empowerment, that's why charter has invested billions in upgrading technology and empowering communities big and small. charter is connecting us. >> charter communication supports c-span as a publi service along with these oth television providers, giving you a front row seat to democracy. >> today senate lawmakers are working on several judicial nominations. votes on these nominations are developed throughout the afternoon. this week the senate plans to take up 2023 defense programs and policy legislation, and off the floor senate lawmakers are beginning to negotiate on funding the federal government past the december 16th deadline. we take you live now to the floor of the u.s. senate here on c-span2.

the president pro tempore: the senate will come to ord the guest chaplain bishop christopher coyne of vermont of the diocese of burlington will offer the prayer. the guest chaplain: let us pray. god of hope and god of peace from whom all blessings flow, may your spirit of peace and wisdom descend upon all here present for the work of the senate. may each of us seek to serve the common good of all, both in our great nation and in the world at large. and send some snow upon the ski slopes of vermont soon. we ask this in your holy name.

amen. the president pro tempore: please join me in the pledge of allegiance. 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 president pro tempore: under the previous order, the leadership time is reserved. morning business is closed. under the previous order, the senate will proceed to executive session to resume consideration of the following nomination which the clerk will report.

the clerk: nomination, the judiciary, frances kay behm of michigan to be united states district judge for the eastern district of michigan. the president pro tempore: the senator from michigan. mr. peters: i suggest the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: -- the president pro tempore: the clerk will call the roll. quorum call:

mr. leahy: mr. president. the presiding officer: the senator from vermont. mr. leahy: mr. president, i ask consent the call of the quorum be suspended. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. leahy: mr. president, we have so many things going on in washington these days with just from everything if budgetary matters to wrapping up this session of the congress. i was delighted today to take a step back and end my role as president pro tempore to introduce today's visiting

chaplain. i'm always pleased to introduce the chaplain, usually dr. barry black, sometimes visiting ones, but this one is special. he's the bishop of burlington which is -- the diocese covers all of the state of vermont. his name is christopher coyne and he knows our part of new england. he was born in woburn, massachusetts, graduated from the university of massachusetts with a b.a. in business, st. john's seminary in boston with a master of divinity. ordained a priest in june in

1989. he has fulfilled a significant role as both -- in both the diocese where he originated and with the vatican in rome and i'll talk more about that at another time. but he was elected chairman of the committee of communications of the united states conference of catholic bishops. that was when the bishops met, the voice you often heard was bishop coyne because of his credibility, his honesty, and the fact that he would give very direct answers. and then pope francis named him bishop of the diocese of burlington, installed january

29, 291-- 2015 and brought a ne, really enthusiasm into the catholic diocese in vermont. he made a point to go around the state meeting with people. i would tell a personal story. i was at an event in burlington on veterans day. i was going to be speaking th there, and a jogger came up and tapped me on the shoulder. it was the bishop. he was out doing his morning run and walk.

but something that's interrupted all the time because he will stop and talk with everybody, and they want to talk with him. he is the kind of bishop every diocese should have. approachable, honesty, good for the community. he has reached out to the jewish community, the protestant community. enthusiasm on both sides. i see our distinguished majority leader on the floor. we've been working hard the last few days on too many things, but i know he'll get us through it and i'll do my part on the appropriations. mr. leader, i just wanted to say a word about our distinguished visiting bishop coyne who is

taking advantage of the privileges of the floor and is sitting over there. and i will yield the floor and yield to you. mr. schumer: mr. president. the presiding officer: the majority leader. mr. schumer: thank you, senator leahy for so many things you do, including your recent -- your brief remarks a few minutes ago. we all know how much we're going to miss senator leahy in this body and what a tower of strength and accomplishment he has been. but we'll have more to say about that, even tonight or tomorrow night. tomorrow night at the retirement dinner. okay. today, mr. president, the senate reaches an important milestone. we'll confirm our 89th and 90th judicial nominees to serve lifetime appointments on the federal bench. starting at noon, the senate will hold a total of four roll call votes throughout the afternoon on the nominations of frances behm to the eastern district of michigan and kelley

hodge to the eastern district of pennsylvania. we're on pace to finish this year with more judges confirmed to the bench than were confirmed in the first two years of either of the previous two administrations. these nominees stand out not just in their numbers but also in their groundbreaking diversity. almost 50% of the judges we have confirmed are women of color. 50%. that's never happened before. and i'm confident that a more diverse bench will go a long way in cultivating trust in our courts and in our democracy. just as important, once we confirm the nominations of tamika montgomery reeves and dana douglas very soon, the senate will also have confirmed a total of 11 black women to serve as appellate judges, by far the most ever under any single president. before president biden only eight such nominees had been -- confirmed in total and our first two years we're already on the brink of confirming 11.

today our federal judiciary is far more balanced, far more diverse, far more experienced than the one our country had two years ago. it's something we're very proud of. and you can rest assured, mr. president, that senate democrats are going to maintain this priority on judges as the 118th congress begins next year. on government funding, off the floor -- off-the-floor negotiations continue between both matters on charting a path to fully funding the government the next fiscal year. i spent much of the day yesterday coming from one meeting to the next sitting down first with senator mcconnell and his team and speaker pelosi and her team and stayed on the phone as senators bridged the gap and worked on funding. we're working very hard to get something done before the deadline but there is a lot of negotiating left to do. both sides understand that fully funding the government is extremely important and anything less risks harm to our troops and the federal government's ability to serve the public.

we don't want to see that outcome so both sides must remain at the table and continue working. tomorrow senators will attend a classified briefing on the latest developments on the war in ukraine. i hope it sinks in for all members in attendance just how critical u.s. aid has been not just for our allies but for our own protection. i hope it sinks in that this is one of the most important reasons why we must reach an agreement. it's notten easy process -- not an easy process but it's supremely important nonetheless. for the well-being of our troops, for the preservation of our national security, and for the tens of millions of americans who look to the federal government for a wide range of basic services, democrats and republicans must work together to fully fund the federal government. now, on chips and science, today president biden will be in arizona to visit the construction site for what will become one of the largest chip manufacturing plants in america. what was originally announced to be a $12 billion investment will

now be a $40 billion project with the first chip fab set to open a year from now. this is one of the highly visible examples of how the bipartisan chips and science act is already paying dividends for the economy, for job creators, and for american workers. it's a good sign for a new age of chip manufacturing in this country. we used to lead the world in making microchips and thanks to the chips and science act, we're already seeing the types of investments that will make america a major hub, the major hub hopefully, for chip manufacturing once again. the construction site that president biden visits today is just one example of some very exciting activity happening all across the country. in my home state of new york, micron has pledged up to a $100 billion -- up to $100 billion over the next two decades to build a state of the art semiconductor fabs in the state of new york.

global foundries has announced they'll build a second fab in the albany region of upstate new york. the benefits across america. we're seeing chip makers announce multibillion dollar investments in states ranging from ohio to colorado to texas to arizona. and the arizona one markelly did a great job of champion. to idaho in nearly all cases executives have explicitly cited the chips and science as a major factor in that decision to build big in america. those these many investments range in size and type, the bottom line in chips and science is this. more american jobs, increased manufacture -- increased american manufacturing, a stronger american economy in the long run. this bill is about innovating and building the future in the u.s., not in the hands of the chinese communist parties. as always, i thank my colleagues from both sides of the aisle who pushed this bill over the finish line. we're already reaping the immense benefits, and there will

be many more to come. before i conclude, mr. president, i want to acknowledge this is a solemn and special day here at the capitol. later this morning, congressional leadership will gather to award the congressional gold medal in honor of the brave men and women of the u.s. capitol police and the metropolitan police department who defended the capitol on january 6. on that day, democracy faced maximum danger. these heroes responded with maximum valor. and all of us in the senate and across the capitol complex are forever, forever in their debt. i'll have more to say when i speak this morning at the rotunda, but for now i want to say thank you to senators klobuchar and blunt, the chair and ranking member of the senate rules committee, who worked together on legislation to award the gold medal to these highly worthy public servants. this award would not be possible without the work of senators klobuchar and blunt, and i comebd them for their work -- i

commend them for their work and yield the floor. i suggest the absence of a ququorum. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. quorum call:

the presiding officer: the senator from missouri. if mr. -- without objection. mr. blunt: i ask unanimous consent that jeremy penson, a military fellow from my office, be granted floor privileges for the remainder of the congress.

the presiding officer: without objection. mr. blunt: thank you.

mr. mcconnell: mr. president. the presiding officer: the republican leader. mr. mcconnell:, we will, here we are again into the month of -- well, here we are again into the month of december with crucial business unfinished. republicans spent months urging the democratic majority not to neglect this year's national defense authorization act, not to leave our armed forces to the last minute. five months ago i called on our colleagues to process the defense bill as soon as possible, but instead the majority has prioritized not just gigantic partisan spending sprees but also a parade of midlevel nominations. the democratic leader didn't

even bring a senate ndaa to the floor, forcing senators reed and inhofe to conduct an informal conference with the house with a weakened hand. when republicans control the government, we put our servicemembers first. in 2017, the senate passed our version of ndaa in september, and we voice voted the conference report by thanksgiving. in 2018 the republican senate was completely finished with ndaa by early august. but on democrats' watch, the senate's schedule has not matched the nation's needs. we spend time on less important matters while both the authorization and funding for our servicemembers have languished until the 11th hour. even now -- even now -- house and senate democrats are still obstructing efforts to close out

the ndaa by trying to jam in unrelated items with no relationship whatsoever to defense. we're talking about a grab bag of miscellaneous pet priorities, like making our financial system more sympathetic to illegal drugs or permitting reform in name only that's already failed to pass the senate earlier this year. if democrats wanted these controversial items so badly, they had two years to move them across the floor. heck, they could have scheduled those matters for votes this week. but, no, we're doing more midlevel nominations while democrats keep half-threatening to take our armed forces hostage over these extraneous matters. so, mr. president, there's an old saying that goes, poor planning on your part does not necessitate an emergency on the part of other people. the democrats' failure to plan

ahead for unrelated liberal pet priorities should not be creating uncertainty and confusion for the brave servicemembers who keep us safe. my colleagues across the aisle need to cut their unrelated hostage-taking and put a bipartisan ndaa on the floor. now, on another matter, my friend and our distinguished colleague, roy blunt, is one of us whose political career began at the most local level, as a 20-something county clerk, roy's career in government required real hands-on public service right from the beginning. fortunately, hard work and rolled-up sleeves weren't foreign concepts for roy. after all, before our friend became the first in his family to finish college, he grew up on

a dairy farm. and for decades now that doggedness and persistence have served roy's neighbors exceptionally well. greene county's young clerk, a former high school history teacher, fell short in his first campaign for hired statewide office. but a few years later he handily became the first republican secretary of state missouri had seen in half a century. after eight years there and then four as a university president, roy was already a seasoned veteran, firing on all cylinders. when he arrived in the house of representatives in 1997. little wonder that after just three terms roy became the newest representative to be voted house majority whip in 80 years. so clearly roy had a big-time reputation for getting things done before he moved across the

rotunda here to the senate. when he won his election it -- election in 2010 is all his colleagues knew our team was getting an all star. in six years from freshman status to house leadership, he set a modern land speed record on that side of the capitol. over here, he broke the sound barrier and joined our conference leadership team one year after he became a senator. the record of accomplishments roy has rack the up reflects a rare back for broader strategy and management. time after time, senator blunt has thrown himself into the weeds of policy, achieved total fluency in details and then climbed back up to 30,000 feet to make a strategic decision that would actually move the ball down the field.

case in point -- i believe roy is the only rules committee chair in history to have actually served as a state's top election official. he knows the in's and out's of voting issues as well as anyone. he knows that the federal role in our elections is both important but also limited. he understands the big picture, the fine details, and everything in between. the leaders of rules also have huge ceremonial duties as the capitol organizes the inauguration every four years. i have it on good authority that in both 2017 and 2021 when roy headed up the ceremonies, our resident history buff hand-wrote every word of his speeches himself longhand -- names,

dates, historical references, quotations, all straight from his pen, and it all passed his team's careful fact-checking without a drop of red ink. now, those ceremonial duties bear mentioning in part because taking center stage is such a departure from the way roy normally tackles his business. working methodically, building consensus behind the scenes, he has steered hundreds of millions of dollars towards infrastructure at the crossroads of the american heartland. he reached across the aisle repeatedly to improve workforce development for american veterans. he worked tirelessly to protect the integrity of our election systems. perhaps most important of all, roy had a direct generational impact on the future of cutting-edge american medicine.

he spent years -- years -- building the transformational new consensus that became the excellence in mental health act. his work to equip researchers to tackle rare diseases helped pour the foundation for the 21st century cures act. at the national institutes of health, roy blunt's name is literally on the door of the signature initiative he championed to help the millions of americans affected by dementia. time and time again our capable and trusted colleague has wound up in the middle of high-stakes, high-profile work. yet roy remains the same humble and approachable show-me stater

who first got into this business to help his neighbors. these are qualities roy shares with fellow distinguished missourians who preceded him. ever the historian, our colleague has regaled guests with the history of his senate office suite, which once belonged to harry truman, both as senator and even truman's brief spell as vice president. apparently truman came back personally to collect his things and finish moving out after he'd already become the commander in chief. but history isn't the only subject where this former teacher still administers pop quizzes. roy's staff tell fondly how their boss is liable to balk in their offices at any time and simply inquiry, so what do you -- inquire, so what do you know?

that one signature quarry captures roy so well. curiosity, the restless energy define the next big project that will make a difference. these qualities have made roy one of the best the senate has ever had at sniffing out common ground and delivering outcomes. but legislation isn't the only area where our friend's nose-to- the-grindstone spirit pays dividends. for example, i'm not sure what roy has planned for his next chapter, but given his penchant for spending saturdays walking the aisles at home depot and knocking out home improvement projects, i give him about two weeks before there won't be one

leaky faucet or rusted hinge within a three-mile radius of roy and abbey's place. we predict that he'll follow 14 general election victories by kicking back and the taking it easy. but i suspect roy sure won't mind the extra time with abbey and seeing more of matt, amy, andrew, charlie, and his grandkids as well. so on behalf of all his friends here in the senate and on behalf of the country, i thank my friend, the senior senator from missouri, for his years of outstanding service. mr. blunt: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from missouri.

mr. blunt: i want to thank my good friend, senator mcconnell, for his comments this morning. i've reserved some time this afternoon for what will be my official farewell address in the senate. he and i were whips -- when i was the whip in the house, he was the whip in the senate. i'm grateful for his advice, comments, and friendship today. thank you.

mr. thune: mr. president. the presiding officer: the republican whip. mr. thune: thank you, mr. president. mr. president, we'll be losing several members to retirement at the end of this year, including my friend, roy blunt. roy and i have served together for the majority of my time in the senate, and i also served with him for several years in the house of representatives. we started in the house at the same time, and we became friends right away. our wives have become friends as well through the years, and it's

been a joy over the years to host roy and abbey in south dakota, along with their son charlie, and to visit them in missouri. on a personal level, i am going to miss roy a lot, and the senate as an institution is going to miss roy as well. roy is someone who aspires to be involved in doing the hard things. he became chief deputy whip just two years after becoming a member of the house and he was elected majority whip just four years later, winning the position earlier in his career than any member of congress in eight decades. it's been a similar story in the senate where roy was elected vice chairman of the republican conference in his first year. in 23019 he became children of the republican policy committee which plays an important role in providing members and staff with the resources they need on the issues. and he's done that while serving as the top republican on the senate rules committee.

mr. president, roy has always been committed to doing the big things. but he's also very solutions oriented and very clear-eyed and practical about what's achievable in a place where it's hard to get things done. he has a saying. never announce publicly what you won't vote for. what he means by that is that you shouldn't back yourself into a position where you can't support a good compromise. while it's not always possible to get everything you want, you shouldn't let that stop you from doing as much good as you can. mr. president, roy has done a lot of good during his time in congress. and one of his lasting legacies will be his bipartisan -- the bipartisan achievements in the health care space including his efforts to help create and expand the certified community behavioral health clinics program, to improve access to mental health care to championing medical research. the facility housing, the n.i.h.

center for alzheimer's and dimension is actually named after roy in honor of his long time work to support dementia research. of course no mention of roy's legacy would be complete without mentioning his stalwart advocacy for the people of missouri. people, -- mr. president, i'm going to miss roy and the senate will miss roy. but i'm grateful to have had the opportunity to serve together and i'm happy that he will have more time to spend with abby and his children and grandchildren. roy has made a lasting impact here in the senate and i look forward to seeing his next chapter. mr. president, shortly before thanksgiving, one of the great icons of the senate, senator jim inhofe gave his farewell speech. i want to take the time today to honor his service. as said, jim is one of the icons of the senate and it's difficult to imagine things here without him. over his 28-year career, he's built an incredible legacy, particularly when it comes to

building up our military and developing our relationships in africa. one of the first trips i took when i got to the senate was a trip with jim to iraq and germany to meet with some of our troops and to talk to our military leadership. i'd like to think i'm a pretty energetic guy, but i was left in awe by jim inhofe. he's like the energizer bunny. he'll have people half his age in the dust. and i don't know anybody who works harder than jim. he leads by example. and his legislative achievements are a tribute to his tireless service. mr. president, everyone knows that jim inhofe is an accomplished legislator, but not everyone knows that jim is also an accomplished pilot. he has over 11,000 flight hours. i mention he's like the energizer bunny and he's flown an airplane around the world. i was lucky enough to have the opportunity to be his passenger once as we flew around oklahoma and it remains one of the best

flights i've ever taken. mr. president, while i deeply admire jim's work ethic and his legislative achievements and his piloting prowess, i might add, the thing i appreciate the most about jim inhofe is that he is a man of deep and profound faith. i've been blessed to gather with him and other senators for bible study for a number of years now, and i don't think he's ever missed a session. when i think about jim, i think about the verse in first peter that says, and i quote, sanctify christ as lord in your hearts, always being ready to make a defense to everyone who asks you to give an account for the hope that is in you. end quote. mr. president, jim inhofe is always ready to give that defense. jim is a man who pays lip service to his faith. he models it and he lives it. in word and deed he is a great ambassador for his savior. and i will miss his presentation and his witness. mr. president, while i will miss jim being in the senate, i'm glad that he and his beloved

wife, kay, will now have more time to spend together with their children and grandchildren. and i wish him the very best of retirements. he has more than earned some time off. mr. president, i yield the floor. mr. carper: mr. president, before the -- the presiding officer: the senator from delaware. mr. carper: the bible study he's referenced is one that he and i and a handful of other democrats and republicans join in every thursday when we're in session with barry black, the chaplain of the senate. and it's been hosted literally in the hideaway of jim inhofe. so it's a home game for him but it's a home game for democrats. republicans, just to share some time together in prayer and faith and really some of the challenges we face. and some people across the country, if you watch the news all the time, you think we hate each other here. we never want to work together, never want to get anything done.

thanks in no small part to jim inhofe's hospitality and participation and example, that's not the case. so i just wanted to add my comments as well. he's maybe the two-time chairman of the environment and public works committee and a great partner with me at reducing emissions from buses and diesel engines and stuff like that. he's the lead republican on the diesel emission reduction act. i just want to say there's good environmentalists in oklahoma and of all the issues we've dealt with, jim inhofe -- mr. thune: would the senator yield. just want to add would you said about jim inhofe and our bible study, i would say to all of our colleagues, of all the time we spend here each and every week, that particular hour is arguably the most impactful and always

encourage other of our colleagues to join us. we have been meeting, as senator carper mentioned, in senator inhofe's office now for many, many years and have been very blessed by his leadership not only here in the senate but his witness with regard to his faith. mr. carper: people ask me, what come you like about public service. i like helping people. when they ask me more specifically what gives you joy in the senate, it's that half an hour we spend together just about every thursday. always pleased to be there with our colleagues, sometimes even work out in the gym together. all right. now to talk about another jim. i've been joined by chris coons, the senator from the state of delaware. i'm delighted to join senator coons and also our colleague in the house. we only have one congressional seat in the house. it's filled by lisa blunt rochester. we're all going to be talking not today here on the floor --

senator coons and i will be but lisa will be talking over in the house about jim gardner. who is jim gardner? he is an icon. that's -- he's truly an icon. he's signing off the air after 40 years of delivering the news for wpvi 6 abc which is really the dominant station in the valley, really delaware and parts of new jersey. jim has been delivering the news not just for that station but delivering the in us for all of us. and his -- one of the reasons why the station has enjoyed incredible ratings is no small part because of his presence on the station. he's been a steady voice for viewers in the region, anchoring the 6:00 p.m. and 11:00 p.m. newscasts for as long as i can remember. throughout that time, he earned the respect here and the trust of millions of viewers who

invited him into their home on their televisions every night, including our home in delaware. mr. president, jim's career was born before he even graduated college. he was attending -- it was columbia university, late 197 owes. -- 197 owes. our country was in turmoil, the vietnam war which i served. his report was on historic student riots on campus. it gave him his first taste of broadcast journallively. he went on owe on journalism. he went on to report for wins radio and another station called wfas and wkbw-tv in new york city before making his way down south to join us in the delaware valley in 1976 when he joined wpvi-tv as a reporter and as anchor for action news at noon. just shy of one year later he became the anchor of the 6:00

news and the 11:00 broadcast where he's been every night, are r every night since -- every night since helping guide viewers through local news and globally. over the years his assignments included interviews. he's interviewed a lot of presidents and maybe folks who aspire to be president. i don't. among those gerald ford, jimmy carter, ronald reagan, george herbert walker bush, george w. bush, bill clinton. barack obama, donald trump, and a scrappy kid from scranton who ended up as the senator from delaware joe biden who is now our president. throughout the years, jim has interviewed philadelphia mayors. i can't count all the ones. frank rizzo to kim kinney. covered 21 political conventions. for that there's a special place in heaven for jim gardner for doing that. locally jim was the narrating

voice of our 2008 phillys and 2018 eagles world championship. they did really good this year too. fifill phillys made it all the y to the world series. but as the action news opening song says, move closer to your world. and he's also traveled abroad to help us understand some of the biggest stories in history, not just in delaware, not as the delaware valley but across the world. he reported from the vatican to cover the death, for example, of pope paul 6:00. he travel -- pope paul vi. he covered the return of american hostages from iran. reported from russia, lithuania after the fall of the soviet union. he covered the oslo courts from israel and the west bank. he traveled to cuba to cover pope john paul ii and then went to argentina to report on the life of pope francis. perhaps what has allowed jim to hold the trust of his viewers while engaging his audience

night after night is that no matter where he's traveled, no matter where he's traveled, he understands what matters to his viewers most can be found right in our own backyours at community events, -- backyards, at community events, houses of worship, by talking to our neighbors. so it's with great pleasure that i urge that we rise on behalf of delaware's congressional delegation to honor the exemplary career of jim gardner. i want to say jim, to you and your family, scon grat -- congratulations on a job well done. we want to convey our thanks to your wife, amy. there's a special place in heaven for her and our spouses as well. to your four children for sharing their dad with us and the people of our region of america. delaware valley is a better place because of you, my friend. god bless. godspeed. thanks so much. i'm pleased to yield to my ringman. mr. coons: thank you, mr. president. i join my colleague from the

home state of delaware in ensuring jim gardner's four decades of leadership in our community, in our local news and laying down a marker for what it means to be a real journalist, a trusted and loyal and important part of community leadership that his service will be remembered and recognized in the congressional record. jim gardner as my colleague laid out in great dee tail, born -- detail, born and raised in new york city, turned on to adjournism as a student at columbia university and began his remarkable run with wpvi-tv philadelphia on june 1, 1976. i've had the honor of being in the newsroom and talking with jim as he's prepared for a broadcast, of getting a sense of just how good and balanced and thoughtful a journalistic leader he is. and for all of us, it is a real loss that four decades later, jim has anchored his last

regularly scheduled 11:00 p.m. broadcast, still anchoring the 6:00 p.m. news. my wife annie and i love watching you. you have griffen us a sense of continuity of community and charter unmatched in so many other communities around our country. you are a genuine treasure, a jewel of the delaware valley, and we will miss you deeply. you have interviewed popes and presidents, local elected officials and international leaders. you've contributed to our understanding of our place in the world and brought us closer together. i just wanted to say to you personally congratulations on your retirement. i know that you'll get to spend more time with josh, jen, emily, and jesse, and your grandson henry. thank you to amy. as my colleague and friend tom carper said, it's our spouses who often experience the highs and the lows of our public service, and i know that your family has supported you through this remarkable work. it would be impossible to list all the stories that you've reported on or contributed to,

but know, jim, that you've left a lasting legacy in the hearts of the millions of people who have watched you over decades and felt that they were brought a little bit closer to their world. thank you and we look forward to recognizing you in the record of the united states senate. with that, mr. president, i yield the floor. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. quorum call:

today senate lawmakers working on judicial nominations off the floor, senators continuing to negotiate funding the federal government past december 16th. in the house members are considering two immigration bills today, one expediting the process for non-us citizens

serving the military and the other bill phases out the upper country unemployment based immigrant visas, the house and senate plan to take up 2023 defense programs and policy legislation. you are watching live coverage of the senate on c-span2. >> posted something taking a look at today's race runoff in georgia. under the headline can election day turnout save water, early voting turnout has been exactly strong, something that almost certainly benefits rafael warnock brokering the 1-day record for one day voting tapping things off with a turnout of 350,000 voters last friday. it is important for several reasons, first democrat to

benefit from high turnout and long lines in the heavily democratic counties of the atlanta area. democrats capped 52% of really balance where republicans 39% according to data by the organization, and takes a look and announced the questions are the polls wrong again? opinion polls taken since the november 8th general election point to a warnock victory albeit a narrow one, there were 5 major polls released since the start of december, walker has not let any of them. to the hill, emerson college released on 1 december put him up by 2 percentage points. it goes on from there and you can find it on the hill if you wish. we will ask and get your thoughts on this runoff special election in georgia between rafael warnock, incumbent senator from georgia and his challenger, herschel walker, 202-748-8001 for republicans,

202-748-8000 for democrats and 202-748-8000 for independents. if you are a georgia resident and wanted to give your thoughts, 202-748-8000. to talk about the impact of the race specifically how it affects the senate, joining us michael chanel with the hell. thanks for giving us your time this morning. it doesn't determine power but what are leaders in the senate watching for today? >> the implications of today's senate race are significant when it comes to how to legislate in the senate. of course if rafael warnock wins his first full term today that will give democrats a 50 one-49 seat majority. that will have significant implications. the committee level, those committees will no longer be split evenly between democrats and republicans but if warnock wins democrats will have a majority on the committees which will mean the senate no longer

has to use the power-sharing agreement schumer and macconnell agreed to last year. that would be significant because it could speed up the committee process when it comes to president biden's nominee is especially judicial nominees on the judiciary committee and the majority, the democrats would be able to easily vote their judicial nominees out of committee and to the senate floor, for a full vote. democrats winning an extra seat, giving them a one seat majority would mean no one senator can derail legislative negotiations. when i say that we think of people like joe manchin and kirsten sinema who have not voted with the entire democratic caucus and thrown off negotiating or plans that have been set between the democratic leaders, the extra vote would give democrats breathing room so they don't have to negotiate directly with of those two lawmakers and can afford to lose one vote and also we can talk

about absences especially what was coming out of covid by having extra briefing room. not all 50 democrats have to be in washington to vote on every bill. they have that breathing room in case there are any unforeseen absences among the senators. those are a few reasons why even though democrats hold the majority of the chamber, as things stand, then gaining one more seat would have significant impact. >> we seem president biden stay away from campaigning directly in the state, we've seen donald trump stay away. how much support from the senate itself are the senators themselves giving either candidate? >> giving a good amount of support. on the democrat side, john vossoff was elected alongside warnock, he has been campaigning with his home state senator in georgia throughout this race and

we saw recently on the republican side, herschel walker, like ted cruz who was down in georgia campaigning with herschel walker. we haven't seen much on the ground participation from people like president biden and former president trump, we've seen senators doing something for their respective candidates ahead of today's runoff race. >> when it comes today today business of the senate, if herschel walker or rafael warnock does win, what does it do for things like the future of the filibuster, particularly the day today things to get legislation passed, getting a certain number of senators on board with that legislation? >> even if warnock wins democrats will see -- the 61 phil filibuster is still there, still significant challenge for democrats to get enough republicans on board then they

would as votes to take away the filibuster, manchin and kirsten sinema are opposed but it is unlikely, the other elephant in the room, we talk about democrat increasing their majority in the senate, the house will still be in republican hands. that will make legislating difficult for democrats because it -- if democrats are able to send a messaging build from the senate to the house, unlikely because of the filibuster and lack of votes to take away the filibuster, because there is that gop majority so some procedure rule things will be different and things like nominees will be easier in the senate. legislation for democrats will be a large hurdle because the house will -- >> in a general sense, don't know if you cover this directly but there will be a result tonight as far as a win. >> reince be seen.

voting has taken longer in terms of absentee ballots, early voting, but not entirely sure if we will have a result tonight but i will be watching this also and eagerly awaiting to see who wins this race. >> you are a staff writer, you can find her work at thehill.com, to talk about the impact of special elections especially when it comes on the workings of the senate. thank you for your time today. >> again, you can give us a call on the lines if you wish to comment about the special election, 202-748-8,000 one for republicans, 748-8,000 for democrats and independents, 202-seven forty eight-eight thousand two. georgia residents can call us at 748-8003 and use that number to text us as well. in florida starting us off, william on the republican line. go ahead. >> good morning. i do not understand for the life

of me why aledo king, doctor king's these doesn't go to georgia, and talk for herschel walker. she knows you can't be a black man and be religious and be a man of the cloth and b for abortion. you can't do that. i don't understand why she doesn't go down there and speak up for herschel walker. she knows that warnock has got to be a liar, he's pulling the people in georgia. >> host: you are not a georgia resident but i assume from your comments your supporting herschel walker in this? >> of course. you can't be black and be a man of the cloth and b for abortion. you cannot do that. >> host: stephen in vienna, virginia, democrat line, next up. >> caller: i called in two

months ago about this race. it is interesting, the person mentioned, if warnock wins, the senate has subpoena power they of otherwise don't have. that is important. all these republicans in congress and the house, all these wild accusations, they hit hillary for months and months and years and nothing came of it. the senate and state department exonerated her. say this happened to hunter biden, there is nothing there. then warnock comes in, the idea that we will have an sec caucus in the senate is sort of crazy because these sec guys, elected because they just like football and don't care about whether these guys have integrity and know what they are doing in the first place. watching the georgia thing, what

happened in 2,020, when trump bailed on georgia and his amaga people bail on george and gave it to the democrats. i do wonder, the senate, the trillions of dollars, try to put the data there but osama -- obama $9 trillion, trump $7 trillion, biden 3. $5 trillion and it is all on biden. trump sent that money when the economy was going great. >> host: we will leave it there. some people participating on our facebook page putting comments, david says forget party, walker is not qualified to be in office. patty jackson saying how do i know warnock isn't an honest representation for georgia? because he's a pastor who is supposed to preach redemption but mudslinging walker's past, walker made his past, there's nothing past that. karen, kareem at leasing herschel walker signifies everything wrong with the

country today. how is this man a legitimate candidate in anyone's eyes? goes on from there, darren saying hopefully the good people georgia will choose wisely who they desire to represent the state in the u.s. senate. several political ads published by warnock against walker as his opponent and to be honest these ads were despicable. anyone claiming to be a man of the cloth, that is some of the reaction off of twitter when it comes to this race, the special election, comments on facebook, facebook.com/and you can text us, 202-748-8000. we set aside a special line for georgia residents, the number from georgia, this is bill, go ahead. >> caller: good morning. thank you for my call.

>> host: go ahead, you are on. >> caller: i would like to voice my opinion. i don't think i can express myself more than this election here, it means everything to this country and the nation. the people of georgia in my opinion only have two choices and it is a simple choice. you are voting for two candidates. i'd ask unanimous consent that the quorum call be dispensed with. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. cornyn: i know the senator from kentucky and the senator from michigan are trying to work through some differences on a potential unanimous consent request, but i've asked them if i might make a few remarks, if they are not quite ready yet, and they have graciously allowed me to do so. what i wanted to talk about, mr. president, is it is december 6. it's 19 days until christmas.

and the 117th congress is quickly coming to a close. but there's a lot of work that needs to be done in the meantime. first the national defense authorization act, which i hope will be the next order of business. you know, when people ask me, what are your priorities when it comes to representing the state of texas and the united states senate -- in the united states senate? i say, well, it's clear there is one priority, and that is the strength and security and safety of our nation and our way of life, to preserve and protect the peace and to protect the freedom of all americans. and the way we do that is through the national defense authorization act. it is, i believe, the most important piece of legislation that we consider each year, among other important pieces of legislation. but this is how we support our troops, how we support our military families in an

all-volunteer military, how we maintain our military businesses, modernize our -- bases, modernize our weapons and fair frames and invest in the next generation of weapons. and i believe that what ronald reagan said, that we maintain peace through strength, and when we don't make our national defense a priority, when we neglect the most important responsibilities we have here, it sends the wrong message to our adversaries and those who would take advantage of a power vacuum left by an america that refuses to lead. but the national defense authorization act is how we strengthen our nips with old a-- our relationships with old allies and forge new partnerships with new ones. as a result of the invasion of ukraine by vladimir putin, now finland and sweden have said they want to become part of the north atlantic treaty

organization, certainly not what mr. putin contemplated what he said he's invading ukraine because they didn't want a potential nato member on his border. well, as a result of his blundering invasion and wrongful invasion of ukraine, he's now going to have finland as a nato partner on his border with some, i believe it's roughly 800 miles of common border. but we know that this is an increasingly challenging global threat landscape, and we have to do everything we can to make sure our troops have the training and the equipment and the resources needed to counter adversaries of today and tomorrow. given the state of the world, preserving our military readiness has never been more important. china and russia have obviously grown more aggressive in their efforts to disrupt the global order. north korea continues to

threaten the united states and our allies with its nuclear capabilities. iran, which is the largest state sponsor of terrorism, continues to threaten democracies in the middle east, including our ally israel and threaten not only a regional conflict but something worse. this is a fragile time for global peace and security and a strong national defense authorization act is the principal way that we supply our military with the resources and certainty needed for our commanders to plan for the future. but this legislation is about much more than maintaining a strong national defense. it's about empowering and supporting the men and women behind it. america's servicemembers are volunteers, and they've made a commitment not everyone is willing to make in joining the

ranks of america's heroes who've defended our country throughout our nation's history. they make sacrifices each and every day in order to keep our families safe and our nation at peace, and we owe it to them to get them the support that they need. that includes not only the training, technology and equipment they need to do their job but also the pay and benefits that their families depend on. in short, a strong national defense authorization act is critical to the success of our servicemembers, their families, and american security and, indeed, world peace. we simply can't neglect this important responsibility or delay it any longer. i think the majority leader, the senator from new york, has already delayed it to the point -- here we are backed up against christmas with no time to spare. congress needs to pass this

annual defense authorization bill asap, as soon as possible. i hear the house is planning to take up the defense authorization act this week, and i hope that the senate will follow in short order. for the past 61 years in a row, 61 years, congress has managed to overcome partisan differences and pass this legislation. i hope that will continue this year. but i'm becoming more and more concerned, given the crunch that we're experiencing here 19 days before christmas. once we pass the defense authorization bill, which i hope we will do, we have one other big item on the to-do list -- and that is government funding. you may ask how in the world did we get here? ordinarily, in what we sometimes

refer to as regular order around here, the appropriations committees take -- the appropriations committee takes up and passes at the committee level 12 appropriations bills, and these fund the entire government, from the defense department to transportation to foreign affairs to -- well, everything that the federal government does, our border security and like. but what has happened is that system has broken down and empowered not rank-and-file members of the committee but of congress. this bill is being negotiated probably on the order of almost $1.7 trillion behind closed doors by the leadership, and we'll be then presented with a fait accompli. we'll have two choices to vote up or down on the annual

appropriations bill. it's a ridiculously embarrassing way to do business around here. certainly not transparent, certainly doesn't provide the american people with the information they need in ordered to decide whether they think we're on the right track or wrong track. so here we are more than two months into the fiscal year, and last year's business is still outstanding. our democratic colleagues hold the majority in the house and the senate as well as the white house, and despite their unilateral authority to set the schedule, they have failed in some of our most basic responsibilities, and that is to advance appropriations bills before the end of the fiscal year. in september they punted the funding deadline to geese -- to

december 16 which is ten days away. there is no agreement even on a top line number, which is the first step for coming up with a funding agreement. to make matters worse, democrats are still pushing for dramatic increases in nondefense domestic spending. now typically these agreements include some sort of parity between defense and nondefense spending, but the spending habits of the last two years by the democratic majority along party lines has been anything but typical. first of all, our democratic colleagues stole the taxpayer credit card and went on not one but two spending sprees. first was called the american rescue plan which included a long list of progressive social policy. that bill cost taxpayers $1.9 trillion. party-line vote, borrowed money

that somebody's going to have to pay off someday. a few months ago our colleagues went on a second spending spree with something called the inflation reduction act, which i sometimes call the inflation nonreduction act, because it doesn't, won't reduce inflation any time soon. in fact, it includes nearly half a trillion dollars in new spending. anybody who's followed what you do when inflation is raging as it is now, there's usually two components. one is the federal reserve that controls monetary policy. in other words, interest rates. and they can slow down the economy. they can try to take a shot at inflation by slowing down the economy and raising interest rates. but of course that means that the money we have to pay on, to service the debt that we're incurring here just gets bigger and bigger. but there's a second component

too when it comes tackling inflation, and that is the fiscal side, the spending. and the reason why we still see inflation at a 40-year high is because our democratic colleagues, on top of all the spending we had to do on covid-19 on a bipartisan basis, have engaged in a radical spending spree of roughly $2.5 trillion. that is exacerbated the fire of inflation. many people who are financially well off have not experienced much beyond an inconvenience, but to working families who live paycheck to paycheck, the prices they pay not only at the pump but at the grocery store and for housing and everything else has gone through the roof, and they are the wundz -- ones hurting as a result of this

fiscal irresponsibility. the last two years our democratic colleagues have spent trillions of dollars on their domestic priorities, and they made no push for parity with defense spending. they didn't couple $128 billion for k-12 schools with new investments in research and development. they didn't mirror the $86 billion bailout for labor unions with funding for next-generation aircraft or weapons. they didn't pair the $80 billion for a super-sized irs with funding to support our troops and their families. they didn't match the $40 billion in transportation projects with funding for infrastructure updates at our military installations. and they certainly didn't couple the extensive unemployment benefits that they provided with pay raises for servicemembers. so there's been no question of parity between defense and nondefense spending this last two years.

they spent trillions of dollars on domestic priorities without even entertaining the idea of more support for our national security. now they cannot widen that gap any further. we shouldn't stand for it. and we can't shortchange america's military in order to maintain this illusion of parity, and it is nothing more than an illusion after this spending spree that our democrat colleagues have been on for the last two years. i hope finding ourselves where we are that our congressional leaders stressing the importance of a full-year government funding bill. he emphasized the negative impact of short-term funding on procurement, research and development, troop training, infrastructure projects, recruitment, and so much more. he didn't mince words in saying how critical it is to pass a regular appropriations bill, saying failure to do so will result in significant harm to

our people and our programs and would cause harm to our national security and our competitiveness. so this is the, where we find ourselves, and it's not an accident. this is by conscious design by the congressional leaders of the democratic party in the house and senate who have said we're not going to have a regular appropriations process that's predictable and done on time in a way that's transparent and allows the american people and rank-and-file members of the congresss to participate. instead they said we're going to push it all to the end of the year, back stop it against christmas and the new congress, and we're going to tell congressional members you have those two choices. you can vote up or vote down, but they know that we have a responsibility to fund our military, we have a responsibility to fund our

border security efforts, and so much more. so it's unlikely, highly unlikely that congress will fail to pass an appropriations bill and turn the lights out here in washington, d.c., and shut down the government. and our congressional leaders know that, but they have been reckless in the way they've handled this to the point now where we have very few choices. this is not what responsible governing looks like. our democratic colleagues who left the most fundamental tasks of the government to the very last moment. the defense authorization bill and the government funding bills are not a surprise. these are necessary to complete each and every year, and the deadlines arrive like clockwork, but somehow our colleagues, the leadership in the house and the senate, our

democratic colleagues have gotten us here by design. they understand how this place works, and they like the fact that they maintain ball control over $1.7 trillion in spending. and they use the national defense authorization act to try to jam through other special interest goodies because they realize that with so few moving vehicles across the floor of the united states congress this late in the year, that that is what will happen. whep you have a must-pass bill, people will look for every opportunity to put in their special project because they know that will be carried along along with this must-pass legislation. mr. president, inflation remains at a 40-year high. communities across the country are dealing with increases in

violent crime, and the crisis at the border is growing more challenging by the day. i can't help believe that the american people deserve better than this, and i hope the next few weeks will bring more productivity than the last few months have. and i hope that once we put the business of our national security and appropriating for the support of the federal government behind us, hopefully sooner rather than later, we won't repeat this same mistake year after year after year. mr. president, i yield the floor. and i note the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. quorum call:

>> today, senate lawmakers working on judicial nominations come off the floor senators continuing to negotiate funding the federal government past december 16th. in the house, members are considering two immigration bills today, one measure aims to expedite the naturalization process for non-us citizens serving the area and the other bill phases out the per country on employment-based immigrant visas, the house and senate plan to take up 2023 defense programs, policy legislation, you are watching live coverage of the senate on c-span2. >> he went to minnesota, didn't do as well because he was older but we need to remember those 10 choices that went to dallas made

dallas a top-notch team. >> we will go to ronnie and irving, texas, democrat line, go ahead. >> can't say i never heard an analogy, herschel walker was a good football player. he is totally unqualified. ings e quorum be vitiated. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. warner: thank you, mr. president. mr. president, i rise today in support of a dedicated and well-qualified individual who's been nominated by president biden to fill an increasingly important role. that person is elizabeth baggily, who's -- -- bagley who has been nominated to be the ambassador to brazil. she's been involved in public service for decades. 28 years ago, as a matter of fact, she appeared before the united states senate, then being considered as president clinton's nominee to be ambassador to portugal. she went on to serve in that

role from 1994 to 1997 which was a period of growth and positive development in this important bilateral relationship. for the service in portugal, she received the distinguished awards from the portugese navy and air force as well as the grand cross of prince henry, the navigator, which is the president of portugal's highest civilian commendation. she's a recipient of the global democracy award from the international women's democracy center, the ellis island medal of honor and the 2013 secretary of state distinguished honor award. in 2013 she served as an alternative representative of the united states to the united nations, and prior to that was the first special representative to the secretary of state for global partnerships. in her years of diplomatic service, she has also worked as senior advisors to secretaries kerry, clinton and the late madeleine albright. president biden has nominated her for an especially critical

role, and that'ss to our nation's ambassador to brazil, the largest economy in south america, a country going through dramatic transitions right now. as a matter of fact, brazil will be inaugurating its new president at the of january, and i believe, frankly it's been an embarrassment we've gone almost two years without an intoor to brazil -- without an ambassador to brazil, i believe it is important that she be in brazil and present with credentials. we've got lots and lots of work to do on this important relationship, and it's important that we move forward. originally, mr. president, i was going to come down and ask u.c. to both have elizabeth

bagley discharged from committee and also confirmed now on the floor. working with our, my republican friends, i appreciate the fact that i believe they're going to allow us to move forward on the discharge from committee but not move forward on ms. bagley's confirmation as ambassador. i know there may be some holds on all north-south ambassadors at this point, but i implore my colleagues on the other side of the aisle, this is a talented, well-suited, appropriately experienced individual. this relationship between the united states and brazil is absolutely critical now perhaps more than ever, and i hope we can find some level of accommodation to move past the action we take today and make sure that elizabeth bagley is confirmed as our country's ambassador to brazil so that she can be in brazil by the time

that the new administration in brazil comes into power in early january under president lula. so, mr. president, i ask unanimous consent that the foreign relations committee be discharged from further consideration of p.n. 1691, elizabeth frawley bagley to be ambassador of the united states to brazil and that the united states be placed on the calendar. the presiding officer: is there objection? without objection,so ordered. mr. warner: thank you, mr. president. hi hope that we can move on this ambassadorship to make sure that our country is well represented, not only in south america, but around the world going forward. i yield the floor and note the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. quorum call:

mr. cardin: i ask -- the presiding officer: without

objection. mr. cardin: i ask that the vote scheduled at 12 noon start immediately. the presiding officer: without objection. 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 1149, frances kay behm, of michigan, to be united states district judge for the eastern district of michigan. the presiding officer: by unanimous consent, the mandatory quorum call has been waived. is it the sense of the senate that debate on the nomination of frances kay behm to be united states district judge for the eastern district of michigan shall be brought to a close. the yeas and nays are mandatory under the rule. the clerk will call the roll. vote:

vote:

vote:

vote:

vote:

the presiding officer: the ayes are 47, the nays are 46, the motion is agreed to. under the previous order, the senate stands in recess until 2:15 p.m.