bathroom, i'll never go anywhere, i'll stay behind these gates. >> and go wherever you get your podcasts. >> now available for pre-order in the c-span shop, the congressional directory. go there for the compact and spiral-bound book with contact information for every member of congress, bios and committee assignments and state governors for the biden administration cabinet. pre-order your copy today c-span shop or scan the qr code. >> the senate is about to gavel in to continue debate on a bill that would make changes to health care benefits for postal service retirees. lawmakers will also vote on a

joint resolution to end the national emergency declaration for covid that was authorized by president trump in march of 2020. that vote has been set for 2 p.m. eastern. now live to the senate floor. the president pro tempore: the senate will come to order. the chaplain, dr. barry black, will lead the senate in prayer. the chaplain: let us pray. eternal god, we have enemies. many strive to stop the march of freedom. use our lawmakers to accomplish your will on earth. give them the wisdom to trust your precepts

and depend upon your guidance. lord, judge our desires and thoughts, as you strengthen us with your constant love. thank you for the way you have helped us throughout our history. spare us from the fate of those who do evil and sustain us with your prevailing mercies. guard those who place their hope in you and keep them safe enabling them to tell of your wonderful deeds to future generations. we pray in your great name. amen. the president pro tempore: please join me in the pledge of

allegiance. i pledge allegiance to the flag of the united states of america, and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under god, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. the president pro tempore: under the previous order, the leadership time is reserved. morning business is closed. under the previous order, the senate will resume consideration of h.r. 3076 which the clerk will report.

the clerk: calendar number 273, h.r. 3076, an act to provide stability to and enenhance the services of the united states postal service and for other purposes. the presiding officer: the senator from vermont. a senator: i suggest the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. quorum call:

>> i just had an opportunity to sit down with the nominee of president biden to be supreme court desha sought the first time we met. in fact, it's not the first time she was in my office as she was there we think, what kind to guess, 2011 as a of the sentencing commission. i had passed a reform of sentencing on crack cocaine and she was a member of the commission which ultimately unanimously decided to make that . it includes support of conservative, republicans and others on the bipartisan basis. let me tell you why i believe that this woman is ready to make history in america. she has an extraordinary background. if you're going to be the first in america you better bring credentials to the task, and she

does. she's been an outstanding law student, an outstanding clerk for three different levels of the judiciary including for the retiring justice stephen breyer. she has been before this judiciary committee. this'll be her fourth time she's been before three different times successfully with bipartisan support approved by the judiciary committee. the most recent was just this last year when she was approved for the d.c. circuit court. every single time should come before the committee she's had bipartisan support. that is quite source of pride in this day and age with the contentious partisanship that we have. she's an amazing person personally. we talked about her background and things that she had been through. and i would say that she's in a

position that were she's prepared to come before the committee and before the senate and to win the nomination officially before the senate. i want to say a word about the timing of this. she is going to be, have a hearing before the committee on march 21. 21st. i inform store grousing about this morning, and he has taken it to his caucus to announce that this is the date we chose, he didn't choose that date. it was chosen by the democratic majority. that meet tight while i is fair. that will be the 24th day after president biden's announcement of this nominee that the hearing begins on marc. it has been less than a year since she was before the committee spring begins, daily w

cases of covid-19 have dramatically decreased since the height of omicron. hospitalizations, thank god, are steadily declining. across the country americans are able to remove their masks as the spread of disease seems to be lessening. crucially, schools are open and we need to do everything we can in our power to make sure they stay open. all of these signs point in a positive direction. the country is turning the corner on the covid pandemic. we are in a new moment of the fight. but we are also at a crossroads. either we act now to secure the progress we have made or we risk backsliding if another contagious variant emerges in the fall and winter. just as we cannot allow covid to rule our lives, neither can we fall into a false sense of complacency. that's why the white house has requested that congress include

$22.5 billion in additional covid relief funding in the upcoming spending bill. and congress should follow through with this request over the coming days. if not, we risk sliding back if another variant occurs. this morning on cnbc former f.d.a. commissioner scott gottlieb reminded viewers of a key aspect of this disease. to paraphrase him loosely, cases can drop in the spring and summer but the risk still exists for another wave to surge in the fall or winter. he's right. we all know this from sad experience. we also know what we must do to be ready. we know a lot more now what to do to be ready than we knew a year ago. if we want to keep our schools open, if we want to keep life as close to normal as possible, if we want to be ready for the possibilities of future variants, congress must provide the resources needed before a

new variant arrives. that's the surest way to minimize cases, hospitalizations, and deaths in the future. let me repeat. to keep schools open, to keep life as normal as it can be, we need additional covid investments now, not after a possible new variant arrives. remember, by now all the public health funding provided under the american rescue plan has run out. if congress waits until the new variant arises to pass new funding, it will be too late. and we're happy to make clear with our republican colleagues about how this money is dedicated. the white house has already spent -- has provided an explanation about how covid money has been spent over time. some republicans may think it should have been spent differently, but the point is that it has been spent. we don't -- can't pull those dollars back.

and we need to provide new funding for possible variants. where is the covid money been spent thus far? it's gone to vaccinate 215 million americans. it's been used to keep schools open, to expand treatments and to provide 1.2 billion vaccines to other countries. and last night, acting o.m.b. director sha londa young sent congress a 12-page letter detailing what the new funding would do -- more vaccines for children's, bolstering our testing supply chain, therapeutics, and more. if there's one thing both parties should be able to agree on, it's that we should not shortchange the american people on vaccines, on testing, or on therapeutic medicines that greatly reduce the severity of the illness, if you're able too to take them, if we have the supply. so again, congress must include

new funding for covid relief to assure our schools and our communities face minimal disruption in case another variant comes, and we should do it asap. the most logical place immediately to do it is in the upcoming omnibus bill. now, on another matter, on costs, costs to the american people. in the coming mons and beyond, senate -- months and beyond, senate democrats will maintain a focus on one of the most vexing issues facing american families, lowering costs while building on the wage and job growth we've seen over the past year. the american economy is booming compared to a year ago. the number of new jobs added to the economy is staggering.

we've added more than 6 million new jobs in a year, including the most new manufacturing jobs in decades. but at the same time, we must fiercely confront the wave of rising costs, resulting from covid's worldwide disruptions. this is the biggest economic challenge that our country must focus on right now. later today, at our dpcc lunch at the request of chair stab now, -- chair stabenow, f.t.c. commissioner kahn will join us to shine a light on the troubling pattern of corporate price hikes in the area of oil, gas, prescription drugs and other goods. the dimension of inflation cannot be ignored. americans are being asked to pay more at the grocery store, at the pump, and for basic goods. even as they watch incredulously as some of the nation's biggest corporations pose their most massive profits. in many instances, these profits resoundingly exceed, exceed

pre-pandemic figures. last fall, bloomberg noted that u.s. coptions outside of the financial -- corporations outside of the financial industry reported the biggest margins since 1950. since 1950. 71.5 years ago. it appears corporate profits are far outpacing inflation. and they're spending much of the profits on things like corporate buybacks, with i are hitting record levels. so americans are being asked to pay more, but many megacorporations are making a killing. that is a twisted things to see as we recover from covid. democrats are working right now on a number of proposals and ideas that would ease the pressure of american -- that americans are feeling from rising costs. we must lower the cost of insulin to $35 a month. we must make all prescription drugs cheaper. we need to help make dproas ris more a-- groceries more

affordable. we need to look at fixing ocean shipping bottlenecks. i will add that one of the best things to do to fight inflation is to confirm president biden's nominees to the federal reserve. i urge in the strongest terms possible for republicans to drop their holds on these members. the federal reserve is so crucial for our economy right now, and to intentionally delay their confirmation is irresponsible. most importantly, we must boost manufacturing, american manufacturing, and decrease our reliance on overseas producers. the war, provoked by putin, is an illustration as to why this example is important. president biden's state of the union made clear that the united states remains strong and ready to face the immense challenges of our time, but to maintain that edge we must focus like a laser on addressing costs. that's what democrats will keep doing, and another thing we're

doing today, that's happening today is a hearing in the commerce committee on shipping costs and a bipartisan bill by senators klobuchar and thune that will help reduce those costs. shipping costs affect every american. any good that comes from overseas has to be shipped here. on the post office, democrats have been working all week with republicans to push the biggest postal reform bill in years over the finish line, and today we're close. today we continue negotiations with the other side on their proposed list of amendments to the bill. as we continue to work on the deal, i filed cloture last night on the postal bill in order to keep the momentum going. at the end of the day, the vast majority of democrats and republicans want to see this bill sent to the president's desk quickly. so i hope we can arrive at an agreement to finish before the weekend. i want to thank my colleagues on both sides of the aisle for their continued work, chairman peters, ranking member portman.

this postal reform bill has been a long time coming, and when passed it will ensure that tens of millions of americans who reline -- rely on the post office every day, for medicine, social security checks and other goods, can make sure that the post office remains in good hands and is strengthened. finally, i want to close by noting this afternoon president biden will sign into law bipartisan legislation ending forced arbitration for sexual assault and sexual harassment. all of us have heard the searing testimony, searing, of those who have faced harassment or abuse at work,s only to discover their jobs offered precious little in accountability. countless careers have been derailed or undone. worse still, countless lives have been forever damaged. and for decades, workplace practices, like mandatory arbitration, have perpetuated cultures of abuse and unaccountability. we can't ignore a basic relate

of these clauses. they deprive victims of sexual harassment and assault of their basic rights, by mandating that they seek remedy only behind closed doors, with private arbitration and no other alternative. with the mr. 's signature today, that -- with the president's signature today, that comes to an end. i want to thank senator gillibrand for leading the fight for years, and i'm glad i was able to work with senators graham and ernst to push this bill over the finish line. by the end of today, we will be able to say the senate acted, the house acted, the president acted, and now forced arbitration -- and now, forced arbitration reform is law. i yield the floor. i note the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. quorum call:

mr. mcconnell: mr. president. the presiding officer: the republican leader.

mr. mcconnell: yesterday morning, i hosted judge ketanji brown jackson -- the presiding officer: the senate is in a quorum call. mr. mcconnell: i ask that the further proceedings on the qowrnl called be dis-- on the quorum call be dispensed with. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. mcconnell: yesterday, i hosted ketanji brown jackson, the president's nominee to replace justice breyer on the supreme court in my office. i was glad to meet with judge jackson. we enjoyed a cordial discussion. like i've been saying, republicans fundamentally believe the nominee of the course and the country all deserve better than the disgraceful displays that senate democrats have routinely visited on nominees of republican presidents. the senate's process should be had dignified. but it also must be vigorous, exhaustive, and painstaking. we're talking about a lifetime appointment to our nation's highest court. this is a moment when issues

related to the law and the judeish are i are directly hitting american families, from skyrocketing murders and hijackings, to soft-on-crime prosecutors repealing laws, to open borders. this is also a moment when the far left has declared open season on the very concept of judicial independence itself. president biden even vowed to the radicals and set up a court-packing commission. now justice breyer has distinguished himself by loudly and proudly putting those radicals in their placing. he's consistently denounced the concept of partisan court-packing and defended the court's legitimacy. one would hope his suck successor would -- his successor would follow suit. the same radicals who want to

turn them into the party of court-packing, this nominee was a favorite of the fringe groups. at this time last year they were already spending dark money to raise her profile. so i intend to explore why groups that are waging political war against the court as an institution decided judge jackson was their special favorite. like i said, i enjoyed meeting the judge. she's clearly a sharp lawyer with an impressive resume, but when it comes to the supreme court, a core qualification is judicial philosophy. our citizens need justices who treat all parties fairly, apply our laws and constitution as written, and leave legislating to us here in congress. i raised all these matters yesterday, and i look forward to gaining more clarity about judge

jackson's positions during the vigorous and thorough senate process to come. now on another matter, our nation is facing serious challenges to our citizens' health and wellness. covid-19 has been one of them. abuse of illegal drugs and prescription pills is another. heart disease, cancer, and diabetes are ever present. many of these health crises hit middle america especially hard and specifically rural america. data show that rural americans are disproportionately likelier to die from a number of potentially preventable causes. that's why i've been focused on expanding local treatment centers and telehealth and fighting the drug epidemic tooth and nail. last week i hosted dr. rule gupta, the administration's drug

czar, in kentucky. opioid ainterviews a staggering problem in our state and throughout the country. last year even during covid fentanyl abuse alone was the biggest cause of death among americans age 18 to 45. that is not hurricane katrina all drugs, just -- that is not even all drugs, just fentanyl alone. in short, madam president, this may literally be the worst time in american history to deliberately cut health care access in rural america. but that's just what the biden administration has done. president biden told every thinly stretched doctor's office and hospital that accepts medicare that they had to fire workers who didn't want the covid vaccine. now i've been a consistent advocate for getting vaccinated. they offer powerful personal protection against hospitalization and death. but they do not prevent people from catching or transmitting the current variant. there is no moral justification

for sweeping mandates. the benefits accrue to the person that gets the shot. what's more, the c.d.c.'s own research says that prior infection provides protection that is at least as strong as the vaccines. but the president's overreaching mandate ignored that and his policy unscientifically discriminated against people who have immunity from prior infection. they had to comply anyway or lose their job. the president tried to force such a mandate on all kinds of workers across america. the courts struck that down easily. but his mandate targeting health care workers remains in effect. it's unfair on a personal level but even just looking at public health, it's terrible policy for rural america. we cannot have president biden

mass-firing doctors and nurses when hospitals are already short-staffed. one hospital leader in marshall county, kentucky, told me, this is an absolute disaster. we're a small critical-access hospital. we've begun assessing areas that may have to literally be shut down. a hospital in caloway told me that they cannot afford to lose one more nurse. the head of a critical access hospital in hardensburg says the mandate is devastating for kentucky hospitals. clearly many of my colleagues are hearing similar things. yesterday over the objections of every senate democrat who voted stood up for america's health care access. we passed a resolution to overturn president biden's

mandate that would drain doctors and nurses out of middle america. washington democrats can hobnob in the capitol tuesday evening with no mask, then they ought to stop pushing mass firings on essential health workers. if we know anything about this democratic house, this commonsense measure may well die on speaker pelosi's desk. i sincerely hope that our colleagues across the capitol will see reason and pass this bill.

mr. coons: madam president? the presiding officer: the senator from delaware. mr. coons: madam president, are we in a quorum call? the presiding officer: we are not. mr. coons: since president biden took office, we've seen historic job growth and a dynamic economy. wages are rising and they're rising fastest for working-class americans. but despite this significant economic progress, today too many american families are still

facing economic challenges. a global pandemic now entering its third year, ongoing disruptions to international supply chains that result in rising prices, and now the economic shocks caused by putin's aggression, his invasion of ukraine and the response by the west, a united effort to impose sanctions on russia, which will also have consequences for the global economy. the federal reserve exists, in part, to address issues just like these. the fed doesn't just set interest rates and control our money supply. it oversees banks, ensures efficient and reliable payment, and promotes community development. when our economy is facing such foundational challenges like the ones we're up against right now, it is crucial our institutions are at full steam. the fed is at its strongest with a full board of governors. president biden has nominated

five of the finest economic minds our country has to fill its vacancies. jerome powell to serve as chair and lael brainard to serve as vice chair. sarah bloom rasstin, who i know from -- raskin, who i know from college has been nominated to serve as vice chair for supervision and has demonstrated through a long career of public service to be a highly competent regulator. philip jefferson nominated to be serve as a board governor has deep expertise as to how montana tater impacts economic growth and an important understanding of poverty in america today. last, my good friend lisa who i have known for a decade. we knew each other when we helped encourage younger truman scholars, a federally funded

memorial to president harry truman. i have known her since the stages in her life where neither one of us might have guessed that i would be a senator and i would be speaking in support of her nomination to the federal reserve. she would bring a valuable new perspective to the fed board. lisa, from her time growing up in a small rural town in georgia, going on to earn advanced degrees from our nation's finest institutions and now as a teacher at one of our great public universities, she has built world-class expertise in economics, innovation, and banking. she understands not just abstract economic theory but how those theories impact americans and their families in all walks of life. lisa served on the white house council of council of council of economic advisors and she has studied the macroeconomics of foreign markets in europe and africa,

including the way central banks have dealt with inflation, one of the issues right before us. she has expertise in an emerging area of the economy that's increasingly important for our central bank regulators to understand, digital currencies and financial technology. she has supported sensible regulation of cryptocurrency and allows more people to access secure financial services. her data-driven approach will help the fed navigate the economic recovery and focus on financial inclusion will be a critical perspective that will help ensure all americans can see the benefit of continued economic growth and job gains. madam president, overall, these are five nominees to the fed board with sterling credentials and strong character, all of them on their merits deserve the seats to which they have been nominated. i respect the desire on the part of my republican colleagues to conduct a full evaluation of these nominees and all five of

them have responded repeatedly, fully, and with transparency to the hundreds of questions that have been pressed to them. they have answered all the questions put to them. the time has come to advance and confirm these nominees, and i call upon my republican colleagues to allow a vote to proceed. to block a vote in the banking committee of this senate by simply denying a quorum is no way for this allegedly greatest deliberative body in the world to conduct itself. if we are in fact facing the crisis of inflation and rising prices, the federal reserve board must have its full membership. so, my colleagues, please stop blocking these capable and qualified nominees and allow them to proceed. madam president, i serve on the senate judiciary committee, and in my dozen years here, i've had the honor of participating in

and even presiding over confirmation hearings for federal district courts, circuit courts, and the supreme court. we have before us now president biden's first nominee to our nation's highest court, judge ketanji brown jackson is an exceptionally well qualified jurist whose experience, whose credentials and even-handed approach to the administration of justice make her an outstanding nominee for the u.s. supreme court. this is an important step forward towards making our supreme court look more like, reflect more the diversity of people in our nation and the diversity of experience of those who serve in the bar. last year judge jackson was confirmed by this senate on a bipartisan basis to serve on the d.c. circuit court, one of the most complex and significant of the circuit courts of the united states. before of that she was unanimously confirmed to the united states district court for the district of columbia where she has honorably served for

eight years. she's issued over 500 opinions so i have a very clear idea of her approach to judging and her interpretation of the law. and she brings great professional diversity of experience to the bench as well. if confirmed she will be the only supreme court justice to have served as a federal public defender. that kind of perspective on our highest court is critical. her work as a public defender is just one example of the breadth of experience judge jackson will bring to the u.s. supreme court. she's also served as vice chair and commissioner on the sentencing commission. on the sentencing commission that interprets and applies criminal law. and as a lawyer in private legal practice for some of our nation's leading law firms. and most importantly she clerked for the justice for whom she has been nominated as the successor, justice stephen breyer. our president has promised to nominate someone in the mold of justice breyer and judge jackson

in temp aren't, in -- temperament, ability and approach certainly fits that bill. it is my hope, my expectation that this senate and the senate judiciary committee will meet this historic moment by swiftly, appropriately, and respectfully questioning this nominee in front of the senate judiciary committee, bringing her to a vote on the committee, and then voting to confirm her nomination here on the floor of the united states senate. madam president, if i might, the last topic i come to speak to on this floor today is the critical need for us to be as attentive to the advice and consent role for nominees as ambassadors, as senior members of the state department, and usaid positions. there are so many positions that have been held for months and months, and many of them were being held by my colleague from the state of texas because of a disagreement over sanctioning nord stream 2, the pipeline.

today finally we stand in a place where the policy of this administration, the policy of our close and valued ally in europe, germany, and the positions of folks in the senate are all aligned. there are now sanctions on nord stream 2. it has been stopped. and thankfully my colleague has lifted his holds. yet there's still -- yet there still remain holds from other members of this body on other nominees. all of them well qualified, eight of them would serve under the jurisdiction of my foreign relations committee, subcommittee on economic and energy policy and multilateral organizations. so while i respect the right of colleagues on both sides of the aisle to hold a nominee for a specific relevant policy issue, we have to provide advice and consent in a timely and respectful manner of the president's nominees. president biden has been president more than a year now. we have crises all over the world whether it's in ukraine, the violence and the aggression carried out by putin's russia or

it's competition with china or it's dealing with north korea, or it's advancing our interests with respect to iran and their proliferation. we have places all over the world for which we need qualified nominees. that's why in a few moments i hope to take action on the floor that i've not yet going to take that action unless it's clear we're all prepared. but let me briefly in conclusion, if i might, madam president, speak to some of the folks who should be confirmed. the ambassador to budget swan that howard von franklin, career foreign officer in a country i have visited, an important ally in southern africa and where the absence of an ambassador means an absence of american leadership. eric garcetti, mayor of los angeles, ready to serve as our ambassador to india, a country which is a continent-wide multifaith, multilingual, multiethnic democracy, a vital partner and ally to the united states where we currently have no ambassador.

marcia bernicat to be director general of the foreign service. if we are to recruit, retain, motivate and place the greatest diplomats possible in the world, we need a director general, a d.g. who leads the foreign service from a human resources perspective. jewel yet to be assistant secretary for population, refugees and migration, a million refugees have fled the violence in ukraine and yet p.r.m. has no senate-confirmed assistant secretary. think about that as a dereliction of duty by this body. orrin whyche-shaw to be ambassador of the development bank. if we want to see inclusive development on the continent of africa, how could we have no ambassador for this multilateral development bank and director of the united states strayed and development agency, the ustda. t.d.a. plays a critical role in bringing into the united states opportunities for trade and development. again a critical vacant seat. christopher hill to serve as ambassador to serbia.

there are developments in the balkans too complex and concerning for me to take this body's time with right now, but let me simply say any seat, any ambassadorial post that is left vacant is a missed opportunity and laura hole gatt to be ambassador to the united nations and representative to the iaea. we are engaged in critical final-stage negotiations i am told in vienna about whether or not we will be able to further constrain and better understand iran's dangerous conduct with regards to enrichment. we have no ambassador to the iaea. think about how irresponsible that is. so, madam president, if i might, we cannot confront our global challenges alone. and we need these diplomats in place so we can effectively address threats from russia, from climate change, from covid-19, from iran, from terrorism. it is my hope that my colleagues who have holds reportedly on

many of these nominees will relent and i look forward to continuing to press that case today. with that, madam president, i yield the floor and suggest the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. quorum call:

because we are considering issues of great constitutional moment and issues that are very important for the future of this country. so let me open this to any questions you have.

>> anybody having any -- [inaudible] >> you've reminded me of a question i didn't address, and let me address it first. no, yours is a good question. i think mine is, too. it's a fact we're going to make sure judge jackson is available to all of the members of the senate judiciary committee before march 21. and then after march 21 any other senator wants to meet with her will have the opportunity. senator grassley raised that issue and i think it's a fair issue. for the republicans i've reached out to i said over and over again we want to make her available if you want to. in terms of the public attending it, we are evolving or it wht comes to the safety of covid-19, dealing with covid-19. i think last night was a major step forward at the state of

union address, neither the president nor any, not many members of the house and senate were wearing masks. that i think it's a positive sign and let's hope it proves to be in the days ahead as a measure the impact of that public gathering. as long as we have an opportunity for orderly witnessing of this process, i would support it but i want to make sure first and foremost that we take into consideration public health and security. i will rely on experts to give advice on that. [inaudible question] what are your expectations of votes for bipartisan support? >> good question. timely question.

i just finished brief, we read a book called becoming justice blackburn by linda greenhouse, talked about 1970 and a different things were at that time, the limited amount of time to spend in the committee, the overwhelming vote and we sang many votes since that were overwhelmingly bipartisan. but it's been a while since that's happened. some looking for a bipartisan vote i'm not going to find that for you. we know it's at least one republican voting for it, i hope there are more and i'm reaching out to some names you would be surprised. i'm not saying i'm winning them over and telling them i hope they will consider it. most of them surprise, maybe even a little flattered i would give them a call. i think would be good for the senate and good for the supreme court if that happens. i don't know how to measure it in terms of my effectiveness of being a with, i don't presume a

vote. >> what about monday -- [inaudible question] >> not yet. i know. i'm still going to talk to him. >> you laid out the timeline. is that the standard for how supreme court nominees are working? >> is a separate standard and an analogous standard. a recent appointment to the circuit court moving to the supreme court, and that's why i think we make reference to it. many of the same players who here for justice barrett's nomination are still on the committee, and so it's tough for them to argue that we're doing anything particularly different. >> i wonder if you could elaborate a little more. could you walk us through the next steps?

>> well, let me talk about the steps first, and that is we sent the questionnaire to the white house last friday, got the response back by monday evening. it refers to some 537 cases that she has decided? i knew there was a five and a seven. 578 cases that should written an opinion on in the d.c. circuit, district court. i think there were eight cases in the circuit that she -- [inaudible] [laughing] we will get you the exact overs. the point i want to make is for those who want to know who she's it's and how she things come with lots of evidence to present to them. so i would assume that the staff of both sides democrats and republicans on the senate judiciary committee will start their as they should. there would be some documents provided traditionally to

supplement anything that's needed in terms of her background, how that is concerned. one other question. [inaudible] elaborate on your discussions of her background. >> well, we talked about a number of things, and some of them i'm just going to keep to myself for the moment. but we talked about her family, talked about her daughter. i think it's pretty well-known story about how her daughter when she learned of justice scalia's passing, her daughter said a letter to president obama and said i've got the perfect person for the vacancy, my mom. that i think is a wonderful, heartwarming story of a relationship. [inaudible question] >> i have brought it up with that. i think giving more time is

appropriate, but also distinguishing the fact that it's been less than a year since she appeared before a committee is also an important factor. .. >>

t burden on americans trying to fill up their cars or pay the utility bills. but they also contribute to price hikes across our economy. high gas prices and other energy

costs contribute to price increases on a whole host of other goods. manufacturers facing higher transportation costs, thanks to high gas prices, for example, are often forced to pass on at least some of those increased costs to consumers in the form of price hikes. well, mr. president, while democrats helped create our current inflation crisis with their so-called american rescue plan, spending spree last march, president biden is not solely responsible for high energy prices. he is responsible, however, for the fact that he is pursuing an energy agenda that is almost guaranteed not only to increase american energy prices long-term, but also increase our reliance on foreign sources of energy. since the day he took office, president biden has pursued an agenda that is hostile to conventional sources of energy, namely oil and natural gas. when it comes to energy, he's focused almost exclusively on alternative energy technologies specifically on learning vehicles, which his

administration clearly picked as its preferred winner in the clean energy stakes. mr. president, i should say i am a longtime supporter of clean energy. south dakota, we derive a significant amount of our energy from hide row power and wind. in fact, in 2020, 83% of our eye tilt scale generation was renewable, about half from hydro. i have long championed cleaner burning renewable fuels, like ethanol and biodiesel. but the fact of the matter is our nation is not going to be fully transitioning to 100% zero emission energy anytime soon, no matter how much the administration would like to. there are a lot of hurdles to be crossed before we can rely solely on clean energy. consumers, first and foremost, need affordable and reliable energy supplies, especially consistent base load energy, and clean energy technology has simply not advanced to the point it needs to be in order for us to he roo lie on clean -- to

rely on clean energy exclusively. we're going to need an all-of-the-above energy portfolio for a while, including oil and natural gas. it's a disservice to the american people to pretend otherwise. we should absolutely continue to invest in clean energy and pursue clean energy technologies in a fiscally responsible manner, but he we also have to ensure our nation has the oil and natural gas it needs for our economy to run and for americans to be able to afford to heat their homes and get where they need to go. since taking office, president biden has pursued an agenda hostile, hostile to conventional energy production. he set the tone on his first day in office when he canceled the keystone xl pipeline, environmentally responsible pipeline project that was already under way and was to be paired with 1.$7 billion in private investment in renewable energy to fully offset its

operating emissions. he also almost immediately froze new oil and gas leases on federal lands, sending a clear signal to oil and gas producers that his administration would be reluctant to work with them to increase american energy production. and he's continued along the same lines ever since. he seems to think that he can hurry along the clean energy future he dreams of by discouraging oil and natural gas production here at home, but he can't. as i said, clean energy sources are simply not at the point they can solely power american homes or our economy. and the only effect of curbing conventional energy production will be to force americans to rely more on foreign sources of oil and natural gas. and that, mr. president, is a big problem. it's a big problem. it's a problem because the more we rely on foreign sources of

energy, the more vulnerable americans are to energy price spikes and to global shortages. it's a problem because relying on foreign sources of energy often means relying on energy from continuical -- tyrannical governments in volatile areas of the world. u.s. imports of russian energy spiked during the biden administration. the current conflict in ukraine is a reminder of just how big of a problem that is. in the first place, the dollars we or other nations spend importing energy from russia are dollars russia is free to use to prosecute its unjustified invation of ukraine and any other country it decides to attack. in the second place, when you roo he lie on another country for your energy needs, you end up beholden to that country. while we've imposed heavy sanctions on russia, we have yet

to directly sanction russia's neacialg sector. and other -- energy sector. other countries have held back on sanctioning russian energy. there's little question this reluctance stems from both fierce of price hikes as a result of sanctions and from fears of lessening the availability of russian energy supplies. the truth is, mr. president, we should be sanctioning russia's energy sector. energy production is the lifeblood of the russian economy, and sanctioning russian energy would be one of the most effective ways of halting putin's imperial ambitions of it's -- and it's unfortunate that the president has not put our nation on a stronger footing energy-wise to more easily weather the challenging times. mr. president, the only acceptable american energy policy is an all-of-the-above energy policy that invests in both clean energy technologies

and conventional energy sources. that is the only way, only way to keep energy prices down and ensure that america's energy needs are met, no matter what is going on in energy-producing countries around the globe. now, if the president really wants to lower energy prices for american families as he indicated in his state of the union address on tuesday, he can reverse his rejection of the keystone xl pipeline, which would be a much welcome recognition that liquid fuels will be part of our energy composition well into the future. he can fast track environmentally responsible domestic oil and gas production on federal lands. he can work to overturn the federal energy regulatory commission decision that will make it more difficult to get approval for natural gas pipelines. he could ensure that the department of interior releases new land for responsible oil and

gas development, something the department is required to do quarterly by law. and he could encourage financial institutions to invest in conventional energy production and reinstate the january 2021 proposed rule that would prevent large american financial institutions from blacklisting the conventional energy sector. finally, he can also get serious about leveraging american agriculture as an energy solution, specifically restoring integrity to the renewable fuel standard. and this means not only setting robust blending targets and rejecting specious small refinery exemptions, but improving advanced fuels from corn kernel fiber and restoring the year round sale of e-15.

these measures combined with clean energy investment will lower prices now and in the future and help put our nation on a path to long-term full energy independence. mr. president, it is the best decision president biden could make for american families struggling with high energy prices and it is the best decision that he could make for the long-term security of our country. i hope that he will rethink his hostility to conventional energy production and spend the next year of his administration embracing the kind of all-of-the-above energy strategy that this nation so desperately needs. mr. president, i yield the floor the presiding officer: the senior senator from delaware. mr. carper: thank you, mr. president. i reserve the right to object. i say to senator thune while

he's still on the floor, i have great respect for him and his views on all kinds of issues. the presiding officer: senator, there was nothing to object to. mr. carper: all right. then i'll just wait. when i do have the opportunity to object, i want to explain why. having said that, senator thune knows we look for opportunities to work together. this is one of the instances where we don't see entirely eye to eye. mr. president, right now, the american people face two existential threats to our way of life. one is the threat of, really, to our world order, imposed not so much by russia but by putin, the president of that country. the other is the threat of climate change. legislation we're discussing today assumes we must ignore the threats of climate change in order to wean our nation off of foreign oil from countries like russia, but this is a false choice. since the arab oil embargo of

1973, some have argued if we simply drilled more oil, we could be free of the price whiplash caused by international disruptions in the global oil market. in wasn't true during the arab oil embargo. it wasn't true during the iranian revolution. it wasn't true during the 1990 gulf war or more recently during the iraq war of and it is not true today. yet the legislation today clings to false oil markets. we've drilled more, but the oil prices we pay are still impacted by global events. instead, we need policies that help our economy smoothly transition off of oil, while at the same time giving consumers more choices to fuel their cars, their trucks, and their advance. we need more consumers -- we need to give consumers real fuel choices that are domestically produced, better for climate,

and that aren't, tied to the global oil markets. choices could include electricity from nuclear energy, an issue on which the presiding officer and i strongly agree, biofuels made by our farmers, which senator thune strongly agrees and has alluded to, and fuel cells running on clean hydrogen produced, in many cases, by our refineries. all of these options are things we should be pursuing, that we should be pursuing, and on which there's wide consensus. in doing so, we buffer our economy against the threat of russia, and the threat of climate change. with that, when it's appropriate for me to object, i'm ready to object. i yield the floor to our colleague from missouri, senator hawley. let me say to him, i don't object lightly, but my hope is

that -- we haven't had a chance to talk about this before today. but i look forward to that conversation in the days ahead. thank you. i yield the floor. mr. hawley: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from missouri. mr. hawley: thank you, mr. president. mr. president, i rise today in opposition to this administration's dangerous policy of american weakness and in support of the strong men and women of the united states

energy sector who are ready to step forward, to return this nation to energy independence, to burnish this nation's strength, and to show the russians what the united states is capable of. it will be lost on no one that we are approximately a week into the largest conventional military attack in europe since 1945. vladimir putin's brutal war of choice against the ukrainians continues as we speak. it grows worse, more devastating, and more brutal by the hour, and it's time that in the midst of this war we confront a basic fact -- that russia isn't so much a country as it is a gas station, and vladimir putin's gas station is open for business and pumping away. and this administration -- this administration, mr. president -- has made the decision to make this country more dependent on russian oil, to make the world more dependent on russian oil, to embolden and empower vladimir putin at a time when the world

can ill-afford it. and it is time to change course. and we can change course. we can change our energy production policy. we can open up our energy sector to make us once again the dominant energy producer in the world, to make us truly energy independent, to make us energy strong, to put russia in its place, and to put the united states at the head of the energy sector worldwide. but that's not where we stand right now. today the united states is importing, in the midst of this conflict, in the midst of russian aggression, the united states is importing, buying from russia to the tune of 670,000 barrels of oil every single day. that's nearly doubled just in the past year. now, i would submit to you that whatever you think about this administration's geostrategic policies, this is after all an administration that has managed to lose two sovereign nations in the space of six months.

whatever you think of that record, this is not sustainable. this is not good for the world. this makes america weaker, not stronger, and this is a time for american strength. what did joe biden when he came to the office of president of the united states just over a year ago? well, among his first actions was to cancel the keystone pipeline, to halt a leasing program in alaska, to issue a halt on all new oil and gas leases, as well as drilling permits on federal lands and federal waters. by the way, that accounts for about 25% of u.s. energy production. he directed federal agencies to get rid of all support for fossil fuels, he imposed new regulations on oil and gas and methane emissions, he hired new s.e.c. regulators to propose new climate regulations, and the list goes on and on, mr. president. and these policies have had their effect. i will give the president credit where credit is due.

his policies to throttle down our energy production have been successful. he has succeeded in making this nation energy dependent. in 2019, in 2020 for the first time certainly in my lifetime, the united states actually exported more energy than it imported. we were energy independent. and even better, we were becoming the energy supplier for the world. who is the energy supplier for the world now? it's vladimir putin. and that's because at least in part, of the policies that this administration and president biden have deliberately sought to pursue. look at the -- the statistics don't lie. why is russia able to pursue this war of aggression in ukraine? wellcome, at least in part because of -- well, at least in part because of this. they supply 20% of europe's oil. russia alone, 20% its oil, 40% of its gas, 20% of its coal. russia supplies 50% of germany's

gas alone, 55%. now, can we wonder why our german partners were slow to want to sanction russia, to provide lethal aid. it is because russia has germany in a stranglehold. i am saying that vladimir putin has used his power, his energy production to try and project new power in europe. and, unfortunately, he is having success. it ought to be our policy to reverse his power projection, to shut down his gas stations a, his gas station of a country by returning this country to energy independence and energy dominance, and we can do it. this is not a pie-in-the-sky pipe dream. we have been there before. we were energy-independent just years ago. all we have to do is roll back the disastrous policies that

this administration imposed just a year ago. roll those back and allow the american worker to get back to work on our pipelines, on our rigs, drilling and pumping natural gas and producing biofuels like the ones that we produce, kind we produce in my state. put american energy back to work. it's actually pretty simple. sometimes, ronald reagan once said, there actual think are simple solutions. no, sir easy ones, but -- not easy ones, but simple ones. it is time that we took this solution. that's why i have introduced legislation along with senator grassley and hagerty and senator tuberville that would do just this. it would reverse the disastrous energy policies of this administration, the policies that have empowered vladimir putin and the russian military and return this country to energy strength, return this

country to energy dominance. i can't put it the any better than this. if you will give -- if the president of the united states would give the american worker a chance, give the folks who man those pipelines, give the folks that work the oil rigs, give them a chance to show what they can do, they'll show that you they are the best in the world, they'll show you that they are the strongest in the world. they'll show you that this country is the strongest in the world and they will put the russian energy sector to shame. and by the way, joe biden, his policy was to green-light the russian pipeline, nord stream 2. he lifted sanctions on it when he came to office. imposed limits on our energy production but lifted them on russians. here is a suggestion -- shut down putin's pipelines. shut down putin's energy sector. open ours up. do just the opposite of what president biden did a year ago. shut down the russian energy production, open up american energy production, and show the world what the american people can do.

that's what the bill that i've introduced, along with my cosponsors, who i am proud to have with me, that's what it would do. it's very simple, mr. president. and i would suggest to you that the time is of the essence. so now, i ask unanimous consent that the committee on energy and natural resources be discharged from further consideration of s. 3714, and the senate proceed to its immediate consideration. i further ask unanimous consent that the bill be considered read add third time and passed, and that the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table. mr. carper: mr. president? the presiding officer: is there an objection? mr. carper: mr. president, reserving the right to object -- the presiding officer: the senior senator from delaware. mr. carper: thank you, mr. president. our colleague from missouri was not on the floor when i spoke earlier. i want him to have the opportunity to hear some of the concerns thatty and a lot of other people -- that i and a lot of other people in chamber and the country have with the

request he is making. so i reserve the right to object. let me make a minute or two to state why that is. today the american people -- the american people face two threats. one is the threat pose by vladimir putin. the other is the threat of climate change to all of us. we just received from the national oceanio graphiccic administration an update about what it is going to lack like in this country -- to look like in this country in the years to come. the sea level rise will increase. what we'll see in the years to come is more of the same and only fastest. if you add up the g.d.p. of every coastal county from the east coast, the gulf coast, the west coast, the great lakes, it adds up to a g.d.p. that would make them the third-largest country in the world. only the coast --

what we're going to see is a continued assault on the coasts. whether it is delaware, louisiana, california, whatever. in louisiana, they lose to the sea every 100 minutes a piece of land the size of a football field. the presiding officer has spent some time on a football field. think about that. in louisiana, the size of land the size of a football field goes back to the sea. the seas around us are sinking. we have seen firestorms in the west coast bigger than my state. we've seen hurricane-force i understand -- hurricane-force winds destroying crops. the hottest summers on record year after year after year. something is happening here. and what it is, with the apology to steven stills, it is exactly

year. it is way too much carbon in it the air. we need to address that in ways that will actually create jobs, a lot of good-paying jobs. that's why i think we can agree on that. that's what we ought to be doing. having said that, mr. president, the legislation that we're discussing assumes that we must ignore the threats of climate change in order to wean our nation off of foreign oil from countries like russia. this is a false choice. this is a false choice. since the arab oil embargo, some have argued that if we simply drill more oil, we can be free of the provides of -- the whiplash caused by an international disruption in the global oil market. this was not true during the arab oil embargo. this was not true during the iranian revolution or the gulf war or more recently during the iraq war, and it is not true today. yet the legislation before us today claims a false

understanding of oil markets. we drill more but the oil prices we pay are still impacted by global events. instead, we need policies that help our economy smoothly transition off of oil, providing good-paying jobs for a lot of americans, while at the same time giving consumers more choices in the way we fuel our vehicles, our trucks, our cars, our vans. we need to give consumers real fuel choices that are domestically is produced, better for climate, and that are not tied to the global oil market. the choices could include electricity from nuclear energy, something many of us agree on. the choice could include biofuels, something that senator thune was speaking about earlier. the choices could include fuel cells running on energy produced by refineries. all of these options are things we should be pursuing. as it turns out, if we do -- and

there is a lot of bipartisan support for doing what i've just outlined -- we'll actually address this climate crisis and we'll produce one heck of a lot of jobs for people throughout this nation. in doing so, we buffer our economy against the threat of russia and the very real threat of climate change. and with that, reluctantly, i must object to the gentleman's unanimous consent request. the presiding officer: the objection is heard. mr. hawley: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from missouri. mr. hawley: well, i want to thank the senator from delaware for his remarks, which i appreciate and i say it is a privilege to work with him. i look forward to working together on this tissue and others in the future. we do disagree on this issue. we just -- we have an honest and i think principled disagreement. it's one that we ought to talk about, and i'm glad we're talking about it here today. i suspect it's one that the american people are going to have to weigh in on because the

differences are pretty significant. that's democracy. but i with aens to highlight two things that i -- but i want to highlight two things where we have a disagreement. the first is if we produce more energy it won't make us energy independent. i just ask the american people, does gas cost more today than it did before joe biden became president? yes it does. are you paying more for groceries? are you paying more for -- if you are a farmer, for fertilizer? are you paying more for every input associated with energy today than before joe biden was president? unfortunately, yes, you are. inflation is out of control in this country. inflation associated with the fuel that americans use to fill up their trucks and their vans that they use to heat their homes, it's out of control. and there's a reason for that. this is the reason for that. we're not producing energy in this country like we were. we were energy independent in 2019 and 2020. it's not as if it can't be done.

it has been done. prices were lower. it's basic supply and demand. but there's also a national security aspect. why would we want to be dependent on a totalitarian state that is invading its neighbors and is seeking to establish enemy -- energy control, rather, of europe and beyond? why would we seek to thwart it and why would we ask the american people to pay more day in and day out to heat their homes, for fuel for their cars? why would we put them through that? why would we ask them to do that? i submit to you there is a real trade-off here and that the administration has chosen the wrong side of the trade-off. put the american energy sector back to work. one other comment -- i know that the special envoy for climate, former senator kerry, has expressed similar concerns about climate change and has said recently that he fears that the crisis in ukraine will distract from the urgency of climate change. i submit to you that the crisis

in ukraine, that the existential threat to that proud and sovereign nation which is now in danger of being extinguished, the threat to stability in europe that russia now exerts and the threat that china will exert to the world, yes, indeed, that may distract from climate change, but that's just reality. it is time that we face the most pressing security threats that we have. and putting americans back to work and lowering their gas prices and their fuel prices, making american families safer and more secure and making our enemies less secure, that's a good policy, mr. president, and it's one that i hope we can have. again, i thank my colleague and my friend, the senator from delaware, and i expect this won't be the last time we talk about this. and with that, i yield the floor. mr. grassley: mr. president. the presiding officer: the senior senator from iowa. mr. grassley: thank you. thank you, mr. president. two years ago this go month

things started shutting down due to the covid. we shut down the american economy basically. 22 million people all of a sudden were unemployed. i think we've learned a lot in the last two years. if we have another pandemic, i don't think we would do it that way again. i think we've learned a lot. a lot of bad mistakes resulted from that decision. so in march 2020, employees were furloughed or sent home to work from home, schools were closed, events were canceled, everyone was told to stay home. now two years later, a lot has changed in the fight against

covid. tests and treatments have been developed. anyone who wants a vaccine can get one. high-quality masks are available free for anyone who chooses to wear a mask. those masks protect the one wearing it regardless of the choices of others around them, whether they make a choice to wear a mask or not. restaurants, theaters, sports venues are filling back up again. demand for air travel is above prepandemic levels. yet, our federal government remains frozen in time, operating as if it were still the spring of 2020. federal agencies remain shuttered to the taxpayers that fund it.

expensive office buildings in downtown d.c. are sitting deserted. 50% of the is executive branch workforce is still working remotely. and most have no plans to return to the office. some agencies, such as the veterans administration, had previously announced efforts to return to in-person work. those plans have been indefinitely postponed. the united states capitol building, where we are right now, is closed to the public, despite nearly every state capitol building in the country finding a way to reopen. federal employees are here, as we all know, to serve the taxpayers. agencies like the veterans

administration, the internal revenue service, and social security administration that are responsible for processing benefits and tax refunds need to be fully operational, pretty plain and simp. -- plain and simple. the u.s. he department of agriculture farm services offices located in every iowa county and most counties in most states, are responsible for signing up farmers for the conservation reserve program and for crop insurance. right now those county offices are the busiest, as farmers prepare for the upcoming crop year. these counties' offices still require employees to work from home. the u.s. department of agriculture employees have to meet with farmers to go over detailed maps of their land,

making it nearly impossible, even with video calls. i received letters from farmers and usda employees alike who are frustrated that they can't have in-person meetings. we all know that backlogs persist across the federal government and show no signs of abating. the national personnel records center, responsible for providing service records to veterans seeking their benefits, has not been fully staffed since march of 2020. they have a backlog of records. those requests that are so massive that it would take years to correct. for two years now the agency has been processing emergency requests only while the other

requests just pile up. this agency needs employees in the office to function. they're currently staffed at just 25% capacity. they have announced that they will not return to full operational status until, quote, public health emergency has ended, end of quote. now who knows when that will happen. i guess veterans waiting to finish their application for benefits will just have to wait as well. now we know the abysmal record of the i.r.s. it only answered 9% of its calls , and those are called customer support calls. they're already warning that this tax filing season is going to be a mess for those filing,

and there is still a backlog of unprocessed returns from last year. and yet, thousands of i.r.s. employees remain out of the office. those trying to become u.s. citizens have been stuck in limbo for years. records that the uscis needs to process their applications are locked in the federal records centers which are only open 25% of capacity. even the few agencies that have announced a plan to return to in-person work are not acting with any sense of urgency. the social security administration announced the reopening of field offices in

april, so i guess they figure those who have already bnl -- been waiting for two years can wait another few months. my staff that helps iowans with their casework told me that the average number of days to get assistance from a federal agency has doubled now to 335 days. it takes almost a year to get an issue with a federal agency resolved. this is completely unacceptable. in the spring of 2020, it seemed as if there was no choice caution at that time was warranted. but i might remind the heads of federal agencies that even at that time millions of americans did not work from home. we saw it on television all the time, and it's still a problem

in a lot of places. not enough nurses, doctors, but regardless they didn't work from home. nurses, doctors, and first responders still went to work in person. employees at grocery stores, delivery drivers and warehouse workers still showed up to work in person, at the height of this pandemic when nobody really knew what was all involved. for millions of americans, working from home was never an option. their jobs were essential, and they continued to work to keep our society and economy functioning. while some federal employees may be able to do their job effectively from home, the persistent lack of response iveness from federal agencies make it clear that not

all can work from home. it is certainly not acceptable to tell taxpayers that they must wait for services that they need because those in charge are too skittish to make a return to work plan. it's past time for agencies and their heads to set a date for employees to return to serving the people in person. that's why i was very glad to join senator wicker in a introduction of a bill that he calls by the acronym, return act, which would require agencies to share their plans to bring back the workforce within 30 days. i would urge my colleagues to support this bill and get the

government back to work. i also urge president biden -- and when i bring up the word president biden, don't forget some of this stuff started under the trump administration, continued today. so this is not just a democrat problem when i say president biden. but i also urge president biden, now in charge, to follow the example of iowa's governor reynolds and show leadership on this matter. iowa's schools have been fully opened in iowa for more than a year. governor reynolds has ended the state's public health disaster emergency proclamation. this doesn't mean ignoring the spread of covid-19 going forward. of course there should be accommodation for those at high risk. but there is absolutely no justification for maintaining a state of emergency as if it were

still march of 2020. taxpayers have a right to have their government be responsive. americans are back to work. it's time for the federal government to catch up. i yield. durbin --. mr. durbin: mr. president. the presiding officer: the democratic whip. mr. durbin: mr. president, on tuesday evening, president biden delivered his first state of the union message to congress and to the american people. his remarks were timely, strong, ■and statesmanlike. he touched on many topics. i think his message really boiled down to two profound questions -- how do we protect democracy in other nations, particularly in the ukraine, which is now entering the second

week of a horrific and unprovoked invasion by russian forces. and then he asked, how can we protect and preserve democracy here in america? being -- dictators like vladimir putin and xi jinping want the world to believe that democracy is nothing more than chaos and gridlock. the people of ukraine are showing the world just how wrong these despots are. i speak to you today from the comfort and safety of the senate chamber of the united states of america. in washington,d.c., in a beautiful spring-like day. but i have to reflect for a moment of what life must be like at this very moment in kiev, in the ukraine, what it must be like in leviv, those are two cities in the ukraine that i visited, where bombs are

raining down on innocent people people -- children, women, men -- who are losing their lives because vladimir putin believes that he can restore the soviet union to its borders. we've all seen the videos, the ukrainian grandmother armed with nothing more than sunflower seeds and courage confronting russian soldiers. we've seen ordinary ukrainian men and women, teenagers taking up arms, making molotov cocktails, building barricades, taking down highway and road signs to confuse the invading russians, even laying down their lives to stop russian tax and convoys. in the back of my mind, i'm sure i'm thinking what many americans are thinking, could i do the

same thing? could i bring together the courage at this moment to stand up and fight if my home is at stake, my family is at stake, my country is at stake? the ukrainians are answering that message every minute of every day. their courage in the face of this russian barbarity is inspiring the world. for months president biden, secretary of state tony blinken and others in the biden administration have worked behind-the-scenes to revitalize the nato alliance. that critical alliance emerged after the last great land war in europe in 1945 from the allies who came out testify and said never -- who came out and said never again, we will stand against any coalition, the nato

alliance. we have to remind the alliance that there is a moment when you have to bring to this alliance the courage to stand for the kind of democracy which we are all committed to. two years ago we had a president who took putin's words over the intelligence agencies and said he would pull out of the -- pull the united states out of nato. today we share u.s. intelligence with our allies to show putin for the liar he was from the start. nato is more unified today, thank you, vladimir putin, for that, than it has been since the cold war or the end of world war ii. nations formally not part of nato, sweden, finland, for example, have stepped up in concert with the nato alliance to stand our ground to protest what's happening in ukraine and

to protect europe, even switzerland. switzerland famously neutral in all major conflicts has come out of its neutrality and made it clear that they too stand against the putin invasion. in at state of the union address, president biden urged congress to approve billions of dollars in emergency and humanitarian assistance for ukraine. sign me up. i'll vote for that in a second and i hope it comes soon. we need to agree on an aid package without delay and get it to the president as quickly as possible, not just for the humanitarian purpose but for the purpose of showing american unity with the resistance in ukraine. ukrainian ordinary citizens are dying today because of vladimir putin and the bombs and missiles he's launching, and as in every war, innocent ukrainians will face greater suffering, greater

hunger, even starvation in the year 2022, is it imaginable that this is happening in europe. we must rally the world to support those still in the ukraine, assist our allies in neighboring nations who are housing neighboring ukrainians who fled their homeland. they estimate 800,000 to a million ukrainians have left the country. let me again thank poland. they are being called on to harbor these refugees and take care of them in this moment of need. they are fleeing putin's war, their numbers are growing dramatically. some suggested a humanitarian airlift as a possibility. i don't want to rule that out. let's explore that and see if

that is the best way for those to find relief. president biden promised a high-level task force to enforce sanctions against president biden and sanctions against the elite and sanctions against oligarchs. that always brings a cheer here, because those who have personal greed should be held accountable and the thought that they are shopping in new york city or buying luxury apartments or condos in london is harboring yachts is disgusting. they need to pay a price. we should seize their assets and hold them for ukraine. putin wants to be a czar. he and his cronies have become a

for -- we also have to remember that the boring nations -- bordering nations, states are especially vulnerable to russian aggression. they, as members of the nato alliance now that they have friends at their back, but we've got to reinforce that to the people of that -- those small countries who worry about their very survival. let's take a look at home. as the president said, we finally moved to a safer direction with the pandemic. what a relief it was to go to the state of the union and not wear a mask, following doctors orders, we listened to the medical experts who told us it's safe now not to bewaring a mask -- not to be wearing a mask. so we enjoyed one of the first public gatherings of a political nature where we were without

masks. we need to get back to normal routines. we need to get our kids back in school, all of them, as quickly as possible. we added 6 million new jobs last year, but inflation is still haunting this nation. wages is up, inflation is up, but it's not just our nation. it is a global problem. covid-19 restricted the economy of of the world, we are emerging from it with new businesses, new appetites, new consumption, and it's all good. the trouble is inflation. it's eating away at families' wages and savings and their faith in the future. when people work hard and can't get ahead, that's not just an economic problem, that can be a threat to our democratic spirit because it can open the door to any democratic demagogues. in a state of the union address president biden laid out a plan

to help american families to afford big-ticket items. restore the enhanced child tax credit, help parents raise their kids and themselves out of poverty. help parents with quality affordable child care. expand family and medical leave so families don't have to choose between caring for an elderly member of the family or keeping their jobs, mack health care more -- make health care more affordable and expand health care to cover more cancers and other conditions, and make prescription drugs more affordable by letting medicare negotiate the price for medication. just one simple thing seems to be so popular, cap the monthly cost of insulin at $35. $35. there are some eight million people suffering from diabetes

and of course their families are pulling for them every day. think of all the lives that could be improved if insulin were affordable. if a fourth or a half of those who are diabetic, that is wrong in a great nation. we should have insulin at affordable prices and $35 a month is that. it's an outrage that insulin has been priced countless times more than $300 a vial. i hope that we will also find the courage to protect america's future. mr. president, i would like to ask that this part of the statement be placed in a separate part of the record. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. durbin: mr. president, when it comes to the american labor movement, i selfishly say all roads lead to chicago. at the turn of the 20th century, workers from all walks of life from every corner of the globe joined together for a simple but profound belief, an

injury to one is an injury to all. few leaders have embodied that more than tom bellano ff, who is part of local one in chicago. if you are a service worker in illinois or anywhere in america, there's a good chance you know tom. he's devoted his life to not only building a strong labor movement but a more inclusive one. now he is retiring as his post of president at local one. he held build a global labor movement led by essential workers. i'm talking about janitors, security officers, airport staff, nursing home and home health care workers who reclaimed their power in the workplace. as the president of local one, tom transformed that chapter into one of the most influential

forces in the labor movement. he held true to the chapter's progressive roots. formed in chicago in 1921, local one, was the first racially integrated union in america, bringing together immigrant janitors across the globe fighting for better working conditions. they have been merging the fight for workers' rights and the fight for social equality and tom has carried that legacy to a new height. he's been a steadfast champion of racial equality, gender equality and protecting the rights of immigrant workers and he has assembled the most diverse leadership team in their history. importantly, tom's commitment ■o leading a socially conscience labor movement is steeped in a proud family tradition.

it began when tom's grandfather immigrated to america from bulgaria and found work in a live chicken shop on commercial avenue in chicago. since then, each generation of the battling ballanoffs have defended working people. the family notes with pride that both tom's father and grandfather attended the 1937 memorial day massacre where police opened fire at the gates of the steel company in south chicago, killing ten men, injuring scores of others. if the police hoped to fracture union solidarity, it had the opposite effect. the balancenoffs have stood by workers, tom's father, james jr., organized steelworkers at a time when manufacturing was the

dominant industry in america and eventually rose to be president of the largest steel union in america, local 1010 in east illinois. tom has led for justice for all since he was in middle school when he and his siblings were the only white kids in class to protest segregation. by the time he was ready to follow in his family's tradition of union activism, america's economy was going through a dramatic shift, good-paying union jobs disappearing, shipped over seas. as more and more found work in hospitals, airports, coffee shops, tom found his mission, defend the rights of workers who make the economy tick. tom earned a master's degree in labor and industrial relations from the university of illinois.

for decades whenever his skills were needed to protect the rights of workers, you could count on tom to be there. he worked for the international association of firefighters here in washington, for the allied industrial workers in chicago, the justice in policing and thed for his talent and brought to washington, dc. he served for local butij in narkt. after that, tom came back to chicago first as the local 46 trustee and the president of both sci local one and president of the illinois state council. he has ceased opportunities to help disempowered workers. he traveled to houston to help unionize janitors who were paid as little as $20 a day in the

heart of one of the most antiunion states in the country, tom secured a contract for more than 5,000 janitors that doubled their pay. tom kept the victories coming. a few months later he helped thousands of janitors in cincinnati, columbus and -- indianapolis with a similar contract. when all identities come together, they can win. in the world of politics, my friend tom has been a champion for the down downtrodden. he helped launch the progressive council in chicago. today more than a third of the city's council members belong to that caucus. perhaps the most consequential decision tom made as a political change maker was in the year 2003. he was the early endorser of a community organizer running for the united states senate by the name of barack obama. that endorsement helped pave the way for former president obama's

stratopsheric rise in the world of politics. a few years later tom became the first labor leader in america to endorse barack obama's candidacy for president. at the time throm and i were -- tom and i were part of the same lonely club. i was the first stuvment senator to endorse president obama's candidacy in 2008. but tom and i knew barack obama was the leader this country needed. we had seen firsthand the work he had done in chicago partnering with churches to launch job training. we knew that president obama had what it took to unite our country, and without tom's support his candidacy may never have gotten off the ground. tom said one of the leaders who inspired him most during his career was nelson mandela. a few years after the end of apartheid, nelson mandela wrote to be free is not merely to cast

off one's chains but to live in a way that respects and enhances the freedom of others. tom dedicated his life to enhancing his life to the freedom of others. he has stood for immigrant workers so they could find a voice in the workplace. he has stood in solidarity with black workers protesting against racial injustice and worked to protect our communities and children by demanding climate justice as well. in one of his last acts as president of local 1, tom helped make history again. he handed the reigns of leadership of that storied local to the first black president of the sciu illinois state council, a proven champion of working people and across the country. when i sat down for breakfast to congratulate greg, he reminded me he had once been an intern in my senate office. tom balanoff is leaving his

post. since the beginning of the pandemic service workers have come together to demand safer working conditions, higher wages and better benefits. for instance, in december workers at starbucks in buffalo, new york, voted to unionize. those workers will soon be represented by embarks -- starbucks workers union. i want to thank tom balanoff for everything he achieved for working families in chicago, throughout america, and literally around the world. he's cultivated progressive political power and built a fairer economy that rewards hard work, not just wealth. loretta and i wish him a long, joyous retirement with his wife hedi and their two kids. i'm looking forward to seeing you someday soon in highland park. watermelon juice on me. mr. president, i yield the floor.

the presiding officer: the senator from illinois. ms. duckworth: mr. president, i join the senior senator from illinois' affection for tom balanoff. mr. president, i rise today to speak on ukraine. with russian troops firing outside, one ukrainian woman was rushed outside and down out of the hospital by hospital staff. she was reportedly forced to give birth in a makeshift i.c.u. in the hospital's basement with the sound of shellings around her and russian troops closing in on the area. elsewhere in eastern ukraine mothers and their newborns are being hurried from neonatal intensive care units to makeshift bomb shelters. with blankets swaddling their babies the only armor they have protecting them from the missiles crisscrossing the skies above them. all across ukraine, little girls and boys are being born in subway car shelters where some of the first words they hear are

the cries of older children asking their own parents mommy, will we die here? this is the everyday, every waking moment nightmare for those who call ukraine home right now. this is the new normal for new moms struggling to learn how to breast feed their newborns, the new reality for new parents who just last week were trying to figure out how to afford both diapers and next month's rent. yet, who are now just desperate to get their one-week old to the two-week old mark. why is the new reality? for what? for a brutal and senseless war, a war as unjust as it is unjustifiable, as needless as it was unprovoked. a war whose violence has already torn families apart, yet whose cruelty has failed to fracture the unity of ukraine itself. three decades ago, with the collapse of the soviet union, the united states and russia asked ukraine to give up their nuclear weapons in exchange for

security guarantees under the budapest memorandum. ukraine did so volunteer tearl, hanged -- voluntarily, handing them over instead of keeping them for their own defense because the ukrainians desperately sought peace and a democratic rule-based order. now russia has unilaterally broken that agreement, shattering that peace, and ukrainians are once more laying down their lives for those same democratic principles. the contrast is stark. vladimir putin is fighting for autocracy, using aggression and irresponsible unprovoked escalation. ukraine, meanwhile, is fighting for freedom. vladimir putin believes himself to be some sort of neo imperialist. today i want to speak to all the ukrainians who found a home in illinois and all of them who are strewn across europe who have been forced to flee their nation in the wake of this violence and

to all who are still in ukraine praying that they'll be able to wake up again tomorrow. let me say this clearly -- we are with you. the free world has not been fooled by vladimir putin's schemes and lies. we know that he is no hero for russians or anyone else. he is a violent mobster and a bully, an egomaniac who uses his own power to abuse those with less power, a tyrant who uses the levers in his control to level those that are in his way. someone who uses weapons of war to murder children from afar, who turns toddlers into orphans from hundreds of miles away from the safety of his hallowed halls and heavily fortified mansions. and yet, even with less power and less money, despite being outnumbered and outgunned, ukraine has shown an incredible will to fight, putting up the fiercest of resistance against

putin and all that he stands for. that's because cowardice will falter in the face of courage and ukrainians are redefining that word courage. that's because those fighting for reasons of ego and greed will always stumble in the face of those fighting so that their children can climb out of bomb shelters, so that their third graders can go back to school, so that their families don't need to live every hour, breathe every breath with the kind of fear that putin thrives on. while i wish more than anything that putin had never started this war and that those tanks had never rode through their nation's streets, now the world will know the strength that typifies the ukrainian people. they will know that kiev is synonymous with courage. they will know that the buildings in odessa may crumble, the heart of the ukrainian people will never waiver. i am in awe of those men, women, and children.

i am in awe of the troops doing everything in their power to protect them. and i am honored that the illinois national guard helped train some of those ukrainian soldiers with our guard members advising ukrainian forces just last year on how to improve their defense capabilities. they are our brothers and sisters in arms, and their bravery, their resilience, their determination over this past week has reminded the world that as a certain retired u.s. army lieutenant colonel and son of ukraine once said in this very chamber, right matters. they've shown us once more that a tyrant's lies will never blot out the courage and the goodness of a people determined to fight with and for one another. that's just one reason why i support president biden's request to dedicate at least $6.4 billion in humanitarian and military aid to help those under siege in ukraine, and it's why

i'm doing everything in my power to help keep ukrainians in the u.s. safe by granting them temporary protected status. look, this is no 21st century cold war. it's putin's war. it is a coward's war. vladimir putin is no savior. he will bring no glory to the russian people. all he will bring them is travesty and economic ruin. he is no champion. he is an embarrassment. and the history books will reflect as much. 28 years ago when we asked ukraine to give up those nuclear weapons, they did so, choosing peace, choosing to end the threat of bloodshed and destruction, choosing democracy. so now we must stand with them as they so desperately seek peace once more. they have chosen democracy time and again. today and all the days that this terrible war rages on, it is time for this democracy to choose them. i yield the floor.

a senator: mr. president. the presiding officer: the senior senator from texas. mr. cornyn: mr. president, 15 years ago an environmental group called the clean sky coalition launched an ad campaign targeting coal. the ads featured faces of urchins covered in soot with the headline, face it, coal is filthy. of the many controversial ad campaigns we've seen over the years, this doesn't seem particularly noteworthy, but these ads at the time sparked so much outrage that they were eventually pulled. you might wonder why. an environmental group attacking coal is hardly front-page news.

why was this ad campaign different? this wasn't a matter of what was being said, mr. president. it was a matter of who was saying it and why. it quickly came to light that the group behind the ad was only about two weeks old, and the entire pro-environment effort was sponsored by a natural gas company seeking market share over coal. as they say, politics makes for strange bedfellows, in this case environmentalists and natural gas companies were both anticoal, though for very different reasons. knowing that the american people wouldn't respond to the argument that coal is bad because it means less business for the gas companies, this particular company found a deceptive and manipulative way to help shape public opinion.

today we're seeing a similar push but with much greater reach and far higher stakes. just as one company used the guise of environmentalism to attack its competition, russia today is using the same tactic to boost its own profits and enhance its power. the office of director of national intelligence released a report in 2017 outlining some of russia's disinformation campaign on everything from u.s. elections to u.s. energy policy. of course one of the kremlin's favorite tools is its interventional propaganda outlet known as r.t., formerly known as russia today. according to the report, r.t. ran anti-fracking programming in the united states that highlighted environmental and

public health concerns. that's right, the propaganda arm of the russian federation, r.t., was running anti-fracking programming in the united states, and you might ask yourself for what purpose. well, the director of national intelligence reported in 2017 said this is likely reflective of the russian government's concern about the impact of fracking, which is a device to release natural gas from shale. the report said this is likely reflective of the russian government's concern about the impact of fracking and u.s. natural gas production on the global energy market, and the potential challenges to gazprom's profitability, gazprom, of course, being the russian federation's energy company. in short, all of this

propaganda on russia today was was -- and the opposition to fracking they were encouraging would be good for the sale of russian gas as opposed to natural gas produced here in the united states. russia can't seem to dominate the global energy market on its own, so it tries to take down the competition, and it's not just a matter of dollars and cents. it's a matter of geopolitical power. this isn't a far fetched conspiracy theory that was crafted to combat the green new deal. it comes from an unclassified report from the director of national intelligence office five years ago, 2017. and knowledge of this practice likely predates that report by a number of years.

reporting indicates that even hillary clinton spoke about those maligned activities in a 2014 speech. she warned about what she called phony environmental groups that were funded by the russians. russia is no stranger. in fact, they are expert at disinformation campaigns, and it doesn't abide by the same moral and ethical codes as the rest of the world. the past several days have shown a light on how far putin is willing to go to increase his power. i'm not suggesting all environmental groups are funded by the russian government, not in the slightest. but we need to be clear-eyed about russia's efforts to shape europe's policies and european policies for their own benefit. we need to be hyper aware of the way decisions made in washington could benefit moscow and empower

putin to the detriment of our allies in nato and in europe. unfortunately, the energy cars in europe are currently -- cards in europe are currently stacked in russia's favor. from day one, the biden administration has taken hostile acts against energy providers. only hours after the president was sworn in on january 20, 2021, he canceled the permit for the keystone xl pipeline and halted all new energy leasing and permitting on public lands and waters. his administration effectively discouraged investments in new production and now the united states is producing less oil and less natural gas, production is, in fact, down about 1.2 million barrels a day from the united states, and that has to be made up somewhere because

the world continues to consume energy. it needs energy in order to survive and to thrive. and where does it get that energy when the united states does not produce it? well, you guessed it. it gets it from russia and it gets it from opec and including the kingdom of saudi arabia. the buck doesn't stop there. in light of russia's invasion of ukraine, the biden administration hasn't taken any effective action against putin's energy weapon even though the administration has imposed sanctions on russian banks and oligarchs, russia's oil and gas industry remains untouched. this is their primary financial asset. i remember our friend john mccain, when he was still alive, used to joke that russia is a gas station masquerading as a country, making the obvious

point in a humorous way. but russia continues to use this -- these oil sales and natural gas sales and the captive markets that it has in europe and in other places around the world in order to finance its war against innocent ukrainians. there's no question but that the revenue from these exports, and we've seen the price of oil since putin invaded ukraine again, the price of a barrel of oil go up to $110, $115 a barrel. there's no question he's using the revenue derived from the sale of the $115-barrel of oil to kill innocent ukrainians and to violate their sovereignty and to commit war crimes. we simply cannot continue to supply russia with the blood

money it needs to carry out its nefarious actions. i'm proud to cosponsor legislation that was introduced by our friend from kansas, senator marshall, to ban the purchase of russia oil in the united states. we have the great fortune of living in a resource-rich country and there's no reason we should be importing russian oil, now more than ever. the president has said he does not want to target russian oil and gas because of the impact it will have on prices here at home. well, we already know that because of inflation, because of soafling money out -- shoveling money out, it has caused prices at the pump and prices in the grocery stores to rise. gas prices have risen 40% since

president biden took office, i understand his concerns, but that doesn't mean russia should get a free pass. rather than identify ways to offset global demand for russian energy, president biden is inadvertently playing into putin's hand. he's not calling for anymore american-made oil and gas, he's calling for less. tuesday even president biden said he wants to double america's clean energy production, included sources like wind and solar. i want to be clear, i support an all-of-the-above energy policy, as i've said time and time again, texas produces more energy from wind than any other state in the country and it's an important part of our energy mix. every day, though, texas is also making serious strides in energy innovation, and this is the way to solve the problem. it's to innovate, not to

regulate, not to tax, not to punish, but to innovate, and we need to find ways for cleaner sources of energy, as we must maybe decades from now from petroleum-based products to some other source of energy. i believe we need to continue to encourage more innovation and i did versification of -- diversification of our energy sources. the fact remains today that renewables are not close to being able to supply the energy needs that our country demands. as it stands today, renewables, solar, wind comprise less than 20% of our electricity generation. we know the sun doesn't always shine and the wind doesn't always blow and when mother

nature fails to deliver an adequate supply of energy, we need some other source of that energy which means american-produced natural gas and oil. if the president continues to wage a war on american oil and gas companies, we won't be able it to protect ourselves or our allies. one of the great thing about the shale gas revolution is our ability to ship energy overseas to our friends and allies around the world. unfortunately, the infrastructure has not kept up with the demand, leaving our friends and allies dependent on vladimir putin and the russian federation for their only choices. we need to provide them more choices, and that means produce more here in america of clean-burning natural gas and then exporting that l and gj to our friends and -- l and g to

our allies around the world so they aren't subject to putin's sources and demands. our top priority needs to be when it comes to energy to pursue independence. if we're able to bolster renewables and invest in carbon capture technologies and take steps to reduce emissions, that is a great goal to pursue. but our number one priority here today and now should be for the united states and our allies to be energy secure. right now europe is not energy secure, it's energy inexcuse because -- insecure because of the intentional acts of vladimir putin to make russia the sole source of energy needs for countries in europe and the policies restricting the development of our american-made energy near the united states. just a few years ago we were

almost there when it came to energy security. in 2019, the united states became a net total energy exporter for the first time since 1952, a net-total-energy exporter. the last time we did that it was 1952 and we maintain taind that status through -- maintained that status through the year 2020. but president biden has for reasons that i don't understand, taken us from an era of energy independence back to the oil crisis of the 1970's. for decades leaders in our country fought to reduce our reliance on foreign oil in anticipation of a global crisis exactly like the one we're facing now. we can't erase all of this progress that we made at the exact moment when we need that progress and that production the most. russia will always use energy as

a weapon to tear down and intimidate its adversaries. the united states, conversely, must use it as a tool to lift up our allies and improve global energy security. mr. president, i yield the floor. a senator: mr. president. the presiding officer: the senator from massachusetts. mr. markey: mr. president, i rise today to decry once again putin's horrific actions against

ukraine and the ukrainian people and as we wage war against this fossil fuel funded invasion, i stand here again to denounce our own addiction to fossil fuels, along with big oil's relentless attempts to sabotage clean and renewable energy with the support of the republican party. we can see that the corporate profiteering by big oil and the american petroleum institute has once again played a part in war and destruction. and all enabled by the g.o.p.'s addiction to oil and gas and the fallacy of american energy

independence. it is a tale of republican hypocrisy, all funded by the fossil fuel industry. it would be absurdly comic if it weren't so horribly tragic. oil profits are the engine of russia's economy and natural gas is the geopolitical weapon it wields to threaten europe's energy security. nearly 40% of russia's entire revenue is derived from oil and gas exports. russia's tanks, armored vehicles and artillery are funded by dirty fossil fuels purchased by other countries, including the united states of america. we are part of the funding of

vladimir putin's war of aggression against ukraine. we import oil from russia. that oil goes to putin and his cronies. we have a moral moment here to provide all possible humanitarian aid to the ukrainian people. we have a moral moment here to cut off the money pipeline that is funding the missiles and the tanks that are destroying the homes of the ukrainian people. and we have a moral moment here to reject the bad-faith arguments that are using this horrifying invasion to push for more drilling and money to fossil fuel companies, more lands and waters lost to extraction of oil and gas and more profit for big oil at the

expense of american -- pocketbooks as our consumers are tipped upside down at the gasoline pumps all across our country, shaking money out of those pockets and sending it to big oil and sending it to russia. during 2021, russia supplanted mexico as the second largest exporter of crude oil and petroleum to the united states. on average we bought more than 600,000 barrels of oil from russia every single day of 2021. that's more than $17 billion in american money going to putin and his oil-soaked oligarchs. we need to shut that money pipeline to putin off before it does any more damage. and that's why i announced my

serverring putin's immense gains from oil transfers or the spigot act this week. this bill would conclusively lift the veil on the russian fossil fuel industry's corrupt dealings while requiring the united states to eliminate carbon-polluting imports from russia. moving the united states towards a future that is no longer dependent upon russian oil but dependent upon our own renewable resources. global oil markets will adjust in the short term and long term to our import ban on oil. in the short term we can actually supplant any supply disruptions with an additional release from the strategic petroleum reserve. a 10% release of the strategic petroleum reserve would backfill

all of our russian imports for 100 days. or to put it another way, we have a strategic petroleum reserve of 600 million barrels. if we deploy 600,000 barrels a day, we can do it for 1,000 days in a row in order to make sure the russians understand we're dead serious about this. putin's 630 -- $630 billion central bank reserve that he thinks is going to protect him and his economy, well that chest is filled with the spoils of oil and natural gas. a lot of it money if american -- money from american consumers. it's not just the sales to the united states or europe, but the interconnected dirty energy markets that feed off this fuel-soaked firestorm. if we want to truly dial up the treasure on putin and his oligarchs, we need to end our deadly addiction to russian

fossil fuels and help our allies to do the very same thing. if we want to truly say no more to fossil-fueled war, we need to pursue the pathway to peace that is powered by domestic clean energy, international clean energy revolution led by the united states. but instead what i hear from republicans and on fox news and from the american petroleum institute is the same classic refrain of drill, baby, drill. their insidious answer to war, to rising prices, to any crisis that they can use for their own purpose is more drilling and more leases. well, where has the american prevarication institute argument gotten us so far? one, skyrocketing exports which

hike up our prices to american consumers and feeding into the global fossil fuel addiction. public lands and waters the size of indiana that are locked down by unused fossil fuel leases which companies squat upon to pad their own asset base and prevent renewable development. wars and national security threats driven and paid for by big oil's craving for more profits. climate chaos with more than $700 billion worth of damages caused by extreme weather, disasters in the united states over the last five years alone. $700 billion worth of damage to us, to the united states from climate in the last five years. in 2015 congress repealed the

crude oil and gas export ban. it had been in place for 40 years in our country so that we would keep our oil here. and it was repealed with unanimous support of the republican party on the other side of the aisle. and it allowed for the sale of u.s. crude and natural gas on the global markets. i warned at that time it would be a huge mistake for our country to take that action. it was the worst of all worlds. it led to record breaking amounts of u.s. oil going to foreign nations without benefiting u.s. consumers. pain at the pump was not eased and neither was our dangerous dependence on illicit foreign oil. and every time, every time the republicans called for more

leasing, for more pipelines, for deepening our addiction to fossil fuels, they cried crocodile tears. they said, we need to plunder our own lands and waters in order to lower prices for americans, in order to ensure national independence from foreign oil sources, and then they exported that oil overseas. that was their plan all along. and it wasn't so secret. it was objection because that's how the american petroleum institute, the american prevarication institute works. but that argument is now leakier than an old oil tanker. and it's been proven again and again. every bill that came up approving the keystone xl pipeline, drilling for oil off

our coast, selling off our public lands to whatever bidder showed up, i just asked the same thing every single time. in 2011, in 2012, in 2015. every time i asked republicans if they would agree to ban any exports from these projects and keep americans from bearing the environmental and health burden from projects that provide no benefit to their own families, to their own states. and every time the republicans blocked or rejected my amendments, every time. that proved their arguments won't hold water. the big oil-backed push to extract more and more from american lands and waters was never about helping americans at

the pump. it was about pumping up the profits of big oil by getting al higher price out on the international marketplace, for american oil, for american national gas. that was their plan. and i'm sick of the hypocrisy. i'm sick of letting the american petroleum institute's prevarication triumph over the truth. i'm sick of watching americans deal with the climate crisis, did dirty air, with dirty water, with high gas prices just to help the oil companies make a buck by getting the highest price they can on the international market exporting american oil. now, the republicans push to use the crisis in ukraine to line big oil's pockets. it isn't about addressing inflation at home. it's about inflating fossil fuel profits for big oil and big gas.

in 2021 as gasoline prices increased by over 50%, exxonmobil, chevron, bp recorded their biggest profits that they had seen in eight years. in 2015 before the republicans lifted the export ban, before the american petroleum institute got the congress to vote to lift the ban on the export of american oil, china imported 191,000 barrels of oil from the united states. now we send four times as much oil to china as we did back in the beginning of 2016 after the ban was lifted. or to put it another way, we now import from russia 600,000 barrels of oil a day.

and we export to china #00,000 -- to china 600,000 barrels of oil a day. what's wrong with that picture? our natural resources go to china which they then use to fabricate products which they sell back to us undermining our own industries. and meanwhile to make up for it, we import 600,000 barrels of oil from russia and line the pockets of putin which allows him to buy the tanks, the planes, the infantry to assault and destroy a democracy in ukraine. this is a formula for failure of historic magnitude. and it was all so clear in that debate in 2015 when the republicans led the effort to lift the ban on the export of our oil. it was o so clear what was -- it was owe so clear what was going

to happen which is why i led the fight on the floor to block that ban. but i don't want to hear from the republicans with their crocodile tears how much they care about importation of oil from russia because the bottom line is we now import 8.6 million barrels of oil a day into the united states. we now have a crisis on our hands that we have to ultimately deal with. we export 8.6 million barrels of oil a day. we export out of our country 8.6 million barrels of oil a day. so i hear from republicans, oh, we need energy independence. well, what are we doing exporting 8.6 million barrels of oil a day? what's that all about? we know what it's all about. it's about the american

petroleum institute. it's all big oil and big gas getting a higher price on the international market than they get in the domestic market. that's what it was all about from the very beginning. and we have an opportunity here to stop finally big oil's relentless quest for profit which is funding putin's war at the same time it undermines our competitiveness with china. more leases are not going to help our allies in europe. we're already sending our oil to the highest bidder. oil and gas companies already have leases the size of indiana. let me say that again. the oil and gas industry have bid for over the last two decades leases to drill on the property owned by the american people and 53% of those leases have yet to be drilled upon.

that is the truth. if they're serious, which they're not, they should start drilling. if their crocodile tears are real in fact, they should just start dri drilling. but of course they're not going to because they by squatting on those lands keep the price of oil high. they keep the price of natural gas high. and japan and south korea and china right now get more of our imports than any other country. if oil companies really wanted to help europe get off russian gas, they could do that right now with the resources they have. let me say that again. oil companies could help europe get off russian natural gas right now with the resources they have, but that's not what

they want. they want unfetted profit, more public lands, and more power on the global market. and that profit, that oil-soaked power has directly fueled putin's war on ukraine. so there's a different pathway, and we have to commit to destroying demand for putin's dirty energy business model by powering our country with clean american made renewable energy. and we can power our way to peace. an additional 16 million electric vehicles on the road in the united states would replace all of the oil that we import from russia on a daily basis. by passing the $555 billion investment in clean energy and climate justice, we can build a made in america clean energy economy that delivers real energy independence. we can unlock a safe, healthy

future and untether ourselves from putin's dirty profits. with tax credits and rebates in wind and solar, offshore wind, transition, electric vehicles, heat pumps and advanced domestic manufacturing, we can cut costs at home, while cutting off putin's money pipeline. these investment would reduce our dependence on global oil markets and instead power our country through localized clean energy. our federal climate policies, our federal energy policies are exactly what we need in this moment. this national security moral and economic moment. we don't need to power our nation on russian oil and sell off our forests and seas for an unnecessary big oil land grab when they already have an area the size of indiana that they're not drilling on, because that increases their profits right now. we don't need to pay for

russia's invasion of ukraine through russian imports while paying higher prices at the pump to support profiteering and exports. let's wake up and win the renewable race to the future. let's reject fossil fuel greed for what that is, just greed. let's protect our allies by destroying putin's business model and delivering a future powered by domestic clean energy. that's the promise of peace. that's the promise to the whole world, to live in the safe planet. this is the promise we must make to the next generation of american young people and young people of the world, that we are going to power a clean energy revolution of wind and solar and all-electric vehicles and battery-storage technologies and we're going to destroy the business model of russia, destroy the business model of other petro states around the world with american innovation. that's what the young people of our country and the world should

expect from this generation this senate in 2022 on the floor of the united states senate. that's the debate which we should have this year on behalf of a safer, more peaceful, more healthy and more moral world. mr. president, i yield back. ms. ernst: mr. president. the presiding officer: the senator from iowa. ms. ernst: thank you, mr. president. i call for the senate to support the people of ukraine, fighting for their lives right now, today. our mandate to act is clear. here's a little bit of history for this body -- in 1994, in the months following the end of the cold war, ukraine was very fragile, working true the -- through the challenges of establishing and sustaining

democratic government, while sitting atop the world's third largest stockpile of nuclear weapons, arms abandoned in the final days of the soviet union. the united states intervened, in exchange for protection by the greatest super power in the history of the world ukraine dismantled and surrendered their nuclear armahment entirely. that agreement made the world a safer place, but vladimir putin called the united states to the carpet on our agreement last week. he gambled that america would again abandon our partners as we did in afghanistan. putin gambled that the united states treaties and agreements

are no more valuable than the paper that they're written on. he didn't bet against the ukrainians, where he has every military advantage in a head-to-head conflict. his criminal invasion, now a bloody war of aggression against ukraine, was a bet against american supremacy. we can not allow putin to get away with it. the american people don't want us to, either. over 80% of americans want us to do more, to bring down vladimir putin, stand with ukraine, and end this conflict. they're not just feeling the impacts of the invasion at the gas pump, the grocery store, and in their retirement accounts. they feel it in their hearts. we're the greatest nation on the

face of the planet. we stand for freedom. but our greatness and our standing are only as strong as our world. the american people know it, and they're looking for us to act. unfortunately, the united states' response to this point is, at best, incomplete. it's tepid. it's half-hearted. and impassive to the russian bear that is looking to clamp down on the free world. this president and his administration are allowing the germans, the canadians, the lat i havens -- the latvians, the dutch, and the swiss to lead in arming ukraine. this body, my colleagues and i, implore you.

we can do more, and we can do it better. we've seen the classified reports. we all understand, all 100 of us , that the ukrainians are in dire need of our aid right now. not tomorrow, not next week -- now. we also know the volume of not just combat capability, but logistic supply, secure communications equipment, medical kits that we have purchased and staged all around the world to secure our partners. my amendment does not spend another dime of taxpayer money. it calls on the secretary of defense to mobilize existing equipment, including provisions meant for afghanistan, to arm

ukraine. this equipment will never be used by u.s. forces, but it is simply sitting in warehouses across the world. it belongs at the polish border and in the hands of ukrainians who are fighting for their lives as i am speaking here on the floor today. we know that we have capabilities we bought for afghans that could be loaded and flown to poland to help our counterparts. that's open source. that information is out there. we've got other capabilities as well that you all know belong in the hands of our ukrainian friends. this administration's doctrine of appeasement has provided more arms for the taliban than for the sovereign nation of ukraine.

and it's not even close. the administration's abandonment of afghanistan drew deserved condemnation from democrats and republicans in this body, but today and every day we don't act to arm our partners in ukraine we will be held to account. if we don't act now, this body's lack of immediate attention and action on this matter will be recorded in history. we took an an oath to support and defend the constitution of the united states against all enemies, foreign and domestic. that obligates us to secure the home front, but also to stand with our allies and partners. our oath demands congress, just as it demands our men and women

in uniform, to protect the american people. that vow compels us to honor our commitments abroad, stand with freedom, and do what the american people sent us here to do. the fight for ukraine doesn't end today. i will continue to advocate for already procured equipment and capabilities that are programmed , budgeted, contracted, purchased, and sitting in containers unused to go to those who need it the most. let's execute our oath today. thank you, mr. chair, thank you, mr. president. i yield the floor. a senator: mr. president. the presiding officer: the senator from indiana.

mr. braun: i rise here today, we're going to be voting here later on, and in a recent monmouth poll in january, respondents were asked if they agreed with this statement -- covid is here to stay, and we just need to get on with our lives and live with it. 77% said they did agree with this, including half of all democrats. we've been through two years where we've been from here to there on it, that it was an early believer, take it seriously. we didn't know what it was going to have in store for us. but i think we do now. so often, you hear listen to the data, look at the science. too often, it's kind of been the political science of it. vacks makeses it and natural immunity mean that a --

vaccinations and natural immunity means a large majority of the nation are already protected. death from covid is really going in the right direction, thank goodness. as therapeutics continue to improve, it's clear that most americans are right -- covid is here to stay. it is endemic. we can't marinate in fear. we can't have lockdowns or one size fits all for across the country. we've got to get on with our lives. president biden recently extended the federal state of emergency under the national emergencies act indefinitely. i'd like to point out he's not alone there in the sense that most of our governors have done the same. i only think in florida and in iowa, i would say that i'm guessing most citizens living in a lat lot of these places would like their governors to do likewise. this state of emergency makes

robust powers available to the president during a crisis. it includes forgiving student loans, imposing travel restrictions, capital investments in neighborhoods deemed to be disproportionately affected by covid. when this emergency was first declared two years ago this week, it was needed. it was uncertain. it was gratifying to see that in a bipartisan way, in march of 2020, we came together, but we've learned so much since then now i think it's become a burden. i cite, three weeks ago in a classroom in las vegas, you ought to look it up -- it was announced there, this is different but it was a mandate, it was that you had to wear a mask in the classroom. the kids, i think, embodied what this whole process has been about, and that we're at a

different place. it looked like they won the state championship in something. we're there, congress has the responsibility to vote on whether to approve these emergency declarations, as we will today. every state and community is easing covid restrictions, and many of them have eliminated entirely. ideally, you fight something like this with maybe general guidance from here, but you let government where its closest to the people dictate how this stuff should happen and how long it should be there. it's past time for the president and governors across the country to give up the extra powers granted to them under the covid emergency declarations. if we're going to live with this virus and move forward as a country, we must end the national emergency authorization and then other governors across the country should follow suit.

i yield the floor. a senator: mr. president. the presiding officer: the senator from kansas. mr. marshall: i rise today in support of s.j. res. lusion 38, a resolution to terminate the covid-19 national emergency declaration. after nearly two years of living under this state of emergency, the american people are worn out and yearning to breathe free. they long for their god-given freedoms and for leaders to take their side. we as a nation must begin to learn to live with covid. the robust powers this emergency declaration provides the federal government are no longer necessary and congress must debate and ultimately repeal them in order to begin the process of unwinding the powers the government took hold of

during the peak of the crisis. as we contemplate what returning to normal means, most americans accept that covid will likely never be entirely behind us. setting zero covid cases as a victory condition is more harmful than good. that being said, of course we have to respect the virus and protect the vulnerable. but we also must accept that personal responsibility, not government mandates and restrictions, must govern our approach to the virus going forward. we must repeal this emergency declaration today to deliver a symbolic victory to our citizens that normalcy is around the corner and that limited government and our constitutional rights still reign supreme. it is time to stop talking about restrictions and the unknown. we must chart a new victory that respects the virus and our freedoms. let's look back on the recent

history of this national emergency declaration. on march 13, 2020, president trump first declared the national emergency concerning the novel coronavirus outbreak. two months later, the world health organization had declared covid-19 as a global pandemic. little was known about the rapidly spreading virus at the time, but president trump's declaration was intended to grant himself as chief executive additional authorities to bolster the federal government's efforts to control the virus and ease the burden on our health care system. less than a week later, california became the first state to issue lockdowns and capacity limits commenced all across the nation. these were the earliest and most frightening days of the pandemic when our understanding of the virus was minimal and all measures were needed to react to a global contagion unlike

anything seen in nearly a century. almost a year later, and just over a month after his inauguration in february 2021, president biden justifiably went on to extend the covid-19 national emergency declaration for another year, a requirement under the national emergency's act that had not been enacted on would have resulted in the automatic termination of the declaration. at the time of president biden's initial extension, only 50 million doses of the vaccine had been administered and eligibility was largely limited to health care workers, first responders and the most vulnerable populations. it would still be weeks or months before all adults would be eligible in all 50 states. biotreatments and therapeutics were scarcely available to the public. all the while, the more contagious delta variant was brewing in other parts of the world and soon became the dominant variant here at home.

situation on the ground in the united states has changed drastically since the early stages of the pandemic. things to operation warp speed, the united states has now multiable vaccines available to those over the age of five. those 12 and older are eligible for a booster shot. more than 550 million shots is have been administered in the united states with 215 million people fully vaccinated. additionally, the f.d.a. has authorized two oral antivirus available for those at high risk of becoming seriously ill. well done. well done. omicron is now the dominant variant in the united states, accounting for 97% of the cases. it results in milder symptoms in affected individuals. in kansas, the daily case average in recent weeks has

decreased 99%. let me say that again much the daily case average has decreased 99%. hospitalizations are down about 80%, and deaths are down 98%. nationally we are seeing drastic decreases in the same three categories as well. but perhaps even more importantly, today at least 94% of americans have some level of immunization. accordingly, states in every corner of the nation are repealing indoor mask mandates, including blue states who have most adamantly enforced them. yes, indeed, freedom-loving americans who are worn out by the draconian mandates and lockdowns are giving a sigh of relief. despite all of these advances and a much greater understanding of the virus, president biden extended the national emergency declaration once again on a late friday afternoon two weeks ago. next, let us lay some of the effects that these policies have had on the american people and

why we must abandon this approach, shrink the federal response and move towards a more nimble and effectively locally-based community strategy that allows individual citizens and local health officials to exercise and promote old-fashioned self-responsibility and individual choice. mr. president, the first covid-19 wave in the spring of 2020 took the world by surprise. the spread of the cases globally and in the united states was met by government-ordered mandates abroad and here at home. lockdowns put more than 10 million americans at work with 6.6 million people applying for unemployment benefits in the last week of march alone. these lockdowns, some of which extended for months in certain states, and the subsequent mandates are requirements that still remain in place and have had dramatic impacts on our quality of life and have been minimally beneficial. a recent study from johns hopkins university said lockdowns only reduced the

covid-19 death rate by 0.2%, two out of 1,000. these researchers noted that while lockdowns have had little to no public health effects, they have imposed economic and social costs where they have been adopted. these costs have been felt at an alarming rate in a number of aspects of american life. drug overdose deaths rose than 30% in 2020, hitting the highest number ever reported. symptoms of anxiety or depressive disorder and the use of mental health care increased by 36%. the numbers for our children are even more troubling. our children, our grandchildren. the c.d.c. found between march and october 2020, emergency department visits for mental health visits rose by 24 h.r. pour children 5-11 and 31% for children ages 12-17. in addition, emergency department visits for suspected

suicide attempts increased nearly 51% among girls ages 12-17. 51%. in early 2021 impaired to the same period in 2019. school closures in the 2020-2021 left students on average five months behind on mathematics and four months behind in reading. disadvantaged and low-income schools disproportionately, of course, felt that impact. these societal ills have been compounded by mask mandates, vaccine mandates and isolation orders. keeping this emergency declaration in place will cause -- will cause public health officials and governments at all levels to maintain the possibility of allowing them to remain or resurrecting them. and much like america's alcohol prohibition a century ago, these mandates will make criminals out of all of us as we all are guilty of disregarding them at one time or another. this only creates more

disrespect for law and order. we can't allow this to happen. and i have to add this -- the mortality rate from covid for the united states is 75% higher than sweden's -- 75% higher than sweden's -- despite sweden issuing no shutdowns or mask mandates. the sweden economy is humming ahead of ours. all of of this being said, once again i beg this administration and the national media to stop fearmongering, to share all the science and, please, let our people go. the democrats' covid obsession has also resulted in an out-of-control spending and massive debt. congress has appropriated $6 trillion -- that's six times 10 to the 12th, six with 12 zeros after it -- $6 trillion to

respond to this crisis. this means federal spending to combat the pandemic has well surpassed the $4.1 trillion the world spent waging world war ii. throw in the roughly $1.5 trillion on world war ii, the korean war, and the gulf war, and it still would not exceed what's been spent on covid relief. we borrowed from my children, my grandchildren, your children and grandchildren, we borrowed and spent more money on covid than all the major wars combined from the 20th century. when the $2.2 trillion cares act passed, president biden and the democrats in congress insisted more was needed. despite warnings from economists an owl end of the political spectrum that it would harm our economy, democrats ran through a highly partisan $1.9 trillion more of a spending package that has overheated our economy. this bill was a response to a

problem that was already fixing it itself. shockingly had i have to point out that only 9% was related to health care and less than 1% was dedicated to vaccines. instead, the funding, like the drawn-out, unnecessary heavy-handed health restrictions, was meant to expand big government socialism. not to mention it has resulted in the highest level of inflation we've seen in 40 years. as one economist put it, the u.s. stimulus has been in a category of its own and has resulted in more inflation than almost any other advanced economy in the world. with hundreds of billions of dollars of funds for schools and state governments unspent, the president announced during the state of the union that he plans to spend a supplemental relief request to congress. our nation's emergency posture this virus is driving out-of-control spending, fueling inflation and strapping our children and, again, our

grandchildren with more than $30 trillion in debt. indeed, at this time our national debt is a greater threat to the our nation than covid. this alone is another reason to end this declaration. let me turn to the executive emergency authority, the executive branch's emergency authority and congress' role in delegating those powers. since article 2 of the constitution does not grant the president emergency powers, all such authority is granted by congress. many of these authorities are provided through three laws -- the national emergency act, which is what we're focused on today; the stafford act, and the public health service act. all three have been applied by this administration to the covid response, but the national emergencies act grants congressional oversight over a declaration by the president. before i get into the need to exercise that congressional authority, let me quickly

discuss what repealing this emergency declaration will not do. let's talk about what it won't don't. it will not impact the title 42 order currently in place and being exercised at our southern border a louse border officials to expel illegal aliens. again, this will not impact title 42. the crisis at the u.s.-mexico border has been fueled by this administration's decision to resume catch and release, halt halt at the border wall. as a result, the number of illegal aliens crossing our southern border is at the highest level in more than 20 years under president biden. i can assure you, republicans' intention is not to take away the only tool being utilized at our southern border to stem the tide of illegal aliens pouring

in. the authority is under the public health service act. the most recent internal review submitted is by the c.d.c. director on february 2 found that the order needed to remain in place. republicans agree -- we agree that the external threat of covid coming across the border unchecked from other nations preserves the need for this order to remain in place and for us to pass legislation outside of these emergency declarations to further secure our porous border. second, terminating the emergency declaration would not impact the waivers issued by the h.h.s. secretary. let me say that again. terminating the emergency declaration would not impact the waivers issued by the h.h.s. secretary. these critical flexibilities including increased access to care via telehealth has been crucial to our ability to combat the virus. the telehealth waivers will not

be impacted by removing the n.e.a. i'm a cosponsor of legislation to make many these telehealth waivers permanent and we must do so and return to normal. until today, congress has failed to fulfill our duty and oversight responsibilities laid out in the national emergencies act, ceding immense, unchecked power to the executive branch. we must, as democrat representative from the great state of kentucky roman know rizelli said in 1975, i'll quote representative mizelli, a democrat from kentucky, consciously is and deliberately, we must force ourselves to come to grips periodically and ultimately deal with the vexing problems of national emergency. the blame as well as the gloriry will be on the shoulders of the congress. that is the responsibility

course, end quote. the blame and the glory shall remain on the shoulders of congress. that's why we're here today. we're here today to debate this responsible course moving forward. while the covid-19 emergency declaration has not utilized all powers provided to the president, major actions have been taken as a direct result of the declaration. our ready reserve remains active. our coast guard is stretched and the staggeringly expensive student loan relief remains in place. more importantly, this declaration drives our federal government to maintain its massive emergency response infrastructure and drives left-wing politicians in congress to push harmful mandates and unrestrained spending. these powers are no longer needed. we have tools to minimize the impact of this virus and truly live with it. this idea of living with covid is not a fringe position held by republicans. democrat new jersey governor phil murphy said it was time to, and i'll quote him, learn

how to live with it. democrat governors in nevada, rhode island, new york, california -- i'm going to say california again -- connecticut, delaware, illinois and oregon announced they're lifting certain mask mandates and easing other restrictions. internationally the united kingdom, australia and new zealand are working towards living with covid phases. last week the british prime minister announced his part of his, quote, living with covid plan. it would even include the repeal of legislation of legal requirements for those who test positive for covid to self-isolate. and while president biden claimed during his state of the union address that we are, and i'll quote him, we are moving forward safely back to normal routines, end quote, his actions don't match his words. his call for a reset and claims to be loosening government intrusions into our lives by way of government rerestrictions are

half-truth. we know this because these next items are true. despite being presented with devastating effects of lockdown and other restrictions, the president renewed the federal government's national declaration again. in fact, the president hours ago issued a veto threat of this resolution should it make it to his desk. the president promising a veto before we have a vote on the senate floor. the c.d.c. continues to hide data points they believe would be misinterpreted by those outside of the swamp they view as ignorant. the people, the people are so much smarter than they're given credit for. this data includes information on who is receiving booster shots, the effectiveness of vaccines for certain age groups and figures related to reinfections. this allows the federal government to suppress information that contradicts their one-size-fits-all policy and approach and preserve intrusive government policies.

next despite the preks patting himself -- the president patting himself on the back for relaxing mandates, we have in place the c.d.c. order that requires masks on airplanes, ubers and children's school buses. the administration has withdrawn the osha mandate on employers with more than 100 employees after, only after the supreme court struck it down. three mandates are thankfully enjoined by the courts but deadlines for c.m.s. mandates on health care workers are beginning to be enforced. just yesterday on this floor, 44 senate democrats voted to keep the mandate in place despite its constitutional violation of state police powers, harm it to an already weak health care resource and outdated science that guided the promulgation of the rule. next the president's national covid-19 preparedness plan asked congress to approve funding that would expand the prescription drug coverage of vaccines -- ask expand the doses of vaccines

to one million per year. do they plan to mandate these? dr. fauci led us to believe that that indeed might be the case when he said, and i'll quote dr. fauci, the potential future requirements for an additional boost is being carefully monitored in real time, end of quote. while we prevented separated members of the military from receiving dishonorable discharges for choosing not to get the vaccine, the defense department kicked out hundreds of our bravest service men and women. how can the president down play the progress we made in our ability to combat the virus, and more importantly, how can he continue to pursue an invasive and coercive federal response that eroded our freedoms and spread misery throughout this nation? does he not hear the cry of the people who give him the power to be president? as the united states enters the

third year of covid-19, 70% of americans agree that it's time we accept that covid is here to stay and that we just need to get on with our lives. 70% of americans. we can't get americans to decide where to go to lunch together, let alone an issue this big. 70% of americans. maintaining these policies is no longer about science or about public health or the will of the people. that's all a guise. this is about power and using a global pandemic to grow government and lurch our nation towards socialism. the suffering caused by the government's actions has had an immense impact on the daily lives of americans in ways that will take years to correct. if ever. we know, we now know that these actions were wrong. the same people who argued to keep this emergency declaration in place are the same people who were wrong in their advocacy for

these government actions. they were wrong when they told you not to be afraid to go to chinese new year's is celebrations when the first cases were detected in the united states. they were wrong when they said it was racist to suspend in bound travel from china. they were wrong when they called on conspiracy theorists. they were wrong when they told you massive stimulus spending was necessary and would not lead to inflation. they were wrong when they told you that inflation would be transitory and they were wrong when they denied that natural immunity provided a strong p defense against covid infection and severe symptoms. they were wrong when they denied that natural immunity provided a strong defense against covid infection and severe symptoms. they have been wrong nearly every step of the way during the response to this pandemic, always a day late and a dollar

spent in the wrong direction. yet here they are, the same individuals who hold majorities in congress telling us it would be detrimental to our own health to repeal the national emergency declaration. it is a blatant effort to further expand the massive power the federal government has expanded across america for the past two years. today, yes today the senate has the opportunity to act to rein in this control and reassert our article 1 authorities. the constitution demands it, the authors of the national emergencies act demand it, the protection of american liberties demands it. we have the tools to protect the vulnerable and our populace in their full herd immunity at 94, 94% of americans have some level of immunity now.

let's not listen to those who have been proven incorrect countless times throughout this pandemic. let's listen to common sense and reason, let's listen to science, let's listen to the people. let's abandon the covid obsession and group-think that infiltrated the highest ranks of our federal government. let's return the ability to make decisions related to the virus back to the american people. thank you, mr. president. i yield back.

mr. daines: mr. president. the presiding officer: the senator from montana. mr. daines: mr. president, all in one year president biden killed the keystone xl pipeline, he banned the oil and gas leases on federal lands and then of course ended up begging opec and russia to purchase more abroad. these actions diminished american energy security, it hurt our allies and empowered our adversaries. they put the united states and our partners in the crosshairs of russia and vladimir putin. at the state of the union

address, i heard the president say we need more made in america, made in america, made in america, what i didn't hear him say is more made in america energy, more made in america natural energy and gas, in my bill, the smart energy act, will help get the united states back on track and make sure the country remains not only energy independent and energy secure, but become a global energy dominant player. my bill supports an all-of-the-above american energy portfolio. and i want to emphasize that, as an all-of-the-above american energy portfolio, it includes renewable energy by allowing renewable development on federal lands and waters. now more than ever we need to

support american energy development to help families and support our allies. take a lack at what's happening in europe and russia as it relates to energy prices and natural security, all of which are interconnected. we should examine what germany has done over the course of the last 10 to 15 years as an example of what not to do. and, by the way, it takes, i guess a war on the doorsteps of germany to suddenly provide clarity for the germans to see, yep, they need to be increasing in their investment in nato and now they just in the last two weeks decided they are going to permit two new l and g words while looking in the rear-view mirror, they shut down 11 nuclear plants, shut down coal

plants. they wanted the nord stream 2 pipeline built to russia. well, they've changed their thinking on it. we can't let america get to that same point of following this path of a very dangerous ideology of made in america. europe has become more dependent on adversaries like russia for energy and now the cost of energy is skyrocketing. sadly this, indeed is a sneak peek on the path america is headed down if the biden administration continues to stonewall traditional energy development. we can't let this happen. listen, i support an all-of-the-above energy portfolio. i'm grateful that i represent a state that has all of the energy -- natural energy, we have amazing hydro resources,

we've got winds that come off of our mountains for wind energy. but all of the above approach includes not just renewables, but oil, gas, nuclear, and coal. and that's why it's critical that we pass my bill today to promote renewable and traditional energy here in the united states. it's good for growing jobs, strengthening our energy security, supporting our allies, keeping a reliable and cost-effective source of energy for the american people. mr. president, the question we should all be asking ourselves, do we want the world to be looking to russia for energy or the united states for energy? my bill supports the latter and i urge my colleagues to pass it. so i ask unanimous consent that the committee on energy and natural resources be discharged from further consideration of senate bill 3214 and the senate

proceed to its immediate consideration. further, i ask unanimous consent that the bill be considered read a third time and passed and the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table. the presiding officer: is there objection? a senator: reserving the right to object, mr. president. the presiding officer: the senator from massachusetts. mr. markey: thank you, mr. president, very much. mr. president, i rise today to object to the motion from the senator from montana, to pass this bill through unanimous consent. this push to put every square inch of federal land up for sale is not a new one. it's the plan of the american petroleum institute from the beginning of recorded time and it's not helping the ukrainians in their fight. it's not helping our european allies. it's helping inflate the profits of big oil and big gas

companies. in 2021 and 2020 we exported more crude oil and petroleum than we imported. since 2015, when every republican on their side lifted the ban on the exportation of american oil -- that's what they wanted, their plan with the american petroleum institute -- we now export 8.6 billion barrels of oil out of our country every single day. so without question whenever i hear anything about energy independence, well, that was the natural consequence of lifting the ban on the exportation of our oil and now it's up to 8.6 billion barrels a day. as a matter of fact in 2021, we exported 8.6 billion barrels of a day from china as we were

importing oil from russia. the american petroleum institute wanted a globalization of this market, with the american consumer, the american economy caught in an economic crossfire, which is where we are right now. we give china our natural resources so they can produce a finished product and in the meantime we have to export 600 billion barrels of oil to make up for it which they use for the navy, for the infantry right now working to destroy the democracy of ukraine. so the answer is for the united states to chart a new course. in 2021, 2020, 2019, 2018, we scortd more natural gas than we imported. we don't have a fossil fuel supply problem in the united states at all.

we are supplying fossil fuels all around the world right now. we are sending our fuel to japan to china to south korea, also fuel companies are sending their -- fossil fuel companies are sending their products anywhere they can he get the highest price, raising the cost here at home. that's the key, once they get it out of the united states and put it on a ship, natural gas or oil, they then get the highest price in the world for it but they leave behind more oil and natural gas in the united states and with the diminished supply it leads to an increase in prices for home consumers, for heating oil, for gasoline, for natural gas to heat their homes. that was the plan in 2015, lift the ban on exportation for natural oil and natural gas. still, they are unfinished and they want to drill and frack

every inch of our public forests, our public lands, and add to the stockpile of leases that they are squatting on already. here are the numbers. it's absolutely astounding. and, again, it's all part of the american petroleum institute's control of our domestic and foreign policy. right now on shore in our forests and fields and plains, 50% of all the leases that the american petroleum institute, exxon, chevron, you name it, by the way, it'sdz 2 bucks an -- it's 2 bucks an acre and they are not drilling on it, and they had it for 15 years and now we hear they need more land, public lands, that we can buy for a couple of bucks and we promise, we promise, we'll start drilling on it, but give us more land

even though they have an area the size of indiana that they have bid for and now from the american people on public lands have the right to drill, but they are not doing it. offshore is even worse. on our pristine coasts from maine to florida, 77% of the existing leases, which the american petroleum institute have, they haven't even drilled on them yet. they are sitting there and yet they are coming here and saying we need even more that we can get at a bargain basement price of a couple of bucks an acre because that's their business plan and it is just so disingenuous for the american petroleum institute to continue to try to exploit crises while themselves not doing their own job because it's inconsistent

with the huge profit-making goals which they have. using the crisis in ukraine and rising oil prices to push for more pro-oil policies doesn't make sense. our oil addiction is what added more than $17 billion to putin's pockets last year. let me just say that. we, in the united states, at the gas pump sent $17 billion to putin for his war machine just in 2021. so let's just not pretend that we need to plunder every inch of our country for lower oil and gas prices, oil and gas companies want to continue to frack so they can send it abroad while they plead energy independence while they send it to china as the highest bidder. that's not our plan. it can't be our plan. we need a true clean energy

policy that will lead to a new new -- clean energy revolution. republicans are blocking the clean energy package that we have in the united states senate. for every 16 million all-electric vehicles we deploy, we back out all of the oil we import from russia and then it would back out all of the oil we would get from saudi arabia. that is a plan for the young people. that destroys long-term, the business model, of the soviet, of russia, of middle eastern nations that have us addicted to their oil. so i just that i we're at a critical time and we need -- we need big plans, but one of them cannot be that we're saying to the oil industry that you can exploit this crises.

because if they are serious and i will finish on this note, when we debated in january of 2015 the keystone xl pipeline, i made the amendment here on the senate floor saying that if we build the keystone pipeline, that we have to keeple all the oil -- keep all of the oil in the united states. it's the dirtiest oil in the world, the tar sands of canada, where they wanted to build it to export it. my bill that if we build the pipeline, the oil should stay here. every single republican voted not to keep it here. they all said that that oil can be exported to any country in the world. and, secondly, back when i was in the house of representatives, i would make the amendment each year. if you want to drill off the coastlines of the united states, then any oil which is found has

to stay here in america, otherwise, the beaches, the fishing industries of the united states take all the risks and the oil companies reap all the profits by putting that oil or natural gas on the international markets and every republican ought to know we're not going to have a ban on that oil and gas even though it would endanger the beaches and fishing industries of the united states. tawls been about -- it's always been about an export strategy and that is what this is. it is an attempt to get more leases that they would hoard or squat on and they would decide when they would begin to drill. because of the long, unfortunate history between the american people and the american petroleum institute, mr. president, i object. the presiding officer: objection is heard. mr. daines: mr. president.

the presiding officer: the senator from montana. mr. daines: clearly we have two different philosophies and strategies as we move forward as we deal with the crisis unfolding in europe and ukraine. we need more made in america energy. it's the green new deal, purely clean energy and not including an all-of-the-above portfolio which i believe is a very dangerous direction to head as we've seen exactly what germany, germany has encountered over the course of the last ten years. they marched down that path, and now they find themselves in a very, very dangerous position. and they've had to reverse course because they had the same kind of ideals that the senator from massachusetts was talking about. and now they've had to wake up and look at the reality of the situation and change course.

by the way, it's not every inch. this bill simply says we need four lease sales. we're asking for the minimum of four lease sales. that's what we're asking for. when the president shuts down the keystone pipeline, shuts down oil and gas in this country, ferc has major impediments to building nor pipelines, and nominees who were appointed in the biden administration are very anti-oil and gas, it chills the capital markets. this is a long-term direction we've got to continue to go down. again, this bill also includes wind, solar and geothermal pray yorlts as part of it. it's all of the above. it's dangerous to say we're going to bet the nation's future on only one segment of the energy economy, and not also ensure we have oil and gas as port of our portfolio. just ask the germans if they thought it was a good idea when

they went down this path 10 or 15 years ago. mr. president, thank you. a senator: mr. president. the presiding officer: the senator from massachusetts. mr. markey: thank you, mr. president. just in response to the senator, we never had an all of the bof above strategy. we've had oil above all strategy. that's the problem we have. that's the hole we've dug for ourselves. it's time for the united states to finally put a plan in place that backs out the imported oil from russia, backs out the imported oil from the middle east, and the only way we can do is if we pass the climate part -- provisions in president biden's plan. and by 2030 the goal is to have 40% of all of our vehicles being all electric. no oil, no gasoline. you know what that does? it destroys the business model

of russia. it destroys the business model of the countries in the middle east that need that petro dollar from the american consumer in order to fund all of their nefarious activities. germany is going 65% all-electric vehicles by the year 2030. nine years from now. 60% all electric. so if we put this together and we're serious about it right now, we will destroy the long-term threat fueled by our own addiction to energy, yiewrm's addiction to -- europe's addiction to fossil fuels. and it will send us on a clean energy future. but in order to do it, we need a true all-of-the-above strategy, not oil above all. that's how we got here. and if we're going to do it, we have to pass that comprehensive clean energy package out of the senate this year and put it on president biden's desk.

that will scare putin and his cronies vacationing in sochi. that will put a fear into the hearts of the oil monarchs of the middle east because they will know once and for all that we are serious about not allowing our american consumer dollars to fuel conflicts around the world. so again, mr. president, i appreciate the time, and i yield back. and i note the presence of the quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. quorum call:

mr. lankford: mr. president. the presiding officer: we're in a quorum call, senator. mr. lankford: i ask unanimous consent to vitiate the quorum

call. the presiding officer: without objection. the senator from oklahoma. mr. lankford: thank you. mr. president, i ask unanimous consent that the following senators be permitted to speak before the vote. senator marshall for two minutes, senator schumer up to five minutes. mr. president, we are about to vote on an issue dealing with the national emergency here in the united states dealing with the pandemic. there's been no great shock that we functioned allot of additional authorities that are happening but i want to provide a little bit of clarity into this conversation as well. the measure that we're dealing with right now, dealing with covid and the pandemic that's here, we also know there's a global pandemic and improving medical situation here doesn't necessarily mean improving the medical situation everywhere. nor should it change what's called title 42. a quick explanation on this. the surgeon general and c.d.c., h.h.s. all worked together with the president to be able to

recommend that based on the public health crisis that we're currently under, title 42 states this. whenever the surgeon general determines that by reason of the existence of any communicable disease in a foreign country, there's a serious danger to the introduction of such disease in the united states and that this dangerous is increased by the introduction of persons or property of such country that a suspension of the right to introduce such persons and property is required in the interest of the public health, the surgeon general in accordance with the regulations approved by the president, shall have the power to prohibit the introductions of persons or property from such countries they shall designate. that's title 42. would does that matter to us? because in the last two years our country along our border has been managing much of the border based on title 42. now, it is no secret to anyone in this room. i would assume everyone in this room knows we have the highest number of border encounters, people crossing our border illegally last year if the history of our country. over two million people

illegally crossed our borders what some may not know is last year, 900,000 of those were brought into the system in the united states. 1.1 million of those were turned around at the border with title 42 authority. meaning because of the pandemic, because of the risk and the crisis and the introduction of additional individuals likely to have covid, they were turned around at the border. the concern is, and i have raised this concern over and over with c.b.p., what is your plan post-pandemic for the title 42 authority? i want everyone to think about last summer. last summer what was happening in donna, texas? last summer what was happening in multiple places along the border where our facilities were overrun with people and not manageable? that was when we were introducing 900,000 people into the country. what does that look like this

summer if there's two million people in that group coming across? that's why i want to make it very clear that what we're voting on now has no effect on title 42 authority. we continue to have serious health concerns as title 42 states in many other countries rkz, and i have continued to encourage d.h.s. have a plan in place. clurpt, they do not -- currently, they do not. it appears that their plan is once title 42 goes away, all two million will get into the country. i think that's a serious problem, and i think it's something that we should address. in the meantime, we should not relieve title 42, and this vote does not change anything with the surgeon general's decision on title 42. by the way, a surgeon general position that has been in two administrations in a row to be able to be maintained on this.

so just to clarify thor this body -- for this body, this vote has nothing to do with title 42. that is a surgeon general responsibility, but this body needs to do additional oversight to make sure d.h.s. is paying attention to what's happening at our southern border, because we could very well have 1.1 million additional people illegally cross into the country, not just across the border and returned, but into the country in the days ahead. with that, i yield. mr. marshall: mr. president. the presiding officer: the senator from kansas is recognized. mr. marshall: mr. president, one of my favorite tasks up here is to give folks from back home a tour of this capitol. we meet them in the crypts and go through the old supreme court and walk up the back steps into the capitol's rotunda. and i love to say nothing. i love to just watch the folks

look up at the walls and gaze at all the famous statues, statues of eisenhower and reagan. and there's portraits in that rotunda. each with a story to tell. perhaps my favorite portrait is one by john trurval, it's a -- trumball, depicting george washington in 1783 resigning his commission as commander of the continental army. everyone looks at that pointing and see in president, at the time general, george washington's hands his commission, the piece of paper he's handing off to the if continental army. but behind him there's a throne, and importantly it's an empty throne with king's robes on it. seemingly to say that george washington said i will not be a king, i will throw my robes off

and we'll have a republic, a democracy. i would ask our president to throw off his robes. i would ask him to listen to the people and end this declaration of emergency. thank you. i yield back. mr. schumer: mr. president. the presiding officer: the majority leader is recognized. mr. schumer: i'll be brief as i conclude. mr. president, as our country turns the corner on the covid-19 pandemic, we stand at a crossroads. we can either take steps to keep america ready in case new variants arise, and the odds are high they will arise, or we can backslide and undo everything we've done at great cost to get our country closer to normal. today the senator from kansas is advancing a proposal that would precisely handicap the biden

administration's ability to fight the pandemic and heighten the danger that all our progress is suddenly unraveled in the future. we've learned how to fight the pandemic. we're better at it. this undoes it for some kind of ideological reason. this proposal to hinder our covid preparedness is as damaging and risky as it is unnecessary, and it should be voted down. it's going nowhere if it passes. the national emergency declaration, which this proposal would immediately terminate, has been one of the most powerful and best tools for mobilizing the federal government to combat the pandemic. it's made it easier to acquire medical supplies, to provide resources for healthcare works, and it's helped cut red tape under the defense production act. it also offers student loan borrowers with critical relief by clearing the path for

suspending student loan payments, a lifeline for tens of millions. do we want that undone? just as it looks like we're turning the corner, why on earth would republicans risk bungling it all by crippling america's ability to remain prepared for the future? the best way to ensure that we keep schools open and cases low is by staying at the ready, and that is what these emergency powers enable us to do. we don't know if new variants will come or not, but if they do they can appear with frightening speed, and we fleed to be prepared. by prematurely terminating the national emergency declaration on covid it will be harder to ensure we have enough supplies, enough support for healthcare workers, and risks throwing tens of millions of student loans borrowers into needless uncertainty and anxiety. it's a wrong move. i will vote against it today, and i ask for the yeas and nays. the presiding officer: under the previous order, the clerk will read the title of the joint

resolution for the third time. the clerk: s.j. res. 38, relating to a national emergency declared by the president on march 13, 2020. the presiding officer: under the previous order, the question occurs on the passage of the joint resolution. the yeas and nays have been requested. is there a sufficient second? there appears to be. the clerk will call the roll. vote:

vote:

vote:

the presiding officer: on this vote the yeas are 48, the nays 47. the joint resolution is passed.

a senator: mr. president. the presiding officer: the senator from tennessee is recognized. mrs. blackburn: thank you, mr. president. ukrainian -- president zelensky made it clear that the time for long-winded negotiations is over. he said that in ukraine, and i'm quoting, we're dealing with reality. we're dealing with real life. the footage coming out of ukraine is absolutely horrifying. putin has shocked the world with the level of brutality that he is inflicting on civilians, men, women, and precious children. but remember that none of this happened overnight. these last three months of bluster and buildup from moscow

were more than just idle threats. we saw it coming and still it is abundantly clear that joe biden and his advisors have not accepted this reality. i've come to the floor more time than i can count to remind my colleagues how dangerous it is to remain entangled with governments controlled by dictators and madmen. i'm encouraged by the growing level of bipartisan awareness of this danger but discouraged how long it has taken us to get there. it took the better part of two years for this body to rally around supply-chain security. i'm sorry to say my democratic colleagues' priorities were out of order during the height of the pandemic, even when it came to something as simple as holding beijing accountable for

unleashing covid and destroying the economy. too many people had fooled themselves into believing that diplomacy with china required dependence on china. and just like that, we found ourselves at the mercy of xi jinping. it has taken the same -- with russia's state-controlled energy sector. it's the same old store yiflt what started -- story. what started out as interdependent has turned into a serious vulnerability. it's especially true for our european counterparts who bet everything on their gamble with moscow and played right into putin's hands. now, here we are, russia is a the world's largest gas depot,

europe is on the brink of an in crisis and the world is dipping into strategic petroleum reserves to avert chaos. yes, mr. president, we are all in this mess together but we ought not to be. it did not have to be this way. it's hard to believe that before joe biden took his oath of office, the united states of america was energy independent. that is correct. go back and look at the numbers, 2019, 2020, energy independent. it took a lot of hard work, but, yes, we got there. president trump opened up all federal lands for new oil and gas exploration, he also

approved the keystone xl pipeline which would have opened up more jobs and energy production closer to home, trump also used sanctions against energy companies when he needed to, he used them against gazprom and the norms and against roznaf to help venezuela evade oil sanctions. it worked. the proof was right there in front of us. you could see it. then along comes president biden. and what did he choose to do? he had a choice. he made a decision, yes. it was intentional. it was to satisfy the leftist that are running the democratic party. so what did joe biden do? he crushed american energy.

that is right. he suspended all those oil and gas leases on federal land on the very first day of his administration. he took great pride in saying one of his first actions, one of the very first things that he did was to kill the keystone pipeline. and then he blocked new energy infrastructure and then for good measure, he made those pesky nord stream 2 sanctions go away. what had vladimir putin asked for? he wanted nord stream 2 no sanctions. joe biden gave it to him.

did not even put any conditions on it. none, zip. old buddy, old pal, this is what you wanted, i'll give it to you. i'll give you nord stream 2 at the same time locking down u.s. energy production. madam president, for the members of this chamber that come from energy-producing states, if you are supporting president biden in this endeavor, then you are supporting actions that disadvantage your state. think about that. jobs, keystone, having energy independence, which is -- as we're seeing this has quite an impact on our nation's security

and on our global security. well, for all of those actions that stopped energy production, the democratic party loved him for it, of course, as i said, they are being run by the far-left wing. the environmental lobby, oh, they loved and praised joe biden for this, and at first the europeans kind of liked it also. but, then, look where it got us. we fell out of energy independence and into a rat's nest of entanglements with one of the worlds most belligerent dictators. russia is now our third largest supplier of crude oil. the e.u. gets around 40% of its gas imports and more than a quarter of its oil from russia.

instead of using keystone to send 830,000 barrels of crude oil per day to refiners in nebraska and texas, we depend on russia to give us over 600,000 barrels per day. our german friends have finely questioned the wisdom of their failed energy scheme with moscow, but they are still vulnerable. everyone is vulnerable. putin is using energy as a weapon. this is not up for debate. there was an interesting article in tuesday's "wall street journal" revealing that russia is still exporting its oil and natural gas throughout the

world. gazprom and roznef pull in about 30% of russia's budget revenues. that's right, two companies, as i said russia is a big oil depot and they have an army. 30% of the country's oil revenues, gazprom and roznef. and as of right now, they've been able to completely avoid major western sanctions. shameful. they've managed to do this even though we know this gives moscow some level of control over the rest of the global economy. these companies are putin's economic lifeline and his best leverage against the west. his best leverage against

ukraine, and i'm quoting from "the wall street journal" article. in recent months mr. putin deployed gazprom, the largest exporter of natural gas to the european market. as a european tool by throttling delivers to the continent, european officials and analysts have said that exacerbated an already growing gas deficit and led to a surge in prices. both companies have always denied having a political agenda and insisted they are pursuing legitimate business interests, but in recent years european officials and foreign policy experts have said gazprom in particular has been acting as a foreign policy instrument for the russian government. end quote. the article goes on to detail

how putin is financing his war against ukraine with the help of these puppet corporations. energy is his most powerful economic weapon and the only way to neutralize it is to cut off the revenue stream. sanctions related to the swift banking system and other financial punishments are important, but they are not going to be a silver bullet. the biden administration has repeatedly said that sanctions against the russian energy sector would be too radical. but i would suggest that perhaps the biden administration is not the best judge of what is too radical when it comes to regaining energy independence. i would remind my democratic colleagues that it was the biden

administration who decided that oil and gas leases on federal lands were too radical. that the keystone pipeline was too radical and that sanctions on putin's pipeline to western europe, that was too radical. joe biden didn't let energy independence slip away. he -- he was and is the architect of its destruction. when you go fill up your car every time $20, $25 more, joe biden did that. when you look at logistic costs and delivery fees that are coming to you because of the price of gas, you can thank joe biden that you are paying these higher deliver fees. when you look at the cost of packaging and products and it's

costing you more because energy affects inflation. this is what joe biden has done in one year -- in one year. we were energy independent, madam president. we were a net exporter of oil and gas, an energy exporter. and now look at where we are. in this week's state of the union address, the president made no indication he intends to clean up the mess he has made. why is that? it was intentional. this is what they intended to do to you, the american citizen. this is what they've done.

keystone, new pipeline infrastructure returning us to having to ask opec, who, by the way, the opec nations, they are the third largest holder of u.s. debt. you know, colleagues, this makes no sense. when you could be exporting energy but you are importing it from people who do not wish us well, from russia -- from russia, who is using those proceeds to carry out this war in ukraine. this makes no sense. it is why the president does not intend to clean up this mess. no, the climate obsessed biden

administration is going to drag the country into a future defined by many of the same unsustainable green energy policies that threw europe into chaos. they would rather buy russian oil and fund a war in ukraine than produce oil here in the u.s.a. . this is a policy that defies logic. the time for passing the buck is aten end. sanctions on -- at an end. sanctions on the energy sector aren't radical. they're a means of survival and we need to use them now. this week we saw some truly stunning demonstrations of solidarity with ukraine. and on behalf of our common

cause for freedom and liberty. the free world has said no to putin's war, but if we don't back up those declarations, we are inviting more chaos. this week ukraine's ambassador to the u.n. reminded us of the cost of this willful blindness. and, yes, it is willful blindness. he said, and i'm quoting, if we fail to respond now, we will face much more than criticism. we will face oblivion. it must not happen. now it is time to act, time to help ukraine which is now paying the ultimate price for the freedom and security of itself and of the world. joe biden won't be able to soft

talk his way out of this impending disaster that is unfolding right before our eyes. i would implore all of my colleagues, each and every one, who claim to be inspired by president zelensky and the ukranian freedom fighters to follow their example. do your duty and put y yourselvs it the american people and the evil that putin will surely inflict on us if we don't use every option available at our disposal to stop him. i yield the floor.

a senator: madam president? the presiding officer: the senator from arkansas booze thank you, ma'am. while we gathered in the house chamber for the state of the union address, the whole world was watching for president biden's comments on putin's rapidly escalating invasion of ukraine. mr. boozman: i thought the president did a good job expressing our steadfast support for ukraine. the strong message was conveyed to the international community during his address, and the appreciation from both sides of the aisle was reflected in our collective response. it was a moment when you felt

complete unity in the chamber. unfortunately it was the only moment of unity in the entire address. the overwhelming majority of the president's speech was geared towards a specific audience, his liberal base. over the course of an hour, the president boasted about spending billions on unnecessary wish list items, pushed his climate first agenda, and laid out his big government social justice platform. it was a message tailored for residents of the hamptons rather than those who live in hampton, arkansas. the voters in austin, texas, but not austin, arkansas. arkansans are worried about paying their bills, putting food on the table, and the price of gasoline. the cost of almost everything is on the rise, and every american is feeling the pinch. and we're not talking about luxury items here. we're talking about necessities.

a gallon of gas currently costs almost a dollar more than last year. electricity bills are skyrocketing. and food inflation is at its highest rate since the carter administration. the main thing my constituents and quite frankly most americans outside of the beltway needed to hear was a plan to bring down inflation. end the supply chain bottlenecks and restore our workforce to full strength. president biden barely touched on these issues. when he did it was to cast blame for inflation on businesses and industries that are doing their very best to maintain operations in the face of historic supply chain and labor challenges. the president claimed that businesses should simply lower costs to reduce inflation as if lowering costs in the face of increasing government mandates, increasing input costs, labor

shortages, and overregulation was possible. there's a major disconnect between the struggles americans experience every day and the image the president and his team are desperately trying to project. this is most apparent in rural america. the president and his team often boast about record high farm income but never acknowledge the fact that financial gains, family farmers, ranchers, and foresters see will soon be reduced by a record high production cost. land, machinery, labor, fuel, seed, and livestock feed prices are all increasing dramatically. fertilizer prices have spiked as much as 300% in some parts of the country. and at the same time the administration is levying tariffs on our fertilizer imports. every portion of the food chain remains strained as labor shortages and supply chain

issues continue to hinder our ability to get food from farms to tables. for many the increased cost of farming are deterring them from continuing in the industry. it is pushing the next generation of farmers don't a different career path instead of carrying on the family business. the family farm operations that once populated my home state of arkansas in large numbers will be eroded away if we don't make rural america and farming more economically stable. this is bad news for rural america and most of our rural communities. agriculture is all that's left. agriculture is arkansas' largest industry adding around $21 billion to our economy every year and accounting for approximately one in six jobs. but rural arkansas is hurting. my home state has 75 counties and 55 of them lost population

in the last census. i suspect the same trend is happening in each of our colleague's states. the exodus is fueled by the desire to leave rural america to pursue economic opportunities outside of farming. and that is so unfortunate as the family farms that color the landscape of rural america are the true building block for a better future. reversing this trend should be at the top of our to do list. our agenda needs to benefit more than urban and suburban america. it needs to reach a healthy 60 million americans living in our rural communities. when people leave our small rural towns, we run the risk of losing schools, hospitals, and other vital infrastructure needed to sustain these communities. we must find solutions to rebuilding economies and secure

livelihoods in rural america. but president biden only mentioned the word rural once in his entire state of the union address. he continued to push his build back better agenda which favors big city liberals at the expense of rural america and pledged to resurrect the package. my advice to president biden it's time to stop pushing that boulder up the hill. instead make good on your pledge to unite the fractured country that starts by abandoning these misplaced priorities and focusing on the needs of all americans. with that, madam president, i yield the floor. mr. scott: madam president. the presiding officer: the senator from south carolina. mr. scott: thank you, ma'am. this week president biden's state of the union address, an aish i have long work -- an issue i long worked on, the issue of police reform. after years -- and i do mean

years of democrats touting unpopular defund the police policies, they have finally seen the light. make it's the light on their sinking polling numbers and are now voicing support for funding our men and women in uniform. crime is one of the top issues people across this country are facing. homicides are up 44% in major cities since 2019. and minority communities that have been impacted the most are crying out for help. 85%, 85% is the number of the increase from 2019 to 2020 in the murders, the violent crimes in black and hispanic

communities. in addition, last year was one of the most dangerous, deadliest years for law enforcement on record with the most officers being shot in the line of duty since they began tracking the numbers. that's nearly a 70% increase in officers being shot while simply trying to do their duty, take care of the community, and return to their families. so this is not an issue between law enforcement or the minority community. this is an issue of both. today 80% of african americans all over the country want the same level of policing or higher levels of policing. they want their neighborhoods

safe because they understand more than anyone else what the 85% increase, they understand the importance of the presence character driven law enforcement officers patrolling our communities. the numbers, they simply do not lie. that's why we must increase funding for police departments so they can have the training and the equipment, the resources necessary to do their jobs, keeping themselves safe and the neighborhoods that they patrol safe at the exact same time. in his speech this week, president biden named things i've been working on and supporting for years along with my republican colleagues. we have literally be supporting

the issues he raised for the last two or three years. my legislation, the justice act, was filibustered on this very floor by senate democrats in 2020. it contained hundreds of millions of dollars for the very things president biden under duress in an election year for so many democrats, he is now advocating for. in my bill, as an example, we funded training. we funded storage. and we funded the purchase of more body-worn cameras for our officers because the polling and the stats are undeniable. violent crime against our officers go down. violent crime against the community goes down. we funded training on alternatives for the use of

force. we funded the es came -- de-escalation training. we addressed the issues of behavioral health. we funded efforts to ensure law enforcement officers come from diverse backgrounds that reflect the communities that they serve, but democrats refused to support those efforts. fast forward to 2021. the legislation that i was negotiating on over the last year would ban choke holds with the only exception being the life of the officer. which took -- we took a strong stance on no-knock warrants. we worked to provide support for officers who are experiencing ptsd. and we supported providing corresponders to scenes where

there was a mental health episode happening. the truth is we -- we were almost there. getting a bill, getting a bill done when my negotiating partners left the table. in this election year, i'm glad to hear president biden and democrats are now suddenly talking positively about an issue that every community around the country has been talking about for the last two years. but i want more than talk. i want to see action. i'm still at the table. i'm still waiting for anyone from anywhere at any time to show up at this table and take

care of our police officers so they can continue to take care of our communities. i look forward to reintroducing legislation very quickly to refund the -- to re-fund the police, after so many efforts to defund the police have succeeded in cities across our great nation. i urge my colleagues on the other side of the aisle, come back to the negotiating table that i never left so that we can ensure the proper level of funding for our officers who provide great levels of safety for our communities. madam president, also for the

last three years, i've worked really hard with my friends across the aisle on lynching legislation. lynching legislation that has failed in this body 200 times. and we passed it. we passed it twice under republican leadership in this senate, only for it to fall apart in the house. well, the house has taken that legislation, they've renamed it, and that's a good thing if they'll pass it. if it takes a new name and minor tweaks to get this legislation signed into law, legislation that's failed 200 times, i welcome a new name, i welcome some technical changes. i think we're almost there on this too. this is a year, and now is the time, that we do the right thing, not for republicans or

democrats, but for americans who have watched with bewildered eyes, confused hearts, their government fall short on issues of importance to them again and again and again. let this year be the year we put politics aside and we get it done.

the presiding officer: the senator from ohio. mr. portman: i want to commend my colleague from south carolina. he spoke about his passion and commitment for this issue, which comes from his heart, and i hope that the other side was hearing that, because i think there's an opportunity now to come together , in light of the speech the other night by the president, to say let's do two things -- one, help these communities to be safer, help the people that live there, but

also let's increase the amount of respect and gratitude for our police officers. those two are not inconsistent. in fact, they're complementary. that's why i appreciate the work he's done and will do. madam president, tonight in ukraine the bombs are already raining down on the cities of kharkiv, of kiev, and other towns and cities throughout ukraine. indiscriminate bombing, artillery, missiles, killing innocent civilians, already thousands of civilians have been killed. this was a totally unwarranted, unjustified, atrocious invasion of a free country, an independent, sovereign country. here on the floor of the senate, we have a opportunity to do something about it, which to act on legislation, called a supplemental appropriations bill that provides more funding and help for two things. one, the military response. we need to do everything we can.

we need to flood the zone to help the ukrainians defend themselves. they want more help and they need more help. and i think the american taxpayer, i thank the american taxpayer for what they've done. we should be proud of that. we need to do more, and quickly. we can't wait for the red tape to catch up, before we send small arms and stingers to shoot down airplanes or jafl javelins to stop the tanks coming into kiev. we should do more funding for the airplanes we don't have, but other countries do that they might be willing to provide if we provide compensation to them, mig fighters they can use. we should provide more in terms of the drones that countries like turkey can provide and we can help ifens to give them the ability -- help finance to give them the ability to stop that murderous column on watt i to kill civilians in -- on the way to kill civilians in kiev tonight. my hope is that on both sides of

the aisle we put aside whatever differences we have and focus on this immediately. the funding is needed to be able to ensure we have a sustained effort here, because this is not going to be a matter of hours or days, it's going to be weeks and months, and we need to do everything we can to help the freedom-loving people of ukraine defend their liberty, their freedom, their independence, their sovereignty. madam president, i ask that the next part of my remarks be in a separate part of the journal. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. portman: today on the floor of the senate we're also talking about postal service reform. this is about saving the post office. it's in big trouble. in my view, if we don't put some reforms in place in the post office and do it quickly, we're going to have a situation where in the next few years the post office will become insolvent. what will we do then? a huge taxpayer bailout. we have an alternative, which is

to put in place reforms now, both through congressional action, passing a law i'll talk about in a second, but also through internal reforms at the post office itself, with the current postmaster general committed to those reforms, i'm confident those can move as well. the combination of those two things means saving the post office. it's really important. think of the veterans that you represent, if pure a member here in the senate, who get their medications, their prescriptions from the mail. i'm sure you've heard from them, because i have. they don't like it when their drugs are a day late, much less two, three days, a week late because of the post office not being able to perform. who you about the people who get their social security checks in the mail? i've heard from them too. i'm sure you have. they want a strong post office. they know that that universal service obligation, meaning the post office, goes to every mailbox, is critical to them and their ability to get those life-saving social security

checks. what about the voters who vote absentee? in ohio we have no-fault absentee. it works very well. it's a system that is fair. it's a system that is secure. but it's a system that relies on the post office doing its job, right? to be sure those ballots are delivered properly, both to the voter, but also back to the boards of elections. so the post office is critical. again, no one else will pick up this function. that last mile is not going to be done by somebody else. the post office is absolutely critical to save because it is absolutely critical to the american people. so what does our legislation do? basically, it does a few things. first, it eliminates a burdensome prefunding requirement for retiree health benefits that the post office has to make that nobody else does. congress mandated this back in 2006. i'm not sure why. they mandated it for all current employees, regardless of age. this crippled the post office financially. no other federal agency or

department does that. the federal government does not require prefunding of retiree health benefits. nor does the private sector, where it's basically medicare. we take away that onerous burden, which again is crippling the post office financially. second, we require the pfs employees who are re-- the post office employees who are retiring, who paid into medicare their entire career, to enroll in medicare part d and d. so -- part b and d. hospital visits or prescription drugs, that saves the post office money, but also saves the taxpayer a bunch of money. right now, about 5% of poafs -- about 25% of postal employees stay in the soon-to-be postal health benefit plan, a more generous plan. these employees going into medicare helps save the post office. third, we require the postal service maintain its current

standard of six-day delivery. this is very important, because a lot of members in this caucus, on my side, republicans, feel very strongly about this, but so do democrats who represent rural areas, because six-day delivery is toe important for the social security checks, the rent check, paying utility bills, ensuring that you have the ability to get your prescriptions over the mail. that's in this legislation. but also doing it through a integrated delivery network of mail and packages. think about first-class mail, other mail and packages, to have those as integrate the service is integrated service is far for efficient. that's what they do now. this says the status quo should continue. otherwise it would be terribly inefficient, very inefficient for us to have a separate system for packages and for mail. the combination of all these things, by the way, means that the congressional budget office estimates that this legislation will save the taxpayer 1.

$5 billion. so it doesn't cost anything. this is not an appropriation. but over ten years, it does save $1.5 billion. in response to legitimate concerns that i have heard from the shipping and banking community, let me also note what this bill does not do. one, it does not appropriate any new funds to the u.s. postal service, period. number two, it does not change the accounting or costing structure for packages and letters. so it does not disadvantage private-sector carriers. that's very important. three, it does not allow the postal service to enter into new commercial services, like postal banking. period. so, those are important things that have sometimes been misrepresented as i've heard people talk about this legislation. finally, very importantly, despite the claims of some of the opponents of this legislation, this bill does not

impact the solvency of the medicare part ampleght -- part a trust fund, period. for people who keep saying that, you're wrong and you know it, because the c.b.o. made it clear. i've made it clear on the floor, so have others. if that's the reason you're not supportive of this legislation, you ought to look twice at it, because it does not affect the solvency. and this bill also, we have found out from c.b.o., does not impact or increase the part b or the part d premiums. again, some people have said that. it's just not true. so we know this because one of my colleagues asked c.b.o. these questions in a letter. some of us were already saying this, because as example with regard to part a, people have been paying in their whole lives, but they're also owing for part amp, so they're not going to -- part a, so they're not going to add to part a. my colleague asked c.b.o. what is the effect of the legislation

on the medicare hospital insurance trust fund? here was the answer from c.b.o., and i quote -- most people age 65 or older are entitled to benefits under medicare hospital insurance, if they have worked and paid medicare taxes for an adequate number of quarters. nearly all postal service annuitants are already covered. because entitlement to part a is related primarily to a person's age and employment history, c.b.o. estimates that the legislation's medicare requirement would not increase the number of people receiving benefits under part a. therefore, the agency estimates that h.r.3076 would not result in additional spending from the hospital insurance trust fund, period -- end quote. no impact. my colleague also asked the c.b.o., so what is the effect on medicare premiums in part b and

part d? the trust fund, as you know, are funded by people paying premiums. but the question is, are the premiums going to go up in part b and part d? and the question really is, what is the effect on everybody? here's c.b.o.'s reply. our preliminary analysis suggests that the legislation is unlikely to have an effect. c.b.o. does not expect that part d drug coverage premiums would change under h.r. 3076. monthly premiums are set by the secretary of health and human services to finance one-quarter of the expected annual spending for all enrollees age 65 or older rounded to the nearth multiple of 10 cents. to cause a change under h.r. 3076, the group of new enrollees would need to be large enough and their health care costs would need to be sufficiently different from the current averages to affect the average. c.b.o. projects that under

current law part b enrollment will increase from 64 million in 2025, the year that 3076 would begin requiring certain u.p.s. annuitants to start enrolling in part b. c.b.o. estimate estimates that unrollment would increase by 13,000 and 40,000 people over that pared of time. -- over that period of time or less than .1% of the program's total enrollment. it is unlikely that an increase of that magnitude would affect the monthly part b premiums -- end quote. well, in other words, what they're saying is, it won't affect the premiums because it is a drop in the bucket. we're talking about 60 million or 70 million people and we're talking about 13,000 to 40,000 people coming into part b and part d. these people paid their h.i. taxes all through their careers. this is the drug benefit, and i

quote, h.r. 3076 would require pshp -- that's the postal health plan -- to use an employer group waiver plan under medicare part b. part b premiums are based on the national bid amount as calculated by the centers for medicare and medicaid services using information from applicable plan bids. because employer group waiver plans are excluded from that calculation, c.b.o. estimates that the legislation's requirements would not affect part d premiums, period -- end quote. let me again put it clearly. the bill does not impact the hospital trust fund, the part a trust fund, the trust fund they all talk about here, period. and the bill does not affect medicare part b and part d premiums. by the way, because of this, and because this saves the post

office, this legislation passed the house with strong bipartisan support. just a couple weeks ago it passed by a vote of 342-92. not much gets passed in the house with big participate numbers these days. but saving the post office is pretty popular. this was worked out by members of both sides of the aisle and capitol. we did it in a way that will save the post office with the other reforms internally we talked about but in a way that is a money saver for the taxpayer. it is also pretty popular with constituents, it is popular with postal workers because they want to have a post office that continues to survive. it is supported by the citizens against government waste, which wrote a letter acknowledging the importance of this bill for acknowledging the solvency of the post office. i'd like to enter that letter into the record by unanimous consent.

the presiding officer: without objection. mr. portman: so i encourage my colleagues to join us in support of this legislation. let's put the postal service in a position to succeed. and let's provide those essential services that small businesses, veterans, the elderly, rural constituents rely on so much, the prescription drugs we talked about, the rent checks, the social security checks. the balance -- i appreciate working with my colleague, senator peters, on this over time to try to find consensus, a way forward that was bipartisan, bicameral where we could actually do something after years and years of talking about what bad shape the post office is in financially, to do something to right the ship, to ensure that it'll be there for the future. let's pass this bill and let's do ensure that the post office is healthy for all the folks we represent going forward. i yield back my time.

the presiding officer: the senator from nevada. a senator: i move to proceed to -- the presiding officer: all those in favor, say aye. those opposed, say 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, executive office of the president, maria l. pagan of puerto rico to be a united states trade representative. a senator: 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 move to bring to a close debate on the nomination of executive calendar number 547, maria l.pagan of puerto rico to be trade representative signed by 16 senators as follows -- a senator: i ask unanimous consent that the reading of the names be waived. the presiding officer: without objection. question is on proceeding to the motion. all those in favor, say aye. those opposed, say no. the ayes appear to have it. the ayes do have it.

the motion is agreed to. a senator: i move to proceed to executive session to consider calendar number 719. the presiding officer: question is on the motion. all those in favor, say aye. those opposed, say no. the ayes appear to have it. the ayes do have it. the motion is agreed to. the clerk will report. the clerk: nomination, department of homeland security, ed gonzalez of texas to be an assistant secretary of homeland security. a senator: 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 move to bring to a close debate on the nomination of executive calendar number 719, ed gonzalez of texas to be an assistant secretary of homeland security, signed by 17 senators as follows --

a senator: i ask that the reading of the names be waived. officer e. the presiding officer: without objection. a senator: i ask that the mandatory quorum calls be waived. officer without objection. a senator: i ask unanimous consent that the senate proceed to legislative session and in a period of morning business with senators permitted to speak up to ten minutes each. the presiding officer: without objection. ms. cortez masto: madam president, i have six requests for committees to meet during today's ssess of the senate. they have the approval of the majority and minority leaders. the presiding officer: duly noted. ms. cortez masto: i ask unanimous consent that the senate veterans' affairs committee be discharged and the senate proceed to the immediate consideration of h.r. 3665. the presiding officer: the clerk will report. the clerk: h.r. 3665, an act to designate the medical center of the department of veterans affairs in san diego, california, as the jennifer moreno department of departments affairs medical center and so forth.

the presiding officer: without objection, the committee is discharged. the senate will proceed to the measure. ms. cortez masto: i ask unanimous consent that the bill be considered read a third time and passed and that the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table. the presiding officer: without objection. ms. cortez masto: i ask unanimous consent that the senate veterans fairs committee be discharged and the senate proceed to the immediate consideration of s.2771. the presiding officer: the clerk will report. the clerk: s. 2771, a bill to designate the community-based outpatient clinic in san angelo, texas, as the joann powell veterans clinic. officer without objection, the committee is discharged. the senate will proceed to the measure. ms. cortez masto: i ask unanimous consent that the bill be considered read a third time and passed and that the motions to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table. the presiding officer: without objection. ms. cortez masto: i ask unanimous consent the senate proceed to the consideration of s. res. 534 submitted earlier

today. the presiding officer: the clerk will report. the clerk: senate resolution 534, condemning threats of violence against historically black colleges and universities and reaffirming support for the students of historically black colleges and universities. the presiding officer: without objection, the senate will proceed to the measure. ms. cortez masto: i ask unanimous consent the resolution be agreed to, the preamble be agreed to, and that the motions to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table with no intervening action or debate. the presiding officer: without objection. ms. cortez masto: i ask unanimous consent that the senate proceed to the consideration of s. res. 535 submitted earlier today. the presiding officer: the clerk will report. the clerk: senate resolution 535, commemorating the 105th anniversary of the granting of the united states citizenship to the people of puerto rico. the presiding officer: without objection, the senate will proceed to the measure. ms. cortez masto: i ask unanimous consent that the

resolution be agreed to, the preamble be agreed to, and the motions to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table, with no intervening action or debate. the presiding officer: without objection. ms. cortez masto: i understand there there is a bill at the desk and i ask for its first reading. the presiding officer: the clerk will read the title forfeiters time. the clerk: s. 3757, a bill to prohibit the importation of crude oil, petroleum, petroleum products, liquefied natural gas and coal from the russian federation. ms. cortez masto: i now ask for its seconding reading and in order to place the bill under the calendar under the provisions of rule 14, i object to my own request. the presiding officer: objection is heard. the clerk will receive its next reading on the next legislative day. ms. cortez masto: i ask unanimous consent that when the snoot completes its business today, it adjourn until 3:00 on monday, march 7. 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 reserved for their use later in the day, and morning business be closes. upon the conclusion of morning business, the senate resume consideration of calendar number 273, h.r. 3076, postal service reform. that the cloture motion filed during yesterday's session ripen at 5:30 p.m. on monday. the presiding officer: without objection. ms. cortez masto: if there is no further business to come before the senate, i ask it stand adjourned under the previous order. the presiding officer: the senate stands adjourned until 3:00 p.m. on monday. >> lawmakers continued work today on postal service reform and passed a resolution by roger marshall to end the covid-19 national emergency declaration ordered by president from in march 2020.

the measure will still have to go through the house and be signed into law by president biden who opposes it. watch live coverage of the senate when they return here on c-span2 . earlier today the acting chair of the federal reserve jerome powell testified on monetary policy and the economy before the senate banking committee . you can watch it tonight at 8:00 eastern on c-span2, online at c-span.org or watch full coverage on our video. >> i'm pleased to nominate judge jackson will bring extraordinary qualification, dictates periods and intellect and a rigorous judicial record. >> i am truly humbled bythe extraordinary honor of this nomination . and i am especially grateful

for the care you have takenin discharging your constitutional fee in service of our democracy with all that is going on in the world today . >> president bonnie biden nominates judge jackson for the district ofcolumbia circuit to succeed retiring justice stephen breyer on the supreme court .confirmed judge jackson will be the first african-american woman to serve on the nation's highest court. follow this is the process all the way through the confirmation process on c-span, c-span.org or by downloading the free c-span now app. c-span is your unfiltered view of government founded by these television companies and more including comcast . >> comcast is partnering with