chamber this week. he released a statement last night saying he tested positive for covid-19 and plans to work remotely. today the senate plans to debate the nomination of the deputy undersecretary of defense for personnel and readiness. as always live coverage of the senate on c-span 2. chaplain, d, will lead the senate in prayer. the the chaplain: let us pray. o lord, as our lips are open in prayer, so may our hearts be open to receive your holy spirit. help us to bow to your will and live lives devoted to your providential leading. lord, bless our senators in their work.

let faith, hope, and love abound in their lives. help them to seek to heal the hurt in our world and to be forces for harmony and goodness. remind them that they will be judged by their fruits, and that you require them to be faithful. may they seek to serve rather than be served, following your example of humility and sacrifice. we pray in the name of him who is our refuge from life's storms. amen. the presiding officer: please join me in pledging allegiance to the flag. i pledge allegiance to the flag

of the united states of america, and to the republic for which it stands, one nation, under god, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. the presiding officer: the clerk will read a communication to the senate. the clerk: washington, d.c., july 11, 2022, to the senate, under the provisions of rule 1, paragraph 3 of the standing rules of the senate, i hereby appoint the honorable mazie k. hirono, a senator from the state of hawaii, to perform the duties of the chair, signed patrick j. leahy, president pro tempore. the presiding officer: under the previous order, the leadership time is reserved. morning business is closed.

under the previous order the senate will proceed to executive session to resume consideration of the following nomination, which the clerk will report. the clerk: nomination, department of defense, ashish s. vazirani, of maryland, to be a deputy under secretary.

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>> this week we must get into the january sex committee in the spotlight so let's start there on the title of the two hearings were expecting this week and what we know about

the subject matter . >> so there's hearings both on tuesday and thursday this week and what we anticipate is a deep dive into connections between this lot to overturn the 20/20 election results from within the trump white house and threads between that core group of leaders in the trump world with extreme right wing militias. soon. >>

the 20th century. only seven countries in the entire world allow elective abortion on demand past 20 weeks. but until two weeks ago, past supreme courts have mistakenly decreed that the constitution forced america to be one of

them. all 50 states had to handle this issue like china and north korea. no state was allowed to handle it even like france or germany. of course, there is no command like that in our constitution, and that is what the court finally recognized. there's nothing in the constitution that forces us to be a radical global outlier on abortion. the american people finally have their freedom back to fact commonsense protections for unborn life. millions of americans spent nearly half a century working, marching, and praying for this landmark day. it is an honor to stand with them throughout the journey that led to june 24, 2022, and to continue to stand together. the court's ruge in dobbs is not

only a huge victory for innocent life. it a historic triumph for the rule of law itself. even liberal legal experts, including the late justice ginsburg, said the court's abortion precedence were badly reasoned. the liberal yale law professor, achil amar, wrote just this may, i'm a democrat who supports abortion rights but opposes roe. in the eyes of many constitutional experts across the ideological spectrum it lacked solid grounding in the constitution. now, washington democrats are taking pains to ignore that. remember, their party has become jaw-droppingly on this issue. more than 60% of americans support restrictions after 15 weeks. only 19% of americans want abortion on demand until the moment of birth. but 97% of washington democrats support precisely that.

97% of washington democrats are with less than one-fifth of the country on this issue. so, democrats are desperate to chaisk the subject. many are not even trying to argue with the decision, but have pivoted to claims about all kinds of unrelated issues. but this is nonsense. we're again, as professor amar, the archliberal from yale law, writing again back in may -- does justice alito's draft, as many are now claiming, inflict collateral damage on other areas of constitutional case law such as the warren court's creed on interracial marriage in it does not. the dobbs draft reinforces these iconic opinions by explaining why they were actually right. from top to bottom, this ruling was the gigantic step forward

for human dignity and the rule of law. the justices turned out the mobd attempted violence, tuned out the threats from politicians, and simply followed the law where it clearly led. and this historic achievement was just one part of the most consequential supreme court term in seven decades. i'll have more to say on this subject this week. now, on an entirely different matter, people have literally become poorer, by any concept, over the last year. it should not be a mystery why people are worried. that was top liberal economist jason furman last month, and he was right on both counts. democrats' reckless inflationary spending has already slapped what amounts to a jie gaptic tan working american families. one recent poll found more than

90% of americans are concerned about inflation. 70% said they're very concerned. consumer confidence was at a near decade low. and less than one in three americans approve of what president biden's doing about it. but apparently, when washington democrats survey this dismal scene they see a mandate for yet another massive trillion-dollar tax hike. i'm not making this up. democrats created a runaway inflationary tax hike with their reckless spending last year, 2021, and now they want to come after the american people a second time with a huge, new tax hike. in other words, democrats have already picked the american people's pocket once, and now their solution is to pick your pockets a second time. first with inflation. and now with tax hikes.

the policies that are being floated are ruinous. the worst possible mix to thrust onto a country that's already teetering on the brink of recession. we're hearing proposals for a gigantic tax hike on small businesses, so-called pass-throughs. well, madam president, but think tank has found that about 95% of all american businesses are pass-throughs. about three-quarters of all the small-scale employers in the nation are categorized this way. 95% of american businesses are pass-throughs. this would hammer all kinds of states. just to pick one, for example, nearly half of all the employment in the entire state of west virginia is at

pass-through firms. half the people working in west virginia work for pass-through firms. half of all the jobs in the state of west virginia, and these are the firms that democrats want to hammer with gigantic tax hikes? ah, but the bad ideas don't stop there. exactly as the war in europe is reteaching america and our allies about energy independence , the democrats are floating a gigantic new tax specifically on natural gas, with i they call a methane fee. one analysis has found this one policy would bleed between 40 billion and 66 billion out of our country every year. you better believe these artificially higher energy cost also get passed right along to consumers.

this is what democrats want to do in states like west virginia, gigantic tax hikes on small businesses and fossil fuels? it's like they aren't content watching the recessionary warning signs and they're trying to make absolutely sure that we get a resession, a recession on their watch. now, it's not as though there's any shortage of real, important work congress should and could be tackling on a bipartisan basis, instead of these awful ideas, but this party-line scheme something going to -- party-line scheming is going to crowd that out. for example, democrats are moving ahead, trying to jam the senate and country with a party-line tax hike through reconciliation will certainly crowd out our ability to process the usica act aimed at competing with china. our side cannot agree to

frantically steamroll through delicate bipartisan talks in order to meet an artificial timeline, so our democrat colleagues can clear the decks to ram through a party-line tax hike. a business owner couldn't bargain in good faith with a customer who'd already announced he plans to rob the store. we can't negotiate the finer points of a nuanced economic policy in a bipartisan way only for democrats to immediately turn around and redesign the entire economy along pure party lines. of course, that can't work. and what about the other governing priorities that democrats are neglecting? what about the national defense authorization act? the house is advancing their version of this important legislation this week. will senate democrats neglect the ndaa like they did last year? that would say a loot about their -- say a lot about their actual resolve to compete with

china. now is a terrible, terrible time to paralyze the senate by trying to tax us into recession on a partisan basis. mr. durbin: madam president. the presiding officer: majority whip. mr. durbin: it is little wonder the senator from kentucky is praising the supreme court. he has been instrumental in choosing the members of this court and has gone to lengths unseen in the history of the united states senate to reach that goal. remember merrick garland, the nominee of barak obama, who this

senate leader, the senator from kentucky refused to meet with or even consider his nomination for almost a year. that's right. he kept a vacancy on the supreme court for more than eight months so he could perhaps see his prayers answered and a republican president be ee -- elected. it happened. barak obama was denied the authority to him as president during his last term and the senator from kentucky waited patiently until he could bring to the court justice gorsuch, a justice to his liking. that wasn't the end of his effort to make the supreme court what he wanted it to be. at the end of the trump term, there was a death on the court with the death of ruth bader ginsburg. and this time it wasn't a slow

down in filling the vacancy. it was an acceleration, a speedup, and in that instance they broke most of the precedents in the senate in terms of supporting supreme court nominees for amy coney barrett. so president trump was able to nominate three members of the supreme court. it was exactly what the senator from kentucky and others prayed for, a reversal of the rights of american families across the board. basically right to access reproductive freedom in this country was an attack few thought would happen. and now we are living with the consequences. the senator from kentucky said democrats are trying to change the subject. i'm not changing the subject. there will be a hearing before the senate judiciary committee tomorrow on the supreme court decision on overturning roe v. wade. i want to say it's interesting

that when the senator from kentucky is looking for moral and academic support, he turns to an unheard of professor from yale to quote. he uses that professor as a source to say, don't worry, just because we took away the freedom of women when it comes to reproductive health, we're not going to address any decisions on contraception, family planning and the like. i would like to recommend to the senator from kentucky on the decision of dobbs and overcurrenting roe v. wade and the concurring opinion from justice thomas that said that they thing. since we have overturned roe v. wade, we need to look at the issues of privacy, the issue at same-sex marriage, the issue of contraception, using those words. to suggest that some yale professor should be trusted more

than this justice on the supreme court is hard to understand. there is also the talk of democrats in favor of a tax hike. let me put this in perspective. the democrats are trying to achieve something the vast majority of americans want desperately, trying to control the cost of prescription drugs. i can't think of a more important subject for the american people. senator shaheen, senator schumer and senator manchin and others have been discussing ways to reduce the cost of insulin to no more than $35. wouldn't that be a break for the millions of diabetic americans who have to cut the amount of insulin they use because they can't afford it. to have affordable lifesaving medicine, isn't that something we all should applaud. doesn't it reduce costs to bring down the spiraling cost of

prescription drugs. the senator from kentucky talks about the costs american families are facing. we know that's a fact. one of the first things he'll identify is the cost of prescription drugs. we want to do something about it. the senator from kentucky said no. he won't support the effort to coral the cost -- to help the cost without looking at taxes. i believe if they are paying more in taxes, it means that americans pay less for prescription drugs, sign me up for it. the notion of tax hikes on the yeltsdz people in this country -- wealthiest people that this country strikes me as common sense if it means lower prescription prices for american families. madam president, after that response, i ask that what i'm about to say be placed in a separate part of the record. the presiding officer: without objection.

mr. durbin: on june 8, ten days after their daughter was murdered at uvalde, texas, her parents testified at the committee of oversight. they talked about the last time they saw their daughter. there was a school assembly. lexi received the good citizens award and recognized for receiving straight a's. the family said, we're going to celebrate tonight. we're going to take the whole family out for ice cream, her parents told her. she was overjoyed and then they said good-bye and sent her off to the classroom. less than a hour later in uvalde, texas, an 18-year-old man armed with a military-style assault rifle stormed into her classroom and shot and killed

her along with her classmates. it was the deadliest school shooting in america in a decade since sandy hook in connecticut. in her remarks to congress, lexi's mom issued a warning, she said, and i quote, there's a mom listening to our testimony thinking, i cannot even imagine the pain of this family. not knowing that our pain will one day be her pain unless we do something now. madam president, that happened before our 4th of july break. i'll have to tell you that there was an occurrence during that break which i'll never forget. if i had to choose one town to take one of my kids or grandkids to for a 4th of july parade, it would be highland park, illinois. what a great little town it is. people really care in that town and they care for one another. it's a beautiful little suburban

community from chicago and i happen to know the mayor personally and i know how hard she works to make that a great town to live in. well, the 4th of july was the day for their parade and as usual thousands came out, carrying little american flags, proud of their country, wanting to celebrate not just america, but highland park, that great community. unfortunately, one week ago today a young man armed with a military-style assault rifle climbed on to the roof of a building in highland park, illinois, and from his sniper's perch opened fire on families gathered for the 4th of july parade. listen closely. he fire the more -- he fired more than 80 rounds in less than a minute. 80 rounds in less than a minute. he killed seven people and injured dozens more. i called the mayor of highland park a couple of hours after

this happened. i was in michigan on a family vacation and was on my way as quickly as i could drive back to highland park in my home state. i reached may -- the mayor and said, can you tell me anything? she said it's horrible. it's terrible. we're still looking to find the shooter. can you imagine she said they found a 2-year-old toddler wandering about covered in blood. fortunately he wasn't shot, but they were searching for his family members, they feared the worse that that little boy would be out alone because he lost his parents. kevin and irna mccarthy were among the victims on the 4th of july. they went to the parade with the 2-year-old boy whose name is aiden. when the shooting started, kevin placed his body over aiden to

protect him. he died protecting his son. that son's mother died right next to him. a parade goer saw aiden and carried him to safety. the little boy could not say his full name and they started searching for his family. he is now with his grandparents and lost both of his parents. jackie sundheim was a teacher. you should see the outpouring of letters talking about the people's whose names i mentioned here. how beloved they were in their community. katie went to the parade with her daughter kasi. when the shooting started, katie and her daughter and started running. casey said that she leaned over her dying mother and told her

she loved her, but she couldn't stop running because the gunman was still shooting. stephen straus, what a story, a financial advisor who stild worked full -- still worked full time at the age of 88. he used to take the train in from highland park to downtown chicago every day. he and his wife were just days away from their 60th birthday. nicolas toledo-zaragoza was in a wheelchair following a recent accent. eduardo uvaldo, father, grandfather, great-grandfather, he and his wife celebrated their 50th anniversary. the 4th of july was eduardo's favorite holiday. he was shot in the back of the

head and died two days later in the hospital. and now there's an additional story i want you to hear. it's about this little boy. cooper roberts was among the 46 parade goers who was injured. he went to the parade with his twin brother luke and his mom and dad. he's 8 years old. he loves playing baseball and soccer. his brother luke suffered shrapnel wounds in the arm and his mom was shot in her leg and foot. i want to read from an article in the "chicago sun-times" that was printed just within the last two days to tell you what happened to this little boy.

the bullet that hit this little boy, cooper roberts, at the mass shooting highland parks parade toured a perilous path through the body. the assault rifle and smith & wesson advertised it as an m and p weapon. it's a military and police weapon. the bullets that leave that gun travel at two to three times the velocity of an ordinary game and when they hit the human body, they don't just pass through it, they shred the organs in the body. for poor little cooper who was shot, it caught his liver and esophagus and severed his spinal cord. doctors had to take severe

measures to save his life. cooper's condition is stabilized. he is scheduled for more surgery monday at the children's hospital. the family put out a written statement and said he's in a great deal of pain physically and emotionally, especially as the family's -- the family had to share with him the devastating news that he's paralyzed from the waist down. his brother was injured and his friend was killed. the bullet that struck cooper entered his upper abdomen below his diaphragm, not his chest. the doctors said it damaged the left side of his liver and ee ossoff gas and -- ee he had to

have a sin that thetic graph adult size so he could grow into it. a portion of his liver hit by the glun gun shot was repaired. his weapon had to be kept open because of the number of blood transfusions. they'd said the bullet exited his back. while he was paralyzed from the waist down, he has experienced no effect on his cognitive function. he is able to breathe on his own after being on a ventilator for four days. he remains in serious condition. the family wishes to acknowledge and thank the many, many, many people, the emergency medics, police and fire department, nurses, doctors and hospitals who did such extraordinary work.

i read the details of this because i want those who are following this debate to hear them and take a look at this. what did he do wrong? went to the 4th of july parade with his mom and dad. i'm sure he was happy as you see him in this picture. and because a man with a military-style rifle went berserk and fired on his family, his life is changed forever. why? why do we put up with this in this country? this break, 4th of july break will always be remembered by me as not just another recess from the senate but a moment when my state was under attack from the madness that we have in this country when it comes to weapons under the second amendment.

the senator from kentucky said earlier we need originalists, we need textualists in the united states senate. the presiding officer has heard that many times. stick with the words of the constitution. just go back and find out what they meant. let me read the second amendment so there's no question of what it says. a well regulated militia being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed. do you think in their wildest imagination, the founding fathers conceived of a weapon that could fire off 90 rounds in less than a minute? at a time when you're dealing with muskets and it took minutes to load the musket, even if you were skilled, do you think they even had that in a concept that they could imagine? i don't. originalism, keep and bear arms,

how did it come to the point now where that has been a rationalization for the sale of a military assault weapon? ar-15's are the general nearic class of these weapon, military assault weapons. i'm set out on a journey of just how many there were in america. i started asking. the honest answer is people don't know. somewhere between 10 million and 20 million, 10 million and 20 milwaukee taker assault weapons already sold in america. total number of firearms in this country? 400 million for a nation of 350 million people. more than one firearm for every living american. that's the point we've reached. and if you want the right to bear firearms for sport or hunting purpose, count me as supporting that effort. it's tradition in my family in the midwest and many but i can tell you this.

it's a tradition which was viewed very, very sensibly. guns, they were possessed by most members of my family were always under lock and key for fear a child could get their hands on them. what's happening now? when these young people below the age of 21 are turning around and buying these weapons. and let's take a look at what the industry is doing with these weapons because it tells us a story of what's happening. according to the gun violence archive, the highland park parade shooting was the 30 #th mass shooting this year in america, 309 already. 27 weeks. more than 11 mass shootings each week. more than one a day. what's a mass shooting?

when four people are injured or killed by gunfire. and while mass shootings get the most headlines they're far from the only shootings. at least 220 people were killed and close to 500 others were injured in shootings over the 4th of july weekend according to the gun violence archives. we've come to accept this as the reality of life in america. other countries look at us and shake their heads. how can these great americans as smart as they are let this situation spin out of control? 30 miles south of highland park on the 4th of july in the city of chicago, ten people were killed, 62 injured by gun violence over that weekend. now, the new bipartisan gun law which the president highlighted today at the white house passed last month didn't go as far as many of us liked. but it will save lives and it certainly doesn't violate any aspect of the second amendment. it is the most significant gun law we have considered and passed in 30 years.

so what do you think if i asked you the question, what are the symbols of american freedom and independence? what would you say? or the declaration of independence? agree. the constitution and bill of rights certainly. the emancipation proclamation, i might include that. fireworks and a 4th of july parade? well, let me show you what the marketing giants in the shooting industry have identified. engineered to the specks of freedom and independence. the mmr tactical rifle, part of the same class of weapons used by the killer in highland park. this is what one gun manufacturer mossberg wants you to believe is the epitome of american freedom and independence. this is an actual ad for ar-15 style semiautomatic assault rifle shown here and incidentally it has a

high-capacity magazine. the shooter in highland park had three of these high-capacity magazines and was able to fire 90 rounds because of it. take a look at this advertisement from the same industry. telling civilians use what they use. use the same guns that soldiers and marines use in combat, but use them, sadly, in towns like highland park, illinois and uvalde, texas. this ad is from a company called daniel defense. one of their semiautomatic assault rifles was used to murder those 19 children in uvalde, texas. daniel defense semiautomatic assault rifles were also found in the room of the killer who murdered, murdered 60 concert goers and injured more than 400 others at the harvest music festival in las vegas in 2017, the worst mass shooting in the

history of the united states. but with pride they advertise these weapons. these kinds of reckless ads for assault weapons didn't exist 30 years ago. that's when gun manufacturers looked in the future and saw a problem. they realized that americans weren't going out hunting like they used to or even sport shooting. and so they had to create a new craving, a new appetite for a weapon. they needed to attract a new customer to new sorts of weapons. so they created ads like these equating freedom and independence with these killing machines. it gets worse. here's an ad for a new assault rifle that came out this year, the ar-15 is the weapon of choice as i mentioned for mass shootings. this is an ad for a jr-15, a junior ar-15. it is manufactured by wee one

tactical. i'm sorry to say it's an illinois company. it's like an ar-15 but it's designed for kids. 20% smaller and lighter. it's designed for children under the age of 18. look at the logos in this ad and look closely. they're the same logos that are imprinted on the weapon. they show these skulls of children with pacifiers in their mouths. you'll find that same symbol on the gun that they sell. today tobacco companies are creating vaiping products with slaves like cotton candy and gummy bears to hook kids on nicotine. this gun manufacturer uses cartoon skulls sucking on pacifiers to try to hook children on using military-style assault weapons. those weapons belong not in towns like highland park but on

the battlefield, not in our communities and certainly not in the hands of children. current federal law affords the firearms industry broad and unjustifiable immunity from civil liability. what would you think if a major automobile manufacturer sold a car in this country and the brakes did not work? should they be held liable? few would question that. but if a gun manufacturer makes a gun that is inherently dangerous or negligently manufactured, that is dangerous in and of itself, the gun industry has bought immunity in the law at the federal level so they cannot be sued for that dangerous product. dangerous car, manufacturer can be sued. dangerous gun, no liability. current federal law allows the fire industry broad and unjustifiable immunity from civil liability but that immunity is not unlimited.

firearms manufacturers do not have a license to recklessly peddle high powered killing machines to those who should not have them. they should be held accountable and believe me, the senate judiciary committee is going to look at that law. these assault weapon, weapons of war are killing our kids and threatening our communities in buffalo, uvalde, highland park, and so many other places. the death tolls and tragedies will continue to multiply until we act. madam president, i'll close by saying today i saw our governor pritzker who came to the ceremony at the white house together with nancy rotterring -- rotering, the mayor of highland park. i want to thank the first responders, the night of the shooting, i finally made it to highland park and went through and thanked all of the first responders. the a.t.f. agents who so quickly identified this rifle as belonging to the man who was ultimately charged. i say to my colleagues let's

waste no time and put a director at a.t.f. we need him now more than ever. to all those who responded, gave up their 4th of july and did what they were asked to do so many times, risk their own lives for the safety of others, our heartfelt thanks. we owe them everything, for the medical crews who turned around on an emergency basis, did such miraculous things for all of the people who were injured, our thanks are there and will be forever. but now it's our turn not just to praise those who showed courage but to show courage ourselves. can we summon the courage to put an end to these military assault rifles and say that this is not part of any second amendment right in america? these are killing weapons and sadly we have too many lives to show for it. i'll close with cooper's picture again. this perfect little boy, 8 years old, went to the 4th of july parade to celebrate our country and to be with his family. his life will never be the same. what are we going to do about

it. i yield the floor.

mr. durbin: madam president. the presiding officer: the senator from illinois. mr. durbin: i move to proceed to legislative session. the presiding officer: the question is on the motion. all those in favor, say aye. those opposed, say no. the ayes appear to have it. the ayes do have it. the motion is agreed to. mr. durbin: i move to proceed to executive session to consider calendar number 676. the presiding officer: the question is on the motion. all those in favor, say aye. all those, no. the ayes appear to have it. the ayes do have it. the motion is agreed to. the clerk will report. the clerk: nomination,

export-import bank of united states, owen edward herrnstadt of maryland to be a member of the. the presiding officer: i send a for example to the desks. the presiding officer: the clerk will report. the clerk: cloture motion: we, the undersigned senators, in accordance with the provisions of rule 22 of the standing rules of the senate, do hereby move to bring to a close debate on the nomination of calendar number 676, owen edward herrnstadt to be a member of the export-import bank of the united states. mr. durbin: ask that the reading of the names be waived. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. durbin: i move to legislative session. the presiding officer: the question is on the motion. all those in favor, say aye. those opposed, say no. the ayes appear to have it. the ayes do have it. the motion is agreed to. mr. durbin: i move to proceed to executive session to consider calendar number 908. the presiding officer: he with the is on the motion. all those in favor, say aye.

those opposed, say no. the ayes appear to have it. the ayes do have it. the motion is agreed to. the clerk will report. the clerk: nomination, central intelligence agency, kate elizabeth hunt lman of new york to be general counsel. the presiding officer: i send a cloture motion to the -- mr. durbin: i send a cloture motion to the desk. the presiding officer: the clerk will report. the clerk: cloture motion: we, the undersigned senators, in accordance with the provisions of rule 22 of the standing rules of the senate, do hereby move to bring to a close debate on nomination of executive calendar number 908, kate elizabeth heintzelman of new york. mr. durbin: i ask that the reading of the names be waived. the presiding officer: without objection. the question is on the motion. all those in favor, say aye. those opposed, say no. the ayes appear to have it. the ayes do have it. the motion is agreed to. mr. durbin: i move to proceed to executive session to consider

calendar number 968. the presiding officer: the question is on the motion. all those in favor, say aye. those opposed, say no. the ayes appear to have it. the ayes do have it. the motion is agreed to. the clerk will report. the clerk: nomination, the judiciary. julianna michelle childs of south carolina to be united states district judge for the district of columbia circuit. mr. durbin: i send a cloture motion to the desk. the presiding officer: the clerk will report the motion to invoke cloture. the clerk: cloture motion: we, the undersigned senators, in accordance with the provisions of rule 22 of the standing rules of the senate, do hereby move to bring to a close debate on the nomination of executive calendar number 986, julianna michelle childs of south carolina to be a united states circuit judge for the district of columbia.

mr. durbin: i ask that the monday tradocs for the cloture motions filed today, july 11, be waived. the presiding officer: without objection. the senator from iowa. mr. grassley: on may 9 of this year, senator johnson and i wrote to david wise, the u.s. attorney for the district of delaware. now, he happens to be in charge of the hunter biden criminal case. in that letter, we asked mr. weiss a series of threshold questions that attorney general garland has repeatedly failed to answer. first we asked whether nicholas mcquaid is recused from the hunter biden case.

as we have said publicly many times, mcquaid is conflicted because he worked with hunter biden's criminal attorney before he was hired as a top position in president biden's justice department. second, we asked mr. weiss whether he or any of his employees have had any communications with mcquaid. third, we asked mr. weiss whether any of his employees -- not just mr. mcquaid -- are recused from the hunter biden case. we asked these questions because the biden family is from delaware and has extensive political connections. notably, hunter biden told his business partners, quote, i'll

bring suit in the chancery court in delaware, which, as you know, is my home state, and i'm privileged to have worked with and know every judge in the chancery court, end of quote. does the biden family have connections to anyone in mr. weiss' office? that seems to be a very fair question. with respect to those three questions, mr. weiss didn't even try to answer. in fact, the attorney general jumped in and answered on behalf of u.s. attorney weiss. but calling the attorney general's letters unanswered is an overstatement. it was another nonanswer, vacanciesly just words 0 -- eventually just words on a piece of paper that didn't say anything worthwhile.

so senator johnson and i also asked mr. weiss if he's received sufficient resources to support -- and support from the justice department to properly handle the hunter biden case. again, no answers. one would think that the department -- and specifically mr. weiss -- would want to tell congress and the american public that the answer to those -- that question is yes. the failure of mr. weiss to answer that very important question adds to the growing concern and public concern that the justice department is pulling the punches on the hunter biden case. we also asked mr. weiss whether he's discussed the need for a special counsel or an

independent counsel to properly investigate the hunter biden case. again, no answer. the last question is more relevant today than when it was asked because the other week a voice mail was released reportedly from joe biden to hunter biden. in it, joe biden repeatedly left a message about a "new york times" article that involved hunter biden's dealings with yi jingming, that business associate is closely connected to the chinese communist regime. joe biden told his son, quote, i think you're clear, end of quote. well, that message appears to show that joe biden was aware of

hunter biden's business deals and relationships. so the white house strategy for the president to continue to deny knowledge of these business relationships falls very flat. on june 30, 2021, and on june 28, 2022, senator johnson and i wrote to the white house counsel. we wrote about then-vice president biden's use of nongovernment e-mail to transmit government information to hunter biden. the white house's counsel's office refuses to answer whether president biden still communicates government business to hunter biden, among other questions that we posed.

so what do we get? more stonewalling. most recently on july 7 this year, senator johnson and i wrote to the attorney general, f.b.i. director, and u.s. attorney weiss. in our letter, we ask again about recusals of hunter biden's case. we also noted that recent reporting on hunter biden showed more connections between him and foreign nationals, this time russians and ukrainians. those additional links further support my and senator johnson's conclusion in our september 2020 biden report that hunter biden's activities causes criminal

counterintelligence concerns. at the time our concerns were ignored or falsely labeled russian disinformation by democrats and by liberal media. we gave floor speeches on march 28 this year, march 29 this year, april 5 this year that introduced bank records connecting hunter and james biden to the communist chinese regime. the same connections that we made in our 2020 report. those bank records have proven to be authentic and, hence, aren't russian disinformation. for years, my colleagues on the other side of the aisle levied

complaints against the trump administration department for a lack of transparency. now, why aren't those same democrat colleagues raising this concern about this administration not showing the proper transparency? congress has a constitutional responsibility to ensure the proper execution of and compliance with conflicts of interest laws and regulations. the failure of the justice department to comply with these rules will cause political infection to run rampant. and, of course, that'll rot the core of the justice department and cast a cloud over everything that the department of justice does. as i've said before, the justice department's failure to be transparent with the hunter biden criminal case and recusals

related to it has cast a cloud over that investigation. so i ask, what is the justice department trying to hide? the american people's concern about how the case has been managed, these concerns are very legitimate. to attorney general garland, to director wray, and to mr. weiss, i strongly urge you to clear the cloud sooner rather than later. on another matter, i want to say a few words -- i suppose too few words -- about the tragedy that happened at highland park on july 4, where seven souls lost their lives. on that day, a disturbed and troubled young man opened fire

from a rooftop at crowds below who were attending that 4th of july parade event. like many disturbed men before him, there was a long trail of warning signs. police and prosecutors contacted him twice in 2019 when he was still a teen, including when he attempted suicide. we shouldn't bear to see these predictable signs anymore. i ask again this congress to pass my eagles act of 2021. this bill provides the proper training to recognize the signs of a person mobilizing to do violence and then give the opportunity to intercede before these bad acts take place. there's a pattern to these

tragedies, and we need to pass the eagles act to make sure more people are aware of how to identify these young men and get them the help that they need before we have another tragedy. on another matter, mr. president, i have the privilege of spending time meeting with iowa law enforcement during a recent break when the congress was not in session. i met with them to hear directly what they're facing on the ground. i asked what support they needed from congress and what challenges these people are facing. law enforcement faces too many problems, and we need to understand more how that affects their work and their morale. and you know what i heard from

these people? that recruiting new officers and retaining their current officers is a harder job for the chiefs to do than ever. in part this is because young people are being told by leaders, even members of congress, that being a law enforcement is not an honorable profession. they're hearing that it isn't a career worth pursuing. these iowa officers asked me to speak with my fellow legislators to stop that kind of nonsense talk, and they happen to be right when they give us that advice, that we ought to honor the policemen today and law enforcement generally. there's no greater love for a man to lay down his life for his community, and that sacrifice of personal safety for the

well-being of others is what law enforcement embodies every day. recruiting and retaining good officers is also hard because of the increase in ambush attacks on law enforcement. not only are citizens much less cooperative when dealing with law enforcement, but some are actually intentionally targeting and murdering our law enforcement personnel. 2021 was the most dangerous year to be a law enforcement officer in the last two decades. many officers in iowa aren't volunteering for overtime anymore because it's too dangerous. an ambush attack like this happened a few weeks ago in los angeles. two officers responded to reports of stabbing. when they knocked on the door,

they were shot and killed by a gang member who was out on probation. he should have been already in jail, but he caught a huge break from progressive prosecutors in that city. and this wasn't the first time that an officer was killed by a gang member in los angeles this year. this type of tragedy is getting replayed over and over again throughout the country, but we simply don't have good data on gang violence and on assaults on law enforcement so that we don't know the exact number of gang killings of policemen. we need more data, which is why i'm working on two pieces of legislation to improve data collection on both gang violence and assaults on law enforcement. the senate judiciary committee will have a hearing on attacks

on police to discuss these issues. i look forward to having it during that period. i hope my colleagues will stay on target and focus on the violence these brave men and women face and not use this as a forum to chastise police. we cannot wait any longer to talk about this issue and the effects it's having on our communities. and while i'm addressing this issue, i have some related and tragic news. once again we in iowa have a heavy heart as i recognize two iowa officers who recently died in the line of duty. sergeant john williams of coraville police department died from a medical issue while he was on patrol july 3.

he was described by those who knew him as, quote, an extraordinary officer, a friend, and a neighbor, fantastic family man and a true public servant, end of quote. he was a fixture in the community as a 28-year veteran of the force, the longest-serving sergeant with the coraville police department, a department which said that senator williams, quote, knowledge, experience, and leadership will be near impossible to replace, end of quote. deputy sheriff austin melvin richardson perished on june 14 in a traffic collision. deputy richardson was a dedicated public servant in law enforcement for 15 years. he was an officer for sidney, iowa, and then joined the

fremont county sheriff's office in 2015 where he faithfully served since. deputy richardson truly fulfilled the meaning of a public servant. he was not only a member of law enforcement, but also a volunteer firefighter for purcellville and sidney, and he was described as a staple in the community, and he will be deeply missed. sergeant williams is survived by his wife, kim, his four children brandon, benjamin, sarah and rebecca as well as six grandchildren, noah, elijah, elsa adelin, and emma. deputy richardson will be left behind by his wife jennifer and three daughters rick, cheyenne and everly. i say to all of them your

sacrifice is honored and appreciated in your community and by your country. we thank you all. and then on my last statement, it wasn't too long ago i came to the senate floor to talk about the dangers of bad blue city policies, ideas like p defunding the police, progressive prosecutors, and bail reform. these policies are dangerous for our citizens, our children, and our communities. well, a few weeks ago, now i'm up here again with an update. americans agree with the statements that i've made. americans are concerned about the nationwide rise in violent crime, and they don't trust

politicians who allow crime to continue. and i don't blame them, and most americans don't blame h them for being upset. new york governor cathy hochul was forced to change bail laws to allow judges to set bail for more repeat offenders and those accused of gun crimes. about 66% of the registered voters in new york overwhelmingly support that change that took place in new york. and why wouldn't they? keeping dangerous criminals away from innocent public makes our communities safer, and new york, new yorkers now know that, and probably did always know it. across the country in san francisco, of all places, another referendum on safety happened. voters were recalled the

progressive prosecutor, chaisa budin. budin refused to prosecute certain crimes like felony domestic violence. after only two years on the job, even liberal san franciscans rejected his soft-on-crime approach, and he was fire. and why wouldn't they? prosecuting dangerous criminals for the crimes they commit makes the community safer, and san franciscans now know it. nationwide, it looks like americans have cause for hope when it comes to violent crime compared to last year, many cities are a bit safer, but a few cities are getting worse,

sadly to say. why? because they're still using the bad ideas that americans are rejecting. homicides in los angeles are up compared to this time last year. well, they've got a progressive prosecutor, george gasgone. homicides in washington, d.c. are up. well, we've got police defunding to thank for that statistic. now the city is trying to play catch-up to fix its mistake while their citizens are still in danger. homicides in milwaukee are up. well, they've got bad bail reform policies. these policies let a dangerous man who shouldn't have been locked up -- who should have

been locked up run his car through a parade last year. i'll spend a few minutes focusing on bail reform. we know that only a few hundred people commit most of the murders in any given cities. these criminals get arrested an average of 12 times, and most americans know what logic tells us. keeping people who commit crimes off the streets increases public safety. well, it seems pretty simple to me. if most crimes are committed by a small group of individuals who commit crimes over and over again, and we can keep these repeat offenders away from innocent people, innocent americans, then we should do just that. the best way to do this is

through effective bail policies. the federal bail system assesses the risk to society posed by the individual who is arrested. states would do well to mirror the federal system. americans are paying the price for bad policies that they don't want. it's time to stop these terrible progressive blue city ideas that make americans safe again. i yield the floor and suggest the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. quorum call:

quorum call: the presiding officer: the senator from texas. mr. cornyn: madam president, i ask unanimous consent that the quorum call be dispensed with. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. cornyn: madam president, during the immediate pass recess, the bipartisan conference committee negotiations over the u.s. innovation and competition act, anotherwise known as usica, has officially come to a screeching halt. it's been more than a year since the senate actually passed this

bill, more than a year. eight months later, house democrats passed their own partisan bill, which looked more like the failed build back broke agenda, rather than a serious attempt to protect our national security by countering the chinese threat. earlier this summer a conference committee began to negotiate a bill to fund the chips act and make other adjustments in our security. the chips act was designed to bring back on shore american manufacturing of advanced semiconductors. but with the chips funding on the five--yard line, the majority leader, tossed a grenade into the end zone. why would you jeopardize such an

important national security priority? apparently so democrats can try yet again pass their unpopular social welfare bill that doesn't appear to have universal democratic support. forget the bill to safeguard our national security, forget the safeguards to protect our critical supply chains, forget american manufacturing jobs and big investments in states all across the country. senator schumer has chosen to revive the build back broke bill because we're months from an election where polls suggest his party will be swept out of control and instead of majority leader, he will become the minority leader. so let's take a moment to recall how we happened to get here. more than two years ago congress -- more than two years ago congress began working

bolster semiconductor manufacturing. semiconductors and microcircuits underpin all of the modern technology we depend on every day, cell phones in our pockets, the cars in our driveways, the tractors that our farmers drive and the missile systems that our troops use abroad. chips keep up safe and connected and ensure we have fresh food, clean water and a way to get to work every day. the u.s. relies on a strong -- on strong supplies of semiconductors, and we lead the way in chip design. but here's the kicker. while we lead the way in chip design, we outsource the actual manufacturing abroad. that's right. we manufacture none of the world's most advanced chips.

zero. 75% of these chips come from east asia, and a whopping 90% of them are made in taiwan. given the explicit threat of war by the chinese communist party against taiwan, that's a grave cause for concern. furthermore, having just lived through a pandemic, consider what another pandemic or natural disaster might do to disrupt the supply chain of these critical semiconductors. and when you consider the fact that global chip demand is expected to chief by 56% over the -- expect to increase by 56% over the next decade, the supply problem could get worse. it would halt manufacturing on everything from laptop computers to cars to antitank javelin

missiles being used in ukraine against russian aggressors. this is a matter of both economic and national security, which is why addressing the chip shortage has been a bipartisan priority. in 2020 -- in 2020, 96 senators supported passing the chips for america act as part of the national defense authorization bill. that was way back in 2020. and it took less than six months from the time it became law until the senate passed a bill to fund the chips program. that bill was called the u.s. innovation and competition act passed by the senate with a vote of 68-32. despite the broad bipartisan support for the chips program, the house refused to pass the senate bill. not because it was a bad bill, but because it wasn't a partisan grab bag that provided billions

more strong-standing -- for long-standing liberal policies. they saw a must-pass national security bill as a convenient way to resurrect it. their partisan legislation known as the compete act had handouts for union leaders. the labor bosses were promised things that were never passed. they also tacked on a range of unrelated partisan provisions like an $8 billion payment to a u.n. climate slush fund which has provided more than $100 million to china. the stated purposes of our efforts to usica, the united states competition act has been to counter threats from china, not to subsidize them with

taxpayer dollars, which is what the house has chosen to do. throughout the conference committee process, republicans have pushed back against a long list of unrelated and down right harmful provisions. this bill should be about safeguarding our critical supply chains and strengthening our competitiveness, not dolling out partisan political favors. negotiations have made progress, but, frankly, we're running out of time and time is of the essence. last month more than 120 tech c.e.o.'s sent a letter to congressional leaders urging quick action on this legislation. and we're seeing signs that a failure to act will lead to these critical investments being made not in the united states, but outside of the united states, just the opposite of what we hoped to attain. a company called global waifers is -- wafers will create 1,500

jobs. this is an essential component of semiconductors. but last month the secretary of congress said that the c.e.o. told her the plan was contingent on congress passing the chips act funding, unless the funding is approved by the august recess, the company will scrap plans for the facility. a couple of weeks ago the c.e.o. of intel expressed a similar sentiment. he said the company could expand chip production in europe instead of the united states if congress fails to pass this funding. so, madam president, the stakes are high, as is the need to move quickly. but apparently none of that matters to the majority leader and house democrats. they've chosen to ignore this

rapidly closing window of opportunity and the national security risks associated with the current chips shortage. they've chosen to ignore the jobs and investments this bill would bring to states all across this country. they've chosen to ignore the sin if i any of the -- the voices across the spectrum to get this done. for what? for another unnecessary partisan spending spree. this trillion dollar proposal, known as a reconciliation bill, which is a spinoff of build back better, which i affectionately call build back broke, this would attack gas prices when it remains at record highs. one of the most urgent needs of every day working american families is to bring down the price of gasoline at the pump so

they can afford to take their kids to school and go to work. yet, the partisan reconciliation bill that the majority leader contemplates bringing up would actually make that problem worse, not better. this partisan reconciliation bill would also increase taxes on american families as their budgets are already being pummeled by inflation. and it could be that we are already in a recession, technically defined as two quarters of negative g.d.p. well, one thing president biden recognized back after the great recession of 2008 is it's not a time to raise taxes, and apparently the current biden administration did not learn that lesson, nor did the majority leader. this bill would simply make inflation worse, not better. why the democratic leader has

prioritized partisan politics over sound bipartisan policy is lost on me. why he would elevate partisan ship above national security is lost on me and why he would show contempt to the challenges families are facing due to failed policies of the biden administration is lost on me. but now he's doubling down. his decision to pursue this partisan reconciliation bill won't just hurt families, it risks our ability to pass critical chips funding on a timely basis. to reiterate the words of the republican leader, there will be no bipartisan usica as long as democrats are pursuing their reckless tax and spending agenda. our republican colleagues cannot spend their mornings working on a purely partisan spending spree for the next four weeks and

expect republicans to work with them on a bipartisan bill in the afternoon. we simply don't have time for these antics. bipartisan conference negotiations require compromise and confidence that the person sitting across the table from you is negotiating in good faith. senator schumer's tactics have jeopardized the good faith that has driven this process up until now. from the beginning what was originally known as endless frontiers to now the u.s. innovation and competition act or usica, this has been a big bipartisan effort. two years ago i introduced the chips for america act with senator warner, the chairman of the senate intelligence committee on which i sit, and a democrat. we worked in good faith to get it signed into law as part of the national defense reauthorization act, and we all worked together, 68 of us, to

make sure the bill was dpund of funded -- funded through the ewe through usica. i brokered an agreement to get the bill signed into law as part of the committee process. my desire to fund the chips act has not changed, but senator schumer's choices have taken an already difficult job and made it nearly impossible. he's trying to turn what has been a bipartisan process to a partisan exercise. madam president, i hope the democratic leader will reconsider and will abandon his partisan spending spree so we can spend the next three weeks passing the chips funding as part of the usica with broad bipartisan support. this is a matter of national security and economic competitiveness and it should not become a victim of partisan

games. madam president, i yield the floor. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. quorum call: quorum call:

a senator: madam president. the presiding officer: the senior senator from arkansas. we're in a quorum. a senator: i ask that the quorum call be vitiated. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. boozman: thank you, madam president. i rise today with my fellow senator from arkansas, senator cotton, to honor jeremiah james' story, a perry county detention center officer who made the ultimate sacrifice in the line of duty last month. born in conway, arkansas, jeremiah was a 2020 graduate of bigelow high school. even as a young person, he was a dedicated public servant who loved his community and his country. in addition to working as a detention officer, he also served in the army national guard and aspired to become a state trooper. he wore his uniforms with pride

and was passionate about giving back to others in a variety of ways. there is no gesture too small or unimportant for him to offer. jeremiah was also a man of deep faith who never let pass an opportunity to share it with others. he devoted his life to following his lord and savior and was a long-time member of river view baptist church where he routinely encouraged people he met to attend services with him. with his christian belief as his hope and guide, he demonstrated a kindness and compassion for others and relied on the power of prayer to support and uplift others facing difficult situations. jeremiah's friends and family knew he was special and strived to live by the example that he set. during a military training exercise last year, fellow troops recalled how jeremiah

suffered from trench foot and while he was ordered to stay off his feet, he couldn't resist the urge to serve others. so in spite of instructions and consequences to his own recovery, he jumped up and filled water bottles for his fellow troops. that was the kind of person he was, a giver. those who served alongside him recalled the tough situations they experienced together. while it was taxing to be away from family and living in challenging conditions, jeremiah did it with a smile on his face. he served his community with tremendous care and devotion. we are so grateful for his example and willingness to do the tough and dangerous job of ensuring public safety. at the young age of 21, he was taken far too soon. while his life on earth was short, he left a lasting legacy through the way he treated, cared for, and loved others. even the inmates he was

responsible for guarding appreciated his care and empathy. several of them attended a memorial service for him to show their gratitude and their respect. he will be dearly missed by many, including his closest loved ones but his memory will live on as a hero who made a positive impact on all those whose lives he touched. his death is a tragic reminder of the risk law enforcement officers face each day that they put on their uniform and leave the comforts of their homes and their loved ones to serve and to protect. senator cotton and i are honored to pay this tribute to him to bring attention to his short but meaningful life and remember the noble calling he was willing to risk his life to answer. i prayer for his family, friends, and colleagues as they mourn a fallen guardian who served others to the very end. may he rest in peace and may god

bless him and keep him and all those that he leaves behind. i yield. mr. cotton: madam president. the presiding officer: the senator from arkansas. mr. cotton: today i join senator boozman with a heavy heart to mourn the death of a young patriot and selfless public servant. last month jer maya story, a member of the national guard and correctional officer died in the line of duty. officer story was only 21 years old. he worked at the perry county detention center and hoped to one day become a state trooper. he was known as an infectious source of joy among his friends and within his community, always uplifting those who needed cheering up and including those who felt left out. he was a devoted christian who encouraged everyone to go to church, who shared the gospel with anyone who would listen. and he loved america. joining the army national guard as soon as he graduated from high school, jeremiah story was

the type of selfless servant every young person should aspire to be. three weeks ago officer story was in the process of booking a drug criminal at the perry county detention center when the criminal pulled out a concealed pistol and shot officer story in the chest. he died soon thereafter at a conway hospital and the coward who shot him is now charged with capital murder as he should be. his murder didn't get away with anything, didn't gain anything, didn't escape, nothing for this evil deed. he only snuffed -- struck down a bright, young, wonderful life. he should know and every criminal in our state should know that justice will be rendered for this awful slaying. in the aftermath of officer story's death, hundreds of arkansans have come together to remember his life and mourn his loss. among those who attended

candlelight vigils for the special young man were the inmates at the perry county detention center. the chaplain of the detention center said officer story was loved by a lot of different people, not just outside but inside. he added that he had used officer story as an example setter for the inmates for the kind of citizen and man they could aspire to be if they turned their lives around. officer story's example lives on. those who knew him, those who have just now heard of him can draw inspiration for a life well lived. in 21 short years officer story did more good and spread more joy than many others who have been blessed with many more years on this earth. he was great arkansan and a great american. may god bless and keep officer jeremiah story and may god

console his family and friends in this time of grief. madam president, i yield the floor.

good morning. >> good morning. >> this week is going to be for january 6 committee will be in

the spotlight so let's start there, tammy of the two hearings we expect to speak and what we know about the subject matter. >> there's hearings on tuesday and thursday this week. what we anticipate is deep dive into connections between this plot to overturn the 2020 election results from within the trump white house and threads between the core group of leaders in trump world with extreme right-wing militias. we will hear and see plenty about the proud boys and others who were primed and ready for the violent january 6 and ready to escalate beyond what was in there field, accomplished on january 6 there will be a deep focus on the period of time between the beginning of the

attack that the capitol and want trump finally said something about it publicly, that was over 100 minutes, hours for there was radio silence for the american people from the president. ...

>> the lawmakers on the panel, have crafted this they know where testimony will be coming. >> will not hear from see better this weekend they have to go through that process first with him or is he a possibility. >> i do not - see bannon will

speak live but we have been surprised by the committee before of course add he's on an interesting a tight timeline because his cooperation with the committee, is a big pivoted and he is fighting the supreme court almost simultaneously there is a tight deadline for his try to cooperated before the legal proceedings against him move forward, obviously could expedite things as he present needle but i'm not anticipating a full-blown flip from steve bannon where he goes on tv during the committee hearing treasures from however, we have been surprised before. >> and for this half-hour talking about the week ahead, on capitol hill and joining the conversation phone lines as usual democrats, republicans and

independence will with a number on your screen for each of those, so that is tuesdays and thursdays on the senate is returning today and monday in the house is back in session and afternoon on tuesday and what is a key agenda item here that the leaders in the house and the senator trying to move in sort of this short stretch they have before the members had home in campaign. >> starting in the senate, they come in this afternoon and one thing to note is a senate majority leader chuck schumer, got a positive covid-19 test yesterday and he will be remote this week but he has even when he is on campus, is notorious for being on the phone with his colleagues all of the time and he is always calling the democratic counterparts and republican leaders etc. and so

his office made clear that he will be very involved this week and what we do know is that with schumer out and senator patrick leahy who is recovering from a broken hip, will not be on capitol hill to speak and they will not be heading brought to the floor that is going to be a tight vote in a 50/50 senate, the democrats either full member strength to pass almost anything and we don't anticipate reconciliation bill, to hit the floor this week until democrats can be at the full strengthen however, those conversations about a party line in funding bill, focused on taxes, energy, etc., those conversations we do anticipate to continue happening between majority leader chuck schumer and of course center joe manchin west virginia they have been doing one-on-one talks now for months at our i know i duo

that is specifically having the legislation to get joe manchin's vote someone in the line and what they can do this week is clear three nominees who have gotten republican ducking and committee and house most for the floor, as other might not be as much scheduled changing as we have seen with previous covid-19 diagnoses in the senate and over the house, they have a tight schedule and they are taking ofe annual major suspense policy bill for the pentagon which they do once a year and it is so wide-ranging and that includes every piece of the defense policy that you could imagine and there are over 1200 amendments that are filed, all of those will not get floor time but that is something to keep a lookout for. in the majority leader has made

clear the next few weeks, as we head towards august best, there will be votes earlier in the day and later in the day then during normal how schedule the house will also be voting this week on to abortion related bills. and that is an ever for the democrats to show their voters essentially that despite the in response to the overturning of roe v. wade, the elimination of the constitutional and protected rights to abortion that they are fighting legislatively, even if these measures do not have a future in the senate, they need the 60 vote philip oster threshold in one of these bills would qualify the roe v. wade protection and another would carve out specific protections for women and people seeking

abortion. >> it kevin is with us until about the bottom of the hour to get to 027,488,000 and democrats two oh 27488001 republicans independence 2,027,488,002; 200, with his thoughts on this is you have gone through the legislative schedule released with the leadership is lined up and houses and michael, surprising if the senate passes anything of consequences before the election are we at that .120 days now be for mentor that nothing of consequence really gets past this closely election. >> that is the general and how it usually works an election year is that the up and out and draft type of cover mice and for spending long hours on the house senate floor, chugging through my nisha when the folks could be on the campaign trail an appetite for that is usually

very diminished however there are fewt? priorities that both republicans and the democrats are - one is. the remainder of t- elizabeth mclondon, jordon roughly, alexis vance, mark frankel and warezes candle. the presiding officer: without objection. mrs. blackburn: thank you, madam president. madam president, for history of a year, officials in the biden administration have oppose rated into -- operated under the assumption that if they keep repeating their far-left propaganda, they'll be able to trick the american people into believing that everything is okay. don't believe what you see.

don't believe what you're reading. don't believe what you're hearing from friends and neighbors. just believe us. everything's fine. prices aren't high, crimes not high, border is not open. everything is just fine. the problem is, tennesseans know better than to believe this h they have figured it out. they know that the economy is not in a good place. they know high gas prices aren't putin's fault. and they know that spikes in crime and drug overdoses, this is not normal. but, most importantly, they know that standing aside and letting the country fall apart is not what a normal presidential administration does. it is far from it.

the white house has worked overtime trying to convince the american people that reports of the chaos along our southern border are exaggerated. this is one of the most dangerous falsehoods the biden administration has tried to sell. and here is why. in may -- may, this month of may this year -- border patrol encountered more than 177,000 unique individuals trying to cross the border. border patrol doesn't have the manpower or the resources to control this wave of illegal immigration. i know it. i think my democratic colleagues know it. certainly the ones that have taken the time to go to the border know it. and, no doubt, the biden administration knows it. as i said in may of this year,

177,000 different individuals were encountered trying to cross that border. now, tennesseans are very worried about this, and they want to know why the president is not worried about this. for goodness sakes, he has never taken the time to go to the border. he's had five decades to go down there and look at the border, and he's never taken the time to do it. it really is pretty simple. for we the people, the citizenry of this country, the issue of whether the democrats wish this country well is no longer up for debate. they know that the left has

abandoned them, the people. they know that. they're seeing it every single day, whether they're shopping for groceries, filling up the car, they see it. they see it by the crime in the streets, the gangs. they know it. they see it with the human trafficking and the suffering and the drugs that are killing precious american lives. now, unfortunately, president biden lost the opportunity to persuade the american people otherwise. on day one of his administration, when he chose to turn the american southwest into a free-for-all. since then, things have only gotten more dangerous. during the first four days of this month, law enforcement officials arrested three members

of ms-13 and 18th street gang member and multiple convicted sex offenders as they tried to enter the country. on july 6, they seized more than a thousand pounds of meth from one single smuggler. that's right. one smuggler. do you think the drug dealers are emboldened? think about that. a thousand pounds of meth. so far this year they've seized more than 8,000 pound oz of fentanyl -- pounds of fentanyl, which is enough to kill a small country. and here's the question i would pose to the president -- how many people and how many pounds of drugs made it in while border patrol agents were busy

with the smugglers and criminals they managed to catch? where did the got-aways go? what did the got-aways have with them? well, that is a rhetorical question. we know exactly where they went, and we know what they've got with them. and you know what, madam president? they are coming to our own cities, communities, towns, our own backyards. my democratic colleagues may be happy to ignore the problem, but on behalf of tennesseans, i will not ignore the problem. the threat is too great. if you ask any law enforcement officer -- any, they'll tell you this issue of the southern border, it is a matter of life and death. not just on the border, madam president.

but in each of our 95 counties in the state of tennessee, in each of our towns and cities. this open border is a matter of life and death. in tennessee, our sheriffs and police chiefs want the border secured. i've got to tell you, to so many tennesseans, it is laughable, laughable that a white house spokesman would stand behind that podium and look at the people and say the border is secure. who do they think they're talking to? do they think that people are not watching the footage, whether they're watching it on tv or streaming it or looking at it on social media,

madam president, they can see that this border is not secure. they're talking to friends and relatives that live in a border state, that live along that border, and they're telling them some of the horrific stories that they're witnessing every single day in their communities. we know for a fact that the cross-border drug trade is alive and well. who's getting rich off this open southern border? take a guess. the drug cartels. the drug cartels. enormous profits goag to a global -- going to a global organization. that's right, global. so far this year people from 150 different countries have come across our southern border. chinese nationals, they're not

trying to come in here on a visa. they don't wish us well. the chinese communist party, they're hard at work. the chinese communist party, they're paying the the cartels $50,000 a pop to get people into our country that they want to, but bringing them across the southern border. the tennessean, which is our newspaper in nashville, tennessee, recently reported a truly horrific story about a multimillion-dollar crime ring operating right out of middle tennessee. that's right, the drug cartels cartels, they're not fearful because joe biden has the welcome mat out. border open. the kingpin was working directly with a drug cartel. now, that is the one that

primarily has the arizona border that is the one that is bringing the majority of the drugs through arizona. ne like to focus on -- they like to focus on fentanyl. and the traffickers that were working underneath this hoodlum are as brutally violent as their friends down in mexico. we know they are responsible for multiple horrific assaults, kidnappings, at least one murder, and the mutilation of a 22-year-old woman. they are also linked to a local gang that terrorizes the streets of nashville. that's right, a drug kingpin working directly with the singa loa cartel, and this is what they're doing in tennessee.

the violence does not stop at the border. the violence in this country increases because of that open border and because of the unwillingness of this administration to do anything about it. this violence is bleeding into every town, every state, and it will not stop until we have leaders in the white house and in the administration who are willing to put themselves in between these monsters and the american people. the fact that we can't talk about this without provoking hysteria in the ranks of the democratic party tells me we're heading in the wrong direction. blu -- but don't take my word for it. just read a number of the polls that are out there. i hope the president takes to heart that 33% job be approval

rate that the "new york times" reported on today. that is about as significant a message as could be sent to this administration. only 33% of the american people approve of what this administration is doing. this administration has normalized things that even five years ago would have shocked the conscience of your average democrat. we talk about spending in trillions of dollars now. a trillion here and there, six trillion for covid. let's spend another $2 trillion on build back broke. the numbers just keep piling up. we talk about apprehending 170,000 people at the border in a month. not in a year, but in a month.

we talk about drug seizures and measures of pounds, not ounces. you know, madam president, i was talking with one of our sheriffs in tennessee, and we were talking about this issue, and he said, you know, marsha, we used to apprehend drugs, and it would be in grams or it would be in ounces. and now nearly every seizure is in pounds. that's the change. the drug cartels are not fearful of being caught or stopped at that border. they have figured it out. and sadly, this is life in joe biden's america, but none of this, none of it, nothing,

not one part of what you're seeing in joe biden's america is compatible with an optimistic vision for the future. with that phrase, a more perfect union, equal justice, equal opportunity, none of it. why? when tennesseans look at what joe biden and the democrats are doing, what they're seeing is a political machine acting like they're on a deadline. they are burning through an agenda that the american people did not ask for, and they definitely do not want. do they want higher taxes? absolutely not. do they want an open border? they've said time and again no. do they want higher crime? no. do they want drugs?

fentanyl, killing 71,000 americans in a year. no. no. do they want the highest inflation that we have had in 40 years? no. do they want a foreign policy that doesn't work? we have a disaster in afghanistan. we have the chinese communist party, after we have russia and putin out here acting like they're in control. we have the axis of evil -- russia, china, iran, north korea, out trying to recruit friends and allies into their axis of evil to not wish us well. is that what the american people want? no. it is not. do they want mandates? do they want lockdowns? no, they do not.

that is not what they want. the people of this country still have a vision for the future, but it's hard to keep hope alive when the people in control of the government have obviously lost control of this country. i love going around tennessee, and i love having great conversations with people who will tell you they're democrats or republicans, and they want to know if the democratic party is delusional. are they obsessed with the socialist agenda? are they out of touch with what it feels like to not have money to fill up the gas tank, to not have money to buy that full bag

of groceries? the idea that their president would allow our border to be open to drug cartels and smugglers, to take advantage of us, the people, terrifies tennesseans. but it also is something that makes them angry because they know joe biden could do something about this if he wanted to. they know that the democratic party, which runs everything in this town -- the house, the senate, the white house -- they could do something about this if they chose to. law enforcement, border patrol, and advocates who work with drug addicts and the victims of human smuggling are in almost unanimous agreement on a few points. first, what i have heard from

them is this president, president biden, must keep title 42 in place until there is a plan for how they would replace it. title 42 is essential. this president must embrace a remain in mexico policy, and this president must do what the border patrol have asked to be done for three decades, and that is to build the wall and give them the tools they need to get their job done. these are all things that president biden could choose to do right now. so, why is he refusing to take an action? if you know the american people

would really like to have an answer, because they look at the chaos coming from this administration, the chaos at the border, the chaos on our streets, and they know that this country deserves better. i yield the floor. i suggest the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. quorum call: mrs. blackburn: madam president. the presiding officer: the senator from tennessee. mrs. blackburn: i ask that we dispense with the quorum call. the presiding officer: without objection.

a senator: madam president. the presiding officer: the senator from hawaii. mr. schatz: i ask unanimous consent that the scheduled vote occur immediately. the presiding officer: without objection. the clerk will report the motion to invoke cloture. the clerk: cloture motion, we, the undersigned senators, in accordance with the provisions of rule 22 of the standing rules of the senate do hereby move to bring to a close the debate on the nomination of executive calendar number 599, ashish s.

vazirani of maryland to be a deputy under secretary of defense, signed by 18 senators. the presiding officer: by unanimous consent, the mandatory quorum call has been waived. the question is, is it the sense of the senate that debate on the nomination of ashish s. vazirani of maryland to be a deputy under secretary of defense shall be brought to a close. the yeas and nays are mandatory under the rule. the clerk will call the roll. vote: vote:

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the presiding officer: on this vote, the yeas are 67, the nays are 20, and the motion is agreed to. the presiding officer: the senator from illinois. mr. durbin: i ask unanimous consent the injunction of secrecy be removed from the following treaty transmitted to the senate on july 11, 2022 by the president of the united states, protocols to the north atlantic treaty of 1949, on the accession of the republic of finland at the kingdom of sweden, treaty document 117-3.

i further ask that the treaty be considered as having been read the first time, that it be referred with accompanying papers to the committee on foreign foreign relations in order to be printed and that the president's message be printed in the record. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. durbin: mr. president, i ask unanimous consent the senate proceed to legislative session and be in a period of morning business with senators permitted to speak therein for up to ten minutes each. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. durbin: i ask unanimous consent that when the senate completes its business today it adjourned jurn until 10:00 a.m. on tuesday, july 12, and that following the prayer and pledge the morning hour be deemed expired, the journal of proceeding approved to date, the time for the two leaders reserved for use later in the day, morning business closed. upon conclusion of morning business, the senate proceed to executive session to resume consideration of the vazirani nomination post-cloture. further that all post-cloture time be considered expired at 11:30 a.m. further that the senate recess following the cloture vote on the dettelbach nomination until

2:15 p.m. to allow for the weekly caucus meetings. if cloture is invoked on the dettelbach nomination, all postcloture time be expired at 2:30:00 p.m. finallyy, if any nominations are confirmed tuesday, the motions to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table and that the president be immediately notified of the senate's action. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. durbin: if there's no further business to come before the senate, i ask that it stand adjourned under the previous order following the remarks of senator portman. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. portman: mr. president. the presiding officer: the senator from ohio. mr. portman: first, i want to thank my colleague and cofounder and cochair of the senate ukraine caucus for his comments today. you just heard was that the white house has sent the

application for membership to nato for finland and sweden, to the united states senate. it now goes to our committee, the committee on foreign relations, and then i hope to the floor soon. i suspect there will be an overwhelming vote, because everybody in this chamber understands the importance, not just of not expansion but these two countries in particular. i thank my colleague for offering those words today, and my hope is we can move very quickly on that. before we talk about ukraine, this has been a time over the last couple weeks, since we were last in session, of a lot of change and volatility around the world. i want to begin by expressing my shock and sorrow over the nation of former japanese prime minister shinzo abe. i know i speak for all americans when i express my deepers condolences to the -- deepest condolences to the people of japan for this tragic loss. prime minister abe was a dear friend to the united states and leader in building new coalitions in the indo-pacific to support democracies in the

region, encounter nuclear north korea and china's various maligned influences. when i visited japan a few months ago i saw firsthand the changes that he brought to japan that are now beginning to bear fruit. a stronger, more effective national security posture for japan. more confident japan in the region. better trade in security ties, including the quad dialogue with japan, australia, united states, and india. and the indo-pacific economic framework. his imprint on japan and the very special alliance we have with japan will be long lasting and beneficial to both of our countries. i also come to the floor today, as was noted, to talk about ukraine. russia's brutal assault continues. we must do more here being not just in the united states, but around the world to help ukraine stand up to this brutality.

this marks the 17th consecutive week in session i've been on the floor to discussion the unprovoked, illegal, and deadly assault on the people of ukraine. this invasion started 138 days ago, and it's more critical than that ever the united states and our allies support the efforts of ukraine to defend itself against this assault. let me just recap briefly the situation on the ground of a lot has happened since we talked a couple of weeks ago. first, here in the north, you can see the light blue, which is the ukrainian advances. ukrainians have been successful in pushing back against the russian offensive and taking back some of the territory around the city of kharkiv. this is a critical area, obviously. kharkiv is the sister city to my hometown of cincinnati, ohio. i was involved in that sister city arrangement 40 years ago, and it's a beautiful city. it's been almost flattened by the unending and barbaric

attacks from russia. in the outskirts of kharkiv, again, ukrainian forces are not just holding the line, but also making gradual advances. same is true here, in kerson. the light blue indicates where the ukrainians have made progress, here in the south. in the south and kharkiv there has been progress made. this is very important in the south here, because as you know russia's goal is to try to shut off the entire black sea from ukraine being able to access, and therefore to continue to be one of the great exporters of the world. they have blocked any passage here of the ships that could be sending wheat and other grains to the rest of the world, including to africa, where they are very key -- very dependent on ukrainian wheat to keep people from starving. yet the russians are bhoking these.

but these -- blocking these. but the cities are still in control of the ukrainians. it's essential that that continue, that russia not create a landlocked ukraine, which would over the long term be incredibly detrimental to the economy of ukraine. it's vital that they do well there. i will say, though, here in the east it's a different situation. here is donetsk and you hear about those, the donbas region. this is where russia has made incremental progress in the last couple of weeks. using, again, bombs and missiles that are flattening cities, killing civilians. this city of sievierodonetsk, right about here, has fallen to to the russian forces after a months-long battle over the last couple weeks. its tuinei, also in this region,

has also fallen. completing russia's brutal con questions of the luhansk region. donetsk is partly in russia control, partly not. it's important to remember this, russia paid dearly for every inch of luhansk. much of which they flattened, destroyed before occupying it. they lost troops and military equipment. significantly, because taking this area took massive amounts of resources from russia, it drew attention from the north and kharkiv as we saw, and down here. it enabled these brave ukrainian forces in other places to to make progress, not just to hold out against the overwhelming russian onslaught, but to make progress. the russians have announced they're in an operational pause meaning they're claiming they're going to stop their large-scale offenses until their soldiers

have rested. but as in the past, they can't be trusted and in fact small-scale offenses, missile strikes and rocket attacks continue all along this front line. we also must not downplay even what these sporadic strikes can do. consider this tragedy that occurred about two weeks ago at a shopping mall in the ukrainian city in eastern ukraine, the area we just talked about as more than a thousand innocent ukrainian civilians shopped with their friends and families at this shopping mall, a russian strategic bomber launched a large kh-22 missile. this is a long range nuclear capable missile that was initially designed to destroy aircraft carriers, aircraft carriers and they shot it into the middle of a shopping mall. turned it into a burning inferno. you can see here in this photograph. as a result of the explosion and the fire, 20 people were killed immediately and more than 50

were wounded. dozens more were declared missing. we were still getting the final numbers from this horrific tragedy, but it occurred during the summit of the so-called g-7. that's the group of developed countries, larger economies, japan, the united states, and a few european countries who were meeting to talk about the issue of russia and ukraine among other things. the g-7 rightfully condemned this atrocity as an abominable attack, an attack on civilians at a shopping mall. just yesterday evening in this residential town in eastern ukraine, a russian rocket attack struck an apartment complex and killed at least 1r5 people. -- 15 people. more than 20 people are believed trapped in the rubble as emergency workers continue to work today to be able to free those who are trapped, try to rescue innocent civilians who are under attack.

again, this is an apartment complex. people are trapped inside it even as we talk. these barbaric, cowardly long-range missile attacks on civilian targets have to be condemned by all of us but they have to be stopped in two ways. one by providing ukrainians with what they need in terms of antiaircraft, antimissile technology but also by giving ukrainians the ability to use these longer-range missiles themselves. right now the russians can sit back with impunity and launch these attacks. i join the people of ukraine in mourning the loss of these innocent civilians at the hands of russia's cruelty. the terror, by the way, that's caused by these attacks is not an accident. it's part of the russian war plan is to cause terror, striking civilian targets is certainly one thing they're doing, continuing to blockade those black seaports i talked about is another one. increasing the economic cost of this war on the ukrainian

people. this is one reason why, by the way, a couple of weeks ago just before we left for the recess we had a vote in the senate foreign relations committee on a resolution to name russia as a state sponsor of terrorism. that passed on a bipartisan basis. my hope is it comes to the floor of the united states senate so we can all go on record again condemning what's going on over there and making it clear that russia has become a pariah country, that this is not normal behavior, even in the tragedy of war. striking civilian targets deliberately is unfortunately continuing day in and day out. in response to these brutal acts, the bravery and effectiveness of the ukrainian defenders has been impressive but not surprising. think about it. they're defending their families. they're also defending freedom, defending their homeland. the stakes of this war are high

and the fate of a sovereign country hangs in the balance. but i will say today it's not just about ukraine as important as this is. it's bigger than that. because if president putin is successful in taking more of ukraine than he already controls, if he does in fact expand beyond what he's already done taking crimea, taking this area of luhansk and donetsk, taking the southern part of ukraine, he's not going to stop thr. i don't think anybody believes that or is so naive to believe that. in 2016 he stated, and i quote, the borders of russia never end. end quote. this is after he attacked ukraine the first time. it was in 2016. in a speech claiming victory in may of this year, president putin painted ukrainians as nazis. remember the president of ukraine is jewish.

his family went through the or deal of the -- ordeal of the hall cost but he's painting them somehow as nazis saying the invasion of ukrainian was inevitable and he was forced into this conflict by nato. nato is not an offensive organization. it's strictly defensive. the disinformation and lies also comes from those around him. one of president putin's senior advisers lamented the territory was greatly diminished when moscow controlled more than 14 independent nations including finland and poland. this territorial retreat is, quote, not forever, he said. europeans are waking up to this one-time unimaginable threat. according to a european council on foreign relations opinion poll conducted two months ago, a possible russian invasion of their nation is seen as one of the top three threats now by 53% of swedes, 54% of romainions, 40% of germans. i was just in romania a few

weeks ago and got to hear from romanians directly about this concern. i also went to moldova where there's even more of a concern because there is a russian occupied area right along their country. so what can be done to stop and reverse the russian gains here in the east? the most important issue to me is to help these brave ukrainians be able to defend themselves by giving them the weapons to level the playing field with russia so they are not constantly outgunned. i've heard this from president zelenskyy. we've all heard it from russian forces that they're making some progress in the east because they have these weapons, these missiles. and the ukrainians do not. we also heard about this from members of the european parliament who came here to visit us about three weeks a, came to the ukraine caucus.

we also heard from some fighter pilots who came about two and a half weeks ago and met with our ukrainian caucus. what they need are the weapons to able to respond. their words have been explicit and direct. russian artillery outguns theirs in terms of range and in terms of accuracy. they can sit back and fire on ukrainian civilian and military targets and the ukrainians cannot respond. they cannot reach them. ukraine needs advanced rocket artillery systems to even those odds. thankfully the united states and several of our allies have these exact systems. the u.k. has some systems, germany has some systems. over the pa month the united states has provided -- past month the united states has provided ukraine several of what are called himars or high mobility artillery rocket systems. we've got hundreds of these in our inventory, by the way, many of which are not with active units. in other words, they'd be available. these are superior to russian artillery in almost every way. mobility, reload time, accuracy and most importantly range.

and yet during ukrainian's hour of need, -- ukraine's hour of need we continue to move slowly. in the initial traunch of himars about six weeks ago, only four of these units were announced. they are now in service as we understand it and they're working. four more were announced a few weeks ago and another four were announced this past friday. reports are these are still in transit. they're not yet being used to protect these ukrainian civilians who are being bombed. they need more and they need them now. several have come from germany and from the u.k. but they need more and they need them now. how many do they need? it depends who you talk to but the ukrainian military officials who have spoken out on this who are the experts say they need at least 48 of these systems to be able to begin to turn the tables in the east. the united states is now committed to 12. only four are definitely in place. we need to move faster.

apparently there was a lot of discussion within the agencies, within the white house whether to do this or not. that's what took longer for these himars to be approved. my view is we've had the dialogue. these systems are no more escalatory as javelins were or other weapons. these are defensive weapons. these are the ability for ukraine for defend itself and i hope we can continue to provide them and move more quickly. they're working. they're proving their worth. let me show you a photograph of what himars can do to russian logistics. these are images of russian ammunition dumps exploding after reportedly being struck by missiles from a himars system. previously ukraine could not reach these munition dumps but now with himars they can. striking these ammo dumps can

have a devastating impact on russian forces. these are depots of weapons that are behind the russian lines but in the country of ukraine. and finally, they can access them. striking them is going to have a devastating impact according to the chairman of the ukrainian security and cooperation center in kiev. they'd used himars rockets to destroy 20 warehouses of russian artillery ammunition. as i said earlier, russian soldiers are currently in an operational pause to recover and resupply before future offenses so they say. but they cannot resupply without ammunition. so destroying these hubs will set russia's timetables back and buy ukraine more time to prepare and to receive more western military equipment like the high parse. these picks -- himars. these pictures are exactly the prove we -- proof we need to show that what we are sending is

making a difference. imagine what they could do if they had enough to truly be able to push back. these himars systems arrived in ukraine too late to avoid some of the damage that we've been talking about today and certainly some of these cities, like severodonetsk we talked about that has now fallen to the russians or shushank. if we don't act quickly, then future himars rockets will arrive too late to save more ukrainian citizens, more ukrainian soldiers, more ukrainian innocence. time is of the essence and i urge the administration not to delay. again i'm pleased they're getting those weapons in, wish it had been sooner, and we now have to encourage more and faster. when people understand -- ask about our support for ukraine, our taxpayer-funded aid to the tune of billions of dollars,

they deserve to know that their hard-earned taxpayer dollars are being spent wisely. in my view, that means spending it on weapons like himars that are actually making a difference on the battlefield. i believe the aid that we and our allies are providing is a wise investment that will pay dividends over time but let's provide them the right aid. ukrainians are defending their country with bravery and skill exceeding all expectations. and they're ensuring that their country is not being handed over to president putin. we've got to ensure them that the understand and our allies are doing all we can to help them save their country. we know that making territorial concessions to russian would only embolden president putin and other future would-be conquerors. the lesson they would learn is we can wear down the west. i was pleased two weeks ago when the leaders of the so-called g-7 countries, u.s., japan, european countries stated and i quote, we

will continue to pray financial, humanitarian, military and diplomatic support and stand with ukraine for as long as it takes, end quote. we saw how territorial conceptions in the late 1930's only increased nazi germ any's appetite and this is clearly no different. russia's goals are not limited to just to donbas or southern ukraine. president zelenskyy clearly understands this. he said to cnn recently and i quote, ukrainians are not ready to give away their land, to accept these territories belong to russia. this is our land, end quote. i could not agree more. in fact, it goes beyond ukraine. president putin will conquer as much of the former soviet empire as we let him. we must stop him here in ukraine. with regard to sanctions, the e.u. is still using russian oil and gas sending roughly 870 -- $870 million a day to fund the russian war machine. we have the capacity to help our

partners and shore up our domestic energy production, not only important for americans to get the cost of gas down with more supply but also critical for our allies. we're seeing some small progress but much more needs to be done to reduce this reliance on russian energy. by the end of this clear year, we expect coal and oil to be phased outside and increase our energy production while at the same time be a leader in developing new energy technologies that can help reduce emissions and increase national as well as global security. this is not either/or. it should be all of the above. we should be producing what we need right now to ensure that europe can stop its dependency on russia. but at the same time we should be producing energy from all sources, including green energy, including nuclear energy. like sanctions and military aid,

when the united states lead, the world tends to follow. but most importantly our allies and p enemies watch us. this is true with regard to a revived nato right now. in fact in the wake of russia's invasion of ukraine, as we talked about earlier, both sweden and finland have applied to join nato, shrugging off long histories of neutrality. in brussels, nato ambassadors on july 5 signed the exception protocols and put them a step closer. now all 30 nato nations will review their applications for ratification. canada, lithuania have already ratified. let's joining them. let's do it this week. let's join them through a expedited procedure and get it done. i like forward to doing in the committee and on the floor. we cannot forget that russia claimed that ukraine wanted to

jane nato. of course they d they affirmed that in 2014 when they threw off a corrupt russian-backed government. they're looking westward, to freedom, to democracy, to us. they want to join nato and the european union. i've long believed that nato deserved a nato membership action plan to provide a clear path to nato membership. they've made progress in doing this. this brutal invasion is just russia's latest attempt to throw that off course. we must not be deterred. now as we enter the fifth month of this war, i've come down here every week to talk about it, we have seen the resilience and the fortitude of the ukrainians, even as their brothers and husbands go to fight on the -- for the homeland, the women of ukraine are incredibly brave as well. and i've seen them at the border with poland. at the border with moldova and

i've seen them as they've come to the united states and talk about what's going on in their country. they know this is the fight during our generation where democracy is on the line. how this war develops will have far-reaching impacts on the entire globe. in ohio i see this all the time. a couple weeks ago i was in cleveland where it was called amplify the voice, a benefit concert for ukraine. we had thousands of people come to the severance hall, the music hall for the cleveland orchestra a one of the premier orchestras in the world, by the way. they made the center available to the ukrainian chorus to perform to again an audience of people who were ukrainian americans but also from every nationality, particularly the nationalities communities as we call them in cleveland, which would be people from eastern and central europe who understand the importance of this fight. so lithuanians were there had the poles were there, hungarians

why there, people from all over the region. the concert raised funds for the ukrainian organizations of 0 ohio's fund to aid ukraine. there were people who spoke who were doing something to help with regard to ukraine. medical supplies, armored vests, helping with regard to emergency supplies just so people can have enough food to get by when they're subject to some of these bombings, which we've seen today. we also heard a beautiful concert. ukrainians are all stripes certainly understand what's going on and why this is so important and have for a long time. because they know what it's like to live under the thumb of thortains. they broke away from it many times during their history and again more recently in 1991 and again in 2014. i was in ukraine after the revolution of dignity in 2014, where ukrainians decided for

themselves that they wanted to turn away from russian domination and turned to us. i believe we can help them win this time u i'm confident of it. that's why i've introduced a bipartisan resolution with senators manchin, murkowski and hassan to recognize the united states commitment to help rebuild ukraine. according to the united nations human rights council, more than 7 million ukrainians have threadary homeland and there's been about $600 billion worth of damage to ukraine's infrastructure. by the way, those refugees, those civilians who i have met, they all want to go home. in a answer is, it's not appropriate to call -- in a sense, it's not appropriate to call them refugees. they're ukrainians who just temporarily forced to leave their country. but they all want to go home and rebuild ukraine. itit is not just the human tolle see where people's livelihoods have vanished overnight.

the countries of the free world are with us. we ought to make sure they step up. some of those countries are really going to need to stope up in terms of -- to step up in terms of getting ukraine back on its feet. now is not the at the same time for us to back away. -- now not the time for us to back away a we have to be able to win military lay and then rebuild. it is in the meantime not a time to be equivocal of the let's lead our allies to provide what ukraine needs to protect their homeland and to defend democracy. i yield the floor. the presiding officer: under the previous order, the senate stands adjourned until stands adjourned until the senate today advance the

nomination to be deputy under secretary of defense for personnel and readiness. the 50/50 split set it returned from their july 4 holiday break with three democratic senators unavailable for votes this week. majority leader chuck schumer and richard blumenthal both have covid-19 and senator patrick leahy is recovering from hip surgery. live coverage of the senate when they return here as always on cspan2. ♪ c-span is your unfiltered view of government. funded by these television companies and more including cox. flex homework can be hard. but squatting in a diner for internetwork is even harder. that is why we are providing lower income students access to affordable internet. so homework can just be homework. ♪ cox, along with these other

two television providers giving you a front row seat to democracy. >> a natural conversation with the federal government might look like if republicans gain control of congress after the 2022 midterm elections. we'll hear from senate timothy carney of the american enterprise institute in this 50 minute event. >> good morning. my name is michelle and the vice president for strategic initiatives and with the bipartisan policy center. today is the second in our series previewing a republican congress. not surprisingly, divided government is it bpc's sweet spot. if all the predictions are correct it is widely expected the republicans will take the house of representatives after the november elections but it'ss unclear about the senate. but regardless people have divided government paid the big question a washington is, what does that mean for policy