where we have clashes between protesters especially ou universities. >> you talk about the class and the different points do you ever get a sense of talking to the students or people that int coming together an understanding where each other was mit was the surprising thing about reporting the story at least the students we spoke to, there's a tremendous amount of division people have dug in their heels when it comes to the 4"■la great deal of pressure on students to pick a side and stick to it. and certainly a lot of nuances. it's not just extreme i think on the media environment we live in especially the social

media extremes are accentuated and. >> we are going to leave this and take you lives to the same accent it were today lawmakers are expected to work on the nomination of david rosner to be one of five members of federal energy regulatory commission. later this week lawmakers will also be voting on a measure that will protect nationwide access to in vitro fertilization treatment stop live coverage of the same accent here on span2.■uo

>> ...... creator of our destinies, we marvel at your power, majesty, and might. from the beginning, your grace has underlain the foundations of our lives, so we ask that you would lead us in the paths of your purposes. today, awaken in our lawmakers the ability to see the opportunities that e■5jíxi challenges they face.■g may this knowledge motivate them to move forward with faith, optimism and peace. show them us that show them unused resources that

can be mobilized to solve problems and to dreams become reality. true. when they experience doubts and uncertainties, give them the wisdom to ask you for guidance we pray in your matchless name. amen. the presiding officer: please joe in reciting the pledge of allegiance to our flag. i pledge allegiance to the flag ■r■ of the united states of america, and to the republic for which it stands, ■k one nation under god, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. the presiding officer: the clerk will read a communication to the senate.

the senate will come to order. the clerk: washington, d.c, june 11, 2024. to the senate: under the provisions of rule 1, paragraph 3, of the stpoint the honorable peter welch, a senator from the state of vermont, to perform the duties of the chair. signed: patty murray, president pro tempore. 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 toesume consideration of the following nomination which the clerk will report. e nomination, federal energy regulatory david rosner of massachusetts to be a member. ■( ■ ■p

.

economic security which we have tried in the past and it wasrkid then he became prime minister

and plan fell apart and it was to undermine the palestinian authority's. the change that strategy had an alternative so there is a path for the palestinian. >> this morning talked about optimism and what is your level of optimism? >> it's hard to say to have dagen and it's been on the table for months the temporary cease-fire in exchange for palestinian. getting demented change is the focus. i am concerned and left the israeli forward the level of competence right■n now and support the bidn

administration different to get that cease-fire in a long-term solution doing everything they can to get to that result. >> the prime minister will congress next month, did you think about the legislation? >> to me the debate is destruction. long-term not just the work is going to go on, what is his plan for long-term process in the middle east? there's no peace for israel. >> when it to ukraine, president biden allowing short-term use of military

weapon within ukraine itself, what did you think? -- mr. mcconnell: on saturday, in a daring daytime raid, israel rescued four innocent hostages who had suffered in hamas captivity since 7. the mission was the product of careful planning. it demanded the utmost secrecy, professionalism, and bravery. engineer the case of one elite commander, it required the the people of israel can take pride in their nation's dedication to restoring its security and delivering justice for the brutal attacks that shattered a quiet sabbath

morning last fall. of course, this same operation also exposed even further the tremendous obstacle that continues to threaten israel's sovereignty and block the prospect of peaceraelis and pal. it brought into focus the■thcj appealing lengths to which hardened terrorists will go to sow chaos and>g suffering. and it raised ungolf questions -- uncomfortable questions about the broader complicit of some palestinian civilians. with the help of u.s. intelligence, the israel force's mission led them not to the depths of hamas terror tunnels,

but to the heart of a refugee camp run by united nations and to the family home of a hamas terrorist who self-identified as a journalist. so mr. president, the brutal exploitation of civilians is a well-documented tactic in hamas' playbook. these are, after all, the terrorists who repeatedly deploy their combatants in orschools, hospitals, and mosques in order to use civilians as human shields. the detention of israeli hostages in family homes is a predictable extension of this despicable practice.

and every drop of blood spilled this weekend is the responsibility of the party that violated a ceasefire, launched a barbaric attack, took innocent hostages, and has refused calls from around the world to release them. these■h are the facts. but predictably, they're not what w weekend in the coverage of personmedia. instead of outrage that a hamas terrorist would exploit their profession as cover for hostage keeping, major publications have directed their indignation at israel, for seeing through the terrorist flims#zy cover as doctors and journalists, and daring to bring its phome. one major national newspaper's

initial coverage of the raid made no mention of the fact that hamas had chosen to hide its hostages in private homes. just days publishing its own analysis of the bogus casualty reporting of the hamas-run gazahealth, another o to breathlessly parroting the terrorist groups own death toll propaganda in the headlines of its coverage of the hostage rescue. and to the surprise of absotely no one, the u.n. so-called special tore -- rappertoeur shamelessly accused israel of using hostages to legitimize killing innocent civilians. if this is the media diet the

american people have to coon sume -- have to consume, then what came next should surprise no one. waiving hezbollah flags jeered at visitors to an exhibit honoring the victims of october 7, and its attack on the music festival from which the hostages freed this weekend were abducted. predictably, news broadcasts characterid the protestors who chanted long live the intifada and israel go to hell were merely pro-palestinian, not anti-israel. meanwhile, unhinged throngs of

hamas occupied lafayette square out■8p&side th white house, defacing statues, attacking law enforcemen disgusc slurs. a generation of useful idiots and fifth columnistsit adrift on a sea of performative sympathy for terrorists, andl&he reach of fact or reality. lest anyone doubt this contagion is not confined to so-called elite universities, americans who are rightly worried about crime and violence might wonder why on earth the president would permit this on federal profit, let alone the park outside the white use.

or why no arrests were made. and they especially ought to wonder why the biden administration chose this moment as the people of israel celebrate a small but precious victory in securing the freedom four of its citizens to try and box israel in with a stunt, a stu at the u.n. and why the white house so desperately wants to constrain our allies' freedom of movement and to micromanage its military. this weekend's developments may feel like a significant inflection point, but the fundamental realities this situation have not changed. israel has a right to defend it itself, terrorists have no right to take innocent hostages, and

they alone, they alone bear responsibility for the consequences of their actions. on another matter, i haven't spared any breath calling attention to the parade of unfit nominees that the biden administration would le confirmed to lifetime seats on the federal bench. i've urged my colleagues to consider adeel mangi's alarming connections to terrorist sympathizers and nancy mal maldonado's record of staggering unproductivity on her lower ly fitting that i called attention to another iations bear all the hallmarks of the dark money influence that so many -- that so animatesom seniormost colleagues on the judiciary committee. the senate hears a great deal

from our colleague, the junior senator from rhode island, on the subject of dark money, butk so far i haven't herbed him -- haven' h express any concern that sparkle l. sooknan the d.c. circuit court, has secured the support of laborin. mr. -- robert raben. he is a notorious shepherd of liberal nominees, whose list has groups backed by everyone from george sorrows to arabela advisors.ed parently, this nominee engaged in discussion on mr. raben and his associate after her nomination was this sort of contact between liberal nominees ha handlers doesn't fit with senate democrats' idea of dark money influence as simply a

conservative pastime. so it's hardly surprising that senior members of the judiciary committee majority have found time to scrutinize miss sooknanan with the vigor they■d devote to conservative causes. of course, maybe senate democrats actually support miss sooknanan's legal defense of so-calledsooknanan. as they#: cut to the front of t line of puerto rico creditors, one person said that it makes her nomination an insult to the people of puerto rico. what does she know? or maybe they agree with sparkle sooknanan's former law firm that she didn't expand the litigation

efforts on a conference call or that "the new york times" is lyhe said that they did it didn't add up unless t i one with liberal dark money from robert raben and araabell advisors. ing officer: majority leader. mr. schumer: lastfriday, mr. president, i had the opportunity to visit the nova exhibit in new york city wall street. the exhibit documents -- downtown on wall street.

it exhibits what happened on october 7. thousands of b as the sun was setting to a music festival and when you go into an exhibit, the first thing you see isusdancing embracing each other and happy as can be, young people, beautiful, in the prime of their lives, the sunshining on them as the sun was setting only to realize what had happened. the rest of the exhibit documents the brutal murder of these young people, innocent, happy young people with so■ of . we see vicious hamas terrorists, machine gunning them, brutalizing them, and we hear interviews that are done by the families and those who were there. so it was a wrenching experience, the contrast -- the exhibit was so well done of those beautiful young people

happily enjoying life and then knowing that hundreds slain bru of them would be kidnapped by terr terrorists running away in fear. what was even worse, or at least adding salt into the wounds was that -- that just a day after i -- a day or two after i visited the exhibit, protesters gathered outside the exhibit chanting repugnant anti-semetic phrases, doning banners that zionists are not jews and are not humans. how low you go having visited the exhibit and seeing

those young people and then knowing and seeing on film what happened to them at the vicious hands of hamas and then havin and say long live october 7? zionists are not jews and are ot humans. how despicable. how terribly unnerving that humanity could sink that low. it is the lowest of low for anyone to protest an exhibit dedicated to hin of precious lives brutally murdered by hamas. it is anyone should show up at an exhibit like this to protest. the protests and the rhetoric outside the nova exhibit were

nothing short of despicable, inhumane and anti-semetic. anti-semitism like what happene exhibition has no place in our city, in our state or in america. now, mr. president, it's been two years since donald trump and the maga republicans succeeded in eliminating roe, ripping away the right to choose and jeopardizing reproductive care for millions upon millions of women. today, women and families across america are worried about more than roe's demise. they're worried about what comes next, including the erosion of■ reproductive freedoms nobody thought were at risk, this includes access to servie

ivf. 86% of americans support ivf, but in the aftermath of roe and aftens like the one from alabama, many families fear this basic service cannot be taken for granted. that is not theoretical, here in congress some on the hard right are to restrict ivf access. the senate can ease people's worries and protect their freedoms through legislation. this week the senate will vote on the right to ivf act, led by my colleagues, senators duckworth, murray, and booker. the right to ivf act establishes a nationwide right to ivf and eliminates barriers for the millions of families looking to use ivf to start and grow a family. protecting ivf shouldg be one o the easiest votes the senate has taken all year. e of senators should agree that strengthening treatments that is a good thing

in fact,y the immense good ivf can do. i've seen it in my own family. one of my grandkids was son sooefd with the -- conceived with the help of ivf treatment and we're immensely grateful for access to this service. i can't imagine what we would have done go they told us we no longer offered this -- offer this treatment. thank god we never had to deal with that. now my family over again in this country, millions of americans have the joy to children thanks to ivf. so in no way, shape, or form is protecting ivf is show vote. it's a show us who are vote. remember what are some senators said when we first pushed marriage equality two years ago. they called that a show vote. they called it gimmicky, a waste. lo and behold hold, after a lot

of hard worked on both sides to make marriage equality become a law. let me say it again. 86% of americans support protecting ivf and 14% of americans say it shouldn't be legal. supporting this bill should be a no-brainer here in the senate and it's all the more urgent given what house republican extremists are doing right now to attack women's health care through the appropriations process. just last week the hard right stuffed the v.a. funding bill with poison pills that would■3 p away reproductive care for our veterans. th study committee, which includes 80% of house republicans, an overwhelming majoritied of them, pushed a radical agenda endange along with a national abortion

ban with no exception fors for rape or incest. that's how far right that group has become on this issue. what a nasty, awful, and out of touch message to send american people. instead of pushing policies that the vast majority of americans support, house republicans continue to focus only on their most extreme constituencies, here in the senate we should choose a different path. one where we show the american people we protect the rights they care about and this ivf bill would be a good way to do that. on the ferc nominations. this weekheate has several are important nominees th the f regulatory commission, ferc, as it's usually called, rarely shows up on people's radars screens. but its mission is simple every time su see the power lines, re

at ferc are at ensures that th remain reasonable. it regulates the across state l ensures our power grid is safe and reliable. but if the senate does not act soon, ferc could student loan lose its quorum and much of its work could come to vacancies goo long it could cause serious backlog and delay, down new pro power people's homes and cities. i'm glad to with three new ferc nominations on the senate floor. h can confirm all three by the end of the week so ferc can keep its mission of affording people reliable energy. i thank chairman manchin and ranking member barasso for working together to bring these nominees through. mr. president, i yield the

floor. mr. president. the presiding officer: the majority leader. mr. schumer: i have four requests for committees to meet during today's session■ of the senate. the presiding officer: duly noted. mr. schumer: i ask unanimous consent that the mandatory quorum call with respect to the the presiding officer: without objection. mr. schumer: i yield the floor. ■ presiding officer: the majority whip. mr. durbin: i ask unanimous consent that the following detail east be granted floor

privileges for the 118th congre kent, andrew parker, stacey harris. the presidinofficer: without objection. mr. durbin: i rise to discuss an issue i have been working on fo it was over 20 years ago that i introduced the dream act. i introduced it with republican senator orrin hatch, who was then hefd of the senate judiciary committee. there was a discuss on who would be first named on the bill, senator hatch said he would be first as head of the committee. this would provide pahw to zenship for -- citiz■9 for young citizen do stay in this country. these young people grew up alongside our young children with the same hopes of beginning

a first job, applying for a driver's license andy have served as doctors, nurses, teachers, engineers and first responders. yet, without congressional ac two decades every day is spent in fear of their lives being uprooted facing the fear of deportation. mr. president, i'm amazed when i think about the issue of immigration. when you really come to understand america and it's place in the history of the world you reaze tt we are first and foremost a nation of immigrants. people who have■í come from eve corner of the world to be part of the american dream, who, despite the odds, have overcome hardship and really built a future for themselves and made this great nation today. yet, every successive generation goes through the debate as to whether or not immigration is a

good thing. i think we all agree that we need an orderly process atur borders and otherwise when it comes to immigration. i think we we cannot b states today. erson in the we have a priority to first look at those who live in this country and to measure our needs economically with the reality of immigration. we also have an obligation to only allow those to come into this country who are going to be and not cause any danger those of us who live here. thesebasics. but having said that, we are are in desperate need of immigrants coming to this country for so many reasons. just yesterday, i was chicago taking a look at a new innovative research project that's going on with our department of defense. a gentleman who showed me the project is named ben hernandez, it is called material that can our troops safe fromcal

and chemical warfare. his partnerfornah. he is palestinian, he came to t to engage in this effort to keep men and women in uniform safer, another success story for america. this week marks the 12th anniversary of the deferred action for childho arrivals program known as president obama created daca in response to a senator i knew senator lugar. when we couldn't pass the dream act, i appealed to the president to use his executive authority to create a program that would protect these young people as long as possible. he came up with daca. 830,000 induabe protected. now, they had to go through a background check. every two years they had to renew their application. and they had to pay a fee.

that was understood. but it seemed like a reasonable thing to allow these talented people to stay in america and to be part of our future. daca has protected more than 830,000 young people from deportation, all of whom were brought to this country as children, some as old as just a few months. last month i held a hearing in the senate judiciary committee on the importance of protecting dreamers and daca. we heard from some amazing witnesses who showed why it is so important why we do this. one of the witnesses was officer michele rodriguez from my state of illinois. she is the félirst ever daca recipient to serve as a police officer with the blue island illinois police department. she was very clear. without daca that w been possible. now she is and part of the police force of this community. let me share a talented daca recipient contributing to our country. i've come to the floor of the

senate 143 times as of today to tell these stories. i believe each one tells a better story than any speech i could give on the subject. this young man's name her palsiaos. he comes village in guatemala. he came to los angeles when he was 14 years old. his gleam? -- his dream? he wanted to be a registered nurse but:j he didn't think it s possible because he was undocumented. the day will her heard about daca in 2012 shgs he immediately switched his degree to premusting because for the first time he finally felt that he could fulfill his dream. he has held daca status almost since the progras years ago. he now has a master's of science degree in a registered nurse and family nurse practitioner iiac intensi fr fresno, california. his ultimate goal is to open a medical clinic in ag low-income

community and i would like to serve in the united states army as a nurse. do we need nurses in america? let me tell you, go to your askt person in management that question and they'll tell you we are desperate. we need more nurses. we need more people wilmer. he recently said daca offered me the freedom and opportunities i neughtsible growing up but i cannot constant fear, constant fear of a court decision and a presidential election that can take it allaway. daca has allowed wilmer to ■rrsue his dreams for now but it was always intended to be temporary until congress acted. the fact is with precious few exceptions, for 30 years congress has failed to act and upgrade our immigration laws. everybody knows the immigration system in this country is broken, and to fix it, we need a determined senate, house of represenvztati

who is looking for a constructive solution. it's been hard to find. since president obama established the daca program, relentless campaign to overturn daca and deport these dreamers back to countries they barely knew. now this program is hanging by a thread in the courts due to legal challenges from republican state attorneys general, and daca recipients like wilmer palacios are being forced to live with uncertainty every day. the decision left in place protections for the current recipient, the dreamers live in constant fear that the next court decision will upend their lives. the litigation is also -- has also prevented at least 100,000 additional dreamers from keep in mind those who register for the program go through a baground check. when i hear people describe our immigrant

as murderers, rapists, terrorists, and the insane, i think to myself, who are they talking about? these daca recipients, over 800,000 of them, go through background checks to make certain they're no danger to the united states. and like mr. palacios, they turn out to be absolutely essential to our future. one study estimated if daca were to end,1, would be out of business every day for the next two years.■; losing a thousand workers like wilmer, aand every day. business owners in my state tell me they need more skilled workers -- workers. there isn't a hospital in the state of ioi doesn't want a nurse like mr. palacios who has a master's degree in nursing. they're desperate for them. some would say send them away, deport them. they're not americans. harsh te like they poison the blood of america. i couldn't of our

future. they're good, solid people who will be good citizens of the united states. threat doesn't just come from the courts. whether he was president, president donald trump tried to end the daca program and deport people like wi■,lmer palacios a it's clear if given a chance he'd try again. if our republican colleagues would join us, congress can protect the dreamers and daca recipients. i urge my colleagues meet the dreamers personally. you'll realize they're not a threat to this country. they're the future of our country. they can bring to us things that we need desperately. live in this country without fear. they should be able to put down roots, start families, further their education, and continue to cori to our society without fear of deportation hanging over them. itf■a time for congress to get o work on a bipartisan basis and pass the dream and it's long overdue. i thought we had a chance to do that a few weeks ago.

there was a bipartisan bill that moved■hw forward. i look back at it and sayames lankford, the republican conservative from oklahoma and two other murphy and kyrsten sinema all came together with a bill that would have moved this forward in bringing order to the border and ending the crisis we found there, put more resources in stopping the illegal flow of drugs into the united states, hire more people to do the jobs at the border. while leading union for border patrol agents endorseds bill, this bipartisan bill. what happened to it? why wasn't it passed? why senate pass this bill? there's one reason and it's very public. the former president of the united states donald trump said i don't want this bill to move forward. i want this issue to remain in the campaign until november. so our opportunity for a bipartisan solution to this problem was lost. we've got to move back to the point whe■áre we're working on

bipartisan basis to solve this problem. we can do it. virtually all of us who believe in an integral part of the history of the united states and have an obligation to the america responsibility. i yield the floor.

a senator: mr. president. the presiding officer: the senator from vermont.

mr. sanders: mr. president, let me be as clear as i can be. and that is the american people, whether they are democrats, republicans, or independents, be sick and tired of paying by far the highest prices in the world for prescription drugs. the american people be sick and tired of being ripped off by giant pharmaceutical companies who make huge profits every year while charges us outrageous prices that the american people cannot■$ afford. a few months ago the senate health, education, labor, and pensions committee, the help committee that i chair,& held a hearing on the extraordinarily high prices of prescription drugs in t united states. this is what we le learned that

the largest pharmaceutical companies in the world, made $14.5 billion in profits last with diabetes $6900 ns for januvia when the same exact product can be. the presidin purchased in canad for $900 and in france for $200. here you go. $6900 in the united states. y÷$900 in canada. $200 in france. this is not a generic. this is the exact same pruct. we found that the same company, which by the way could afford to spend $7 billion last year on dividends and a $52 million

compensation package for its ceo, $52 million for its ceo, charges americans with occasionaler $191 -- with cancer $191 for catruda while it can be purchased for $1 -- $112,000 in canada, $91,000 in fran. $191,000 u.s., canada, and it's not just. this is merck. but it's not just. our committee also discovered that bristol-myers squibb, a company that m$6 billion in profits last year, chargesatients in america

$7100 for eliquis, theophe same exact product can be purchased for just $900 in canada, and just $650 in france. eliquis, $7,100u.s., $900 in canada, $650 infrance, same exact product. that same company bristol-myers squibb which, by the way, to spn on stock buybacks and dividends and hand out $41 million in compensation to its ceo last year, charges americans with cancer $192,000 for while the exact same drug can be purchased for $89,000 in canada and $68,000 in france.

what else did our committee learn from its investigation. well, we found out that johnson & johnson which made over $18 billion in profits last year p0 for imruvica which can be puhased for $46,000 in the u.k. and $43,000 in france. the same company which recently spent over $17 bil■zon buybacks and dividends and gave its ceo a $27 million compensation package last year ar arthritis $79,000 when it can be purchased

for just $30,000 in germany and $16,000 in the u.k. stelara, johnson & johnson, $79,000 in the united states. $16,000, u.k. $30,000 in germany. and, mr. president, let us be clear. it is not just bristol-myers squibb. it is not just merck. it is not just johnson & johnson. incredibly -- and this is quite incredible and unbelievable in talks t broken and dysfunctional health care system -- while one out of fs c medicine their prescribe, ten top pharmaceutical companies in our country made over $110 billion in profits last year and spent tens of billions stock buybacks and dividends. in other words, you have the

insane situation where people get sick, they go to the ct wri prescription, they cannot afford to fill that're sick and can't afford to fill the prescription, what happens to you? likely it is you get even sicker, may end in the hospital hat additional cost to the system -- at additional cost to the system, not to mention human suffering. mr. chairman, as the chair -- mr. president, as the chair of the senate help committee, one of the top priorities for me is to try to substantially reduce the price of prescription drugs in the united states. and one of the ways to do that, in my view, is to hold the the largest pharmaceutical companies in our country accountable. -- for their actions, to let them know that we understand what's going on and that the american people will not accept what is going on.

which brings us to another majot is know so norties. the manufacre blockbuster drugs ozempic and which -- wygovy. the help committee launched an investigation in the unbelievably high■8 novonortis charges for millions of our pe struggling with diabetes and obesity. we have an epidemic in this country of diabetes and obesity. people need these very, very imrt and to date, ournv has found -- novo

nordisk charges americans with diabetes $969 a month for ozempic, while the same ect drug can be purchased for just $59 in■ germany, $122 in denmar, and $155 in canada. i think ash here we got it. ozempic, blockbuster drug, an important drug dealing with diabetes and obesity t in the united states, $969. canada, $155. denmark, $122, germany, $59. the same made by the sameen times higher -- more than ten times higher. my arithmetic is not that good. looks to like almost 20 times

higher between the united states and germany. americans with diabetes -- that's for diabetes -- $1 serbsing 349 a month. while the same product can be purchased for just the $92 in the u.k. $18 of in denmark and $265 in canada. further,r.■ president, if half of the adults in our country -- and this is not an unreasonable proj adults in our country with obesity took ry su other new weight losst -- and t incredible and every member of congress should be listening to this -- it would cost us as a

nation $411 billion every year for weight lossling with diabetes and■ obesity. that is $5 billion more than what americans spent on all -- a-l-l -- all prescription drugs at thermacy count in 2022. so let me repeat it. if w fundamentally change this scenario, americans could be spending more at these incredible bring absurd prices on weight loss drugs than on all prescription drugs at the pharmacy counter for cancer, for whatever, more for weight loss drugs than all the other drugs in the country. clearly it doesn't take an economist to understand that this is unsustainable. it can't happen.

the help committee also found that ifalficare and medicaid beneficiaries who are obese -- and i'm not talking about diabetes, i'm talking about obesity -- took w yes. govi and other weight loss dr m couldlion every year roughly what these two programs spent on all retail prescription drugs in 2022. that would also be unsustainable. mr. president, the scientists at novo nordisk and the other drug companies deserve a lot of credit and thanks for developing these important lifesaving drugs. but these drugs mean notngillio cannot afford them, and if we do

not substantiallypanies are charging, they will have a disastrous impact on the federal deficit and the future of medicare and medicaid.9s so all of those people worried about the federal deficit, worried a future of medicare and medicaid,■+ listenp because just these drugs --pic t those programs. mr. president, we have in my view a moral responsibility to make sure that every american with diabetes and obesity who she was a prescription for ozempic or wegovy can afford to purchase those drugs.■í it would be a horrible thing for somebody who was in need of those drugs, that could be helped by those drugs to not be

able to get them simple mr. i because they cannot afford these outrageous prices. further, as members of e a fisc to make sure that wegovy do not bankrupt medicare, medicaid, and in fact our entire health care system, whichwice ar capita on health care as the people of any other country. so, mr. president, that hy the help committee has time and time again invited the leadership of novo nordisk to voluntarily testify about the unconsciously -- high prices that are charging for these drugs in the united states.m@ and the reason why wet novo nor to testify before congress is not complicated. it is a very, very simple question that we want

answered --. question is is why they think it is acceptable for novo nordisk to charge americans $969 for ozempic when that same exact drug can be purchased for just $59 in germany and $155 in canada? we want to ask them why they think it is acceptable to charge americans $1349 for wegovy when the same drug can be purchasedt kingdom. so,mr. president, aft all is said and done, what are we trying to accomplish? and the answer is the answer is simple -- we want novo nordisk to stop ripping off thewant them to sto charging us that are far, far higher than they charge the people of other countries.

that is what i want to see, and that is what the overwhelming majority of american people want to see. unfortunately, despite the many, many discussions that i and my staff have had with novo nordisk over the past several months, i must confess that we have made virtually no progress in getting them to lower their prices. we have asked the leadership of the company to come before the committee to explain why their prices are so much higher in the united states than in other countries. unfortunately, they have not agreed to do that a thisado that. therefore, the help committee has no chase cice but to pean the leadership of novo nordisk to testify and explain their actions. i look forward to the presence of the leadership of novo nordisk at a help committee hearing on july 10.

and, mr. president, let me be very clear. the help committee that i chair will continue to ask the tough questions the pharmaceutical industry would prefer us to ignore. why is it that the median price of new prescription drugs in america is now over $300,000 including for many new cancer drugs? why has the pharmaceutical industry spent over the past 25 years some $8.5 billion on lobbying and over $700 million on campaign contributions? right■e now as we speak, there e some 1800 well-paid lobbyists on the pharmaceutical industry all over washington, former leaders of the republican party and the democratic party, doing everything they can to make sure we do not ask those questions and that we are not successful in getting them to lower their

prices. so, mr. president, let me conclude the way i began. this is an issue that is not a democratic issue, it's not a republican issue, it is not an independent issue. the american ople are sick and tired of being ripped off by the pharmaceutical industry, sick and tired of paying by far the highest prices in the world, and the time is now for the congress to have the courage to stand up to the 1800 paid lobbyists here in washington, d.c., to all the campaign contributions that come in, and tell the industry, enough is enough; lower the prices you're charge ago the american people. with that, mr. president, i would yield the floor.[m

ms. warren: mr. president. the presiding officer: the senator from massachusetts. ms. warren: mr. president, i rise today to recognize my friend and former colleague, rich correspondent drew. rich's career demonstrateublic service at its very best. nearly 14 years ago i picked up the phone and made one of the smartest phone calls i ever

h.de. i asked him to take a chance on me to join me in starting a new federal agency that was just getting started agency, turned out to be the consumer financial protection bureau. rich was finishing up his term as attorney general for the state of ohio. as a.g., he had earned a strong reputation for being the kind of public servant to looks four fo multiple bams and led major lawsuits agast of america and aig. protecting consumers blood, so natural fit for rich to enforcef the cfpb. establishing the cfpb was a huge task. critics said the new consumer agency was a pipe dream. republicans said that it would never get through congress. armies of lobbyists poured

millions of dollars into opposing it but none of that phased rich at all. he always stayed level, calm, and absolutely determined. he did the work needed to bring that agency to life, because that's just who he is. rich's courage and determination paid off. on j18, 2011, a day i will never forget, i stood beside president obama in the rose garden as he an announced rich cordray as his nominee to be the first of the cfpb. president obama told me two things about rich. he said he liked rich, and he said he thought rich would be a good leader. i agreed. i just knew that rich would be terrific, and we were both right. as cfpb director, rich forced the biggestns in this country t return billions of dollars to the consumers they cheated. and through his work, he proved that government could work not

just for the millionaires and the billionaires, but for ordinary people. one of the ways he did it was by having what i call the perfect balance of nervend skill. i'll share just one story. rich has never been shy about taking on the biggest financial institutions in this country. in the early days, he investigated capital one for misleading customers about their cost of free add-ones to their credit cards. these free services actually me of about $140■ so what did rich do? he put in the work, fought back theobbyists and lawyers, and forced capital one to send the hidden fees back to every single customer they had cheated. and the best part, the customers didn't have to wade through reams of paperwork or stay on

hold for hours. rich set up the system so that the checks cam automatically in the mail. he set the standard for what it means to protect consumers. but that's not all. on top of getting hardworking americans their money back, rich and his team got capital one to pay an additional $25 million fine. it takes a special kind of leader to get that done. at every turn richordray has been fearless, thanks to rich, the has become the watchdog that so many of us fought for, and his legacy is felt each and every day as the cfpb continues to put money back into the pockets of working people. since it got off the ground, the cfpb has now returned over $20 billion and helped more than 205

million consumers. i'll say that again. $20 billion returned and million consumers helped. that would not have happenedy. that record of public service is awe inspiring. nobody would have blamed rich if he had said okay, i'm tired and i'm ready to throw in the towel. but that's not ri after his work at the cfpb, he asked whator do? and for the past three years he hass the office of federal student aid at the department o important and often thankless gig. since joining the department of education, rich has changed millions of lives for the better. and again, that's not an exaggeration. his north star was always clear. heor and day out to protect working people who are

getting crushed by student loan debt. rich■ stood student loan servicers who were cheating americans. and like he did with the big banks, he held these guys accountable. for years servicers failed borrowers over and over and over, but faced no consequences as they raked in hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars. rich reversed the trump-era guidance that stopped states from protecting their own residents against abusive servicer behavior. he implemented new accountability standards for servicers, and he backed that by hard data on customer service and performance. and when those servicers didn't meet those standards, rich wasn't afraid to hit them with servicers.and push out the bad rich was committed to ending the days of lousy service and big

profits for the loan servicers. one of the most important ways that rich changed the lives of americans all across this country was by overhe biden administration's efforts to cancel student debt. with rich cordray's help, president biden has more student loan debt than any president of this country. nearly 5 million people have sooep their student loans -- seen their student loans canceled and the administration has a plan to cancel debt for 30 million americans in total. rich cordray led the way in fixing the broken debt cancellation programs and work americans. i'll give you just one example on this. before president biden took office, only 7,000 people in total,verywhere in the united

states had gotten relief through the public service loan forgiveness program. 7,000 total. today the laws are the same, but with rich at the helm, nearly 1d their debt wiped out. for working people in thispd country, for mamas and daddies, for firefighters and nurses, for dmv workers down the street and the teachers at your elementary school, this debt cancellation has been absolutely life changing. on a personal note, i am beyond proud of rich. rich is one of the most effective and honest public servants i have ever met.

ohio to becin their first ever solicitor general, from taking office a treasury and then as attorney general, rich proved each and every day to the people of ohio that their government could work for them. and washington, he always made sure that people all across america knew that he was working for them. whenever he traveled, wherever people reached out to rich would listen. he'd sit down with people,ing hear their stories, hear how they were treated by a big■ ban or on a student loan, and then he would set about making rich, the american people owe you a great debt for your work on their behalf. when our country needed you, you answered the call. you are a true example of public service and one of the most fearless1# leaders i have ever

known. it is an honor tow and an even higher honor to call you a friend. thank you, mr. president. i yield the floor. a senator: mr. president. the presiding officer: the senator from florida. mr. scott: mr. president, inveto fertilization or ivf brought beautiful babies to so many families. ivf is the one thing that enabled so many americans struggling with infertility and start a■r me it's personal. my daughter has used it tout she countless floridians using be ivf to grow their family. i believe it's impor the senate to make clear our unwavering support for current and aspiring parents using ivf to start and grow their families. we ought to facilitate americans

trying to grow their families. i am proud to lead a resolution doing just that. my resolution would affirm the parents trying to conceive a child to start or grow a family, express sympathy f the millions of families experiencing infertility issues as they start to family and recognize the toll pursuing medical assistance for infertility including ivf. cherishes the millions of children born through the use of medical assistance to overcome infertility including through ivf. recognizes that medical assistance for infertility including ivf is and remains legal in all territories in the united states. affirms laws enacted by congress should promote the sanctity of human life and support the development and growth of families in the united states. encouragur clinical research to improve outcomes for assistanceo overcome al ■z infertility as they strive to start or grow family and support

state and regulatory actions to establish health, safety standards for medical assistance for reproductive technologies including inveto fertilization. let me clarify a few things about the bill the democrats are pushing this week. let's be■r clear there is not a single state in the country that has outlawed ivf or expressed any interest in outlawing ivf. this is empty fearmongering by democrats who would rather push legislation like this rather than improve our economy or hold the radical members of the biden administration accountable for their lawless i think everyone here supports ivf which is great bau democrats are typically advocating for abortion. if a state takes action against ivf i will be the first to condemn it. that isn't happening. mr. president, this is ugly politics at its worst.

i have the resolution i just outlined. i appreciate the work senators cruz and britt have ne on this important topic. republicans support democrats know that. but we vote against this unnecessary bill which is what they will say when they attack us. we will not accept this purity test. and the democrats see right through this. let's get to work solving real problems like our open southern border and the inflation crushing american families. that is important work the senate should have been focused on instead of taking p votes fo shamelessly lied to the american people and themselves. but the democrats taking action that impacts the ability to undergo ivf treatments. i have a proposal for them. we should help indivua pay for medical expenses like decouplin accounts, and demand more

upfront price transparency from providers to allow families to easily shop for services to drive down costs through market forces. i'm working on a bill now to allow every individual and family to better plan and pay for medical expenses such as ivf by expanding eligibility for health savings account and increasing the current contribution limits on those hsa's. helping folks financially pn as they try to expand their families is smart and the type of commonsense action families in all of our states expect from washington, d.c. they want action, not partisan politics or fearmongering and the -- drafting will be hugely beneficial to parents lookin tovfw their families. i hope senator schumer and every democrat will com■umit to worki with me on this in passing a good bill that will truly countless families hoping to bring more babies into this world. mr. president, i yield the floor. ■í

the presiding officer: the senator frommassachusetts. mr. markey: mr. president, i rise today to speak out against azerbaijan's unlawful detention armenian prisoners of war and alarming record of rampant human rights violations. on september 19, 2023,

azerbaijan launched large-scale military attack agai against ngorno, causing a mass exodus of more than 100,000 ethnic armenis, virtually all of the region's ethnic armenians, as well as■u the regional government to capitulate. azerbaijan then falsely denied that it leave and insincerely promised that it would peacefully integrate the region and guarantee the rht of ethnic armenians. st even after their surrender, azerbaijan punitively arrested members of the former government. including former state minister rubin badonian, who is here as

he is b azerbaijan military officials. also, ex-presidents gugoshin, suhakuian and the foreign minister, parliament pspeaker, anrmer generals akanian and manukian. they have been held in pretrial detention for more than eight months and last month azerbaijan extended the detention with another five months without a trial, without due process, and

azerbaijan has routinely resorted to hostage diplomacy, prolonging unlawful detentionne bargaining chips to impose its demands on armenia, in clear violation o azerbaijan is still holding dozens of armenian prisoners of war and civilian political prisoners that it took captor durihe war, and additionally, widespread reporting, including from human rights watch, the international federation of human rights, and the united states department of state call attention to the terrible treatment of political prisoners by adjzerbaijan. former state minister rubin ba■x alone has had solitary

confinement, poor prison conditions, denial of water and clean clothing and orders that require him to stand for ours on -- hours on end. he was also cut off from his lawyer and family for several weeks. others are subjected to physical abuse, humiliation, and cruel and inhumanetreatment. despite its clear pattern of committing human rights violations, azerbaijan has incurred few costs from the international community for its egregious against etnetsdz nick armenians -- ethnic armenians. the regime things that it can continue to act in flagrant violation of international and united states law which is why it's incumbent upon congress to speak out and say no to azerbaijan, no to hostage an

dipl diplomacy, no to subjecting political prisoners to inhumane punishment, no to denying the rights of ethnic armenians in the region and no to delaying the release of political prisoners even one more day. azerbaijan must cease all of its abuse of pprisoners. it must release all political prisons of war, and that is why i sent to secretary anthony blinken urging the state department to prioritize the release of armenian prisoners■m held by azerbaijan and the right of azerbaijan says it wants peace, but what it really wants is to

act with impunity and still be rewarded by the united states and the international community, including with the privilege of hosting the next united nations international climate conference cop-29 later on this year. you cannot at the one -- on the on host the world and then simultaneously say, but ignore our lummis rights -- our human rights violations, ignore the fact that we just arrest the political leaders of another nation, and pretend thatom anotf hosting the climate summit for the planet. i urge both congress and the whitn all interactions with the governments of azerbaijan and armenia that the release of political prisoners must

pre-rick sit to any -- prerequis prerequisite, we must say no to azerbaijan violations of international law and human rights and be sure that those who are responsible are held accountable. this is the perfect time to be having thissing conversation. -- having this converti azerbaijan is beginning to host the climate summit of the world, we must take the opportunity to those political prisoners who are being held wrongly by the azerbaijan government. it is strictly a violation of international human rights and i call upon our government and i call upon the world to put a spotlight on these political prisoners so that they are summit is held at the end of this year.

so i thank you, mr. president, and i yield b the presiding officer: the senator from texas. mr. cornyn: mr. president, it's tuesday afternoon. th has its first vote of the week coming up in a few minutes and i'm experiencing a sense of deja vu, as yogi this week there are three votes followed by a show vote on in vitro fertilization, another

madup controversy. in vitro fertilization provides hope for couples across the united states who are strugglin helped millions of babies enter this world. i support ivf, which has been a solution for millions of families struggling with infertility. but, mr. president, there's no nationwide threat to the availability of in vitro fertilization, and i'm deeply disappointed but notre trying t politicize something en -- something that enjoys such widespread support. there's no controversy to access ton vitro fertilization. after all, this is a third partisan show vote that we've had recently. last week the senate voted on a handful of nominees held another show vote on a nonexistent threat to

contraception access. there's no threat to access to contraception, but the majority leader, who schedules the votes on the floor, who runs the agenda, decided he wanted to create a controversy out of thin air where■ there was none. the previous week on several nominees and this time another show vote a partisan border bill that the majority leader knew would fail but decided to have a show vote anyway. but csideri the many challenges our country is facing, this is hardly what the senate should be doing. families are grappling with high prices as a result of a 40-year exacerbated by unchecked spending, throwing trillions of

dollars on the inflation fire only to see it get worse and worse. the federaone what it can do, which is raise interest rates to try to slow down the growth of inflation, but the fact is as congress continues to shovel money out the door, it just makes things worse. and people on a fixed income and people who have a modest earning are being hurt the most. "the wall stal" recently ran a story saying tha cost the biden administration came into office, or when it did come into office, now cost $136. that's 36% increase in inflations. wages haven't kept up that much. so what are people supposed to hen the government continues to make their quality of life

and standard of living worse? this time because of reckless spending? the american people are concerned about crime and public safety in their communities and they are terrified fentanyl, which is now the leading cause of death for young people between the ages between 18 and 45. we know from, the precursor chemicals comes from china, the car them they are then transformed into a look-alike bpill that is actualy a counterfeit pill, but unbeknownst to the person who takes that pill, it is contaminated with fentanyl and they lose their life. i've been with numerous families who have lost their high school students to fentanyl poisoning. their kids were all of -- were

full of potential, came from loving■ only to lose their life as a result of this deadly drug. that comes across the border from mexico. so along with the millions of people that are flooding across the border, the drug cartels take advantage the die version of resources by the border patrol -- die versions ofsource to come into the country. and, s, americans are concerned about the border crisis, the america's weakening many given these challenges facing our country, it is indeed sad to see the senate spending its work period, as its limited resource, doing virtually nothing other than show votes

or -- for partisan political gain. the issue isn't limited to how the senate is spending its time but actually how little time we are actually in session. during the entire month of june, senator schumer, who sets the agenda, has the senate working nine days -- nine days out of june. of course, many of those shouldn't really even count as a fu day like today where the first vote is at 5:30 in the afternoon. today the senate convened at 3:00 p.m., we'll finish our work by dinner, we'll be in session a fuel day tomorrow a i -- finish the day tomorrow and i imagine that we will finish up on thursday and that is a full e united states senator schumer.

we are supposed to be doing important work, that's why those of us who are holding office here in the united states senate, that's why we're here. the schedule is barely enough time to be considered a part-time job. no american workingunities acro works half time for■ full time pay. only the united states senate under senator schumer's leadership. a lack of action on the senate floor is just part of the problem. it's really just scratching the surface. committees, which is where most of the work gets done, when the senate is in session, clearly don't have much time to meet these days. and there are two absolutely critical and time-sensitive legislation right now. but when we're in session two and a half days a week, it's hard for them to get their work

services committee, which is crafting the national defense authorizatio something we passed more than 60 years in a row here senate. in times of peace, a strong defense authorization act is critical, but in the current period of global turmoil, it's importance -- its importance cannot be overstated. the narngs authorization act is key to -- for our military. ilitary readiness in a very dangerous world. given the threats we face fro every corner of the planet, it's you absolutely imperative that thtrong defense authorization bill this summer. but the majority leader's schedule has created an impossible time crunch. this week members of the armed services committee are effectively sprinting a marathon to complete their work on the

defense authorition act. this is arduous, detailed, time consuming, and it involves multiple hearings, markups, and hundreds ever amendments -- of amendments. i appreciate senator reed and senator wicker, the chairman and ranking member of that committee and all of our colleagues on the committee who are giving the national defense authorization bill the time and attention it but the process here under the majority leaderir job much harder rather than easier. another committee that is working overtime this month to try to is the senate appropriations committee, which is trying to mark up 12 annual funding bills. these are bills that fund our national defense, pay our servicemembers, andnsure that we can keep the lights on here in washington. and ensure that all the government operations, big and

small, continue d to day. when the senate is only working two and a half days a week, it doesn't give the chairman of the appropriations committee, senator murray, or the ranking member, senator collins, much room to maneuver. how are the members of the committee and subcomm supposed to debate, amend, and advance 12 funding bills when the only working nine days during a month? with this type of schedule there's simply not enough hours in the day for our colleagues to complete their work. and given the senate's schedule for the next several weeks, i'm concerned about the prospects of any of these bills passing before the end of the summer, much less before the end of the fiscal year at the end of september. simply put, the majority leader is setting the senate up for fai failure, including this week we're s in session for five weeks, five adjourningt

recess. in total we're only scheduled to be in session eight weeks before the november election which is just a -- almost five months away. when those weeks are wasted, squandered really, on low-level nominees and partisan show .otes, it comes with a serious there are countless bipartisan bills that deserve a vote by the senate, but the majority leader is simply disinterested. one example is drug pricing, something that affects almost every american. senators on both sides of the aisle have offered bills to address rising prices at the pharmacy, something i think everybody can relate to. this has been a problem for years, of course, but it's co given the effect of inflation. families are paying more for groceries, as i mentioned

earlier. they're paying more for rent, for insurance. their mortgage rates are higher because of interest costs. every penny counts. constituents in texas want congress to prevent bad actors from gaming the system at the expense ofents. by and large this is a bipartisan about a partisan show vote. i'm talking about a bipartisan approach to bringing down prescription drug costs. just one example is the bill that senator blum, the senator -- senator bmenthal and i introduced called affordable prescriptions for patients act to crack down on anticompetitive practices that game the patent system and keep prices high. this legislation was approved j february last year along with four other bipartisan bills to

bring down prescription drug prices. the majority leader bring those bills to the floor tomorrow or today, actually. that would be doing something worth doing, not show votes scaring people into thinking that invitro fert indication or -- fertilization or contraception ever somehow going to be -- are somehow going to be limited or it's actually a serious debate. it's not. each of these drug prices bills was crafted on a bipartisan basis. each went through the committee process which is important. and each was approved by the majority of the judiciary committee. but here we are 16 months later without any progress being made on the senate floor on something that the american people really, really care about. five bipartisan bills that ommi

nearly a year and a half ago, and the leader has more -- has higher priorities in partisan show votes involving invitro fertilization and contraception. it's really sad and shameful. the american people deserve better. this is supposed to be the world's greatest deliberative body, but lately we haven't had the opportunity to deliberate on anything really of substance. rgvotes. forget election year antics. this chamber needs to get back to doing its job and doing its job for a full workweek, not half time. this is the job each of us was sent here to today, but the person who occupies this de of senate, is the only one who sets the senate an

agenda. no matter how much 99 of the rest of us demand it, if he says no, we're going to waste our time on show votes and work two and a half days a week, that's the way it is. and it's a ame. and an opportunity lost. mr. i yield the floor. and i note the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk wi c quorum call: the clerk: ms. baldwin. ■p ■% ■ñ

the presiding officer: the senator from nevada. a senator: are we in a quorum call? the presiding officer: we are. ms. cortez masto: i'd ask that we vitiate the quorum call. the presiding officer:: thank y. i rise to honor the memories of two incredible nevadans who tragically passed away earlier this year. one is john squire dren dal -- drendal a is tom

rodriguez. these for men were dear friends of mine, and fierce advommuniti. and they will be sorely missed. i would like to talk a little bit about them to all of you, and those tha are listening as well. john squire drendal who you see right here, i want to celebrate the life of this good friend, not just to me but to so many n birthday i rec■sni senate just ago. john dedicated his life to serving his fellow nevadans and being a voice who had none. and for 70 years he shaped nevada's legal community. on august 4, 1923, john was born in carson valley, nevada, a beautiful rural community just south of carson city. in the the great depression, john left home to work on a nearby ranch and complete■a his studies at dougl

county high school. during his first semester at the university of notre dame in the fall o1941, the bombing of pearl harbor altered the extra skwaektry -- trajectory of his life. he sve u.s. navy as a lieutenant and as a commander of a landing craft tank in the pacificislands. in 1945 when john was on leave from his navy training, he here to washington, d.c. where he met none other than president harry truman as you see right here. you see him on the left. two inspiring men who spent their lives giving back to the community. and following the end of■ world war ii, john took advantage of the education benefits provided in the g.i. bill to complete hits education and attended law school at the university of colorado. after obtaining his law degree, john returned home to nevada with his wife, marilyn, to raise

their four children and work as a nevada highway patrolman. in 1950 john passed the nevada bar exam and later pat neared with william oh brad play to -- bradley to form a premier ■ injury -- personal injury firm in nevada. in order to make their services more accessible to their clients, the two ec sleekted a converted garage in reno, nevada, to serve as their firm's office.■& now, by 1970, john had solidified his reputation by representing a diesel mechanic from eely, vada, who suffered from a debilitating injury while at work. john won the highest verdict award awarded to a single. the presiding officer: in the u.s. at that point in time providing financial security for the mechanic and his family. and today his firm,y and drendeo

serve our community in northern nevada. and currently john's son thomas is of counsel to the firm. now, you have to know that john was deeply respected by so many in nevada, by his peers in nevada's legal community, as a founding member and former ■p presidt of the nevada trial lawyers association, and the washo county bar association. john was honored with countless accola career, including the lifetime nevada trial lawyers association in the year2001. john strived for excellence throughout his career. his professional accomplishments are surpassed only by the wonderful family and community that he built in the silver state. he is children mary, john, and grandchildren, sarah, andrew, anne, clara, nathanael, mary,

and matthew and their four great-grandchildren. i am honored to recognize his incredib this senate floor today. he was a dear friend, an incredible advocate for so many in nevada, and i know not only will i but many will miss him. and i am honored to be able to recognize him today with all of you. there's a second person i would like to recognize as well.s nam. this is tom. tom was a friend of my father's. as latino leaders in las vegas, my father and tom worked together to promote and strengthen the hispanic community in southern nevada. as a powerful voice in my state, tom tirelessly advocated for latinos throughout his entire life, and i am so sad to lose his voice, but i'm also proud of

the positive influence and lasting political, social, and educational change he brought to our state. now, tom actually in topeka, kansas in 1940 and grew up in a neighborhood referred to as the bottoms, which exposed hi e on to a community rich in cultural and ethnic diversity. and after graduating from college, tom began writing and activism. in 1981ification tom moved to nevada his wife doris to be director for planning and evaluation. for the next five years tom supported the local training and employment [association, the large portion of southern nevada. tom then went ton wor clark county managers' office where he supported the delo of united latin american citizens'.

he modernized the region's justice court system, and he ushered in the emerging television cable industry in nevada. tom later served as the fir executive manager for diversity and affirmative action programs with the clark county school cricket, which by the which is the third largest school district in the nation role, to worked tirelessly to ensure equality and opportunity within our education system. throughout his life, tom authored and coaho many books and articles that documented the latino experience in nevada, which he felt had been neglected by previous historians. tom played a critical role in chroniclingamic growth and successes of nevada's expansive latino community. tom himself was essential to

that success. for six years he coordinate the latin chamber of commerce's career day scholarship program which awarded scholarships to students at colleges and universities throughout nevada. after learning that many struggled with finding a support syem and adjusting to life on campus, tom made it his personal so in 1994, tom cofounded the latino youth leadership conference to bring latino high school students together and prepare them for college. now that conference is entering its 31st consecutive year of operating. the program is over 1,500 aresume nigh -- alumni have to lawyers, educators and business owners and even members of congress.

i am incredibly grateful for tom's lifelong commitment to advance the latino community in nevada. tom his purpose in life was to help others achieve his professional achievements b and love he had for his family and his friends. i will say, mr. president, i will truly miss tom, but i know that his impact on nevada will > be felt for generations to come. and i thank you and am honored to be able to come to the floor to talk about these two incredible men from nevada. thank you, mr. chair. i notice the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. quorum call: the clerk: ms. baldwin. í s q

on friday had the opportunity to visit the noble exhibit in new york city downtown on wall street. the exhibit documents what happened on january -- on october the seventh. thousands of beautiful young people gathered as the sun was setting to a music festival and when you go into the exhibit the first thing you see is thousands of dance in and embracing each other in happ young people, beautiful and the prime of their lives with the sun shining on them only to realize what had happened. the rest of the exhibit documents a brutal murder of these young people, innocent happy young people with so much

of their lives in front of them. fleecy dishes, gunning them, al them and we hear interviews that are done by the families of those who were there. so was a wrenching experience. in contrast the exhibit was so well done of those beautiful young people, happily enjoying live in the knowing that hundreds of them would be slain brutally and scores of them would be kidnapped by■■n terrors and running away in fear. what was even worse or at least adding salt into the ones was that the day after, a day or two after he visited exhibit

protesters gathered outside the exhibit, chanting anti-semitic phrases donning banners that read long live october 7 and the zionist are not jewish and not human. how low you go? having visited the exhibit and seeing those young people and seeing on film what happened to them at the hands of hamas and then having people come outside and protest and say long live october 7? zionists are not jewish and how and how. how unnerving that humanity could sink that low.

it is the lowest of low for anyone to protest in exhibit dedicated tog the memory of precious lives that wered by. it is sick that anyone should us to protest. the protest and the vitriol outside the noble exhibit were nothing short of, and anti-semitic. anti-semitismik occurred outside the exhibition has no place in our city, in our s ame. now mr. president it's been two years since donald trump and the mob of republicans succeeded in

eliminating roe taking away the right to choose and jeopardize reproductive car upon millions of women. today women and families across america are worried about more than the roe's demise. they are worried about what comes next including the erosion of reproductive freedoms that know when but what exists which includes access to services like ivf. 86% of americans support ivf but in the aftermath of roe and decisions like the one from alabama many families fear this basic service cannot be taken for that's not the radical. here in congress among the hard right are trying to restrict ivf access. the senate can ease people's worries and protect their freedoms through legislation. this week the senate will vote on the right to ivf act led by my colleagues senators duckworth

murray the right to ivf act establishes a nationwide right to ivf and■[ eliminates barriers for the millions of families looking to use ivf to start and grow a family. protecting ivf should be one of the easiest votes the senate has taken on here for the vast çpmajority of senators should agree that strengthening treatments that help people start a family is in fact i have seen personally the immense good ivf can do. i've seen in it in my own family. my grandkids was conceived with the help of ivf treatment and we are immensely grateful we had access to this service. i can imagine what we have done if they had told us sorry, we no longer offer this treatment. thank god we never had to deal with=■ that. and my family story can be repeated over and1) over again n

the country millions of times. millions of americanhad childr. so in no way shape or form is protecting ivf a show vote if they show h our vote. remember what some senators said when we looked at marriage two years ago. they called that a show vote a gimmick and lo and behold after lot of hard sides work together on marriage equality became a law. that certainly was not a show vote either. so let me say it again 86% of americans support protecting ivf and just 14% of americans say it shouldn't be legal. supporting this bill should be a no-brainer here in the senatnt given white house republicans are doing right women's health care through

appropriations process. just last week the hard right stop the va funding bill with poison pill that would rip away reproductive care for veterans and let's not forget months ago the republican study committee which includes 80% of house republicans an overwhelming majority of them radical new agenda that would endanger ivf treatment long with thertion ban for rape and. 80% of house republicans, abortion ban with no exception for rape. that's how far right this group has become t the quorum call be e presiding objection, so ordered. the senator from delaware is recognized. mr. carper: thank you, mr. president. mr. president, i rise today to discuss three individuals that have been nominated by president biden to serve as members of the federal energy regulatory commission, also kno■bwn

f-e-r-c. just last week it was announced that our planet has passed the warming threshold for the 12th consecutive month. the science of climate change are all around us. -- the signs of climate change are all around us. as a result of rapidly melting permafro reactions, much of the western united states is experiencing temperatures of 20230 degrees hotter than usual for this time of year. and science tells us that there's more carbon dioxide in the earth's atmosphere tod in h. we are running out of time to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and slow climate change. having said that, i've always believed that in adversity lies opportunity, and there's still time today and there's still opportunity today. thankfully last congress, the

presiding officer a i and a bufrnl of other folks on this floor passed a bipartisan infrastructure law, and the inflation reduction act two once-in-a generation investment climate change. together these laws are making stimulating the investments in clean energy and investments to climate goals.ns and meet more projects are in the country than ever before. according to the clean investment monitor, clean energy and transportation and investment hit a record $71 billion in the first quarter of this year . we haven't stopped there. we haven't stopped there. taking strong steps to build a more efficient and effective

environmenta review process in order to connect clean energy to the gridpossible. for example, in april of this year theronmental quality issue their final rule to implement changes through something called the national environmental policy act made by the fiscal responsibility act last year. this rule reforms the permitting process and will accelerate the deployment of clean energy technologies, like wind, and like battery storage, ail environmental justice and ensuring committees have a voice in the9] build-out of critical infrastructure. one how does a federal energy regulatoryomion support our clean energy future? that's a good question. let me take a shot at it. it tu clean energy to the electric dd delivering this energy to

consumers who remains one of the major challenges to help our transitionon resources. and with well over two terra watts of energy, i asked myself what is a terra watt. i think a terra watt is a billion. two terra watts would be 2 billion. well over 2 billion watts moech most of it clean energy currently on thesidelines, ferc plays a vital role in expanding our nation's transmission capacity in order to allow new projects to move forward quickly. to put that figure again in perspective that's 2 billion wattsf energy, double the amount of electricity generating capacity that we have today. for example, just last month federal government finalized tw challenges in the transmission planning process. but there is more to do, there

is and it's up to us in this body and this congress and over in the house of representatives, but especially in this body to ensure that the commission has a full slate of commissioners in order to continue their work to modern electric grid in the 21st century. as we know, president biden has nominated not one, not two, but three well-qualified individuals. two or democrats, one is a republican. to serve terms on the federal energy regulatory commission or ferc. lindsay s. see. the other is judy w. chang. last week we were joined here on the senate floor by the chairman resources committee. and nur he'll have more to say about this in a minute, i know. but last week his committee that he chairs and leads reported these three nominations out of committee with broad bipartisan support. should they all be confirmed this week, congress would have done its job to ensure that the commission is fully seated so that ferc can continue to

advance these policies that we need to bring, enable us to brin clean energy off the sidelines and on to the grid. i am grateful for the bipartisan support shown so far for these nominees in committee, and i■x h salute the committee chairman in no small part for that. and i he that in a few minutes here they're p going to receive the same kind of broad bipartisan support today and in the days to come. and wit mr. president, as a west virginia native, i'm happy to yield the floor to another west virginia native, two former governors who have found common ground here on these nominees to ferc. with that, mr. president, i yield the floor. mr. manchin: he meant to say go. the presiding officer: the senator from west virginia. mr. manchin: thank you, mr.

president. let me thank my dear friend senator carper who heads up the the a great job with his staff. we've had a great working■ relationship here. we all know that having a fully staffed ferc will make a lot of difference in what we do in this country. we'll begin with the three nominations for the federal energy regulatory commission. of david rosner is one, lindsay see and judy chang. partisan committee on natural resources committed all t these nominations with strong bipartisan support. each of the nominees demonstrated deep experience on energy and legal matters, a commitment to follow the law and work within the authorities congress has provided to ferc, and anation's energy sources ply an important role providing affordable, reliable energy to families and businesses across our country. like most of our independent regulatory commissions, by law ferc must be bipartisan. but in protecting public

interest, commission members must conduct themselveg?s as nonpartisan guardians, no matter what their party aublic interest. that's exactly why we need and that's exactly what we need from ferc commissioners as they undertake the critical work of the commission and it's what i expect from these three nominees. simply put ferc's job is to ensure the order ofricity and natural gas at reasonable prices. it must ensure reliable service while protecting customers from excessive prices. it enables us to keep the lights on and to heat and cool our homes, andower our businesses and industries. when congress established ferc, it stipulated that members of the commission must be able to assess fairly the needs and concerns of all interests affected by federal energy policy. as the supreme court has said the commission serves as the

guardian of the public interest in these matters. and as said during his confirmation hearing none of our policy priorities can be achieved if energy reliability is not preserved. consumers demand it. they deserve it. and it is ferc's most sacred duty to ensure it. so i take special pride in speaking on the fst of these nominations this evening. david rosnerbecame, has been on my d from the ferc to the majority stafof the past two years. i know david. i've seen firsthand his expert knowledge on energy issues, his approach to every concern and every problem that we've had, and his ability to work sides of the aisle. and he's done that tremendously. david rosner has what it takes for this job. he has extensive experience with energy issues. he has been employed by ferc as an energy industry analyst for

over seven years, including his detail to our committee. he previously worked on the department of energy as anonomi advisory. i can personal attest to his extensive knowledge of ferc mattersas energy committee. i've seen his willingness and ability to across the aisle on behalf of all americans. our committee members have come to rely on david's expertise so we are proud that david has the opportunity to serve his country in an even more important role. p though he will be missed by many of us here in the every c will make a great ferc commissi, colleagues to support his nominationing. thank you, mr. president, and i notice t absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll.

the clerk: ms. baldwin. é uf

the presiding officer: the senator from west virginia. the senate is in a quorum call. mr. manchin: i ask tated. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. manchin: i ask that we go immediately to the next vote,

the vote scheduled for this evening, if we could start immediately. the presiding officer: without objection. the clerk will r the motion to invoke cloture. the clerk: cloture motion, we, the undersigned senators, in accordance with the provisions of rule 22 of the standing rules of the senate do hereby move on the nomination of executive calendar number david rosner of massachusetts, to be a member of the federal energy regulatory commission, signed by 17 senators. of the presiding officer: by unanimous consent, the mandatory quorum call has been waived. the kwquestion is is it the sen of the senate that the nomination of david rosner of massachusetts to be of the federal energy regulatory commission shall be brought to a close. the yeas and nays are mandatory under the law. the clerk will calth 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.

terawatt. ms. collins. mr. coons. mr. cornyn. ms. cortez masto. mr. cotton.

mr. cramer. mr. crapo. mr. cruz. mr. durbin. ms. ernst. mr. fetterman. mrs. fischer. mrs. gillibrand. mr. graham. mr. grassley. ms. hassan. mr. hawley. mr. heinrich. mr. hickenlooper. ms. hirono. mr. hoeven. mrs. hyde-smith. mr. johnson.■8 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. . peters. mr. reed. mr. ricketts.k: 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. ms. stabenow. mr. sullivan. mr. tester. mr. une. mr. tillis. mr. tuberville. mr. van hollen.. warner. mr. warnock. ms. warren. mr. welch. mr. whitehouse. mr. wicker. mr. wyden. mr. young.■]■■ó■é3)

the clerk: senators voting in the affirmative -- baldwin, bennet, carper, cortez masto, durbin, grassley, kelly, manchin, murray, reed, ricketts, rounds, warner, warren, wicker, wyden. senators voting in the negave -- blackburn, cotton,

cramer, hawley,kennedy, lankford, schmitt, tuberville. mr. tester, aye. t the clerk: mr. schatz, aye.

the clerk: mr. peters, aye. (■ mrs. fischer, aye. mr. johnson, no.

vote: the clerk: mrs. sh the clerk: ms. stabenow, aye. mr. blumenthal, aye.

mr. scott of florida, no. ms. gillibrand, aye. ms. duckworth, aye. mr. cassidy, aye. lummis, aye.

mr. mullin, aye. ■

the clerk: ms. hirono, aye. mr. graham, aye. the clerk: mr. king, aye. ■r(p

the clerk: mrs. capito, aye. mr. casey, a mr. scott of south carolina, no. mr.

mr. barrasso, aye. mr. marshall, no. mr. lujan, aye. iw■d

the clerk: mr. daines, aye. mr. vance, no.

the clerk: mr. padilla, aye. ún(

the clerk: mr. crapo, aye. the clerk: mr. thune, no.

the clerk: mr. budd, no. the clerk: mrs. britt, no. mr. braun, no.

the clerk: mr. cornyn, aye. ■z■m

the clerk: ms. hassan, aye. mr. ■?lee, nhoeven, aye. ■6■=

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

the clerk: mr. kaine, no.

the clerk: mr. romney, aye. mr. whitehouse, aye. mr. sanders, no.

the clerk: mrs. hyde-smith, aye. the clerk: ms. rosen, aye. d0

the clerk: mr. risch, aye. mr. booker, aye. mr. ms. cantwell, aye. #k■x4z■t■!

the clerk: mr. young, aye. ç@

the clerk: mr.■ b ■3

the clerk: mr. mr. ossñ=off, aye.

the clerk: mr. coons, aye. mr. van hollen, aye. mr. paul, no.■[

the clerk: mr. murphy, aye. me

vote: the clerk: mr. cruz, no. u■t mr. warnock, aye. the clerk: mr. mcconnell,■fkjr

the clerk: mr. schumer, aye. 'í#

vote: ■+ ■ç gdxb ■o ■g ■$ ■m

the clerk: ms. smith, aye.

the clerk: ms. klobuchar, aye.■o

the presiding officer: on this vote, the nays are 6he feys are 24. the motion is disagreed to. the presiding officer: the senator from arizona. mr. kelly:■y i ask unanimous consent that the senate proceed to legislative session and be in a period of morning business with senators up to ten minutes each. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. kelly:■dask unanimous consee

senate proceed to the immediate consideration of h.r. 4581, which was received from the hoe.the presiding officer: the clerk will report. the clerk: h.r. 4581, to amend titl5 t to support stillbirth prevention and research, and for other purposes. the presiding officer: without objection, the senate will proceed. mr. kelly: i ask unanimous consent that the bill be considered read a third time and passed, and that the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table. the priding officer: without objection.. kelly: i ask unanimous consent the committee onideration and the sw proceed to the consideration of s. res. 713. the presiding officer: the clerk will report. the clerk: s. res. 713, a resolution designating may 2024 as als awareness month. without objection. the committee is discharged and the senate will proceed to the measure.

mr. kelly: i ask unanimous consent the resolution be agreed to, the preamble be aged to, and that the motions to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table with no intervening action or debate. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. kelly: i ask unanimous consent that the senate proceed to the en bloc consideration of the following s. res. 727 and s. res. 728. the presiding officer: is there objection to proceeding en bloc? he hout objection.÷3wx resolutions en bloc. mr. kelly: i ask unanimous consent that the resolutions be agreed to, the preamble be agreed to and that the motions to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table, all en blocthe presi without objection. mr. kelly: i ask unanimous consent that when the senate completes its business today, it stand adjourned until 10:00 a.m. on wednesday, june 12. that following the prayer and pledge, the journal of proceedings be approved to date, expired, the time for the two leaders be reserved for their

use later in the day, and morning business be closed. that following the conclusion of proceed to executive session to rosner nomination, postcloture. further, that the cloture time be considered expired at 11:30 a.m. and following the cloture vote on the see nomination the senate recess until 2:15 p.m. to allow for the weekly caucus meetings. further, that if cloture has been invoked on the see nomination, all time be considered expired at 2:15 p.m. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. kelly: if there is no further business to come before the senate, i ask that it stand adjourned under the previous order. the presiding officer: the senate stands adjourned until senate stands adjourned until today the senate advance nomination of david r rosner one of three now many senators will vote on this week to the federal energyeg