debated and decided all with the support of america's cable companies. c-span 45 years and counting powered by cable. and we head now live to the floor of the u.s. senate where members today will be voting for the second time to advance a nomination of jose javier rodriguez to besecretary. his nomination stalled last year after two senate democrats voted against him and later, lawmakers will be working on bipartisan to repeal a usda rule allowing u.s. to import beef from the guest chaplain, reverend adolphus lacey, senior pastor of the bethany baptist church brooklyn new york will open the senate in prayer. the guest chaplain: let us pray.

gracious god, we evoke your name in this place. we thank you for life and for giving it to us more abundantly. we thank you for the power and privilege of prayer, and we humbly approach your throne of grace to thank you and share our petitions. we offer thanks to those who surrender their lives in service to this great nation by willing sing to represent us. we thank you for their families and friends who loan them to us. may there be no lack in their lives because of their service. we pray that at this moment, you would pour out your spirit of wisdom and compassion on these senators as they chart the course of this nation. embolden them with the burden that they are someone's last and the hope that they can make a difference in someone's life. bless this assembly as they wrestle with how to express your nl love for all of us and for

this moment. then, o god, bless all the people of all the states in this land that we love to emulate and require of all our leaders what you require from the words of thcah: to act justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with our god. in your name, we pray, 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 ll read a communication to the senate. the clerk: washington, d.c march 21, 2024. to the senate: under the provisions of rule 1, paragraph 3, of the standing rules of the senate,

i hereby appoint the honorable raphael g. warnock, a senator from the state of georgia to perform the duties of the chair. signed: patty murray president pro tempore. mr. schumer: mr. president, i'll makebit later, but i want to acknowledge and thank my good friend the reverend adolphus lacey of the famous bethany baptist church not too far from where i live in brooklyn for leading us in this morning's prayer. it's great to see you here. you are a leader in bringing of the lord down here to all of us but also of doing many good works here on earth. you do both as the prophet micah woted you to do. and i have a great relationship with bethany baptist church. bill jones, when i ran for congress there was sort of p me. and the reverend bill jones, who was a disciple of dr. king me and help me win. so the relationship with bethany baptist goes way back but it

has even blossomed further under the great leadership of pastor lacey. i'm so proud he's here so all of the nation can why we in brooklyn love pastor adolphus lacey. i yield the floor. mrs. gillibrand: mr. president. the presiding officer: the senator from new york. mrs. gillibrand: i also want to recognize reverend adolphus lacey for not only offering that beautiful prayer but for his extraordinary leadership and advocacy in brooklyn new york and beyond. he is the senior pastor at bethany baptist church in brooklyn. he is a pastor activist who has served as a spiritual advisor to the new york justice league. he's also of the east brooklyn congregations and the national action network, also a member of the kappa alpha si. he has dedicated himself to lifting up other communities, to lifting up his mmunity, up those who need a voice. i'm so grateful for his shining

presence for the light he is bringing to this community as he brings to all of new york. i yield the floor. the presiding officer: under the previous order, the leadership time is reserved. morning business is closed. under the previous order, the senate will proceed to executive session to consider the following nomination which the clerk: nomination department of labor, jose javier rodriguez of florida assistant secretary.

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joining us from capitol hill iman republican south carolina. there's a deal on the table to avoid a government shutdown. the so-called minibus. tell our viewers what it is and how will you vote ? >> credit, what we have that we

received was 1008 document. we. we will have 24 hours to decipher it. and been scheduled to vote on at either ten or 11 tomorrow. scenario would anyone sign off on 1000 page document to let safe purchase a carou much less one as his bill does put this 1.8 trillion more in debt? what would you sign off on? insanity. it should be brought to the fore. we ought to do a continuing resolution through at least may. it's not a good day for america. >> is it a good day for speaker mike johnson if you echelon democratic votes to get this through the house? >> that's what he's going to do. we met with mike earlier this week and we have a 72 hour rule that is a rule that can be waived but to go to something this important. baratta, the overriding issue is is nothing to be signed off on

until we close the border. it's just not happening. we relate our concerns in a freedom caucus and it's going to be ignored and is a good day for mike johnson? in my opinion no, particularly not for consultants. >> is his job i jeopardy? >> you have to ask him of that. he knows the downsid what he's doing. i like mike. i voted for him. i supported the ouster speaker mccarthy but i am very, very disappointed in this action. this is for the survival of this country and financially we are going over thes a minibus going over the cliff. i would hope it would be turned, with the voted down. otes three-fourths of suspension your to get. i hope it is the have a block that will vote a solid no. >> host: is there anyone in that block of those freedom caucus members who are

discussing bringing a motion to vacate to the floor? >> guest: i have not heard that. obviously it's always on the table but i haven't heard that. >> host: why not support this legislation and do away with another continuing resolution as you are advocating for there is apparently bipartisan agreement? >> guest: no deal is better than a bad deal. but look earmarks. the last, the six prior appropriation bills were right at $12 billion in earmarks. to special projects. this one is no different. this one is worse h let's say, take that stance i think we want to support it, lease have 72 hours to go over. that's just not happening. you have to read and decipher anything before you sign it, whether it's a small business deal or a big business deal. this one how much more can this

country day? 37 trillion in debt, when you put the social security, medicare medicaid on the like 60 trillion which is unsustainable. the interest alone will surpass $850 billion we have for our military. it's unacceptable. >> host: we're talking with ralph norman who is time to take a few of your phone calls so you can join us and start dialing in. let's also talked about eight to ukraine. would you support a stand-alone asure to provide more money for ukraine in its fight against russia? >> guest: one of the things i very little confidence in the biden administration is allocating the money the way should be going. i would look at it, it's got to be stand-alone if that had offsets. the only thing this administration has done well is give us things that we can take out come like the fbi agents, like though, many other things,

green new deal, just giveaways. if it had offsets we would consider it. i would love to ukraine to be successful but you know the milk has run dry for this cow called the united states of america. >> host: would you srt a loan to ukraine as it has been floated and a possible language that would make them forgivable? >> guest: two things. one, somebody would have to explain to me how that phone is going to be repaid. you have a war-torn country and second how anyone to collect it? amended our funds leave the treasury interest arts occurring. we don't have a pile of money or a can draw from. everything is borrowed. it makes no sense now. it's got to be, the loan is just anotr wor giveaway and i wouldn't support unless someone could prove me wrong and explain what it make sense. >> host: here's a headline from the "new york times." eu says it has new source of aid

for ukraine both in russian assets. would you be on board without? >> guest: we would consider it. it. it's an option. rush is not exactly our friend. in fact, we had a report today that russian is now declaring that we with this country which has always been but is taken a new avenue level from what i understand carolina democratic democratic caller. you are on the air. >> caller: yes. what a want to say is, first of all donald trump -- to mclean rich. and he talks about inflation. he didn't same thing then. they gave him everything he wanted and now all of us are immigrants. all of us come from somewhere. people coming over the just want to work. you understand?

>> host: congressman? >> guest: what i think your call legally. you have to have a legal process consider opening the gates to everybody from every country. we have over 160 countries that a people, many of which are they are emptying the prisons. you can't blame donald trump. down. he built the wall. this administration is wrecking this country with an open immigration, a policy that will cause damage untold. i don't how many more fentanyl deaths will connect put up with before we say enough is enough. i'm how many more deaths we have to have say no. america is a country without borders. this administration is doing this for power. one word, power. they want to let the illegals count in to vote and it's un-american. it's against the constitution. >> host: a lot of coverage of you ahead of the softer line a primary because you were the lone member of that state to get

behind nikki haley did for the white house in her challenge nsmer president after she has dropped out have you spoken to president trump? >> guest: the minute, haley exited the race, i left, i called president trump left it on his voicemail that i i support him 100%. willie america you have a choice the four years under his administration compared to the '40s under there is no choice. it's donald trump now. i hope and pray americans get on board with this. >> host: you left him a voicemail. has he called you back? >> guest: he has not. >> , what he thinks he is? >> guest: donald trump is busy. i didn't expect a call back. i said don't come back. t to know i will be a member of congress that will support them in any way to get them elected to the presidency. >> host: james in wisconsin democratic caller.er: hello? >> host: please go ahead. >> caller: i called in on a

democratic line but i'm very disappointed with both parties. you have a very good policy i think in the that you won't vote on anything unless you have 72 hours to read read the bill. that makes sense. but you should've dones work back in september or something like that rather than the day before the government shuts down let's take that. congressman? >> guest: i agree 100% with him. and get this, the white house failed it until last, while a day ago. they did not act mike johnson repaired for this. this isn't mike johnson's fault. now it is his fault for letting just for government shutdown pass a piece of legislation that we don't know what's in it. from what i seee in debt. it's not an option. you pass a continuing resolution

which you do put on the floor we tell speaker johnson this, the floor let's put it for an up or down vote but evidently he is not taking our advice. >> host: if this freedom caucus all boats no, does it still papends on how many others decide that this is the right course of action. this will send the strongest message. and again i highlight nothing out to be signed until this administration seals the border. nothing. we that h.r. two that -- yes the bill the out of the senate makes no sense but02 hopefully it will be voted down but we'll find out tomorrow. >> host: appleton, wisconsin republican talking with ralph norman. . >> caller: [inaudible] dasher all these people in this country when -- [inaudible] everybody's jobs -- >> host: you are breaking up. i'm going up to go to edward in fort mill, south carolina, republican.

>> caller: yes. how can we keep supporting all these other countries that cannot secur o own borders? >> guest: we cannot. there's no way we can do that. nor can we afford to continually borrow money nor can we afford to a few marks nor can we afford to build walls in other countries. it's insanity. the taxpayers deserve better than this. i just hope that while we have time we can say no to this, drawing board and who, who in their right mind would sign a document, particularly 1 could be a speed reader and still can't get through the details and the footnotes that this this document has. this is a clear-cut reason to vote this down, in my opinion. >> host: congressman ralph norman republican of south carolina we always appreciate

your time with us and your willingness to talk to our viewers. thank you. >> guest: thank you. appreciate

mr. schumer: mr. president. the presiding officer: the majority leader. mr. schumer: now, earlier this morning, the -- are we in a quorum? no? earlier this morning, the legislative text for the final six appropriations bills was released i'm happy to say, clearing hurdle towards our ultimate goal of funding the federal government. i thank the appropriators, their staffs and everyone involved for working themselves to the bone to release these bills. i imagine some folks here in the capitol are past the point of exhaust exhaust exhauston. this funding agreement between the white house and congressional leaders is good news that comes in the nick of time. when passed it will extinguish any more shutdown threats for the rest of the fiscal year. it will avoid the budget sequestration and keep the budget open without cuts or riders. it's now the job of the house republican leadership to move this package asap. just like passed two weeks ago, this package avoids draconian

republican cuts on major democratic wins that help american families american america's national defense. we have secured an increase in child care services. we boosted disease research and prevention. we funded school mental health programs and suicide prevention so needed there this modern world. we're strengthing with the -- strengthening the border investing elections. the hard right pushed for cuts that impacted k-12 education, services for low-income families. democrat stopped it. wanted to add terrible poison pill riders to attack freedom of choice. democrats stopped that too. now congress must race to pass this package before government funding runs out this friday. once the house acts the senate will need bipartisan cooperation to pass it before friday's deadline and avoid a shutdown. i want to thank president biden,

speaker johnson, leader jeffries leader mcconnell for their leadership. i also thank chairwoman murray and vice chair collins and their staffs as well as my own staff for their tireless appropriations -- tireless leadership of the appropriations committee through the entire process. i don't think they got any sleep saturday to today, and i really thank particularly megan tyra and ray o'mara from my such a strong job. now, on judge shopping last week i was very pleased that the judicial conference announced commonsense policy rearview mirrors limiting the -- policy reform limiting judge shopping. unfortately, pleased. namely those on the right who have made judge shopping their specialty. so today i'm sending a follow-up letter to the judicial conference encouraging them to defend their policy as it is implemented across the country. i'm also writing of the northern district of

texas, where judge shopping has been ramp apt, urging him to apply the the judicial conference as quickly as possible. when i wrote the chief judge roughly a year ago about judge shopping he said fixing the problem through assignments presented logistical conference. challenges. so i will ask the judge t cases does his jurisdiction handle? how does the district create rules for case assignment? how will they judicial conference's rules to ensure public trust? the answer to these questions would greatly inform us in the senate as we think about the ways to strengthen our judiciary. i must say, mr. president, over the past week i've really been troubled to hear some o other side attack the judicial conference simply for doing its job which congress authorized to do over a century ago. my republican colleagues forget or ignore that even their side acknowledged in the past that

not o judge shopping a problem, but that judicial conference itself has a role to play to address it. but now s republicans are howling at the moon over this announcement. my friend the republican leader for one, led his colleagues in writi justices urging them to basically ignore the judicial conference. let me say this judge shopping as in texas, digs torts the entire -- distorts the entire judicial system. there is only one judge sitting in one district. hard-right plaintiffs from across the country know they can bring their cases and get it before a judgeónt has views that are way over. it jaundices the fairness of the legal system. when you know there's one judge sittin she has a particular philosophy and you have to get that judge when you file a case, again, it attracts hard-right plaintiffs who are so un unrepresentative of america like

bees to honey, and they a those one or two or three judicial districts where there is one judge or a minimal number of judges my republican colleagues refuse to explain why judge shopping is remotely defensible because it so distorts the casts a cloud of unfairness officer our whole judicial system like the system is sort of rigged because you know you can get this judge and you know what the outcome will be, the mifepristone is the most glaring remediate -- immediate example. let's take -- of course my republican colleagues don't explain why, by the way, because they can't say the quiet part outside. judge shopping is a key part of the hard-right toolkit, something they built up over the years. le amarillo division of the northern district of texas where a singlest is the darling for his outlandishly decisions

from birth control to affordableth to lgbtq discrimination. republicans might not say is openly but no one is being fooled. conservatives go to this one judge because they know he's on their side ideologically, what of our courts. they were were rate to limit judicial reforms. no one should be able to cherry pick judges of their choice. random assignment is the way it works f n the country. i'm always ready to work with senators from either part to consider all commonsense how our courts are administered. i believe that congress should take its role of judicial oversightseersly particularly when activist judges committed to special interest are eroding the law. congress must provide a check on the judic what

the founding fathers for tended and that's what history points out. in this instance it i seem to admit the obvious, abuses like we see comingf texas should come to an end. on the rec budget as president biden announced jobs house republicans announced a plan to take us backwards. thet reads like a wish list for donald trump and the maga hard right and it is a loser for the american. remember the rsc is hardly a small group. it is made up of over 170 house son and his leadership team. the budget plan is the republican agenda plain and simple. by releasi of house republicans are calling for cuts to social security and medicare.

you hear that folks in america? the vast majority of house republicans want to cut social security and medicare. beware of t. they want to threatening ivf access. they want to deny health care to people with preexisting conditions. they want national abortion bans and they want to sabotage any hope of lowering prescription drug costs. the plan is cruel, it is fringe way out of line with what most americans want but, unfortunately, it's what the house republicans envision for our country. it speaks volumes that on the very same day president biden andousands of new jobs to increase u.s. microchip production the republican study committee called 1.5 trillion in social security. it's like former president donald trump said there's a lot you can do quote, rar

regarding -- regarding cuts to social security. they double down on efforts for in vitro fertilization access. they can pretend all they want to sound moderate on woman's choice but this makes it clear that they are the same anti-choice antiwoman party, and i have no doubt should they get into power in the house, senate and presidency which i don't think will happen and h pray will not happen. the gut the chip program which means ripping away health coverage for millions o and the rsc budget includes trillions of dollars in tax cuts for the wealthiest few and large corporations leaving working class people and court of appeals to -- working

families to pick up the tap-- pick up the tab. the contrast could not be clearer, while democrats invest in the american people the republican agendayesterday is dangerous, disastrous for the american people. i yield the floor. . mcconnell: mr. president. the presiding officer: the republican leader. mr. mcconnell: i've spoken about the nomination of adeel mangi to the third circuit court of appeals. anti-semitic affiliations it seems every

week a new law enforcement organization announces its position to -- opposition to this nominee for his record of associating with radical type of antipolice activists, those who support cop killers. apparently some democrats are finally listening to law enforcement and jewish groups sounding the alarm. last week a number of democratic senators reportedly told the white house that they don't think mr. mangi has the votes. this produced of course a panic on the a "new york times" columnist accused of islamo phobia. democrats, on the other hand were urged to get in line and vote for hi who is it giving this advice? well the author of the piece herself had previously

speculated that israel may be engaged in genocide in gaza. she called the israeli war of self- self-defense eternal house of horrors. she defended the anti-semitic boycott divest and sanction movement and got mealymouth about 7 attacks, saying that either can blame who started it and who is to to biblical time as to who was responsible between israel and what has mr. mangi done to deserve friends like these, or indeed toerit such vehement defense from the biden administration? just yesterday, the white house called opposition to mr. mangi's opposition a, quote, smear campaign solely because he

would make history as the first appellate judge. how insulting. what self-respecting attorney wants to hear a president cares more about the demographic tick boxes than their work? besides, in the case of mr. mangi, senate republicans' opposition has absolutely nothing to do with his faith. rather it has everything to do with his long-standing sympathy for and association with some of radical elements in society. i happenily voted for the first muslim article 3 judge at the outside of the biden administration also of new jersey so did 31 of my republican colleagues in one of the largest bipartisan votes for a judge in the biden presidency. but we didn't spo he was muslim

it was because he had an extraordin professional background. mr. mangi asked convicted terrorists if they o exceptionalized 9/11. judge kasrsi joined the army after serving in iraq. mr. mangi defended corporate anies, massive drugmakers and even chocolate monopolies all while volunteering his time support antipolice activists. judge kazari supported law enforcement, first at immigrations and customs

enforcement and then as assistant attorney. we're told that mr. mangi's record is islam phobia in other words -- on the other hand it was demanded that judge karsi's record saying their concerns must be addressed. . according to the democrats' rhetoric -- two muslim biden nominees with different as night and day. republican happily supported the nominee who served his backed the blue we have and will continue to oppose the nominee who has repeatedly chosen instead to mingle with supporters of terrorists and cop killers. i hope more democrats will join us in opposing mr. they fall victim to spurious associations of bias

perhaps they should remind the white house of an all the candidate rested and ready in the federal courthouse in trenton, aiquorum. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. quorum call: the clerk: ms. baldwin.

quorum call:

mr. durbin: mr. president. the presiding officer: the majority whip. mr. durbin: mr. president, -- the presiding officer: we're in a quorum call. mr. durbin: i ask unanimous consent it be ut objection. mr. durbin: adeel mangi has been nominated by president biden. his name is on the calendar. recent weeks we've heard an amazing number of attacks against this individual. it is hard to i that are being said about him. they bear no resemblance to the

truth. what was said this morning on the floor of the united states painful. to accuse a nominee of being anti-semitic is heartbreaking when it's not true and in this case it clearly is not true. after the initial hearing on mr. mangi, who would be the first muslim to serve on the federal we received communications from several groups in defense of his nomion of the questioning that took place in the senate judiciary committee. one of the most from the anti-defamation league. the adl issued a statement in response to what they call the appropriate and prejudicial treatment of adeel abdullah mangi, a nominee for the u.s. circuit court of appeals. i'm its entirety because it clearly rebuts the charge that was made on the senate floor today that this nominee is anti-semitic.

i quote, as the leading anti-hate organization in the world whose mission is toamation of the jewish people and to secure justice and fair treatment for all, adl is compelled to sbout the inappropriate and prejudicial treatment of adeel abdullah mangi, a nominee for the u.s. circuit court of appeals during the judiciary committee hearing on december 13 2023. the adl statement goesatnhe on g, mr. mangi was subjected to aggressive questioning unrelated to professional expertise or qualifications. rather he was forced to provide responses to a wide range of inquiries regarding his views on global strategic considerations in a manner that inappropriately politicized these issues and raised serious questions regarding pretext and bias. the adl statement goes say, just as associating jewish american with certain views or beliefs regarding israeli government actions would be anti-semitic

berating the first american muslim federal appellate judicial nominee with endless questioning that appears to have been motivated bias towards religion is profoundly wrong. the adl goes ton say, hate bias and bigotry have no place in government especially in the hallowed halls of congress. when nominees approach a congressional hearing, their religion heritage race protected identity characteristic should not be subject for political fodder. y where one did not exist. adl urges leaders to refrain from fueling discrimination and hate and urges the senate to offer mr. mangi a based on his qualifications and fitness for the job. mr. president, that statement from the adl as they describe themselves the leading organization in the world, leading anti-hate organization in the world when it comes to the jewish people is specific and directed toward those who are really making criticisms of

mr. mangi which are not warranted in any aspect of fact. to have a man characterized as anti-semitic on the floor of the united states senate is justice in this case. this gentleman could not have been more explicit in his statements against ppened in israel on october 7, and the fact that he is coming before this body with no prejudice whatsoever toward the jewish people. thwere asked of him, a muslim nominee, were heartbreaking. at one point republican senators asked if he celebrated 9/11 in his family household. he said of course not. he was sickened by what happened on that day and had friends who were associated with the losses. this kind of treatment of any nominee is unacceptable in america. to charge someone as anti-semitic on the floor of the united states senate is truly unfortunate, if not scandalous itself. we should be to every

nominee, whether proposed by a democratic or republican president, and we should not have any bigotry when it comes to a person because of their religious beliefs. i'm sorry that this was said on the floor of the senate this morning. iope that the person who did it will have second thoughts about whether or not that was appropriate. and now, mr. president, a completely separate issue, last month i invited the ceo's of visa mastercard united airlines and american airlines to testify before the judiciary committee, which i chair, about competition in the credit card market. i've been worki the visa mastercard duopoly in the debit and credit markets which would reduce costs for small businesses and low prices for consumers. in 2006 i was the most junior member of the judiciary committee when i first learned about interchange fees. i literally didn't know they existed. they are known as swipe fees as

well. these are fees that are deducted every time you swipe your debtor credit card and pay to the bank that issued the card. for debate transactions this fee is now at 21 cents plus.05% of the transaction. that is because of legislation which is known in an honorable way and questionable way as the durbin amendment that i wrote in the year however, for credit card transactions interchange fees are much higher in the range of 2% to 3%. that means if you and pay $20 for your meal 40 cents to 60 cents goes to the bank that issued the credit card you used to pay for the meal. it may not sound like a lot, but it adds up. it is estimated that businesses paid more than $100 billion in swipe fees on visa and mastercard branded cards in 2023 alone. in fact swipe fees can be small businesses second highest costs behind only the cost of labor.

small businesses have no choice but to pay the fees. visa and mastercard control more than used credit card market accounting for 576 million cards. this use this power dictate interchange fees to businesses. a take it or leave it proposition. because margins at these small businesses are often low they feel compelled to pass on fees to consumers in the form of higher prices. this means all of us whether you pay with a credit card a debit cardr are subsidizing banks like j.p. morgan chase which just announced it made $49.6 billion in net income in 2023 the most in the history of the american banking industry. thankfully there is an answer the credit card competition act, a bipartisan bill i introduced last year with republican senator roger marshall of kansas wouldmuch-needed competition into the credit card market and break the visa and mastercard strong hold.

here's what our bill says. if a bank with $100 billion or more in assets want to issue a credit card on the visa or mastercard network, it would have to offer a second network other than visa or mastercard to process the transaction. that's known euphemistically as competition. in a way, merchants will finally have a choice. if visa or mastercard offers the best service or security for the cost the merchant can use it. but if the other network offers a better deal the merchant can choose that instead. that's known as competition. by forcing visa and mastercard ua merchants' business we're aiming to end the cycle of increasing interchange fees that's breaking the small businesses. and as you can imagine, visa mastercard and their big bank partners don't like our bill. the bill is expected to save merchants and consumers $15

billion every year in interchange fees. that's $15 billion year coming out of the pockets of wall street banks and into the pockets of american that's why credit card companies and bks s$51 million into lobbying efforts to defeat my bill. $51 million. they have also enlisted airlines ineffort. an article in the "-atlantic" recently explained why. airlines are just banks now. theyore money from their mileage programs and credit cards than from flying airplanes. so if you think of a major airline like uni airlines it's basically a credit card company that owns some planes. that's why anyone who's traveled through the airport here in d.c. watching tv or use the internet has probably seen ads claiming, quote, dick durbin wants to take away your credit

card rewards. thebl pless claims is that they are false. rewards programs will be alive and well long after the credit card competition we know this from data real- real-w found my bill would have a negligible impact on most rewards and n fees provide sufficient margin to maintain reward levels a far cry from what consumers suffered when united airlines devalued miles for international travel last summer. these findings are consistent with the experience of other countries. other countries have decided to protect their consumers from these swipe fees with the credit cards. australia capped the interchange fee 2023. the european union capped interchange fees at.3% in 2015. rewards programs haven't gone away in either place. in fact most major european

airlines offer rewards programs that are comparable, if not be ones offered in the united states. the reason is simple. banks have to compete against each other for customers, and there are few things that make one credit card more attractive to a customer than others other than perhaps a better reward program. this dynamic won't change when the credit card act becomes law. that brings me back to the hearing. the judiciary committee last heldcard market in may of 2022. visa and mastercard have increased their fees since that hearing and are planning to do so again next month. evcerns about inflation, they keep raising its fee over and over again, even as consumers are tr t of inflation. that's why i invited the ceo's of visa mastercard united airlines and american airlines to come testify judiciary committee on april 9. guess what? all four ceo's rejected my

invitation. they'rust too darned busy to come and explain the major source of profits for their businesses. they're too darned busy to come and explain what they're doing to consumers -- across america. some say we don't understand it enough to ttee. ceo's of the company, they don't understand the issue? like their attacks on my bill the ceo's excuses why can't appear don't hold water. killing the credit card competition act has been and remains a top priority for these companies companies, as evidenced by more than $51 billion lobbying effort they've undertaken against my bill. i guess i should be flattered that they spent $51 million lobbying to try to stop this but it infuriates me they won't come before this committee, under oath, and of it but they're spending all this money in a secret fashion. several of the ceo's have been personally eissue. scott kirby, ceo of united

airlines told verts my bill is -- told investors, my bill is he personally quote, spent a fair amount of time in d.c. talking about the bill. mastercard ceo michael mebox told investors he was closely involved in efforts to defeat this legislation. if these ceo's are willing to discuss the credit card competition act with wall street investors and lawmakers behind clovesed doors, they should be willing to answer questions before the senate judiciary committee and the american public under oath.y is working for small businesses and consumers, then i say to ryan mcverny, michael mebok, scott kirby and robert icon you should have nothing to identify. that you refuse to appear and publicly defendr scaling of every credit card transaction in america speaks volumes. i yield the floor.

the presiding officer: the senator from arkansas. mr. cotton: i recently returned from a trip to el salvador where i met the president and saw firsthand the effects of his remarkable transformation of that country from the most dangerous in our hems sphere to one of the as we drove around san salvador the images were commonplace, yet

extraordinary. children played socker in the park young women jogged at twilight couples dined outdoors. commonplace because one should expect to see such scenes in any decent extraordinary because they were unheard of just a few years ago. unfortunately, this trip was also a reminder that president biden weak unpopular, and divisive abroad as at home. just as he coddles criminals and cartels in our own country, he too often sympathizes with them in other nations. since taking office president biden refused to meet president bukele secretary of state tony blinken criticized him, and the administration has significantly reduced foreign assistance to his must ask why. after all, president bukele is the most pro-american leader in latin america, and hewhelmingly won two elections. free and fair elections, i must add, contrary to liberal allega bigger vote

shares came from salvadorans living outside the country including in the united states. far removed from any supposed intimidation or coercion inside el salvador. that's not surprising because after years of bloodshed, the bukele government is bringing stability and safety to a country that desperately needs it. which is also good for america. there's been a 40% drop in illegal salvadoran migrants at our border. no joe bidenukele for good or fair-minded reasons. he opposes president bukele because he's tough on el salvador's murderous gangs, the most prominent of which is ms-13, the group with the psychotic of kill rape control. our own country has experience with this sadistic gang. in 2017, not far from here in wheaton, maryland members of ms-13 beheaded a man, cut his heart out, and stabbed him over 100 times.

a year before mr. s of the gang -- bes members of the -- members of the gang murdered two teenage girls in new york using baseball bats and a machete. last year anng -- illegal alien member was convicted of torturing and murdered0-year-old boy. he tortured and murdered a 10-year-old boy. that's what ms13 has done here in america, the richest and most powerful in the world. it has done far worse to the people of el salvador. and 3 alone. factions of the infamous 18th street gang also triesed the country -- terrorized the country. before the crackdown, more than 100,000 gang members and associates roamed the streets of a nation of fewer than0 years they waged war with each other and government turning neighborhoods and cities into ungovernable battlefield. they wouldmpress preteen boys into their gangs or demand

preteen girls provide sexual favors or they would kill the wh and still take the boy or girl. as a result el salvador has long been one of the most dangerous nat on earth. indeed it was so dangerous that many of my democratic colleagues argued those fleeings the country -- fleeing the country should automatically be eligible for asylum here. in late march 2022, two years ago, the nation reached its breaking point when gang members committed 87 murders in a single weekend, killing more people in three days thaner of the previous month. tragically march 26, 2022, marked the deadliest day in el salvador since the end nation's civil war 30 years ago. finally, people had had enough. president bukele requested theclaration of a state of emergency and the national assembly agreed. the government surged troops throughout the country, overwhelming the gangs and

arresting andemprisoning its gang member told reporters, quote, there were too many soldiers everywhere all at once. according to recent estimates, the bukele government imprisoned more than killing many more. the president's strategy worked. in 2022, the number of murders inador dropped nearly 57%, and then dropped another 70% last year. in 2018, t rate was 53 per 100,000. last year 2.4 per 100,000. forntext, washington, d.c. had a murder rate of 40 per 1 hooped last year. that means -- 40 per 100,000 last year. that means i was much safer two days ago in what was once the murder capital of the world than any of us today are in joe biden's washington. yet joe biden, one of the least

popular, least successful most pro-criminal leaders in the world iri hemisphere's most popular and accomplished presidents on crime. in particular the biden administration has expressed coer declaration, which suspends certain due process protections is a threat to the rule of law. apparently an even greater threat than the marauding thousands of gang members still at large. president biden evidently doesn't understand tter is a prerequisite for law, indeed for nationhood. without order, the state's -- and the states' monopoly on force, you don't have a country and certainly can't have a democracy. perhaps president bukele's tactics are harsh. i don't think so, but i'll grant you that. they were also absolutely necessary to establish order. i would remind the biden administration thatang members aren't victims. they are murderers, rapists, and many have american blood on

their hands. i saw up close thousands of these savages or devils as president bukele puts it when i toured the terrorism confinement center housing tens of thousands of gang members. the inmates live together by the doeses in -- dozens iup cells. they don't go outside. they don't take classes. they don't get visitors. most will never leave. armed guards are everywhere you turned insidhele-walled prison including on the steel grate ceilings so guards can monitor from human rights group whine about there prison. i guess they think it's too harsh and it's not club med, i'll concede. but the i food and water. they conduct personal hygiene daily. doctors and nurses work in an aid station next tocells. those same groups also complain about a supposed lack of due process. i don't know call me crazy, but if it's illegal to belongv. to a gang and you've got ms-13

tattoos all over your face and body i'm note what more process you're due. maybe that's just me. no the victims aren't the devils i terrorism confinement center. the people of el salvador are the victims. after years of abuse, law-abiding salvadorans, particularly from poor and working classes, overwhelmingly support the efforts to restore order in a meaningful rule law. i'm hopeful el salvador's leaders will help bring stability and pros parties to a nation that deserveshan gangland terrorism. and i urge the administration that if it's unwilling to help at least stay out of the way. finally, the emple of el salvador not only exposes the failures of president biden's approach to foreign policy, but also his approach to crime. if -- if nothing else president bukele proved once gep incarceration works, obviously. if you lock up murderers, there

a truth so obvious only liberal ideologues would miss it. sadly, that's what we have in ma today's criminal justice system. progressive lawyers who refuse to prosecute criminals. progressive judges who refuseence them appropriately and progressive politicians who pass bills to release them. so long as we continue to pursue these progressive policies our communities will sadly continue to look more and more like el salvador not the el salvador of today but of just a few years ago. mr. president, i yield the floor. president. the presiding officer: the republican whip. mr. thune: mr. president this week we celebrate national agriculture week. it's a time to celebrate

america's america's farmers and the herald working men and -- the hardworking men and women who fill supermarkets and dinner place plates. much of daily life in the united states depends on the food fuel and fiber that america's farms and ranches produce. this week in the hard work of feeding america and the world. mr. president, there are a lot of factors that garm or ranch's success. i want to talk about just one of those factors that affects a lot of farms and ranches, and trade. trade is critical to the continued success of american agriculture. one inou acres on u.s. farms is planted to be exported to a foreign market. exports are responsible for a fifth of u.s. farmhe 2023 marketing year american farmers planted nearly 70 million acres of major crops to supply international markets. mr. president, we have a

problem. thanks in large part to the biden administration's almost complete inaction on trade, u.s. agriculture exports are declining. in fact last year the united states posted a 16.6 billion agricultural trade deficit. 16.6 billion. that deficit, believe it or not, is projected to be nearly twice as large this year in an area of our economy where typically we have run historically trade surpluses. mr. president, this will be bad enough on its own, but it's particularly distressing at a time of economic uncertainty for a lot of farmers and ranchers. like so many other americans, it farmers and ranchers have suffered under president biden's inflation crisis. net farm income is expected to see its largest two-year drop in 40 years. we s to reverse this trend and help farmers and ranchers succeed.

a good place to start will be opening new markets for american agricultural products. mr. president, the sorry state of agricultural trade is emblematic of the biden administration 's generally unambitious trade agenda. the made it clear early on that trade would not be high on his agenda. unfortunately, he's lived up to that. increased market accessstates is almost completely dropped off the radar under president biden. the openly said that the indo-pacific economic framework, which contains one of the few trade-inish tiffs that the administration hundertaken was in fact designed not, not to include terror -- t reduction a key market opening measure and now the biden administration has put even this half-heart trade initiative on

hold declining to move forward with the trade portion of the indo-pacific agreement. a year ago i came to the floor to discuss my bipartisan bill to kick start negotiations agreement with the united kingdom. you would think that a free trade agreement oldest allies and largest trading partners would be a no-brainer but the administration has punted on that one too. on digital trade an area where the united states has leader and which we should continue to lead the biden administration is pulling back. last fall there was -- on digital trade at the world trade organization a rule that risks letting china take our place in writing rules for a major sector in the global economy. mr. president, the united states is currently

negotiating zero trade agreements. while the biden administration keeps america on the sidelines, other countries are building up their portfolios. the european union is negotiating new free trade agreements so is the united kingdom and china is working to expand its trading network. the biden administration's failure on trade is putting at a disadvantage. the administration is not only forfeiting opportunities for american leadership it's harming arican businesses farms, and rachs that look to -- rachs that -- ranches that look to trade. i joined other senators urging the administration to uphold america's long-standing leadership on digital trade. last week i group of republican senators to expand american agriculture. mr. we want american farmers, ranchers and business

owners to succeed in the global economy, trade has to be a priority. and i continue to do everything i can to urge the biden administration to get off the sidelines on trade and up new opportunities for american producers. mr. president, i yield the . mr. lee: mr. president, i ask unanimous consent -- the presiding officer: the senator from utah. mr. lee: i permitted to speak for up to ten minutes, and senator manchin up to five minutes prior to the scheduled roll call vote. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. lee: mr. president, yesterday at about this samefloor. time i came to the floor a i

made three predictses. even though -- predictses even though not a single member body had a chance to read the new spending bill which we received at 3:00 a.m. this morning. i predicted it would be full of corrupting earmarks. well the bill has nearly 1400 earmarks, 138 pages of the more than 1,000 pages are dedicated to earmarks. wouldn't force biden is secure the border and that it would perpetuate massive deficits. it does. mr. president, i really hate to say i told you so. it's now thursday a little more than 48 hours before the funding deadline and we received 1012-page bill at 2:30 in the morning. we're told the only way to avoid

a shutdown is to vote bill, which was put together by schumer, mcconnell, johnson, and jeffries. we can be sure there will be the text to vet it with our staffs and our constituents to debate the bill and offer amendments to improve the bill. this is not, regardless of what state we come from or what party we're a part of this is not what our constituents our voters sent us to washington to do. these bills, massive legislative under undertaking that budget most of the federal funding into a single package becomes synonymous with -- this is crafted omnibus bills with a appropriators contributing to their formulation. now, by design the bills are unveiled to the public and most

of congress with barely any time before a potential government shutdown. the strategic timing ray ranged by the arranged right before a long-scheduled recess or holiday ensures the bill passes with little scrutiny and little amendment or debate. it's a charade occasionally softened by allowing a few votes here and there on a few token amendments. the firm weilds to make sure that nothing is trade. members are cornered into false dichotomy arranged entirely by the firm. pass the bill unread unamended or face the chaos and public ooir of a -- ire of a government shutdown or the will of the

american people those who elected them to come here are i did looted in -- diluted by the few. this is what we try to avoid when we passed a c.r. in november of last year. we extended the deadline into the new year. we established deadlines into january and february specifically to avoid the dreaded chr the firm historically drops a bill. by avoiding the intended to give us time to debate amend, and ensure all of the people's elected lawmakers in washington were engaged in a fair and transparent process. but now we're in a very scenario that we tried so hard to avoid with a massive bill just before a easter holiday.

so what happened? what happened mr. president? how are we in the exact same spot that we found ourselves in just a few that we worked so hard to avoid and we promised we would avoid? today with just over 48 hours before the government r of funding, this body once again throws american taxpayers and our voters under the bus forsaking fiscal sanity. they have measures that republicans fought to include in this administration that were rejected by just a handful of members. so overwhelmingly sup overwhelmingly rejected by a narrow sliver of members of this and the measures would have banned the funds to implement the green new deal and policies overfunded block funds f racist dei programs across the

department of defense and intelligence community agencies prohibited the use of funds forreaucrats to label free speech that they happen to disagree about as -- with as misinformation measures to ensure that only the american flag may be flown at all government buildings. it contains no new funding for a border wall or any of the other core border security elements in h.r. 2, which are so badly needed at this time our cion at the being a we he's enter of the -- acquiescence of the united ng to stop the biden invasion from happening now at the southern border. we are spending millions of taxpayer dollars on radical projects that weaken our country cultly and -- culturally and economically $1.8 million for a hospital in rhode island that performs abortions, including

late-term abortions, more money activist organization for children ages t 2-5o variety of gender expressions, $400,000 for the largest lgbtq adv hoorgs -- organization it focuses on transgender student rights which includes use girls locker rooms and play in girls athletics in high school. $676,000 for that has been actively supported of black lives matter and painted a blmur in front of cincinnati's city hall more money for an institution that released what they inclusion, diversion charter in 2020, which stated that veracity are critical components within the fabric of the institute to solve

complex environmental issues and advance d rifrn's mission. $500,000 for a radical organization that hosts training work shops on bias social inclusion and equity de de-colonization de-colonization. a child care initi that is established to provide child care for immigrant families. so instead of securing our border we ar using taxpayer money to create programs for illegal immigrants that invaded our country. this whole system of government funding is designed to not benefit the vast majority of americans. it benefits the architects of these bills, the appropriators, the earmarks the lobbists and the special s. these entities thrive in the shadows of the process, influencing this serving the

architects themselves always at the expense of the general public. they are making decisions manifesting in high costs of living and a national debt exceeding not have a say in the process, those they elected to have a say in the very same process are excluded and that's wrong. dismantle this corrupt process and restore once again transparency and accountability to the way we our government. the process behind what we expect from this insulting spending bill is a disgrace and history show that a few of us stood up and said no this is not the way. what we need is a short-term c.r. a continuing resolution through april 12 to give lawmakers time to review amend, debate the by some twist or fate or gift by god you are able to

discern everyis bill and digested it and still loved the bill you should still acknowledge that most members, i would say all, lack that capacity and therefore deserve the opportunity, whether you love or hate the bill at the end of the day to fully review it with constituents debate it and, yes, offer amendments at a meaningful window of opportunity. voting for this bill is voting in favor massive bloated deficits that are crippling america and making life un unaffordableorrupting earmarks and funding biden's border invasion. i invite my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to join in fighting for fiscal responsibility in the best interest of the american families we're supposed to represent in washington. after all, they elected us because we're certainly not doing that now. so to that end, mr. president, i offered up a solution whether you love it or late it after

reviewing it which will take some time you should still want it to be adequately vetted first, and to that end as if in legislative session, i ask unanimous consent that the senate proceed the immediate consideration of calendar number 235, h.r. 4364. i ask that the lee amendment at the desk be considered and agreed to the bill as amended be considered read a third time and passed and -- e presiding officer: is there an objection? mrs. murray: reserving the right to object. as i mentioned yesterday, we really have to get a move on and close fiscal year 24. we are six months into this fiscal year already. it is time to take the government off autopilot. we he carefully negotiated package. it is bipartisan. it is bicameral. it reflects the input of nearly every senator and the priorities of every state in america, and it's ready to go. we need to focus on the deadline

in front of us and get this passed in a swift bipartisan way so we can avoid a shutdown. and i would remind all of my colleagues so we can turn to fiscal year 2025. my focus remains on working with all of my colleagues to get that package over the finish line in a timely way. therefore, the presiding officer: the objection is heard. the senator from utah. mr. lee: mr. president, i'll sit down here in just one moment letting my friend and colleague joe manchin speak. i just want to point out for a moment a couple of things. my friend and colleague from the statement o objecting to this measure, a measure that would have allowed all members adequate time to review the bill and to vet it with c debate it discuss it and amend it on the floor. she said that we have to get a move on. the government has been on autopilot, meaning under a long. true. absolutely true. but i find it stunning the suggestion that she's saying that now is time -- now that

time is of essence. we didn't have the bill the day before the day before the day before or the day before that we have it now. she's identified the precise moment in history, the precise moment in 2024 when we can no for another day. we've got to get a move on right, right now. she also says it's bipartisan bicameral bicameral, a carefully negotiated agreement. that's gryueat.e small handful of people who actually saw this bill and were involved in its final formulation, i'm sure will find that very coorti didn't see it until 2:30 a.m. this morning and for the 330 million americans out there who will have to pay for this stuff, that's not adequate notice. that's not a carefully negotiated agreement. that is collusion among the few affecting the many adversely. and i find this very very disturbing that we couldn't give the american people and their elected representatives a few more days so they can understand what's in there. it beg, the question what are they hiding.

thank you, mr. president. a senator: mr. president. the presiding officer: the senator from west virginia. mr. manchin: i rise today in recognition of the national workers safety awa and honor the life of gabe white, a young west virginian who lost his life far too soon. gabe was a deck hand, a boy scout, a graduate of gilmore county high school and most importantly he was a son, a brother, a nephew a cousin and a friend. i want to thank gabe's family for today and for allowing me to share gabe's story with the rest of the country which underscores just how important bafrn safety is and must be. gabe was a wheeling, west virginia resident who loved video games and sports and art. he was interested in learning more about the world and those around him. he appreciated history and was always starting interesting discussions with his friends and family. he engaged. gabe also loved the outdoors. as a scout he found love with hiking and camping, even during

the winter. gabe and his troops hiked and camped must of the river trail. he had the honor of being an order of the eagle recipient in addition to his rank as a life scout. gabe was alsoed leader while he was a scout which is typically tried to avoid because he always focused on being a team player working with others. everyone around gabe knew him as someone who is always ready up to the plate, to lend a helping hand when needed. during his senior year of high school gabe decided to join the high school baseball team after only ever one year of little league. now the reasons were later gabe's friends and teammates and family f o that gabe only joined the team because he was worried they wouldn't have enough players to form a team and play that last season. gabe knew it was his play baseball as they were graduating that year so he was adamant in helping out. gabing showed up with -- gabe showed up with a positive attitude to every practice and game and was always prepared to do whatever his coach and

teammates needed him to do. again gabe was always there to show up and step when he knew his teammates and friends needed him most. ghraibing was a true -- gabe was a true virginia mountain near through and through. he talked about his desire to become a father and looking forward to becoming an uncle. after he graduated high schlool be got a job working as a deck hand. he was proud of his job and proud of the opportunity and excited to learn the new things about working on a barge on the river with his team of deck hands. however, on the morning of march 22 at work as usual when an accident occurred that tragically resulted in his death at just the age of following an investigation it was determined that not only was no safety equipment issued gabe was out of line of sight of the crane operator ab was present. gabe's death never, never should have happened. it was preventable and we musts why i'm proud to

introduce the national inland waterways workers safety awareness day resolution with my colleague from west virginia senator shelley moore capito. our resolution designates march 22 2024 as national inland waterways in recognition of the one anniversary of gabe's passing. workers in the national inland waterways system navigating ships, barges and tugboats that deliver the goods we all need and use. they work hard loading and unloading barges and transport vessels and cleaning and caring for vessels and shipyards to move the goods for america. our resolution recognizes the need to continue improve the safe transportation of domestic cargo and above all else to reduce transportation vessel and related incidents, futilities and injuries so another family like gabe's does not have to endure such a tragic loss and i have said gabe's life was not in vain. he will save many others. the safety of deck hands, en

masters, mates and shore side workers are the utmost important. it is critical to equip them with the necessary knowledge and duties safely and effectively and return home every evening safe. i want to applaud the efforts of the coast guard, american terways operators, maritime trades department and other groups who are working to reduce the incidence of workplace injuries and fatalitiesn around i encourage industry and worker groups to observe march 22 to not only honor gabe's l the day with appropriate programs and activities that increase safety awareness in and around towing vessels employment. i want to again thank gabe's family all of you who came to visit with us today and to honor gabe in such a meaningful way. and to ensure that accidents like this never happen again. so may god bless gabe and his family and keep all waterways safe for many -- from many injuries. thank i, mr. president.

the presiding officer: under the previous order, the motion -- under the previous order, the motion to proceed to the motion to reconsider the vote by which cloture was not invoked rotted rod nomination -- rodriguez nomination is agreed to and the motion to reconsider is agreed to. the clerk will report the motion to invoke cloture. th we, the undersigned senators in accordance with the provisions of rule 22 of the standing rules of the senate, do hereby move to bring to a close debate on t executive calendar number 117, jose javier rodriguez of florida to be an assistant secretary of labor signed by 17 senators. the presiding officer: by unanimous consent, the mandatory quorum call has been waived. the question is, is it the sense of the senate that debate on the nomination of jose javier rodriguez of florida to be an assistant secretary of labor shall be brought to a close upon reconsideration. th under the rule. the clerk will call the roll. vote: the clerk: ms. baldwin. mr. barrasso. mr. bennet. mrs. blackburn.

mr. blumenthal. mr. booker. mr. boozman. mr. braun. mrs. britt. mr. brown. mr. budd. ms. butler.ll. 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. the clerk: mr. durbin.

ms. ernst.

the clerk: 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.obuchar. mr. lankford. mr. lee. mr. lujan. ms. lummis. mr. manchin. mr. markey. mr. marshall. mr. mcconnell. mr. menendez. mr. merkley. mr. mullin. ms. murkowski. 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.ung.

the clerk: senators voting in the affirmative -- baldwin, booker, duckworth, fetterman, heinrich, kaine lujan, murray, padilla schatz, sinema tester. senators voting in the negative -- cassidy, fischer, hager hoeven manchin,s romney, tuberville.

the clerk: mr. menendez, aye.

the clerk: ms. ernst, no. the clerk: ms. butler, aye. the clerk: mr. hawley, no.

the clerk: mr. welch, aye.

the clerk: mr. barrasso, no. mr. ossoff, aye. the clerk: mr. marshall no. mr. kennedy, no.

the clerk: mr. vance, no. thnson, no.

the clerk: mr. gillibrand, aye.

the clerk: ms. hirono, i do not. -- ms. hirono, aye. mr. reed, aye. mr. grassley, no.

the clerk: mr. ricketts, no. the clerk: mr. cruz, no. the clerk: mr. paul, no.

mr. cor

the clerk: mr. scott of florida no. mr. budd, no. mr. rounds, no. the clerk: ms. smith, aye.

the clerk: mr. aye. mr. king, aye. the clerk: mr. merkley, aye. mr. peters, aye. mrs. hyde-smith, no. mr. brown, aye. mr. kelly, aye.

mr. murphy, aye. vote: the clerk: mrs. capito no. mr. carper aye.

the clerk: mr. . hickenlooper aye. ms. hassan aye. mr. lankford no.

the clerk: mr. rubio, no. mr. graham no. the clerk: mr. thune, no.

the clerk: ms. klobuchar, aye. mr. wicker no.6

the clerk: ms. collins, no. mr. scott of south carolina no. mr. blumenthal, aye.7m

the clerk: mr. coons, aye.

ms. warren aye. the clerk: mr. risch, no. mr. boozman, no. mr. van hollen aye.

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

the clerk: mr. bennet aye. ms. murkowski, no. mr. cramer no. mr. markey aye. mr. warner aye.

the clerk: mr. cardin, aye. mr. moran, no.

the clerk: mr. braun, no. the clerk: mr. sullivan, no. the clerk: mr. lee, no.dd

the clerk: ms. lummis, no.

the clerk: ms. rosen, aye. the clerk: mrs. britt, no.

the clerk: mr. young, no

the clerk: mr. schumer, aye.

the clerk: mrs. blackburn, no. ms. cortez masto, aye.

the clerk: mr. crapo, no. ms. klobuchar, aye. mr. wyden, aye.

the clerk: mr. casey, aye.

e clerk: mr. daines, no.

vote:

the clerk: ms. cantwell, aye. %[q%

the clerk: mr. mcconnell, no. ff2govev

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