[inaudible conversations] [inaudiblel take you live to the floor of you said it about to gavel in for the first time this week. today senators will consider a judicial nomination and later this week work on legislation related to electric vehicles and cybersecurity. also today life on our companion network c-span3 the committee is

considering audits of impeachment against homeland security secretary mayorkas. republicans are accusing the secretary of refusing to uphold the law and breaching the public trust in how he's handling immigration into the u.s. in beating started early this morning and could run several more hours. again you can watch it over on our companion network c-span3. we take you live now to the floor of the senate. the presiding officer: the senate will come to order. the chaplain, dr. barry black, will lead the senate in prayer.

the chaplain: let us pray. o god of time and eternity, we come to you not because we are perfect but because we trust your mercy, power, and grace. triumph over evil, living no longer for ourselves but for you. lord, give our senators a vision of the goals that produce righteousness, honor, justice, understanding, and peace. servel innized, to bear the burdens of freedom, and to labor for your glory.

give them the gifts of your light, love, and laughter. lord, we are grateful for our new page class, and we thank you for the exemplary life and legacy of bobby barra row. we -- bobby barrasso. we pray in your merciful name. 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 30, 2024. undeth senate: paragraph 3, of the standing rules of the senate, i hereby appoint the honorable peter welch, a senator from the state of vermont, to perform the sign, president pro tempore. the presiding officer: torts, 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. joshua paul kolar of indiana to be united states circuit judge for the seventh circuit.

>> 5 million from the previous year , the largest number of ever th. (moment is not quite clear in handbook states. in california or new york or new jersey, still they are to design you like but the big surprising

number. >> as far as reasons why, how would you describe that? >> probably the biggest reason is 2021 congress extended subsidies for people buying their own insurance in the marketplace. the subsidies go up higher in income, 100,000 for lower income it's more generous and you can get most people under 150% of poverty zero premium plant with low insurance is much more attractive plus the biden administration is a lot more in terms of outreach navigators and helping people and making sure people know insurance isily whih for if you had employer-provided insurance, a cost more than 9% of your income. if you are in individual you go

get a subsidy but had a family you couldn't so they subsidize the cost of the person, the family self for many they were stuck because grandma covers cost way more than 9% for the couldn't go to the marketplace and get subsidies. well, now they can't. talk about medicaid separately. >> like different from (202)748-8000. private insurance (202)748-8001. if you are not sure, 2022488002. all others (202)748-8003. he talked about the numbers that i want to talk about states listed texas, florida, georgia, louisiana and tennessee, what is

the common denominator. >> the c denominator will states not expended medicaid to low income adults without children come up to 40 states now with those of the three big ones still holding up. there is a lot of people eligible into bigger universe to choose from and i think it's for the it's more people in those days but it's notable the states with high rates of people who don't have insurance because this states have not expended medicaid which people might remember was originally passed in 2010 it was supposed to be mandatory but in 2012 they said no, open or out and eventually was a good financial feel for the state we now have 40 of the opinion of the three state seven and control pretty muchth

consistently. weekend, negotiats continues their work onu the senate security supplemental. we are approaching the finish line, but the work is not done. we'll continue to -- we will continue to finish the supplemental. we will do everything we can to get the supplemental done because for all the day-to-day intrigue, the big picture has not changed. this is an inflection point in history, where the balance of power in europe, the future of israel in the middle east, and the fate of the indo-pacific hang in the balance. and for the first time in over a decade, we have a golden opportunity to make meaningful, lasting changes to the southern border. the best chance we will likely have in a gad while. so we have an obligation to the american people to get something done. now, republicans in the house and senate have insisted for years that congress muster secu. the speeches, statements, op-eds and tweets that republicans have

issued on border legislation could fill entire libraries, and we democrats agree. we want to get something done on the border. we've negotiated with our republican counterparts get som. look, it's entirely unsurprising same time that many on the hard right, including donald trump, are now trying to thwart this bipartisan effort for the sake the senate, both ics. sides have an obligation to tune the partisan noise out and to continue working. bipartisanship is the is going to happen. that aid to ukraine will be secured, that help to israel and the indo-pacific and aid to innocent civilians in gaza will happen. so for all the noise and partisan posturing, the big picture here does not change.e g on the supplemental this week. we know this is hard, very hard,

but democrats and republicans in this chamber he an obligation to tune out the outside noise and finish the work of protecting our national when the texas pregnancy -- on the texas pregnancy study. last week on what should have been the a50th anniversary of re v. wade, i called to overturn roe one of the worst disions in american history. a horrifying study was released in the journal of the american medical association showing the devastating effects of the roe reversal for women in america. according to this study, the state of texas alone saw over 26,000 rape-related pregnancies in the year and a half since texas outlawed all abortions, with zero exceptions for rape. met me say that again, mr. president, because the roads

are staggering, confounding, frightening. according to a new study of the journal of the american medical association, the state of texas alone saw over 26,000 rape-related pregnancies in the year and a half since texas outlawed all abortions and they outlawed -- and they required zero exceptions for rape. and there are over 58,000 total rape-related pregnancies in states with total artiotions fo. the numbers are shocking from this they're heartbreaking. it's all the more maddening, because the hard-right abortion restrictions in texas are as cruel as they come. foed exception for rape, no exception for incest. not long ago the abortion restrictions in texas would have been considered on the fringe of the fringe. today, sadly,ates reality for women in -- it's a reality for

women in post-roe no mistake, where abortion is outlawed with zero exceptions, is precisely, precisely what the hard right wants. the hard right doesn't care about exceptions, even for rape or incest. they want the freedom of choice to be extinct, period. no ands,■c ifs, or buts. democrats will never let that stand. we'll never stop fighting to protect a woman's right to choose. republicans won't be able to run from this horror they created later this year when the american people go to the polls. now, on the outlook for the american economy continues to get brighter and brighter under the leadership of president biden and democrats here in last week a report showed consumer sentiment surged by nearly 30% over the last two months, and americans received i'm more good fuse -- even more good news this week. the american economy far exceeded expectations in the last quarter of 2023, growing at

a rate 3.3% and avoiding even a hint of a recession. the hard rightredicted democrats' investments would drive our country to the recession. but today, american families are seeing more money in their pockets, low unemployment, and inflation cooling down. the bottom line is that the american economy is headed in the right direction, thanks to decr our infrastructure, increasing manufacturing through chips and science, lifting our country from crisis through the american rescue plan. i'm three, senate democrats, whether in the minority or majority, played a leading role. the economy is now on an upswing chilling so much so that -- upswing. so much so that republicans and the former president are trying to take credit. after the dow jones and record highs last week, donald trump deployed a spin job for the ages, calling it the trump stock market.

you can't make thatfour years a predicted the stock market would crash if he lost the election. well, donald trump did lose the election. but today, the stock market is setting record highs. it's both laughable and very telling that donald trump is trying to take for the suck acceptses of president biden -- for the suck acceptses of president biden and the -- for the succe everyone is ses -- for the successes. he can't stand the scrutiny, the increased jobs and wages secured by democrats. of course, donald trump is hardly the onlydit for democrat suck -- for democrats' successes. they're going to ribbon cuttings, factory openings and for things they voted against in congress, but the democrats prevailed. last week, a minnesota gop congressman cheered the announceman of $1 billion for a new bridge in his district,

saying he was proud to work with my minnesota and wisconsin congressional colleagues to secure this critical investment. there's only one problem, two years ago, this very gop member voted against the infrastructure bill that provided these funds, stating at the time i will not be complicit destructive and irreversible path towards socialism. well, there he was at the bridge. there he was at the bridge. a few days later, another gop congresswoman from florida tried to take credit on air for $40 million in funding that came from bills she voted against in congress, including the chips and science bill which i was proud to have authored. i hope she'll give me a pat on the back. pressed on her voting record, her excuse was she didn't remember her vote. this is going to be a pattern we're going to see all year long. without any accomplishments of their own, republicans in the hours and senate will try to take credit for jobs and

investments they opposed in congress. well, that's the difference, mr. president, between the democratic and republican agenda. democrats are working lower costs, increase wages and fuel economic growth. is while republicans are creating chaos, then taking credit for our work. if republicans want to keep claiming credit, i encourage them -- work with us, pass bipartisan legislation, and then events without contradiction. we still have a long way to go to make our economy work better for families so there will be t republicans to work with us. i yield the floor. i suggest the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer:.clerk will call -- the clerk will call the roll. the clerk: ms. baldwin.

quorum call: the clerk: ms. baldwin.

then analysts go up and let's go into that market but the plans being offered, this is one of the things that might be confusing into robust too many choices, it's hard to tell the correct choice. >> those designations available. >> yes, there are still those and it is confusing so there are a lot of different ones. >> what sets them apart? >> it used to be one you could get subsidies for but that's not always the case anymore so i believeoud plan the civil plan was going no

space to change up. forget, i don't. >> -- under the quorum call -- proceedings under the quorum call be dispensed with. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. mcconnell: two weeks ago, after nearly 150 iran-backed attacks on u.s. personnel in iraq and syria, a reporter asked president biden if he had a message for iran. the president confidently replied, quote, i've already delivered the message to iran. they know not to do anything. well, the commander in chief had the temerity to suggest that the world's most active state sponsor of terrorism was effectively deterred. well, repeated attacks since then, including a deadly attack

at jordan that killed three american soldiers and injured dozens more, suggest otherw specialist kennedy sanders, and specialist briona moffett now rest with generations of brave americans before them, who have given their lives in service to our country. i know my colleagues join me in grieving with the families and comrades they leave behind. for three years the threat of iran-backed terror against american personnel and interests in the growing. iran is emboldened and believes it can use its proxies to attack america with impunity. and the biden administration has hastened this erosion of deterrence. their public hand-wringing and

fear of escalation sends exactly the wrong message to tehran and other enemies of to paraphrase henry kissinger, when our primary objective becomes avoiding war or escalation, we're at the mercy of our most ruthless adve adversaries. the united states' objective is not to avoid escalation at all costs. if it was, the quickest way to achieve would be to retreatde t iran. instead, our objective is to compel iran and its proxies to stop attacking american forces and our interests in the region, and torve american influence in a critical part of the world. but to achieve this objective, we have toonvince our adversaries that we are prepared

to escalate and to threaten the interests that they hold dear. if the iranian regime thinks america is most afraid of escalation, it will use thatfeal drive us from the middle east. just as we were driven from afghanistan. it was reasonable to hope that the eruption of proxy against american forces in the wake of october 7 massacre in israel would convince the biden administration to start ■yseriously exercising american strength. it was reasonable to hope that a global superpower might fly act. that hasn't happened yet, but perhaps the gut-wrenching tragedy of american casualties

will finally wake this administration from its delusional approach to iran. yesterday, the secretary of defense echoed president biden's hollow assurance from earlier i administration, quote, will not tolerate attacks on u.s. forces, and we will take all necessary action to defend the u.s. and our troops. unfortunately, this sentiment isn't yet backed by any on. the fact that iran's proxies have targeted americans 166 times in the past three months administration is willing to tolerate attacks on u.s. forces. the question for the commander in chief is whether his actions in the coming days will convince iran and its proxies that america's tolerance has been exhausted.

it's time for the administration to provide senators with a briefing on the current situation in t middle east. as i've said before, the president has the necessary authorities to strike those l responsible for killing and wounding americans, targeting our interests, and threatening our allies in the region. he has the capacity to go after the iranians who sponsor and direct this campaign. but his administration has an if its objectives and strategy and to explain why their attempts to deter iran and its proxies have, as yet, been unsuccessful. of course, the failures of their own approach to the region haven't stopped washington democrats from trying to police the internal politics of a close ally fighting for its security or from trying to tie israel's hands as it works to eradicate

hamas terrorists. some of our colleagues have apparently mistaken themselves for members of the knesset. they started using the press to cast bizarre, unsolicited votes of no confidence in a sovereign democracy's duly elected prime minister. talk about foreign political interference. and their bibi derangement syndrome isn't just unseemly behavior for an ally. they want to compel israel to pursue policies that even prominent leaders of the israeli left have insisted they have no time for. it is ngly, glaringly clear that a headlong charge forward to a two-state solution puts the cart before the horse.

israel needs a partner in peace before it can be expected to make peace. palestinians need leaders and a government worthy of the name before they can expect a state. as i've said before, responsibility for the humanitarian catastrophe in gaza, where the weaponization of hospitals and schools and for the() corruption of aid agencie charged with helps the palestinian people, all of that belongs to hamas. each time ham choice between improving palestinian lives and taking israeli lives, it has chosen the latter. and last week we learned the horrific degree to which humani agencies have been corrupted, corrupted by hamas hate. no fewer than a dozen credentialed staff members of

u.n.'s reliefs and works agencies are linked directly, directly to the slaughter of israelis on october 7. so let me say that again. at least is it paid staff of the u.n. agency that purports to lead humanitarian eort moonlit, moonlit as hamas terrorists on the deadliest day for jews since the holocaust. according to news reports, israeli intelligence indicate that a full 10% of the staffhav terrorist group that steals aid shipments to build terrorist tunnels. and yet, instead of reckoning with uhnra's complicity, the head of the agency responded

with a whiney statement that emphasized how few of theen supposed relief workers under his authority had been caught killing israelis on company time. in fairness, -cp9 comes from the same anti-israel faechl organization as a self-proclaimed global champion for the empowerment of women. a u.n. entity that took 57 to condemn hamas' rape and brutalization of israeli women and girls. the united states and our allie authority in such a fallow field as the united nations. unfortunely, even the biden administration's announced pause on additional funding to unra may fail to carry sufficient weight. as one analysis points out,

$51 million allocated by the state department for use this year will be deliveredo an orga that clearly lacks the means to fulfill its most basic purpose. so as i said before, there is no room for the tired cast of corruption and terrorism in the future of the palestinian people. as such, senate republicans will not accept any legislation that allows taxpayer dollars to fund unwra, and america's ally israel deserves the time, space, and support it needs to remove hamas from the equation, root, stem, and branch.

mr. durbin: mr. president. the presiding officer: the majority whip. mr. durbin: are we in a quorum

call? no. mr. durbin: tomorrow the senate judiciary committee will hold a landmark hearing. for the first time the ceo's of five big tech companies will testify about the crisis of online child sexual exploitation. this continues our committee's bipartisan work to combat the dangers children face online. this has been one of my top priorities as chair of the committee. last february we held a hearing on kids online safety. six witnesses testified about online sexual exploitation, cyber bullying, addictive online platforms and the collection and sale of children's sensitive personal data. at the hearing, i noted there were no witnesses from the tech companies present. i promised they would have their chance. tomorrow the ceo's of dis discord,meta, tiktok, and snap

will testify. i thank my colleague, senator lindsey graham, ranking republican on the judiciary committee, for his bipartisan cooperation in establishing this hearing. the ceo's of discord, snap and subpoenas issued by the committee. this follows their repeated refusal to testify voluntarily. i look forward to hearing from these companies about what they're doing to make their platforms inaccessible to child offenders. as recently as last week some have launched new child safety measures that are long overdue. if you were watching the playoff football games over■ t■dhe week, you heard some of these same companies advertising they now discovered a new way to protect children. could it have something to do with tiraring? we'll see. but it shouldn't take a hearing before the senate judiciary committee to finally get these companies to prioritize child safety because these changes are

half measures at best. i welcome the opportunity to question them about what more need to be done. there have been recent troubling reports about how each of these platforms is being used by targ trade child sexual abuse materials. some reports even deal how the behavior. let's be really honest about this thing. some of these a goe■ rhode islands are more a goe rhode islands are more than any parent. there have been recent trouble reports about these platforms bein in the most heinous way. some details about this show that the companies are actually promoting this kind of behavior. the national center on sexual

exploitation has named each of these compies to their annual dirty dozen list for facilitating child sexual exploitation. i'm sure every member of the senate has heard from constituents, friends, and family members about the harm big tech is inflicting on our kids. tomorrow the senate judiciary committee will answers. hearings are important, but it's clear that we need legislation because the tech industry has failed on its own to protect our kids. they're protecting their profits, but they're not protecting our children. last year the committee unanimously reported five bills child sexual exploitation. one of the bills i introduced is my bipartisan stop c sam act which will allow victims to hold these companies their failures it is an acronym

for child sexual abuse material p since early days of the better than the companies have been allowed to act with near impunity. families have no means of redress. to illustrate how dangerous this is, consider the change meta made last month that carries grave consequences for children. every yea submits tens of millions of cyber tips to the national center for missing and exploited known as nicmic. it involves a vic child exploitation like a child being sexually abused at a photo traded online or a child grumd for sexual purposes -- groomed for sexual purposes. meta announced it is rolling out encryptions. because of this change, meta will no longer be able to utes

tools to report child exploitation. encryption can be a valuable tool for protecting privacy but it's alarming for a company to kneecap their own work to stop online child sexual exploitation. according to press reports meta says it will greatly diminish its ability to identify online child exploitation and child protection advocates sound the same alarm. nicmic call it a devastating blow for child protection. other advocates are imploring meta to hold the rollout until it demonstrates the switch won't cause children harm. that is all they want, for meta to be sure it won't hurt kids. this highlights the unacceptable situation we find ourselves in. there are no tools to hold companies instead survivors and advocates are left to plead to choose

safety over profit. the phoenix 11 powerfully express rage about the situation in a letter they sent to the committee. they wrote, and i quote, as survivors, we bear the consequences when decisions are made that prioritize profit over children. if meta no longer reports these crimes against us, we alone will suffer the consequences. this is a profoundly disturbing situation, and no other sector of society would we permit one company to make an unreviewable decision that puts millions of american kids at risk. but for almost 30 230 of the communications decency act has protected the tech industry from accountability for the damage it has done. you have to look far and wide to find companies or industries that are exempt from liability under the law civilly or criminally. this is one of those. the law was enacted to allow a fledgling industry to grow, but

now it has become an entitlement for the most profitable industry in history of capitalism to line their profits at the expense of kids. every available metric suggests online child sexual exploitation is getting worse. in the year 2013, ncmec received approximately 1,380 cyber tips per day. ten years later, 2023, it skyrocketed to 100,000 cyber tips per day. think about that for a second. 100,000 reports of sexualbuse per day. there's also been a dramatic increase in the number of victims per offender who can use technology to ensnare a shocking number of children without even leaving their homes. a single defendant prosecuted in minnesota sex-torted over 1,100 children. one person, over 1,000 kids.

what does that consist of? they lure kids and groom them to the point where they send photographs of themselves that are way too candid and expose things they shouldn't. then the person says if you don't want me to put this on the internet, you've got to pay me. this fellow had extorted that kind of situation from over 1,000 kids before he was finally brought to justice. that is the status quo that congress protects if we do nothing. everyone needs to doto stop thi. that includes congress finally enacting legislation that holds the tech industry accountable when it fails to why the judici committee will hold its landmark hearing tomorrow. that's why i'll continue to work to bring stop csam act and other critical bills to protect our kids to the senate floor. back in the day when i was elected office i was a trial lawyer in small-town america,

made a nice living, took cases to trial,pe. i'm not saying i was part of the system of justice in this country, but it turns out i was. the fact that people faceaccoun wrongdoing and could end up losing in court is an incentive, another incentive to do the right thing in your life. here we have a situation that's clearly, clearly out of control. what is happening is beyond the reach of the most conscientious parents in america. i'm lucky to have some wonderful grandkids. i've got two that live in new york, 12 years old. i'm really proud of them. their mom worries about them, and dad as well, every single day as they spend way too much time by their estimation o screens. they try to encourage them to do the right thing and make sure that they never communicate with people they don't know or provide information or anything else that they shouldn't. but the parents can't be sure that always works. nobody can. they want to do the right thing

for their kids. i told my daughter i was having this hearing, and she said, dad, when you get these execs in front of you, ask them protect their own kids who could be exploited and they wouldn't know about it. it's a legitimate question. i don't know if i'll be asking it tomorrow. it depends on circumstances, but it is something that every family across america would like to know. what are you doing, senator, to protect our kid? it's getting worse instead of better. can you change the law to help us? it's up to us to decide. i hope tomorrow's hearing is the beginning of that conversation on a bipartisan basis. i yith test.

which is festivals and the members of loved ones of the u.s. soldiers killed this weekend and power 22. prayers continue to be with them. secretary also will call each family really respects plaintiff on the remains of air force base as well u.s. army reserve earlier today will standards and

we are keeping the service members left in our thoughts and wish them a a in terms of update tracking service members with reported injury claims incongressional ai assessments. previously personal and medically inaccurate gordon for follow-up care. three of the eight returned to moncton medical center in germany and critical but stable condition and the other two service members are in their stable condition. after further examination of the trauma team, a determination will be made by medical staff whether any of these service members will require transfer facts key west in terms of details but the drone attack itself from a car so many questions to include penetrating

air defenses and origin in which specific iranian proxies responsible. u.s. central command■ to.questions and will keep you updated as new information becomes available as we are it. what we do know is iran militias are responsible for attacks and continued forces and we will respond time in large escalate tensions in the region seek necessary act our trip. here's u.s. ambassador to the republic and check defense minister signed a contract for the first 24 aircraft. he's will increase combat capability of military strength of nato and bilateral security europe.united states c

foreign military sales are formatted through the u.s. department so i refer you to my calling for more assistant secrr western hemisphere affairs coast of the prime minister of trinidad in the pentagon yesterday. performing the duties of the secretary, joined to emphasize support of the partnership. cohosting the security conference center command in november of 2024 and the partnership between amanda and defense course in anniversary this year the state partnership program.

we reaffirmed the u.s. and dod working together to improve caribbean regional security. i'll be happy to take any questions. providing the president response options looking at teacher strikes and seen a couple of others. >> i'm not going to get to the conversations the secretary has had the president highlighted, who will respond in the time af. >> what does it respond at this time? >> i will get into the specifics of the been to reiterate will respond in a timely manner of our choosing you deter some of

these attacks? >> is a reminder, forces and syd that is focused on. protectorces will respond in the time and manner of our . >> have you stupid it was sponsored by proxies.

>> suggesting they will support even if usa strikes his response, what is your response to. >> i'll have a specific government to provide other than axis. >> we had the yesterday there was confusion the drone -- can you distinguish between the two? no, i will knock into specific

abilities we have. in terms of reasons behind how they were able to penetrate the facilities at this now, i'm just going to get into the specifi t. >> these discussions, are you aware of these discussions? >> the comments by the state department and colleagues, as you know right now the as/400, that is not dumping for that but we will see.

>> secretary often will come. >> again, i do not have a date to announce. >> towered 22 and is it right that they are about 3000 different? >> will take that among the forces that were the soldiers killed, the support of operation supporting. the does that mean the commander? >> i want to get into the chain

of command process but supporting oir and certainly request this.÷ >> is this something you are still? taken to protect american forces in the■7 region, is there something in place to make sure this doesn't happen again? >> for security reasons, i'm not going to be able to specifics but we are taking this very seriously and will take the step to ensure our forces are protected, recognizing this is a dangerous neighborhood but to answer your will ensure that. >> the prime minter press conference yesterday the u.s.

response affecting this, is that pa of the determination in the u.s. response? >> don't have anything specific other than to say part of any decision-making process, provide integrations new account to include the broader regional goals beginning has been to prevent the situation israel and gaza from expanding into a broad know that enjoyment, there is concern responding to groups to prepare and disperse from these targets? >> again, i'm not going to get into detailstial

future operation, he heard both the president and secretary often saying we will respond tir choosing. three u.s. service members were killed, 40 working injured, they were deployed into the region into regional security ability in support of the international coalition so there will be consequences. >> the question,■n does the penn have to write targets? the mexican in terms of strikes, he's are taking on united nations section 51 in terms of focus is twofold.ense again, our one, protect international shipping transiting the red sea as well as degrading disrupt

capabilities to conduct these. >> the section you mentioned, the strikes in yemen, what defense are you talking about defending international coverage international law? >> what are you suggesting? >> i'm suggesting from the un, u.s. u.s. -- >> the international backside. they working together disrupt their ability to event.

... one that they will pull attacks for u.s. militaries. talking about how that may change the calculus in the building. if you do strike then you are escalating given that you said the administration has had this. >> i just will not hypotheticals. i will refrain from editorializing on those kinds of comments after 160 plus attacks

against u.s. forces. >> you welcome -- >> we have already provided a comment on that. >> the commentary which is there for them. how do you assess. >> we have a long-standing relationship going back many years. as it pertains to the association with the iraqi security forces. the statement of what effort is being made should strengthen the relationship for the iraqi security forces.

the partners that they need to support broader iraqi security and stability. >> can you give us a little bit ofy morning. what time did the drone attack take place? how quickly were the most seriously injured, aed iraq and then just kind of looking ahead in terms of any additional air defenses that you may be moving to the region or aligning the region. >> on the last question, you know, if we have details to prevent the a would be moving into the area, i

don't have anything to announce other than central command will take necessary steps to ensure our forces are protected. as far as timelines, i will take that question and come back to you. saturday night our time, sunday morning, iraq time and again, we will come back with you on what we are able to provide. >> i want to go back to the statement, it is really unusual some of the messages. at suspension of these attacks they don't want to basically embarrass the government at the same time they are saying iran is not always happy by escalation of u.s. forces. epartment and the administration has large pressure or messaging to iran and iraqi authorities for result

on such a statement. >> again. weird we have seen thd i will just stay where was earlier. actions speak louder than words. >> i just want to be clear on the point. you said we will take steps to ensure our forces are protected. if we have something to announce , we will announce it. you are adding air defense measures? you make it sound like there will be changes coming. >> we will take necessary steps to ensure our forces will be protected. >> above and beyond the measures that are currently in place. >> we are always assessing protection. i will just leave it broad like that. especially in light of recent events. >> are they receiving hazardous

duty? >> my assumption is yes but i will have to take that question. >> my other question would be are they eligible for combat? >> nancy. >> yesterday they said the secretary was going for appointment. his health. >> he went to the appointment last night, left the doctor's us is part of his planned physical therapy. still recovering well. still healthy. >> you mentioned he was going through the dignified transfer. will any part of that be open? >> you can contact the air force mortuary operations. they manage press access. to my knowledge those are up to the families whether it is open or not. certainly, you can put that

request in. >> i did not understand, there e around filming part of the arrival. >> films that walk up. i am just trying to understand. >> we followed normal protocol. >> typically it is not a country , it is not afforded honors, per se. standard arrival, the secretary arrived in the process. they pool because the size of the room was invited to come in and cover the top of meeting.

>> the arrival. i am not tracking anybody saying that they could not. just following normal procedure for any type of dv visit to the pentagon. thanks. >> i have a couple middle east. any updates on weapon delivery? being delivered. >> no new announcements. we are still standing by on the supplemental from congress. >> i don't have anything specific to announce. we will work toe they come online. >> a visit to ukraine. things like that >> the inspector general's

office. a lot of to replenish ammunition speared there cannot be any new starts until congress passes a spending bill. still a continued resolution meaning it has not been able to reap punish or any of its stocks of shells or missiles or at least get started on the s. >> talking about in terms of ukraine or just in general? >> each of the services has she. especially considering that so many have been given to ukraine. this is it ammunition build up. >> i refer each of the services

to talk about the current status is. we are limited in many ways, in terms of extending contracts. you can talk about their individual impacts. a drone strike in jordan. that could mean multiple action5 expecting a tiered response of local actions. secondly, on the statement, can you walk they are a little bit more. you would like to see them make good on this to suspend operations on u.s. forces. >> thank you, phil. on your first question, we will

not telegraph or discussassocia. again, on the statement that is out there, y, i don't think we could be any clear that we have called on the iranian proxy groups to stop their attacks. they have not. we will respond in the time and manner of our choosing.ay actior than words, there have been three attacks to my knowledge since the 28th of januaryeave i. got time for just a few more here. let's go to howard altman. >> a couple questions. can you confirm the recording could be delivered to ukraine as soonest tomorrow?

does the pentagon move forward. there has been a lot of discussion about it being replaced. has ukraine said anything? >> on your letter questionnaire, i am not tracking any changes. it is for ukraine to discuss the air eternal domestic affairs. as far as a small diameter bomb, we will provide ukraine with the ground launch. it is part of our funded security assistance efforts. however, due to security reasons we will not confirm specific timelines. we will refer to ukraine to talk about any delivery. continuing to work closely with ukraine in our industry partners to make sure tyehat they receive and are ready to use the capabilities that we are delivering to them and as quickly as possible.

thank you. >> recognizing there is an ongoing indication with a drone attack that this was a result of a technology failure or gap versus human error in terms of recognizing the technology and information and what it was saying. >> again, i appreciate the question. the other aspect of this which i know you all appreciate is the n aspect in terms of, you know, vulnerabilities. it is not something we would talk about certainly from the podium here. we do recognize the interest. >> you have any concern? exploring this situation to the

benefit. do you cvey any message? >> i am not sure i understand what you are asking. >> do you have any concern? responding to that attack. you have been saying you don't want to. did you convey any message? >> again, you know, we are not taking a step back. we fully recognize the tensions in the middle east. from the very beginning of the israel hamas■ conflict. the allies and our partners in the region to prevent a broader conflict. when it comes to the syria.

the president and the secretary of both set a time and place of our choosing. i will just leave it right t i would not use the word investigation. they are removing it. there is a specific connotation. it is up to whether or not he had some type of review or investigation.

central command and leaders are looking at this. i don't have a specific name to pass along to you. >> not one person looking into this there is no kind of —-dash. >> i will get back to you on that, nancy. thank you very much. appreciate it. nk1$

a cyber bully. the collection and sale of children sensitive personal data at the hearing 90 there were no witnesses from the tech have thr

chance. tomorrow the ceos of discord, meta-, snap, tiktok and x will testify. i think my friend and follow -- fellow colleague senator lindsey graham ranking member on the judiciary committee for his bipartisan cooperation. the ceos of discord snap and x o subpoenas issued by the committee. this is a repeated refusal to testify i look forward to hearing from these companies about what they are doing to make their platforms and accessible to child sex offenders. as recently as last week some of the new child safety measures that are long-overdue through ■)watching the playoff football games over the weekend you saw some of these same companies advertising they have now discovered a new way to protect

chdr with their appearance at the hearing? we will see. it should not take a senate before the senate judiciary committee to get these companies to prioritize child safety because these changes are half measures at best. i welcome the opportunity to question abo wha more needs to be done. there has been recent troubling reports about how each of these platrm target children or trade child material. some detail how they promote this behavior. let's be really honest about this. some of these algorithms are more powerful than any parent, that is for sure. some of the techniques used by these platforms to encourage and lower children into situations where they are in danger. well documented and researched. there has been recent troubling reports about these platforms being used to target kids in the

most heinous way. some details about this show that the companies are actually promoting this kind of behavior. the national center has named each of these companies to their annual dirty facilitating child sexual exploitation. i assure every member has heard from the constituents friends and family members about the harm it has inflicted on our kids. tomorrow the senate judiciary committee will demand answers. hearings are important but it's clear we need legislation because the tech i its own to pr kids. they are protecting their profits but not our children. last year the committee unanimously reported five bills combat the crisis of online child sexual exploitation. one of the pills i introduced was my bipartisan which will end

big tax free ride and allow victims to hold these companies accountable for their failure to stop all my child sexual exploitation. acronym for child sexual abuse material. since the earliest days ofe been allowed to act with near impunity. american families harmed by decisions have no means of redress. to illustrate how dangerous this is, consider the change made last month that carries great consequences for children. every year med estimates tens of millions of cyber tips to the national center for missing and exploited children. concerning the platforms. each cyber tip involves a victims exploitation like a child being sexually abused online.

on facebook and messenger platforms because of this change they will no longer be able to use certain tools to detect and report child exploitation. it can be a valuable tool for protecting privacy. recapping their own work to stop online child exploitation. according to those reports that employees warned internally that this would greatly diminish they the child exploitation. survivors immediately sound the same. they are devastating blow for the child protection. other advocates are employing to rollout until it demonstrates the encryption switch will not cause children harm. to be sure that it will not hurt kids.

this highlights the unacceptable situation we find ourselves in. there are no tools to hold companies accountable. instead survivors and advocates are left to plead with these companies to choose safety over profit. a group of survivors they have survivors that the consequences. they no will support the consequences. and no other sector of society will we permit one company to make a decision that puts millions of american kids at risk. for almost 30 years section 230 of the communications decency act has protected the tech industry for accountability for the damage of the test

you have to look far and wide to find these that are exempt their liability under the law civilly or criminally. this is one of those. the law was enacted to allow an industry to grow, but now it has become an entitlement for the most profitable industry in the history of capitalism. every available metrics suggest is getting worse. in the year 2013 receiving approximately 1380 per day. ten years later 2023 skyrocketing to 100,000 cyber texts per day. think about that for a second. 100,000 reports of sexual abuse per day. there's also been a dramatic increase. using technology to ensnare a

shocking number of children without even leaving their homes a single defendant prosecuted in minnesota. 1100 children. one person over 1000 kids. what does that consist of? they lord these kids groom them they expose things that they should not. then the person says if you want me to put this -- if you don't want me to put this on the internet you have to pay me. over 1000 kids before brought t justice. this is the status quo that congress protects if we do nothing. everyone needs to do their part to stop this. that includes congress finally enacting legislation that holds the tech industry accountable when it fails to protect children. when the district committee will hold its landmark hearing tomorrow. why continue to work toring

this and other critical bills that would protect our kids to the senate floor. mr. president, back in the day before i was elected office i was a trial lawyer in small-town america. took cases to trial. m i was -- it turns out that i was. the fact that people face accountability for their wrongdoing they could end up losing in court is another incentive to do the right thing in your life. here we have a situation that is clearly clearly out of control. what is happening is beyond the reac america. i am lucky to have some wonderful grandkids. do that live in new york, 12 years old. really proud of them. their mom worries about them in the data as well every single day as a spent way too much tim.

they tried to encourage them to do the right thing and make sure that they never communicate with people that they do not know or provide information or anything else that they should not. the parents cannot be sure that always works. nobody can. i told my daughter and she said that. one thing to do to protect their own kids. kids will be exploited and they would not even know about it. it is a legitimate question. asking it tomorrow.■n it is something that every family across america would like to know. what are you doing, senator, to protect our■ kids? it is getting worse instead of better. can you change a lot to help us. it is up to us to decide. beginning t conversation on a bipartisan basis. i yield to the floor.

test.

republicans in the house and senate have insisted for years that congress must make border security a top priority. speeches statements op-ed then tweets that they have issued on border legislation could fill entire libraries. we democrats agreed. we want to get something done o. we have negotiated with our republican counterparts for months to get them. look. it is entirely unsurprising and truly disappointing at the same time that many on the hard right including donald trump are now trying to collect this bipartisan effort for the sake

of electoral politics. here in the senate, both sides have an obligation to tune the partan noise out and continue working. bipartisanship is the only way that action on the border will happen. aid to ukraine secured. helping israel and the indo pacific and aid to innocent civilians in gaza will happen. so for all the noise and partisan posturing, the big picture here does not change. the senate will continue working on the supplemental this week. we know that this is har. very hard. democrats and republicans in this chamber have an obligation to tune out the outside noise and continue protecting our national security. now, texas presidency study. last week on what should have been the 51st anniversary of roe v wade, i called the decision to overturn roe one of the worst most damaging decisions for americans in modern history.

just a couple of days later the horrifying new study was released. in the journal of the american medical assoffects of the role reversal for women in america. according to this study, the state of texas alone settled the 26,000 rate related pregnancies in the year and a half since texas outlawed all abortions with zero exceptions for rape. let me say that again, mr. presidentggering and confounding and frightening. according to a new study of the journal from the american medical association, the state of texas alone so over 26,000 rate related pregnancies in the year and a half since texas outlawed all abortions and they outlawed zero, they required zero exceptions for rape. over 58,000 total rape related pregnanciestates what total abortion bands.

zero exceptions for rape. the numbers in this study are shocking. they are heartbreaking. it is all more maddening because the abortion restrictions in texas are as cruel as they come. forced pregnancy, no exception for rape, no exception for incest. restrictions in texas would have been considered on the fringe of the french. today, sadly, it is a reality for women. make no mistake about it, and the medical world where abortion is outlawed with zero exceptions is precisely what t hard right wants. they don't care about exceptions even for rape or incest. they want the freedom of choice to be extinct. democrats will never let that stand. never stop fighting to protect a woman's rights to choose. republicans will not be able to

run from this holiday created later this year when the american people go to the polls. now, on the economy. the outlook for the american economy continues to get brighter and brighter undershipn and democrats here in congress. last week a report showed that consumer sentiment surged by nearly 40% over the last two months. americans received even more good news this week. the american economy far exceeded expectations in the last 2023. even avoiding a hint of a recession. the heart rate predicted that democrats investments would drive our country to a recession today, american families are seeing more money in tir pockets, low unemployment and inflation cooling down. the bottom line is the american economy is headed in the right direction.

thanks to democrats investing in our infrastructure and increasing manufacturing. lifting our country through the american rescue plan. i am proud to say all three senate democrats whether the minority are the majority a leadin. the economy is now on an upswing so much so that republicans and the former president are trying to take credit. after the dow jones and s&p hit record highs last week, donald trump deployed a spin job for the ages calling it the soft market. cannot make that up. donald trump predicted the stock market crash. donald trump did win the election. today the stock market is at record highs. it is very telling that donald trump is trying to take credit from congressional democrats. donald trump knows his disastrous and chaotic records

cannot stand her scrutiny against the jobs, increased wages andourse, donald trump -- around the countrynding groundbe of the ribbon cutting ceremonies for projects they voted against in congress but the democrats in the house and senate prevailed. last week a minnesota gop congressman chair the announcement of $1 billion from a new bridge in the district saying he was proud to work with my minnesota and wisconsin congressional colleagues to secure this investment. there is only one problem. two years ago this very gop member voted against the infrastructure bill that provided these■w■z■c funds. stating at the time i will not be complicit in obtaining this passage toward socialism. well, there he was at thedge there he was at the bridge.

a few days later another gop congresswoman from florida tried to take credit on air for $40 million in funding the bill she voted against in congress including the chips and science bill which i was proud. i hope she will give me a pat on the back. when pressed on her voting record she did not even remember her vote. this will be a pattern we see all year long without any accomplishments on their own to and senate will try to take credit for jobs in investments they opposed in congress. well, that is a difference, mr. president between the democrat and republican agenda. democrats are working hard to lower costs, increase wages and and then taking credit for our work. if republicans want to keep claiming credit i encourage them workhs. past bipartisan legislation and

then you can probably go to these events without contradiction. we still have a long way to go to make our economy work better for families so there will be plenty of opportunities for republicans to work with us. yield the a senator: mr. president. the presiding officer: the senator from texas. mr. cornyn: mr. president, are we in a quorum call? the presiding officer: we are not. mr. cornyn: mr. president, the biden administration in the last few days made another reckless attempt to try to appease its more radical of its political case. last week the administration halted new liquefied natural gas

projects effectively chilling new investments in the industry that powers the united states and many of our closest allies. had the administration announced had the administration announced had the administration announces decision three years ago is alm unthinkable. russia's unprovoked war in ukraine is nearing the two-year mark. iran's terrorist proxies are unleashing chaos on the middle east and china, is responsible for growing tensions in the indo-pacific. time, i think we would all have to agree. given that the instigators of each of these conflicts are three of the world's largest natural gas producers, this is an extremely risky time for energy security. fortunately the united states is in a uniquely strong position to

temper those risks. we are the world's largest natural gas producer and last year we became the largest lng america, creating american jobs, helping grow our economy is being exported to countries all around the world that don't have access to those natural resources. around the globe, american lng supports the energy security of our friend and allies. if they're importing american energy, they don't he about some rogue dictator cutting off the gas with a moment's notice. sadly, many of our friends in europe had to learn this the hard way after the invasion of russia of ukraine. because much of europe had a single supplier of their energy

needs. in 2009, russia effectively turned off to ukraine for almost three weeks, using that energy supply as a weapon. it's affected countries in europe whose natural gas traveled in a pipeline through ukraine. in many ways this should have been a wake-up call for the u.s. and our allies about the dangers of energy dependence, a lack of diversity in the supply. anyone relying -- relying on anyone, any country for basic needs like heating, electricity and fuel creates a serious vulnerability. but relying on an adversary as europe did is down right dangerous. over the last is a years -- last 15 yrs in europe have been working to diversify their energy supply and reduce

reliance on russia.■remember j} our former cleeshgs saying russia is a gas station masquerading as a country. it's their princip they use to when they invade neighboring countries like ukraine. so oil and gas is how t do that, and they somehow had convinced the europeans that they were a reliable sole source for that energy. well, they learned the hard way after russia invaded ukraine. following russia's invasion, putin became persona non grata on the world stage. no one wanted to do business with russia. they didn't want to purchase russian oil and gas which would help putin finance his war and didn't want to puthe subject tod of a cruel and vindictive

dictator. our frids turned to the united states for lng and fortunately we were able to fill the gap. liquefied natural gas exports to europe more than doubled between 2021 and 2022. that was only possible because of america's energy producers. it wasn't that long ago i remember we were seeing terminals built for the importation of liquefied natural gas from other parts of the world to the united states, but it's a testament to the innovation and the investmentn america's natural resources that have allowed, as i said, america to be the number-one exporter. so rather than non grata. -- we are supplying that energy to our allies around the our en and the incredible men and women behind it, we have the supply

and export terminals to be send them the energy they needed at a critical moment. had this freeze been issued several years ago, the that president biden announced last week, that might not have been the case. because producers can't ramp up production and increase exports preparation, it requires infrastructure, it requires deploying your assets strategically. it's not like a faucet you can turn off and on in an instant. the production of energy takes time, investment, and infrastructure, and a whole lot of senator because investors will not invest in something that does not have chance of producing a return. now with the stroke of a pen, president biden has virtually eliminated that certainty. president biden's pause, as he calls it, has thrown future lng

projects into limbo and our allies are understandably spooked. they don't know if they can continue to count on the united states for the affordable energy they need to keep the lights on to heat their homes and to took their food. the biden administration has offered someuous assurances that this decision won't impact our ability to export lng to our allies in the near term, whatever that means. but it doesn't offer much peace of mind and it certainly doesn't offer the predictability that the marketplace needs to incentive investment in this energy production. 0 so our -- production. are no question if or when american lng will stop serving global ■+ markets. today they're wondering if they should ride this wave while they can or whether it's time to

startooking for another seller. the biden administration has created unnecessary chaos and confusion on our allies, and for what? a new talking point in a political campaign ad? it just does not make sense in any other -- any other context. and it's simply disin-jenie thi clooij. if countries can't get access to relatively clean naurg gas -- natural gas, what are they going to use? coal, for example. certainly nothing as clean as american-produced liquidfied natural gas. they can't just flip a switch and turn to wind, and renewables. at the end of the day they're going to need fossil fuels for a

baseload to keep the lights?4 o texas, i'm proud to say, is an all-of-the-above state, with we produce more wind than any other state in the nation, i know we're thought of as an oil and gas state, but thats simply not true. although the permian basin provides natural gas notmerica export. at the end of the day we're going to have to transition. i know some peopl in their fevered dreams think that you can automatically do away with fossil fuels and go to wind turbines and solar panels and renewables, well, we do need a transition, but we can't transition overnight. it is going to take time and i believe america's innovators a

other ways to generate access to energy that will allow us overtime to transition. it's inevitable. we've always been in a transition to energy but we can't do it overnight the way b to think we can. as i say, maybe our allies will turn to coal, maybe they will purchase natural gas from russia again or saudi arabia, which don't have nearly the same environmental standards that we have in the united states. at the end of the dayxd one thi is certain, restricting the supply of american liquefied natural gas isn't going to make the world's energy consumption any cleaner, and it's sure to jeopardize global energy security. once again, president biden has missed the forest for the trees.

so focused on■? pleasing climat activists that he's lost sight of the bigger picture. american lng is not the enemy here. in fact, it's a vital security tool. we have to uplift our closest allies and supply affordable energy to american families. it gives them -- other countries the ability to source their energy from a stable democracy rather than a temperamental it options, something that you would think the biden administration would encourage. as i mentioned it creates jobs in places like texas, north carolina, and pennsylvania and lifts up the entire u.s. economy. the biden administration halting u.s. exporting puts all of that in jeopardy at the worst

possible time it■ weakens u.s. energy securit, it kills american jobs, it kneecaps our ene i sends more ba and iran. this isn't a climate victory, it isn't an economic victory, and it certainly isn't a victory for our security. this is an unforced error and a pretty transparent attempt at trying to please climate activists. the climateh to energy policy isn't just foolish ares it's extremely dangerous -- it's extremely da president, i support efforts to diversify our energy sources and reduce emissions. as i mentioned, my state has embraced an all-of-the-above energy strategy, which includes solar, gas, wind, and nuclear.

but on top-that texas-based companies are making enormous strides in energy innovation. every day they're finding new ways to make our most prevalent and affordable energy sources cleaner. encourage innovation and re to diversify our energy sources, but those efforts must come second to energy security. our top priority must be to ensure the u.s. and our allies have access to the energy they need to keep the lights on. it's embarrassing that even after we witnessed -- what we witnessed over the last few years president biden still hasn't learned that lesson. mr. president, i yield the ■(

floor.

over 20 million people signing up. why is that? >> 5 million this year never the marketplaces. not quite closed it closes after january 31. new york or new jersey or connecticut you could still have a day or two to sign up if you would like to. this was a big surprising number >> the reasons why, how would you describe that ....

will now they can and that was something that the biden administration said. >> ckiwers if you want to get in on this will divide the lines differently. give us a call if you get private insurance through an employer and if you're not insured (202)748-8002 and also all others category 2027488003. i want to talk about some of the

states that were listed in terms of the increases florida georgia the national growth west virginia louisiana ohio indiana. what's the common denominator? the common denominator is there the three biggest states that have not expanded medicaid to low income adults without children which we are up to 40 states now and posted the three big ones that are still holding out. a lot of people in the state are eligible. there are many to choose resolve to lots more people in those states. yeah it was notable that the states that still have high rates of people who don't have insurance partly because those states have not expanded medicaid which people might remember was originally when the law passed in 2010 and it was supposed to be mandatory but the supreme court ruled in 2012 that e

eventually it was such a good financial deal for the state that we now have up to 10. those three states have been under republican control consistently and have opted out so far. >> you talk about subsidies how long will people get them and when to do and? >> the big subsidies in the affordable care actor perman and they going with the expanded subsidies at the end of 2025 so congress would have two at that point as to extend them let them expire at the extend of the hut to find a way to pay for them so we are expecting a fight after go away who's going to currently get karen what is that locate like? >> the people right now can get subsidies up to $120,000 income for a family of four that was dropped with legislation to 70,000 in lower income people

would still be old to get subsidies and still be able to get a deductible but not asowsia deductible so it's not just getting the insurance it's getting health care that's more affordable. there's lots of insurance you can get for low premium if you need care and you have the 6000-dollar deductible your insurance is not helpful. >> what's the scope of care that someone can get under the aca? >> it's pretty comprehensive. it hath to be because it's one of the things in the affordable care act that the hep b's essential of happy operatives basically the same benefits of many employer plans. it's always been the same benefit but it's been more with employer insurance get ae subsidy from their employer and large employers have been able to negotiate better deals for some things. basically if it's going to be

governed it's going to be governed. >> they can still get covag >> no more charging more for women than men and those things are not allowed anymore. >> dental care and eyeglasses etc. and how much of that is covered under the current plan? >> not much. kids dental care it is the rebuilt it's not. i don't believe optometry and dental care not mandatory benefits. i haven't looked in while some of the plants might offer them if they get people to join and that's something you tend to get into private medicare advantage plan for the enticement. >> aside from subsidies to buy demonstrations led to great lengths to tell people about it and despite what they did in order to reach out to more people. >> the chubb administration had cut back deeply in terms of

budgets and outreach for advertising for having people and community health help sign up and having fares to help people come and sign up. that outreach had gotten much smaller in the buy demonstrations not onl brought it out to where it was under president obama. expanded it even more so there's even more help and i talk about thisedicaid has beenhedding people all year people the people who got medicaid any time during the pandemic are required to be left on by the states and starting last april they had to start to reevaluate people to see whether they were still eligible to sell 15 million people have lost medicaid coverage since last april. we think about 5 million of them are somewhere along the line have gotten other coverage not necessarily affordable care act coverage that they've been them eligible for employer coverage and if kids at least for the children's health care program

that serves children and families in higher income than those who qualify for medicaid if we do know a number of people who have been taken off of medicaid are uninsured now. >> one of the questions asked of the obama administration is what is ultimately the cost and would have received as far as costs for the united states? >> i don't have the total numbers in front of me but i will say this this is the first year the number of people who have signed up with what the congressional budget office estimated in 2010 i think enrollment was lower in one recent is there was an expectation that employers would stop offering health insurance and basically send people to the marketplace because they could and that didn't happen for a whole variety of reasons employers entice them to get good workers and i the beginning the affordable health care insurance was

considerably more expensive so even though would cover the same benefits that might have much smaller and narrower networks and it would cost more solove employers kept their insurance and that's one of the reasons it to go while people still don't know about it. >> a guinea pig the lines on whether you get insurance and private insurance underline for others. julie rovner a k. ff help the news in this conversation. jason in hawaii a receiver private insurance jason thanks for calling and you are on with our guests. go ahead. >> thank you angelie how are you guys doing? i come from a land of aca where it's been like this forever. instead of medicaid it'sest anda he enacted this in my give you r

question, my question is if the aca was supposed to be simple at first you had the put it on your taxes and now you don't doesn't seem simple. it seems acceptable but it doesn't seem simple and i would like your comments on that julie and another anecdote i was on this medicaid for a while and there was a situation i had. i had to have a dental procedure to basically totally free under my private plan i had to pay now. so figure that out and balances -- listen to your answer off the air. >> update the last part first. medicaid coverage does cover dental care and most private insurance does that i would imagine it's required for children but for adults they don't.

they probably can't afford their dental care and that's why test be covered. i will gently correct this it was never supposed to be simple. it was supposed to be a lot of things that simple was never considered one of them and this is a true of the whole health care system particularly government health care system. if you watch c-span and congress works and up compromising. she only way you can get anything passed him by compromising one from here and went from here putting themthers more complex and he didn't need to bargain so much so you end up with medicare and medicaid in the aca. very complicated and they try to make the signing of process the consumer facing part is supposed to be simple but i was on the medicare web site which used to be simple and it isn't anymore. you can buy a drug plan which you couldn't do into two -- until 2006 so things have been

added. >> another receiver of insurance in michigan jackie, hello. >> good morning c-span pedro angelie. i can understand why in the year 2024 we do not have national health care. that includes dental. we have plenty of money in this country and the american people pay a lot in taxes. i'm quite are elected and represent us in congress and the president of united states and the vice president have comprehensive health care. they don't worry about medical bills. iave private and it's very inexpensive at only $38 a month through the county here.

>> checking michigan thank you. >> i remember in congress it was a requirement to have the affordable care explants and those of their staff so what used to be this goldplated health coverage iealth coverage they had with the same health care bridge that others have that congress put itself in a situation that we have hadd4 this, i've been at the this since 1986 covering health care covering the problems of the uninsured and expansive or health care system and there's basically this big riff between democrats who feel government should play a larger role health care system and the other side thinks they -- so what we have ended up as with this mix that's messing doesnor thinks it should. we'd never been able to choose one or the other. >> when it comes to the number providers that provide the plan for the aca pool has it shrunk?

>> it shrunk and then it expanded again. at the beginning insurers to know what to expect in this is what happened with medicare part d. insurers weren't quite sure what to expect. enrollment went down there and it's expensive for insurance companies companies in the roman start to go up and lo and behold they insurers are like lets go back into that market. the array of is fairly robust and this is one of the things that makes it confusing. it's too robust and we have too many choicesknow what the corre. >> do we have gold cadillac destinations available? >> you have bronze silver and gold yes there is still those designations and it is confusing. >> would generally sets him apart? >> well that used to be the silver plan was the one you could get the subsidy for but

that's not always the case anymore. i believe you can get a gold plan but the subsidy now so the silver plan was the cost of the silver plan was what everything else was based around a that's been i should know. forgive me i don't. >> maksen michigan on her line for others you are on with julie rovner. >> thank you for taking my call. i'm a retiree from chrysler corp. and 82 years old and e con the big three were running the health care programs are prescriptions i paid in co-pays at $70 for some of my medications and then when the uaw took the negotiators to take the coverage in the uaw's started running the health plans and took the big corporations out a bit i'm paying $5 for the

same prescriptions that i was paying $70 for. i have dental care, i have hearing aids, i have prescriptions that i get on some of them are only $2 i don't understand why this can't be done and i'm not sure about this but i think they have like five people from the uaw that are on the board and then they have five individuals that are from people that areyers or whateveri don't understand people that are paying so much more than i am for years and as soon as the union took it over its down to $65 for prescription. i was wondering if you could adjust that -- address that. >> that's a whole different universe about retirin health insurance used to be when you retired your employer would provide you with retiree health

insurance in your medicare would be in anecdotes about and that one away in the 80s and 90s along with pension so some employers offer a medicare along withr medicare or if you are a member with the supplement with a union negotiated is what you pay. it depends who you worked for and what kind of program they had and how much insurance costs where you live. different prices and offer different forms of benefits but it's not uncommon for people with good retired insurance to have it raptor on medicare have had their own coverage and have eyeglass coverage. >> this is mike in new jersey you ask can explained the reasons that co-payments is it to dissuade people from using insurance? >> yes it is. the idea people should have a lot of skin and again. if everything is completely free people overuse it so the idea

pleased to have coinsurance and there still is co-insurance which means you pay a percentage of the service you are getting and it can be problematic. mr. brown: thank you, mr. president. i rise today on a pretty solemn occasion in eastern ohio, frankly. i rise today to recognize a town in eastern owe, one that most of my colleagues probably didn't even know -- a year ago. february 3, less than a year ago, 2023, 38 railcars from a train spanning one and a half miles -- think about that, a train spanning one and a half miles -- derailed and overturned outside of ohio p toxic chemicals started spewing into the air and the water and in the ground. we saw the footage -- we all saw that footage. people read the articles, they scrolled through it on social media. americans watched it.

the people of east palestinian lived and evacuate their nomes in the middle of the night. they didn't know if the air they were breathing or the water coming from their safe. my job is to always, always fight for ohio when as doesster struck, we got to work. residents in the surrounding area needed air, water, and soil testing. we secured it. they needed initial health screenings. we made it happen. we had a free health clinic. we got help with clean-up. local farmers and manufacturers needed investment to keep their community alive. we delivered threw a loan program through the department of agriculture. now reporters have packed up, the cameras left the community to chase the next big stoefrment the people are still there trying to move forwagcrd. over the last year, i visited east palestinian a number of times. our staff is there even more

often, each time we ask residents what we can do. they want the contamination cleaned up completely. they want continuous monitoring of the air they breathe, the water they drink, and the screenings to see long-term health has been impacted. they want assurance that they're going to be hit by a surprise tax -- that the won't be hit by a surprise tax bill this season. we included a provision in the bipartisan tax deal to guarantee that. that tax deal that included breaks for our research and development voted out of the committee 40-36789 we're fighting for all of it. we're not giving up. we'll keep asking, listening, and make sure they get what they need. as we sat at roundtables and toured the health clinic and walked through the fields of family farms, i had the privilege of getting to know these peoplecx who call east palestinian their home. this community, this county manufactured ceramics in this

area and they community bood. like my hometown of mansfield, when bad trade deals shipped those jobs overseas and the factories closed their doors, the community came together and persevered. i listened to their family stories, their hopes foretheir hometown, their concerns for the future. in every visit, conversation, every interaction, i saw determination and heart. i just don't think about a train derailment, i think about the resilience they have shown. i think about firefighters who were first on the scene that night of the derailment having no idea what they were exposing themselves to. but that was their job and all but one of the fire departments, the chief, was the exception. all but one of them is a volunteer.■t they've returned to work every day despite what 42 found to serve their community. i think about the parents who fought to make sure the town will still their home. i think about the business owners and farmers and

manufacturers working to resume pre-derailment operations and i know that i have no doubt they will. people -- the people of east palestine want the support and compensation they are owed. they do not want this derailment to define them. i don't want that either. i don't want any other community to have to deal with a disaster like this ever again. make no mistake, the derail. was preventable. the train periled past sensors norfolk southern didn't tell the crew to stop. norfolk southern laid off a third of their workers in the last decade. now they're trying to take even more crewmembers off trains, trains that can be miles long and carrying dangerous chemicals. understand, in the ten years leading up to this, a third of the crew -- a third of the norfolk southern workers will laid off, stock buybacks, big dividends for the executives, and look what happened to public safety. companies rush safety inspections, inspections that can help spare communities from

disaster. of a company culture obsessed with profits at the expense of safety and the communities their trainsugh. it is a wall street business model. cut costs, cash bonuses, the people of east palestine be damned. we're not letting norfolk southern get a.i. way with it. we've got to make sure it doesn't happen again. one month after the derailment,1 senator vance and i teamed up to introduce the bipartisan railway safety act to stop a disaster like this from ever happening again. year advocating for rail safety across ohio and cities and towns that have had rail -- have had train derailments. it is not just east palestine, it is san did yous i ask, and

other towns. more norfolk southern derailments within a year of the east palestine crash. it is a reason why we must get this commonsense bill across the finish line and hold norfolk southern accountable. after the derailments in san dawes i ask and springfield, norfolk southern refused to pay what they owe. when local leaders came to us, we demanded they make their payments and finally, of course reluctantly, because it affected their bottom line, they did. that's how i approach this job. i listen to the people we serve. here is my message to the singl from athens to everywhere in between, i will continue to fight for oat owe every single time. when disaster strikes, we show up, we find ways to make sure every community gets what they need. we fight to make sure these app. i've told the people of east palestine -- i keep telling them that. i'm there for the long haul. i can't count the number of

times that people said, well, nobody will come back once the cameras leave. well, the cameras have mostly left. i'll continue to be there. i'll continue to fight for colu. i always fight to hold norfolk southern accountable. i will always fight to make our railways safer a -- safer. mr. president, i ask unanimous consent that the scheduled vote occur immediately. the presiding officer: without objection. the question is on the nomination. mr. brown: i ask for the yeas and nays. the presiding officer: is there a sufficient second? there appears to be. the clerk will call the roll. vote: the clerk: ms. baldwin. mr. barrasso. mr. bennet. mrs. blackburn. mr. blumenthal.

mr. booker. mr. boozman. mr. braun. mrs. britt. mr. brown.

mr. budd. ms. butler. ms. cantwell. mrs. capito.

mr. cardin. mr. carper. mr. casey. mr. cassidy. ms. collins. mr. coons. mr. cornyn. ms. cortez masto. mr. cramer. mr. cruz. the clerk: mr. cruz. ms. duckworth. mr. durbin. ms. ernst. mr. fetterman. mrs. fischer. mrs. gillibrand. mr. graham. mr. grassley. mr. hagerty. ms. hassan.3ñ 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. luja ms. lummis. mr. manchin. mr. markey. mr. ma 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. 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. 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.

vote:itf$fd■"■é■dp

the affirmative -- bennet, brown, cantwell, duckworth, ernst, gillibrand, kaine, markey, mendendez, murkowski, reed, sinema, tester, welch.e -- hyde-smith, marshall, paul, rickets, rubio, tuberville, vance.■% mrs. shaheen, aye. mr. lankford, no.

mr. coons, aye. mr. whitehouse, aye. mr. scott of florida, no.

the clerk: mr. wicker, no.

vote: no. ms. butler, aye. mr. peters, aye. the clerk: mr. romney, aye. ms. cortez masto, aye.

mr. ossoff, aye.zy the clerk: mr. sanders, aye. mr. daines, no. mr. grassley, aye.

ms. warren, aye. mr. merkley, aye. ms. baldwin, aye. ms. hassan, aye. mr. cornyn, aye. mrs. capito, aye. the clerk: mr. thune, aye.■

mr. durbin, aye. ms. klobuchar. aye. the clerk: mr. cotton, no. the clerk: ms. collins, aye. ms. stabenow, aye.

the clerk: mr. cramer, aye.

the clerk: mr. boozman, no. ms. smith, aye. mr. warner, aye.the clerk: mr. .

mr. wyden, aye. mrs. britt, no.

mrs. fischer, no. mr. schatz, aye.pg mr. cassidy, aye. mr. hagerty, no. the clerk: mr. schumer, aye.

mr. cardin, aye. mr. young, aye. mr. heinrich, aye.

thcl murray, aye. mr. booker, aye.■b

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

the clerk: mr. rounds, aye.h. the clerk: mr. van hollen, aye.

the clerk: mr. budd, no.

the clerk: mr. padilla, aye.

the clerk: mr. hickenlooper, aye.■g the clerk: mr. carper, aye. mr. casey, aye.

vote: the clerk: mr. mullin, aye.

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

the clerk: mr. moran, aye.

the clerk: mr. kelly, aye. 6,

the clerk: mr. sullivan, no.

the clerk: mr. blumenthal, aye. the clerk: ms. rosen, aye.

mr. mcconnell, no. ms. lummis, no.

the clerk: mr.braun, aye. ,v

the clerk: mr. murphy, aye. ■z vote: the clerk: mr. hawley, no. y■lh

the clerk: mr. cruz, no. ■t

the clerk: mr. hoeven, no. ■u>91

vote: @ ■6

mehalchick. the presiding officer: the yeas are 66, the nays are 25. the nomination is confirmed. under the previous order, the motion to recsider is considered made and laid upon the table. the president will be immediately notified of the senate's action. mr. schumer: mr. president. the presiding officer: the majority leader. mr. schumer: i move to proceed to legislative session. the presiding officer: the question is on the motion. all in favor say aye. those opposed, no. the ayes appear to have it. the ayes do have it. the motion is agreed to. mr. schumer: i move proceed

to executive session to consider calendar number 477. the presiding officer: the question is on the motion. all in favor say aye. ose opposed, no. the ayes appear to have it. the ayes do have it. the motion is agreed to. the clerk will report the nomination. judiciary, lisa w. wang, of the district of columbia to be a judge for the court of international trade. mr. schumer: i send a cloture motion to the desk. the presiding officer: the clerk will report the cloture motion. the clerk: cloture motion, the undersigned senators, in accordance with the provisions of rule 22 of the standing rules of the senate, do hereby bring to a close debate on the nomination of executive calendar number 477, lisa w. wang, district of columbia to be an a judge for the courts of international trade. mr. schumer: i ask that the reading of the names be waived. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. schumer: i move to proceed to legislative session. the presiding officer: the question is on the motion. all in favor say aye. those opposed, no. the ayes appear to have it. the ayes do have it.

the motion is agreed to. mr. schumer: i move to proceed to executive session consider calendar number 476. the presiding officer: the question is on the motion. all in favor say aye. those opposed, no. the ayes appear to have it. the ayes do have it. the the clerk will report the nomination. the clerk: nomination, the judiciary, joseph albert laroski, of maryland, to be judge of the united states international court of trade. mr. schumer: i send a cloture motion to the desk. the presiding officer: the clerk will report the cloture motion. the clerk: cloture motion, the undersigned senators, in accordance with the provisions of rule 22 of the standing rules of the senate, do hereby bring to a close debate on the nomination of calendar number 476, joseph albert laroski, of maryland, to be a judge of the united states state court of international trade. mr. schumer: i ask that the reading of the names be waived. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. schumer: i ask unanimous consent the mandatory - quorum

cloture motions filed today be waived. the presiding officer: without objection, so ordered. mr. schumer: i ask unanimous consent the senate proceed to le period of morning business with senators permitted to speak therein for up to ten minutes each. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. schumer: i ask unanimous consent the senate proceed of s 535, submitted earlier today. the presiding officer: the clerk will report. the clerk: s. res. 535, recognizing january 30, 2024, as help america vote day. the presiding officer: is there objection to proceeding to the mejection, the senate will proceed. mr. schumer: i ask unanimous consent the resolution be agreed to and the motions to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table with no intervening action or debate. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. schumer: mr. president, i ask unanimous consent that when the senate -- when the senate completes its business it stand aid understand until 10:00 a.m. on wednesday, january 31, that following the prayer and ■v■l morning business be -- the

morning hour be deemed expired and that pop -- upon the conclusion of morning business, the senate proceed to executive session to resume consideration the mehalchick noichlgs. further, that notwithstanding rule 1212 at 11:30 a.m. that the senate vote on the confirmation of the kirk edward sherriff nomination, followed by the mehalchick nomination, and that the senate recess until m:15, to allow for the weekly caucus meetings, and if cloture has been invoked on theehalchick nomination, and then consider the fwofman nomination and all time be considered expired at the presiding officer: without objection, so ordered. mr. schumer: if there is no business to come before the senate, i ask that it

senate, i ask that it and at least said it hast gaveled out for the day after working on a judicial nomination. on wednesday with voting on measures with lectured vehicles lecture vehiclesand cybersecurih live coverage of the senate when you return here on cspan2. the ceo o social media companies will tti wednesday on child sexual eloitation.■a mark zuckeer tiktok and linda of x along with the heads of discord and snap. watch the senate judiciary committee hearing live starting 10:00 a.m. on c-span three also sees bend our free mobile video app and online at c-span.org. ♪ c-span is your unfiltered view of government that we are funded by these and more including charter