themselves really, really good income, raising, you could see already then the average pay for a worker in those days when i was, gi he is, in junior high school, a ceo made about-- the plant manager made about 25 times what the worker made or even a smaller proportion than that. now, it's hundreds of times what workers made because 25 times what workers made just wasn't enough for a lot of these companies. so then they shut down a lot of the factories in the anti-union right to work south and they moved to mexico. they wanted nafta to pass, north american free trade agreement to do it. pntr. normal trade relations with china to pass so they could go to china, always in the name of efficiency, always in the name, we've just got to be more efficient. >> we're leaving this to keep our more than 40 year commitment to live coverage of congress. the senate is about to gavel in

for legislative work. at 11 eastern this morning, lawmakers will limit debate on a bill providing grants to the computer chip industry, they're considering legislation to expand va benefits for veterans, exposed to toxins during military service, live coverage here on c-span2. the chaplain: let us pray. holy god, all your works do praise your name on the earth, in the sky, and on the sea. great is your faithfulness. stir your edifying spirit among our senators, liberating them from shortsightedness as they work diligently for freedom and justice for all.

lord, make our senators citizens of your kingdom, so that your will may be done on earth, even as it is done in heaven. help them to draw near to you with true hearts and full assurance that their times are in your hands. may this confidence in your prevailing providence inspire them to pay the price of eternal vigilance for freedom. we pray in your sovereign 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 clerk will read a communication to the senate. the clerk: washington d.c., july 26, 2022. to the senate: under the provisions of rule 1, paragraph 3, of the standing rules of the senate, i hereby appoint the honorable raphael g. warnock, a senator from the state of georgia, to perform the duties of the chair. signed: patrick j. leahy, president pro tempore. the presiding officer: under the previous order, the leadership time is reserved. morning business is closed. under the previous order, the senate will resume consideration of the house message to accompany s. 3373 which the clerk will report. the clerk: house message to accompany s. 3373, an act to improve the iraq and afghanistan service grant and the children of fallen heroes grant.

gr

defense assets we are mainly looking to other countries to as a matter fact, the united states of america makes 0% of the most advanced semiconductors in the world. we depend on outsourcing virtual all of the manufacturing to other countries, and produce none of them here.

roughly 75% of the semiconductor manufacturing globally is concentrated in china and east asia. and 100% of the world's most advanced chipmaking capacity is located in only two places, taiwan and south korea. as i said, taiwan commands 92% 2% of the world's advanced chipmaking. and the united states makes zero. you might wonder how do we find yourself in this situation. i think it was probably the supply chain vulnerabilities that we saw from covid-19 that called into question this assumption that just because something could be made cheaper somewhere else in the world, that that necessarily check all the boxes. well, it does if all you are depending on is china to make toys for our children, for other nonessential items. but when you're talking about

the very brains behind the technology we need ranging from our cell phone, as i said to her most sophisticated military weapons, it does not check all the boxes to say we will just import those from abroad where they can be made cheaper. because that vulnerable supply chain, if disrupted, could cause that only a severe economic depression in america, but also threaten our national security directly. if access to this jets were cut off or restricted we would be up a creek without a paddle. we couldn't produce a stockpile of javelin missiles to supply ukraine or produce the raiders and communication devices that keep our troops and our allies connected. that's why shoring up this domestic supply, this manufacturing capacity, is a key national security priority. and this is the best way to predict what of our most critical supply chains and

ensure our military readiness will not be compromised by the people's republic of china or the chinese communist party. which is threatened by the way to invade taiwan where the vast majorities of these advanced semiconductors are made that it would necessarily require military intervention. it could be another pandemic. it could be a natural disaster, anything that might block our access to these advanced semiconductors. while closing that national security gap is a a top priory here, we can't ignore major economic consequences that this legislation will deliver as well. when i introduced this legislation with senator warner from virginia who is chairman of the senate intelligence committee, of which i also serve, our focus was on national security. obviously many of our states will be winners when it comes to the economic consequences of this legislation as well.

texas has been, for example, a long-standing leader and the semiconductor industry and is home to more than 200 chip manufacturing facilities that employee 29,000 texans. for years our state has reaped the benefits of semiconductor manufacturing. most of these are what are called legacy chips, the older chips whether or not as concerned about miniaturization or compactness or power, things that for example, run our refrigerators or tv sets or other consumer electronics, or maybe even our cars. we are already seeing the types of investments that this chips bill will finally bring. earlier this summer texas instruments in the metroplex in dallas-fort worth broke ground on a first of four new fabs in the sherman texas about an hour north of dallas. this is part of a $30 billion

investment that's expected to create some 3000 more jobs. the mayor of sherman where this is located in northeast texas described it as a watershed day, noting that it's hard to have a frame of reference for $30 billion investment in a town of 2000 people. sherman isn't the only town in texas preparing for a major chips of boom. last fall joined leader some samsung, south korean company with a large facility already in austin, texas, when they announced a $17 billion additional investment and a new chip fab in taylor, texas, just outside of austin. that facility is expected to directly create more than 2000 high-tech jobs as well as

mr. schumer: mr. president. the presiding officer: the majority leader. mr. schumer: now, mr. president, this morning, this morning, the senate will draw a clear line in the sand that america's chip crisis and america's dwindling commitment to science and innovation will not continue under our watch. within the next hour, the senate will vote, finally, finally, to move towards final passage of our chips and science bill. that's what we're calling it, the chips and science bill. that will put us in a position to finish the work on this bill before the end of the week. it's a major step for our economic security, our national security, our supply chains and, in fact, for america's future, for america's future. i want to be clear -- the proposal we're passing this week contains the majority of key science and innovation measures that the senate passed last summer. it will make historic

investments to scientific research. it will take direct aim at our nation's chip crisis, alongside the infrastructure law and our recent gun safety bill among others, it is one of the most consequential bipartisan achievements of this congress. i thank all of my senate colleagues on both sides of the aisle who are helping to make this happen. i'm confident that future generations will look back on the passage of this chips and science bill as a turning point for american leadership in the 21st century. but it didn't come together overnight. the legislation has been several years in the making. in 2019, i approached my colleague, my republican colleague todd young, with a proposal to work together on legislation to revive america's commitment to science and innovation. together, we drafted the first iteration of many policies we are passing this week, the endless frontier act. a year later, i joined with my colleague, senator cornyn and

warner, to push for the authorization of new federal chips initiative as part of the ndaa, to address our nation's growing chip shortage. we all knew that america faced a choice. we could keep underfunding science and innovation and continue to let america fall behind our global competitors, or we could wake up to the challenges of this century and empower the american people to unleash the next wave of discovery and scientific achoa. -- achievement. we knew if we didn't get there first, our rivals, chief among them the chinese communist party, would likely beat us to the punch and reshape the world in their authoritarian image. in february of 2021, less than a month after i became majority leader, i directed the chairs and members of our relevant committees to start drafting a legislative package to jiewt compete china and create new american jobs with the endless frontier act serving as the core

of this effort. i also instructed them to draft legislation to rebuild the capacity of the united states semiconductor industry. the pandemic made clear, with unforgiving clarity, how america's chip shortage was creating a crisis in our economic and national security. so, members ■on both sides ofth aisle -- this has been a bipartisan effort from the get had go -- got to work. we made a commitment last february if both sides worked together we'd bring a bill to the floor for a vote in the spring, and that's what we did, and we passed the u.s. innovation and competition act with overwhelming bipartisan support in june of 2021. a year later, the legislation we're passing this week has many of the same important measures contained in the bill we worked on this summer. for example, last year's bill secured historic investments for science and innovation. this bill does too.

last year's bill offered tens of billions to encourage american chip manufacturing and r&d. this bill does that too, and even more with the investment tax credit provisions. laz year's bill -- laz years bill helped counter wawa. this bill does too. last year's bill created the national science foundation tech directorate and provided funding to the department of energy national labs to compete with foreign rivals in a.i. and quantum computing. this bill does too. last year's bill made major new investments in manufacturing usa and manufacturing extension partnership to strengthen domestic supply chains. this bill does too. last year's bill created the fir ever program -- the first ever program to cultivate tech hubs of tomorrow in regions around the united states that have enormous potential but have largely been overlooked. not the big megalopolises which

have a lot of tech in them, like new york city and san francisco, but smaller regions with great talent that have been overlooked. they might be in upstate new york. they might be in indiana and many other parts of the country. and this bill is making sure that happens. now, let me be clear -- while this bill contains the two major components of the science and chips bill, there are other major proposals from both sides that are still being worked on in the conference committee. make no mistake that there are many democrats and republicans who have provisions that will be contained in the conference report under chair cantwell's leadership, and it is my intention to put the conference committee bill on the floor of the senate. as i said a moment ago, i firmly believe passing this bill will be a turning point for american leadership in this century. the benefits of this legislation will reverberate across the country for years and decades to come. for much of the 20th century,

america was without peer in our commitment to scientific research, to innovation, to manufacturing, new cutting-edge manufacturing, and it led to tens of millions of good-paying jobs and made the u.s. the unquestioned economic leader of the world. today, the story's different. nations around the world are spending tens of billions of dollars to secure this century, much like america secured the last one. sadly, the federal government's commitment to science has wasn't in recent -- has waned in recent decades. as a percentage of gdp we spend less than half as much as the chinese communist party on basic research, which is even more devastating, given china has spent decades stealing america's intellectual property. with this bill, that's finally going to change. we will not only create the good-paying jobs of tomorrow, we'll not only fix our supply chains and bring costs down for american families with this

bill, but with this bill we will reawaken the spirit of discovery, innovation, invention and optimism that made america the envy of the world. we don't mean to let the days of american leadership end on our watch. we don't mean to see america become a middling nation in this century. we mean for america to lead this century. for that reason, i urge my colleagues to give a resounding vote yes on cloture at 11:00 p.m. today -- 11:00 a.m. today. now, on the pact act, last night i filed cloture to prepare the senate to once again pass the pact act, the largest and most important expansion of veteran health care benefits in decades and a bipartisan issue to the core. another bipartisan issue. as my colleagues already know, because of a technical error, the house of representatives was unable to take up our version of the bill we passed in the spring of the house has fixed their

error and returned the pact act pack to the senate. we wants to finish our work on the pact act before the end of the week. our nation's veterans have waited long enough to get the benefits they need to treat complications from toxic exposure in the line of duty. so we have every reason in the world to get this bill done quickly, with the same bipartisan support as the first time around. the need for the pact act is beyond question. burn pits have affected up to 3 1/2 million veterans since 9/11. yet the v.a. rejected nearly 80% of all disability claims connected to burn pits. that's unacceptable and must change. i hope members work together to fast track this bill as soon as possible, because there's no reason to delay a measure that the vast majority of senators from both parties agree is necessary. our veterans, their families, and our veteran service organizations have been urging us to finish work on this bill. let's keep our promise to those valiant servicemembers and send the pact act quickly to the

president's desk. i yield the floor and note the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. quorum call:

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

mr. schumer: i ask unanimous consent the quorum be dispensed with. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. schumer: mr. president, i ask unanimous consent that at 11:00 a.m. the senate vote on the motion to invoke cloture, to concur with respect to h.r. 4346, the chips and science legislation. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. schumer: i note the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. quorum call:

quorum call:

mr. mcconnell: mr. president? the presiding officer: the republican leader. mr. mcconnell: i ask unanimous consent that further proceedings under the quorum call be dispensed with. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. mcconnell: 93% of the american people are concerned about inflation. 42% say they are struggling just to stand still financially. 63% say that gas prices, inflation bills, or the economy are their biggest concerns. that, mr. president, is because 100% of the american people live in a country experiencing the worst inflation in more than 40 years.

and 100% of the american people live in a country where things don't have to be this bad but for democrats' deliberate policy choices. don't take it from me. listen to larry summers, treasury secretary to president clinton and nec director for president obama. this is what larry summers had to say. there wouldn't have been nearly the same kind of supply chain problems if we weren't giving people who were laid off unemployment insurance that was far more than the salaries they had been earning, if we weren't mailing checks willy-nilly. there would have been less spending. that would have meant less bottlenecks. he continued, printing money and distributing it well ahead of the supply of goods is a

prescription for inflation. and that's what we did. we injected enough money into the economy to make total spending grow at an 11.6% growth rate last year. when you have an 11.6% growth rate on spending, you're going to have a lot of inflation, and that's what we did. that's a top democrat talking. but he is intellectually honest. he tried to advise washington democrats not to dump nearly $2 trillion on the economy. but, of course, they didn't listen. and now working families are stuck with skyrocketing costs and bills as a consequence. you'd think the worst inflation in 40 years would be enough to stop democrats from running these experiments on american families. but if you can believe it, almost every house and senate democrat would like to follow

this up, this historic inflation, with massive new tax hikes. the same people who spent us into inflation want to tax us all the way into recession. so let's hope this small handful of democrats will see this approach. on an entirely different matter, this past sat did i meant another -- saturday meant another escalation in russian strategy. russian missiles hit the port city of odessa. ukraine produces one-fifth of the world's high-grade wheat. russia's black sea blockade has left vulnerable regions of the world literally on the verge of advise. but president putin only managed

to resist the urge to commit senseless violence for about 24 hours. now the fact that putin was even compelled to negotiate was thanks to the introduction of himars, long-range rockets, and harpoon anti-ship missiles. if ukraine had had weapons like this earlier, the blockade could have been prevented in the first place. the biden administration says it's decision-making throughout the process has been deliberate and nuanced. history will likely judge otherwise. months before putin's escalation clearly called for boldness and resolve, to say nothing of the months since. but too often the administration's first instincts have been to plod along slowly and vacillate. the ukrainians have fought bravely to stop russia's advance despite being undermanned and

outgunned. think what they could have accomplished. but now no one should need a reminder of the far-reaching impacts of the war in ukraine. our eastern flank allies certainly don't. they've been preparing to defend themselves for generations and from the beginning of russia's latest offensive, they've reached deep into their own inventories to help equip ukraine. elsewhere in europe, allies have finally taken an important lesson about deterrence and self-defense to heart. countries like germany have made historic commitments to increase military spending. the germans, swedes, and others have also defend historic precedent to share their stockpile with ukraine. and of course russia's war has led other major european states to announce their intention to

join the ranks of the strongest alliance in world history. last week our colleagues on the foreign relations committee advanced the necessary protocols to ratify sweden and finland's accession to nato. there's now nothing preventing the democratic leader from calling these measures up for immediate consideration and passage by the full senate. the legislation -- legislatures of other allies like canada and poland and germany have already ratified them. the united states would be fortunate to have two new treaty allies as impressive and capable as finland and sweden. both of their systems will improve the alliance's inoperability and improve the burden sharing the day they come in. america's leadership in the world has made possible the peace and security our country enjoys today. that leadership is helping encourage our allies to make

sufficient investments in their own capabilities to face down these shared threats. but american leadership is only as strong as our willingness to make robust investments in our own capabilities. president biden has submitted a defense budget request that fails to keep pace with the growing threats and fails to keep pace with the democrats' own inflation, and senate democrats are giving short shrift to a strong bipartisan defense authorization bill. russian aggression isn't the only threat to american interests today. rogue states like iran and north korea continue to march toward devastating weapons. china's provocative behavior in the indo-pacific continues to raise the stakes for long-term competition. so there's no time, no time, to waste on either of these measures. neither the sweden -- neither the sweden and finland protocols

nor a strong, bipartisan ndaa. we need to do all three as soon as possible. a senator: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from nevada. ms. rosen: i ask unanimous consent that if the senate receives a messages from the house that it has passed h.r. 14822 and if the text is identical to s. 697 that the bill be considered read three times and the senate vote on passage of the bill without intervening action or debate and that the the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table. the presiding officer: without objection. ms. rosen: mr. president, for months our country has experienced a severe computer chip shortage, one that has

impacted nearly every american industry and increased costs for nearly every american. from cell phones to cars to televisions, even our refrigerators and washing machines, products we use every day, well, they need computer chips to function. they're also used in critically important technology like the medical equipment in our hospitals and the technology used by our military. this is why the computer chip shortage we're facing is a critical economic and national security issue. it has caused prices to rise, contributed to supply chain issues, and limited the availability of many products, something that anyone who has tried to buy or rent a car over the past couple of years knows all too well. this shortage, it's directly impacting hardworking families and the businesses that support jobs across our nation.

and it has hurt companies and employed people in my state of nevada, like v varion medical systems which uses computer chips to manufacture cancer fighting and other critical medical technologies. this shortage, this shortage is impacting lives and livelihoods. for decades america was a global leader in manufacturing and innovation, but over the years we outsourced the production of computer chips to countries like china costing us millions of potential american jobs and increasing our reliance on foreign nations for technology, for technology that is critical, critical for our national security and for our safety. and all of this has been exacerbated by a global pandemic and the war in ukraine. mr. president, we can't afford

to wait any longer to bring manufacturing of computer chips back to the united states. the senate will be voting on bipartisan legislation toll bring computer chip manufacturing -- to bring computer chip manufacturing back to the u.s. and help existing manufacturers compete creating thousands of new american jobs and enhancing both our economic and our national security. we'll also improve our supply chain which will help businesses like varian medical systems and it will minimize the supply chain disruptions which will ultimately help lower prices for consumers. and this bill, well, this bill will do so much more to spur innovation and invest in our american economy. as the first and only former computer programmer to serve in the united states senate, i'm so excited about what this legislation will do for the future of american technology and innovation.

it will establish a first of its kind effort to accelerate our development of critical technologies, like artificial intelligence, quantum computing, and advanced manufacturing. it will invest heavily in stem education and in our cybersecurity workforce. and it will help build regional technology hubs all across this country to spark innovation. i'm also so proud that this bill includes bipartisan provisions that i worked on in committee that wrote the bulk of the legislation which includes these. my bipartisan rural stem education act with senator wicker to increase access to quality stem education for rural schools so it's accessible to all of our students no matter where they live. it also includes provisions i worked on with senator blackburn to support advanced manufacturing, workforce

development. and a bipartisan amendment i introduced with senator lummis to develop a secure and reliable critical mineral supply chain. this historic bipartisan legislation, it's just common sense. so let's build up our communities. let's strengthen america's competitiveness. let's invest in american innovation. let's lower prices for hardworking families. and let's bolster our domestic supply chain. let's pass this critical piece of legislation now. thank you.

the presiding officer: the republican whip. mr. thune: mr. president, i ask unanimous consent that will i be able to speak for up to 15 minutes prior to the scheduled roll call vote. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. thune: mr. president, our experts believe and the data shows that most of the price increases we've seen are expected to be temporary. end quote. that's what president biden said one year ago this month, something his administration has repeatedly echoed. unfortunately, mr. president, it long ago became clear that that was wishful thinking on the

president's part. far from being temporary, inflation has become a fact of life in the biden economy. last month inflation hit its highest level yet under president biden, climbing to 9.1%, the worst inflation in more than 40 years. the impact of inflation is being felt in every corner of our economy. businesses of every size are dealing with the effects of inflation. small businesses, of course, are being hit particularly hard. 75% of small business owners report that inflation has had a negative effect on the financial health of their business over the past six months. and 75% report that inflation pressures are getting worse. it's not surprising. everything from inputs, transportation, to electricity has become more expensive in the biden economy. and that has a huge impact on businesses' ability to pay their expenses and run their operations. as one south dakota business

owner who wrote to me noted, and i quote, it makes it hard for me to grow my u.s.a. -made business when i don't have the funds to pay my employees more, add more benefits, purchase more machinery, and buy more material in bulk as inflation continues to rise. end quote. farmers and ranchers in my state are also struggling. as of march the price of fertilizer had risen to an astounding $1 -- 162% since january of 2021. the prices of two common herbicides have risen more than 50% since last year. and the price of diesel which powers a lot of farming and ranching equipment has doubled since president biden took office. farming and ranching are tough jobs already, often with tight margins and a lot of weather-related risk and inflation is making things exponentially hard. mr. president, the list of inflation's impacts goes on. for example, last week i talked

about how inflation is affecting our military which is able to do less with the funds appropriated for it thanks to soaring prices across the economy. that in turn can affect troop readiness and the military's ability to keep up with needed programs and purchases from weapons to vehicles to aircraft and ships. and of course i haven't even yet mentioned the most basic impact of inflation and that's the misery faced by hardworking americans who confront sky high prices at the grocery store and the gas pump and wonder how they're going to feed their family this month or whether they will be able to afford to get to work. bloomberg reported last week that nearly six in ten american workers are concerned that their paychecks won't stretch far enough to support themselves and their families. and another recent poll reported that 70% of americans have had to cut back on other spending to afford necessities. life in the biden economy is grim. mr. president, at this point how

we got here is well established. one of the main reasons we're in the midst of this inflation crisis is democrats' decision to pass a massive partisan $1.9 trillion spending bill last march under the guys of covid -- guise of covid relief, despite the fact that congress had just passed a fifth bipartisan covid bill that met essentially all current pressing covid needs. democrats were warned that their bill would cause inflation. and they proceed anyway. their so-called american rescue plan flooded the which i with unnecessary government money and the economy overheated as a result. and so here we are with americans struggling under the -- struggling under the weight of the worst inflation in 40 years and democrats want to double down on the spending strategy that helped get us into this mess in the first place. that's right. despite the fact that even

democrat economists have stated that the american rescue plan helped create our current inflation crisis, democrats want to pass another massive government spending bill filled with excessive spending and tax hikes. a trillion dollars in tax hikes in recent discussions. apparently democrats are not content with spending us into an inflation crisis. they'd also like to tax us into a recession. mr. president, there's already reason to worry about the negative economic impacts of new climate measures the president is contemplating imposing, but on top of that, on top of that democrats want to spend even more government money and impose a trillion dollars in tax hikes, a substantial part of which would fall on small businesses. at this rate, mr. president, there is no telling when our

inflation crisis will end. and, mr. president, democrats are so committed to big spending that even if their legislation fails this time around, they're already planning to run on their big spending agenda in november. now, i'm not sure i would want to try to convince voters to elect me by touting the same spending strategy that helped land our country in this inflation crisis in the first place. but democrats believe in big spending is so deeply ingrained that it apparently can't be swayed even when they see the negative consequences. mr. president, it is incomprehensible that democrats are contemplating doubling down on the spending strategy that helped get us into this mess in the first place. the first spending spree has been a disaster for our country. and i can only imagine how much americans would suffer from their next one. mr. president, i yield the floor and i suggest the absence of a

quorum. mr. president, i would withhold that request to put us into a quorum. mr. thune: mr. president. the presiding officer: the republican whip. mr. thune: i would ask unanimous consent that the senate proceed to the scheduled 11:00 vote.

the presiding officer: without objection. the clerk will report the motion to invoke cloture. the clerk: cloture motion, we, the undersigned senators in accordance with the provisions of rule 22 of the standing rules of the senate do hereby move to bring to a close debate on the motion to concur in the house amendment to the senate amendment to h.r. 4346, an act making appropriations for legislative branch for the fiscal year ending september 30, 2022 and other purposes with amendment 5135 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 motion to concur in the house amendment to the senate amendment to h.r. 4346, an act making appropriations for legislative branch for the fiscal year ending september 30, 2022, and for the -- and for other purposes with amendment

number 5135 offered by the senator from new york, mr. schumer, 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:

vote:

vote:

the presiding officer: on this vote, the yeas are 6564, the nays are 32. three-fifths of the senators duly chosen and sworn having voted in the affirmative, the motion is agreed to. cloture having been invoked, the senate will resume consideration of the house message to accompany h.r. 4346, which the clerk will report. the clerk: house message to accompany h.r. 4346, an act making appropriations for legislative branch and so forth. the presiding officer: cloture having been invoked, the motion to refer and the amendments pending thereto fall. a senator: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from wyoming. mr. barrasso: thank you, mr. president. mr. president, i come to the floor today to talk about the

biden energy crisis that is affecting our country. now, joe biden has been threatening to declare a climate emergency. democrats from new england, members of this body have been practically begging him to do so. he actually went to -- they actually went to massachusetts with him last week to try to twist his arm. democrats say this would give joked even -- give joe biden even more legal authority. that's what americans want this day. well, we got bad news for the democrats. the supreme court has ruled very recently, less than a month ago, that energy regulation requires clear congressional authorization. congress writes the laws. it is the president who is just supposed to carry out the laws that are written by congress. the president doesn't have the

authority to do whatever he wants by saying we have a climate crisis and then calling it an emergency. but democrats are far too eager to give more and more. senate's power to the least popular president in the last 70 years. democrats say we have a crisis right now. well, they're right about the fact that we have a crisis. we have a lot of crises in this country, and they're crises because of joe biden and because of the democrats and the policies of this administration. we have an energy crisis. we've an inflation crisis. we've a crisis at the southern border. we've crisis of crime in the cities. and as we come to the end of another month, millions of families are facing a crisis at home trying to pay their bills. the result is that democrats have a crisis, too, it is a crisis in the white house and in the party, the crisis of competence and a crisis of credibility. two-thirds of americans say that this president and the democrats

are focusing on the wrong things. there's a poll last week in "the new york times." it showed that only 1% of americans -- 1% -- say climate change is their number-one priority. that's of all people. what about democrats? only 3% of democrats say that the idea of what the president is focusing on and trying to declare an emergency on, a national emergency, only 3% of democrats say it is their top priority. what about the young people, the people that democrats always say we appeal to the young people? only 3% of people under the age of 30, voters under the age of 30, say that climate is their number-one concern. the numbers are astonishing, and the president continues to ignore it. working families aren't thinking about what the white house is

calling the liberal world order. which is why the president wants to declare a climate crisis. working families trying to balance their checkbooks, trying to make it to otoend of the month with money -- to the end of the money with money left over to pay the bills. i talk to families at the grocery store on sunday, traveling the state sat did i. we had folks coming together for frontier days in cheyenne. people want to be able to pay for a full tank of gas. they want to be able to go to the grocery store and by groceries for a week. they want to are money left over at the end of the money month, and end of the month is coming, to pay their bills. that's all they are a asking. under this administration, they have been falling further and further behind and it is becoming almost impossible to do those three simple things. the survey from bloomberg last week found that 60% of workers say they're worried that they

can't support their family. they were doing it beforehand, but they can't do it now. people are losing sleep over the economy and their own financial well-being or not-so-well-being. people are giving up on their dreams and their hopes forethemselves and their kids. the joint tax committee says the average american family has already paid $1,500 more for energy under joe biden as president. people are paying about $100 extra more than they were when joe biden came into office just to buy the things that they were buying last year. so here we are about halfway through this year and it is really adding up. as a result, the savings rate is is the lowest it's been since the great recession in 2009. no wonder consumer confidence has dropped again. the numbers are out this morning, and you look at the headlines. here's one. it says in july consumer confidence slipped for the third

month in a row. nearing pandemic lows. it goes ton say, confirmed is down 24% since last july. inflation continues to bite. inflation continues to bite. that's why credit card debt is at a record high. this year american people have opened millions of new credit card accounts, just to pay for the daily issues of life struggles. so my question is, who are the 3% of democrats who think climate change is their top priority? i know some are members of this body. well, they all seem to work here in washington. one of them is john kerry. clearly, they -- last week we found out that john kerry -- it was a climate czar, whatever his title is at the white house -- has now taken 48 official trips on a private jet -- his private jet as joe biden's climate czar.

in total, those 48 trips have put 325 metric tons of carbon into the atmosphere. thank you, john kerry. you know better than we do, though. now this is what most a vehicle would emit in 20 years. so john kerry is flying around lecturing the rest of us from his position of smug superiority, and he emits more carbon and a lot more hot air than almost anyone on the face of the earth. democrats cared about our climate, they'd tell john kerry to park the plane and go home to one of european mansions. -- to one of your mansions. even for deaths the hypocrisy is astonishing. what about another one of these people focused on the 3%? with a how about pete buttigieg. last week he said this, the more pain we all are experiencing from the high price of gas, the more benefit there is. the more pain you're suffering,

men and women and families all around america it the more benefit there is for those who can access electric vehicles. how tone deaf. and this guy wants to be president. i would remind mayor pete that the wealthy who can afford electric vehicles will be just fine. it is everybody else who is suffering right now. mayor pete seems to think pain at the pump is a good thank for america. not the america that i live in, not the in earthquake that the people of -- not the america that the people of wyoming live in, not the great majority of the american people feel that pain at the pump is a good thing. but probably a number of the members of this senate body do. mayor pete seems to like these high prices. testified before the house week and was asked about the cost of electric vehicles. for the average cost of an electric vehicle is about $55,000.

oh, the price of electric vehicles, you may have noted, mr. president, is up 18% this year due to joe biden inflation. inflation is hitting everything and everyone. even the electric vehicles are much more expensive now. mayor pete thinks people have that kind of money sitting around? the members of this body, the democrats think people have that kind of money available in people can't afford to eat, they can't afford to drive their cars, they can't afford to buy a full tank of gasoline. pbs ran a storey last week about senior citizens moving in together. why? because they couldn't afford their rent expenses. that's what people are experiencing under joe biden's presidency. and where does mayor pete think electricity comes from? he was a mayor. he should know. right now in texas people with electric vehicles are being told not to plug in their electric vehicles between 3 p.m. and 8 p.m. don't plug them n well, why?

to avoid overtaxing the grid, to avoid a brownout in communities. well, this -- well, this is at be a point where you don't have that many electric vehicles in the country. what if joe biden got his way and morend more people -- and more and more people were driving electric vehicles? we'd have a blackout every day in the joe biden economy. an electric vehicle can take hours and hours to charge. not everybody can the way that long. not everybody has a job where they can e-mail it in. a lot of people have to show up to work, they certainly do in wyoming. they have to work with their hands. there is still, mr. president, a big gap between renewable energy and reliable energy and we need reliable energy. we need it all. mr. president, two-thirds of our energy of our energy grid comes

from traditional forms of energy. higher costs for energy, what does it mean? it means higher costs for everything else. that's what people are seeing around the country in joe biden's economy. for 15 months in a row now, the prices have gone up fast ter than wages -- faster than wages. so for 15 months in a row that means each of those months people can afford less than they could the month before. and right now for the american people, as you saw from the consumer confidence numbers that are out today, that there is no end in sight. later this week we're going to find out a couple of things about the economy. tomorrow we're going to find out how much the federal reserve is going to raise rates. in the last four months, we've seen the largest increase in 40 years and they'll likely go up again this week. mortgage rates have doubled in the last seven months. so why is the federal reserve

doing this? well, they're taking desperate measures to fix the inflation that joe biden and the democrats have forced on to the country. there have been no inflation crisis, the fed wouldn't be raising rates like this. so the blame for the rate increase is not on the fed, it's on the democrats. they're the ones whose policies, the democrats in this body and the democrats in the white house and the democrats in the house who made the rate hikes necessary. the federal reserve is just trying to throw on the emergency brake because of inflation. joe biden and his spending, and he wants to spend more, is the guy who is fueling the inflation in a car that we just cannot afford to see crash. on thursday we're going to find out if maybe the car has already crashed because on thursday we'll find out if we're officially in a recession. but it doesn't really matter if it's official or not, because the american people can already

feel the pain of after recession. two-thirds of the public have already made a decision in their own mind that we're in a recession right now. that is how they're feeling the impact on their lives. four out of five americans think that this country is on the wrong track under the democrats and under joe biden. yet, the democrats, with their desire to do more and more spending and joe biden trying to do his build back better routine, they want to keep us going right over the cliff. the biden administration has to be the most out of touch administration since at least herbert hoover. it is time to reverse course. stop the attacks on american energy. look, we have some of the largest energy reserves in the world here in the united states. we have plenty of it in my home state of wyoming, we ought to be using it. we have the best energy workers, we have the best environmental standards of anywhere on planet earth. so the crisis facing our nation

right now is a crisis of choice, an energy crisis, an inflation crisis, a border crisis, a crime crisis, all chose by the democrats and their policies. elections are coming. midterm elections are a report card of the president half way through a four-year term. people are going to send a message that they are eager to change direction from the many crises that have been brought by joe biden and his democrat enablers, a crisis that the president and the democrats are unwilling and unable to correct. thank you, mr. president. i yield the floor. mrs. blackburn: mr. president. the presiding officer: the senator from tennessee. mrs. blackburn: i appreciate so much the comments of my colleague, and i think this

shows you, whether you're talking about wyoming and the people that are there, or tennessee, my state, the economy is one of the top issues that people are discussing. and joe biden addressed the nation just over a year ago, and he had all of these bold plans about how he expected the economy to respond to his -- what i thought was reckless taxing and spending sprees and he made this statement. and i'm going to vote him because he was trying to make the point that inflation was transitory, it was going to be temporary and here is what he said and i quote, i want to be clear, my administration understands that their -- that were we ever to experience unchecked inflation in the long term, that would pose a real challenge for our economy.

while we're confident that isn't what we're seeing today, we're going to remain vigilant about any response that is needed. end quote. well, let's fast forward a year from that very bold, brash statement. and we know that it was a falsehood that was meant to distract, we the people, while the president and the democrats worked overtime to make things worse. now, this week economists expect to confirm what we have known for a long time, and as senator barasso was saying, what people are feeling in their personal economy that the u.s. economy isn't just struggling, it is shrinking. buying power for households, shrinking, options and choices,

shrinking. if the numbers say what we think they will, we'll see the second consecutive month of the shrinking gdp and another month of runaway inflation. just a few hours ago, we learned that consumer confidence dropped again this month. expectations are down again. these are the warning signs of a recession. the white house doesn't want us to say it. the pundits don't want to say it, but that's the reality that joe biden has created. you know who is saying it? thousands of tennesseans because, mr. president, they are living it every day. now, i would suggest to my colleagues that if they find themselves questioning this reality that they should get out of the city and spend some time talking to people that live in their states, people that don't

exist in the political bubble, the people that are having to make a choice between filling up the gas tank and filling up the grocery cart. go talk to the farmers and the truck drivers and the small business owners and listen to them when they tell you how very difficult life is right now. talk to the moms and the grand moms in those small town grocery stores and listen to them when they tell you how hard it is to keep their households running. one of the many reasons this is so frustrating for tennesseans is that under president trump economic success was pretty much a given. the country was recovering from the pandemic. we had a plan to repair our supply chains and the american people were starting to have hope that the distobaccoian --

the nightmare they had been living through was finally over. but it's clear to them that if we find any sort of success under president biden, it is going to come as a pleasant surprise because right now they are not seeing light at the end of the tunnel. every week it's harder, whether you're trying to find baby formula or you are trying to find basic staples or you're trying to make some of those pre-back-to-school purchases for your children. i talk to people every day. they worry about what is coming next because they cannot believe how fast the change has come about under the biden administration. and one of the things that they mention is that joe biden and

the democrats have eliminated predictability and replaced it with certainty that whatever this administration comes up with next is going to be something that makes their life worse. when i go home and i talk to my friends at church or at the store, people ask me why is this administration doing this? how could they possibly be making such terrible decisions? and the answer is really quite simple. they don't believe that the purpose of the federal government is to serve we the people. they believe its purpose is to control our lives. from the moment we get up in the morning until we put our head on the pillow at night, 24/7, 365. they have a long history of using their power to incentivize

dependency on the government, but this administration has taken it even further. what they perceive is happening is that they are being punished -- punishing families, small businesses, and local governments that speak out by forcing them to pay for a socialist agenda that picks winners and losers. and who loses? families, small businesses, local governments. they lose every single time. at every stop so far on my 95-county tour, county mayors and other local leaders have described to me how this agenda has made planning for the future virtually impossible. those are their words, not mine. it is impossible. a few years ago, they were focused on improving their communities and now they're just praying that they'll be table to keep providing basic services.

fuel is too expensive, construction supplies too expensive, and if they're available, utilities are breaking the budget. in mcnarry county, a three-year supply chain delay on the fire truck, local leaders were planning on that money to finish projects. but the lower and lower the cost of living for the 30,000 people they're responsible for. but now they are stuck. it's the same story for hundreds of small businesses and farms all across the state. we have farmers who decided not to put their crops in the ground this year because the cost of diesel, fertilizer, chemicals, pesticides, it's just too high. now, think about that. the people responsible for maintaining our food supply are no longer able to supply food

because this administration had other priorities. retailers and other small business owners aren't faring any better and because things are more expensive for them, they're more expensive for each and every one of us. more and more often, tennessee families are finding too much month left at the end of their paycheck rather than paycheck that is left at the end of the month. this has led to some hard choices, not just about the little luxuries they once enjoyed but about the essentials. will they cook a balanced meal or will they pay the electric bill? will they put gas in the car or do they need to send that money to school for their kids' lunch? no one should have to make these choices, but this is the reality for millions of families.

but president biden and the democrats aren't worried about that. it doesn't appear they have ever been. once they took control of the federal government, they immediately started spending money on things that sounded great to their base, but that the american people did not vote for and still simply do not want. they knew this would sabotage our economic recovery. it would drive up inflation, but, still, they found plenty of money to start chipping away at their wish list. they couldn't bring themselves to let america stay energy independent so they canceled the keystone xl pipeline and they sent the regulatory state after domestic energy producers. indeed, 42 of the 69 regulations that this president has put in place have been focused on the

energy sector. time and time again president biden and the democrats have made it clear that their priorities do not align with the wants and needs of this country. they gave a green light to the green new deal, to critical race theory in public schools to an open border, and to force decimating vaxxing mandates on the national guard and the reserves. meanwhile, the american economy has stopped dead in its tracks. mr. president, this has got to end. we're not just losing money. we are running out of time. the american people are beginning to feel this administration has abandoned them, that they are being punished. but they also want to know that in spite of all that, they're not ready to submit to this agenda.

they are concerned about their families and their communities. it is time to move away from this reckless, destructive agenda, and choose the american people. i yield the floor. a senator: mr. president. the presiding officer: the senator from virginia. mr. warner: mr. president, thank you for your attention. i have seven requests for committees to meet during today's session of the senate. they have the approval of the majority and minority leaders. the presiding officer: duly noted. mr. warner: mr. president, i also ask unanimous consent that i'm able to speak and then followed by senator cortez masto be able to speak before the senate adjourns for the weekly caucus lunches. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. warner: thank you, mr. president. you know, mr. president, today we took another giant step on something that has been a lot harder than it should have been and could have been because i

actually started last june when i rose before of this body, june of 2021, to speak about the critical need to pass the united states intervention -- innovation and competition act as it was known back then, usica, in order to shore up u.s. investment in research, development, and manufacturing of critical technologies. a few names later and unfortunately more than a year later, i rise again before this body to express my strong support for this revised chips + legislation that we just cleared an important hurdle for over the last hour and urge my colleagues to pass this bill as quickly as possible so we can get it out of the senate, get it over to the house, and get it to the president's desk. we cannot afford to waste any more time. because this funding sends a

message that the united states is putting a strong downpayment on maintaining our edge in the global technology race and preventing global supply chains from being weaponized against the united states or for that matter against our allies. over the past few years, china has continued to increase investments in its domestic industries. particularly in areas that have long-term strategic influence. this includes the semiconductor industry which i've been particularly focused on over the past few years. now, let me be clear. when i talk about china, i want to be clear. my beef is with the communist party of china and xi zing ping and their approach and it's not with the chinese people. when people don't make that distinction, they play exactly in to the ccp's agenda that somehow these are anti-chinese activities.

they are not. they're activities against the government of china and particularly the communist party of china. the semiconductors often called chips are the backbone of our modern lives. they can be found with literally anything with an on and off switch, from cars and trucks to washers and dryers to smartphones and laptops. chips are an essential component in so many of the devices we use today. the growth in chips is going to be exthennal -- exponeial. devices connected to the internet, autonomous driving would be one example. for every connection, there is a sensor, most of those requiring a semiconductor chip. unfortunately for -- looking backwards for many years american semiconductor companies led the world in both design and manufacturing of this critical

technology. but the truth is our leadership has languished. in recent years we continue to lose ground, particularly not just to china but to east asia markets in total. as a country we've gone from 1990 when we produced literally 37% of all the chips in the world, today in the whole field of mike crow -- to electronics, we're down to 5%. china has ramped up investment in chips providing an estimated $200 billion in financial support between just 2015 and going forward projection up to 2025. chinese orders for semiconductor manufacturing equipment rose 58% in 2021 in the midst of the covid crisis. and china has a goal to produce at least 70% of its usage of semiconductors by 2030. the truth is it's not just

china. this is global competition. japan recently passed a $6.8 billion investment package that will fund innovative chip manufacturing as well as research and development. south korea which has also been one of the great leaders in this movement forward has similar type investments. and unfortunately one of the challenges we face, the country or the entity that -- the country that has evolved some of the fastest has been taiwan were un-- where unfortunately we rely on the cutting edge, leading edge chips coming out of taiwan. as we've seen with president xi's aggressive, at least indications about trying to subjugate taiwan, we think of this in the context of the russian-ukraine battle, the notion that can take place, beyond what it would do to the democracy that exists in taiwan, what it would do in terms of that critical semiconductor production would cause not a recession but a depression around the world. and it's not just south korea,

japan, taiwan. india has recently passed legislation investing $30 billion in their domestic electronics manufacturing industry with $10 billion of that dedicated chips manufacturing and display manufacturing. the truth is, and this is one of the things i think was a great irony is that when i spoke about this bill 13 months ago and then i was proud to see the senate with the leadership of the presiding officer and others, we actually passed this bill back in july of last year and our passage of that bill and i think raising the expectation that america was going to really get in the game set off alarm bells not only in terms of what's coming out of asia but from some of our allies in europe. and the truth is, european bureaucrats, particularly out of brussels, are not normally viewed as moving with a great

deal of speed. but because we have taken now 12 months to actually get our act together to get this bill to this stage of passage, we've seen european countries, germany, for example, has already selected 32 semiconductor projects and put $12 billion in direct investments. and even our friends in france recently announced a major u.s. global foundry investment in france. this has proven not the lack of investment by the u.s. has had a huge impact from 2010 to 2020, only 17 major semiconductor plants -- they call them fabs, manufacturing fabs -- were built in the until. over that same time we've seen 122 built elsewhere around the world. and the handful of major projects announced in the last year of a direct -- as a direct result of our efforts a year ago to say we're going to put our

money where our mouth is in terms of these kind of investment, major facilities in ohio, arizona, and elsewhere candidly are very much at risk at this point unless we can get this legislation to the president's desk. right now truth is the cost of new fabs is 25% to 50% higher in the united states. and that's partially due to the enormous financial incentives offered by our competitive countries. truth is in a perfect world, we wouldn't want governments subsidizing some of these investments. we don't live in a perfect world. we live in a real world where competitors like china and even allies around the world are making investments candidly that on a per capita basis even make this investment by the united states seem relatively small. many ask so why is it so important for the united states to make -- maintain investment

in semiconductor production when on a lot of accounts, the prc, china, is several generations behind. because the truth is u.s. semiconductor firms and firms in the adjacent areas of packaging and meteorology still lead the world. but i can tell you, as chairman of the intelligence committee, i can tell you unequivocally that the communist party of china and the prc is acutely aware of that gap and aggressively are working not just to close it but to eventually leapfrog the united states and our allies to lead in chip production and design. as a matter of fact, just over this past weekend, there was an extraordinary story coming out of bloomberg that indicated that the chinese may have already moved dramatically forward in terms of seven nan meter production. for those aware of -- if that is

true, could have a huge, huge effect. and we should expect that because last year president xi announced a $1.4 trillion commitment to 2025 to develop advanced technologies not only in chips but in next generation wireless networks and artificial intelligence. technologies that will candidly determine who is not only the economic but the security winner of the 21st century. i firmly believe that this is the time of technology competition across a series of dough mains and china has got a plan they articulated in the 2025 document. we in this country are still trying to determine what are those dough mains. the truth is -- domains. the truth is semiconductors which enable advancements in artificial intelligence or high performance computing or hieber sonics and everything else with an on and off switch is arguably

the centerpiece of president xi's efforts to ultimately control innovation system development. meanwhile, many of the key ingredients to u.s. historical success, including federal support for r&d, investment in basic research and support for advanced manufacturing have declined over the last 20 years. and why? well, i'm focusing on chips and the 5g and beyond here. there is a whole series of components in this legislation we have advanced today that includes beefing up r&d advanced manufacturing and other critical areas. brings me down to my closing comments before i turn it over to my colleague from nevada. that's why the $52 billion in funding for the chips for america act, a bipartisan effort that my friend senator cornyn and i along with senator schumer and senator cotton, we've been working on this literally for years, way beyond the 13 months when i rose on this topic 13 months ago is so important. and while a parallel effort also in this bill to c -- the

innovation in a resilient ecosystem is so virtually important. i would also note that this simply isn't an economic competitiveness or security issue. we know as we see it play out right now in terms of supply chains, visa advice -- vis-a-vis russia and ukraine, cutting off semiconductors to russia will have a huge effect on russia's military capacity. we also know as well this will be a jobs bill in terms of these fabrication facilities and research all across america. and candidly as we know there are literally thousands of cars that is there already been produced by american auto manufacturers that are sitting, not getting into the market because they don't have the chips to make the cars actually operate over a long haul bringing that supply chain back here will ultimately deal with inflation issues as well.

we cannot be held hostage on this critical issue. now, most of the focus has been on chips as appropriate. but this also -- bill makes important investments in the future of wireless telecommunications. in many ways this issue first came to the forefront not around chips but a few years back, and i say this as a former wireless telecom gay, when huawei suddenly started to dominate the market. we raised concerns about huawei. many of our allies and others said well, that's fine but what is your alternative, what is the western alternative. i think we're a little bit slow on making the case, although now virtually every nation that invested in huawei equipment has realized the national security concerns and are literally in the process of ripping and replacing that equipment. we still have more to do. we're well penetrated some of our markets in the united states. so this bill diswsh that has been called

chips also including funding for the bipartisan utilizing strategic allied telecommunications act, the usa act, which fosters u.s. innovation in the race for 5g by providing $1.5 billion to invest in western-backed alternatives to, again, chinese equipment providers like huawei, but also zte. this is a bill that i was proud to work with with many intel colleagues, senator burr and rubio, and will stand up a new public wireless supply chain innovation fund to spur moments toward open architecture software that would allow us to fund innovative, leap-ahead technologies in the domestic mobile broadband market. that approach plays to u.s. strengths, like software ant network virtualization and means we'll have a wider set of firms, including american firms, with healthier balance sheets competing against these state-sponsored chinese vendors. because one thing that's been

clear over the past two administrations, our anti--huawei message, things have moved, but would have moved quicker with other u.s. and western alternatives. again, i will close now, but as chairman of the senate intelligence committee i see examples every day of how china is doubling down on pursuit of advanced technologies. i think we'll define the 21st century. in many ways, the united states started to fall behind. fortunately, it's not too late to change that narrative or to change that result. with the right investments, like the ones provided in this legislation, we can unleash the ingenuity of the american people, we can reinvigorate american innovation, and improve our national security, while setting the country up to lead the way on technologies that will define our future. we need to get this passed as quickly as possible, and then i strongly, strongly urge our colleagues in the house to pass it as well and get it to the

president's desk. with that, mr. president, i yield to the floor. i do want to thank my colleague from mive nevada, who has been a leader on this legislation as well and knows the important of getting this done. thank you, mr. president. ms. cortez masto: mr. president. the presiding officer: the senator from nevada. ms. cortez masto: mr. president, i have to thank my friend and colleague, senator warner from virginia. he's been a leading voice on this issue and the importance of passing this legislation, not just because it addresses our national security, it gives us an economic advantage in this country, but he also realizes the job it creates, and it positions not just nevada, but every state, this country, to lean into the future and be prepared for the challenges of the 21st century. i thank you, because i know you've been at the forefront of this and have not relented. thank you, thank you for everything that you have done. mr. president, there's another issue that is important for nevada. i want to talk about it. not just nevada, but so many

across the country. i was elected to the senate and ever since then, in 2017, i have stood up for medicare and nevada seniors. i have fought against the trump administration's cruel proposals to cut medicare funding. and i championed provisions to expand medicare funding and services. that's why i was shocked when last week hundreds of nevadans began calling my office. they were anxious and alarmed over a deliberately misleading ad that is running on tv, on took, and -- on facebook and via a text campaign. in reno this past weekend, nevadans came up to me concerned about these false accusations. this ad incorrectly claims that i support a bill that would

strip $300 billion from medicare. this couldn't be further from the truth. what i do know is that the ad is a deliberate lie. and what they're being funded by, unfortunately, these ads, is a dark money group. they're being funded by american prosperity alliance. this is exactly the kind of group i've been raising the alarm about for years. here's the truth, here are the facts -- i am standing up for medicare, just like i always have. i am pushing legislation, just like many of our colleagues, just like, mr. president, you are as well, to lower prescription drug costs for nevadans and save medicare and so many other seniors across the country, really almost $300 billion. what we are doing, our legislation in total, saves

dollars, almost $300 billion for the government, and ultimately the taxpayers. the bill would not cut anything but big pharma's profits. seniors in nevada and across the country can expect even stronger benefits under the legislation that i am working on, that you are working on, mr. president, so many of us are. so why would the ads lie about something so important, to the american public, when we're working to lower their costs and give them access to affordable health care in this country? here's why -- because powerful interest groups out there don't want this legislation to succeed. so they're pouring dark money into efforts to stop it. now, we don't know who really funded this ad, and the organization that wrote the check doesn't have to disclose that information. so nobody can be held accountable, and that's part of the problem, and that's why i've been calling for this accountability and transparency about who is funding all these

ads. that's what we know, that the dark money that is out there, and the only one that's going to benefit from these ads at the end of the day is big pharma. because they don't want their profits cut. so they're trying to frighten nevadans and pressure me to vote against a bill that would help my very constituents. well, let me just say this, it won't work. i stand up to bullies. and when i was attorney general, i was very proud that not only did i take on the big banks during the foreclowsh your crisis, but -- foreign crisis -- foreclosure crisis, but i sued pfizer for millions after the company led nevada consumers about the safety of their drugs. i'm not going to be intimidated by advertisements spouting false information to my constituents. i am here today to set the record straight and make sure

nevadans understand what's really going on. because here's what's happening, the very legislation that i am working on, mr. president, that you are working on for new mexico, and so many of us are, would dramatically lower prescription drug costs and strengthen medicare. it would do this by capping out-of-pocket costs for prescription drugs. it would punish drug companies that try to raise the prices of their drugs faster than the rate of inflation. and oh, yes, it would allow the government to negotiate fair prices for drugs from pharmaceutical companies. our legislation will save the government almost 300 billion dollars. that's not a cut. that's a savings. every household in the country knows the difference between the two. under this plan, nevadans will be getting more benefits for less money, period. that's the truth.

here's my question to big pharma, why do you go out and scare individuals, put ads out there that you're paying for that are lies, when in actuality you could be working with us? because here's what i know at the end of the day from my constituents -- nobody in this country, whether you live in the state of nevada or any other state, should have to make a tough decision whether you can afford your health care, your prescription drugs, or put food on the table or pay your electric bill. that's not what this countries is about. so to big pharma, i called you out. you want to really be part of the solution? come support this legislation. help us in this country lower costs for so many families who literally need access to medications that they cannot afford. that's not what this country

stands for. so that is the truth, and anyone, anyone who wants to come out and challenge that, i am ready to debate you any time of the day. thank you, mr. president. i yield the floor. the presiding officer: under the previous order, the senate previous order, the senate >> the sin is in recess until 2:15 p.m. eastern for the weekly party caucus lunches. today lawmakers are working on legislation that provides grants to the u.s. computer chip industry to better compete with china. the senate is considering a bill expanding access to be a health care and disability benefits for veterans exposed to toxins during their military service. as always you can follow live coverage of the senate when it returned to run c-span2.

>> farmer president trump will speak at the america first policy institute summit in washington, d.c. this will be his first trip back to washington since january 2021. live coverage begins this afternoon at 2:15 p.m. eastern on c-span3, c-span now, our free mobile video app, or online at c-span.org. >> c-span is your unfiltered view of government. we are funded by the television companies and more including charter communications. >> broadband is a force for empowerment. that's why charter has invested billions building infrastructure, upgrading technology, and powering in communities big and small. charter is connecting us. >> charter communications supports c-span is a public service along with these other television providers giving you a front-row seat to democracy.