compliant about the americans with disabilities act, stations in wellesley and newton received calls from many of our wheelchair bound cannot access the train. one of my constituents lives in a housing unit in wellesley square and can easily get to the station, but cannot get on the train. the infrastructure bill sponsored by my colleagues on the committee, congressman garcia and congresswoman newman-- >> we're going to break away from this to go live to the u.s. senate, part of our commitment to bring you live to congress. and the 2022 defense programs, national defense alteration act, ndaa, and final pass saj for 11:30 eastern this morning.

and nominees including jennifer sohn for the circuit. live to the senate c-span2. the presiding officer: the senate will come to order. the chaplain, dr. barry black, will lead the senate in prayer. the chaplain: let us pray. god of our destinies, attune our spirits to the graciousness of this season, as you fill us with your measureless love.

thank you for your plan of redemption intended to extricate humanity from ruin. lord, the legislative process often involves disagreements at deep levels, but keep our senators from disagreeable spirits. give them the wisdom to patiently look for ways to cooperate in strengthening this land we love. let the glorious message of peace on earth, goodwill toward all guide their deliberations. we pray in your righteous name.

amen. the presiding officer: please join me in the pledge. 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 15, 2021. to the senate: under the provisions of rule 1, paragraph 3, of the standing rules of the senate, i hereby appoint the honorable martin heinrich, a senator from the state of new mexico, 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 resume consideration of the house message to accompany s. 1605, which the clerk will report. the clerk: message to accompany s. 1605 entitled an act to designate the national pulse memorial located at 1912 south orange avenue in orlando, florida, and for other purposes.

mr. mcconnell: mr. president. the presiding officer: the minority leader. mr. mcconnell: in the aftermath of western kentucky's devastating tornado outbreak, i've main tained close contact with state and local officials,

my staff has been on the ground since the outset of the crisis, helping residents access federal resources and keeping me up to date with any developments. toward the end of the week, i'll travel back to kentucky to meet with my constituents and visit the areas affected. the stories coming out of kentucky are harrowing, but in recent days we also heard about the generosity, the hard work, and the hope that are helping our state recover. kentuckians desperately need help to rebuild, so our universities, normally bitter rivals on the court, are rallying together to raise money and gather supplies for relief efforts. this christmas is shaping up to be exceptionally difficult, for children all across western kentucky. so, churches are organizing toy drives to help make the holidays a little bit brighter.

western kentucky community organizations are stretched to the limit. so businesses based in the commonwealth, from distilleries to car manufacturers to insurance companies, have stepped up and donated literally millions. remarkable stories of survival and resiliency have trickled out of the disaster zone. last weekend's storm destroyed much of the first christian church in mayfield, but the con yellingation -- congregation discovered their communion table and altar cross fully intact, while picking through the rubble. a symbol of hope and rebirth survived amid so much pain. across town, the mayfield health and rehabilitation nursing home was physically devastated when it took a direct hit from the tornado on friday night. but all 74 of the facility's elderly residents survived with

only minor injuries. as one staff member said, this was truly a miracle. and in bremen, kentucky, when a man visited the wreckage of his home on saturday, he discovered his grand piano, mostly undamaged, undamaged, despite the storm. amid the surrounding devastation, he sat down to play and to sing hymns. his songs, shared on social media, warmed the hearts of thousands. these stories of hope have ricocheted across the commonwealth, bringing smiles and strength to the communities that need them most. and they give me faith that kentucky will recover from this crisis stronger than ever. now, mr. president, on an entirely different matter, today, the senate will pass this year's national defense authorization act by a big bipartisan margin. i've talked for weeks about the

importance of this legislation, given the global threats and international challenges that face our country, from china to russia to the fight against terrorists in the middle east. i'll also be proud to vote for this bill because of the enormous impact it will have on my home state. the proud servicemembers based in kentucky play an outsized role in our national defense. from deploying across the world to fighting covid-19 here at home, they do amazing work to keep america safe. in the past week, they've stumped up to provide critical support as kentucky deals with the aftermath of our devastating tornadoes. our commonwealth's heroes and their families deserve our full support, and i'm proud that this year's national defense authorization act delivers for them. nearly $1 billion for the assembled chemical weapons alternatives program that supports the chemical muneitions

destruction mission at the bluegrass army depot, robust funding to deter russia in europe, the mission of fort knox's fifth corps headquarters, continued investments in research and modernization that will guarantee our soldiers, including those at fort campbell, are prepared to counter emerging threats like china. we've also built on our previous efforts to lift up kentucky's military families. the bill provides additional funding for modern, high-quality child care facilities, including $27 million for a new child care development center at fort knox. it authorizes an across-the-board 2.7% pay raise for our troops.

this bill is critically important to the servicemembers who make immense sacrifices to keep our nation safe. i'm proud to support it and help cement the commonwealth's role as america's most military-friendly state. now, one final matter. i described yesterday how inflation is hurting families all across our country. since then, yet another key economic indicator has set an unfortunate record. in the last year, wholesale prices grew at their fastest pace on record. anyone with a shred of sense knows that is -- this is the absolute wrong time, wrong time, to unleash a multi-trillion-dollar taxing-and-spending spree. every single day brings new

evidence our democratic colleagues should give the country a break. but the cost of washington democrats' latest obsession isn't the only problem. the context of what they want to pass is actually just as bad. we've known since the start of covid pandemic that democrats saw it as an opportunity to transform american society. they've actually been quite candid about that. and their reckless taxing taxing-and-spending spree they're writing behind closed doors is the trojan horse to let the radical left dictate intimate details to american families. there's a long list of policies inspired by the authors of the green new deal, a whole slew of knew programs and mandates aimed at fitting the entire country's systems for producing and consuming energy into sort of a california-shaped box. special subsidies for expensive lifestyle choices, like electric

vehicles and electric bicycles, new red tape that is strangling the most reliable sources of american industries and energy. subsidies for supply chains that china dominates, so that america borrows in order to build back beijing. and don't forget the so-called civilian climate corps. just what we need at a time of inflation and labor shortages. a make-work program for liberal activists. of course, washington democrats intend to grab greater control over the development of america's young people long before they're eligible for made-up green jobs. the spree contains a massive toddler takeover that insults the diversity of american families and their aspirations. it only throws money at a subset of secular child care centers that woke bureaucrats happen to favor.

forget faith-based options. forget flexible part-time arrangements. forget being remotely fair to families with a parent at home. democrats want to bring their inflation into child care and make day care more expensive, more inflexible and more unfair. and then there's the latest offensive in a long campaign to restrict more of america's healthcare choices. democrats' plan would mean more one size fits all programs, more government control, a wet blairveght over the world-leading innovation pipeline that creates new cures, and a further gamble with seniors' medicare, when the trust fund is already in danger of insolvency. then, there are the massive tax hikes our colleagues want to use to cover the bill. all those radical changes, all those big government intrusions into family life, compared with a crushing tax hike that would hit our country like a ton of

bricks. there are new is your chadges on individual tax -- surcharges on individual taxpayers, a brand-new radical scheme to make american industries less competitive that senate democrats scribe down with no hearings or committee process. president biden promised he wouldn't raise taxes one penny on anyone making less than 400,000 dollars, but experts agree democrats' tax hikes break that promise. people with far less income would be affected. so for goodness sake, in 2022 their bill would give a bigger percentage tax cut to people making more than $1 million every year than to families that pull in between $75,000 and $100,000. that's according to the joint committee on taxation. the average person who makes upward of a million dollars gets a bigger tax break, a bigger tax bake from democrats' bill than

the average household that makes just under, underunder six -- just under six figures. in large parts that's because of an absurd i had expensive tax giveaway that democrats want to hand out to high-income earners in blue states. their salt policy subsidizes the tax bills of people with mansions who choose to live in high-tax states. it's an insane proposition, struggling to earn support from democrats rank and file. but their leaders, from new york and california, are obsessed with it. so, go figure. but salt is only just the beginning of the gravy train this bill steers towards democrats' pet projects and causes. there's also a tax code tweak that would create a special deduction for union dues, while letting one for charitable contributions actually expire.

noir special -- another special incentive to the tiewfn of $ 10 billion will help liberal colleges and universities indoctrinate students in new environmental justice programs, whatever that is. still others would pour $ 29 billion into funding a national green bank. $2.5 billion into increasing, listen to this, tree ek went. -- tree equity. $1.7 billion to bail out news outlets. an extra billion on top for improving climate resilience of pacific salmon. an extra billion on top for improving climate resilience of pacific salmon. and then of course, there are the extra-special ways democrats want to use this bill to fulfill more personal hometown priorities. speaker pelosi didn't end up

getting to earmark millions of federal dollars for redeveloping a park in her district, ah, but she did secure one congressman's vote for upping the funding for a defunct regional commission that largely benefits his district by 13,000%. that's old school vote buying, mr. president, a slap in the face to taxpayers. our own colleague, the democratic leader, has pledged to use all of his power to personally steer tens of billions of dollars toward a hometown new york city housing authority with a long and storied reputation of corruption, mismanagement, and scandal. so, it's hard to wrap your head around all of this. that is, unless you subscribe to washington democrats' apparent core principle. core principle it when the

american people are footing the bill, the menu is all you can eat. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll.

quorum call:

mr. leahy: mr. president. the presiding officer: the senator from vermont. mr. leahy: mr. president, i ask that the quorum be dispensed. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. leahy: mr. president, the house came together with the senate to raise the debt limit which i think was good because

another close-down of our government would have been disastrous. and so i am proud as president pro tempore to sign the joint resolution that raises the debt limit, and that will go now to the president. the speaker has signed it, i've signed it, and now the president will be able to sign the bill. and i was very, very proud to do that. mr. president, on another matter, we're going to soon have the opportunity to vote on passage of the fiscal year 2022 national defense authorization act, the ndaa. as they do every year, i'm sure senators will get out press releases touting all the things in this bill that they support,

as i do -- pay raise for the military, increases for medical research, investments to counter chinese aggression. these are things all worth talking about. but let's be honest and go beyond the rhetoric and tell the american people about what we are doing and what we are not. we can stand here on the senate floor, we can do it back home and declare our unwavering support for our troops and their families. we can claim to support a strong national defense. but until we put our money where our mouth is and provide the funding we say we support, then those words ring hollow. it's only rhetoric. the ndaa is an important piece of legislation, and i applaud those senators who put it together. it sets overarching policy for the department of defense. it guides our national security.

but -- but -- make sure people understand what it does not do is provide the funding to implement the policies it sets. it says what the policies will be. it declares what the funding should be. but there's not one penny, not one penny in this bill. that's the job of the appropriations committee. as we prepare to vote for the ndaa, republicans have not come to the table to negotiate top-line spending numbers so we can actually enact an appropriations bill to pay for our national defense. some have said that they would be fine if the government ended up operating under a full year continuing resolution. fortunately there are some key republicans, as with all democrats, who don't want a continuing resolution. they would like to get the bills

done. but we have to actually do it. we can't talk about it. we can't be private and say, yeah, i'm for you on that, but we actually do it. so i suggest that if people are wondering whether a continuing resolution helps us, do the math. a full year c.r. would not only reduce spending, defense spending by $35 billion compared with what's in the ndaa bill, but it actually cuts defense spending below last year's level. just think about that. we can talk about all the wonderful things we're doing, but if we don't pass the appropriations bill, if we only have a continuing resolution, we cut defense spending below last year's levels. so another $35 billion that they're touting and one minute

waving the flag and declaring they support our troops to the military and the next day have no problem in cutting the funds. we refuse to go ahead and actually pass the appropriations bills and go instead to a continuing resolution. we're cutting funds. it almost makes me think of alice in wonderland. i wonder if we're going through the looking glass. democrats have put a fair offer on the table to get us through this morass. it provides a 5% increase for defense programs compared to last fiscal year, a 13% increase for all other programs. the 5% increase for defense we picked because it's equal to the increase contained in the ndaa that we're going to vote on today. i would predict that the large majority of senators, republicans and democrats

alike, will vote for the ndaa with that 5% increase. will stop holding up the appropriations bill that actually has the money, that has the money. the ndaa is a promissory note. the appropriations bill is the cash. it's equal -- the money we have in appropriations is equal to the increase for defense programs. the republicans unanimously endorsed when the ndaa was marked up in the senate armed services committee. it's equal to the increase that just passed the house. in the u.s. congress, that's as close to a consensus as i've seen around here, and i've been here a few years. one republican house appropriator has even said publicly that he wants an appropriations deal at the ndaa levels because the ndaa fully funds our defense needs for the

coming year. i want him to know that's the offer the democrats put on the table two months ago. so far i've had deafening silence. we've got to go forward. we have people in both parties who understand the need for an appropriations bill. i recommend we all get together and get it done, because the men and women who serve in the military deserve more than lip service. any senators who votes for this authorization bill today should have no problem embracing an offer that provides the money to actually pay for it. they certainly should not be putting us on a course to a full year continuing resolution which would cause cuts in our national defense and i believe would weaken our national security. secretary austin said a full

year c.r. would be unsound. it would appropriate billions of dollars and roll the u.s. military advantage relative to china. the secretary also knows the investments in research, public health are equally critical to our national security, and i ask consent that secretary austin's full statement be submitted in the record at the end of my statement. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. leahy: i thank the chair. the strength of our military and national security is built on the strength of our people. without domestic investments in education, health care, research, economic development, and science, we can't maintain our military. and without combatting the opioid substance abuse and mental health crises facing our country today, we will no longer be able to recruit the best of the best. we need full-year appropriations bills to make these investments

so people can see what we have and where we're going with it. recently some members on the other side of the aisle have taken to the floor of the senate to decry lack of progress on the appropriations bills. they criticized democrats for not bringing bills to the floor, but let's be real. the only reason we have been unable to move more bills through committee or bring bills to the floor for debate is because republicans have said they'll oppose them until we have a top line. okay, then negotiate the very top line that are required to move bills instead of refusing to negotiate top lines. come on, you can't put barriers across the highway and then complain the traffic is stopped. i've been calling for bipartisan, bicameral negotiations with the white house to reach an agreement on

top lines since march. march, april, may, june, july, august, september, october, november, and now december. it is high time enough to get moving. in october i released a comprehensive proposal with the support of house democrats on a path forward. i'd ask republicans to join us at the negotiating table. we have a job to do. we're ten weeks into the fiscal year. let's step up and make a serious offer on top-line agreement. we democrats have done that. republicans need to do that now. not when it panders to the extremes of their base, and do it in the next few weeks. i've been here for a lot of years. most of the time i've been here

i've been on the senate appropriations committee. i've seen republicans come, and democrats come together. i've seen senators from the left and the right come together, knowing that you have to have a consensus, knowing that you don't pass appropriations bills on sunday bites and on a wish list. you do it with substantive work. our staff has been working throughout recesses and everything else to have this. so let's get to work. let's negotiate full-year appropriations bills that address our country's many needs, including our country's national defense. we've done this over and over again over the years. we can easily do it now. i've talked with the leaders of both parties. i think we're ready. i think anybody who fully understands how appropriations work know that a continuing

resolution for the year is not the way to go. it doesn't help the country. it doesn't help the people we represent. it certainly doesn't help the credibility of the united states senate. and we are in a position where the house wants to work with us. let's get to work. spend a few days doing that. let's pass the omnibus with the individual appropriations bills in it. it's been done in the past. it can be done again. my has been working night and day, weekends. we have everything together. i've talked with several senators on both sides of the aisle. they want to go forward. well, let's go forward. for the sake of the country. for the sake of this body that i respect so much. every single day when i walk

here into the senate, i think what a privilege it is to be here. but with that privilege comes a responsibility, a responsibility to the people of this country, the people we represent. we can fulfill that responsibility by passing these appropriations bills. mr. president, i yield the floor. i suggest the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. quorum call:

mr. schumer: mr. president. the presiding officer: majority leader.

mr. schumer: now, mr. president, on ndaa -- the presiding officer: majority leader we're in -- mr. schumer: i i ask unanimous consent the quorum be dispensed with. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. schumer: for the past six decades, congress worked on a bipartisan basis to pass an annual national defense authorization act without fail. after today, this will be no different. later this morning, the senate will hold a vote to pass ndaa legislation for fiscal year 2022 that has been negotiated on a bipartisan, bicameral basis. after it is an i proved by this chamber, the bill will go to the president's desk for his signature. with so many priorities to balance, i thank my colleagues for working hard over these last few months, both in committee and off the floor, to get ndaa done. i want to particularly recognize my colleague chairman reed for his work shepherding this important process through. now, build back better update. this week, democrats also continue working on getting the senate into a position where we

can vote on the president's build back better legislation. we're also continuing to hold conversations, as senate democrats, on the urgent work of advancing the freedom to vote act and the john lewis voting rights advancement act. there is universal view in our caucus that we need to pass legislation to protect our democracy. what the republican legislatures are doing on a purely partisan basis is undermining, destroying our democracy. we believe we can restore the senate to work the way it's supposed to, and at the same time deal with voting right, and that's what we're aiming to do. now, on judicial nominations. in addition to our legislative agenda, the senate's also making good progress this week on confirming more of president biden's nominees. both to his administration and to the federal bench. today, we will vote to confirm two more of the president's judicial nominees, and it's possible i'll file cloture on more today. at the district level, we'll

confirm samantha elliott to serve as district judge for the district of new hampshire. and also vote on the confirmation of jennifer sung, to sit as a circuit judge for the u.s. court of appeals for the ninth circuit. throughout her career, ms. sung has proven herself to be an exceptional and impartial adjudicator, valiant advocate for working americans, and i'm confidentshe will be an excellent judge who ads to the -- adds to the personal and professional diversity of the ninth circuit. for much of her time in private practice, ms. sung dedicated herself to representing workers in disputes against unscrupulous employers. the folks she's fought for over her career haven't been privileged individuals. on the contrary. they've been everyday working americans, low-income workers, minority workers, in largely underserved communities. folks who just wants a fair shake. as a member of the oregon employment relations board,

where she has served in a quasi-judicial role adjudicating disputes between workers and management, ms. sung displayed immense skill, striking a delicate balance between protecting the interest of working americans while applying the law fairly, impartially and without precop exception. this -- preconception. this is crucial for anyone under consideration for the bench, and that's the point. we aring have, of course, demographic diversity. ms. sung represents that as an asian-american. but we're also having professional diversity, where people from different walks of life and different experiences serve in these very important courts. not just prosecutors and people from big law firms. so, this is a very, very important change that we are making in the bench. this year, we've made progress in adding that new level of diversity to the bench, but we still have a lot of work to do to make our courts reflect the

diversity and richness of our democracy. and one more judge, ali nathan. earlier this morning, it was my honor to come before the senate judiciary committee to introduce ali nathan, nominated by president biden on my recommendation, to serve as circuit judge for the second circuit court of appeals. judge natean is a remarkable and barrier-breaking nomee. a -- nominee. a graduate of cornell law school, clerk for the ninth circuit and supreme court under justice stephens and a member of president obama's white house council and the office of solicitor general in new york. judge nathan's resume is nothing short of impemmable -- impeccable. mr. president, i can happily say this will be the second time i have nominated, recommended judge nathan to serve on the bench. a decade ago, i urged president obama to consider judge nathan to serve as district judge in the southern district. i'm glad president obama listened.

a decade of admirable service on the bench, it's clear that appointing her was the right decision. one more important point, if confirmed to the second circuit judge nathan would only be the second lgbtq woman to serve as a federal appellate judge in the united states. another important step in tearing down the barriers in the halls of justice. if confirmed, i'm confident that judge nathan will serve with distinction and excellence the second circuit. so mr. president, thanks to senate democrats president biden has more total circuit and district judge nominees confirmed before december 15 of his first year than any president since ronald reagan. by the end of the day, the tally will stand at 31 new judges confirmed in 2021. let me repeat that. by the end of today, the senate will have confirmed 31 judges in president biden's first year. 20 to the tirkt court -- to the district court, 11 to appellate

judges on the federal circuit. four years ago, under president donald trump, republicans lacked any robust legislative agenda and focused almost entirely on rubber-stamping a parade of far right, unqualified and highly ideological nominations to the federal bench. this year, we're admin. be sterg the an at this dote -- antidote all year long. the democratic majority has begun rebalancing our courts with mainstream, highly qualified and diverse judges, historically diverse both in profession and personhood. over half of the new judges are women, over half are people of color, and all are immensely qualified by virtue of their skills, experience, and unique perspectives they bring to the federal bench. we're going to continue working as much as we can for the rest of this year to confirm more judges, and you can be sure, mr. president, that we will push even harder in 2022.

one more point, on republican nomination obstruction. besides judicial nominees, we have a responsibility in this chamber to confirm president biden's nominees to his administration. every president, and this one too, deserves to have his administration filled, and for years in the past both sides have worked together when possible. but this year we're seeing a new low from senate republicans, because of the cynical block aid of a -- blockade of a handful of members on the other side, the senate faces a backlog of at least 150 nominees, many whom would have sailed through the chambers in years past. we had to file cloture on twice as many nominees at this point in president biden's presidency than republicans under president trump. let's be clear about the nominees at issue. we aren't talking about partisan fire brands or candidates that come out of left field. the bulk of these men and women

are uncontroversial, by-the-book professional public servants. many would work on issues like supply chains and national security, which our republican colleagues say they want to address. but now those lives and the lives of their families have been thrown into total limbo, all because a handful of republicans have hijacked the rules of the senate to slow the confirmation process to a glacial pace against precedent and common sense. we've been working over the past day to secure lift on many of these holds. i want to echo what senator menendez made clear, if the senator from texas offers a proposal that does not include lifting all state, treasury, and u.s. aid nominees, we cannot come to an agreement. democrats are working to clear as much of the backlog as possible by consent. if we can't make much progress, we may need to stay and hold votes on nominees this weekend and next week until we do. i yield the floor. note the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk

will call the roll. quorum call:

a senator: mr. president. is the senator in a quorum call? the presiding officer: yes, it is. a senator: i ask unanimous consent that it be dispensed with, and ask unanimous consent that prior to the vote i be able to complete my notes, followed by senator inhofe and senator reed. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. thune: mr. president, i am pleased that today we will finally move to a vote on the national defense authorization act for fiscal year 2022. thanks to democrats' focus on their reckless build back better tax-and-spending spree, consideration of the ndaa, one of the most important bills we consider every year, was delayed for months. and of course, once we finally got on to the bill, democrats rushedz the process. senators of both parties filed a total of 1,000 amendments on this bill, but not one, not a

sing of one -- single one of those received a vote on the senate floor. at least, we're finally here, set to pass this critical legislation. i'm pleased republicans were able to strengthen this bill in committee and in the so-called preconference negotiations. this includes removing troublesome provisions like red flag laws that would summarily suspend the second amendment rights of our men and women in uniform, thanks in large part to republican efforts, the final bill is $25 billion above president biden's inadequate budget request. we made a lot of progress over the past several years on rebuilding our military, which i might add after years of underfunding and budgetary uncertainty combined with heavy operational demands had been left under equipped, undermanned and underprepared to meet the threats of the 21st century. the situation had gotten so bad that in 2018, the bipartisan

national defense strategy commission released a report warning that our readiness had eroded to the point where we might struggle to win a war against a major power like russia or china. an especially chilling warning considering the mounting destabilization from both of these countries today. and the commission noted that we would be especially vulnerable if we were ever called on to fight a war on two fronts. but as i said, over the past several years we've made a lot of progress on restoring military readiness, and president biden's inadequate budget request threatens to undo some of that progress. i'm pleased, very pleased that thanks in large parts to republican efforts, democrats and republicans have agreed on a final number that will continue our reinvestment in our military so that our member of -- our member of will have the resources they need to address the needs of the 21st century.

with china and russia flexing military power and the growing danger of a further russian invasion of ukraine it is critically important that we ensure our nation is always prepared to defend itself and our vital national interests whatever the threat. on the subject of ukraine, i'm very pleased that the final bill we'll vote on today will include an additional $50 million in military assistance for ukraine. ukraine has spent years dealing with a russian invasion that threatens to push further into its sovereign territory, and we should be supporting the efforts of this free nation to defend itself from russian aggression. mr. president, i'm particularly proud to announce that this year's ndaa contains the necessary funding to continue essential preparation for the b-21 mission at ellsworth air force base in south dakota. we found out in june of this year that ellsworth had officially been named main operating base 1 for the future b-21 bomber, home of the

raider. this designation not only means that ellsworth will be the first base to host the b-21 raider but that it will also host the formal training unit in the first operational squadron. the stealth b-21 bomber will eventually replace the air force 's b-1's, a proven workhorse within global strike command but must be divested to free up capacity and resources for an even more agile and capable bomber fleet. once operational, the b-21 raider will be a critical part of our nation's long-range strike capabilities and nuclear deterrent well into the future. i am incredibly proud that south dakota and ellsworth were chosen to serve as the first operating base for the b-21's. when i first came to the senate, the outlook for else worth want so -- ellsworth wasn't so rosy. it was placed on the base realignment or brac list. it was an all-hands effort by

the congressional delegation and ellsworth and state and community leaders to make the case to the bush administration and the brac commission to remove ellsworth from the closure list. many thought that will south dakota might not have the clout to make this stand, that we didn't wield enough influence. we were only given about a 12% chance of pulling through. but we were determined that we weren't going to lose ellsworth. and we stood our ground and we won the day. ellsworth was removed from the brac list that august. and we got right to work, mr. president, on building up the base so that we would never again find ourselves in the same position. in 2007, we saw the air force financial services center open at ellsworth. 2011 saw the arrival of the 89th attack squadron and its command and control stations for mq-9 reapers. and in 2015, a decade-long

mission paid off with the quadrupling of the training airspace for the base. the powder river training complex is now the largest training airspace in the continental united states and can be used for large force exercises that draw combat aircraft from across this country. it's also well suited for b-21 training which is undoubtedly one of the reasons that ellsworth was chosen as the first home of the raider. and i am committed to ensuring that ellsworth has everything it needs for its new mission so that it can continue to serve as one of our nation's essential military assets for decades to come. to that end, i worked to ensure that this year's national defense authorization act contain not only full funding for b-21 development, but full funding for the first of many equipment and support facilities that will be needed for the b-21 mission at ellsworth, including a low observable coding restoration facility, a wash

rack and maintenance hangar, expanding the flight facility theater and more. itit is imperative they stay on pace to ensure the b-21 once fielded can begin operations alongside the current b-1 mission at ellsworth to enable a smooth transition from one mission to the next. the national defense authorization act also ensures adequate support for our b-1's in south dakota and in texas, and deployed on bomber task force missions so that they have the resources that they need until they're replaced by the b-21's. i will continue to do everything i can to support advance the mission. providing for our nation's defense is one of our most serious responsibilities as members of congress. we have an obligation to ensure that our nation is prepared to

meet any threat, whether the danger comes from terrorism, rogue states or major powers. and we have an obligation to ensure that our men and women in uniform have the resources that they need to confront the threats that we ask them to face. i am frustrated that it took us so long to move to consideration of this year's national defense authorization act, but i am úma.

we five -- six of the smartest democrats in this field, six of the smartest republicans, we got together and put together this thing called providing for the national defense. this is the defense strategy commission. it's one that we've been following since that time, and it shows that we can get things done. it's what i referred to, it's our pattern and it's a budget cut like the president wanted isn't going to get us there. in total, this bill authorizes almost $778 billion for the

department of defense and for nuclear programs at the department of energy. the -- this increase supports many of the military's unfunded priorities, things they need that president biden's inadequate budget couldn't meet plus things congress greece the department must -- agrees must fund in critical areas. we provided a 35% increase above the president's budget for the military budget, the largest milcon we've had in over ten years. we also provided $4.7 billion increase for shipbuilding, allowing our military to purchase five new battle-force ships which will be key in our priority theater and in indo-pacific. and i think we know -- we know what the chinese have been doing with their ship program.

we bolstered support to key areas like taiwan and ukraine. this year's ndaa actually increases funding for the ukrainian security assistance initiative by $50 million, giving ukraine some $300 million in defense, which is also our defense too. and it's -- the bill includes strong bipartisan support for nuclear deterrent, which is the cornerstone of our national security. we fully fund the nuclear modernization which is a top priority for our military and solidifies support for key -- a key leg of our nuclear triad. our triad system is one we have adhered to, and it is something that is working, and this -- this actually supports a key leg of that nuclear triad, which is the ground-based strategic

deterrent. the bill works at every turn to maintain our military supremacy and -- and in some areas to disperse and in other areas we have fallen behind. we have fallen behind china and russia in certain areas and we need -- we don't like that and this is what we're trying to correct at the current time. one area where we do that is in cybersecurity. we have people, not just experts on the outside, it's -- one of the members of our senate committee, our senate armed services committee, senator mike rounds, probably knows more about cybersecurity than any one of the advisors out there. the bill creates a whole of -- a approach to disrupt our adversaries' cyberoperations. we have innovation in key

emerging technologies like hypersonic weapons, quantum, computing, 5g. we're doing these things, we're just not doing them as fast as we should and this is one of the reasons we're going to pass the most important bill of the year in just a few minutes. our bill takes numerous steps to harden our industrial probation and -- of course our top priority this year and in any year is our troops and brave men and women who volunteer to lay down their lives in line for our country. this year's bill gives them a well-deserved pay raise -- by the way, these are things, people who sometimes talk about the fact that we are spending -- how many times i heard people say, well, we spend more on defense than china and russia together. well, that's true. but we do something that china

and russia doesn't do. the most expensive item we have is taking care of our troops. making sure that the kids of our troops have good schools to go to, they have housing. they don't care about things like that, but we do. and we spend more on the military and -- and people try to use that against us. well, our people are first and we're the only country who believes that. it prevents service members from being dismonnably discharged for refusing coronavirus vaccine. this is something, we changed the system that would have otherwise offered a dishonorable discharge. it's in this bill. so it's a good bill. it's not perfect. no bill is perfect and there are some things that i would have had in this bill and i'm sure senator reed would have had in this bill that are not -- didn't make it. before we close, i do want to

thank the good people who worked so hard on this bill on the floor. people don't realize that. you know, you go back to the real world and tubing real people and i go back to oklahoma and they point out we -- they don't believe that people are really working. but in the case of the military they are. i just have to say that -- the hours that they work. i had occasion to talk to the -- talk to a group about john was sen, he is the minority staff director about the number of hours that he works and his team works and i'm going to read the names of this team. i know that senator reed is going to be reading the names of the -- of the majority on the team. but i think it's important that people understand that we have a committee staff that works hard and we're very thankful for the people who provide all that effort.

on his team john wassen has rick byrd, tom goffis, scott richardson, greg lily, mark hernandez, jenny wright, adam barker, allen edwards, katie magnus, sean o'keefe, brad patu, jason potter, brad slattery, katie sutton, eric cater, adam tool, t.c. williams, robert winkler andy caputo. from my staff, i had luke holland, dan hillen gillibrand gillibrand -- hillen hillengillibrandester solders,

alexandra slokerm, dixon yonin, a lacey burke, what would we do without her and we have the floor staff. nobody mentions them and we couldn't operate without them and they were really busy on this bill and that's robert dunkon, chris tuck, tony han began, --hanagan, max ford, and i'm grateful for all of their services. this is only half the battle. we have to go through and after we made the priorities that we made, the appropriators will get busy to do what they have done to be a part of this effort that

was the most significant effort that we're having. so today i encourage all of my colleagues to suffer this national defense authorization act, i know they will, and extend our 60-year track record of getting this bill done. let's tell the troops that we love them and support them. with that, i'll yield to chairman jack reed. mr. reed: mr. president. the presiding officer: the senator from rhode island. mr. reed: mr. president, ri rise to -- i rise to express my support for this year's national defense authorization act. i'm pleased, as we all are, that we will be voting soon on its passage. let me begin by thanking leader member inhofe, he's been an excellent partner throughout this whole process. thank you, senator. our nation faces an enormous range of security challenges,

and it is more important than ever that we provide our military men and women for the support they need to keep america safe. to that end, this bill makes great progress. it addresses a broad range of pressing issues, from strategic competition with china and russia, to disruptive technology to hypersonics, a.i. and quantum computing, to modernizing our ships, aircraft, and vehicles. it provides our service members with the resources and support they need to defend our nation while at the same time taking care of their families. importantly, this bill authorizes a well-deserved 2.7% pay raise for both military members and the d.o.d. civilian workforce, and this civilian workforce is an important and integral part of our national defense and their sacrifice must be recognized also. it also increases parental leave to 12 weeks for all service members and creates a new

two-week bereavement leave benefit for both military and federal civilian employees. now, i want to especially note that this bill includes historic sweeping reform to the military code of justice and how the military investigates and prosecutes sexual assaults and other offenses including murder, manslaughter, kidnapping and many other crimes. just as the independent review and other survivors have called for, this takes the prosecutorial power from the chain of command from these cases. our bill provides a special trial council and prosecutors and they will be the final authority whether to prosecute these cases. this is a change to the military justice system. i'm grateful to both sides of

the aisle to change this historic reform for our military men and women. indeed, we listened to survivors. senator inhofe and i traveled to fort hood to speak to military personnel and noncommissioned officers and the range of individuals there, and we learned a great deal. and we also try to take their lessons and incorporate them in this legislation, and i think we have. the world is as dangerous and complex as it's ever been. we depend on the military to answer the call in these challenging times, and we owe it to them to ensure the policies we enact on this matter to maintain this military power and cohesion. i respect those who see this matter differently with regard to the reforms of the ucmj, but

this makes us more secure because we listened to experts and advocates to reach a compromise with the house of representatives. this year's defense bill also makes excellent progress toward meeting the challenge of long-term strategic competition with china and russia, invests in the people, the platforms, the infrastructure, and the game-changing technologies that will define the future. it extends and modifies the specific defense deterrence initiative or the p.d.i. and it reiterates the senate's intent to improve our forced posture in the indo-pacific. it increases readiness and presence there and builds the capabilities for our partners and allies to counter the increasing threat of china. similarly this bill authorizes the continuation of the european deterrence initiative, or e.d.i., in recognition of the vital need to support our allies and partners in europe as we

work toward the shared goals of deterring russian aggression and mitigating shared security concerns. with respect to our services, we have taken steps to improve their capabilities and their ability to fight and win. of course the army, navy, air force, marine corps, and space force, this bill makes significant efforts to improve the readiness of our aircraft, ships, vehicles, and weapon systems, it authorizes increases in military construction projects, modernizing our nuclear triad systems and microelectronics, 5g and biotechnology. with regard to our withdrawal from afghanistan, we must capture the lessons of the last two decades to ensure that our

future counter terrorism efforts continue to hold violent extremists at bay. to that end i'm pleased that this bill includes the afghanistan war commission act, an amendment spearheaded by senator duckworth. this was crafted after a series of thoughtful hearings, discussions and debates on both sides of the aisle. through the committee markup process, we considered more than 300 amendments and ultimately adopted 143 amendments. senator inhofe and i introduced this bill to the full senate with intent of adding more amendments on the floor. although we were not able to come to an agreement, debate and vote on several amendments on the floor, we are ultimately able to adopt amendments from senators from both sides of the aisle in the final legislation. over the past several weeks the senate and armed services committee had worked around the clock to come to an agreement on this final version of the bill. i'm proud of the improvements we made throughout this process,

and i was pleased to see the house vote last week in an overwhelmingly bipartisan fashion. 363-70 to pass the bill. we have produced a strong ndaa that both parties in both chambers can support, and the president will be able to sign. and it is fitting at this point to recognize the staff that made this all possible. in my several decades here, i have not seen the kind of concentrated effort that was necessary. while we were on the floor trying to move the bill, respond to amendments with our staff support, we simultaneously were involved with negotiations with leaders of the house and the administration. so staff literally was working 24/7. and i and senator inhofe has identified his minority staff. i want to commend them all. they're talented and thoughtful

men and women. i appreciate it. but let me specifically recognize my democratic staff. first elizabeth king, my staff director. and i would be remiss if i didn't recognize john wasson who is the republican staff director. and they led their staffs admirably and with bipartisanship, diligence, and utmost professionalism. i would also like to thank the members of the armed services committee staff, jodi bennet, carolyn, john clark, jenny dave scris, von nan epstein, jerry feldman, creighton green, gary leland, kirk mcconnell, maggie, bill monahan, mike, john, andy scott, cole stevens, sollie psyches, carolyn, haley becker, patrick shiloh, allison warner, debbie, joe gallow, leslie ashton, tammy, brittany, griffin canyon, brendan, sophia,

tom, and once again my staff director elizabeth king. thank you, elizabeth. from my personal office let me also thank neil campbell and elise walsh who have done so much to get us going. and as the senator from oklahoma pointed out, we could not get our bill through without the floor staff. they do a remarkable job. and they don't get the credit they deserve. so let me thank gary myrick, patricia, dan tinsley, brad watt, stephanie, nate, rachel jackson and liesa patterson. you've been part of this process for the last several weeks and have done a remarkable job. we thank you very much. let me conclude also by thanking our colleagues in the house. chairman smith and ranking member rogers collaborated, negotiated, and ultimately together we reached this

legislation. i urge all of my colleagues to vote for this excellent and indeed exceptional bill, and with that, mr. president, i would yield the floor. the presiding officer: under the previous order, the motion to concur with the amendment number 4880 is withdrawn. the question occurs on the motion to concur. is there a sufficient second? there appears to be. the clerk will call the roll. vote:

vote:

vote:

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the presiding officer: on this vote, the yeas are 89, the nays are 10. the motion to concur is agreed to. under the previous order, the senate will proceed to executive session to resume consideration of the following nomination, which the clerk will report. the clerk: nomination, the judiciary. jennifer sung of oregon to be united states circuit judge for the ninth circuit. the presiding officer: under the previous order, the question is on the nomination. a senator: i ask for the yeas and nays. the presiding officer: the yeas and nays have been requested. is there a sufficient second? there appears to be. there is a sufficient second. the clerk will call the roll.

vote:

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the presiding officer: on this vote, the yeas are 50, the nays are 49. the nomination is confirmed. under the previous order, the motion to reconsider is considered made and laid upon the table, and the president will be immediately notified of the senate's action. the clerk will report the unfinished business. the clerk: the judiciary, samantha d. elliott of new hampshire to be united states district judge for the district of new hampshire. a senator: mr. president. the presiding officer: the senator from virginia. mr. warner: mr. president, i rise today to seek unanimous

consent to confirm amanda howe to be the next assistant administrator for administration support at the environmental protection agency. i believe mr. lee is going to object. i hope when he does he'll explain his objection to this extremely qualified nominee. mr. president, i've known the nominee for more than 20 years and can speak directly to her talents and abilities. amanda held a number of roles in the commonwealth of virginia including serving as my assistant secretary of commerce and trade during my tenure as governor. amanda also served then-governor kaine's administration and governor mcauliffe's administrator, held other positions including with governor bill de blasio in new york.

amanda led the planning of the queen's visit in 2007 when we celebrated 400 years of connection to the u.k. she helped plan the first ever ticker tape parade for the u.s. women's soccer team to help celebrate the first world cup victory. she organized pope francis' visit to new york. amanda also possesses a wealth of knowledge of issues under the e.p.a. purview having worked on roles focused on renewable energy. amanda has been nominated to lead the e.p.a.'s office of mission support which directs the agency's efforts to improve efficiency, coordination, and customer experiences for internal and external stakeholders and the public including the protection of e.p.a.'s facilities and other assets nationwide that are terribly important to our government. i.t. management, for example, inside the e.p.a. it's my strong belief that amanda has the requisite knowledge, expertise and

experience to carry out these critical functions at e.p.a. i'm also very proud of the fact, and thank the chair and ranking member of the e.p.w. committee. she got passed out on a voice vote. now is the time to confirm amanda so she can begin to oversee these critical management activities at the e.p.a. so, mr. president, i therefore ask unanimous consent that the senate consider the following nomination, executive calendar 5660, amanda howe, that the nomination be confirmed, the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table, with no intervening action or debate, that no further motions be in order to the nomination, and that the president be immediately notified of the senate's action. the presiding officer: is there objection? mr. lee: mr. president. the presiding officer: the senator from utah. mr. lee: reserving the right to object.

communication with the e.p.a. as to how to resolve a concern that i have. it should be an easy thing to resolve. i'm waiting to hear back a response from them. in the meantime i object. thank you.. mr. warner: would the senator yield for a question? mr. lee: sure. mr. warner: your concern is not about the nominee's qualifications. mr. lee: it's a matter with the e.p.a. mr. warner: thank you. mr. president, i hope this matter is resolved. i believe amanda needs to be installed doing this job. she's been up for this nomination literally for months. i think this is one more example. i think every member, including the presiding officer, has individuals he supports. i know many of my colleagues on the republican side have many

nominees they support and the kind of blanket holds that are taking place on way too many nominees means this president can't put in place his team. the presiding officer was a governor. he's about to be replaced by another governor. i was a governor. i can't imagine running an administration a year into my term if i didn't have two-thirds-my appointees serving in office. the presiding officer, i know i will end very briefly, he is an extraordinarily valuable member of the intelligence committee. we see america's national security concerns on a daily basis. those national security concerns will be better met when every major nation in the world has been american ambassador. it's great that we've got state department personnel, but without that ambassador in these offices, amanda is not up for

ambassadorship, but there are a host of nominees up for ambassadorship. i implore my colleagues on the republican side, give these folks who waited months and months and months their assurance and remove their objections, stop objecting, let's have these people have their personnel in place. i look forward to my friend from utah resolving this issue. and i thank my colleague for allowing me the extra five minutes. with that, id yield the -- with that, i yield the floor.

mr. grassley: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from iowa. mr. grassley: we're not in a quorum call, right? the presiding officer: the senator is correct. mr. grassley: mr. president, we all know that our country is facing a drug crisis. i think it's pretty well known as c.d.c. has reported that over 100,000 americans died from drug

overdose over a recent 12-month period. although fentanyl drugs are heavily responsible for this, we're battling the fight on many fronts. for instance, synthetic drug use is evolving and of course very dangerous. same thing for methamphetamine which is very much on the rise. too many lives are being lost. that's why i've been busy working on legislation to stop this epidemic. bills like this title of a bill, stop the importation and manufacturing of synthetic analogues act of 2021. for too long criminals have been

skirting the law. you know how they do it? by changing the chemical makeup of a drug. they keep ahead of regulation writing. they keep ahead of congress making laws. congress is kind of in a situation of playing the deadly game of whac-a-mole as law enforcement tries to keep pace with savvy drug dealers. my bipartisan bill nips this deadly cycle in the bud. this bill would control synthetic subsubstances -- substances similar to known drugs while the more time-consuming testing, research, and analysis can be performed. also methamphetamine abuse and use is very concerning. the volume and purity of meth

smuggled from mexico into the united states is at a near all time high. to address this dire situation, i joined with senator feinstein of california to reintroduce the methamphetamine response act. this bill declaring meth an emergency -- emerging threat and requires the office of national drug control policy to develop and implement a national plan to prevent meth addiction and overdoses. this is a necessary step to combat meth in iowa and of course in the rest of the country. the senate passed very recently the meth response act. in fact, it was passed this

week. the house must act quickly to get the bill to president biden's desk. meth is rampant and action should not be delayed. i also joined with senator feinstein to reintroduce a can n balance -- can -- ca ? ibal and research on marijuana. instead of decriminalizing marijuana, we need a better understanding of that plan and its potential benefits but also know what the side effects are. let's not put the cart before the horse here in the senate. i've also been active as cochairman of the senate caucus on international narcotics control along with that chairman

senator whitehouse, we held hearings examining the federal response to the drug overdose epidemic and the nexus between illicit drug trade and corruption. i also convened a field hearing in iowa to hear from grassroots, the experts there and the constituents there about our own state's efforts on drug control prevention and treatment efforts. at that hearing we had the sad story by the father rod courtney from north liberty, iowa, sharing his story of losing his son chad five years ago due to fentanyl. rod's powerful testimony is just one instance of the struggles families face from drug abuse.

stories like chad's are why i sent multiple letters to the biden administration to proactively and permanently schedule fentanyl-related substances. so we did get a positive response. i'm glad to see that the biden administration has taken my advice, probably advice of a lot of other senators as well, and recommended permanently scheduling fentanyl drugs. yet the administration proposes shielding fentanyl dealers from mandatory minimums. these dea dealers are potential killers. this watered down position flies in the face of our current crisis with fentanyl. we have to keep our neighborhoods safe and must hold

poison peddlers accountable. that's particularly true with fentanyl offenders. i'm happy to say that with my support, congress has extended the lifesaving scheduling authority into february. but don't be fooled. we still need a permanent solution. with the help of -- or with the close of 2021 on the horizon, it's natural to reflect 100,000 overdose deaths is an unspeakable tragedy. each loss is a loved one, a friend, or a neighbor. we must find solutions to this crisis and i look forward to being part of that solution. i hope my colleagues will join me in moving those bills. on another matter, mr. president, on january 19 of this

year, then-president trump issued a memorandum to attorney general -- to the director of national intelligence and the director of the central intelligence agency. that memo directed these agencies to declassify certain crossfire hurricane records for public dissemination. we all know about the fatal defects and political decisions that were made during crossfire hurricane. that type of improper government conduct demands maximum transparency. the only way you could trust the government is make sure that everything that can be made public ought to be made public. and the only exception to that would be personal privacy, national security issues, and intelligence matters.

everything else is the public's business and can be made public without hurting people or hurting our national security. on february 25 then, this year, my staff and senator johnson's staff requested an update from the justice department on what's been declassified. we want to know when a full and complete set of declassified records will be provided to the congress of the united states. since february our respective staffs have followed up with the justice department on countless e-mails and phone calls. attorney general garland has consistently failed to provide a substantive update. wwe're -- we're now in december and attorney garland hasn't

produced a single declassified record to congress relating to crossfire hurricane. more importantly, attorney general garland has kept the american people in the dark. now the justice department hasn't claim that the durham investigation is the basis for refusing to provide these records. so what's the delay all about? is the attorney general trying to shield the justice department and the f.b.i. from further embarrassment? because that's why we don't get a lot of stuff public because some bureaucrat is going to be embarrassed by the information coming out. last week it was reported that an alternative mueller report has been located at the justice department. now, i don't know what that's all about. reportedly d.o.j. could release it soon. this report, if you want to call it a report, was drafted by

andrew weisman's team while he served on special counsel mueller's trump investigation. now, i want you to know this is the same andrew weisman who wiped his government phone while working on that investigation. many of his colleagues did the same thing to over a dozen phones. these acts may have delayed -- deleted federal records that could be key to better understanding their decision-making process as they pursued their investigation and wrote their report. on september 11, last year, i wrote to the justice department asking about the potential violence -- violation of the federal record keeping laws. i also asked what steps the justice department had taken to

recover these deleted records. in response then, the usual response -- the department failed to answer these questions. instead, it provided a letter from the inspector general rather than providing a full and complete answer for itself. the inspector general said that 96 phones were assigned to the mueller team, but the justice department can't locate 59 of those phones. initially, the justice department took possession of 79 of 96 phones. based on the information provided to me and senator johnson from the inspector general, it appears then that 74 were reviewed for official record keeping purposes.

that's only 74 out of 96 phones. accordingly, 22 of mueller's team's phones weren't reviewed for federal record keeping purposes, so we need to know who those phones belong to. this is beyond suspicious, and the attorney general doesn't seem to have a care in the world. the inspector general told us that there's a document called the s.c.o. inventory and property transfer document. that would give us a better idea of the federal record keeping process during the mueller investigation. today -- or, to date, attorney general garland has failed to produce that document. so what we have here is yet another example of a complete

and total justice department failure. on the one hand, the biden justice department has no idea what records should be classified -- should be declassified pursuant to president trump's january 2021 declassification order. the biden justice department has failed to tell congress what, if anything, it's done to retrieve the missing mueller phones. the biden justice department has also failed to provide the mueller team's existing text messages and other records. yet -- can you believe it? -- on the one hand, the justice department will reportedly soon release an alternative mueller report because the federal court made them do it. congress has an independent constitutional oversight

authority, and that authority requires the executive branch to be responsive to oversight requests, irrespective of any federal litigation. the obvious message from the biden justice department is that it will stiff-arm congressional oversight that could prove embarrassing to the federal government. or it's like garland saying, screw you, senators. our institutions won't survive with that way of doing the people's business. transparency brings accountability. probably my colleagues are tired of my saying that, transparency brings accountability, but none of us should stop working to hold government officials accountable for their improper conduct, regardless of their political party. i yield the floor.

a senator: mr. president? thank you, mr. president. on roll call vote 4495, i voted aye. it is my intention to vote no. therefore, i ask unanimous consent to i be permitted to change my vote, since it will not affect the outcome. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. booker: thank you very much. i yield the floor. mrs. fischer: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from nebraska. mrs. fischer: thank you, mr. president. eight months after president biden asked them to study supreme court reform, the presidential commission on the supreme court of the united states has finally released its

report. i want to begin my comments by recalling the backstory behind this group. the president created this commission to appease some members of the democratic party. these progressives want to pack the supreme court with justices who will put their agenda before the constitution. not all democrats belong to that group. i see the court packers as more of a radical fringe who can't stand the thought that the court may make decisions that they don't like. but instead of lending this fringe element the legitimacy they hoped for, the commission's nearly 300-page report simply lays out the arguments for and against court-packing and then makes no recommendation. in fact, the lawyers, professors, and former judges the president appointed were

deeply divided on the issue of adding more justices to our nation's highest court. 29 of the commission's 34 members were liberals, but even with this supermajority of left-leaning scholars, the commissioners still expressed their, quote, profound disagreement over whether court expansion at this moment in time would be wise, end quote. if you can believe it, many democrats in congress are fond of saying that expanding the supreme court for political reasons is actually unpacking it. representative jerry nadler, the democrat from new york who chairs the house judiciary committee, has claimed that unpacking the court by expanding it would restore balance and that senate democrats should immediately move to expand the supreme court.

i want to be as clear as i can about this. adding justices to the supreme court of the united states simply because you don't like some of the decisions they make, that is court-packing. president franklin roosevelt explored this idea in the 1930's after the supreme court struck down key parts of the new deal. president biden's commission's own report called f.d.r.'s amendment to pack the court a, quote, needless, few tile, and utterly dangerous abandonment of the constitutional principle, end quote. no president has been reckless enough or shortsighted enough to push for it since f.d.r. president biden said he was not a fan of court-packing during

his campaign, but then he backtracked and said he was open to the idea, giving into pressure from the far left wing of his party. he created this commission instead, leaving the problem of taking a position on this issue for another more politically convenient day. as the commission's report details, court-packing is often used as a political weapon in authoritarian regimes, not in the united states of america. take venezuela, where hugo chavez cemented support for his socialist policies by expanding the country's supreme tribunal of justice from 20 members to 32 members back in 2004. look at all the good that did for what was once the wealthiest

country in south america. we need to leave this practice to dictatorships, where it belongs. republics like the united states simply don't engage in this kind of behavior. as the commission's report says, stable democracies, quote, have retained a strong commitment to judicial independence, end quote. packing the supreme court would take an axe to that tradition of judicial independence. the united states is the greatest country on earth because of our respect for the rule of law, not in spite of it. and in light of this report, a resolution i cosponsored earlier this year that would fix the number of supreme court justices

at nine is even more important, and i would like to thank florida's senior senator for leading the way on this. mr. president, in the american system of separation of powers and checks and balances, our role here in congress is to make laws not to interpret them. that's the job of our courts, and their independence in doing that job is absolutely vital. as the commissioners write in their report, courts, quote, cannot serve as effective checks on government officials if their personnel can be altered by those same government officials, end quote. that is a bipartisan group writing that, a bipartisan group where liberals outnumbered

conservatives nearly 6-1. we cannot pack the supreme court president biden needs to put an end to this dangerous idea once and for all. thank you, mr. president. i yield the floor. mr. grassley: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from iowa. mr. grassley: many times my fellow senators have heard me

say that my definition of a university is a place where controversy ought to run rampant , so the point of going to college is not for all students to come out thinking exactly the same way. college is for ideas to be challenged, to weed out ideas we disagree with, we need open debate, not to shut down the conversation. students of all stripes should be able to say what's on their mind. constitutional free speech should not be partisan. you can have partisan discussions, but the merely speaking of it, right or wrong, you agree or disagree, should not be a partisan issue, even be

a controversial issue. everyone is hurt if ideas are not frankly discussed by the next generation. thankfully, iowa has recognized this reality. so this spring governor reynolds signed add bill into law -- signed a bill into law that helps codify free expression in iowa's public colleges. now, it sometimes feels like washington, d.c., can forget common sense on this issue as well as a lot of other issues, but in des moines, the bill passed both chambers of the iowa legislature with just one single no vote out of 150 senators and representatives. but here we are nationally. we seem to be heading in the

wrong direction in regard to free speech on campus and discussion of some controversial issues. as recent as 2016, majorities of students were confident that the first amendment was secure. but now it looks like there has been a chilling effect on too many campuses. according to a more recent poll, 80% of the students now say that they self-censor. in other words, 80% of the students are afraid to voice and give their support or opposition on certain issues. hostility to freedom of expression is being heard loud and clear by our students. but somehow it doesn't seem like the donors seem to be listening to what's happening on these college campuses. i've tried to highlight this

overlooked group of donors in the free speech debate, students and faculty are limited by the threat of getting canceled on campus. but donors have a much more sway, if they want to take advantage of it. now, it seems unfortunately these alumni don't seem to consider free speech when they make a decision to donate. because their donation would have some power behind it if they take time to say what they think about universities ought to be an environment where controversy runs rampant. we have a poll of donors to one college found that the vast majority thought that freedom of expression should be a priority

on campus, but only 20% said it was clear their alma mater protects speech in practice. now, this is among donors. those who have already given despite their concerns. that's despite donations representing up to 19% of college budgets. there are more examples than i can count of donors withholding contributions and making real, concrete change. donors have stopped speakers from being deplatformed and overrode the veto of the crowd. it's time to stop pretending that alumni have no say. earlier this year, i joined the

college free speech caucus here in the congress. that caucus tries to preserve this trend. i'm also a cosponsor of the campus free speech resolution, which urges greater first amendment protection in america's universities. but this is not a problem that can be solved by any bill in the senate. thankfully, that tide is starting to turn. one of the first colleges to make a move was the university of chicago, in 2015. the university president sent a statement on free expression to the incoming freshmen. he showed in that letter how both sides of the aisle are hurt when campuses clamp down on open

debate. he called out what are considered trigger warnings and safe spaces while praising academic freedom. now other colleges in our country are slowly starting to follow suit. so far, 75 schools have released similar statements, but of course 75 schools is only a fraction of all the colleges in the united states. to continue this progress we need individual americans to make their voices heard. ultimately, being a democracy means that we're able to listen to each other and do it civilly. we ought to be able to respectfully talk about where we disagree, not sweep those disagreements under the rug.

and in the process, silence those who do have the guts to speak out. i yield the floor. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. quorum call:

a senator: madam president. the presiding officer: the ?ears from missouri. mr. blunt: madam president, dr. francis collins -- the presiding officer: the senate is in a quorum call, i'm sorry, senator. mr. blunt: i move we vitiate the quorum call. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. blunt: dr. francis collins, the director of the national institutes of health, will retire this month after serving as director since 2009. that will be 12 years in one of the most challenging jobs in washington, maybe in the world. dr. collins has served under three presidents in that job. no other person has served under more than one president. and during that nine -- d