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>> buckeye broadband supports c-span as a public rvice, along with these other television providers, giving you a front row seat to democracy. the u.s. senate is about to gavel in this morning for more work on president biden's nominations. also later today, a vote is planned on whether to begin work on a bill supporting abortion access and other reproductive health care. now live coverage of the senate on c-span2. ...

the guest chaplain: let us pray. holy one, maker of all places and things, you know more than any of us that we humans are but one part of this complex, interconnected creation. and our lives are but the a moment in the vast eternity you govern. as thighs leaders gather -- as these leaders gather today, grant them resolve to lead with humility, courage to speak for the voiceless, and wisdom to see beyond tomorrow. may justice roll and love abide. amen. the presiding officer: please join me in reciting the pledge of allegiance i pledge allegiance to the flag of the united states of america, and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under god, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.

the presiding officer: the clerk will read a communication to the senate. the clerk: washington, d.c., july 10, 2024, to the senate: under the provisions of rule 1, paragraph 3, of the standing rules of the senate, i hereby appoint the honorable christopher a. coons, a senator from the state of delaware, 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. senate will proceed to executive session to resume consideration of the following nomination, which the clerk will report. the clerk: nomination, the judiciary, charles j. willoughby j jr., of the district of columbia, to be an associate judge of the superior court of the district of columbia.

the presiding officer: . a senator: mr. president, i rise to say a few words about the tradition of spiritual leadership of the chaplains of the senate. a decades -- centuries old tradition of this goad, rooted in the fact of those who were the framers of our constitution and the founders of our nation understood that although we are a nation committed to separation of church and state, we are also a nation that is guided, that is guided by spiritual force, deep beliefs, diversity of localingions -- religions but also by profound humility on the part of those who serve. our chaplain, admiral barry black, has served for many, many years. and i have had the great blessing of hearing from him at bible study and weekly prayer breakfast in a way that has

helped bring senators together, and that has made a difference in the functioning and the foundation of this important body in our constitutional order. today we have a guest chaplain from my home church, first & central presbyterian in wilmington, delaware. she is my home pastor. pastor laura has served our congregation since july two years ago, a native of arkansas, raised in texas, and the -- in the dissiples of -- disciples of christ. she found her calling at an early age but told god to hold that thought. for years later he called pastor again, more forcefully this time and through my denomination, first & central presbyterian church. after completing seminary in iowa and serving three other ministry calls, pastor laura is now at our faith community in downtown wilmington doing god's work at a church without walls that welcomes without limits.

her humor, her herm nudics, hom lettics, all the good stuff that a pastor does help hold us together and inspire us to mission at a time that is almost uniquely challenging in my life. i am so grateful for her wisdom and guidance at home in delaware and i thank pastor laura for her ministry, today to this body, to our congregation at home and throughout the arc of her life. thank you. with that, flooment, i yield the floor and suggest the absz -- with that, mr. president, i yield the floor and suggest the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. quorum call:

the clerk: ms. baldwin. between state, federal and local agencies for years to come. rebuilding the bridge is expected a large undertaking president biden as follows committed resources of the federal government to help . the minister testified last

month, proceeds of insurance payments another future claims will be used to reimburse federal government for consumer portion of the cost of rebuilding the bridge. today's hearing probably could not accompany more opportune time. the president has submitted a supplemental appropriation request to the congress, $3.1 billion in emergency response funding that this president requested through the department of transportation was to support this disaster and a number of other disasters that is not yet received assistance. that includes major mudslide in jackson wyoming as well as tragic losses in maui last year and other recent our country. passing the supplemental appropriation bill will be the most expedient path to address that only the needs of baltimore but also the needs of number of other states awaiting assistance. in closing let me add i believe

with all those the government work together to safeguard endovascular infrastructure it makes our community is, , better stronger and safer. i believe it is our shared responsibility to make these investments. there's no doubt we still significant work ahead of us to continue to build and rebuild the infrastructure america will need for the 21st century. look forward hearing from our witness -- is that transpired on march 26 and work that still lies ahead to rebuild the key bridge. before that, turn to a ranking member senator capito. let me acknowledge delaware and maryland our neighbors we're joined from north to south. the question is how can we treat our neighbors. we ought to treat a nervous when we want to be treated.

we will try to do that as best as we can. this should responsibly try to make sure that i mentioned maui, hawaii, i mentioned wyoming, the other states that are facing great difficult disruption because of their own disasters. we want to make sure we are fair to them and treat them even though they're not our neighbors, make sure we treat them fairly. senator capito. >> thank you, mr. chairman. and thanks for calling this hearing today to examine the response to the francis scott key bridge collapse and the lessons learned in everest revealed the new bridge. i want to thank my colleagues for being here. i know when something this occurs in your state it's the structure will do that for your statement certainly private conversation with that as well. i will say maryland is also a neighbor of west virginia, but where canavan the western side there. before i proceed with the opening remarks i do want to

acknowledge the passing of her former chairman, jim inhofe, this week. and express my sincere condolences to his family. he sat in his chair and i said very close to them. senator inhofe was a true public servant, and were course for the people of oklahoma and the embodiment of climate and leadership for all who knew. he's also as we know those of us have been to the prayer breakfast on wednesday morning a very spiritual man at the same time and a family man. as chairman of the committee he develop a strong tradition of championing the nation's infrastructure in a bipartisan and thoughtful manner, a tradition that sent many bills to the president's desk for signature. -- >> if i could inject for just a moment. i'm tom carper and i approve this message. [laughing] >> turned to the topic of today's hearing. want to say how impressed i was and he said this publicly just about every time i talked about the bridge and the chairman talked about this, the rapid and professional response to the

ridge collapsed from everybody, federal, state and local agencies. i also want to extend my condolences to the families of the six folks unfortunately lost their lives that day. we're grateful the quick action to close the bridge, prevented further loss of life. the response and recovery efforts began almost immediately thereafter. the salvage after move the debris from the collapsed bridge and refloat the dolphy was a massive undertaking an amazingly quick. in total the u.s. army corps of engineers incarnation with u.s. navy supervisor of salvage and diving cleared more than 30 come excuse me 50,000 tons of debris of the river. the cores effective benefit of the operations allowed for the establishment of limited capacity channels quality of experts worked to clear the river and restore critical component of our supply chains which west virginia coal was on

the other side, uses support quite frequently for export. on june 10 the koran is the restoration of the federal channel and its original the niche into the 70-foot wide by 50 feet deep commercial navigation which enable operations to resume the port of baltimore. general spelman thank you for leadership on this matter. i understand that we just talked briefly the time of the corps of engineers is coming to it and here shortly i want to express my sincere gratitude for your service to our country and your dedication to addressing our nation's infrastructure and/or challenges ahead. on the highway side the federal highway administration dispersed $60 million in quick release funding from the emergency, or the ark, program, relief program within two days of the collapsed. so the maryland department of state of transportation would have federal resources to help with the agencies recovery efforts.

federal highways has also been lending its broad technical expertise to maryland dot to up get the projects for the new bridge under way. to the er program the federal government plays a key role in helping state d.o.t.'s repair highways and bridges that a been damaged by national disasters and other emergencies. currently, the er program itself is drastically short of the funding necessary for all the eligible projects. as of june 25, the current funding shortfall stands at 3.5 billion with a backlog of 38 states and territories that have more than 130 eligible events the chairman spoke about several of those. ensuring adequate funding to the er program is vastly important to helping communities recover from these events, and restore connections in our supply chain. moreover, the highway trust fund which provides contract authority for certain surface transportation programs will

face another funding shortfall according to the congressional budget office. particularly the cbo estimates the highway trust fund shortfall is more than 284 billion over the ten year budget window. this amount does not account for the cash cushions are always recommended. the committee will have to contend with the highway trust fund shortfall when we begin our work on the next surface-to-air petition reauthorization bill which will begin probably beginning next year. in the meantime the biden administration transmitted an additional supplemental appropriations request to congress which built on the request from last fall. i expect congress need to consider a supplemental appropriations bill to address the funding shortfall, the er program and other pressing needs in the coming months. as part of the legislation expect congress will have to consider the extent to which statue wears cost the

requirements for any er projects to be changed. in general, and er project has a federal cost are either 80% or 90% based on the type of highway bridge that is being repaired. my colleague senator cardin has introduced a a bill that would provide 100% federal funding to replace the key bridge. i want to raise a couple of issues and we would probably get this into the questions but i think i'll should consider as it evaluates whether 100% federal cost share is appropriate for this particular project. they key bridge was a revenue-generating asset with more than 56 million in total revenue collected in the europe 2023. 2023. my understanding is maryland dot intend for the new bridge to also be a toll facility, which means there is a source of funding for maryland's dot 10% cost share. in fact, this funding model for successful used to construct the mchenry tunnel in maryland.

marilyn reimbursed the federal government with revenue from the tunnel toll over time. as i mentioned earlier in my statement that are many important projects that are currently on the er backlog list. congress should determine an equitable basis for when er projects should receive a greater share of federal sherrington when it's allowed under the program statue. congress that require maryland to share and the cost of the project to replace the key bridge which will have revenue source, how can congress required in other recipient of your programs of funny to pay their costs of share? i i look for to gather informatn and feedback from our witnesses on this matter come also eager to hear providing updates on the status of the maryland unity efforts to reconstruct the bridge including in your updates on cost estimates and projects given responses to the request for proposals would u.s. market i look forward to rolling more

about how maryland dot plans to deliver this project what the agency will be able to utilize in existing authorities to expedite environmental review and the permitting process. i think i would use for being here and i think the chairman freddie. >> thank you, senator capito. we've invited several of our colleagues a couple of our college some maryland, senator cardin and senator van hollen to also make opening statements this day. senator cardin as you recall is a senior member of this committee. former chairman of the transportation and infrastructure subcommittee. senator cardin, welcome. you are recognized. >> chairman harper, thank you very much. senator capito, thank you for holding this hearing and for the courtesy of being able to testify. i want to also comment in regards to jen and off. we were collected together in 1986, so we were the same class in the house of representatives. we became close friends and house and close friends in the

senate. i admired him greatly for his integrity and his passion. the line i like most about what he would say is that a true conservative, as he was clearly come support money for infrastructure. [laughing] he was the great chairman of this committee so i thank you for that. it's good to be a with senator van hollen. i know we're far apart at this dais obliquely we're working, joined at the hip in regards to this issue and issues affecting maryland. march 26 was a tragic shot day for all of us in maryland. i was awoken early in the morning and look at the video and was shocked by how quickly the francis scott key bridge collapsed after being struck by the dolly. the loss of life was a major concern trying to rescue. we lost six people that tragedy. thoughts are always and our prayers and we're always with their families. the port of baltimore was

closed. the third busiest port in the united states closed as a result of the tragedy. the next morning workers have o place to go to work. and hundreds and thousands of people directly impacted by the port of baltimore being closed. is is is was shuttered small business operators have no business. it was a major catastrophic event for our economy. and by the way it affected the entire region, small business administration was there setting up an office immediately affecting businesses in six states. it affected the entire region of our country. in fact, it affected and the entire country because it supplies a lot of them of the agricultural wells fargo was affected throughout our country. it shut down a major artery, major artery of i-95. as a chairman pointed out over 30,000 vehicles a day.

i want to just first acknowledge the incredible unified response starting with the president of the united states president biden. he was a very direct about the federal response and use very helpful to all of us. i want to thank administrator bhatt and secretary buttigieg. they were there immediately providing the expertise and resources as store capital pointed out, $60 million was released immediately to deal with the cleanup operations of the bridge itself. i want to thank general spellmon and the kernel. i must tell you i knew that they were good. i did know they were this good. you are talking about as store capital said 50,000 tons of debris. and it was tightly contained so, therefore, when you start to try to move anything you have a spring effect that could very

well cause additional injury and damage and death. they couldn't see it all in one. end-use monitoring it with things were. the expertise was on -- unbelievable. i want to thank u.s. coast guard. they did an incredible keeping all people working in the same direction. secretary wiedefeld, our secretary of department transportation along with the governor work and baltimore city mayor scott all worked as a unified team at in order to do with the challenges of the families of the victims, to do with the businesses that were shuttered come to do with the workers come to deal with the port issues and do with replacement of the bridge. so, and as a chairman pointed out incredible thanks go out to our first responders. it is almost unbelievable to leak women lost six lives. the quick action of first responders kept other vehicles are big on the bridge. we're talking seconds, that's

all there was between the original alert and the bridge coming down, and available to prevent other cars from going on to the bridge, saving many lives. now come in regards to the bridge replacement, we have major issue. city streets are being now inundated by truck traffic. we've seen 18% increase increase in the tunnel traffic which is causing major delays through our tunnels, for hazardous materials and those who choose to take a detour around the beltway is a 25-mile detour through a part of the belt with it already was congested with major delays, now having even more major delays. but make no mistake about it, there's a serious impact until the bridge is replaced and is going to take a couple years, we recognize that. but we need to act quickly. that's why senator van hollen and i followed legislation to the bridge relief act because we need to know the certainty of the federal share.

let me just point out, we are not asking for one or present cassettes will be done in the past -- we are desperate we get now because we need contracts to start the construction effort we don't want to delay this. everybody that is delayed as additional loss to our communities. and frustration among drivers, not only those that are directly impacted by the port but those are using our streets. it is neighborhoods are impacted so we need to get this movie as quickly as possible. i point out that changing this to when a person is totally consistent with the prior practices that we done during emergencies. we did that for the i 35w bridge in minnesota. we did it for hurricane irma, hurricane maria, hurricane field for all those we change from 90% to 100% why? because it was a major event. senator van hollen and i come the maryland delegation strong

support our efforts on behalf of our sister state problems, and we expect we will get the same courtesy in reply. let me also point out that is a port by the administration director young sent a letter to us supporting this. let me mention the issue with regards to the toll issue as senator capito mentioned that. the toll issues in regards to this facility is totally consistent with the requirements in title 23. the toll revenues are not used to build a replacement bridge for the francis scott key bridge. it is used for the maintenance of our interstate system. it's already taken a major hit as result of francis scott key bridge being knocked out. we lost literally millions of dollars of revenue already and we are behind in the resources we normally get. this is not being used for replacement of the bridge. secondly, there would be recovered. we put that in the legislation. they are expecting record recovery from insurance and

third-party claims. that will be used to reduce dramatically the federal share. now, state and maryland all those funds go to the federal government, it would be penalizing the state of maryland if you required us to use our toll facilities to repay our 10%. so we think that would be totally unfair at a just have to be pretty honest about that. i think it would be penalizing our state. yes, i support the supplemental. we need to get the er funds up to what needs to be. we strongly support that, but let's be realistic. that's going to take some time before we get around to doing it. i would ask your support the first available vehicle for us to be able to get to cost share legislation passed. i think that's a matter of fairness and the ports for us to be able to move forward with this project. and without an glad to be with my colleagues. we will work together and work with the chairman and ranking them at all members of this committee in order that we can get this project and as quickly as possible. >> senator cardin, thank you for those words.

before i recognize senator van hollen, go back to jim in off. jim inhofe for those who remember was i don't mean this in unkindly, he was a climate change denier and very famous one of the most memorable things he did was i don't know those like springtime and we had likee a big snowfall here. he went out and gathered snow in front of the u.s. capitol and made snowballs and brought them in to us in the chamber and said come for those of you who think climate change ago, we call these snowballs. he ended up in the time he was here joining me as initially the only republican in house but later jim inhofe to be the cochairman, cosponsor of the diesel reduction commission act, has done a lot to help us in the panel on climate change. so god bless jim inhofe. thank you. chris, welcome. chris van hollen, who is i

think, mistaken pre-visit a member valued member of this committee and we're grateful if you can join us this morning. you are now recognized. go ahead please. at the appointed time they be right after senator van hollen i need to run over to the homeland security committee having a hearing on permitting which my colleagues know is a a big del for all of us and will have to step up and. >> when you step out can i take the chair and move my legislation forward? [laughing] >> i'll second that. >> no. [laughing] go right ahead, chris. >> thank you.mc thank you, chairman carper, ranking member capito. thank you both for remembering senator inhofe. thank both of you greeted by some sad news. a longtime former colleague and dear friend of many of us, jim

inhofe, passed away. as many of our colleagues are familiar, jim's path to the senate was an adventure on its own. honorable service in the army, small business success, undergraduate degree by way of nine different schools. by one account, even some prospecting on rare earth minerals. but what came to define his time in this body was more than his sheer competence and experience on such a dizzying array of to topics. more than his dogged determination on issues from infrastructure to the armed forces to african development.

what i suspect so many of our colleagues will remember most about jim was his honesty, his dec decency, and his deep faith. his love of god, love of country, and love of neighbor. it would be difficult for anyone to hope for a richer legacy than that. so this week, i know the senate is keeping jim's wife kay and the whole inhofe family in our prayers as they mourn a great man. now on an entirely different matter, as i said yesterday, nato members have taken some promising steps toward making the alliance fit for purpose. but now is not the time to get complacent. the threats we face are grave and growing. how we meet them will determine

the future of the order that has underpinned the free world's peace and prosperity for decades. our greatest adversaries are not beating around the bush. prc officials are stepping up their pressure against taiwan, standing on nato soil, china's ambassador to france suggested recently that china's civil war, quote, has not yet ended, and threaten the thatted mainland would -- that the mainland could expel the rebel regime in taiwan at any time. this comes from the same revision i think power that has exceeded too long in infiltrating our economy, supply chains and critical infrastructure with the promise of quick investments and easy

profits. not long ago, it was america falling prey to this alluring promise, but it's past time for european allies to learn from our experience. and it's time for america to correct our lingered mistakes as well. we cannot continue to stand by as chinese military modernization outpaces our own. we cannot abide defense budget requests that fail to even keep pace with inflation. the cold truth for all of us is this -- those who fail to take hard power seriously will learn that fighting wars is vastly, vastly more expensive than deterring them. just consider the neo-soviet imperialists with whom the prc has struck up an, quote,

unlimited partnership, unquoed. the -- unquote. the west's weakness and hesitation didn't just fail to deter putin's invasion of ukraine, it also invited a longer, costlier and bloodier conflict. and putin's brutal aggression, his reckless nuclear saber rattling, his militarization of space, his weaponization of energy, his repression of christians at home and in occupied ukraine, his coldblooded targeting of civilians, including a missile strike on ukraine's largest children hospital earlier this week, all of this is facilitated by china's support. of course, firmly knit into this same web of aggression is iran,

the perhaps the most notorious enablers of terrorist child murder in the world. the architect of slaughter across the middle east, the mastermind of houthi threats to international trade, and the world's most activity sponsor of terrorism r -- terrorism. iran continues to make determined progress toward a nuclear weapons capability. as the biden administration's director of national intelligence acknowledged just yesterday, the regime is also stoking aggressive and anti-semitic demonstrations on our soil, u.s. soil, against israel's response to the horrific attacks that taiwan enabled. our european allies, of course, are reckoning with a persistent strain of anti-semitism in their own politics.

serious allies ought to dispense with any wishful thinking of rapprochement under iran's newest president. make no mistake, the trans-atlantic alliance is growing larger, stronger, and more committed to the shared responsibilities of collective defense. and on the whole, we're staring down those connected threats with clearer eyes. but the alliance is only as strong as its weakest link and today it appears that one weakling in nato's chain wants to break it. last week, without coordinating with ukraine, nato, or the e.u., hungarian prime minister viktor orban showed up in moscow on a

self-aggrandizing peace mission, giving putin a chance to counterbalance the diplomatic pressure he's otherwise feeling. then he took to the pages of "newsweek" to accuse the alliance of seeking conflict rather than resolving it. how insidious, mr. president. hungary knows what soviet repression feels like. how in the world its leader could mistake nato's efforts to help ukraine defend itself against russian aggression or the pursuit of war is beyond me. either ukraine -- neither ukraine nor nato provoked russia into invading ukraine in 2014. neither ukraine nor nato provoked russia into escalating its conflict in 2022. as i've said, it was the west's failure to meet russian

aggression with strength that emboldened putin. unfortunately, mr. orban's curious soft spot for authoritarians isn't limited to the aggressor that ironically drove hungary to join nato in the first place. this week he also found time to visit beijing to reinforce what both hungary calls an all strategic partnership. well, republicans in washington who fashion themselves both national conservatives and china hawks should pay more attention to mr. orban's actions and ask themselves if they are consistent with american interests. it's certainly difficult to explain away the data.

three years ago hungary accounted for less than one percent of chinese investment in europe. last year it received more than 44%. with an economy smaller than kentucky, hungary attracted more chinese foreign direct investment than europe's top three economies combined. i thought america and our allies were supposed to be reducing our reliance on the prc. money talks, so perhaps it's not surprising that orban finds time to confer with president xi but his government has gone out of its way to slow-walk government assistance to ukraine. and it chased deeper trade ties with iran.

a publicized call between hungary's foreign minister and his new iranian counterpart with not a word of criticism of tehran's support for terrorism, maligned activities across the middle east, or support for russia's wars of aggression. -- war of aggression. so much for orban's pursuit of peace. madam president, the most successful military alliance in human history didn't get this way by letting dictators and theo crates -- theocrats each our lunch. friends of israel should have no time for myths of constructed engagement in an iranian regime that underwrites the slaughter of jews. nato members ought to know better, and many do, but clearly

we have a lot of work still ahead of us. now on another matter, last month two judges approved by president obama ruled against one of president biden's cornerstone efforts to buy votes, the so-called save plan. by one estimate, this iteration of the biden administration's student loan socialism scheme would transfer about half a trillion dollars from borrowers to taxpayers by arbitrarily lowering payments to those who borrowed less than $12,000. now, as i've mentioned before, the policy is not just costly, it's profoundly, profoundly unfair. working taxpayers who opted not to attend college, folks who

worked their way through college to avoid taking out loans, and families who sacrificed and saved for their children's education are all now on the hook to pay somebody else's bills. even left-leaning scholars have noted that this policy is regressive. by one analysis, nearly one-third of all student debt is held by the highest earning fifth of american households. meanwhile, the lowest earning fifth of households hold only 8% of the debt. just last month, one congressional staffer earning more than $80,000 thanked president biden publicly on social media for forgiving his $8,000 student loan. working families are struggling with high prices, high interest

rates, the direct and predictable results of the biden administration's runaway spending spree, but now washington democrats expect them to pay the bills of some of the highest earning elites. talk about adding insult to injury, even obama-appointed judges are now agreeing with republicans that the policy is illegal. last month's ruling confirmed that the president does not have the authority to wave a magic wand and lower student loan payments. washington democrats love to crow about how the federal judiciary has co-opted by shadowy right-wing extremists. they have gone to shameful lengths to degrade the legitimacy of the supreme court. but when even judges appointed by a democratic president are siding with the republicans, it might be time for our deletion look in the mirror and ask who the extremists really are.

i suggest the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. quorum call: the clerk: ms. baldwin.

>> our thoughts and prayers continue to be with those families. soon after the collapse maryland governor moore declared a state of emergency underuse army corps of engineers baltimore district under leadership of the kernel is davisson mentioned several times this morning active in the district emergency operations center and 13 in motion. our state-of-the-art survey vessels which serve to verify depth and width of our federal channels were deployed to support initial search and rescue dive operations. our support default as a joint and multi agency effort across all levels of government to form a unified command here i've been

a part of numerous disaster response operation of the past nine years and my time at the corps of this unified team and by use coast guard rear admiral guillory and captain o'connell is one of the best i've seen. they are amazing leaders. the guidance from the president to me was clear from the beginning. he called me early on morning of march 26 and told me the corps' topic or did someone was removed the wreckage from the navigation channel and get reopened. we had three tools at our disposal to move fast and execute this patient. with the right authority, funding and contracting and capacity. we use are existing authority for the baltimore harbor. in 1970, as authorized the army corps to construct maintain a 700-foot wide by 50-foot deep channel at the bridge location of the channel was folded block of the wreckage of the key bridge. to get started that morning we use available fiscal fis3 and 24 operations and maintenance funding for the

baltimore harbor channel project. to advance our work we conducted a series of internal emergency reprogramming actions using authority given to us by congress when we put to work age and unused funding from 220 harbor maintenance trust fund projects across the country. at the third till was our contact capacitor were fortunate to have a standing interagency agreement with u.s. navy supervisor of salvage and tidy. i can us in a positive words about these incredible men and women. from the u.s. navy and their industry partners. they are true world-class professional and very good at what they do. each have an amazing experiences, expertise and a suite of contracting tools that gave us access to superb salvage companies on this case that contractor is from newark, new jersey. with these tools in place would begin a complex task of determining how to be concluding approximately 50,000 tons of concrete and asphalt and steal from the river and for every

one's context that is equivalent to over 200 statute of liberty worth of material. after conducting extensive diving and engineering analysis and the presiding officer: without objection. mr. schumer: so, mr. president, this week the city of washington becomes the command post of liberal democracy. it was my great honor to join earlier this morning with leader mcconnell and with my democratic and republican colleagues welcoming to the senate the secretary-general of nato as well as leaders of the u.k., germany, sweden, and finland. for the first time ever we were proud to welcome the leaders of nato's twoest new members, sweden and finland. standing in the same room with nato's newest members, sweden and finland was a proud moment for our senators. it was a culmination of the work that began for years -- two years ago whether the senate in a bipartisan way overwhelmingly

approved their accession to the alliance. i told the leaders of nato that america will never turn its back on the alliance. i told them the senate will always hold up its end of the bargain to support nato and ensure we have the tools to keep the free world safe. and i urge everyone in the room to continue standing firmly with ukraine. i applaud the members of nato for their major announcement of a new round of aid that will help soldiers on the battlefield, brave ukrainian soldiers. later today, i will also meet with ukrainian president zelenskyy at a bipartisan meeting of senators. and we will affirm yet again that the u.s. stands with them until the job is done. a few months ago the senate showed what leadership looks like by passing a sweeping supplemental package that delivered weapons, ammo and air defense missiles for ukrainian soldiers. unfortunately, sadly, many extremists on the hard right led by donald trump didn't want to

send so much as a nickel to help ukraine. they would have preferred to let putin have his way in europe. the hard right softness towards putin is a prime example of why they cannot be trusted to protect america on the world stage. i'm grad their -- glad their opposition to ukraine aid was ult mately unsuccess -- ultimately unsuccessful but a majority of republicans in this chamber voted against this aid. what really bothered me, mr. president, is so many of the republican -- the republican party has been a strong anti-communist, hawkish party since the days of ronald reagan, maybe earlier. and all of a sudden when donald trump whose knowledge of foreign policy is negligenceable, to put it kindly -- it's often wrong -- they turn around 180 degrees and oppose giving aid to ukraine and instead start to smile upon putin. that, my fellow americans, is a warning of what a republican-controlled senate

would do if god forbid trump becomes president. they would turn around on all their principles. donald trump could on a whim say something and all of a sudden, yes, sir, they'll march in line with him. this ukrainian example was a sad one. so this week we saw why the supplemental was so important and why america must stand with the ukrainian people after putin's forces obliterated an entire wing of the largest children's hospital in kyiv. i mention this to our nato leaders and the heads of sweden and finland and germany and britain who are at our meeting. what a vicious man putin is, a children's hospital. you see the pictures of these children who are trying to survive cancer. when you see pictures of children like that, many with their shaved heads and putin bombs the hospital? what a despicable man, what a brute. that's who we're dealing with, world. that's who we're dealing with, america, when it comes to

vladimir putin. his savagery is an example of why donald trump's vision is so dangerous at this moment because a trump administration would make a putin victory far more likely. thankfully that's not the case. instead of breaking nato, putin's war has made nato even stronger. it must continue to be that way until the ukrainian people see victory and peace is restored to eastern europe. now, on choice. today the senate will vote on reproductive freedom for women act. senate republicans must answer a very simple question. do they believe that women should be trusted to make their own health care choices? yes or no? will republicans stand with the majority of americans? stand with the mainstream and stand against donald trump by affirming a woman's fundamental right to choose? will republicans show courage and declare as most people in this country prefer that the basic protections of roe v. wade

should be the law of the land. i want to thank senator murray from the great state of washington for leading this bill and every single female senator on our side of the side of the aisle for cosponsoring it. today's vote will not be the end of the struggle to secure reproductive freedoms, but it's an important step forward. americans want to see where their senators stand. by voting on these bills on women's health, we are moving the issue forward because it's a very important and very reasonable for members to be called on to take a position on a vital issue. of course, many republicans would rather sweep reproductive health under the rug saying it's political, but this is not political. this is the essence of what elected government is like. we all know these issues are deeply personal to so many people. and americans ought to be able to see how their senators vote.

all year long senate republicans have shown everyone just how out of touch they are with the mainstream. when senators blocked federal protections for contraception, when they blocked protections for ivf, they chose maga extreme over the american people. when donald trump pushed not one, not two, but three radical justices to the supreme court with the explicit goal of overturning roe, senate republicans confirmed them without question. it was trump who said, quote, if we put another two or three justices on the court, that will happen, unquote. every time senate republicans have gotten a chance to do the right thing this year, they have consistently doubled down on their antiwoman agenda. just yesterday senate republicans again and again came to the floor to block commonsense legislation to protect women's reproductive freedoms. of course, if my republican colleagues take issue with being called out for their bad record on women's issues, they have

another option. they should vote yes today. maybe it will happen. unlikely but you always hope. if republicans don't think women, on the other hand, are second class citizens, they should vote yes -- if the republicans don't think women are second class citizens, they should vote yes. if republicans do in fact trust women to make their own reproductive choices, they should vote yes. i urge them, do the right thing. and i remind them, america is watching. now, on the u.s.-mexico steel announcement. this morning the biden administration announced new joint actions with mexico to prevent china and other countries from tariffs on steel and aluminum. for years the industry has been harmed by the chinese communist party schemes to flood markets with products that are artificially cheapened thanks to subsidies from the chinese communist party. one of the most common

examples -- common ways the cp uses tariffs and launders its steel into the u.s. market is through mexico. earlier this year i visited a steel producer in central new york, new course steel in auburn, new york. many good-paying jobs in that beautiful plant. i visited the plant to bring attention to a dangerous pattern in our steel industry. i called then on the administration to take action to stop the steel surge from china by preventing the ccp from using mexico as a backdoor entrance into the united states. i'm glad to see this morning that the biden administration responded to my concern by taking action to strengthen u.s. steel and aluminum. we have some very fine aluminum plants in upstate new york as well. this announcement is a major step towards protecting u.s. markets from being flooded with cheap chinese-made steel and aluminum imported through mexico. the ccp's unfair practice, the

chinese communist party's unfair trade practices have devastated companies and union steelworkers across the u.s. and especially in industrial places, places like auburn in central new york, mussina in the north country who simply aren't competingon a level playing field. ccp's behavior endangers our national security because it weakens our supply chains used by our military and transportation systems. so the administration's action is great news for america's safety and for communities in states like new york, ohio, pennsylvania, and others who know the grief of watching manufacturing jobs leaving for china. i applaud the administration for taking action to stop the chinese communist party's unfair trade practices and we will keep working to make sure american workers, manufacturers, and industrial regions are not left on the world stage. and just one other note. upstate new york has a major role in convincing america and

their senator about china's unfair practices. when i visited crucible steel in syracuse in 2003, the owner said to me, accident scene is manipulating its currency. it makes it much harder for steel abroad and china to compete with me here in america. senator graham and i back then teamed up and worked and worked and worked to see that that -- this manipulation of currency which affected steel was put an end to and we've gotten -- we've made some significant progress. there's still more to make, even now. i yield the floor and note the absence of a quorum -- no. you're ready? i yield the floor and note the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. quorum call: the clerk: ms. baldwin.

mr. reed: mr. president. the presiding officer: the senator from rhode island. mr. reed: mr. president, i ask that we dispense withed calling of the quorum -- with the calling of the quorum. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. reed: thank you, mr. president. i rise today to pay tribute to a great gentleman, a dear friend, a colleague, and in many cases a battle -- senator jim inhofe. he was an extraordinary gentleman. and you can't say gentleman enough when it came to jim inhofe. he was a man of humility, decency, and of kindness.

and he touched everyone he met with those qualities. he was also a man of deep prin principle, but what made him a great senator, in fact one of the best that has served in this body, is that he was always looking for principle's compromise. he was always trying to reach across the aisle and see if he could, working with others, find a way forward that would be better for the country. so i was terribly saddened to learn yesterday of jim's passing. he was a leader. he was a gentleman. he was all that we expect a senator to be, and much more. i was honored to serve alongside jim for three decades -- he had served on the armed services committee in the house and the senate. i had the privilege to serve with him as a member of the

senate armed services committee. we were, in turn, both chairman and ranking members. both the senior republican and senior democrat on the committee, for many years. and we produced nearly two dozen national defense authorization acts. we traveled to combat zones and military posts around the world, and worked to support our men in uniform -- men and women in uni uniform. as i said before, there are many issues we disagreed upon, but we were able, in many, many, if not most, cases to find a way forward. one of the issues i think that is so compelling in jim's life is that as a young man, he was in the army. and he knew what it was like to serve and sacrifice and dedicate yourself to a cause beyond personal ambition and personal

aggrandizement. and he learned also something that was profound, and reflected in all of his work on the committee, that the decisions that we make here ultimately affect the lives of young americans in uniform across the globe. he knew that. he understood that. so he was not sitting back here thinking about, well, how will this affect this company and that company. it's are we doing best for the young men and women that have dedicated themselves to the country, that will sacrifice even their lives for this country? are we doing as much as we can for the families that are serving with them? that profound sense of service that he incubated as a young army soldier, he carried through

his senate career. he always insisted on speaking to the junior nco's and junior servicemembers. you know, we all get a briefing by the general about here's the situation, sir. but he wanted to get down and talk to privates and specialists and seamen and airmen and say, what's going on? how are things going? are you getting adequate rations? is this working from your perspective? again, adding to the quality of his service was this sensitivity. he truly understood the people who serve in the uniform in the united states. he made sure to support those troops. he sponsored critical legislation to improve their lives, whether by overflowing barracks or creating new benefits for military families. he and i worked together on

countless efforts to provide better pay, health care and equipment to our servicemember and women. this nation and our military is stronger today because of jim inhofe, and safer today because of jim inhofe. he had a way to look ahead. i remember when i was serving as ranking member with john mccain, and we were thinking about what's going to face us, and jim was there with us, talking about the pacific defense initiative, how we have to begin to put more resources in the pacific. and then, before the invasion of ukraine, the european defense initiative. we have to be able to be flexible and to counter the thrust of a potential outbreak of war. we were positioned in europe to help the ukrainians because of jim inhofe's work over many,

many years. i'm especially proud that the armed service committee voted to name the 2022 defense bill the james m. inhofe national defense authorization act. it was a fitting tribute and honor. again, an extraordinary leader, with legislative skills, the capacity for hard work, always places the troops and his fellow oklahomans first. he never forgot about oklahoma. he never forgot about their needs. he was in there fighting every step of the way. and i will be very, very -- i am very, very grateful for the kindness he extended to me. just an amazing gentleman. and i think i speak for the senate armed services committee, and i think i speak for all the senate, we will miss him dearly. i want to express my deepest

sympathies to kay, his wife, his wonderful family. he would admit, without any reservation, that he was able to do his job because of the love and support of kay and his family. they were there with him every step of the way, and in their moment of sorrow and sadness i offer my sincerest condolences. mr. president, may we all strive for the wisdom, courage, and humility that senator jim inhofe imparted upon this great nation and this senate. i also want to salute my colleagues today, senator lankford, who is carrying on that tradition of integrity and decency, as is senator thune and senator cornyn. i thank them for letting me say a few words about my friend, jim inhofe. with that, mr. president, i would yield the floor.

mr. thune: mr. president. the presiding officer: the republican whip. mr. thune: thank you, mr. president. mr. president, i want to join with senator reed and so many of my colleagues today as we express our great sorrow in learning about the death of senator jim inhofe. jim was an icon here in the senate. he was a personal inspiration to me. when i first got here, i was impressed -- when i first got here, he was the chairman of the environment and public works committee in the senate, and worked with me. my first legislative accomplishments came as a result of him and his staff working with me to help me establish myself as a new senator and to

do the work that the people of south dakota sent me here to do, and he made that possible, because of just the way that he led the committee, his understanding of what it takes to get things accomplished here in the united states senate, and i'm grateful for his legislative prowess, for his leadership as a chairman of not only that committee but later the senate armed services committee. and i'm grateful for his tireless work ethic. my first trip actually as a senator abroad was to iraq, and i went with senator inhofe. and i can tell you, from traveling with him, and i know anybody who traveled with senator inhofe, knew that he had boundless energy and an ability to work people half his age under the table. he was a truly remarkably durable and passionate advocate

for this country, a man of deep convictions, and as was pointed out by senator reed, somebody who had a connection with the rank-and-file military because of his virility background. every -- because of his military background. everywhere we went, soldiers respected him for that, and the leadership that he provided in national security matters. i also had the opportunity in oklahoma to visit, to travel the state a little with him. i flew in an airplane with senator inhofe. he was a renowned pilot. everybody knew that was one of his great passions in life. there wasn't anybody around him ever who had the opportunity to interact or work with senator inhofe who wasn't impressed by that powerful work ethic that he brought for the people of oklahoma and the people of this country. i know in traveling abroad with him, i saw that firsthand. i know his many trips to africa,

oftentimes to war-torn countries, where he built relationships, advocated for american ideals, and was a tremendous example and witness on those trips. i'm grateful for his leadership in so many ways, and for the impact that he had, not only to the people of oklahoma, the people of this country, but people all over the world who he touched by his work, by his efforts, and by his character. i also want to say, finally, probably most importantly, mr. president, above all, i'm grateful for his christian witness. jim was a man of deep and profound faith, and it showed up literally as i mentioned in every aspect of his life. for many years, he hosted chaplain black's bible study in his office, providing a place for senators from both parties to gather for prayer and study. i don't think, and i think chaplain black could probably validate this, that jim ever

missed a session of that bible study. while the bible study has continued without him, and is still i would argue one of the most significant hours we spend here each week, i know that all of us miss being welcomed into jim's office, with i jim made -- which jim made easy for us to find by hanging ithca symbol outside of the door. my thoughts and prayers are women jim's wife, kay, and with his family. jim will be sorely missed. in the midst of the sorrow, i'm also comforted by these words from the apostle paul, these are words that i know jim deeply believed, quoting here, brothers and sisters, we do not want you to be uninformed about those who sleep in death, so you do not grieve like the rest of man kind who have no hope. we believe that jesus died and rose again, and believe god will bring with jeffs us those who have -- with jesus those who have fallen asleep with him.

with the archangel and trumpet call of god, the dead in christ will rise first, and so we will be with the lord forever, and therefore encourage one another with these words, end quote. mr. president, i yield the floor. mr. cornyn: mr. president. the presiding officer: the senator from texas. mr. cornyn: mr. president, i want to join with my colleagues and say a few words celebrating the tremendous life and times of james mountain inhofe. he had a great name. and it seemed to fit him amazingly well. my memories of senator inhofe were similar to those that senator thune mentioned, that when i came to the senate he was the chairman or ranking member of the environment and public works committee. i remember him telling me one

time, he said, i'm a true conse conservative. i believe in a strong national security, lower taxes, and infrastructure. and of course, the job of the environment and public works committee was largely to handle the regular highway bill reauthorization and funding, and he was true to his word. he believed, as a true conservative, in these three important things. he said pretty much everything else we do is wy down the -- is way down the list in terms of priorities. but perhaps the time i remember the most is working with him when he was leading the armed services committee. i know he believed there was no more important job for us to do, those of us who have the privilege of serving in the united states senate or congress, than to defend and protect our country and our way of life. and he believed that with all of

his heart and all of his mind. and so, the exercise that we do every year, which is called the national defense authorization a act, which we've done i think now 63 years in a row, he was passionate about making sure we did that on time and got it done, because of his commitment not only to our national security but to the men and women who serve our country in uniform, and the families that love and support them. and he was passionate about making sure we did our work and supported them and kept our country safe and our way of life protected. his physical stamina was legendary. you've already heard some of our colleagues talk about some of his trips around the world.

some of our colleagues, when they travel, believe in what i would call almost a death march pace. and certainly, senator inhofe believed in making the most of his overseas travel. but frankly, most of them were focused on either supporting our men and women in uniform, most recently in iraq and afghanistan, but also making sure that he got the most out of those trips. and so if you agreed to go with him, chances are you wouldn't get much sleep, but you would get a chance to see and do a lot. but he would regularly make his trips to africa, where he reached out to leaders in that country and through the common belief and a common faith. and he was very active in the national prayer background check fta. i -- the national prayer

breakfast. i remember he would almost always be at the senate prayer breakfast where those of us who can attend from time to time, it's one of the times when we sort of take our mask off, where we are not republicans or democrats, and where we share a common faith. and this is something that i know was very important in his life. and certainly he was a wonderful example, an exemplar for the rest of us in how to be a whole person, not just a political animal coming here and maybe a performance artist, but somebody who was a genuine human being who had a strong found in his faith and strong beliefs and convictions about what he was here to do. one of the things i will never forget is his annual quail hunt in altus, texas. texas -- excuse me, altus,

oklahoma. we call it oklahoma sometimes. but we share a common border and a lot of common interests, one of those was the annual quail hunt in altus. it was a great community event there primarily connected with the air base and trying make sure that community support was strong for that air base in altus. but i would go up to his each year and then he would come down to one that i have in hondo, texas, outside of san antonio. the other thing i remember -- and senator lankford, i know, has carried on this great tradition -- is that they have their annual quail breakfast here in d.c., not something that you ordinarily find on your breakfast table here in d.c. but they would have an annual

quail breakfast with the altus delegation each year. i think we've lost a great man, a great senator, a great human being, a great friend, and i wanted to come to the floor and express my cone dolenses -- condolences to kay and his family for hear loss. and we share their sense of loss, but we also share in their celebration of a great life lived. he had a good run. not a lot you can complain about in terms of living to 89 years old and having the sort of fulfilling life and accomplishments that he had in his life. so we do want to send our condolences to the family because we know they're grieving now. but we also want to hold up jim inhofe as an example of what we should all aspire to as senators -- a great

representative of his state, a great human being, and a great, great friend. mrs. fischer: mr. president. the presiding officer: the senator from nebraska. mrs. fischer: mr. president, i i ask unanimous consent that the following senators be allowed to complete their remarks prior to the scheduled roll call votes -- myself, senator lankford, and senator rounds. the presiding officer: without objection. mrs. fischer: thank you. mr. president, my colleagues and i are here today to honor the life our former colleague, senator jim inhofe. jim was a longtime legislator, a public servants and conservative champion. he was many things to many

people. to me, jim was a dear friend. jim and i are both from the heartland, so we shared a similar world view as well as a commitment to similar people. the humble, hardworking americans from the center of this country. jim was fierce in his convictions. jim was serious in his work. he was also plain-spirited with deep compassion for others. but perhaps more than all of these things, jim was a visionary who used his positions in public life to build a better future for his state and for this country. he recognized the profound importance of public infrastructure investment, from highways to airports to levees and much more. jim's legacy can be felt all across america's heartland.

jim and i worked together on the senate's armed services committee. a veteran himself and an avid pilot, jim was a fighter from members members of our military. if jim was leading an international trip to visit were servicemembers across the globe or to meet with america's allies, that trip would be all business. we'd sleep on the plane and we would be in a different country every single day. i remember on one tritrip we were forced to -- on one trip we were forced to slow down a little bit when we lost a plane engine. you heard that right. we lost a plane engine, so we needed to stay in a country an extra day while the repairs were going to be made. that didn't mean we had a vacation. what jim did he found ways that

he could be relentlessly efficient with all of our time, and his energy and his motivation to do the people's work was infectious. near the end of his senate career, jim served as ranking member on the armed services committee, and he was one of the first members of the senate to recognize how seriously the world has shifted since the cold war and how desperately we needed to rebuild our military in response to that. he had a very clear view of the global threats that america faces -- both present and future -- and he led accordingly. jim respected the design of the senate as a place where every state's needs should be

considered. he valued cooperation. he valued collaboration. and he wanted our annual defense bill to reflect the concerns of all of the committee members. he was resolute in his views and fierce in their defense, but he was always kind and caring. he built strong friendships with all of his colleagues, and despite many disagreements, he would have these relationships so much so that a close democrat colleague once described him as a brother to her. and, of course, you cannot speak of jim without speaking of his family. anyone who knew him knew how much he loved his wife kay. he was a devoted husband,

fathers, and grandfather. the only thing that convinced him to leave decades of public service to people of oklahoma was his desire to care for his wife. my heart goes out to kay and to his three surviving children, molly, jimmy, and katy. may god comfort them in their sorrow and may jim's long life of love and service be a balm to their grief. america knew jim. america will remember him as a principled man deeply committed to his values. the people of oklahoma, they

knew exactly who he was, and that's why they reelected him to the united states senate five times. his legacy will live on. as a friend, as a husband and father, as a veteran, as an oklahoman, as united states senator, and as a very good man. thank you, mr. president. i yield the floor. mr. rounds: mr. president. the presiding officer: the senator from south dakota. mr. rounds: thank you, mr. president. i think many of us come down here to the floor with prepared remarks because we want to be precise in what we say, but

after listening to my friend from nebraska and her remarks, i have to admit that some of the memories that she has of jim inhofe are very similar to otomemories that i have -- to the memories that i have of jim. and before i go into fully prepared remarks, i just wanted to share with you that i don't know that anybody else has the record that jim has of the number of snowballs that have been tossed on the floor of the senate. jim is one of those guys who could get away with coming in with a snowball and then looking at a young page and say, be ready to catch this when i throw it at you. and in the middle of climate change and the fact that he disagreed with a lot of the new idea, he would pick up a snowball and show it to everybody and then toss it over to one young page, who him he'll sure will never forget that as long as as he lives. jim made friends every place he went. he had his own ideas about how things should look like and

proceed. in the vast majority of cases, he was right. but he also wanted to have a discussion with other people. he liked to have debate. they were friends, as far as he was concerned, and you could have disagreements among one another and still be friends. jim was one of those guys who truly believed that if you were his friend and you disagreed with him, 80% of the time you were never going to be an enemy. you were always going to be a fishermen. i've traveled all over the world with jim. and no matter where he went, he went in what he called, the spirit of jesus. he believed that that christian value that he had was the conduit between people from all different faiths and that in his opinion -- and as long as he was prepared to share chicagos faith -- -- to share his faith -- he was going to be welcomed and he was. i don't think people realize that this guy from the middle

part of the united states of america was a guy who later on could say that he was a man who shared a prayer with moammar qadhafi in qadhafi's tent. but he did that because he thought it was the right thing to do. jim was my friend. he was a mentor, and the way that he treated other people is the way that i think all the rest of us should treat people. jim's wife, kay, became a very special friend to both myself and my late wife, jean. she treated both of us with that respect and that acceptance that you don't always get, and yet you see it as being very, very sincere. we became part of their family, and we'll never forget that. you see, jim inhofe was a true

ambassador for his state, his ccurrencing and most importantly -- his country, and most importantly jesus. whether he was in another country or attending our weekly senate prayer breakfast, he loved sharing his faith with others. we shared a love for aviation. he was one of my best friends in the united states senate. jim often said that real friendship did exist in the senate, even if the news wouldn't necessarily show it. to jim, it didn't matter if someone was a republican, a democrat, or an independent. he put political parties aside to get things done and trusted and respected the colleagues he worked with. many of us in this chamber are lucky to have worked with jim and to have called him a friend. i especially appreciated his leadership and partnership while working together on the senate

armed services committee. jim worked tirelessly each year to make sure that the senate passed legislation providing for our national security and for our servicemembers through the national defense authorization act. it was fitting and well-deserved as a tribute to have the james m. inhofe national defense authorization the authorization act for the fiscal year year 2023 signed into law. he made many contributions on national and international stage, including his deep love and appreciation for the people of africa. particularly ethiopia. he developed meaningful relationships across the world through a shared love of jesus, and our world is better off because of it. my thoughts and my prayers go out to jim's wife kay and to their family.

jim has slipped the surly bonds of earth. now he can put out his hand and touch the face of god. i will miss my friend jim. thank you, mr. president. a senator: mr. president. the presiding officer: the senator from oklahoma. mr. lankford: in honor of jim inhofe, i'd like to ask unanimous consent to speak as long as i so desire. the presiding officer: without objection.

mr. lankford: i'm standing today at not my desk location. i'm standing at my senior senator's desk location. this was the location for jim inhofe's desk two years ago when he retired from the senate. and as you've heard from multiple different members today, he'll be deeply missed. i still have a moment every time someone says the senior senator from oklahoma, and they're speaking to me, that i turn around and look for jim. because he'll be sorely missed. jim was my friend, he was my colleague, he was a mentor, he was a person to be able to work side by side with. our staffs worked very well together because we chose to work well together and to be able to get things done for our state of oklahoma. my task today is to tell a little bit of a story. i can't do that in a few minutes, but i'm going to try to give as much as i can. james mountain inhofe -- and

everyone loved that middle name of his, james mountain inhofe was actually born in iowa in 1934. his parents perry dyson inhofe and his mom blanche feebie mountain. that's where the mountain came from. most folks don't even know, but the nation and our state was forever changed when at 8 years old their family moved from iowa to tulsa, oklahoma. he graduated from central high school in 1953, later graduating from the university of tulsa but actually attending classes all over the place to be able to get to that graduation. he served in the united states army from 1957 to 1958 stationed in fort lee, virginia, became a licensed pilot in 1958, and that was one of the loves of his life. but the real love of his life was his relationship with jesus and his beautiful wife kay, who he married in 1959.

he was first elected to public office in oklahoma at 32 years old actually. he served in the oklahoma house of representatives, sat on multiple committees and then was elected to be the mayor of tulsa in 1978. he loved tulsa, oklahoma. he later served in the united states house of representatives from 1987 to 1994, and then was elected in a special election to this body in 1994, was sworn in on november 17 actually of 1994 on his 60th birthday. he then served five terms, after that serving in the united states united states senate, serving as chairman of the environment and public works, chairman of armed services, multiple committees, intelligence committee, committee on foreign relations, commerce, science,

transportation, small business. he was engaged in this body and worked to be able to find ways to be able to make a difference for our state of oklahoma and for the nation. he loved flying and had over 11,000 flight hours. in fact, he did a crazy thing, which he did multiple crazy things, but he did a crazy thing that he replicated, i should say re-created oklahoma wylie flight when he got in a cessna and flew from d.c. to moscow all the way back to alaska so he could circumnavigate the globe after wylie post's scircumnavigation f the globe as well. he was passionate about national defense and infrastructure, two constitutional responsibilities, and he fulfilled that well. he was passionate about trying to find ways to be able to help

veterans and those that were serving in our military and to be able to maintain energy. there's a great story of a debate that he held about energy taxes on the floor of the senate here, and it was a full-on debate, which rarely occurs in this body very often, but it was led by senator inhofe on this side of the aisle and by senator bernie sanders on the other side. and they had an hours' long debate between the two of them about energy taxation. at the end of that there was a vote and senator inhofe won that vote 2-1, where at the end of it senator sanders came to him and said we don't do that often enough. we should do that more. because senator inhofe never hesitated to be able to talk about the hard issues with people that he p disagreed with and to be able to say let's figure it out. when i attended dianne feinstein's funeral not that long ago, senator barbara boxer from california immediately found me at the funeral and said

how's my friend jim? for a very conservative oklahoman, had a long-standing friendship with a very liberal californian, and they found ways to be able to work together. as jack reed mentioned earlier, a democrat from rhode island and a republican from oklahoma worked very hard on national defense and found their common ground together. though there are many things that jim inhofe will be recognized for, he will be remembered for his work in africa. jim inhofe visited 172 african country visits in the time he served in the senate, more than any other senator in the history of the senate. he spent in africa. he visited leaders over and over again in africa developing deep relationships and friends.

every time i meet an african leader here in washington, d.c. and they hear i'm from oklahoma, the first or second thing they'll say to me is do you know my friend jim inhofe and i will proudly say yes and that african leader will say he's been my friend for years because jim inhofe intentionally went to africa developing relationships. the reason we have an africom military focus in that area is because of jim inhofe. there are relationships that he built across the years there that brought down violence in africa, because when violence began to erupt in some countries, jim would get on a plane and would fly and would get the two leaders that were in conflict because he knew them both, together, and say we're going to pray together and we're going to resolve this right now. and he did. and while most of the world doesn't know what jim inhofe did in africa, he will be long

remembered for his faith, his love for his family, and for what he did over and over again for the people of oklahoma and for africa. he was the longest-serving senator for the state of oklahoma. and he will be long remembered and appreciated in my great state. he will be appreciated by many of the staff members that worked alongside of him. i can assure you of that. he had 34 staff members that worked for him more than 10 years. for anyone that's in this body, we know how rare that is, because staff members tend to come and go. but for jim, he wanted to be able to build camaraderie among his team. he wanted to do serious hard things, but he often did it among his staff in a nonserious way. he was notorious for the way, quite frankly, he tormented his staff, bugged them, hazed them, and challenged them to be able to step up and to be able to do

hard things and figure out how to get things done. ryan jackson, who was his future chief of staff, on his first day on the job as a young campaign staffer, jim inhofe picked him up in oklahoma city, they drove out for a campaign eefrpt in -- event in western oklahoma for that event, and then jim went back to tulsa not through oklahoma city and told ryan figure out how to get home. which he did to multiple staff members over the years because he wanted to be able to push them and to say figure it out. that was always his challenge to his staff. figure it out. by the way, that didn't scare ryan off. he stayed with him 18 years, and that young campaign staff member later became his chief of staff. he had many rules, but the top rule that he had was on his airplane, no one touch the door of his airplane but him. that was a fireable offense for

any staff member that wanted to be able to touch the airplane door except for him. he also had a book that he would pass out to his staff all the time called "message to garcia." that book is a story about a young soldier given a task by a general and was basically told he has to be able to figure things out. so he would hand that book to staff members and would say read this, you need to be able to know this. and a staff member on his team, when he turned a memo in to jim inhofe and it wasn't sufficient, would get just the message on it, mtg written on it. in other words, message to garcia. go figure this out and come back and tell me what needs to be done. he was also, as has been mentioned by multiple of my colleagues, an extremely hard worker. his staff says they worked half a day for jim, 7:30 in the morning until 7:30 in the evening, half days. if you got into the office, jim

inhofe's office, if you arrived at 8:30, he would greet you with a good afternoon statement to you to be able to welcome you in. he had many opportunities to be able to to do ministry and challenges to people in africa and it was a deep love for him in multiple countries, but probably no more so than in western sahara, where he fought tenaciously for the independence of those individuals in western sahara with morocco. in fact, so much so that western sahara officials gave him a camel which obviously he couldn't accept nor bring home, and so he told them just hang on to it. i can't actually accept this camel and take it home. so when he visited western sahara every time, they would bring the camel back to the airport to show him they're still hanging on to his camel. they still have it. i have to say there's a million stories about his leadership and

his interaction, but his staff tells great stories about their friendships and relationships. i've been to many a place where jim would turn and look into the crowd and would identify what he called the has beens that were in the crowd. those were the staff that were his former staff that showed up at just about every event he would go to because of their deep love for him, even though they had left the staff. wendy price, when she first got her job as securely, was put on -- as scheduler, was put on probation because jim felt she was too young. she stayed on probation for 20 years and would still be working with jim today if he hadn't retired. i have to tell you there's a lot of characters about jim inhofe, and i've read some of the stories in the newspaper of things that some of the press

writes about him. i can only read those stories and shake my head and say jim would have loved that because ep didn't allow liberal press to be able to define him. he worked across the aisle. he worked to get things done, and he spent time doing the things that needed to be done for the future of the country, including at a moment when president trump was elected and many of jim inhofe's staff was actually put into the epa and had drove "the washington post" crazy, that many of jim inhofe's staff from epw went to the epa and the "washington post" wrote a blistering story about it, jim inhofe bought a ton of the copies of "the washington post" and started handing it out to people so they would all read and would know he is fully aware of what people say but he's going to work to get stuff done for the country. i will miss my friend, and i'll

continue to pray for kay and for his family as they grieve. and i say to them psalm 34:18. the lord is near to the brokenhearted, and he saves those who are crushed in spirit. they grieve for their husband, dad, their grandfather, many of us grieve for our friend. but this senate will miss jim inhofe. so will our nation. with that, i yield the flo psalm. the presiding officer: under the previous order, the question is on the nomination. is there a sufficient second? there appears to be. the clerk will call the roll. vote: the clerk: ms. baldwin. mr. barrasso. mr. bennet. mrs. blackburn.

mr. blumenthal. mr. booker. 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.

the clerk: the clerk: mr. crapo. mr. cruz. mr. daines. mr. fetterman. -- 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.

the clerk: mr. wicker. mr. wyden. mr. young.

the clerk: senators voting in the affirmative -- baldwin, bennet, casey, collins, hickenlooper, kaine, king, merkley, murkowski, murray, ossoff, padilla, reed, shaheen, tester, warner, welch, whitehouse. senators voting in the negative -- cassidy, cornyn, cramer, crapo, johnson, lankford, paul, rounds, smchmit, sullivan, tuberville, wicker. mr. cotton, no.

ms. lummis, no.

the clerk: mr. peters, aye. the clerk: mr. durbin, aye. mrs. blackburn, no. ms. hassan, aye.

mr. warnock, aye. mr. murphy, aye. mr. ricketts, no. mr. braun, no. mr. boozman, no. mr. marshall, no.

vote: the clerk: mr. hawley, no. # mr. barrasso, no. ms. duckworth, aye.

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

the clerk: mrs. capito, no.

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

the clerk: mrs. fischer, no. ms. ernst, no. the clerk: ms. rosen, aye. mr. lujan, aye.

the clerk: ms. hirono, aye. mr. fetterman, aye. mr. vance, no.

the clerk: mr. kelly, aye.

the clerk: mr. schatz, aye.

the clerk: ms. warren, aye.

the clerk: mr. wyden, aye.

the clerk: mr. heinrich, aye.

the clerk: mr. grassley, no. mr. blumenthal, aye. the clerk: mrs. gillibrand, aye.

the clerk: ms. stabenow, aye. ms. cortez masto, aye.

the clerk: mr. daines, no.

the clerk: mr. booker, aye. mr. carper, aye. mr. tillis, aye.

the clerk: mrs. hyde-smith, no.

. mr. thune, no.

the clerk: mr. manchin, aye.

the clerk: ms. smith, aye.

the clerk: mr. budd, no. the clerk: mr. cantwell, aye.

the clerk: mr. van hollen, aye.

s the clerk: mrs. britt, no.

the clerk: mr. risch, no. vote: the clerk: mr. graham, no.

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

the clerk: mr. hagerty, no.

the clerk: ms. klobuchar, aye.

the clerk: mr. mullin, no. the clerk: mr. scott of south carolina, no. mr. young, no.

the clerk: mr. lee, no.

the clerk: mr. rubio, no.

the clerk: mr. kennedy, no.

vote:

senior democrat on the committee. for many years. and we produce nearly two dozen national defense authorization acts. we traveled to combat zones and military post around the world, and work to support our men in uniform, men and women in uniform. and as a said before, there are many issues we disagreed upon, but we were able in many, many, if not most cases, find a way forward. and one of the issues i think that is so compelling in jim's life is that as a young man he

was in the army, and he knew what it was like to serve and sacrifice and dedicate yourself to a cause beyond personal ambition and personal aggrandizement. and you learned also something that was profound and reflected in all of his work on the committee. that the decision that we make here ultimately affect the lives of young americans in uniform across the globe. he knew that. he understood that. so he was not sitting back here thinking about well, how will this affect this company and that company. it's, i we doing best for the men and women that have dedicated themselves to the country, that will sacrifice even their life for this country? are we doing as much as we can

for the families that are serving with them? that profound sense of service that he incubated as a young army soldier, he carried through his entire career. he always insisted on speaking to the junior junior ncos and junior servicemembers. we all get a briefing by the general from here's the situation, sir. but he wanted to get out and talk to privates and specialists and seamen and airmen and say, what's going on? how are things going? are you getting adequate -- is this working from your perspective? and again, adding to the quality of his service with the sensitivity. he truly understood that people who serve in uniform in the united states. any nature to support those troops.

his critical legislation to improve his lives creating your benefits for military families. and he and i worked together on countless efforts to provide better pay and health care and equipment to our servicemen and women. this nation and our military is stronger today because of jim inhofe. and safer today because of jim inhofe. he had a way to look ahead. i remember when i was serving as the ranking member with john mccain and we were thinking about what's going to face us. and jim was there with us, talking about the pacific defense initiative, how we have to begin to put more resources in the pacific. and then before the invasion of ukraine, the european defense initiative, we have to be able to be flexible to counter the thrust of the potential outbreak

of war. we were positioned in europe to help the ukrainians because of jim inhofe work over many, many years. i am especially proud the armed service committee voted to name the 2022 defense bill the jim inhofe national defense authorization act. it was a fitting tribute and honor. again, extraordinary leader with legislative skills, the capacity for hard work, always placing the troops and his fellow oklahomans first. he never forgot about oklahoma. he never forgot about their needs. he was in there fighting every step of the way. and i would be very, very, i am very, very grateful for the -- just an amazing gentleman.

and i think i speak for the senate armed services committee and i think i speak for all the senate, we will miss him dearly. i want to express my deepest sympathies to k, his wife, his wonderful family. without any reservation, he was able to do his job because of the love and support of kaye and his family. they were there with you every step of the way. in their moment of sorrow and sadness i will send my sincerest condolences. mr. president, may we all strive for the wisdom, courage, and humility that senator jim inhofe imparted upon this great nation and the senate. also want to salute my colleagues that are here today, senator lankford who is caring on that tradition of integrity and decency as senator thune and

senator cornyn. thanks in -- say a few words about my friend, jim and off. with that, mr. president, i will yield the floor. >> mr. president? >> the republican whip. >> thank you, mr. president. mr. president i want to join with senator reed and solo -- so many of my colleagues today as we express our great sorrow in learning about the death of senator jim inhofe. jim was the icon here in the senate. he was a personal inspiration to me. when i first got here -- hold on. first got here, he was a chairman of the environment and public works committee in the

senate, and worked with me. my first legislative accomplishments came as result of him and his staff working with me to help me and establish myself as a new senator and to do the work that the people of south dakota sent me here to do, and he made that possible because of just the way they led the committee, his understanding of what it takes to get things accomplished here in the united states senate. and i'm grateful for his legislative prowess, for his leadership as a chairman of knowing that committee but later the senate armed services committee. and grateful for his tireless work ethic. my first trip actually as a senator abroad was to iraq, and i went with senator jim inhofe. and i can tell you traveling yog with him and he knew anybody who is traveled with senator jim inhofe new that he had boundless

energy and an ability to work people half his age under the table. he was truly a remarkably durable and passionate advocate for this country, a man of deep convictions and as reported at by senator reed, somebody who had a connection with the rank-and-file military because of his military background and anyplace that we went we would meet with soldiers who respected him for that, the connection had but also for the leadership he provided for a country when it came to important national security matters. i also had the opportunity in oklahoma to visit come to travel the state although that within. i flew in an airplane with senator inhofe and he was a renowned pilot. i think everybody knew that was one of his great passions in life. but there wasn't anybody who was around him ever who had the opportunity to interact with our work with senator inhofe who wasn't impressed by that powerful work ethic that he

brought for the people of oklahoma and for the people of this country. and i know traveling abroad with him i saw the first ten. i know his many trips to the continent of africa, oftentimes to war-torn countries where he built relationships, advocated for american ideals, and was a tremendous example and witness on those trips. i'm grateful for his leadership in so many ways and for the impact he had not only to the people of oklahoma, , the people of this country, but people all over the world who he touched by his work, by his efforts. and by his character. i'd also want to say, finally, probably most important, mr. president, above all on grateful for christian witness. jim was a man of deep and profound faith, and it showed up literally as i mentioned in every aspect of his life. for many years he hosted chaplain blacks bible study in

his office providing place for senators from both parties to gather for prayer and study. i don't think anything chaplain blacks could probably validate this, that jim ever missed a session of that bible study. and while the bible study has continued without him and still i would argue one of the significant hours that we spend your each week, i know that all of us miss being welcomed into jim's office, which jim bade easy for us to find by hanging the signal outside his door. try to my thoughts and prayers today are with jim's wife, jim's wife kay and with his family. jim will be sorely missed. but in the midst of the sorrow i'm also comforted by these words from the apostle paul, these are words i know jim deeply believed. brothers and sisters, we do not want you to be uninformed by those who sleep in death so you do not reflect the rest of mankind who have no hope.

we believe jesus died and girls begin as we believe god will bring with jesus those with falling asleep in him. the lord himself will come down from heaven with a loud command with the voice of the archangel and with a trumpet call of god and the dead in christ will rise first. so we will be with the lord forever. therefore, encourage one another with these words, end quote. mr. president, i yield the floor. >> mr. president? >> senator from texas. >> mr. president, i want to his vote, the ayes are 50, the nays are 43 and the nomination is confirmed. 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. a senator: mr. president.

ms. smith:mr. president, i ask unanimous consent that the mappedtory quorum -- mandatory quorum call with respect to the wagner cloture motion be waived. the presiding officer: without objection. the clerk will report the motion to invoke cloture. the clerk: 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 623, anne marie wagner, of virginia, to be a member of the federal labor relations authority, signed by 19 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 anne marie wagner, of virginia, to be a member of the federal labor relations authority, 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 clerk: senators voting in the affirmative -- cantwell, capito, cardin, casey,

cortez masto, heinrich, hickenlooper, kennedy, ossoff, peters, sanders, schatz, smith, warner, welch, and wyden. mr. tester, aye. senators voting in the negative -- barrasso, blackburn, hoeven, lee, moran, mullin, and rubio. mr. brown, aye. mr. tillis, no.

the clerk: mr. young, no. the clerk: mr. cotton, no. mrs. murray, aye. mr. johnson, no. ms. klobuchar, aye.

the clerk: mr. lankford, aye. mr. reed, aye. mr. cornyn, no. mr. risch, no.

mr. fetterman, aye. the clerk: mr. durbin, aye.

the clerk: mr. daines, no.

the clerk: mr. merkley, aye. mr. wicker, no. the clerk: mr. bennet, aye. mr. rounds, aye.

mr. tuberville, no. mr. rounds, no. the clerk: mr. schumer, aye. mr. booker, aye.

the clerk: mr. mcconnell, no. ms. collins, aye. mr. schmitt, no. mr. warnock, aye. mrs. shaheen, aye. mr. coons, aye.

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

vote:

the clerk: mr. sullivan, aye. mr. cassidy, no. the clerk: mr. lujan, aye.

mrs. hyde-smith, no. the clerk: ms. ernst, no. the clerk: mr. hawley, aye.

the clerk: mr. grassley, no. the clerk: mr. carper, aye.

mr. vance, no. the clerk: mr. crapo, no. ms. warren, aye.

the clerk: mr. ricketts, no.

the clerk: mr. king, aye.

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

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

the clerk: ms. rosen, aye. mr. graham, no.

the clerk: mr. scott of south carolina, no. mr. budd, no.

the clerk: mrs. gillibrand, aye.

the clerk: mr. braun, no.

the clerk: mr. padilla, aye. the clerk: ms. duckworth, aye.

the clerk: ms. lummis, no. mrs. britt, no. mr. marshall, no. the clerk: mr. kelly, aye.

the clerk: ms. baldwin, aye. ms. hassan, aye.

>> becomes the command post of liberal democracy. it was my great honor to join with leader mcconnell can and my democratic and republican

colleagues welcoming to the senate the secretary-general of nato as well as leaders of the u.k., germany, sweden and finland. for the first time ever. we were proud to welcome the leaders of nato's twoest new members, sweden and finland. standing in the same room with nato's newest members, sweden and finland was a proud moment for us senators. it was a culmination of the work that that began two years ago when the senate, in a bipartisan way, overwhelmingly approved their accession to the alliance. i told the leaders of nato that america will never turn its back on the alliance. i told them the senate will always hold up its end of the bargain to support nato and ensure we have the tools to keep the free world safe. and i urged everyone in the room to continue standing firmly with ukraine. i applaud the members of nato for their major announcement to the new round of aid that will help soldiers on the

battlefield, brave ukrainian soldiers. later today i'll also meet with ukrainian president zelenskyy at a bipartisan meeting of senators, and we will affirm yet again that the u.s. stands with them the until the job is done. a few months ago the senate showed what leadership looks like by passing a sweeping supplemental package that delivered weapons, ammo and air defenses and missiles to the ukrainian soldiers. unfortunately, sadly, many extremists on the hard right, led by donald trump, didn't want to send so much as a nickel to help ukraine. they would have preferred to let putin have his way in europe. the hard right's softness towards putin is a prime k356r78 06 why they cannot be trusted to protect member on the world stage. i'm glad their opposition to ukraine aid was ultimately unis successful, but a majority of republicans in this chamber voted against that aid. and what really bothered me, mr. president, was so many of the republican party has been a

strong, anti-communist, hawkish party since the days of rand reagan, maybe earlier. ronald reagan. and all of a sudden when donald trump whose knowledge of foreign policy is knell liberal to put it kindly, it's often wrong, they turn around and do 1800 degree -- 180 degrees and oppose giving aid to ukraine and instead start to smile upon putin. that, my fellow americans, is a warning of what a republican-controlled senate would do, god forbid, trump becomes president. they would turn around on all their principles. don trump could, on a whim, say something and all of a sudden, yes, sir, they'll march in line with him. this ukrainian example was a sad one. so this week we saw why the supplemental was so important and why america must stand with the ukrainian people after putin's forces obliterated an entire wing of the largest children's hospital in kyiv.

i mentioned this to our nato leaders expect heads of sweden and finland and germany and britain who were at our meeting. what a vicious man putin is, a children's hospital. you see the pictures of these children who are trying to survive cancer, you know, when you see pictures of children like that, many with their shaved heads. and putin bombs the hospital? what a despicable man, what a brute. that's who we're dealing with, world. that's who we're dealing with, america, when it comes to vladimir putin. his savagery is an example of why donald trump's vision is so dangerous at this moment, because a trump administration if would make a putin victory far more likely. thankfully, that's not the case. instead of breaking, instead of breaking nato, putin's war has made nate toe even stronger -- nato stronger the. it must continue to be that way until the ukrainian people see victory and peace is restored to ian europe. now on choice -- eastern europe.

today the senate will vote on reproductive freedom for women act. senate republicans must if answer a very simple question, do they believe that women should be trusted to make tear own health care choices -- their own health care choices, yes or no? will republicans stand with the majority of americans, stand with the mainstream and stand against donald trump by affirming a woman's fundamental right to choose? are republicans show -- will republicans show courage and declare, as most people in this country prefer, that the basic protections of roe v. wade should be the law of the land? i want to thank senator murray from the great state of washington for leading this bill and and every single female senator on our side of the aisle for cosponsoring it. today's vote will not be the end of the struggle to secure reproductive freedoms, but it's an important step forward. americans want to see where their senators stand. by voting on these bills on

women's health, we are moving the issue forward because it's a very important and very reasonable for members to be called on to take a position on a vital issue. obvious, many republicans -- of course, many republicans would rather sweep reproductive health under the rug saying it's political, but this is not political. this is the essence of what elected government is like. we all know these issues are deeply personal to so many people, and americans ought to be able to see how their senators vote. all year long senate republicans have shown everyone just how out of touch they are with the mainstream when senates blocked for federal protections -- senators blocked federal protections for contraception, for ivf. they chose maga extremism over the american people. when donald trump pushed not one, not two, but three radical justices to the supreme court with the explicit goal of overturning roe, senate

republicans confirmed them without question. it was trump who said, quote, if we put another two or three justices on the court, that will happen, end quote. every time senate republicans have gotten a chance to do the right thing this year, they have consistently doubled down on their anti-woman agenda. just yesterday senate republicans again and again came to the floor to block common sense legislation to protect women's reproductive freedoms. of course, if my republican colleagues take issue being called out for their bad record on women's issues, they have another option. they should vote yes today. maybe it will happen. unlikely, but you always hope. if republicans don't think women, on the other hand, are second class citizens, they should vote yes. if the republicans don't think women are second class if citizen, they should vote yes. if republicans do, in fact, trust women to make their own reproductive choices, they should vote yes.

i urge them, do the right thing. and i remind them, america is watching. now on the u.s.-mexico steel announcement, new joint actions with mexico were announced to prevent china and other countries from evading tariffs on steel and aluminum imported through mexico. for years america's steel and aluminum industry has been harmed by the cheese -- chinese communist party schemes to flood markets thanks to subsidies. one of the most common examples, common ways the ccp avoids tariffs and -- its steel into the u.s. market is through mexico. earlier this year i visited a steel producer in central new york, new core steel in auburn, new york. many good paying jobs in that beautiful plant. i visited the plant to bring attention to a dangerous pattern in our steel industry. i called then on the

administration to take action to stop the steel surge from china by preventing the the ccp from using mexico as a back door entrance into the united states. i'm glad to see this morning that the biden administration responded to my concern by taking action to strengthen u.s. steel and aluminum. we have some very fine aluminum if plants in upstate new york as well. this announcement is a major step towards protecting u.s. markets from being flooded with cheap chinese-made steel and aluminum imported through mexico. the ccp's unfair practice, the chinese communist party's unfair trade practice have is devastated companies and union steel workers across the u.s. and especially in industrial places. places like auburn in central new york, messina in the north country who simply aren't compete on a level playing field. the ccp's behavior also endangers our national security because it weakens our domestic supply chains used by our military and transportation

systems. so the administration's action is great news for america's safety and for communities and states like new york, ohio, pennsylvania and others who know the grief of watching manufacturing jobs leaving for china. i applaud the administration for taking action to stop the chinese communist party's unfair trade practices, and we will keep working to make sure american workers, manufacturers and industrial regions are not left on the world stage. and just one other note. upstate new york has a major role in convincing america and their senator about china's unfair practices. when i visited crucible steel up in syracuse in 2003, the owner said to me china's manipulating its currency. it makes it much harder for me to sell steel abroad, and it makes it easier for china to compete here in america. lind is city graham and i, senator graham back then, teamed up and worked and worked and worked to see that this

manipulation of currency which affected steel was put an end to, and we've gotten -- we've made some significant progress. there's still more to make even now. i yield the floor and note the absence -- no. you ready? >> [inaudible] >> i yield the floor and note the absence of a quorum. >> yesterday morning the senate was greeted by some sad news. a longtime former colleague and dear friend of many of us, jim inhofe, passed away. as many of our colleagues are familiar, jim's path to the senate was an adventure on its own. honorable service in the army, small business success, undergraduate degree by way of nine different schools.

by one account, even some prospecting on rare earth minerals. but came to define his time in this body was more than his sheer competence and experience on such a dizzying array of topics. more than his dogged determination on issues from infrastructure to the armed forces to african development. what i s&p 500 so many of our colleagues -- suspect so many of our colleagues will remember most about jim was his honesty, his decency and his deep faith, his love of god, love of country and love of neighbor. it would be difficult for anyone to hope for a richer legacy than that. so this week i know the senator senate is keeping jim's wife kay

and the whole inhofe family in our prayers as they mourn a great man. now, on an entirely different matter, as i said yesterday, nato members have taken some promising steps toward making the alliance fit for purpose. but now is not the time to get come place is sent -- complacent. the threats we face are grave and growing. how we meet them will determine the future of the order that has underpinned the free world's peace and prosperity for decades. our greatest adversaries are not beating around the bush. prc officials are stepping up their pressure against taiwan, standing on nato soil china's

ambassador to france suggested recently china's civil war, quote, has not yet ended and threatened the mainland could expel the rebel regime in taiwan at any time. this comes from the same revisionist power that succeeded for too long in infiltrating our economies, supply chains and critical infrastructure with the promise of quick investments and easy profits. not long ago it was america falling prey to this alluring promise. but it's past time for european allies to learn from our experience. and it's time for america to correct our lingering mistakes as well. we cannot continue to stand by as a chinese military modernization outpaces our own.

we cannot abide defense budget requests that fail to even keep pace with inflation. the cold truth for all of us is this: those who fail to take hard power seriously will learn that fighting wars is vastlyily more expensive than deterring them. just consider the neo-soviet imperialists with whom the prc has struck up an, quote, unlimited partnership, end quote. the west's weakness and hesitation didn't just fail to deter putin's escalation in ukraine, it actually invited a longer, costlier and bloodier con fridge -- conflict. and putin's brutal aggression, his reckless nuclear saber rattling, his militarization of

space, his weaponization of energy, his repression of christians at home and in occupied ukraine, his cold-blooded targeting of civilians including a missile strike on ukraine's largest children's hospital earlier this week, alle, of this is facilitad by china's support the clerk will report the nomi nomination. the clerk: nomination, federal labor relations authority, anne marie wagner of virginia to be a member. a senator: madam president. the presiding officer: the senator from west virginia. mrs. capito: thank you, madam president, i rise today to remind the american people that from the day he took office, president biden a