actually happened on january 6 and this could again put them in an uncomfortable place is he's trying to defend the former president while also complying with whatever the commission would ask of him. >> host: we got this tweet from steven green saying the great january 6 investigation will be denied by trump and his republicans just like every factual studyy. we continue to send in comments at c-span wj and we will get your calls, 2027 for ##8-0000 for democrats, (202)748-8001 for republicans and generous six commission and our question what you think we will learn, christina marcos, what else is on the agenda this week here in washington on capitol hill. >> guest: another major bill is coming up this week related. >> we leave the last minutes of this program to keep our over 40 year commitment to gavel to gavel coverage of congress. you can watch the rest of it on a website c-span .org. we will take you live now to the u.s. senate where lawmakers will be working on a bill authorizing

$110 billion to fund science and technology research over the next five years to help the u.s. compete with china. now, live to the floor of the u.s. senate here on c-span2.

a rich and satisfying life. give our lawmakers the wisdom to avoid the traps that cause them to deviate from your plan for their lives. lord, keep them from setting an ambush for themselves. may they instead listen to your counsel and walk securely, protected by your loving and prevailing providence. provide them with a passion to choose reverence for you

and obedience to your commands so that you can use them as peacemakers for our nation and world. we pray in your sovereign name. amen. the president pro tempore: please join me in reciting the pledge of allegiance. i pledge allegiance to the flag of the united states of america, and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under god, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.

the president pro tempore: the senator from illinois. the clerk will call the roll. quorum call:

mr. schumer: madam president. the presiding officer: the majority leader. mr. schumer: i ask unanimous consent the quorum be dispensed with. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. schumer: now, madam president, the senate will consider three important measures this week. senators will vote on whether to repeal a trump-era rule that made it harder for victims of discrimination in the workplace to pursue justice. it's another example of the sheer malice, the nastiness of the trump administration. it actively sought to make it harder, harder for workers to win employment discrimination claims. the senate should reverse the trump-era rule this week. second, the senate will also vote on whether to discharge the

nomination of ms. kristen clark from the judiciary committee. ms. clark would be the first black woman ever to serve as assistant attorney general for the civil rights division. she is immensely qualified, and i look forward to putting her nomination on the floor after the senate takes action this week. but first, throughout the week -- this is the third thing, very important as well -- the senate will debate a very important piece of legislation. this evening, the senate will vote whether to take up the endless frontiers act on the senate floor, a once in a generation investment in american science and american technology. last week, the senate commerce committee voted to on an overwhelmingly bipartisan basis 24-4 to advance the bill. the endless frontiers act will form the core of what will be a comprehensive bill to boost america's ability to compete,

innovate, and win the technologies of the 21st century. over the course of the next week or two, the senate will debate and amend the legislation. i look forward to having another open and bipartisan amendment process, just as we did on the asian hate crimes bill and the bipartisan water infrastructure bill. there is no reason, no reason the senate can't finish our work on this important legislation by the end of the month. members on both sides of the aisle know that decades of federal underinvestment in science and technology have imperilled america's global economic leadership. when we invest in science, it inevitably produces millions of good-paying jobs. so this comprehensive bill will boost funding for basic scientific research, tech development, and manufacturing. it will strengthen our alliances and partnerships abroad. it will fortify weak spots in our economy like semiconductors, and it will ensure that we hold the chinese communist party

accountable for its predatory economic practices. it's a forward-looking, comprehensive plan to preserve america's competitive edge. the benefits will be manifold. when we invest in scientific research, the effect is difficult iew sieve. it helps our universities, our laboratories, and our businesses, and again it creates new good-paying jobs, millions of them, millions of them. so if you're looking for the future and our people want to have a brighter future and want to be assured that their children will have better-paying jobs than they have, this is an answer, one of the most important answers we can come up with. an american work force will help bring american inventions to the global market, and the way we have been number one in the economy for the last century will continue on into this country. so i'm excited about this legislation. and holding the chinese communist party accountable for its years of rapacious economic policies and theft of american

ingenuity will help create a level playing field that american workers have lacked for decades. investing in scientific research also hardens our national security. we can either have a world where the chinese communist party determines the rules of the road for 5g a.i. and quantum computing or we can make sure the united states gets there first. few things that should bring this chamber together faster than securing another century of american leadership than this. i am proud to have worked with my colleague, senator young, chairwoman cantwell, ranking member wicker, and others to get this bill to the floor of the senate, and i greatly look forward to working with all my colleagues during these next few weeks on amending, broadening, and passing this legislation before the month is out. now, one final matter. tomorrow, president biden will visit an electric -- an electric vehicle manufacturing facility in michigan where a major

american auto company is set to unveil its new electric, electric pickup truck. tomorrow's announcement is a significant breakthrough because it's one of the best-selling cars in america, the success of an electric pickup could hasten our nation's transition to a cleaner, brighter, and stronger transportation future. and personally i'm very happy to see the biden administration put a spotlight on zero-emission vehicles. this is an issue i have been working on for a very long time and something i'm passionate about. no matter how you look at the data, there is no way that america can meet our targets for ruing greenhouse gas emissions without looking at how we drive. transportation accounts for nearly one-third of america's carbon output, and while the transition to electric vehicles is already under way, it's progressing too slowly. that's why almost two years ago, i developed and introduced an

ambitious new proposal to rapidly phase out gas-powered vehicles and replace them with clean cars. all told, the object of the clan called clean cars for america is that by 2040, all vehicles on the road should be clean. i'm delighted that president biden has put this proposal in his build back america infrastructure plan. through a mixture of credits and investments, it would make electric vehicles affordable for all americans, provide incentives to trade in older gas vehicles, build the necessary charging infrastructure, and, very importantly, create tens of thousands of good-paying union jobs in oughtmaking, construction, and battery manufacturing. -- in automaking, construction, and battery manufacturing. what distinguishes this proposal is its ability to unite the environmental movement, the labor movement, and the large automakers. isn't that a great thing.

we used to have the environmental proposals and union proposals conflict. no more, because we're taking each others' needs into account. we have already -- this bill has already earned the support of the sierra club, the natural resources defense council, and the league of conservation voters. the u.a.w. and the international brotherhood of electrical workers and car manufacturers like ford and general motors are supportive as well. so you have the whole span. something like this should pass with a lot of votes, i hope. and i was very proud to see president biden put my clean cars for america proposal at the heart of his american jobs plan. in recent weeks, the virtue of such a plan has been made apparent to millions of drivers and not just for driement-saving reasons. the gasoline shortages along the eastern seaboard, although temporary, once again revealed that electric vehicles can be more reliable.

the price and availability of fuel doesn't depend on the ebb and flow of fossil fuel discovery, the volatility of international markets or panics like the one we just saw. on every front, on jobs, on american economic leadership, protecting the planet, transitioning to a clean car future provides enormous benefits. in the 20th century, in auto manufacturing, america led the way. if we fall behind on electric cars, we will no longer lead the way. but this legislation will produce lots of good-paying jobs. hallelujah. as the president perhaps to go to michigan for this are important announcement, we should talk about making a larger scale ambitious effort to have clean cars for america is the way to do it. i yield to the floor and note the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk

will call the roll. quorum call:

mr. mcconnell: madam president. 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: yesterday was the deadliest day yet in the continued fighting between the terrorist forces attacking israel and israel's measured,

precise and defensive response. hamas unleashed another round of rocket barrages intentionally targeting civilian areas all across israel. israel intensified its campaign to, among other specific military objectives, destroy the terrorist groups underground networks of weapon storage and command and control. last week hamas rocket attacks took the life of a 5-year-old israeli boy. and because hamas, in stark violation of the laws of war, intentionally -- intentionally colocates its terrorist facilities in civilian buildings and neighborhoods.

israeli strikes have regrettably led to civilian casualties in gaza. no one is glad to see the fighting, but we're already seeing some push push the fault's narrative that this conflict is a tragic dispute between two legitimate combatants where both sides share blame that is roughly equal. what nonsense. this yield calls for blanket cease fires and people wagging fingers at both sides. this camp also includes some of our own senate colleagues. to say that both sides -- both sides need to de-escalate downplays the responsibility terrorists have for initiating the conflict in the first place and suggest israelis are not entitled to defend themselves against ongoing rocket barrages.

now, look, i completely reject this obscene moral equivalence. now, the second false narrative is the view on the increasingly vocal far left that israel, israel is, to quote one far-left member of the house, an apartheid state. another says israel has perpetrated, quote, an act of terrorism. look, this is not a conflict between israel and the palestinian people. hamas has sought to hijack recent tensions to advance its own narrow violent objectives. in that sense it's a conflict between israel and a terrorist rump state in gaza that uses its civilian population as human shields and exploits their suffering for political gain.

these terrorists set up shop in apartment buildings and under press offices. they direct rocket astacks from the cover of schools and markets. in the past when their objectives have been killed, they passed them off to the international community as civil civilian -- as civilian victims of israel. look, few countries in history spend as much effort to avoid civilian casualties during war as israel and the united states. we hold our militaries to the highest standard. our israeli friends take pains to defend themselves in ways that are responsible and spare the very civilians hamas is willing to sacrifice for its propaganda. israel invests heavily in precision munitions. they spend precious time after attacks confirming target

identification. and listen to this, they even provide advanced warning to civilians in gaza before specific buildings are targeted even when doing so the terrorists may also evacuate. it's all well and good for president biden to speak with the president of the palestinian authority, but he holds little sway in gaza. and twice he has rejected generous offers from different israeli governments aimed at establishing an enduring peace. if the so-called international community actually wants to make a difference, to really make a difference, they can impose real costs on those who fund the terror weapons of hamas and palestinian islamic jihad. we know where the return address is. it's over in tehran. i've been proud to stand with

israel for years and i'm proud to stand with israel today. the united states needs to stand foursquare behind our ally, and president biden must remain strong against the growing voices within his own party that create false equivalence between terrorist aggressors and a responsible state defending itself. israel deserves an opportunity to restore deterrence and to impose costs on terrorists the international community has been unwilling or unable to impose. there's a saying that's been around quite a while. if hamas laid down its weapons tomorrow, there would be no more fighting. if israel laid their weapons, there had be no more israel.

-- there would be no more israel. so let's leave no doubt where america stands. on an entirely different matter. when the 117th congress and president biden were sworn in back in january, our nation had already turned the corner in our battle with the coronavirus. new cases and deaths had already peaked and actually started to plummet. the vaccines made available in record time, thanks to operation warp speed, had already started to roll out nationwide at a rate which the biden administration inherited and sustained until april. and the five bipartisan covid packages that congress passed in 2020 had the american economy packed with dry powder and primed for an epic comeback. economists across the spectrum

agreed. one of obama's c.e.a. chairman said, we have no historic parallel with anything like this level of excess saving. larry summers, president clinton's treasury secretary said that the bipartisan december package was already enough -- already enough to elevate a measure of household income to abnormally high levels unheard of during an economic downturn. we were already adding back jobs, but instead of tailoring another bill to build on this momentum, they pushed ahead with a $2 trillion partisan plan that the far left wanted. republicans predicted it would hurt our recovery if washington kept taxing working people so the government could pay a bonus for others to stay home.

i stood here in february and quoted an expert who said, in an expanding economy that is putting the virus behind it, paying people more in unemployment than they could receive from working is an act of substantial economic self-harm. it would keep workers on the sidelines, stob the un -- stop the unemployment rate from falling as rapidly as it otherwise would and slow the overall recovery. well, we all knew what would happen, but democrats insisted on continuing to pay people more not to work. in april, as the president's policies took effect, we only added 266,000 jobs. that's nearly 800,000 under estimates. just as job openings soared to more than eight million, the biggest number ever recorded,

we're literally taxing the american workers who are back on the job for the sake of slowing down our economic recovery. instead of an agenda to reopen america, democrats muscle through policies that would actually prolong parts of this crisis and, of course, that's what happened. a record number of small businesses say they have open jobs they cannot fill. governors across america are having to take matters into their own hands and turn off these extra generous benefits. in states like arizona, georgia, montana, ohio, and west virginia, we have governors having to clean up this mess which at least one of their own senators actually voted for. the policies that we needed in march of 2020 are not the policies we need in may of 2021. that has been obvious to

republicans, to economists, and to the american people. the center that my democratic friends here -- the sooner my democratic friends here in washington can catch up, the better. the presiding officer: under the previous order, the leadership time is reserved. morning business is closed. under the previous order, the senate will resume consideration of the motion to proceed to s. 1260, which the clerk will report. the clerk: motion to proceed to calendar number 58, s. 1260, a bill to establish the new directorate for technology and innovation, and so forth and for other purposes. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. quorum call:

quorum call:

quorum call:

mr. cotton: madam president, i ask consent to end the quorum call. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. cotton: just four short months ago, hopes were running high in the middle east. isis was wiped off the map. the iran regime was in retreat. israel was forging historic peace deals with its neighbors. all along the way, the united states was instrumental in its progress, but in just a few months, the biden administration has dashed those hopes with a policy of weakness and appeasement. the forces of terror are again on the march. pillars of smoke and fire are rising from tel aviv and the holy city of jerusalem. the assault on israel by terrorist groups like hamas and palestinian islamic jihad is the latest and most concrete

evidence yet the middle east is spiraling toward chaos. but instead of standing firm with israel, the biden administration's policy of endless accommodation is fanning the flames of conflict. the president should show strength. instead, he's broadcasting indecision and weakness. our greatest ally in the middle east is under attack, yet the democratic party refuses to say we stand with israel. the night sky over the jewish state blazes with the star bursts of intercepted rockets and the biden administration only offers muted calls for restraint. where are the righteous denunciations of the terrorists responsible for these repeated, premeditated, and unprovoked attacks? where are the statements of solidarity with israel? please.

from this administration, from this democratic party? we can't even get the president's spokeswoman to say that the united states would help resupply munitions for iron dome, israel's lifesaving missile defense system. so this afternoon, let me provide a little clarity that the president and his party appear incapable or unwilling to articulate. the fault for the death and destruction in the streets of three, jerusalem, gaza, and the west bank lies not with the israeli government, much less with the israeli people. the belligerence in this conflict ant morally equivalent the way it's often presented in supposedly enlightened circles. put simply, there are good guys and there are bad guys. israel seeks peace. terror groups seek death and

destruction. hamas and palestinian islamic jihad are not legitimate state actors. they don't speak for the palestinian people and don't truly care about them. these groups are terrorist organizations run by evil men who commit evil acts in pursuit of the evil greems of an evil ideology. they purposely fire waves of unguided rockets at civilian targets while they protect themselves from reprisal using babies, hospitals, schools, and dupes in the media as shields. what cowards, attacking innocent civilians while they hide behind women. of course, hamas and the islamic jihad don't act alone. the palestinian authority supports, encourages, and funds terrorism in the form of

so-called martyr payments, pensions paid to terrorists who attack jews. the p.a. perpetuates cycles of violence by refusing to acknowledge the existence of israel, teaching anti-semitism at schools and leaving its people to wallow in poverty as wards of the international community. and we all know who funds and arms palestinian terrorist organizations, the world's foremost supporter of terrorism, the islamic republic of iran. for decades, iran's theocrats have staged demonstrations where their fanatical supporters scream death to america and death to israel. the assault on israel today shows that those chants are not idle threats. iran's ayatollahs are deadly

serious about wiping the jewish state off the map. that's why iran arms palestinian terrorists with some of its most lethal weapons. hamas' arsenal of 10,000 rockets might as well have made in iran stamped on the side. those are the villains of this conflict, but let's not forget the heroes. standing courageously against this organized onslaught is the state of israel, our closest ally in the region. over the past week, terrorists have fired approximately 3,000 missiles and rockets into israel. in response, israel has defended itself with technological miracles like iron dome. it has carried out precision air strikes against military targets, and as always, israel has gone to extraordinary lengths to minimize civilian casualties, despite the terrorists' best efforts to

maximize and then publicize any carnage. while hamas and the islamic jihad fire indiscriminately from palestinian schools, office buildings, and apartments, israel responds by hitting those launch sites, but only after, only after they warn civilians, allowing them to evacuate first. regrettably, these warnings also allow the terrorists to escape. israel bears that cost because it values innocent life, unlike its terrorist enemies. you may have heard of one recent example. last week, israel carried out an air strike against a building used by hamas intelligence personnel, a building that also housed the associated press. an hour before the air strike, the israeli military called the a.p. and other civilians in that

complex and warned them to depart. this precaution once again allowed hamas terrorists to escape but also allowed reporters and other civilians to vacate the premises before the air strike occurred. as a result, no civilians died and hamas lost a terrorist haven. now, in any other country and with any other military except america's, i have to add, one would hear praise for that military's restraint and commitment to the laws of war, but because this military is the idea and the country is israel and the people are the jews, they are widely condemned around the world, and on the left in america. if you cut through the his tearics and the hyperbole, you can see the truth clearly. one side seeks to maximize carnage. the other seeks to minimize civilian casualties.

besides, i must observe why is the associated press sharing a building with hamas? surely these intrepid reporters knew who their neighbors were. did they knowingly allow themselves to be used as human shields by a u.s.-designated terrorist organization? did the a.p. pull its punches and decline to report for years on hamas' misdeeds? i submit that the a.p. has some uncomfortable questions to answer, yet the a.p. and its fellow journalists are in high high -- about israel's wholly appropriate air strike. leave it to whiney reporters to make themselves the story and the victim when terrorists are shooting missiles at innocent civilians.

in any event, the moral standing of the competing forces in this conflict is simple and clear. our greatest ally and the only democracy in the region against an islamist theocracy and its terrorist partners. most americans know which side they're on. i speak for them when i say that we stand with israel. unfortunately, too many elected democrats have taken a different stand. members of the so-called squad in the house of representatives have called israel an apartheid state and accused it of war crimes. remember, these aren't obscure back benchers. many democrats herald these representatives as the future of their party. meanwhile, 27 democratic senators have called for an immediate cease-fire to the conflict.

even the democratic floor leader who has long styled himself as israel's great defender has joined this moral equivalence, calling for an immediate cease-fire. hear me clearly -- the hand-wringing calls for a cease-fire are tantamount to hamas propaganda. both sides are not the same in this conflict, no matter what the democrats naively imply. if hamas puts down its weapons, there would be peace. if israel puts down its weapons, there would be no israel. thankfully, israel's leadership is resolute, united, and committed to victory. the united states should respond to this terrorist onslaught with equal resolve. that means we should give the

israel, time, space, and resources to destroy hamas' war machine and protect its own people. we should also ensure that israel has the military hardware to weather this crisis. hamas may have as many as 10,000 missiles, rockets, and mortars held in reserve. meanwhile, hezbollah lurks to the north with many times that arsenal. we should therefore endeavor to ensure that israel has more interceptors for iron dome than hamas has rockets to kill israelis. moreover, we ought to cut off aid to the palestinian authority until we can be absolutely sure that not a dime of taxpayer money is being used to buy and build rockets or pay penchants

for murderous terrorists. the biden administration ought to end its misguided flirtation with theocrats in iran by calling its chief negotiator and appeaseer from negotiations in vienna. the biden administration reenters the failed iran nuclear agreement and grants sanctions relief to the regime in tehran in very short order. that appeasement payoff will be converted into rockets aimed at israel as well as american troops throughout the region. while israel is under attack, we have heard plenty of talk and mealy-mouthed statements about politicians, but in this moment of crisis, israel needs more than words. israel needs and deserves our full support to defend itself

and its people and to achieve a just and lasting peace. madam president, i yield the floor and i note the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. quorum call:

quorum call:

the presiding officer: the senator from alabama. a senator: i ask unanimous consent to vitiate the quorum call. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. tuberville: thank you, madam president. i spoke recently about how the president's skinny budget is disappointing, dangerous and a disservice to our men and women in uniform. china actively seeks to outpace the united states military and in some cases they are succeeding. this isn't a five-year or ten-year problem. the threat is right now, today. unfortunately, the military is not the only area facing active

challenges by china. today i'm going to discuss a few at-risk areas that are critical to the stability of our nation. it's no secret that the chinese communist party or c.c.p. wants to replace the u.s. as the world's top power. the american people need to be aware of how the chinese communist party is coming after us. not just with missiles and military might but with plans to subdue the american spirit. the repressive c.c.p. uses espionage to weaken our arsenal of democracy. a significant part of what has made the united states a global powerhouse is the strength and resilience of our private sector companies, whether it's in technology, health care, or energy sectors, american innovation is unrivaled.

it's what made us the great economy and the greatest economy in the history of the world. china's leaders know this, but rather than go ahead -- head-to-head in honest competition, they've settled for stealing our intellectual property. chinese businesses, at the instruction of their government, lure american companies in, they offer cheap labor, they promise an exchange of ideas, but they really want to steal our valuable intellectual property. as president trump's national director of -- john radcliffe said, china's strategy is to rob, replicate and replace. china robs american companies over their intellectual property. they replicate our technology

and china replaces u.s. firms in the global marketplace. this theft isn't exclusive to just one industry. they'll go after whatever they can to get -- they can get their hands on. wind turbines, chemicals or artificial technology. according to the department of defense, between 2011 and 2018, more than 90% of the department's foreign economic espionage cases involve china. by stealing their -- this critical knowledge, the chinese have given themselves leg up on other nations. they are using it to expand their military and economic power. their goal to surpass the united states economy and gain a monopoly control over every major industry. we cannot allow that to succeed.

even more alarm something what china is doing from within our own universities. the american people may not be familiar with con fuseus -- confucius institute, but they should be. confucius institutes appropriate at 55 american colleges and universities while they claim to harmlessly promote chinese language and culture, they serve as a beach head for the chinese government within america's research institutions. often just the presence of a confucius institute on campus will enable chinese officials to stifle any criticism of the chinese government at that the university. the institutes also allow chinese got to harvest valuable data from research being conducted at our country's world-class institutions. who knows what else they could be up to. i was profound to cosponsor and

very proud to cosponsor senator blackburn's transparency for confucius institute act which would provide needed transparency to these dangerous organizations. i was also glad to see alabama a and m, an historically black university make the decision to close their confucius institute just last month. congress has made clear that american institutions of higher education that host confucius institutes could lose their federal funding. i hope any remaining colleges and universities with these c.c.p. satellite organizations follow alabama a&m's leadership. the united states and the entire western world has given china valuable concessions for decades. we gave china a seat at the table thinking they would change but they have played their hand

ruthlessly. the hope was that by facilitating economic growth through open markets and giving them leadership roles in the international institutions, china's communist regime would finally embrace democracy, human rights, and free market values. it's past time we recognize that despite all the good intentions, this strategy has failed and miserably. the chinese communist party has continually spied on its citizens, violently suppressed dissent, and systematically persecuted religious and ethnic minorities to the point of genocide. president trump stood up to china. he was the first u.s. president to do so in decades. and he made great strides. but he didn't have enough time in office to finish the job.

i sincerely hope president biden will continue to build on the trump administration's momentum in pushing back against china's aggressive rise. the u.s. must address the challenges posed by china. i've shared a lot of concerns today, but i'm not -- not one to offer criticism without a commonsense solution. here's one commonsense step congress can take immediately. the t.s.p. or thrift savings plan is the 401(k) style investment plan that over six million federal and government employees, both military and civilian, use for their retirement plan. the plan manages more than $700 billion in assets. back in 2017 the board that governs the t.s.p. decided to invest billions in companies with direct ties to the chinese communist party. they wanted to send government

ployee dollars, the retirement save, of our military and civilian public servants to chinese companies, including mine and everybody here in congress. companies tied to a government that openly committed genocide against its own people. with me that dog doesn't hunt. thankfully president trump put a stop to that plan before it was implemented but now with president biden in the white house, the board could decide to push through this decision. we need congressional action to make president trump's decision with this thrift plan permanent. i bet if you asked the folks who work in these buildings or who served in the u.s. overseas if they want their retirement savings going to chinese companies, you'd hear a loud no. i'll be offering a solution on this tomorrow to protect our national security and safeguard

the retirements of those who have served our country with honor and distinction. i notice the absence of a quorum, mr. president. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. quorum call:

quorum call:

mrs. blackburn: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from tennessee. mrs. blackburn: thank you, madam president. are we in a quorum call? the presiding officer: yes, we

are. mrs. blackburn: i would ask that we dispense with the quorum call. the presiding officer: without objection. mrs. blackburn: thank you, madam president. over the past week, the palestinian terrorist organization hamas has launched more than 3,000 rockets at civilian targets in israel, violent mobs have taken over the streets of jerusalem, and even seasoned veterans of the palestinian-israeli conflict have expressed shock at the intensity of the violence. this isn't normal. this isn't the middle east version of the resistance. this is terrorism. still, pro-hamas activists have flooded the media with instagram-friendly content questioning the legitimacy of israel's very existence, which is an argument that in any other context would bring all hell

down on the person foolish enough to say it out loud. the level of denial and misinformation about what is happening in israel and why it is happening is appalling. nearly every single member of the united nations security council embarrassed themselves this weekend by embracing a generic draft statement condemning the violence but refusing to acknowledge the hundreds of hamas rockets that started it. the u.n. has a shameful history of ignoring threats and violence against israel, but rarely in recent memory has the security council so blatantly rejudge tated anti-israel propaganda while israeli civilians cower in fear under persistence rocket fire.

thankfully, the united states mission blocked the statement's release, but i think it's important -- important -- to inject a little reality into the ongoing discussion. first, we must acknowledge that israel has the absolute right to defend itself, no matter the state of their relations with the palestinian authority. there is a world of difference between a state-sponsored terrorist attack on a civilian population and action taken to stop that attack. we have a responsibility to counter the dangerous argument that because hamas currently lacks the weapons capability to win this battle, israel must stand by and allow terrorists to slaughter civilians. second, i would encourage all of my colleagues to join me in

making it clear that the united states is and will remain israel's closest friend and ally. we will continue to assist with the development and production of advanced missile deterrence systems like the iron dome. we will not step away from that obligation simply because celebrity influencers would rather witness a slaughter than a proportionate response to mass terror. last, it is important to acknowledge that this violence is a symptom of a much more serious disease. hamas terrorists may be the ones launching rockets at civilians, but it is iran, the world's leading state sponsor of terror, that is paying for it. that is right, madam president.

it is iran, the world's leading state sponsor of terrorism, that is footing the bill for these attacks. when we provide assistance and support to israel, we are not just protecting an ally, we're containing the destructive influence of our most belligerent adversary in the middle east. this month the biden administration traveled to vienna to negotiate sanctions relief with iranian officials. since then, president biden has also spoken to prime minister netanyahu and reaffirmed israel's right to defend itself from these attacks. however, i would take this opportunity to remind my democratic colleagues that the united states designated hamas as a terrorist organization more

than 20 years ago. that is right. for the past two decades, we have recognized hamas as a terrorist organization. as a rule, we do not provide them assistance of any kind. they are a terrorist organization. but, by opening the door to sanctions relief for iran, we cannot help but enrich a regime that will not stop until it destroys israel. that is their goal. we know it because they have told us that is their goal. we must not provide sanctions relief to iran or give quarter to any regime that aligns itself with this evil. it is my hope that all americans will take some time this week to just unplug and think about this

and reflect and then pray -- pray that reason and wisdom will prevail as we seek an end to this outbreak of violence, as we seek an end of this terrorist group to destroy the nation of israel. i ask that the remainder of my remarks be submitted separately in the record. the presiding officer: without objection. mrs. blackburn: thank you, madam president. this weekend we had a positive development in the status of the i-40 bridge that connects west memphis, arkansas, and memphis, tennessee. just as a reminder, last week inspectors discovered a crack in one of the steel beams supporting the bridge. the crossing was immediately closed to all vehicle and barge

traffic. on friday morning, the coast guard reopened the stretch of mississippi river that runs under the bridge, but the bridge itself remains closed indefinitely. now, a lot of armchair experts have decided to sound off with the argument that this closure won't affect local economies, but with all due respect, those making this argument really should spend a little bit more time out in the real world. this part of middle america that we're talking about is an incredibly important part of our nation's domestic supply chain. we've got a 15-mile stretch along the mississippi river, and that houses 68 water-fronted facilities, 37 of those facilities terminal facilities moving products such as petroleum, tar, asphalt, cement,

steel, coal, salt, fertilizers, rock, and gravel and grains. shipping companies and cross-country trucking companies depend on the i-40 crossing and so do the local grocery stores, industrial facilities, restaurants, retail outlets that purchase the cargo and, of course, our nation's farmers. commercial trucking constitutes 25% of all traffic that crosses the i-40 bridge. the river traffic that flows beneath the bridge is just as important. when the coast guard reopened that stretch of the mississippi, they had to juggle 60 vessels, hauling more than 1,000 barges. yes, we had a little traffic jam in the mississippi river. it's amazing to me how quickly a problem like this does turn into a bottleneck. tennessee and arkansas

transportation officials are still working out a timeline for repairs, but as of now, the trucking industry is preparing for a downward spiral. according to the arkansas trucking association, this could cost operators and their customers more than $2 million a day. which is an amount that the industry actually cannot absorb. this means that the delay could end up costing consumers an additional $2 million a day. and depending on what they are buying, they could also see empty shelves due to a supply chain interruption. meanwhile, the biden administration is putting all their energy and focus into checking items off of a decades-old wish list of social programs. they put forward an infrastructure package worth more than $2 trillion that

wastes about two-thirds of this total price tag on projects that have nothing to do with infrastructure, nothing to do with making sure that major bridges and thoroughfares are safe and open or expanding broadband access or making sure that parents in rural tennessee can get their kids to school without worrying that a rainstorm will flood the road on the way to town. madam president, this is making the american people feel so incredibly unsettled and very frustrateed, and tennesseans are pretty nervous about the future. if i could give the president one piece of advice, it would be this -- if you want to waste time peddling green new deal policies or expanded social safety nets, admit it, just

admit it. call it what it is. don't call it infrastructure and then turn around and throw pocket change at actual infrastructure problems that need to be addressed right now. that mislabeling makes it look like you're trying to pull a fast one over the american people, and it makes the american people believe that you really don't care, and that's a dangerous message to send in the middle of a traumatic pandemic recovery, especially considering the prices are already on the rise. we see it in utilities. we see it at the gas pump. we see it in the packaged snacks we purchase for the children's sunday school class. even basics in the produce section at the grocery store are beginning to get out of reach. it's affecting basic nutrition. this is the biden surcharge. we're paying a premium just to

live from the moment our feet hit the floor in the morning to the time we brush our teeth and get into bed at night. the bare bones cost of living is going up, thanks to these reckless spending priorities. madam president, my democratic colleagues need to understand that a government subsidy cannot save a family from that kind of hit to their monthly budget. affecting everything from the moment their feet hit the floor in the morning to the time they brush their teeth and go to bed in the evening. the biden administration is creating a perfect storm of income insecurity, shortages, and the uneasiness that comes when americans see more month at the end of their money than money at the end of the month.

they know how to manage their budget and they know what they have to do when prices creep up 25 cents, a dollar, or two dollars at a time. their instinct isn't to reach out to the federal government for help. their instinct and their action is to cut back on the extras and to prepare for harder times ahead. the only way to avoid this, even now, is to make prudent, targeted investments in economic recovery, supply chain security, cybersecurity, and, yes, actual real infrastructure projects. the american people cannot afford all the extras that are on the democratic party's wish list. their income can't keep up with the inflation that is hitting their pocketbook every single

day of the week. and they really are concerned of what will happen when those trend lines cross and inflation heads north every single day. i would again ask my democratic colleagues to step back from the money printer and recognize the effect all this spending is having on american families. i yield the floor and note the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. quorum call:

a senator: madam president. the presiding officer: the senator from connecticut. mr. murphy: i would ask that we dispense with the quorum call. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. murphy: madam president, i further ask consent that the mandatory quorum call with respect to the cloture motion for the motion to proceed to calendar number 58, s. 1260, be waived. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. murphy: madam president, i

have one request for a committee to meet during today's session of the senate. it has the approval of the majority and minority leaders. the presiding officer: duly noted. mr. murphy: and finally, i would ask that i be allowed to finish my remarks prior to the upcoming vote. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. murphy: thank you, madam president. madam president, i come to the floor this afternoon to talk about two issues of vital importance to the united states and the world. first, i want to say a few words about the current violence paralyzing israel and the palestinian territories. then i want to spend the bulk of my remarks on the future of nuclear proliferation in the middle east. first, here in america, our hearts are breaking for israelis and palestinians. the images are just bone chilling. rockets and interceptors streaking across the night sky. parents huddled with their children as air raid sirens ring out. tragic images of innocent

israeli and palestinian civilians, including children injured or killed in the blasts. for many americans who are turning on the news this week, it might appear that the events of the last few days erupted almost overnight. and while tensions are now reaching a fever and deadly pitch, this cataclysm has been long in the making, and no party, including the united states of america, has completely clean hands. zero sum politics has driven both the decision-making of the netanyahu government and palestinian leadership, to the extent there is such thing as palestinian leadership. and knows decisions have led us to this crisis. over and over, prime minister netanyahu has pushed israeli settlements further into territory historically considered reserved for a future palestinian state. the israeli government,

increasingly reliant on right-wing zero sum political constituencies for its survival, also stepped up campaigns to remove palestinians from areas in east jerusalem as a means to undermine the palestinian claim to this section of the ancient city of the capital of a future state. the spark that lit the match of the existing conflagration was the israeli effort to remove palestinian families from their homes in the east jerusalem neighborhood and replace them with israeli settlers. in february, an israeli court ordered palestinian families in that neighborhood to vacate their homes by may 2 or they would be forcibly removed. protests began and spread to other cities in israel with large arab populations while the palestinian families awaited a final ruling from the israeli supreme court. as these protests spread and grew in size, israeli police adopted some tactics that we

have seen on display here in the united states. an overly securitized approach that only escalated instead of defusing the tension. those clashes leads to more crackdowns and a cycle that continued and then continued. then israeli security forces stormed islam's third holiest site in jerusalem during ramadan prayers. now, the israelis contend that they were responding to rocks thrown from palestinians inside. the palestinians argue it was the other way around. but whatever happened, at the end of that night, more than 330 palestinians and 22 israelis had been injured. the story of the palestinians' conduct over the last decade is just as important in understanding the roots of the existing crisis. fatah, the main political party representing palestinians, has failed the people that it represents. rife with internal conflict and corruption, fatah lost its right

to govern in 2006 when hamas, an internationally recognized terrorist organization, beat fatah in permanently elections there that year. fatah advocates for the armed rebellions of palestinians against israel. fatah under pressure from hamas to take the more extreme position spent most of the last decade refusing any and all chance to negotiate with the israelis, preferring instead to sit on the sideline and nurture grievances. they were unable to deliver any benefit to those in charge in the west bank and this fed the grievance culture even more. in response to those events i mentioned at alaxa, hamas and allies in gaza started firing rockets into southern and central israel. since that day, thousands of rockets have landed inside israel. these rocket attacks were then

responded to by an israeli government that has begun its own assault inside gaza, and as we sit here today, hundreds of palestinians inside gaza, including children, have been killed, though there have not been as many casualties inside israel because of the defense relationship with the united states, israelis have been killed as well. the israelis were wrong to pursue settlements an evictions to undermine a future palestinian state. these policies might have helped to hold together netanyahu's coalition, but fed hopelessness. the palestinian leadership was wrong to perpetuate an anti-israeli, senate semitic relationship as a result of their hold on power. but, madam president, the united states, over the last four years, we played a role too.

president trump rejected america's historic role as a broker for peace between israelis and palestinians. he took the side of netanyahu and rejection of the palestinian state drove the two parties apart and turned the temperature up. trump pursued a path to intentionally create division rather than healing. and abstinence from this post as mediator is also a reason why we're here today. there's going to be time to talk about the big picture, what went wrong, how american policy changed toward israel and west gaza, but now we need to be laser-like on a cease-fire. hamas must sphop its rocket attacks. they are war crimes. they are indiscriminate. they do nothing to help the palestinians and east jerusalem or anywhere else and israel

needs to stand down its military campaign as well. have to take off the table a ground invasion of gaza. israel possesses disfor po are portion gnat power -- proportionate power. when children die in gaza, it does nothing to secure veavment in fact, it does the oposite. it just provide further fuel to this furnace of grievances. i'm glad that the administration is sending deputy assistant secretary to the region. it is critical he is there and we get an israeli ambassador as quickly as possible. the united states needs to press for a cease-fire. the united states cannot afford to simply allow for this escalation to continue. that's not in israel's best interest and it's not in

america's best interest. my hope is in the conversations happening between the biden administration and the netanyahu government, that they are talking about the terms to bring this violence to an end. now, to the second topic. i recently spent five days in the middle east last week. i came back just before this recent spout of violence began in gaza and israel. during the five days i was in the middle east, i crossed paths with a bunch of biden officials, and i can report setting aside the conflict in israel, which is hard to do right now, there is some real positive news to bring back from the gulf. the four-year long rift between qatar and its neighbors is healing, there is talks. all of this, i was repeatedly told by leaders in the middle

east is happening because president biden made clear is that de-escalation will be rewarded by the united states, a stark departure from the trump administration. this is good news, but the bad news quickly follows. and it's this. if the united states does not reenter the iran-nuclear agreement, all of this nascent progress will be a problem. president biden knew that this agreement was critical to american security. with iran's nuclear program curtailed and inspectors allowed to comb every bit of the country to look for enrichment program, the world can breathe a sigh of relief, at least we knew that they weren't developing a nuclear weapon. the achievement of the deal brought together a set of unlikely bed fellows, the united states, europe, but also russia

and china and iran policy this coalition of regular adversaries was in tact at the end of the obama administration. this set up proxy forces like hezbollah. trump went in a different direction. instead of building on the iran deal, he decided to put to test the theory of its opponents, that theory is this. that if the united states imposed unilateral crippling sanctions on iran, leaders in tehran would limp to the motion to table cowed to put everything on the table, human rights, proxy support up for discussion. that's what obama's critics said he should have done and those critics cheered when trump took their advice. what happened, of course, was a policy cataclysm.

trump imposed the sanctions and our partners, instead of following america's lead, effectively took the iranian side, even helping iran work around our sanctions, making matters worse, when trump sent word to the iranians of our 12 demands, they refused to talk. they ratcheted up their bad behavior. they sent more support to the houthis in yement, they started -- yemen. they reduced their breakout time for a weapon from a year to just three months and resumed attacks on american forces in the region, both directly and through proxies. here is a simple way to take a look at the success of the maximum pressure campaign. one element of the iran nuclear deal was a commitment by iran to reduce the enriched uranium

stockpile. this is a -- there is a dramatic escalation in the amount of uranium that iranians are holding. here is the bad news. as soon as the maximum pressure campaign is unveiled by president trump, those numbers creep back up again. one chart explains to you the effects of trump's maximum pressure campaign. it was a spectacular failure and definitive proof that the alternative approach cheered by the iran deals opponents, keep the sanctions in place until iran ka pit laits was a fantasy. instead a situation has empowered a hard-line wing of a hard-line regime and blames the united states for the nation's suffering. now now those same critics of the nuclear agreement are back and incredibly, despite the

writing inked on the wall during the past four years, their argument hasn't changed a bit. keep doing what trump did and this time it will work, they say. they suggest getting back in the nuclear deal, as biden pledged isn't enough, they want a new deal that includes a resolution to all of iran's bad acts. unless we are prepared to invade iran and have unconditional surrender, we're not, then that comprehensive deal is a neoconservative fantasy. it doesn't exist in real life. in real life, the achievable result is a restart of the nuclear agreements. but the good news is that this result, in 2021, might have an even greater peace dividend than when it was executed the first time in 2015. and so this brings me back to my trip to the region.

i heard this story while i was there of how quickly talks on healing the gulf council rift. countries at each other's throats during the trump administration were coming to terms with each other. the reason was simple. while conflict were rewarded during trump's term, countries realized that diplomacy would win favor with president biden. in oman, i heard how the saudis were willing to make concessions in yemen and houthis were -- in jordan the king talked to us how an iraqi government was now more welcoming than ever in places other than iran and he spoke of jordan's new overtures of a baghdad government looking for diverse allies and everyone in the region at every stop buzzed about the talks. reports suggested that these two countries wanted to talk during

the trump administration but discouraged from doing so. this momentum towards peace is encouraging but it is so farming i'll and one major setback, one major unexpected hiccup could turn the progress around. i worry this hiccup could be the failure of america and iran to get back into the nuclear agreement. if the talks fail and the biden administration is forced to implement trump's iran policy for the next four years complete with the unilateral crippling sanctions, it is easy to see how progress could be hurt. a harder line government, much less prone to diplomacy would choose to scuttle peace talks in yemen and work like mad to make sure their proxies in iraq take power. this could convince the saudis to double down militarily and open up new fishures in the

government -- fissures in the gulf. this could be -- i fear that is it more accurate than fantastical. the stakes might be that high, which brings me, finally to, our -- to our negotiations in vee eney, if the -- vienna, what's got to happen a guaranteed good outcome? the -- iranians are insisting on shuttle diplomacy. we should talk to them. second, countries in iran's neighborhood who are hostile or neutral to the talks in 2015, they have their eyes wide open to getting back to the deal and we should make sure our partners in the middle east who have the ear of the supreme leader, we should make sure they are applying the appropriate pressure and let iran know that their relationships in the region are at risk if iran fails to get back in the deal.

on our side of the ledger, we need to be willing to be creative. of course any restart of the nuclear agreement is going to require the united states to drop the sanctions trump applied to iran's economy. that have the same impact as the obama era nuclear sanctions. but here's a point i want to make. what about the other sanctions that trump layered on top of the other sanctions. it should be expected that the iranians want us to lift trump's designation as a terrorist -- of a terrorist organization, it was a keep part of trump's maximum pressure campaign and it was specifically designed to try to bring iran back to the negotiating table on the nuclear program. in evaluating the wisdom of peeling back the noneconomic sanctions, it is important to remember that they were all completely feckless. these sanctions are no impact. their only impact was to worsen iran's behavior. so lifting them would have no

practical neg activism pact. just as importantly lifting this designation, the one i'm posing to you, is a technical exercise, and it doesn't prevent us from sanctioning the bad actors in the iranian military. our sanctions on some of the most brutal interrogators would stay in place even if we lifted the blanket irgc -- it would have little to no practical impact and there are many more. i use this example to show how weighing the equities, the benefits of getting back into the deal are far greater than the imaginary benefits of keeping many of trump's noneconomic sanctions. let me be clear. if these sanctions like this are removed, they will accuse biden giving more than obama gave. this is the exact trap that trump was trying to set for his

successor, he applied sanctions on iran but called them nonnuclear sanctions hoping the next president would be caught in this sticky web. president biden shouldn't be bound by this. just as importantly, let me assure you no matter the particulars of the details of the agreement to restart the nuclear deal, the deal critics are going to oppose it no merit what. they opposed it in 2015, they will oppose it again. what we should be worried about is iran's policy becoming by accident permanent. iran will continue to speed up its nuclear research program, maximum pressure will continue, and a chill will be delivered to the de-escalation momentum in the region. but on the other hand, reentering the deal will effectively already priced into a biden electoral victory, it will be seen as a diplomatic victory at a perfect time to score a win for diplomacy. and the middle east countries who have found new affection for

a u.s.-iran agreement will exhale. i'm not naive. i understand the middle east has still dozens of cry cease -- cry seize and it's a reminder of the grave challenges that are still there. but the overall move of de-escalation around the gulf is real. it's much better than the old instruction for escalation. i see the roots of positive change slowly, quietly growing. the best way for the united states to nurture is to start the iran nuclear agreement. i yield back. 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 motion to proceed to calendar

number 58, s. 1260, a bill to establish a new director for technology and so forth and for other purposes. the presiding officer: by unanimous consent, the mandatory quorum has been waived. the question is it is it the sense of the senate that debate to proceed to s. 1260, a bill to establish a new director for technology, to establish a regional hub program, to require a strategy and report on economic security, science, research, innovation, manufacturing, and job creation, to establish a critical supply chain resiliency program and for other purposes shall be brought to a close. the yeas and nays are mandatory under the rule. the clerk will call the roll. vote:

vote:

vote:

the presiding officer: on this vote, the yeas are 86, the nays are 11. three-fifths of senators duly chosen and sworn having voted in the affirmative, the motion is agreed to. the presiding officer: the senator from rhode island.

mr. whitehouse: i ask unanimous consent the senate be in a period of morning business with senators permitted to speak therein for up to ten minutes each. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. whitehouse: i ask unanimous consent the help committee be discharged from further hrtion of h.r. 941 and the senate proceed to its immediate consideration. the clerk: h.r. 941, an act to reauthorize the stem cell therapeutic and research act of 2005, and for other purposes. the presiding officer: is there objection to proceeding? without objection, the senate will proceed. mr. whitehouse: i ask unanimous consent that the bill be considered read for a third time. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. whitehouse: i know of no further debate on the bill. the presiding officer: is there further debate? if not, all in favor say aye. all opposed nay. the ayes appear to have it. the ayes have it. the bill is passed. mr. whitehouse: i ask gnat motion to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table with no intervening action or debate. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. whitehouse: i ask unanimous consent the senate proceed to the immediate consideration of

calendar number 20, s. res. 117. the presiding officer: the clerk will report. the clerk: calendar number 20, senate resolution 117, expressing support for the full implementation of the good friday agreement or the belfast agreement and subsequent agreements and arrangements for implementation to support peace on the island of ireland. the presiding officer: without objection, the senate will proceed. mr. whitehouse: i further ask that the lee amendment to the committee-reported amendment to the resolution be considered agreed to, the committee-reported amendment as amended be agreed to, the resolution as amended be agreed to, the lee amendment to the committee-reported amendment to the preamble be agreed to, the committee-reported amendment as amended be agreed to, the preamble as amended be agreed to, and the motions to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table, with no intervening action or debate. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. whitehouse: i ask unanimous consent the senate proceed to the consideration of s. res. 217, submitted earlier today. the presiding officer: the clerk will report. the clerk: senate resolution 217, designating the week of may 16-may 22, 2021, as national

public works week. the presiding officer: without objection, the senate will proceed. mr. whitehouse: i ask unanimous consent the resolution be grabble, the preamble be agreed to, the motions to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table with no intervening action or debate. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. whitehouse: i ask unanimous consent the senate proceed to the consideration of s. res. 218, submitted earlier today. the presiding officer: the clerk will report. the clerk: senate resolution 218, recognizing national foster care month as an opportunity to raise awareness about the challenges of children in the foster care system and encouraging congress to implement policies to improve the lives of children in the foster care system. the presiding officer: without objection, the senate will proceed. mr. whitehouse: i ask unanimous consent the resolution be agreed to, the preamble be agreed to, and that the motions to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table, with no intervening action or debate. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. whitehouse: i ask unanimous consent that when the senate completes its business today, it adjourn until 10:00 a.m. tuesday, may 18. that following the prayer and

pledge, the morning business be deemed expired, the journal of proceedings be approved to date, the time for the two leaders be reserved for their use later in the day, and morning business be closed. further, upon the conclusion of morning business, the senate resume consideration of the motion to proceed to calendar number 58, s. 1260 postcloture. further, that all time during recess, adjournment, and morning business count postcloture on the motion to proceed. finally, that the senate recess from 12:30 p.m. until 2:15 p.m. to allow for the weekly caucus meetings. the presiding officer: is there objection? without objection. mr. whitehouse: if there is no further business to come before the senate, i ask that it stand adjourned under the previous order. the presiding officer: the the presiding officer: the >> the senate gaveling out for the day they worked on a bill authorizing $110 billion for tech research to help the u.s. compete with china, senators are expected to continue work on the bill throughout the week as they

pick up more president biden's nominees, when the senate returns you can watch live coverage here on c-span2. >> c-span is your unfiltered view of government funded by these television companies and more including comcast. >> you think this is just a community center, no, it's way more than that. >> comcast is partnering with a thousand community centers with enabled listing so students with low-income families can get what they need to be ready for anything. comcast supports c-span as a public service along with these other television providers giving you a front row seat to democracy. >> former british prime minister talked about global covid-19 vaccination efforts and ways to prepare for future pandemics.