discusses his book, the tangled web we weave about the history of the internet and tod's problems, including pvacy, ownership d monopoly power. >> we look at thisechnology that keeps creating monopolies and that keeps creatin the biggest businesses in the world, all fiv of the world's biggest publicly listed companies are te companies and we've got to go how come the internet is seen has to equalizers and connectors but how come it keeps creatin these really powerful companies and really powerful individuals? >>watch the communicators tonight at 80 p.m. eastern on c-span2. >> u.s. senate about to gavel and to start their week. today lawmakers will work on the nomination of thomas kirsch to succeed amy coney barrett as a judge on the seventh circuit court of appeals. a vote to advance the nomination is set for 5:30 p.m. eastern and

off the floor work continues on both the next covid relief bill reported to be mor than nine oh $2 billion and aompetence of agreement to found the federal governme past friday. no live to the senate floor on c-span2. the president pro tempore: the senate will come to order. the chaplain, dr. black, will open the senate in prer. the chaplain: let us pray. eternal god, continue to help u for the kingdom, the power, and the glory belong to you. permit our lawmakers to feel your power

and trust your sovereignty lord, may this tst impel them to dare boldly, to venture on wider seas where storms will show your mastery, remind them that you wl honor your promise to never leave or rsake them. help them also to remember that il can triumph when good people refuse to act. lord, inspire our senators to strive alway to please you. we pray in your mercifu name.

amen. the president pro tempore: 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, indivible, with liberty and justice for all. the presiding officer: the morning business, please. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. grassley: i come to the oor to thank the library of congress and t talk about something that honors our vince.

-- our veterans. iowa has a rich history of veterans serving on behalf of our country. their svice ensures that all americans will live in pce and prosperity for generations. over the past two years, i delivere31 personal accounts to be stored at the library of congress as part of their prram called the veterans' history project. thank the libry of congress for preservin the individual stories as reported in the veterans' own words day i will submit six more interviewso this collection that we recorded at theaverly, iowa, area verans' post last nth. i'm proud to be a part of the veterans' histy project, preserving the stories of iowa veterans for future genations. i yie the floor.

mr. mcconnell: mr. president. the presiding officer: t majority leader. mr. mcconnell: this past weekend,e saw that the historic nationwide effort to bring this pandemic to heel has dwn a -- begun a critical final chapter. the first doses of covid-19 vaccine came off the slebl line bound for treatment facilities

all across our country. i'm particularly proud that an important waypoint on that jordany is my hometown of louisville, kentucky. yesterdaylone, pfizer shipped 2.5 million vaccine doses, a less than an hour after their airlift began, shipments bound for the eastern united states were passing through the u.p.s. world port logistics hub at muhammad ali international airport in louisville. in the days and weeks ahead, the hard work o kentuckns at u.p.s.'s n health care command center in louisville will play a critical rolen finishing this fight. already, they have held direct tens ofhousands of doses to kentucky hospitals where they are beginning -- where they are being admintered to the commonwealth's health care workers and most at-risk residents. there is a rk success story being written today along the ccine supply chain from missouri to massachusetts t michigan to kentucky to front lines all across our country.

and it's i am bethlehemttic of an approach that has been helping our country -- and it's emblematic of an approach tha has been helping ourountry since the beginning of the crisis. to the bravery of the doctors, nurses, and other health care workers who spent sleepless nights tending to victims of the virus, to the ienuity of entrepreneurs who spun out masks and sanitizer o kept servi their customers safely, to t patients of -- to the patience of parents and schl kids who have had to adapt in extraordinary ways, to our economic efforts to blunt the chge of a self-inflicted slowdown without precedent. all along the way, it's been a heroic, resilient american people fighting and winning this ttle, with the government priding smart, targeted, and essential support to sustain them. it's the american people who have brought the light at the end of the tunnel within sight, but washington has pyed a key

role in creing conditions for them to do it. that joint effort is how the unanimous bipartisan cares act program helps sustain struggling families, prevented millions more layoffs, and gave main street fighting chance. it's how operation warp speed has helped unleash private enterprise and the genius of researchers on a breakneck campaign just to cure that. just a few months ago, the mainstream media was saying electing president trump would be impossible. every step, the story this year has been american families digging deep, muscling through and leading -- lending one another a helping hand, with an assist from those of us here in congress. but theris a problem, mr. president. e american people's work is not finished. the struggle continues every day. cases and deaths are mounting.

the commerce says small business is still depressed, working families are trying to grind through, but recently, washington has not hd up its end of the bargain. for months, literally months, both sides in congrs have known roughly what the shape of a compromise rescue package could look like. we know all the areas where we doot en disagree and should be able to make significant law. but alas, partisan dynamics and politil posturing have prevented us from getting more relief out the door, even in areas where nobody even claims to disagree. i don't want to relitigate the last weeks and months this afternoon. anyone who wants to dole out blame has a clear record they can analyze. but it's te for this body to finger pointing doesn't put food on the table for struggling families. finger-pointing doesn't help ople avoid having t choose between christmasifts and making rent. and finger-pointing does not do a darn thing to fund vaccine

distributions so we can slam the door on this virus as fast as possible and maximize the number of lives we can sav that last point is a concern that state health officials across the country have raised repeatedly. even with vaccines on the way, many are reporting they don't have the funds to hire enough trained workers or purchase enough p.p.e. to safely administer them as fast as possible. as one health administrator put it, quote, it would be a sha if all the effort on warp speed for development isn't warp speed for distributio but that is what we ris if congress can't getur act together and supply the funds to this literal shot in the arm to our people. this is the support that state and local governments needost urgently, not unfettered slush funds for non-covid-related needs that prete the pandemic, but incredibly urgt, targeted

money to get citizens vaccited right now and finish the fight. but that isn't the onl urgent priority that congress must not leave behind. working families who relied on the paycheck protection program to get them through the bleakest points of the springnd summer are once again facing tough choices. rened health restrictions and decreased demand mean that some sustained all this period may not survive the last homestretch. so we can help, we canrovide a second round of job-saving p.p.p. tailored to those who need it most, and what about americans who have already lost their jobs through -- in the pandemic through no fault of their own? several key unemployment programs are set to expire at the end of t month.

this is not an outcome that stggling people desve, least of alluring the holiday. so we should act. we should act. the next several days are going to bring about one of two outcomes -- either 100 senators will be here shaking our heads, slinging blame and offering excuses about why we still have not been able to make a law, or we will break for the holidays having sent another hugeose of relief out the door for the people who need i it's up to us.up to us. we decide. this is entirely within our contro i can speak for the republican side. we want to make a law to agree where we can and help people who need it. i hope and belie that my democratic colleagues will feel

the same way it's about time to get this done. now, mr. president, i move to proceed to executive session to consider calendar number 933. the presiding officer: the question is on the motion. all those in for say aye. those opposed, no. the ayes appear to have it. the ayes do have it. thelerkill report theto. nomination. the clerk: nomination, the judiciary, joseph dawson iii of south carolina to be united states district judge for the district of south carola. mr. mcconnell: i send a cloture motion to the desk. e presiding officer: the clerk will report theotion to invoke cloture. the clerk: clore motion. accordance with the provisionsin of rule 22 of the standing rules of the senate, do hereby move to

bring to a close debate on the nomition of joseph dawson iii, of south carolina, to bunited states district judge for the strict of southarolina, signed by 17 senator as follows- mr. mcconnell: i ask consent the reading of the names be waived. the presiding ofcer: without objection. mr. mcconnell: i move to the presiding officer: thesion. question is on the motion. all those in favor say aye. those opposed, no. the ayes appear to have it. e ayes do have it. the motn is agreed to. mr. mcconnell: i move to proceed to executive session to consider calendar number 934. the presiding officer: the question is on the motion. all those in favor say aye. those opposed, no. the ayes appear to have it. the ayes do have it. the motion is agreed to. the clerk will report the nominati. the clerk: nomination, the judiciary, charles edward atchley jr. of tennessee t be united states district judge for the eastern district of tennessee. mr. mcconnell: i send a

cloture motion to the desk. the presiding officer: the clerk willeporthe mion to invoke cloture. the clerk: cloture motion. we, the undersigned senators, in accordance with the provisions of rule of the standing rules of the sate, do hereby move to bring to a clo debate on the nomination of charlesdward atchleyr. of tennessee to be united states district judge for the eastern district of tennessee, signed b17 senators as follows -- mr. mcconnell: i ask consent the reading of the names be waived. the presiding officer: without jection. mr. mcconnell: iove to proceed to legislative session. e presiding officer: question is on the motion. those opposed nay. the ayes appr to have it. the ayes do have it. e motion is agreed to. mr. mcconnell: iove to preed to executive session to consider calendar 935. the presiding officer: the question is on the motion. all those in favor say aye. those opposed no. the ayes appear to have it. the ayes do have it. the motion is agreed to. the clerk will report the nomination. judiciary, zachary n. somers of

the district of columbia to be a judge of the united states court of fedal claims. mr. mcconnell: i send a cloture motion to the desk. the presiding officer: the clerk will report the motio to invoke cloture. the clerk: cloture motion, we, the undersigned senators in accordance with the provisions of rule 22 of the standing rules of the senate do hereby move to bring to a close debate on the nomination of zachary n. somers of the district of columbia to be a judge of the united states court of federal claims signed by 17 senators as folws. mr. mcconnell: i ask consent the reading of the names be waived. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. mcconnell: i move to proceed to legislative session. the presiding officer: the question is on the motion. all those in favor say aye. those opposed no. the ayes appear to have it. the ayes do have it. the motion is agreed to. mr. mcconnell: mr. president, i understand there's a bill at the desk due a second reading. the presiding officer: the clerk will read theitle of t ll for the second time. the clerk: s. 5014, a bill to

amend title 31, united states code to have provide for automac continuing resolutions. mr. mcconnell: in order to place the bill on the calendar under the provisions of rule 14, i would object to further proceedings. the presiding officer: objection having been heard, the bill will be placed on the calendar. mr. mcconnell: i sgest the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. quorum call:

quorum call:

mr. schumer: m president? the presiding officer: the democratic leader. mr. schumer: i ask unanimous consent that the quorum be dispend with. the presing oicer: thout objection. mr. schumer: thank you,

mr. president. returns with precious little time left to finish important matters of business. last week both houses of congress passed the annual fense bill with visa stow-proof majorities -- with veto-proof majorities. if president trump takes the step of vetoing a pay raise for our troops in order to defend the honor of dead confederate traitors or whatever constrived grounds he comes up with, congress must override that veto. on friday, both chambers of congss also passed the one-week connuing resolution, giving us until the end of this week to fish an omnibus appropriations bill to fund t government. as usual, the appropriations bi will include several important pieces of related legislation. one that doesn't get enough attention is a bipartisan energy bill. earlier this year during the debate over the energy bill, senate democts insisted that a provision to reduce h.f.c.'s, a

very harmful greenhouse gas that is driving o climate change problem, must be included in the bill. unfortunately, we had to hold up the bill until bipartisan agreement could be reached on this critical provision which would be the singleiggest victory in the fight against climate change to pass this body in a decade. today i'm very happy to report that we have made very good progress towards an agreement on f.c. reduction. we are about to get it done, and that's o of the biggest victories to fight global warming in a very long time. i want to thank senators carper, kennedy, and barrasso. they've worked very diligently and very hard t craft a and finally, a we all know, it's imperative we pass another round of emergency federal relief from the continued impac of the cid-19 pandemic. today the bipartisan group of

senators who have been diligently working towards an agreemen will announce the results o their work. package of over $900 billion at includes an agreement on assistance to state and local government. notably, there is no agreement on corrate immunity. we look forward to seeing tir work. democrats remain committed to getting another round of emergency relief to the american people before the end of the year and in a robust, bold way because america needs i so badly. no a year that was full of bad news for the country is coming to an end with some very good news. over the past eht to nine months, american scientists, biochemists and researchers rushed to produce a safe and effective vaccine t the covid-19 pandemi and they've succeeded in extraordinary fashion. we don't hav just one but several candidates for a

vaccine. each of which has shown to be 90% effective in clinical trials. one of those vaccines has been approved authorized by the f.d.a. formergency use. and as we speak, a assembly line o workers in masks, gloves, and face shields are lling doses out of the freezer, leading them into cold-storage palates and onto trucks to shipped to states across the country. the discovery of a covid-19 vaccine within the time frame of a calendar year is a crowning scientific achievement of the 21st century. it should bring not only a feeling of relief to the country -- indeed, to the entire world -- but also deep admiration and pride for america's scientists and ouredical workers. i remember in the early days of the pandemic going to the window of our brooklyn apartment each night to applaud our frontline

workers. the whoops, claps, d the metallic cling of pots and pans echoed for miles. our medical researchers, as well as thoands of americans who selflessly volunteered for clinical trials, deserve the same national expression of gratitude. we can show our gratitu here in congress by communicating clearly that the covid vacne 19 is safe, effective and that ery american should inoculate themselves when it becomes available. skepticism about vaccines was already too high before the pandemic. several polls have shown is to be an alarming conrn with respect to the covid-19 vaccine. so it's an absolute disgrace that the republican majority on has invited a prominent skeptic of the covid-19 vaccine to deliver testimony in a hearing this he can would. public figures -- this week. public figur at all levels should be building up confidence platform to those who uermine

it. at the moment, t vaccine is being distributed to medical personnel, doctors, nurses, frontline workers, and the most vulnerable populations. i myself will take the vaccine as soons it is appropriate and recommended. i will not skip the line, but make no mistake, we should all lead by example, commit to taki the vaccine, and tell our constients to take it as well. continue to advise whichs will populationshould be inoculated based on availality and we will follow that guidance. now, one other note. day members of the electoral college are gathering i all 50 states and the district of columbia to formally select joe biden as the next president of the united states of america typically the meeting of the electoral colleges merely a formality. the presidential election took

place over a month ago. the result is not in doubt. in almost any other year, both major pares would have fully and pubcly accepted the will of the american people by now. the peaceful passing of the torch, a hallmark of our grand but this year it seems as if joe biden has had to be declared t winner of theresidential election again and again and again, and still our republican colleagues have not fully come to grips with that reality. just how many times does prident trump have to lose before ranking-and-file republicans, before most senators acknowledge that joe biden will be the next president of the united states? lasteek more than 100 members -- republican members of the house of represeatives -- signed their names to a lawsuit that would invalidate the results of the election in four swing states. for any seriouserson, much less a member of the united

states congress, to sign their name to such an antidemocratic document is beyond shameful. to my knoedge, the republican leader of the senate still has not referred to joe biden as presidenelect. will he change his tune now that thelectoral college has once again confirmed his victory? will the res of my republican senate colleagues do the same? after no evidence of widespread voter fraud was found in the country, after state election officials corroborated the accuracy of the results in every state in the country, after the trum campaign legal time racked up an astonicing win-loss rord of one in 59, after the supreme court summarily dismissed two ludicrous efforts by republicans to invalidate the results in swing states, will the republican pty in congress, here in the senate, finally acknowledge the results of an election that was determined over a month ago?

just how long are republicans going to keep up this charade, which has becom a national embarrassment? even now, the chairman of the homeland security is planning to hold a hearing this week about what he calls, quote, election irregularities. look, our republican colleagues don't have to like the results of the election, but they have a solemn responsibility to accept them. they have a duty toonfer legitimacy on them. instead, for the past month, they have given president trump the space to promo wild conspiracy theories about election fraud and poison americans' faith in our democracy. as the electoral college casts the majority of its votes for joe biden, the same number of votes that president trump called a landslide four years ago, our republican colleagues must do now what they should have done a month ago -- accept the legitimacy of joe biden's election tohe presidency of the united states. i yielthe for.

the presiding officer: under the previous order, the leadership time is reserved. morning business is closed. under the previous order the session to resume consideratione of the following nomination which the clerk will report. the clerk: nomination, the judiciary. thomas l. kirsch ii of indiana to be united states circuit judge for the seventh circuit.

the presiding officer: the senator from texas. mr. cornyn: as we all know by now late friy evening the world received the news that we've been waiting, hoping a praying for since march -- the first covid-19 vacci was approved here in the united states. the vaccine was developed by pfizer and its german partner, biontech, found to be 90% effecte during clinical ials, eensive clinical trials. the first doses of the vaccine are arriving at heal care filths across the country -- health care facilities across the country today. texas' initial spment will be admistered by ourealth care

woers this week, administered to our health care worrs this week, i should say, by our heth care workers, and will provide these heroes will protection they need to continue their fight o our behalf on the this is a turning pnt in our wargainst covid-19 and the significance of this victory in such an expedited time frame cann beverstated. i want to thank the brilliant men and women w made this feat possible. there are the researchers and scientists who developed the lifesaving vacci as well as the volunteer who participated in clinical trials. there are manufacturers thaare rapidly producing millions of ses and the distributors that are gting these doses to sites across the country as quickly as possible. and of coursthere are the hoitals pharmacies and our incredible health care workers who will lead the vaccination

effort. the race to a covid-19 vaccine will be remembered as one of the greatest human achievements of our generatn, and these grave and brilliant -- these brave and brillia individuals help make it possible. i want to remind all of us that while this is a huge milestone, and one that would absolutely be celebrated, we are not out of the dark yet. a light at the end of the tunnel is getting biggernd brighter, but we still have a ways to go, and each of us have our own part to play in getting us there. for the american people, that means stepping the spread throug the same habits that we've learned all year -- washing your hands, wearing a mask, practice social distancing and taking extra care to protect our most vulnerable iends and neighbors. and of coursehis holiday ason is not a time to forget

the habits we built over the last several months but to double down on them. but, mr. president, while this is a development to be celebrated and a day we've bn looking for for a long te, congress has not yet done its job. for months on end the american people have asked for additional financial support to weather this srm, and so far we have not seen any progress. our democratic colleague have blocked bill after bill, saying, in the immortal words of speaker pelosi, nothing is better than something. our democratic colleagues stood in the way of investing more in vaccine distribution, extending unemploymentnsurance benefits, helping our sll business keep their workers on payroll, and to give our schools the resources they need in order to provide education to our students safel

didn't block these bills because they disagree with the content of the bill. theyimply refused to engage if we do not concede to their controversial and outrageous demands. at first demrats refused to back off the complety absurd bill passed in the house called the heroes act, which includes things like p diversitytudies for the marijuana industry and tax breaks for millionaires and billionaires. andhile they eveually realized how unrealistic their positionas, they've now stood firm in providing a bailout for cities and states that hav been grossly, some of which have been grossly mismngd for decades. overhe last several months our demoatic colleagues have that would have poured $0ation against covid-19 because it

partisan priorities. far-fetched wasted a lot of time playing games with this pandemic relief, and the clock on this coress is quickly running out. congress needs to pass another bill this week, and i encouge our democratic colleagues to start compromising and quit the grandstanding. they have shown us time and time again, when you sit down at the negotiating ble with an all-or-nothing attitude, the relt is always nothing. and that's all they have to show for their obstruction over the last month since we psed the cares act. mr. president, on another topic, last friday, another important thing happened. the senate passed the natnal defense authorization act with broad bipartisan support and

sent it to the president for his signature. this mar the 60th year in a row that we he completed the defense spending bill, and that's as it should be. our national security is the number one priority here in washington, d.c. and for our entire nation. texas service members will receive higher salaries and stronger support for their families because of this legislation. that includes assistanc for military spouses whose careers inlve relicsing and high-quality child care on military bases. this leglation will also bring some serious updatesnd improvements to texas military bases. joint base sa antonio, joint base fort wth, fort hood, and the ptex plant in amarillo will all recei additional funding for updates and improved facilities to improve their

capabilities and mission readiness. and given the uncertain state of military readiness has neverr been more important. russia is growing more aggressive in its efforts to disrupt t global order. north korea continues to provoke with its nuclear aspirations.ies iran's hostile and unpredictable actions threaten deckses around the wor, not just in the middle east, and china has become increasingly powerful and more belligerent than ever. the defense authorization act is ho we prepare to counter these growing threats in every corner of the globe and improve our national security across the board. we do that through the time-honored notion of peace through strengt the best way to avoid a war is for america to remain strong. i'mncredibly proud this legislation includes language from a bill i introduced with

senators warner, cotton, and schumer, a bipartisan bill. the goal of ts legislation is straightforward to bring semiconductor manufacturing back to the u.s. nce 2000, the united states has dropped roughly a quarter of the world's -- dropped from producing a quarter of the rld's semiconductors now down to about 12%, and the semiconductors that make up your iphone or that go in an f-35 are sole-sourced from a taiwan semiconductor manufacturing company, obviouslyocated overseas. if we learned one thing about -- from this virus, it is the vulnerability of our supply chai, and it doesn't take a lot of imagination to understand the threat to our economy and the threat to our national security where that sole source supply -- were tha sole source supply chain to be disrupted.

there is the obvious economic consequences. why buy these chips from other countries when we could be making them ourselves? we could boost an entire industry, including high-paying jobs, right here in the united states. but as i said, tt's only part of the equation. because semiconductor manufacturing isn't just about the economy and jobs. it's about national security. chips aren't just in televisions, diswashers, and consumer electronics. they are vital parts of our cell towers, missile defense systems, infrastructure.cal and if you need an examp of just how important it is to have a reliable supply of our most crucial devices, just lk at the p.p.p. shortage during the covid-19 crisis. china has long been a supplier of masks, gloves, and gowns, and other pernal protective equipment, used by primarily our health care workers. for a long time, that wasn't

really a problem, but then covid-19 showed that it was a problem. by the time the virus began to move acrosthe u.s., china had been battling it for months, so when it came time for american hospitals and clinics and healt care providers to beef up their pply of p.p.e., their suppliers had already been depleted. health care wkers you will recall were reusing masks throughout an entire shift in order toonserve supplies, and hospitals were pleading with the general public to donate any unused personal expectative equipment to help keep health care workers saf now, we didn't reach that point because of a lk of preparation by hospitals, but because of our reliance on vulnerable supply chains, notably out of china to produce that gear. now imagine a similar supply chain breakdown happening for

every industry that relies o semiconductors, everything from health care to telecommunications to agriculture to manufacturing would be paralyzed by a disrtion of thatupply chain. so one thing this virus has taught us, among other things, is to eliminate those supply chain vulnerabilities, and it's a clear signal that we need to take action to secure other itical supply chainseyond seconductors. in the ndaa was a stron start. we had great vote of 96 senators voting for the inclusion of that provision in the national defse authorization act, strong bipartisan support. this provision in the ndaa will help restore america leadership in semiconductor manufacturing by creating a federal incentive program through the department

of comrce to encourage chip manufacting here. it will stimulate domestic advance semiconductor manufauring and boost both our national security and global competitiveness. and tn it will enable us to bring manufacturing jobs back on american soil so we can reduce our reliance on china and other reign countries and strengthen the supply chains of our most critical injuries. and now comes t hard part. have to pay for it. onriday afternoon, i spoke with secretaryompeo and secretary ross about this legislation from, as i said, both the natiol security and economic perspective. last month, the commerce dertment sent a report to the appropriations committee detailing itslans to implement a semiconctor manufacturing incentive program. for everything from the authorities that will be used to

establish the program to the industry lders, the commerce department is ready to hit the ground running. both the secretary of state and secretary of comrce agree. congress must act soon to back the programs with funding. it'sstimated that china will spend $250 billion on semiconductor manufactung in the coming years. if left unmated, it will control 80% of the semiconductor manufacturing market. if that happens, the united states will not be able to recover lost ground, which is why is critical that we act now. thankfully, with the help of private instry here in the united states, we can do more with less. we can stop the slide of manufacturing producer to china if we put even 10% of whathina is spending towards this essential element in our national security and in our economic competitiveness. the senate passed this amement

over the summer with an overwhelming support. i hope my colleagues on both sides will join me in continuing to fight to secure funding for this bipartisan priority which will bring manufacturing jobs back to the uted states and national security gap.erous madam president, iield the floor and i wouldote the sence of a quorum. the presiding officer:he clerk will call the roll. quorum call:

mr. grassley: madam president. the presiding officer: the senator from iowa. mr. grassley: for over a year -- i askhat the calling of the quorum be suspended. the presiding officer: whout objection. mr. grassley: for over a year, nator johnson and i investigat bid's fincial family dealings. for over a year, the liberal media and my colleagues on the other side of the aisle falsely said that we were peddling russian disinformation. they ginned up any story they coul to do and falsely portray our investigation in an effort to delegitimize the report's findings. even my colleague, senator

wyden, whom i have worked with on many bipartisan investigations, said the following -- quote -- this disinformation also became the basis of the johnson-grassley investigation. the political nature of this investigation has been clear all along. bottom line -- the johnson-grassley investigation it is laundering russian propaganda for circulationn the united state end quote. democrats have a very nervous tic. any time a republican gs close to the truth and is about to serve justice the other side yeels russian -- yells russian

disinformation. and of course as we see now, that's a load of garbage. as i said on this floor several times before, our report was government agencies and am u.s. le-aligned u.s. lobby shop that represented a corrupt ukrainian gas company. and by now, the american people know thatt's really the democrats and liberal media that are connected to russian disinformation. just think of the steele dossier. it was infected with russian disinformation and paid for by the democratic nional committee and hilla clinton's campaign. the liberal media and those on the other side of the aisle were scared of the facts.

they were scared that the american people would see the biden family's deep and extensive link to foreign governments, including t communist chinese government. and once senator johnsonnd i released publicly our findings, those same liberal outlets said the report repackaged old material and that there wasn't really anything new to it. they went into full joe biden protection-month-old and they didn't even -- joe biden protection mode and they dn't even try to hide it. one columnist said,uote, even after accepting disinformation from russian agents, johnson and grassley couldn't come up with anything new or interesting on

hunter biden. should be ashamed that the said that. potical -- "politico" ran a story with this headline, quote, g.o.p.'s senators anti-biden report repackages old flames. and national public radio sai about the new york post hunter biden story, quote, we don't want to waste our time on stories that are not really stories, and we don't want to waste -- to waste the listeners and readers' times on stories that are just pure distractions, end the.p.r. quote. now look at what twitter and facebook did to hunter biden news. simply said they interfered in

the election and gave the biden campaign a multimillion-dollar in kind donation courtesy of their blatant and unforgivable censorship. so, m fellow americans, let us neve forget what twitter and facebook did ding the 2020 elections. now let'sast forward to this very day. now it's confirmed that hunter biden is under criminal investigationeportedly for his taxes and financial dealings. the very fact pattern that we described in the johnson-grassley report. it shouldn't take hunter biden to confirm that he's under crinal investigation before the mainstream press get permission fm who, i don't

know, to report the news. it's a complete outrage at the way the liberal media used its power to cover up facts relating to hunter biden and t bid family. and yet ran stories after stories with false information about the russian invesgation into trump and the credibility of the steele dossier. the recent news also shows that a report ways not baseless. that's a wordhat shows up all the time. and it didn't repackage old ames. that's anotheret of words tt shows up quite regularly as people wer trying to distract

the johnson and grassley report. so quite the opposite. our report was well founded ahead of the curve and right on the money in moreays than bun. our report teed up the facts but the mainstream press never stepped up to the plate. leading press jowltlets pressy outlets with teams of investigative reporters were scooped by the congress, the johnson-grassley report. now of course they're scrambling to chase the story that they for so long ignored. now, it didn't have to be this way. we already did much of the hefty lifting before issuing our

report. the report made public information that hadn'tver been known before. forxample, it showed the following. hunter biden and his associates and family members were connected to chinese nationalists - nationals and chinese compans linked with the communist party and the people's liberation army. this is includes t cefc-energy companyoimented and also that company's subsidiaries. records showhat a company link to the comnist rime sent hunter biden law firm millions of dollars. other records show that hunter biden opened a line of credit with a chinese national linked to the communist regime and funded it with approximately

and then he, james biden, and sarah biden wt on an extravagant global spending spree. still other records show that hunter biden be his law firm also sent a million dollars to james biden's consulting firm the lion hallroup. these transfers began less than one week after cefc sent $5 million to a company called hudson west iii, a company linked to cefc and chinese nationalists associated with the communist regime which then st money to hunter biden's law firm. when the bank contacted sarah biden who was associated with the firm's bank account, she

refused to answer their questions and provide any additional documentation. according to the records that we ha on file, the bank submitted the account for closure. issued a supplemental to our report that showed hunter biden's close business aociate rob walker received $6 million from a chinese company linked to the communist regime. then there's yet another link in the chain from the biden family and their aociates to the chines government. the report also showed that state department officials believed that hunter biden's burisma board membership created a perception of a conflict of

interest and, quote, was very awkward for u.s. officials in ukraine, end of quote from aa state department official. secretary of state kerry puicly denied knowing hunter biden's role on the burisma board. we acquired evidence that shows that kerry did in factnow about that role. on december 2015 instead of following u.s. subjectives of confronting oligarchs, vice president biden's staff advis him toe avoid -- him to avo commenting on burisma's olirch and instead say, quote, i'm not going to get into naming names or accusing individuals, end of

quote. joe biden was running an anticorruption agenda in ukraine, but he pulled his punches while hison was on the board of burisma. based on witssestimony, burisma's owner allegedly paid a $7 million bribe t officials serving under ukraine's prosecutor general to shut the case against him. when he allegedly paid that bribe, hunter biden was on the burisma board. these example are just a sampling from the report that senator johnson and i put out. and just the tip of an iceberg with respect to the biden family's troubled ties to

governments adverse to u.s. interests. these associations and the millions of dollars that passed between and among hunter biden, james biden, and others create crinal financial and counterintelligence and extortion conrns. that's why i've written to the justice department about the risks that hunter and james biden essentially served as agents of the communist government for purposes of their gistering under the foreign agents registration act. after hunter biden publicly coirmed he was under criminal investigation, liberal news outlets reported on concerns that his financial association could create criminal financial and counterintelligence

problems, something you heard from the johnson-grassleyeport several weeks ago. that's why we said in september 2020 and we were roundly criticized for it. and jusover the weekend a new e-mail was made public tha reportedly says that joe biden and his brother were, quote, unquote office mates with the same chise nationals we wrote about in our report. those same individuals were the ones with links to the communist regime and that regime's military. based on all the facts known to date, joe biden has a lot of explaining to do. i've run many oversight operations and investigations during the course of my career.

i'm interested in the facts in evidence and in the truth. i learned a lesson a long time ago when i first started my oversight focus. that is, no matter how difficult the media or the other side of the aisle makes it to find the facts, nev give up. keep working hard. the american taxpayers deserve nothing less. that's the attitude and approach that i've had my entire career, and it's what i will take with me as i continue to look into the biden family matters and as i move to a leadership position on the senate judiciary committe i yield the floor.

mr. murphy: madam president? the presiding officer: the senator from connecticut. mr. murphy: thank you, mada president. madam presint, eight years ago this morning ias in bridgeport, connecticut. iad done an event early that morning withhe mayor and i was due to meet my wife and m two children then four years old and one on the train platform in bridgeport to head down to new york city to spend the rest of that friday afternoon with my young kids, their first chance to see the christmas decorations of the city. i reived a phone call while on the train platform telling me that something had happened in sandy hook, connecticut. sandy hook is a section of newtown, connecticut. i debated whether or not to still go down to new york, but

as the news started to become more clear, i got in the car and headed up to the firehouse just down a short road from sandy hook elementary school where an emergency response effort was gathering. it was there that 20 parents found out what had happened inside that schoo as the rest ofhe world was finding out that same gruesome news. that was eight years ago today. we mark today that tragic anniversary, the shooting at sandy hook elementary school. since that day, i've gotten to know those families, the mothers and the fathersf the children that were killed, the daughters e siblings of the educators

who were killed. there were six educators inside sandy hook elementary school who lost their lives that day. there were 20 children. i've also gotten to know the community of sandy hook even better than i ever had during my six years representing them in the house of representatives. sandy hook was and is a miraculous place. as much as the worldaw evil that day perpetuated by a young man named adam lanza, what happened in the hours and days, weeks, and months following in and around sandy hook told us what really sits inside of us. and that is an indescribable good in an ability to -- goodness, an ability to meet evil with allorts of generosity that poured onto

sandy hook from all over the world in big ways and small ways. ten did i bears were sent into -- teddy bears will sent into sandy hook. a fund was set you want for the families -- a fund was set up for the families of the victims, millions of dollars went int a fund to help pay for the college educations of the brothers and sisters who were left behind. the community wrapped its arms around those families, around the first responders. and while sandy hook will never, ever be the same ever again, i was able to see firsthand what truly lies inside all of us. over the last eight years, we've tried to make good by the memory of those kids. ness no way t fill -- there is no way to fill that hole, but i have watched as communiti have been changed through the

generosity that has come out of almost every family established a unique not-for-profit that's doing all sorts of incredible work, all sort of based in many ways off of the loves of those children. charities that are building playgrounds for the kids who loved to climb and swing. there are charities that are providing access to animals for young kids in need i memory of the kids who died that day who loved animals. there are charities that are building social/emotional health, trying to make sure that you never, ever get into a situation again where a young man like adam lanza feels so separated from society, his community, his peers and reality that someone thinks to do what he did. just on the critable side of

the equation, there's so much over the last eight years that has happened that has changed people's lives, that has saved lives because of what those families and because of what the community of newtown has done. there's been policy change as well. we passed the mental health reform act here in thenited states senate and the house signed into law, one of the last things that president obama did before he left office. and of course we have had an ongoing conversation about the way in which we change our gun la. many of us in connecticut have strong feelings that if adam lanza wasn't able to go to shall to get his hands as easily on a semiautomatic-style of weapon, that he might never have made the journey t the school that morning. so we continue in our work to try to reset the gun laws of this nion, to try to make sur

that no tragedy like that ever happens again simply because of ease of access to a weapon of that power. but about a month after that shooting in sandy hook elementary school, i had the chance to visit a community center in the north end of hartford. i'd just been sworn in as a senator. the tragedy in sandy hook happened after my election to the senate but before i had been sworn in. after i was sworn in to the senate, i went to a community center in the north end of hartford where i met there with the families of gun violence from that neighborhood. by the time sandy hook had happened in 2012, 20 young men and women had lost their lives gunfire in hartford. the families that we met there that day, their hearts grieved deeper than anyone else for the

families in sandy hook because they knew what that pain is like. they had lost sons and daughters themselves. but they were also furious that the whole country was waking up to the epidemic of gun violence in this country after newtown when it had been happeni in hartford and bridgeport and chicago and los angeles and baltimore for decades without much action and without much attention from the mainstream news media or from those in power. many of us had to reconcile the ways in which we had spent our public career in the weeks and months after sandy hook. i'm embarrass by the fact that i didn't do more when i was in the house of representatives, tt i didn't do more when ias in the state legislature to try to address the epidemic of gun violence in this country, wherever it happens. and there were many people in this chamber who stood up in the wake of sandy hook and decided that they were going to lead. people like pat toomey, people

like joe manchin, in ways that they hadn't led before. i think we've all had to reassess our priorities. we've all had to think about whether we've measured up to this moment that we live in today where 100 people die from gun violence and a lot of kids who go to school around this country just expect that at some point in their young lives they will be met with a mass shooting. and so we come here eight years later and we try to measu what has happened. have we made eugh change, and we try to recommit ourselves to these ideasoving forward. i'm proud of many of the things that we have done. i'm proud of all the charitable efforts. i'm proud of the mental health reform act. i'm proud tha we've put more money into school safety. m proud that a lot of

private-sector entities have stood up to stop weapons from being carried into public spaces. but i'm also furious. i'm also furious that there are easy, popular this that we i hadhood of another sandy -- to stop the likelihood of another sandy took, to reduce gun violence in our cities, and we choose not to take those steps. now, universal background checks wouldn't have saved the lives of those kids in sandy hook, but those apparents came here appeared -- those parents came here and lobbied f that legislation in 2014 because they knew if that legislation was in place, there would be a whole lot of other kids alive throughout this country because the flow of illegal guns would be stunted into our cities and many ofur neighborhoods. and those families in sandy

hook, they don't necessarily care how it gets done. they just want to make sure that there are less parents that ever have to go through what they've gone through. and despite the fact that 95% of americans support something like universal background checks, we still have done it here. an example of where democracy just doesn't seem to be working. sure, i'll get the chance over the course of 2021 to talk about the path forward on changing our gun laws. but the final thing i want to say today before iield the floor to senator blumenthal is that for those americans who haven't had to come face to face with a tragedy like that, maybe for those that haven't bee around that kind of pain and sorrow, maybe it's a little bit hard to understand perspective. one of the things that we've

tried to do in the last eight years is to on this day, the one year, the two year, the four-year mark -- now the eight-year mark -- is to just ask people to go out and do something nice for a friend, f a relative, for a stranger, just act in a kind, generous way and maybe over the course of the next year, make it a habit to do a little bitore than you would have done otherwise to help people in and around you in the ways that people helped the communityf sandy hook, parents, the relatives in small and big ways in the wake of the tragedy eight years ago. when you're around that kind of loss andain, when you think about what it's like to lose a child, i think it helps give some perspective as to what's really important in this wor.

we have a habit in this business to treat each other unkindly, and i'm guilty of that just like everyone else in this body like lay is. -- likely is, especially this days we tend to fall into this trap too easily in wch we assume bad motives to folks who just think differently than us. there's some folks out there today who, y know, won't go to businesseshat are owned by republicans or won't associate themselves with folks who might have more progressive views than theyre. politics matters, don't get me wrong. but there are things that matter and when we think about what those families are going through today as they have to -- as they are forced to relive the events of that day in sandy hook elementary school, we should be

reminded of how lucky we are to still b on thi earth. for those of us who haven't endured that kind of loss, how lucky we are to still have our children by our side. and we should remember that kindness, that treating people respectfully, that understanding what's important in the long run -- family, friendships, retionships -- that's one of the lessons, i hope, ofandy hook. so this is never a fun day to come down to the floor and mark the anniversary of sdy hook, t i want to finish by just saying thank you to the parents and the families for letting senator blumenthal and i into their lives. i have these friendships, these bonds with those families today

that i never expected but now are maybe more meaningful to me than any other relationships that i have. and i do have strong words often for my colleagues about our unwillingns to make change in this body but it is because when my publicervice done, the measure of whether i succeeded or failed to me i many ways is in the hands of those families, whether i have made a difference to honor the memory of their children is probably what will matter to me more than anything else when i hang up my public service spikes a few years from now, five years from now, ten years from now. i thank them for endurg this pain, for reaching out to those of us in positions of leadership to hp guide us, and for finding all sorts of ways to lift up the light and the memory of their childre of the

parents, of those that fell eight years ago today in sandy hook. i eld th floor mr. blumenthal: madam president the presiding officer: the senator from connecticut. mr. blumenthal: lete begin where senatorurray so eloquently finished. one of the great honors of my life have been to know and cherish the fridship of the nderful parents and loved ones of those 20 beautiful children and six great educators that perished eight years ago today. and have been proud to work with senator murphy, a true champion of stopping gun violence, in our efforts over these last eight years.

that day beganor them as it hadone for all of us as parents, for me as a parent of four, for senator murphy as a dad of two -- making breakfast, dropping off kids, hding to work. among the beautifuloliday ornaments that decorated newtown and sdy hook on that day, it was a norl day -- until it wasn't. it was a normal day uil tse minutes when life changed irreparably for those parents and loves ones and for us. life would never be the same again. yes, i had championed the cause

of gun violence prevention for years before tt day. as state attorney general, i began lawsuits, i suprted the cause of banning the assault weapon in cnecticut and defending tt ban in our state courts. but that day changed us forever. we went to sandy hook, and what we saw was unspeakable -- grf, pain, anguish -- that still haunts me. and what i saw that afternoon will stay with me not just as a source of grief and pain, but also as a cry for action, as an

undeniable mante for action to honor with action those beauful lives, to honor them not just with words, speeches, rhetoric, but with real action. and for all of u random acts of kindness are within our reach. those acts of kindness to commemorate the gentle beauty and gracend digni, the love and laughter, the futures that were lost. that is not just an expression of pain and grief. it is a moral imperative. with grief comes trauma, lifelong scars that never fade.

but what i saw in those hours after that brutal, unimaginable massacre was also unspeakab goodness. the first responders who came andaw the carnage that brought the fire and police service, and women of faith -- father bob weiss, now monsignor, who brought u together that evening in saint rosa lima church, when th grief and pain were raw, as raw as the cold of that winter night. and so many case.

in fact, so many that they couldn't fit in the church and heard it by loud speaker and i said the world is watching ,nd in fact the world wahed with awe, because sandy hook came to show the resilience and courage and strength of those families who have championed this cause of preventing gun violence, but also launched foundations and philanthropic efforts in the namesnd memories of their children to do good, to change they are resilient and strong like newtown is resilient and vigil done virtually led by a

connecticut against gun violencewe celebrated the lives not onlyf those 20 beautiful childrennd grade ucators but everyone in connecticut over the past year who has died from gun violence because no community is immune from it. it strikes every neighborhood and area of our state and of our country. d so honoring with action is something that we must do in this body. and one of the memories that also haunts me is of the day when we came within a few votes of passing a universal background check bill -- almt 55 votes, but not enough to reach 60. a majory of the senate but not enough for cloture.

and from that gallery, literally, came the shout, she. indeed, shame. shame on uin the united states senate for being complicit in the continuing deaths of thousands ov these past eight years, thousands that could have been prevented, thousands that have our culpability. shame ons for failing to honor with aion. an to me forward on universal background checks and emergency orders, emergency risk protection orders. the two steps keep guns out of the hands of dangerous people who would do harm to themselves through suicide as well as to

others in the shootings that take place on our streets, in our neighborhoods. connecticut has led the way on those measures and others. ethan's law for safe storage. a ban on assault weapons and highapacity magazines. ghost gun bans and other measures that essentially make our neighborhoods and lives safer. but even connecticut, with the strongest gun measures in the guns have no respect for state boundaries. they cross state lines. and the crime gs that come into connecticut are the source of those shootin that kill our people.

and so, there are simple, straightforward steps that we can take, commonsense measures, including stopping the near complete unprecedented immunity of gun manufacturers from any legal responsibility and making sure that they bear liability for the deaths that they cause. our lives have never been the same since sandy hook, but in the wake of that tragedy as well as parkland, las vegas, el paso, orlando and pittsburgh and countless others -- mass shootings, individual

deat -- there has grown a movement, and it is a movement led by young people, by people who care about this cause witht partisan politics. it is a new generation of leaders. it is a movement born of that are -- born of tt grief and pain and anger. the fury of knowing that democracy is not working, the tenacity borof the injustice of those deaths and injuries and trauma. they are fighting to make sure that whatappened at sandy hook or any of those other places never happens again. it is a n class of heroes, and their time is now. their organizations areiverse. moms demand action, students

demand action, march for our lives, giffords, connecticut against gun violence, newtown action lives, sandy hook promise are just a few of them, and they are a movement and they are causing a change in the consciousness in america so that now more than 90% of americans support universal background checks. a comparabl number support emergency risk protection orders known as red flag statutes. 17 states now have them, an increaseubstantially after parkland. and they are not alone. theye joined by survivors from countless communities, too many communities. they're joined by law enforcement officials, first responders, and emergency room nurses and dtors who have the

fithand education about what gun violence does to a human body and a human mind. and they are joined also by advocatesnd activists, community leaders fro every community across the count because this epidemic affects everyone. they are the true leaders of this movement, and i'm proud to stand with them today, as i do every day. my hope is that a new congress will break this cplicity and that we will move forward. that new congress will break president is will change the dynamic not only in this congss, but in the country,

and take advantage of the historic opportunity we have wi a new administration, we have not only this momento opportunity, but also a moral imperative. we have that opportunity to enact strong commonsense gun violencerevention msures. and in addition, although no substitute for legislative action,trong executive action to enhance the effectiveness of background checks, to stop the spread of ghost guns, to take other measures that are within the power of the president alone and to make sure that we expre and use every possible opportunity. and the state will continue acng alone if the federal

government fails to join them. states like connecticut and others around the country who want to protect their citizens will continue to be proactive. we mark thisainful anniversary with renewed resolve. resolve to continue to honor with positive action those whose lives we lost at sandy hook, but also to redoue our efforts to educate and enlist our fellow citizens. it's long pt time. eight years is a long time, much too long for this inaion. our heas still ache. our grief and pain are still

there. for those families, they will nevero away. but make no mistake, this pandemic is no excuse for inaction. if anything, covid-19 has raised the nber of gun purchases and increased the numbers of guns, posing dgers in our neighborhoods. it has heightened the stress and anxiety of people who might use those guns in incidents of domestic violence. it has expanded the jeopardize of suicide aelf-destructive behavior. we have no excuse for inaction because of the pandemic. we have every reason to feel a greater sense of uency now, in the midst of this pandemic to op the epidemic of g

but a straw from the strength and fortitude of these brave in sandy hook, but survivors and loved one everywhere, and sayinally, boldly, unapologetically, enough is enough. enough is enough. it -- thank you, madam presiden. i yield the floor. the presiding officer: will the senator withhold. mr. blumenthal: yes. a senator:adam president. the presiding ficer: the senator fromenness. mrs. blackburn: l thank you, madam president. those of you who have taken time out to watch college sports this fall -- an i know that there are many in this chamber who

have, and they know that the games this year have looked very different when you compare it to previous years' games. and a lot has changed for these young players, but they are no less popular with their fans and no less important to the success and prominence of the academic institutions they represent. for a while now, i have been joined by other members of the commerce committee as we have tried to resolve the tension that exists between the ncaa and college sports stars over a student athlete's right to earn compensation for the use of their name, image, or likeness. this is called the n.i.l. issue. last week, senator wicker, who

is chairman of the commerce committee, introduced the collegiate athlete and compensation rights act which would finally create a uniform national framework to allow student athletes to receive tt compensation without the risk of losing their amateur status and without falling into traps set by this honest outside party's looking to exploit their fame. normally, we don't make too much hay over a bill introduction, table is a first step thatto the student athletes have wanted to see happen f a while, and i thank chairman wicker and senator moran for backing this legislation. and, madam president, i do wan to point out that the reason the

senate has stepped in is because the ncaa just never could get around to addressing this issue. they kept kicking the can down the road. they kept sending it to one committee and to another committee. and the ncaa has shown very little determination to solve this issue for these young athletes, and because the leadership at the ncaa has proven unable and has shown an inability to address this, w have stepped up to address this issue our student athletes deserve more respect than they have been shown by the ncaa.

now, on another topic, 2020 has been a very difficult year, but there haveeen a few rays of sunshinen this year in spite of the quarantines and the social distancing. we were still able to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the 19th amendment, and the suffragists who fought so diligently and consistently for 72 years. for passage of the 19th amendment. much of this celebration of activism and equal rights focused on nashville, tennessee, where the suffragists gathered in the summer of 1920. at the cenr of that battle for the votes sat the hermitage hotel which served as the headquarters and played host to some of the most important

negotiation surrounding the tennessee legislature's final vote on the amendment. this year, the national park service honored the hermitage hotel and the suffragists who fought those battles by designating the site as a national historic landmark. as a female lawmaker, this designation was especially important to me. this congress i had the pleasure of serving here in the senate alongside a fantastic group of women who were living proof of how far we have come since august 18, 1920. unfortunately, this year, we were also reminded of how far we yet have to go. even before president trump officially nominated barret

barret for ruth bader ginsburg's seat on the supreme court, liberals in the media and many of my colleagues on the other side of the aisle, unfortunately, well, they took it upon themsels to be the first to question judge barrett's fitness. but rather than attacking her record, they launched some truly insulting attacks on her religion, her family, her relationship with her husband, and her choice to balance a blended family. with a large you can count on the left to choose intellectual isolation, and you can count on them to look at woman on the political right and say if you're pro-family pro-religion, pro-business, pro-military, pro-life we do not want to hear from you.

now, those attacks may have made the american people cringe, but they certainly didn't turn public opinion against judge baett's confirmation. that campaign failed miserably. if anything, it provided a much-needed reminder that just like the fight for suffrage in the 1920's, the modern woman's fight for equality in 2020 is about more than succeeding in a single job or engaging in a single civic action. it's about exercising our right to participate in democracy and engage in the public square without having to throw ourselves at the mercy o the left's moving goalpost that they use to arbitra define what is and is not an acceptable way of life. justice barrett is now the third

justice president trump has placed on the supreme court. e is in good company because she is part of a class of 229 federal judges confirmed so far under president trump. 144 of them during this congress, and i expect that we will see a few more join the ranks before we aourn for christmas, including two tennesseans that are on this list. i would be remiss if did not remind my colagues that we still have a lot to do before we adjourn. this weekend's announcements about the first round o covid-19 vaccines heading out for delivery were a vy welcome addition to the news cle. to the doctors and scientists who developed the vaccines, to those working behind the scenes through operation warp speed to

get those safe, effective vaccines approved, and to the truck drivers, the shipping professionals, the cold storage developers and other essential workers pushing through a whole lot of overtim to get these ccines in the hands of alth care providers. this morning, i was fortunate enough to stop by the grand opening of cold chain technologies wilson county tennessee facity. the technology they have developed to develop and preserve and transport these vaccines in a thermal ctainer is truly impressive. but don't forget, all across this country, millions of small business men and women and struggling workers aretill waiting for us to agree on and pass another targeted and i will say targeted -- covid

relief legislation. when i talked to tennesseans this weekend, they aren't worried about politics or optics or unassocted wish lis items. they want to see another round of p.p.p. they want to see a plus-up in unemployment insurance they want to see money for vaccines, for testing, for schools so that people can get back to work and childn can get bk to school. that is the relief that americans are looking for. and, mr. president, i will add the rest tansy from some across the aisle and over in the house chamber where they have admitted to playing politics with people's lives has not set well with tennesseans as we enter this christmas season.

i yield the floor and notice the absencof a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk will cal the roll. quorum call:

a senator: mr. president. e presiding officer: the senator from kansas. mr. moran: i would ask unanimous waived. the quorum call be the presiding officer: witho objection. mr. moran: thank y, mr. president. this evening, i want to take just a moment in front of my colleagues to recognize the contributions of a member of my staff, thomas wiln. mr. wilson has spe the last year working in our persol office as part of the department of veterans affairs congressional fellowship program. as thomas departs my office and returns to the department of veterans affairs, i want to express my appciation to him for his hard work and the dedication to serve veterans in kansas and across the nation. thomasas served at the v.a. for more than 18 years. hiselfless approach to service has helped countless veterans receive the care and support

that they have earned. he has surely been an asset to my team as we work to ser kansans, service members, and veterans. thomas served as theegislative director to congressman harold baker, a member of the house veterans affairs committee. he served on the bush transition team after leaving congressional service and then went on to serve in numerous roles at the v.a. these iluded roles as congressional liaison for the v. and the most recently he was the verans expernce office. he is a graduate of the national defense university and has used his experiee to benefit tho who serve our nation in uniform. thomas is fortunate to hav his loving wife ashley and his son chase by h side. ey undoubtedly contribute to thomas' allrue westic -- altruistic nature and he's blessed to have their support. he joined my offic in august 2001 and i was assuming the gavel of the senate veterans affairs committee. his experience navigating the

v.a. proved immensely helpful to my personal andommittee staffs as we set off to advocate for veterans from all walks of life. he was especiall helpful in advocang for wom veterans. thomas led the effort to study post-9/11 female veterans, a cohort of veterans that experiences higher unemployment rates more tha any other demographic. his efforts will lead to policies to support female veterans and to make certain they have the tools necessary to succeed after theirervice to our nation. it's sad to see thomas leave the office but i know that his return to veterans expience office next monthill produce lasting result for many veterans who regularly interact with the department of veterans affairs. thomass an impressive public servant an has been a privilege to work with him and i hold him in highest regard. he's significant asset to our veterans and represents me of the best that our federal government has to offer.

once again thank you, to thos, for all of you haveone for kansans and american veterans this year in association with us and our work. you've been a model of selfless rvice and learship, and i know you will contie to do greathings throughout your career and your life of service wherever that pathay ld. mr. president, i also ask unanimous consent that the mandatory quorum call be waive the presiding officer: without objection.

the presiding officer: the clerk will report the motion to invoke cloture. th clerk: cloture motion: we, the undersigned senators, in accordance with the provisions of rule 22 of the stanng rules of the senate, do hereby move to bring to alose debate on the nomination o thomas l. kirsch ii of indiana to be united states circuit judge for the seventh circuit, 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 thomas l. kirsch ii of indiana to be united states circuit young for the seventh circuit shall be

graduate to -- shall be brought to a close. the yeas and nays a mandatory under the rule. the clerk will call the roll. vote:

vote:

vo:

the presiding officer: does any senator wish to change their vote? has every senator voted? the yeas are 51, the nays a

42. the motion is agreed to.

mr. mcconnell: mr. president. the presiding officer: the majority leader. mr. mcconnell: i ask unanimous consent the senate proceed to consideration of executive calendar 907, that the nomination be confirmed, the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table with no intervening action or debate, and that the president be immediately notified of the senate's action. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. mcconnell: i ask unanimous consent the senate proceed to the consideration of executive calendar 915, 916, 917, 918, 919, 920, 921, 922, 923, 2924,

925, 926, 927, 928, 929, and all nomgdz on the secretary's desk in the air force, army, marine corps, navy, and space force, that the nominations be confirmed, the motions to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table with no intervening action or debate, and the president be immediately notified of the senate's action, and the senate then resume legislative session. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. mcconnell: i ask unanimous consent the senate be in a period of morning business with senators permitted to speak therein for up to ten minutes each. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. mcconnell: i ask unanimous consent the senate proceed to the immediate consideration of calendarumber 514, s. 2597. the presiding officer: the clerk will report. the clerk: caldar number 514, s. 2597, a bill to require the tional oceanic and atmospheric administration to make certain operational models availableo the public, and for other purpos.

the presiding office without objection, the senate will proceed to the measure. mr. mcconnell: i ask unanimous consent the committee-reported substitute amendment be withdrawn, the thune amendment at the desk 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. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. mcconne: i ask unanimous consent the committee on commerce be discharged from further consideration of h.r. 4704, and the senate proceed to its immediate consiration thpresiding offir: the clerk will report. the clerk: h.r. 4704, an act to direct the director of the national science foundation to support multidisciplinary research on the science of suicide, and so forth. the presiding officer: without objection, the committee is discharged and the senate will proceed to the measure. mr. mcconnell: i ask unanimous consent that the wicker amendment at the desk 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. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. mcconnell: i ask unanimous consent the committee on help be

charged from further consideration of s. 1636 and the senate proceed to its immediate considation. the presiding officer: the clerk will report. the clerk: s. 1636, a bill to amend the federal food, drug, and cosmetic act with respect to the scope of new chemical exclusivity. the presiding officer: without objection, the committee is discharged and the senate will proceed to the measure. mr. mcconnell: i ask unanimous consent that the alexander amendment at the desk 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. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. mcconnell: i ask unanimous consent the senate proceed to the immediate consideration of s. con. res. 552. the presiding officer: the clerk will report. the clk: senate concuent resolution 52, to correcthe enrollment of s. 3312. the presiding officer: without objection, the senate will proceed to the measure. mr. mcconnell: i k 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. mcconnell: now, mr. president, i ask unanimous consent that when the senate completes its business today, it adjourn until 10:00 a.m. tuesday, december 15. further, that following the prayer and pledge, the morning business be deemed expired, the journal of proceedings be approved to date, the time for the two leaders be reserved for their use later in the day, and morning business be closed. further, following leader remarks, the senate proceed to executive session, resume consideration of the kirsch nomination. further, that the senate recess at 12:30 until 2:15 to allow for the weekly conference meetings. finally, all time during recess, adjournment, leader remarks, and morning business count postcloture on the kirsch nomination. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. mcconnell: if there is no further business to come before the senate, i ask that it stand adjourned under the previous order. the presiding officer: the the presiding officer: the the senate is out for the

nights. earlier today at members voted to advance the nomination of thomas kirsch, the judge on the seventh court of appeals. he replaced judge amy coney barrett who now serves on the supreme court. the final vote expected tuesday. also this week new judicial nominations impossible debate on covid-19 relief legislation. lawmakers also need to work on federal spending, current government funding expires this friday. follow the senate live on pan2 when members return tuesday. tonight on the communicators, journalists and authored james a ball discusses his book the tangled web we weave about the history of the internet and today's problems including privacy, ownership and monopoly power. we look at this technology thateeps creating monopolies. it keeps creating theiggest businesses in the world, all five of the world's biggest

sted companies are now tech compans. but we don't know the internet this thing that was going to equalize us or cnects, how come it keeps creating these really powerful companies and really powerful individuals? spin it much the communicators site at eat eight eastern on cspan2. ♪ ♪'s >> c-span's washington journal every day, we are taking your calls live on the air, on the news of the day. and discussing policy issues that impact you. coming up tuesday morning economic policy institute senior economist talks about how the pandemic has affected the workforce and how robust covid-19 financial relief measures are needed. bill gertz with the latest in the investigation of california democratic congressman swalwell wells

reported ties to chinese spy and espionage efforts in the u.s. bird watch c-span's "washington journal" live at seven eastern tuesday morning. and be sure to join the discussion with your phone calls, facebook comments, text messages and tweets. tuesday morning a senate subcommittee held a meeting on the live event entertainment industry, watch live beginning at ten eastern on c-span online@c-span.org, or listen on theree c-span radio app. ith coronavirus cases increasing across the count, use our website, c-span.ors trent coronavirus to follow the trends. to track the spread with interactive maps, and watch updates on demand any time at c-span.org,/coronavirus.

officials with the defense and health and human services department hold a news conference on operation or speed and covid-19 vaccine distribution efforts. we heard from hhs secretary alec cesar who spoke about the distribution of the covid-19 vaccine. salient first shipment includes 2.9 milli doses this is about an hour. >> well hello everyon and thank you for joining us for thisistribution update today. we face for challenging friends around the country as the virus spreads of hospitalizations, death near or at record highs in many places and still rising. but today we have hope on the way. supplies of an fda authorized fe and effective covid-19 vaccine are aiving at sites across america. vaccinations