of the conventions, powered by cable. >> the senate does come back in now for more work on president biden's nominees. votes are expected to begin shortly. live coverage of the u.s. senate on c-span2. the presiding officer: the senate will come to order. the question is on the nomination. is there a sufficient second? there appears to be. the clerk will call the roll. vote:

the clerk: ms. baldwin. mr. barrasso. mr. bennet. mrs. blackburn. mr. blumenthal. mr. booker. mr. boozman. mr. braun. mrs. britt. mr. brown. mr. budd. ms. butler. ms. cantwell. mrs. capito. mr. cardin. mr. carper. mr. casey. mr. cassidy. ms. collins. mr. coons. mr. cornyn. ms. cortez masto.

mr. cotton. mr. cramer. mr. crapo. mr. cruz. mr. daines. ms. duckworth. mr. durbin. ms. ernst. mr. fetterman. mrs. fischer. mrs. gillibrand. mr. graham. mr. grassley. mr. hagerty. ms. hassan. mr. hawley. mr. heinrich. mr. hickenlooper. ms. hirono.

mr. hoeven. mrs. hyde-smith. mr. johnson. mr. kaine. mr. kelly. mr. kennedy. mr. king. ms. klobuchar. mr. lankford. mr. lee. mr. lujan. ms. lummis. mr. manchin. mr. markey. mr. marshall. mr. mcconnell. mr. menendez.

mr. merkley. mr. moran. mr. mullin. ms. murkowski. mr. murphy. mrs. murray. mr. ossoff. mr. padilla. mr. paul. mr. peters. mr. reed. mr. ricketts. mr. risch. mr. romney. ms. rosen. mr. rounds. mr. rubio. mr. sanders. mr. schatz. mr. schmitt. mr. schumer.

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

the clerk: senators voting in the affirmative -- collins, lujan and sinema. senators voting in the negative -- barrasso, blackburn, brit, budd, capito, ernst, fischer, grassley, hyde-smith, lankford, lee, mcconnell, mullin, moran. ms. lummis, no.

the clerk: mr. cassidy, no.

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

the clerk: mr. cotton, no.

the clerk: mr. romney, aye.

the clerk: mr. reed, aye.

the clerk: mr. sullivan, no.

the clerk: mr. kaine, aye. mr. van w hollen, aye.

vote: the clerk: ms. rosen, aye.

the clerk: mr. coons, aye. mr. hickenlooper, aye.

the clerk: ms. butler, aye.

the clerk: mr. boozman, no.

# the clerk: mrs. gillibrand, aye. of ou the clerk: mr. whitehouse, aye.

mr. tuberville, no. the clerk: mr. risch, no. mr. young, no. the clerk: mr. schatz, aye.

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

the clerk: ms. hassan, aye.

the clerk: mr. kelly, aye.

the clerk: mr. tester, aye. ms. duckworth, aye. ms. smith, aye. mr. king, aye. ms. baldwin, aye. ms. klobuchar, aye. ms. cortez masto, ayederal.

vote: the clerk: mr. ossoff, aye. mr. heinrich, aye. mr. sanders, aye. mr. durbin, aye.

mr. peters, aye. mr. merkley, aye. mr. warner, aye. ms. hirono, aye. ms. warren, aye.

0 the clerk: mr. blumenthal, aye. mr. booker, aye. the clerk: mr. markey, aye.

mr. padilla, aye.

the clerk: mr. wyden -- mr. wyden, aye.

mr. bennet, aye.

the clerk: mr. cardin, aye.

the clerk: mr. carper, aye. the clerk: mr. manchin, aye.

the clerk: ms. murkowski, aye.

mr. warnock, aye. mr. casey, aye. the clerk: ms. stabenow, aye.

the clerk: mr. wicker, no.

the clerk: mr. ricketts, no.

the clerk: mr. scott of south carolina, no. . mr. welch, aye.

the clerk: mr. hoeven, no. mr. rounds, no. mr. fetterman, aye. vote:

the clerk: mr. graham, aye.

the clerk: mr. braun, no.

the clerk: mr. hawley, no.

the clerk: mr. tillis, no.

the clerk: mr. paul, no. mrs. shaheen, aye. mrs. murray, aye. the clerk: mr. schumer, aye.

the clerk: ms. cantwell, aye. mr. brown, aye.

the clerk: mr. kennedy, no.

with medical that is half a century. this week the senate will pick up the cosponsored by every senator that asked. where do senators stand on freedom of choice? the will and should have a basic right to healthcare and row should be federal law.

this week every senator show where we stand. of course there's more under a trump presidency corporation and they saw them go down. middle-class families solid with basic necessities. under trump presidency doors utter chaos. far worse than it needed to be to confront it head on. constant anxiety about the next on the white house. they wanted to be like them. dictators like putin and it's

downright un-american but there's a big difference between then and now. first trump presidency and paled in comparison and the threat it would pose to democracy. arguably the most influential in think in america and the platform is the trump manifesto. the former campaign and appointees and more.

the nationwide abortion been in from the market. the trump manifesto reversing this while empowering this. saying it is and donald trump.

the trump manifesto calls for refunding federal law enforcement nomination is confi. under the previous order, the motion to reconsider is considered made and laid upon the table, and the president will be immediately notified of the senate's action. the clerk will report 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 to bring to a close debate on the nomination of executive calendar number 536, robin michelle meriweather, of virginia, to be a judge of the united states court of federal claims, signed by 17 senators. the presiding officer: by unanimous consent, the mandatory quorum call has been waived.

the question is, is it the acc -- is it the sense of the senate that debate on the nomination of robin michelle meriweather, of virginia, to be a judge of the united states court ever federal claims shall be brought to a close. the yeas and nays are mandatory 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. ms. cantwell. mrs. capito. mr. cardin. mr. carper. mr. casey. mr. cassidy. ms. collins. mr. coons. mr. cornyn. ms. cortez masto. mr. cotton. mr. cramer. mr. crapo. mr. cruz. mr. daines. ms. duckworth.

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

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

mr. padilla. mr. paul. mr. peters. mr. reed. mr. ricketts. mr. risch. mr. romney. ms. rosen. mr. rounds. mr. rubio. mr. sanders. mr. schatz. mr. schmitt. mr. schumer. mr. scott of florida. mr. scott of south carolina. mrs. shaheen. ms. sinema. ms. smith. ms. stabenow. mr. sullivan. mr. tester. mr. thune. mr. tillis. mr. tuberville. mr. van hollen. mr. vance. mr. warner. mr. warnock. ms. warren. mr. welch. mr. whitehouse. mr. wicker.

mr. wyden. mr. young.

the presiding officer: senators voting in the affirmative the clerk: senators voting in the affirmative, blumenthal, brown, casey, durbin, graham, heinrich, klobuchar, manchin, merkley, murkowski, if murray, peters, sinema, smith, stabenow, tester. senators voting in the negative, boozman, braun, hawley, kennedy, paul, scott of south carolina, tillis, vance.

ms. duckworth, aye. mr. johnson, no. mrs. shaheen, aye. mr. van hollen, aye. mr. cardin, aye.

mr. cotton, no. ms. collins, aye.

mr. schatz, aye. mr. lankford, no. mr. carper, aye.

mr. murphy, aye. mr. hickenlooper, aye. ms. cantwell, aye.

the clerk: mr. coons, aye.

the clerk: mr. barrasso, no. the clerk: mr. mullin, no.

the clerk: ms. lummis, no.

the clerk: ms. rosen, aye.

the clerk: mr. welch, aye.

mr. reed, aye. mr. young, no. mr. grassley, no. the clerk: mr. hoeven, no.

the clerk: mr. tuberville, no. ms. cortez masto, aye.

the clerk: mr. ricketts, no. mr. moran, no. the clerk: mr. kaine, aye.

the clerk: mr. whitehouse, aye. mrs. hyde-smith, no.

the clerk: mr. wyden, aye.

the clerk: mr. fetterman, aye.

the clerk: mr. warnock, aye. mr. wicker, no. the clerk: mr. marshall, no.

the clerk: mr. crapo, no. mrs. capito, no. mrs. gillibrand, aye.

the clerk: mr. cassidy, no.

the clerk: mr. schmitt, no.

the clerk: mr. markey, aye.

the clerk: mr. -- mr. hagerty, no.

the clerk: mr. lee, no. mr. risch, no. mr. booker, aye. ms. ernst, no.

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

the clerk: mr. daines, no. the clerk: mr. romney, no.

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

the clerk: ms. baldwin, aye. mrs. fischer, no.

mr. sullivan, no. ms. hassan, aye. ms. butler, aye.

the clerk: mr. rounds, no. ms. hirono, aye.

mrs. blackburn, no.

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

the clerk: mr. king, aye.

the clerk: mr. ossoff, aye. the clerk: mr. kelly, aye.

mr. budd, no.

the clerk: mr. sanders, aye.

the clerk: mr. warner, aye.

the clerk: mr. warner, aye.

when america leads by example, allies invest.

a full two thirds of our ally spending on new defense for your care med is going to buy american-made weapons and assistance. right now the u.s. industry is filling more than $140 billion in contracts, books by european allies. many allies also are expanding their own defense industrial capacity and encouraging a necessary step that will make nato even more resilient. of course one of the more development since the last nato summit is the addition of two strong new allies capable of militaries in the basis of their own.

it is a tremendous honor to work closely with the leaders and families in sweden throughout their succession to the alliance and are proud to join the democratic leader in hosting them on capitol hill this week. today, the enemies have given us good reason to take the strength of our license and partnership even more seriously. the authoritarians seeking to undermine us are working together and we cannot afford not to do the same. by all nato allies taking our power more seriously. 2% defense spending target as a floor but not a ceiling. while these spending increases must be built at the base not treated as one of emergencies.

while contracting and peer kermit have to move at the speed of relevance, not the speed of bureaucracy. these license applied much to america as they do to our european allies. even more so to our member to the north, canada, it was one of the only allies without a client to reach the spending target. nato members address the obligations. we are joined this week by central non-nato partners who say there are clear approaches to the own security. the presence of leaders from the indo pacific is a special powerful reminder of our shared state in the future preserving the freedom territorial

integrity and the right to self-determination. i will have more to say as the week goes on but i'm grateful for the opportunity to welcome america's friends to washington at this critical time and i am hopeful the alliance will make headway on serious business before us. one final matter last week. the biden administration defective band on new permitting america's abundant. as i've said before the pause for a whole host of reasons could not have high prices and certain goods. of course when the flow shows

them it also presents close allies and trading partners with the prospect of increased reliance on energy with less savory places. the overwhelming majority of exports go to can tumors in europe and asia. but as the biden administration tries to choke off american market dominance they actually lead demand. spoiling the energy exports and it is quite literally fueling the war and declining the proceeds for the energy secretary to describe in his quote. the dirtiest form on earth. moving from the administration until now for activists in the driver seat.

learning last week the judge ruled in favor of the stakes for suit to block this ridiculous, ridiculous moratorium. the department of energy failed out of the exports. this is from the judge. failed to consider the impact on national security, state revenues, employment opportunities, funding for schools and charities and pollution allegedly caused by increased demands of foreign energy forces. there you have it. releasing her for energy project where they have been trapped

the clerk: rob inmichelle merriweather to be judge of the united states court of federal claims. ms. baldwin: mr. president. the presiding officer: the senator from wisconsin. ms. baldwin: mr. president, i rise to urge my democratic and republican colleagues to stand with the majority of americans who believe a woman should have the right to choose what is best for her and her family, health, and future. the bills we are advancing today are commonsense, straightforward measures that will ensure more women can access the safe reproductive care that they need and deserve. our legislation will also ensure that doctors can do their jobs, get the training they need to keep their patients safe. for two years millions of women across this country have lived

without full reproductive rights. while many more live in fear that their rights and freedoms could be on the chopping block. the overturning of roe v. wade has jeopardized americans' lives, health, and future fertility. the dobbs decision also forced women and their doctors to navigate a complicated and ever-changing patchwork of laws that dictate americans' rights based on their zip codes. for example, in my home state of wisconsin, women were sent back to live under an 1849 criminal abortion ban. judges and politicians were invited into the exam room while lawyers told doctors how to do their jobs. and these dire impacts reached further than exam rooms. they reached into medical schools that are training our next generation of doctors. for our top-ranked medical

schools, a post-roe reality sowed chaos as students and their instructors wondered how future doctors in our state would have access to the full slate of training necessary to safely practice obstetrics and gynecology. the overturning of roe put those medical schools' accreditations on the line. it opened the process expect that -- prospect that ob-gyn's might not be trained to provide sometimes lifesaving abortion care. no matter who you are, the idea that doctors could graduate without the proper training to do their jobs and save lives should scare all of us. we also saw prospective students who might otherwise be attractored to the our -- attracted to our top-tier research institutions.

we saw an uptick of ob-gyn's entrusted to coming to our state and while it is disheartening to say, can you blame enemy? why would you want to start a career in a state that restricts you from doing your job and prevents your patients from exercising their right to control their own bodies? that's why last year i introduced my reproductive health care training act, commonsense legislation to support training for health care providers in abortion care, including for providers forced to travel out of state due to abortion restrictions. my bill with senator murray would help ease the burden of travel costs for eligible medical programs to expand and support education for students, residents, and advanced practice clinicians in states that allow comprehensive training in abortion care. our legislation would also help

ensure that medical programs accommodating an influx of students had the resources they need to provide training to students who must travel across state lines to complete their education. the reality of post-roe america is that there are still countless places in the united states where medical students cannot access training in comprehensive reproductive care. the reproductive health care training act will ensure future doctors can meet the needs of their patients and pray safe care, especially in -- provide safe care, especially in states like wisconsin that have abortion restrictions. every woman, no matter where she lives, deserves access to comprehensive reproductive care. the reproductive health care training act will ensure america's future doctors are able to provide the sometimes lifesaving care americans deserve.

so, as if in legislative session and notwithstanding rule 22, i ask unanimous consent that the committee on health, education, labor, and pensions be discharged from further consideration of s. 2024 and reproductive -- the reproductive health care training act, and the senate proceed to its immediate consideration; further, that the bill be considered read a third time and passed, and the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table. the presiding officer: is there objection? mr. marshall: mr. president. the presiding officer: senator from kansas. mr. marshall: reserving the right to object, mr. president -- first of all, let's consider the title of this bill. reproductive health care training act of 2023. why are my friends across the aisle afraid to use the word

abortion? this bill has nothing to do with reproductive health care. this is an abortion training act of 2023. let's just call it like it is. this is the abortion training act of 2023. what my colleague from wisconsin didn't say is or tell you, is that this bill is unconstitutional. this bill uses taxpayer dollars to fund a direct pipeline to more abortions across the nation through the department of health and human services. this bill establishes a program to award grants or contracts to eligible entities for the purposes of expanding and supporting abortion training and for preparing and encouraging -- encouraging -- preparing and encouraging students to become abortionists. it encourages efforts to train abortions with a focus on -- get this -- a focus on racial and minority groups, people with disabilities, tribal and medically underserved communities. does this imply there is a priority to train and send abortionists to these groups?

this bill authorizes $25 million to be appropriated for this abortion training pipeline, again, against the hyde amendment. this is unconstitutional. this bill has not received any type of markup from the help committee. the federal government should not be spending taxpayer dollars to encourage medical students and clinicians to take life when their sacred oath is to protect life and to do no harm from conception to natural death. therefore, i object. the presiding officer: the objection is heard. ms. baldwin: mr. president. the presiding officer: the senator from wisconsin. ms. baldwin: yet again my republican colleagues have sent a clear message to women across america -- they don't think women should have the right to control their bodies. this bill would have ensured more women could access the safe reproductive care that they need and deserve, including sometimes lifesaving abortion care.

instead, my colleagues have turned their back on the millions of women in states where abortion is restricted. they've turned their backs on millions of women who are increasing lay struggling -- increasingly struggling to find ob-gyn care in their communities. they've turned their back on ob-gyn residents and students who just want to learn how to care for their patients. without access to training and comprehensive reproductive care for our doctors, more women in states like my own will live in health care deserts, without the care they need to stay healthy, start a family, and get screenings for cancer and other serious illnesses. my reproductive health care training act would have ensured america's future doctors have the training they need to provide safe care, especially in states that have abortion restrictions. this fight is not over, and i'm in it for as long as it takes to restore a woman's freedom to

make her own decisions about her health, her family, and her future. the presiding officer: the senator from washington. mrs. murray: thank you, mr. president. i am here with a he have simple bill -- i'm here with a very simple bill. in my state, abortion is not only legal but protected by our state constitution. but when i talk to abortion providers in spokane where they see a lot of patients fleeing restrictive abortion bans from states like idaho, they are fairified that they can face a lawsuit that will threaten their practice and livelihood, just for doing their jobs, just for providing care their patients need, care that is once again completely legal in my state. we're talking about people who are following the law and simply

want to provide care to their patients. this should be cut and dry. so, mr. president, as if in legislation session and notwithstanding rule 22, i ask unanimous consent that the judiciary committee be discharged from further consideration of s. 1297s, the let doctors provide reproductive health care act and the senate proceed to its immediate consideration, and further that the bill be considered read a third time and passed and the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table. the presiding officer: is there objection? a senator: mr. president, reserving the right to object. the presiding officer: the senator from north carolina. mr. budd: it would make it easier for unborn life to be ended. the supreme court dobbs decision brought renewed hope to americans who believe in the sanctity of each and every life, including life in the womb. after 49 years, a new culture of life is enriching our country

from coast to coast, but this bill will take us backwards. this bill would, first of all, it would allow abortion on demand in pro-life states so long as the patient is from another state, and that's crazy. second, this bill would expose doctors and nurses who work in religious organizations, in clinics, in hospitals, it would expose them to costly lawsuits if they stand by their deeply held beliefs. that is also crazy. finally, this bill would violate the spirit of bipartisan hyde protections by providing millions of taxpayer dollars to the abortion industry. that also is crazy. i was elected to protect life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness for all, including for life to the unborn, but this bill puts more unborn lives in danger. therefore, i object. mrs. murray: mr. president. the presiding officer: the objection is heard. the senator from washington. mrs. murray: mr. president,

let's be clear. republicans who are now in the middle of trying to rewrite history and claim they only want state politicians overruling women, already an extreme position, by the way, just made clear that actually on second thought, they have no problem whatsoever with politicians targeting doctors in states like mine where abortion is legal. i think that pretty much gives the game away. i yield the floor. a senator: mr. president. the presiding officer: the senator from nevada. ms. cortez masto: mr. president, we are now two years into a world without roe v. wade, a world in which daughters have fewer rights than their mothers and their grandmothers did at their age. and the two years since the supreme court overturned roe, nearly half the states in our country have banned or effectively banned access to

abortion. women in those states have extremely limited options for accessing essential health care. for many of these women, their only option for getting the reproductive care they need is going to another state. last year alone, 171,000 americans traveled across state lines to access an abortion. pro-choice states like nevada are welcoming these women with open arms and providing them with the essential health care their own states have outlawed. in the last two years, the number of women coming to southern nevada from out of state to get abortion care has doubled. but even though nevada is a safe place for women who need health care, anti-choice politicians living outside my state are telling women, no, sorry, if you try to travel outside this state, we're going to prosecute anyone who helps you.

elected officials in states like tennessee and texas and alabama are trying to punish women for leaving their state for reproductive care as well as anyone who helps them, including their doctors or even their employers. why? because for these anti-choice politicians, this is about controlling women. that is why today i am calling for passage of my freedom to travel for health care act. our legislation reaffirms that women have fundamental right to interstate travel and makes it crystal clear states cannot prosecute women or anyone who helps them from going to another state to get the critical reproductive care that they need. the freedom to travel for health care act would also empower the attorney general and anyone impacted to sue the anti-choice politicians who have violated their rights and put these

barbaric restrictions in place. and it would protect health care providers in pro-choice states like mine, in nevada, who help these women traveling from out of state. now i wrote this bill two years ago after the fall of roe v. wade because, like many women across the country, i could see that the anti-choice movement would never stop trying to dismantle women's rights, and we're seeing that played out before our very eyes. we're hearing it today on the floor. we see it in our states. last month lauren miller came here to washington to testify in a senate subcommittee hearing and tell her story. lauren was a mother of one and was thrilled to find out that she was pregnant once again. this time with twins. she and her husband couldn't wait to grow their family. but at her 12-week ultrasound, lauren learned the most devastating news. half of one of her twin's brains

was filled with fluid and it was not going to survive. lauren needed to abort this fetus to save the other viable twin and to protect her own life. the problem was lauren lived in texas, where abortions are almost entirely banned. lauren's doctors wouldn't even talk to her about having a lifesaving abortion because they were so afraid of texas intentionally confusing laws and they did not want to be prosecuted for practicing medicine to help her. in her testimony, lauren said, and i quote, my pregnancy was not my own. it belonged to the state. even after she ended up in the hospital at risk of organ damage to her kidneys and her brain, she still could not get the care that she needed. lauren was forced to set aside

several days and thousands of dollars while she was terribly ill so that she could fly to colorado just to access reproductive health care, just to access 21st century medicine. and if that wasn't enough of a burden, lauren and her husband were terrified to travel out of state because of text's bounty -- because of texas's bounty laws. in texas, private citizens can be paid by their government if they catch anyone who has helped someone access abortion care. oklahoma has adopted a similar law. this is what happens when we give it to the states. this is what happened with the overturn of roe v. wade. when we're talking about states rights, this is it. these laws mean people seeking abortions have to plan for their out-of-state travel as if they're doing something illegal. lauren and her husband had conversations about whether they should leave their cell phones at home and only use cash so they couldn't be tracked in this

day and age, like they were criminals of some sort. all because lauren was dying from an entirely preventable health issue that she couldn't get care for in her own state. when my colleagues and i first introduced the freedom to travel for health care act, anti-choice republicans told us we were getting worked up over nothing. when we introduced and reintroduced it last year, anti-choice republicans still told us we were overreaching. anti-choice republicans' main argument continues to be that it's just not necessary, that we're being hysterical, that we need to calm down. lauren miller and her husband weren't being hysterical. she and her healthy son are living proof that we need to protect a woman's right to travel across state lines for

abortion care. my anti-choice colleagues can pretend this isn't happening right under their noses, but women across this country know the truth. anti-choice politicians want to control women. they don't want women leaving the confines of their states with abortion bans and they don't want us to have bodily autonomy. i stand with the vast majority of americans who believe that politicians have no say in a woman's health care decisions. women like lauren miller deserve access to lifesaving care, regardless of the state they live in. that's why we must pass the freedom to travel for health care act now. this is commonsense legislation to uphold a woman's constitutional right and freedom to interstate travel for health care. so, mr. president, as if in legislative session and

notwithstanding rule 22, i ask unanimous consent that the judiciary committee be discharged from the freedom to travel for health care act of 2023 and the senate proceed to immediate consideration. further the bill be considered read a third time and passed and the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table. the presiding officer: is there objection? a senator: mr. president. the presiding officer: the senator from mississippi. mrs. hyde-smith: reserving the right to object. mr. president, my pro-life colleagues and i most certainly do not oppose any individual's freedom to travel across this great country, but we do take issue with this effort to give bad actors cover from prosecution. while this bill poses as protecting pregnant women from prosecution, it would actually put vulnerable women and girls in harm's way if it became law. this would allow traffickers and abusive partners, parents or relatives to take vulnerable

women and girls across state lines to obtain abortions in an attempt to cover up their abuse. these same abusers would also be given the freedom to travel across state lines to stockpile dangerous chemical abortion drugs to bring back to a life-affirming state. the chemical abortion regiment can pose dramatic complications that a woman or girl should never have to deal with especially without medical care at her home. according to the fda's own label, these abortion drugs send roughly 1 in 25 women to the emergency room. with this legislation effort before us, we see pro-abortion advocates promoting the scariest possible scenario by allowing a teenage girl to start the chemical abortion process across state lines with mifepristone only to be sent back to her home state to deal with the physically and emotionally painful process alone.

we can and must do far better to protect women and girls from this heartbreaking and dangerous situation, and we certainly should not be shielding bad actors from prosecution. it is for these reasons that i must object. the presiding officer: objection is heard. ms. cortez masto: mr. president. the presiding officer: the senator from nevada. ms. cortez masto: one, let's be very clear this legislation has nothing to do with shielding bad actors. number two, mifepristone is a safe and effective drug and has been for over 50 years. for my colleagues who have been on this path to limit access to health care for women for the reproductive freedom rights, to claim and make this misinformation and these scare tactics when they are not true does not do right by women. let me just say this. a majority of this country, including men, including democrats, republicans, nonpartisans, support the right of a woman to choose. that's what this is about. continuing to fight for those

rights. a woman should have the freedom to access 21st century health care. giving it to the states to make this decision is still giving it to elected officials to be in the room with women when they are making this decision. that is not the answer. but until we can overturn roe v. wade, we need legislation that is going to protect women so they can access this 21st century medication when they need it and come to states like mine without the fear of being prosecuted and the doctors need to be protected. that's what this is about, and it will always be about giving the freedom to women for their access to health care in this country. i will tell you this, my colleagues and i will never stop fighting for this. it is too important for our children, our young girls and their future. i yield the floor. the presiding officer: the senator from washington. mrs. murray: mr. president, so to recap, we just tried to pass some very straightforward

legislation, a bill to protect a woman's right to travel across state lines to get the health care she needs, a bill to protect a doctor's right to provide legal abortion care to their patients without being threatened by an out-of-state extremist. and a bill to ensure more health professionals can receive kriment training and -- critical training and comprehensive reproductive health care to help meet the dire need for providers. not a single one of these bills should be controversial. to oppose these bills as republicans have just done is truly extreme. are we going to let politicians hold women who want an abortion captive in their states? seriously. if a woman wants to travel somewhere so she can make her own personal decision about her health care, are republicans going to tie her hands?

and if a doctor in a state like mine, where abortion is fully legal and even protected by our state constitution, if our doctors treat a patient from somewhere like idaho, something that happens every day, by the way, do we want to let out-of-state extremist politicians threaten and try to punish them? again, we are talking about health care providers performing an abortion in a state where abortion is legal and protected. republicans are all for states rights until it comes to letting a woman make their own health care decisions. and when it comes to training, let's be clear. abortion is health care. and in some cases a patient's life may depend on whether they can get that care or not. that is that is why we need to make sure every provider can get the comprehensive reproductive training they need by supporting medical training programs that are doing this important work.

it is incredibly frustrating to me that so far republicans have blocked these proposals from moving forward. seems when it comes to an abortion, there is no bill too simple for republicans to oppose. there's no right to basic -- too basic for republicans to attack. and no problem too important for republicans to ignore. republicans haven't just voted down our efforts to restore abortion rights in every state. they have voted against the right to birth control. they have voted against the right to ivf and now they have opposed letting patients leave their state for care, letting doctors provide legal care to anyone who comes to them, and helping health care providers get the training they need to save a life. but let's be clear. no matter this outcome, no matter how far republicans follow the most extreme antiabortion voices in their party, democrats are going to

keep standing against them, pushing for reproductive rights, and fighting for patients. thank you, mr. president. i yield the floor and i suggest the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. quorum call: the clerk: ms. baldwin.

republicans packed our courts with radical republicans who took it that by repealing roe v wade. the senate will take up the simple resolution cosponsored by every female senator in our caucus and myself task a very simple question. where do senators stand on freedom of choice.

do we believe a woman should have a basic right to reproductive care. do we agree that the rights protected under roe should be federal law. freedom of choice is the defining issue for americans this year. this week, every senator must show where he or she stands. of course, there is more. under a trump presidency and the richest of the rich, very, very wealthy saw their taxes go down the profits go up. middle-class families cap pay more for basic necessities. under a trump residency america was plunged into utter chaos. the pandemic far worse than it needed to be because donald trump refused to confront it head on. refusing to be honest with the american people. we live with constant anxiety. about the next tweet from the white house. our ally saw trumpet questioned

if they could trust while autocrats all trump and wanted to be like him. it is no wonder trump went out of his way to pay to dictators like putin. downright un-american. four years later, trump wants to do it all again. there's a big difference between then and now. for all the chaos and disaster of the first trump presidency, it pales in comparison to the threat of a second trump presidency and the threat it would pose to our democracy. over the last few weeks a whole lot of attention about policy platform drafted by the heritage foundation. are you googly the most influential conservative think tank in america. the platform it would affect is the trump manifesto. the project is staffed by officials in the trump presidency and disconnected to trump cabinet members, former campaign advisors, political appointees and more.

if you read through this trump manifesto it is very clear what the hard right is telling america. put us in power and we will got america from the inside out. trump's manifesto calls for the most conservative agenda america has ever seen. one that makes 1964 look like a moderate. and a trump manifesto lays the groundwork for a nation wide abortion ban and calls for moving the drug from the market. calling for defunding the department of education. it calls for reversing democrats clean energy agenda while empowering the nation's biggest oil and gas polluters. the trump manifesto calls for silencing and attacking all of donald trump's political enemies the hard right is done speaking and euphemisms. they are saying it straight to our faces. if you disagree with donald trump, watch your back. to see this happen in america is

bone chilling. the political threats are reminiscent to the autocratic fervor we saw in europe in the early 20th century. for the first time we are wondering, could it ever happened here in america. hope not. but it all keeps going. the trump manifesto called for defunding federal law enforcement and replacing thousands of federal personnel with individuals loyal above all to donald trump. finally, of course, the trump manifesto calls for more tax cuts for the very wealthy. more tax cuts for corporate elites. this is really the end goal of extremism. tax cuts for the top 1%. donald trump promised that he would be a dictator on day one and this manifesto is a playbook for how he will follow through on that threat. it is dangerous, damage may be

irreversible. the destruction could be unthinkable. it would be above trail of everything we have fought for. that the union fought for. that the greatest generation fought for. donald trump cannot, must not be allowed within 10 miles of the oval office ever again. this week the united states will welcome nato leaders to washington for the 2024 nato summit. facing perhaps the greatest threat since the cold war. so, this year summit comes at an inflection point. russia's invasion of ukraine rages on. putin's cruelty, cruelty shows no sign of softening. we read yesterday a heartbreaking and infuriating report. russian missile strikes obliterated a wing of the largest children's hospital and keep killing at least 31 ukrainians, injuring another 150 shooting a missile at a

children's hospital that had no military significance. it shows what a scoundrel putin is. my heart breaks for those children. in hospitals whose lives were taken away in the attack. the mothers and fathers and brother and sister drowning in grief. again, this was the largest children's hospital in the ukrainian capital. kids who had cancer were going. a playset should be off limits to anyone that is a decent honorable human being. putin has no decency, no honor, no heart. it shows you how bankrupt his invasion of ukraine truly is. a lot of hard right extremists led by donald trump. trying to kill ukraine made earlier this year. putin's attack against a children's hospital shows why it is essential for america to stand with ukraine.

they are fighting an evil group in russia. the worst thing america can do a show weakness against putin, tell ukraine we will abandon them. i am glad we stepped up earlier so as nato leaders gather in d.c. this week nothing less than the future of western democracy is at stake. president biden will bring in unmistakable message to our allies as well as our adversaries watching across the world. america will never turn its back on nato. my colleagues and i will be honored to welcome at the capital this week as well as president zelinski of ukraine. we inth the senate will send resident putin zelinski and our native allies the same message we have shared from day one. america will never turn its back onct you. the same cannot be said for donald trump. remember, it was donald trump that called nato obsolete and said he would encourage russia to do whatever the hell they

want. amazing. this is the wrong message to send to nato i feel is i guess the right time to speak. my -- a gentleman that i took a great pride in knowing, who i refer to quite often as a grandfather, senator jim inhofe. he passed away unfortunately this morning. i was asked right off the bat would you be willing to do some interviews on it. honestly, we were asked to speak on the floor. and i didn't even know what to say. how do you describe senator jim inhofe, right? how do you describe his family, miss kay, the first time i met her, she made me feel as comfortable as her own child. someone who took time to pet on me, love on me as i was learning

politics because politics was new. senator inhofe would often take me by the hand literally by the hand and say hey, listen to me, son. and as time went on, he became quite a mentor of mine, and i get asked all the time, how do you plan on filling the shoes of senator inhofe? i say, how do you fill the shoes of a man whose middle name was mountain. he was a mountain of a man. he was full of grit and tenacity. you always knew where he stood. he would tell me right off the bat when it was time for a decision to be made, he would get the delegation together, he would come in and he wasn't someone who demand add you go with him. he just let you know why he was

right. you could respect a guy you always know where he stands. so it saddens me deeply to know that today this earth is less one gentleman that i think we all learned from. everybody in this chamber who knew james -- or senator inhofe, knew a guy as a friend. you knew he was someone that you could trust. i remember one time it was in 2016, my wife and i, we were making the decision if we were going to continue to stay in public office. quite frankly, i was done. i had my fill. i came from the private sector and just politics in itself to me was not something that i enjoyed. i was -- i was ready to just throw in the towel. and senator inhofe called me and he says, hey, come to my office. which coming over from my little

senate office in long worth, i went over in this tang had a mall -- taj mahal office of senator inhofe. i was in shock. he says, do me a favor. don't leave yet. just give it time. i understand it's a bad, it's rough. but take it from a guy who came from the private sector, who had been in office at that time almost 55 years, take it from me a guy from the private sector how frustrating it can be, but it will be more satisfying than anything you've ever built if you'll just stay put because i promise you it'll get better. i can't say it's actually got better, but i can say that he was right because it is gratifying. what he did is hellowed me to change my -- he allowed knee change my focus from understanding that all the outside distractions that can take place, all the nasty things

that can happen on social media, the things that people automatically assume about you because you are in public office, that can all easily go away if you stay focused on the one hand what you were equity willed to do, that is to serve the great state of oklahoma. just focus on constituent service, focus on building things for the state, focus on being -- on staying passionate about what your passion is, and you can create such a legacy for yourself. i don't think senator inhofe ever set out to build a legacy that his name is built upon. he always wanted to serve from being mayor of the city of tulsa to being a congressman for three terms to serving in the senate for almost 30 years. all he did every day was work hard for oklahoma. and i'm grateful to get to know

him. his family, the whole time he serve the -- you know, i just got to brag about his family. the whole time he served, which was a big thing for me, too, how do you balance the political life and the family life? because if you knew jim, jim -- or, senator inhofe, he was always -- he was always going home. miss kay was his priority. if she was ill, wasn't feeling good, he was headed that way. and every time i talked to him on the plane when we sat beside each other, had we landed, the first person he would call would be miss kay. he would want to know how she's doing, want to make sure this project is being completed, and sometimes he'd even talk to me about some of the projects going on at his place. and to me, who has six kids at home, that was a concern of mine of how you can balance it.

mark, i have been doing to -- when we first had that conversation, it was -- he had been in office for over 50 years. and he says, i've done it. i think i've raised some pretty good kids. his kids loved him. his wife loved him, his grandkids loved him. not to talk about the way he necessarily left the world, but i think he left it the way he would want to, a guy that was always moving. he was always on the run. he was always -- he always had a project. never set still. to be able to be here one day, go through a little trouble for maybe a few days and leave this earth and people loving you and you had a great reputation. i don't know how any of us would rather be remembered. and so i take the podium for the first time -- i just want to say

again it's an honor to walk in that trail that he blazed because, as i said, i'm not ever going to fill his shoes. but he built a trail, as people want to refer to it, a mountain man what did a mountain man do? the mountain man blazed new trails that nobody knew about. he blazed a trail that i can build a highway on. i have full intentions of doing that. so to miss kay, to his kids and to his grandkids and to all his family, thank you for giving so much of your time to allow senator inhofe to serve. thank you for giving him to me and allowing me to call him -- even though he sometimes got mad at me because he thought i was talking about his age, i meant it in an affectionate way -- thank him for allowing me to call him grandfather.

may god bless you and i think it's preexist evident -- and i think it's pretty evident when i say this we're all going to miss him.

75 years later a nation welcomes nato's 32 countries. the most successful in human history. it shepherded the free world and serious challenges. they threw terrorist attacks

from multipolar -- this has always been a collective effort. but it has always required american leadership and today america and her allies they said serious tasks of resolve. russian aggression ran back terror unchecked nuclear proliferation from north korea and china's bid for hegemony are just regional concerns, they are an increasingly coordinated threat to america's security and prosperity. the transatlantic alliance faces doubts at home and abroad about the credibility of our

commitment to uphold this order. all major allies will share the risks if it is undone. all of us will suffer if autocrats and despots succeed in rewriting rules and rejoining maps. even still on the occasion of the washington summit, there are encouraging signs that nato is rising to meet the challenges. two years on, brutal russian escalation hasn't just awoken european allies but their military capabilities. it's a sea change in defense

policy all across europe and the renaissance of defense industrial base is including weapons. across europe americans allies aren't besting 18% more on their defenses than they were a year ago. more than two-thirds of nato's members have now met or exceeded the 2% defense spending target and just as important many are committing 20% of their defense budgets to procuring new weapons and capabilities. the latest data more than confirms the end of our holiday up history. they also prove what i've been explaining to our colleagues for

years when america leads by example allies in dust here in america. a full two-thirds of our allies spending on new defense procurement is going to buy american-made weapons and systems. right now the u. the u.s. industry is filling more than $140 billion in contracts booked by european allies. many allies also are expanding their own defense industrial capacity and encouraging unnecessary shift that will make nato even more resilient. of course one of the most encouraging developments since the nato summit has been the addition of two strong new

allies with highly capable militaries in cutting-edge industrial basis of their own. it would be a tremendous honor to work closely with the leaders of finland and sweden throughout their session to the alliance and i'm proud to join the democratic leader in hosting them on capitol hill this week. today the enemies of western peace and prosperity have given us good reason, good reason to take the strength of our alliances and partnerships even more seriously. the authoritarians of rogue states seeking to undermine us are all working together and we can't afford not to do the same. that's why all nato allies need to take hard power more seriously with the 2% defense spending target for but it's not a ceiling.

while the spending increases must be built into the base budget not treated as one author merchant sees and why contracting and procurement have to mood -- move at the speed of relevance not the speed of bureaucracy. these lessons apply as much to america as they do to our european allies and they apply even more so to our neighbors to the north, canada which is one of the only allies without a plan to reach the 2% spending target. it's encouraging that is nato members address the efficiencies of our own collective security obligations we join this week by partners who are taking increasingly clear i'd approaches to their own security. the presence of leaders from the indo pacific to the special powerful reminder of our shared

state in the future of the western order to preserve the freedom of navigation territorial integrity and the right to self-determination. i we'll have more to say is the week goes on. i'm grateful for the opportunity to welcome america's friends to washington at this critical time and i'm hopeful that together the alliance will make headway on the serious business before us. on one final matter last week a federal judge in louisiana brought the biden administration de facto ban on new permitting for the export of america's abundant liquefied natural gas. as i've said before the most recent so-called pause is bad policy for a whole host of reasons like good paying

american jobs and higher prices for energy for goods through the roof. a course on the flow of american lng slows down it also presents close allies and trading partners with the prospect of increased reliance on energy from less savory places. the overwhelming majority of u.s. exports go to consumers in europe and asia but as the biden administration tries to choke up american market russian exports is surging in the demand. russia relies on porches with the spoils of it's energy warchest and refueling a war in ukraine with the proceeds from other presents own energy secretary has described as quote the form of natural gas on earth. the administration that has

until now put green activists in the driver seat of it's energy policy and as we have learned last week it doesn't pass muster in court where judge ruled in favor of the 16 states to block this, moratorium. the judge agreed that the department of energy failed to justify the pause on lng exports and quote this is from the judge, failed to consider the impact on national security, state revenues, employment opportunity funding for schools and charities and pollution allegedly caused by a increased foreign energy sources. mr. president there you have it. they abide administration's disregard for the law releasing the energy project into where

they have been trapped for far too long.

a senator: mr. president. i ask consent that the 5:45 vote occur now. the presiding officer: without objection, so ordered. the clerk will report 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 to bring to a close the debate on the motion of executive calendar number 5142, charles j. willoughby to be an associate judge of the district of columbia, signed by 18 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 charles j. willoughby of the district of columbia to be an associate

judge of the superior court of the district of columbia shall be brought to a close. the yeas and nays are mandatory 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. ms. cantwell. mrs. capito. mr. cardin. mr. carper.

ppp. the clerk: mr. cornyn.

mr. cotton. mr. cramer. mr. crapo. mr. cruz. mr. daines. ms. duckworth. mr. durbin. ms. ernst. mr. fetterman. mrs. fischer. mrs. gillibrand. mr. graham. mr. grassley. mr. hagerty. ms. hassan.

mr. hawley. mr. heinrich. mr. hickenlooper. ms. hirono. mr. hoeven. mrs. hyde-smith. mr. johnson. mr. kaine. mr. kelly. mr. kennedy. mr. king. ms. klobuchar. mr. lankford. mr. lee. mr. lujan. ms. lummis. mr. manchin. mr. markey. mr. marshall. mr. mcconnell. mr. menendez. mr. merkley. mr. moran. mr. mullin.

ms. murkowski. mr. murphy. mrs. murray. mr. ossoff. mr. padilla. mr. paul. mr. peters. mr. reed. mr. ricketts. mr. risch. mr. romney. ms. rosen. mr. rounds. mr. rubio. mr. sanders. mr. schatz. mr. schmitt. mr. schumer. mr. scott of florida. mr. scott of south carolina. mrs. shaheen. ms. sinema. ms. smith. ms. stabenow. mr. sullivan. mr. tester. mr. thune. mr. tillis. mr. tuberville. mr. van hollen. mr. vance. mr. warner. mr. warnock. ms. warren. mr. welch. mr. whitehouse. mr. wicker. mr. wyden. mr. young.

the clerk: senators voting in the affirmative -- bennet, carper, collins, cortez masto, hassan, hirono, kaine, lujan, murray, reed, romney, schatz, tester,

tillis, warren. senators voting in the negative -- britt, capito, cornyn, cotton, kennedy, lee, lummis, marshall, scott of south carolina, tuberville. mr. casey, aye.

the clerk: mr. van hollen, aye. mr. hagerty, no.

the clerk: mr. johnson, no. mr. grassley, no.

the clerk: mr. whitehouse, aye. weems came together in the room. history was watching and it was

four years since. the end of the most devastating world war the world had ever known. here, they gathered to make a sacred pledge to defend each other against aggression and collective security and to end the threat that was one because they knew to prevent future wars, to protect democracy to lay the groundwork for lasting peace and prosperity they needed a new approach. they need to combine their strengths.

the members of congress, welcome, welcome to the 2024 nato summit. [applause] it's a pleasure to host in this milestone year and we have looked back up right at all we have achieved and to look ahead at our shared strength and with resolve. together we rebuilt europe and held high the torch of liberty in law in decades of the cold war. former adversaries cantella democracy in alliance. the war broke out in the balkans and we intervened restored peace. the united states are nato allies stood with us invoking

article v for the first time in nato history. an attack on us as an attack on all of us. the offensive that the american people never, ever, ever forget. throughout his history and great changes occurred in people asking me to adapt? every time we have proven we could adapt to and we did. involving our strategy announcing new partners to increase their effectiveness and countries from the indo pacific region. they areth here because they hae a stake in our success and we have a stake in theirs. today nato is more powerful than ever. 32 nation strong. for years finland and sweden were closest partners and now they have chosen to officially join nato because of the power

of article v guarantees that's the reason in the most important aspect of the lines of 1949 and still the most important aspect. i'd also note finland and sweden joined the alliance not just because of the leaders saw it because their citizens called for in overwhelming numbers. nato's character is fundamentally democratic vice has been and always must continue to be. today nato is better resource than it ever has been. i want to pause on this because it's significant. in the year 2020 the year i was elected president only nine nato allies will work 2% of the defense was . this year 23 will spend at least 2%. [applause] and some will spend more than

that. the remaining countries that have not yet reached that milestone will get there soon. it's remarkable progress truth of their commitment is broad and deep, that we are ready and we are willing and able to deter aggression and defend every inch of nato care torit across every domain, land, air, sea, cyber and space. my friends, it's clear we are stronger than ever so in this moment in history we call for an collective -- autocrats have overturned global order and by and large kept in night -- 80 years in continuing. tourists have caused mayhem and chaos and suffering. in europe the war of aggression against ukraine continues. putin wants nothing less,

nothing less than ukraine's total subjugation to and ukraine's democracy and destroy ukraine's culture and wipe ukraine off the map. you know putin won't stop at ukraine. make no mistake ukraine can and will stop putin. [applause] especially for collective support. they have our full support. the u.s. reinforcements and nato brought more troops, more aircraft more capabilities and now the united states has more than 100,000 troops in the continent of europe. nato not only reinforcing to the

east bulgaria, hungary romania and slovakia. simply doubling the strength on the eastern plankton together we built a global coalition to stand with ukraine. together we provide a significant economic and humanitarian system and together with supplied ukraine's width and weapons that need to defend itself, tanks, armored fighter vehicle's air defense systems long-range missiles and millions of munitions. the united states nearly two dozen allied partners have signed a bilateral security agreement with ukraine and more countries will follow. today i'm announcing in historic donation to their defense equipment for ukraine. the united states, germany benevolence romania in israel will provide ukraine with equipment. five additional strategic air

defense systems and in the coming months the united states and our partners will provide ukraine with air defense. the united states will make sure when we export critical air defense interceptors ukraine goes to the front of the line. [applause] we will get this assistance before anyone else gets it. all told come ukraine will receive hundreds of additional interceptors over the next year. helping protect for an creamy and cities russian missiles and ukrainian troops facing attacks on the frontline. make no mistake, russia is failing in this war. more than three years into putin's war more than three and 50,000 troops dead and wounded and 1 million russian men he left russia because they no

longer saw a future in russia and in kyiv the number is still standing 2.5 years later and will continue to stand. [applause] all the allies knew putin thought nato was -- today nato is stronger than it's ever been in it's history. when the centrist war began ukraine was a -- country and today it's still a great country. the war will end ukraine remains as free and independent country. russia will not prevail. [applause] ukraine will prevail. [applause] ladies and gentlemen this is the moment for europe and the transatlantic committee and i might add to the world.

remember global security did not happen by accident. it was not inevitable. again in the grand this critical moment we chose unity over disunion, freedom over -- hope over fear and again and again we stood behind our shared vision of a peaceful prosperous transatlantic union. nato is ready and able to secure now and well into the future. [applause] let me say this, an overwhelming bipartisan majority of americans understand that nato mick's us all safe. the fact that democratic republican parties are representative here today the american people know all the progress we have made in the

past 75 years has happened behind the shield of nato. and americans understand what happened when there was no nato. another war in europe come matt kuchar fighting and dying, spreading chaos economic collapse catastrophe. americans know we are stronger with nato and we understand this was a sacred obligation. president reagan put it in that quote are fellow democracy is not secure we will not be secure. if they are threatened we are threatened. we knew it then and we know it now. our nation will continue to keep faith in what we pledged in years to come. now if you'll indulge me i'd like to remark in an unusual

way. nato's reliance on nations is laid -- made up of leaders and one person in particular has done an extraordinary job leading nato for the last decade secretary-general will you come forward? [applause] [applause] so much of the progress we have made with the alliance is thanks to the secretary. he is a man of integrity and intellectual calm sentiment a diplomat who works with leaders across the political spectrum and all finding a way to move us for. the secretary guided his lines through one of the -- [inaudible] i personally ask you to extend

your service, forgive me. he put you on plans on hold when the war war in ukraine began and you didn't hesitate. today nato is stronger, smarter and more energized. and a billion people across north america indeed the whole world will reap the rewards of your labor for years to come. security opportunity and greater freedom. these regions i'm pleased to wear to the highest award the united states canvas to the presidential medal of freedom. [cheers and applause] military, come forward.

the president of the united states of america towards this presidential medal of freedom to a visionary statesman and defender of democracy secretary-general stoltenberg has guided the nato alliance through the most consequential decades for european security since world war ii. when vladimir putin launched a brutal assault on the people of ukraine secretary-general stoltenberg under his stewardship nato has become stronger and more united than ever and americans for generations to come will benefit from a safer world he helped create. heth demonstrates the courage of the alliance is a powerful now as it was 75 years ago.

together we are stronger. [applause] [applause] ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪

♪♪

the clerk: mr. durbin, aye.

the clerk: mr. graham, no. mr. hickenlooper, aye.

the clerk: mr. rounds, no.

the clerk: mr. wicker, no. mr. thune, no. the clerk: mr. mullin, no. mr. padilla, aye.

the clerk: ms. murkowski, aye. mr. young, no.

mr. heinrich, aye. the clerk: mr. peters, aye.

the clerk: mr. barrasso, no. ms. blackburn, no o. the clerk: mr. kelly, aye.

the clerk: mr. braun, no.

vote: the clerk: ms. cantwell, aye.

the clerk: ms. sinema, aye.

the clerk: mr. blumenthal, aye.

vote: 6

vote: the clerk: mr. schumer, aye. mrs. shaheen, aye.

mr. coons, aye. ms. duckworth, aye. mr. cardin, aye. mr. merkley, aye.

the clerk: mr. mcconnell, no. mr. murphy, aye. mr. bennet, aye.

the clerk: mr. hawley, no.

the clerk: mr. welch, aye. the clerk: ms. butler, aye.

the clerk: mr. booker, aye. vote:

the clerk: mrs. rosen, aye.

the clerk: mr. ossoff, aye.

good afternoon everyone. really sorry for the delay credit got out of the oval office with the president who wanted me too relay a few new messages to you on the hurricane parts important to him and it's it's important to the people of texas so wanted to make sure before it came out here had this information. the president spoke with houstou soon mayor whitmire harris county judge about the impacts

of hurricane beryl they both asked for help from the federal government. because the governor of texas is currently out of the country the president then called lieutenant governor of texas to ensure texans are getting the resources they need and deserve following this a devastating storm. on the call the president raised the need for a major disaster declaration and immediately approved it while on the call while the lieutenant governor requested the major disaster declaration place will be able to provide life-saving and life-sustaining activity. the president and his team i been working around the clock for the past two days to ensure it texas has the resources and tools needed to respond to beryl and keep americans safe officials and u.s. coast guard and fema have been on the ground senior white house officials have been in constant contact with their counterparts while the storm has passed our

greatest concern right now as power outages and extreme heat. we want to encourage residents to remain vigilant eye's astemperatures rise especially older adults with those with underlying health conditions. fortunately 800,000 have had power restored overnight. we expected of their 1 million to have their power restored today. the federal government's offer generates help reduce the impact of the power outages for the president continues to take decisive action to help the people of texas recover. he looks forward to working with the state to get more critical resources to the people that need them. i want to share one additional scheduling item with all of you as well at the top in addition to many nato meetings we announced yesterday. on thursday afternoon president biden will meet with president zelenskyy of ukraine to discuss our unwavering support for ukraine as it continues to

defend itself from russian aggression. that meeting will be at 1:30 p.m. at the convention center which as you all know is where the nato sessions are being held it will take place just before the nato ukraine council meeting. this'll be the third meeting between both presidents following their sit down in france. agreed to. the clerk will report the nomination. the clerk: charles j. willoughby jr. of the district of columbia to be an associate judge of the superior court of the district of columbia. ms. klobuchar: mr. president. the presiding officer: the senator from mp. ms. klobuchar: mr. president, i ask unanimous consent that the senate proceed to legislative session and be in a period of morning business with senators permitted to speak therein for up to ten minutes each.

the presiding officer: without objection. ms. klobuchar: i have seven requests for committees to meet during today's session of the senate. they have the approval of the majority and minority leaders. the presiding officer: duly noted. ms. klobuchar: i ask unanimous consent that the committee on energy and natural resources be discharged and the senate now proceed to the immediate consideration of s. 3448. the presiding officer: the clerk will report. the clerk: s. 3448, a bill to reauthorize are the director of the united states holocaust memorial museum to support holocaust education programs and for other purposes. the presiding officer: without objection, the committee is discharged, and the senate will proceed. ms. klobuchar: i further ask that the bill be considered read a third time and passed and the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table with no intervening action or debate. the presiding officer: without objection. ms. klobuchar: i ask unanimous consent that the senate proceed to the en bloc consideration of

the following senate resolutions -- s. res. 755, s. res. 756 and s. res. 757. the presiding officer: is there objection to proceeding en bloc? without objection, the senate will proceed. ms. klobuchar: i ask unanimous consent that the resolutions be agreed to, the preambles be agreed to and that the motion to reconsiders be considered made and laid upon the table all en bloc. the presiding officer: without objection. ms. klobuchar: i ask unanimous consent that when the senate completes its business today it stands adjourned until 10:00 a.m. on wednesday, july 10, that following the prayer and pledge, the journal of proceedings be approved to date, the morning hour deemed expired, the time for the two leaders be reserved for their use later in the day and morning business be closed. following the conclusion of morning business, the senate proceed to executive session to resume consideration of the willoughby nomination postcloture, that all time be

considered expired at 11:30 a.m. and that if cloture is invoked on the wagner nomination, all time be considered expired at 2:15 p.m. upon disposition of the wagner nomination, notwithstanding the rules, the senate resume legislative session and resume consideration of the motion to proceed to calendar number 420 s. 4454. further that the cloture on the motion to proceed occur at 5:45. finally that the motions to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table and the president be immediately notified of the senate's action. the presiding officer: without objection. ms. klobuchar: 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 the presiding officer: the

the senate considered several president biden's nominees today for later this week possib tomorrow about his expect in a weather to be in work on a measure that would codi roe v wade the right to abortion access into law. watch liv coverage of the senate here on cspan2. earlier today chair of the federal reserve jerome powell testified on monetary policy state of the u.s. economy. before the senate banking committee watch the full hearing but the fed chair tonight on cspan2 c-span now free mobile video app or online at c-span.org. ♪ c-span is your unfiltered view of government we are funded by these television companies and more including comcast. >> are you thinking this is just a community center? it is way more than that.

comcast is part of the 1000 community centers to create wi-fi enabled so students from low-income families can get the tools they need to be ready for anything. comcast support c-span as a public service along these other telesion providers. giving you a front row seat to democracy. c-span campaign 2024 tick sheet live demo walking to the coverage of the republican national convention and in the live monday delegates from across the country gather the republican nominee for president watch as they lay out their priorities for the next four years their party's vision for the future for the republican national convention live monday on c-span, c-span now or online at c-span.org. c-span, your unfiltered view of the convention. coming up 2024 gop