military families in privatized housing on u.s. bases. and an oversite hearing with the director of the consumer financial protection bureau. again, you'll find those live at c-span.org. >> now available at the c-span shop. c-span's 2022 congressional directory and go there to order a copy of the directory. this spiral-bound book with contact information for every member of congress. bios and committees, and every c-span shop purchase helps to support the c-span nonprofit operation. >> the u.s. senate is gavelling in to work on the nomination of lael brainard to serve as vice chair of the reserve record of

governors. president biden nominated here in november. the confirmation vote will be 2:15 eastern today. live coverage of the u.s. senate here on c-span2. . the presiding officer: the senate will come to order. the chaplain, the reverend dr. barry black, will open the senate in prayer. the chaplain: let us pray. almighty god, who has promised to hear our prayers, incline your ear to us, providing us with those things we have faithfully requested according to your will. lord, we have asked for your presence in ukraine. we have desired for you to continue to be the refuge and strength for those experiencing

defense for those experiencing the horrors of war, providing for their needs with your mighty power. we have requested that you inspire and empower our lawmakers to walk by faith and not by sight. lord you are a faithful god and we place our trust in you. save us from the traps set by the forces of evil. we pray in your mighty name. amen. the presiding officer: please join me in reciting the pledge of allegiance to the flag. i pledge allegiance to the flag of the united states of america, and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under god, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.

the presiding officer: the clerk will read a communication to the senate. the clerk: washington d.c, april 26, 2022. to the senate: under the provisions of rule 1, paragraph 3, of the standing rules of the senate, i hereby appoint the honorable raphael g. warnock, a senator from the state of georgia, to perform the duties of the chair. signed: patrick j. leahy, president pro tempore. the presiding officer: under the previous order, the leadership time is reserved. morning business is closed. under the previous order, the senate will proceed to executive session and resume consideration of the following nomination, which the clerk will report.

the clerk: nomination, federal reserve system, lael brainard of the district of columbia to be vice chairman of the board of governors.

mr. schumer: mr. president. the presiding officer: the majority leader. the presiding officer: the majority leader. mr. schumer: as we begin this five-week work period, senate democrats' focus will remain the same as it's been since last year -- fighting inflation and lowering costs for american families. at times we will pursue this goal through legislation, as has been the case with our competition bill, with legislation to reform shipping practices that we passed recently or finding ways to lower prescription drug costs.

and to that end today, the agriculture committee is also holding a hearing on legislation to improve transparency in meat prices. in addition to legislation, senate democrats will also help lower costs by confirming the right people to serve in the federal government. on that note, we will aim today to finish the confirmation of lael brainard to serve as vice chair of the federal reserve board of governors. soon the senate will also work to confirm another very important nominee -- mr. alvaro m. bedoya to serve as commissioner of the f.t.c., the federal trade commission of. of all the agencies in the federal government, the f.t.c. is among the best equipped for protecting americans from price gougers, manipulators and those trying to rip off american consumers, or at least the f.t.c. would be if it had full membership. but sadly, the f.t.c. has been stuck at a two-two deadlock for well over a year, rendering it

incapable of executing the full breadth of its agenda. we've had two democrats, two republicans, the republican nominees have resisted going after big oil and so many of the other excesses of corporate america. and who pays the price? in a very literal sense, it's american consumers as they see prices rise on everything from groceries to the number that pops up every time they fill up their tank. but the story is grossly different in corporate america, and an f.t.c. with full membership could shine a light as to why. while americans across the board are making sacrifices to support themselves and their families, corporate america is raking in record profits. as one article from yahoo finance summarized earlier this year, corporate america's 2021 profits were higher than ever. corporate america's profits were higher than ever. perhaps no sector has evoked

more frustration and anger from the american people as the largest oim and gas -- oil and gas companies and the prices they are charging. last year the top 25 oil and gas companies reported $205 billion in profits. where's that money gone? to help american consumers? no way. to ease our energy troubles? not at all. according to one news source yesterday, 28 of the largest oil and gas companies gave out $394 million in c.e.o. compensation. and in the fourth quarter last year stock buybacks among these companies rose by more than 2,000 percent. 2,000 percent. all this extra money they're making they put in the pockets of the c.e.o.'s and the wealthy shareholders who dominate in the oil company ownership. just think about that. americans are paying more and

more at the pump and struggling to afford the basics, and oil companies, which are seeing their highest profits in years defer to executives and shareholders through corporate buybacks instead of american families. once we have an f.t.c. with full membership that will have the means and power to look under the hood of america's energy sector and shine a much-needed light on why big oil is pumping out record profits even as consumers struggle. so completing the membership of the f.t.c. will be a priority, and we will work to finish the confirmation on mr. bedoya as soon as we can. on ukraine, later this week president biden is expected to send congress another request for emergency funding to support the people of ukraine in their fight against russian aggression. when the president makes his request, the senate should be ready to work quickly to approve this funding. every penny of american aid has

been money well spent. this fight in a real sense is about tyranny versus democracy itself. it's a mannekian struggle. it has been two months since vladimir putin began his immoral and savage war against the ukrainian people. you see the pictures. it breaks your heart. savagery of mr. putin killing women and children. so far things have gone disastrously for russian troops as hopes have been dashed. the ukrainian people forced into a war not the their choosing and having suffered losses of inhumane proportion have given putin a much tougher fight than he imagined. outnumbered and outequipped. the bravery and valueans of the -- and valueans of the ukraine people remains unbroken. putin remains the most isolated leader in the world although

shame on the countries playing'sy with him, including china. sadly this fight seems far from over. the united states has a moral obligation to help the ukrainian people with the tools they need for as long as they need them. again, this is about tyranny versus democracy itself, and which direction will the world turn in this, the 21st century? once the president makes his request to congress, proving additional aid for ukraine will be a must. i expect both sides to work with swift bipartisan cooperation to get it done. i also expect the senate to move quickly on the nomination of president biden's choice for our ambassador to ukraine, bridget brink. ms. brink's nomination is terrific news that comes at a critical moment. she's deeply experienced. she's already won bipartisan support in this chamber and is very much needed as the u.s.

seeks to strengthen our diplomatic ties to the war-torn nation. ms. brink's nomination will be a top priority for the senate when she comes before the chamber. on covid relief, finally, there's another issue which republicans must work with democrats, passing another round of covid relief. covid funding is not a matter of nice to have if we can afford it. covid funding is a must have. it is something our nation cannot possibly afford to go without. yesterday, the white house made clear that other countries like japan, the philippines, vietnam are already in front of us with init comes to purchasing news vaccines and treatments. american companies with their ingenuity come up with these vaccines and treatments, but because we're unwilling, our republican colleagues so far have blocked, financing this, other countries are going to buy from us. we don't want to be in a position in the fall where we desperately need these medicines, but our companies have signed contracts with other

companies -- other countries, rather, excuse me, other countries. and that would be a huge mistake. given our federal budget, it's a small amount to ask that we provide money for these therapeutics so that we can have them, our country for our folks, as much as the rest of the world may need them. so that we have vaccines, the best vaccines developed and ready to go, so we have enough testing and treatment. but other countries are beating america to the punch, because republicans have blocked the senate from approving new funding. the answer to avoiding another shut down of -- shutdown of our communities is very simple. senate republicans should work with us to quickly pass another round of covid funding. it's no the more complicated than that. let me say it again. about we can't to keep life as close to normal down the line, if we want to keep schools, churches and businesses open, if god forbid another aggressive variant arises, republicans

should work with us to approve more money for vaccines, testing and lifesaving therapeutics. the longer that senate republicans hold out on working with us to approve new funding, the higher the costs will be for our country down the line, and when we don't get back to normal, we can't stay at normal because of a new variant, people will know what happened. i yield the floor. god forbid that happens. we don't want it to happen. we want them to work with us, but unfortunately, so far, we're not seeing that cooperation. from some we have. i must be clear. i had good discussions with several of our republicans, but then it was blocked by the republican leadership. i yield the floor.

republican from nebraska, a top republican on the ways and means committee, one of the most powerful committees in congress perhaps the least 94 views or don't don't know ways and means committee what do you -- what are you in charge with? >> guest: taxes and a tell relating to a deduction from your paycheck. so social security, unemploymen

unemployment, poverty programs, medicare, some pretty timely topics. >> host: the top republican and former chair of the committee, congressman brady is retiring come one of three republicans looking to replace him in that post and republicans may be taking over the house come november. why do you want to take that job? >> guest: it's an opportunity i think to bring more opportunity to americans. it's always my goal, and a tell young folks back in the district all the way up to senior citizens that my number one job is to foster opportunity for the american people, more specifically nebraskans and i think the ways and means committee is a great way to do that, not just with tax policy but like i said international trade, social security, medicare, very important topics. >> host: very important topic that brady talks that is inflation. what can be done now?

>> guest: we need to quit injecting money into the economy like has been done over the last 15 months. we are at a place now where inflation is such a heavy tax on folks who really can afford the least. and so it won't be just one bill necessarily but i think fostering policies we need to get some trade policies back in place to reduce tariffs, to assist with bringing our supply chain back online into a productive fashion. >> host: how much impact our supply chain issues continue supply chain issues having on that inflation number? >> guest: i think it's huge. between inflation and then the associated labor shortage, i i went to get an oil change yesterday and they told me i had to wait for five hours or get an appointment two weeks in advance. not exactly the way it was before the pandemic, or even within the pandemic for a while.

things economically it's like they're upside down right now. the housing shortage of labor shortage inflation all feeding one another in in a way that consumers are really being harmed. >> host: adrian smith our guests republican from nebraska top republican on the house ways and means committee, the house ways and means subcommittee on trade and take your phone calls with us until the bottom of the hour at 930 public. republicans 202-748-8001. democrats 202-748-8000. independence 202-748-8002. republican from nebraska the third district, what should viewers know about the third district? >> guest: it's a large with more cattle that people actually. we help feed the world in many ways not just with beef but row crops, corn, wheat, soybeans and western nebraska with sugar beets. we got some significant fires happening right now, some prairie fires that are really

causing damage to some communities especially with an agriculture. so 80 counties of nebraska's 93 counties are in the third district and so with a lot of territory to cover but i'm grateful to have the opportunity to meet with nebraskans when i can out across the district and bring the ideas back to washington. >> host: 80 counties, most of the state where does it rank in terms of biggest congressional district in the country? >> guest: there some large states ahead of us and i haven't actually counted it lately after redistricting but we went from 75 counties to 80 with his last redistricting, and not significant changes but certainly it did expand the footprint of the third district. >> host: one of the issues you might think a congressman from such a larger district would be interested in, telehealth especially during the pandemic. what have you been working on on that front? >> guest: i introduced the

bill to allow telehealth to treat seniors in place especially seniors in a nursing home rather than transferring them on an ambulance to hospital who knows how far away to allow telehealth and the associated medicare reimbursement that is currently not allowed but that medicare reimbursement would accommodate the telehealth measures that i was working on before the pandemic. obviously the pandemic has elevated the need for telehealth not just in rural areas but everywhere. and some other flexibilities, utilizing technology and telehealth, it's moving target with advancing technologies so we have to stand top of that and get as much support behind that. it's very bipartisan. i appreciate the fact that telehealth is such a bipartisan issue. >> host: let's chat with a few callers. james out of wisconsin a democrat, good morning. >> caller: hello. can you meet? >> host: yes, sir. >> caller: okay.

good morning, congressman smith. i'm very happy to see a midwesterner on this show. i think you folks behave a little different than some of our coastal folks. my comment is i don't believe that our biggest problem is putin or the border or any of these things that most of you talk about. i think our biggest problem, mr. smith, rought many crises on our country. one of the worst is the collapse of law and order on our southern border. last month customs and border protection reported over 221,000 apprehensions. that's up 33% just since

february. it's the highest monthly total in 22 years. we've already hit more than one million encounters in just the first half of this fiscal year. but, alas, this could still be just the beginning. the department of homeland security is bracing for an even bigger surge in the weeks and months to come. authorities are stealing for the possibility that we could see 18,000 new people showing up every single day. in 2020, president-elect biden said that ending up with two million people on our border would be the last thing we need. but his own policies would only produce exactly that outcome.

in 2021, on president biden's watch, two million people from at least -- listen to this -- 160 different countries were stopped along our southern border. and now immigration officials are anticipating totals that could more than triple -- triple last year's record. against this backdrop, with illegal immigrants and deadly fentanyl pouring into our country, any administration living in reality would be working overtime to actually secure the border. instead, even now, president biden is trying to throw away what little security still exists. for two years, since the start of the pandemic, a legal authority called title 42, has empowered the government to simply turn around a large share of the people they catch and

send them right back where they came from. every month, c.b.p. uses this tool to keep tens of thousands of illegal immigrants out of the catch-and-release pipeline and send them back to their home countries. but now, unbelievably, president biden has announced he's going to cancel these legal authorities. he wants to rip off the one remaining band-aid that's preserved at least some shred of law and order. the biden administration is claiming the pandemic is over and finished on our southern border. now they don't believe the pandemic is over, however, for american citizens. oh, no, democrats actually want congress to approve more funding specifically because covid is not finished. the biden administration's

official position is that the pandemic is over for illegal immigrants but not for the american people. every day brings more confusing spin for president biden and his staff. their latest claim is that congress needs to fix their problem for them. then if these title 42 authorities end, after president biden has announced he will end them, it will somehow be congress's fault. that's absurd. the administration has the discretion, the legislative branch has given them the tool. it is the same tool they had the whole time. they need to tell the radical left to take a hike and keep sending them back to their home countries. apparently that's asking too much. the biden administration is

summabling -- stumbling through this core responsibility with no vision, no plan and backward priorities. democrats would rather appease their radical base with functional open borders than conduct the bare minimum in enforcement. the administration's decision is so obviously crazy that even a number of our senate democratic colleagues who have been walking in lockstep with the president all year are looking like they are breaking ranks. well, i welcome our colleagues who are finally making angry noises about this border crises. the problem is their lockstep democratic votes other a year helped produce it. for over a year democrats

have -- supported the biden administration's fail border policy. they have not done anything about it. not a single senate democrat voted for commonsense republican amendments like the remain in mexico policy and the cost of their bad decisions gets worse every day. last week, a heroic american service member paid the ultimate price, specialist bishop e. evans of the texas national guard, had been assigned to help contend with the flow of immigrants across the rio grande. he lost his own life trying to save people who had gotten into deadly trouble and the white house response. their spokesman was asked yesterday about the tragic loss. she brushed it off. she said he was there on behalf

of texas, not the federal government. that unbelievably tone deaf response perfectly captures the administration's failure to take responsibility. democrats have built this border kristine by letting the -- crisis by letting the radical left run the border for more than a year. if my democratic friends have a change of heart and now believe in border security, they will have to do more than have indigent press releases and call it a day. i suggest the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. quorum call:

>> host: give me the question. >> caller: back to questions. can you tell me what the gdp was throughout the trump era? can you tell me what the gdp is right now? how many jobs with all those tax cuts greater how many jobs have been crated under biden? did you start your day? i would imagine you would have your own answer, but most people

would say, oh, made a cup of coffee, took the dog out for a walk, went for a run. another answer might come to mind, i took my right vitamin t. in fact, 70% of people in america take a dietary supplement, including me. i take a vitamin tablet. i don't know if it does me any good. i figure it doesn't do any harm. i believe in it and i believe americans ought to be able to make that choice. i also believe that americans who take vitamins, minerals and herbs for their well-being have a right to know what's in them. pretty basic. many people assume if that product is sold in the united states of america, somebody has inspected it and it must be safe. unfortunately, that's not always true. the food and drug administration has the authority to regulate dietary supplements and take dangerous products off the market, but it lacks information that it needs to use

this authority effectively. the food and drug administration can't even tell us how many dietary supplements are sold in america. they give us a range -- somewhere between 50,000 different dietary supplements and 80,000. 50,000 and 80,000? a gap of 30,000 products, what's going on here? they don't even know how many products are being sold, let alone what they are or what's in them. let's go back to 1994. that was the year congress passed a law and gave the f.d.a. the authority to regulate supplements. we all know that the food and drug administration has the most important responsibility when it comes to the drugs that we take to make sure they are two thing. safe and effective. but what about dietary supplements? we passed something t c dietary supplement health and education act.

the law made some progress. but there was a problem with it. manufacturers of dietary supplements -- get this now -- manufacturers of those vitamins and minerals that are for sale in all those shops and all those drugstore are not required to tell the food and drug administration what products they're selling in the united states under what names. they're not required to disclose to the f.d.a. what is in those products are where they are manufactured. and believe me, a lot of them are manufactured outside the united states. so when it comes to dietary supplements, the food and drug administration and the american consumers are pretty much flying blind. making matters worse, since 1994 this dietary supplement industry has grown dramatically. listen to these figures. in 1994 there were 4,000 dietary supplements sold in the united states. today, as i said earlier, the number is as high as 80,000.

so in 27, 30 years we've seen the number of dietary supplements for sale go from 4,000 to 80,000. in 1994, dietary supplements were a $4 billion industry. today over $50 billion in annual revenue. let me give you an example of one ingredient sold in dietary supplements today in the united states. it's called tianeptin. it can produce opiate-like effects. it's a prescription antidepressant in some companies but not approved for any use in the united states of america. yet it's inexpensive and easy to produce. some have nicknamed it, quote, gas station heroin because you can buy it easily at gas stations across america. you can buy it online. one click delivered to your door. it's marketed as a safe

supplement that can improve users' moods and enhance concentration. how many ads do you see on television -- maybe i'm paying closer attention to them these days -- to say take this supplement and your memory is better. you can concentrate more. you're smiling, mr. president, because we've all seen them. they're on television all the time. it's marketed also as a way to fight substance use disorder, this tianeptin. last year consumer reports -- and i respect this magazine very much -- published the results of an investigation into this supplement. it told the story of a michigan woman who had you'd heroin for ten -- who had used heroin for ten years and survived countless offenders -- overdoses and arrests. after her sister overdosed and died she decided it was time to get clean. she was fright end. she heard about tianeptin.

maybe that could help her, so she tried it. she became hooked and dangerously ill, ending up in the hospital with a dangerous infection called sepsis. one doctor said to her, i don't know if i can save your limbs, but i'll try. another doctor told her she came within a day or two of dying. she was lucky. she survived. she now speaks publicly about the dangers of the product that nearly killed her. in her words, quote, this is heroin times 1,000, and it's very devastating. it's life-destroying. i don't really know how to put into words how horrible this substance is. in the midst of a deadly opioid epidemic and a covid pandemic, some unscrupulous characters are hustling to make a buck off people's pain by selling them an unregulated product that might make them sick or even kill them, and the food and drug administration lacks the basic knowledge, the basic information it needs to go after the people who are peddling

these dangerous, life-threatening products. when asked about the situation, a food and drug administration spokesman said the agency has, quote, no systemic way of knowing what dietary supplement products are on the market. think of that. the number-one agency in the federal government who you assume is taking a look at these products that you're buying at the vitamins and mineral store has no way of knowing what's even for sale. as a result, the f.d.a., she said, is, quote, left trying to play catch-up after the bad results occur. this week senator braun of indiana and i are introducing a bipartisan bill to protect americans by requiring supplement manufacturers to register their products with the food and drug administration. our bill would require dietary supplement manufacturers to provide the f.d.a. -- listen, the information we're asking -- the names of their products, the ingredients they contain,

an electronic copy of the label, a list of any health claims that they've made, and more. all of this information would be available to consumers so americans have the right to know. if there's a problem with the supplement, the f.d.a. could quickly check the database to see what other products might contain the same ingredients and warn innocent consumers. dietary supplement makers that refuse to register with the f.d.a. would see their products misbranded and f.d.a. should be given the appropriate authority to take action against them. now i've been down this road before. i wanted to make sure that the dietary supplement manufacturers, when we had a report of an adverse event, somebody took their pill thinking it was a harmless vitamin or mineral that might help them, it turned out to be dangerous. they got really sick or died. they had to report it. i worked on the floor for years to get that passed into law.

my nemisis, my challenger on the whole issue was the late senator from utah, orrin hatch. eventually we worked out an agreement, adverse event reporting was required. i might argue that it never worked quite as we expected it to, but at least it was an effort to alert people that sometimes what looks like an innocent vitamin or mineral can be dangerous, and the notion that the government has already checked it out is just plain wrong, as i've said here. but that was then. and i'll tell you what happened. i went into vitamin stores in the state of illinois and saw my picture on every cash register. i was enemy number one because i asked the dangerous supplements report to the government if somebody gets sick when they took them. but having said that, i want to make something very clear about the difference the legislation senator braun and i have introduced will face. i've been through this, as i said.

i proposed a change about ten years ago and the dietary supplement industry hated me. they fought me tooth and nail. they hated my idea like the devil hates holy water. in the years senator braun and i started talking to them about this new bill, there's been a significant change, and i want to salute the industry for this change. a strong majority of dietary supplement industry now supports responsible reporting requirements and stroarng -- stronger protections. hats off to them. the industry's largest trade association, the council for responsible nutrition, has endorsed our bill. other trade associations supporting enhanced reporting requirements generally. we hope these groups will join us in the effort. responsible dietary supplement manufacturers should welcome this because the people who are abusing the market and endangering consumers are giving them a bad name. we're also glad for the support of pew charitable trust which

worked diligently for years to protect consumers. our bill will give the f.d.a. what they must have in the information to protect americans from dangerous products being sold as health supplements. our bill will give them the information and the power. we urge our colleagues to join us in passing it as soon as possible. it is commonsense, bipartisan compromise that will protect consumers' health and save lives. the bottom line is i am willing to fight to protect every americans' right to buy safe dietary supplements. it may help them, it may not. that's not my judgment. each individual consumer should make that choice. as long as that dietary supplement is not dangerous to you or to americans, as long as we know that it's for sale, who made it, what's in it, i think that basing information is what the government should gather. the vast majority of these supplements will not harm people, and the dietary supplement manufacturers know that and that's why they're supporting our effort. i hope that more of my

colleagues will join this bipartisan undertaking. mr. president, i ask that the next statement i'm about to make be placed in a separate part in the record. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. durbin: i watched a troubling program on "60 minutes" back in february. it detailed military tactical vehicle accidents. the report highlighted a terrible problem that has resulted in rollovers and other serious accidents involving the army's most ubiquitous vehicle -- the humvee. some of the safety upgrades such as armor kits and other upgrades that are designed to protect our war fighters in humvees during combat from i.e.d.'s and other threats can in fact make the humvees less stable and more prone to rollovers. here's what it boiled down to. when we went into iraq with our humvees, we ran into these i.e.d.'s, these explosive devices that were set on the side of the road. they were triggered when humvees came by. they blew up these humvees and killed the occupants, military

personnel from the united states. i also named many of them as well. the first soldier i visited after our invasion in iraq at walter reed was a soldier from the ohio national guard who lost half of one leg as a result of one of these i.e.d. explosions while he drove a humvee. so we decided to do something about it. it was a dramatic and emergency undertaking to put armored plating on the sides of these humvees so as they went down the road when these explosive devices went off, it would protect the people sitting inside. i know it was an effort to do this as quickly as possible because the rock island arsenal in the state of illinois jumped to the challenge and really responded in a matter of weeks, putting armor plating on the humvees. what happened, of course, is when we put that weighted plating on the sides to protect the occupants, it changed the balance of these vehicles, and

many of them started being involved in rollover accidents. by solving one problem, we introduced instability into the vehicle that haunted us and created more problems and even deaths. in fact, just last year the g.a.o. reported that more than 3,750 noncombat accidents as a result of tactical vehicle accidents in the army and marine corps occurred between fiscal years 2010 and 2019. since then the army has pursued a number of improvements, including training for steaft officers and -- safety officers and inspections as part of their tactical vehicle drivers training. that has helped the situation. the army is also working to incorporate a variety of safety upgrades to brand-new and recently produced humvees including antilock brake and electronic stability control safety kits to help prevent

rollovers and accidents. in fact, since 2017, all new army humvees already have these safety kits installed. this includes humvees procured as part of our partnership at rock island arsenal where the safety kits are actually part of the integrated chassis system delivered to the arsenal. as the army continues its joint thriect cal vehicle strategy the humvee will continue to be the workhorse of the future. army tactical vehicle fleet is led by these units with over 50,000 in service for decades to come. as such, we owe it to the fighting forces to give them newer, safer humvees, and we must ensure that recently produced humvees currently in the fleet, those used across combat and training and other operational capabilities, are updated with safety kits. the army is also reviewing additional safety upgrades such as air bags and restraint systems that can help save lives as well. all of these critical

investments must be made in parallel. the "60 minutes" piece has made clear the risk has costs. this is a call to action for all of us in congress. the fiscal year 22 omnibus included $184 million for more safety kits on existing humvees. i look forward to working with the army on further efforts to make the humvee safer and to keep our promise to protect the lives of our men and women in uniform. mr. president, i yield the floor, and suggest the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. quorum call:

the presiding officer: the republican whip. mr. thune: mr. president, i ask unanimous consent the quorum call be suspended. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. thune: mr. president, on saturday, we lost a remarkable former colleague, senator orrin hatch. orrin rose from poverty to become one of the longest serving senators in united states history, and the longest

serving republican senator ever. during his more than 40-year senate career, he built a record of accomplishment that included landmark legislation, like the americans with disabilities act, the tax cuts and jobs act, and the religious freedom restoration act, which he authored with his close friend from across the aisle, senator ted kennedy. at the time of orrin's retirement, no senator alive had had as many pieces of legislation signed into law. i was privileged to serve under orrin's leadership at the senate finance committee, one of three influential senate committees that he chaired, during his tenure in the senate. in addition to being an outstanding legislator and a principled conservative, orrin hatch was also a cherished and good-humored colleagues and a deeply kind human being. it's no surprise his friendships

spanned both side of the aisle, or that both democrat and republican leaders paid tribute to him yesterday. mr. president, i know i speak for more than myself when i a i that i have missed his presence in the senate. his death is a loss for our country, and especially for his beloved state of utah, which he served so faithfully and so well during his long career. my thoughts and prayers this week are with orrin's wife of more than 64 years, elaine, with orrin's six children, and with his dozens of grandchildren and great-grandchildren. mr. president, the first year of democrat governance in washington has produced surging inflation, a disastrous withdrawl from afghanistan and a massive border crisis. unfortunately, so far, 2022 isn't looking much better. our inflation crisis keeps getting worse, energy prices are soaring, and the biden border crisis is reaching new heights.

mr. president, when president biden took office inflation was 1.4%, well within the federal reserve's target inflation rate of 2%. it might have remained there had democrats not decided to pass a $1.9 trillion partisan spending spree under the guys of covid -- guise the covid relief. mere weeks, i might add, after congress had approved a fifth bipartisan covid relief bill that met essentially all current pressing covid needs. the democrats' decision to flood the economy with unnecessary government money set off an inflation crisis that shows little sign of stopping. march saw inflation hit 8.5%, a 40-year high. everywhere americans look, they're paying more, more for groceries, more for gas, more for utilities, more for furniture, more for used cars and trucks, and the list goes on. while wages increased in 2021,

inflation outstripped wage growth. which means instead of a pay increase, many americans saw a de facto pay cut. needless to say, inflation is having the biggest impact on those who can least afford it. the president likes to tout job creation and economic growth. although most of what he takes credit for is the natural consequence of economic recovery after the pandemic, but his claims mean little to families who are wondering how they'll be able to pay their soaring grocery bills or whether they can afford the gas they need for the rest of the month. speaking of affording gas, thanks to democrats we're also rapidly approaching a full-blown energy crisis. gas prices increased on average to an all-time high in march, according to a.a.a. that's on top of the soaring inflationary costs of electricity and home gas services, among other energy commodities. as of yesterday, gas was $4.12 a

gallon, up from $2.39 when president biden took office. the administration, of course, has attempted to blame this hike on putin. but the vast majority of the 72% increase in gas prices sips president biden -- since president biden took office predates, predates the war in ukraine and sanctions on russia. every gallon of gas purchased at currents prices hits family budgets hard, especially in rural states like south dakota, where driving long distances is the norm. diesel averaged $2.68 a gallon in january 2021. as of yesterday, it was $5.07. that not only hits our transportation sector and truckers, but farmers across the country as they plant their fields this spring. mr. president, there's no easy solution on inflation, but the first imperative is to do no more harm.

once democrats saw the inflationary effects of their $ 1.9 trillion spending bill, this he should have instantly resolved to restrain from any more unnecessary government spending. big spending, however, is was -- a way of life for democrats. instead of imhet ig to -- committing to spending pretrain, they pushed for a second massive spending spree that would have made our inflation situation that much worse. whale that reckless tax-and-spending spree was mercifully halted in the senate last december, the president's recent budget request made clear democrats are still intent on implementing many of their tax-and-spending spree's measures. that's right. democrats unleashed the worst inflation in 40 years by flooding the economy with unnecessary government money, and they still want to double down on that strategy. if democrats have their way on government spending, our inflation crisis could last for years to come.

mr. president, while there are few things the president and democrats can do to speed up the end of their self-inflicted inflation crisis, other than not making it worse, there are actions that democrats can take to address the high energy costs that americans are facing. and chief among those things is unleerk american -- unleashing american energy production of both alternative and conventional energy. unfortunately, the president seems pretty committed to doing the opposite when it comes to conventional energy. he's asked other countries to increase their conventional energy production, but he's made it clear that he is not interested in seeing the united states do the same. while his administration is finally conducting sales for new onshore oil and gas leases, it has reduced the land available for such leases and substantially increased the royalty rate. accepting a clear signal to american -- sending a clear signal to american energy

produce es that the administration is reluctant to collaborate with them. mean child, the security and exchange commission has proposed requiring costly, new financial discloashes yours that -- discloser -- disclosures that would discourage energy production. the fact is that our country will still need oil and farl gas for years to -- natural gas for years to come. if the democrats and president didn't want americans to be paying sky-high prices to fill their cars, they need to focus on earn couragingson oil -- encouraging responsible oil and gas production at home. which, i might add, puts americans to work in good-paying jobs and develops resources with fewer emissions than produced in other countries. forcing our country to increase our reliance on foreign energy sources will do nothing but drive up energy prices. not to mention jeopardizing national security. boosting domestic production on

the other hand would drive down energy prices, while ensuring that we don't have to relye -- rely on dictators on unstable countries for energy. mr. president, in addition to our energy and inflation cries crease, -- crises, we're facing a massive crisis at the southern border. almost from the day the president took office, we've seen a huge surge in individuals attempting to illegally make their way across the southern border. in march alone, u.s. customs and border protection encount ed 221,303 individuals attempting to cross our southern border illegally. in the first quarter of 2022, more than half a million individuals were app representedded -- apprehended trying to get across our southern border. the influx shows no signs of stopping. what has the president done to address this crisis? next to nothing. in fact, the truth is that this

is a crisis largely of the president's own making. a series of actions that he's taken to weaken border security and immigration enforcement has encouraged a flood of illegal immigration across our southern border. in fact, the president's lawyers are over at the supreme court today arguing against a measure to discourage illegal immigration. now the president is on track to make our current border crisis much worse by lifting title 42 covid-19 restrictions that have provided for the immediate deportation of individuals who have crossed the border illegally. once these restrictions are lifted, the department of homeland security expects as many as 18,000 migrants mer -- per day. 18,000 per day. to attempt to cross our southern border. i mentioned that we've seen more than half a million attempted

illegal crossings in the first three months of this year. without title 42 restrictions, we could be seeing more than half a million attempted crossings each month. it is clear that the president has no substantive plan in place to deal with such a surge. i was relieved, as i think a lot of americans were, and i think a lot of democrats, honestly, in the senate, that yesterday a federal judge issued an order temporarily preserving title 42. but this is not a permanent solution to the problem. title 42 should not be lifted until the president has a robust plan in place for discouraging illegal immigration, securing our border and preventing human trafficking and drug trafficking and quickly deporting those who seek to illegally enter our country. so here's where we are, mr. president, we have an inflation crisis that is driving

up costs for american families. we have an energy crisis with sky-high gas prices fueling pain at the pump. and we have a security, humanitarian and enforcements crisis at our southern border. that's what a year and a quarter of democrat governance looks like, and since democrats show no signs of taking steps to address these crises, that's what democrat governance is likely to look like for the foreseeable future. meanwhile, the american people will continue to pay the price. mr. president, i yield the floor, and i suggest the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. quorum call:

quorum call:

>>. [inaudible] ... senate

committee on banking, housing and urban affairs will come to order. today's hearing is a hybrid format. witnesses are in person as we see but members have the option to appear in person or virtually. we will consider the nominations of two highly qualified nominees, doctor lael brainerd and sandra thompson to be director of the federal housing finance agency . it's amazing what a difference a year makes. we have today safe and effective vaccines that are saving lives and getting people back to work. 207 million americans are fully vaccinated. our committee has weathered,

our economy has weathered the storm and rebounded in 2021 we added in record 6.4 million new jobs, more than any year since 1939. it isn't just the jobs numbers, it's the quality of those jobs. workers are demanding raises and they'refinally getting them . they're changing jobs because people finally have options. last year has illustrated our economy works best when it works for everyone. not just wall street, not just the top one percent, everyone. whether you punch a clock or swipe a badge, earn a salary or make tips, whether you're caring for an aging parents, no matter where you live, what kind of work you do economic growth won't mean much if it doesn't work all reach all workers, families in scranton andunities of all sizes all over the country . the president's nominee doctor brainerd and thompson to put these workers and their families at the center of our government and at the

center of our economy to deliver results that improve their lives. doctor brainerd is a leading economist to understand a strong economy is one where workers have power. she's committed to a worker centered policy that boosts employment and list wages, something every member of the feds ratesetting committee has reaffirmed. she's led the way in modernizing and strengthening the important community reinvestment act, something senator warner has been interested in. a landmark civil rights law to undo the shameful legacy of redlining and lending discrimination and spurring investment inall neighborhoods . her leadership and to the people whose lives and livelihoods are affected civil rights leaders, affordable rights advocates, banks of all sizes. she brought everyone to the table and she's working to ensure banks meet the needs of all of our communities. during this pandemic she served as a steady hand

working shoulder to shoulder with chair powell to stabilize our economy and steer the country out ofour of this . doctor brainerd has a record of bipartisan service and join the fed in 2015 from 2009 you was under secretary at the department of treasury and worked in the first bush administration. as deputy she worked in the first bush administration as a staff economy economist and deputy national economic adviser in the clinton administration, she was a professor at the institute of technology. she'll be tasked with supporting efforts that are already underway to empower workers and refocus our economy on main street and make sure all americans have good jobs with growing paychecks and affordable cost of living. that means supporting efforts to close the racial wealth and income gaps that have

barely shrunk in decades. the fed has noted the average black and hispanic or latino households earn half as much as the average house.and only about 15 to 20 percent as much wealth. as one of our colleagues once said when we all dobetter we all do better . with governor brainerd as vice chair of the fed americans will have someone that understands workers, not corporations, not wall street workers create economicgrowth . her commitment to the success of all americans is clear in all the work she's done throughout her distinguished career. acting director thompson has a similar long and distinguished career in public service and her time is acting director she'staken meaningful steps to put homeowners and families first . over the past six months she has directed the gst to strengthen their plans to preserve affordable housing and support manufactured housing in rural areas.

she's expanded opportunities for middle-class and low income homeowners to save money to through refinancing and has increased the focus on fair housing. i can think of no other nominee as qualified to work to make homes more affordable and of it available for families throughout the country while strengthening the financial standing of the gst . more than two dozen consumer advocates have all written to this committee supporting her. before being designated acting director in 2021 she served for years as deputy director for the division of mission and goals. she led an office responsible for the mission activities housing and regulatory policy under directors of both parties to ensure the safety and soundness of fannie mae and freddie mac and federal home loan banks. prior to joining fha fha she spent 18 years where she worked with seven different chairpersons from each of the

political parties. and in senior-level positions including director of the division of consumer protection and director of the division of risk management and supervision helping to stabilize nation's banks. earlier in her career she served at the resolution trust corporation leading up and restoring faith in our financial crisis after the savings and loan crisis. in a nutshell you can see how qualified she is. so being at a position to tackle some of the most pressing issues facing homeowners and renters to ensure the stability of our finance system whether you're lookingto rent or to buy housing may have become too expensive and too hard to find long before the pandemic began . more than 50 years after the passage of the fair housing act people of color are far more likely to be denied a mortgage, far more less likely to own their own home, four more likely to pay more in rent and they can afford

and in just the past week tragic fire in the ranking member's home state and in the bronx have reminded us of how far we need to go to ensure everyonehas affordable places to live . fhfa has a vital role to play an active member thompson has to stay with herself as a person to lead this critical work. these nominees understand the challenges our economy faces and the people who make our economy work like so manyof the presidents nominees . it's notable as we recover from a pandemic how hard women especially work at paid jobs and labor market, unpaid jobs taking care of families. we have two women poised to take leading roles in our recovery and i want to thank bothnominees or their exceptional and lengthy years of commitment to public service . ranking member to me. >> thank you mister chairman, governor brainerd and miss thompson. you have extensiveexperience in your respective fields and

i commend you both for your commitment to public service . governor brainerd has been nominated to serve as vice chair. the fed has been granted independence isolated from political influence but congress has given the feds very narrowly defined monetary and regulatory missions. first the fed has been tasked with conducting monetary policy to promote stable prices and maximum employment . but the fed's recent actions have failed to maintain price stability. last year the governor insisted inflation was transitory. we've now had nine consecutive months where inflation has been more than two times the fed's two percent target . that makes it clear inflation is nottransitory . yesterday cpi release a seven percent, the highest in 40 years to confirm that.

inflation is a tax that eroding americans paychecks every day even though wages are growing inflation is growing faster and that's causing workers to fall further and further behind. i appreciate the fed has pivoted towards normalizing monetary policy to tackle inflation but the fed needsto learn from its mistakes and i think that begins with the feds new monetary policy framework of which governor brainerd was an author and outspoken advocate . the framework subordinated theprice stability mandate to maximize employment allowing inflation to run high . under this approach the fed looked beyond employment to consider whether employment was broad-based and inclusive. the fed would sacrifice stable prices to see if they could achieve higher employment gains . as governor brainerd explained the fed should look at numbers on a disaggregated basis. and use monetary policy to narrow employment gaps between different racial and ethnic groups . this framework risks keeping

in place and inflation tax on all americans while the fed decides which subgroups of people should have faster job growth than others. one of the problems is monetary policy can never equalize employment rates among different groups. in the end the fed would run the risk of failing on both fronts of its dual mandate because you need stable prices to achieve a strong economy and maximumemployment . given this fact the fed should reevaluate this framework. the fed has the mission of monitoring the safety and soundness of certain major financial institutions. under chairman powell the fed and acted sensible reforms that reduce regulatory burdens and help for economic growth. governor brainard was the sole dissenter 20 times on regulatory matters and unprecedented number at the fed. for example she argued the feds reforms of capital liquidity and stress tests were smaller and less complex banks wouldweaken the safeguards of the core of the system . yet though the economy nearly collapsed at the start of the pandemic the banking sector

system capitalized and served as a source of strength through the economy demonstrating the sensibility of these reforms. in addition to opposing those reforms governor brainerd has urged the fed to take an activist role on global warming which is beyond the fed's expertise. according to the new york times she is and i quote endorsed the use of supervisory guidance. the feds recommendationsto banks to encourage financial institutions to curve their exposures . i'm particularly concerned that she's advocated for the fed to shape environmental policy through so-called climate scenario analysis. not only does the fed lacked experience in environmental matters but there's no reason to believe global warming poses a systemic risk. as i've noted we haven't found a single bank that's failed in the modern era due to a severe weather event . there is a transition risk for banks associated with global warming but that's

political and regulatory in nature. it's the risk that unelected bureaucrats will in type attempt to impair the value by cutting off credit to the energy sector. this isn't about whether climate change is a significant threat, it's about the fact climate policymaking requires trade-offs to cost and benefits and these are inherentlypolitical decisions which is why they belong firmly in the domain of officials who areelected and directly accountable to voters . turning to miss thompson , she's been nominated to serve as director of the fhfa where she's had a busy six months. in that time she's proposed reductions in capital requirements for fannie mae and freddie mac, suspended restrictions on acquisition of high-risk loans, requiring the gse's to develop plans that democrats call racial equity. that really looks just like affirmative action and increased gse affordable housing goals. unfortunately she has not prioritized and in the gst

conservatorships. i'm concerned the administration is seeking to use fhfa and the gst to take on more risk for taxpayers andexpand affirmative action to housing . that makes ms. thompson's nomination notwithstanding her experience and referendum on the administration's radical housing policy. this policy probably more mortgages, repurpose in the gse's and a embrace of the gse model. in a break from housing finance reform efforts this administration is using the power of the gse's conservatorship to command and control a huge swap of the american economy and where now asked to ratify this radical housing policy and take ownership of the bailouts and foreclosures i'm afraid are likely to follow

especiallygiven where we might be in the housing cycle we should be reluctant to do so. i look forward to hearing from today's nominees . >> with the witnesses rise and raise your right hand. do you swear or affirm the testimony you're about to give is thetruth, full truth and nothing but the truth . do you agree to appear and test them up testify before a conferencecommittee ? please be seated, thank you. governor brainard and acting director thompson welcome to the committee. if you would like to introduce family members or friends in your testimony i'd invite you to do that at the beginning or whatever you want to. governor, please begin. >> is this working? chairman brown, ranking member to me, other members of the committee.

thank you for this opportunity to appear before you. i'm honored to be nominated by president biden to serve as vice chair of the board of governors of the federal reserve and delighted to be here alongside acting director thompson. if confirmed by the forward to continuing to work with members of this committee. we're seeing the strongest rebound in growth and decline in unemployment of any recovery in the last five decades. over the past year unemployment has fallen by 2.8 percentage points and growth is estimated to be around 5 and a half percent according to a variety of private forecasts . but inflation is to hot and working people around the country are concerned about how far their paycheckswill go . our monetary policy is focused on getting inflation back down to two percent while sustaining a recovery that includes everyone. this is our most important task. where when the pandemic stock in 20/20 i workedclosely alongside chair powell , secretary mnuchin and others

to calm market turmoil and save american jobs and businesses. when market stabilized i work to wind down the emergency facilities that were established in today's economy is waking making welcome progress but the pandemic poses challenges. since 2014 as a member of the federal open market committee i've supported monetary policy that's responsive to economic transitions as they of all. our approach helps sustain the longest recovery on record. but low inflation and millions of jobs. more broadly i worked to safeguard and grow our economy during the administration of five presidents from both parties. i worked on the uspolicy response to every major financial crisis over three decades . and in some foreign countries i've seen up close how high

inflation workers and families especially the most vulnerable. i'm committed to pursuing the federal reserve congressionally mandated goals of racist daily maximum employment and to maintain the strength and resilience of our financial markets. i'm committed to the independent and nonpartisan status of the federal reserve. if confirmed by the forward to supporting chair powell and carrying out the responsibilities assigned to the federal reserve and in fostering transparent communication and accountability to you and to the american people more broadly. i will bring considered an independent voice to our deliberations drawing on insights from working people, businesses, financial institutions and communities large and small. before closing i want to thank my husband kurt, my daughter scaling, kira and chloe for their steadfast report of my work and commend the outstanding efforts of the many individuals across

the federal reserve system who worked so hard every day to serve the american public. senators, thank you for your consideration and i look forward to answering your questions . >> thank you acting director thompson. >> chairman brown, ranking member to me and ranking members of the committee, i want to thank president biden for nominating me to serve as director of the federal housing finance agency. it is the greatest honor of my career to appear before you today. thank you to the senators and staff members with whom i've met at in advance of this hearing. if i'm fortunate enough to be confirmed i look forward to working with all of you on the important issues . i would like to introduce garrett and erin who are here with me today and i'd like to recognize and thank my parents herman and helen. while duty considerations we are not able to be here in person, the fact that my

parents are still alive to witness today's hearing is very meaningful today to me. i was born and raised on the south side of chicago to blacksburg parents who came to chicago from mississippi as part of the great migration. my parents and family along with the chicago public school system and my beloved howard university right here in washington taught me hard work, dedication, determination and perseverance. i would specifically like to recognize the schools in chicago that helped me succeed. mcdade elementary school, gillespie junior high school all on the south side. my nominations or director of the fhfa is a great privilege. i recognize it is rare for a career public servant to have the opportunity to lead a federal agency and as the first african-american woman

nominated for this position i appreciate the opportunity to demonstrate my expertise,good judgment and leadership in this position . i am proud of the work we've done at fhfa in my ears there. the agency plays a vital role in promoting access to credit nationwide and protecting the safety and soundness of the housing finance system through our supervision of fannie mae, freddie mac and the federal home loan bank system. throughout my 40 year career my superiors in the mortgage markets and financial regulation in multiple agencies i've seen what it takes to lead a federal agency and be effective in that role. in my work at fdic and fhfa i've demonstrated leadership, management ability and an understanding of the secondary mortgagemarkets , a fair and balanced perspective and strong belief in the importance of the safety and soundness of america's financial institutions. during my time in a federal

financial institution regulation i've witnessed and worked in several financial crises. these crises expose truths and housing finance. when i served as fdic had a supervision, throughout the 2008 financial crisis i witnessed firsthand the consequences of irresponsible lending with hundreds of banks across the country were close and a record number of homes went into foreclosure. i saw how the borrowers who received unsustainable and predatory loan products were devastated in the downturn and historically underserved and disadvantaged communities were especially hard. years of progress and closing the homeownership and wealth gaps were erased as a result. in fact today the black white homeless ownership gap is wider than it was in the 1960s when lending discrimination was based on race was still legal. as a financial regulator i've

long believed that safety and soundness and access to credit are not mutually exclusive. broad, fair access and the abilityof financial institutions work together as pillars of the nation's housing finance system . indeed sustainable access to creditrequired sustainable lending standards . fhfa will promote sustainable and equitable access to credit and a safe and sound manner. we would responsibly focus our efforts on the safety and soundness mission congress gave to the fhfa and on the mission congress gave the housing gse's under our supervision providing liquidity across the nation and especially supporting underserved markets like rural and tribal areas, manufactured housing and preserving affordablehousing . if confirmed it would be an honor for me to serve as the fhfa director and i will continue to be fair, balanced and transparent.

thank you for the opportunity to testify before you and i'm happy to answer any of your questions. >> thank you acting director. i appreciate all of you came in under yourfive minutes and i ask you to continue if people do that . i ask you to continue to be brief. i have two questions for each of you. we will start with you. thank you for your work during the pandemic. the fed took extraordinary action to support the economy. some colleaguesseem to have forgotten what a critical state our economy was in when the pandemic first hit . workers and small businesses certainlyhaven't forgotten . why werethose actions necessary and did you support all of them ?>> thank you for asking the question. i worked day in and day out alongside secretary mnuchin and treasury chair powell and other colleagues to stand up

the necessary facilities to calm financial markets. as you no doubt recall our financial markets were in turmoil as they absorb the news of the pandemic. a lot of workplaces had to shut down because of the risk of infection before vaccines wereavailable . and millions of americans overnight were facing layoffs and we rest losing small businesses around the country. we rest losing medium-sized businesses and the tens of millions of americans that those businesses employed. i think due to the important actions that congress took, we work closely with treasury to make sure that there was financing available for small banks and cdf tries to get loans to small businesses and communities around the

country. we work to makesure main street financing was available . we made sure to ensure financial market turmoil was called. and we provided a lot of support to the economy and here we are two years later and we've regained all of that massive loss of gdp. we have businesses that are drivingaround the country . people are back to work so i was proud to work on that alongside all of mycolleagues . i did not disagree with any of the actions we took and in fact i strongly supported them and work hard to make them work acting director, you know better than almost anyone how critical it is financial institutions have appropriate capital to be transparent about their risk. what have you done so far and what more needs to bedone to make sure the ses have the capital they need to continue providing access to housing in good and bad times . >> you for the question

senator.i firmly believe in the safety and soundness of the housing gse's fannie mae and freddie mac is typically have been allowed to retain to build capital and retained earnings and we think that is very important. one of the steps we've taken is to encourage the use of the credit risk transfer program which as you all well know fannie mae and freddie mac are the largest holders of mortgage credit risk in the united states. i daresay the world and one of the things we like to do is facilitate moving that credit risk off of the back of the taxpayers and into the hands of the private sector and we believe some of the changes that we've made to the capital rule will help facilitate the credit risk transfer programand move credit risk away from the gse's and taxpayers and into the hands of private investors . >> thank you acting director. for the first time in decades workers are starting to see a bit more power in our economy

record job gains, record increases. we need to continue that progress to catch up to all costs that have been rising for decades and work closely with chair powell and if you are both confirm and oversee the fed's monetary policy is that framework allows to ensure we have stable prices in an economy all workers have a good job and take the benefits of economic growth? >> we give maximum employment on an equal footing and i think we are taking action or the monetary policy front but i have confidence we will be bringing inflation down while continuing to allow the labor market to return to full strength over time so were going to achieve that maximum sustainableemployment while we bring inflation down . >> thank you governor. last question acting director thompson. gsa recorded about four

percent of their new mortgages over the past two years went to black borrowers . fewer than 11 percent to latino borrowers for refinance loans. the shares are even lower. compare that to hfa. more than 25 percent to latino borrowers, what should tses do to make sure they're serving borrowers ofcolor equally ? >> thank you for the question. certainly we believe every american ought to have sustainable andaffordable housing . with regard to the black ownership gap one of the things we've done is to come up with some equitable housing plans and they're supposed to focus on and identify barriers that underserved communities particularly in communities of color have as it relates to getting a mortgage. to come up with specific

plans to execute the requirements. we also have a focus as you all know on all underserved communities whether it's rural or tribal and other areas around the country. we think that this these housing equitable plans will go a long way towards minority ownerships and underserved communities. >> acting director to me. >> thanks again for your continued willingness to continue in public service. this is not always easy. i was encouraged to hear you say you're committed tothe independent and nonpartisan status of the federal reserve . it's very important that fed decisions on monetary and regulatory policy are free from political interference so i think this is a simple yes, sir no question . will you commit to

considering yourself independent from the white house godless of whichparty occupies it ? thank you. and will you commit to make your decisions without regard to political or electoral consequences? thank you. so i think you have acknowledged the importance of the independence of the fed, how crucial that is for maintaining the trust and confidence of the american people. in light of that i wonder if you could tell me how you view the two by three men including one serving out a term that expired three years ago that forced out a well-respected regulator from the once independent fdic? >> i can't the fdic but i can tell you i enjoyed working with yellen and chair mcwilliams on issues such as community reinvestment act. we have a very different institution and it's a very

collegial institution. it is nonpartisan and i can tell you a little bit about how i work in that institution. >> i'm very limited on time so let me just, i know you commented on yellin yelena mcwilliams and i appreciate that and i do understand you have a good working relationship with her but i think i would suggest and ask you to reflect on what happened there and i think it is relevant. the fed as you know is also a multimember agency. it has prided itself on operating free from political interference and following norms of governance for many years. that is to describe the fdic and unfortunately it doesn't anymore and there are people on the left and in this administration who want the fed to become more political. to become advocates for the

causes and agendas they support. and i have warned and am concerned that the fed dalliance with those issues totally irrelevant to the dual mandate will undermine the fed's credibility and threaten its independence and i think that's very important . let me move on to climate risk. as you know the fed has consistently stated there are two categories of climate related risk. the first is physical risk. the second is transition risk. the actual data shows physical risk, that is actual severe weather events do not threaten stability. this week chairman powell said the possibility of financialstability disruptions fromphysical risks , doesn't seem likely in the near term . so that's obvious as a recent report from the fed backs this up. weather disasters from the last quarter century had seen insignificant or small effects on us bank performance so do you acknowledge the likelihood of weather events leading to systemic risk during your

term as fed governor is virtually zero based on historical data west and mark . >> to be honest i think it's important for us to understand the potential implications of tail risks. these are risks that have very low probability of happening but have constrained advantage and of course i wouldn't have expected us to study pandemics five years ago and yet a lot of our policymaking over the last years has been really under a cloud of a very complicated set of economic conditions and financial risks associated with a natural event so it's our job just to be very attentive to the potential risks to the financial system . >> here's my concern and i am certainly not alone inthis . the other risk, the actual evidence shows there's no real physical risk.

the transition risk though israel and chairman powell explained the source of that. the source of transition risk . >>

organizers of the baton rouge bus boycott. he took on several civil rights cases advocating for equality under the law and served a term in the louisiana house of representatives. his commitment to service and his love of our country was not just admirable but inspiring. last year he had the honor to present him with a purple heart for the wounds he received during the d-day invasion of 1944. my grandson has been to the world war ii museum in new orleans, a tremendous museum, and he is now very much into the heroism of our soldiers who were in both world war ii and world

war i. so i took my grandson to meet mr. jones because i wanted him to meet a real live hero. and here you see him at 102, so proud of his medals, saluting, and so my grandson just the other day said, papa, remind me of that man we met. so him meeting mr. jones two years ago has inspired a 7-year-old to live his life a better way. so as mr. jones salutes us, shall we all be inspired, shall we always remember the heroism abroad and the heroism here. thank you, mr. president. i yield the floor.

mr. cardin: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from maryland. mr. cardin: thank you, mr. president. as lady bird johnson said, the environment is where we all meet, where we all have amytal interest. it's one thing -- where we all have a mutual interest. it's one thing all of us share. this quote from when we served as first lady of the united states during president lyndon baines johnson's time in office still resonates with us today as we commemorate earth day 2022. and we reflect on our relationship with nature and the world we share with each of us every day. april 22, 1970, marked the first annual earth day which led to the formation of the united states environmental protection agency, the agency that is responsible for implementing

environmental regulations and standards. we have made great strides in protecting the environment and public health through the clean air act, clean water, and the endangered species act. but the data and science surrounding the harmful effects of climate change are alarming. climate change is harming our ecosystem, forests, wildlife and general environment. this year's sustainable development goal's theme and call to action is invest in our planet. the question for climate action is no longer if or when but how much if we want to have a healthy, habitable earth. strong policies that protect our water resources, fisheries and wildlife and address the challenges of climate change are a top priority of mine in my role as a member of the senate committee on environment and public works. i applaud president biden for setting forth the ambitious but attainable climate friendly goal

driven by science to help preserve the health and safety of our planet and the public. i applaud president biden's executive actions in january of 2021 to reverse steps president trump took that weakened federal protections under the endangered species act and i applaud president biden's commitment to preserving 30% of america's lands and oceans by 2030 also known as the america the beautiful initiative. with the understanding that we need to meet the moment on climate change and preserve our planet, congress passed the infrastructure investment and jobs act which president biden signed into law last november. this historic legislation served as a significant downpayment on our future as we seek to strengthen resiliency and mitigation measures against flooding and sea level rise, shift towards greener, cleaner energy and technology, and form meaningful habits to clean up the world around us by recy

recycling, composing, and disposing of waste products properly. the threat of sea level rise and warm temperature is already detrimental to our coastlines and ecosystems, especially along the chesapeake bay. with numerous and successful restoration efforts under way, the infrastructure investment and jobs act authorizes an additional $238 million for the chesapeake bay program to make even bigger reductions in nutrient, pollution, to improve water quality in the surrounding tributaries. in partnership with local jurisdictions, stakeholders and the u.s. army corps of engineers, the bipartisan infrastructure act, will deliver 37.5 -- $37.5 million in federal funding to the mid chesapeake bay ecosystem restoration project. the purpose of the project is to rebuild the declining james and barren islands in dorchester county and provide a substantial

increase of habitat for a variety of fish and wildlife species by repurposing dredge material from the shipping channels from the port of baltimore and its beneficial use of dredge material to keep our channels at the necessary depth for commerce but do is in a way that restores our environment. wetlands provide natural flood control solutions as climate change brings increasingly frequent and severe weather events. we only have one planet which is why every decision and every failure to act matters. i would like to thank our federal workforce this early day for its efforts to maximize this window for action on climate and environmental justice. the biden administration has directed each federal agency to take strong action when it comes to dealing with our climate and environmental justice. many civil servants are working around the clock to promulgate rules, strategy documents, and much, much more. for example, white house

officials this month announced equity action plans for more than 90 federal agencies designed to combat systemic barriers to opportunities in underserved communities. each day of cop26 u.n. climate change conference explored a new topic. our senate delegation had an opportunity to attend on the day that was devoted towards nature day. i mentioned that because our nature depends upon us dealing with the climate agenda. i would just call to my colleagues' attention the series that is hosted by former president barack obama, our great national parks. take a look at how important it is in preserving our environment for the species around us which affects not only their ability to live but our ability to live. the month of april represents the opportunity to celebrate other related environmental and

nature focused holidays such as asher day which fall -- arber -- arbor day. my home state commemorated the day on april 9. this year we celebrate the 150th anniversary of arbor day. it's to celebrate communities by organizing trash and litter cleanup. as franklin dell more roosevelt remarked a nation that destroys its soil destroys itself. forests are the lungs of our land, purifying the air and giving fresh strength to our people. the bipartisan infrastructure law also provides $275 million grant funding for the u.s. and environmental protection agency's post consumer materials management infrastructure grant program which the save our seas 2.0 act established. this program will help prevent plastic waste from entering our

environment in the first place. the program will provide grants to states to improve local waste management systems, including municipal recycling programs and to improve post consumer material management and infrastructure to reduce plastic waste and our waterways and the oceans ultimately protecting our planet. i agree with paul hawkins who said this in a commencement address at the university of portland in 2009. at present we are stealing the future, selling it in the present, and calling it gross domestic product. we can justify as easily have an economy that is based on healing the future instead of stealing it. we can either create assets for the future or take the assets of the future. one is called restoration. the other is called exploitation. whenever we exploit the earth, we exploit people and cause untold suffering. working for the earth is not a way to get rich. it is a way to be rich.

protecting our planet is a collective and ongoing effort while we still have much to do, i am encouraged by the legislative and administrative progress we have made so far. i urge my colleagues to take the next step and pass the build back better act transformative legislation on a clean energy economy. this earth day let us heed paul hawkins' comments working for the earth is not a way to get rich. it's a way to be rich. with that, mr. president, i would suggest the absence of a quorum and yield the floor. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. quorum call:

we know it's supply-side and it ends with the demand side but clearly there's been discussions and clearly you of research done ask how much of the inflationary trends that we have are attributable to demand-side policy. can you share with us what you believe the percentage or at least the amount of inflation would be attributable to demand side? the reason i ask is because if you overreach or if you don't do

enough you're never going to get it down but at the same time with the supply-side and we both recognize you can't do much about supply-side, this is critical, price of gasoline is going up because we've got restrictions on the availability of new gasoline being put into the system and high demand for gas but simply telling a consumer that the price has gone up and so were going to make it more restricted to buy, there are still going to buy because that to get to work. in this particular case as a look at food prices going up and we look at gasoline going up, price of brent is going to be going up, price of housing is going up, how much of that interest on inflation do you have the responsibility or should you be looking at in terms of the demand side of the equation i'll certainly, just looking at prices at the pump, prices of the grocery store that is clearly hurting americans all

of the country. that's about a quarter of the very high inflation that we see. so i think you are sorely right to focus in on those areas, particularly difficult and very rooted in supply-side constraints. >> senator tester is recognized from his office. >> thank you, chairman brown. to thank director thompson and governor brainard for being here today. director thompson you said there something in your opening statement that something i think we need to pay attention to and that is the ownership gap today, as wide as it was in the 1960s when discrimination was legal. this is a question for you but if governor brainard wants to add to this i would certainly like to hear her opinion, too. what can you do about closing that ownership gap in the position that you're going to be hopefully confirm for? >> thank you for the question,

senator. access to credit is really important essentially in minority and underserved communities generally. i mentioned earlier we've asked the enterprises to develop equitable housing plans that focus on some of the inequities that if taken place. they are supposed identify barriers for underserved communities particularly black and brown communities to engage in home ownership. we are looking over those plans now and some of them focus on education and making sure opportunities are available for people to understand that what the homeownership process is, how it works, what it does. and then if there are other issues like appraisals that come into play in terms of bias that may or may not exist. we want to make sure the enterprises are focused on

identifying barriers and focusing on coming up with plans to address and identify those barriers to really close to home ownership gap because as you know, senator, a home is the greatest asset that most people own and we believe homeownership will go a a long way towards closing the racial equity gap. >> governor brainard, would you like to respond? what can you do in position you are going in for to solve this homeownership gap? >> thanks for the question. we are well aware of that homeownership gap. we collect those statistics. we do work with banks trying to provide help and incentives under the community reinvestment act to increase the supply of affordable housing, workplace housing. we know there are shortages in

all of the communities represented by members of this committee. i visited many of them. and in particular we have community development financial institutions who are very good at using subsidies and other commission. in fact, back in the 1970's, the f.t.c. earn the nickname, the national nanny, this after it went 0en a rule making bing -- went on a rule making binge, one that triggered an unpress did noted congressional response. in response to that binge, congress defunded the agency for several days and in fact it refused formally to reauthorize the commission for some 1 years after that. -- some 14 years after that. thankfully, the f.t.c. changed approach by reining in its rule making initiatives. congress, however, did not learn

its lesson and has continued to grant the f.t.c. broad powers over the years. these grants of power and the lack of congressional will have put the f.t.c.0 on a trajectory that looks early similar to its national nanny era. under the leadership of lena khan, is now being transformed into a bigger nanny than ever could have been imagined in the 1970's. her vision is to transform what is an enforcement agency into a broader, largely independent regulatory agency. this move would reduce congressional oversight of key economic regulation and would also have serious negative implications for countless businesses across the nation that could find themselves subject to the whims of an

unelected arbitrary, capricious agency. the f.t.c. is on coarse to course to take -- is on course to take significant new powers so it can use its powers under the federal trade commission act to regulate huge swaths of the american economy. we accordingly need to be very careful when considering nominees to the commission. as a member of the senate commerce committee, i took seriously my consideration of mr. bedoya's nomination and spoke with him on multiple occasions regarding his nomination and regarding his vision for the federal trade medication. i took careful note of my questions to mr. bedoya and to hit responses and his view on the scope of the f.t.c.'s power. his answers did little to calm my concerns. in fact, they did much to add to

my worries, not only about his nomination but about the future of the commission at large. during my questioning mr. bedoya signaled that he would use section 5 of the federal trade commission act to conduct unfair methods of competition rule make -- competition resume making. that would be a dangerous expansion of the f.t.c. rule rule-making power, one that would occur without a congressional grant of authoritiment he refused to share his views on the f.t.c.'s merger of guidelines. he didn't answer when i asked about proxy votes of ex-commissioners after they've left the commission. he would not provide a clear answer on whether he supported lena's decision to remove key procedural requirements attached to f.t.c. rule making. that is the very statutory procedural requirements that were instituted in direct

response to the agency's flagrant abuses of its own power in the 1970's. and he openly supports leana khan's decision to close out the voice of commissioner to approve investigations, an action that has destroyed a bipartisan hallmark of the commission. mr. bedoya did not earn my confidence in his hearing. his nomination is not designed to strengthen american business or bolster our economy. instead, his nomination will give the commission the majority it needs to take american economic regulation out of the hands of elected lawmakers. we have to remember that the very first clause of the very first section of the very first article of the constitution says that all legislative powers herein granted shall be vested in a congress of the united states which shall consist of a senate on a house of

representatives. -- and a house of representatives. in other words, all federal lawmaking power, legislative powers are lawmaking powers, the power to make federal law as articulated in section sin vested in congress at an outside agency. explaining that in order to pass a federal law you have to have passage by the senate and passage by the house of the same piece of legislation followed by presentment to the president resulting in signature veto or acquiescence. without that, you cannot make a federal law. when we pretend to make federal lawmakers outside of congress, we've got to be very careful because this is subversive of the entire purpose of the constitution, putting the most dangerous power -- the power to make prescriptive laws, the power to make laws adding to,

altering, materially change the obligations of members of the public. you've got to go through the branch of government most accountable to the people with the most regular intervals. that's why this is so concerning that you have in mr. bedoya, like you have in lena khan, someone who doesn't fear this type of unaccountable de facto lawmaking outside -- not only outside of what the constitution can countenance fairly but also outside of basic standards of accountability and good government. and so for all these reasons i fear that mr. bedoya will not only enable but will support the blatant attempts made by lena k this. an to return the f.t.c. to its

status as the national nanny and youly the national enemy. under her leadership, the f.t.c. has shown disregard for the input of minority commissioners and has been frustrated by the legal limits surrounding f.t.c.'s authority. lena is not afraid to lead the agency on a path that ignores legal constitutional and procedural roadblocks in its way. i'm committed to reversing the dangerous trajectory of the f.t.c., to making sure that we don't return to the 1970's era of the f.t.c. being the nanny of the nanny state and to make sure that we restore the f.t.c.'s accountability to congress and ultimately to the people. we have to remember that true

accountability in our system of government, accountability related to what the law is and how the law is written, always has to be with congress. that's why article 1 is written the way it is. that's why this is something that has to be understood appropriately as a non-dell eligible --non-deligible responsibility. i fear that mr. bedoya will only further enable the radical takeover of the federal trade commission and i therefore cannot and will not support his nomination. thank you, mr. president. i yield the floor and note the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. mr. lee: mr. president, i ask unanimous consent that the quorum call be suspended. the presiding officer: without

objection.

the presiding officer: under the previous order, the senate the previous order, the senate >> the u.s. senate is in recess until 2:15 p.m. eastern today when members return a confirmation vote expected for lael brainard to serve as vice chair of the federal reserve board of governors. you can watch live coverage of the senate when they return here on c-span2. >> the four candidates vying for the democratic nomination pennsylvania's 2022 senate race took part in a debate. the winner of the may 17 primary will go on to run in the general election for u.s. senate seat that is being vacated by pat to