tv U.S. Senate U.S. Senate CSPAN November 10, 2020 11:59am-12:40pm EST
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at some point we will find out finally who was certified in each of these states and the electoral college will determine the winner and that person will be sworn in on january 20th. no reason for alarm. [inaudible question] >> i don't think anything that has occurred so far interrupts ordinary process of moving through the various steps that i indicated and allowing if there is a new administration it to work through the transition, all of these steps will be taken at the
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appropriate time. >> we have to leave this but you can continue watching online, c-span.blooge take you live to the senate floor on c-span2. part of our 40 year plus commitment to covering congress. day the senate works on the nomination of james knapp to be us district judge for the northern district of ohio. you are watching live coverage on c-span2. the president pro tempore: the senate will come to order. the chaplain, dr. black, will open the senate in prayer. the chaplain: let us pray. eternal god, by your grace, give authority to the godly that this nation can thrive. continue to raise up people who have reverence for you and desire to do your will.
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lord, give our senators the wisdom to live blameless lives that please you. may they find joy in your presence as they trust the unfolding of your loving providence. lord, empower them to use their integrity to bring stability to our nation and world. and, lord, thank you for the opportunity on tomorrow to honor our veterans and celebrate their bravery and sacrifice. we pray in your strong name. amen. the president pro tempore:
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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. mr. grassley: mr. president. the presiding officer: the senator from iowa. mr. grassley: one minute for are morning business, please. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. grassley: tomorrow is veterans day. since the end of world war i, americans have taken this day to recognize sacrifices made by our
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veterans and they did that in service to our country. for the third consecutive year, my office recorded the oral history of iowa's veterans for the library of congress' veteran history project. i would urge some of my colleagues to take a look at that and see if they can help add a lot of their veterans from their respective states to the history project there at the library of congress. we owe our veterans a debt of gratitude for their patriotism and it's vitally important to record the stories of veterans so that future generations will always remember their service and sacrifice that it takes to preserve our freedom. i yield the floor and suggest the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. quorum call:
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mr. mcconnell: mr. president. the presiding officer: the majority leader. mr. mcconnell: i ask unanimous consent that further proceedings under the quorum call be dispensed with. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. mcconnell: mr. president, yesterday the president informed us that secretary mark esper's tenure leading the department of defense has concluded. when the president considered him, i said you could have better qualifications to run the pentagon than his i resume from
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west point to his time as secretary of the army, this leader has stepped up when his country needed him. the secretary brought integrity, expertise and steady leadership to the pentagon's top job. i'm great for the work and implementing the president's new national defense strategy to address the challenges of our time. a decorated combat veteran, he won the respect of our men and women of the armed forces. the country is grateful for his career of service. during this time of transition, i'm confident in the professionalism of the men and women of the department of defense, not to mention our uniformed services. we're lucky to have such capable and duty-focused men and women on the watch, defending the constitution, deterring our adversaries and protecting the peace. i expect to speak with acting secretary miller soon to discuss
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the serious threats facing our country, whether from foreign terrorists or great powers like china and russia who may seek to exploit a period of uncertainty. all this highlights the need for continued sober and steady leadership at the department. now, on an entirely different matter as we continue to complete the process of our own election here at home, there's also news on the continued growth of democracy half a world away. my colleagues know i have had a special interest in the political aspects of burma going back to when i was part of foreign operations. burma had elections on sunday where we hope to have a more democratic and prosperous future. for too long the people of burma were denied democracy by a brutal military junta.
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as with many new democracies, the election face ps new challenges, ranging from conflict to the coronavirus. when the next government is seated, more hard work will await. the government will need to advance burma's democratic development, ss sovereignty -- the nation needs true national reconciliation among burma's various ethnic groups. further progress will take real compromise and real sacrifice from parties and interests within burma and it will need continued support from the international community, particularly the united states. i've known dasu for many years and know she remains committed to democracy, so i hope and expect that if she and her party are the victors, her government will seek much needed
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constitutional reforms to further limit the corrosive influence of the military and the crony networks over so much of the life in burma. we're talking about a nation that still reserves 25% of the seats in the parliament for the military itself. it would be an understatement to call that an obstacle toward an ongoing democratic transition. further progress towards democracy and prosperity in burma will have to include the ethnic minorities and making compromises with them. it will require ending the civil conflicts that rage across the country and accountability for atrocities committed by the military and not just in rokine state. if burma's government meaningfully pursues these efforts, like-minded countries will continue to stand tbi. the freestanding countries have
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much to gain and much to lose if it falls into the grasp and orbit of china. our political contest here at home can feel intense, we think our elections are charged and contentious, when you look at democracies getting off the ground around the world, you remember how blessed we are to live in a republic that has for centuries inspired democracy and freedom all around the world many we get to live in a country where our institutions of self-government held up for more than 230 years, where the rule of law and our constitution are paramount. may we never take it for granted and continue to support those around the world who seek to emulate our example. i suggest the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. quorum call:
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mr. schumer: mr. president. employment the democratic leader. mr. schumer: i ask unanimous consent the quorum be dispensed with. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. schumer: now, mr. president, on january 20, the biden-harris administration will begin its work with a mandate secured by the largest number of votes ever received by a presidential ticket in american history. its task, of course, will be daunting. the darkest days of the covid-19 pandemic are unfortunately ahead of us.
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more than 100,000 americans are being diagnosed with covid a day. more than a thousand americans are dying. soon, thankfully, we'll have an administration that actually acknowledges this health care crisis, an administration that takes its job seriously, that will listen to the counsel of scientists and doctors, and work to improve the lives of all americans, regardless of who they voted for. already, the incoming administration is preparing to hit the ground running. yesterday, the president-elect announced his covid-19 task force. a group of the nation's top public health experts and scientists who will advise the incoming administration on policy. today, senate democrats will receive a briefing from one of president-elect biden's scientific advisors, former surgeon general dr. yvette murphy. i expect it will be the first of many conversations about how the senate and the incoming administration can work together to get covid-19 under control
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and on the pretreat. because the truth is the executive and legislative branches are going to have to work together in the coming months to crush this virus and put our economy back on the right track. nearly 15 million americans have now lost their jobs, and by extension, many of them have lost their health care coverage. medicaid enrollment has spiked across much of the country, adding new stress to state programs already beleaguered by the demands of covid-19. democrats have a plan through the heroes act to strengthen and secure medicaid for the duration of the crisis. congress should pursue a strong, comprehensive covid relief bill that actually meets the needs of the american people. yesterday, however, the republican leader suggested the republican majority will continue to pursue its policy of targeted relief. in other words, inadequate relief. he seems to suggest that the development of a possible vaccine was actually a reason to
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pare back on aid to the american people. let's be very clear. getting this country vaccinated will be a massive undertaking, and while i share in the hope that yesterday's news brings, we cannot pretend this pandemic is nearly over. regardless of this news, it's likely the coming winter months will be the worst yet. the nation is suffering from the uncontrolled spread of the virus now, with hospitalizations, fatalities on the rise all across the country, hospitals, health care providers are again overwhelmed, temporary morgues are once again sadly being pressed into service. we all look forward to the day when vaccination is widely available, but we do not have the luxury of waiting to grapple with the current defects of this crisis until then. we have to act now to prevent the immediate crisis that's coming this winter. so while the incoming administration prepares to take on a resurging covid-19, congress must as well.
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leader mcconnell and senate republicans must come to the table in good faith and work with us on a bipartisan bill that meets the needs of all our country. the house, of course, is democratic. the senate needs a bipartisan bill to pass something. we have to work in a bipartisan way, and we owe it to the american people. on another matter, i don't think many of us expected that president trump -- i don't think many of us expected president trump to leave office of the presidency with grace, a quality he has not once demonstrated during his long career in business or his very short career in public life. but the extent to which the republican party is legitimizing the president's assault on our democracy is infuriating and deeply, deeply wrong. the president is not merely bringing forward well-founded legal challenges. he's not simply taking advantage of the ability to request a recount in states where one is possible. he is declaring himself to be the winner of an election that
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he lost. he is claiming to win states that he lost. his legal team is filing scores of frivolous, unsubstantiated lawsuits. he's undermining faith in our elections and poisoning our democracy during one of the most delicate moments in our constitutional system, something we treasure, the peaceful transfer of power. the president has fired the secretary of defense, threatening the continuity of our national security policy because he's having a temper tantrum. not only does this put at risk a smooth transition in one of the most sensitive and critical areas of our government, it creates an opening for our adversaries to take advantage of instability and inexperience. the current attorney general of the united states has made a show of authorizing federal probes into supposed election fraud, lending a veneer of false credence to the president's delusions. it violates the long-standing
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tradition of avoiding even the appearance of law enforcement interference in our elections. while most immediately attorney general barr's decision prompted the chief of the justice department's elections branch to resign in protest. the government -- the government services administrator, g.s.a., has still not signed the paperwork necessary for the biden transition team to begin its work. and here in the senate the republican leader and several republican members are trying to give their president air cover. yesterday in the same breath that leader mcconnell celebrated the reelection of certain republican senators, he declined to congratulate the winner of the presidential election because the election results have not been efficiently certified. the political right seems eager to celebrate the rights it approves of and casting doubt on the results it doesn't. the republican leader could not even mention two word, joe biden
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who regardless of what republican senators may think will be the next president of the united states. two republican members of this chamber have called on their own secretary of state, a fellow republican to resign for no other apparent reason than the fact that president trump did not win their state. they alleged the secretary of state did not deliver honest and transparent elections. that's really a stunning charge in the united states of america. that's the kind of thing you hear about in banana republics and dishonest elections. surely united states senators would have some evidence that in the world's premiere, premiere democracy an entire state's election was not conducted honestly as they say. surely you must think that those senators have incredible, substantial and weighty proof of such scandalous and alarming allegation but you would be wrong. those two senators provided no evidence, not even a shred, to back up their claims.
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three lonely republican senators, three in total have congratulated the next president and vice president of the united states on their victory and called on the nation to come together. the rest have been silent or outright sympathetic toward the president's completely unsubstantiated claims of election fraud. so look, here's where we are. every major media outlet, including fox news has projected that joe biden will be the next president of the united states. kamala harris will be the next vice president of the united states. not because of the media declared them to be but because more than 76 million americans voted them into office. there's been no evidence of widespread voter fraud or any indication the results might flip in not one but several straits. the country is ready to move on from four years of tumultous and incompetent administration. the institutions of our government will ensure it on january 20 no matter what the current president claims.
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but they cannot ensure faith in our democracy in the hearts and minds of the american people. that's a project for both parties to confer legitimacy on an election in which yes, half the country will be disappointed but after which the entire country must pull together. and every day that goes by without the republican party acknowledging and accepting the results of the election is another day americans' faith in our democracy declines. finally on veterans day, tomorrow we will all proudly observe veterans day, a chance to honor our veterans, heros who come from all walk of life, enjoy an uncommon love for their country and fellow americans. this week we say again thank you, thank you, thank you to every veteran for their service. like so many things this year, veterans day will be different. we cannot come together as we normally do. we hold in our thoughts the
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prayers of the veterans across the united states whroz lives have -- whose lives have been touched by this awful disease and give special thanks to many veens who work as teachers, health care workers, doctors, nurses, community leaders, the very heroes in a different sense who are keeping our communities going during these tough times. we in the senate have a solemn responsibility to make sure they continue to get the help they need. finally, it's always a little different when we observe a veterans day in the aftermath of ab election -- an election. we must never forget our freedoms to speak freely, assemble peacefully, choose our leaders, forge our destination -- destiny have been secured time and time again by the sacrifice of americans would have worn the uniform. i yield the floor.
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the presiding officer: under the previous order, the leadership time is reserved. morning business is closed. under the previous order the senate will proceed to executive session to resume consideration of the following nomination which the clerk will report. the clerk: nomination, the judiciary, james ray knepp ii of ohio to be united states district judge for the northern district of ohio. the presiding officer: under the previous order, the senate stands in recess until 2:15 p.m.
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watch booktv this weekend on c-span2. >> there's more booktv coming up next with fox news anchor chris wallace who writes about the leader to the bombing of hiroshima during world war ii and later followed author lesley blume looks at new yorker writer efforts to report on the fatal impact of the bombing of hiroshima. ♪ ♪ >> like the office they commemorate presidential libraries are living institutions come certainly it is my hopeha
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