>> exactly right, nobody is talking about war in the sense of the last several wars people are comparing this to. it's not even up for debate. >> is no top of military force here? >> no. >> jason, independent. >> thanks for having me, i want to say first off i'm disappointed you chose to have two flags for the biden administration who have done nothing buten praise biden and cover for him. zelenskyy iss basically a soilless topic, somebody who got into s office through a lot of corruption and he's enjoying his new tik tok fame while his people are dying sitting in his bunker making videos, telling people to go out, he's done everything he can to avoid -- >> today u.s. senate will debate shalonda young to be director of

management and budget. live coverage of the u.s. senate here on c-span2. the president pro tempore: the senate will come to order. the senate will join me in prayer. let us pray and give us the wisdom, the strength, the faith to trust in you and all things and above all things. and let all of us pray for the parents, the children, the innocent civilians of ukraine who are suffering more than anybody should. let us all hold them in our prayers. amen. now 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 proceed to executive session and resume consideration of the following nomination, which the clerk will report. the clerk: nomination, executive office of the president, shalanda d. young of louisiana to be director. a senator: mr. president.

the president pro tempore: the distinguished senator from hawaii. ms. hirono: mr. president, i note the absence of a quorum. the president pro tempore: the clerk will call the roll. quorum call:

mr. durbin: madam president. the presiding officer: the senator from illinois. mr. durbin: are we in a quorum call? the presiding officer: yes. mr. durbin: i ask unanimous consent it be suspended. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. durbin: and i ask consent to speak in morning business. the presiding officer: without objection. please proceed. mr. durbin: madam president, last thursday i decided to join

with senator shaheen and set up a meeting with about 13 european ambassadors to the united states. it was for the democratic senators, and afterwards we thought this should have been bipartisan. the next one will be. but the ambassadors' meeting was nothing short of historic because these 14 ambassadors representing the obvious leaders in europe all spoke to the issue of ukraine and what it has meant to them and what it's done to their nations. some of their statements were profound. the ambassador from germany talked about how her country had in a matter of two weeks dramatically changed its position on many issues -- the future of the nord stream 2 pipeline. they've come to realize that dependence on russia is risky business in the 21st century.

whether or not germany will step up and support the ukrainian people, they decided they would. and they also decided that they would make a substantial investment in military spending as part of nato. some of those things seem like very common decisions to americans, but for them it was many times a reversal of a party position. they'vedom realize, as we have around the world, that the ukrainian situation calls for emergency measures. i first want to commend president joe biden. though i may not agree with all his policies and approaches, i have to say that at the moment in history we find ourselves, thank goodness joe biden is our president. i cannot imagine his predecessor in a similar circumstance. joe biden set out to first unify nato. it sounds like an easy task. it's an alliance which we inspired back in the 1940's after world war ii and have been

an active leader in for decades. but our rip to the nation -- our relationship to the nations of nato and europe and our relationship to the world as a nato alliance had suffered greatly in the last few years. joe biden set out to change that, and he's the man to do it. throughout his career in the senate and as vice president to president obama, he played a major role in foreign policy. he was no stranger to many of the people he sat down with in the nato alliance, and he brought them together and impressed upon them that if putin should decide to invade ukraine, the nato alliance had to be stronger than ever. he convinced them, and we should recognize that. both parties should recognize that. his leadership brought nato into the 21st century and brought it to the stage where it can confront this putin threat in a responsible manner.

this is being felt across the world, but it's being felt particularly in the nations that are on the border of ukraine or belarus. at this meeting of the ambassadors, i called on the ambassador from poland. i'll have to admit and concede that i have a bias there because i represent the second-largest polish city in the world -- chicago, illinois, second only to warsaw. and there are many fine polish people there, and have been for generations, who are following this closely, realizing that they are right on the edge, right next to ukraine. the ambassador made some comments that i thought were worth repeating on the floor. at that time about 1.5 million refugees -- 1.5 million refugees -- had come across the border into poland, and they were being absorbed and accepted

in that country. 1.5 million. and he said something that was noteworthy. he said, if you watch the tv of the people domgget train stations -- coming to the train stations and across the border, did you notice there are no refugee camps in poland for the ukrainians. those people h who come across the border are being brought into the homes of polish families. they are taking the spare bedroom or finding a way to get by in homes of people who care for them. 1.5 million. some go on to other countries, but many are staying in poland. and then he said something which has historic significance. he said we are taking care of these people because in 1939, no one would take care of us. he's of course referring to the invasion of poland by the nazis and the subjugation of the polish population after a

valiant effort to stop the nazi advance, and then the hardship and suffering of the polish people under nazi rule. they remember that. few were personally alive to remember, but families have repeated the stories over and over again. my hats off to the polish people for their kindness and caring and their leadership when it comes to accepting refugees. but what a lesson for us and for the rest of the world. countries around europe are each accepting a responsibility. this was a big weekend in chicago. it's st. patrick's day weekend. we dyed the river green. lots of parties, lots of fun, events at churches like old st. patrick's and others, and it's a tradition i'm fond to be part of each year. i noticed when i spoke to the irish partnership on friday morning, how many people were

asking me about ukraine. at a time when we usually just have a lot of fun and remember good times involving irish parts and irish families, there was a real concern about ukraine. and not just in chicago among the irish, but equally important, in ireland among the irish, because several things have happened in the last few days in ireland. they have been gathering thousands of pounds of medical supplies and humanitarian aid and shipping them over to ukraine through poland and other countries. they really care. and then they made a commitment. ireland, a nation of five million people, made a commitment to take 100,000 ukrainian refugees. i said to the group that i met with on friday morning, a lesson for us all, this isn't the first time we've seen refugees in the world. it is the current refugee crisis, and it's ongoing in many other parts of the world. and what a lesson for us all. regardless of our religious

affiliation, that if we do care for our fellow man, we should care for these refugees. they are the strangers, as often referred to in christian teaching, that we are asked to accept. so i want to commend the polish people, the hungarians, romanians, medical -- moldovans for accepting refugees from ukraine. it is a tragedy but thank goodness there are caring people in those countries who do open their homes and their lives to the refugees. there was a conversation as well from other ambassadors that day, but the messages came through dramatically, was that we are now unified. the nato alliance and other countries in europe like sweden and finland and switzerland, though they're not part of the nato alliance really care and want to be part of the response to it. that is the strength of the

force against vladimir putin. but the real strength is in ukraine itself. how can you watch the television and see the devastation that's taking place and not feel for the people that are still remaining there, the millions who each day wake up and wonder if that is the last day of their life because of a russian missile or russian bomb or because vladimir putin has decided to engage in a scorched earth policy. when they bomb maternity hospitals, i felt they reached the lowest possible point. but over the weekend, vladimir putin intensified his illegal, unprovoked war on ukraine, shelling apartment buildings, hospitals, schools, creating an obscene body of evidence that vladimir putin should be charged and convicted of the worst possible war crimes. that's why i had to hesitate for a moment and say when i hear

apologists for putin in america, i wonder who they are and what they're made of. tucker carlson is one that even the russians are recommending that their friends in the media listen to, making excuses on fox for vladimir putin. there are no excuses, none acceptable on the subject. mr. carlson should be ashamed of himself. it is impossible to know how many innocent civilians have already died in ukraine. estimates range from hundreds to thousands. an estimated 2.8 million ukrainians, almost all of them women, children, and the elderly have fled in the bitter cold to other nations, carrying one or two suitcases and a backpack and a baby on their side. millions more ukrainian citizens are displaced inside ukraine. we can't even count that number. and multitudes are trapped in places like mariupol and other

cities under siege in russia. many of them are without food and water and medicine and electric. these families are coming to shelters, saying we have no food to give our children. that is how desperate the circumstances are because of mr. putin's invasion, his unprovoked war, a war of atrocities. yesterday, i a i tended a -- attended a rally at the ukrainian center in chicago. it had been chilly the day before, but it warmed up into the 50's, which is good news in chicago in march, and we were outside. quite a crowd showed up. there were, more blue and gold ukrainian flags than i'd seen in any one place in america. but there were many other flags too. there were polish flags, and i'm proud to say there were lithuanian flags, my mother's homeland,estonnian, latvian, american flags, all to show unity with the ukrainian people. since this war started, they have been working to provide aid

shipments and to reach family members in ukraine. you can tell that it's taken its toll on them as they talk better members of their family that are still in ukraine today. the people came with a loud round of applause when i announced that we had on the floor of the senate last week, on thursday, passed a bill to provide $13.6 billion to ukraine, humanitarian aid, military aid, and president biden over the weekend talked about over $200 million worth of direct military aid. that makes it over $1 billion america has sent, and more to follow. we talked about the sanctions against russia, sanctions which will be felt by the common people of russia. unfortunately, some of them are ?oapt victims -- innocent victims in this as well, but we'll put pressure on putin to finally stop this deadly invasion. they said, and i believe, that this is not simply a war on

ukraine. it's a war on democracy. it's a war on civilization. on wednesday, we're going to have an historic moment here in the capitol. president volodymyr zelensky, the president of ukraine, will address the joint session of congress using the remote technology. we are all in awe of his courage and leadership, and we're anxious to hear his message. to think of what that man has achieved by staying on the scene, regularly broadcasting videos to show that he was still there. he inspires his people to get up and fight for ukraine. our message to him on that day is glory to ukraine, and it's a phrase that was actually banished during soviet times, because it was so nationalistic the soviets didn't want the people of that country using it. they use it proudly today

because they're an independent, free, and democratic nation. america stands with ukraine in its fight for democracy and civilization. madam president, i just hope that we'll learn many lessons from this. don't many of the things which we were arguing about in america seem so trivial in comparison to what we're talking about in ukraine? truckers coming to protest social distancing and masks and vaccine mandates. i'm sure those are important issues, but they pale in comparison to the life-and-death struggle going on in ukraine. these people understand that they must be ready to stand and die for their freedom. how many of us could rise to that level if challenged? it's something i think about a lot. on another topic, madam president, two years ago, march 13, 2020, president trump officially declared covid a national emergency in america. it we all remember the dark and uncertain days in early spring

of 2020. overnight, schools, offices, businesses closed their doors and opened their zooms. today's also an important anniversary in america's recovery t1 year ago today, one year ago, if democrats in congress passed the american rescue plan. our comprehensive plan to help american families, hospitals, small billses weather the economic hardship of the -- small businesses to weather the economic hardship of the pandemic and get the pandemic behind us. and return to normal life in america. the pandemic has affected everybody, republicans, democrats, and people who don't care at all about politics. sadly, however, the american rescue plan only passed with democratic votes. not a single republican would vote for it. neither house nor the senate. and it worked. we were right. it was needed. the u.s. economy has recovered faster, stronger from this pandemic than any other g-7

nation in the world. america's economy added more than six million new jobs in the year since we passed the american rescue plan. that's a record. part of our reason our economy is stronger today is because that plan made wise decisions that helped families, helped businesses, helps communities through the worst time when the pandemic forced businesses and schools to close. the american rescue plan provided a critical lifeline to low-income families, stabilized middle-class families by providing enhanced child tax credits, expanded unemployment insurance and housing relief. that plan also closed the holes in the plan to provide help for families with children, expand the earned income tax credit and child tax credit. enhanced income tax credit gave working families a chance to breathe. they used to to buy the

basics -- groceries, diapers, pay the utility bills, pay the rent, pay the mortgage. some of us take that all for granted. for many people it's a paycheck-to-paycheck challenge. some families actually finally paid down their debts. others put a few dollars away for the next emergency. now they're feeling squeezed again, those same families. that doesn't mean we were mistaken when we passed the american rescue plan. it means we have more to do to lower the cost of living for families across the united states. this should be done on a bipartisan basis. inflation is a global problem. not simply an american problem. it's a reflection of a world labor market and global supply chain basically disrupted by a pandemic and still in the process of recovery. now we've made a decision as a nation to ban imports of russian oil. 79% of the american people support that decision, even though they understand it will drive up the price of gasoline.

they don't want their hard-earned american dollars paying for vladimir putin's war killing the innocent people of ukraine. i salute them for their courage in joining our nation together in that effort to stop it. yes, it will add more to the price of oil. it already has over the last week or two because of putin's invasion, but we've got to face the reality -- to stop the killing and death in ukraine we have to be prepared to make some sacrifice. inflation is a real problem. we need real solutions, not just complaints. madam president, i'm going to ask that the statement i have here, remaining statement be placed in the record. it is a tribute to an extraordinary individual. a lead who was a -- a lady who was a doctor and the head of the illinois department of public health during the worst part of the pandemic. her name is dr. angozi ezekai.

i saw her on tv every day back home during the pandemic. she was such an inspiring person, so talented. she was calm. she was wise. she was compassionate. and she was professional. she really made life bearable during an unbearable time. she saved lives. a harvard-trained, board certified internist and pediatrician, she worked at all levels of public health. for the last three years, she's been our state's top doctor. she'd been in that post a little over a year when covid hit. we were lucky she was there. directors of state health departments usually work jowd outside the public spotlight. she was in the spotlight every day. appearing with governor j.b. pritzker at daily briefings, she was the public face of illinois' effort to contain the virus and save lives. what a reassuring presence.

she dispensed daily doses of compassion and empathy along with the facts and statistics, the realities. please for mask wearing and handwashing. dlird a message -- delivered a message, calmly, clear clearly, and without missing a beat again delivered in spanish. her sincerity was obvious, never more so than during a news conference seven months into the pandemic when she broke down delivering the day's grim statistics. she paused to regain her composure, then urged illinois residents to fight the fatigue and keep doing what was needed to protect themselves, each other from the virus. after seeing that on television, i wrote her a fan letter, as many others did too. she really cared. two weeks ago, she was in another news conference with the governor, with a number of illinois residents hospitalized with covid below a thousand for three days for the first time

since last august. the governor said it was time to live our -- lift our mask mandate, time to move toward normal life in illinois. dr. ezike surprised everybody by announcing she was going to return to normal life herself. she was leaving her position. in announcing her decision, she thanked her husband and four kids for tolerating the absences , the last-minute changes and plans, the endless multitasking and ever-present cell phones. she added, now it's time, she said to her family, to make you our priority and give back a portion of the security and support you lambished on me. she thanked the people of illinois for their sacrifices and ask we continue to show compassion apt tolerance. she remembered the nearly 33,000 people in our state who died of covid since the beginning. she said all of the people and stories, i will always care why i in my heart. she said i'm blessed to have been able to bring some measure to comfort illinois, to quiet

some of the chaos, to infuse some calm. dr. ezike, i would say that the blessing was ours. as the first black woman ever to head the illinois department of public health in 143-year history, dr. ezike added that she also, quote, glad that i served as a role model to young girls, girls of color, little black girls that they can be leaders in any field. in addition to shepherding our state through the worst covid crisis i'm grateful for her tremendous leadership in one other area, too -- preventing pregnancy-related death. this a preventable tragedy that affects women and babies of color especially hard. i've been working with robin kelly, the congresswoman from the chicagoland area on this issue, and last april illinois received a waiver from medicaid allowing us to become the first state in the nation to expand healthcare coverage for new moms on medicaid, from 60 days after

pregnancy to a full year. a change i am certain that will save lives. the american rescue plan congress expanded that option to all states for five years. we continue to fight to make this change permanent for all new moms on medicaid. i thank dr. ezike for helping to make that change, for her service, courage, and leadership, and for her caring heart at a time when illinois and america needed her so much. madam president, i yield the floor. a senator: madam president. the presiding officer: the senator from alabama.

mr. tuberville: thank you, madam president. two weeks ago, russia initiated the largest land conflict in europe since world war ii. millions of men, women, and children fled their homes to safety. countless others have taken up arms in the name of freedom. president putin's unprovoked, brutal invasion of ukraine did not happen overnight. the warning signs were very, very clear. the response from the biden administration was anything but. the administration had false hope that strongly worded statements would be enough to deter an unprovoked war. president biden waited until after russia invaded ukraine to level any sanctions at all, and

even then sanctions came in waves, and they're still coming. president biden was slow to hit putin where it hurts. he refused to penalize the russian energy sector until roughly a week, one week, after the invasion took place. the president refused to act, and the world now sees the heartwrenching results. president biden has shown weakness on the world stage throughout his 40-plus years in politics. 40 years. his foreign policy caves to adversaries, undermines our allies, and devalues the sacrifices of our men and women in uniform. in his first year of office, he abandoned 20 years of effort in

afghanistan and emboldened putin to attack his neighbor. and as i speak, the white house is revving iran's hope of developing a nuclear weapon. originally brokered when joe biden was vice president in 2015, the joint comprehensive plan of action, more commonly known as the jcpoa or the iran deal was a deeply flawed agreement aimed at preventing iran from acquiring nuclear weapons. in reality, it did the exact opposite. nuclear security can't be achieved with wishful thinking, watered down sanctions, or by sending our adversaries plane

loads of cash and which we did. years later we all know the result. the iran deal did not work. president biden wants to revive this disastrous deal and this time it will be even worse. the iranians don't even want to negotiate with america and president biden's administration so we are allowing russia to join at the negotiating table negotiating for the united states. doesn't make any sense. many americans are likely asking why. the united states cannot trust the russian federation in any capacity. if working with and propping up

russia isn't bad enough, iran is poised to receive billions of dollars from frozen assets in this new agreement, including funds from renewed oil exports. rather than unleashing the power of the american energy industry and allowing americans to drill, drill, drill on our own soil, the biden administration would rather do business with venezuela and plead with saudi arabia to turn on the spigots. the administration is again leading from behind held back by their pledge to their false climate gods. yes, the climate has changed and it has been changing for dec decades. but we can't let the far-left

extremists wing push us to buy oil from convicts and criminals just because they'd rather hamstring our economy than unleash american energy. the administration is letting russia and iran and china dictate the rules of the game. and they're letting an unelected bureaucrat who is not senate confirmed by the name of rob malley conduct these talks through russia. his now former colleague resigned. malley's former colleague resigned in protest over mr. malley in conceding to iran. the russian negotiators are bragging about iran's huge wins in this would-be deal. i have a long list of concerns about how these negotiations are

unfolding, but at the top are the limited sanctions the administration appears to be open to in exchange for short-term pause on the development of tehran's nuclear program. let me be clear. these short-term sanctions are not the solution. they weren't a few years ago and they're not today. the administration must not allow tehran to obtain a nuclear weapon. the iran deal was a bad deal in 2015, and it would be a worse deal today. the biden administration should immediately, immediately walk away from the negotiating table before these discussions lead to yet another biden foreign policy disaster.

i notice the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. quorum call:

quorum call: quorum

call: quorum call:

mr. schumer: madam president. the presiding officer: the majority leader. mr. schumer: i ask unanimous consent the quorum be dispensed with. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. schumer: now, madam president, last week was an exceedingly productive week for the senate. we funded the government, passed postal reform, kept our promise to the ukrainian people, revived vawa and unanimously passed anti-lynching legislation. president biden is going to be busy this week signing a lot of bipartisan bills into law that will impact the lives of millions of americans. and i thank my colleagues on both sides of the aisle for their good work. today we're picking up right

where we left off, confirming more of the president's nominees, maintaining our laser focus on lowering costs for american families, and continuing to explore how we can help ukrainian in their war against the evil mr. putin. first, on this last point, earlier today the speaker and i announced that president zelensky will deliver a virtual address to members of the house and senate this wednesday, march 16, at 9:00 a.m. as you know, madam president, it is one of the highest honors of any congress to welcome remarks by foreign heads of state, but it is merely, it is nearly unheard of in modern times that we hear from a leader fighting for his life. that we hear from a leader fighting for his life,ing fighting for his country's survival, fighting to preserve the very idea of democracy. let me say that again. it's one of the highest honors of any congress to welcome remarks by foreign heads of

state, but it is nearly unheard of, unheard of in modern times that we hear from a leader fighting for his life, fighting for his country's survival, and fighting to preserve the idea of democracy, something americans cherish. as war intensifies in ukraine, we have all been inspired by the courage of president zelensky and that of the ukrainian people. president zelensky can rest assured that he will always have friends in congress ready to listen, to stand in his corner, and we're honored to have him speak to us later this week. now on nominations, as we continue exploring ways to help the people of ukraine, the senate will also move forward on nominations. later today we're scheduled to vote to proceed on the nomination of shalanda d. young, president biden's choice to lead the office of management and budget. for the last year ms. young has already been doing the work of leading o.m.b. as acting director and she's proved to be

deposit, deeply experienced and knows the budget and appropriations process like the back of her hand. she is an amazing, amazing budget director for the appropriations committee in the house and has been an amazing acting director, and she'll do great as director of o.m.b. it's time we make her appointment here official here in the senate, and i hope to see members from both sides of the aisle rally behind her later this week. if confirmed, shalanda young would make history as the very first black woman confirmed by the senate to lead the o.m.b., another glass ceiling shattered by a remarkable member of the president's historic cabinet. it's been under ms. young's leadership that the o.m.b. notched some of the administration's biggest accomplishments from securing billions in disaster relief funding to working with congress on the bipartisan infrastructure law.

clinton, louisiana, can celebrate this week, knowing that one of their own is bringing the administration's agenda to life. i look forward to seeing this great nominee confirmed later this week. now on costs and inflation -- off the floor, senate democrats will continue this week focusing on helping american families lower their cost of living and reap the full benefits of the historic job and wage growth under president biden. later this week my colleagues on the senate finance committee will hold an especially important hearing on the rising costs of prescription drugs and hear expert testimony on what we can do to make medications more affordable. lowering prescription drug prices should be absolutely one of the most bipartisan priorities in this congress. few things ignite the same frustration as making trips to the pharmacy and seeing the price on your receipt go up and up and up for basic often lifesaving medications.

insulin is a particularly egregious example. according to some sources, a 40-day supply can now climb north of $600 a month. for millions of americans who rely on insulin to manage their diabetes, this is a five-alarm fire that demands senate action. i expect we'll consider next steps soon on some proposals already presented by my colleagues. meanwhile senate democrats will continue examining the disturbing trend of corporations reporting massive profits even as americans face higher costs. a headline from yahoo news last month sums it up, quote, corporate america's 2021 profits were higher than ever. let me repeat that. corporate america's 2021 profits were higher than ever. it is deeply unfair and morally bankrupt for americans to pay more for basics while many megacorporations are making a killing. last week i asked the head of

the f.t.c. to look into this trend in the area of energy prices and corporations taking advantage of the american people should be on notice. on the supreme court, this week members from both sides of the aisle will continue meeting with president biden's nominee to the u.s. supreme court. judge ketanji brown jackson. when president biden nominated judge jackson, i promised that we'd have a fair and expeditious process, and that's exactly what we've had so far. judge jackson has now met with a broad range of senators from both sides of the aisle, and she's expected to meet with all members of the judiciary committee before her hearings begin next week. i'm encouraged that so far the judge's meetings with senators have been very constructive, from conversations with my colleagues everyone seems to agree on one thing -- the judge is more than qualified for the

big job on the high court. her record bears that out. as a district judge for eight years, judge jackson rendered more than 550 rulings and was rarely reversed by higher courts. when judge jackson's hearings begin next week, the american people will see for themselves precisely what senators are seeing right now. judge jackson is brilliant, she is beloved, and she belongs on the supreme court -- the three b's that i've given her -- brilliant, beloved, belongs. so i thank my colleagues for moving forward in a constructive way in this historic nomination. now on the omnibus budget, i want to revisit the groundbreaking omnibus package the senate passed last week with bipartisan support which fully and robustly funds the government through the end of the 2022 fiscal year. as i said on thursday, this year's bipartisan budget bill is one of the boldest and most

significant packages that we've seen pass through the congress in aing long, long time -- in a long, long time. it's a deal overflowing with good news for american families looking to cut costs and make ends meet. let me highlight a few ways in bill will lower costs in the coming months. for working americans struggling with energy costs, this year's budget increases domestic investments that help people pay for their heating and air conditioning bills. utility costs have always fallen hardest on those least able to bear them, and i'm glad this year we are increasing the help we provide working families to pay for their utilities. we're also boosting funding for child nutrition programs by 7% compared to 2021. so kids don't go to school on an empty stomach or go through summer school uncertain about what or if they're going to eat. working parents will also get a break. we're dramatically increasing the amount dedicated for child care assistance, making it easier for parents to reenter the workplace and earn a

paycheck without having to worry about paying to take care of their kids. head start programs will see more resources to help them prepare young kids thrive in the classroom. funding for title 1-a grants which help more than half our nation's public schools boost student performance will receive the largest increase in a decade. college students meanwhile will see the largest increase in pell grant maximums since the 2019-2010 academic year, a desperately needed injection of funding. these investments only scratch the surface, from housing assistance to help with energy costs, to aid for the elderly and our veterans and investments in child nutrition, this year's funding package will drive down costs for parents, students, the elderly, small business, because both sides were able to work in good faith, american families will see more help come their way through the annual funding bill than they've seen in a long, long time.

mr. schumer: now, madam president, i move to proceed to legislative session. the presiding officer: the question is on the motion. all those in favor say aye. all opposed no. the ayes appear to have it. the ayes do have it. the motion is agreed to. mr. schumer: i move to proceed to executive session to consider calendar 656. the presiding officer: the question is on the motion. all those in favor say aye. those opposed no. the ayes appear to have it. the ayes do have it. the motion is agreed to. the clerk will report the nomination.

the clerk: nomination, the judiciary. jacqueline scott corley of california to be united states district judge for the northern district of california. mr. schumer: i send a cloture motion to the desk. the presiding officer: the clerk will report. the clerk: cloture motion, we, the undersigned senators, in accordance with the provisions of rule 22 of the standing rules of the senate do hereby move to bring to a close the debate on the nomination of executive calendar number 656, jacqueline scott corley of california to be united states district judge for the northern district of california, signed by 19 senators as follows. a. mr. schumer: i ask unanimous consent the reading of the names be waived. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. schumer: i move to proceed to legislative session. the presiding officer: the question is on the motion. all in favor say aye. all opposed no. the ayes appear to have it. the ayes do have it. the motion is agreed to. mr. schumer: i move to proceed to executive session to consider calendar 738. the presiding officer: question is on the motion.

all those in favor say aye. all opposed say no. the ayes appear to have it. the ayes do have it. the motion is carried. the clerk will report the nomination. the clerk: nomination, judiciary, fred w. slaughter of california to be united states district judge for the central district of california. mr. schumer: i send a cloture motion to the desk. the presiding officer: the clerk will report. the clerk: cloture motion, we, the undersigned senators, in accordance with the provisions of rule 22 of the standing rules of the senate do do -- with no intervening action or debate fred w. slaughter of california to be united states district judge for the central district of california, signed by 17 senators as follows. mr. schumer: i ask consent the reading of the names be waived. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. schumer: i move to proceed to legislative session. the presiding officer: the question is on the motion. all in naifer say aye. all those in favor say aye. all opposed say no. the ayes appear to have it.

the ayes do have it. the motion is agreed to. mr. schumer: i move to proceed to executive session to consider calendar 682. the presiding officer: the question is on the motion. all those in favor say aye. all 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, the judiciary, ruth bermudez montenegro of california to be united states district judge for the southern district of california. mr. schumer: i send a cloture motion to the desk. the presiding officer: the clerk will report. the clerk: cloture motion, we, the undersigned senators, in accordance with the provisions of rule 22 of the standing rules of the senate do hereby move to bring to a close debate on the nomination of executive calendar number 682, ruth bermudez montenegro of california to be united states district judge for the southern district of california, signed by 17 senators as follows. mr. schumer: i ask consent the reading of the names be waived. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. schumer: i move to proceed to legislative session. the presiding officer: the question is on the motion.

all those in favor say aye. all opposed say no. the ayes appear to have it. the ayes do have it. the motion is agreed to. mr. schumer: i move to proceed to executive session to consider calendar 678. the presiding officer: the question is on the motion. all those in favor say aye. all opposed say no. the ayes appear to have it. the motion is carried. the clerk will report the nomination. the clerk: nomination, the judiciary, victoria mary calvert of georgia to be united states district judge for the northern district of judge. mr. schumer: i send a cloture motion to the desk. the presiding officer: the clerk will report. the clerk: 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 678, victoria marie calvert of georgia to be united states district judge for the northern district of georgia, signed by 17 senators as follows. mr. schumer: i ask consent the reading of the names be waived. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. schumer: i move to proceed to legislative session.

the presiding officer: the question is on the motion. all those in favor say aye. all opposed say no. the ayes have it. the motion is carried. mr. schumer: i me move to proceed to executive session to consider number 683. the presiding officer: the question is on the motion. all those in favor say aye. all opposed say no. pending the -- opinion of the chair, the ayes have it. the clerk will report the nomination. the clerk: the judiciary, julia rebecca rubin of maryland to be united states district judge for the district of maryland. mr. schumer: i send a cloture motion to the desk. the presiding officer: clerk will report. the clerk: 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 683, julia rebecca rubin of maryland to be united states district judge for the district of maryland, signed by 17 senators as follows. mr. schumer: i ask consent the reading of the names be waived. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. schumer: i move to proceed to legislative session.

the presiding officer: the question is on the motion. all those in favor say aye. all opposed say no. the bl agreed to. mr. schumer: i move to consider calendar 737. the presiding officer: the question is on the motion. if all those in favor say aye. all opposed say no. the motion is agreed to. the clerk will report the nomination. the clerk: nomination, judiciary, fred w. slaughter of california to be united states district judge for the central district of california. mr. schumer: i send a cloture motion to the secretary. the presiding officer: the clerk will report. the clerk: 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 nomination of executive calendar number 737, hector gonzalez of new york, to be united states district judge for the eastern district of new york. the presiding officer: will the senator suspend? the presiding officer: the clerk

will read the name of the pending nomination. the clerk: hector gonzalez of new york to be united states district judge for the eastern district of new york. mr. schumer: i send a cloture motion to the desk. the presiding officer: that has been reported for this nominee. mr. schumer: i move to proceed to legislative session. the presiding officer: the question is on the motion. all those in favor say aye. if all opposed say no. in the opinion of the chair, the ayes have it. the motion is carried. mr. schumer: i move to proceed to executive session to consider calendar 679. the presiding officer: the question is on the motion. all those in favor say aye. all opposed say no. in the opinion of the chair, the motion is ■agreedto the clerk will report. the clerk: the judiciary, john h. chun of washington to be united states district judge for the western district of washington. mr. schumer: i send a cloture motion to the desk. the presiding officer: the clerk will report the cloture motion.

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 679, john h. chun of washington to be united states district judge for the western district of washington, signed by 17 senators as follows. mr. schumer: the reading of the names be waived. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. schumer: i move to proceed to legislative session. the presiding officer: the question is on the motion. those in favor aye. all opposed say no. in the opinion of the chair, the motion is agreed to. mr. schumer: i move to proceed to executive session to consider calendar 680. the presiding officer: the question is on the motion. all those in favor say aye. all opposed say no. in the opinion of the chair the motion is agreed to. clerk will report the nomination. the clerk: nomination, judiciary, sarah elisabeth geraghty of georgia to be united states district judge for the northern district of georgia. mr. schumer: i send a cloture motion to the desk. the presiding officer: the clerk will report. the clerk: cloture motion, we, the undersigned senators, in

accordance with the provisions of rule 22 of the standing rules of the senate do hereby move to bring to a close debate on the nomination of executive calendar number 680, sarah elisabeth geraghty of georgia, to be united states district judge for the northern district of georgia, signed by 17 senators as follows. mr. schumer: i ask consent the reading of the names be waived. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. schumer: i move to proceed to legislative session. the presiding officer: the question is on the motion. all those in favor say aye. all opposed say no. in the opinion of the chair, the motion is agreed to. mr. schumer: i move to proceed to executive session to consider calendar 681. the presiding officer: the question is on the motion. all those in favor say aye. all opposed say no. opinion of the chair, the ayes have it. the motion is agreed to. the clerk will report the nomination. the presiding officer: nomination, judiciary -- the clerk: georgia castner of new jersey to be united states district judge for the district of new jersey. mr. schumer: i send a cloture motion to the desk. the presiding officer: the clerk will report. the clerk: cloture motion, we, the undersigned senators, in accordance with the provisions of rule 22 of the standing rules of the senate do hereby move to bring to a close debate on

nomination of executive calendar 681, georgette castner of new jersey to be united states district judge for the district of new jersey, signed by 17 senators as follows. mr. schumer: i ask consent the reading of the names be waived. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. schumer: i move to proceed to legislative session. the presiding officer: question on the motion. all those in favor say aye. all opposed say no. the amp ye -- ayes have it. mr. schumer: i move to calendar 684. the presiding officer: the question is on the motion. all those in favor say aye. all opposed say no. in the favor of the chair, the ayes have it. the clerk will report. the clerk: nomination, cristina d. silva of nevada to be united states district judge for the dirk of nevada. mr. schumer: i send a cloture motion to the desk. the presiding officer: the clerk will report. the clerk: cloture motion, we, the undersigned senators, in accordance with the provisions of rule 22 of the standing rules of the senate, do hereby move to bring to a close debate on nomination of executive calendar 684, cristina d. silva of nevada

to be united states district judge for the district of nevada, signed by 17 senators as follows. mr. schumer: i ask consent the reading of the names be waived. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. schumer: i move to proceed to legislative session. the presiding officer: the question is on the motion. all those in favor say aye. all opposed say no. in the opinion of the chair, the ayesv it. agreed to. mr. schumer: i move to consider calendar 685. the presiding officer: without objection. the question is on the motion. all those in favor say aye. all opposed say no. in the opinion of the chair, the ay es have it. agreed to. the clerk will report. the clerk: nomination, judiciary, anne rachel traum of nevada to be united states district judge for the district of nevada. mr. schumer: i send a cloture motion to the desk. the presiding officer: the clerk will report. the clerk: cloture motion, we, the undersigned senators, in accordance with the provisions of rule 22 of the standing rules of the senate do hereby move to bring to a close debate on the nomination of executive calendar number 685 anne rachel traum of nevada to be united states district judge for the district

of nevada, signed by 17 senators as follows. mr. schumer: i ask con send the -- consent the reading of the names be waived. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. schumer: i move to proceed to legislative session. the presiding officer: the question is on the motion. all those in favor say aye. all opposed say no. the motion is agreed to. mr. schumer: i move to proceed to executive session to consider calendar 662. the presiding officer: the question is on the motion. all those in favor say aye. all opposed say no. in the opinion of the chair, the ayes have it. the motion is agreed to. it. the clerk: nomination, department of justice, andrew m. luger of minnesota, to be united states attorney for the district of minnesota. mr. schumer: i send a cloture motion to the desk. the presiding officer: the clerk will report. the clerk: cloture motion, we, the undersigned senators, in accordance with the provisions of rule 22 of the standing rules of the senate do hereby move to bring to a close debate on the nomination of executive calendar number 662, andrew m. luger of minnesota to be united states

attorney for the district of minnesota, signed by 17 senators as follows. mr. schumer: i ask consent the reading of the names be waived. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. schumer: i move to proceed to legislative session. the presiding officer: question is on the motion. all those in favor say aye. all opposed say no. in the opinion of the chair, the ayes have it. mr. schumer: i move to proceed to executive session to consider calendar 677. the presiding officer: the question is on the motion. all those in favor say aye. all opposed say no. in the opinion of the chair, the ay es have it. the clerk will report. the clerk: nomination, judiciary, allison j. nathan to be circuit judge for the second circuit. mr. schumer: i send a cloture motion to the district. 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 nomination of executive calendar 677 allison j. nathan of new york to be united states circuit judge for the second circuit, signed by 17 senators as follows. mr. schumer: i ask consent the

riding of the names be waived. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. schumer: mr. president, i finally ask unanimous consent that the mandatory quorum calls for the cloture motions filed today be waived. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. schumer: i yield the floor. a senator: madam president. the presiding officer: the senator from montana. mr. daines: madam president, today i have the distinct honor of recognizing jane lee hammond of jefferson county as montanan

of the month, for her patriotism, dedication to serving our community, our great state and great nation. jane's selfless contributions began at a young age when she started volunteering for meals on wheels with her parents. jane also joined her parents in supporting reverend dr. martin luther king jr. and the civil rights movement as well, believing in equal opportunity and advancements for all people based on their character, not the color of their skin. in fact, her life mantra is living to advance freedom, knowledge, and justice for all. i think i can speak for all who know her when i say that she truly embraces these ideals. jane's love for her country is on full display in her monthly column she writes for the "boulder monitor" newspaper. the goal of jane's column is to

preserve liberty, to educate readers about america's vision of the declaration of independence, and to celebrate our constitution. she also shares her values of patriotism and volunteerism with others while serving at the lay leader of the clancy united methodist church and as the or fiend know -- rofino chapter of the daughters of the american revolution. she's been appointed by the governor to the montana state board of education and is the chair for the north jefferson county public library district board of trustees. i have no doubt that her love for the great state of montana and the united states of america influences every person she meets. it is truly my honor to recognize jane for her commitment to serving her community, her state, and her country while spreading montana values of service and patr

patriotism. jane, keep up the great work. i yield back my time.

the director of the office of management and budget to be the deputy director of ellen pete and before i give my opening remarks, i will defer to my colleagues similarly he and later to sinners and about both of whom will be introducing ed welcome before the committee, it's good to see you recognize for your introduction. >> thank you mr. chairman and you have to wonderful nominees before you but let me speak of one, showing the young and

director of the office of and president biden could not have chosen a finer nominee, month ago, i mentioned before this committee when she was nominated to be deputy director and then confirmed for the position of a vote of 63 - 37, and since she has been talking director since then and work closely with congress and covid-19 pandemic under her leadership, critical items been given after devastating hurricanes and wildfires and she has been with the bipartisan infrastructure and the cities and states across the nation. in my roll as the appropriations

chairman, i relied on candor judgment, and advancing into 22 the bills. now, in between, on october 31, of 2021, she gave birth to a beautiful baby girl, allie and juggling all of that and she's more than qualified. and of accepted or as a house appropriations committee, and she served in the committee for nearly 15 years, four of those were staff and she helped craft all of the badges me just tell you that this story, and when i introduced her. she up the shut down in the u.s.

history and this deal, and brother to the end, was 35 day government shut down and within the chairman shall be, and malloy, ranking member and myself along with a few specifics avenue and a staff meeting in my office in the capitol. john the young was one of them pretty and over and over again, all of us democrats and republicans alike, would ask her questions and rely on her answers. we reached an agreement and we ended along the shut down in history and she knows how to work across the ohio and i give my full statement in the record if i might mr. chairman. i was proud to be here to introduce her as deputy director and now i'm proud to introduce

her as head of director and i know that my colleague is going to introduce no money for deputy director. >> will thank you senator play heat for the warm introduction and sinners in my come i understand that you also will introduce our nominee. >> will thank you mr. chairman and i appreciate the opportunity to interrupt under introduce you know you want to go exceptional person and she is a dedicated public servant the deep appreciation of an understanding of capitol hill she served as a professional staff member and deputy staff director on the house committee on appropriations and most significant mr. chairman, she has already doing soft and she has been working as acting director for the past in months after her strong bipartisan - two deputy director of the office i was a management and budget during her time as acting director, i personally seen her

partial resources to provide it positive outcomes to the american people and she has fostered a close working relationship of congress predict and she exemplifies what they need to be successful and she's transparent press medical and focus to like a laser on getting things done pretty and no effort better highly sees attributes in her personal persistent engagement the senate group of patents during our negotiations that resulted in a bipartisan structure investment is under coley that group that ranking member portman to many of the numbers are in front of the group serve on this committee and we crafted the historic at the special the commitment to fiscal responsibility and delivering tangible results for the market people and shalonda was instrumental in our success and she was into our group and she help this problem solve, and help us find solutions and she was incredibly honest and never hedged for excuses for why

something could not be done and she had a premium on the access and working with each federal agency to make sure their decisions based on the best and most accurate information possible and shalonda work in a bipartisan infrastructure locked stated beyond the paperwork and coordination for federal agencies and she was also instrumental in bringing different sections into the federal government to go to a sharp federal reform and jobs act, was included in our final legislation predict and as result, our nation has improved and made permanent system the shorthanded the timelines without compromising public perception which is further expanded the jobs and the opportunities in communities across country and without her dedication for effort the bipartisan infrastructure law would not be providing historic investments in arizona and oliver state that we are seeing today and she is a proven leader on the right person the job i look forward to supporting our and voting are nomination moving

forward mr. chairman and other members of the committee, i strongly recommend shalonda for this position and thank you again mr. chairman for allowing me the opportunity to purchase made in introducing a my friend shalonda young. >> will thank you senator kyrsten sinema for that introduction and miss you, your will, to each of you panted to your friends and families who are joining us here today for this hearing pretty congratulations on your nomination grateful for your previous service to the american people and for your willingness to take on the new very critical roles pretty i am pleased the president of biden has chosen these two highly qualified companies these roles pretty i want is confirmed as young will be the first african-american woman to serve as the director in this - and one of the highest ranking asian americans or be government braided there's no question that both of these

nominations are extremely well prepared to meet the needs of the american people read animation is seen significant challenges in recent years but two nominees before us today will be critical to the biden administration ongoing efforts to improve the lives of americans all across our nation and by developing and permitting the president's policy agenda, and the budget across every single part of the federal government pretty good not only be instrumental in coordinating an ample many actions to the ongoing public health crisis, but also aiding the administration's efforts to tackle other looming challenges such as cyber attacks and women change predict while supporting the federal workforce, and executing these policies brady you also help ensure the federal government is effectively and efficiently using taxpayer dollars there is no question the roles that you have chosen are challenging, however i am

confident the both of you have the expertise and the dedication and public-service experience to successfully serve the american people. miss you, i have enjoyed working with you this past year, the illumination forward and i'm eager to hear more about how you and you both will continue to work with his committee to take on the remaining challenges that we face without on turn it over to the ranking member for your opening comments. >> thank you and appreciate it and to have the senate present in appropriations chair senator lahey in introducing the high statures and then center kyrsten sinema comments and of course we respect greatly because work closely together for social legislation when you appreciate the work you did and to be sure that federal agencies to just come up with policies including

on reform and i appreciate both of you and your willingness to serve in this critical roles as a former director, particular soft spot for homes in the support is not just with the federal government the extender external roll as well that is reported to be the director and deputy director to be work with congress, is tightly connected to congressional appropriations process and authorizing committees like hours predict. >> no more important than homeland security predict and also important that you have a understanding and appreciation of multiple issues because every single policy issue please a usual regulatory environment and it plays roll in working with

congress on regulation so this is an important when we want to have a thorough vetting today and be sure getting all of the issues and also really important time for us to come together pretty plenty of crises facing us of what is one of the border we just heard about some challenges this morning and earlier hearing. but with regard to covid-19, everything including the rising inflation we are now facing to the healthcare crisis creates and my concerns about what is doing in terms of the opioid crisis which is worse than ever in terms of overdose death mental health challenges, so there's lots of issues right now where owen be will place or play a critical roll. on the cr which is lease a few weeks now, and again it will play the key roll in this administration to figure out how to report with solanki and i hope that we can get beyond

these will talk about that today sure, ms. young, unite to know each other and appreciate the conversations we've had over the course of the last year since you last appeared before this committee and as the deputy director acting director simultaneously coming had and i look forward to talking to you today regarding your qualifications for the deputy director spot and i'm interested to hear how your time is deputy secretary and assistant secretary hernandes in the treasury prepared you to tackle some of the challenges and that o & b faces and hopefully we can work together to face these challenges into this under control get the folks back to work and back to school, and get confirmed, the two of you would've played important roll and so both of you, look forward to hearing your thoughts today pretty in the critical roll that they're going to play thank you. >> thank you mr. practice of the

homeland security governmental affairs many this when witnesses to both of you would please stand and raise your right hand. >> and you swear that the testimony that you will get before this committee will be the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth so help you god. >> and thank you you may be seated and ms. young you have already been very efficiently and effectively introduced by two of my colleagues and you may now proceed with your opening remarks. >> thank you, chairman people peterson permanent members of the committee, i would like to begin by thinking center that he and kyrsten sinema for the kind remarks in the great things about getting to do this job over the last year is sinners on both sides of the aisles and i started in the house or nearly my 15 year career so i really want to think of them for those remarks and i will promise to

live up to those if confirmed so i really appreciated predict also having my family my father's here with me rest my family has decided this new start in the family my three -month-old daughter and they're looking at her instead of looking at this we should thank you so a good choice for them and so thank you to my dad for supporting me here today and appreciated predict thank you for the opportunity to testify is president biden's nominee for the directive of office of management budget as might honor and i am grateful to the president for instructing me ass nominee for this important it job first came before this committee last march, i told you little bit about my experience in louisiana and taco bell might years leading the house appropriations committee has tops ever serving this institution that i care about so deeply. and i made a commitment to you that i would focus my service on restoring regular order and

partnering with congress and the spirit of bipartisanship and mutual respect and delivering results before the american people. over the past two months, have kept that commitment in working alongside this extraordinary team that o&b and with members from both sides of the aisle and i would like to briefly highlight the accomplishments and achievements of o&b that showcase what our team is capable of with the partnership of the senate in this community in particular effort to get on with congress, we delivered a crucial disaster relief funding communities cross-country not only to respond to the best years devastating wildfires but to address recovery needs from hurricanes laura and delta working with fema we announce $5 billion as your to help communities prepare for and respond to extreme weather events with the help of congress we secured another $4.5 billion through the bipartisan infrastructure to build the community resilience had and we work with members of both

parties to develop bipartisan infrastructure laws newport that some of the members talk about that here today including permanently authorizing the law that something i committed to help get done during my confirmation hearings in march braided om&b at the highest levels of accountability third week seven of office is already facilitated billions of dollars to support american manufacturing as of the office has brought unprecedented transparency to the waiver of these process and imported products matters too many of us in this room and am grateful to the bipartisan infrastructure law expanded market requires us to all have this codified the office at om&b and it will be around for future generations and we took action to make this federal government more efficient and effective and accountable to the public it printed and the steps include the steps to implement stream

streamline services and include customer experience in a much needed process 19 modernization across the federal government which i that means a lot to members on this community in keeping with that long-standing commitment to oversight, redirected agencies to focus on two important areas, restoring the integrity and independence and inspectors general, working with congress to ensure that they fulfill the mandates predict and i know that there are legitimate differences in the country in this room, they deserve honest and i appreciate the opportunity to speak directly with many of you about them braided and if confirmed, i will continue to work closely with you and your colleagues to deliver for the market people, and will continue to find common ground to rebuild the cursed staff at om&b who play an essential roll in a governments work for all americans as you heard from the former director and ranking member of this committee in germany, ranking members, none of the members of

the committee, thank you again for allowing me to put a tent be here today i look forward to answering your questions predic. >> will thank you for your opening statement, i will turn it over to center to welcome it and to introduce our second nominee. >> thank you and ranking members ornament and i like to introduce president biden's outstanding anomaly, for deputy director of the office of management and budget and a lifelong advocate for economic opportunity and names of working families and she spent more than a decade of her career as a public servant and city and county of san francisco rising to become san francisco's budget director and the office of then mayor gavin newsom and she's an experienced leader and federal government as well, she joined the treasury department and 2009, is a deputy assistant secretary for management and budget and that

roll she helped to shape the newly created consumer financial protection bureau pretty in a record of success led to her appointment as the assistant secretary for management of the treasury department where she saw and oversaw and modernized workforce of hundreds of public servants and managing for economic recovery and president obama nominated her in 2014 to serve as deputy secretary of housing and urban development predict she drew prolonged history ♪ ♪ government to improve the public housing and community partnerships and prioritizing equities the same time. and she currently serves as senior vice president of the urban institute and she has an insightful advocate for public policies that will help more families realize their american dreams. she's a proven skillful manager and empathetic leader, and she's highly qualified to support the critical work of the executive

branch as deputy director of om&b i urge the committee to support your confirmation and thank you. >> thank you senator, and welcome it to the committee and you may proceed with your opening remarks. >> thank you chairman peters ranking member permanent distinguished members of the committee, and it is a privilege to come before u.s. president biden's nominee for deputy director of the office management and budget and i like to think members of the committee for considering my nomination the many members that took time to speak with me before this hearing and thank you senator for those kind words of introduction and i would also like to thank president biden for putting his confidence in me and in this position is a great honor to be sitting here alongside my team digital potential colic shall that young and i am honored and humbled by this nomination and i would also

like the ruggedized my husband of 24 years, difficult seen here with me here today and my son, who is supporting me virtually from college pretty i would like to think of many family members and friends watching this hearing from the west to the east coast braided finally would like to recognize my parents, tony and maria who both passed away over five years ago and its through their sacrifices that i'm able to sit here today and my mom and dad both had immigrant parents who came to america in search of a better life for themselves and for their children and my parents work hardest for me and my four sisters and my mom was a preschool teacher later a home based childcare provider my dad worked in restaurants and on cruise ships and later on i would also work in restaurants which along with federal student loans and programs help me finance my education my peers taught me to focus on hardware, and education as well as the importance of curiosity and been and empathy and it has from them

that i developed a passion for service and a commitment to expand opportunities for all i come to you as a public servant and a leader with over 25 years of experience in the federal state and local government service and also private and on private sector as much my work has focused on helping you deliver better outcomes for peoples and inside my percent federal service was as a program examiner the office of management and budget many many years ago and i know percent of that om&b has a critical roll to play in the priorities tensing every spinning a policy decision in the federal government and collaborating across agencies to deliver results effectively and efficiently my work during the obama biden administration as deputy secretary of housing and urban development, and before that as assistant secretary acting cfo for treasury and focused on using data to make better decisions and permitting new programs and strengthening the organizations that i lead

braided and a heart imagine the department day-to-day operations and facilitated crosscutting policy and regulatory issues oversaw a 45 billion-dollar budget and approximately 8000 employees have treasury assistant secretary for the management, and helped senate new system a financial protection bureau, have create treasury data-driven decisions to prioritize projects, i resources and progress. and also understand the policy and up budget decision affect in washington dc it may affect local government having worked in san francisco person under ten years and during the 2008, recession i have close the deficit were half a san francisco's discretionary budget aided in the end by the federal american recovery and reinvestment act hard and if confirmed i would be honored to work with the president and the congress to create and implement budget that invest in american people, supporter economic

recovery, the reflector country's shared values and thank you again for considering my nomination and look forward to answering your questions. >> thank you and a before we get started, there are three questions that this committee asked of every nominee and for the record, that's me just ask both of you, to responded to each one very quickly if you would. >> and first is there anything that you are aware of any background that might present a conflict of interest for the office duties for which you have a nominated. >> no. >> and secondly you know of anything personal or otherwise isolated in anyway prevent you from fully honorably discharging responsibilities of the office for which you have been nominated to. >> no no. >> and lastly do you agree without reservation, to comply with any request or summons, to appear and testify before any duly constituted committee of congress if you are confirmed

it. >> yes, yes. >> thank you, and the past two years, congress has provided trillions of dollars to the executive branch to responded to and recovery from the covid-19 pandemic, and obviously the priority has been done quickly get this financial relief to the individuals hand to various parts of the economy however, we've also seen the many programs as well as estate, level and local levels report incredible amounts of fraud, and improper payments. so my first question to you is what lessons have you learned in your roll as the acting om&b director to stop waste and fraud and abuse in these apart as many programs and if you are confirmed, what would you do to deal with a critical issue as expeditiously as possible. >> thank you, we started this process and we understand this

pandemic it programs have exasperated issues that were around long before he had one thing we have done over the last year is to provide $187 million through the technology modernization find that we think the committee for support in providing through the american rescue plan and that effort, the $187 million went to login .gov and i have found my last year, and to do with improper payments, we also have to deal with identity theft and those things can continue go hand-in-hand so is improvements through the tms, they will bring down the identity theft which will also have an impact on improper payments and before i conclude, i want to point to our work with the inspector general, in december om&b put out guidance to the agencies and directing their working relationships to be strengthened

and this comes from the top down and the president has made clear with regard to the infrastructure law, that he expects his agencies to stay in lockstep with the inspector general and he did that during his time running the recovery program he was vice president so this is forefront on if you confirmed the top and we have needed from the president do do better here and we have this things broken down. >> right, do you have any additional recommendations or observations from your radius experience working about the federal and state level to help reduce the fraud and identity theft they were doing with no. >> thank you for the question and appreciate the opportunity to talk about this a little bit of that say that there was a lot of effort put into post recovery act to strengthen our data systems and some of that work that i worked on led to the data

cap and do think that it's implementation will help as well to combat the fraud. >> in the roll of the om&b please in this april reports taskforces incredibly important not only to implementing measures to keep the employees and their families and communities safe in the face of this ongoing pandemic it, the challenges it presents but also to ensure critical services to the constituents across the country continue to operate as effectively as possible without interruptions and what takeaways you have from the administration's response to the omicron variant including any efforts that you have led with the task force of what you would do to improve it responses going forward it. >> just like every other ceo and company this country, there is one plan in which to bring the records back to the office, the

omicron variant, that definitely made us go back to the drawing room table and the federal workforce puts out guidelines with respect to the agencies that they work through financial decisions on operations to the agencies while providing overarching guidance we do have agencies and i am one of them, trying to bring people back into the office and we are people who work in shifts that we have to make sure that they are safe when they come into the office and the department of homeland security and the border patrol agents who have never not been on the job and so each agency has to do what is right prints particular employees of my take away is this is difficult, when a generation, event and there is no playbook but i think it we been able to keep up the very especially under specific situations and what we are saying is agencies are on track that if they have not already brought people in over the next

month and into march. >> and i would you leverage in your roll to confirmed to strengthen the ongoing response for the covid-19 pandemic. >> thank you for the question senator i would say the mural would be to help support the efforts that's our already underway both in collaboration with acting director shalonda young only director and management across all agencies to make sure that they are putting worker safety first also continuing to operate the federal government as it leads to the operations. >> over and over the last year, the administration released to executive orders and one focused on information technology modernization and cybersecurity and a second customer experience, both assigned the om&b with several important tests, the push departments and agencies to adopt modern it and cybersecurity solutions that improve and citizen services at the same time in this young how

are you working with the agencies to ensure the badges of the fiscal year 23id and beyond are going to incorporate modern cybersecurity solutions and other. and i'll take a perspective somewhat of yours in the past, but perhaps a little bit broader. we are at a point in time where it is clear that there is a nexus between energy, climate, economic security for a family and for a nation, and national security. and if we ignore any one, if we overemphasize one and forget the rest, then we lose all four. i'll just show the example we have right now. the administration is clearly prioritized climate in such a way as if they've attempted to decrease the amount of fossil fuel being produced in the united states of america and. ing the exports of that fuel.

because of that singular emphasis, we're now at a point where we have endangered the economy of many -- not we, but circumstances around the world have endangered the economies of the european countries dependent upon russian oil, it has endangered the pocketbook of the families that cannot afford $4 to $6 a gallon gasoline depending upon where you live, and the climate globally is worse. because there's inadequate amounts of liquefied natural gas going to europe, they're going to burn tremendous amounts of coal, and that coal will have a gree greenhouse gas profile far greater than that of natural gas. the question is how do we achieve all of our goals? the climate, the natural security, the pocketbook issues for families and for a nation, as well as our energy security. so that's what i wish to speak

about today. now, of course, we know there's a tension here, and the tension here is between this kind of almost battle we've been having in our country, how to develop america's resources, but how do we do it at the same time lowering carbon intensity? and if one part is in charge of the regulatory state, then they will attempt to use regulatory power to choke off the amount of carbon coming from america's resources, i'm speaking of fossil fuel resources at this point. as i mentioned, it seems as though with this backdrop of a need globally to be free of russian energy, we need to have a different approach, acknowledging totally those who are concerned about carbon intensity, acknowledging totally, the europeans who are now so vulnerable to russian energy shortages, acknowledging totally the family at home with

a ten-year-old pickup truck that can't afford to fill it up to get to work. oh, mr. president, i forgot to say. i ask unanimous consent that my -- that steven lorentz, an intern in my office be granted floor privileges until march 137, 2022. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. cassidy: so first let's set the stage. europe depends on russia for 40% of its natural gas supplies. some countries in europe depend upon europe for 90% testify their natural gas supplies. in 2013, the e.u. imported russian natural gas and in 2019, 166 billion cubic meters. so one reason we need to export liquid natural gas is to degrees the ee -- decrease the reliance

on russian natural gas. the carbon footprint of natural gas is so much less than that of coal. using gas was a way to achieve that which the united states has achieved, an ability to decrease your carbon emissions by changing from coal toll natural gas. -- from coal to natural gas. so our goal here is to help the europeans continue, not just that transition away from coal to lower their carbon intensity, but also to help them to decrease and lower their dependence on russia as regards overall use of natural gas. now, there is a way to get at this within the next ten months, to lower global greenhouse gas emissions to help the europeans

be freer from russian gas in a way which does not involve increased production here in the united states. so when i speak of our goals here, it isn't just to pump more out of the united states, it is to solve a global problem. an italian energy executive with whom i spoke menged how -- mentioned how in north africa, they are using natural gas, they ship to italy and then it goes to the rest of the continent. the tanks from north africa is 50% full and there is a liquified natural gas facility in egypt which is -- the number of people getting electricity hags increased dramatically, that the gas they used to ship to europe is being used

domestically. the power plants they are using to burn the natural gas are antiquated. they don't burn efficiently. the emission profile of these natural gas powered plants is much greater than that which is state of the art. so this gentleman from italy, great idea, he said why don't we build out in the near term ten billion dollars investment of solar panels in north africa. now, it seemed like there is no better place in the world to do solar pants in the see harrah -- sierra deserts. if you are trading the solar panels for the natural gas in antiquated filtses, that would be freed up to ship to africa. to decrease the amount of natural gas being built, but it does it in a way that it

delivers the gas to be burned in a more environmentally friendly way, it has economic development and the substitution for gas in north africa. what is the u.s. role. we can take our d.f.c., which is our financing corporation for overseas development. if we put up 5% of the amount, that sends a message to other investors that this has the support of the u.s. government and that they can step in here and make an investment too. now solar panels of that magnitude is a big project. on the other hand it is something that can be done in the near term and in that near term, we're able to increase the supply of natural gas to europe while decreasing greenhouse gas -- global greenhouse gas gas emissions. that is something we can do now. it does raise the question.

someone said, with that many solar panels, surely there would be some issues. it is my impression at least that there is far more open ground in the desert than in the cities, but the regulatory burden in order to deploy solar panels is a lot less in africa. it raises me to my next issue. we've got the ability to increase our export of liquified natural gas to increase the deployment of renewables here in the united states, to mine the uranium that would replace the russian uranium we get for nuclear, but also replace the russian uranium that the europeans use. we have the ability to do that but we are locked up with regulations. i'm not saying do away with the regulations. i'm saying do something different in terms of how we regulate. we actually have a model for this. we have seen in the at the

beginning of the covid pandemic that we have multiple federal agencies responsible for approving a new vaccine and they would kind of get to each other's issue and request when they got to each other's issue and request. and so it could take two and a half years to have a new vaccine approved by regulation in order to even begin testing. much less, to show that it worked and to begin to deploy. and the previous administration, working with the different agencies, i visualize it as bringing everybody in a room and if somebody had a question, they would turn this question over to somebody else and they had to sit there at that table until they resolved it and then they gave it back. not, listen, send it over here and we'll have it back to you in four weeks, no, send it over here and we'll have it back to

you in three days. they condense the time so that a vaccine that we hoped would be ready in three years was ready in less than one. if you compress that time frame, there is an issue with safety, but that -- but there was no evidence that that occurred with the coronavirus vaccine. if we have multiple agencies right now who are in charge of permitting some aspect of energy, whether it was renewable, mining or export, there can be an operation warp speed for how they work together to bring our energy resources to bear in helping the europeans become free of russian energy. so it's not just lowering the price at the pump for us, because you can argue it will be difficult to do that in the near term.

when what it -- what it can be is to keep the europeans from going into a depression next winter because the demand for fuel is so great they are not able to meet it and if they don't have a substitution for russian energy and if the russians cut them off, they end up freezing, going energy poor or having their industries crater because of a lack of energy. one more time, this is a nexus. we can do it in a way that is environmentally friendly, producing the energy and exporting it in a way that lowers greenhouse gas emissions, because what's driving us is the economy of countries and the economy of families. if europeans' families are energy poor, they will lose their political will to stand up to the russians and we will lose our ally. we have got to support not just our families but theirs so that they can get through this economically so, one, they can

more afford life, but secondly, that we can maintain political will as we stand up against the russians. now, there's other aspects to this as well. for those who are interested in battery technology, most of the critical minerals are coming from russian or chinese sources. and so if we are concerned about climate and we're concerned about the ability to be critical mineral independent in case of geopolitical tension, this is the exact same issue that we have been speaking about. so how do we proceed? one, we just have to recognize we are at a time of extreme geopolitical tension where decisions we make in this country have ramifications worldwide. the europeans are looking to us to help them with their energy

crisis and if we fail to help the europeans with their energy crisis, the europeans will pay as much as 6,000 euros more a year per family for their energy and they will probably go into a deep recession. on the other hand, if we're able to solve this for the europeans, we will also solve it for our families, the ones that are paying $4 to $6 for a gallon of gasoline. we know what we're speaking about. just to show it can be done, as the united states substituted natural gas for coal, we have lowered our domestic emissions by 15% at a time when global emissions have lowered by 14. during that time, our economy is larger, we have millions more people, and we are domestically producing much more oil and gas and there has been a subsequent

return of energy-related industry to the united states. so despite an industrial profile and mining profile and population profile, that would suggest there would be greater emissions, we have 14% less than 2005 and we did it by acknowledging domestic production of energy was going to help with our economy, help with the economy of families but also help our domestic security and would also help climate. the carbon intensity of our society. so we've done this for our country. now the question is can we do it for the world? i would argue that if we choose not to, the russians will win. there is no way that europe or europeans are going to accept energy poverty with a cratered economy due to a lack of affordable energy. on the other hand, if we are able to make this commitment

doing things such as financing solar panels in north africa, a warp speed for energy to bring our energy to bear, that will lower the carbon intensity energy sources for that which is higher carbon intensity, we can accomplish worldwide what we have accomplished here in the united states, which is lower greenhouse gas emissions while making a more prosperous society and increasing domestic and international security. this is not theoretical. i have spoken to someone who could have an offshore l and g export facility completed in 12 months if they had his permits from the federal government. i spoke to someone involved with drilling in the outer continental shelf and learned that their company to be sending oil to the refineries in

louisiana within 12 months if they can get their permits done expeditiously. and i could give list after list of renewable, of fossil and otherwise. it is now time for the united states to take leadership. if we don't, our families will continue to suffer at the pump, europeans will enter a recession, and most unfortunately, the cause of freedom worldwide will be harmed by russia's continued economic hedge money with -- hedge money -- hegimony. a senator: mr. president. the presiding officer: the senator from michigan. peter plsh peters: ms. young has served as -- has -- the

bipartisan infrastructure bill and numerous priorities. over the past year she has been a true partner to congress working closely with members on both sides of the aisle to find bipartisan paths forward. in addition to her proven leadership at o.m.b. this past year, ms. young brings nearly two decades of public service experience to her role, including as a senior staff member on the house appropriations committee, where she led challenging bipartisan negotiations around the debt limit, government funding, and budget reform. o.m.b. will continue to be central to the administration's efforts to tackle the nation's ongoing challenges, and ms. young will be instrumental in leading that work. i have every confidence in ms. young's ability to continue to rise to the challenges facing

o.m.b. both now and in the future. i urge my colleagues to join me in supporting the confirmation of shalanda young as director of the office of management and budget. the presiding officer: the clerk will report the motion to invoke cloture. the clerk: cloture motion, we, the undersigned senators, in accordance with the provisions of rule 22 of the standing rules of the senate, do hereby move to bring to a close the debate on the nomination of executive calendar number 726, shalanda d. young of louisiana, to be director of the office of management and budget, signed by 16 senators. the presiding officer: by unanimous consent, the mandatory quorum call has been waived. the question is, is it the sense of the senate that debate on the nomination of shalanda d. young of louisiana to be director of the office of management and budget shall be brought to a close. the yeas and nays are mandatory under the rule, and the clerk will call the roll.

vote:

vote:

vote:

vote:

the presiding officer: on this vote the yeas are 53, the nays are 31. the motion is agreed to. a senator: mr. president. the presiding officer: the senator indiana. mr. young: at 5:30 p.m. on september 11, 2001, members of indiana task force one left indianapolis to head to new york city. task force one is our state's search and rescue squad made up of our bravest and most selfless first responders, who deploy

around the country to help in times of emergency. in the caravan at ground zero that day was mark wrap. he's a hero's hero, a rescuer's, rescuer. on march 4, 2022, chief mark wrap died after a courageous battle with lung cancer. mark, who is known by the nickname bum, that's right, bum wrap, served the city of indianapolis as a firefighter for 37 years. he retired as a battalion chief of training in 2017. in 1993, mark received the metal of bravery for a risky rescue of a small child from a dangerous apartment fire and he is a recipient of the heroism award

and the peer leadership. he led the indianapolis fire department's program of clothe a child program. and mark was a deeply involved father. he built a log cabin in the outdoor lab at indian creek elementary school. for over 20 years he worked on the chain gang at the football games. his sons eventually worked alongside him as firefighters, as a member of task force one, mark assisted in several natural disasters including hurricanes gustov and mike in 2008.

he was a certified rescue diver. in september of 2001, mark spent ten days at ground zero, leading his team through the night shift during nonstop rescue efforts. it's believed that the lung cancer could be traced to the toxins he inhale homicide in 2001. nearly -- he inhaled in 2001. many of those in the task force have suffered from illnesses. mark was the fifth to have died from his illness. we thank mark rapp sr. for his courage, bravery and leadership. our prayers are with his wife nancy, three children and all those who love him. thank you, mr. president.

i yield the floor.

a senator: mr. president, i note the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. quorum call:

what capabilities does russia have for chemical attack and current ukraine? rex rusher was accused by the united states of couple of years ago of having a biological weapons program. no nation is supposed to have a biological weapons program. and they are a signatory of the

biological weapons convention which prohibits that. but they have been suspected of being a violator for some time and then there accused by the u.s. formerly and now the united states is talking very up on the about it. biological weapons program are not as resources intensive as a nuclear programs for example. there's very little is available that is publicly available to know what kind of program russia indeed has. back in the '90s before they renounce them or said they renounce them, but we don't really know what they could have. >> what is the difference between a biological and chemical?

>> of biological bacteria, viruses, those are all biological and even though there's a lot of work across the world for peaceful purposes to better understand them so we can help cure disease it is possible to use those as weapons as well. that is the biological side. the chemical side is a little bit more fuzzy because a lot of chemicals are used and allowed for a variety of industrial purposes. riot control agents et cetera. there is a list that is prohibited under the chemical weapons convention. quickstart international agreements? >> yes they're definitely

international agreements. the biological weapons convention when in force in 1975 the weapons convention was in the '90s. it is definitely not allowed to use those. >> and who agreed? which country? >> most nations in the world there's 183 members based to the biological weapons convention 193 to the chemicals weapons convention. that is most of everyone there is also a un security council resolution called un security council 1540 which made nations do things so they can discourage any or biological weapons. did they sign those? >> yes they did this is been a

problem with the russia in the past in the soviet days i started using growing tons of it for weapons. they were illegally growing and putting them into bombs et cetera. i was the case back in the 80s and 90s. force the use of those types of weapons in sierra? there have been other indicators that russia has been developing, other chemical weapons. the reason we know is because russia wanted us to know about

in the use in the uk. and right after 2000 -- 2002 i believe was the theater use of functional compounds. they have a diverse. >> what worries you about their capabilities? >> a lot of states have on using this weapon on the biological side against their use there are many worries about the situation this is one of many. >> i want to show you from the senate hearing on thursday and exchanged between senator marco rubio the republican of florida and the director of national intelligence admiral haynes for

the senator asking her about conspiracy of u.s. a bio weapons in ukraine. >> does ukraine have any biological weapons research facilities? >> no. let me be clear we do not assess ukraine is pursuing either biological weapons or nuclear weapons which is basically the propaganda that russia is putting out too. >> so they do have the biological research. what is our government's role in our biological research program as i understand that, ukraine operates a little over a dozen essentially bio labs. and that is essentially intended to do. and i think the u.s. government provides assistance or at least has in the past provided assistance in the context of biosafety i would defer to the

details of that how do we define biosafety or bio defense we are to use an agent against that apparent to have an outbreak what exactly is that? >> i will quickly get out of my area of expertise. it's a generic answer i understand. it is essentially for bio defense to think things about medical countermeasures for example. things that will help you to address a pandemic that's an outbreak in your country things along those lines. things that prevent spreading of pandemics and other health issues. things along those lines. the kinds of biosafety pieces you be providing assistance for things like making sure you're producing medical countermeasures are taking appropriate precautions you are

letting the medical community internationally no, that's the kind of assistance we want to be absolutely clear we do not believe ukraine is pursuing biological or nuclear weapons we see no evidence of that. and frankly this influence campaign is completely consistent with long-standing russia efforts to accuse the united states of sponsoring bio weapons work in former soviet union. what is your assessment? >> the program the director is referring to is the biological set reduction program which has funded labs in ukraine and elsewhere in the world to help them with what biosafety which is so you can do research safely you can help them with outbreak response for animals and people.

one of the pathogens that was worked on in ukraine is the african swine fever virus which is endemic in that area and it does not affect humans. claim placement to there's all kind of why placement to that's the twisted logic's when it was normal and routine and should be the subject of boring discussions and you're having now. >> you have any concerns with

they really see small quantities people are using for research. a test tube here, a vial there, if they know the lab was going to be under attack, it is very straightforward to make it safe. it is not something i am concerned about with these pathogens. there is no concern about a lab leak or anything like that. the people who work in the lab can responsibly dispose of the pathogens and basically bleach. >> served as a committee member to the former defense department threat reduction advisory committee. she served for ten years she is our guest for this part shall take your questions on chemical and biological capabilities. democrats telling (202)748-8000.

republicans (202)748-8001 for an independent student 027-48-8003. text us with your first name, city, state independence 8002 you can text 28003. facebook.com/sees pattern and send a tweet with the handle at c-span wj. walk through your experience with biological and chemical weapons research. >> might background is more than biocide. have a phd in immunology work for the army and then i have worked in a variety of science policy roles focused on bio security including being the science advisor for the commission. and also serving on the dod threat reduction advisory

committee which was disbanded during the trump administration. i have written a couple of books one on bioterrorism and bio security so emergent bio technologies and that will change our world. >> some what was the worker? >> the focus was can focused on the unconventional and the potential for misuse. was provided advice to the secretary of defense was managed from the defense reduction agency. as a federal advisory committee

one of the things i did when i was on the committee was i led a group to examine the department of defense during the 2014 epidemic in west africa and department role efforts to stop the transmission. it was a success of dod taking an interest in and involved in laboratories and work around the world. >> tennessee you are up first, good morning. >> i've got a question and a few comments. if these are so benign and innocuous insights white with

the documents in the u.s. embassy be taken down when they became apparent that they did not exist. why would we show the intent to conceal by taking down those documents which you have on my computer screen right now. >> i do not know there is perhaps the russian lines there's something nefarious happening at the labs that's completely ridiculous. and they often have accuse others of what they themselves have been doing that is the concern. there's nothing going on at those facilities except public health research we.

>> a viewer who text us to say chemical, biological and tactical nuclear weapons do not respect political boundaries. isn't the use of these type of ordinance and attack with an overwhelming military response to these international agreements numerous countries sign outline what you do with these weapons? it's different for the different chemical and biological as far as a biological attack there's a couple different mechanisms to investigate what happens in attribute who was the perpetrator. there is a health component what biological agent it is depending

on what pathogen is used that is a big concern of a contagious agent to try to treat people, vaccinate people do it can be done to limit the impact. >> does that exist? that type of biological attack that goes so it goes beyond the borders. >> sure, viruses with covid it is absolutely not a biological attack but is a good demonstration of how viruses

spread and don't respect her borders but that is true of other contagious diseases. i don't want to borrow trouble depending on what kind of biological if one or 2v would be a concern. that is the reason i got into this business the person who started but i worked for the eradication program for smallpox. he was concerned once smallpox was eradicated could be used as a biological weapon that's with the soviets were doing. >> or some common types of biological and then chemical weapons biological weapons have

not been used in warfare except in world war ii the japanese had a program and they did use those weapons against china but there has not been to miracle 2001 ukraine. and we're all praying for the people there trying to do as much as we can to support them and this barbarism we're seeing from vladimir putin is something i don't think anyone is ever going to forget. we can't let it stand. we need to use all instruments of american power with our allies to work to address this long term because this is a long-term problem. the new era of authoritarian aggression led by putin, led by

xi jinping and we need to address it. one of the instruments of american power we've had until recently in a bipartisan way, every president has supported being an energy producer, being an energy super power, being a country that's energy independent. and, mr. president, i don't have to tell you but this has been highlighted by the current crisis. what's happened is the american people, really the world have awoken to the fact that the biden administration came into off-- into office and instead of building on what they inherited from the trump administration which again was a bipartisan goal of american foreign policy, american energy policy, american domestic policy for decades, every president, every president

wanted america to be energy independent. president obama used to talk about this all-of-the-above energy, oil, gas, renewables. jimmy carter, of course. donald trump, george w. bush. it dates back for decades until the biden administration. and of course, mr. president, they came in and on day one said we're going to start shutting down the production of american energy. that's a fact. i'm going to go through a lot of the facts. i'm going to go through some detailed memos that are still in existence that show that this is exactly their policies. now, what has happened in the last two weeks? the american people have started to realize oh, my gosh, my own government is trying to make it harder for us to produce american energy. how does that make sense and in what world does that make sense? the average american, always

very much, by the way, much smarter than the people in d.c., are raising the alarm bell saying wait a minute. why would we do that? hurts us at home, drives up energy prices. the president is calling it putin's energy increases. that's ridiculous. energy prices have been going up since this administration got into office because of this administration's policies. good try, mr. president. that's not going to work. so the american people are saying it's hurting us at home. it's raising costs on my family, but they're now realizing who, this is bad for our foreign policy and national security, too. when you have a war of what's going on in ukraine. all of a sudden you see the biden administration from the president all the way down, the whole team starting to scramble. they're trying to hide their policy driven by a far-left radical ie general today and is hurtful to everyone and doesn't

help the environment one bit, not one bit. i'll come down in another speech and talks about how -- and talk about how it hurts the environment. mr. president, it's almost funny to watch this happen if this weren't such a serious topic. it's almost funny. as a matter of fact, to one cabinet official it was funny. go google the secretary granholm interview. i forget which news station, when she was asked hey, are you going to help produce more oil for america? she literally starts cracking up, laughing. she's laughing. it's not funny, madam secretary. so now the white house is scrambling with madeup stories, made-up rationales. you see the press secretary kind of -- trying to talk about this issue, no offense to her. she's pretty talented but she

doesn't know anything about energy. but they're scrambling because no one is laughing. no one is laughing. the secretary of energy might be laughing about this topic, but no one is halving. working families in america aren't laughing. the energy workers that this administration has moved to hand pirveg slips to -- pirveg slips -- pink slips to aren't laughing. our allies aren't laughing. the ukranians aren't laughing. the only one who might be laughing are the venezuelans and iranians who this administration is now going and begging them for oil from. they might be laughing. so it's a really serious topic, mr. president. and as i mentioned, the energy price rise that we've seen across the last year, gas prices were almost up 50% prior to the

invasion of ukraine by putin. so we know what's going on because it's no secret. when the president was campaigning -- again, i don't think this was really his views but driven by the far left that he had to get their vote on, he vowed he would do exactly what he did on day one. here's the president in a debate in 2019. quote, i've argued against any more drilling. no more drilling or gas -- oil or gas drilling on federal lands. i will not allow it anymore. unquote. that's the president of the united states. now, on day one he did just that. he did just that. he started out to keep these campaign promises. we know he canceled the keystone pipeline. they put up, quote, pause. i'm going to talk about that on federal leasing and permitting,

something that really impacted my state. he signed an executive order to crack down on oil and gas production. he canceled the legally acquired leases that my state has in the arctic national wildlife refuge because this body voted for it, signed into law. the president in a blatantly illegal move said i'm not going to allow these leases, even though the congress of the united states and the president of the united states previously passed a law saying they had to be executed. in just -- and just two weeks ago the administration froze new drilling permits and stopped issuing new leases on federal lands because they continue to be driven by a far-left agenda that nobody in the united states is supporting right now. but, madam president, i want to dig a little deeper into what happened on day one.

so what happened here, i have an order. this is an order, order number 3395 from the acting secretary of the interior, a guy by the name of scott delavega. i never heard of him. never heard of him. who the heck is that? it's dated january 20, 2021, so that's day one. that's day one. some guy named scott delavega. i don't know who he is but i guess he was acting secretary of interior. and he lays out in this memo everything that should be suspended, everything, in america to stop producing any natural resources for 60 days. that's your government at work, america, right here. scott delavega. hereby temporarily suspends -- then they have a whole list of

things that deal with oil, gas, minerals, rights of way, anything on federal lands, all stopped. if that's not a far-left radical agenda, i don't know what is. now, it says that people above him, the secretary, deputy secretary, they can rescind that after 60 days but there's no one above him. this is day one. there's nobody even confirmed. that's why scott de la a vega was acting secretary. this is day one order from the biden administration to shut down the production of american energy. your government at work, america. now, what happened at across the country. i can tell you what happened in my state. this set off a mad scramble in alaska. i was getting phone calls, literally from this memo. i didn't know anything about it. why? why? what was happening here?

because, madam president, in my state -- because we have the highest environmental standards in the world on oil and gas development, on mineral development -- we do our exploration only in the winter, only in the winter about a three-month period -- january, february, march, april -- four months because we create ice roads and ice pads. these are giant roads of ice and giant pads of ice that can take out giant drill rigs on the tundra, and we do our exploration then and then we bring it off in four months. the ice roads melt and there's zero impact. it's called zero-impact exploration. okay? it's expensive, but we do that in alaska because we really care about our environment. we know how to do both -- protect our environment, develop our resorrieses. so we eel -- our resources.

so we only have about three or four months to do this work every winter. so i had a bunch of alaskans -- hundreds, thousands -- out doing the work of america, oil and gas development. ol' mr. de la vega comes out here day one of the biden administration, says we're going to suspend any oil and gas permit. you're constantly is having to get additional permits, aindications to drill, to build an -- applications to drill, to i would about an ice road, to do anything way beyond leases -- general psaki, way beyond lessees. they said no issues of anything. so i got a call. i'll give you one example from a company that had almost 300 people doing exploration work. they were just told, you're not going to get anything else for 60 days. they couldn't do anything. they're going to fire all 300 people. we scrambled, made phone calls,

tried to get this border lifted. this was happening all across america. the federal government came in the biden administration -- that was day one, mr. de la vega -- again, don't know who he is, but he issued this order 60 days and stopped everything and joe biden sought there saying, we really care about energy production. no, you don't. after 60 days, what happened? now, madam president, this is really important. i really want our friends in the media to zig into this. so again you have these applications to drill on federal leases. all of that was stalled. 60 days, you couldn't do a thing. this is just a year ago, right? just a year ago. from this administration that's now telling the american people, oh, no, we're fully for energy

development. they were trying to kill it. okay, so normally when you have a lease on a federal land, you have federal managers. i will he'll give the example in alaska. -- i'll give you the example in alaska. the bureau of land management will have a field manager -- right? so let's say there is a field manager for b.l.m. in fairbanks, alaska. that man or woman has a fair amount of authority. they can issue these applications to drill. they can move forward. this is a government that's not centralized. you want 9 decision-makers, who by the way are almost all professional career staff, to make science-based decisions, not political decisions, on these applications to drill. that's the way it works. that's the way it's always worked. so you have a field manager say in fairbanks, you have a district level manager, say, in the interior part of alaska, and

then you have one state director, the b.l.m. state director, okay? so they usually -- not even the state director. the lower level federal officials can issue these permits to keep the country moving, producing oil, gas. now you what happened after 60 days? after 60 days in 2021 -- so you have the biden administration, mr. de la vega just shutting down all energy production for 60 days in america. that's this order. so after 60 days, what happened? well, there was another order issued, and this was was issued by a woman -- an official named laura daniel davis. she's the acting assistant secretary for the office of land and mineral management. okay, it sounds kind of important. that's the assistant secretary

at interior in charge of all oil and gas and mineral development for america. pretty important job. we -- in the trump administration we had a really great alaskan, joe belash. he had that job. did a great job, by the way. so after 60 days, acting assistant secretary for the land and mineral management -- oil and gas, mining -- she issues a memo. i have it right here, madam president. i quote from some of t she issues a memo. and what her memo says was, hey, you got that executive order, 60-day delay by mr. de la vega? that's run respecting out in two days. its i. it's not even a year old. what she says in her order is that you know how you guys in the federal agencies, the field

manager, the district-level manager, the state director all across america -- i'm just giving you one example in alaska. you know how you all have authority to issue permits to drill, things like that? that's the way it's been going on for decades and decades. well, i, acting assistant secretary, laura daniel davis, i'm taking that away from you. i'm taking that away. so her memo says, every decision -- she lists a bunch, a bunch, okay? every decision -- now, remember, nobody was able to do anything for 60 days. out in we're saying, all right, the 60-day delay is over. but any decision that you lower-level people, b.l.m. and oh, had to make on apolitician indications to -- applications to drill and permits, hundreds and hundreds across the country, she says, i'm going to quote from her. for those matters that have been

submitted in accordance with s. 335, 3395 was essentially. she's referencing the executive order that says stop everything. she now says, if you haven't received any kind of approval for that stuff, you -- i'm quoting -- if you have not received final aslm -- that's her decision -- you may not proceed on any of these permits without approval from aslm, meaning her. okay, so think about that. think about that. this is an administration saying that they really care about moving oil and gas on federal lands forward? first 60 days they just say everything is stopped. then they say, all right, if you're going to move forward the way it used to work, felled managers, district managers, in every state in america -- no, no, no. you don't have that authority. me, assistant secretary --

acting, by the way, she is still not confirmed by the senate. every one of those has to come to me for my approval. every one. every one in alaska, every one in new mexico, every one in north dakota, anywhere -- by the way, all on the offshore, gulf of mexico -- anywhere that at the lower levels in the federal government you had professional staff who had the authority to grant these applications for drill and other federal permits this memo says, nope, that will be centralized under me -- for america, for america. every darn decision for oil and gas production and mineral production in the country has to be approved by this acting assistant secretary.

guess what, madam president? this memo is still in operation. right now. right now. when the president of the united states looks at the american people and jen psaki, oh, we're doing everything -- no, you're not. you have got one person and this order. so -- and think about -- i'm not going to go into her background much. she spent a whole career trying to take out the oil and gas industry. now she's in charge of every decision for every permit on every federal lease for the production of american energy in the country, and she's still in charge. you got one person. now -- and by the way, this is a political appointee. i don't think she's going to get confirmed because i'm going to block her -- that's for sure -- but even some of my democratic

completion -- colleagues are, like, this is going on right now. my friends in the media, i hope you fake a look at this. and what's really interesting here, you have someone who's had a political appointee, a career trying to take out the oil and gas industry, and none of this is based on science. this is all political. they're removing the career staff, the scientists, saying hey it's going to be up to me. one political appoint crises in charge of issuing all -- appointee in charge of issuing all permits in the united states in the energy sector. still going on. this would be like if you wanted to get a loan, right, and you went to your local bank in your hometown. let's say it was bank of america. there was a local bank, bank of america, in your hometown. this would be like having to go to the headquarters on wall street to get approval for your loan.

think about it. that's going on right now. and the president has the audacity to look the american people in the eye and say, oh, we're trying to do all we can. no, you're not. why don't you rescind this order? this is part of the biden administration's obsession from day one with stopping the production of american energy and politicizing it with a political appointee. who by the way doesn't know much about the industry either. but, madam president, there's more to this memo. it gets quite interesting. because there's this kind of doublespeak in it. i'm going to read from a little bit of it. she says that for matters that have been submitted in accordance with the shutdown -- 60-day shutdown -- but for which you have not received approval from me, you are still not allowed to move forward.

you got to come through me, the one political appointee who doesn't like the energy sector. okay, but -- here's the interesting thing. she says, but please provide early information -- so -- notification. so flag it. renewable energy projects, those go to the front of the line. or other climate-related milestones -- i'm quoting -- 30-by-by initiatives, that's shutting down 30% of all federal lands. that's another radical thing they're doing. or actions related to racial equity, environmental justice. okay? this is in her memo. so she's saying, hey, i get to approve everything, all applications, drill, any permits on any federal land, anything. one person. but if it's part of a far-left

radical agenda -- by the way that has nothing to do with energy production -- give me a heads up. then see says, as well as early notification on items that are high-level or regional interest. what does that mean? early notification. so that's like wave, make sure she knows, on items that are of high, local, state or regional interest. what does that mean? i don't know. it's kind of code for something. let me give you one example for what i think it is code for. she's in charge of issuing all these permits. and there's been a flood of oil and gas production permits. guess which state in america in the first year of the biden administration has had close to half of all oil and gas drilling permits issued by the department of interior approved?

remember, she is approving them all. she never liked oil and gas. but if she's got to approve some, it might be related to items that are of high local, state, or regional interest. i wonder who that is. who is it? is it alaska? no, i don't think so. trust me, they're delaying us as much as they can. they don't like us. 22 executive orders and executive actions solely focused on alaska by this administration. they really don't like us. hmm. is it texas? north dakota? the state that's got all -- close to half of all oil and gas drilling permits that this acting assistant secretary is in charge of granting, because remember, she centralized everything, is new mexico. new mexico. whoa, new mexico? new mexico. you think new mexico would be of high state or regional interests? if you're her and your boss is

from new mexico, probably. or if you have the senator from new mexico calling all the time. probably. right? so i really wish the media would look into this. because right now, you've got the president of the united states, jen psaki and others saying, well, we're trying to do everything we can here. you got this memo that's still in effect, by an acting assistant secretary, saying i'm going to control every permit issued in america on federal lands. right here. read it. and you can't move, you regional directors and b.l.m., you know, in fairbanks, alaska, you state directors. no, no, no, no, no. i'm in charge, and i'm going to prove them, you can't move without me. but give me a heads up if it's regional interests, deb haaland

might care about the new mexico ones. or climate change, racial equity, whatever else she listed. so this administration really wanted to do all it could to produce energy, which is what every american knows we need to do and what our allies know we need to do, and what putin hopes we don't do, i think one thing they could do is to get the acting assistant secretary, laurel daniel davis' boot off the neck of the american energy sector, because right now she's in charge. every permit on federal lands listed in her memo of march march 21 -- i'm sorry, march 19, 2021, she's in charge of. final resource management plans, records of decisions, coal

leasing, mining operations, r.s. 2477, lapped sales, exchanges -- land sales, exchanges. what else? applications for permits to drill, oil and gas leases, applications for royalty releaf. she's in charge of all that, right now. this administration, the president, jen psaki and others has the audacity to look the american people in the eye and say we're trying to do everything we can in our power to produce more. if you were, you would rescind this memo. rescind this memo. the next time the president or some of his staff or secretary of energy or secretary of interior try to spin the american people, tell them they're trying to help, i hope my friends in the media go, well, what about this memo? come on. that's like basic federal government 101. if you're telling everybody stop, halt, and everything in

the country has to be approved by her, that's not the way it works, normally. but because of their anti-energy agenda, she's making the calls. but to make sure that you give her a heads up if it's related to some of the far left agenda that she literally lays out in the memo. i hope my friends in the media ask some questions. i hope they ask the question, is it related to this memo that new mexico is getting all the drilling permits? it would be a good question to ask, i think. don't you think? i think so. alaska's not getting a lot. but new mexico is. hmm. i wonder why. maybe that is related to making sure she gets, quote, early notification of items that are high local, state, or regional interests. madam president, this is not a

laughing matter. there's so much that we have to focus on in the world today, in america today, and one of the things this administration needs to do is they need a major course correction on their energy policy. you can't let energy be dictated by the far left of the democratic party. you can't let national security of america be dictated by the woke elements of the democratic party. and if you really are serious, mr. president, of the united states, you need to call deb haalan and say rescind that memo. lell the professional staff of the federal agencies, of which the president is in charge, do their job, that they've done with every other administration. rescind this memo and start helping our country produce

american energy again. i yield the floor.

mr. schumer: madam president. the presiding officer: majority leader. mr. schumer: i ask unanimous consent that the senate proceed to legislative session and be in aer period of morning business,

with senators permitted to speak therein for up to ten minutes each. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. schumer: madam president, scawct that the senate proceed to the consideration of senate res. 544 submitted earlier today. the presiding officer: the clerk will report. the clerk: recognizing the importance of maple syrup production to mained a designating march 27, 2022, as maine maple sunday. the presiding officer: is there objection to proceeding to the measure? without objection, the senate will proceed. mr. schumer: 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. mr. schumer: madam president, i ask unanimous consent that the senate proceed to the consideration of senate res. -- 545 submitted earlier today. the presiding officer: the clerk will report. the clerk: s. res. 545 designating the week beginning

march 13, 2022, as national tribal colleges and universities week. the presiding officer: is there objection to proceeding to the measure? without objection, the senate will proceed. mr. schumer: 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. mr. schumer: and finally, madam president, i ask unanimous consent that when the senate completes its business today, it adjourn until 10:00 a.m. on tuesday, march 15. and that following the prayer and pledge, the morning hour be deemed expired, the journal of procedures be approved to date, the time for the two leaders be reserved for their use later in the day and morning business be closed. that upon the conclusion of morning business, the senate proceed to executive session and resume consideration of the young nomination postcloture, that the senate recess from 12:30 until 2:15 to allow weekly caucus meetings. further, that all postcloture time on the young nomination expire at 4:00 p.m.

finally, if any nominations are confirmed during tuesday's session, the motions to be considered be considered made and laid upon the table and the president be immediately notified of the senate's action. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. schumer: for the information of senators, members should expect up to three roll call votes at 4:00 p.m. if there's no further business to come before the senate, i ask that it stand adjourned under the previous order. the presiding officer: the senate stands adjourned until claim placement one for the rest of the week lawmakers will be working on judicial nominations. when the senate returns watch here on cspan2. >> c-span is your unfiltered view of government. funded by these television companies and more. including wow.

>> the world has changed. today at fast reliable internet connection is something no one can live without. so wow is there for our customers with speed, reliability, value and choice. now more than ever it starts with great internet. >> a while support c-span as a public service along with these television providers. giving you a front row seat to democracy. >> on the global economic impact of russia's invasion of ukraine. was hosted by the "washington post" live. >> i am david calmness of the post. my guest today is david the president of the world bank. the world economy has been on a roller coaster the last two years. first with the covid pandemic,