these points of interest markers appear on the right-hand side of your screen when you hit play on select videos. this timeline tool makes it easily to quickly get an idea what was debated and decided in washington. scroll through and spend a few minutes on c-span's points of interest. >> and the senate is about to gavel in. today they'll consider several nominations for top military posts, including the chief of naval operations and the air force chief of staff. the three nominees have been blocked from approval by alabama g.o.p. senator tommy tuberville. now live senate coverage here on c-span2. the presiding officer: the senate will come to order. the chaplain, dr. barry black, will lead the senate in prayer.

the chaplain: let us pray. mighty god, turn to us and have compassion because we sometimes feel overwhelmed. rescue us from the traps of freedom's enemies, enabling our lawmakers to accomplish your work on earth. when the problems of our senators seem to go from bad to worse, remind them that you are and ever present help in times of trouble. keep them from stumbling or slipping in their efforts to honor you. may integrity, honesty, and perseverance protect them as they put their hope in you.

and, lord, bring peace to our troubled world. we pray in your strong name. amen. the presiding officer: please join me in reciting the pledge of allegiance to the flag. i pledge allegiance to the flag of the united states of america, and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under god, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. the presiding officer: the clerk will read a communication to the senate. the clerk: washington, d.c, november 2, 2023. to the senate: under the provisions of rule 1, paragraph 3, of the standing rules of the senate, i hereby appoint the honorable raphael warnock, a senator from the state of georgia, to perform the duties of the chair. signed: patty murray, president pro tempore.

the presiding officer: under the previous order, the leadership time is reserved. morning business is closed. under the previous order, the senate will proceed to executive session to resume consideration of the following nomination, which the clerk will report. the clerk: nomination, the navy, admiral lisa franchetti for chief of naval operations and to the grade of admiral.

cannot exist as the employees are not empowered to speak out when they see this harm and harassment. that's why in addition to the sorts greeted the 2017 law established office of accountability and whistleblower protection or oawp. oawp was given the explicit task of investigating and making disciplinary recommendations concerning senior executives and whistleblower retaliate or so. it is broadly accepted the first few years of oawp existence or an absolute failure. at best oawp was completely ineffective organization at worst a tool used retaliate against whistleblowers it was tasked with to protecting. as conquers a bipartisan legislation that passed the house which was taken away oawp

investigative authority was not considered by the senate. this congress oawp has confidently told my stuff things are much better now and they put the right people and policies in place. i do not doubt oawp has many good employees were tempting to make things right. i also know these employees are fighting an uphill battle. many of the employees don't trust oawp and as a result they're hesitant to engage with the office. it is not hard to understand why these employees are hesitant. many v.a. employees do not view oawp as independent as oawp leadership prep reports directly to the secretary. v.a. employees know about oawp past failings and office has not earned trust. many employees engage with oawp simply haven't seen results. also there was a parse of other avenues to ensure they receive necessary protection. the office of special counsel has existed for more than 40 years and seems to do a decent

job. investigations on almost every federal agency including almost as many v.a. investigations as oawp. osc office seems to get results. in 2022 the negotiated the negotiated favorable actions with agencies in 12.5% of its prohibitive personnel practice cases. by contrast oawp only recommended discipline in 3.4% of .4% of its cases. i know osc and oawp at somewhat different missions i do know osc has that gets to out the kinks but is oawp's -- oawp budget request this year's $30 million, only 4 million less than osc your last congress this committee decide some of the 30 million could be better spent by osc or in other ways to protect veterans and whistleblowers. i look forward to examine whether oawp is money well spent to build a better v.a. eager to learn about how v.a. is working to ensure all the whistleblowers are heard,

protected and empowered to speak out free of retaliation. i appreciate her witnesses being here today to share their expertise and whistleblower protection at d8 and am looking for to our discussion this morning. with that i now recognize ranking member for his opening comments. >> thank you, chairwoman. appreciate you willing to listen today. i also want to commend the work of this made an whistleblowers use over the last two congresses. under the leadership of my colleague, i am pleased to continue our robust oversight of the office of accountability and whistleblower protection or oawp and the department of vet affairs. whistleblowers and unsung heroes of our government that expose corruption, abuse, fraud and waste. reporting evidence of wrongdoing from the inside is a courageous task and whistleblowers often risk their livelihoods to expose critical issues. the actions are paramount in

holding government accountable and whistleblower should be commended for the courage it takes to come forward. v.a. is entrusted with caring for our nation's veterans. v.a. employees must feel about to call out problems including wrongdoing and managers need to be trained on rules and policies so they are also empowered to create and foster an open and transparent culture which benefits everyone from the public to staff, to veterans that engage with v.a. over many decades congress has authorized the important institutions which are charged with oversight investigative authority. in administering whistleblower protection laws and withholding the federal government accountable. we have v.a. office of inspector general, the office of special counsel and the government accountability office as long-standing parts of the oversight and accountability

structure. in 2017 congress establish another another late migrating the oawp and associate very serious and catastrophic accountability failure which is the phoenix wait time scandal. however, oawp quickly failed at its mission due to agree just abuses by leadership in form administration which were investigated by the inspector general. current leadership has had an uphill battle rebuilding the oawp into officer could possibly meet the mission established by congress. from my perspective oawp has been a commendable job. it is now staffed up with dedicated individuals for taking this responsibility seriously. you are stunned to see outputs that show the office can and wants to do the job. from our oversight work we can see significant progress on the investigations side of the office. over the past year oawp has worked to clear the backlog of

complaints, improvements have been made in case timelines and referrals. now we're starting to see what is possible in the accountability side. we need more fidelity i have v.a. is implementing oawp's recommendations understand if his work is leading to institutional change. oawp has a mandate to advise the secretary on accountability manners and to do data analysis to identify trends and issue reports. we've seen some of the results of effort in these areas but there are a lot of areas that would benefit from analytics work such as a settlement agreement ensuring disciplinary actions are binges across the v.a. and have the department can further build a culture that values accountability. from reading the testimony of the organizations on the second panel it is clear a trust gap still exist between the whistleblower community and oawp. i know oawp is working in

earnest to bridge the gap but i would like to discuss a few more specifics about ongoing concerns with both v.a. and a good government groups. i know there been question since 2017 law was passed about ways to enhance oawp's and dependence and also fundamental questions about its purpose and how it should or should not differ from other oversight investigations such as the ig, months, over 300 general and flag officer nominations have been indefinitely delayed because of the holds of the senior senator from alabama and the consequences are mounting. as where continues in the middle east, the senator's holds have prevented a swift confirmation of the navy's fifth fleet and the u.s. central command, both vital for our operations in that region of the world.

the senator continues his holds even as u.s. troops in iraq and syria have been attacked two dozen times in the last two weeks. at one point this summer, the senator's holds meant that for the first time ever -- ever all three branches of the military operated simultaneously without confirmed leadership. and now the u.s. marine corps is suddenly without a leader due to illness. but because of the senator's holds, there shno number two in place to -- there is no number two in place to step in. and it will get much worse if the senator continues his recklessness. the pentagon says by the end of this year three-quarters of the generals and admirals in the defense department will be affected by senator tuberville's holds. let me say that again. the pending recently -- the pentagon recently estimated that

by the end of the year three-quarters of the generals and admirals in the defense department will be affected by senator tuberville's reckless holds. patience is wearing thin on both sides of the aisle over the senator's antics. last night a group of republican colleagues tried to confirm military nominees by consent. for four hours, late into the evening, our colleagues moved from one nominee to another, and the senator from alabama brazenly stood there and objected to each one. democrats democrats and republicans have tried to reason with the senator from alabama, offering one solution for compromise after the other. every step, he has refused to cooperate. so, two days ago chairman reed, of the senate armed services committee, introduced a resolution that will allow the senate to quickly confirm the nominees currently being blocked by the senator from alabama.

this resolution was referred to the rules committee, and when the time comes i will bring it to the floor of the senate for consideration. if we can't solve this problem another way, we will all have to vote to move these nominees forward. we'll work with our republican colleagues in good faith to move this resolution forward, because most of us want these holds on our military leaders to come to an end quickly. our military deserves better. our servicemembers deserve better. their spouses and their kids and entire families deserve better. these holds must not continue. we'll work to move this resolution, and i hope to see bipartisan support so we can finally get these hundreds of nominees appointed to their posts. in the meantime, the senate will move forward on three critical senior military nominees here on the floor. we'll vote to confirm the nomination of lieutenant general mahoney to be the second in command at the u.s. marine corps. as i mentioned, lieutenant

general mahoney's confirmation has become a top priority for the senate after the command dabt of the -- commandant of the marines was hospitalized after a serious medical emergency. we pray for the general's recovery for and for his family. we will also vote to confirm admiral lisa franchetti to be the next chief of naval operations. admiral franchetti's nomination marks a significant milestone in our military's history. once confirmed, admiral franchetti will be the first woman to lead the u.s. navy. i'm proud to say these a rochester, new york, native, a graduate of pittsburgh menden high school, and is an exceptional leader with a distinguished career serving our nation. i'm confident she has the experience, skills, and vision to succeed as u.s. navy's top officer. finally, we'll vote to confirm the nomination of general david

alvin to be chief of staff of the -- david allvin as chief of staff of the air force. both parties must work together to ensure our military is fully staffed and equipped to defend the american people at any time, but particularly this time of crisis. that begins by confirming these vital nominations today. now, on the supplemental, today the house of representatives is scheduled to vote on the gop's unserious and woefully inadequate aid package. by now, it's glaringly apparent that the package is even worse, worse than what people originally thought, because yesterday the nonpartisan congressional budget office reported the house republican package will add over $ $12 billion to the budget deficit. speaker johnson said he wanted to pay for it, he insists that emergency funding for israel has to be paid for, when we usually don't pay for emergency funding. but the hypocrisy here is that

by cutting funding to go after tax cheats he will actually explode the deficit by billions and billions of dollars. what a joke. i'm glad that the president issued a veto threat over this stungly -- stunningly unserious proposal, unserious at a time of crisis like this, from the house gop leader? the senate will not consider this deeply flawed proposal from the house gop. instead, we will work together on our own bipartisan emergency aid package that includes aid to israel, ukraine, competition with the chinese government, and humanitarian aid for gaza, so much needed. let me say that again. the senate will not take up the house's gop's deeply flawed proposal, and instead we'll work on our own bipartisan emergency aid package that includes aid to israel, ukraine, competition

with the chinese government, and humanitarian aid for gaza. it still missifies me that when the -- mistfis me when the world is in crisis and we need to help israel respond to hamas, the gop thought it was a good idea to tie israel aid to a hard-right proposal that will raise the deficit and is totally, totally partisan. all the while, helping pelty tax cheats -- wealthy tax cheats get away scott scot-free. why make support for israel conditional on this hard-right giveaway to the bullety? it's -- to the wealthy. it sheriff's office you how weak, unserious and a joke frankly the house gop proposal is. don't take it from me, folks. the republican vice chairman of the joint economic committee had this to say about the house gop bill, and he's a member of the house gop did he said, quote, i

think it was intellectually lazy. it's a little hard to have, quote, i care about debt, and then at the same time move something as you pay for that actually will have a multiplier of raising the debt. that's the top republican, that's a top republican saying this house republican proposal will actually have a multiplier of raising the debt. i really regret that the house speaker has chosen this as his first major legislative step. when he spoke the night he was elected, i said let's work together in a bipartisan way. i reminded him that things only get done if you work there a bipartisan way. speaker boehner, speaker ryan, speaker mccarthy had to learn that lesson the hard way. i hope the republican leader will examine what he has done and change course and work in a bipartisan way to help fund

these necessary items for israel, ukraine, gaza and the south pacific, and the south china sea. the right way forward is something very different from what the house gop is pushing. we need to stand with israel. we need to provide swift humanitarian aid for gaza. we need to help ukraine, which desperately and immediately needs the help. and we need to stay one step ahead of the chinese government. the senate will work on our own emergency aid package, not the one proposed by house republicans. i yield the floor, and i note the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. quorum call: the clerk: ms. baldwin.

mr. mcconnell: mr. president. the presiding officer: the republican leader. mr. mcconnell: i ask consent that further proceedings under the quorum call be dispensed with. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. mcconnell: america's status as a global superpower comes with global interests and global responsibilities. we have a direct interest in a stable and peaceful middle east, and we have a responsibility to stand with israel, our closest ally in the region, and to impose real costs on those who seek to harm u.s. personnel. we have a direct interest in

preservingmerce and deterring aggression in the indo-pacific. and we have a responsibility to future generations of americans to win this century's long-term strategy competition with communist china. and we have a direct interest in stability and security in europe. not only because we have treaty obligations to nato allies, but also because europe is our largest trading partner, largest source of foreign direct investment, and a critical engine of our own economy. as i've explained repeatedly, the emergency funding we've appropriated in response to russia's war against ukraine isn't charity. these resources are helping a

person--- a western-oriented country degrade the military strength of a major u.s. adversary. ukraine is blunting putin's tools of aggression and disrupting his imperial ambitions in europe, and all without involving american servicemembers in the fight. but let's be honest -- aside from the funds we've appropriated for u.s. military training and logistics support in europe, the bulk of america's security assistance is being spent in factories right here at home. some of it goes to purchase new weapons for ukraine, but far more of it is going to replenish our own arsenal. our investment is growing american military strength to

meet the challenge that come with global leadership. since putin's brutal escalation last year, the u.s. has invested $24 billion in replenishing our arsenal with brand-new capabilities. we've poured $692 million into new munitions and tactical vehicles produced in missouri, almost a billion dollars in alabama, and more than a billion dollars in wisconsin. but our investment is also expanding our production capacity. that means more factory floor space, new production lines, and new shifts of workers. all to help future threats.

state by state, we're breathing new life into the arsenal of democracy, and crucially america's allies and partners are following suit. they're investing historic sums in their own munitions, their own militaries. they're expanding their own defense industrial bases. and many are also choosing to buy american. poland has invested $ $3.75 billion in new abrams tanks from michigan, alabama, and ohio. acetone ya has spent half a million dollars on rockets from texas and slow vanja and romania have spent a combined $350 million on new tactical vehicles from wisconsin. and it isn't just european allies who recognize the need to modernize. japan has allocated $1.3 billion

for new e2 command and control aircraft from florida. australia has foot $6.3 billion toward new c130 aircraft from georgia and indonesia has invested $14 billion on a new crop of f-15 fighter jets from missouri. all told, america's allies and partners have invested $120 billion and counting since february of 2022. the rebuilding defense capacities right here in america. they're buying american because they appreciate our cutting edge technologies because they understand the importance of an intraoperable combined force. but most of all, they're buying

america because of american leadership. it's been the united states example that has helped our allies wake up from years of neglecting their commitments to defense. its confidence in our leadership and military e driving -- driving their historic efforts to start sharing more of the burden of collective security. and let's get something absolutely clear. this will not continue if america loses its resolve. we don't have the luxury of closing our gates and hoping for evil to leave us alone. america's allies are waking up to that fact. now is not the time for the leader of the free world to go to sleep. now, on another matter, last week the nlrb released a particularly unsavory new installment in the biden

administration's mess of overregulation. the nlrb's new rule dramatically expands the legal definition of an employer-employee relationship turning small business owners into a franchise setting, into middle managers. by one outside estimate, this rule will increase costs for small businesses, national franchisers, and consumers all while decreasing the availability of jobs and business ownership possibilities. it would subject more of america's economy to the whims of the left's big labor allies, and it would force national companies to choose between offering less support for small business owning franchises and accepting greater liability for the policies of individual branches. it's bad policy, whichever way you slice it. apparently that's the

self-described most pro-union president in american history in action. of course, the nlrb is just one example of how president biden's radical nominees have led a campaign to drown the american economy in red tape. since the day he took office, the president -- has been driving up cost for working families. last year president biden canceled three offshore oil and gas lease sales. this year total u.s. oil production has fallen below the department of energy's predictions by 1.4 million barrels per day. and the administration's shortsightedness has left the strategic petroleum reserve at its lowest level in 40 years. blanket bans on developing america's abundant energy reserves have already taken their toll on everything from

grocery prices to home heating costs. but washington bureaucrats continue to dream up new ways to micromanage family's choices on everything from home appliances to light bulbs. by one estimate the biden administration's energy regulations will drive up gas furnace costs by nearly $500. and water heater costs by $2600. new efficiency standards could cost households an extra $140 on lighting and another $200 on washing machines. and while working families contend with this administration's maze of red tape, the president has given the architects behind it promotions. recently president biden designated laura daniel davis as acting deputy secretary of the interior. several of my colleagues, as they have noted, ms. daniel

davis brings such an extreme record to the job that even a democratic majority here in the senate couldn't confirm her. for example, she's been a key player in the administration's efforts to curtail leasing on our nation's abundant reserves of oil and that will gas. -- oil and natural gas. almost three years ago president biden handed the keys to his energy policy to the far left and it shows. working americans are already struggling to contend with historic inflation and rising crime on the president's watch. the last thing they need is more of washington democrats' red tape.

a senator: mr. president. the presiding officer: the senator from arizona. mr. kelly: mr. president, we're in complex and dangerous times. ukraine is fighting off a russian invasion. israel is defending itself against hamas. american soldiers have been attacked by iran's proxies. china is watching closely and testing the united states and our allies. we need our military to be stronger and more focused than ever. however, because of one senator, our military is being severely hamstrung. the senator from alabama, mr. mr. tuberville, has a policy disagreement with the pentagon. however, instead of addressing

this policy, he decided to single-handedly shut down what has historically been a bipartisan process to promptly confirm military nominees. our republican colleagues made this very clear last night. his decision isn't affecting just a handful of positions. he is currently blocking 367 admirals and generals, and that number continues to grow. that's left members of our armed forces stranded, unable to get the promotions they've earned. it has put their lives and the lives of their family mechanics

on hold -- lives of their family members on hold. today we will vote to confirm three of them. the chief of naval operations, air force chief of staff, and the assistant commandant of the marine corps. that's the top officers in the navy and the air force and the number two officer in the united states marine corps. now, that will may seem like progress. the senator from alabama may say that this is an example of how the senate can confirm military nominees one by one. but here's the thing. the new leaders of the air force and the navy won't have anyone confirmed as their number two. so they will have to do two of the highest ranking jobs in their service at the same time.

their new job and their old job. that's because of senator tuberville. with hundreds of admirals and generals, the wait -- generals awaiting promotion because of his holds, it's impossible for the senate to catch up doing this one by one. in the marine corps the situation is even more serious. over the weekend we learned the terrible news that general eric smith confirmed just last month to lead the united states marine corps suffered a medical emergency. general smith was in the same position, forced to do two jobs at once. today we will confirm his deputy who will have to immediately step up to be the acting commandant of the marine corps as long as general smith is recovering. it's an outrage that it takes an

urgent vote of the u.s. senate to fill a leadership gap at the top of the u.s. marine corps. that's the result of this blockade. and it's what we risk across our military leadership if god forbid another service chief has to step away from their job. the senator from alabama doesn't think this does real damage to our military readiness. he either doesn't know what he's talking about or he doesn't care. at this very minute, the brave men and women of the 26th marine expeditionary unit are aboard the u.s.s. baton, u.s.s. carter hall, and the u.s.s. mesa verde just south of israel in the red sea. this is our quick reaction force, trained to evacuate civilians in conflict zones.

those marines are in a dangerous part of the world at a dangerous time prepared to do a very dangerous job. they deserve fully staffed and focused senior leadership, able to advise the president while also giving the best guidance to their commanders. for four days this week, within arms reach of a war, they didn't have it because of one senator, the slootion is clear and it's been -- solution is clear and it's been clear since day one. the senator from alabama must remove his hold on our admirals and generals. we wouldn't be in this position if it wasn't for him. and he can stop this today if he wants to. if he continues to refuse, it's just too dangerous to wait for

him to do the right thing. there is a proposal for the senate to take a temporary change that will allow us to vote on the bulk of these nominees at once. it's designed to put our national security ahead of all else by addressing the dangerous circumstance these holds have put our military in. now, i've talked with many of my colleagues, republicans and democrats, about this fact. and i encourage everyone to give it serious thought. what george will called the most dangerous u.s. moment since world war ii, the senate must consider whether it will allow the u.s. military to be without hundreds of confirmed admirals and generals. and to be just one illness or

accident away from once again having a service branch without senior leadership. because to me, mr. president, that is a pretty clear choice. thank you. and i yield the floor.

test. mr. carper: mr. president, are we in a quorum call?

the presiding officer: we are not. mr. carper: mr. president, i rise today to express my strong support for the nomination of admiral lisa franchetti to serve as the chief of naval operations. some of my colleagues know i was 17 #g-years-old when i raised my -- i was 17 when i raised my hand to join the service. we had no women at ohio state and no women in the rotc units and the service academies no women served in those roles -- those training roles, and how things have changed. how things have changed. we're here today to actually put a strong marker on that change and to applaud it. i spent 23 years in active and reserve duty serving in the u.s.

senate and the son of a navy chief petty officer, nephew of a navy chief petty officer and the nephew of a deceased of a 19 soldier who was killed in the pacific. my grandmother is a gold star mother. any my family we believe in navy blue. we have before us a terrific nominee to serve as chief of naval operations. she spent practically her whole life serving in the military. her career has been nearly every theater of engagement, every level of service, commanding ships, squadrons, strike groups and fleet levels. she has been a commander of the

u.s. naval forces korea, europe, africa, and commander of carrier strike group nine, and acting chief of naval operations, just to name a few. what a career. for her tremendous work she has received almost two dozen prestigious awards and recognitions. she received some of the awards multiple times. admiral franchetti has been making our country proud for not just a couple of years but for decades from the day she signed up for the rotc program at northwestern university. the senate stands poised to confirm her chief of naval operations and will be the first woman to serve in that role and on the joint chiefs of staff, she will continue to break barriers for women ever where.

i urge my colleagues to join me and others to confirm lisa m. franchetti. i would say to the admiral and her husband her husband jim andr daughter, bravo zulu. as a human being for those who have -- my colleagues who have an opportunity to meet with her, you can see why she received the kind of promotions and recognition and kinds of responsibility. she is a terrific human being as well. i'm honored to stand her on her behalf. we have other senior officers in the army, marine corps and air force and navy who need to be promoted. today we can start to do

something about it and we can start with admiral franchetti. with that, mr. president, i yield the floor and note the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. quorum call: the clerk: ms. baldwin.

mr. reed: mr. president. the presiding officer: the senator from rhode island. mr. reed: mr. president, i ask that the call for the quorum be dispensed with. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. reed: i ask unanimous consent that i be allowed to speak for five minutes, and following my remarks senator blumenthal be allowed to speak for five minutes. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. reed: thank you, mr. president. i rise to express my support for three military who we will soon vote on. admiral lisa m. franchetti, david w. allvin, and lieutenant general christopher j. mahoney. these are some of the finest leaders our nation has to offer. i'm particularly proud to support the nomination of admiral lisa m. franchetti to be the next chief of navy

operations. she has served in leadership roles in every level throughout the navy both ashore and at sea and with postings around the globe. she has served commander of the u.s. naval forces korea, commander of para strike group nine and 15, commander of u.s. sixth fleet, commander of u.s. naval forces europe and africa, and director for strategy plans and policies on many other operational roles. she has worked her way up the ranks in the united states navy. she's commanded at sea. she has accepted and excelled at every challenge presented to her. she is superbly prepared to be the chief of naval operations. as the current vice chief and now as the acting chief of naval operations, she brings an

important perspective on the key challenges for the navy. her understanding of the joint force and the ever expanding world within it is critical. i want to give you the historic nature of her nomination. she will be the first woman to serve as cfo and first woman on the joint chiefs of staff. at every step of her career, admiral franchetti has been a trailblazer and leads by comam many and -- example and gets the job done. she is an inspiration to many and someone who will always put the security of our nation and all who defend it first -- first before herself, first before anything else, and those are the qualities that make an outstanding officer and an outstanding leader. indeed, the navy faces a dangerous and evolving global security environment, threats

from russia, iran, north korea, and violent extremist groups remain persistent and the navy has an important role to play in addressing them. but the clear challenge for our our naval forces is china. in the indo-pacific and other ports around the world, the united states navy will continue to be the first line of deterrence and defense against china's expanding global ambitions, and i am confident that admiral franchetti has the skills and experience to meet this challenge and provide the nation's sailors and families and navy employees the leadership they need and i urge my colleagues to vote for admiral franchetti's nomination. also we will consider the nomination of general david w. allvin to be the chief of staff for the air force. he has helped lead the service through a critical period of

modernization and he is well ptioned -- positioned to continue that progress. he has graduated from the u.s. air force academy and has led the air mobility wing. and held major staff assignments, general allvin has served in afghanistan, commander of the 438th air expeditionary wing, and as vice director of strategy plans and policies of the joint staff. this is a gentleman, an officer who has been in combat, who knows the rigors and demands of combat and like general franchetti places his mission and air force members ahead of any personal ambitions. prior to his current center he

was part of the joint staff, he is a command pilot who has more than 4600 hours in over 30 aircraft, including 800 flight test hours and 100 hours flying in combat. if confirmed, general allvin will lead at a momentous time. air power is key for our -- and we rely on the xailts of our air force -- capabilities of our air force every day. i am proud to support the nominees of christopher j. mahoney to be promoted to four-star general and to be assistant commandant of the united states marine corps. his promotion is well served and urgently needed. general eric -- the comawn daunt of the marine corps has been in the hospital after a serious medical emergency, and i am wishing him a speedy recovery

and my thoughts and all of our thoughts are with his family at this difficult moment. he is selfless and his given his all to the mairps and -- marines and our prayers go out to him and his family. general maloney has 5,000 hours of flight time and commanded at every level. he served on joint duty with other services. he has led with distinction and diligence, again, with selfless service to the marines and his nation. he's serving currently as the deputy comawn daunt. -- commandant, he is an excellent can candidate for the marine corps. and with that, i yield the floor. the presiding officer: the senator from connecticut. mr. blumenthal: thank you, mr. president. i'm pleased to follow my

colleague from rhode island and to join him in confirming these qualified and experienced men and women to positions of great trust and responsibility in our military. but they are just a fraction of the total whom we have an obligation to confirm. and rather than looking at the transcript of my remarks today, i urge my colleagues to view or read the record of last night. three to four hours of eloquence and intransigence. eloquence on the part of a number of our colleagues including senator graham, senator young, senator ernst, senator sullivan seeking to persuade one member of the united states senate whose intransigence is preventing the nation of having the benefit of military leadership that it

needs and deserves again and again and again senator tuberville objected to confirms of individual nominees for ht highest and most responsible position in our -- for the highest and most responsible position in our united states military. make no mistake. he said repeatedly that he would permit those nominees to go forward as long as they were considered individually, and our colleagues gave him the opportunity to allow them to go forward, but he has continued to change the goalposts, to alter the conditions of approving their confirmation simply because of a personal preference on policy that those nominees had nothing to do with. and our colleagues made that point repeatedly as well as the

damage to our national security that is resulting from his intransigence. our military readiness is undermined, moral is reduced, recruitment is severely damaged, the health and well-being of military families, including most prominently the commandant of the marine corps, our prayers are with him, our hearts are with his family, we hope for general smith's speedy recovery. but right now, our military is lacking the leadership that it needs in key positions around the world. and it is impacting not only their professional abilities, but also their personal lives. kids going to school, selling homes, we are making life more

difficult for men and women who serve and sacrifice to keep us safe. as one of our colleagues said last night, and i'm quoting, i think i'm done with this. i hope this body will be done with the intransigence of the senator from alabama and move forward with a resolution. i'm proud to say i participated in drafting it. it is narrowly tailored to fit this situation, applying only to this session for key positions in our military that are essential to confirm, seeking to surmount the obstructionism that has gridlock and paralyzed this body in moving forward. it's time to reform the rule. that time is, in fact, overdue. the regrettable illness of our commandant, the threats around the world, in israel and

ukraine, make it no longer a matter of choice. we must move forward with this draft resolution, and i hope that my colleague will recognize the importance of doing so. as one of our colleagues on the other side said last night, this intransigence, this resistance to allowing the body to move forward to confirm these nominees is going to, quote, wreck the military. that is not some hypothetical fear. it is a real prospect that we need to avoid, the precedent of an individual senator using a policy preference to stop confirmation is one that will potentially wreck this body's

credibility and ability to move forward with key nominees for a variety of positions in the military and outside it. i thank you, mr. president, and i yield the floor. the presiding officer: the clerk will report the motion to invoke cloture. the clerk: cloture motion, we, the undersigned senators, in accordance with the provisions of rule 22 of the standing rules of the senate do hereby move to bring to a close debate on the nomination of executive calendar number 334, admiral lisa m. franchetti, for appointment as chief of naval operations, and so forth, signed by 18 senators. the presiding officer: by unanimous consent the mandatory quorum call has been waived. the question is, is it the sense of the senate that debate on the nomination of admiral lisa m. franchetti for appointment as chief of naval operations and appointment to the grained indicated while assigned to a position of importance to be

admiral shall be brought to a close. the yeas and nays are mandatory under the rule. the clerk will call the roll. the clerk: ms. baldwin. mr. barrasso. mr. bennet. mrs. blackburn. mr. blumenthal. mr. booker. mr. boozman. mr. braun.

mrs. britt. mr. brown. mr. budd. ms. butler. ms. cantwell. mrs. capito. mr. cardin. mr. carper. mr. casey.

mr. cassidy. ms. collins. mr. coons. mr. cornyn. ms. cortez masto. mr. cotton. mr. cramer. mr. crapo. mr. cruz. mr. daines. ms. duckworth.

mr. durbin. ms. ernst. mr. fetterman. mrs. fischer. mrs. gillibrand. mr. graham. mr. grassley. mr. hagerty. ms. hassan. mr. hawley. mr. heinrich. mr. hickenlooper. ms. hirono. mr. hoeven. mrs. hyde-smith.

mr. johnson. mr. kaine. mr. kelly. mr. kennedy. mr. king. ms. klobuchar. mr. lankford. mr. lee. mr. lujan. ms. lummis.

mr. manchin. mr. markey. mr. marshall. mr. mcconnell. mr. menendez. mr. merkley. mr. moran. mr. mullin. ms. murkowski. mr. murphy. mrs. murray. mr. ossoff. mr. padilla.

mr. paul. mr. peters. mr. reed. mr. ricketts. mr. risch. mr. romney. ms. rosen. mr. rounds. mr. rubio. mr. sanders. mr. schatz. mr. schmitt. mr. schumer. mr. scott of florida. mr. scott of south carolina. mrs. shaheen. ms. sinema. ms. smith. ms. stabenow. mr. sullivan. mr. tester. mr. thune. mr. tillis. mr. tuberville. mr. van hollen. mr. vance. mr. warner. mr. warnock. ms. warren. mr. welch. mr. whitehouse. mr. wicker. mr. wyden. mr. young.

the clerk: senators voting in the affirmative -- blumenthal, cornyn, cortez-masto, cruz, daines, durbin, kennedy, lujan, mullin, reed, rosen, stabenow, tester, thune, vance, welch. no senator voted in the negative. mrs. capito, aye. mr. hagerty, aye. mr. rounds, aye. mr. kaine, aye. ms. hirono, aye.

ms. murkowski aye mr. padilla, aye. mr. crapo, aye. the clerk: mr. schatz, aye.

the clerk: mr. budd, aye. mrs. gillibrand, aye. mr. lankford, aye. vote:

the clerk: mr. merkley, aye.

the clerk: mr. schumer, aye. the clerk: ms. cantwell, aye. mr. fetterman, aye. there grassley, aye. mr. heinrich, aye. ms. hassan, aye.

mr. johnson, aye. the clerk: mr. graham, aye.

the clerk: mr. braun, aye.

the clerk: ms. collins, aye. mr. young, aye.

the clerk: mr. murphy, aye. mr. cardin, aye. the clerk: mrs. blackburn, aye.

mr. ossoff, aye. the clerk: mr. ricketts, aye.

the clerk: mr. paul, aye.

the clerk: mr. risch, aye. mr. markey, aye. ms. warren, aye.

the clerk: ms. klobuchar, aye. mr. casey, aye. ms. ernst, aye.

mismurray, aye. -- mrs. murray, aye. mr. kelly, aye. the clerk: mr. booker, aye.

the clerk: mr. marshall, no.

the clerk: mrs. britt, aye. mr. mcconnell, aye. the clerk: mr. romney, aye.

the clerk: mr. warnock, aye. mrs. fischer, aye. mrs. hyde-smith, aye. mr. wicker, aye. mr. peters, aye. ms. duckworth, aye.

mr. cotton, aye.

the clerk: mr. whitehouse, aye.

ms. smith, aye. the clerk: mr. van hollen, aye. the clerk: mr. cramer, aye.

the clerk: mr. bennet, aye. mr. sanders, aye.

the clerk: mr. hoeven, aye. mrs. warner, aye. mr. schmitt, aye. mr. warner, aye.

the clerk: mr. sullivan, aye. mr. tuberville, aye.

the clerk: mr. hickenlooper, aye.

the clerk: mr. rubio, aye. mr. brown, aye.

the clerk: ms. baldwin, aye.

the clerk: ms. butler, aye. mr. coons, eye. mr. coons, aye.

the clerk: mr. boozman, aye. mr. carper, aye. mr. wyden, aye.

vote: the clerk: mr. manchin, aye. mr. barrasso, aye. mr. moran, aye.

the clerk: ms. lummis, aye.

the clerk: mr. hawley, aye.

the clerk: mrs. shaheen, aye.

the clerk: ms. sinema, aye. mr. mendendez, aye.

the clerk: mr. king, aye.

the clerk: mr. cassidy, aye.

the presiding officer: on this vote the yeas are 95, the nays are 1. the motion is agreed to. a senator: mr. president. the presiding officer: the senator from rhode island. mr. reed: mr. president, i know of no debate on the nomination. the presiding officer: is there further debate on the nomination? hearing none, the question is on the nomination. all those in favor, say aye. is there a sufficient second? there is. the question occurs on the nomination. all those in favor, say aye. oh, it is a roll. i'm sorry. the clerk will call the roll.

is. vote: the clerk: ms. baldwin. mr. barrasso. mr. bennet. mrs. blackburn. mr. blumenthal. mr. booker. mr. boozman. mr. braun. mrs. britt. mr. brown. mr. budd. ms. butler. ms. cantwell. mrs. capito.

mr. cardin. mr. carper. mr. casey. mr. cassidy. ms. collins. mr. coons. mr. cornyn. ms. cortez masto. mr. cotton. mr. cramer. mr. crapo. mr. cruz. mr. daines. ms. duckworth. mr. durbin. ms. ernst. mr. fetterman. mrs. fischer. mrs. gillibrand. mr. graham. mr. grassley. mr. hagerty. ms. hassan. mr. hawley. mr. heinrich. mr. hickenlooper. ms. hirono. mr. hoeven. mrs. hyde-smith.

mr. johnson. mr. kaine. mr. kelly. mr. kennedy. mr. king. ms. klobuchar. mr. lankford. mr. lee. mr. lujan. ms. lummis. mr. manchin. mr. markey. mr. marshall. mr. mcconnell. mr. menendez. mr. merkley. mr. moran. mr. mullin. ms. murkowski. mr. murphy.

mrs. murray. mr. ossoff. mr. padilla. mr. paul. mr. peters. mr. reed. mr. ricketts. mr. risch. mr. romney. ms. rosen. mr. rounds. mr. rubio. mr. sanders. mr. schatz. mr. schmitt. mr. schumer. mr. scott of florida. mr. scott of south carolina. mrs. shaheen. ms. sinema. ms. smith. ms. stabenow. mr. sullivan. mr. tester. mr. thune. mr. tillis. mr. tuberville. mr. van hollen. mr. vance. mr. warner. mr. warnock. ms. warren. mr. welch.

mr. whitehouse. mr. wicker. mr. wyden. mr. young. the clerk: senators voting in the affirmative -- barrasso, boozman, brown, butler, cassidy, coons, cramer, duckworth, durbin, hawley, hickenlooper, hyde-smith, king, manchin, menendez it merkley, padilla, reed, rubio, schatz, shaheen, sinema, smith, tuberville, warren, welch, and

wyden. no senator voted in the negative.

the clerk: mrs. fischer, aye.

the clerk: mr. sanders, aye.

the clerk: mr. markey, aye. the clerk: ms. hassan, aye.

the clerk: ms. ernst, aye. mr. heinrich, aye. mr. lujan, aye.

the clerk: ms. stabenow, aye. the clerk: mr. rounds, aye.

the clerk: mr. warner, aye. mr. warnock, aye.

the clerk: mr. ricketts, aye. the clerk: mrs. gillibrand, aye. mr. peters, aye.

the clerk: mr. crapo, aye.

vote:

the clerk: mr. marshall, no. the clerk: ms. baldwin, aye.

the clerk: mr. fetterman, aye.

the clerk: mr. vance, aye.

the clerk: mr. budd, aye. mr. grassley, aye.

mrs. murray, aye. the clerk: mr. murphy, aye.

the clerk: mr. wicker, aye. ms. klobuchar, aye. mr. braun, aye. mr. graham, aye. mr. cotton, aye. mr. romney, aye.

ms. collins, aye. mr. cornyn, aye. mr. lankford, aye. mrs. capito, aye. mr. risch, aye. ms. murkowski, aye.

ms. hirono, aye. mr. ossoff, aye. mr. kaine, aye. mr. schumer, aye.

the clerk: mr. kelly, aye. ms. cantwell, aye.

the clerk: mrs. blackburn, aye.

mr. moran, aye. mr. carper, aye. vote:

the clerk: mr. casey, aye. the clerk: mr. johnson, aye.

the clerk: mr. cardin, aye.

the clerk: mr. schmitt, aye. the clerk: mr. mcconnell, aye.

ms. cortez masto, aye. the clerk: mr. sullivan, aye. mr. blumenthal, aye. mr. daines, aye.

ms. rosen, aye.

the clerk: mr. hagerty, aye. the clerk: mr. whitehouse, aye.

the clerk: mr. hoeven, aye. ms. lummis, aye. mr. kennedy, aye. mr. tester, aye.

mr. young, aye.

the clerk: mr. paul, aye.

the clerk: mr. booker, aye. mrs. britt, aye. vote:

the clerk: mr. thune, aye.

the clerk: mr. mullin, aye. mr. bennet, aye. mr. van hollen, aye.

the presiding officer: on this vote, the yeas are 95, the nays are 1, 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. the clerk will report the motion to invoke cloture. the clerk: cloture motion, we, the undersigned senators, in accordance with the provisions of rule 22 of the standing rules of the senate, do hereby move to bring to a close debate on executive calendar number 329, general david w. allvin, for

appointment as chief of staff, united states air force, and appointment in the united states air force to be general, signed by 18 senators. the presiding officer: by unanimous consent, it the mandatory quorum call has been waived. the question is, is it the sense of the senate that debate on the nomination of general david w. allvin for appointment as chief of staff, united states air force, and appointment to the grainld indicated while assigned to a position of importance and responsibility under title 10 u.s. code section 601 and 9 033, to be general, shall be brought to a close. the yeas and nays are mandatory under the rule. the check will call the roll. the clerk: ms. baldwin. mr. barrasso. mr. bennet. mrs. blackburn.

mr. blumenthal. mr. booker. mr. boozman. mr. braun. mrs. britt. mr. brown. mr. budd. ms. butler. ms. cantwell. mrs. capito. mr. cardin. mr. carper. mr. casey. mr. cassidy. ms. collins. mr. coons.

mr. cornyn. ms. cortez masto. mr. cotton. mr. cramer. mr. crapo. mr. cruz. mr. daines. ms. duckworth. mr. durbin. ms. ernst. mr. fetterman. mrs. fischer. mrs. gillibrand. mr. graham.

mr. grassley. mr. hagerty. ms. hassan. mr. hawley. mr. heinrich. mr. hickenlooper. ms. hirono. mr. hoeven. mrs. hyde-smith. mr. johnson. mr. kaine. mr. kelly. mr. kennedy. mr. king. ms. klobuchar. mr. lankford. mr. lee. mr. lujan.

ms. lummis. mr. manchin. mr. markey. mr. marshall. mr. mcconnell. mr. menendez. mr. merkley. mr. moran. mr. mullin. ms. murkowski. mr. murphy. mrs. murray. mr. ossoff. mr. padilla. mr. paul. mr. peters.

mr. reed. mr. ricketts. mr. risch. mr. romney. ms. rosen. mr. rounds. mr. rubio. mr. sanders. mr. schatz. mr. schmitt. mr. schumer. mr. scott of florida. mr. scott of south carolina.

mrs. shaheen. ms. sinema. ms. smith. ms. stabenow. mr. sullivan. mr. tester. mr. thune. mr. tillis. mr. tuberville. mr. van hollen. mr. vance. mr. warner. mr. warnock.

ms. warren. mr. welch. mr. whitehouse. mr. wicker. mr. wyden. mr. young. the presiding officer: senators voting in the affirmative -- baldwin, blackburn, blumenthal,

booker, britt, brown, cardin, cortez-masto, cotton, cruz, daines, duckworth, durbin, ernst, fischer, gillibrand, hassan, hawley, heinrich, hickenlooper, kaine, kennedy, king, lankford, manchin, markey, menendez, merkley, mullin, murphy, murray, padilla, schatz, schmitt, shaheen, sinema, smith, sullivan, tester, thune, vance, warren, whitehouse and wicker. ms. stabenow, aye. ms. collins, aye. mr. marshall voted in the negative.

the clerk: mr. cornyn, aye. mr. moran, aye. ms. klobuchar, aye.

mr. bennet, aye. mr. rounds, aye. ms. butler, aye. mr. mcconnell, aye. mr. paul, aye.

mr. hagerty, aye. mr. hoeven, aye. mr. romney, aye. mr. young, aye. mr. lujan, aye.

mr. schumer, aye.

the clerk: mr. boozman, aye. mr. crapo, aye.

the clerk: mrs. hyde-smith, aye. the clerk: mr. graham, aye.

mr. ossoff, aye. the clerk: mr. braun, aye. mr. peters, aye. mr. cramer, aye.

mr. carper, aye. mr. casey, aye. mr. ricketts, aye. ms. rosen, aye. mr. budd, aye. mr. welch, aye. mr. reed, aye.

the clerk: mr. risch, aye.

the clerk: mr. cassidy, aye. mrs. capito, aye. mr. van hollen, aye.

the clerk: mr. coons, aye. mr. wyden, aye. mr. barrasso, aye.

the clerk: mr. tuberville, aye. mr. kelly, aye.

the clerk: mr. sanders, aye. mr. rubio, aye.

the clerk: mr. grassley, aye. mr. warnock, aye.

the clerk: ms. lummis, aye. ms. hirono, aye.

the the clerk: mr. fetterman, aye. ms. cantwell, aye.

ms. murkowski, aye.

the clerk: mr. warner, aye.

the clerk: mr. johnson, aye.

the presiding officer: the yeas are 95, the nays are one. the motion is agreed to. the clerk will report the nomination. the clerk: nomination, air force. first appointment as chief of staff and appointment to be general. general david w. allvin. mr. heinrich: i know of no debate on the nomination. the presiding officer: is there further debate? if not, the question occurs on the nomination. is there a sufficient second? there appears to be o -- there appears to be. the clerk will call the roll.

vote: the clerk: ms. baldwin. mr. barrasso. mr. bennet. the clerk: mrs. blackburn. mr. blumenthal. mr. booker. mr. boozman. mr. braun. mrs. britt. mr. brown. mr. budd. ms. butler. ms. cantwell.

the clerk: mrs. capito. mr. cardin. mr. carper. mr. casey. mr. cassidy. ms. collins. mr. coons.

mr. cornyn. ms. cortez masto. mr. cotton. mr. cramer. mr. crapo. mr. cruz. mr. daines. the clerk: mrs. duckworth. mr. durbin. ms. ernst. mr. fetterman. mrs. fischer. mrs. gillibrand. mr. graham. mr. grassley.

the clerk: mr. hagerty. ms. hassan. mr. hawley. mr. heinrich. mr. hickenlooper. ms. hirono. mr. hoeven. mrs. hyde-smith. mr. johnson. mr. kaine.

mr. kelly.

the clerk: mr. kennedy. mr. king. ms. klobuchar. mr. lankford. mr. lee. mr. lujan. ms. lummis. mr. manchin. mr. markey.

mr. marshall. mr. mcconnell. mr. menendez. mr. merkley. mr. moran. mr. mullin. ms. murkowski. mr. murphy. mrs. murray. mr. ossoff. mr. padilla.

the clerk: mr. padilla. mr. paul. mr. peters. mr. reed.

vote: the clerk: mr. ricketts. mr. risch. mr. romney. ms. rosen. mr. rounds. mr. rubio. mr. sanders. mr. schatz. mr. schmitt. mr. schumer. mr. scott of florida. mr. scott of south carolina. mrs. shaheen. ms. sinema. ms. smith. ms. stabenow. mr. sullivan.

the clerk: mr. tester. mr. thune. mr. tillis. mr. tuberville. mr. van hollen. mr. vance. mr. warner. mr. warnock. ms. warren. mr. welch. mr. whitehouse. mr. wicker. mr. wyden. mr. young.

senators voting in the affirmative -- bennet, blackburn, braun, butler, cortez masto, cruz, fischer, hassan, heinrich, hyde-smith, kelly, lummis, manchin, murkowski, ossoff, padilla, paul, peters, reed, diseanders -- sanders, schatz, shaheen, sinema, smith, sullivan, tester, tuberville, van hollen, wicker, and young. mr. marshall voted in the negative.

the clerk: mr. hagerty, aye. mr. kaine, aye.

the clerk: ms. warren, aye. mr. casey, aye. ms. stabenow, aye.

mr. brown, aye. the clerk: mr. cornyn, aye.

the clerk: mr. warner, aye. mr. welch, aye. mr. schmitt, aye. mr. cramer, aye. mr. cotton, aye.

mr. cardin, aye. the clerk: mr. lujan, aye. mr. vance, aye.

mr. budd, aye. mr. graham, aye. mr. rounds, aye.

the clerk: mr. carper, aye. mr. lankford, aye. mr. johnson, aye.

the clerk: mr. boozman, aye. mr. crapo, aye.

the clerk: mr. hawley, aye. mr. grassley, aye. ms. hirono, aye. mr. wyden, aye. mr. moran, aye.

the clerk: mr. rubio, aye. mr. romney, aye. mrs. britt, aye.

the clerk: ms. baldwin, aye. mr. markey, aye. mr. fetterman, aye. mr. warnock, aye.

mr. schumer, aye.

the clerk: mrs. capito, aye. mr. mullin, aye. mr. barrasso, aye. aye. mr. mcconnell, aye.

mr. cassidy, aye. mr. kennedy, aye. ms. ernst, aye. mr. risch, aye. mr. hoeven, aye. mr. thune, aye. collins, aye. mr. -- ms. collins, aye. mr. ricketts, aye. mr. murphy, aye.

the clerk: mr. durbin, aye.

the clerk: ms. rosen, aye. mr. coons, aye. mrs. murray, aye. ms. klobuchar, aye. the clerk: mr. booker, aye.

the clerk: ms. cantwell, aye. mr. whitehouse, aye.

the clerk: mr. blumenthal, aye. mr. menendez, aye.

the clerk: mr. hickenlooper, aye.

the clerk: mr. king, aye.

the clerk: mr. merkley, aye.

the clerk: mrs. gillibrand, aye.

the clerk: ms. duckworth, aye.. the presiding officer: on this vote the yeah, are 95. the nays are one. and the nomination is confirmed. under the previous order, the motion on to reconsider is considered made and laid upon the table and the president will be immediately notified of the senate's action. the clirk will report theot