stealth tax on working people. local authorities forced to increase council tax, a self-tax on working people. you could be as stealthy as you like, but you can't hide reality. we have the highest tax burden for 70 years during the middle of an inflation crisis. so i ask the prime minister again, why do he and the chancellor keep raising taxes on working people. >> prime minister. >> mr. speaker, what we are doing is helping people with the cost of living as cutting taxes for those on university credit, mr. speaker, as i have said. and helping people with the cost of their school, mr. speaker, with the payments and warm home payments, mr. speaker, doing all the things that the country would expect. >> we are going to leave this program here to take you live to the u.s. senate part of our over 40 year commitment to bring you live coverage of congress. today senate lawmakers will

resume debate on the president's nominees, baker for policy, and rita lewis. and first votes 12:30 eastern today. you're watching live coverage. senate here on c-span2. the chaplain: let us pray. lord of our destiny, whose commands enable us to experience rich and satisfying living, we thank you for today's national prayer breakfast where we were told to pleas you by doing justice, loving mercy, and walking with humility. inspire our lawmakers to strive

to meet these celestial expectations. enlighten their hearts with your wisdom that leads to fairness. give them civility of demeanor and decisiveness of character that bring mercy. clothe them with your humility and provide them with the gift of your peace, as they seek to represent you. we pray in your righteous name. amen. the presiding officer: please join me in reciting the pledge of allegiance. i pledge allegiance to the flag of the united states of america, and to the republic for which it stands,

one nation under god, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. the presiding officer: the clerk will read a communication to the senate. the clerk: washington, d.c., february 3, 2022. to the senate: under the provisions of rule 1, paragraph 3, of the standing rules of the senate, i hereby appoint the honorable jacky rosen, a senator from the state of nevada, 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, department of defense, alexandra baker of new jersey, to be a baker of new jersey, to be a

>> well, i am not very happy to be back with my trusty and somewhat battered time to wake ago i delivered what i i hoped would be my last time to wake up speech, and took the poster off the floor. things looked good then. the conditions for climate progress were in place. voters had elected a democratic president, a democratic majorities in both houses of congress so the malicious group rest of the fossil fuel industry on the republican party was no longer a stopper. president biden rant on a fact-based uncorrupted climate agenda, and many and our

congressional majorities campaigned on climate action. we had reconciliation to work with and work began on a serious climate bill. actually after a stop these speeches, the smithsonian asked me if they could have this old poster. it's the most used poster in senate history, it turns out. i came pretty close to turning it over to them but something made me hesitate, and well, here it is back again. we just aren't making progress. not by the only measurement that matters, greenhouse gas emissions. year end with no bill, no carbon regulation, and no litigation. and look at the climate havoc. scientists reported that global temperatures registered between 1.1-1.2°c above average in 2021. two degrees celsius above

average in 2021. that's among the hottest years ever observed by human beings, and it is dangerously close to our safety ceiling of 1.5 degrees celsius. and we are here despite 2021 being a la niña year when called specific water usually cools global temptress. the last seven years are the seven hottest years in recorded history. republicans may mock and disparage this, but they are paid agents of the polluters causing this, and they are wrong. in past speeches i described how our oceans, a floor mounted amount of heat trap by agreeance gas emission or it's the equivalent of multiple nuclear sized bombs being set off in the

ocean every second. multiple arusha sized nuclear devices per second were adding to the ocean. in the last three decades our oceans warmed eight times faster than preceding decades, and it is so massive it has its own measurement term, then set a jewel. the top 2000 feet of ocean absorbed a record 227 access said a jewel of in 2021. so what is that? a half zettajjle is half energy by the planet. that little i'm right down there represents a half zettajoule, the total energy consumption of planet earth, all humans. and here is the heat that that

loaded into the oceans because of the amplification of greenhouse gases. 227, one half pixel about 500 times as much he'd gone into the oceans as our entire energy heat spanned as a species. and ocean temperatures are of course now the hottest ever recorded. the excess heat means dying coral reefs, acidified see, higher sea levels as heated water expands, and more severe storms as heated waters supercharged storm systems including the sort of thunderstorm complexes that spohn midwestern tornadoes in december. republicans may mock and disparage this, but remember, they are paid agents of the polluters causing this, and they are wrong. this costs lives and dollars.

the u.s. suffered 20 separate billion-dollar weather disasters in 2021, almost 700 deaths, and $100, and $100 billion of damage. the year before, we had hit $22 billion disasters. tropical cyclones, coastal floods, western wildfires. the most spectacular fire didn't even make it on to this list because it ripped through more than 1000 homes and businesses in suburban denver in december. that fire didn't even make it onto this top disasters list. the pacific northwest heat wave of june 2021 smashed all records. account in british columbia saw

116-degree temperatures -- uptown -- beating the previous record by 3°. the next next day the thermometer hit 118 degrees. but after that 121 degrees, and the day after that a wildfire burned the town to the ground. in washington and oregon temperatures shot off the charts. these graphs show maximum daily temperatures in seattle and portland. the dots on these charts that form this great band represent every daily maximum temperature reading over the last 42 years. over 15,000 data points. the red dots here and here reflect for seattle and for portland those days. way beyond the norms. these temperatures are not just uncomfortable. they are lethal. research shows more than 600

excess deaths during the june heat wave in washington and oregon, those 600 people aren't even counted in that storm death toll i mentioned before. so why aren't we doing anything about it? two two primary reasons. fossil fuel obstruction, and corporate indifference. to be blunt, , the fossil fuel industry controls the republican party the way a ventriloquist controls a painted wooden dummy. and the rest of corporate america lets them get away with it. the fossil fuel obstruction isn't new. they've been at it for decades. dozens of colleagues have joinen me here on the senate floor exposing the web of climate denial the industry will to perpetrate their obstruction. the fossil fuel industry is still at it. they just changed it up a bit. they can't debate the site anymore and they can't argue but they can still write checks. they can find phony front groups and fill republican campaign

coffers. and though they can't sell climate denial, they can buy climate the light. they can hire the biggest pr and advertising firms around like ipg, wpg to pollute our minds with slippery greenwashing, like they pollute our skies and oceans ravery of our armed forces, we have taken off the battle field the leader, the world leader of isis. i want to thank the incredible work of our brave military servicemembers who worked day and night to keep americans safe. so many have suffered at the brutal hand of isis. senators will learn more about the operation later this morning, during our classified all-senators breeferg with ?erkt austin and -- breeferg with senator austin and other -- briefing with secretary austin.

on useca, in the first year under president biden and the democratic majority, america saw its strongest economic growth in decades, including increases in wages. very, very important to the american people who have not seen enough of that over the last two decades. and this week congress is taking a major step to built on that success by advancing legislation that will help lower costs, relieve u.s. supply chains, and bring manufacturing back to the united states. over the next two days, the house will debate and vote to pass a companion bill to the senate's u.s. innovation and competition act, which we approved last summer, of course, with strong bipartisan support. i'm pleased the house is taking this important step. i've been pushing for months for progress on this legislation, to strengthen supply chains and boost our technological competitiveness. senators from both sides of the aisle want to see a competition

and technology bill finally enacted. after this week, we will hopefully be one step closer to achieving that goal. americans are demanding bold solutions to help lower the cost of living and businesses from coast to coast need help to relieve supply chains strained by the pandemic. legislation along the lines of usica is just what the doctor ordered. it would provide the long-term help our country into ed's to lower costs and -- needs to lower costs and help businesses grow right here at home. jobs here in america, not overseas. one of the best examples of why this bill is needed is our nation's dangerous chip shortage, which sent shock waves across the economy, ham stricting the production of everything, from cars, medical devices, equipment used by military. it has increased the cost of all of those items, and american families are paying for those costs. usica would help relieve them and make sure the supply chain bottleneck are relieved.

our proposal would provide $52 billion to help relieve those supply chain pressures and bring production back to america. instead of relying on other countries for our chips. let's bring these jobs back home. typically, it's america that provides the research, the r&d and cutting-edge chips, but somehow this country has allowed them all to be made, or the vast majority of them, to be made overseas. let's make them here with good manufacturing jobs, in addition to making sure we stay at the top of the game in terms of research. usica does both, increases r&d, increases manufacturing jobs, all here in america. i want to commend my colleagues for pushing this legislation forward. of course, we'll have much more work to do to bridge our two proposals together. the house vote sets us on a necessary course to passing these policies into law. on scotus, yesterday, i met with

president biden at the white house to discuss a broad range of issues on the democratic agenda. one of the most important matters we covered was his intention to nominate the first black woman justice to the supreme court. i reiterated the same commitment i've made all week. when president biden makes his nominee known to the nation, i will move to have the senate consider and confirm her as soon as possible. i will see to it that the process is fair, that members on both sides of the aisle can evaluate questions and get to know the nominee, but we'll also move quickly. everything seems to be on track to get that done, to move the nominee quickly through the courts. president biden is not -- through the congress. president biden is not expected to announce his nominee for a few weeks, but we already know one thing, the president's pledge to name a black woman to the supreme court is historic. there have been 115 justices who have sat on the court since

1789. only five of them have ever been women. none, until 1981. only two have been african american, but never, never has there been an african american woman, who still make up barely 6% of the federal judiciary. amazing, until 198 1, this powerful body, the supreme court, was all white men. imagine. america wasn't all white men in 1981, or ever. under president biden, and this senate majority, we're taking historic steps to make the courts look more like the country they serve by confirming highly qualified, diverse nominees. one-quarter of all african american women who sit on the federal bench were nominated by this administration and approved by this senate. just hear that. 25% of african american women who sit on the federal bench came through this senate this

year. that's the progress we've made in a relatively short am -- oun. in fact, nearly 70% of all presidents' nominees have been all white. dwawfg the progress since jimmy carter. some say why is that? the bench has been all white males until 1981. we have ground to make up so the courts can represent america. these aren't abstract facts and figures, who we put on the bench matters. the personal experience that each judge brings to bear cannot be merely glanced over. when americans come before the courts and look up at who presides in the courtroom, they should trust that those who render judgment on them will be able to understand each litigant's lived experience and bring a modicum of human understanding require to ablue the -- apply the law equitably.

the best way to do that is to elevate judges from a broad range of backgrounds. diversity in all its forms matter. it's good for the justice system, and it's really vital, madam president, to the health of our democracy. president biden's nominees are also extremely well qualified. we're not sacrificing qualifications and excellence for diversity. president biden's nominees are both more diverse and more qualified than any president in recent history. i'm proud of the accomplishments we've secured to bring this pasg balance to our federal courts. now, on noms progress. yesterday was a good day on the senate floor. we held 12 roll call votes, yep, 12 roll calm votes, on number oa number of president biden's nominees to his administration and federal bench. half of these votes took place in the evening. i'm glass we dispensed with them efficiently and without needless

display. i thank my colleagues for their cooperation and flexibility as we moved through the large number of votes. we want to be able to keep doing this. we want to work with similar speed next time a large number of votes are lined up on the floor. and maybe some of them, like last night, will go by voice. some of these, there's no reason to have a vote on, except a few, just a handful, not the vast majority of the other party, insist we have votes on all of them, which only lengthens the process, but doesn't deter us from moving forward on these nominees. of the 20 nominees i filed at the end of the last work period, we've confirmed on invoked cloture on all but three, and today we expect to hold cloture votes on the other three. again, it's a unusually large number of roll call votes for nominees that typically pass with unanimous consent. obstruction from the small group of republicans, only a small group, not the majority, not close to the majority, has forced us to work through these individuals one by one, but last

night, with the cooperation of everybody, we were able to move quickly. so i thank my colleagues for their good work and cooperation. and finally, once again, on book banning, i want to return to the point i made yesterday about the wave of books, of book bannings we're seeing in our public libraries and school districts across the country. we shouldn't kid ourselves about the scary nature of these orwellian attacks from the far right, because when far right legislators in place bs like texas de-- like exit demand schools turn over reading list, or reactionary voices hide behind the claims of indecency and offensiveness anytime they attack works that explore issues of racism or identity or social justice, social injustice, then we're not seeing free expression, we're seeing intimidation. that's what book bannings are

about. they're efforts to intimidate educators and students away from exploring difficult issues to obscure parts of our history the far right doesn't like. and to perpetuate and even champion ignorance of our own past. we don't need to look very far in history to see what happens when we go down a dangerous road of censorship, suppression, when free expression is weakened, the mob is empowered. these unprecedented efforts by the far right to ban books that explore injustice and racism are deeply disturbing and nakedly or wellian. they should be opposed at the state level better move damage is done to our students and to our country. i yield the floor and note the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. quorum call:

quorum call:

mr. mcconnell: madam president. the presiding officer: the republican leader. mr. mcconnell: i ask consent that further proceedings under the quorum call be dispensed with. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. mcconnell: this morning the banking committee is examining three of president biden's nominees to the federal reserve board of governors. the fed is one of the most consequential institutions in

america. its decisions have massive ramifications for our citizens and for the world economy. at the same time since its independence is paramount, the fed's structure insulates the governors from short-term influence and political pressure. when an institution this important is this independent, the guardrails that confine its power are extremely important. congress has given the fed a statutory mandate that is really very clear and very limited. the fed's dual mandate is maximizing employment and stabilizing prices. that's it. that's what the fed exists to

do. the fed is meant to serve as our central bank. it's not meant to act as an unelected super legislature that dabbles in broader economic policy making should it strike their fancy. it's current leader, chairman powell, understands this keenly , but unfortunately president biden's nominee for the powerful number-two slot wants to destroy this crucial distinction. less than two years ago, sarah bloom raskin launched a p.r. campaign saying the unlimited fed governors should pursue environmental goals that elected democrats cannot get through congress through the banking system. that bears repeating. president biden's nominee for fed vice chair wants unelected

bureaucrats to financially bully the private sector into policy changes which lack enough support to become law the honest way. so let's get more specific. ms. raskin has argued repeatedly in print that the fed should ideologically pick winners and losers in the energy market. in 2020, she said unelected bureaucrats should have excluded companies that employ americans and produce american energy from widely available rescue loans because oil and gas are not green enough for liberals' liking. now this is the same old democratic war on fossil fuels and middle america being smuggled into a dangerous new

forum. washington democrats want to raise america's gas prices. they want to make electricity even less affordable. they want it to cost more to keep your family warm in the dead of winter. and now they want to do all this in a radical new fashion where voters could never hold them accountable. the stated justification for this power grab is that climate change may impact the future of our economy, so therefore, it's the fed's business. what nonsense with no limiting principle. every major policy could affect our economy. opening this pandora's box would transform the fed from an apolitical central bank into a hyperpolitical super legislature. it would turn the venerable institution that is supposed to

safeguard the american dollar into enforcers for a radical agenda that can't make it through congress. so you better believe liberal activists are already acknowledging this would not stop with climate issues. they've got a whole list of ideological goals they'd like the fed to literally force on our country. a year and a half ago, democrats introduced legislation that would assign the fed the mission of racial redistribution. they want to hardwire a kind of financial affirmative action plan into our banking system. look, the american people don't want these wild ideas, so their elected representatives actually don't support them. now the far left wants to

trans-st transplant these radical complains out of congress and onto our central bank where american voters don't get a say. just another example of today's democratic party refusingings to work within the basic rules and institutions and instead trying to steamroll of the guard rails to get their way. ms. raskin's crusade would hurt working families, kill american jobs, make our nation less independent, and cripple the fed's independence in the process. and she wouldn't even need her colleagues' votes to do this damage. the vice chair for supervision has significant unilateral powers. she might be able to do this all by herself. here's the bottom line.

working families can't afford a nominee who is dying to jack up their bills and gas prices. kentuckians and middle americans can't afford a central banker who wants to bankrupt our industries and kill our jobs. the global economy can't afford for the fed to become a partisan battlefield and the american people will not accept their central bank acting like some woke -- woke -- super-legislature where citizens get no say. now, on an entirely different matter, this week two of america's closest partners in the middle east made history. the u.a.e. welcome add president of israel for the first time, laying another diplomatic cell

phone on the foundation of the abraham accords. but within mere hours of president herzog's historic arrival, we were reminded of the dangers that an increasingly violent iran is willing to impose on anybody who pursues peace. for a third straight week, the u.a.e. was target add by houthi missile attack, of course made possible by tehran. last week the terrorists targeted an air baines that hosted 2,000 u.s. personnel. and it was american-made missile defense systems that intercepted the strike. the u.s. faces these same iranian-backed threats after longside partners like israel and the u.a.e.

but you wouldn't know it by looking at president biden's foreign policy. a year ago the state department removed yemen's houthi terrorists from its list of foreign terrorist organizations. since then, the iranian proxy terrorists have only increased their attacks, underwritten by iranian money and technology. so much so in fact that last month the biden administration was reportedly considering reversing its decision. iran's strategy is to use violence to drive the united states out of the middle east. small wonder they would do you believe down on this strategy after the administration's humiliating restreet from afghanistan. and the failure to respond forcefully to iranian-backed

attacks in the region has eroded our deterrence and dramatically increased the risk to u.s. personnel. this administration chooses to shrug or look the other way when terrorists target our friends and our interests, and if they continue to withhold military capabilities from partners threatened by iran, then they should not pretend to be surprised when traditional american partners in the middle east start looking to moscow and to beijing for -- beijing to fill the say calm. of course, the biggest distraction from keeping this administration from protecting our interests in the middle east has been its ongoing obsession with returning to the obama administration's failed 2015 nuclear agreement.

since president biden took office, he's made rejoining the deal an overriding diplomatic objective. but by blaming their predecessors' maximum pressure approach and demonstrating an unwillingness to respond forcefully to iran's terrorist-backed attacks, a the administration took the threat of sanctions is or military actions literal lit off the table, neutering their own diplomacy right at the outset. so it's no wonder hard-linersness tehran are holding out for more concessions from the self liners in washington. now, look, i.t. not just republicans who are concerned. senator menendez recently expressed similar concerns on the senate floor, called upon the biden administration and our partners to, quote, exert more

pressure on iran, counter its nuclear program, its missile program, and its dangerous behavior around the middle east, including efforts on american personnel and assets. recent reports suggest some of biden's own diplomats also share these concerns and have literally withdrawn from the team over concerns the administration's top negotiator is taking too soft a line on tehran. so, madam president, a year ago republicans made it clear to president biden they'd find willing partners here in the senate. for my part i recommended the president focus on securing bipartisan support for promises and threats so they could endure beyond his term in office.

i urged him not let foreign policy of the most powerful nation on earth be reduced to an etch a sketch starting from scratch every four years. we don't often agree, but i was grateful to hear chairman menendez concur this week that, quote, the best guarantee of a sustainable diplomatic agreement with iran and its international community to build one that garners bipartisan political support. so, look, i'm still hopeful that president biden will finally recognize how uninterested tehran is in negotiating in good faith. it's certainly not too late to start heeding good advice. it's not too late to start ratcheting up the pressure on tehran and imposing serious costs when its proke sis dare to challenge the u.s. it's not too late to try craft a

bipartisan approach to the middle east. it's not too late to have plan is that can test russia and chinese influence in the middle east. it's not too late to start nurturing the historic abraham accords and reassssuring partners like israel and the u.a.e. that their engagement is backed by pa rock-solid u.s. commitment. a year ago i said iran was the biggest threat america and its partners face in the middle east. unfortunately, a year of the biden administration foreign policy has made that even more true.

mr. thune: madam president? the presiding officer: the republican whip. mr. thune: madam president, are we in a quorum call? madam president, i ask unanimous consent that i be able to complete my remarks. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. thune: madam president, i rise today to speak on a topic of global importance, and that's russia's mounting aggression toward ukraine. after months of shifting tens of thousands of troops and military equipment, some from its eastern most military district, russia has built up a military presence around the northern, eastern, and southern flanks of ukraine. russia has also amass add forces in belarus under the guise of joint military exercises. and unfortunately, madam president, there are no indications that the situation with ukraine and russia has taken any steps towards dehe

de-escalation. in anything, ukraine and the european partners think that russia's buildup is to support an tac in mid to late february. as the so-called exercises in belarus come to an end on february 20, vladimir putin will reach a decision point. i say this not to provoke alarm but to emphasize that the united states and our security partners must do what we can while we can. it's critical to demonstrate that there will be a unified response from the west, including when it comes to sanctions and providing military equipment to ukraine so that we send the message to putin that an attack would be a severe miscalculation on his part. it is an attack from russia truly imminent? wellcome, so far putin's demands are nonstarters.

russia demanded that neigh though deny the ability to join this defensive alliance. these aren't serious demands, madam president, and the administration rightly rejected both. unfortunately, at this point, putin would likely find it humiliating to back down from such a costly military buildup without getting any concessions from the west. many fear that he has backed himself into a corner where he may feel like his best option is to attack, as disastrous as that would be. the ukrainians will say is how can russia start a war with ukraine? we have been at war for eight years. and that's a critical point to remember, particularly when vladimir putin and russian foreign minister sergey lavrov are accusing tensions and threatening a military posture. think about it.

russia has illegally occupied crimea and backed separatist forces in the donbass region of eastern ukraine for eight years as of this month. yet russia has the temerity to call nato a defensive alliance and ukraine a free country that wishes to join that defensive pack, the agresscertificates. -- the aggressors. i shoulded that this is not a case of russia moving east. but independent countries seeking of their own volition to cast off old imperialist soviet influence and align with the west. make no mistake about it it russia is the aggressor here. and we know that putin wants to destabilize an independent ukraine and bring it back into russia's sphere of influence similar to what he has done with belarus. that includes making it

unthinkable for ukraine, georgia, or any other nation to seek or join nato. there are many possible have en natureios for a russian attack, including trying to solidify eastern ukraine, pick up territory along the coast or connect the land bridge to crimea. any russian attack would also surely include cyber and information operation, behavior which we've already seen. russia could overwhelm ukrainian defenses it and strike command, control, and communication centers in an opening salvo before crossing the border. but it's long-term course of action remains less certain. ukrainians of all ages are showing their willingness to put up a fight and to determine their own future. and putin has to weigh any possible gains against the risk of high casualties or an insurgency. putin could also threaten kiev and try to force concessions elsewhere, but his calculus must

also include the likely respond of crippling sanctions and isolation, not to mention driving other nations like sweden and finland to align more closely with nato. there have an reports that putin, whether by military attack or his little greenmen could seek to overthrow president zelensky. russia has, of course, denied the claim, but putin would certainly prefer a puppet regime to that of president zelensky. the uncertainty surrounding what putin could do does not lower the threat of a russian attack on ukraine, and the latest indicators suggest russia is still pressing forward to prepare for an imminent attack. reports show that russia's moving ballot supplies, medical -- blood supplies, medical materials and more fuel tankers to its west, into belarus. blood supplies are especially not required for a so-called exercise with belarus, madam president. they're meant for casualties.

we need to take these developments seriously, pur spewing a diplomatic de-escalation, while making sure ukraine can pit up a fight, and -- put up a fight, and nato is ready to defend against any direct russian aggressions. on the diplomatic side, the united states and russia have traded negotiation letters. as i noted earlier, vladimir putin is demanding a ransom for ukraine's safety, a permanent ban on ukraine's inclusion in nato, and demanding that nato, a freely associating defensive alliance, take steps to weaken its own security. these aren't serious demands, madam president. and so, no resolution in sight, the u.s. and allies continue to move security assistance to ukraine, including ammunition, missiles, and rockets, while preparing to reinforce nato troops in border states. the javelins and stingers the west is sending ukraine may do little to stop russia, russian long-range fires or air strikes,

but they could still impose a significant cost if russia tries to hold significant territory. especially in urban areas. ukraine rainans are prepared to put up a fight, and we should provide them with the arms they need to dig in. i hope the administration and the majority party will take this threat to u.k. a seriously, ute -- to ukraine seriously, utilize any remaining levers of american influence to deter attack. and if putin proceeds, make him immediately realize it was a miscalculation. this will take coordinated, lethal military assistance and strong sanctions, including against the nord stream 2 pipeline. madam president, it will be critical that doaments come to -- democrats come to realize in other words stream 2 is one -- nord stream 2 is one of putin's top priorities. when this administration waived sanctions on the pipeline, despite the overwhelming opinion that the pipeline will make europe more reliant on and vulnerable to russian energy and

will be an economic blow to ukraine, putin saw that he wouldn't be challenged. madam president, this is a crisis of putin's making. but we didn't get here overnight. waiving sanctions on nord stream 2 is one of the many missed opportunities to signal strength against putin. we first saw russia amassing troops on the border last april. yet, here we are, roughly ten months later, scrambling to deliver lethal, defensive military aid. the biden administration has been too slow to respond to the mounting crisis and is playing catch-up. exhibit archlt is that the executive just -- x.a is that the administration just on monday named a pick to serve as ambassador to ukraine. all the times, of all the times to have a top diplomat in a country to prove peer we're taking the situation seriously and to coordinate assistance this is it. this follows a year of the administration slow rolling assistance to ukraine and

seemingly springing to action only after the united kingdom and others began overtly equipping ukraine. madam president, it's essential that we present a credible threat to putin, but unfortunately i think he's pegged our president as a benign counterpart. putin can look at america and see an unpopular president who is risk averse and spending his wheels on a polarizing and flailing domestic agenda. not to mention that he can look at president biden's botched withdrawal from afghanistan and the risk to our defense modernization efforts from another continuing resolution and conclude that democrats and president pose little threats to russia's ambitions. madam president, given the biden administration's record, i have concerns about the president's willingness to stand up to russia. but i very much hope these concerns are unfounded. we simply cannot afford to fail in this situation. this is ukraine's fight, but the

implications of an attack will go far beyond its borders. you cannot accept that one nation can simply attack and subjugate another. and we cannot be so naive to think that russia would stop with an envision of ukraine. the bear would still be in the woods, and putin would love nothing more than to challenge or break the credibility of nato or the united states. we cannot accept that scenario or allow russia to dictate our own security posture with respect to nato. and the only way to reject that future is by standing with our partners and staring down putin's open aggression. shoring up our nato presence and putting troops on high alert are steps in the right direction. i am sure ukraine currently feels surrounded and outgunned,

but we need to make clear to ukraine and to vladimir putin that ukraine is not alone, that the free nations of the west will stand with ukraine against russian aggression, and that the united states will make good on its nato commitments. madam president, i yield the floor. the presiding officer: under the previous order, the senate stands in recess until 12:30 class and director of national intelligence admiral

means. one woman return they will resume consideration of president by those nominations and as always you can follow live coverage of the senate when they return here onc-span2 . sunday on in-depth, georgetown university law professor cheryl kassen will talk about raceinequality in america . her books include place not race and her latest, white space, black hood. join us with your texts, to fort cheryl kassen live on book tv on c-span2 and before the program visit c-span shop.org. get your copy of her book white space, black good. >> c-span is your unfiltered view of government funded by these television companies and more including comcast .