[inaudible conversations] [inaudible conversations] >> c-span as you until the view. we are funded by these television companies and more including charting medications. >> charter is pratibha recognized as one of the best internet providers, and we're just getting started building 100,000 miles of new infrastructure to reach those who need it most. >> charting medicatio supports c-span as a as a public seg with these other television providers give you a front row seat to democracy.

>> c-spanshop.org is c-span's online store. browse to her latest collection of c-span products, apparel, books, home decor and accessories. their something for every c-span fan, and every purchase helps support our nonprofit operation. shop now or anytime at c-spanshop.org. >> we take you live now to the four of the u.s. senate where today members will be working with the national defense authorization act and expected to vote on the nomination of the national cyber director. earlier this morning ukrainian president zelensky met with congressional leaders on capitol hill before heading to the white house to meet with president biden. you are watching live senate coverage here on c-span2. the presiding officer: the senate will come to order. our guest chaplain, rabbi peter

berg of the temple atlanta, georgia, will offer the opening prayer. the guest chaplain: good morning. eternal god, may your name be invoked only to inspire and unify our country, but never to divide it. we ask your blessings upon our united states senators and all who serve this body, that today and every day, they lead wisely and with civility, working together for our common good. tonight, jews all around the world will light the sixth candle of hanukkah. they will do so in a world teaming with xenophobia and hatred. let us never forget that this is a time of year we all bring light and hope to despair and darkness.

be with us now, god. make us strong to do your will. help us to understand and proclaim the truth, that not by might and not by power, but by our spirit alone can all of us prevail. let injustice and oppression cease, and hatred, cruelty, and wrong pass away. bless, o god, the lights of this season. may they shine their radiance into this historic chamber. they kindle within us the flame of faith and zeal, that like the maccabees of old, we bravely battle for your cause. may our senators be blessed today, to use their god-given light to chase away the darkness. let us resolve to do our share to hasten the day by taking a true measure of life, by

learning to face life and judge the challenges that are set before us with realism, courage, and understanding. these things we ask in your name, o god. until the radiance of peace and righteousness for all of god's children shines to the end of the earth. 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 12, 2023. to the senate: under the provisions of rule 1, paragraph 3, of the standing rules of the senate,

i hereby appoint the honorable raphael g. warnock, a senator from the state of georgia, to perform the duties of the chair. signed: patty murray, president pro tempore. the presiding officer: under the previous order, the leadership time is he are searched. under the previous order, the senate will resume consideration of the following nomination which the clerk will report. the clerk: nomination, executive office of the president, harry coker jr. of kansas to be national cyber director. the presiding officer: the senator from georgia a senator: mr. president, thank you for the recognition this morning. mr. ossoff: it's a pleasure to be with us, mr. president, as we together represent the state of geo georgia, an obligation that we both cherish, an obligation i cherish sharing with you, and it's a pleasure to be with you, mr. president, this morning to

open the senate. having heard such a moving prayer and such words of wisdom from rabbi pete berg of the temple. on behalf of the united states senate, we thank you for taking time out of your busy schedule tending to your congregation, providing light and inspiration to our constituents in georgia, to provide such wisdom and a blessing to those of us here in this chamber who labor each day to do the work of the people and to advance the interests of the united states. i thank you, rabbi berg for your leadership at this moment of trial, for jewish americans in georgia, across the country, and for jews around the world at this moment that frays the bonds between faith communities. i thank you for your interfaith leadership, for your consistent

calls for solidarity, compassion, mutual love and respect between all people of all faiths. it's particularly fitting, rabbi, that you joined us during hanukkah. and, mr. president, to have rabbi berg here as we approach the sixth night during this moment when so many jews feel such anxiety and fear amidst the overt eshgs press of anti-- express of anti-semitism such as we have not seen for a generation, we draw upon the hanukkah story, one of endurance, survival, inspiration, a story that can inspire people of all faiths. finally, mr. president, i would note as you and i together represent the state of georgia for the first time in its history, represented by a black man and a jew, that to have rabbi berg here representing the

temple's civil rights, commitments, the temple in 1958, as you know, mr. president, was bombed by white supremacists in an attempt at vengeance for rabbi jacob rothchild's alliance in the american south, particularly powerful to have rabbi berg here with us this morning. he leads, of course, the congregation where i was bar mit va -- bar mitzvah' ed. mr. president, i yield the floor.

a senator: mr. president the presiding officer: the senator from georgia mr. warnock: mr. president, it is my honor and joy to join you and well -- in welcoming our good friend, rabbi peter berg to the united states senate today. rabbi berg, thank you so very much for your inspiring prayer. it lifts before all of us our highest ideals and reminds us of the important work that we're called to do together. it's always great to see you, as i often say, every baptist preacher needs a rabbi. and peter berg is not only the rabbi at the temple, he's my rabbi. and he is my friend for more than 15 years, rabbi berg has led the temple atlanta's largest and one of its most historic synagogues. its history is so very important

not just for atlanta's jewish community but for my own church, the ebenezer baptist church where dr. king served. and indeed for the entire city of atlanta. you are such an important leader in our country. for more than 50 years atlanta's ebenezer baptist church led by dr. king has had a special relationship with the temple. after dr. king won the nobel peace prize, some folks in atlanta didn't want to celebrate it. they weren't certain that that was worthy of recognition. but it was rabbi jacob rothschild, the temple's then senior rabbi and champion for civil rights himself who helped to bring the city together, to commemorate that important moment in the movement for georgians. it was an inter raracial -- and

that in and of itself was a movement forward at a time of deep divisions and some of the darkest hours in our country. and the special relationship has sustained to the present day where rabbi peter berg who is the fifth senior rabbi in the sevenle's history -- temple's history and i, the fifth senior pastor in the history of ebenezer baptist church have carried on that tradition of ecum ecumenical, spiritual friendship. and that friendship is genuine. as you know, rabbi, we've done a lot of important work together. and i'm so grateful for the long history of friendship between our two congregations. this past march i was honored to have you to serve as the guest

preacher for ebenezer's 138th anniversary. and you preached with all the fire of any baptist preacher i know. in fact, every year our congregations come together to observe the mlk holiday, and we worship and we work together as one beloved community. but beyond the doors of your congregation, rabbi berg has been a stalwart champion for change in georgia. he and i have served together on too many occasions to count from the georgia early education alliance for ready students, to faith and public life, faith forces against gun violence, the georgia interfaith public policy center, our work together addressing the issue of mass incarceration in our country, standing up against bigotry, racism, anti-semitism, islam

phobia, wherever hatred rears its ugly head, we have spoken time and time again together as one voice. and because of that faith and justice, you will see rabbi berg, and you will hear his voice time and time again. we don't have enough time for me to run through all of rabbi berg's accolades which are there are many. time and time again he's been recognized as one of the most influential spiritual leaders in our state and in our nation. so on behalf of the state of georgia i join senator ossoff in uplifting our appreciation for rabbi berg, who has been a source of counsel and a partner in making what congressman lewis called good trouble. and so, during this season of han hannukah, and during this season

of advent, i lift the words of isaiah, who said that the people who walked in darkness have seen a great light. may our lights continue to shine in this world. rabbi berg, i'm just so blessed to have you as a spiritual brother. a withined that, i yield -- and with that, i yield the floor.

mr. schumer: mr. president. the presiding officer: the majority leader. mr. schumer: well, earlier this morning, mr. president, earlier this morning, senator mcconnell and i welcomed ukrainian president zelenskyy to the u.s. senate, his third visit to the u.s. capitol. it was a very powerful, enlightening, and positive meeting. president zelenskyy's message was direct -- ukraine will win the war against russia if more aid is approved.

but the contrary was also true -- if no more aid is approved, putin will win. it's that simple. ukraine, the west, united states strength as a credible ally are all hanging in the balance right now. also, president zelenskyy urged that we need to pass this aid quickly, because if we don't pass it quickly it will send a signal to the whole world that we are abandoning ukraine and could start a snowball cascading to ukraine's detriment and to our detriment. if ukraine falls, it will be a historic and colossal tragedy. if russia is victorious, future generations will remember this as a moment of shame for the west, for the united states, and for those in the senate who sought to block it. this is a moment when a friend in need called on our help. we must rise to the occasion.

if we abandon ukraine to the dark forces of autocracy, we will all pay a price. the price won't be tomorrow, meaning next week, but it will be in the months and years ahead, but will be an awful price, and everyone who voted against aid to ukraine will have to live with it. this is a time for republicans to be serious about reaching an agreement, serious is the word we are saying to our republican colleagues. it is not a time for one side to demand maximalist fringe policies they know are unrealistic, then say our way or the highway. if republican colleagues want an agreement on the border, they must meet us at the middle. they need to show us they are serious. so far, when they just ask for h.r. 2 or something like it,

they're not showing seriousness. there are two words to describe democrats right now, just like the republican words should be they need to be serious, the two words that describe democrats right now -- still trying. we are still trying to find a good-fate compromise with republicans, but they -- good-faith compromise with republicans, but they must do the same. last night i got on the phone with speaker johnson and urged him to keep the house in session, to give a supplemental a chance to come together. i told him that because over the last -- i told him that, that the how muches should stay in session, because over the -- that the house should stay in session, because over the last 24 hours i've been alarmed to see some of the same republicans in the house, now a good number in the senate, who previously demanded action on the border, now suggesting there's no urgency to act before christmas. after months of saying the border is a crisis, that we must

get something done yesterday, many republicans now seemingly prefer to go home rather than pass a bill. if republicans are serious about getting something done on the border, then why are so many of them in such a hurry to leave for the winter break? has the border simply been an excuse to kill funding for ukraine? by republicans being unwilling to budge on h.r. 2, and getting ready to rush out of town, unfortunately it may seem the case that these are both excuses and they really want to kill funding for ukraine and never had any intention of passing it. that's not true of all republicans, but too many. enough, simply, to hold us up right now from getting something done. do republicans not realize how thrilled putin must be right now, seeing the gridlock?

russian state tv is even running segments on how great it is for russia that congress can't pass ukraine funding. think about that. putin's allies on russian state tv are running segments right now on how great it is for russia that aid to ukraine is stalled. democrats remain xhichted to finding a -- committed to findinga realistic, bipartisan agreement on securing the southern border. we will not accept donald trump's cruel border policies as envisioned in h.r. 2, which even speaker johnson has reminded his colleagues didn't get a single democratic vote in the house -- in the senate. but if republicans show they're serious about meeting us in the middle, we are willing to meet them in the middle. i hope my republican colleagues take to heart president zelenskyy's warnings, the one person happy right now about the gridlock in congress is vladimir putin. he is delighting in the fact

that donald trump's border policies are sabotaging military aid to ukraine. i urge my republican colleagues to show they're serious about getting a supplemental package done. democrats are still trying, and we will continue to work with republicans in good faith in the coming days. now, on the ndaa, the senate will move forward on then annual defense authorization act, moving us closer to passing this bill for the 62nd year in a row. both sides have done terrific work getting the ndaa over the finish line. the senate passed our version of the ndaa with a strong 86-11 vote back in july. that's a good bipartisan vote, majorities of both parties supporting. and over the past few weeks, conferees have done commendable work reconciling the senate and house investigation. i'm -- senate and house version. i'm pleased the conference

supported a strong bill with many of the bills the house passed in july. we're making major strides to outcompete the chinese government by approving the aukus nuclear submarines agreement. this historic agreement will create a new fleet of nuclear-powered submarines to counter the chinese communist party's i have gones in the -- influence in the pacific, and aukus will be critical in securing stabilities in that region. we've worked all year to get it passed through congress. i applaud my colleagues on both sides for their efforts. as i have said repeatedly, we began the month of december with three major goals here in the senate before the end of the year. first, we had to end the unprecedented, months-long and destructive blockade of hundreds of military nominees. we've done that. second, we needed to pass the ndaa as we have have for decades on a bipartisan basis. we're on track to do that this week. and finally, most difficult of

all, we must reach an agreement with republicans on the national security supplemental. democrats' attitude on the supplemental can be boiled down to two words -- we're still trying. we want to get something done. we hope our republican colleagues are serious, serious about getting something done too. on the inflation reduction act accomplishments, this morning the american people received more proof that the biden and democratic agenda is working. the labor department reported today that year-over-year inflation in november slowed to 3.1%. at the beginning of this year, it was more than double, 6.4%. remember, last summer, before we passed the inflation reduction act and the chips and science act, inflation was over 9%. from 9% all the way down to 3.1%? we've made big progress. meanwhile, the labor market remains strong, jobs are up,

higher than before the pandemic. listen to this -- investment in manufacturing construction, manufacturing construction, plants that will turn out goods we can consume here and export is more than double its highest under the previous administration. there was a lot of talk from the previous president about jobs. did he very little. this administration, with what we have done, is really prod producing. jobs, jobs, jobs. no one should be surprised, mr. president, thanks to the democratic work on the ira, 2023 has been a banner year for american job creation and for american manufacturing at the same time getting inflation and the cost to american families down. in 2023, dozens of companies announced new investments in the u.s., resulting in hundreds of green new clean energy projects,

and creating tens of thousands of new good-paying jobs. that's just 2023, mr. president. the inflation reduction act is projected to create another 1.5 million jobs over the next decade. aid cording to the white house -- according to the white house, private companies announced more than $600 billion in investments across the countries, many spurred by the ira. the inflation reduction act. it's not just through manufacturing the democratic agenda is paying dividends. in a few short weeks seniors, for the first time, will have a cap on how much they pay for prescription drugs, thanks to the inflation reduction act. this is life-changing news for seniors across the country. never again will the horrible diagnosis mean $10,000 or more to get the drug you need to app approve. thanks to the inflation reduction act, insulin is also cammed at $35 -- capped at $35 a month for seniors on medicare. vaccines are now free.

let me repeat that -- vaccines are free improving health care across america and helping people be healthy without having to pay for it in in terms of things they can't afford. drug makers are penalized if they raise prices faster than inflation. the administration is negotiating right now for better prices for ten of the highest-cost most commonly used drugs in medicare. because aca premiums are more affordable, this year we're seeing a record number of americans sign up for health care on the individual marketplaces. it takes a lot of work but democrats' agenda is paying off. costsare coming down. jobs and opportunity are going up. while there's a lot of work to do, the american economy is on the right track. i yield the floor and note the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. quorum call:

mike johnson is pursuing impeachment inquiry against president joe biden he wants it irreparable damage to the country when democrat about president then donald trump for years ago johnson last democrats for opening and impeachment inquiry largely along party lines. less than a year before the next presidential election, the exact circumstances now. history mike johnson at the "wall street journal"'s counsel some and explained why this was important. >> i'm a constitutional law attorney, i had the dubious distinction or request to serve on the impeachment team, they did that to president trump twice and thus not an expertise, i was on record hundreds of

times lamenting that. senate wes inspirational and determined president volodymyr zelenskyy to the capitol. for nearly two years the people of ukraine have defied the world's expectations. they've ground down the world's second-most powerful military and they've confounded putin's aggressive, imperialist aspirations. as every step of the -- at every step of the way, america's commitment and support has provided critical fuel for ukraine's resistance and helped european allies wake up from a holiday from history. now our allies are awake. they're investing in collective defense, and clear majorities of americans understand the

importance of america's continued lead as the arsenal of democracy. i've been a staunch supporter of ukraine's fight to take back its land, liberate its people, and restore its sovereignty since the beginning of russia's invasion way back in 2014. our ukrainian friends' cause is just, and if the west continues to stand with them, they can win. but let's be absolutely clear -- ukraine's cause hasn't always been popular here in washington. in 2021, republicans recommended that the biden administration step up assistance to help ukraine deter renewed russian threats. and the administration seemed to think ukraine was a frozen

conflict and a distraction from other priorities. in early 2022, as the gravity of putin's plans came into focus, republicans urged the president to expedite shipments of critical weapons systems to stop russia's advance. but his administration's unfounded fear of escalating the conflict repeatedly kept decisive capabilities out of ukrainian hands at critical moments. when russian troops crossed the border and the administration first came to congress for assistance, it was republicans who demanded we use emergency funds to pay for the cost of deploying u.s. forces to europe rather than forcing our military to take those costs out of hide. and it was republicans who demanded that our supplemental

appropriations bills include funding to replenish and modernize the stockpiles we were drawing down to support ukraine. perhaps they expected the war to be over quickly, but the biden administration requested neither of these things. in fact, when the senate received the president's first supplemental request, i called the democratic leader and said, double it. he agreed with my suggestion, and that's precisely what we did. republicans on the armed services, foreign relations, and appropriations committees have worked overtime to help equip ukraine for victory. we've pushed relentless liz for investments -- we've pushed relentlessly for investments that stand with our allies and stand against authoritarian aggression, all while expanding our defense industrial capacity

and creating american jobs at the very same time. we've done it because we know that american leadership has ripple effects. just look at how our european allies are now contributing more to ukraine than we are. how allies across the world are investing in hard power and in our collective defense. we know the threats we face are intertwined, that russia, iran, china, and north korea work together to undermine america and the west. we know that our border, just like ukraine's borders and israel's and taiwan's, must be inviable. that's why for months now we've supported supplemental action on all four of the most pressing national security challenges we face.

our support for ukraine and israel is rock solid. i'm committed to preparing the military to defend against china's aggression. i'm determined to get the national security crisis at the southern border under control. and i'm going to work to get it done as long as it takes. now, on another matter, last week the biden administration announced the latest friend in its push for prescription drug socialism. merchant rights. here's what it rights. washington bureaucrats are claiming the authority to determine price ranges for drugs funded through public-private partnerships, and if these elected -- unelected regulators decide that a company has set its price too high, they'll seal the company's intellectual property rights.

in president biden's own words, the government reserves the right to march in and license that drug to another manufacturer who can sell it for less. to make matters worse, the biden administration claims that the authority for this power grab comes from a 1980 law designed to promote the exact opposite outcome. the purpose of the buy dough act was to encourage public-private cooperation to drive innovation in medicine, not the other way around. the truth is, incentives matter. if washington bureaucrats get the final say on how american producers market lifesaving cures, then america will cease to be the world's leading hub of medical innovation. why would any entrepreneur invest the time and resources to

create a new treatment if the government can simply steal their intellectual property and redistribute it. unsurprisingly, the biden administration is still working out the kinks of prescription drug socialism, but the medical innovation sector can afford to wait before considering its investments. neither for that matter can a whole host of other industries that rely on public-private partnerships just think about what it could mean in fast-evolving areas of technology. under thehe under the model of prescription drug socialism, the biden administration is laying the groundwork for government patent seizure or other cutting edge technologies from semiconductors to nuclear energy. so, mr. president, america's pipeline of lifesaving cures is

the envy of the world. american entrepreneurs and researchers save millions of lives. if president biden wants to march in on this innovation sector, the bright minds behind it just might decide to take their intellectual property and march out of the american market. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. quorum call: the clerk: ms. baldwin.

mr. thune: mr. president the presiding officer: the republican whip mr. thune: is the senate in a

quorum call? the presiding officer: yes, we are mr. thune: mr. president, i ask unanimous consent that the quorum call be limited the presiding officer: without objection. mr. thune: this week the senate will vote on the final version of the national authorization act or ndaa. it's one of the most important bills we consider each year. we had a robust floor debate on the senate version of this bill in july featuring the kind of open amendment process that we should be using on a regular basis to debate important legislation. all told, more than 900 amendments were considered and 121 amendments were adopted during floor consideration making this the most open ndaa floor debate in years. i wish we'd been able to take up a final version of this legislation earlier, but i'm glad we're on track to finally pass it this week. mr. president, i've said it before and i'll say it again. if we don't get national security right, the rest is conversation. the security of our nation is the precondition for everything else. for the continued enjoyment of our freedoms, for a flourishing society, for a healthy economy,

for government's ability literally to do anything. and so there's no time when we can afford to let our readiness slide or to take the security of our nation for granted. but the unfortunate truth is that we have some catching up to do when it comes to military preparedness. we have military services that are well below their recruitment targets. we're behind on shipbuilding and ship maintenance. there's a persistent pilot shortage in a number of cases we have too few mission capable aircraft. we're not doing an adequate job of maintaining the kind of supply we need of certain munitions. and the list goes on. this is not an acceptable situation, mr. president. and it could have very serious consequences. toll give just one example, recent war games envisioning a u.s.-china conflict following an attack on taiwan have had grim results. showing enormous military and economic costs to both sides.

one story on these war games noted, and i quote, and while the ultimate outcome in these exercises is not always clear, the u.s. does better in some than others, the cost is clear. in every exercise, the u.s. uses up all its long-range air-to-surface missiles in a few days with a substantial portion of its planes destroyed on the ground. end quote. in every exercise the u.s. uses up all its long-range air-to-surface missiles in a few days with a substantial portion of its planes destroyed on the ground. well, mr. president, needless to say, we have some serious work to do. and i'm pleased to report that this year's ndaa does make some genuine progress on the readiness front. the bill expands the pacific deterrence initiative and deepens our ties with our ally taiwan to help deter chinese

aggression. it rejects the president's dangerous plan to shrink the u.s. navy and authorizes investment in new ships. and it contains multiple measures to increase our supply of munitions, including the addition of six critical munitions to the pentagon's multi-year procurement program. two of these, tom macmissiles and mark 48 torpedos play an important role in our ability to deter china. i'm also pleased that the committee responded to my request and included significant funding for joint ir-to-sure face standoff missile procurement, the long range antiship missile and development of the nuclear long-range standoff weapon or lrso. these are essential arrows to have the quiver for our bombers, and the future lrso will help modernize the air leg of our nuclear triad. this year's ndaa also critically invests in recruitment. as i mentioned earlier we have multiple military services that are well below their recruitment

targets. these represent serious future personnel deficiencies and all the ships, planes, and munitions in the world will be of limited help if we don't have the personnel necessary to deploy these resources. and so expanding and improving our recruitment efforts has to be a priority. we also have to continue to work to improve the quality of life of our military members and their families, which is why i'm pleased to report that this year's bill includes a 5.^ 2% pay increase for our troops as well as measures to improve barracks quality and expand access to mental health care among other things. i'm also pleased that this year's ndaa takes measures to keep our military's focus on war fighting, and not the dissemination of woke ideologies by pentagon bureaucrats. above all, i'm proud to report that this year's bill authorizes full funding for the next steps of the b-21 mission, the air force's new long-range strategic bomber which will revolutionize our long-range strike

capabilities and behosted as south dakota's own ellsworth air force base. the air force call, the b-21 raider the future backbone of its bomber force. one of my top priorities here in congress over the past several years has been ensuring that the air force and ellsworth in particular has everything it needsfor this critical -- needs for this critical advancement in our nation's readiness. this year's ndaa will once again fund not only the b-21 bomber which we excitedly saw take flight one month ago but the support facilities at ellsworth that will be needed to maintain this aircraft once it enters service. mr. president, while as i said, we are passing this bill a little late, i am pleased that we are finally passing it in what i will expect will be a strong bipartisan fashion. now we should turn to addressing another important aspect of the our national security in bipartisan fashion and that's securing our border. the kind of unchecked illegal immigration we're currently experiencing at our southern border represents a serious

national security threat, one that so far democrats are refusing to meaningful address. i hope, mr. president, that that position will shift in the coming days and we'll be able to work together to pass a supplemental bill that not only provides support for our allies, but which also contains real measures to secure our border. the ndaa should not be the only national security legislation that we pass this december. mr. president, i yield the floor and i suggest the absence of a quorum the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. quorum call: the clerk: ms. baldwin.

mr. wyden: mr. president the presiding officer: the senator from oregon mr. wyden: i ask unanimous consent, mr. president, to vacate the quorum call. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. wyden: mr. president, i got back late last night from oregon, another round of community meetings. you can't do your job while sitting behind your desk back here. you've got to get out. and i've had more than a thousand -- really more than a 1,060 open town halls in every corner of oregon. and i'm going to talk for a few minutes about the issue that i hear about constantly, and that is the shortage of affordable

housing for working families. and i'm going to talk about what it means for my constituents, but i will tell you i hear about it all across the country and from senators on both sides of the aisle. i just introduced legislation with the distinguished senator from alaska, senator sullivan, to talk about housing it affordable for working families. ask the new hampshire senators about employers and workers facing housing challenges there. ask those from kansas what's going on in their city where they can't house teachers . oregonians from brookings to baker city are facing rising rent and housing costs and are making tough financial choices when they ought to have enough money because they're working hard to pay for affordable

shelter. and here's a statistic that will give you a sense of what the challenge is all about. in my state 26 school districts have been forced to buy, rent, or build housing for their teachers. so get this, mr. president. and we're westerners. we understand this. we know we've got a lot of challenges, competing in tough markets. we've got a leg up geographically with asia, for example, on the west coast. but we're losing it if we don't have affordable housing for working families. for firefighters and teachers. folks, the minority community has said we're trying to start small businesses on a credit card, and we can't afford shelter. and in oregon, these school

districts, more than 20 of them, they're now basically in the housing business. how in the world -- i see my friend from alaska here. we've been talking about these issues. wonderful to work with him on it. how in the world did our schools suddenly get in the housing business? i guess in some places they're going, in effect, rent houses they bought to teachers, and the teachers will practically be back -- i say to my friend from alaska -- in their college days. we'll be waiting to use the washing machine in line with other teachers. so i just don't think it's right that all our school districts -- and by the way, the front page story in "the wall street journal" here not long ago in kansas city about the same sort of thing. i've introduced comprehensive

legislation, as chairman of the finance committee, to tackle this issue. it's called the dash act. the decent affordable safe housing for all act. today we're just going to focus on one piece which is affordable housing for working families. and senator sullivan and i have teamed up here in the senate. i'm very pleased our bill is bipartisan and bicameral. representatives jimmy panetta and mike kerry are offering the same kind of tax credit that senator sullivan and i are offering for working families. and our proposal is built on proven success, the low income housing tax credit. my view is that the combination of lihtc, plus the help that

senate sullivan and our counterparts in the house want to advance, those two efforts could spur a juggernaut of new and desperately needed housing construction. our built could -- our bill could be a big shot in the arm to the countsless middle-income americans hoping to get their shot at the american dream of owning a home. i want to, as we get into this issue of working families, make sure that everybody understands that we're also recommitting or support to the existing programs that help the homeless and help folks of modest incomes, like li lihtc. these are people who every week walk an economic tightrope, mr. president. they're balancing the food bill against the fuel bill and the fuel bill against the housing costs. we desperately need more lihtc funding, and as chairman of the

senate finance committee i am going to continue to push that. but i don't think the two needs here, for working families and low-income folks, are mutually exclusive. we can do both. we ought to do both. our country's not at its best when we pit working families against people of modest means. we ought to be extending opportunity for all americans. and i just say, then i'll yield to my friend from alaska, that small businesses across my state, and i heard it yesterday again at our business summit in portland, they can't grow because employees can't afford housing. even when they have good-paying jobs, mr. president. families are forced to search for months for reasonably priced

properties, only to be up against several other families of similar circumstances contending for the same property. so we are going to continue to try to build on the progress of lihtc. my hope is, and i had a good talk just this morning with the chairman in the other body, chairman jason smith in the ways and means committee, my counterpart, we had a good conversation about the e. to -- the effort to get help for kids, the child tax credit, and the tax credit for innovation to outcompete china. we made good progress just in the last week, chairman smith and i, in looking at the numbers in the various ways in which he can -- in which we can ensure an equal amount of assistance goes for the child tax credit and research and development tax

credit. one of the reasons i'm mreechsed to come to the floor -- i'm pleasedto come to the floor and talk with my colleague from alaska, we ought to be talking about on top of, and i use those words, an agreement that is proportional in assistance, the child tax credit and for the research and development tax credit, i think on top of that, mr. president, we ought to give a boost to housing, particularly the low income housing tax credit, which has gotten significant support from my colleague from washington, senator cantwell, a number of republicans as well. and we should include in such a housing effort, on top of a child tax credit and research and development innovation package, help on housing, make them all bipartisan. i see my friend from alaska here. i thank him for his cooperation. and i'll just say, in closing,

mr. president, no community is immune from the skyrocketing cost of housing, and democrats aren't usually supposed to use this word, but i'll tell you, mr. president, i am a supply-cider on housing. we need to increase supply. on that, senator sullivan and i are working together, and i yield the floor to him. mr. sullivan: mr. president. the presiding officer: the senator from alaska. mr. sullivan: mr. president, i want to begin my offering my sincere thanks to the chairman of the finance committee, my friend senator wyden of oregon. i'm honored to be on the floor with him today to talk about these housing issues and this really important bill, the workforce housing tax credit act. as he already mentioned, bipartisan and bicameral. now, as senator wyden already mentioned, our country's facing a lot of challenges right now --

inflation, fentanyl coming through our borders, national security threats all over the place overseas -- but it's very obvious, anyone reading the paper knows we're also experiencing in rural and urban america a severe housing cr crisis. everywhere i travel in the great state of alaska, i hear from alaskans reeling from the scarcity of housing, and it is everywhere -- anchorage, fairbanks, sit ca -- sitka, kodiak, every rural village in my state. it's everywhere, mr. president. i know it's a big challenge in oregon, but it's a big challenge all over the country. it's a challenge that impacts low and middle-income families, and it stands as a stark obstacle to getting and keeping jobs, to having a family, to

building communities. this is really foundational stuff in terms of what matters in communities -- housing. so, solving this challenge has been one of my top priorities, and i really want to thank senator wyden and his team on being so patient and working with us, a real good partner here. this is going to take all kinds of solutions. there's no silver bullet here. it's going to take everybody pulling on the same oar, the fed, state, private sector, tribes, nonprofits. but this is an important start, and mr. president, we had the -- i actually hosted the secretary of housing and urban development, marcia fudge, in alaska, this past august. we held a roundtable and meetings on urban housing issue, on rural housing issues. it was very well attended.

i want to thank all the alaskans who took part. they weren't shy with secretary fudge. she got an earful. and there's a whole lowes of things -- whole host of things we're going to follow up on with her. challenges dealing with overregulation from hud, hom homelessness definitions, housing formulas for cities. but it was progress getting her up to alaska. and so, this is progress, mr. president, this is progress, what senator wyden and i have introduced is an exciting and creative bill that will broaden a tried-and-true federal tax incentive program, the low-income housing tax credit. this all started during the 19-80's, during the reagan administration. it's market-based, private sector focused and a proven,

successful formula that will help catalyze the private sector to build more housing in urban and rural areas, for working families. that's why we actually named it the workforce housing tax credit act. teachers, law enforcement, first responders, numberses, health care officials -- nurses, health care officials, electricians. the backbone of so many communities are priced off of the market to buy a home. expanding the low-income housing credit will help address the core issues of not just homelessness and overcrowding in many places in alaska, particularly rural alaska, but it will empower hardworking alaskans to stay in our communities and build a more robust workforce. now, mr. president, sometimes when you bring legislation down on the senate floor you're not sure who's going to support it. i am very proud to say that back home in alaska, this bill has

enormous support -- lib liberals, conservatives, mayors, our governor, the mayor of anchorage, our biggest city, the chair of the anchorage assembly. i know these guys really well. they don't actually get along on much, but they support this bill. we have tribal groups. we have private sector groups. we have home builder groups. it is a super big list, and i think that's a signal for senator wyden and i that we're on to sog here -- on to something here. if there aren't homes in communities for hardworking fam families, then entire communities are shut off for growth. house something a cat list for community and -- is a catalyst for community and economic development and good jobs, and pride in where you live. this bill offers one solution that will actually lead to

construction of these kind of housing developments. how do i know that? how can i say that? because as chairman of the finance committee already said, we know this works. the low-income tax credit already works. we know that. we're building on that program in the best way to ensure that the private sector will actually use in program to break open other bottlenecks for economic investment. so, importantly, mr. president, this bill provides flexibilities to states and developers to decide what's best for their communities. not a one size fits all washington mandate. we don't like those in alaska. so as i mentioned, it has broad support, bipartisan, bicameral. once again, to my friend from oregon, i really want to tlafrng senator wyden. he was very -- want to thank senator wyden. he was very patient with me and my team. we had a number of edits to make

sure this works for america and alaska. sometimes my state has some real unique challenges, and he accommodated so much, was very patient with us. you can tell again, from the reaction of this broad-based group of stakeholders in my state, this has a lot of support. so thank you, senator wyden, again. look forward to working with you and my colleagues both sides of the aisle getting this over the goal line and addressing one of the big challenges in america that i think impacts every state in the country, and this is a way, one of the many tools we will use to help address it. i yield the floor. mr. wyden: mr. president, i'm going to yield very quickly to senator peters -- the presiding officer: the senator from oregon. mr. wyden: after i wrap this up. first, i thank senator sullivan again for giving us a chance to bring housing in a bipartisan way to the senate floor. just tell colleagues, there's an opportunity to do something really big here in the united

states senate. i just got off the phone, again, with the chairman of the ways and means committee in the other body, my counterpart. we are making good progress on the effort to make sure there's a child tax credit and a significant boost to research and innovation in this country. they have to be proportional. we've made that clear. that's the essence of a good and fair agreement. now, senator sullivan and i and our colleagues who are advocating for sclt are -- for lihtc are giving us an opportunity to build upon that and take steps to ensure housing for working families and low-income folks. i thank my colleague from michigan for the chance to close this discussion up. mr. peters: mr. president. the presiding officer: the senator from michigan. mr. peters: i ask unanimous consent to speak up to four minutes prior to the vote. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. peters: mr. president, i rise in support of harry coker's nomination to be the national cyber director.

the national cyber director is responsible for driving cybersecurity policy and strategy all across the federal government. the office of the national cyber director was established by congress in 2021 to foster a coordinated, whole-of-government approach to cybersecurity. harry soaker is -- harry coker is an accomplished leader and dedicated public servant who is well qualified to lead this important obviously. mr. corker has over -- mr. coker has over four decades of national security and cybersecurity experience. he served as a naval officer and in senior leadership roles at the national security agency and the central intelligence agency, where he worked to combat cyber and national security threats. his nomination received bipartisan support from the senate committee on homeland security and government affairs, and he has been endorsed by a wide range of bipartisan cyber

and national security experts. during the two years since the office of the national cyber director was created, the office has done impressive work, including developing an ambitious national cybersecurity strategy and national cyber workforce and education strategy. the office of the national cyber director has been without a confirmed leader for almost ten months. a dedicated, senate-confirmed leader is critical to building upon these efforts and continuing to grow and mature the office of the national cyber director. i urge my colleagues to join me in confirming mr. coker to this very important role. mr. president, i yield the floor. the presiding officer: the clerk will report the motion to invoke cloture. the clerk: cloture motion:

we, the undersigned senators, in accordance with the provisions of rule 22 of the standing rules of the senate, do hereby move to bring to a close debate on the nomination of executive calendar number 410 is harry cokier jr., of kansas, for national cyber director. the presiding officer: the question is, is it the sense of the senate that debate on the nomination of harry cokier jr. of kansas to be national cyber director shall be brought to a close. the yeas and nays are mandatory under the rule. the clerk will call the roll. vote: the clerk: ms. baldwin. mr. barrasso. mr. bennet. mrs. blackburn. mr. blumenthal. mr. booker. mr. boozman. mr. braun. mrs. britt. mr. brown. mr. budd. ms. butler. ms. cantwell.

mrs. capito. mr. cardin. mr. carper. mr. casey. mr. cassidy. ms. collins. mr. coons. mr. cornyn. ms. cortez masto. mr. cotton. mr. cramer. mr. crapo. mr. cruz. mr. daines. ms. duckworth. mr. durbin. ms. ernst. mr. fetterman. mrs. fischer. mrs. gillibrand. mr. graham. mr. grassley. mr. hagerty. ms. hassan. mr. hawley. mr. heinrich. mr. hickenlooper. ms. hirono. mr. hoeven. mrs. hyde-smith. mr. johnson. mr. kaine. mr. kelly. mr. kennedy. mr. king. ms. klobuchar. mr. lankford. mr. lee. mr. lujan. ms. lummis. mr. manchin. mr. markey. mr. marshall. mr. mcconnell. mr. menendez. mr. merkley. mr. moran. mr. mullin. ms. murkowski. mr. murphy. mrs. murray. mr. ossoff. mr. padilla.

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

mr. ricketts. mr. risch. mr. romney. ms. rosen. mr. rounds. mr. rubio.

mr. sanders. mr. schatz. mr. schmitt. p--mr. schumer.

mr. scott of florida. the clerk: mr. scott of south carolina.

the clerk: mrs. shaheen. the clerk: ms. sinema. ms. smith.

ms. stabenow. mr. sullivan. mr. tester. mr. thune.

the clerk: mr. tillis. mr. tuberville. mr. van hollen. mr. vance. mr. warner. mr. warnock. ms. warren.

mr. welch. mr. whitehouse. mr. wicker. mr. wyden. mr. young. senators voting in the affirmative -- cramer, heinrich, padilla, peters, sullivan is van hollen, and wyden. senators voting in the negative -- hyde-smith, lankford and scott of florida. mr. fetterman, aye.

the clerk: mr. crapo, no.

the clerk: ms. klobuchar, aye.

the clerk: ms. duckworth, aye. mr. schumer aye. the clerk: mr. warner, aye.

the clerk: mr. schatz, aye. mr. kennedy, no.

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

the clerk: ms. warren, aye. the clerk: mr. merkley, aye. mr. budd, no. mr. reid, aye.

mr. kelly, aye. ms. ernst, no. ms. hirono, aye.

the clerk: mr. cotton, no. the clerk: mr. whitehouse, aye. mr. booker, aye.

the clerk: mr. cruz, no. the clerk: mr. daines, no.

the clerk: mr. vance, no.

the clerk: mr. thune, no. mr. hagerty, no. mr. risch, no.

the clerk: mrs. britt, no.

the clerk: mr. boozman, no. the clerk: mr. durbin, aye.

the clerk: mr. paul, no. vote:

the clerk: ms. lummis, no.

the clerk: ms. sinema, aye. mr. murphy, aye. mr. ossoff, aye.

mr. warnock, aye. mr. cardin, aye. the clerk: mr. graham, no. mr.

brown, aye. mr. mullin, no.

the clerk: mr. carper, aye. mr. hoeven, no. mr. hickenlooper, aye. ms. cortez masto, aye.

the clerk: ms. stabenow, aye. mr. capito, no. the clerk: mr. barasso, no.

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

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

the clerk: ms. baldwin, aye.

mr. markey, aye. mr. casey, aye. the clerk: mr. kaine, aye. mr. romney, no.

mr. rounds, aye. ms. collins, aye.

the clerk: mr. marshall, aye.

the clerk: mrs. shaheen, aye. vote: the clerk: mr. grassley, no.

mr. sanders, aye.

the clerk: ms. butler, aye.

the clerk: mr. brawn, no. the clerk: mr. lujan, aye.

the clerk: mr. bennet, aye. # the clerk: mr. welch, aye.

the clerk: ms. rosen, aye. mr. wicker, no.

the clerk: mr. cornyn, no. mr. scott of south carolina, no.

the clerk: mr. schmitt, no.

the clerk: mr. lee, no.

the clerk: mrs. blackburn, no. ms. hassan, aye. mr. rubio, no. mr. tillis, no.

the clerk: mr. mcconnell, no. mrs. gillibrand, aye. the clerk: ms. murkowski, aye.

mrs. fischer, no.

the clerk: mr. coons, aye. mini

vote:

the clerk: mr. menendez, aye.

mr. hawley, no. mr. blumenthal, aye.

the clerk: mr. tuberville, no.

the clerk: mr. johnson, no.

mr. cassidy, aye.

mr. president -- the clerk: mr. manchin, aye.

the clerk: mr. moran, aye. the presiding officer: the ayes are 59, the nays are 40, the

amendment -- the motion is agreed to. the senator from montana. a senator: mr. president, i ask unanimous consent that i can speak up to 15 minutes. tougher tougher i ask -- the presiding officer: without objection. tougher tougher i ask that privileges be granted to joe farnish for the remainder of 2023. the presiding officer: without objection. tougher tougher thank you -- mr. tester: thank you, mr. president. mr. president, this is supposed to be the greatest deliberative body on the face of the earth and exemplifies what the greatest nation in the world should exemplify and lead in that vain. -- in that vein. i want to highlight the real consequences of this body's

failure to deliver defense appropriations bill that would provide urgently needed resources to our men and women in uniform and keep this country safe. as most folks know, i'm a farmer. we are getting winter under way and i'm planning for what i'm going to plant next spring in the fields. i will tell you that when spring planting time comes, i will have to do that job. and i will work 24 hours a day, seven days a week to get that job done. because if i don't, i lose the farm, literally. if i don't tend to business, i go broke. i want you to take a look at this body. we should have had a defense bill, a defense appropriations

bill done the end of september, three months ago, and instead we did a continuing resolution and then we did another continuing resolution and then we did another continuing resolution, keep kicking the can down the road and the result of that is uncertainty. and the result of uncertainty is putting this country at risk. by the way, what i do on the farm is what people do every day in their businesses and folks who go to work. they don't throw in the towel at any moment in time because they can't. they have to stick around, they have to get the job done. we need to follow our constituents's lead. i serve as chairman of the senate committee that works on this military appropriations. i've been working with republicans and democrats for

months to make sure that we have an appropriations bill that invests in the united states of america, that makes sure we stay ahead of our pacing threat china that we defend our allies are foreign adversaries and that we take care of our military and their families. we have a strong bipartisan appropriation bill in the senate that meets the need of our military. that bill passed through committee months ago. in fact, it passed back in july. by a vote of 27-1, of course it was a bipartisan vote, what that bill did was include a 5.2% pay raise for our troops, it ramped up production of made in america defense systems, it modernized our nuclear weapons programs, it accelerated developments in modernization to make sure we, the united states of america, stays ahead of of the countries that want to harm us and

threaten our way of life. let me be frank. this bill should have been passed by the house and the senate back in september. if it had -- if that had been done, we would not be talking here in the middle of december about taking up a bill in february to keep this country safe. instead we lurch from one potential shutdown to another potential shutdown. right now the military is running under last year's budget. a continuing resolution expires on february 22. and now i'm hearing a number of folks talking about the fact that we do not need an appropriations bill for this year. we'll just run off the old bill. quite frankly, it's stupid and it's dangerous. let me give you the consequences

of continued inaction because they're serious. failure to deliver an appropriations budget for our defense emboldens our foreign adversaries. that is a given. we're already are seeing that play out before our eyes. after the horrific attacks of october 7 carried out by hamas, the defense department ordered additional aircraft carrier strike group, air defenses, fighter jets, and troops to the middle east to prevent this conflict from spiraling into a regional war. because of this body's dysfu dysfunction, not being able to deliver a defense appropriations bill on time, the pentagon has no money to pay for this bill. as we speak, our defense department is hunting for literally hundreds of millions of dollars to cover the cost, and it's pulling money away from other critical operations.

it also leaves our men and women in uniform without the certainty and the resources they need to protect our freedoms. both abroad and here and home. in my case it's the brave men and women serving in montana's air force base. the many of the missile wing operate our missile fleet. these missiles are over 30 years old. they need to be replaced. mr. tester: the silos they sent in, they're over 60 years old. they need to be replaced. without that appropriations bill, this program will continue to be delayed because of our dysfunction. folks, the american military is being weakened across the air, land, and sea because we are failing to provide predictability of delivery of assets. for anybody that's ever been in

business, you know that predictability is critically important. withouts predictability -- without predictability, your chance of losing profits is lose. we're talking about something a little different here. we're talking about the defense bunt. without predictability, with' talkingabout 300-some programs that are going to be impacted because they don't know where the money is going to come from. they can't get started on assembly lines or ramp up production on already approved contracts because there isn't the money to pay for them because we haven't passed our defense budget. that includes things like helicopters. it includes things like b-21 bombers, f-35 fighter jets. it's causing nearly $10 billion reduction in our shipbuilding programs. halting the construction of new ships, maintenance of our current fleet and delaying the completion of already approved virginia class submarines. these delays make this country a

less safe country. another blow to our already challenging recruitment retention efforts and by the way, might i add with the exception of the marines, every branch of the service needs more people in our volunteer military. but because we haven't passed the defense appropriations bill, we're once again putting manpower at risk. joints chief chair man brown noted that a yearlong continuing resolution would create a $5.8 milwaukee taker shortfall. these are people we send all over the world to protect freedom. quite frankly, what does that say for the folks who want to sign up for the military, for those folks who want to volunteer and dedicate their life to keeping this country safe? they look at congress and the job we're doing, and they say

why the hell would i want for do that? and we wonder why our end strength numbers aren't where they need to be. it is a slap in the face to our nation's veterans, the fact that we can't get a defense appropriations bill done. why? because these veterans are relying on this body to deliver a defense appropriations bill that will strengthen tricare so they can get the quality health care that they have earned. but maybe the most disturbing thing about all this that we can't get a defense appropriations bill or any appropriations bill done, i might add, in a timely manner, is some will say well, we're going to save money. that's a joke. this whole charade is going to cost money. it's going to waste taxpayer dollars. we know the longer it takes you to buy something, the more it's going to cost. they know that when you shut down production lines, it costs money to start those production

lines back up. and without money, that's exactly what has to happen. look, i could go on and on about the damage that a continuing resolution, an extension of last year's budget, a budget that was created when we don't have near -- we had no idea the threats that we were -- that were going to be going on now. what it would do. but instead i want to enter into the record letters from the chairman of the joint chiefs of staff c.q. brown, secretary of the navy carlos dell toro and secretary of the air force frank kendall on the impacts of a continuing resolution on our nation's security as it applies to the air force and the navy and our military in general. the fact of the matter is this congress isn't doing its job. the greatest deliberative body isn't doing what it needs to do. and what is more important? what is a more important job for us than to keep our country

safe? we wonder why our approval numbers are in the toilet, and i can tell you why. it's because it's garbage like this, and it is garbage. they're tired of folks coming back to washington, d.c. and losing track of where they come from. my point is just like on the farm. we need to stay here weekends, vote nights, work as hard as we can to get this done. because enough is enough. we need to get these bipartisan bills done so that we can keep this country, the greatest country on earth. one final thing before i yield the floor. we should be working on a supplemental bill right now to take care of challenges in ukraine. we heard from zelenskyy this morning, president zelenskyy. take care of the challenges in israel and humanitarian aid there. and military support.

take care of the challenges in the indo-pacific and take care of challenges on our southern border. all this stuff should have been done months ago. but once again just like the appropriations bills, there is no urgency. we kick the can down the road. and we put this country at risk. if we don't wake up and do what we need to do to keep this country safe and to lead for democracy and the world, what have we become? we should not be leaving here for any holiday, christmas, new year's, whatever it is until we get these supplementals done because we are the greatest country on earth for a good

reason because we're the greatest country on earth. not doing these supplementals takes away from that we've already done enough damage with the deferred appropriations bills on a c.r. we need to go to work. it's that important. i yield the floor. the presiding officer: under the previous order, the senate stands in recess until 2:15 p.m. >> today look the rise and5 p.m. organized crime on retail stores

the federal law enforcement officials, industry executives and policy advocates testifying before house, security subcommittee live 2:00 p.m. eastern on this country. you can watch on c-span now, free mobile video up for online@c-span.org. ♪♪ >> friday night march the seventh 2024 campaign trail, weekly roundup c-span campaign coverage providing a one-stop shop of our candidates are traveling across the country along with firsthand account reporters, updated poll numbers, data campaign, or to see smith 2024 campaign trail ride night 7:00 o'clock eastern on c-span, online@c-span.org or download c-span now read more black or wherever you get your podcast. see sample unfiltered view of politi