action. a lot of the value of intelligence work calms from not only what you -- >> we are going to leave this here to take you live now to the floor of the u.s. senate where lawmakers are scheduled to consider the nomination of a u.s. district court judge for south texas. later this week said it is expected to continue work on government funding measures after congressional leaders agree to a tentative agreement on spending. this ahead of two funding deadlines of days away. the first on january 19. live coverage of the u.s. senate here on c-span2. chaplain, dr. s will lead the senate in prayer. the chaplain: let us pray. majestic father, your glory fills the earth.

in this first month of a new year, manifest your glory and might in our nation and world. arise, o lord, stand up against the evil that seeks to destroy freedom, to steal, kill, and desecrate. rule over our world with your marvellous might, using our lawmakers to do your will on earth even as it is done in heaven. eternal god, we praise you with all our hearts. we pray in your wonderful name. amen. amen.

the presiding officer: please join me in reciting the pledge of allegiance to our 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, january 8, 2024. to the senate: under the provisions of rule 1, paragraph 3, of the standing rules of the senate, i hereby appoint the honorable tammy duckworth, a senator from the state of illinois, to perform the duties of the chair. signed: patty murray, the presiding officer: under the previous order, the leadership time is reserved. morning business is closed.

under the previous order, the senate will proceed to executive session to resume consideration of the following nomination, which the clerk will report. the clerk: nomination, the judiciary, john a. kazen of texas to be united states district judge for the southern district of texas.

mr. schumer: madam president. the presiding officer: the majority leader. mr. schumer: madam president, first, let me start out today by saying it's a great day to be a buffalo bills fan. for the fourth year in a row the buffalo low bills have won the afc east championship by defeating the miami dolphins 21-14. what an incredible night, what an incredible win, what an incredible team. buffalo is truly the beast of the east. it hasn't been the easiest season for the bills, but this team can be summed up in one

word -- perseverance. they never gave up. they never threw in the towel. and last night it began to pay off because they're on their way to the playoffs. in true buffalo fashion, bills mafia showed up in the early hours of the morning it the buffalo airport to welcome their team home, and of course it seemed like half the people at the miami stadium were bills fans as well. congratulations to buffalo. congratulations to coach m{l1}c{l0}dermott and the whole team as well. let's keep going and as always, go bills. now on the new year, madam president, i'd like to begin the second session of the 118th congress by wishing you and all of my colleagues a happy new year. i hope everyone was able to spend time with family, with friends, meet constituents. this past christmas-new year's recess, however, was a busy, consequential, and most of all a

productive time for the u.s. senate. senators and staff worked straight through christmas and straight through the new year on avoiding a government shutdown, on protecting america's security, even protecting the future of western democracy. and we've made some real progress. first, i have excellent news on government funding. yesterday i announced with speaker johnson that congressional leaders have reached a top-line agreement for government funding for the 2024 fiscal year. when we began our negotiations, our goal was to preserve a nondefense funding level of $772 the same level agreed to in our debt ceiling deal last june. and that $772 billion was precisely the number we reached. not a nickel, not a nickel was cut. again, our goal was 772, and that's precisely the number we reached in this bipartisan agreement. the agreement now clears the way

for congress to act in the coming weeks to avoid a government shutdown while also preserving key domestic programs that benefit millions of americans. the framework agreement will enable the appropriators to address many of the major challenges america faces at home and abroad. it also allows us to keep the investments for hardworking american families that congressional democrats and president biden secured through our legislative agenda. and, madam president, both parties reached this agreement without, without resorting to the painful and draconian cuts that the hard right, particularly those in the freedom caucus, clam mored for. the hard right wanted to put a chopping block on programs that help millions of americans. so i'm happy to say that democrats protected vital priorities like housing programs, veterans benefits, health care, nutrition programs, small business support, the

national health, the nhs and funding for federal law enforcement. and i'm particularly pleased that we will protect the historic climate investment democrats passed in the inflation reduction act. the hard right wanted to use the appropriations process to undo our climate investments. democrats said no, and we held the line. the hard right also wanted to make cuts to the irs so that the ultra rich tax cheats could weasel their way out of paying their fair share. by keeping cuts at $20 billion, i'm happy to say this agreement will not affect the irs' ability to holding the richest tax cretes accounting. when democrats passed the inflation reduction act we gave the irs new tools to audit the richest of the rich who don't pay their fair share. all these tools will remain in place. so, madam president, this top-line agreement is an excellent start to the year because it's a huge step towards

avoiding a government shutdown. of course our work must continue. producing 12 appropriations bills will not be easy. it's going to require agreement from the four corners and a lot of more compromise between the parties. and make no mistake, democrats have made clear to speaker johnson that we will not support the inclusion of any poison pills in any of the 12 appropriations bill before the congress. in the statement that leader jeffreys and i put out yesterday, we made it clear that we will not accept poison pills. if the hard right chooses to spoil this agreement with poison pills, they'll be to blame if we start going towards a shutdown. i know speaker johnson said nobody wants to see a shutdown happen. finally, thank you to my colleagues on both sides in both chambers who made this agreement possible. i want to particularly thank my staff who worked morning, noon, and night over the past few

weeks. i must have have spoken to them 10, 12 times a day every day and even several times on christmas day because getting this done was so important. the next few weeks are not going to be easy, but the democrats, we democrats are committed to working as hard as we can to avoid a government shutdown. i hope our republican colleagues, particularly in the house, we have good cooperation here in the senate, are ready to do the same. on the president obamaal. senators have also been hard at work over the winter break on finalizing an emergency national security supplemental. the supplemental package is a national necessity, with critical aid to help ukraine defeat putin, help israel combat hamas, provide assistance to innocent citizens in geoaza and fix our broken immigration system. i said that democrats would remain committed to finding an

agreement. the only way to get something done on something as hard as the border is through bipartisan cooperation. we've kept our promise to work in good faith. now on the supplemental, it's been a very promising few days. we've made more progress in the past couple of days on the border than we have in the past few weeks. the work is not yet finished, but i am more hopeful right now, even more than i was a few days ago, that we can get something meaningful done on the border and pass the supplemental. getting over the finish line is still not going to be easy. it'll take continued compromise, good faith, recognition from both sides that nobody is going to get everything they want. immigration reform has always been one of the hardest issues facing the senate. but our broken border and our national security are at stake in this supplemental, and we must do everything we can to reach an agreement. i urge my colleagues to continue their negotiations, and i want to thank them all for their good work to bring us to this point.

their example is an affirmation that the only way to get things done is through bipartisanship, so i urge them to stay the course until the work is done. now, on the january 6 anniversary, three years ago on january 6, 2021, america experienced one of the darkest, most infamous days in our nation's history. the capitol we stand in right now became the target of mob violence. our democracy fell under attack, orchestrated and encouraged by donald trump and fueled by the big lie. three years can pass, five queers can pass, a decade can pass, but january 6 will always seem like yesterday to me. at one point i was within 30 feet of the rioters, who i was told were shouting, let's get them -- pointing at me, before my detail pulled me away to safety. our capitol was desecrated,

walls were scaled, windows smashed, offices vandalized. the mob's goal on january 6 was clear -- to overturn the will of the american people and block the peaceful transition of power. but on that day, in an act of patriotism, history will forever remember, the four leaders decided we would not let donald trump and his mob stop us from counting the ballots. we came back later that night, finished the count, certified the election, preserved our democracy, and of course we couldn't have finished our work without the heroics and quick thinking of the capitol police and mpd officers who defended the capitol. they saved countless people. these brave men and women, many of whom still bear the scars from the attack on january 6, still come to work every day.

we say to them now and always, thank you. thank god for you. we are here for you. three days -- three years after the attack, much has changed, but one thing remains true -- our democracy, despite those who seek to derail it, marches on. i'll let this anniversary be a reminder that the work to protect democracy is never over. it is a precious gift. and we all must do our part to make sure our democracy endures today, tomorrow, and for generations to kwochlt -- to come. i yield the floor. i suggest the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. quorum call: the clerk: ms. baldwin.

the presiding officer: the republican leader. mr. mcconnell: i ask unanimous consent that further proceedings under the quorum call being dispensed with. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. mcconnell: i'd like to begin by wishing our colleagues a very happy new year, welcoming everyone back to begin a new session. there is a tremendous amount on the senate's plate, beginning with the unfinished business of the year that just ended. yesterday negotiators announced that they had agreed on a path to completing full-year appropriations for the fiscal

year that began three months ago. delivering on this basic governing responsibility in a timely manner has proven a rough road to hoe, and building broad recognition of the most urgent prio priorities facing our nation remains difficult. here's the truth -- threats to u.s. senate security are growing. the biden administration's habit of proposing real-dollar cuts to defense funding is a streak that must end at three. with its forthcoming budget request for fiscal year 2025, a the administration needs to finally start taking a the long-term needs of america's national security seriously. congress's most immediate opportunity to address national security priorities will be

supplemental legislation in the coming weeks. i was encouraged to see that senator lankford and our democratic colleagues made progress toward an agreement to put meaningful border security policy at the heart of this supplemental. as negotiations continued over the holiday break, customs and border protection reported that december set a new all-time monthly tally for southern border apprehensions. the biden administration's border crisis is not going to fix itself, and the status quo is unacceptable. the answer, as republicans have been saying literally for years, is to restore meaningful border enforcement and fix the broken policies that the cartels are exploiting to devastating effect. i'm grateful to senator lankford for continuing to insist on such

common sense steps at the negotiating table. the stakes here are quite high. we have an opportunity to make the most comprehensive headway on border security in a generation. but our national security challenges don't end at our own borders. the threats we face are intertwined. in the coming days we'll show the world whether america is willing to treat them accordingly. allies and adversaries alike will be curious what we do with news that russia is now attacking targets in ukraine with ballistic missiles supplied by the rogue regime in north korea. following the suicide drones provided by iran. yet again, it's abundantly clear

that authoritarians support authoritarians. as if our clear-eyed pacific partners like japan, south korea, and australia needed more evidence that what happens in ukraine matters in their own neighborhood, as if we needed yet another reminder that facing down an expanded industrial base in russia, china, iran, and north korea will require america and our allies and partners to invest more seriously in our own defense capacity. meanwhile, terrorists in yemen are spelling out in painful detail just how wide the ripples of iran's war machine extend. the world's most active state sponsor of terror isn't just a

destabilizing force in the middle east. tehran isn't just sowing chaos for american united partners in the republican. iran's bloody influence isn't even limited to helping train the hamas and pij terrorists who have inducted the massacre of the israeli jews on november 7. or to building hezbollah into a top-tier international terrorist organization. or to the repeated attacks its proxies have carried out against u.s. personnel in iraq and syria. the houthi campaigned against civilian ships in thehead sea is an assault on the global economy that the world has no choice but to address. once more, an adversary's initiative has forced a

reluctant administration to act. with fawning conciliation and half measures, the biden administration has squandered deterrence against iran. russia is openly mocking support for western ukraine, and china, our single greatest strategic adversary, is watching closely to see if america can still manage to lead or sustain credible resistance to authoritarian violence. so, madam president, these are the stakes after three years of the administration's foreign policy. the world is asking not when or how but whether the world's greatest superpower will start acting like one, which makes our work on the senate security supplemental legislation even more urgent, beginning at the

southern border, we must demonstrate that america is up for the challenges we face. the senate cannot afford to get this wrong. suing suggest. i suggest the absence of a quorum the clerk: ms. baldwin. quorum call:

root causes of dysfunction with

spending bill announced last thing we or as an dysfunction fiscal year began october and they did what they normally do you appropriations bill resolution in the fall, continuing resolution would be expiring this month and what did they do in anticipation? nothing. non- legislative fears as they have been for the last ten years so again, once again the only way to avoid going over a cliff is to have leadership negotiate something behind closed doors, bring it last-minute to the members, take it or leave it and

very little input into it. it undermines regular order. it undermines the process by which congress has historically figured out what the country needs and wants over the country needs is going to accept. in line by line, then going to the floor and having the ability to amend further, that the way the majority was discovered. now it's just all from the top and every time they do it from the top, it undermines regular order in the committee, undermines the individual.

>> is valid but what happens is they want republican conference and the rules of the committee to bring bills to the house and they don't want to let anybody amend them because it they let anybody amend them, moderate majority makes them less powerful so that is the republican leadership to put their bill on the floor and not allow any amendment so they are difficult and that respect. >> hostagetaking. >> hostagetaking is connecting things that don't belong.

if you say israel aid has to be connected to ukraine eight ukraine eight has to be connected to border security from appeaser three so-called issues and separate issues. if you say they had to be done together what you are saying is the same geordie that passes one has to pass all three and its little like a rubiks cube, you have to get all three majorities to line up together which is difficult to imagine not just in terms of polarization of the parties but issues like ukraine and israel, the issue still one of so if you force all three than what we just said, you have to have the deal made by leaders at the last moment and before

the members and take it or leave it, you can't change it. if they can do that but it is difficult to mind these things up, what is the problem? the people who are minorities don't want to accept compromise so they use another issue to force their view on the majority that doesn't work that the mecca problem with doing it is also the party. thirty years ago, they were largely irrelevant the legislative process but you can't imagine that. >> i used to work, what you now call chief of staff an improbable age of 24. in those days the democratic party went from jim out of alabama on the right to very conservative, south dakota,

democrat was the most liberal and jake almost as liberal as any democrat to very conservative. they were not consistent so the party couldn't stand for almost anything because the difference of opinion was so wide so congress was able to legislate almost everything on a bipartisan basis. from each issue there was different majority within committees and the full four and they are always changing. because each of the pieces it could go this way or that way even within the issue, this part of the bill and that part they look at a different so that's how they put them together and is the only way you could get anything done on a bipartisan

basis because the entire democratic caucus in the senate or republican caucus, they didn't agree on anything. >> with the mindset of members, were they different back then? was okay to work with the other side? >> that's all they did. no one took direction from the party caucus are leaders except for rare occasion when it was a party issue, rare. majority leaders are like air traffic control. they simply schedule provoked into faster or slower maybe at the margin they influenced committee chairs and subcommittee and it came up from

the bottom, it wasn't dictated from the top. you didn't know what mike manchin did and he couldn't tell you because he tried to keep himself neutral for the reason he wanted to be trusted by the full caucus. >> he didn't impose his will, it wouldn't even go to him except of the president of his party asked him to so, then he might really twisted. there were rare occasions when they did that with civil rights bills or foreign affairs. in general they let things come up from the members. >> what is the first step. >> get back to regular order. w

are. mr. durbin: i ask unanimous consent that the quorum call be suspended. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. durbin: madam president, you know as well as i do what's happening in our home state of illinois when it comes to the migrants that are being bussed from texas primarily into our state. the impact its had in the state and the city of chicago in particular. these migrants are arriving in the city without any consultation or warning and they're being dumped in places near the city, totally unprepared to face the cruelty of the winter that we're facing in chicago. i'm amazed at the number of people who have shown extraordinary caring and step forward to try to help. i thank the catholic charities,

salvation army, there's so many groups. there's a new life covenant church, mr. mateo, extraordinary worker who finds a way to put a roof over the heads of the migrants who come to our city. so many like them prepared to step up and provide shelter, provide basic clothing, food, accessibility to schools and more. i really want to commend the mayor as well. brandon johnson has taken an approach towards this that i think is humane and consistent with the traditions of america. he shows a caring heart time and again and i respect him so much for it. recently the city of chicago tried to put some order into this disorderly process, identifying times and places where the buses could stop so

that people could be received properly, cared for, and go about their lives as best as they could. unfortunately there's only been one example of cooperation by the state of texas. there are plenty of examples the other way. people that are sent to airports in rockford where they're dumped out of airplanes on the tarmac with no place to turn. people put in suburban towns and rural areas, which even if they wanted to help, would be limited. we understand politics better than most. we do it for a living. there are a lot of people who are helpless and victims of this situation and need to be taken into consideration. the city of chicago gave the texas governor a safe, convenient accessible option to drop the migrants off in a warm

shelt are for order -- shelter for orderly processing but only one bus attempted to register with the city. the texas governor has chosen chaos over orderly humane process. these people are as vulnerable as any people on earth. they are doing the best they can for themselves and they're in a situation where they need a helping hand in many instances. last week my colleagues in the senate were working on policy and law on the border. i support that. i don't know what the final product will be, but i hope to support the bill, but this process was long overdue. i made image immigration an -- i made immigration a concern while i was in the senate. i was the author of the dream act and part of the gang of 8 to help pass legislation on the

floor of the united states senate. i think it's important and inevitable to deal with this in a humane and thoughtful way. let me say what's going on at the border. i believe in the asylum process. if you're a student of history, you know during world war ii, the united states had a policy of turning away refugees. well publicized and notorious example of the s.s. st. louis, a ship which came from europe and tried to find a port to disembark in havana and in florida and failed. and the passengers were returned to europe some 700 of them, many of whom died in the holocaust. they were jewish people looking for a safe place in the world where they could live. and we turned them away in world war ii. that's a fact. but at the end of the war we

decided there would be a different approach in the future. we would have an orderly international process led by the united states when it came to refugees. and we established that and lived with it under presidents of both political parties for decades. the situation we face at the border today defies what i just described to you. desperate people in numbers that we could handle coming into the united states through an asylum process. what we're facing now is just not comparable at all. the thousands and thousands of people who are turning up at our borders each day are unsustainable. there's a story in "the new york times" this morning about the number of immigrants who are coming to our southern mexican border from africa. africa. and they told the story about a group of people from guinea in africa who found a way to travel from guinea to turkey.

then to fly from turkey to colombia. then from colombia to honduras and then to nicaragua where they were transferred to the border. . in this last year more than 10,000 people from uzbekistan showed up at our southern border in mexico. how do you explain this? one explanation is pretty obvious. we have a refugee crisis in this world, the likes of which we've never seen. there are numbers all over the world. hundreds of thousands of people who are desperately looking. today there are over a hundred million displaced people worldwide, including over 30 million refugees. it's the largest refugee crisis in history. that's the starting point of this conversation. but the second point is equally important. many of these people have been -- found their way to the united states through international

groups, some of them very sinister purposes who are trying to make a lot of money on helpless people by promising they can get to the united states and have a much better life. these people are being exploited in africa, in asia, around the world. and we have to deal with this seriously. they are not the ordinary course of refugees coming to the united states. they are overwhelming numbers that has completely bankrupt our system and it's the response. i hope this bipartisan group finds a way to deal with it and to resolve it in a humane fashion, and i'm open to that suggestion. in the meantime, i want to commend the people in my state, the mayor and others, who are stepping up to do their very best to be humane in america in their response. many of us can trace our own immigrant roots back one generation or two. i'm certainly one of those. my mother was an immigrant to this country. i met with these immigrants all over the world and all over the united states. and i've talked to them.

and although i say to them the situation at our border is not sustainable, it has to change and we can't deal with the massive numbers that come our way, i look at each one of them and see in their eyes the eyes of my own family making that decision to come here desperately trying to get to the united states. it's a natural human intinth. but we need an -- intent r stint. but we need an orderly process. the bill we passed, the comprehensive immigration reform, establishes such a process. we took the 11 million people undocumented in the administration -- pardon me -- in the nation and we said to them, step forward. identify yourself, register yourself, pay your taxes, and go on working. realize at a future time many, many years from now you may be eligible for legal status and even citizenship. that was part of the promise. and we need to establish such an approach today to find a way to deal with those who are here and those who want to say here and are no danger to the united

states. the fact is we cannot absorb all the people in the world who want to come to the united states at this moment. it's just not practical. and it's not humane to even think in those terms. but those who are here should be brought -- assimilated into this country if they're here legally and no danger to our country. they can be an important part of our future. we need them in so many different ways. you and i, madam president, know the agriculture community in our own state. they come to us desperate. these are conservative individuals politically who see the reality that our workforce is not adequate for our economy and the birth rate is not sufficient for us to sustain new population of workers. let's find a thoughtful way to deal with this. stop the overwhelming on the border and have an orderly process. that can be done but it has to be done on a bipartisan basis. some of the people involved in this process have said publicly they don't want to find a solution. they think they have too good a political issue. i hope that they're wrong. i hope that we can find a

solution on a bipartisan basis that serves our nation and serves the world. we need an orderly process that took three to five years in europe for them to come up with their own process. we need to find our own way and do it soon. i'll be ready to work with that as chairman of the judiciary committee and with my background on immigration issues if there's anything i can add to the process. i hope that this week we'll receive a report from this bipartisan committee that move us in the direction of an orderly process at our border, not being overwhelmed with fwhubs -- with numbers that are unsustainable. madam president, i yield the floor.

what talk about anything that jeopardizes our leadership. if you will talk about anything, then you will talk about anything really important. the most important part to work through is going to divide party but they don't want to because you have to keep the party together to win the election so we can run the table and impose on the country that doesn't

want. we got to stop that. >> any thoughts on the hearing that went to that? >> from pensacola asked me about the professions being official, it's the largest state university in virginia. it's not highly selective and it's one of the most conservative possibles and economics departments in the country. they are libertarian. we have a wide range, i'm sure if you go to professors in the program, in general across the country professors tend to be more liberal than conservative but they are not radical liberal and they except conservative and

moderate colleagues easily. >> independent, good morning. >> what is your question or comment? >> i don't really have a question so much -- how is it that mainstream political conversation, how is it that the real conversation on our television? >> the media question, discussing politics. >> the same that they discussed

on the house floor a highly partisan way. if you start to frame every issue this way then it is the idea that parties activate within chamber. once you accept that, you sort of get the outcomes we get. let's talk about the substance of the border. when was the last time you wrote that down to six or seven discrete issues many of which are difficult to find a good solution to let's talk those through. we've been hearing republicans working the border for months now. have you heard the details? >> i haven't heard or seen or read much talk about the issues

and if it's the parties about this party and that, let's blame biden blaming biden, but the people getting into the country under trump. it is a problem. >> i'm afraid -- nancy pelosi was a great eager but a great speaker at a time when parties acted in a unified fashion. she hopes to undermine regular order as much as anybody else but she was more effective doing top down thing than republican speakers had. who was the best speaker trying to institute a system like what you are talking about? >> empowered the members and

don't talk to me. i worked with the chief of staff. to a member of congress in those days, the delegations were very tight and i said parties were not but delegations -- state delegations particularly in the house, not so much in the senate. in the house, they were bipartisan but they protected each other. they work very well together. going back to the mid- 70s and 80s. >> the call and we are having this discussion about his congressional dysfunction and you can find it on capitol hill.

a good time to have this discussion, democrats and republicans and independents. >> thank you, gentlemen. i really appreciate honesty as well as intellectual integrity going to the crux of these issues. it only lasts about 200 years because of the abuses of power and loose fiscal policies lead to the collapse. it is the government monopolistic designed, the world bank or corporations calling the shots and taxpayers left out of the loop decisions are being made from a closed doors

secrecy, 350 million people population going $34 trillion in unaccountable that. to slaughter innocents without -- where is this diplomacy? we spend so much money on the diplomatic corps. >> what is your question? >> donald trump pulled back the curtain in that railing troops. ...

i see the corporations, the congress, they are money launderers. >> that is your point, andy. >> there are times when corporations call the tunes. rate -- usually regulatory. it is a fairly limited and they tend to be below the political radar. this is not a problem of corporations being the puppeteers here. these are different. this is all kinds of special interests. ideological factions who were calling the tunes. if you want to talk about tax

breaks for corporations, yeah, they have undue influence. corporations, to the degree they care about, for example, at the border. a lot more legal immigration and corporations are for legalizing those who have been here a long time and are there employees and they want to keep them here. and corporations have had no effect on that issue, frankly. so, big corporations have limited power and that is not what is driving the congressional dysfunction. >> donald trump recommends, represent something fundamentally different. yes, he did. but he got co-opted by the right wing of the republican party to a degree that he said, well,

a right wing populist and he was right about that. good political instincts. >> a democrat from tennessee. good morning. are you with us? we will go to south pasadena california. good morning. >> good morning. thank you for taking my call. >> what is your question or comment? >> i have one comment to say, who was running this country. i know it is not joe biden running the country. somebody else behind him is running the country. when he comes out to marine to get into the helicopter, why don't they talk to them they are

taking questions from them. i don't want them to talk politics. when do you drive the corvette. where do you have it repaired at ? i want to hear him talking without looking at a teleprompter's. >> the answer to the question of who was running this country is pretty obvious. nobody. that is a problem. good morning. the congress you know the hand they are in washington, d.c. getting up there in delaying the vote. the mob to get to work. there a couple boats that destroyed them. happening to a country then.

a conspiracy for their reason to the mob. they look at them in the senate for all the papers for what is there. >> the third anniversary of january 6. >> i can assure you that it never occurred to even one member of that mob. somewhere in a box that they needed to go and get them. i am sure not one of them understood that paper process of the electoral college well enough in a congress opening the ballots. i am sure not one of them knew they were going. voting a certain way. >> a professor of public affairs , are you optimistic about generation coming up,

their view about politics? their ability to change a system we've been talking about? >> no. >> why? >> they spent too much time on social media. my students tell me they get their news from social media and i say, no, you don't get news at all. it is something that comes from professionals that know how to gather it and organize it and prioritize it in a certain way. it needs to be curated by people who spend, you know, their professional lives doing that. what you get on social media is not curated. it is not checked. it is not professionally gathered, for the most part. so, i do not have a lot of confidence because, you know, you cannot have a democracy unless you have citizens who,

you know, start from a factual base together about what is going on in the world. >> what do you try to leave the students with at the end of this >> i try to leave them with a better understanding of exactly what we have been talking about. what are the real reasons and how the system could work better which is a system that used to work quite well. i understand that we cannot go back to the 1970s or 50s. technology is different. the world is different. there are some lessons there. we can come up with versions that push power back down to the members and give them incentives to figure out what the country wants and needs. >> new mexico republican. good morning. >> good morning. how are you. can you hear me? >> yes, ma'am.

>> i appreciate the professors unbiased view. i think both sides are highly incompetent. i feel like they never have any solutions. they just offer lip service. e of former u.s. senator herb kohl. herb was a successful busin businessman, a generous philanthropist, a dedicated public servant, and my role model. he was a model boss, public servant and senator, always putting people first. but if you knew herb, you knew how humble he was. in fact, after he was first sworn in, one of the colleagues that he respected in this body said to him, you're going to be a model senator. i've heard him tell this story a

number of times. he stowed to -- decided to look up the definition of the word model and kicked back by saying model, my friend, is a small replica of the real thing, making light of his rather modest stature and deflecting credit for his leadership. that scenario embodies a lot of who herb was. he was modest, funny, and at his core an unrelenting advocate for the people of the state of wisconsin. senator kohl served in this body 24 years, but served the people of wisconsinened our -- wisconsin and our country throughout his entire life. in the senate, he didn't care how long the fight would take, how long the odds were, or who he was up against. if it would help the people of wisconsin, it was worthy of him to engage in that fight.

his monilate ra throughout his -- monilate ra throughout -- his mantra was nobody's senator but yours. his record in washington reflected that commitment to a t. in congress, he worked quietly, diligently, and with focus. herb fought to get wisconsin dairy farmers fair prices for their products and worked to invest in and save wisconsin's family farms. he championed vital stood assistance programs that children and working families rely on, and worked to expand access to affordable child care, eldercare, and health care for millions of americans. herb knew that taking care of our great outdoors and our environment was key not only to our wisconsin way of life but also to our economy. working with both environmentalists and business

interests, herb secured resources to clean up drinking water sources and combat invasive species and pollution in our great lakes. and he championed initiatives to help workers get the skills they needed to be competitive in today's economy and keep wisconsin manufacturing jobs in wisconsin. senator kohl was never afraid to stand up to special interests on behalf of his constituents. he diligently led oversight of mergers and acquisitions to protect competition and cons consumers, in everything from agriculture to rail to telecommunications to health care. working with democrats and republicans to lower the everyday costs of essentials like prescription drugs and gas gasoline. at the end of the of the day --

at the end of the day it was always about the people of wisconsin. that is why it should come as no surprise that his office was widely regarded as the best constituent service shop in congress. as he said in his farewell to the senate in 2012, every wisconsinite had an ally and advocate in his senate office. whether it be getting a veteran their health care benefits, helping a senior navigate medicare, or getting a family their passports in time for a vacation, the kohl office was always there. it is not the stuff that makes head headlines, but it makes a difference for people. so herb was invested in it. while senator kohl actively avoided taking credit for his work, his colleagues knew that behind his measured and

unassuming demeanor was an industrious work ethic, a ready sense of humor hand a fierce commitment to doing what was right for wisconsin. as my predecessor in the senate, i could not have asked for a better role model. coming into this chamber can be daunting, especially when trying to fill the shoes of someone with such a distinguished record and reputation. but luckily for me, senator kohl's steadfast support and mentorship began well before he escorted me into this very cha chamber. throughout the years, senator kohl and his -- has been a constant source of wisdom and encouragement. he was generous with his resources, his knowledge, his time, and his heart any wisconsinite who had the

pleasure of meeting herb knew this overwhelming spirit of generosity permeated everything that he did. a product of milwaukee public schools himself, herb truly believed that investing in the next generation of engaged citizens was the bedrock of our demo democracy, and since 1990 his foundation has invested millions of dollars in scholarships and fellowships to help wisconsin students pursue higher education and allow teachers to better meet the needs of their clas classrooms. i know wisconsin teachers and students will remember herb as a friend to education. whether you ran into him at a basketball game or at ma fisher's in milwaukee or visited his washington, d.c. office, herb always had the time to say

hello and take a picture. no matter his fame or fortune, herb was truly a man of the people. and of course, it's hard to talk about herb kohl without mentioning his beloved milwaukee bucks. in fact, it was hard to talk to senator kohl without talking about the milwaukee bucks. as the longtime owner of the team, senator kohl fought on more than one occasion to keep the bucks in milwaukee, recognizing the immense value of the franchise to the state of wisconsin. and to the city that he involved. -- in large part because of his determination and generosity, herb was able to watch milwaukee bring home a national championship in 2021 for the first time in 50 years.

while herb is no longer with us, i know his legacy will live on for years to come in every young fan who attends a bucks game, in every student who jumps around at the kohl center while cheering on basketball in madison, his impact will be felt by the thousands of students who will continue to benefit from his philanthropic efforts and the wisconsin families who have food on the table and access to affordable health care thanks to his tireless advocacy. and i hope his legacy of service lives on in me and in all those called to serve the communities they love. though herb kohl may have had the reputation as a common man, his legacy is anything but ordinary. from humble roots as the son of

immigrants in milwaukee, herb's immense success in business, in public life, in philanthropy personified the american dream made realty through a wisconsin work ethic and unwavering commitment to doing right by his neighbors. there is truly no one like senator herb kohl, and wisconsin is so lucky to have had him fighting in our corner. herb's record of achievement and commitment to wisconsin is undeniable. while he may not like to be called it, it is the truth, herb was a model senator and my role model. thank you, herb, for your service to wisconsin. you will be dearly, dearly missed. a senator: madam president.

the presiding officer: the senator from minnesota. ms. klobuchar: madam president, i would like to thank our colleague from wisconsin for her beautiful words, her heartfelt memories, and mostly i know personally how proud senator kohl was that you, senator baldwin, got elected and serve your state so well. you're truly a tribute to your state, but also to herb's memory. so i'm here as the neighbor, the senator next door, the one who got to know herb kohl because minnesota and wisconsin, despite our rivalries as the presiding officer knows when it comes to the badgers and gophers actually have a lot more in common than we do that divides us. and in fact, my mom grew up in milwaukee. i talked to her many times. she also was the daughter of immigrant parents, in her case

her dad worked at port pie shop, which herb was aware of, and came from humble roots. so senator kohl's life was really as american as they come. he was born, as we noted, in milwaukee to immigrant parents. he learned the value of hard work, as senator baldwin discussed, as a bag boy at his dad's market, attended public high school before earning his mba. from there he and his brother worked to build their family business into an iconic department store chain, kohl's, of course. and i can't tell you how many times visiting my grandma in milwaukee it would be like we can get that at kohl's, weem go to kohl's. later when his beloved milwaukee bucks almost left wisconsin, it was herb who brought the team just so he could keep them

there. i know that senator baldwin is proud of the bucks 2021 final win, and we all know it would never have been the milwaukee bucks without herb kohl. after working his way up from the bag boy to the basketball team owner, herb didn't have to seek public office, but he loved his state and its people too much to rest on his laurels. to him, running for office was not in any way a path to personal gain. it was a moral obligation. after winning election to the senate in 1988, herb got to work right away for the people of wisconsin. and as senator baldwin noted, he worked to expand the supply of affordable housing for elderly americans, crack down on corporate espionage, expand safe and affordable child care, secure critical medical training investments in the affordable care act, and how proud i know he was of senator baldwin,

then-representative baldwin's important role in making sure that older kids were able to be covered under their parents' policies under the affordable care act. but he took as much pride in making sure of those big things, of how a single dairy farmer could stay afloat in a low-producing season. on a personal note, i was lucky to call herb a mentor and a friend. we worked together during my early years in the senate, including on ending 30 years of delay so that the construction of the st. croix river bridge between minnesota and wisconsin could move forward. senator baldwin and i were there for the completion of that historic bridge, what we consider one of the most beautiful bridges in our state, maybe the most beautiful bridge, but i can never say that. and herb was there from the beginning on that project. when herb cared about something, he would work to get it done,

and he would work, as senator baldwin has said, in a humble way. he was never one to seek the spotlight, and in a chamber full of egos and big speeches, that certainly made him stand out. i remember that even though he was a multimillionaire, he always used to eat his lunch in the cafeteria, often buying lunch for staffers that he encountered in line. one time he brought me to eat there because i was taking over from him as the head of the antitrust subcommittee, and he gave me advice from a business perspective, which people don't always think of antitrust in that way, but herb kohl was a true entrepreneur. he was a competitor. he believed that competition was a big part of capitalism, and that's why he cherished his work on that subcommittee and gave me all kinds of advice about how to talk about it in a way that, from the very beginning of

america's roots and our economy, from the founding fathers on, competition was what made us successful. and he certainly believed that when he built that department store chain up and didn't just kowtow to whoever was there from the beginning. so that really dictated a lot of how i thought about antitrust. he also told me to hire his staff like caroline and gave me such good advice on doing that, and i think it was also a great example of herb kohl, because he was looking out for his staff not just while he was in the senate, but long after he left. he didn't have to do any of that. there is no rule in the senate that subcommittee chairs have to impart their wisdom in a formal lunch in the senate cafeteria -- maybe not that formal -- to the next generation. and there is no rule that senators have to keep looking out for their staff years and years after they retire.

but that's just who herb was. he embodied midwestern compassion, generous with his spirit, generous with his time, and generous with his resources. he spent his early career working hard to build wealth, and he spent the rest of his life using it to make a difference in the world. as a product of the public schools, he knew firsthand that a quality education was a pathway to success. and that's why he made it his mission later in life to give back to invest in public education. advocating for breakfast and lufrnl for low-income students, championing wisconsin's teacher of the year program, and on multiple occasions paid for entire slates of teachers back-to-school supply wish list, something that deeply resonated with me, as my mom would always complain about having to buy her own supplies for her classroom as a second grade teacher

because she wanted them to have the best. today, thanks to his charitable giving, scholarships and educational foundation and even the wisconsin, i must acknowledge, badgers hockey and basketball arena, they bear his name. herb's philanthropy was motivated not by glory but by an unwavering devotion to his state. so i'll end with this. i think what best captures herb may have been that slogan when he first ran for senate, and it was this -- nobody's senator but yours. in a field where what is noble is often sacrifice for what is expedient, that might seem naive or unrealistic. not for herb. throughout his 24 years in the senate, he never broke that promise. and anyone who has driven from stillwater, minnesota, over to the wisconsin side of the st. croix river, they can thank herb

kohl. and anyone who went to school on a kohl student excellence scholarship can thank him. anyone who who roots for the milwaukee bucks which once upon a time almost became the minnesota bucks, but we're not going to go into that story because we have our own team now that's doing pretty well -- this is not the time to do that -- we can thank herb kohl. the senate is better off, the state of wisconsin is better off because of herb, and certainly our country is better off. my thoughts are with his friends, his family, his former staff, and of course the intrepid and wonderful senator baldwin. and again, he couldn't be prouder that he got elected, senator baldwin. thank you, madam president. i yield the floor. a senator: madam president. the presiding officer: the senator from oregon. mr. merkley: madam president, wisconsin has lost a great man. when i came to the senate in

2009, i made an effort to sit down with each member. and of the 100 members, the quietest, individual, the most soft spoken was herb kohl. he sat behind his desk. we talked about the family farms, and particularly the dairies of wisconsin. we talked a little bit about basketball, oregon trailblazers and the milwaukee bucks, and of course the pride that we had when the blazers won a championship back in the 1970's. but really it was just a comfortable get to know you. and yet i knew the man across the desk from me had been so powerfully successful in business and in politics. but unlike and virtually any other conversation here in the senate, he didn't lay claim to a single accomplishment or talk about the great glories of his

career. it was just a welcome to the senate. here you can help families out. and that spirit really fits with what we've heard from senator baldwin about his legacy, a man who was humble, who was generous, who was disciplined, who was hard-working. a man who worked not just on agriculture, but on housing, but on public education, but on cleaning up the great lakes and many other things that my colleagues have mentioned. when he was pondering retiring, he talked about the individual that he hoped would follow in his footsteps, in his spirit here in the senate, our own senator tammy baldwin. and it was almost a family

connection, a powerful, heart-to-heart connection. and so one of the most important legacies that he has left is continuing his vision of fighting for ordinary families, ordinary people here in the senate with the woman who took his place. herb kohl was modest in style but powerfully effective in practice. we miss him here in the senate, and we know that the people of wisconsin benefited enormously from his life and also miss him greatly in his passing. thank you. a senator: madam president. the presiding officer: the senator from oregon. mr. wyden: i rise today with my colleagues to pay tribute to a special friend and our former colleague, senator kohl of wisconsin. i was fortunate enough to be

able to serve with herb kohl during his service in the senate and have been equally fortunate to know his wonderful family. and i've been listening to my colleagues describe senator kohl, and i thought that i would describe him in a way that herb kohl would never describe himself as being. that's because he was too modest. but the fact is herb kohl was really the embodiment of what we jews known as takun alum, which is a belief that all of us have a responsibility to leave our world and our communities better off than we found them. herb did that day in and day out, always trying to boost the well-being of those less fortunate. as my colleagues have been

saying, herb kohl didn't need to go into public service, but what we're all saying today is public service desperately needs people like herb kohl. successful business person, passionate about improving his home state of wisconsin and his country through public service. now, when most people think of a united states senator, my guess is they have an image of somebody who loves to hear themselves talk, but outs a blizzard of news releases, tweets every day, aims to take credit for lots of stuff. herb kohl was just the opposite of all of that. and, for example, at home in oregon, i always make a point of going to boys and girls clubs to shoot baskets with kids in the summer. and again and again, i would

encounter young people around lunch time who came to camp rav us in and -- hungry, and got food right away. they weren't just hungry, they had nothing to eat but a canady bar -- candy the day before. boys and girls clubs are always trying to find ways to get extra food to kids, particularly when the week comes to a close. madam president, and i assume my colleagues know this, it wasn't until years after i had been going to shoot hoops in the summer with the boys and girls club, it wasn't for years that i found out that herb kohl, our herb kohl, was given generous support to those boys and girls clubs for years, but did he say

a word about it to my colleagues, to me? we talked basketball all the time, but he never talked about how he stepped in to help all those future hoopsters and that was herb kohl in a nutshell. he would see a need and without fanfare or notice or press releases, herb kohl didn't act like a senator, he just acted in the spirit of tikun olam. he never saw himself with a picture of himself in a blue suit and red tie getting some kind of reward. a number of senators over the years, and i think this echos what my colleagues have said, they said that herb was very nice to them and very polite.

i heard senator klobuchar talk about working on antitrust stuff. but a lot of colleagues would come up to you and they would say our first name, and they would say but i haven't had a lot of extended conversations with senator kohl. now, we know it was not because he was unpleasant or wished somebody ill but because he was very private. putting in the work each day to make good on the pledges to wisconsin families and so many others. and all of us read the really wonderful, gracious oi b-- obituary to senator kohl in "the new york times." i came to the floor to mention a couple of things that they didn't manage to get into that wonderful oh, bit ri -- oh, bit ri. it was wonderful. my work was working with the

gray panthers, and i worked with him when he was fair of -- chair of the aging committee. when it came to seniors, no issue was too small or too insignificant for him. he tackled -- protecting seniors from financial abuse, tried to help them save for retirement. all of us could go through this laundry list of accomplishments. not all of those ideas might have been on the front page of the paper, but they represented the quiet and thoughtful workhorse that herb kohl was. -- older americans had no better ally than they did in senator kohl. he always worked on senior issues because he saw that as ground that was exempt from all the pettiness that drives so

much of politics. i will close with this. i was especially appreciative that senator kohl in his quiet way had the vision to look down the road at big challenges, and for example, he talked to mean often, and i'm sure my colleagues as well, about how the guarantee of medicare had evolved over the years. in other words, senator kohl knew medicare was not a voucher, wasn't some piece of paper or snippet of paper. it was a guarantee of medicare. he also knew that it had evolved over the years. it's still continuing with the prescription drug benefit. he knew the program inside out and senator kohl would always say to me, let's just keep figuring out how to update the medicare guarantee, protect the elderly, and promote choice and

alternatives without compromising the protections that older people deserve. and let me just say to my colleagues, as chair of the finance committee, if you walk into the senate finance committee room today and you talk about the issues relating to medicare and medicare advantage and them spending $6 billion on garbage advertising, herb kohl was telling us years ago that we're -- there were supposed to be guardrails for that, there were supposed to be protections for that. and that was herb kohl thinking down the road as well as helping people today. so i'm really pleased to be here with my good friends. and i will close with one last point. i think one of my colleagues talked about it. senator klobuchar knew that the senate was kind of a community, and i suspect that there are a few people in the house today who understand that as well.

but when staff was working late at night, you might have a bill or amendment or maybe working on a project where staff was kind of helping the sort of bigger campus community and it would be get -- would get to be 8 o'clock or 9 o'clock at night and people were hoping that somehow out of the sky a pizza would arrive. not herb kohl, when it got to be 9 o'clock, we got ourselves a real dinner, and nobody knew where it came from but a handful of us did. until his last days here, senator kohl practiced ti tikkun olam, i heard senator baldwin, senator klobuchar, senator merkley, these are the kind of people who also represent the best of public service, and that's why all of

us are here because our hearts are heavy today because we so admired him and appreciated him. i send my love tonight to sid and dorothy and lisa and the whole family because they continue to represent the ideals that herb kohl stood for, and with that, madam president, i yield the floor. i note the absence of a quorum -- we're not in a quorum. i retract that.

mr. wyden: i ask unanimous consent that the following members of my office be granted floor privileges for the remainder of the 118th congress. tiffany chenaville and owen stafford. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. wyden: thank you, and i thank my colleague from texas.

ms. stabenow: madam speaker. the presiding officer: the senator from michigan. ms. stabenow: thank you, madam

speaker. i hope everyone had a wonderful holiday. happy new year. i wanted to speak for a moment today. i know our wonderful senator tammy baldwin spoke earlier about senator herb kohl and i want to just share some comments as well for someone who was a wonderful friend and very sad to hear about our loss of senator kohl and i know that the people of wisconsin are forever grateful for his wonderful leadership. and love of his state. he was a champion for american families and for ensuring that they have access to fresh, healthy food. that's one of the ways that we worked together. since i was for a number of years while he was here chairing the agriculture and nutrition and forestry committee, as

chairman of the agricultural appropriations panel, he fought to expand nutrition programs for children, to fund the wic programs. we know how important they are. they help our moms, pregnant moms and babies to have the food they need to thrive. right now we're in a situation now where there's a hole in the funding that needs to be fixed and i know if senator herb kohl was here, he would be at the front of the line as a champion to make sure we don't have anything called a waiting list in wic because how do you do that if a mom is pregnant for nine months it is tough to be on a waiting list to get the care she needs. as chairman he was focused on the needs of older americans as well, including through improving the quality and safety

of nursing homes. so grateful for his work in that area. and, of course, we all know what a huge sports fan he was as the long-time owner of the milwaukee bucks and a member of the team that brought the brewers to wisconsin. it's wonderful that he was able to watch his beloved bucks win the nba title in 2001 and even rode in the championship parade. i know that for him that was a wonderful thrill. perhaps he will be most remembered, though, for his generosity. his herb kohl educational foundation has provided more than $34 million to support wisconsin schools, teachers, students since 1990. and he made a lasting impact at his alma mater, the university

of wisconsin madison where the kohl center arena and the kohl -- herb kohl public service research competition still carry his name. but beyond the sports teams and beyond the legislative legacies, senator kohl was a kind person. he was humble. he believed in treating everyone with respect. when you think about herb kohl, that would be the first thing. just his kindness. his respect for other people, his willingness to listen when you were talking to him about an issue of concern to you. and he knew how fortunate he was, and he spent his life ensuring that as many other people as possible could share in his good fortune. i firmly believe that the senate and our country would be a kinder, better place if more of us would follow his lead.

senator kohl was a statesman, and he was my friend. i'm grateful for the time we worked together in the senate and the opportunity to get to know him. i want to offer his family, friends, and the entire state of wisconsin my deepest condolences at their loss. thank you, madam president. i yield the floor. a senator: madam president the presiding officer: the senator from texas mr. cornyn: madam president, we're back in the senate and kicking off a new year which will undoubtedly be busy and certainly challenging. there's a lot of work for us to do. and one of our most crucial

tasks is to address the national security supplemental appropriations bill that president biden has requested. mr. cornyn: as you know, that bill includes relief for not only israel but also additional assistance to ukraine, provides additional money for the indo-pacific hopefully to deter a potential chinese aggression in that region, and of course the border which is another story for another day. but today i'd like to talk about the challenges we face in the middle east. today the global threat environment is unlike any we've seen in recent memory. perhaps in our lifetime. i just returned from a trip to the middle east for the bipartisan group of colleagues from the senate intelligence committee. we had an extremely busy schedule, but it was very

productive. we had 22 pratt meetings with -- separate meetings with leaders across the region, from jordan to saudi arabia to israel. we also had the opportunity, as i indicated, to travel to israel to meet with prime minister benjamin netanyahu, the minister of defense gallant, also members of the intelligence community there in tel aviv, the shin bet, which is responsible for domestic security and the legendary intelligence agency of the israeli government. we all know that on october 7, the world shifted and changed in a dramatic way in israel when hamas entered israel by air, land, and sea. they committed horrific acts of murder, of babies and children

and innocent civilians. they raped and tortured and beheaded innocent people, beheaded innocent people. they dismembered the bodies of their victims and captured hostages to use as human shields and bargaining chips. it was a day of infamy that will live in the minds of israelis for the rest ever their lives. and it should be a warning again if we need another warning to the rest of the region and the rest of the world. for the people of israel, this was not unlike our experience on september 11, 2001, when nearly 3,000 americans were killed by a terrorist attack here in washington, d.c. and of course the plane lost in pennsylvania when brave passengers on that plane prevented an attack perhaps on the very capitol

building here in washington. but of course on september 11, the thousands of families lost husbands, wives, parents, and children because of evil terrorists in burr suit of a fanatical ideology. that's what israel experienced three months ago. sxird to the united states -- compared to the united states, of course, israel is a very small country. it's home to roughly 9.3 million people. i represent a state of 30 million people. so israel's roughly about a third of the population of the state of texas. but in israel on that day, october 7, the lives of 1200 people were lost. now, based on the population, this would be equivalent to roughly 36,000 americans dying on 9/11, an absolutely mind

boggling thought. but just as most americans can remember where they were and what they were doing on that terrible day of 9/11, 2001, nearly every single israeli who is old enough to remember the attack will forever recall the events of that terrible day. they will never -- they will never forget the pain that their country and their people have endured. and the threat to their very existence that that terrorist attack represents. as might be expected, i'm proud to say over the last three months, the united states has stood strongly in support of israel, one of our closest allies, the only democracy really in the middle east. we provided military assistance and repeatedly affirmed that israel has a nonnegotiable right

to defend itself. in recent months, as has occurred throughout america's history, some americans have voiced skepticism of why should we care. why should america be involved in these contlikts so -- in these conflicts so far away from our shores, they ask, and it's a fair question. why should we care about the outcome of a war that's happening thousands of miles away? given the challenges we face here at home, they ask, why should the united states invest in israel's victory and the defense of ukraine against the invasion by russia, the threats occurring in the indo-pacific. why should we care about those threats? well, the answer is when it comes to israel is simple. terrorism will not be confined to israel or the middle east as a region.

what happens there will not stay there. now, i know sometimes we have to relearn the lessons we learned the hard way many years ago, but the lesson of 9/11 is our oceans, the pacific and atlantic ocean, do not protect the united states against terrorist attacks on our own soil. that's the hard lesson we learned on 9/11. and we should not forget it. the evil that the world witnessed on october 7 is not limited to hamas. hamas of course is a terrorist organization committed to the destruction of israel and the elimination of the israeli people from the map. this is a sickness, a perversion of a great religion that's shared by terrorist organizations throughout the middle east. but we should not be distracted

by looking at just hamas because it is iran that is the head of the octopus. its tentacles of terror, its proxies extend throughout the region and threaten to destabilize the middle east and potentially start a much larger war. iran's terrorist proxies include not only hamas but also hezbollah and lebanon to the north of israel. the houthis in yemen on the arabian peninsula, the palestinian islamic jihad in gaza and the west bank, and of course the shiite militias in syria and iraq who have attempted as many as a hundred different attacks on american troops and america's interests in the region. iran provides these groups with funding, with weapons, and training to enable these attacks

like the one that was committed by hamas on israel. but that's only one example. iranian-led proxies in iraq and syria are attacking u.s. forces, as i said. hezbollah is launching consistent assaults on northern israel, and the houthis are disrupting global commerce and freedom of navigation in the red sea. as well as launching unmanned aerial vehicles in an attempt to essentially assault and bomb israel. iran is a country driven by an ideology that calls for the destruction of israel. but iran would not stop there. the supreme leader of iran once labelled the united states as iran's number one enemy. we see that view borne into action today as iran supports

russia in its ongoing war on the people of ukraine. and through its strategic cooperation with china. yes, this war is about the future of israel, but it's also about the future of iran. tehran stands to gain a lot from hamas' war against the israelis and the united states must continue to stand for the unequivocal defeat of hamas. anything less would embolden iran and its terrorist proxies and aid them in their ambitions for region al hegemony. our colleagues are working hard to reach an agreement on a national security supplemental appropriation bill that will include aid for four national security priorities. as i mentioned, israel, ukraine, the indo-pacific, and the southern border. when it comes to israel, some want to set conditions on u.s.

aid and thus attempt to micromanage israel's fight for its very survival. this i would suggest is nothing but hubris, plain and simple. imagine if other countries try to tell the united states how we should have conducted our fight against al qaeda after 9/11. right after the smoke had cleared and after the bodies of 3,000 americans had been buried, that if other countries had told us no, you can't go after the terrorist threat this way. you have to do it that way. our nation had just lost 3,000 innocent lives through a series of terrorist attacks. imagine if others tried to dictate the means by which we defeated that threat and protected our country. would we have allowed them to tie our hands when it comes to

our own defense? absolutely not. we would have chided them for their naivety and dismissed any attempt to treat terrorist organizations with kid gloves or to treat them as irrational -- as a rational power. a number of americans are concerned -- we're all concerned, i would suggest, by the number of civilian casualties in gaza. but the primary cause of civilian casualties in gaza and israel is hamas, the terrorist organization. now, there's no question that when war is declared it as hamas declared war against israel on october 7, that innocent people would be hurt. perhaps even killed. but there's no reason -- there's no question that hamas's own tactics are the reason the loss of life in gaza is so high.

these terrorist have a long history of using palestinian civilians as human shields to protect themselves. hamas operates a vast network of tunnels beneath gaza some 500 kilometers by one estimate. and they shield their terrorist overlords in those tunnels from the dangerous fighting above ground. this is where they store critical supplies like water, food, and fuel which are being kept from the palestinian civilians who need that humanitarian assistance. it seems likely that these tunnels are the hiding place for more than 130 remaining hostages. i've met # we also met with

another group of americans who have family members who are currently hostages of hamas in gaza. well, a video was shared on line of a hamas gunman who was captured and interrogated by israeli officials. he said that hamas shelters and tunnels and basements under clinics, schools, and hospitals, because they know the israelis will not target those locations because of their concern about collateral damage and the injury and perhaps death of innocent people. so hamas deliberately places innocent palestinians between its terrorist foot soldiers and incoming rockets. we should remember that it was hamas that initiated this war with their brutal massacre of

israeli civilians including women and children, even infants, that were just going about their daily lives, that represented no threat to them. it is hamas that knowingly uses the palestinian people as human shields. it is hamas that rejoices at every palestinian killed because it broadens their support and strengthens their narrative and helps them recruit more support. the world should not condemn israel for defending itself against terrorist attacks. just like the world did not condemn the united states when we defended ourselves against al qaeda following the terrorist attacks of 9/11. the world should condemn hamas for its indiscriminate use of civilian infrastructure to protect its own foot soldier. as the fighting continues, we can't lose sight of the jarring

difference between two sides of this conflict. there is no moral equivalence between israel and the terrorist organization known as hamas or, as i mentioned earlier, the head of the octopus, which is the representing eem in -- regime in iran. this a battle between good and evil. additional assistance for israel is crucial to not only the future of the jewish state, but to the stability of the region and the future ambitions of iran. if hamas emerges from this war with nothing more than a black eye, it will send a message to iran and its terrorist proxies that their war against israel and the western world is worthwhile, and it will continue, and it will intensify, and it will expand.

given the chaos unfoldingin the middle east today, the very -- unfolding in the middle east today, the very last thing the world needs is an emboldened iran. i hope in the coming weeks, the senate finally makes progress on the need tore assistance for israel. the house passed an israel aid bill november 2. november 2. more than two months ago. and the senate has done nothing except preach to israel on the means by which some believe it should defend itself from those determined to wipe it from the face of the earth. this is not a time for preaching to israel, our most steadfast ally in the middle east, about how to defend themselves. it's a grave disservice, i believe, to do so. so there's a lot at stake in the eyes of the world -- and the eyes of the world are on the united states. as i said earlier, no american

wants to see us involved in conflicts around the world, but unfortunately it is our responsibility, not just because we come to the aid of others who have been innocent civilians and people who have been viciously attacked by terrorists, but because this virus, this contagion will spread beyond israel, beyond the middle east, and to other parts of the world, including the united states. if there's a lesson we learned from 9/11, it is that our oceans, the pacific and atlantic ocean, will not protect us. so what happens in gaza, what happens in israel will not stay there. taking action will ensure our top ally in the middle east knows we have its back and a great place to start the new

year. the clock is ticking and the senate needs to act soon to ensure israel has what it needs to defeat hamas and confront the growing threat from iran. madam president, i yield the floor, and i'd note the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. quorum call: the clerk: ms. baldwin.

:

quorum call:

>> we are waiting for a senator to come to the floor to the speak. lawmakers are expected to vote to limit debate to be a u.s. district court judge in southern texas. later this week, congress will continue working on government funding measures with a deadline coming up on january 19th. you are watching live coverage of the u.s. senate here on

c-span 2. >> it is a great day to be a buffalo bills fan. for the fourth year in a row, they have the won afc east championship -- the presiding officer: the senator from illinois. without objection. -- [inaudible]

the presiding officer: without objection. the clerk will report the motion to invoke cloture. the clerk: cloture motion, we, the undersigned senators, in accordance with the provisions of standing rules of the senate do hereby move to bring to a close the debate on the nomination of executive calendar number 376, john a. kazen of texas, to be united states district judge for the southern district of texas, signed by 17 senators. the presiding officer: by unanimous consent, the mandatory quorum call has been waived. the question is, is it the sense of the senate that debate on the nomination of john a. kazen of texas to be united states district judge for the southern district of texas shall be brought to a close. the yeas and nays are mandatory under the rule. the clerk will call the roll. the clerk: ms. baldwin. the clerk: ms. baldwin. mr. barrasso. mr. bennet. mrs. blackburn. mr. blumenthal. mr. booker. mr. boozman. mr. braun. mrs. britt. mr. brown. mr. budd.

ms. butler. ms. cantwell. mrs. capito. mr. cardin. mr. carper. mr. casey. mr. cassidy. ms. collins. mr. coons. mr. cornyn. ms. cortez masto. mr. cotton. mr. cramer.

mr. crapo. mr. cruz. mr. daines. ms. duckworth. mr. durbin. ms. ernst. mr. fetterman. mrs. fischer. mrs. gillibrand. mr. graham. mr. grassley. mr. hagerty. ms. hassan. mr. hawley. mr. heinrich. mr. hickenlooper. ms. hirono. mr. hoeven. mrs. hyde-smith. mr. johnson. mr. kaine. mr. kelly. mr. kennedy. mr. king. ms. klobuchar. mr. lankford. mr. lee. mr. lujan.

ms. lummis. mr. manchin. mr. markey. mr. marshall. mr. mcconnell. mr. menendez. mr. merkley. mr. moran. mr. mullin. ms. murkowski. mr. murphy. mrs. murray. mr. ossoff. mr. padilla. mr. paul. mr. peters. mr. reed. mr. ricketts. mr. risch. mr. romney. ms. rosen. mr. rounds. mr. rubio. mr. sanders. mr. schatz.

mr. schmitt. mr. schumer. mr. scott of florida. mr. scott of south carolina. mrs. shaheen. ms. sinema. ms. smith. ms. stabenow. mr. sullivan. mr. tester. mr. thune. mr. tillis. mr. tuberville. mr. van hollen. mr. vance. mr. warner. mr. warnock. ms. warren. mr. welch. mr. whitehouse. mr. wicker. mr. wyden. mr. young.

senators voting in the affirmative -- butler, cardin, carper, duckworth, gillibrand, hyde-smith, johnson, kaine, king, murphy, peters, ricketts, rosen, shaheen, sinema, wyden. senators voting in the negative -- mullin, paul, tuberville.

the clerk: mr. brown, aye. vote:

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

the clerk: mr. crapo, aye. mr. budd, aye. ms. ernst, aye. the clerk: mr. reed, aye.

mr. kennedy, aye. mr. daines, aye. mr. grassley, aye. mr. casey, aye.

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

the clerk: ms. lummis, no. mr. kelly, aye.

mr. thune, no.

the clerk: mrs. capito, aye. the clerk: mr. manchin, aye.

the clerk: mrs. murray, aye. mr. schatz, aye. mr. sanders, aye.

mr. braun, no. mr. warner, aye. mrs. britt, no. the clerk: mr. scott of florida, no. mrs. blackburn, aye. ms. cortez masto, aye. mr. mcconnell, aye. mr. durbin, aye.

ms. warren, aye.

the clerk: mr. mendendez, aye. ms. baldwin, aye. ms. klobuchar, aye.

the clerk: mr. romney, aye. mr. rounds, aye. mrs. fischer, aye.

the clerk: mr. schmitt, no. mr. schumer, aye.

the clerk: mr. tester, aye. mr. heinrich, aye. mr. booker, aye. mr. van hollen, aye.

the clerk: mr. lee, no. ms. hassan, aye. mr. marshall, no. the clerk: mr. coons, aye.

the clerk: mr. welch, aye. mr. lankford, aye.

the clerk: mr. hoeven, no. mr. vance, no. ms. collins, aye.

the clerk: mr. cramer, aye. ms. smith, aye. mr. whitehouse, aye. mr. hagerty, aye.

the clerk: mr. bennet, aye. mr. padilla, aye. the clerk: ms. murkowski, aye.

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

vote:. vote: the clerk: mr. warnock, aye. mr. hawley, no.

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

the clerk: mr. blumenthal, aye.

the clerk: mr. cruz, aye.

the clerk: mr. wicker, aye.

the clerk: mr. hickenlooper, aye.

vote

mr. schumer: mr. president the presiding officer: the jorpt leader. mr. schumer: i ask unanimous consent the senate proceed to legislative session, be in a period of morning business with senators permitted to speak therein for up to ten minutes each. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. schumer: mr. president, very

quick one tonight. i ask unanimous consent that when the senate completes its business today, it stand adjourned until 10:00 a.m. on tuesday, january 9. that following the prayer and pledge, the morning hour be deemed expired, the journal of proceedings be approved to date, the time for the two leaders be reservedfor their use later in the day and morning business be closed. that upon the conclusion of morning business, the senate proceed to executive session to resume consideration of the kazen nomination both cloture, that all time be considered expired at 11:45 a.m. further, that if any nominations are confirmed during tuesday's session, the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table and the president be immediately notified of the senate's action. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. schumer: if there is no further business to come before the senate, i ask that it stand adjourned under the previous order. the presiding officer: the senate stands adjourned until senate stands adjourned until

and at the senate back in session tomorrow to continue work on measures related to government funding, border security and foreign aid. today they dance a nomination of john to be a u.s. district court judge for southern texas. when senators richard watch live coverage here on cspan2. ♪ starting tuesday watches c-span campaign 2024 coverage as we are on the ground in iowa with her public and presidential candidates in the final week of campaigning before the first of the nation caucus. for the candidates closing arguments to caucus goers watch voters be thick candidates experience what it's like on the campaign trail watch live coverage of the iowa caucuses on the c-span network. to see spent now a free mobile app or online at c-span.org/campaign 2024. c-span, your unfiltered view of politics. >> wednesday the first formal hearing of the impeachment of homeland security secretary

mayorkas live coach of household unsecured committee begins at 10:00 a.m. eastern on c-span three, c-span our free mobile video app or online at c-span.org. >> a healthy democracy does not just look like this. it looks like this where americans conceived democracy at work citizens are truly informed. a republic thrives. get informed straight from the source on c-span. unfiltered unbiased word for word the nation's capitol to wherever you are. the opinion that matters the most is your own. this is what democracy it looks like it. c-span it powered up my cable. white house budget director says she's not optimistic about the possibility of avoiding a government shutdown later this month. art of her remarks from the breakfast hosted by the christian science monitor. she urge congress to approve more funding for