c-span shop.org to get your copy the latest book. >> c-span are under -- c-span is funded by these companies and more. >> comcast is partnering with a thousand community centers to create wi-fi enabled areas, so families can be ready for anything. comcast supports c-span along with these other television providers giving you a front row seat to democracy. >> on this tuesday morning, the u.s. senate about to gavel in for legislative business. lawmakers will be considering a handful of president biden's judicial nominees, including several u.s. district court judges to serve in northern ohio, the first votes are set for 11:30 eastern today. live coverage now of the u.s.

senate here on c-span2. the presiding officer: the senate will come to order. the chaplain, dr. barry black, will lead the senate in prayer. the chaplain: let us pray. strong deliverer, who crafted our lives for service, guide our lawmakers to walk with integrity. may they examine their hearts, comprehending the motives behind their thoughts, words, and deeds. lord, grant that their gratitude for your loving kindness will compel

them to walk in your truth and abide by your precepts. o lord, we trust you with your tomorrows, as we feel your presence each hour. we know you will carry us through the darkest night. we pray in a your glorious name. amen. the presiding officer: please join me in reciting the pledge of allegiance to the flag. i pledge allegiance to the flag of the united states of america, and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under god, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. the presiding officer: the

clerk will read a communication to the senate. the clerk: washington, d.c., february 1, 2022. to the senate: under the provisions of rule 1, paragraph 3, of the standing rules of the senate, i hereby appoint the honorable raphael g. warnock, a senator from the state of georgia, to perform the duties of the chair. signed: patrick j. leahy, president pro tempore. the presiding officer: under the previous order, the leadership time is reserved. morning business is closed. under the previous order, the senate will proceed to executive session and resume consideration of the following nomination, which the clerk will report. the clerk: nomination, the judiciary. bridget meehan brennan of ohio to be united states district judge for the northern district of ohio.

it was the first day of his supreme court confirmation hearing. as a begin speaking judge breyer laid out his view of the law and its role in maintaining the fabric of american life and he said, quote, i believe the law must work for people. our nation's vast web of quote constitution, statutes, rules, regulations, practices and procedures has a single basic purpose. that purpose he said is to help the many different individuals who make up america. from so many different backgrounds and circumstances. with so many different needs and hopes, live together productively harmoniously in freedom. in his nearly three decades on the supreme court, justice stephen breyer has lived by those words. he self-insure the laws have

work for good, a force for unity, and a force for freedom and equality. so for me, i have truly mixed feelings as i stand here today and look back on the incredible legacy of justice breyer who announced last week that he would retire at the end of this term. and what a legacy he leaves. born in san francisco, stephen breyer attended stanford and harvard, harvard law, and just three years after graduating from harvard he returned to the school as a professor, a role in which inspired a generation of jurists public servants. he helped a few other occupations as well, served our country as a corporal in the united states army and in the army reserve. he was a clerk for supreme court justice arthur goldberg, a member of the watergate special prosecutor's office, and chief council to the senate judiciary committee which am honored to chair. from there he is a appointed o the u.s. court of appeals for the first circuit where he

served for nearly 14 years before his confirmation to the united states supreme court here and i might add for the record, his vote on confirmation to the court was 89-seven. our remarkable showing of strength and support for a man whose politics were very clear as he served with chairman ted kennedy and the senate judiciary committee as his lead counsel for many years. justice breyer's record when he came to the supreme court was nothing short of awe-inspiring. from voting rights to women's productive, reproductive freedom, from criminal justice to consumer protection, from campaign-finance to immigration, justice breyer's voice has been powerful, pragmatic, thoughtful, and enduring. whether in the majority were in dissent. consider for instance, justice breyer's dissenting opinion in the 1995 case, united states

versus lopez. in that case the court conservative majority overturned the gun free school zones act, finding that the statute exceeded congress' power under the commerce clause, a clear departure from existing standing precedent. in his dissent, justice breyer melded sound constitutional interpretation with his signature pragmatism. signing the facts interlocking methodically explained how the widespread problems caused by gun violence in and around schools clearly affected and threatened commerce. he concluded, i quote, holding that particular, the particular statute before us fails within the commerce power would not expand the scope of the clause. rather, it would simply apply pre-existing law to changing economic circumstances. it would recognize that in today's economic world gun related violence near the classroom makes a significant difference in our economic as

well as our social well-being. that was one of the many opinions that captured his vision of the law as a force for productivity, for harmony, and for well-being in the american people. fast forward 20 years, a case was glossy versus gross. in that case they challenge a formal lethal injection is violating the eighth amendment ban on cruel and unusual punishment. the courts conservative majority rejected the challenge that once again justice stephen breyer responded with conscious and clarity with his keen analysis and pragmatic reasoning. explain the constitutional infirmities of the death penalty. he wrote and i quote, nearly 40 years ago this court upheld the death penalty under statutes that in the course you contain safeguards sufficient to ensure the penalty would be applied

reliably, not arbitrarily. the circumstances and evidence of it death penalty application of change radically since then. given those changes i believe it's now time to reopen the question. just let me say parenthetically, madam president, it's interesting to me to note how many supreme court justices late in their term facing retirement or nearing it reflected on the death penalty. justin blackmon was another. it has to be that these cases that they decided once with an eye toward consistency, weight on their consciousness and again to conclude that the death penalty truly need her to be questioned under our constitutional values. justice breyer in the case recognize that in our system punishment must not only be firm but fair. during his 28 28 years on the court, stephen breyer has been a

stalwart defender of america's constitutional rights. as i mentioned years before he was confirmed to the supreme court justice breyer sat on the court of appeals for the first circuit located in boston. today on the banks of the boston harbor stands a building that reflects service, the john joseph moakley united states courthouse. let me add i knew joe moakley. he was my colleague and friend in the house. then judge breyer helped design that courthouse and he still keeps an office there. the building features a curved glass wall stretching across tens of thousands of feet so passersby can peer into the courthouse during the day. it's designed to provide a clear view into the administration of justice. engraved in the wall on the building of the names of the workers who had a hand in building it. alongside the names of bricklayers and carpenters is etched in equal standing the name stephen breyer.

those two principles are reflected in the building, transparency and equality, having many ways defined stephen breyer is legal philosophy and his contribution to america. tis inaugurated as the first chief justice, 115 -- only 115 individuals -- have been chosen to sit on the u.s. supreme court. out of these 115 justices, only five -- only five -- have been women. only two -- only two -- have been african americans. only one, just one, has been hispanic. and to date, never, never has an african american woman sat on the highest court in the land. soon president biden will have an opportunity to make the supreme court look more like america by nominating the first black woman in u.s. history to

serve as a justice. every single member of this chamber, regardless of party, should embrace the president's commitment to make sure that our courts, and especially the supreme court, better reflect our country's diversity, and nominating a black woman as justice is a long overdue step towards achieving that goal. past presidents, from eisenhower to johnson to reagan, were clear about their intentions of nominating historic and barrier-breaking individuals to the supreme court. president biden's commitment to nominate a black woman is a continuation of that important effort, and once president biden announces his nominee i intend to have the senate move quickly so we can fulfill our constitutional duty to advise and consent and ultimately confirm the president's pick. we'll have a fair process, but also a quick process, so that the work of the supreme court

continues uninterrupted. if our democracy is to prosper in the 21st century, the american people must have confidence that our federal courts will faithful questioned a -- faithfully adhere to the if solemn principle, eke justice under ow -- equal justice under law. the more we reflect rich diversity, the more effectively they will be able to administer equal justice. make no mistake, a more balanced, more diverse judiciary has been one of the senate democrats' top priorities in our work with the biden administration. over the past year, we have worked at a record pace to confirm the most judicial nominees in the president's first year since the time of ronald reagan. and we've done it with nominees who bring diversity in their backgrounds, their life experiences, and professional expertise, something that didn't happen, really, in a large way, until this year.

one day i hope the barrier breakers of today will be closer to the norm of tomorrow. we want more women to sit on our courts, especially the supreme court. we need more people of color, more public defenders, more civil rights lawyers, more children of immigrants to sit on our court to reflect the broad diversity that america is and will continue to be, in fact it will continue to grow. the more americans look at our courts and see people who look like them and come from the same backgrounds and share similar experiences, the better off our justice system and our democracy shall be. and nowhere, nowhere else, is this more important than the supreme court. so, i applaud the president's commitment to choosing a qualified and historic nominee, and the senate stands ready to work quickly to confirm president biden's pick when we get it. now, on economics, and economic

wins -- at the beginning of last year, mr. president, the c.b.o. projected that the u.s. economy would reach a growth rate of about 3.5% by the end of 2021. the international monetary fund had a rozier outlook. -- rosier outlook. they said closer to 4%. the federal open market committee was perhaps the most optimistic, forecasting a growth rate of about 4.3%. they were all wrong. the u.s. economy shattered most expectations and grew at the amazing rate of 5.7%, the strongest rate since the time of ronald reagan. and mr. president, this was no accident. far from it. last year's historic turnaround is a reminder that the right leadership in government matters

democrats promised in 2020 to fix donald trump's utter mismanagement of the covid crisis and get our country back on track, and a year later, after securing the strongest growth rate in decades, democrats are delivering on that promise. after congress passed the american rescue plan, i said help is on the way. and that help is getting america back on a path to normal. and though we still are learning to live with the virus, our economy, our communities, and our schools are better off pause of -- because of vaccines, because of testing and because of targeted legislation we passed last year, like the restaurants act and save our stages, and i want to stress an important point that is forgotten too often -- we are finally seeing wages go up at a significant rate. that's dollars in the working people's' pockets. for decades, economists have decried the lack of wage growth

in america. it's been reported that from 2000 to 2020, if you were in the bottom 75% of americans, the majority, your wage growth was not real at all. in other words, costs ate up all of wage growth, and the wage growth was paltry in many years, 0%, 1%, 2%, declining in some. lack of wage growth has been the scourge of our economy for so long, as it affects average working folks. closing opportunities for millions of hard-working people, who've worked harder and harder, only to see their lives deteriorate. now, we're finally seeing signs that wages are going up, and that's going to stay for years to come. this is real progress for working families, as we keep fighting to lower costs we democrats are going to do everything we can to see that

this large wage growth remains and continues, and that will mean better lives for the american people. we know the work is not done. we know we must keep working -- we must keep working to help americans lower costs so they can better afford the basics, from healthcare and prescription drugs to daily essentials like groceries, to the cost of higher education. addressing these issues remains our focus. we also must address strained and broken supply chains. later this week, the house will take up the long-awaited useca bill, by passing a companion, the america competes act. i've been working very hard to make sure that this happens. one conferenced, this legislation would bring manufacturing back to america, instead of sending jobs overseas, this bill will say buy america, keep the jobs here.

we saw what just happened in ohio, in the advent. thousands and thousands of new jobs in manufacturing. so this legislation is going to bring manufacturing back to america, bring jobs over here, good-paying jobs back here, it would strengthen domestic supply chains, and thus reduce our costs, and in particular help our country address its semiconductor shortage, a driver of rising costs in so many different things, from cars to cell phones to everything. finally, all this is a reminder of what democrats at our core stand for -- building ladders of opportunities for working americans to get to the middle class, and providing stability to those already in the middle class so they can stay there and thrive. and wages are going up is a large part of that, and this administration's record on wage increases we haven't seen in decades. we still have more work to do,

to bring our country out of the rubble of covid so that we can look confidently into the future. but the growth of last year showed we are well on our way, and democrats will keep working to help working people, working families, middle class families, poorer families trying to get to the middle class, have the kind of prosperity and help they need and deserve. senate business, the nominations. on a separate matter, we senate democrats will continue to work with our republican and house counterparts of on the vite altask of passing a omnibus package to avoid a shutdown and ensure the government effectively serves the american people. this morning, i will meet with democratic appropriators to discuss the state of negotiation as was he work towards the omnibus. i'll be meeting with speaker

pelosi in that meeting as well. later today, the four-corner appropriators, chairman leahy, ranking member shelby, chairwoman dloro, ranking member granger, will also meet to continue their talks. we need to have an omnibus fund the government. that is the goal we're working towards, and i want to thank my colleagues for their diligence and their leadership. separately, of course, today the senate will continue confirming the president's highly qualified nominees. because of a growing backlog of noncontroversial nominees, which a small handful of republicans continue to obstruct, i filed cloture two weeks ago to move forward on 20 individuals. today we'll have votes on three of these nominees. we're prepared to work late into the evenings this week to get these nominees confirmed without further delay. confirmings these -- confirming these nominees is a top priority for the senate this week. they will serve on our federal

judiciary, advance america's diplomatic and economic interests, and work to strengthen our national security. the vast majority of these men and women were reported out of committee with strong bipartisan support, and normally would pass through this chamber with consent. without a lengthy process. instead, because of a handful of obstructionist republicans, the senate will take the necessary votes to confirm these nominees. every president deserves to staff their team with the individual that president sees fit, and we in the senate will keep working to make sure president biden has his nominees confirmed so they can carry out their mission serving the american people. i yield the flood. -- i yield the floor. i note the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. quorum call:

quorum call:

quorum call: mr. mcconnell: mr. president. the presiding officer: the republican leader. mr. mcconnell: are we in a quorum call? the presiding officer: we are. mr. mcconnell: i ask consent that further proceedings under the quorum call be dispensed with. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. mcconnell: working americans and their families are being hammered by the worst inflation in 40 years, and washington democrats own it. sometimes it can be difficult to directly connect washington policies to the downstream effects on our families. sometimes it can be tricky to identify cause and effect, but

not this time. not in this case. the pain that families are feeling today was not just foreseeable, it was actually foreseen by experts all across the political spectrum. economists said this inflation is exactly, exactly what would happen if democrats pushed ahead with their reckless spending sprees the economy simply did not need. larry summers, who was treasury secretary for president clinton and ran the national economic council for president obama, warned democrats a year ago this week that democrats far-left plans could trigger, quote, inflationary pressures of a kind we've not seen in a generation. jason furman, who chaired president obama's council of economic advisors said the very same thing. he said the democrats' spending

binge was, quote, definitely too big for the moment. i don't know any economist that was recommending something the size of what was done. that's jason furman, president obama's council of economic advisors. but our democratic colleagues do not let families' actual needs restrain their radical daydreaming. they made up their minds this temporary pandemic would serve as a trojan horse. right from the start in 2020 with americans dying from this mysterious virus, a top democrat called it a, quote, tremendous opportunity to reframe our vision." the new democrats' first major act was to start printing, borrowing and spending money like there was no tomorrow. they managed to blow through

roughly $2 trillion on a so-called covid bill that utterly failed to crush the virus. less than 9% of the money went to a health care fight at all. even the liberal expert, steve ratner, former obama official, said the spending spree was democrats', quote, original sin, end quote, when it comes to inflation. and working americans are paying dally for it every single day. look at the headlines, quote, 2021 went down as the worst year for inflation since 1982. higher prices seeped into just about everything households and businesses buy. there's no telling when prices will fall to more sustainable levels. further quotes, rising costs for food, rent, other necessities are heightening the financial pressures on americans' households. rising prices wiped out the healthy pay increases that many americans have been receiving, making it harder for

households, especially lower-income families, to afford basic expenses. yes, it is true that inflation is up all around the world. this is partially a global phenomenon, but the united states has it worse, worse than almost everyone else. data from peugot that america's -- pew show america's inflationary spike has been the third worst than all countries they measured. we have it worse than any country in the g-12, much worse inflation than the u.k. or france or australia or japan. that's what this agenda has brought us. americans are afraid this may still just be the beginning. 79% of americans now expect inflation will get even worse over the next six months.

now the democrat-caused inflation has the federal reserve signaling they may need to raise interest rates higher and faster than they expected. this brings its own set of risks upon the american people, and again it's exactly, exactly what is experts predicted. a full year ago this week the economist michael strain testified that democrats pofl spending could -- democrats' spending could corner the fed and force them to clamp down on the recovery sooner than necessary. democrats had mainstream economic experts warning against their reckless spending plans and still disielded to drive right -- decided to drive over the cliff. working families are paying the price every day at the checkout counter, at the gas pump, at the used car lot, when they pay their bills, look for housing. now washington democrats are trying again to revive talk of yet another, another reckless bout of spending this year. american families are already

hurting enough. they need that bad idea to stay buried. now, mr. president, on an entirely different matter, today marks the one year since the people of burma yet again had their future hijacked by a military coup. since this time last year, the tet men dah has tried to achieve through open repression and violence what it long sought to achieve from the shadows. they want to derail burma's democracy. the ruling generals now have the blood of thousands of protesters and innocent civilians on their hands. thousands more are languishing in prison on political charges. those detained include my friend aung song suu kyi. they have included foreigners like the american journalist

nathan fang, the economist sean turnell remains imprisoned for now. even one would be one too many. the violence on the streets and desecration of justice in sham courts have been a sad step backward for burma. unfortunately it's a step that many of us who pay close attention to this country have feared. but one year ago, one year on, it is encouraging to see the people of burma rejecting one of the oppressors favorite cynical tactics, and that cynical tactic is to try to stoke resentment and violence between diverse ethnic groups. well, burma's ethnic groups are no longer buying that. they see the common enemy that denies them their freedom. millions of people across burma are rallying together behind the representative national unity government.

they are swelling the ranks of the council in what can rightly be described as a revolution but their bravery and unity may heal little without greater international assistance. a year ago i called on the biden administration to impose costs on those who stand in the way of the people of burma and urge our partners to do the same. i was surprised by president biden's quick condemnation of the coup and efforts to charge individual coup leaders. but regretably these well intentioned efforts have not been enough. there is more the biden administration must do and there is more that must be done by our democratic partners out in the region. the administration should be prioritizing burma and its diplomacy throughout asia, especially india. along with our partners, the

united states should expand sanctions to further isolate the military and security forces. we should move to expose countries like russia and china that aid and abet the repression of the people of burma. we must push back on cambodia which shares the association of southeast asia nations and indicates they may welcome, actually welcome the illegitimate regime to international summits. the u.s. and our partners should also provide more direct help to the representative institutions that are trying to protect the people of that country. this should include direct cross-border humanitarian assistance that bypasses the tatmdaw institution support. the stakes go beyond burma. the tatmadaw aren't the only

ones that go beyond chaos. they loathe the idea of a functioning democracy in its own backyard. they have been working for years to keep burma weak and subservient to beijing, and russia found a happy customer in the tatmadaw with surplus arms. one year on the people of burma are paying close attention from prison, from exile, from the estates -- streets of its cities they are watching to see which friends of their democracy have their backs, watching which champions of human rights remembering the political prisons the junta jailed and remembering the innocent men, women and children it has murdered. i've been proud to support the people of burma on their journey toward self-government, proud to help ensure their struggles are not forgotten. america and our partners need to pass this crucial test. we must leave no room for doubt

about our commitment to democracy in burma. i suggest the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. quorum call:

quorum call:

the presiding officer: the republican whip. mr. thune: i understand the senate is in a quorum call. i would ask unanimous consent that the quorum call be lifted. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. thune: thank you, mr. president. mr. president, we recently passed the one-year anniversary of president biden's inauguration. it's a natural time for taking stock of the first year of his presidency. mr. president, in president biden we were supposed to get a leader, a leader home and on the world stage. the grown-ups, we were told, were back in the room. but the truth of the matter is, mr. president, that president biden's first year in office has been marked by a lack of leadership more than anything else. again and again president biden has simply abdicated his responsibilities. take, perhaps, the two defining domestic crises of the biden presidency -- our inflation crisis and our border crisis. in both cases, the response of the president and his administration has, by and large, been to stick their fingers in their ears and

pretend the crises don't exist. sure, the president or his people make a gesture toward the problem every now and then, but mostly you'd be forgiven for thinking that neither the border crisis nor the inflation crisis were even on the president's radar. migrants continue to pour across our border, and the president, well he appears to believe that if he ignores the problem long enough, it will go away. and when he does talk about immigration, it amounts to a green light to the cartels and traffickers to keep leading migrants to our borders. that's why i recently joined more than a hundred lawmakers in requesting that the department of homeland security inspector general investigate the biden administration's border failures. between the president's rhetoric and his fail tour to take any meaningful action to address the influx of illegal immigration, a it's no surprise that we saw

more than half a million attempts to cross our southern border illegally in the current fiscal year's first three months alone. half a million. meanwhile, mr. president, american families are struggling with the worst crisis in 40 years. 40 years. the last time inflation was this bad, e.t. was just premiering and "return of the jedi" hadn't even come out yet. american families are struggling with the increases of most basic necessities from food to fuel. and administration's response? mostly crickets. and of course president biden hasn't just been largely ignoring this crisis, he actually helped to create it t the so-called american rescue plan act the democrats passed and the president signed into law in march of last year helped produce the sky-high inflation that we're experiencing.

but instead of addressing the resulting crisis, the president has been focused on passing another massive government spending bill that would almost undoubtedly worsen our inflation problem. yes, his solution to our inflation crisis is to double down on the strategy that helped produce so much inflation in the first place. meanwhile, americans are wondering if their paychecks were stretch to afford the sharp increases at the grocery store and in gas prices, utility bills, household commodities, and the list goes on. on the world stage, of course, the defining moment of president biden's first year was his disastrous withdrawal from afghanistan. the president's arbitrary, chaotic withdrawal was a real low point for our country. 13 of our military men and women died in a terrorist attack during the evacuation from kabul. we abandoned thousands of individuals who had worked with

us in afghanistan and whom we had promised to protect and left behind hundreds of american citizens. and the president, who is supposed to restore our standing on the world stage, left our allies wondering if our word can be relied on, not to mention the fact that the disastrous withdrawal left us in a more precarious national security position. it left serious questions as to how well he is likely to handle another pressing security issue, and that's the situation in ukraine. casually dismissing a possible minor incursion did not inexpiring confidence. putin is looking to test america's and nato's resolve. i hope the president and the majority party will take seriously the threat to ukraine,

utilize any remaining levers of american influence to deter an attack and if putin proceeds make him immediately realize it was a miscalculation. mr. president, perhaps the biggest thing the president was going to do, the most important way he was going to be a leader was to pull our country together. that was the defining theme of president biden's inaugural address. i quote -- today on this january day my whole soul is in this, he said. bringing america together, uniting our people, and uniting our nation, end quote. mr. president, contrast that speech with the speech that bookended the other end of his first year, his speech in georgia on election legislation. we went from a president who wanted to unite our nation to a president who refers to his political opponents as enemies. we can see each other not as

adversaries but as neighbors, the president said in his inaugural address. we can treat each other with dignity and respect. in his georgia speech, by contrast, the president's political opponents became not only adversaries but enemies and racists, all for the crime of disagreeing with the president's vision of election reform. the president's complete condemnation of half the country was striking. i lost track of the number of people he implied were racist. the president assumed bad faith on the part of those who disagree with him. missing from his speech was any shred of recognition that perhaps americans of good will can disagree on election legislation. no, if you disagree with the president, you're a racist. like hillary clinton before him, it's clear that president biden

seize a large portion of the american people as deployable. the president repeatedly referred to justice in his georgia speech. perhaps he should consider the injustice of suggesting half the country is racist. in his inaugural address, the president said, and i quote, we must reject a culture in which facts themselves are manipulated and even manufactured, end quote. i have been profoundly disappointed to see the president and many of my democrat colleagues manipulate the facts about state election bills to support their desire for a federal takeover of elections. manipulated facts were a hallmark of the president's speech in georgia, as he tried to twist a mainstream election law into jim crow 2.0. his amendments were particularly

ironic given that the state that he was complaining about offers greater opportunities to vote than are offered by the president's home state of delaware. days later at a press conference marking his first year in office, the president laid the groundwork for future division and disunity by suggesting that the 2022 elections could be illegitimate if the democrats' election legislation doesn't get passed. that is, i assume, if democrats don't win. it was yet another profoundly disappointing remark from a president who was supposed to take the lead in bringing this country together. mr. president, one year into the biden presidency, it's become clear that the president of the inaugural address, the president whose whole soul was committed to uniting our nation, has long ago disappeared. the president has not only failed to unite the country, but

as his ugly and divisive speech in georgia made clear, he has come to regard anyone who opposes his policies with active hostility and contempt. just one year -- one year -- after dedicating himself to uniting our country, the president is dividing americans into supporters and enemies. we must end this uncivil war that pits red against blue, rural versus urban, conservative versus liberal, the priested in his inaugural address. -- the president said in his inaugural address. it's too bad that the president's actions have not matched his words. mr. president, i yield the floor. and i suggest the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. quorum call:

the presiding officer: the senator from particulars. mr. cornyn: mr. president, i ask unanimous consent that the quorum call be dispensed with. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. cornyn: mr. president, the former lead of of the soviet union, vladimir lenin, once said you probe with bayonets. if you find mush, you push. if you find steel, you withdraw. well, apparently, the current russian president subscribes to this same point of view. president putin has made no secret of his desire to restore the former soviet union. engineer 2005, he de-- in 2005,

he declared the demise of the soviet union was the greatest geopolitical catastrophe of the century. the demise of the soviet union was the greatest geopolitical catastrophe of the century, he said, in 2005. he went on to say, as for the russian people who became a genuine tragedy. tens of millions of our fellow citizens and countrymen found themselves beyond the fringes of russian territory. so perhaps we should not be surprised, we should not have been surprised when in 2008 russia invaded georgia. that's the country of georgia. and when it came to global response, the russian president found mush, so he pushed. in 2014, russia invaded ukraine

for the first time since the end of the cold war, taking its crimea region. once again, president putin found mush, so he pushed. today, more than 100,000 russian troops are massed along the ukrainian border. an invasion could happen at any moment. this impending crisis raises a fundamental question for the freedom-loving countries of the world -- will president putin be met with mush or steel? will the anticipated cost of an invasion in terms of blood, treasure and reputation become so high that he backs down? or will a muted global response encourage his lust for empire?

in times like these, the civilized world looks at the united states for leadership. ours may no longer be a pune unipolar -- a unipolar world with the rise of china or dreams of empire of the russian federation, but our country remains a beacon of freedom, strength and democracy that serves an example for the rest of the world. so the question the world is asking is will america still lead? will we accept our responsibilities under treaties like that of the north atlantic treaty, which formed nato, the north american treaty north atlantic treaty organization? to be sure, ukraine is not yet a member of nato. but will we and the other members allow putin to dictate membership in the multilateral rules-based order represented by

nato by threats of force? will he -- about will we aid a democracy like ukraine in its self-defense? these are questions that lie before us. and so far, the biden administration's response has been less than reassuring. last year, the administration waived sanctions on the nord stream 2 pipeline, giving russia the green light to continue its monopoly on energy supply to europe, along with its ability because of that monopoly to weapon size energy to even a greater extent. the administration's response led to a poorly planned and even more poorly executed exodus from afghanistan, leaving afghans vulnerable and at the mercy of

the taliban and our friends and allies around the world aghast at the manner in which that exit occurred. and then a couple of weeks ago, president biden suggested that minor incursions, minor incursions by russia into ukraine may be tolerated, a line that he'd later, thankfully, walk back. president biden has given our allies multiple reasons to doubt the resolve and credibility of the united states as that leader in the free world. whether out of naivety or idealism or just error of judgment, it doesn't change the fact that president biden has repeatedly projected a lack of decisiveness and weakness, and putin, you better believe, has

taken notice. as it stands today, the international response to russian aggression is disjointed and disorganized, at best. france is all in for diplomacy. the united kingdom is offering clear but limited military assistance. and germany, unfortunately, seems to support appeasement. and the united states and the rest of the world is waiting for president biden to step up to the challenge. i believe we have a responsibility to stand with ukraine and help its people defend its sovereignty and its democracy. now, that doesn't mean american troops on the ground, but there are other ways we can help ukraine defend itself and raise the costs of a threatened russian invasion into their country.

forceful language and threats of sanctions may be important, but they're clearly not enough. we need to take concrete steps to minimize the likelihood of a russian attack and ensure ukraine, as i said, has the resources they need in order to defend themselves in the event of an invasion. there is a historical parallel. during world war ii president roosevelt recognized how critical it was for the united states to support great britain, even at a time when the american people were isolationists and where america's official policy was neutrality towards the war in europe. but president roosevelt recognized it was important to do what we could to support great britain during its hour of need, when it was literally hanging on by a thread. because it lacked the resources

it needed to protect its people and fend off german forces. so president roosevelt vowed to transform the united states into what he called the arsenal of democracy. and worked with congress to device a solution that later became known as the lend-lease act. this legislation, signed into law in march of 1941, allowed the united states to supply our allies with weapons, ships, aircraft, any materiel that they needed in order to mount their defense at a critical time in the war in europe. later that year, wips ton -- winston churchill, the prime minister, said the bill must be regarded without question as the most unsordid act in the all of

recorded history. now, winston churchill certainly had a way with words, and when he called it an unsordid act, i guess today we would say the most self-less and unselfish act by the united states in all of recorded history. now, the circumstance of today are not those of 1941. there's no mistake about that. but if you look back for historical parallels, the circumstances in 1939, when hitler invaded czechoslovakia for similar reasons that putin claims he has a right to invade ukraine are chilling. if we'd stood up to germany then, we might have avoided a global calamity and prevented the loss of millions of innocent

lives. so what best to inform our actions today but the experience of the past? to correct our mistakes and to duplicate successful efforts in world war ii or at other times in our history. so the lessons of the past must inform the present, and i believe we still have a duty to lead when it comes to protecting democracies and freedom-loving countries around the world. and once again, america can become that arsenal of democracy , now for ukraine. to that end, i've introduced bipartisan legislation called the ukraine democracy defense lend-lease act to ensure that ukrainian forces have the resources they need to deter and defend against russian aggression. i'm proud to have worked with

senior members of the armed services committee and senate foreign relations committee, people like senators cardin, wicker, shaheen, graham, blumenthal, sullivan, and hassan on this legislation, which will give the administration, give president biden more flexibility and more efficiency when it comes to being that arsenal of democracy for ukraine. as it stands today, the president of the united states has a menu of options to support our friends and allies in times of conflict. in some cases, like the loan of equipment, the united states could eventually retain end use. in ordonez, this would make clear we would support -- in other words, this would make clear we would support grants or emergency aid where we would not recover the funding or assets sent to our allies.

this bill provides an additional option on the menu, allowing the u.s. to provide assistance that may otherwise be unfeasible, unless we could retain end use. this legislation authorizes the president to ender into lend- lease agreements directly with ukraine and provide the military equipment necessary to protect the ukrainian people. my hope is that this will send another message to vladimir putin, that not only do you need to consider the statements and actions of the executive branch, but you also need to look at the bipartisan support that ukraine is getting in the united states congress, tangible support in terms of weapons they can use to deter, and if not deter, to defeat russian aggression. russia must know that an invasion would be met with steel

and not mush. '3if -- if russian troops make the decision to move forward, ukrainian forces would have the lethal weapons needed to defend their sovereignty. i'm proud of the fact that this effort does have such strong bipartisan support, and i hope more of our colleagues will join us in this legislation. this is one important way we can send a message to our friends and allies around the world that you are not alone, that america can be trusted, that our commitments are credible and they will be met not just with words, but with action. thanks to the leadership of chairman menendez of the foreign relations committee and ranking member risch, i've been proud to work with this bipartisan group of colleagues to discuss not just this lend-lease legislation, but a more comprehensive approach to counter russian aggression.

we've discussed the lend-lease bill as well as additional security assistance of lethal aid for ukraine. the group is currently crafting a package of targeted sanctions as well meant to deter russia from invading. it includes limited but immediate sanctions in response to ongoing aggression and in particular, cyber attacks which are a new domain unknown in world war ii but which are very real in 2022. russia cannot operate under the illusion that it will only receive a slap on the hand for invading ukraine. i'll leave it to the chairman and ranking member to make announcements about this legislation, but suffice it to say that i'm encouraged that bipartisan progress is being made. we agree on the outlines of what is being discussed, and we're committed to striking a deal as

quickly as possible because, mr. president, time is of the essence. nobody knows except vladimir putin when he will order the invasion of ukraine. but make no mistake, america stands with ukraine, and we will do everything we can to help them defend themselves against an invasion by the russian federation. this is not just a ukraine problem. this is not just a europe problem or a nato problem. the potential for escalation makes this a global security problem. russia didn't stop after georgia or crimea, and it likely will not stop after ukraine. we are confronting the scope of russia's power and influence on the global stage, and america

leadership, america's leadership, as always, is absolutely crucial. the united states has a responsibility to promote peace and security around the world. if russia invades ukraine and america does nothing, we show the world that our position can't be trusted, that our promises to our allies are not credible. and we also show that we will sacrifice the lives and the treasure of freedom-loving countries like ukraine to the biggest bully on the continent. a shifting global order would send a signal to other countries as well not just in europe, but around the world in places like china and iran, that all bets are off. they may be incentivized to mount similar pressure campaigns and not fear retaliation by the

united states and our allies. if that were to happen, america would no longer be the global super power. we would suddenly become a regional power with mere aspirations and no global reach. make no mistake, an attack on ukraine is also an attack on america's global security interests and on world peace, and could have cascading consequences that right now are too horrible to contemplate. this is an existential threat to our leadership and the world and to the global order we underwrite, and to our way of life and the way of life for freedom-loving democracies around the world. a russian invasion of ukraine is far more existential than a mere isolated and far-away quarrel.

i appreciate the hard work of senators on both sides of the aisle to develop this response, this strong response to resolution's threatened aggression. we need to do our part to ensure that when russia probes with bayonets, it shall be met with steel. mr. president, i yield the floor. and i'd note the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. quorum call:

a senator: mr. president. the presiding officer: the senator from north carolina. mr. burr: mr. president, i ask unanimous consent to vitiate the quorum call. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. burr: mr. president, occasionally members are given the opportunity for a point of personal privilege. this is mine today. mr. president, today i rise to speak in tribute to christopher andrew joiner, my most trusted advisor for the last 24 years. this week chris will retire from a 22-year career working in public service. most of them supporting me in some capacity. 22 years is a long time. in hill terminology, that translates to three terms in the house followed by almost three terms in the united states senate. and in chris' case, it includes participation in almost every one of my campaigns since 1998. to say that i'll miss our

partnership is an understatement. joyner's love of country, his dedication to serve, his ability to bring out the best in staff and in me has been a true gift for the last two decades. chris, i hope you'll enjoy a well-earned retirement that you can head out to the coast, you can have a few laughs with your wife amanda, your kids liz and andrew. that you can enjoy more baseball games, whether that's coaching andrew's little league team or sitting at nats park, and that you can properly reflect on your poor decision to get a pandemic puppy. from now on i hope that there will only be one monday per week, and in addition to lunch you occasionally get dinner. i expect to see you here, though, for the occasional breakfast burrito. like many young staffers, chris started his hill career as an intern in the senate foreign relations committee in 1996.

in the spring of 1998, alicia clark, my then chief of staff, brought chris to my house office as legislative assistant. chris worked in my house office from 1998 to 2005, involved in almost every issue that came through our doors -- foreign policy, defense, trade, tax, agriculture. in my house office, i could always count on chris to be committed, prepared, and willing to work within the conference and across the aisle to get things done for the american people. one of chris' proudest accomplishments during those years was his work with the bipartisan group of house staffers to draft legislation that ultimately became the tobacco quota buyout. of course i think his most noticeable accomplishment during those years was to meet and marry the love of his life, amanda, who has been patient over the years with long nights, nonexistent weekends,

staff things that produced lawn fuel. he joined my senate office in 2005. in the spring of 2006 after eight years on team burr, chris briefly worked as the washington rep for the american petroleum institute. thankfully he wasn't gone too long. in 2008 chris agreed to come back to my senate office as chief of staff. as my chief, chris hired and mentored my staff both here and in north carolina and provided me invaluable counsel on a host of issues facing the american people. whatever the problem, chris always brought the best options to the table. occasionally with some good bourbon and provided the best advice even if i didn't always agree. when i took over as chairman of the senate select committee on intelligence in january 2015, i knew that chris would bring his keen intellect, good judgment,

and steady leadership to the staff director role. although chris never worked in the intelligence community, i knew that he had the right balance of respect for the intelligence community's mission and commitment to the senate's important oversight role. chris drove into this role headfirst learning everything he could about the intelligence community becoming a champion of its mission and workforce. he traveled the world in pursuit of grownt truth joining me on trips to hot spots, training locations to show the intelligence community our support. traveling via trains, planes, armored cars, helicopters and occasionally supered up -- souped up golf carts. chris knew the value and the importance of a surprise stop to ensure realities on the ground was described back in washington the same way. chris' bipartisanship and his

supportive leadership style served him well during his time on the intel committee. thankfully he also kept his sense of humor and his penchant for movie quotes and exactly the right gift. as staff director during the russia investigation, chris led a bipartisan team of staffers on an almost four-year long effort to uncover foreign interference in the 2016 election. although we had some heated moments in and a lot of drama, chris never wavered from the mission that senator warner and i had given the staff -- to follow the facts wherever they led. chris' leadership style is not flashy and his quiet support for the staff and his devotion to the i.c. mission kept the committee focused on its essential oversight mission throughout a high-profile investigation in the beginning of the pandemic. clearly chris could not get enough of this important mission, and for the last two years chris has served as senior

advisor on the committee, continuing the committee's efforts to focus the intelligence community on critical work exposing maligned foreign influence. his work is clearly graded triple a. chris, i'm proud of you. i'm so thankful to you, and i hope you know how much your service has meant to all of us, and especially to me. you've been a voice of common sense in a divisive time, a steady hand through good times and bad times, and a champion of the legislative branch. our nation is safer, our intelligence community is sharper, and this institution is stronger because of you. thank you for dedicating your life and service to your nation and thank you for your dedication to me. it's truly been an honor and a privilege to have you by my side on this journey. we wish you well. i suggest the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk

will call the roll. quorum call. mr. burr: i ask unanimous consent to vitiate the quorum call. the presiding officer: under the previous motion -- under the previous order, all postcloture time is expired. the question is on the nomination. a senator: mr. president. the presiding officer: the senator from virginia. mr. warner: could i ask consent to speak for two minutes. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. warner: mr. president, i folings to my good -- apologize to my good friend from north carolina, i've never seen him be this timely. but i want to echo about what he said about chris joyner, who has served with enormous disextinction with senator burr -- distinction with senator

burr. i want to particularly recognize chris and my staff director mike casey, who managed to work together, and, frankly, negotiate a peace treaty between senator burr and i when we -- when we started the russia investigation, we had a few bumps, but as i'm sure senator burr pointed out, chris served with enormous distinction in a very, very challenging time, putting together an investigation that came with integrity, truthfulness, bipartisanship, in a period, particularly under the previous administration, those -- those milestones were not often highly regarded. chris has decided to move forward on his career and i simply want to join and echo senator burr's comments about his commitment to service and wish him all the best in his future endeavors. with that, mr. president, i yield the floor and appreciate the extra couple of minutes.

thank you. the presiding officer: the question is on the nomination. 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 60, the nays are 36. the nomination is confirmed. under the previous order, the president will be immediately notified of the senate's action. the clerk will report the motion to invoke cloture. the clerk: cloture motion, we, the undersigned senators, in accordance with the provisions of rule 22 of the standing rules of the senate, do hereby bring to a close debate on the nomination 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. the presiding officer: by unanimous consent, the mandatory quorum call has been waived. the question is, is it the sense of the senate that the debate of charles esque fleming, of ohio,

to be united states district judge for the northern district of ohio shall be brought to a close? the yeas and nays are mandatory under the rule. the clerk will call the roll. vote:

vote:

vote:

vote:

the presiding officer: the yeas are 55, the nays are 41 and the motion is agreed to. stt 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. the presiding officer: under the previous order, the senate stands in reset until

>> they will resume consideration of president biden's judicial nomination . you can find coverage here onc-span2 . >> in the early 2001, bethany mclean at the time a writer for fortune magazine asked the question in an article, how does enron make its money ? maclean's reporting along with others who wrote articles led to a lot of inquiries that were put to the enron management. within a few months the company was bankrupt. bethany maclean's subsequent 2003 book titled the smartest guys in the room became a bestseller.

since 2008 mclean made a career of writing about american financial crisis. in january she discussed her reaction to the theranos saga. about elizabeth holmes she wrote for those who believe she was guilty of a great crime it's a disappointing verdict. >> journalist and author bethany mclean on this week's episode of book notes plus. book notes plus is available on the c-span now app or wherever you get your podcasts. >> the budget committee holding a confirmation hearing this afternoon on the nomination of shalonda young, director of the office of management and what it and

nani coletti to be deputy director. watch full coverage on c-span now, our new video app . >> c-span is your unfiltered view of government funded by these television companies and more including mediacom. >> the world changed in an instant but mediacom was ready. internet traffic soaredand we never slowed down . schools and businesses went virtual and we powered a new reality because at media, we're built to keep you ahead . >> mediacom support c-span along with these other television providers giving you a front row seat to democracy. next, cq roll call hosts a discussion on the senate filibuster . cq roll call colonist and host of the equal time podcast moderates the talk with senior writer and molly reynolds from the brookings institute. this runs an h