reaching a 45-year low, now is the time to grow our economy, madam president. i hope our colleagues in the house will join in a bipartisan effort. we stand ready in the senate to join a serious discussion to get this legislation on to the president's desk and grow these jobs, very important economic opportunity for the united states and continue our leadership. i thank the president, and i yield the floor. mr. scott: madam president? the presiding officer: the senator from florida. mr. scott: madam president, as our nation continues the battle against covid-19, we know that the best way forward for defeating this virus is making sure americans have adequate prevention and treatment options against this terrible illness. while i understand that we are still learning about covid-19 every day, i share the frustrations of public health leaders and the american people in fighting this virus.

even with a vaccine developed under the previous administration, a president biden has not been able to slow covid-19's spread. the federal government's most important role during a public health crisis is to provide accurate information to the american people. unfortunately, over the past year, there's been mixed messaging. cruel and unfair finger-pointing, baseless censorship. if thank you want a test, you should be able to get a test, period. but many americans have been frustrated at the lack of at-home tests as the virus has continued to spread. however as we seek to ensure the health and well-being of american families, we must do so while using taxpayer dollars responsibly. it's imperative that the federal government do everything in its power to complete our public health mission in a cost-effective manner that prioritizes support for domestic manufacturing. that's why as soon as i learned about the administration's intent to much 500 million at-home covid-19 rapid tests

earlier this year, i wrote to ask him to prioritize the purchase of american manufacture made tests. we know at least two at-home covid-19 antigen tests are manufactured in china. the last thing american taxpayers dollars should go too is funding a country that started the pandemic, covering up and lying about the origins of covid-19, committing genocide against millions of uighurs, persecuting tibetance, harassing and stealing technology and research and being engaged in unfair trade practices. given communist china taxpayer money would be a complete abuse of the public trust. sadly, although unsurprisingly, that's not -- that's exactly what the biden administration has done.

instead of supporting american manufacturing and exclusively ordering american-made tests, the biden administration has handed nearly $1.3 billion of taxpayer funds to a company in communist china. this is isn't a secret. it was widely reported by reuters last month. i'm sure we all remember biden's promise to, quote, buy american. it is a commitment we applauded. but like so many other promises made by this president, it's been broken. that's why, mr. president, i've introduced the no taxpayer dollars for communist china covid test act built to the right the wrongs of the biden administration and prohibiting covid-19 tests made in communist china with u.s. taxpayer. i would like to thank senator roger marshall for cosponsoring this bill. president biden has newtowned that the government will be purchasing 500 million more at-home tests. last week the department of defense announced it was buying

more nan 100 million tests testm anton health. that's more money for communist china's economy. the federal government has a month to support american manufacturers, especially as our economy recovers from covid-19. we cannot turn a blind eye to the fact that it was the chinese communist party that lied about this deadly virus, tried to hide it and has continually tried to cover up the origins. we know that every dollar sent to china goes to general xi. people in this town think that taxpayer money is free money. they forget that for every dollar collected, there is a hardworking american. we have a duty and obligation to ensure that we spend that money wisely. thankfully, we won't lose anything or experience shortages by not giving these contracts to

chinese companies. h.h.s. will have to work to get good contracts. this is another example of joe biden's willingness to appease dictators. so, mr. president, with many of these tests already purchased and the biden administration planning to spend billions more taxpayer dollars, it is important that congress act on this immediately which is why i will ■beaskingtopassthisbill today. as if in legislative session, i ask unanimous consent that the senate proceed to the immediate consideration of senate 3556, which is at the desk. i ask unanimous consent 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. wyden: reserve be the right to object, mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from oregon. mr. wyden: mr. president, i will offer another proposal shortly as an alternative to senator scott's unanimous consent request, and i'm going to make a few brief points before i do that.

first, i want to make clear, mr. president, that on this side, nobody -- nobody -- takes a back seat to anyone else when it comes to standing up to the horrific abuses of the chinese government against its people as well as its economic cheating that has ripped off american jobs and our prosperity. that's why i worked worked withr colleague from ohio, senator brown, to close once and for all an immoral and unjustifiable loophole that allowed some products made with forced labor to enter into the united states. that's why i've also worked with senator crapo on a bipartisan effort to build on that progress with respect to forced labor and to crack down on the rest of china's playbook of abuses and rip-offs. we wrote at bipartisan amendment that deals with forced labor

investigations, with intellectual property protection, and with counterfeiting. it helps level the playing field in the fight against china. it helps strengthens and speed up trade enforcement and transparency. these have been priorities of mine throughout my time in the united states senate. obviously, i was very pleased when our bipartisan amendment with senator crapo was included in the chinese -- in the china competition bill. overall, the bill -- and it was bipartisan -- is all about creating jobs by building up supply chains within the united states, investing in sensible science, and battling some of the key cost drivers -- cost drivers -- and inflation. mr. president and colleagues, senator scott voted against that bipartisan bill.

the bipartisan bill passed by a vote of 68-32, but my colleague from florida voted no. so i just want, as people reflect on this debate, to note for the record who exactly was working to make progress in the fight against china's worst practices? and who is making speeches about them? second, america needs as much manufacturing capacity as possible as soon as possible here for antigen tests to meet our needs. unfortunately, we're not there yet. the biden administration recently launched a free-to-order testing system, free-to-order testing system online. 60 million households have

ordered tests. that's nearly half of the total number of households in the country. so there is big demand. the president is committed to making a billion tests available through that particular program. that's on top of other programs sending millions of tests each week and month to nursing homes, rural health clinics, schools and elsewhere. the administration is buying all the american-made covid tests it can get its hands on, but it's not enough to meet demand. let's make no mistake, all steps are being taken to make these crucially needed tests available to americans. now, the scott bill would create a shortage of covid tests. so in addition to voting against the bipartisan bill that really would have tackled the big issues dealing with china, thy

my colleague has an effort that creates a shortage of tests. that would be a mistake. it would prolong the omicron wave, put lives in danger. that just isn't common sense, mr. president. the american people want the supply of covid tests to be large enough that nobody has to camp out in the a drugstore parking lot waiting for the next delivery. that doesn't mean they're in league to the chinese government's horrible genocide against the uighur people. but that's essentially what this bill is saying. so after we have dealt with the scott proposal, which doesn't do anything to help america's working families and our children, i'm going to propose something that does and does it quickly.

the fact is, there are tens of millions of families across the country who need help paying for housing and child care on the one -- child care and the other basic necessities of life. that's what the senate ought to be focused on, zeroing in on because that's going to make life better for families and forekids. and so when this legislation is disposed of, i'm going to propose that the senate pass a one-year extension of the expanded child tax credit, which expired on january 1. now, that's something, colleagues, that really helps families, and they're hurting right now. as the president of the senate knows, they're walking on an economic tightrope balancing the food bill against the fuel bill. the reality is that a lot of them have had extra expenses due

to the new variant. now, i've been trying to get colleagues on the other side of the aisle for well over a month to support the child tax credit. our colleagues on this side of the aisle have been relentless in their support for it. the child tax credit payments cut child poverty nearly in half, food insecurity among families dropped by 25%. story after story from parents across the country talking about how the program has helped them put food on the table, how it helped them buy their kids school clothes and how it helped them avoid financial ruin when a parent was laid off. the fact is, social security was a bond between the government and elders. what the child tax credit has been all about is creating a new band, a new bond to try to help families, vulnerable families and their kids, an economic lifeline to them. so what i'm going to propose -- and i think as we move to this

debate, because we will hear from our colleague from florida, we got a choice. if you want to do something that does absolutely nothing but put americans in a tougher spot in terms of getting the help they need to deal with covid, that's what happens under the proposal by my colleague from florida. or do you want to do something that will put cash into the pocket of parents so they can help their kids? and i can tell the president of the united states of the senate, i'm sure he as a new parent hears this from his contemporaries, the child tax credit isn't going for luxuries. i was just home. i had six town hall meetings. by the way, mostly conservative areas. and families are using those child tax credits for buying shoes and food and essentials. so that's what the choice sheer

going to be -- here is going to be. and for the reasons that i describe now, mr. president, i object to the unanimous consent request from our colleague from florida. the presiding officer: the objection is is heard. mr. scott: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from florida. mr. scott: well, first off, if my colleague wanted to help american familiesables he would do whatever he could to get american families jobs. i can't understand why my colleague would object to this bill. when did the democrats believe that they no longer care about the oversight authority of congress? my colleague never said that h.h.s. couldn't find american manufacturers for these tests. he didn't go back to check to see if they did. seems like every other colleague on the other side of the aisle is another member of the biden administration focused on covering up for the biden administration. i am trying to support american jobs and american families so they can support themselves. i want to support american manufacturers and the american supply chain. the biden administration is

actively choosing to support the communist chinese regime and the economy instead. this is what he was elected to do and this is the last thing american families want to see their tax dollars go for. it is our duty to make sure we're doing everything we can to support the american economy, not the communist chinese economy, following the pandemic and during this time of record-high inflation. i think objecting this bill is a choice to appease communist china. we could pass this good and commonsense bill today. mr. wyden: mr. president. the presiding officer: the senator from originally oregon. mr. wyden: as if in legislative session, i ask unanimous consent that if the senate receives a message from the house of representatives that the house has passed a bill that is identical to the text of the wyden bill that is at the desk to extend and modify the special rules for the child tax credit and the advanced payments of the child tax credit for one year, 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 without intervening action or debate. the presiding officer: is there objection? mr. scott: mr. president. the presiding officer: the senator from florida. mr. scott: reserving the rite to object. i get it. he's got to distract from the bill i came to pass today. democrats have shown they will do anything to cover up for joe biden. from the start of the covid-19 pandemic my focus has been on providing targeted help to families who truly need it. my colleague is well aware this program he's talking about is actively being debated and there are concerns on both sides of the aisle. just one of the many issues being discussed in the program is the program's lack of work requirements and insufficient means testing. it would be irresponsible to cut those discussions short and pass a measure that does not have the unanimous consent support. therefore, i object. the presiding officer: objection is heard. the senator from oregon. mr. wyden: mr. president, just

very briefly, i would like to note that this has been the second time in about six weeks when i have tried to get the urgently needed child tax credit extended for another year here on the floor of the united states senate. second time. we're hearing all over this country about families that are really having trouble making ends meet right now and how valuable to them the child tax credit would be. and twice in the last six weeks here on the floor of the united states senate, i've tried to get the child tax credit extended for one year. and i would just like to note that twice -- twice in the last six weeks -- republicans have objected to the idea of extending the child tax credit for one year. i don't think that's in the interest of american families and american kids.

we'll continue this debate. and with that, mr. president, i yield the floor. a senator: mr. president. the presiding officer: the senator from louisiana. a senator: mr. president, i ask unanimous consent that i be able to speak for up to 15 minutes. senator marshal for up to five minutes, and senator menendez for up to five minutes before the scheduled roll call votes. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. kennedy: thank you, mr. president. i want to speak on two topics, mr. president. first, inflation. president biden's economic policies unfortunately have waterboarded the budgets of most

americans and most louisianians. we see the official statistics, and the statistics are that inflation is going up 7%. and i understand that that's what the experts say, but most americans and most louisianians know that inflation is much worse, much worse. and i'm sure that's been the experience of the good people of georgia as well. i mean, i did some calculations before i came down today. from december of 2020 to december of 2021, the most recent numbers we have, gasoline is up 49.6%.

in my state, in louisiana, it costs louisianians $27 more than it did last year to fill up the tank of a chevy truck. that's every time they fill up the tank. used cars and truck prices have increased by 37.3%. in new orleans, for example, in my state, mr. president, used car prices were up 38.2% through last september. we all have to eat, mr. president. meat, poultry, fish, eggs up 12.5%. new vehicles, if you can find one, up 11.8%.

household furnishings, furniture up 7.4%. clothes 5.8%. fruits and vegetables 5%. cereals and bakery products 4.8%. and i could keep going. the truth is that most americans are having to spend on average about $3,500 more per year because of president biden's inflation. now to some people, that may not sound like much. that's a lot of money to the people in my state. an extra $3,500 out of the budget of most working americans is a lot.

i wish it weren't so, but this inflation has been caused by the biden administration's economic policies. inflation is not complicated. it's too much money chasing too few goods. president biden's coronavirus bill was the tipping point. that's clear. now we all voted for a number of coronavirus bills, but the last coronavirus bill was way too expensive. it was unnecessary. it wasn't a coronavirus bill. the president said we've got an emergency, we've got an emergency. and then you read the bill and find out that the bill's got nothing to do with the coronavirus, and the money is

going to be spent over like a ten-year period. it's not an emergency. the current inflation has characteristics i've not seen this, of both cost push and demand pull inflation, and it could be traced directly to the economic policies of the biden administration. and the biden administration keeps pushing. it keeps trying to stuff more diapers down the toilet. the biden administration wants to throw another $5 trillion -- not billion, not million -- trillion dollars of gasoline on the fire in the build back better bill. and if we pass that, there will be another $1 trillion. i mean, this administration spends money like it was gully dirt. i've never seen anything like it. and then we have inflation. we have all this liquidity which leads to inflation, and the biden administration will not

accept responsibility. president biden has blamed inflation, he blamed it first on covid. and i'll admit covid is spreading, but i don't see people walking around coughing inflation on each other. then he blamed it, i think he blamed it on china for awhile. then president biden blamed it on greedy corporations. i expect next he'll say that inflation originated in a bat. but the truth of the matter is it's not complicated. it originated with his spending policies, and it is just killing my people. it is killing them. and mr. president, as you know, we have a lot going on here in washington and a lot of issues in front of us that are important. ukraine, for example. the president shortly is going

to nominate a new member to our united states supreme court. we have a multitude of bills that we're considering. and all those are important, but inflation is important too, and it is hurting the american people, and it's hurting the least among us the most. yes, we're seeing inflation in terms of services, but we're seeing inflation more in terms of goods. and low-income americans, as you well know, spend proportionately more of their income on goods than they do on services. the president's policies, i regret to have to say, have administered a sucking chest wound on the budgets of the people in my state and the

people of america, and it's got to stop. let me say one more thing, mr. president, if i could. i lost a good friend in louisiana, and louisiana lost a good friend last week -- mr. clifford smith. clifford happened to be a civil engineer, but he was so much more. clifford was born in new orleans, but he lived his entire life in terra bone parish. terra bone parish in my state is one of our most southern parishes. it has been experiencing for a variety of reasons wetlands lost for decades after decades after decades. we were experiencing, started experiencing wetland lost as soon as we leveed the

mississippi river. i'm not saying we shouldn't have leveed it because it created a lot of commerce but the river could no longer overflow and the sediment could not be replefn nished and the -- replenished. when your land sinks and the ocean rises you're going to have wetlands lost. clifford smith was one of the first louisianians, if not the first to talk about the need for coastal restoration in my state. clifford smith throughout his career at t. baker smith, the name of his company, created jobs for thousands of the people in my state. he was on every board imaginable. when his church burned down in homa, clifford said i'll be responsible for raising the money and rebuild the church. it took him five years, and he

did it. and homa is not a -- it's a wonderful place but it's not a wealthy place. but clifford did it. he had a lot of help, but clifford was the quarterback. he was whip smart, he was visionary, he was wise, he was very charming. i remember -- i've known clifford for 30 years-plus. i remember when i first decided to run for office, i called clifford and said will you support me. everybody knew clifford smith. everybody respected clifford smith. everybody admired clifford smith. and i knew if i had his support in his area of my state, it would be critical. and he said, yeah, kennedy, i'll support you. and i said, well, clifford, you know the question that's

coming next. i can't run a campaign without financial resources. will you give me money? he said no. i was shocked. this is my friend. he said i will not give you money. he said but i'll tell you what i will do, kennedy. i will, since you've decided to run for office, i will buy you a gift certificate for a psychiatrist. well, that was clifford. what a poignant statement. of course he ended up supporting me financially, but he went on to give me advice to say you sure you want to do this? politics is a rough business. i miss clifford. i'm going to miss him. he's got a wonderful family, wonderful kids, wonderful grandkids, wonderful great grandkids, jo ann, his wife, is just a lovely person.

and i know that they will continue to spread the truths that were so important to clifford smith. but i went down to the funeral on monday to say goodbye, but i wanted to say goodbye on the floor of the united states senate and recognize my friend and a louisiana favorite son, william clifford smith. we celebrate his life, but his loss, louisiana weeps. thank you, mr. president. i yield the floor to my good friend from kansas. mr. marshall: mr. president. the presiding officer: the senator from kansas. mr. marshall: thank you, mr. president. it was just a couple weeks ago

that president biden asked the nation, he asked republicans, what are republicans for? i want to make it clear tonight that i'm for border security, i'm for law and order. i've been to the border three times in the past four to five years, and what i saw there was a crisis, and if i could i just want to paint for a minute what that crisis looks like. having been overseas doing medical mission work, i think i know a humanitarian, a health crisis when i see it, and this was a human taryn -- humanitarian crisis, a health crisis. thousands of people sleeping underneath a bridge. they just traveled across mexico for days, maybe weeks, maybe months, and as a physician i look out there and what did i see? i saw people that were dehydrate ed, malnourishment,

dehydration from diarrhea, from dysentery, scaibies, tuberculosis. the border patrol was overwhelmed. the doctors were overwhelmed, the nurses, the dentists, everybody was overwhelmed. that's what i would call a humanitarian crisis. one of the biggest humanitarian crises is human trafficking. as a on stet rigs -- obstetrician, gine colings in kansas, we take care of young women abused from human trafficking, maybe they have chlamydia or a miscarriage, but i'm shocked which the amount of -- by the amount of human trafficking across the border. in fiscal year 2021, 1,000 -- i want to emphasize, this is young girls and young boys that are being abused and sold into sex slavery. of that, 145,000, about a third

of the minors released to a sponsor, we lost contact with. are we turning children over to human trafficking? i think that's what we're all concerned about. so i think certainly, there is indeed a humanitarian crisis, a health crisis there. just to talk a little bit more about the border, and we'll put that up here, -- microphone. look at this statistics from last year alone. two million people were apprehended at the border last year. two million people. do you realize that there's 14 states in this country with less than two million people? and beyond that, as i spoke with the border patrol there, they told me for every person they apprehended, two got across the lines. so probably an additional four million people came across. a total of six million. there are 30 states in our country with a population of six

million people. furthermore, what we were doing was making the cartel rich. what i was told by texas rangers and border patrol officers is the cartel was making 3,000 to 9,000 dollars per person. if it was some person maybe from the middle east, a little harder to get across the border, they were getting $20,000 to $30,000 a person as well. i haven't talked about the national security crisis. we've all seen the films and the reports of single adult males being flown on nighttime flights across the nation, being released. migrants using arrest warrants as forms of identification. i think america's not stupid. we see what's going on. i want to talk about fentanyl for a second of probably 90%, 95% of the fentanyl coming into this country is made in china, coming across our southern border.

an average month of fentanyl being seized at the border was over 800 pounds. that's almost a half a ton of fentanyl. that would kill 200 million people. this is a drug that if a drug dog sniffs it, it kills him, makes him stop breathing. most normal people, if they just had a small, small amount of it, it would make them stop breathing. this is the national security crisis going on. more people dying from fentanyl overdose, young people dying from fentanyl overdose than from covid. and that's just part of the national security crisis. i kind of started off this discussion saying what i'm for, that i'm for border security. i want to tell you how we can fix the problems there. these are solutions every american knows. d.h.s. several years ago came up with a $25 billion budget do control the border. i couldn't think of a better way to invest $25 billion of

american dollars, to build a wall where it needs to be built, to finish the wall, to put the gates in that are sitting there, rusting away. start with that. we need more boots on the ground, more technology, more drug dogs. but $25 billion would significantly improve the situation on the southern border. next, the administration can fully and in good faith enforce the remain in mexico policy. and end catch-and-release practices. finally, of course, work with mexico. let's ask mexico to help us control the security on the border, ask them to worken to the -- work on the southern border, which is much easier to control, and work with the border are patrol on our common border. every town hall i do, someone brings it up. every one of them, without any questions, someone will ask say, why does president biden want this crisis? i say what do you mean he wants it? they say, well, obviously he wants this crisis, because it

would be so easy to fix. so, if we see the problem, we know the solution, that would be my question for president biden -- do you have the will to fix this crisis? thank you, mr. president. i yield back. mr. menendez: mr. president. i come to the floor today to voice my strong support for four highly qualified nominees we are soon to vote on, dr. amy gutmann to be the u.s. ambassador to germany. mr. scott nathan to be the chief executive officer of the u.s. international development finance corporation. miss lisa carty to be the u.s. representative to the u.s. economic and social council. and miss chantale yokmin wong to be the united states director of the asian development bank. they're all highly qualified. i'll speak for a minute or two on dr. gutmann and mr. nathan in

particular. our partnership with european allies is ever more critical as we attempt to deter further russian escalation and aggressive behavior towards ukraine. germany is key to this effort. absolutely critical to the work we need to do to prevent vladimir putin from furthering his aims to reclaim a sphere of influence and destabilize europe. so while it was beyond irresponsible for some of our republican colleagues to bottle up dr. gutmann's nominationses for months, i'm pleased we are close to getting a confirm ambassador in berlin, an ambassador who will help coordinate our joint efforts to stop a russian invasion of ukraine, an ambassador who will help repair the previous administration ace damage to the u.s.-german relationship, and an ambassador who will represent the united states with great

skill and determination. i'd also note that dr. gutmann's personal and professional background are a compelling fit for this position and for this moment. as the daughter of a german jewish refugee who fled the nazis and academic who has devoted her career to advancing freedom and democracy, she is the right person for the job in a moment where anti-semitism is on the rise and dictators and autocrats around the world are emboldened. i urge all of my colleagues to support dr. gutmann's nomination, and i look forward to her arrival in berlin in short order. president biden also made an excellent decision in nominating scott nathan to be the next chief executive officer of the development finance corporation. the d.f.c., as that entity is known, is a critical tool for improving economic development outcomes in developing countries, advancing u.s.

economic competitiveness, and creating new opportunities in underserved countries and communities. and while the d.f.c. is only two years old, its importance to the advancements of u.s. foreign policy and international development priorities cannot be overstated. mr. nathan will be able to draw on his leadership experience in both the private sector and in public service to ensure the d.f.c. effectively leverage public-private partnerships and maximizes strategic development opportunities around the globe. he has the skills necessary to lead the agency to be competitive with china's belts and rose initiative, to promote renewable energy development, and to support covid-19 recovery. and at the same time to recognize and gram with the complexity of these challenges. i strongly support confirming

mr. nathan, and i'm eager to work with him once confirmed. so all of these nominees deserve a positive, strong vote, and with that, mr. president, i yield the floor. the presiding officer: the clerk will report the motion to invoke cloture. the presiding officer: 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. 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 loren l. alikhan to be associate judge of the district of columbia for 15 years shall be brought to a close. the yeas and nays are mandatory under the rule. the clerk will call the roll.

vote:

vote:

vote:

the presiding officer: the yeas are 55, the nays are 40, and the motion is agreed to. the clerk will report the nomination. the clerk: the judiciary, lawsh lauren -- loren l. alikhan of the district of columbia to be associate judge of the d.c. court of appeals. mr. schumer: mr. president. the presiding officer: the majority leader. mr. schumer: can we have order, mr. president? mr. president, i ask unanimous

consent that the previous order be modified so that the cloture vote on executive calendar 495 occur following the cloture vote on calendar 474 and that all other provisions of the previous order remain in effect. the presiding officer: is there objection? without objection. mr. schumer: and mr. president, i'm asking the members to stay here in the chamber or in close proximity of the chamber so we can get these votes done expeditiously and in that regard, i ask unanimous consent that we move the remaining votes from 15 minutes down to to 10. the presiding officer: is there objection? without objection. mr. schumer: thank you, mr. president. the presiding officer: the clerk will report the motion to invoke cloture. the clerk: cloture motion, we, the undersigned senators, in accordance with the provisions of rule 22 of the standing rules of the senate, do hereby move to bring to a close debate on the nomination of executive calendar number 644, amy gutmann of pennsylvania to be ambassador extraordinary and

plenipotentiary of the united states of america to the federal republic of germany, signed by 19 senators. the presiding officer: unanimous consent. the mandatory quorum call has been waived. the question is, is it the sense of the senate that debate on the nomination of amy gutmann of pennsylvania to be ambassador extraordinary and plenipotentiary of the united states of america to the federal republic of germany shall be brought to a close. the yeas and nays are mandatory under the rule. the clerk will call the roll. vote:

the presiding officer: are there any senators wishing to vote who haven't voted? we're at 12 minutes. are there other senators wishing to vote? if not --

vote:

the president pro tempore: on this vote the yeas are 54. the nays are 37. the motion is agreed to.

the clerk will report the nomination. t.the president pro tempore: the senate will be in order. the clerk: department of state, amy gutmann of pennsylvania to be ambassador of itself united states of america to the federal republic of germany. the president pro tempore: 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 move to bring to a close debate on the nomination of executive calendar number 649, 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 signed by 17 senators.

the president pro tempore: the yeas -- by unanimous consent, the mandatory quorum call has been waived. the question is, is it the sense of the senate that the nomination of 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 shall be brought to a close. the yeas and nays are mandatory under the rule.

the president pro tempore: the yeas and nays are mandatory under the rule. and the clerk will call the roll. vote:

the president pro tempore: on this vote, the yeas are 66, the nays are 28. the motion is agreed to. the clerk will report the nomination. if. the clerk: nomination,

department of state, lisa a. carty of maryland to be a representative of the united states of america on the economic and social council of the united nations. the president pro tempore: 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 move to bring to a close debate 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. the president pro tempore: by unanimous consent, the mandatory quorum call has been waived. get is, is it the sense of the senate that debate of scott a. nathan to be chief get officer be brought to a close. the yeas and nays are mandatory under the rule. the clerk will call the roll. vote: .

the president pro tempore: are there other senators wishing to vote?

the president pro tempore: on this vote the yeas are 68, the nays are 26. the motion is agreed to. the clerk will report the nomination. the clerk: united states international development finance corporation, scott a. nathan to be chief finance officer. 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 bring to a close debate on of executive calendar number 616 chantale yokmin wong, of the district of columbia to be united states descroarkt of asian development bank with the rank of ambassador patrol president pro tempore is it the sense of senate that chantale yokmin wong, from the district of columbia, to be united states descroarkt of the asian development bang with the rank of ambassador, shall be brought to a close. vote dl -- vote:

vote:

the president pro tempore: on this vote there are 64 yeas, 30 nays. the motion is agreed to. the clerk will report the nomination. the clerk: nomination, asian development bank, chantale wong to be united states director prns the senator from new york. mr. schumer: mr. leader, i ask please for some order. i ask -- the president pro tempore: the senate will be in order. mr. schumer: good news. people will want to hear it.

i ask unanimous consent to withdraw the motions with respect to camarillo and hunter nominations and the senate resume consideration of the nominations and the senate now vote on the confirmation of the nominations in the order listed with all other provisions of the previous order in effect. the president pro tempore: is there objection. mr. schumer: for the information -- is there objection? the president pro tempore: so ordered. mr. schumer: for the information of senators, we have one vote tonight. there will be three votes tomorrow at 12:30. i yield the floor. the president pro tempore: the clerk will report the camarillo nomination. the clerk: nomination, department of defense, gabriel camarillo of texas to be under secretary of the army. the president pro tempore: 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 agreed to. -- confirmed. the clerk will report the hunter

nomination. the clerk: nomination, department of defense, andrew philip hunter of virginia to be an assistant secretary of the air force. the president pro tempore: the question is on the nomination. all those in favor say aye. opposed nay. the ayes appear to have it. the ayes do have it. the nomination is confirmed. under the previous order, the motion to reconsider is considered made and laid upon the table and the president will be immediately notified of the senate's action. the clerk will report the 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 move to bring to a close debate 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. the president pro tempore: by unanimous consent, the mandatory quorum call has been waived. the question is, is it the sense of the senate the debate of the nomination of john patrick coffey, of new york, to be condition counsel of the department of navy shall be brought to a close. the yeas and nays are mandatory under the rule. the clerk will call the roll. vote:

the presiding officer: the yeas are 76, the nays are 18 and the motion is agreed to. the presiding officer: the clerk will report. the clerk: nomination, department of defense, john patrick coffey, to be general counsel of the department of the navy. mr. schumer: mr. president. the presiding officer: the majority leader. mr. schumer: i ask unanimous consent that the senate consider the following nomination, calendar number 571, shelly c. lowe, of arizona to be comairn of the national endowment of the humanities for four years, that the senate vote on the nomination, the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table with no intervening action or debate, that any statements related to the nomination be printed in the record and that the president be immediately notified of the senate's action. the presiding officer: without

objection. the question occurs on the nomination. all those in favor say aye. all those, no. the ayes appear to have it the ayes do have it. the nomination is confirmed. mr. schumer: i ask unanimous consent that the senate consider the following nominations, calendar 695 through 700. and that all nominations on the secretary's desk in the air force, army, coast guard, marine corps, and navy, that the nominations be confirmed en bloc, the motions to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table with no intervening action or debate, that no further motions be in order to the nominations and that the president be immediately notified of the senate's action. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. schumer: i ask unanimous consent that the senate proceed to legislative session and be in period of morning business with senators permitted therein for up to ten minutes each. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. schumer: and finally, i ask

unanimous consent that when the senate completes its business today, it adjourn until 10:00 a.m. on thursday, februarr and pledge, the morning hour be deemed expired, the journal of proceedings be approved to date, the time for the two leaders be reserved for their use later in the day, and morning business be closed. that upon the conclusion of morning business, the senate proceed to executive session to resume consideration of the baker nomination, notwithstanding rule 22, further the senate recess from 11:00 a.m. until 2:30 p.m. for an all senators briefing. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. schumer: for the information of senators, there will be roll call votes at 12:30 p.m. i ask that the senate stand aid understand following the remarks of senator lankford. the presiding officer: without objection.

mr. lankford: you have to tell you -- i have to tell you, mr. president, last weekend i spent time down at the southwest border. an area the chair's very familiar with. this time i was in the rio grande valley. in the rio grand valley area has the most illegal crossings across our entire southwest border. you can track the movement across that border. this is from 2014 to 2022. what's happened along this area of the border, just this one specific area, what's called the rio grande valley area, around

mccallen and brownsville. it starts here in october with the numbers low and some years it came up, but it was up and down and it was down significantly in october. again, in central america, they celebrate christmas as well and a lot of folks want to head back home or want to be there so immigration doesn't cross south to north significantly most years in october, november, december, january, except for this odd line that seems really out of balance from the rest of the lines in the last decade. it's this line right here. this line is actually last year. this line shows the number two million people that have illegally crossed our southwest border last year that we know of. two million. that's this line. and typically in every other year, it's way down low, when you get to october, november,

december, that's over here. here's the low months, not this year. it's already started way up high. in fact, what's interesting is october, november, december, if you took any one of those months, there's as many people illegally crossing the border the rio grande valley in october, november, december, as in the last three years in that month combined. let me run that past everybody again. take any month, october, november, december, they were -- there were higher illegal crossings that we know of than any -- than the last three years combined than any year that we know of. my fear is, and some people have said, we have a problem on our southern border. i actually believe the biden administration policy is working exactly as they designed to work. exactly. they created a structure and a

system to allow as many people as possible to be able to cross our southern border and it's working exactly as they wanted. why do i say that? when you aannounce they are going to change every policy for how we're interdicting individuals when they cancel agreements with central america that's actually limiting the number of people there and then you don't replace it with anything, you've got to know this is what's going to happen bd, and a -- happen, and a year later when nothing's changed, this is what's going to happen. the agents in the rio grande valley anticipate by the time we get to the summer we're going to be at 9,000 people a day crossing. there were many months that we didn't have that many people crossing, they are anticipating

with this line, 9,000 a day. so far what has the biden administration done? they've stuck with their plan because it's doing exactly what they taught it was going to do. i'm amazed the number of people that i talked to have grown number to what's happening on our southern border, and the media has looked away. we talked about it for area year and that's old news and so they haven't talked about the nearly two million people who crossed the border. spending time with c.c.p., i.c.e. and other people there, they can tell me first hand the stories of last week late at night the five syrians that they picked up crossing the southern border in the brush. those five syrians were part of the count. they told me directly of the story of the nicaragians single

adult male they picked up crossing the border in the rejoe grand -- rio grande, he said he was part of the nicaragians military and within 48 hours he was released into the united states and they were furious about. their question was very, very simple. a single adult male, former member of the military is in our country and they have no idea why because they are doing their job but the policies that they have to work with right now of how many people they have to be able to cut loose and how hard it is to be able to detain people in the limiting policies of the biden administration are fulfilling what it is designed to do. there's been a lot of conversation on this floor and i brought several times to this body the construction of the border barriers down in the

southwest. this is something that members of the border patrol have asked for again and again and again. close the gaps they always say. close the gaps. there are these massive gaps where that was under construction, january of last year, construction stopped. over and over again people have said close the gaps. close the gaps. those gaps we have to patrol. let me give you an example. when i got down there -- they now announced they are closing the gaps. everyone went great, the gaps are being closed. but i got down there to be able to look at the gaps being closed. let me show you what it looks like. we were all in a helicopter with c.b.p. and watch people cross the border illegally. from the aerial shot, you can -- i hope you can see, this was the existing wall that was constructed during the trump administration, this tall 30-foot wall with the anticlimb portion on it. here's where the construction stopped. it was all the way through here. there was a gap. they started another section here. they were getting ready to put

up the other sections but had to stop. the biden administration says they're going to close the gaps. i hope you don't miss it. they've announced the gaps are closed. can you see this tiny little picket fence on the bottom here? probably not. this tiny little picket fence that's at the bottom, that's what they say has closed the gaps. it's not just open. they have a tiny little decorative fence there and that's their announced we've closed the gap. that's not going to deter anyone. they know it full well. it's not designed to defer anyone. it's designed to allow the administration to say we closed the gap and hope no one looks at it because that gap will fulfill exactly what it is designed to fulfill, that is, to allow people in, not keep people out. that doesn't help the border patrol and they know it. because it's not designed to be able to help the border patrol. and they know it.

federal courts require the biden administration to put in place what was a trump policy before dealing with those individuals coming to seek asylum in the united states. it's called n.p.p. some call it remain in mexico. the policy basically said if you want to come into the country, you had to pause, get in line, register so we know where you are, we'd set up an orderly process and would you have to stay in the border region until it was time for your hearing to occur. there was a dramatic drop in individuals that were illegally crossing our border because they knew they wouldn't automatically get in, what's called catch and release. that they wouldn't just come across, westbound released in the country -- be released in the country and wait two years for a hearing. two years. that's what it used to be to wait for the hearing. until they shift to the remain in mexico policy. you have to stay in the border region until it's time for your hearing. within months they would come forward, get their hearing and make a determination whether they get asylum or not.

federal courts have said to the biden administration you have to put that policy in place. after months of delay, they have agreed to do it. it's one of the place i wanted to stop and see. this is an overview of the brownsville location for the remain in mexico policy. this overview shows the setup that they have created there in brownsville to do the hearings. there's an intake area for processing, gathering area, medical area. there are six courtrooms that are set up. the courtrooms that are set up are all set up as large courtrooms where up to 22 different defendants could be here with their attorneys. all the courtrooms have videoconferencing set up as a full-on courtroom for that location. in each location there are 120 individual office spaces set up. 120 where individuals that illegally crossed the border could meet with their lawyer. so six courtrooms, 120 meeting spaces, all the ancillary space. this is a massive complex.

when i was down there last week, they had so far handled three people. three. and they weren't sure how many they were going to handle this week. why? because the remain in mexico policy, m.p.p., whatever you want to call it, they created a system with so many exceptions in it that they could tell the federal courts yes, we're doing it but in reality they're not. realizing this month they had about 45,000 people illegally cross the border in this zone just in january. but only three they made eligible to go through this process of the 45,000. why? well, they made a whole set of stipulations. they said if you come in a family group, you're not eligible to come in here.

if you declare you have a medical issue of any type, no matter how minor it may be, you're not eligible to be able to go through this program. if you're lgbt, you're not eligible to go through this program. if you're 75 years or older, you're not eligible to able to go through this program. if you're nicaraguan, you're not eligible to go through this program. if you're venezuelan, you're not eligible to go through this program. you get the hint? they set so many criteria up to be able to list out no, no, no, no, no, that the poor three people that were left that didn't fit in those categories, they're going through it. by the way, each person is given 24 hours with their lawyer before they actually have to go through this process so counsel could give them the full list of all the items that they could collect and say if you meet any of these criterias verbally, if you just say you meet any of these criteria, then you're out. and what is your out mean? you're released into the united

states. and you await your hearing. remember when i said during the trump administration those hearings would take up to two years before you got to an asylum hearing? well, when i met with d.h.s. officials this week, it's not two years anymore. it's now six years. you illegally cross the border, you get a paper, they release you into the country. you get on a bus or a plane, literally go anywhere you want to go in the country and set a date six years from now to show up at your court hearing. that's on average, by the way. some are longer than that. now you tell me what happens if someone illegally crosses the border, they're processed within 48 hours, given a document that says you can be here six years to go anywhere you want to go in the country, what do you think they're going to do when they pick up their cell phone? i'll tell you what's happening. they're texting a family member

back home. they're texting friends back home and saying i got in and here's how i did it. come join me. and they are. two million people last year. and the responsibility so far -- and the response so far has been decorative fencing, what they actually call guard rails in the area and empty court rooms. by the way, this was the middle of the day when i was there. empty court rooms with no one being processed. all so they can say they did something. american taxpayers paid millions of dollars for this setup so they could say they're doing something when they're actually doing nothing, getting the results exactly as they planned. oh, but of course everyone is being required to be vaccinated correctly before they reach the country. of course everyone is being

required to be vaccinated except they're not. if you're a legal green card holder, you are required to be vaccinated. president biden is trying to vaccinate everyone in private businesses, in the federal workforce, federal contractors, members of the military are being kicked out of the military this week if they're not vaccinated. oh, but if you cross the border illegally, you're given the option whether you want a vaccine or not. it's offered to you for free. but it's not mandated. it's voluntary. what's the result? well, some of the results are pretty obvious. the numbers are skyrocketing. as i showed you before, these are record numbers of individuals crossing the border illegally. that's seeable. let me tell you what's not seeable at this point. the drug cartels in mexico are getting richer and richer and

richer. they're moving record amounts of drugs across our border, making an incredible amount of money for the cartels, continuing to strengthen those drug cartels on the border. but each of the individuals that cross our southern border also pay a fee to the cartels, each of them. you don't cross the southern border into the united states without crossing through one of the cartel areas and each one of them has to pay. it's somewhere around $4,000 to $30,000 per person to be able to cross through mexico and into the united states. $4,000 if you're from guatemala. $30,000 if you're from china. and none of us should be surprised. just last year people from more than a hundred countries crossed into the united states that we picked up and interdicted illegally, more than a hundred countries. this common conversation about well, it's all folks from

central america. there are a lot of folks from central america coming. but it's people from over a hundred countries, including those five syrians that were picked up just last week. do some rough math. if people pay between $4,000 and $30,000 a person and there were two million people that crossed illegally last year that we know of, that's $10 billion paid to the cartels. $10 billion. and our open borders are allowing the cartels to rake in that kind of cash. when i visited with the border patrol and got a chance to be able to talk to them, their morale is awful, as you can imagine. they're doing their job. they're busting it every day. but they're frustrated. they're frustrated of the policies they're having to

enforced when there used to be law enforcement folks enforcing our southern border. now they're hotel check-in staff that are just greeting people at the border, processing them, and releasing them into the country. that is not what they signed up for. they signed up to protect our country. and literally they cannot. in this case law enforcement is handcuffed and the criminals are released. it shouldn't be that way. and they know it. usually october, november, december, january are lower months. not so this time. they're exhausted from a record amount of illegal crossings last year, and they were hoping to get a bit of a break. but with the policies in place, didn't matter how cold it is. people are still coming. and on top of all that, here's what else happened last month. just one example.

this is a border patrol vehicle that had just interdicted a group of folks at the border. i don't know whether you can see it or not, but that's a giant bullet hole in the front of it. and that's another bullet hole in it. and that's another bullet hole right behind the passenger window. by the way, this particular moment, they had actually already picked somebody up and they were sitting in that back seat. the border patrol every day risk their lives to be able to enforce the law and for this group of folks they pick up, within hours they're released. and they're somewhere in the country waiting on a court hearing six years from now if they ever show up for the hearing. you want to know how frustrated this group of law enforcement is? they risk their lives for nothing because this is the policy of the biden administration. this is not an accident.

this is what it has brought. as they run through tonight, the heavy brush along a very cold texas-mexico border, they will pick people up and they will faithfully do their job because they have over and over again only to have a policy that cuts them loose. how long? listen, border patrol agents have families, too. their families matter as well. and all this talk about we're going to be compassionate to the families of people that are illegally rosing the -- crossing the border, what we're really doing is enriching the cartels in mexico, encouraging people to make a very dangerous journey, releasing them into the country with nonlegal status to live in the shadows in our nation and putting law enforcement at risk for their life.

this should not be. and while the country just seems to move on and ignore the chaos at our worder -- border, this is still what's going on tonight, and it needs to stop. this administration has the ability to change policy and to change direction on our southern border, and they are not. they are not doing it, on purpose. and the results are chaos. cy wish i was wrong on this. there's something called title 42. title 42 means we have a covid epidemic happening, no kidding. and under a covid epidemic, or under any kind of epidemic, law enforcement is able to take some individuals, single adults from certainty countries, and turn them around, send them right back in and say you can't come

in because of the epidemic. we have enormous numbers of those individuals coming. right now, some of those individuals from some of those countries are being turned around, thankfully. when i've asked d.h.s. what is your plan for those individuals, once the covid epidemic ends, and it does, god willing, end one day, when it ends what is your plan? we're now 13 months into this administration, and they still have no plan. that's not just my guess. that's my point-blank asking. what is the plan? -- what is the plan to turn people around once the covid pandemic for that paul group of folks -- that small group of folks you are turning around? they don't have one. it doesn't take 13 months to determine what you're going to do. that just tells me the plan is when the covid pandemic ends those folks get in too.

when does this end? who's going to stand up and help us, just enforce the laws of our country? i yield the floor. the presiding officer: the senate stands adjourned until senate stands adjourned until nominees to serve as associate judges on washington, d.c. superior court. at the start of the session, senate majority leader chuck schumer and minority leader mitch mcconnell offered their well wishes to ben ray lujan who is in the hospital recovering from a stroke. for the rest of the week lawmakers will consider more of the presidents judicial and executive nominees and as always, you can follow the senate live on c-span2, on c-span.org or on the go with

c-span now from our new video app. broadband is a force for empowerment. that's why charter has invested billions, building infrastructure, upgrading technology, and powering opportunities in communities big and small. the charter is connecting us. the charter communications supports c-span as a public service along with these other television providers giving you a front row seat to democracy. from members called for boris johnson's resignation over parties held at ten downing street during the covid-19 bloc9 lockdowns. the prime minister repeatedly