america's open society, and to the degree your views are probably changed over the last couple of decades everybody in 2000 had a much more benign view of what the ccp away china and the u.s. -- >> we leave this program now to bring you live coverage of the senate. senators vote later today on or a president biden's nominations. you are watching live coverage on c-span2.

a senator: madam president. the presiding officer: the senator from arizona. a senator: madam president, it's past due for us to address veterans not getting the care they need after suffering an illness caused by toxic exposure. mr. kelly: we can do that as soon as this week by passing the pact act. as a retired naval aviator, i know firsthand the sacrifice and hard work it takes to succeed in our military. now, i knew i wanted to join the military from a young age. and after attending the u.s. merchant marine academy, making that choice was easy for me. that's the case for some but not for everyone. many more will say that this was the hardest decision that they had to make, putting families, school, careers or all three

through major changes in order to serve. this is a sacrifice for so many. and regardless of how someone comes to serving, what follows isn't easy. we spend years training to go to war. for me that was training to fly in an aircraft carrier and put bombs on enemy targets. that's what i did during operation desert storm, flying combat missions off of the u.s.s. midway in the gulf, to deliver weapons on dozens of targets in iraq and kuwait. war is by its very nature dangerous. and flying airplanes in combat or conducting ground combat operations is very complex. you need to focus on completing the mission while also focusing on your safety and that of your team or your crew. there are many opportunities to be killed or injured. we all get that.

the public understands that. but there are also silent killers that affected soldiers, sailors, marines, and airmen who served abroad. no american soldier goes overseas and expects to be put in grave danger by their own military. but they were. we saw it in vietnam with agent orange. we saw it in the first gulf war with toxic exposures that we are still grappling to fully understand. and it happened again starting about 20 years ago when american soldiers in iraq and afghanistan were breathing in toxic smoke from american made burn pits. clouds of smoke containing plastics, rubber, medical waste, and chemicals billowed and though the stink might have been a nuisance, the true physiological damage would turn out to be much worse.

we sent young, healthy and highly capable american troops all of whom volunteered overseas. and when they came home, they got sick. and then they got sicker. just like in the case of sergeant first class heath robinson whose namesake and story is behind the pact act. our servicemembers had put everything on the line only to return with severe illnesses due to bad decisions. and when those same servicemembers battling rare diseases file claims with the v.a., they were met with a closed door. they were told that it wasn't a service-connected illness so it wasn't covered. this is shameful. and it's unacceptable. and that's why this legislation is so important. our military made mistakes and

thousands of americans and more than 6,5 lun arizonan -- 6,500 arizonans have paid or are continuing to pay the price. we must, we must live up to our solemn obligation to look after our veterans. and that's what the pact act will do. this bill will lower the threshold for veterans to receive benefits, expand access to v.a. health care, strengthen the v.a.'s ability to process claims, and create pathways for future presumptions based on developing medical research and much more. so together, madam president, let's get this bill across the finish line for our veterans and their families. they deserve better from washington. thank you.

mr. brown: madam president. the presiding officer: the senator from ohio.

mr. brown: madam president, i want to reiterate and underscore and expand on some of the comments made by senator kelly from arizona in support of this legislation. we know that as he said our servicemembers put their lives and health on the line to keep us safe, even those who come home can face long-term health risks from their service. too often we've not provided the veterans the care and benefits that they've earned and deserve, particularly those exposed to toxic substances while serving in uniform. we had the opportunity this week finally to change that. this week in the senate we're on the verge of passing those comprehensive expansion of benefits for veterans who faced toxic exposure in our nation's history. providing health care and benefits for veterans who suffer from toxic exposure is a cost of going to war. we're willing to spend a lot of money going to war as we need

to, but we have never -- have never really stepped up taking care of our veterans, those who return home because it's also costly but it's what we need to do. if you're exposed, fundamentally this, madam president, if you're exposed to toxins while serving our country, with you deserve the benefits you've earned, period, no exceptions. the senate is finally on the verge of recognizing that. my office holds roundtables with veterans all over ohio and i've heard veterans raise this issue again and again and again. as many as three and a half million servicemembers in this country were potentially exposed to toxic smoke. time is running out for these veterans. for years we worked to highlight this long ignored issue and the hurdles veterans face after exposure to burn pits and before that exposure to agent orange. with agent orange we expanded v.a. benefits. we had to do it condition by condition and location of

service by location of service and it took way, way, way too long, far too many vietnam veterans suffering from toxic exposure from agent orange died while congress continued to slow walk the kind of benefits we should have done much more quickly. too many veterans were left behind. our veterans deserve better. this bipartisan bill will guarantee that veterans who suffer because of toxic exposure will get the v.a. benefits they earned for the first time in our country's history. it would finally extend v.a. health care eligibility to all post-9/11 combat veterans. it would expand prosungses for -- presumptions for veterans exposed to agent orange. it would at 23 burn pit and toxic-related conditions to v.a.'s list. the comp -- it's named in honor of ohio veteran sergeant first class heath robinson who deployed to kosovo and iraq with the ohio national guard. he passed away in 2020 of cancer

as a result of toxic exposure during that military service. his widow, danielle robinson, has been a determined advocate for this cause. she was the first lady's guest at the state of the union this year. to underscore the president's commitment to getting this done. his mother susan desire and -- zire and heeg's -- heath's daughter, susan's granddaughter, are here this week along with so many advocates from ohio like andrea, an army veteran and advocate from megs county and susan, granddaughter, the granddaughter of heath robinson and andrea and tim and others from ohio were in the gallery. they are counting on the senate to finally do the right thing. this has been a long time coming. it will mean that more than three million toxic expose -- exposed veterans will finally have the expanded access to health care which she deserve and which they earned. it's a good first step.

it's late for veterans who have suffered for years. i ask my colleagues to join me in finally keeping our promise to our veterans. we should never forget the debt we owe our veterans and we're humbled by their commitment to service. it's time to ensure -- it's time that we ensure that our veterans after sacrifice sog much for our country -- sacrificing so much for our country receive the full benefits and care that they deserve and that they earned.

her own health care we will look at what further actions we should take. >> can you talk about the importance or whatever the deal on guns.

away -- >> we have a lot of faith come have a lot of faith in senator murphy and he of the democrats who are negotiating. i don't think it would bring to us a deal but had no teeth. [inaudible question] are you expecting the situation -- >> have to wait and see what the international atomic energy agency says. >> others are saying toxic when on beyond this we cook with upbeat septal? >> i've given you my answer on that. >> any deal they can't you say senator murphy says there will be short and what you do is you would have to control. are you concerned it's too little and the people and left anything you didn't go far enough? >> bottom line is i've a lot of faith in senator murphy and the democrats who are negotiating at a don't think it would bring to us a deal without teeth.

last one. >> two questions. number one -- >> you only get one question are around a. >> you heard earlier in testimony about the buffalo shooting, about how doing nothing only fuels the fire. number one are you concerned about having nothing done here and more violence? and number two congressman jacobs was concerned about your response to a stance on gun violence is how he switched his viewpoint saying that you just said that he was feeling the fire. what is your response to? >> i was disappointed congressman jacobs, i've a lot of respect for and i know income would get along buddies should of foster gunter afi the hard right people who don't represent the majority of people in his district. not even close. thank you, everybody.

ms. murkowski: madam president? the presiding officer: the senator from alaska. ms. murkowski: madam president, i understand we are not in a quorum call. is that correct? the presiding officer: that is correct. ms. murkowski: thank you. i ask unanimous consent that privileges of the floor be granted to my first session summer interns for the month of june. harold monroe, graceland gore, charlie, dustin, and braxton zinc. the presiding officer: without objection. ms. murkowski: thank you it. i i have come to the floor to speak about a measure that i

will be introducing this week with my colleague from california, senator feinstein. we've entitled this the bill bruce's law in enemiry of a young alaskan, robert bruce snodgrass, who passed away in anchorage last october. bruce is the son of sandy snodgrass. sandy is with us here today in the senate gallery. bruce and sandy lived in california when blues was younger, before -- when bruce was younger before moving back to alaska. sandy likes to describe alaska as bruce's true home. bruce was a good kid. he was a good kid. but, like many good kids, he struggled with alcoholism, he struggled with drug addiction. and he and his family were far too familiar with this, as his

grandfather and his father died of the same addictions. and despite all of this, bruce started using drugs as a teenager, really sent his life into a downward spiral. but sandy was always there, mom was always there providing a safe and a comfortable home. and yet he was arrested repeatedly and ultimately wound up homeless. but then last summer -- last summer -- things, things turned around. bruce made the choice to get clean. he wanted to get his life on track. and sandy was right there ready to help, as any good mom would be. she got bruce to a detox facility and then into a local inpatient program for treatment. he graduated from it, and he

moved back home. he was able to spend his time at outpatient meetings. he was in counseling. he liked to ride his mountain bike. he received this after he had completed the treatment program. but then one day last october bruce went out for a bike ride, and sandy remembers telling him before he went, she said, be careful out there. but bruce never came back. he never came home. october 20, bruce's body was found in a grocery store parking lot. and just like that, just like that -- suddenly, heart wrenchingly, and after trying so hard to overcoming -- overcome his demons, he was gone, just gone forever. and so we grieve with sandy who

lost her only son that day. no parent -- no parent should have to bear what she is going through. but the details of bruce's death are especially tragic because bruce died of an accidental overdose of fentanyl. fentanyl is a synthetic opioid is should times more -- 1 should times more powerful than morphine. it is cheap, easy to make. it's also just incredibly, incredibly dangerous for those who come into contact with it. just two milligrams, which would fit on the end of a pencil, can cause a fatale overdose fatal

overdose. this is how the justice describes it. they say, fentanyl powder has the power to kill with the ingestion, the inhalation, or skin absorption of just two milligrams. by comparison, a sweetener packet found on a restaurant table istop generally contains 1,000 milligrams per packet. so just to give you an idea of how small a deadly amount can be, a single pill with just trace amounts of fentanyl can be fatal to the average person, which has prompted the drug enforcement administration to start a campaign that they call a one pill can kill. this campaign is designed to raise public awareness here. now, there is a form of fentanyl that is carefully and precisely manufactured. it's prescribed for medical

patients that may be in extreme pain, like those who are suffering from late-stage cancer. and doctors know -- they know that they have to be exceedingly judicious with their prescription of this pharmaceutical, fentanyl. but it's this other form, the illegal fentanyl, that is being made in underground labs and sold on the streets. illegal fentanyl is often laced into counterfeit pills that are made to look like oxy codone or other frequently used and abused opioids. the fake pills are difficult to distinction from the real thing without specialized tests because they are deliberately made to look like them. according to law enforcement authorities, about 40% of those pills, of these counterfeit pills, contain a potentially

lethal amount of fentanyl. so you buy a pill, you think -- you think it is a frequently abused opioid that you've taken before, but over 40%, about 40% of these counterfeit pills can contain a potentially lethal amount of fentanyl. some drug traffickers are also adding fentanyl into heroin, into meth, into cocaine, and it makes these drugs even more deadly since fentanyl is indistinguishable in its powder form. if you lookality a picture of heroin and fentanyl, you cannot tell the difference. but fentanyl's presence might be the difference between life and death. it was an official from new

hampshire who said a couple years ago -- he says, you don't know what you're taking. you're injecting yourself with a loaded gun. most people would avoid fentanyl if they knew what it was capable of doing to them, but oftentimes they don't even know. they don't know. they've never heard of it or they don't know enough about it, or, again, they think that they're buying a name-brand prescription pill, not some dead ly knockoff. it is now fueling a nationwide crisis with terrible, terrible impacts in every state in the country. a few weeks ago "the wall street journal" reported that drug overdose deaths likely reached more than 107,000 in america last year, an all-time high, and an increase of 15% from just 2020.

roughly two-thirds of those deaths were attributable to synthetic opioids, led by fentanyl, with an increase of 23% year over year. so we're just seeing it skyrocket. an official with the c.d.c. is quoted in that "wall street journal" story as saying, quote, we've never seen anything like this. we've never seen anything like this. and he's right. we haven't. nor are we ready to fight it. fentanyl is flowing into america largely from china and mexico, and it's coming in at an unprecedented rate, so much so that it recently became the leading cause of death for americans aged 18 to 45. and this was in the midst of the pandemic, when we were seeing deaths in other areas. but it became the leading cause of death for young americans. and no one -- no one has been

spared by this growing epidemic. i wish that i could say in alaska we're far enough away, we're remote, but, no ... i shared bruce's story with you, but he is not the only one. opioid-related deaths in alaska, mostly from fentanyl, rose by 71% between 2020 and 2021. in my state of alaska, it rose by 71%. it now counts for about 60% of the drug overdose deaths in alaska. our law enforcement authorities routinely are intercepting packages with fentanyl. they're finding it in anchorage, in ketchikan, in other places in the state. in april, the alaska high-intensity drug trafficking area initiative -- this is what we call the hida initiative --

had it's largest-ever seizure worth an estimated $376,000. the 1,1244 grams of fentanyl seized in january, february, march of this year, 2022, could kill 622,000 alaskans. 622,000 alaskans. that's about 84% of our state's population. think about that. in three months, in three months, the amount of fentanyl seized could kill 622,000 alaskans, or about 84% of our state's population. this is -- this is awful. this is a tragedy at every level. this is also an epidemic of the young, and i'm looking to the young people on this floor because i want you to hear how

frightening, how deadly fentanyl is. according to the alaska department of health and human services, drug overdose deaths rose by 25% among alaskans aged 15 to 24 last year. so basically your age category. and by a staggering 200% young alaskans it would between the age of 25 and 34. it's devastating. because behind those numbers are real people like -- like sandy's son, like bruce, bruce snodgrass. we had beautiful, beautiful weather last week in anchorage. i saw sandy. she reminded me ever bruce's birthday. -- of bruce's birthday. you look around and think about

that young man lost, gone, gone. at least six individuals in the matsui sally who were killed by -- in the mat-su valley who were killed by fentanyl, all in just one story, so, so many others killed, gone -- gone. in the wake of bruce's death, san subsidy has said that she was in shock for several months, which is entirely understandable. but since then, since then, she's decided to tell her story, share her heartache in hopes that other moms won't lose their sons. and so she is an advocate. she is an advocate with every ounce of her being, and it's thanks to her that we are introducing bruce's law.

bruce's law starts with education and awareness, requiring the federal government to create a nationwide campaign against fentanyl for school-aged children, young adults, parents, first responders, and care providers. the campaign will help illustrate the extreme dangers of pills and street drugs that could be laced with fentanyl, help prevent drug abuse, including through the safe disposal of prescription medications, and help identify the early warning signs of addiction. bruce's law also authorizes the secretary of health and human services to form an interagency working group on fentanyl contamination of illegal drugs. this group would consist of federal agencies, state-level hidta directors, parents who have lost loved ones to fentanyl

overdose deaths and those who have experience in recovery. it would consult with experts at all levels to identify strategies, resources and supports to address the incidents of drug overdoses with fentanyl-contaminated drugs. and it will review currently federal strategies to seek improvements to them, particularly when it comes to educating middle and high school students about the profound danger of these drugs. the final part of bruce's law authorizes new community-based coalition enhancement grants to help educate young people about the risks of street drugs laced with fentanyl. this would allow the drug-free communities coalition to access new funding focused specifically on fentanyl and try to eradicate or curb its use.

this is a starting poifnlt we have to start because we have such a serious problem on our hands. we know we have it in anchorage with bruce snodgrass likely never knew that he was taking a drug laced with fentanyl, where the officer who mept sandy after bruce's body was found had just come, he had just come from notifying another family of another death caused by another overdose. we also know that we're not alone. this is a national crisis, and we know we must do more, more to prevent fentanyl from coming across our borders, more to prevent fentanyl-laced drugs from being sold on the street, more to educate americans,

especially, especially young adults, especially youth about its acute danger, and more to address addiction and to provide support for recovery. so as i close, i want to thank senator feinstein for being the lead democratic sponsor of bruce's law, as well as senator sullivan and senator hassan for agreeing to cosponsor with us. i would encourage every, every member of the senate to sign on to this legislation. we acknowledge in alaska, this is a problem in our state, and we have to acknowledge it in all of our 50 states. i urge others to join us in this effort. send us your input on how we might be able to strengthen this legislation. and again, i want to thank sandy. i want to thank sandy snodgrass who is with us today.

joining her are kim kovall from the office of the governor, as well as mike troster who is the state of alaska's hidta director. each of them, each of them such important advocates. we recognize that it is going to take all of us doing a lot more, doing a lot more than we're doing now to raise awareness of fentanyl and turn back this deadly tide, but we have to. we have to for our communities, for our kids, and for bruce. and with that, madam president, i yield the floor.

>> we are going to start. she told me she would be a very quickly. okay. i'm glad to be joined by senator durbin, stabenow, murphy. as we begin another work. back the american people have one question in front of mind. after years and decades of gridlock, will the senate do something about our nation's gun

violence epidemic? it's clear from our lunch today democrats are ready to take good, strong action, and every member of this chamber is going to have to answer the question, can we actually get something real done? across every neighborhood, every school committee city city, every town, large and small, americans are wondering the same thing. what is it going to take? when is it going to be enough? when will republicans find the courage to stand up to the nra and act? democrats are ready to act. we've been ready and waiting a long time. it seems that maybe the tragedy in buffalo, the tragedy in uvalde and the mounting mounting tragedies and mass shootings we see almost on a daily basis may, may move some republicans to act.

where the great champion innocent in senator murphy leading peace talks and he's been held ably by senator blumenthal and heinrich and cinema and senator manchin and senator coons. senator murphy is asked for space to see what progress can be made with senate republicans and we're giving them that space. this issue is too important not to do everything we can to find a bipartisan way forward. you hear a lot of talk from republicans about the importance of bipartisanship in the senate. well, now is the opportunity to show us. once again we are giving them the opportunity, the chance to say yes, we are ready and eager to find common ground on something that can actually help address gun violence. we know we won't get it all done at once, but the american people want us to get something done, and he want to see republicans do something and do something real. they want to feel safe. when they go to the grocery

store or up to a bar or when they send their kids off to school in the morning. we want that, too. but, unfortunately, the nra has had a hammerlock on to me on the other side of the aisle. i made it clear that the senate will vote on gun safety legislation in the near future. senator murphy is working very closely with bipartisan group of senators and we are giving him some rum call. the presiding officer: we are mrs. gillibrand: madam president , i rise to discuss helping our servicemembers exposed to toxic burn pits. let me tell you about u.s. army sergeant first class he -- keith robinson. he was a strong medic who did tours in kosovo and iraq. when he returned home, however, he began experiencing fatigue. he started bleeding from his ears and nose and completely lost his voice. after consulting multiple doctors, he and his wife were

sitting in an exam room waiting for test results when the doctor came in with tears in his eyes. he explained that sergeant robinson had an extremely rare form of stage 4 lung cancer and exclaimed what have you been exposed to. sergeant robinson thought back to his tour in iraq. he remembered seeing and smelling smoke the size of football fields at his base in baghdad. while serving in afghanistan and beyond, millions of u.s. troops have lived and worked near burn pits. they are basically burning trash heaps the military used for decades to dispose of everything from human waste to trash and electronics and jet fuel, and they spew forth many of the same dangerous toxins that were at ground zero after 9/11. the v.a. estimates that 3.5

million servicemembers were exposed to burn pits from around the world, many veterans suffering from illnesses ranging from chronic bronchitis to cancer. but when these veterans seek treatment, they face an often unsurmountable burden of proof. for sergeant robinson, the v.a. denied him compensation and prescription medications because it wasn't proven that burn pits were the cause of his illness. army sergeant robinson died in 2020. he was only 39 years old. i have heard from many veterans, servicemembers, and their families who have also ben raising the alarm about burn pits. gina casalino of new york told me about her husband joseph who have an nypd and dad of two

girls. in 2017 he developed a rare form of testicular cancer as well as thyroid cancer. he died when he was just 52. madam president, this is simply unacceptable. our servicemembers risk their lives to keep us safe, and all they ask for is care in return. but our government has failed them repeatedly. first it was agent orange, then it was the blue water navy vets. today it's burn pits. it's why nearly two years ago i started working with jon stewart and a strong coalition of veteran service organizations to craft presumptive benefits for war fighters exposed to burn pits and other toxins act. this bill forms the centerpiece of the honoring our pact act which has now been named the sergeant -- which has now been named in honor of sergeant robinson. the bottom line -- it would remove the unsurmountable and

unreasonable burden of proof for veterans to receive care. no longer would these selfless individuals have to jump through hoops to get the care that they've actually already earned. no longer would they have to spend hours upon hours reaching and researching the very diseases that are killing them. no longer would they have to spend their own money on biopsies to prove that their illnesses are exposure related and service related. and no longer would they be forced to suffer or even die like sergeant robinson, sergeant cancilino and others as our nation failed them. now we have the chance to pass this bill in this chamber at this moment in time. and while we have incredible momentum, we still have to make sure we get 60 votes on final passage. i've been meeting with many of you to drum up the support we need for this critical bill to get it over the finish line.

its passage will represent an enormous victory for servicemembers and veterans across the country. i am proud of the enormous progress we made in this effort and i hope all of my colleagues will join us in passing the pact act, not only for sergeant robinson, but for all of those who have been exposed to burn pits while serving this country so honorably. i yield the floor.

can't finish her game and that's it but

is a mielstone in our -- milestone in dealing with the health and benefits our veterans deserve. we know that the modern battlefield is filled with toxin and poisons that can cause grave -- injury. and many of the afflictions that

are from those toxins and chemicals are manifested only years after a veteran leaves active duty service. in fact, cancer, hypertension, skin disease, the list is long and so are the number of years when the illnesses can arrive. they are hidden like many wounds of war they are invisible at the time. but these brave men and women who serve us on the modern battlefield experience them at higher rates because there are more of those toxins and chemicals. and we've seen them, for example, in the burn pits. one of my sons, a marine corps

officer in afghanistan, saw them firsthand, described them to me and worried about the effects on him. so far he is fine, but the years ahead are an unknown for him and for countless men and women who may have been exposed. in fact, they may not even know that they've been exposed to these chemicals and toxins. and the fact of the matter is that the veterans administration has resisted taking responsibility for these illnesses. it has erected thresholds of proof and barriers of evidence for veterans who suffer the effects of the burn pits, the other sources of toxic chemicals that can inflict such grievous

pain and worry on so many of them. and that's why this legislation is so significant because it will begin to right the inaction of the government in helping veterans afflict by toxic exposure. we have been here before. we have fought year after year after year for veterans who were afflict with the results of agent orange over the resistance and opposition of the v.a. and even after we passed the measure righting those wrongs, the v.a. resisted implementing the law, not under this administration, fortunately, but previous one. and i am immensely grateful to this v.a. for its seeming

support of this measure, but i am most grateful to the veterans themselves, the -- the veterans service organization that have been at our side and had our back, including the iraq and afghanistan veterans, their organization, the iava, has played an important role, likewise, the veterans of foreign wars, the american legion, disabled american veterans, and others. they are among the main movers who deserve predominant thanks. but chairman tester and ranking member moran and our counterparts in the house committee on veterans' affairs have been instrumental in this measure. in fact, i worked with senator moran on this issue when i was

the ranking member on the veterans affairs committee, and he saw, along with me, the importance of moving forward on this issue. this inaction has affected countless families, like sergeant first class robinson's family. i received a handwritten note from his young daughter yesterday urging me to vote yes on, quote, my dad's bill. let there be no mistake, i am going to be voting yes on this bill and i hope that my colleagues on both sides of the aisle will overwhelmingly join me in voting yes. and i want to say in particular how proud i've been to lead legislation, along with colleagues like senator tillis,

to advance particular causes of groups of veterans who have been specifically affected, for example, the polymorus nuclear accident in 1966 caused huge suffering and pain to men and women in uniform who were sent to clean up a crash or a release of bombs, they didn't explode, but they were nuclear weapons and they had to be cleaned up. it exposed those veterans to radiation and the pact act will provide them with much-needed relief. there is an estimated 16,000 -- that's right, 16,000 service members deployed to a base in uzbekistan known as k-2.

it was an old soviet base which became a dumping ground for all kinds of toxic substances, and they were exposed to those substances when they served there. now the old soviet union didn't care much about its people, russia not much more about its people in uniform, but we should and we do and that's why the pact act would provide care to them. in the united states at camp lejeune, many of our veterans and their families were exposed to toxins in the water supply. they've been left without any real resource. my friend and colleague senator tillis and i worked together on legislation to help these thousands of veterans and their families impacted by those

toxins at camp lejeune. it was an uphill battle. we had to overcome a lot of resistance. again, some of our v.a. friends didn't see it our way, but my feeling is that we had to fight as tenaciously for those camp lejeune families as marines do for us. the pact act essentially regards these kinds of illnesses and inflictions as part of the cost of war, and it puts the presumption of service-connected cause on the side of veterans because many of them are making claims after the fact, indeed, well after they have left the battlefield. the proof is much more difficult for them to make and much easier

for the v.a. to resist. so the burden should be on the v.a. to prove that these illnesses are not service connected, not the other way around. the presumption has to be in favor of the veteran. that's the basic fairness here. and it levels the playing field so that veterans have a fair chance at making sure that they receive the health care and the benefits that they deserve and need. i'm proud that this measure is bipartisan. it is long overdue, but it moves us in the right direction and maybe it helps to prove that we can continue to work productively together.

certain as to veterans we need to do the right thing in recognizing these costs of war. this measure is not only an important milestone as legislation but it also represents an opportunity to educate our country about invisible wounds, about brave men and women who serve in combat and come home without necessarily a visible wound but experience a different kind of hardship and burden. their sacrifice must be recognized. they need health care and they deserve it. and the benefits that they are receiving as a result of this measure are extraordinarily and

deeply well deserved and should be available promptly. i thank you, madam president, and 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:

>> debbie. we're going to start and

senator stabineau told me she'd be here. i'm going to be glad to be joined by senator murray and stabineau. as we begin another work period american people have one question in mind. after years and decades of gridlock will the senate do something about our nations nonviolence epidemic? it's clear from our lunch today democrats are ready to take good strong action and every member of this chamber is going to have to answer the question, can we actually get something real. ? course, every school, every town large and small americans arewondering the same thing . what is going to take? when is going to be enough? when will republicans find to stand up to the nra? democrats are ready to. we ready and waiting a long time.

me it seems that maybe the tragedy in buffalo, tragedy in texas and the mounting tragedies and mass shootings we see almost on a daily basis may move some republicans to act. we have a great champion in the senate and senator murphy leading these thoughts he's been held by senators blumenthal and heinrich set up manchin. senator murphy has asked for space to to see what progress can be made and were giving him. this issue is too important not to do everything we can find a bipartisan way forward . i'm you hear a lot from republicans about the importance of bipartisanship in the senate , well, now we have the opportunity to show us. once again giving them the opportunity and chance to say yes.

we're ready to find common ground for something that can actually help address gun violence. we know we won't get it all done at once but the american people want us to get something done. 10 to something and do something real. want to feels when they go to the grocery store or two of our or they send their kids to school in the morning. we walked back to but unfortunately the nra has had a hammerlock unto me on the other side of the island . we made it clear the senate will close on guns and legislation near future. senator murphy is working closely with a bipartisan group of senators and giving them time . not trying everything we can do to do something is not acceptable to the families. senator murphy and i have talked to all groups and people who work on gun safety

. they are in total for this strategy of trying to get a bipartisan agreement even if it's not everything we want . i'm reached. we had a good number of republicans reach across the aisle to work with us to try to find a path forward . so we're ready to get a chance. we'll just need thoughts and prayers, we need action. we need at least 10 republicans who are willing to say yes senator murphy has to go to another meeting. >> you very much senator schumer. all of us were home in our states last week and i think we all had a common experience. in connecticut, the level of anxiety and fear and unrest from the parents and kids that i talked to has no precedent.

parents and kids are really worried about their safety. and they're equally worried that the adults who run the country are serious about protecting our communities and our schools. this can be feels like a moment where doing nothing is simply not an option. now, we have to pass legislation that saves lives. none of us should be interested in just checking a box . but i'm encouraged by the discussions that we have had with republicans over the course of the last week and a half. every day we get closer toan agreement . we're told all of the members of our office will extend on these discussions and thank you to senator schumer for giving us the space we need to plan . obviously an agreement we reached with republicans won't come close to the

fullness of things i think are necessary to earn as of the american people are looking forprogress right now . they're looking for action and michael is in the coming days we will be able to come together in a way that gets us to the plus folks. remember there is no other country in the world where children fear for their lives when they go to school. my passion for this issue is not coincidental to the bank i have a fourth grader he should not have had to go to school today after uvalde and have a conversation with his classmates that he about where they would run, where they would hide. only in america today and do those conversations happen i believe republicans are and sincerely and these discussions is my hope is we

will be have compromised product that saves lives on the table for our colleagues very shortly again i'm very grateful to all the members of our office. thank you for supporting us in these efforts. >> senator durbin. >> i want the answer to the basic question. how many ar 15 are there in the united states? i can't figure out the number . one estimate was 11 million. that's the lowest. i heard two others. 15 million 20 million, all credible so we're living in the nation paragraph we have 20 million obese military assault riflesin the hands of individuals .we have learned what happens when they are wrong hands as they do but nonviolence comes in many forms. the laws that we asked andy will take reforms as well.

count me into an assault weapons. for purchasing. the list goes on, put an end to those guns. but the gun violence present in the city of chicago is different nonviolence. my great rate this last week trying to get inside this and understand it better. i went several off the record meeting with chicago police and then we sat down and talked about what it means to walk those mean streets and all the killing that takes place every weekend after weekend and i went into the private interventions sat down with young people from many said only what i need to know nonviolence in your life without on what nonviolence means to them. i'm on board for the basics. i've been one for with cosponsors of the skills i want to ask the list give these kids the chance.

some of them come from struggling families and they have no guidance at critical moments in your life there's a guy on the street corner lovers and gangs. we got to replace it. with trauma counseling so there's a conversation going on with chris murphy including it on gun violence in the city to. that means going beyond just the conversation about what happens. as part of bringing peace to american streets. >> senator murray. >> thank you. people lack in my home state of washington are not focused on whether idea is bipartisan or not. they are focused on whether it will actually help and that's what democrats are focused on as well. if we can work like a wayto get something meaningful done

for families back home like we did with infrastructure , you can thatwe will work to the . were working your bipartisan bill to bolster supply chains and boost american competitiveness and bring down prices to make us less reliant on foreign manufacturing. this week i hope to pass major bipartisan legislation to make sure that veterans who've been living with chronic illnesses because of toxic exposure during their time will finally get the health care and benefits they earn and that they deserve. soon the senate health committee highchair will mark up the most comprehensive fda legislation we have passed in many years and the most comprehensive retirement package our committee has asked in decades and we will continue to work on a bipartisan package on mental health and substance abuse disorders. if we can reach across the aisle and reach an agreement that helps families we will not hesitate to do so.

that's why we are urging republicans to work with us past the covid emergency funding bill so our committees are ready for that next surge. and as you heard we are ready to work with anyone to help and gun violence and i really hope that we can reach a deal here. but the end to gun violence isn't arming teachers or putting guns in our classrooms and there is a real mental health crisis in this country. one i'm working on in our committee to address in a bipartisan way but we can't just treat nonviolence as a mental health issue. his issue as well and we need to get to the root cause of these issues to let me be clear. we still need will be fighting no matter what for gun safety legislation, universal background checks. but if we can come to an agreement with republicans about solutions that they help save lives we are ready to get it done.

let me say it again. the question for people back home in washington state or anywhere else is and is this bipartisan? it's just will this happen so that's what we're focusedon . >> thank you very much. today june 7 is the 158 day of this year. there have already been 240 mass shootings. in the united states including three, 13, excuse me this past weekend. three of them in michigan. grand rapids, saginaw. last year almost 700 mass shootings happened an average of today. one of them was at oxfordhigh school in michigan . for young seven people were

injured and no students in the school was left untouched . on may 26, hundreds of those students walked out to show their support for the community of uvalde. this is a themehappening over and over again . heartbroken families, tiny caskets. stuffed animals and canned goods flowers left by the school time. firearms are now the leading cause of death for american children. not cancer, not accidental poisoning. and it used the caraccidents . but we did something about it when it was car accidents. in the 1980s as the new state representative in michigan i authored our child safety seat legislation with a republican colleagues in the state senate. we both have young children and we were concerned about car accidents being the number one cause of death for

children. and we do something to be done frankly was controversial. the idea of mandating children to purchase a car seat but their child and a car seat. but the evidence was there. it was the right thing to do .b and as saved lives. over and over again in our country we change laws to protect american lives. think about this one. in 2001, one person on a plane to detroit attempted to blow up playingwith issue bob . whathappened ? all of us have had to change what happens at the airport security and taking off our shoes. but since 1968 over 1,000,000 and a half people have died from nonviolence in america. the number one cause of death of children today is nonviolence. if we care about our children. children, people young and

old trying to live their lives, it is past time for action. we can do better than thoughts and prayers and i hope republicans will joinus . >> one minute. there's one more thing i want to mention before i take questions. thursday the bipartisan january 6 committee will hold its first public hearing. we look forward to the hearing and seeing the vice president. it's so important the truth about what happened leading up to the insurrection on january 6 and what happened on that day is presented for the world to see. as you may have seen in the report one of the people who was just arrested was within 20 feet of me and i recognized his face so we should have had an independent commission but as you all know senate republicans blocked it. there are few things that

obstruct the american people from hearing the truth for that fox news cowardly decision not to broadcast thursday's hearing. after all of the false facts that fox news has allowed to be put on the air by its commentators and everyoneelse , they have an obligation to show the true facts by allowing the hearing to proceed by their listeners. >> leader schumer was another violent weekend of mass shootings. democrats have called this an urgent issue so how much time are you willing to give these negotiations and do you want to see a dealon gun reform by the end of the week ? >> senator murphy has said he will come to an agreement with other republicans by the end of the week and i'm willing to give in that time . >> when you expect to bipartisan bill of board? >> same answer. >> this month? >> senator murphy expects we

can come to an agreement we asked this time. we will see what happens after that. >> were expecting a decision from the us supreme court on abortion and row versus wade decision to codify road to do so how are the votes? >> the act has the overwhelming support our office. that's the way to go. we had a vote on a waiting for its decision. it obviously a decision that will hinge on a woman's right to determine her own health care. when we look at what further actions we should take. >> let's talk about the importance of guns. are you committed to putting whatever deal senator murphy recordingstrike on the floor and mark you're not going to turn away ? >> i have a lot of faith in senator murphy and the other

democrats and we are negotiating . i don't think they're goingto place a deal that has no teeth . >>. [inaudible] >> i have to see what the agency says. >> lindsey graham parsing there's an appraisal be honest. >> i've given you my answer. >> you said to be shortened. are you concerned that there will be too little and others say you didn't go far enough. >> the bottom line is i have a lot of faith in senator murphy the democrats i don't think they will bring to us a bill without the. >> two questions here, number one. >> you heard earlier today

from the testimony about the buffalo shooting . about how doing nothing will be seen, are you concerned about having nothing done here at more violence at number two on harassment jacobs was concerned about your response to his stance on gun violence and how he switched his viewpoint saying that you just said he was fueling the fire. what's your response to that? >> i was disappointed in congressman jacobs. i know we get along but he should have fought the nra andthought hard right people who don't represent the majority of people in history, not even close . >>. [inaudible]

>> looks like chuck lefthis notes . [laughter] >> good afternoon everyone. i like a lot of others had a chance to be at all last week . it would surprise you to know everybody's concerned about inflation, food prices, gas prices and without exception every employer i ran into whether large business or small business is having difficulty getting people to come back to work . a real dilemma and i think all that is the result of the $2 trillion that the other guys dumped on the economy last week. over i get the vice of larry summers and jason furman. now the secretary of the treasury's has basically admitted they made a mistake. it's hard to find in this town. i commend her for admitting they made a mistake but it's a gargantuan mistake written with regard to the ongoing

issue of about violence, senator cornyn as you know is representing our side in discussions with senator murphy. we'rehoping to actually get an outcome . that will make a difference in the areas of mental health. school safety things that are related to the incident that occurred in texas and in buffalo. >> this last week president biden came out with a so-called plan to deal with inflation. plan consists of basically more blame shifting finger-pointing. instead of accounting really has cost inflation as the leader pointed out was the $2 trillion tax and spending spree grants passed last year a street party line partisan basis. and you would think that

after having had that experience was called down because time you had to literally harness, a lot of us were warning them that this was going to flood the zone a lot of spending and dollars out there that would add to the inflationary fire which has. we see no record inflation, test inflation in 40 years. record gas places which are getting consumers pocketbook every day and even though the president and his team may talk about job growth and wage growth wage growth is in keeping up with inflation eating people of this country are getting a de facto pay cut because of inflation. so what is the solution to that? the democrats are still trying to revive discussions about the bill back better bill, $5 trillion tax and spending spree would be the exact opposite description if you were trying to combat inflation. so i'm hopeful that there is

going to be at least one wise and thoughtful democrats out there that will the brakes on and stop this reckless idea of spending and not another $5 trillion and start bringing some common sense to have me come back and deal with the issue of inflation. to include an energy policy. gas prices are exploding and a lot of the inflation and if there's anything that it's the american people's attention is price for a gallon of gas . this administration want to figure that out and realized we need to solve this problem is to allow american energy producers to get off the sidelines, back in the game and start producing energy right here in the united states. it's all of the above strategy that makes america energy independent and takes those pressures off the gas prices that are literally washing the pocketbooks of the american people. >> individual lighting

economy american people have suffered through the most expensive memorial day ever. gas prices on average $4.92 a gallon. that's $.30 a gallon when we were heretwo weeks ago . joe has an opportunity to try to make things differently for all these people who are having to cancel summer plans . make changes in their life but he's not doing it. not all. tragically he's refusing to take the steps needed to help the americanpeople . he is way to climate extremists that he won't mention the ideas of drilling for gas in the united states. instead he wants to use the defense production. what does he want to use it for? not for pipelines or moral or powerful for solar panels and when the price of gas is approaching five dollars a gallon. so today secretary ellen was in the finance committee. she may have admitted she had

gone wrong but today she was back to the lame game blending inflation on who did . families are paying $5000 a year more this year than last year just to keep up with where they were a year ago. people don't believe the president. they believe their own two eyes and wallets and last week we had the secretary of transportation secretary of energy say if you're not happy with high gas prices by an electric vehicle. $55,000, that europe should not work in wyoming or anywhere acrossthe country . these people are told that you touch. you know, there are democrats wanted i guess is a long time july had said he guaranteed he would eliminate fossil fuels. just last week once again this president has come out siding with the environmental extremists. well gas place places in my

home state of wyoming. they've chosen 2000 leases in wyoming with their actions just last week . these are pieces that were granted in 2015 1617 18 and 2020. so the president is once again asked to american energy. as a result is chopping into the paychecks of the american people. so in july and stand up there and he says to the american people doing everything possible. to lower the cost ofgasoline , the president is lying there's no other way to explain it. >> so two days ago in uvalde texas 19 elementary school kids were killed and two of their teachers are killed. all of those families in a

significant way that community has changed forever . of course it brings to the topic of the weapons used but also bringsto the topic of mental health . i want to say things about that. one is the last day of october 2013 senator stabineau and i had a piece of mental health legislation. we talked about the last bill president kennedy had signed 50 years earlier. >>

have really posed an unscrupulous threat to unsuspecting students, to taxpayers, and to the solvency of federal student aid programs. corinthian colleges, sounds great doesn't it? that was one of them, one of the largest for-profit college companies and one of the worst. it operated more than 100

campuses, including six in my home state of illinois, under names like he everest colleges, wyotech. it raked in a $1.4 billion sum from the federal treasury every year. $1.4 billion for corinthian. how did corinthian attract its students? it lied. it invested heavily in marketing and advertising. it created a business model that relied heavily on predatory sales practices. it deliberately misled ?iewnts taking -- students into taking on more debt than they could repay. they lied about the students' future salary prospects. they lied about whether corinthian credits could be transferred to another college. most apl pawlgly, corinthian recruiters were sent out to the most vulnerable targets -- high

school students whose families had no experience with higher education, minority students. an internal company document described corinthian's target demographic as, quote, isolated people, close quote, with, quote, low self-esteem. people who have few people in their lives who care about them and people who are stuck, unable to see and plan for the future. they preyed on these people. single moms living close to poverty were the best targets. in 2013, vice president kamala harris, who was then california's attorney general, sued this company for predatory and deceptive business practices. that lawsuit was followed by investigations by four different federal agencies and more than 20 state attorneys general for consumer fraud on all of their campuses. corinthian's enrollment numbers and stock prices tumbled with these investigations. and on april 26, 2015, the

whole corinthian college house of cards collapsed. the company announced abruptly it would close all its schools the following day. the announcement left 16,000 students stunned and worried about how they were ever going to pay off the debts they had incurred and about the degrees they never would be able to finish. back in 2015, i called for a widespread relief for borrowers defrauded by corinthian. last week these borrowers finally received some long overdue relief, seven years after they cloasmed corinthian -- closed corinthian they finally got relief from the fraud that occurred. the education department recognized the rot that was at the core of corinthian colleges and announced it was going to wipe out $5.8 billion in student loan debt owed by 560,000 borrowers who attended the

company's for-profit schools. you see, the federal government was saying to the students these schools are okay, you can borrow federal money and go to these schools. these students said i couldn't get a federal loan unless it was to a real college or university, and in fact they were wrong. for former corinthian students, this loan forgiveness means finally their credit scores will start to get above sinking fewer bar nished paychecks and calls from collection agencies may slow down. i applaud the education secretary cardona and president biden for their leadership on this simple issue of justice. this is the latest step the biden administration has taken to ease the crush of student loan debt. the administration has used relief programs aimed at a variety of borrowers, including public service workers and people with disabilities. it also paused loan repayment during the pandemic. president biden reportedly is considering a broader student loan forgiveness program that would benefit more borrowers. such a program, if it is

responsibly crafted, would be a boon not only to individual borrowers and their families, but also to our economy. it would make it possible for young people to finally restart their lives, buy a car, maybe even a home, start a business, maybe even a family, the kinds of investments that make america grow the right way. i also believe we need to rethink the provisions in our federal bankruptcy laws that make student loan debt one of the few debts that cannot be discharged in bankruptcy proceedings. if you declare bankruptcy, you can basically be discharged from any obligation to pay back your mortgage, even your mortgage on a second home, your car loan, or even money that you borrowed for a boat. you can discharge all those in bankruptcies, but you cannot discharge your student loan. , in all practical purposes. bankruptcy should be used as a last resort for borrowers who have no other place to turn. i expect to have more to say

about that in the near future. america needs more trained nurses, doctors, teachers, engineers, mechanics and skilled professionals and trade workers than ever before. it's in america's national and economic interest to make sure that student loans are a prudent investment and to protect unsuspecting students from unscrupulous organizations like these for-profit colleges and universities. we should have learned our lesson as a nation. madam president, i yield the floor.

a senator: madam president. the presiding officer: the senator from ohio. mr. portman: i ask unanimous consent that clare smith, an h intern with senator boozman's staff be granted floor privileges until june 29, 2022. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. portman: i ask unanimous consent that karen fletcher be granted floor privileges for the remainder of this congress. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. portman: i ask unanimous consent to speak up to 15 minutes and senator stabenow for one minute prior to the scheduled roll call votes. the presiding officer: without objection.

mr. portman: so, madam president, last friday was a grim milestone. it was the 100th day of the war in ukraine, a war being waged by russia against an ally and a democratic country, ukraine. 100 days of brutal, unrelenting rocket and missile attacks throughout ukraine, including attacks on a number of civilian targets like hospitals and churches and apartment buildings, schools, tens of thousands of ukrainian citizens and soldiers have been killed and entire cities have been laid to rubble by the russian barrages. for the 14th straight week when the senate has been in session during this war, i have come to the senate floor, again today, to discuss the status of this unprovoked and bloody invasion and to talk about what our role as americans ought to be. first, it can never be emphasized enough that the people of ukraine, professional soldiers and civilians and

volunteers alike, have demonstrated courage, fortitude, and competence in beating all expectations in their existential battle against the odds to preserve their freedom and protect their homeland. i'm not surprised because i've seen the spirit and bravery of the ukrainian people firsthand in my seven or eight or nine trips to ukraine, including meetings with ukrainian troops on the line of contact before this latest invasion, i have seen the ukrainian spirit. to have held off russia this long demonstrates their strength and resiliency. but at this moment in time there is reason for concern too. president zelenskyy just said that russia now controls 20% of ukraine's territory. before the war started, russia controlled just 7% of ukraine after illegal annexation of the crimean pen -- peninsula.

if you look at this map, you can see here what russia took in 2014 -- crimea and part of the donbas here, and look what they have now and look where the battles are occurring. i made another trip to the region last week, and what i heard was that thanks to the fierce ukrainian resistance, the ukrainians have had success in some parts of the country. remember at one point kiev was under attack and there were russian toops coming down from belarus. they have been repelled. so there have been successes, there's no question about it. but russia has now consolidated its troops and its firepower in this area, in the south and in the east, and they're making gains, incremental gains but gains nonetheless. this is a crucial point in the war, and we have to redouble our efforts, and do that now to help ukrainians defend themselves, to save ukrainian lives, and to push the russian

invasion back. in my trip to the region last week, i also visited with u.s. troops and commanders in germany and with heads of government, military leaders and refugee coordinators in romania, moldova before traveling to the united kingdom to thank them for their support. while i was in moldova, i was able to cross the border into ukraine where i met with ukrainian refugees leaving the country, but also ukrainians who were returning to ukraine, as the place where they lived in this part of ukraine, closer to kiev, was relatively stable. during my visits with the leaders of moldova and romania, i was able to thank each of them for support of ukraine and learn more about what they need to be more effective partners in the region. in germany, visiting with the u.s.-european command, i received detailed briefings on the state of the war in ukraine as well as what the united states and our allies are doing to support ukraine's brave defenders with military assistance. i also met with a senior ukrainian liaison there from the

ukrainian military who gave me his very frank assessment of the war and what weapons his brothers in armies absolutely need -- in arms absolutely need to be able to continue their fight. as i mentioned earlier, russia's recent gains on the eastern side of the country are cause for serious concern. russia's main line effort, again, is hereby in the donbas region. by all accounts, the ukrainians are making the russians pay dearly for every inch of territory, but they are taking territory incrementally, and the ukrainians, both soldiers and civilians, are taking higher casualties. the primary reason that russian artillery has a longer range than the artillery that the ukrainians possess. they're able to strike ukrainian positions from safe distances where ukrainian artillery cannot reach them. this unlevel playing field in eastern ukraine must be addressed. this is why i've been urging the administration and our allies to immediately provide ukraine with the weapons they are asking for

to allow them to have a fighting chance against the longer-range russian artillery, specifically loarng-range advanced rocket artillery systems. these systems which we have are superior in terms of distance, accuracy, reload speed and mobility and would help immediately to level the playing field for ukraine. i spoke about the need for these weapons in my floor speech on may 24. i tweeted about it i think six or seven times. after weeks of urging that we listen to ukrainians and provide assistance, i was very pleased that the administration announced last tuesday that they will provide ukraine with high-mobility artillery rocket systems. but i'm concerned not just by how long it took and continues to take, but by how long it will take to get these systems in place in ukraine while lives are being lost in ukrainian territory is being taken. moreover, the best information that i have is that the administration is only providing four of these systems which will

have limited impact on the battlefield. i hope i'm wrong about that. i hope there are more on the way, but that's the best information we have. they are providing ukraine with mid-range missiles, meaning had they will have to put themselves at greater risk. that may be okay because that may be comparable or slightly better than the russian artillery, but they're not getting the special longer-range missiles. it will take time to train the ukrainian soldiers, it will take two weeks for these systems to arrive in theater and for ukrainian troops to be trained. in the meantime ukrainian lives will continue to be lost. there is some good news on that front from another part of our allied front. just yesterday the british announced they will send multiple rocket systems to

ukraine, which is a larger version of what we're sending .this is very important. i appreciate what the u.k. is doing and i ask other allies to step up as well. in addition this work, we learned -- this week we learned that spain is ready to send leopard battle tanks and antiaircraft to ukraine. this is a big change and we appreciate the fact that the spanish military support has been increasing. they will provide training for ukrainian army officials on tanks according to the report which cites government sources. in the city the russians were overrunning last weekend, reports indicate that ukrainians have counterattacked and putting up fierce resistance to russia's assault. this is this area right here. although the battle is far from over, the ukrainians are demonstrating their resolve and showing the world despite being outgunned they will not give up without a fight.

after my briefings in germany, i met with the state secretary of foreign affairs and officials and volunteers involved with welcoming ukrainian refugees. america could ask for no better friend than romania. there is food security and blocking maligned chinese investment and critical infrastructure. our relationship has strengthened, including in ohio where many trace their heritage to that country. the country plans to boost nuclear energy with america as their partner of choice. i urge the biden administration to do more to support romania's embrace of nuclear energy, especially with working with american companies, as their production increases, i hope that romania can become an

energy hub. romania has been smart. they have cut their ties with chinese telecommunications companies recognizing the threats they pose and they are not dependent on russian energy. romania is creative in finding ways to help ukraine export its grain. in is a huge issue. we all know that ukraine is a large exporter whether it's sun flower oil or wheat, with regard to wheat, so many countries depends on ukraine wheat. this photo is of a bombing attack only a day and a half ago in the area of the port of oh, oh-- odessa and this is a bomb at a grain bin. they are destroying cheat and other -- wheat and other grains that would be destined for other poor countries in the world. this is what's going on today in

ukraine. there's something else very important, and that's the ability of ukraine to export this wheat that they do have in bins around the country. i scuffed this -- discussing this at length with the prime minister of romania. this grain would normally go out through odessa which has been mined and has been mined by the russians. here we are in the port of constanta is here, here is the port of odessa, over here is the donbas where we were earlier. this port is the largest port on the black sea. it's difficult to get from odessa to here, but in talking to the prime minister, he has some great ideas on how to deal with this with the block aid of oh-- blockade of odessa by russia, there is the possibility to use rail or the canal system

to be able to export it. i appreciate the pact that romanians are able to work with us on that and it's incredibly important for ukraine, not only for their economy, but it is also important because of the global insecure of food and price hikes concerns all of us and certainly this administration. they depend on ukraine wheat to avoid food shortages. romanian officials told me they intend to work with ukraine and its project. actors around the world have used food as a weapon, the hiewties in -- the hooties in -- hiewties -- including odessa if the sanctions were lifted on russia. let me be clear, food shut never be used as leverage in negotiations. russia must lift its blockade

immediately without any conditions, millions of lives will depend on it. i expect the administration and allies, including turkey to come up with contingency plans to ensure that the wheat can be exported. when it comes to the administration, president biden said, he said that there will have to be a negotiated settlement to end this war. i urged the administration not to talk about ceding ground in ukraine. this does not signal resolve or clarity, it signals weakness. it will not help us break the blockade in the black sea. we should be doing what we can short of boots on the ground to help ukraine take back their territory. that is fair, justin what ukrainian officials themselves have been calling for. our allies in eastern europe know what's at stake here, romania is great example, they are committed to the alliance

and meets into the's goal of spending 2% of its g.d.p. on nato's defense and plan to increase it to 2.5%. after ukraine i visited moldova and met with the minister of internal affairs. i was impressed with what i saw. as i told the prime minister, moldova is a small country, and they have accepted half a million ukrainian refugees. unfortunately the war in ukraine is far from over and if russia opens up an assault on odessa it will send another massive wave of refugees westward to moldova and then i went to paldosa. while at the border i had an opportunity to speak with ukrainians whose lives have been

turned upside down by the war. some were leaving moldova, some coming back, but they all expressed their fears that russia is gaining ground in parts of the country, including odessa which is only 30 miles away from where i was. now, as the war rages on and we cross 100 days of the brutal invasion, i want to highlight something else. i highlighted on the floor the need for stronger sanctions against russia, with regard to energy and also with trade. there's almost $800 million a day in gas anwar repeats -- and war receipts. they took a positive step in banning russia oil into the e.u. it will prohibit the seaborne oil products. i believe it will stop pipeline

oil all together is expected to impact approximately 90% of russian oil imports into europe by the end of this year. combined with the ban on coal imports that russia agreed to earlier this year that will take affect in august, europe is making progress in the money that goes to russia to feed the war machine. even better would be a full embargo against all russian energy immediately as the united states has done. but this is progress. given their greater dependence on russian oil and gas, by the way, russian energy independence will require a different kind of leadership from the united states as we establish a new energy world order. where the u.s. can help most is to get more energy on the market now to stabilize prices. instead of looking to countries like iran and venezuela to produce more energy, we should pursue policies to expand our domestic oil and gas as well as

nuclear. in terms of the national security and that of our allies, the united states needs to lead the world in developing the next generation of energy technologies like advanced nuclear an hydrogen. the reality is this it shouldn't have taken a global energy crisis to real it. before this administration took over, there was idealistic policies to threaten the energy supplies here in the united states, we need to act and we need to act now. providing l. and g is important. we have the resources to help our friends and allies, we can help everyone so they don't need to take another dime and give it to vladimir putin's war machine. right now ukrainians continue to suffer and the world must not turn a blind eye. according to the united nations recently nearly seven million ukrainian refugees fled since

the war gans and another eight million are internally displaced. it cities like mariupol have been flattened. i will close with this. i have now come to the floor every week since before president putin put this illegal invasion of ukraine, who wanted to live in peace with their neighbors. someone asked why a senator from russia should care about this fight in ukraine. i told them every american should care, this is where democracy son the line. some folks here -- is on the line. some folks may not agree with that, i understand, but ukrainians get it. they know what it is like to live under an authoritarian like russia, they broke away in 2014. i was in ukraine right after the revolution of dignity where ukrainians decided for themselves that they wanted to turn to us and to europe to

pursue a hopeful future of freedom and democracy. now president putin is trying to extinguish that hope. we must not let him. i am motivated by the friends and constituents in my state of ohio some of whom joined me for an update where i learned about the amazing ohio volunteer efforts to help ukraine. even if i didn't have one constituent of ukrainian descent, i would be on the floor stating the same. people across the globe are showing their support for ukrainians. in ohio we have assured ukrainians that america has their back. at the ohio state university the president there participated in a call with president zelenskyy and asked how ohio state could help. president zelenskyy said, how about helping to rebuild the cities that have been notten stled. what -- not -- have been

flattened. they said count you -- you can count on us. they have been selling buttons and pins and deserts and donating the money to humanitarian aid. i list add dozen other great causes in ohio that have been helpful with regard to the humanitarian effort in ukraine. ohioans get it. they know that america can't be on the sidelines and be a spectator. as i've said before, we need to do more and more quickly. at this crucial time in the battle, freedom and democracy is at stake. and the ability for countries to have their territorial integrity respected. america cannot afford to be tentative. instead we must lead with allies in protecting the post-world war ii order many we are being watched by those allies, 41 of whom have joined us in helping ukraine defend itself, but we are also watched by our adversaries who must see

strength and determination and willingness to lead. i yield the floor. ms. stabenow: mr. president. the presiding officer: the senator from michigan. ms. stabenow: thank you, mr. president. first i want to thank my friend from ohio for his passionate leadership on this very, very important issue and the importance of standing with ukraine. so i want to thank him for that. we're about to vote on a very important position in the department of agriculture and i'm urging my colleagues to confirm dr. chavonda j. jacobs-young as our next under secretary for research, education, and economics at the department of agriculture. it's critical to quickly confirm

dr. chavonda j. jacobs-young because without agency leadership and senior staff, the research agencies at usca can't do the research. she is extremely qualified. she's held leadership roles at multiple research agencies at the usda and the white house. she will be the first woman of color to serve in the usda's highest scientific post. she was the first african-american woman in the country to receive a ph.d. in wood and paper science. and thet woman of color to serve as administration oorg for the agriculture research service. she's even got her own statue on the national mall, mr. president. as part of the if then she can exhibit to celebrate contemporary women innovators in science, technology and

engineering and math. her own statue on the mall. her commitment to science, research, and education is a true inspiration. i'm excited about the nomination of dr. jacobs-young and i know that she will help protect scientific integrity at the usda and build a diverse and resilient scientific workforce. i appreciate the cooperation of my colleague and friend, our ranking member senator boozman in moving this nomination forward. and i urge my colleagues to vote to confirm dr. jacobs-young today. thank you, mr. president. the presiding officer: under the previous order, the senate will resume executive session. the clerk will report the jacobs-young nomination. the clerk: nomination, department of agriculture, chavonda jacobs-young of georgia to be under secretary of agriculture for research, education, and economics. the presiding officer: the question is on the nomination.

is there a sufficient second? there appears to be. the clerk will call the roll. vote:

vote:

vote: vote:

vote:

vote:

the presiding officer: on this vote the yeas are 95. the nays are 4. 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. the clerk will report the next nomination. the clerk: department of homeland security, kenneth l. wainstein of v.a. to be under -- of virginia to be under secretary for intelligence and analysis. the presiding officer: the question is on the nomination. is there a sufficient second? there appears to be. the clerk will call the roll. vote:

vote:

vote:

the presiding officer: on this vote the yeas are 63, the nays are 35, 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. the clerk will report the next nomination. the clerk: nomination, department of energy, shalanda h. baker of texas to be director of the office of minority economic impact.

the presiding officer: the question is on the nomination. is there a sufficient second? there appears to be a sufficient second. the clerk will call the roll. vote:

vote:

vote:

vote:

the presiding officer: the yeas are 54, the nays are 45, 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 on the senate's actions. mr. whitehouse: mr. president. the presiding officer: the senator from rhode island. mr. whitehouse: mr. president, this week marks the 250th anniversary of the first blow struck in the american colonies'

struggle for independence from the british crown. i come to the senate floor every year to commemorate this moment, because it took place in rhode island, at the hands of some brave and bold rhode islanders. before recounting the tale of those bold rhode islanders, i would like to acknowledge a special guest with us in the gallery today, michael tathum, deputy head of mission for the british embassy here in washington. a lot has happened over the last 250 years, and great britain is now america's closest ally and great, great friend. it is an honor to have the deputy ambassador here today. so, it was 1772, and the royal navy's revenue cutter, the h.m.s. gaspee, patrolled

narragansett bay, in the wake of the seven years war, where great britain had emerged the victor, the crown owed, by some estimates, between 74 million and 133 million pounds. that was a colossal burden on the empire's finances. the gaspee's mission was to collect taxes from the colonyies to help repay british debt. i will concede that part of the gaspee's mission was righteous. rhode island's rum distilleries, formed a corner of the so-called triangle trade, with enslaved people from africa and sugar from the caribbean forming the other legs of this foul business. rum-running to support the slave

trade was repug napt and a -- repugnant and a worthy target of british authorities. but britain's heavy hand reached far beyond that. british kut option signatures -- custom agents seized colonial vessels and cargo at whim, leaving rightful owners with no recourse to reclaim their property. one such owner was john hancock, whose signature would soon become famous. authorities, even pressed colonial sailors into service on his majesty's vessels, against their will. the gaspee and her captain, lieutenant william dudingston, drew particular ire. one of dudingston's first acts was to stop the merchant ship fortune. dudingston and his crew roughed

up the fortune's commander, rufus green, con cemed the -- condemned the ship and her cargo, and send sent the fortune to boston for thed a military -- the admirality to sell. this did not please the fortune's owner, rhode island's nathanael green, who would go on to become general washington's aide-de-camp and wartime administrator, and then command the southern campaign of the revolutionary war, which he did so effectively that british general cornwallis would write, that damned green is more dangerous than washington. dudingston's reputation only worsened from there. british law awarded revenue cutter commanders a share of the cargo they seized.

dudingston seized so much cargo that he was able to nearly double his salary, and he earned along with that bounty a well-deserved reputation for arrogance. soon rhode islanders were protesting his conduct formally, but those protests yielded no accommodation. on june 9, 1772, simmering anger at dudingston and the gaspee boiled over. dudingston spotted a small trading ship, the hannah, bound for providence. the gaspee gave chase, and dud hailed -- and dudingston hailed the captain, benjamin lindsey, and ordered the hannah to submit to a search. captain lindsey declined that

invitation, and ignored the gats by's warning shots and sailed on towards providence. now, the hannah was smaller and lighter than the gaspee, and captain lindsey was more familiar than dudingston with the waters between newport and providence. lindsey steered his hannah across the shallow waters outside namquid point. the hannah could sale over the shallos, but the heavier gaspee could not. dudingston and his crew ran aground on a sand bar off pat, et -- pawf -- pawtuxet cove.

the gaspee would need to wait for the next day's high tides to lift it free. when the hannah arrived in providence, captain lindsey summoned local patriots to sabin 's tavern for refreshments and for planning. the result of the plan was that under the leadership of john brown, later to be famous for brown university, and abraham whipple, a group of men boarded a half-dozen long boats to row from providence down to pawtuxet, through the dark night, with aors muffled, the rhode islanders descended upon the gaspee. whipple reputedly called out to dudingston, and i hope the young pages will forgive my language,

but this is apparently the language used in that moment. i am the sheriff of the county of kent, god damn you. i have got a warrant to apprehend you, god damn you. so, surrender, god damn you. i believe i mentioned that the rhode islanders had fortified themselves at sabin's tavern, which might explain some of the language. in any event, lieutenant dudingston refused that invitation. so, a brief, sharp battle ensued at this moment, those 250 years ago, rhode islanders drew the first blood of what would become our revolutionary struggle, when a musket ball struck lieutenant dudingston. the rhode island patriots boarded the gaspee.

in the melee, dudingston cried out, lord, have mercy upon me. i am done for. but he was not. the british sailors soon gave up the fight. the rhode islanders took the crew prisoner and ferried the can'tives to shore, a markers still stands at the place where the captive crew was brought ashore. and there, dudingston received the care of a did and ultimately recovered from his wounds. indeed, dudingston would not only heal but go on to live a long life. he commanded other vessels, moved back to his native scotland and married and raised four children in a coastal town called elie overlooking the north sea. but he never patrolled narragansett bay again. a quick side story -- a few years ago a couple from

scotland, angela and eddie ennis visited is us at the gaspee raid. they are connected through marriage to the dudingstons and angela wanted to see somewhat the dudingston gaspee saga was all about. in pawtucket, rhode islanders welcomed them with open arms. local historian dr. john kincanan invited them to stay. it was an exciting experience, angela said. the people there are incredibly friendly. the trip also helped them gasp the significance of the gaspee raid on america's road to revolution, and this year angela ennis will mark the 250th gaspee anniversary with a gaspee day party of her own in scotland. well, that left the dreaded

gaspee with the prisoners ashore, the gaspee raiders returned to the stranded ship and set her afire. when the fire reached her powder magazine, she blew apart and her remains were lost to time and tides. rhode island was rid of the dread gaspee. now new efforts are under way to find the charred remains of the gaspee using advanced sonar technology. dr. kathy abbas of the rhode island marine archeology project is on the case. dr. abbas is accomplished in her field. indeed, she may have located captain cook's ship, the endeavor. it sunk newport harbor.

if anyone can find the gaspee, it's dr. abbas. i should also offer special thanks to the british consoli lot in boston who came to rhode island last month for the announcement that funds had been raised to find the gaspee. abbott said, being a british consul in new england means you must have broad shoulders. i get invited to events that celebrate the boston massacre and evacuation day, but what takes the biscuit is commemorating the burning of a british ship. the deputy ambassador should know that if in fact we do find the gaspee, rhode island, a colony no more, intends to courteously seize the vessel for further research. mr. president, the gaspee raid represents rhode island's spirit

of independence, which has lived in us since rhode island's founding as a refuge of religious tolerance from the massachusetts colony's harsh theocracy. our celebration of the gaspee affair represents rhode islanders' pride in that spirit, which we share willingly -- even with a dudingston descendent. oh, and by the way, this episode where rhode islanders rode down through the night to a british ship that had been stranded by rhode island wiles and sank her and took her crew and set her afire and blew her up? that all took place more than a year before massachusetts colonists boarded a british ship

to push tea bales into boston harbor. they pushed tea bales off the ship more than a year earlier, rhode islanders blew the ship up. i'm just saying, mr. president. so here's to another 250 years of celebrating the gaspee raiders and to more people learning about rhode island's role as a spark of revolution. i yield the floor. i suggest the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. quorum call:

>> we are going to start. okay, i'm glad to be joined by centers durbin, stabenow and

murphy. as we begin another worker. one question front of mind it. after years and decades of gridlock, will the senate do something about our nations gun violence epidemic. it is clear from our lunch today, democrats are ready to take good strong action. every member of this chamber is going to have to answer the question, can we actually get something real done? across every neighborhood, every school, eddie every city, every town large and small americans are wondering the same thing. what is it going to take? when is it going to be enough? when will republicans take the courage to stand up to the nra and ask? democrats are ready to act we've been ready and waiting a long time. it seems that maybe the tragedy in buffalo, the tragedy in

uvalde and just the mounting, mounting tragedies and mass shootings we see almost on a daily basis may move some republicans. we have a great champion and the senator murphy leading these talks. he has been helped by centers blumenthal, heinrich, and sinema, and manchin and cones. senator murphy has asked for space what progress can be made with the senate republicans and we are giving them that space. this issue is too important to not do everything we can to find a bipartisan way forward. we hear a lot of talk from republicans of the importance of bipartisanship in the senate. well, now is the opportunity to show us. once again we are giving them the opportunity, the chance to say it yes. we are ready and eager to find common ground on something that can actually help address gun violence. we know we will not get it all

done at once. but the american people want us to get something done and they want to see republicans do something and do something real. they want to feel safe when they go to the grocery store or out to a bar or when they send their kids off to school in the morning. we want that too. but unfortunately the nra has data camera walk on too many on the other side of the aisle. it made it clear the senate will vote on gun safety legislation in the near future. senator murphy is working very closely with bipartisan group of senators who are giving him some time. not trying everything we can do to do something is not acceptable to the for families per et cetera murphy and i have talked all begun groups, the people who work on gun safety. they are in total accord with the strategy. trying to get a bipartisan agreement even if it's not everything we want as long as it makes good progress and it is

real. i am encouraged that a good number of republicans have reached across the aisle to work with us to try to find a path forward. so we are ready to give it a chance. we don't just need thoughts and prayers we need votes, we need action. we need at least ten republicans who are willing to say yes. senator murphy has to go to another meeting. >> thank you very much senator schumer. all of us were home in our states last week. i think we all had a common experience. and connecticut the level of anxiety and fear and unrest from parents and kids that i talked to has no precedent. parents and kids are really worried about their safety. they are equally worried the adults who run the country

aren't serious about protecting our communities and our schools. this to me feels like a moment were doing nothing is simply not an option. now, we have to pass legislation that saves lives. none of us should be interested in just checking a box. but i am encouraged by the discussion we have had with republicans over the course of the last week and a half. every day we get closer to an agreement. not further away. i am grateful to all the members of our caucus who have pitched into these discussions i'm grateful to senator schumer to give us the space we need to land an agreement. obviously an agreement we reached the republicans will not come close to the full list of things i think are necessary to curb this epidemic. the american people are looking

for progress right now. they are looking for action. my hope is in the coming days we will be able to come together in a way that gets his 60 plus votes. a member there is no other country in the world in which our kids fear for their lives when they go to school. my passion for this issue is not coincidental to the fact i have a fourth grader. same age as those kids in uvalde read my fourth grade should not have had to go to school the day after uvalde and have the conversations with his classmates that he did about where they would run. were they would hide if the same thing happened to them. only in america to those conversations happen. my belief is republicans are engage sincerely in these discussions. my hope is that we will be able to have a compromised product that saves lives on the table for our colleagues to consider

very shortly. again i am very grateful to all of the members of our caucus that have support us in these efforts. >> thank you, senator murphy. senator durbin. >> i want to look up the answer to a basic question for it how many ar-15's are there in the united states? i cannot figure out the number. one estimate was 11 million. that is the lowest. then i heard two others 15,000,020,000,000. all credible. we are living in a nation perhaps we have 20 million of these military assault rifles in the hands of individuals. we have learned is sadly what happens when they get in the wrong hands and too often they do. but gun violence comes in many forms. the laws we need to pass to end it will take many forms as well. count me end to end assault weapons but count me in for real background checks. count me in for real penalty for

purchasing put an end to ghost guns put me on the list. the gun violence that i represent in the city of chicago is a different gun violence. i spent my break this last week trying to get inside of this and understand it better. several off the record means a chicago policeman and sat down and talked about what it meant to walk those streets and all of the killing that takes place every weekend, weekend after weekend. i went into the violent intervention and sat down with young people from the neighborhood, close the door and said tell me what i need to know about gun violence in your life and educate the senator what gun violence means to them. i am on board for the basics and i am on board to cosponsor these bills. but i want to add to the list trauma counseling. give these kids a chance. some of them come from struggling families. they have no support they have no guidance at critical moments in their life on the guy stands

on the street corner offers a membership to a gang that gives them rules and rewards. we have got to replace it with a trauma counseling for there is conversation going on with chris murphy include in it and attack on gun violence in the cities too. that means going to be on just the conversation about what is happening in this terrible mass shootings. that is part of bringing peace to america's streets. >> thank you. people back at my home state of washington are not focused on whether an idea is a bipartisan or not too. they are focused on whether it will actually help. that is what democrats are focused on as well. if we can work on a bipartisan way to get something meaningful down for families back home like we did with infrastructure, you can bet we'll work to make it happen part of factor to pass another major bipartisan bill to

bolster supply chain and boost american competitiveness and bring down prices by making us less reliant on former foreign manufacturing. this week i help bipartisan legislation to make sure veterans who have been living with chronic illnesses because of toxic exposure during their time in uniform will finally get the healthcare and the benefits they have earned and that they deserve. soon the senate health committee i terrible mark up the most comprehensive fda legislation we have passed in many years. and the most comprehensive retirement package our committee has passed in a decade. we will continue to work on a bipartisan package on mental health and substance abuse disorders. we couldn't reach across the aisle and reach an agreement that actually helps families we will not hesitate to do so. that is why we are urging republicans to work with us. pass the covid emergency funding bill so our communities are ready for the next surge of the

next new variance. and as you heard we are ready to work with anyone to help and gun violence. and i really hope we can reach a deal here. but the answer to gun violence is not arming teachers or putting guns in our classrooms. there is a real mental health crisis in this country. one i am working on our committee to address in a bipartisan way. we cannot just treat gun violence as a mental health issue. it is a gun issue as well and we need to get to the root cause of the shootings. so let me be clear, we still need and will keep fighting no matter what for both gun safety legislation, universal background checks and assault weapons ban. but if we can come to an agreement with republicans on solutions that may help save lives we are ready to get it done. let me say it again, the question for people back home in washington state or anywhere else is a bipartisan.

it's just will this help? that is what we are focused on. >> thank you very much. today, june 7 is the 158th day of this year. there have already been 240 mass shootings in the united states including three i'm sorry 13 this past weekend. three of them in michigan grand rapids. last year almost 700 mass shootings happened an average of almost two a day. one of them was at oxford high school in michigan. for young lives were lost seven people were injured and no student in the school was left untouched. on may 26, hundreds of the students walked out to show their support for the community

of uvalde. this is a scene happening. dis ? the presiding officer: without objection. ms. hassan: mr. president, i ask unanimous consent that the senate proceed to legislative session and be in a period of morning business with senators permitted to speak therein for up to ten minutes each. the presiding officer: without objection. ms. hassan: i ask unanimous consent that the -- following leader remarks tomorrow, june 8, all postcloture time on the motion to proceed to h.r. 3967 be expired and that if the motion to proceed is agreed to, the following reporting of the measure senator tester or his designee be recognized to offer substitute amendment number 5051. further, that after senator schumer yields the floor following senator tester's offering of his amendment and any remarks he may make, the senate proceed to executive session to consider executive calendar 670, lisa gomez to be

assistant secretary of labor and at 11:30 a.m. ?eat -- the senate vote on the nominations. the presiding officer: without objection,so ordered. ms. hassan: i ask unanimous consent that the senate proceed to the senate resolution 662 submitted today. the presiding officer: the clerk will report. the clerk: senate resolution 662 expressing support for the defg nays of may 2022 as mental health awareness month. the presiding officer: is there objection to proceeding to the measure? without objection, the senate will proceed. ms. hassan: i know of no further debate on the resolution. the presiding officer: is there further debate? if not, all those in favor say aye. all opposed will say nay. the ayes appear to have it. the ayes do have it. the resolution is adopted. ms. hassan: i ask unanimous consent the preamble be agreed to and that the motions to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table with no intervening action or debate.

the presiding officer: without objection. ms. hassan: mr. president, i ask unanimous consent that the senate proceed to the immediate consideration of calendar number 364, s. 3499. the presiding officer: the clerk will report. the clerk: calendar number 364, s. 3499, a bill to amend the postcakatrina act to repeal certain requirements and for other purposes. the presiding officer: any objection to proceeding to the measure? without objection. ms. hassan: i further ask that the bill be considered read a third time and passed and the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table with no intervening action or debate. the presiding officer: without objection. ms. hassan: mr. president, i ask unanimous consent that the appointment at the desk appear separately in the record as if made by the chair. the presiding officer: without objection. ms. hassan: i ask unanimous consent that when the senate completes its business today it recess until 10:00 a.m. on wednesday, june 8, and that

following the prayer and pledge, the journal of proceedings be approved to date, the time for the two leaders be reserved for their use later in the day and the senate resume consideration of the motion to proceed to h.r. 3967, as provided under the previous order. further, that if any nominations are confirmed during wednesday's session, the motions to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table, and the president be immediately notified of the senate's action. the presiding officer: without objection. ms. hassan: if there is no further business to come before the senate, i ask that it stand in recess under the previous order. the presiding officer: the senate stands in recess until 10:00 a.m. tomorrow morning. the senate confirmed today several president binds executive nominees including kenneth president george w. bush former homeland security advisor

to be the top intelligence official at the homeland security department. also alex wegner as assistant secretary in charge of the air force personnel. senators also voted to advance a bill to expand access to va healthcare and disability benefits for veterans exposed to toxic substances. live coverage of the senate when they returned here on cspan2. phone : :

ardor is connecting us for. >> charter communications support c-span as a public service. along with these other television providers. giving you a front row seat to