also, during the session today, votes on nominees to the federal labor relations authority and the consumer product safety commission. senate lawmakers will be working on a bill to provide 60 million dollars in ukraine aid if an agreement is reached. and to the floor on c-span2. . the deputy chaplain for the navy region hawaii. captain johnson. the guest chaplain: let us pray. almighty god, who reigns in splendor and majesty. we acknowledge your divine power as we seek the blessings that will sustain and guide us through this day's journey. we pray that your presence will fill this chamber and that you would grant our senators sufficient wisdom, knowledge,

and understanding with the deliberations and decisions that will be made. we thank you for this nation's indelible history and ask your blessings of protection upon it, as we look forward to the glorious day that the prophet isaiah wrote about that proclaims, "he shall judge between the nations and rebuke many people. they shall beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war anymore." this is my prayer in the name of him that is eternal. amen. the president pro tempore: please join me in reciting the

pledge of allegiance. i pledge allegiance to the flag of the united states of america, and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under god, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. the president pro tempore: under the previous order, the leadership time is reserved. morning business is closed. under the previous order, the senate will proceed to executive session and resume consideration of the motion to discharge which the clerk will report. the clerk: motion to discharge mary t. boyle of maryland to be a commissioner of the consumer products safety commission if the committee on commerce, science, and transportation. a senator: mr. president. the presiding officer: the senator from nevada. ms. rosen: i note the absence of

a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. quorum call:

mr. schumer: madam president. the presiding officer: majority leader. mr. schumer: i ask unanimous consent the quorum be dispensed with. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. schumer: now, madam president, yesterday the american people saw for themselves a glaring contrast between democrats who will fight to protect women's rights to make decisions about their own body and maga republicans pushing to send mothers and doctors to jail and institute

nationwide abortion bans. with roe on the brink of elimination, this issue will not go away. as americans vote later this year, they will choose between radical maga republicans who want to get rid of roe, push national bans on abortion, and even throw doctors and women in jail or pro-choice democrats who will protect a woman's right to make her own decisions when it comes to her body. let me say that again. the contrast facing the american people is now simple. either elect more pag ga republicans -- maga republicans who want to push for sweeping national bans on abortion or support pro-choice democrats who will protect a woman's rights to make her own decisions about her body. either elect maga republicans who want forced pregnancies and who champion bans without exceptions, even for rape or incest, or support pro-choice democrats who will protect a

woman's right to make her own decisions. either elect more maga republicans who want to prosecute and even imprison women and doctors for carrying out abortions and mere friends who give rides to clpgs as well -- clinics as well or support pro-choice democrats who will protect a woman's rights. americans are going to see that contrast again and again and again as democrats keep highlighting this very important and vital issue. and as much as republicans will try to deflect, distort, or distract the unbendable truth is that their antiwoman views are wildly out of step with the american people. just look at what's happening across the country. democrats across the country are confidently highlighting their support for a woman's right to make her own choices. and while the maga republicans want -- may want to brag about their plans for a nationwide

abortion ban and sending women and doctors to jail, the clear majority of americans disagree with that extremist position. that's why republican campaign committees are urging their candidates to avoid the subject of abortion because they know their views are out of step. again, democrats across the country are now talking about this issue, even doing campaign ads about this issue. the republicans are telling the -- the republican spin meisters are telling their colleagues avoid the issue. so it's obvious to everyone who is on what side. republicans can run but can't hide from the horror they've created. yesterday's vote was only one step, not the end, of our fight to protect women's rights. this issue will keep coming back up again and again and again between now and when voters go to the polls later this year.

now, on ukraine. in the immediate future, republicans need to work with democrats to pass another round of critical emergency funding for the people of ukraine. we have a moral obligation to act and to act swiftly. the house already passed the ukraine package with overwhelming bipartisan support. it should be no different here in the senate. both of our caucuses heard loud and clear from the ukrainian ambassador earlier this week that time is of the essence. i urge my republican colleagues to work with democrats to get a funding package done as soon as possible, asap. republicans shouldn't block this bill. there is no reason, no reason whatever not to get ukraine funding approved fast. i also call on my colleagues to swiftly pass additional legislation to arm the federal government with the tools needed to liquidate assets seized from russian oligarchs, yachts,

mansion, private jets, art collections, and more. it should be a no-brainer to provide the tools necessary to go after crooked russian oligarchs but nevertheless, house republicans bewildering opposed adding these tools in the house package. the senate should do better. both parties should work quickly and decisively to get this done through regular order. this issue can certainly -- should certainly be a bipartisan issue. as the war in ukraine enters its third bloody month, we must leave no stone unturned in making putin and his cronies pay a price and helping the ukrainian people. their fight against russian aggression is a struggle it democracy and authority authoritarianism itself. there should be no question which side america stands on. i urge my republican colleagues not to block this legislation but to work with us to quickly

get this passed through the chamber. everyone can have their own idea but if everyone has their own idea, we'll get nothing done. we have to come together on a bill that's gotten broad bipartisan support in the house and? the senate. -- and in the senate. now, on nomination, it's been a productive week on the senate floor when it comes to nominations. earlier this week the senate finally confirmed a highly qualified and historic nominee to serve on the federal reserve board of governors lisa cook. coming from humble beginnings in rural georgia where her family fought segregation, ms. cook will be the first black woman ever to sit on the federal reserve board of governors. she's a professor of economics at michigan state, a member of the federal reserve bank -- of the federal reserve bank of chicago's advisory board, and she served as a senior economist in president obama's council of economic advisers. she absolutely belongs on the board and i'm glad she was

finally confirmed. yesterday we also confirmed alvaro bedoya as a commissioner on the federal trade commission breaking a deadlock. mr. bedoya's nomination is fantastic news for the american people. the f.t.c. will be empowered to fight against price gougers, market manipulators, and go after bad actors, using anticompetitive practices to drive up prices. we have been urging the f.t.c., for instance, to look at market manipulation and price gouging when it comes to gasoline, and now they will have the ability to do so, because the republican commissioners refused to move forward, but now we have a majority of democrats on that commission of -- on the commission. we also confirmed philip nathan jefferson and confirmed on laser-focused agencies, including the federal federal lr relations authority of next week we'll also start the process to

confirm more democrats to the consumer product safety commission. finally, later today, the senate will vote on jerome powell to serve another term as chairman of the federal reserve. few institutions are more important to help steer our economy in the right direction and to fight inflation than the fed. chairman powell presided as fed chair during some of the most challenging moments in modern american history. i thank all of my colleagues, particularly senator brown, chairman of our banking committee, who have worked to move forward with this important nomination. and finally, on usica, today our bipartisan jobs and competition bill will take another step forward when the conference committee holds its first public meeting. the jobs and competition legislation is just what the doctor ordered to boost our economy, bring manufacturing jobs back home, and lower costs

for american families. many across the country want to see this bill done, a recentler from over -- a recent letter from over 240 state and local chambers of commerce called on congress to act, citing importance for critical technology, like semiconductors. also found was that enacting this bill would add or preserve as many as 3 million jobs to the u.s. economy. 3 million jobs. it could be more. as newinnovations and markets unlock new opportunities yet unknown. there's still a lot of work to do before sending this to the president's desk, and not everyone will get what they want. today's first public meet something a ifers step forward. the -- is a first step forward. the bill will pay dividends for years to come. i yield the floor, and for the moment note the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll.

quorum call:

mr. mcconnell: madam president. the presiding officer: the it republican lead,er. mr. mcconnell: i ask consent that further proceedings on the quorum call be dispensed with. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. mcconnell: for months, the brave people of ukraine have been fighting valiantly in a war they did not ask for. their defense of their homeland from the russian invasion has already far surpassed the expectations of all the skeptics ukraine is not asking anybody else to do their fighting for them. they ask only for the resources they need to defend themselves against this lawless aggression. i strongly support the next package of lethal military assistance, which the house has passed with an overwhelming bipartisan majority. i hope the senate can reach an agreement to consider and pass this legislation today. the ukrainians need it. we need to do it today. helping ukraine is not an

instance of mere philanthropy. it bears directly on america's national security and vital interests that russia's naked aggression not succeed and carries significant costs. if ukraine fails to repel russian aggression, there's no question that the threat to america and european security will actually grow. our nation's history is packed, packed with painful reminders that america cannot wish away global problems that affect us and our allies simply by burying our head in the sand. i applaud the strong republican vote for this crucial assistance over in the house, and urge my senate colleagues on both sides to help us pass this urgent funding bill today. now, on another matter, two years ago the democratic leader addressed a crowd on the steps

of the supreme court and threatened justices if they didn't rule the way he wanted. now far left crowds are surrounding justices' private family homes, they want to use intimidation to influence the outcome in a pending case. this should be easy for leaders to condemn. all americans should agree that judges and juries ought not to be subjected to threats or intimidation campaigns, and admirably some on the platt left have spoken out against this fringe element. "the washington post" editorial board has condemned this. the number two senate democrat, our colleague from illinois, said, i think it's reprehensible stay away from homes and families. his counterpart across the capitol, the number two house democrat, leader hoyer said, quote, we need to protect supreme court justices and their families, period. we're a nation of laws, not of violence, not of intimidation,

laws. that was steny hoyer. but leader schumer and the white house will not follow suit. they won't condemn the harassment. they basically endorsed it. and top democrats are standing in the way of concrete action. a few days ago the senate unanimously passed legislation to give the supreme court's in-house police force some additional authorities they need to do their jobs. this isn't controversial stuff. it cleared this chamber unanimously. but house democrats have been unwilling to promptly pass it. congressman jeffries suggested yesterday this uncontroversial bill might be shouldn't shunted -- might be shunted into a lengthy committee process. why in the world would that be done? these are essentially clerical fixes. they breeze through the senate without objection.

but house democratic leadership wants to drag this out, hearings and markups? while mobs assemble at people's houses? i hope this is some misunderstanding. i hope democrats are not intentionally stalling these security measures until after the court has issued its rulings. this would be reprehensible. at the end of pennsylvania avenue either president biden or attorney general garland has apparently decided not to enforce federal law. like i explained on monday, section 1507 of the criminal code makes it a crime right now to picket or parade with the intent of influencing a judge at locations that include a judge's residence. that's the law right now. people have been doing exactly that for days and days right now. but the garland justice

department is nowhere in sight. one would think a d.o.j. run by the former chief judge of the d.c. circuit would need no prodding, no prodding to protect judicial safety and judicial independence. but at least so far, the attorney general was quicker to pounce on concerned parents at school board meetings, the governors of maryland and virginia have had to write a joint letter to the attorney general begging him to make his u.s. attorneys do their job and uphold the law. so yesterday i sent the d.o.j. my own letter asking the very same question. the senate needs answers right now, and the court needs security right now. so on a related matter, yesterday we observed the

beginning of ceremonies honoring national police week. soon, we will mark peace officers memorial day. tens of thousands of law enforcement personnel from across the country will gather here in our nation's capital to honor the service and the sacrifice of their fallen brothers and sisters. i'd like to extend a warm welcome to the kentuckians who traveled here for the ceremonies. i'm meeting with several of these law enforcement leaders this week to express my gratitude for their service, the commonwealth is home to every type of law enforcement officer you can imagine, from big-city beat cops to small-town sheriffs. they take a great risk every day to protect and to serve. so, this week, i'm thinking especially about the law enforcement officers kentucky lost in the past year. these names will be added to the national law enforcement officers memorial tomorrow.

heroes like graves county deputy jailer robert t. daniel, who sacrificed his own life to save endangered inmates as a tornado bore down on their workplace in which he was employed. community pillars like jefferson county deputy sheriff brandon surley, shot and killed while working a second job? uniform. role models, like louisville plawsh zachary cottongin, shot and killed while attending to abe abandoned vehicles on the side of a road. yesterday, i met with officer cottongin's widow and former partner, who are here in washington for tomorrow's memorial. we're all praying for them as they mourn this tragic loss. i'm proud to cosponsor the resolution that officially designated national police week in career -- this year. america's law enforcement personnel are always there when

we need them most. the least, the least congress can do is have their backs. now, on one final matter, parents across the country are struggling to get their hands on the infant formula their babies need. here are just a few of the letters i've received from parents and grandparents in my state. quote, we've been struggling to get formula for months now. the situation has turned dire. quote, my ezekiel has had to switch what he needs twice. we traveled from virginia into washington, d.c., but every place we stopped, every place we stopped, had empty shelves of baby formula. this outrageous, unacceptable situation has been unfolding in slow motion over several months. much of it stems from a recall

that resulted in a plant being shut down, but it seems that while president biden's administration and the f.d.a. knew all about this problem as it developed, they have been asleep at the switch in terms of getting production back online as fast as possible. both republican and democratic senators have asked the white house and f.d.a. for answers and gotten very few. the administration has got to be more proactive and forward-leaning. but yesterday i understand that a white house spokeswoman wasn't even sure if they had a point person for this problem or if they had such a person who it might be. even before the acute shortages, soaring costs were already squeezing families. the inflation figures show the price of baby food has skyrocketed 13% in just 12 months. overall food inflation is 9.4% year over year.

that's the worst year for food inflation in 41 years. it should not be this hard for americans to feed their families. parents need president biden and his team to step up to the plate. i suggest the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. quorum call:

mr. durbin: madam president? the presiding officer: the majority whip. mr. durbin: i ask consent the quorum call be suspended. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. durbin: madam president,

one million deaths -- unbelievable, but this week became very, very real. one million of our fellow americans now have died from covid. one million parents, grandparents, siblings, friends, children, neighbors. that's more americans who lost their life than the casualties in world war i, world war ii, or the civil war. that's the size of san jose, california, the tenth-largest city in our nation. but behind those seven stark figures are real people, including more than 33,600 in my home state of illinois. one of those was a woman named maria elena fuento system, where she organized for housing and education equity in our community. she received her first covid shot when she contracted the virus last summer. she passed away on june 10 at

the age of 57 and left behind five children. we also grieve the loss of sergeant ken thurman and officer brian shields, two 51-year-old veteran police officers who worked in aurora at the police department. they succumbed to covid infections last year, both within the same week. when the pandemic first hit, this degree of loss was unmaintainable. some -- was unimaginable. some people dismissed covid-19 and said it was just like the ordinary flu, it would goway and mysteriously disappear. but now that we've crossed this tragic threshold, we must take stock of where we are and where we're headed. more than two years into this pandemic, covid is still a threat to america and the world. in fact, infections nationwide are up 50% over the past two weeks.

hospitalizations up 20%. that's the case in illinois as well as our neighbors in the region. the commonwealth of kentucky, home of minority leader mcconnell, has the highest covid death rate in the country over the past week. the one thing worse than being swamped with another wave of covid cases is being caught unprepared. right now we are sleepwalking into the next potentially deadly wave, and we know the virus will continue to mutate an pose threats. we need to learn from our two years of experience with delta, omicron, and act now to be ready, be prepared. over the weekend, the biden administration warned that new sub-variants could fuel a wave that is forecast to infect 100 million americans, almost a third of our population, over this fall and winter. yet last week health and human services secretary becerra testified at a senate

appropriations committee that, quote, but in order to be ready for that, we have to start purchasing today. that's what secretary becerra said. if we wait for the surge to hit, it's too late. last week it also was reported that the administration will run out of covid vaccine by september 1 if the f.d.a. authorizes second boosters for all adults. how can america be caught in this situation again, even with vaccines, unprepared because federal funding has dried up to help hospitals and birth centers for testing, we don't have a complete picture of how many new infections are actually showing up. the university of washington estimates the true umin of infections -- the true number of infections five times higher than official reports. so the alarm bells are ringing and a looming vaccine crisis isvite around the corner. other countries in the world get it. they understand it. they're racing ahead of us to

secure the supplies of vaccines. but because of resistance from republicans in washington, we are not doing that. so why won't the senate act to pass this covid legislation? obviously necessary legislation right now? it was more than a month ago that senator schumer and romney, together with a half dozen bipartisan senators, announced a $10 billion emergency covid package. it's not everything we want. it's not everything we need. but it is an urgent measure that seeks to address the crisis. instead of just getting this done, politics were inserted. there were demands for amendments or else. the process broke down. instead guesting the job done, republicans -- instead of getting the job done, republicans are playing politics. they're asking for poison pill

riders on unrelated issues, like immigration. i get it t everybody wants the kids back in school. they want to take family vacations, go out to dinner, all the things that are part of the joy of life. i think share the sentiment. but we have to deal were the relate at this time of that virus -- reality of this virus. it's changing every day. and it has surprised us so many times before. even the most persuasive political speech isn't going to change the course of this virus. rather than reacting to whatever deadly curveball gets thrown at us next, we must be ready beforehand with the right tools to keep us moving in the right direction. i don't want to come to the floor to mark 1.5 million dead americans or 2 million dead americans due to the virus. the time to provide additional funding is not now, it was weeks ago. it is incredible to me that after what this nation has gone through, one million dead

americans, we are still debating over whether we should be prepared for the next stage of the virus. shame on the politicians who are inserting politics into a life-and-death debate. without this funding, we could very well lose the progress we've made in containing covid. we cannot tolerate that sort of setback, especially at this pivotal moment where continued progress puts us on the cusp of what we dreamed up two years ago -- finally putting an end to this pandemic, finally returning to normal. while senate democrats and the biden administration have taken tremendous strides in getting shots in arms, supporting local businesses, getting our kids back in school, we still have a lot to do. to my republican colleagues, drop the political antics. join us in making this a responsible investment to save lives and prevent the pandemic from once again spinning out of control. we know a new way l. -- we know

a new wave could be coming and we need to sit down and address this public health issue for the reality it is. let's not waste time with irrelevant anti-immigrant rhetoric. let's do something that helps the american people and work together to drive america's recovery forward. madam president, i ask that the next statement i make be placed in a separate part in the record. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. durbin: madam president, we had a meeting in the senate judiciary committee this morning, and the committee discussed at the outset threats that have been reported against judges, justices, their families and their homes. this committee has responded with a bill, a bipartisan bill, by senators cornyn and coons, to provide more security protection for the supreme court. i fully endorse it and i'm glad it passed unanimously. it should have. there have been complaints this week about demonstrations in front of the homes of justices and others.

i've made my position clear. i think that such demonstrations are totally unnecessary, unwise, and should be discouraged. in some cases, they're reprehensible. the pressure that's trying to be applied on these officials by protesters, whether they're for or against a certain issue, is just unacceptable. i stand by that position, and i believe that democrats and republicans agree that we have to be serious about protecting those who are elected to public office at every level from harassment, intimidation and, above all, from any violence. i condemn those attacks on antiabortion organizations in two states -- wisconsin and oregon -- the fire-bombing that took place in one is unacceptable. violence is never acceptable in a democracy. having said that i beg my republican colleagues to show some consistcy. i was here january 6 or, 2021 when this insurrectionist mob

inspired by president trump came up, crashed down the windows and floors that this capitol and marched on this capitol. i was on the floor of the united states senate when we were advised by the capitol police to evacuate as quickly as possible to save our own lives. i was in this building when several of the capitol hill police stepped up and showed dramatic heroism. some of them lost their lives as a result of it. five to seven people died on january 6, 2021, as a result of what happened that day. 150 law enforcement officials were attacked. and how did the republicans respond to that? senator mcconnell personally stopped any effort at a bipartisan commission to determine what caused that attack and how to avoid is it in the future. he person ailly came to the floor and objected. i heard him do t the only investigation is taking place in the democratic house of representatives and thank goodness several republican congressmen and women have

stepped forward. i want to salute from my own state, congressman. it was a principled decision, i respect him for if. the same with congresswoman lynne cheney. we probably don't agree on a half a dozen issues, but i have to tell you, i admire and respect her courage in stepping up and saying we wanted that investigation in the house to be bipartisan. and, therefore she was going to be part of the panel. i respect her very much for that. next month we're going to have public hearings in the house of representatives on this issue. we should have had a bipartisan commission looking at january 6, 2021, but senator mcconnell and the republicans stopped it. what did the republican national committee say in an official release about the january 6, 2021 insurrectionist mob who crashed through the capitol here, desecrating it and endangering the lives of innocent people?

what do they say about it? they called it legitimate political discourse. legitimate political discourse. with five to seven people dead and 150 police officers assaulted, that is illegitimate. that's unacceptable. whether the intended victims were members of congress or the victims today are members of the supreme court, have the good sense, i say to my republican colleagues, to be consistent. if you're opposed to violence and believe it's unacceptable in a democratic society, make that standard apply whether the victims are in one branch of government or another. it is absolutely unacceptable in both. i yield the floor. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. quorum call:

the presiding officer: the republican whip. mr. thune: madam president, i ask unanimous consent the quorum call be suspended. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. thune: thank you, madam president. madam president, if democrats made one thing clear over the past 16 months they think the federal government or maybe it's democrats knows best. it's evident in just about everything they do. and it's prut much no end to the

things they think the federal government should be in charge of. health care, child care, education, elections, and the list goes on. the current debate over abortion, one thing democrats are clearly terrified of is putting this issue in the hands of the american people. overturning roe v. wade would return the issue of abortion to the people and their elected representatives. democrats are keen to make sure that doesn't happen, probably because they know the american people are not in agreement with democrats' extreme abortion agenda. so the news that the supreme court might overturn roe and return the issue of abortion to the people has been met with hiss tear ya from democrats. more than one has responded by calling for packing the supreme court so democrats can ensure that they get the abortion decisions they desire. and of course yesterday democrats responded to the supreme court's pending decision by holding a vote on what has to be the most extreme abortion legislation ever considered by

the u.s. congress. a bill that would rip away even the smallest protections for the unborn and make abortion on demand at any time for essentially any reason the law of the land. meanwhile today the senate budget committee is holding a hearing on a favorite democrat proposal putting the democrats in charge of americans' health care. under medicare for all, americans could look forward to a future in which the government decides what health care they can access and what medications and procedures will be covered. never mind the nearly 180 million americans who have access to health insurance through their jobs, many of whom are satisfied with their coverage. no, that coverage would be decimated in favor of democrats' preferred one size fits awl approach -- one-size-fits-all approach. i'm not sure what democrats have seen that makes them think government can efficiently run health care but maybe they didn't have to deal with the i.r.s. let's not forget about the part where it's been projected this government-run system could cost

taxpayers more than $30 trillion. so what's the problem with that attitude that democrats have, madam president? why should all of us be concerned by the fact that democrats think the federal government or maybe just the democrat party knows best? for starters it's clearly apparent that government does not always know best. take our current inflation crisis. a big reason we're currently dealing with the worst inflation in 40 years is democrats' decision to flood the economy with unnecessary government money with their american rescue plan spending spree. this legislation was built as critical covid relief. it was going to help families and our economy recover. instead it helped plunge our economy into a massive inflation crisis that has left individuals and families struggling to afford necessities like gas and food. to give another example the

president's department of homeland security recently created a so-called disinformation governance board. and the individual who has been chosen to head up this disinformation board is someone who herself has been a purveyor of online disinformation. as well as being hostile to what she apparently considers excessive free speech. and yet apparently the biden administration thinks we should trust her to rule on disinformation. of course, madam president, this is not to say that we should distrust every move the government makes or the government can never do anything good. but assuming that government always knows best is to vastly overestimate the government's abilities. the federal government likes -- like society is made up of flawed human beings and being a member of congress or a presidential administration does not come anywhere close to conferring infallibility. madam president, another big problem with democrats knows best attitude is that it usually

involves a plan to have government take over ever greater areas of american life. and more government control usually involves less individual freedom. take the child care plan that democrats included in their build back better legislation. first, of course, democrats take the opportunity to add a lot of new child care mandates and regulations, but more than that, democrats' government subsidy program is set up to favor certain kinds of child care and child care providers. it's set to favor institutional child care rather than home care or other models like neighborhood co-ops. and it's set up to place religious providers at a disadvantage. that's right. despite the fact that more than half of working families who use center-based care opt for faith-based centers, democrats' program is set up to put these providers at a disadvantage. democrats obviously think that child care is better conducted in secular institutional settings to they -- so they set

up tear legislation to favor that kind of child care -- their legislation to favor that kind of child care no matter what parents actually prefer. that's par for the course for democrats who have made it very clear that they have their doubts as to whether parents are the best decision-makers for their children. who can forgot the democrat candidate for governor of virginia who memorably said and i quote, i'm not going to let parents come into schools and actually take books out and make their own decision. i don't think parents should be telling schools what they should teach, end quote. a view that president biden seemed to echo just days ago. i'd love to hear the reasons why democrats think that government can make better decisions for children than the parents who know their children as individuals and raise them and love them. but to get back to my main point here, the child care program and democrats tax and spending spree is a perfect example of what

happens when government starts taking over. the government instead of the individual starts making decisions. and the more substantial a government involvement, the larger the government's role in decision making is likely to be. again, that's not to say the government has no role to play in american life. we need the federal government. on national defense, for example, our national defense i should say, for example, is more most practically handled at the federal level. but the federal government should be and is meant to be limited. allowing the government to take over ever larger aspects of american life, whether it's child care, health care or anything else is a recipe for the loss of individual liberty. finally, madam president, democrats government knows best attitude is a problem because as we've clearly seen, it quickly leads to an attitude of democrats know best which quickly leads to pushing for special privileges for demo

democrats. take recent conflicts involving the supreme court. democrats have made it abundantly clear they believe the only legitimate supreme court is a supreme court that hands down decisions in line with democrats' policy preferences. and they haven't just implied this, madam president. more than one democrat has actually straight out called this supreme court illegitimate. despite the fact that every single justice on the supreme court was duly nominated and confirmed in accordance with the constitution of the united states. in the senate despite having the slimmest possible majority in fact, a merely technical majority, and absolutely in mandate for radical change, democrats have pushed to abolish the legislative filibuster so they can steamroll through far-left -- including takeover of election law and the most

extreme abortion legislation ever considered in congress. just imagine the howells -- howls that would have resulted if republicans announced take we were going to abolish the legislative filibuster to institute a 20-week abortion ban. a ban that is much more in line with the sentiments of the majority of americans than democrats' far left abortion legislation. or take the protests that have been going on at the supreme court justices' homes. the president and other democrats have made it clear they were perfectly fine with demonstrators congregating at the private homes of supreme court justices to try and intimidate them into changing their vote. i have to ask would democrats be fine with pro-life activists appearing at the homes of justice breyer, justice kagan, and justice sotomayor to try to intimidate them into changing their votes? i think we all know the answer to that. but because abortion is one of

democrats' pet issues, clearly the usual rules don't apply. government knows best quickly becomes democrats know best which leads to one rule for democrats and one rule for everyone else. madam president, government knows best is not a vision republicans share. we believe that individuals, not washington bureaucrats with the best judges of what they, their families and children need and government should be a backstop, not big brother. we also know the more government expands, the more individual liberty shrinks which is why we are firmly committed to a philosophy of limited government. our country was founded to safeguard individual liberty and preserving that liberty is a sacred trust. which is why republicans will continue to oppose democrats' washington knows best big

government philosophy and why we will continue to fight to make sure that americans' right to run their own lives and shape their own destinies is protected. madam president, i yield the floor. a senator: madam president. the presiding officer: the senator from mississippi. mr. wicker: madam president, in a few moments the senate will vote on the confirmation of mary boyle to be a commissioner of the consumer product safety commission, cpsc. it appears that the democratic leader senator schumer finally has the votes lined up for confirmation of ms. boyle and that she will be elevated to this position. i think this is a decision that members of the democratic party and the administration will come to regret and americans in general will come to regret.

recently the commerce committee failed to report ms. boyle's nomination favorably. all democrats voted aye. all republicans voted no. i think members should understand this. cpsc plays a vital role in ensuring the safety of american consumers. for this reason i have significant concerns about major administrative failures at the agency during ms. boyle's tenure as executive director there, including the improper disclosure of unredacted manufacturer and consumer data. an investigation i led as chairman of the commerce committee last congress determined that the unauthorized release of this data which violated section 6b of the consumer product safety act was the result of insufficient

training, ineffective management, and poor information technology implementation. all of these failings at the cpsc were under mary boyle's watch as the primary career official charged with the day-to-day administration of the agency's business. and yesterday toot, we're being asked to elevate her to an even more important and responsible position at cpsc. i'm also deeply troubled by the cpsc's curtailing of poor inspections for several months, beginning with the pandemic. and ms. boyle's involvement in this decision. in addition, she presided over the deficient and prolonged process of fully returning cpsc staff to work at these ports. so the inspections were not

getting done. there are now hundreds, if not thousands, of unsafe products that entered the country under ms. boyle's watch. and we still lack a clear plan from the cpsc on how those dangerous products will be removed from the market. this nominee has failed to demonstrate strong and effective leadership in her current position as executive director of the cpsc, yet the administration and apparently the majority leader of the senate are inexplicably trying tro promote her to a higher position -- to promote her to a higher position of trust and authority. in light of these many problems at the agency, associated with ms. boyle's leadership, i think her confirmation will be a mistake, and i think my dem colleagues and the -- my

democratic colleagues and the administration will come to regret this decision. thank you, madam president. the presiding officer: the senator from mississippi. mr. wicker: when is the vote scheduled? the presiding officer: the vote is at noon today. mr. wicker: i suggest the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: thank you. the clerk will call the roll. quorum call: >> mister president,

yesterday the american people saw themselves a glaring contrast between democrats who will fight to protect women's rights to the decisions about their own body and republicans pushing to send mothers and doctors to jail and institute nationwideabortion bands . with roe on the brink of elimination this issue will not go away . as americans vote later this year they will use choose between radical maga republicans want to get rid of roe, push bands on

abortion and even through doctors and women in jail or pro-choice democrats who will protect a women's right to make her own decision when it comes to her body. let me say that again. the contrast facing the american people is simple. either elect more maga republicans who want to push for sweeping national bands on abortion or support pro-choice democrats who will protect a woman's right to make her own decisions about her body . either elect more maga republicans who want pregnancies and who champion bands without exceptions even for rape or incest or support pro-choice democrats who will protect a women's right to make her own decisions. either elect more maga republicans who want to prosecute and even imprison women and doctors for carrying out abortions and mere friends who give rise to clinics or support pro-choice democrats will protect a woman's choice.

americans are going to see the contrast again and again and again. as democrats keep highlighting this important issue and as much as republicans will try to deflect, distort or distract the undependable truth is that their anti-women views are wildly out of step with the american people. just look at what'shappening across the country . democrats across the country on confidently highlighting their support for a woman's right to make her own choices and while the maga republicans may want to brag about their plans for a nationwide abortion ban and sending women and doctors to jail a clear majority of americans disagree with that extreme position. that's why republican campaign committees are urging their candidates to ha ... >>

you know, picasso talked about art being something that helps to shake the dust off the soul of humanity. but i think it does more than that. as an african american, i have seen art in the tradition of healing, of providing hope, of even calling out with specificity the instructions on how to be free. we remember the song that harriet tubman pointed to, wade in the water, wade in the water, god is going to trouble the water. that's the tradition that sourced my family. from enduring the pain of a nation that was unequal and divided, often in church with gospel songs, there was healing, there was hope. even the poetry in the harlem renaissance spoke to an america

that could possibly be, if we just never stop believing, as the great poet langston hughes said, america never was america to me, but i swear this oath, america will be. and who made america, whose sweat and blood, whose faith and pain, whose hand at the foundry, whose plow in the rain, must make our dream live again. o yes, i say it plain -- america never was america to me. and yet, i swear this oath, america will be. i lean on poetry and song today, just to get myself up in the morning. i have seen how artists have come to visit us here in the capitol, and senators from all backgrounds thanking them for providing for them the soundtrack of their lives. and god, humor, the comedians of old. i remember speaking -- sneaking to balconies, watching in my house, over the balcony, my dad,

quietly, not thinking his children are listening, put on records by richard pryor, whose humor helped to heal his troubled heart. make him laugh at the absurdities of a nation that still had not fully fulfilled itself. so i bring this thought and this heart to say thank you to artists, thank you to this institution for what we did in a bipartisan way to make sure we were funding the venues of this country, the stages where so many artists were able to continue to work during a pandemic. we fund the arts. it's funding that often has to be pushed or fought for, but i say it's the if you can that in many ways helps to sustain and source the soul of a nation, because without art we would have lost our way a long time ago d ago. -- a long time ago. this week, i had this moment where you got to pinch yourself, and i know the presiding chair

has had this moment too, where you get this call from white house staff that says hey, we've got some extra seats, and the president of the united states -- in the president of the united states' box at the kennedy center to come see a performance by a group called freestyle love supreme. and i said no immediately. i'm so busy, i've got so much work. i had a night that was ending relatively early. my staff says to me, you know, a guy, chris jackson, he was george washington in "hamilton" is going to be there. i saw him in "the heights" he invited me back stage, gave me sufficient love -- such love. i saw him in "hoim." even -- i saw him in "hamilton." i saw them perform, and i was blown away by the performance. i hope that while they're here, people get a chance to go. what blew me away was how they

reaffirmed that message to me, at a time i'm troubled with what's happening in our life, with decisions in the supreme court, with challenges with the economy, they touched on a lot of those issues, with humor and artistic genius, and i found my spirit being lifted. i found camaraderie with strangers. you see a whole crowd of people being pulled together around ideals of empathy and love and affirmament of our most core, cherished values as a nation, like freedom and protests. i'm honored that this group is visiting the united states senate right now, for many of their first times being in this sacred space, this hallowed hall to get a chance to witness what we do every day, and i just want to say thank you to them, and i want to give tribute to all of the artists in america who do so much for the soul of this nation. and inspire us every day not to stop believing in tomorrows that

can be better than what we have in the present. madam president, i yield the floor.

ms. klobuchar: madam president? the presiding officer: the senator from minnesota is he recognized. ms. klobuchar: i rise today in support of mary boyle, the nominee to serve as commissioner at the u.s. consumer product safety commission. mary will bring to this role more than a decade of experience on the consumer product safety commission where she previously served as general counsel and currently serves as the executive director. she is deeply knowledgeable about consumer product safety and the functioning of the cpsc. i have every confidence that she will be ready to lead on day one. but it's not just her professional background that makes her perfect for this role. as a mom who raised three kids, she knows firsthand how important it is for parents to

be able to trust the products they use every day, and she understands the stakes and the devastating consequences of unsafe products. just yesterday the commerce committee took an important step forward toward protecting kids and infants by passing the sturdy act, which will prevent harmful and ultimately heartbreaking furniture tipovers. senator casey and blumenthal and i have been working on this for quite a while. it resulted in the largest furniture recall ever in the history of america with ikea, but we need standards in place across the board. i no he that we can count on mary -- i know that we can count on mary to be another critical partner to keep unsafe products from hurting our kids. mary is clear-eyed about the responsibility of the cpsc. in her words, it provides a safety net for the public. and in order to carry out that crucial task, it needs a full

roster of commissioners. currently four of the five slots is are filled. to truly address press product safety issues, we have to fill that fifth seat. we can't afford to play politics here. this is about everything from the hazards posed by crib bumper pads to the use of toxic chemicals in everyday consumer products. i got involved in this way, way back before i was a senator when we had a young child swallow a charm that he got with a pair of tennis shoes. it was a giveaway. and he didn't die because he choked on that charm. he died over a period of days because the lead in that charm -- which was from a foreign country -- got into his system, and he died in just a few days. that's how i got involved in the lead standards on foreign toys. that's how i started working with the consumer product safety commission, and that's when i saw the difference it can make. or the time we passed a bill, a

bipartisan bill, named after jim baker's granddaughter, the virginia graham baker pool safety pill after a child in minnesota was in a kiddie swimming pool and her intestines were ripped out just sitting in the pool because there was so many faulty drains in this country. i went and visited hadder in the hospital and she said, i don't want -- i went and visited her in the hospital and she said, i don't want this to happen to any other kids. during the time we worked together, we worked together to pass a much safer pool safety bill. the last time i heard testimony, a decade after we lost a number of kids every year, not one kid had died because of a simple change to how the pool trains worked. that's what the consumer product safety commission can do at its best. make sure it doesn't happen to any other kid again.

the american people are counting on us to get this right, and with mary we have the opportunity to do just that a as mary said in her testimony, consumers need to be able to go about their daily lives without worrying that products they interact with every day -- washing machines, cell phones, and treadmills to name just a few -- do not injure, maim or kill them. throughout her impressive career, mary boyle has shown that she is a wholeheartedly dedicated to that mission. i'm voting in support of her, and i urge my colleagues to do the same. thank you, madam president. i yield. a senator: madam president? the presiding officer: the senator from utah is recognized. mr. lee: madam president, the state antitrust enforcement venue act is a much-needed reform that would put state attorneys general bringing antitrust suits under the antitrust laws on equal footing alongside federal antitrust

enforcement personnel. by allowing them to avoid consolidation with private antitrust suits. this would shield these important antitrust actions from the inefficiencies of coordinating their litigation with their slower-moving counterparts brought by private litigants. and it would also respect our federalist system of government and recognize the unique and essential role that states play specifically in enforcing our antitrust laws. no doubt, that is exactly why this bill is supported by 45 state attorneys general, including utah, minnesota, texas, california, south carolina, rhode island, delaware, nebraska, connecticut, missouri, hawaii, new jersey, arkansas, louisiana, and north carolina. representing the home states of almost every member of the senate judiciary committee. my own reasons for introducing the legislation are simple.

states are sovereign entities and they're entitled to pursue law enforcement actions in defense of their citizens in the venue, in the manner they think best, period. allowing state antitrust enforcement actions to be consolidated with private lawsuits not only combination upon state sovereignty, it also needlessly delays consumer redress for antitrust harm. for example, the case brought by 16 states and the commonwealth of puerto rico alleging that google's conduct has violated federal antitrust laws was transferred from texas where that lawsuit was originally filed to the southern district of new york to be consolidated with other cases. the transfer was ordered in august of last year. some nine months later, discovery is still stayed and no progress has been made. had the case just remained in

texas, discovery would be well under way and the trial was scheduled for next summer. instead, the case is languishing and potential remedies to consumer harm are being postponed. google's delay tactics have been successful. we must eliminate this loophole, a loophole that allows monopoly lifts to delay -- monopolists to delay antitrust actions brought by states attorneys general. i therefore urge my colleagues to support this legislation. and so, madam president, as if in legislative session, i ask unanimous consent that the senate proceed to the immediate consideration of calendar number 261, s. 1787. i further ask that the lee amendment at the desk be considered and agreed to, that the bill, as amended, be considered read a third time and passed and that the motions to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table. the presiding officer: is there an objection?

ms. klobuchar: madam president? the presiding officer: the senator from minnesota. ms. klobuchar: reserving the right to object, my friend and colleague, senator lee, is well aware that i am supportive of this bill. we worked together. i am the lead democrat on this bill -- to get it through the committee. i simply believe that this bill must go hand in hand with another bill that would look at this issue in a much bigger way. that, yes, this is about allowing state attorney generals to do their jobs and enforce the law. that's why he and i have joined forces on this benefit but it is also about utah ping some rules of the road in place on a federal basis. we are very close to having a vote on senator grassley's and my bill with a broad range of authors and support, which would be the only and first federal competition response to tech

monopolies since the advent of the internet. and i have been watching this movie for way too long. we have hearings. we throw popcorn at c.e.o.'s, we get sound bites on tv, but we don't do anything on a federal basis. we have the facebook whistleblower come forward, tell of the horror. the american people are with us and we digitter and doing -- dither and do nothing. this is the first time we have a coalition of people to move forward on a federal response. so my view of this is that as we wok to get our en-- we work to get our enforcers more funds -- that's part of it. senator grassley and i have a merger fee bill. it is currently in conference committee. as we work on senator lee's very worthy legislation to focus on

allowing the state attorney generals to keep their cases in their own jurisdictions, we simply cannot pretend that we don't have some role in this. and if members don't know about it, maybe they've talked to one of the 2,700 lobbyists that the tech companies have hired or maybe they've been subject to the $70 million effort on the federal local. and this is not senator lee that i'm talking b he is a true maverick and is willing to take on special interests. but what i believe is going on in this building is that there's a lot of people trying to wait this one out and hope we don't have a vote on this bill. and i appreciate senator schumer working with me and leadership over on the democratic and republican sides of the judiciary committee to make sure that we get this vote. so senator lee will have a vote on this bill. i would certainly not concede at

this moment giving tech something they want in this bill when we can't even have a vote on the federal legislation. but we will have a vote on senator lee's bill. i just believe they have to go hand in hand. i think he is well aware of senators doing all kinds of things procedurally to be able to get votes. but i think it is really important that we don't have a state-only approach when it comes to what's going on with tech. and to again remind my colleagues and those watching this what our bill, this big, bipartisan, important bill does, it doesn't tear apart of companies. it doesn't even take on fact that they are all monopolies -- and they are monopolies. google has a 90% market share. apple -- google, basically when it comes to app stores, are duopolies. when this comes to the digital

markets bill on monday and moving this ahead -- i was just speaking with them -- while australia has taken on the issue of the news organizations, while great britain is moving ahead, we sit back. it is time to at least take on one issue. as the justice department looks at what is a monopoly, is it a monopoly when you have 90% market share? at the very least we can do is put some rules of the road in place. and what senator grassley's and my bill does -- and we have taken several comments from members and made changes to that bill. what the bill simply does is say, hey, monopolies, gatekeeper companies, if you own your own companies, which they are increasingly doing, you can't use your monopoly status to self-preference your own products in front of other products. number two, you can't copy nonpublic data, nonpublic data

that you have because of the virtue of the fact that you are the gatekeeper and then rip it off and make your own products. that is exactly what amazon did in "wall street journal" reporting when they gave them the data and the next thing you know it shows up on amazon basics. and the third thing you can't do is make companies, small businesses, buy a bunch of stuff just to put yourself at the top of the platform. the american people are with us on this. poll after poll, including a poll that google accidentally, accidentally, put out there before they were able to pull it back that showed 68% of people want to use the antitrust laws. 68% of people in their own polling to be able to rein in this power. this is a uniquely american approach, but it must be done hand in hand with state enforcement. so all i am asking my friend and colleague to do here -- and i -- we wouldn't be here if we could have reached an agreement on it.

i will assure him that we will have a vote on his bill. but we must also have a vote and finally move ahead on what is only a slice of what we could be doing. we're not doing some of the things i would want to do, which is look back on some of these mergers, which is to actually take that e-mail that mark zuckerberg wrote that said i'd rather buy than compete and look at what they bought in their zest to be able to avoid competition. that's going on in the justice department and the m.p.t. but we're simply trying to set some rules of the road and it's more than overdue after an eight-month investigation in the house of representatives. an eight-month investigation. what federal bills have we passed that would put any checks and balances on these companies? they just keep getting bigger and bigger and bigger. and i am so pleased that some of

the state attorneys general are taking this on. and i am eager to get senator lee's bill and my bill up for a vote, but it will come close to when the vote on the actual federal rules takes place. for these reasons, i object. the presiding officer: objection is heard. the senator from utah. mr. lee: i appreciate the insight and the enthusiasm for antitrust law and even for this legislation that's been expressed by my friend and distinguished colleague, the senator from minnesota. she and i have been partners on a number of things, including the fact that we've alternated back and forth as the chair and ranking member of the antitrust subcommittee in the senate for over a decade now. and as she mentioned, she's the lead cosponsor with me on this bill. we've worked together on it. i agree completely.

to hold big tech accountable under our antitrust laws, if you want to hold them accountable pass this bill today. there's not a reason to delay. i understand and appreciate her desire to pass the klobuchar-grassley bill. i get that. that is a different proposal. it is not inconsistent with this one. there is no reason why this one couldn't pass and still allow the other one to move forward. nor is there any reason why this measure becoming law would in any way undermine that legislation or that legislative proposal. as to reaching a deal or not reaching a deal, we've been in conversations with the office of senator klobuchar for months, literally months about it. we've talked about different strategies for making sure to get it passed, what might have to change. we both discussed the fact that we preferred to keep the bill intact with the retro activity provisions in there but if necessary we could remove the

retro activist provisions if by so doing we could get it past the hotline. all that's been done in consultation with the senator from minnesota for months, literally months. none of this is a surprise. this was done in tandem with senator klobuchar's office. finally, i feel the need to push back against the notion that whenever something bigger could happen, nothing smaller in that area may be allowed to pass prior to that. this is a discreet, very specific fix to antitrust law that's desperately needed, urgently needed to hold big tech accountable under our antitrust laws. there's no good reason to delay this. it's unfortunate today we can't do that. i least expected it from the lead cosponsor of the

legislation. thank you. the presiding officer: the senator from minnesota. ms. klobuchar: again, i look forward to working with senator lee to pass this bill and i also look forward to passing this bill on a federal basis and not just deciding should be in the province of 50 different states. i really plan to work with him to pass this bill, and i hope it will be soon. thank you. i note the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. quorum call:

a senator: madam president. the presiding officer: the senator from kentucky. mr. paul: i ask unanimous consent to vitiate the quorum call. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. paul: madam president, i rise today out of a desire to protect the rights and the health of the young men and women who serve the senate as pages. i think we can all agree that the senate wouldn't function well without pages. the very first senate page was a nine-year-old boy named graphton hansen appointed by daniel webster in 1829. in those days the pages' jobs were to refill the ink wells and clean out spitoons. fortunately things have improved a bit for the pages. the work isn't quite as messy anymore, but it's still a high-pressured job for a high school student. when i was here on the floor voting last week, i noticed that the pages were all wearing masks, but none of my colleagues were. i threatened to come to the floor to seek unanimous consent to end the mask mandate, and

the next day the mandate ended. coincidence? perhaps. the new policy states, though, that the mask wearing will become optional for pages who test negative. once again we see the masks on the floor. i urge my colleagues to look around. the pages are still wearing masks. the covid policy for the senate pages requires the reinstitution of a mask mandate if they have supposedly been exposed. apparently there are rules for the pages of the senate but not for the president of the senate, kamala harris. when vice president harris was deemed potentially exposed to covid, she not only presided over the senate's confirmation vote of justice ketanji brown jackson but was also seen at the white house with the president, the first lady and the justice without a mask. rules for thee but not for me. jen psaki justified the violation of the covid

guidelines by stating it was an emotional day. i guess if you're feeling like it's an emotional day you can do what you please unless you're a page. the impressive thing about that absurd defense is that psaki was able to say it with a straight and maskless face. but an unseizing mask mandate is not all that is required of the pages. according to the guidelines, all pages are required to be fully vaccinated if their initial vaccination series was completed at least five months ago, the pages are required to obtain a booster shot to participate in the page program. from day one, our country's response to this pandemic has made the comfortable more comfortable while the working class orchids or people with power have to keep on working but have to obey rules that the adults don't have for themselves. now in the halls of congress, we have created a privilege class that can choose whether to get vaccinated and an underclass

that has to abide by dictate. it makes absolutely no sense to mandate covid vaccinations for teenagers who are healthy. it makes even less sense to mandate a booster. there is no scientific evidence that boosters are valuable, and there is scientific evidence that boosters increase the risk of a heart ininflame medication for -- inflammation for young add debt ceiling sent males. -- adolescent males. a study last month examined 23 million people across fin way, norway and sweden. it concluded the risk of my i don't see car die 'tis -- myi darditis risk was high effort among males age 16 to 24 years old. this is exactly why several european countries, including germany, france, finland,

sweden, denmark, and norway all restrict the use of mrna vaccines for covid, particularly for adolescents and particularly for adolescent males. this policy for pages blindly commands boosters. if you read the policy you can imagine an endless stream of boosters. every five months that you have not had another vaccine you would be required to get a booster. last month the deputy director of the office of vaccine research resigned. these people are on the vaccine committee, provaccine, both of them are provaccine mandate, and yet they resigned from the government as reported, citing white house pressure to approve third doses for all adults and writing damning op-eds critical of the f.d.a.'s subsequent decision to do so. it became a political decision.

the committee voted against extending boosters to kids and then it was overruled by politicians at the white house. these two researchers long esteemed, been on this committee for years, resigned in protest. one of the op-eds that ran in "the washington post" was coauthored by dr. paul offit, professor of pediatrics and director of the vaccine education center at children's hospital of philadelphia. once again, not an opponent of vaccine, a proponent of vaccines, a guy who has been on the vaccine committee for decades. as a member of the f.d.a.'s advisor committee, dr. offutt did not support widespread boosting when the committee met. he and two former f.d.a. officials wrote a healthy young person with two mrna vaccine doses is ex-troo emily unlikely -- extremely unlikely to be hospitalized with covid. so the case for risking any side effects, the case for forcing them to take a third vaccine

when their risk of covid after two vaccines is nearly, if not virtually, zero. he says, or they said that the case for these vaccines, risking any side effects such as myocarditis diminishes substantially. myocarditis is a rare event with vaccines, more common with young adolescent males. but you have to compare the risk of getting myocarditis with the vaccine with the risk of the disease. young people who have been vaccinated twice even without vaccines, young people, the death rate under 15 is one in 2.32 million. with the vaccine it's probably zero. we have studies of millions of people. we can't find kids who are dying or going to the hospital with two vaccines. yet the policy for pages in this body is a booster, a mandated booster. it's actually malpractice.

it is malpractice to give a booster a third vaccine to an adolescent male, probably to an adolescent female. there's no evidence it helps them. the other argument, people think we don't want them to transmit it to people. we've done a study on that too, vaccinated versus unvaccinated. 25%. household will transmit it. the vaccine protects you from hospitalization and death. it does not prevent transmission. so we're going to vaccinate these kids to take care of the old folks in the senate. it's not true. and they've already been vaccinated twice. the third vaccine, there is no scientific evidence. there is, however, evidence that it's a draining to them. and -- it's a danger to them. to ignore that danger, to be supportive of force i think is without question the wrong way to go. in january, a piece in the atlantic cited dr. offit, once again a vaccine supporter who

has been part of the vaccine committee with the f.d.a. for decades, as saying this -- getting boosted would not be worth the risk for the average healthy 17-year-old boy. this is coming from an advocate of vaccines, not a denier, not someone who has not been vaccinated. his son has been vaccinated, i believe, twice. but he says he wouldn't do it for a 17-year-old. in fact, he advised his son publicly who is in his early 20's not to get the third dose. what if i'm wrong? what if dr. offit is wrong? i don't know, what if it's a controversy? wouldn't we allow it maybe in a free society up to free individuals, consulting with their parents whether you want to get them? but, no. everything is about force. everything is about mandates. do as i told. even when the science doesn't support it, even when the science is arguable. do it or we'll fire it. do it or we'll send you home. i think that's a terrible

example, and coming from the senate an awful precedent. the a paper for the university of chicago. and the students there put it in a january editorial. if being boosted becomes a prerequisite for normal life, it means that the booster campaign will never end. see, we know this. this is the truth of the matter. while the vaccine does help you to prevent hospitalization and death, it has diminishing efficacy, meaning it wares off -- wears off. these kids, their death rate is virtually nothing, you vac nature them, it's -- vac nature them, and it's zero. do whatever people tell you despite the signs, despite three

scientists from the f.d.a. vaccine committee saying it's not warranted. despite people saying it is actually malpractice and puts young people at risk to get a third vaccine. in december, a professor at johns hopkins wrote, the u.s. government is pushing covid-19 vaccine boosters for 16-year-olds and 17-year-olds without supporting clinical data. a large israeli study published in the new england journal of medicine earlier this month found that the risk of covid death in people under 30 with with two vaccines was zero. the risk of death is zero and we're forcing them to get a third shot which we know large third-person studies, for which we know there is a side effect of heart inflammation.

even world health chief scientist said in january that there's no evidence right now that suggests healthy children and adolescents need booster shots. so most of europe has actually said don't take it because of the risk of myocarditis. the w.h.o. says there is no reason to do it and yet the senate thinks they can mandate this. god forbid one of them dies or gets myocarditis. an ep epidemiologist said that people who had covid still gets vaccinated makes zero sense from a health point of view.

furthermore we know that under age 11, 75% of the kids have already had it. so the age category of the pages, a little older than that, we're looking at a 75% chance they had it, they've been vaccinated and their chance of death is zero and yet they have to submit to the man, to the woman, submit to the state. the science isn't there. it's all about submission and we have weak lap dogs that say, just force them. it's likely that they won't die. it's a few we may lose. a study in lancet stated that current evidence does not show that a need for boosting is needed for general population. this isn't just for kids. this is the general population. boosting for those at risk, those of age, those with obesity, those with, you know,

other risk factors is not an unreasonable thing. for most of the people our age and older, the vaccine, without question, is safer than the disease. but the disease is so rare, so uneventful and the death rate so low in children, that you need a near perfect vaccine to say take the vaccine versus the disease. even then wouldn't you want to know if they had it? wouldn't we want the c.d.c. to release, if you've had covid and been vaccinated, what are your chances of going to the hospital. they did look at this for a large population study and found if you were vaccinated versus unvaccinated, you were 20 times less likely to go to the hospital. it's probably not measurable for kids since they are not largely affected by this. you know what else they measured? they looked at vaccinated and unvaccinated that had covid. and guess what, 55 times less

likely to go to the hospital. the disease is an impotent source of immunity. i think you would calculate that in. do you take the vaccine every six months or talk to your doctor and say, well, i had covid in january, i had two vaccines and i'm relatively thin and healthy, what do you think? wouldn't there be a decision-making process? we're talking to children and young men and women at age 15 and 16 who many have had covid already, had vaccines, wouldn't we want them to be part of the decision-making? wouldn't we say, what do your parents think? wouldn't we ask for parental consent? this is insane what we're doing. we're taking off on a tangent where once private decisions is the realm of the state. in lancet, they said that the

current evidence does not show that there is a need for a booster. currently available evidence, also from lancet, does not show the need for widespread use of booster vaccine for a primary regiment. we have lancet, you can disagree, you can disagree with the new england medical journal, but couldn't you say that there is an argument and that if there is an argument on both sides, shouldn't you get to the bottom of it? lancet said that there is not a need for booster vaccines in a population that has received a primary vaccine. there is nothing than bureaucrats demanding you, there is no data to say that 15-year-olds, 16-year-olds

should get a booster. when we consider rules for pages, we ought to ask will these policies continue indefinitely? and if so, at what end? on what data? we have people wearing masks, the vice president doesn't wear a mask. everybody's been exposed. i think we've had eight to ten senators had covid in the last couple of weeks. do you think everyone who ran into them wore a mask for two weeks? no. nobody's paying attention to these people but the pages are stuck under the thumb of the public health czars. when we consider the rules, we ought to ask when will this end? when it comes to vaccines, though, they can benefit the vaccinated person, but it doesn't stop transmission. the best data we have comes from denmark where vaccines were not shown to have any impact on household viral transmission or secondary attack rate.

in other words, vaccinated or unvaccinated, they both transmitted the disease equally. it's no coincidence that the scandinavian countries have moved to a targeted testing regime. they're targeting the disease and those who are at risk. they don't expesk people to live in -- expect people to live in a state of constant fear. instead public health officials published recommendations about how those at risk can protect themselves . it they give advice. there was a time in the history of our country when public health officials gave advice, not dictates or mandates. realize the policy we are adhering to is the same policy that dr. fauci exposes. you know his response. when the court struck down the mask mandate on planes, do you know what dr. fauci said? how dare the courts involve

themselves in public health. we're not smart enough, nobody outside the realm of dr. fauci is smart enough, but how dare the court dictate what is the responsibility of government, whether the c.d.c. has the power to have mask mandates. none of this. how dare they. that was his response. public health measures -- some offered a different approach. some offered a more targeted approach to this. dr. scott atlas called for when he was at the white house in the last administration, but his voice was deliberately drowned out by dr. fauci and others who chose to govern by stick rather than car rot. they should look at whether the benefits outweigh the burdens. there is no evidence of that when it comes to vaccine mandates, especially teenagers. that is why i am asking unanimous consent that the

senate pass my resolution to end all covid mandates for pages and respect their privacy, their rights, their medical freedom and their health for the young men and women who serve in this chamber. as if in legislative session, i ask unanimous consent the senate proceed to the consideration of senate resolution 631, which is at the desk. i further ask that the resolution be agreed to, and the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table with no intervening action or debate. the presiding officer: is there an objection? the senator from missouri. mr. blunt: reserving the right to object. first of all, i know my colleague, senator paul, is well intended in this recommendation. i listened to it carefully, as i'm sure others did. but the page program, which has been in effect since 1829, has become a program of both

opportunity and education and a program that the page board, the senate page board has responsibility for. i would say in looking at the immediate future, the pages who are here now, the pages who have agreed to be pages in the summer are the pages who i think are in line to be pages in the fall and their families have all looked at these recommendations, they have all decided the recommendation -- they're recommendations they would be able to meet and maybe more importantly, they also have decided to make anytime decision -- to make that family decision for their children to be here and be pages as high school juniors perhaps because of the standards that have been set that they're well aware of. i would hope that senator paul would continue to talk to the page board. i think the page board has a very important job to be do.

they accept an incredible responsibility of relationship -- a relationship that they have decided to enter into between the pages, their families and the page board representing the senate. that board has some oversight from the rules committee and i'd yield to the chairman of the rules committee. the presiding officer: the senator from minnesota. ms. klobuchar: madam president, i thank senator blunt for his statement. i join him in opposing this resolution. as chair of the rules committee with oversight of the sergeant at arms that helps manage the senate page program, i know, like senator blunt does and everyone here does, i see senator leahy is here, the presiding officer, senator paul, how hard the dedicated pages who come from states across the country work to help us do our jobs here on the senate floor. we're so excited when we have someone from our state come and

join us as a page and they are too as are their families. as we continue to reopen the capitol, which i strongly support, we must take into account the health and safety of everyone who works and visits here, including our pages. this resolution would reverse the page program's, as senator blunt noted, current policy and prohibit any requirement for pages to be vaccinated against covid-19. it would require pages to undergo testing and wear a mask. this includes reversing the policy that all pages must wear a mask if one tests policy. a commonsense rule to protect pages that all live in the same dormitory. in light of recent events, we know that staff, senators, as well as pages have tested

positive in the last few weeks. in light of the recent events, the attending physician, dr. moynihan, has recommended that pages wear mask. i believe in science and we should listen to dr. moynihan. local health officials have required vaccines for certainly eligible students in washington, d.c., including those attending our page school here in the senate. i agree with senator blunt that the page program needs flexibility to set its own policies to protect the health and safety of pages. we should not put these young people who have come here to work in the heart of our it democracy at risk unnecessarily. we know that the vaccine helps greatly if someone gets sick. i know that because my husband got really sick before there was a vaccine. he is healthy and he ended up in the hospital for a week on oxygen. that might shape my response here, but i believe that if he had the vaccine, we wouldn't have come that close to losing

him. i believe in science and so i join senator blunt in this objection and we look forward to seeing these pages and many pages serve us well in the -- in the coming years. thank you, i yield the floor. the presiding officer: objection is heard. the question is on the motion to discharge. is there a sufficient second? there appears to be. the clerk will call the roll. vote:

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the vice president: on this vote, the yeas are 50, the nays are 50. the senate being equally divided, the vice president votes in the affirmative, and the motion is agreed to. the nomination is discharged, and will be placed on the calendar. mrs. murray: madam president. the vice -- the vice president: the senator from washington. mrs. murray: i ask that the senate vote on the nomination of susan grundmann as provided under the previous order and that following disposition of the that nomination, the senate proceed to the consideration of the powell nomination and at 1:45 p.m. vote on confirmation of the nomination. the presiding officer: is there objection? without objection. under the previous order, the senate will resume consideration of the grundmann nomination, which the clerk will report. the clerk: nomination, federal labor relations authority, susan grundmann of virginia to be a

member. mrs. murray: i ask for the yeas and nays. the presiding officer: is there a sufficient second? there appears to be. the clerk will call the roll. vote:

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the presiding officer: on this vote, the yeas are 50, the nays are 49, and the nomination is confirmed. under the previous order, the motion to reconsider is considered made and laid upon the table and the president will be immediately notified of the senate's actions. under the previous order, the senate will proceed to the consideration of the powell nomination, which the clerk will

report. the clerk: federal reserve system, jerome h. powell, of maryland, to be chairman of the board of governors. mr. brown: mr. president . the presiding officer: the senator from ohio. mr. brown: i ask unanimous consent that i am able to complete my remarks, which will be brief. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. brown: since president biden took office, we've made tremendous economic progress as a country. our economic growth last year exceeded that of china for the fist time in 20 years. federal reserve system nominees who have come before the senate are crucial to continuing that progress. as americans face rising prices caused by corporate greed, a global pandemic and putin's war, having a full for -- federal reserve is never been more

before. vice chair brainard has been on the board and helped to work to create a better payment system that works for consumers and small banks. she has helped to strengthen the community reinvestment act, a landmark civil rights law to undo the dark legacy brought on by jim crow and ultimately red lining. we saw how this paid off last week, banks moved forward with the c.r.a. proposal. last week the senate approved the nomination of lisa cook. she has experience on monetary policy, banking and financial crises. she is the first black woman to serve on the board of governors in the 109-year history of the

federal reserve. she's seen how economic policy affects all kinds of people in different parts of the country from the rural south where she grew up to the industrial midwest at michigan state university, one of the great midwestern state universities in this country where she built her career. dr. cook is a spellman college alumni, she was a marshall and truman scholar. she studied at oxford university and earned her ph.d. at berkeley. last night, the senate confirmed dr. philip jefferson, one of the country's leading thinkers on economic policy. she will be a critical voice on the fed. he is the dean of faculty at davidson college. he began his career as a fed economist and grew up as he said in the shadow of r.f.k. stadium in the southeast part of the

city and he served as chair of the economic department of swathmore college. he would be the fourth black man to serve as a governor. dr. jefferson and dr. cook will bring racial equity to the fed, perspectives that have been missing for 109 years. we will vote for jerome powell who has been leading the fed. he has been steadfast and resists attacks by president trump to politicize the fed and i know he will similarly resist those in congress who see inflation not as a burden on american families but as a chance to blame the president of the united states for something that is complex due chiefly to things that happened before he was president and mainly to corporate greed and global events.

he played an instrumental role in stabilizing our economy in the face of the coronavirus pandemic. he's been a reliable voice and a steady hand through this crisis. all of the nominees for the fed have received an unprecedented amount ■ofsupport fromacross the political spectrum. more letters of endorsement than i've ever seen for federal reserve nominees. from state regulators and economists and bankers and former government officials, consumer groups, civil rights advocates and on and on and on. i congratulate vice chair brainard and governor cook and governor jefferson on their nominations and confirmations. i urge my colleagues to vote to confirm chair powell. last point, mr. chair -- mr. president, i'll continue to work with my colleagues to round out the full complement of the federal reserve. it's not had a full seven members in almost a decade. when we confirm in a few weeks, the vice chair of supervision nominee michael barr. the urban affairs committee will

hold a hearing on his nomination next week. we'll move swiftly to vote. i urge my colleagues to support chair powell today and to support mr. barr's nomination as vice chair soon. i'm confident all the president's nominees will fiercely guard the fed's independence, will work to bring down prices, and put workers -- most importantly put workers and families at the center of our economic policy. mr. president, i yield the floor. the presiding officer: the question occurs on the nomination. mr. brown: i ask for the yeas and nays, mr. president. the presiding officer: is there a sufficient second? there appears to be. the clerk will call the roll. vet: -- vote: vote:

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