we're going to have to fly deep strike vehicles on carriers to both refuel and strike our enemies, to increase the range of our carriers so it's not just a 355 big ship of the line ships. >> we only have about two minutes left. if there are no other member questions iwill ask one more quick one .there are too many topics we're not getting too but i want to ask with a republican majority in congress there's talk of a potential investigation into the afghanistan withdrawal. i'm curious if you believe that is something that is warranted but be, also bthere are several administrations that probably should speak to the withdrawal because it was several years in the making. so would you and your former colleague also be willing to come in front of congress and testify about efforts to

withdraw, talks with the taliban and do you think that should be the case? >> were going to leave the few minutes of this program to honor our commitment to covering congress. watch the rest at c-span.org. the lawmakers coming back after developments in ukraine and russia. lawmakers continuing to work on several judicial nominations . now to the senate floor here on c-span2. >>

the u.s.-mexico border, which has been willfully neglected by the biden administration. under president biden's administration, we have broken one record after another when it comes to illegal immigration at the southern border and the system is now near its breaking point with the expiration of title 42, which is the public health title which has given the border patrol the authority to

repel people coming across the border, some of them at least, using that too many. but when that goes away, border patrol, absent any change in administration policy, will not be able to return those individuals, mainly adult males, back across the border for illegally entering the united states. so despite the president getting on air force one at andrew's air force base to phoenix, arizona, a border state, the president's trip did not include a short trip and visit to the border. after all, the president has pretty good transportation. he's got air force one. can you imagine. it would take just a quick hop to the border to give the president the opportunity to learn because he has not visited the border once since he took office. he could have done what i've

done and what other members of the senate have done when we solicited the border. he could have asked the border patrol agents to share their challenges, ask what he could do to help. he could have asked what can the federal government do to make your job easier in order to address this crisis. he could have talked to customs and border protection, office and field officers what they can do to interdict the drugs, virtually all of which comes across the southern border. he could have simply just said thank you -- thank you for your service to the countless men and women who are on the front lines of this crisis each and every day. unfortunately, president biden couldn't be bothered to make

that trip. as he was leaving washington yesterday, a reporter asked the president why he would visit arizona, a border state, and not go to the border. the president responded, because there are more important things going on. talk about a slap in the face. to every single person who is troubled by what's happening at the border. every day migrants are being exploited by nothing that has to do with their welfare but viewed simply as a commodity to make money. the stories of the abuse of migrants who take the long and dangerous trip from their home across the southern border are leej end.

the -- leej end. the president could have asked those people what can we do from making the long and dangerous trip. he could have asked about the fentanyl -- the synthetic opioids and other dangerous drugs coming into our country and killing innocent people in our communities. we've had a number of teenaged children, school children, killed when they consumed a pill they thought was maybe a prescription drug like xanax or perk -- or other drug. that has been happening because of the border crisis and the drugs flowing across the southern border. the cartels and criminal organizations are getting rich

off the trail of death and destruction that they've created. but let it be known, president joe biden thinks there are more important things to do. that's more outrageous than disappointing, but it's really both. it's outrageous and disappointing to hear the president of the united states admit this outright. but as dangerous and outrageous and disappointing as it is to hear him say it, we really shouldn't be surprised by his inaction when it comes to addressing this crisis. for nearly two years president biden and his administration have ignored the crisis at the border. so he refuses to visit. you know, he might just learn something. he might find out that this is

not about root causes, which is what secretary blinken and vice president harris has said. they think illegal immigration is a result of root causes. well, there is a component of that, people experiencing violence or poverty in their home country who want to come to the united states. but it's also about drug smugglers, it's also about criminals who have been deported for endangering americans and yet they come back across the border to do it again and again. so the president might have actually learned something if he had just taken a few minutes to talk to the people who work and live on the border. so he refuses to visit. he avoids talking about it. he acts like there's nothing wrong when, in fact, we're experiencing an unprecedented humanitarian and security

crisis. since president biden took office, u.s. customs and border protection have encountered four million migrants. before that, customs and border protection didn't see that many migrants. in two years we've seen more than they saw in eight years during the obama administration. president biden's policies have not only tolerated the situation, it's actually made it worse and encouraged more migrants to make the trip to our border and successfully get into the interior of the united states. so whether or not president biden wants to admit it or not, there is a crisis at the southern border. everybody who takes 30 seconds to learn about it understands

it. and the truth is this crisis, as bad as it is, is getting worse because of the president's open-bored policies. from day one, the biden administration decided they needed to dismantle all of the policies of the previous administration that deterred illegal immigration. it's not just about catching people who come into the country illegally, it's also about discouraging people from making that trip in the fist place. -- first place. and the biden administration's policies create the impression that anybody who can make it to the border can make it into the interior. the administration's rolled out a steady parade of rhetoric, policies that sends a clear message. cross the southern border and you will be able to successfully make your way into the united states. so it's no surprise that this

message that's been sent by open-border policies and a lack of enforcement, it's no surprise we've seen these unprecedented numbers. for the first time on record, customs and border protection logged more than two million border crossings in a single year. they encountered nearly 2.4 million migrants in fiscal year 2022. in october, we logged the highest number of migrant encounters on record. this is 230,000 in a single month. now, if this happened in any one of the states represented by my colleagues that are not border states, i wonder what their reaction would be. when governor abbott or governor

ducey or governor desantis put migrants on a bus and sent them to new york or washington, d.c., mayor bauser said that we need the national guard to come out when just a few how to make their -- few thousand make their way. but when a few00 how to make their -- thousand make their way to texas in a single month, they could careless. this doesn't tell the full story, whether we're talking about migrant encounters, drug seizures, terrorist arrests, you have to remember, these are the ones we know about. when border patrols are asking to process and take care of thousands of migrants a day, that means they're not on the

front lines. they can't find the drug smugglers if they're filling out paperwork or providing formula for an unaccompanied children. law enforcement refers to these as the getta ways. but they don't pull that number out of thin air. the u.s.-mexico border includes an extensive network of physical and technological barriers. some sections have 30-foot steel walls, others have vehicle barriers, others include sensors, cameras and other surveillance camera violence equipment. nongotta ways are not apprehended by the border

patrol. border patrol logged more than 73,000 got-a-ways. so, let's see. in october we logged the highest number of migrant encounters on record, more than 230,000 in a single month. during that month, 73,000 more migrants were got-a-ways. these are 73,000 people who did not want to encounter border patrol. they weren't seeking asylum. they were trying to evade law enforcement and probably for a very good reason. of course even that data doesn't tell the full story. these are just the known got-aways for a single month. there is no way of knowing how many evaded detection entirely, especially over the course of the last two years. and it's not just the people we're concerned about. it's dangerous drugs like

fentanyl, heroin, methamphetamine as well as illicit weapons and drug money. the criminal cartels that prey on -- that take advantage of and exploit the administration's open-border policies are economy agnostic. they will deal in drugs, weapons, or people as long as it makes them money. commodity agnostic. president biden and his policies are the best thing that ever happened to their dirty business. it's making them rich while trading on human misery and death. i disagree with president biden's assessment that there are more important things than what's going on at the border. that's easy for him to say, sitting in the white house in washington, d.c. the people i represent who live

and work along the border are overwhelmed. and this is a federal responsibility. this shouldn't be up to the states because this is an international border. by definition it's a federal responsibility. this state of chaos is also hurting the migrants who are duped into paying thousands of dollars a head to come to the united states. and you know what? you go to houston, texas, and some of those same migrants are held hostage, working in prostitution or forced labor by the people who say they will turn them into the authorities and reveal the fact that they're illegally in the united states unless they continue in that forced labor or that prostitution. as i said, this is hurting our border communities which are now

apparently expected to carry the weight of feeding, caring for, and transporting thousands upon thousands of migrants. and it's weighing on the men and women in our law enforcement community that put their lives on the line to secure the border and to protect the american people. i wonder if president biden knows that last month three border patrol agents took their own lives. two from texas and one from new mexico. it's absolutely heartbreaking to see the toll this crisis is taking on these brave men and women who have been begging the administration for support for nearly two years. this isn't asking them to do something over and above what is required because all they're

asking is for the administration to enforce the law, to let them enforce the law, and to relieve them of the burden of this abdication of responsibility. so if president biden had taken a few minutes to hop down to the border in air force one when he was in phoenix yesterday, he might have learned some of this. over the years i've had the pleasure of learning from and working with the men and women who live and work along texas' 1200-mile border with mexico. we're talking about law enforcement officials, local officials like the county judges, the mayors, the private property owners, the small business owners, and folks who run nonprofits. they've provided an unvarnished view of how decisions in washington impact their

communities, the economy, and our national security. and president biden could have learned this. vice president harris, too. i've taken the opportunity along with my colleague senator cruz to introduce dozens of our senate colleagues to these people on the border that i'm talking about so they can gain a better understanding of the challenges that they're up against and the things that we could do that would make their life and the conditions on the border better. and i'll just issue an open invitation, madam president. i'm happy to invite president biden to come to texas to the border and i'd be delighted to introduce him to these people that i've talked about, law enforcement, small businesses,

local elected officials, private property owners that are being absolutely overwhelmed by this border crisis created by president biden's open border policies. if he'd take the time to actually listen to their experiences, there's no way he would continue to believe that there are more important things going on. madam president, i yield the floor and i'd note the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. quorum call: where do things stand

presently on the. >> is going to be is we continue this funding. this is something that will have bipartisan support what is wrong. we have to you just ukraine. >> is all congress has so far, this year dollars.

perhaps a majority of house republicans saying as little call on setting ukraine, a. >> for all you spending something barbara. you can pick and choose what especially while they're at war. what is happening right now is something we have to work with our allies and ukraine is. we will support the efforts of residents efforts means we are not sending something bipartisan support to you. >> your daddy roswell new mexico, and one. >> the morning, and i on? >> you are.

>> i'm going to go completely off topic is one because i've been trying toget through every time a republican or democrat gets on . my question is simple. i want to know why and how

vote:

vote:

vote:

the presiding officer: the yeas are 60, the nays are 34 and the motions is agreed to. under the previous order, the senate will resume consideration of the blackwell nomination, which the clerk will report. the clerk: the judiciary, jerry w. blackwell, of minnesota, to be united states district judge for the district of minnesota. the presiding officer: is is there a sufficient second? there appears to be. the clerk will call the roll. vote: vote:

vote:

vote:

vote:

the presiding officer: the yeas are 51, the nays are 43, and the nomination is confirmed. under the previous order, the motion to reconsidered is the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table and the president will be immediately notified of the senate's action.

he said son the natural resources and national affairs committee. welcome to "washington journal." >> thanks for having me on thanks for having me on. >> let's start with a preview the 118th congress and the election for speaker. you've said in the past he told "cnn" he would quote take mccarthy's -- under extreme circumstances. there is a meeting of your fellow members yesterday. what came out of that meeting? >> you were still going to have pressure back and forth on who is going to end up being the eventual speaker for the 118th

congress and there is still a lot of opportunity for us to actually make some changes and as someone who wants to be a speaker support those changes. there a lot of folks over the last 20 years that have said that washington is broken and they campaign on the fact that washington is broke and, and it truly is. part of the reason for that is that we have consolidated the power of all the decisions into the hands of just a few select individuals to elect a speaker but they call the rules committee in congress, which is a group of nine people that make most of the decisions about what legislation will come to the floor in what amendments will be allowed to change that legislation and then the rest of the body simply is in a position where they have to vote yes or no one that's it. so we don't have the collaborative process that most of the folks who have ever

served in a legislative body have been able to participate in and so by doing this, by consolidating that power by isolating the ability from the other members to participate in it, we don't have the ability to represent our constituents at the same level as those nine individuals that have consolidated all the power. what we are doing is requesting that, to defuse this power back to the body by having a couple of just basic changes. number one, we have single subject legislation come before congress which would eliminate a lot of the deals that are made back and forth to buy votes virtually and then to allow what they call open rules on the

house floor so that each member would be able to propose amendments to legislation as long as they were germane to it as long as they pertain to a specific legislation that had been introduced and brought out to the floor. by doing that we each have the ability to represent our constituents. kletzky you tweeted about this a couple weeks ago and on a specific point you said each member of congress has earned and deserves equal participation in the legislative process. that will only happen if the house returns to rules of governance the legislation body before nancy pelosi to control. kevin mccarthy isn't willing he will we haven't been willing to make those changes. we allow rhetoric and a lot of fanfare taking place. we have seen a lot of emphasis given to the oversight committee as we have gone to the 118th congress and that's all really

important. time on the southern border is really important that as far as changing the actual function in the process on the house floor we haven't made any progress and that place and that is how we are going to change congress. that is how we are going to restore order and that is how the constituents across the nation will have equal representation. >> host: to be clear the rules you're proposing wouldn't just follow for republican members on the house floor. all members right? >> guest: that's exactly right. we are trying to make sure everyone has equal -- and congress anytime keep try to set a process up that basically benefits one party or the other that is going to get turned around that's why we have this on a lot of legislation and a lot of just the conduct that takes place up here. we are talking about dramatic radical changes. what we are talking about is

reestablishing regular order to congress so that we can have this collaborative process restored and i personally believe that it will bring a collegiality back to congress that we haven't seen for decades. what's your guest is congressman matt rosenfeld representing on 10 in the u.s. house. we welcome your calls and comments. republicans (202)748-7001. and for all others independence and all others (202)748-8802. one of the things that could come up in the congress as a potential call for an audit on spending on ukraine in the headline from the "washington post" reflects mainstream republicans back marjorie taylor greene's military aid and they say the measure before the house foreign affairs committee was defeated in the 26-22 vote because of the unity of

democrats who still control the panel said the measure risk sending a message to ukraine that america supports the war was in question. do you support that measure by representative grant? >> guest: i absolutely do. we are nearly -- nearing $80 billion in there hasn't been any type of account whatsoever. we now see this whole ftx cryptocurrency issue has arisen and it's my understanding that it's called the bankruptcy document in essence coming into ftx from ukraine. there's a lot of money traveling around that no one has been able to give an account of and if you're going to authorize united states taxpayer dollars to go overseas we need to know what is happening with that. i personally have voted against the additional funding to go to ukraine. i think it's tragic that russia has instigated an unprovoked war

and invaded that nation. it's killed people and dislocated a lot of people however we have a lot of problems here in our own country that a been ignored. we have an invasion taking place on our own southern border right now with 4 million people in our country illegally under the biden administration. thousands and thousands of towns -- pounds of knowledge stream them over the southern border in 105,000 people have died in our country last year from drug overdoses in the vast majority of the attributed sentinel they came directly from mexico and the component came here from china so we have our own invasion taking place and i think we need to focus on the problems taking place in our country and for those that have been shipped overseas there has to be an accounting of what takes place at that. >> host: let's hear from our callers in spring hill florida mike on the independent line.

mike mu airball him -- meet your volume and go ahead with your comment. >> caller: thank you and thanks for taking my call. congressman i just want to say toor you when you guys republics start talking about the border. , illegal, and totally unprovoked, attack by russia on its neighbor, ukraine. this is at a time when brave ukrainian freedom fighters continue to successfully fend off the third largest army in the world. what russia thought was going to be a week-long invasion, successfully occupying ukraine, has now passed the nine-month mark. against all odds, ukraine has not only survived, but they pushed back a much larger russian army. more than half of the land that russia occupied in ukraine, remember, they were all up here in the area of kharkiv and down

here, more than half of the land has been liberated already. here in the northeast part of ukraine, near the -- near kharkiv, in this province, the kharkiv oblast, the ukrainian forces push back against the russian forces. it's been slow. a combination of things. one, it's mud season. it's very difficult for them to get through the mud with their armored vehicles. second is the russian forces who are pushed back from here in september have now dug in along this line. so it's slower going. but they continue to fight. they are continuing with the momentum that started when they took over kharkiv. farther south near bakhmut, there is very intense fighting going on. this is where used months and

months of fierce combat, lots of artillery. it's turned this area into a battlefield reminiscent of what you might have seen during world war ii, just total destruction, as you can see from this photograph. this is the bakhmut area today. there, you have the russian forces, mostly the vogner group, which is a mercenary group, making steady but very slow progress. ukraine has made them pay dearly for every meter. but that is again kind of in that central part of eastern ukraine. in the south of ukraine, near kherson, they have also made good progress. you can see here in the blue where ukrainian forces in the fall, earlier this fall were able to liberate parts of occupied ukraine. this is an interesting area.

i think it's relatively quiet right now. we had a briefing today about that. but i don't think it's going to stay quiet for long. this is an area to watch. there are already reports of ukrainian raids actually on a small peninsula there. this is a little closer look at this. ukrainian raids have been made on this peninsula which goes out into the black sea. also we know that ukrainian forces have crossed the river here, the nepa river and planted ukrainian flags on the other side of the river letting the ukrainians know they are not safe in this region. they have also started to facilitate evacuation of some of the ukrainian civilians from this side, the occupied side of the river. all this indicates to me that the ukrainians are continuing to send a clear signal to the russians that they are not done in terms of liberating this part of ukrainian this winter.

unfortunately, while the nation of ukraine has survived this war, so far not all ukrainians have. these gains on the battlefields have come at a tremendous cost. casualty reports have been hard to come by but we know tens of thousands of ukrainian soldiers have been killed during this liberation. it's not just the men and women in uniform that are taking the brunt of vladimir putin's aggression. since the first day of this war innocent ukrainians themselves have been dying, intentionally targeted by russian forces. how many cities and villages have become infamous for the war crimes committed by russia? bucha and irpin, cities i was visiting several weeks ago. mariopol. think of a four-year-old, liza, she was killed in veterann july. think of a two day old killed at

a hospital. the united nations reports that at least 6500 civilians have been killed in this senseless russian war, then adds that the actual figures are considerably higher, we just don't know what they are. this is because we know so little about the horrors which are occurring behind enemy lines. so when you think about it, although we know more about the casualties that have occurred in the interior of ukraine, what we don't know is how many casualties are occurring and war crimes and deaths are occurring in this russian occupied area, the red area. what we do know is that so many of the atrocities in this war are only brought to light months after they occur. they happen in silence and then they are discovered when territories are liberated by ukrainian forces. that's the bittersweet pattern

of this war. you have the russians occupying a territory, committing heinous war crimes, atrocities. and then the areas liberated and we discover these horrific crimes. russia's crimes aren't limited to the territory it occupies. russian forces are losing on the battlefield, not making the progress they want, and they are sort of taking their frustration out on the rest of ukraine. this is with cruise missiles and drones bombing all of these other parts of ukraine. they continue to strike noncombatants, whole new wave of attacks have occurred yesterday as an example, mostly on ukrainian infrastructure, energy infrastructure, but also on just civilian targets. they have destroyed neighborhoods, schools, hospitals. as this photo shows, they've really targeted civilian infrastructure. this is, again, some of the energy infrastructure that they have targeted. when i was in kiev with senator coons about three weeks ago, we

were there several days after one of the power plants had been attacked. actually the national utility. these were targeted attacks on the infrastructure, but also ukrainians, civilians and workers were killed. it's not just collateral damage. these are targeted attacks on civilians. targeted and cruel. russia's goal, of course, is to try to force a whole new wave of civilians to flee from their homes and head west. this massive displacement of course would further devastate ukraine's economy which is already expected to contract about 35% this year. we've seen this time and time again since the war started. they can't defeat ukraine on the battlefield so they strike behind the battlefield to try to destroy ukraine as a whole. the actions by the kremlin to destroy the civilian areas and kill innocent ukrainians are also of course meant to dampen the ukrainian resolve. but what have i've seen on my trips to ukraine and my trips to

the region is that every time there is a russian atrocity, the resolve of the ukrainian people doesn't weaken, it gets stronger, and for good reason. and the ukrainian military certainly isn't backing down in their fierce defense of their homeland. a ukrainian spokesman recently said that if ukraine intends, that ukraine intends to continue if not accelerate its counteroffensive this winter in the areas we've talked about. in particular, here and here. so stay tuned because i think the ukrainians are not done yet this winter. in many places along the front line, although the winter is bitterly cold for the infantry, the ground is also frozen solid which makes mechanized warfare available again. additionally monday and again today there were explosions reported at military bases in russia. these are military bases hundreds of miles behind the front lines. so this is in russian territory.

there are military bases that are experiencing explosions. these bases happen to house the tu-95 bombers which have regularly taken part in russia's deadly cruise missile strikes against ukrainian civilians. according to the british ministry of defense, these explosions constitute, as they say, quote, some of the most strategically significant failures of russian force protection since the russians invasion of ukraine, end quote. ukraine is a shield defending freedom in the west. when i visited ukraine in august and november, i heard from so many ukrainians who see themselves that way. they are holding russia at bay for the rest of the world. for years, think about it, russia has threatened europe and other regions with military action. we've all witnessed their attack on the country of georgia and their brutal attack to syria and chechnya. in 2014 and february of this

year ukraine became russia's next target, and if ukraine falls russia promised other dominoes will fall. they have said openly they want to re-create the soviet union with a russian empire which would include so many countries in the region. the brave soldiers of ukraine, men and women in uniform are holding back the forces of russian tyranny and we should honor their sacrifice and their bravery. they're not in this fight alone. over 50 countries from around the world have stepped up to help ukraine defend itself. ukraine's freedom fighters have been trained and equipped not just by the united states, but by dozens of other countries that believe in freedom. ukrainians are well aware of this and they are eternally grateful. i hear this gratitude every time i am with ukrainians. yesterday i met with a bunch of parl -- parliamentarians who were here in washington. when i spoke with the

president, the first thing he said was thank you to the american people. the aid to the united states and our allies does not go unnoticed or unappreciated. ukrainian soldiers are bearing the brunt of russia's wrath but because of the significant assistance provided by the west, president zelenskyy speaks about this war against russian aggression as a joint battle and we should continue to strive together towards our joint victory. ukrainians are well aware of the need to provide transparency to taxpayers here in the united states as to how this aid is being used. i think that's very important. during both of my visits to kiev this year, i spoke with our diplomats at the u.s. embassy about ensuring proper oversight for military aid. i met twice with the 121st airborne. they've gone into great detail about how they are tracking and monitoring u.s. military assistance through so-called end-use monitoring to ensuring military equipment actually ends up in the right hands.

one thing interesting to me, confirmed again today is that we have sent these himars, these rocket systems to ukraine, at least at this point we sent about 20 of them, not a single one, not a single one has been attacked 0 or destroyed or has gotten into the wrong hands. we also believe from what we know, unbelievably that with all the weapons we are sending to ukraine, we don't have any instances that are documented of these weapons getting into the wrong hands. plenty of russian weapons have gotten into ukrainians' hands, i will tell you that, including lots of armored a vehicles that they have left behind. so no one is advocating that this congress or u.s. taxpayers give ukraine a blank check. this aid is generously provided by taxpayers, so it's got to be accountable to taxpayers. ukraine knows that, again, and has gone to great lengths to provide transparency even in

this time of war. these resources fund not only ukraine's military, they back the government and help maintain and repair civilian infrastructure. ukraine's economy has been hit so hard from this conflict and without help from its allies the government there would not be able to provide basic services. this is particularly important this winter as russia attacks ukraine's energy infrastructure to plunge the country into cold darkness. the humanitarian aid from the u.s. and dozens of other countries has ensured that innocent men, women, and children are able to survive the cold ukrainian winter amidst these heinous russian war crimes. our economic aid along with that of the european union and dozens of other countries supported ukraine's government so critical services can continue. with regard to the economic assistance, by the way, the ukraine budget support goes through the world bank from the united states, because in addition to our own oversight, the bank adds a second layer of oversight and accountability,

including issuing periodic reports and audits to both parties. economic assistance is further monitored by a u.s. aid consider the, deloitte, they monitor all expenses which is a good thing, in my view. we also need to ensure that our constituents, and what we are providing to ukraine is actually working, making a difference, and it certainly is. when ukraine took back the city of kherson here, which was the first and only provincial capital taken by russia, the key element to their success, i am told, was the military equipment provided by the united states and others, but primarily the united states. that was the himars launchers we talked about a moment ago. these missile launchers were very effective at tearing down the russian infrastructure that was providing the supplies to russia. so the weapons, the food, and so on.

by wearing down the russian forces and forcing them to abandon the city, the american weapons were very effective in debilitating russia's ability to command and resupply its forces. and the air defense systems provided by the united states and allies helped ukraine shoot down hundreds of missiles and drones launched by russia that otherwise would have killed innocent civilians. i do continue to believe that we can and should do more, by the way. particularly with regard to military assistance. i continue to urge the biden administration to provide ukraine with more of the weapons that the ukrainians themes have said they actually want and need and can use. this would include fourth generation advanced fighter jets. not the latest and greatest but things like f-16's that we're not using that they could use that we could allow them to provide to ukraine. abrams tanks that other countries have that they're willing to provide. long-range mitchells. if we're -- long range

missiles. if we're serious about helping ukraine to win, we should provide these weapons so that they can respond to the very real russian threat. let me pose this question to my colleagues who are skeptical about assistance -- if we had not led our allies in supporting ukraine during this fight for survival what would have happened? what would have happened if we allowed this authoritarian regime to dominate and subjugate its neighbors by force of arms? ukraine would have become an occupied state. many more frees by the millions would have -- refugees by the millions would have fled to the united states and elsewhere. even if the threat by vladimir putin to occupy all these other countries in the neighborhood were, that were once part of the soviet union had not yet become a reality, the u.s. would have mobilized thousands of troops and massive amounts of weapons at the borders of these nato allies at a tremendous cost to the american taxpayer. i think we have to think about

that. think about what the alternative would have been. it also would have resulted, of course, in the rules-based international order that we had in place for almost 80 years, since world war ii, crumbling in ukraine. what would have happened then? what message would aggressive adversaries like china and iran take from that? the world would become a much more dangerous and volatile place. countries would have armed up. this is why it is so important that we continue to support ukraine. our enemies and our adversaries alike are watching very carefully. we can't pull back now, not during this critical time. we cannot falter. in addition to working with our allies to help ukraine win on the battlefield, we have to continue to tighten the global sanctions and export control on russia. i believe it is only that combination, success on the battlefield and making russia's

economy feel the pain. expert controls are blobbing supplies, including semiconductors, needed to create military equipment in russia. so that's having an affect. sanctions must include better success at stopping the energy receipts to russia fueling the war machine. i mentioned what's happening to the ukrainian economy, the russian economy has gone down but not as much as the russian economy. this week there was some progress on that front. back in june, the european union decided to end all seaborne russian imports, that was monday and the e.u. followed through on the promise. i applaud the european union for taking that step and it they have stopped all vessels with

russian oil. this will be devastating to russian oil exports since they dominate a large part of the maritime market. without financing from europe, russian oil sales will plummet. unfortunately, in this case the e.u. did not follow through on this promise made in june. instead on friday the e.u., the united states, and other g-7 countries and australia agreed to what is being called a price-cap scheme. under this framework, participating countries will provide financing for vessels but only below a certain cost per barrel. instead of ending the sales, we are enabling them at a lower price. as "the washington post" reports, the price cap, which is agreed to at $60 per barrel, is and i quote "the washington post," well below russia's cost of production and close to where its oil is currently trading.

meaning it may not have much of a direct impact. end quote. that's my concern about it. i understand that there is another argument that the russian oil price would perhaps be even higher at lower volumes if they didn't have these ships. but i think the first plan made in june would have been more helpful. analysts say that the cap will have little immediate impact. russia said that the cap will not hurt the financing of his special military operation as they call it in ukraine, this deadly and unprovoked war. the price cap is an unhappy compromise that will do little to cut oil levels, said a security expert for strategic international studies here in washington. i would ask the suffering people in ukraine what they think about it. ukraine, poland and the baltic

states who have been right about the threat of russian aggression, suggested a price cap of $30 a barrel if they were going to do a price cap. so half of the $60 that the e.u., the u.s. and australia ended up at. the one we greed to -- agreed to was twice as high. the secretary general reaffirmed that nato's door for membership remains open for ukraine. this has been the policy for ukraine since 2008, but it was important to reaffirm that last week. i encouraged nato to begin the steps to welcome ukraine in the future, despite the atrocities and hardships, i believe that ukraine will prevail in this conflicted and survive as a country and ukraine will join nato and the european union to have the most important security guarantees they could get.

no amount of russian missiles can stop that because the people of ukraine will always have something that russia does not, freedom and faith. faith is what our founding fathers had so many years when they set out on a risky journey to chart america's own destiny, faith that freedom would work. faith is what the american people grasped on to as they abandoned a corrupt russian-backed regime. ukraine chose to stand with us, with the european union and the united states and other free nations. faith is what gave the people of ukraine the strength and resolve at the beginning of russia's overwhelming invasion in february, faith as a country that they would survive and as a people they would come out the other end of this conflict when the odds were so stacked against them more unified than ever. against all odds, again, that faith has been justified time and time again during this bloody war. now, once again, it's time for

us to join our allies in keeping the faith. faith in the proven ukrainian bravery and perseverance and faith that freedom will win out over tyranny if we stay the course. thank you, and i yield the floor.

ms. hassan: mr. president. the presiding officer: the senator from new hampshire. ms. hassan: i ask unanimous

consent that at a time to be determined by the majority leader, in consultation with the republican leader, the senate proceed to executive session to consider calendar number 1103, jay curtis shambaugh, of maryland, to be an under secretary of the treasury, that there be ten minutes of debate equally divided, upon the use or yielding back of time, senate vote without intervening action or debate on the nomination. if the nomination is confirmed, the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table and the president be immediately notified of the senate's action and the senate resume legislative session. the presiding officer: is it there objection? without objection, it is so ordered. ms. hassan: mr. president, i ask unanimous consent that the senate proceed to legislative session and be in a period of morning business with senators permitted to speak therein for up to ten minutes each. the presiding officer: without objection. ms. hassan: i have two requests for committees to meet during today's session of the senate. they have the approval of the

majority and minority leaders. the presiding officer: duly noted. ms. hassan: i ask unanimous consent that the committee on banking, housing and urban affairs be discharged from further consideration of s. 3316, and the senate proceed to it's immediate consideration. the presiding officer: the clerk will report. the clerk: s. 3316, a bill to provide for certain whistleblower incentives and protections. the presiding officer: is there objection to proceeding to the measure? without objection, the senate will proceed. ms. hassan: i ask unanimous consent that the grassley substitute amendment be considered and agreed to and the bill be considered read a third time. the presiding officer: without objection. ms. hassan: i know of no further debate on the bill, as amended. the presiding officer: is there further debate? if not, all in favor say aye. ms. hassan: i further ask --

the presiding officer: all opposed, no. the ayes appear to have it. the ayes do have it. the bill, as amended, is passed. ms. hassan: i further ask that the motions to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table. the presiding officer: without objection. ms. hassan: i ask that the chair lay before the senate the message to accompany s. 3092. the presiding officer: the chair lays before the senate the following message from the house. the clerk: resolve that the bill from the senate, s. 3092, tiled an act -- entitled to amend the robert iter stafford emergency assistant act and so forth and for other purposes do pass with an amendment. ms. hassan: i move to concur on the house amendment and i ask unanimous consent that the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table. the presiding officer: without objection.

ms. hassan: mr. president, i ask unanimous consent that the senate proceed to the immediate consideration of calendar number 502, s. 4577. the presiding officer: the clerk will report. the clerk: clarnd number 5072, a bill to improve plane riding in public experience and for other purposes. the presiding officer: is there objection to proceeding to the measure? without objection. the senate will proceed. ms. hassan: i further ask that the committee-reported amendments be agreed to, the bill as amended be considered read a third time and passed and the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table with no intervening action or debate. the presiding officer: without objection. ms. hassan: i ask unanimous consent that the judiciary committee be discharged from further consideration and the senate now proceed to senate resolution 754. the presiding officer: the clerk will report. the clerk: senate resolution

754, designating november 13, 2022 as national warrior call day and so forth. the presiding officer: is there objection to proceeding to the measure? without objection, the committee is discharged and the senate will proceed. ms. hassan: i ask unanimous consent that the resolution be agreed to, the shaheen amendment at the desk to the preamble be agreed to, the preamble as amended be agreed to, and the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table. the presiding officer: without objection. ms. hassan: mr. president, i ask unanimous consent that the committee on rules and administration be discharged from further consideration and the senate now proceed to s. res. 851. the presiding officer: the clerk will report. the clerk: senate resolution 851, celebrating the 45th anniversary of the senate black legislative staff caucus and its achievements in the senate. the presiding officer: is there objection to proceeding to the

measure? without objection, the committee is discharged and the senate will proceed. ms. hassan: i ask unanimous consent that the r resolution be agreed to, the preamble be agreed, to and the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table with no intervening action or debate. the presiding officer: without objection. ms. hassan: i ask unanimous consent that the senate proceed to the consideration of s. res. 863, submitted earlier today. the presiding officer: the clerk will report. the clerk: senate resolution 86, designating november 2022 as national lung cancer awareness month, and so forth. the presiding officer: is there objection to proceeding to the measure? without objection, the senate will proceed. ms. hassan: i ask unanimous consent that the resolution be greed to, the preamble be agreed to, and the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table, with no intervening action or debate. the presiding officer: without objection. ms. hassan: mr. president, i ask unanimous consent that when the senate completes its business

today it adjourn until 11:00 a.m. on thursday, december 8, and that following the prayer and pledge the morning hour be deemed expired, the journal of proceedings be approved to date, the time for the two leaders be reserved for their use later in the day and morning business be closed. that upon the conclusion of morning business, the senate proceed to executive session to resume consideration of the hopkins nomination postcloture. further, at 11:30 a.m. the senate vote on confirmation of the hopkins nomination and cloture on the montgomery reeves nomination. further, that notwithstanding rule 22 at 1:45 p.m. the senate vote on the motion to invoke cloture on the douglas nomination. finally, if any nominations are confirmed during thursday's session, the motions to reconsidered be considered made and laid upon the table, and and the president will be immediately notified of the senate's actions. the presiding officer: without objection, so ordered. ms. hassan: if there is no further business to come before the senate, i ask that it stand and jumped under the previous -- adjourned u