vote:

vote:

vote:

the presiding officer: the yeas are 51, the nays are 46. the motion is agreed to. the clerk will report the nomination. the clerk: nomination, the judiciary, michael s. nachmanoff of virginia to be united states district judge for the eastern district of virginia. the presiding officer: the clerk will report the motion to invoke cloture. the clerk: cloture motion, we, the undersigned senators, in

accordance with the provisions of rule 22 of the standing rules of the senate do hereby move to bring to a close the debate on the nomination of executive calendar number 366, sarala vidya nagala of for united states district judge for the district of connecticut. the presiding officer: the quorum call has been waived. the question is if the nomination of michael s. nachmanoff 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 52 asian the nays are 56ment. the clerk: sarala nagala to be

united states district judge for the district of connecticut. mr. schumer: i ask unanimous consent that the senate consider the following nominations en bloc, p 429 jeffrey lane flake of arizona, to be ambassador extraordinary and plenipotentiary of the united states of america to the republic of turkey. calendar number 430, tom udall from new mexico to be ambassador extraordinary and plenipotentiary of the united states to new zealand and to serve concurrently without additional compensation as ambassador extraordinary and plenipotentiary of the united states to the independent state of samoa and senator 459, victoria reggie of massachusetts to be ambassador extraordinary and plenipotentiary of the united states to the republic of austria. that the senate vote on the nominations en bloc without intervening action or debate, the motions to reconsider be considered made and laid upon

the table, with no intervening action or debate, that any statements related to the nominations be printed in the record and that the president be immediately notified of the senate's action. the presiding officer: is there objection? without objection. the clerk will report the nominations en bloc. the clerk: nominations, department of state. jeffrey lane flake of arizona to be ambassador to the republic of turkey. tom udall of new mexico to be ambassador to new zealand and to the independent state much so mow with a. -- samoa. victoria massachusetts to be ambassador to the republic of austria. the presiding officer: question occurs on the nominations. all those in favor, say aye. those opposed, say no. the ayes appear to have it. the ayes do have it. the nominations are confirmed en bloc. mr. schumer: i yield to the senator from arizona for an additional nomination.

mr. kelly: madam president, in arizona we've always admired cindy mccain's dedication to our country. i know sheeve below believes deeply in the power of america to promote peace, security, and health around the world which will serve her and our country well in her nomination position. i ask unanimous consent that the senate consider calendar number 457 and that the senate vote on the nomination without intervening action or debate. the presiding officer: is there objection? without objection. the clerk will report. the clerk: nomination, department of state. cindy hensley mccain of arizona to be united states representative to the united nations agencies for food and agriculture. the presiding officer: the question is on the nomination. all those in favor, say aye. those opposed, say no. the ayes appear to have it. the ayes do have it.

the nomination is confirmed. mr. kelly: i ask unanimous consent that the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table, all without intervening action or debate, that no further motions be in order to the nomination, that any statements related to the nomination be printed in the record, that the president be immediately notified of the senate's action. the presiding officer: is there objection? without objection. the majority leader. mr. schumer: madam president, for the information of the senate, at 5:30 p.m. the senate will vote today on the confirmation of the cobb, williams and giles nominations, in that order. a senator: madam president, i

have eight requests for committees to meet during today's session. senate. they have approval of the majority and the minority leaders. the presiding officer: duly noted. mr. coons: i also want to extend my congratulations to four individuals, four friends of both former colleagues and folks i have known for a long time, who have just been confirmed by the senate of the united states and their confirmations will be conveyed to the president and they will begin their service. i wanted to brief thank the members of this senate for acting quickly and appropriately to confirm the nominations of senator flake to represent us in turkey, of senator udall to represent us in new zealand, vicki kennedy to represent us as ambassador to austria and mrs. cindy mccain to represent us in rome. all four of these nominations i remain concerned about how

many nominees await action here. there are dozens of countries where there is no confirmed american dosh and i hope that this moment of progress will be a predictor of other progress to come soon in terms of other confirmations. madam president, i come to the floor to speak to the fiscal year 2022 state foreign operations appropriations bill. every year as december approaches, we finally roll up our sleeves and get serious about passing the critical appropriations bills that fund our government for the new fiscal year, and this year should be no different. we are in fact already a month into fy 2022 and until we complete our work on the appropriations committee, federal agencies are compelled to run on autopilot, something that they can manage for a few weeks, even a few months, but it creates immense problems for agencies and has grave consequences for every state and county, municipality in this country if it goes on too long. what i am talking about today,

madam president, is the grave risk that we will end up with a continuing resolution. a continuing resolution doesn't sound that scary, but it's appropriations speak-speak for doing nothing, for a zombie government, for conducting business as if time has stopped and nothing has changed. and as the relatively new chairman of the appropriations subcommittee on state and foreign operations, i'm acutely aware that running our government on autopilot undermines the ability of the united states to be a global leader, to defend and advance our national security and foreign interests, to counter the influence and aggression of our competitors and adversaries. if we were to continue month after month through this entire fiscal with no appropriation, what are the things that have happened that we would fail to respond to? well, tragically in ethiopia and afghanistan, there are

humanitarian crises unfolding before our eyes n. haiti during the recent earth qaig and political changes, armed gangs have taken over much of the capitol and tens of thousands are homeless. in venezuela, the ongoing crisis with the ma dura regime continues to worsen as millions of venezuelans flee seeking refuge. we're also continuing to work to vaccinate the world, to stop further the spread of covid-19, and prevent the development of even more deadly variants than the delta variant. last year state and foreign operations bill included a small fraction of what is now widely recognized as being essential to prepare for the next outbreak of a deadly virus which could be even more lethal than covid-19 or ebola and more transmissible. a continuing resolution would deny the u.s. government the resources included in this year's bill to lead the global pandemic response. now, mr. president, there having

been a change in who is presiding, i will not attempt to go through the entire roughly 320 pages of this year's nearly $60 billion state and foreign operations appropriations bill. but i do want to talk about it at the top level, some of the most important provisions and some of the most significant ways in which it deals with ongoing challenges in our world. last year's bill included almost nothing to help nations deal with the worst impacts of climate change. impacts that are occurring with greater frequency and intense si than previously predicted. rising temperatures, severe droughts, food shortages, flooding, fires and other extreme weather events are more and more common here in our own country and around the world. last year's bill continued the counterproductive practice of failing to meet our assessed dues at the united nations adding another $it00 -- $200 million in arrears, arrears that are nearly a billion dollars.

if we continue this another year with a c.r., who benefits the most from our delinquency, from our absence at the world stage and all the different entities within the united nations? china. china has been methodically paying what it owes, expanding its influence and has already surpassed us as the largest donor to several different u.n. agencies. if you think that doesn't matter, imagine a world in which china is the largest contributors, supporter, shareholder, influencer of united nations organizations. and as the largest number of employees and sets the rules and standards at the dozens of u.n. entities that are critical to global commerce, to global society, and to the rules-based national order. last year our bill shortchanged u.s. public diplomacy in broadcasting and we saw as a result an emboldened russia government expel radio for all and its staff. last year's bill did positive things. it rejected the trump administration's proposed deep

cuts to the state department, to operations and personnel. but it did little to fill the yawning gap caused by a hiring freeze and steady attrition due to a loss of morale. practically all of our embassies or consulates and usaid missions are today operating at below and in some cases far below their authorized staffing, their critically needed capacity. over the last four years i'll say that our reputation as a stalwart defender of democratic values and of human rights, a reputation earned over decades was tarnished, reaffirming those values and rebuilding our reputation requires more than brave speeches and good words. it requires investing in the staff and the personnel, the organizations and the programs that support human rights and that fight for democracy around the world. i know senators of both parties recognize the imperative of our maintaining our reputation as the world's leading democracy, of fully staffing our embassies, of strengthening our alliances, of countering growing russian

and chinese influence and of maintaining our world leadership role in public health by responding to the covid-19 pandemic. but what also needs to be recognized is that none of this is possible if we simply continue funding these requirements at last year's level. the fiscal year 2022 state and foreign operations bill was posted on the appropriations committee website monday, and i am introducing it as a bill in total today. i urge our republican colleagues to work with us to arrive at a top-line for f.y.2022 appropriations, to complete work on this and the other appropriations bills, and to avoid a year long continuing resolution that is in no one's interest. this year's state and foreign operations bill was drafted with input from leaders in both parties which has been our long-standing practice. senator graham of south carolina, the former chairman and now ranking member, has been an invaluable partner. he and i have traveled to a

number of countries together and i value his ideas, his input and his priorities and those of his staff. many of his ideas are reflected in the f.y.2022 bill. as our request of many senators of both parties. every draft of this bill was shared and edited by both sides. neither senator graham nor i got everything we wanted, nor should we expect to. there are things that his side opposes. there are things that my side wanted that are not included because of his objections. contrary to what some have suggested, this was not a partisan process. does this bill differ from what the republicans would have drafted if they were in the majority? of course. but it is in fact a compromise, the result of disciplined and thorough negotiation between both parties. we did our best to incorporate the request of other senators regardless of party, and if we included every dollar that was asked of us, we would need a budget allocation five times the amount we were given to spend. that alone tells you a great

deal about the strong bipartisan support for global leadership and engagement. the budget allocation our subcommittee was given is in fact $1.75 billion below president biden's budget request. and that made us make even tougher budget choices than we initially imagined. the entire budget ams to only -- amounts to only 1% of the federal budget. contrary to a methodology many of us here out on the stump and town halls and in campaign events, folks to come to us all the time who imagine if we eliminated foreign aid, we'd cover the entire federal debt. 1%, 1% of the federal budget is dedicated to our state department or usaid professionals, our engagement in world organizations, all of the good that is done on behalf of the united states and that strengthens our role in strategic and i would say moral leadership in the world at a time when our allies are under unprecedented pressure.

the fiscal year 2022 state and foreign operations bill provides critically needed funds to rebuild the muscles of the state department and usaid, to fill vacant personnel positions, to allow for diplomats and aide workers to serve as professional and dedicated representatives of the united states around the world. i'll remind you many of them serve in dangerous and remote posts, from the horn of africa to south asia to central america, but unlike our men and women in uniform, they don't carry weapons to defend themselves. they instead carry the full faith and credit of the united states, our reputation and our support, and our thanks. and there are provisions we should be adding to future bills to ensure they have the full support they need and deserve to have successful careers representing us overseas. as i mentioned earlier, the clarity with which we all see, the urgency of combating climate change has become sharper and sharper. as natural disaster and natural

disaster imposes billions of dollars of costs on the american people. this bill provides nearly $2 billion in proactive investments in key climate programs to support clean energy technologies and help other countries adapt to climate change. this should be a priority for the senate and the united states. there are parts of the world already experiencing temperatures that make life unbearable, where water scarcity is an existential threat, food insecurity is increasing and there is a risk of widespread hunger. in coming years projections are the number of migrants driven from their home countries by climate change will increase dramatically to tens of millions of people moving across the face of the world, driven by climate change. it is not too late for us to act but it nearly is. and this significant investment, meeting the president's budget request, in fact in some areas exceeding it is, i think, an important signal of our

commitment to combat climate change. this bill also provides a billion dollars to support global health security, an $800 million increase in the current level, recognizing the global pandemic in which we are currently struggling to provide vaccines and public health support for the rest of the world. it also provides support for a wide range of sustained and bipartisan long-term global health investments, combating malaria, polio, tuberculosis, nutrition, water, and sanitation programs and maintaining support for the pet program to combat hiv-aids first nish yited -- initiated by president george bush and sustained by predecessor administrations. this also maintains critical support for vital allies and partners, for the nation, of israel and jordan and other allies throughout the world and it pays our commitments to international organizations like nato and the iaea. it provides funds to opportunity our leadership role as the

world's largest contributor to the u.n. world food programme which won the nobel peace prize last year for the critical lifesaving difference they made in feeding the most vulnerable people and responding to the current global humanitarian crisis. this bill includes a nearly $150 million increase for vital programs in central america to address poverty, violence, and other root causes of migration while also attempting to address the rampant corruption and impunity within the golfs of the countries of central -- governments of countries of central america which we look to partner. i want to point out the u.s. international development corporation, something a number of us had a hand in crafting will have an increased budget by more than a hundred million dollars to support private sector investment in development overseas with standards that are higher, that are more transparent in terms of labor,

environment, and fiscal soundness and trains parenty. i think this is critical for the road initiative and the towns have a new tool to partner with our closest allies and develop finance. this also provides $900 million to the millennium challenge corporation, another nish yif of the bush administration sustained by its successors that has demonstrated that long-term compacts with clear standards and clear metrics can contribute meaningfully to development in the third world. the bill supports programs to protect and promote internet freedom, religious freedom and freedom of expression all of which are critical ways that we don't just talk about but we show our values in the world, and it increases funding for programs to support free and fair elections, human rights, and democratic institutions. at a time when thore authoritarianism is gaining ground in nearly every region of the world.

no country has the ability to -- to match the united states when it comes to standing up to ruthless dictators. people everywhere are counting on us to do so. this prioritizes funding for combat national crime and corruption and hold accountable foreign officials who enrich themselves at the expense of their own people. and it provides funding to help countries, especially those hardest hit by the pandemic, to reform and strengthen struggling economies. and for the first time it highlights the need for greater engagement through diplomacies and specific programs in the arctic region which is rapidly becoming an area focused in strategic competition. mr. president, whether it's investing in rebuilding the professional staff at the state department and usaid, whether it's shoring up our alliances and our partnerships with key allies, or reasserting u.s. diplomatic leadership in international organizations, it is the funding and the authorities in this bill that will enable us to remain and to

strengthen our role as a global leader. as president biden leads to go to the -- leaves to go to the g20, to the global climate summit in glasgow, we should be sending a strong signal of support. we should be taking up and passing this bill. if we simply remain on autopilot, if we doom the agencies i've spoken about in my brief remarks today to a zombie year on autopilot, we will weaken our standing in the world. we will take a critical tool out of the tool kit of our president who i believe many of us supported because of his ability to represent us well on the world stage and in recognition of the many crises that confront our world today. appropriating funds for the federal government is among our most important responsibilities under article 1 of our constitution. it is not something to be casual or blahs day or nonchalant about. it's something to take up to seriously debate and to act on.

with just six weeks before the continuing resolution runs out, it is time for us to act on the state and foreign operations bill and all the other fiscal 2022 appropriations bills so we can avoid zombie government under a continuing resolution and demonstrate that the senate of the united states can still legislate in the best interests of the american people. thank you, mr. president. with that i yield the floor. and i suggest the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. quorum call:

mr. lee: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from utah. mr. lee: i ask unanimous consent that the quorum call be suspended. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. lee: mr. president, i'll be making remarks regarding a unanimous consent request i am about to make. in temperatures to my colleague from washington, i'll make the -- in deference to my colleague from washington, i'll make the request first rather than speaking first. i ask unanimous consent as if in legislative session that the committee on health, education, labor, and pensions be discharged from further consideration of s. 2841 and the senate proceed to its immediate consideration. further, i ask unanimous consent that the bill be considered read a third time and passed, and that the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table. the presiding officer: is there objection? mrs. murray: mr. president. the presiding officer: the senator from washington. mrs. murray: reserving the right to object, i do have good

news for my colleague. and everyone looking for good news about vaccines. the c.d.c. publishes and releases data about vaccines. everyone can go to the c.d.c. website right now at cdc government and some more good news, the data overwhelmingly shows niece vaccines meet f.d.a.'s rigorous standards of safety and effectiveness. so now that that's been cleared up. i hope instead of wasting anymore time on bills like this, bills which threaten to undermine public confidence in vaccines and trust in our public health experts by ignoring the thorough work they already do to provide clear, scientific data, we can instead focus on what we can all do to finally end this pandemic, which has now killed over 730,000 people and counting.

and rebuild our country stronger and fair he. thank you, mr. president. i object. the presiding officer: objection is heard. the senator from utah. mr. lee: mr. president, in recent years, particularly those on the other side of the aisle have called for, declared, and demanded that we rebuild what they call trust in government. well, i believe that americans must have a healthy distrust of the idea of government and that any expansion of the necessarily limited powers of the federal government, that does not exempt government from the obligation of being trustworthy. that, mr. president, is why i find the position that so many of my colleagues across the aisle to be taking are so

confusing. trust but verify. trust your neighbor, count the cards. people need information with which to analyze the faithfulness of government and to assess the facts as they deem appropriate. they claim that americans must be forced, coerced, prodded, cajoled, threatened into making the government-approved medical decision. but heaven forbid if someone resists, objects due to moral or religious belief or opts out of being vaccinated due to specific unique health concerns, she's derided and ignored. and if the current presidential administration has its way, forced out of her job. all of this is supposed to build a safer and more trusting

society? this argument is totalitarian and it's wrong. the united states is an open society, and the only way by which c government can build trust with the american people is to earn it. and the government will earn that trust only through transparency. i've document senate floor now -- i've come to the senate floor now nine times to oppose president biden's immoral, unwise, and damaging vaccine mandate. i've committed to keep this going for as long as it takes to beat the mandate. i've introduced now a dozen bills to counteract, restrict, or limit the mandate. i do all this because i've heard from over 300 utahans, from one end of the state to the other, who are at risk of losing their livelihoods due to this aggressive government overreach.

overreach of the government is staggering here. it's an overreach the likes of which we haven't seen in this country in a long time, the likes of which we arguably haven't seen since april 8, 1952, when president harry truman seized every steel mill in america in order to support the korean war effort. fortunately, within a couple of months the supreme court of the united states acted and invalidated that maneuver as unlawful, unconstitutional, which of course it was. in this instance that hasn't happened, because with respect to the osha mandate, the employer mandate, the one saying that all employers with more than 99 employees have to comply, have to fire people who aren't vaccinated, there's

nothing there because the authority doesn't exist. but in the meantime, corporate america is picking up the slack and doing the president's dirty work for him. but it is a government overreach, and it's an overreach that's harming good people, people who are not enemies of the united states. no, they're not enemies to anyone. they're our neighbors, our fellow citizens and our friends. their stories are as tragic as they are moving. and yet, this administration seems bent on assuming that they have no voice, on giving them no voice. don't get me wrong, i'm not against the mandate. i'm -- i'm against the mandate. i'm not against the vaccine, not in any way. i'm fully vaccinated.

my entire family has been vaccinated. i've encouraged people to get vaccinated for the specific reason that i see the vaccines as miracles, miracles that are protecting many, many millions of americans from the harms of covid-19. but if government is trying to encourage americans to get vaccinated, hiding information about their concerns with the vaccine is the worst possible way to build trust. it has the exact opposite of what they claim they're trying to do. existing concerns, make no mistake, are not just going to evaporate if they're ignored, and the government's lack of transparency should be just as concerning to americans who aren't worried about the vaccine as it is to those who are. government should never be in the business of hiding information about the adverse effects and risks involved, no

matter how infrequent or uncommon they might be. and the government has, let's face it, been less than forthright with information about vaccine complications. adverse reactions to the vaccine have been documented since the covid-19 shot became available. the administration's message has been get the vaccine. it's safe, period. now if individuals pose questions about possible risks, about its interactions with other medical treatments, or about rare reactions seen directly after its administration, they're often pushed aside, denied proper care, or deemed crazy conspiracy theorists for trying to scare the public away from the vaccine. sadly, this breeds distrust and it threatens the ability of those who experience rare

vaccine injuries the ability to access the proper treatment, care, and respect they deserve. we should all be able to agree that this type of governmental deception has no place in the united states. that's why today i came to the floor to offer the transparency in covid-19 vaccination act. this bill would require the secretary of state of health and human services to publicly disclose all information regarding adverse effects of the covid-19 vaccines. this sunshine would help clear the air and allow individuals and the medical community the opportunity to make informed decisions. this clarity would also be an important step toward building trust with the american public. americans have the best, most accurate information when they

make medical decisions, at least they try to, and they deserve to have the best and most accurate information when they make medical decisions. this bill would ensure that happens. that's why i came to the floor to offer it today, offer that we pass it, and offer the protections. now, my friend and distinguished colleague, the senator from washington regret polyobjected to it. -- regrettably objected to it. in doing so, she argued that it's not necessary because according to the senator from washington, all the information that they need is now available. in many instances it's not. this bill would require that it be made available, all of it. the c.d.c. does collect information on it, but the american people don't have

access, full access to that information. that begs the question of why? why would anyone want to do that? i don't know why. to me, it doesn't make sense, especially if one wants to increase the number of people getting the vaccine, as i do. i'd like to see more people getting vaccinated because i think the vaccine is something of a medical miracle and protecting many americans from the ill effects of covid-19. we want them to being protected, we want them to get vaccinated. it doesn't mean government should force it on them, and it certainly doesn't mean that government should be perceived in any way as being less than forthcoming with information that it gains access to. that's all this bill would require. that's not hard. there's nothing wrong with doing

that. in fact, my colleague from washington insists that it's already done. if that's the case, what's wrong with putting that into law? there isn't anything we should do or do it. i'll be back on this and other topics related to the covid-19 vaccine mandates. all this is unfortunate. no one is happy about the fact that covid-19 has touched our country in the way that it has. it's been painful, it's devastating. the 730,000 americans who have died with covid are tragedies, each and every one of them. there's nothing about government overreach that will bring them back. there's certainly not anything about government overreach

that's going to have a proper influence on the american people. there's certainly not anything about government hiding the ball when it comes to data that the american people deserve and want to have access to that's going to make people better. we want more people to get vaccinated. and because of that, we want them to have the facts. we should do that. thank you, mr. president.

mr. cornyn: mr. president. the presiding officer: the senator from texas. mr. cornyn: mr. president, i ask unanimous consent that the quorum call be dispensed with. i gather there is no quorum call. the presiding officer: the senate is not in a quorum call right now. mr. cornyn: thank you, mr. president. after failing to pass any radical climate proposals this year, it appears our colleagues across the aisle are in a panic mode. the reason is later this week president biden will be traveling to glassgow, along with additional members of congress for a u.n. climate summit and it looks like they are going to show up empty handed. the president has talked a big game when it comes to climate

change. on the campaign trail he promised that electric sector -- the electric sector would be carbon free by 2035. he committed to building 1.5 million energy efficient homes in public housing units and said that the united states would transition from oil and gas. of course he'll be long gone from office so he'll never be held accountable for these projections even if they miss by a mile, which i predict they will. but the fact is he's failed to make good on his promises to fundamentally transform the energy landscape in america, and i would suggest, mr. president, that's for a very good reason. policies that drive up costs for the american people hurt our energy security and enrich our adversaries don't typically get a lot of traction here in the united states congress.

two and a half years ago we saw a great example of how unpopular these policies are when the pie in the sky green new deal came to the senate floor for a vote. not a single senator voted for that bill. even the members who introduced it were too afraid to vote yes because of the blowback. but now that our democratic colleagues control all levers of the federal government, afraid of their radical base their calculus seems to have changed, so they are trying to jam these radical policies in the multitrillion-dollar taxing-and-spending expeng bill known as reconciliation. needing only democrat support to get it to the president's desk,

our democrat completion are having a problem trying to gree. because president biden has a deadline and wants to look good in front of other world leaders in glassgow, it's crunch time. they have a problem. no bill has even been written or even seen the light of day. there's a steady stream of reporting about what outrageous policies are in and which are out, but none of us have seen a bill. we haven't seen it in writing, if it exists at all. based on reporting, though massive tax hikes on the energy sector appear to be in the mix. energy companies would pay higher taxes on income earned in the global marketplace and subject it to double taxation of their foreign income. and we know that when producers have higher overhead because of the higher tax burden, they

don't absorb that, they pass it along to consumers in terms of higher prices. our democratic colleagues want to also add a superfund excise tax which would force energy companies to pay more on every barrel of crude oil that's sold. tax hikes on oil and gas companies won't increase the output of renewables. and renewables only accounted for 20% of electricity generation last year while natural gas accounted for double that. that's why in my state we believe in the all of the above approach, all forms of energy relying -- knowing that the sun doesn't always shine and the wind doesn't always blow. and when we found out last year, because of extremely cold weather, we couldn't even put natural gas in the pipeline because we didn't have the electricity to run the

compressors and so it was, no pun inintended, a perfect -- intended, a perfect storm. so what we learned from that experience and what we all learned is that renewables have a place and they are important and their role is growing but su have to have a reliable energy. it will drive up costs for working families and send more business to foreign energy producers. i remember recently president biden when looking at the high price of gasoline, which has gone up dramatically looked to opec, the organization of petroleum exporting countries, led by saudi arabia and russia, asking them to produce more oil. well, how about american energy producers and the jobs that go

along with that and the pipelines that move that oil and gas safely around the country? well, he's okay with nord stream 2 which is a russian gas pipeline in europe, but when it comes to the keystone xl pipeline here in america, shut it down is his attitude. well, massive tax increases aren't the only provisions that seem to have survived negotiations, the best we can tell from reporting. handouts to wealthy americans, buying electric vehicles appears to be safe. talk about socialism for rich people. these aren't cars that average working families can afford to buy. they are roughly double or more expensive than regular cars operating on an internal combustion engine. nevertheless this bill will apparently provide for $12,500

in tax credits for electric vehicle purchases, again, some of the most expensive cars in the marketplace. so for those working for a living who cannot afford to buy these expensive vehicles, even with this very generous tax credit, they are going to be asked to subsidize the purchase of these vehicles by wealthy americans that don't need the tax credit or the subsidy coming from hardworking american families. and this subsidy isn't only set up to reward buyers purchasing american-made vehicles, you can still receive a taxpayer handout even if the vehicle is completely or substantially made overseas in countries like china. on top of that, a bigger tax credit is available to electric

cars built in union shops. maybe union built vehicles are somehow more green than other electric vehicles, i doubt that, or maybe it's a favor dolled out to -- doled out to a favorite interest group by our friends across the aisle. that seems like the more likely conclusion. while electric vehicles don't use gasoline, they still require a lot of energy to run. our colleagues don't apparently know where electricity needed to run these vehicles comes from. well, i'll tell them. it comes from coal, it comes from natural gas, it comes from renewables, it comes from hydroelectric -- hydropower and nuclear power or some mixture of all of those. but these are the very energy sources they say they are seeking to avoid by

incentivizing more use of electric vehicles. well, if democrats raise taxes on companies that produce natural gas, which accounts for 40% of our electricity production, what's the plan to power the fleet of taxpayer subsidized electric vehicles? renewables don't generate enough energy to power our country today let alone the power we need to charge millions of new electric vehicles. still democrats are eager to push americans towards renewables and punish those who don't jump on board. one of the most controversial parts of the democrats' energy push appears to be in peril, if you can believe the reporting, again, none of us have seen that, but that program is known as the clean electricity program

or the cepp. this program would reward utility companies that already use renewable electricity sources and punish those that do not. so if you're wondering how that switch would go, just look at some of the energy policies out west in california. that state made an aggressive push to transition to 100% renewables by 2030, but as i've said, renewable energy is not always reliable energy and it certainly isn't affordable energy. in recent years california has implemented rolling blackouts to ration limited energy supplies during the hot summer months, and on average, californians pay twice as much as texans for electricity. that's where those higher prices go. they get passed on to the

consumer, twice as much the cost of electricity in california as compared to texas. so imagine what would happen if every utility company across the country was forced to use only renewable sources. last month the federal energy regulatory commissioner testified before the senate and he said this proposal would be, and i quote, an h-bomb for electricity markets. it would blow it up. our colleague, senator manchin, from west virginia, said he won't support this proposal, and good for him. but other democrats have not given up yet. president biden recently insisted, quote, nothing has been formally agreed to, close quote. again, this whole process is opaque to republicans because we haven't been invited to the table nor welcomed to the table to try to come up with a bipartisan policy.

our democratic colleagues have insisted they want to do this all on their own because they know only then will they be able to come up presumably with something that will apiece the most -- appease the most radical elements of their political base and if they negotiated with republicans, they wouldn't be able to do that because we would have to negotiate toward the center rather than the fringes of political ideology. despite the fact that these policies, as i mentioned, would radically transform the energy landscape and drive up costs for consumers and hurt the energy system, would hurt our country before wheels up for president biden to europe. forget sound policy, president biden wants a talking point for his talk in glasgow.

prices are already skyrocketing. talk about inflation. gasoline is already up 55% from a year ago. with winter fast approaching, heating bills, including heating oil that many northern states use, heating oil and heating bills are expected to rise as much as 54% from last year. this is really a an invisible tax on people where the value of your dollar that your earn is diminished by the increase in cost. 54% over last year for heating bills in the northern part of our country. well, all across the country, but obviously needed more there than they are in my part of the country. and, of course, these aren't the only higher prices that families are facing. inflation continues to pummel the american people, putting a tight squeeze on family budgets.

for seniors, for veterans, and others who operate on a fixed income, those price hikes are a threat to their livelihood. there could not be a more dangerous or costly time to wage war on american energy. no family should have to choose between buying groceries and turning on the heat at winter time. president biden is eager to put a show on in glasgow and impress world leaders with dubious commitments that he can't keep. but these measures have the potential to inflict real and lasting harm on the american people. i'm not opposed to renewable energy, electric vehicles or efforts to preserve our greatest natural resources for future generations.

i support efforts to capture carbon and sequester it. but all of these policies need to strike a delicate balance based on prudence, based on science, and based on logic. not based on some ideology about the way that you wish the world was. it's how the world is. democrats want to force the american people to pay more for less reliable energy and endanger our own energy security to meet these arbitrary net zero deadlines. and as i said, they're rushing to meet a deadline so that president biden can have a good applause line in glass co. this is -- in glaskow.is is an e tax-and-spending spree is not helping the american people at

all. i yield the floor. a senator: mr. president. the presiding officer: the senator from connecticut. mr. murphy: thank you, mr. president. mr. president, c.j. brown was seven years old. he was a second grader at clarks dale collegiate academy in mississippi. clarksdale, mississippi, is a relatively small town, 10,000 people. -- 15,000 people. everybody knows each other in clarksdale. c.j. was described as a really bright young student. his principal and director at the school said that he was a

great student. he was always cheerful, friendly to his classmates and peers. clarksdale is reeling right now because just a few weeksgo, on october 12, little c.j. brown was sitting in a car outside of a laundry mat, and he was shot to death. the owner of a nearby corner store, a tiger mart, says that c.j. and his mom and his little sister used to come in all the time, friendly as could be, chatting up a storm. the owner of that little convenience store said that he considered c.j. and his mom and his little sister to be family. you can say c.j. was in the wrong place at the wrong time, just a seven-year-old kid in a car outside of a lawn -- laundry mat, but he wasn't.

he was in the right place at the right time, in what should have been a safe place in his hometown, just sitting in a are ca. that day there were three shootings over five hours in this small town of clarksdale. c.j. wasn't the only victim, but his death made news because he was seven years old. and now he's gone. the problem is this story isn't the exception. it is the rule, increasingly so across this country. for the last eight years i've come down to the floor with a chart that looks very much like this. in fact, i think this is the chart that i've displayed for about five years straight. i come down here every few weeks, sometimes in busier times, every month or so, and i tell the story of men and women, children often like c.j.

to try to rattle the conscience of this body to do something about the epidemic of gun violence in this country. and these numbers in and of themselves are stunning. this is my old chart. 36,000 people a year are killed by gunshot wounds. 3,000 a month. 100 people a day. there is no other nation in the high-income world that has anything approaching these numbers when it comes to gun violence. but these numbers are irrelevant now because what has happened over the last year and a half is a story unto itself. gun violence rates have spiked during the pandemic. in fact, the increase in 2020 was the biggest in 60 years from year to year. and so i now have to bring a new chart to the floor. this one that i've used for five years now is irrelevant because no longer are 36,000 people

dying a year from gunshot wounds. no longer are we losing 3,000 a month or 100 a day. we are now losing 40,000 a year, 3300 a month, 110 people a day. and you can say that's a small increase. 100 people used to die from gunshot wounds a day. now only 110 people a day. that's ten more families every single day, like the family of c.j. brown, who have lost a loved one, often in the prime of their life, to a preventable crime that happens nowhere else at this frequency amongst our high-income peers. what's interesting about 2020, though, is that overall crime rates didn't spike like gun homicides did. in fact, overall, major crimes

in 2020 in this country went down. but gun homicides went up. 5,000 more gun homicides in 2020 than in 2019. so what's going on if major crimes are going down but gun homicides are going up? the story is likely complicated, but at the heart of it is this -- more guns equal more crime. forget the mythology that tells you if you buy a gun, you are going to use that gun to protect yourself, that you're going to use it against an intruder, somebody who's trying to do harm to you. no. the data is the data. you can't get around it. it shows that for every community that has a 1% increase in gun ownership, what comes with it is a 1% increase in gun homicides. the more guns you have, the more likely that you are going to have days like october 12,

2021, in clarksdale, mississippi. but there's more data to prove this point. what's interesting is that over the last ten years, more and more homicides in this country are gun homicides. ten years ago about two-thirds of all homicides in this country involved a gun. but we have had more and more and more guns being purchased over the last ten years. it used to be that maybe only 32% of households had a gun. today that number is 39%. so we have a lot more households with guns. we have record numbers of guns being bought in 2020. in march of 2020, for the first time, the background check system registered one million checks. never before has this country had more guns bought and sold

than in 2020. and now coincidentally, today the number of homicides that involve a gun isn't two-thirds any longer. it's three-quarters. 67% in a decade to 77%. more guns equals more homicides. more guns equals greater number of violent crimes being perpetuated with guns. the data is the data. you can't get around it. you think you're making yourself safer by bringing a gun into your house, but more often than not that gun is going to be used to harm you or a loved one than it is against someone who is trying to do harm to you. many of these guns end up very quickly becoming illegal guns because they may at first be sold through a licensed gun dealer, but pretty soon they get into the black market. pretty soon those guns get into the black internet market, the

gun show market, where anybody can buy a gun regardless of their criminal record in many states, without being caught, and those guns get trafficked to all sorts of people who should never own them. the data is the data. but here's what we also know about 2020, is that -- is this. in states that have tougher gun laws, the rise in violent crime in 2020 was much lower than in states that don't have universal background checks. we make the case here that gun laws matter. that if you take some commonsense steps to keep guns out of the hands of the wrong people -- violent criminals, people with serious mental illness -- you're going to have less gun crime. that's what 2020 tells us. in states that have universal

background checks, the violent crime rate just ticked up from 2019 to 2020. just ticked up. but in states without expanded background checks, the violent crime rate skyrocketed. a much bigger increase in states without universal background checks than in states with universal background checks. common sense tells you why. those states just do a little bit better job of making sure that only responsible gun owners can get their hands on a gun. and so we have these two stories from 2020 to tell. the first is a tragic one. a dramatic increase in the number of of homicides. new highs in terms of the number of people who die at the hands of a gun every single day. but the second story about how states that have gotten serious

about commonsense measures supported by 90% of americans to make sure it that only law-abiding citizens have guns, they were able to control these increases much better than the states that didn't implement universal background checks and commonsense gun laws. i tell the story of c.j. today to try to shake this body into action, to try to make folks understand that we have all the data we immediate to have to tell us -- we need to have to tell us what works. none of it is that controversial. no matter what state you come from -- blue, red, republican, democrat -- your constituents support universal background checks. and the data tells us that while 2020 was an awful year for gun crime, it was a lot more awful in the states that didn't invest in that policy, so why not just implement it on a national basis? politically popular, impacketful when it comes to -- impactful when it comes to

saving lives. lastly, mr. president, even if you don't greap with me that we should make commonsense changes to try to do something about rising gun violence in this country, if you don't want to change the gun laws in this nation, i have another offer for you. i heard senator cornyn come down to the floor and talk about all the radical policies that are in the build back better agenda. i've seen the polling on the build back better agenda. none of it looks too radical because the american people seem to really love all the parts of the build back better agenda from the investments in green energy to the help with families who are trying to afford child care, to the improvements in the medicare system. but here's another commonsense investment in the build back better agenda -- community gun violence initiatives. inside the build back better agenda is $5 billion to invest in community programs that wrap services around at-risk youth to try to stop this cycle of violence that plays out. now what's interesting in the

2020 data is that gun crime is becoming much more geographically spread out in this nation. 10, 20, 30 ago there was a cyclical case to be made for the handful of gun violence in cities. that's not the case today. today gun violence happens everywhere. it happens in small towns, big cities, small cities. but it is still true that there are these very, very poor, very, very economically challenged neighborhoods in which there is high rates of gun crime. these community programs, they work. in connecticut, we had one before p it was defunded in new haven, hartford and bridgeport identifies youth at risk of falling into this cycle of falling into violence, supports them with programs that gives them an alternative to that lifestyle. and between 201 1 and 2016

combined gun violence in these three cities were cut in half. a similar program in new york saw homicides in the south bronx neighborhood where a program was being implemented decline by 37% compared to a very similar matched neighborhood nearby that was used as a control site. and i can give you more and more evidence of how these investments in neighborhoods lift people up economically and help stop the cycle of violence. so i can shower you with data to show you why commonsense changes in our gun laws will do something about this stunning increase in the rate of gun death in this country from 2019 to is 2020, but we can also just come together around an investment in these communities and these kids and these families that doesn't necessarily have the same high

degree of political temperature as the debate around 6 guns does. and still have a significant impact. and so, mr. president, i will continue to come down to the floor and make this case. i will continue to come down to the floor and try to tell this story of these victims of gun violence, kids like c.j. brown. i hope that this will be the last chart. i hope that the next chart will in fact show these numbers coming down, but i doubt we will have that opportunity. because until we get serious about changes in gun laws to you update them to match 90% of americans and make investments in these neighborhoods, part of the build back better agenda, i fear these numbers will continue to rise higher and higher and higher. i yield the floor.

the presiding officer: the senator from kansas. mr. moran: thank you, mr. president. i speak today to recognize the

men and women who served our nation since september 11, 2001, what has become known as the global war on terrorism. the days during in just the last month during this botched and chaotic withdrawal from afghanistan were a terrible time of reckoning for our nation. i'm angry, discouraged, concerned about the way the manner by which the united states of america departed. president biden's announcement in april to completely withdraw american troops by september 11 without taking appropriate security precautions, including the return of the taliban to kabul is irresponsible, will damage america's security interests for days to come and endanger the lives of women and children in afghanistan. to do right by the thousands of afghans who worked alongside of

americans will forever be a source of shame for this administration. but as i've said many times before, the withdrawal from afghanistan was not the fault of the men and women in uniform. in the days following september 11, 2001, the call to service was answered by thousands -- thousands of americans who sought to defend the united states. these men and women left behind their families and careers to serve a greater good. i cannot think of anything more honorable than stepping up to defend our homeland from a threat that was, at the time, relatively unknown. for most of our men and women in uniform, the global war on terrorism has been the primary mission of their entire careers. i run into people regularly who tell me about their service and they saw what happened on 9/11 in new york city at ground zero, they saw what happened in the fields of pennsylvania and what

happened at the pentagon. they decided it was their moment to step forward and defend and protect their nation, to make sure that freedom and liberty remained the hallmark of who we are. and all of the sacrifices they and their families have made were in support of that effort. and it was an effort they believed in and i certainly hope they still do. those who stepped forward to serve eradicated vast networks of terrorists who wished to do america harm, making it absolutely clear that no one can harm americans without our swift and certain retribution. they also brought osama bin laden to justice and destroyed the isis caliphate. in afghanistan, our men and women serving in the military brought hope to a brutalized war torn country for the fist time in decades.

incredibly an entire generation in afghanistan came to age knowing what it feels like to see freedom, to feel freedom. tragically we saw afghanistan quickly fall to the taliban. it happened because of a haphazard and unorganized withdrawal process that has made our country and our world a less secure place. we all saw the images of terror and desperation as many afghans tried to flee their fate, many costing their lives, we saw the tear gas and explosions and lost 13 of lives of brave men and women as they tried to rescue innocent families from their faf began brothers and cysters from their arms. unfortunately the days that followed, mainstream's media interest in afghanistan began to

wayne -- to wane. see what's happening in afghanistan now. see the death, destruction, the hunger, the fear. this failure to have attention on what's going on in afghanistan must not, should not be the case. we must continue to honor those who served and who will serve our country in the future. we should consider senate bill 535, the global bill on terrorism. it was introduced by the senator from iowa, senator ernst, herself a veteran, it will honor those who served to eradicate terrorism. it will honor the three million men and women who served and especially the thousands of service members who gave that ultimate sacrifice, their lives. this memorial will also honor, heal, empower, and unite

soldiers, sailors, airmen, marines, and the coast guard who made those being a nices. i have seen -- sacrifices, i have seen and many here have seen and witnessed the healing that occurs -- as i met with the folks who have been here on the honor flights, those visitors who gather at our war memorials to remember, be together, and, yes, to heal. last week i was at a number of our memorials here in the nation's capital with a group of about 160 vietnam veterans from kansas. i've been visiting with those veterans in almost all of the visits of kansans who come here and in those visits i met the world war ii veterans, the korean war veterans and the vietnam war veterans who have a place of honor on the mall where they can go to meet other veterans, lay flowers and pause and reflect on the brothers and

sisters that they have lost. back in kansas center valley, a moving wall, a tribute to those who lost their lives in vietnam, the thousands, the 627 kansans who lost their lives in vietnam was a place to gather and do exactly that. i hope some day i will be able to join the honor flight and meet with the generation of veterans who fought to bring peace to the middle east, who fought to bring the united states into a safer and more secure place. it would be my honor and privilege to do so. mr. president, i am here on the senate floor to pay tribute to honor and respect and to tell those who served in the global war on terrorism that we respect them, we thank them for their service and we love them. mr. president, i yield the floor. the presiding officer: the

senator from wyoming. mr. barrasso: i ask unanimous consent to speak for up to ten minutes. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. barrasso: thank you, mr. president. first i want to commend my colleague from kansas for his commitment to those who served this nation and he is also there at the honor flights, world war ii, the honor flights of those who served in korea, of those who served in vietnam and those who served in the global war on terror. his leadership is commendable and people from both sides of the aisle look up to him and appreciate the work he does on his committees and his commitment to the veterans who serve this nation. so i thank the distinguished senator from kansas for his ongoing commitment and it's with appreciation, admiration and respect i follow his speech to thank him for his commitment and the comments on afghanistan because this past weekend on saturday the goafn of wyoming a -- governor of wyoming and i

stood with the people in the wold in wyoming as we honored the life of riley mccullum who was one of the 13 killed in kabul at the airport on that fateful day nearly two months ago and with us also was reilly's wife gigi and the baby that was born after reilly had been killed. the baby who will never know her father, who will always know his story, and always know that he was an american hero. mr. president, i come to the floor today to oppose what the democrats are trying to do with their reckless taxing-and-spending spree. right now prices are rising all across america. the price of gas has gone up by $1 since joe biden has taken the oath of office, it is going to

get worse this winter. in total the typical american family is paying about $175 more every month, month after month because of inflation and the front page story of "the new york times" today talked about upcoming thanksgiving, the most expensive thanksgiving and they called it a wallop to the wallet. that's the front page of "the new york times. " mr. president, i would say when see that kind of a story, you know that inflation is here and it looks like it's here to stay and it's connected directly to the policies of this president, this administration, and the democrats in congress who are trying to make it worse with this taxing-and-spending spree. democrats ought to be working with republicans to reduce inflation, cut the spending, but that's not what's happening. no, we see just the opposite. the democrats are completely

focused on the most expensive spending bill in american history. right now the cost is at least $5.3 billion, with interest payments the price tag rises to $4.2 trillion. the bill's 2,500 pages in length. you do the math that's $$1.4 million for each and every page, you divide the cost of the bill for every pesh in america, it's over $ -- person in america, it's over $10,000 for every man, woman, and child, it is larger than the economy of pan, which is the third largest economy in the world and it is a towering list of radical priorities, free money for electric vehicle owners, earmarks for san francisco, including nancy pelosi's special park for the privileged. now democrats are playing a shell game trying to hide from

the american people how they are going to pay for this whole thing. well, they continue to try to hide-the-ball. is it more taxes? is it more debt? is it some of both? let's be clear. no matter which one they decide to do, prices for the american consumer is going to continue to go up. no matter which one they choose, the american people are going to end up paying one way or the other. so last week the president went to pennsylvania, said he didn't want to talk about the cost of the bill. he said, we shouldn't talk about the numbers. we shouldn't even talk about the numbers. now, i can understand why president biden doesn't want to talk about the numbers because the american people are getting sticker shock. but people all around this country at the kitchen table when they sit down and try to figure out how much money they have and what kind of bills are coming in and the price of fuel going up, the price of gasoline going up and the price of one

thing after another and the price of housing going up, people at the kitchen table are talking about the numbers. president biden would rather tell us of us -- tell all of us that the bill costs zero dollars. his press secretary, his chief of staff and nancy pelosi repeated the same big lie. they say the largest spending bill in history costs zero dollars. if it costs zero dollars, why are they having a hard time getting it passed? answer that. the american people aren't falling for this. the american people people know -- they know that when democrats spend more, they pay more one way or the other. so why did democrats keep repeating the big lie? because they know that people don't want a big spending bill. they're against it. tax revenues are already at record highs in this country. our problem isn't that we're taxed too little. it's that we spend too much.

yet democrats' spending bill contains more than 40 new tax increases. these taxes become law, everyone will have to pay one way or the other. pay more in taxes. they will suffer with lower wages in terms of spending capacity and pay higher prices. according to the joint committee on taxation, two-thirds of the taxes democrats proposing for businesses would be paid by the middle class. now that's not what the president wants you to believe. paid by the middle class, no question about it. democrats know the american people don't want higher taxes. a gallup poll showed recently fewer than one in five americans wants more government if it's paid for by tax increases. the american people don't want more spending which they know we can't as a nation afford with the kind of debt we have. that's why democrats, each and every one, seem to be trying to hide the cost of the bill through accounting gimmicks. the gimmicks are so blatant.

even their own democrat experts are telling them to stop it. president obama's auto czar steve ratner, a major critic of these accounting tactics and tricks actually wrote an editorial in "the new york times" about it. he said, with worrisome inflation signs evident, we certainly don't need any more stimulus. democrats are trying to find new ways to take more money from the american people. they're proposing to supersize the i.r.s. and the i.r.s. is already the least accountable and most powerful agency in the entire government. right now the annual i.r.s. budget is about $13 billion. democrats want another $80 billion to hire an army of i.r.s. agents to rifle through the bank records of the american people. even president obama's i.r.s. commissioner is against a budget that big. this proposal just shows how

desperate democrats are to get every last penny they can so they can spend it. for weeks democrats said they wanted to force banks to tell the i.r.s. about any account with $600 in deposits or withdrawals. well, the american people found out and they were outraged. i received more calls and more letters on this single topic than on any topic during the entire years i've been in the united states senate. but yet democrats defended the plan for weeks, including janet yellen, the treasury secretary on national television. it's been fascinating to watch her argue back and forth with larry summers, a former economic adviser to both bill clinton who was secretary of the treasury for him as well as to barack obama. well, now democrats finally realize how angry the american people are at this big brother proposal. so what's their solution?

more gimmicks, more slight of hand. now janet yellen says it will only apply to accounts for transactions over $10,000 over the course of a yeempt well, that new -. well, that new proposal would still affect every american in this country who has a bank account. it's essentially the same proposal the american people aren't buying it. so the democrats are now on the horns of a dilemma. is it more taxes? is it more debt? is it both? all three options mean more inflation hitting families across america and hitting things like the front pain of "the new york times" -- page of "the new york times" where they talk about it as a wallop to the wallet. mr. president, the last thing the american people need right now, higher taxes, more debt, and higher prices. yet this is all that today's democrat party has to offer. thank you, mr. president.

i yield the floor. the presiding officer: under the previous order, the question now occurs on the cobb nomination. is there a sufficient second? there appears to be. the clerk will call the roll. vote: vote:

vote:

the presiding officer: the yeas are 52, the nays are 45. the nomination is confirmed. under the previous order, the question now occurs on the williams nomination.

a senator: i ask for the yeas and nays. the presiding officer: is there a sufficient second? seeing there is, the clerk will call the roll. vote:

vote:

vote:

vote:

the presiding officer: the yeas are 56, the nays are 38. the nomination is confirmed. under the previous order, the question now occurs on the giles nomination. is there a second? there seems to be a sufficient second. the clerk will read -- the clerk

will call the roll. vote:

vote:

vote:

the presiding officer: the yeas are 68. the nays are 27. the nomination is confirmed. under the previous order, the motion to -- the motions to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table and the president will be immediately notified of the senate's actions. the majority leader. 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 therein for up to ten minutes each. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. schumer: madam president, i ask unanimous consent that the judiciary committee be discharged from further consideration of h.r. 1899, and the senate proceed to its immediate consideration. the presiding officer: the clerk will report. the clerk: h.r. 18 99, an act to

amend the control substances act to provide for the transfer and termination of a registration to manufacture, distribute, or dispense controlled substances or list one chemicals and for other purposes. the presiding officer: without objection, the committee is discharged and the senate will proceed. mr. schumer: i ask unanimous consent the bill be considered read a third time and passed and the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. schumer: madam president, i ask unanimous consent that the committee on banking, housing and -- and the senate proceed to its immediate consideration. the presiding officer: the clerk will report. the clerk: s. 1872, a bill to award a congressional gold metal, collectively to the united states army rangers, veterans of world war ii in

recognition of their extraordinary service during world war ii. the presiding officer: without objection, the committee is discharged and the senate will proceed. mr. schumer: i ask unanimous consent that the ernst substitute amendment at the desk be agreed to, and the motions to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. schumer: madam president, i ask unanimous consent the senate proceed to the consideration of s. res. 428, submitted earlier today. the presiding officer: the clerk will report. the clerk: senate resolution 428, recognizing october 2021 as national principles month. the presiding officer: without objection, the senate will proceed. mr. schumer: i ask unanimous consent the resolution be agreed to, the preamble be agreed to, and the the motions to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table with no intervening action or debate. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. schumer: and finally, madam president, i ask unanimous consent that when the senate

completes its business today, it adjourn until 10:00 a.m., wednesday, october 27, that following the prayer and pledge, the morning hour be deemed expired, the journal of proceedings be approved to date, and the time for the two leaders be reserved for their 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 williams nomination. further at 11:00 a.m. the senate vote on the confirmation of michael s. nachmanoff and sarala vidya nagala nominations following the vote on the williams mission to and at 2:00 -- nominations, and that at 5:15 p.m., the senate vote on motions to invoke cloture on the delliger nominations, and if cloture is invoked on any of the nominees, the confirmation votes be at a time to be determined

with the majority leader in consultation with the republican leader. if any nominations are confirmed during wednesday's session, the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table and the president be immediately notified of the senate's action. mr. schumer: for the information of senators, there will be three roll call votes at 11, two roll call votes at 2:15 and two roll call votes at 5:15. if there is no further business to come before the senate, i ask to come before the senate, i ask >> lawmakers today approved a several the president biden's nominees including a handful of judicial picks in a number of investor nominees and we expect our prejudicial nominations throughout the week and more blood senate coverage wednesday on "c-span2" and reminder follow our congressional coverage on the go, with cspan now, new

video. >> wednesday morning megan garland testifies an oversight hearing before the senate judiciary committee, live coverage begins at 2:00 o'clock eastern on c-span three, online at cspan.org, or watchful coverage on c-span now, our new video app. c-span is your unfiltered view of government, funded by these television companies and more, including cox, committed to providing eligible families access to affordable internet and connect this program and reaching the digital divide one at a time, cox, bringing us closer. supporting suspended cspan is a public service, along with these others television providers give you a front row seat to democracy.

>> david bowers the president and ceo of the american road and transportation builders association here to talk about federal monies for the roads and our viewers likely know that the deadline here for federal funds for the roads and bridges october 31st and explain how the system works. >> acthank you for having me hee today and you are exactly right were looking at october 31 dead i