strong manager. she has overseen large teams. she has administered huge budgets. in addition to all of this, she is the daughter of cuban refugees who directly benefited from the work of the bureau of population refugees and migration. so she has a personal connection to the importance of the bureau's work. when you think about that list of qualifications, she is really the ideal person to lead p.r.m. what's the rush, some may ask. p.r.m. hasn't confirmed, hasn't had a confirmed assistant secretary since the days of the obama administration. all the more reason that it should have one more. it shouldn't be a rudderless organization when addressing so many important issues for our nation. p.r.m. has a major role in human

rights and humanitarian efforts abroad as well as providing aid to refugees here at home. they are responsible for directing more than $3 billion in lifesaving humanitarian aid around the world to more than 84 million forcibly displaced people. 80% of those are women and children. so if you care about the plight of women and children around the world, you want to have an experienced leader making sure those dollars are efficiently allocated to best effect. p.r.m. leads the building of the refugee assistance program and p.r.m. works with migration solutions and they have policies that save mothers and babies be and prevent gender-based

violence around the world. p.r.m. leads diplomatic effortsor international burden sharing to better reduce suffering and to be more effective in saving lives. and p.r.m. is a critical part of our national security infrastructure vetting those who come into our country ensuring they don't pose a risk to our safety and security. the bureau is doing all this but they are doing it without a leader to make sure they do it in the most effective, professional, competent fashion. the bureau is doing critical work every day to address these challenges and those challenges are growing as more and more countries are disrupted by war and by famine and by corruption. so this bureau deserves to have

someone leading those efforts who has the type of background that the ambassador has. all of us who want to see these programs administered effectively have a stake in having competent leadership in place. thus, i ask unanimous consent the senate consider the following nomination. calendar item number 4662, julieta valls noyes, to be an assistant secretary of state. that the nomination be confirmed, the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table with no intervening action or debate, that no further motions be in order to the nomination, that any related statements be printed in the record and that the president be immediately notified of the senate's action. the presiding officer: is there objection? a senator: mr. president. the presiding officer: . the senator from florida. mr. scott: reserving the right to object. throughout his administration president biden has shown a

shocking disregard for congressional authority and oversight. following his botched and deadly withdrawal from afghanistan, the biden administration has refused to provide accountability or provide answers to congress or the american people. the president shifts blame and hides from the truth. his administration demands to have close, so-called classified hearings, even though none of the material being discussed is classified information. we don't know how many americans are trapped in afghanistan. we don't know how many americans are trapped in afghanistan. biden abandoned them behind enemy -- lines. it's wrong and left no faith in president biden's ability to appoint individuals. i will not allow this nominee to move forward in an expedited manner. mr. president, therefore, i object. the presiding officer: the objection is heard. mr. merkley: mr. president.

the presiding officer: the senator from oregon. mr. merkley: i would love for us to have a full ordinary process here on the floor and to have all of us on both sides of the aisle support that process. i come to the floor to ask for this unanimous consent because that process has been frustrated and we now have been without a leader for this entire administration. my colleague made a point about afghanistan. and he said we need to know how many americans are in afghanistan. if you want better action on the issue of americans as refugees abroad or stranded abroad, then you want to have a responsible leader, an accountable leader heading up the bureau of population migration and refugees. so let's do our job here in this chamber because when we fail to enable such a critical organization responsible for billions of dollars around the

world being provided to millions of people, responsible for these -- for the vetting of people coming into our country, when we fail to do our job to put somebody in charge, we are only wounding ourselves. this is exactly the type of partisan paralysis destruction that is damaging our nation. we need to get this confirmation completed. thank you, mr. president. ms. murkowski: mr. president. the presiding officer: the senator from alaska. ms. murkowski: mr. president, i come to the floor this evening to speak in honor and recognition of a woman by the name of elizabeth poratovic h. she is recognized in my state as

a champion of civil rights for all alaska yabs. it is on this -- alaskans. it is on this day, february 16 that the state of alaska observes elizabeth. in communities across the state and schools, cultural centers, you're going to be seeing activities to honor this really remarkable alaska native leader. pbs has an award winning show, it's called molly of i did -- denali. and they highlight her on that show. it was two year ago her image was placed on a dollar coin issued by the united states mint. so that recognition has gone beyond the state of alaska, clearly to the national, to the federal level. so as we celebrating elizabeth

per acavich day, it is a day of seeking and realizing a more conclusive society and certainly a more representative society. she was a member of the raven soci clan. she was born on independence day in petersburg, alaska in 1911. it was a year after that, a group of 12 native american people mobilized to form an organization called the alaska native brotherhood and then two years later they formed the alaska native sisterhood. these are considered the oldest indigenous rights civil rights organizations in the world and started right there in southeastern alaska, a.m.b. and

a.n.s. sought to advance equal opportunities for education, employment, and housing. and they sought to secure native civil rights. elizabeth married roy, and the two of them became very active in a.n.b. and a.n.s. activities in the 1940's. in 1941, they had moved to juneau and they encountered a level of discrimination in that community against alaska native peoples that, as we -- as we look at -- at the accounts of the time, that paralleled the jim crow practices in the south. but it strengthened their resolve, it strengthened their commitment to fight back against the discrimination that they saw. through their work with a.n.b. and a.n.s., elizabeth and roy

began advocating for an antidiscrimination bill in the territorial legislature. we didn't become a state until 1959. this is the early 1940's and they are talking about an antidiscrimination bill in our legislature. and they pointed out to all who would listen that alaska natives were paying taxes for a public school system that secluded their children. they weren't part of that school system. they pointed out that alaska native men were fighting in world war ii, but then on their return they were denied rights that other veterans enjoyed. those fundamental discriminations and many more with what drove their pursuit for equal rights, not just for -- for alaska natives for all people in alaska. so they had gone to juneau in 1941. that the senate discrimination bill didn't pass immediately.

it was reduced in 19 -- reintroduced in 1945. and there's a lot of discussion about the pivotal moment in time when -- when eyes were opened and really minds were also -- also opened in awareness. this was -- this was the time of debate where this antidiscrimination bill had passed the house. it had moved over to the senate and there was a territorial senator who denounced these efforts to desegregate and he -- he stood up on this senate floor and he says, who are these people barely out of savagery who want to associate with us whites with 5,000 years of recorded civilization behind us? pretty -- pretty inflammatory if

you are sitting there in -- in the senate chambers listening to that. certainly -- certainly to an alaska native person. at the end of the debate, the public was ofd a -- offered the chance to express their view in front of the legislature. that is not something that we have in legislature now, but in the territorial legislature, the public was offered a chance to weigh in here. and elizabeth peratrovich stood in the back of this senate gallery and in her remarks, she said, i would not have expected that i, who am barely out of savagery would have to remind the gentleman with 5,000 recorded years of civilization behind them of our bill of rights. and when asked if she thought the bill would eliminate discrimination, she replied, do your laws against larceny and

even murder prevent those crimes? no law will eliminate crimes, but at least you, as legislators, can assert to the world that you recognize the evil of the present situation and speak your intent to help us overcome discrimination. imagine this scene, you are -- you are part of this legislative body and from the back of the gallery a native woman stands to speak to address this elected body. following her comments, there was a long period of silence, and then there was applause through the gallery and through the senate floor, including -- including from some who had previously opposed the bill. alaska's governor at the time, earnest greening, went on to sign the antidiscrimination act,

the nation's first antidiscrimination act signed into law on february 16, 1945. this was almost two decades before landmark civil rights act of 1964. so it is a -- it is something that when we in alaska think about -- think about the history of discrimination that we have had that certainly alaska native people have endured -- endured far too long to -- to have led the country in terms of putting into law the first antidiscrimination act in this country a couple of decades before the civil rights act advanced through this congress. during an indian affairs committee hearing on native voting access last october october, julia kitka, reminded

us that these events are not very old and sometimes we think of elizabeth peratrovich, and she and her husband roy and the impact they had on alaska and the way they strengthened our democracy is our current history as well. sew we -- so we honor her for standing up for what is right. she is an inspiration because she set the example that when you seeing is wrong, you speak out and you do something about it. and she also provided a great example for why we need to listen -- why we need to listen to all perspective and voices, especially those who have been left out or left behind oftentimes intentionally. i think of stella martin, a

champion of equal rights herself, she described elizabeth as a fighter with velvet gloves and she was truly a fighter. elizabeth pre atro -- we all have a responsibility to be respond to the calls from our constituents who are seeking protection, including through electoral reforms and improvements for voter access. we all know we went through a very partisan exercise on voting rights legislation here on the floor earlier this year. some may say how that ee vent on this issue -- it didn't change the underlying fact that we need to come together to advance good, solid policy in this area.

i'm working with a group of senators. there's around 16 of us, i think total, but we're continuing to focus on these issues of election reform. we want to try to determine a bipartisan path forward so that we can actually move important safeguards and clarifications into the law. and it may not be easy to take on some of these complicated issues, particularly when you get the pulls from both sides to not engage, to try to come to the middle. but like we did with the infrastructure bill, like we are doing with the violence against women act, we need to follow a path that allows us to get something done as opposed to simply sending messages. so, mr. president, as alaska

celebrates elizabeth peratrovich, i hope the senate will look to her legal geese for inspiration as we seek unity and follow her example of treating our fellow citizens with respect. we've got too much at stake to operate in any other lesser manner. i thank the president for his attention, and i yield the floor and would suggest the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. quorum call:

mr. schumer: mr. president? the presiding officer: the majority leader. mr. schumer: i ask unanimous consent that the senate proceed to legislative session -- the presiding officer: the senate is in a quorum call. mr. schumer: i ask unanimous consent the quorum call be dispensed with. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. schumer: i ask unanimous consent 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: without objection. mr. schumer: mr. president, i ask unanimous consent that the appointment at the desk appear separately in the record as if made by the chair. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. schumer: finally, mr. president, i ask unanimous consent that when the senate completes its business today, it adjourn until 10:30 a.m. on thursday, february 17, that following the prayer and pledge, the morning hour be deemed expired, the journal of proceedings be approved to date, the time for the two leaders be rereserved for their use later in the day and morning business be closed. upon conclusion of morning business, the senate resume consideration of the motion to proceed to calendar 267, h.r. 6617, the continuing resolution, that at 1:00 p.m., the cloture motion ripen. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. schumer: if there's no further business to come before the senate, i ask that it stand adjourned under the previous order. the presiding officer: the senate stands adjourned until senate stands adjourned until

>> today after wilensky does -- updated the state abandoned in dr. fauci will present the