paying ten tens of thousands of dollars for their lives at risk. the women involved, horrific things that happen to them. we stillpa need to have the agriculture labor and i would challenge anybody and longtime american citizens that would want to come out and do some of that they say that they're taking jobs away from americans. then we say come out here do it pretty. >> were going to leave washington journal to to live coverage of congress. the senate is returning. they have the approval of the majority and the minority leaders. the presiding officer: duly noted. ms. klobuchar: mr. president, as a wait a very important moment for justice in my state today, our work goes on, and i am here today, first of all, to acknowledge the loss of my

mentor, vice president walter mondale. he caught the nation's attention fighting for justice. so it is such a moment. working in the forefront of the right to counsel in the landmark case gideon v. wainwright. he followed in the footsteps of hubert humphrey. as vice presidents, he defined the office of the modern-day vice president. he was "fritz" to us. he was our attorney general, our senator, and our vice president. and i know he's up there right now rooting for justice. i'm going to speak more about walter mondale next week, and senator smith and senator grassley and i have a resolution honoring him for his time in the senate, for his time as vice president, which we will be presenting next week. but now, in the name of justice

and the idea that justice must keep rolling along, i want to talk a little bit about some of the people we need in place as we look to the future, as we look to the future of police reform and the would, that you have done -- an the work that you have done as the lead on this bill, mr. president, and the work we must do. to do that, we need a functioning justice department. we have an attorney general who's excellent in merrick garland. we congratulate lisa monaco, who is expected to be confirmed later today with a strong bipartisan vote. but we need more, and we need the presence of new leaders in the justice department. we need to see kristen clarke and vanita gupta confirmed. walter mondale was someone who always raised the bar. he was someone who was ahead of his time. when he introduced housing

legislation and child care legislation, a lot of people said, why are you doing that right now? i think that's a little bit the experience of these two women -- ahead of they are time, doing the right thing, speaking of raising the bar. you know that when many of the women of the senate come to the floor, it's something important going on. and given the challenges that our country faces today, the stakes are high. today we make the case for vanita gupta and kristen clark and to address the unfair and unsubstantiated attacks that we have heard from the other side of the aisle against these eminently qualified women. i have worked closely with ms. gupta and ms. clarke for many years and i am confident they will lead the department of justice with honor and integrity. their nominations also represent an historic opportunity to make progress toward the goal of ensuring that our government looks moore like the people d. more like the people it represents, especially at the department of justice.

when we confirm ms. gupta, she will be the first civil rights lawyered and the first woman of color to serve as the associate attorney general 689 and when we confirm ms. clarke, she will be the first senate-confirmed leader of the civil righted division to be a woman of color. and they will bring years of experience to bear to take on the challenges we have right now, like hate crimes, which we are taking action on this week in the senate; like voting rights, where we just had hearing today in the judiciary committee; a understand where in just a -- and where in just a few weeks we'll be marking up the for the people act in the rules committee, which i chair. as my state and the country are reeling after the dilling of daunte wright and as we await the verdict in the murder of george floyd, we need ms. go up at that and ms. clarke to take on police reform and criminal justice reform. they are the leaders that

attorney general garland wants at the department. he said vanita gupta and kristen clarke, quote, have skills that i do not have. they have experienced that i don't have. and, he said, no human being can have all of the skills necessary to run the justice department, and i need this leadership team if i am going to be successful. attorney general garland, who was confirmed by a bipartisan vote of 76-23, needs his team to be successful. that is something all of us should want. after what we saw during the previous administration, it is essential that the leaders of the justice department are committed to its independence in order to restore trust in our justice system. this is a priority for the attorney general and it is a priority for vanita gupta and kristen clarke. vanita gupta has demonstrated her commitment to the pursuit of justice her entire career. as an attorney general for the naacp legal defense and kegsal

fund, she worked in court to protect the civil rights of some of the most vulnerable people. later the american civil liberties union, she brought cases on behalf of immigrant children and worked to end mass incarceration. while sesqui as our country's chief civil rights prosecutor at the department of justice during the obama administration, ms. gupta led critical work on criminal justice reform, prosecuting hate crimes and human trafficking, defending the right to vote, and protecting the rights of the lgbtq community and those are disabilities. as president of the leadership council on civil rights, the oldest and most diverse human rights coalition, ms. gupta has a record of fighting for all americans with dedication and a willingness to work across ideological lines to achieve results. ms. gupta's depth of experience at the department of justice and her years as a civil rights

attorney makes her eminently qualified to serve as associate attorney general. and i've seen, as i know you have, mr. president, her work firsthand. i was one of the cosponsors of the first step act which made much-needed reforms, a bill that you spent so much leadership on. and ms. gupta worked with us, as she brought a broad range of organizations and experts in support of the bill, including both law enforcement and civil liberties groups. grover nor gift, who supported the first step act, described ms. gupta as an honest broker, someone with an ability not only to understand but also appreciate different perspectives. as i look what my state has been through for the last year and we await this verdict at this moment, that is exactly the kind of person we need at the department right now.

and if you have any lingering questions, i say to my colleagues, just take a look at the number of law enforcement groups that have come out in support of her nomination. just look at it. she is the right person for the job at the right time. then there is kristen clarke, nominated to be assistant attorney general to lead the civil rights division at the department of justice. ms. clarke has spent her entire 20-year career fighting for civil rights and equal justice under the law. early in her career she worked as an attorney in the criminal section of the civil rights division at the justice department in the bush administration. she investigated and prosecuted hate crimes, human trafficking. she also worked in the division's voting section. since 2016, she has been the president and executive director of the lawyers committee for civil and human rights, one of the largest and most important civil rights organizations dedicated to the pursuit of equal justice for all.

and it is important to note the history of the lawyers committee, which was created at the request of president john f. kennedy in the summer of 1943, programs the defining year -- 1963, programs the defining year of the civil rights movement. this is an organization of attorneys founded to organize their peers to use their training to advance civil rights for all americans. isn't that just who we want leading the civil rights division at the department of justice? i've worked with ms. clarke many years on election issues. she testified before the rules committee, impressed everyone on both sides of the aisle. at that time, she said that following the direction of many, she is going to work to ensure that the civil rights division is using the tools in its arsenal and she said that now as she's been nominated for this position, the voting rights act, the voter national registration act, a the uniformed and

overseas absentee citizens voting act to ensure that eligible americans have access to the ballot in our country. she also mentioned that she was here in the senate chamber in 2006 when this body passed the reauthorization of the voting rights act -- on what vote? -- 98-0. that is why she has support from republicans and democrats who work on these issues. trevor potter, who previously chaired the f.c.c. as a republican commissioner, called ms. clarke one of the foremost legal experts in the country on voting rights and described her as smart, honest, and deeply committed to equal justice under law. trey grayson, a republican who served as chair of the republican association of secretaries of state, sent a letter expressing his strong support of ms. clarke. and we've also heard from former assistant attorneys general of the civil rights division, who served in both republican and

democratic administrations, who wrote, we find ms. clarke to be an excellent candidate from the standpoint of experience, temperament, and commitment to the rule of law. she has the experience, the commitment, and the passion to do this job. i am joined by a number of our colleagues today -- senator stabenow was here earlier, senator hirono is with us on the floor -- 0 to stand up for ms. gupta and ms. clarke and to dismiss the falsehoods we heard from colleagues on the other side. but we are also here to make the case for why we must seize this historic opportunity to send two women of color to lead the justice department. so, as this pivotal moment we live in -- at this very moment, to my message to my friends vanita and kristen today is this -- we have your backs just as you have the backs of the people

of this country. those jurors this minnesota, they're not talking to each other about if they're democracy or republicans. -- if they're democrats or republicans. they have a job to do. the witnesses that came forward in that case, people that just happened to be there -- a store clark doing his -- a store clerk doing his job, a man who happened to walk by, a police officer who offered to testify, they didn't ask people what political party they were in. they just came forward. that is why i ask my colleagues to step back and think about what justice really means today and what it will mean tomorrow, and ask them to support ms. gupta and ms. clarke to serve with merrick garland and lisa monaco to run the department of justice. thank you, and i yield the floor. ms. hirono: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from hawaii. ms. hirono: i echo the

sentiments expressed by my colleague from minnesota, and i rise today in support of the nomination of vanita gupta to be associate attorney general of the united states. today i am focusing my remarks on ms. gunpoint ttackers but i will -- on ms. gupta, but i will have some word of support for kristen clarke later. for four years donald trump treated the justice department like his personal law firm. he ordered that the department's attorneys drop charges or reduce sentencing recommendations against his friends and cronies. he ordered investigations and prosecutions against his political enemies. he even had the department step in to defend him against a defamation claim relating to an allegation of rape. by the end of the trump administration, the justice department's reputation was tarnished and the morale of its employees was lower than at any point since watergate.

thankfully, president biden has named a professional, highly qualified team to lead the justice department and restore its place of prominence and moral authority in following the rule of law. it is significant that the senate confirmed merrick garland as attorney general and will shortly confirm lisa monaco as deputy attorney general with strong bipartisan support. i am disappointed that vanita gupta, a similarly well-qualified nominee, is not receiving the same bipartisan support. a few weeks ago i sat in the judiciary committee for nearly two hours listening to my republican colleagues smear ms. gupta with lies about her record. lies like that she wants to decriminalize all drugs, that she wants to defund the police, that she is somehow responsible for the production of crystal meth in mexico.

when chair durbin finally called for a vote, not a single republican supported ms. gupta's nomination. as i sat there listening to these lies and smears, i asked myself a question -- i'm still pondering that question today. what exactly are republicans afraid of? unlike many of president trump's nominees, vanita gupta is actually qualified to help lead the justice department. throughout her career, ms. gupta has shown the strategic acumen, dogged dwerm nation and coalition building skills necessary to navigate the challenges facing our country. as a young attorney with the aclu, she worked to exonerate 38 wrongfully convicted men and women in tulsa -- toleo, texas. mostly people of color, they have been convicted of drug crimes based on the testimony of a single undercover police officer and sentenced to prison

for periods of up to 434 years. ms. gupta was able to show that the officer was racially bias and had a reputation for dishonesty. she demonstrated that he falsified reports and misidentified defendants. in light of this evidence, the court found that the officer, quote, may be the most derveious, owe devious, nonresponsive law enforcement witness this court has witnessed in 25 years on the bench in texas. end quote. the case was so compelling that then-texas governor rick perry pardoned 35 of the defendants. it was such a miscarriage of justice that those pardoned individuals ultimately received a $6 million settlement. ms. gupta later went on to lead the justice department's civil rights division. in this role she stood up for

the rights of transgender students and prisoners, fought discrimination against service members, and defended the right to vote. from there ms. gupta served as president and c.e.o. of the leadership conference on civil and human rights where, among other things, she played a key role in passing the most significant criminal justice reform package in years. ms. gupta's qualifications are borne out in this experience and in the widespread support that she has received conservative leaders and long-time republicans like grover norquist and michael steele have praised ms. gupta as a consensus builder on critical issues like voting rights and criminal justice reform. and every major law enforcement organization, including the fraternal order of police and national sheriffs association

have endorsed ms. gupta's nomination. in light of this widespread support, it's tough to take the criticisms i hear from my colleagues on the other side seriously. if ms. gupta supported defunding the police or decriminalizing all drugs, how does she manage to get universal support from law enforcement communities. if she is such a radical progressive, why are people like groarvegger norquist -- grover norquist and former consular of coke industries endorsing her nomination. republican criticism of ms. gupta is also hard to take seriously after they spent the past four years, four years -- i was there -- push thriewg some d.o.j. and judicial nominees who are either wholly unqualified, openly supported disenfranchisement of black americans or were critically accused of sexual assault. after four years of permissive

deference to donald trump, it's rich to hear my republican colleagues attacking and demeaning a strong, smart, and highly qualified woman of color like vanita gupta to serve in the justice department. their attacks aren't an exercise of the senate's constitutional duty to provide advice and consent. it's pure partisan politics at its worst. president biden nominated vanita gupta to serve as associate attorney general because she is the best person for the job. and the senate should confirm her without further delay. mr. president, i yield the floor. ms. hirono: mr. president? i note the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll.

quorum call:

a senator: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senate is in a quorum call. a senator: i ask that the quorum call be vitiated. the presiding officer: without objection. ms. duckworth: mr. president, from police reform to anti-asin hate crimes, americans across the nation are pushing, pulling, tugging with all their might to make sure the united states lives up to our funding -- founding ideals of equality and justice for all. at the same time the biden administration is charged with the immense responsibility of restoring confidence and integrity to the united states department of justice. donald trump's political appointees undermined the department's mission and demoralized its dedicated career civil servants through years of gross mismanagement and improper politicization. we desperately need leaders with integrity, honor, and just basic competence to restore morale at

the department of justice and empower the agency to meet the moment. fortunately, i am confident that both vanita gupta and kristen clarke are among the most qualified and prepared public servants to take on the daunting challenges that lie ahead. for far too many people in this country, equal protection under the law is not a reality. all across this country there are communities that believe and for good reason that the law is not on their side. individuals fear coming forward to report that they've been a victim of a hate crime or even worse, law enforcement fails to identify and report racist violence and discrimination. and the senseless killing of unarmed black and brown americans at the hands of law enforcement has become an all too common occurrence. just a few days ago, the country was shocked by video footage documenting local law enforcement officers brazenly threatening and assaulting an army second lieutenant who was in his military uniform and

simply asking to know why he had been pulled over. if this is how the windsor police department while knowing it is being videotaped treats an army officer in uniform, a man who swore an oath to support and defend the constitution of the united states with his own life if necessary, one wonders if such misconduct represents a stettic -- systemic pattern of practice or abuse. this incident simply reinforces why our nation must have a strong and proactive d.o.j. civil rights division. additionally, the promise of the a.d.a. is still not a reality for far too many americans with disabilities. after years of disability rights being neglected or at worse undermined by partisan e effort, it is time for the d.o.j. to step up and ensure that the rights of americans with disabilities are fully recognized, enforced, and protected. i look forward to working with kristen clarke and vanita gupta to fulfill the promise that america made to people with

disabilities, including myself over 30 years ago. we need ms. gupta and ms. clarke's leadership at d.o.j. to energize and inspire the department as it refocuses on its mission of ensuring the fair and impartial administration of justice for all americans. as a former head of the u.s. department of justice civil rights division and leader of the leadership conference on civil and human rights which is one of the largest civil rights organizations in the nation, ms. gupta's record shows that she is committed to advancing the rights of all americans. her decades of effective leadership and efficacy are why her nomination has garnered widespread support not only from civil rights groups but also from prominent law enforcement organizations like the fraternal order of police. likewise, ms. clarke is widely respected and admired as one of our country's leading legal experts on civil rights. she has proven her effective in the in -- effectiveness in defending the rights of all

americans as a federal and state official as well as a leader of the naacp and most recently as the president of the national lawyers committee for civil rights under law. representation matters. confirming these barrier-breaking women who would both be the first woman of color to formally occupy the positions to which they've been nominated sends a clear message we are committed to having our federal government's leadership look like the country it serves. there should be no doubts about these nominees' qualifications for these critical d.o.j. positions and i urge my senate colleagues in joining me to confirm vanita gupta and kristen clarke. thank you. mr. president, i note the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. quorum call:

quorum call:

ms. stabenow: mr. president, i would ask suspension of the quorum call. the presiding officer: without objection. ms. stabenow: thank you very much. mr. president, i rise today alongside my colleagues to urge

the senate to quickly confirm vanita gupta as associate attorney general. ms. gupta is imminently qualified with an impressive background in public service and a broad support from civil rights organizations and law enforcement organizations. it's pretty specific when you look at everyone who is supporting her because of her competency and her work. she will be effective on day one, and we don't have a day to lose right now. right now, americans are at risk of losing their fundamental rights, our right to vote, our right to be treated fairly in a court of law, even our right to safely walk down the street and not be targeted based on what we look like, who we are. it's the job of the department of justice to protect these rights and so much more. take voting rights. across our nation, this call --

this right called sacred by our beloved late congressman john lewis is under attack. it's under attack in michigan, as well as other states, as well as the entire country. republicans in the michigan legislature are trying to push through a package of bills that would take away people's freedom to vote. our secretary's fate -- our secretary of state has said in some ways it's worse than what they passed in georgia. lete me remind everyone that last november, in the middle of a pandemic, more people in michigan voted than ever voted in the history of our state. and when audits were done, time after time after time, it was clear there was no fraud, no fraud that they found in this election. 5.5 million people in michigan voted.

michigan counties verified it, our state certified it. that should be something that we should all celebrate. but because they didn't like who folks voted for, they didn't like the results, michigan republicans are coming after michigan voters to take away their freedom to vote. michigan voters need vanita gupta in their corner because it's a corner that she has been in before. during her time at the department of justice, she oversaw a number of high-profile voting rights cases, including challenges to voter suppression laws in north carolina and texas. and she has also been a leader in fighting discrimination. across the country, we have seen increasing incidences of hate crimes, particularly those targeting asian americans. according to the group stop aapi hate, there have been about

3,800 incidences of asian americans being targeted in the past year. 25 of those incidences happened in michigan. i know of asian americans -- i know asian americans across our country are living in fear right now, wondering if it's safe to go to the grocery store or if they need to tell their elderly mom or dad not to walk alone outside. we have an important hate crimes bill on the floor of the united states senate right now. it has bipartisan support. it's terrific, and we need to get that passed. but in order to make sure we fully implement that and have the leadership in the department to do that, we need to make sure vanita gupta is confirmed. under ms. gupta, hate crimes will be taken seriously at the department of justice. we know this because it's what she has done her entire career. vanita gupta would be the first

civil rights lawyer, the first woman of color to serve associate attorney general. that's important because when an agency's leaders have diverse experiences and backgrounds, agencies are better able to make more informed decisions. they make sense. and when our nation's leaders look like the diverse communities they serve, our communities are likely to have confidence in their leadership. vanita gupta is the right person at the right time for the department of justice. i urge my colleagues to support her nomination and to confirm her together on the floor of the united states senate. i yield the floor.

mr. durbin: mr. president, i understand a couple of my colleagues are on their way. i will defer to them when they arrive. i want to first thank senator stabenow for her statement about vanita gupta. this is an extraordinary person. you as a member of the senate judiciary committee were there for her testimony and know her personally, and i have come to know her. when you read and learn of her personal story, it's amazing. nothing short of amazing. she was six months graduated from law school when she was sent down to texas, a town called tulia, texas, to tackle an assignment that a veteran civil rights lawyer would have

thought twice about tackling. there were a group of over 30 african americans who had been falsely accused of drug dealing and convicted and were in prison when she was sent down there to try to do something after their conviction. it's an incredible story, the courage she showed. six months out of law school, and she ultimately was successful. those african americans and others were pardoned by the republican governor of texas, governor perry. and they were given a cash award for damages that they had suffered as a result of it. her commitment to civil rights is more than just a cerebral commitment. it is a commitment where she has risked many times her personal safety to show how much she cared for the rights of others. thank you for saying those kind words about her. i'm hoping that the senate will give her a chance to continue to serve our nation.

i'd like to speak now, if i can, to a vote that's coming up momentarily, and that's the vote for lisa monaco to be our next deputy attorney general. the deputy attorney general, commonly known as the d.a.g., is the second highest ranking official in the justice department. the d.a.g. is effectively the d.o.j. chief operating officer overseeing the department's day-to-day operations. lisa monaco may be the most qualified individual ever to be nominated deputy attorney general. that's saying something, but i think we can back it up. her credentials include a wealth of experience, her commitment to restoring independence and integrity at the justice department, and the broad, broad range of support she's garnered. let me begin with her experience. she served at nearly every level of the justice department. she knows that agency, and she knows what it can do. she was an assistant u.s. attorney, counselor and chief of

staff to the director of the f.b.i., associate deputy attorney general, principal associate deputy attorney general, and the assistant attorney general for the national security division. she is also one of the nation's foremost national security experts. that's when i first met her, working in the obama white house. as president obama's deputy national security advisor, ms. monaco coordinated the federal government's response to major security threats, including pandemics, terrorism, mass shootings, and cyberattacks. our nation is facing serious challenges today -- the covid-19 pandemic, a gun violence pandemic, a surge in hate crimes, domestic violence extremism, which culminated in the assault on the u.s. capitol and this very chamber just a few short weeks ago, and global threats and challenges from russia, china, and elsewhere. ms. monaco's experience responding to security threats has prepared her to oversee

d.o.j.'s operations at this critical moment in history. but as not only ms. monaco's national security expertise that makes her the right person for this role. after president trump used the justice department to serve his own personal and political agenda, we need to restore a well-functioning, independent department committed to the principle of equal justice under the law. it is just that basic. ms. monaco understands the importance of protecting d.o.j.'s independence. she has praised two of her mentors -- attorney general janet reno and f.b.i. director bob mueller for their, quote, reverence for the institution, for upholding the norms and traditions of independence and for doing justice without fear or favor, and never, never letting politics or partisanship influence a politics decision. she committed to me that she

would have the same reverence. that is precisely the attitude we need to restore the justice department's integrity. it's no surprise that individuals from across the political spectrum support ms. monaco's nomination. the judiciary committee received scores of letters from a broad range of advocacy groups -- alliance for justice, gun safety organizations, law enforcement, environmental organizations, victims and survivors of crime, and so many more. we also received a letter supporting ms. monaco's nomination from 29 former senior d.o.j. officials who served under presidents of both parties, including attorneys general loretta lynch and eric holder who served in the obama administration, and attorneys general michael mukasey and alberto gonzalez who served in the bush administration. those d.o.j. officials wrote of ms. monaco, quote, she has the values, temperament and strength to perform at the highest level of the department.

they went on to say, and i quote, each of us knows how demanding this job is with its extraordinary span of control and the need for strong principled leadership. we believe that ms. monaco is highly qualified for this role. she knows the department of justice from every angle. she understands the job and she's prepared well for it. we urge her confirmation. attorney general garland praised ms. monaco's selection as the next deputy attorney general. he told us in the judiciary committee that he needed her on his leadership team at the department, and so does the nation. i look forward to voting for lisa o. monaco and urge all of my colleagues to do the same. mr. president, i yield the floor and suggest the -- i would like to enter into the record a separate statement. i'll just have it printed. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. durbin: i suggest the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. quorum call:

the presiding officer: the senator from washington. ms. cantwell: mr. president, i ask the quorum call be dispensed with. the presiding officer: without objection. ms. cantwell: thank you, mr. president. i come to the floor this afternoon to support the nominations of vanita gupta and kristen clarke to serve in the leadership of the u.s. department of justice, and i'm here, mr. president, to say that just because you are pro-civil rights does not mean that you are somehow anti-police. to be for a department of justice that will help us make the right decisions in enforcing civil rights laws around the united states is what is at stake with these nominations. i personally am tired of the challenges that we have faced at home when we do not have people being held accountable and we have incident after incident, and the last administration said instead of playing our role on descent decrees and making sure federal civil rights laws are

enforced, instead they say we're going to stop playing that role. so it is so important that we get a department of justice that will fight for the civil rights and civil liberties of all americans. both these women are highly qualified. they have defended our constitution. they have defended the civil rights of all americans, and they will ensure that everyone, including the police, are held accountable. we've probably heard this afternoon my colleagues praising vanita gupta's service as associate attorney general, the third-highest position in the united states department of justice. she is very qualified for the position. she will be the first civil rights lawyer and woman of color to serve in this role. she led the civil rights division during the obama administration and previously served as attorney with the american civil liberties union.

so when it came to enforcing consent decrees, she made sure in the obama administration we did the job. now why is this so important? i can tell you in seattle, we had a native american indian carver who happened to stop carving on one corner to walk to another corner and was shot and killed by a police officer because he didn't respond immediately to put down your knife. i'm so glad the federal government was there to say what is going on in seattle with the police department and overseeing on a consent decree. we had a tragic situation in spokane where a disabled man just went in to buy a soft drink, but because somebody thought he was fooling around with the a.t.m. machine, they called the police. and when the police arrived and he didn't respond meal, he -- immediately, he was shot and killed. that was otto zimm's afternoon

activity, to go to the store. as he lay there dying he said, i just wanted to get a soda. thank god we had a civil rights p division at the united states department of justice that said, yes, we are going to intervene and make sure there is oversight of the spokane police department and investigation, and we are going to make sure that the civil liberties of all americans, all americans, whether you're white, black, or disabled, or native american, your civil rights are going to be upheld. but instead of discussing what is the proper role of the federal government in making sure that civil liberties and civil rights of all americans are upheld when their rights are violated, instead people have said, well, ms. gupta doesn't support -- she supports decriminalization of all drugs. well, from a state that's actually passed a majority of our counties passed in support of marijuana, i guarantee you,

my state views some of these issues very differently. but i can say emphatically ms. gupta has stated consistently she does not support the decriminalization of all drugs, nor do the people of washington just because they voted to legal marijuana. ms. gupta does not -- voted to legalize marijuana. ms. gupta does not claim that all drugs should be legal and she does not adhere to the statements that some people have tried to paint her with. you have to ask yourself, what are they afraid of? what are they afraid she's going to do at the department of justice besides uphold our civil liberties? some of my colleagues decried she supports defunding the police. there is zero proof that she supports defunding the police. i don't know why we keep having this debate, but she has worked and understands the police officers' perspective. she has worked to ensure they have been provided with adequate resources. she has worked on building relationships. she has a comprehensive to law

enforcement and to their organizations. and i believe she deserves the support of our colleagues. in a letter to the senate judiciary committee, the fraternal order of police described ms. gupta as one who, quote, always worked with us to find common ground, even when that seemed impossible, end quote. so it's clear that she has support of police. so we need someone like her who's going to bring back this important role of oversight to these important issues. ms. clarke, the same thing. she's nominated to head the civil rights division where she once worked as a trial lawyer. she previously codirected the voting rights work of the naacp naacp, legal defense and education fund, the civil rights bureau in new york state, attorney general's office and served as the president of the lawyers committee on civil rights under the law. i've called her, i've interviewed her. why? because i am tired of the

violence and hate crimes in the state of washington. i'm tired of hearing time and time again about these issues. and it can be the synagogue in spokane, where literally somebody spray painted it. and you would think how are we going to find who spray painted a swastika on a synagogue in spokane? you think how are we going to find that person? okay, not a lot of trouble because people actually said we did it purposely because we're an organization who believes in this, and we wanted to get our message out. that's what we're facing. and several years ago we found a bomb planted in the martin luther king day parade in spokane, just a few years ago. so these aren't issues that we're sending somebody over to the department of justice to analyze and write a report on. we're asking people to help us with the situation in the united states of america to fight hate

crimes and to bring about justice on the civil rights and civil liberties of all americans. and so we have to have people that we have confidence that they are going to uphold our laws and enforce them. we need to have consent decrees to hold police departments accountable for systematic violations of constitutional rights. we need to defend voting rights and to make sure that hate crimes against asian pacific islanders are prosecuted. and so this is why the nomination of ms. clarke is so important. i ask my colleagues on the other side of the aisle, if you are facing any of this in your state, please get kristen clarke to be there to help us address these issues. advocating for increased investment in mental health and social work and school resources for minority communities is something that law enforcement agrees with.

they agree that we should do these things. so that is not defunding the police, and yet people accuse kristen clarke of the same thing. she must be for defunding the police. i've talked to prosecutors throughout the state of washington, and they will tell me that these programs that help families and communities identify these problems early are the better thing to keep them from having to really have problems later. i certainly hope that some of the false claims that people have made about ms. clarke being anti-police are struck down as being untrue. ms. clarke understands law enforcement must collaborate with the state and local level. she has a solid record of working cooperatively with law enforcement. she is supported by the major chief association, national association of black law executives, bipartisan

executives and more than 30 chiefs throughout the united states. that can't be somebody who is anti-law enforcement. they have the support of law enforcement. what we need is the support of our colleagues to say that these are serious issues and the federal government does play a role. that is why it's called the department of justice, and that is why they oversee and make sure that the civil liberties of all americans are upheld. as attorney general and at the lawyers committee, ms. clarke played a key role in launching a religious rights initiative to address faith-based discrimination to fight anti anti-semitic activities. whep ms. clarke lead the lawyers committee and led the charge in shutting down abhorrent anti-semitic websites that made racist comments and some were in

connection with stormfront .oro used to unite the rally in charlottesville. she recognized online hate is an emerging hate and congress must address that threat. after seeing what happened here in the capitol as we saw protests, ms. clarke's expertise and dedication to fighting online hate would be beneficial to the department and to all americans. so i implore my colleagues, these are strong women, great qualifications, have been in the mix on these policy issues for a long time. they know what we're up against. we have to ask ourselves, are we going to enforce the law? these women will inforce the law and they have the -- enforce the law and they have the support of law enforcement. we should proceed and confirm both of them. i thank the president and i yield the floor.

the presiding officer: under the previous order, the senate will resume executive session and consideration of the gensler nomination. all time has expired. the question occurs on the nomination. is there a sufficient second? there appears to be. the clerk will call the roll. vote:

vote:

vote:

the presiding officer: on this vote, the yeas were 54, the nays were 45. one senator responded present. the nomination is confirmed.

under the previous order, the senate will resume consideration of the following nomination, which the clerk will report. the clerk: department of justice, lisa o. monaco of the district of columbia to be -- the presiding officer: the senate will come to order. the clerk: to be deputy attorney general. the presiding officer: the question occurs on the nomination. is there a sufficient second? there appears to be. the clerk will call the roll. vote:

vote:

vote:

vote:

the presiding officer: the yeas are 98, the nays are 2, and the nomination is confirmed. under the previous order, the motion to reconsider is considered made and laid upon the table. the president will be immediately notified of the senate's action, and the senate will resume legislative session. mr. inhofe: mr. president. the presiding officer: the senator from oklahoma is recognized. mr. inhofe: mr. president, the the -- last week -- no, it wasn't last week. it was about three weeks ago now, president biden released his skinny budget which gave us a top line for defense of

$715 billion. this is a reduction -- and i want to make sure everyone understands this, because the cut is actually below inflation, and that's not where we're supposed to be. you know, we had this document here everyone agrees with. i don't know one person. this is six democrats, six republicans, and this was in 2018. this has been used as our blueprint ever since that time, and it has been remarkable the way it's come out. i appreciate that. thank you. anyway, the recommendations on these are, as i said, six republicans, six democrats, all of them experts in the field of defense, and they came out with recommendations. on this year, the amount of budget for our military is supposed to be between 3% and 5%. this is in the document in front

of us here. of course, this is actually a reduction, so it's way below what has been prescribed. now, when it comes to china, there are two big reasons we need to make sure our budget matches our strategy. first of all, china is spending more on their military than ever before. as a result, they are getting more technologically advanced and starting to sway the military balance of power in their favor. there is no question about it. and i will document that in a minute. the threat that chinese military poses is not a distant threat. it's not something that might happen in 2030, 2035, or sometime in the future. it's a problem we face today, right now. it only gets worse over time. so admiral davidson told the armed services committee that he expects the threat to manifest this -- quote, this decade. in fact, in the next six years.

that's a sense of urgency. that's when they become greater than we are in many areas of defense and aggression. so today i'd like to spend some time dealing with the chinese military, what they are doing, and this is what we're up against. this is why it's so important that we get our defense budget right. let's start with china's military budget. since 2000, beijing's spending on the people's liberation army has gone up 450%. 450%. now, we knew that back during the last -- during the obama administration, that actually went up, our reduction -- it was a reduction in the last five years of 25%. at the same time china went up by 83%. so this is what's going on in the world today. so beijing's budget for the military went up 450%.

now, you compare beijing's buildup with the rest of east asia. at the same time our corral ice and partners in the region -- that's japan, australia, south korea, taiwan -- have basically flat defense budgets since 2020. or compare it with our own military spending. as i mentioned on the floor a couple of weeks ago, at the same time china was adding $200 billion to their defense budget, ours was shrunk by $400 billion. we're certainly not provoking them to defense investment. we barely touched our force posture in the western pacific over the past two decades. so if anything, our lack of action, our lack of investment is what is provoking china into thinking they can push around and threaten our friends in the

region. the biden administration says that they want to take allies and partners seriously, so we should listen when they say that they are concerned about chinese aggression. now -- and they are. and the administration knows this. i've had visits with the president p he's fully aware of that. another progressive talking point is that the united states spends more on defense than the next 10 or 12 countries combined. now, that's not true. the reality is that any honest comparison of numbers shows combined the chinese and russians almost certainly spend more than us in real terms. china's purchasing power is significantly greater than ours because they pay their workers next to nothing and have much lower material costs. so they also focus their defense spending on hard power. and i'm talking about airplanes,

tanks, ships, missiles, and like. now why? because they don't take care their people. people don't understand this. at least 40% of our military budget goes to supporting our people. now, that's not true with any of the communist countries that are out there. all they do -- they give them the guns so they go out and kill people. we dedo that. 40% -- would don't do that. 40%a conservative figure. you remember, mr. president, the housing issue that was such a big issue. that you were concerned with, i was concerned with, we were all concerned with. that's something that other countries don't have to worry about. china doesn't worry about that. russia doesn't worry about that. these are things that -- and yet that's the -- that's almost half of our total budget goes to those things for our troops. we take care of our troops. the rest of them don't. and that's the right thing to do, but that's just another reason you can't do a dollar-for-dollar comparison between the chinese and the defense spending.

we need a better accounting. and incidentally, senator romney introduced an amendment to our last year's ndaa, military defense, to get us a real comparison of spending. and the pentagon owes us that report by october. now, in october we're going to talk about this. we're going to talk about this in our military because this is what the real spending is, not what a lot of people think that it is. now, all this to say we don't have a good sense of china's true defense spending, but we do know it's going up. general mcmaster called it the -- this is a quote. he said, the largest peacetime military buildup in history. that's what general mccaster said just the other day -- mcmaster said just the other day at one of our hearings. so they're not just explaining their military. they're modernizing and

professionalizing it at that time. secretary austin, our secretary of defense, calls china our pacing threat. but the here are a few of the that's what they have been -- but here are a few of the ways that they've been outpacing us. the american people think we're investing, but we're not. china has a $355-ship -- china has had a 355-ship november. we've been talking about how we're going to grow to a 355-ship navy. and we've not done this. well, china has done it. they achieved that last year. while we were just talking about it, they were on the attack to get 466 ships. our navy is around 300 ships and it is likely to stay there for -- if our defense budget doesn't grow. in the air, the commander assess that china will have more fifth-generation aircraft than we do in the pacific by 2025.

again, the fifth-generation aircraft. we're down now to the f-35. there are not any others. we had the f-22. the f-22 was our first fifth-generation fighter, and it was one that we were all very excited about and they started out wanting 700 of them. we ended up with 187, just for fiscal reasons. so, again, that's what -- where china is right now. that gets worse if we have a flat or declining budget here. china is expanding its arsenal, too. the pentagon's missile experts tell us that china is now over 350 launchers for medium-range ballistic missiles, which are capable of hitting long and striking united states warships in the pacific. they've produced exact copies of our bases, our ships, and our aircraft to serve as targets.

and they're out there right now shooting those targets. that's us. that's america. and they are shooting on the replicas of our equipment to show that they can down them. and, by the way, they hit those targets successfully, i might add. and that's going on today. they've also -- they also have house is of short-range missiles. many of them are pointed right at taiwan. china is also doubling its nuclear stockpile and completing their own nuclear triad. and that's something that we've -- we have even criticism in this country that we have a triad that is three ways of deflecting nuclear attacks on america. so that is what is going on right now. china's military is charging ahead in just about every area, but a lot of the people who don't think china is a problem, they say that none of the chinese weapons are as good as

ours. well, that is true -- that was true in the year 2000. that's not true anymore. the office of naval intelligence said in 2015 that china's latest surface warships were comparable in many ways to the most modern western ships. now, china has deployed thousands of ground-based missiles. we're still developing ours. they have fielded hypersonic strike weapons. they're still in research -- we're still in the research and development -- you might remember, mr. president, because we saw that, the parade that was taking place in beijing. they were demonstrating that they have these weapons that we don't have, and that was less than a year ago. just last month the national security commission on artificial intelligence addressed the -- assessed that the china rate of investment, they will soon dominate us in

artificial intelligence unless we do something different than we're currently doing. and while chinese -- the chinese will spend almost $50 billion on tech infrastructure over the next few years, national security infrastructure is apparently the only thing that president biden doesn't consider infrastructure. so not only is china spending more on its military, but it has the tools to beat us. don't take my word for it. the bipartisan n.d.s. -- this is the document that we've been using and it's been remarkably accurate since 2018. that n.d.s. commission said -- right in this book -- said the u.s. military might struggle to win or perhaps lose a war against china or russia. that's what they said in 2018. and china has been going up ever since. admiral davidson told us the

other week -- two weeks ago -- that, quote, there is no guarantee that the united states would win a future conflict with china. china's military buildup isn't just investment for the sake of it. they are already flexing their new muscle to challenge america and american allies and american interests. the p.l.a. has deployed missiles, jet fighters in the south china sea claiming and militarizing islands in violation of international law. so just last year the p.l.a. fired anti-ship ballistic missiles into the south china sea. clearly practicing to target u.s. navy ships in the area. and that's what they're doing today. those are chinese troops walking on islands in the south china sea.

the p.l.a. has been expanding its effort of strategic ports and bases around the world from djibouti to pakistan and scree language can a and elsewhere. last year china started going after the territory of india, which has resulted in dozens of dead indian soldiers. they've continually harassed china and taiwan in the air and on the sea. their fleets have terrorized small nations. over 200 chinese boats are staking out a reef in the south china sea claimed by the philippines. china has just completed a new satellite, constellation around taiwan that allows almost constant coverage. island. the -- of the island. the heightest-known frequency of satellite coverage in the world. a few weeks ago taiwan reported the largest ever chinese incursion when 25 combat

aircraft flew into its airspace. and as the cochair of the taiwan caucus, this is of specific concern to me. some people have forgotten that aggression by nation-states is not a thing of the past. people have forgotten how costly it is when deterrence fails. that's why i'm arguing for sustained real growth in the defense budget. we know it's necessary. we know that it'ssttainable because the -- we know that it's attainable because the burden of defense spending today is half what it was at the height of the cold war. the biden administration is trying to tell us that we can invest in economic and technological competition or the military competition, and that's a failings choice. we got -- and that's a false choice. we the g.a.o. to do the military. the reality is that the chinese are engaged in every dimension of this competition, especially the military dimension.

they're not going to stop anytime soon. so i'd very to say, do we really want to be there for our allies or partners? do we want our children and grandchildren to live in a world where our status -- leader of the free world -- is? name only? you dorr -- is in name only? my wife and i have been married for 61 years. we have 20 grand i had cans. do we want these kids to grow up in a world where china, the same country that is committing genocide against the uighurs, silencing free speech and jailing activists in hong kong, to set the rules of international engagement? this isn't a hypothetical question. that's a question that we're answering each year when we set our military budget. and, frankly you -- and, frankly, i'm disappointed in how

the current increasing is answering that -- is answering that call s this begins with adequate resourcing of our military with real growth in the defense budget. it's kind of a myth floating around a every time i give a speech someplace -- in the state of oklahoma or elsewhere -- there's kind of an assumption that we in the united states have the best of everything. and following world war ii, that was true. but that isn't true today. if america chooses to sit on the sidelines in this competition and we ask our allies and partners to face china alone, the failure of military deterrence becomes more likely, and that's an outcome that nobody there or here wants. with that, i yield the floor. i suggest the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll.

quorum call:

mr. daines: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from montana is recognized. mr. daines: i ask that the quorum call be vitiated. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. daines: mr. president, it wasn't enough for democrats like stacey abrams and president biden to lie about the new

georgia voting law. now today chuck schumer is sending his lawyers to swarm montana courtrooms and he has taken to the senate floor with more distortion. this time it's about montana's new voting laws. i have a message for leader schumer and the democrats who are trying to distort the facts and the will of montana voters. please get your facts straight. in montana we're putting in place some commonsense reforms that enjoy the strong support of moansians -- montanans. why is the leader so determined to strike down commonsense efforts to provide integrity and transparent to our elections? let's talk about voter i.d. a majority of americans support needing a photo i.d. to cast a ballot. according to the honest

elections project, 77% of americans support needing a photo i.d. to vote, 77%. why? because it's common sense. and because you need a photo i.d. to do many tasks, some quite mundane. you need a photo i.d. to get a hunting and fishing license. you need a photo i.d. to drive a car, rent a car, get on an airplane. to pick up tickets at will call. if these simple tasks require a valid i.d., shouldn't protecting the integrity of america's election process require at least the same? this isn't the first time leader schumer and the democrats have tried to stick their nose into montana's business and try to overturn the will of montana voters. in fact this past election, dark money groups backed by chuck schumer pushed to loosen

election standards such as ballot harvesting in montana. and they won. this is despite the fact that nearly two-thirds of montana voters passed a law to prohibit ballot harvesting. now how is this listening to montanans? it's not. mr. president, montanaians want -- montanans want election integrity. they want to trust their elections and yet leader schumer continues to undermine their direct appeal to put commonsense practices in place. in montana we want everyone legally allowed to vote to be able to, and we want there to be zero doubt that those votes should count. all montanans, republicans, democrats, independents, libertarians should have faith in our elections.

montana's legislature, the montana secretary of state christie jacobson, and montana governor greg forte wanted to strengthen this trust and that's what they did with these commonsense bills. the distortion by democrats in this country is eroding this trust. this must stop. i yield back my time.

a senator: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from colorado is recognized. mr. bennet: thank you, mr. president. i ask that the quorum call be vitiated. the presiding officer: we're not in a quorum call. the senator is recognized. mr. bennet: thank you, mr. president. i wanted to come to the floor

today just to say a brief word. maybe set the record straight a little bit about president biden's nominee for associate attorney general of the united states vanita gupta. so let's start with some facts about mrs. gupta. she's the daughter of immigrants who worked hard to receive some of the best legal education this country has to offer. she spent two decades as a civil rights lawyer where she's fought to defend americans' individual rights and freedoms often against abuses by the government, something you'd think some of my colleagues on the other side would appreciate. when a small town in texas wrongfully convicted 40 americans of drug charges based solely on the false testimony from an undercover police officer, she fought to have them exonerated. and she won them a $6 million settlement for that miscarriage

of justice, mr. president. she defended 25 children who had been separated from their parents and grown into prison-like conditions at a private detention center no texas. her success in that case forced the center to improve its conditions and prevented more kids from being held there. president obama recognized her leadership by making her the top civil rights official at the department of justice where she prosecuted service members from eviction, cracked down on human smugglers and sex traffickers, defended rlings free -- religious freedom and protected americans' fundamental right to vote. over the past four years ms. gupta has led the largest civil rights organization in america where she's been at the forefront of efforts to reform our criminal justice system,

strengthen our democracy, and make sure covid relief reaches those who need it most. that is her record. it's an outstanding record. and i think my colleagues on the other side of the aisle know that it's an outstanding record because they don't want to contend with her record. they don't want to contest her record. she can't defeat her nomination with the truth, so they're just using talking points that aren't true. i heard the junior senator from texas say mrs. gupta record is that of an extreme partisan ideologue. he called her an extreme political activist, a radical, and a zealot. when all she's done her entire career is uphold the rule of law and defend our democracy. just like the 60 judges, many of them confirmed by republican colleagues who rejected

president trump's utterly unsubstantiated frauds of claim -- claims of fraud in the 2020 election. and just like the election officials who stood up to conspiracy theories about the election at great risk to themselves and their careers who were all undermined by radical members of congress who sought to overturn the will of the voters for their own power. i also heard the junior senator from texas say ms. gupta's beliefs don't align with the majority of the american people. i'm willing to bet every single dollar in my pocket that most americans are quite aligned with mrs. gupta's views. most americans are very interested in having the department of justice that protects their right to vote, that keeps families together and kids out of prison-like conditions. to make sure lgbt sons and daughters and neighbors can live

and free from discrimination. and i'll tell you one other thing. unlike some people around this place, mrs. gupta actually has a record of reaching across the aisle to get things done. she worked with grover norquist -- nordquist and the top lawyer for the koch brothers to pass criminal justice reform. it's why they both endorsed her along with president bush's former secretary of homeland security and virtually every major law enforcement organization in america, including the fraternal order of police, the national sheriffs association, the major county sheriffs of america, and the major city chiefs association. so it is hard, it is hard to take seriously all this talk on the other side about how mrs. gupta wants to defund the

police. she's never supported that. when someone asks the head of the fraternal order of police what he thought about these attacks, he called it partisan demagoguery. and that's exactly what it is. and he's right. there isn't a serious debate about her record. it's a political campaign to defeat her nomination. and the american people see through it and i hope my colleagues will see through it as well. we would be lucky to have someone with mrs. gupta's experience and leadership at the department of justice. many years ago i had the privilege to work at the department, and i know how seriously the men and women there take their jobs. and i know how grateful they would be to serve along someone as talented and committed to the mission as mrs. gupta. and it's why i believe tomorrow we should come to this floor and

give her a resounding bipartisan vote to confirm her as the next associate attorney general of the united states. i urge all of my colleagues to put aside the rhetoric and the false claims. look at the record for what it is, the police organizations that have supported her, and vote yes for her nomination. with that, madam president, i yield the floor, and i'd note the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. quorum call:

quorum call:

the presiding officer: the majority leader. mr. schumer: i send a cloture motion to the desk. the presiding officer: the senate is in a quorum call. mr. schumer: i ask unanimous consent the quorum be dispensed with. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. schumer: now that the quorum is dispensed with, madam president, i send a cloture motion to the desk. the presiding officer: is there

objection? without objection. the clerk will report the cloture motion. 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 amendment numbered 1445, to s. 937, a bill to facilitate the expedited review of covid-19 hate crimes, and for other purposes, signed by 17 senators as follows -- mr. schumer: i ask consent the reading of the names be waived. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. schumer: madam president, i send a cloture motion to the desk. the presiding officer: is there objection? without objection. the clerk will report the cloture motion. 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 calendar number 13, s. 937, a bill to facilitate the expedited review of covid-19 hate crimes, signed by 18 senators as follow- mr. schumer: i ask consent the reading of the names be waived. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. schumer: now, madam president, i ask unanimous consent that the mandatory quorum calls for the cloture

motions filed today, tuesday, april 20, be waived. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. schumer: madam president, i ask unanimous consent the appointments at the desk appear separately in the record as if made by the chair. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. schumer: and, madam president, i ask unanimous consent that when the senate completes its business today, it adjourn until 10:30 a.m. wednesday, april 21. that following the prayer and the 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. that upon the conclusion of morning business, the senate proceed to executive session and resume consideration of the executive calendar number 262, vanita gupta, to be the associate attorney general. the presiding officer: is there objection? without objection. so ordered. mr. schumer: 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 senate stands adjourned until senate stands adjourned until

beverly out for the day. bentley sent monica to be the attorney general returned watch live coverage here on cspan2. see scavenger unfiltered view of government. intelligent copies of our including media. specifically world changed. media, is ready, internet sort and we never slow down. schools and businesses went virtual only power to new reality because the new reality we will keep you ahead. >> media support c-span as a public service along with these other television providers. giving you a front row seat to