the presiding officer: the senator from rhode island is recognized. mr. reed: mr. president, i would request that the scheduled vote be immediately initiated. the presiding officer: is there objection? without objection. mr. reed: thank you, mr. president. the presiding officer: the question is on the nomination. mr. reed: i ask for the yeas and nays, mr. president. the presiding officer: is there a sufficient second is? there appears to be. the clerk will call the roll. vote:

vote:

vote:

vote:

the presiding officer: the yeas are 53. the nays are 37. the nomination is confirmed. the majority leader. mr. schumer: madam president, could we have order, please. i rise today to recognize a great milestone in this chamber. our colleague, susan collins, will in a few moments cast her 8,000th vote. i join in extending warm -- thank you, kyrsten. i join in extending a warm congratulations to senator collins on this terrific achievement and thank her for her many years of public service to other state and country. and in deference to this nice occasion, i would ask we all stay in the chamber, vote quickly so we can leave.

i know that's a passion of senator mcconnell. all try to stay in the chamber and get this done fast. thank you. mr. mcconnell: madam president? the presiding officer: the republican leader. mr. mcconnell: january 27, 199 , senator collins cast her first roll call vote for madeleine albright to be secretary of state. from that moment on, she's not missed one single solitary vote. zero sick days. zero scheduling conflicts. whether we were voting on war or peace, historic legislation, or the most routine and uncontroversial bills and nominations, the senator has made sure that maine got its say every single time. see here's some perspective. the longest consecutive game

streak in baseball belonged to cal ripken, jr. well, our colleague from carrie beau has lapped him three times and counting. by the way, the iron horse didn't have to plan around weekly air travel, internet of new england, all winter, every winter. anybody who knows her knows this moment is not really about a round number. it's about the approach which the number happens to reflect. our colleague is diligent. she's devoted. her level of preparation is unparalleled. she holds herself to the high standards and she delivers. it's in her blood. both of her colleagues' parents served in separate terms as mayor of carrie beau. but the senator also draws inspiration from outside the gene pool. she rightly idolizes her

predecessor from maine, the legendary margaret chase smith. but even senator smith's own impressive voting streak topped out just shy of 3,000. i'm just sorry that today's milestone moment couldn't present our colleague from a challenge worthy of her skills. lucky number 8,000 didn't even require a sprained ankle or a hasty exit from a departing airplane. so congratulations to our colleague on this moment and all that it represents. [ applause] a senator: madam president? the presiding officer: the republican whip. mr. thune: in just a few minutes we're going to take another vote, just an ordinary vote senator most of us unless

you're susan collins, because this next vote we're going to take in the senate will be susan collins' 8,000th consecutive vote. the leader described it. she is the cal ripken of the united states senate. he played 2,632 consecutive games and susan collins has been showing up every day for work and bringing her a-game literally since 1997. it is an extraordinarily number but what it represents is what really matters a. that's susan's work ethic, her tenacity and unshakable commitment to the people of maine. if there's one thing that the people of maine can depend on is that susan collins will be there to represent them, not just on the big days or for the big votes but every day on every single vote. mr. president, i'm also proud to stand up today and to recognize

susan. susan, congratulations on this incredible milestone. you truly are the workhorse of the united states senate. here is the next 8,000. -- here is to the next 8,000. the presiding officer: the majority whip. mr. durbin: i would just say to senator collins, you're my colleague and my friend. if they write the history of this place, they might make a footnote that we had a book club, a little one, between us. we exchanged a lot of books over the years. i thank you foreyour friendship and kindness all the way through. congratulations on this smile stone. -- on this smile stone. -- on this milestone. the presiding officer: under the previous order, the senate will resume consideration of the prelogar nomination, which the clerk will report. the clerk: nomination, department of justice.

elizabeth prelogar of idaho to be solicitor general of the united states. the presiding officer: the question occurs on the nomination. is there a sufficient second? there appears to be. the clerk will call the roll. vote:

vote:

vote:

the presiding officer: does any member wish to vote? the yeas are 53, the nays are 36. the nomination is confirmed. under the previous order, the motions to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table and the president will be immediately notified of the senate's actions. ms. collins: madam president. the presiding officer: the senator from maine. ms. collins: madam president, i ask unanimous consent that the remaining votes be ten minutes in length. the presiding officer: is there objection? without objection. 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 471, beth robinson, of vermont, to be united states circuit judge for the second circuit. 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 beth robinson, of vermont, to be united states circuit judge for the second circuit shall be brought to a close? the yeas and nays are mandatory under the rule. the clerk will call the roll. vote:

vote:

vote:

the presiding officer: are there any senators in the chamber wishing to vote or change his or her vote? if not, the yeas are 51. the nays are 36. the motion is agreed to. the clerk will report the nomination. the clerk: the judiciary. beth robinson of vermont to be united states circuit judge for the second circuit. the presiding officer: the clerk will report the motion to invoke cloture. the clerk: cloture motion: we, the undersigned senators, in accordance with the provisions of rule 22 of the standing rules of the senate, do hereby move to bring to a close debate on the nomination of executive calendar 363, toby j. heytens of virginia

to be united states circuit judge for the fourth circuit, signed by 17 senators from. the presiding officer: by you could, the mandatory quorum call has been waive add. is it the sense of the senate that debate on the nomination of toby j. heytens of virginia to be united states circuit judge for the fourth circuit shall be brought to the a close. the yeas and nays are mandatory under the rule. the clerk will call the roll. vote:

vote:

vote:

vote:

vote:

vote:

the presiding officer: are there any senators in the chamber wishing to vote or wishing to change his or her vote? if not, the yeas v 1. the nays are 31. and the motion is agreed to. the clerk will report the nomination. the clerk: nomination, the judiciary, toby j. heytens of virginia to be united states circuit judge for the fourth

circuit. mr. schumer: mr. president. the presiding officer: the majority leader is recognized. mr. schumer: so we had a good and productive week in the senate this week, mr. president. we confirmed seven judges and a good number of executive appointments and ambassadors. and we made good progress on president biden's build back better agenda. so it's been a good week here. now, i move to proceed to legislative session. the question is on the motion. all in favor say aye. all opposed no. the ayes appear to have it. the ayes do have it. the motion is agreed to. mr. schumer: i move to proceed to executive session to consider calendar 168. the presiding officer: the question is on the motion. all in favor say aye. all opposed no. the ayes appear to have it. the ayes do have it. the motion is agreed to. the clerk will report the nomination. the clerk: nomination,

department of the treasury, jonathan davidson of maryland to be deputy under secretary. mr. schumer: i send a cloture motion to the desk. the presiding officer: the clerk will report. the clerk: cloture motion, we, the undersigned senators in accordance with the provisions of rule 22 of the standing rules of the senate do hereby move to bring to a close debate on the nomination of executive calendar number 168, jonathan davidson of maryland to be deputy under secretary of treasury signed by 18 senators as follows. mr. schumer: i ask consent the reading of the names be waived. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. schumer: i move to proceed to legislative session. the presiding officer: the question is on the motion. all in favor say aye. all opposed no. the ayes appear to have it. the ayes do have it. the motion is agreed to. mr. schumer: i move to proceed to executive session to consider calendar 170. the presiding officer: the question is on the motion. all in favor say aye. all opposed no. the ayes appear to have it.

the ayes do have it. the motion is agreed to. the clerk will report the nomination. the clerk: nomination, department of treasury, benjamin harris of virginia to be an assistant secretary. mr. schumer: i send a cloture motion to the desk. the presiding officer: the clerk will report. the clerk: cloture motion, we, the undersigned senators in accordance with the provisions of rule 22 of the standing rules of the senate do hereby move to bring to a close debate on the nomination of executive calendar number 170, benjamin harris of virginia to be an assistant secretary of the treasury signed by 18 shores as follows -- senators as follows. mr. schumer: i ask consent the reading of the names be waived. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. schumer: i move to proceed to legislative session. the presiding officer: the question is on the motion. all in favor say aye all opposed no. the ayes appear to have it. the ayes do have it. the motion is agreed to. mr. schumer: i move to proceed to executive session to consider calendar 337. the presiding officer: the question is on the motion.

all in favor say aye. all opposed no. the ayes appear to have it. the ayes do have it. the motion is agreed to. the clerk will report the nomination. the clerk: nomination, united states agency for international development, isobel coleman of new york to be a deputy administrator. mr. schumer: i send a cloture motion to the desk. the presiding officer: the clerk will report. the clerk: cloture motion, we, the undersigned senators in accordance with the provisions of rule 22 of the standing rules of the senate do hereby move to bring to a close debate on the nomination of executive calendar number 337, isobel coleman of new york to be a deputy administrator of the united states agency for international development signed by 18 senators as follows. mr. schumer: i ask consent the reading of the names be waived. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. schumer: i move to proceed to legislative session. the presiding officer: the question is on the motion. all in favor say aye. all off posed no. -- opposed no the ayes appear to

have it. the ayes do have it. mr. schumer: i move to proceed to executive session to consider calendar 360. the presiding officer: the question is on the motion. all in favor say aye. all opposed no. the ayes appear to have it. the ayes do have it. the motion is agreed to. the clerk will report. the clerk: nomination, environmental protection agency, jeffrey m. prieto of california to be an assistant admini administrator. mr. schumer: i send a cloture motion to the desk. the presiding officer: the clerk will report. the clerk: cloture motion, we, the undersigned senators in accordance with the provisions of rule 22 of the standing rules of the senate do hereby move to bring to a close debate on the nomination of executive calendar number 360, jeffrey m. prieto of california to be an assistant administrator of the environmental protection agency signed by 17 senators as follows. mr. schumer: i ask consent the reading of the names be waived. the presiding officer: without objection.

mr. schumer: i move to proceed to legislative session. the presiding officer: the question is on the motion. all in favor say aye. all opposed no. the ayes appear to have it. the ayes do have it. the motion is agreed to. mr. schumer: i move to proceed to executive session to consider calendar 191. the presiding officer: the question is on the motion. all in favor say aye. all opposed no. the ayes appear to have it. the ayes do have it. the motion is agreed to. the clerk will report the nomination. the clerk: nomination, department of labor, rajesh d. nayak of maryland to be an doesn't secretary. mr. schumer: i send a cloture motion to the desk. the presiding officer: the clerk will report. the clerk: cloture motion, we, the undersigned senators in accordance with the provisions of rule 22 of the standing rules of the senate do hereby move to bring to a close debate on the nomination of executive calendar number 191, rajesh d. nayak of maryland to be an assistant secretary of labor signed by 17 senators as follows.

mr. schumer: i ask consent the reading of the names be waived. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. schumer: finally, i ask unanimous consent that the mandatory quorum calls for the cloture motions filed today, october 18 be waived and the cloture motions ripen at 11:00 a.m. on tuesday, november 2. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. schumer: i yield -- now, mr. president, i ask unanimous consent that the senate consider the following nominations en bloc, calendar 369, 412, 470, that the senate vote on the nominations en bloc without intervening action or debate, the motions to be considered be considered made and laid on the table with no intervening action or debate, that any statements related to the nominations be printed in the record, that the president be immediately notified of the senate's action. the presiding officer: without objection. so ordered. the question occurs on the nominations en bloc.

all in favor say aye. opposed no. the ayes appear to have it. the ayes do have it. the nominations are confirmed en bloc. mr. schumer: i ask unanimous consent the senate consider the following nominations, calendars 467, 478, 479, that the nominations be confirmed en bloc, the motions to recan be be considered made and laid upon the table with no intervening action or debate, that no further motions be in order to nil of the nominations, that the president be immediately notified of the senate's action. the presiding officer: without objection.

mr. schumer: mr. president? the presiding officer: majority leader is recognized. mr. schumer: i ask unanimous consent that the senate consider the following nominations, calendar # 67, 478, 479 and all nominations on the secretary's desk in the air force, army, coast guard, foreign service, marine corps and space force, that the nominations be confirmed en bloc, that the motions to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table with no intervening action or debate, that no further motions be in order to any of the nominations and that the president immediately be notified of the senate's action. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. schumer: i ask unanimous

consent that 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: mr. president, i have five requests for committees to meet during today's session of the senate. they have the approval of the majority and minority leaders. the presiding officer: duly noted. mr. schumer: mr. president, i ask unanimous consent that the committee on veterans affairs be discharged from further consideration of h.r. 2911 and that the senate proceed to its immediate consideration. the presiding officer: the clerk will report. the clerk: h.r. 2911, an act to direct the secretary of veterans affairs to submit -- owe submit to congress a plan for obligating and susp suspending coronavirus pandemic funding and so forth and for other purposes. the presiding officer: without objection, the committee is discharged and the senate will proceed. mr. schumer: i ask unanimous consent that the bill be considered read a third time and

passed, the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. schumer: i ask unanimous consent that the committee on veterans affairs be discharged from further consideration of h.r. 3475, the senate proceed to its immediate consideration. the presiding officer: the clerk will report. the clerk: h.r. 3475, an act to name the department of veterans affairs community-based outpatient clinic in columbus, georgia, as the robert s. koydasha v.a. clinic. the presiding officer: without objection, the committee is discharged and the senate shall proceed. mr. schumer: i ask unanimous consent 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: without objection. mr. schumer: mr. president, i ask unanimous consent that the committee on veterans affairs be discharged from further consideration of h.r. 4172 and the senate proceed to its immediate consideration. the presiding officer: the clerk will report. the clerk: h.r. 4172, an act to

name the department of veterans affairs community-based outpatient clinic in aurora, colorado as the lieutenant colonel john w. mosley v.a. clinic. the presiding officer: without objection, the committee is discharged and the senate will proceed. mr. schumer: i ask unanimous consent that the bill be considered read a third time and passed, that the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. schumer: and finally, mr. president, i ask unanimous consent that the senate proceed to the immediate consideration of h.r. 3919 which was received from the house and is at the desk. the presiding officer: the clerk will report. the clerk: h.r. 3919, an act to ensure that the federal communication commission prohibits authorization of radio frequent si devices that frequency devices that pose a national security risk. the presiding officer: without objection, the senate will proceed to the measure. mr. schumer: i ask unanimous consent the bill be considered

read three times and passed and the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table with no intervening action or debate. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. schumer: i yield the floor. the presiding officer: the senator from ac -- from alaska s recognized. mr. sullivan: mr. president, it's thursday afternoon and it's one of my favorite times in the senate because it's the time i have the opportunity to come down on the senate floor and talk about an alaskan who is making a difference in their community or the state or maybe the country. you know, sometimes maybe the world. and i think we have one today.

this is an individual we call our alaskan of the week. really enjoy doing this. and it's just really a good opportunity to recognize people who often don't get a lot of recognition. you know, mr. president, alaska is known throughout the world for many things -- our physical beauty, the size of our state, giant mountains, great fishing, great place to take a vacation. by the way, if you're watching at home, come on up to alaska. we'd love to have you. summer, winter, doesn't matter. all of these things, of course, about the state are true. but there are so many other great things about our state and the number-one thing is our people -- strong, resilient, kind, tough, american citizens. great people. nowhere is this spirit of the people of alaska and their

patriotism more apparent than in our veterans across the state. in alaska, we have the highest number of veterans per capita of any state in america. veterans and their families everywhere. everyday heroes, i like to call them. it is amazing, mr. president. in every city, village, community -- doesn't matter how big, how small -- you will find proud american veterans, many of them working tirelessly together to make sure they help other veterans get the support that they have earned, the care that they have earned and to support their families. today as our veterans day approaches, i want to highlight one of these heroes, one of these alaska veterans whose service is so inspiring that for

those of you who are watching, i think you're going to have is a hard time actually believing it's true. this person, our alaskan of the week, is 94-year-old jim schmidt, husband, grandfather, great-grandfather, combat veteran, alaskan, american hero. let me tell you about this incredible, remarkable story for which somebody should buy the movie rights right now. when you're watching, you better go watch the movie rights to mr. schmidt. jim was 14 years old in 1942. of course, the united states had already entered and was fighting in world war ii. wasn't going well in 1942, by the way. he was living with his parents in the san francisco bay area. jim slipped out one day to see a movie. it was called "the parachute

battalion." that was the name of the movie starring the beautiful nancy kelly. and it was then watching this movie right then and there he said, i'm going to enlist. i'm going to enlist in the airborne. now, he was a big guy, big young man -- actually, he was a young kid. 200 pounds, six feet tall, big kid, as i mention. but here's the thing -- he was just 14 years old. he went to the recruiter and said, i'm 18. he looked it. the i.d. didn't ask for i.d.'s -- the army didn't ask for i.d.'s back then. off he went, assigned to the world-famous 82nd airborne at the tender age of 14. his father was also in the army, stationed at fort campbell, kentucky. when there was a little condition fusion as to where --

when there was a little confusion as to where jim was, his dad assumed he was still with his mother. wires got crossed and later his mom got a letter from corporal schmidt -- corporal jim schmidt. he was now 15, and he wrote, quote, from somewhere in north africa. actually had he was in tunis, which had just fallen to the british and general patton, the american general, in the battle against the germans in north africa. he wrote his mom, how are you, mom and the girls? he was referring to his sisters. he talked about the hot weather. he sent her $30. fast-afford a few months later. it's now july 9, 1942.

jim is jump respecting out of an air -- jim is jumping out of an air plane onto the island of sicily. a combat jump. in sicily. it was the largest airborne offensive in u.s. history. military airborne operation providing support for what was called operation husky. more than 170,000 allied troops that would descend onto the island, drive the axis powers, mostly the germans, from the island and open up the mediterranean front of the european theater. combat operations, airborne operations, and jim is 15. now, mistakes were made in this very big operation. communications were sporadic.

friendly fire happened, no doubt killing american service members. ferocious combat. some of these brave paratroopers, many were killed. many missed the landing spot, were scattered all over the island. when corporal schmidt, 15 years old, landed, he came under attack by the germans. he lost one of his best friends and mentors, fighting together in a foxhole, hand-to-hand fighting. he engaged in combat, killing the enemy. he remembers one young german, a messenger about his age. he actually found the boy's wallet because he wanted to get in touch with his family after the war to tell them how brave the young german soldier was. tough stuff. during the battle, he was wounded. but he continued to fight.

but because he was wounded, a telegraph was sent home by the army to his mom. and at that point he and his battalion, which was part of the 504th infantry regiment, airborne religious. in salerno, italy, were fighting to hold off a major german counterattack. you can imagine jim's mother was beside herself. her 15-year-old son was wounded in combat. he was in italy. so guess what she did? you can tell what kind of stock jim comes from. his mom wrote the president of the united states directly, president roosevelt. she said to the president she was glad to have her husband serve in the army, but it was a bit much that her 15-year-old

son was fighting in europe and, quote, lying wounded and unattended in a sicily field. that's jim's mom. to president roosevelt. remarkably, she received a response. the letter has since been lost. but for those who saw it it said that president roosevelt himself wrote jim's mom and said that i'm sorry the military didn't know that jim was only 15 -- 14 when he joined, and that he would make sure that he was located as soon as possible and sent back to the united states. sounds a little bit like "saving private ryan" the movie. and so that happened. shortly before he turned 16, corporal schmidt was put on a ship pretty much at the direction of the president of

the united states, sent back to the united states. jim later recalled that when his mom saw him, of course she was happy, but she, quote, chewed me out. what would any other mother say to their son for enlisting at the age of 14 and noteletting it the mom? a -- and not telling the mom? a local newspaper heard about jim and wrote story s here's what it said. quote, 15-year-old then-p.f.c. james o. schmidt left his desk in the eighth grade at ross grammar school to enter the army. he has retired from active duty at the age of 15 after seeing action with the airborne unit and paratroopers in north africa and in the battle of sicily and being wounded. he was 15. the newspaper wrote about how

jim had received an invitation to his own grammar school graduation when he was in sicily. he wrote back to his grammar school and said, quote, it will be impossible for me a tend antigrade -- attend eighth grade graduation as i am rather busy with the job of hunting germans and and italians. mr. president, this alone makes a great story. grade school graduation was missed because he was fighting in europe and north africa and italy. but there's more to this story. shortly after being home, you guessed it, jim walked into a navy recruiting office. again, nobody in the navy asked how old he was. the recruiter said, congratulations, you are now in the u.s. navy. so off to boot camp he went at

the age of 16. already a veteran, serious combat vet. 16 years old, unstoppable american patriot wanting to fight for his country in world war ii. six months later jim is on a navy destroyer deployed, but his age finally caught up with him. the navy found out, figured out he was 16, and sent him back home. here's an airborne combat veteran of world war ii. he's 16, and he's already been kicked out of the army and the navy because he's too young. obviously this young man was hellbent on serving his country, so he found another organization where age didn't matter. he joined the merchant marines, where he remained for the remainder of world war ii serving son an ammo -- serving on an ammo resupply ship in the

atlantic participating in the war until the war was won and wound down. so the war is over. he's a little older. what do you think he does in eight months after he turned 18, he reenlisted in the u.s. army. now, the army was gracious and recognized, hey, we got a combat vet. yeah, he was only 14. so they brought him in as a sergeant, an e-5. and guess what? by luck, he was assigned to occupation duty in germany with the 508th infantry airborne regiment that he had fought with in north africa and sicily. so he did that duty, then he went to japan for occupation duty, and then what happened in 1950? the korean war breaks out. so he's sent to korea. as if his service in world war

ii wasn't enough, this remarkable story of james schmidt continues. he went alongside the u.s. marines to fight in one of the most brutal, ferocious battles of the 20th century -- the battle of the trosun reservoir. 30 below zero, 1 20,000 communists, people's liberation chinese soldiers surrounding 20,000 marines -- army soldiers and manners. incredible, horrible odds. and yet the marines and the army persevered despite brutal combat situations. relentless communist chinese troops attacking, attacking, attacking. he was wounded, broke his

shoulder again, led his men in many counterattacks and got the rest of his men out of the chosin reservoir. so, mr. president, you're seeing this is remarkable many but we're not done. survived the choson reservoir. survived the rest of the korean war, survived world war ii, fast-forward another decade, another american conflict in southeast asia and now jim schmidt is a master sergeant special forces in laos, charged with raising local forces to fight the communist lao guerrillas. now he's non-in combat in three -- now he's been in combat in three wars, presented his third award for his combat infantry actions in laos and then it was on to vietnam where he was the sergeant major in charge of the seven special forces a-teams and

then the fifth special forces group in one of the most famous units of all the vietnam war, the fifth special forces, an airborne unit until he returned to fort bragg in so here's what he's done so far for his country. two silver stars for heroism, three bronze stars for heroism, two purple hearts. he won it back in the action, but the army said, nope, you are going to go into recruiting. according to one of his daughters, he was never much of a handshaker and did not like the idea of riding behind a desk. despite the heroism and the service, he opted to retire from the military and then he joined air america, which was doing covert operations in vietnam

until 1967 when he finally decided to settle down with his wife peggy and focus on another critically important task for our country, raising three strong, wonderful, beautiful daughters. mr. president, that's something i can certainly relate to. now, i want to say this is an amazing story, unfortunately jim was not always treated like the hero he was. during his vietnam service, his father died, the world war ii veteran i mentioned earlier, and so he rushed home through the san francisco airport to attend his father's funeral and, unfortunately, he was in uniform and, unfortunately, jeered and booed by many in the airport. can you imagine that, america? think about that. what a shameful period for our nation that so many failed to honor obvious american heroes

like jim. unfortunately that didn't last long for our country, but we should never forget that. but i'm digressing. because he wasn't just an american hero in uniform but according to his daughters, a great father. he was engaged in their activities, his three daughters, taught them to be determined, independent, hardworking young women where the sky was the limit. he didn't let them sleep in. that was the military dad, i'm sure. he and his wife peggy, a registered nurse, came to alaska in 1993, to be close to one of their daughters who is now a renowned chef, actually one of the best chefs in alaska and lodge owner in alaska, kirsten dixon; his other daughter katherine is a real estate

broker and his other daughter is in the d.c. area working in the intelligence field. kind of like her old man did. so gym loves the freedom in alaska, the frontier spirit, the fact that he's in a state with more veterans per capita than any other state and he is certainly one of the great ones that we have in our state. at 94 years old, he's surrounded by his children, his grandchildren, his great grandchildren. according to his family, like most heroes in our country, he doesn't talk much about the war, still really doesn't. and his full story was only fully revealed when one of his grandchildren, henry, began to get interested and did a podcast about his grandfather and shared it on social media, his amazing grandfather. since then, the letters have

flooded in, people wanting to know about this incredible american hero who missed his grade school graduation because he was doing airborne operations in sicily. just the other night he was on a zoom with a 15-year-old because he always has time for veterans and he gives advice to young people who are interested in serving in the military and hearing his story and giving advice. jim says he doesn't believe the military is for everybody, but if you have the calling, then you should follow the calling, even if you're younger. but i'll caution, not 14. but jim should know. mr. president, this is a remarkable american story, one for the history books and it's one of the reasons -- many reasons that so many people in

my state have served and sacrificed for their country, every day heroes we call them, in alaska. heroes all around us and certainly jim is one of the most important, one of the most prominent, one of the most humble. we are proud to have him in our state and we thank him and his wife peggy and his wonderful three daughters and their whole family for sharing jim with us and thank jim for his incredible tenacity, patriotism, remarkable service example and, jim, we want to thank you once again for being our alaskan of the week. happy veterans day to you and all the veterans back home in alaska. i yield the floor.

the presiding officer: the senator from ohio is recognized. mr. portman: first, i just got to hear the story of jim from alaska and i thank senator sullivan for sharing that with all of us. i'm here on the floor to talk tonight about the growing epidemic of drug addiction and the issue that's occurring in my home state of ohio and really all of the states represented here in this chamber and how we need to redouble our efforts and it's a heartbreaking story because we were making so much progress prior to the covid-19 pandemic. but now underneath the pandemic, we have this epidemic that's growing. but before we get into that, i must talk first about what's going on this evening in the

u.s. house of representatives. almost three months ago, the beginning of august, we passed in this chamber bipartisan legislation to finely address our infrastructure shortfalls in this country. the presidents of both parties had been proposing it for many years, congress had talked about it a lot, but we he had never been able to figure out a way forward and so a group of ten republicans, ten democrats got together and said, we're going to grow this from the middle out and figure out how to address our infrastructure challenges and do so in a bipartisan way. we did that. the president of the united states, president biden, supported our effort and we were able to get that legislation across the floor here in the united states senate. not without some challenges and some changes, modifications, but we were able to do it because it was great for america, great for every state represented here because it was repairing roads

and bridges, but also our ports, our waterways, our water infrastructure, our infrastructure that is considered digital, which would be high-speed internet to make sure it's available to all of our citizens. so a lot of of shall -- of things that people talked about for a long time they were for, but it finally got into writing and it passed with a bipartisan support, unfortunately it has languished in the house of representatives for almost three months since early august and the reason it has languished over there isn't because it doesn't have the votes. it's really more because people would like to use it as a hostage for something they want even more. and that's just wrong and so tonight i urge my house colleagues, democrat and republican alike, to put aside

the bipartisanship and focus on the substance of the bill and pass it. it's been held political hostage to something that house democrats, particularly progressives in the house, want even more. it's not they are opposed to infrastructure. they know it's needed. it's good for our constituents, it's good for our country. it's because they want even more to pass a mass pif new spending bill -- massive new spending bill, called sometimes a build back better bill, sometimes a reconciliation bill, sometimes the $3.5 trillion tax tax and sd bill but that is different. they know a lot of moderate democrats support the infrastructure bill. they need those moderate democrats to support is the massive tax and spend bill and so they are held it hostage and have not allowed the infrastructure bill to move unless they get commitments on

the bill they really want which is the tax and spend bill. i think that's just really wrong. i urge the speaker of the house and my colleagues in the house to go ahead and vote on that legislation this evening. i know there's been back and forth all day about what would happen. all i can say is it's the right thing to do for our country. if you think about it, the infrastructure bill is exactly what we need right now. not only do we have a long-term challenge everybody knows about and we've been talking about literally for decades, but for the problems we face right now in our economy, it's very effective, inflation, everybody's concerned about it and they should be. the cost of gasoline at the pump is up 42% this year compared to last year, really tough on middle-class families, although paychecks have gone up a little bit, inflation has gone up higher, so unfortunately it's a tax on so many working families in this country. everything's up, food, clothing,

furniture, everything's up. so inflawtion is -- inflation is driven in part by the stoims spending. you remember in march there was a big bill, many said, and famously larry summers who was the former secretary fosh treasury for president obama and, he said you will drive up inflation because you are putting many more dollars into people's pockets and into the economy at a time when the economy was already beginning to improve and chasing fewer and fewer goods and that will raisin flaition and -- and that will raise inflation and that is what happened, and particularly lower and middle income families are seeing this hidden tax really on everything they buy and, again, taking away the power of their slight increase in wages that we see. when you look at the data, it looks like wages have gone down in the past year, they've gone

down. so, because after inflation, wages are worth less. so that's where we are right now and the infrastructure bill is actually counterinflationary. why do i say that? because it doesn't invest in the way that the tax and spend bill invests, it's about longer-term investment, and so economists look at that, especially economists at the american enterprise institute including a former c.b.o. drerktor here and -- director here and they say this will be counterinflationary, because you are creating jobs, making our economy more efficient, magg it more productive -- making it more productive and therefore in this instance now where we have the high inflation, it's a good thing to do. number two, we've had a number of natural disasters in this country, particularly in the past year. about one in every three americans, apparently, lives in

an area that has been subject to the natural disasters, it's the hurricanes, the flood, the wildfires, it is something that is affecting our country in a major way right now and we hear about it virtually every week. this legislation, the infrastructure bill, actually has provisions for resiliency to mitigate the disasters, there is an historic commitment to ensuring that we're not just talking about climate change and natural disasters but things that will protect these communities, whether it's forest fires, hurricanes, hurricanes or other natural disasters, that's in the infrastructure bill. finally, what's one of the biggest things we face in terms of the economy, the supply chain crisis. go to a store in your community as many of you have and you will see that the shelves are a lot

barer than they used to be. there is a bottleneck and this legislation helps in that regard. it provides funding for infrastructure, including our ports, our ports of entry, our land ports but also our seaports that are now in a situation where they are jammed with more and more container ships and yet they can't process them quickly enough. so what the experts tell me is the $2 billion in the infrastructure bill will help to improve those facilities, improve their operation, improve the intermodal connections, the truck and train connections to our ports and help move along this supply chain issue we're facing, this helps in regard to freight, rail, it helps with regard to our waterways, which carry a lot of freight in our country. so it would be helpful in all three areas, inflation, natural disast