and podcasts. down lead it free today. c-span now your front show seat to washington anytime, anywhere. >> senate lawmakers today working on judicial nominations. one of the nominees they're considering is jerry blackwell of minnesota to be u.s. district judge for the district of minnesota. blackwell was a prosecutor in the trial for minneapolis police officer derek chauvin who was convicted in the death of george floyd. off the floor, senate lawmakers continuing to negotiate funding for the federal government past the december 16th deadline. 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, dr. barry black, will lead the senate in prayer.

the chaplain: let us pray. eternal spirit who directs the paths of all who love you in this season of peace on earth, we thank you for your word and for the eternal truths that guide us day by day. thank you, lord, for another day with opportunities to make a difference in your world. thank you also for the sureness of your presence that brings us peace in the midst of this world's turmoil. lord, teach us to turn to you so

that your thoughts can become our thoughts and your ways our ways. be for our senators a refugee and a fortress and may they put their trust in you. we pray in your great 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., december 1, 2022. to the senate: under the provisions of rule 1, paragraph 3, of the standing rules of the senate, i hereby appoint the

honorable jacky sheryl rosen, a senator from the state of nevada, to perform the duties of the chair. signed: patrick j. leahy, president pro tempore. the presiding officer: under the previous order, leadership time is reserved, morning business is closed. under the previous order, the senate will proceed to executive session to resume consideration of the following nomination, which the clerk will record. -- report. the clerk: nomination, the judiciary, jerry w. blackwell, of minnesota, to be united states district judge for the district of minnesota.

>> weather was appropriate for congress to act in this case in terms of the two measures the house has passed extending the paisley and how concerned you may be for the potential of the senate not finishing at work and not taking up the measures

passed by the house yesterday. the reporting from "politico" this morning on what is going on, democrat rail strike challenge say the economy and your ties to unions. push for paid sick leave in any glider two-step solution to the house. it may not survive the senate buzz saw. house progresses forced democratic leaders to boost a leave a rail world workers before agreeing to avert a potentially disastrous strike. they may end up what little more than a symbolic win. the compromise between speaker nancy pelosi's leadership team and an emboldened left hinge on a similar elegant solution come to avoid a real strike. house members voted on both the base labor agreement and a separate bill adding seven days of paid sick leave to it. when the arrangement smooth the way for final passage amid a chaotic negotiating scramble between the congress and white house, it appeared to satisfy the rest of liberal wing of a

soon to expire house democratic majority. writing about the passage yesterday of that bill this is the "washington post." house votes bill forcing rail labors, rail labor deal to avoid a strike allegedly, legislation heads to the senate. houseboat on wednesday to force a deal between freight rail carriers and unions blocking a potential strike that threatened travel come supply the presiding officer: good monger. mr. schumer: yesterday, madam president, the house of representatives passed a joint resolution that will ensure our railroads continue to operate and our economy continues to function as the holiday season commences. last night, i invoked rule 14 to place that resolution directly on to the legislative calendar. senators are working monger, noon, and night to enact on this measure asap. the senate cannot leave until we get the job done and democrats

will keep working with republicans to find a path forward that everyone can support. one of my top priorities is holding a vote to provide rail workers with the paid sick leave many of them asked for. i support paid sick leave, my democratic colleagues support sick leave and we want to see it included in the package. we hope some of our republican colleagues will join us. forcing workers to choose between their health and livelihoods is unacceptable and for that reason, democrats, myself included, think it should be included. one thing is certain, madam president -- one thing is certain, time is of the essence. a rail shutdown is set to begin december 9. we need to resolve this impasse well in advance of that date. suppliers and businesses across the nation are going to begin shutting down operations soon if they think a strike is it imminent. they are not going to wait until

december 9 and they're not going to put something on a railcar on december 7 if there is a going to be rail strike. so the suppliers and businesses, the date, the drop-dead date, if you will, before damage occurs is a lot sooner than december 9. there would be painful disruptions to the economy before december 9 if we didn't act soon. the consequences of inaction would be severe. unsafe drinking water, unusable gasoline, shuttered -- -- shuttered power plants and those are just a few of the myriad of problems, serious problems that woe occur if there's a rail shutdown. in that scenario, nobody sins, everybody -- wins, everybody loses. the responsible thing is to do everything we can to include paid sick leave. we must keep working before --

so the task is completed. as we approach the end of the year, we must pass a omnibus and passing a defense appropriations bill. we have a lot of work left to do on both fronts, but so far i'm encouraged by the goodwill coming from both sides. while democrats and republicans disagree on the details of the omnibus, there is little debate that a c.r. would be terrible news for our troops and it for american security. yesterday, i attended a classified briefing on the latest developments on the war in ukraine. without getting into any of the details disclosed there, it was obvious sitting in the room that much of ukraine's success is thanks to the emergency military an economic aid provided by the united states. ten months into this war, there is no question, in my judgment, that helping our ukrainian

friends has been the right thing to do. but the fighting in eastern europe is sadly far from over. putin's human rights atrocities continue. he's a vicious and brutal dictator. there is news reports of mass graves, entire cities, men, women, children, civilianings being killed and maimed and entire cities being reduced to rubble. even now, the brave and strong people of ukraine have endured and fought back. they remember russian aggression from the 30's, when stalin sought to starve a hume number of -- a huge number of ukrainians to death. the united states must stay the course, helping our friends in need. this is not just a matter of standing with ukraine. it's a matter of american security, because deep down putin is nothing more than a violent bully, who will endanger our own democracy if his influence is allowed to expand,

and he will not stop at ukraine if he succeeds there. the single worst thing we can do right now is give putin any signal that we are wavering in our commitment to help ukraine. that's precisely what a c.r. would signal, and we cannot afford to go down that treacherous road. i hope both sides will work together. we're making good progress. paper is now being exchanged back and forth. we're not there yet. we've got a ways to go. but we've got to keep working till we get an omnibus done, for the sake of our national security. mean while, at the same time, both parties must cooperate on passing a bipartisan national defense act, as we've done now for more than six decades. just as we need to hold the line against putin and his belligerence, we also have to stand firm against encroachments and aggression from the chinese communist party. a few months ago, the senate took a major step in that direction by passing the chips and science act, with i will

boost domestic chip manufacturing and help sever our dependence on foreign-made semiconductors. that doesn't mean the job is done. we need to build on our accomplishments by adding more protections in the ndaa so we can continue reducing u.s. reliance on risky chinese-made microchips. last month i joined with senator cornyn, my colleague from texas, to introduce an amendment to the ndaa that would prohibit the u.s. government from doing business with companies that rely on certain chinese chipmakers that the pentagon has labeled chinese military contractors. this amendment would address a very big problems -- too many american companies with federal contracts are purchasing chips made by chinese makers with well-known ties to the chinese communist party and the chinese government. you don't need to be a national security expert to see how this dependence on chinese chips presents a serious risk to american cybersecurity, to our

privacy, to our defense. the previous administration, one of the few areas they went forward on that i agreed with, got rid of wawei because it gave the chinese government and chinese communist party too much influence. the same thing will happen with these chipmakers, these chinese military contractor chipmakers, if they're allowed to continue to infuse their chips in our own equipment. now, our amendment would remedy this with a simple proposition, if american businesses want to do business with the federal government, they shouldn't be allowed to turn around and then do business with risky chinese chipmakers. we certainly need and give ample time for american companies to adjust and get american-made chips or non-chinese military

contractor-made chips. but it must be done. this is national security, as well as economic security, and the idea of keeping america number one, which we took a big step forward on the chips cts a, but more has -- chips act, but more has to be done. this is one of many sound proposals i hope to see included in the ndaa. i am fighting for a bunch of other things. on this issue, i thank senator cornyn for working with me on the amendment, and very soon the senate, hopefully, will take quick action to send a defense appropriations bill -- defense authorization bill to the president's desk. i yield the floor and note the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. quorum call:

>> on combating inflation.

wasteful spending and spending, killing regulations and policy of may to a four-year high inflation. so doesn't make a lot of sense to me why the majority keeps noticing bills that will make inflation worse and put homeownership further out of reach, like the notice down payment toward equity act. today will hear from some of our witnesses advocate for tempting ideas like rental or down payment assistance by doubling down on failed housing policies will not make housing more affordable and america. i said before and i'll say it again. federal housing policies only subsidizing demand but don't address barriers to supply will never make housing more affordable. i yield back. >> thank you very much, mr. hill. i want to welcome today's distinguished witnesses to the committee. first we have ms. bailey who's executive vice president of the

national fair housing alliance. next we have margaret ed, who is an activist and housing seeker. next we have michael mitchell who is director of policy and research at ground were collaborative. next we have mark zandi who is the chief economist at moody analytics, and finally we have douglas holtz-eakin who is the president of the american action for him. without objection your written statements will be made part of the record. you will have five minutes to present your oral testimony. you should be able to see a timer that will indicate how much time you have left. i would ask you to be mindful of the timer so that we can be respectful of everyone's time. ms. bailey. join now back for five minutes to present your oral testimony. >> could morning, ranking member

and other distinguished members of the committee. thank you for the opportunity to testify in today's hearing. i am executive vice president of the national fair housing alliance. the only national civil rights organization dedicated to eliminate housing this commission and to ensure a google housing opportunities for everyone. we create fairness and transparency and algorithms to stop technology from recycling discrimination. rising house, gas and food price of the main drivers of inflation but housing costs are the key driver. home prices rose 10.4% in 2020 and another 2020 and another 18.8% in 2021. rental housing prices rose 17.6% in 2021 far outpacing income increases. the consumer price index rose 7.9% in the last year, the highest increase since 1982. 1982. housing costs accounted for more than 14% of increase of the core inflation rate. despite the federal reserve quantitative easing these trends

are not slowing down. housing continues to be the single largest expense for the average consumer with shelter county 433% of the cpi. while rental inflation is less than, as of october 31 americans paid an average of $2040 market rent. there continues to be no city in our nation were someone making them and which can afford to live in a two-bedroom apartment. apartment. it could take as long as 2023 for housing changes to be felt by consumers, and high objection. mr. mcconnell: it has been one inflation they're

unhappy with the given outcome. just as an example, the newly elected incoming leader of house democrats is a past election denier who basically said the 2016 election was, quote, illegitimate, and suggested that we had a, quote, fake president. he's also mounted reckless attacks on our independent judiciary and said that justices he didn't like have, quote, zero legitimacy. unfortunately, when itdoms to attacking our ind -- when it comes to attacking our independent judiciary, the democrats' new leader isn't an outlier, he's a representative

sample. in the last few years, we've seen my counterpart, the senate democratic leader, threaten sitting justices by name over on the supreme court steps. we've seen president biden and attorney general garland refuse to enforce federal law and put a stop to illegal harassment campaigns at the homes of justices. and we've seen coordinated efforts by democrats and the media to use smear campaigns to personally punish judges whose legal reasoning they don't like. the latest target has been justice alito whose great offense was overruling a deeply flawed precedent that prominent liberal legal scholars, including even the late justice ginsberg herself, long acknowledged was badly written and poorly reasoned.

i'm confident the smear campaigns and baseless fishing expeditions will keep roping around, and i'm just as confident that justices alito, thomas, and the entire court will continue to ignore the noise and the smears and practice judicial independence. we also see growing evidence that the attacks on members of the legal profession who dare to upset the activist left are actually not limited to judges and other public officials. private citizens are not safe. earlier this week a longtime female partner at a major law firm explained in an op-ed how she was forced out of the firm after she dared -- dared -- to enter into a, quote, safe space for women and share her own personal views on the dobbs ruling. as she tells it, simply being a

woman who agreed with the five-justice majority of the supreme court was a fireable offense. some of her colleagues claim that merely hearing her express a dissenting view caused them, quote, to lose their ability to breathe. this past summer, two wildly successful appellate litigators, including a former united states solicitor general, were drummed out of another prominent firm because they won a supreme court victory for the second amendment. in their telling, they were basically told to either abandon their pro-second amendment clients or hand in their badges. meanwhile, intellectual freedom and the competition of ideas have also been slipping away in the legal academy. multiple circuit judges are so disturbed by the an fry free

speech -- anti-free speech drendz in elite -- trends in elite law schools that they're stopping hiring clerks to schools hostile to nonliberal views. just last night, two such judges participated in a yale law school panel titled -- listen to this -- is free speech dead on campus? is free speech dead on campus? and of course, the left's rapidly growing appetite for censorship is not limited to the legal realm. earlier this week, in a truly bizarre and disturbing moment, the white house press secretary said the biden administration is, quote -- listen to this -- keeping an eye on the social media company twitter, which was recently purchased by an owner who doesn't happen to be a liberal.

the antidote to all this toxic nonsense is renewed appreciation for the deeply american principle of free speech and open debate. no one in my lifetime has understood the importance of free speech and the competition of ideas better than the recently departed judge lawrence silverman. larry was a legal genius and a patriot whose rich and varied career culminated on the d.c. circuit. where many came to view him as the single, most important jurist in american history who never sat on the supreme court. the last major address judge silberman gave before his death was a powerful and important speech on free speech which he delivered at darkness in september. he explained how un-american and dangerous it is to enter an era where, quote, some political

speeches attacked as if it were blasphemy drawn from the colonial period when witches were burned at the stake. i'll have more to say on this subject soon but for now i ask unanimous consent that the published text of judge silberman's final speech appear in the record in full at the conclusion of my remarks. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. mcconnell: on another matter we again reach the period every two years when the senate begins its process of honoring and bidding farewell to our distinguished colleagues who are soon leaving our ranks. seeing friends off is hardly a task to look forward to, but it's made more tolerable when i get to boast about and embarrass our talented colleagues one last time before they head for the exits. i'll begin today with one of only two current senators who

were around when i arrived as a freshman in 1985. by then, of course, pat leahy had already made history. when pat was first elected in 1974, he was the first nonrepublican to represent vermont in the senate since 1856. and now after eight terms, he'll depart having made history all over again as his state's longest serving senator by a comfortable margin. of course it's the dash in between the dates that matters the most. and to say that pat leahy has made the most of his time in washington would be truly an understatement. pat first developed his habit for lifelong learning growing up around the printing press of his family's newspaper in mont montpelier. but i suspect our friend never hit the books as hard as he did after he found out that the girl

for whom he had fallen head over heals, marcelle, spoke not english but french at home. the way pat tells it, he wanted to know what marcelle's parents were saying about him so the studies began. here in the senate the same energy and curiosity led pat to collect enough policy passions for an entire congressional delegation. from dairy farming to privacy to land mine mitigation. pat and i got a chance to work closely together during our long tenures switching off and on as chairman and ranking members of the state foreign operations subcommittee of appropriations. as often as the majority changed hands during our time, pat and i made a point of working as partners. he always knew the right time to break up tense negotiations with a stem winder of an old irish

joke. we rolled up our sleeves and bonded over our shared commitment to extending american influence and promoting our interest using soft power everywhere from east asia to the former soviet union. and like good appropriators, we also bonded over a firm mutual conviction that our true opponent was never each other. it was the house. our leading subcommittee together saw a major land mine removal effort deservedly come to bear the name of its champion, the leahy war victims fund. and pat lent equal support to one of my passion project, our work on behalf of pro-democracy movement in burma. all of this work was accompanied by great humor. one time after an election that turned out well for my side, pat showed up at our next hearing

having found a unique way to show grace in defeat. here's what happened. he showed up with a yard sign from a campaign of some local candidate where he lived that read, mcconnell for chairman. and remarked that apparently the voters in his neighborhood had gotten their wish. even just measuring by local votes cast, pat's colossal senate legacy put the name leahy right up there with fellow titans like kennedy, stevens, and inouye. but pat's legendary service to the people of vermont has been more than a vote tally. over eight terms he's made a point of becoming not just a familiar name but a familiar -- but a friendly face and a committed servant to his neighbors. and it certainly didn't come easy. the way i've heard the story, pat's first senate victory came after he wisely dispatched his

darling french-speaking emissary marcelle into the frankaphone enclaves of voarmt -- vermont's northeast region. marcelle is a accomplished nurse and a treasured member of the senate's family in her own right. so i know i speak for so many colleagues past and present in saying the senate will miss our distinguished president pro tempore, but we know that pat and marcelle have more than earned some extra free time to spend in their beautiful home state with their kids kevin, alicia, and mark, and their five grandkids and with the many neighbors who are grateful, so grateful for a lifetime of outstanding service. mr. leahy: madam president. the presiding officer: the senator from vermont.

mr. leahy: madam president, while the distinguished leader is still on the floor, let me thank him for those remarks, and i nomar sele -- and i know marcelle will thank him too our spouses spent a lot of time together, and we know who the real leaders are in the house. madam speaker -- madam speaker, i'm sorry. madam president, i think to what the leader has said. he speaks of the time when we worked together, and i appreciate very much. i told him privately but i'll say it publicly. i've appreciated the friendship and the work together. and we did go back and forth

over a period of years. part of the time he was chair. part of the time i was chair. but in a very, very important subcommittee, the foreign ops, everything from foreign aid to a lot of things we did around the world, but that bill would pass on the floor oftentimes on a friday afternoon where everybody would be bring it up. we've got to get out of here. and it passed virtually unanimously. we'd work out a couple of differences. first talk about them and then they were gone and off we went. i remember speaking at a symposium put together by the distinguished leader, and i was given a -- presented with a louisville slugger with my name

on it. now, throughout the course of any senator's career and certainly in 48 years, you get presented with a lot of things which you thank people for and you put them in the closet or the at tick. this i would tell the distinguished -- or the attic. this i would tell the distinguished senator this has stayed in public view in my office ever since i came home with it. and i loved showing it off. at a time where we have to be back together on more things but we have on that. you talk about the land mine legislation, the war victims legislation, and i appreciate your work, mr. leader. and it reflected such good in the senate but also the people

that were helped by it. there was no eradicating liendz mans, no -- land mines or a victim that will come in and say we'll support your next campaign. they don't know who we are. they know we helped them. when the leader talked about burma, i got educated on erma -- on burma. i was an easy sell. i think he would agree on that because of the case he made but also the history he gave me. i don't want to hold up the senate. i'll speak longer about these things on the day i leave which will be soon. i look forward to leaving because marcelle and i can be back home all the time. but i will miss so many friends

i've made, well over 400 senators i've served with, and i think the distinguished leader has served with hundreds also, some here for a long time, some here -- sometimes i think in a couple of instances for a matter of a month or two. i prefer long time to a month or two. it's easier to get to know each other. but i will speak further about this but i was honored to be on the floor when this happened. i'll now suggest the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. quorum call:

mr. durbin: madam president. the presiding officer: the majority whip. mr. durbin: we in a quorum call? the presiding officer: yes, we are. mr. durbin: i ask consent to suspend the quorum call. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. durbin: madam president, i walked on to the floor just as senator leahy was closing his remarks, and i want to tell you that we were together in the judiciary committee this morning where i joined the chorus of praise for his career and his service in the senate. and it seems like every room he steps in, there's another tribute. well deserved. i thank him for being such a steadfast member of the senate and particularly of the senate's judiciary committee which will forever be benefited by his contribution. but i rise today to speak on a

different topic, and it's one that's very timely and important. yesterday a number of us received a classified briefing from the white house about russia's ongoing invasion of ukraine. it was sobering. russia continues to indiscrime fansly target arrival civilian populations and infrastructure killing tens of thousands of innocent people in ukraine leaving countless more in the bitter dark and cold without access to electricity, water, or heat. the briefing was also astonishing because it raised a bigger question. what has vladimir putin really accomplished with this cruel war? i'll tell you the answer. today is a result of putin's barbaric invasion of ukraine. the western alliance in opposition to him is stronger than ever before. putin's actions have strengthened the resolve a

ukrainian people to fight to the death for a free and democratic country as a press back against russian occupation and regain territory from kharkiv to kherson. moreover nato is more stronger and more united with two new countries, valuable additions to the nato alliance, sweden and finland soon to join the fold. and just this week nato also recommended we continue to -- recommitted rather to continuing support for ukraine. countries have rallied behind the united states in sending everything from weapons to helmets to medical supplies to food and an imposing crushing sanctions that are taking a massive toll on the russian economy. yesterday's briefing also made one thing abundantly clear. now is not the time for the united states or nato to back down. while putin deceived himself into thinking the ukrainian people would fold and welcome

the russian military with open arms or that kyiv could fall in days, the ukrainian people and their desire for sovereignty and self-rule have prevailed. the world stepped up to help secure their freedom. bound together by the shared principles and international arms that dictators like putin can never and will never wipe away. and the day will come when putin and his thugs are held accountable for their war crimes and sadly there are many. since february, the united states alone has contributed billions of dollars in aid to ukraine supporting ukrainian war efforts on the front lines. weeks ago the white house requested another supplemental aid request for ukraine. i support it. now i understand some members of congress have expressed a concern about the economic consequences of increased defense spending and whether there's appropriate oversight of

the actual funds sent and spent. i share those concerns. they're legitimate. they're reasonable. and i pushed the administration to ensure that it strengthens efforts toll fully a -- to fully account for our assistance to ukraine. over the decades that we were at war in afghanistan, it is well known so so many american dollars were wasted in order to stop the terrorism residing in that country. we should never knowingly allow that to occur and we certainly shouldn't in ukraine despite my wholehearted support for president biden supporting the efforts. i'm so glad that the other side of the aisle helped to confirm robert storch. if you want to keep an eye on how that money is spent in that great and important department, you need an inspector general.

it took a month for the senate to confirm him. instead of looking for solutions, some of my colleagues on on the other side of the aisle are vowing to stop assistance to ukraine or slow it down in another way to obstruct the biden administration. in doing so, they are undermining our broader foreign assistance programs and ultimately undercutting the success of ukraine's resistance. madam president, you and i both know, we have to fund the fiscal year we are currently in. it runs from october to toct. and -- to october. and we are in that fiscal year already. we know that if we do a continuing resolution, there will be he wasful spending and we will not be investing in the things we really need to keep america safe and strong. if we do, the omnibus bill, the omnibus appropriations bill, we can kill that problem by having specific appropriations bills that target the money where it is needed for our future. if we don't do that, it will undermine assistance in many

areas, including ukraine. we can't let leadership fail on either side of the aisle when it comes to this spending bill. as the ukrainian people continue to fight, we must continue to be stand by their side. when the news first broke of russia's full-scale invasion in last february, i was sitting in an airport lounge in lithuania. many of you heard me speak of my mother who left russian occupied laith wana when -- lithuania. it was no wonder my family tried to escape the russian czar and his heavy hand. that was the case in eastern europe for many countries. it is no surprise when the soviet union collapsed, many of these same nations reached out to join the communities of democracy.

and stand behind the shield of nato. we welcome poland and switzerland. today decades later, lithuania is a thriving democracy and one of the many countries rallying to ukraine's aid. i want to commend lithuania. they have spoken out in courageous ways to stand up for democracy and freedom. i'm proud of them. the free nations of the world understand that ukraine is on the front line in the battle of democracy over. now is not the time for the united states and the rest of the free world to diminish their support for ukraine. like the ukrainian people, we must show resolve, determination, and a commitment to fighting on and standing together in the defense of democracy. i yield the floor appeared suggest the absence of a quorum.

the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. quorum call:

mr. thune: madam president. the presiding officer: we're in a quorum call. mr. thune: i ask unanimous consent that the. quorum call: be lifted. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. thune: madam president, tomorrow northrup government-run yum and the united states -- grumman will introduce an

aircraft that will emphasize the long-range strike capabilities. i'm excited this incredible feat of u.s. engineering will be finely unveiled to american public and our adversaries. it's an exciting day for the air force and it is especially exciting for ellsworth air force base in south dakota which is the main operating base one of the b-21 raider. we have come a long way at ellsworth with when i came to the senate. when i came to office, it was recommended for closure by the base realignment and closure commission. one of my first priorities as a u.s. senator was getting ellsworth taken off the closing list. statistically speaking our odds of pulling through were not high. thanks to an all-hands effort by

the congressional delegation and state and community leaders, we won the day and we were removed from the brac list that august. then we got to work on building up the base so we would never again find ourselves in the same position. in 2007, the financial center opened up at ellsworth, 2011 saw the arrival of the 89th attack squadron and in 2015, a nearly decade-long effort paid off with the quad quadrupling for the airspace. it is the largest training airspace in the continental united states and draws combat aircraft from across the country and it's well suited for b-21 training. this is just one of the efforts we undertook to put ellsworth in the best possible position for the b-21 mission.

i'm glad that it paid off last month when ellsworth became home of the raider. this is a significant step forward in long-range strike capabilities and it will come not a moment too soon. between chronic underfunding, our military preparedness became strained. a 2013 national defense strategy commission report warned that our nation's readiness was at a pointer where we might struggle in a war against russia or china. this is not just because of the wear and care of our own forces but because of the gains of russia and china in military strength. we made progress, but there is still a lot of work that needs to be done. the importance of continued investment of the military and

technological edge cannot be overstated. there will always be bad actors who represent a threat to peace an freedom. and being prepared to meet those threats in the best way -- is the best way of preserving peace an keeping our nation secure. it's disappointing that the national defense authorization act yearly legislation to authorize funding for our military and our national defense has been so low on democrats' priority list this year. we're two months into fiscal year 2023, and yet the senate still hasn't taken up the 2023 bill. democrats are more focused on spending hundreds of billions of dollars on the agreeable priorities than on passing essential legislation for our nation's defense. as efforts continue to negotiate a way to bring the ndaa to the floor, i hope that we're able to pass a comprehensive bill that rejects the president's inadequate funding requests and addresses all of our key funding

requirements. one of my top priorities is to make sure had that the ndaa addresses the needs of the airmen at the ellsworth air force base. we need support for the b-21 mission. in late october, i had the opportunity of reviewing the progress at ellsworth first hand and suffice it to say, things will be very are very busy over the coming years. the b-21 training will require investments in infrastructure. including a coding restoration facility and radio frequency facility as well as a weapons generation facility to support the nuclear capability. the ndaa will continue this essential military construction and ensure that it remains on pace in preparation for the arrival of the b-21. we also need to ensure that ellsworth is a premier training

space for bombers, this is why i asked the federal aviation administration to support a development of kie dynamic airspace. dynamic airspace, sometimes called adaptive airspace refers to efficiently scheduling and adjusting airspace boundaries when exercise flights proceed through them. this will better better enable the pentagon to better meet requirements for the b-21 which needs larger volumes of airspace for longer engagement distances. while we prepare for the b-21 mission, i continue to work to ensure that our b-1's receive all they need as was demonstrated. while updated planes and equipment are essential, as

always, our greatest resource is the men and women who wear the uniform. and i will continue to work to improve quality of life for our ellsworth airmen and their families. more military families will be moving into the community surrounding ellsworth with the arrival of the b-21 mission and another one of my priorities making sure the infrastructure is in place to provide amble support. i -- ample support. i introduced legislation to adjust housing rates if an installation is experiencing an increase in the number of service members assigned there. this will ensure that the families at ellsworth and elsewhere will have the finance they need. i am working to ensure that the douglas school district can integrate and support the children and provide sufficient classroom space. i'm grateful to the other

members of south dakota's congressional delegation to ensure that this year's ndaa will authorize up to $15 million and impact aid funding for schools experienced forced structure changes like the anticipated growth at ellsworth. i look forward to tomorrow's unveiling of the b-21 raider and in the future when the first raider lands at ellsworth. it is an honor to build up the base and to represent the men and women of ellsworth in the united states senate. and i will continue to do rg everything i can to ensure that our ellsworth airmen and the men and women in every branch of the military have everything that need to carry out their missions. madam 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:

>> lawmakers working on judicial nominations. off the floor negotiations continue on funding the federal government passed december 16th.

this is live coverage of the u.s. senate on c-span2. >> do you work well with the department of hud? >> i'm sorry, cannot hear you.

>> our organization is not a workplace. >> could you hear that answer? >> said no. >> speak into the microphone clearly so they can hear you. >> it does not work. >> i have tried. i have tried. we have had at least once, a hearing with secretary hud. today we heard our young chairwoman say republicans offered no solutions, to fix the housing crisis. today we heard a blame game, none of money, funding, a series of that. >> what they had not only with

secretary fudge that was very unsuccessful and organization on issues related to north texas having an excessive number of people without housing. the executive director of the dallas housing authority had been working for quite some time with local advocates, people who wish to provide affordable housing to do these things because they saw firsthand the problems in north texas. texas is growing, north texas is exponentially growing in a series of letters, conversations including with the senior member from north texas. and myself, were completely unsuccessful attempting to get

hud, including the letter, and the executive director of the how loan -- housing authority to get them to respond directly and they came back and gave excuse after excuse saying a waiver would be too complicated for dallas, texas, to deal with problems local people had. that's all they asked for and instead of saying let's work with you, they ignored over a year of trying to solve the problem and the problem, while i am not a housing expert, from the secretary of hud where they flew to dallas, texas, we will find this out next year, when our young chairwoman as the chairman, we will have the secretary tell us what did they

do? did they lie down and do calls and have the dallas housing authority tell us about all their efforts to do something. i find what is happening today very regrettable because republicans did try and help. eddie bernice johnson, senior member of the party, the on you'll -- honorable greg meeks, senior member of this can be, we personally met with them earlier in the year to try and say please help us in texas and in north texas. 0 help from hud. i would have to bag the question, what good does it do to have someone whose job is bigger than they are in that

position and i would like to let each of you know that we appreciate your feedback today. i don't agree that the blame game of republicans or the prior administration holds any significance to where we are. president biden accepted the ball where it lay, that is what he is being held accountable for and each of you i sympathize with. i have a down syndrome son. i'm in the disability community. they are struggling mightily. people who cannot take care of themselves this administration to has turned their back on them. >> let me remind you, from this committee, the build back better bill, $150 billion.

hud and the president -- mr. sherman, the chair of the subcommittee on investor protection, entrepreneurship and capital markets recognized for 5 minutes. >> a comment about inflation. inflation is going to be worse or has been worse over the 2022-2023 period in most other developed countries compared to the united states so the real lesson, don't be a developed country on a planet with covid and the european war. we did our best to handle the situation. every other country similarly situated has as well. we are told we shouldn't have a higher loan limit in california than other states. this, i take this personally. if you've got a similar house in a similar neighborhood in one state and another state, the us government should provide the

same level of assistance rather than say it is okay to do it somewhere else but not in california. i believe mr. holtz pointed out the inadequacy of supply which i think is the problem. it is supply and demand but keep in mind we have more square footage of housing in our country than any major country in the world. we have giant homes for some people and others are living on the streets. we are urged to be patient, hard to be patient when limiting in your car. there are 3 problems, the homelessness problem where people can't get an appointment, some people in apartments but the rent is too high and there are people who can't afford or comfortably afford to buy a home. we can build a few buildings with federal money, these politicians can cut the ribbon but if you are trying to provide

housing for 340 million people in a capitalist society you have to look at the homes that are going to be built and operated in the capitalist society otherwise you just have weapons for a few hundred people. we can incentivize the building of homes but it's nothing compared to what local governments do to prevent the building of workforce housing. if you require no more than 4 homes on an acre and a $1000 fee to hookup local services you are not going to have housing the people can afford. we have fiscal is asian of land use planning were city in my state loses money if they allow construction of housing and in many places the way for the city that makes the decisions to make money is an auto dealership or luxury homes, low costs to the city, lots of revenue for the

city. it is absolutely absurd we provide cities with money based upon rich their residents are. if every city in every state got the same amount of money per resident we would have a fair provision of local services and incentive to keep out of workforce housing. we see zoning decisions made to keep out poor people sometimes to keep out people of color, sometimes to preserve the environment which adds up to be and often the same thing. if you can't build an apartment building anywhere in the city you can't have workforce housing in that city. when you look at the zoning and the fees which this congress has not prohibited it is not surprising we have more square footage than any other developed country, more per person and more homeless than any other developed country.

i've got to shift to another issue. i believe miss bailey, should we be doing more to provide assistance for safe parking? a good chunk of the homeless people in my area have a car but don't have a place to live. >> we should be doing more. thank you for the question and we should be doing more to make sure families remain safely housed. the american rescue plan act this congress passed included increased support to protect homeowners with emergency rental assistance program. we've done a tremendous job. >> i will try to squeeze in one more question. is there any way we can create enough housing if we allow cities to charge one hundred $50,000 per unit to the developer to not allow more than

4 or 5 units of housing? >> it will be critical for local governments to make sure they are creating zoning laws that allow construction of the units necessary to house the number of people in demand and we are not doing that in most localities. >> thank you. >> the gentleman from florida, mr. posey, recognized for five minutes. >> thank you for holding this hearing and the many hearings you've held, seeking to move selections to the affordable housing crisis. in the inflation reduction act into many housing proposals we see proposals that attempt to solve inflation or high housing

by giving more money to groups to pay higher prices. we have some people buying gas. please comment on this approach to inflation. >> it is exacerbating the problem and undermines the intent of the program. >> the build back better act, can you comment on the housing strategy of this proposal including heavy emphasis on investment and refurbishing of public housing projects? >> i've not stayed current with provisions in build back better since it did not become law and happy to come back to you in writing. >> i yield back the balance of my time. >> the gentlewoman from new

york, the chair of the house committee on oversight and reform is recognized for 5 minutes. >> to the chairman, thank you for holding this hearing and focusing on the needs of more housing. it is a persistent problem. the affordability of housing, clear across the country. interest rates, i would say, the rise of interest rates have worsened affordability for homebuyers and homeowners and i would say even renters. for example between april 2021, and april of this year mortgage rates increased by nearly two basis points and the median home

price rose by $50,000 and the monthly cost of home ownership which includes monthly payment on a 30 year mortgage, property insurance, mortgage insurance, by $500 a month but in some cases in metropolitan areas has grown by $1000 a month so i would like to ask if raising these interest rates contributes to the increased cost of housing for homeowners, which is the goal of most families and renters in this country. >> clearly it does, your statistics make that point clearly but i want to point out, to a significant degree this is by design. the federal reserve working to

slow the economy's growth to quell wage and price pressures, the most rate sensitive sectors of the economy are suffered as a result, housing, single-family housing is the most rate sensitive sector of the economy, people have to get a mortgage so this is unfortunately by design but it does bring up broader point that housing, affordability will be a long-term mission when we get to the other side of this and get inflation back in and home ownership is under significant pressure going forward, it is about supply in the near term but longer run we have to improve affordability, lowering disadvantaged groups and demand side policies become more important but in the here and now, the affordability is by

design and they are doing it by hitting the housing market. >> there are other ways to address inflation in our economy. has not caused inflation our country, more caused by the war in ukraine. the disruption of the supply-chain and why don't we address those causes as opposed to attacking housing and the affordability of housing? i would like to ask, i am concerned about the impact on other americans to afford a home with interest rates going so high. we have a 30 year mortgage. could we change the policy to have a 50 year mortgage, and possibly, the problems homeowners facing making monthly payments.

i would add housing inflation affects renters too. when mortgage goes up, the rent goes up. i would like your take on changing it from a 30 the gear which is the standard we have in america to a 50 year mortgage for 50 years so you can lower the rate and allow people who are confronting restrictions and their income to afford home ownership. >> interesting idea. the united states is unusual compared to every other country in having a 30 year fixed rate, this country has more shirt shorter mortgages, interest rates, 2-year, 3 year, 5 year, fannie mae and freddie mac allow 30 year fixed rate mortgage to be the bread and butter mortgage, insulating homeowners

from the run up and interest rates. don't know that a 50 year mortgage would advance the ball because the typical american household lives in their house no more than 10 years. few people would live in that house for that period of time but another idea, assumeability, you get a mortgage at a low mortgage rate and when you move you take the mortgage with you. that might be an idea that would be very helpful for the housing market including affordability in the long run. >> the gentleman from missouri is now recognized. >> the administration is considering the faa program for rent control in place.

age in 10 believe it will harm you quality and quantity of affordable housing where it is implemented and walter williams said short of aerial bombardment the best way to destroy the city is through reckoning. would you agree? >> there is a track record of failure in localities across the united states. it is not a theoretical issue, this is not worked on the ground. >> without objection. mr. menendez: mr. president, i come to the floor today to get this body to act on the face of one of the most heinous forms of exploitation on the planet which is human trafficking. the year is almost over. the congress is coming to a close. we're running out of time. and the senate still has not passed a men mene menendez-rbi reauthorization act which was reported out of the foreign relations committee over five months ago. as if in legislative session, i ask unanimous consent that the senate proceed to the immediate

consideration of calendar number 407, s. 4171. the presiding officer: the clerk will report. the clerk: calendar number 407, s. 4171, a bill to reauthorize the trafficking victims protection act of 20,000 and for other purposes. mr. menendez: i further -- the presiding officer: without objection, the senate will proceed. mr. menendez: i further ask the committee-reported substitute amendment be agreed to, the bill as amended be considered read a third time. the presiding officer: also without objection. if there's no further debate, the question is on passage of the bill. all those in favor say aye. all those opposed say no. the ayes appear to have it. the ayes do have it. the bill as amended is passed. mr. menendez: i ask that the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table with no intervening action or debate. the presiding officer: also without objection. mr. menendez: thank you, mr. president. i yield the floor.

and observe the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. quorum call:

a senator: mr. president. the presiding officer: the senator from minnesota. ms. klobuchar: mr. president, i rise in support -- the presiding officer: the nat is in a quorum call. ms. klobuchar: i ask that the quorum call be vitiated. the presiding officer: without

objection. ms. klobuchar: mr. president, i rise in support of the nominee to be the next u.s. district court judge for the district of minnesota. that would be jerry blackwell. i'd like to thank senator durbin, chair of the judiciary committee and all the members of the judiciary committee, including yourself, mr. president, for shepherding mr. blackwell's nomination through the committee. and i would like to thank leader schumer for making time for the senate to consider his nomination and my colleague, senator smith, for her work as well in support of the nomination. jerry blackwell is one of the most respected and accomplished litigators in the state of minnesota. he has nearly 35 years of trial experience, has been named minnesota attorney of the year five times, has argued over 1,000 motions in state and federal court, and served as lead counsel in over 100 cases. this is why he received a

bipartisan vote in the judiciary committee, including with the support of the ranking member and why i hope my colleagues on both sides of the aisle will support his confirmation. jerry has always been driven by his commitment to serve others, a commitment that started early in his life. his dad was a truck driver who started working after the tenth grade and his mom worked in a textile mill. she struggled with health conditions and was on dialysis from the time jerry was five years old. they raised jerry in a textile mill town in north carolina in a home without running water. although they did not have much, they raised their kids to believe that no matter what their life circumstances were, it is their responsibility to give back to their community. as jerry said at his nomination hearing, his mom taught him hat a young age that in sesqui others, we find or own well-being. those words inspired jerry's

brother to serve as a police officer and led jerry to use his skills as an attorney to improve the lives of others. he was the first in his family to attend college. he attended the university of north carolina at chapel hill as a recipient of the prestigious morehead scholarship. he went on to earn his j.d. from. and then he had moved to minnesota p after working at several prominent minneapolis law firms, he went on to found blackwell-burke, one of the largest minority-ownerred trial law firms in our state. the firm was at one point the second-largest black-owned law firm in the united states of america. it is highly regarded by the minnesota legal community and his been rated minnesota's top litigation firm by benchmark litigation for four years in a row. jerry is also joan for his

humility, so much so that i did not learn until after his nomination hearing when his aunt told me that jerry has never lost a conveys in the nearly 35 years he has been practicing. i then went to jerry and said, your aunt was kind of exaggerating. he said, no, it's true. i've never lost a case. as an attorney in minnesota, jerry never lost touch with his commitment to serve others, even while he maintained a busy private practice, he always found ways to give back. he was widely praised for his work obtaining the first posthumous pardon in state history for a young black man who was wrongfully convicted of rape in 1920. he captured the attention of our state and the country during his time as special assistant attorney general in one of the most high-profile criminal trials in the history of our country -- the prosecution of

derek chauvin for the murder of george floyd. many people mr. remember jerry's arguments at the trial and the fine lawyering that he demonstrated. he didn't make it about himself. he didn't make it about some hotshot litigation move. he made it about george floyd and he made it about the community members and the police officers who came to testify against derek chauvin at that trial. it was an extraordinary job along with his colleagues that also prosecuted the case and attorney general ellison who supervised it. jerry has broad respect in the minnesota legal community. he was recommended by a judicial selection committee that i convened with senator smith consisting of accomplished minnesota judges, attorneys and legal scholars headed up by alan page, the former minnesota

supreme court justice. jerry earned support from 25 experienced federal prosecutors from across the political spectrum who wrote to the judiciary committee in support of his nomination that he distinguished himself as a civil practitioner and has earned a national reputation as a skilled and persuasive advocate. the judiciary committee also directly heard from a number of current and former police chief justice in minnesota who wrote, we are confident that a federal district court judge, mr. blackwell, will approach each case with an open mind and will apply the law consistently and fairly. that is why he got the highest rating from the aba, that is why he got bipartisan support in the judiciary committee. i am so proud to have jerry as our nominee, and i ask my colleagues to join me in supporting his nomination. it is not often that you have a

nominee with this breadth of experience, this breadth of support, and also the willingness to take on one of the hardest cases our nation has ever known and win. with that, mr. president, i yield the floor. the presiding officer: the clerk will report the motion to invoke cloture. the clerk: cloture motion: we, the undersigned senators, in accordance with the provisions of rule 22 of the standing rules of the senate, do hereby move to bring to a close debate on the nomination of executive calendar number 1148, jerry w. blackwell of minnesota to be united states district judge for the district of minnesota, signed by 17 senators. the presiding officer: by unanimous consent, the mandatory quorum call has been waived. the question is, is it the sense of the senate that debate on the nomination of jerry w. blackwe will of minnesota to be united states district judge for the district of minnesota shall be brought to a close? the yeas and nays are manned

trid under the rule. the clerk will call the roll. vote:

vote:

vote:

vote:

vote:

the presiding officer: the yeas are 54, the nays are 42, the motions is agreed to. the clerk will report the motions 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 1129, doris l. pryor, of indiana, to be united states district judge for the seventh

circuit. the presiding officer: is it the sense of the senate that debate on the nomination of doris l. pryor, of indiana, to be the united states circuit judge for the seventh circuit shall be brought to a close. the yeas and nays are mandatory under the rule and the clerk will call the roll. vote:

vote:

vote:

vote:

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vote: the way it has over the past

year and the month's going forward and did you talk to president biden about trying to urge ukraine to negotiate to end this war, especially with winter bearing down and the effects on energy prices?

>> look, i do thank president biden and his administration for the great commitment to the ukrainian people. and let me just say that our 2 nations are made of values and history. and what is at stake in the ukraine is not just very far from here in a small country somewhere in europe but it's about our values. and it's about our principles . and it's about what we agree together in the un charter for fixing sovereignty and territorial integrity. this is why i believe that having the us strongly supporting ukrainians at that time is very important not just for the ukrainians. for the europeans, is why we do thank you for these disclosures but it's about our word today because if we

can abandon the country and abandon the full respect of these principles it means there is no principles to be upheld. so i think it's important to have you so much committed. i'm confident because i think your people and your president of the horses these objectives. we will pull pull up our own support.we increased our military support, our economic support. we are increasing our mediterranean support and for the second question you raised, let me tell you we will never urge the ukrainians to make a compromise which would not be acceptable to them. because they are so brave and they defend the lives of their nation and our principles and because it will never build a sustainable peace if we want

a sustainable peace. we have to respect ukrainians.

h.j. res. 100, and there be two minutes of debate equally divided between the two leaders or designees and upon the use or yielding back of time, the joint resolution be considered read a third time and the senate consider the amendment, if amended, and that the concurrent resolution and joint resolution require 60 votes for adoption all without further intervening action or debate. the presiding officer: is there objection? hearing none, without objection. the clerk will report the joint resolution are. the clerk: h.j. res. 100, the unresolved disputes of the national railway labor conference searnd of their

employees. -- and certain of their employees. mr. schumer: mr. president. the presiding officer: the majority leader. mr. schumer: for the information of members, we are going to resume votes very soon. first on the sullivan resolution, then on the sick day resolution, and then on the concurrent final resolution. votes will be quick. it is -- i am glad that the two sides have come together so that we can avoid this shutdown, which would be extremely damaging to the country. i hope that we can add sick days under the sanders resolution and i urge members to -- we're going to try to vote as quickly as we can to get this done.

the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. quorum call: >> we very much need to engage with them because

there is a genuine willingness on behalf of ukraine to discuss these matters and we acknowledge it and we commendit . and for a number of years i was in charge of monitoring the implementation of the minsk agreement the latest and last meeting between president zelinski and putin, the only one december 29 i was with chancellor merkel and i can tell you that i saw a president who was sincere in his willingness to talk and since he was elected and until may, president is a lens he was willing to talk and negotiate. the one who wanted to go to war, to wage war was put in and i could say by myself including when i visited russia and ukraine in the middle of february so it's a legitimate president zelensky sets conditions to talk.

we need to work on what could be the peace agreement but it is for him to tell us when the time comes and what the choices of the ukrainians are so one thing that has been said and i will continue to talk to president putin and president biden because we constantly will try to prevent escalation and get some very concrete results so i will talk to him about some security and safety of nuclear plants in the areas that are being claimed including the virgin particular and over the past few months we did some work on the nuclear plant and there's some outstanding work ongoing which is important by mister pelosi and his agency on aea so we will continue.

>> thank you so much. >> ladies and gentlemen please remain in your seats untilthe official delegations have departed . >>