weekend gallup put out a very interesting poll showing this growth over the past year. so during, at the end of august they found 71% of americans were pro-union. that is up from 64% before the pandemic. that seems to be a large majority of people who say unions may be a good thing for workers. >> host: rebecca rainey is bloomberg lost senior department reporter. you can read her reporting at news dot bloomberg.com. thanks so much forng being withs this morning. >> guest: appreciate you having me. >> the use senate returns from their summer recess today lawmakers are expected to vote to advance john lee to the seventh circuit court of appeals which covers illinois, indiana and wisconsin. if confirmed he would be the first asian-american judge to serve in that court. and looking ahead over the next couple of weeks senators will vote on a spending bill to keep

the federal government open past september 30. also measure reauthorizing fda programs and user fees which also expire at the end of the month. live now to the floor of the u.s. senate here on c-span2. the presiding officer: the senate will come to order. the chaplain will lead the senate in prayer. the chaplain:let us pray. beautiful savior, you have been our dwelling place in all generations, and we are sustained by your stest love.

today surround our senators with the shield of your blessings as they work to keep our nation strong. lord, teach them to be obedient to your commands, doing your goodwill as your presence fills them with peace. may they be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to anger. manifest your power through their labors so that this nation will be exalted by righteousness. may your angels guard us in all our ways. we pray in your mighty 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, september 6, 2022. to the senate: under the provisions of rule 1, paragraph 3, of the standing rules of the senate, i hereby appoint the honorable christophr murphy, a senator from the state of connecticut, 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 and resume consideration of the following nomination which the clerk will report. the clerk: nomination, the judiciary. john z. lee of illinois to be united states circuit judge for the seventh circuit.

will see the queen and the torch will be passed to a new conservative leader. he will be handed over to what unexpectedly turned out to be a the people who got brexit done and delivered the fastest

vaccine rollout never forget, 17% of the entire population go to those within six months faster than any comparable country, that's government, this conservative government. people who organize early supplies of weapons to ukrainian armed forces actions that may very well changed the course of the european war. because of the speed and urgency of what you did, everybody involved to get this economy moving again despite the opposition and naysayers, we have and will continue to have economic strength to give people the cash they need to get through the energy crisis caused by putin's fishers war.

i know compassionate conservative government will do everything we can to get people through the crisis and this country will endure and we will when and if putin thinks he can succeed by blackmailing or bullying which people that he's deluded. the reason we will have the funds now and in the future is because we understand bottle symmetry between government action and free market capitalists private sector enterprise. we will bring on huge commitments making street saver, neighborhood crime down 38% in the last three years. 13790 more police on the streets, putting more and we will have 2000 more by the end of the decade and 40 more hospitals by the end -- 50000 by the end of this president i should say.

record funding put into our schools and teachers pay giving everybody over 18 lifetime skills guarantee to keep on scaling throughout their life. three new rail lines three including the colossal road programs. the rollout of broadband, up over the last three years since you were kind enough to elect me from 7% of our country to 70% today and we are providing short and long-term solutions for energy needs and not just our own domestic hydrocarbons but going up by 2030 to 50 gigawatts of wind power, half this country's energy needs from offshore winds alone. new nuclear reactor every year. looking at what's happening in this country, the changes taking

place, that's why private sector investments, more capitol investment china itself. to companies striking here uk but france, germany and israel combined and as result unemployment is at the office, down for those that i have not seen since i was about ten years old. [applause] on the subject of future careers, let me say i'm not like one of those fulfilled its unction and i will now gently reenter splashing down invisibly in some remote corner of the pacific. [laughter] like nettie, i am returning to my class and offered this government nothing but the most

fervent support. this is a tough time for the economy, a tough time families up and down the country. we can and will get through it, stronger the other side but i say to my fellow conservatives it's time for politics to be overcome a time for us to get behind the trust and her team and her program and deliver to the people of this country because that's of this people in this country want and need and what they deserve. i'm proud to have discharged the promises i made to my party when you were kind enough to choose me, winning the biggest majority since 1987, the biggest share of the vote since 1979 delivery brexit, delivering a festival including social care, reforming

social care helping people of another country ensuring written is once again standing tall in the world speaking with clarity and authority from ukraine, packed with america and australia because we are one whole and entire united kingdom, thursday from a security and armed forces and globally admired. i believe our union is so strong that those who want to break as a they will keep trying but never succeed. the key to everybody, thank you to all of you and government -- thank you everybody who has helped me in my family the last three years including dylan the dog and i say to my party, dylan and larry can put behind them their occasional difficulties

the token the conservative party. above all, thanks to you and the british people for giving me the chance to serve. all of you who work tirelessly together, to be covid and put us where we are today. together we laid the foundations that will stand the test of time for the take back control of loss or putting in vital new infrastructure. great masonry in which we will continue to build together paving the path of prosperity now and future generations and i will support this every step of the way. thank you all very much, goodbye. thank you. [applause]

[applause] [inaudible conversations] [applause]

should. [applause] [applause]

work. >> your wanting to talk about what's ahead in the fall for congress but i want to start on midterms elections went into the summer for the democrats, inflation, gas prices in the president's approval rating in the tank.

the president's favorability ratings as you think it's less likely alleged labor in terms of the house in the election? >> you have to think that things are getting better for democrats. really the last year starting with the u.s. withdrawal in afghanistan, that was a spiral for the president and his party that lasted until a month ago, baby infant formula, he mentioned in formula hitting record highs and gas prices in all of this but they have had a few winds and they have momentum. they one special couple of elections. i think it makes a difference more in the senate and the house, the house republicans have said we can't be overconfident but history does favor republicans running the house but the sun is a different story. republicans are already leaning

each other, mitch mcconnell and donald trump going ahead like they have the last year, tension between rick scott who heads the campaign committee and mitch mcconnell whose openly said the candidate may not be the best so they have been struggling and republicans because of speech in the senate, they have to run the table, they have to win key phrases and most of them if not all of them to take back the senate. interest times. pretty cut and dry, i thought three months ago was gone, of the republic and surrendered gone and that is a different story. >> the elections, always this time of congress, things they have to get done and the things they want to get done. particularly in the house and senate to get done before the midterm election.

>> i think some of the pressure was relieved when they passed the inflation production act and the messages have begun and they were supposed. anyway, i do think they want to protect gay marriage in the wake of this supreme court decision. abortion, that's something connected to 60? they support that legislation? what remains to be seen is that would be voting on it but i do -- they do want to vote on the. there's legislation that would change after the january 6 ride, how the electoral camp is done to clarify the vice president cannot overturn presidential elections. that's the support of some democrats and replicants but it comes down to senate floor time. the house can move multiple

bills in the senate can do only one or two things and they are focusing on nominations both in committee and on the court, they take time and why are they focusing on it? they want to give president biden and his team but also they don't nomination will be difficult if mitch mcconnell is the majority leader, they want to get as many nominations as they can before the election as a can and that's why they haven't scheduled the senate could be back for two weeks in october, he could change his mind on that because usually october all members are home campaign in the senate not every editor is up so they could come back but you are right, the most important thing is the most pass legislation and funding the government by october 1 and the question is, what and that will? that's the question.

>> what potential landline or that could grind to a halt? >> i think the first one is permitting more form this is a bill that looked to be promised to joe manchin supporting inflation reduction this is not supported by environmentalists and certainly the key committee chair on the environment in the house has said he wants to block it and the act is in law permitting bill which he opposes is not in the it has to be a problem because progressives could band together and potentially vote it down so it's a problem for leadership. i think it's in anyone's interest? no, not for either side of the aisle to have a shutdown but there will be drama until they get that bill back. >> calls and comments, the hilt

is with us until 10:00 eastern. 2-027-488-0014 republicans. (202)748-8002 for independence. what's ahead for the january 6 committee x. >> they want at least another hearing. i don't believe they've announced when that will be. this is interesting because before august recess, there were suggestions from members on the panel that they would be wrapped up by the august recess but they have had new witnesses apparently, new information come to light so i think they will at least have one more, lucy prime time again but that investigation really has to wrap up and will at the end of this congress and certainly if replicants have expected, they are favored to win the house this panel will not exist so

they know that and that's why they look to wrap up their work in a final report and we seen interesting tension between the january 6 committee and department of justice the big question of course is with the department of justice invite president trump and others in his orbit? the generally six m -- mr. schumer: mr. president, and i'd like to welcome you and all of my colleagues back from the august work period. i hope everyone had the chance to travel across their states, meet with their constituents, listen to their concerns, and share all the major accomplishments the senate's secured over the last few months. indeed, the senate gavels back into session after a season of immense productivity. when democrats assumed the majority in 2021, i promised we would leave no stone unturned in tarkling the biggest challenges facing our country. 20 months later, democrats have delivered on our promises.

we promised to lower costs for the american people in the wake of crippling inflation. so we passed the inflation reduction act to reduce energy costs, reduce health care costs, expand tax breaks for working and middle americans. we also promised to take on big pharma, so we passed historic legislation to lower insulin costs for seniors on medicare, cap out-of-pocket expenses and empower medicare to negotiate drug prices. this for the first time ever. long sought after by many congresses, accomplished by this one. we promised to take on entrenched oil interest and get tough on climate change and so we passed t -- thanks to our wo, americans will see their energy bills go down, their savings go up, all while we created millions of new, good-paying

jobs and finally dealt with climate change in a very significant and real way. we also promised to bring manufacturing jobs back to america and get tough on adversaries like the chinese communist party. so we passed the chips and science act, the largest investment in manufacturing jobs in science research since the aftermath of world war ii. and, of course, we promised to take on the n.r.a., as you well know, mr. president, and protect our kids from gun violence, so we passed the first gun safety bill since the brady law 30 years ago, which i was proud to author when i was a member of congress. now, none of these accomplishments were easy. they demanded immense patience and persistence above all, but for anyone who thought washington was broken and couldn't do big things, this democratic majority has shown that real change is possible and the results speak for

themselves. jobs across the country remain up. americans are going back to work. our supply chains are healing, in fact, freight rates on ocean trade channels have dropped by 60% since january and as gas prices continue their two-month drop, we're seeing evidence that inflation might be starting to ease up. of course the work isn't done. as we begin this short work period, we have several high priority items that demand our immediate attention. before this work period concludes, the senate must come together to pass a continuing resolution to extend government funding beyond the september 30 deadline. last week the administration sent us a request for a number of funding items they'd like us to work on related to ukraine, pandemic relief and other items. this process needs to be bipartisan. democrats are going to work in good faith to avoid even a hint

of a shutdown and as my expectation that our republican colleagues will do the same. we'll also work this month to confirm even more of president biden's judicial nominees. later -- later today, the senate is scheduled to vote to advance the nomination of judge john lee to serve as circuit court judge for the seventh circuit. if confirmed, judge lee would make history as the fist asian american judge to sit on the seventh circuit joining the proud company of other biden nominees who are making our courts fairer and more representative of our great country. a graduate of harvard and harvard law school, judge lee was unanimously confirmed by this chamber a decade ago to serve as a district judge. in his time on the bench, he has proaive himself to be im -- proven himself to be impartial and fair-minded and committed to the rule of law. judge lee will be the first of many judicial nominees we will advance this month and beyond

because now more than ever the senate must make judicial confirmations a top priority. we have a lot of work to do in the senate to keep improving the lives of the american people so in the coming weeks let us continue with the same vigor, same determination, the same persistence that has made this one of the most productive senate sessions the senate has seen in a long, long time. finally, i want to say a few words on another monumental development that happened over the august recess, student debt cancellation. for the past two years i repeatedly stated with a simple flick of a pen president biden could cancel student debt. everywhere i go, student debt is front of mine for many noorkers as well as -- noorkers shall --

new yorkers, many don't have student debt, but for those who do, it's deep. this is an issue that really bothers them and motivates them to have to bake up -- wake up in the middlele of the -- middle of the night and say, how am i going to make that $400 payment? president biden gave tens of millions of americans a new lease on life by canceling significant amounts of student debt. to president biden, i say thank you, thank you for listening to our calls, thank you for taking action. the president's decision will make it easier for millions of americans to finely pursue their own -- finally pursue that american dream whether it is buying a home or saving for retirement. it will help close the racial wealth gap that holds far too many americans back, and most of all it's going to make our

economy stronger. now over the past few weeks we've heard a lot of fake outrage from republicans saying that canceling student debt is nothing more than a giveaway to wealthy americans, the same republicans who made tax cuts for the ultra rich their number one appropriate. here's the truth, i say to my republican colleagues. among borrowers no longer in school, 90% of those loans canceled will go to those making less than $75,000 a year, the opposite of the tax cuts that the republicans passed where the vast majority of money went to the top 1%. among borrowers no longer in school, nearly 90% will go to those earning less than $75,000

a year. a majority of student loans are held by people whose family have zero net ellsworth a majority -- net ellsworth that's why the that's why the greatest help will go to those with the greatest need, pell grant recipients, for those families making under $60,000 a year will have their debt canceled. canceling student debt will lift up americans from all walks of life, students of color, poor americans, working and middle-class families struggling to get to the middle class or stay there. again, i thank president biden for taking action and i also want to thank champions like senator warren, who has been such a great partner in this activity, senator warnock, representative pressley who

joined with me in calling for the president to take this step. they have all been great partners in the effort and i'm glad our efforts finally began to pay off. i yield the floor and note the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. quorum call:

>> good morning, everybody. thanks for joining us, i'm the white house covid-19 response coordinator. today i'm joined by secretary javier beer is -- becerra. in addition to providing our perspective on the tate of the pandemic, we are going to focus

today on a major milestone. a major milestone we marked heading into the labor day weekend. the fda authorized and the cdc recommended new, updated covid-19 vaccines for all americans 12 and above. this makes us, the united states, the first nation with new vaccines that match the version of omicron variant that is currently dominant. dominant both here in the u.s. and around the world. for the first time since december of 2020, these vaccines, our vaccines have caught up with the virus, and as secretary becerra and i will discuss,s the biden administration has been preparing for this moment many close partnership with state and local health departments, with pharmacies and community health centers, rural health clinics, physicians and other health care providers. this is a moment when people can keep themselves healthy and safe as they think about the road ahead.

so we have worked extremely hard to make sure we have ample supply of these new, updated vaccines available for the american people, and these vaccines will continue to remain free. now, we have been working over weekend to get these vaccines out to tens of thousands of convenient, trust thered locations around the country, and before we get into talking more about the vaccines, the vaccination program, let me first turn to dr. tony fauci, everybody knows dr. fauci, to discuss the importance of this milestone. dr. fauci? >> thank you very much, doctor. i'd like to take the next few to walk through certain aspects of where we are now ctio. mr. mcconnell: it's been just over a month since relentless rains and major flooding devastated eastern kentucky. disaster took homes, businesses, and at least 39 lives. only a few months after

tornadoes had caused widespread damage in the western part of our state, catastrophe struck our commonwealth one more time. i traveled back to eastern kentucky multiple times during the august state work period to survey damage, meet with survivors and lend a help -- any help i could. what i saw were scenes of absolute destruction. waterlogged houses, swollen creeks, washed out roads. i heard directly from survivors heard showldered -- shouldered burdens, trying to rebuild their lives. agencies report that thousands of homes were damaged and destroyed in the flooding, many of those affected la flood

insurance. heroism shined through. the local officials i met with reserved special -- deserve special praise for kentucky's national guard. they performed daring rescues and to distribute critical supplies to stranded residents. kentuckians came to the aid of their neighbors and friends sometimes in trucks, sometimes on horseback or jet skis. help poured in from around our state and beyond both from private charities and trained emergency responders. but of course there's still a tremendous need for help. eastern kentucky has notoriously rugged terrain and preexisting communication issues before the

floods. this has made it uniquely chal exing already -- chal exing already and this is only the beginning. though fema is playing a critical role in eastern kentucky's recovery, they have grave reserves about shortcomings in the federal response. the convoluted application process has led those without the aid they need often due to simple clerical errors, i heard this from countless kentuckians i met. i called fema administrator to say that her agency needed to step up. i reviewed the joint state and federal response first hand. and i convenienced leaders from our hardest hit counties state legislatures and federal response agency so we have clear

lines of communication moving forward. i hope and expect aid will begin to flow more smoothly to eastern kentucky soon and i will continue to work around the clock here in washington to try to help make that happen. and i promise to keep standing strong by eastern kentucky's side as our immediate efforts involve into rebuilding. a a very long road to recovery lies before us. but eastern kentucky will come back stronger than ever. now on another matter, mr. president, american families are hurting and they're very clearly telling anybody who will listen to them what our priorities ought to be. americans' number one concern by a mile is the crushing inflation that democrats spent us into. the share americans who name inflation as our most urgent problem has almost tripled.

policies have working people making an inflation tax of more than 13% on top of their grocery bills, 15% extra on their electric bills, and on and on. down the list of everything that families need to just stay afloat. as a result, democrats have presided over plummeting real wages for american workers. the average american worker has gotten a raise on paper but their bigger paycheck buys them less than their smaller paycheck bought them this time last year. now this wasn't inevitable. inflation did not have to be nearly as bad. democrats chose to spend so recklessly. democrats chose to wage this economic warfare against the middle class, against their savings, against their financial stability, against the purchasing power and the lifestyles that workers and

parents sacrifice literally for years to build up. americans also are deeply concerned about the erosion of law and order on our streets and our cities, on our borders, and across our country. when you combine together crime and immigration, the issue of law and order ranks as the people's clear number two concern, second only to inflation. last year the national murder rate reached its highest level in 25 years. cities across the country are contending with a historic surge in carjackings. my hometown of louisville is averaging auto theft every two and a half hours. president biden's failed border policies have customs and border protection encountering 200 percent more fentanyl and apprehending the most illegal immigrants they've seen in more

than 20 years. so there's no mystery about the crisis facing our country. the american people know it needs to be addressed. republicans know what needs to be addressed. but unfortunately the democrats control the senate, the house, and the white house are still refusing to get with the pro program. democrats' top priority for the entire year was the multihundred billion dollar reckless taxing and spending spree they rammed through in august. americans may want their leaders to cut inflation, fight crime and drugs and secure the border but democrats just spent hups of billions of dollars of the people's money doing precisely none of that. instead our big spending colleagues treated themselves to 87,000 new irs agents, job-killing tax hikes and the same kind of liberal energy

policies that now have california officials warning about rolling blackouts and begging people not to charge up their electric cars. oh, oh, and our democratic colleagues have given no indication that cutting inflation, fighting crime or securing the border will be on the senate's agenda for september either. when our people are hurting this badly and speaking this clearly, it takes a willful choice, a choice for democrats to ignore them. stable prices, safe streets, reliable energy, and a secure border, four of the most basic duties that any government owes its people. four things democrats have proven they cannot deliver.

a senator: mr. president. the presiding officer: the senator from illinois. mr. durbin: good news to report to my colleague from the commonwealth of kentucky. a gallon of gasoline on the way to the airport this morning, $3.46 a gallon. i wish it were lower. but we've made progress from the days when it was over $5. we're moving in the right direction. and incidentally, this president has created more jobs than any president in a similar period in the history of the united states. do we have challenges? you bet we do. with you to -- but to write this administration off as unproductive -- we came out of this pandemic when we did we faced the problems that nations around the world were facing. literally could we deal with inflation. demand was pent up and it overwhelmed the services and goods that were available and inflation started to rise. it took its toll and still does on american families.

but to ignore what we've been able to do is to really turn our backs on reality. what about that rescue plan, the american rescue plan? i remember it. and i remember there wasn't a single republican voting for it. almost 20% of the american rescue plan went to state and local governments to deal with issues like crime to make safer streets and safer neighborhoods for americans across the board. that's the kind of money well spent yet the republicans wouldn't give us a single vote. you heard the senator from kentucky deriding it as a waste of billions of dollars. i found out firsthand when i went back in my state over the august recess, i didn't just confine myself to the blue areas of the state and there are big ones, big part of our state. i'm happy to visit there. i went to some of the redder sections of our state, the areas that voted for donald trump in the last election over joe

biden. i don't do particularly well there either. but i wanted to visit with them and i felt that there were things that i needed to learn about what families and communities were facing. i went to herron, illinois, the southern part of my state where my family has its roots. i went to the southern illinois health care which is a major health care consortium serving most of downstate illinois, rural small-town america struggling with providing professional medical care but doing a fine job. we have something called congressionally directed spending now. used to be known as earmarks. i'm unapologetic about it. i believe that if you make a public disclosure of these earmarks, justify them, taxpayers understand this is federal money being brought home from washington to their states and communities where it's needed. so i went to herron, illinois where we were able to announce an earmark of a million dollars which is going to provide for about half the cost of a new

physical rehab facility, critically important. i met some interesting people there. i met a little fellow four years old, a victim of cerebral palsy. his name is maverick. maverick had a big smile on his face, was there at the rehab center to introduce me to the nurse that's been working with him. strong, courageous little fella, the pride of his family the kind of courage he's shing now he has a rehab facility that is world class in his region, in his neighborhood, the alternative? drive to st. louis. you hear that over and over again in that part of the state. we just don't have it here. we have to drive to st. louis. when it comes to rehab services for maverick, kids like him and adults as well, they now have a fighting chance to get something local. let me add another fella there by the name of riley baird. he's a high school student and an amazing kid himself.

he's a boy scout. i used to be a boy scout a long, long time ago. he had that sash with all the merit badges on it. i think i had five of them when i finally quit. he must have had 50. maybe a hundred. he had them all on his way and past as an eagle scout. he decided to make that rehab clinic his project. he and his family built some toys that the kids are using there. and he was there to accept the recognition and praise he deserved. he has a brother named corbin, twin brother named corbin, also an eagle scout who picked a different charity to provide help to. i just want to say for anybody who is despondent about the future of this country, you ought to meet corbin and riley baird. those two young men are going to be leaders i'm sure in their community and beyond. it reminded me, too, we ought to take a look at the positive things that are coming about. this notion of the reconciliation bill not serving america is ignoring the objection.

how many of us in the senate, republicans and democrats, have had press conferences, put out campaign ads talking about the cost of prescription drugs? guess what? we finally did something about it. after all these years and all these headlines and all these brochures and all these ads, we finally did something. the reconciliation bill which passed the united states senate without a single republican vote, without one will finally address the cost of prescription drugs for people on medicare. and it starts reaching beyond that. to say the pharmaceutical industry has to be responsible, they've never been able to defend or explain why the same drugs, exactly the same drugs made in america are charmed in canada -- charged in canada for a fraction of what people have to pay in this country. why americans have to go without while in other countries there are discounts that allow families to afford the drugs they need to be healthy and to live. well, we've done something about it. we passed a bill that will make

a difference. and when we talk about issues like electricity, i'm going to brag a little bit here. my wife and i decided two or three weeks ago to start producing electricity. we bought solar panels for our roof in springfield, illinois. we're not the first family to have them but we're one of the few. i predict that's going to change in a hurry. why? because in that reconciliation bill we started taking an honest look at what it takes to reduce climate change and to give our kids a planet they can live on. it means that each of us has to change our lifestyles some. well, i left this morning a little bit of sunshine in springfield, illinois, and it means i'm producing electricity with the local utility. i'll try to do even more. my wife and i are devoted to showing at least setting an example in this region, in this area. the bill we passed in reconciliation is going to create incentives for people to put solar panels on their homes, to buy heat pumps, electric water heaters, things will

reduce the use of fossil fuels and instead move us toward a more electric economy. and, yes, automobiles are headed in that direction, too. it didn't take a federal mandate. the major car producers are headed that way whether we like it or not. they understand where we need to go as a country and where the consumers are headed. and i think that's a good indication as well. so, mr. president, when i hear the republican leader come to the floor and say things are so awful, i don't doubt that many families are struggling and we should be sensitive and mindful of that every single day. but a lot of good things are happening, too. the employment figures are encouraging. our move toward dealing with climate change is encouraging as well. the fact the pharmaceutical companies are going to be held responsible. and the fact that corporations that had a net profit of a billion dollars or more -- listen to that closely -- net profit of a billion dollars or more in the last three years are finally going to have to pay

some federal income taxes. americans are used to paying their fair share of taxes. why are these corporations making over a billion dollars in net profits each year and not paying a penny? that's going to change and it's in the bill, too. i know it's a bone in the throat of my republican colleagues but it's only fair. this week we return after a four-week recess. i was traveling around my state listening to ideas and concerns and you know what i heard over and over again? and this is overwhelming, particularly in the area of health care but not exclusively. we just don't have enough people to fill the vacancies and jobs in america. we have roughly 11 million vacancies and five million people unemployed. that's a reality. and when it comes to health care workers, it's a reality that means the cost of medical care is going up. if you can't find a local nurse to go on staff, on payroll, and be with you for a while and you have to rely on contract nurse, those that come and go, they

have all the skill and training, but they're looking for a pretty big paycheck, sometimes three times what the regular nurses are receiving. that drives up the cost of health care. and hospitals and clinics are desperate for these nurses to be there. i found all across my state from the city of chicago to the smallest town down state, this is a challenge that we face and need to do something about. but people over and over again despite what we saw in many of the reports on television really do still love this country. they're concerned about the divisions we see every single day. america has always been a can-donation. faith in the future and our ability to solve our problems create a better future has always been part of the american dna. it's hard to find common ground on scorched earth. as president lincoln warned us long ago, a house divided against itself cannot stand. a few years later as the civil war ended and victory was in

sight, president lincoln pleaded just outside this room in his inauguration with the people of the north and the south and he said we are not enemies but friends. we must not be enemies. he said that after the deadliest war that america ever experienced. he knew that the work of rebuilding that battered nation and creating a better future could only be achieved if we were united -- the united states of america. this week marks the 21st anniversary of the september 11 terrorist attack on america. i'll never forget that day as long as i live. i know, mr. president, you won't forget it either, because it affected your state and many of the people that live there. those who are old enough to remember not just the shock and grief of that day will also remember the intense sense of national unity that sustained us during the terrible days and weeks that followed.

we lost so much but we found a common purpose. we understood that we are one nation, one people with one destiny. we rise or we fall together. as the senate returns to the work of legislating, i hope that we will remember lincoln's plea that we must not be enemies. politics is not war; it is where we resolve our differences without war in a democracy. people in illinois are concerned about our state of the economy. we're worried about inflation. i understand that. they're also feeling something many haven't felt for a while -- and that's hope. why? because of results. inflation is in fact slowing. gas prices are falling. $3.46 a gallon. i would have grabbed that a few weeks ago. i hope we can go lower. gas is down by more than $1.20 a gallon since the start of the summer. wages are up.

people are back at work. we now have more than recovered all the jobs our economy lost in the pandemic. our economy has added more than 10 million new jobs, including 600,000 manufacturing jobs under president biden. we're investing in infrastructure. i have to remind myself over and over again, don't complain if construction on highways just slowed you down. you voted for it, senator. and i'd vote for it again. president biden said yesterday, labor day, in one of his speeches that when we make this investment in infrastructure, a record-breaking, historic amount, we'll have the most modern infrastructure in the world. now, that's what a nation that's prepared to compete does. we passed the chips act to preserve america's global leadership in research and innovation and to produce semiconductors and the jobs and industries of the future in america, not in china. as the president also said yesterday, why wouldn't it be in

america? we invented the chip. shouldn't we be leading the world still? well, with the passage of the chips legislation and a strong, bipartisan vote on the floor, we are going to reclaim that lead. weed the inflation -- we passed the inflation reduction act. it will reduce inflationary pressure by cutting energy costs now and in the future. it also reduced the cost of prescription drugs. oh, one footnote that's well worth mentioning -- the federal deficit will shrink by $1.7 trillion this year. all of the things that i've mentioned, all of the criticism we hear from the other side of the aisle and the deficit is going down. nearly all these economic prosperity proposals were passed with democratic votes only. chips was an exception, infrastructure an exception. but the american rescue plan was

a strictly democratic vote. it is our hope that our republican colleagues will join us and help us get back to fighting the common challenges facing our nation. i'd like to speak about one of my highest priorities as chair of the senate judiciary committee -- the confirmation of highly qualified judges. this is one of the great shared successes of president biden and the senate democrats and republicans who have stood with us on some key votes. as of today, a the senate has confirmed 76 judges to lifetime positions during this is 1 -- during this 117th congress. that figure includes judge ketanji brown jackson, the first black woman to serve on the united states supreme court. i have been in politics most of my adult life. i did not appreciate the impact that the selection of this african american woman would have on the people i represent.

some of the toughest, hardest-bargaining african american women that i know in politics have come up to me and in a moment broken down in tears to thank me for president biden's leadership and the fact that the senate approved this new justice. it means that much to them. her historic confirmation is a crowning achievement in our efforts to build a system of justice that works on behalf of every american. outside of the supreme court, as i mentioned, the senate has confirmed an impressive number of federal judges. 18 circuit court nominees, 57 district court numbers. why is that important? because a saturday majority of cases -- because a vast majority of cases don't make it to the supreme court. look at the most recent ruling yesterday in terms of the judge in florida and the special master that's been appointed for the records that were renotified from mar-a-lago. this judge made a critical and

historic decision. the judges we're approving are in the same position to do that. with each one of the judges we've confirmed, the american people can trust that they will apply the law to the facts, poll the precedent and defend the rule of law. now, these 76 judicial appointments were more than a statistic. with each confirmation, the senate has taken a crucial step toward ensuring diverse any our federal judiciary. president biden, senate democrats have made it a priority to elevate judicial nominees from demographically and professionally diverse backgrounds. many times republican senators have joined us in this credit and i want it -- in this effort and i want to give them credit where it is due. of the 18 circuit judges confirmed by the senate democrats, 14 are women and 13 are people of color. and of the 57 district judges we confirmed, 42 of the 57 are women and many represent

historic firsts. the first muslim american article 3 judge to the first latina article 3 judge in the state of illinois. we've confirmed a calendar number of nominees are experience serving not only as prosecutors but also as public defenders, voting rights experts, civil rights attorneys. for too long the perspectives that they represent have not been seen on our benches in federal courts. thanks to president biden's leadership and the work of the senate democrats, the federal judiciary now includes many dedicated public servant who have help bring balance to our nation's courts. some of the votes, the key votes, came from a handful of republican senators who have looked at these nominees in an honest fashion. every one of these jurists is highly qualified and ready to serve. that's a welcome shift from the previous administration which often advanced nominees who simply checked the box federalist society. thankfully the judge taking the

bench under president biden are impartial and evenhanded. all of them have and will continue to administer equal justice under the law. later today we will add i hope one more name to this impressive roster. the senate will vote on the nomination of judge john lee, elected -- who was selected for the illinois seat on the seventh circuit. if confirmed, judge lee will be the first asian american judge ever to serve on the seventh circuit. his confirmation will mark yet another stride toward building a judiciary that reflects the diversity of our nation. judge lee was born to korean parents in germany. his father was a coal miner. his mother was a nurse. he arrived in america at the age of four, settled with his family in a one-bedroom apartment in chicago. it wasn't easy starting off in a new land but judge lee said he found the support of a nurturing class of teachers. he excelled in school, graduated

magna cum laude from harvard college, cum laude from harvard law school. he began his legal career as a trial attorney in the environment and natural resources division at the justice department before working in private practice in chicago. his practice included antitrust and intellectual property n2011 president biden ned judge lee to be a district judge in the northern district of illinois. when he was confirmed in 2012 by voice vote is he became the first korean american to serve as an article 3 judge in illinois. since joining the bench, he had a written hundreds of opinions, presided is over 35 trials that went to verdict order judgment. during his time on the bench, he has always applied the law to the facts before him in an evenhanded and fair fashion. given his impeccable record is and impressive credentials it,

it is no surprise that the aba has rated him unanimously well-wallified. he has the strong support of myself and senator duckworth. i urge my colleagues to join us. i want to close by emphasizing this -- our work is not finished by a long shot. judge lee is one of the ten circuit court nominees awaiting action by the full senate, and many more are still moving through the committee. each one of these public servants will bring much-needed professional and demographic diversity. the judges being confirmed by this senate will ensure that the rule of law aplace to every single one of us -- applies to every single one of us. they will work to uphold equal justice for all. mr. president, i yield the floor. i suggest the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. quorum call:

in addition to providing our spectacle in the pandemic, we are going to focus on a major milestone.

fda authorized and cdc recommended new updated covid vaccines for all americans 12 and above. this makes the united states the first nation with new vaccines that matched the version of the omicron. dominic here in the u.s. and around the world. for the first time since december 2020, these vaccines, our vaccines have come up with the virus and secretary and i will discuss biden administration has been preparing for this close partnership with state and local health departments, pharmacy and community health centers and rural health clinics, physicians and other healthcare providers. this is a moment when people can keep themselves healthy and safe as they think about the road ahead. we have worked hard to make sure we have supply available for the

american people and the vaccines will continue to remain. we have been working over the weekend to get the vaccines out to tens of thousands interested locations around the country before we get into talking about the vaccines and programs, for me to to doctor fauci to discuss. doctor fauci. >> thank you very much. like to take a few minutes to look through certain aspects of where we are with the covid vaccinations. it's becoming increasingly clear looking forward to the covid pandemic in the absence of dramatically distant variant, we like we are moving toward the past of vaccination cadence similar to that of the annual influenza vaccine with annual updated covid shots matched to

the currently circulated strains for most of the population. however, some particularly notable groups may continue to need more frequent vaccination against covid. lead us review what we know about the safety and efficacy of an rna covid vaccines as well as benefits we expect from the recently updated vaccine. first, safety. 600 million doses of mrna doses have been administered in the u.s. alone with billions given to people globally through robust safety monitoring systems, we have an extensive body of safety data, good or better than we have for any prior vaccine. in addition in clinical trials more than 1700 people have received mrna vaccines with no

additional safety concern. regarding effectiveness data from the pivotal covid mrna efficacy trials in 2020 showed a remarkable monday for the 95% efficacy against symptomatic disease. we later learned through real-world evidence vaccine production, particularly against infection wanes over time but that additional doses enhance protection, particularly against severe disease leading to hospitalization or death. now, what should we expect from recently updated vaccines? data from pfizer and magenta have shown vaccines have sequences from both the original kobe one virus and omicron ba1 variant induced higher titers

against omicron and the original vaccine. these vaccines induce higher antibody titers against all stars virus in the original vaccine. in addition, the vaccines induce even higher levels of neutralizing antibodies and individuals who recovered from covid-19. the vaccines containing the a five sequences will offer currently circulating strains than the original vaccine although it's difficult to predict how much better protection will be. in conclusion we know mrna covid vaccines are safe, receiving recommended vaccine doses critical to maintain optimal

production against severe covid, particularly for the elderly and we expect updated vaccines will offer better protection against the star stars there is circulating currently. my message to you is simple, get your updated shot as soon as you are eligible to protect yourself, your family and your community against covid-19 this winter. i certainly will do so. back to you. >> thank you, doctor fauci. our to pick up where tony hopped off. for the last two years the virus has continued evolving while our vaccines have stayed the same. now we have a vaccines that matches the dominant strain. by the way, let me be clear. achieving this was no small feat but what it means is this.

it's reasonable to expect based on what we know about immunology and science of the virus these new vaccines will provide better protection against infection, better protection against admission and ongoing better protection against serious illness. important as doctor fauci said, this marks a significant progress in terms of our ability to protect people and manage the virus moving forward. the presiding officer: the senator from texas. mr. cornyn: i'd i ask unanimous consent that the quorum call be dispensed with. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. cornyn: here we are back in the nation's capital after having the opportunity to spend a few weeks back home. while it's still hot in texas this time of year, so it's nice to get a little bit of respite back here, we certainly have a lot of work cut out for us. but it's always helpful to me to

sort of compare what people are focused on here in washington, d.c., with what folks back home care about the most. it's actually the best way to get some feedback on how we can do our jobs more effectively representing the people we represent. in my case, the 29 million people that call texas home. we also -- people are not shy about expressing their views on what we've done and even offering some input on things that we are considering doing. for example, in corpus christi, on the gulf coast of texas, i spoke with industry at the port of corpus christi about the untapped potential of hydrogen energy. in round rock, the south side of austin, i sat down with a number of sexual assault survivors, prosecutors and medical parole fetionals to --

professionals to talk about nursing assault examiners to make sure people who are not only sexually assaulted are compassionately cared for, but also that the evidence that's necessary to convict their assailant is collected in a way that's admissible in court. in austin, i met with the texas association of counties. we have 254 counties in texas. some of them like loving county, has more cattle than people, but it's great to be able to connect with all the elected representatives at the local level of our counties in one place. but to hear what's on their mind, and certainly everything from broadband development, particularly in the rural parts of our state, and disaster relief for places like dallas which received 13 inches of rain in one day and massive flooding.

on the rio grande valley, close to the border and pharr, i got a chance to see how their local police department is partnering with local mental health providers to respond to individuals who commit offenses maybe because they are going through a mental health crisis, how to train the officers to address those in a way that don't escalate that crisis and potentially cause harm to them as well as the individual that is causing, or is experiencing that crisis. but it really is impressive to see a relatively small town like pharr, texas, leading the way when it comes to compassionate and effectively policing and providing our law enforcement officials who are now necessarily trained mental health workers the additional resources and training they need in order to respond effectively to those situations.

those are just a few examples of the sorts of folks i got to catch up with over the last few weeks, and i'm obviously always grateful for those who share their input and ideas with me. those conversations and that input is vital to our work here in the senate because they shed light on the problems our neighbors and our communities are facing, which isn't necessarily the coin of the realm here in washington, d.c., where politics and spin infuses everything. for example, folks were almost universally, particularly small business folks told me about the strain of a labor shortage on their businesses. if you go to a restaurant in texas, that may be they're operating on fewer hours or fewer tables because they can't get this workforce they need to come back and to help work at

those places. they are obviously all very concerned about the impact of the spending that we've been doing here in washington, d.c., some necessary, some unnecessary, in my opinion, and its impact on inflation and on family budgets, where they've seen their standard of living reduced because of this inflationary pressures on almost everything from gasoline to groceries to housing, you name it. they're also very concerned about high energy prices. i know there's been some talk about the reduction in price of gasoline. that's primarily a feature of reduced demand because, frankly, people have to make choices about how to spend the money they would ordinarily put in the tank and how to do it selectively, whether to go on a family vacation or to stay at

home. it certainly hasn't been because of any increase in supply as a result of our domestic energy policies by the biden administration. and then i heard a lot about people's concern about crime, and particularly the fentanyl crisis that we're experiencing here in america. 108,000 americans died of drug overdoses last year alone, about 50% of those were from fentanyl, the precursor of which mainly come from asia, namely china, to mexico and across the southern border. and then, of course, the ongoing biden border crisis as a result of the open border policies of the biden administration. 2.3 million migrants have been encountered along the border just since president biden has taken office, because of the

catch and release policies associated with asylum seekers, even those people who ultimately will not be able to qualify for asylum, which is roughly 85% to 90% of the people who claim it, will have melted into the great american landscape, maybe given a notice to appear for a future court hearing. but because of the backlog on immigration cases at immigration courts, we're talking years down the line. but these are just some of the things that i'm hearing from my constituents about, and these are chronic problems that, frankly, they do not see an appropriate and adequate response coming from washington to address the very real impact on their everyday lives. what they can afford to buy at the grocery store, how safe their communities are, whether they feel safe walking around their neighborhood or sending their children out to play, whether the family will travel to see relatives for the

holidays, or whether they'll have to stay home in order to save money to put food on the table, those are not the problems that our democratic colleagues or the majority here in the senate seems to be focused on like a laser. when i travel to texas from washington, it often feels like i'm visiting a parallel universe. you get here, and things don't seem that odd at first, but the scenery is different but the same problems texans talk about are on display. you read headlines about the border crisis, you see that the mayor of washington, d.c., is complaining and claiming a humanitarian crisis because although it claims to be a sanctuary city when governor abbott or governor ducey from arizona provided transportation to these sanctuary cities, all of a sudden the border crisis

we've been living with for a year and a half now seems very real. it's nice to see some folks in other parts of the country experiencing what my constituents in border communities have been experiencing for a long time now. together with the additional expense associated with things like deploying the national guard to back up the border patrol and customs and border protection, all at texas taxpayer expense, something that is uniquely a federal responsibility. but when the biden administration refuses to do its job, it falls to the people who live in those communities along the border and in those states to try to do the best they can. despite the fact that our democratic colleagues are reading the same headlines about crime, drug overdoses, inflation, and the border, despite the headlines here reflecting those concerns, our colleagues here in the senate

and in the white house have chosen to ignore them pretty much altogether. our friends across the aisle have controlled the senate now for a year and a half as well as the house and the white house. they have the power to set any agenda that they see fit. they don't have to ask our permission or consent. and they certainly had every opportunity to do so. but what i've noticed and what my constituents have commented on frequently is this parallel universe in washington, d.c., where democrats aren't using the power that they have to address the problems that working families are facing. they've chosen to focus on a completely different set of issues. for example, let's look at the recent reckless tax-and-spending bill. our democratic colleagues, although we have worked together constructively on bipartisan legislation, in this case decided to pass a partisan bill to spend $740 billion strictly

along partisan lines. but all this money and the tax increases that go along with it won't address the biggest problems families are facing any time soon certainly. in fact, it's likely to make the problems even worse. at a time when many people are struggling to pay for gasoline for their cars, our democratic colleagues decided to give well-to-do people who can afford $80,000 electric vehicles, a taxpayer handout of about $7,500 at the expense of working families who can't afford to buy an electric vehicle of their own at any price. this ensures that gas prices will climb even higher by reviving -- this bill will revive the old superfund tax on american energy production. it will guarantee families will

face higher electricity prices this winter by slapping a new methane tax on energy producers, and that is the climate portion of the reckless tax and spending bill. our colleagues decided that it was the smart thing to do to supersize the internal revenue service and giving it even more manpower to invariably audit middle-class america and small businesses. and then they dolled massive handouts to some of their key quincys like labor -- constituencies like labor unions, they have put price control on prescription drugs that will prevent new lifesaving cures from being discovered many i know that president biden promised time and again to never raise taxes on anyone earning less than $400,000 a year and

our democratic colleagues still claim that this bill makes good on that promise, but that's simply not consistent with the facts. it's not true. the nonpartisan joint committee on taxation has confirmed it. the j.t.c. found that taxpayers making far less than $400,000 at some point get walloped with higher taxes that means people making between $40,000 and $50,000 a year, you can read it on their website. we know that inflation is outpacing wage growth which means that workers are receiving a silent pay cut or -- or silent tax thanks to things here that are not priorities. many of the same workers will pay more in federal taxes. perhaps the most insulting part of this reckless tax and

spending bill that our democratic colleagues decided to pass unilaterally was that they chose to call it the inflation reduction act. leading economic experts say this bill won't do a thing to address inflation, certainly in the near term, in fact over the next couple of years they predict that inflation will get slightly worse. that's how things work in this parallel universe known as washington, d.c. democrats see that families are battered by inflation but they don't actually pass legislation that will help. our colleagues just want to use the plight to come up with a sympathetic title for a radical partisan bill and they're happy to stick middle-class americans with the check. the icing on the cake came a couple of weeks ago after this bill became law when president biden made an executive decision to cancel half a trillion dollars in student loans. any family knows you can't just

cancel debt. there's no magic wand that will make it disappear. every dollar borrowed will eventually have to be paid back by someone, but president biden has just shifted the burden of who that someone will be. now the middle-class taxpayers are on the hook yet once again. under president biden's proposal it doesn't matter if a person took out loans and repaid them already, in other words did what they said they would do by repaying the money that they had borrowed, whether they worked their way through school, whether they held two or three jobs or chose not to attend college at all, their tax dollars will pay for someone else's college debt. my point, mr. president, is there is a remarkable divide between what washington democrats are trying to accomplish and the problems

middle-class families are actually facing. families are struggling to put food on the table and our democratic colleagues are spending hundreds of billions of dollars on climate initiatives. this reminds me of fa few years -- of a few years ago, a social movement by the so-called yellow jack et cetera, -- jackets, working-class people who felt disenfranchised from the working elite who said they can focus on the end of the world while we worry about the end of the month. that's what average working families in texas and across the country are concerned about, how do we get to the end of the month with enough money to put food on the table and gas in the tank? workers can't afford a full tank of gas and democrats are having them subsidize electric cars for

the wealthy. democrats imposed a new tax that will send costs even higher. these policies aren't going to make life better for the middle class any time soon. they aren't going to help families or businesses that are trying to create jobs or opportunities for their communities, and it certainly isn't going to bring our economy roaring back to life. the fact of the matter is, since democrats took control of the government more than a year and a half ago, texans lives have gotten harder, not easier. inflation has skyrocketed, wages have fallen, our economy fell into a recession and the border's on fire and our colleagues, certainly the biden administration, doesn't seem to care. in fact, they seem to block out the concerns of the middle-class americans so they can pursue an ideological agenda like there's no tomorrow. when i'm home in texas, folks talk about the problems workers and families are facing every day. they don't want to send taxpayer

handouts to wealthy people buying electric vehicles or help subsidize labor unions or pay off someone else's loans. the sooner our democratic colleagues realize that, the better off we will all be, but then again, maybe it's going to take an election this november. mr. president, i yield the floor and i note the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. quorum call:

we need to get to where we have very proof vaccines, hoping to play along came a consistent

virus. that's going to require additional resources, part of what's in the request is funding for the next generation of vaccine is so critical if we ultimately get the virus behind us arming confident the biden vaccines we have right now will provide a high degree of protection but in the long run you're going to need a different name. >> just to underscore the long game, we agree, we want to get a coronavirus of the vaccine for the different cap form or better ammunition to do that. that's the long game. i believe the short came question like in the next year or so, one of the defining aspects of what we have said is

the out of left field curveball. there's nothing we can do about that except no we have vaccine that forms to allow us to quickly move to address the. let's say we don't get a real big difference over the next year, he would expect ba5 if it stays with us in the sense of the dominant work for a considerable period of time or a minor drift, the updated vaccines we are talking about likely would hold a substantial degree of protection against a sibling and change from ba five so that's what we are talking about. if we can do that at the end of each year for most of the population and underscore will be said for those with underlying conditions we may need to do more but for the bulk of the population we can look at it on a yearly basis see, are we

still close to what we are doing now? if so, good if not they may need to make the modification. >> was to a few more questions. >> and q, follow-up of the decline in cases and deaths this winter with this uptake of updated boosters, can you elaborate what level of population we need to get to achieve the unnecessary ... and what is the general outlook now that we have the boosters for the fall, which the range virus

relations projections depend on everyone doing exactly what we recommend which is which are updated covid vaccine which can avert the challenges we otherwise might anticipate. >> let me add one more thing

because it's really important builds on personal points, we think back to two years ago compared to where we are today. we have a virus out there circulating killing one hundreds of americans every day. we have all capability to prevent i believe essentially all of the deaths. people stay up-to-date on the vaccine and get treated, we can make deaths from the virus diminish. as of think of the winter ahead, many predict after two years of being largely awake because of this, we are looking at an opportunity to prevent people getting infected, sick and stressing the health care system where healthcare workers are exhausted. if people get their annual covid shot, that's the opportunity in front of us and i think we all

as americans have to altogether and protect americans fiscal and do what we can to get our healthcare system through. >> thanks for taking my question. i want to hit on this, versions of omicron have been dominant for nine months or so, can you explain in more detail for americans given the length of time, how does it make you confident heading toward the annual booster for the average healthy americans given we never know what kind of curveball we are going to get the virus and

what it can develop into? >> let me start and you could time in and feel in details here. we have watched the last nine months, we watched it evolve and how it is evolving right now. we have also seen again, taking high-risk individuals off the table for a second, if you have state up-to-date on your vaccine, your risk of getting into serious trouble is pretty low if you stay up dated on your vaccine. it gives us a lot of confidence. on the issue of the curveball, i remind people we have an annual flu vaccine, it holds us in good stead when people get in there could be some curveball pandemic flu that shows up in february,

we know that is a possibility. it's a possibility will get a curveball but it's not i think -- the plan for what we think is the most likely scenario, always watching for that usual event. if that happens, we will address it and account for it but the most likely scenario is week was the ongoing evolution off ba five the vaccine should you need to provide high production. if you want to change or edit any of that -- >> i will maybe expand a little. a little bit what i said before, if you look at the original introduction of omicron in november last year, almost a year now of omicron sub lineages, the boost we've had,

first and second boost have gone well in reconstituting immunity even against evolution of the different sub lineages of omicron. you got to put the wildcard of a way out of left field variant coming in. if that happens, all bets are off and we change but if we continue to have an evolution of what we used to call and still call adrift, not a major change but drifting along ba5 step lineage from i believe that will fit in well with what we are talking about, the likelihood will get into a cadence on a yearly basis of most people will be able to cover doctor as the dominant variant. >> if i might add one of the reasons for this vaccine is not just because it keeps protection of the original strain and

because it improves protection against the ba five variant but the laboratory data suggests it will improve protection against other variants as well so gives us the breath of protection that we might anticipate another variant come through. >> thank you. >> let's go to cheyenne at abc news. >> i want to go back to money quickly, it's been warned we wouldn't have enough boosters for everyone because congress didn't allocate more covid funding during the last request. now it's widely available so can you explain if it's change or people should still be concerned that there is not enough for everybody? >> let me start off and you

might have thoughts on this as well, we did not have funding vaccines. we find ourselves in the impossible situation looking at fault in winter and asking even the congress failed, can we really go into fall and winter without vaccines? watching europeans and others have access and we thought that was unacceptable so we have gone and pulled resources out of critical public health and plan on having thought pile should there be another search. we will not have a great we have to shut down covid test, while the part of the program were to those of america household order to shut it down because we don't have enough in our stockpile with the ability to continue and will not have enough tests in

our stockpile should we see another omicron like event. we probably. >> and people who make sure we did not get into but we need congress to step up and congress has not so we are costly making what i think are possibly difficult decisions but our commitment is to make sure vaccines are widely available and easily accessible and free and that's where we are in one of the decisions we've made. it has not been easy. >> we execute today for tomorrow. the announcement today was executed for earlier so we are trying to stay ahead of this and forecast based on resources we have so we are trying to constantly stay ahead of this and look around, it gets tougher and tougher as you do resources

and fewer and fewer resources but what we announce today didn't get executed today, it's been executed for an offense. what we are suggesting is to continue that, we need to resource request from congress so wildly may have the vaccines today for folks for this fall vaccine efforts, we don't know what's coming next or the next generation of vaccines will look like if we don't have the resources to continue that research going so it's a matter of preparing and what we don't want to do is act today, execute today for the day, it would be putting us way behind. would be ready around the corner. >> one last thing on this, one of the things we learned throughout the pandemic of the omicron wave, it's always more

expensive to respond to be prepared. one of the things we wanted to do was to build up the stockpile so if we do get it we can get it test out. if we get another surge, they will step up and cost the american taxpayer twice as much and be less effective. one reason to be prepared on the front putting on the ground the quarter much more effective and cost-efficient that's one reason were back at congress this fall saying you got to continue supporting this and allow us to continue preparing for what next for the american people. thank you. >> i want finish by saying thank

you and thank you to my colleagues on the screen, tony fauci, doctor fauci, thank you for joining us. cdc director, thank you. a pleasure to share the stage and thank you for your leadership. i want to remind us, it's been two years heading into the third fall since the pandemic began, we are in a totally different place because of the leadership of the administration and president and because of what we now have in front of us. vaccine, being prepared other, it's critical for americans to protect themselves and families and loved ones and people step up to do what is necessary, we can get through this fall and winter with far less deaths and destruction and that are priority in this administration and i hope everybody joins us. thank you for joining us today.

quorum call:

thanks for waiting to help him finish up his work rate.

>> hey doug thanks for asking. >> you need to talk about what's ahead in the fall for congress but i want to start on the midterm elections. the kind of went into the summer for the democrats anyway with inflation, gas prices in the president's approval rating in the tank and as we in the summer the democrats get a couple of key legislative wins over the summer. they get a couple of wins and elections including a new york special election and the president's favorability ratings go up. few things that make it any less likely of a red wave in terms of the house in the m election? >> yeah consent that the -- consent that mr. schumer: i ask unanimous consent that the quorum be dispensed with. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. schumer: now i proceed to move to legislative session. the presiding officer: question is on the motion. all those in favor, say aye. those opposed, say no. the ayes appear to have it. the ayes do have it.

the motion is agreed to. mr. schumer: and i move to proceed to executive session to consider calendar 1043. the presiding officer: question is on the motion. all in favor say aye. those opposed, say no. the ayes appear to have it. the ayes do have it. the motion is agreed to. the clerk will report the motion. the clerk: nomination, the judiciary. arianna j. freeman of pennsylvania to be united states circuit judge for the third circuit. mr. schumer: i send a cloture motion to otodesk. the presiding officer: the clerk will report. the clerk: cloture motion: we, the undersigned senators, in accordance with the provisions of rule 22 of the standing rules of the senate, do hereby move to bring to a close debate on, we the undersigned senators in accordance with the provisions of rule 22 of the standing rust of the senate, move to bring to a close debate on arianna j. freeman of pennsylvania to be united states circuit judge for the third circuit signed by 17 senators as follow -- mr. schumer: i ask consent the reading of the names be waived. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. schumer: i move to proceed to legislative session.

the presiding officer: question is on the motion. all those in favor, say aye. those opposed, say no. the ayes appear to have it. the ayes do have it. the motion is agreed to. mr. schumer: i move to proceed to executive session to consider calendar 986. the presiding officer: question is on the motion. all those in favor, say aye. those opposed, say no. the ayes appear to have it. the ayes do have it. the motion is agreed to. the clerk will report the clerk will read the nomination. the clerk: nomination, the judiciary. ms. mcsally: have a ambassador mendoza jr. of washington to be united states circuit judge for the ninth circuit. mr. schumer: i send a cloture motion to the desk. the clerk: cloture motion: we, the undersigned senators, in accordance with the provisions of rule 22 of the standing rules of the senate, do hereby move to bring to a close debate on the nomination of executive calendar number 986, salvador mendoza jr. of washington to be united states circuit judge for the ninth circuit, 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: i ask unanimous consent the mandatory quorum calls for cloture motions filed today, september 6, be waived. 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: we are joined by bob csac. thanks for waiting fit teen minutes or so to help him finish up his work. >> hey. thanks for having me. the house has to do its business. >> you want to talk about what's ahead in the fall for congress but i want to start on the midterm elections. we went into the summer for the democrats anyway with inflation, gas prices and the president's approval ratings in the tank and as we and the summer the democrats get a couple of key legislative wins over the summer but they get a couple of wins in elections including the new york special election in the president's favorability ratings go up.

do you think that makes it any less likely of a red wave in terms of the house and the election? >> yeah i mean you have to think things are getting better for democrats. really the last year starting with the u.s. withdrawal in afghanistan that was the spiral for the president and his party. that lasted up until a month ago. you mention inflation hitting record high and gas prices. then they have had a few wins and they have some momentum. as you mentioned that one a couple of special elections that were deemed bellwether but i think this makes more of a difference in the senate than it does in the house. certainly the house republicans can't be overconfident that we will win the house. history does favor republicans winning the house but the senate is a different story.

republicans are already blaming each other mitch mcconnell and donald trump going at it like they have over the last year and there's tension between rick scott on the campaign committee and mitch mcconnell who has openly said their candidate may not be the best. so they have been struggling against republicans because they are defending a lot more seats in the senate. they have to win key races and win most of them if not all of them to take back the senate so it's a very interesting time. it looks pretty cut and dried about three months ago. the house was going to go in the senate was going to go to the republicans announce announced a different story. >> with the election season ahead it's always this time of year for congress the things they have to get done and the things they want to get done. what kind of pressure does the midterm elections put on the democratic leaders particularly in the house to get done in with chuck schumer to get done before

the midterm elections? >> i think some of the pressure was relieved when they passed the inflation reduction act and the bill which was opposed by all republicans anyway. i do think they have a lot of other things they want to get done. they wanted to protect marriage in the wake of the supreme court decision on abortion so that something that is a question and can they get to 60 in well enough republican support that legislation? that remains to be seen. i do think they will want to vote on that. there's legislation that would change as the january 6 the riots and how the electoral count is done to clarify the vice president cannot overturn elections. that has the support of some democrats and republicans but it all comes down to the house could move multiple bills in a week.

the senate really can only do one or two things that most and they are accusing on nominations both in committee and on the court. they take time and why are they focusing on nominations? they probably want to give president biden but also a nominations are more difficult with mitch mcconnell is the majority leader. they want to get as many done before election as they can and that's why they have a schedule that could be back for two weeks in october. schumer the majority leader could change his mind on that. by october all members are home campaigning. but in the senate not every senator is so they could come back to do some unfinished work but you are right the most important thing is to pass legislation and that means funding the government i october 1 and then the question is what is in that bill? that's a big question. >> with the potential landmines

if he will or holdups of things that could be attached to the spending bill that could to a hault? >> i think the first one is permitting reform. this is a bill that was look to be promised to joe manchin in supporting the inflation reduction act. this legislation is not supported by environmentalists and certainly the key committee chair on the environment in the house. he has said he wants to block the will and the inflation reduction act is in law. is permitting though which he opposes is not in the law and that could be a real problem because progressives could band together and potentially vote it down. so it's a problem for leadership though i think there'll be a shutdown? i don't think either side of the aisle will have to shut down there'll be drama until they get that bill passed. >> we'd like to hear calls and comments bob cusack from the hill is with us.

202-74-8800 and democrats and (202)748-8002 for independents and others. what's ahead this fall for the january 6 committee? >> they want to have at least another hearing. i don't believe they have announced when that hearing will be. this was interesting because before the august recess there were suggestions from members on that panel that they would be wrapped up by this recess but they have had new witnesses apparently in new information is come to light. i think they will at least have one more in we will see at the time prime-time again. but that investigation really has to wrap up and will wrap up at the end of this congress. certainly if republicans expect and they are favored to win the house the january 6 in the next congress so they know that and

that's why they are looking to wrap up their work in the final report and we've seen some interesting tensions between the january 6 committee in the department of justice and the big question of course is when will the department of justice indyke president trump and others in his orbit and clearly the january 6 commission is pressuring and i think it's pretty certain they will recommend something along those lines. i think they want to make their closing arguments in the fall when everybody is back from vacation and probably have one last prime-time hearing. >> where do things stand on the defense authorization bill? that was passed by the house and is there a holdup on the senate side for that? >> yeah it's always tough to pass a bill in the senate because senate rules and procedures and that's another one that sometimes they will

take other must pass legislation like the defense authorization bill in the spending bill and potentially wrap it up with one big bill and when there's a will there's a way to get things done quickly. so that is top of mind to legislators and leadership because that's considering must pass bill. when they get into the vents and the policies and amendments that you brought up obviously by one senator that can also slow down the process. floor time is precious in the senate and it certainly precious this fall because chuck schumer has been very adamant in saying hey i'm not going to give you a time on that.

the one they are investigating hunter biden so i suspect there will be more news. here from jerry calling from new jersey on the democrats line. good morning. >> hi i am a registered democrat

and that the couple of challenges and i think it's going to hurt us in the long term. you go up in front of all these guys that don't want to debate the republican candidates and that's going to be a big mistake. it's not going to look good. there is one issue that they are for diplomats concerning -- and the other concern i have is you have biden. biden clearly there's something not right with him. he's not 100% in the fact that you were all hiding it on the news media is scary because it has a lot to do with the next elections. people can see it and they can see that it's being hidden and it's going to affect long-term. and there's more coming out with. biden so the concern is other relationships with china and all

that biden is involved in that and he's definitely compromised. >> bob cusack 200 talk about john federman and mehmet oz in that republican race? >> that race is pretty. oz is behind and republicans are nervous about it. federman has a major health issues and he says he is recovering from it. oz and federman have gone back and forth over his health and federman says it's not appropriate for him to comment on his health so this is where we are headed. i agree usually the news that comes out of the debates is significant but it doesn't change. there are exceptions to that rule by the viewer constantly dodging debates and we have seen that with candidates in the past, that does not look good and i think fedderman will debate. i think there will be pressure for him to to debate. he is not debated yet.

this is when the season gets going. i'd like to see debater debates. the candidate usually doesn't want that many debates and candidates have gone for six or seven or eight debates. they need to make up some ground. >> lop cusack tell us about the streaming challenge that has been launched and how you plan to use that during the election season. >> well we have a morning show, daily morning show that's popular where we have members of congress and we have been bought i a large media company that has about 200 local patients around the country as well as a 24/7 news cable operation that is just getting going. we are looking at all types of ways that we can show our content on those stations and

news nation and its just another way to produce the news and news form and if we have a big interview we have that on the hill top. we are trying to branch out as you know. there's an article a couple of weeks ago that's now streaming over cable and that doesn't mean cable wasn't going to be around. has a strong presence obviously that more and more especially younger audiences are streaming so that's why we are doing it and we have plans for the shows. 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 bring to a close debate on the nomination of executive calendar number 985, john z. lee, of illinois, to be united states

circuit judge for the seventh circuit. 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 john z. lee, of illinois, to be united states circuit judge for the seventh circuit shall be brought to a close? the yeas and nays are mandatory under the rule. the clerk will call the roll. vote:

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widespread damage in the western

part of the state and catastrophe with our commonwealth his truck one more time, and kentucky multiple times surveying the damage me survivors and land any help that i could and when i saw were scenes of absolute destruction, the waterlogged houses, small increase, most out roads, and i've heard directly from survivors who had these people who are struggling to salvage her belongings and rebuild their lives pretty the agency's report thousands of hos were destroyed and damaged in the flooding and many of those affected, lacked flood insurance. anything that is devastating as a filing was of the stories of heroism and generosity still shine through. local officials admit reserved

special praise for kentucky's national guard, and mobilized and per hundred and distribute critical supplies to the stranded residents regular citizens, also came to the aid of the neighbors, and friends in any way that they could, and sometimes in trucks, sometimes on horseback or jet skis. and help put in from around the scene and beyond, both from private charities, and trade emergency responders. and of course still a tremendous need for help in eastern kentucky is notoriously rugged terrain and pre-existing communications institution before the floods, and these factors have made rebuilding it uniquely challenging already and this is only, the beginning.

the famous mania critical role in eastern kentucky's recovery, they have shortcomings in the federal response in the agency's convoluted application process and left for too many flood victims with timely aid that they need, and often due to simple clerical errors. this is first hand from countless kentuckians that i met during my multiple visits in a cyclic called fema administrator to save the agency needs to step it up and i visited the kentucky emergency operations center to review the joy state and federal response firsthand i can be minor from her hardest hit counties and state legislature and federal instant ended agencies so we more clear lines of edgy printed munication moving forward. i expect it will flow more smoothly soon i hope and i will

continue to work around the clock in washington to try to help make that happen. i promise keep standing strong right eastern kentucky's as these efforts evolve to longer-term rebuilding along road to recovery lies ahead in eastern kentucky and they will come back stronger than ever. in another manner mr. president, american families are hurting, very clearly telling our priorities what they ought to be and americans number one concern is the crushing inflation and that the democrats sent us into, the share of americans remain in inflation is our most urgent problem and triple next closest tissue. in impressed policies and have working people paying and inflation takes more than 13 percent on top of the grocery

bills and 50 percent extra on their utility bills and on their own, everything that the families need to cover to just stay afloat. as a result, the impreza presided over plumbing real wages for american workers the average market over race on paper but the bigger paycheck leaves them with a smaller paycheck any last year. this was not inevitable, inflation did not have to be nearly as bad. they chose to spend so recklessly the democrats did. [inaudible]. and this is against her savings and financial stability, and against the purchasing power of the of the workers in the parent sacrifice literally for years. americans also are deeply concerned about the erosion of

lawnmowers nurseries in our cities and on our borders, and across our country. we combined together the crime and immigration, the issue of law and order is a people's clear number two concern second only to inflation. that's true the national murder rate reaches bias that it has in 25 years. cities across the country have a historic search and carjackings. my hometown louisville is averaging once every two and half hours evers invited board policies have the border protection counterintuitive percent more fentanyl, apprehending the most illegal immigrants they have seen in more than 20 years. so there's no mystery what needs

to be addressed in the republicans know what needs to be addressed in informing of the democrats control this analysis in the white house are so refusing to get with the program. democrats top priorities for the entire year was the multi- hundred billion dollar roughness tax and spending spree they ran and americans may want their leaders to cut inflation to fight crime and drugs and secure the border for the democrats just spent hundreds of billions of dollars of the money and instead of expending colleagues treated themselves to 87000 new irs agents and job killing tax dollars as in-kind liberal energy policies that the officials wanted. people want to charge up their

electric cars. though in our democratic colleagues have given no indication of getting inflation pride hundred for securing the border, will be on the senate's agenda for september either prayed where people are hurting this badly and speaking this clearly, it's a choice with democrats to ignore them. in the safe streets and reliable energy, and a secure border and for the most basic duties any government owes its people. proven that they cannot. [inaudible]. >> mr. president. >> senator from illinois.

>> good news to report for my colleagues in kentucky, gasoline on the way to the airport this morning, $3.46 a gallon, i wish it had been lower but we made progress in the days that it was over $5, were moving in the right direction it is a billing this prison is created more jobs than any president similar. in the history of the united states predict we have challenges, you bet we do plan to write his administration off as unproductive is to ignore the obvious we came out of this pandemic and when we did, we finish the problems in the nation was facing literally dealing with inflation and demand spend up and overwhelmed the services and goods that were available that inflation started to rise. it took his soul distilled as an american families but to ignore that we've been able to do, is to really turn our backs on reality what about that rescue

plan of the american rescue plan, i remember it's coming i remember there was not a single republican buddy courting almost 20 percent of american rescue plan with you state and local issues like crime and streets and safer neighborhoods aggressive on this the kind of money well spent together republicans when i give us sing about and you are the senator from kentucky saying that it was a waste of billions of dollars of money was found in a fanout personally, firsthand when we back in my state in the august recess, i do not just confine myself to the blue areas of the state big part of our state and i'm happy to visit there i went to some of the other sections in the areas devoted for donald trump ill a selection over job i don't doubt you predict a well there either but i wanted to visit with them like other of the things that i needed to

learn about what families and communities were facing and i went to paran, illinois, the southern part were my family has had the healthcare which is healthcare insertions serving most of downstate illinois rural small town america struggling with providing professional medical care about doing fine job there's something called congressionally directed to spending now, is to be known as earmarks and unapologetic about it and i believe that if you make this public disclosure of these earmarks, and justify them in the taxpayers understanding this is federal money bring brought home to washington to their states and communities where it is needed so i went to parent covalent i work we were able to announce newmark emily dollars providing for about half of the cost of the new physical rehab facility critically important and there

are interesting people there in the middle and fellow, four years old, victim of cerebral palsy, his name is maverick in the big smile on his face and he was there the rehab center to introduce me to the nurse that been working with him, strong courageous little fellow the pride of his family. now he has a rehab facility that is world-class in his region and in his neighborhood in the alternative, drive to st. louis near that over and over again. we just don't have any way to drive to st. louis when it comes rehab services for maverick, kids like him and adults as well, will now have a fighting chance to get something local and let me add another fellow there by the name of riley and he is a high school student in these amazing kid himself and is a boy scout heading is to be a boy scout a long long time ago and he had that sash with all of the merit badges on and i think i had five when i finally quit

and he must've had become a maybe even a hundred, he had them all and on his way and passed as an eagle scout and he decided to make a rehab clinic this project. he and his family built some toys that the kids and he was there to accept the recognition that he deserves and his mother corban, her twin brother name corban also an eagle scout, picked a different charity to provide help to. i just want to say for anybody who's despond about the future the country got me corban, has brother those two young men are going to be leaders and i'm sure in our community and beyond and it reminded me that we are to take a look at the positives thanks coming about, this notion of a reconciliation bill, now serving american isn't during the obvious and how many of us in the senate the republicans and democrats, have had press conferences but i campaign ads

about the cost of prescription drugs and guess what, we finally did something about it after all of these years at all of these headlines and all of these ads, we finally did something, the reconciliation bill which passed in the united states senate without a single republican vote, no one and finally address the cost of prescription drugs for people on medicare. ... we have done something about it. we have passed a bill that will make a difference. we talk about issues like electricity. in winter break break a little

bit here. find placement to be bouts of pounds for a roof in springville illinois. we are not the first family to have all but one of the few part and predict that's been a change in a hurry. why? in that reconciliation bill we took an honest look at what it takes to reduce climate change and give our kids a plant they can live on. each of us have to change our lifestyle some. i left this morning with little to some trend springville, illinois. voting to showing an example in this region, in this area. the bill we passed in reconciliation is going to have incentives for people to put solar panels on their homes. to buy heat pumps, electric water heaters, things that will reduce the use of fossil fuels and instead move us toward a more electric economy.

and yes, automobiles are headed in that direction to purdue not take a matter that mandate. they're under some of nietzsche was a country where the consumers are headed. i think that is a good indication as well paired to mrn leader and hear him come to the floors at so many people are struggling to be are mindful of that everyday. in dollars or more in the last three years, a family going to have to face in federal income taxes. americans are used to paying their fair share of taxes, why are these corporations making

over a billion dollars and net profits and not changing a penny. i know dibona thought of my republican colleagues but it's only fair. this week return after four-week recess. i was traveling around my state listening to ideas and concerns and you know what i heard over and over again? and this is overwhelming particularly in the area of healthcare. but not exclusively. we just do not have enough people to fill the vacancies in the jobs of america. that is the reality. when it comes to healthcare workers it is your reality that means the cost of medical care is going up. if you not find a local nurse to go on staff or payroll to be with you for a while and you have to rely on contractors is, those that come and go, we have all the skill and training but looking for a paycheck.

that drives up the cost of healthcare on hospital and clinics are desperate for these nurses to be there. this is a challenge you face and need to do something about. despite what we do with any of the reports of television nation. fate of the future and the ability to solve our problems create a better future is always been part of american dna. it's hard to find common ground on scorched earth. as president lincoln warned us long ago, a house divided against itself cannot stand. if years later, as the civil war ended in victory was in sight, president lincoln pleaded, just outside this room in his

inauguration with the people of the north and the south. and he said we are not enemies about friends. we must not be enemies. he said that after the deadliest war that america ever experienced. he did the work of building this nation create a better future cannot be achieved if we were united. the united states of america. this week marks the 21st anniversary of the september 11 terrorist attack on america. i will never forget that day as long as i live. and i know, mr. president, you will not either. it affected your state and the people that live there. those are old enough to remember not just the shock and grief of that day will also remember the intense sense of national unity that sustained us to these terrible days and weeks that followed. we lost so much but we found a common purpose. we understood we are one nation, one people with one destiny.

we arrived we found together. as the senate returns the work of legislating, we hope will remember fleet we must not be enemies. politics is not work, it is where we resolve our differences without or in a democracy. people of illinois are concerned about her state of the economy for their worried about inflation. i understand that. they're also feeling something many have not felt for a while and that is hope. why? because of the results. inflation is in fact slowing. gas prices are falling. $3.46 a gallon, i would've grabbed that a few weeks ago. i hope we can go lower. gas is down by more than a dollar 20 a gallon on the average and the start of the summer. wages are up, people are back at work. all the jobs in our economy lost from the pandemic.

our economy has added more than 10 million new jobs. including 600 manufacturing jobs. were investing in infrastructure but i remind myself over and over again, don't complain of construction on highways just like you down. you voted for senator and i would vote for it again. president biden said yesterday, labor day, and one of his speeches that will make this investment in infrastructure, a record-breaking historic amount will have the most modern infrastructure in the world. now, that is what a nation that is compared to compete as. we passed the chips act to preserve innovation. in semi conductors the jobs and industries of the future and america, not in china. the president also said why wouldn't it be in america? we invented the ship shouldn't we be leaving the world still? what the passage of the chips

legislation and a strong bipartisan drama on the floor we're going to reclaim that lead. we passed the inflation reduction act which includes the biggest ever investment climate change and climate resilience. reduce inflation pressure by cutting energy costs now and in the future. it also reduce the cost of prescription drugs. we are investing in the american people in the basics of a shared, sustainable, economic prosperity. one footnote that is well worth mentioning, the federal deficit will shrink by $1.7 trillion this year. all of things i have mentioned. all that i've mentioned we hear from the other side of the aisle in the deficits going down. all these economic prosperity proposals were passive democratic votes only, chips reduction plan were strictly democratic votes. what's hope our republican

colleagues will join us and help us get back to work fighting the common challenges facing our nation. like to point to speak about one of my highest priority as chair of this highly qualified judges for this will be great shared successes president biden sent democrats number 76 judges to life ten positions during this one 17th congress. that figure includes justice brown jackson. upstanding insurers the first black woman to serve on the united states supreme court. i would just say that i have been in politics most of my adult life. i did not appreciate the impact selection of the moment what happened on the people i represent. some of the offense, artist bargaining african-american women that i know and politics

have come up to me and in a moment broke down in tears to thank me for leadership and the fact we approved of this new justice. it means that much of them. start confirmation as a crowning achievement and our efforts to achieve a system of justice that works on behalf of every american. outside of the seven court as i mentioned companies that has cap an impressive number of important companies. ricin? because the vast majority of cases to the supreme court. resolve i just think the second level. blinken yesterday judge in florida at a special map for

critical historical business. the the next statistic. seven. take this in this effort and i want to charlie wonder to 17th congress was shattered records when it comes to diversity. eight confirmed that the senate democrats, 14 and 13 our people. the separatist objective, seven are women. many represented historic furniture. the first three judge to the

first big check. not only passed up quite similar to a prospective mate just reports. thanks to protect the rights of the democrat party. quickly, he's not scratching everyone qualified as which

opted against this. it should help that nomination. start building our patient objectively. his father was a coal miner his mother was a nurse. granted, settled with seminole bedroom apartment part of chicago. it was that easy starting up until aunt. but judge eats a fountain in support of nurturing community of classmates and teachers. he actuated melodic from harvard

hospital. he beat up legal person for me. apartment resources at the justice department working in private is in chicago. his practice focus on complex clinic at the trust he was armed in 2012 by voice vote, gently become the first to serve article three judge in illinois. joining the event she has written hundreds of opinions, and over trials in the verdict of judgment. he also set by designation the seventh circuit a number of times writing several opinions for majority. during his time on the bench has out supplied the launch of the facts before him, even evenhanded in profession. given his impeccable record of festive conventional it's no surprise to the american station that's pretty darn circuit court position.

he is a strong supporter of myself and senator duckworth. i urged my colleagues to join us. by emphasizing this. our work is not finished by a longshot. judge lee is not intended circuit court nominees awaiting by the placenta. many more are still moving through the committee. each one of these public servants will bring much-needed professional and demographic diversity. judges being confirmed by the senate will ensure the rule of law suit every single one of us without fear or favor. dental work to uphold most sacred promise. equal justice for all. mr. president i feel the floor. ask mr. president, i would like to welcome you and all of my colleagues from the august work. i really had the chance to travel across their state, meet with their constituents, listen to their concerns and share all the major compliments the senate secured over the last few months. indeed the senate gavels back

into section and mental productivity. when democrats assume the majority in 2021, i promise we will leave no stone unturned. tackling the biggest challenges facing our country. twenty-eight months later, crabs have it delivered on our promises. we promise to lower cost for the american people. in the wake of creeping inflation. so we passed the inflation reduction act to reduce energy costs. produced. expanded tax breaks for working in mental americans. the opposite arm prescription from class. so we passed legislation to lower insulin cost for seniors on medicare. cap out-of-pocket expenses and medicare to be able to negotiate drug prices for this for the first time ever. long sought after by many congresses, accomplished by this one. we promise to take on entrenched

interests get tough on climate change. and so we passed the largest clean energy package app. by a long margin by the way. thanks to our work, americans will see their energy bills go down. their savings go up. all but we created millions of new, good paying jobs and finally dealt with climate change in a very significant and real way. we also promise to bring many jobs back to eric and get tough on adversaries with the chinese party. sadly passed the science fact the largest manufacturing jobs in science research since the aftermath of world war ii. and of course we promise to take on the nra as you well know mr. president and protect our kids from gun violence. so we passed the first gun safety belts as the brady law 30 years ago which i was up to author when i was a member of congress.

now, none of these accomplishments were easy. then to the patient and persistence above all. anyone without washington was and cannot do big things that democratic majority has shown real change is possible. and the results speak for themselves. jobs across the country remained up. going back to work. our supply chains are key length. in rates on ocean trade channels since january. as gas prices continue month drop, we are seeing evidence that might be starting to eat. what's the work. as a lean to get this short period, high-priority items that demand immediate attention. if this were pretty close to set up must come together to pass a continuing resolution to the

extent government funding september 30 line. last week the administration that a request for a number of funding items that endemic relief and other. the point even shut down and it is my expectation that our republican will do the same. also work this month to confirm even more president into diction companies. later they set scheduled to go to consider nomination of judge jon to serve as separate court judge for the seventh circuit. if confirm judge lee would make history the first asian-american judge to sit on the seventh circuit charting the proud mother invited nominees making out reports and present intent of our great cap three.

imparted loss of judge lee was unanimously in this chamber and a deck and just. in his time on the bench he's proven himself to be impartial minded judge lee will be the first of many judicial nominees to advance this month and beyond. and it must make judicial confirmations a top priority. we have a lot of work to do in the sentence, to keep improving the lives of the american people but in the coming weeks let us continue with the same vigor, the state determination, the same persistence that has made this one of the most productive senate session the senate has seen in the long, long time. finally, i want to say a few words out of her monumental development over the august recess. due to cancellation. for the past two years i have

repeatedly stated that with this flick of a pen president but could lower costs for millions of americans i can't understand that. everywhere i go, student debt is always front of mine for many of my fellow new yorkers, as it is a four millions across the country. there are many who do not have student debt, many. but for those who do it is deep. it's not just one of ten issues that the two that really, the bobbin seven motivates them, and have to wake up in the middle of the not saying how my going to make that $400 payment next month when my salary does not stretch that far? what am i going to cut out? well, with the long-awaited flick of the end of the american lease on life i canceling significant amount of student debt. to president biden i say thank you. thank you for blessing cap action. the president's decision will make it easier for millions of

americans to finally pursue their own american dream. that means making they're down payment on the house, buying a new car, opening a business or saving for retirement absolutely basil health cap that still holds far too many americans back most of all it's going to make our economy stronger. now over the past few weeks we've heard fake outrage from americans and canceling student debt is nothing more than a giveaway to wealthy americans. the same republicans who makes the tax cuts for the old throat ripped her number one priority are suddenly apoplectic at the thought of helping working and middle-class americans with student debt relief. well here is the truth, i say to my republican colleagues, among the borrowers who are no longer in school 90% of the deck and so will those earning less than $75000 a year. the opposite of the tax cut the

republicans a push for the vast majority wants the top 1% and the top 10%. let me repeat that among borrowers who are no longer in school, nearly 90% of the debt being canceled will go to those earning less than $75000 a year. and let's not forget a majority of student loans are held by people whose family has zero net worth. zero. a majority of student loans to families who have zero net worth. that is why the greatest help will go to those with the greatest need. pell grant recipients, which for the most part come from families making under $60000 a year will have up to $20000 of their debt canceled. so rather than helping the privileged few canceling student that will lift up americans from all walks of life. students of color, poor americans, children of immigrants, working and

middle-class families struggling to either get to the middle class birthday there. so again i think president biden for taking action. i also want to thank champions like senator warren spent a great, great partner in this activity. representative presley joins with me and calling for the president to take this step. they've all been great partners in the effort and i'm glad our efforts finally began to pay off. i yield the floor and of the absent of a corm.

the presiding officer: on this vote, the yeas are 48, the nays are 42 and the motion is agreed to. the majority leader is recognized. mr. schumer: mr. president, i ask unanimous consent the senate proceed to legislative session, be in a period of morning business, with senators permitted to speak therein for up to ten minutes each. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. schumer: mr. president, i ask unanimous consent the appointment at the desk appear separately in the record, as if made by the chair. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. schumer: mr. president, i ask unanimous consent that the senate proceed to the immediate consideration of s. 4791, which

is at the desk. the presiding officer: the clerk will report. the clerk: s. 4791, a bill to amend section 301 of title 44, united states code to establish a term for the appointment of the director of the government publishing oft. -- publishing office. the presiding officer: without objection, senate will proceed. mr. schumer: mr. president, i ask unanimous consent the senate proceed to the immediate consideration of calendar 462, s. 3662. the presiding officer: the clerk will report. the clerk: calendar number 462, s. 3662, a bill to temporarily increase the cost-share authority for acquiesce foam input based testing equipment and for other purposes.

the presiding officer: without objection, the senate will proceed to the measure. mr. schumer: i further ask the committee-reported substitute be agreed to, the bill as amended be wered read a third time and passed, and the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table with no intervening action or debate. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. schumer: mr. president, i ask unanimous consent that the senate proceed to the immediate consideration of calendar 441, s. 958. the presiding officer: the clerk will report. the clerk: calendar number 441, s. 958, a bill to amend the public health service act to expand the allow able use criteria for new access points grants for community health centers. the presiding officer: without objection, the senate will proceed to the measure. mr. schumer: i ask unanimous consent that the committee-reported substitute amendment be considered and agreed to, the bill as amended be considered read a third time and passed, and that the motions to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. schumer: and, mr. president, i ask unanimous consent that when the senate completes its business today, it adjourn until

10:00 a.m. on wednesday, september 7, that following the prayer and the pledge, the morning hour be deemed expired, the journal of proceedings be approved to date, the 2r0eud be reserved -- the time for the two leaders be reserved for their use later in the day and morning business be closed. upon conclusion of the morning business, the senate proceed to executive session to resume consideration of the lee nomination postcloture. further, that the senate recess from 12:30 until 2:15 p.m. to allow for the weekly caucus meetings, and that at 2:15 p.p.p., all postcloture time on the lee nomination be considered expired. finally, that if any nominations are considered occurred the wednesday session, the motions to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table and the president be notified immediately of the senate's action. finally, if any nominations are confirmed during wednesday's session, the motion to -- 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. mr. schumer: if there's no further business to come before the senate, i -- i ask unanimous consent that it be adjourned under the previous order following the remarks of senator portman. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. schumer: mr. president, i yield the floor. and i note the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. quorum call:

the presiding officer: the junior senator from ohio. mr. portman: i'm on the floor today -- the presiding officer: the senate is in a quorum call. mr. portman: i ask unanimous consent that the quorum call be dispensed with. the presiding officer: without objection. i've come to -- mr. portman: i've come to the senate floor to talk about ukraine. this is the 21st week in the row since we've been in session that i have done so and to talk about how ukraine is responding to russia's brutal and unprovoked attack on that sovereign country, an ally of ours, a democracy. this is a map of ukraine. we can see here where the russian invasion came back in 2014 and where they are now. you can also see some progress being made in the blue as ukrainian military pushes back on this latest invasion. last week i was able to visit ukraine and to go to kyiv, the capital, along with a colleague

across the aisle, senator amy klobuchar of minnesota. senator klobuchar and i believed it was important to demonstrate bipartisan support for ukraine at a very critical time. she and i will be back here on the senate floor together later this week to talk further about this trip. but the trip came on the sixth-month anniversary of russia's illegal invasion of ukraine. it also came on the same week that ukraine began a counteroffensive against the russian invasion here in the kherson area. it also came at a time when there's increased concern about the nuclear power plant here. it's actually right here near this red line. inspectors from the u.n., united nations international atomic energy agency visited this nuclear power plant last week which is europe's single largest nuclear power plant.

we began our trip in poland where we met with the leadership of the elite 101st airborne division stationed in the south of poland. it's a unit with a long, proud history including participating in assaults on d-day, striking deep within enemy lines in desert storm, serving with distinction in the global war on terror. it has a rendezvous with destiny during pivotal moments of our country's history. now they have another rendezvous with destiny. in poland they're not only bolstering allied defenses here in poland but really all around eastern europe but also conducting a very important mission. they're facilitating the delivery of vital military assistance from ukraine from 42 other countries other than the united states all around the world. these soldiers are really at the tip of the sphere of america's efforts to arm the soldiers with the tools they need to protect themselves and to protect their democracy. ile got to meet soldiers from

the 101st from my home state of ohio. they told me of the polish people's welcoming to them. they said that people are so grateful for what the american soldiers are doing there in poland. they feel so much better knowing that the american presence is there. one guy told me about walking down a street in poland and someone coming up and hugging him just to say thank you. he was a little surprised by that. the senior leaders of the 101st briefed senator klobuchar and iself on -- and myself on how the military assistance is going and what's actually happening on the battlefield against the russians. in ukraine senator klobuchar and i traveled to kyiv to meet with senior ukrainian officials, including president zelenskyy, defense minister, and others as well as members of the parliament called the rat -- rada. we traveled north where there have been unspeakable atrocities

against innocent civilians during the initial stages of this war. we also saw where russian forces were stopped dead in their tracks on the -- in the earlier assault. during our meeting with president zelenskyy, the very first thing that he wanted to say was thank you. thank you to the american people for being such great partners, strong allies, helping ukraine defend itself. he and his leadership team know well the vital role that america's assistance has played in helping ukraine not just defend itself against russian's illegal unprovoked and cold-blooded invasion but now to actually push russian forces back and to begin deliberate territory in some places like the southern part of ukraine. it was a common theme of our trip that we heard from all ukrainians regarding their thankfulness to america. they are immensely appreciative of what the american people have done. the fact that we have stepped up and led in helping ukraine in this fight for freedom. by the way, because of that, because of america's assistance and america's leadership,

they're very optimistic about their future. we spoke about many topics with president zelenskyy including the situation at the nuclear power plant which has grown increasingly dangerous over the past few weeks. the russians have captured this plant and now have taken the ukrainian employees of this nuclear power plant, the biggest in europe, taken them captive and intimidated them in various ways. we were told about them being harassed, even reports of torture, working atigun point -- working atigun point and russia is reportedly using explosives to destroy electrical infrastructure from the plant taking electricity into ukraine. they want to cut off the infrastructure that goes into ukraine and steal the energy for themselves. this is not just the biggest plant in europe. it provides 25% of the electricity for ukraine and allows ukraine actually right now to sell some of its electricity to other countries which is helping with regard to ukraine's serious budget problems. the russians are also using this nuclear power plant as a

military base essentially, as a nuclear shield. this is playing with fire. they are firing artillery positioned at the plant on ukrainian forces nearby knowing the ukrainians cannot fire back. russia has already irresponsibly used oil and gas, energy as a weapon of war. we've seen what they've done with europe. they said to europe if you don't stop all these sanctions we'll cut off your energy. nord stream i has been cut off causing great harm and pain in europe. so they're using energy as a weapon already. we've seen them use food as a weapon of war. totally irresponsible, including actually bombing ukrainian grain bins with grain that is absolutely essential right now in places like subsaharan africa to be able to survive because they depend so much on ukrainian wheat, corn, sunflower oil. now they're taking it to the next step.

now they are actually using nuclear power and this military base as a weapon of war. using nuclear power and these reactors as a tool in this war is a reckless escalation risking a catastrophe we could have on our hands the worst nuclear disaster since chernobyl. i encourage president putin to do the right thing and demilitarize this area around the plant. this is dangerous to the entire continent, including russia and the rest of europe. allow these workers to do their job without this kind of pressure and ensure there is no leakage from the plant. president zelenskyy agreed with us in our meeting that that's the way this should be handled. it should be demilitarized. i noted that today the united nations iae inspectors at the plant have also said there should be a demilitarized zone around the plant. i also heard today that two members of this inspection team

that visited last week when we were there will now be staying at the plant for an uncertain period and that is good news. that there actually will be some inspectors there from the united nations. it's a step in the right direction at least. but what russia needs to do is back of this plant and demilitarize the area. we know that russia's ultimate plan is to disconnect this plant from the ukrainian grid and connect it to the russian grid. this is the theft of power respecting plain and simple. this plant, the largest in europe, produces 20% of ukraine's electricity. we also talked to president zelenskyy about the various weapon needs they continue to have. he talked specifically about how effective the high-mobil rocket systems, or himars, have been. shethese are weapons that the united states has provided to ukraine, about 16 of them, but also the u.k. and germany has

provided comparable systems to the ukraine. and they have been extremely effective. they've used these missile systems to target russian ammo depots, logistics lines that are within ukraine but far from the front lines. they are destroying these ammo depose, thee command posts, these pieces of critical infrastructure. this is causing disarray in russia's ability to supply, control, and maneuver its forces. we heard repeated lid that the ukrainian morale has been lift d by these himars because of their ability to reach the russian artillery that previously was out of reach by the ukrainian artillery and said they were sitting back with impunity and killing civilians and soldiers without having any consequences. now they're feeling some consequences. they also said that not only is the russian -- is the ukrainian morale increasing but the

russian morale is decreasing. it is deteriorating, as the ukrainian make progress. himars have been in use for over a decade yet even the soldiers told us at how resourceful and creative the ukrainians were intaintaining and using these systems. the ukrainian soldiers clearly have the ingenuity, as well as the will and the determination to fight. if we continue to provide them these tools that they need to be able to successful, ukraine will persevere over time and preserve its freedom and independence from russian domination. the point i'd like to make really is that what we did here in this chamber by voting for this aid that resulted in these himars is making a huge difference in ukraine. after meeting with president zelenskyy, we visited some of the suburbs outside kyiv, collectively these places tell the story of russia's failed attempt to capture kyiv. we first visited irpin, a small

town about 30 minutes outside of kyiv. before the war, it was a quiet town where people worked and lived in peace. but russia's invasion in february brought horrific violence there. as these pictures show of us walking through kyiv, senator klobuchar and myself, you can see the destruction to the civilian targets, these apartment buildings. the russian forces assaulted irpin. everywhere we looked we saw bullet holes every with massive holes in the sides of buildings where you can see where tank rounds were fired through buildings. we also saw small craters in park path lots from -- in parking lots from mortars. not all had the opportunity to flee. the mayor estimated that up to 300 civilians were killed in russia's assault on the town. we also visited the nearby town of bucha, a name that has become

synonymous with war crimes and russia's atrocities during this war. during the few weeks that the russian soldiers controlled this small noun in march and april, unspeakable crimes were committed there, including rape and torture and executions of hundreds of civilians. senator klobuchar and i went to the church of st. andrew, a beautiful church but also the site of a mass grave dug by russian soldiers. there the russians buried dozens of innocent ukrainians. civilians who were forritude and murdered at the hands a of the russians. our visits to irpi in my judgment and -- irpin and bucha. it is one thing to see it on 82 vision and another to talk to the residents about what happened. it is hard to believe that such things can happen in the 21st century. senator klobuchar and i also

visited the airport outside of kyiv. this photograph is of the airport and some of the destruction there. this is the deputy minister of interior of ukraine. he joined us there. this airport was meant to be russia's forward operating base for its assault on kyiv. it was assaulted by elegality russian airborne forces and experienced chechen forces on the very first day of the war, february 24, with a plan to secure the airport and use it for ferrying in troops and equipment flying in russian forces to take over kyiv appeared take over the country. however, these troops had landed deep into ukrainian territory and brave ukrainian soldiers, mostly inexperienced but highly motivated national guard troops, counterattacked the russian invaders at the airport. they fought ferociously. remember, these were elite russian airborne troopers. yet they were defeated by ukraine's national guardsmen, most of whom had never seen

combat of about. -- before h. gatt before. we had the opportunity to talk to some of the soldiers there at the hostemel airport. we were told about the horrific efforts to defend the airport, about the men lost including several captured soldiers still prisoners of russia six months later. i asked him how they could have been successful, beating the odds. he said simply and i quote, we were fighting to defend our families, our freedom, our homeland, and that's why we won. end quote. hostemel airport is where the ukrainian forces won their first victory and where they stopped russia's northern advance dead in its tracks. if you look at this map, you can see what the russians intended to do and what actually happened a they intended to come into the airport here, north and east of town, take over kyiv, topple the

government, and eventually take over all of ukraine. eventually because of the fighting and the ukrainian troops that pushed back, they ended up going through bell areduce back into -- belarus, back into russia and now are in this area. so if this war had not been successfully prosecuted at hostemel airport, it would have been a very different outcome. you would have seen kyiv fall. you would have seen the president's government fall, the duly elected government of ukraine, president zelenskyy, the parliament fall. this war could have been over very soon if that had happened. thankfully it did not. because of the bravery and courage of the national guard. hostemel is a symbol of ukrainian resistance and victory in the face of overwhelming odds. i was very fangful to meet the -- i was very thankful to meet

some of the heroes. we met david arakamia, one of ukraine's chief negotiators with the russians. we spoke about the future the conflict, including possible paths of victory for ukraine. the consensus was that the only way to russia would come to the bargaining table would be in the sanctions could be further tightened. and if the ukrainians continue to make progress on the battlefield. victories in the east and the south give ukraine more leverage at the bargaining table when negotiations begin. that's why it's so important, you see here in it the light blue, some of the success that the ukrainian soldiers have had recently, even in the last week or so, as well as up here around car could i have. -- kharkiv. in each of our meetings, we spoke extensively about ensuring proper oversight and accountability for u.s.-provided assistance. including military assistance.

the 101st airborne told us they a sophisticated end-use monitoring program for weapons with the ability to track all of the military equipment being transferred to ukraine. i'm happy to report that much progress is being made on that front. the u.s. has spent billions of dollars to support ukrainians in the defense of their nation, appropriate. but ukrainian officials understand that it's important that we provide transparency to this funding. we do not take to -- they do not take it for granted. they know this funding is accountable to the u.s. taxpayer. we have good partners here who want to be sure we have this transparency. they have been providing significant visibility on the the weapons and equipment we have learned as it has been received from the united states and they will continue to do so. the goal is to build a track of

every weapon down to the serial number all the way to the front lines. we left this trip with several takeaways. first, the genuine gratitude of the ukrainian people and the government of ukraine. the feeling of common cause with the people of america. 40 countries plus have provided military equipment and other support. the ukrainians recognize if it weren't for these weapons and training that the united states and our allies have provided, their country might very well be part of russia today. and they know that america has led the efforts. some officers from kyiv told us that they ordered takeover from a restaurant. they got some cheeseburgers and in the bag that was delivered to the embassy, the local restaurant personnel had written, thank you for the himars. remember, himars are these rocket-assault systems. himars who is now become a household name in ukraine.

and they are so appreciative that they have the ability to defend themselves. second, it was remarkable to senator klobuchar and me to learn just how much of appear impact our military assistance is having on the battlefield. in the opening stages of the war, that was the javelins, the antitank missiles that were a decisive weapon. now in this stage of the war it's the himars. and the antiaircraft weapon rhode island every day -- and the antiaircraft weaponry. the day before we arrived in kyiv, they launched their long-awaited counteroffensive in southern ukraine. from what i hear in ukraine, it is clear this counteroffensive would not have been possible out our help. -- without our help. himar strikes have softened up russia's position in the south and made it possible for the counteroffensive that's going on tonight as we speak. as you may recall, the russian artillery was out of reach

before and was just pounding ukrainian forces and civilians with pugn at this moment -- with impunity. himars have also struck command posts which are very important because that has crippled russia's ability to command and control its forces. they have real estate also struck some very -- they've also struck some very important bridges including this one here that's important for russia to be able to provide its troops. this has isolated some of these russian forces and prevented them from being able to maneuver to support one another. our support is having a significant and positive impact on the bam field and we must not stop -- battlefield and we not stop now. the weapons we are providing are giving the ukrainians a real chance at leveling this battlefield and giving them an opportunity to win back their lost territory. my third takeaway from this trip is that we need to do more for ukraine both in the short term and the long term. president zelenskyy made an

appeal to senator klobuchar and me for the u.s. to provide the ukraine with atacms. these can be fired from the himar missiles. they have longer reach than the missiles we're currently providing. it seems these would be an important part of their arsenal from what we learned from both american and russian briefing -- and ukrainian briefings. president zelenskyy also requested more air defense systems. short, medium, and long range. his rationale was simple -- he wants the seven million americans who have left his country to be able to return and they want to return. having met with refugees in two previous trips this year and talked to these refugees, all of them want to go back. but when it is safe, they will be able to go back. so having more air defense systems at every range -- short, medium and long range -- would enable people to come back.

this is crucial because this is one of the issues now is that ukraine's economy has been reduced by about 40% because of the terrible war that's being raged. if these people can come back to ukraine, get back to work as normal, pay taxes, begin to become part of the economy again, this will be the most helpful thing to ukraine's budget problems and economic woes. with a layered air defense, they could close the skies and get life back to normal. i'm glad the biden administration has already acted on some of the requests to provide more protection for the skies by pledging eight national defense systems in conjunction with with our german allies. i urge the biden administration and other partners to do more to respond to this request. ukraine is where we are engaging in the fight for freedom in this generation. it is not just about ukraine. for years russia and china have been saying that the west is in

decline, that the united states and our allies are weak-willed and untrustworthy. that's certainly what president putin thought when he invaded ukraine. he thought he would at this vied nato, the west, and we would not request respond. that we'd stand aside and let it happen. we proved him wrong so far. not only by aiding ukraine, but by protecting the region. the recent announcement that we're sending 250 of the best tanks in the world, the abrams, made in ohio, to poland, is a commitment to at region, a commitment to eastern europe. this will send a critical message to russia that the united states stands for freedom, not only in ukraine, but all throughout europe and the world. i thank our european allies for all they're doing as well, and urge them to continue to step up their support for ukraine. their own ability to remain free may very well rest on ukraine remaining free. as one ukrainian told me on this

trip, ukraine is the shield for democracy for europe. we must show vladimir putin's cynicism about the west that he is wrong. america has always stood by its values, freedom, democracy, and the rights of nations to chart their own futures and live in peace with their neighbors. we cannot stop now. most of us who serve in this chamber understand that, and so do the vast majority of the american people. ten days ago, before i headed overseas, i marched in the ukrainian independence day parade in parma, ohio, just outside of cleveland. i was with two national leaders in the ukrainian community, martha and andy. i proudly marched with them. there were over 60 entrants in this parade. it went on and on and on. the large turnout, in terms of participants and spectators, was a demonstration of the support for ukraine. ohio is home to tens of thousands of ukrainian americans who do not want ukraine to be part of some renewed russian

empire. they want ukraine, their homeland, to remain free and sovereign. the so-called nationalities community, from sloaive evennans to pols, georgians and lithuanians know the direct threat that russia poses. so many ohioans have rallied together to support ukraine, from all backgrounds. in closing, i want to thank everyone who helped make our important trip possible, including the state department and our allies in ukraine, including our military colleagues in poland. it's important that congress continue to show our strong support for ukraine, particularly during this critical period for the country's future. the stakes are so high. this a fight about global freedom, self-determination, democracy, and respect for territorial integrity. all of us, the united states and our allies, need to stand up, because the alternative is a far more dangerous and volatile

world, and that affects all of us. 42 freedom-loving allies of the united states have stood together in support of ukraine military aerial. dozens of helped in other ways. all nations are carefully paying attention to what happens in ukraine. not just our allies, but also our adversaries. we have shown the world that america and allies didn't back down. after six weeks, not even after six months, we haven't faltered. we must commit to continuing to help ukraine defend itself. until vladimir putin understands that russia's borders end where freedom begins. slava ukraini and god speed to the brave soldiers of ukraine. the brave soldiers of ukraine.

the senate voted to limit debate on the consideration of jon leaves nomination to the court of appeals for the seventh circuit bred the court covers illinois, indiana and wisconsin if confirm to be the first asian-american judge to serve in that court. looking ahead over the next couple of weeks, centers will vote on a spending bill to keep the federal government open past september 30 break into measure reauthorizing fda programs and user fees which also expire at the end of the month. as always live coverage of the sun on cspan2. oco sees miniature unfiltered view of government. funded by these television companies and more. including charter communication. >> broadbent is a force for empowerment for that is where charter has invested billions building infrastructure, upgrading technology, empowering opportunity in communities big

and small. charter is connecting us too. >> charter communication support c-span as a public service. along with these other television providers. giving a front row seat to democracy. >> over 5000 people reportedly homeless of the u.s. for the numbers have increased since a covid-19 pandemic. the house financial services subcommittee on housing held a hearing with advocates to add and homelessness and provide more affordable housing. missouri democratic congressman emmanuel cleaver chairs the hearing. it is about two hours 25 minutes. >> this hearing is entitled addressing challenges and serving people experiencing homelessness. i now recognize myself for three minutes. homelessness in the united states isn't