responding to individual personal biases and that's what's going on. they've thrown just to the wind. i believe it's imperative right size justice, they've thrown will be way to the wind and listened to adjusters who didn't hesitate to tell us the dobbs case opens the door to get rid of marriages that are equal, get rid of civil rights if necessary, to get rid of contraceptive production if necessary. how tragic -- >> you can continue watching this conference online at c-span.org for using our c-span now video up. we leave it to fulfill our more than 40 year committee live coverage of commerce. the u.s. senate is about to gavel in for the day. chuck schumer will reportedly be back in the chamber for the first time testing positive for covid-19 july 10. the first vote of the day set for 5:30 p.m. eastern to advance

the nomination of long to be u.s. district court judge for colorado. now live to the floor of the senate on c-span2. ... the presiding officer: the senate will come to order. the chaplain, dr. barry black, will lead the senate in prayer. the chaplain: let us pray. eternal god, look down from heaven to see those who passionately seek your presence. listening to our prayers.

lord, our hearts are steadfast toward you, so lead our senators safely to the refuge of your thank you for giving us a future and a hope. today, give our lawmakers the power to do your will as they fully realize they are servants of heaven and stewards of your mysteries. provide them the wisdom to make faith the litmus test by which as they refuse to deviate from the path of integrity. keep them from being careless about their spiritual and moral

growth. we pray in your strong name. amen. the presiding officer: please join me in reciting the pledge of allegiance to the flag. i pledge allegiance to the flag of the united states of america, and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under god, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. the presiding officer: the the clerk will read a communication to the senate. the clerk: washington, d.c., july 18, 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 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, the judiciary, nina nin-yuen wang, of colorado, to be united states district judge for the district of colorado.

mr. schumer: madam president. the presiding officer: the majority leader. mr. schumer: madam president,

first, let me thank all of my colleagues for their kind words during my time isolating due to covid last week. as you can see, i made a full recovery after experiencing only mild symptoms, thank god. covid has done inkalg usual -- incalculable damage to scores of families, but because i was fortunate to be vaccinated and double boosted, my case was not as bad as it could have been. i urge those who have been not -- not been vaccinated, to talk to tear drb and get -- to their doctor and get vaccinated. now, the senate gavels back in for the second week of an ex seatingly -- exceedingly busy work period. there is a lot to do for american families. on the nomination front, we will

continue to confirm president biden's as -- nominees as possible. we appointed our 70th judge on a voice vote and we continue to have judge miles. very soon the senate must take swift action to pass the pact act for a second time in order to correct a technicallerror that arose in the house. this legislation will be the most important health care reform bill that our veterans have seen in years and there is no justification, none whatsoever to delay swift passage of this bill and most importantly, the united states senate must finish work on one of the most urgent priorities facing this chamber, addressing the chip shortage that is hurting american consumers, decimating our supply chains and

endangering our national security. for the information of all, tomorrow we will hold the first procedural vote on legislation to address these critical issues which both sides have been working on for months. as we speak, democrats and republicans are hashing out the final details on a bill so we can move forward this week. the chip shortage is not some abstract issue. it's impacting the daily lives of millions of americans. cars, refrigerators and other household appliances require chips to function, but supply shortages mean prices have gone up and up and up for those goods and americans have to wait months to just get ahold of them. if you want help with inflation and get it down, this is an important bill to vote for and we can take a giant step toward fixing this problem if we act

now. last week the committees of commerce and defense said that our economic and national security depends on investing in the technologies of today and tomorrow. we need to move quickly. right now, some of the most important manufacturers in our country are weighing whether to make -- where to make their investments in semiconductor production. many of them are holding off on final decisions to see what congress does, but they're not going to wait around forever. as one company told "the wall street journal," without these incentives from congress, the capital investment required for production is not economically viable in the united states given other global alternatives. other countries have copied our legislation and offering companies huge amounts of money to locate there and that will endanger our security, economic and national.

if countries do not think it is profitable to make chips here in america, they will go somewhere else. countless of good-paying american jobs are on the line. billions of dollars of economic activity are on the line. and, as i said, our national security is at stake. for these reasons i urge my colleagues to move forward tomorrow. of course, as we work on chips legislation this week, i urge my colleagues on the conference committee to continue finalizing the larger jobs in innovation package that both sides have been working on for months, i want to see this chamber send a compromised bill to the president's desk because it is important for the country and our national security. aye worked for a -- i've worked for years with republicans to get the competition and innovation bill done, i strongly support my colleagues as they keep working. in the meantime we must take steps to get chips done as soon as we can, it is about lowering

costs, increasing manufacturing and making sure we're competitive with our rivals aboard. the 21est century will belong to innovation and technologies of tomorrow. i want to get there first but to do that, the senate must act this week. i yield the floor. no, i do not yet yield the floor. thank you. and, madam president, i move to proceed to legislative session. 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. mr. schumer: i move to proceed to executive session to consider calendar number 989. the presiding officer: the question is on the motion. all those in favor say aye. all those opposed, 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, gregory brian williams of delaware to be united states district judge for the district of delaware. mr. schumer: 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 the don't on the nomination of executive calendar number 989, gregory brian williams, of delaware, to be united states district judge for the district of delaware, signed by 18 senators as follows. mr. schumer: i ask consent the reading of the names be waived. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. schumer: now, madam president, i move to proceed to legislative session. the presiding officer: the question is on the motion. all those in favor say aye. all opposed say no. the ayes appear to have it. the ayes do have it. the motion is agreed to. the presiding officer: i move to

proceed to executive session to consider calendar number 971. the presiding officer: the question is on the motion. all those in favor say aye. all opposed say no. the ayes appear to have it. the ayes do have it. the motion is agreed to. the clerk will report the nomination. the clerk: nomination, the judiciary, natasha c. merl, of new york, to be united states district judge for the eastern district of new york. mr. schumer: i send a cloture motion to the desk. the presiding officer: the clerk will report the motion to invoke cloture. the clerk: cloture motion, if 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 971, natasha c. merle, of new york, to be united states district judge for the eastern district of new york, signed by 17 senators as follows. mr. schumer: i ask consent the reading of the names be waived. the presiding officer: without

objection. mr. schumer: finally, i ask unanimous consent that the mandatory quorum call calls for the cloture motion calls today be waived. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. schumer: i yield the floor and note the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. quorum call:

>> iq. >> when we left congress last week we saw those votes happen in the house when it came to abortion -related legislation, both passing. could you give us a sense not only from the senate side or the white house side what's next considering the status of those bills bills actually becoming law? >> sure. it's not likely any of the legislation the house has passed recently related to protecting abortion-rights is

going to make its way into law. we saw in the senate senator catherine cortez bipoc and her colleagues were trying to get a unanimous consent to take up one of the bills that the house had passed related toprotecting rights for interstate travel . to make sure that women have the opportunity to cross state lines to receive abortion services and reproductive health services. that was blocked. we have also seen the women's health protection act, the legislation that would largely codify the old roe versus wade decision. that has not advanced in the senate. it's not clear frankly

whether or not chuck schumer and the democrats will take another sort of bite at the apple. they're trying to pass it but quite frankly those are largely questions for voters in just a couple of months here and through the primaries and into november in terms of whether or not they want to elect a larger and sort of pro-choice abortion rights favoring majority in the senate or whether they want to go another direction. that's where this is going

millions of families have seen their real income decrease. a net pay cut for workers, courtesy of washington democrats' runaway spending. no wonder three out of four americans, three out of four, say inflation is causing them financial hardship. 75% of the country is in a tough spot. of course, it's not affecting

everyone equally. the lowest-earning americans consistently spend larger portions of their incomes on the sort of essentials that are most expensive right now, from housing to fuel to groceries. and workers in blue-collar industries are among those having the hardest timekeeping up. u.s. manufacturing workers are seeing their lowest average earnings, adjusted for inflation, since 2014. while the overall private sector workforce is seeing wages at 2019 levels. unfortunately, these hardships show little sign of slowing anytime soon. last month's core inflation, when compared to just two months earlier, is actually accelerating. so we've got the worst inflation since 1981, the vast majority of americans are saying it has them

in a bind financially, and it's low and middle-income families who are actually bearing the brunt of it. this, madam president, is the landscape that washington democrats keep trying to force even more party line liberal bills with even more new washington spending. and for a bonus, a bonus, massive new tax hikes. for the better part of a year, our colleagues have been trying to cook up legislation that would make life harder for small businesses, attack affordable american energy, and hike income taxes on families in every single tax bracket. apparently, for most washington democrats, spending the country into inflation actually wasn't enough. now for a second act, they want to tax us into a recession. the response for democrats robbing american families' wants cannot be -- robbing american

families once cannot be for democrats to rob american families a sect time. on a related -- a second time. on a related matter, one of the things washington democrats appear most eager to do with their one-party control of government is to resurrect their war on america's world-leading medical innovation sector. in a statement just last week, president biden praised fellow democrats for having, quote, beaten back, end quote, the industry behind most of the world's lifesaving treatments and curing. and as things stand right now, it appears our colleagues intend to work from a familiar left wing playbook in the coming weeks. washington democrats are working right now, right now, to find ways to put more bureaucracy between american patients and the treatments they rely on. they want to put socialist price controls between american innovators and new criewrs for

debilitating -- cures for debilitating diseases. with one-party democratic control of government, they just might get away with it. but our colleagues need to think again. even just the medicine-related parts of their partisan plans would have hugely, hugely negative consequences for our country. the american people know that government can't magically make things cost less by passing laws saying things should cost less. there's no washington magic wand, trust me, or else we'd have every american driving $1 pickup trucks and eating $1 steaks. just by passing a law setting those prices at $1. there's no such thing as a free lunch. the bill for made-up price controls always comes due. in this case, the invoice will be delivered to the american people who are living with actual health challenges. the price of bigger government will be fewer lifesaving cures,

less innovation in the future. lessifies it, prescription -- let's face it, prescription treatments are expensive to produce. long-term investments in cutting-edge research and development require certainty. what washington democrats want to do right now would bleed hundreds of billions of dollars in potential r&d out of american industry. shrinking the pipeline for new therapeutics for patients with chronic conditions. pouring cold water on the next breakthroughs in the fight against alzheimer's and parkinson's. prescription drugs with socialism would have devastating and compounding effects. by one analysis, price controls like the one washington democrats want to ram through could cost more than 330 million cumulative years of life

expectancy. that's enough to shorten every american's life by a full year. in 2020, america's innovators were responding to a once in a a century pandemic with lifesaving vaccines in record time. two years later, in 2022, democrats have decided that what those same innovators need -- what those same innovators need is heavy-handed micromanagement from the same politicians who couldn't even keep baby formula on store shelves. our country is contending with historic inflation. our economy is on the brink of recession. and washington democrats want to gamble with the health of the american people? it doesn't get much more reckless than that.

mr. durbin: madam president. the presiding officer: the senator from illinois. mr. durbin: madam president, i wonder if americans think that the cost of prescription drugs are too high. i wonder if americans realize that the cost of prescription drugs are so high in this country that they're driving the cost of health insurance premiums up. don't take my word for, bluecross blueshield of chicago told me that. why a are prescription drugs gog

up? there are only two companies allowed to advertise drugs on tv. one is america and the other is new zealand. i wonder if the american people understand that the say. prescription drugs sold here are sold at a deep discount in other countries. canada, the reason american drugs cost less than they do in america is because the canadian people won't tolerate the prices pharmaceutical companies charge people in this country. so they established standards and cut the prices for the exact same drugs made, manufactured, and sold in the united states. they're not alone. europe does the same thing. bringing down these prices. and so we decided that at least in one area -- one area we were

going to make an exception to this overpricing of prescription drugs, the veterans administration. we said it cost a lot to keep our promise to veterans who have served this country and need medical care afterwards, and so we are going to allow the veterans administration, we do under law, to negotiate with the drug companies to bring prices down. it works. they were brought down dramatically. for the longest time many of us thought that wasn't enough, because for the longest time, there was no negotiation, it's a take it or leave it. medicare, the tens millions of americans covered by medicare face the cost of drugs that are sky high. and so we decided on the democratic side that we were going to listen to the people we represent who told us over and over again that when it comes to the cost of living and expense in families face, many of these

families were facing a choice of money or their lives to buy drugs that drtion told they'll -- doctors told them was essential for their survival. we proposed that the pharmaceutical companies would have to negotiate with the government when it came to drug prices. you didn't hear that from the senator from kentucky when he spoke. he talked about socialism in pricing drugs. socialism for the democrats to suggest we want to bargain or prices? these companies are not getting by hand to mouth. they're doing quite well and they're making money. they didn't do it on their own. this notion to pay less for drugs would stifle innovation. the pharmaceutical companies here spend more money on advertising than on research.

why would they do that? so some people watching an ad of a person skipping through a field of flowers will get to the point they can spell zeltro and go to the doctor and say i want zeltro and the doctor says fine and the cost of health care goes up. these pharmaceutical companies, as good as they are and as many things as they find, they don't do it alone. you know what the number one supplier of the pharmaceutical companies in america? the federal government. the national institutes of health, we spend tens of billions of dollars to do research. is it too much to ask them to bargain a fair price so that the taxpayers get a break and the

pharmaceutical profits may go down slightly? i don't think it's too much to ask. we're going to have an interesting debate in the next few weeks because the democrats think it's time for pharma to be held responsible for overcharging for prescription drugs that is half the price in canada and europe. the senator from kentucky calls it something else. he says we can't afford to give away a free lunch. it's not a free lunch if you can't afford the prescription your doctor gave you. we're working on insulin too. insulin wasn't discovered by americans, it was discovered by canadians in the early part of the 20th century. and they decided, and what a gesture it was, that they were going to giveaway and surrender the patent on this discovery. before then it was not atypical

that people died from diabetes. after insulin, they could survive. it was a life and death drug, and the researchers who discovered it said this shouldn't be a profit maker, this should be something that's priced to people can continue to live. what's happened to insulin? over the years the pharmaceutical companies started doing their magic and the cost for insulin for many people is dramatically higher than many people can afford. some people cut the amount of insulin which they're told to take because they can't afford it. we want to bring down the cost of this lifesaving drug to $35 a month, maximum for a premium for insulin, and i think that is a reasonable amount of money. so i believe when it comes to the drug industry in america, it is a great sector of our economy. they found some wonderful things with the help of federal research. they're making profits, as i guess every private sector company is designed to do.

but it's not unreasonable for us to ask, it is not socialistic for us to ask as american citizens, that they negotiate fair prices for all americans. they do it for veterans, they can do it for medicare and others. and if senator mcconnell is signaling for a fight over this issue, all i have to say are three words, bring it on. bring it on. the american people are sick and tired of the overpricing of these drugs, and i think it's time that we have this debate. and if the republicans want to stay on the side of pharma and say the democrats are wrong, let's take that to the american people in november. i think it's a viable issue. madam president, on a separate -- there's another statement i would like to insert in separate part of the record. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. durbin: since the -- the

right-wing information machine has kicked into high gear. we heard reassurance from the republican side. they claimed that overturning roe handed the question of abortion back to the people's representatives, back to the states. just that simple. this is false and they know it. reality is overturning roe has unleashed a health care crisis in this country. it's ripped a right to make essential health care decisions away from the people and their doctors and handed it to the politicians in individual states. as soon as roe was overturned by the alito supreme court, nearly a dozen states outlawed abortion. in ohio abortion access is so restricted that we heard this horrible, bone-chilling story of a 10-year-old rape victim who was denied care in the state of ohio. 10 years old, madam president.

at the age of 10, parents and grandparents are worried about their 10-year-old grandchild crossing the street. there is -- abortion is prevented. at the time this 10-year-old child sought care, she was six weeks and three days pregnant. she missed the deadline. she was forced to flee her home state of ohio and go to indiana where she was given medical care. the moment this story reached the headlines, what did the other side say? they said it was a hoax. they accused the doctor who treated the girl of lying. they said that democrats were making up these lies to scare the american people.

and "the wall street journal" -- "the wall street journal," madam president, even ran an editorial called, quote, too good to confirm. unthinkable and sickening as it may be, the story is true. why did republicans go to great lengths to discredit it? because they refuse to admit the truth. when faced with a case that shows the extreme consequences of outlawing abortion as the supreme court did weeks ago, they dismissed the facts as a lie. well, here's the truth. republican antichoice policies will force children -- children who are still not old enough to cross the street on their own to give birth. 10 years old. and republicans are not content with simply banning all abortion. they want to prosecute the health care professionals who have to make the life and death decisions in the practice of

medicine. health care professionals like the one who treated this little girl from ohio. just last week, indiana's republican attorney general declared he was going to investigate this doctor from indiana who provided this abortion. well, what were his grounds for investigating? he claimed that the doctor didn't properly report the abortion to state authorities, but even that isn't true. records showed the doctor followed the law exactly as it's written. how did we reach this point? it has not even been a month since the dobbs decision. and republican officials are already finding ways to intimidate doctors who are providing essential care to americans and america's children. the radical right-wing majority on the supreme court has given these lawmakers a green-light to enact the most unreasonable and outrageous abortion bans. as cruel as these bans may be,

they cannot change the reality that reproductive health care is health care. in some cases abortion can mean the difference between life and death. the moment politicians start meddling in life or death health decisions, the moment we turn over these life and death decisions to a legislator rather than to a doctor and patient, we are headed down a dangerous, dark, and deadly road. right now there is a doctor in america today who is being forced to make an impossible decision. do i risk jail time? do i risk criminal charges by providing the care that i believe my patient needs or do i sit back and risk my patient's life and health from pregnancy complications? what a choice. do you want to make that as an elected official? i'm not competent to make that choice. i'm a lawyer. liberal arts. didn't spend a day in medical school. when it comes to the people i care about, my family and

others, i want medical professionals to make that decision, not run of the mill politicians. last week the texas attorney general filed a lawsuit against president biden's administration. what was the reason? because the administration issued guidance making it it clear that health care providers are legally protected when offering legally mandated life or health-saving health services in emergency situations. think about that, texas would rather allow women to risk their health, even death, thank to seek emergency lifesaving care and yesterday "the new york times," and i commend this article to everyone, reported that miscarriage patients in texas are being turned away by doctors. these women are denied care because doctors are worried that they may have taken abortion pills that did not expel the pregnancy. one san antonio based doctor

said, that the art of medicine is lost and replaced by fear. this, the world we have entered after the fall of roe and it is a wakeup call for every member of this senate. don't turn your ayes away from -- ayes away from -- yeys away from it. our constitutional right cannot differ state by state. for 50 years this was a fundamentally constitutional guaranteed freedom. and it needs to be protected again by federal law. i don't think this court is going to stop with overturning roe. i commended to all my colleagues a speech made last thursday by senator kaine of virginia before he was in politics he was a civil rights lawyer. and he's a good one. and he explained the 14th amendment and what it means if we take the alito courtnall sis and basis and reject the notion

that the 14th amendment defines our citizenship in so many different ways. justice clarence thomas has indicated the far-right majority is coming next for the right to family birth control and contraception. oh, that can't be true, senator. they're not going to go after birth control pills. watch them. they've already announced they're under way. and marriage equality and making our decisions about the future of our families. this senate must act to protect marriage equality and all the fundamental human rights that are under threat by this radical supreme court. the question, though, when november comes around will the american people care? or will they take a nap? will they decide it's somebody else's problem? i hope they don't because these problems are really facing all of us as americans, whether we like it or not. we'd rather not talk about this issue, but the supreme court gives us no choice. now lets be sensible.

these are medical decisions that should be made by medical professionals. madam president, i ask that this last statement be placed in a separate part in the record. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. durbin: two weeks ago the center for disease control issued an alert. this is a listeria outbreak. it sent nearly two dozen people in ten states to the hospital. for those who may not know, listeria is the bacteria that causes listeriosis. it's serious, a life threatening illness. in most cases the infection causes fever, sometimes confusion, loss of balance, but in some cases it can be deadly. tragically an expectant mother from massachusetts who contracted it lost her baby. and another person in my home state of illinois lost her life. her name was mary billman. she was from illinois in a small downstate community, about 15 miles south of champagne. in january she went to florida

to visit her daughter. one day she decided to grab an ice cream cone. harmless, right? as it turned out, no. that ice cream was contaminated. ice cream is the most likely source of this listeria outbreak. mary billman was 79 years old. the listeria that she faced took her life. this outbreak is one example of a long list of outbreaks in america which are becoming way too commonplace. the food and drug administration is responsible for regulating 80% of our nation's food supply. nearly all the foods we buy at the supermarket are supposed to be guaranteed as safe by the food and drug administration. so when we pick up a box of cereal for the kids, a bag of lettuce, a jar of peanut butter, pint of ice cream, we assume it's been inspected. we assume it's safe. here's a problem. too often that is not the case. the f.d.a. is failing to uphold its most basic food safety

responsibility, inspecting facilities. over the past decade the number of inspections it performed have fallen by nearly 60%. 60% decline in inspections in the last decade. and to add insult to injury, that decline happened after congress passed the f.d.a. food safety modernization act, a 2011 bill which i authored that instructed the f.d.a. to increase the number of inspections. they did the opposite. if that worked -- weren't bad enough in 2017, the h.h.s. inspecter general concluded that even when the f.d.a. did inspect facilities, the agency did not always take action when an uncovered significant inspection vie -- it uncovered significant inspection violations. we know that story. the bacteria contaminated infant formula leading to nationwide shortages. the f.d.a. was alerted to this problem, madam president, four

months before it took any action, four months. so even when the f.d.a. performs an inspection, and identifies a threat to public health, it doesn't take timely action. not even when the problem can sicken and kill adult, children, and infants. that is hard to imagine. the f.d.a. is adrift and our most vulnerable people in america, children, mothers and older americans are at risk. last week i introduced a bill that would transfer all of the f.d.a.'s food responsibilities to a new agency outside the f.d.a. that we hope will actually do its job. we're calling it simply the food safety administration. congressman rosa delore ra, my friend and representative from the state of connecticut has introduced the companion bill in the house. our bill represents a clean slate for food safety in america. it would create a new food safety administration that would be run by food safety experts

who are focused on protecting the nation's food supply. madam president, if i went into detail of the responsibilities of different federal agencies to inspect foods, you wouldn't believe it. if you have a cheese pizza, food and drug administration. put pepperoni on the pizza, now it's department of agriculture. it changes based on definitions that might have made sense some time in the past make no sense anymore. on behalf of the nearly 15 million americans who contract a foodborne illness each year and tens of thousands who are hospitalized, it's time to stop talking about it and do something. the f.d.a. failed my constituent mary billman along with 3,000 americans like her who lost their lives -- who lose their lives every year to foodborne illness. many of these deaths are preventable but they'll keep happening if we don't fix our nation's defunk food safety system. we say america is the wealthiest

nation in human history. we're blessed, we know, with one of the most abundant agriculture industries and we're home to some of the best and brightest scientists in the world so there is absolutely no excuse for allowing the f.d.a.'s food safety failures to persist. with our legislation we can replace this broken system with one that will finally protect our families. madam president, i yield the floor and suggest the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. quorum call:

mr. grassley: madam president. the presiding officer: the senator from iowa. mr. grassley: i ask that the calling of the quorum be suspended. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. grassley: at each of my 99 connecticut meetings and in

conversation with iowans generally, the record cost of living is top of mind as iowa families feel the impact of nine and one-tenth percent inflation. they feel that on their family budgets for sure. due to rampant inflation spurred by reckless government spending and consumer prices are escalating at a historic pace, middle-class americans are paying more for everything from gasoline, food, and shelter to home furnishings, prescription drugs, and clothing. since president biden took office january 2021, consumer prices have increased on average 12% nationally. as a result, the average iowa

household has seen its monthly living expenses increase to $670 a month. the rising cost of transportation, energy, and food has hit household budgets particularly hard. since january 2021, americans on ampleg are paying an extra -- average are paying an extra $206 a month on energy, $334 a month on transportation and gas, and an additional $76 a month for food. it's no wonder inflation is the number one concern that i hear about, as i tour iowa's 99 connecticuts. rising wages have helped some iowa wans manage the rising cost

of living. however, for most rising prices have far outpaced the wage gains. while trying to make up an extra $600 a month is hard enough for wage earners, it's next to impossible for senior citizens who are on fixed incomes. for senior citizens, there is no prospect of getting a raise like you might get if you have a job. they must make do by stretching their social security check, their pensions, or investment income if they have that. they must count on just stretching that as far as they can. while there's an annual cost of living adjustment intended to maintain the purchasing power of

social security benefit, this adjustment lags inflation increases. the five and nine-tenths percent cola for 2022 was the largest increase since 1982, the last time we had this out-of-control inflation. however, that's far below the nine and one-tenths percent annual inflation rate reported for june. so just like wages go up five and a half, they can't keep up with the nine and one-tenth percent increase inflation. so you get a 5 and nine-tenths percent increase in your cola consist, that's -- social security, that's far below the increase in inflation. the social security administration reports the 2023 cola will be between 7 and

three-tenths percent and ten and eight-tenths percent. well, that might help but will it make up for what inflation is? unfortunately seniors have another six months until they see this relief in their benefit payments. the current turmoil in the stock market has made it even harder for seniors to keep up -- keep their heads above water. they're seeing their retirement savings and 401(k)'s, their i.r.a.'s and their nontaxed advantage accounts eroded by stock market declines, by inflation, and by taxes. seniors are understandably looking to the administration and to this very congress to take action to address inflation and rising prices. unfortunately all the

administration and a majority in congress have offered them are false assurances, more reckless spending, and damaging tax hikes. it's time that we try an entirely different approach. that approach should be one focused on fiscal prudence, targeted noninnation reduced relief and increasing market competition or boosting supply. the most important thing congress can do to fight inflation is stop its reckless spending. even better would be to trim the budget to eliminate unnecessary spending. as for providing inflation relief, it must be done in a way that won't add to our growing debt or further fuel the flames of inflation.

one way to do this is to provide targeted inflation relief that incentivizes and rewards taxpayers who save rather than spend. this is the approach taken in the middle-class savings and investment act, which i introduced last month. under my legislation, most middle-class savings and investment income would be subject to zero tax. this means middle-class seniors would be subject to no federal income tax on their long-term capital gains and dividend income. they would also be exempt from federal tax on up to $ 600 of interest income that they earn in a year. exempting most middle-class savings from tax not only

provides relief to those seniors and to others but also will reduce tax bias that savings consumption over savings. while not a silver bullet by any stretch of the imagination to stop inflation, encouraging more consumers to save rather than spend may help reduce inflation pressures by dampening demand. importantly, my proposal is fully paid for so it won't add to unsustainable debt and deficits. in addition to practicing fiscal responsibility and providing sensible, targeted relief, i support policies designed to hold down prices by increasing supply and promoting greater competition in the marketplace.

a prime example of this is my work to rein in out-of-control prescription drug prices. americans, especially our seniors, are paying too much for their prescription drugs. aarp says brand-name drugs that seniors use are going up more than twice the rate of inflation. recent data indicates nearly a half a million seniors filled a single prescription that met their out-of-pocket threshold and millions of seniors are reaching the catastrophic phase of part d. we must act to lower prescription drug prices. i passed out of the finance committee a bipartisan and negotiated bill that will lower the cost of prescription drugs. it's called grassley-wyden -- or, by its name, a the

prescription drug price reduction act. it saves seniors $72 billion, taxpayers $95 billion. it caps out-of-pocket costs at $3,100 and eliminates the doughnut hole. and perhaps the most important part of it will also cap year-over-year price increases of prescription drugs at the c.p.i. this ends also taxpayer subsidies to big pharma and provides real relief to our seniors. let's not waste another minute to lower drug prices. i will work with anyone who wants to pass the bipartisan grassley-wyden bill. in addition to prescription drugs, i'm leading the charge to lower the cost of grocery bills. the big-four meatpackers who

have over 85% of the market use uncompetitive tactics to hurt smaller producers, our independent family farmers. while independent farmers in iowa are forced to sell livestock at dirt cheap prices, the cost to the consumer is climbing at an historic high level now. this is happening at the same time the big-four packers are reaping record profits. just this past week, cisco, the largest food distributor in the united states, filed a lawsuit against these very same big-four packers alleging price-fixing. cisco claims that these packers intentionally reduce the number of slaughtered cattle to inflate beef prices that families must

pay then at the supermarket. we must maintain a cash market for cattle producers and, thus, increase competition. towards this goal, i'm spearheading two bipartisan bills that sailed through the senate agriculture committee that would do just that. another reason why we are seeing high prices at store shelves is the high price of gasoline and diesel. contrary to what some people believe, food does not grow on grocery -- grow in grocery stores. food comes to the stores on trucks and our country has never seen prices at the pump as high as they are right now. in fact, gas prices have doubled since president biden took office. so instead of focusing on domestic fuel production, the president and his administration have caved to environmentalists

in shaping our energy policies. since energy is an input, in every item on the store shelves, energy prices mean climbing prices at the cash register. at hivee, des moines, iowa, and any other store. it is time to reverse course on president biden's energy policies and produce -- and pursue an all-of-the-above strategy. let's go back to being energy independent rather than energy dependent. instead of just talking about inflation and its impact on iowa families and seniors, it's time for this congress to stop reckless spending and start focusing on commonsense relief and reforms. i'm leading the charge to do

just that through targeted tax relief. market reforms in key industries to hold down prices like the cattle bill i was talking about and by boosting the supply of fuel to keep prices at the pump in check. i urge my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to join me in these efforts. i yield the floor and suggest the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. quorum call:

when we left congress last week we saw the house when it came to abortion legislation passing. could you give us a sense not only from the senate on the

white house side but what's next considering the bills becoming law? >> it's not likely legislation passed recently related to protecting abortion rights is going to make its way into law. we saw in the senate cortez masto from nevada and several of her colleagues for trying to get unanimous consent to take up one of the bills the house past related to protecting rights for interstate travel to make sure women have the opportunity across state lines to receive abortion services and productive health services. that was locked. we've seen women's health

protection act, the legislation that would codify the old roe v. wade decision. that has not advanced in the senate. it's not clear whether or not chuck schumer and senate democrats will take another flight at trying to pass it but those are largely question for voters in a couple of months to hear through the primaries into november in terms of whether or not they want to elect a larger sort of pro-choice abortion rights favoring majority in the senate or what they want to go in a different direction, that's where this is going to go. >> we saw the president while overseas talking about this becoming a campaign issue.

he said there might be hesitancy on the senate side to take another bite at this as you said, what is the basis of the hesitancy, the time that's left to do other things in the senate or are there other factors to consider? >> the biggest factor, this may not be true for the bill regarding access across state lines but the broader abortion rights bill has been something debated in the past. they may caught up for a vote but that wouldn't necessarily take that long just to caught up for a vote, i just don't think they are going to dedicate serious amounts of time to it because as you say, there really is a limited amount of time. we look at what the summit democrats want to get done in the next couple weeks before august recess and presumably truncated session in september

because of the eagerness that always exists for members at home and in election year, there's really only i would say three to five weeks of legislating most likely left before the election. there are bills i'm sure we will talk about in a couple of minutes democrats and republicans want to get done before voters start voting. >> if you want to ask questions about things taking place this week in congress or even the white house, call and let us know. 2,027,488,000 for democrats. (202)748-8001 rebel against an independent (202)748-8002. texas (202)748-8003. one of those things on the senate if i understand

correctly, a bill looking at china, semiconductor chips, competitiveness, can you put that together for us and explain the process? >> that bill looks like it's going to be narrowed significantly from what we saw when senate passed competitiveness bill is been under discussion in the house. there is talk as early as tomorrow senator schumer may try and call up, if we start the process a bill that provides $52 billion in incentives to promote domestic semiconductor chips manufacturing, other provisions that have brought bipartisan consensus from that earlier

package, a broader effort to counter chinese influence in technology and manufacturing so that could come up week. there was discussion last week in the last couple weeks in which mitch mcconnell and minority leader and senate said that couldn't happen or wasn't likely to happen as long as there is still partisan democratic reconciliation package with environment related provisions and tax provisions kicked around there but as we learned from john cornyn, republic and senator from texas over the weekend, now that joe manchin, democratic senator from west virginia has basically

torpedoed anything other than healthcare provisions in the reconciliation bill, that objection from republicans may go away. so we got all of these moving parts, it looks like narrow semiconductor bill is the next one that's going to move while the democrats are working with the parliamentarian in the senate to figure out what they can do on the healthcare front comply with senate reconciliation procedures. >> thank you for the segway because i want to talk about joe manchin, democrat from west virginia as far as the reason he gave for pulling back the response from fellow democrats on capitol hill. >> beautiful state, great people. one of the poorest states in this country. throughout the people whether they want to expand medicare to cover dental, you asked the

people of west virginia whether we should demand wealthiest people in large corporations pay their fair share of taxes, ask the people of west virginia whether or not all people should have healthcare as a human right is of the other country, that's what they will say. in my humble opinion, the wealthiest people in this country, not working families in west virginia or america. >> i want to and with, if the provisions are passed, what is it mean for democrats climate rules? >> well, it's not democrats, it's not the president, it's the future of the planet so manchin sabotages climate change, it's the future for what's going on right now in the west, all over the world, significantly increased, more and more heat waves, droughts and more flooding, it's existential

threat to humanity election must be about is whether or not the working people for the billionaire closet who dominates our what comes of it is about, by tomorrow. >> one reaction from democrats, you could probably talk about others, why manchin. >> expressing the sentiment we have several members of the democratic party the past few days, martin heinrich, democratic senator from new mexico questioning whether or not should be the chairman of the energy and natural resources committee.

there are other democrats like john federman, lieutenant governor of pennsylvania whose the nominee, democrats have for senate there willing to basically manchin on the campaign trail talk about the filibuster and the need to basically bypass manchin, something we are starting to see is a democratic talking points to base voters, they need to elect more democrats so he doesn't have this fentanyl veto over the process. manchin most recently said he pulled back from the bargaining table recently because of inflation concerns, there was a report last week of 9% inflation. he wants to see what happens in

the next inflation report that should come out middle august but that means democrats wait for manchin to read the next inflation numbers, you wouldn't see this until after labor day so what it appears happening thanks to president biden deciding this was what he wants, they are just going to move ahead with what manchin seems to go along with for the moment which is healthcare provisions and efforts to extend benefits, expanded benefits under the affordable care act, obamacare we are largely came about because the pandemic so i think what we are looking at is narrower efforts but always senator from west virginia, you

never know quite what the question he's going to ask or is going to be in the inflation report certainly changed his calculation. >> (202)748-8000. democrats 7488001. democrat line, you are on, go ahead. >> thank you for taking my call. i have a question that, the semiconductor industry is the backbone of the united states and it looks like it's going to be very soon because china is taking over almost everything. they are now in their own so

unless congress does something, they are not going to. there are new technologies coming but it's so difficult to get any correction so my question is, congress should be doing something and what the plan is. >> thank you. one of the things the caller reminded me of is the fact that there are so many of these emerging technologies the use frankly a lot of chips. i remember last year the senate was first working on this bill,

there were discussions how many chips are used to operate the backbone of the oncoming electric cars and emerging technology regarding self driving vehicles. a lot of these emerging industries are so dependent on semiconductors that relying on the idea of essentially having to rely on tips that are chinese in origin dangerous national security question particularly with more advanced technology and that's part of the reason why this has become a priority both the house and senate last week closed briefings on risks

of not getting this done. >> let's switch to the house side for a bit, later this week judiciary is expected, expected to take a markup, the topic being on weapons. can you explain what viewers can expect? >> the house is going to try and continue to advance more gun safety and control legislation. one of the things the president said is he's continuing to advocate for return to assault weapons ban that was obviously in effect for ten years from 94 to 2004 that he was the chairman of the senate judiciary committee at the time when it

passed. the so-called biden crime bill, the house will presumably take it up in committee or some variant and caught up for a vote on the floor. it will not go anywhere in the senate with the current construct of the senate. another example of the house attempting to lay down a marker. we are where the house is going to lay down markers going into the election where house democrats are going to say if you reelect us and keep us in the majority, this is what our agenda looks like. on the opposite side you have probably almost if not uniform republican opposition in the house and you will see the makings of what the agenda would look like speaker kevin mccarthy comes into office january.

>> great in pennsylvania, independent life. hi. >> good morning. how could it be worse if the next speaker is kevin mccarthy than what we've got right now? how could that possibly be worse? of course anything is possible, the sun may not come up tomorrow but the bottom line is, why doesn't c-span cover with the governor of california did in the white house while the president was overseas? i think what is going on is there's a lot of white guilt out there, people afraid to say what they really think. we'll find out november. i certainly hope there's a

change. a big change. people can say all right, here is the big change and then in 2024 when who knows is going to run for the democrats, it's ridiculous how many people are out there going maybe joe is not good enough so is it going to be joe and donald again? if it is, i'll vote for donald because this guy, you don't have to like him, he knows what he's doing. >> let's take this into two parts. let's assume if the republicans take control of the house, has anybody pulling of what it would look like under speaker kevin mccarthy? >> the republican majority if it does come into existence as my

colleague nathan gonzales and set election would be suggesting is the most likely outcome is other prognosticators. because there's a democratic president in the white house, much of what the house republicans would be doing would be the opposition play. you will see a lot more investigations, they've already telegraphed, if you look at with the judiciary committee and the house likely chaired by jim jordan of ohio and other longtime ally of former president trump of course and others with gavels and revolver in hand, there is some talk they would investigate operations of

the january 6 committee as well as various departments and agencies of the government. you won't see legislating that would become law all that much. when you have the opposition party particularly if they control the senate as well but only narrowly and mitch follow doesn't have 60 votes, you're not going to be able to send a lot of things to president biden desk to be vetoed in the next couple of years so legislating is not likely other than that needs to be done to keep the government operating at events that they become a challenge -- t objection. mr. cornyn: madam president, it's been more than a year since the united states senate passed the bipartisan u.s. innovation and competition act commonly

known as iew usica, but it incls an important provision that senator mark warner, the senator from virginia and i introduced more than two years ago called the chips act which is designed to shore up a dangerously vulnerable supply chain of high-end semiconductors from asia to the united states. the fact is that the united states makes zero percent of those advanced semiconductors that are necessary from everything like your iphone to fifth generation strike fighters like the f-35. after we passed a bipartisan bill in the senate, the house decided to go the partisan route and add additional, unrelated pieces of their wish list, everything from handouts to labor bosses to money for a u.n. climate slush fund.

we were in the process of stripping out these partisan provisions through the conference committee that was appointed by the house and the senate when senator schumer made a big decision. he said democrats -- he said that democrats were likely to bring to the floor another recreckless tax and spending bil like build back better although a different version. our democrat colleagues got the bright idea they wanted to revive something like the green new deal, increase taxes on working families, and give runaway inflation even more staying power. well, senator mcconnell of the republican -- senator mcconnell, the republican leader, and members of the republican conference thought it was a bad idea and said there would not be a bipartisan conference bill and a partisan reckless tax and spending spree bill. it wasn't a threat. it was just a statement of fact.

there's no such thing as negotiating with our senate colleagues on the democratic side while they sit on the sidelines drafting partisan legislation. the provisions negotiated out of a bipartisan bill wouldn't land in the trash. they simply would be recycled through a partisan reconciliation bill. but senator manchin, the senator from west virginia, put an end to that last week when he killed the bill that would increase taxes on families and small businesses and implement costly green new deal climate policies. in my book that's a big win for the american people who are already facing high prices at grocery stores and at the filling station. with this reckless tax and spending spree reconciliation bill dead and buried, there's now an opening to do something that we can agree upon on a bipartisan basis. i spent the weekend talking with a number of our colleagues both

republicans and democrats, and i'm cautiously optimistic that we can now proceed to a vote on the usica bill or some version of it. based on our discussions, it sounds like the majority leader will bring a narrow bill to the floor that focuses on chips funding, again something that had been pending for now more than two years, as well as tax incentives for manufacturers. this bill will not be usica, though, and it won't be endless frontiers which was the name of the bill when it was initially introduced. and it sounds like a far korea from the competes act which was the house's partisan response. rather than from all reports, it focuses on the core issue of reshoring american semiconductor manufacturing here in the united states. with covid-19 we became aware of a lot of supply chain

vulnerabilities that i think we just frankly did not -- were not aware of, and it's one thing to be a ware of a supply chain for things like toys or consumer items, but it's another to be dependent on a supply chain, a foreign supply chain for something that's critical to our way of life and our economy and our national security as advance semiconductors. what senator warner and i initially proposed and what i hope we will be voting on this week provides market-based incentives to close the cost gap between manufacturing overseas in places like taiwan and doing so here in the united states. according to taiwan's semiconductor manufacturing company located in taipei, they figure it costs about 30% less to manufacture these high-end semiconductors in taiwan than it does in the united states. and if we're going to get some of that manufacturing capacity

back here to the united states to protect us against potential blockades, whether it comes from military conflict or a pandemic or a natural disaster, we're going to have to find a way to provide incentives for those manufacturing fabrication facilities to be located here in the united states. that's what we're talking about. there is a closing window of opportunity for us to act. secretary row mon dough -- roman dough, the secretary of commerce -- he ha made clear that if the united states does not act soon, they will have to make a business decision to locate their manufacturing facilities in other places in the world where those incentives are already provided. but it does nothing to protect the united states economy or national security to have

another fab or manufacturing facility located somewhere else around the world. we need them here in the united states if we're going to protect our economy and those -- guard against those national security threats. if we don't make a decision soon and i'm talking about in the next couple of weeks, then we can kiss those manufacturing facilities goodbye. in places like texas, ohio, arizona, and other states around the country that might benefit from that construction and the high-paying jobs that go along with them. we'll see them taken to europe or somewhere else. even though the senator from west virginia said he would not support the reckless tax and spending portion of the reconciliation bill, it's possible our colleagues will move forward with the slimmed down version with an already

slimmed down reconciliation bill that would require the federal government to set a price for drugs covered by medicare, a move which i believe will stifle innovation. price-fixing always results in scarcity, meaning consumers, particularly seniors, will have less access to choice. it would also extend obamacare subsidies for insurance companies and prop up the struggling health care marketplace. it's clear that i opposed those provisions and the perennial effort to legislate on a partisan basis, but the truth is, madam president, if the democrats have 50 votes plus the vice president, they can pass it notwithstanding republican opposition. we all understand that. but given the fact that these horrific tax increases are off the table as a result of the announcement from the senior senator from west virginia, i believe we're in a posture where

we can go forward with the chips funding and other related provisions, and i hope we'll be able to take action on that in the coming days. madam president, on another matter, last week senator cruz, my junior senator and friend, and i took five members of our republican conference to mcallen, texas, which is the rio grande valley which is the epicenter of a massive humanitarian and immigration crisis that's been going on for at least the last year and a half. mcallen is the border patrol's rio grande valley sector, it's called, and one of the busiest portions of the u.s.-mexico bored wher it comes to illegal migration. for example, between october and may, rio grande valley sector agents logged more than 333,000 border crossings, more than any of the other 20 border control

sectors. during the visit, our colleagues were able to see and learn what, frankly, as texas senator, senator cruz and i have learned long ago about the traumatic heart wrenching consequences of this unabated crisis. groups of migrants with todd levers -- toddlers who are lying asleep on the dirt road, practically ill from the heat and exhaustion. by the way, the temperature is routinely in excease of a hundred degrees this time of year. one mother and her 7-year-old child, the mom in teerps and heart broken having left her 10-year-old -- another 10-year-old child behind in guatemala was encountered. unaccompanied children of 7 years of age with nothing more than the clothes on their back, a birth certificate, and a family -- and family contact information on a piece of paper. these are the sort of things that my senate colleagues had a

chance to experience which unfortunately i have seen all too many times before. these aren't the only heart wrenching scenes from a war-torn country halfway around the world. this is happening on our front doorstep. this is happening in texas every day. my colleagues and i also spoke with some of the folks whose homes and property sit along the u.s.-texas border with mexico. they shared with us the stories about what it's like to live along one of the hot spots for illegal border crossings. one resident told us last year the brooks county sheriff department recovered the bodies of 119 dead migrants. so far this year the county has recovered 64. just by way of explanation, the coyotes or the smugglers will bring the migrants across the border, put them in a stash

house, and then when they believe the coast is clear, put them in a truck and tranls port them -- and transport them north. they'll have to go through a border check point -- or interior check point. but what happens is the smugglers will tell the migrants get out of the vehicle and walk around the check point and we'll pick you up on the north side. the problem is this is very tough terrain and over a hundred degree-plus temperature. when some of the migrants become ill or injured, they're simply left behind to die. that's why so many bodies have been recovered, for example, in brooks county on a regular basis. it's tough to imagine the toll this sort of discovery takes on a farmer or rancher and then multiply that shock by more than a hundred. and then we heard about the losses to property suffered because of this crisis, stolen

vehicles, broken fence, damaged crops, vandalism. people who are afraid to let their own family members live and work on their own property because they're worried about the drugs. they're worried about the potential violence. they talked about the safety concerns for their families and employees because drug traffickers and human smugglers go right through their backyard. these men and women are understandably angry. they said to us, this is the united states of america, and i can't let my daughter or wife or children live and play or work on our own property. they're frustrated beyond belief because their families and employees, homes and livelihoods are in jeopardy due to the biden administration's failed border policies. in case there are any doubts, i want to emphasize that what's

happening on the border right now does not benefit anyone. border patrol agents are stretched thin. they're tbrus traited. they're -- they're frustrated. they're overwhelmed by everything they're expected to shoulder. they've been told they cannot do the job that they took an oath to perform under policies by the department of homeland security which can only be described as nonenforcement policies. landowners are saddled with safety concerns and financial losses. nongovernmental organizations which are doing their best to help people in need are carrying the weight of this humanitarian crisis with no end in sight. brave texas department of public safety officers and national guardsmen are making serious sacrifices as a result of the administration's failure to secure the border. these state guardsmen and the department of homeland security should not have to do a job that is the responsibility of the federal government. but when the federal government

won't do its job, the state of texas has no choice. one guardsman actually drowned while trying to save two migrants having you releasing to swim across the rio grande river. and migrants themselves are routinely abused, exploited, even raped and sometimes left for dead in the middle of unforgiving terrain. the only people really winning in this crisis are the criminal organizations and the human smugglers that are getting richer by the day. these cartels are transnational criminal organizations. they will traffic in anything that makes them a buck. they are what one person has called commodity agnostic. they don't care what that commodity is. their goal is simply to maximize their profit by whatever means necessary. and there's no question that the biden administration's policies

have helped enrich the cartels and resulted in too many migrants having lost their lives. throughout my time in the senate, i've had the privilege of working with countless men and women who live and work along the southern border. their experiences and input have shed light on the scope and scale of this crisis, and i'll grad to be able to -- and i'm glad to be able to welcome some of our senate colleagues to join us for an informative trip to the rio the grande valley. of course, most of them don't come from border states but in the memorable words of one of our colleagues, now every state is a border state because the consequences of this huge migration and humanitarian crisis -- not to mention the drugs that are smuggled across the border -- affect every community, every state in our nation.

i also want to thank my constituents, my fellow texans who took the time out of their busy schedule to educate our colleagues, the officers, the agentsed landowners, the national guardsmen you the texas department of public officials, the local sheriffs and others. what's so shocking to me, madam president, is, despite the complete security breakdown and really the lack of any dispute about what exactly is happening on the border, we just can't seem to get the biden administration's attention. landowners can tell them what it was like to discover the dead bodies of migrants who were abandoned by human smugglers and those who do the lord's work at nongovernmental organizations can tell the tale of migrants who were violently assaulted and raped on the way to our country appeared some of whom arrive pregnant. if president biden would take a moment to sit down with these

folks who live and work along the border, he may begin to learn more about what this crisis is -- a humanitarian crisis precipitated by his administration's unwillingness to secure our border. president biden has an open invitation to visit the texas border, and i hope he will take us up on that. if he would, we might be able to get something done to abate this crisis and to secure our open borders. madam president, i yield the

because i was fortunate enough to be vaccinated and double boosted, my case was not as bad as it could have been. i urge all americans cannot vaccinated get talk to their doctors and get the vaccine of possible and then get boosted when the time is right. speaking from personal experience, and excel the difference in the world. the senate gavels in of exceedingly busy work. and as a lot we must do quickly to lower costs and improve the lives of american families. on the nominations front, we will confirm as many as president biden's qualified judges and appointees as possible. last week the senate confirmed 70th biden appointed federal judge on a voice vote and this week we: intend -- president.

when we look back at the many failures of the biden administration, what i believe is going to stand out is really their commitment to doing things that sound good to other washington democrats but really are not serving we the people well. in fact, after spending another weekend working with local leaders back home in tennessee, i take it one step further and say that all joe biden and the democrats have managed to do is find new ways to frighten we the people. yes, indeed, they are afraid of what this administration is going to do next because everything the white house has done over the past 18 months seems to make their lives worse each and every day. and the thing that is so interesting, as i talked to

tennesseans, madam president, this is something where there is bipartisan agreement. whether it is crime in the streets or the drug situation, much of that caused by this open border that is out of control, inflation, the price at the pump, the price at the grocery store, it is quite a stunning record of how to make the lives of the american people worse. joe biden and the democrats have spent us into 9.1% inflation and now they want to tax us into a recession. the latest scheme is terrifying. democrats are proposing a trillion dollars in new tax increases. this includes a crippling new tax on small businesses as well as a tax increase on low- and middle-income americans, which if you recall, is something that president biden said he would never do.

the democrats are prepared to push the economy off a cliff on behalf of a radical and radically unpopular agenda that the american people have repeated by said they did not vote for and they do not want. according to recent polling by the "new york times," 77% of americans believe that the country is heading in the wrong direction. and only 33% of americans approve of the way joe biden is doing his job. if that's not an indictment of this latest inflationary spending spree, i do not know what is. the american people understand that one man and one party are in full control of the federal government and that joe biden and the democrats are responsible for the uncertainty

and fear that is now driving their decisions. thank god tennessee has strong, smart local and state leaders who take their jobs seriously, who work hard every day to represent the people of our great state. i am about to wrap up my annual 95-county tour, and i can tell you that none of the county mayors and city managers that i've spoken to were worried about methane or proper pronoun usage. they just want to know what we plan to do about inflation, energy costs, supply chains, crime, drugs, and the open border. jackson mayor scott conger recently described for me the nightmare that is percentaging for the future of a midsize city in joe biden's america. health costs for police and

firefighters are up half a million dollars. between public works and public safety, fuel costs alone are projected to beat last year's totals by $450,000, and utility and sanitation costs are already 10% over budget. now, jackson and other cities in tennessee don't operate like washington. they're very conservative with how they spend the taxpayers' money, and they budget for the worst-case scenario. but even when they do have money to spend, joe biden's supply chain crisis gets in the way. in jackson, delays on construction supplies have put growth on hold. they've even had to delay and scale back plans for a new homeless shelter.

city officials in dayton told me that the cost of a foot of pipe has gone up $10 in a year from $4 to $14 a foot. i would ask my democratic colleagues how they expect local governments to handle a 200% increase in something as basic as pipe. we know that's a trick question because there is no planning for instances like that. covington mayor justin hansen also had a message. he wanted me to pass on for the record. here's what he said, and i quote, the rising cost of goods and services is really hitting municipal pocketbooks, especially at the gas pump. the rapid inflation combined with supply chain issues are really hurting cities like covington. parts, chemicals, fleet vehicles -- the list goes on. some items ordered over a year

ago still aren't in our inventory, end quote. but i think the most shocking example of how localities have suffered under these reckless policies is happening right now in mcnary county. now, mcnary county is a rural county and it has fewer than 30,000 people but the county still had to pad their budget by $700,000 to cover fuel for the sheriff and other county-owned vehicles. that's almost a million dollars just to keep the police on patrol and the potholes filled. we used to have such bright prospects when joe biden and the democrats took power, the economy was recovering. we were energy independent and there was a plan to protect our

supply chains. now instead of planning for the future, local leaders are working overtime just to keep their budgets from imploding. just a few short years ago, these same tennessee leaders were focused on innovation and growth. now they're focused on survival. they know that the only way we will pull this country back on track is to halt inflationary spending, prize supply chains and ramp up an operate warp speed for energy -- an operation warp speed for energy independence. but joe biden has taken us backward. so, yes, the people are fearful of what his administration will do next. but they continue to say they will not be frightened into submission. and i would urge my democratic colleagues to remember that. i yield the floor.

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

americans have to wait for months you want to help as inflation, get down, this really important bill to vote for, we can take a giant step for fixing this problem in this week, the secretaries of commerce and defense, told us plainly that our economic it international security depends upon our ability to invest, in the technology of today tomorrow but again we need to move quickly and right now, some of the most important manufacturers in our country, are weighing whether to make the investments or where to make their investments, and semi conductor productions many of them are willing off on final decisions as he will congress

does not going to wait around forever and is one company told the world, wall street journal, without these incentives from congress on the capitol investments were fired for expanding production, that is not advisable in the united states, given other global alternatives in other countries, have copied our legislation, and are offering countries companies huge amounts of money to locate their and that of course will endanger our security economic and national the message is not subtle, the countries do not thank you so profitable to make shifts here in america, the going to go somewhere else, countless a good paying american jobs are on the light and billions of dollars of economic a hectic connectivity on this line is this international security is at stake, and for these innings i urge my colleagues to move forward tomorrow, and of course my as we work on legislation this week, i urge my colleagues in the conference committee to continue finalizing the larger jobs and

innovation package that both sides have been working on for months and i want to see this chamber senate compromise bill to the president desk, because it's so important for the future of our country ever national security and ever for more than a year with republicans to get competition and innovation to the competition and innovation so that i strongly support my colleagues to keep working in the meantime, we must take steps to get chips done as soon as we can and it is about lowering costs and increasing manufacturing making sure that we are competitive with our rivals abroad in 21st century, the belong to nations to invest in technologies and innovations of tomorrow, i don't want to get there first, but to do the outcome the senate must act this week. >> one of the things that appear the most to date with a party control of governments, is to resurrect their more on megan's world pleading medical

statement last week president biden praise fellow democrats for having the industry behind most of the world, lifesaving treatment and cures, and sing stands the intended work from the playbook, in the coming weeks and washington democrats are working right now, right now to find ways to put more bureaucracy between american patients, and the treatments and they want but socialist price controls to train american innovators and for debilitating diseases and with one party democrats control of the government, they just might get away with it but a likes need to think again, and even just the medicine related part of the partisan plans, huge negative consequences for country they market people the government

cannot magically things cost less by passing laws it should cost us, there's no rush him or else we american driving 1 dollar pickup trucks, and eating 1 dollar stakes just by passing a law setting the prices at 1 dollar no such thing as a free lunch, and the bill for the maeda price controls, always comes through in this case invoice will be delivered to the market people who are living with actual health challenges. the price of bigger government will be fewer lifesaving cures, let's innovation in the future, the most basic of prescription treatments are expensive to produce long-term investments in cutting-edge research and development require certainty. washington democrats want to do right now would lead hundreds of

billions of dollars in potential rv, out of american industry. shrinking the pipeline for patients with chronic conditions pouring cold water on them and on the next breakthroughs in the fight against alzheimer's and parkinson's and prescription drugs for socialism, what have devastating in compounding effects by one analysis come of the price controls like the one that the washington democrats will run through cosmo and freedom many many years of life expectancy, this enough to shorten every americans lives by a full year in a few ago in 2020, americans innovators expectations and responding to once in a century pandemic lifesaving therapeutics and vaccines in record time in 2022,

with the same innovators with a need, is the same innovators with any become as heavy-handed washington micromanagement from the same politicians who cannot even listen to this or even keep baby formula on store shelves in a country is contending with his historic inflation in our economy is on the brink of recession in washington democrats want to gavel with the health of the american people? you can't get much more reckless than that.

>> madame president, one of america's think of cost of prescription drugs are too high in one of americans relies the cost of prescription drugs, are so high in this country, that there driving the cost of health insurance premiums and don't take my word for it, blue cross moose and blue shield of chicago told me that directly premiums going up, prescription drugs prices are going up and wonder of the market people realize to nations on earth that allow drug companies to advertise drugs and television you know one of them, united states of america and the other new zealand and other country take place under the market people realize that the same exact american drugs sold

here, the highest prices, are sold at a deep discount in other countries, canada, canada's the reason is that american drugs cost less than they do in america, his because the canadian people will not tolerate the prices pharmaceutical companies charge people in this country and so they establish standards and cut the prices for the exact same drugs made manufacturing sold in the united states and they are not alone, your does the same thing, bringing at least prices and so we decided to lease in one area, in one area, we're going to make an exception this overpricing prescription drugs, the veterans administration, we send it cost a lot to keep her promise to the veterans who have served this country, the medical care afterwards, and so we are going to allow the veterans administration, under law, to

negotiate with drug companies to bring prices down and it works, what it brought down dramatically in the lungs on the many of us said that's not enough because most of the drugs are being sold outside of the veterans administration there's no negotiation, take it or leave it in medicare, tens of millions of americans covered by medicare, face the cost of the drugs which are sky high so we decided on the democratic side, we're going to listen to the people we represent who have told us over and over again, when it comes to the cost of living, the expenses the families face, many of these families facing a choice of the money where their lives, to buy the drugs the doctors told them were essential for their survival and so we have proposed, the finally pharmaceutical companies have to negotiate with the government when it comes to medicare drug pricing and you didn't hear that

directly from the senator from kentucky who just talking talk about socialism, and the pricing of the drugs, socialism, for the government suggest that we want to bargain for the prices of these companies incidentally, are not getting by in the mouth, they're doing quite well and making a lot of money and they did not to do is hone their own to come ahead of issue, this notion that if they were paid less for their drugs, he would stifle innovations, and the pharmaceutical industry, spends more money on advertising on television, they do in recent research and why would they do that, so that some people watching the ads of a person's giving through field of flowers will finally get to the point where they can spell and going to a doctor's office and say that i want to skip through flowers and you know what, some doctors say fine and they write the prescription and that's where the cause of the medicine and healthcare goes up but the

bottom line is this, these pharmaceutical companies as good as they are, as many things as they find, they don't do it alone and you know that everyone supplier of research information is, to the private sector pharmaceutical companies in america, the federal government, the national institute of health, we spend tens of billions of dollars each or during basically hundred research which is then used by the pharmaceutical company to develop their drugs, is it too much to ask them to bargain a fair price for drug sold to medicare so taxpayers get a break in the pharmaceutical profits may come down just slightly, i don't thank you so too much to ask. we'll have an interesting debate in the next few weeks because in impressed think that it is time for fourmac to be held responsible for dramatically overcharging americans for pharmaceutical drugs because a fraction of the price, in canada and in europe and the senator

from kentucky sees it another way, he things that socialism and he calls it free lunch, we want to give away a free lunch is on free lunch when you cannot afford to fill your prescription the doctor gave you and you wonder if you jeopardizing your health, or life. drug insulin, we are working on that as well insulin was undiscovered by americans whom he was discovered by canadians in the early part of the century and they decided and what adjuster it was, that they were going into giveaway and surrender the patent on this discovery, and before then it was not atypical, for the people they died from diabetes, and after insulin, they can survive and it was a life-and-death journey in the researchers discovered and said that there should not be able profit maker, this should have been something this price so that the people can continue to live what is habited to insulin, over the years a pharmaceutical company

started doing their magic at the cost of insulin for many people is dramatically higher than they can afford and some people actually cut the amount of insulin which they are told to take because they cannot afford it and we want to bring down the cost of this life-saving drug down to $35 a month, next month for premium insulin and i think that is a reasonable amount of money so i believe that when it comes to the drug industry in america, hit is a great section of our economy they find some wonderful things with the help of federal research and they are making profits as every private sector company is designed to do but is not unreasonable for us to ask, so socialistic for us to ask that are considered since they negotiate fair prices for all americans at they do it for the veterans whom they can do it medicare and others and of the senator is signaling that we are in for a fight, over this issue, all i have to say are three

words, bring it on, bringing on the market people are sick and tired of the overpricing of these drugs, i think it's time that we have this debate and if the republicans want to stay the addressee on the side of armor, and the democrats are wrong, let's take that to the american people in november and i think it is a viable issue.

>> twenty is now serving chief correspondent covering for the white house, and congress and the you for your time as always this morning. >> thank you. >> when we left congress last week we saw the events happening in the house when he came to abortion -related legislation, both passing and could you give us assess not only from the senate side or even the white house i, as to what is next considering this is the status of the bills actually becoming law. >> it yes, it is not likely that any of that legislation at the house is passed, recently, related to protecting abortion rights, is when you make its way into law and we saw in the senate, the senator cortez masto from nevada and several of her colleagues, they were trying to get a unanimous consent to take

up one of the bills that the house had passed related to protecting the rights for interstate travel, to make sure that women have the opportunity across the state lines to the sea of abortion services and reproductive health services and that was blocked and we have also seen the women's health protection act of the legislation was largely codify the old roe v. wade decision, and that is not advanced in saturday, hit is not clear frankly, whether or not chuck schumer as senate democrats will take another sort of bite of the apple of trying to pass this but frankly, those are largely questions for the voters in just the couple of months through the primaries and into the november

in terms of whether or not they want to elect a larger in sort of a pro-choice abortion rights favoring majority in the senate or whether they want to go another direction and that is where this is going to go. >> we saw the president while overseas talking about this becoming a campaign issue and you said there may be hesitancy leadership in the set aside to take another bite at this as you said what is the basis of the hesitancy and do other things in the senate or suggest there other factors to consider. >> will it be the biggest factor, this may not be true for the bill regarding the excess across the state line, but the broader abortion rights bill, has been something that has been debated in the past and the may

call it up for a vote but that won't necessarily take that long effort votes, i just do not think they're going to dedicate series amounts of time to it because as you say, they really is a limited amount of time and if we look at what the senate democrats want to get done in the next couple of weeks before the august recess, and presumably discussion and december because of the eagerness that always exists for members to get home and election-year there's really only always a three - five weeks of legislating most likely left before the election and there are bills that i'm sure we will talk about here in a couple of minutes, that that leaders say the republicans want to get done

before the voters start to vote. >> and joining us for this time if you want to ask questions about those things are taking place, you were even the white house or congress you can call and let us know (202)748-8000, and 8001 for republicans and independent or 8002, and you can us at (202)748-8003, one of those things on the senate if i understand it correctly, the bill taking a look at china, semiconductor chips, and competitiveness, can you put that together for us and explain what this process is. >> yes, so that will looks like it is going to be narrowed significantly from we saw when the senate passed is sweeping competitiveness bill, and under discussion in the house and there is talk that is early as tomorrow the senator schumer,

may try to call up la start the process of calling up a more narrow bill provides something in the order $52 billion in incentives to help promote domestic semiconductor chips manufacturing, and other provisions they have sort of brought under broad bipartisan consensus from that earlier package which was a more broad effort to counter chinese influence and in technology and manufacturing, and so that could come up this week and there was discussion last week in the last couple of weeks in which mitch mcconnell come the minority leader in the senate had said that could not happen not likely to happen as long as there was

still a partisan democratic reconciliation package with a lot of vitamin related provisions and provisions sort of kicking around out there but as we learn,. itiated. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. bennet: thank you, madam president. i wanted to share a few words about nina wang, president biden's nominee for the u.s. district court for the district of colorado. judge wang comes to this floor with a commitment to the law rooted in her earliest moments as a child, earliest memories as a child. nina's family immigrated from taiwan to kansas city when she was just 2 years old. like my grandparents who immigrated from poland, nina's parents had very strong accents. they knew english but people in their kansas suburb couldn't always understand what they were

saying. some of nina's first memories were ordering pizza for the family or speaking to store clerks on behalf of her parents. her family applied to become permanent residents, but the i.n.s. lost their application. once they resolved that issue, the law had changed and their pathway to legalization was gone. their family spent years in legal limbo ricocheting from one court to another. and if not for an intervention by late senator robert dole, nina's family would have fallen through the cracks. at the time nina made a promise. if i can stay in america, i'm going to give back to america. this experience gave nina firsthand knowledge of the legal system's power to change lives because it changed her own. it made her cherish america's legal system where even noncitizens have their day in court, and it inspired her to

pursue a career in law. she graduated from washington university suma cum laude, phi beta kappa, she earned a j.d. from harvard law school and served as editor in chief of the civil rights liberty law review. she worked as an associate at international law firm and clerked in the u.s. district court for the district of maryland. the u.s. attorney's office in colorado recognized nina's talents and hired her as an ausa in the civil division where she managed federal cases ranging from employment discrimination to bankruptcy to civil rights. and nina went -- then went into the private sector where over the next decade, she rose from associate to partner at a top firm in denver. in 2015 nina began serving as a magistrate judge for the u.s. district court in colorado. judge wang now comes to the committee and this floor with 25

years of legal experience and exposure to virtually every issue that might come before the court. she also comes with a reputation for fairness and impartiality. her colleagues tell me she doesn't grandstand. she takes the time to listen to every litigant, whether they have representation or not. she has remained committed to the american ideal that everyone deserves their day in court just like her parents. and i for one am deeply grateful that she's devoted her talent to realizing that ideal in our legal system. judge wang is an exceptional nominee with unimpeachable character, intellect and experience. our colleagues on the judiciary committee appreciated that about her. that's why they sent her to this floor with a strong bipartisan vote of 14-8. i even thiewsically endorse her -- enthusiastically endorse her

nomination and encourage colleagues on both sides of the aisle to vote for this outstanding nominee for district court. thank you. with that i yield the floor. the presiding officer: 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 1035. nina wang of colorado to be united states district judge for the district of colorado signed by 17 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 nina nin-yuen wang of colorado to be united states district judge for the district of colorado shall be brought to a close. the yeas and nays are mandatory under the rule. the clerk will call the roll.

vote:

vote:

vote:

vote:

the presiding officer: on this vote, the yeas are 52, the nays are 33, and the motion is agreed to. a senator: mr. president. the presiding officer: the senator from florida. mr. scott: mr. president, on july 11, 2021, in an act of incredible bravery, thousands of freedom-loving people in cuba collectively stood together to demand freedom from the oppressive cuban dictatorship. they stood outside the headquarters of the cuban communist party demanding liberty. they shouted patria y vida, homeland and life. in cities across the island, cubans young and old showed they are not afraid of the regime. it was a sign that freedom,

liberty, and human rights are not merely american ideals, but universal rights given to all by god, united in government. in response with the peaceful protests, the cuban communist party, an illegitimate and brutally oppressive regime, deployed a wave of terror by unleashing the secret police and military forces on peaceful protestors and democracy leaders. the regime's thugs and security forces unlawfully detained more than 1400 demonstrators, including leaders from cuban civil society groups, including the ladies in white and targeted religious and afro cuban leaders. in the aftermath, crowds of cubans and supporters of the cuban people gathered here in washington, urging joe biden to act. they gathered in front of the white house. they protested in front of the cuban embassy. i heard their cries, asking the american government to show its support.

i join them in front of the white house and in front of the capitol. we know joe biden has the power to join the cuban people to call for the cuban communist party to change. but aside from a couple statements he made last year, joe biden has not taken one action to support the cuban people and their fight for freedom. he's done nothing to provide them with internet connections or to support the democracy movement on the island. i wants to be clear -- i want to be clear, the president of the united states has known here and around the grown as the leader of the free world. our president, regardless who it is, has immense power to rally our democratic allies and the freedom-loving people of the world to put pressure on oppressive regimes like the one occupying havana. through the full support of the world community behind the cuban people. anyone who denies this is ignoring history. but joe biden hasn't done any of that. he hasn't even tried.

instead, he and his administration have bowed to the demands of cubans -- cuba's murderous regimes. and they have chosen not to stand for democracy and human rights. weeks ago, he chose to prop up the oppressive regime with sanctions relief. theseps actions -- these actions bring shame to the united states and do nothing to help the people, they only line the pockets of the regime, thugs, and evil partners in russia, iran and communist china. this failed president has done more to unite these enemies. biden's appeasement is horrible for u.s. national security, a threat to civility in latin america and the danger to the power of democracy across the world. six months after the demonstrations started, the senate unanimously passed my resolution supporting cuban democracy activists like jose

daniel ferreira. and condemn the unjust imprisonment that the illegitimate communist cuban regime is subjecting innocent cubans to every day. last week, we honored the one-year anniversary of the action of the brave cuban people. remember, the horrific images of violence and oppression we saw as the illegitimate communist regime, terrified of the freedom movement, visually cracked down on people with mass beatings, jailings and even murder. most of us remembered. joe biden could not be bothered to even make a statement. his silence shows he doesn't care about the consequences of his actions. he doesn't care that he's playing into the plans of castro and diaz-canal. meanwhile, the cuban people get flog in return, and their security situation in the region worsens. when biden doesn't stand up to castro and diaz-canal we're left

with a destabilized hemisphere that is less peaceful and puts homeland security at greater risk. they are murderous, illegitimate dictators. appeasement is the worst move imaginable. you better believe iran, russia and communist china love it when biden is nice to their friends in latin america. in the midst of this one-year anniversary of the historic and peaceful demonstrations i'm asking joe biden to call for the immediate release of the hundreds of pro-democracy activists, including children, who the regime is unjustly detaining and subjecting to physical and psychological torture. i hope someone in the white house is paying attention. unfortunately, we know joe biden isn't. children are locked away in jail, kept away from their families. these are kids. some are just 14 years old. what's if going -- what's it

going to take for joe biden to grow a backbone and do something? i'm sure the administration will say they've spoken out. sure, we've seen statements and tweets, but that's not enough. where is joe biden? the white house can try to hide behind the words of the state department and claim false leadership, but statements from bureaucrats and tweets from an embassy that shouldn't exist will never be enough. sadly, that's all we can expect from this weak and incompetent president. it's essential to the national security of the united states, as well as our efforts to support freedom, democracy, and human rights that joe biden reverse the foolish actions he has taken and not allow total therrien dictator werors to go unchecked. i call on joe biden to approve the legislation i introduced last year with congressman byron donnels, to hold the regime accountable through actions, sanctions and unprecedented financial pressure and put

safeguards in place to ensure those sanctions are not wrongfully lifted. it also require the president to establish a task force to develop long-term solutions for providing reliable internet service to the people of kuba -- cuba that is not sensorsed or blocked. as the fight tore people from the oppressive and illegitimate regime continues, the united states must stand for the cuban democracy. we can never bow to dictators. never. it's time for biden to lead and to oppose those genocidal dictators and to support human rights. mr. president, i yield the floor.

ms. smith: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from minnesota. ms. smith: i ask unanimous consent that the senate proceed to legislative session and be in a period of morning business with senators permitted to speak therein for up to ten minutes each. the presiding officer: without objection o. ms. smith: mr. president, i ask unanimous consent that the appointments at the desk appear separately in the record as if made by the chair. the presiding officer: without objection. ms. smith: i ask unanimous consent that when the senate completes its business today, it adjourn until 10:00 a.m. on tuesday, july 19, and that following the prayer and pledge, the morning hour be deemed

expired, the journal of proceedings be approved to date, the time for the two leaders be reserved for their use later in the day, and morning business be closed. that upon the conclusion of morning business, the senate proceed to executive session to resume consideration of the wang nomination postcloture. further, that all postcloture time be considered expired at 11:30 a.m. and that following the cloture vote on the moll dough nadeau nomination, the senate recess until 2:15 p.m. to allow for the kay cause meetings. if cloture is invoked on the moll dough nadeau nomination, all postcloture time be expired at 2:15 p.m. finally, if any nomination is are confirmed during tuesday's session, the motions to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table and the president be immediately notified of the senate's action. the presiding officer: without objection. ms. smith: if there is no further business to come before the senate, i ask that it stand adjourned under the previous order.

the presiding officer: the senate stands adjourned under the previous order until the previous order until today the senate consider the nomination to be a u.s. district court judge for colorado. earlier today majority leader chuck schumer returned to the chamber for the first time since testing positive for covid-19 on july 10. more live coverage of the senate when they next returned here on cspan2. ♪ c-span is your unfiltered view of government. funded by these television companies and more including charter communications. ♪ broadband is a force for empowerment. that is where charter has invested billions, building infrastructure, upgrading technology, empowering opportunities and community big and small. charter is connecting us. corrects a charter communications s