what i will tell you lita, is you know, i talk to minister gallant on a near daily basis as you know and each time i talk to him, i remind him of the necessity to make sure that they are protecting innocent civilians and creating pathways and corridors for civilians to move out of the battle space. and they need to make sure that they're doing things to ensure civilian safety. so that conversation is ongoing on a near daily basis. we're going to continue to work with israel and egypt and qatar on efforts to reimplement the pause.

and i think the pause, during the pause, you know, we got some very meaningful things done in terms of a number of hostages out of gaza. plus, we've been able to introduce a meaningful amount of humanitarian assistance. -- >> we are going to keep our for your commitment to gavel to gavel coverage of congress as we take you live to the floor of the senate. today lawmakers are expected to hold a confirmation vote for a judge on the fifth circuit court of appeals. live coverage of the senate here on c-span2. the chaplain: let us pray. o'god of time and eternity, use our lawmakers today as instruments of your will.

give them the wisdom to find joy in your presence. trust in your precepts, and confidence in your prevailing providence. as they trust you to enable us to find shelter from the storms that batter our nation and world. fill them with your peace. may this be a day when our senators serve you with gladness because your joy has filled their hearts. lord, keep them within the circle of your will as they seek to honor you with lives of integrity. we pray in your sovereign 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, december 4, 2023. to the senate: under the provisions of rule 1, paragraph 3, of the standing rules of the senate, i hereby appoint the honorable tammy duckworth, a senator from the state of illinois, 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 resume consideration of the following nomination which the clerk will report. the clerk: nomination, the judiciary, rodriguez irma carrio ramirez, of texas, to be united states district judge for the fifth circuit.

congressional reporter for political and the emergency aid packages, the latest on funding . >> it's a make or break week for congress in this state. we had a letter from the white house budget chief saying the u.s. is out of money for ukraine to underscoring the need for congressional action. there is talk of putting together a package for ukraine, funding for taiwan and border security. border security and republicans consistent included in this package so right now going in, it looks pretty grim but things can change pretty quickly. >> the house at noon, senate and at 3:00 p.m. eastern time, who

moved first when it comes to this week and aid packages? >> chuck schumer indicated they look to vote on a package this week. last week is over leaving for work and senators for saying they were prepared to filibuster that. and house republicans including the book of their border security package they passed earlier this year as part of the supplemental. >> to dig in to what we need border security. >> i think part of the complexity, anyone who has followed negotiations, immigration approaching white wheel so their provisions to

severely restrict as part of the immigration talks and people remember from the trump era and that is the crux of it but negotiations are complex and it's true either of those chambers. >> is it your expectation there will be aid packages that they asked for here? >> obviously time is short, both chambers are supposed to leave town for the holidays so things don't move quickly on capitol hill but i would be surprised, it looks like it's an all or nothing in the question is whether or not there could be border security language that satisfies that demand and get

international aid through. >> take us to house impeachment inquiry both formal boat and impeachment probes. when are we likely to see that? it seems like they are set on having a boat. >> the tone changed from republican leadership last week indicating they want to move quickly before the break for the holidays so that will be a formal vote to authorize, the impeachment of president biden, a crucial thing to underscore. looking at a lot of moderate republicans still on board impeaching joe biden, there's not any smoking gun sound of any wrongdoing but republicans feel as though they been stonewalled. i think that is motivating a lot

of them to be open to authorizing it. >> a formal vote authorizing impeachment lose more documents. >> that is the agreement, yes. >> we are talking about the end of the congressional calendar, how many days we have left? impeachment inquiry and emergency aid, what else is on the calendar? >> a lot of things, the annual defense policy bill, the debate over the controversial surveillance program for all of us capitol hill nerds and i think we are expecting resolution of the military goals tommy tuberville has had in the senate, hundreds of promotions held up and i think it appears to be close to breaking from a what the escape route looks like

we're waiting to find out as soon as this week. >> potential avenue for an escape route, how could they get around it? >> the most compelling one is look to the courts, pentagon abortion travel policy for maintaining these old so he has indicated being open to legal course of action and let them wait and. >> january 19, the resolution but is it all the clock ticking down to january 19? >> folks are saying they are working but you tend to have people, they say they are often

able to walk and chew gum at the same time. a lot of movement there after the new year. >> argus this morning, political congressional reporter, he's with us for about 20 minutes a good time to get your golden moving around capitol hill. missus vivian from tennessee from a democrat. good morning. >> you understand me? >> yes. >> i was told to talk to you all

about what this is doing. talking about israel, gaza, all those places, i want to know about america. america is dying everyday. i lived in tennessee where the murder rate is terrible. i'm tired of the weight of america, trump did all the stuff. all you got to do trump said to america democrats you know how to get after. hillary clinton was up there when he said stupid, people stupid debate taxes.

how does somebody get away with it? >> things killing americans, what are they doing to address that? >> i think what we heard is a lot of frustration from people in the resistance to other parts of the world and i think it's because there is this view priorities are cast aside whether crime are other areas, there have been efforts to address those in his congressman historically unproductive getting legislation enacted and is capturing frustration many in america have.

>> thank you so much, appreciate your time. let's go over this whole thing, i want to know largest hunter student housing agent because of our enemies. that i want to know how it is that it's okay to take classified documents he didn't have the legal authority to take. >> the aspect of the impeachment probe, hunter biden are not and whether or not we will hear from him onto. >> last week there was an offer

certainly they would like to hear from him and part of the rationale articulated in bebop to compel that story. it's unclear they don't have the authority to they formalize the powers and strengthen the hands and get the testimony. >> want to talk to the full committee, why are we starting there? >> it's something offered with public testimony in this view that it allows for does participate in god close doors

and get more attention from so part of the rationale is the idea of not allowing testimony, along to present this case for the american people. >> congressional reporter there taking your phone calls about the week ahead. >> i was surprised the tuberville thing was brought up.

i'm wondering why is one senator getting blame may speak whatever they want, just do three a day? three military leaders epic month i don't understand. i'd be interested, thank you. >> it is the crux of the issue of something that could be done, can't think of an example or majority leader has done so but these are promotions that go

through without much debate if any debate so it is pretty much a standstill. >> can you explain house speaker johnson could do his job and past funding for israel and ukraine and border security if the senate doesn't reject? >> speaker johnson is encountering a lot of the same dynamics become a part is dealing with, it's hard balancing act. the right balance, it will be challenge for anybody and speaker johnson has dollars when the positions of leadership in

you structure passion click it through and hold off those concerns mark breaking from member? >> i did see him and commit his credit that haven't. >> that's a good question, speaker pelosi has regularly done a couple of times from speaker johnson. he of gravel in the hallways, one access to the cap press court, something appreciated so i think speaker johnson is navigating the numeral and not necessarily brutally.

certainly not at length like speaker mccarthy. we will see, it is a different style. >> your calls on capitol hill, this is daniel, democrat. >> i was calling about the border crisis. joe biden wanted to know 45 years in this country, the has to be some solutions public and work and support them coming

over. >> that captures a lot of the issues at play here and there is a reason congress has not waited for multiple decades despite the efforts. i think we see the challenges again because i darken on pretty much every one of these issues. >> gary, independent, good morning. >> i was curious, what states are allowing migrants to vote no? >> states allowing undocumented immigrants to vote, we see them on the collections.

>> we have seen states allowing independence chemical had never want to start with a public service announcement from a like i did 30 years ago when she scheduled to congress take vote and watch on c-span2, you should do this. most presidents impeached did something in office with the exception of clinton and i don't care what anybody says but most of something they've done in

office. donald trump, they often had to terms in office. donald trump did something impossible, he got investigated twice. he actually did something twice, investigated twice to get impeached twice within four years. that's scary and you are him back in office. i wasted my time just for america to hear that. listen to what i said, he did enough in less than four years to get investigated twice and impeached twice going to help impeachment is supposed to go. >> what you're certainly hearing is the fact that this has become highly more politicized and

using a lot more impeachments in the last decade than ever before, many members of congress and those not abused and overused so that as part of the frustration you hear from the caller and others. >> noncitizen voting with a lot of to selection information, especially allows noncitizens to vote local election and there are federal laws and as of june 2023, 7 states specified they may not vote. the district of columbia and municipalities in three states allowed citizens to vote in local elections as of june,

2023. >> john in cumming, georgia, republican, good morning. >> in reference to senator tuberville, -- 20th century. former supreme court justice sandra day o'connor. through her life, her work, and her legacy, justice owe connor forever changed the nature of the supreme court. she was the first woman to ever hold the solemn title of justice. with every case she oversaw, and every opinion she authored, justice o'connor carried out her historic role with integrity and distinction. she moved our country forward in so many ways, protecting women's rights, protecting clean air, protecting voting rights, fighting discrimination. i can't help but reflect on her calm and steady presence on the court, even in the most of

tumultuous time and most divisive of cases. that presence was so needed during her tenure, and she will be sorely missed. our thoughts are with justice o'connor's family and loved ones. now outstandings the supplemental -- now, on the supplemental, in europe, the middle east and indo-pacific, autocrats and radical extremists are waging war against democracy, our values and our way of life. before the year is out, it's important for the senate to pass an emergency national supplemental package, providing aid to ukraine, to israel, humanitarian aid to innocent civilians in gaza and deterrence against adversaries in the indo-pacific. both parties understand the consequences will be severe if we fail. just this morning, omb director shalanda young warned congressional leaders that absent action from congress, funding to help ukraine will run out by the end of the year.

alarmingly, process on the national security package has been on ice for weeks. not because republicans have objected to israel aid or aid to ukraine or humanitarian aid to innocent civilians in gaza, or the indo-pacific, but because republicans have injected partisan and extreme immigration measures into the debate. let me repeat that. the holdup on the security supplemental has not been over ukraine or israel or the indo- indo-pacific, but over republican decision to inject hard-right immigration measures into the debate. democrats agree -- immigration should be debated and addressed. but if republicans want to raise the issue of immigration right now, the onus is on them to present us with bipartisan i ideas. democrats have spent weeks, weeks engaging in good faith on

this issue. in fact, the president's supplemental proposal puts money directly towards vetting asylum claims, reducing court backlogs, stopping fentanyl, which is exactly what our republican colleagues say they want. instead of meeting us in the middle, republicans have tripled down on extremist policies that seem dictated by donald trump and stephen miller, like indefinite detention of asylum seekers, sweeping powers to shut down the immigration system. democrats want to be reasonable on immigration. we're willing to make conceptions. but we will not keep going in circles if republicans aren't interested in even meeting us halfway. now, just because both sides can't reach an agreement does not mean that ares we cannot get something done. but it must be broadly bipartisan. neither side can dictate what can be in the bill, which is

what many of our republican colleagues seem to want. the two parties don't disagree seriously on israel or ukraine aid or humanitarian assistance to gaza or the indo-pacific. we should therefore work towards passing these areas where we have bipartisan agreement. the world is watching what we do in congress these coming weeks. you can bet vladimir putin is watching, hamas is watching, iran, president xi, north korea, all our adversaries, they're watching closely. if congress fails to defend democracy in its hour of need, all because of border policies inspired by donald trump and stephen miller, the judgment of history will be harsh indeed. now on ndaa. democrats have committed to working with republicans to pass the annual defense authorization bill through congress before the end of the year. four months ago the senate passed our own version of the

ndaa with strong bipartisan support. a bipartisan ndaa made a critical downpayment to rein in the chinese government on fentanyl trafficking, the purchase of u.s. farmlands, outbound investments and more. we also passed critical parts of aukus, one of the most important tools we have for outcompeting the chinese government. we must include all of aukus in the final agreement. but right now a number of house republicans who like to talk a big game on china are actually sabotaging some of the best tough on chinese government accomplishments we passed in the ndaa. instead of standing up to the chinese government, house republicans seem to be doing their bidding. for one, house republican leader is dangerously close to killing a bipartisan measure to disrupt illicit opioid supply chains, many of which began in china and punish those who facilitate

fentanyl trafficking. this measure was adopted with strong bipartisan support in the senate. it's been championed by the leadership of both the banking and armed services committee. holding the chinese government accountable for the fentanyl crisis is the definition of a legislative layup, but house republicans are trying to kill this bill if they don't get their way on unare he lated measures -- unrelated measures. instead of making the layup, they're throwing up an air ball. incredibly, there's more. early this summer the senate overwhelmingly passed a measure limiting the free flow of u.s. investment into china for sensitive advanced technologies like semiconductors, aides and more. it -- a.i. and more. it would codify an executive order president biden issued in august. what is more common sense than stopping u.s. dollars from helping chinese companies beat us on chips and a.i. and quantum computing. yet once again house republicans

with the apparent blessing of their leadership are blocking the bipartisan measure. so house republicans will talk a good game on fighting the chinese government but oppose measures to hold that government accountable for the fentszle crisis -- fentanyl crisis which is so afflicting america. hours republicans will howl if president biden is not tough enough on china but refuse to codify restrictions on outbound investment that president biden already issued. there are only two words to describe house republicans' record when it comes to china. cynical, hypocritical. we have a chance, a chance to pass real bipartisan reforms to help us outcompete the chinese government but house republicans are going out of their way, out of their way to kill these wins. finally, on uae's, while it's not rhee lated to china, house republicans are also attempting to kill another commonsense bipartisan measure passed by the senate which i was proud to cosponsor with senator rounds as

the lead sponsor to increase transparency around what the government does and does not know about unidentified aerial phenomena. unidentified aerial den mom that generated incense curiosity for many americans and the risk for confusion and misinformation is high if the government isn't willing to be transparent. the measure i championed with senator rounds would create a board just like we did with the jfk assassination records to work through the declassification of many government records on uap's. this model has been a terrific success for decades. it should be used again with uap's but once again house republicans are ready to kill this bipartisan provision. now we're going to get the ndaa done this year, just like we have for more than six decades. but there's still some more work to do. on the assault weapons ban. madam president, later this year, later this week i will join my democratic colleagues here on the floor to ask unanimous consent to pass the

assault weapons ban. i will come to the floor to try and pass the assault weapons ban because right now the scourge of gun violence in america is a national crisis. it wasn't always this way, madam president. after i led passage of the brady law and the assault weapons ban 30 years ago, america saw a significant decrease in mass shootings and gun deaths. it's simple. the assault weapon ban works. it saves lives. and one decade since the expiration of the ban we need it more than ever. as of today there have been more mass shootings than days in the year 2023. let me say that again, madam president. as of today, there have been more mass shootings than days in 2023. the american people are tired of fearing for their lives, their children's lives, their friends' lives every time they leave -- people leave the house. the people of lewiston, maine,

where a gunman murdered 18 people at a bowling alley and restaurant with an assault weapon are tired of fearing for their lives. the people of allen, texas where a gunman murdered eight people at a shopping mall with an assault rifle are tired for fearing on their lives. the people of louisville, kentucky where a gunman murdered five people at a bank with an assault rifle are tired fearing for their lives. so when democrats come to the floor this week again to pass the assault weapons ban and other gun safety legislation, i urge my republican colleagues to stand with us, stand with the american people, stand against the gun lobby, stand against gun violence. 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. mcconnell: madam 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: i'd like to begin today with a few words about the late justice sandra day o'connor. justice o'connor was a transformative figure in the history of our country. and of our highest court. she was a trailblazer in both

legislative politics and constitutional jurisprudence and i'm grateful for her extraordinary life and for her dedicated service. i know our colleagues join me in offering our deepest condolences to justice o'connor's children, grandchildren, and the entire o'connor family. now, madam president, on an entirely different matter, the senate has less than two weeks to pass supplemental legislation on urgent national security priorities. as i've said for months, that means addressing both grave threats to america's interests overseas and the glaring border security crisis right here at

home. senate republicans know that national security begins with border security, and we've made it crystal clear that in order to pass, the senate, any measure we take up in the coming days must include serious policy changes designed to get the biden administration's border crisis under control. apparently some of our colleagues aren't ready to take that really seriously. senator lankford, senator graham, and their fellow republicans negotiators are still at the table working diligently on solutions, but from the white house to the capital, washington -- capitol, washington democrats are wasting time with bizarre public scoldings instead of engaging actively in the border security discussions required to complete a viable national security

supplemental, the biden administration has chosen to lecture, lecture congress with a brag wheel of its supposed leadership encountering putin in europe. the administration's account glossed over its record of self-deterrence toward russia insisting that, quote, the time to help a democratic ukraine fight against russian aggression is right now. if only president biden had felt that sort of urgency in late 2021 and early 2022 as i and other republicans have urged the administration to give ukraine the lethal assistance it needed to resist putin's escalation. if only this lethal assistance and critical investments in cutting edge capabilities for u.s. forces hadn't required so

much prodding. last week at the reagan national defense forum, the previous administration's former national security adviser robert o'brien made the case for supporting ukraine. he pointed out rightly that helping degrade the military power of a major u.s. adversary is in america's national security interest and that we shouldn't hesitate to give ukraine the weapons it needs to do the job. and he observed that the biden administration's self-congratulatory talk doesn't square with his parsimonious approach to actually getting decisive weapons to the battlefield. as he put it, protected's team ought to stop patting itself on the back. toker their part, it's time for senate democrats to start demonstrating that they're more

interested in reaching a productive outcome in border security discussions than in wringing their hands in the press. the junior senator for connecticut has concluded that beginning to stem the humanitarian and national security crisis on our southern border amounts to, quote, closing the border indiscriminately. s apparently restoring a functional asylum and parole system, orderly points of entry and meaningful enforcement of our immigration laws is a bridge too far for senate republicans. let's be absolutely clear what we're dealing with here. let's establish exactly what it is that the democratic leader has called extraneous to america's national security. on president biden's watch, cbp

has recorded 6.5 million -- million -- encounters at the southern border and 1.7 million known got-aways. in the last fiscal year's all-time record apprehensions at the southern border included 169 individuals on the terrorist watch list, a massive increase. the biden administration tried to convince the american people that they were serious about this historic crisis by having asylum seek ers download a smartphone app. instead, week after week all we can see are numbers that somehow keep getting worse. meanwhile, liberal state and local officials told us that the increasing chaos of their sanctuary cities could be mitigated if only we raced to

give work permits to the ever-growing population of illegal aliens. now, set something aside the fact that that creates the exact wrong incentive, the biden administration has already tried this approach and failed. in new york city alone, just 2% of recent arrivals have even applied. president biden's officials have even admitted that they expected this unserious approach to produce a further surge in arrivals. as recently as two weeks ago the white house was tried to sell its flawed supplemental proposal as a solution to the crisis. as the junior senator from tennessee has pointed out, the president's answer to the border crisis wasn't to enforce immigration law; it was to turn ice into a service for illegal

aliens. that's the job the american people expect them to do. that's the foundation of america's national security and time is running out. mr. durbin: madam president. the presiding officer: the majority whip. mr. durbin: madam president, in the depths of world war ii, raging in europe, a group of people decided to charter a ship and come to the united states. they were jewish people from

european countries, and the ship was known as the s.s. st. louis. it went to the port in havana, cuba, and was turned away, tried to land in the united states and was turned away again, and eventually returned to europe, a boatload of jewish people. hundreds of them died in the holocaust. we reflected on that after world war ii and decided it was not a period in american history that we should take pride in but a lesson to us of what happens when people are in desperate situations and ask for them. -- and ask for help. and so i believe it was in 1951 that we entered into the geneva convention, an agreement when it came to refugees who sought refuge on your shore. and the united states under presidents of both political parties wanted to establish once

and for all what happened to the s.s. st. louis did not reflect the values of the united states of america. and so in 1951 we established with many nations around the world a standard for what to do with refugees, people who sought refuge in your country because of fear of staying in their own country. the system worked well for us for many decades, but now we're facing a new challenge we've never seen before. the number of refugees from around the world is at a record-breaking pace. some refugees, because of war, some because of fear, religious belief, state of the environment and they're moving in massive numbers all over the globe, particularly into europe and to the united states. so we've seen record-breaking numbers appearing at our border

to the south of our country. and we've heard from the other party quite a bit about this. deservedly so. i'm a person who believes in immigration. my mother was an immigrant to this country, and i'm proud to be in the senate, first-generation american representing the great state of illinois, as the presiding officer does. but i understand the overwhelming numbers we are facing at the border, and president biden is facing, really argue for us to take a hard look at the way we approach this. if you've ever been to an immigration court -- and i have in the constituent of chicago -- it is an overwhelming experience. you see people standing three and four-deep against the wall waiting for their numbers to be called, and usually -- in fact without fail -- their cases are postponed for another six months or a year. it takes years for a person's

refugee claim to be litigated. that's just plain wrong. justice delayed is clearly justified denied. the fact that half of them don't win in their litigation is an indication that if they were tried at an earlier date, the resolution of their future would be obvious. so now we hear from our republican friends that before we can provide any more military assistance to ukraine in their war against vladimir putin, the war criminal in moscow, if we're going to provide any assistance to israel to fight off the hamas terrorism group, we have to resolve the problems at our southern border before we can go forward. that troubles me,madam president, because i've been working on immigration for at least 20 years, maybe more, and i know how difficult the issue is. it's hard to explain in the united states of america, a nation of immigrants, why immigration is such a hot

controversial topic. virtually everyone in this country is only a generation or two removed from being an immigrant to this country. and yet there's been resistance throughout our history -- unless we needed cheap labor to build the transcontinental railroad, when we invited chinese workers to come in. we treated them, unfortunately, in an inhumane fashion and didn't give them largely eligibility to become citizens. we we needed the labor. we needed the workers. it's happened many times before. what troubles me about the debate now about the southern border is that it is one half of the immigration equation. yes, we need order at the border. yes, we need to have changes in the laws that reflect the reality of the overwhelming numbers from all over the world who are coming to our shores and our border. but there's also an incredible demand for legal immigration into this country, even now. the presiding officer, my colleague from the state of

illinois, has legislation which addresses one aspect of that. her bill -- and i hope i describe it accurately -- says that if you are an undocumented person in this country and you can pass the physical and the required test, background test, the like, that you can serve in our military, and if you do it honorably, we will make you citizens of the united states. do we need that? do you know what the recruiting numbers are at the army and the navy and the air force? they can't reach their quotas each month. they can't find enough people to join our military forces. and there are those who are undocumented who want the risk to serve and risk their lives for that country. should we give them a chance? i think we should. let me tell you others that we need. in my state of illinois, in the inner city, in chicago, in the rural areas downstate, we're holding our breath hoping that we can keep hospitals open. you know why? we don't have enough medical

personnel. and yet there are people all around this world who have medical credentials as doctors and nurses and skilled technicians who want to come to the united states but we don't give them the chance. i think it's a reasonable thing to do. i think it would make us a better nation and a healthier nation and keep those hospitals open. and they're desperate to find now personnel. -- new personnel. we need legal immigration for that. the same holds true when it comes to agriculture workers. in our state of illinois we desperately need them for virtually every aspect of farming and agriculture. are they available and ready to come? yes, but they need a change in the immigration law to reach that. the point i am trying to make is there are many issues involved -- enforcement appeared make -- enforcement and making sure people are not a danger coming here are part of that a but second is making sure we have an

orderly process and, third, recognizing that legal immigration is needed now more than ever. a few years back i was part of an effort called the gang of eight. john mccain, myself, chuck schumer -- we came together and wrote a comprehensive immigration bill. it hadn't been done for over 25 years. we brought it to the floor of the senate, and it passed. you see, we have 11 million undocumented people in the united states. they are people who are raising families, going to work, aattending churches and synagogues and temples that you attend, and they're part of america, but legally they are not on the books. we had a system, i think, that was fair, that passed the united states senate, which said once and for all they can step forward out of the shadows, religious with the government, pay their fair pair of taxes, pay into social security, help us deal with the financial challenges of our entitlement system, and work in this country

legally, register and we know exactly where they live. baythat to me is a sensible approach. it is one that passed on the floor of the senate. it one we should turn to again. as we're giving work permits that are in temporary protected status, we should be giving work permits to those of who have been here for years and years, raised a family and proven they can be a good neighbor. give them a chance to legally work. i think that's important and something we should do. i with aens to tell you a story about one -- i want to tell you a story about one person. she is a resident of the state of illinois. 20 years ago i introduced the dream act, and the dream act said if you were brought here as an infant, toddler or small child, you should be given your chance to earn your way to citizenship. when they test in proposition across the country, democrats and republicans agree that's

only fair. those little kids didn't have a vote when the family decided to come to the united states. they've grown up here, been educated in our schools here. they've got advance degrees and they want to be part of america's future, and they should be given that chance. well, unfortunately, the bill passed -- did not pass, but president barack obama, the former senator from illinois, created a program called daca which addressed that very serious gap in our immigration law for these young people. 800,000 -- 800,000 young people qualified for the daca program. now it is unattack in the courts. the question is, will it survive? and i'm not sure it will. but we do know that these dreamers can offer a lot to this country. let me tell you the story of one of them. her name is mitchell s some of

the to rodriguez. she first came to blue island, illinois, from mexico city sasse a 9-year-old with her family. she made illinois her home and worked hard and studied hard. when she was a sophomore in high school, she was in a car accident with her mom and sister. the police officer who came to the scene made an impression by being respectful, professional, and speaking spanish to make her mother feel more comfortable. the experience prompted mitchell to decide that she wanted to serve her community has a police officer. -- as a police officer. mitchell obtained an associate's degree from a college in palos hills, illinois. last year we graduated magna cum laude with a bachelor's degree in criminal justice. understanding how immigrants contributed to our communities, blue island decided to permit daca recipients like mitchell to work as police officers. today mitchell serves her community as a part-time police

officer while attending the police academy and work as a disiewrt officer at the local high school. but daca was always intended to be a temporary solution for dreamers like mitchell. since president biden established a program -- since president obama established a program republicans waged a campaign to overturn it and deport dreamers back to the countries they may not even remember. the permanent solution is enacting a piece of legislation that i did introduce 20 years ago, the dream act. it would provide a path to citizenship for dreamers across the country. without permanent protections, young people have been forced to live in limbo and fear that daca will be overturned by the courts. they have to renew their status every two years, which means their lives are in two-year increments. in september, a federal judge in texas declared the daca program illegal, though the decision left in place protections for current recipients like mitchell while her appeal is pending. until the dream act is passed,

mitchell's service to her community and to our nation is at risk, as is the service that so many dreamers are providing in their communities as teachers, medical professionals, servicemembers, and so much more. immigrants have been a critical part of the american success story and our nation needs immigrants like mitchell and her family more than ever today. if daca is struck down, experts predict that our economy will lose billions of dollars, $11.7 billion in lost wages. and without continued legal immigration, the u.s. working-age population will shrink by over 6 million by 2040. as more americans retire, this could contribute to a 23% reduction in the monthly social security checks that beneficiaries have been promised. these young people, these daca recipients and many others want to be part of our economy, pay their taxes, pay into social security, and we desperately need them to do it.

with over 9.5 million jobs open right now in america, our farmers, hospitals, and small business owners desperately need immigrants to meet their workforce needs, to resolve these challenges we should create additional lawful pathways for immigrants to work in the united states. we should also give our undocumented population, most of whom have been here for decades, legal status so they can fully contribute to our society. i'm ready to negotiate with my republican colleagues in good faith to solve the problem at the border, and it needs a solution. i readily acknowledge that. but at the same time i hope they will take a positive approach as well, knowing that we desperately need legal immigration. and if people are clear to come into our country for that purpose we will be better for it at so many different levels. there are some on the other side, i'm going to be very blunt about this, who believe in the theory of not one more immigrant in this country. they don't know the history of the united states. they don't know what these immigrants have meant to us.

in my family and the families across the whole country, you can point to immigrants who made a solid difference in building a family, building an economy which we all prosper from today. so let's get it right when it comes to enforcement at the border but let's not tell half the story. let's tell the other half of the story that legal immigration is critical to our future and people like mitchell soto rodriguez who is wanting to serve as a police officer in her community in illinois is an asset to this country, and we need her in our future. madam president, i yield the floor. a senator: madam president, could i note the absence of a quorum for a brief moment. i believe senator whitehouse is joining me. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll.

quorum call: the clerk: ms. baldwin.

fighting discrimination. i cannot help but reflect on her calm but steady presence on the court even in the most tumultuous times in the most divisive of cases. the presence, that presence was so needed and she will be sorely missed. our thoughts are with the family and loved ones. >> i would like to begin today with a few words about the late justice sandra day o'connor. justice o'connor was a transformative figure in the history of our country. she was a trailblazer in both legislative politics and constitutional jurisprudence.

i am grateful for her extraordinary life and for her dedicated service. i know our colleagues join us in offering the deepest condolences to the children, grandchildren and the entire o'connor family.

the presiding officer: the senator from rhode island. mr. reed: madam president, i would ask to dispense with the calling of the quorum. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. reed: thank you, madam president. i wish to rise today to recognize one of the hardest working public servants in my state, indeed in any state. mark hayward. mark will be retiring at the end of the year as the district director of the rhode island small business director. his career stretches back 45 years. he was first elected to city council in his hometown of east providence, rhode island, while he was still a student at

providence college. his peers on the council quickly recognized the intelligence, the compassion, the work ethic that dominated his career. and despite his youth, they voted him for the mayor of the town. after six years as mayor, mark made the decision to leave rhode island for washington, d.c., in order to serve as a deputy director of intergovernmental affairs at the environmental protection agency and later as deputy assistant secretary for territorial and international affairs at the department of interior. but the pull to return to rhode island was strong. after joining sba in 1990, mark moved to the rhode island office which he was soon appointed to lead as the district director. in total, mark has spent a remarkable 29 years as acting and then permanent sba director

for the state of rhode island. most of us small businesses have never known a world without mark's guidance. but his story is characterized by more than longevity. it's defined by hard work and encyclopedic knowledge of sba programs and business opportunities. mark's combination of dedication and knowledge is particularly valuable during times of crisis, from a snowstorm to hurricanes to the devastating floods that struck the ocean state in 2010, mark has been there to orchestrate the response and help businesses and homeowners recover. this past august, mark was on the scene working to help small business recover from a devastating fire on block island that destroyed one of the island's landmark hotels and harmed a number of small businesses. but mark's skill and commitment is shown highest during the

darkest days of the covid-19 pandemic when he seemed to be everywhere all at once. he was ever present on zoom town halls, constantly on the phone with myself and other members of the delegation, and always available to small business owners who needed help, understanding the finer points of the patient protection program and covid-19 economic injury disaster loans. he was in demand because everybody knew that no one is better at slicing through the red tape than mark. it -- it is not exaggerating to to say that the loans he kept secured kept them afloat. mike has helped to pipe $8.6 billion into rhode island's economy, enabling our small businesses to start, to grow,

and thrive while saying local. that is a hugely significant number, particularly in a state rhode island's size. mark's work ethic during that pandemic was simply an extension of the work he puts in every day. mark has long worked early mornings and on call during the week and weekend always ready to listen and help. don't just take my word for it, sba has asked mark to cover vacant positions five times during his tenure. a clear demonstration of the trust and respect his peers hold for him. for mark this isn't just personal, it isn't just business, it's about his dedication and commitment to public service. he's not just helping small businesses with finances, he's

visiting and patronizing them in his free time. at this point in his career, it's hard to find a rhode island business that he hasn't helped. that's why we're going to miss mark. our entrepreneurs will miss his guidance and i will miss his thoughtful advice and quick wit. i know he will fill his time with his family, his wife nancy, his children patrick, kelce and megan and his grandchildren. i know he will find new ways to continue serving in rhode island, and i must say, madam president, this is a rhode island story so the following should be obvious. mark's grandmother and my grandmother would talk about once a week on the telephone in portuguese to make sure the whole state was running properly and if they had to give advice, they could give advice.

he's an old family friend. mark, thank you for your time. i yield to my friend from rhode island. the presiding officer: the senator from rhode island. mr. whitehouse: i'm here to congratulate markward for his -- mark hayward after serving at sba for more than 40 years. it's a remarkable career. mark strengthened small businesses across the ocean state and created economic opportunity for rhode islanders for every community and background. he was so well regarded in the sba that he was actually called down to washington for a detail to help break in a new small business administrator who needed to learn the ropes, and the person that the organization trusted to get her going and

working in a good way was mark hayward and then he came back to new england and back to rhode island. jack mentioned mark's role in the pandemic. he had actually told us he was planning to retire before the pandemic, but he couldn't walk away from what was happening and so he went to work to make sure that rhode island did a good job in the pandemic. it was not easy. these were big new programs that we created and implementing them and getting the money to flow smoothly through the banks and undoing the clog that emerged and the different errors that were experienced was a big project, and mark made rhode island a model of good implementation of our pandemic response. other sba offices around the country looked to what he was

doing and modeled on that. and it was just a pretty gallant and wonderful thing that he was willing to remain at the helm through that difficult period during this time and help small businesses across our state through a period of real financial uncertainty and peril. mark and his team delivered much-needed federal funding to businesses in every community, often providing a lifeline that allowed small business owners to keep their doors open and keep people on the payroll. that pandemic reinforced what we already knew about mark. he knows rhode island's small businesses better than anybody, he is determined to be helpful, and he will stand up and rise to the occasion when the demand is there for his skills. so i join jack in congratulating

our friend mark on an incredible run. we thank you, sir, for your dedication to lifting up small businesses across rhode island and your commitment to public service. we have loved working with you. i yield. mr. reed: madam president. the presiding officer: the senior senator from rhode island. mr. reed: madam president, next week the naval war college in newport, rhode island, will host the unveiling for the ollie burke missile destroyer which will be named for an extraordinary american and extraordinary rhode islander, ambassador jay william minnihoff. i will not be able to honor him in person, so i would like to take this opportunity, along with my colleague, senator whitehouse, to say a few words of appreciation for his

contribution and public service. ambassador minnidorf was born 99 years ago on september 24, 1924, in baltimore, md. he remains a person of intellect and achievement. to this day he continues to share his strong and always -- and interesting comments as a frequent contributor for the providence journal. i don't always agree with him, but his column always makes for a lively read and he has been preparing an upcoming book on the way called "on my watch, tyrants and patriots." i would like to highlight some of his extensive achievement and patriotic accomplishments. in the 1940's, while our nation was at war, he served in the

navy as an engineering offer and navigator aboard the uss53 and earned his bachelor of naval science of the holy cross. after he was discharged from the navy, he earned a bachelor's of arts degree from harvard and also attended new york university. he began an investment banker and cofounded middendorf firm, and took an important role in the republican party. in 1969 he left his investment firm and appointed u.s. ambassador to the netherlands and continued in that position until 1973, he then served as under secretary of the navy with an appointment from president

nixon. on april 8, 1974, he became the 62nd secretary of the navy serving through the ford administration. during his tenure as secretary of the navy, he championed and oversaw the development of four major navy programs, the ohio class submarine programs and tiapride ant missiles, the missile service system and the heavy lift helicopter mission for the marine corps and the 18 hornet carrier base, he was -- as secretary of the navy, he encouraged and approved the first marine reserve marathon and provided replicas of the iwo jima statues to be used as trophies for the male and female

runners. he was the chief executive officer of financial general bank shares and later named first american bank. in 1980, ambassador middendorf led the transition team of president reagan's administration. he served as ambassador to -- he served in 1984 when he was u.s. representative to the european community which is now known as the european union. he served in that role until 1987. on june 10, 2022, the future arleigh burke, now -- will be named the uss james william

middendorf, which is named after u.s. navy jorges and -- heros. i express my gratitude to the shipbuilding sailors who are brings this destroyer into the service of our nation. with that, i will yield again. the presiding officer: the senator from rhode island. mr. whitehouse: i'm delighted to have the chance to follow my senior senator to add a few words about bill middendorf and celebrate the fact that the newest arleigh burke missile destroyer will be named the uss james middendorf. if you go back to the time he

was secretary of the navy, the sequence was paul ig national -- ignacious, followed by john chafee of rhode island who later served in the united states senate followed by john warner, who became a very distinguished senator representing virginia, and then in that line came ambassador middendorf. so clearly the name selection follows an impressive tradition of service by some impressive navy secretaries. ambassador middendorf was born in baltimore, and was an engineer, officer and navigator and was later appointed u.s. ambassador to the netherlands in 1969 and then served as under secretary of the navy.

in 1974, ambassador middendorf was appointed by president nixon to serve as the 62nd secretary of the navy. and in that capacity he did something very important for rhode island which is champion the navy's submarine program, including overseeing the creation of general dynamics electric boats location, a facility that senator reed has done so much to make a powerful economic engine in rhode island and a powerful shipbuilding facility to make sure that america's power overseas is at its apex. this facility is a very important legacy and i'm delighted to join my senior senator in wishing ambassador middendorf, secretary middendorf congratulations and happy 100th birthday.

i yield the floor. a senator: madam president. the presiding officer: the senator from texas. mr. cornyn: madam president, the majority leader has said he plans to schedule a vote on president biden's $106 billion -- request as soon as this week. he knows as well as i do that as written this proposal stands zero chance of becoming law. if senator schumer puts this funding request on the floor of the senate, i believe that cloture vote, the requirement here that 60 senators agree to cut off debate, that that will fail. in the house, the legislation is so unpopular, that it will never even make it to the floor for a vote. the strong opposition to the

president's proposal is completely warranted, not for what it includes, so much for what it does not include. the supplemental's supposed to be all about national security, but it fails to deliver anything on one of the most urgent national security priorities and that is the crisis at the southern border. national security begins with homeland security right here hat home. -- right here at home. and we have a vulnerability on our nation's doorstep. since president biden took office, we've logged more than 6.5 million crossings at the southern border. on top of that there have been roughly a million people who have gotten away, they're called gotaways, people who have identified their physical presence on a camera or sensor,

but when the border patrol shows up to find them they are nowhere to be found. the truth is the biden administration has zero idea of who these 1.7 million people are or what they're capable of, what their intentions are. it could be people just simply coming here to work. they could be terrorists. they could be carrying illegal drugs that have taken the lives last year alone of 108,000 americans. they could be people with long wrap sheets, convicted murderers, child abusers. we simply have no idea and that's the point. uncontrolled illegal immigration is dangerous. the migration crisis has precipitated another crisis. when thousands of people are pouring across the border each day, it provides a perfect

diversion for drug cartels allowing them to move fentanyl, for example, across the border. fentanyl alone has taken the lives of 71,000 young people last year alone. ferntsle poisoning is the -- fentanyl poisoning is the number one cause of death for americans between the age of 18 and 45 years old. and as i said, we're losing somewhere around 110,000 americans a year. in all the time i've been working on this issue, i've never seen anything like the current situation at the border. texas, as you know, has a 1200-mile common border with mexico, so this is ground zero for the biden border crisis. but this is unlike anything we've ever seen before. president biden during his time in office has shattered every record on the books when it comes to illegal border

crossings. and less than three years he has set new records for the most crossings in a single day, in a single month, and a single year. i say he has because this would not happen if president biden would simply use the laws that are already on the books to try to bring some controls out of this chaos. it's important to realize this didn't just materialize out of thin air. it was a direct result of the biden administration's refusal to enforce the law. instead the biden administration sent a signal that our borders are open to anyone who can show up at our borders and that message has gotten through loud and clear. ap recent story in the new york -- a recent story in the "new york times" highlighted just how far the president's open border messages that traveled. in the last year more than

24,000 chinese citizens were apprehended at the southern border. dhas' more than the previous -- that's more than the previous ten years combined. many of these individuals claim asylum but whether or not their claims are successful really doesn't impact on their ability to stay in the united states. as "the new york times" noted, those who are not granted asylum end up staying anyway because china usually will not take them back. it's no secret that words travel fast when a group of migrants reaches the southern border and is allowed to remain in the united states, then people watching on television or people on the other end of a telephone call are told, i made it, you can too. so they keep coming. chinese citizens now represent the fourth largest group making the trek to our southern border. that's astonishing, and it ought

to be concerning. the reason why so many people from around the world are making this expensive and dangerous trip is because they're all but guaranteed by biden administration policies to be able to stay. there's absolutely no deterrence deterrence, no consequences. border patrol have told me countless times that the migrants used to run away from them, but now they run to them and turn themselves in knowing that they'll be able to stay. migrants used to go to great lengths to avoid being arrested because once it happened, it was most likely game over. law enforcement would detain the migrants and determine whether they had any legitimate cause to remain in the united states. but if they didn't, they would be removed or repatriated to their home country. if someone wanted to claim asylum, law enforcement would conduct a credible fear

screening to determine whether they had a case for asylum but if they did not, they would be returned to their home country. that is what the border patrol calls consequences and what i would call a deterrent for people who are coming, who know they don't have any arguable legal basis to be able to stay. but today that entire story has been flipped on its head. personnel in detention facilities are so under water that the normal processes have gone out the window. when thousands of migrants are crossing the border every day, law enforcement simply doesn't have the ability to detain each and every person long enough to determine if their claims to stay in the united states are legitimate. today migrants want to be arrested or detained by border patrol because they know they're highly unlikely to be removed.

in fact, they're all but guaranteed a year's long stay, probably even ultimately with a work authorization. today migrants are quickly processed and released while they await a court date that's years away. recently we had a hearing in the senate judiciary committee where the -- some of the immigration judges that have the most experience considering these cases testified that only about 15% of the people who ultimately appear in front of an immigration judge legally qualify for asylum. that means 85% of the people in that line do not, but yet what is causing this huge backlog is the 85% that prevent the 15% from getting their case heard on a timely basis. since president biden took office, the immigration court backlogs have more than doubled. now it's more than 2.9 million

cases. as a result, the wait for a court date just keeps on growing. and you know that's part of the plan of the smuggling organizations that get rich smuggling individuals into the united states. the more people they can move into the united states, the more money they make. and the more they can stack up immigration court hearings, the more they can ensure that people are actually released rather than detained. then the smugglers win and we lose. earlier this year, the associated press reported that in new york, court dates were being assigned in the year 2033, not 2023, the present year. 2033, a decade away. with each day that passes, it becomes clearer and clearer that money alone will not fix the problem.

after all, the border crisis isn't the result of scarce resources but of an intentional refusal by the biden administration to actually enforce the law. it's clear we need more than funding to solve this crisis. what we need is policy changes that will lead to real change. in other words, stop the exploitation of our asylum laws, of our catch and releast policies -- catch and release policies. president biden has proven he is not up to the job. he apparently doesn't care. he's had nearly three years to do something meaningful to stop this crisis, but he has simply refused to do so. congress has a responsibility to act and this national security supplemental is the best place to force action. whether or not democrats will admit it, the border crisis is a major national security risk, and it has to be addressed.

i know it's not easy. border security and immigration are some of the thorniest issues we debate here in congress, but we will not continue to fund broken policies that have contributed to the situation we find ourselves in today. we need and we'll insist on real substantive changes. this side of the aisle has been clear that a security supplemental must include funding and policy reforms to address the crisis at the southern border. and if that doesn't happen, we will not proceed to the rest of the sup plj. -- to the rest of the supplemental. yes, there's a bipartisan group of our colleagues working on a border provision that includes both funding and policy changes, and i'm eager to see what they come up with. but unfortunately, it looks like we're running out of time. so that means if senator schumer as the majority leader puts a

bill on the floor that fails to address the crisis at the border with real substantive policy reforms, we will not proceed to that bill. national security begins at home. our security cannot come second to that of other countries around the world, our allies, even those like ukraine and israel. madam president, i yield the floor, and i'd note the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. quorum call: clerk ms. baldwin. the clerk: ms. baldwin.

quorum call:

>> i think part of the complexity and the nuance here is anyone that is followed negotiation knows emigration is been something approaching a white male. there have been variances about trying to claw back some really restricted asylum as part of immigration talks. there is been a push to fund the border security wall that people remember from the trump era. that is kind of the crux of it. negotiations are really complex. they will obviously matter quite a bit. >> is that your expectation that it is more likely we will see separate packages other than the big aid package at they

originally asked for here? >> it is tough to say. they are supposed to be leaving town next week for the holidays. things don't move very quickly on capitol hill. i would be surprised to see separate packages moving at this point. it seems like it will be all or nothing. whether or not there could be some border security language in there that satisfies that demand and get these other aid components through. >> things move slowly until they don't. take us through a house impeachment inquiry vote. these impeachment probes. having the boat for that. when are we likely to see that? >> i think that the tone change last week now indicating they want to move as quickly as before they break for the holidays. that would be a formal vote to

authorize the inquiry. i think that that is a crucial dynamic to -underscore care. that has a lot of moderate republicans here with impeaching joe biden. there is not been any smoking gun found of any wrongdoing. they seem as if they have been sort of stonewalled. i think that is what is motivating a lot of what is motivating them to be really authorizing. >> authorizing the inquiry would give more heft to these inquiries. >> that is what they are advancing, yes. >> what about the end of the congressional calendar year? >> besides these two very big things, emergency aid, what else is on the calendar? >> the annual defense policy

bill. there is a debate over the sunsetting controversial program for all of us capitol hill nerds appear. and then i think we are expecting some sort of resolution with the military holds in the senate for months now. hundreds of promotions that been held up. i think that the dam appears to be breaking on that. we are expecting movement on that as quickly as soon as this week. >> potential avenues for an escape route. >> i think the most compelling one that i have heard is to look to the courts. this has been over at the pentagon. travel abortion policies. he has indicated perhaps being open to a legal course of action let them weigh in. maybe that gives them enough comfort to black some of these

holds and allow them to mills. >> the next funding -- spending is january 9. is there much work going on in the next week or two or is it all being saved to the clock ticking down to january 19? >> folks are saying that they are working right now. i think with experience you tend to have people who say they are able to walk and chew gum at the same time. i have not really found that to be the case. fun for those of us that are not used to having this without a looming government shutdown. >> a politico congressional report. you can join this for the next 20 minutes. a good time to get your calls and if you have questions about all these different topics moving around capitol hill as we wind down 2023. 2,027,488,001.

democrats 8000. independence 8002. this is vivian out of tennessee. democrat. good morning. >> good morning. i have had surgery in my speeches and paired. i've been calling ever since i got out of the hospital to talk to you all. they are out there talking about israel and god's outdated all those places. what about here in america? america is dying every day here. gun violence. i am sick and tired of it. wake up, america. they talk about joe biden. let me tell you something. trump did not hold us up.

all you have to do is play the tapes what trump said to america democrats, you don't have to get out there and say a word. i remember doing that debate. hilary clinton was up there. people are dumb and stupid to pay taxes. how can somebody get away with that? >> at the beginning, talking about things killing americans and what is congress doing to address that? what on capitol hill addresses those issues? >> i think what we heard from the call is a lot of frustration from people. part of the resistance to approving a lot of this aid to other parts of the world, polling shows americans are pretty split about that. i think that is because there is this view that domestic

priorities are often cast to the side whether that is crime or other areas. there have been efforts to address those through legislation. this congress has been a productive. i think, again, the college capturing about a frustration that many in america have right now, the feeling that congress is not doing enough to tackle these issues. >> gina is in hoover alabama. good morning. >> good morning. thank you so much. i appreciate your time. i want to know where he got $2 million in cash. then i want to know why it is that hunter did not have to file and then i want to know how it is that it is okay for the

senator to take classified documents he did not legally have the authority to take. >> ringing up some of the aspects of the biden impeachment probes. hunter biden specifically. whether or not we will hear from him on capitol hill are not. >> and offered by the first legal team for testimony. it has been rebuffed by republicans. i think that process will be ongoing protecting our children from what is happening online. so "the journal" had worked with the canadian center for child protection, and they were reporting on the test that they jointly had conducted on instagram. now, what they were trying to do

was to see what type of content that instagram's algorithms were recommending to pedophiles that were interested in sexual content. now, think about this. because in the physical world, you've got laws against pedophiles and the content that they are making and creating and distributing, but in the virtual space, our children do not have that protection. so that is the premise that the canadian center for child protection was working from, and this is what "the wall street journal" was reporting on. the results were absolutely disgusting. and when you go in and you look

at what they saw, you realize that instagram actually delivers short videos showing content of children and adults in sexual situations. see, it's serving it up for these pedophiles. it's delivering it. all they have to do, a click of a mouse and right there on their screen. now, here is an example feed that the test produced. so, bear in mind, their research ers are going in. they're looking at this, and this is some of the content that was found in the research ers' feed. pan a-- an adult uncrosses her

legs to reveal her under wear. sprinter at a track meet runs over a small boy who steps on the track. advertisement promoting trips to diskneeland. child in a bathing suit records herself posing in a mirror. adult content maker gives a come hither motion. girl dancing in a car while a song with sexual lyrics plays. that as snippet of the what one researcher had come up in their platform, in their feed. the test also found that instagram was providing videos and pictures of missing and exploited children as well as

videos confirmed to be sexual -- child sexual abuse material. we call that csam. and at the senate judiciary committee, we've done some good work in working to prohibit csam and to protect our children, and all of this legislation should come to the floor. it should somebody immediately passed. now if what i've just read to you of what the researcher found, there's even more. the report showed that instagram was well aware that its algorithms could produce this stream of content. bear in mind, this is illegal are content. this is child sexual abuse content. former meta employees -- and of course we know meta owns

facebook and instagram. former meta employees told the journal that instagram knew its algorithms could specifically aggregate content sexualizing children. and, madam president, this ties in with so much of what senator blumenthal and i have found as we led hearings looking into what was happening in these online platforms and how it was affecting our children. these plasms know what is happening. they are fully -- these platforms know what is happening. they are fully aware. they know these algorithms will aggregate that content and will serve it up to you, fully aware of it. you know why they don't change it? they don't change it because they put profits over protection

of our children. they make a conscious choice to keep it the way it is. now, before releaseing reels, that app, meta's safety staff warned the product would put together children in inappropriate content. the safety team actually provided recommendations that meta should increase content detection capabilities or either increase those content detection capabilities and prevent the recommendation of any content containing and minors being a part of this content. they gave them choices and options and said here's a way

that you can go about protecting children before you put reels and that platform out there. now that is two suggestions that were made to meta by their own staff. this is how you can protect children. increase your detection capabilities or prevent the recommendation. now it is the algorithms that feed up these recommendations. if you like this, you're going to like this. you loved this, just wait, you're going to love this. now, meta said no to each of those. there again, why is it that they said no? well, it is what we see repeatedly. they are putting profits ahead of protecting our children.

so think about this. how do these platforms -- how does meta get their net worth? well, all of this is based on the number of eyeballs they capture, the length of time that they can keep people on their site. so they ignore the suggestions on how to make that site safer for our children. meta employees actually said that preventing the system from pushing this content to users who are interested in it. well, what users do you think are interested in child sexual abuse content? it is pedophiles. it's criminals. so here you go. these employees said that

preventing the system from pushing this content to users interested in it, and i quote, requires significant changes to the recommendation algorithms that also drive engagement for normal users. end quote. i cannot believe that they are so hardened that they are so careless that they would think that. somebody wants this, serve it up. it may have a child who is sexually exploited or even a child that is missing in that video, but you know what? serve it up. they think the dollar is worth it. the journal also reported on mehta documents. this is not just hearsay. it's not anecdotal. these are actual corporate

documents. now these documents showed, quote, quo the company's safety staffers are broadly barred from making changes to the platform that might reduce daily active users by any measurable amount, end quote. in other words, they have the tools. they have the technology. they could put in place things that would protect children, but the company will not let the employees take the action that would protect children because it might mean that a user is not on the site for as long a period

of time. and as i said, they get their valuation from the number of eyeballs they capture and the amount of time they spend on the site. this is absolutely unbelievable, but it is the way meta is choosing to operate. and meta is not alone. you've got others of these social media platforms that are right in there with them. they keep dishing up this harmful and destructive content. why do we have a mental health crisis for our children in this country? could this possibly be a part of the problem? why is it that one in three american teenage girls has

contemplated suicide? could this possibly be a part of the problem? why is it that we're finding out that well over a third of all kids meet a drug dealer online? why is it that we are learning that children that meet and are groomed by a sex trafficker are first meeting them on line? the lack of care and concern for our nation's children, stunning. and this is big tech, they'd rather make a buck than protect a child. don't try to take away their ability to keep people locked in

on that screen. the longer they can keep them, the happier they are. well, all of this is one of the reasons for the last several years senator blumenthal and i have worked on the kids online safety act, and we've continued this work because it is obvious that these platforms cannot be trusted to do even the bare minimum to protect our nation's children. we're saying the bare minimum. now, the kids online safety act has the support of 49 senators in this chamber, and i thank everyone who's a part of this. we also, madam president, have 230 advocacy organizations in this country that are in support of the kids online safety act.

and interesting enough, with the polling we've seen lately, 86% of the american people support the kids online safety act. here's what it would do. first, it would force platforms to give families the ability to protect minors' information, disable addictive product features, and opt out of algorithmic recommendations. these are all things that parents and kids want to be able to do, because maybe there's stuff that they're seeing that they really don't want to see. next, it would give parents the safeguard that are needed to protect their kids' online experience as well as a dedicated channel to report harmful behavior. we have met with parents who talk about reporting cyber

bullying, reporting videos that are different challenges online. some of these parents, their children have been injured. some of them have lost their lives. some of them committed suicide. they want a dedicated channel to report harmful behavior. and the legislation requires these platforms to respond to parents and kids. predatory content and content that promotes self-harm, suicide, eating disorders to minors will now indeed be a problem for these platforms to deal with. no longer would they be able to deny and deflect, knowing this content is on their side. we also included requirements for annual risk assessments and

independent research reports we can use to assess safety threats to underage users. madam president, it is time for the senate to finally act on the harms online platforms are posing to our little ones. our kids online safety act, the report act, we've got great bills that would rein in some of this reckless behavior. and as i've described, platforms like meta know they are fully aware of the harms this is causing. we've had whistleblowers talk to us about the harms and that they know these harms exist. so, with 49 members of this chamber supporting the legislation, it is time that we move forward with it, and we

should get this done before the end of the year. 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. a senator: madam president. the presiding officer: the senator from vermont. mr. sanders: i ask the quorum call be vitiated. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. sanders: madam president, i wanted to say a few words about the $106 billion emergency foreign aid supplemental bill that may soon be coming before us. i should be clear that there are a number of pieces of that bill

that i strongly support, but in its present form i do not think it serves the interests of the american people. let me say a few words as to why. first, while i strongly support ukraine's valiant efforts to defend itself against putin's invasion and israel's need to defend itself against incoming rocket and missile attacks, i am deeply concerned that this legislation has no investments to address the needs of working families in the united states. 60% of whom are living paycheck to paycheck. so let us be clear, yes, there are enormous emergencies abroad, but there are also very serious emergencies in our own

country, including the crises we face in child care, in primary health care, housing, and in other needs. the american people do not want us to continue to ignore these issues. secondly, at a time when congress will likely soon pass a $900 billion defense bill, this supplemental bill includes tens of billions that should be covered as part of the base defense budget and handled through normal appropriations, not allocated as emergency spending. we can save tens of billions of dollars in this bill and dedicate that money to some of the horrendous domestic crises that we face.

thirdly, and maybe most importantly, madam president, at a time when some 16,000 palestinians have been killed in the last two months, two-thirds of whom are women and children and tens of thousands more have been injured, at a time when 1.8 million people, palestinians, have been displaced from their homes and are struggling every day -- having been thrown out of their homes, they don't know where they are going, they are struggling to get food and water and medical supplies and fuel just to survive. and i want you to think about what's going on with the children. a lot of children in that country. what's going on psychically for them, is a bomb going to fall, where do i spend the night? how do i get food? that's what's going on there right now.

madam president, at a time when over 250 people have been killed in the west bank -- i'm not talking about gaza, i'm talking about the west bank -- since october 7, and more than a thousand palestinians have been driven off of their land in the west bank. know in the midst of all of that i do not believe we should be appropriating over $10 billion for the right-wing extremist netanyahu government to continue its current military approach. what the netanyahu government is doing is immoral, it is in violation of international law, and the united states should not be explicit -- complicit in those actions. madam president, we are all clear that hamas, a corrupt

terrorist organization, began this war with air in barbaric attack against israel on octobe. given that reality, israel has a right to defend itself, but it does not have, in my view, the right to wage all out war against innocent men, women, and children, palestinians who had nothing to do with the hamas attack. therefore, i believe it is appropriate for us to support defense systems that will protect israeli citizens from incoming missile and rocket attacks. but i believe that it would be irresponsible for us to provide an additional $10.1 billion in unconditional military aid that will allow the netanyahu government to continue its current offensive military

approach. that approach has included indiscriminate bombing that has killed, as i mentioned before, 16,000 people, most of whom are civilians. and i want to make this point. all of us -- many of us, i hope most of us understand that what is going on in ukraine is horrendous. putin, almost two years ago, attacked ukraine, the result is massive destruction, hundreds of thousands of young russian soldiers are dead, some 30,000 ukrainian soldiers are dead. it is a disaster. but interestingly enough, according to the united nations, about 10,000 civilians have been

killed since russia's unprovoked invasion in february 2022. 10,000 civilians killed in ukraine in a terrible war in almost two years, 15,000 palestinians killed in the gaza area in two months. israel's indiscriminate approach is, in my view, offensive to most americans. it is in vailings of -- in violation of u.s. and international law, and it undermines the prospect for lasting peace and security. israel must dramatically change its approach to minimize civilian harm and lay out a wider political process that can secure lasting peace, and that must include a guarantee that

displaced palestinians will have the absolute trite return to their homes -- right to return to their homes as gaza rebuilds. it will include no long-term occupation or blockade of gaza, and an end to killing of palestinians in the west bank, and perhaps most importantly, a commitment to broad peace talks to advance a new two-state solution in the wake of this war. madam president, the biden administration has appropriately, and i applaud them for this, been trying to get the israelis to be more targeted in their approach, but there is little evidence that they have succeeded. just today -- just today, israeli air strikes hit two u.n.

schools, housing displaced people. today, two u.n. schools housing displaced palestinians. more than 900 palestinians have been killed since friday. israeli evacuation orders are delivered with little notice to people with no electric and limited communication services. most of whom have already been displaced, have already been traumatized, and already lack basic necessities. and then -- even then the bombing continues. so, madam president, as we proceed on this supplemental bill which has some very, very important issues, count me in 100% for the humanitarian support that we need, not only in gaza but all over this world, count me in for that. count me in for serious

discussions about how we improve border security, count me in to help the people of ukraine withstand putin's terrible invasion, but do not count me in to give another $10 billion to a right-wing extremist government in israel, by the way whose prime minister now trial for corruption is continuing. don't count me in to support that $10 billion. with that, 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.

the presiding officer: the senator from hawaii. mr. schatz: i ask unanimous consent that we vitiate the quorum call. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. schatz: i ask unanimous consent that we start the vote now. the presiding officer: without objection. the question is on the nomination. is there a sufficient second? there appears to be. the clerk will call the roll. 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. the clerk: 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. vote:

the clerk: mr. lujan. ms. lummis. mr. manchin. mr. markey. mr. marshall. mr. mcconnell. mr. menendez.

the clerk: mr. menendez. mr. merkley. mr. moran. mr. mullin. ms. murkowski. mr. murphy. mrs. murray.

mr. ossoff.

the clerk: 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. the clerk: mr. whitehouse. mr. wicker. mr. wyden. mr. young.

complrk senators voting in the affirmative -- baldwin, bennet, booker, budd, butler, cantwell, capito, coons, duckworth, durbin, fetterman, hagerty, hyde-smith, lujan, murphy, peters, reed, ricketts,

sanders, schatz, shaheen, stabenow, tester, warner, warren, welch, wyden. the clerk: senators voting in the negative -- blackburn, crapo, marshall, mullin, paul.

the clerk: mr. daines, no. the clerk: mr. padilla, aye. mr. grassley, aye. ms. ernst, aye.

the clerk: ms. smith, aye. mr. tillis, aye. mr. manchin, aye.

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

ms. capito, aye. mr. carper, aye. the clerk: mr. schmitt, no. mr. cornyn, aye.

the clerk: mr. cotton, aye. mr. mr. heinrich, aye. mr. menendez, aye.

#. the clerk: the clerk: mr. rounds, aye. mr. graham, aye. mr. warnock, aye. mrs. murray, aye.

ms. rosen, aye. mr. thune, no. ms. murkowski, aye. ms. klobuchar, aye.

the clerk: mr. romney, aye.

mrs. fischer, aye. mrs.

the clerk: mrs. britt, no. mr. advance, aye. -- mr. vance, aye.

the clerk: mr. lankford, aye.

the clerk: mr. young, aye.

the clerk: mr. ossoff, aye.

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

the clerk: mr. cruz, aye. mr. sullivan, no.

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

mr. schumer, aye. the clerk: mr. cassidy, aye.

the clerk: mr. scott of florida, aye. vote:

the clerk: mr. lee, no.

the clerk: ms. lummis, aye. mr. hickenlooper, aye.

the clerk: mrs. gillibrand, aye.

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

the clerk: mr. van hollen, aye. mr. brown, aye. mr. mcconnell, aye. mr. scott of south carolina, aye.

mr. kennedy, aye. mr. wicker, aye.

the clerk: mr. blumenthal, aye.

the clerk: mr. king, aye.

the clerk: mr. casey, aye.

the clerk: mr. hoeven.

mr. hoeven, no. mr. cramer, aye.

vote:

the clerk: mr. markey, aye.

vote:

s

>> the presiding officer: the yeas are 80, the nays are 12. the nomination is confirmed. is under the previous order, the motion to recar is considered made and laid upon the table. the president will be immediately be notified of the senate's action. mr. schumer: mr. president.

the presiding officer: the majority leader. mr. schumer: i move to proceed to legislative session. the presiding officer: the question is on the motion. all those in favor, say aye. those opposed, say no. the ayes appear to have it. the ayes do have it. the motion is agreed to. mr. schumer: i move to proceed to executive session to consider calendar number 317. the presiding officer: the question is on the motion. all those in favor, say aye. all opposed, no. the ayes appear to have it. is the ayes do have it. the motion is agreed to. the clerk will report. the clerk: nomination, department of state, national lee res of massachusetts to be ambassador to the public of croatia a. mr. schumer: i send a cloture notion the desk. the presiding officer: the clerk will report. 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 317, nathalie rayes of

massachusetts to be ambassador extraordinary and preen plo ten nation of the united states of america to the republic of croatia a. the presiding officer: i ask consent the reading of the names be waived. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. schumer: i move to proceed to legislative session. the presiding officer: question is on the motion. all those in favor, say aye. all opposed, no. the ayes appear to have it. the ayes do have it. the motion is agreed to. mr. schumer: i move proceed to to calendar number 30 is number h.r. 15. the presiding officer: provision to proceed to h.r. 815, an act to amend the united states towed to make certain improvements relating to the eligibility of veterans and so forth and for other purposes. mr. schumer: i send a cloture motion to the desk. the presiding officer: the clerk will report. 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 motion to proceed to calendar number 30, h.r. 815, an act to

amend title 30-a united states code and so forth and for other purposes, signed by 17 senators as follows -- mr. schumer: i ask consent the reading of the names be waived. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. schumer: i ask unanimous consent that the mandatory quorum calls for the cloture motions filed today, december 4, be waived. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. schumer: now, mr. president, to explain to the senators and our colleagues what we have just done, a few moments ago i filed cloture on a motion to proceed on a shell bill for a national security supplemental. the step i'm taking tonight will ensure the process for the supplemental moves forward and that hopefully disagreements on immigration do not prevent us from doing what we must do to protect america's security. i urge every single senator to think where we are at this moment in history. america's national security is

on the line around the world -- in europe, in the middle east, in the indo-pacific. water owe crass, dictators are waging war against democracy, against our values, against our way of life. that's why passing this supplemental is so important. it could determine the trajectory of democracy for years to come. we are at a moment in history. tonight i'd like to announce that the administration has invited president zelenskyy to address senators via secure individual joe as part of our classified briefing tomorrow. so we can hear directly from him precisely what's at stake in this vote. i ask that all senators -- all senators -- attend this important briefing. in the coming days, i urge my colleagues to do the right thing and support moving forward on a supplemental package. we can't ever put a price on defending democracy in its hour of need because if ukraine falls, putin will keep on going, autocrats around the world will

be emboldened, democracy, this grand and noble experiment, will enter an era of decline. history will render harsh judgment on those who abandon democracy. i urge all senators to work with us to move forward on a national security supplemental. now, mr. president, i i ask unanimous consent that the committee on homeland security and governmental affairs be discharged from further consideration of s. 2087 and the senate proceed to its immediate consideration. the presiding officer: the clerk will report. the clerk: s. 2087, a bill to reauthorize the congressional award act. the presiding officer: without objection, the committee is discharged and the senate will proceed. mr. schumer: i ask unanimous consent that the lummis substitute amendment which is at the desk be considered and agreed to, the bill, as amended, be considered read a third time and passed, and the motion to

reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. schumer: mr. president, i ask unanimous consent that the senate proceed to the consideration of s. res. 483 submitted earlier today. the presiding officer: the clerk will report. the clerk: s. res. 483, commending the officers of the commissioned corps of the united states public health service and so forth. the presiding officer: without objection, the senate will proceed. mr. schumer: i ask unanimous consent the resolution be agreed to, the preamble be agreed to, and that the motions to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table, with no intervening action or debate. the presiding you. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. schumer: i ask unanimous consent that when the senate completes its business today it stand adjourned until 10:00 a.m. on tuesday, december 5, that following the prayer and pledge, the journal of proceedings be approved to date, the morning hour deemed expired, the time for the two leaders be reserved for their use later in the day and morning

business be closed. that upon the conclusion of morning business, the senate proceed to executive session to resume consideration of the alikhan nomination. further that cloture motions filed during thursday's session ripen at 11:30 a.m. and that the senate recess follows the cloture vote on the alikhan amendment until 2:15 p.m. to allow for caucus meetings. finally if nominations are confirmed during tuesday's session the motions to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table and the president be immediately notified of the senate's action. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. schumer: if there is no further business to come before the senate, i ask that it stand adjourned under the previous order. the presiding officer: the senate stands adjourned until the u.s. senate has gaveled out. today lawmakers voted to confirm judge irma ramirez to the fifth

circuit court of appeals this week lawmakers are expected to continue work on judicial executive nominations including elizabeth richard to be the quarter for nader for terrorism for the state department and watching live coverage of the senate on cspan2. tonight a discussion about regulating the vaping and e vape cigarettes with indiana republic and a panel of health executives hosted by the american enterprise institute in washington d.c. watch at 8:00 p.m. eastern on cspan2, c-span now are free mobile video app or online at c-span.org. ♪ c-span's student cam documentary competition as a backup. celebrating 20 years of this year's theme looking forward while considering the past but we are asking middle and high school students to cut a five -- six minute video addressing one of these questions. in the next 20 years what is the most important change if you

like to see it america? oh over the past 20 years what is been the most important change in america? as we do each year were given by $100,000 in total prizes of the grand prize of $5000 and every teacher who has students participate in this year's competition has the opportunity to share a portion of an additional $50000. theti deadline is friday, generate 19, 2024 for information visit our website at student cam.org. ♪ every saturday american history tv document and record store. funding for cspan2 has these television companies including cox. is extremely