capitol where senate lawmakers are voting on a debt limit crease and 2022 defense programs and policy bill and lawmakers are considering more judicial nomination and the first votes set for 11 a.m. eastern today. live now to the floor of the u.s. senate here on c-span2. and the u.s. senate now in recess. the presiding officer: the senate will come to order. the chaplain, the reverend dr. barry black, will lead the senate in prayer. the chaplain: let us pray. o god, lover of humanity, give us today your pardon and peace. pardon the sins of our lips, the unkind words we may have spoken. pardon the sins of our minds,

the refusal to face facts. lord, pardon the sins of our hearts, the pride that makes us forget to love our neighbors as we love ourselves. mighty god, place your peace within our senators, providing them with the certainty that your love can vanquish fear. and, lord, we continue to pray for the tornado recovery efforts. we pray in your great name. amen. the presiding officer: please join me in reciting

the pledge of allegiance to the flag. i pledge allegiance to the flag of the united states of america, and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under god, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. the presiding officer: the clerk will read a communication to the senate. the clerk: washington, d.c., december 14, 2021. to the senate: under the provisions of rule 1, paragraph 3, of the standing rules of the senate, i hereby appoint the honorable raphael g. warnock, a senator from the state of georgia, to perform the duties of the chair. signed: patrick j. leahy, president pro tempore. the presiding officer: under the previous order, the leadership time is reserved. morning business is closed. under the previous order, the senate will proceed to executive session and resume consideration

of the following nomination, which the clerk will report. the clerk: nomination, the judiciary. issamantha d. elliott of new hampshire to be united states district judge for the district of new hampshire.

mr. schumer: mr. president? the presiding officer: the majority leader is recognized. mr. schumer: now today, mr. president, the senate will vote to advance at least one more biden judicial nominee. we'll move forward on our annual defense bill. we'll vote on the motion to proceed on legislation to raise the debt ceiling, all hopefully before we start the afternoon. it's a busy day for the senate,

so let me break down each of these items in some detail. on the legislative front, later this morning the senate will vote to invoke cloture on the annual defense bill, negotiated on a bicameral, bipartisan basis. for over 60 years the ndaa, national defense authorization act, has passed without fail on a mostly bipartisan basis, so i thank all of my colleagues for working in good faith to getting this defense bill done. the senate will then turn to the critical matter of addressing the debt limit in order to avoid a first of ever default on our sovereign -- a first-ever default on our sovereign debt. last week democrats and republicans came together to pass legislation, setting up a fast-track process for addressing the debt limit. today we're going to complete that process, and it will come in two steps. first, as i said, we'll vote on the motion to proceed followed by a vote on final passage later

today. thanks to last week's agreement between democrats and republicans, today's motion will proceed will be set at a majority threshold. once we're on the bill, no amendments will be in order, debate will be limited to ten hours, and we hope to yield back debate time on our side to keep this progress moving. the resolution we will vote on will provide for raising of the debt limit to a level commensurate with funding necessary to getting into 2023. as i have said repeatedly, this is about paying debt accumulated by both parties, so i'm pleased republicans and democrats came together to facilitate a process that has made addressing the debt ceiling possible. i want to thank the republican leader and all my republican colleagues who reached out across the aisle in good faith to bring us to this point. no brinksmanship, no default on

the debt, no risk of another recession. responsible governing has won on this exceedingly important issue. the american people can breathe easy and rest assured there will not be a default. so once again i thank the republican leader and my republican colleagues who voted with us to address this issue. the senate can be done with this matter before the end of the day, crossing another major item off of our december to-do list. off the floor, democrats continue working to put the senate in a position to act on president biden's build back better act along with the time line i have set out for our caucus. this week, bipartisan byrd bath meetings with the parliamentarian will continue. i thank my colleagues, the parliamentarian, and her team for working through this important and difficult process. the president will also continue to have -- continue his conversations with our caucus,

as we hash out the final details of the legislation. build back better is moving forward, and i thank all of my colleagues and president for their diligence and their commitment to get this done. on judges and nominations, in addition to our legislative agenda, the senate will also work today and the rest of the week on confirming more of president biden's nominees to serve on the federal bench. first, we will hold a vote this morning to proceed on the nomination of samantha elliott to serve as a district judge for the district of new hampshire. and as soon as today we also hope to vote on the confirmation of ever in-- jennifer sung. the senate invoked cloture on ms. sung last week and i want to say a few words in support of this nominee. she has proven herself to be an exceptional and impartial

adjudicator, an advocate for working americans and i'm confident she'll be an excellent judge who adds to the diversity of the ninth circuit. a graduate of yale law school, ms. sung's first experience with the ninth circuit came while she served as a clerk for judge betty fletcher before embarking on a career this private practice focused on employment and labor law. for over a decade, she regularly represented low-income workers, minority workers, underserved employers. as a member of the equal employment opportunity commission, she struck a balance between the rights of working americans while applying the law without prejudice. if confirmed, ms. sung would be one of the very few asian americans to sit on the federal judiciary. along with ms. elliott, she would be the 31st judge that the senate democratic majority has confirmed this year, the

most under any president's first year in decades, and we are doing it without standing impartial -- with outstanding impartial and diverse nominees. many of these individuals have served admirably on the bench. but we hope the trailblazers of today can be closer to the norm of tomorrow. we want our courts to include more women, more diverse candidates and more judges who come from unique walks of life. that is how we can strengthen americans' trust in an independent and impartial judiciary, so important to the vitality of our democracy. now, on the covid moment of silence, this evening i will join the speaker and other congressional leaders on the capitol steps to mark a dreaded and sorrowful milestone --

800,000 americans have now lost their lives to the covid-19 pandemic. we'll hold a moment of silence in their memory. as americans come together for the holidays, as we take stock of the long road we've taken this year, many of us carry in our hearts an unresolvable contradiction, gratitude for the progress we've made but grief for the loss we've endured along the way. thanks to vaccines, tens of thousands of deaths, maybe even hundreds of thousands, have been thankfully prevented. across the country americans are returning to work and once again meeting at bars, restaurants, concerts. our country is far better off today than we were a year ago. but on this day, this day, we'll remember that 800,000 loved ones did not make it this far, a a lost father, mother, grandmother, friend, familiar face in the neighborhood -- all of us know someone who this

disease has taken away. we are not out of the woods yet. as the omicron variant makes it way across the country, i urge my fellow new yorkers and americans to get vaccinated or boosted as soon as possible. vaccines remain the very best way to bring this disease to an end. i hope the milestone we observe trade is the final one in our fight against this awful disease. with vaccines, we can rid ourselves of covid and avoid adding to the sum. today we hold them close to our hearts and commit to doing our part to bring this pandemic to an end. i yield the floor. i note the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. quorum call: .

mr. mcconnell: kentucky is working to recover from the deadly storms and tornadoes. each day brings entirely new challenges. tens of thousands are still dealing with water, gas, or power outages. families are in shock and grief over the loss of loved ones. rebuilding the areas of kentucky leveled by the storm will take months, if not years, to complete. amid this pain, though, bright lights of hope shine through. in the face of tragedy, kentuckians are still as strong and as generous as we've always been. yesterday, i spoke with taylor county judge executive. i told me 70 families in his county had lost their homes in the storm, emergency responders made shelters available, but folks were quickly taken in by family, friends, or neighbors.

just the kind of people we have in kentucky. in mayfield, residents are already beginning to rebuild, only days after the storm leveled full city blocks. churches hosted sunday services this past weekend. locals brought their chain saws and cleared debris from the city roads. people from nearby counties and states have flooded, literally flooded in to help. one man, jimmy finch, has struck a chord with america's hearts all across the country. he had no connections to mayfield whatsoever. he's from clarkville, tennessee. but after the disaster, he borrowed a big meat smoker, got into his car, made the hour and a half journey in the dead of night and started serving up food the next morning. a fellow from tennessee came up to kentucky and brought a whole bunch of food. on sunday morning, for hours, he

fed chicken, hot links, and burgers to hungry residents who had been without heat or power for days. western kentucky's radio and tv stations have kept operating throughout this eyes is, delivering vital information, even amid roving power outages. state parks opened their doors to residents who lost their homes. businesses, individuals, and charities have been generous with food, water, and shelter. kentucky's first responders are working hand in hand with fema to provide coordinated relief, doctors, nurses, firefighters and law enforcement officers are working literally through the night. utility workers are making a herklyan efforts to restore power and water. hundreds of nawrdzmen de-- national guardsmen offered their assistance. at fort campbell, the federal government provided a critical lifeline of support, 61

generators, 74,000 meals, 135,000 leaders of -- liters of water, thousands of cots and blankets, all supplied by fort campbell. i'm in close contact with governor beshear, our federal agencies and local leaders. my staff and i have been in frequent touch with the white house. kentucky will come back from this bigger and better than ever before. i'll make sure the senate provides all the assistance we can to make sure that's a reality. now, mr. president, on a totally different matter, washington democrats printing, borrowing, and spending addiction is directly hurting american families. two-thirds of the american people, a super majority, are worried about inflation. about half the middle class and 70% of low-income families say soaring prices have personally hurt their household.

and it isn't getting better. like the biden administration promised it would. it's actually getting worse. last friday, the labor labor department released a jaw-dropping report, the consumer plys index -- consumer price index shot up 6.8% over the last year. 6.8% inflation, the worst inflation -- listen to this -- the worst inflation in 40 years. now, it's true that the average american worker has gotten a pay increase since 2020, but rising prices have more than wiped that totally out. we have a remarkable situation where american workers are earning raises, but their bigger paychecks buy their families even less than what their smaller paychecks bought before the democrats took power. the net effect is a nearly 2% pay cut for the average

american. now, our citizens do know what's happening. 67% of the country says washington needs to cut back on spending and printing money. they say -- let me say that again. 67% of the country says washington needs to cut back on spending and printing money. but here in washington, leading democrats want to plow ahead and double down on the reckless taxing-and-spending spree that got us here. they want to respond to a stunning inflation report by printing, borrowing, and spending trillions upon trillions more on new entitlements and far-left programs. and if that weren't bad enough, on friday a new report showed their socialist shopping spree could cost the country trillions more than democrats are willing to admit. you see, as one of our democratic colleagues explained last month, his party's bill is packed full of shell games and budgets gimmicks.

shell games and bunt gimmicks -- budget gimmicks. for example for example, their bill pretends major entitlements ek pier of a a few years. of course, that never happens. as a wise man once said, nothing is so permanent as a temporary government program. democrats aren't even pretending they think the spending will stop. they're boasting about a permanent transformation. the fake expiration dates are just an accounting trick so the price tag looks artificially low. and last friday, the congressional budget office announced if we acknowledge the permanent entitlements would be permanent, in other words, tell the truth, their bill would actually cost $4.9 trillion in the first decade alone. that is the truth of the situation. it would explode the deficit by

$3 trillion in that same ten-year period. democrats are trying to reassure their alarmed members that they'd find new ways to offset future extensions. but let's think about it. they've just spent months shoveling every possible pay for into this existing bill. they already burned through huge, permanent tax hikes just to partially offset the bill with the gimmicks. extending these programs further would either explode our national debt or it would take even further trillions and even further gigantic tax hikes that democrats are simply unwilling to specify. so which is it? historic deficits or trillions more in secret tax hikes? the right answer for the country is neither. later today, every senate democrat is going to vote on party lines to raise our nation's debt limit by trillions of dollars. if they jam through another reckless taxing-and-spending spree, this massive debt

increase will just be the beginning. more printing and borrowing to set up more reckless spending to cause more inflation to hurt working familiar ills even more. what the american people need is a break. now on one final matter, for months while our colleagues have been writing their reckless taxing-and-spending spree behind closed door the democratic majority let the authorization act sit in limbo. this week, four and a half months after it was cleared by the armed services committee, the senate should finally, finally finish this legislation. unfortunately, those who mean america harm haven't been waiting around for us to act. threats to our national security are grave and getting graver. since the biden administration's disastrous retreat from afghanistan, according to our top commander in the region, the u.s. military has but a

small fraction of the actionable intelligence they had before the coalition withdrew. but the predictable, avoidable resurgence of terrorist networks of course has continued apace. we also know more american citizens remain stranded under taliban rule than the biden administration is willing to admit. meanwhile, the threat of further russian aggression toward ukraine is testing whether this white house and our allies in europe will avoid misguided half measures to defend and deter against grave and growing threats. so at the risk of saying the obvious, the united states needs to follow through with promises of urgent, substantive assistance to ukraine and encourage other nato allies to do the same thing. this should not be controversial. only in a warped world of kremlin propaganda is giving

ukraine the means to defend itself considered provocative. these real threats to national security and others too numerous to name should serve as a reminder of the need for america to lead by example and commit to modernizing our own military capabilities which in turn means taking the national defense authorization act seriously. so, i'm glad the senate is finally set to vote on this crucial legislation while the process has been imperfect, i'm glad that bipartisan work has produced a bill that authorizes an increase in top-line funding for our national defense. after months of delay, our colleagues have an opportunity to begin showing that america is serious about keeping pace with adversaries like russia, who spent literally decades modernizing their militaries with a singular focus be on countering our military advantage.

we have an opportunity to pay more than just lip service to competition with china. we have an opportunity to lay a foundation that we ought to follow through with robust and full-year defense appropriations. i would encourage all senators to advance this legislation today. mr. durbin: mr. president. the presiding officer: the majority whip. mr. durbin: mr. president, the monstrous chain of tornadoes and violent storms that rampaged across illinois and five other states last friday is a terrible reminder in america that we are all one people. the killer storms didn't stop at state lines. they didn't discriminate based

on skin color, creed, political party, or age. among the more than 90 victims that we know of at this moment, the eldest was 86 years old, the youngest sadly was a tiny baby just five months old. even as people in my state of illinois grieve for victims in our state, we also mourn for and with all those who died and are suffering in nearby states states -- arkansas, tennessee, mississippi, missouri, and especially our neighbor to the south, kentucky. senator mcconnell has spoken. we've all seen reports of the staggering destruction in mayfield, kentucky, and other communities. i want to say a few words about the destruction that was reaped in my own state and also about the tremendous outpouring of compassion and community. the national weather service tells us more than 30 tornadoes tore through six states last friday night. the most destructive may go down as the longest continuous

tornado in the history of the united states. that tornado appears to have remained on the ground for four hours, traveling 290 miles across four states, pulverizing everything in its path. from kentucky, there were reports of objects being lifted 30,000 feet in the air by force of the tornado. treasured family photos were found 100 miles away. sadly, at least 80 people have lost their lives in kentucky. in illinois, we have also suffered staggering losses. four tornadoes tore across our state between 7:30 and 10:00 last friday. the great devastation was in edwardsville, illinois, where a powerful tornado with winds up to 155 miles an hour peeled the roof off a massive amazon distribution facility about 9:00. massive concrete walls 11 inches

thick and 40 feet high caved in, trapping employees who were working to fill christmas and holiday orders. fire and rescue crews from at least 20 communities rushed to the scene. more than 45 workers managed to escape from that mountain of rubble, but six workers died when the warehouse collapsed. the oldest was 62, the youngest was 26. 30 more workers were hurt, one still hospitalized with critical injuries. i know i speak for millions of americans when i say that our hearts go out to all those who perished in friday's tornadoes and to those they left behind. i thank president biden for responding quickly. yesterday our governor, j.b. pritzker requested an emergency declaration and we join him. the president issued an emergency order just a few hours after that request. this assistance will help our state immediately, but there's more to do. thanks to the red cross and so

many volunteers, local residents and communities across illinois for pitching in to help the victims. supplementing that fine work are volunteers who have come to help in any way they can. it was ironic that last week i had a coffee for a man named jose andres, well known across the country for his extraordinary efforts to feed hungry people. last tuesday he spoke to us and a few members of our caucus about his nonprofit organization, the world central kitchen. they've come to the rescue of people in need in puerto rico and haiti and all across the united states. today world central kitchen is on the ground in mayfield, kentucky, where the tornado struck last friday, providing hot food to the victims. it's a time when america, a divided nation, actually sees our nation coming together.

the tornadoes didn't distinguish between red states and blue states, between trump supporters and biden supporters, and it's my great hope that the senate will also put aside its politics for a few moments and stand together to help the victims. on a related matter, mr. president, while we cannot say that last week's killer tornadoes were directly related to climate change, there's no doubt among scientists that climate change is making the world's weather patterns more volatile and destructive. how many times in the past year have members of the senate come to the floor to re0 sponsored to a once in a century heat wave or once in a century storm that hit their home state? i'll say for tornadoes, you can't be a kid growing up in the midwest as i was and not know about tornadoes. how many times in the middle of the summer we were aroused our our bed as the siren went off and mom would take us off to the basement, a safe place, until

the storm would blow over. that was the summer phenomena. i have to remind you we just went through a december tornado in that same area, unheard of years gone by. over the summer the pacific northwest burned in the worst heat wave on record. droughts in western states, polar vortex knocking texas power grid off-line. each of these deadly weather events are related to the next, and it's fair warning to all of us that what moves happening to the climate in the united states is happening around the world. yesterday sienlts -- scientists warned a glacier the size of florida is at risk of falling apart in the next few years causing catastrophic rise in sea levels that can threaten millions of people h living in coastal areas. when we talk about build back better, the reconciliation bill, and that part of the bill that is focused on environmental

resilience being ready to protect ourselves and to bounce back if necessary when extreme weather hits, it's the topic in this morning's newspaper and it will be in tomorrow's as well. we ought to be coming together and finally put aside our political differences and realize that climate change is a threat to us now and even greater threat to our children and grandchildren. last week i received a letter from one of the small business owners in our area, dr. dane glick. he developed a company developing solar for homes and businesses. he wrote and said solar is a job creator. the long-term tech incentives in build back better will put us on a path to dec carbonize the interest grid and create hundreds of thousands of quality career opportunities in every

community. today dr. glick employs 100 people throughout the midwest, but with investments in the build back better act, thes reconciliation bill, he's going to expand operation and hire more workers. let's give him the incentive that he needs. i heard the senator from kentucky, the republican leader, come to the floor and once again he is critical of this whole effort. i wish he would stop and reflect on the fact that our ?imbghts ?imbghts -- incentives to move in the right direction on the environment are an important part of the conversation we should have after the devastation last friday in his state and mine and across the midwest. it's time to transform our environmental crisis into an economic catalyst. mr. president, i would also like to put a statement in the record at a separate location with unanimous consent. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. durbin: mr. president, it turns out it's an anniversary.

just this month. you see in 1921, 100 years ago a canadian scientist named frederick banting discovered insulin. he sold the patent for this discovery to the university of toronto for $1. he declared that this lifesaving drug didn't belong to him. quote, it belongs to the world. he wasn't the only unselfish scientist i can remember. i remember as a kid our fear of polio, and along came dr. jonas salk, bless his soul, and discovered the vaccine that we needed to protect ourselves. there was no great political debate. people weren't threatening lawsuits. my mom and dad said line up and roll up your sleeve, kid. we're going to do what needs to be done to protect you from polio. dr. jonas salk gave away the

patent to that drug as well. it was a different era perhaps, when insulin was discovered or the polio vaccine, but we should reflect on the state of play today of that drug, insulin. 100 years later there are 8.4 million diabetics in the united states who rely on insulin. they have to pay, many of them, an exorbitant amount of money for allege drug that supposedly belongs to them according to its discoverer. as the cost of insulin has risen, average list prices increased 40% for insulin between 2014 and 2018. i'm quoting from an article in today's "usa today" by katie wadell. patients and their families are shelling out hundreds of dollars, even if they have good insurance. ron regalatto is the father of a teen with type 1 diabetes. do you know what he calls the

insulin pricing system? legal extortion. this article tells the story of what he went through. he never heard of a pharmacy benefit manager before two years ago, but it was two years ago that his son matt, then 14 years old, was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes, and mr. regalatto got a crash course in insulin pricing in america today. his first trip to the pharmacy when his son was released from the hospital came with a $1,000 price tag for all the testing supplies of insulin he never purchased before. the next month when all he had to do was buy more insulin, the price was still north of $400 after insurance. this single dad of two said he thought he had good insurance until he found himself having to redo his entire household budget to afford the insulin to keep his son alive. i thought how do people do this, he said. he's a resident of tacoma,

nebraska. he started making calls to his insurance company, the pharmacy and doctors trying to figure out a way to lower his expenses for the insulin that his son needed to survive. then he called his congressman. congressman jeff thorntonbercy said in july that the cost of insulin is artificially high and ever-escalating. he's introduced a bill at capping the prices. the act would make insulin prices fair for everyone by capping the price at $60 a vial and $20 a dial for those uninsured. what a difference that would make for the families in nebraska. instead of $400, $20. the reason i raise that is the provision in law that we are trying to enact is in the same bill that the republican leader

just came to the floor and told us america cannot afford. the tax increases in that bill -- and there will be tax increases -- will only aplay to people making over -- apply to people making over $400,000 a year. and yet the republican leader comes to the floor and talks about this terrible idea of raising taxes. so let's step back and measure the difference here. should mr. regalato, a single dad, father of two, with a 14-year-old son who needs insulin to live, be paying $400 a month for $20 a month for the insulin, the lifesaving inks lynn? and to make up the difference, is it unfair to ask someone making over $400,000 a year to pay more in taxes? you be the judge. i don't even think it is a close call. what we need to do is to get down to business. i don't know that there will be a single republican voting to support this effort to reduce the cost of insulin for eight

million diabetics. that's just the way politics works in this chamber. i do hope that the eight million families who have a diabetic son or daughter, father or mother will step up and speak up in the next few days because we have a chance to bring this measure to the floor this year, a measure which will affect many different areas of the law but specifically the cost of insulin for american families. if those eight million families will stand up and speak up and say to members of the united states senate, enough. you've negotiated enough. close the deal. do something that will be helpful to our families. just maybe that can make a difference. maybe the endless negotiations that have gone on for month after month after month will finally come an end. now is the time to get it done. we have work to do in the senate, and clearing the bill for final passage, but i think we're on the track to get that

done. what we need to have a groundswell of support from across america. when you take a look at the other provisions in the bill, helping working families to pay for day care -- for goodness sake, there's hardly a family around, unless they're very wealthy you that isn't concerned about the cost and quality of day care available. we have a provision in this bill, the same bill that senator mcconnell spoke against just a few minutes ago, to help families pay for day care. is it important to these families? well, it is important to my family. visited with my granddaughter over the weekend. i'm sure there are many people with grandchildren who look at those kids and thralls they should be in a safe, affordable, and nurturing environment every day. is it important to have a provision in the law which says we're going to provide home health care services to elderly members of our family, our disabled members of our family? i'll tell you this -- the elderly folks that i speak

to the senior citizens want to stay independent as long as possible, and they want to stay home as long as possible. if we can help them stay home and be independent, why wouldn't we do it? if it means a tax increase for people making over $400,000 a year? so be it. sign me up for that tax increase. those who are well off pay a little bit more in taxes so those who are struggling can get a helping hand. when the republicans come to the floor and tell us how terrible this bill is, well, tell it to eight million families in america who has someone who needs insulin. tell it to the families with elderly parents or people who are disabled in their household who need a helping hand to be able to stay home and have quality health care. all of these things are addressed in this bill. it is important that we pass it,

and i hope we do it soon. but we need to hear from america to create the momentum to get that job done. mr. president, i ask that this entire article from the "usa today" on insulin be placed in the record. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. durbin: i yield the floor. mr. thune: mr. president? the presiding officer: the republican whip. mr. thune: mr. president, i would ask unanimous consent that i be able to complete my remarks prior to the vote. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. thune: mr. president, the latest inflation numbers came out friday, and the news was not good. inflation is currently at the

highest level in nearly 40 years -- 40 years. the last time inflation was this bad, e.t. and rocky 3 were in theaters and the green bay packers were being coached by part starr. mr. president, high inflation has taken a major toll on american families. gas prices are at a seven-year high. the cost of cars and trucks is up 31%. propane, kerosene, firewood with are up 34%. food prices have increased significantly. ground beef is up 14%. apples up 7.4%. pork is up 17%. eggs, 8%. baby food is up 6.7%. bacon and related products are up 21%.

and, mr. president, the list continues. rent prices are up. utility prices are up. furniture prices are up. and on and on. inflation is so bad that despite wage growth in year, americans have seen a de facto pay cut with real average hourly earnings down 1.9% in year. mr. president, inflation is what happens when you have too many dollars chasing too few goods and services. and a big reason for our current inflation is democrats' decision to pour more unnecessary money into the economy earlier this year, despite being warned that their partisan $1.9 trillion american rescue plan spending spree could stoke inflation. and you don't have to take my word for it. here's what former obama economic advisor jason if you are minute -- jason furman had

to say. the recent plan contributed to both higher output but also higher prices, end quote. that quote from mr. furman appeared in a "new york times" article that noted, i quote, but some economists, including veterans of previous democratic administrations, say much of mr. biden's inflation struggle is self-inflicted. lawrence h. summers is one of those who say the stimulus bill that the president signed in march gave too much of a boost to consumer spending. mr. summers, who served in the obama and clinton administrations, says inflation now risks spiraling out of control and other democratic economists agree there are risks, end quote. again, that, mr. president, from "the new york times." mr. president, inflation is spiraling out of control, and democrats are preparing to throw more fuel on the fire.

that's right. democrats are preparing to double down on the strategy that helped get us in this mess in the first place and pass yet another massive government spending bill. i'm not sure whether democrats simply don't care about the inflation situation facing american families or whether they're operating under the delusion that they can somehow pass another major government spending bill without serious consequences for the economy. regardless, there's no question that pouring another $1.75 trillion in government money into the economy would likely make our inflation crisis even worse than it is today. now, mr. president, i say $1.75 trillion because that's what democrats have been selling is the price tag for their so-called build back better plan. but as we learned on friday of last week from the congressional budget office's latest analysis, democrats' spending spree would

far exceed $1.75 trillion. when you take away the shell games and budget gimmicks democrats' spending spree would cost almost $5 trillion. $5 trillion. and of course the tax hikes in the democrats' plan, as large as they are, wouldn't even come close to funding that amount. democrats' build back better proposal, if implemented over ten years as they plan, would add an eye-popping $3 trillion to our national debt. it turns out that build back better is more like build back bankrupt. mr. president, democrats have attempted to disguise the true cost of their build back bankrupt plan by sunsetting various provisions before the end of the bill's ten-year

window. of course democrats have never had any intention of actually sunsetting these provisions. but by claiming that they are going to sunset these measures, they have been able to sort of disguise the fact that their spending spree would actually cost nearly $5 trillion. that's the congressional budget office. not me. the congressional budget office last friday said, if extended -- ten-year window -- this bill would cost $5 trillion. democrats are implicitly admitting that they plan to extend these programs, but they are saying that people shouldn't worry that the cost of these extensions will be offset. i'd like to know just how exactly they plan to do that. with massive new tax hikes on top of the tax hikes they've already included in their bill?

just how many tax hikes do democrats think our economy can handle? if democrats had a plan for future offsets, why didn't they include those offsets in their bill in the first place, along with an honest accounting of the length of their programs? is it because, they fought that the american people would balk if they knew the true cost of the bill, that they might not be crazy about the idea of a bill that would cost them $5 trillion? mr. president, i'm hard-pressed to think of anything more irresponsible than for democrats to pass their build back better or their build back bankrupt measure right now. inflation is soaring, as i've just pointed out, and there's no clear end in sight. even the federal reserve is now acknowledging this isn't transitory. they've removed that word from their description.

we're emerging from a pandemic that required a lot of government expenditure and a corresponding increase in our debt. and we have no idea what government money might be needed down the road. passing a $5 trillion spending spree that would add $3 trillion to our national debt is the very last thing that we should be doing. i hope that at least some of my democrat colleagues will think better of their spending plans before the american people are forced to discover just what building back bankrupt is really like. mr. president, i yield the floor.

the presiding officer: the clerk will report the motion to invoke cloture. the clerk: cloture motion, we the undersigned senators in accordance with the provisions of rule 22 of the standing rules of the senate, hereby move to bring to close calendar number 576, samantha d. elliott of new hampshire to be united states district judge for the district of new hampshire, signed by 17 senators. the presiding officer: by unanimous consent, the mandatory quorum call has been waived, the question is is it the sense of the senate that debate on the nomination of samantha d. elliott of new hampshire to be the united states district judge for the district of new hampshire shall be brought to a close. the yeas and nays are mandatory under the rule. the clerk will call the roll.

vote:

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the presiding officer: on this measure, the yeas are 59, the nays are 40. the motion is agreed to. the clerk will now 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 bring to a close debate on the motion to concur in the house amendment to s. 1605, a bill to designate the national post memorial and so forth and for other purposes. 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 motion to concur in the house amendment to s. 1605, an act to designate the national post memorial located at 1912, south orange avenue and for other purposes shall be brought to a close. the yeas and nays are mandatory under the rule. the clerk will call the roll. vote:

vote:

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the presiding officer: on this vote the yeas are 86. the nays are 13. three-fifths of the senators duly chosen and sworn having voted in the affirmative, the motion is agreed to. mr. schumer: mr. president? the presiding officer: cloture having been invoked, the senate will resume legislative session to resume consideration of the house message to accompany s. 1605 which the clerk will report. the clerk: resolve that the bill from the senate s. 1605 entitled an act to designate the national post memorial located at 1912 south orange avenue in orlando, florida and for other purposes do pass with an amendment. the presiding officer: the motion to refer and the

amendment pending thereto fall. mr. schumer: mr. president, i move -- the presiding officer: the majority leader. mr. schumer: i move to proceed to calendar 184, s.j. res. 33. the presiding officer: the clerk will report the motion. the clerk: calendar 184, s.j. res. 33, joint resolution relating to increasing the debt limit. the presiding officer: the question is on the motion. mr. schumer: i ask for the yeas and nays. the presiding officer: is there sufficient second? there appears to be. the clerk will call the roll. vote:

vote:

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the presiding officer: the yeas are 50, the nays are 49. the motion is agreed to. the clerk will report the joint resolution. the clerk: calendar number 184, s.j. res. 33, joint resolution relating to increasing the debt limit. the presiding officer: pursuant to the provision tion of the public law 117-71 stll be ten

hours of debate on the joint resolution equally divided between the chairman and ranking member on finance. mr. durbin: madam president, i ask unanimous consent the senate stand in recess until 2:15 p.m. and that all time during recess count equally against both sides on the joint resolution. the presiding officer: is there objection? without objection. mr. durbin: for the information of senators, we expect a roll call vote on passage of senate joint resolution 33 to occur at approximately 4:00 p.m. today. the presiding officer: under the previous order, the senate stands in recess until 2:15 p.m.

>> c-span is your unfiltered view of government funded by these television companies including media, >> the world change in an instant and mediacom was ready. we never slowed down. schools and businesses this, we powered a new reality because mediacom we are here to keep you ahead. >> mediacom supports c-span as a public service along withthese other providers giving you proceed to democracy . >> where joined by d day, journalist and lecturer at johns hopkins carry business school on economics. we're going to be talking about the debt limit which is coming up on wednesday. the debt limit, current limit