and the last thing i'll say about allies and partners is one of the neat things about the new joint war-fighting concept is embedded in it is a new way of dealing with data and sharing of information. because right now one of our biggest impediments to integrating with partners is our ability to share information because we can't even get our closest allies access to our secret network. and it's just -- because everything is labeled secret no form. so we can't even get people on there. but in the new concept, one of the ways of dealing with data is the data will go into a crowd architecture -- >> we're going to leave the end of this discussion, take you live to the senate, part of our 40-plus-year commitment to covering congress. today lawmakers will be working on the nomination of undersecretary of education, a vote to limit debate on his

nomination is set for 5:30 p.m. eastern time. and later this week, work in the senate on judicial nominations. we'll take you live now to the senate. the presiding officer: the senate will come to order. the chaplain, dr. barry black, will lead the senate in prayer. the chaplain: let us pray.

eternal god who soars on the wind and stabilizes us through the challenges of life, we worship you. you remain the source for all our blessings. your daily mercies prompt us to praise your name. lord, you forgive our disobedience and clear our record of guilt. today, use our lawmakers for your glory. guide them along the best path for their lives as you fill them with your peace. lord, as they depend on you for each decision, surround them with your unfailing love.

give us all pure hearts so that we may serve you with honor. we pray in your great 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., september 13, 2021. to the senate: under the provisions of rule 1, paragraph 3, of the standing rules of the senate, i hereby appoint the honorable mazie hirono, a senator from the state of hawaii, 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: are we in a quorum? the presiding officer: no. mr. schumer: madam president,

first i want to welcome back all of my colleagues from the august work period as we return to washington, as everyone knows, the senate has a very busy schedule ahead of it. on the nominations front, we'll begin this week by holding a cloture vote on james kvaal to be the under secretary of education. tomorrow, we will move the nominations of david estudillo to be district judge of the western district of washington, angel kelly to serve as district judge for the district of massachusetts, and the senate will also begin consideration of monica rossman to be the circuit judge of the tenth circuit. on the legislative front, the senate will pick up exactly where we left off last month. we will continue our fight to preserve voting rights for millions of americans. and of course we will continue to -- continue working to pass president biden's build back better agenda and set our country on a path to prosperity for decades to come. at the end of the last work period, the senate took two

important steps to achieving that goal. first, we passed the bipartisan $1 trillion infrastructure bill that will make historic investments in our nation's physical infrastructure. second, senate democrats came together to pass a budget resolution with reconciliation instructions that will clear the way to pass a reconciliation bill with historic and transformative investments in american jobs, american families, and the fight against climate change. over the august state work period, i remained in constant communication with chairs of the senate's relevant committees, as well as with the speaker and the white house, including the president. i am pleased to say we have made substantial progress in translating the provisions of the budget resolution into policies we can pass into law. as we continue our work over the next few weeks, i want to take a step back and explain why this legislation is so important. for far too long, millions of

american families have worried that the american dream has increasingly fallen out of reach. too many in the middle class are just struggling to stay there. too many who are trying to get to the middle class find the ladder up steeper and steeper. today the cost of raising a family, saving for college and retirement, getting a good-paying job, and affording health care have become very, very high. as a result, that sunny american optimism, so key to our national identity, has been replaced by a growing sourness and divisiveness in the land. we have to do better, and we will do better. with this legislation, we have a once in a generation opportunity to rebuild our economy and rekindle faith in america's future. it will include the largest tax cut for the middle class in a generation. it will include provisions that are both critically important and overwhelmingly popular with the american people from

strengthening child care and education to making health care more affordable for millions, and crucially it will include unprecedented steps to fight the climate crisis and preserve our planet for the next generation. after yet another summer marked by hurricanes, floods, and wildfires, we cannot hold off on taking action any longer. the world is looking to us for leadership on climate change by achieving the emission goals democrats are laying out, we can reassert america's leadership, and through it all, we are going to make sure that this bill is paid for and that those at the very top finally pay their fair share. when this senate majority began its work many months act, our original task was to pass legislation that would get our country out of the depths of the covid pandemic. now the legislation we will work on over the next two weeks will lay a new function for the future of our -- new foundation for the future of our economy. it will restore the middle class

in the 21st century and give many more americans the opportunity to get there. building ladders to the middle class, that's what this is about, and that's what we're going to do. the next few weeks will be crucial to achieving this goal, and i look forward to working with my colleagues to continue to deliver on our promise of big, bold change for the american people. of course, ion -- even as we work on our build back better agenda, the house and senate will work on other important priorities that demand immediate attention, including passing a continuing resolution before the september 30 expiration of government funding, providing emergency funding to help those devastated by recent natural disasters, and helping resettle our afghan allies and partners. i expect all of this to be done in a bipartisan and timely way. of course, over the next few weeks, the house and senate must also come together to address the debt ceiling. in america, when it's time to

pay the bills, we follow through on our obligations without exception. for a long time, addressing the debt ceiling was considered a routine and responsible step that both sides worked together to achieve. even when president trump was in office, democrats worked three times with republicans to suspend the debt ceiling because it was the right and obvious thing to do. we didn't pick excuses and say here's why we don't want to do it. we knew it was important and it was time to lay aside differences and move it forward. but now, unfortunately, some of our republican colleagues, even though they were eager to have democrats support them when president trump was president, have now -- now some of our republican colleagues are reportedly contemplating a reckless idea spearheaded by the republican senator from wisconsin to oppose any effort to raise the debt ceiling whatsoever. and unfortunately and sadly, the republican leader seems to be

going along. let me be clear. taking the debt hostage and playing games with the full faith and credit of the united states is reckless, irresponsible, and will harm every single american. it's a complete nonstarter. this is not just another political debate. it's been honoring our unbroken commitment to pay our debts and avoid another financial crisis at a crucial moment for our country. now it's important to remember that this is not about green lighting future spending. this is about paying debt from past spending which was incurred during the trump administration and which received favorable votes from majority of republicans and democrats. indeed, there's a new study that came out. according to the nonpartisan congressional research service, the trump administration incurred $5.4 trillion in new debt after the debt ceiling was rawzed in 2019, up through --

raised in 2019, up through his last day in office. awfully the new $5 trillion in debt bottom line was caused under the trump administration. not by democratic spending. under the trump administration. $5.4 trillion from the last day the debt ceiling was raised in 2019 to the last day of trump being in office. another report by the treasury department further states that over the entirety of the trump administration, that figueres to as -- figure rows to as high as a frill dollars. again, let me repeat this so my republican colleagues hear is loud and clear. this is not about democrats incurring debt. between the last time that the debt ceiling was raised in 2019 and the final day of the frump administration "owe trump administration, nothing to do with biden or democrats in 2021, his administration added more than $5 trillion to the national debt. and over the four years of

donald trump new debt totaled as much as $8 trillion. so both sides, both sides have a responsibility to pay our side -- pay our bills. both sides led by a republican senate incurred much of this new debt. senators from both parties voted overwhelmingly in support of the many laws that contributed to this obligation. in the middle of the covid pandemic, the congress came together under donald trump -- when donald trump was president to pass successive covid relief laws like the cares act, a p.p.p. extension. democrats and republicans voted in huge numbers in support of these laws. republicans voted to make these expenditures. now we must come together to do the responsible thing and pay those bills. leader mcconnell assured the country in 2019 when donald trump was president that, quote, we no doubt raised the debt ceiling on a bipartisan basis.

that's what mcconnell said when trump was president. no doubt -- we will no doubt raise the debt ceiling on a bipartisan basis. he said when trump was president failure to do so would be a disaster. failure to do so now, leader mcconnell, is an equal disaster. doesn't matter who's president. we still incur the bills. so i believe it should be no different this time around. the united states has never ever defaulted on paying its debt. i can't imagine republicans would want to be responsible for the first ever default. we need to work together to raise the debt ceiling and avoid causing irreparable harm to our economy still recovering from the devastation of the pandemic. and i would say to the business community and the financial community, let leader mcconnell know. stop playing games with the debt ceiling. now, one final issue, mr. president -- madam president. on voting.

before the senate concluded the previous work period, republicans blocked multiple efforts to even debate voting rights legislation in the u.s. senate. let me be clear. republicans refusing to support anything on voting rights is not an excuse for democrats to do nothing. over the recess a number of my colleagues and i, including senators klobuchar, merkley, warnock, manchin, padilla, tester worked diligently to craft a revised voting rights piece of legislation. this compromise proposal would protect the freedom to vote, end partisan gerrymandering, stop the scourge of dark money in our politics among many other good things. i applaud my colleagues for their hard work and their progress to come together with a very strong rights bill -- voting rights bill that all democrats can support. while respecting the role of states and promoting greater confidence in our democracy. now senator manchin has been having discussions with our

republican colleagues to try and garner support that is -- to this important legislation. this is a good proposal and i encourage all my senate colleagues to support it. that said, we must be honest about the facts. the republican-led war on democracy has only worsened in the last few weeks. most notably, the governor of texas recently signed into law a new voter suppression bill that ranks as one of the most draconian and undemocratic in living memory. meanwhile partisans across the country are sharpening their knives for a coming spade of vicious gerrymandering which further threatens to divide our politics. this is unacceptable. so the senate must act. i intend to hold a vote in the senate as early as next week on voting rights legislation. time, time is of the essence. i yield the floor.

mr. mcconnell: madam president? the presiding officer: the republican lead every. mr. mcconnell: over the state work period as senators attended business back home, the biden administration's reckless decision to retreat from afghanistan was carried through to a damaging and deadly end. the consequences of its hasty retreat were not just foreseeable, they were actually foreseen. and yet against the advice of members from both parties and even its own national security experts, the administration plowed right ahead. just weeks after abandoning our strategic air base in the dead of night, the biden administration told americans and vulnerable afghan partners they were largely on their own to make it to the commercial airport in kabul if they wanted out of afghanistan.

and by the white house's own admission, some of the americans who wanted to come home were left behind. so let's let that sink in. president biden left americans who wanted to escape behind in the clutches of the taliban. of course americans aren't the only people we left behind. in order to meet an arbitrary political deadline, the biden administration also pulled out before we had helped all the brave afghans who stuck their necks out to assist american service members and build a better future for their country. our nation made a promise of aid and safety in exchange for their service and on this president's watch, we actually failed to keep the promise. we left americans and vulnerable afghans behind. the administration naively

expected the taliban to behave like any law-abiding member of the so-called international community, supposedly subject to tremendous leverage and recognition and for funding. well, our adversaries are sendingembassiries to the taliban and they seem unconcerned with diplomacy. trust in the taliban to ensure safe passage to the vairpt for evacuees was fatally misplaced. and anyone who expected the group to become inclusive should now rightly expect to literally be left out of the room. the administration confidently insisted it would own the consequences of its withdrawal efforts but as soon as their lack of planning bore real, deadly consequences, it pointed the blame at everyone but the reflection in the mirror. and now in a bizarre twist of narcissism, the white house is

now holding up its belated and frantic evacuations as worthy of praise and credit. so, madam president, where are we now? a wall outside the compound that until recently housed the u.s. embassy in kabul now bears a mural of the taliban flag. for terrorists once detained gawn tan know bay now hold positions in the taliban regime and the void left by our coalition's withdrawal were less able to collect intelligence and fight terrorists on their own soil. madam president, this failure was entirely avoidable. the consequences were totally foreseeable, and the stain on our retreat has left america more endangered, less credible, and with fewer capabilities in the face of real and growing

terrorist threats. now, on another matter, the international stage isn't the only area where the biden administration policies have caused damage that was both foreseeable and foreseen. back in the springtime washington democrats dumped trillions of dollars in liberal borrowing and spending on to the american people. they pretended it was a covid relief bill. what it was was a recipe for rampant inflation, a silent tax hike on american families. it was clear what would happen, even liberal economists warned that this was a bad idea that would cause inflation, but just like in afghanistan, democrats had made up their minds long ago and were certainly not going to be deterred. now working americans are paying the price and inflation is up

5.4%, tied for the worst inflation in over a decade. it's more than swamped american workers' wage gains over the last year. the democrats' inflation is turning america's workers pay raises into effective pay cuts, essentially pick pocketing american families. you might think this should give our democratic friends some pause and encourage them to deal in reality. but alas that's not what's happening. instead they're eager to jam through yet another massive multitrillion dollar reckless tax and spending spree, an effort to move our country to the left literally forever. massive new government intrusion into america's child care arrangements, into america's medical prescriptions, into the power grid, newell fair spending that hand -- new welfare spending that hands out cash with zero work requirements. socialist price setting that would leave our medical system with fewer new cures.

and a thousand more awful far-left policies just like these all accompanied by a sweet, a staggering, literally staggering tax hikes that would kill jobs, hurt families, and crush our competitiveness with the chinese. details are already emerging about the seismic tax hikes that democrats are cooking up. more higher taxes on employers and job creators. targeted tax hikes to hit small businesses and family farms. pulling more americans into the death tax. this tax hiking wish list would add up to one of the biggest tax hikes in american history. at exactly the time their liberal policies already have our economy sputtering. so, madam president, it's the very last thing american workers need. it's the last thing american families can afford.

and republicans are going to fight these terrible, painful policies tooth and nail. the presiding officer: morning business is closed. under the previous order, the senate will proceed to executive session and resume consideration of the following nomination, which the clerk will report. the clerk: nomination, department of education, james richard kvaal of massachusetts to be under secretary. the presiding officer: the majority whip. mr. durbin: madam president, i rise to speak to 9/11 and the 20th anniversary. but before that, a i would like to address some of the remarks made by the majority leader -- the minority leader, the republican leader in the senate,

senator mcconnell, just a few moments ago. he discussed in context of the biden presidency what he called a reckless decision to retreat from afghanistan, with an arbitrary deadline, he went on to say. what the senator failed to include was the efforts made last year before joe biden was elected president by the previous president, republican donald trump, through his secretary of state pompeo in direct negotiation with the taliban to establish the deadlines that we are living by -- have lived by and the evacuation of afghanistan. the idea didn't come with the new president, joe biden. the idea started under the previous republican president, donald trump, who sent our secretary of state to directly

negotiate with the taliban leaders. one of the things that they negotiated, incidentally -- i want to make a record of to -- was the release of several prisoners at guantanamo the taliban wanted releases, and trump -- president trump negotiated their release. and now the republican leader in the senate comes and notes the fact that four of these releasees -- prisoners are now in positions of power in the taliban administration. well, of course that speaks for itself. but honesty would require us to note the fact they were released by president trump to the taliban and now have positions of authority. there's no game for president biden -- there is eno blame for -- there's no blame for president biden on that score. to say that we're naive to the taliban is to say the obvious.

president trump negotiated an agreement with them if we would told a deadline to leave afghanistan, he would make certain that american forces were spared attacks during that period of time. that was part of the negotiation. that in and of itself was a positive thing, but it it also held us to a deadline to keep our troops safe. but the notion of working with and negotiating with the taliban started with president trump and secretary of state pompeo under the president. as to whether the situation and the evacuation was entirely avoidable, i'm not sure there was a playbook left by president trump when he left office as to how he would have handled that evacuation. and i will say this for president biden -- i believe, as he did, that it was time for this war to come to an end. 2,461 american body bags, american lives lost in the war

in afghanistan, more than 20,000 of our troops seriously injured during the course of that war, $2 trillion spent, 20 years, a war that seemed like it would never end, and we spent most of that money in and the effort -- in an effort to build up an afghan security force that would take care of itself so that america could come home. and what happened? as soon as the united states said there will be an end to this, sadly, many of these afghan soldiers, uniformed, paid for and equipped by the united states taxpayers, threw their guns down and surrendered. and then of course the administration of the government in afghanistan left the scene completely. so i'm one who voted for the invasion of afghanistan -- for obvious reasons. that's where osama bin laden was supposedly hiding out with al qaeda, responsible for the 9/11 atrocity which we have

noted the 20th anniversary of this week. but i don't believe anyone on the floor of this senate envisioned a war that would go on to be the longest war in american history. that is what happened. the second issue raised by the republican leader notes that the american rescue plan was a recipe for inflation, and he called it a tax hike on working families. let's clear up that record. the american rescue plan was suggested by president biden. the goals of that plan were several. the goals included the administration of coronavirus vaccine across america, which has taken place in one of the most effective efforts ever to make it available. i'm sorry that some 30% of americans refuse to be vaccinated. but it has nothing to do with the availability of the vaccine. president biden kept his word to bring that vaccine to the

american people. and that was part of the american rescue plan. i don't know if the senator from kentucky is questioning the wisdom of that, but it's a fact. the second thing it did was to provide a $1,400 payment, if you'll remember, that had been promised by president trump, and we completed and kept that promise with the american rescue plan. so dollar assistance to families across america, including working families, let me add, and also then came the child tax credits. it was the most extraordinary effort made by our government to help families raising children, cash payments through the end of this year. to argue that this is somehow a tax on working families is to ignore the fact that it's the biggest tax break in the history of this country for working families. and how many republicans supported us for the $1,400 cash

payment to families, for the plan to administer the vaccine across america, for the help for families with children, for more assistance with is abouts? not one -- assistance for businesses? not one. not one in support of the american rescue plan. to hear theory seek that was given just a few minutes ago by the republican leader is to ignore the obvious. that plan was essential to this country coming to grips with this pandemic and starting to get this economy back on its feet. the senator from kentucky has characterized our reconciliation bill as reckless, and he talks about the massive tax increases. he forts one particular -- he forgets one particular element. what we're doing is reversing the tax breaks given by the trump administration. yes, their taxes will go up. but president biden has midit clear that there will be no tax increases for anyone making less

than $400,000 a year. society if we're talking about a new -- so if we're talking about a new tax burden, it is on people who can afford to pay and it reverses the fax cuts that the republicans, i think all of them, at the time voted for. i ask that the statement i am about to make be placed in a separate part of the record. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. durbin: i want to tell you about an extraordinary person in my state, dan shan is hower. in college he spent a semester at washington, d.c.'s american university in their washington semester program. he managed to become an intern here on capitol hill for united states senator charles percy from illinois. an opportunity like that can change your outlook on life. i no he it changed mine when i was -- i know it changed mine when i was an intern for senator

paul douglas. it changed his mind and he started thinking about what he could do by way of public service. wasn't interested in politics, though. so after college he enlist the in the navy. he became an intelligence officer. on september 11, 20s 01, dan shanhower was on duty at the pentagon to brief on the attack on the world trade world trade center when the flight crashed into the pentagon and took hayes life. navy commander dan ssanhower was one of the civilians who lost their lives in the pentagon on 9/11. one of the 2,977 americans lost in the terrorist attacks that

fatal day. he was 40 years old. two years later the people of naperville, illinois, dedicated a memorial to his honor on the banks of the dupage river. this past saturday, the victims and heroes of 9/11 remembered the victims at the memorial in naperville. 20 years after the attacks, the remembrances of that year seem to contain a new kind of sadness, not only for those who perished -- rest their souls -- but for all we've lost in the years since. and our shock and grief fogging 9/11, americans are sustained by acts of heroism, sacrifice, compassion, and a deep sense of national unity. i watched "60 minutes" every

week. last night i saw the program that they dedicated to the fire department on 9/11. it was touching, emotional, heartbreaking. i had tears in my eyes as they told the stories of 343 firemen who went into those buildings to rescue the people who were there. they told their stories even with their voices from radio transmissions and the voices of those victims in the building praying that someone would rescue them. it was a touching moment and a remind of what true courage looks like. we have responsibility now to ask a basic question that talks about our responsibility when it comes to the people in this country. do you remember the national unity we felt after 9/11? that tragedy brought us together

imagine then -- fast-forward if you will to january 6, 2021,when the insurrectionist mob recovery overran this capitol. when i was in this capitol meeting just off the floor, we seen or heard that the first plane it crashed into the world trade center and turned on the television to see if there was any further news and saw in real time the second plane crash into the other tower. then a third plane flew into the pentagon taking commander dan shanower's life. we only knew from the black, billowing smoke across the maul that something terrible had happened and we didn't know what would happen next. someone came in and said, we sandy hook wait the building. everybody went pouring out on the east side of the capitol in

front of the supreme court building. tourists came up to me and said, do you work here? i said, sure. where are we supposed to go? where is it safe? i didn't know what to tell them. there was no capitol visits' center or anyplace. i directed them to the train station, the metro station blocks away. in the days that followed 9/11, we learned about the heroes of flight 93. while we were standing on that lawn, thank goodness those passengers stood up and made a difference and sacrificed their lives in the process to stop that plane from crashing into the capitol or the white house or whatever its final destination might have been. lynn sweet of the chicago it untimes did a special column remembering 9/11 and particularly todd beamer. todd beamer was a wheaton college grad who was a passenger

on flight 93. he managed to get in touch using an airphone with lisa jefferson and they spoke for about 15 minutes as todd described what was going on in that airplane. and she told him what it happened at the trade center and the pentagon. it was todd beamer who made that memorable statement, let's roll. when they tried to take over the plane and gave up their lives in the process. those were the true heroes. it is heartbreaking that 20 years later the gravest threat to america is not just the international terrorism but some terrorism that comes from within. al qaeda did not succeed in attacking this capitol, but nine months ago homegrown american terrorists did. as we spoke, workers are preparing -- as we speak, workers are preparing to

reinstall a security fence around the capitol to protect it from another gathering of violent white nationalists expected in washington this weekend. former president george w. bush spoke for many of us on saturday when he said that the terrorists of 9/11 and the violent extremists at home may come from different cultures. these are his words. but in their disdain for pluralism, their disregard for human life and their determination to defile national symbols, they are children of the same foul spirit, and it's our continuing duty to confront them. we have work of great importance for us. in the next few weeks the congress needs to find a plan to fund the government, protect our economy, protect the full faith and credit of the united states, make sure we pay our bills on time as promised. and isn't it ironic that there is resistance to increasing the debt ceiling from the republican

side of the aisle when the increase in the debt ceiling is to pay for the debts incurred under president donald trump. it's his administration we're paying for with this vote. and the republicans, many of whom supported him and continue to, don't want to balance the books and accept that responsibility. on a different matter, i will just close by saying that the afghanistan situation should be put in the context of 13 brave americans who lost their lives during that evacuation. but the fact of the matter is that 124,000 -- 124,000 people, including 80,000 afghans and 6,000 americans -- were airlifted to safety. they and the brave service members and diplomats involved in the evacuation deserve our thanks and respect. the missteps in afghanistan happened long ago. the first u.s. -- the u.s.

first began peace talks with the taliban more than a decade ago. last year's doha agreement was negotiated by the trump administration, h.r. mcmaster, recently called the deal, quote, a surrender in the deal with the taliban. that's what joe biden inherited when he became president and when it became time to face that responsibility that's exactly what he said -- i accept the responsibility for my decision. what a contrast with the previous president who accepted responsibility for montgomery. this president stood -- responsibility for nothing. this president said i'll make the decision, i'll stand by it. it was time for america to end our longest war. it is time now for us to find a way for us to bring this nation back together. i yield the floor.

a senator: madam president. the presiding officer: the senator from alabama. mr. tuberville: 20 years ago, september 11, 2001, americans watched in horror as two planes struck the world trade center in new york city. we watched as another plane slammed into the pentagon, and yet another bound for this very city crashed in pennsylvania. that day was the worst attack on american soil in our history. america's death toll surpassed pearl harbor in december 1941. that day children came home from school without their parents.

calls from family members went unreturned. lives were changed forever. yet instead of tearing us apart apart, instead of frightening americans off the world stage, the cowardly act that attack on september 11 brought our nation together. but just remember we were at war with al qaeda prior to 9/11 9/11/2001. in the 1990's, between 10,000 and 20,000 people went to afghanistan to train to be terrorists. insurgency sprang to life. in algeria, indonesia, philippines, somalia, and yemen. the world trade center was

bombed the first time in 1993 by ramez yousef, who spent time in a terrorist camp in afghanistan. 1998, al qaeda bombed two u.s. embassies in africa. in 2000, al qaeda bombed a u.s. warship, the u.s.s. cole, killing 17 americans. the 9/11 commission would later write the 9/11 attacks were a shock, but they should not have come as a surprise. that came from the commission. but they were a surprise to most americans because our leaders simply ignored the threat, issued a weak diplomatic scold and promised over the horizon missiles and surveillance could solve the problem.

what solved the problem was american resolve and american might. that fighting spirit began on the bright blue morning of september 11 when a 32-year-old software salesman named todd beamer boarded a united airlines flight 93. todd knew his plane was likely bound for another mishap orca tass fee after -- or catastrophe after hearing it on the telephone just after takeoff. he knew that this plane was either headed for the capitol or the white house. he knew what happened to the other flights because of conversations. but instead of being fearful, todd beamer rallied his other passengers. the former college athlete stayed calm and prayed the

lord's prayer. then he and his fellow passengers unleashed hell on the hijackers of their plane. the moment todd beamer said let's roll is the moment america began to fight back against radical islamic terrorism. that's when the war started. the whole country took up todd's battle cry of let's roll. over the next 20 years 800,000 americans rolled into afghanistan. 800,000. of them, 2,461 were killed in action, including the 13 brave men and women we just lost a few weeks ago. 20,961 soldiers were wounded. their sacrifices were great, but so were their

accomplishments. with 48 partner nations, america smashed the taliban and sent al qaeda running for their caves in pakistan. we killed osama bin laden and crushed terrorism networks around the world. over the past 20 years the death toll from terrorists inside the united states was 107 because of our brave military that took the fight to the enemy overseas. 107 souls is still far too many in this country. but the nation has been spared another catastrophic attack while our all-volunteer force stood the watch in afghanistan. but here on the 20th anniversary of 9/11, what should be a resounding victory and success of american values

and resolve is instead a defeat defeat, and it is an especially bitter defeat to americans all across this country. it's bitter because americans surrendered 20 years of blood, sweat, and tears to the enemy. the taliban now control more of afghanistan than they did in 2001, and they are better armed with american guns, vehicles, and aircraft. it's bitter because it was entirely preventable. it's bitter because those who work in national security know in their hearts that the president is wrong when he says the war is over. mr. president, the war is not over.

the war is over when your enemy accepts defeat. our enemy, the taliban, are not defeated. they are emboldened. president biden has handed them the greatest victory of their pitiful, pitiful history, a victory greater than they could have ever dreamed. using this victory as propaganda against the united states will be recruiting gold for the taliban. make no mistake, now that they spent, or sent america running for the exits in afghanistan, they intend to bring the terror we saw at kabul's airport home to us right here in the united states of america. we cannot allow that to happen, because now after our commander

in chief decided to leave behint that -- leave behind american taxpayer-funded equipment, the taliban is one of the top ten best equipped militaries in the world. over 44,000 military vehicles were left behind. nearly 500,000 guns left behind. 33 blackhawk helicopters left behind. all is now in the hands of our enemy. and we're fooling ourselves if we think they're not going to use this equipment against us. early last week ten of my colleagues on the senate armed services committee joined me in calling for hearings on the biden administration's cie i --

chaotic withdrawal from afghanistan. as members of the committee that oversees our nation's armed forces, we bear a particular responsibility to seek, i mean seek true and correct answers. we asked to hear from the secretary of defense lloyd austin, the chairman of joint chiefs of staff general milley, the commander of u.s. central command general mackenzie, and the last commander of u.s. forces in afghanistan general miller. these are our top military leaders who need to be asked the hard questions. and that's what i and my colleagues intend to do, starting with why did we give up the most strategic air base in the middle of asia, bagram airfield. why did we do that?

it makes no sense. we owe it to our nation, those who served, their families, and our allies to preserve the records of how our time in afghanistan ended. for every people we and members of the armed services committee represent here in congress, this is the biggest issue facing our military since vietnam. those who have given so much to this cause are demoralized and disheartened. i talked to hundreds of them the last couple of weeks. al qaeda didn't defeat our military. the taliban didn't defeat our military. the complexities of rebuilding a country did not beat our military. this administration in washington, d.c. defeated our

troops. never in american history have we seen a commander in chief leave americans behind enemy lines. it is unheard of. unheard of of the history of this country. i cannot think of a single fighting man or woman who would leave an american behind. it does not make sense. that is why they fight. that is why our military fights. we do not leave people behind. but they were ordered to leave by our commander in chief. to those soldiers, sailors, marines, airmen, guardsmen who served in afghanistan, i promise you this -- we will get answers from this administration

if you remember the military or you've served -- if you're a member of the military or you served our nation or you have questions, i hope you'll reach out to my office. i'm ready to be your voice. i'm ready to fight with you for your answers and accountability. i want to thank chairman reed and chairman inhofe for scheduling hearings so we can do that in the next few weeks. on september 11, america said never forget. thousands upon thousands of americans have taken that rally cry to the enemy. to them i say, america has not forgotten. we will never forget. we will answer the fight and we will fight for these answers. madam president, i notice the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk

will call the roll. quorum call:

he

mr. barrasso: madam president. the presiding officer: the senator from wyoming. mr. barrasso: i ask unanimous consent that the quorum call be vitiated. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. barrasso: madam president, i come to the floor today to pay tribute to the life and service of lance corporal rylee mccollum. he was from wyoming when thursday, august 25, the united states lost 13 men and women in uniform, 11 marines, an army soldier and a navy corpsman. they were killed by a terrorist attack in kabul, afghanistan. at least 20 additional marines were wounded. it was the deadliest day for our

nation's military in more than a decade. one of those fallen heroes was lance corporal rylee mccollum. madam president, he was just 20 years old. rylee mccollum's life demonstrated the best of our nation. his dad jim told me that rylee was full-blooded red, white, and blue, and from the very beginning. rylee's dad jim wanted to serve in the military but he didn't because of a medical issue. well, his son grew up with the same great desire to serve our nation. rylee's father said, his family said he wanted to be a marine from the very beginning. his sister royce said that he

ran around in his diapers and cowboy boots with a rifle. he graduated from summit innovations high school in wyoming and made a real name for himself all around the state as a champion wrestler. he had the kind of talents and abilities which he could have done anything and everything. he wanted to serve america. he joined the marines literally as soon as he could. he signed up on his 18th birthday. his plan was to serve in uniform and then come home to wyoming. his goal was to teach history and coach wrestling. on august 26, on his first deployment, he stood guard at the ha mid -- at the karzai

airport and protected our allies as they escaped to safety. his mission saved thousands of lives. while rylee was protecting others, he was killed by a terrorist bomb. now, rylee had just been married in february. his wife is expecting their first child and he was excited to become a father. his child will never know rylee, yet his child will always know that rylee mccollum, her father, was a hero. on friday, i stood side by side with rylee and his family and his wife gigi at the airport in jackson, wyoming, as rylee's

flag-draped casket was brought home for his very last trip to wyoming. and today i got a text from gigi with this magnificent picture. the text came within the last hour or so and we were able to do a blowup of the texted picture, welcome baby girl levi rylee rose, 6-pounds, 10-ounces today, september 13, at 2:00 a.m. there's the baby and there's the cutout of her father rylee mccollum. people in wyoming and all across america have shown their respect and appreciation and admiration for rylee and his family. people have donated close to

$100 million to help gigi and their baby. this is a testament of the gratitude of the american people for the life and service of rylee mccollum. after rylee's passing, a family friend in jackson, named reggie stone, told a story on facebook. the story is of a conversation that he had with rylee and his son eli. he said that they once said if anything ever happened to us, just know we were doing what we loved. but ry -- what rylee mccollum loved was protecting others. what rylee mccollum loved was service. what rylee mccollum loved was america. and as jim mccollum told me, he said rylee is standing guard

tonight at the gates of heaven. madam president, rylee mccollum is an american hero. his name will always be held in honor throughout wyoming where for the half million people of our state we all think of rylee and gigi, and the baby as part of our family. may god comfort his family and may god continue to bless this great country for which rylee mccollum gave his life. and now, madam president, i want to talk about the fall of afghanistan. it's the thing that people in wyoming want to talk about. they want to talk about rylee and they want to talk about what happened in afghanistan. over the last 20 years, nearly 2,500 americans gave their lives in afghanistan.

our mission in afghanistan was twofold. first, to kill the terrorists who attacked us on 9/11 2001 and, second, to take away the safe haven where terrorists planned attacks on america. and for the last 20 years both missions were a success. yet, in a matter of just weeks everything changed. and they changed because of the complete incompetence of president joe biden. because of that incompetence, the taliban are stronger today than they were 20 years ago. they are stronger than ever. afghanistan is now a safe haven for terrorists and america is more at risk to terrorists today than it has been in two decades. afghanistan fell because president biden paid exclusive attention to the calendar on the wall instead of the conditions on the ground.

joe biden said an -- set an arbitrary political deadline of august 31. the president wanted symbolism for september 11. well, he got symbolism, but it wasn't what he wanted. it was the kind of symbolism that terrorists wanted. now in april when president biden announced his deadline, i warned this would happen. i said if we pull out, the taliban would take over. leader mcconnell and other senate republicans came and warned the president as well. some of the top generals in our military warned the president also. yet, president biden stubbornly refused to listen. refused to listen to his military and refused to listen to his national security advisors. our enemies knew we were leaving

and so they were on the offense. in a matter of weeks, afghanistan fell to the taliban. it was predictable and it was preventible. when kabul fell, president biden was on vacation, so was the secretary of state and the white house press secretary. when british prime minister boris johnson tried to reach president biden, he had to wait 36 hours. when the canadian prime minister wanted to discuss afghanistan, they couldn't get through to president biden but he got through to hillary clinton. the white house was asleep at the switch and the white house switchboard was turned off to our closest allies. even after kabul fell, president biden stuck with his reckless and dangerous deadline. now, as a result president biden has abandoned hundreds of

americans behind enemy lines. many are still trapped there right now. i can't imagine any other president in the history of our country doing that, abandoning americans behind enemy lines. he also abandoned thousands of afghanistan people who have helped us over the years. they helped our troops. that even includes an interpreter that helped save the president's life when he visited afghanistan as a senator. many of these people are going to be killed by terrorists. president biden signed their death warrants. this is worse than benghazi, this is worse than the iranian hostage crisis, this is worse than the withdrawal from vietnam. to me, this is america's worst national humiliation in more than 50 years. simply stated, the fall of afghanistan is a dereliction of duty, a dereliction of duty by the commander in chief.

joe biden ran for president on two things. one he ran on competence and on foreign policy expertise, and he has failed this entire nation on both. nearly every prediction that president biden made about afghanistan has proven to be wrong. on july 8, president biden said there would be, quote, no circumstance, no circumstance where you would see people being lifted off the roof of the embassy of the united states from afghanistan. just five weeks later, that is exactly the video of what the world saw. president biden claimed al qaeda is gone from afghanistan. just hours later, the pentagon had to admit that what the president said was not true. the president had lied to the american people.

isis fighters are also in afghanistan. they're the ones who killed the 13 service members. russians and iranians are also in afghanistan. the president's hasty withdrawal left behind billions of dollarsworth of american weapons. now it's all property of the terrorists. joe biden armed the terrorists beyond their wildest dreams. in total, the taliban has seized more than 600,000 american weapons, 2,000 armored vehicles, humvees, american tanks, 40 aircraft, including blackhawk helicopters. because of the incompetence of president biden, the taliban is now the best-armed terrorist group in history. president biden surrendered to the terrorists and now the terrorists will be coming for us. i have joined with my fellow republicans in demanding a full accounting of american military

equipment in afghanistan. president biden has absolutely no plan to either get the weapons back or to destroy them where they are. instead, president biden is making executives. he claims he had to follow president trump's withdrawal agreement. well, that's not true, madam president, and we know it. president trump's plan was conditioned on successful peace transaction with with the afghan government. those peace talks are still unsuccessful. president biden had overturned dozens of policies from the previous administration. let's look at a few of the trump policies that president biden reversed. well, he reversed the very successful remain in mexico policy which has resulted in a complete collapse of our border security. he tried to bring back the iran deal. he put us back in the paris accord. he rejoined the world health

organization. so why didn't then president biden either enforce the original withdrawal agreement from afghanistan or renegotiate that agreement? he never even tried. president biden even chose to give up bagram air force base north of kabul. it's a strategic military location that military leaders will tell you should never have been abandoned under any circumstances. probably the only facility in afghanistan big enough to get every american out quickly. we left there in the middle of the night without even telling our allies on the ground. the united states senate must investigate why the president ordered the military to abandon. and, madam president, the united states i believe has a sacred duty to finish the job of safely

evacuating every american civilian in afghanistan. the president said on national television just a few weeks before the collapse that he would not leave afghanistan and would not follow the directive that he had placed on the augusy american was out, but yet on august 30, he had every american service member out and his own secretary of state said they were still -- there were still up to 200 american citizens trapped behind enemy lines. i believe we also have to evacuate the sphation who risked their lives by -- the afghans who risked their lives by providing us with assistance. i believe the united states must never recognize the taliban as a legitimate government. the biden administration claimed they would not recognize any government which came to power by force in afghanistan. i find it very hard to trust

anything that president biden says anymore. madam president, let me conclude with a word about our heroes who served our country in afghanistan. over my time in the senate, i visited afghanistan nine times. each time i go, it's to say thank you to the men and women in uniform who are there. i visit with wyoming national guard. i visit with wyoming regular military. our national guard, our cowboy cannoneers have been explode to bagram air force base, and i have visited with them numerous times over a number of years. and to them and to all americans, i say no matter how disgraceful this withdrawal, no matter how incompetent our commander in chief, no matter the failures of this administration, the truth remains our soldiers serve with

honor. they fought with valor. and they have kept us safe and free for the last 20 years. they are all heroes. we will always, always, madam president, hold them in high honor. thank you, madam president. i yield the floor. the presiding officer: the senator from maine. mr. king: madam president, i have comments today about an

extraordinary member of the federal workforce, but before i do, i'd like to respond to a few of the comments that i heard as i entered the chamber with regard to afghanistan. the first is nobody that i know of in any way is denigrating the service of the men and women who served in afghanistan for 20 years. they served honorably. they served well. they served bravely. they made great sacrifices. and some of them made the ultimate sacrifice. there is no dispute about that. but i think the question of the the -- the leaving of afghanistan is worth a little bit of a broader discussion than what we just heard. number one, the decision to leave afghanistan was made by the trump administration. when the president --

then-president trump entered into an agreement in february of 2020 with the taliban that we would leave by may 1 of 2021. all troops would be gone. i've read the agreement. in return, the taliban said that they would not attack our troops. they also said they would enter into discussions with the government of afghanistan and try to affect a peaceful transfer of power. of course, that didn't happen. but i think it's very important for the american people to realize that the fundamental decision to leave afghanistan was made almost a year before joe biden entered the presidency. and when joe biden entered the presidency, he had a decision to make. and the decision was a very straightforward and very profound one. it was whether to honor the agreement that his predecessor had made and keep the word of

the united states, or whether to stay in afghanistan, tear up that agreement, subject our people there to attacks by the taliban, and then almost inevitably reescalate the conflict. we were down -- at the time of the agreement in february of 2020, there were something like 15,000 american troops. by the time president biden came into office, there were only 2,500 american troops. if he had decided to stay, it wasn't a question of we'll just stay with our 2,500 troops. we would have been at war with the taliban, and we would have inevitably, he, the president, biden, would have inevitably been in a situation to increase our presence in afghanistan once again. after 20 years. president biden decided that our

mission there was complete. the original mission, of course, was about osama bin laden and al qaeda, and he decided that the american people were not prepared to commit to a war that essentially had no end. so that's point one. point two, there's no question that the leaving was chaotic and difficult and dangerous, but i think it's important to understand some of the surrounding circumstances. for example, i was one who stood on this floor in june and berated the administration for not moving aggressively enough to get the special immigrant visa troops -- i'm sorry, those who helped our troops out. the presiding officer, i think, took that position, many of us took that position. we were hammering the administration. but then the president met with

president ghani on june 25 in person, and ghani specifically said please don't start that evacuation in a major way because that in itself will lead to the collapse of our government. it will lead to a loss of confidence. so please don't do that. so the question became when if we withdrew our troops would the afghan government fail? and we will be having hearings here this week, next week, the week after, to discuss that very question. what was the intelligence? and i'm a member of the select committee on intelligence, and i can't talk about what i learned from the intelligence officials leading up to august of 2021, but the question is did the administration expect the afghan government to fall in a matter of days -- eight days, i

believe. i think clearly they did not. should they? was it a failure of intelligence? i don't believe so. intelligence is about data. it's about -- it's about how many troops, how many guns, who has the arms, who holds what territory. the most difficult intelligence questions are psychological. will the afghan army fight? will they have the will to fight? and indeed, the afghan security forces have fought for years and lost thousands. but when president ghani fled the country, the government simply collapsed and the afghan security forces seeksly said why should we fight if the government has gone? and i've heard it said that we left -- i think my colleague from wyoming said we left over 200 americans or 150 trapped.

100 or so have left in the last few days. left on a charter flight a couple of days ago. yes, it's more difficult for them to get out, but the administration is working to get them out. the question is should the administration have stayed and triggered a possible conflict with the taliban and attacks by terrorists, which did occur at the gate of the airport, versus the evacuation of everyone, and it was very difficult to determine, a, who these people were, and b, whether or not some of them wanted to leave. they were dual citizens. so that was a difficult decision, and my understanding is that the military advice to the president was it was in america's interests to abide by the august 31 headline and -- deadline and continue to work diplomatically to enable american citizens to leave.

in fact, my understanding from public reports is the taliban has essentially said if you're an american citizen, if you have the paperwork, we will let you leave. so those people weren't trapped. but what bothers me about this conversation is the ignoring of the fact that 124,000 people were evacuated in 18 days. the largest airlift in history. 124,000 people, including about 6,000 americans, people from nato, our nato allies and thousands of afghans who were those people who assisted us. did we get them all out? i doubt it. but i can remember, as i'm sure the presiding officer officer can, earlier this year we were talking about 18,000 of those s.i.v.'s. we got out 124,000 people. it's a logistical -- it was an incredible logistical, diplomatic -- and diplomatic

achievement. so there are plenty of questions left. there are questions to be answered. my problem is concluding that it was a disaster, concluding that the president did it all wrong, concluding and reaching conclusions without the facts. let's have our hearings. let's find out what actually happened. what was the intelligence? what did the administration know? what was the military -- the basis of the military advice to leave on august 31? but also part of the facts is, what was achieved. 124,000 people that are now being housed and fed and vetted and treated for -- examined for medical conditions. an amazing logistical achievement. if you're talking about the armed service, let's talk about ready, aim fire, not ready, fire, aim. let's hold our fire until we

understand what actually happened. i believe that's what we should do in this country responsibly rather than immediately going on the offensive and declaring the president incompetent and a disaster and should resign and all of those things. we ought to understand what actually happened. and we will. that's our role. but we should work through the process of gaining the facts before we draw the conclusions that i've heard drawn over the last week. madam president, let me change the subject. we have throughout the federal government wonderful people working for us. we have people working in all the agencies. she work diligently. they work for many years. they work under difficult conditions. and they serve the american people. we speak of ourselves as public servants but there are also

public servants who are out there every day answering phone calls, doing the work of the government in whatever agency wherever they are. and they're doing important work. and i want to talk about one of them today just for a couple of minutes. a guy named tim hudson. tim's mustache is a lot better than mine. tim hudson is retiring this week after 57 years with the national park service. 57 years with the national park service. that's dedication to the public service. he has served in alaska. he served at yellow stone. he came east after super storm sandy to supervise the reconstruction and maintenance of national parks in the east. he's an expert on maintenance, on keeping these places up to speed, up to snuff so that our citizens can enjoy them.

and he came out of retirement or he slowed his retirement to do his last five years in the state of maine. president obama created came tad dan -- a spectacular spot in the middle of the north woods of maine. it was somewhat controversial at the time. i spent days up there in public meetings and took a lot of flack and listened to a lot of contrary opinions, some much positive, some negative. so when we created the national monument, the question is, okay, who's going to get it going. who's going to make it happen? and tim hudson answered the call. and he spent the last five years up there working with the local community. he's done a huge amount of work with the local community to give them confidence in what the park service is doing. he's worked with the people, the

friends of woods and waters. he's worked with the people that are helping to develop this wonderful facility for more and more people every year. i think this year the visitation will be 45,000, 50,000 people. it's a spectacular spot but he started -- tim hudson started from scratch. and i just want to recognize tim and the thousands like him throughout this one who work on our behalf quietly every day without a senator making a speech about them, but they go about their work on behalf of the measure people. i didn't want tim hudson's retirement to go unremarked because not only does he deserve recognition, so many of his colleagues, whether it's in the park service, the department of agriculture, the department of defense, the department of

commerce, the internal revenue service, all the people that work on behalf of this country. the brave men and women in the department of state who work around the world, often in dangerous situations. we need to recognize that, we need to support them. we need to let them know that we know what they're doing and we care what they're doing. so that's why i'm here today to talk about tim hudson, a guy who's made a difference for this country for 57 years and he's made a huge difference for the people of maine over the past five years. i want to say thanks to tim and his wife, mary, and wish him the best in his retirement. he's the best of what america is all about. he has served us well and he has served the people of maine well and i appreciate it and thank him for it. thank you, madam president. i yield the floor.

the presiding officer: the senator from tennessee. mrs. blackburn: thank you, madam president. september 11, 2001 is seared in the memes of -- memories of those of us who lived through that day and experienced the trauma and the fear of that day. what has always struck me about that day and the days following, even standing here 20 years later, is how the entire free world, they stood united against what we saw as a common threat. it came to us as naturally as breathing. we understood that as witnesses to mass murder we shared a duty to avenge those who had died. it may have been fear that forced us together but in the

days that followed the attacks, we as americans rediscovered the ties that have bound us for centuries and solidified our faith in the common cause of freedom. but the more time that passes between each september 11 and the september 11 attacks, the more obvious it becomes that history slips away from those who fail to heed its lessons. the defense -- the defensive action we took as a nation in the wake of the attacks was among the most forceful and effective the world has ever seen, but still, even 20 years later, it is obvious that our work in afghanistan and the middle east is far from over. now, my colleague from maine talked about the withdrawal from afghanistan, and i would say that as i talked to tennesseans,

it is not withdrawing from afghanistan. it was the manner in which the biden administration chose to end the military mission in afghanistan that didn't seem to reflect the reality of what was going on on the ground. last week i sent a letter to chairmchairman re de with severf my colleagues on the armed services committee asking for formal hearings on the withdrawal. we need to know exactly what happened. how they were advised without sworn testimony from secretary austin, general milley, general mckenzie and general miller. we will never be able to untangle the chaotic course of events that led to the deaths of 13 service members in kabul and the abandonment of an unknown

number of american citizens and our afghan partners. madam president, i ask unanimous consent that the letter be entered into the record. the presiding officer: without objection. mrs. blackburn: thank you, madam president. but i don't the fact finding mission, i plan to use these hearings to impress upon my democratic colleagues the importance of the words that we use to describe our enemies, how we talk about them, how we frame their actions since day one, since day one of this administration, the biden administration has used their words to rehabilitate the taliban in the eyes of their radical base. the problem, of course, is that their diplomatic calls for inclusivity and equality, this

supports a lie about who the taliban actually is. the taliban like isis, like al qaeda, it's a terrorist organization. they rule by fear. they rule through public beheadings, rape, forced marriage, brutality against anyone who questions their regime, against anyone who disagrees with them. look at the way women and children are treated. now, in my opinion and from a lot of tennessee that i have talked with as i've been home, they feel that expecting terrorists to behave like normal people is reckless and stupid

and they feel that some of the actions that have come from this administration and comments that they would have that expectation would reflect that reckless stupidity. these are terrorist organ organizations. if you need another example of this, just look at their approach to border security. even before the transfer of power, massive migrant caravans had begun moving out of central america and toward the southern border. they were eager to take advantage of then-candidate biden's promises of open borders and amnesty for all. where did that get us? well, this is what we have learned? the c.b.p. reports that

encounters along the u.s.-mexico border reached a 20-year high in july. that is right. massive numbers. they heard those promises so what did they do? they got to work contacting a cartel and they made this journey after, of course, they paid the cartel. most of the nearly 200,000 people our border patrol caught in july were traveling alone. families might be holding back but the international traffickers certainly are not holding back. on august 29, c.b.p. officers in memphis found three kilograms of cketimine in a shipment of furniture from france coming in

because of the cartels. in the first week of september c.b.p. officers in texas seized two separate caches of cocaine with a street value of almost $300,000. in the month of july alone, cocaine seizures increased 91% and meth seizures increased 20%. why are they doing this, madam president? they know that the border is open. on september 8, texas state troopers and c.b.p. officers stopped two human smuggling attempts running just hours apart from each other. our c.b.p. officers have made it standard procedure to scour remote terrain for migrants who have been abandoned and left to die by their cartel transporters.

and why is this happening? because it's obvious to everyone, from the migrants, the cartels, to the foreign officials who refuse to police their own borders that the biden administration won't do anything to stop it. tennesseans see this as reckless. it makes no sense. i talked to some local law enforcement officers this week. they're seeing an uptick in meth, fentanyl, heroin on the streets -- all coming out of mexico. they repeatedly say, secure the border. madam president, we live in the greatest nation on earth. we are still the world's best example for freedom. and we are the last hope for millions of people suffering under authoritarian rule. it's important to understand

that it doesn't have to be the way it has been. when you look at this withdrawal from afghanistan, when you look at this open border, when you look at the fact that, yes, this year the border patrol, they have apprehended terrorists at the southern border -- that's right. it doesn't have to be that way. but when you have weak leadership, leadership that is not focused, leadership that says it's my way or the highway, when you have that reckless disregard for the truth, that can and will destroy us. the actions of the biden administration have already emboldened our enemies. they've made our allies doubt our commitment to them and to the work that they are trying to do to advance freedom for

themselves, the work that we are doing to advance freedom here in this country and abroad. so i would encourage my democratic colleagues to resist the urge to fall in line with the white house on the issue of the afghanistan withdrawal and to instead join me in demanding as many hearings as it takes to restore accountability and transparency, to find out exactly what happened. what were our military advisors saying to president biden, vice president harris, to jake sullivan, to susan rice, to antony blinken? what were they telling them? what was the expectation? did they have a plan? did they plan to leave americans

lined enemy lines? did they plan to give up bagram airfield? did they plan to leave all of the equipment for the taliban to use? did they plan on that? was it intentional that they made those decisions, or was it reckless stupidity that got us here? i yield the floor.

mr. rubio: madam president? the presiding officer: the senator from florida. mr. rubio: last weekend we lost a truly selfless public servant, mr. richard kinkwho have iii from my office. he joined our office in 2013 and he literally never left. he kept showing up after his internship had ended until we final lay had to hire -- final lay had to hire him full-time to work with us because he kept showing you every single day. he wanted to serve. he want to serve the people of florida. that's exactly what rich did for the past eight years, leading our team and graciously

responding to hundreds of thousands of constituent inquiries. i think it's important to note, that's tedious work. for him, two not a formula or -- for him, it was not a formula or checking boxes. he was passionate about that kind of work. he took time to listen to the callers who would call. he'd read the e-mails 689 talk to constituents. then he worked with others on our team to get the answers. he believed in his work. he never let the process take the purpose out of the work that he did or that the team was doing. two years ago his work was recognized when our office received the democracy foundation's award for constituent services, an award that we would not have received had he not been part of our team. but for rich, honestly, it wasn't about recognition. it was about service. it's no surprise that he took a particularly interest in veterans' issues. treated every constituent case with the respect that it deserved, but he had a special

passion for making sure our selfless veterans were not left behind or forgotten in the bureaucracy. and that is the one word that i think keeps coming back as we talk in our office and with staff, as it keeps coming back as we reflect on his life over the past week. selfless. rich had a pickup truck, a big pickup truck, with made him pretty popular with colleagues, with friends, with the friends of friends. people who needed to move, everybody wants to borrow it. rich being rich, he was always there for them. if your car broke down, rich was there. if you were an intern in need of year advice, rich was there. if you need add ride from the airport, rich was there. he'd even pull himself away from a tampa bay lightning game to help a friend. it was never about him. in a letter to the christian church, paul and tim knee wrote,

do nothing out of selfishbition or vein conceit. in other words, value others above your selves. those who knew him can say that rich answered that call time and time again. now, for reasons that we cannot explain or know or understand, he's answered a different call. but i do know that we are all better for knowing him and so are countless others who never knew his name. he was selfless. he was noble. he was a decent man. and as we honor and celebrate his life, let us hope to follow in his example in all that we do here. madam president, i yield the floor.

a senator: madam president? the presiding officer: the senator from new jersey. mr. menendez: madam president, first i ask unanimous consent that i be permitted to complete my remarks before the scheduled 5:30 p.m. vote. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. menendez: madam president, prior to the august recess, i along with senator murphy asked unanimous consent to confirm almost 30 -- 30 -- highly qualified foreign affairs and development nominees who are languishing on the senate floor.

i noted then the danger of leaving these posts unfilled at a time that we are facing such a confluence of global challenges. two republican senators glock -- two republican senators blocked each of our requests. days later haiti was hit with a devastating earthquake and afghanistan imploded. while i continue to believe it is essential that this body confirm every single foreign affairs and development professional whose nomination is pending on the senate floor, i rise again today to seek unanimous consent to confirm four nominees who are critical to addressing the crisis in afghanistan and haiti. ambassador donald lu, a career foreign service officer is the president's nominee to serve as assistant secretary for the bureau of south and central asian affairs.

the last assistant secretary for this bureau was confirmed during the obama administration. to say that this nomination is long overdue is an understatement, particularly now given the incredibly dangerous situation in afghanistan. post withdrawal of u.s. troops from afghanistan, the state department is the main implementer of u.s. policy in the country. and given the regional implications of afghanistan policy, it is essential that this role be filled with a seasoned and experienced diplomat like ambassador lu. the region is home to several other countries critical to u.s. interests from pakistan to india to the countries of central asia, the u.s. must be present in order to advance those interests and counter the maligned interests of both russia and china. so i hope that my colleagues will not continue to play games

and will support ambassador lu's confirmation this evening. similarly, it is unthinkable that the state department's intelligence office, the bureau of intelligence and research, or as we know it as i.n.r., remains without senior leadership. i.n.r. is an invaluable resource for the secretary of state's senior officials, and indeed all of the dedicated foreign policy professionals that serve our nation so well and so tirelessly. it needs a confirmed leader in place that can help the department understand the intelligence information that is out there that helps us instruct in terms of foreign policy choices. so i'm asking my republican colleagues to permit confirming brett holgren today. shifting to haiti, last month i came to the floor to highlight the challenges we face in our

hemisphere and the impact of regional stability and citizen safety. already the situation is more urgent than when i raised it. in august a massive earthquake in haiti killed more than 2,200 people, injured 12,000 more, destroyed tens of thousands of buildings. a coordinated international response is urgently needed. this new emergency follows the assassination of haiti's president and mounting crises in the region, unprecedented protests and widespread repression in cuba, a brutal regime crackdown in nicarauga and c-span -- and crisis in venezuela. and there are the enduring security and governance challenges in central america that fuel irregular migration. we need urgently qualified

nominees in leadership positions to address these crises, with an extensive experience in the americas, ambassador brian nichols, a career foreign service officer, will skillfully advance u.s. national interests as the assistant secretary for western hemisphere affairs. similarly, mr. escobari who served in the obama administration will bring unique expertise to the position if confirmed again today. in 2016, the senate confirmed her by voice vote. voice vote. we need her in place and should move her again today. it's scandalous these nominees and many others are being held up for reasons completely unrelated to them and the positions they will hold. such irresponsible behavior jeopardizes our national security, and we must act today.

so let me start by asking first unanimous consent that the senate proceed to the consideration -- mr. menendez: i didn't get the full script here, to put it very plainly. i will reserve the opportunities to ask for these consents and wait for one of our colleagues to appear on the floor. i yield the floor at this time. i suggest the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. quorum call:

the presiding officer: the senator from new jersey. are. mr. menendez: i ask that the quorum call be vitiated. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. menendez: pursuant to the comments i was making a few minutes ago, let me move directly to my request. i ask unanimous consent that the senate proceed to the consideration of calendar number 355, donald lu, to be assistant secretary of state for south asian affairs and that the senate vote on the nomination without intervening action or debate. the presiding officer: is there objection? a senator: madam president. the presiding officer: the senator from texas. mr. cruz: reserving the right to object, i want to make a few remarks on senator menendez's request for unanimous consent on

the nomination of donald lu to be assistant secretary of state for the bureau of south and central asian affairs and brett m. holmgren to be assistant secretary of state for intelligence and research. the reality is that had these nominees been confirmed in august, they would have done nothing to stop the administration's disastrous withdrawal from afghanistan. president biden bears responsibility for the catastrophe that has unfolded in afghanistan. president biden repeatedly ignored reasonable advice and the intelligence on what was happening on the ground in the run up to the disastrous withdrawal. he abandoned the bagram airfield well before august, setting the stage for the chaos at the kabul airport. he wasn't even listening to his staff on what needed to be done on afghanistan.

instead he imposed an arbitrary deadline for political purposes with disastrous results. i'm not going to object to consent on this individual, mr.n a moment that senator menendez will ask for, but let's be clear, the administration is trying to play a blame game to deflect blame for their absolute failure to conduct a reasonable and rational drawdown, to deflect blame for president biden's decision to abandon bagram to the taliban, to deflect blame for president biden's indefensible decision to give the taliban a list of names of americans and afghans who are now very much in harm's way and in jeopardy because of the

foolishness and the manifest incompetence of this administration. none of the nominees i have holds on would have made one difference in what happened in afghanistan. and it's difficult to believe that even my democratic colleagues believe political talking points notwithstanding, how, for instance, the assistant secretary for educational and cultural affairs could have stopped president biden from gift wrapping bagram airfield and giving it to the taliban. it's also important to provide a little bit of background on why these holds are in place in the first place. president biden is not following the law. he's refusing to follow the law which mandates the imposition of sanctions on nord stream 2. those sanctions succeeded, halt nord stream 2 in its place

and president biden turned an incredible foreign policy victory into defeat. when president biden came into office he willfully disregarded the law and allowed nord stream 2 to continue on its road to completion which was in effect a multibillion-dollar gift of vladimir putin at the expense of europe's security and at the expense of american national security. however, there is still time to stop nord stream 2 if we act quickly. a pipeline that isn't 100% complete is effectively zero percent complete. and i'm not going to stop working to halt nord stream 2, to stop russia, and to prevent vladimir putin from economically blackmailing our european allies and threatening american jobs. these consents, and more

broadly what the administration is engaged in is a blame game trying to distract blame from their own actions. but it's worth noting that i have offered to lift my holds from the beginning and indeed over a month ago i extended the offer to treasury secretary yellen, to the senate security advisor in the white house, and to senator menendez, that i would lift these holds, lift the holds on treasury nominees and lift the holds on state department career nominees if the administration either imposed sanctions under the countering american adversaries through sanctions act or if they waived those sanctions in such a way that it would trigger congress having an override vote. on august 5, i extended that offer directly to secretary yellen. unfortunately the administration

hasn't acted on it. they have decided that their policy of gift wrapping a multibillion-dollar pipeline for vladimir putin and russia was so important that they wanted to deny congress even a vote on it, under katska. it was passed for precisely these circumstances, for an administration that refused to follow u.s. law and refused to y with tough sanctions on russia. that's what the advocates of caatsa argued. this was to force an administration to obey u.s. law and stand up to russia. at the time the democrats believed they were speaking about the trump administration, but the principles behind caatsa apply equally to joe biden's defying the law and giving this gift to vladimir putin at the expense of u.s. national

security interests. this administration has had a path for months to clear these nominees. it has declined to exercise that path, that path remains before it nonetheless because this nominee and the next one are directly relevant to cleaning up the mess that the biden administration has made in afghanistan, i do not object. the presiding officer: is there objection? without objection. the clerk will report the nomination. the clerk: nomination, department of state, donald lu, of california, to be assistant secretary for south asian affairs. the presiding officer: the question is on the nomination. all in favor say aye. opposed, no. the ayes appear to have it. the ayes do have it. the nomination is agreed to.

mr. menendez: madam president. the presiding officer: the senator from new jersey. mr. menendez: i ask consent that the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table, that no further motions be in relation to the nomination that the president be needly notified of the senate's action. the presiding officer: is there objection? without objection. mr. menendez: madam president. the presiding officer: the senator from new jersey. mr. menendez: i clearly don't share my colleague from texas' views, but for the sake of the senate's work, i will respond to it at another time. i ask unanimous consent that the senate proceed to the consideration of calendar number 150, brett m. holmgren to secretary of state, and that the senate vote on the nomination without intervening action or debate. the presiding officer: is there objection? mr. cruz: madam president. the presiding officer: the senator from texas. mr. cruz: reserving the right to object it for the same reasons i just articulated. that this position is directly related to trying to clean up

the mess, the disaster the biden administration has created in afghanistan. i intend not to object to this nomination. the remaining holds remain in place and the administration can lift the treasury holds and the career state holds any time they want by following the law under caatsa and either imposing sanctions or if they don't want to impose sanctions on russia, triggering a vote in congress so this body can decide whether or not sanctions can be imposed on russia. the administration has had that option in front of it for many weeks and still has that option. i do not object. the presiding officer: without objection, so ordered. the question is on the nomination many all in favor say aye. opposed, no. the ayes appear to have it. the ayes do have it. the nomination is confirmed.

mr. menendez: madam president. the presiding officer: the senator from new jersey. mr. menendez: i ask unanimous consent that the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table all without intervening action or debate, that any statements relate to the nomination be printed in the record and the president be immediately notified of the senate's actions. the presiding officer: is there objection? without objection, it is so ordered. mr. menendez: madam president, i ask unanimous consent that the senate proceed to the consideration of calendar number 322, brian a. nichols to be an assistant secretary of state for the western hemisphere and the senate vote on the nomination without intervening action or debate. the presiding officer: is there objection? mr. cruz: madam president. the presiding officer: the senator from texas. mr. cruz: reserving the right to object. i lifted my hold on this nominee a number of weeks ago and for that reason i do not object. the presiding officer: without objection, it is so ordered. the clerk will report. the clerk: nomination, department of state, brian a. nichols, of rhode island, to be assistant secretary of state.

the presiding officer: the question is on the nomination. all in favor say ayele. -- say aye. opposed, no. the ayes appear to have it. the ayes do have it. the nomination is confirmed. mr. menendez: madam president. the presiding officer: the senator from new jersey. mr. menendez: the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table all without intervening action or debate, no further motions be in order to the nomination, any statements related to the nomination be printed in the record, that the president be immediately notified of the senate's actions. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. menendez: madam president. the presiding officer: the senator from new jersey. mr. menendez: i ask unanimous consent the senate proceed to the consideration of calendar number 323, marcella escobari and that the senate vote on the nomination without intervening action or debate. the presiding officer: is there objection? the senator from texas. mr. cruz: reserving the right to object. as i described minutes ago, the biden administration is in outright defiance of federal law, an overwhelming bipartisan

majority in the senate and the house has passed tough sanctions on russia, sanctions that worked, sanctions that shut down the nord stream 2 pipeline for more than a year. when president biden came into office, he chose to override federal law and to give a multibillion-dollar gift to vladimir putin and russia, that decision is a generational geopolitical mistake. it harms u.s. national security interests, it benefits russia and hurts europe. moreover, my holds on these nominations, i have expressed to the administration in writing and orally, they have a path to lifting the holds on the treasury department nominees and the career state department nominees simply by either enforcing sanctions on caatsa on russia or overriding those sanctions an triggering a vote in this body where members of this body can register our views

on whether joe biden is correct in giving this multibillion-dollar gift to vladimir putin that undermines our national security. accordingly, i object. the presiding officer: objection is heard. mr. menendez: madam president. the presiding officer: the senator from new jersey. mr. menendez: madam president, it is unfortunate that this last nominee is objected to. this particular position, when you're talking about haiti, we're talking about have an assistant administrator that can help us restore the tragic situation in haiti to a place in which people can live in, won't seek migration to the united states when we talk about what's happening in the western hemisphere, in venezuela where there is a huge humanitarian set of refugees leaving, when we talk about what is happening in cuba with reference to the movements for democracy. this particular position would be dealing with all of that and i must say i know that my colleague wants to say none of this would have changed anything.

that's not the case. i'm not saying the ultimate result in afghanistan would have changed, but certainly when we do not have people in key positions advocating for the united states national security and policy, it exacerbates the set of circumstances because we don't have the wherewithal to do what is necessary and there are many other key positions that i'll be coming to the senate floor and highlighting how that has a risk to national security. finally, i would just simply say caatsa was violated by president trump when he exercised no sanctions on the same issue that my colleague is concerned about. i happen to agree with him on the issue, i disagree with him in the process in which he's pursuing it. but that started with president trump. by the way, president trump started with a surrender agreement to the taliban. he gave them everything, got nothing in return, let them have 5,000 prisoners, taliban

prisoners, that were returned to the taliban that added to the fighting force, got none of the commitments that were necessary to deal with a negotiation or peace deal with the afghan government. got nothing at all except a total surrender and then dramatically reduced the troop levels at that time. there's a lot to talk about about afghanistan, not only in the immediate context, but over what happened over the last 20 years. the senate foreign relations committee intends to do that extensive review through a set of hearings. let's put history where it belongs, in the right context. i yield the floor. the presiding officer: the clerk will report the motion to invoke cloture. the clerk: cloture motion, we, the undersigned senators, in accordance with the provisions of rule 22, do hereby bring to a close debate on the nomination of executive calendar number 64, james richard kvaal, of

massachusetts, to be under secretary of education, signed by 18 senators. the presiding officer: by unanimous consent, the mandatory quorum call has been waived. the question is is it the sense of the senate that debate on the nomination of james richard kvaal, of massachusetts, to be under secretary of education, shall be brought to a close? the yeas and nays are mandatory under the rule. the clerk will call the roll. vote: vote:

vote:

vote:

the presiding officer: the yeas are 5, the nays a 37. the motion is agreed to. the presiding officer: the senator from ohio. mr. brown: thank you, mr. president. a week ago today we celebrated

labor day, a day to honor america's workers, a day to honor the labor movement that built this country and built our middle class. it recognizes all -- it recognizes all americans working hard every day to support families and contribute to community and power our economy. i know over the summer, i've been all over my state of ohio talking with those workers, steelworkers in toledo, bus drivers in canton, v.a. health care workers serving our veterans in chili consequently thee, union mechanics in columbus. they live in different communities, come from different backgrounds, but work -- dignity of work unites all of us. we take pride in hard work in this country, and we believe -- we believe, as dr. king said, and pope leo 13th, said, that all work had dignity, whether

you punch a clock or swipe a badge, whether you are a raising children or whether you are a new grandparent. no matter who you are, where you live or what kind of work you do. for far too many people hard work isn't paying off. productivity is going up. stock prices have soared. executive compensation is stratospheric but wages have barely budged. this isn't an accident of the market. it's not an inevitable result of our system of capitalism. wall street has the power in this economy. they're obsessed with accumulating more wealth for the people who already have it. the system we have where most of the gains in the economy seem to go to those at the top, is by wall street's explicit design and it comes with the direct expense -- at the direct expense of american workers. we don't always make the connection. people are rightfully angry. but they don't think about how decisions in corporate boardrooms and on the floors of

stock, changes thousands of miles away affect their job opportunities and their wages. corporations focus on short-term performance, on the stock market, not the long-term success of the company and its workers. their main goal, too often, becomes increasing stock prices quarter it quarter. that's how c.e.o. performance is evaluate add. they're compensated in large part with company shares. stocks can account for as much as half of an executive's compensation package. corporations, therefore, juice those stock prices by repurchasing their own stock, what we call stock buybacks. here's how it works. there are a finite number of company shares at any given time. purchasing shares will decrease the number of shares available to investors and, therefore, drive up the price and value of the remaining shares. existing shareholders will see their stock value increase. lo and behold, often those

existing shareholders are the executives of the company. this is often an even more attractive option to executives than dividends because buybacks are more flexible and under current law, under current law, they aren't taxed until the shares are sold. that's what we tant to change. the economy hasn't always worked this way. a few decades ago, most of wall street capital funded the real economy -- wages, research, machinery, expansion of the company. stock buybacks used to be considered illegal market manipulation. stock buybacks used to be considered illegal market manipulation. today they've become routine. now only 15% of capital goes to the real economy while the amount corporations spend on buy backs has just exploded. between 200 had and 2013 home depot, one of the -- a great company by most measures -- home

depot in that decade spend 99% of its net income on stock buybacks. 99% of its net income on stock buy backs. i.h. i.b.m. spent 92%. some companies spend close to 100% on buyrather than investing in research and development. it's only gotten worse since washington republicans' 2017 tax giveaway to these corporations. i've pointed this out before. the lobbyists down the hall in front of senator mcconnell's office, the copper rat lobbyists that lined up one after another after senator. mr. mcconnell: decided on behalf of his members and with president trump during the trump-mcconnell presidency how senator mcconnell handed these companies a windfall. mr. brown: their executives

turned around -- i remember senator mcconnell when he walked down the haul here doing his conversations with his lobbyist friends, i'd walk down the hall and stand with the then-majority leader and the tax giveaway is part of the reason he is no longer the majority leader. but he would say that that's going to trickle down and workers are going to get raises and companies are going to expand and benefits are going to go to the whole economy. not affect what happened. when he handed them that windfall, the executives that were lobbying him, the executives that were contributing to the campaigns ashes the executives who controlled the wall street editorial board, you no he what they did? they turned around, plowed that money right back into stock buybacks which meant, lo and behold, right in their own pockets much the largest u.s. companies in 2018 right after the tax giveaway, over a trillion dollars, 70% went to the richest one percent. don't forget that number.

2018, the largest u.s. companies spent more than $800 billion in stock buybacks, a 50% increase in from the previous year because they got that largess from the federal treasury. they spent more on stock buybacks than on department expenditures and research andvestment and on dividends, in other words, the real economy. no now in 2021, millions struggle to get back on their feet. you might think things were change. we're hearing a lot of companies -- you hear it in arizona, in ohio -- a lot of companies complain about supposed labor shortages. you might think that these companies that are sitting on cash, it might cause companies to reassess. they need more workers. maybe they should cut back on juicing their stock buybacks. instead, they could permanently raise pay or increase retirement contributions or offer better health care plans or invest in new training programs, all of those to attract new,

better-paid, more sophisticated, happier workers. but, no, this year corporate stock buybacks are on track to approach or even surpass the 2018 record. proponents of stock buybacks argue that companies purchase their own shares only after considering other value-creating investment options. in other words, companies are arguing, you know, wees don't stock buybacks. you're right. it makes us richer individually. we can buy that third or fourth home in florida or on the cape or on lake erie or whatever. but we consider everything that would be good for the company. we funded all that. then we do stock buybacks. that's a ridiculous argument. talk to any people in cleveland or marietta or springfield, anywhere outside of wall street, ask these people family's if they can think of a better investment for the trillions, trillions, thousands of billions, trillions of dollars in wealth american workers have created. but of course executives' personal interests influence their decision-making.

one study of 2,500 companies found that the greater the percentage stock options and executive compensation packages, the more likely a company was to make stock buybacks. that's fairly logical. the more -- the greater the percentage of stock options in executive compensation package, the more likely a company was to do stock options. -- execution -- excuse me to make stock buybacks. so we start with a new bill by senator that senator wyden and i are introducing, the stock buyback accountability act. the tax code is one of the best tools we have to influence businesses. if you want to buy back your own stock, you have to pay a 2% tax on the money you make off of it. 29% is pretty small, a hell of a lot less than the tax rate that workers at first solar which i am going to visit this week are

paying. or workers at whirlpool or workers at the local corner store, at the local dave's supermarket in garfield heights are paying. but that little tax will make companies think a little harder about whether stock buybacks are really the best use of their trillions in profits. i hope it will make it a little more likely they'll invest their money in something useful, something like a new factory or research into new products or training and apprentice h.tiesship programs or raises for the workers making these profits possible. has to be the goal of any stock buyback plan. it is not about punishing executives. i am indifferent. i have always believed it is who you fight for and what you fight against. i will always fight for workers in this job. i don't have any interest in punishing executives. i just don't want to unduly reward them at the expense of workers. it's about executives paying their fair share, just like their do. it is about changing the incentives in our economy so more of our country's wealth

gets invested to the people who create it. we've known for years that stock buybacks are a problem. they distort the market, lead to less long-term economic growth, they direct -- they divert investment from workers. that's why i talk worker pay you not stock buybacks. we have a chance to do something about it. after years of politicians talking about reining in wall street, now is the than to do something about it. create a fairer tax system -- creating a fairer tax system is one of the simplest ways to change the wall street and corporations' first system that americans are so tired of. we make this simple fix to finally, finally crack down on stock buybacks. we get rid of the tax breaks for corporations that ship american jobs overseas,. we make multinational corporations pay their fair share instead of always, always, always forcing working families to foot the bill. we crack down on wealthy tax cheats that game the system.

we give working families the largest tax cut ever. we did that in the bill we passed in march. we're going to do that in the bills we pass this fall. it comes back to the dignity of work. wall street simply doesn't recognize that all work has dignity. they consider shareholders' equity all that matters a. but workers have equity in a company, too. it is called sweat equity. it is time they were rewarded for it. worker pay, not stock buybacks. mr. president, i yield the floor.

the presiding officer: the majority leader is recognized. h. mr. schumer: i ask unanimous consent the senate proceed to legislative session and be in a period of morning business with senators permitted to speak for up to ten minutes each. the presiding officer: without objection,so ordered. mr. schumer: mr. president, i ask unanimous consent that when the senate completes its

business today it adjourn until 10:00 a.m., tuesday, september 14. following the prayer and pledge, the morning hour deemed expired, the journal of proceedings be approved to date, the time for the two leaders be reserved for use later in the day and morning business be closed. that upon the conclusion of morning business, the senate proceed to executive session to resume consideration of the kvaal nomination postcloture. further, that all postcloture time on the kvaal nomination expire at 11:30, that following the cloture vote on the estudillo nomination the senate recess until 2:15 to allow for meetings. that if cloture is invoked all postcloture on the estudillo nomination is expired. that time on the kelley nomination be expired and motions to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table and the president be immediately notified of the senate's action. the presiding officer: is there objection? without objection,so ordered. mr. schumer: for the information of senators, there will be two

roll call votes at 11:30 a.m., two roll call votes at 2:20 p.m., two roll call votes at 5:30 p.m. if there is no further business to come before the senate, i ask that it stand adjourned under the previous order. the presiding officer: the senate has adjourned until senate has adjourned until in the senate gaveling out for the day. on the nomination of james to be under secretary of education for this week work on several judicial nomination and legislation concerning election reform and voting rights. when the senate returns you can watch live coverage here on cspan2. c-span is your unfiltered view of government funded by these television companies and more including charter communications. broadband is a force for empowerment charter has

invested billions in infrastructure, upgrading technology, empowering opportunity, and communities big and small. charter is connecting us to request charter communications support c-span as a public service. along with these other television providers giving you a front row seat to democracy. click saturday was a 20th anniversary of the september 11 terrorist attacks. today, several senators came to the floor to speak about the anniversary and the war in afghanistan. flex madam president i rise to speak to 911 and the 20th anniversary, but before that i would like to address some of the remarks made by the minority leader, the republican leader in the senate, senator mcconnell just a few minutes ago. he discussed, and context of the biden