stop this for what were those conversations like? >> i remember a conversation with marjorie taylor green. marjorie was a freshman. she was very active during the orientation, and she was very upset about what was going on. her and i chatted. she so what can i do? i said how much you go back in the cloak room and filmed a video input on social media and if you have any influence over anybody tell them to stop it she did that. >> this week you will also from democrats madeleine dean of pennsylvania and zoe lofgren of california. january 6th, views from the house, sunday at 10 p.m. eastern on c-span, c-span.org or listen on the c-span radio app. >> the use senate is about to gavel in on this friday morning. senators plan to vote at 11:30 a.m. eastern on beginning debate over $1 trillion for infrastructure projects across

the country. that would include roads, bridges, transit, real and airports as well as broadband. also able to limit debate over president biden's pic to at the u.s. citizenship and immigration services. live now to the floor of the u.s. senate here on c-span2. the president pro tempore: the senate will come to order. the chaplain, dr. barry black, will lead the senate in prayer. the chaplain: let us pray. almighty god, the center of our joy, bless our senators in their going out and coming in. guard them from mistakes and deliver them from evil.

today, strengthen them to walk in the light of your countenance. lord, abide with them so that your wisdom will influence each decision they make. may the words of their mouths and the meditations of their hearts be acceptable to you. lord, purge our lawmakers of self, and fill them with your poise and peace. we pray in your great name, amen. the president pro tempore: please join me in 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: under the previous order, the leadership time is reserved. morning business is closed. and, under the previous order, the senate will resume consideration of the motion to proceed to h.r. 3684, which the clerk will report. the clerk: motion to proceed to h.r. 3684, an act to authorize funds for federal-aid highways, highway safety programs, and transit programs, and for other purposes.

a senator: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from california. mr. padilla: i suggest the absence of a quorum. the president pro tempore: the clerk will call the roll. quorum call:

mr. leahy: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from vermont. mr. leahy: mr. president, i ask unanimous consent that the call of the quorum be dispensed with. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. leahy: mr. president, this has been a week -- if i've spoke -- i've spoke earlier about the loss of my good friend, senator enzi, as many other senators have, out of respect on both sides of the aisle.

and yesterday another good friend, senator carl levin, left us. and, again, there will be respect shown, i'm sure, by both republicans and democrats because he was of the school that worked with both. i had the privilege of being here throughout his decades of service, and he epitomized what had the senate should be -- a person of complete integrity, a person who knew the issues, whatever they were that he was going to be working and discussing on. he knew them as well as anybody else. but everybody knew, republican or democrat, they could take his word for anything. and i couldn't help but think last night that if more senators

had listened to him at the time of the major iraq war, supposedly because saddam hussein had weapons of mass destruction, which of course he did not, when we'd been told by many in the administration they had evidence of weapons of mass destruction in iraq when they did not, and because he actually took the time to read the intelligence. he was one of three senators -- another one being the vice chairman of the intelligence committee, conservative democrat from florida -- and they had come to us and told us

specifically what parts of the intelligence we should read, as did a third senator. those who actually took the time to read it -- as, of course, senator levin did -- voted against the war. they knew there were no weapons of mass destruction. they knew that this would put -- ultimately put america at risk and, unfortunately, by having to transfer forces from afghanistan, they were closing in on the saudi arabian osama bin laden and his followers, the people who organized 9/11 and strike against us, he was able to escape and stayed loose for years until captured during the obama administration.

but carl levin, i remember, saying please ... do your due diligence. he set vice chairman bob graham and a third senator kept saying, read the intelligence. those who did voted no. but i could give hundreds of other times when we would gather around carl levin, republicans and democrats alike, and say, what do you think of this issue? what have you studied? and we would get it chapter and verse. it was always accurate. he was what i considered a senator's senator. he was the type of senator i hoped to be able to serve with when i first came to the united

states senate. i think remember sitting in the gallery up there as a young law student at georgetown law school. between classes or exams, i'd come here just to watch the u.s. senate. i had -- i'd see so many giants from both parties speaking. i thought how wonderful it would be to serve in such a body. when carl levin was here, that was the example. brother in the house of representatives, he in the senate. i remember carl with his sense of humor speaking of his mother, whom i also got to meet. when he was asked by the press, what do you think about one son in the u.s. house of representatives, the the other in the united states senate,

does that make you proud? she said, well, if it's what makes them happy, i think that's good. and carl would just say, that was self-deprecating sense of humor. i hope senators will look at his life and realize whichever party you belong to, this is a person you can follow. what he did leading the armed services committee, he listened to everybody in this body, from the right to the left, and studiously considered their concerns. i will not -- the senate here, but i mention him because this is what a senator should be. as i said earlier with senator mike enzi, losing two people i

admired, two close friends, two people hot worked to make the senate better, let us all pause and try to do the same. i appreciate senators coming together yesterday in the legislation that senator shelby and i put forward to help our afghan translators who worked with us, to bring them to safety; to help our capitol police and those who work around the capitol be able to recover from january 6. and it gave me hope that they came together by a 98-0 vote to pass that legislation. let's think of mike enzi, let's

think of carl levin. let's try to do more of that. i think of my days as a young student looking down on this body, and i look at it now as the dean of the senate. i've seen the good and the bad. i prefer the good. mr. president, i yield the floor and suggest the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. quorum call:

quorum call:

the presiding officer: the majority leader. mr. schumer: now for the second time this week -- are we in a quorum? i ask unanimous consent the quorum call be dispensed with. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. schumer: now, for the second time this week, sadly, the senate has lost a greatly admired former colleague. last night, carl levin,

michigan's longest serving senator, a harvard-educated civil rights attorney and former taxi driver, passed away after a battle with cancer. over the years, many have been called model senators, but few have earned the title like carl. he was no frills, hyperfocused on policy and results, and fearless in taking on entrenched powers. when the pentagon was profligate , you could be sure that carl levin was there. when large financial institutions fleeced consumers, you could be sure carl levin was there. and whenever and wherever the interests of assembly line employees, the ship workers or the service members were at stake, you could be sure carl levin was there. he was mr. integrity. like a true son of the motor city, he punched the clock in an auto assembly plant as a young man. decades later, he proudly

carried his 1953 union membership card in his wallet, a silent reminder of where he came from and who he fought for. he was certainly not a senator out of central casting. as the tributes came pouring in from all corners of the country, the most -- the word most often you would see associated with carl is disheveled. the rumpled suit, the stark white hair, the glasses perched precariously at the end of his nose. well, he may have been disheveled in his appearance, but there was nothing, nothing disheveled about his mind and principles. it reminds me of one story. in 2006 -- i try to teach some of my caucus members some certain yiddish words. one of them is sclumphy. it means disheveled. not dressed to the best. when harry reid heard that bernie sanders was coming to the senate, he got up at our caucus

lunch one day and said we will find somebody in the caucus more sclumphy than schumer, bernie sanders. carl levin said i object to that. i am the most sclumphy. he was a fine man. his intellect was fierce, a sharpened blade, designed to cut to the core of an issue or sometimes cut through to the unimpressive answers of a witness in front of his committee. to modify a well-known expression, one of the most dangerous places in washington was the witness chair across from chairman lesson. and while he was not a veteran himself, the armed forces of the united states could not count on a better friend than carl levin. for more than three decades, the not-so-invisible hand of senator lesson shaped america's defense policy. there were large and weighty issues, matters of war and peace, terrorism, and national security, billion-dollar budget decisions. but there was also the michigan korean war veteran, denied a veterans loan because his

military records were destroyed in a fire. it would have been enough for carl to set his office to the task, find the lost records, and i ship them off in a manila envelope. instead, carl went to visit with him in person and deliver four service medals. he was an example that inspired and one to aspire to because of who he was and what he has accomplished, the senate, the state of michigan, these entire united states, and our globe, our world, are much better off thanks to mr. carl levin. now, on another matter entirely, later today, we'll vote on the nomination of ur mendoza jaddou of california to be director of the u.s. citizen and immigration services. this is a department in desperate need of capable leadership after four chaotic years under the trump administration. the daughter of mexican and iraqi immigrants, ms. jaddou would be the first woman to ever lead the uscis.

i am confident she has the skills, expertise, and experience to do the job well. in a short time, the senate will also take a procedural vote to move forward with a bipartisan infrastructure bill. i expect the vote will receive the same significant margin of support today as it did on wednesday. once senators agree to proceed to debate on the bill, it's my intention to offer the text of the bipartisan agreement as a substitute amendment, making it the base of the bill on the floor. the senate remains on track to reach our goal of passing both a bipartisan infrastructure bill and a budget resolution with reconciliation instructions before the start of the august recess. it's an ambitious deadline, absolutely, but the hard work put in by senators and staff means that we are on the right track to get it done. given the bipartisan nature of the bill, the senate should be able to process this legislation rather quickly. we may need the weekend. we may vote on several

amendments. but with the cooperation of our republican colleagues, i believe we can finish the bipartisan infrastructure bill in a matter of days. while our job is not nearly complete, i do want to take a moment this morning to recognize the sweat of our members and staff -- the sweat that our members and staff have already put in. senators from the bipartisan group that worked long hours for many years to both reach and then finalize this agreement. i want to thank senators sinema and portman for taking the lead, to the entire g-22 group, as it's called, as well as the white house for helping pull all of this together. there has been significant work behind the scenes in order to prepare the legislative text, staff members from our committees, the group of bipartisan senators, the legislative council have worked not just long hours but endured sleepless nights to finish writing the bill, and the work i'm talking about, a massive down payment towards rebuilding our nation's infrastructure,

will benefit our economy for years and decades to come. mr. president, i ask unanimous consent that upon the disposition of the jaddou nomination, the senate remain in executive session. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. schumer: mr. president, i yield the floor and note the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. quorum call:

quorum call:

a senator: madam president. the presiding officer: the assistant majority leader is recognized. mr. durbin: are we in a quorum call? yes we are. the presiding officer: i ask it- yes we are. mr. durbin: this has been a sad week in the united states senate. first we lost senator enzi of wyoming and last night braws the news of the loss of senator carl levin of michigan. carl was an extraordinary person. i remember after i had been in the senate a few years, my friends back home said who are the real stars in the united states senate? and there were many who were just as obvious who could be, ted kennedy, for example. but i said there are two you probably don't know much about that i would turn to time and again if i had to make an important decision, either policy or politics, and i know i would get a thoughtful, intelligent response. one was paul sarbanes of maryland and the other was carl levin from michigan. those two, more than many of

the colleagues that i've served with, really represented the best of the united states senate carl levin was brilliant, nothing short of brilliant, and he was my friend. many times we sat together, and talked to him, and i reflected on the way he approached legislation. many of us think about the big-picture items and leave the details to staff. not carl. somebody would bring an amendment to the floor, and carl would say i'd like to get a copy of that. that in itself is unusual. we usually trust our staff to look at coipts of amendments. then he would say as he read the amendment can i take this home tonight, read it and tell you what you think about it in the morning. you knew that wasn't a pose. that was a fact. carl took his job that seriously. he served in the senate and represented his beloved state of michigan for 36 years.

when he retired in 2014, he left a legacy in the senate, certainly of important and good legislation, but more importantly of the image of a real senator. he left a powerful example of what we can achieve in life and in politics when we choose integrity over ideology and common good over confrontation. his keen intellect, his honesty and fair-mindedness, decency and unfailing civility earned him the respect of senators on both sides of the aisle. the list of laws that he can claimed to have authored is long and historic. if you knew his back ground, you understood where this man came from and what made him what he was in the senate. first and foremost, he was a son of detroit, michigan.

he showed up in washington in 1979. he was driving a 1974 american-made dodge dart with a hole in the floorboard. he was still driving that car ten years later. that's how devoted he was to the u.s. auto industry, its workers and unions. he wasn't flashy. i don't think he owned a shirt of any other color than white, and when we would go on the informal weekends with our families, he would be wearing a white shirt, which he would roll the cuffs up on to really let his hair down and be informal. he was just that humble a man. but when general motors and chrysler faced potential collapse in 2008, he knew what he had to do. he pressed congress and the new president to support those companies with billions of dollars in loans, and thank god he did. he saved jobs and saved companies that are still major

players in the industry. by the time he retired six years later, the loans to this companies had been paid off and the companies were earning record profits. his work on the senate armed services committee is known to all. 36 years he served on that committee. he was the champion of america's military and military families and veterans, and one of the congress' most respected voices on national security and military issues. he voted for the repeal of don't ask, don't tell when it was a far-from-popular thing to do anywhere, and voted against the war in iraq. i felt honored to be joining him in that vote. he and i were two of only 23 senators who voted no on that sadly misguided war, and i will tell you for sure, before i made a final decision, i set down in that seat right -- i can see it from here -- right next to carl

levin, and we talked about what it meant. it was amazing. i was making that decision before an election, just a few weeks, but he was making that decision as chairman of the armed services committee. that vote on his part took extraordinary courage. and history has shown that he was right. the jewish publication in detroit once wrote that carl levin an his brother, my pal, former congressman, sandy levin, both deserve what had they called honorable mentioned awards -- honorable mention awards, with the accent on mench, for their historic service to america. i couldn't agree more. loretta and i extend our deepest condolences to sandy and the entire levin family, especially their children and grandchildren and to their cousin, dan levin, my pal in chicago, illinois. i know how proud the levin

family was of their name and reputation. it was well-earned in whatever they chose to do -- law, politics, business. carl levin was a good man and a good friend. i will truly miss him. madam president, i would like to ask that this statement i am about to make be placed in a separate part of the record. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. durbin: madam president, last night we had an opportunity. we sat down with the president of the united states for more than an hour. we were discussing with him and with vice president harris our nation's need for immigration reform. you were there. senator menendez, senator lujan, senator padilla, along with our colleagues in the house got to speak to the president in a very informal setting. i want to thank president biden for taking the time to meet with us. he could have taken the whole day on a victory lap in the senate after passing the

historic infrastructure plan, or at least starting the debate on it two nights ago, but instead president biden said, i want to meet with you. he gave us his undivided attention for more than an hour. that's because president biden understands that we cannot wait any longer to fix america's broken immigration system. it's been 36 years, 36 years since we passed any meaningful immigration bill. we passed it here -- it was known at the time as the simpson-mi dolely -- simpson bill. critics called it amnesty, but it was a sincere and bipartisan effort to deal with a broken immigration system. we've since learned that the immigration system is broken again in many significant ways. this effort that we're discussing now has been decades in the making.

back when we passed that original immigration reform under president reagan, our adversary in the world was the soviet union. "top gun" was the most popular movie in america. under the last administration, our broken immigration system absolutely collapsed. former president donald trump's zero tolerance policy at the southern border was not only inhumane, it was ineffective. it made our nation weaker and less safe. the hatred that many people in the trump administration had for immigrants was palpable. i could go through the list of names, but i don't want to give them any satisfaction to hear their names on the floor of the senate. but what they think of people who were not born -- lucky enough to be born in america is just sad, in many ways disgusting. some of my republican colleagues have tried to blame president

biden, who's been in office for six months, with the failure of our immigration system. but the reality is, donald trump was the one who provoked the crisis at our border. do you remember the speeches when he talked about all the rapists and murderers coming in, wanting to live in the united states? do you remember what he did to our muslim friends and families when he cut off immigration from countries? his immigration policy blocked nearly all claims from asylum seekers. he made it harder for i.c.e. and d.h.s. to apprehend true criminals. former president trump's hate-based policies created a massive bottleneck at our border and a giant backlog that of cases that our courts are still

working through. president biden understands that it is not only cruel and inhumane, it is not good policy and it is contrary to the values of this country. the stories are legendary about when the united states closed its borders in world war ii, under a democratic president, franklin roosevelt, turning away people who were escaping the nazis in europe, sending them back to their deaths in the holocaust. we learned a bitter lesson during that war; that that is not what the united states is all about. we've tried to make it up ever since, and the refugees have proven over and over again that they are positive influences on this nation. the biden administration is bringing order to immigration enforcement, and it'll take some time, but it's on its way. since president biden took office, roughly seven in ten individuals apprehended at our border have been denied entry into the country. seven out of ten. you wouldn't know that from the

speeches given on the other side. of course there should be exceptions to the policy. humanetarian exceptions. our nation -- humanitarian exceptions. our nation has a moral obligation, a moral responsibility to provide refuge to families and children fleeing natural disaster, paramilitary violence and other crises. this is at the heart of our values as a nation, and under president biden's leadership, our nation is no longer tearing babies away from mothers' arms. i just read a story in the newspaper yesterday about efforts that are being made in guatemala and other countries going deep into the forests and jungles to try to find families whose children were taken away from them by the policies of the previous administration. the lengths we're going to to try to reunite them were totally unnecessary if they had just kept records of the families and children, but they tore these kids away from their mothers and

had no plan at all to reunite them. president biden also recognizes that just fixing the mess of donald trump is not enough. we need to provide a path to citizenship for dreamers and others who make our economy better every day and who help over the years to add to its growth. the vast majority of americans agree with this. democrats, republicans, and independents. tens of thousands of dreamers have been saving american lives during this pandemic, as nurses and doctors and first responders. tens of thousands more help the economy grow every day, as teachers, energies, business owners, entrepreneurs, essential workers. they have even volunteered for our military. they respect our country so much so much in the senate do not respect them. these dreamers need to be provided a path to citizenship, as well as the farm workers who are toiling in swelter heat

right now, right now in this terrible heat we're witnessing across this country. they are you a out picking the -- they're out picking the crops that will had been on our tables. we had a hearing. one of the republican senators said, here we're talking about mass amnesty, giving these people an automatic path to citizenship. automatic? read the bill that passed the house of representatives. you know what it takes to be eligible for citizenship as a farm worker under that bill? 19 years of back-breaking would, -- back-breaking work in the fields. automatic? 19 years of signing up for jobs that americans don't sign up for ever and the possibility after 19 years that they can be citizens. they should be given that chance. every day these workers head out to the fields and do back-breaking labor, sometimes for 14 hours straight, just to put food on our tables. giving these people a chance to

become citizens is the right thing to do. it'll help our economy. the reforms in our immigration system could add $150 billion to spending power in our economy every year and over the next ten years boost our nation's g.d.p. by $1.5 trillion. that's enough money to pay off every student loan in america just by doing the right thing for immigrants in our country. providing these essential workers a path to citizenship puts more money in the pockets of every american. it'll create 400,000 new jobs, increase each american's annual wage by $600. these people when they're given some clear picture of what their future will be can plan it, can start making decisions that in the long haul make them better and our nation stronger. that's what it means to bring these immigrants into the sunlight and to give them a chance to be part of america. by nearly every measure, a path to citizenship is an investment in our nation's future.

last night president joe biden agreed. it can't wait any longer. there's gag to be a bill soon -- there's going to be a bill soon called reconciliation. in 2005 senate republicans used the budget reconciliation process to dramatically increase the number of green cards available to immigrants. during the trump administration, republicans used budget reconciliation process -- the budget reconciliation process to enact a tax cut for wealthy donors and corporate fat cats and they tried to use it to repeal the affordable care act. so there's ample precedent for passing important legislation through budget reconciliation. i've tried for many years to pass a citizenship program through regular order. senate republicans have obstructed bipartisan immigration reform time and again, filibustering the dream act five times. in 20 years i've brought the dream act to the floor five times and have been stopped by the filibuster. they repeatedly blocked

bipartisan comprehensive immigration reform, passing the gang of eight bill but never returning to it. this year i'm convinced that bipartisan immigration negotiations are not going to lead us to where we need to be. republicans made unreasonable demands in that process, to i want will the process of citizenship to a number that was dreamed up by president trump as fair -- 650,000. sounds like a lot. 780,000 have already signed up for daca. that was after they closed eligibility to sign up. that approach would exclude dreamers who had been blocked from the program for years by president trump. republicans also wanted to attach partisan provisions to block innocent asylum seekers and to cut legal family immigration. for all these reasons, i believe

the only viable option at this time for passing a path to citizenship is through reconciliation. the overwhelming majority of americans support this pathway, many who have risked their lives to save americans during the pandemic. this is a critical component of or economic recovery and rebuilding our communities. it cannot wait any longer. madam president, i yield the floor. i suggest the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. quorum call:

quorum call:

the presiding officer: the assistant majority leader. without objection. under the previous order, all postcloture time has expired. the question is on the motion. is there a sufficient second? there appears to be. the clerk will call the roll. vote: quorum call:

quorum call:

quorum call:

quorum call:

the presiding officer: the senator from west virginia. is there objection? without objection. the question is on the motion. the yeas and nays were ordered. the clerk will call the roll. vote:

vote:

vote:

vote:

the presiding officer: the yeas are 66, the nays are 28. the motion is agreed to. the clerk will report the bill. the clerk: calendar number 100, h.r. 3684, an ability to authorize funding for federal-aid highway, highway safety programs, and transit programs and for other pups. the presiding officer: the clerk will report the motion to invoke cloture. the clerk: cloture motion: we, the undersigned senators, in accordance with the provisions of rule 22 of the standing rules of the senate, do hereby move to bring to a close debate on the nomination of executive calendar number 232, due due, director of

the united states citizenship and immigration service, department of homeland security, signed by 17 senators. the presiding officer: by unanimous consent, the mandatory quorum call has been waived. the question is, is it the sense of the senate that debate on the nomination of due due to be director of the united ur mendoa jaddou to be director of the united states citizenship appeared immigration services of the united states 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: the yeas are 50, the nays are 41, and the motion is agreed to. the clerk will report. the clerk: nomination, department of homeland security security, ur mendoza jaddou of

california to be director of the united states citizenship and immigration services. a senator: mr. president. the presiding officer: the senator from iowa. mr. grassley: each year on this july 30, we take time to celebrate whistleblowers and the very important role that whistleblowers play in keeping our government transparent and accountable. but the task of supporting whistleblowers doesn't start and stop on july 30. it's a year-round job, and here in this congress it is something that we've been working on for decades. when i first came to washington in the 1970's, most of the whistleblower laws we take for granted today didn't even exist

then. i like to tell people anyone who dared to blow the whistle back at that time was about as welcome as a skunk at a picnic. people in government would often retaliate by trying to run the whistleblower off and make them out to be the problem instead of the problem the whistleblower is trying to present. i still hear about that kind of retaliation going on this very day in far too many cases. but today we have better whistleblower protections in place than we did years ago, and whistleblowers have important advocates in their corner to support them. the nation owes a special thanks for many of the key whistleblower protections that we have in place this very day.

to my former colleague and good friend, senator carl levin, who died yesterday at the age of 87, carl was the original sponsor of the whistleblower protection act back in 1989. and a cosponsor of the whistleblower protection enhancement act of 2012. i was proud to have worked with carl on those foundational pieces of whistleblower legislation. i know that if carl was still here in the senate this very day, he'd be continuing to lead on whistleblower issues. carl understood that whistleblower protections are not just important to members of congress, but a small network of interest groups in washington, d.c.

they're important for the entire nation because whistleblowers play a critical role in our government. they call attention to the problems of waste, fraud, abuse, and inefficiency. and if you have the sort of transparency that comes because whistleblowers are ready to stand up for what's right, that transparency brings accountability to our government. and you can't have a democratic government that's not accountable. these whistleblowers help those of us in congress to identify problems in the government so we can fix them through oversight and, if necessary, passing legislation. and so, whistleblowers help keep government transparent and accountable to the people, and they help us find ways of saving

taxpayers dollars. as much as carl accomplished during his senate career helping whistleblowers and as much as we've accomplished together over the years, there's still more that needs to be done to ensure that whistleblowers remain protected. one important resource of whistleblowers is the merit systems protection board, where whistleblowers can go if they face retaliation for blowing the whistle. and let me tell you, too many whistleblowers face retaliation for doing just what is right. we ought to see them as partisans for good government. the board has been without -- this merit system protection board has been without a quorum for more than two years, and

it's developed a significant backlog of cases. i'm not sure what's keeping president biden from sending us nominations for that board. i certainly believe he needs to do that without delay. there's also still work to do to make whistleblowers protections stronger and more robust. i'm working on several pieces of whistleblower legislation in this congress. one of my bills will strengthen incentives and protections for whistleblowers who report potential money laundering, and i also have legislation to further strengthen the false claims act and an act entitled program fraud civil remedies. by giving agencies more resources to directly take on

people who r -- who defraud the government. in addition, i'm working on legislation that will establish stronger whistleblower protections for our f.b.i. employees. wherever there are still gaps in our existing laws, i'm working to fill those gaps. this year on whistleblower appreciation day, the senate whistleblower protection caucus welcomes two new members -- senator collins and hassan. as chair of the caucus, i'm pleased to welcome my colleagues. i look forward to working with these new colleagues and our caucus cochair, senator wyden of oregon, as we continue our joint effort to make sure the whistleblower laws and protections we have in place next year and the year after are

even stronger than the ones that we have in place today. i yield the floor and i suggest the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. quorum call:

the presiding officer: the senator from texas.

mr. cornyn: i ask consent that the quorum call be dispensed with. the presiding officer: the senator is not in a quorum call. mr. cornyn: thank you, mr. president. mr. president, it's 2:00 o'clock on a friday afternoon and we've taken two votes on an infrastructure plan that hasn't been written yet, finally. we know -- i ask consent that the quorum call be dispensed with. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. cornyn: mr. president, it's 2:00 o'clock on friday afternoon and it looks like we're going to grind through this bipartisan infrastructure bill this weekend as senator schumer has ordained. we've now had a couple of votes, three votes for a bill that hasn't been written yet in total ity. and the reason we were delayed this morning is because some of

the text that was reported did -- was written -- senator schumer should not rush a bill to the floor before it's ready. it's simply not a good practice and we're talking about more than $3 trillion in spending that will affect every man, woman, and child in america. it's more important to get things right than to get it done fast. for weeks now the bipartisan group of senators have been negotiating this bipartisan infrastructure package have been engaged in intense negotiations with the white house to find common ground. over the last several days in particular, our colleagues have logged countless hours to nail down specific provisions and how it would be paid for. i want to commend all of them for their efforts on both sides of the aisle. it's been a long road but we still a long road ahead. and i appreciate both sides working in good faith to try to

reach an agreement. like all of my colleagues, i'm eager to see the text in the bill to understand the specifics and how it impacts my state. what is included and what is not included. to gain my support, this legislation must accomplish two things. first, it must send sufficient resources to texas to build and maintain our vast network of infrastructure projects. we're the fastest growing state in the nation and with 29 million people and we need to make sure our infrastructure is up to the needs. we have the largest network of roadways of any state in the country with more than 680,000 lane miles. we're also home to more than 55,000 bridges, far more than any other state. we have the water ports along the gulf coast, as the presiding officer knows, having lived in

houston, and ports along mexico and canada and levies and other infrastructure vital to our infrastructure across the state. the pandemic has also highlighted the importance of broadband including the need to expand access in unserved parts of the state. we have about a third of our state without adequate access to broadband. of course that became critical when our children were studying remotely from home or when people attempted to see their doctor using telehealth. broadband has gone from a convenience to a necessity. it's going to take a little while to comb through the specifics of this massive bill. i think last count it was 2,600 pages long to see if it meets my two criteria, but that is my priority number one. but my second criterion, this

bill must include a real plan to pay for these infrastructure investments in a responsible way. we have -- -- we had to spend a lot of money. a lot of the money was borrowed money because we were engaged in an emergency, a pandemic, but now our debt to gross domestic product is roughly what it was after world war ii. and i agree most of that was necessary, at least the bipartisan bills we passed. i think there were a total of five last year. but now is not an emergency when it comes to infrastructure. now this is the bread and butter of legislating. and we've got to come up with a responsible way to pay for the money that we intend to spend. the current draft of the bill i think is lacking in adequate pay fors. senator portman, the senator from ohio, said that the congressional budget office would not give the writers of

the bill credit for some of the money that is in fact real, some of the repurposed money from covid-19 that was used for -- nor not used for federal bonuses to state unemployment, which was at one point rejected by the governors because people were being paid more money not to work than to work. so there was a pot of money to offset some of the spending. but i think there are a additional pay f fors that have been overlooked. so i'm in the process of drafting amendments to this bill including new pay fors. and i hope these amendments will come to a vote on the senate floor. i support the efforts of our colleagues on a bipartisan basis to negotiate the current package. i think they've done us a great favor. but the fact of the matter is the rest of us, the 80 of us who did not participate in those negotiations have a right and a duty to participate in writing this legislation too. and so it would be a terrible

mistake for the majority leader to refuse to allow members on both sides to offer amendments which could pass and could improve the underlying bill. it goes without saying that this bill did not go through regular order, which is nothing more than saying it didn't go through the normal committee process. but the benefit of going through the normal committee process is both majority and minority members get a chance to participate in writing a bill in the committee even before it comes to the floor. so now that we've got a bill that was negotiated and which i suppose at some point we will see in the light of day but one that was negotiated by only a small fraction of senators, it's even more critical that we have an open amendment process. as i said earlier, a trappings bill ordinarily would go through an arduous process.

i think it's at least three standing committees. through the banking committee, through the commerce committee, and through the environment and public works committee. but that did not happen here. the bipartisan group of senators did find common ground among themselves, and now it's time for the full senate to have the opportunity to offer changes that will improve this legislation and allow all senators a chance to participate in shaping it. our friend senator portman, the senator from ohio, said the bipartisan group is committed to having a fair process that allows both sides an opportunity to amend the bill. senator mcconnell has also called for a robust bipartisan floor process. so i would encourage senator schumer, the floor leader, to accept amendments from members of both sides of the aisle to strengthen the legislation and ensure that it meets the needs of our constituents.

there's no question that the roads and bridges across the country are in need of repair. every year the american society of civil engineers evaluates the state of our infrastructure and issues a report card to let us know how we're doing. well, america is barely passing with a c minus. texas is fairing slightly better than the rest of the class with a c. but it's time, as you can tell, for us to invest in our roads and bridges and the ports and waterways that fuel our economy and the broadband that keeps us connected. i've been disappointed that senator schumer has seen fit to try to force us to vote on a bill that does not yet exist in its entirety, but i hope we can now pump the brakes a little bit and take the time and care to evaluate the benefits and the cost of this legislation. and i hope that there will be an amendment process available to both sides of the aisle to ensure that our infrastructure

investments are made fairly and they are paid for responsibly. 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:

mr. mcconnell: mr. president? the presiding officer: the

minority leader. mr. mcconnell: are we in a quorum call? the presiding officer: we, we are. mr. mcconnell: i ask that further proceedings under the quorum call be dispensed with. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. mcconnell: i'm sorry to begin my remarks today with the third senate eulogy for this week alone. last evening we received word that our former colleague from michigan senator carl levin passed away at the age of 87. carl's fellow michiganders elected him and reelected him six times. he was the longest serving senator from michigan ever. his home state liked what they had in this passionate activist turned attorney turned public servant. his dutiful, diligent, and detailed oriented approach led senator levin to build expertise and win respect across a huge range of issues. the pinnacle of our colleague's

career were his years atop the senate armed services committee. i certainly did not always reach the same conclusions that carl did, but his independence, his genuine humble curiosity, and his affection for the men and women who wear the uniform were impossible to dispute. he was ernest, he was solid, forthright, and devoted to it the defense of our nation in ways that he thought best. i especially admired carl's courage, consistent defense of the senate filibuster and the the unique structures that define this institution. he never let short-term political facts cloud his long-term judgment in that crucial area. i know all of our condolences go out to barbara and the entire levin family today and to all senators, staff, and friends who will miss our colleague.

now, mr. president, on a completely different matter, we learned yesterday that the last quarter our g.d.p. finally regained its prepandemic level. it's taken about a year of economic growth just to recover back to where we started. obviously we're still far below where our pre-covid trajectory would have had us today. before this 100-year pandemic, republican policies that helped build the best economic moment for american workers in recent memory. on employment was remarkable lows -- wages were on the rise. pay was growing faster for workers toward the bottom of the income scale actually faster than those at the top. that was then. this is now.

for the last several months, a different philosophy has guided our recovery. our democratic friends believe in borrowing, spending, and taxing at dizzying rates. they want to engineer some sort of socialist recovery from the top down. so how's it going? well, that g.d.p. report that came out yesterday was actually a substantial miss. our economy grew almost 20% slower than the experts had predicted. another economic disappointment. now, remember, this new administration and this democratic congress were set up for success unlike any other transition we'd seen in our lifetimes. they inherited not one, not two, but three safe and effective vaccines that were spreading around -- that we're spreading around the country. they inherited an economy that

was requiring to come back, thanks to -- that was raring to come back, thanks to five bipartisan rescue packages we passed last year. democrats decided they wanted to build back bloated -- build back bloated. they jammed through a massive $2 trillion so-called covid package that only spent about one percent on vaccinations and less than 10% on public health. the rest went to a litany -- a literally litany -- of inflationary liberal spending. now american families are paying the price -- slower hiring than expected, slower growth than expected, a weaker comeback than expected. their policies are sticking it to the middle-class families through higher prices at the grocery store, at the gas pump, at the hardware store, at the

car dealership, in the housing market and practically everywhere else that matters to families. employers large and small down to main street shops and construction sites are suggest struggling to higher -- are struggling to hire and turning down work because we're paying taxpayers to stay home. our country is flooded with safe, effective and free vaccines for anyone who wants one. the democrats are still making small businesses bid against a special government handout that rewards, believe it or not, not working. our bipartisan work last year left our country primed and ready for a comeback summer, but it's becoming clearer understand that clearer that democrats in the capitol and down pennsylvania avenue pursued economic policies that have fumbled the handoff. now, in the days ahead, democrats want to steamroll

ahead with yet another reckless tax-and-spending spree, more unhinged borrowing, printing, and spending; more welfare spending with no -- listen to this -- no work requirements; everything in amnesty to big chunks of the green new deal and historic tax hikes poured on top for good measure. this kind of reckless taxing-and-spending spree would make their last failed package look like a walk in the park. the pain that families are already feeling would just be beginning. now, on one final matter, the president has made an inexplicable choice in nominating david chipman to head the bureau of alcohol, tobacco, firearms, and explosives. this nominee has a long track record of open hostility to law-abaaouding -- to law-abiding

americans' second amendment rights. he is a loud, proud, would of had be gun grabber who has made it a personal mission to erode the bill of rights for the citizens of this country. this is an especially awful time to be taking aim at americans' right to keep and bear arms. remember, as the political left has sought to vilify and defund the police across our country, homicides have of course surged. last year's spike in the national murder rate was the steepest since, believe it or not, 1960. so as democrats have made political war on the police, many citizens have started to think about self-protection. we've seen members of racial minority groups join in the parade of first-time gun owners in record numbers. but then democrats don't like that either. apparently, the left neither wants strong police forces nor do they want americans equipped for self-defense. so this nominee is unsuited

enough for this job on policy merits, but somehow all this is just the tip of the iceberg of the concerns. mr. chipman also comes with distressing workplace reputation. current and former a.t.n. -- a.t.f. agents, once his colleagues, have described him as both an activist and a bully. by one account, his policy views are extreme and his demeanor unsettling. i understand that just this week even graver concerns have surfaced. according to one report, multiple a.t.f. sources say there exist an internal report regarding comments made by the nominee in the workplace. i don't expect that a democratic president would pick somebody to run the a.t.f. that will have our side of the aisle popping

corks, but this is another level altogether. anyone who supports the bill of rights should oppose this nomination. there's no way this nominee is the best the biden administration could do. i suggest the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. quorum call:

the presiding officer: the senator from from connecticut. mrs. murray: are we in a quorum call. mr. murphy: are we in a quorum call? the presiding officer: yes, we are. mr. murphy: i ask that it be dispensed with. the presiding officer: without objection. mr.