vote:

the clerk: ms. stabenow, aye.

the clerk: mr. barasso, no.

the clerk: mrs. britt, no.

the clerk: mr. sullivan, no. mr. markey, aye. ms. klobuchar, aye. mr. casey, aye.

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

the clerk: mr. murphy, aye. mr. boozman, no. mr. schatz, aye.

the clerk: mr. booker, aye. mr. young, no. mr. durbin, aye.

mr. wyden, aye.

the clerk: mrs. capito, no.

the clerk: mr. peters, aye.

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

the clerk: mr. grassley, no.

the clerk: mr. mullin, no. the clerk: mr. reed, aye.

the clerk: mr. hagerty, no.

the clerk: mrs. blackburn, no. mr. merkley, aye.

the clerk: ms. sinema, aye. the clerk: mrs. shaheen, aye. mr. coons, aye. mr. budd, no.

the clerk: mr. cardin, aye.

the clerk: mr. mcconnell, no. test test test test test . vote:

the clerk: mr. schumer, aye. the clerk: mr. hawley, no. mr. cruz, no.

the clerk: ms. murkowski, aye.

the clerk: mr. van hollen, aye.

the presiding officer: have all senators voted? does any senator wish to change his or her vot? if not the yeas are 50, the nays are 41 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: madam president. the presiding officer: the senior senator from pennsylvania. mr. casey: madam president, i ask consent to speak for one mvent on the next nomination. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. casey: i rise for one minute to talk about judge saporito, someone i've known for decades,

someone who served, has served currently and for the last nine years as a magistrate judge in the united states district court for the middle district of pennsylvania. prior to his service as a federal magistrate judge, he served as an assistant public defender over the course of several decades, including at the same time doing private practice. so he has broad experience, has both, as both a magistrate judge, someone who has been in the courtroom, providing defense for people, and also serving in private practice. i have great confidence, and i think everyone who has dealt with him has confidence in his integrity, his judicial temperament, his ability to serve with distinction in the middle east district of pennsylvania. i urge a yes vote on the cloture vote as well as his nomination vote. i yield the floor. the presiding officer: the clerk will report the motion to invoke cloture. the clerk: cloture motion, we, the undersigned senators, in

accordance with the provisions of rule 22 of the standing rules of the senate, do hereby move to bring to a close the debate on the nomination of executive calendar number 709, joseph francis saporito jr. of pennsylvania to be united states district judge for the middle district of pennsylvania, signed by 17 senators. the presiding officer: by unanimous consent, the mandatory quorum call has been waived. the question is, is it the sense of the senate that debate on the nomination of joseph francis saporito jr. of pennsylvania to be united states district judge for the middle district of pennsylvania 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.

the clerk: 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 -- baldwin, cardin, casey, collins, coons, cortez masto, graham, kennedy, klobuchar, merkley, murkowski, reed, shaheen, sinema, warnock, wyden. ms. stabenow, aye. senators voting in the negative --

barrasso, budd, cotton, cruz, grassley, hawley, johnson, mullin, rounds.

the clerk: mr. crapo, no.

mr. brown, aye. mr. cassidy, no. mr. lankford, no.

the clerk: mrs. britt, no. mr. tillis, aye. mr. moran, no.

the clerk: mrs. gillibrand, aye.

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

the clerk: mrs. murray, aye.

mr. sanders, aye.

the clerk: ms. hirono, aye. the clerk: mr. hickenlooper, aye. mr. paul, no.

mr. thune, no.

ms. lummis, no. mr. ricketts, no. mrs. capito, no. mr. cornyn, no. mr. king, aye.

ms. duckworth, aye. ms. ernst, no.

vote:

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

mr. heinrich, aye. mr. bennet, aye. mr. rubio, no. the clerk: ms. butler, aye.

mr. risch, no.

the clerk: mr. braun, no. mrs. blackburn, no.

the clerk: mr. wicker, no. mrs. hyde-smith, no.

the clerk: mr. daines, no.

the clerk: mr. sullivan, no. mr. boozman, no.

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

mr. schmitt, no. the clerk: mr. cramer, no.

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

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

the clerk: mr. marshall, no. ms. cantwell, aye. mr. tuberville, no.

vote: the clerk: mr. schumer, aye.

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

the clerk: mr. whitehouse, aye.

the clerk: mr. manchin, aye. the clerk: mr. hagerty, no. mrs. fischer, no.

mr. mcconnell, no.

the clerk: mr. blumenthal, aye.

the clerk: mr. markey, aye.

the clerk: mr. welch, aye.

vote:

the clerk: mr. padilla, aye.

the clerk: mr. van hollen, aye.

the clerk: ms. rosen, aye.

the clerk: mr. tester, aye.

the clerk: ms. warren, aye.

the clerk: on this vote the yeas are ( 52, the nays are 39 and the motion is agreed to. the clerk will report the nomination. the clerk: the judiciary. joseph francis saporito jr. of pennsylvania to be united states district judge for the middle district of pennsylvania. mr. schumer: madam president. the presiding officer: the majority leader.

mr. schumer: in a few minutes senator klobuchar, chair of the rules committee, will ask for a unanimous consent request on two bills -- the protect elections from deceptive a.i. act and the a.i. transparency and election act. i want to thank senator klobuchar for her leadership on these bills and for her committee's bipartisan work to protect our elections from the potential harms of a.i. both of these bills, the protect elections from deceptive a.i. act and the a.i. transparency and election act, have bipartisan support. so the senate should support them and pass them without delay. madam president, we're less than 100 days out from the first national elections ever held in the anl -- age of a.i. a.i. has many incredible benefits but alongside those benefits come risks and the risks could be severe in our elections if we're not careful, if we fail to install proper p guardrails a.i. could jaundice

or totally discredit our election system as we know it. misinformation is already a serious problem in our elections but a.i. makes it easier than ever to generate and spread it. it's easier than ever to create deepfakes of candidates. a.i. has been used in robocalls to impersonate president biden for the purposes of misleading voters during the primary. and once that information is out, it's hard, often impossible, to put the genie back in the bottle. we have a chance today to pass precisely the kind of guardrails that would protect our elections from the risks of a.i. we have a chance today to make sure that our democracy is not atrophied or harmed, discredited because of these kinds of misleading arizona. these bipartisan bills would ban the use and material deepfakes that depict federal candidates and require disclaimers any time political ads use a.i. in a

substantial way. most americans i think would overwhelming agree these are reasonable guardrails and give voters peace of mind that a.i. isn't being used against them during election season without their knowledge. these bills have broad support. democrats support these bills, republicans support these bills. over 40 current former and election officials and national security experts support these bills. everyone recognizes the need to get something done. we're in a new world with a.i. it can do a lot of good things but it can cause some harms and our job is to maximize the benefits but decrease the harms. one of the harms could be these deepfakes in elections, and we must do something about it. a few months ago i worked with the senate's bipartisan a.i. working group which i created a year ago with senators heinrich and young and rounds to publish the first ever road map for a.i. policy. our road map detailed a swath of proposals the senate should consider to fortify our

democracy in the age of a.i. i'm very glad to see that some of these ideas we called for in our bill -- sorry. i'm very glad to see that some of the good ideas we called for in our a.i. policy road map, are reflected in these two bills. so i again thank, greatly thank senator klobuchar for championing these bills, for coming to our a.i. forums and hearing what had to be said and then beginning to take action to make sure the abuses don't occur. i look forward to working further with senator klobuchar, the rules committee, other chairs and committees to regulate a.i. before it's too late. i yield the floor. ms. klobuchar: madam president. the presiding officer: the senator from minnesota. ms. klobuchar: madam president, i thank the leader for his support for these bills but also for his bipartisan work on artificial intelligence, including the group that he put together with senator heinrich and senator rounds and senator young to really lead a bipartisan effort.

one of the major focus of that effort has been doing something on the democracy front. and while some of these bills actually passed through the commerce committee today on a bipartisan basis to start the initial work of some sensible guardrails on a.i., the democracy work actually can't wait because as the leader pointed out, we are less than 100 days from this election, and we're seeing states act across the country, red states, blue states, purple states, putting rules in place. i always feel our laws have to be as sophisticated as those that are trying to mess with them, and we cannot simply stand by on the federal basis for the federal elections -- we're not talking about messing around with state rules, they're doing their own rules. we're talking about federal elections when it comes to involvement with a.i. a.i., as we know, is set to become one of the most

significant technological advances of our time, like with any emerging technology it brings tremendous opportunity, but it also brings tremendous risks and uncertainties. i think david brooks, the columnist, put it well, when he wrote, the people in a.i. seem to be experiencing radically different brain states all at once. i found it incredibly hard to write about a.i., he said, because it is literally unknown whether this technology is leading us to have in our house. it is on us right now, as the elected representatives, to make the decision which fork we're going on. if we put no guardrails in place when it comes to scams, when it comes to messing around with people's intellectual property rights, when it comes to national security, when it comes to democracy, which is our topic to today, then we are not going to unleash the potential and great opportunities of a.i., because we will not have tout the

guardrails in place -- will not have put the guardrails in place to make itself. this means protecting ourselves from the significant risk a.i. poses without stifling innovation and working to preserve trust in business, government, and our election as we all adapt to this rapidly advancing technology. with this year's election so soon in front of us, we must put in place these commonsense rules. we have heard repeatedly about the potential of a.i. to upend our elections. all of our witnesses from both parties agreed that this was a threat when we had our hearings. at the bipartisan a.i. forum that i just mentioned, there was con census -- consensus that federal legislation is necessary, that disclaimers are not enough. by the way, these a.i. videos, fake robocalls or videos of people that aren't really the

candidates you don't like or do like, if you don't know who you are watching, how are you going to be able to make your decision as a citizen in this great democracy? by the way, these could be promoted by foreign governments, by foreign countries. we have seen this in canada, where they just completed an investigation and found china had mettled in their elections for parliament seats. this is happening right now, and we need the ability to take these things off, or at least label them so people know what they are viewing and what they are listening to. this is a hair-on-fire moment. a.i. has the potential to turbocharge the spread of d disinformation and deceive voters. this is happening to candidates on both sides. in the new hampshire primary, on the republican side, a video was released with fake a.i.-generated images of former

president trump hugging dr. fauci. that wasn't true. we've seen a.i. used to generate viral, misleading content about our colleagues in this chamber, including a fake video with elizabeth warren, that wasn't really elizabeth warren, telling people she didn't think that republicans should be allowed to vote. complete lie. it wasn't her, but it looked like her and talked like her. we have seen this all over the country, and that is why states have been acting. 18 states across the country have already passed laws in this area, including my home state of minnesota, which banned deepfakes of candidates 90 days before an election. texas has a ban on deepfake videos of candidates, and that passed unanimously. the minnesota bill was i think one person voted against it, democrats and republicans joined together to say we're not going to have these deepfakes, because

they could happen on either side, and our citizens aren't going to know if it's the real donald trump or the real kamala harris or if it is the real aim aim or -- the real asmey klobuchar or the -- the real amy klobuchar or senator fischer. alabama, arizona, california, colorado, florida, hawaii, idaho, indiana, michigan, mississippi, new mexico, new york, oregon, utah, washington, and wisconsin. if you listen to those states, you're not like those are all blue states or all red states. those are governors and legislatures that decided we cannot just take this as it's not going to be a problem, it's all fun and games. they've decided we've got to make sure our citizens know for state political advertising what is going on here. some tech companies are also taking action because they know that this technology has the potential to sow chaos in

elections, but we cannot rely on a patchwork of state laws where just about half the states, that's probably what it will end up being, end voluntary commitments, as important os those are. that's why as chair of the rules committee, we held a mark-up in may, where we passed three bipartisan bills to take this head on. i'm calling on the senate today to to pass, first of all, the bipartisan bill with senator hawley as the lead republican with me on this bill, with senator coons, senator susan collins, senator bennet and many others to ban a.i.-generated deepfakes of federal candidates within the framework of the constitution. so what does that mean? that means exceptions for parody and satire as well as reporting by news organizations. so we drafted this bill with democratic and republican lawyers in a way it could be

upheld in court under the constitution. our bill is supported by a bipartisan group of more than 40 national security experts and current former government officials, including former secretaries of defense chuck hagel, a republican, and leon panetta, a democrat, and secretaries of state from both parties. it was also endorsed by the former republican chairman of the federal communications commission -- federal election commission, as well as open a.i., microsoft, ibm and sa salesforce. these companies want to say this is a deepfake, not the actual cand candidate, and there's a law that says we have to take it down. that's what this is about, as well as allowing the defamed candidate, the person that is not really the person in the video or the ad or robocall, to sue whoever's done this to them. that is the way in other areas in our law we're able to stop bad content.

in the house, a bipartisan companion bill as led by representative derek kilmer of washington and tony gonzales of texas. with election day approaching, we have the opportunity to come together on a bipartisan basis to counter the threats a.i. poses to our elections and protect public trust and faith in our democracy. now, there's a second bill that i will call for in a moment, but that deals with things that are maybe parody or things that don't rise to the level of the deepfakes or are in a different category that could complement this bill as well, but this is for the worst of the worst. that is why we've had strong support from a conservative like senator hawley, who certainly is aware what the constitution says and what our rights are, moderate republican like senator susan collins, and many others to support this bill. so now i'll call for this bill,

as if in legislative session, and notwithstanding rule 22, i ask unanimous consent that the senate proceed to the immediate consideration of calendar numb 388 -- number 388, s. 2770, further that the committee-reported substitute amendment be agreed to, the bill as amended be considered read a third time and passed, and the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table, with no intervening action or debate. the presiding officer: is there objection? mrs. fischer: madam president, reserving the right to object, could i have the senator clarify which bill she called up? is it 2770? ms. klobuchar: 2770, the deepfake bill. the other is 3875, the klobuchar-murkowski bill, the disclaimer bill. mrs. fischer: thank you. thank you, madam president. like many of my colleagues, i am concerned about artificial intelligence-generated deepfakes in the context of political speech, and election

administration. but the protect elections from deceptive a.i. acts is not a solution to this problem. the bill recycles provisions from the partisan for the people act. it is overly broad, and it would prohibit the distribution of political ads that include a.i.-generated audio or visuals, including commonly used image and video editing programs. it greatly expands the regulation of protected speech and uses vague terms that will inevitably chill that speech. this bill does not balance first amendment rights with the evolving challenges that we have with the digital age. and therefore, madam president, i object. the presiding officer: the objection is heard. ms. klobuchar: madam president, i will note again that senator hawley is the lead republican on this bill, and i don't think for

a minute that he would allow for a bill that is something that he disagrees with when it comes to being radical, broad, or anything like that. he simply agrees with me, as does senator collins, that we have a major, major issue here with these deepfakes that are going to extend to, say, what happened in new hampshire, which involved a fake robocall ad from president biden that people believed was him calling on people not to vote. that case is, of course, being investigated by a republican attorney general, and a case is being brought in new hampshire. but the point is, this is just the beginning. we haven't entered the general election yet. that will start at the end of aupth. that is why -- at the end of august. that is why time is of the essence and why we drafted this bill with democratic and

republican lawyers in a method that was narrowly tailored so it would abide by the constitution. there is a second bill, which is senate filed 3875, that senator murkowski and i have. again, these two bills can mesh together. this is a bill that requires disclaimers on political ads substantially generated by a.i., and i note substantially generated by a.i. this is not about changing a hair color or doing a minor thing. while we must ban the most deceptive deepfakes, as i've desc described, in our elections, it's also critical voters know if ads they're seeing are made with this technology. this would especially help in cases of parody, in cases where, for instance, the video recently posted this last weekend by elon musk, which is a lengthy video which takes the voice of

candidate kamala harris, vice president kamala harris, and puts her exact voice into words and sentences that they did not say. while it's a parody, and it wouldn't fall under the deepfake ban, it should require, even by x's own rules, a disclaimer placed on this video. yet, there was no disclaimer. and i'm very afraid if we're going to allow this, and believe me, some people see that, and they need to be told that it is generated by a.i., because maybe they watch a few sflentences of it, they think it's her saying these things, which of course it wasn't, because they scrape together her voice to say things she didn't say, they're not going to know what it is. i talked to colleagues on both sides of the aisle, that have seen this kind of things done with some humor, so they don't make the cut for the deepfakes, but they believe they sawed say

that -- they sawed should say it's prepared by a.i., so people realize it's not the real voice of the candidate they like or don't like. this bill with senator murkowski is about making sure voters can make their own decisions about what they're seeing and hearing and how it is used to influence their vote. it is on solid constitutional ground, with the supreme court having repeatedly upheld disclosure laws. i don't think in the world you're going to be able to say this isn't constitutional. now, when the supreme court has held up these laws, and simply gives our citizenry a way to evaluate whether or not that is a candidate's real voice or not. there are days i cannot even believe i'm saying this, when all these conservative states like mississippi have actually put these laws into place for their own state political advertising, but in this chamber when it comes to federal candidates for the congressional

seats and the senate and the presidency, we've decided, no, we're going to let this go, let's see what happens, let's not know in our citizens are going to understand if it's us or not. we're not going to give them the courtesy of letting them know, with a disclaimer, that it is done with a.i. this bill incorporates feedback we heard at a rules committee hearing but making clear it does not apply when a.i. is used am in mine nor deepfakes. -- for minor adjustments. of the laws that regulate a.i., eight states across the political spectrum, including utah, which passed this law unanimously, have enacted laws to require disclaimers for a.i. political ads. that would include the state of florida. the state of florida has put this in place.

i would never have thought the state of florida is afed of the federal government -- is a head of the federal government when they made sure their citizens understood what they were looking at, new york, washington, have passed similar laws to this one. unless we claim that those laws that desantos signed a law that was unconstitutional, i don't believe it is unconstitutional many while some tech companies have policies to require disclaimers on ads like this, with this year's election approaching, we need a consistent standard. that is why it was endorsed by over ho 40 security sxerts and officials from -- experts. i ask that you support this bipartisan measure to ensure that voters are informed as they cast their ballot later this year.

senator fischer and i have worked together very well, chair and ranking member of this committee. i am hopeful for this bill when we come back in the fall that we'll be able to work something out so that at least disclaimers are required. madam president, as if in legislative session, and notwithstanding rule 22, i ask unanimous consent that the senate proceed to the immediate consideration of calendar number 389, s. 3775 -- 3875, that the committee-reported substitute amendment be agreed to, the bill, as amended be considered read a third time and passed and the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table with no intervening action or debate. the presiding officer: is there an objection? mrs. fischer: madam president. the presiding officer: the senator from nebraska. mrs. fischer: reserving the right to object. this legislation echos the honest ads act.

they failed to become law because they created new federal burdens on the gone daschle right -- foundational rights of americans. this does not resolve these concerns. i would welcome a thoughtful policy proposal to address the actual concerns posed by a.i.-generated deepfakes. instead my colleagues are attempting to recycle an already failed proposal. and therefore, i object. the presiding officer: objection is heard. ms. klobuchar: madam president. the presiding officer: the senator from minnesota. ms. klobuchar: with this can year's election now in less than 100 days, we must put in place commonsense rules of the law to address the risks that a.i. imposes for our democracy. we have heard repeatedly about a.i. could upend the elections,

both parties agreed this is a threat. at the bipartisan a.i. forum led with senators rounds, heinrich be and young, we heard consensus that federal legislation is necessary. the disclaimers are necessary for certain ads and for others we must take them down when they are pretending to be a candidate and voters deliberately and intentionally to mislead voters, i don't care what party does it, i don't care what super pacs does -- super pac does it, there somebody no way and these state legislatures have agreed with me, nearly unanimously, that we should have a disclaimer, much less to ban them which is what senators hawley, coons, and i are suggesting in the dooek bill. -- deep fake moment. this is why we must take action and i hope that when people see

what is going on through august, when sometimes early voting has started, we will give at least the tools to the platforms to be able to point to a federal law, most of these other state laws have just been adopted in the last few months and say this is not okay, that they have a right to at least require disclaimer on these ads just like they do on tv for various things and we've all seen it so that we all know what's going on. democracy dies in the darkness, as one newspaper said, and we are putting a veil over the people's faces if we're not allowing them to assess whether or not the person is really the person that they're looking at on their phone or hearing in an robo call. i think it's outrageous if we let this continue and i appreciate that there are republican governors in states and legislatures who see this

like i see it and there is bipartisan support for this in the u.s. senate, and i hope that in the fall we will revisit this. thank you very much.

mr. thune: madam president. the presiding officer: the republican whip. thune i understand -- mr. thune: i understand that we are not in a quorum call. the presiding officer: that's correct. mr. thune: america has been a place where if you work hard, you can get ahead, but it's more challenging in the biden economy. there have been serious setbacks that have made it harder to get ahead, it's in large part due to this administration's reckless spending. three and a half years ago vice president harris cast her first tiebreaking votes in the senate to advance a $1.9 trillion spending bill under the guise of pandemic relief.

she and our democratic colleagues had been warned that would risk setting off inflation unlike any we had seen in a generation, but they passed it anyway. inflation began to take off almost immediately. three years later, prices have gone up more than 20%, groceries are up 21%, the cost of car repairs up 31%, energy costs have gone up 40%. nearly every aspect of daily life is more expensive in the biden-harris economy and americans are struggling to make ends meet. more than one-third of he americans are worried about paying bills, they're pulling back on spending and putting more and credit cards. some people are even taking on extra work just to get by. but sometimes it's still not enough. as one new mom in missouri put

it, and i quote, it's just hard. i work full time, my husband works full time, i feel like at this point we're moving more towards survival mode rather thanthriving. end quote. another mom in virginia said of her sons and their wives, everyone is working as absolutely hard as they can, they're not farther ahead than their father and i were 30 years ago. another mom said, prior to inflation, i didn't have any debt, i didn't have any credit cards, never applied for a pay day loan or any of those things, but since inflation, i needed to do all those things. i've had to downgrade my life completely. end quote. well, madam president, they're not alone. for many are americans life in the biden-harris economy feels like a downgrade and it now

costs a typical family $13,000 more per year to enjoy the same standard of living enjoyed when president biden took office. $13,000 more per year just to tread water. that's an incredible strain on family's budgets. and it's not just higher prices, measures to tame inflation have also added to american's financial pain. to fight inflation, the federal reserve has been forced to keep interest rates high, which affects america's finances in a variety of ways. as i said, many americans have turned to credit cards to cope with inflation, and higher interest rates, in part, the result of the fed's actions are making credit card bills harder to pay down. same is true for car payments. and americans looking to own their own home are facing what one housing expert called, and i quote, the most challenging home

buying market we have ever seen, end quote. the average monthly mortgage payment is a staggering $2,600, the result of a combination of higher mortgage rates and higher home prices. the white house lass spent a lot of time to spin the economy as strong, but the american people aren't buying it. an economy where people are working harder and still struggling to get by isn't what most americans consider a strong economy. and it can't be america's future. i said inflation began accelerating as a rul of democrats -- result of democrats' reckless spending. that is not a republican talking point. it's a fact which democrat economists agree. if the biden-harris administration don't stop with

their spending. they in -- the administration's latest budget request is filled with burdensome new taxes and trillions in new spending. they want to see the tax cuts and jobs act expire, which would mean more tax increases. democrats still have plenty of other tax and spending ideas they would like to implement. madam president, the american have suffered enough. i don't want to think about what kind of economic pain we could see from another four years of democrats' reckless spending, and i hope, i sincerely hope that the american people will not have to experience it. madam president, as if in legislative session, and notwithstanding rule 22, i ask

unanimous consent that the senate now proceed to the en bloc consideration of the following senate resolutions which are at the desk. senate res. 785, senate res. 786, senate res. 787 and senate res. 788. the presiding officer: without objection, we will proceed en bloc. mr. thune: madam president, i ask unanimous consent that the resolutions be agreed to, the preambles be agreed to, and the motions to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table, all en bloc. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. thune: thank you, madam president.

mr. kennedy: madam president. the presiding officer: the senator from louisiana. mr. kennedy: madam president, i ask unanimous consent that i be permitted to speak for up to 20 minutes prior to the scheduled votes and that senator cardin be permitted to speak for up to ten minutes prior to the scheduled votes. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. kennedy: madam president, i ask unanimous consent that the following people who are my colleagues from my office for the summer be granted floor privileges until august 2, 2024. and i'm going to read their names. they are -- where are they? they're supposed to be sitting here in the back. they'll be in. tony, ask them to come in. kelly winestock, zane jones, gr

a. son knowles, thomas rimes, brooklyn hemphill, cameron runyan, and tim brusnan. i'm going to read those names again as my colleagues that are with me this summer are coming in and sitting here in the back. kelly winestock, zane jones, grayson knowles, thomas rimes, brooklyn hemphill, cameron runyan, and tim brusnan. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. kennedy: thank you, madam president. madam president, i want to speak for a few minutes about a favorite son in louisiana.

but to do that, i have to give my remarks a little context. i think, like most americans -- and i know like, madam president, i love animals. i grew up in a rural area in louisiana, and, let's see, we had dogs -- not all at the same time. but we had dogs, we had cats, we had hampsters, we had chipmunks, we had squirrels, we had alligators, baby alligators. now, the danger of a baby alligator is that they become a big alligator, and we used to keep our little baby alligators -- their names were tim and tuba -- in a big wash basin in our backyard, and we

put wire on the top. with the alligators, they were about this long, they are this the tub. why would you put wire on the top? because the neighborhood cats would try to get in there and eat them. well, tim and tubo grew, and they grew, and they grew, and one day we forgot to put those screen wire on the top of the wash basin with the water in which tim and tubo were residing. by this time, they were about this long. and one of our neighbor's favorite cats all of a sudden just had three legs. and would had to release tim and tubo at that point. dad said, no, tim and tubo are too big. we have to release them back into the swamp. we also had a baby possum, and i'm probably leaving some sar

-- varmints out. i love animals. i have two dogs at home. i wouldn't ask becky to choose between me and our pups. lloy when people bring their -- i love when people bring their dogs to work. i'm not going to wade into the subject of what kind of animal is best, but i think we can all agree that there's a special bond between our species and our animal friends. animals can teach us a lot. animals teach us love. animals teach us patience. animals teach us compassion. animals, especially dogs, teach us responsibility. animals teach us to appreciate god's creation. through our connection with animals, including but not

limited to dogs, we all gain a deeper respect for the world around us. now, in louisiana we have -- we're blessed to have many animal havens. some of our animals, of course, are wild. i can remember in my state when alligators were almost extinct. now we have more alligators than people, and by the way the alligators are surprisingly well-organized. so be careful. but we have a lot -- also have a lot of zoos. we have aquariums. none better than those in new orleans. and those of you who have been to new orleans may know this. new orleans is home to with a we call the audubon nature institute. that's a nonprofit that we set up in louisiana.

it operates the audubon zoo, uptown new orleans. the audubon aquarium on the riverfront, down near the border. the audubon louisiana nature center, the audubon center for research of endangered species -- of endangered species, and the audubon coastal wildlife network. sort of our group of institutions, all under the umbrella of the audubon nature institute. and they do -- also do world-class research and work in conservation. every year the audubon nature institute and all of its institutions that make it up bring thousands of louisianans and hundreds of thousands of visitors in our state closer to nature. it fuels their -- our love for

wildlife, and it fuels our love for the outdoors. but audubon park, where our zoo is located, our first institution before we added the aquarium and other animal havens, it wasn't always a prized institution. it wasn't. one man, one person had a lot of help, but one person led the effort to turn what most of us referred to as an animal ghetto -- our zoo in audubon park. it was, it was an animal ghetto -- in what today we call both an animal haven and an animal heaven. that man's name is ron forman.

ron forman. ron joined audubon park and zoo in 1972. that seems like yesterday to me, but to our pages here on the front row, that's a long time ago. ron started -- he was young. he started as liaison to city hall in new orleans. at the time, the zoo in audubon park, it was a disaster. it was just a disaster. the enclosures for the animals were small, they were dirty, they were really filthy. they were prisonlike. ron was asked to describe them one time. he said, they're prison-like. this is unacceptable.

the condition the condition in which we placed our animals, it was an embarrassment. and ron sensed that. he had the vision to be able to say, you know, i can lead an effort -- i'm not just going to go to government and ask for a bunch of money. i can lead an effort, ron said, in the community to build support for the zoo. and he did. and he not only improved the zoo, we have an aquarium, we have an insectarium, we have an r&d, a research and development park, we have a conservation park. ron forman delivered. he delivered the human species, and he delivered for our animal friends. by 1977, ron had climbed the

ranks and he became director of the audubon zoo. and then he took off, and so did our zoo and our animal havens. he led the effort to transform audubon park, which you know is right across from tulane university, into the audubon nature institute, which as i sad is the nonprofit -- which as i said is the nonprofit zoo logical system that we know today. ron helped -- and he had a lot of help. i mean, there are thousands of people, but ron led the charge, he helped transform a cramped and dirty zoo into a state-of-the-art network including a zoo, an aquarium, an insectarium, gardens, research institutions and conservation efforts. and the audubon nature institute has thrived -- it hasn't been

easy, but it has thrived, in large part, substantial part, because of ron forman. now, we got hit by hurricane katrina, and it was bad. when we did, the audubon zoo and the insect -- and the aquarium and audubon park were terribly damaged. ron didn't get discouraged. he saw the zoo, for example, as a beacon of hope, not an object of depression, but a beacon of hope. first of all, because of the precautions that he and his team took, we only lost three animals in the storm. -- at the zoo. and if if you've been to the zoo, there are trees everywhere. it is just a small miracle. god smiled on us in that respect. the aquarium, unfortunately, down on the river suffered substantial, substantial losses. it wasn't easy to rebuild all

these facilities. it was very, very hard. but ron forman understood. he understood instinctively that -- we needed to get these institutions back up on their feet because families needed a place to go to forget their hardships. hurricane katrina hit in late august. ron forman stood up. i thought he lost his mind. he stood up and he said, i'm going to have audubon zoo reopen by thanksgiving weekend. we were hit in august. forman stands up in front of god's country, louisiana, and say. i'm g.e.ing to have the zoo -- i'm going to have the zoo open by thanksgiving weekend. i thought ron had been drinking. i said it can'ting done. i didn't say -- i said it can't be done. he said, quote, we're a city

without kids and families and a city without kids and families right now because so many of our families and kids have left is a city without soul, it is a city without heart, so we just thought it was critical to get the thing open for thanksgiving weekend. and he did. the zoo opened on thanksgiving weekend. we were able to give thousands of parents and children a sense of normalcy and optimism during the holiday season, at a very difficult time for my state and for my city. now, ron also led us through the covid-19 pandemic. like many businesses and many institutions, the audubon zoo and aquarium and gardens had to close or restrict attendance to help -- try to help stop the spread of the virus. attendance at the zoo dropped 50%. 50%. we had almost no cash flow.

under different leadership, we wouldn't have made it. we wouldn't have made it. but we have a secret weapon. we had ron forman. because ron had the passion and he had the business sense and he had the support of the community and the support of government to guide the nonprofit through the pandemic. now, for the first time in 50 years louisiana is looking for a new leader for the audubon nature institute. because ron is stepping down. and i'm sad to see him go. i'm happy for him. he's still going to stay on as president emeritus, and we're still going to be able to access his big heart and tap his big brain, but we're going to have a

new leader. but thank god ron is going to stick around for awhile to continue his advocacy while we like for a new ceo. ron forman made the audobon zoo. it made new orleans home to one of the country's, one of the world's best zoos. he made new orleans home to one of the world's best aquarium and best insectorarians and best research and development centers and best constitution efforts, conservation efforts. he didn't do it alone but he led us. and that's why i wanted to rise today. i just wanted to thank ron. i wanted to thank ron forman for his vision. i wanted to thank ron forman for his guts.

some of the things ron did were not always popular. they were right, but it took courage. i want to thank ron forman for his dedication. i want to thank ron forman for his love of animals. and i want to thank, i want to thank ron forman for his love of people. he brought us all together in new orleans. i just will never forget him for what he did for us. so, ron, if you're listening, thank you, my friend, for giving so much to our animal friends. thank you, ron forman, for giving so much to the people of louisiana and the people of america. and thank you, ron forman for your leadership. madam president, i yield to my

coll colleague. the presiding officer: the senator from maryland. mr. cardin: madam president, as if in legislative session, i ask unanimous consent that the committee on commerce, science, and technology be discharged of s. res. 750 and the senate now proceed to the en bloc consideration of the following senate resolutions -- s. res. 750, s. res. 789, s. res. 790. the presiding officer: is there objection to proceeding en bloc? without objection, the committee is discharged. and the senate will proceed en bloc. mr. cardin: madam president, i ask unanimous consent that the resolutions be agreed to, the preambles be agreed to, and that the motions to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table all en bloc. the presiding officer: without objection.

mr. cardin: madam president, i have nine requests for committees to meet during today's session of the senate. they have the approval of the majority and minority leaders. the presiding officer: duly noted. mr. cardin: thank you, madam president. certainly we're going to be voting on the cloture motion for the confirmation of dorothy shea, department representative to the united nations. i come today as chairman of the senate foreign relations committee. we have recommended to the senate in a very strong bipartisan vote the support of dorothy shea to be the deputy representative of the united states of america to the united nations. we need a full time in place to fight for the interest of the united states and our allies at the united nations. to counter adversaries like china and russia, to work with our allies to resolve conflicts from ukraine to sudan, to ensure the united states is at the table for conversations on the

role of technology and a.i., and to stand up against anti-semitism on the global stage. and yet our mission to the united nations has been without a senate-confirmed deputy for nearly two years. this post is not only crucial to managing the safety and security of u.s. personnel during meetings of heads of state in new york in september, the deputy plays a key role at a time when strong u.s. leadership at the u.n. is so important, we need someone in this post who has the experience tackling the complexities of the united nations general assembly, someone who will make sure the u.n. is positioned to take on the challenges of the future including reforms, someone who will multiply our engagement in the security council and general assembly working alongside ambassador thompson green if he would, someone who is not -- greenfeld, someone not afraid to stand up for american values.

that is why i fully support dorothy shea's confirmation to this post. ambassador shea has experience working until the foreign service, at the state department and with the national security council. she is a career foreign service officer who served democratic and republican administrations for 32 years including working for colleagues across the aisle on the senate foreign relations committee. while she was our chief diplomat in lebanon, she was awarded the distinguished presidential link award for sustained extraordinary accomplishment. at a time of war and escalating humanitarian crisis worldwide, we can count on ambassador shea to represent u.s. interests at the united nations. from advancing the peace process in the middle east and sudan to revitalizing the global

humanitarian system to implementing institutional reforms at the united nations, she will work to find solutions to our global challenges. so, madam president, i strongly support her nomination. i urge my colleagues to support the cloture on her nomination so that we can get to a confirmed deputy representative of the united states of america to the united nations. i yield the floor. the presiding officer: the question occurs 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.

the clerk: mr. carper. mr. casey. mr. cassidy. ms. collins. mr. coons. mr. cornyn. ms. cortez masto. l 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.

vote:

senators voting in the affir affirmative, cantwell, cardin, cortez masto, duckworth, kaine, kennedy, merkley, murray, rosen, stabenow, tillis, warnock. senators voting in the negative, barrasso, blackburn, cornyn, cotton, crapo, hyde-smith, johnson, paul, ricketts, risch, schmitt, scott of florida, thune.

mr. cramer, no. ms. smith, aye. mr. young, no.

mr. graham, aye.

mrs. shaheen, aye.

mr. tester, aye. mr. manchin, aye. mr. lankford, no. mr. peters, aye. mrs. britt, no.

mr. hawley, no. mr. reed, aye.

mr. braun, no. mr. wicker, no. mr. grassley, no. mr. van hollen, aye.

ms. murkowski, aye.

mr. schatz, aye.

mr. carper, aye.

vote:

the clerk: mr. cruz, no. mrs. gillibrand, aye. the clerk: mr. ossoff, aye.

the clerk: mrs. fischer, no.

the clerk: mr. padilla, aye.

the clerk: mr. king, aye. ms. hassan, aye. the clerk: mr. lujan, aye.

mr. casey, aye.

the clerk: ms. lummis, no. mr. brown, aye. mr. murphy, aye. ms. baldwin, aye.

the clerk: ms. collins, aye.

the clerk: mr. tuberville, no. the clerk: mr. sullivan, no.

the clerk: mr. schumer, aye.

the clerk: mr. boozman, no.

the clerk: ms. hirono, aye.

the clerk: mr. daines, no. vote:

the clerk: ms. ernst, no.

the clerk: mr. rounds, aye.

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

the clerk: mr. hagerty, no. mr. marshall, no. the clerk: mr. moran, no. mr. durbin, aye.

the clerk: mr. hickenlooper, aye.

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

the clerk: mr. markey, aye.

the clerk: mr. budd, no.

the clerk: mr. lee, no.

the clerk: ms. sinema, aye. the clerk: mr. coons, aye.

the clerk: mr. sanders, aye.

the clerk: mr. heinrich, aye. mr. bennet, aye. ms. klobuchar, aye. the clerk: mr. mcconnell, no.

the clerk: mr. wyden, aye.

the clerk: ms. butler, aye. ms. warren, aye. the clerk: mrs. capito, no.

the clerk: mr. whitehouse, aye. mr. booker, aye.

the presiding officer: on this vote, the yeas are 53, the nays are 39, and the nomination is confirmed. under the previous order, the motion to reconsider is laid upon the table and the president will be immediately notified of the senate's action. the clerk will report the motion to invoke cloture. the clerk: cloture the undersigned senators, in accordance with the provisions of rule 22 of the standing rules of the senate, do hereby bring to a close debate on the nomination of executive calendar number 582, dorothy camille shea, of north carolina, to be

deputy representative of the united states of america to the united nations with the rank and status of ambassador signed by 17 senators. the presiding officer: by unanimous consent, the mandatory quorum call has been waived. the question is, is it the sense of the senate that the debate on dorothy camille shea to be deputy representative of the united states of america to the united nation with the rank of the status of ambassador in the united nations shall be brought to a close? the yeas and nays are mandatory under rult. the clerk -- under the rule. the clerk will call the roll. vote: mr. schumer: the clerk: ms. baldwin.

mrs. blackburn. mr. blumenthal. mr. booker. mr. boozman. mr. braun. mrs. britt. mr. brown. mr. budd. ms. butler. ms. cantwell. mrs. capito. mr. carper.

mr. casey. mr. cassidy. ms. collins. mr. coons. mr. cornyn. ms. cortez masto. mr. cotton. mr. cramer. mr. crapo. mr. cruz. mr. daines. ms. duckworth. mr. durbin. ms. ernst. mr. fetterman. mrs. fischer. mrs. gillibrand. mr. graham. mr. grassley. mr. hagerty. ms. hassan. mr. hawley. mr. heinrich. mr. hickenlooper.

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

mr. mullin. ms. murkowski. mr. murphy. mrs. murray. mr. ossoff. mr. padilla. mr. paul. mr. peters. mr. reed. mr. ricketts. mr. risch. mr. romney. ms. rosen. mr. rounds. mr. rubio. mr. sanders. mr. schatz. mr. schmitt. mr. schumer. mr. scott of florida. mr. scott of south carolina.

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

senators voting in the affirmative -- bennet, budd, butler, cantwell, cardin, carper, coons, cortez masto, duckworth, durbin, gillibrand, heinrich, hickenlooper, hirono, king, lujan, markey, mcconnell, murray, ossoff, padilla, reed, rounds, sanders, schatz, shaheen, sinema, smith, warren, welch, whitehouse and wyden. senators voting in the negative -- blackburn, capito, crapo, fischer, grassley,

hawley, hyde-smith, johnson, lee, marshall, mullin, risch, scott of florida, and tuberville. ms. lummis, no. ms. klobuchar, aye. ms. baldwin, aye.

mr. boozman, no. ms. murkowski, aye.

the clerk: mr. paul, no. mr. murphy, aye. mr. casey, aye.

the clerk: mr. tester, aye. mr. van hollen, aye. mr. merkley, aye.

mrs. britt, no. mr. kaine, aye. ms. collins, aye. mr. graham, aye.

mr. barrasso, no.

mr. moran, no. mr. rubio, no. ms. rosen, aye.

ms. ernst, no. mr. braun, no.

the clerk: ms. hassan, aye. mr. ricketts, no. mr. warnock, aye.

vote: the clerk: mr. cotton, no.

the clerk: mr. lankford, no.

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

the clerk: mr. schumer, aye.

the clerk: mr. kennedy, no. the clerk: mr. wicker, no.

the clerk: mr. cassidy, no.

mr. schmitt, no. mr. thune, no. the clerk: mr. tillis, aye.

the clerk: mr. blumenthal, aye.

the clerk: mr. sullivan, aye.

the clerk: mr. peters, aye. vote: the clerk: mr. hagerty, no.

mr. daines, no.

the clerk: mr. young, no.

mr. young, aye.

mr. brown, aye.

mr. cramer, no. mr. cruz, no.

the presiding officer: on this vote, the yeas are 54, the nays are 36, and the motion is agreed to. the clerk will report the nomination. the clerk: nomination,

department of state, dorothy shea of north carolina to be deputy representative of the united states of america to the united nations.

mr. welch: madam president. the presiding officer: the senator from vermont. mr. welch: madam president, ver vermonters are experiencing a lot of anguish now. this photograph depicts flooding that we had in barre a year ago. it is here with us again, a year

to the date -- a year to the day we had a return of flooding that we had devastating flood in 2023. parts of the northeast kingdom, two weeks later, were flooded again. they were hit with eight inches of rain, heavy rain, which caused more flash floods in the northeast kingdom, and today, right today, six more inches of rain is in the forecast. i come to the senate floor tonight, where vermont is in crisis. i'm asking for my colleagues on both sides of the aisle, in the senate and the house of representatives, for us to come together and approve the president's supplemental disaster funding request. it will help vermonters rebuild from heavy rains, flash flooding and mudslides that have brutally devastated our state. it will help other communities around the nation that have had their own weather events that

have done so much harm to their communities. one year ago, this month, the heavy rainfall required 214 swift boat water rescues. literally, some of our first responder folks showing up in boats to help people get out of their homes. infrastructure was really hit hard, with 409 miles of rail, 64 state bridges, and 46 state roads closed. 139 of our municipalities experienced flood-related damage. there was public assistance needed, and $150 million from businesses on their damages. we also saw 18 drinking water and 33 wastewater damages, three

wastewater systems were totally destroyed. president biden has revised his disaster supplemental request to account for vermont's disaster last year. that will help us immensely. but vermont absolutely needs the relief funding, the housing and urban -- community development block grant disaster recovery block program and the federal emergency disaster relief program needs funding. more funding for the department of transportation, cdbg recovery grants. those are flexible, really helped communities. that's needed very, very much. and today i join with my colleagues from vermont, senator sanders and representative

ballot to approve bipartisan appropriations committee leadership to advance a supplemental package quickly. we need federal dollars to help support our farms our businesses need help. families need help. so many families, hardworking vermonters were hit by these floods. 18 shelters opened and over 3,000 households were approved for fema housing assistance, and this is really, really tough. madam president, vermont is on a long road to recovery. we're resilient and we believe that brighter days are ahead, but for many families this is the second time in two years and how much can they really endure? especially when getting answers down the road from fema gets very complicated and bureaucratic and inflicts a lot of emotional pain that could be avoided if we could be quicker

and faster. i promised vermonters i would bring their voices to the senate and share their stories, i have been to mont -- montpelier and other communities to visit communities impacted by the flooding. four bridges were flooded, three were wiped out la year -- last year, second time in two years. folks on the select board are also the emergency responders, also the health officer, and they're incredible what they do, you know this, their own service with the senator and governor, it's amazing how resilient they are. they need our help. i met with a vermont farmer in harwick, what has become a successful enterprise but also farm-to-table, farm-to-farm

stand, a business model in vermont. he lost top soil and many of his crops were destroyed. a restaurant owner in lyndonville had to make a tough decision to close instead of reopening, and lyndonville was hit again in the middle of the night just two days ago. health care leaders are also very worried about mental health and the stress on families. every time i see a homeowner, parents, where their homes have been wiped out, the overriding concern they have is for the well-being of their kids and the stability that they need to restore to their kids and when that happens two years in a row, that's asking a lot. i talked to two families whose homes were so damaged there was no reasonable prospect those would be repaired. they can only hope for the home to be bought out. again, that takes response we're not getting oftentimes down the

road with the bureaucracy that we have to fix. i met farmers to salvage what they could and make the best of the remainder of the season. again, i'm speaking to you, madam president, who just knows this from our shared border and the folks on your side of the river and my side of the river have a lot in common and we admire them. but we've got to do our part here in congress to help them help themselves. i've sat down with small business owners in montpelier and across the state and they're struggling with the high cost of recovery. many have been hit twice or three times over. those who have been flooded are feeling the loss of revenue because businesses have declined in the area. madam president, federal funding is really, really critical for vermont. it's not just vermont. i know my colleague, senator schatz, from hawaii, who is

chair of the appropriations subcommittee is working very hard because it's his community, it's vermont, it's houston, it's communities throughout the country being affected by once in 100-year weather events that are coming every year or every two years. it's really happening. we cannot recover without that federal help. i just can't stress this enough. we need congress to step up and we need to help -- the help of all of us here because while it's vermont this time, it may be new hampshire next time, it may be texas next month, and i believe all of us have to help one another when an event occurs causing such harm to people we represent and it's through no fault of their own. it's disappointing to me, to say the least, that congress is getting ready to go on a recess without having gotten this done. it's my hope that getting disaster funding will be a top priority when we come back in

september. not just for vermont, but for all of the communities around the country that need congress to act. vermont's communities and communities across the country are counting on us. i implore my colleagues, all of us, let's do this, first order of business when we return in september. madam president, i yield back. mr. welch: i ask unanimous consent that the senate consider the following nominations en bloc --

calendar numbers 719 through 740, 742 through 763, and all nominations on the secretary's desk in the air force, army, marine corps, navy, and space force. and space force. that the nominations be confirmed en bloc, the motions to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table with no intervening action or debate, that no further motions be in order to any of the nominations, that the president be immediately notified of the senate's action, and the senate then resume legislative session. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. welch: i ask unanimous consent that the senate proceed to the immediate consideration of calendar number 312, s. 2781. the presiding officer: the clerk will report. the clerk: calendar number 312, s. 2781, to promote remediation of abandoned hardrock mines, and for other purposes.

the presiding officer: without objection, the senate will proceed. mr. welch: i further ask that the heinrich-risch amendment at the desk be considered and agreed to, the committee-reported substitute amendment as amended be agreed to, the bill as amended be considered read a third time and passed, and the motions to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table, with no intervening action or debate. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. welch: i ask unanimous consent the senate proceed to the consideration of h. con. res. 120, which was received from the house and is at the desk. the presiding officer: the clerk will report. the clerk: h. con. res. 120, a concurrent resolution authorizing the use of emancipation hall in the capitol visitor center for a ceremony as -- and so forced. the presiding officer: is there objection to proceeding to the measure? without objection. the senate will proceed to the measure. mr. welch: i ask unanimous consent the

concurrent resolution be agreed to, and the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table with no intervening action or debate. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. welch: i ask unanimous consent that the senate proceed to the en bloc consideration of the following senate resolutions -- s. res. 791, s. res. 792, s. res. 793. the presiding officer: without objection. the senate will proceed to the resolutions en bloc. mr. welch: i ask unanimous consent that the resolutions be agreed to, the preambles be agreed to, and that the motions to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table, all en bloc. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. welch: i ask unanimous consent that when the senate completes its business today, it stand adjourned until 11:00 a.m. on thursday, august 1. that following the prayer and pledge, the journal of proceedings be approved to date, the morning hour be deemed expired, the time for the two leaders be reserved for their use later in the day, and morning business be closed. following the conclusion of morning business, the senate proceed to executive session to resume consideration of the shea

nomination, postcloture. further, that all time be considered expired at 11:30 a.m., and that if the nomination is confirmed, the motion to reconsidered be considered made and laid upon the table and the president be immediately notified of the senate's action. further, that upon disposition of the shea nomination, the senate resume legislative session to resume consideration of the motion to proceed to calendar number 349, h.r. 7024, that the cloture motion with respect to the motion to proceed ripen at 1:45 p.m. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. welch: if there is no further business to come before the senate, i ask that it stand adjourned under the previous order. the presiding officer: the the presiding officer: the today the senate confirmed judicial nominations for u.s.

district judge for the western district of new york. seph with the middle district of pennsylvania. lawmakers also voted to limit debate onhe nomination of dorothy shea to be deputy u.s. representative to the un during today's session. out on her confirmation is expected of the child tax credit. watch live coverage of members return here on cspan2. ♪ next steps c-span coverage this summer's political party convention. we had to head to chicago for the democratic national convention. watch it live it beginning monday august 19 as the party supports their presidential nominee here democratic leaders talk about the administration current record their vision for the next four years. as the fight to retain the white house. democratic national convention live monday august 19 on the

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