political dynamic, but in the context of his or her quality of service, her integrity, her decency and above all, they're not only solemn obligation, but complete life of preserving and protecting the constitution of the united states. and with that, mr. president, i will yield. >> and the senate about to gavel in. today members are expected to video on a spending package for aid to israel, ukraine and taiwan and members wanted border control funding add today measure and they'll work on the nomination for the u.s. ambassador to croatia. you're watching live coverage on c-span2. the chaplain: let us pray. gracious god, during this season when we celebrate peace on earth and

goodwill to all, we pause to thank you for the gifts of your blessings. thank you for the blessing of your presence that brightens this day, resource our faith, and fills us with peace. thank you for the blessing of friends who support, encourage and sustain us. lord, thank you for the blessing of families who nurture and forgive and undersuperior gird us with love. thank you for the members of -- ungird us with love, lord, thank you for the blessing of families who nurture and forgive us.

lord, guide them today so that your will may be done on earth even as it is done in heaven. we pray in your sacred 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 6, 2023. to the senate: under the provisions of rule 1, paragraph 3, of the standing rules of the senate, i hereby appoint the honorable peter welch,

a senator from the state of vermont, to perform the duties of the chair. signed: patty murray, president pro tempore. the presiding officer: under the previous order, the leadership previous order, the leadership

affordable to who? and to close a portable holes in cap to lower income households do need to be a system for both development and rental income over time period to put this , expanded public subsidies will be needed to increase and preserve access to affordable housing for millions of americans. i believe housing is infrastructure. we must adequately support and fund federal programs that are successful expanding affordable

housing axis. it's fun to strengthen. this includes federally subsidized housing. i will hear from a constituent in the massachusetts seven across massachusetts a quarter of all residents spend half your income or more on housing. boston is a second most expensive city in the country to rent with a medium rent for one bedroom apartment is just over $3000. $3000. between 2011-2211 data shows the cost of the same chemical shot of 226%. i hope today we can have on this conversation about the affordable housing crisis and extent to which public, private and public private solutions are adequate to address these challenges. i look forward to hearing from our witnesses today. i yield the balance of my time.

>> thank you. today we welcome the testimony of mr. alton, president of u.s. mortgage insurers. doctor hamilton is the senior research fellow and director of the urban project at the mercatus center. mr. michel is the vice president and director of the center for monetary and financial alternatives at the cato institute. ms. royster is the president of the residential, she is here on half of the national apartment association. and ms. yentl is the president and ceo of the national low income housing coalition. we thank you for taking time to be here. without checking your written statement will be made part of the record. mr. appleton you are not recognized for five minutes to give your oral remarks. >> thank you. chairman, ranking member pressley, thank you for inviting me to testify today. it's also always great to see

both longtime former boss on the subcommittee. since we discussed out by certain pride of housing policy roles including assistant secretary of hud and a president of u.s. mortgage insurers. our member committees are in the market every day employing private come to access a low down payment mortgage financing primer early to first-time and low and moderate income buyers while some dizzy protecting taxpayers from credit risks. while we cannot solve the scarce affordable housing supply or high interest rates we can solve what is been the primary impediment for many borrowers, the need for large cash down payment. with private in my home buyers can put that little as 3% and begin to build intergenerationa intergenerational. it's a critical part as to the government sponsored enterprises, lenders, state housing finance agencies and others on initiatives to sustain the to home ownership. today more than $1.5 trillion in mortgages are backed by private

m.i. and while private m.i. provides bar was axis of formal credit it also protects lenders, gsa's and taxpayers from credit risks fight upon private capital in a first loss position. one prominent example in the way private m.i. acip de-risk to gsa's fixes in a conservatorship private m.i.'s has paid nearly 60 billion in claims and every dollar paid by private m.i. is a dollar that needed gsa's nor the taxpayers who stand behind the need to pay. analysis from the urban institute found the loss severity of gse loans without private m.i. was 11.2% higher than the severity of losses for loans with it. if congress takes up gse reforms come making the congressional charter provision related to private m.i. establishing standard coverage is required would ensure private capital and continue to promote safety and soundness in the system. now i would like to talk about additional steps policymakers could take to ensure private

m.i. can play an even more impact for role to support affordability. while conventional mortgages act by private m.i. have been the most utilize option for low down payment borrowers since 2018, several u.s. government agencies directly ensure or guarantee low down payment loans most notably the federal housing administration. we recognize a targeted role of fha and the presence and depth of its taxpayer-funded backstop. it's an important complement to private m.i. work particularly serving those who may not have access to the conventional market. but as a government agency only backed by taxpayers, fha's cost of capital and required capital levels are significantly different than those of the private sector. policy bigger should promote a clear consistent and coordinated approach to housing finance that prevents undue competition between government programs and the private sector. when private capital is needlessly crowded out of the marketplace by government backed

programs it leads to increased risks for the taxpayer. in the conventional market gse pilot programs can also shift risk to taxpayers that would otherwise be for my private capital. we were pleased with fhfa and vital is a rule for prior approval in her best products in which members of this committee took an interest. we believe faithful implementation of this rule result in proper oversight of gse pose and more transparent and objective process for improving new product and activity. one other eighth concert is recently proposed basel iii in game regulation. its immigrants mortgage market participants and members of this committee have rightly observed the proposal would negatively impact the ability of certain banks to originate and hold high loan to value ratio mortgages portfolio. u.s. bank capital rules should recognize the risk mitigating benefits of private m.i. and promote a a level playing fied among the gsa's government programs and bank portfolio execution. one other action congress could take the outside of this juries

again -- income tax deduction for m.i. premiums that was available for catchers 2007-2021. usmi thanks you for inducing legislation to do just that. it'll class mortgage insurance premium act of which several members of this committee are cosponsors. i would be remiss if i didn't also thank members of this committee for the work to ensure the recently finalized conflict of interest rule did not impair the reinsurance transaction usmi members used to risk. we would appreciate your engagement on this issue, , too. in closing usmi policymakers continue tohu 30 h.r. 815. the presiding officer: the clerk will report. the clerk: motion to proceed to h.r. 815, an act to amend title 38, united states code, and so forth and for other purposes.

mr. schumer: mr. president. the presiding officer: the majority leader. mr. schumer: later this morning, i'll join my democratic colleagues on the floor to ask unanimous consent to pass the assault weapons ban, among other gun safety legislation. i'll have more to say before the unanimous consent request. but right now, the scourge of gun violence in america is a national crisis. i hope my republican colleagues stand with us to take action that americans demand. now, on senator tuberville, yesterday, ten months of pain and uncertainty finally came to an end for hundreds, hundreds of military nominees and their families. senator tuberville, after months of obstruction, stubbornness, and reckless disregard for military readiness, withdrew his blanket holds on over 400

general and flag officers. in the span of just a few minutes of floor time, the senate unanimously confirmed nearly every single one of them to their posts. thank god. these military officers finally got the promotions they so rightfully earned. but it should not have taken so long. if there is one word that underscores why we prevailed on senator tuberville, it is persistence. for months, i said it would be up to our republican colleagues to talk some sense into senator tuberville, and get him to relent in his holds. senators ernst and sullivan stepped up to the plate and deserve a lot of commendation for their courage, for their strength. and as i predicted, the frustration and pressure on the senior senator from alabama eventually won out. we were persistent and persistence and persistent and held the line that military nominees should never, never become pawns to push a partisan

agenda. so let this be a warning -- no one, no one should attempt blanket holds on our military ever again. after all the damage he caused, senator tuberville has nothing, absolutely nothing, to show for his obstruction, except for the harm done to our military and the pain caused to military families. his reckless strategy did not succeed, and if in the future others try to hold up military appointments to get their way, they too will fail. again, let this be a warning that no one should ever hold up military appointments again. we cannot cave to any single member's views, no matter how strongly felt. i don't doubt senator tuberville feels the issue very strongly, opposite of what i feel. but when our military families are at stake, we should not use these strong feelings to hold

them hostage. what the senior senator from alabama did through his holds was bring the senate to a new low. in the end, it was all for nothing. i wants to thank my colleagues on both sides of the aisle who spoke in defense of our military families. i want to thank particularly senator reed, chairman of the armed services committee, senator klobuchar, chair of the rules committee. i also want to thank senator sinema who was instrumental in creating bipartisan support for our resolution. on the republican side, i want to once again thank senators ernst and sullivan for their courage in helping break the logjam after so, so many months. because senators on both sides persisted and held the line, this sad chapter in the senate is finally over. now, on the supplemental. mr. president, the question before the senate today is simple yet momentous -- will senators agree to begin debate, just a debate, on

legislation to defend america's national security on an issue so important it goes to the actual preservation, of western and democratic values in the world? are we willing to hold a discussion here in the floor about steps necessary to safeguard democracy, stand up to autocratic brutes, and respond to our adversaries with strength? or will senators prevent us from moving forward over extremist border policies? because this afternoon, the senate will hold a vote on whether or not to move forward on national security suppl supplemental. at stake, at stake is america's safety, the safety of democracy, the future of the war in ukraine. as we have done throughout our history, the senate should rush to the defense of democracy and stand up to autocratic brutes. i have promised my republican

colleagues that if they agree to move forward, i will give them a vote for a border package entirely of their choosing, no conditions. this is a golden opportunity for republicans to present whatever border policy they want, and our side will not interfere with the construction of that amendment in any way. it's been reported that senate republicans will make another attempt to craft a border proposal and share it with democrats, because the last proposal was so far away from what anyone could accept on our side. well, i have a suggestion for my republican colleagues -- vote with us to begin debate, and then bring that proposal to the floor as an amendment. we can don't it right here, right here on the senate floor. if republicans vote no today and reject the opportunity to offer a border amendment, then what the heck is going on? republicans said they want border.

it's they who have injected border into the ukraine issue, even though the two are unrelated. and now they're getting a gold be opportunity -- golden opportunity to offer border at 60 votes. if that is not good enough for them, then what are they doing? let's not forget, mr. president, it was the republican leader and others on the republican side in the house and senate, mainly from the hard right, who demanded that border in ukraine be tied together. well, we're willing to give them an amendment. that's what they've asked for. and now, they're spurning that offer. why hold up ukraine aid if they can't even present a border package that can pass the senate? we're asking ourselves this question -- has border been nothing more than an excuse for the hard right to kill funding for ukraine and too many other

republican senators who are not part of the hard right are going along? i hope that's not true. i hope republicans vote yes and take up our offer on a border amendment at 60 votes. because we don't have much time to keep negotiating off the floor if all we'll do is go around in circles, which is what's happened over the last three weeks, despite the goodwill of the negotiators. democrats have spent three weeks in negotiation, in good faith, trying to get somewhere on the border, to no avoil. we believe we -- to no avoil. we believe we should do something on border. the president's proposal, which i'm making the base bill, has very significant border provisionsin it, particularly those talking about stopping the flow of fentanyl into this country by providing much more help at the ports of entry. we want to reach a middle ground with republicans on border. it's important. but we cannot waste time on something like h.r. 2, which

every single democrat voted against, which could never pass the house, while the clock is ticking. to get ukraine the help it so desperately needs. now, i understand that this is frustrating for some of our republican colleagues. i appreciate that the hard right may feel boxed in and feeling the pressure that they can't come up with a package that can get only 11 democrat, if all of them vote for it. but the only way anything on border gets done is with votes from both sides of the aisle. that's how the senate works. so again, i hope our republican colleagues do the right thing for our country and vote in favor of debating of supplemental. i hope they take this free opportunity, this golden opportunity to make a real serious proposal on the border. though in reality they can propose whatever they want and see if it can get the 60 votes

that is always required in this type of legislation in the senate. if they make a serious offer on the border and it gets 60 votes, then the senate will have spoken. if they cannot get 60 votes on a border proposal, then that should not prevent us from giving ukraine the aid they so desperately need. let me repeat that again. if republicans, who injected border into this whole debate, now can't come up with an amendment that can pass the senate, they should not prevent us from giving ukraine the aid it so desperately needs. the world is watching. the world is watching what the senate does today. you can bet, my colleagues, vladimir putin is watching, hamas is certainly watching, iran, president xi, north korea, all of our adversaries are closely watching. let us do the right thing and move forward today. now, today on our a.i. insight

forums, we'll continue our work with our eighth and ninth bipartisan a.i. forums. the morning's insight forum begins ats 10:30 am, focused on long-term risks associated with a.i. and how to guard against a.i. doomsday scenarios. this forum begins at 3:00 p.m., focused on one of the most critical and urgent areas of a.i., national security. we'll discuss the opportunities a.i. presents to bolster our national security and the risks if we fall behind the chinese government. it is in the kennedy caucus room. finally, on the ftc investigation of exxon, last month, i wrote a letter along with 20 of my colleagues urging the ftc to investigate exxon's $60 billion blockbuster merger with pine year -- pioneer, one of the largest mergers in the energy industry in two decades. having the largest oil company merge with the largest oil

producer in the permian basin is going to do one thing, raise prices for the average consumer. well, i have good news -- the ftc heeded our warning and announced it will closely review exxon's proposed acquisition of pioneer. it's welcome news for the american people, because if the merger proceeds it would result in higher gas prices for families across the country. profits for these big oil companies would soar, fueling stock buy backs while everyday americans struggle to fill their tanks. this merger between exxon and pioneer has all the hallmarks of harmful anti-competitive effects. i'm glad the ftc is moving forward. i yield the

test: devastate your to housing harms affordability. ensuring an adequate supply of quality housing is critical to continued economic prosperity in

household stability for americans nationwide. federal policymakers should focus on sustainable solutions and avoid any new policies that further exacerbate existing challenges and inadvertently harm consumers in the process. i thank you for the opportunity to testify today. i look forward to your questions. >> thank you, ms. royster. ms. yentel you are now recognized for five minutes. >> thank you. chairman davidson, ranking member pressley and members of the subcommittee, thank you for the opportunity to testify today. housing costs are out of reach for too many of the lost income renters in america. in your districts and then your hometowns rents are far higher than what the lowest income and most marginalized people including strangers, people with disabilities, veterans and working families can pay. as a result 10 million of the lowest income renter households pay at least half of the limited income on rent, leaving them without the resources they need to put food on the table, purchase need medications or

otherwise make ends meet. paying so much on rent leaves the lowest income families always one financial emergency or unexpected expense away from facing eviction, and in worst cases, homelessness. during the pandemic policymakers responded to unprecedented need with historic protections and resources that cut evictions in half, kept millions house and moved many expensing homelessness safety. many of these essential measures were bipartisan and a significantly reduced housing instability and unnecessary tod senate robe republicans are going to deny cloture on a bill that fails to address america's top national security priorities in a serious way. as we've said for weeks, legislation that doesn't include policy changes to secure our borders will not pass the

senate. the situation unfolding at our southern border on president biden's watch is a crisis of historic proportions. it's glaring. it's acute. and it's undermining america's national security. president obama's dhs secretary used to say that a thousand border crossings a day overwhelms the system. today a reporting encountering over -- listen to this -- 10,000 people a day down at the border. a large town -- illegal aliens each day. thanks to a broken asylum and parole system, the vast majority of them are admitted into the country before their legal

status is even determined. now, mr. president, 10,000 per day would mean a population the size -- the size of a middle sized town in kentucky. every month. every month. the sheer volume has forced officials in the tucson, arizona, sector which is recently accounted for nearly 3,000 of those daily arrivals by itself to shut down one port of entry all together. this is the crisis undermining america's national security right here at home. and today some of our democratic colleagues are showing just how little they want to do anything about it. senate republicans know this isn't an either/^or proposition.

i spent months highlighting the undeniable links between the threats we face in europe, in the middle east, and in the indo-pacific. but democratic leadership appears to be tells us today that they're willing to risk each of these urgent priorities to avoid, avoid fixing our own borders right here at home. apparently some of our colleagues would rather let russia trample a sovereign nation in europe than do what it takes to enforce america's own sovereign borders. it wasn't always like this. democrats didn't always have such a hard time following the logic that national security begins right here at home. i'm reminded of the commission president reagan set up in the mid-80's to assess the importance of peace and security in the western hemisphere.

it was a bipartisan exercise. it included everyone from henry kissinger to the former chair of the dnc, and the president of the afl-cio. the commission concluded that america's security in the world, quote, depends on the inherent security of its land borders, and that our adversaries would reap, quote, a major strategic coup to impose on the united states the burden of defending our southern approaches. a major strategic coup? our adversaries? that's what a past generation of democrats understood the logic implicitly when it pertained to the threat of soviet influence. well, that logic applies even more today to the instability, cartel violence, terror, and

drugs pouring over our southern border. but in today's democratic party, some of our colleagues appear to be so terrified of the radical base, they're convinced open borders are worth jeopardizing u.s. security around the world. that securing american borders is less urgent than helping our partners defend theirs. the democratic leader has insisted repeatedly that border security is an important issue but whatever our colleagues want to call the issue, their actions suggest they're not at all interested in actually solving it. demanding serious border policy

changes isn't injecting an unrelated issue into the conversation. president biden's own request wanted us to throw billions of dollars at this exact problem. fixing a badly broken asylum and parole system isn't hijacking the supplemental. it's strengthening it. securing our southern border isn't extraneous to our national security. it's essential. so i know some of our democratic colleagues understand this. i know not all of them are be-holden to the same radical base that demands open borders at home and supports intifada abroad. and i invite them to work with republicans on meaningful, lasting border security. but today's vote is what it takes for the democratic leader to recognize that senate

republicans mean what we say. and let's vote and then let's finally meet america's national security priorities, including right here at home. now, on another matter, for millions of americans, expensive heating bills and rolling blackouts are quickly becoming the hallmark of the holiday season under president biden. so it came as no small surprise when the biden administration's climate czar john kerry proclaimed this week that no coal plants should be permitted anywhere in the world. anywhere in the world. couldness. -- goodness. our former colleague may have brought himself applause from the jet set crowd assembled at the conference, but his ban on coal would make energy even less reliable and affordable here at

home. as my colleague from west virginia, senator capito, pointed out yesterday, many states in middle america still rely on coal to keep the lights on. kentucky, west virginia, wyoming, missouri, north dakota, indiana, and nebraska all use coal to generate over 50% of their electricity. president biden's handling of the economy is turning in dismal marks from working americans. but the climate activists in this administration continue to wage war on the most affordable forms of american energy they rely on. unfortunately, middle america is used to footing the bill for washington's radical climate agenda. for eight years under president obama, kentucky watched the world kill jobs and cripple

communities across appalachia. the same communities continue to pay dearly under president biden. kentucky coal miner employment has never, never recovered from the obama era coal purge. hasty plans to phase fossil fuels only force more miners into early retirement in kentucky and threaten the livelihood of middle america. and the sort of the power grid failures we've seen in california, texas, and kentucky will become even more common if democrats full speed ahead climate strategy continues. meanwhile, our top strategic -- is scaling up coal production, despite the biden administration's pleading, china continues to forge ahead with new coal projects and resurrect retired plants.

time and again the president's climate czar has happily accepted empty climate pledgesfrom our adversaries at the expense of american jobs and job creators. so democrats can repeat their tired green energy talking points until the cows come home, but the reality for america is all the same. less reliable and more expensive energy this winter. . the presiding officer: morning business is closed. under the previous order, the senate will proceed to executive session to resume consideration of the following nomination which the clerk will report the clerk: nomination, department of state, nathalie rayes of massachusetts to be ambassador to the republicanic of croatia. -- republic of croatia

mr. durbin: mr. president the presiding officer: the majority whip mr. durbin: before years ago ron yald reagan was at the gate that separated east from west berlin. he said mr. gorbachev, tear down this wall. only a few years after his historic speech, the soviet union collapsed. bringing in a decades -- decades of freedom and prosperity in eastern europe and i -- and a welcome end to the cold war. now there comes a man named vladimir putin who has clumsily and dangerously trying to regain the hes tomorrowian soviet glory with a bloody war in ukraine. so i can only wonder what the president -- what president reagan would be thinking now. with so many of his republican party members refusing to support critical military assistance to keep ukraine from

falling to russian tyranny. yes, we have other legislative needs in congress, but refusing to support the forces of freedom in ukraine in a war against a resurgent evil empire in the name of partisanship is nothing short of reckless. it is not hard to understand how we got here. putin gambled and lost a botched attempt to quickly overthrow ukraine. now he has to juggle a formidable ukrainian resistance, huge losses of russian conscript, isolation on the global stage, a struggling economy, domestic opposition, and an upcoming election in russia that he needs to rig again to stay in power. meanwhile, he's been branded a war criminal and has to carefully choose the nations that he visits so he svents

arrest -- he isn't arrested on the spot. given this tenuous position, one of his greatest opportunities for clinging to power is hope that the partisan chaos in the united states congress will stall or end support for ukraine. and make no mistake. the president of ukraine told us point blank when he visited here several months ago in a private meeting in the old senate chamber that if the united states cuts off military assistance to ukraine, his country will lose the war with vladimir putin. that's what's at stake. the white house was clear. we know that putin is watching this activity by congress. so is china. and sew is -- and s iran. the united states is out of money to fight ukraine in this fight, and president zelenskyy told us the obvious, ukraine will lose without american support. this is not an abstract

political theater, what we do has global and historic consequences. as such, i implore my colleagues on the other side of the aisle, think long and hard what president reagan would say today about showing weakness to vladimir putin. let's not flinch when it comes to standing up to obvious threats of freedom. it's time to pass president biden's national security supplemental request. it's hard to imagine, mr. president, that we would have history record that we walked away from ukraine at this moment. it's not over the debate of the merits of the defense of his country, it's over an unrelated issue, our border security. need to do something on our border. the number of people presenting themselves for refugee status is at record high. the system from 60 years ago never followed the demands we

are facing on the border every day, week, and month. this is not unique to the united states. refugees around the world are mushrooming in size for a variety of reasons, conflicts, the war in the middle east, the war in ukraine, environmental changes, all of these have the world influx and many people are looking for safety, safety in countries like the united states. i support the refugee system. i think it was designed at a time when we realized that turning away jewish people in world war ii was a stain on our reputation. we decided after world war ii to enter into a pact with other countries around the world to accept refugees under certain circumstances, and we have lived by that ever since through presidents democrat and republican. we are being testing, we can meet that test and stop the abuse of the system that is taking place on the border but

we don't want to walk away from the very fundamental values of our country. it's trying to find the delicate balance between those values and what we're facing on the border. i've been involved in immigration issues since i have been in this chamber. to put the stark choice between the senate of either finding a solution to decades-old problem in a matter of days and hours or cutting off aid to ukraine is a terrible choice. it's a deadly choice for the people of ukraine and sadly it's a deadly choice for the dominance of the united states in shaping world opinion. i hope we come to our senses and do it soon. on another issue unrelayed. i've -- related. i've come to the floor to voice my frustration with the timid and ineffective job by the food

and drug administration in protecting children and consumers from big tobacco. the fda has failed to use its authority under the law to clear the market and the united states of unauthorized e-cigarettes. these addictive products target children with sweet and fruitily flavors, but the food and drug administration has neglected its responsibility to regulate these products. i want to discuss an area where the fda can make progress that has the potential to save hundreds of thousands of lives. last month the fda submitted a regulation to the white house for final review. this proposed regulation would ban the sale of menthol cigarettes and prohibit the flavorings in tobacco products. which masks the harsh taste of

their products. when congress banned the use of most flavors in tobacco, big tobacco secured a loophole for menthol. for decades menthol cigarettes has been are marketed aggressively to the african american community, through free samples and heavy advertising, as a result, today -- today 85% of black smokers use menthol cigarettes compared to 30% of white smokers, it's part of the reason why black adults are 30% more likely to die from heart disease and 50% more likely to die from stroke compared to white americans. i met martha hike in my office, she was here because november is lung cancer month.

lung cancer is the number one cause of death in america, killing more americans than breast cancer, prostate cancer, and colorectal cancer combined. she met with me because six of her dearest family members have died from lung cancer due to smoking. i'm glad there's greater attention today on topics like health disparities, equity and why black people die younger and get sicker than white people. this would save 650,000 lives. i take this issue very personally. when i was a sophomore in high school, my father died of lung cancer. he was 53 years old. he spent 90 days, almost 100 days in the hospital before he died and i was by his bedside regularly. it made a profound impact on me

as a high school kid and little did i know i would be able to follow up on this issue when i came to the house of representatives by passing legislation banning smoking on airplanes, and taking on big tobacco ever since. the battle continues. i know what the reaction would be, that banning menthol cigarettes would be unpopular with the -- the majority of members of black members in congress support this ban on menthol. they are saying that we will arrest black americans. that is not the case, would take it away from the producers, not the consumers, the consumers are not drawn into this in terms inform any legal liability nor should they be. the question is, do we care

enough about these african americans, their families, and their future to make an unpopular to some decision to move forward to make america a healthier, safer place to live? i hope we do. i don't want any more families to experience the suffering that i went through and families do every day. the biden administration has an incredible track record of taking on big challenges and delivering. it has launched the cancer moon shot, created arpah to accelerate cure for patients, the biden administration has taken on big pharma and secured big victories with the bipartisan safer communities being a and the inflation reduction act. now is the time to do the same against big tobacco which is responsible for nearly half a million deaths a year. i urge the biden administration to look carefully at the proposal from the fda and swiftly finalize its rules on

menthol and flavored cigars, which will save lives and reduce suffering primarily to communities of color. this is personal to many americans. we didn't choose it, addiction led our families to face illness and sometimes death. are we going to do this to the next generation of african americanings who are being -- african americans who are being harassed to the detriment of their future? i hope president biden. i yield the floor.

mr. thune: mr. president. the presiding officer: the republican whip. mr. thune: thank you, mr. president. mr. president, later today the senate will take a vote on whether or not to move to

consideration of the national security supplemental bill. and make no mistake, this vote will fail. not because republicans oppose supporting national security interest overseas, but because scts are refusing to take -- democrats are refusing to take seriously the national security crisis here at home are. from the beginning republicans have made it clear that any national security supplemental would have to address one of our biggest threat to national security. the out of control illegal immigration at our southern border. and when i say out of control, mr. president, just look at the numbers. yesterday 12,000 people apprehended at our southern border trying to come into our country illegally. not including the gotaways, not including the unknowns, over 12,000 people, which i think,

mr. president, is an all-time one-day high. most ever in history. and think about that annualized. we're now talking about on the order of four million people annually coming across our southern border being released into the country coming across illegally. when is this a crisis? this is a crisis. it's a humanitarian crisis. it's been that for a long time. but now -- now it is a national security crisis. because among those 12,000 people are some pretty unsavory characters, there are people coming here for a better life, but there are a lot of people who are being apprehended at our southern border, some are on the terrorist watch list. this is a crisis that needs to be dealt with and it seems to be

falling on deaf ears at the white house and among my colleagues here -- democratic colleagues here in the united states senate. we have put forward meaningful ideas and solutions about how to deal with this and yet crickets. nobody seems top want to confront -- seems to want to confront what is a major, major debacle at the southern border. 12,000, one day, new american record of people trying to come into this country illegally. why? because this administration doesn't seem to care or want to do anything about stopping or reducing that throw across our southern border -- that flow across our southern border. it's a staggering number. to put it in perspective, jay johnson, who was the homeland security secretary under

president biden, said -- president obama said that over a thousand a day would overwhelm the system. he said i can't comprehend what 4,000 a day would look like. yesterday was 12,000. now if you sustain that rate, annualize that rate, as i said, you're talking about four million people annually being released into this country. and you heard from countless now, not just members on my side of the aisle or overcrowded communities on the board -- southern border or members of the customs and border patrol who are overwhelmed and under resourced and undermanned down there to deal with this crisis but you're hearing from cities in the interior of this country, large cities, who are complaining about not being able to deliver basic services to their constituents now because they are dealing with a migrant

inflow into their communities, new york city being one notable example. the mayor of new york city who said he would have to freeze hiring police officers, he would have to close libraries and cut education funding to keep up with this massive, massive inflow of people who are coming to this country that need to be cared for. so, mr. president, let me just say this is not an extraneous issue, which is what the democrat leader suggested last week. border security is a national security issue, and anyone who thinks that our nation can be secure while we have hundreds of thousands of illegal immigrants pouring over our southern border each month needs to think again. the month of october, 240,988 individuals encountsered at our southern border. that was the highest october number ever recorded. october saw an average of a

thousand got-aways per day. individuals the border patrol saw but was unable to apprehend. that's 30,000 unidentified individuals entering our country in just one month. 30,000. there's no telling how many unknown got-aways, these are known, how many unknown got kwaes there were -- got-aways there were during that same period. there's no question, some of those got-aways were dangerous individuals who should not enter the country. in fiscal year 2023, 169 individuals on the terrorist watch list were apprehended illegally trying to cross our southern border. that was fiscal year 2023, which ended september 30th. 169 in one year. well, if your numbers continue to ramp up, and you look at the daily numbers we're encountering now, you know that number is

going up significantly as well. why? people have figured out, you want to get into the united states, come across our southern bo border. thousands of what are known as what we call special interest aliens, those individuals who may pose a threat to the united states, have been apprehended trying to illegally cross our southern border over the past two years. then there have been the criminals who are trying to make their way into the united states and those range from drug traffickers to child predators. one border reporter noted last month, and i quote, border pa patrol's del rio sector arrested at least 21 child sex predators crossing illegally since the new fiscal year began on october 1st, end quote. 21. child sex predators in a single s sector of our southern border.

again, mr. president, all of these numbers i'm mentioning only refer to individuals who have actually been apprehended. with 30,000 unknown individuals entering the united states in october alone, there's no telling how many terrorists, how many criminals, how many other dangerous individuals made their way into our country without our know knowledge. so mr. president, i think it's fair to say that the issue of border security is not extr extraneous, but is in fact fundamental to our national security and something that the democrat leader ought to realize. indeed, the fact that new york city is currently facing across-the-board cuts to city services, including a staggering 13.5% cut to its police force as a result of the migrant crisis should be all the information the majority leader needs to realize the currents situation is not sustainable even without

the national security risk posed by unchecked illegal immigration. now, mr. president, i support aid to israel, taiwan, and ukraine. i believe it is in our national security interests to support these allies. i want to see us take up this national security supplemental. but national security begins at home, and we can't pass a bill to advance american interests abroad while ignoring the national security crisis at our own border. we owe the american people better than that. mr. president, the democrat leader needs to understand the republicans are serious. we've said all along that this national security supplemental must address the national security crisis at our border, and we will continue to hold to that principle. while we recognize that any negotiation neither sides gets everything it wants, the final security component of this supplemental must have real

teeth, cosmetic measures are not acceptable. we can't afford anything less than real solutions to our nation's border crisis. mr. president, 10, 000-plus individuals were encountsered in our southern border on -- encountered in our southern border on sunday, another 10,000 monday, up to 11,000, and yesterday 12,000 in a single day. things are getting worse, not better. we have an obligation to do everything we can to get this crisis under control. this administration, as i said, something they've had no interest in doing. so i will vote against moving to the supplemental while it lacks serious border security policy changes, and i hope today's failed vote will clearly democrat on -- demonstrate to our democratic colleagues there will be no supplemental without the border security measures that we need to keep our nation secure. mr. president, i yield the

floor. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. the clerk: ms. baldwin. mr. schumer: mr. president. the presiding officer: the majority leader. mr. schumer: i ask unanimous consent the quorum call be dispensed with. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. schumer: mr. president, as if in legislative session, i ask unanimous consent that the judiciary committee be discharged from further consideration of s.25, and the senate proceed to its immediate consideration. i further ask consent that the bill be considered read a third time and passed and the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table. the presiding officer: is there objection? a senator: mr. president. the presiding officer: the snaerl from wyoming. mr. mr. barrasso: reserving the right to object, mr. president. americans have a constitutional right to own a firearm.

every day, people across wyoming responsibly use their second amendment rights to keep and to bear arms. today is about defending those rights against those on the other side of the aisle who wish to take them away from us. democrats are demanding that the american people give up their liberty. the democrat legislation takes away a right, and it does not provide americans security. democrats want washington to ban rifles and pistols because of the way they look. to do this, they describe semiautomatic rifles as assault rifles. they aren't. any farmer, rancher, or outdoorsman in wyoming can tell you. these rifles work the same way as popular shotguns and other rifles used for hunting and for

personal protection. instead of facing these facts, democrats stick to demonizing rifles and disrespecting gun owners. democrats' ban on assault weapons is an assault on lawful gun owners. there's a contradiction at the center of the gun control debate. democrats want to enact new laws on law-abiding citizens, at the same time they ignore the lawbreakers. almost every single page of the bill that's in front of us today adds new restrictions and new burdens on people who follow the law. it tells you what you can buy, what you can't buy, it bans more than 205 rifles, shotguns and pistols by name. republicans reject these

unjustified and unconstitutional restr restrictions. democrats' bumper sticker solution to ban guns is not about safety, it's about restricting lawful gun ownership. at this time about trying to label responsible gun owner as criminals. democrats are the party of defending -- i'm sorry, democrats are the party of defunding the police and disarming the american people. none of this makes our streets safer. none of this slows the crime wave in america. none of this solves the mental health crisis in our country. the focus should be on mental health, on school safety, and stricter enforcement of current laws. we want americans to be safe in their communities, their homes, and their schools. the legislation that the majority leader is proposing that's before us today goes way beyond that. i oppose any policies that

jeopardize the second amendment rights of the people of wyoming and people across this country. the second amendment is freedom's essential safeguard. without it, there can be no liberty and there can be no security. so mr. president, i object. the presiding officer: objection is heard. mr. schumer: mr. president. the presiding officer: yes. mr. schumer: i know that the senator from alabama wants to speak. could i ask the senator from alabama how long he wants to speak for? ten minutes. well, we want to all speak sir siriatum. would you-year-oldto senator -- would you yield to senator durbin after me? thank you. okay. mr. president, i've just heard, unfortunately, our senator from wyoming object. here are the facts -- the scourge of gun violence in america is a national crisis.

the american people are civic and tired of enduring one mass shooting after another. they're sick and tired of vigils and moments of silence for family, friends, classmates, coworkers. today, democrats are moving to pass -- have moved to pass the assault weapons ban to help rid our streets of these deadly weapons. i want to thank my colleagues who support this measure, particularly senator durbin, chairman of the judiciary comm committee, as well as senators murphy and blumenthal and warnock, who organized today's efforts with me. we already have a decade's worth of proof that a ban on military-style assault works and saves lives, plain and simple. after i led the passage of the assault weapons ban, i carried the bill in the house as a congressman, alongside our late colleague senator feinstein, who carried it in the senate. what happened?

america saw a significant decrease in mass shootings and in gun deaths. a decrease. unsurprisingly. when that ban lapsed, there was a sudden and dramatic spike in mass shootings and deaths from those shootings. we must change that. we still feel the unquenchable suffering of the families of sandy hook, where 11 years ago next week 26 innocent lives were cut short by an automatic weapon. i still see the pictures of those little children, and i still remember, because i speak to them fairly recently, the parents who have a hole in their hearts forever, because some madman with an assault weapon was able to kill 26 of them, one after the other. we still feel the agony of places like buffalo, where a year and a half ago a gunman murdered ten people in cold blood at a tops grocery store.

i was at that grocery store a few days later. i still feel their pain. we have feel the pain of uvalde, las vegas, orlando, el paso, the list sadly goes on and on and on. we also take action today because of tragedies like the long island railroad massacre that happened 30 years ago tomorrow in my own backyard. the innocent people who lost their lives at the maryland train station. it was the 5:33 train, filled with commuters, heading home from work. so many injured, six killed. my heart still sinks, and i'll never forget hearing that news. a river of blood in the aisles of the commuter railroad train. just hoshlt -- just horrible. by passing the assault weapons ban today, we can help save lives, get these weapons off our

streets, and prevent future tragedies. so today republicans face a choice, as they do every day. we say to our republican friends, stand with families fearing for their lives or stand with the gun lobby and block this assault weapon ban. just look at what happened the last time both sides worked together on commonsense gun safety measures. we did something many believed to be impossible under the leadership of senator murphy, senator durbin, and senator blumenthal and so many others, and passed the first major gun safety bill in three decades. while this bill was a long overdue step in the right direction, we have to do a lot more. today, we have an opportunity to come together, pass another life-saving measure. i yield to the senator from illinois, senator durbin, the chair of the judiciary committee. mr. durbin: i thank senator schumer for his remarks.

imagine, if you will, a family event that you look forward to each year. that was the foufrt of july parade in -- the 4th of july parade in highland park, illinois. highland park, a leafy suburb of chicago is a wonderful community, truly a community. ef year on the 4th of july, families ask their sons and daughters to put on that patriotic t-shirt, carry the little flag, stand out and enjoy this commemoration of the birth of the united states of america. a little over a year ago, that 4th of july parade became a terrible die for families. last year in highland park, illinois, a shooter on a rooftop with an assault rifle was able to fire 83 rounds in 60 seconds. 83 rounds in 60 seconds, killing

seven and wounding dozens before law enforcement could find him. one was a little 8-year-old boy, a twin who will be unfortunately disabled for the rest of his life because of the injuries he you ises continued -- he sustained. this mass shooting in my state of illinois was one of hundreds across america last year. since 2020, the united states has suffered from over 600 mass shootings every year, almost two al day. i ask those who are listening to my remarks to reflect on one fact. there is no other country on earth not engaged in active war where this type of killing occurs on a daily basis. in highland park and communities across america, shooters have used military-style assault weapons to cause irreversible harm in just a matter of minutes. i listened to my friend from wyoming onth to the effort to

bring this legislation to the floor and cite the fact we are being disrespectful to gun owners. he made reference to ranchers and farmers in his state and how it's important for them to have firearms. i don't quarrel with that. but i do have to ask in all seriousness, 83 rounds in 60 seconds? that's what a farmer needs? that's what a rancher needs? i think not. this is a military weapon designed to kill people. that's it. designed to kill massive numbers of people. i don't think that's part of farming or ranching in modern america. already in this year there have been 627 mass shootings, including the october 25 attack in lewiston, maine, where a gunman opened fire and killed 18 people. literally the entire state of maine was on alert wondering if this shooter would have another victim. americans are rightfully afraid when they see their friends and neighbors killed in schools, in places of worship, in bowling

alleys, at work, at the mall, at grocery stores. people are asking what is safe? mothers and fathers are asking is it safe to send our children to school. is it safe to send our children to school? what can we do to stop this madness? it is madness. the firearms are now the leading cause of death of children in the united states. firearms, the leading cause of death of children in the united states of america. mass shootings with assault weapons are a uniquely american phenomena continuing to allow firearms meant for war to be used on our streets is disgraceful. last year congress took critical steps on gun safety reform with the bipartisan safer communities act, but we must do more. when a shooter is armed with an assault weapon, the number of deaths in a mass shooting is on average twice as high. if we can prevent that many deaths whether these tragedies strike by passing an assault

weapons ban, what are we waiting for? i would like to take a moment to talk about my former colleague and true trailblazer, the late senator dianne feinstein whose voice and leadership in this fight is an inspiration to us all. she experienced the devastation of gun violence firsthand the day that george mass coney was gunned down. that was carved into her memory and inspired her response. in 1994, the assault weapons ban was passed and considered a major step forward. senator feinstein's work in the senate and then-congressman chuck schumer's work in the house made it a reality. congress failed to reauthorize this critical legislation. a big mistake. today we can honor senator feinstein's legacy with the lives we will save by bringing forward this bill. after highland park, i said that i hoped for our children's sake that we don't run away from --

run away from the problem. that community and so many others are counting on us to face this issue head yoj. i urge my colleagues to unite to do what is right for the sift of american people. let's pass the assault weapons ban. i yield the floor. a senator: mr. president the presiding officer: the senator from alabama mr. tuberville: mr. president, i come to the floor today to talk about our new military illegal abortion policy. last november i got word from the policy change -- from the pentagon that they were planning on passing a 40-year law that was passed there this building about abortion in our military that worked perfectly for 40 years, no complaints. but our president in his wisdom decided to change that abortion policy with a memo. so because of that i warned the

pentagon don't do this. send this new policy through the senate and let's vote on it. let's represent our colleagues. let's represent the people back home that send us up here. they elect us to do that, to make decisions for them, to represent them. i said in writing that if they impose this new policy, that i would put a hold on senior nominations in the military. that's the only power that we have in the minority to get the attention of the majority here? the senate. hated to do it. these people needed promotion. but somebody needs to wake up and the white house and the pentagon, they cannot dictate policy here in the u.s. senate. send it over. let's vote on it. so i put a hold months ago on

admirals and generals and civil nominees. a few months went by. a few months being 11. and we've had that hold ever since they put this policy in place. somebody had to stand up to what was going on. so i did it. i stood up knowing that i'm 100% military. my dad was in the military. i was a military brat. i believe in our military. it's the number one institution in this country, because if we don't have peace and security for the american citizens, we are in trouble. secretary austin knew that i would hold these nominations. he knew it. but he decided to go ahead and do it anyway. it was his choice. the current leadership at the pentagon seems to think that taxpayer-funded abortion is more important than military nominations. let's get this straight.

this was a policy we had about rape and incest and harm to the mom. it had worked for 40 years but they decided to change that because they thought they could without the consent of the senate. since then there's been absolutely no negotiation from my democratic colleagues or the biden administration. i've had a brief phone call a couple of times with the secretary of defense. no negotiations at all. you would think if they were really concerned about our military in a trying time in which we have all -- which they have created that they would have called me. let's talk about this. let's work it out. we need promotions. zero. zero communications. i've been willing to negotiate the entire time. so instead the democrats have spent 11 months attacking me for trying to get them to do the

right thing and to stand up for our military. no, they didn't want any of that. they wanted their way or the high way. unfortunately last month even some of my republican colleagues attacked me and attacked me personally here on this floor. i can see how this thing was going. they call themselves, you know, military, people that supports the military. there's nobody again that supports the military more than me. but they are currently in the military and they were standing up for their colleagues which is fine. but i can stand and we all can stand for life of the unborn and for our military. you can do both. unfortunately the democrats don't want to do that. they do not like the unborn. and they don't care anything about the military or they would have done something about this. they say these men and women need promotion.

these unborn won't have a chance for promotion. because they want to kill them before they're born which is absolutely amazing to me. i've been asked at the pentagon to support evidence of change in this policy now again for almost a year. they said it's because of recruiting. we need to be able to recruit more people, more women, because we need a better abortion policy. again, there was zero evidence that this was going to help recruiting, and folks are recruiting in the military has been an absolute total disaster. worst in the history in this country. we don't have anybody, hardly anybody that wants to join a volunteer military. it's only gotten worse since this policy went into effect, which they started in february. i've asked the pentagon -- many

people have used this policy since it's gone into place. they refused to answer. they've given me no information at all. i've also explainedon this floor -- explained on this floor many times that this policy is illegal. if it was sent over here, we vote on it and it's passed, it is what it is. but that didn't happen. wasn't going to happen because it didn't have the votes. didn't have the votes to pass it. so we have an immoral, illegal policy that has no basis of facts. the world is a much dangerous place today because of some of the things that's happened, such as this abortion policy being put in by joe biden and chuck schumer himself. it's become much more dangerous even since we put this policy in place last year. over the last three years we've seen some of the worst humiliations in the history of

our military. president biden waved the white flag of surrender in afghanistan. we're leaving. we want out. that's without even helping people that are americans and have helped americans for years. we abandoned them. two years later vladimir putin began amassing forces on the border with ukraine. i went to ukraine right before the war started in ukraine, talked to president zelenskyy himself. we need help. we need people at the border. if you'll send materials, they won't come in. this administration wouldn't listen. just get out of the way and let them come in. since then we've spent a hundred billion of the taxpayers' dollars. now we want to spend a hundred billion more. joe biden failed to deter president putin. joe biden failed to deter hamas because of his support of iran,

his appeasement of iran for the last three years of giving him money. iran is flushed with cash now. hamas is one of their proxies. joe biden has been softer on iran than any president in american history. there is no question that america is less safe today than it was before joe biden and chuck schumer took control of washington, d.c. there's no question. the facts speak for itself. we have weakened our military. and democrats in congress have been more than happy to go along with all these policies. no complaints from our democratic colleagues. i'll just mention a few examples. joe biden drove out 8,000. just think about this. we drove out 8,000 people in the military because they would not take a vaccine. 8,000 people that love this

country. democrats in the senate refused to reinstate them and give them backpay when we voted on it about a year ago. now the pentagon and my colleagues are begging them to please come back. we can't get anybody to take a job in the military. please come back. it's no surprise most of these heroes that we ran out because of the vaccine will not come back. i heard senator durbin now wants illegal immigrants to serve in the military because we can't find enough americans. did i just not hear on the floor that senator durbin and senator schumer are against assault weapons. i heard that. everybody's got their opinion. but they want to turn around and give an assault weapon to a chinese or a russian or iranian that's come into this country illegally to protect the

american citizens of the united states of america. have we lost our mind? we have absolutely lost it whether it comes to protecting -- when it comes to protecting the citizens of this country. is anybody in the white house asking why we can't recruit anymore? absolutely amazing to me. here's another example. our navy is not building enough ships that are required by law, that we passed. we're not building them. we're worried more about climate change, e.v. cars. folks we better start protecting our border and our country or we're not going to have a country. never seen anything like it. the pentagon has become distracted by things like diversity, equity, and inclusion. we just -- the pentagon just asked for $114 million. i've been told during the last 11 months, when i have been

attacked by the democrats, been attacked every day by the democrats, oh, this is not a woke military. wait a minute. we're not teaching social justice programs in the military, but we want $114 million more to give for diversity, equity, and inclusion. we don't even know how much the abortion travel memo is costing. more and more veterans are telling their kids, don't join this woke military. i think hear it every time -- i hear it every time i go out on the road and talk to groups, democrats, republicans, and independents. i mean, it is not about party. it is about an institution that has been sacred to all of us in this country for 247 years, but now it's under attack a it's under attack by politicians. so this list goes on and on

about the problems in the military. it's an absolute disaster, and then last week senator schumer stooped to a new low. the house and the senate every year puts a budget independently and then we bring it together, and then we vote on the disdiscrepancies and to build one bill together with the house, voted on by people on each side. i was involved in that. but it was a sham. the conference is supposed to report it out as a single bill after we put it together, but we had no vote. we had no vote. the conference committee was just brought in for pictures. all the confirmations was done by the leadership. senator schumer got the number-one vote. the abortion policy was in the house side. it got kicked out. we were supposed to vote on it. i had the votes to get it done, but he knew that and so now we

have an illegal abortion policy. this bill was written in the back rooms, which a lot of things are done here, not by many but by few. i came here to represent the people of alabama. if if you're not given a vote, why even send people up here? i didn't come here to outsource my job to the pentagon or the white house. or frankly to leadership, either side. doesn't make any difference, democrat or republican. this issue of taxpayer-funded abortion could have been resolved through the ndaa. and whatever the outcome, i'm fine. but bring it to the floor. and let's vote on it. that's our job. but that didn't happen. it's not happening because senator schumer knew that he couldn't get it passed. but that's how d.c. worksment. abortion is so important to senator schumer, that he's not letting us vote on it.

therefore, there is no longer a period to have any short-term path to end this pentagon's illegal abortion policy. some other policies will take time for me to work through the process, but that doesn't happen overnight. so yesterday i announced that i would change my tactics and let the promotions go through. the promotions that they needed, our military needed. but again, senator schumer and his colleagues could care less. they held her feet to the fire. -- they held their feet to the fire, no negotiation. but i'm going to continue to hold the four-star generals. people said, why would you hold the four-stars? we've got 11 of them? in world war ii, we had seven. today we have 44 four-stars with two million. doesn't make sense. too many chiefs. so we're going to hold those four-stars, but we can bring them one at a time. they knead to be vetted. we need to know who is run runng

our military. these jobs are too important to rubber stamp. we need to fight to keep our military strong. the fight for integrity for our military leadership will continue as long as i'm here. the fight to keep politics out of the most sacred institution will continue. the fight to protect senate and executive branch overreach will continue. senator schumer, he can rig it all he wants, but this fight is not over. we'll continue to take it to the american people because elections have consequences, and don't think next year's is not very, very important. i'm not going to stop fighting for these things, and i'm not going to stop fighting for the american people. that's the reason we're here. a lot of people forget that. mr. president, i yield the floor.

the presiding officer: the senator from most massachusetts. ms. warren: mr. president, i've stood here as i've listened to senator tuberville say that the world is a more dangerous place. he's spoken about how we have weakened our military. senator tuberville is right on that, and one of the principle reasons is because -- principal reasons is because of senator tuberville's own examples. he has held up hundreds of military nominations, hundreds of our military leaders who have not made it to the posts they were assigned to. it is clear that it was a grave mistake for one senator to hold our military promotion system hostage over his personal disagreement with the department of defense policy. we need our commanders in the pacific to deter china and our service vice chiefs to lead the military. i am relieved that he has released most of his holds, but

he continues to weaken our military readiness and undermine both recruiting and retention. the senate should not go home for the holidays until we confirm the remaining nominees. this senator has held up nominations for nearly a year. it undermines our national defense, and it is unfair to our military and to our military families. he insults our military and then he turns around and tries to blame president biden for his own actions. the hypocrisy of this senator is truly breathtaking. we've got to stay and we've got to get these military leaders confirmed. right now, mr. president, we are seeing one of the deadliest years of gun violence in recent history. there have been more than 600 mass shootings since the

beginning of this year alone. that is nearly two mass shootings a day. and assault weapons have become the firearm of choice in more and more mass shootings over the decades. assault weapons kill with deadly efficiency. when assault weapon is used in a shooting, more than double the number of people, on average, are shot, and more than 50% are killed. let me be clear -- these military-style assault weapons are weapons of war, and they have no place in our communities. our kids are growing up seeing military rifles in civilian hands on the streets and in their classrooms. since 2011, the rate of children dying from firearms has skyrocketed by nearly 90%. enough is enough. it has never been more obvious

that congress needs to ban assault weapons. this isn't some far-fetched idea. we have tried it. senator dianne feinstein championed an assault weapons ban, and she got it passed into law. it was in place for a full decade, from 1994 to 2004, and it worked. researchers from quinnipiac university, from nyu school of medicine and more have found that while the ban was in place, there was a meaningful reduction in the number of mass shootings. but the lawson said in 2040 and in the following -- the law sunset in 2004 and in the following decades, there have been more and more mass shootings. today we must act to reinstate a national ban on assault weapons. from sandy hook to parkland,

these horrific mass shootings all involved an assault weapon. this fall's shooting in lewiston,, maine, also involved a powerful assault rifle and was the deadliest mass shootings of this year. after each of these tragedies, americans ask, what will will take for congress to act? how many more communities and how many more families will lose loved ones before the laws are changed? we mourn the individuals lost to gun violence. we mourn the families left behind when a beloved son or daughter or mom or dad is cut down by gun violence, and we mourn the communities torn apart by gun violence. but they don't need our thoughts and prayers nearly as much as they need congress to do its job

and take action. we have shown we can act in moments of crisis. last year, after 21 children and teachers were killed in uvalde, we passed the bipartisan safer communities act. that was the most sweeping gun violence prevention legislation in nearly 30 years. but it didn't go far enough. this is another moment of crisis. today we have another chance with this vote to make it easier for americans to move through their daily lives without fear of being gunned down by weapons of war. i urge congress to reinstate the assault weapons ban that senator feinstein secured 30 years ago that would help save lives today. thank you, mr. president. i yield the floor. a senator: mr. president. the presiding officer: the senator from minnesota.

ms. klobuchar: mr. president, i also am hear to talk about gun violence. but before i get to that, i wanted to address some of the comments we heard from senator tuberville. i think the people of this country and the people who are visiting our chairman today need to understand that for ten months, senator tuberville has been playing politics. he has literally held the entire -- the entire military chain of command hostage. he was offered a vote on his policy. he turned it down. he was the subject of a rules exception passed through my committee on a 9-7 vote that would have put all of the nominations together, and even then he kept standing his ground. finally, when he realized that a number of his republican colleagues who came to the floor repeatedly were going to vote for that change, he finally

relented. but it was the words of the military families and the veterans' families that made the biggest difference. the spouses who had put their own jobs on hold, left their jobs teaching school because they thought they were going to move. these are military families that are serving our country and national security? he held up numerous key personnel at a time when there are conflicted all over the world. and still it is important to know, which he admitted on the floor today, he is holding up 11 four-star officers, including the head of cyber cybercom, at e when vladimir putin and other tyrants see that cyber as a weapon of war. he is holding up the commander, the commander of the pacific air command. he continues his hold and, yes,

we will not go home for christmas until we finish our work and get these 11 additional officers help. met me end this by quoting him from the hallways yesterday from a reporter. he was asked about this and he said, i have loved to have five downs in football instead of four, but you can't do it, it has got to be fair for everybody. asked if he has regrets, it was pretty much a draft i mean, they didn't get what they wanted. real lay? the only -- who is the they? i guess the they is the military members, the servicemembers who serve our country, and my last message on this front is that this is not a game, senator -- r tuberville. this is real people's lives. i'm pleased that we've gotten through those 425 nominees, but there are clearly more to go. on the subject of gun violence,

it seems we know, as americans, that every week there's another tragedy, whether it is in maine, whether it is a bowling alley, whether it is a 4th of july parade in highland park, or a school in nashville. earlier in year by chance i was in nashville, only a week after that school shooting in a bookstore, and a mother came up to me in the middle of the aisle. she was sobbing. and she explained that her daughter was the best friend of one of the kids that was killed. and she took her phone out and showed me in real time that morning the text exchange of the moms who were planning a jazz fund-raiser at the schoolpark. for the school when the news came out. you could see the text of these 20 or so moms saying, that must conscious must -- must not be true, no, i hear it's true, i see the police cars going by,

one of the moms, i'm going over there right now. the text chains go on and on and on and then you start seeing the texts. haley is okay, she's fine. the names of the kids as they found out hours later if they were okay and then the last text is, we lost evie. that, for me, was the real moment that so many parents across this country experience when their kids are just going to school. this week we passed a grim milestone. we have now had more gun-related mass shootings this year than 20 -- so we call on our colleagues today to say enough is enough. we know what the solutionsare are. we -- solutions are. we know it's not just one solution for each kind of gun violence incident. i come from a state with a

time-honored tradition of hunting and fishing, so when i look at these gun proposals, i ask, would this proposal hurt my uncle dick in his deer stand? no. he doesn't need an ak-47 to go deer hunting, that's why democrats and many republicans support reinstating an assault weapons ban, that's why over 7{%}of americans -- 87{%}of americans support closing the loophole and keep guns away from domestic abusers. we must past the bek ex -- background check, which allows unlicensed gun dealers to sell a firearm without conducting a background check. these are commonsense bills. americans are with us, and we

simply cannot sit back and do nothing while gun violence shatters families and neighborhoods across the country. we had a moment last year and we passed a bipartisan bill and we thank our republicans colleagues who joined us on this bill, but now we know there is more to do. just ask that mom in nashville. thank you, mr. president. i yield the floor. mr. booker: mr. president. the presiding officer: the senator from georgia. mr. booker: mr. president, i rise today because we are living in a nation besieged by gun violence. so far this year -- so far our nation has experienced this year

630 mass shootings. now this is day number 340 in the year 2023. so 340 days, 630 mass shootings. that's nearly as many -- twice as many mass shootings as we've seen days. our precious children are afraid to go to school. they're worried that their classroom might be the next rob elementary, marjorie stoneman douglas or sandy hook, as we remember that somber anniversary. i heard one of my colleagues, the senator from wyoming earlier today say that they're trying to take our freedoms away.

we've heard that a lot from folks on the other side. they're trying to take our freedoms away. it's a strange freedom that regularly sends our children into lockdown. what kind of freedom is that? according to the gun violence archive, we've lost over 1,500 children to gun violence this year. and i think that there is a kind of unspoken assumption as we've been pushing for commonsense begun safety -- gun safety and gotten very little movement in congress. i think the asupgs is -- assumption is that this will not happen to me, but when you consider there have been 630 mass shootings already this year, sadly the chances are quite good that this could visit

any one of us and we ought to do our work here in the congress as if we are protecting our own families because when we look out for other people's families, when we look out for other people's children, we look out for our own and it could visit any one of us. we act as if this is normal, business as usual. what legislative action has the senate passed to address this epidemic of gun violence? the senate actually voted to give less information -- less information to the national criminal background check system. now, keep in mind that according to a 2023 fox news poll 87 percent of americans believe that we ought to have universal background checks. listen. let me say that again.

according to a fox news poll, 87 percent of americans believe that we ought to have universal background checks. so they present this as if it is an art between -- argument between democrats and republicans, really it is an argument between washington and craving politicians and ordinary people, every day who are trying to live their lives in safety. there is a broadening gap between what americans want and what they can get from their government so at root this is a democracy problem. the question is, who owns our democracy and at what cost to our children and to our families? and so we have a moral obligation not to turn away. across the country, outside of washington, there is widespread agreement that congress needs to enact commonsense -- commonsense

gun safety solutions. 87 percent of americans believe that we ought to have universal background checks. every day i hear from georgians who are sick and tired of losing people they love to gun violence. as a pastor, i've presided over the funerals, and it begs me to ask, how is it that we can't keep #g-iron -- our own people alive? what kind of nation tells its children that the only thing we can do in the wake of this crisis is to teach you how to hide? last year for the first time in 30 years we were able to pass modest, but meaningful gun safety legislation, but it was not meaningful enough so we are all set so go home later this month to spend a few weeks, safely i hope, with our loved

ones. and i encourage all of my colleagues to reflect on this question, are we going to let other people's loved ones continue to die by the tens of thousands and let our babies get killed in their classroom for another 30 years before we choose to act? the time is always right to do what is right dr. king taught us, and that time is now. mr. chair, i yield the floor. a senator: mr. president. the presiding officer: the senator from connecticut. mr. murphy: thank you, mr. president. i'd like to thank senator warnock and others for coming to the floor today to raise this truly existential crisis put in

front of our chamber. i have come to the floor a mum of times to talk about -- a number of times to talk about this immoral anomaly where you are subject to the risk of death by a begunshot -- gunshot wound ten times higher than any other high-be inning nation. i -- high income nation. i wish there were other factors that play into why we have so much gun violence. we don't have more mental illness in this country, we don't spend less money on law enforcement, we don't have angrier people, we have more guns and we are more permissive in this country about allowing felons dangerous people to get their hands on guns and we are

much more permissive about which kinds of guns get into the hands of private citizens, especially guns designed to kill as many human beings as quickly as possible. as you can imagine, because i have a pretty high profile on this issue. when i'm home in my state i get confronted by supporters of the amendment who want to have a conversation with me about why i believe what i believe. and that conversation normally starts with the assumption that i want to take guns away or ammunition away from law-abiding gun owners, and almost without exception when i get confronted by somebody who wants to talk about guns with me, who comes from the gun side of the debate, as quickly as i start the debate about background checks is where

we start agreeing. i have found few of those conversations where even in the heated arguments that we don't find agreement that if you buy a gun, you have to prove you're not a criminal or mentally ill. why? because law-abiding gun owners have gone through a background checks. they know that the background checks are processed instantly while you are in the store. for those talking to me who aren't mentally ill and don't have criminal histories, that's their only experience is that the background check is not a barrier to purchasing a gun. and so it's just not surprising to me to hear the data that senator warnock is talking about. 90 percent of americans supporting universal background checks, checks on every gun sale.

89{%}of americans 87 percent of nra gun owners, even those who want to talk to me in the middle of a county fair were not disagreeing about that simple policy, just make sure that the people who shouldn't have guns don't get their hands on them. now, some people will say it's a -- it's a hassle, it's a -- it's an unreasonable barrier. i told you in 90 percent of the cases they were resolved instantaneous, if not, it was because there is something on the record, there have been millions of gun purchases that had have been -- that have been denied because criminals or mentally ill have tried to buy a gun. there are 60,000 licensed gun

dearlies across this -- dealers across this country who can perform background checks. that is 40 times more than m{l1}{l0}c{l1}{l0}donald restaurants in america. this is not an unrestrictable -- this -- what are we talking about? we are talking about guns sold on-line and through gun shows, the federal law that i think we all agree on, i don't hear a lot of my colleagues on the republican side that we real -- that repealing getting a gun check, we are talking about extending the requirement to a lot of places where the guns are sold. today a lot more guns are sold to gun stores and a lot more are sold on-line. and the studies about gun sales

on-line are trouble. there are 1.2 million on-line ads offering guns for sale that would not require a background check. that showed that one in nine perspective buyers of guns on-line would not pass pa background check. -- would not pass a background check. that is seven times higher than at gun stores. the reason is that criminals are going on-line and going to the gun shows because they know they will -- they will fail the background check if they go to a brick and mortars store. that is one person did when he failed a background check but went to a private seller on-line and bought a gun and used it to kill seven people in odessa. this is not theoretical.

the criminal traffickers who have criminal records go to a state that doesn't have universal checks. the criminals, the traffickers buy the guns online or at a gun show and then they drive them up to hartford, connecticut, and they set them on the black market. the data just tells us that people believe in background checks, they want us to pass universal background checks, and the data also tells us that it works, and the number vary, but even the least generous studies tell us that in states that have universal background checks, like connecticut, 10% less people are dying from gun homicides. and of course my law can't fully protect the people in my state because those guns get trafficked into connecticut from states that don't have universal background checks, and so the numbers would be even bigger if we didn't have all these loopholes. and so i agree with senator

warnock. this just feels like a test of democracy. it really does. like how does democracy survive if 90% of americans, 90% of republicans, 90% of democrats want something and we can't deliver it? you know why people are flirting with autoocracy and dictatorship? it's because even when they agree at a 90% rate, they can't get what they want from their government. i got to tell you, something does seem pretty wrong if democracy can't deliver on this a 90% consensus, and not a 90% consensus about whether the road gets paved. a 90% consensus on whether kids live or die. a 90% consensus on an existential question of survival.

and so, mr. president, as in legislative session, i'm going to ask, mr. president, that we pass a bill that would require universal background checks in this country. i'm going to ask my colleagues to respect the wishes of 90% of americans r i'm going to ask as if in legislative session for unanimous consent that the judiciary committee be discharged from further consideration of s. 494, and the senate proceed to its immediate consideration. i further ask consent that the bill be considered read a third time and passed and the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table. the presiding officer: is there 0,? a senator: mr. president. the presiding officer: the senator from utah. mr. lee: reserving the right to object, i want to note at the outset, we're not asked to vote in this chamber on polling questions. we vote on legislation. while people when responding to a poll may respond

overwhelmingly, the response to certain questions, it doesn't mean that when they come to understand fully what the law at issue would actually do that they wouldn't feel differently. the truth is that the legislation that we're being asked to pass by unanimous consent today, without additional debate, discussion, opportunity for amendment, opportunity for input by the public -- that is, the bill, s. 494, has some real problems with it, some problems that make it a bill that stands to transform in some circumstances ordinary, law-abiding citizens into criminals. we always have to consider this when evaluating any law, particularly any law with criminal implications, particularly any law with criminal implications that touches on our constitutionally protected right enumerated in a

constitutional amendment a this is not solely about transactions involving guns at gun stores. this is about the father who wishes to pass down a hunting rifle to his son or the friend who wants to lend a shotgun to his neighbor who is in need of protection at the time. universal background checks, as this bill conceives them, don't just regulate. they criminalize these quintessential moments of american life. under this legislation, would render unlawful what in countless circumstances would be lawful and even constitutionally protected behavior. now, most would not think twice about lending a firearm to a family member for sporting or personal protection purposes, yet this bill threatens to do that by narrowing the definition of family to such the extent that passing a gun too a

daughter-in-law or a great-grandson could lead to criminal charges. this bill fails to distinguish between a criminal act and a gesture of trust and safety. participating in a safety trip often p involves using firearms. it is important to be aware that under this proposal, under this bill, if you hand over your firearm to a partner during such a trip, even for a short period of time, you could potentially be held criminally liable if that individual doesn't hold the proper hunting license. it's an absurd overreach that it would penalize the innocent traditions that bind our communities together. the only way to enforce such a law is through the creation of an expansive orwellian gun registry. yes, a national gun registry. now, it's here that we arrive at the true purpose or at least the

true, inevitable outcome of this legislation, were it to become law. universal background checks only work when you have a national gun registry s this bill would require a registry, even though and not withstand ago the legitimate policy concerns embraced by congress when congress prohibited the creation of such a a registry in the firearms owners' protections act. however, the atf has already compiled a database with over 920 million records. a direct challenge to both the letter and spirit of the firearm owners' protection act in public law 112-55. let's not compound the problem created by the atf's illegal and constitutionally problematic registry by enacting a law that cannot be enforced without the creation of a national gun registry. registries lead inevitably to gun confiscation, if you don't believe me, if you don't want to take my word, look to the public

statements made by some of my colleagues in the senate and our counterparts in the house. they told us confiscation is the goal. as our friends of gun owners in america have told us, without this registry, enforcement of s. 494 is inevitable. we're staring doling the barrel of a gun. the senator asked us to pass this major legislation without any debate, without any meaningful opportunity for amendment, further discussion,. and this isn't how congress works. it certainly isn't how the united states senate should work. certainly not on a matter how significant and tied to a constitutional right as this one. this bill should go through the senate judiciary committee, a body on which i serve and a body where members routinely can and

do debate, offer amendments, and raise these and other policy and constitutional concerns. i want to speak for a moment to what was referenced to as the gun show loophole. if you are a federally licensed firearms dealer, you have to perform these functions before you sell it, with or without you being in the presence of a gun show. if an ffl shows up in a gun show, the ffl has to conduct a background check. it isn't a loophole. we're talking about a tiny, minuscule percentage of people that actually do these things. we're looking at the overwhelming percentage, according to the department of justice bureau that collects crime statistics you statisticsy percentage of those who buy them at gun shows go on to commit crimes with them, less than 1%. very few of them even buy them in a retail establishment,

opting instead to buy them on a clandestine market, in an illegal way. so at the end of the day, we have to ewait this law just -- evaluate this law just like any law. this law in particular touches on a constitutionally protected enumerated right, you have to look at both the law's impact on criminal behavior, which is negligible, and on the law's tendency to punish the law-abiding. it is not the law-abading who typically will go to illegal sources to buy a gun. it is not the law-abiding who dot the i's and cross the t's and who refuse -- who refuse to dot the i's and cross the t's. we shouldn't be adding more red tape that's going to affect mostly the law-abiding. touching on very few of those

actually bent on violent criminal activity. this bill would do precisely that. it would punish the law-abiding citizens for the actions of criminals. it's time to accept this fact and it's time for us to really choose between the various intentions that we -- tensions that we feel pulling on us. i'm confident that at the end of the day, we should choose common sense over fear. we should choose liberty over control. and we should choose the rights of the law-abiding many over the criminally minded few. on this basis, mr. president, for these reasons, i object. the presiding officer: objection is heard. mr. blumenthal: mr. president. the presiding officer: the senator from connecticut. mr. blumenthal: you know, as i listened to the objection of my

colleague from utah, i am really struck by the absurdity and exaggeration involved in opposition to these commonsense measures that would simply save lives. the idea that we haven't debated background checks? what could be more unfederal governmentered to reality? we have -- what could be more untethered to reality? we have debated background checks for as long as i have been in the united states senate and before then when i was attorney general seeking to champion universal background checks. we have debated them in the judiciary committee ad nauseam. and we have shown through the bipartisan safer communities act that we can break the hold of the gun lobby that is the source of those absurd and ridiculous

arguments. background checks take no guns away from any law-abading citizen. they simply assure that people who are dangerous to themselves or others don't have them. that is the purpose of red flag laws, which i have also championed, and many of the other measures that we seek to pass. the repeal of clapa, ghost guns which we seek to ban because law enforcement finds them so dangerous. and numerous other commonsense measures. i'm here on behalf of a bill, ethan's law, senate 173, which ought to be common ground for

everyone. it simply requires safe storage, and we know that 500 americans every year, including more than 100 children, die from unintentional firearm injuries, many of them involving weapons that are unsafely stored. there are loaded and unlocked guns in the homes of 4.6 million american children, and many of them parents, because their parents or their neighbor's parents fail to safe-store those weapons. nobody knows it better than chrisen song. her son died as a result of an unsafely stored weapon just as his 15th birthday. he was with a friend and a

firearm stored in a it it tuppee box was used in play by these two young boys. ethan died. and ethan's law, which i am seeking to pass by unanimous consent today, is in his memory. it was passed by the statehouse of representatives in connecticut and our state senate. and 26 states, red, blue, purple already have some form of safe storage and child access prevention laws on the books.te. we know from the record of these laws in connecticut that they work, they save lives. and we know also that gun owners

believe that safe storage ought to be the law, ought to be required, ought to be mandated so that lives are saved. in fact, even the firearms industry, including the national rifle association, and the national shooting sports foundation, agree that safe storage is a critical part of responsible gun ownership. the nra tells gun owners that, quote, strongboxes and security cases are impressive and give quick access to firearms in a defensive situation. the nsff tells gun owners to, quote, always make absolutely sure that firearms in your home are securely stored, out of the reach of children, and unauthorized persons. 90% of the guns used in un-inc. tensional shooting -- unintentional shooting deaths by children were left unlocked and

loaded. the numbers are outrageous and depressing. but we can do something and we should do something, and that is why i am here today to urge that we pass a bill that ought to be common ground, bipartisan common ground and show that, in fact, democracy can work, we can pass measures that save lives, that should be bipartisan. there ought to be no republican v. democratic debate on this floor or anywhere else. it ought to be a matter of common sense and common agreement across the aisle. and so, as if in legislative session, i ask unanimous consent that the judiciary committee be discharged from further consideration of s.173 and the senate proceed to its immediate

consideration. i further ask that this bill be considered read a third time and passed and the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid on the table, no single gun owner will lose a gun, none, as a result of this measure. thank you, mr. president. the presiding officer: is there objection? a senator: mr. president. the presiding officer: the senator from north carolina. mr. budd: reserving the right to on. i oppose senate 173 for a simple reason -- it's unconstitutional in a number of ways. first, the bill infringes on the second amendment rights of law-abiding sit sgrens by placing -- citizens by placing burdens on the right to keep and bear arms within a home. second, this bill thrusts the federal government into an area that is reserved to the states, thus violating the principle of federalism. the laws in connecticut, the laws in north carolina should

reflect the values and behaviors of those respective states. simply put, a one size fits all approach doesn't fit the needs of our constituents. thirdly, congress does not have the power under the commerce clause of the constitution to pass the bill. a law-abiding gun ownerwith a firearm in -- go owner with a firearm in their home doesn't qualify as federal commerce and the federal government has no right to infringe upon it. fourth, this dill dume mates -- bill dume -- duplicates existing state laws. my colleague mentioned those state laws. in north carolina, we have criminal penalties for adults who improperly store a firearm in a way that allows a minor to obtain it and commit a crime. finally, this bill would make it harder for law-abiding gun owners to defend themselves and their loved ones. an at time when our cities and

towns are plagued by waves of crime, often made worse by soft-on-crime policies of democrat politicians, it makes no sense for the federal government to make it illegal for homeowners to quickly defend themselves inside their own home. just this year, in north carolina, my own state, in my own state alone there have been at least 13 documented instances of defensive gun use in the home. defensive gun use. in these instances, north carolina residents have used guns to defend themselves against home invasions, assaults, defense violence and residential burglary. no matter what somebody believes about the sacked -- about the second amendment, we share the desire to protect our kids and keep them safe. we all want our kids to be safe. that's why gun rights groups across the country have safety courses and online materials and

in-person training, to teach citizens, both young and old, how to safely own, operate, and enjoy firearms. now is not the time for more unconstitutional proposals that will not ultimately keep people safe. therefore, i object. the presiding officer: the objection is heard. mr. booker: mr. president. the presiding officer: the senator from new jersey. mr. booker: ten years i've been there this incredible institution, in the united states senate, and i am stunned that we are still having this debate. we know, if you read our constitution, that we formed our form of government with lots of high calling, but the first is to provide for the national defense. it is astonishing to me that the number one killer, the number one threat, the number one issue facing our children in america is death by gun violence. this is a purview of the federal

government, as is written by our constitution, and the second amendment, like the first amendment, is not absolute. you can't yell fire in a crowded movie theater. there are limitations on our fundamental rights. don't take my word for it. take the supreme court of the united states, a conservative court in the heller decision made it very clear that government can take steps, reasonable steps, to protect our nation. and so what does it mean in a country when the top killer of our children is gun violence, and we cannot take commonsense steps like the ones spelled out in the law that was just objected to, safe storage of

weapons? this is not an infringement of someone's right to own a gun. safe storage of weapons. this is not taking away someone's gun. safe storage of weapons, this is not a violation of someone's fundamental rights. what it is is a reasonable step to protect children, because 90% of the kids in our country that are dying by suicide or unintentional shootings are in homes where a loaded gun is easily accessible from children, children as young as 3 years old getting their hands on these weapons. over 40,000 americans die in a year to gun violence, and the response of this body is to do

nothing. 40,000 americans, the number one killer of our children, and instead of seeing this as a crisis, for us having special hearings and gatherings to put our minds together in a bipartisan way, how do we stop our children from dying, how do we stop our children from being slaughtered, instead of this being something that is concerning us to do something, we do nothing. and i'm sorry, inaction is complicit in this violence. if you object to this, what's your idea to protect our children? if you object to this, what is your idea to stop so many kids, so many americans from dying? tell me what it is. because martin luther king said it plain, in another point in american history, in another crisis, he said, what we will have to repent for as a nation is not just the vitriolic words

and violent actions of the bad people but the appalling silence and inaction of the good people. and so i know this body, i know the good, hardworking, dedicated americans who serve here. but the inaction is appalling. the inaction is complicit. the strongest nation on the planet earth gives the implicit messages to our children and their parents -- we can't protect you. so you know what we're going to do? we're going to teach you how to hide. because we are now in a nation where there are more active shooter drills than there are fire drills. what message is this to our children and our families, that we are saying we're going to do

nothing? another year will pass. another 40,000 americans are going to die, and we do nothing to protect you. that is unacceptable to me. we are better than this. we are stronger than this. the very ideal of liberty should be that our people should not live in fear, but by our inaction we have a nation where people all over our country are now chained to fear, shackled by grief, communities ripped apart, families in mourning. and a simple step in america, a simple federal law like seat belt laws, a simple federal law like the safety of our airplanes, a simple federal law to address the number one cause of killing in our children, that if you have a loaded firearm at home, you should lock it up and

keep it away from a child, we can't do that. well, merry christmas, america. the most urgent and basic thing this body should do is to protect children, and the number one cause of child death in america, what have we done this year? nothing. nothing. this is a time we should act. this is a time we should join together. i call on my republican colleagues to put forth one idea that will save a child from gun violence, to show that your allegiance is to safety and security. no other country deals with this. we are an baberation when it

comes to gun violence. no other nation allows their children to be slaughtered. canada, new zealand. i can tell you the nations that have taken action and seen a dramatic drop in the number of deaths. we are an exceptional country, but in this case being an exception is horrific to too many. so i am disappointed to sit here and witness an objection, but i am relentless. we must be undeterred, because change is not always easy, but in this case we as a country, with thousands of our children dying every year, must stay determined to make the change necessary for us to protect the people of this great republic.

mr. president, i yield the floor. ms. rosen: mr. president. the presiding officer: the senator from nevada. ms. rosen: i ask unanimous consent that i be permitted to speak up to ten minutes prior to the scheduled vote. the presiding officer: without objection. ms. rosen: thank you. on october 7th, hamas launched the deadliest terror attack in israel's history. hamas' vicious and unprovoked slaughter targeted innocent israeli civilians and killed 1200 men, women, children from

babies to holocaust survivors. not since the holocaust has there been a deadlier day for the jewish people. yet some extreme individuals and organizations are trying to minimize, distort, and outright deny what happened that day. we cannot let that happen. that's why senator rubio and i h hosteda screening -- hosted a screening last week for our colleagues to show them exactly what hamas did on october 7th. the rubio. -- the videos are disturbing, they are graphic, the images and sounds in those videos i will never forget. and i encourage all members to see for themselves what israel is fighting against, pure

terror, pure, pure evil. on october 7th, hamas violated a long-standing cease-fire when they chose to start this war hamas took deliberate and preemptive actions against innocent civilians, including dismemberment, torture, and mass rape in what only can be described as barbaric terrorism. and as any other nation would, israel has responded to this unprovoked attack by actingto defend its own population -- actingto protect its own population as they have their absolute right to do so. at the same time, hamas has stated over and over and over again that they will not stop until there are a thousand more

october 7th's, until they destroy all of israel and all the people there and it is time that the world listens. this is not why -- this is why it's not surprising last week hamas broke the agreement that was put in place to temporarily halt the fighting, to bring more humanitarian aid into gaza and to rescue the hostages brutally taken by hamas. let me be clear. there is no kwiflency -- equivalency between the terrorist taxes of -- terrorist actions of hamas or to stop them again or commit a worse attack as they have repeatedly promised to do. we must all remember this, especially now, as we work to

deliver aid to israel. it's been nearly two months since october 7th, and rockets continue to rain down on israeli cities. more than 130 hostages remain in gaza, and as we continue to learn more and more about the violent acts of rape, of torture, of murder committed by hamas, it's all ongoing, and yet congress hasn't passed a supplemental security assistance that israel desperately needs to defend itself. this security assistance includes support for israel's lifesaving iron dome missile defense system, it protects them from hamas and hezbollah from the rockets that rain down on them night after night after night as well as other deresources and tools. it replenishes our own defense

stocks that have been drawn down to support israel in its time of need. and to my knowledge congress has never used conditions on security resistance in order to strong arm israel and now is not the time to start. conditions would undermine israel's ability to defend itself and would send a signal to the world that america's support for our ally is weakening, which is exactly what iran and its terrorist proxies, it's what they all want. and our aid can make the difference between whether or not there is another october 7th. now, i turn to members of my own party. here we are. we all want the same thing. we all want peace in the region for both palestinians and israelis, a two-state solution with a secure state of israel

living side by side with a peaceful palestinian state. let me be clear. hamas -- hamas is the one currently preventing this goal. hamas launched the attack on israel. hamas targeted, hamas murdered, hamas raped and kidnapped innocent people. hamas is threatening to do this over and over and over again. hamas is a terrorist organization. they're terrorists. they must be stopped permanently. it's the only way we'll get closer to peace and stability in the region. and i also understand and i share your concerns about the need to minimize civilian casualties and the suffering in gaza. every innocent civilian death is

a tragedy. to truly end the suffering of both israelis and palestinians, hamas must no long-range control gaza -- must no longer control gaza. for nearly two decades hamas has stolen resources from the palestinian people. they used these resources for terrorist purposes, a set of civilians infrastructure, hamas built terrorist tunnels, instead of programs to combat poverty, hamas launches rockets to combat israel, instead of shielding their own people to lift them up, hamas uses their own people as human shooemdz. israel -- shields. hamas must -- and while we help israel, we can and we must

continue to work with the israeli government to make sure that they are doing everything -- everything in their power to prevent the loss of innocent life. as we partner with israel and other nations in the region to deliver humanitarian aid in gaza, food, water, medicine, emergency shelter, sanitation, we must make sure that this aid actually reaches civilians in gaza. this aid and these resources will save palestinian lives if it is allowed to reach them. so my colleagues -- to all my colleagues, with we all agree on these goals. they're reasonable and we are utilizing existing channels with israel to make sure that they are taking these steps all without conditioning aid to

israel. and let's be clear. providing israel with aid is not a blank check. as all of my colleagues in this chamber know, every one of them know this, all foreign aid is bound by a set of rules. this has been consistent for decades and has not changed. and these are different from conditions specifically targeting israel. now -- now is the time to stand with israel as they work to dismantle hamas, stop its ability to cause more harm to israelis and palestinians and free all the remaining hostages -- all of them. conditioning aid to israel after the worst terrorist attack in history would only embolden israels's -- israel's enemies, signal to them to open the door

to more violence. this is why i'm calling on my colleagues, republicans and democrats, to pass this aid without conditions. if we're serious about preventing another october 7th, if we're serious, really serious about preventing more gruesome images like the ones my colleagues saw last week, torture, kidnapping, rape and murder, beheading, if we're serious about preventing all of this and serious about a future where the people of gaza are not ruled by a brutal and barbaric terrorist organization, then we should not delay. thank you. i yield back my time. the presiding officer: the clerk will report the motion to cloture. we, the undersigned senators, in

accordance with the provisions of rule 22, do hereby bring to a close debate on -- the clerk: accordance with the provisions of rule 22 of the standing rules of the senate, do hereby bring to a close debate on of executive calendar number 317, nathalie rayes to be ambassador extraordinary -- ambassador extraordinary of the united states of america to the republic of croatia. the presiding officer: is it the sense of the senate that debate on the nomination of nathalie rayes, of massachusetts, to be ambassador extraordinary mren potent ri of the united states of america to the republic of croatia shall be brought to a close. the yeas and nays are mandatory under the rules. vote:

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

mrs. gillibrand. mr. graham, mr. -- mr. graham. mr. grassley. mr. hagerty. ms. hassan. mr. hawley. mr. heinrich. mr. hickenlooper. ms. hirono. mr. hoeven. mrs. hyde-smith. mr. johnson. mr. crapo. mr. cruz. mr. lankford.

mr. lee. mr. lujan. ms. lummis. mr. markey. mr. marshall. mr. menendez. mr. mcconnell. mr. moran. mr. mullin. ms. murkowski. mr. murphy. mrs. murray. mr. ossoff. mr. daines. 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. -- mr. warner. mr. warnock. ms. warren. mr. welch. mr. whitehouse. mr. wicker. mr. wyden.

mr. vote: the clerk: senators voting in the affirmative, bennet, booker, cardin, durbin, hickenlooper, lujan, ossoff, padilla, rosen, smith, and welch. senators voting in the negative, boozman, ernst, lee, marshall, paul, scott of south carolina, thune, and tillis. mr. schatz, aye. mr. crapo, no.

mr. johnson, no.

the clerk: mr. heinrich, aye. mr. schumer, aye. mr. blumenthal, aye.

the clerk: ms. klobuchar, aye. mrr peters, aye. mr. peters, aye.

the clerk: ms. stabenow, aye. mr. ricketts, no.

the clerk: mrs. fischer, no.

the clerk: mr. murphy, aye.

the clerk: mr. king, aye.

the clerk: mr. casey, aye. mr. merkley, aye. mrs. murray, aye.

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

the clerk: mr. wyden, aye. mr. carper, aye. ms. warren, aye. mr. scott of florida, no.

ms. cantwell, aye. mr. tester, aye. mr. schmitt, no.

mr. rounds, no. mr. cornyn, no. the clerk: mr. wicker, no. mrs. shaheen, aye.

the clerk: mr. fetterman, aye.

vote: the clerk: mr. daines, no. mr. cotton, no.

ms. collins, aye. the clerk: mrs. hyde-smith, no. mr. graham, no. mr. barrasso, no. ms. baldwin, aye.

the clerk: mrs. gillibrand, aye. mr. kelly, aye.

the clerk: mr. menendez, aye. mr. whitehouse, aye. ms. duckworth, aye. mr. kennedy, no.

the clerk: ms. lummis, no. the clerk: mr. budd, no.

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

mr. moran, no. mr. braun, no. mr. tuberville, no. mr. warner, aye. the clerk: mrs. blackburn, no. mr. lankford, no. mr. risch, no.

the clerk: mr. romney, no.

the clerk: mr. manchin, aye. mrs. capito, no. mr. sullivan, no.

mr. grassley, no.

the clerk: mr. mullin, no. mr. van hollen, aye.

the clerk: mr. coons, aye. mr. hagerty, no.

the clerk: mr. young, no.

the clerk: mr. cruz, no. mr. hoeven, no. mr. reed, aye. mr. rubio, no.

the clerk: mr. brown, aye. mr. warnock, aye. the clerk: mr. cassidy, no.

the clerk: mr. cramer, no.

the clerk: ms. hirono, aye.

the clerk: mr. mcconnell, no.

the clerk: mr. markey, aye. mrs. britt, no.

the clerk: mr. vance, no.

the clerk: ms. butler, aye u

the clerk: mr. hawley, no.

the clerk: ms. murkowski, aye u

the clerk: ms. cortez masto, aye. the presiding officer: the yeas are 53, the nays are 47. the motion is agreed to.

test: the presiding officer: the senator from west virginia. mrs. capito: thank you, madam president. as this body continues to discuss the need for a national security supplemental, i rise today to discuss the important elements that need to be included in this supplemental. and to once again emphasize the growing demands for increased border security in our country. for a nation as powerful and impactful as ours, there are obligations we inherently have to meet, both for ourselves and for our allies. at the center of these obligations rests defending our homeland. this security is imperative to the sovereignty of our nation.

with our other obligation, our other obligation being to support our allies abroad as they face host it's. we must realize these two are deeply woven together. we cannot achieve national security as a whole without securing our own borders. in fact, president biden's own national defense strategy reflects this very sentiment, citing protection of the homeland as the number one defense priority. it is essential that border security remains one of our four pillars that need to be included in any national security supplemental that was approved by this congress. in order to properly secure and defend our allies, we must properly secure and defend our own nation at the same time. as i've said on the floor many times with madam president, with

you presiding, i've said many times there is no doubt we currently live in a time of heightened national security concern. not only is this concern felt around the globe, but in almost every state and community in our own country, because of this crisis at the border, because of this crisis at the border we see chaos, we see it on our news channels every evening. we see the monthly records of illegal crossings. as a matter of fact, i think several days ago the highest daily number. and we see how those who are truly seeking asylum are being disadvantaged by the cartels and smugglers playing the system. it is obvious that the policies which have led to this crisis need to be addressed and they need to be changed and reformed. i often talk about american leadership and our historic ability to respond with strength in times of crisis. well, this is a time of crisis.

and our porous southern border is something that we desperately need to act upon. it's not lost on me or on my republican colleagues the urgency to address four central national security emergencies of this time, of our time -- ukraine is facing an unjust and unprovoked ground war perpetrated by russia. our ally and friend, israel, is under attack by terrorists that are holding women and children hostage and the recounting that we heard of the sexual violence against the women in israel on october 7th is appalling. our allies in the indo-pacific face heightened concern as rival nations increase their aggression. and right here in the united states, we are facing the worst border crisis in our nation's

history. these four areas are directly tied together. ukraine's ability to defend itself and stave off russian aggression relates directly to the security of taiwan and the increased posture of china. the terrorist attack perpetrated on israel led to attacks on our own u.s. military bases and sh ships, as well as the alarming rise, alarming rise of anti-semitism we're seeing in our own country. nations directly opposed to the united states, they're opposed to our values, our way of life, they are building an uneasy level of camaraderie between one another. and you can guarantee that these nations watching our self-created security crisis at our border and waiting to see when we will finally wake up and react, our country must take notice of this. the supplemental text before us

does not make any policy changes, but instead throws more money, more money at a broken system. that's not a solution. it doesn't address the actual policies that are fueling this situation. the changes in border policy that my party seeks are not partisan and extreme measures as the democrat leader would lead you to assume. but rather, they're substantive solutions that address the national security threats that we're now facing. we encountered a six-fold increase of individuals on our terror watch list just in the last year, coming through the southern border. half of the illegal encounters now on our border are not from mexico or the northern triangle of central america. drugs made on the other side of the world are smuggled into our country daily, with the goal of sowing destruction and sorrow.

unfortunately, that's having success. we do not know who or what is entering our borders, and that cannot be a risk that we are willing to take. the truth of the matter is this doesn't need to be a partisan issue. i know we have colleagues on both sides of the aisle that are trying to work through this. we're not just talking about funding, but rather changes that ensure that those who enter our country are coming through legal channels, and that they are properly vetted. sounds pretty simple to me. both things we should all agree are necessary aspects of a working immigration system. but instead, this administration, the biden administration, has incentivized abuses of our asylum laws that led to the greatest border crisis in our nation's history. it's open border, it's catch and release. and this in turn put our national security at risk. this is not an issue that the republicans brought up in the

11th hour of a negotiation. but rather something that we have continued to highlight the entire time that president biden has been in the white house. members of congress cannot continue to ignore the deep ties between the sovereignty of the united states and the sovereignty of our allies abroad. the supplemental we have been discussing for weeks is about helping our allies, but also why is that important? because we have to advance our own interests at the same time, and the border is a big part of our own interests. this is not a time to play games, but instead time to meet the challenges of the moment. while others refuse to accept the reality of the landscape we face, republicans remain at the table. for too long, too long we've been on the floor voting on radical nominations to advance the biden administration agenda. instead of the legislation

needed to help solve many of the problems i've described, including border security and our weakened defense industrial base, and i would add in as a member of the appropriations committee, our appropriations bills which have been teed up since juliy and the leader refused to put them on the floor. that wastes time we do not have. we must seek agreements that address our concerns, that provide necessary relief and strengthen our security that will move the interests of the united states forward. i ask my colleagues in this chamber to recognize that. the time to invest in the national security of the united states and our allies abroad is now. with that, madam president, i yield the floor. and i see my fellow senator from nebraska here to talk about similar subjects.

if mrs. fischer: madam president. the presiding officer: the senator from nebraska. mrs. fischer: thank you, madam president. earlier this year, i visited our nation's southern border. my colleagues and i joined several patrols to see the problems firsthand, and at each of our stops what we saw was very, very alarming. dozens of people sat on the ground at midnight at the border, waiting to go to a crowded processing center for illegal immigrants. as we patrolled the rio grande valley, we passed trail after trail used by illegal migrants

to traffic drugs and people into our country. meanwhile, we walked past an open, unfinished border wall. we toured a raided stash house, where a weapon was found, an illegal immigrant was detained, and a human smuggler was arrested. these experiences, they just scratch the surface of the chaos overwhelming our southern b border. our border is a frenzy, a frenzy of illegal activity, and because of neglect and inaction from this administration this disaster is out of control. there is a humanitarian crisis at our southern border.

there is a deadly drug crisis at our southern border. and perhaps most critically, there is a national security crisis at our southern border. since president biden took office, over eight million migrants have illegally crossed our southern border. border patrol agents have seized over 51,000 pounds of fentanyl. we've sign an uptick in encounters of illegal migrants from adversaries like china, and that's not even to mention the 295 -- 294, i don't want to exaggerate because we don't need

to exaggerate on numbers like this, but 294 known terrorists who have been identified at our bo border. madam president, hundreds of people on the terror watch list are flooding our border. to put those numbers in perspective, border patrol agents encountered a grand total of 11 people, 11 people on that list during the four years of the last administration. my democratic colleagues support security for taiwan, they support security for ukraine, and they support security for is israel. but what they won't support is basic border security for the

united states of america. yesterdays classified briefing -- yesterday's classified briefing on the supplemental underscored how ridiculous this is. the united states is the leader of the free world. we're supporting the security of our partners and allies around the globe. and yet, we are told by the biden administration and my democratic colleagues that we can't support the security at our own border? we are told that our own border security is not related to this national security supplemental? that's absurd. and the american people know that it's absurd. many of my republican colleagues

and i have been willing to compromise, but we've had it. we have had it with the evasive answers and the total neglect of our own border. border security, it's not a fringe issue. according to an nbc poll, 53% of voters support more military funding for taiwan. 55% support more funding for ukraine. and 55% support more funding for israel. but madam president, 74% of voters support more funding for our border security. that's 20% more than anything

else that voters support in this supplemental. my republican colleagues and i are siding with the american people on this funding request. yes, we should address the conflicts raging around our world. we must stand by our allies and our partners. but we cannot forget the catastrophic issues that we are seeing on our own doorstep. we must secure our own nation before anything else. if this supplemental funding bill truly aims to protect our national security, it must

address our security from all sides. and the side that is in the most dire need of support is our battered and chaotic border. but money alone is not going to repair the border. we must make commonsense policy changes to address this crisis. let's tighten our asylum standards. let's limit the use of parole to the required case-by-case basis. let's close the catch and release loophole. i urge the rest of my colleagues and our president to look at this border crisis seriously, and to respond with urgency, the

urgency that this requires. the security supplemental is the right opportunity to do so. side with the american voters. side with common sense. and let us protect our border. thank you, madam president. i yield the floor. vrlt madam president the presiding officer: the senator from north carolina a senator: thank you, madam president. forces of evil and instability are on the march around the globe. in the middle east, hamas massacred more than 1200 israelis and 33 americans. mr. budd:}iran, the world's leading state sponsor of terrorism continues to finance, provide training for, and authorize attacks against u.s. forces in the region.

mr. budd: in europe russia continues itts brutality against ukraine and forming conflict in the balkans, further threatening peace and stability in europe. meanwhile, china is rapidly expanding its military, threatening our allies and partners and stealing billions in americans' intellectual property. all this chaos, it's the result of weakness from the biden administration. starting in afghanistan, continuing to this day, this administration has put american weakness on full display. as we confront a dangerous global situation, we cannot ignore the fact that for america to be a strong nation, we must first be strong at home. before we can help countries protect their borders thousands of miles away, we must first protect our own borders. the biggest threat to our national security right now,

it's the wide open southern border. for three years the border has been in a state of crisis. we've grown familiar with these numbers, sadly. but they remain historic and staggering. under president biden, over eight million illegal immigrants have crossed the border. under president biden, 279 -- i just heard my colleague speak. she gave an even higher number, an accurate number perhaps, an even higher number than 279 of folks on the terrorist watch list that have illegally entered our nation. under president biden, nearly five -- excuse me -- 50,000 founds of fentanyl have been seized at the southern border. that's nearly enough to kill every man, woman, and child in the united states. given the fact that we're only able to interdict 5% to 10% of the illegal drugs that cross,

our country is being overwhelmed with drugs that can kill with just a 2 milligram dose. under president biden there have been 1.^ 8 million known, known got-aways. and that's not count -- that's not counting all fof the -- thi crisis has got to be dealt with and we've got to deal with it now. that's why senate republicans have offered the biden administration -- offered the biden white house a deal. here it is. include proven border policies in the house-passed h.r. 2 to the national security spending package, and you'll have our support. it's a clear pathway. but so far this white house is more interested in playing politics and continuing to ignore the border crisis altogether. you know who can't ignore it? the border patrol agents who are under siege right now. in the times that i've been down

there multiple times, they told me that, yes, we need a wall, we need border enforcement, we need funding, but what we really need, in their own words, is policy. policy changes that would empower them to stop the illegal flow of people, crime, drugs. you know who can't ignore this crisis? the sheriffs from all 100 north carolina counties. many of them have come up to me saying the same thing. every single county in north carolina is now a border county because of joe biden's policies. the bottom line here is in order to be a strong nation, we have to have strong borders. and right now we don't have that. so i want to call on president biden to change course, to work with us so that we can solve this crisis together. we know what to do. all we need is a president who takes this seriously and fulfills his oath to protect and

defend this country. thank you, madam president. i yield the floor. the presiding officer: the senator from kansas a senator: i'm of the view that one of the most consequential votes that any senator will vote in their time in the united states senate is one that we're facing now. the national security supplemental. mr. moran: i'm here to encourage its passage. a national security supplemental it address the crisis at our southern border, to support israel's right to exist, to counter russian, chinese, and

iranian aggression. addressing these issues serves our national interests, and it is within the capacity of the senate to mitigate these crises, to reduce the consequences of these crises with strong legislation and to do it before the end of the year. national security starts with border security, and i applaud my colleagues for working, my republican colleagues for working to find a consensus on an emergency supplemental for addressing the president's failed policies at our southern border. it's time for senate democrats and the white house and republicans to continue their work, to get back to work, to negotiate a bill that can pass the united states senate. we must, we should show the american people that the senate can be an institution that can come together in a responsible way to meet the most pressing challenges our nation faces. i saw a headline in "the wall

street journal" here recently, does congress even work these days? it is a call, a responsibility to re-- that reminds us we have serious and significant work to do together. those pressing needs, those challenges we face are a support for israel to defend itself against terrorism, resources for ukraine, and policy changes to secure our southern border. first, it's in our nation's best interest to stand with our oldest ally in the middle east, israel. hamas has stated its intent to wipe israel off the map, even saying the terrorist attacks of october 7 were just the beginning. now is not the time to waiver in our support for israel. we must provide israel with the means to defend itself and destroy the terrorists. the u.s. must also work to prevent escalation from iran, another adversary who may use this opportunity to escalate the

war against israel. hezbollah entrenched in lebanon's north of israel's border will find no safe harbor if it attempts to intervene. iran's leaders must know that the furry of the united states awaits if they become directly involved. we will stand against terrorism and its enablers and its supporters. second, the success of ukraine's defense against ongoing russian invasion is vital to the national interests of the united states. the success of ukraine is vital to the interests of our own country. should russia fully conquer ukraine, which remains pupt's goal -- putin's goal, more russian forces would be spread across nato's border requiring more resources from the west, america and our allies in europe to be committed to defending those allies against further russian aggression. i don't think we can make the mistake russia's failure in ukraine will make america safer and will make our allies safer.

congress has a critical role in providing the resources necessary not just to end the war but ending the war on terms favorable to ukraine and our european allies. to date a majority of the funding provided ukraine has been directly injected back into the u.s. economy through the development, production, and purchase of u.s.-made weapons to replenish stock supplies. following the leadership of the u.s., european nations are helping shoulder the burden to support ukraine's military and have made serious commitments to match those of the united states. supporting our partners and allies abroad cannot come at the price of ignoring the security interests faced here at home. the administration's failure to control the border has created not just a humanitarian crisis but a national security crisis. the crushing influx of illegal border crossings has included an increase in the number of encounters between u.s. border

patrol agents and individuals the fbi has on its terrorist watch list. our border is a humanitarian problem, but it's a problem for the well-being of the united states and its national security interests as well. as of september 15, border agents have encountered more than 150 individuals on the terrorist screening data set at the southern border. these levels of encounters are astonishing considering there are only 11 such encounters with these dangerous individuals from 2017 to 2020. i've been on the border i think at least three times in the last year or so. and when conversations with our -- certainly our border patrol agents about you our law enforcement arguments as well, the number of illegal and foreigners coming into the united states who have the potential of providing terrorist threats and acting on terrorist behavior in the u.s. is only growing. our lack of operational control

over the border has exacerbated the drug crisis as we know in our communities as well. the border is the single most important line of defense in disrupting these drug trafficking and distribution networks, and it's no overstatement to say american lives depend on a regulated border. madam president, i stand ready with my republican colleagues as they do to find substantive proposals to mitigate this crisis. during an appropriations hearing last month, i was dismayed that secretary mayorkas chose not to engage on the issues and still -- instead fell back on the argument for comprehensive immigration reform. i agree that major changes to our immigration code are in order and have agreed to that belief since my earliest days in congress. however, since i've been in congress, we keep waiting for comprehensive reform and as a result, we do nothing, nothing to make our country safer,

nothing to mitigate the humanitarian crisis unfolding on our soil, nothing to increase our national security. support for ukraine and defending our southern border are not mutually exclusive. we can and must do both. it's time to come together and resolve our differences on these urgent national security issues. the most sustainable and responsible route to a safer and more secure united states requires the senate to take seriously our borders and ensure that our partners and allies are prepared and equipped to defend themselves against our enemies. to my constituents in kansas and across the country, this is a dangerous world we live in, and the decisions that we make in the next few days and few weeks certainly in the next month have a consequence upon the safety and security of america, americans today and americans in the future. this ought not be a united states senate that doesn't do its work and we ought to continue the efforts until we

get a result, and i hope that occurs quickly. madam president, i yield the floor. mr. barrasso: madam preside