health care and benefits for veterans exposed to toxic substances. then at 1:45 p.m. eastern, the senate will vote to confirm president biden's pick to be general counsel of the health and human services department. live senate coverage here on c-span2. will lead the senate in prayer. the chaplain: let us pray. eternal god, you stretch out the starry curtain of the heavens. may your name be kept holy. as our lawmakers depend on your guidance, keep their feet on the path you have chosen.

lord, inspire them to make a commitment to always do what is right as you give them the wisdom to discern it. open your hands to bless their work, supplying their needs out of the bounty of your celestial riches. mighty god, may your glory continue forever. and, lord, thank you for the commitment and competence of the great spring 2022 senate page class. bless them as they prepare to leave us tomorrow. we pray in your loving name. amen. the presiding officer: please

join me in reciting the pledge of allegiance to the flag. i pledge allegiance to the flag of the united states of america, and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under god, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. the clerk will read a communication to the senate. the clerk: washington, d.c., june 9, 2022. to the senate: under the provisions of rule 1, paragraph 3, of the standing rules of the senate, i hereby appoint the honorable jacky sheryl rosen, a senator from the state of nevada, to perform the duties of the chair. signed: patrick j. leahy, president pro tempore. the presiding officer: under the previous order, the leadership time is reserved. morning business is closed. under the previous order, the

senate will resume consideration of h.r. 3967, which the clerk will report. the clerk: calendar number 388, h.r. 3967, an act to improve health care and benefits for veterans exposed to objection tokingic substances, and for other purpose -- toxic substances and for other purposes.

all four the packet legislation . as a former chair and longtime member of the senate veterans committee, one of my highest priorities is to make certain that every veteran in this country, people that put their lives on the line to defend us, get the quality health care and benefits that they have dessert. this is an important piece of legislation, and i want us to congratulate senator tester chair of the committee and ranking member moran for the hard work on this. this legislation will improve healthcare, research and resources for veterans who were exposed to deadly toxic substances and environmental hazards, including open airborne pics during their military service -- pits. this legislation will finally

recognize and treat toxic exposure as a cost of war for the millions of veterans congress has ignored for far too long. and we do that by adding 23 burn pit and toxic exposure related conditions to v.a.'s list of service presumptions. this will mean that some 3.5 million veterans will now be eligible for v.a. health care, and that is very, very important. it goes without saying that in the wealthiest country on earth where we spend more on defense than the next 11 nations combined, no veteran should be without the healthcare that they are in my view entitled to. and i happen to believe, and i understand there is not the political support for this in congress right now. but i happen to believe that in

a world in which nation after nation guarantees health care to all of their people as a right, in fact, we're the only major country on earth not to do that, that the very least we can do is make certain that every man and woman who has put the uniform of the united states of america on, put their lives on the line, are, in fact, entitled to health care because they served our country. that is my view. this bill does not do that, but this bill at least enrolls 3.5 3.5 million more people for v.a. health care under this, a step forward. in terms of this bill are clearly it is unacceptable that we have expose our military members to toxic burn pits and other dangerous substances on the battlefield. forsc decades, the pentagon has utilized open-air burn pits to

dispose of a this year we have an more mass shootings in america than we have had days in the year. more than one a day on average. the prevalence of guns, their ease of access, and the hateful motivations of mass shooters have all mixed into a toxic brew that is tearing america apart. people are asking what is going on, and why can't the congress protect us? yesterday, our house colleagues heard from those affected most, the parents of a young girl murdered in uvalde, a student who played dead by covering herself in her friend's blood, and the mom of a buffalo survivor who painted the gruesome picture of bullet holes on her son's neck, back, and leg. these were harrowing, gut-wrenching temperatures that

congress has not -- testimonies that congress has not acted in decades in response to these acts of violence is shameful. it used to be different. about 30 years ago, i was the author of the brady bill, and worked with republicans and law enforcement to get strong gun safety laws passed. that was a different era. but the lesson from back then remains clear today -- the right laws can make a real difference in reducing gun deaths. because those laws were on the books, it's very likely that tens of thousands of people are alive and healthy who would not have been. right now the senate is trying to break that streak of inaction, the 30-year streak of inaction since we were able to pass brady and the assault weapons ban, by working towards meaningful legislation on gun violence. yesterday, a bipartisan group of democrats and republicans met

again to continue working towards a bipartisan compromise. this morning my colleague, senator murphy rorktsed that the group is make -- senator murphy reported that the group is making good progress and they hope to get something real done very soon. as soon as the bipartisan group comes to agreement, i want to bring a measure to the floor for a vote as quickly as possible. the overwhelming consensus of our caucus, of gun safety advocates, and of the american people is that getting something real done on gun violence is worth pursuing, even if we cannot get everything that we know we need. the work of curing our nation of mass shootings will continue well after this debate concludes, but at this moment we have a moral obligation to try for real progress, because taking tangible steps to reduce gun violence is critically important. americans are sick and tired of

going through the same grieving cycle over and over again, only for congress to do nothing. they're enraged that even after shootings in sandy hook, parkland, san bernardino, el paso, boulder, pittsburgh, atlanta, and so many others, that nothing -- nothing -- has changed. we hope this time around something will change, at last. i hope that very soon we can see a deal come together. i encourage my colleagues to keep their talks going so we can act on it very quickly. the january 6 hearings -- tonight, the nation will tune in to the house select committee on january 6 as they begin their first public hearings on the capitol hill insurrection. tonight's hearings will be a watershed moment in the fight to protect our democracy from the big lie of the hard right. the committee will lay bare the

truth that the american people must know. first, that there was tremendous violence. there are still many out there who say there wasn't violence. there was. the pictures show it. the eye witnesses testify to it. and the committee will lay bare the truth that the american people must know, that donald trump was at the heart of a coordinated effort to overturn the 2020 elections, to overturn our constitutional order, and inflict permanent damage upon our democracy. it will be essential viewing. but in one of the most cowardly journalistic decisions in modern memory, fox news, one of the biggest amplifiers of the big lie about january 6, about donald trump, and about the election, will not broadcast tonight's hearing. fox news' decision not to air the biggest hearing in modern history should end any debate

that they are not a real news organization. fox news is rapidly becoming a propaganda machine of the hard right, and it is as plain as day that they are scared of their viewers learning the truth about january 6. fox news' decision not to air the january 6 hearings is dangerous, cowardly, and shameful, given that they've spent more than a year spreading the big lie and misinforming their viewers. instead of telling the truth, they have isolated their viewers in an alternative reality of conspiracy theories. that is immensely damaging to our democracy. even the so-called liberal media, who fox regularly attacks, tries to tell both sides. fox news is afraid of telling both sides, because they're afraid of the truth, and they're afraid their viewers may learn that fox news has lied to them.

i urge fox news to change course very soon. the press has an obligation, always has had that obligation, not to hide the truth from the american people, no matter how painful or inconvenient. and as a nation, we have a duty to never forget what happened on january 6, a direct assault on our democracy, and the dangers of at that day sadly remain still with us. now, on the pact act, a happier note, today, the senate will continue consideration of the most important veteran health care expansion in decades, the pact act, authored by my colleagues, senators tester and moran, bipartisan. we want to get this bill done as soon as we can. we can't have dilatory or destructive amendments to this bill, because it's too important for our veterans' well-being to delay or destroy it. for years, i've worked

extensively with veterans, veteran service organizations, and advocates, including jon stewart and john field, whom all say that the v.a. rules must be changed to assure sick veterans get the care they need. they volunteer, went off to war and were exposed to toxins. that's a cost of war, and the american people cannot let them down. the bill which could benefit 3.5 million veterans who have been exposed to toxic chemicals in the line of duty represents that change. for the sake of our veterans, there is no reason, no reason not to pass this bill asap. and i hope that's precisely what we can do. and on shipping, next week the house is to vote on a much-needed bill passed unanimously by the senate in april, to lower costs and relieve supply chains by reforming unfair shipping practices that hurt exporters and consumers alike.

rising costs are top of the mind right now for the american people. and one of the more flum nexting cost -- flum mixing costs is the backlog we are seeing at our ports. we've all seen the pictures of scores of ships lining up at ports from los angeles to savannah to my home port of new york, new jersey. these backlogs have created serious price hikes. according to one study from earlier this year, the price to transport a container from china to the west coast of the united states costs 12 times, 12 times as much as it did two years ago. and the american consumer is paying the price. and it hurts both ways when shipping costs go up. it affects exports that we send overseas and imports that come back. it's a double whammy whacking the american people's pocketbooks and wallets. at the end of the day, the american consumer ends up paying the higher price.

so i'm very glad that the house will finally act on the senate-passed shipping bill next week. the shipping reform bill will help us lower costs. it will clear our ports. relieve our supply chains and american families will feel the benefit. and i want to thank my colleagues, senators klobuchar and thune, authors of the legislation, as well as the fine work of senator cantwell in leading this legislation earlier this year out of committee, on to the floor, and passing here in the senate. i yield the floor and note the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. quorum call:

mr. mcconnell: madam president. the presiding officer: the republican leader. mr. mcconnell: i ask consent that further proceedings under the quorum call be dispensed with. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. mcconnell: for years ago, -- two years ago, the senate democratic leader stood on the steps of the supreme court and threatened two justices by name. you will pay the price, he shouted. you won't know what hit you. a month ago after the press defense -- precedent-breaking leak of a draft opinion, top democrats intensified the reckless talk. hillary clinton said the court was poised to, quote, kill and

subjugate women. leader schumer and speaker pelosi said the court would be ripping up the constitution. some of the most powerful people in the country pushing total hysteria over the possibility that justices may, may overturn a decision that even justice ruth bader ginsburg said was badly reasoned. far-left activists publicized justices' private addresses and encouraged angry people to flock to their homes. president biden and his white house were asked to condemn these intimidation tactics, and they refused. i wrote to attorney general garland a month ago asking why he wasn't enforcing the laws on the books already against judicial intimidation.

look, everybody saw where this was climate might lead. so yesterday morning u.s. marshals arrested a deranged person who traveled to washington from california in order to assassinate a supreme court justice at his house. he was reportedly -- he has reportedly been charged with attempted murder. the f.b.i. says the would-be assassin was armed and equipped for a break-in. he told authorities that he was trying to think about how to give his life a purpose. apparently it was only when he came across the justice's address posted online that it occurred to him to attempt a murder-suicide. he explained his problem with when justice was ideological, citing abortion and the second

amendment. while this would-be assassin was making his plans and traveling across the country, house democrats have spent weeks, weeks blocking bipartisan legislation to strengthen security for the justices and their families. this bipartisan bill passed the senate unanimously in early may. chairman durbin is a strong supporter. but inexplicably, inexplicably, this urgent and uncontroversial bill has been sitting on speaker pelosi's desk ever since. the same house democrats whose irresponsible rhetoric has contributed to this dangerous climate are themselves blocked added security for the judges and their spouses and their children. even last night, last night,

even after this arrest was made, even after a left-wing group published an ominous social media post concerning a school that a justice's children attend, when leader mccarthy asked consent to pass the uncontroversial bill, house democrats objected to it. meanwhile, the biden department of justice under attorney general garland continues to blattly ignore -- flatly ignore section 1507 of the criminal code which would appear to make it a federal crime to protest at the homes of federal judges to influence them over a pending case. that's the law right now. so this has been a shameful and disturbing two-step from washington democrats. first they use reckless rhetoric that helps fuel the dangerous

climate. then they refuse to do their jobs and address the problem. the same far left that has spent years trying to improperly pressure the court is now aiding and abetting this illegal intimidation campaign through total inaction. so why won't president biden call on his supporters to leave the judges alone? president biden, call on your supporters to leave the judges alone. why won't the attorney general of the united states enforce existing law? why won't the speaker stop blocking a bipartisan security bill that passed the senate unanimously? so it's hard to avoid concluding that perhaps some democrats may want this dangerous climate hanging over the justices' heads as they finish up this term.

a disgraceful, disgraceful dereliction of duty. this is antithetical to the rule of law. the speaker of the house and attorney general must honor their oangts to the constitution -- oathing to the constitution -- oaths to the constitution and do their jobs. i understand democrats want to stage a big spectacle this week about what they claim is their opposition to political violence. but in reality they're going out of their way to block concrete steps to prevent political violence. now, on an entirely separate matter, one year ago yesterday, the biden administration announced its withdrawal from afghanistan had reached a halfway point. analysts after analysts has confirmed what was clear to many of us in real time. the president's shoddy plans for a reckless pullout were doomed

to disaster from the start. back in february an army investigation found that in the runup to president biden's botched retreat, his senior national security and diplomatic advisers were not seriously planning for an evacuation and not paying attention to what was happening on the ground. that's an army investigation of the withdrawal. last month the special inspector general for afghanistan reconstruction blasted the administration's bad judgment before congress. he explain thad removing u.s. -- explained that removing u.s. military and contractor support to our afghan partners was, quote, the single most important factor in the collapse, the collapse of afghanistan's resistance to the taliban. it's not just that this policy failure should have been foreseeable to the biden

administration. it was, in fact, foreseen. experts spent months warning the president's policies would create chaos. i spent months saying the very same thing. now, many of the worst predictions about the aftermath are coming true before our eyes. our country and our partners are facing needlessly heightened risks from terrorists because of how the biden administration botched afghanistan. and yet the administration is still in denial. in a letter to congress just yesterday, the commander in chief claimed the united states, quote, remains postured to address threats to both our homeland and our interests that may arise from inside of afghanistan. but the reality is that pentagon leaders have been clear about the dramatic ways that

withdrawal has limited our ability to identify, to target, and to strike terrorists in afghanistan. the former commander of u.s. snarl command says that forcing u.s. air assets to travel longer distances to reach afghan air space means severely limiting the time they can spend actually performing counterterrorism missions. just as we predicted. a brand new report from the lead inspector general for our ongoing counterterrorism operations further confirms that the biden administration's mistakes have put us way, way behind the curve. without human intelligence or bases in the country, the united states is already suffering from less insight into merging terror threats. our sources are drying up just as we predicted.

we haven't conducted a single strike against a terrorist far get -- target in afghanistan since the last military personnel left kabul. and that isn't because there aren't any terrorists there. as the i.g. report confirms, it is -- it's because of, quote, logistical challenges and limited intelligence. the taliban is not just a state sponsor of terrorism, it is literally a government made up of terrorists and kidnappers with deep ties to al qaeda. even as the biden team continues to pretend that over the horizon operations are adequate in afghanistan, they are implicitly acknowledging that same insufficiency in other theaters. last month president biden redeployed u.s. troops to

somalia, establishing a limited but real presence needed to help partners to keep it from becoming a terrorist haven. to president biden's own actions in somalia give rise to the false claims in afghanistan. in point of fact, the longest-term vision about counterterrorism this white house has managed to lay out is their obsession -- obsession with some day shutting down guantanamo bay. i have yet to hear about what they're going to do with the dangerous killers currently held there. will they continue to rely on third countries to detain terrorists? that's the strategy that made possible the taliban's major jail break after the

administration fled afghanistan. does the administration intend to send terrorists to syria to be held indefinitely by a nongovernment entity like the syrian defense forces? in that case, how long is the biden administration prepared to remain in syria to make sure a had -- make sure that isis, hezbollah or another regime didn't facilitate a giant jail break. our coalition partners deserve a clear, coherent counterterrorism strategy that leaves our homeland safer and our partnerships stronger. the biden administration is providing, unfortunately, exactly the opposite. mr. mcconnell: i suggest the

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

mr. thune: madam president. the presiding officer: the republican whip. mr. thune: madam president, i ask unanimous consent that the quorum call be lifted. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. thune: madam president, before i begin, i'd like to express my dismay at house democrats' decision last night to block legislation to provide enhanced security for supreme court justices and their families. due to the unprecedented leak of an early draft of the supreme court's dobbs decision and the result and hysteria from members of the pro-abortion left, the supreme court asked congress for

additional authorities to protect justices' families. thapped four weeks ago -- this happened four weeks ago and an arrest of an armed man near justice kavanaugh's home, and has been charged of attempted murder, made clear how important that 0 protection is. the supreme court security legislation in question passed the senate unanimously four weeks ago, but has faced inexplicable delays in the house of representatives. this should not be a partisan issue. senate democrat whip said just yesterday that the house should pass this legislation. and i really thought that yesterday's arrest of an individual bent on assassinating a supreme court justice to have forced house democrats to abandon the political games and provide this urgently needed

protection. there is no excuse for further delay. one press report suggests that democrats may be rethinking their opposition. i hope that's true. house democrats should abandon the political games today and pass this legislation. madam president, recent reporting suggests that president biden may be contemplating forgiving $10,000 in federal student loan debt per borrower. that's a bad idea for many reasons. it's difficult really to know where to start. let me begin by pointing out the obvious. by forgiving $10,000 in federal student loan debt would do absolutely nothing to address the underlying problem and in fact would likely make things much worse. the price of higher education has risen in recent decades, the

cost of one year of attendance at some colleges -- just one year, is more than many americans' yearly salary. and that's a problem. but forgiving $10,000 of student loan debt would do absolutely nothing to fix the problem of soaring tuition costs. as i said, it would very likely make things worse. what incentive would colleges have to rein in costs if they could be confident that part of their student's bill would eventually be picked up by the federal government? because, of course, no one should be deceived into thinking that student loan forgiveness would be a one-time thing. one estimate dwessed that the student loan in this country would be returned to its current amount in four years of $10,000 in debt being forgiven. and calls to forgive more debt would undoubtedly come much sooner. future graduates are very likely

to want the same deal that would be offered to graduates today. the whipping away of $10,000 in debt. which brings us to another problem. some students opting to take on unrealistic levels of debt to finance their educations. how much greater is that problem going to be if students think that the government is likely to step in and forgive some of the debt that they've agreed to pay? it's very easy to imagine a student feeling free to take on more debt than he or she otherwise would. believe -- believing that the government is likely to reduce the resulting debt burden? madam president, another massive problem with president biden's plan is, of course, it's complete unfairness. under president biden's plan, an individual who just paying his or her student loans after years of work would not receive a penny. meanwhile, a student who graduated a month ago and hasn't

yet paid a dime on his or her loans could see a substantial part of his or her debt wiped away. the president's plan is also incredibly unfair to the tens of millions of americans without any student loan debt who with be -- who would be asked to subsidize the student loan debt of a percentage of americans. somewhere around two-thirds of millennials have no student debt either because they didn't attend college or didn't take out loans to attend college. it is unfair to those who worked their way through school or choosing the lower-cost option. it is unfair to parents who worked for years to ensure they could finance their kids' education. and it is unfair to those who chose not to attend a traditional four-year college and instead trained in one of

the many essential trades we plan on amount a community college or technical school. madam president, another problem with the president's plan is what it would teach about the sanctity of contracts. while it may at times be ill-advised students freely enter into the agreements they make when they take out a loan. should we really be teaching that agreements and contracts mean nothing? that people can incur debt and then not have to pay it off? madam president, another important point to make sheer is the average debt for undergraduate education in this country is not as crippling as it might be portrayed. now there's no question that there are students out there who were encouraged to take on unrealistic burdens of debt. but the average debt for an

undergraduate education is somewhere around $2-9d,000. -- $29,000. it is not chump change, but it is not unmanageable for the average college graduate especially with the payment plans. average student loan debt rises substantially for those with advanced degrees and there are those who take on far too much debt for graduate education, but it is important to note that those with higher graduate degrees have higher earning potential. doctors take on medical debt north of $190,000, but once they have finished their education, they can expect to make a robust, sometimes very robust, a six-figure salary. madam president, there's no question that the cost of higher education is out of control and

that students sometimes take on unrealistic levels of debt to pay for it. but forgiving student loan debt is not the answer for the reasons that i've mentioned, among others. instead, we should be exploring ways to drive down education costs. we should also highlight affordable education options like our nation's community colleges and technical schools. these schools provide students with associates degrees, apprenticeships and more. there are things we can do to help students pay off loans without forcing taxpayers to shoulder the burden. in september of 2020, congress passed a legislation that i introduced with senator warner to allow employers to help employees repay their loans. our employer participation and repayment act amends the

occasional assistance program to permit employers to make tax repayments on their employees' student loans. it's a win for employees who get help paying off their student loans and it's a win for employers who have a new option for attracting and retaining talented workers. our bill isn't a cure all, but it will help with the pain of paying back student loans for millions of americans and i'm pleased that it was enacted into law for five years and i hope congress will enact to make it permanent. another big thing we can do to is -- is to make sure that graduates have access to good-paying jobs. this is key to helping people pay off their debt and we should build on the economic progress we made pre-pandemic and focus on economies that will allow -- policies that will allow our economy to thrive. a $10,000 loan debt is fraught

with problems. as one democratic senator said, and i quote, an across the board cancellation of college debt does nothing to address the absurd cost of college or fix our broken student loan program. it offers nothing to americans who paid off their college debts or those who chose a lower-priced college to go to as a way of taking on debt. it ignores -- really importantly, it ignores the majority of americans who never went to college, some of whom have debts just as staggering. end quote. that's from one of our democrat colleagues here in the senate. "the new york times" editorial board. not exactly known for being towing the republican line noted, and i quote, canceling this debt, even in the limited amounts the white house is considering would set a bad precedent and do nothing to

change the fact that future students will graduate with yet more debt along with the blind hope of another future amnesty. such a move is legally dubious, economically unsound, politically fraught, and occasionally problem -- educationally problematic. end quote. that from "th -- that from "the new york times" editorial board. madam president, with inflation near a 40-year high and the president's approval rating hitting a new low, and with democrat prospects for november looking less rosie, it's not exactly surprising that the president would look toward student loan forgiveness as a way of distracting voters. when some democrats are reportedly pushing for student loan forgiveness as a way to boost their chances in november. but i very much hope that the president will decide that temporary political gain is not a good reason to put american

taxpayers on the hook for billions of dollars in student loan debt that is not their own. and as "the new york times" noted, the president's plan is legally dubious, economically unsound, politically fraught, and educationally problematic. and i strongly, strongly encourage the president to abandon the plan that even the democrat speaker of the house has suggested he doesn't have the authority to implement. mr. president, i yield the floor, and i suggest the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. quorum call:

mr. durbin: most esteemed presiding officer. if. the presiding officer: the majority whip, the senior senator from illinois. mr. durbin: i ask unanimous consent the quorum call be suspended. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. durbin: mr. president, i ask that at 11:45 a.m. today the senate proceed to executive session, vote on the confirmation of executive calendar 856, the nomination of robert steven huie as provided under the previous order, that following the vote the senate resume legislation session. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. durbin: mr. president, this evening, select committee to investigation the -- investigate the january 6 attack on the u.s. capitol will hold its first public hearing. for more than ten months, the january 6 committee has labored diligently to discover and document the truth about the day we nearly lost our democracy. this evening, the committee will

begin to lay out publicly for the first time the coordinated plan in place to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election and prevent the peaceful transition of power to a new administration in america. those are incredible words that i've just spoken, but they reflect the reality of january 6, 2021. among their witnesses will be capitol police officer caroline edwards, one of the more than 140 capitol and metropolitan police officers who were injured when the mob attacked the capitol. to offer edwards and all the police officers who defended american democracy that day, and who continue to protect this capitol every day, we owe more than our thanks. january 6 revealed to the world how fragile democracy can be, even in america. keeping our democracy requires

vigilance and truth. often, it requires sacrifice, and there must be a willingness to accept that truth. it is regrettable -- no, it is shameful -- that our republican colleagues in the senate filibustered the creation of an independent, bipartisan commission to investigate what happened january 6. mr. president, i recall that moment, and i'm sure you do as well. it was slightly after 2:00, just a few minutes after 2:00, vice president pence was presiding over the united states senate as we went through the orderly constitutional process of counting the lorl votes -- the electoral votes. i looked up from my chair to see the secret service come in and physically remove, quickly remove the vice president from that chair. the events that unfolded in the next few minutes were hard to imagine could ever occur in the united states of america. we were told to sit safely in our chairs this was a secure chamber, and

be prepared for other staffers from around the capitol to join us. not ten minutes later, a member of the capitol police stood before us and said, as quickly as possible, evacuate this chamber. hard to imagine in the united states of america. we've seen the videos. we know what happened. there's no doubt what happened that day. what an impression it must have left on the rest of the world. what would we think at this moment in time if a mob with battering rams beat down the doors of parliament and entered the house of commons and the house of lords? would we not say on this side of the ocean, my god, what's happened to the united kingdom? can this government survive? can that country survive? the same questions were being asked about america, because of that insurrectionist mob on january 6. the proposal was made, and it was a legitimate, thoughtful, good-faith proposal to establish a bipartisan commission, to get

to the bottom of it. who was behind it? and to ask the hard questions -- what role did president donald trump play in what unfolded after his rally on january 6, 2021? some people don't even want to raise the question, let alone hear the answer. history demands truth. unless we have reached a point that we saw in the times of the soviet union, when they refused to print in their daily newspapers plane crashes, it was bad news, they didn't want to peddle any bad news in the official party organ. no, that was at reality of the soviet union. deny the truth, rewrite history. is we see the same thing occurring today. the american people are going to learn the truth. all three major broadcast networks and all but one cable news network will carry this evening's hearing live.

what cable news network might not require the broadcast of this? i'm going to guess fox news. and i'm right. think about that for a second. clearly, fox news, which profits off the big lie of donald trump, it matters more to them to continue that relationship than to tell the truth to their viewers. the members of the select committee have undertaken their duty with uncommon courage, and i want to single out in particular congressman adam kinzinger, from the state of illinois. we're not close friends. we've worked on a few things together. but i have the highest regard and admiration for the courage that he's shown throughout this travail, and the fact that he would volunteer against the wishes of the republican house leadership to make this committee bipartisan is a tribute to his citizenship and his commitment to this nation. the same thing, of course, is

true for representative liz cheney. she has a lot at stake. representative kinzinger has announced his re retirement. she continues to represent wyoming, and i hope she will for many years to come. i may disagree with her on virtually every other issue, but i am in respect for her courage in serving on this bipartisan committee. mr. president, on another topic, it's no secret that the federal bureau of prisons has been plagued by misconduct. one investigation after another has revealed a culture of abuse, mismanagement, corruption, torture, and death that reaches all the way to the top. one of the most troubling investigations was published last week by national public radio and the marshall project. the title of the report reads, and i quote, how the newest federal prison became one of the

deadliest. the facility in question i know well, united states penitentiary thompson. it's located in my home state of illinois. in fact, it's a facility that i officially and originally encourage couraged the federal government to purchase in order to reduce overcrowding in high-security prisons. the opening of u.s. penitentiary thompson was supposed to improve safety within the bureau of prisons, but the reality sadly has been the exact opposite. according to this report, seven inmates at u.s. pin thompson -- u.s. penitentiary thompson have died in just four years. five murdered by other inmates, two died by suicide. those deaths are just a snapshot of the grim reality of this facility, the deadly grim reality. the investigation paints a picture of rampant abuse by present staff. this alleged abuse includes

excessive use of two kinds of painful restraints -- ambulatory restraints and four-point restraints. the four refers to each of a person's limbs, by unthis technique -- which under this technique are chained to a concrete bed, rendering the inmate immobile. this is an american penitentiary. bureau of prison protocol says these restraints should be used sparingly and only to momentarily -- momentarily -- restrain an inmate who presents an active danger to themselves or others. according to this report, some guards at u.s. penitentiary thompson have apparently made a habit of regularly using these restraints on inmates, not momentarily, but regularly. in some cases inmates have reportedly been left chained for hours and days. a lawyer who has spoken with u.s. penitentiary thompson said,

quote, the inmates are denied food, they are denied water, many report being left in their own waste. it's really akin to a torture chamber. this is an american prison in my state. the use of restraints and shackles has become so common, inmates describe the scars on their arms and legs. it's known as the thomson tattoo. the report also alleges that the staff at the penitentiary thomson have gained a reputation for stoking tensions between cell mates. this is a special management unit. these inmates can be very dangerous and i understand that. i understood it when the penitentiary was open. one example that was highlighted in this report is indicative of the challenge. it was the murder of matthew phillips, a u.s. penitentiary thomson inmate who died in 2020. mr. phillips was a jewish man with a visible star of david

tattoo. the corrections officers at u.s. penitentiary thomson reportedly locked mr. phillips in a recreation cage with two known white supremacists. these inmates beat mr. phillips until he was unconscious and dade from his injuries three days later. both have been indicted by the justice department on murder and hate crime charges. following the publication of this shocking report, i joined senator duckworth, my colleague from illinois, and illinois congressman woman sherry bo ustos sending a letter to the justice department. we urged to launch a full-scale immediate investigation into the failures of thomson prison. i spoke with general horowitz yesterday. he confirmed his office is investigating the deaths at thomson along with many other abuses in the bureau of prisons. but this report about u.s. penitentiary thomson is only the most recent look into the house of horrors that is the bureau of

prisons, the federal bureau of prisons. we already have ample evidence of a pattern of neglect and abuse that's been embedded in their bureaucracy. consider, for instance, the bureau's overuse of restricted housing. the practice of separating inmates from the general prison population, isolating them alone or with one other person for 24 hours at a time. the practice can cause severe mental anguish for inmates and can severely harm the prospects forever -- for ever reentering society. the justice department noted in 2016 should be used rarely, subjectable to reasonable restraints. that's the published standard of the bureau of prisons. during the obama administration, i held two hearings which are still fresh in my mind they were so gripping on the issue of solitary confinement. following those hearings the justice department took step, to

reduce and reform the bureau of prisons' use of restricted housing. we started to make real progress. unfortunately the progress is erased during the trump administration. and since the former president left office, the biden department of justice has had plenty of time to change course and leadership. and i've urged them to do so. a year and a half into this administration, nearly 8% of b.o.p. inmates are still being held in restricted housing. that's the sail level it was under president trump. that is just plain unacceptable. the continued overuse of restricted housing, the alleged abuses at thomson are among the many instances of misconduct, mismanagement that have occurred under the failed leadership of bureau prisons director michael carveahol. in light of the earlier reports, detailing similar failures, i called for his resignation last

november. so it was welcome news. about six weeks after i asked for his resignation, he announced it. he said he was going to resign. but that was january. now we're in june and the justice department has shown little progress or urgency in naming his replacement. as a result, he is still running and mismanaging the bureau of prisons. this recent investigation into thomson makes it clear there are no excuses for further delay. so today i'm calling on president biden, attorney general garland, and deputy attorney general monico to do one of two things. either name a new reformed director to replace carvehall immediately or appoint a new director. we need to act before another inmate dies in the custody and care of this federal government. in the coming weeks the senate judiciary committee which i chair will be holding a hearing

on the bureau of prisons. we will examine these allegations of abuse at thomson and other facilities. we need answers from the biden administration on the failure to reduce the use of restricted housing and we will discuss what b.o.p. must do to address the staffing crisis that has contributed to this disastrous situation. the crisis demands the attention of the highest ranking officials within the department of justice. it's been long overdue. it's time for us to have competent, principled leadership at the bureau of prisons. i'm not condemning every person that works at that agency for sure. i've met many of them and respect them, but those that are guilty of this misconduct need to be held accountable and new leadership is imperative. it's been a long time since we've had that kind of competent principled leadership. i believe attorney general garland and deputy attorney general monico will choose the right leader to clear out the

bureaucratic rot and improve with significant reforms, but we need to act quickly. lives are at stake. mr. president, i yield the floor. a senator: mr. president. the presiding officer: the senator from texas. mr. cornyn: thank you, mr. president. over the last couple of weeks, many of us have spent a lot of time thinking about the horrific shootings and uvalde, philadelphia, buffalo, and elsewhere. unfortunately these are familiar scenes that we've seen before. and we'd like to try to find a way to reduce the likelihood of their reoccurrence in the future if there's anything we can do here in the senate to make that possibility. so i've been working particularly with senator murphy who is my partner on the fix nics bill we passed in 2018. senator murphy comes from a blue

state, connecticut. i come from a red state, texas. in that example we were able to take the horrible events of sutherland springs where innocent parishioners were gunned down at a small baptist church outside of san antonio and take out of that tragedy something good, which is a bill we called fix nics, the national instant criminal background checks system. since it was signed into law, 11 and a half million new records have been uploaded into the background check system and i believe that has saved lives. you recall in that case the shooter was a veteran of the united states air force, but unfortunately he had a troubled history. felony convictions, domestic violence, mental health adjudications. none of that was in the background checks system. it should have been and it would have disqualified him had it been known. but he did what sol often

happens -- what so often happens. he lied and then he bought. and tragedy ensued. we're all sickened by these shootings, and we're hyperaware of the public interest. the most common refrain i hear is do something. do something. unfortunately, it gets a little less specific after that. what exactly should be done. and that's where the hard work begins. but as before, i'm optimistic that we can find something that protects the rights of law abiding citizens under our constitution, under the second amendment, who i believe are not a threat to public safety and

focus on people with criminal records, people with mental health challenges like young salvador ramos in uvalde, texas. like adam lanza at sandy hook. the profile is pretty well established. young, alienated, disaffected, mentally challenged boys who lack access to treatment which will help them manage their mental illness and who descend into a pit of despair ultimately resulting in their desire not only to harm themselves but to take other people with them. that profile is well established in the scientific literature and "the new york times" did an excellent piece a couple of

weeks ago on that profile. so i think that gives us a little bit of a road map for the sorts of things we might do to deal with that. what makes this more challenging than, for example, the fix nics bill after sutherland springs is that was a single point of failure. here we see multiple points of failure. and i think we need to address as many as we can. so as i mentioned, the mental health issue is -- looms large. we know that during the two years where many students were isolated at home trying to keep up with their studies virtually, many of them have languished, many of them have fallen behind. and because they've been isolated from their peers at a time when their social development has -- is the most

important, many of them have fallen into despair exacerbating underlying problems that they may have in the first place. so trying to figure out how to support our schools and our communities with resources needed to address the mental and emotional health of people who are struggling, particularly young students. that seems like an objection area that we could work on together. obviously school security is important. the initial reports in uvalde were that the door was propped open, that salvador ramos entered. later we found out no, it wasn't propped open but the lock didn't work. he just walked right in. and there are a lot of studies and best practices when it comes to what is necessary to secure our schools. if we can secure our airports

post-9/11, we can secure our schools to make sure that people who should come in and out of those schools can do so relatively easily but that outsiders cannot and particularly those who are a threat to their safety of those students. i think all of us want to try to find ways to reduce the likelihood of something like this happening again. at school districts across -- and school districts across the country are eager to get our help and guidance to harden their infrastructure, to provide for the personnel, resource officers. that's the local police officer on school campus. those are things, i think, would diminish the likelihood of another uvalde. and so mental health and school safety are -- seem to me are kind of no-brainersers in a

sense where i don't think there's a lot of division between that side of the aisle and this side of the aisle. but we're also looking at ways to keep guns out of the hands of people who already by law are prohibited from having them. i'm not talking necessarily about expanding the background checks system. i want to make sure the background checks system works. and what makes this challenging, salvador ramos showed up after his 18th birthday as if he was born yesterday. for purposes of the background checks system, there was no insight into his many mental health challenges or terroristic threats of fellow students, potential drug use, other things that if he were an adult, he could not pass a background check. but because of the fact that juvenile records are typically

sealed and are not part of the nics review, the merchant who sold him the firearms he used didn't know anything about his track record. but we know now, as i said earlier, that he fits a familiar profile. he shot his own grandmother because she wanted him to go back to school after being out of school for the last two years. he engaged in self-mutilation, self-cutting. tortured animals. made threats against his fellow students. threatened sexual assault against his fellow female students. and made threats that he would in fact do what he ultimately did online. he was a ticking time bomb. and so if there's some way for us to look back into the sorts of records that would disqualify an adult if they had occurred

post-18 because they would have been public records available to the national instant criminal background checks system, if there's a way to check back on people like salvador ramos by virtue of his mental health and other problems, we would know they should not be able to purchase a firearm legally. a couple of states -- i think it's south carolina and virginia -- voluntarily upload mental health adjudications for 17-year-olds. we can't compel other states to do that, but we can sure provide -- we can facilitate other states doing so and incentivize their populating the fix nics background check system for juveniles, who ultimately will end up -- they'll become of age and be able to buy a firearm and

we need to be able to know what those records look like. so there are a number of things that we could do. one suggestion is, for example, to take a look at the background check itself for 18- to 21-year-olds in particular, since that's the population we're focusing on, as based on this profile. under current law, if you go in and buy a firearm and you have a clean record, you can pass your background check pretty quickly. in 90% of cases, that's actually what happens. the average processing time is two minutes. in most of those -- no -- in those cases, the system returns a binary result.

you either pass or you don't pass, you fail. and when you fail, that means you can't purchase a firearm. now, the congress -- the senate in particular, senator coons from delaware and i sponsored a bill that would notify local police when somebody goes in to take a background check and fails because they don't qualify. many times the local law enforcement knows more about these people and would be interested to know that they tried to illegally purchase a firearm and were denied. but in about 10% of the gun purchases, the background check is not resolved immediately. the system returns a yellow light, which means additional review is required. for example, if you have a common name like john smith, a search may pull records for somebody else, for the wrong person. but the same name -- with the same name who were prohibited

from purchasing a gun. or somebody was convicted of assault but on further examination you find out it was domestic violence, which is a prohibited category. and you'd also learn whether it was a felony or a misdemeanor. in those cases, the f.b.i. under current law already has three days in which to complete the background check. the problem is, under current law, if they don't finish, the seller still sells the gun, and we have an incomplete record. dylann roof i believe it was the name of the shoot certificate at the mother emanuel church in charleston, south carolina. as it turned out, he had a misdemeanor drug offense that was not uploaded into the background check system. now, it is a disqualifying condition if you are addicted to

or a frequent user of i will illegally -- of illegal drugs. but because the background system did not allow enough time to include that information, maybe -- just maybe -- he would have been denied the purchase of the firearms that he ultimately used to kill those innocent people that day. so what we're looking at is the possibility of in those cases where there is what i'll call a yellow flag or an i.o.u.'s indication that further -- an indication that further review is needed, is additional time for this class of purchasers between 18 and 21 for their background checks, to complete their review. i've said it before and i'll say it again. i don't believe law-abiding,

mentally well gun owners are going to commit mass shootings or are a threat to public safety. i know within the senate we have got a number of people who are sportsmen, who enjoy target shooting, let's say, who believe that they need to exercise their second amendment rights in order to protect their family and their home. they're not a threat, so blanket limitations or prohibitions on those law-abiding citizens who are not a threat to public safety and never will be, to me, strikes as overreach, and we're not talking about a discretionary right. we're talking about a constitutional right. and so -- but i do believe that the second amendment and sound public policy are not mutually exclusive here. and that's the -- that's the needle we're trying to thread here.

so adding juvenile records to the nics system is a commonsense way to ensure we have a complete picture of the buyer's history. and then, of course, there is the scandal of our mental health delivery system in the united states today. back in the 1960's when people who had mental health challenges were institutionalized, we finally figured that that didn't work very well, it was inhumane, and the theory was that there would be created some safety net in communities across the country where people could turn, where the police, if they answered a 9 is 1 call and -- a 9191 call and shall -- a 911 call and they realize that this is not a crisis, where they

realize that people could actually get treated and get better. that doesn't exist today in many communities. in major cities, perhaps, even in suburban areas, but uvalde, texas, population 15,000, not so much. so we're looking at ways to expand the community-based mental health system. senator stabenow and senator blunt have a great proposal that would extend the current eight-state pilot program nationwide. now, is that solely is related to what happened at uvalde or what happened in buffalo or what happened in philadelphia? no. but it would address the larger underlying challenge of more and more americans falling through the cracks. and while we know most people in a mental health crisis are not going to commit acts of violence, we also know that 60%

of the gun-related deaths are suicides. and as it occurred to me, like a light went off in my head, salvador ramos, adam lanza, and others of this profile of young men, in addition to the multiple homicides they commit, they commit suicide. they know they're not going to make it out alive. and so addressing this mental health crisis that affects our country, and particularly where we fail these young men who feel like they have nowhere else to turn, who become increasingly isolated, become increasingly desensized -- desensitized to the idea of taking someone's life because they're sitting in their room playing video games, killing people virtually all the

time, and then in their bizarre fantasies decide to extend those fantasies to taking not only their own life but the life of other innocent people. so this is challenging, mr. president. there is a he no doubt about it. but -- there's no doubt about it. but we can do this. we can do this. sometimes politics is called the art of the possible. and i think this is possible. is it going to be perfect? are we going to not have to revisit some other scenario where people have fallen through the cracks or where vulnerabilities are exposed? no, we can't be sure that this is one and done. but i do believe there is a sense of urgency, not only here in the congress but in the white house and across the country. we've all heard from our

constituents, who are in anguish over what has happened in uvalde and elsewhere. the cry is to do something. like i said, that's not very specific. and i understand. but it's up to us to try to find what is the right set of policies that would respect the rights of law-abading citizens -- law-abiding citizens under the constitution but at the same time address what we know. there's a huge mental health crisis in this country. and make sure that the systems that are in place work, like the national instant criminal background check system. we need to populate that system with the relevant information that would disqualify somebody if they are an adult if it occurred while they were a

juvenile. and there are ways we can do that. we can incentivize that. we can take a look back in some cases. we can allow the national instant criminal background check system in those limited cases where they need to do further review to see that the information is complete, we could figure this out. and i think on a bipartisan basis there's a will to do so. around here, if there's a will, there's a way, and i believe we do have the will and we will find a way. thank you, mr. president. i suggest the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll.

quorum call:

the presiding officer: the senator from recognized. -- the senator is recognized. mr. moran: mr. president, thank you very much. i ask that the quorum call be lifted. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. moran: thank you. and secondly, mr. president, i'd ask unanimous consent that i be allowed to speak, even though it may go a moment or two longer and the vote be delayed, to complete my remarks. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. moran: thank you. mr. president, i want to speak this morning really to americans' veterans and provide an update on or work to get our toxic exposure legislation across the finish line. the senate is in the midst of considering the sergeant first class heath robinson honoring or pact act.

this is historic. it is bipartisan. we ought to be able to solve these problems for certainties and real little for americans -- for veterans and real little for americans in a way that pulls us together and not apart. this is an effort that those that can be done. this legislation will deliver on a promise we made to take care of our servicemen and women both when they deploy and when they come home. this act will provide millions of benefits to veterans who are sick from illnesses connected with toxic exposures. when we send our war fighters into harm's way, it is with the understanding that we will have their back. when they come home bearing physical, mental or invisible wounds of war, we care for those wounds. toxic wound should not be treated differently. john buckley, a retired army colonel from andover, told me, our veterans are put into dangerous situations in iraq and afghanistan. many who suffer from their

wounds have been cared for our nation. unfortunately, many, too, have been overlooked and ignored. especially those who are suffering from injuries after having reoccurring and prolonged exposure to toxic fumes, burn pits and other environmental hazards. this legislation is designed to address what the retired colonel told me. noarp army colonel, this one from leavenworth, kansas, pat proctor, who served in iraq and afghanistan said many of the men and women he served with are facing health challenges from being exposed to toxins while deployed. he said, i quote, there is no telling, there is no telling how many of us will be impacted as we get older. i know many of our veterans live with the lingering fear, will the toxic exposures from their service catch up with them and leave them with a debilitating disease? and if that happens, will the v.a. be there? will americans be there for them with the health care and

benefits they need? william turner, a former deputy commander general of support for the fort riley first infantry division told me our veterans have served in multiple locations where they have been exposed to a number of toxins that have resulted in them developing serious illnesses and they often struggle to gain access to health care and benefits that can help alleviate some of the pain and suffering they're experiencing. sometimes we think these issues are something people in washington, d.c. are talking about, but what we're trying to address is the real circumstances of real americans who served our nation and who are deserving of our attention. the commanding general former went on to say, to note this -- it is absolutely imperative that we pass this bill to guarantee exposed veterans receive permanent access to health care. moving legislation through congress can be a slow and frustrating process. however, this week, when the senate began debate on our

bill, i was encouraged by the resounding show of confidence. this bill to move forward -- to move forward on this bill. that bill was 86 senators in favor. we're now focused on an amendment process and we'll continue working as quickly as the senate will allow to get this bill to the house and back on its way to the president's desk. whether democratic or republican, every member of this chamber represents veterans at home, and i firmly believe everyone member in this chamber cares about those veterans. issues related to veterans often have a way of bringing us together and find consensus and that's what we continue to do and will continue to do as we sort out what amendments to be considered. we were able to deliver veterans choice through the mission act, landmark mental health legislation through the john scott hannon mental health improvement act, and i believe we can do that again on this legislation to deliver care to automatic veterans exposed to

toxic benefits. this country is good at recognizing the physical wounds of war and we're getting better at recognizing the mental wounds of war. no longer can we ignore the wounds of war from toxic exposure. the wounds like agent orange before it that may not arrive until years later. throughout the remaining procedural votes on the heath robinson act, i urge my colleagues with remaining questions or concerns to reach out so we can all together deliver on this promise to those who have borne the battle. i look forward to working with my colleagues to see that this bill crosses the finish line soon. mr. president, i yield back. the presiding officer: under the previous order, the senate will proceed to executive session and resume consideration of the following nomination which the clerk will report. the clerk: nomination, the judiciary, robert steven huie of california to be united states district judge for the southern district of california.

the presiding officer: the question is on the nomination. a senator: mr. president, i ask for the yeas and nays. the presiding officer: is there a sufficient second? there appears to be. the clerk will call the roll. vote:

vote:

vote:

vote:

the presiding officer: on this vote, the yeas are 51, the nays are 46, and the nomination is confirmed. under the previous order, the motion to reconsider is considered made and laid upon the table and the president will be immediately notified of the senate's actions. under the previous order, the senate will resume legislative session.

madam president, this year we've already seen more mass shootings in america than we have had days in the year. more than one a day on average. the prevalence of guns, their ease of access, and the hateful motivations of mass shooters have all mixed into a toxic groove that are tearing america apart. people are asking, what is going on, and why can't congress protect us? yesterday our house colleagues heard from those affected most, the parent of a young girl murdered in uvalde, a student who played dead by covering herself in her friends blood,

and the mom of eight buffalo survivor who painted the gruesome picture of bullet holes on her sons neck, back and leg. these were harrowing, gutwrenching testimonies that congress has not acted in decades in response to these acts of violence is shameful. it used to be different. about 30 years ago i was the author of the brady bill, and worked with republicans and law enforcement to get strong gun safety laws passed. that was a different era but the lesson from back then remains clear today. the right laws can make a real difference in reducing gun deaths. because those laws were on the books, it's very likely that tens of thousands of people are alive and healthy who would not have been. right now the senate is trying to break that streak of an

action, the 30 year streak of inaction, since we were able to pass brady and assault weapons ban by working towards meaningful legislation on gun violence. yesterday, a bipartisan group of democrats and republicans met again to continue working towards a bipartisan compromise. this morning my colleague senator murphy reported that the group is making good progress and they hope to get something real done very soon. as soon as the bipartisan group comes to agreement, i want to bring a measure to the floor for a vote as quickly as possible. the overwhelming consensus of our caucus of gun safety advocates and of the american people is that getting something real done on gun violence is worth pursuing, , even if we cannot get everything that we know we need. the work of curing our nation mass shootings will continue well after this debate

concludes, but at this moment we have a moral obligation to try for real progress. because taking tangible steps to reduce gun violence is critically important. americans are sick and tired of going through the same greeting cycle over and over again, , ony for congress to do nothing. they are in rates that even after shootings at sandy hook, parkland, san bernardino, el paso, boulder, pittsburgh,, atlanta, and so many others, that nothing, nothing has changed. we hope this time around something will change at last. i hope that very soon we can see a deal come together. i i encourage my colleagues to keep their talks going so we can act on it very quickly. the january 6th keyrings. tonight, the nation will tune into the house select committee on january 6th as they begin

their first public hearings on the capitol insurrection. tonight hearings will be a watershed moment in the fight to protect our democracy from the big lie of the hard right here the committee will lay bare the truth that the american people must know here first, that there was tremendous violence. they're storming out there who say that wasn't violence. there was. picture show it. the eyewitnesses testimony. and the committee will lay bare the truth that the american people must know, that donald trump was at the heart of a coordinated effort to overturn the 2020s elections, to overturn our constitutional order and inflict permanent damage upon our democracy. it will be essential viewing. but in one of the most cowardly journalistic decisions in modern memory, foxnews, one of the biggest amplifiers of the big

lie about january 6, about donald donald trump and about the election, will not broadcast two nights hearing. fox news decision not to air the biggest hearing in modern history should in any debate that they are not a real news organization. fox news is rapidly becoming a propaganda machine of the hard right and it is as plain as day that they are scared of their viewers learning the truth about january 6th. fox news is decision not to the january 6th keyrings is dangerous, cowardly and shameful, given that spent more than years spreading the big lie and misinforming their viewers. instead of telling the truth they have isolated their viewers in an alternative reality of conspiracy theories that is immensely damaging to our democracy. even the so-called liberal media

who fox regularly attacks tries to tell both sides. fox news is afraid of telling both sides because they are afraid of the truth, and they are afraid their viewers may learn that fox news has lied to them. i urge fox news to change course very soon. the press has an obligation, always has, had that obligation not to hide the truth from the american people no matter how painful or inconvenient. and as a nation we have a duty to never forget what happened on january 6th. a direct assault on our democracy, and the dangers of that day sadly remain with us. now, on the pact act, happy or not come today the senate will continue consideration of the most important then healthcare legislation expansion in decades, the pact act, authored by my colleagues senators tester and moran, bipartisan marks the3

years since the attack on the stonewall inn and 52 years since the first pride parade was held in new york city. the stonewall riots are longley recognized as the catalyst for the resurgence and fight for lgbtqi plus rights. this was the first in a series of events that would define the lgbtq experience. from the upstairs lounge attack to the devastating aids crisis, the community persevered through many ordeals. we not only recognize their struggles but their triumphs, the upstairs lounge arson attack

took place nearly four years after the stonewall riots. patrons of the minority -- new s bar noticed a fire in the front stairwell. the fire spread rapidly forcing patrons to flee to the rooftop to escape. unfortunately, this was not enough. 28 people lost their lives in the blaze and four more succumbed to injuries in the following days. this horrendous act would go on to become the deadliest attack on the lgbtq community, until the pulse nightclub shooting in 2016, which claimed the lives of 49 individuals. both of these attacks took place during pride month, a month that celebrates love, acceptance, and community. the celebration of pride month

also allows members of the lgbtq community to reassert their rights to openly be their true selves and say we are here, we're not going away. this message is especially important now as the supreme court prepares to vote on potentially overriding the roe v. wade decision that protects an individual's right to privacy and control over their own bodies. justice samuel alito's reasoning in this argument, though not final, threatens an entire line of rights that the court has inferred from the text of the constitution over decades, including the foundational protection for the lk people, such as -- lgbtq people, such as marriage equality established in the 2015 obergefell v. hodges decision. i am an orange cosponsor of -- orange cosponsor of the ac to safeguard and protect equal rights for lgbtq individuals in

public accommodations, facilities, education, federal funding, employment, housing, credit, and majority system. i am also the lead sponsor of the resolution to eliminate the deadline for the ratification of the equal rights amendment, which would strengthen the constitutional foundation for the pro-lgbtq legislation, like the equality act. i strongly oppose action by the supreme court to take away the rights of americans by overturning roe or obergefell or other cases, like griswold v. connecticut, which guarantees the rights of families to have access to contraception and family planning. while i am proud that maryland at the state level pro techs are in place to -- protections are in place to preserve the same-sex marriage, these must be respected at the national level. as many have pointed out, supreme court decisions to overturn precedent have historic i had expanded individual

rights, not taken them away. lgbtq pride month is an integral part of our community here in north dakota. parades and celebrations are taking place -- community here in maryland. as an ally, i am committed to uplifting and supporting the lgbtq voices. in particular, we must make a special effort to protect transgender children and their parents, and safeguard their access to health care and social services during these challenging times. as extremism grows louder in many states, we must stand united and firm in the face of injustice and continueto proclaim -- continue to proclaim love has been and always will be love. with that, mr. president, i would suggest the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll.

>> the senate democratic leader sat on the steps of the supreme court and threatened two justices by name. you will pay the price, he shouted. you won't know what hit you. a month ago after the precedent breaking leak of a draft opinion, top democrats intensified the reckless talk. hillary clinton said the court was poised to, quote, kill and

subjugate women. leader schumer and speaker pelosi's said the court would be ripping up the constitution. some of the most powerful people in the country pushing total hysteria over the possibility that justices may, may overturn the decision that even justice ruth bader ginsburg said was badly -- far left practices encouraged angry people to flock to their homes. president biden and his white house were asked to condemn these intimidation tactics, and they refused. i wrote to attorney general garland a month ago asking why he wasn't enforcing the laws on the books already against judicial intimidation. look, everybody saw where this

might lead so yesterday morning u.s. marshals arrested a deranged person to travel to washington from california in order to assassinate a supreme court justice at his house. he was reportedly, he has reportedly been charged with attempted murder. the fbi says the would-be assassin was armed and equipped for a break-in. he told authorities that he was trying to think about how to give his life a purpose. apparently, it was only when he came across the justices address posted online that it occurred to him to attempt a murder-suicide. he explained that his problem with his justice was ideological, citing abortion and

the second amendment. while this would be assassin was making his plans and traveled across the country, house democrats have spent weeks, weeks locking bipartisan legislation to strengthen security for the justices and their families. ms. bipartisan bill passed the senate unanimously in early may. chairman bergman is a strong supporter. but inexplicably, inexplicably this virgin and uncontroversial bill has been sitting on speaker pelosi's desk ever since. the same house democrats whose irresponsible rhetoric has contributed to this dangerous climate are themselves blocking added security for the judges and their spouses and their children. even last night, last night even after this the rest was made,

even after a left-wing group published an ominous social media post concerning a school that the justices children attend, which leader mccarthy asked, house democrats objected to it. meanwhile, the biden department of justice under attorney general garland continues to flatly ignore section 1507 of the criminal code which would appear to make it a federal crime to protest at the homes of federal judges to influence them over the pending case. that's the law right now. so this is been a shameful and disturbing to step from washington democrats. first the use reckless rhetoric that helps fuel the dangerous climate, then the refused to do

their jobs and address the problem. this same far left that is spent years trying to improperly pressured the court is now aiding and abetting this illegal invitation campaign through total in action. so why won't president biden call on his supporters to leave the judges alone? president biden call his supporters to leave the judges alone. why won't the attorney general of the united states enforced existing law? why won't the speaker stopped blogging a bipartisan security bill that passed the senate unanimously? -- blocking -- perhaps some democrats may want this dangerous climate hanging over the justices heads as they finish up this term.

a disgraceful disgraceful dereliction of duty. this is antithetical to the rule of law. to the speaker of the house and the attorney general must honor their oaths to the constitution and do their jobs. i understand democrats want to stage a big spectacle this week about what they claim is her opposition to political violence, but in reality they're going out of the way to block concrete steps to prevent political violence. now, on an entirely separate matter come one year ago yesterday the biden administration announced its withdrawal from afghanistan that reached a halfway point. analysts after analysts have confirmed what was clear to many of us in real time, the president shoddy plans for reckless pull out were doomed to disaster from the start.

back in february and army investigation found that in the run-up to president biden's botched retreat, senior national security and diplomatic advisors were not seriously planning for an evacuation, and not paying attention to what was happening on the ground. that's an army investigation of the withdrawal. last month the special inspector general for afghanistan reconstruction blasted the administration's bad judgment before congress, he explained removing u.s. military and contractor support to our afghan partners was, , quote, the singe most important factor in the collapse, the collapse of afghanistan resistance to the taliban. it's not just that this giant policy failure should have been foreseeable to the biden administration.

it was, in fact, foreseen. experts spent months warning the president's policy would create chaos. i spent months saying the very same thing. now many of the worst predictions about the aftermath are coming true before our eyes. our country and our partners are facing needlessly heightened the risks from tariffs terrf how the biden administration botched afghanistan. and yet the administration is still in denial. in a letter to congress yesterday the commander-in-chief claims the united states, quote, remains postured to address threats to both our homeland and our interest that may arise from inside of afghanistan. but the reality is that pentagon leaders have been clearer about the dramatic ways withdraws

limited our ability to identify target and destroy terrorist in afghanistan. and the former commander of usica commences forcing use air assets to travel longer distances to reach afghan airspace means severely limiting the time they can spend him or performing counterterrorism, just as we predicted. a brand-new report from the lead inspector general for our ongoing counterterrorism operations for the confirms that the biden administration's mistakes have put us way, way behind the curve. without human intelligence or bases in the country the united states is already suffering from less insight into emerging terror threats. our sources are drying up, just as we predicted. we have been conducted a single

strike against a terrorist target in afghanistan since the last u.s. military personnel left kabul. and that is and because there aren't any terrorists there. as the ig report confirms, it's because of, quote, logistical challenges in limited intelligence. the taliban and haqqani government in kabul is not just a state-sponsored terrorism, it is literally a government made up of terrorists and kidnappers with deep ties to al-qaeda. ..

establishing a limited but real presence needed to help local partners to prevent the country from becoming a terrorist even so president biden's own actions in somalia help give rise to the false equivalence in afghanistan. in point of fact the longest term vision of counterterrorism this white house has managed to lay out is their obsession with someday shutting down i've yet to hear any coherent plan or what the administration intends to do with the dangerous killers currently held their. will they continue to rely on third countries to detain terrorists? that's the strategy that made possible the man's massive jailbreak thousands of armed terrorists from bottom run after the administration fled afghanistan.

is the ministration intend to send terrorists to syria. to be held indefinitely by a nongovernment entity. like the syrian defenseforces . in that case how long is the abidingadministration prepared to remain in syria . to make sure that isis or other regimes can facilitate another giant jailbreak. the american people since our coalition partners deserve a clear coherent counterterrorism strategy that leaves our homeland safer and our partnerships stronger. the abiding administration is providing unfortunately exactly theopposite . >> mister president this evening the select committee to investigate the january 6 attack on the us capital will hold its first public hearing

. for more than 10 months the committee has labor diligently to discover and document thetruth about the day we nearly lost our democracy . this evening the committee will begin to lay out probably for the first time the coordinated plan in place to overturn the results of the 20/20 presidential election and prevent the peaceful transition ofpower to a new administration in america . those are incredible words that i've just spoken but they reflect the reality of january 6, 2021. among their witnesses will be capital police officer caroline edwards one of the more than 140 capital and metropolitan police officers who were injured when the law attackedthe capital . for officer edwards and all the police officers who defended american democracy that day and have continuedto

protect this capital every day we will more than thanks . january 6 revealed to the world how fragile democracy can be even in america. keeping our democracy requires vigilance and truth. often it requires sacrifice and there must be a willingness to accept that truth . it is regrettable. no, it is shameful but our republican colleagues in the senate filibustered the creation of an independent bipartisan commission to investigate what happens january 6. mister president i recall that moment and i'm sure you do as well slightly after 2:00 a few minutes after vice president pence was presiding over the senate as we went through the orderly constitutional process of counting theelectoral votes . i looked up to see the secret service come in and physically quickly remove the vice president from that chair.

the events that unfolded in the next few minutes were hard to imagine could ever occur in the united states of america. we were told to sit safely in our chairs. this was a secured chamber and be prepared for other staffers from around the capital to join us . 10 minutes later a member of the capital police before us and said as quickly as possible and evacuate this chamber. hard to imagine in the united states of america. we've seen the videos. we know what happened. there'sno doubt what happened that day . and what an impression it must have left on the rest of the world. what would we think at this moment in time if i'm all with battering rams beat down the doors of parliament, entered the house of commons and house of lords? would we not say on this side of the ocean my god, what's happened to the united kingdom? can the country survive? the same questions were being asked about america because

of that insurrectionist model in january 6. the proposal was made and it was a legitimate, thoughtful, good faith proposal to establish a bipartisan commission to get to the bottom of it. who was behind it and ask the hard questions. what role did presidentdonald trump play in what unfolded after his rally january 6, 2021 . some people don't even want to raise the question let alone hear the answer. history demands the truth . unless we reach a point that we saw in the times of the soviet union when they refused to print in their daily newspaper plane crashes it was bad news. they didn't want to pedal any bad news in the official. that was the reality of the soviet union deny the truth, rewrite history. we see the samething occurring today . the american people are going

to learn the truth. all three major broadcast networks and all but one cable news network will carry this evening's hearing life. what cable news network might not require the broadcast of this? i'm going to guess fox news and i'm right. think about that for a second . clearly fox news which profits off the big lie of donald trump it matters more to them to continue that relationship than to tell the truth to their viewers. but members of the select committee have undertaken a duty with uncommon courage and i want to single out in particular congressman adam kinsinger from the state of illinois. we're not close friends. we worked on a few things together. but i have the highest regard and admiration from the courage he's shown throughout

this travail. the fact that he would volunteer against the wishes of the republican house leadership to make this commission bipartisan is a tribute to his citizenship and his commitment to this nation. the same thing of course is true for representative liz cheney. she has a lot atstake . representative kinzinger has announced his retirement. she will continue to represent. i may disagree with her on virtually every issue and respect her courage on serving on this bipartisan committee . mister president on another topic. it's no secret that the federal bureau of prisons has been plagued by misconduct. one investigation after another has revealed a culture of abuse, mismanagement, corruption, torture and death that

reaches all the way to the top. one of the most troubling investigations waspublished last week by national public radio and the marshall project . the title of the report reads and i quote how the newest federalprison became one of the deadliest . the facility in question i know well. united states penitentiary thompson. it's located in my home state of illinois. in fact it's the facility that i officially and originally encouraged the federal government topurchase in order to reduce overcrowding in high-security prisons . the opening of the penitentiary was supposed to improve safety within bureau of prisons but the reality sadly has been the exact opposite. according to this report seven inmates at us penitentiary thompson have died in just two years five of them were reportedly murdered by other inmates to die by suicide . and those deaths are just a snapshot of the grim reality

of this facility, the deadly grim reality. the investigation pays a picture of rampant abuse by prison staff read this alleged abuse includes an excessive use of two kinds of painful restraints. ambulatory restraints and four-point restraints. the four refers to each of a person's lives which under this technique are chained to a concrete bed rendering the individual in mobile. this is an american penitentiary. your present protocol says that these restraints should be used sparingly and only to momentarily restrain an inmate who present an active danger to themselves or others. according to this report some guards at us penitentiary thompson have apparently made a habit ofregularly using these restraints on inmates . not momentarily but regularly. and in some cases inmates

have reportedly been left chained for hours and days. a lawyer who has spoken at us penitentiary thompson inmates said quote, the inmates are denied food. they are denied water. many of them report beingleft in their own waste . it's really akin to a torture chamber. this is an american prison in my state. the use of restraints and shackles has become so common inmates are quite a term to describe the stars it leaves on their arms and legs. it's known as the thompson tattoo. the report alleges the staff and us penitentiarythompson have gained a reputation for soak stoking tensions between cellmates . make no mistake this is a special management unit . these inmates who can be very dangerous and i understand that. i understood it when the penitentiary is open. one example highlighted in this report is indicative of the challenge .

it was the murder of matthew phillips. the us penitentiary thompson inmates who died in 2020. mister phillips was ajewish man with a visible star of david tattoo . corrections officers at us penitentiary thompson locked mister phillips in a recreation cage with two known white supremacists. these inmates beat mister phillips until he was unconscious and he died from his injuries three days later. both men have since been indicted by the justice department on murder. following the publication of this shocking report i joined senator duckworth my colleague from illinois and illinois congresswoman jerry bustos sending a letter to the inspector general michael horowitz. in it we urged him to launch a full-scale immediate investigation into the failures of thompson's prison . i spoke with general horowitz yesterday. he confirmed to his office that he's investigating the

deaths and that thompson along with many other abuses in the bureau of prisons but this report about us penitentiary thompson is only the most recent look into the house of horrors that was the bureau of prisons, the federal bureau of prisons. we already have ample evidence on a pattern of neglect and abuse that's been embedded in their bureaucracy . consider for instance the bureaus over use of restrictive housing. the practice of separating inmates from the general prison population. isolating them alone or with one other person for 24 hours at a time. the practice caused severe mental anguish for inmates and can severely harm the prospects for ever injuring society. much like the use of four-point restraints restrictive housing should as the justice department noted be used rarely, applied fairly, subjected to reasonable constraints. that's the standard the bureau of prisons.

during the obama administration we held two hearings that are still fresh in my mind that are so gripping on the issue of solitary confinement. following those hearings the justice department took steps to reduce and reform the bureau of prisons use of restrictive housing. we started to make real progress . unfortunately the progress was erased during the trump administration. since the former president left office the bind department of justice has had plenty of time to change course and leadership and i've urged them to do so.i year and a half into this administration nearly 8 percent of bop inmates are still being held in restrictive housing. that's the same it was under president trump. that is just plain unacceptable . the continued overuse of restrictive housing, the alleged abuses of thompson are among the many instances of misconduct and mismanagement that have occurred under the failed

leadership of bureau of prisons director michael carvahal. i called for mister carvahal's resignation last november. so it was welcome news about six weeks after i asked for his resignation he announced it. director carvahal says is going to resign but that was january. now we are in june and the justice department has shown little urgency and naming carvajal's replacement as a result he is still mismanaging presence. this investigation makes it clear there are no excuses for further delay today i'm calling on president biden and attorney general garland and general delmonico to do one of two things. either name a new reform minded director to replace carvajal immediately or appoint an acting director

until a permanent solution is made. this cannot wait. we need to act before another inmate dies in the custody of the care of this federal government. in the coming weeks the judiciary chair will be holding a hearing on the bureau of prisons. we will examine these allegations and abuse of the facilities. we need answers from the biden administration and failure to reduce these restrictive housing and we will discuss what bop must do to address the staffing crisis that this country that led to this disastrous situation. the crisis demands the attention of the highest ranking officials within the department ofjustice . it's been long overdue. it's time for us to have confident principled leadership at thebureau of prisons . i'm not the only person that works at the agency . not many of them are respected but those that are guilty of this misconduct need to be held accountable and new leadership is imperative. it's been a long time since we held had competent

principal leadership and i believe attorney general garland and tenney attorney general delmonico will choose the right leader to clear out the bureaucratic rot and improve reforms but we need to act quickly. lives are at stake. mister president i yield the floor. >> thank you. over the last couple of weeks many of us spend a lot of time taking about the horrific shootings and in uvalde, buffalo and elsewhere but unfortunately these are familiar scenes that we've seen before. we'd like to try to find a way to reduce the likelihood of their reoccurrence in the future if there's anything we can do here inthe senate to make that possible . so i've been working particularly with senator murphy who is my partner on the fixed next bill we passed in 2018.

senator murphy comes from a blue state, connecticut. i come from a red state, texas and yet in that example we were able to take a horrible event of sutherland springs where innocent parishioners were gunned down at a small baptist church outside of san antonio and take out of that tragedy something good. which is a bill we call fixed next, the national instant criminal background check system. since that was signed into law 11 and a half million new records have been uploaded into the background check system and i believe that has saved lives. you recall in that case the shooter was a veteran of the us air force and unfortunately had a troubled history. felonyconvictions , domestic violence. mental health adjudications. none of that was in the background checks. it should have been and it would have disqualified him had he had been known but he did what so often happens he

lied and then he bought the lie and tragedy ensued. we're all sick and by these shootings and we're hyperaware of the public interest. the most common refrain i hear is do something. do something. unfortunately it gets a little less specific after that what exactly should be done and that's where the hard work begins. but as the floor i'm optimistic we can find something that protects the rights of law-abiding citizens under our constitution and under the second amendment so i believe where not a threat to public safety.

focus on people with criminal records. people with mental health challenges like young salvador ramos in uvalde texas. like adam lanza in sandy hook. the profile is pretty well-established. young alienated disaffected mentally challenged boys who lack access to treatment which will help them manage their mental illness. and who descend into a pit of despair ultimately resulting in their desire not only to harm themselves but take other people with them . that profile is well-established . in the scientific literature and new york times did an

excellent piece of couple of weeks ago on that profile. so i think that gives us a little bit of a roadmap for the sorts of things we might do to deal with that . what makes this more challenging than for example the fix nix bill is that was a single point of failure. here we see multiple pointsof failure . and i think we need to address as many as wecan . so as i mentioned the mental health issue looms large. we know during the two years where many students were isolated at home trying to keep up with their studies virtually , many of them have languished. many of them have fallen behind. and because they've been isolated from their peers at the time when their social development is the most

important, many of them have fallen into despair. exacerbating the underlying problems that they may have in the first place. so trying to figure out how to support our schools and communities with resources needed to address the mental and emotional health of people who are struggling, particularly young students, that seems like an obvious area that we can work on together . obviously school security is important. your initial reports in uvalde was the door was propped open that salvador ramos entered. we found that it was propped open but the locks didn't work. he just walked right in . and there are a lot of studies and best practices when it comes to what is necessary to secure our schools. if we can secure our airports

, post 9/11 we can secure our schools. to make sure that people who should come in and out of those schools can do so relatively easily but outsiders cannot. and particularly those who are a threat to their safety of those students. i think all of us want to try to find ways to reduce the likelihood of something like this happening again. and school districts across the country are eager to get our help. and guidance to harden their infrastructure and provide for the personnel, resource officers. that's the local police officer on the school campus. those are things that i think would diminish the likelihood of another uvalde. and so mental health and school safety seem to me as

kind of no-brainers in a sense where i don't think there's a lot of division between that side of the aisle and this side of the island. but we're also looking at ways to keep guns out of the hands of people who already by law are prohibited from having them. i'm not talking necessarily about expanding the background check system, i'm i want to make sure the background check system works . and what makes this challenging is salvador ramos showed up after his 18th birthday as if he was born yesterday. for purposes of the background check system there was no insight into his many mental health challenges or terroristic threats to fellow students, potentially drug use, other things that if you were an adult he could not pass a background check but because of the fact that

juvenile records are typically sealed and are not part of the next review the merchant who sold him the firearms he used didn't know anything about his track record. but we know now as i said earlier he fits a familiar profile. he shot his own grandmother because she wanted him to go back to school after beingout of school the last two years. he engaged in self-mutilation , self cutting. tortured animals, made threats against his fellow students. threatened sexual assault against his fellow female students. and made threats that he would infact do what he openly did online . he was a ticking time bomb. and so if there's some way for us to look back into the sorts of records that would disqualify an adult if they

had occurred close to 18 because they would have been public records available to the national criminal background check system if there's a way to look back and identify people like salvador ramos who by virtue of his mental health and other problems we would know should not be able to purchase a firearm legally. a couple of states i think it's south carolina and virginia voluntarily upload mental health adjudications for 17-year-olds. we can't compel other states to do that. but we can sure provide facilitate other states doing so. and instead devise their populating the nix background system with necessary information for juveniles who ultimately will and up of age and be able to buy a firearm

and we need to know ahead of time for purposes of the background check system what those records look like. so there are a number of things we could do. there's one suggestion is for example to take a look at the background check process itself for 18 to 21-year-olds in particular. since that's the population we're focusing on as based on this profile. under current law, if you go in and buy a firearm and you have a clean record, you can pass for background checks pretty quickly. in 90 percent of cases that's actually what happens. theaverage processing time is two minutes . in most of those, in most cases the system returns a binary result. you either pass or you don't pass. you fail.

and when we fail that means you can purchase a firearm. the congress, senate in particular senator coons from delaware and i sponsored a bill that would notify local police when somebody goes in to take a background check and fails because they don't qualify. many times the local law enforcement knows more about these people and would be interested to know they tried to illegallypurchase a firearm and were denied . but in about 10 percent of the gun purchases a background check is not resolved immediately. the system returns a yellow lightwhich means additional review is required . for example if you have a common name like john smith, a search may pull records for the wrong person but the same name who was prohibited from purchasing a gun. it could also because by

incomplete criminal history. for example somebody is convicted of assault but on further examination you find out it was domestic violence which is a prohibited category. and you'd also learn whether it was a felony or a misdemeanor. in those cases the fbi under current law already has three days in which to complete the background check. the problem is under current law, the seller still sells thegun and we have an incomplete record . dylan roof i believe was the name of the shooter and the mother emmanuel church in charleston south carolina. as it turned out he had a misdemeanor drug offense that was not uploaded into the background check system. it is a disqualifying condition if you are a addicted to or a frequent

user of illegal drugs. but because the background check system did not allow enough time to include that information, maybe just maybe he would have been denied the purchase of the firearms that he ultimately used to kill those innocent people that day. but what we're looking at is the possibility of and those cases where there's a alcoholic a yellow flag or an indication of further review extended period of time for these this class of purchasers between 18 and 21 to allow the background check system to complete their review. well, i've said it before and i'll say it again. i don't believe law-abiding mentally well done owners are going to commit mass

shootings. or are a threat to public safety. i know in the senate we've got a number of people who are sportsmen who enjoy target shooting let's say who believe that they need to exercise their second amendment rights inorder to protect their family and their home . they're not a threat so blanket limitations or prohibitions on those law-abiding citizens who are not a threat to public safety and never will be to me strikes as overreach. and we're not talking about a discretionary right. we're talking about a constitutional. and so but i do believe that the second amendment and sound public policy arenot mutually exclusive here . and that's the needle we're trying to thread.

so adding juvenile records to the next system is the common sense way to ensure we have a complete picture of the buyers history . and then of course there is the scandal of our mental health delivery system in the united states today. back in the 60s when people who had mental health challenges were institutionalized , we finally figured that didn't work very well. it was inhumane. and the theory was that there would be created some safety net in communities across the country where people could turn . where the police if the answer to 911 call would realize somebody's this is a criminal, this is somebody going through a mental health crisis police could take peoplewhere they could get help . get treated, get better.

that doesn't exist today. in many communities and in the major cities perhaps even suburban areas but uvalde texas, population 15,000 not so much. so we're looking at ways to expand the community-based mental health system. senator blunt and stab you now have a great proposal that would extend the current state pilot program nationwide. now, is that solely related to what happened in uvalde or what happened in buffalo or what happened in philadelphia western mark nobody would address the larger underlying challenge of more and more americans falling through the cracks and while we know most people with a mental health crisis are not going to commit acts of violence, we

also know that 60 percent of the gun relateddeaths are suicides . and as it occurred to me like a light went off in my head , salvador ramos, adam lanza and others of this profile of young men in addition to the multiple homicides they commit they commit suicide. they know they're not going to make it out alive. so addressing this mental health crisis that affects our country and particularly where we fail these young men who feel like they have nowhere else to turn, who become increasingly isolated, become increasingly desensitized to the idea of taking someone's life because they're sitting in their room playing video games, killing people virtually all the time

and then in their bizarre fantasies decided to extend those fantasies to taking not only their own life but the life of other innocent people. so this is challenging mister president. no doubt about it . but we can do this. we can do this. sometimes politics is called the art of the possible . and i think this is possible. is it going to be perfect? are we going to not have to revisit some other scenario where people have fallen through the cracks or where vulnerabilities are exposed? no, we can't be sure this is one and done. but i do believe there is a sense of urgency not only here in the congress and the white house and across the country. we've all heard from our constituents who are in

anguish over what has happened in uvalde and elsewhere. the cry is to do something. like i said, that's not very specific. and i understand but it's up to us to try to find what is the right set of policies that would respect the rights of law-abiding citizens under the constitution but at the same time address what we know is a huge mental health crisis in this country. but we can make sure the systems that are in place work. like the national criminal background check system. we need to populate that system with the relevant information that would disqualify somebody if there

were an adult if it occurred while they were ajuvenile. there are ways we can do that. we can incentivize that, take a look back . in some cases, we can allow the national background check system in those limited cases where they need to do further review to see that the information is complete. we can figure this out. and i think on a bipartisan basis there's a will to do so. around here, if there's a will there's a way. and i believe we do have the will and we will find a way. thank you for president.

morning. i left the floor voting for the bill called the red try bill but the extreme legislation that gives people the authority and power. why wouldn't you if you knew a family member or someone else made disturbing comments or menacing comments on the internet? why would you not make sure they did not have access to guns to do harm to themselves or someone else? it would bebipartisan . in addition to the legislation we passed yesterday, the bipartisan work thatwas done to pass

this legislation . of course we are careful about what the senate may come up with and are eager to hear what that is and to work together to turn into law and to protect the children. it's always by and for the children. little did we know when all this started many years ago that children would be testifying to bear witness to murder in their classrooms and the measures that they had to take to protect themselves. so for the children we were able to pass legislation to lower the age to buy an assault weapon. to remind you to buy particularly you have to be 21 years old to buy an assault weapon and to the 18. so it is a handgun. a handgun, 21. assault weapon, 18.

raise the age. raise the age so that everyone has to be 21 years old and we take assault weapons out of the hands of teenagers. again we're very pleased to have legislation passed in a bipartisan way for the safe storage of guns banning high-capacity magazines which are designed to massacre and we are glad to have the two bills . executive orders under president trump, the bump stock loophole closing back and under president biden with most bills. define those into law rather than just as executive orders . we are very pleased at the progress that was made on the floor of the house and are eager and prayerful as to what the senate in a bipartisan way for legislation that can pass the senate. that can make a difference to

save lives for the children. i'm also pleased that the senate has a bill to proceed with the pack act. this is so important to our veterans. the pack act is legislation we passed in the house and it had 86 votes to clear the way to proceed and hopefully they will proceed soon but what that is is to say that our veterans are men and women in uniform who have been exposed to burn pits. who now have an opportunity to have the respect, the care and opportunity they need to help them and of them have cancer. in other words not to have them prove to an almost

impossible degree that they were there and it happened. jon stewart has taken the initiative. you probably saw some visibility about it. we passed a while ago but the senate overwhelmingly in a bipartisan way voted to proceed. we are also working now next week we will be having legislation on the floor that will talk about how we lower costs. how we address inflation and how we reduce the deaths and i'm very pleased we will be voting up the reform act to address the supply-chain shortages that we have. supply was short, costs are up and important legislation has already passed the senate so we would be passing it and we had our own version here but in the interest of proceeding with we are going to take up the senate bill that lowers the cost for americans and consumers. we're also dealing with issues to agriculture coming

out of the ag committee where were talking about more competition and a spotlight on what's happening in poultry and meat and all the rest of that. but when you're talking about lowering cost of the pump we have already done our price gouging legislation and market manipulation legislation but will be doing more in terms of legislation. >>

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

vote:

vote:

the presiding officer: on this vote the yeas are 49. the nays 43. the nomination is confirmed. under the previous order, the motion to reconsider is considered made and laid upon

the table and the president will be immediately notified of the senate's actions. under the previous order, the senate will resume legislative session.

this is historic, bipartisan. i hope we can keep it when something is bipartisan is historic because we ought to be able to solve these problems for veterans and really for americans in a way that brings us together and not pulled us apart. and this is never to show that

that can be done. this legislation will deliver on a promise we made as a country to take care of our servicemen and women both when they deploy and when they come home. the heath robinson at will by access to and benefits to millions of veterans who are sick from illnesses, connected with toxic exposures. when we sent our war fighters into harm's way it is with the understanding that will have their backs when they come home very physical, mental or invisible wounds of war we care for those wounds. toxic wounds should not be treated differently. john buckley as a retired u.s. army colonel from andover kansas told me and i quote him our soldiers were put into dangerous situations in iraq and afghanistan and many who suffer from their wounds or who made the ultimate sacrifice have been cared for by our nation. unfortunately many have been overlooked and ignored. especially those who are suffering from injuries after having recurring reocd

exposure to toxic fumes, burn pits and other environmental hazards. this legislation is designed to address what the retired colonel told me. another army colonel this one from leavenworth kansas at proctor who served and iraq and afghanistan shared that many of the men and women he served with our facing health challenges from being exposed to toxins while deployed. he said, i quote, there is no telling, there is to tell me how many of us will be impacted as we get older. i know many of our veterans live with the lingering fear with a toxic exposures on the service catch up with them and leave them with a debilitating disease? and if that happens, will the v.a. be there? will americans be there for them with health care and benefits they need? william turner a former deputy commander general of support for the kansas ft. riley first

infantry division told me our veterans have served in multiple locations where they have been exposed to a number of toxins that have resulted in thin developing serious illnesses, and they often struggle to gain access to health care and benefits that can help alleviate some of the pain and suffering they are experiencing. sometimes we think these issues are something people in washington, d.c. are talking about a what we are trying to address is a real circumstances of real americans who served our nation and who are deserving of our attention. the commanding general former went on to say to note this, it is absolutely imperative that we pass this bill to guarantee exposed veterans receive healthcare. ing officer: no, we are not. ms. duckworth: i rise today to honor chicago's very own wgn radio for reaching its milestone 100th birthday this year. in a century's time, wgn has reported on sewn of our nation's

-- on so much of our nation's history. it is synonymous with chicago's vibrant sports mother that defines time and again go it means to have a vision and work to see it through. wgn, which stands for world's greatest newspaper, and pays homage to the 21st century slow g.n.p. comes from humble beginnings. starting with a single staff member in 1922, wgn went ton cover some of the past century's defining moments and solidify a legacy of story-telling determination. it was wgn who interrupted the broadcast of a bear's game to report for the next 257 hours and 35 minutes on the attack on pearl harbor. wgn was there on the tragic september morning. as an illinoisan, i am proud that wgn has consistently shown up during some of our country's

darkest days. but they have been with us through many of our brightest moments, too. they went from broadcasting their very first sports game, a match between the cubs and white sox, to broadcasting the chicago bears legendary super bowl xx win. to 2010's triumphant crisis as broadcasters described patrick cane scoring the winning goal in overtime earning the chicago blackhawks the stanley cup for the first time in 50 years. wgn has not just been telling our stories for the last 100 years, but they've become a vital member of our community. judy markey and kathy o'malley's beloved afternoon talk show and making the first woman general manager in 2014 or bringing the voices like bob collins to our days, wgn is embedded in the

hearts of so many chicagoans it's legacy is about community, it is about being proud where you've come from and where you are a going. so here's to 100 more years of wgn and many more to come. thank you. i yield the floor and note the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. quorum call:

it's rollings -- member senate judiciary committee, better now or mexican court confirmations and now the author of the book saving nine out this week am saving nine the fight against the foundation plan to pack the supreme court and destroy american liberty. before we get to saving nine i did want to get your reaction to that man arrested outside brett kavanaugh's house yesterday. he had an eye on them, a gun on him. your reaction to that incident. >> it's fortunate they cut it. it's tragic you was a bear. look, there are real problems with showing up at the home of a

supreme court justice to protest what you anticipate might be the outcome of a case. to try to influence the outcome of a case. in this particular instance he appears to have been showing up to influence the outcome of a case in a way that is unthinkably bad. so i'm grateful they caught him, but we have really got to get serious about the fact that under 18 usc section 1507 this is prohibited. this is a federal criminal offense and -- >> showing up for protest? >> showing up to protest at the home of a supreme court justice is itself a criminal offense. doing so with a weapon and with equipment to break into his home to carry out an execution is just unthinkably bad. so i i hope and expect to hear condemnation from republicans and democrats alike from the

white house come from the president of the united states himself. condemnation of people showing up at supreme court justices holmes at all. >> is there a similar code as it relates to members of congress if there's a lot that is being voted on, is it illegal to go to a member's house or stand on the sidewalk outside her house and protest? >> to my knowledge there is not a federal law that is similar to 18 usc 1507 with respect to matters of congress. but it will say this and i actually talk about this in saving nine. when you shall to the home of a public official to try to influence a a public officialy to protest, i do think that's inappropriate. i think there probably should be unlawful. because when you show up to protest at the home of a private person because at private person is a public official, you're sending one signal, regardless of what else you're saying. your say we know where you

sleep. that's an implicit threat of physical violence and in this day and age i think there's a time, place, and manner issue, and the place for protesting ought not you were someone sleep. >> on "saving nine" by nine? wise nine the magic number for the supreme court? >> as i explained in chapter two of "saving nine" there's nothing magical about the number nine. there's nothing mandated by the constitution about the number nine, and yet that's the number that we arrived at by 1869. this number jumped around. it was five for a while, six for a while, back to five, with up to seven, , got 28. they cut up as highest in. but since 1869 the number has been at night and it is then we realized as a country it's probably better not to overly politicized the supreme court which is inevitably what happens when you start tinkering with the numbers. i think it would've been better had to put that in the

constitution. i would support a constitutional amendment changing it to nine. but this is one of these instances where it's that unconstitutional to increase the size of the supreme court but it is fundamentally and severely anti-constitutional. it would be destabilizing to the independence of the federal judiciary and i felt so strongly about that about a book about. >> several of your colleagues on the other side actively calling to expand the court. one of those senator elizabeth warren democrat from massachusetts. this is her youtube video with her arguments about a minute long. >> republicans steal power to ram through an extremist, unpopular agenda. basic protections like roe v. wade supported by 70% of americans are hanging by a thread. and that is just the tip of the iceberg. this radical court opened the floodgates for corporations to

spend unlimited sums of money to buy out elections. it cited with big businesses over unions. it upheld a racist muslim ban, and it guided one of the most important civil rights laws of our times, voting rights act. this is not a court that represents the will of the people. we can't take this lying down. the only real solution now is to expand the supreme court. the constitution gives congress the authority to change the size of the supreme court, and congress is used that authority seven times before. expansion is actually the only way to rebalance the court after republicans stole two seats and undermined the legitimacy of the court. >> nor worn part of a you tube. she put out the end of last year. your response.

>> there is a lot to unpack, a lot of errors in that statement. she refers to the republicans having stolen power, and she said the word stolen or steel twice. i'm not sure what she's referring to there. there's nothing about the manner in which republican nominees to the supreme court stole anything for the republican senate stole anything by confirming donald trump's nominees to the u.s. supreme court. she may not like that it happened that way. she might not like republicans held a majority and 2016 when republicans chose not to confirm merrick garland to the supreme court. she might not like the fact that republicans confirmed amy coney barrett in 2020. and yet those were all

legitimate exercise of power. there's nothing about those that were stolen. it's significant very there denigrates delegitimize is and tries to cast mr. sullivan: mr. president, it's thursday. you know, i normally come down on the senate floor to give the alaskan of the week speech. unfortunately i'm not going to do that today. actually last week i named two alaskans of the week, so we kind of have two for one last week. just tass a little -- just as a little wrap-up for that, it was quite a remarkable thing that took place just last week in alaska on memorial day. my two alaskans of the week -- a 91-year-old, actually 92-year-old artist working with a detective, both alaska natives, both from the

community of unalaska out on the aleutian island chain worked together. gertrude svarny worked for decades to right a wrong and get a military burial on memorial day for a young man, also a alaska native from unalaska who died fighting in world war ii and was never recognized. no gravestone, no tombstone, nothing for decades. and we had an amazing ceremony thanks to these two amazing alaskans. gertrude svarny, as i mentioned, mike livingston and the memory of this private soldier, private george fox, was now finally recognized. that was in a memorial day ceremony last week.

i was trying to get there. unfortunately you sometimes get a lot of bad weather out there. i flew halfway out to the aleutian islands, and we had horrible weather, we couldn't land. but the ceremony happened, so those were two alaskans of the week two weeks ago that i just want to highlight again. incredible work, such a moving ceremony. so i figured that was two for one. so unfortunately, i'm not going to do an alaskan of the week today. i know we always like to end the week on a high note. i'm going to talk about a mystery, mr. president, that has really been certainly flummoxed me, and i think so many people in our federal government on a matter that especially impacts millions and millions of americans suffering

from high energy prices. it's a mystery for the american people. you know, our federal government can sometimes be so opaque that you often don't know who's up to what in this big government of ours, particularly when people are firefighting do things that are so obviously harmful to the american people. so i'm going to talk a little bit about this mystery, because i think we finally solved it. there's a culprit, who is usually the culprit in a lot of bad things happening in our federal government, and i'm going to talk about that. here's a little bit of background on the mystery. we passed a bipartisan infrastructure bill in november. now, i voted for it. some of my colleagues didn't. i voted for it primarily because i come from a resource-rich

infrastructure-poor state. alaska has resources -- oil, gas, minerals, renewables -- that can help our state and help the country, really help the world. but we have very little infrastructure. think about this, mr. president. my state is 120 times bigger than connecticut, and we have less road miles than connecticut. and i know we have less road miles than maryland. so we need infrastructure. so senator murkowski, congressman young and i, we all participated certainly in our own ways on getting this infrastructure bill written and then over the goal line in terms of votes. so overall, i thought it was abpositive bill. it -- i thought it was a positive bill. it wasn't perfect but especially the focus on roads and bridges and ports and harbors and broadband.

and there's actually a provision in there for federal loan guarantees on a huge alaska gas project, l.n.g. project. and so in my view, this bill was a win-win-win. jobs, infrastructure, energy infrastructure to help bring down energy prices, and of course the environment. mr. president, i like to show this chart a lot. it's gotten a lot of attention. some of our national media folks have seen it, and they're like, gee, that can't be true. let's politifact or fact-check senator sullivan's emission chart, so they have. they have come back and said he's actually right. so it shows annual emissions from the major economies of the world since 2005 to present. who is the leader in reducing emissions? who's the leader? we are. america is, actually by far.

it's not even close. almost 15% emission reductions since 2005. who's the main culprit of spewing emissions out in the global atmosphere? well, you guessed it. our good friends, the chinese communists -- china, india, iran, russia. so we're the leader on this. i had the opportunity during a confirmation hearing recently for one of the biden administration's e.p.a. nominees in charge of air quality. i showed him this chart. he didn't seem to know a lot about the chart, but ep seems like a good guy and i said why do you think this happened? he kind of trotted out initially, e.p.a. regs. wrong answer. this is because of the revolution in the production of american gas. that's a fact. you can check it all you want.

so you would think that infrastructure, part of the infrastructure bill that can help us actually produce more energy with more energy infrastructure, that everybody would be for it. it helps the environment, global emissions. it certainly helps workers and helps build out infrastructure, which we sorely need. as i mentioned, mr. president, big supporters of the infrastructure bill were all the trade unions in alaska and america because they know they're going to get the jobs from the build-out of this infrastructure bill. now, one of the things the bill had that i thought was actually really important and something i worked on in the environment and public works committee was provisions to streamline our federal permitting system to be

able to get infrastructure projects deployed and built. so that was a big element of this bill. not as much as i wanted, but certainly a good start. and this has been an issue i've been working on since my time here in the senate. it's a bipartisan issue, mr. president, as you know. when you talk to mayors and governors in america, anywhere -- it doesn't matter what party they are -- they want the ability to have the federal government permit infrastructure projects so we can move them out. that's not controversial. and here's the thing, as a country, we used to be really good at building stuff, building stuff on time, building stuff that's impressive. just give you a few examples, i think a lot of people know this, but our country used to be the envy of the world building great projects

responsibly, efficiently, on time. the pentagon was built in 16 months. the empire state building was built in one year and 45 days. the 1,500 mile alaska-canadian highway, what we call the alcan highway, connect the lower 48 all the way through canada up into alaska, 1,500 miles, it took eight months to do that. so we know how to do this as a country. fast forward to today, madam president, a new u.s. highway construction project to build a highway usually takes nine to 19 years. that's according to the g.a.o. let me just give you a couple of examples of those. the gross reservoir in colorado that's going to offer clean

water to the people of colorado has taken two decades of planning and permitting to expand the gross reservoir northwest of denver -- two decades. 20 years to get this important project finished. the bullet california train was built in the late 1990's, still not built. its costs because of permitting delays has gone for 100 billion to $105 billion. the pipeline in virginia and west virginia began in 2013 to bring natural gas, only 20 miles left to complete, it might never be completed because of permitting delays. and federal courts delaying, delaying, and delaying energy projects. the kensington mine -- kensington mine in alaska that

employs over 400 people is a gold mine, average wage was $100,000. took 30 years to permit if you include the legislation. it goes on and on, when nepa was passed, it was to take less than a year, usually takes less than a year, was usually a couple of00 pages. now, madam president, an average e.i.s. takes four to six years to complete and usually costs several million dollars. we are killing ourselves as a country in our ability to build or not build infrastructure projects. so what did we do on the infrastructure bill? bipartisan. we worked together to put together some pretty good permitting reform provisions.

they're not nearly as good as i would want them, madam president, but they were pretty good. pretty good. to get the infrastructure that's in this bill roads, bridges, ports, yes, energy projects, pipelines for oil and gas, which we need built quickly or at least in a reasonable amount of time, not 20 years. so here's the mystery. that all happened. the president said he liked it, the unions really liked it, the building trades, the men and women who build stuff in this country. i worked with teri o'sullivan on permitting reform, this very issue. so we've got good things in there. so what's the mystery? here's the mystery. after all this work and the president touting the infrastructure bill that we're getting ready to build and it

having good impacts in terms of natural gas, not just our environment and emissions but continuing to make us the global leader, the white house set out new rules under nepa for infrastructure projects in april. what did they do? they made the nepa rules much harder to actually build infrastructure. not just oil and gas but it targeted oil and gas -- all infrastructure, roads, bridges, ports, renewable projects, l.n.g. projects, natural gas projects. the white house put out new nepa rules rescinding the trump administration's rules, which were quite good and similar to some of the reforms we got in the infrastructure bill, and everybody knows that these white

house rules are going to delay infrastructure projects. why in the heck would we do that as a country? we just passed a big infrastructure bill. with permitting reform in it and somebody over at the white house said, no. let's make it harder. madam president, here's an editorial from "the wall street journal" that talks about the infrastructure nepa regs and it's called how to kill american infrastructure on the sly, the white house revises nepa rules that will scuttle the ability to build new roads, bridges, and oil and gas pipelines. i'd like to submit this for the record. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. sullivan: so the new rules come out. they're clearly meant to kill

infrastructure, especially oil and gas, but kind of everything, the president's touting this infrastructure bill as one of his big achievements. it was bipartisan, a number of us, myself included, voted for it. but there's somebody out there trying to make sure the infrastructure doesn't get built. that's the mystery. that's the mystery. who would do that? well, heck, i'm trying to find the answer because i really care about this issue, permitting reform to get infrastructure built. my state's been ground zero about projects being delayed. so who is this? i'm starting to ask around the white house, secretary grand hoam was -- granholm was testifying in front of the committee two weeks ago. i asked her, who is doing this? was it you?

she said i didn't know anything about this. a little bit surprising since it's energy. but that's what she said. i to -- i don't think she wouldo that. would it be marty walsh, a former laborer, i supported marty walsh strongly because i talked to him before his confirmation, hey, look, there's a group in the white house that hates energy, even though it's great jobs, and there are some in the white house who think they want to help the building trades build stuff. if you're with that group, marty walsh, i'll support you as secretary of labor. he said it was. so i don't think it's him. as a matter of fact, when smees regs -- when these regs came out, these laborers put out a statement saying once again,

quote, communities in need of idle infrastructure and hardworking men and women who build america will be waiting as project details are subjected to onerous reviews by these new rules. this is the laborers international -- labors international, the men and women who build stuff are not happy about the nepa rule. america will continue to bear the expense of nepa delays which costs taxpayers millions of dollars annually. lengthy review proses will result -- processes will result from these new nepa regulations. they will have a chilling impact on private investment and infrastructure and, of course, when we need energy, these new nepa rules will make it harder for americans to get energy. and the price of energy is going to continue to go like this on the backs of working families. so was it the secretary of labor pushing this?

i doubt it. i doubt it. sew who was it -- so who was it, madam president? well, as i said on the floor of the u.s. senate many times before, if there's something bad happening to the national interest of our country, either domestically or internationally, it's probably not far fetched to assume john kerry is near it. there is nobody in the biden administration who so regularly tries to undermine america's national interests than john kerry kowtowing to the chinese communist party, kissing up to iranian terrorists. when putin began his barbaric invasion of ukraine, john kerry publicly voiced his first concerns, not about people dying, not about a democracy being overrun by a dick -- dictator, it was how vladimir putin might take his eye off his

climate change goals. madam president, this is embarrassing as americans. he's a senior official. now, he has no power in terms of being confirmed by the senate. yeah, he's a former secretary of state and a former senator, but on these issues, he is so out of touch with the average american. so who was pushing these new nepa rules to delay energy projects for america? the big mystery. heck, i don't even think it was the president. he seems proud of the infrastructure bill. he told the unions he wants to get to work and build. but now we have a new rule that's going to delay the building of infrastructure. madam president, the mystery is solved. the mystery is solved. this is a headline from a

time -- "time" magazine news story, just came out yesterday. john kerry saying, quote, we have to push back hard on efforts to build new energy infrastructure in response to rising gas prices. we have to push back hard. you can't make this stuff up. this is the guy. this is the guy. so we have a new bunch of federal rules right now driven by this guy and probably gina mccarthy, who want to drive up energy prices, make it harder for infrastructure to be built, which is exactly what this will do. nobody's even arguing against that. drive up energy prices on the backs of working-class americans, and now he's out publicly you saying, we've got to do it. stop infrastructure. you have this new revision --

new rye vision -- new revisionism suggesting that we have to be producing more energy. well, yes, we do. it's amazing. you nevada know who's side this guy's on, but he's not on america's side, i will tell you that. so, madam president, this is a new regulation, a nepa regulation. we have the authority here in congress to use what's called a congressional review act, a c.r.a., we have the power when a new regulation comes out to say, no, we don't like that in the senate, we're going to have a vote, a congressional review act vote on whether to rescind an amendment, clearly driven by this guy, a regulation by this guy, that will delay energy projects, that will delay renewable projects, that will make sure americans continue to pay record-high energy prices.

so we're going to have a vote on that. i plan on bringing that resolution to the floor soon. it's a privileged resolution so we'll get a vote whether majority leader schumer wants to vote on it or not. i'm assuming the president would like my c.r.a. because he can't want delays to his infrastructure bill. he can't want delays to getting energy relief for american families. this guy does. right? so we're going to have a little test and we'll have another mystery solved here on the senate floor. two weeks ago in the commerce committee, i had a little debate with a couple of my colleagues, friends of mine, but i made a statement, which i think is very true. it's certainly true in my state and it's this -- at the national

level my democratic colleagues when they have a choice between supporting guys like this and his radical environmental allies and the working men and women of america who want to build stuff, they always choose him and his allies. my colleagues, someone got really upset. how can you say that dan? it's not true. well, it's true in alaska. i see it every day. so my c.r.a. is going to ask a simple question -- who are you for? who do you stand with? american working families, the labors, the -- laborers, the people who build infrastructure that we need, the families suffering from high-energy costs or this guy and his radical environmental ally special interests, who have a lot of power in this white house, who are clearly behind this reg that

i'm trying to resend to make it harder to build infrastructure, especially american energy infrastructure. for my colleaguy no, we're with the working men and women of america, we'll see. we'll see. i hope you vote with me to rescind this reg that's only harming our country, only harming working families, only harming working americans , and promotes the radical, out-of-touch agenda of john kerry, gina mccarthy, and the far left, woke environmental interests that they answer to. it's going to be an interesting vote, madam president, and the american people are going to be watching. i yield the floor.

>> every time i walk into a room everybody stands up i think there may be a fire . press, that's the joke . it's wonderful to be with you this morning and i really mean it and i want to thank the chamber of commerce for bringing together this group of business leaders from all across the region and all of us are in los angeles because we believe in the incredible economic potential of the americas. i know i do, we all do. i just think the potential is unlimited. it's filled with dynamic energy, entrepreneurs who are ready to breakout. young people poised and the press always asked me why am i so optimistic with the way things are. take a look at all these young folks. they're the best educated, most generous.they're the people who have done the most and ready to volunteer and

least prejudiced in the world. it's a new generation and it's an underpinning that gives me an enormous sense of optimism. we have everything we need in the west and a sphere not only to point ourselves towards a future that is more prosperous, fewer antidemocratic but the ability to achieve it as well and for all of you are essential to making sure we get to this place we have to get to. the private sector is able to movequickly , mobilize vast amounts of investment capital that are going to meet needed to lock the enormous potential for growth in this hemisphere . and when we combine the city of the government to direct economic activity towards this challenge is to help mitigate risk, guards against unfair practice and create predictable demand with the agility of the private sector i believe we can deliver real improvement for people's lives . i really believe it .

jessica, my wife often reminds me that i had a doctor a long time ago who was saying when i had an aneurysm she kept saying is it congenital or is it environmental ? i said i don't care. she said you know what your problem is senator? you're a congenital optimist. but i am, i'm an american. [applause] i really need it. we can do anything. jobs that paid good wages and respect workers rights. communities that come to life around investments. emily can vision of future with an opportunity to as i'd say my dad would say give them a little bit of breathing room. when that happens everyone prospers including all of you . but to achieve this we got to update our recipe or economic

growth. it'stime to put a nail in the coffin of trickle-down economics . it doesn't work . it keeps you in an increasingly smaller world. it doesn't work. it keeps getting you the same results, less competition and less innovation and in the pastfew years we've exposed the weaknesses of prioritizing short-term profits and working exclusively to maximize efficiency . we learned the pain that happenswhen just in time supply chains breakdown or a bottleneck . it's a fundamental difference . and you all felt it as well. that trend for pandemic triggered a global economic crisis we are still digging out of and now begins on provoked war in ukraine that's created economic disruptions that are frightening the entire globe and that's not hyperbole . these will be the only shocks we will have to navigate. climate change is increasing the intensity of disasters.

i'm going back east and stopping in new mexico. they had an incredibleimpact on their environment . rising inequity and food insecurity can fuel political instability, you all know that . the question is not if we face another pandemic, it's when we face it and are we going to be prepared this time? the economy will increasingly belong to those who place a premium on resilience and reliability. invest in innovation over the long-term to strengthen supply chains now and mitigate the impact offuture shocks before they hit . each of us, the government and private sector have a critical role to play. that's why am focused on driving economic policies that grow our economy from the bottom off and middle out because quite frankly when that works everybody does well. and the wealthy do verywell .

no one gets hurt. in theunited states where making the generational investment in our infrastructure . we used to be number one in the world when i came to congress. now we are number 13 inthe world . i love to tell businesspeople what that means in terms of economic growth but we're fixing. is going to be a benefit for the entire region. $1.2 trillion bipartisan to upgrade our infrastructure and fix crumbling roads and bridges and courts across the country and that's going to help get goods to market while creating and paying union jobs and i know you don't like my saying union union jobs to support working families because that's what's happening. everyone benefits everybody wins when that occurs . and the return on our investment will strengthen us competitiveness throughout the 21st-century . it's the same approach were taking a customer partnerships for economic

prosperity. many countries qualify as middle income countries but that label doesn't remove the challenge is to run deep inequity. middle income means you'll get the benefit of a lot of opportunities so we can change that help governments make life fair for the people by using hemispheric multinational financial institutions to modernize and mobilize greater levels of investment and create good paying jobs. they know the real barriers for you to contend with and that's why we want towork with you to level the playing field . as i said last night the united states is prepared to put new capital in the inter-american development banks private sector and id bms to help catalyze the flow of private capital into the region especially to start startups, digital connectivity and renewable energy and health.

for example we need to make it easier for countries in latin america and caribbean to develop their 5g infrastructurewithout having to choose between investing in our digital future or renewableenergy structure . to be able to do both . we need to unlock the financing so both can be done at the same time. we want to make sure our closest neighbors have a choice between the death trap development that's become more common in the region and high-quality transparent approach to infrastructure that delivers lasting games to workers and their families . and by working through theus international development finance corporation to lower the rest around these investments , or policy reforms and improve investments in climate . and level the playing field. we're going to open up new areas of private sector

investment that are not only economically viable but are highly desirable . you know, over the course of this summer but governments are coming together to make significant concrete commitments across range of issues vital to achieving sustainable and equitable growth through the region. i'm bringing supply chains closer to home on fostering innovation and developing a shared framework for our digital future. i'm taking our action on climate change into high gear and speeding our clean energy transition. i'm bolstering health systems and food security in the western hemisphere. i'm managing migration as a shared responsibility to and enforce our borders and stabilize migrant populations while seeking a shared opportunity for economic growth. my challenge to all of you is if you step up and play a

bigger role in driving inclusive sustainable equitable growth in the 21st century a lot is going to have . what more can we do to engage in these issues that shape our future? not as a favor to me or any government leader but because it's your own overwhelming economic self-interest. if you make the investments necessary to build more secure and resilient supply chains that's only going to bring down your cost and make you more competitive and boost your bottom line. you're going to hear from john kerry about the opportunity for private-sector innovation and new markets that will be critical to reach our climate goals. yesterday vice president harris spoke about 3.2 billion mobilized by our call to action efforts in central america including from several companies in this room to bring quality economic opportunity to the region. we're expanding the 100,000 strong in the americas program to focus on opportunities for young people in climate and stem

fields especially in the caribbean and central america but i urge you to join us in matching funds just as you did when we launched the program 10 years ago. there are many more examples but let me close with this. we stand at an inflection point. you're tired of hearing me say this when i was running. we are at an inflection point . more is going to change and the next 10 years and has changed in the last 30 years in the world. the decisions we make today will have far-reaching impact on our future. they're going to last well into the middle of the century and businesses, as you all see our pointing it as clearly as i do but our challenge is to shape the outcomes so that future reflects democratic values of our nation and an economy that we want to live and work in and that ensures a fair

playing field for our workers and businesses. as we navigate this inflection point the leaders in business and those who come out ahead are going to be the people that lead this change for the future not those stopped looking backwards and sitting on the sidelines . not unless we're able to realize our ambition on our own so let's use this summit to tackle the obstacles of growth . come together on new opportunities to take out region's biggest challenges and defeat them. for all of us to prosper, i really believe there's nothing we're unable to do and i think we're primed and i'll close with this and will stay a little later for the general session. i find no reason why the in the western hemisphere over the next 10 years that is not

developing in the most democratic atmosphere in the world, most democratic region in the entire world. we help the people, the resources and we have more democracy in this country than any other hemisphere so there's a lot we can do but a lot of it matters in the private enterprise . you all. i want to thank you all and i look forward to working with you as my every time i walk out of my grandfather's house joey, keep the faith and my grandmother said nojoey, spread it . [band playing field to the chief ]

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prrve ever. the presiding officer: the majority leader. mr. schumer: madam president, it week has worked toward passing the largest expansion of health care benefits for our veterans in a very long time. millions of convention today face the flabbergasting indignity. they served our country valiantly. were exposed to toxic chemicals in the line of duty. but cannot get health care benefits they need because of outdated rules at the v.a. this needs to change. and the pact act would provide the fix. many on both sides want to get this bill done as soon as we can. we cannot have dilatory or destructive amendments to the pact act because it's too important for our veterans' well-being. today that end democrats have spent the day working with republicans on a list of amendments and these negotiations are ongoing. but while we work on an agreement and to keep the process moving, i'll be filing cloture so we can take the next step towards passing the pact act next week. we hope to get an agreement and

we're making good progress there. so we hope to get an agreement before that, but the legislative process must move forward. so for the sake of our veterans who have made the ultimate sacrifice serving our nation and defending our freedom, there's no reason we can't pass the pact act asap. our discussions continue with our republican colleagues in an effort to get that done and i'm hopeful we will succeed. now, i have an amendment to the underlying bill at the desk. the presiding officer: the clerk will report. the clerk: the senator from new york, mr. schumer, proposes an amendment numbered 576 to the language proposed to be stricken by amendment numbered 5051. at the end add the following. section -- mr. schumer: i ask to dispense with further reading of the amendment. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. schumer: i send a cloture motion to the desk. the presiding officer: without

objection. the clerk will report. the the clerk: cloture motion, we, the undersigned senators, in accordance with the provisions of rule 22 of the standing rules of the senate, do hereby bring to a close debate on the tester subject ought to amendment numbered 5051 to calendar number 388, h.r. 3967, an act to improve health care and benefits to veterans exposed to toxic substances and for other purposes. mr. schumer: i ask unanimous consent that the reading of the names be waived. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. schumer: i send a cloture motion to the desk. the presiding officer: the clerk will report. the clerk: cloture motion, we, the undersigned senators, in accordance with the provisions of rule 22 of the standing rules of the senate, do hereby bring to a close debate on the calendar number 388, h.r. 3967, an act toll improve health care and benefits for veterans

exposed to toxic substances and for other purposes, signed by 17 senators. mr. schumer: i ask consent the reading of the names be waived. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. schumer: i send a cloture motion to the desk. i ask unanimous consent that the mandatory quorum calls for the cloture motions filed today, thursday, june 9, be waived. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. schumer: madam president, i ask unanimous consent that the filing deadline for first-degree amendments to the substitute amendment 5051 in the underlying bill h.r. 3967 be at 4:00 p.m. on monday, june 13. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. schumer: i ask unanimous consent that the senate proceed to executive session to consider the following nominations en bloc, 854, that the senate vote on the nominations en bloc, without intervening action or debate. the motions to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table, that any statements related to the nominations be printed in the record and that

the president be immediately notified of the senate's action and the senate resume legislative session. the presiding officer: without objection. the question occurs on the nominations en bloc. all those in favor say aye. all opposed no. the ayes appear to have it. the ayes do have it. the nominations are confirmed en bloc. mr. schumer: madam president, i have eight requests for committees to meet during today's session of the senate. they have the approval of the majority and minority leaders. the presiding officer: duly noted. mr. schumer: madam president, i ask unanimous consent that when the senate completes its business today it adjourn until 3:00 p.m. on monday, june 13 and that following the prayer and pledge, the morning hour deemed expired, the journal of proceedings be approved to date, the time for the two leaders be reserved for their use later in the day and morning business be closed. that upon the conclusion of morning business, the senate resume consideration of calendar 388, h3967. further that he cloture motions

filed during today's session ripen at 5:30 p.m. on monday. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. schumer: if there is no further business to come before the senate, i ask that it stand adjourned under the previous order. the presiding officer: the senate stands adjourned until 3:00 p.m. on monday. . >> after months of

closed-door investigations the house january 6 committee is set to go public. tune in as committee members question key witnesses about what transpired and wife duringthe assault on the us capital. watch our live coverage tonight at eight eastern on c-span, c-span nowor anytime online at c-span.org . c-span: your unfiltered view of government . >> the chief of the u.s. forest service testified before the senate energy committee on forest fires, climate change and budget request for the upcoming year . watch tonight at 9:30 eastern on c-span2, our free mobile video app or online at c-span.org. >> c-span is your unfiltered view of government funded by these television companies of war including comcast. >> comcast is partnering with

1000 community centers to create wi-fi enabled us so students from low income families can get the tools they need to be ready for anything. comcast supports c-span as a public service along with these other television providers give you a front proceed to democracy . >> now a senate hearing focusing on ongoing syrian conflict and the administrations strategy in the region. among those testifying were a syrian eyewitness who was forced to date mass graves in syria. the witness was able to escape to germany detail the atrocities he experienced and urged the us and its allies to act against syrian president assad. this senate foreign relations committee hearing runs about