>> certainly johnson's secretaries knew because they were tasked with transcribing many of those conversations. in fact, they were the ones who made sure that the conversations were taped as johnson would signal to them through an open door between his office and there's. >> you'll also hear some blunt talk. >> jim. >> yes, sir. >> i want a report of a number of people assigned to kennedy on me the day he died and the number assigned to me now. and if mine are not less i want them less right quick. >> yes, sir. >> and if i can ever go to the bathroom, i won't go. i promise you i won't go anywhere. i'll just a right behind these black gate. >> presidential recordings. find it on the c-span now mobile app or whatever you get your podcasts. >> the use senate is about to gavel in to start its day. senators are expected wholly confirmation vote on holly thompson of california to be

united states circuit judge for the ninth circuit. if confirmed she would be the second black woman to ever serve on the ninth circuit court of appeals. now live to the senate floor on c-span2. the president pro tempore: the senate will come to order. the chaplain, dr. barry black, will lead the senate in prayer. the chaplain: let us pray. eternal god, we love you, for you are our stren and fortress. lord, you are worthy of our praise. we thank you for showing yourself faithful to all who put their trust in you. continue to sustain

our lawmakers with your strong right hand, lord, equip and empower them by your heavenly grace that they may be adequate for these momentous times. use them as your instruments to bring decency, justice, and mercy to our nation and world. we pray in your great name. amen. the president pro tempore: please join me in the pledge of allegiance. 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 president pro tempore: under the previous order, the leadership time is reserved. under the previous order, the senate will be in a period of morning business with senators permitted to speak for up to ten minutes each. the clerk will call the roll. quorum call:

mr. schumer: mr. president? the presiding officer: the majority leader. mr. schumer: i ask unanimous consent the quorum be dispensed with. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. schumer: now, mr. president, last night was a reminder of a difficult but important reality of our great democracy, the march to freedom through thick and thin is never over. and we have to keep marching. while last night's vote was disappointing, it will not deter senate democrats from continuing our fight against voter

suppression, dark money, partisan gerrymandering. democrats are proud of the fight we held last night. the strength, eloquence, enthusiasm, and overwhelming participation of my democratic colleagues during debate was exhilarating and shows the passion we feel about this issue. they saw an uphill battle from the start. we lost the vote. but to have not voted would have been a far greater loss, a loss for our democratic party which for generations has stood for voting rights, a loss for the civil rights advocates who have sacrificed so much on this issue, and a loss for the american people and what this country stands for. on an issue this important, not doing everything we could would have been unacceptable. now the bromides of the beltway class should not have held a

vote if an outcome was not certainly. they are wrong. imagine telling dr. king not to march from selma to montgomery because he could not be sure what obstacles awaited him and his fellow freedom fighters. imagine telling john lewis he should never have crossed the pettus bridge because it was unclear what perils awaited him on the other side. every member of this body who has ever invoked these great titans of freedom has an obligation, an obligation to upheld their legacies not just with words but with actions. senators were elected to vote. the examples of dr. king, of john lewis inspire us, give us strength, and show us that sometimes the only right option is to move forward. and we need to remember what this is about. with the advent of donald trump and his many big lies, with the january 6 insurrection, with the vicious acts of voter

suppression throughout the states, and with the greedy dark money interests who fuel the republican party these days, this is a fight for the soul of america. nothing less. so democrats will not shy away from an uphill fight. we will continue to face them. and i believe that the lessons of history are clear. when representatives have to take a stand, when they have to show to the american people where they are on the issues, the right side of history ultimately prevails. we know history is on the side of voting rights, and we know that forcing leaders to take stands will ultimately move the ball forward. now finally, i want to thank all my colleagues who came to the floor yesterday to speak valiantly in defense of voting rights and for working insidiously for months on this vital issue. senators klobuchar and merkley,

booker, schatz, senator kaine, you, mr. president, senators king, tester, warnock, ossoff, durbin, padilla, leahy and so many more. their leadership, their expertise and their dedication to protecting our democracy is inspiring. it gives our caucus strength and it made such a difference. last night was unusual and exhilarating because we fought the good fight. as former leader al bin -- albin merkley of kentucky said 830 years ago, facing a filibuster -- as former majority leader albin barkley said 80 years ago this november, facing a filibuster which successfully blocked antipoll tax legislation, quote, the majority leader, albin barkley of kentucky said, i'm glad i've

made this fight. i have made it in behalf of what i believe to be the broad and true foundations of a true democracy. senate democrats fighting for voting rights is not over. we will keep fighting until voting rights are protected for every single american and one day hopefully sooner rather than later, we will succeed. i yield the floor and note the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. quorum call:

>> while last night's vote was disappointing it will not deter senate democrats from continuing our fight against voter suppression, dark money money, partisan gerrymandering. democrats are proud of the fight we held last night. the strength, eloquence, enthusiasm and overwhelming participation of my democratic colleagues during debate was exhilarating and shows the passion we feel about this issue . facing an uphill battle from the start we lost the vote. but you have not voted would be a far greater loss. a loss for our democratic party which for generations has stood for voting rights . all loss for the civil rights advocates who sacrificed so much on this issue and a loss for the american people in what this country stands for. on an issue thisimportant , not doing everything we could would have been unacceptable.

now, the bromides of the beltway class old we should not have held a vote on voting rights if the outcome was not certain. they are wrong. imagine telling doctor king not to march from selma to montgomery because he could not be sure what obstacles 08 him and his fellow freedom fighters. imagine telling john lewis he should never have crossedthe pettis bridge because it was unclear what perils awaited him on the other side . every member of this body who has ever invoked these great titans of freedom as an obligation to uphold their legacies not just with words but with actions. senators were elected to vote . the examples of doctor king and john lewis inspire us, give us strength and show us that sometimes the only right option is to move forward. and we need to remember what this is about. with the advent of donald trump and his many big lies,

with the january 6 insurrection, with the vicious acts of voter suppression throughout the state and with the greedy dark money interests who fueled the republican party these days, this is a fight for the soul of america. nothing less. so democrats will not shy away from an uphill fight. we will continue the faith and i believe the lessons of history are clear. when representatives have to take a stand, when they have to show to the american people wherethey are on issues , the right side of history ultimately prevails. we know history is on the side of voting rights and we know that forcing leaders to take stands will ultimately the ball forward . now finally, i want to thank all my colleagues who came to

the floor yesterday to speak valiantly in defense of voting rightsand for working assiduously or months on this vital issue . senators klobuchar and merkley, senators king, tester, warnock, ossoff and so many more. their leadership, their expertise and dedication protecting our democracy is inspiring. we saw caucus strength and it made such a difference. last night was unusual and exhilarating. as we fought the good fight. as former leader alvin barkley of kentucky said 80 years ago this november, facing a filibusterhe was facing , as barkley said 80 years ago this november facing a filibuster which

successfully blocked anti-poll tax legislation quote, the majority leader alvin barkley from kentucky said i'm glad i've made this fight. i've made it in the half of what i believe to be the broad and true foundations of a truedemocracy . senate democrats fighting for voting rights isnot over . we will keep fighting until voting rights are protected for every single american and one day hopefully sooner rather than later we will succeed. i.e. yield the floor and note the absence of a quorum. >>

. >> was the national taxpayer advocate who painted a dire picture of the stateof the irs right now . just the numbers from her report to congress. .6 million returns, 2.8 million unprocessed business returns . 5 million unanswered mail. what does that all mean for the average american on april 15 of this year? >> i think what it means is the irs just like last year 's entering the filing season

very far behind. and it means that there are not enough employees this year that were able to get through that work and there's certainly notenough employees this coming year to get through this work as well . if taxpayers returns are perfect they will go through the filing swimmingly. if there's a problem and there are many places along the way we could talk about over thisnext few minutes , where a return will get stopped and it requires manual review and there's got to be a human being looking at it before that return can get back. the filing system so that means there could be a chokepoint and the taxpayers returns will be stopped. refunds will not be issued. 75 percent of individual tax returns results in refunds and in this pandemic economy it's incredibly important to get timely.

that means a lot of taxpayer dollars. >> you mentioned chatting over the course of the next 45 minutes with nina olson and it's the best part of what we do is let you chat with taxpayers so let me get the phone numbers right off the start . 202-748-8000 in the eastern or central time zones, seven 48,001 if you're in the mountain or pacific time zone . nina olson happy to answer your taxpayer questions. i mentioned at the top of your position as executive director for office of taxpayer rights, explain what that is. >> the day after i retired on july 31, 2019 i founded a nonprofit, a new nonprofit called the center for taxpayer rights and the goal of the center is to promote awareness of and access to taxpayer rights within the united states and internationally and we do that through holding

dogma. on president biden's watch washington democrats have even turned against the long-standing bipartisan hyde amendment. both parties used to agree that at least federal taxpayers should not be forced to fund abortions. now democrats on both sides of pennsylvania avenue have declared war on even this. so i warmly welcome the marchers from kentucky and across the country. this radical version of the democratic party needs to hear your voices now more than ever. today marks exactly one year since president biden became our 46th president. this all-democratic government has had 365 days to start delivering on some of their core promises. so, what were those promises, in their own words? crushing the virus.

strengthping our alliances -- strengthening our alliances. and above all, lowering the temperature and reuniting a divided country. now, remember, upon taking office this administration had historic tailwinds at its back. president biden inherited life-saving vaccines and a distribution system that was already up and running. he inherited a string of bipartisan rescue packages, including one that was only just a few days old. he inherited an economy that was primed for a roaring comeback. those were the promises. that was the inheritance. so let's take a look at the progress report. last spring, against expert advice, the biden administration dumped another mountain of borrowed cash on an already white-hot economy.

as a result, we're now being hammered by the worst inflation in 40 years. practically everything families need and want has gotten much, much more expensive. constant shortages disrupt family shopping. household are being hit with soaring heating costs. if they stay home. and soaring gas prices, if they go out. our economic trajectory looks shakeier today than it did when democrats were sworn in. of course, we have continued adding back jobs from covid lockdowns. that was certainly going to happen. but job creation has massively underperformed. democrats' own projections for job creation, with their super costly springtime stimulus package. when 2021 was said and done, the country had added roughly the same number of jobs that we were on track to create before

democrats implemented one policy or spent one dime. they managed to literally blow $ 1.9 trillion, but only barely beat the starting trajectory they inherited. they call that spending a covid package, but less than 10% of the money went to the actual medical fight, and that certainly shows. americans are entering the third year of this pandemic with too few tests, too few treatments, too many new cases, and too many school closures. muddled guidance on boosters that caused f.d.a. experts to resign in protest, and needless divisive vaccine mandates that were not even constitutional. one year in, the coronavirus is decidedly uncrushed. and covid wasn't the only

epidemic sweeping american streets. take violent crime. far left rhetoric and anti-law enforcement local policies have led major cities to set all-time records for homicides in 2021. or take fentanyl. this deadly imported poison was the leading cause of determining for americans and i will 18-45 last year. the number-one killer of americans in their prime, fentanyl. so why aren't democrats treating this like an emergency? when was the last time president biden even talked about this? and drug deaths are not the only consequence of our weak borders. candidate biden's rhetoric incentivized an historic flood of illegal immigration and then president biden's weak policies

lit the fuse. the result? the biggest surge in illegal border crossings in 60 years. 60 years. all these issues are priorities for american families, but the biden administration spent most of 2021 focused on none of those. washington democrats spent months chasing a reckless taxing-and-spending spree packed with far-left policies that citizens never wanted. they spent half of 2021 trying and failing to spend $5 trillion on windmills and welfare.

when that effort faded, democrats abruptly pivoted and started shouting that americans' democracy was on death's door. they propagandized that some evil anti-democracy is sweeping america and the only solution was a gigantic partisan election takeover bill that democrats had conveniently written years before the events which they say now prompted it. the american people didn't buy the fake hysteria. one half of one percent of the country thinks election laws are a top issue. in fact, more americans believe voting laws are actually too loose than too tight. oh, but democrats went all in on this obsession. a few days ago the sitting president of the united states called millions of americans his domestic enemies and analyzed,

analyzed united states senators to jefferson davis. well, last night the fake panic drove 48 democrats to shatter the senate itself for short-term power. now washington democrats appear to be launching an absurd and reckless campaign to delegitimize the next election in advance in case they lose it. sound familiar? yesterday the president told reporters that he might not accept the 2022 election results as legitimate if his election takeover bills do not pass congress first. it all sounds eerily familiar. this morning the house majority whip followed suit.

he was asked if the legitimacy of our elections is contingent on washington democrats passing these bills, and he replied, i'm absolutely concerned about that. the democrats, who preach countless sermons about accepting voters' decisions, are now saying the midterms may be illegitimate unless they win. so, america, after all of this, do you feel unified? do you feel healed? do you feel like our core institutions are being protected? now, senate republicans have met this administration more than halfway. in 2021, the senate built and passed a major infrastructure deal. we passed bipartisan legislation on competing with china, but beyond that, this administration

deliberately chose to build their whole governing strategy around the party-line reconciliation process. so the president cannot deflect blame for his disappointing first year. the american people know where the buck stops, and if our democratic friends do not change course, before long, the buck will stop somewhere else. now, on a related matter, president biden also campaigned on strengthening america's partnerships and renewing our global leadership. well, how has the administration done? the administration that campaigned on restoring alliances, abandoned a coalition of loyal partners with its disastrous and fatal retreat from afghanistan. the biden administration

green-lit vladimir putin's nord stream 2 pipeline, and the senate democrats blocked us from sanctioning it. this pipeline will help putin gain even more leverage over western europe and, of course, further isolate ukraine. as we speak right now, putin has amassed more than 100,000 russian troops along the border of ukraine. if these forces cross into ukraine, it will not be a new invasion or a or a reinvation. ukraine has been fighting the russian-backed for eight years. for years i've been trying to warn that putin is only when --

but the biden administration sent ukraine nonlethal support in the sanctions it imposed an coordinated -- proved not to be as tough as advertised. the obama-biden administration failed to end putin's invasion or compel compliance with the minsk accords. now, the biden-harris team must not repeat the obama-biden team's grave mistakes. but yet on live television president biden telegraphed passivity. telegraphed passivity. and weakness, exactly when our allies can least afford it. our president seemed to state, and i pray, unintentionally, that he expects putin to escalate in ukraine and in any

case, putin can do what he wants. here's what the president said. that decision is totally, solely completely a putin decision. i suspect it matters which side of the bed he gets up on. what on earth does that mean? further, the president said, my guess is he will move in. the president said, my guess is, he will move in. he has to do something. so president biden thinks putin has to do something? what does that even mean? why is our president speculating like a passive observer on the sidelines? he isn't a pundit. he isn't putin's psychoanalyst. he's the president of the united states.

so will america hold russia accountable if it escalates? here was the message from our commander in chief. quote, it depends on what russia does. it's one thing if it's a minor incursion, a minor incursion, and then we end up having to fight about what to do and not do, et cetera. it's one thing if it's a minor incursion? does this mean president biden will not actually authorize the tough response that his own administration officials have spent weeks -- weeks -- promising? this was a moment to deliver a powerful warning to the kremlin that ukraine's sovereignty is invaluable, that we would stand with her people, that the cost

of escalation would be devastating. it was a moment to reassure our partners in kiev and our allies along nato os eastern flank that america had their back. it was a moment to call for nato's unity, not to expose and appear hamstrung by nato's divisions. it was a bizarre and devastating performance, especially, i would add, for our friends on the front lines. president zelinsky's defense minister has already shot back, quote -- this is from ukraine's defense minister -- we should not give putin the slightest chance to play with quasi aggression or small incursion operations. this aggression was already

there since 2014. this is a fact. i suspect our own secretary of state, who is in europe to meet with our allies and russian foreign minister, was also shocked by what the president had to say. minutes later white house staff put out a frantic statement laying out a completely different position than what president biden had just expressed. by then, of course, significant damage had been done. but, alas, the damage can be undone. the president of the united states is never powerless. president biden needs to clean up his remarks. he needs to clearly state american resolve and clearly demonstrate american leadership.

he should call president zelinsky and nato's allies most threatened by russian aggression. he should rally allies and partners around the world to defend ukraine and the international system that is being threatened by putin. his administration should be using every waking moment right now -- right now -- to expedite our delivery of real defensive capabilities to ukraine. the president must cut the indecision and red tape that has slowed us and our partners down. president biden should finally at long last get around to nominating an doer to ukraine, a position that he's left -- an ambassador to ukraine, a position that he's left open for 12 crucial months.

he should send u.s. forces to shore up nato's eastern flank. not if and when putin escalates, but right now before it's too late. he should encourage our treaty allies to do likewise. but while alliance unity is important, the lowest common denominator of nato's most nervous members cannot be allowed to restrict american action. whatever course other nations choose to chart, we cannot afford to let moscow underestimate our resolve to impose serious -- serious -- crushing costs in response to any further incursion against ukraine. our friends and america's

reputation deserve nothing less. mr. thune: mr. president? the presiding officer: the republican whip. mr. thune: is the senate in a quorum call? the presiding officer: we are not in a quorum call. mr. thune: mr. president, tomorrow the streets of our nation's capital will be filled

from americans across the country who have come to washington, d.c., to march for life. they've come to nudge the conscience of our nation, to remind every day in this country, baby girls and boys are being killed by abortion. the march for life, of course, is just one small facet of the pro-life movement which works every day in this country to offer help and hope to moms in need. pro-lifers collect supplies for pregnant moms. they pay for prenatal care. they assist moms with housing. they help moms continue with their schooling or find employment. they provide a listening ear to support a mom going through a difficult time. the march for life is just one small facet of that work, but it's an important one because abortion is an injustice that happens behind closed doors. it's not something that we see

happening. so it's all too easy to forget that every day in this country hundreds of babies are being killed by abortion. the c.d.c. reports that almost 630,000 babies were killed by abortion in 2019 alone. 630,000. that number is so big it's almost unfathomable. to put 630,000 in some kind of perspective, that's equivalent to roughly 70% of the population of my state of south dakota, killed in one year. 630,000 unique, unrepeatable human beings. future doctors, nurses, farmers, and teachers and flummerses and bus drivers and research scientists, beloved sisters and brothers, nieces and nephews,

future moms and dads, that, mr. president, is a lot of lives lost. so events like the march for life are fundamentally important because they provide a public witness to the truth about abortion. they remind all of us of what it can be all too easy to minimize or ignore or forget, and that is in this country we are denying our most vulnerable citizens their most basic right. mr. president, would you think by now that we would have learned our lesson about deciding that one group of human beings is expe expendable, about deciding that some human beings are excluded from the protection and dignity that every member of the human family should enjoy. unfortunately, history makes clear that great sins are often repeated. but we don't have to stay silent in the face of them. indeed we must not stay silent in the face of them. rescue those being led away to

death, it says in the book of proverbs. hold back those staggering towards slaughter. if you say but we knew nothing about this does not he who weighs the heart better serve it? will he not repay everyone according to what they have done? the march for life helps make sure that we can never offer the excuse but we do nothing about this. and reminds us of our responsibility to speak up, to rescue the babies in this country who are being led away to death mere weeks or months after their life has begun. mr. president, those who would defend a supposed right to abortion would like americans to believe that the decision that legalized abortion in this country is settled law but the truth is, mr. president, it's not. if it were settle law, the supreme court wouldn't regularly be asked to rule on abortion

legislation. and there's a reason why roe v. wade is never taken -- has never taken on the character settle law. that's because it was a fundamentally wrongheaded decision, a decision with intention with our most basic beliefs as americans that every person is endowed by our creator with certain inalienable rights, chief among them is the right to life. americans are not a perfect people, mr. president. we've made some very grave errors in our past, but americans are fundamentally a good people. while we've not always fully realized the promise of our declaration, the promise of protection for the unalienable rights of every person, it's something we keep fighting for and pursuing. we really believe in the right to life and liberty and the pursuit of happiness. and we have the sentiments that

go with that. a strong sense of justice, a passion for the right, an instinct to protect the vulnerable. so the idea of killing innocent, vulnerable human beings is not something we can easily make our peace with. so it's not surprising to me that despite the best efforts of the pro abortion movement, a strong majority of americans support restrictions on abo abortion. an associated press poll from this june found that 65% of americans believe that abortion should generally be illegal in the second trimester or from about 13 weeks of pregnancy while a whopping 80%, 80% of americans believe that abortion should generally be illegal in the third trimester. mr. president, americans know that abortions kill babies. the pro-abortion movement can talk all it wants about blobs of tissue or products ever

conception. science and technology and common sense point inexorably to the humanity of the unborn child. and americans know that human actions deserve to be protect -- human beings deserve to be protected, even when they're small or weak or vulnerable, especially when they're small or weak or vulnerable. mr. president, it is reprehensible that a country like ours dedicated to the defense of human rights has some of the most extreme abortion laws in the world. we are part of just a tiny handful of countries that allow elective abortion past 20 weeks of pregnancy. among those other countries are china and north korea, not exactly the kind of company we want to be keeping when it comes to protecting human rights. it is time for us to do better.

we can do better. and i am so grateful for all of the marchers and for all those in the pro-life movement who are out there fighting to ensure that we do better. speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves, it says in the book of proverbs. thank you to all those who are speaking up tomorrow. keep speaking up. and i'm confident sooner or later life will prevail. mr. president, i yield the floor. map.

mr. schumer: mr. president? the presiding officer: the majority leader. mr. schumer: i ask to execute the previous order with respect to the thomas nomination. the presiding officer: 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, holly a. stop mass of california to be united states circuit judge for the ninth circuit. mr. schumer: i ask for the yeas and nays. the presiding officer: is there a sufficient second? there appears to be. the clerk will call the roll. vote:

vote:

vote:

vote:

vote:

the presiding officer: on this vote the yeas are 48. the nays are 40. the nomination is confirmed. the majority leader. mr. schumer: i move to proceed to legislative session. the presiding officer: the question is on the motion. all in favor say aye. opposed opposed. the ayes appear to have it. the ayes do have it. the motion is agreed to. mr. schumer: i move to proceed to executive session to consider calendar 655. the presiding officer: the question is on the motion. all in favor say aye. opposed no. the ayes appear to have it. the ayes do have it. the motion is agreed to. the clerk will report the nomination. the clerk: nomination, the judiciary, bridget meehan

brennan of ohio to be united states district judge for the northern district of ohio. mr. schumer: i send a cloture motion to the desk. the presiding officer: the clerk will report. the clerk: cloture motion, we, the undersigned senators in accordance with the provisions of rule 22 of the standing rules of the senate do hereby move to bring to a close debate on the nomination of executive calendar number 65 prid jet meehan brennan of ohio to be united states district judge for the northern district of ohio signed by 18 senators as follows. mr. schumer: i ask consent the reading of the names be waived. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. schumer: i move to proceed to legislative session. the presiding officer: the question is the motion. all in favor say aye. opposed no. the ayes appear to have it. the ayes do have it. the motion is agreed to. mr. schumer: i move to proceed to executive session to consider calendar 657. the presiding officer: the question is on the motion. all those in favor say aye. those opposed no. the ayes appear to have it. the ayes do have it. the motion is agreed to. the clerk will report the nomination. the clerk: nomination, the

judiciary, charles esque fleming of ohio to be united states district judge for the northern district of ohio. mr. schumer: i send a cloture motion to the desk. the presiding officer: the clerk will report. the clerk: cloture motion, we, the undersigned senators in accordance with the provisions of rule 22 of the standing rules of the senate do hereby of executive calendar number 657, charles esque fleming of ohio to be united states district judge for the northern district of ohio signed by 18 senators as follows. mr. schumer: i ask consent the reading of the names be waived. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. schumer: i move to proceed to legislative session. the presiding officer: the question is on the motion. all those in favor say aye. those opposed no. the ayes appear to have it. the ayes do have it. the motion is agreed to. mr. schumer: i move to proceed to executive session to consider calendar 658. the presiding officer: the question is on the motion. all those in favor say aye. opposed no. the ayes appear to have it. the ayes do have it. the motion is agreed to. the clerk will report the nomination. the clerk: nomination, the

judiciary, david augustin ruiz of ohio to be united states district judge for the mortgage district -- morning district of ohio. mr. schumer: i send a cloture motion to the gesk. the presiding officer: rp vii -- the clerk will report. the clerk: cloture motion, we, the undersigned senators in correspondence correspondence -- in correin accordance with the provisions of rule 22 of the standing rules of the senate correspondence do hereby move to bring to a close debate on the nomination of executive calendar 658, david augustin ruiz of ohio to be united states district judge for the northern district of ohio signed by 178 senators -- 18 senators. mr. schumer: i ask consent the reading of the names be waived. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. schumer: i move to froad legislative session. the presiding officer: the question is on the motion. all notion in favor say aye. the ayes appear to have it. the ayes do have it. the motion is agreed to. mr. schumer: i move to have consider calendar 404. the presiding officer: the question is on the motion. the ayes appear to have it. the ayes do have it.

the motion is agreed to. the clerk will report. the clerk: nomination, the judiciary, rupa ranga pun begun take of the district of columbia to be judge of the superior court of the district of columbia. mr. schumer: i send a cloture motion to the desk. the presiding officer: the clerk will report. the clerk: cloture motion, we, the undersigned senators in accordance with the provisions of rule 22 of the standing rules of the senate do leash hereby eowe do hereby move to bring to a close debate on the nomination of executive calendar number 404, rupa ranga puttagunta of the district of columbia to be associate judge for the superior court of the district of columbia for the term of 15 years signed by 17 senators as follows. mr. schumer: i ask consent the reading of the names be waived. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. schumer: i move to proceed to legislative session. the presiding officer: question is on the motion. all those in favor, say aye. those opposed, say no. the ayes do have it.

the motion is agreed to. mr. schumer: i move to proceed to executive session to consider calendar 406. the presiding officer: question is on the motion. all those in favor, say aye. those opposed, say no. the ayes appear to have it. the ayes do have it. the motion is agreed to. the clerk will report. the clerk: nomination, the judiciary. kenya lopez of the district of columbia to be an sociojudge of the superior court of the district of columbia. mr. schumer: i send a cloture motion to the desk. the presiding officer: the clerk will report. the clerk: cloture motion: we, the undersigned senators, in accordance with the provisions of rule 22 of the standing rules of the senate, do hereby move to bring to a close debate on the nomination of executive calendar number 406, keenia lopez of the district of columbia to be an sociojudge of the superior court of the district of columbia, for the term of 15 years, signed by 17 senators as follows -- mr. schumer: i ask consent the reading of the names be waived. the presiding officer: without

objection. mr. schumer: i move to proceed to legislative session. the presiding officer: the question is on the motion. all those in favor, say aye. those opposed, say no. the ayes appear to have it. the ayes do have it. the motion is agreed to. mr. schumer: i move to proceed to executive session to consider calendar number 410. the presiding officer: the question on the motion. all those in favor, say aye. those opposed, say no. the ayes appear to have it. the ayes do have it. the motion is agreed to. the clerk will report. the clerk: nomination, the judiciary. sean c. staples of the district of columbia, to be an sociojudge of the superior court of the district of columbia. mr. schumer: i send a cloture motion to the desk. the presiding officer: the clerk will report. the clerk: cloture motion: we, the undersigned senators, in accordance with the provisions of rule 22 of the standing rules of the senate, do hereby move to bring to a close debate on the nomination of executive calendar number 410, sean c. staples of the district of columbia, to be an associate judge of the superior court of the district of columbia, for the term of 15 years, signed by 17 senators, as

follows -- mr. schumer: i ask consent the reading of the names be waived. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. schumer: i move to proceed to legislative session. the presiding officer: the question is on the motion. all those in favor, say aye. those opposed, say no. the ayes appear to have it. the ayes do have it. the motion is agreed to. mr. schumer: i move to proceed to executive session to consider calendar 556. the presiding officer: the question is on the motion. all those in favor, say aye. those opposed, say no. the ayes appear to have it. the ayes do have it. the motion is agreed to. the clerk will report. the clerk: nomination, the judiciary. ebony m. scott of the district of columbia, to be an associate judge of the superior court of the district of columbia. mr. schumer: i send a cloture motion to the desk. the presiding officer: the clerk will report. the clerk: cloture motion: we, the undersigned senators, in accordance with the provisions of rule 22 of the standing rules of the senate, do hereby move to bring to a close debate on the nomination of executive calendar number 556, ebony m. scott of the district of columbia, to be an associate judge of the

superior court of the district of columbia, for term of 15 years, signed by 17 senators as follows -- mr. schumer: i ask consent the reading of the names be waived. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. schumer: i move to proceed to legislative session. the presiding officer: the question is on the motion. all those in favor, say aye. those opposed, say no. the ayes appear to have it. the ayes do have it. the motion is agreed to. mr. schumer: i ask to proceed to executive session to consider calendar 557. the presiding officer: the question is on the motion. all those in favor, say aye. those opposed, say no. the ayes appear to have it. the ayes do have it. the motion is agreed to. the clerk will report. the clerk: nomination, the judiciary. donald walker tunnage of the district of columbia to be an associate judge of the superior court of the district of columbia. mr. schumer: i send a cloture motion to the desk. the presiding officer: the clerk will report. the clerk: cloture motion: we, the undersigned senators, in accordance with the provisions of rule 22 of the standing rules of the senate, do hereby move to bring to a close debate on the nomination of executive calendar

number 557, donald walker tunnage of the district of columbia to be an associate judge of the superior court of the district of columbia, for a term of 15 years, signed by 17 senators as follows -- mr. schumer: i ask consent the reading of the names be waived. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. schumer: i move to proceed to legislative session. the presiding officer: question is on the motion. all those in favor, say aye. those opposed, say no. the ayes appear to have it. the ayes do have it. the motion is agreed to. mr. schumer: i move to proceed to executive session to consider calendar 613. the presiding officer: the question is on the motion. all those in favor, say aye. those opposed, say no. the ayes appear to have it. the ayes do have it. the motion is agreed to. the clerk will report. the clerk: nomination, the judiciary. john p. howard iii, of the district of columbia, to be an associate judge of the district of columbia court of appeals. mr. schumer: i send a cloture motion to the desk. the presiding officer: the clerk will report. the clerk: cloture motion: we, the undersigned senators, in accordance with the provisions of rule 22 of the standing rules

of the senate, do hereby move to bring to a close debate on the nomination of executive calendar number 613, john p. howard iii, of the district of columbia, to be an associate judge of the district of columbia court of appeals, signed by 18 senators as follows -- mr. schumer: i ask consent the reading of the names be waived. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. schumer: i move to proceed to legislative session. the presiding officer: the question is on the motion. all those in favor, say aye. those opposed, say no. the ayes appear to have it. the ayes do have it. the motion is agreed to. mr. schumer: i move to proceed to executive session to consider calendar 614. the presiding officer: the question is on the motion. all those in favor, say aye. those opposed, say no. the ayes appear to have it. the ayes do have it. the motion is agreed to. the clerk will report. the clerk: nomination, the judiciary. loren l. alikhan of the district of columbia to be associate judge for the district of columbia court of appeals. mr. schumer: i send add cloture motion to the desk. the presiding officer: the clerk will report. the clerk: cloture motion:

we, the undersigned senators, in accordance with the provisions of rule 22 of the standing rules of the senate, do hereby move to bring to a close debate on the nomination of executive calendar number 614, loren l. alikhan of the district of columbia to be an associate judge of the district of columbia court of appeals, signed by 18 senators as follows -- mr. schumer: i ask consent the reading of the names be waived. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. schumer: i move to proceed to legislative session. the presiding officer: the question is on the motion. all those in favor, say aye. those opposed, say no. the ayes appear to have it. the ayes do have it. the motion is agreed to. mr. schumer: i move to proceed to executive session to consider calendar number 644. the presiding officer: question is on the motion. all those in favor, say aye. those opposed, say no. the ayes appear to have it. the ayes do have it. the motion is agreed to. the clerk will report. the clerk: nomination, department of state, amy gut mann of pennsylvania to be

ambassador of the united states of america to the federal republic of germany. the presiding officer: i send a cloture motion to the desk. the presiding officer: the clerk will report. the clerk: cloture motion: we, the undersigned senators, in accordance with the provisions of rule 22 of the standing rules of the senate, do hereby move to bring to a close debate on the nomination of executive calendar number 644, amy gutmann of pennsylvania to be ambassador to the federal republic of germany. mr. schumer: i ask consent the reading of the names be waived. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. schumer: i move to proceed to legislative session. the presiding officer: question on the motion. all those in favor, say aye. those opposed, say no. the ayes appear to have it. the ayes do have it. the motion is agreed to. mr. schumer: i move to proceed to executive session to consider calendar 649. the presiding officer: question is on the motion. all those in favor, say aye. those opposed, say no. the ayes appear to have it. the ayes do have it. the motion is agreed to. the clerk will report. the clerk: nomination, department of state. lisa a. carte of maryland to be representative of the united

states of america on the economic and social council of the united nations, with the rank of ambassador. mr. schumer: i send a cloture motion to the desk. the presiding officer: the clerk will report. the clerk: cloture motion: we, the undersigned senators, in accordance with the provisions of rule 22 of the standing rules of the senate, do hereby move to bring to a close debate on the nomination of executive calendar number 649, lisa a. carty of maryland to be representative of the united states of america on the economic and social council of the united nations, with the rank of ambassador, signed by 17 senators as follows -- mr. schumer: i ask consent the reading of the names be waived. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. schumer: i move to proceed to legislative session. the presiding officer: question is on the motion. all those in favor, say aye. those opposed, say no. the ayes appear to have it. the ayes do have it. the motion is agreed to. mr. schumer: i move to proceed to executive session to consider calendar 627. the presiding officer: question is on the motion. all those in favor, say aye. those opposed, say no.

the ayes appear to have it. the ayes do have it. the motion is agreed to. the clerk will report. the clerk: nomination, united states international development finance corporation, scott a. nathan of massachusetts to be chief executive officer. mr. schumer: i send a cloture notion the desk. the presiding officer: the clerk will report. the clerk: cloture motion: we, the undersigned senators, in accordance with the provisions of rule 22 of the standing rules of the senate, do hereby move to bring to a close debate on the nomination of executive calendar number 627, scott a. nathan of massachusetts to be chief executive officer of the united states international development finance corporation, signed by 17 senators as follows -- mr. mr. schumer: i ask consents the reading of the names be waived. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. schumer: i move to proceed to legislative session. the presiding officer: question is on the motion. all those in favor say aye. all opposed say no. the ayes appear to have it. the ayes do have it. the motion is agreed to.

mr. schumer: i move to proceed to executive session to consider calendar number. the presiding officer: the question is on the motion. all those in favor say aye. all opposed say no. the ayes appear to have it. the ayes do have it. the motion is agreed to. the clerk will report. the clerk: nomination, asian development bank, chantale yokmin wong of the district of columbia to be united states director with the rank of ambassador. mr. schumer: i send a cloture motion to the desk. the presiding officer: clerk will report. yshes. the clerk: cloture motion, we, the undersigned senators, in accordance with the provisions of rule 22 of the standing rules of the senate do hereby move to bring to a close debate on the nomination of executive calendar number 616, chantale yokmin wong of the district of columbia to be united states director of the asian development bank with the rank of ambassador, signed by 17 senators as follows -- mr. schumer: i ask consent the reading of the names be waived. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. schumer: i move to proceed to legislative session. the presiding officer: the

question op is the ocean. photographer photographer. mr. schumer: wait. the presiding officer: all opposed say no. the ayes appear to have it. the ayes do have it -- mr. schumer: i move to proceed to executive session to consider calendar 473. 23. the presiding officer: the question is on the motion. photographer photographer. all opposed say no. the ayes appear to have it. the ayes do have it. the motion is agreed to. the clerk will report. the presiding officer: nomination, department of defense, gabriel camarillo of texas to be under secretary of the army. mr. schumer: i send the cloture motion to the desk. the presiding officer: clerk will report. the clerk: cloture motion, we, the undersigned senators, in accordance with the provisions of rule 22 of the standing rules of the senate do hereby move to bring to a close debate on nomination of executive calendar number 473, gabriel camarillo of texas to be under secretary of the army, signed by 18 senators as follows -- mr. schumer: i ask consent the reading of the names be waived.

the presiding officer: without objection. mr. schumer: i move to proceed to legislative session. the presiding officer: the question is on the motion. photographer photographer. all opposed say no. the ayes appear to have it. the ayes do have it. the motion is agreed to. mr. schumer: i move to proceed to executive session to consider calendar number 474. the presiding officer: the question is on the motion. photographer photographer. all opposed say no. the ayes appear to have it. the ayes do have it. the motion is agreed to. the clerk will report. the clerk: nomination, department of defense, andrew philip hunter of virginia to be an assistant secretary of the air force. mr. schumer: i send a cloture motion to the desk. the presiding officer: the clerk will report. the clerk: cloture motion, we, the undersigned senators, in accordance with the provisions of rule 22 of the standing rules of the senate do hereby move to bring to a close debate on the nomination of executive calendar number 474, andrew philip hunter of virginia to be an assistant secretary of the air force, signed by 18 senators as follow- mr. schumer: i ask consent the

reading of the names be waived. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. schumer: i move to proceed to legislative session. the presiding officer: the question is on the motion. photographer photographer. all opposed say no. the ayes appear to have it. the ayes do have it. the motion is agreed to. mr. schumer: i move to proceed to executive session to consider calendar number 495. the presiding officer: the question is on the motion. photographer photographer. all opposed say no. the ayes appear to have it. the ayes do have it. the motion is agreed to. the clerk will report. the clerk: nomination, department of defense, john patrick coffey of new york to be general counsel of the department of the navy. mr. schumer: i send a cloture motion to the desk. the presiding officer: the clerk will report. the clerk: cloture motion, we, the undersigned senators, in accordance with the provisions of rule 22 of the standing rules of the senate do hereby move to bring to a close debate on the nomination of executive calendar number 495, john patrick coffey of new york to be general counsel of the department of the navy, signed by 18 senators as follows --

mr. schumer: i ask consent the reading of the names be waived. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. schumer: i move to proceed to legislative session. the presiding officer: the question is on the motion. photographer photographer. all opposed say no. the ayes appear to have it. the ayes do have it. the motion is agreed to. mr. schumer: i moved to proceed to executive session to consider calendar 496. the presiding officer: the question is on the motion. all those in favor say aye. those opposed no. the ayes appear to have it. the ayes do have it. the motion is agreed to. the clerk will report. the clerk: nomination, department of defense, alexandra baker of new jersey to be deputy under secretary. mr. schumer: i send a cloture motion to the desk. the presiding officer: the clerk will report. the clerk: cloture motion, we, the undersigned senators, in accordance with the provisions of rule 22 of the rule 22 of the standing rules of the senate do hereby move to bring to a close the debate on the nomination of executive calendar number 496, alexandra baker of new jersey to be deputy under secretary of

defense signed by 18 senators as follows. mr. schumer: i ask consent the reading of the names be waived. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. schumer: i move to proceed to legislative session session. the presiding officer: all those in favor say aye. opposed no. the ayes appear to have it. the ayes do have it. the motion is agreed to. mr. schumer: i move to consider calendar 673. the presiding officer: all those in favor say aye. those opens -- those opened no. the clerk: nomination, elizabeth de leon bhargava to be president. mr. schumer: i send a cloture motion to the desk. the clerk: we, the undersigned senators, in accordance with the provisions of rule 22 of the rule 22 of the standing rules of the senate do hereby move to bring to a close the debate on the nomination of executive calendar number 673 reta jo

lewis of georgia signed by 17 senators as follows. mr. schumer: i ask consent the reading of the names be waived. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. schumer: i move to proceed to legislative session. the presiding officer: the question is on the motion. all those in favor say aye. opposed no. the ayes appear to have it. the ayes do have it. the motion is agreed to. mr. schumer: i move to consider calendar number 654. the presiding officer: the question is on the motion. the ayes appear to it. the ayes do have it. the motion grate. the clerk will report. the clerk: nomination, judiciary. leonard phillip stark of delaware to be united states circuit judge for the federal circuits. mr. schumer: i send a cloture motion to the desk. the presiding officer: the clerk will report. the clerk: cloture motion, we, the undersigned senators, in accordance with the provisions of do hereby move to bring to a close the debate on the nomination of executive calendar number 654, leonard phillip

stark of delaware to be united states circuit judge for the federal circuit signed by 18 senators as follows. mr. schumer: i ask consent the reading of the names be waived. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. schumer: finally, mr. president, i ask unanimous consent that the mandatory quorum calls for the cloture motions filed today, january 20, be waived. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. schumer: i yield the floor.

a senator: mr. president. the presiding officer: the senator from washington. mrs. murray: mr. president, this weekend is the anniversary of the landmark roe v. wade decision. it is a decision that without a doubt changed lives for the better. it prevented a lot of harm and helped keep many patients healthy and opened doors for women to pursue their career and education goals and affirmed the right to control our own bodies and our own futures. roe was a giant leap forward and a majority of americans want to protect it. but since roe was decided, extreme republicans peddled blatant misinformation, and passed state laws designed solely to make it harder to get abortions, laws that are now hurting people of color, the lgbtq community, immigrants,

young people, people with low incomes and people with disabilities the most. and they are not stopping at abortion. they are pushing to make it harder to get birth control and defund family planning clinics, including planned parenthood, which provides critical health care for so many communities. in texas, republicans have passed and the supreme court green lit a law that essentially bans abortions and is enforced by pitting neighbor against neighbor. and even though medication abortion pills are safe to take at home, extreme republicans are now pushing to pass laws that not only dictate what happens in a doctor's office, bull also make it harder for patients to take a pill in their own living room. republicans do like to talk about big government, but already people's individual decisions and science to dictate what people can do in their own homes sounds like a lot of

overreach. the senator from oklahoma is here with a bill today that has one goal -- to make it harder to get abortion care, by allowing someone else's personal beliefs rather than a patient's best interest to determine a patient's care. and that's just one example of the extreme agenda republicans are pushing today and every day. i have heard from so many people about the problems and the harm this has caused in their lives. i've heard from many patients who had to jump through unnecessary or even harmful hoops to get the abortion care they needed. patients who had to endure invasive ultrasounds that were medically unnecessary before they could get an abortion. patients who were harassed going in and out of a clinic, patients who had to drive hours or even days to get to the nearest abortion provider or who zeroed out their bank account to afford a plane ticket or child care. or patients, including many in texas, that didn't have the

means to get the abortion care they needed and were forced to stay pregnant when they did not want to be. and then the supreme court took on a direct challenge to roe that threatens the constitutional right to abortion. i have heard nonstop from people who are very anxious about their future, people who are scared and frustrated, people who like the majority of americans, want to protect roe, who want to live in a country where everyone can make their own decisions about pregnancy and parenting free from political interference. that is exactly why i'm fighting so hard to protect the right to abortion at the federal level, by passing the women's health protection act. that bill will safeguard roe and help make its promises a reality for everyone no matter their zip code, by ensuring the constitutional right to abortion is not undermined by state abortion bans and restrictions. while republicans from every

angle means there is no one easy fix. we've got to do everything we can to undo the damage the extreme republicans have caused in our laws and in our lives. and that's why i'm fighting so hard for the over-the-counter birth control and to make health insurance companies follow the law rather than forcing patients to pay out of pocket for contraception. it's why i'm trying to make an historic investment in title 10 family planning centers which help make health care like birth control to everyone regardless of their income. it's why i'm asking for everyone to join me in this fight. it's going to take all of us working together to protect reproductive rights, and there is no action too small. share your story, speak up about what reproductive rights means to you. support a local organization helping to get patients the reproductive health care they need. work to combat republican

misinformation. fight to pass local and state laws protecting abortion rights. and here's something to remember while you do it -- it is true that extreme republicans have worked nonstop to roll back progress on reproductive rights, and that abortion access is at risk like never before. but this is also true. since roe millions and millions of american women and men grew up knowing access to abortion is a constitutional right. millions and millions more saw how much roe opened doors for women and empowered people to make their own personal decisions about their body and their future. the vast majority of americans believe people should be trusted to make their own decisions about whether or not to get an abortion, and when to get pregnant is a personal decision, not a decision that should be made by any politician or taken away from you because

of how much money they have or where they live. we can make this a reality, but we've got to fight for it. that's what i'm doing. that's what i'm going to keep doing. and i'm very glad to have so many people alongside me. thank you, mr. president. i yield the floor. mr. lankford: mr. president. the presiding officer: the senator from oklahoma. mr. lankford: mr. president, i guess i'm one of those extreme republicans that believe that a child that suction their thumb, wiggles their toes and fingers, feels pain, has a beating heart, has a functioning nervous system, has d.n.a. that's different than the mom or the dad is a baby. i didn't think that it was an extreme position to see a child that's self-evident that's a child. i understand americans are

divided on whether children in the womb are convenient or inconvenient and if they're inconvenient they can be thrown away as medical waste, but if they're convenient they're kept. i just think every child is precious, and i think every child should be honored and protected. so i guess that makes me extreme. the bill that i bring today is a bill that just looks at the millions and millions and millions of americans who believe like i do. many of them work in hospitals, and they joined the health care profession, they got a medical degree because they wanted to save life. they want to be a part of protecting individuals at their most critical times. but they also have this real belief, that's a science-based belief, by the way, that a child in the womb is just like a child outside the womb. the only difference is time. 40 weeks ago you were 40 weeks younger. that child in the womb at conception and the child outside

the womb is just 40 weeks older, just like you're 40 weeks older than what you were 40 weeks ago. it's still a child. for the millions of americans that believe like that, we've had con conscience protection laws on the books for a long time. there are 45 conscience protection laws on the books in america right now. many of these have not been controversial. in fact, if we go through the church amendments, when they were done, they protect the conscience rights of individuals and entities that object to performing or assisting in the performance of abortions or sterilizations against their religious beliefs or moral convictions. when that passed almost 50 years ago now, it passed 92-1 in this body. it just wasn't that controversial. we understood that people disagreed on the issue of abortion. and why would you ever compel someone to be able to perform an abortion when their conscience objects to that? in 2004, congress createssed

the welldon amendment. the weldon amendment bars local governments from federal funds from discriminating against health care entities that refuse to provide, pay for or provide coverage or refer for abortions. it's not been that controversial. in fact, it was on the consolidated appropriations act last year which passed 92-6. this has not been that controversial to be able to honor the rights of individuals. there are some things that have changed. some of these 25 laws have not been enforced. in fact, these 25 conscience protections that are on our books right now are dependent on the executive branch to actually enforce those laws. if i go back during the trump administration, they confronted california because california mandated that insurance providers had to provide abortion coverage. well, that's not consistent with our law. and so the administration pushed

them and said no, you can't compel a religious institution that has a moral objection to abortion in your state, you can't make them buy abortion coverage and actually pay into that system. so the trump administration said to them, no, you've got to allow those folks to have the option. that's the federal law. and that was in the process of being enforced until this administration took the leadership and javier becerra, who was the attorney general of california, then moved to h.h.s. and immediately dropped the suit against california, his own state. curious. so the religious entities don't have any recourse in california because the executive branch won't enforce it. let me give you another example. there's an employer, the university of vermont medical center, they were pressed with a lawsuit against them for

knowingly, willfully, and repeatedly violating the church amendments. they had nurses that were there that said i have a conscience issue, i don't want to participate in abortion, and the university of vermont medical center would compel them to pemple abortions or they would lose their jobs. it is in violation -- and so there was a lawsuit against them to be able to have them actually carry out federal law. the biden administration came in,, the lawsuit was immediately dropped, they said we're not going to enforce that federal lwcf, though -- law though it was in the process. it is for a nurse in vermont, where do they go?

if the entity charged under federal law to have conscience protections, if that entity says we won't do it, what happens? this bill is very straightforward. it just gives the ability for that individual to be able to press a suit for their own rights. if the federal government will not enforce the law, this allows that individual to step up and say, then i will then file charges that you're in violation for federal law for this to protect their rights as a citizen. quite frankly, it's not any different than any other citizen would do anywhere else. that if they had a civil rights litigation against them against their civil rights, they would be able to go to court and they would be able to go to court and that is not allowed currently in federal law. it has to be the executive

branch and as we have learned it is under the whims of the executive branch whether they will carry it out or not. this is not controversial. the most recent survey done by the knights of columbus that came out this week asked a question about conscience protections. it was a very straightforward question and the answer came back 75% of the individuals surveyed said that doctors and nurses should not be forced to perform abortions if they have a religious objection. we're very divided on the issue of abortion, but the nation is not that divided on conscience, should someone have to do something that violates their religious or moral beliefs fanned they don't they lose their job? that's the only question in this. and that's why i bring it to this body today. that's my simple request.

this body knows, and senator is on the floor and knows my beliefs about the value of every single child. i look forward to the day that we're post-roe as a nation. and not to have abortions carried out. it is not a nation where there is no abortions, but each state can decide. i brought a bill for chemical abortions and those dealing with down syndrome and all sorts of different issues. this issue is very specific. it's just about conscientious objectors, should they be compelled to violate their beliefs by their prior? as if in legislative session, i ask that the health, education, labor and pensions be discharged

from further consideration of s. 401, and the senate proceed to its immediate consideration. i further ask that the bill be read a third time, passed and the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table. the presiding officer: is there objection? mrs. murray: i object. the presiding officer: objection is heard. mr. lankford: we will, as a nation, process through this in the days ahead. this body has very strike laws that cover my state and many other states for a lot of other things. in my state, if you go to build a building in the southeast part mf my state, you have to do -- part of my state, you have to do state inspections is to make sure a burrowing beetle won't be disrupted, and in other places

in my state, you can't carry out certain projects if there a prairie dog there. they pour their great water out of the mountains into the ocean because if they don't it may harm the smelt. if you build a bridge at certain times of the year and a migratory bird puts up a nest in that construction area, you have to stop construction because migratory birds are valuable, prairie chickens are valuable, smelts are valuable but we throw children in the trash. we have to figure this out as a nation and currently we seem not able to talk about it or even to protect the rights of individuals who disagree about this in the workplace. we've got to figure this out as

a nation. with that, i yield the floor.

while last night was disappointing it will not deter senate democrats from continuing our fight against voter suppression, dark money , partisan gerrymandering . democrats are proud of the fight we held last night. the strength, eloquence, enthusiasm and overwhelming participation of my democratic colleagues was exhilarating and showsthe passion we feel about this issue . they are facing an uphill battle from the start we lost the vote. but you have not votedwould have been a far greater loss . a loss for our democratic parties which for generations has.

all loss for the civil rights advocates who have sacrificed so much on this issue and a loss for the american people and what this country stands for on an issue thisimportant , not doing everything we could would have been unacceptable. now, the bromides of the beltway class pulled we should not have held a vote on voting rights if the outcome was not certain. they are wrong. imagine telling doctor king not tomarch from selma to montgomery because he cannot be sure what obstacles awaited him and his fellow freedom fighters . imagine telling john lewis he should never have crossed the pettus bridge because itwas unclear what perils awaited him on the other side . every member of this body who has ever invoked these great titans of freedom as an obligation. an obligation to uphold their legacies not just with words with actions. senators were elected to vote . examples of doctor king and

john lewis inspire us, give us strength and show us that sometimes the only right option is to move forward . when we need to remember what this is about . with the advent of donald trump and his many big lies with the january 6 insurrection. with the vicious acts of voter suppression throughout the state and with the greedy dark money interests who fuel the republican party these days, this is a fight for the soul of america. nothing less. so democrats, will not shy away from an uphill fight. we will continue to face and i believe that thelessons of history are clear . when representatives have to take a stand, when they have to show to the american people where they are on the issues, the right side of history ultimately prevails.

we know history is on the side of voting rights and we know that forcing leaders to take stands will ultimately move the ballforward . now finally, i want to thank all my colleagues who came to the floor yesterday to speak valiantly in defense of voting rights and for working assiduously for months on this vital issue. to protecting our democracy is inspiring. it gives our caucus strength and it made such a difference. unusual and exhilarating because we fought the good fight. as former leader alben barkley

of kentucky said 80 years ago this november, facing a filibuster he was facing -- as former majority leader alben barkley said 80 years ago this november, facing a filibuster which successfully blocked anti-poll tax legislation, quote quote, the majority leader, alben barkley from kentucky said, i'm glad i made this fight. i've made it in behalf of what i believe to be the broad and true foundations of a true democracy. senate democrats fighting for voting rights is not over. we will keep fighting until voting rights are protected for every single american, and one day, hopefully sooner rather than later, we will succeed here i yield the floor and note the absence of a quorum. >> tomorrow our nation's capital once again will host many thousands of americans gathering

peacefully to support the most basic human right, the right to life here for 49 years, the march for life has united people from diverse backgrounds, different faiths, and all 50 states. to celebrate the dignity of human life and confront the ways our society fails to protect it. this year the marchers will arrive in a washington controlled by democratic party that has grown increasingly radical on this issue. today's democrats work overtime to keep our country one of just seven nations on the planet that have abortion on demand, even after the unborn children can feel pain. our shameful company concludes china and north korea, fewer than 30% of americans endorse this view but democrats have made it party dogma.

on president biden's watch, washed and democrats have even turned against the long-standing bipartisan hyde amendment. both parties used to agree that a lease federal taxpayers should not be forced to fund abortions. now democrats on both sides of pennsylvania avenue declare war on even this. so i warmly welcome the marchers from kentucky and across the country, this radical version of the democratic party needs to hear your voice is now more than ever. today marks exactly one year since president biden became our 46th president. this democratic government has at 6300 city five days to start delivering on -- 635 days to start delivering on their core promises. so what were those promises in their own words rex crushing the virus, strengthening our alliances, and above all else lowering the temperature and

reuniting a divided country. now remember, upon taking office this administration had historic tailwinds at its back. president biden inherited life-saving vaccines and distribution system that was already up and running. he inherited a a string of bipartisan rescue packages including one that was only just a few days old. he inherited an economy that was prime for roaring comeback. those were the promises. that was the inheritance. so let's take a look at the progress report. last spring against expert advice the biden administration dumped another mountain of borrowed cash on an already white-hot economy. as a result we are now being hammered by the worst inflation

in 40 years. tactically everything families need and want have gotten much, much more expensive -- practically. constant shortages disrupt family shopping. households are being hit with soaring heating costs. if they stay home, and soaring gas prices if they go out. our economic trajectory looks shakier today than it did when democrats were sworn in. of course we have continued adding back jobs from covid lockdowns that was certainly going to happen. but job creation has massively underperformed. democrats own projection for job creation with their super costly springtime stimulus package. when 2021 was said and done the country had added roughly the same number of jobs that we were on track to create before democrats implemented one policy or spent one dime.

they managed to literally blow $1.9 trillion but only barely beat the starting trajectory they inherited. they call that spending covid package. but less than 10% of the money went to the actual medical fight, and that certainly shows. americans are entering the third year of this pandemic with two few tests, too few few treatments, too many new cases, and too many school closures. muddled guidance on boosters that cause fda experts to resign in protest. and needless device vaccine mandates that were not constitutional. one year in, the coronavirus is decidedly un-crushed. and covid wasn't the epidemic sweeping american streets. take violent crime.

anti-law-enforcement local policies have led major cities to set all-time record for homicides in 2021. or take fentanyl, this deadly important poison was leading cause of death for americans age 18-45 last year. the number one killer of americans in their prime, fentanyl. so what are democrats treating this like an emergency? when was the last time president biden even talked about this? and drug deaths are not the only consequence of our weak borders. candidate biden's rhetoric incentivized and historic flood of illegal immigration. then president biden's week policies lit the fuse. the result, the biggest surge in

illegal border crossings in 60 years. 60 years. all these issues are priorities for american families, but the biden administration has spent most of 2021 focused on none of those. washington democrats spent months chasing a reckless taxing and spending spree with policies that citizens never wanted. they spent half of 2021 trying and failing to blow $5 trillion windmills and welfare. when that effort failed, democrats abruptly pivoted and started shouting that america's

democracy was on death's door. they propagandized that some evil anti-voting conspiracy was sweeping america. and the only solution to this grand crisis was a gigantic partisan election takeover bill that democrats have conveniently written years before the events which they say now prompted it. american people didn't buy the fake hysteria here one half of 1% of the country think election laws are top issue. in fact, more americans believe voting laws are actually too loose than to type. democrats went all in on this obsession. a few days ago the sitting president of the united states called millions of americans is domestic enemies, and analyzed, analyzed united states senators to jefferson davis.

well, last night the fake panic drove 48 senate democrats to walk the plank on a failed effort to shout of the senate itself for short-term power. and now washington democrats appear to be launching an absurd and reckless campaign to delegitimize the next election in advance in case they lose it. sound familiar? yesterday the president told reporters that he might not accept the 2022 election results as legitimate if his election takeover bill do not pass congress first. all sounds eerily familiar. this morning the house majority whip, this morning the house majority whip followed suit. he was asked to the legitimacy of our election is contingent on

washington democrats passing these bills, and he replied, absolutely concerned about that. the democrats who preached countless sermons about accepting voters decisions are now saying that midterms may be illegitimate unless they win. so america, after all of this, do you feel unified? do you feel healed? do you feel like our core institutions are being protected? now, senate republicans have met this administration more than half way. in 2021 the the senate bill and passed a major infrastructure deal. we passed bipartisan legislation on competing with china. but beyond that this administration deliberately chose to build their whole governing strategy around the party line reconciliation

process. so the president cannot deflect blame for his disappointing first year. the american people know where the buck stops, and if our democratic friends do not change course before long, the buck will stop somewhere else. now on a related matter, president biden also campaigned on strengthening america's partnerships and renewing our global leadership. well, how's the administration done? the administration that campaign on restoring alliances, abandon a coalition of loyal partners with its disastrous and failed retreat from afghanistan. the biden administration green lit vladimir putin's nord stream ii pipeline, and the senate us

from sanctioning it. this pipeline will help putin gain even more leverage over western europe, and, of course, further isolate ukraine. as we speak right now, putin has amassed more than 100,000 russian troops along the border of ukraine. if these forces cross into ukraine, it will not be a new invasion or a re-envisioned or it will represent a major escalation of an ongoing occupation. ukraine has been fighting a russian backed war on its own now for eight years. eight years ago i tried to one president obama that putin is only deterred when the world imposes real cost, real cost, on his most behavior. , but the biden administration sent ukraine nonlethal support

and the sanctions it imposed and coordinated provided, proved not to be as tough as advertised. the obama-biden administration failed in putin's invasion or compel compliance with the minsk accords. now the biden-harris team must not repeat the obama/biden teams grave mistakes. but yesterday on live television president biden telegraphed passivity, telegraphed assiduity in weakness, exactly when our allies can least afford it. our president is in a state of denial, and i pray unintentionally that he expects putin to escalate in ukraine and in any case putin can do what he wants. here's what the president said.

that decision totally solely completely a putin decision. i suspect that matters which side of the bed he gets up on. what on earth does that mean? further, the president said my guess is he will move in. president said my guess is he will move in. he has to do something. so president biden thinks putin has to do something? what does that even mean? why is our president speculating take a passive observer on the sidelines? he is in a pundit. he isn't putin's psycho analyst. he is the president of the united states. so will america hold russia accountable if it escalates?

here was the message from our commander-in-chief, quote, it depends on what russia does cal. mr. barrasso: thank you, mr. president. i come to oppose the democrats radical agenda. for weeks they have -- the hunt for tests have resulted in long lines and empty shelves. inflation is at a 40-year high and crime is out of control in big cities run by democrats. the southern border has been overrun by hundreds of thousands of illegal immigrants every single month. our foreign policy is in shambles, our friends are encouraged and vladimir putin and china and north korea and iran are emboldened. the american people are deeply

worried about all of these issues. democrats in washington are offering no solutions on these pressing problems. democrats created many of these crises in the first place, often through incompetence, mismanagement and weakness. now under president biden, they are making it worse. democrats just spent five months trying to pass the most expensive spending bill in american history. it's a bill nobody asked for except for the rad called base of professional activists. the bill would have led to the largest tax increase in 50 years, trillions of dollars in new spending and new debt and even higher inflation. democrats tried to pass this on the narrowest of margins. democrats failed and as soon as the bill was pronounced dead,

democrats scrambled to change the subject. democrats know they can't change the inflation crisis, the coronavirus crisis and the many other disasters created by the biden administration. by ignoring these problems, they are admitting as democrats they have no solutions. so what are they doing instead? they tried to manufacture another crisis, they said there were problems with the election. vice president harris and the president have lied about the elections. we've got hollywood stars and journalists to par rot their talking points. now they've got former presidents obama and clinton to get involved. it's been a shameful effort to frighten the american people and further divide our nation. when joe biden was a presidential candidate, he said he would, quote, heal the

country. he said he would, quote, restore the soul of the nation. just one year into his presidency, we found out that was all for show. joe biden has been one of the most decisive and -- devisive and partisan presidents in history and one of the least popular presidents in modern times psm democrats are failing on the election issue as well. democrats think they can win on the idea of a federal election takeover, they are wrong. joe biden is so unpopular in georgia, he couldn't even get stacey be abrams to show up at s rally in atlanta. she is a political celebrity, election law is her main issue, yet she wouldn't be seen in public with joe biden. and, frankly, i don't blame her.

two days later, joe biden came to capitol to convince democrats to change the rules of the senate. he failed again. brave democrat senators did the honorable and courageous thing, they kept their word. they said they would not destroy this institution for short-term partisan gain. they deserve the respect of every member-this body. -- member of this body. joe biden tried to push them around and he failed. the latest poll has joe biden with a 33% approval rating. he has lower approval ratings than jimmy carter. yet schumer asked democrats to follow biden over a cliff. yesterday in a two-hour press conference, joe biden talked about taking his campaign on the

road and going with democratic candidates. i want to know who is standing with him as more and more democrats in the house are retiring because they can see the writing on the law. senator schumer wanted to change the rules of the senate. the american people have utterly rejected both of these ideas. the vast majority of american people support voter identification, if you want a ballot, show your i.d. they support making voters show a photo i.d. in order to get the ballot. this includes a majority of the democrats who think it's an important thing to do for ballot integrity and accountability and security. democrats want to fix our election laws, they ought to do something about what's happening in the majority leader's hometown. just last month the new york city council voted to let 900,000 noncitizens vote in new york city elections.

noncitizens. this is a larger group than the -- than the margin of victory in this last new york mayoral election. in other words, this new group of voters who are not citizens of the united states could swing and determine the outcome of the next election for mayor of new york. it's the majority leader's hometown. where's the ballot integrity, accountability and security there for american citizens? but chuck schumer lectures the american people about our elections, and he ought to fix the problems in his own hometown. democrats are okay with vaccine passports and they are okay with noncitizens voting, but they are not okay with voter i.d., at least on the legislation they brought to the floor. democrats continue to fail to listen to and to fail the american people. democrats are failing on

inflation, on coronavirus, on immigration, on crime, and on national security. by voting on elections and on senate rules, democrats are admitting they have absolutely nothing to offer the american people on the key issues and concerns that are impacting the lives of people all across this country. there's plenty of work to do right now. we have to stop unnecessary government spending to get inflation under control. we need to support law enforcement. we need affordable energy hsm that's what people -- energy. that's what people want. we need to make sure schools are open and teach children skills, not ideology, we need to secure our border. there's plenty for the senate to do. republicans have been willing to work with democrats on all of these important issues. the american people are looking for solutions, yet the majority leader is giving them pointless

exercises and show votes. it's time for the majority leader to abandon this political wish list. let's get to the work on the issues facing the american people. thank you, mr. president. i yield the floor.

the march for life of course is just one small facet of the pro-life movement which works every day in this country to hope to mom's in need. pro-lifers collect supplies for pregnant mom's. they pay for prenatal care. they assist mom's with housing. they help mom -- one request foe to meet during today's session of the senate. it has the approval of the majority and minority leaders. the presiding officer: duly noted. mr. blumenthal: thank you. i yield the floor. mr. lee: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from utah is recognized. mr. lee: mr. president, one of the aims of american foreign aid is to assist countries in times of need.

this spirit exemplifies a trait of americans and utahans rightfully value that of giving of those in need. yet for many years our foreign aid dollars in support of abortion have been used to impose violent cultural imperialism. instead of helping to preserve, strengthen, and sustain the lives of women and children abroad, our taxpayer dollars have been used to harm women's lives and to end the lives of their unborn children, especially baby girls. in some of these countries girls are disproportionately aborted precisely because they are female. u.s. aid is used not to affirm the equal dignity of women but to violently deny it. and in some of these countries abortion is forced on women who don't even want abortions. women in countries like vietnam

and peru, for instance, who are forced to endure the coercive abortion and sterilization campaigns of the 1990's, just to name a couple of examples. mr. president, what kind of aid does violence to women and girls, what kind of help is it to impose u.s. abortion extremism on countries that culturally and democratically reject it or contribute to international organizations that allow regimes to use abortion as a tool of oppression? and what kind of progress is it to encourage sex-selective abortion and the denegration of human dignity for both the baby and the mother. u.s. advocacy abroad for the taking of an innocent unborn life is not pro-woman. it's not pro-child. and it's not pro-health care.

it's pro sexism, pro-violence and we must end it. according to recent polling the american people overwhelming will i agree, nearly 60% of americans oppose using tax dollars to pay for abortions, and more than 75% of americans oppose using tax dollars to support abortions in other countries. thankfully president ronald reagan took steps to reverse this support starting in 1984 instituting the mexico city policy to prohibit foreign aid from going to organizations that provide or promote abortions or that advocate to change abortion laws in a foreign country. since then the policy has unfortunately been rescinded and reinstated again and again repeating this cycle between changing administrations. another policy that used to have

lasting support is the hyde amendment. this legal provision prohibited the use of federal funds to pay for abortion with exceptions. it recently -- recently democrats have abandoned this bipartisan position and have placed the hyde amendment under threat. it, too, could become a back and forth ping pong policy depending on who holds majorities within the to houses of congress. -- the two houses of congress. mr. president, the lives of babies and the dignity of women and girls are not political footballs. women and unborn children everywhere have immeasurable dignity and eternal worth regardless of where they're from. and they're entitled to the right to life and protection from harm, regardless of who happens to be in office from one moment to the next. the protecting life and foreign assistance act affirms this

truth. this bill would permanently stop the use of our foreign aid money from funding or promoting abortions overseas. in our laws and through our lives, we must uphold the dignity of each and every human person regardless of race, regardless of sex, regardless of appearance, abilities, or age. the measure before us today does just that. and i urge my colleagues to support it. the lives of millions of women and children born and unborn depend on it. and so, mr. president, as if in legislative session, i ask unanimous consent that the committee on foreign relations be discharged from further consideration of s. 137 and that the senate proceed to its immediate consideration. i further ask that the bill be considered read a third time and passed and that the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table.

the presiding officer: is there objection? mr. blumenthal: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from connecticut is recognized. mr. blumenthal: thank you, mr. president. reserving the right to object. my colleague and friend from utah and i agree on a couple of points. yes, president biden did rescind the global gag rule which this proposal would not only reestablish but make permanent and expand disastrously and, yes, women and children should not be political footballs, nor should this issue be one. and unfortunately that's the objective of this proposal. it's difficult to exaggerate the breadth of this proposed legislation or the breadth of harm that the global gag rule

does. in fact, it prohibits foreign organizations receiving united states assistance from providing legal abortion services or referrals or even information, information on abortion ser services, even when those activities are funded without any connection to the united states government moneys. and it egregiously blocks organizations receiving united states funds from advocating for abortion legislation, the mere advocacy siphoning their ability to champion their patients, even if that advocacy is not funded in any way by united states taxpayers. this legislation would not only codify this dangerous policy but expand it even beyond what was

implemented under previous administrations. expanding it, not just codifying it. thankfully president biden has rescinded this policy. it was an important effort to restore united states leadership abroad, promoting health care access in places it's needed most. it was a critical step in what is now needed, a critical step toward what is now needed, permanent prohibition of the global gag rule, not codification of its expansion. let's be very clear. the global gag rule does nothing to protect the health of people around the world. it blocks health care access. it stifles local advocacy efforts. and it undermines reproductive rights worldwide putting in jeopardy the people who need those services most. it impedes access to a range of health services including

contraception, h.i.v. prevention and treatment, and maternal and child care because it cuts off funding for many of the most experienced health care providers. some proponents of this dangerous policy seem to claim it will reduce abortions or it's intended to do so but studies have shown in fact it just does the opposite. and the global gag rule actually increases rates of abortion, many of them unsafe because it reduces access to contraceptives and it increases the number of unintended pregnancies. in short we should be joining other countries in addressing global goals like creating an aids-free generation, ending preventable maternal and child deaths and achieving universal access to sexual and reproductive health care, not

putting unnecessary restrictions on u.s. funds that cause fear and impede access to health care. unfortunately, that's what the global gag rule and this legislation do,ism peeding countries -- impeding country's efforts for health, and achieving gender equality. i oppose the lee bill. i urge my colleagues to come together and work instead to promote global health and therefore i object. the presiding officer: the objection is heard. mr. lee: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from utah is recognized. mr. lee: mr. president, i have tremendous respect for my friend and colleague, the distinguished senator from connecticut. he and i both acknowledge the policy that we're arguing over, the nature of the policy is one in which we've seen something of a tug of war, a ping pong match

over the years. republican administration will put in place or restore the so-called mexico city policy, prohibiting u.s. foreign aid from going to organizations that perform or advocate for abortion overseas. this backed by an estimated 75% of americans who don't believe that we should be using u.s. taxpayer dollars especially to further the cause of conducting or advocating for abortions overseas. he and i both agree that president biden has rescinded that. i think where we disagree can be highlighted and traced back to the fact that we call it by different names. he refers to this as the gag rule. a gag rule. now, normally when you think of a gag rule, we think of

something that tells someone who is otherwise free to speak that they may not speak. it is in fact what happens when we don't allow people to live. it is what happens to all these baby girls who are never allowed to be born precisely because they are female. and make no mistake, when we fund abortions overseas, that is what's happening. it happens a lot in countries that receive our aid in the absence of the mexico city policy. some of that goes to these organizations that perform abortions. in many of these countries sex-selective abortions are not only tolerated culturally, they're commonplace, they're excessive. as a result these baby girls never get to be born. they never get to become women. they never get to speak in the first place. that's a form of gagging them. that's not okay. regardless of how you feel about

abortion, regardless of whether you think that's a baby, a human life or whether you think it's something else, i'm not sure what else it could be. when someone becomes pregnant, we know that that is the potential of what will one day be a human being, absent a death, whether a natural death or a death brought about by someone's actions, by the operation of a disease or medical condition or surgical intervention in the indication of abortion. -- in the case of abortion. it is a person. we shouldn't lose sight of that. now, i have difficulty accepting the premise that the only

solution to this is continuing to fund organizations that perform or advocate for abortions overseas. i reject the premise that anything we do in this area to withhold those funds will necessarily result in more abortions. as far as the suggestion that organizations could receive these funds and still perform abortions and that not translate into u.s. dollars being used to perform abortions, i reject that premise as well for the same reason that i reject the premise that planned parenthood isn't using taxpayer dollars to perform abortions. it is. it's spent differently. it's a matter of accounting. it sustains and supports an organization that itself advocates for and performs many abortions.

these are, in fact, human lives, and the american people are, in fact, very uncomfortable with the idea that we're funding abortions with their taxpayer dollars, and we're doing it overseas. we shouldn't do that. temperature shouldn't be controversial -- it shouldn't be controversial. i look forward to the day when it's not. thank you. the presiding officer: the senator from connecticut is recognized. mr. blumenthal: just to be clear, i understand my colleague's points, but i think i have highlighted and i want to emphasize again the limited purposes for which american taxpayers' dollars are used, and the advocacy, the healthcare, the contraception, h.i.v. screening and treatment, world health would be prevented by

this legislation. i think that's an unintended consequence. maybe it's unintended, that is gargantuan in its potential impact, and therefore i continue my objection. thank you. a senator: mr. president. the presiding officer: the senator from california is recognized. mr. padilla: thank you, mr. president. i'm here to speak on a nomination, but before i do, a point of personal privilege. it was one year ago today that i had the honor of being sworn in as a member of this senate, and as i hope my wife is watching at home on c span 2, i just want to thank her for her love and support throughout this first year.

couldn't have done it without her. and of course, to you, mr. president, all of our colleagues for the tremendous work and experience that this last year has been. and now, if i may request that the following remarks be printed separately in the record. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. padilla: with respect to the thomas nomination, i ask that the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table, and the president will be immediately notified on these actions. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. padilla: thank you, mr. president. mr. president, i rise today, i was hoping to rise prior to the vote just a little while ago but was consumed with the agenda in senate judiciary committee this morning. so in lieu of speaking prior to the confirmation vote, i rise to applaud the confirmation of judge holly a. thomas to the united states court of appeals for the ninth district. judge thomas is a dedicated

advocate for equality under the law, and has made a career of fighting to ensure the civil rights of all americans. a proud native of san diego, california, and a graduate of yale law school, judge thomas spent ten years working op civil rights -- on civil rights litigation and appeals. that time included litigating at the naacp legal defense fund, in the u.s. department of justice's civil rights division, and in the new york solicitor general's office. in each of these roles, judge thomas was a tireless advocate for equal justice. she proved to be a skillful appellate lawyer, an insightful thinker, and a valued colleague. she returned to california in 2016 to serve as the chief liaison between the california

department of fair housing and employment and the governor's office. the state department of fair housing and employment is california's largest civil rights regulatory body. and in her role there, judge thomas dedicated herself to protecting workers and families from unlawful discrimination. working closely with then governor brown. and recognized her outstanding work and her tremendous talent, governor brown appointed her to the los angeles county superior court in 2018. now, this moment, this appointment, was a full-circle moment for a person whose love of the law was nurtured by her supportive parents, starting at a very young age. judge thomas' parents, when she was a young girl, would take her to watch court proceedings.

why? so that she could imagine what a career as a lawyer would look like. decades later, as a judge on the superior court, judge thomas actually requested to serve in the family law division, because of her empathy for families going through a difficult process and experience in court. now, as the first person in her family to go to college after high school, judge thomas knows what it's like to navigate unfamiliar institutions. she's also the granddaughter of share croppers, and shoes a passionate fighter for equal justice. and since her appointment, judge thomas has proven her excellence as a jurist, as a neutral arbiter, and a compassionate voice for justice, both in the family court and the california

court of appeal, where she served in a pro tem capacity for six months. judge thomas' compassion is matched by her legal acumen. throughout her career, she's distinguished herself with thoughtful analysis, expert judgment, and unshakeable commitment to civil rights. and i know, and i'm thrilled that judge thomas will serve with distinction on the ninth circuit, and i congratulate her on this very well deserved confirmation. thank you, mr. president. i note the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. quorum call:

difficult but important reality of our great democracy. the march to freedom through thick and thin is never over, and we have to keep marching. while last night vote was disappointing, it will not deter senate democrats from continuing our fight against voter suppression, dark money, party gerrymandering. democrats are part of the fight we held last night the quorum call be dispensed with. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. cornyn: mr. president, yesterday i was dismayed to hear the president of the united states suggest that a russian invasion of ukraine might not provoke a powerful response by the united states and our allies now, i'm grateful that the press secretary did issue a statement

subsequently, which seemed to clarify the strong commitment that the american people, from the administration to the members of congress have, to assist our ukrainian allies in their efforts to deter or defeat russian aggression. i believe we have a duty to stand with ukraine and our european allies as they attempt to defend their democracies. strong language and threats of sanctions have their place, but they are not enough to deter vladimir putin. we need to take concrete steps to deter the likelihood of a russian attack in any form. but it's not just the executive branch of the united states government that has a role to play. we in congress have a role we can play too in sending a very

clear message to vladimir putin that we will not stand idly by while he attacks a neighbor, a democracy, and a potential future member of nato. to that end, i've introduced bipartisan legislation called the ukraine democracy defense lend lease act, to ensure ukrainian forces have the weapons that they need to deter that aggression and defend, if necessary, against a russian investigation. of course, students of history remember the importance of lend lease back in world war ii, back when america was officially neutral in the conflicts initiated by nazi germany in europe. and during a time when the american people were of an isolationist frame of mind. recognizing the importance of throwing a lifeline to great

britain and our other allies, congress passed, on a bipartisan basis, the lend lease act, which ultimately resulted in $ 30 billion worth of materiel being delivered to britain and other allies to help them defeat nazi germany. in a similar vein, this authorization allows the president to enter into lend lease agreements with ukraine and provide the military equipment necessary to protect the ukrainian people from russian aggression. no one is suggesting that american troops should be on the ground, but we are saying clearly that it is our responsibility to provide the ukrainians everything they need north to defend -- in order to defend themselves. this legislation would once again, in the immortal words of

franklin delano roosevelt, allow us to serve as the arsenal of democracy, just as we did in world war ii, and provide ukraine with the lethal weapons they need to protect themselves against the russian threat. make no mistake, america stands with ukraine, and we will do everything we can, again, on a bipartisan basis, the executive branch, the legislative branch, to support our friends and to defeat a russian invasion and allow them to protect their democracy. vladimir putin's stated concerns about ukraine are completely a false narrative, particularly with regard to his stated concerns about ukraine becoming a part of the nato, north atlantic treaty organization, which we all know is purely

defensive in nature. vladimir putin has called the fall of the soviet union one of the greatest geopolitical tragedies of the 20th century, and clearly he is of a mind to regain that lost territory as a result of the fall of the soviet union, and if necessary to do it by force. that's what putin is up to, and we should not be confused about that. i'm proud to have worked with senators cardin and wicker, senator shaheen, graham, and blumenthal on this legislation, and i hope more of our colleagues again on a bipartisan basis will join us in advancing this bill and making sure that our ukrainian friends have everything they need to deter, if possible, russian aggression. and if that's not possible, to make sure that vladimir putin pays a heavy price for attacking ukraine.

mr. president, on another matter, it was one year ago today when we were all on the capitol steps, on a cold januare election of joe biden as president of the united states, and kamala harris as vice president. exactly 365 days ago, we were out there on the capitol steps and heard what i believe to be an important and welcome speech by the president, where the president said he would serve to be a unifying force in washington. he said, without unity there is no peace, only bitterness and fury, no progress, only exhausting outrage, no initiation, only a state of chaos. wonderful, inspirational words.

but now we find ourselves a year into the biden administration with a lot of bitterness, fury, and outrage over the many failures and missteps of this administration. one one of the pillars of the president's campaign was the promise of a strong federal response to the pandemic. mr. biden said, i am never going to raise the white flag and surrender. we're going to beat this virus. we're going to get it under control, i promise you. that's a quote. one year later we're nowhere close to having this virus under control. new daily cases are breaking records, threatening the capacity of intensive care units in hospitals across the country. health care workers are once again exhausted after having been pushed to their limits

mentally and physically. and, perhaps more embarrassingly, affordable, reliable tests are increasingly hard to come by. we know testing is one of the most valuable resources we have when it comes to this virus. i remember calling my governor, and i said, what do you need, governor? this is at the beginning of the pandemic. he said, i need two things. i need testing, and i need p.p.e., personal protective equipment. well, that's another story about our vulnerable supply chains and the fact that we've outsourced the manufacturing of personal protective equipment to china, which is the main reason we had a lack of access to what we needed. but as to testing, the sooner positive cases are identified, the better-equipped we are as individuals to quarantine ourselves, seek medical

attention, if necessary, or, if all else fails, to just ride out the virus without infecting other people. even before taking the oath of office, president biden promised to make free testing widely available. but months and months went by without the president taking any significant action to prevent the current testing shortage. last month the white house press secretary even mocked a reporter who suggested that the president should provide free at-home tests like other countries have done around the world. it looks like it took criticism to finally prompt some action. just a few days ago, the white house launched a white house for people who wanted to request free at-home tests, but i'm afraid it's a case of too little, too late.

many experts are said that omicron has already peaked in parts of the country. by the time these tests ship, which the website says could take seven to 12 days, we'll be even closer to the beginning of the end of this current wave of omicron. instead, the white house could have purchased and distributed massive quantities of tests at any point over the last year, but it did not do so. increased access to testing could have lessened the impact of the omicron variant over the summer as well as the contagious variant that we're confronting today. so it shouldn't take bad press to force the administration to action, especially when they'd made a commitment to free testing early on but obviously

were unprepared for omicron and the wave of new cases. unfortunately, the president has broken another big promise about his plan to address the pandemic. he vowed that public health decisions would be made by public health professionals, not politicians. once again, things have played out quite a bit differently. here's one example -- last february the center for disease control released a report that said that schools are not a breeding ground for covid-19 and that as long as precautions are taken that schools could open safely. well, congress did not skimped when it came to providing financial resources to the states and school districts to take those appropriate precautions to help preserve the safety of our children.

but the science was at odds with the demands of a key political constituency -- teachers unions -- which wanted schools to remain closed even if the teachers were vaccinated and appropriate safety measures could be taken to protect the schoolchildren. we all know which side the administration chose. it ignored the science and stood with their political constituency, the teacher's unions. -- the teachers' unions. when the president's big promise of a strong pandemic response failed to meet the need, he shifted the responsibility to the states. he said, i'm going to do it, the federal government is going to do it. but then amazingly pivoted and said, well, this is not my responsibility. this is not the federal government's responsibility. this is the states' responsibility. just a few weeks ago he actually said these words. he said, there's no federal

solution. this gets solved at the state level. i'm sure the american people were flabbergasted at the answer and his obvious flip-flop. president biden pledged to lead a strong pandemic response when it helped his chances of getting elected. but now that he is actually in oches and has the power -- office and has the power and authority to follow through, he's folding his hands and pointing the finger at others. the biden administration has fumbled the ball time after time. it's chipped away at our energy security. when you saw prices rise at the pump because of inflation or because demand of refined petroleum products exceeded demand, he actually went so far as to encourage russia and opec to produce more oil and gas. at the same time, he was all

about canceling the permit for the keystone x.l. pipeline. nord stream 2, the russian pipeline providing gas to germany, he's all for it. when it comes to domestic pipelines providing oil and gas to refineries so they can produce gasoline so that people can drive their cars at an affordable price, he's not for it. additionally, this administration has failed to address the humanitarian crisis at the border in an astonishingly blase sort of way. it doesn't even seem to get a rise out of this administration anymore. the numbers are too high. two million-plus people apprehended at the border with no deterrent or discouraging

words to keep them from entering the country illegally. and then there's the fumbling of diplomatic relations, insulting some of our oldest allies and emboldening our biggest adversaries. the biggest example of that was ceding the war in afghanistan to the taliban in the most humiliating way possible. so the list of missteps and failures during this last 365 days has been a long one, indeed. but perhaps the biggest disappointment was in not delivering what president biden promised the american people one year ago today, and that is to be a unifying force for our country. he promised, as we all heard, to bring people of different backgrounds and ideologies and

beliefs together and to find common ground. it actually made sense to make a virtue out of something that a 50-50 senate would ordinarily dictate, and that is, when you can't have your own way because you don't have the votes, then make a virtue out of working together and actually pass bipartisan legislation. he actually went so far as to point to his record in the senate as evidence of his ability to work across the aisle and broker bipartisan deals. but it didn't take long for the american people to find out that these were, by and large, empty words. less than two months into his presidency, our colleagues across the aisle took a hammer to congress' perfect record of bipartisan pandemic response.

that was during the previous administration. almost everything we did was bipartisan, virtually unanimous, when it came to responding to the pandemic. first our colleagues spent nearly $2 trillion on a bill that, even though it was framed as covid-19 response, committed less than 10% of that funding to covid-19 and only 1% to vaccines. but that blowout -- $2 trillion -- wasn't enough. the president tried and failed, along with his political allies, to advance the so-called build back better agenda. while trying to sell this radical plan to the american people, president biden continued to make big promises. most of which were not credible. he said, for example, that this

multitrillion-dollar bill cost zero dollars. nobody -- nobody believed that. but here it was, the president of the united states embarrassingly -- for himself and others -- was saying that $5 trillion is really zero dollars. he said it wouldn't increase the deficit, and he said anyone making less than $400,000 a year would not pay a single penny more in income tax. all of these claims turned out to be false, and in the end democrats couldn't muster enough support to get the bill to the president's desk. again, not particularly surprising to those who've been observers of the senate for a while. a 50-50 senate should tell you that the only way you're going to get things done is through bipartisan consensus-building, not trying to do things all on

your own with 50 votes in the senate plus a tie-breaking vote from the vice president. but that didn't stop our colleagues from turning to yet another partisan bill, in time one to launch a federal takeover of state-run elections. yesterday our democratic colleagues brought this bill up for a vote in the senate, and of course, as we now know, this failed to gina sufficient votes to pass -- to gina sufficient votes to pass. -- to garner sufficient votes to pass. but no one should be surprised especially because this bill was drafted by one party in a 50-50 senate. and then when the bill failed, as we all knew it would, our democratic colleagues took their penchant for partisanship to an entirely new level. with the president's blessing, somebody who served more than three decades in the senate and who railed against efforts to eliminate the filibuster, the

60-vote bipartisan consensus requirement before bills can be advanced, the president, in spite of his previous comments supporting that requirement, the so-called filibuster, this time with the president's blessing senate democrats tried to change the rules of the senate to secure a purely partisan win. what we witnessed in the senate yesterday evening was a remarkable show of priorities of our democratic colleagues. forget the rules, forget compromise, forget consensus-building, and forget the history and traditions of this institution. our democratic colleagues proved that they're willing to take a wrecking ball to this chamber in pursuit of power. madam president, it's no wonder that president biden's approval ratings continue to plummet. one recent poll found that only

33% of the respondents to that poll believed -- approved of the job that he was doing. after all, after everything the president promised and with this dismal record of actually delivering on that promise, it's hardly surprising that the american people are disappointed. in addition, inflation is up, wages are being eaten away by inflation, eroding the cost of living, and our country feels more divided than ever, despite the president's extravagant promises one year ago today just out here on these steps. the man who positioned himself as an experienced, unifying leader for the country has spent virtually all his time pursuing partisan ends. as a result, the democratic

senate majority has waste add lot of valuable time -- wasted a lot of valuable time. i'm disappointed by the wasted opportunities during the past year. floor time in the united states senate is a precious commodity. it's the coin of the realm. there's a lot of great ideas that occur outside of this chamber, but unless it can get time on the floor, it doesn't happen. but rather than taking up bills are that did have that broad bipartisan support, wasting time on purely partisan bills has resulted in very few accomplishments. and i can only hope that the second year of the biden administration will bring more bipartisan cooperation. hopefully the administration can

learn from its mistakes of the last year. this parade of dead-on-arrival legislation isn't helping the american people. the only way we can accomplish anything is by working together and building consensus. again, voters elected a 50-50 senate, a closely divided house, and a president who promised to bring people of different views together. let's hope this next year, the second year of the biden administration, the president will see fit, along with our democratic colleagues, to deliver on that commitment made one year ago today. madam president, i yield the floor.

a senator: madam president. the presiding officer: the senator from alaska. mr. sullivan: madam president, today i introduce the stand with taiwan act of 2022, which would mandate comprehensive and devastating economic and financial sanctions against the chinese communist party, key sectors of china's economy, and

leaders in the chinese communist party if the chinese people's liberation army initiates a military invasion of the island democracy of taiwan. representative mike gallagher of wisconsin introduced an identical bill in the house today as well. and i am hopeful, when my colleagues come back from recess, that the vast majority of senators here, democrats and republicans, will end up joining me in supporting this important bill. madam president, last march, in a senate armed services committee hearing, i posed this question to the indo-pacom commander admiral davidson. admiral, given the chinese communist party's recent but long list of coercive and even

violent actions, hostile suppression of freedom in hong kong, threatening nuclear war with japan, hand-to-hand combat with indian soldiers in the himalayas, economic blockades of australia, genocide in its own xinjiang province and aggressive naval actions in the south china sea. how do such actions impact your analysis, admiral davidson, on if and when china would invade taiwan? his response to me in this hearing made news around the world. he called these recent actions by president xi, quote, alarming. and then he said i think the threat of an invasion of taiwan

is manifest during this decade, in fact, in the next six years. six years, madam president. that is not a lot of time. the senate needs to focus on this issue much more. indeed, this issue is not unrelated to the actions of another dictator, vladimir putin who is right now threatening and likely to invade one of his neighbors -- ukraine. some see the defense of taiwan as a luxury we cannot afford in an age of sharp and great power competition and china's global economic strength. i reject that view. and importantly, so does

american law, particularly the taiwan relations act which this body passed in 1979 by a vote of 90-6. and among other things states the following: the united states will consider any effort to determine the future of taiwan by other than peaceful means, a threat to the peace and security of the western pacific area and of grave concern. madam president, the free world cannot be neutral in the contest between freedom and authoritarianism that is once again underway around the world, especially in the indo-pacific region. american alliances, power, and ingenuity helped to build a

world that provided more freedom and prosperity to more people than ever before. think about this fact. the united states democracy bolstered by our strong military has done more to liberate humankind from oppression and tyranny, literally hundreds of millions of people than any other force in human history. the chinese communist party knows exactly what it wants to accomplish, to make the world safe for its authoritarian government, to export its dictatorship model to other countries, to separate america from its democratic allies, and to erode u.s. leadership around the world. a wonder goferred by xi jinping's totalitarian position would be a world unsafe for america and other democracies

around the world, and that is why taiwan is so central to the free world and its future. it is a thriving, prosperous, chinese democracy that holds free elections and bounds its power by the rule of law. for that reason, madam president, it threatens the c.c.p.'s central premise that one man ruling in perpetuity by crushing all dissent knows what is best for 1.4 billion people. the chinese communist party has already crushed hong kong, once a behalf of -- once a bastion oy and the free world barely raised its voice in protest. should america and the world

stand by as china does something similar to taiwan, a peaceful democracy of 25 million people who have voted for an entirely different future? that would not simply undermine the security of the western pacific, as the taiwan relations act says. a violent military takeover of taiwan by the chinese communist party would be a sea change in how the world is ordered. it would change the history of the 21st century in ways that the guns of august of 1914 changed the 20th century. taiwan is not some peripheral sideshow in terms of global, great power competition. it is the front line between freedom and tyranny and like west berlin was during the height of the cold war, it

matters everywhere. madam president, last month the magazine "the national review" highlighted many of these issues in an excellent issue which laid out the arguments for and against whether the united states military should come to taiwan's aid if the island democracy was invaded by the chinese military. should our country militarily defend democratic taiwan after the c.c.p. launches a military invasion of the island? this is a vitally important question which was front and center in the national review last month. as the national review points out, there is much disagreement on this issue. there are powerful arguments on

both sides as this issue admirably demonstrates. but, madam president, i believe there is much less disagreement on whether the united states should take actions now to deter chinese communist party military invasion of taiwan in the future. indeed, taking actions now to promote deterrence of a chinese invasion of taiwan is an area where i believe there is broad bipartisan agreement and support in the united states senate. deterrence comes in many forms, and with regard to taiwan, i believe there are three crucial layers of deterrence as depicted

here. first, taiwan's ability to militarily defend itself? the so-called hedgehog approach, right here, where taiwan musters sufficient self-defense capabilities to make a chinese military invasion very difficult and very costly. the second layer of deterrence is america's capability and will to p defend taiwan militarily should the president of the united states decide to do so once there's an invasion by the chinese. over the past several decades through many different crises in the taiwan strait, this layer, the american layer of deterrence has proven to be decisive in keeping the taiwanese people free.

our deep network of allies in the region augments this level of deterrence. madam president, as it relates to deturs in taiwan, it is really often discussed only in these two layers. but there's a third layer that's depicted here which in terms of the present circumstances might be the most important, and that is the use of other instruments of american power beyond our military such as our global economic and financial strengths to deter china from an invasion. and that is exactly what my bill, the stand with taiwan act of 2022 is all about.

the full name of this bill, madam president, is sanctions targeting aggressors of neighboring democracies, a.k.a., stand with taiwan. it is a simple bill but a very powerful one, especially in terms of its deterrent effect. it states that if the chinese communist party initiates a military invasion of taiwan, the united states shall impose a comprehensive sweep of mandatory, economic and financial sanctions. the bill lays out these comprehensive sanctions, some of which are listed here in great

detail. these sanctions would be crippling to the chinese communist party, its leaders, and key sectors of china's economy. the bill also calls on the united states to coordinate such comprehensive sanctions with our allies around the globe with the goal of making the c.c.p. an economic pie rya -- pariah globally it xi jinping decides to invade taiwan. this is to make clear to president xi today the true cost of what the military invasion of taiwan would be, thereby heightening deterrence, we we all in the -- which we all in the u.s. senate support. madam president, i believe the stand with taiwan act of 2022

should receive broad bipartisan support. in many ways it reinforces the goals, policies, and directives of the taiwan relations act which continues to have overwhelming support here in the united states senate. the defense of taiwan is an issue that has been weaved in and out of the careers and professions of countless americans, including my own. over 25 years ago in 1995 and 1996, i was a marine infantry officer deployed to the taiwan strait as part of the marine and amphibious task force all in response to the chinese party's aggressive military provocations on the eve of presidential elections in taiwan. the third time taiwan strait

crisis, this period, is now called. that was an important and decisive demonstration of american commitment and resolve to an emerging democracy and partner that is still remembered today on both sides of the taiwan strait. more recently i was part of another demonstration of american commitment and resolve when i traveled to taiwan with democrat senators tammy duckworth and chris coons to provide vaccines, close to a million from the united states, for the taiwanese people to china's attempts to prevent the citizens of taiwan from receiving these lifesaving medicines. i'm a colonel in the marine

corps reserve working on these issues in the indopacom theater. commitment for taiwan has been part of our law, heritage, trade, economics, and military deployments for decades and should be for decades to come. the stand with taiwan act of 2022 is the next logical step to demonstrate america's commitment to taiwan this time emphasizing the deterrent power of our economic and financial strengths. it is our values of freedom, innovation, the rule of law, individual rights and openness that the chinese communist party is most afraid of. we must be ready as democracies

to defend these values or risk a world increasingly governed by autocracy, and the stand with taiwan act will help us do just that. mr. sullivan: madam president. the presiding officer: the senator from alaska. mr. sullivan: i ask that my following remarks appear in a separate section of the congressional record. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. sullivan: madam president, it's been a busy week, let's

face it, it's been a contentious week here in the united states senate. we had a big vote last night. i spoke about the issues we were debating last night a few times on the senate floor. just a minute ago i introduced a bill of mine on a very serious topic regarding a possible war with china and taiwan. so it's been busy, and, madam president, to be honest my team and i were focused on a lot of these issues and we were thinking about skipping my favorite part of the week, coming down to the senate floor and talking about the alaskan of the week. but then we came across a twitter meme, madam president, and you almost have to see it to believe it, but it's this, we cannot achieve civility without an alaskan of the week speech at the end of the week.

i kind of appreciated that m eme and so we wanted to -- meme, and so we wanted to make sure after a couple of contentious weeks ended it with something uplifting and to highlight it with an alaskan, like i -- which i like to do every week, whose role in this country is going to be about bringing civility and respect and service to all americans in the united states and across the globe. so i thought what a great time for an alaskan of the week speech. i know the pages love it. so, madam president, let me introduce to you our alaskan of the peek this week, 20-year-old emma broyles from anchorage who

broke through barriers to become the first alaskan and the first korean american every to be crowned miss america. this just happened a couple of weeks ago. emma is very well deserving, as you will see. and when she was announced that she had won miss america, when her name was announced, thee cried tears of joy, of course, and alaskans across the state cheered. now, every miss america contestant picks a cause to champion, special olympics, which i love, i'm probably alaska's special olympics biggest fan, that was emma's cause. the night of the event, they held a watch party at the special olympics training center in alaska, which is a great facility, our special olympian

athletes were the loudest of any group in the state cheering for emma. and then there is, of course, the huge, extended korean american family who was also cheering, laughing and crying when it was announced that she had won. after it was done, emma told reporters, i didn't even expect to make the top ten. i was there for the good time and the cheesecake. that's emma for you, funny, self-deprecating, humble and real, just like her home state. she is the perfect miss america to represent the great state of alaska. so let me tell you about our miss america -- america's miss america, alaska's miss america and her goals going forward.

about 50 years ago emma's grandparents immigrated from korea to anchorage, they wanted to raise a family to live the american dream. alaska, of course, is a great place to do that. by the way, madam president, we have the greatest, strongest, most incredit korean-american community in alaska who are just incredible americans. emma's grandparents' daughter, emma's mom, julie was born in anchorage and so was her father ron. emma grew up as a typical alaskan kid, fishing, sports, hard work at school, community oriented. her mom is a special education teacher and her older brother has down syndrome. emma likes to say she went to

her first special olympics meet when she was in the womb. and that is one of the reasons she is so passionate about that issue. she knows first hand, like many of us do, the power of special olympic athletes to inspire and to be such great representatives for inclusion and respect and healthy competition. emma graduated from service high school and made her way to arizona state university where she is now a junior studying biomedical sciences and voice performance. she wants to be a doctor. in fact, she wants to be a dermatologist. madam president, emma shared something with the world during the miss america pageant that was very brave. like so many young women are doing now, particularly our athletes who have to perform and

have a platform, to use that platform for good to talk about some difficult issues. emma told the world that she had been diagnosed with adhd, attention deficit hyper activity disorder, which led to chronic scratching and pin pinching -- skin pinching issues. about 2% of the population have this challenge, mostly young women. that's why emma wants to be a dermatologist to help young women like her who suffer from this disorder or other medical challenges. it was kind of a hard thing for me to share at first, emma said, with the world during the page ant. i want -- pageant. i wasn't sure if i was ready to be that vulnerable, you know, on a national stage with hundreds of thousands of people watching.

that's what she said, madam president. but she did it. she did it. that was very courageous and we are better for it. with emma's beautiful singing voice, her poise, her bravery and highlighting an issue that has caused her a lot of pain, her role of championing special olympics, her heritage, her home state, the crown looks natural and beautiful atop emma's head. like it was meant to be there. here's what she told a reporter after she won. there were a lot of people who felt like they saw themselves in me. she talked about all of the positive messages she had received from people all across america, alaska, the entire world after she won. they told her how wonderful it was to see someone like them, someone who had similar issues or someone who has a family member hoos a disability and

she -- who has a disability and she talked about is courageously. they told her how wonderful it was, quote, seeing themtion in me -- themselves in me and seeing this kind of relatable figure and someone they can look to, unquote. that's emma. madam president, i think you're starting to see what a great young woman she was. she had covid last year and overcame it. she said, i hope that other people know they can do the same thing, overcoming these challenges, whatever it is they are struggling with. so thank you, emma, for being such an inspiration, incredible job, incredible courage, incredible poise. and, madam president, i also -- because i'm talking about emma -- want to recognize so many other incredible alaska women who have recently stepped up, done amazing things. we have a state of very strong

women. i am lucky to be surrounded by them everywhere. my wife, my daughters, my cousins, sister-in-laws. there's a famous saying in our state and when you come to alaska, you see it everywhere. t-shirts, mugs, bumper stickers. it's a simple saying. alaska girls kick ass. now, look, i'm not sure i'm supposed to be able to say that on the senate floor but i just did. i hope i'm not going to get fined or anything. but take a look. it's everywhere in our state. i love the bumper stickers. and that in the past year has really proven to be true, truer than ever. we have our first alaskan to win miss america, our alaskan of the week today emma broyles. we had our first alaskan lydia jacobi to win a gold medal in

swimming where we don't even have an olympic-size swimming pool. she won the breaststroke in an amazing race, did such a great job that she's the first person in u.s. senate history to be alaskan of the week twice. i'm not sure that's ever going to happen again. we have the first alaskan woman denise burr familiar -- burnam chosen to be a nasa astronaut. another woman nicole ayers who is stationed at the air force base in anchorage was also picked to be an astronaut. i don't know, madam president, what they're breathing in the air. we have winter olympians going to the winter olympics again this year like we always do, strong, very strong in that area, rosie brennan, vicky persger and a young alaskan

native woman featured recently on the cover of vogue. so it's been a great year for strong alaskan women. and to emma, i just want to say you make us all proud. congratulations on your incredible win, miss america, first alaskan ever. you've been an inspiration to us. thank you for your courage, your willingness to speak out on tough issues, take up great causes like our special olympic athletes, and of course congratulations on being our alaskan of the week. i yield the floor. the presiding officer: the senator from ohio. mr. brown: madam president, i -- ten minutes ago there was a different nevadan senator sitting at the presiding officer's chair. welcome. madam president, i was in a round table this morning with a

group of ohio county commissioners from conservative counties like warren and medinah and more progressive counties like lucas and hamilton and republicans and democrats alike, of male, female, good cross section of ohio leaders talking about the projects we're going to build and the good-paying jobs we're going to create, jobs that will not be offshored this time because we came together to pass the bipartisan infrastructure bill. yesterday i was on a media call with the republican mayor of tenly, ohio -- fenley, ohio, about the i-75 project they need in hancock county. i was at another roundtable with ohio leaders talking about how we can leverage these investments, some of the most important work i'll be doing over the coming months working with local and federal officials to make sure investment translates into ohio jobs. the presiding officer understands this.

we pass legislation here with it sometimes a good bit of money like infrastructure but it's also up to us as representing our states to make sure those dollars are spent efficiently and effectively and quickly, frankly. the infrastructure bill, some of the most important work we've done in the senate in a long time. we're investing in our country. for years mayors and businesses and workers have been telling us as their representatives, as their senators about the need to upgrade infrastructure. but we've noticed, madam president, over the years that candidates of both parties have promised infrastructure. we're going to pass an infrastructure bill when i'm elected, they say. plenty talk about it but now with a new president and a new majority in the senate and the house, we're finally getting it done with this bipartisan infrastructure bill. over the past few months i've heard from communities about the projects that this is going to allow them to accomplish.

in toledo with the mayor talking about the city's plans to replace lead pipes. my state has the diewb yoas distinction of -- dubious distinction of being the second leading state, if you will. we have the second most lead contaminated pipes from main water lines and the pipes going into people's homes, we have 600,000 pipes like that going into people's homes that have high levels of lead. and science is known, paint companies have known, lead manufacturers have known that infants, babies, it affects their brain development for the rest of their lives. one of our goals working with the mayor of toledo is over the next several years is replace those pipes. ohio will get some $1 billion in new funding to improve water infrastructure. the western hills viaduct in cincinnati, the bridge in dayton, ohio has some 3,200

bridges eligible for upgrades some of them like the brent spence unbelievably carries 3% of g.d.p. every day across that river. some of those bridges are when i grew up working the family farm, driving a tractor with a hay wagon crossing little culvert bridges that dot our countryside all over my state, many of those are in states of disrepair. we've seen the new pollution-free buses at communities like ak akron and canton and columbus, the transit system, heard about they're going to expand service so people can get to work and school. we have some 60,000 buses, big city buses and another 50 or 60,000 small transit, more rural buses that need to be replaced with their fossil fuel, mostly diesel engines and we're going to replace those over the next several years with low emission or zero-mission buses.

the ashtabula community my wife grew up in, hearing about upgrades to ports will increase investment and speed up and grow ohio's supply chains as the presiding officer knows, this congress, this senate, the house frankly over the years at the behest of corporate lobbyists sold us out on trade agreement, sold us out on tax policy. so-so many jobs left our -- so so many jobs left our country. the industrial midwest was hit the hardest but every state was hit by that job loss because of bad government policy again lobbied by some of the largest corporations in the world, the tech companies, the drug companies, the oil industry. we now have a president that wants to get it right and bring those supply chains closer to home. now, this -- we've also seen how ohio needs better rail infrastructure, new rail cars for cleveland r.t.a., better amtrak service, safer rail crossings but fundamentally this bill, the infrastructure bills, jobs bill will create construction jobs to be sure. it will create jobs, union jobs,

carpenters, mill rights, electricians, plumbers and pipe fitters, laborers. it will create those kinds of jobs but also create manufacturing jobs through the supply chain. senator portman and i worked to make sure this bill has the strongest buy america requirements ever in an infrastructure bill with our build america, buy america act. every one of these projects will come with the strongest ever buy america rules. no more bridges -- no more bay bridges in northern california made entirely with chinese steel. we introduced a bill, build america, buy america bill. on trump's inauguration day, unfortunately nothing moved because everything got crowded out of president trump's agenda so they could give a huge tax cut to the richest people in the country. we've worked with other leaders -- we work with other leaders now four years later with a new president to get it right with buy america. particularly i call out senator

baldwin from wisconsin, senator peters from michigan and their work. we're putting in place a clear permanent standard. if american tax dollars are involved, american workers should be getting the jobs. it's going to mean more contracts for ohio businesses. cleveland cliffs, new plan in -- new plant in toledo, talking about what we're doing there, the cleanest steel-making, i believe in the entire world at that new plant. owens-corning in toledo, industries in new philadelphia, ohio. we have the potential for hundreds more bridge projects around the state using american rebar, american steel, american iron. it's an investment in ohio take will pay off create -- take will pay off creating jobs now both during construction and up and down the supply chain. it will help attract new businesses. it will help keep the existing one. it will connect people with their jobs and businesses. i will spend pretty much every day in my -- and my staff will, too, making sure that our state gets its fair share of this

investment of these jobs. if you believe in dignity of work, you fight for the people who make this country work. we are seeing results. on wednesday the mayor and i were talking about the biden administration's announcement of a hundred million dollars in initial bridge funding already on the way to ohio. that focus will continue. we're doing roundtables, briefings with federal officials with local township trustees and county officials and mayors and city officials and state officials talking how they can apply for federal funding, make sure communities are best positioned to make the most of this infrastructure. our goal is to leverage this investment to create jobs in every city and every county and every township across my great state. madam president, i yield the floor.

the presiding officer: the senator from ohio. mr. brown: madam president, i ask unanimous consent the senate consider the following nominations, calendar 638, joseph donnelly to be ambassador extraordinary and plenipotentiary of the united states of america to the holy see, that the senate vote on the nomination without intervening action or debate, the motion to be considered be considered and laid on the table, any amendments related to the nomination be printed in the record, that the president be immediately notified of the

senate's action. the presiding officer: is there objection? without objection. the question is on the nomination. all in favor say aye. opposed no? the ayes appear to have it. the ayes do have it. the nomination is confirmed. mr. brown: thank you. i ask unanimous consent the senate consider the following nomination, all nominations placed in the secretary's desks in the foreign service, that the nominations be confirmed en bloc, the motions to reconsider be made and laid upon the table with no intervening action or debate, that no further motions be made in order that any of the nominations be the president be immediately notified of the senate's action. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. brown: thank you. i ask unanimous consent that the senate proceed to legislative session, be in a period of morning business with senators permitted to speak up to ten minutes each. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. brown: madam president, i ask unanimous consent that the appointments at the desk appear separately in the record as if made by the chair. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. brown: thank you. i ask unanimous consent that the committee on agriculture be

discharged from further consideration of the -- and the senate now proceed to s. res. 471. the presiding officer: the clerk will report. the clerk: senate resolution 471 commemorating the 1 hujth anniversary of the alabama farmers organization and so forth. the presiding officer: without objection, the committee is discharged and the senate will proceed to the measure. mr. brown: madam president, i ask unanimous consent that the resolution be agreed to, the preamble be agreed to, the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. brown: madam president, i ask unanimous consent the commerce committee be discharged from further consideration and the senate now proceed to s. res. 487. the presiding officer: the clerk will report. the clerk: senate resolution 487 congratulating the university of wisconsin badgers on winning the 2021 national collegiate athletic association division one women's volleyball championship. the presiding officer: the presiding officer: without objection, the committee is discharged and the senate will proceed to the measure.

go measure. mr. brown: i ask unanimous consent, the resolution be considered to, the preamble considered to, the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. brown: thank you, madam president. i ask unanimous consent the commerce committee be discharged from further consideration, the senate proceed to s. remplet 488. the clerk: s. res ooh rez 488, congratulating claire googold on winning division 3 women's volleyball championship. the presiding officer: without objection, the committee is discharged at the senate will proceed to the measure. mr. brown: i ask unanimous consent that the resolution be agreed to, preamble agreed to, and the motions to reconsidered be considered made and laid upon the table. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. schumer: i ask -- mr. brown: i ask we proceed to 497, if submitted earlier today. the clerk: 497, congratulating the north dakota state university bison football team

for winning the 2022 national collegiate athletic association division i football championship subdivision title. the presiding officer: without objection, the senate will proceed to the measure. mr. brown: madam president, i ask unanimous consent that when the senate completes its business today it adjourn to then convene for pro forma sessions only -- the presiding officer: senator? mr. brown: oh, sorry. excuse me. mr. brown: back up. let me try again. the presiding officer: the senator from ohio will proceed. thank you, senator. mr. brown: thank you. trying to get you out earlier, madam president psm i ask unanimous consent the senate proceed to the consideration of s. res 497 submitted earlier today. the presiding officer: the senate is on the measure. mr. brown: i don't do this often, madam president. i ask unanimous consent the resolution be agreed to, the preamble agreed to, the motions to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table with no

intervening action or debate. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. brown: now, i ask unanimous consent that when the senate completes its business and adjourn to then convene for pro forma sessions only with no business being conducted on the following dates and times, the following pro forma session, the senate adjourn until the next pro forma session, monday, january 24, 1:00 p.m., thursday, january 27, 10:00 a.m. i further ask that when the senated a journals on thursday, january --ed a journals on thursday january 27, it next convene 3:00 p.m. monday, january 31. following the prayer and pledge, the morning hour be deemed expired, the journal of proceedings be approved to date, and the time for the two leaders be reserved for their use later in the day, and morning business be closed. that upon the conclusion of morning business, the senate resume to executive session for consideration of the brennan nomination. i would add brennan is from ohio. that the cloture motions filed during today's session ripen at 5:30 p.m..

the presiding officer: without objection. mr. brown: thank you, madam president. if there's no further business before the senate, i ask that it stand adjourn under the previous order, following the remarks from senator merkley from oregon. the presiding officer: without the presiding officer: without

difficult but important reality of our great democracy. it marks the freedom through thick and thin, it's never over

and we have to keep marching. flashlights boat was disappointing, it will not deter senate democrats from continuing our fight against voter suppression, dark money, partisan gerrymandering. democrats are proud of last night. the strength, adequacy, enthusiasm and overwhelming participation of my democratic colleagues during debate was exhilarating. it shows the passion we feel about this issue. facing an uphill battle, we lost the vote but to have not voted with happen a far greater loss, a loss for our democratic party which for generations has been good for voting rights, loss for the civil rights advocates who sacrificed so much on this issue and loss from the american people and what the country stands for. on an issue that is important, not doing everything we could

what have been unacceptable. the minds of the beltway class hold we should not have held a vote on voting rights if the outcome was not certain. they are wrong. imagine telling doctor king not to march to montgomery clicked he could not be sure what obstacles awaited him. imagine telling john lewis he should never have crossed the bridge because it was unclear what awaited him on the other side. every member of this body who's ever invoked this freedom has the obligation, and obligation to uphold their legacies not with words but with actions. senators were elected to vote. the examples of doctor king and john lewis inspire us, give us strength and show us sometimes the only right option is to move forward. we need to remember what this is

about. the advent of donald trump and his many big lies, for january 6 insurrection vicious active voter suppression for the states, the greedy dark money interests for the republican party these days, this is a fight for the soul of america, nothing less. democrats will not shy away from uphill fight, we will continue to face them. i believe the lessons of history are clear when representatives have to take a stand, when they have to shout to the american people where they are on the issues, the right side of history, ultimately prevails. we know history is on the side of voting rights in reno forcing leaders to take stands will ultimately move the goal

forward. finally, i want to thank all of my colleagues who came to the floor yesterday to speak in defense of voting rights and for working for months on this vital issue, senators booker, klobuchar, senator kaine, senators king, tester, warnock, padilla and so many more, their leadership, their expertise and dedication to protecting our democracy is inspiring. it gives our caucus strength and it made such a difference. last night was unusual and exhilarating because we fought the good fight. as former leader of kentucky said 80 years ago november, facing a filibuster, he was as former majority leader said 80 years ago this november facing a filibuster successfully blocked

anti- tax legislation, the majority leader barclay from kentucky said i'm glad i've made this fight, i've made it on behalf of what i believe to be brought and true foundations of a true democracy, senate democrats fighting for democrats is not over. we will keep fighting until voting rights are protected for every single american and one day, hopefully sooner president later, we will succeed. i yelled the floor and note the absence of a quorum. >> tomorrow our nation's capitol will once again host thousands of americans gathering peacefully to support the most basic human rights, the right to life. forty-nine years from the march for life is united people from diverse backgrounds, in all 50

states. to celebrate the dignity of human life and confront the ways our society fails to protect it. this year, the marches will arrive in washington controlled by democratic party grown increasingly radical on this issue. today's democrats worked overtime to keep our country one of seven nations on the planet that have abortion on demand even after the unborn children can feel pain. our shameful company includes china and north korea, fewer than 30% of americans endorse this deal. the democrats have made it dogma. on president biden's watch, democrats have he returned against the bipartisan, both parties used to agree at least federal taxpayers should not be forced to fund abortions.

not democrats on both sides of pennsylvania avenue declared war on even this. i welcome marches from kentucky and across the country this radical version of the democratic party hearing voices now more than ever. today marks one year since resident biden became our 46th president, democratic government has had 365 days to start delivering on some of their core promises. what were the promises? strengthening our alliances and above all else, lowering the temperature and reuniting a divided country. remember, upon taking office, this administration had

historical detail runs at its back. president biden inherited life-saving vaccines and distribution systems that was already up and running. it inherited bipartisan rescue packages including one that was only a few days old. he inherited an economy ready for a roaring conduct those were the promises that was the inheritance so let's take a look at the progress report. last spring against expert advice, the biden administration had a number of broadcast on an already white-hot economy. as a result, we are being hammered by the worst inflation in 40 years. practically everything families need and want has gotten much, much more expensive. shortages disrupt family

shopping, household it with soaring heating costs. they stay home, soaring gas prices if they go up. our economic trajectory looks shakier today than it did when democrats were sworn in. of course we have continued adding back jobs from covid markdowns. that was certainly going to happen. job creation has underperformed, democrats own projections for job creation supercross the springtime stimulus package. 2021 was said and done the country at the same number that we were on track to create before from a democrats implement it one policy or spent one time. it managed to literally slope $1.9 trillion but only barely beat the starting trajectory they inherited. they call that spending covid

package but less than 10% of the money went to the actual medical fight and that certainly shows. americans are entering the third year of this pandemic to field test, too few treatments from too many new cases to many school closures. guidance on boosters because fda experts resigned in protest and need this divisive mandate vaccine mandates were not even constitutional. one year in, coronavirus has decidedly un- crushed and covid wasn't the only epidemic sweeping americans ways, take violent crime, far left rhetoric and anti- law enforcement local policies has led major cities to set all-time records for homicide in 2021 or take

frontal, this poison was a leading cause of death for americans 18 to 45 pages last year. the number one killer of americans in their prime sentinel. why isn't this being treated like an emergency? was the last time president biden even talked about this? drug that's are not the only consequence of our week borders. biden's rhetoric incentivize and historic flood of illegal immigration and defend president biden's week policies lit the fuse. the result is the biggest search and illegal border crossings in 60 years, 60 years.

all of these issues are priorities for american families. the biden administration spent most of 2021 focus on none of those. chasing a reckless tactless and spending spree, citizens never want to it. spent half of 2021 trying and failing to below $5 trillion on windmills and welfare. that effort faded democrat abruptly pivoted and start shouting america's democracy -- >> uncle lifted. d. the presiding officer: we're not in a quorum call. mr. merkley: thank you very much. i ask unanimous consent that the committee on indian affairs be discharged from further consideration and the senate

prow towed to senate resolution 482. the presiding officer: the clerk will report. the clerk: senate resolution 482, recognizing the 50th anniversary of the alaska native claims settlement act and the lasting impact of that act on the state of alaska and alaska native people. the presiding officer: without objection, the committee is discharged. the senate will proceed to the measure. mr. merkley: i ask unanimous consent that the resolution be agreed to, the preamble be agreed to, and that the motions to be reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. merkley: i ask unanimous consent that the senate proceed to the immediate consideration of senate resolution 28.

concurrent -- senate concurrent resolution 28, mr. president. the presiding officer: the clerk will report. the clerk: senate concurrent resolution 28, expressing the sense of the senate that september 30 should be observed as the senate day of remembrance for the native american children who died while attending a united states indian boarding school and recognizing, honoring, and supporting the survivors of indian boarding schools, their fathers and their communities. -- their families, and their communities. the presiding officer: without objection, the senate although proceed to the measure. mr. merkley: i ask unanimous consent that the concurrent resolution be agreed to, the preamble be agreed to, and the motions to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table, with no intervening action or debate. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. merkley: thank you, mr. president.

mr. president, i believe we're all familiar with the question, if a tree falls in the woods and no one is there to hear it, does it make a sound? well, here in the united states senate, we can ask the question, if we accomplish something important but fail to communicate that to our constituents, did it actually happen? the majority of the american people have so much on their plates that they're not following the intricate daily workings of this chamber, so they expect their senators to speak to them on a regular basis about the work they're doing on their behalf. as the author and former presidential speechwriter james humes has said, the art of

communication is the language of leadership. that's why each and every one of us in turn rely on otodedicated men and women -- rely on the dedicated men and women to help us communicate with folks back home. i'm here on the floor today to say farewell to a member of my team who has been so instrumental in helping me communicate to the people of oregon. for the past now seven and a half years, ray zacaro has served as my communications director and what a self isn't and a half years it has been. -- and what a seven and a and a half years it has been. especially when you think about how the landscape that is changed in that seven and a half years. we've gone from local newspapers and cable news serving as the dominant means of mass

communication to facebook and twitter and instagram and snapchat and tik tok and others. one day produced video content forms the best. the next it was selfie-style videos and videos that used to do very well on facebook when the algorithms changed didn't do so well. and then instagram reels took off and on and on and on. it's incredible how fast the communication world keeps changing. since march of 2020, it's only gotten more chaotic as the pandemic turned everything upside down, including how we consume information and how we communicate. ray expertly helped me and the entire team navigate this

ever-shifting media landscape. recording studios shut down. he mobilized the communications team to quickly transition to use a vast array of tools, including skype and zoom so that we could continue to get our message and timely information to the people of oregon. that foresight and quick action are just extensions of his entire approach to communications, always challenging the members of our team to think outside the box, never be afraid to suggest new ideas, no matter how crazy they might initially seem. it doesn't matter if they work in communications or on the legislative team or constituent services. he believes that everyone on the team has a role to play in helping to develop and tell the story of what we're working to do. and he's proven right time and

time again over the last seven-plus years. when jeff sessions as attorney general under the previous administration gave his zero tolerance speech, i said to my team, it sounds like he's planning for a policy of tearing children out of their parents' arms down on the border, and i'm sure that's pie -- hyperbole because no one would ever do that. my team said, there's one way to find out, go down there yourself. well, ray, who is sitting behind me on the bench -- ray took that idea and ran with it. we went down there the following

sunday, down to texas, and he used his cell phone to live stream our attempts to try and ascertain exactly what was happening to young boys and girls. at a detention facility in in this -- to witness that children were being ripped from their parents' arms. there was a press outside asking, what are you going to find? i said i have no idea, but i will talk with you all when we came out and ray and i went in and saw those children in cages. and as we were being given a tour, i remember one of the young boys in a cage, they were asked to line up from the shortest to the tallest, and the

youngest was knee high to a grasshopper. he was just maybe 4 years old. and i asked, where did these young boys come from? and he said, well, we brought them in that door over there and we took them away from their parents. and in that warehouse room, the parents were other cyclone-fenced cages, and if the boys peered really hard, they might possibly see a pairnlt or a cyst -- a parent or a sister, a father, mother, uncle somewhere in that warehouse, but they had no idea of what fate awaited them. we went outside and saw the press outside and told them what was happening and in a flash it

was national news about what was going on. by our government and their treatment of young children. we went up the road to brownsville. we had heard that there were a few hundred boys possibly being held in a former wal-mart and i thought that was an astounding story, not possibly true, but should we go and check it out? and ray and i decided we would. and we went up to this former wal-mart and it had barriers to keep you from parking in the wal-mart -- former wal-mart parking lot. so we walked across the grounds

to the door where my cell phone -- i called up the number that was inside and said, we're here, i'm a u.s. senator. and we would like to have a tour, please, of your facility, if we could speak with your manager or your manager could come out and talk to us. and eventually a manager did come out. his assistant had said he'd be talking to us, but, actually, what he did was he called the police. and he didn't come out until the police cars were arriving. and i think ray, who was live streaming the whole thing, secretly wanted me to be arrested and carried off in hand handcuffs to -- in handcuffs to magnify the story, i'm sorry it did come to that, ray, but the story had a tremendous impact.

they would not let me into that wal-mart to see what was going on, but the national scandal that ensued in the day that followed meant the press of the united states of america got in the following weekend and a national debate started about who are we as citizens of the united states of america and who is our government and what are we doing to this these children? it turned out there were not a few hundred boys in that facility, there were a few boys short of 1,500 in that single former wal-mart. the work that ray did that day revealed the truth of trump's actions and shocked this nation and moved this nation to action. horrified, as we continued to learn the realities of this situation, ray kept up his dream beat with contacts in media to make sure that that story, the

traumatized children, continued and those children were never forgotten. and let me be clear, it wasn't just the power of the story or the opportunity to get his boss, me, on television. he kept up the drumbeat because he's a passionate person who cares deeply about others. countless members of team merkley could recount stories about a time that ray went out of his way to help them to provide comfort and support when they were going through a difficult moment in their lives. with just a call to check in on how someone is doing or a full-blown italian feast to a he could without objection, who lost a loved -- he co- -- one te ray was out with me in oregon

and a constituent showed up who was having a personal crisis, and ray went out of his way to make sure that man got the help needed while still continuing to the other aspects of his job, attending to members of the media, guiding and supporting staff in their respective tasks and ensuring that the constituent had everything he needed. that's just who he is. the type of person who will drop everything if someone needs help, who will offer up his own apartment so his boss can film a last-minute video when the planned location fell through. i couldn't begin to count how many late nights and early mornings we spent together sitting for me aide interviews -- media interviews. and i'm thinking on the floor of the senate a few nights ago when i was here through the night speaking for over 15 hours

straight to protest the theft of a supreme court seat by our former president and then-majority leader mitch mcconnell. and throughout the night there was ray in between running back and forth to the office to take calls from reporters and producers, returning to flip floor charts as my speech proceeded. thank you, ray, for all that you have done for the team, for the people of oregon and for the people of this nation. thank you for your tireless efforts to utilize communication tools at our disposal to protect our democracy and enhance the important issues that face our nation from health care to housing to education to living-wage jobs to equality of opportunity to taking on climate chaos. thank you for bringing the passionate and longstanding

commitment to democratic politics and principles that were forged in your early experiences back home in long island and you brought them to capitol. it's hard to picture what our team merkley experience will be after you leave because you've been such an integral part for so long. but know that while you will be deeply missed, we all wish you nothing but the best in this next chapter of your life as you continue fighting to build a better world. thank you, mr. president. the presiding officer: under the previous order, the senate stands adjourned until 1:00 p.m. stands adjourned until 1:00 p.m. today the senate voted to confirm california to the united

states circuit judge for the ninth circuit. she's the second black woman to serve on the ninth circuit court of appeals. as always, you can follow senate live when it returns here on c-span2. >> regulatory department of energy secretary, david testified on security and reliability of energy infrastructure q4 house subcommittee. watch tonight user on c-span2 online@c-span.org for full coverage on our video app standoff. ♪♪ >> the world has changed. today fast reliable internet connection is something no one can live without.

wow is there for our customers, speed, reliability, value and choice. now more than ever, it all starts with great internet. >> wow supports c-span as a public service along with these other television cup providers giving a front row to democracy. prosecuting sexual misconduct, before house armed services subcommittee, they talk about the process for investigating claims and how to improve accountability. this is one hour and 15 minutes.