state, the senate confirmed the judges. later in the week, the senate will consider nominees to be u.s. ambassador to germany and undersecretary of defense for policy. live now to the floor of the u.s. senate on c-span2. order and the reverend black will lead the senate in prayer. the chaplain: let us pray. eternal god, enthroned in holiness, we lift our praise to you. we praise you for your might, mercy, and majesty. great is your faithfulness. because of your mercies, we are not consumed. lord, give our lawmakers the wisdom to place their trust in you, for

you have been their help in ages past. and continue to be their hope for tomorrow. today, may they claim your promise to guide them through time into eternity. when their strength is gone, renew them anew. we pray in your magnificent name. the presiding officer: please join me in pledging allegiance to the flag. i pledge allegiance to the flag of the united states of america, and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under god, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.

the presiding officer: the clerk will read a communication to the senate. the clerk: washington d.c, february 7, 2022. to the senate: under the provisions of rule 1, paragraph 3, of the standing rules of the senate, i hereby appoint the honorable mazie k. hirono, a senator from the state of hawaii, 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. under the previous order, the senate will be in a period of morning business with senators permitted to speak therein for up to ten minutes each.

>> we were just having in the wake of this nich onfriday night , hearing from trump on what he could and couldn't do on january 6 and then comment on the sunday shows among republican figures being asked about that. i wonder do you think republican leaders will be navigating this story that

back and forth between pants and trump as we start disappearing on capitol hill ? >> absolutely. the strategy generally taken by leaders on capitol hill is to try to sort of taking the ground with trump. that they don't necessarily disagree with his more extreme comments like suggesting pence had a right to overturn the election that's what you wanted to do on january 6 of last year but they recognize that he remains popular with the republican base so it's not their political interest to alienate him either. it was striking for pence to openly disagree with trump like that at the federalist society friday. this will put more pressure on these discussions in the senate with the reform of the electoral count which is the law that governs the

congressional process for affirming those book to certify presidential election . that's going to be even more difficult for the republicans who aren't and house democrats to make this report . >> when we expecting to see something like that for where could this report go? >> it could take some time. a group of top democrats who are on committees with jurisdictions on this issue released a set of proposals last week outlining some of these things they like to see over clarifying the vice president does not have the authority to intervene and all they really have is a ceremonial role to receive the process just for example. and to make more difficult for any lawmaker to offer an objection to any state election results. so that's already out there but it's there's not exactly a timeline.

it looks like the republicans and democrats are negotiating this right now. we could see that in amatter of weeks . hence democrats don't, are looking for some sort of reform that they can put forward in the absence of their larger voting rights package. that's currently solving the senate. >> you mentioned a timeline and we do have a timeline right now on the possibility of another government shutdown coming up at the end of next week on every 18. where are we on the efforts to keep the government funded? >> the top leaders of the house and appropriations committees have been in talks for the last few weeks just trying to find agreement on a number that they can set for overall government but they're still working on that. that's a pretty. >>

ur democratic agenda the american economy is in the midst of a historic turnaround. but madam president, the job is not over, and even as wages are up democrats are taking action to lower costs. we need to help everyday families afford the daily essentials, just as we need to relieve our supply chains and rebuild american manufacturing, including by focusing on critical technologies like semiconductors. we took an important step in the right direction last week after the house passed the companion legislation to usi chmpleght a. i applaud -- usica.

i applaud the house and join my senate colleagues from both sides of the aisle in saying we were pleased to get the ball rolling when we passed the usica bill last summer. there is a lot of work to do to enact usica into law, so i look forward to moving quickly to a conference so the house and senate can bridge the differences between our proposals. once again, i want to thank my colleagues from both sides of the aisle for leadership on this very important legislation. this will continue to be democrats' focus -- lowering costs, increasing wages, and bringing jobs back from overseas while creating more jobs right here at home. it's what democrats have worked on for the past 12 months as we've helped americans get back to normal, and it's what we'll continue to focus on as we enter year two of the biden administration. now, on forced arbitration.

on a different matter, later today, the howstles is expected to pass -- the house is expected to pass bipartisan legislation to end forced arbitration for sexual assault and sexual harassment. once this important bill passes the house, the senate will move as soon as this week to quickly take up this bill and send it to president biden's desk. congress can finally act to empower victims of sexual assault and sexual harassment to speak openly by nullifying forced arbitration clauses that push survivors into an often secret and biased process. we will not waste this historic opportunity. there are numerous good proposals we can address here in the senate on a bipartisan basis, and this is one good example. we hope to do more. the senate's forced arbitration proposal, the ending forced arbitration of sexual assault and sexual harassment act of 2021 passed unanimously out of the judiciary committee.

every democrat and every republican voting for it. i expect there will be strong bipartisan support for it on the senate floor, and i want to thank my colleague, senator kyrsten gillibrand, as well as senator lindsey graham, for their leadership on this important legislation. next, bomb threats at hbcu's. all of us at the senate are disturbed, sickened and outrageous, frankly, at the waive of anonymous bomb threats that have recently risen across dozens of historically black colleges and universities. since the start of this year, at least 26 hbcu's in a dozen states and the district of columbia have received such threats, including a dozen schools, about a dozen schools, last week. these bomb threats are clearly racially motivated, and i join my colleagues in condemning these acts of hatred in the strongest possible terms. bomb threats against hbcu's have

an especially mal event place ir country's history. black americans don't have to think far back to when bombs were set off in the florida a&m university in 1999. to see these threats today is a reminder of the hatred we have yet to overcome. nothing can be more sickening than efforts to use fear, violence, and white supremacy in hopes of stealing the promise of a good education from millions of black americans. hbcu's are a vital part of our economy and our education similarity, educating some of our nation's greatest leaders, innovators, and activists. i want to commend all the presidents, faculty, and staff across the country's h.bcu's for responding to these acts of hatred with resolve and strength. and to all the students who attend hbcu's, this should never happen. those responsible must, must be prosecuted to the fullest extent

of law. my colleagues and i have been in communication with the f.b.i., homeland security, department of justice, and department of education on steps the agencies and the senate can take to address these violent threats. we are confident those responsible will be held accountable. and on an entirely different matter, normally, madam president, i don't make a point of remarking upon actions and statements of the republican national committee, which by now has completely fallen under the control of former president donald trump and his inner circle. but last week they crossed a line, issuing a statement that censured two republicans who stood up to the big lie, while also describing the insurrection of january 6 as, quote, legitimate political discourse. their statement didn't even make mention of the violence that day. there's no debate to be had here.

january 6 was an armed insurrection, it was an attempt to reverse through violent means the outcome of a free-and-fair election, and it was fundamentally rooted in donald trump's big lie that the election of 2020 was ill lemgity mat -- illegitimate, which now if the r.n.c. seems to be giving its blessing officially. for the national committee of america's -- of one of america's two major political parties to officially sign on to the big lie, and more than that, to excuse the attack itself by attributing even a shred of legitimacy to it, is chilling and plainly dangerous. it puts us on a road where our democracy is at risk. it's a sad commentary on how far the political arm of the g.o.p. has gone that the r.n.c. will go out of its way to punish its own members who spoke out against the former president's lies while defending the rioters who

tried to undo an election with mob rule. theirs will be nothing less than ever lasting shame -- everlasting shame. 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 year's winter olympics are officially under way on the home turf of the chinese communist party. of course americans are rooting

hard for our outstanding team, u.s.a. athletes. but this also trains eyes on the abuse and oppression the c.c.p. inflicts on its own people and inspires to inflict on much of the world. unforunfortunately, this is alsn occasion that jaw-dropping and tone deafness of gullibility. as china modernized its economy, too many wealthy and powerful actors have helped to white wash the c.c.p.'s abuses or turn a blind eye. hollywood censoring our own films to satisfy president xi and his cronies is one exam many.

one analyst seemed to -- when they covered a member of the uighur minority in the opening ceremonies. this broadcaster called the c.c.p.'s obvious propaganda stunt an in-your-face response to those western nations who called this genocide. president xi couldn't have scripted it better. a faculty member at a big ten university went on tv and compared china's secret police to american police officers and china's tyranny to america's voting laws. here is the quote, who are we to criticize china's civil rights when we have -- we have the results of voting rights on

people of color in various states in this country. really, beyond absurd. the truth is the c.c.p. has turned xinjiang into a province where they enslave and commit genocide against a muslim minority. they have warned down human rights in hong kong and jailed hong kongers for speaking up. the truth is the c.c.p. is an aggressive and irresponsible presence. america's national security and competition with the c.c.p. is a defining challenge for our country. and not just us, but for all our friends and partners around the world. anyone who values an international order built on freedom and self-determination instead of the opposite. america took some bipartisan

steps to strengthen america's hand. the u.s. innovation and competition act was not on any senators or any committees or either party's idea of a perfect bill, but this delicate product medical headway on critical supply chains to counterespionage. and the senate passed the bill last june and the house has done nothing for eight months. nothing from the house democrats last june until just last week. so a few days ago instead of passing the senate's careful compromise, house democrats slapped together a bill stuffed with poison pills and the kind of things that they tried to put in their tax and spending spree that failed at the end of last year. they didn't even bother trying to work with house republicans.

the whole exercise was completely unserious. house democrats' version mentions the word climate nearly as many times as it mentions the word china. it pours billions into the u.n. green climate fund so others can give it to china. they include provisions on, listen to this, marijuana banking. china has been building up its economic might and the democrats' answer is to help americans get high. drug overdoses on fentanyl became the leading cause of death for people 18 to 25. much of this poison pour also into our country of course from china. and democrats plan to combat this -- this some more -- and

democrats plan to combat this with more marijuana on the side. this is not a winning strategy for global competition for great powers. so here's the bottom line. the bipartisan senate ewe usca bill was a compromised product. anyone look to insert poison pills are badly, badly mistaken. now, on another matter, today president biden will welcome oloff schultz, the new german chancellor. germany is a crucial ally of the united states. tens of thousands of u.s. service members reside in germany, contributing to the collective security of the nato alliance. according to the state

department, bilateral trade between our countries total more than $260 billion in 2019. many in washington on both sides of the aisle appreciated the increasing leadership role that chancellor schultz's predecessor played in their affairs. the contributions in afghanistan, iraq and africa demonstrated a growing willingness to contribute to international missions that advance our international security interests. the german people had built the largest economy in europe and the fourth largest in the entire world. they are, indeed, a major player, but there's no question germany could do more given its influential role, including within the e.u. and nato to

advance our shared phone policy and -- shared foreign policy and security interest. factor in the cold war, the west german military was truly a capable fighting force. but germany's military has been allowed to at if i -- it suffers from shortfalls in readiness and regular maintenance. they committed 2% of their g.d.p. to defense and 20% of that defense spending toward modernization by 2024. but it has taken very few credible steps to meet that pledge. meanwhile threats to the alliance have only grown since 2014. russia's and china's decades

decades-long efforts have made it clear 2% will not sue physical to meet -- -- will not meet the growing challenges. we have donated to nato and to europe's security. we hosted a joint address to congress three years ago. we have included measures supporting america's presence in europe and our -- in our annual defense bills, including significant investments in our european deterrence initiative. so i hope that chancellor schultz will reciprocate and take this opportunity to reassure us about germany's commitment to nato and our collective defense. our friends are too powerful and too prosperous not to contribute more militarily to our alliance. of course building military capabilities takes time, but the

urgent issue of russian aggression in europe also demands courage and firmness and it demands it right now. we know how such resolve works. the united states and our allies display such firmness again and again in standing up to soviet pressure and west berlin remained a free city because of it. chancellor schultz has plenty of tools at his disposal to give putin a strong signal that aggression against ukraine would carry a tremendous cost. so let's take one example. a bipartisan chorus in congress has opposed the nord stream 2 pipeline for years. we have viewed it as a new geopolitical tool for putin to undermine ukraine and divide

europe. germany acknowledges the international community's concerns, hence, german delays in moving the project forward. it would be a powerful demonstration of german leadership for chancellor schultz to declare firmly and simply that russian escalation in europe will result in a determination -- a determination of nord stream 2. not another pause, the end of the pipeline, period. likewise, it would send an important message if chancellor scholz, like other nato allies have done and like the security advisor just recommended, that germany will help ukraine with legitimate military capabilities so it can better defend itself

against aggression. so, in conclusion, madam president, germany has been an important pillar in nato and a strong ally of the united states, literally, for decades. we welcome the news chancellor to american soil. the time is now -- now for germany to stand up and protect the peace and defend the stable europe that modern germany itself has helped construct and from which it has greatly benefited. mr. durbin: madam president. the presiding officer: the senator from illinois. mr. durbin: madam president, if you have any memory of the soviet union, you can remember that when moscow was in

descendcy in that region of the world, their plan included a revision of history. they rewrote chapters of history to make themselves look stronger, better, smeart and more -- smarter and powerful than they were. we used to mock that. we said don't they know that the fact speaks for itself? it was usually a product of authoritarian rule where one strong man would want history to be in the books and taught to the children. yesterday we saw an exercise in sovietism in all places, salt lake city, utah. the republican national committee met in salt lake city, utah for a national con frebs and representatives came from all over the united states. what they did to start the conference off was to censure

two republican house members, lynne cheney and allen kenlinger from illinois. it was a low tactic to attack these two individuals who were making a bipartisan effort with the january 6, 2021, house committee to get to the bottom of what happened that day and who was responsible for it. you might remember, madam president, there was a proposal from speaker pelosi that we create a bipartisan commission that the house and senate democrats and republicans turn this matter over as we have before to a group to determine what happened that day and what was behind it to avoid it ever happening again but to get one clear definition for history. the commission idea was stopped by senator mcconnell, the republican leader in the senate. he refused to agree on this bipartisan approach. and so speaker pelosi, realizing

she had a scant majority in the house, said that she was going to still try to put such an investigation together and she invited republican participation which didn't work out well and eventually two step forward, congresswoman cheney, congressman kinzinger and said they would participate. i know adam kinzinger. he's from my state. we worked on a few things together. i respect him for his political courage to speak out as he had. i'm sorry he was the subject of that censure. sadly, that was not the only mistake made in salt lake city republican revisionary meeting. what was even worse, if anything could be worse, was the declaration by the republican national committee that what happened in this building, in this room on january 6, 2021, was somehow characterized by unanimous vote as legitimate

political discourse. madam president, you remember that day and i do, too. can't forget it. when vice president pence was sitting where you are today and a few minutes after 2:00 the secret service came in and whisked him off the platform. and we were told there's an attack on the capitol taking place. earlier there had been a rally sponsored by president trump and he had incited this insurrectionist mob to come up to the capitol and be heard and seen. they knew why that day was chosen, january 6 was the day we were counting the electoral college vote, the official vote on the selection of joseph biden as president of the united states. it was the intention of president trump and those who came here to interrupt that constitutional process. it's interesting as well that last week vice president pence at a federalist society meeting spoke out on the subject and said for the first time that i

can recall since he was chosen as vice president that in fact president trump was wrong, wrong in believing that he had the power as vice president to change the electoral college vote. pence made it clear he did not have that authority. well, the republican national committee went further in trying to promote the big lie and called what happened on january 6 in this capitol building legitimate political discourse. do they honestly believe that breaking down the windows and doors of this building to enter in an unruly mob is legitimate political discourse? do they believe spraying toxic bear spray into the faces of our policemen is legitimate political discourse? do they believe 140 injured policemen and six -- five or six people who are deceased as a result of that mob action was somehow legitimate political discourse? that as they came into the

chamber, these demonstrators who were aping themselves in front of cameras for their friends to take pictures, sitting in the chair where you're sitting today, going through my desk and other desks here to see if there was anything they could take a picture of or steal, that that was legitimate split exal discourse? -- political discourse? do they believe the incitement to violence by to send the mob up here was political discourse? shame on the grand ole party. shame on mr. lincoln's party. they should know better. i'm glad that a handful have stood up and spoken up. i wish more would. if we're ever going to put an end to trumpism in this country in the republican party, only the republicans can get it done. they have to decide enough is enough and step forward. it is interesting to me that when senator mcconnell came to the floor a few minutes ago, he talked about the statement of some big ten professor. didn't name his name. that was not respectful of our police.

of all things that happened in the last week that weren't -- that was not -- that were not respectful of the police, i would certainly add the salt lake city republican national meeting where the attack on our police was characterized as legitimate political discourse, incitement to violence, legitimate political discourse. america is better than that. i sincerely hope that real leaders within the republican party will reclaim their party and put an end to this mad ms. that trumpism has brought them. on an entirely different subject, madam president, march 26, 2020, america passed a grim milestone. a thousand americans died that day of covid. front page news. two months later after memorial day we passed another terrible milestone, a hundred thousand had died of covid. as many americans have died from covid as from the korean, vietnam, iraq and afghanistan war combined. by this past september, the number of americans lost to covid hit 695,000.

memorialized in a heartbreaking sea of small, white flags covering our national mall. but this weekend another staggering milestone. 900,000 americans dead from covid. in illinois, 31,000 lives lost. covid-19 is now the third leading cause of death in the united states behind only heart disease and cancer. at the rate we're going, experts say it's likely the u.s. will reach a million covid deaths in just a few weeks. and what makes these numbers even more tragic is so many of these deaths could have been prevented. covid vaccines are safe and free and highly effective at preventing covid hospitalization and death. and think about it. according to new data from the c.d.c., unvaccinated individuals are 97 times more likely to die of covid compared to those who have been vaccinated and boosted. 97 times more likely to die if

yoyou're -- you're unevacuated. i owe unvaccinated. i watched a presentation by nurses in louisville, kentucky, the home state of the republican leader. and they talked about the devastating toll on their emotions and even their physique when it came to the deaths that they have to witness every day. they are beaten down, these nurses. some 25%, if i remember correctly, have already resigned and said they couldn't take it anymore. and to think how many of those hospitalizations could have been avoided if vaccinations became universal across this country as they should be. well, this evening members of congress will gather on the steps of the capitol for a moment of silence to remember the 900,000 souls we've lost. may their families and loved ones find peace. we have the tools and knowledge to bring this pandemic under control if only we would use them. madam president, there was

another set of numbers that was released last friday that testifies to good news and america needs it. it testifies to the resilience of the american people and the american spirit. many economists have braced for a disastrous january jobs report, the most optimistic among them predicted the u.s. economy might grow by 150,000 or maybe 200 50,000 jobs last -- 250,000 jobs last month. some warn it could show massive job losses. here's what we learned. despite the omicron surge and global supply chain shortages, u.s. employers added 467,000 new jobs last month. 467,000. on top of that, bureau of labor statistics shows the economy added 700,000 more jobs in november and december than we initially cak rated -- calculated. al told the u.s. economy has added 6.6 million jobs in the last year. the strongest first-year job gain of any president in

history. when joe biden took over the office a little over a year ago, he inherited one of the weakest and fraught economies in generations. at the start of the pandemic the u.s. unemployment rate spiked to 14.7%. last february the congressional budget office forecast that the u.s. would not see 3.9% unemployment for another five years. the unemployment rate now is actually 4%. america's economic recovery is breaking records. the u.s. was the first country in the g7 to recover all of its g.d.p. lost by the pandemic. average wages were up 5.7% last month from a year ago. the increases were not all at the top. workers in the middle and lower rungs of the economy earned more, too. i have to say as important as that is, we all know that people working in this economy are also facing inflation, higher prices,

whether it's for gasoline or groceries, they're finding it more expensive to meet basics, basic necessities of life. and although this is good news, that is bad news that we have to address and should address on a bipartisan basis. the progress that we've made was not inevitable. it was a product of good old fashion american ingenuity. it's also the route of bold and decisive economic decisions by the biden administration. the american rescue plan which congress passed without the support of a single republican member of congress, all democrats, all the way broke the grip of the pandemic on our economy. we were able to get shots in arms, help small businesses stay afloat, and rush emergency assistance to people who had lost jobs or seen their hours cut drastically. that emergency worked in illinois and worked all over this country. we also passed a bipartisan infrastructure investment and jobs act.

and let me remind those who follow it. if you're wondering about the infrastructure bill passed by the trump administration, let me put your concern to rest. there was no bill. there was no legislation. there was no infrastructure plan despite president trump's repeated promises to deliver one. he walked away from the table. and i was in the room when he did. wouldn't even negotiate it. we haven't fixed all the weaknesses in our economy. the jobless rate among black workers is still twice that of white workers. unemployment among teens and young adults is still too high. research from the nation's woman's law center shows while men have occupied job losses since the pandemic started there are nearly 1.1 million fewer women in the workforce. day care is part of that calculation, i might add. if we want to reach our full economic potential, we need to help families find affordable, quality day care. and we have to address the issue of inflation nonstop.

last year for the first time in more than two decades, america's economy grew faster than china. that's incredible. let's keep that streak going by passing usica, the bipartisan u.s. innovation and competition act. we need to promote products made in the united states by americans and purchased in the united states. we passed it in the senate last june by a vote of 2-1. the house passed its version last friday. let's go to conference and get this bill into law. negotiate in good faith and i believe we can do that. i want to thank leader schumer and senator young, republican of indiana, for their leadership. this will boost competitiveness with china and help reindustrialize america, make investments in manufacturing and research, provide seed money to create good, new jobs. importantly it includes 52 million for research and designing and manufacturing semiconductor chips, what senator cants quell, chair of the commerce committee calls the oil of the 21st century. let's agree to make those chips

here in america and not be dependent on importing them from china. usica also allows for new sanctions against china for human rights violations. we can stand up for american workers and american values. madam president, i yield the floor. i suggest the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. quorum call:

quorum call:

we look ahead, let's join this conversation now we were just having conversation in the wake of mike pence's speech friday night rebuking president trump on what the court could not do january 62021 the number of republican figures asked about this, i wonder what you think republican leaders will continue to navigate story and the back-and-forth between pence and trump as we start the new week here on capitol hill? >> absolutely. the strategy generally by republican leaders on capitol hill, take a middle ground with trump, don't necessarily agree

with his extreme comments suggesting pence has the right to overturn the election. that is what trump wanted him to do january 6 of last year but they also recognize the former president remains incredibly popular with the republican base is not in their political interest alienate him either so it was striking for pence to openly disagree with trump like that on friday. then it puts even more pressure on these discussions in the senate, the law that governs the congressional process for the electoral college votes to certify a presidential election. that will be even more difficult for republicans in the toss with democrats to make these reforms. >> where are we, when are we

expected to see language or whether reforms pick up? >> it could take some time. a group of cap democrats were on committees on this released a proposal last week outlining some of the things i would like to see. for instance, clarifying the vice president does not have the authority to intervene, it's just a ceremonial role overseeing the process for example. to make more difficult for any lawmaker to object to any state election results. that's already out there but there isn't exactly a timeline established by the republicans and democrats negotiating this right now. we could see that in a matter of weeks democrats are looking for some sort of reform they can put forward in the absence of their

voting rights package currently in the senate. >> you mentioned a timeline, we do have a timeline right now on the possibility of another government shutdown, looking up at the end of next week february 18. where are we on efforts for government funding? >> top leaders of the house and appropriations committee have been in talks for a few weeks trying to find agreement on a topline number for overall government spending so they are still working on that and that is a basic thing they need in order to hammer out what usually amounts thousands worth of a package, funding the entire government for the rest of the fiscal year. at this rate, there is still a ways to go so yesterday house majority leader centering msnbc appearance, it increasingly looks like congress can do a

short-term measure so they can carry on negotiations a few more weeks. lawmakers have been trying to avoid going into the end of the fiscal year through the end of september but they are going to try to buy themselves a little more time. the house schedule next week and the week after so the same thing potentially as the house can vote this week and the senate what take it up before next friday. >> the house and senate in session today on capitol hill, both expected around 6:30 p.m. in the house and the senate, the senate returns 3:00 p.m. today and the other end of capitol hill, the president meeting with the german chancellor today a joint press conference scheduled for about 3:15 p.m. mothers of the activities happening in washington, watch them on the c-span network, starting the

week with us this morning as we talk about the week ahead in washington, you can join the conversation as usual, republican (202)748-8001 democrats (202)748-8000 independence 2027488002. as folks are calling in, you mentioned an announcement last week that he contracted covid, how is he doing? >> he's had multiple media appearances last week and crc tested positive and he says it's like a moderate cold more or less so he's doing very well, going on television and giving a house schedule. regardless, the house set up a voting system 2020 firm lawmakers can cast votes remotely they are not able to be in person. any lawmaker don't affect

legislation or anything like that, they can still maintain usual operations. the senate however, if they don't have that, any absent can affect their operation. >> and certainly in absence right now in senate chamber impacting the senate majority schedule, if you want to talk about that. >> yes, senator -- he's had a stroke so he's expected to be out of senate for at least a month, possibly six weeks. in any event, president biden expects to nominate supreme court nominee. it's not likely to impact their ability to confirm supreme court nominees but it shows, it underscores how fragile senate democrats majority is with just that 50/50 split split. >> talking about the house boat competes act, the american competes act focusing on china,

the senate passed their version of that legislation. i believe it was last summer now the versions have to go to conference, what is the schedule for that? is not something absence in the senate could impact? >> the biden administration is urging congress to get it done as soon as possible because it includes provisions to invest in domestic semiconductor chip production and ease more domestic production of goods to help ease the supply chain shortage we've seen in recent months. it's not clear exactly when it could happen but in any event, it's the kind of legislation that will require at least 60 votes in the senate, ten senate republic and's will have to get on board with this. if republicans will afford this legislation anyway, senator who has absence may not affect that

much but right now, the bill passed the house friday, just one republic and vote and more likely in this party these days on a variety of issues, house and senate democrats have worked in doing this down to a bill that more bipartisan than what came out of the house. >> let me pause there and bring in a few colors, we have a lot of issues happening on capitol hill this week and next week. walter in arizona, republican, what you want to talk about? >> good morning. the elections and what needs to be done to oversee them, on the last election, the one thing that caught my attention, i'm not a data type person so the first thing i went to the official site state-by-state, to get the total number of registered voters who could vote

and out of the total number in the united states and then i looked at the total votes came in from president for both president biden and president trump and usually there's a certain percentage registered voters have voted. if one 100% of the registered voters voted, one 100% which has never happened before there were 40 million votes that came in over one 100% brief that caught my eye right away. i don't hear talking about something very obvious. one notation on the last segment, i noticed you were trying very hard to be impartial, i've watched you over the years and you are trying hard as somebody saying you are not impartial, i think they were incorrect but hopefully the next election for president, there is

a direct count of total registered voters and the total votes that came in. the mail-in ballots -- yes. >> let me pick that up, what is actually being looked at in the electoral reform act and how deep they can go into those issues states, christina marcos, you explain more about what senators are looking at with this effort right now? >> in terms of voting laws and voting rights, that's more addressed in the more expensive package democrats try to pass in the senate a few weeks ago which would establish federal standards for voting such as early voting days, ability to cast votes by mail making it universal and things like that. it's more focused on the process

for counting vote for president, specifically electoral college votes. the things specifically at, clarifying the vice president does not have unilateral ability to overturn an election as well as considering -- right now, it only takes one house member and one senator agree on an objection to a single state election results to launch an official objection mike we saw january 6 of last year. one of the things that could be under discussion is making it so you need a bigger group in the house and senate to launch an objection so you can't -- because it was largely in the senate, a small minority of republican senators allying themselves with former president trump and watching this objection.

so that is one way. the focus of those discussions is to avoid a repeat of what we saw leading up to the attack on the capitol last year. >> democrat line, this is sergio, good morning. >> good morning, how are you? >> go ahead. >> good morning, christina. >> i am good, thank you. >> okay, great. i'm doing very well, thank you. my question is this, liz cheney and adam kissing her, when they sensate this, basically that i heard they were not republican anymore, they are going against him, i don't know if that will favor them to become democrat. what you think about? >> in terms of policy issues,

liz cheney, they are pretty conservative. they are not really that aligned with democrat, it's more in terms of democracy protection. pushing back against authoritarianism where they are more allied than democrat. simply just not parroting former president trump's false claims that he fraudulently lost the election from of those are more fundamental things that have become animated issues in modern political discourse but overall, they are not likely to join for the democratic party. they are frequently ostracized with the effort on friday from their own party so there's a question on house republicans in the freedom caucus to kick them out of the house republican conference officially but at the same time, house republicans

have not been interested in that among other things it could affect the number of republican's on house committee because that would change the number of republicans in the house democrat. >> that post based on the january 6 committee, what is the latest were watching for on the january 6 committee? >> right now january 6 committee is still going through. they've talked about potentially doing more public hearings in the next few months but there's communication they might push that back as they are still going through documents. one thing the committee is on right now, they recently got the national archives from january 6 and leading up to it and apparently former president trump apparently had a habit of peering up documents, something

he did prior to become president, it was just a continued habit but presidents are obligated to make these documents under federal record laws so is taping the documents back together, and submit them to the national archives as they are required to source another challenge for these investigators to read through the documents that have been torn up and pieced back together. >> for open hearings by this committee, what is the timing looking like when those might happen? when people see if they want to see the debates happening in the committee and they want to hear how it works, what is likely to happen? >> i'm sorry, could you repeat that? >> generate six committee, when will -- there are open hearings coming down the road, correct? >> most likely, they have not announced anything yet. we could see something like

their opening hearing last summer with police officers on duty at the capitol during the january 6 attack. they are more likely to witness who can be compelling television and tell a story that gets how severe the attack on the capitol was and the threat it posed to american democracy. they are settling on who could be the most compelling witnesses at this time but could be hearings scheduled in prime time in the evening to maximize viewership. >> missus don, an independent. >> good morning. first of all, i would like to make a statement concerning the commentators on c-span if i could. >> ahead. >> basically what it amounts to is the fact that you were

criticized on an earlier segment on a republican call making the statement that donald trump was not basking to overturn the election but rather to go through certain measures. you phrased the question with his words, essentially you never said overturn or anything yet you were criticized for it. people on both sides of the aisle need the understanding, they need to listen to the full context of the commentary on c-span says. whenever there is hot topic of major importance, i always turn to c-span because your open, fair. >> appreciated. >> you are quite welcome. rebutting on c-span deserves it. you are trying to be there for the american people in fact what these people, no matter your aisle, they need to understand.

as far as mike pence goes, you have to understand what constitutes correct, the same thing with liz cheney and adam kinzinger. you have a great day. >> got john in new york. less than ten minutes left and we segments that try to get a sense of both sides, folks like yourself who cover we can and week out, what is the story of the week for you? are there certain hearings you know you are going to write about in the weeks come? what is your week looking like? >> the most pressing issue this week is making sure the government remains funded at the end of next week. there is still a lot of obstacles to reach an omnibus deal in the main issue concerning whether or not there will be longer-term government

funding bill is whether republicans decide it's in their best interest to make sure there is a larger fuel on government spending. on the one hand, there's more traditional republican party who want to see an increase in defense spending especially with this situation on the ukrainian border right now and threats that russia might integrate ukraine. the quorum be suspended. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. grassley: on november 18 last year, i came here to speak about the office of net assessment. that's an office within the pentagon. that office's purpose under law is to produce an annual net assessment which is supposed to be a long-term look at our military's capability and those of our greatest adversaries.

i don't think it lives up to their mission. in 2018, according to the director of office of net assessment, that office had not produced a net assessment since 2007. not doing its job for those 11 years -- and who nose, -- who knows, possibly longer -- calls into question whether this office should even exist. yet a recent inspector general report states that the office, quote, produces highly classified net assessments, end of quote. i question the i.g.'s conclusion based upon available evidence that i know about, and i'll

give some of that evidence. in last year's speech here in the senate and others that i've given over the years on this subject, i discussed my over sight of this office dating back to 2019. i also discussed my amendment to the national defense bill. that amendment would have done one very simple thing -- require the government accountability office to determine how much taxpayer money the office of net assessment actually uses for net assessment, its purpose for existing. i want to know how much we can cut from their budget to save the taxpayers money. apparently this type of pro-taxpayer legislation was too

much to ask for. i ask consent corgdly, it -- accordingly it appears the office of net assessment in the department of defense gets to keep operating like a pentagon slush fund for irrelevant and political research projects. on february 5, 2020, the director of the office of net assessment told me, and i quote, we review all deliverables to ensure that they're consistent with the statement of work. we evaluate each deliverable to assess whether we should seek additional information or require a resubmission of commissioned work, end of quote. i'm going to return to that statement in a little bit, but i want to give you some evidence

that what he just said doesn't work out in reality. in december 2020, i asked the inspector general to take a deeper dive into the office of net assessment's contracting practices. that means connecting all the dots in the contract transactions to ensure that everything matches up. the inspector general reviewed 20 contracts. on january 25 this year, the inspector general issued its results and found these points, three or four points -- office of net assessment acquisition personnel inappropriately performed contracting officers representatives duties for 20

contracts. next point, office of net assessment acquisition personnel and an office providing contract support did not maintain complete contract files, including pre-awards and contract administration documentation. that also included the failure to maintain signed contracts and modifications, since 2019. i've repeatedly asked for a full accounting of stefan helper's contracts. either they never had one or they decided to obstruct congress. next point, office of net assessment acquisition personnel and an office providing contracts support

inappropriately approved invoices for payments totaled $ $9,800,000 due to the lack of oversight. and that's just for the 2020 contracts the inspector general sampled. so, without required supporting documentation for payment, the door is obviously wide open to fraud, theft, and improper payments. next point, without established and documented surveillance measures for office of net assessment service contracts, the office of net assessment may not have received all services outlined in a contractor's statement of work. next point, and last point, at

the point, the next finding ought to be no surprise from the inspector general. the office of net assessment did not administer contracts in accordance with the federal defense department and washington headquarters service internal regulations and policies. further, the audit states, and i quote, the office of net assessment acquisition personnel cannot verify whether they received services valued at $ $4,100,000 in accordance with the statement of work, end of quote. now, let's return back to that first quote i gave you from the director of net assessment. quote, we review all deliverables to ensure that they're consistent with the

statement of work. we evaluate each deliverable to assess whether we should seek additional information or require a resubmission of commission's work, end quote. based upon all of the available evidence from these 20 contracts that were inspected by the inspector general, and that's not all the contracts that the office negotiated, this director's statement is absolutely false. so, here's the bottom line -- the office of net assessment has no clue what they're paying for and whether they've even received a complete work product. and whatever they're actually doing, it's not in compliance

with federal regulations, policy, and law. this is a complete embarrassment and a slap in the face of american taxpayers. while the office of net assessment wasted millions of dollars in taxpayers' money every year, the communist chinese government developed hypersonic missiles that can travel the globe. if this unit isn't doing the job that they're supposed to, to assess our national security capabilities and the capabilities of our enemies, why are we still funding it? it would be better to take the $ 20 million budget and give it to our servicemembers. at least we've known that those servicemembers have earned it. a government slush fund will

always be a government slush fund, unless congress, with our power of oversight and appropriations, steps up and fixes the problem. so, i encourage my colleagues, especially those on the senate arms services committee, to take a stand against this blatant waste, fraud, abuse, and gross mismanagement. op -- on another subject, madam president, i've come to this floor several times in recent months, maybe over the course of a couple years, on my concerns about free speech on campus. there's been a lot said in opposition to reports of crackdown on speech on campuses. but today i come to the floor to

give one shining example of a university upholding expressions of free speech and making it still happen. this all started with former university of chicago president robert zimmer. the institution starting with him and continuing has consistently pushed back on the trends of safe spaces, trigger warnings, and the cancelation of invited speakers. instead, in a letter to all incoming freshmen, chicago -- or university of chicago lays out its philosophy in plain english. in the letter to the 2020 freshmen class, it said that one of the university's goals is,

quote, defining characteristics characteristics -- i should say one of the university's, quote, defining characteristics is our commitment to freedom of inquiry and expression, end of quote. now, this is more than just words. the university has consistently followed through on this policy. even today, the university is still open to dissenting points of view. even goes so far as to tell freshmen, quote, at times this may challenge you and even cause discomfort, end of quote. they're absolutely right. the point of college is not to be coddled. the point of college or a university is to learn.

how can students do that if they don't step out of their comfort zone? i often say that my definition of a university is a place where controversy should run rampant. at the university of chicago, that means noting that, quote, diversity of opinion and background is a fundamental strength of our community, end of quote. both opinion and background are very important, and it defeats the point to just have the one. our universities cannot have just a veneer of diversity. the whole point of bringing in students of different backgrounds is to get different points of view.

that aim is meaningless if all students who go to the college believe the same things. i've introduced several bills to provide transparency for perspective students. my bills focus on transparency of costs. but in many ways, openness about a university's values are just as important. so, i congratulate former president zimmer, who's doing just that and putting his university values on his sleeve. if some schools keep tracking down on free speech -- cracking down on free speech and invited speakers, then the free market will send their students elsewhere. that's because i don't think all kids want to go to school where they will never be challenged

and where their ideals will always be reaffirmed. i'm happy to see projects like university of austin, a newly founded college dedicated to free speech principles. so, in conclusion, it takes time to start new institutions. instead, we need people to stand up in the colleges that we already have, and i hope others will join me in doing just that. i yield the floor and suggest the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. quorum call:

a look at the numbers on highways rose in 2020 -- 2021, 32000 -- that's in the first nine months of the year 2021, 12% higher than the same period in 2020, the highest number. percentage increase 1975. the question is, why?

>> good morning, thanks for having me on. this is a good and important question and we are still learning the answers but some of the components, not buckling up. those seem to be the biggest factors and the issue of distraction is on the rise, they can still use their cell phone and drive and it's not true. >> the advocates for highway and auto safety, the mission is sort of in the name but let's go on about how you go about that mission. >> we were, state and federal level to improve highway and auto safety laws. in congress and state legislatures and federal regulatory level. we make a case for explaining how it comes down to saving lives. >> and making that case in the

annual report that recently came out a couple weeks ago, explain what the report found. >> the report found, as you mentioned, there's a resistance in the state to pass these laws. for example, too often protections safety, teen driver safety and impaired distracted driving and within those components, we have 16 optimal walls. our report finds law struck the country are still missing no state has all 16. >> what are a few examples of optimal laws you want to seek to have on highway safety? >> for example, seatbelt law that requires everyone driver all passengers in the vehicle to buckle up in primary enforcement, law enforcement

officer sees someone not buckled up, they can pull someone over and they don't have to see another violation first called a secondary law. it's not as effective in the primary law. >> president of advocates for highway and auto safety, we are talking about roadways fatality, efforts to lower the number unfortunately increasing. bromides are separate regionally so if you're in the eastern central time zone, (202)748-8000. marginal pacific time zone (202)748-8001. folks are calling in, other some state doing it better than others? who is the best at having these optimal laws you talk about? cor executive 498. the presiding officer: the question's on the motion. all in favor say aye. opposed, no. the ayes appear to have it, the ayes do have it. the motion is agreed to. the clerk will the nomination. the clerk: nomination,

department of defense, douglas r. bush, of virginia, to be a secretary of the army. mr. schumer: i send a cloture motion to the desk. the presiding officer: 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 498, douglas r. bush, of virginia to be assistant secretary of the army. the presiding officer: i ask unanimous consent that the reading of the names be waived. i move to proceed to executive session. the presiding officer: the question is on the motion. all in favor say eye. all opposed, no. the motion is agreed to. mr. schumer: madam president, i move to proceed to executive session to consider calendar number 362. the presiding officer: the question is on the motion. all in favor say aye. opposed, no. the ayes appear to have it. the ayes do have it.

the motion is agreed to. the clerk will report the nomination. the clerk: nomination, department of agriculture, homer l. wilkes, of mississippi, to be under secretary for natural resources and environment. mr. schumer: i send a cloture motion to the desk. the presiding officer: the clerk will report. the clerk: cloture motion, we, the undersigned senators, in accordance with the provisions of rule 22 of the standing rules of the senate, do hereby bring to a close debate on the nomination of executive calendar number 362, homer l. wilkes, of mississippi, to be under secretary of agriculture for natural resources and environment, signed by 17 senators as follows. mr. schumer: i ask scoanlt the reading of -- consent that the reading of the names be waived. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. schumer: i ask unanimous consent that the mandatory quorums had -- be waived. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. schumer: i note the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll.

quorum call: the other legislative body. there are a lot possible but what is needed are champions and as we mentioned, a few weeks ago we had a state legislature from nevada who made child passenger safety one of her top priorities and when we talk to someone who is motivated, think i'm going to do this, i know it law. it pulls people in and we work together with them to help coalitions, we work with emergency nurses and often times victims who have lost loved ones. there is a lot that goes into this and oftentimes it's a years long process but we are in this for the long haul and you may have heard a couple weeks ago

also transportation secretary pete buttigieg released an announcement safety strategy and in that he committed 20 fatalities and we are really trying to hold the fire on that and we are saying if you really mean zero fatalities, that's zero room for hesitation and zero room for delay. we need to get moving on the state and federal level to start saving lives. >> kathy is with us until the type of the hour until 9:00 a.m. done. testifying at transportation about this issue of traffic safety, this is your chance to ask her about the questions, the issues you are seeing in your state. (202)748-8000. for those in eastern or central time zone, (202)748-8001 for those mountain or pacific time zones. we will take you to charlotte, this is david.

you are on with kathy chase. go ahead. >> good morning, c-span. there are so many reasons why we are seeing the fatalities, some of them wouldn't have enough crops on the roads. we used to have plenty of traffic cops or crops around and people would see them and they will slow down a bit. the cops have disappeared, that is one thing. the other thing, there are so many people, there are no more cops, they drive as fast as they can prevent people drive without license plate. this has become a joke. whenever you see, so many people without license tags on their cars. another thing -- >> david, let me get kathy on the lack of police on the road. >> unfortunately during the pandemic, law enforcement of the was strapped, they were challenges, getting sick in

terms of endangering them when they pull people over and the caller is correct saying that our roadways have turned into racetracks. people driving in excessive and it is a danger to everyone on the road, law enforcement officers when people speed at that rate. you cannot evade the laws of physics and if somebody is driving 80 to 100 miles an hour, that's ready for disaster. we are hopeful as the pandemic, roads returned to somewhat to a new normalcy, law enforcement officers will be back in greater force but let me also say automated enforcement like red light running cameras have speed cameras when informatics probably can be a good complement to law enforcement and they are good with deterrence of getting people to slow down and not run red

lights. >> the state were you gave the green rating and yellow and red rating, having optimal safety laws including seatbelt laws, child restraint and helmet laws for motorcycles, here is the map showing green, yellow and red states around the country so you can see where your state fell in this survey, this ranking since the advocate for highway and auto safety. as we take you to new jersey, this is edward. good morning. >> good morning, c-span. i am calling to what i say the number one problem on the road today. that is drivers on their cell phones while driving. you see it all the time, i've never seen anyone stop for cell phone use even though i probably wouldn't know why they were stopped. even at red lights, they've had conversations and they do not

move when the light turns green. this is really enraging cars behind them and they can now make not make the light. when you talk about impending road rage and things like this, get these people off the phones and make it illegal and find their butts. >> thank you. >> could not agree more about the fact that driving is a major problem on the roadways and it is growing. a major problem with distracted driving is a underreported. we don't even know how much but it is. we know just like the caller said, those of us who drive have always been in a situation when we are driving next to someone using their phone has a camera, a minicomputer, it is a major problem and it's one i think people don't fully understand how dangerous that this.

no one thinks i'm going to get into a crash today but oftentimes people have such a big day, i'm going to multitask and take a call or -- it's just going to be a quick text. those decisions can be deadly. i think it's critical law enforcement officers are empowered to pull people over when they see a violation. >> optimal safety laws, here is what arizona is missing according to the gore latest report. front and rear primary enforcement seatbelt laws, all writer motorcycle helmet laws, rear facing through the age of to law, a booster seat law, minimum age 16 for learners permit, supervised driving permit, nighttime passenger restrictions and age 18 for unrestricted license for teens and gdl cell phone restriction.

this is philip in arizona, mesa, arizona. in light of that, philip, your thoughts this morning? >> i moved from california to arizona about eight years ago and i noticed an attitude here in arizona, some of these people drive very aggressively and they will drive right up behind you. aside from all the distractions you have, i work for a delivery company, i deliver on all the freeways here in arizona, i traveled quite a bit around the state and i've noticed crazy driving on the roads i've even seen people, motorcyclists popping wheelies on the freeways.

i think they just don't have enough law enforcement -- well, they are going to have to make different laws is just the attitude here in arizona, please people are free minded people and any restrictions from anything, there is always a big push back. >> i think it does a nationwide issue and i'm sorry for this gentleman's experience, his new home state but this is one of the many reasons we pushed on a federal level or advanced driver system like automatic emergency breaking, these technologies which are some of the newer vehicles but on the higher end or part of a luxury package with other safety features for a couple thousand dollars.

not every family can afford that. we in a quorum call? the presiding officer: yes. mrs. blackburn: i ask that we dispense of the. quorum call. the presiding officer: without objection. mrs. blackburn: the mobile app market is a multibillion-dollar pay day for big tech. in 2020, americans downloaded 13.4 billion apps on to their mobile devices. needless to say, mobile apps are a key component of our digital economy. so it may be xriefg to learn that -- surprising to learn that this is largely unregulated unless you count the influence of the two mega corporations that created it, apple and google have abused their power and their status as gate keepers and penalized developers who want to work alongside them rather than conceding control

over their products. madam president, this is bad for the industry, bad for consumers, bad for the country. these gate keeping tendencies aren't just a bump in the road for developers, they are a roadblock that closes off avenues of competition. am, for example, -- apple, for example, forces developers to use their ex or about a dentally app system, which funnels profits away from the creators and raises price force consumers. -- it is a take it or leave it arrangement. when developers take the deal, they leave the relationship with their customers behind. because the terms prohibit them from dealing directly with the people who use their products. they also have to accept that apple and google will not only prioritize native applications

but they'll take their competitors' confidential business information and use it against them. last week the senate judiciary committee passed my open apps market act which is a bill we have worked some very long hours on and finally we're addressing the stranglehold big tech has on the digital app market. i really do think senator blumenthal and his staff -- thank senator blumenthal and his staff and well as the cosponsors, senators klobuchar, lummis, booker, graham, kennedy, hirono, hawley and chairman durbin for being -- putting so much time and effort to create this bipartisan piece of legislation. this bill will reset the rules of the road to protect competition and consumers by allowing consumers to access third-party apps and app stores

by prohibiting app store owners from locking developers into in-app payment arrangements by ensuring that app developers are allowed to offer competitor pricing and by preventing app stores from misusing confidential business information or app store rankings to disadvantage developers. if app store gatekeepers violate these rules of the road, the bill allows for developer lawsuits. it also includes safeguards to allow app stores to protect the privacy, security, and safety of consumers as well as their own intellectual property rights. it's bipartisan and it is a good, solid, strong first step. but remember, our tradition of maintaining competitive marketplaces isn't the only

thing at stake here. this weekend the opening ceremonies of the olympic games in beijing drew in 16 million viewers. that's down from the last winter games in 2018 so hopefully this means that the various campaigns exposing the crimes and manipulation of the chinese communist party are making a difference. but still that 16 million people and their families are taking in chinese propaganda. the games' corporate sponsors weren't worried about that. they were happy to take advantage of all those eyeballs. and we know nbc hopes to surpass the nearly $2 billion in revenue they pulled in during the tokyo games. protecting that competitiveness is important. but i would argue that protecting the human rights of people, those sponsors and broadcasters are happy to sweep under the rug is even more

important and right at this very moment big tech is facilitating crimes against humanity in china. beijing is notorious for censoring speech critical of the communist government, but part of their grand strategy to silence dissent involves strong arming corporations seeking access to the very lucrative chinese market. it's not enough to offer an exciting product that you have to play nice with the c.c.p. or else you're out. can't be in their market. that means staying quiet about genocide more violent rop press -- oppression in hong kong and doing everything in your power to make sure your customers stay silent, too. the open app markets act has received an outpouring of support from human rights activists who see firsthand how

corporate gait keeping actively endangers the lives of dissidents, activists, uighur muslims, tibetans, hong kong freedom fighters, and other innocent people the c.c.p. has chosen to brutalize. we received a letter of support for the open app markets act signed by many of these individuals that i would like to share. they wrote in part that china's -- china suppresses nearly all dissent using its notorious great firewall internet filtering system and through the corporation of domestic and foreign companies, they are willing to block and remove accounts, content, and applications at the unchallenged request of chinese authorities. few american companies are as subservient to the chinese government as apple. apple willingly censures

dissenting voices and independent media for all in china and hong kong using its control over the app store. end quote. we received another letter from the human rights organization great fire that details specific examples of apple doing the bidding of the chinese communist party. they wrote in part that great fire, an organization dedicated to fighting internet sense sr.ship -- censorship started monitoring apple censorship in november 2013 when apple decided for-- remove our free wiebele application from the chinese app store. apple didn't even wait for the intervention of any chinese judicial authority to determine if our app had actually broken any chinese law. it collaborated with the chinese authorities and dealt with our app the same way it has

continued to deal with many more apps by enforcing arbitrary and politically motivated censorship to ensure its financial interest. end quote. madam president, i ask unanimous consent to enter these two letters into the record. the presiding officer: without objection. a senator: thank you, madam president. it makes no sense creating a name for yourself -- for western users and then turn around and go ought of -- out of your way to make the devices in the hands of the world's most vulnerable people less secure. mrs. blackburn: the time has come for us as a country to decide what matters more, preserving this toxic entanglement with china or preserving life and liberty and the democratic ideals that make us so fortunate to begin with. i ask my colleagues to consider

joining me and senator blumenthal in support of the open app markets act to protect competition, to protect consumers, and to protect those basic human rights that the world's most powerful corporations have decided to take a back seat to access and profit. i yield the floor. the presiding officer: the senator from vermont. mr. leahy: madam president, today, february 7, marks the 60th anniversary of the day the u.s. economic embargo against cuba first went into effect. madam president, i suggest the absence of a quorum. just for a moment. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. quorum call:

the presiding officer: the senator from vermont lea lea i ask consent the call of the quorum be dispensed with. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. leahy: madam president, i ask that i be able to resume my speech without the interruption showing. the presiding officer: without objection. lea lea madam president --

mr. leahy: today, february 7 marks the 60th anniversary of the united states economic embargo against cuba went into effect. think of that. 60 years. it's three generations, 12 presidents, 60 sessions of congress, six transformational decades ago, and dating all the way back to the middle of the cold war. the goal of the embargo which has been expanded multiple times was unmistakable. it was deposed the cuban government by imposing a vast web of punitive sanctions designed to -- the cuban economy and incite a popular uprising. in fact, to be precise, it declassified a state department memo confidently entitled the decline and fall of castro.

it said the purpose was, quote, denying money and supplies to cuba, to knock monitory and real wages, to bring about hunger, desperation, and the overthrow of the government, close quote. what a remarkable humanitarian attitude on the part of people had absolutely no idea of what history is or what might happen. 60 years later hunger and desperation are pervasive in cuba, but the cuban government remains under the firm grip of the communist party. no opposition party has been allowed to function or to challenge it. free and fair elections are as illusive as they were 60 years ago. political dissent is not tolerated. but the u.s. embargo which we proudly and consistently have kept is opposed by every other

nation in this hemisphere. in fact, it's opposed by every other nation in the world except israel. in other words, after 60 years we have convinced only one other government, just one to join us. not a single government in our own hemisphere. this failed attempt to isolate cuba succeeded only to isolate ourselves. those responsible for this administration's policy toward cuba have apparently decided that despite -- to the contrary, despite the failure of the embargo to achieve any of its objectives which the crmpleghts i.a. acknowledged in a declassified report back in 1982 and despite a worsening human rights situation and despite

contributing to the misery of the cuban people who the united states -- who the white house insisted wants to help, there's no reason to change course. today hard hit by covid and the administration's cut off remittances and restrictions on travel by americans to cuba, life for most cubans is an increasingly desperate struggle. popular protesting against the government's mishandling of the pandemic, mishandling of the economic have been met with a fierce crackdown in summary trials, in lengthy prison sentences, including for young people. i've spoken many times about the stark disconnect between the administration's policy toward cuba and the reality in cuba.

so i'm not going to repeat what i said before. i'm as outraged by the crackdown on protesters in cuba as anyone. unlike many others, i've actually said that to the cuban authorities. no one can -- no one condones acts of vandalism or violence but provocations of abuse of peaceful protesters are inexcusable. i also know they're trying to bludgeon the cuban authorities into submission does not work. what's the proof of that? tried it for 60 years and it hasn't worked. so it made things worse, emboldens the hard liners in government who can then blame the united states for their own failed policies. they're determined to hold on to power. if they fail at something, they just blame it on the united states. when it hurts the cuban people,

impeding their ability to pay medical supplies as basic as syringes and masks to fight covid and preventing small businesses from accessing u.s. products. i visited a lot of those small businesses. they actually want to deal with america. and we're cutting them off. it flies in the face of our belief and diplomacy and engagement with governments -- whose governments we disagree with, whose people we share so much in common. sooner or later -- and i hope it's sooner -- the administration needs to face the fact that continuing donald trump's policy of punitive sanctions in i have tree only has backfired -- in vitriol has back fired.

we can do better than this. we can defend human rights, as we should. we can stand up for the right of people to choose their leaders in free and fair elections, as we should. we can also do what we do with virtually every other government in the world with which we disagree -- find areas of common purpose for the benefit of the people in both countries. so, madam president, on this 60th anniversary of a cold war policy of sanctions and isolation that has failed in every conceivable way, let us dedicate ourselves to a new way forward that our aways and partners in this -- our allies and partners in this hemisphere will support, that the american people support, that supports the cuban people, and, most importantly, that we can show the rest of the world it's worthy of the united states, worthy of us.

what we're doing right now is not. we can do better. we must do better. madam president, i think of so many young people that i have talked to and met in cuba who are in a different world. they can't understand why the united states slams the door on them. we can do better. we have to do better. i pray we will do better. i suggest the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. quorum call:

>> but because d.c. is not a state it confirms its judges. u.s. ambassador to germany and under secretary of defense for policy >> on mondays we like to look at the week ahead on capitol hill christina joined us for that conversation and we were just having in the wake of mike pence's speech rebuking president trump on what he could and could not do a january 6, on the sunday show the republican figures on the sunday show. you think republican leaders will continue to be navigating this story in the back and forth between penn central as we start this new week on capitol hill.

>> the strategy generally on capitol hill is to take a middle ground, where they don't necessarily agree with streamed comments like this suggesting that pens had the right to over to the election which trump wanted him to do. also recognize a foreign president remains incredibly popular with the republican base. it is not their political interest to alienate him either. it was striking for pence to openly disagree with trump like that and speak to the society on friday. this puts more pressure on the discussions in the senate to reform the electoral contact which is the wall that governs the congressional process with the electoral college vote with the presidential election.

that will be more difficult for those republicans to talk to democrats to make these reforms. >> when are we expected to see some language or where those reforms can go? >> it could take some time a group of top democrats released a proposal last week outline some of the things clarified that the vice president did not have the authority to intervene and that's all they really had is the ceremonial role that were overseeing the process, just for example to recruit typical for a suggestion to any state election results. that is already out there but there isn't exactly a timeline established by the republican democrats were negotiated this

right now. we could see that in a matter of weeks since democrats are looking for some sort of reform that they could put forward in the absence of their larger voting rights package that is currently stalled from the senate. >> we actually have a timeline on the possibility of another government shutdown. were seeing that the end of next week february the 18th. where are we on efforts to keep the government funded? >> the top leaders in the house appropriation committee have been in talks for the last few weeks trying to find agreement on a topline number to suffer overall government spending. they are still working on that. that is a pretty basic thing that they need in order to hammer out what amounts to thousands of pages that will honor this package funded the entire government for the fiscal year. at this rate there is still a

ways to go. yesterday house majority leader's said during msnbc it increasingly looks like congress is going to do a short-term stopgap measure so they can carry out the negotiations for a few more weeks. lawmakers have been trying to avoid going into the fiscal year which ends to the end of september. they get to china by themselves more time. the house is scheduled to be out of session next week and the week after. the thinking potentially that the house could vote as soon as this week on a stopgap measure and they would take it up before next friday. >> the house and session scheduled today the house in noon votes expected around 630 tonight and the senate returned at 3:00 p.m. today and at the other end of capitol hill and the president meeting with the german chancellor today at a

joint press conference scheduled for 3:15 p.m. as of activities happening in washington you can watch them on the c-span network christina is covering about about for the hill newspaper for starting your week with us this morning as we talk about the week ahead in washington. he could join the conversation as usual republicans 2,027,488,001, democrats 2,028,000, independence 2,027,488,002. as folks are calling in you mention steady way year there is an announcement that he has contracted covid, how is he doing do we have an update at this point? >> he has multiple immediate appearances since he announced that he tested positive in its like a moderate cold more or less he's doing well enough to go on television and give updates but regardless the house has set up a proxy voting system in 2020 where lawmakers can cast

the votes remotely enter not able to be in the capital in person. any lawmaker absence in the house don't affect the passage of association or anything like that they can still maintain the operation. the senate however, still has that. the anyone site can affect their operation in the other chamber. >> is certainly an apposite right now in the senate chamber impacting the senate majority schedule if you want to talk about them. >> the senator recently had a stroke and he is expected to be out of the senate for a month, possibly up to six weeks. in any event president biden expected to nominate the nominee until the end of this month. around that time is not likely to impact their ability to conform the supreme court nominee. but it just underscores how fragile senate democrats of the majority is with a 50/50 split.

>> we ended with the houseboat on the competes act, the america competes act focusing on china the senate passed their version of the legislation i believe last summer but now the two versions have to go to conference, what is the schedule for that it is not something the absence in the senate could and pack? >> the biden administration is urging congress to get it done as soon as possible because it includes provision to invest in semiconductor chip production and invested more domestic production of goods to help ease the supply chain shortage that we've been seen. it's not clear when that could happen but this is the kind of legislation that will require at least 60 votes in the senate

meaning ten senate republicans will have to get on board with it. if republicans will have to be on board for this legislation anyway, senators absence may not affect that as much. right now the bill passed the house on friday with one republican vote from adam ken'se house and senate democrats have some work to do objection. the presiding officer: under the previous order, the senate will resume consideration of the following nomination, which the clerk will report.

the clerk: nomination, the judiciary. ebony m. scott of the district of columbia to be an associate judge for the superior court of the district of columbia. the presiding officer: the question is on the nomination. is there a sufficient second? there appears. the clerk will call the roll. vote: vote:

vote:

vote:

vote:

the presiding officer: the yeas are 55, the nays are 38. 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. under the previous order, the senate will resume consideration of the following nomination, which the clerk will report. the clerk: nomination, the judiciary, donald walker tunnage of the district of columbia to be an associate judge of the superior court of the district of columbia. the presiding officer: the question is on the nomination. a senator: i ask for the yeas and nays. the presiding officer: the yeas and nays roadblock requested. a sufficient second? there appears to be.

the yeas and nays are ordered. the clerk will call the roll. vote:

vote:

vote:

oo

vote: the presiding officer: on this vote the yeas are 54. the nays are 39. 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. a senator: mr. president. the presiding officer: the senator from minnesota. a senator: i ask unanimous consent that the senate proceed to the consideration of the following nominations en bloc, calendar numbers 721, 722 that

the senate vote on the nominations en bloc without intervening action or debate, the motions to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table with no intervening action or debate, that any statements related to the nominations be printed in the record, that the president be immediately notified of the senate's action. the presiding officer: is there objection? without objection. the question occurs on the nominations en bloc. all in favor say aye. opposed no. the ayes appear to have it. the ayes do have it. the nominations are confirmed en bloc. a senator: mr. president. the presiding officer: the senator from minnesota. a senator: i ask unanimous consent the senate consider the following nomination, calendar number 648, alice p. albright of the district of columbia to be chief executive officer millenian challenge corporation, the senate vote on the nomination without intervening action or debate, 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, that the president be immediately notified of the senate's action. the presiding officer: is there objection? without objection. the clerk will report the nomination. the clerk: nomination, millennium challenge corporation alice p. albright of the district of columbia to be the chief executive officer. the presiding officer: the question is on the nomination. all those in favor say aye. opposed no. the ayes appear to have it. the ayes do have it. the nomination is confirmed. a senator: i ask unanimous consent that the senate proceed to legislative session and be in a period of morning business with senators permitted to speak therein for up to ten minutes each. the presiding officer: is there objection? hearing none, without objection. ms. smith: mr. president, i ask unanimous consent that when the senate completes its business today, it recess until 10:00 a.m. on tuesday, february 8, that following the prayer and pledge, 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 bush nomination. further, at 11:45 a.m., the senate vote on confirmation of the howard and alikhan nominations and that following disposition of the alikhan nomination, the senate recess until 2:15 to allow for the weekly caucus meetings. then at 2:30 p.m., the senate vote on confirmation of the gutmann and carty nominations. finally if any nominations are confirmed during tuesday's session, the motions to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table and the president be immediately notified of the senate's action. the presiding officer: is there objection? without objection. ms. smith: if there is no further business to come before the senate, i ask that it stand in recess under the previous order. the presiding officer: the senate stands in recess until senate stands in recess until

>> the u.s. senate today is considering two nominees to sit on the district court of columbia. because d.c. is not a state, the senate confirms its judges. >> cox is committed to providing eligible families access to affordable internet through the connect to compete program, bridging the digital divide. cox, bringing us closer. >> cox supports c-span as a public service along with these other television providers.

giving you a front row seat to democracy. >> tennessee governor bill lee delivered his fourth state of the state address in nashville. he talked about the state's fiscal health, funding for public education, the opioid epidemic and criminal justice reform. [applause] >> thank you. thank you. thank you. thank you. thank you very much. very gracious. lieutenant governor mcnally and speaker sexton, speaker pro tem hale, members of the 112th general assembly,