>> c-span now is a free mobile app featuring your unfiltered view of what's happening in washington, live and on demand. keep up with the day's biggest events with live streams of floor proceedings with hearings from the u.s. congress, white house events, the courts, campaigns and more from the world of politics, all at your fingertips. you can also stay current with the latest episodes of washington journal and find scheduling information for c-span's tv network and c-span radio, plus a variety of compelling podcasts. it's available now at the apple store and google play downloaded free today. c-span your front row seat to washington, anytime, anywhere. >> the senate's coming in for more work on president biden's judicial nominations. two votes planned at 11:30 a.m. eastern. one on whether to confirm to the 1st circuit court of appeals and another on

advancing the nomination of a judge to be 2nd circuit court. and later, a short-term spending bill to fund the government past september 30th. senator chuck schumer says he'll bring a bill on same-sex marriage. will lead the senate in prayer. the chaplain: let us pray. almighty god, lord of hosts, we praise you for choosing to make yourself known to us in the unfolding of your loving providence. our hearts expand with joy because of your presence. empower us to keep our minds steadfastly on you.

lord, use our senators to make a better nation and world. give them an openness of mind and heart that they may receive the fullness of your grace. consecrate them to the laudable task of permitting your kingdom to flourish in this generation and beyond. lord, make our lawmakers instruments of your peace. we pray in your strong name. amen. the presiding officer: please join me in reciting the pledge of allegiance to the flag. i pledge allegiance to the flag of the united states of america, and to the republic for which it stands,

one nation under god, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. the presiding officer: the clerk will read a communication to the senate. the clerk: washington, d.c., september 14, 2022. to the senate: under the provisions of rule 1, paragraph 3, of the standing rules of the senate, i hereby appoint the honorable ben ray lujan, a senator from the state of new mexico, to perform the duties of the chair. signed: patrick j. leahy, president pro tempore. proo 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, mo laramonttekalvo, o

be united states circuit judge for the circuit court.

mr. schumer: mr. president. the presiding officer: the majority leader. mr. schumer: mr. president, yesterday was truly a tale of two parties. while one party, the democrats, gathered at the white house to celebrate the passage of our job-creating agenda, the other party, the maga republicans, spent their day introducing a nationwide ban on abortions. if the american people want to know what the difference is between the two parties are, look no further. one party is focused on jobs. that's us. the other is focused on a nationwide abortion ban, that's the extreme maga republicans. one wants to lower inflation. one party wants to lower inflation and help families make ends meet, to tackle the generational challenges we face, and has passed major legislation to that effect, now law.

the other party, apparently, wants to eliminate women's autonomy over their own bodies. here's how you know republicans are dangerously out of touch -- months after women had their freedom of choice taken away by the maga supreme court, a nationwide abortion ban was actually their attempt to seem more mainstream. can you believe it? to seem more mainstream? heaven help us, mr. president. heaven help us. it shows just how extreme they are. the core problem is that far from being mainstream, a large portion of the republican party harbors truly extreme views on a woman's right to choose. in the few months since the dobbs decision, republican state legislatures in places like indiana, south carolina, and others, have either introduced or enacted new abortion restrictions with alarmingly few exceptions of rape or incest.

in this chamber senate republicans spent years confirming judges hostile to freedom of choice, including three sitting supreme court justices who joined with the majority in overturning roe. and the then majority leader, now minority leader, leader mcconnell, has repeatedly said his greatest accomplishment is putting these judges on the court. his greatest accomplishments, putting judges on the court who overturn roe v. wade? do the american people want that? i don't think so. and for all the hemming and highwaying we heard -- hemming and hog we heard yesterday from republicans on where they stand on the issue, they cannot run away from their record. setting aside yesterday's proposal, the fact is that 45 senate republicans, including leading mcconnell, remain cosponsors of another nationwide abortion ban previously introduced by the senator from south carolina. leader mcconnell himself told

"usa today" earlier this year that without roe, proposals for a nationwide ban on abortions were now possible. his words, possible, if republicans control the senate. do the american people want that? do they want mcconnell, leader mitch mcconnell, to be majority leader and work to overturn, to impose a nationwide ban on abortions? i don't think so. now they're sort of running away from what their real beliefs are, but they're like the dog who caught the bus. for years they pushed to make this happen. unfortunately, to the detriment of over 100 million american women, it happened, and now they don't know quite what to do. they're not backing off their horrible maga principles, but they want to hide from it at the same time. because they know how unpopular it is. and to show you just where the party is at, almost immediately

after the court overturned roe, mike pence, former republican vice president, now running for president, possibly, in 2024, said, quote, republicans must not rest until abortion is illegal everywhere. that means a nationwide ban. that adopt leave it up to the states. in fact, he doubled down on just this last night, saying a national abortion ban is profoundly more important than republicans' short-term interests. that's one of the leaders of the republican party, which has moved so far to the right, even that someone like pence, who doesn't always go along with trump, feels compelled to say that extreme -- to take that extreme position. and lest we forget, folks, nearly every senate republican, nearly every senate republican already voted to push national

abortion bans in 2020, in 2018, and 2015. during one of these votes, the senator from south carolina, who introduced the nationwide ban again yesterday, said, quote, these pieces of legislation will continue to be advanced until they pass. how do we know that republicans will put a national abortion ban on the floor if they control the senate? not only has senator graham committed to doing it, they've done it before, three times, and they'll do it again if they get the majority. america, beware. america, beware. so the truth is not hard to grasp. represents do not care about leaving abortion in the hands of the states. no way. they do not care that a majority of americans supported roe and support abortion rights. what maga republicans care about deep down is eliminated freedom of choice across america,

period, and they are already at work right now on legislation, as we heard yesterday, that will take us down that terrible, terrible path. well, it's my view that the american people aren't going to be fooled by republicans' desperate attempts to see mainstream. you can't fake your way through an issue so personal and so important as a woman's right to make her own health care choices. they're not going to be able to run and duck and bob and weave and tie themselves in pretzel knots. everyone knows where they're at. lindsey graham made it clear again yesterday, and people will know the republican view -- abolish abortion everywhere. that's not going to change, no matter what some on the other side might think. now, on the positive impacts of the democratic agenda, a much happier note. as i said a moment ago, mr. president, while maga republicans spent yesterday touting their extreme agenda,

democrats focused on the things that matter most right now to the american people -- lowering costs, creating good-paying jobs, and protecting our planet for future generations. the inflation reduction act has not been law for even a month, not just a month, and already it's spurring new investments that will generate years, if not decades, of robust economic activity, in industries that will stay here in america -- here in america, not china, not anywhere else -- for a very long time. a remarkable number of companies in the energy, ought and clean-tech sectors have announced that they're either approving or accelerating new plans to grow their businesses. one of the most significant areas of activity is happening in e.v.'s and battery manufacturing. so crucial to meeting our country's growing demand for electric vehicles. china has dominated battery

manufacturing for too long, and we're bringing these jobs back to america. not just talking about it, doing it. honda and l.g., for instance, have teamed up to invest $4 billion for a new battery plant, with an annual production of 40 g.w.h. hyundai, meanwhile, has announced that they might actually accelerate their timetable for building new state of the art e.v. and battery plants in savannah, georgia. plans called for getting started early next year. now they're saying it can happen sooner. it's the votes of people and the activity of people like raphael warnock and jon osoff that made that happen. of course, the benefits of our bill will extend way beyond e.v.'s and batteries. solar energy industries association projects that by 2027 the u.s. solar market will grow 40% more than expected,

thanks to inflation -- the inflation reduction act. numerous companies focused on renewables, carbon capture, heat pumps are announcing a flurry of investments, very often citing our bill, now law, the i.r.a. all of these examples share something important -- these are the jobs of tomorrow. these industries are going to stick around for deckates as our country transitions away from fossil fuels and towards cleaner forms of energy. the impact will be felt everywhere. it's going to take millions of workers to build these vehicles, reshape our infrastructure, install these technologies in our homes and offices. because so much of this will be done by union labor, these will be good-paying-paying jobs withd pay. keeping those in the middle class and others climbing the ladder to get into the middle class and stay there.

it's a wonderful and beautiful thing. in a certain sense, we did the right thing, making sure our planet doesn't burn up, but it had so many other effects, like good-paying jobs and strengthening the middle class. and, had we not taken action to encourage these investments, it's likely many of these jobs would end up going overseas, to asia, to europe. america would have lost out. instead, we have a real chance to lead the way again. this, mr. president, is the result of democrats leading the way here in congress. we're proud, every one of us is proud, of the steps we've taken to lower energy costs, to create jobs that have a real future in this country, and to give working families a chance to climb up those ladders and get into that middle class. it's all about restoring that sunny american optimism that's been at the core of our economic

prosperity for so long, that some felt had passed us by. but no, we democrats said it hasn't passed us by. the best of our future is yet to come. on marriage equality, mr. president, over the past few months both sides have engaged in good-faith conversations about how to pass marriage equality into law. i truly hope, for the sake of tens of millions of americans, that there will be at least ten republicans who will vote with us to pass this important bill soon. democrats are ready to make it happen, and willing to debate reasonable compromises on the specifics. so i urge my colleagues on the other side to join us. around the country, the feeling is sinking in that this is a dark time for individual rights. so codifying marriage equality is one of the best things we can do to provide peace of mind to millions of americans who are

gay americans, lgbtq americans who are married, and to their families, to their friends. it extends way beyond the individual couple who's married. it's an issue that hits home for many of us in this chamber, including me. if we ever find ourselves in the awful situation of having marriage equality overturned by the supreme court, i dare say the vast majority of us would see impacts in our own personal lives or the personal lives of our close family and friends, in one way or another. it would be risky and perhaps foolish to think that such a day could never come. maybe a few months ago people would think that. no more. justice thomas put his cards on the table. he said that he is very open, that the supreme court's decision protecting same-sex marriage should, in fact, be reconsidered. often when justice thomas says it, his other four maga

republican supreme court colleague justices are thinking the same thing. to anyone who says that the high court would never be so reckless as to overturn a decision that has protected this fundamental right of millions of people, all i say to this is wake up. look what they did in the dobbs decision. passing marriage equality in the senate is all about making sure such a danger never, never materializes. millions of americans, tens of millions of americans, will breathe a huge sigh of relief if we do this. and it's the right thing to do. we know that america has trod on the long path towards greater equality. we know that when the constitution was written millions of americans were enslaved. in many states you had to be a white male protestant property

owner to vote. that would leave you and me out, mr. president. they know that. and they know, and most americans are proud, that we've made progress. there are some dark forces encapsulated, embodied in maga republicans, so many of whom are in this chamber, who want to take steps backward. we're not going to let it happen. we shouldn't let it happen. i truly hope, for the sake of tens of millions of americans, that there will be at least ten republicans who will vote with us to pass this very, very important bill. i yield the floor.

mr. mcconnell: mr. president. the presiding officer: the republican leader. mr. mcconnell: the american people's number one priority is runaway inflation that is smashing their family budgets and crushing our economy.

yesterday the latest inflation report showed that soaring prices are still completely out of control. inflation has totaled 13.2% since the day president biden took office. we just had the worst 12 months for both food inflation and electricity since the fallout from the carter administration. president biden and our democratic colleagues chose to celebrate, celebrate this awful inflation report with a so-called inflation reduction party yesterday at the white house. while the dow jones plummeted over a thousand points, while the s&p 500 lost more than 4% of its value in one day, while american families can't afford gas, groceries, or electricity, washington democrats partied on

the white house lawn to celebrate their policies. that's what happened yesterday. this is what democrats do while our economy crumbles. they subsidize luxury electric cars. they make p plumbers and retail workers eat debt for lawyers and doctors and they throw a party for themselves on the white house lawn. now, on an entirely different matter, when you combine the border crisis and the violent crime crisis, law and order ranks at the american people's number two priority second only to the inflation crisis. while democrats' economic policies have waged war on works families' financial security, their soft on crime policies have eroded america's physical

security. cities, towns, and neighborhoods across the country are reeling from a wave of violent crime. just last weekend in my state, kentucky experienced a spade of murders and attempted murders that rattled residents and literally overwhelmed the police. lexington saw four separate shooting incidents on saturday night alone leaving nine hurt, some with life threatening injuries. a police department veteran described it as a pretty much unprecedented night in my 20 years. officers were so tied up that they were unable to respond to other crimes and disorder. louisville also saw a flurry of violence. the second highest number of homicides in one weekend this year. six people murdered in just three days. both cities documented record

homicide numbers last year and on track to do so again. for louisville this is the second consecutive year of triple-digit killings. of course this crisis isn't just hitting kentucky. these trends are nationwide. for years the far left has impugned the motives in honor of police officers and taken aim at their funding. for years top liberal donors have poured money into campaigns that radical district attorneys in big cities whose whole stated agenda is not prosecute crimes. for years democratic elites have pushed for letting violent criminals out of prison. democrats just nominated and confirmed a supreme court justice who argued as a d.c. district judge that covid justified -- listen to this -- letting every single prisoner in

custody out of jail and back on the streets. this has been an intentional strategic campaign from the far left. and now americans are being robbed, carjacked, assaulted, and murdered. their families are being poisoned with illegal drugs. just weeks ago senator rubio gave the senate a vote to increase funding for fighting crime and keeping dangerous criminals locked up. every senate republican supported this. every democrat joined on party lines to block it. later today our colleague from tennessee will hold a press conference to discuss the horrifying case of eli today -- eliza fletcher, a 34-year-old mom and teacher in memphis who a career criminal forced into an suv and murdered while she was out for her morning run. the suspect had multiple violent crimes on his rap sheet dating

back to age 14 and had just been let out of prison early for a prior kidnapping. so there are far too many tragic stories like eliza fletcher's being written every day and every week all across our country. entire neighborhoods have become unwalkable. in many places public transit has become nearly unusable. a few months ago "the washington post" profiled one day in the life of a female immigrant bus driver in denver who gets screamed at and threatened by lunatics on a daily basis.

just yesterday a 49-year-old was stabbed in the back while riding the subway in new york city after he was asked -- he asked another passenger to just quiet down. our democratic friends like to talk about fairness and compassion. there's nothing fair or compassionate about letting cities descend into violence and chaos. there's nothing fair or compassionate about legislating like career criminals deserve fifth and sixth chances, more than young mothers deserve the right to ge out for a morning -- to go out for a morning jog and come home alive. stable prices, reliable energy, secure borders, and basic public safety are four of the most basic duties that any government in a civilized country owes its citizens. these things are the absolute minimum that american families

ought to be able to count on, the bare minimum. and the democrats want party government -- the democrats' one-party government can't deliver it. on another matter it's been encouraging to see good news regarding the ukrainian people's fight to reclaim their sovereignty. the latest reports indicate that ukraine has recently liberated 2400 square miles of their own territory from russian hands. the sight of a democratic nation beating back the aggression continues to inspire the free world. it should make other thugs think twice about falling in putin's footsteps but obviously it's not nearly time to ease up. the access of authoritarians is still pushing hard through ukraine to -- for ukraine to fail. iran is equipping the russian military with armed drones like the ones they and their proxies have used against american forces in syria and iraq and

against our israeli emradi and saudi partners. north korea is reportedly refilling russia's artillery stockpiles and the prc has publicly supported moscow's narrative through every russian atrocity. so our ukrainian friends may still face a long, hard struggle to achieve victory as they define it, but western countries can help by stepping up the pace of our collective assistance. ukraine's hard-won successes on the battlefield could have come actually even earlier if the biden administration and european allies had taken their cues from washington had been quicker and more proactive to deliver the capabilities ukraine accurately needed. ukraine forces are working wonders with western equipment. they've quickly integrated cutting edge systems like himars

and javelin and stinger missiles. the west -- to put the capabilities in the right hands has cost lives. horrors had been avoted if the biden administration and our european partners hadn't been self-deterred from providing these tools sooner. the ukrainians need more of the weapons we've been giving them. they need to start getting them faster and they also need new capabilities like long-range atacms, larger drones, and tanks. not all of these weapons need to come from america. make no mistake, our allies are looking to us for signals. president biden should be clearer with western europe about the need for them to make meaningful, specific contributions to ukraine and to do it quickly. he should also be clearer with our allies that our defense holiday is over. it's time for all of us to rebuild our militaries and

defense and industrial bases. this will take urgent investments, regulatory reform, and prioritization to expand our capacity to produce critical munitions and systems. these short and long-term steps alike are in europe's vital interest, america's vital interest and the entire free world's. beijing, tehran and other acor tearian regime -- authoritarian regimes will think this will go unpunished. i suggest the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll.

but good morning, david. >> good morning. >> president biden's comments will be carried on c-span networks and platforms later today so folks can tune in around 1:45 p.m. but can you about what brings president biden to the motor city? >> sure. president biden lets cars. he loves auto shows. as finger he routinely came to the detroit auto show by himself to meet with auto companies and look at new cars. i once covered him and his family when his vice president going to the d.c. auto show on off day just for fun, just to see cars. he really likes people. electric vehicle push has been a

central focus of the administration's push toward both reducing emissions and beating climate goals as well as trying to boost u.s. manufacturing. a lot of what is going to be talking about is a really big mr. reed: thank you, mr. president. i want to thank my colleagues for voting on a bipartisan basis to advance the nomination of lara e. montecalvo to be a judge to the united states court of appeals to the first circuit. i look forward to her confirmation today. she will soon fill the seat vacated by judge thompson, an outstanding jurist who i was proud to recommend and who is taking senior status. she will continue to hear cases on a more limited basis along with another distinguished judge from rhode island who has taken senior status an continues to hear cases on the first circuit.

these are two outstanding jurists and like judge thompson and judge sellar, judge lara e. montecalvo is also -- i'm pleased that the judiciary committee reported her nomination on a bipartisan vote and i'm grateful to my colleagues on both sides of the aisle who voted yesterday to advance her nomination. her resume speaks for herself. she has demonstrated an unwavering commitment to hold up our rights, including the fifth amendment right to due process. she was a gifted student who holds degrees from boston college law school where she graduated magnum cum laude in

2000. she was immediately drawn to public service. she started her legal career at the department of justice for four years focusing on civil tax matters in federal courts. in 2004, she joined the rhode island public defenders office and risen to the ranks to lead that office. ms. montecalvo has more than 20 years of experience as a trial and appellate attorney. she has appeared in just about every court in rhode island including the state's highest court. her extensive courtroom experience will add valuable perspectives to deliberations of the first circuit. it's more than a resume. within the rhode island legal community, she is known for her zealous advocacy for her clients. she has won accolades from judges, prosecutors and law enforcement officials and from individuals from across the

political spectrum. many of them have endorsed her nomination, including five rhode island attorneys general and two former u.s. attorneys, one appointed by president obama and one by president trump. i know she will serve on the first circuit with honor and distinction she's has every step of her legal career. i ask my colleagues to support this judge to serve on the first circuit. thank you, mr. president. with that, i will yield the floor and note the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. quorum call:

>> host: david shepardson joins us now. in efforts to promote electric vehicles in the u.s. good morning, david. >> host: . >> guest: good morning. >> host: president biden's comment will be carried on c-span networks and platforms later today so folks can tune in around 1:45 p.m. but can you start by giving us a little preview about what brings president biden to the motor city ranking member grassley sure. president biden loves cars. he loves auto shows. as a senator he routinely came to the detroit auto show by himself to meet with our

companies and look at new cars. i once covered him and his family when he was vice president going to d.c. auto show on and off the day just for fun, just to see cars. he really likes vehicles. the electric vehicle push and the auto industry has been a central focus of the administration's push toward both reducing emissions and meeting climate goals as well as trying to boost u.s. manufacturing. a lot of what he's going to be talking about is a really big jump in the number of battery plants, joint ventures between auto companies, battery cell manufacturers to build those batteries for electric vehicles. i think part of the message is going to be yes electric vehicles are more expensive but ultimately they see those vehicles as as a solution foh gas prices so people don't need

to go to the gas pump and they can recharge their vehicles for much less. of course we are still more, significantly more, and there are still relatively few electric vehicles for sale outside of tesla, but what he's going to see is the detroit companies are making billions of dollars in investments to roll out a lot of new electric vehicles, whether it's the f150 electric version called f1 50 lightning which is going on sale for a few months or gm is showing off a new $30,000 electric suv that's going to come out next year. ..

and one issue with the likely vehicle option is that there are not enough even chargers not everybody has this in their house where they can charge their vehicle at home so it is critical there is enough charging capacity and not just in wealthy areas were people already have the tvs to see the expansion of electric vehicles and probably someone would get to drive but a lot of new models. >> i did see and proceeded to posted article that's morning about that $900 million in

electric vehicle charging funding that is gone on the website this morning. for those watching and listening, we do want to get to your calls and what questions you have for dave about electric vehicles are president biden's policy and what comas do you have about the transition from gas to power to electric vehicles had so those numbers are democrats (202)748-8000 and republicans call (202)748-8001 and independent, dial (202)748-8002, and you can start calling it now and we will get to you in just a few moments and, i did want to ask you, can you talk a little bit about how the big three automakers, little bit more about how they are transitioning their business models to the future with

electric and the hybrid av vehicle. >> it is a really challenging time of the auto companies. negative bad story, while congress in august past the inflation reduction act which provides auto companies to essentially tens of billions of dollars through tax credits in the grants, low cost loan programs and transition to retool those plans that occur in the gasoline engines and other parts and production vehicles make those new electric vehicles so that is the upside. the more difficult part is there new or expanding tax credits for $7500 for new vehicle that were adopted by that law and the problem is that it makes all vehicles.

lifted. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. thune: yesterday, the democratsed a president gathered at the white house to celebrate the so-called inflation reduction act. the a bill that will do absolutely nothing to reduce inflation. you don't have to take my word for it. the nonpartisan penn wharton budget model said this, i quote, the impact on inflation is statistically indistinguishable from zero. statistically indistinguishable from zero. or, you could take the word of the democrat chairman of the senate budget committee, who admitted on the senate floor, right here, that the so-called inflation reduction act would not reduce inflation. that's right. mr. president, to describe yesterday's celebration at the white house as tone deaf would be putting it mildly. democrats had a big party to celebrate a bill that may fulfill some of their

big-government fantasies, but will do nothing to fix the inflation crisis facing our country. meanwhile, americans were dealing with the release of august inflation numbers, which were even higher than expected and made it very clear that the soaring prices will continue for the foreseeable future. one of president obama's top economic advisers noted yesterday, and i quote, today's cpi report confirms that the u.s. has a serious inflation problem. core inflation is higher this month than for the quarter. higher this quarter than last quarter. higher this half of the year than the previous one. and higher last year than the previous one. end quote. that from one of president obama's top economic advisers, who made that statement yesterday. and yet, democrats and the

president somehow thought yesterday was a good day to celebrate fulfilling some of their big government fantasies. well, i guess americans struggling to afford their soaring grocery bills can be comforted by the fact that thank to democrats' legislation, their tox dollars will now be going to fund electric vehicle tax credits for wealthy americans. not to mention road equity and identifying gaps in tree canopy coverage. yes. provisions in the bill that they were celebrating yesterday. meanwhile, the pain of inflation is permeating every aspect of our economy. during the month of august i spent a lot of time traveling around south dakota. naturally, i spent a lot of time talking to farmers and ranchers. one thing i heard over and over is the toll that inflation is taking on agriculture. now, in addition to the normal

challenges every american is facing from inflation, like high utility bills, high grocery prices, farmers and ranchers are facing massive increases in the price of essential inputs, like fertilizer and fuel. under the biden administration farm production expenses will reach a record high this year. fertilizer prices are on track to increase by 84%. 84%. that is a staggers increase. fuel prices are on track to increase 65%. and there's no end in sight. farmers are facing a huge increase in interest costs thanks to a combination of higher interest rates and record high farm debt. gross farm income is actually supposed to reach a record level this year. but those gains are expected to be entirely wiped out by

inflation, and then some. thanks to inflation, net farm income is expected to decrease at a time when gross farm income is expected to reach a record level, 14% higher year over year than last year, net farm income, inflation adjusted, is actually going to go down because of the impact of inflation. meanwhile, democrats were at the white house celebrating a bill that will not only do nothing to address our inflation crisis, but will drive up energy bills for american farmers and american families. mr. president, agriculture is the lifeblood of my state of south dakota. and addressing the needs of farmers and ranchers is always one of my top priorities here in the senate. while it's unfortunately going to be difficult to stop democrats from prolonging our inflation crisis as long as they're in charge in washington, in the meantime i'm doing

everything i can to make life easier for our farmers and ranchers. one of my top priorities right now is preparing for the 2023 farm bill to make it as effective as possible in addressing the challenges that are facing our farmers and ranchers. i've been holding roundtables in south dakota to hear directly from producers about their priorities for the farm bill. so far i've held roundtables cover rowps cro, conservation and -- row crops, conservation and livestock. i took part in a aberdeen chamber of commerce discussion at the brown county fair. i look forward to epping see input from producers as the time to draft the farm bill approaches. i've begun introducing legislation based on my conversations with farmers and ranchers that i will work to get included in the farm bill. in march, i introduced the conservation program improvement act that will make crp more

afactive by providing cost-share for the establishment of grazing infrastructure, including fencing and water distribution. it would also increase the annual payment limit for crp, which has not changed since 1985, to help account for inflation and the increase in land value. in may i joined senator klobuchar to introduce the agricultural innovation act. currently, the u.s. department of agriculture collects reams of data on conservation practices. the problem is that a lot of the state is often not analyzed and presented in a way that will be useful for farmers and ranchers. the legislation senator klobuchar and i introduced would provide for better processing and development of the data that usda collects so farmers and ranchers can evaluate the impact on soil health, crop yields, and profitability. our bill would headache it

easier for farmers and -- our bill would make it easier for farmers and ranchers to adopt to help producers identify the ways adopting conservation practices can improve their bottom line. in the next couple weeks i will intro another piece of legislation for the 2023 farm bill to improve the effectiveness of livestock disaster assistance for producers. too often producers find that accessing disaster relief programs at the department of agriculture is an arduous and lengthy process. i'm working on legislation that will make it easier for farmers and ranchers to access the livestock program and the emergency conservation program so producers can receive timely assistance in the wake of natural disasters like drought and flooding. the u.s. drought monitor plays a critical role in triggering usda disaster assistance, and i'm working to build on the previous efforts to improve weather

monitoring and accuracy of the drought monitor. this isn't a farm bill issue per se. but i'm also introducing legislation today to prevent democrats from using funding in the recently passed and misnamed, as i pointed out earlier, inflation reduction act, to monitor livestock methane emissions. it's very clear that elements of the radical environmental left would like to see u.s. livestock producers out of business entirely. my legislation is designed to forestall future attempts to curtail beef production by preventing the biden environmental protection agency from using funds in the democrats' bill to monitor livestock emissions. mr. president, agriculture is a challenging way of life. in addition to back breaking work in all weather, our nation's farmers and ranchers have to contend with the

uncontrollable whims of the weather, which can wipe out a herd or crop in a day. as if the actual challenges of the job weren't enough, over the course of the biden administration our nation's farmers and ranchers have had to deal with soaring inflation. i'm incredibly grateful for all the south dakota farmers and ranchers and all of our nation's farmers and ranchers who continue to persevere during these difficult circumstances. and i will continue to do everything i can in washington to make their jobs easier and to support them as they do the essential work of feeding our nation and the world. mr. president, i yield the floor, and i suggest the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. quorum call:

quorum call:

>> yesterday was truly tell to parties and while one party, the democrats, given at the white house, to celebrate that passage of our job creating agenda, and the other party, the mega republicans, spent the day introducing a nationwide ban on abortions and if the market people want to know what the difference is between the two parties are, look no further. when party focus on jobs, that

is us, and the other focus on the nationwide abortion bands, that is the extreme mega republicans. one was to lower inflation, when party was to lower inflation and help families make ends meet, to tackle the generational issues we face in this passed measure legislation to that effect of an outlaw. in the other party apparently, was to eliminate women's autonomy over their own bodies. here is how you know republicans are dangerously out of touch, months after women have their freedom of choice taken away by the mega supreme court, nationwide abortion band was actually their attempt to be more mainstreamed, can you believe it, heaven help us mr. president, heaven help us. it shows how extreme they are in the core problem is that farming mainstream, large portion of the

republican party, has truly extreme views on a woman's right to choose and in a few months, since the dobbs decision, republicans say legislature in place like indiana, south carolina and others have either introduced or enacted new abortion restrictions with alarmingly few exceptions of rape or incest and in this chamber, senate republicans spent years confirming judges for the freedom of choice including three supreme court justices who joined the majority in overturning roe in the majority leader now minority leader, mitch mcconnell, has repeatedly said that his greatest accomplishment is putting these judges on the court. the greatest accomplishment to overturn roe v. wade to the american people, do they want that, i don't think so. then for all of that hemming annoying that we heard yesterday from republicans about where they really stand on the issue, they cannot run away from their

record it. today's proposal, the fact is that 45 senate republicans, including leader mcconnell, remain cosponsored of another nationwide abortion ban, previously introduced from the senator from south carolina, the leader mcconnell himself, told usa today earlier this year of that without, proposals for nationwide ban on abortions were now possible, his words, possible if the republicans control the senate and the american people do they want that. do they want mcconnell to be the majority leader. work to overturn and to impose a nationwide ban on abortions and i don't think so. another sort of running away from what their real beliefs are there like a dog - for years the push to make this happen and

unfortunately come to the detriment of over 100 million american women, and now they don't know quite what to do. there horrible mega principles, that they want to hide from it at the same times because they know how unpopular it is. enter show you just where it is that, almost immediately after the court overturned row, mike pence, former republican vice president, no running for president possibly in 2024, so the republicans must not rest until abortion is illegal everywhere, a nationwide band, that not leave it up to the state and in fact, he publishes less icing that the national abortion fan is more important than republican short-term interest in this one of the leaders of the republican party which is move so far to the right, even 70 like pence does

not always go along with trump, is compelled that extreme to tae that extreme position. and lest we forget folks, nearly every senate republican nearly every senate republican, already voted to push national abortion ban in 2020, and 2018, and in 2015 right during one of these was the center from south carolina will introduce nationwide ban again yesterday, said, these pieces of legislation will continue to advance until the past. we know that republicans will put a national abortion man on the floor they control the senate, not only has sooner has considered to do it, they have done it before, three times, and again if they get the majority of americans beware, america the

aware. so the truth is not hard to grasp, republicans do not care about leaving abortion in the hands of the state, no way. they do not care that a majority of americans supported row and abortion rights. went mega republicans care about deep down is eliminating freedom of choice across america. already at work right now on legislation as we heard yesterday, something is him that terrible terrible path. it is my view that the market people are not going to be fooled by americans desperate attempt to be mainstreamed and you can't figure going through an issue some personal is so important as a woman's right to make our own healthcare choices not be able to duck involving leave and tie themselves and pretzel notes and organelles were there apps, and lindsey graham graham made it clear again yesterday, and you'll know

the republican view pretty volatile portion everywhere and is not going to change, no matter with some on the other side might think. in the positive in effect and effects of a check for your note of the democrats i come as i said a moment ago, mega republicans telling their extreme agenda, democrats focus on the things that matter most right now to the american people, lowering costs, creating good paying jobs, and protecting our planet, the future generation and the inflation reduction act, has not been an offer not even about them not just a myth, and already a spring new investment that will write years and decades of robust economic activity, and industries that will stay here in america, here in america, i'm in china or anywhere else for a very long time. a remarkable number of companies in the energy and automotive and

clean tech sector, have announced that there accelerate new plans to grow the businesses. one of the most significant areas of activity is happening in penry manufacturing is so crucial to meeting our country's growing transfer electric vehicles in china has dominated battery factory for too long we are bringing these jobs back to america, not just talking about it, we are doing it. honda and lg for instance, have teamed up to invest $4 million to renew battery plants within an annual production of 42 wh, honaker meanwhile, has announced they might actually accelerate their timetable for building new state-of-the-art battery plans in savanna georgia, plan: forgetting started early next year and other saying that it

could happen sooner. and it's a vote of the people in the activity of people that have made that happen. and of course the benefits of our syllables are way beyond tvs and batteries and solar energy industries association projects that by 2027 of the u.s. total market will grow for some work than expected. thanks to inflation reduction act pretty and numerous companies focused on renewables, carbon capture, he pumps, announcing a flurry of investments and very often with her bill that is now law the ira and all of these examples share something important, these are the generations of tomorrow in these industries are going to stick around for decades as our country makes the transition away from fossil fuels, and cleaner forms of energy and the impact will be felt everywhere pretty is going to take millions of workers to build these

vehicles, and reshape our infrastructure is all these technologies in our homes and in our office is empty much of this will be done by union labor send this will be paying jobs at good wages with good benefits. and keeping those in the middle class narrowed allowing many others are claiming that letter to get into the middle class and stay there and it's a wonderful and beautiful thing. in a certain sense, we did the right thing, making sure our planet is offered up. but i have so many other ethics like good paying jobs and strengthening the middle class and that we not take action to encourage these investments like it's likely many of the shops will go overseas to asia, europe, and america lost out and it said, liberal chance of leading the way again in this mr. president is the results of

democrats leaving their way through congress and were proud and every one of us is proud of the steps we have taken to lower energy costs and to create jobs that have a real future in this country to give working families a chance to climb of those letters and get into the middle class is all about restoring the sunny american optimist that is court that economic prosperity and prosperity for so long, and no we democrats said no it has not in the best of her future is yet to come. our marriage equality, mr. president, past few months, besides have engage in good faith conversations about how to pass marriage equality the what i truly hope to think of tens of millions of americans, that there will be at least ten republicans who will vote with us. and democrats are ready to make it happen and willing to debate

reasonable compromises on this decision and so here's my colleagues on the other side to join us for the country and the feeling of sinking in this is a dark time for individuals. and so codifying the marriage equality is one of the best things we can do to provide peace of mind. to millions of americans. who are gay americans in lb gt q americans and family and friends that extends way beyond the couples and is an issue that hits home for many of us in this chamber including me. if we ever find ourselves in the awful situation, but having marriage equality overturned by the supreme court, i daresay that the vast majority of us impacting our own personal lives and the personal lives of a close family and friends in one way or another prayed it would be risky and perhaps foolish to think that saturday could never

come. maybe if humans ago people would think that no more, justice thomas, but his cards on the table. he said that he's going be very open that the supreme court decision protecting the same marriage would be reconsidered often when justice thomas is at, there's other four mega republican justices are thinking the same thing to anybody assess the high court would never be so reckless dominant to overturn the decision that is protected this fundamental right, millions of people this is wake up, and look what they did. in the job decision. housing marriage equality visited is all about making sure such danger is never done and millions of americans and tens of millions of americans, will

breathe a sigh of relief and it is the right thing to do and we know that america has on the long path of equality and we know when the constitution was written, millions of americans were enslaved. many many states yet be a white male protestant property owner to vote that would leave you and me out mr. president. they know that in most americans are proud that we've made progress. there are dark forces encapsulating and voting in mega republicans and so many of them are in this chamber, and wanted take steps back and rung going to let it happen we should not let happen and so i truly help for the sake of tens of millions of americans, that there will be at least ten republicans will vote with us to pass this very very important bill and i yield

the floor. >> mr. president,id i asked that the quorum call be. nomination. is there a sufficient second? there appears to be. the clerk will call the roll. vote:

vote:

vote:

vote: vote:

vote:

the presiding officer: the yeas are 52. the nays 47. the nomination is confirmed.

under the previous order, the motion to reconsider is considered made and laid upon the table and the president will be immediately notified of the senate's action. the clerk will report the motion to invoke cloture. the clerk: cloture motion, we, the undersigned senators in accordance with the provisions of rule 22 of the standing rules of the senate do hereby move to bring to a close debate on the nomination of executive calendar number 1032, sarah a.l. merriam of connecticut to be united states circuit judge for the second circuit signed by 19 senators. the presiding officer: by unanimous consent, the mandatory quorum call has been waived. the question is, is it the sense of the senate that debate on the nomination of sarah a.l. merriam of connecticut to be united states sirp cut judge for the second circuit shall be brought

to a close. the yeas and nays are mandatory under the rule. the clerk will call the roll. vote:

vote:

vote:

vote:

and stop them. recently the national center for education statistics which is part of the u.s. department of education, found that 88% of public schools did not, quote,

strongly agree when asked whether they had the fund willing and the mental health professionals they needed for schools. 88% said we need more mental health professionals in schools and more funding to hire them. my bill would address both of these problems by ensuring that we're doubling the number of police officers so there are armed police officers to protect our kids and keep them safe and so their mental health coun counselors to spot a dangerous young man before he goes down the road of committing a more horrific mass murder. this bill is common sense and in the same political environment it would be passed 100-0. my colleague senator barrasso wants to make some additional remarks on my bill so i yield the floor to senator barrasso.

mr. barrasso: madam president, i come to the floor today to join my colleague and friend from texas in support of this very important piece of legislation. what happened in uvalde was a tragedy. it was horrendous. and i commend the citizens of that community for their strength in a time of heart ache. every member of this body agrees that we need to find the best way to protect children who go to school, whether in washington, d.c. or wheatland, wyoming, we need to find a way to protect those students. that's why senator cruz and i have introduced the safe kids safe schools, safe communities act of 2022. our bill provides the kind of safety and the kind of security that our children, our schools, and our communities desperately need. and we do this while always

protecting the constitutional rights of law-abiding americans. now, as a doctor who served in our state legislature in wyoming and now in this body, i have seen the devastating impact of mental health challenges. senator cruz talked specifically about those. that's why we address them in this bill. i've seen how much those challenges have contributed to what we have seen in these terrible acts. our bill would make a difference, make a difference by proceeding mental health professionals with the resources they need to identify and to address these behavioral health needs of our students. our bill would hire 15,000 more mental health professionals at middle schools and high schools. it also significantly increases the physical safety of our schools. our bill would double the number of police officers in our schools. it would