supreme court decisions, sunday at 9:45 p.m. eastern, watch gideon v wainwright. where clarence gideon tried for petty crimes, had no lawyer. the accused must be providing a lawyer if they cannot afford one. watch landmark cases on c-span, on-line on c-span.org or listen on the c-span radio app. >> c-span shop.org is c-span's on-line store. here is a couple of c-span products, browse to see. and you have time to order the congressional directory, with contact information. go to c-spanshop.org. the u.s. senate is about to

gavel in looking at a bill aiming to help farmers and ranchers in similar markets. and appeals court judge or the 7th circuit. live now to the floor of the u.s. senate here on c-span2. . the presiding officer: the senate will come to order. the chaplain, dr. barry black, will now lead the senate in prayer. the chaplain: let us pray. almighty god, guide our lawmakers through this day with your higher wisdom. help them to walk with

integrity, reverence, and humility. may they refuse to deviate from the path that honors you. lord, open their minds to your truth as you use them to bring healing to our nation and world. may they submit their lives to the light of your precepts, replacing fear with faith, falsehood with truth, and hate with love. we pray in your holy name. amen. the presiding officer: please join me in reciting the pledge of allegiance to the flag. 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 presiding officer: the clerk will read a communication to the senate. the clerk: washington d.c, june 24, 2021. to the senate: under the provisions of rule 1, paragraph 3, of the standing rules of the senate, i hereby appoint the honorable jacky rosen, a senator from the state of nevada, to perform the duties of the chair. signed: patrick j. leahy, president pro tempore. the presiding officer: under the previous order, the leadership time is reserved.

mr. schumer: madam president. the presiding officer: the majority leader. mr. schumer: first i have a message for the information of the senate. i understand there is an important meeting at the white house this morning that several members are attending.

so in order to accommodate the first vote will start at 10:45, not at 11:00. and we're going to have to move quickly on that vote so people can get their votes done and get to the white house. so members, please take notice. on nominations, before we reached the conclusion of the june work period, the senate will confirm yet another one of president biden's highly qualified nominees to the federal bench. candace jackson-akiwumi to serve on the seventh circuit court of appeals. a graduate of princeton and yale law school, ms. jackson-akiwumi left a career at a big law firm to work ten years as a federal defender in illinois. she was a voice in the courtroom for americans who often had no one else to speak for them. the mentally ill, folks who could not afford an attorney. we have plenty of prosecutors and corporate lawyers on the bench.

ms. jackson-akiwumi would bring a sorely needed perspective. the more our courts reflect the country as a whole, the more faith americans will have in the equal application of the law. ms. jackson-akiwumi will make an outstanding addition to the seventh circuit, and i urge all my colleagues to vote for her later today. now i want to reflect for a moment on the pace of judicial nominations in the democratic-led senate so far this year. typically the first several months of a new administration don't feature a ton of judicial nominations. new presidents often have ambitious legislative agendas and it takes a lot of time for a new president to make appointments and get them to go through all the background checks. and for the judiciary committee to advance nominees to the floor. so in administrations past, the first six months are a fallow period for judges. for all the focus that the

republican leader put on judges during the previous administration, the senate only confirmed one, one district or circuit judge before july 4 in the first year of donald trump's presidency. by the end of today, the senate will have confirmed more judges this week than in all six months of donald trump's first year in office. in fact, with the confirmations this week the senate will have confirmed more district and circuit court judges to the federal bench in the first six months of president biden's first year than any other administration in 50 years. let me say that again so people hear, because i know there's a lot of worry, justified, that president trump shifted the bench so far to the right that we need to do, we need to rebalance it and we need to make that a very high priority. well, we have. after the confirmation of ms. jackson-akiwumi, the senate will have confirmed more

district and circuit court judges in the first year of a presidency in over 50 years, including the first six months of donald trump's presidency. so we're making good, good progress. and we've done it with judges who break the federal mold. federal defenders, civil rights lawyers, voting rights lawyers, the first native american judge, the first muslim american judge. those make me proud that we are constantly expanding who in america can get to the bench. all of these folks have one thing in common -- they are individuals of impeccable character and impressive credentials. the democratic senate is restoring balance to the judiciary with highly qualified, mainstream jurists who reflect the diversity of this country, and we're going to keep at it when we come back in july and beyond. on another matter, infrastructure. a nation's economic potential

depends on the quality of its infrastructure. our businesses, workers, farmers, manufacturers, you name it, they all depend on the infrastructure networks that connect our country. and here in the 21st century, electrical grids and broadband internet access are just as important as roads and bridges and highways, but it's been decades, decades since congress passed a significant stand-alone bill to increase federal investment in infrastructure. our roads and bridges are crumbling. children learn in dilapidated schools. large swaths of rural america lack access to broadband internet. we need to refashion much of our infrastructure to address the existential threat of climate change. that is so important and essential to the overwhelming majority of my caucus. so the senate this summer is going to move forward on multiple legislative proposals to make historic investments in our nation's infrastructure. and when we say that, we mean

both types of infrastructure -- the concrete and steel and that kind of infrastructure, the physical infrastructure, but also the human infrastructure, so that we can maximize the potential of our people which, after all, is our greatest resource, greatest resource. so we are pursuing on multiple -- we are making two tracks. the first legislative track is bipartisan. the second track will incorporate elements of the american jobs and families plan and will be done through the budget process which must pass even if it is not bipartisan. there has been significant progress this week on both tracks. yesterday a bipartisan group of senators announced they had reached an agreement in concept for a bipartisan infrastructure proposal, and i've encouraged them to move forward, but i've made explicit to every one of them l together and separately

that we have to pass both tracks together. speaker pelosi were made aware of the concepts of the agreement, the bipartisan agreement, last night. and while we have yet to see the details, i'm encouraged by the progress the bipartisan group of senators has made. i supported these bipartisan discussions from the beginning, and i want to thank my colleagues for their hard work. senate democrats have also made significant progress on preparing a budget resolution. these two efforts are tied together. let me make that clear. the bipartisan infrastructure bill and the budget resolution are tied together. if the senate is going to move forward with a bipartisan infrastructure bill, we must also move forward on a budget resolution as well. i have discussed this with both, with president biden directly on several occasions, and he agrees we cannot do one without the other. and he has let the participants

know that. speaker pelosi agrees that we cannot do one without the other. all parties understand, we won't get enough votes to pass either unless we have enough votes to pass both. when the senate returns in july, it will be time to take the next step and hold the first votes on the bipartisan infrastructure bill on the floor of the senate. senators should also be prepared to consider a budget resolution that will clear the way for the budget reconciliation bill as soon as possible. the bottom line is both tracks need to make progress concurrently. this is about building a foundation for the united states to remain the world economic leader in the 21st century. we are the largest economy in the world, but our infrastructure ranks 13th behind south korea and germany and japan and even the united arab emirates. there isn't a community in this country without some glaring infrastructure challenge, certainly my home state of new

york. if america is going to prosper in the 21st century, we can't have infrastructure that's stuck in the last century. we need to pass a major investment in infrastructure, both physical and human, this year. and i look forward to holding the first votes when we return for the july work period. i yield the floor. i note the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. quorum call:

quorum call:

quorum call:

mr. lee: madam president. the presiding officer: the senator from utah. mr. lee: i ask unanimous consent to vitiate the quorum call. the presiding officer: without objection. morning business is closed.

under the previous order, the senate will proceed to the consideration of s. 1251, which the clerk will report. calendar number 74, a bill to authorize the secretary of agriculture to develop a program for private forest landowners in certain voluntary markets and for other purposes. mr. lee: madam president, i call up my amendment numbered 2119. the presiding officer: the clerk will report by number. the clerk: the senator from utah, mr. lee, proposes an amendment numbered 2119. mr. lee: madam president, as americans want to buy more clean and green products, the market has tbiending solutions to -- finding solutions to provide those products. the growing climate solutions act before us, however, will not. though it seeks to aid the carbon credit market it could

ultimately serve only to quell it. let's just take a look at how the carbon credit market currently works. farmers, ranchers, and private foresters develop these credits to sell by taking actions to either limit their greenhouse gas emissions or to capture greenhouse gas emissions from the atmosphere. they work with technical assistance providers to know how to do so and then with third-party verifiers who make sure that the proper standards are met. companies can then purchase the credits to offset their carbon emissions and they can also sell unused credits to other companies wanting to offset their carbon emissions. it's a voluntary exchange and an example of the market working as it ought to work. as the demand for these credits grows, more farmers, ranchers, and foresters would explore this

revenue-generating market, more technical assistance providers and third-party verifiers would emerge and potentially innovation would emerge with new types of entity to create and sell carbon credits beyond these initial three. so what would the bill do? it would establish a usda certification program for the technical assistance providers and third-party verifiers involved in creating carbon credits on grounds that it would help small farmers better understand the carbon credit market and know with whom they may work. it would have a massive credit program that would possibly hamper, not foster innovation. it would insert the federal government into a market that is blossoming on its own, imposing burdensome regulation and

picking winners and losers in the carbon credit marketplace. to make matters worse, it would corrupt the financial incentives of the market by allowing the usda to cap revenues and generally regulate the sale of these credits. though it aims to help small farmers to participate in this market, it could easily be manipulatedded to demand the usda's set protocols and qualifications and then drive carbon credit purchasers solely to credit sellers working with those that the federal government's -- those that fit and comply with the edicts of the federal government. this will ultimately only impose problems for farmers, ranchers, and are foresters, impede potential new participates and in the end hurt the environment.

my amendment would transform this program into a transparent informational research for farmers, ranchers and foresters as they look for third-party verifiers. it would include common qualifications and common practices of these entities and a list of providers and verifiers that they could reach out to for assistance. madam president, the federal government ought to get out of the way for the carbon credit market to continue innovating and thriving, not squashing. the energy requirement commission greece and for all of these reasons, i urge my colleagues to support this amendment. a senator: madam chair. the presiding officer: the senator from arkansas.

mr. boozman: thank you. our farmers, ranchers and foresters are the greatest stewards of the land and many have been working for a long time to provide natural resources and protect the environment. now more than ever farmers, ranchers, and foresters are looking to explore opportunities to benefit financially through emerging voluntary credit markets. new opportunities to -- hold a great deal of promise, however, producers and landowners must navigate a complex and costly landscape in order to being a s. these markets. the growing climate solutions act provides a framework for producers to access technical assistance, guidance and resources in these emerging

markets as they investigate whether to pursue this new opportunity. usda certification of entities who will assist farmers is how best to navigate these markets, will improve market integrity and provide farmers and ranchers more confidence as they take the first steps. the information gathered by u usda will serve as a reliable resource for producers seeking to learn about both the entities involved and the practices being implemented to generate credits that are transacted in voluntary and environmental credit markets. these markets and the key players are evolving very quickly and this bill directs usda to first assess the current state of voluntary environmental credit markets because it's important that we all have an understanding of the landscape first, further, this bill is farmer friendly. it acknowledges that for farmers

and ranchers to be suksful there cannot be -- successful, there can't be a one size fits all, a cherry farmer in one state and a rice farmer in arkansas have different potentials for carbon sequestration. this recognizes the practices that may be employed by farmers. it provides educational resources for producers who decide this new market opportunity works for their unique business model. the bill ensures farmers comprise a majority on the usda advisory committee. for these markets to work, they must work for our farmers, our foresters and ranchers and landowners. in order to do that, me must be at the -- they must be at the able. this bill provides the stakeholders that voice. this bill epitomizes bipartisan

work while addressing pressing needs of farmers, ranchers, and foresters. i thank senator stabenow for helps us to make this the best bill possible. many farmers and stakeholders are excited about this legislation as are many members who cosponsor the bill and voted to report it out of committee. the bipartisan nature of the work of the committee was exciting to see. we came together and accomplished something significant. i hope the spirit of cooperation continues as we consider new policies on climate change. we need to assure that any policies are farmer friendly and farmer focused, remain voluntary and avoid a one-size-fits-all approach. again, thank you to chairwoman stabenow and senator braun for their efforts. i look forward to the debate and very much support the bill through final passage. and with that, i yield back.

the presiding officer: the senator from indiana. mr. braun: so in the senate here, prior to getting here, i've been a tree frearm since the late -- farmer since the late 1980's and been involved with the agricultural part, along with driving a tractor. and farming has to be one of the most difficult things god ever created in terms of involving a risk for ar return that in many cases that just isn't there. thank goodness currently the markets are rewarding that effort and that great risk. environmental credits present an incredible opportunity for american farmers because that bottom line is so meager to

begin with. and when you've got voluntary markets out there that are wanting to reward good stewardship, it should be easy, but significant barriers still remain. in today's market, if you're a small farmer, you're not able to connect with these markets, only the marge farmers, both tree and ag, can do it. this simplifies it, it demock advertises it and it does something, finally, that that small guy, the landowner, the american family farmer can get some benefit for his or her good stewardship. the growing climate solutions act creates a usda certification program for third-party technical providers and verifiers. it allows the usda to provide legitimacy to the trustworthy actors in the marketplace.

and what is really unusual in the short time i've been here in the u.s. senate, and when it was a surprise yesterday when i told some folks who are actually voting on something on the floor, and it has 55 cosponsors. almost evenly split between democrats and republicans. more than 100 outside organizations backed the bill. farm bureaus, who are generally conservative about doing anything where they are going to endorse, stick their neck out, across the board, like it. i won't mention all the others. also does it without adding a dime to our deficit. so it's doing something that's got bipartisan support, tapping voluntary markets, and just providing that portal that all farmers are familiar with to use as the way they take advantage of it.

we're demonstrating the right solution. we're making a statement that we need to be involved in addressing climate. and we're doing it in a place where, thank goodness, agriculture in this country is only 10% of the co2 emissions. the rest is spread among electric generation, transportation, and industrial emitters, when it's 25% of emissions across the world due to agriculture, there's a lot to be learned from this as well. quick comment on the amendment that we're going to vote on. the key point is under both the underlying bill and the lee amendment, the usda will publish a list of entities on a usda website for farmers to use. the senate ag committee worked closely with the agency, both under secretary perdue and

vilsack to be sure that the bill provided the necessary quality checks to the folks certified under the program know what they are doing. the lee amendment keeps the website but strikes these requirements. this are is why groups like american farm bureau like senator lee's amendment would dilute farmers' influence in the composition of the bill's advisory panel. it also removes critical protections in the base bill. i urge my colleagues to oppose the lee amendment and to support the underlying bill. i yield the floor. a senator: madam president. the presiding officer: the senator from michigan. ms. stabenow: madam president, i rise today in support of

s. 1251. i first want to thank my partner in this landmark legislation, senator braun, and my partner and ranking member on the committee, senator boozman, for his leadership and helping us improve this bill and getting it to where we are right now. our farmers and ranchers are battling the consequences of carbon pollution and other greenhouse grasses every day. they're on the front lines every day. producers are having to deal with higher highs, lower lows more so than ever before. even as we speak, the southeast is recovering from catastrophic flooding as a result of hurricane claw debt, and the -- claudette and the west is facing record heat that threatens the health of farmers and farm workers in an unprecedented wildfire season. and nearly half the country is in drought, including 90% of my home state of michigan. 90%. it could not be clearer that

climate is in crisis. the good news is that farmers and foresters are already leading the way on the climate crisis, as my colleagues have said, through their many conservation efforts. they work to reduce their impact every day through conservation practices that cut down on emissions and store carbon in their sole and trees. according to the national academies, scaling up these climate-smart agriculture and forestry practices in the u.s. could offset the annual emissions of nearly 110 million cars. i come from a car state, madam president. i still want you to buy an automobile. but this is very significant. the growing climate solutions act is a key piece of the enormous potential that land-based solutions have to help solve this crisis. this bill gives producers even more effective tools to lead and

new opportunities for economic successes as well. the bill equips producers to succeed by doing three things. first, it sets up a network of trusted outside experts and third party verifiers certified by the usda to provide technical assistance and help producers generate and sell their voluntary carbon credits, which, by the way, senator lee's amendment would gut, which is why i do not support that med a. then it creates a comprehensive online resource, a one-stop shop to help our farmers get the information they need and create information by providing sustainable practices through voluntary carbon markets. finally it sets up a very important advisory council made up of a majority of farmers and foresters with tremendous diversity as well as representatives from the research community and the

private industry to help guide the usda as they put this together. the bottom line, it gives them the opportunity to work with the u.s. department of agriculture to design a carbon market that works for them, not wall street. in other words, this bill puts farmers and foresters first. more than 175 advocates, organizations and companies support this bill. they see it as a win-win for agriculture and the environment. that coalition is mirrored in the broad support we have here in the united states senate, now upwards of 55 cosponsors that have joined in this bill. given today's climate, that says a lot about what this bill represents. solving the climate crisis is a critical challenge for all of us, and today we are taking landmark steps towards supporting agriculture and

forestry leadership in addressing this. so i encourage all of my colleagues to vote yes on the growing climate solutions act, to vote no on the lee amendment which would essentially gut the bill and allow us on its tremendous bipartisan effort to move forward on something very important. i yield back. i ask consent that the scheduled vote occur immediately, madam president. the presiding officer: is there objection? without objection, the question occurs on the amendment number 2119. is there a sufficient second? there appears to be. the clerk will call the roll. vote:

vote:

vote:

the presiding officer: are there any senators in the chamber wishing to vote or change their his or -- his or her vote? if not, the yeas are 11, the nays are 89, and the amendment is not agreed to. under the previous order, the bill is considered read a third time. the question occurs on passage of s. 1251. is there a sufficient second? there is. the clerk will call the roll.

vote:

vote:

vote:

vote:

the presiding officer: on this vote the yeas are 92, the nays are eight. the bill is passed. under the previous order, the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table. under the previous order, the senate will proceed to executive session to resume consideration of the following nomination, which the clerk will are report. the clerk: nomination, the judiciary, candace jackson-akiwumi, of illinois, to be united states circuit judge for the seventh circuit. mr. grassley: mr. president. the presiding officer: the senior senator from iowa. mr. grassley: i'm here with senator cornyn and senator leahy to ask unanimous consent. as if in legislative session, i ask unanimous consent that the judiciary committee be discharged from further

consideration of s. 831, and the senate proceed to its immediate consideration. further, that the grassley amendment at the desk be considered and agreed to, the bill, as amended, be considered read a third time and passed, and the motions to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table with no intervening action or debate. the presiding officer: is there objection? a senator: mr. president. the presiding officer: the senator from south carolina. mr. graham: i object. the presiding officer: the objection is heard. mr. grassley: mr. president. the presiding officer: the senator from iowa. mr. grassley: i guess i'm not surprised that we would have an objection like this because of a program that is corrupt, we've been trying to reform for eight years, every time that we try reach an agreement, there's big money interest in this town and around the country that keeps it from happening.

today's objection represents another victory for the same power money, corrupt interest that has worked to kill reforms to a program that they love to abuse for nothing more than their own financial benefit. it also means that congress will not be able to pass legislation to reauthorize the program in advance of its expiration on june 30, a narrow subset of money encrypt interest has now shown that they would rather kill the program all together than have to accept integrity programs designed to clamp down on their bad behavior. i thank all those groups that have been working with us for eight years to get this program reformed. a lot of these people use that program. they were willing to make it an honest program. all of this action today of this objection is unfortunate but not surprising. i yield the floor.

a senator: mr. president. the presiding officer: the senator from texas. mr. cornyn: mr. president, eb5 investments are an economic driver in texas. it uses mert-based information to create jobs and bring thousands of jobs to places like dallas and houston as well as rural communities across the state. these projects include projects for infrastructure for a wide variety of sectors including hospitality, residential and commercial. i'm a supporter of the eb-5 program, but there is no question that it could stand some reforms. as with any debate in congress, there's a lot of different opinions on what those reforms should look like, but we can all agree we need to strengthen this program and reauthorize it. i'm glad to join senator grassley in offering this legislation to improve the integrity and security of the

eb-5 program while ensuring that law-abiding texas job creators aren't negatively impacted. this bill would have reauthorized the eb-5 program until 2023 with significant oversight and integrity motions it would -- it would give the department of homeland security greater authority to terminate applications based on fraud, criminal misuse or threats to public safety or national security and it would suggest eb-5 projects to greater oversight. all of this comes without skewing the framework of the program to -- detriment of others. this is similar to the legislation i introduced in 2015 with senator schumer and senator

flake, -- i appreciate chairman grassley's leadership on this legislation and i hope at some point we can reauthorize the eb-5 program and safeguard critical investments in communities across the country. the presiding officer: the senator from vermont. mr. leahy: mr. president, i was happy to join with both senators grassley and cornyn on the eb-5 reform bill. senator cornyn has worked very hard on this and senator imrasly have and i have. and it was a truly bipartisan bill. it has widespread support among eb-5 stakeholders. those who responsibly welcome changes to the program that would improve oversight and accountability. senator grassley and i have been working for years to reform the eb-5 visa program. we wanted to reduce the fraud that has occurred in several eb-5 projects, including one

that occurred in my own state of vermont. and this legislation, again, bringing republicans and democrats across the political spectrum together reflects a careful, thoughtful compromise to keep the eb-5 program alive and curtail the worst abuses in it. it's actually only a small minority that wants to keep the program operating without these improved standards and oversight. i wish they would be willing to bring it up, vote it up or down, be on the record saying how they're going to vote, because opposing our effort on this is a vote that allows the eb-5 program to lapse, that's going to have untold economic consequences throughout the communities that rely on their program for development projects .

those that the senator from texas just mentioned. i wish that the senators supported senator grassley's consent request, but i will take a moment to say i thank senator grassley for working with me over the years to find a bipartisan compromise reform list. hours have gone into this. he, senator cornyn and i and others have worked hard to have a compromise. i'm sorry that the unanimous consent was objected to, especially as it means this will expire and we won't have votes on improvements that could take part. i think it's a wasted opportunity. i yield the floor. mr. leahy: let me say on another

matter, mr. president, it was 169 days ago the world witnessed a violent insurrection take place in the seat of american democracy. all of us have the memory of rioters in combat gear. they were armed with zip ties, spanishing in the windows of the capitol building. everybody in america remembers that. -- smashing in the windows of the capitol building. everybody in america remembers that. the images of the national guard patrolling the capitol grounds, with barbed wire, those will be pages in textbooks for a generation of americans to come. we didn't budget for insurrection. a democracy like ours shouldn't have to. but the path of destruction from that day left the capitol police overburdened and underresourced.

purchases of critical equipment like respirators and ballistic helmets, protective gear, training, those have been delayed to make up for these unanticipated costs. efforts to implement the department's wellness program to address mental health concerns following january 6 have been put on the back burner. and if we do nothing, the capitol police projects that doing nothing would deplete salary funds and that would be a security crisis that we have created. now, 55 sworn officers have left the force since january 6. that's not counting those who died from january 6. that's depleted a force which is already stressed. it's below what is needed to meet mission requirements. there is an urgent need to address the unanticipated costs

associated with the attack on this building, including significant overtime pay, the need for hazard pay, and retention bonuses to keep dedicated officers from leaving the force. and the urgent need extends beyond the capitol police. last week, the secretary of defense testified before the full appropriations committee, said that if we do not act, the national guard will be forced to cut training in august as well. i met with the green mountain boys who came from vermont to secure the capitol. after january 6, i thanked them for their service. i'm sure many other senators thanked the guard from their state. but if we don't act, our visits and thanking them, that's nothing more than empty words to the men and women who put their lives on the line for our country. and finally, the trauma that day

is shared by every member of the congressional community, from the speaker of the house to the dedicateed support staff in the capitol staff we rely on every day to do our work. it should not be lost on us. we weren't the ones to sweep up the shattered grass and scrub the floors and walls of this building on that day and throughout the night. it was the people who work here. it should not be lost on us that during the darkest hours of the pandemic following the insurrection, these public servants came to work to clean our offices, ensure our safety, the safety of our staff, and boarded up shattered windows and broken doors. now, we did not budget for both a pandemic and an insurrection. we were forced to rob peter to

pay paul to keep our congressional communities safe and healthy. but now necessary legislative branch projects lack the funding to move forward. we all have the responsibility to address that. it's been 169 days since januar. it has been 169 days that republicans and democrats reconvened in this chamber in bipartisan compliance of those who sought to overthrow democracy and the rule of law through mob violence. but now for 35 days, the house passed a emergency supplemental to address the security and mental health needs of the january 6 insurrection and the lingering scars of the covid pandemic have languished in the senate. and why? because senate republicans have refused to begin negotiations on

a bipartisan path forward. so i'm urging my colleagues begin these negotiations. the clock is ticking. my staff and i are throughout the 4th of july recess, we are willing to meet and talk with anybody to get these negotiations going, because if we don't act, the capitol police are going to run out of funding in a very short time in august. and what we are saying, we're turning our backs on those who fought and bled and died on that day to protect us and defend this building and everything it stands for. how could we possibly do that? we're going to be forcing the men and women of the national guard to go without training that is necessary to achieve their ambition. we will be telling the women and men of the capitol staff who support us thanks, but we don't

support you. that would be wrong. that goes against everything that i have learned in my years here in the senate, both republicans and democrats. the security supplemental would address these shortfalls. it would provide new resources for overtime, hazard pay, mental health services, retention bonuses, and new equipment and training for the capitol police, all of which is needed. it would fully reimburse the women and men of the national guard for the cost incurred protecting the capitol. they were called, they came. they didn't say we're going to get reimbursed? they answered the call. of course they assumed we would be responsible enough to reimburse them. it would also restore legislative branch funding that

was taken to address the immediate need of keeping our congressional communities safe and healthy. i have been ready to begin bipartisan negotiations. i believe if we begin these negotiations now, we could complete our work in the july session. my door is always open. it will be open throughout the july recess. with that, mr. president, i yield the floor. nobody is seeking recognition, i will suggest -- i yield the floor. the presiding officer: the senator from michigan. mr. peters: mr. president, i rise once again in support of jen easterly's nomination to be the director of cybersecurity and infrastructure security agency, commonly referred to as cisa. yesterday i came to the floor to urge my colleagues to swiftly

swimmer ms. easterly to lead cisa so she can get to work strengthening our nation's response to the recent onslaught of online attacks that have literally wrought havoc to our critical infrastructure, businesses, and even government. with her more than three decades of service in the public and private sectors and her critical role in crafting vital cybersecurity recommendations as a member of the cybersolarium commission, ms. easterly is more than qualified to lead this critical agency. her leadership is needed now more than ever after the damage and the chaos that recent cyberattacks have caused. we urgently need a qualifying and senate-confirmed leader in place before the next major breach, which could be even worse. yesterday, when i called on the senate to immediately confirm this critical nominee, the

senator from florida objected, not because he opposes ms. easterly's confirmation. and in fact he actually helped advance her nomination out of my committee just last week. instead, he blocked the swift confirmation of this critical cybersecurity leader because he wants to extract a completely unrelated political concession from the biden administration. as we now know, vice president harris has announced that she will travel to el paso tomorrow, along with homeland security secretary mayorkas to assess the situation on the southern border. the biden administration and secretary mayorkas have worked hard to address our border challenges, and as a result, we have seen a reduction in the number of unaccompanied children who are in d.h.s. custody. but this nomination is not about the border as much as my republican colleagues tried to

conflate these issues. this nomination is about cybersecurity. this nomination is keeping american families safe and our economy secure. that's what this nomination is all about. my republican colleagues are continuing to stall the confirmation of ms. easterly at a time when we desperately need strong cybersecurity leadership. the senate is proposing to adjourn for independence day, which is a major travel weekend. as we have seen from recent cyberattacks, our transportation networks are vulnerable. criminal organizations and foreign adversaries will continue their efforts to compromise our networks. we must be prepared for attacks that could disrupt trains or flights over the holiday weekend. we must confirm ms. easterly as the cisa director now, not in two weeks, not in two months.

we must have a qualified senate-confirmed leader in place to help us address these attacks. if our republican colleagues won't consent, they risk weakening and slowing our cyberdefenses at a time when attacks could cause serious disruptions. these attacks risk the lives and livelihoods of countless americans. safeguarding against them should not be a partisan issue. putting in place highly qualifiedcyber leadership should not hinge on whether republicans in the senate approve of the vice president's travel schedule. i urge the senator from florida to withdraw his objection so that we can do our job, confirm ms. easterly today, and help protect the american people from this grave national security threat. mr. president, i ask unanimous consent that notwithstanding rule 22, the senate proceed to the immediate consideration, calendar number 176, jen easterly of new york to be the

director of the cybersecurity and infrastructure security agency, department of homeland security, and the senate vote on the nomination without intervening action or debate. the presiding officer: is there an objection? mr. scott: mr. president. the presiding officer: the senator from florida. mr. scott: reserving the right to object. before i address this issue, i want to take a moment of personal privilege to talk about the horrific tragedy that occurred in surfside, florida, when an apartment building collapsed early this morning. miami-dade fire and rescue, miami-dade police and first responders rushed to the scene and have been working nonstop to rescue those trapped in the rubble. it looks horrible. i've talked to quite a few people down there. we know of one confirmed death, and hopefully there won't be more. i know they are still trying to get people out of the rubble. i join all my floridians in

praying for strength for the first responders and all those impacted by this disaster. first i want to thank my colleague, mr. president, for giving me a few moments to speak on this difficult moment for my state. my colleague raises the same issue yesterday. i'm fighting for accountability for the american people so i will say the same in return. i voted to report ms. easterly's confirmation committee last week. mr. schumer filed for cloture like he has done for dozens of other nominees this year, i would vote to support her confirmation here on the senate floor. in fact i don't understand why he didn't file cloture on tuesday. we could be voting on her confirmation right now. as my colleague has said, this isn't about ms. easterly in my mind. this isn't about cybersecurity. remember we confirmed the national cyber director last week. just yesterday the senate confirmed the administrator of

the general services administration which is the key agency for modernizing and protecting the federal government's i.t. infrastructure. i'm here today because families in my state of florida and across our nation deserve accountability and president biden has shown a total lack of accountability when it comes to addressing the border crisis. that's why i will be holding all of president biden's nominees for the department of homeland security from being approved through our expedited process until he and vice president harris visit the border and see for themselves the crisis that their failed policies of open borders and amnesty have cre created. as you well know the white house announced that the vice president will be visiting the border tomorrow. and absolutely i think we all hope that's true. the administration has made a lot of promises take they haven't kept. they promised not to raise taxes. they promised to reopen schools quickly. they promised to be tough on communist china. there's quite a list. trust me i'm glad the vice president seems to be taking my advice and visiting the border.

i truly hope she gets down to the border to see the crisis thissed add -- this administration has created. and to see what the agents are going through every day to keep us safe. hope she meets with the sheriffs who are responsible for keeping our families safe and meet with the section chiefs. hope she takes a tour like i do and sees the gaps in the wall. i took a tour with the governor and there are these openings that the gates weren't put up. you see, you know, a lot of people up here said we don't need the wall. we need, you know, technology. well, there's lights and cameras. i saw places where it wasn't electrified. it doesn't make sense. i hope she meets with families who have been victims of trafficking and hears their horrific stories. this has put people through. i hope she visits some of the border communities and talks to the mayors and people down there about how their housing and caring for this historic number of people illegally crossing our

border. this is a tough crisis that's been created. i hope she talks to families who have lost loved ones, from massive, massive amounts -- i hope she talks to ranchers that are impacted by people illegally crossing the border on to their property. i think all of us would hope it's not a political stunt. i hope she actually says i want to see the crifs. i want -- crisis. i want to understand exactly what's happening here. when she does, i'll lift all my holds as i told my colleague. what's happened at the border is a crisis. i don't think there's another word for it. look at this chart. look how many people have come across. this is the number of people that have been apprehended. we don't know the number of people that haven't been apprehended. more than 180,000 illegal aliens tried to cross our border last month, the highest number in 21 years threatening our national security and the safety of american families. president biden's immigration policies are putting unaccompanied minors at risk of human trafficking, violence, sexual abuse and separation from their families. it's horrible.

they're leading to an alarming increase in human trafficking and drug smuggling by cartels. f.b.i. director wray says there's no question the cartel can be spilling over into the u.s. we've seen it in florida. i talked to our sheriffs and what they're telling me is they're seeing a lot more deadly fentanyl coming into their counties and it's showing up in their labs. but instead of securing the border and finishing the wall construction projects, i don't get it. why did president biden terminate all the border wall projects? no one can -- he's never had an explanation. so this inaction of not going to the border by president biden, vice president harris doesn't make any sense. why can't they acknowledge that we expect and we deserve a secure border and it's good for our nation. why can't they stand up against the radical left to say open borders are dangerous for our families. it shouldn't make any -- it should make every american

furious. it's not something to laugh about. people are dying, children are being exploited and abandoned in the desert. this is a picture of to young 3 and 5-year-old ecuadorian girls. anybody that's been around little children, 3 and 5 years old, think about it. they're just dropped over the wall and just abandoned. abandoned hoping somebody is going to take care of them, abandoned in the middle of the night. i got grandkids. i can't imagine -- i can't imagine anybody doing this. the white house claims that advice president harris trip -- her last trip was to talk about the root causes of immigration. it doesn't make any sense. it would seem like it was just a political stunt to me. president biden, vice president harris need to stop avoiding the crisis, stop laughing about the threat and get down to the border and secure the border. so if either of them go to the border, i'm lifting my holds but as long as they refuse to help those risking their lives every

day to keep us safe, as long as they refuse to visit the border and put an end to the humanitarian crisis they've created, i'm going to keep my holding on. those two little girls, they deserve better. the million, of immigrants going through the legal immigration process, they deserve better. our border patrol agents deserve better. our local law enforcement agents deserve better. i.c.e. deserves better. american families deserve better. therefore, i object.

the presiding officer: the senator from north carolina. a senator: thank you, mr. president. i ask unanimous consent that the following interns in my office be granted floor privileges until 1:00 p.m. today on june 25, 2021. mr. tillis: jacob near, lindsey cox, nancy, raymond vilibose and kaelin prevet. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. tillis: thank you, mr. president.

mr. brown: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from ohio. mr. brown: thank you. i ask unanimous consent that carolina be granted floor

privileges for the duration of the 11th congress. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. brown: thank you, mr. president, for always being so cooperative.

the presiding officer: the senator from louisiana. mr. kennedy: thank you, mr. president. as we're all aware, president biden has decided to withdraw american troops from afghanistan in september. now, some agree with his decisions -- decision, some disagree with his decision. the bill that i'm about to talk about has nothing to do with the merits of his decision. there are about 18,000 -- not 1,800, 18,000 interpreters and

members of their immediate family who helped our troops fight the war in afghanistan against the taliban and against isis. they are at risk. there was an article in a leading newspaper, mr. president, yesterday. i'll read you the headline. it says afghan government could collapse six months after u.s. withdrawal. these 18,000 interpreters and their immediate families who have helped american troops would like to get out. we have a visa process which is going very, very slowly.

we will not be able to get all of those 18,000 human beings out before the withdrawal in september. that much is clear. again my bill has nothing to do with the merits or lack thereof of the war. my bill would direct the secretary of defense and the secretary of state to develop a plan to relocate the afghan interpreters and their immediate families that want to get out and bring them to america. now obviously before we bring them to america, those that want to come, we have to vet them. that's part of the problem. the vetting process right now is very slow. rather than try to put together a bill that would set forth a

specific plan to address this -- i consider it a crisis, if you're one of those 18,000 human beings. my bill would just direct the defense department and the state department to come up with a plan to present to us within 30 days. now, my guess -- and it's only a guess -- is that the state and defense are going to come up with some plan to move those of the 18,000 who want to leave afghanistan to a safe third place other than america so that we can continue to properly vet folks before they come into america. and i suggest we do need to properly vet them. but i also suggest, mr. president, that, number one, this is about -- it's about right and wrong.

these people helped americans and they helped american troops and we owe them. and we don't want to see them massacred. and number two, if we allow them to be massacred, i think it's going to send a message to many people throughout the world that loyalty to america means nothing, absolutely nothing. so in a nutshell, this bill would ask our defense department and our state department the next 30 days to give a plan to congress, to properly vet and allow any of these 18,000 en interpreters and their families who helped american troops come to america. and with that, mr. president, as if in legislative session, i ask unanimous consent that the senate proceed to the immediate

consideration of s. 2216 which was introduced earlier today. further, i ask unanimous consent, mr. president, that the bill be considered read a third time and passed and that the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table. the presiding officer: is there objection? a senator: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from kentucky. mr. paul: reserving the right to object. in the first two decades after the revolutionary war, america was under siege. our capitol was ransacked but i don't recall in reading history that any of our founding fathers said they would flee the country or leave and give up on the quest for liberty. the quest for liberty requires fighting by the people who have been given their liquidity, the people who -- their liberty, the people who we have helped to get their liberty. you can say the people in afghanistan helped us but you can also say we helped liberate them as well. they've been free for 20 years. it seems like it might precipitate the overcoming of

the taliban if you take 18,000 of the most westernized, those who speak english and you say flee, flee, flee, the end is coming. guess what, the end comes quicker if they all leave. so i would encourage them rather to stay and fight. i think it would be good to have many english speakers in afghanistan. the future of an began stan could be a bright -- afghanistan could be a bright future but they're going to have to fight for it and ultimately it's their fight. if we offer easy escape and plans to leave the country, we're ensuring the defeat of the people who are our friends in afghanistan. so i object to this piece of legislation. mr. kennedy: mr. president? the presiding officer: objection is heard. the senator from louisiana. mr. kennedy: i respect my colleague and i respect his right to object. i disagree. we're all aware of what's going on in afghanistan. the afghan government is on a bitter fight to the end with the

taliban. and the taliban is winning. and the taliban is ruthless. and they're going to murder these people. they're going to murder them. and the blood is going to be on american hands if we don't do something to help them. my proposal would not have required any of these 18,000 afghans who stood with american troops to beat back the taliban and to beat back isis, they stood with us at their own risk, at the risk of their own kids and their own spouses. we decided to leave. i'm not saying that's right or wrong. i have my own opinions but that's not what this bill is about. and we owe it to these 18,000 people to offer them a chance to

live. and if we don't do something, they're going to be butchered. they're going to be gutted like a deer, like a deer, and the blood is going to be on american hands. and the whole world is going to take notice. there's right and wrong in this world. there's politics. there's a time for it. but there's a time to do the right thing, and the right thing is to help save these human lives who fought for america and their families and their children. i suggest the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll.

quorum call:

quorum call:

the presiding officer: the senator from arkansas. mr. cotton: i ask consent to end the quorum call. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. cotton: i ask unanimous consent that letters on behalf of senator braun be submitted to the record. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. cotton: there's a disturbing trend in the not-so-friendly skies these days, a big spike in confrontations, often violent, on america's airplanes. it's all the more disturbing because it's totally unnecessary. in most cases, these disputes go

back to one of the biden administration's dumbest policies -- the mask mandate at airports and on airplanes. when the wuhan coronavirus broke out in our country last year, confusion and uncertainty rein reigned but one a few months, some commonsense standards had emerged. protect the elderly and the frail. outdoor activities are safer than indoor ones. keep your distance. wear a mask when you can't or for prolonged periods inside. be civil and kind to each other. thanks to operation warp speed, these standards are largely a thing of the past. americans are tired of them, and they want their freedoms back. and they're right. but too many democratic politicians and know-it-all bureaucrats don't want to give up their newfound powers. no single action captures this power grab by government

busybodies better than the t.s.a.'s decision to extend its zero tolerance mask mandates for planes, trains, buses until september through the summer travel season. this mandate applies to the vaccinated and the unvaccinated alike as well as kids over the age of two. passengers without a mask or accompanied by children without a mask can lose their seats and be banned from airlines and subject to a $1,500 fine. this draconian and punitive policy has no basis in science. after all, airports typically have larger spaces and higher ceilings than, say, a grocery store or pharmacy. and planes have some of the most advanced air filtration systems available in the market today. but this stupid mandate does have real-world consequences.

just last month, a colorado mother and her family were removed from their flight because the plane's captain didn't believe that her 3-year-old son with autism would keep his mask on. this mother, unfortunately, was not the first to be removed from a flight, and i'm sure she won't be the last if this absurd mandate remains in place. this policy discourages family travel, after a year of separation, and forces americans with children, especially children with disabilities, to cancel travel or else live in constant fear that an untimely tantrum or bad day could ruin their trip and cost them more than $1,000 in fines. you know, as a father of two young boys, i can only assume the morons who cooked up this rule don't have children or perhaps they outsource their

kids to nannies or aa pairs. young kids when they are surrounded by strangers often tend to act out and misbehave, as any papers will tell you. that entirely predictable behavior shouldn't result in their whole family being kicked off planes, trains, and buses far from home or their destination. i must also observe, though i know that facts have nothing to do with this mandate, that young kids are also the least likely to get the coronavirus and the least likely to spread it. now, i can see that it's not only young kids who sometimes cause problems on planes. there are too many instances of grown-ups refusing to wear masks or berating flight attendants merely trying to do their job. these unruly adults should know better, of course. but so should the politicians

and the bureaucrats who imposed this idiotic mandate in the first place. millions of americans are flying again. and to say, follow my rules is impractical and ignores all we know about human nature. the mandate, therefore, hurts not only passengers but also flight attendants. in our line of work, we probably fly more than most americans these days. over the last couple months, i've personally seen so many flight attendants set up for failure by the biden administration. they usually don't want to boss around their passengers other kick them off an airplane and cause a scene that will go viral on social media. but they're also told they have to enforce this stupid mask mandate. and it's all for no good reason. it would be one thing if there was scientific evidence that suggested these masks in airports and on airplanes or

buses or trains actually slowed the spread of the virus among the unvaccinated. but that's not the case. even the secretary of transportation, pete buttigieg couldn't defend these mandates. the only rationale he could give when recently asked is, they are that he a matter of respect. -- they're a matter of respect. to which i would respond, how about some respect for americans and their common sense? if you can't defend a policy on the merits, you shouldn't have the policy. the biden administration should, therefore, immediately rescind its mask mandates for airplanes and airports and buses and trains. vaccinated americans and their young kids should not be forced to wear face coverings on airplanes or anywhere else for that matter. it is unnecessary, unscientific and in the case of children it is cruel.

and i think i speak for millions of americans when i say, mask mandates have long since outlived their usefulness and their welcome. we have all but won the war against the wuhan coronavirus. it's time for us to act like it, claim victory, and reclaim our freedom. mr. 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: objection is heard.

is there objection? ox to heard. -- objection is heard. the presiding officer: the senator from ohio. we're in a quorum call.

the presiding officer: is there objection? hearing none. without objection. the question occurs on the

nomination. a senator: i ask for the yeas and nays. the presiding officer: is there oo sufficient second? there -- is there a sufficient second. there appears to be. the clerk will call the roll. vote: