another day I spent huddled under a desk in art class

[5:31:05] feverishly reciting the Hail Mary.

[5:31:10] Something needs to change.

[5:31:12] I'm not the only kid who feels this way.

[5:31:15] Why should I be scared to go to school?

[5:31:20] This letter came to my office on March 23rd, a few days later.

[5:31:24] this student in all America woke up to the story of the shooting in Nashville.

[5:31:32] Why should I be scared to go to school?

[5:31:36] In January of this year, just a few months ago, there was an incident that also attracted

[5:31:42] significant intention in Virginia and around the country where a teacher, first-grade teacher

[5:31:47] Abby Zwerner at the Richneck Elementary School in Newport, Newport, Newspaper, Virginia.

[5:31:51] saw a sexual point in a gun at her and she acted heroically to come toward the student

[5:31:58] to try to take the gun and she was shot and badly, badly wounded but she was able to

[5:32:04] protect the lives of her students and others in the school building.

[5:32:07] She has recovering slowly from that and just starting to talk about that experience.

[5:32:13] Mr. President, I went to Newport News about a month after that incident in early February

[5:32:18] to meet with a number of the parents and teachers.

[5:32:22] And they wanted it off the record, no press.

[5:32:25] Just let's sit down and talk.

[5:32:27] And I'm going to respect their privacy by not talking

[5:32:30] about their names, the names of their kids,

[5:32:33] or particulars of their story.

[5:32:35] But I can summarize it.

[5:32:37] These parents are afraid when they drop their kids off at school.

[5:32:42] And they're afraid that when they come at the end of the day,

[5:32:45] something might have happened to their children.

[5:32:47] They're afraid that they may get a call

[5:32:48] in the middle of the day that something has happened to their kids.

[5:32:53] And the teachers who are with me that day, they have that same fear.

[5:32:56] They go into these classrooms every day because they love children, but they are afraid

[5:33:00] now to do that job.

[5:33:02] Lord knows, we've got teacher shortages all over this country, and we're working our best

[5:33:07] to try to attract people to the profession, but these teachers, many of whom had been in

[5:33:12] the profession.

[5:33:13] And for decades, they're now afraid for the first time in their lives to go to school every day.

[5:33:22] Emergency room visits for gun-related injuries in Virginia increased by 72% from 2018 through 2021.

[5:33:31] In an average year, about 1,020 people die in Virginia in another 2,050 or so were wounded by guns.

[5:33:40] And among young people, guns are the leading cause of death among children and teens in Virginia.

[5:33:48] In average of 85, children and teens die by guns every year, 55% of these deaths are homicides.

[5:33:55] Others are accidental shootings or deaths by suicide.

[5:34:03] I don't know what to do with this.

[5:34:06] I don't know what to do with this.

[5:34:08] I react negatively when in the aftermath of shootings,

[5:34:15] it sometimes seems like all members of Congress can say

[5:34:18] is that they're heartbroken

[5:34:19] and they send thoughts and prayers to the family.

[5:34:22] That starts to sound very hollow.

[5:34:24] Of course, thoughts and prayers are meaningful,

[5:34:26] but it starts to sound very hollow

[5:34:28] to those who are victimized by gun violence

[5:34:30] when that is the response and nothing more.

[5:34:37] But let me be self-critical.

[5:34:39] I'm not into offering hollow thoughts and prayers.

[5:34:42] I tend to say I'm heartbroken for the families and I think we need to do things in the Senate

[5:34:46] like doing assault weapons, ban, or other meaningful legislation that could save some of the

[5:34:52] things we ought to do in Congress or things that we have done in Virginia in recent years.

[5:34:56] That is made our state safer, but there's nothing you can do that's going to complete.

[5:35:00] Let me eliminate this problem. But I was challenging my staff the other day. If we think thoughts and prayers and nothing else is hollow, then saying we should do an assault weapons ban, when we know that's not going to get 60 votes on the floor of the Senate. I do think we should do an assault weapons ban. When we had one in the 90s it worked. But I also know to a certainty that in the near future there is zero chance that this body is going to get to 60 votes for an assault weapons ban or other kinds of gun safety regulations.

[5:35:30] that would take a student and make her less afraid to go to school or a parent and teacher and reduce their fear.

[5:35:37] And so what I'm challenging people around me, including my own staff and challenging myself on is, have we allowed this tough issue that debate about this tough issue to get a little stale?

[5:35:50] Thoughts and prayers, assault weapons ban, thoughts and prayers don't do anything to help people assault weapons ban might, but we're not going to pass it.

[5:35:56] we allowed it to get stale and are there solutions and strategies that we're not talking

[5:36:05] about, that we might be able to find common ground on because if anything should cry

[5:36:12] out to us and demand that we find common ground is that we not do nothing, that we not listen

[5:36:20] to the fears of students and parents and teachers and just say, well, that's just the way life

[5:36:27] is in America, that's just America in life.

[5:36:31] We can't be complacent about it, and Mr. President, I'm just thinking about our differences

[5:36:36] in age.

[5:36:37] My children are out of high school now for my youngest is 10 years out of high school.

[5:36:43] You still have school age kits, so you're still grappling with the reality of safety and

[5:36:48] schools at the pickup and to drop off.

[5:36:51] This has gotten so much worse in just in the last 10 years.

[5:36:54] My children all went to the rich in public schools,

[5:36:57] which are urban public school, you know, setting and a community

[5:37:01] that had some significant problems with violent crime.

[5:37:05] But my wife and I were never nervous when we took them to school.

[5:37:09] And we never worried about getting a text or something in the middle of the day.

[5:37:13] And we never were afraid that when we got there at the end of the day,

[5:37:16] something would happen. And that was just a little bit over 10 years ago. My children

[5:37:19] finished high school right before my youngest right before the Sandy Hook shooting.

[5:37:25] So they were not in the K-12 system in Virginia when there has just been the steady drum

[5:37:30] beat of one school shooting after the next. They weren't terrorized or afraid. Their teachers

[5:37:36] weren't. My wife and I weren't. And that was just 10 years ago. How much more devastating

[5:37:43] getting the problem of school shootings has become in the last 10 years.

[5:37:48] And so I just take the floor to say, I need to write something back to this youngster.

[5:37:57] Her question, why should I be scared to go to school?

[5:38:00] I've got to write her and respond in some way.

[5:38:03] And I don't really know now what to say.

[5:38:05] But I've challenged my team and I've challenged my colleagues that we're in a recess

[5:38:10] period.

[5:38:10] We're back in our states.

[5:38:11] We're talking to people, we're hopefully getting ideas from them and listening to them.

[5:38:17] What's asked some young people who go to school?

[5:38:19] Let's ask some teachers.

[5:38:20] Let's ask some parents of school kids if they have ideas for us that are new or different.

[5:38:27] Let's ask them whether they are political debate about solutions as grown-stale and whether

[5:38:31] there are solutions that we haven't yet contemplated that could respond to the question

[5:38:36] that the student has raised.

[5:38:38] And with that Mr. President, I yield the floor.

[5:38:42] The absence of a quorum.

[5:38:45] Clerk will call the rule.

[5:38:46] Ms. Baldwin.

[5:38:57] Might I ask that the quorum call be suspended?

[5:39:00] Senator from Virginia.

[5:39:01] The quorum is suspended without objection.

[5:39:03] I have six requests for committees to meet during today's session of the Senate.

[5:39:07] And they do have the approval of both the majority and minority leaders.

[5:39:10] Really noted.

[5:39:11] I now note the absence of a quorum.

[5:39:13] The clerk will call the rule.

[5:39:15] Ms. Baldwin.

[5:42:40] President,

[5:42:43] senior senator from the state of Delaware.

[5:42:48] Mr. President, I really didn't have anything to say. I just wanted to hear you say that.

[5:42:52] Sir, I apologize for interrupting, but we...

[5:42:54] I'm hearing a quorum call. Excuse me?

[5:42:57] I ask you, you know, I'm just going to say that the quorum call will be initiated.

[5:42:59] Without objection.

[5:43:01] Thank you, sir.

[5:43:04] Rise today.

[5:43:05] It's a military standing next to a woman from New Jersey.

[5:43:09] He's our communications director.

[5:43:10] and who handles the Delaware and somehow manages the handle of New Jersey and raise the family at the same time.

[5:43:17] She's amazing, but delighted that I have the two of you on the floor at the same time, this is a wonderful coincidence.

[5:43:25] But Mr. President, I arrived today to highlight something that I believe you, Knights, all of us, and that supports for our local firefighters across the country.

[5:43:35] if you're New Jersey or Delaware or Oregon or New Mexico, there's a great

[5:43:40] affection and appreciation for our firefighters. Our firefighters throughout

[5:43:46] America are every day people who every day do extraordinary things with

[5:43:51] their lives. They put their lives on the line to protect us. They're willing to

[5:43:58] and they have to to lay down their lives to save ours and the lives of our

[5:44:03] families. For that we ought to them to make sure that they are fully equipped with a life-saving

[5:44:08] protection with the equipment, the education and training they need to get their job done.

[5:44:15] That's why I'm very proud to co-lead the Fire Grants and Safety Act with my colleague on the

[5:44:22] Congressional Fire Services Caucus that would be with our colleagues. One of them would be

[5:44:33] of Susan Collins, of Maine, a long-time supporter of firefighter and leader in the Congressional

[5:44:39] Fire Classes.

[5:44:39] And Lisa Mercowski also a leader in the Congressional Fire Caucus from Alaska.

[5:44:45] And I was pleased that the Committee on Homeless Security and Governmental Affairs, on which

[5:44:49] I'm privileged to serve, used to be chair, has passed this important bill out of committee

[5:44:54] just earlier this month, Mr. President.

[5:44:57] and the fire grants and safety act.

[5:45:00] Act authorizes critical federal programs that support local fire departments. Namely, among those

[5:45:07] FEMA staffing for adequate fire and emergency response, also known as the SAFER, SAFER grant

[5:45:16] program. And the assistance to firefighters grant program. These programs are not just incidental.

[5:45:24] They are vital. They are critical. They are essential. So local fire fighting departments

[5:45:28] to help recruits staff to purchase life-saving equipment like fire trucks and protective

[5:45:35] gear to provide fire training and education to current firefighters and also to new firefighters

[5:45:43] and improve medical services to our communities.

[5:45:47] In Delaware, our fire departments rely on these programs to protect our communities.

[5:45:52] In fact, in 2021, and I think in 2022, the SAFER program and the SOCLE AFG programs provided

[5:46:01] almost $3 million in funding to Delaware fire departments.

[5:46:05] They may not sound like a lot of money in New Jersey or California or some other places,

[5:46:10] $3 million in real money, and I state to the other side of Delaware, and it's put to

[5:46:16] very good use every year.

[5:46:18] So Mr. President, that we know these threats from fire

[5:46:22] whether they're in their homes, whether those threats are in

[5:46:25] our businesses, whether they're wildfires.

[5:46:27] We know they're not going away.

[5:46:29] We know they're not going away.

[5:46:30] Alaska last year, three million acres burned in a wildfire,

[5:46:37] a wildfire, three million acres burned in one wildfire.

[5:46:41] That's nearly half of the acres burned in the

[5:46:43] entire United States of America.

[5:46:45] I just think that in one wildfire in Alaska.

[5:46:48] Just three weeks ago, I'm told high winds,

[5:46:51] spread out fire in my own home state of Delaware,

[5:46:53] they didn't go up about a half dozen homes.

[5:46:55] I left some 16 people homeless

[5:46:57] and caused over a million dollars in damage.

[5:47:01] We got to ensure that our firefighters have what they need

[5:47:05] when they wake up each morning to bravely respond

[5:47:07] to the cause that come their way.

[5:47:10] Without action authorization of both a safer

[5:47:13] and the FG programs would expire later this year.

[5:47:18] And as I said at the beginning of my remarks report,

[5:47:20] for a local firefighter is an issue that brings us together.

[5:47:23] A lot of issues that divide us as a lighting officer knows.

[5:47:26] There's some issues at the United States, and this is one of those issues.

[5:47:30] Senate voted yesterday to begin consideration of the fire grants and safety act.

[5:47:35] That vote passed by 96 to 0.

[5:47:39] That doesn't happen every year.

[5:47:40] So, providing officer knows, but let me repeat that, 96 to nothing, and we're happy to see that kind of unanimity, and I think it loads well for when we return after the recess of the next week or two to take up this legislation.

[5:47:57] I look forward to the Senate coming back in two weeks, look forward to finishing the job that we've begun, and we look forward to passing again this important legislation.

[5:48:05] I strongly encourage our friends over in the House representatives to do their part and to send the fire grants and safety act to the President's desk.

[5:48:16] We owe that to our first responders and that Mr. President, I thank you for the chance to speak on the Florida day and wish you and your family safe recess and we'll see you in two weeks.

[5:48:28] With that, I know the absence of a call.

[5:48:31] The clerk will call the roll.

[5:48:35] This is Baldwin.

[5:59:38] Mr. President,

[5:59:45] majority leader, I move to proceed to executive session to consider calendar number 19.

[5:59:50] Excuse me sir, we are in a quorum call.

[5:59:53] And I am in a hurry.

[5:59:55] Okay.

[5:59:57] I ask unanimous consent.

[5:59:58] Without objection.

[6:00:00] I move to proceed to executive sessions to consider calendar 19.

[6:00:04] Questions on the motion? All those in favor say aye? Aye.

[6:00:07] The eyes have it. The clerk will report.

[6:00:15] Plum.

[6:00:17] Nomination, the Department of Defense.

[6:00:20] Radha Iyangar Plum of New York to be a deputy secretary.

[6:00:25] I send a closure motion to the desk. The clerk will report.

[6:00:29] Well, close to motion, we understand senators and accordance with the provisions of Rule

[6:00:33] 22 of the Standing Rules of the Senate, do hereby move to bring to a close debate on the

[6:00:38] nomination of executive calendar number 19, Rada A. Anger Plum of New York to be a deputy

[6:00:43] under Secretary of Defense signed by 18 senators as follows.

[6:00:46] As consent, the reading of the names be waived.

[6:00:49] Without objection, I move to proceed to legislative session.

[6:00:52] Questions on the motion?

[6:00:54] All those in favor say aye.

[6:00:56] Aye.

[6:00:56] All those opposed?

[6:00:57] No.

[6:00:57] Aye's have it. I move motion is agreed to. I move to proceed to executive session to consider calendar 57.

[6:01:05] Questions on the motion?

[6:01:07] Aye. All in favor say aye. Aye. Aye's have it. Motion is agreed to.

[6:01:11] The clerk will report.

[6:01:13] Nomination Department of Justice Amy Lefke with Solomon of the District of Columbia to be an assistant attorney general.

[6:01:21] I send a quote to motion to the desk.

[6:01:24] Clerk will report.

[6:01:25] The motion.

[6:01:26] We, the undersigned senators and accordance with the provisions of Rule 22, the

[6:01:29] Standing Rules of the Senate.

[6:01:31] Do hereby move to bring to a close debate on the nomination of Executive

[6:01:33] Calendar number 57.

[6:01:35] Amy Lefko, its Solomon of the District of Columbia to be an assistant attorney general,

[6:01:40] signed by 18 senators as follows.

[6:01:44] I ask consent to reading the names be waived.

[6:01:47] Without objection, sir, move to proceed to legislative session.

[6:01:51] Questions on motion?

[6:01:53] All those in favor say aye.

[6:01:55] Aye.

[6:01:55] Aye's have it.

[6:01:57] Motion's agreed to.

[6:01:58] I send a close motion to the desk.

[6:02:00] The clerk will report.

[6:02:02] Close your motion.

[6:02:03] We, the Intercent Senators and accordance with the provisions of Rule 22,

[6:02:06] the Standing Rules of the Senate.

[6:02:07] Do you hear by the move to bring to a close debate on calendar number 28,

[6:02:10] is S-870?

[6:02:12] The Builder Women, the Federal Fire Prevention and Control Act of 1974,

[6:02:16] to authorize appropriations for the United States Fire Administration and Firefighter Assistance Grant Program signed by 17 Senators as follows.

[6:02:24] I ask consent to the reading of the names be waived. Without objection.

[6:02:28] I ask unanimous consent at the mandatory quorum calls for the closure motions filed today, no March 30th, be waived.

[6:02:34] Without objection. I ask unanimous consent, the Senate proceed to executive session to consider the following nominations.

[6:02:40] All nominations placed on the Secretary's desk for the Army, the Air Force, the Marine Corps,

[6:02:45] the Navy, the Space Force, that the nominations be confirmed on block the motions

[6:02:49] so we consider be considered made and met late upon the table with no intervening action

[6:02:53] or debate that further motions be in order to any of the nominations that the President

[6:02:58] be immediately notified of the Senate's action and the Senate resumed legislative session.

[6:03:03] Without objection, sir.

[6:03:04] I ask unanimous consent that Judiciary Committee be discharged from further consideration.

[6:03:08] the Senate now proceed to Senate Res 120.

[6:03:11] Clerk will report.

[6:03:12] Senate Resolution 120,

[6:03:14] designating March 23, 2023,

[6:03:17] as National Women and Agriculture Day.

[6:03:20] The committee is discharged,

[6:03:22] and the Senate will proceed.

[6:03:27] Please take your phones out of the chamber.

[6:03:29] I ask unanimous consent that the resolution be agreed to.

[6:03:32] The preamble will be agreed to,

[6:03:33] and that motions that we consider be considered

[6:03:35] made in the late upon the table.

[6:03:37] Without objection.

[6:03:38] I ask unanimous consent the Senate proceed to the consideration of S. Res. 149 submitted earlier today.

[6:03:47] 149, 149,

[6:03:52] 148 submitted earlier today.

[6:03:55] The clerk will report 148.

[6:03:57] Senate resolution 148 recognizing the heritage, culture, and contributions of American Indian, Alaska Native, and Native Hawaiian women in the United States.

[6:04:09] Without objection, the Senate will proceed.

[6:04:11] I ask unanimous consent to resolution be agreed to, the preamble be agreed to, and that

[6:04:15] the motions that we consider be considered made laid upon the table with no intervening

[6:04:19] action or debate.

[6:04:20] Without objection, Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent to Senate proceed to consideration

[6:04:26] of Senate Res. 149 submitted earlier today.

[6:04:30] Clerk will report.

[6:04:31] S. Res. 149, designating the first week of April 2023 as national S. Bestis Awareness

[6:04:37] Week.

[6:04:38] With our objection, the Senate will proceed.

[6:04:41] I ask unanimous consent, the resolution be agreed to.

[6:04:44] The preamble be agreed to in that commotion so we consider be considered made

[6:04:47] laid upon the table with no intervening action or debate.

[6:04:50] Exile objection.

[6:04:52] I ask unanimous consent, the Senate proceed to the consideration of S. Res. 150, which is at the desk.

[6:04:58] The clerk will report.

[6:05:00] Resolution 150 honoring the memories of the victims of the senseless attack at the Covenant School on March 27, 2023.

[6:05:08] Without objection, the Senate will proceed.

[6:05:11] I ask unanimous consent, the resolution be agreed to. The preamble be agreed to, and the motions

[6:05:16] that we consider be considered made and laid upon the table with no intervening action or debate.

[6:05:20] Without objection, I ask unanimous consent that the judiciary committee be discharged from further consideration

[6:05:25] of S-659, the Senate proceed to its immediate consideration.

[6:05:30] The clerk will report.

[6:05:31] As S-659, a bill to amend chapter 38 of Title 31, United States Code relating to civil

[6:05:38] remedies and further purposes.

[6:05:42] Without objection, the committee is discharged, and the Senate will proceed.

[6:05:46] I ask unanimous consent to bill be considered read a third time and passed in the

[6:05:49] motions to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table.

[6:05:53] And finally, I ask unanimous consent that when the Senate completes its business today, it stand a adjourn to convene for pro-formous sessions with no business being conducted on the following dates and times.

[6:06:04] Monday April 3, 2012 noon Thursday April 6, 10 AM Monday April 10, 10 30 AM and Thursday April 13, 845 AM.

[6:06:13] Oh, Monday, April 10th at 1130 AM, and Thursday, April 13th at 845 AM.

[6:06:20] Further, that when the Senate adjourns on Thursday, April 13th, and that's convene

[6:06:24] a 3 p.m. on Monday, April 17th, that following the prayer and pledge, the morning

[6:06:28] hour be deemed expired, the general proceedings be approved today, the time for the two leaders

[6:06:32] be reserved for the use later in the day, and morning business be closed, that upon the

[6:06:37] conclusion of morning business, the Senate proceed to executive session to resume consideration

[6:06:40] of the Plum nomination, and that culture motions filed during today's session right

[6:06:45] been at 530 p.m. Further, that the filing deadline for the first degree amendments

[6:06:49] to S-870, be at 330 p.m. on Monday, April 17th. Without objection, if there's no further

[6:06:56] business to come before the Senate, I ask that it's standard adjourned under the previous

[6:06:59] order.

[6:07:04] The United States Senate stands adjourned until noon on Monday.

Senate Floor Proceedings

Agenda

Transcript