throughout our country and find out how people are feeling it helps a great deal. last summer doing the riots and protests in minneapolis which is just on the road for me, what my community members know is that i am there for them. they talk to me about wanting to have a protest and they talked with me about a rally and we said what do you need and one of the things is that they didn't want police presence in my police chief was with me. we said okay, we won't have police presence so however, we need to know how you will communicate these rallies and protests because if it goes sideways we need to make sure the community is safe. >> you can find this entire conversation online at c-span .org. we've even out to fill our

commitment to live gavel to gavel senate coverage. senators will be considering president biden's nominee for office of management and budget deputy director. they vote at 5:30 p.m. eastern time on limiting debate over jason miller's confirmation. take you live now to the senate floor.

states was averaging 195,000 new covid infections every day, and 3,000 americans were dying every day. today we've come down from 195,000 daily infections to 57,000, and from 3,000 covid deaths every day to 700. still too many, but dramatic

progress was made under this new president. remember where we came from. when biden took office, the united states of america had one of the highest covid infection rates in the world. two numbers tell the story of the first year of covid-19 infection under the previous president. the united states of america has about 5% of the world's population, but we had, when biden took office, 20%, 20% of the covid-19 infections in the world, and 20% of the deaths. now there is hope. this president listened to the medical experts, didn't come up with his own theories of the case, and he expanded vaccine distribution. the day joe biden took office, on that day, january 20, of this

year, to that day, the united states had administered 1.6 million covid vaccine shots total in the nation, 1.6 million. we're now seeing three million vaccinations administered every day. president biden promised to deliver 100 million covid vaccine doses in his first 100 days. he didn't do that. he delivered 200 million doses. 40% of all americans and a majority of u.s. adults have had at least one dose of the vaccine. every american over the age of 16 is eligible now for the coronavirus vaccination free of charge. greatly expanding covid vaccinations and testing is at the heart of the american rescue plan that president biden proposed, and this congress passed last month, sadly without

one single senate vote from our republican colleagues. nor were there any house republican votes in favor of it. the american rescue plan exclusively passed with democratic votes also included $1,400 emergency stimulus checks to a majority of americans, assistance for schools, small businesses, state and local government. enhanced unemployment benefits which were scheduled to stop last march will continue until september. this is an economic lifeline for millions of americans losing their jobs during the pandemic. the american rescue plan expanded the child tax credit and makes it fully refundable so that families who need it most can benefit from it now. america's child poverty rate today is one of the highest in the developed world. this action taken, president

biden's american rescue plan, could cut child poverty in america by 40%. we have been waiting for more than 40 years for the benefits of a tax cut for the rich to trickle down and solve these problems, to help working families and end poverty. it didn't work. income inequality in america grew under the republican plan, and now it's greater than it was at the start of the great depression. but in less than 40 days, the american rescue plan is already working. here are the indications. last month, the number of families behind in rent fell by two million. the share of adults who say they don't have enough to eat fell from one in seven to one in 11. and the u.s. economy added 916,000 jobs. in december, economic projections from the federal reserve had a forecast of u.s. -- of the u.s. economy growing by 4.2% in 2021.

after we passed the american rescue plan, that estimate jumped to a healthy, strong 6.5%. last month, consumer confidence in america hit its highest level since the pandemic shut down the economy a year ago. president biden is also restoring america's role as a global leader. he used his first speech to a global audience at the miewn ike security conference in february to announce, and i quote, america is back and the transatlantic alliance is back and diplomacy is back at the heart of u.s. foreign policy. president biden's consulting with our allies, not insulting them. and he is countering authoritarian strongmen instead of cozying up to them. earlier this month, the biden administration announced new sanctions against russia and expelled kremlin diplomats over russian interference in the 2020

election. the solar wind cyber espionage campaign that targeted important u.s. federal agencies and fortune 500 companies and other hostile acts certainly merited that action by the united states against russia. once again, america has a president willing to defend this nation against attacks by a hostile government. president biden is also reasserting american leadership in the fight against climate change. on his first full day in office, he began the process to rejoin the paris agreement. remember when president trump withdrew from the paris agreement, making the united states the only nation in the world that hadn't signed up for this effort? on earth day last week, president biden hosted a virtual summit of leaders from 40 nations and announced that the u.s. will cut its carbon emissions by half by 2035. under joe biden, america is ready to lead the global effort

to avoid climate catastrophe and create good new green jobs and industries in the future. don't we owe that to our kids and grandchildren? and president biden is returning normalcy and dignity to the office of the president. at a town hall meeting in wisconsin in february, the president told the nation, quote, the next four years, i want to make sure all the news is about the american people. he has replaced ego with empathy, chaos with competence, and division with decency and unity. white house briefings are filled with information, not insults. the atpotus transitter account no longer fires off tweets in the middle of the night that are unsettling to americans and even our allies. one of our colleagues on the other side of the aisle complained. he recently bemoaned president biden's twitter feed.

he said, quote, unimaginably conventional. he meant that as a criticism. most american people find it as a relief. polls show the majority of americans approve of bbd's leadership on the coronavirus and the economy, and -- on president biden's leadership on the coronavirus and the economy. a new poll finds that young people between the ages of 18 and 29, 56%, a solid majority, 56% say they are hopeful about america's future. that's the highest for any president in the 21-year history of the poll. the challenge is that president biden and vice president harris -- the challenges that president biden and vice president harris inherited were historic. they won't be solved in 100 days, maybe not 100 weeks. but in his first 100 days as president, joe biden has kept his promises and has begun to restore the most precious commodity of all, america's sense of hope and common purpose. those qualities built this nation, and they will build our

future. now, madam president, i ask consent that this statement be placed in a separate part of the record. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. durbin: thank you, madam president. last week, a few of my republican colleagues introduced their counterproposal to president biden's american jobs plan. the senior senator from mississippi called the proposal, quote, a good-faith effort. he wishes to engage with democrats on an issue that touches every community in america on a subject we all kno. i think i speak for the entire democratic caucus in welcoming this effort from our friends across the aisle. as i mentioned earlier, when it came to the american rescue plan, for vaccines and vaccinations and cash support for families and help for small businesses and schools, not a single republican would join us. it's time for us to come together and work on a bipartisan basis.

maybe this is a start. after all, infrastructure is what should unite us. whether you live in laurel, mississippi, or lake view section of chicago, our roads, bridges, our fiber-optic networks keep us connected and keep us moving. as we emerge from this pandemic, it is clear that americans are ready to get to work, building a stronger country, a healthier country, and a more prosperous country. sadly, though, the proposal from our republican friends really fails to meet the once-in-a-generation opportunity test -- to transform america and make america a winner in the 21st century. at a time when millions of americans lack access to reliable, efficient transportation and millions more lack access to reliable high-speed internet, we can't settle for just repaving old roads or filling potholes. we need to invest in this nation's future, put people back to work building a sustainable

economic foundation for our children and grandchildren to grow and thrive. we need an infrastructure plan that is a blueprint for the world of tomorrow, not just a patchwork quilt focused on yesterday. and the way i see it, we're on the cusp of a world where america owns the clean energy economy and exports our union-made electric tax reduction and cars across -- trucks and cars across the globe, where workers with get to work by train or bike. a world where rather than reading about the era in a textbook, a child can read in awe while the t-rex swings its tail over its head.

that's a future powered by the infrastructure of tomorrow. under the american jobs plan, it is a future made in america, but we need to start building it today because if we don't, i guarantee you somebody else will. my friends, take a look across the ocean. do we really believe that china, for example, is skimping on investing in its future? absolutely not. they're already using technologies like artificial intelligence to ease traffic congestion? cities. they're installing facial recognition systems on their streets to keep tabs on workers and, sadly, tabs on ethnic minorities, like uighurs. inin america we have an opportunity to show the world that technology innovation can actually strengthen democracy. by giving people the freedom to

work the way they want with universal broadband, to move around the way they want with new forms of transportation. the president's american jobs plan will give our kids an honest shot to thrive by eliminating lead pipes and service lines from our drinking water systems and may being safe, affordable housing a reality for millions of working families. i can't help but acknowledge my colleague, senator tammy duckworth, when it comes to clean water and new lead pipes and service lines for our drinking water systems. i am proud of the initiative and leadership that she is showing working with other members of the senate to make this a reality. this is as unifying vision for the future. it's a model for global leadership. so let's not balk at the cost of making it a reality. this is not the time to think small. we're talking about a transformative undertaking, and that's part of what america has always been about.

more than half a century ago, a republican president, dwight eisenhower, launched the interstate highway program. it changed america. today the program is nearly 50,000 miles of expressway carry about one-fourth of all traffic in the united states. these roads connect our communities, have created communities, and serve as a bedrock for our economy. in today's numbers, if you tried to rebuild the interstate highway system, it would cost half a trillion dollars -- probably much more, to be honest. it's not a small sum. but, boy, it's an effortvestment that paid or. -- it's an investment that paid for. the fact is, today we need to invest in order to build our future. when president eisenhower launched the interstate highway system, we didn't have e-commerce or same-day

shipments. it was more than ten years before neil armstrong stepped foot on the moon. now each of us carries around a pocket-sized device with more than enough computing power to get to the moon and back. the world has changed, in many ways for the better. today it's not soft for an infrastructure plan to begin an end with bridges and roads. if we want to support a modern economy and sustain growth for generations to come, we need to invest in the infrastructure for tomorrow. this isn't to say that we have all the answers 0en this side. -- on this side of the aisle. there is one answer we should all get behind -- go bic, go bold. we can't penny pinch america. americans of all political stripes -- democrats, independents, and republicans -- support marshaling the resources the federal government to go big and bold on infrastructure. they want us to not only repair

our highways and bridges but to rebuild our waterways and airports and make high-speed broadband internet available to everyone. americans support a plan that puts us on track to have an american century in the 21st century. that's our plan and victory is within our reach. there was an architect designer in the city of chicago in the transition from the 19th to the 20th century who helped design the columbian expedition, white city you and a lot of history was made with those decisions. his name was daniel bernham. he was asked about planning the future of the city of chicago is he had a quote that's turned to almost every day, if you follow what's going on in planning in chicago. here's what he said. make no little plans. they have no magic to stir men's

blood, and i might add women, they may have no magic to stir men's blood and probably will not themselves be realized. i think we understand that. as president eisenhower gave america a vision of an interstate highway system, we need to do the same. president biden has challenged us to do it. we need to do it on a bipartisan basis. i look forward to working with my colleagues to make it a reality. madam president, i yield the floor and i suggest the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. quorum call:

quorum call:

the presiding officer: the republican leader. mr. mcconnell: i ask consent that further proceedings under the quorum call be dispensed with. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. mcconnell: over the weekend the university of kentucky women's basketball team made history. the wildcats ncaa p championship trophy after defeating texas on saturday night. the falling confetti in omaha closed out a 24 win season. the wildcats' unmatched athleticism and resilience fueled their path to the title. yesterday afternoon at u.k.'s memorial coliseum, fans welcomed home their champions including madison lilly, named

the most outstanding player. i would like to extend congratulations to the head coach craig skinner and the entire program. kentucky and all of big blue nation couldn't be prouder. on another matter, it's been nearly a month since the biden administration rolled out its so-called infrastructure plan. it quickly became clear their proposal mainly focused on everything but the things normal people call infrastructure. the day this plan was introduced, the white house messaging document mentioned the words climate and union more often than roads and bridges. and the numbers back that up. out of more than $2 trillion in proposed spending, less than 6% would go to roads and bridges, even when you add in airports, ports, rail, and waterways, the total would still be

exceeded by the amount going to electric vehicles alone. even an ivy league expert said using infrastructure to describe the totality of the bill, quote, does a bit of violence to the english language. so after a few days of trying to battle the english language, democrats began to pivot. i understand this is no longer an infrastructure plan. now it's a jobs plan. but that turns out to be just as dishonest. this proposal isn't any more focused on creating jobs than it is on fixing roads. even by the favorable metrics that the white house likes to use, this plan would cost americans more than $800,000 for every new job that would exist ten years down the road. serious bipartisan legislation to rebuild american infrastructure could have a big impact at a fraction, a fraction of the cost.

this plan is bloated, unfocused, it's not a targeted recipe for better public works. when america actually puts our mind to things, we can do them. remember operation warp speed? but this isn't like that. this is a sloppy liberal wish list that would spend a lot and get very little in return. the far left has been bragging about all the social engineers and welfare spending that is stuffed into these proposals. they boasted that the d.n.a. of the green new deal is all over this administration's agenda. roads, bridges, and ports are bipartisan priorities. water infrastructure and broadband are bipartisan priorities. that's why when the senate tackles honest to goodness infrastructure in a smart way, we almost always have wide bipartisan margins. last week our colleague from

west virginia, senator capito, got together with the other ranking members of committees that deal with actual infrastructure. these republicans put forward a smart proposal that would meet pressing needs in actual infrastructure. so now comes the critical moment. now is the time we learn whether democrats really want to jump-start actual public works projects or whether infrastructure was only ever intended as a wrapping paper for unrelated gifts to the far left. remember what happened when republicans went to president biden offering a bipartisan compromise path on covid relief. they were informed the democrats were not interested in working together. so our country needs the administration to find a smarter approach. now on one final matter, the last few months have given the world a glimpse at what's driving u.s. foreign policy

decisions under the biden administration. first came a rush to rejoin a climate agreement that does not effectively hold our competitors to their own commitments. then just weeks ago the announcement of a total abandonment of afghanistan that will squander our leverage to promote a diplomatic end to the civil war, put innocent afghans at risk, roll out a red carpet for the taliban, and embolden the terrorists. even this administration's own intelligence chiefs and our military commanders are concerned about how we'll stay a step ahead of terrorists in the region without access provided by our u.s. footprint. late last week we got a further peek at the incredible wishful thinking behind this policy. as reported in "the new york times," some biden officials suggest the taliban might govern less harshly in order to win recognition and financial

support. the secretary of the, -- the secretary of state seems to think it's that simple. he thinks it could bring a just and durable peace and brighter future with the afghan people. the deputy national security advisor was more dismissive of the afghan people's plight, morally equating our afghan partners and the taliban as just two afghan parties in a conflict i do not believe afghan women and girls are jumping for joy at the prospect of a taliban takeover. in fact, as one of the "new york times" headlines put it, afghan women fear the worst. afghan women fear the worst. i certainly do not believe the taliban will abandon their

brutal fundamentalist ways just to secure recognition from the western powers that they despise. speaking of women's rights, over the weekend the united nations chose to further degrade its legitimacy by inviting iran, of all countries, to join its commission on the status of women. the u.n. chose to further degrade its legitimacy by inviting iran to join its commission on the status of women. yes, you heard that right. the panel claiming principal international authority over the empowerment of women will now include a nation whose police are empowered to beat and assault women for improper veiling. a nation that turns a blind eye to pervasive domestic violence, forced marriage and rape. it's not just the u.s. that

seems to be going soft on tehran. the biden administration seems willing, if not desperate, to provide sanctions relief up front, squandering leverage just to reenter president obama's flawed nuclear deal. this sanctions relief would benefit a regime that's being run by the extremist islamic revolutionary guards. that's what iran's own foreign minister admitted in leaked documents. that's who's running the show, the same terrorists that were used by soleimani to spread violence across the region before the prior administration removed him permanently. so, madam president, republicans are not opposed to nuclear diplomacy, but we know that preemptive concessions will not secure a better deal or make america or our allies more secure.

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

quorum call:

quorum call:

mr. leahy: madam president. the presiding officer: the senator from vermont. mr. leahy: madam president, i ask that the call of the quorum be dispensed with. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. leahy: madam president, as we're finally, finally beginning to turn the corner on the coronavirus pandemic, we have the hard work of rebuilding our economy. more than a core engine of the american economy is the intellectual property. from the smallest start-up to

the largest intellectual company, intellectual property is essential to creating jobs, boosting economic output, and protecting consumers. so it's appropriate that today we celebrate world intellectual property day. it recognizes the important role of the -- intellectual property plays in promoting innovation, creativity, economic growth. this world's i.p. day celebrates the contributions of small and medium-sized businesses to the global marketplace. and why these small enterprises make up 90% of the world's businesses, whether to protect the brands of trademarks or their inventions with the patent , intellectual property allows these small companies to grow and succeed. but here at home, far too many americans with an entrepreneurial spirit find key

elements of the intellectual property system out of their reach. last week, the senate judiciary intellectual property subcommittee -- and i'm privileged to chair that -- held an important hearing to find ways to boost access in the patent system. we know that women and people of color are chronically underrepresented in the patent system that results in a serious loss to our economy. i'm particularly proud that this hearing featured testimony from georgia grace edwards, a middlebury college graduate, an entrepreneur who realized after spending a summer in alaska, eight to 12 hours at a time on ice, that she was at a serious disadvantage when it came to answering nature's call during her treks. like many innovators before, georgia grace got to work and designed a new zipper.

in a sense, such a great thing could be incorporated in a variety of women's pants. now, while she was ultimately able to successfully navigate the patent system and secure protection for her idea, here's the problem. she faced a number of barriers along the way. the high cost to obtain a patent, particularly legal fees. lack of knowledge of how the patent system works. lack of representation of women throughout the system. ten years ago, congress enacted the leahy-smith american fence act. that put instructions in place to help access to the patent system. they can bring up far more diverse inventors into the innovation economy. at a hearing, we heard specific ideas for building on the success of the leahy-smith

america invents act. so as the president weighs who to nominate as the next director of the patent and trait mark office, i want him to choose a nominee who shares commitment to increasing access. it's not just the huge companies that need it. it's the small inventors. and so the last administration took steps to undermine the leahy-smith act by acting outside the statutory bounds. well, that's a mistake. and, madam president, i have more i am going to say on this. i would ask consent that i yield to the distinguished majority leader and then i go back to my statement without an interruption showing in the record. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. schumer: our senate pro tem, our chairman of appropriations, our long-time chairman and ranking member of the judiciary who has done a lot on patent

work, et cetera, i thank him for his graciousness. thank you. now the senate has a lot to accomplish this week, by the end of this week. we'll confirm several highly qualified nominees to the executive branch, starting today with the nominee for deputy o.m.b. director, jason miller. later this week, we'll also confirm janet mcgabe for deputy e.p.a. administrator, colin kahl for under secretary of defense for policy, and samantha power for administrator of usaid. our senate committees will continue holding hearings and markups on at least a dozen other nominees. the senate will also consider two important environmental infrastructure policies. first, the senate will take up the drinking water and waste water infrastructure act of 2021. this legislation passed through e.p.w. committee with unanimous support, and in fact this water infrastructure bill is a core

component of the republican infrastructure proposal i released last week. it also addresses many of the recommendations put forward by the problem solvers caucus last friday. and so i hope that this is a signal to the entire senate we should work together on infrastructure where and when we can. senators carper, duckworth, and cardin have been outstanding leaders on this issue and have made sure members from both sides of the aisle have had the opportunity to offer amendments just as we did last week on the anti-asian hate crimes bill. we're going to continue working with our colleagues, our republican colleagues for -- on timing for a vote on the water infrastructure bill. on a topic this straightforward and bipartisan, i hope our republican colleagues will cooperate so we may finish the bill asap. we have a lot to do. the senate will also -- and i want to also thank senator capito, the ranking member of the committee, for working with

senators carper, duckworth, and collins so well. the senate will also vote on a measure this week to restore critical regulations on the release of methane into our atmosphere. in 2016, the obama administration instituted a rule that required energy companies to better monitor and reduce methane leaks. the rule not only drew cheers from the environmental community, it earned the support of the industry as well. even though methane is far less talked about than carbon dioxide, it's far more potent. a ton of methane warms the atmosphere 86 times more than a ton of carbon dioxide. on the plus side, however, methane does not linger in our atmosphere as long as code code does, and emissions can be reduced rather cheaply, so when it comes to combating climbing, tackling methane delivers a huge bang for your buck. that's just what the senate intends to do this week by reimposing the commonsense rule

to reduce methane emissions, hopefully on a bipartisan basis. we already have the support of at least one republican senator. we welcome more. the industry supported this. and again, donald trump often with just a nastiness, if it's obama's rule, i ought to repeal it, did. it hurts us big time. i want to be clear, the methane c.r.a. is a big deal. the measure will help us address the climate crisis in a major way. it's nowhere close to everything we want or need, but it's very important. last week, president biden set an ambitious goal for the united states to cut its greenhouse gas emissions in half by the end of the decade. this week, the senate will take up -- take the first of many important steps we need to achieve that ambitious goal. now, on our first 100 days, madam president. thursday, april 29, will be the 100th day since president biden took the oath of office on the east front of the capitol. president biden will mark the

occasion with his inaugural address to a joint session of congress on wednesday. historically, the 100 days, the first 100 days have been a yardstick by which presidential administrations have been measured. for the first time in recent history, however, due to the lateness of the georgia runoff elections, thursday also marks the 100th day of the new democratic senate majority and on a personal note my 100th day as majority leader. without exaggeration, the first 100 days of the biden administration and the senate democratic majority have been more productive than nearly any in recent memory. despite a delay in passing the organizing resolution and the time constraints imposed by the presidential impeachment trial, the senate has confirmed the most diverse cabinet in history faster than in either of the prior two administrations. every single cabinet secretary received a bipartisan vote in

favor of confirmation. last week, by a vote of 94-1 -- again, led by you, madam president, and senator hirono -- the senate passed legislation to combat the recent surge in hate crimes, particularly against americans of asian descent. and of course congress passed the landmark legislation and the top priority of the biden administration, the american rescue plan. it was the most sweeping federal recovery effort in a generation. more than twice the size of the stimulus package after the financial crisis of 2008. members promised big, bold relief. democrats have delivered big, bold relief. as a result, vaccinations are up, unemployment is down, and businesses, schools, restaurants, and bars are finally, finally starting to reopen. it's no wonder that more than 70% of americans approve of the

way the biden-harris administration has handled the pandemic in the first 100 days. for much of the past year, the hundred has been plagued by two major crises -- a public health crisis and an economic crisis. that's what the biden-harris administration and the senate democratic majority inherited when assuming power back in january. let's look at how the country has progressed on both fronts. first, when it comes to the pandemic, we have far outstripped even the rosiest predictions for the number of vaccinations. president biden initially promised 100 million vaccinations administered in the first 100 days, but the pace of vaccinations was so fast, the president had to double his initial goal to 200 million in the first 100 days, and we have already reached it. it's fair to say that in the first 100 days, america is winning the all-important arms race to get our citizens vaccinated.

on the most important measure of progress, getting the country protected against covid-19, the new democratic administration and congressional majorities have been a roaring success. things to the american rescue plan, our economy has gotten its own shot in the arm, too. over the past several weeks, the biden administration delivered more than 150 million stimulus checks to americans who needed them the most. weekly unemployment claims have fallen to their lowest level during the pandemic. the month of march saw the economy create nearly 900,000 jobs. retail sales are surging. consumer confidence is re-- has rebounded. economic forecasters are now projecting that our economy could grow as fast as 7%, 7% this year. in the wake of the american rescue plan, the economic boost was so significant that forecasters had to increase their projections for global growth as well. our former president blithely

predicted that electing joe biden would crash the stock market. turns out president biden's first 100 days have delivered the best stock market results in 75 years. since president eisenhower. at the same time, the democratic majority in congress has made sure that our nation's economic recovery will be felt by everyone. the american rescue plan plans to boost incomes of the lowest 20% by 20%. guess what the top 1% will receive, so contrary to what the republicans did when they had power. they will get zero percent instead of the overwhelming percentage in their bill, their tax cut. and just one policy in the american rescue plan, the historic expansion of the child tax credit, is secretaried to cut child poverty in half. the story of the first 100 days is about shots going into arms, checks going into pockets, and

life finally returning to normal. the story of the first hundred dollars -- hundred days is about the country turning the corner and seeing some hope on the horizon. more broadly, the first 100 days of this administration and this congress have proven two things. one, that government can work for the american people. and two, the senate can legislate. the last few decades have brought faith in our government to all-time lows. you don't have to look very far in the past to find surveys about how congress is less popular than traffic jams, root canals, and genghis kahn. faith in our democracy and trust in our elections were brought to new lows by the persistent and mendacious lies of the former president culminating in an armed insurrection here in the capitol. part of our mission here in congress, working with the biden administration, is to restore america's faith in our

institutions, america's faith in our government. through the american rescue plan and the successful rollout of the vaccine, we are slowly proving to the american people that government can work for them. so we have a long way to go, but in the first 100 days, this new congress has made an important down payment. congressional approval is now the highest it has been since june of 2009. here in the senate, the first 100 days has shown that this chamber can legislate. bipartisan work on the anti-asian hate crimes bill, the water bill, and this week -- this week and hopefully an american competitive bill in the coming weeks proves there are still many issues that unite republicans and democrats. of course, our two parties are not always going to agree. in those instances, the senate must still make progress on the challenges of our time. we did that through the american rescue plan. so, in the first 100 days, the

senate has accomplished a lot more than most observers might have predicted. the next 100 days will bring more of the same. once again, i yield the floor -- oh, two quick housekeeping things. unless you want to do them when you're finished -- okay. madam president, i move to proceed to legislative session. the presiding officer: question is on motion. all those in favor, say aye. those opposed, say no. the ayes appear to have it. the ayes do have it. the motion is agreed to. mr. schumer: madam president, i move to proceed to executive session to consider calendar 61. the presiding officer: the question is on the motion. all those in favor, say aye. those opposed, say no. the ayes appear to have it. the ayes do have it. the motion is agreed to. the clerk will report the nomination. the clerk: nomination, the united states agency for international development.

samantha power of massachusetts to be administrator. mr. schumer: madam president, i send a cloture motion to the desk. the presiding officer: 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 the nomination of executive calendar 61, samantha power of massachusetts to be administrator of the united states agency for international development, signed by 18 senators as follows -- 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 call for the cloture motion filed today, april 26, be waived. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. schumer: i yield the floor. -- to my friend from -- [inaudible]. the presiding officer: senator. mr. leahy: madam president, i ask consent to continue on my

remarks. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. leahy: but before i do, i want to thank the distinguished majority leader for putting samantha power on the agenda this week. i think she is extraordinarily well qualified, and i look forward to voting for her. and i ask for those comments to be at the end of my speech. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. leahy: and to go back to where i was to continue what i was saying before and without showing the interruption, it's important that the next director of the u.s. patent and trademark office respect the law, including the statutory bond set by congress. the last administration took

steps to undermine the leahy-smith act. they acted outside of the statutory bounds. i've always sought to the curb the potential for poor-quality patents to be abused. that drove much of the work of what we did ten years ago. so i look forward to supporting a nominee for director who shares my view that it's important to weed out poor-quality patents it, avoid the potential for abuse, but at the same time reinforce the protection provided to high-quality patents. we must also work to ensure that hardworking small business owners are able to protect their works online. while i appreciate the steps

that some online platforms have taken to address the persistent problem of online infringement, much like the issue of diversity in the patent system, more work needs to be done. last month i joined with senator tillis and other members of the i.p. subcommittee. we sent a letter to major online platforms outlining specific voluntary measures they could adapt to crack down onion line infringement are. i hope the leaders of these online platforms will take a moment to consider the plight of the individual songwriter or photographer or independent film producer and give serious steps and thoughts that they can step to ensure that they can adequately protect their works online. you know, for these small and independent creatives, it's nothing short of their

livelihood at stake. and finally i want to recognize the important work our i.p. system does to protect consumers. the trademark system helps to guide consumers in finding which products are legitimate but also which are not. unfortunately, fraudsters are relentless in exploiting opportunities in fooling consumers to buy counterfeit products. that's been especially dangerous during the global pandemic. just last month authorities seized more than 65,000 counterfeit p-m n-95 masks. -- 3-m n-95 masks. resources are needed to respond to the ever-evolving counterfeit

threat. a diverse, accessible, and effective intellectual property system that rewards creativity and innovation is essential to our nation's continued prosperity, and i look forward to working with ranking member tillis and the other members of the i.p. subcommittee as well as with the appropriations committee to both celebrate the achievements of american inventors and ensure that their contributions are being protected. and, madam president, i ask that my full statement -- my whole statement on intellectual property on world intellectual property day be included in the record as stated and without interruption. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. leahy: madam president, let me today address the need for congress to finally restore

one of its constitutional powers, the power of the purse. the leahy family arrived in vermont in the middle of the 19th century. my grandfather, patrick leahy, worked in the granite quarries as a stone carrier in vermont. later i grew up in montpelier. i became the first leahy to get a college degree, but because i stayed in vermont, i traveled only 45 minutes up the road to st. michael's college. i received an excellent education. but then i left vermont to come to washington, d.c., and was

very proud to receive a law degree from georgetown university. and then i returned home to vermont. i served is as state's attorney for chitlin county. since then, of course, i became a u.s. senator. as vermont's senior senator serving the last 46 years, i speak with community leaders, dairy farmers, small business owners, educators, vermonters across the state every single day. now, as a lifelong vermonter, i believe i know my state very well. i have a deep understanding of vermont's communities, vermonters, and their needs. but for the past decade, i've had to fight for them here in

washington with my hands tied behind my back. but that can be said of every single member of this chamber. they've had their hands tied. why? because we ceded the power of the purse to unelected bureaucrats here in washington when we reinstituted a ban on congressionally directed spending. so, as a result, even though we appropriate the money, we can't even direct even a tiny fraction of the tax dollars we collect from the hardworking constituents and send those tax dollars back into the communities. we turn it over to the executive branch and have no say in it. a lot of these unelected officials are dedicated public servants, to be sure. but they can't understand our communities to the extent each

one of the 100 senators in this body do. to them, a new community center is nothing more than a line item on a spreadsheet. to us, we would know the potential such a community center can unlock because we've spoken to the organizers who want to build it. we've heard their plans for new programs to provide children with after-school facilities or offer job opportunities for the unemployed, provide space for the community to gather, something that becomes even more of a need after what we've faced with the pandemic in this country. a grant for the historic preservation of a rural downtown is just one of thousands of applications that may be considered by the employees at the national park service. but i know what that money can

do when it's in the hands a of dedicated -- when it's in the hands of dedicated town advocates, people like my friend at the preservation trust of vermont. paul saw the preservation of rural downtown spaces to support small businesses, to preserve the fabric of vermont. but there's no reason the national park service employees, no matter how good they are, would know what a visionary he was or how much just a little bit of federal support could be stretched to help revitalize the community and revitalize the people in that community. now, the practice was previously referred to as earmarking. it was not without abuse. we could point to particularly high-profile examples of that abuse. but today 65% of congress was

elected after the ban in 2011. they only know the ugly headline. they don't know the great benefit it could bring to our communities and our society. let me give you some examples. the research that led to the human genome project, which unlocked our genetic code, it was originally funded through congressionally directed spending. the w.i.c. program -- women, infants, and children program. that was originally from congressionally directed spending. and in vermont, congressionally directed spending has helped build affordable housing, rehabilitated our downtowns, promoted community and economic development from one end of our state to the other. now, for those who think this may be a new concept, let me

talk about things that happened admittedly a while before i came to the senate. congress passed the first bill containing an earmark in 1790, 231 years ago. that was the cape henry lighthouse. it guided boats to safety for almost 1 should years. it stands today -- for almost 100 years. it stands today. it's been listed on the u.s. national register of historic places. it was designated as a national historic landmark. it's a destination for tourists still today, and it came about as an earmark in 1790. not a bad investment. now, many of my colleagues on the other side is of the aisle

have pointed to congressionally directed spending as the cause of our country's increasing national debt. that's not the case. you those d those projects had to fit under budgetary caps. these caps are agreed to by republicans and democrats together. and after more than a decade, did not decrease federal spending or national debt, that's because it was not the cause of our debt. but i ask people to read the constitution. article 1, section 9, of the constitution says no money shall be drawn from the treasury, but in consequence of appropriations made by law.

they said back then, and i say today congress holds the power of the purse. and we ban the practice of congressionally directed spending. we said, okay, we're going to take it easy around here. the executive branch can carry out our powers. we turn everything over to you. ironically, you know what happened? it hurt our ability to even pass appropriations bills into law. and the funding of these bills provide impact, and impact every corridor of our state, from highway dollars to health care centers. but without the ability to influence where the funds are spent, members seem to have lost incentive to debate these bills. in 2007, we instituted major

reforms for accountability and transparency to the process of congressionally directed spending. we had to certify that neither we nor any member of our immediate family would financially benefit from the requests we made, as a provision i support. we required each earmark to be clearly identified in the committee and the conference reports. these reforms brought new transparency to the process, and i fully support them. actually these rules remain in place today and rule 44 of the standing rules of the senate. so why do i raise these points, madam president? today i'm announcing that the senate appropriations committee will again accept requests for congressionally directed spending items on a bipartisan basis, requests of both the

republican leadership and the democratic leadership and will do so in a manner that promotes accountability and transparency. in addition to standing rules of the senate, we'll put a 1% cap on directly spending items and ban directly spending items to for-profit entities and both the republican and democratic leadership will require senators to make their requests public on their websites and will make public any items that are actually funded in the appropriations bill. and i'll have the senate appropriations committee ask asr a sample in order to increase accountability for the projects that are funded and to restore the trust of the american people

in the process. congress does hold the power of the purse. we should use it responsibly and transparently to address the needs of our communities, and that's what we'll do with the leadership of the appropriations committee. madam president, i see my distinguished colleague on the floor, and i will yield the floor. a senator: madam president. the presiding officer: the senator from alaska. mr. sullivan: madam president, i rise today on the senate floor to call for the resignation of john kerry as a member of the biden administration's national security council. now, madam president, i don't do this lightly. as a matter of fact, in my entire time in the senate, i've never called for anyone's resignation -- obama-biden

administration, trump administration, biden administration now. trust me, i've been tempted particularly when some in government have tried to hurt my state. a lot of that is going on right now with the biden administration. but his record, john kerry's record of undermining working families and working against american national security interests is too much to bear. he needs to go. today i've heard such disturbing news, madam president, that if true, it should absolutely result in the call of john kerry either being fired or resigning. enough is enough. why am i saying this? madam president, first, he's killing jobs, arrogantly

killing american jobs. that's a fact. he's putting hardworking americans, particularly in the energy sector, the great men and women who make our country strong by developing oil and gas resources, a lot of my constituents in the name of climate goal, he's putting them out of work. he's going to wall street saying don't finance these projects anymore. that's what reporters are saying. on these issues, i completely and adamantly disagree with the arrogant way, frankly, callous way he talks about people need to move on to better jobs. but for this issue alone, i wouldn't be calling for his resignation. this is a major difference in the biden administration's policies and priorities with regard to the american people. i think it's going to really come back and hit this

administration hard because the vast majority of americans don't agree with putting people out of work, energy workers out of work during a recession and a pandemic. but that's going to be decided in the voting box, in the elections. the american people will ultimately decide on whether arrogantly putting thousands and thousands of energy workers out of work right now is a good idea. in the name of these climate goals, he's also been a strong appeaser of countries that threaten ours. let me take you back to 2015. i was a brand-new u.s. senator. president obama, president xi jingping are meeting in the rose garden. president xi of china tells the american people we're not going to militarize the south china

sea. of course the chinese communist party was not telling the truth to the president of the united states and the american people. they started to do this already, militarizing one of the most important sea routes in the world. many of us here in the senate, democrats and republicans, said we need to stand up for our interests. we need the u.s. navy to do freedom of navigation operations. the secretary of defense wanted to do this. the admiral in charge of the indo-pa com wanted to do this. but we now know we delayed doing this for almost three years because john kerry said can't -- we don't want to get the chinese mad or they'll go back on their paris climate deal and commitments, which, by the way, are way out in the future.

this is true. this is true. this happened. and again, in my view, this bordered on treacherous but not treasonous. i didn't call for his resignation then. i certainly was mad about it. by the way, a lot of people in the obama administration were mad about this, including the secretary of defense. we lost a lot of time. it certainly makes me nervous that john kerry is out in beijing again. what kind of deal did he cut this time with china, the communist party of china who won't keep any commitments? but again, that wasn't a call for resignation. madam president, the straw that broke the camel's back came out today, and it's the reason i'm up here calling for john kerry to resign. it is a tape that was leaked of an interview with iran's foreign minister, muhammad zarif. first some background. zarif was being interviewed by

an economist and journalist who is an advisor to muhammad k katamy, proreform cleric who served two terms as iran's president. an edited version was intended to be public only after iran's president left office in august, but it was leaked. zarif, according to reports, says many interesting and telling things in the tape. one, for example, that in my view, the rightful killing of general soleimani, the quds force commander, in january of 2020, when he was in iraq looking to kill more american soldiers, zarif said this quote was a major blow to iran, more damaging than if it had wiped out an entire city in attack. that's what a lot of us were arguing at the time.

and that unlike what john kerry has been telling the public, when negotiating the iran nuclear deal in the obama administration, it is the revolutionary guard corps, the quds force, not zarif who calls the shots in iran. that's all on the tapes. but, madam president, the most disturbing part of the interview that was leaked was when zarif said that john kerry told him, the iranian foreign minister, about covert israeli actions against iranian interests in syria. now think about that. according to news reports, zarif is heard as saying, quote, it was former u.s. foreign secretary john kerry who told me israel had launched more than 200 attacks on iranian forces in syria, unquote. that's zarif saying john kerry told him that.

classified information about one of our most important allies in the world -- israel. zarif said, quote, he listened to this information from secretary kerry in astonishment, unquote. now, madam president, when i read this today, i was astonished as well that a former secretary of state, now a member of president biden's national security council -- wasn't confirmed for that, by the way, by this body -- would reveal the secrets of one of our most important and enduring allies in the region to an avowed enemy, the largest state sponsor of terrorism, a country

that was responsible for the killing and wounding and maiming of thousands of american service men and women, whose leaders have the blood of american soldiers on its hands. he's telling them that information. madam president, it's unclear why he would relay, john kerry would relay such information to the leaders of the largest state sponsor of terrorism in the world, but here's a guess. during the trump administration administration, after that administration pulled out of the jcpoa, the iran nuclear deal, which john kerry negotiated, and by the way, the majority, a bipartisan majority of u.s. senators in this body were against, were against that deal, john kerry started to freelance.

he admitted to meeting with zarif in 2018 to try to salvage the nuclear deal. in other words, he was likely acting and working against the previous administration, the elected administration of the trump administration, and many of us here in congress who applauded when we pulled out of the jcpoa. madam president, i'd like to submit for the record an article written today by the national review titled, john kerry, enemy of israel. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. sullivan: the beginning of this article says let's pause to reflect on how monumentally stunning it is that the former u.s. secretary of state allegedly tattled on israel to

iran. it goes on to say, a high-ranking american official would feel comfortable sharing this kind of classified information with an autocratic adversary, a government that's murdered hundreds of americans, regularly kidnapped them, interfered with our elections, and propped up a regime that gases its people about the covert actions of a longtime critical american ally. what else did kerry tell zarif, this article asks? press reports don't say, but, madam president, if this is true , if john kerry told iran, the leaders of iran about issues

relating relating to our most critical ally in the region, israel, who iran has repeatedly said they want to wipe israel off the face of the earth, if he did this, he needs to resign. if he did this with the intent of undermining the current president of the united states, at the time president trump and the members of this body, he needs to resign. madam president, he is a member of the current administration's national security council. it's become clear, madam president, that our adversaries, whether beijing or iran, like it when john kerry is in charge of

foreign policy and national security. why? because they know how to use him to their advantage, and our allies fear him. why? because they know his judgment is off on so many issues. so too do america's working families. we need to look into this. if this is true -- if this is true, i certainly hope other members of this body, democrats and republicans, will join me in calling for the resignation of john kerry. enough is enough. the red line that was crossed, if this is true, revealing secret information to one of america's most sworn enemies

with the blood of thousands of american military members on its hands, undermining the interest of one of our most important allies, the state of israel, if this is true, john kerry needs to go. he should resign or he should get fired by the president of the united states. i yield the floor.

the presiding officer: the senator from alabama. mr. tuberville: thank you, madam president. you know, there's a lot that we do not agree on here in the

senate, but i think everybody, including you, madam president, that we need to secure our country. we need to be safe. our citizens need to feel safe. our job as elected officials is to make sure that those who have stepped up to defend our country have the resources they need to do their job and do it safely. the president's recent budget proposal for the defense department does not, and i repeat, does not give our men and women in uniform the tools to do their job properly. it's clear that president biden thinks we don't need further investment in our military. it's clear he thinks it's okay for our men and women to do more with less, and that's impossible. this should alarm the members of this body and all american people. the world has changed a lot in 50 years. when president biden first came to washington in 1972, there

were two superpowers, the united states and the soviet union. back then we spent 6.5% of our federal budget on national defense -- 6.5%. today we spend less than 3.5%. in 2021, we're facing different but very, very serious threats. secretary austin has said that china remains the top, quote, pacing threat for our military. it's much, much more than that. china isn't just trying to dominate asia and its neighbors, they are trying to dominate much of the world through the growing military and economic influence. simply keeping pace with china is not enough. we've got to outpace all of our adversaries. but doing that requires smart, substantial, and strategic

investments in our military. much more investment than the president and many people here in congress publicly propose. let me walk through some of the ways that supposedly flat defense budget hurts our national security. president biden says he wants his administration to trust the experts on things like covid, but this defense budget shows he doesn't apply the same principle to the pentagon. unlike the president, and some of my democratic colleagues, i think we should take seriously the advice of our commanding generals for they are the experts in this purview. here's what admiral charles richard, commander of u.s. strategic command, who is over our nuclear capabilities said in last week's hearing to the u.s. armed services committee, i have what i need to deter today.

but i need to modernize. there's no remaining margin of error. his warning is clear. we must modernize our greatest deterrent and keep peace among our adversaries with our nuclear arsenal. that means updating all three legs of the nuclear triad, submarines interballistic missles. it is possible. as former secretary jim mathis said, america can -- america can afford survival. the russians have made modernizing their nuclear arsenal a priority. the chinese have made made growing their nuclear stockpile a matter of national pride. but the united states, each day, we rely on nuclear weapons that in many cases were designed by

an analogue mechanical computer. the free world, meaning the u.s., works and sleeps under a nuclear umbrella that hasn't been updated to the digital age. meanwhile, the chinese are fielding hypersonic missiles, which are missiles that go into space and then return to their target. ours are still on the drawing board. china's arsenal on ground-based and medium-ranged missiles continues to grow. they are pointed right at our forces in the pacific and our allies in the region. we need investment to maintain our missiles defense systems so we can protect our people and deter the chinese from attacking our allies. we're also in a new space race, and it's a race we must win. americans may not realize how

much we rely on space for our daily lives, our satellites allows us to get g.p.s. for our phones or even watch football games on television, but the chinese want to weaponize this new frontier of war and we're falling way behind. right now, the chinese have set up satellites over taiwan. as they continue to ramp up their threats on this democratic neighbor is unbelievable. i heard about the growing gap between us and the chierns when i -- chinese when i visited army command in huntsville. these folks shared with me how desperately we need to modernize our space-based systems that contribute to our missile defense. the u.s. army is the largest consumer of space products and our military relies on the resources to train our soldiers

for research, development of new equipment and defend our nation. they should not have to beg the president of the united states for the money to invest in the capabilities that we need. the united states must ensure secure and reliable access to space. our budget needs to demonstrate commitment to defending our existing space assets and developing new technologies so we can win this next theater of conflict. we also need to invest in the safety of our service men and women, especially in aviation. currently the average age of an airplane in our military is older than the pilots flying them -- older. according to a recent report by the national commission on military safety aviation, the military had more than 6,000 noncombat aviation accidents

since 2013, destroying 157 aircraft at a cost of $9.41 billion. even worse, was the human cost. 198 souls have been lost in these tragic accidents affecting hundreds more spouses, children, family, and friends. when asked why these causes occurred, service members pointed to inadequate training programs, risky maintenance for practices and spotty funding, among other reasons. alabama is the home to for the ructer, where every army helicopter pilot comes to get their training. when i visited the folks at for the rukeyser, they told me about the need for ■increased training pilot, which requires more money in the defense budget. last week two pilots were injured in a helicopter crash at

fort rukeyser, i'm sure general francis will do a thorough investigation and provide feedback on the improvements needed to ensure this does not happen again. the safety of our flight program must be a top priority. we must listen to our men and women in uniform and invest in the proper training and safety measures that will prevent these crashes. alabama stands ready to continue to build our military so we can maintain our status as a preeminent fighting force in the world. we've got hundreds of contractors and more than 200,000 employed in -- employed in the defense secretarior across the state of -- in alabama. they are shipbuilders in mobile and many places in between.

as winston churchill said, give us the tools and we will finish the job. we're willing and able, but those tools require sustained funding from the federal government. telling our forces to fight a war with outdated tools is like giving a football team leather helmets and decades-old poorly fitted pads and expecting them in to compete against modern equipment. but that's exactly what president biden's defense budget is asking our military to do. frankly, it's a huge disappointment coming from our commander in chief. we cannot let our men and women down. thankfully, it's congress, not the president, who has the power of the purse, and really this should be our first order of business every year. it's that important. in the coming weeks, i will be working with my colleagues on a national defense authorization act and budget that will enable our military to do the job better today and prepare for all

the challenges tomorrow. this debate is ultimately about whether or not we have the will power to fight, to defend our way of life and our great country. well, i'm willing to keep fighting for the united states by investing in the men and women who keep us safe. i urge my colleagues and president biden to do the same. finally, i want to take a moment to honor the life of a great concern in alabama. a war veteran. curtis t.sprouse. he joined the united states army in 1943 at the age of 17. he served in the 318th infantry regiment under general george patton in the european theater, including the battle of the bulge. for his bravery, he earned the bronze star, purple heart, and good conduct medal, among other honors. he passed away in dothan,

alabama, last week at the age of 98. a few years ago, i visited with mr. sprouse at a restaurant in dothan, and we sat at a table known locally as the table of knowledge. it's where locals have sat and talked for decades, where people are said to solve the world's problems with conversation. that day, mr. sprouse and i talked about his service, and i talked to him about my father's time who at the same age today would be 98, talked about world war ii. we didn't end up solving the world's problems, but we did talk about how to humbly, graciously, and patriotically serve our great country. mr. sprouse was a humble man, but it was like -- men like him who defended our country and the world from evil, and ultimately they prevailed. we owe mr. sprouse a debt of gratitude we can never fully

repay. madam president, i yield the floor. the presiding officer: the senator from arkansas. mr. boozman: thank you, madam president. i rise today to recognize the extraordinary work of teachers in arkansas and across the country. as we prepare to celebrate teacher appreciation week, it is clear that educators are in a class by themselves when it comes to resilience. over the last 12 months, they have shown us what it means to be selfless and brave at a time when both were critically necessary. i'm especially proud of teachers in arkansas who rose to the challenge of leading classes 100% virtually for the first time and then embraced reopening our schools in august, 2020. the sudden transition to virtual learning was an extraordinary hurdle, as educators had to

learn new technology and new teaching techniques overnight. for all of us have learned to use zoom, it is worth taking a moment to imagine an online classroom with 30 wiggling first graders who want to show you their pets. or that you are teaching calculus to high school students who are preparing for an a.p. exam while attending class from their car at a wi-fi hot spot. somehow with great creativity and dedication, teachers embrace this mission and continue to do everything they could to reach each child. and when arkansas schools reopened in the fall, they were faced with a tremendous new challenge from mask and social distancing to teaching classes where some students were at their desk and others were on a screen. arkansas teachers once again did the impossible for their students. over the last year, i have heard

from educators who worried for their own health and safety but said their dedication to their students was stronger than fear. they learned new skills literally overnight. overhauled the curriculum and reimagined every aspect of their curriculum to comply with covid-19 guidelines. somehow, they also made kids feel safe, safe enough to learn, set an example with their positive attitudes, and let students know how important they were. whether in the classroom or on a computer screen. as they worked to maintain the academic progress of each child, they also provided a lifeline in an otherwise chaotic time. it's amazing to see the smiles on the faces of kids when they see their teachers, even though nothing was normal, they gave students an escape back to normalcy by being there and continuing to do what they do

best -- teach. when we look back at the heroes of this mum ultimateious time, it's clear that teachers will be among those we honor as society's most valuable players. on behalf of the people of arkansas, i want to thank our teachers for the great work that they have done this year and every year to bring out the best in each child and pave the way to a brighter future. and i note the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. quorum call:

the presiding officer: the senator from tennessee. mrs. blackburn: thank you, madam president. are we in a quorum call? the presiding officer: we are. mrs. blackburn: i ask that we suspend the quorum call. the presiding officer: without objection. mrs. blackburn: thank you, madam president. we are less than 100 days into the biden administration, and already we can identify a pattern in how they are building their policy initiatives,

interacting with congress, and marketing their ideas to the american people. in every example, the governing rule can be boiled down to what you see isn't what you're going to get. so far this 117th congress, every single major policy proposal that d.c. democrats have forced into the spotlight has been based on a false premise. they have intentionally misled the american people and are now catering to the increasingly radical left wing that gets further out of step with the rest of this country each and every passing day. consider last month's absurd $1.9 trillion spending package. the democrats billed this as,

quote, the american rescue plan, end quote, and, quote, covid relief, end quote. but only 9%, 9% of the total package price tag went for testing, vaccinations, and health care jobs. the rest they used on a massive blue state bailout and blatant redistribution of wealth. it's the same story with this month's $2.25 trillion spending package. they have done their best to pass this off as an infrastructure plan, but even if you add up every single line item that is dedicateed to roads, to bridges, to highways, to interstates, to ports, to waterways, airports, broadband, and the power grid, only a little over one-third of that plan will pay for actual

infrastructure projects. the rest, the rest of that $2.25 trillion is just another slush fund for union activism, climate change auditors, and green new deal fantasies. s. 1, the so-called voting rights bill my colleagues across the aisle have spoken so passionately about, completes the trifecta of bait-and-switch bills, advertised as one thing but that would accomplish something completely different. now, s. 1 isn't as much a taxpayer dollar grab as it is a nearly unprecedented political power grab that offers solutions in search of problems. if -- it ignores the promises of

federalism. it disregards the constitutional directive affording states, affording the states power over their own elections. it requires the use of ballot-casting technology and voter registration systems that don't even exist yet. but i think you can bet that some politically connected companies will make a whole bunch of money come into the market with this technology. it would dismantle voter i.d. laws and prevent local meaningful cleanup of voter rolls. your local election commission, it wouldn't be able to purge their rolls of individuals that have died or moved away. we know that this moves you to a recipe of fraud.

and speaking of fraud, it would force states to allow ballot harvesting. that right. it would mandate that they allow ballot harvesting. everyone has heard of the perils that exist with ballot harvesting. it would mandate disclosure, opening up private citizens to harassment and violent attacks. it would upend the mechanics and cause chaos and confusion in every precinct in this country. so why in the world would democrats even try to pitch this mess as something that would protect voting rights? by all accounts, it would increase the likelihood for fraud and confusion. well, i think that they are

doing it for the same reason they slapped a covid label on a $1 .9 trillion wish list and an infrastructure label on a $2.25 trillion wish list. they know that if the american people caught on to all that they are doing, they'd never win another election. now, think about that. if you know your policies are so unpopular with the american people that you have to cloak them behind different words, different phrases, words that the meaning of the word is evolving, because they don't stand up to scrutiny and the light of day -- in the light of day. and that's what is happening. you know, it isn't just false advertising. it's not a falsehood.

it's not misrepresentation. it's not an inaccuracy. it's not an accidental lie. this is an intentional lie. they are perpetrating this lie on behalf of a radical leftist minority of americans whose ideas are so destructive, they wouldn't withstand ten minutes of good, solid, robust, respectful, bipartisan debate on this senate floor. nothing about s.1 will serve the best interests of the american people, and my republican colleagues and i aren't the only ones who see the problems with it. tennesseans are worried about this, too because in tennessee we did the work to clean up our voter rolls and implement fair voter i.d. laws. we cut down fraud and increased faith in the electoral process.

this is how it is supposed to work. we do not need federal intervention to protect the vote. so no wonder my democratic colleagues chose to use the full weight of the senate judiciary committee to scare the american people into believing they live in jim crow america. throughout the course of last week's hearing, which they called jim crow 2021, the latest assault on the right to vote, they weaponized the pernicious lens of critical race theory against georgia legislators and the thousands of election officials and volunteers who work year-round to bring as many eligible voters to the polls as possible. everyone should exercise their right to vote. we should protect one person, one vote. we should encourage people in our local communities to cast

their ballot. but, my friends across the aisle, they're desperate and they're desperate to distract from what s. 1 would actually do, so desperate to distract from what it would actually do, that they are willing to project the evil hatred behind slavery, segregation, and race-based violence, projecting that onto people whose only goal is to protect the vote from criminals who would seek to rob it and make certain that individuals are registered to vote, that they vote, that legal votes are counted, and those improperly cast are not. now, my friends across the aisle have an invalid premise, and they should all pause and question their motives. madam president, the american

people should be worried about what's happening in this chamber when no one is looking. they should feel outrage at an administration that deliberately tries to manipulate them into supporting destructive, wasteful, and dangerous legislation. i think these bait-and-switch tactics are going to backfire. i think the scare tactics are going to backfire. because instead of being scared into submission, which is the agenda of the left, the american people are going to be scared into action. madam president, based on the contents of h.r. 1 and s. 1, i guess that they are more familiar with the ins and outs of their neighborhood polling places than d.c. democrats could ever expect to be. and that doesn't bode well for

the administration or the current congressional majority. i yield the floor and note the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. quorum call:

the presiding officer: the senator from michigan. mr. peters: madam president, i'd ask the quorum call -- unanimous consent, the quorum call be vitiated. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. peters: i also ask unanimous consent that i may be able to deliver my complete remarks prior to the vote. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. peters: thank you, madam president.

i rise to recognize an historic confirmation that took place last week. on thursday, the senate confirmed deanne chriswell to serve as the administrator of the federal emergency management agency. i would like to thank senator portman for his support and for working closely with me-to-see that ms. chriswell was swiftly confirmed. she is an experienced, crisis-tested leader, deserveing proliferate consent her nomination received. she brings more than 25 years of emergency management and disaster response experience at the federal, state, and local level having served as an emergency management commissioner for one of the largest and most diverse cities in america, she knows what it takes to ensure that the

coronavirus vaccine distribution is efficient and effective and that every community has the resources that they need to recover from this pandemic. as a former member of the national guard and a firefighter, she understands the needs of our heroic first responders as they continue usely protect americans on the front lines. however, the pandemic is just one of many challenges that fema faces and ms. kriswell understands that there is no one-size-fits-all approach to disaster response and every crisis from hurricanes to historic flooding and wildfires to the covid-19 pandemic requires a coordinated strategy. there's no doubt that ms. criswell's experience in emergency management of, extensive record of tacklings crises on a local and national level and the desire to work in a bipartisan basis to improve our federal disaster response in every community are exactly what is needed to meet the challenges that we are facing now and those

challenges that lie ahead. madam president, i rise to speak about the nomination before us today. jason scott miller, the president's nominee to be deputy director for management at the office of management and budget. mr. miller is a proven leader who is committed to getting results for the american people. he has an extensive track record of tacking difficult management -- tackling difficult management challenges and driving innovation, both in the government and in the private sector. early in his career as a management consultant, mr. miller advised large dependence with operations across the globe, helping them tackle strategic and operational challenges. as deputy director of the national economic council from 2011 to 2017, mr. miller spearheaded many government-wide initiatives, including the

creation of manufacturing u.s.a. institutes and select u.s.a. new efforts to spur job creation by strengthening manufacturing and bringing investment to the united states. he was also instrumental in driving the passage of bipartisan legislation in 2016 to address the crisis in puerto rico, and in developing the first ever federal policy on automated vehicles. o.m.b. is and will continue to be central to the administration's effort to combat the pandemic and spur economic recovery in communities all across our nation. mr. miller's experience taking on a diverse range of challenges and his commitment to getting results has prepared him well to serve as o.m.b.'s deputy director for management. i urge my colleagues to join me in supporting the confirmation of jason scott miller as deputy

director for management at o.m.b. madam president, i ask for the yeas and nays on the motion to invoke cloture on the nomination of jason scott miller to be deputy director -- madam president, i yield the floor. the presiding officer: the clerk will report the motion to invoke cloture. the clerk: cloture motion, we, the undersigned senators, in accordance with the provisions of rule 22 of the standing rules of the senate do hereby move to bring to a close debate on the nomination of executive calendar number 58, jason scott miller of maryland to be deputy director for management, office of management and budget, signed by 18 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 jason scott miller of maryland to be deputy

director of management, office of management and budget shall be brought to a close. the yeas and nays are mandatory under the rule. the clerk will call the roll. vote: disw

vote:

vote:

vote:

the presiding officer: on this vote, the yeas are 82, the nays are 13. the motion is agreed to.

mr. blumenthal: mr. president. the presiding officer: the senator from connecticut. mr. blumenthal: are we in a quorum call? the presiding officer: we are not. mr. blumenthal: mr. president, i ask unanimous consent that the senate proceed to legislative session and be in a period of morning business with senators permitted to speak therein, up to ten minutes each. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. blumenthal: i understand there is a bill at the desk, mr. president, and i ask for its first reading. the presiding officer: the clerk will read the title of the bill for the first time. the clerk: s. 1364, a bill to provide for the recognition of the lumbee tribe of north carolina, and for other purposes.

mr. blumenthal: i now ask for a second reading, and in order to place the bill on the calendar under the provisions of rule 14, i object to my own request. the presiding officer: objection is heard. the bill will be read for the second time on the next legislative day. mr. blumenthal: mr. president, i ask unanimous consent that the senate proceed to legislative session. i'm sorry, mr. president. mr. president, i ask unanimous consent that when the senate completes its business today, it adjourn until 10:00 a.m. tuesday, april 27, and that 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 the morning business be closed, and that upon conclusion of morning business, the senate proceed to executive session to resume consideration of the miller nomination postcloture.

that at 11:30 a.m., all postcloture time be considered expired. that following the cloture vote on the mccabe nomination, the senate recess until 2:15 to allow for the weekly caucus meetings. that if cloture is invoked on the mcgabe -- mccabe nomination, all cloture time be expired at 2:30 p.m. finally, if any of the nominations are confirmed, the motions to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table and the president be immediately notified of the senate's action. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. blumenthal: 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 >> today's session of the u.s. senate has now ended. when senate lawmakers return, we'll have live gavel-to-gavel coverage here on c-span2.

♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ >> tonight on "the communicators," a look at social media and content moderation with the director of the center for technology and innovation at the competitive enterprise institute. >> republicans tend to be very upset about the content moderation being too much and that it seems to them to be politically motivated and

putting conservative voices at a disadvantage online are where a lot of the democrat members of congress seem very upset that more content isn't being taken down. they feel that dangerous or untrue things are being left out and that's creating all sorts of other problems that spill over into our offline world. so, you know, while i think a lot of washington can agree that content moderation is something everyone's upset about, they kind of come at it from two very separate ways. >> tonight at 8 eastern on "the communicators" on c-span2. >> one of the things that i noticed as we talk to people affected by all of this and the commission and the like, they've come forward and a lot of them, i'm not going to give their names publicly because they're actually afraid to testify. i guess i don't blame them because they feel that it's going to hurt their business, they're going to get intimidated.

you mentioned, mr. gutierrez, i'm not asking you this question, some the retaliation that you thought, that you felt you experienced coming forward. mr. signs, have you had any examples of retaliation for coming forward? >> senator, we have had outreach with respect to our coming forward -- >> by who? >> so sure. by google. >> what happened? >> they called us last night after our testimony became public to ask us why our testimony was different than what we'd said about the situation at our earnings call earlier this year. >> is it different? >> well, we said in our earnings call earlier this year that we believed we would be able to work through the issue of google imposing their 30% on us which we've been working very hard at over the last few years meeting with regulators and others to

try to change these practices. google actually first threatened us in 2017 that they would roll out this in-app payment requirement to us, and they've slowly -- or they slow-rolled that until they announced it last september. >> so i'm just picturing this compared to australia with where they threatened to cut off a whole country simply because they wanted to charge for content. if you were to somehow to keep experiencing retaliation, i don't want to keep going into my time, we have several senators here -- three more, another one on the way. i just want to know could they hurt you in little ways? >> they could hurt us in little ways, they could hurt us in big ways. they could easily remove off app, again, if they were to impose this 30% tax, we're all afraid is the reality, senator. we're fortunate you are listening to us today. >> the senate judiciary

subcommittee on antitrust and consumer rights heard complaints from match, spotify and other app store developers who accuse tech companies of anti-competitive practices and charging unjustified developer fees. representatives from apple and google denied the claims and defended their companies. watch the entire hearing tonight starting at 8:30 eastern on c-span2. >> as he approaches his 100th today in office, president biden will give his first address to a joint session of congress wednesday night. our live coverage begins at 8 p.m. eastern with the president's address at 9 p.m. eastern on c-span, online at c-span.org or listen live on the c-span radio app. >> next, a look at what it would take to create a trump presidential library, the legal process for gaining the former president's records and the financial investments