event to take you live now to the u.s. senate as part of her over for your commitment to bring you live coverage of congress. the senate about the gavel back in following a recess for the weekly party caucus lunches. live coverage of the senate here on c-span2.

a senator: mr. president. the presiding officer: the senator from alaska is recognized -- i'm sorry, from hawaii. mr. schatz: thank you, mr. president. a year ago, there was an attempted overthrow of american democracy right here in this building. you know, we spend so much time

here arguing about things that are unknowable, about the future, about our ideology, about opinions that we've become accustomed to treating flor speeches in the senate as not primarily about facts. but i was here, and by i was here, i don't mean i was here in the capitol. i mean i was right here at this desk. and so no one needs to characterize it for me or pontificate about it or tell me what i think happened. i was right here. it wasn't theoretical. it wasn't a debate. it was a physical siege on the united states capitol. i was already angry that day. the idea that american -- american democratically elected

politicians would participate in a process so foul as to be worthy of our most autocratic adversaries had me in a sour mood. the electoral college certification is supposed to be the functional equivalent of a swearing in. it's where the thing gets made official, but it's not like any decisions are supposed to be made that day. but senators hawley and cruz and others, with their unlimited ambition, their big brains, and their supposed expertise in the constitution, were dancing on the edge of overturning democracy itself. but i actually had no idea how bad it was, that there was an ongoing, organized conspiracy to steal the election for real, not in a russian hacking kind of a way, or not in a too many of the people i don't agree where voted kind of way. actually overturning the whole thing. and so, no one needs to tell me

how to interpret this. i was there when they yelled lock down, lock down. i was here when mike pence was ushered off the floor. i was here when chuck grassley and anyone else with a personal protection detail was rushed to safety. and the rest of us were just locked in here and told to stay in our seats. i was here when senator todd young made himself ready to physically confront the violent traitors. i was here when we were finally moved to an undisclosed location and lindsey graham yelled at the capitol police leadership for not having a plan to handle such a moment, and i was here when reverend black pulled us together in unity. and i was here when all but a few of us decided enough is enough, and we were collectively determined to finish our work and finish the count that evening. we became -- we were perilously

close to losing everything that night, and some did. police officers were maimed and killed. custodial workers and senate staffers were hiding with zero protection. the insurrectionists were explicit. they wanted to kill the speaker of the house. one year later should be a simple, solemn commemoration of what happened and a collective, unified determination to never let anything like that ever happen again. but i'm even more worried now because that moment of unity is gone, and most importantly that moment of moral clarity, of collective, patriotic outrage is fading. it went from republicans being apologetic about their president to voting to exonerate him. it went from republicans being angry at him and denouncing him to voting against putting a bipartisan commission together to get all the facts out. it went from 99% of the public

being crystal clear about the moral threat to the right rewriting history and, in some cases, the left going along with it by telling us that some issues poll better. to be clear, the litmus test for both political parties is usually, to greater or lesser degrees, the extent to which one is loyal to the president. fair enough. that's how the modern two-party system works, for better or worse. but donald trump is now defining fail at this to him -- failty to him by one thing and one thing only. are you willing to install him into power regardless of the vote count? so now, every republican politician and elected official, secretaries of state, county elections commissioners, united states state senate candidates, have to promise to put trump above democracy itself. and many are doing it.

they are now organizing the next coupe in plain sight. now, i don't know the economics or psychology behind it. maybe it's ratings. maybe it's the natural tendency among the chattering class to not want to sound too wild-eyed, that being unworried is what passes for savvy in this town. but everyone, including those who consider themselves patriots, seem so chill about what is going on that i'm genuinely alarmed. they are installing loyalists across the country in order to cheat, and they are not being subtle about it. meanwhile, the cocktail set in washington is busy policing our tone and talking about democratic overreach. and so, the defining question this week and this year is are we willing to face the challenge in front of us? yes, there is covid. yes, there is climate.

but democracy itself is at risk in a way that we haven't seen in centuries. and we're standing around as a country arguing about mostly nonsense. and i think here's the problem for all of us, and here's why this is so hard emotionally -- if we take a moment to realize what's at stake, we might realize what is required. it will require republicans to stand up to an autocrat. it will require democrats to stop arguing amongst themselves. it will require reporters to write stories that get fewer clicks than whatever b.s. is driving the news of the day. it will require citizens to understand that democracy in this country is not what we have, it is what we do. and it is never guaranteed. so this week we commemorate the

fallen, we thank everyone who came to democracy's defense across the country, and in our great capital city. but we know that this was round one. we know that author authoritarians rarely give up, and we know that they aren't doing their preparation for the next coupe in hiding. they are doing it all in plain sight, and they must be stopped. i yield the floor. a senator: mr. president. the presiding officer: senator from nevada. ms. cortez masto: mr. president, today i rise to pay tribute to senate majority leader harry reid, a champion for nevada.

he he was one of the most dedicated, effective advocates my home state has ever seen. he worked for the benefit of neive nevadaens for 50 years. everyone living in the silver state today has benefited from his wise and tenacious efforts. but before harry reid was my senator and the senator for the state of nevada, he was a neighbor to my family. he was a mentor and a friend. now, i grew up in las vegas, just down the street from the reid family, and my interest and i attended public school with their oldest son, rory. and the entire cortez family and masto family and i want to send our condolences to his beautiful wife landra, his children, lana reid berringer, laurie, leif,

josh and key, and his 19 grandchildren and his great-grandchildren. hair harry -- harry reid was rereplacable, not just to them, but to so many people, including me and many of my colleagues in this chamber. he was unfailingly supportive of me throughout my entire time in public service. you know, i remember when i first decided to run for the office of nevada's attorney general, one of the first people i called was senator reid, and i asked him for advice. i asked him for advice on running for office, because it was the first time i'd ever run for any type of office, and i'd chosen to take on a statewide campaign. not only was he supportive, but he was candid in his comments, as only harry can be, about campaigning, the types of individuals working in the campaign world and what to

beware of, of those working in that campaign world. his advice still rings true today. and when i was serving and fortunate enough to be elected statewide as the attorney general, senator reid was always available for a call. and he never forgot about nevada and working with everybody in nevada, from his seat here as a majority leader. and i remember one time as the attorney general i got a call from a senator here in the united states senate. and this senator said to me, i was just talking to senator reid, there's an issue come up that i would like to focus on, but senator reid said you better call my attorney general first in nevada to make sure that she and the state of nevada are supportive of it. and to this day i now serve with that senator, and i will never forget getting a call from a united states senator as a sitting attorney general to talk about an issue that was

important for nrve, because senator reid -- important for nevada, because senator reid knew what was important for him and his state. he also had this uncanny ability to call you at just the right time when you needed support or encouragement, when you needed advice or just someone to economies rate with. we all know we didn't like to stay on the phone long but he knew when you needed him and he would be there. he was a compassionate and kind man, a side of him that many people did not see but many people also benefited from greatly over the years. it is my incredible honor to be able to hold the seat he occupied so well for so long. harry reid plirned so much as -- accomplished so much as nevada's senator. he knew his home state better than neighbor. he understood that nevada was a

microcosm of our country. he knew that nevada's diversity mirrored this nation's and that's why senator reid worked to give nevada a greater role in deciding each party's nominee for president. he wanted to ensure that a state as diverse and dynamic as nevada played an important role in choosing america's leaders. harry reid also understood nevada's landscapes. from the desert outside of searchlight that so many of us have heard about to the snowy peeks of the ruby mountains in winter to the glistening waters of lake tahoe. he was a dedicated environmentalist who helped conserve nevada's abundant national treasures keeping our state beautiful for future generations and protecting outdoor recreation that fuels our state's economy. and we all know he would not back down from a fight, especially when it involved

nevada. whether that was blocking every effort to dump nuclear waste at yucca mountain without nevada's agreement or advocating for federal funding to help upgrade nevada's schools, airport, roads, and bridges. he was relentless in his push to get our state the resources that we deserve. harry reid was a diligent -- was as diligent in supporting nevada's rural and tribal communities as he was in building up our world class cities. he helped create nevada's booming clean energy economy and make the state a destination for those looking to build an innovative, sustainable future. the changes that he helped set in motion were so far outreaching that they allowed nevada to benefit from the innovation economy of the 21st century. he paved the way for us. it isn't just nevadans who are better off because of harry

reid. the entire country gained because of his hard work and his dedication. he helped rescue the country by getting america through the great recession, taking extra care to support the hospitality and tourism industries that are so vital to the economy and the jobs in nevada. he was instrumental in protecting nevada's and the nation's dreamers and immigrant families. and his crowning legislative achievement he fought tirelessly to get millions of americans access to affordable health care. his work was key to ensuring that the affordable care act became law, lowering health care costs and giving access to high-quality care to millions who didn't have it before. harry reid was a great american, but first and foremost he was a great nevadan. he never forgot where he came

from. and there's no doubt in my mind that's what motivated him every single day. and as nevada's son, he made a tremendous difference for our state and for every american. he was a wonderful friend and a true public servant. and for that we will miss him in the senate and across the nation. mr. president, i would also like to talk a little bit today about another incredible american who i've come to know. both my husband and i, paul and i got to know this individual over the years. he's become a friend. he's an incredible american. and today is his birthday. his name is clinton jerome hill.

clint is a true hero. the iconic secret service agent who jumped on to a moving car while bullets flew inen a effort to save -- in an effort to save president kennedy from an assassin. born on this day in 1932, clint hill grew up in the tiny town of wash. -- of washburn, north dakota. he loved music and was an outstanding athlete. clint went on to attend concordia college in moorhead, minnesota where he was a stand out-- standout fib and baseball player. though he had visions of being a history teacher and athletic coach, he was drafted immediately into the united states army where he worked in counterintelligence in an army field office in denver, colorado. in 1955 president divide d. eisenhower happened to be in colorado on vacation when the

president suffered a heart attack and was hospitalized for seven weeks. and that's when clint ended up meeting several members of eisenhower's secret service detail. he was deeply impressed with the dignity and demeanor of these fine men. at that time there were just 269 agents in the entire secret service organization and in 1958, clint became one of them. a year later agent hill was assigned to the white house. at age 27 he was one of a handful of men responsible for protecting the president of the united states. in 1959 and 1960, clint hill traveled from president eisenhower on his -- excuse me, traveled with president eisenhower on his goodwill tours to europe, asia, india, the middle east, and south america. and when john f. kennedy was elected president in 1960, clint was assigned to protect the

first lady jacqueline kennedy. both president and mrs. kennedy were fond of agent hill and trusted him implicitly. wherever mrs. kennedy went, clint hill was by her side. and so it was that agent hill accompanied president and mrs. kennedy to texas on november 22, 1963. clint was present at the horrifying moment at the plaza when president kennedy riding in an open convertible was shot. clint immediately began to run toward the president's car to protect him and many of us have seen that dramatic footage. jacky kennedy extending her back hand to agent hill who leapt on to the back of a moving car and jumped into the vehicle as it sped away to parkland hospital in dallas. after president kennedy's tragic assassination, clint hill continued to protect jacqueline kennedy and her two children.

then in 1964 he was transferred back to the white house and in 1967 he became the special agent in charge of presidential protection for president lyndon johnson. throughout 1968 clint was a secret service agent who had l.b.j.'s back. clint hill devoted his life to the secret service ultimately being promoted to assistant director in charge of all protective forces. he was married, had two sons, but like so many selfless secret service agents, he missed countless holidays, anniversaries, and birthdays. in 1975 clint retired from the secret service, a job and organization that he loved. in the years since he has written three best selling books about his work with his coauthor and now wife lisa mccoven. today is clint's 90th

birthday. so today i want to pay tribute to a true american hero, a man who was willing to put his life on the line not once but time and again to protect our leaders. now, i know something of the sacrifice this involves. my husband paul is a retired secret service agent, and i am familiar with the commitment it takes for an agent to walk out that door every day to defend the president from threats. so on behalf of paul, myself, the entire masto family, we want to wish a happy birthday to our friend clint hill. thank you for your service to our country and our sincere best wwishes for many more wonderful years ahead. thank you, mr. president. i notice the absence of a qu quorum.

the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. quorum call:

a senator: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from tennessee. mrs. blackburn: are we in a quorum call? the presiding officer: we are. mrs. blackburn: i ask that we dispensed with the quorum call. the presiding officer: without objection. mrs. blackburn: thank you, mr. president. i know that you are probably like me and you've been grateful for the time to be home and to see family and friends and just to chat with them about what is

going on in their lives and the issues that are important to them, what they are looking at. and it has been so interesting to get their perspective as we have visited. i flipped through the papers yesterday, and i realized that many of our friends around town have this renewed sense of optimism about president biden's ability to lead the country. i found that really quite interesting. but you could look at it and say it may be a new year but it's the same old biden. it goes without saying that i do not share what i see as a misguided view. i entered this year with the same hilly skepticism that i had back in december as we were finishing that legislative year.

i will say this. that for the past year, the democratic majority has indulged an administration that has treated their electoral victory like a mandate to enact some of the most irresponsible and radical policies we've seen in over a generation. now they're dusting off an agenda that is so unhinnenned -- unhinged it has kept the democrats deadlocked against one another for the year. we have seen this agenda breed mistrust, tension, anger between the american people and their government. few if any of those people could state that they are better off now than they were under president trump and republican leadership, but still the democratic majority has continued to push biden's agenda

on behalf of the most radical portions of their base. yes, leaning left, they are leaning far left. they are listening to the social justice warriors and the climate partisans and the big government activists and the democratic leadership is doing exactly what they're telling them they want done. meanwhile, they're ignoring the people back home who actually have to deal with the consequences of this political tunnel vision. time after time in poll after poll, even more polls that have come out today, the american people have made it abundantly clear that they are not just dissatisfied with the president's failure to lead, with his radical agenda, and,

you know what? they're not just angry. what i learned from tennesseans is that people are really frightened by what they see taking place with this far-left, hard left turn. president biden has to know all of this. the democratic leadership has to know all of this. look at all the polls. doesn't matter if it's npr. doesn't matter if it's cnnment. the agenda, the president, the vice president, they are all under water. i think they probably have seen this coming since day one of this disastrous administration. and it takes some of the specific issues.

the democratic leadership has had a front-row seat to what is happening on the southern border. so has the administration. that has been a complete collapse of our nation's sovereignty at the sovereign border. with the stroke of a pen, president biden dismantled the policies that were keeping us safe. he invited waves of illegal immigrants into the country. he said, y'all come. y'all come. we're ready for you. he threw the border patrol and local law enforcement under bus, did not listen to them. you don't have to take my word for it. go to the southern border. go visit with them. and he. ms. hassan: let the cartels -- mrs. blackburn: and he is has let the cartels take control. the human traffickers are in

control at the southern border. you do not cross the border unless you have paid the cartels. but, you know what? admitting this does not fit the agenda of the democratic leadership. so they just ignore it. now, president biden and my democratic colleagues continue to evade responsibility for keeping the border secure and safeguarding the national security. they don't want to talk about that, and they're also not wanting to talk about the threat posed by the chinese communist party and our other adversaries abroad. and that is right. the chinese communist party is an adversary. they are not a competitor. they are not a friend or a frenemy. they are an adversary. what are they doing in? they're conducting surveillance,

academic espionage, intellectual property theft. they're doing this every single day. it's all part of the standing operating procedures of the new axis of evil. and all being ignored by people that are charged with keeping this country safe. tennesseans are very concerned. the american people are very concerned. the polls are showing it. and they are blaming the biden administration for not feeling safe, not feeling secure, for the supply chain crisis, for inflation. this is all things that have been brought about in the past year by decisions this administration has made, executive orders that they have

executed. every time that people in this country pick up their phone, they're faced with the knowledge that many of the programs and social media platforms that they once enjoyed are controlled by people who refuse to prioritize privacy and data security and realize that the cyber protections are important. they're grateful for all the sunlight that you and i, mr. president, have been able to shine on the problems with big tech, and so many times as i was at home people would mention to me how much they had learned through the hearings that we have held, the roundtable discussions. and they are wanting to see more attention brought to keeping us

safe and limiting the surveillance, the property theft, the academic espionage that the chinese communist party and our adversaries are conducting in the virtual space. and they're looking forward to seeing us translate this bipartisan consensus into action. they're looking forward to what we're going to deliver when it comes to online privacy, data security, section 230 reforms, to protect our innovators, to protect our children online, to protect our consumers. and, mr. president, when people look at what is being done -- like the work we've done on technology policy -- and what is not being done when it comes to addressing china, addressing

russia, dealing with iran, when this comes to dealing with inflation, prices at the pump, and prices that are happening at the grocery store, they look at this and they say, where's the president? where's the vice president? where are people that should be working for the american people in congress? and when we talk about the democratic leadership, we know that they're busy catering to the most radical fringe of the democratic party to do their jobs, and they're too busy with that to govern. or to keep the economy in one piece and to keep the border intact or to provide for the common defense or to exercise a

little oversight over some of the world's most powerful corporations. well, the american people deserve better. tennesseans are wanting to see action. so while some of our colleagues across the aisle have a renewed sense of optimism about president biden's ability to pull them out of this skid on this agenda that is going nowhere, the american people have spoken. they do not want what you're offering. my resolve is going to be to stand here, to stand between what is happening -- this destructive, as i call it the build back broke agenda -- and to protect tennesseans and

future generations of americans from such an adverse and negative impact. i yield the floor. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. quorum call:

quorum call:

the presiding officer: the senator from ohio. mr. boozman: i come to the floor today to talk about the democrat agenda for the new year. the american people have just come back from the most expensive christmas in our nation's history. coronavirus cases are breaking records all around the country, and many americans spent their christmas with their travel plans canceled. joe biden now enters his second year in office with record high inflation, record high coronavirus cases and record low approval rating. mr. barrasso: now, joe biden is breaking all kinds of records, and each of these records reflects an america that is heading in the wrong direction. american people have two major concerns right now --

coronavirus and what it costs to live their daily lives. yet, these two issues are not even on the radar of democrats in washington, d.c. in fact, democrats have only made these problems worse. first, democrats have unquestionably driven up the cost of living on american families. inflation shot up after democrats put $2 trillion on americans' credit card this spring. democrats told us inflation was transitory. they said it month after month after month. on the day after christmas, margaret brennan of cbs news asked the vice president a very basic question. she asked was it wrong to consider inflation transittory. it's not a gotcha question. it's a question american families have asked themselves month after month after month. as they've heard democrats say it was transitory.

to the american people, the answer is very clear. it's obvious. of course it was wrong by the administration, by the president, by the vice president, to try to mislead the american people by claiming that inflation was transitory. so what did we hear from the vice president in response to this question that's been of great concern to the american people? what we heard was 118 words of incoherent rambling. like a deer in the headlights on the basic question of the top issue of the day, either the vice president is out of touch with the needs of the american people or she just didn't want to admit that the biden administration had been wrong. , month after month after month, until the inflation numbers hit a 40-year high. it's gone on now for nine months, and it's only going to

get worse. that's what the experts are telling us. in october, we saw the worst inflation in 30 years, and then in november it became the worst inflation in 40 years. prices have gone up faster than wages. means the average american family can purchase a lot less today than they could when joe biden took office. and the biggest price increases, of course, have been in energy. in november, we saw the biggest energy price increase in ten years. cnbc reports that one-fifth of american families couldn't afford to pay an energy bill this past year. roughly the same percentage have kept their home at an unhealthy temperature because they can't afford the cost of providing heat. people who travel for christmas faced some of the highest christmas day prices in history. gas cost $1 a gallon more this

christmas than it did last christmas. one year, a dollar a gallon more. many people couldn't travel because of coronavirus. americans broke records for coronavirus cases twice last week. ohio, maryland, here in the district of columbia, all broke records for hospitalizations due to coronavirus. now, remember when joe biden ran for office? he said he was the cure for coronavirus. this guy ought to be sued for medical malpractice. he came into office with two safe and effective vaccines. millions of people have already been vaccinated. yet more americans have now died from coronavirus under president joe biden than under the previous president. from day one of this administration, this president has been inconsistent,

incoherent, and incompetent. the flip-flop on masks for the vaccinated has continued. the administration kowtowed to the teacher unions on mask mandates for toddlers. they flip-flopped on booster shots. they flip-flopped again on testing. for months now, countries like the united kingdom have sent rapid tests to their citizens through the mail. on december 23, president biden told abc news, quote, i wish i had thought of ordering at-home test kits two months ago. well, it turns out the white house did think about it. the media is now reporting that the white house turned down a plan to mail test kits in october. in early december, the white house press secretary was asked why the biden administration wasn't mailing out tests. after all, the democrats on a straight party-line vote in march put $2 trillion on our nation's credit card under the

guise of covid relief. only 9% of the money went for healthcare. where did that money go? billions and tens of billions of dollars so-called for testing in the bill. but the democrats forced it on a party-line vote, and yet there aren't tests in the country because people are lined up around the block waiting for tests that the president wished he had thought about it? that's what he told the world. that's what he said on abc news. in early december, the white house press secretary was asked why the biden administration wasn't mailing out tests. she mocked the idea. then, just a few weeks later, it became the policy of this same administration. too little, too late, another flip-flop, another example of the hypocrisy and the incompetence of this administration. someone ought to -- in the press ought to ask joe biden if he still believes what he said as a candidate. so let's review what he said as

a candidate. september of 2020, joe biden said, quote, if the president had done his job from the beginning, he was referring to president trump, biden said, all the people would still be alive. all the people, he says, i'm not making this up, closed quote. joe biden once again telling the world he's not making it up. now, i don't know of a single doctor or public health official anywhere in the world who would agree with that statement by joe biden, then candidate for president. yet joe biden said it repeatedly. as a candidate, joe biden said, quote, any president who is responsible for that many deaths should not remain as president. and to that i say, joe biden, you are right now responsible for that many deaths, so maybe you shouldn't remain as president either. joe biden attacked the previous administration for letting governors manage the response to coronavirus.

yet just last month joe biden admitted, quote, he said, there is no federal solution to the coronavirus. does joe biden still believe that what he said as a candidate it? what does he know? what does he think? what does he believe? or was he just running for president on the big lie? now, even for democrats in washington, hypocrisy and the incompetence are astonishing. now the american people all across this country are suffering the consequences of the mismanagement by this administration. flights, train departures, public events are all being canceled due to resurgence of coronavirus. cancelations continue today because of coronavirus. under the president who said he would solve the problem. to the point that even the majority party's conference, which should have been a lunch

today, was moved to be virtual. because of the virus that joe biden said he would eliminate. joe biden's lies and flip-flops continue. joe biden said he wouldn't issue a vaccine mandate. said it on several occasions. and then he broke his word. in the process, he took a sledgehammer to the american workforce, forcing people out of their jobs. the biden administration has also issued a mask mandate for children as young as 2 years of age, in preschool. just before christmas, senator lummis, also from wyoming, and i introduced a bill to stop this mandate. there's no scientific basis for forcing toddlers to wear masks. this isn't about the science. it's been shown that the teachers' union lobbied for mask mandates in schools. on may 13, the centers for disease control issued its mask guidance for vaccinated people, for people who've been fully

vaccinated. the guidance said, from the centers for disease control, fully vaccinated people could stop wearing masks indoors. what happened the very next day? well, the very next day, the head of the national education association, the teachers' union, called the director of the centers for disease control. the day after that, the centers for disease control released new guidance, new guidance, saying vaccinated people should wear masks in schools. maybe it was a coincidence. doesn't look like it or sound like it to me. this flip-flop looks like the kind of political pandering, the pandering to union bosses that this administration has engaged in since day one. prp, -- mr. president, the american people have two big concerns right now, coronavirus and the cost of living. democrats on capitol hill

continue to ignore the two biggest concerns of the american people. what are the democrats in this body focused on instead? well, for five months now, democrats in this body have tried to pass the largest spending bill in history. what's it focused on? not inflation. not covid. not crime in the cities, where murder rates are at an all-time high. not border security, where the number of people coming in illegal, carrying disease and drugs is at an all-time high. no, the democrat want to -- democrats want to focus instead on climate change and new entitlements. their bill included trillions and trillions of dollars in new, at thats and trillions and trillions of dollars in new debt. president biden and nearly every democrat in congress went on record in support of this socialist budget bill. not a single republican supports

it, and not even every democrat supports it. now democrats are fighting among themselves, and it's an absolute disgrace. democrats ought to be thankful that that bill didn't pass, because if it passed inflation would get worse, just in time for an election. this isn't what the american people want. the american people have many concerns right now did the -- about the direction of this country and the direction that the president is trying to lead the nation. the two biggest concerns are the coronavirus in their communities and the cost of living that impacts on them, on the people every day, and democrats are failing on both. thank you, mr. president. i yield the floor.

a senator: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from oregon. mr. merkley: mr. president, we have started a new year, 2022, filled with opportunities and possibilities. yet even as we contemplate n new

beginnings, many things remain the same, especially when it comes to the crimes and atrocities being carried out by the chinese communist party. the genocide against the uighur muslims is still ongoing. a million individuals enslaved. the tax on democracy, the silencing of free speech in hong kong continue. in fact, it was just announced that one of hong kong's last remaining pro democracy news outlets, citizen news, is shutting its doors because it cannot continue operations under the current climate of repression under china's national security law. in spite of all that, just 31 days from today, leaders and athletes from across the world will gather in beijing to celebrate the opening ceremonies of the 2022 winter olympic

games. the olympic games are meant to inspire, to bring people together, to build a better world using sports to foster what the olympic movement describes as a peaceful society concerned with the preservation of human dignity. but china is not using these games to advance human dignity. it is using the games to polish its international image and hide its crimes and abuses. a peaceful society concerning what the preservation of human dignity would not idly stand by and allow its government to silence those who speak out for the rights of their fellow workers. yet we see that happening time and time again in china.

this picture is fawn rang, a 26-year-old p.h.d. student in hong kong's university sociology department where he studies chinese labor relations and the chinese labor movement. and is reported that fong while conducting field work on these thesis about labor empowerment in china on the mainland last august was taken into custody by the chinese authorities under the phrase residential surveil langs at a -- surveillance at a designated location. what is residential surveillance at a designated location? is a coerce measure that allows authorities to hold individuals for up to six month, with no ak -- months with no access lawyers, no okay says to family at all. apparently his research as well

as frequent social media posts about workers rights, sexual harassment, and itself displacement of migrant workers put him on beijing's radar. according to one article this young man roamed the factory towns of southern china immersing themselves in workers' lives and supporting them while they tried to strike or seek compensation for work injuries. even the fact that he is a loyal member of the communist party who did not , it did not save him from official's ire. one of his friends said that in the months leading up to his disappearance, fong had repeated been asked to drink tea. drink tea is a code word for being summonsed for questioning and harassment by chinese security services. it has now been four months since the last time he was invited to drink tea, and he's

not been seen again. he's been detained because of his advocacy for workers in china. workers in fact like 31-year-old chen chong, a gig delivery worker. gig delivery work were essential during the pandemic to deliver food, groceries and other needed items. while delivering scores of takeout orders a day, cheng would film short videos that would show the dangerous working conditions of the delivery workers and he used those individual yachts to -- videos to advocate -- that benefit from fostering dangerous work conditions. whether he intended or not, this man driving along on his electric scooter wearing his bright wind-proof jacket became

a rarity in china, a labor leader and organizer. then suddenly last february, almost a year ago, he disappeared. over the course of the covid pandemic, a movement for labor rights had begun to grow, gained mainstream traction. delivery workers like cheng who were lifelines told millions could be seen outside every office building. there were symbols of this growing movement. so in the eyes of the chinese government, individuals like cheng, had to be stopped, stopped from advocating in even the smallest way for any sort of collective effort to improve the condition of chinese workers. so almost a year ago he was detained. given the catch all charge of, and i quote, picking corals and

provoking trouble. so many dissidents in china have been detained over the last few years for picking quarrels and provoking trouble because cheng believed as he said in one of his videos that, quote, delivery workers are humans, too, not robots. though the system wants to make us like cogs in a machine. his case is being handled with great secrecy by authorities. about a month into his detention, friends and supporters began collecting donations to cover his legal fees. they raised about $20,000. but then the chinese officials contacted every person who donated warning them not to help cheng. when the officials visited his parents to deliver a notice of his detention, they demanded his

father sign the notice even though it was impossible for his father to read what was on the notice because of several lines being smudged out. so the father had no idea what he was actually acknowledging on that paperwork. cheng for advocating for improvements in worker conditions is facing up to five years in a chinese prison. his status, his future are unclear. but i call on the chinese government. release those you detained like this young man who was working to make conditions better for workers in china. here we are just 31 days from the start of the winter olympics in china.

olympics that the olympic international committee says are about a peaceful society concerned with the preservation of human dignity. i say to the chinese government wouldn't it be the right thing to do for human dignity to release individuals who have simply spoken up like these two young men did for their fellow workers. i say to the international olympic committee wouldn't it be the right thing for you to call on the chinese government to release individuals like these two young men who simply have spoken up to improve the condition of their fellow workers. wouldn't that be consistent with human dignity? i'll tell what you is not consistent with human dignity. and that's chinese genocide against the uighur community

enslaving near a million people. what is not consistent with human dignity is striking down the free press in hong kong. the slogan of "the washington post" is democracy dies in darkness. and that is the goal of the chinese government is to drive a stake through the democratic rights of hong kong citizens. as we approach these games, let us not allow the chinese government and the communist party to hide their repression behind the glitz and glamour of olympic gold. let's instead dedicate ourselves to calling out time and time again the oppression the chinese government is engaged in and

demand justice that delivers human dignity. thank you, mr. president. a senator: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from iowa. mr. grassley: thank you, mr. president. we study about checks and balances of government in political signs classes -- political science classes, and often people think in terms of the court, the supreme court primarily, being a check on the congress of the united states not doing constitutional things or things in a constitutional way or maybe checking a president not doing things that he's constitutionally empowered to do. we don't often think of congress being a check on the judicial branch of government, but from

time to time we pass legislation that says you folks in the supreme court making a decision, you didn't make that decision according to what congressional intent was so we find ourselves passing legislation to overturn some court case misinterpreting a statute, at least that's our view that they misinterpreted a statute or congressional intent. the last time i remember doing this was maybe a couple, three years ago on a tax bill. it happened that i had at least one person interpreting our statute correctly on this tax provision. it was justice briar. i got a little note from justice

breyer pointing to his dissent in that case and said it's an opportunity for you to pass the strawt, correcting what i think was a misintep taition by the -- misinterpretation by the majority of that tax provision and we got that passed. so here i am again. i don't know how many times in the last 30 years i've had to correct court decisions misinterpreting the false claims act. we're in the process of trying to do that on a subject of whether or not certain actions of our government is material to that case being actually -- being able to be prosecuted. i'm talking about the false claims act that i and a liberal member of the house of representatives got passed in 1986. the false claims act is the

government's most powerful tool in fighting and deterring fraud. and when i say to my fellow colleagues that any law that has brought in about $65 billion of fraudulent-taken money, that ought to in itself prove the worth of this legislation. on the other hand, the courts interpret it and maybe weaken it, so i'm back here to make an argument for strengthening it, but not strengthening it beyond the original intent of the congress of the united states in 1986. i've devoted much of my time in the senate to strengthening this law on behalf of the taxpayers. last november the judiciary committee voted on a bill that i sponsored that was very much a

bipartisan cosponsorship to further strengthen the false claims act by clarifying what violations are -- quote, unquote -- material. some of my colleagues expressed concern with my amendment, even in light of the fact that this legislation has brought $65 billion of fraudulent-taken money back into the federal treasury. most of those concerns by my colleagues were based on debunked, recycled talking points from lobbyists that sound a lot like the ones that i've been hearing from in 1986. the purpose of the legislation. most of the time they've come from businesses that profit the most from defrauding the government. when i authored the false claims act amendments in 1986, i did it

because fraud against the federal government was out of control, especially in the defense sector. at the time, the justice department estimated that we were losing somewhere between 1% to 10% of the federal budget to fraud. most importantly, i saw that fraud put lives at risk, including those of our military, those of our law enforcement, and even our veterans. so i'm going to speak about some of these -- this fraud that put lives at risk. recent court misinterpretations -- and these are the misinterpretations that i've talked about already. recent court misinterpretations have, once again, like several

times in the last 25 years, hurt the government's ability to hold these fraudsters accountable by the courts that have made those decisions not following properly legislatively intent. some courts now say if the government keeps paying a claim, despite some knowledge of potential fraud, then the violation is not material. now, that is not common sense. if the government knows of fraud -- now, think of this. if the government actually knows of fraud but keeps paying for that fraud, then that fraud can't be prosecuted under the false claims act. that doesn't make sense to hard workers on main street in the midwest. it doesn't meet the commonsense test for the government to

protect fraudsters. this is wrong, and i want to show you some instances of where it's dangerous. today i want to bring examples to you about real cases with real life experiences, cases where had this flawed interpretation applied, the results would have been absurd and tragic. first, in 2009 a major defense contractor settled a false claims case based -- or with the federal government for $325 million after allegations arose that they provided faulty parts for spy satellites. due to the faulty parts, several satellites started to malfunction. one of them was on an important mission over the middle east

during time of war. evidence showed that the contractor knew about the malfunctions but hid -- hid -- these modifications from the government. but even if the government had some idea about flawed, it couldn't stop payment under the contractor -- it couldn't stop payment because the contractor was the only company that could manufacture and support these satellites. had this case been fraud today, a court could incorrectly find that the violation was not material. this ought to be unacceptable, and it is. this kind of fraud can hurt our troops and damage our national security. second example -- fraud hurts our law enforcement officers here at home. in 2018, the justice department

settled a fraud claim brought by a whistleblower against a manufacturer of bulletproof vests. according to public records, the manufacturer knew the vests would actually degrade and degrade very quickly under normal heat and humidity. the manufacturer tried to cover its tracks by publishing misleading data. those actions delayed the government's effort to determine the true extent of the damage to these bulletproof vests. after years of investigation, the national institute of justice study found that more than 50% of the used vests could not stop a bullet, a very life-threatening issue. in this case, the manufacturer

argued that since the government kept paying for the vests, the fact that they didn't work was immaterial. thankfully, the judge had common sense enough to see past such ridiculous arguments -- in other words, common sense prevailed in that particular courtroom. now, remember, the actions of these fraudsters put our law enforcement personnel's lives at risk. now, we had a brave whistleblower. so thanks to that brave whistleblower who uncovered this fraud, the money recovered from the settlement was used to purchase new bulletproof vests. third example and last example -- fraud hurts our veterans. and it undermines the federal programs congress creates --

created to support them and their families. another case involved fraud in home loans insured by the v.a. the goal of these loans is to keep veterans in their homes. so, as most veterans know, v.a. loans prohibit lenders from charging veterans hidden fees. in this instance, a mortgage lendinger was illegally charging our veterans fees for v.a.-insured loans. but the government never ceased payment because doing so would hurt the program and the veterans it was meant to help. not to mention that once a loan guarantee is approved, the v.a. is prohibited by law from declining payments. despite this, the district court applied a bogus new

interpretation of materiality. the court dismissed the case. in other words, the fraudsters got away with it and the court dismissed saying that the government-continued payment meant the fraud was not material. so the government is allowing a program to go on, to pay money out even if they know there's fraud. so let me underscore the obvious. i'm telling you congress didn't intend for congress to find that fleecing veterans for profits is immaterial. the legislation that has come out of the judiciary committee will fix this nonsense, and i hope some republicans -- because most of the opposition in the judiciary committee came from republicans. democrats understand that this bill must pass.

but for some reason republicans are willing to accept this nonsense about immaterial. so that's the purpose of this legislation. it clarifies that the government's decision to continue paying a claim, despite knowledge of fraud, is not dispositive if other reasons exist for continued payment. these simple reasons, like everybody expect our government ought to do to continue protecting our troops, to continue helping our law enforcement officers be safe in their job, and to make sure that a veteran doesn't get taken as a sucker to give away a lot of money, that it would be illegally taken. so as shown by the examples i just gave you, examples i

highlighted this very day, the government's decision to continue paying a claim by itself doesn't prove materiality. you may ask, why did the government continue the payments? well, that's pretty much simple common sense, too. because you want these programs to function in the way they should function. my amendment will guarantee that government can hold fraudsters accountable, even when the government has to continue payment for a product or a service. i yield, and i suggest the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. quorum call:

mr. moran: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from kansas. mr. moran: mr. president, thank you. i rise -- the presiding officer: the senate is in a quorum call.

mr. moran: thank you for telling me that. i ask the quorum call be lifted. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. moran: mr. president, thank you. today is an opportunity for me to remind our colleagues of the value of senator johnny isakson. i particularly want to speak this afternoon about his work in regard to our nation's veterans. when senator isakson retired, resigned from the united states senate, i replaced him as the chairman of the senate committee on veterans' affairs. but i served the entire time he was the chairman -- in fact, i've served the entire time i've been in the senate, the entire time i've been in the house, and senator sigh zach son and congressman isakson and i served together in both body oz. i want to highlight for my colleagues and my citizens, that the he knew the debt we owe to

our veterans and kept that at the forefront of his mind and his heart as he led the senate committee on veterans' affairs. his service as chairman was motivated by veterans who touched his own life. he regularly spoke about two veterans who shaped his approach as chairman. his college friend jackson elliott cox iii. jackson cox volunteered to serve in vietnam and was killed by a sniper a month before he was scheduled to return home. noah harris had volunteered in serve in the army and was killed while serving in iraq. both men volunteered to serve their country in the military during times of war and both men gave their lives in that simplifying. -- in that service. senator isakson was compelled by their service to remember and speak about the men and women who gave their lives to defend

our nation and believed that we must also remember and honor those who made it home. senator isakson was involved in a number of legislative successes that improved how our nation serves its veterans after they leave the military. and i want to highlight four of those pieces of legislation. first, the veterans affairs accountability and whistleblower protection act finally gave the v.a. the tools it needed to hold officials accountable following several scandals at the department and set the expectation that the v.a. would maintain a high performance workforce to serve our veterans. second, the veterans appeals priewvment and mo denisation act of of 2017 modernizeed claims process at the v.a. and allowed the v.a. to reduce its appeals backlog from nearly half a million appeals to around 100,000. veterans have choices and can

receive timely decisions rather than waiting and waiting and waiting. third, the harry w. combry veterans education assistance act of 2017 known as the forever g.i. bill. revolutionized education benefits by eliminating the 15 year window during after clt -- which the veteran can use those benefits. and finally, the v.a. mission act is legislation i'm proud to have championed alongside senator isakson. he knew that temporary programs put in place to address the phoenix wait time scandal needed to be consolidated with existing options for care outside the v.a. and i was honored to help him and the rest of congress see the mission act signed into law to give veterans clear choices on getting the care that they best, that best serves their

needs. senator isakson also felt a strong connection to veterans of the greatest generation who saved the world in world war ii. on a visit in europe, senator isakson came across a grave, the grave of roy c.irwin, who was killed in the battle of the bulge on the very same day that senator isakson was born in georgia. he spoke regularly about the perspective that visit gave him and how he thought about what roy irwin and so many others who served had done for him and for all of us. in his last year as chairman, senator isakson led a senate delegation to commemorate the 75th anniversary of d-day in normandy, france. despite the challenges his health may have posed for such a trip, he knew the importance of showing our world war ii veterans and in fact the entire world that we remember their sacrifices and that as a nation we honor the service of that generation and the example they set for generations to come.

senator isakson did not just remember the sacrifices of our veterans. he acted whenever he could to see that -- to see that the benefits and services their country offered were delivered in the manner deserved. before noah harris was killed in 2005 he and senator isakson exchanged letter and senator isakson noted how noah signed his letter idwic which stood for i do what i can. similarly senator isakson sought to get to yes on solutions instead of just focusing on problems or senate differences or people's differences, he always worked to do everything he could when someone needed help and his service to veterans will shine as an example for others, for us to emulate. we will remember senator isakson and the impact he had on our nation's veterans, and that will be remembered for generations. senator isakson served six years in the house and 14 years in the

senate. he died december 19 at age 76, over two decades of service and certainly over two decades of service to america's veterans. mr. president, i want to extend my condolences to senator isakson's wife diane and his children julie, kevin, and john. please know that we are thinking of you all and are praying for you during this challenging and difficult time. may god bless that family, and may johnny isakson rest in peace. thank you, mr. president. and i note the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. quorum call:

is

mr. mcconnell: mr. president. the presiding officer: the minority leader. mr. mcconnell: i ask consent that further proceedings on the quorum call be dispensed with. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. mcconnell: a week ago, the senate lost a distinguished former colleague, and the state of nevada lost an unparalleled advocate. senator harry reid's path to this chamber was a quintessentially american story. his incredible path from childhood poverty to the boxing ring to leading the u.s. senate took both toughness and tenacity and in this chamber, just like everywhere else, harry left it all in the ring. as leaders of our respective parties, the two of us disagreed, energetically and often. we had sharply different views,

goals, and philosophies on everything from public policy to the institution of the senate itself. but through all the heat and light, i never doubted that harry was doing what he earnestly believed was right for nevada and for the nation. and elaine and i were grateful to enjoy a joint friendship with harry and landra, the light of harry's life, his beloved high school sweetheart. the senate's thoughts and prayers continue to be with her and the entire reid family. now, on a completely different matter, as the senate begins this new year and new session, millions of americans are yet again having life disrupted by a new and surging variant of the

coronavirus. thus far, there's cause for optimism. the rapidly spreading omicron variant seems to cause milder disease than previous iteration iterations. by now, a huge portion of our population has some immunity, through our remarkable, safe and effective vaccines or through prior exposure. and our healthcare providers know much more today than they did two years ago. unfortunately, the last few weeks have also exposed big gaps between the biden administration's promises and the reality under their leadership. in 2020, then candidate biden promised he would shut down the virus. that clearly has not happened. back when the virus had killed 220,000 americans, then candidate biden said anyone

who's responsible for that many deaths should not remain as president of the united states. now, almost four times that many people have died. now, look, nobody's solely blaming this administration for this mutating virus. but nobody forced democrats to campaign on those promises and attacks. they chose to do that. but they haven't governed accordingly. it's been nearly a year since president biden inherited three vaccines and a distribution operation that was already putting a million shots in a million arms every day. that was before this administration took office. what new solutions do democrats have to show for a full year in power? where is their 2021 equivalent to our 2020's operation warp

speed? what did they produce in 11 months, besides angry speeches about the vaccines they inherited? why does the pandemic in january similar to the pandemic in january of 2021? except that this administration happened to get lucky with an apparently less dangerous variant. after a year of this administration, families are still having trouble tracking down testing for work, school, travel, or even peace of mind. this administration has limited important treatments. treef dragged their heels on -- they've dragged their heels on promising innovations. they've been inexplicably slow to dispurse relief funds that congress set aside ages ago. they've used odd, alienating rhetoric around the vaccines they inherited.

and remember last spring, when our democratic colleagues spent $1.9 trillion on a supposedly covid-related spending bill, only 9% of it went to the actual fight against covid. just 9% of the $1.9 trillion authorized last march. so, this all democratic government spent its first year distracted, and the country is feeling the consequences. now, on a related matter, fortunately for the country before christmas one of those far left distractions was dealt a setback. the democrats' wasteful spending last spring helped ignite the worst inflation in 40 years, but our colleagues spent the rest of 2021 trying to assemble yet another, even bigger, even more reckless tax-and-spending spree. their reaction to rising prices and family hardships their

policies caused was to try to inflate their way out of inflation. the experts say that when you strip away the budget gimmick, their proposal would cost almost $5 trillion. and all of that reckless borrowing and money printing was far far left policies that would hurt american families and actually help china. this supposedly green subdiswould -- subsidies would dump money into china-dominated supply chains. america takes on massive debt to build back beijing. the child care plan was actually an unworkable and discriminatory toddler takeover that are would drive up day care costs and let woke bureaucrats drive out faith-based providers. they even wanted to distort american parents' child tax credit and turn it into an old-school cash welfare program

with no work requirements at all. now, all of this paired with historic crushing tax hikes and trillion more dollars to make inflation even worse. it was a merrier christmas for american families because this awful bill was actually put aside. working americans needed to actually stay on the shelf -- working americans need it to actually stay on the shelf. now, on one final matter, when our colleagues' reckless taxing-and-spending spree began to falter, some democrats started saying a totally different issue was actually really their top priority. if they don't get to blow $5 trillion on low-quality socialism, our colleagues are now demanding a sons lation prize -- a consolation prize, breaking the that's rules in order to give themselves sweeping control over all 50 states' election laws. this is what some of our colleagues want so desperately.

i guess it's what they've sought for years. even as their pretax and just fixes kept -- justifications kept shift, the goals stayed consistent. most democrats want to be a nationwide board of elections on steroids and shatter the senate's rules and traditions to make it happen. after democrats lost the white house in 2016, they said this takeover was necessary because our democracy was fundamentally broken. now that they've won the white house, the story has totally flipped. now our democracy's in perfect shape, beyond reproach, except when states that democrats don't control dare to pass mainstream voting laws. the political left keeps pitching their big lie that mainstream state voting laws are somehow jim crow 2.0. if the governor who signed the bill happens to be a republican. the left's big lie insults the

intelligence of the american people. all the facts disprove it. in one of the states that triggered this meltdown, the new proposals mandated more days, more days of early voting than many democrat-run states provide today. our democracy's not in crisis. repeating this rhetoric doesn't make it factual. the 2020 election saw the highest turnout in more than 100 years. only 33% of american adults think it's too hard for eligible voters to vote. a larger share actually think current rules aren't strict enough. this is fake, fake hysteria. ginned up by partisans and our citizens actually know it. they figured it out. last november, even in new york, the state's overwhelmingly democratic voters rejected several left wing ballot

measures to change voting laws. this big lie, that democracy is dying because democrats sometimes lose elections, is a completely astroturfed sense of crisis. the emperor has no clothes. it's even more ironic that on this most sensitive subject, our democracy itself, some senate democrats want to drop a procedural nuclear bomb on the senate itself to get their way. our colleagues have no principal opposition to the filibuster, none at all this is not about principle. in 2020 alone senate democrats used the filibuster to repeatedly block the cares act, delaying help at the start of the pandemic. they used it to kill senator tim scott's police reform bill. in 2017, 32 senate democrats, including then senator harris, signed an open letter insisting

the legislative filibuster should not change. and a few years before that, the currents democratic leader said this about the prospect of nuking the filibuster, this is the current democratic leader, quote, the ideologues in the senate want to turn what the founding fathers called the cooling saucer of democracy into the rubber stamp of dictatorship he went on, they believe if you get 51% of the vote this should be one-party rule. he went on, they want to make this country into a banana republic, where if you don't get your way you change the rules. he went on, it would be a doomsday for democracy if we do. that's the senate democratic leader on the possibility of

nuking the senate. some people's tunes change when they happen to be in the majority versus the minority. but some senators mean what they say. there are senators on both sides of the aisle who have had the courage to stand unfor these important rules when we've been in the minority and when we've been in the majority. don't have to remind the senate that the previous president frequently ha ranged me -- harangued me to nuke the senate. on every occasion, i had a one word answer -- no. no. there are senators on both sides who understand that any supposed limited carve-out would bring the whole house crashing down. there are senators on both sides who understand that the entirety

of federal law shouldn't go radically boomeranging back and forth every time the senate narrowly changes hands. i suggest the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. quorum call:

quorum call:

mr. heinrich: i would ask unanimous consent to vitiate the quorum call. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. heinrich: i would ask unanimous consent that the senate proceed to legislative session and income a period of morning business with senators permitted to speak therein for up to ten minutes each. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. heinrich: i ask unanimous consent that when the senate completes its business today, it adjourn until 11:00 a.m. wednesday, january 5, that following the prayer and pledge, the morning hour be deemed expired, the journal of proceedings be approved to date, the time for the two leaders be reserved for their use later in the day, and morning business be closed. that upon the conclusion of morning business, the senate proceed to executive session and

resume consideration of the witkowsky nomination. further, that if any nominations are confirmed during wednesday's session, the motions to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table and the president be immediately notified of the senate's action. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. heinrich: if there is no further business to come before the senate, i ask that it stand adjourned under the previous order. the presiding officer: the senate stands adjourned until