internet, that's why we're moving to 10g. >> media com supports c-span along with these other television providers giving you a front row seat to democracy. >> and the senate about to gavel in. this morning a vote on the irs chief council nominee. and looking at buy america electric charger role. and yesterday senator mitch mcconnell announced he'll step down. we'll take you now to the senate floor. watching live coverage on c-span2. barry black will open the senate in prayer. the chaplain: let us pray. o lord, our god, wonderful in glory who keeps your promises to those who serve you.

consecrate with your presence the path you desire our lawmakers to take. lord, kindle in the hearts of our senators the true love of peace and guide them with your wisdom. may the faith they questions with their plips put courage an hopes in their hearts that they may live each day in the spirit of your love. cleanse them from every thought displeasing to your goodness that with pure hearts, clear minds, and calm hope they may honor you. and, lord, have mercy upon our

war-torn world. we pray in your powerful name. amen. the presiding officer: please join me in reciting the pledge of allegiance to the flag. i pledge alonance to the -- allegiance to the united states of america, one nation under god with liberty and justice for all. ing officer: the clerk will read a communication to the senate. the clerk: washington, d.c., february 29, 20 24, under the provisions of rule 1, paragraph 3 of the rules of the senate i hereby appoint the honorable -- senator with a warnock. the presiding officer: under the

previous order the senate will proceed to executive session to resume consideration of the following nomination, which the clerk will report. the clerk: nomination, department of the treasury, marjorie a. rollinson, to be an assistant general counsel.

a lot of people been close to mitch mcconnell. there are questions about whether he was going to try to

position again. he decides to step down, not necessarily shocking to many people i was talking to. but the fact that he did it yesterday, the timing of it was certainly a surprise to most people. it was kept very close, only a handful of people knew ahead of time he was planning to announce this decision yesterday. there was surprised on the timing, even if the final decision wasn't a total shocker for many people. >> who was given a heads up? >> it still unclear. again still keeping is pretty close come keeping their cards close to the chest on this. i've heard from a couple people who are really close to mcconnell who got a bit of a heads up that this is going to be coming but also we know mcconnell told most of his colleagues just right before his announcement in a meeting with other republicans.

many of the senators did not know ahead of time that mcconnell was planning to make this announcement yesterday. so in that way it was a surprise and we all got to talk to the senators reacting live to the news because the vast majority of them, it's unclear if any of them knew much in advance. the majority of them had no idea until yesterday. >> host: what led to his decision? >> guest: it's a good question. it's definitely come he laid out a couple reasons himself, when he made it announcement from the floor. of course he already has the longest serving senate leader in history. he's already kind of reached that goal, and he made mention of the fact that he understands the political winds are changing right now. and we seen him sort of out of step with the least a part of this conference in recent weeks. we know that there was a big

showdown over the bipartisan border deal that ultimately failed. of course he was unable to get half of this conference to vote to pass foreign aid. of course trump is a big reason here as well. mcconnell and trump have been at odds for the past several years. they have not spoken for years and we've seen time and time again in recent weeks and months that the former president continues to have a strong grip on the republican party and it is clear that was kind of a breakup there between the senate republican leader and donald trump. that certainly factored into it as well. we know mcconnell mention his personal reasons knowing he would want to step away when he felt confident indisposition,, not wanting to hang on to long. also he references the death of a sisters-in-law, and of the moment of reflection for him on what he wants to do. >> host: did his health play

role in his decision making? >> guest: the people i talked to said that wasn't a role in it but we all remember that he has had a very difficult health journey over the past couple of years. of course watching him freeze up on camera a couple of times. that certainly sparked some concerns about his leadership at the time. most of his allies will say that's not been a problem anymore. that he is perfectly fine. what i'm sure that factored into it just going back to last year when we we're seeing some ofe episodes. >> host: which senators are in running to replace him as a republican leader? and how and when will that take place? >> guest: the leadership election will happen in november after the general election in the u.s. we are looking at the three most likely candidates, people refer to them as the three johns. we have john who is currently the number two republican in the

senate as the republican whip. you have john barrasso who is number three in the senate, and then we also have john cornyn, a texas senator who does not currently have any leadership role that has held leadership roles in the past. each of them do offer a different direction for the party in the senate. john thune is in many ways many people i talked to see him as the front runner, kind of the more natural error of mcconnell but on the other end of things he does not have a good relationship with the former president and trump circle so that could be a hindrance there for his attempt on his part to run for leader. meanwhile john barrasso has been a long time endorser of the former president. he's also back a lot of the more conservative kind of maga style candidates so far. those running for senate this

year. he's an interesting character to watch as well because of his appeal to the further right flank of the republican party, whether we see those senators polson power in essence with over the decision. lastly, john cornyn has also been close to leadership for a long time. he seems likely to make a run for this position. he's a texas republican conservative, also has little bit of a difficult relationship with former president trump but he has endorsed the president, never endorsed any other primary challenger for the president, which john thune did. >> host: stef kight is a political reporter with axios. you can follow reporting on the story and others if you go to ask also on axios.com. thanks for your time. >> guest: thanks for having me. and now we turn to all of you to get your reaction to the news of the minority leader mitch

mcconnell republican of kentucky stepping down from that top spot. stephen in new york democratic c caller. you are up first, stephen. >> caller: good morning c-span. c-span. good morning, greta. i just want to say that what mitch mcconnell created by stopping putting merrick garland court, then rushing conifer onto the court has created a republican super majority. not a legal super majority, a republican super majority. they are not the supreme court. there are six republicans doing whatever the republican party can't do the legislation. case in point the tops decision overturning roe v. wade was not connected to any law of past president. to delay trump skates on immunity is another example of them working exclusively for the

republican party and not for the american people. there is no presidential immunity to kill people, and they know that. they shouldn't be taking this case. they should let all of these cases go forward. and yet mitch mcconnell can thank for all this. i'm glad he step down and they can't wait for him to retire from the senate. thank you. >> host: stephen in new york, democratic caller talking about the role that mitch mcconnell played in the current makeup of the supreme court, referencing the former president barack obama's nomination of merrick garland not moving forward with that nomination, and then working with the trump administration president trump with the current conservative justices, getting them through the senate and onto the bench. tony in tampa, florida, republican. >> caller: yeah, i just wanted to say that mitch mcconnell

was a nice guy, but that's about where it is. as far as a leader. he was a zero and this guy just brings up merrick garland, okay. i'll give him his due on that one, but let's be real. if using the judges that his senate approved and pushed right through, i mean, the democrats would have never did the same to the republicans like that. this guy offered a leadership and the three major gas just mentioned replace him that's a lateral movement. checkered past republican,, establishment republicans, they go along to get along. i never remembered this guy. i mean, he issued he would never impeach people. he had no aggression at all, and i think the democrats today are very sad to see he's leaving ag to avoid a shutdown this we

weekend, so we can finish our work to fund the federal government for the rest of the year. the house is set to vote today on an extension of government funding until march 8 and march 22. once the house acts, i hope the senate can pass the short-term c.r. as soon as tonight. but that will require all of us working together. there's certainly no reason this should take a very long time. so, let's cooperate and get it done quickly. i'm very glad we got this done before friday's deadline. i worked very hard with chair murray, vice chair collins, and all the appropriators to reach this agreement. it is consistent with the top-line agreement i reached with the speaker back in january, without the unacceptable poison pill riders that we said would not fly. as i said too the -- as i said directly to the speaker, over and over and over again, the only way to get things done here

is with bipartisanship, and this agreement is another proof point. this agreement is proof that when the four leaders work together, when bipartisanship is prioritized, when getting things done for the american people takes a high priority, good things can happen, even in divided government. and i hope this sets the stage for congress to finish the appropriations process in a bipartisan way very soon. on top of all that, i'm very glad the american people won't have to deal with the pain of a government shutdown. even a partial shutdown would have threatened services for moms and children, would have hurt our veterans, would have hurt farmers and home buyers and law enforcement and so much more. thankfully, we're on track to avoiding all of that. if there's anything that this appropriations process has made abundantly clear, it's this -- when serious-minded democrats

and serious-minded republicans engage each other with a desire to get things done, good things happen, even in divided government. we avoid shutdowns. we invest in the american people. and we make our country stronger. now, on the border, today president biden will visit the u.s. border at brownsville, texas, where he will meet with local leaders and border enforcement agents. 300 miles up the rio grande, donald trump is expected to vilsity the border at -- to visit the border at eagle pass, texas. when president biden and donald trump visit the border today, americans will see a glaring contrast between a sitting president, who negotiated the strongest border bill we've seen in years, and a former president exploiting the border for political gain and making sure nothing gets done. president biden knows the border is a serious problem.

so, look at what he's done. he sat down with republicans to draft the strongest, most comprehensive border security bill america has seen in de decades, and we worked with him here in the senate to make that happen. let me say again, president biden knows the border is a serious problem, and that's why he sat down with republicans to draft the strongest, most comprehensive border bill america has seen in decades. but what did donald trump do? donald trump deliberately sabotaged the very same border reforms he spent years calling for, because he wants to exploit the border for the campaign trail. he explicitly took credit for the bill going down. please blame it on me. those were his words. it was donald trump who saab tats a -- sabotaged a bill with dramatic updates to asylum. it was donald trump who sabotaged a bill that reformed

parole authority. it was donald trump who sabotaged a bill that provided new resources to border patrol agents. and it was donald trump who somebody a bill -- who be a sagged a bill endorsed by the border patrol union, "wall street journal" editorial page and chamber of commerce. hardly liberal groups. donald trump, when he laments the border, should look in the mirror. because he's the done who tanked 9 best chance -- tanked the best chance we've seen in ages to fix it. until donald trump said oppose it, it would have passed, here in the senate and even in the house. when republicans in congress say they will shut the government down or bring the legislate provide sess -- process to a halt unless we fund the border, that is bull, because they are the ones who blocked a deal. republicans are the one

exacerbating the border by pushing things like h.r. 2, which not only didn't get a single democratic vote, it wouldn't even solve the problem. it wouldn't even solve the problem. again, as i've reminded speaker johnson over and over again, you can't do anything without bipartisanship when we have divided government. so, to simply write what you want and put it for a vote when it gets no democratic votes is a path to not solving the problem, but in a sense doing the same thing donald trump did -- use it for political purposes, say the problem isn't solved, for political purposes, when you're the ones who prevented the problem from being solved. republicans cannot, cannot claim to be serious about fixing the border while voting against the very same border policies they've spent years calling for. republicans can't be serious about fixing the border when they say it's an emergency, and

then when they have a chance to stop it they refuse for crass political purposes. this is what happened in the last few weeks, and democrats will make sure the american people know it. now, on ukraine, in the meeting with president biden and congressional leaders earlier this week, i relayed what president zelenskyy told me when i visited ukraine -- if ukraine gets the aid they need, they'll win the war. if they don't get those armaments, they will almost certainly lose. russia's recent advancements haven't been because of a lack of a ukrainian plan or lack of a will to fight or lack of courage, strength, or dedication on behalf of the ukrainian president and the ukrainian people. i can assure you, mr. president, that after meeting with president zelenskyy and the ukrainian people, their resolve to win the war is stronger than ever. russian advancements have come simply because the ukrainians are running out of am nics.

-- ammunition. if we don't provide this aid asap, not only will ukraine lose the war, but the united states will lose out, to the putins, xis, and other autocratic heads of state. we will lose out, the american people will lose out over the next decades, economically, militarily, diplomatically, politically. so, i say to speaker johnson, this is a true turning point for america, for our strength, for our credibility on the world stage, for our national security. speaker johnson, please don't shrink from this moment. let the supplemental bill, which passed with 70 votes here in the senate, move forward. history, history is watching you. on voting rights, later today i'll join several of my democratic colleagues at a press conference to mark the reintroduction of the john r. lewis voting rights advancement act. john lewis once said democracy is not a state, it's an act, and each generation must do its part

to help build what we call the beloved community. that's what john lewis said. with this legislation, we're not only honoring john lewis and his lifetime fight for voting rights. we're also committed to doing our part to expand access to the ballot box and end voter discrimination, which has plagued this republic since its founding. i'll have more to say later, but recent history makes it absolutely clear we need these protections on the books. maga republicans across the country are continuing their dangerous crusade, self-serving to restrict access to the ballot box, particularly when it comes to people of color ahead of the november election. democrats will continue to heed the words of john lewis and work tirelessly to safeguard the right to vote in our democracy. advancing the john lewis voting rights advancement act and the freedom to vote act. we can and must build a more responsive democracy, a more

perfect union. finally, to the senate curator, mr. president, last week i was sadded to hear about the passing of the first permanent senate curator, jim kechum. very few in the history of the u.s. senate have been tasked with the immense responsibility of preserving the history of this storied institution. jim was one of them, and the very best. a proud son of new york, jim's career took him on a do you remember through some of -- a tour through some of america's greatest national landmarks, including arlington national sem fri, the -- cemetery, and the white house and the capitol hill -- and the capitol. he served kennedy, johnson, and nixon. when president kennedy appointed him at 24, he was concerned he was, quote, too young to hold the post. to which jackie kennedy responded, that's what they told jack. so, jim was truly special and

everyone saw it. here in the senate, jim led a long list of initiatives to preserve the capitol building. not just as a museum of american history, but a busling beacon of democracy. thanks to jim, the old senate and chambers were restores and welcome millions every year. thanks to jim countless paintings, artifacts and furniture documenting our history were recovered and preserved. it's thanks to jim we all have a better understanding today of this building, this institution, and our place in history. so, jim will be deeply missed, but i think it's safe to say jim will live on in this institution he worked so doggedly to preserve. i yield the floor and note the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. quorum call: the clerk: ms. baldwin.

quorum call:

>> for example, take education. i've introduced a bill to teach driver education and sex education in the same car. [laughing] i guess you noticed richard plans to ride the space shuttle.

plans to write this patient. in fact, to think of making a movie out of it. they're going to call it the far right stuff. tommy robinson led off and we were talking behind the podium before we came up and he was come when he was going to be the first of the six freshmen to make our comedy debuts tonight. just before tommy started speaking to gather all six of us together and he said in all seriousness, the bombing begins in five minutes. thank you. >> commitment mitch mcconnell back in 1985 when it is first appearances on c-span and his first years in the senate. carl and chicago democratic caller. your reaction to induce he will no longer serve in the leadership. >> caller: yes good morning greta. the guys who strategy was --

[inaudible] it's coming back to bite him. this is the guy who has not gotten any legislation, hassan had power for his party and now he sees his party actually dissolving because he didn't have the guts to stand up and say enough. he chose -- we got the power now. now he sees his party, all the values they claimed ever stood for, everything, trump has dumped on all of it. so what has he gained? nothing. i think he's realizing there was

no gain. yes, i get those people on the bench but in the end, my party is a longer republican. thank you. >> host: from the kentucky courier journal, mcconnell first took office in 1995 and assert as republican leader since 2007 when george w. bush was in the white house. my comment the longest-serving senator in kentucky's history turned 82 last week. stephen olympia, washington, democratic caller. stephen, your turn, good morning. top of the day all you democrats out there. yeah, good morning. i have just, which bacall, the guy has been there for the republicans all this time. just because he decided to step down, a lot of things and consideration, he's like the nemesis for the democrats all these years. i don't care if he and the past people want to give him salute,

democrats, republicans or senators, democrat senators orrin house democrats want to stick together and hold hands and kumbaya right now while he's leaving. he's always been a nemesis over everything, whether it be a bill that the senators develop and had to go to the house, or whether the house is bringing a bill to be voted on in the senate. he was always against the democrats. i have no remorse objection. mr. mcconnell: as i said earlier this week, government shutdowns never produce positive outcomes. that's why congress is going to avoid one this week. leaders in both parties and both houses have agreed to a plan that would keep the lights on

while appropriators complete their work and put annual appropriation bills on a path to becoming law. i appreciate our colleagues' commitment to see this process through and make good on this essential governing responsibility, and i expect the senate to act swift ly on the first step this week. now, on another matter, the serious challenges facing america's national security today illustrates a pretty -- pretty timeless lessons about how the world works. basic realities about geo politics that were true before i got a front row seat to president reagan's foreign policy 40 years ago and which are just as true today.

the first lesson is the value of alliances. america is the word's preeminent super power. economically and militarily. but our influence and prosperity are facilitated by a network of partnerships. i don't mean the so-called international community of multinational debating societies. i mean the hard power of america's military alliances and partne partnerships. the strength of these alliances rests on the credibility of the commitments we make to our friends. the second lesson is peace through strength. those who wish us harm speak the language of power.

and we have to be able to speak it as well. in other words, our deterrent capabilities here have to be as credible to our adversaries as our commitments are to our allies. congress' most fundamental constitutional obligation is to provide for the common defense. that's why i urge the senate so forcefully to pass -- pass the national security supplemental and why i believe passing full-year defense appropriations is absolutely critical. when america is strongest, america provides sufficient funding to preserve america's military -- and our adversaries and allies alike actually trust, said the commander in chief, is prepared to use force

decisively. the last lesson is the importance of clear strategy. even the most capable force, the most formidable hard power is only as effective as the strategy it serves. understanding our interests is a prerequisite to actually advancing our interests. the challenges we face today test whether and how well america understands these lessons. the threats to our personnel, our interests and our allies in the middle east are particularly illustrative. since october 7, america's closest ally in the region has been engaged in a serious fight to rescue its people and restore its security against iran-backed

terror. as i've said repeatedly, since that day we owe it to israel, a fellow democracy under assault by savage terrorists to provide the time, the space, and the support necessaryor them to destroy the threat posed by hamas to prioritize a cease-fire at all costs is to actually ignore that the terrorists exploited precisely such a cease-fire to slaughter innocent israelis on october 7 to blame israel for conducting operations to free hostages and kilter irses in hospital -- kill terrorists in hospitals and schools is to excuse hamas for violating laws of war and exploiting civilians by million take rising such -- militarizing

such infrastructure in the first place. as negotiators work on further hostage releases, it's critical that israel operates from a position of strength. backed by a rock solid ally whose policies are driven by our nation's interest, not influenced by one party's perceived political interests. i hope president biden will demonstrate enough political courage to stand up to those in his party who want him to tie israel's hands or put his own hands on the scales of israel's domestic politics. meanwhile, the chief architect of chaos in the middle east, the world's most active state sponsor of terrorism speaks the language of power. plain and simple. america has to invest in rebuilding our arsenal, but we also have to show iran that

we're not afraid to actually use it. flattening a few warehouses in response to hundreds of iran-backed attacks on u.s. personnel in iraq and syria frankly is not a meaningful exercise of strength. nor is wasting expensive precision weapons to intercept expendable drones launched by iran's expendable proxies. the commander of the u.s. task force contending with houthi terrorism in the red sea acknowledged recently that even though his forces were succeeding tactically, the houthis and their iranian patrons were simply not deterred. frankly, tactical proficiently and hitting houthi targets with f-35's and tomahawk missiles

should be a low bar for the world's most advanced military. it's also beside the point. in reality, these tactics are nestled in an effective strategy to strange an adversary's calculus or sufficiently degrade its ability to threaten our interests. it doesn't matter how tactically proficient our efforts are. so this isn't a matter of dense academic theories of international relations. the questions we need to ask ourselves are really quite basic. are we being reliable allies to our friends? do we credibly strike fear into the hearts of our enemies? are our tactics aligned with the coherent strategy?

if not, what are we doing here? test.

>> i ran for president of the student body in high school, big high school, very contentious race. i won. and so i began to follow politics. i remember at age 14 when the conventions were really, the coverage of convention really dull. they focused on the podiums and listen to all the speeches on tv. >> or there was a big zenith radio and sit and listen to the whole thing. >> pretty boring. you may been doing this but i bi thought i was probably the only

14-year-old in america, i thought maybe you're watching, too. watching those things from gavel to gavel. i began to try to practice this craft to see if i could get good at it. i ran for president of the student college in high school college, two and law school. clay was the most famous politician in kentucky. andrew jackson -- >> what about clay conspired you most? >> the fact he and a not terribly significant state some would argue had become major -- in kentucky people focus on calais. i wanted to learn more about him. and so -- >> but he was known for crafting compromises, which is a dirty word today with some people. >> it is. but absolutely essential. that's what the constitution is

full of compromises if you and i in our daily lives do it every single day in order to make the senate function. i did my senior thesis on henry clay and the compromise of 1850, and continued to follow him and a lot of -- is a lot of aspiring kentucky politicians do. >> host: that was back in 2016 talking about what inspired him to get into politics, a little more from that interview we want to share with you. he was asked in this why is he a man if you would? >> i have a confession to make up when i was asked to do this, here is what i thought. how can anyone get mitch mcconnell to talk for an hour? because in your own book, and you point out you want to speak to the press when it's to your advantage, you talk about a time when bill gates came into see of the two of you just sat there. people wore an uncomfortable waiting for one of you to speak

and someone once told president george w. bush that you are excited over a certain vote and he said really? how could you tell? why so few words? >> well, i'm not afraid of talking but but i found a le by listening. so frequently osterhout listening, think about what it want to say before i do it. i think it's fair to say that in the era of trump probably very different approach to commenting on public affairs. >> host: senate republican leader mitch mcconnell who has served in that position since, or as republican leader since 2006 has said he will no longer -- have the top post, excuse me, starting in november we're getting your reaction to that

this morning. bruce thanks awaiting in new york. democratic caller. >> caller: "good morning america." mitch mcconnell is master of the sidestep, and his strategy is essentially been hit as opposition leader and obstructionist. he intentionally and openly not only stacked the courts as a strategy to push a particular agenda that is more or less coming from the federalist society, and in the process of doing that he has created a supreme court as everyone knows by obstructing obama from putting in a relatively conservative judge who was more neutral. and he did intentionally. he did it with a smile on his face.

in fact, he mocked it on several occasions openly and laugh about it. he does have chinese connections. connections. his family is involved in chinese trade and his wealth basically comes from that trade. i won't call it did with the chinese, it's a business with the chinese but very good business and almost a monopoly on trade. the man has a history. in some ways i think people would say he can't -- i think he gets away with it. in many ways the supreme court sidestepped, sidestepping the supreme court, which is a decision yesterday to allow trump to default and unity to prosecution is another obstruction of justice that gets

sidestepped by institutional, you know, profiling, so to speak, as to what the constitution allows to happen. it's the lowball approach to doing things. >> host: bruce i'm going to live there and go to burrell who is republican in the dna. earl, it's your turn. >> caller: -- this world is so screwed up -- [inaudible] ruining --, i apologize. maybe you can call back on a better line but we were hearing every other word. robert in new york, republican. >> caller: hello? >> host: your turn. you have to mute that television, please. >> caller: the dog is barking also. trying to stop her. avoid a government shutdown by

midnight tomorrow. >> host: we will bring that to you. this is from the "usa today" short-term deal reached to avoid a shutdown. congress has agreed on short-term spinney agreement to avert of partial government shutdown which will kick the can down the road to fund the government once again as lawmakers struggle to reach a consensus on a longer-term deal. extension referred to as a continuing resolution will find parts of the government through march 8 and the remainder into march 22. it's a bid to bite leaders more time to come up with a full-fledged funding agreement for the nation's government. we will talk about that come up on the "washington journal" with two terms of congress republican to democrat so you get your chance to call and then and ask about this. there's also happening today dueling appearances on the border. president biden will be there and so with the former president president trump.

washington times or agent are miffed by the agents and plenty by biden visit. they say he will be going to spot that is relatively calm and will not see the real chaos. this is from stephen. trump will be in eagle pass with the immigration situation is hot and heavy. the state has erected miles of razor wire, , placed a floating wall in the rio grande and ordered national guard troops to take over a local park to try to stop a wave of migrants. this will be president biden's second visit to the border. for our coverage go to c-span.org. larry in oakland, california, democratic caller. >> caller: good morning. thanks for having me. good morning. thanks for taking my call. we are still talk about mitch mcconnell. when mitch mcconnell first set let's make barack obama and one-term president, to think that was the turning point to

where we in this mr. thune: mr. president, yesterday we learned that leader mcconnell, the longest-serving party leader in the senate history will step down from his leadership role next january. there will be time later for a full discussion of all his contributions to this party and this institution, today i want to express my gratitude for his service. had he done nothing else, his successful efforts to build up the judiciary with judges who are committed to the rule of law and to the constitution would secure his place in the history books. and i'm grateful to have had the opportunity to serve with him. mr. president, three years ago around this time the senate was consider democrats' so-called rescue plan with a $1.9 trillion price tag, it was packed with liberal priorities and progressive giveaways, before it

was passed democrats were warned it was too big. they were warned even by liberal economists that that kind of spending risks setting off an inflation crisis, but they chose to go ahead anyway. and inflation almost immediately -- immediately began accelerating and three years later we're still dealing with the crisis the democrats helped create. mr. president, in the last three years inflation reached levels not seen since the early 1980's, and while inflation may have descended from those stratospheric heights, we are still, and i say still stuck with an inflation rate well above the federal reserve's target rate of 2%. three years of persistent price hikes have taken a serious toll on americans' budget. working families have had to scrimp and save to skrech their dollars -- to stretch their

dollars. and families have had to cut back on saving and investing for the future. mr. president, today it costs a typical family $1,000 more per month to maintain the standard of living it had when president biden took office. $1,000 more per month just to tread water. and it's no wonder. energy costs are up 31.7%. housing costs up 19.4%, car repairs are up 27.5%. and the list goes on. and, mr. president, where inflation has really hit many americans is at the grocery store. grocery prices are up 21% under president biden. the cost of food now takes up a larger share of america's disposable income than it has at any point in more than 30 years.

faced with higher prices, shoppers have had to adjust, families are opting for cheaper alternatives. they're putting items back on the shelves. and they're hunting for deals at multiple stores. tighter budgets have become a fact of life in the biden economy. mr. president, as i said, many americans have had to turn to can credit cards to cope with higher prices and with the federal reserve having to keep interest rates elevated, paying off that has gotten harder. high interest rates put the american dreernl of owning -- dream of owning your home out of reach. the average mortgage rate more than doubled since the president took office. the biden inflation crisis made life harder for a lot of people. it's harderto save. it's harder to get ahead. harder to make ends meet.

yet president biden still tries to claim that his economic policies are working, that the economy somehow is doing well. well, mr. president, americans disagree. a january poll found that 63% of americans believe economic conditions are getting worse. another poll found 54% of voters rate their personal economic situation as fair or poor. seven out of ten voters in the same poll also said they expect higher prices are here to stay. mr. president, for the last three years, the white house has attempted to disclaim responsibility for the inflation crisis that has done so much to harm family budgets. despite economists agreeing that the president's reckless spending led to higher inflation, the white house has taken every opportunity to pin the blame somewhere else. the latest strategy? complaining about shrinkflation,

which refers to instances where good have gotten smaller but the price has stayed the same. the president even released a video on super bowl sunday lambasting snack companies for shrinking their packaging and ripping off consumers. it's a tactic that fits well with the president's previous attempts to blame price gouging for higher prices. these arguments are political s spin, and not serious explanations. jason furman, an economist who served in the obama administration, previously described the focus on price gouging as a distraction from the real causes and solutions of infl inflation, to quote one article where he was quoted. "the new york times" referred to the president's focus on shrinkflation as, i quote, a blame-shifting message, end quote. well, mr. president, i expect

we'll get more blame shifting from president biden in the state of the union address next week, as well as more of the same reckless spending proposals that helped create the crisis in the first place. meanwhile, the american people will continue to suffer. mr. president, i yield the floor. ms. warren: mr. president. the presiding officer: the senator from massachusetts. ms. warren: mr. president, i rise today in pursuit of peace in the middle east. after nearly five months of war in gaza, the human suffering must end. just today, americans woke up to the news that israeli troops had opened fire on palestinians does pratt -- desperate for humanitarian aid, killing dozens and adding to the more than 30,000 people in gaza who have been killed during this conflict.

hamas' october 7 terrorist attack on israel took more than a thousand lives. israel, like every nation, has the right to defend itself and the right to prevent another terrorist attack like this one from ever occurring again. other rights are important as well. the people who live in the middle east deserve a lasting peace and deserve to live their lives with dignity and self-determination. for decades, the united states government has supported a two-state solution to guarantee those rights for both israelis and palestinians. two states for two people. for years, i have spoken out against the diminishing prospects for a two-state solution. for years, palestinians have been poorly served better their -- by their leaders, both in the west bank and in gaza. for years, even before october

7, hamas' governance of gaza was a made impediment to peace. and also for years, i have believed that israel's long-term strategic interests were endangered by prime minister netanyahu's leadership. since october 7, it has only gotten worse. prime minister netanyahu and his right wing war cabinet have created a massive humanitarian disaster, pushing being the -- pushing the region further away from a two-state solution. indiscriminate bombings in gaza have killed tens of thousands of palestinian civilians, wiping out entire families and leaving thousands of children or fained. nearly -- orphaned. nearly two million people have been displaced. 45% of the residential buildings in gaza have been destroyed. the israeli government's refusal to allow adequate humanitarian aid into gaza has left hundreds of thousands of people on the

brink of starvation. and still, more than a hundred hostages are held by hamas. the israeli government's top priority should have been to bring those hostages home. but instead, prime minister netanyahu focused on revenge. he pluckly invokes -- publicly invokes the plight of hostages to justify indiscriminate bombing that thwarts the efforts to bring them home. this betrayal is of the families of hostages still being held. for decades, netanyahu has undercut palestinian independence, he has deliberately propped up hamas to try to keep the pale people divided. he approved qatar's payments to hamas, that may have been used for hamas' military operations.

he expanded settlements in the west bank, turning the region into a patchwork of disconnected parts that undermine palestinian hopes for a united homeland. the result has been a vicious cycle of violence. that is why for years i have advocated that u.s. military aid should help israel and palestine move toward peace, not subsidize policies that move peace further out of reach. today, netanyahu is doubling down on his opposition to peace. the prime minister has openly and directly rejected u.s. policy. he has promised he will not compromise, and he will hold fast to his rejection of a palestinian state. under his leadership, the knesset has backed him to the hilt. the prime minister also tried to

pressure egypt and other countries in the region to accept gazan war refugees, raising the specter that his government is working toward permanently expelling palestinians from their homes. he has insisted that israel and israel alone must control the entire area of the jordan river, leaving no room for a palestinian state. and the fallout from his bombing campaigns is not limited to gaza. he has given cover for hezbollah, the houthis, and other terrorist groups to expand the conflict. the bottom line is clear -- netanyahu's leadership in this war has been a moral and strategic failure that is in direct opposition to american policy and american values. netanyahu cannot bomb his way to the rush of -- to the return of

the hostages. netanyahu cannot bomb his way to security in the region. netanyahu cannot bomb his way to peace. the only path to protect israel's long-term security and to ensure that palestinians have equal rights, equal freedom and the self-determination they deserve is a two-state solution. two states for two peoples. this has been the stated policy of the united states government dating back decades, and if this far right israeli government does not share that goal, then it is our responsibility to make clear that the netanyahu government does not get a blank check from united states aid. that is why i have been fighting to condition aid to israel and protect civilians in gaza. over the last few months, i have called for israel to prevent harm to civilians and for accountability when u.s. weapons

are used to target refugee camps and safe zones. i have challenged the administration's decision to bypass congress in approving arms transferred to israel. i have worked with my colleagues, led by senator van hollen, on an amendment to condition aid to israel. earlier this month, president biden delivered a critical step, issuing a national security memorandum that makes clear that any country that receives aid from the united states must follow international law, including israel. this is a good policy, but enforcement is crucial. oversight of its implementation is necessary to ensure that it is a meaningful step and not just lip service. netanyahu has made clear he plans to launch a military offensive in rafah, where more than a million palestinians with nowhere safe to go are currently

taking refuge. the administration has warned that expanding operations to rafah would be, quote, a disasters -- a disaster that the u.s. government does not support. meanwhile, humanitarian aid remains strangled and hunger and disease are sweeping gaza. netanyahu is on dangerous ground. every day that he continues, more innocent civilians in gaza suffer and are killed, and thousands more americans say enough and call on our government to end u.s. aid for such actions. president biden has indicated that we are on the verge of a ceasefire that would allow -- that would free the hostages and would allow desperately needed humanitarian aid in. i hope that's true. and it's a meaningful step

toward an enduring peace. but until then, the united states has a responsibility to ensure that our weapons aren't used to target innocent children and families in gaza. we also have a responsibility to ensure that our support is used to advance long-term peace and stability in the region. we recognize that it takes two parties to negotiate a meaningful peace, and we should also urge the allies of the palestinians to do the same. all nations should push in the same direction -- condition aid, return the hostages, resume the ceasefire, and advance peace through a two-state solution. thank you, madam president. i yield the floor.

mr. schatz: mr. president. the presiding officer: the senator from hawaii. mr. schatz: mr. president, before i begin my remarks, in the hawaii legislature there was a common custom to ask the presiding officer that the previous speaker's remarks were adopted as if they were my own. and although i didn't listen to the entirety, i'm not prepared to do that, because i only got the back end, i just wanted to commend the senior senator from massachusetts for her moral clarity about the conduct of the war in israel and the fact that it is a strategic and moral fai failure, and that the prime minister of israel must be held

to account for the fact that so many people are suffering so unnecessarily. mr. president, i would ask for unanimous consent that the following remarks appear in a different part of the journal. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. schatz: mr. president, overturning roe v. wade, as outrageous and devastating as it was, was never going to be the end for republicans. they knew that, and we knew that. because they weren't exactly keeping it a secret. except there was a set of sort of center right and even center left republicans and pundits who sword privately that it wouldn't -- who sword privately it wouldn't open the floodgates, they scoffed at even the possibilities of the very kinds of outcomes we are seeing playing out across the country

to today. like last week when the alabama supreme court effectively banned ivf and left people who are trying to start a family with nowhere to turn. it turns out people were right to be worried. and one of the worst infirmities in this town is that somehow you are considered savvy, tho thoughtful, centrist, an institutionalist if you never, ever freak out. everything is going to be fine. everything is always going to be final. he's not going to try to overturn this election. they're mott going to go through overturning roe v. wade. every savvy person, every cocktail hour that i don't end is always telling us to chill out. but now it's happening. they went through with it. they repealed roe and all of the

worst-case scenarios if all of the organizations that pushed for reproductive freedom were deemed right. i still remember the great senator from the state of colorado who made as an emphasis in his reelection campaign, women's reproductive freedom. you know what everybody called him on the republican side? not mark udall. mark uterus. they thought that was hilarious. look at this weird focus on women's reproductive freedoms. and he sat there and said look, if the supreme court changes hands, then roe is in peril. and everyone was told to chill out. they made fun of this united states senator for predicting the future. people were right to be worried. extreme republicans are going after women and reproductive freedoms through every way that they can, in congress, in statehouses, in the supreme court, and in state courts. gutting roe was never going to

be enough. it was a gateway to an all-out war. right now millions of women in america are paying the price. they're terrified of what they can and cannot do and what may or may not land them in prison. it is not a crime to start a family. but now it is. it is not a crime to dispose of a nonviable embryo in a lab, but republicans have made sure that it is a crime. do you know how hard it is to do ivf? everybody who is at least my age knows somebody who had a struggle getting pregnant. and that thing is emotionally and physically and financially exhausting. and i've never thought of ivf through a partisan lens. i honestly hadn't. it didn't occur to me -- it didn't occur to me that they were going to go after people

actually trying to get pregnant. this is not about babies and life and families. this is about punishing women. this is about taking away their autonomy. this is their objective. and you know five years ago you might have come to me and if i had made this kind of speech, it would have been whoa, it's a little much, buddy. they're not going to do that. they did that. they are still doing that. republicans in congress were quick to dismiss, even got a memo from their campaign committee to distance themselves from the very policies that they enabled. for literally decades. they will try to on the one hand say they are for ivf but on the floor block legislation to enable ivf. and support fetal personhood legislation and block bills to protect ivf federally. they did it yesterday. so no one is fooled.

i know the senator from connecticut and i have been talking about this. sometimes it's very difficult to see through the fog on policy. this one, it's not unclear who did what and what they are in the middle of doing. there is nothing pro-life about ripping away the only options available for someone trying to have a kid. there's nothing for life about jeopardizing a woman's life by forcing her to carry a nonviable pregnancy to term. that's not a principled belief. that's insanity. it is actively harming an innocent person. in the wake of last week's decision, fertility clinics in alabama are abruptly pulling the plug on ivf treatments because they're afraid of being prosecuted. and that's leaving people wondering if they'll be able to have a kid or not. not only can they not go through the process in alabama, they can't even move their embryos because they are afraid of getting in legal trouble. they can't even move their

embryos, right. this was supposed to be -- most optimistic scenarios, laboratory, democracies, states can do whatever they want. you can't even take your own embryos and move it to another place where ivf is legal. say you're a couple in birmingham close to completing the ivf process. suddenly you can't continue it in your home state and you don't have the ability to finish it somewhere either. overnight these patients are left without options with no notice and no recourse. the human implications of the alabama supreme court decision are as obvious as they are devastating. but it's also person to be crystal clear about how we got here politically because this decision is not an anomaly. it's not a fringe view held by a few whacky judges in a single state. it's the direct result of a decades-long organized national effort by republican hard-liners to dismantle reproductive freedoms that were until recently the law of the land.

they've shown zero restraint in going after people's rights, and there's no reason to believe that they're going to stop any time soon. they will not. they did this and they want more and they have a plan. this is on them. this record is theirs to own. mr. president, before i close, i want to briefly address the ongoing appropriations process. i'm glad that we are avoiding a needless and harmful shutdown as we work to finalize the spending bills, including one from the subcommittee i chair, overseeing transportation, housing, and urban development. our subcommittee along with our house counterparts worked on a bipartisan basis to deliver a bill that both adhered to top-line funding levels and provided resources for vital programs that millions of americans we lie on every day. that includes supporting affordable housing, helping to alleviate homelessness, improving roads and highways in communities big and small so people can get around, hiring air traffic controllers, and rail safety inspectors to make

sure our flights and our trains are safe and on time. it is not a perfect bill. everyone did not get what they wanted. but i can tell you that democrats and republicans worked in good faith and made the most of the funds that we had available. and i'm glad we're near the finish line on our bill and really hope we can find bipartisan agreement on all of the bills so that we can finally fully fund the government. this funding cannot wait any longer. i yield the floor. a senator: mr. president. the presiding officer: the senator from connecticut. mr. murphy: first i ask unanimous consent that following my remarks, senators stabenow and wyden be permitted to speak up to five minutes each prior to the scheduled vote. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. murphy: here's a snapshot of what happened.

republicans said that fixing the border was their top priority. they appointed a hardline conservative, my friend, senator james lankford, to come up with a bipartisan bill to fix the border. they said if lankford can get the deal, they'd support it. we got that deal. if it passed, it would have been the toughest border security bill in our lifetime. arguably, it would have been the toughest border security bill ever. $20 billion for border security. more detention beds, more patrol officers, more asylum officers, more equipment to intercept fentanyl. a new power for the president to close parts of the border when crossings get too high. an end to the era in which an asylum applicant could spend ten years in the country before their application was heard. it was tough. it would have helped to fix the border. it was a compromise. get this.

it was supported by the conservative pro-trump border patrol union and the left-leaning association of immigration attorneys, "the washington post" was for it and "the wall street journal" was for it. it was a true compromise. but within hours of the bill's release, republicans killed it. whether it came to the floor -- when it came to the floor, only four republicans voted for the bill they asked for. it has now been 22 days since republicans killed the toughest border security bill of our lifetime, a bipartisan bill that would have helped us control the border. why did republicans do this? because republicans do not want to fix the border. the secret's out of the for republicans the border is a moneymaking grievance machine. and if we passed our border bill

and fixed the problem, republicans literally wouldn't know what for do with their days. fox would lose ratings. republican senators would lose clicks and donors, donald trump would lose an issue to campaign on. what would some of my republican senate colleagues do with their weekends if they couldn't go down to the boarder and dress up as border patrol officers and scream about fake outrage? if the border bill passed, if the border was under control, republicans might have to get hobbies. if the bipartisan bill to control our border had passed, our border would be more orderly. our immigration system would be vagsly improved -- vastly improved. america would be better off and more secure. but, yes, republicans would lose their moneymaking grievance machine.

the broken border. that's what happens. republicans killed the toughest bipartisan border bill that they have ever seen because they don't want to fix the border. they want to keep it a mess because they think it helps them politically. 22 days since republicans killed the toughest bipartisan border security bill in over a decade. you know who does want to fix the border? president joe biden, democrats in congress. joe biden asked for those additional resources to hire more patrol agents, to build more detention capacity, install more technology at the border to interrupt the fentanyl trade. joe biden helped write the bipartisan border bill which gave him those new powers i talked about and today joe biden is going to be at the border to talk about his agenda to put border security first but also to make other badly needed changes to our immigration system, like improving our asylum system and getting a pathway to citizenship for people who have been living in the shadows of our society for

far too long. donald trump is going to be at the border today, too, but for a different reason. donald trump does not see the border as a problem that needs to be fixed. donald trump sees the border as a problem to be exploited. he openly brags about instructing his followers here in the united states senate to kill the bipartisan border bill because its passage would have been good for joe biden and the country. for joe biden the border is a serious issue that he wants to fix. he has a plan to do it. for donald trump and the republicans, the border is just a moneymaking grievance machine that they refuse to solve. the problem is nothing can pass in washington without republican support. i know there are republicans who voted for the bipartisan bill,

only four. but the rule is the republicans refuse to support more resources, more patrol officers, more detention beds, and the rule is that they will vote against any bipartisan legislation to make the border more secure. so 22 days since republicans killed the toughest border security bill during our time in the senate and unfortunately the border is going to remain unresolved so long as republicans don't want to solve it. i yield the floor. ms. stabenow: mr. president. the presiding officer: the senator from michigan. ms. stabenow: mr. president, first of all i want to thank

senator murphy for his extraordinary leadership. he and senator lankford, senator sinema coming together, leading an effort that was amazing, intense, hard fought negotiations on something so very, very important. and they got it done. they got it done. a bipartisan border security bill, the toughest in our generation. and so i want to thank senator murphy for that and for his continual advocacy and putting the spotlight on the fact that we can still do this. we have this bill. we have this bill in front of us. and the president of the united states, president biden has gone to the border to say pass the bill, the bipartisan bill. you know, donald trump has gone to the border to say yay, more chaos, keep it coming. the truth is -- and we hear it all the time. i heard my whole time in the

senate, republicans like to portray themselves as being the party of national security. if you want your family to be safe, you need to vote for republicans. well, 22 days ago and counting -- we'll see how high this number gets -- 22 days ago they had a chance to boost our national security by voting for the strongest border security bill in our lifetime and 22 days ago they killed it. that is a fact. and we all know why. donald trump told them to do it. and if donald trump tells republicans to jump, the only question they ask is, how high, sir? democrats are committed to solving the challenges at the border. there are multiple issues that need to be addressed and that are addressed in this bill. and we know it's critical that

we give president biden the tools he's been asking for every since he came into office -- ever since he came into office to be able to real estate solve these issues -- to resolve these issues. again, that's exactly what this legislation would do. it is bipartisan. it meets all of the tests that people have been asking for. -- for months. and if it passed, it would significantly improve our nation's security in a number of important ways. it would break our -- it would reform our broken asylum system so that decisions would be made more quickly on who should be allowed to remain in the country and who should be deported. those allowed to stay would be provided authorization to work so that they could take care of themselves and their families and fill crucial jobs in our economy while waiting for their cases to be resolved. the legislation would create a

new emergency authority that would allow the president of the united states to pause the processing of asylum claims of migrants who arrived between ports of entry from cases rise beyond a certain number. the legislation provides important resources to increase our border security, hire more border security agents, more equipment that our agents have been asking for over and over again and that the president has asked for over and over again. this is one of the reasons that the border security union strongly supports this as a major step forward that will make a major difference in solving the problems at the border. and so importantly, this legislation included the fend off fentanyl act, which would make our communities safer by helping government agencies more

effectively disrupt the flow of opioids and penalize traffickers. and, by the way, that is the whole country impacted by that. people in michigan, families in michigan are impacted by that, not just those at the border. and oftens times people -- and oftentimes people forget that michigan is a border state, mr. president. we are a border state. and this bill would provide up to $75 million in grants that are critically needed for our state and local communities and tribal law enforcement agencies to help secure our northern border. you know, republicans say they care about our national security, but actions speak otherwise. growing up, i heard over and over again from my mom, actions speak louder than -- than words. and it's been e. never been more -- and it's never been more true than on this issue of border security.

democrats stand ready. we're ready to pass this critical legislation. improve our border security, keep our communities safe. 22 days have gone by. 22 days. -- have gone by since the republicans said no. let's come together and do the right thing. it's not about just talk. it's about action. the american people deserve action, and we are ready to act. i yield the floor, mr. president. mr. wyden: mr. president. the presiding officer: the senator from oregon. mr. wyden: in a few minutes, the senate will vote on the confirmation of rajry -- mar marjorie rollinson. she is got exactly the right experience to do the job. she has decades of tax and management experience, both in the private sector and the

public sector. she spent several years, for example, as the irs office general counsel. she's also been the deputy chief counsel and the associate chief counsel, both times on international tax issues. so she has real expertise on these issues. that's a big reason why she got bipartisan support in the finance committee. and this is a crucial time for the agency, mr. president, in terms of implementing and enforcing tax laws. and i will just give colleagues a couple of quick examples that i know members feel strongly about, and i'd like to start with energy. one of the big implementation jobs in the works, something that i've been very involved in it, but i know members on both saids have, deals with a key part of the inflation reduction act, and specifically the area

of incentives for energy production. this was the centerpiece of the finance committee's clean energy for america act, a bill that i first introduced in 2015. and what that legislation was all about -- and i see a number of my finance committee colleagues here on this -- is we said that for the future to tackle climate in the right way, we had to set aside the old system of picking winners and losers and just propping up the old carbon-intensive technologies and, in effect, go to a new system, a brand-new system of technological neutrality; in effect, give all the energy sources in america the opportunity to compete and compete in a way where there are no mandates and, in effect,

private-sector style competition. one goal, mr. president -- reducing carbon emissions. the senate finance committee -- severals members on the floor right now -- understand this. our committee had never done anything like this in a hundred years to create this kind of market incentive, a market incentive to actually reduce carbon emissions. is now, the administration has been working through, right now, a number of the challenging rules. technology neutrality is the next big one for them. and it's essential to get the guidance that companies -- so that they can take full advantage of the law and be part of this new system, this new approach that we call promoting technological neutrality.

it will give every member of this body -- and i see additional members of the finance committee, you know, coming in -- an opportunity to be part of this very new world in energy. and, ms. rollinson will play a key role as irs chief counsel once she's confirmed. if confirmed, she's also going to play another important role in terms of tax enforcement. and every member of the finance committee feels strongly, for example, about making sure audits are dealt with in a responsible way. we want to do it by the book, so it's not just low-income, you know, families that get audited, but everybody who is skirting the law should be subject to equal treatment under the law, and we crack down on the sophisticated wealthy tax cheats who pay for the best tax lawyers and accountants. it is a matter of basic fairness with respect to audits, and ms. rollinson will handle that

in the right fashion. mr. president, i'll close by saying, i think ms. rollinson is a an excellent pick for the job. this is a crucial time for this position. they're going to be implementing a very new energy world, mr. president, a world based on technological neutrality, marketplace competition, and they're going to have the responsibilities of ensuring the enforcement of the tax law in a fair way, particularly as it relates to audits. that's why she got bipartisan support in the finance committee, why she deserves bipartisan support today. i urge my colleagues now to approve the rollinson nomination, and i yield the floor. the presiding officer: under the previous order, the question is on the nomination. is there a sufficient second? there appears to be. the clerk will call the roll.

vote: the clerk: ms. baldwin. mr. barrasso. mr. bennet. mrs. blackburn. mr. blumenthal. mr. booker. the clerk: 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.

the clerk: 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.

vo vote:vote:

the clerk: senators voting in the affirmative -- booker, cassidy, collins, king, lujan, murkowski, murphy, ossoff, peters, reed, schatz, shaheen, tester, tillis, warner, wyden. senators voting in the negative -- cotton, crapo, fischer, hyde-smith, mullin, rubio, wicker. mr. kelly, aye.

the clerk: mr. mcconnell, no. mr. boozman, no. mrs. britt, no. mrs. capito, no. ms. baldwin, aye.

mr. welch, aye. the clerk: mr. hickenlooper, aye. ms. stabenow, aye.

the clerk: mr. durbin, aye. mrs. blackburn, no. mrs. murray, aye.

the clerk: mr. hagerty, no.

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

mr. johnson, no. the clerk: mr. carper, aye. the clerk: ms. cantwell, aye.

mr. young, no. mr. tuberville, no. ms. hassan, aye. ms. duckworth, aye.

ms. warren, aye. the clerk: mr. schumer, aye.

the clerk: ms. smith, aye.

mr. king, aye. mr. warnock, aye. mr. lankford, no. the clerk: mr. fetterman, aye.

mr. manchin, aye. mr. kennedy, no. vote:

the clerk: mr. braun, no. mr. cardin, aye. mr. padilla, aye. ms. butler, aye.

the clerk: mr. whitehouse, aye. mr. plumen that will -- mr. blumenthal, aye. the clerk: mr. markey, aye.

the clerk: mr. marshall, no.

the clerk: mr. kaine, aye. the clerk: mr. scott of florida, no.

the clerk: ms. cortez masto, aye.

the clerk: mr. coons, aye u.

the clerk: mr. heinrich, aye.

the clerk: mr. ricketts, no. the clerk: mr. casey, aye.

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

. the clerk: mr. rounds, aye. the clerk: mr. cramer, no. mr. sullivan, no.

the clerk: mr. scott of south

carolina, no. mr. grassley, no. the clerk: mr. brown, aye.

vote: the clerk: ms. sinema, aye.

the clerk: mr. hawley, no. the clerk: mr. hoeven, no.

the clerk: mr. van hollen, aye. ms. hirono, aye. mr. graham, no.

the clerk: mr. schmitt, no. the clerk: mr. cornyn, no. mr. daines, no.

mr. risch, no.

the clerk: ms. ernst, no. ms. rosen, aye.

the clerk: mr. paul, no.

the clerk: mr. budd, no. the clerk: mr. thune, no.

the clerk: mr. mendendez, aye.

the clerk: ms. lummis, no.

ms. klobuchar, aye. mr. vance, no. the clerk: mr. romney, aye.

the clerk: mr. lee, no.

vote:

the presiding officer: on this vote, the yeas are 56, the nays are 41, and the nomination is confirmed. mr. carper: mr. president. the presiding officer: under the previous order, the motion to reconsider is considered made and laid upon the table and the president will be immediately notified of the senate's action. the senate will resume legislative session and resume consideration of the veto message with respect to s.j. res. 28. cloipt veto -- the clerk: relating to buy america requirements for electric vehicle chargers. mr. carper: mr. president. the presiding officer: the senator from delaware. mr. carper: i ask unanimous consent to speak for two minutes prior to the vote. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. carper: mr. president, i rise today in strong opposition to overriding president biden's

veto on s.j. res. 38 to disapprove of the biden administration's phase in of buy-in requirements for electric vehicles. sciences say that we are -- the world is looking to the united states for leadership right here -- right here on this floor. if we override the veto of the president, senator rubio's resolution would undermine domestic production of e.v. chargers, and create greater uncertainty for the e.v. industry, directly contradicting our goal of having this made here in america, that's why groups like the a.f.l./c.i.o. and it would mean shipping jobs overseas instead of building the supply chain here at h■ome.

it would weaken buy american requirements and result in more e.v. charging projects being built overseas, not here. it would undermine american workers and our nation's ability to be global are leaders in electric vehicles, but a vote to override the veto is a vote against american manufacturing of e.v. chargers, and that's why i oppose this resolution and encourage my colleagues to do so as well. 35% of our emissions in this country for guaming from -- global wrarmg -- come from mobile sources, it is imperative that we build on that. the presiding officer: the question occurs on passage of the joint resolution, the objection to the president to the contrary notwithstanding, the yeas and nays are required. the clerk will call the roll. vote:

the clerk: ms. baldwin. mr. barrasso. mr. bennet. mrs. blackburn. mr. blumenthal. mr. booker. mr. boozman. mr. braun. mrs. britt. mr. brown. mr. budd. ms. butler. ms. cantwell. mrs. capito. mr. cardin. mr. carper. mr. casey. mr. cassidy. ms. collins. mr. coons. mr. cornyn. ms. cortez masto. mr. cotton. mr. cramer. mr. crapo. mr. cruz. mr. daines. ms. duckworth. mr. durbin. ms. ernst.

mr. fetterman. mrs. fischer. mrs. gillibrand. mr. graham. mr. grassley. mr. hagerty. ms. hassan. mr. hawley. mr. heinrich. mr. hickenlooper. ms. hirono. mr. hoeven. mrs. hyde-smith. mr. johnson. mr. kaine. mr. kelly. mr. kennedy. mr. king.

ms. klobuchar. mr. lankford. mr. lee. mr. lujan. ms. lummis. mr. manchin. mr. markey. mr. marshall. mr. mcconnell. mr. menendez. mr. merkley. mr. moran. mr. mullin. ms. murkowski. mr. murphy. mrs. murray. mr. ossoff. mr. padilla.

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 -- budd, cotton, cramer, daines, lankford, manchin, romney, rounds, sinema, and thune. senators voting in the negative -- cantwell, carper, duckworth, durbin, gillibrand, ki -- and van hollen. ms. butler, no. mr. kaip, aye. -- mr. crapo, aye. ms. lummis, aye.

mr. brown, aye. mr. cornyn, aye. mr. graham, aye. mr. mullin, aye. mr. tuberville, no.

mr. grassley, aye. mr. rubio, aye.

the clerk: mr. braun, aye. the clerk: ms. ernst, aye.

vote: the clerk: mr. heinrich, no. mr. tuberville, aye. ms. collins, aye. mr. marshall, aye. mr. hickenlooper, no.

mr. kelly, no. mr. warner, no. mr. schatz, no. mr. lujan, no. ms. hirono, no. mr. young, aye. mrs. hyde-smith, aye.

the clerk: mr. blumenthal, no. mr. welch, no.

mr. kaine, no. mr. wyden, no. the clerk: mr. kennedy, aye. mr. johnson, aye.

mrs. shaheen, no. ms. stabenow, no. mr. whitehouse, no. ms. hassan, no.

the clerk: mr. tester, aye.

the clerk: mr. lee y, aye. the clerk: ms. klobuchar, no. the clerk: mrs. blackburn, aye.

mr. merkley, no. the clerk: mr. hagerty, aye. mrs. capito, aye.

the clerk: mr. cardin, no.

the clerk: mr. fetterman, no.

the clerk: mr. wicker, aye. mr. hawley, aye.

the clerk: mr. peters, no. the clerk: mr. casey, no.

mrs. murray, no. the clerk: mr. menendez, no.

the clerk: mr. crus, aye. snatch the clerk: mr. cruz, aye. the clerk: mr. crus, aye. vote: the clerk: ms. warren, no.

mr. scott of south carolina, aye. mr. reed, no. mr. boozman, aye. mr. mcconnell, aye. mr. coons, -- mr. risch, aye.

the clerk: ms. baldwin, no. mr. coons, no. mr. warnock, no. mr. bennet, no.

the clerk: mr. murphy, no. mr. cassidy, aye.

the clerk: ms. cortez masto, no. mr. schmitt, aye. the clerk: mr. ossoff, no.

the clerk: mr. booker, no.

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

the clerk: mr. tillis, aye. ms. murkowski, aye.

the clerk: mr. sullivan, aye.

the clerk: mr. scott of florida, aye.

the clerk: mrs. britt, aye. vote:

the clerk: mr. markey, no.

mr. hoeven, aye. mr. vance, aye.

the clerk: mr. padilla, aye. the clerk: mr. padilla, no.

the clerk: mrs. fischer, aye.

the presiding officer: on this vote, the yeas are 50, the nays are 47. two-thirds of the senators voting having not voted in the affirmative, the bill on reconsideration fails to pass over the president's veto. under the previous order, the senate will resume executive session to proceed to the consideration of the following nomination, which the clerk will report. the clerk: nomination, department of defense. ronald t. keohane of new york to be an assistant secretary.

ms. butler: mr. president. the presiding officer: the senator from california. ms. butler: mr. president, i rise today on the final day recognizing plaque history month to bring attention to this chamber and to the american people watching the very harmful and antidemocratic practice of book banning happening or being attempted in states all over our country. mr. president, the first amendment in our constitution is clear. congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion or prohibiting the free exercise thereof or abridging the freedom of speech or of the

press or the right of the people to peaceably assemble and to petition the government for redress of grievances. this amendment gives all americans the right to speak, publish, and read what they wish, free from government censorship, but a nationwide campaign in states like florida, utah, north dakota, and even california has been deployed to limit our children's learning and enforce restrictions on one of our most fundamental freedoms. right now extremist politicians are working overtime to strip our nation's book shelves of essential literature that help to tell the complete story of america, including the stories of great sacrifice, contribution, and pain of black americans.

these include stories of struggle and triumph against hatred and bigotry. they recount efforts to reconcile the promise of american ideals with the reality of our most pervasive challenges a authors who have long been criticized -- been recognized as chronicles of our nation's journey has been written off by lawmakers who seek to narrow the scope of what our children can learn about our history. now the organizers of these state-by-state battles would have you believe that they are upholding parents' choice, that imposing these book bans would somehow protect the innocence of our children, but i and so many others that have been watching this, we contend that the masked effort to shield young learners is an utter slap in the face to

communities who have too long had to fight to have their very stories told. our nation's most ethnically and racially diverse generation have seen themselves reflected in these pages and for these extremist adults to deem these stories inappropriate is a direct attack on their experience and their very existence. over the past two years, these blanket attacks on our books have become more organized and well-funded. in 2022, more than 22, 500 -- more than 2,500 books were target add. according to the american library asoldiers, the -- association, the majority of those books were about black or lgbtq + people. as only the 12th black senator to serve in this chamber and the

first openly lgbtq senator to serve, i will not stand by silently as our stories get erased. that's why i'll be joining the freedom readers in their efforts to ensure the freedom to learn by regularly taking to the senate floor and invite my colleagues to join me to read excerpts of books that tell the story of our nation, its legacy and the people who contribute to america's character of imperfection, of resilience and of progress. i'll start today, mr. president, by offering excerpts from an essay in the book "sister outsider" by audrey lord. anyone who is remotely familiar with lord's exceptional body of work can attest to her genius as a writer, a poet, a philosopher, and civil rights activist. her book "sister outsider" is a

collection of speeches and essays in which ms. lord explores the questions surrounding race, identity, life, community, and meaning from her lens as a black queer woman from harlem, encouraging readers to do their own self-reflection and inviting this emto draw -- them to draw new conclusions about the world around them, to speak and to take action. ms. lord's work, the transformation of silence into language and action, first appeared in the cancer journal where she shares of her journey of having breast cancer, which ultimately led to a mastectomy. it reads, in part, in becoming forcibly and essentially aware of my mortality and of what i wished and wanted for my life, however short it may be, priorities and omissions became

strongly etched in a merciless light and what i most regretted were my silences. of what had i ever been afraid of? to question or to speak as i believed could have been meant -- could have meant pain or death but we all hurt in so many different ways all the time, and pain will either change or end. death, on the other hand, is the final silence. test. and that might be coming quickly now without regard for if i have ever spoken what needed to be said or contained myself into small silences. while i planned someday to speak or waited for someone else's words. and i began to recognize a source of power within myself that comes from the knowledge that while it is most desirable not to be afraid, learning to put fear into perspective gave

me great strength. she writes within those weeks of acute fear came the knowledge within the war we are all waging with the forces of death, subtle and otherwise, conscious or not, i am -- i'm not only a casualty, i'm also a warrior. what are the word you do not yet have? what do you need to say? what are the tyrannies you swallow day by day and attempt to make your own until you will sicken and die of them still in silence? perhaps for some of you today i am the face of one of your fears because i am a black woman, because i am a lesbian, because i am myself a black woman warrior poet doing work who has come to ask you, are you doing yours? ms. lorde continues that it is

never without fear of visibility or the harsh light of scrutiny and perhaps judgment or pain of death, what have we lived through all those already -- but we have lived through all those already in silence except death. and i remind myself all the time now that if i were to be born mute or had maintained an oath of silence my whole lifelong for safety, i would still have suffered, and i would still die. and where the words of women are crying to be heard, we must each of us recognize our responsibility to speak out those words, to read them and share them and examine them in their pertinence in our lives, that we not hide behind the mockeries of separations that have been imposed upon us and which so we often accept as our

own. we can learn to work and speak when we are afraid in the same way we have learned to work and speak when we are tired. for we have been socialized to respect fear more than our own needs for language and definition. and while we wait in silence for the final luxury of fearlessness, the weight of that silence will choke us. the fact that we are here and i speak these words is an attempt to attempt to break that silence and bridge some of those differences between us for it is not difference which immobilizes us, but silence. and there are so many silences to be broken. in closing, mr. president, the writings of ms. lorde and the transformation of silence into action are not only a beautiful articulation examining the cost

of being cost of being silent, she gives us a better gift. she invites us to acknowledge our commonalties as well as our differences in order to give them voice and to deepen our understanding and expand the power of our words. and turn those words into action. while ms. lorde first wrote and delivered this essay in 1977, i think we could all agree that it could easily have been written just yesterday. shamefully enough, school administrators in tennessee took steps to target this book and to i shall yew educational gag orders with the goal to suppress hundreds of other stories from being told. now more than ever, mr. president, we must heed ms.

lorde's call to speak into the silence, to raise our voices and reject the intimidation of those who would have the history of our nation, the beauty of our differences, and the complexity of our humanity disappear from generations of learners to come. i invite all my colleagues to join me as freedom readers, to challenge those who attempt to undermine our history and uplift the diversity of our stories against the attacks to erase them. thank you, mr. president. i yield the floor.

a senator: mr. president. the presiding officer: the senator from indiana. mr. young: mr. president, i rise today to salute vermillion county, indiana, on the occasion of its bicentennial which occurred earlier this month. i begin this tribute thousands of miles and an ocean away from west central indiana in ajima. mr. president, it's an island off the coast of okinawa. there in ajima, in a park by the side of a road stands a small monument made of white stone. it's a bronze plaque that is placed near its base, and it reads, at this point the 77th infantry division lost a buddy

ernie pile, 18th april, 1945. they weren't the only ones who lost a friend that day. no other writer so vividly captured the experiences of the american soldier or better chronicled the war that they fought during world war ii than ernie. the warmth and directness of his columns channeled the voice of the g.i. and communicated it clearly to the countrymen back home. pile was, by so many accounts, america's greatest war correspondent. he was a shy farm boy from the town of dana in vermillion county. in fact, the house he was born in is still there. his writing style reflected his

upbringing in the warmthth of small-town america and hoosier common sense. and that monument that i mentioned near the spot he died, it's just one of the incredible things that vermillion county's people have accomplished and how the values instilled pyle. there made them possible. now, i will allow not all americans have heard of this part of indiana. after all, it's a small spot on the east, bounded to the east by the waobash river, home to less than 16,000 citizens, but as ernie pyle's life demonstrates, we are all, each and every one of us, better off because of the hoosiers who called vermillion county home. they've done great things and done it quietly in and far away

from their own communities. in fact, when our union was in peril, vermillion county's residents answered the call again and again and again. they fought in the siege of vicesburg, suffered in the misery of andersonburg. there are american cemeteries -- they're in american cemeteries abroad, their families still hold the purple hearts and hang the gold star banners. these hoosiers have not only defended america, but with their industrialist and create activity, they contracted they contributed to all of our walks of life. the area's first settlers

discovered the richness of vermillion county soil. their descendants still work the land. hundreds of farms feed our nation. vermillion county provided much else, though, leaders, leaders who have risen to indiana's highest offices, not just leaders, explorers, athletes, actors, engineers, and, of course, one legendary journalist who was the voice of the american soldier and won the pulitzer prize. the rich history of vermillion county isn't characterized by a list of outbound citizens, though, it is also characterized by hopeful new arrivals. at the end of the 19th century, the town of clinton was a destination for italian

immigrants seeking employment in the nearby coal mines, they embraced their new home and their country and they left a legacy in vermillion county that's still visible and recalled every september, the little italy festival is a four-day celebration of clinton's italian heritage held almost every labor day since 1966. it is one of many cherished local traditions, with its small town and historic buildings and family businesses, its beautiful landscapes and beloved covered bridges, vermillion is quintessential indiana and quintessential america. but it's the hoosiers who live there we can celebrate on this anniversary, a story ernie pyle

recorded from good old dana as he put it, captures it just as clearly as his voice at the front to his g.i.'s, when his mother suffered a stroke, she badly needed a hospital bed. there was only one in the entire county with the property of a -- it was the property of a family living eight miles away. they were happy to loan it, but the pyles had no way to transports the bed to their home. when he heard about this dilemma, one claude lockaridge, fired up his model-t truck and drove through the snow to fix the bed. it's a gesture of kindness, perhaps, but malof these -- but a million of these is what makes america, and i would argue it's

what makes america great. the occasion of its 200th anniversary is a fitting time not simply to honor vermillion county, but to remember how much our small towns and local communities matter. and how essential the decency, kindness and patriotism found in places like vermillion county is to our republic. to the people of vermillion county, we join in the celebration of our bicentennial. we thank you for all you've done for our state and our country. and we look forward to the days ahead. god bless. mr. president.

a senator: mr. president. the presiding officer: the senator from wisconsin. mr. johnson: mr. president, today i have the honor of recognizing mr. juan ronic from the great state of wisconsin as he, his family, and company celebrate -- wisconsin has a long history of being the home of many successful manufacturing businesses. with his induction into the

manufacturing hall of fame, he joins the ranks of past inductees such as patrick kudahy, walter color, oscar meyer, frederick miller. just to name a few of the iconic titans of business to help make wisconsin a proud manufacturing state. for his part in continuing the long legacy of wisconsin manufacturing, ron founded arcady furniture in 1970. back then, he employed just a total of 35 people. through hard work and innovation, in 1982, arcady american peopled with -- merged with ashley furniture.

ashley turn tur has -- furniture has grown into the largest manufacturer of home furnishings with over 30 million square feet of worldwide manufacturing and distribution capability. with retail locations throughout the united states and in 67 countries worldwide. ashley proudly employs 16,000 people in the united states, include 3,000 hardworking wisconsiniets, he has become the personification of the phrase, quote, business is a force for good, unquote. with his focus on philanthropy, his foundation has contributed tens of millions of dollars in support of important charitable causes in wisconsin and across the country. through his charitable work, mr. wanak has been a supporter of technical and stem education

through k-12 and post secondary levels. through his programs, partnerships and scholarships, their foundation aims to encourage students to pursue careers in stem fields and improve the quality of life in their own communities. in addition, mr. wanak is an ardent supporter of american veterans, his establishment of the beautiful soldier's walk, a premier war memorial in the united states with 29 monuments and statues honoring all of those who served our country is one example of those who sacrificed and in some cases paid the ultimate sacrifices which americans enjoy every day. some say that the arcadai soldier walk honors those -- he

is not only a great personification of the american dream, but he supports a steadfast american free enterprise system. a system which has made this country the economic engine of the world. mr. president, i congratulate ron wanak into his recent induction into the wisconsin manufacturing hall of fame. it's well deserved. thank you, and i yield the floor.

.