16th ofme the 23rd they need to get a pop on number on how much this omnibus is going to cost. very quickly. if it takes around a week and have to get big spending bills, thousands of pages passed in both houses of congress and signed by the president, we need to move quickly. who knows what happens between now and the 23rd but as i said with the holiday looming will cause these negotiations to quicken, we've heardns kevin mccarthy suggest wait until the republicans get the gavel and then call the shot. it's their reality. >> guest: there could be i think as you mention, republicans take of government january 3. democrats have a big incentive to pass a budget which will be more amenable to their interests before that timeline. the republicans in the senate like mitch mcconnell are say look you guys want to, to us now, less than what you want, that's to be better mcconnell argues that what republican house and democratic senate can come up with in 2023. that's why democrats are going

to try to get cromnibus a deal past even if us that every single priority because they see that as moresi beneficial than dealing with a mccarthy republican dominated. >> host:cc punchbowl news is a website. you can see his work and others work. thanks again pressure time. >> guest: thank you. play to to be on. >> we take you live to the capitol with us and is ready to gavel in. at 5:30 p.m. eastern lawmakers will vote to confirm a u.s. court of appeals judge for the third circuit. also this week members will take up the final version of the 2023 defense authorization bill. you are watching live senate coverage here on c-span2.

the president pro tempore: the senate will come to order. the chaplain, dr. barry black, will lead the senate in prayer. the chaplain: let us pray. o god, you reveal yourself in the glory of the heavens and in the whisper of conscience. make us aware of your presence as this day unfolds. lord, grant that this knowledge of your involvement in our day will influence our thoughts, words, and deeds. help us to focus on serving and pleasing you, as you lift us

above suspicions and fears. sustain our lawmakers in their important work. lord, remind them that to do something well usually requires the patience the persevere. increase in us all a hunger and thirst for righteousness. we pray in your righteous name. amen. the president pro tempore: please join me in reciting 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 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. tamika r. montgomery-reeves of delaware to be united states circuit judge for the third circuit.

ms. hirono: mr. president? the president pro tempore: the senator from hawaii. ms. hirono: i note the absence of a quorum. the president pro tempore: the clerk will call the roll. quorum call:

12 years ago i stood on the senate floor for my maiden speech. i was new to the senate but had thought was possible to achieve for my constituents in ohio having served in the house for 12 years and connect capital level jobs

in the bush of mr. geithner i talk about my interests and solving problems and working cross it out to tackle big is facing our country. that's what we've tried to do here we had some successes and some disappointments but through it all i've always considered it a great honor to have been given the chance to represent my neighbors, the people of ohio. my team and i viewed as a sacred trust to do all we could while we had this temporary privilege. our commitment was to move the ball forward wherever possible for our great country and for the families we represented. and through elicit an oversight resolve i believe we've honored that pledge. it's been a team effort. i've been blessed with an awesome staff sitting behind me today, some amazing senate colleagues on both sides of the aisle willing to find common ground and friends in every corner of ohio whose input help me represent our diverse state. most importantly and understanding families and a partner in all things in jane portman. all this would ask what inspired us to get in public services in

first place? and my family my mom jolanda taught by her example that serving others was our duty. we had no choice. through their own volunteer work my brother and my sister helped change lives and i respect that and respect all the caring and giving ohioans to do that. i chose to serve in a different way which involves the rough and tumble of politics. not for everybody but also a way to help others. another epoch epic is forg involved in politics was actually my father, bill portman. even those as a small biscuit he thought of actually crazy to get into this line of business. when i was a kid he gave up his safe job as a forklift truck salesman for a bigger copy to live out his own american dream and start his own business. he took a big risk, gave up healthcare, gave up her retirement plan, and five people, my mom was a bookkeeper, started portman equipment company, with lots of debt. they actually lost money the first few years, but he never gave up on a string and

eventually through hard work and integrity found his niche. my brother, my sister and i all worked at portman to quit the company in high school and in college. by the time my dad retired, my brother took over the company, there were almost 300 people who worked there. keeping that american dream alive in creating the conditions to allow that next bill portman to take that risk, to build his or her dream and it do to help so many of the families and help so many communities has really been my north star, that's what's guided me. my dad played a special in my decision to run for the united states senate. as you will recall in a couple years before 2010 we had the great recession. our country went through some tough times. i had stepped away from public service at the time. i was back in the private sector thinking i would probably not ever run again. then my friend and mentor senator george point of its supplies all of you in the senate as was his constituents in ohio with his decision to retire, jean and i begin thinking about traveling around talking to people.

across ohio people told me about the real-world ramifications of the policy decisions being made here in washington and how it affected them. i remember in early 2009 asking my dad if you would do it again would he take that risk and start a business from scratch? his answer was calling peggy said he just wasn't sure. he listed higher taxes that were being talked about, more healthcare cost, more : madam pr, members are working around the clock to finish the year on a strong note. last week this senate -- this week, rather -- wishful thinking. this week the senate will consider the bipartisan national defense defense authorization bill, which i hope we'll send to the president's desk very soon. the ndaa has consistently been a bipartisan effort, and that's my expectation this year, too. on the nominations front, we're going to keep working as long as we can to confirm as many of the

exceptional biden nominees as possible. since the start of the biden administration, we have confirmed a total of 95 -- 95 -- judicial nominees to the bench, including one supreme court justice, 68 district judges, and 26 -- 26 -- circuit court judges. let me say that again. over the past two years, we've confirmed 95 new judges to the bench including 26 circuit judges, surpassing the first two years of the past two administrations. today we'll confirm number 96 when we vote on tamika r. montgomery-reeves to serve as circuit judge on the third circuit, an alumnus of the university of mississippi and georgia law school. judge montgomery-reeves serve as a clerk in delaware before embarking on a successful career in private practice. in 2005, she was appointed to the delaware court of chancery

and then to the become being the first black wellcome to ever serve in either court. when confirmed, judge montgomery-reeves will join the proud company of so many of the biden appointees who are little by little reshaping our courts for the better. of the 95 judges we've confirmed to date, 71 are women. 75%. 65 are people of color, almost 70%. 45 are women of color, nearly 50%. and 23 are black women, nearly 25%. we've never smeen a class of new judges that brings so much -- never seen a class of new judges that brings so much diversity and dynamism in a single two-year stretch. it's not just the diversity that matters. in the last two years, the senate confirmed more civil rights lawyers, immigration lawyers than typically in this

chamber. it's a big reason today why our courts are more balanced and dynamic and more experienced than two years ago. you can be sure, madam president, that judges will remain a top priority in the congress to come. more judges mean a more balanced judiciary and a more balanced judiciary will mean greater trust in our courts in the long run, so important for our country at this moment in time, because the maga supreme court and so many of these other maga judges have caused people to lose faith in the courts. on the omni. as we keep working on confirming more judges and advancing the defense authorization bill, both sides also continue negotiating a deal for a yearlong omnibus. over the weekend, appropriators held positive and productive conversations, enough that both sides are moving forward in good faith to reach a deal. even if it's not going to be everything both sides want. later this week, members should be prepared to take quick action

on a c.r., a one-week c.r., so we can give appropriators more time to finish a full funding bill before the holidays. i'm optimistic we can take action on a c.r. rather quickly and avoid the shutdown that neither side wants, and that is a one-week c.r. the benefits of an omnibus are as many as the number of citizens in america. all of us are better off when the government is fully equipped to provide vital services millions rely on. one group who very much needs an omnibus are our veterans. last week, the v.a. wrote congress a letter warning that a c.r. would mean a $10 billion shortfall for the v.a. that means fewer health care workers on the job. it would would mean a surge in the backlog of claims. and god forbid it would throw a wrench in the v.a.'s plan to implement something we're all so proud we passed on a bipartisan basis this summer, the pact act. there is no reason we need to go down this road. the brave americans who have served our country in uniform

should never have to suffer the consequences of failing to fund the government, but unfortunately that's the risk they face as of right now if we don't finish the job. so to all my colleagues, let's continue negotiations in good faith. both sides are going to have to give to get it done. but it will be worth it, if it means doing right by our veterans, our servicemembers in uniforms, our kids, their families. that's what's at stake in this process to fund the government. finally, on anti-semitism, earlier today, i had the honor of addressing a gathering organized by the orthodox union in new york to address the dangers, the serious dangers of rising anti-semitism. over the past two months american jews have watched in horror as numerous public figures, from entertainers all the way to former president trump, have fanned the flames of an tie semitism --

anti-semitism, through their words and conduct. it's a sad reminder that after decades of hard-won progress, unfortunately, sadly, anti-semitism is on resurgence here in america. we see anti-semitism not only through slurs, graffiti and threats, all of which are abhorrent and unacceptable, but also physical advance against our jewish brothers and sisters, sometimes tragedy deadly. pawa, jersey city, muncie, pittsburgh, not to mention the weekly attacks against synagogues and schools and jewish communities that never reach the spotlight. all american jews know and remember these names. they're seared in our memory. unless we can come together as a community and as a country to address this crisis, i fear we'll soon have to add more names to the list. of course, i have personal experience about this kind of an tie sem -- anti-semitism in

terms of my family. my great-grandparents lived in a place in western ukraine. they had 18 children, believing devoutly in the bible and god's first command to man, which was be fruitful and multiply. my grandfather was one of three of the 18 who came to america, but the other 15 stayed there and when the nazis came into western ukraine they told my great-grandmother to gather her -- her husband had been a well-known jewish scholar. they told my -- he had passed away. they told my great-grandmother to gather her larger family on the poach. 35 people -- on the porch. 35 people gathered, from ages 85 to 4 months. the nazis said come with us. she was a tough lady. she said we're not moving. they machine gunned every one of them down. these are the stakes, madam president. when the former president of the united states welcomes at his

own dinner table several vicious anti-semmites, then rather than apologize lectures american jewish leaders for insufficient loyalty, it is incumbent on all of us to speak out. i'm proud of many jewish organizations that did speak out, some of them former strong allies of the former president. it's made a big difference. now, of course, america's roots of democracy are far deeper than those that existed in europe, but the lesson of history is we must speak out against bigotry of all types or it grows, its evil seed grows. i shudder to think what it would mean for the safety of our children, their children, and their children after that, if the ideology elevated by the former president were to continue to seep into our society like a poison. every single one of us, without exception, has an obligation to call out the poison of anti-semitism and all other bigot ris wherever they arise,

to tolerate them and let them grow risks horrors that we have seen in the past around the globe, and we don't want to see in the future. i yield the floor.

we introduce our first energy efficiency bill in 2011. most of the signed into law in the years since. how can reduce energy bills for families and businesses and reduce emissions. i simply using less energy. i think my college classmate senator hoeven or his leadership on energy efficiency bill and is all-of-the-above energy approach. approach. and mostly for helping to improve my spanish by adding a north dakota accent. [laughing] i also want to thank senator bennet for a successful effort by encouraging carbon capture and sequestration. our legislation restoring to work to get. i appreciate senator stabenow as my cochair on the great lakes task force. what with her and all manners of task force we made a lot of progress fighting invasive species and certainly other issues important to our constituents along the world's largest freshwater resource. thanks to senator kaine as my cochair of the crew and technical education caucus forward with me to challenge congress to do more to address the nation's skills gap and

promote the jobs act provided additional skills they need to get good-paying jobs. those skills are needed out there need to focus more on how we ensure we're not just spending money to send young people to college but also getting down the industry recognized skills that they need. senator coons, burr and white house as cochairs of the conversation caucus of the great partners over the years under legislation to combat wildlife trafficking, conserve forests and about develop stratego protect the national treasures. i appreciate senators warner and king and former senator alexander for working with me to pass our is to restore our parks act which is finally addressing a massive deferred maintenance backlog international park so some of our nation's most treasured landscapes memorial and monuments can be enjoyed by visitors and generations to come. because of the chips act and site act that person legislation will come close with my colleagues senator todd young, tell us, cinema and schumer until recently broke ground on its semiconductor plant outside

of columbus, the largest investment in history of ohio. and an investment we believe will grow over time. with the chips act now long we can reverse this trend of this critical semiconductor manufacturing capability being sent overseas. it would create thousands of typing jobs but most importantly to me help strengthen our national security. these remarks would be incomplete without a reference to our work on tax reform. as i mentioned when i decided to run for the sin in 2009 ohio was losing jobs and our economy was falling behind. my campaign was based on a plan for jobs that focus on a number of economic policies including fixing our tax code, , making it competitive again for american workers and businesses. in 2017 when the highlights of the center for me was when i was able to work with a small group of lawmakers, pat toomey, tim scott, john thune, helped develop the promise with the tax cuts in jobs act. the first time congress had passed comp rates of tax reform

in 31 years. it cut taxes for middle-class families, reform the business tax good to great more and higher wages for ohio workers and update our international codes to encourage employers to bring jobs and investment back to america. i wish you could've been more bipartisan but frank that much of what of that on the international side had absolute bipartisan roots, and i believe it worked. tax reform helped usher in a time of unprecedented economic growth, felt broadly. after tax reform and before the pandemic we with making stats of wage gains of 19% or more. well above inflation and most of those wage gains went to lower income and middle income workers. we have the lowest poverty rate since we started keeping track of the back to the 1950s and of those unemployed -- unemployment rate ever for blacks, women, hispanics. it was an opportunity economy. unfortunately a lot of those gains have been washed away by the pandemic and an avalanche of stimulus spending over the last two years that is that the demand side of the economy while

supply has been constricted by covid and regulations, particularly on energy, contributing to the highest inflation in 40 years. i hope the news and 11 opportune to reset and working with house make pro-growth economic policy higher priority. i want to think so many of my colleagues at work with the over these to support ukraine and its ongoing fight for freedom. this is an issue near into to my heart and to ohio as some of you know where the home of many ukraine americans and other nationality groups that are committed to the goal of a free and independent europe. what you think dick durbin ago found a culture with me of ukraine caucus a republican colleagues in the caucus who are so passionate on ukraine, senators graham, wicker, cramer, cotton, barrasso, risch, burr, murkowski, sullivan, cornyn, mcconnell, johnson, ernst and others. i want to take although subjoin me hunting trips ukraine since 2014 when ukraine rose up and throw off the court russian backed government and turned to

us, turned to the west. this includes two recent sobering visits to ukraine with senator klobuchar and coons. i authored the ukraine security assistance initiative which is become the key funding account we have used to train and equip the ukrainian armed forces. we need to continue to fund this account and lead the free world, carrying the torch of freedom. since russia's original occupation of ukraine escalator into full-scale war unfavored 24th of this year i have now spoken on the senate floor 27 times, every week we been in session, but the unprovoked, illegal, and brutal invasion of ukraine. my most recent speech was last that i won't go on but except to say we're at a critical, critical juncture right now, and it is more important than ever we support ukraine's i will be fighting hard for a continuation of eight ukraine before christmas. we have just discussed so many examples of breaking through the partisan gridlock and getting

things done. despite thesehe achievements i o worry about the divisive political rhetoric in our country. it's important than one week remaining of government funding, and less than two weeks left until our hard stop for the holidays on february 23, that's the bad news. but the good news is that both sides have a clear understanding of what it takes to finish our work on a bipartisan basis. first, senators inhofe and reed and their house counterparts have hashed out a strong bipartisan national defense authorization act. the senate should turn to it as soon as possible. but of course congress authorization -- authorizes the

tools, training and equipment, very little if we fail to then provide the actual funding. both sides know what it would take for the senate to pass a full-year government funding bill into law. there's no mystery here. a funding agreement would need to fully fund our national defense at the level written into the national defense authorization act without, without leveraging extra funding beyond what president bushed requested under democrats' funding domestic priorities. in other words do not go beyond what the president asked for earlier this year on the bipartisan side. our democratic colleagues have already spent two years massively, massively increasing domestic spending, using party-line reconciliation bills outside the normal process. clearly our colleagues cannot demand even more, more domestic

spending than president bushed even requested in exchange for funding the united states military. funding our national defense is a basic governing duty. the commander in chief's own party does not get to demand a pile of unrelated goodies in exchange for doing their job and funding our armed forces. if house and senate democratic colleagues can accept these realities in the very near future, we may still have a shot at accepting a full-year funding bill that will give our commanders the certainty they need to invest, plan, and stay competitive with rivals like china. if our democratic colleagues can't accept those realities, the option will be a short-term bipartisan funding bill into early next year. now on a related matter, events from europe to asia to the middle east continue to demonstrate on a daily basis why

american global strength and leadership are essential for protecting our homeland, our core interests, and our allies and partners. but unfortunately, senator sanders from vermont has drafted a resolution that will pull america back from global leadership in a clumsy and deeply counter productive way. our colleague has prepared a resolution attempting to further limit america's support for the u.n.-recognized government in yemen and the saudi-led coalition helping defend it against iranian-backed houthi terrorists. i welcome debate about american policy toward iran, and that's what this resolution is really about, not yemen but tehran. there's no question about tehran's role in the fighting in yemen from the very beginning the islamic revolutionary guard corps is intimately involved.

less than one month ago the u.s. navy and coast guard stopped a wooden sailing vessel heading from iran to yemen and found 70 -- 70 tons of missile fuel component that iran was trying to sneak to the terrorist rebels. this on top of countless small arms, uav's and rockets that iran has provided to support houthi terror. iran has long seen the fight in yemen as a way to expand its influence and tighten its grip on regional power. there's little question that an iran-backed houthi victory over the u.n.-recognized government of yemen would be bad news for american interests in the region and interests of our close partners. iran and their houthi partners want a platform to launch indiscriminate terrorist attacks against civilian cities in saudi arabia and the uae, against ships belonging to israel and

other internationally flagged vessels. the iranians will continue to use yemen as a testing site for the same kinds of weapons that iran has long used to target and kill american forces in iraq and syria. the same kinds of weapons iran is now also providing to russia to rain death and destruction on ukraine. this is just about the worst imaginable time the united states congress could go out of our way to alleviate the pressure that tehran and its houthi proxies are feeling. a fragile cease-fire in yemen is on the line. why send a signal that we're backing away from our partners? why embolden the houthis at this juncture? just as the iranian people themselves are fed up and have been fighting back against their country's oppressive regime, senator sanders wants to cut tehran a huge break. if the united states inflicts this kind of self-inflicted wound on our middle east

strategy, iran will celebrate. russia will pop champagne. china will enjoy more oxygen to expand its own creeping regional influence as well. and america's allies and partners will be left questioning our resolve, our partnership, and wondering if it wouldn't be a safer bet to turn towards beijing instead. jeem -- yemen is also home to the wing of al qaeda that poses the great threat to the united states. don't take my word for it. president bushed's director of national intelligence, after ril -- haynes has warned about the effect of aqap in yemen. we rely on the u.n.-recognized government in yemen as well as key partners such as saudi arabia and the uae to keep pressure on al qaeda on multiple fronts. do we really want to send a signal to partners on whom we can rely that they cannot rely

on us? i've been critical of the biden administration's mistakes in the middle east and it's passivity in the face of iranian aggression, but even this administration strongly, strongly opposed senator sanders' resolution. the senate has enough crucial business to tack tackle this week without going out of our way to make life better, better for our enemies and harder for our partners. i suggest the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. quorum call:

mr. durbin: madam president. the presiding officer: the senator from illinois. mr. durbin: are we in a quorum call? the presiding officer: yes. mr. durbin: i ask unanimous consent that it be suspended. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. durbin: thank you, madam president. madam president, i rise today to speak about the james m. inhofe national defense authorization act for this fiscal year 2023, about to come before us.

first let me say this bill is aptly named in recognition of nearly three decades of service in the senate of our colleague, senator jim inhofe of oklahoma. i count him as a friend, and i wish him the very best in his future endeavor. i am grateful to him, chairman jack reed from rhode island, and their staff for working to produce this bill. this is the 62nd year that congress has reached a bipartisan, bicameral agreement to produce this defense authorization bill. it's about the only thing which you can count on with regular yachter -- regularity every year, and i commend senator reed and senator inhofe for maintaining that tradition and maintaining that commitment to the men and women in uniform in the defense of the united states. this fiscal year 23 defense authorization bill has a top line of nearly $858 billion for defense and a deserved 4.6 pay

raise for our troops, 4.6% pay raise for our troops. that's the largest increase in 20 years to help military families deal with inflation. the bill also supports employment opportunities for military spouses, their kids, and improved military housing and child care. it ensures that the united states can defend effectively against threats from china, north korea, or any other nation foolish enough to challenge. and it boosts military aid to ukraine, which is at the front line of democracy as it defends against the russian thugs' brutal and illegal war. the bill invests important and innovative capabilities and technologies to improve the safety of military tactical vehicles and discover pfas-free alternatives to firefighting and has several provisions that i

request with senator duckworth from protecting scott air force base, one of our premier air force bases, from divestment with our baltic allies to expanding mental health services after fema emergency declarations. i'm pleased the bill also includes bipartisan provisions from the judiciary committee to improve the security of federal judges and strengthen protection for sexual assault survivors. you wonder what is that doing in this bill. this bill is the vehicle for many good things to happen, and the bills that i just referenced were bipartisan bills coming out of committee which we've hitched a ride on this bill to deliver. at the same time i'm troubled by several provisions in the text of the bill. first, this bill would lift the pentagon's policy of requiring servicemembers in the military to receive covid-19 vaccines. this is an extremely alarming

and even dangerous decision. mandatory vaccinations for the u.s. military are not new. they date back to the earliest days before we were a nation, when george washington ordered small pox inoculations for troops in the continental army. the pentagon currently requires several vaccines for military members and appropriate exemptions already exist for medical and religious purposes. so many troops serve around the world in extreme conditions and in close quarters for extended period of times by assignment making any risk such as covid-19 all the more threatening and troubling. and the lingering damage of long coved -- and don't discount it. there are members of the senate who are quietly battling with this issue -- include respiratory, heart,

neurological and autoimmune conditions. thankfully, thankfully more than 97% of all department of defense employees have been fully vaccinated and more than 99% of active duty servicemembers have had at least one dose. but the repeal of this mandate at the insistence of republican members of the house is a dangerous, disturbing, insertion of politics into an important public health and national security matter. secretary of defense lloyd austin, whom i greatly respect, has made it clear that he opposes this provision, as do i. in addition, the final bill extends for another year unnecessary restrictions on transferring detainees from the detention facility at guantanamo. did you think guantanamo was gone and closed? no, it isn't. included in this bill is a complete ban of transfer of any

of these detainees to the mainland of the united states for any purpose whatsoever, for any period of time. this ban includes even transfers to the u.s. for prosecution in a federal court or necessary medical care. this puts our medical professionals in a terrible, untenable, unprofessional position of having to provide medical care that cannot be safely provided on that naval base guantanamo. that endangers the lives of their patients, and we mandate it in this bill. i have come to this floor to advocate for the closure of guantanamo for years. it saddens me that for more than two decades the legacy of torture and indefinite detention has continued to -- this detention facility was deliberately created to serve as a legal black hole where

detainees could be held incommunicado beyond the reach of law. there are still all of these years later no due process for the prisoners at guantanamo and no justice for the families of thousands of people who died on 9/11. we held a hearing on guantanamo, and one of the family members of the survivors of that terrible 9/11 occurrence came and said to us, finally get it over with. close this facility. try these individuals if you have a charger against them. if not, put an end to it. since that prison opened in guantanamo, hundreds of detainees have come and gone. today there are 35 individuals at an unjustified and embarrassing cost of $550 million per year to keep the facility open. quick math, we're spending $15 million a year for each of

these detainees while there are ample vaccines in our federal prisons. why? the vast majority of the men who remain indefinitely detained have never been charged with any crime and unanimously approved for transfer by defense and intelligence agencies, and american taxpayers pay $15 million a year for each of them to stay at guantanamo. they languish at guantanamo for no just final reason and contrary to any notion of due process or rule of law. i filed an amendment to this bill earlier this fall to close this prison at guantanamo once and for all. put it behind us. and i'm disappointed it wasn't taken up and the final bill doesn't address it. the senate, again, did not have a regular process for this bill which would have allowed debate and amendments. that's what the senate used to

do routinely, now it hardly ever happens in this body. ultimately i will vote for this bill even with my objection that's i stated, but i want the recorded to be clear, the defense authorization act has not been bogged down by, quote, liberal nonsense, close quote, as the the senate minority leader stated. it authorizes $75 billion more for the national defense compared to last year, a significant increase critical for our nation's defense and our troops. i hope it will be matched by an omnibus to keep nondefense as well. we must finalize and pass an omnibus bill without delay to keep the government functioning. i want to note one top priority that should have been included in this bill and should have been colluded now in the omnibus suspension bill. the -- spending bill.

the crime victims act is cosponsored by chuck grassley and myself. we introduced it with several other colleagues joining us. most americans would be shocked to learn that the laws of the united states of america do not allow us to prosecute foreign war criminals who are roaming free right here in the united states. hard to believe. as that unspeakable atrocity continues in ukraine, we must not allow those who are murderingerring -- murdering and torturing the people of ukraine to reside in the united states. we must ensure that foreign nationals here on our soil can be prosecuted for war crimes. america must send a message to the vladimir putin's of the world, that their henchman will find no safe haven here. i look forward to getting to this critical bill as soon as possible. now, madam president, i ask

unanimous consent to place another statement at a separate part in the recorded. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. durbin: madam president, next month the pride and joy of rock island, illinois, and my good friend, lonnie stevenson is stepping down at his post at the president of the international brotherhood of electrical workers. he leaves behind amazing service and commitment to working families. he is the son of a factory worker. he knows the challenges working families face. he saw through the failed practices and policies of trickle-down economics which led to a shlinking middle class -- shrinking middle class. he started off as an apresence is -- apprentice, he rose through the ranks becoming vice president before taking over as business manager in 1991.

all the while he fought to make things better for his families in the quad cities, through safe working conditions, fair wages and benefits. he spent countless hours organizing and grew his company. he organized annual blood drives, encouraging community service by its members. i remember joining lonnie for labor day parades in the quad cities where his standing of community and respect of fellow union members have legged ri -- legend ri. paul wellstone, of minnesota, who died in a plane crash 20 years ago, used to say we all do better when we do better. nobody embodied this more than lonnie stevenson.

lonnie steps down knowing we have one of the most pro--union presidents in history carrying on his legacy to improve the lives of working families. lonnie has been by president biden's side from the start. their special relationship was evident last may when president biden was the first president to address an iebw national convention. last year when president biden signed the historic bill, lonnie was right there at the white house with other iebw members. but its not just the bipartisan infrastructure law. lonnie was a driving force on many more pieces of historic legislation. from the chips and science act to the inflation reduction act to saving the pensions of millions of retirees in the

american rescue plan. lonnie faced some daunting challenges during his tenure. the former illinois governor supported an agenda of unrelenting hostility to unions. he spearheaded a litigation effort that resulted in a to the supreme court decision overturning 40 years of law that rigged the economy against working families. and former president trump made it clear he favored special interests at the expense of many of lonnie's workers and families and then he was faced with a global pandemic that created an unprecedented economic crisis, shuttered businesses and created mass unemployment. lonnie faces challenges head on. he stood up for working families and organized new ibew members and made sure his new memberships were reflective of

the community and expanding to traditionally under recognized people. approval of the labor unions is at the highest point in the last 57 years and union election petitions increased 53% last year. that's no accident. it's because of the hard work of people like lonnie and the workers are fortunate to have him on their side. more recently lonnie worked to prepare ibew members for the future. one example, the bipartisan infrastructure law lonnie put a provision that includes $7.5 billion for construction of electric vehicle charging vehicles. and the leading work with community colleges and high schools to train the next generation of workers. illinois and the entire nation has been lucky to have a champion of working families

like lonnie stevenson. i will miss him. i consider him a friend and my wife and i hope he has a long and healthy retirement with his wife dawn and his children. madam president, i yield the floor and suggest the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. quorum call:

as were waiting for senator to come to the fore. at 330 eastern time to be the u.s. court of appeals judge for the third circuit also members plan to take a final version of 2023 defense program and policy legislation. the bill will be sent to the white house. and off the four senators continue to negotiate funding the federal government passed this friday, you are watching coverage of the u.s. senate here on c-span2.

>> since the start we have confirmed a total of 95, 95 judicial nominees to the bench. including one supreme court justice, 60 district judges and 26 circuit court judges. let me say that again. over the past two years we confirmed 95 new judges to the bench including 26 circuit court judges. with passing the first two years of the past two administrations, today will confirm number 96 when we vote on tamika montgomery reeves to serve as

circuit judge on the third circuit. an alumnus of the university of miccosukee and georgia law school judge montgomery served as a clerk in delaware before embarking on a successful creator and private practice. in 2005 she was appointed to the delaware court of chancery and then to the state supreme court in 2020 becoming the first black woman to ever serve in either court when confirmed judge montgomery joins the proud company of so many other iowa. mr. grassley: i ask that the calling of the quorum be suspended. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. grassley: today i come to the floor to pay tribute to the president pro tempore of the united states senate. he's the longest-serving senator currently serving in this institution and he's my friend from vermont, senator pat leahy. as many of you know, the senator

from vermont also happens to be a talented photographer. his photos have been published in "the new york times," "u.s.a. today," and elsewhere. senator leahy has also appeared in front of the camera in "batman" movies. but this shutterbug was bit by the political bug. at age 34, he became the youngest and very first democrat elected to the united states senate from the green mountain state. and today he's vermont's longest serving senator having put his name on the ballot more than two dozen times in his political career. a year ago in november, my

friend and colleague announced wee not seek reelection to a ninth term. at vermont statehouse, he happened to be there to announce his very first senate campaign. it was at the vermont statehouse that he did that. and pat at that time recalled the words of edmond burke, the dubliner who served in the house of commons during america's revolutionary war. the words that burke imparted to the electors of bristow in 1774 inspired pat leahy's approach to public service. burke said, quote, your representative owes you not his industry only but his judgment.

burke also said a representative ought to have, quote, the most unreserved communication with his constituents, end of quote. now, in my mind that still is the essence of representative government. although we serve on different sides of the aisle, find ourselves on opposite sides of the ideological spectrum, and hail from different regions of the country, pat and i are called to serve our constituents. pat leahy and i have battled together in the trenches countless times over the years. he's a worthy adversary and countless times he trusted legislative -- a trusted legislative ally. and it takes grit, it takes

grace, it takes gr gravitates to score victories and stick to the terms of one's convictions. indeed pat and i have more in common than might meet the eye. he's a liberal from new england with a law degree from georgetown. i'm a midwestern conservative and lifelong family farmer. as senate colleagues we share an abiding respect for this institution of the senate. we value bipartisanship. for decades we've earned the public trust of the voters of vermont and iowa. that tells me that vermonters and iowans prioritize hard work and constituent service.

at his announcement last november, pat shared that he and his wife marcelle made the decision together that it was, to quote his words, time to put down the gavel. first i wanto say how much barbara and i cherish our friendships. barbara and i celebrated 68 years of marriage last august 22. two days later marcelle and pat celebrated their 60th wedding anniversary. barbara and marcelle are both cancer survivors and have developed a close friendship over these many years. these wives are strong and resilient and use their voices to advocate early detection and treatment to save lives. now, i can only speak for myself

and believe my friend would agree the unconditional support of marcelle and barbara have made us better men and then better members of the united states senate. as i mentioned pat and marcelle arrived at their heartfelt decision made in -- maiden partnership, to use his words, put down the gavel. as you can see here from this photograph, chairman leahy certainly knows how to wield a gavel. he's had plenty of practice. in his nearly half century of service, pat has chaired all these committees, the agriculture committee, the judiciary committee, and the appropriations committees. this photo was taken in 2015 when then-chairman leahy presented me an engraved gavel

as i prepared to take the helm of the judiciary committee. biff the size of this gavel, he's firmly holding in his hands, i'm awful glad that senator leahy and i get along so well. although we don't always see eye to eye on politics, we found common ground on issues that matter. we respect each other's views and values and build consensus based on mutual trust. we've served many years together in the agriculture committee. senator leahy added tens of thousands of acres to the green mountain national forest as one of the few people on earth who can explain the federal milk marketing orders. and, boy, did he go to bat for the northeast united states dairy farmers. senator leahy has cultivated

expertise in foreign affairs that's recognized here at home and around the world. he's leveraged his leadership to help ban export of land mines and secure justice for war victims. for years senator leahy and i partnered together to strengthen the freedom of information act and also the very important whistle-blower protection laws. we've worked together to root out fraud and protect national security with reforms to the ev5 investor visa program. we share a fierce commitment to securing our states' fair share as champions of small rural states in america. from broadband to infrastructure to opioid crisis and pandemic

relief, senator leahy and i rolled up our sleeves and put in the work to ensure the people of iowa and vermont don't get short ended. for decades senator leahy and i have served together on the canada-u.s. interparliamentary group to advance bilateral economic and trade issues. in may of 2000, we held our annual conference of the steamboat delta queen along a route from memphis to new orleans. i cochaired the committee discussing international trade and senator leahy cochaired the panel on international affairs. in may of 2011, our group met with international partners in belgium, traveled to russia where senator leahy gave a very important speech on the

judiciary and the rule of law, and then to ireland to advance in all these places diplomacy, peace, and prosperity. i've enjoyed working together to forge fruitful relationships around the world. as i reflect on our years of service together here in the united states senate, some observers might actually suggest times sure are different than when we first came to washington. pat and i -- pat was elected to the united states senate in 1974, the same year that iowans elected me to the house of representatives. at that time the only republican in the iowa delegation. despite the partisanship and polarization that's defining civic life this year and for the last few years, i have great hope for america.

senator leahy and i share an abiding fidelity to uphold the promise of america. i'm honored to have served these many years? nor leahy's company -- in store leahy's company. vermonters place their trust in senator leahy's judgment. they counted on his vote, his voice, his leadership to represent their values and senator leahy has dlaiferred. barbara -- delivered. barbara and i wish pat and marcelle joyful days ahead in each other's company on their farm, and we wish them that for many, many years to come. godspeed to my friend from vermont. i yield. and suggest the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll.

quorum call:

quorum call:

waiting for senator to come to the floor to speak. at 530 to be a u.s. court of appeals, also this week members plan to take the final version of 2023 defense program and policies in the bill to be sent to the white house.

and off the four senators continue to negotiate funding the federal government passed this friday. watching live coverage of the u.s. senate here on c-span2.

>> the annual defense bill one week remaining of gunnar under government funding in two weeks left until the hard stop for the holidays on february the 23rd period and that's the bad news but the good news both sides have a clear understanding of what it takes to finish our work on a bipartisan basis. first senator inhofe and read and their counterparts passed up strong bipartisan national defense authorization act in the senate should turn to as soon as possible. of course congress authorized the tools training and equipment for armed forces needed while accomplished very little if we fail to provide the actual

funding. both sides know what it would take for the senate to pass the full year government funding bill into law. mystery here the funding agreement would need to fully fund our national defense at the level written into the nda without lavishing extra funding beyond what president biden even requested on the democrats domestic priorities. in other words do not go beyond what the president asked for earlier this year on the domestic side. our democratic colleagues have really spent two years increasing the spending using partyline reconciliation bills outside of the normal procreation process. clearly her colleagues are demanding more from more domestic spending than president biden requested an exchange for funding the united states

military. fund international defense is a basic governing duty. the commander-in-chief sold party does not get to demand the pile of unrelated in exchange for doing their job and funding our armed forces. if the house and senate and democratic colleagues can accept these in the very near future we may still have a shot at a full year funding bill that will give our military commanders the certainty that they need to invest, plan and stay competitive with rivals. my democratic colleagues can accept those realities and the option will be a short-term bipartisan funding bill into early next year. on a related matter to the middle east continues on a daily basis with the american global strength and leadership are essential for protecting our online core interest and her

allies and partners cornyn: i as consent that the quorum call be dispensed with. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. cornyn: after months of waiting, the senate is finally on track to take up and pass the national defense authorization act. 13 days now before christmas. the pointless delay in this fundamentally critical legislation has been a major point of frustration, not just for colleagues here in the senate but for the leadership at the pentagon and the people that need to make plans for america's defense. the senate armed services committee completed its work last summer, but the majority leader apparently had other priorities and refused to put the bill on the floor until now. it simply wasn't a priority. we spent week after week confirming president biden's judicial nominees, but the majority leader couldn't seem to find the time to take up and

pass a must-pass piece of legislation, the annual defense bill. and this is not the first time. it's the second year in a row that the senate has not passed its own version of the national defense authorization act, and so we find ourselves repeating the same bungled process that played out last year. thanks, however, to senator inhofe and senator reed and our colleagues on the armed services committee, this bill still reflects the hard work of our senate colleagues, but i want to underscore how unconventional this year's approach was and to make clear why this should not be the norm. we need to return to what we call regular order around here, which is actually to allow all 100 members of the senate an opportunity to fully participate in crafting critical legislation like this. of course, the armed services

committee did its job. the committee held its hearing, worked with members throughout the senate and compiled a strong bill. but the majority leader is going to put a bill on the floor and probably in all likelihood not allow any amendments to that bill. in other words, this bill was voted out of the armed services committee. it was pre-conferenced with the house of representatives and is going to be laid before the american people in this senate as a fait accompli, without adequate opportunity for debate or amendment or for other noncommittee members to have a hand in crafting this important piece of legislation. this is not how the senate is supposed to work. members of the senate don't run for the senate and serve their states with the intent of being potted plants when it comes to crafting important legislation.

and particularly this legislation, which is perhaps the single most important thing we do around here. so for two years we've skipped these critical steps, but this cannot be the norm, and here's why. the national defense authorization act impacts every servicemember's pay. it pertains to military construction, improvement of barracks, to military modernization. this bill needs to follow regular order, it needs to be completed on time. this bill should have been signed into law by president biden last september. we're more than two months into the fiscal year and our military commanders are still waiting for congress to pass this legislation and provide the certainty they need to plan for the future. now, mr. president, as you know, i'm just talking about the authorization bill. the actual appropriations process is similarly broken,

where ordinarily the 12 appropriations bills would come across the floor as individual bills or as so-called minibuses remember than the anticipated omnibus, which is $1.7 trillion worth of spending. the top line of that bill has not been even agreed to by the ranking member and chairman of the appropriations committee and the leadership on both sides of the congress. and yet we're sitting around again 13 days before christmas wondering, are we going to be presented with another continuing resolution? it looks like we're, that'll take us to two days before christmas, december 23. and then this bill, $1.7 trillion roughly speaking, will then be plopped out in front of us, and the only option we will be given is a chance to vote no or to vote yes. this is not the way the senate should be operating. it's really a slap in the face

to the american people who deserve a measure of transparency and to members of the senate who deserve at least the courtesy and consideration of being able to participate in the process rather than be given the ugly choice between voting for a $1.7 trillion omnibus appropriations bill we had no hand in writing or to shut down the government. that's the decision that senator schumer has chosen to give members of this senate, republican and democrat alike. it's really outrageous. back to the defense bill, it includes a significant increase in defense funding -- at least the authorization for that funding, coming in at roughly $45 billion above the white house's most recent budget request. so on a bipartisan basis, members of the house and senate,

republicans and democrats, have agreed that president biden short had handed the defense -- shorthanded the defense bill by about $45 billion. given the far-reaching threats facing our country and the world and the continued impact of inflation, this is a necessary increase, and i'm glad house and senate negotiators were -- agreed that president biden's request was insufficient. first and foremost, though, this bill should take care of our brave men and women who serve in our armed services. thankfully, it includes an authorization for the largest pay raise to our troops in two decades. that's particularly important when inflation is roughly at a 4046 year high. servicemembers and their families are facing the same inflation headwinds as folks all across the country. so starting next month they will receive a much-needed and well-deserved 4.6% pay increase.

this year's national defense authorization act also includes a range of reforms to better support military families. in an all volunteer military, it's critical we not only support the men and women who wear the uniform, but also the families who support them and in effect serve with them. this bill will stand reimbursement authority for spouse relicensing. for example, it will ensure that nurses, teachers, and other spouses whose jobs may require state-specific licenses are not saddled with added expense when they are reassigned to a state where their current license is not valid. they can get a new one in their new home state without additional expense. this bill also funds programs in texas independent school districts that help military-dependent children with severe disabilities. and i'm glad it includes bipartisan legislation that i introduced to help improve

sexual assault and domestic violence prevention in the department of defense. in addition to these reforms, the in ad -- the national defense authorization act will repeal the covid-19 vaccine mandate which led to the dismissal of 8,500 servicemembers. recruiting has become a growing challenge across the military, particularly the u.s. army. last year the army fell 15,000 soldiers short of its benchmark and was only able to recruit 75% of its recruitment goal. army secretary christine wormuth called it, quote, the army's most challenging recruiting year since the start of an all-volunteer force. given the threats posed by russia, china, north korea, and iran, among others, other threats, this is not the time to force courageous servicemembers out of the armed forces, particularly for a vaccine that doesn't actually

prevent coved. this isn't like a lot of other vaccines that will actually prevent you in contracting the virus. this year's ndaa also authorizes investments in nuclear modernization and other critical projects. it makes major investments in our military installations, including those in texas, that will fund military construction projects at fort hood, joint base san antonio, corpus christi, fort bliss and the army reserve center in conroe, texas. it also authorizes 16 new f-35 joint strike fighters which will be built by texans in fort worth, and it will ensure that the united states can replenish our defense stockpile and remain the arsenal of democracy for the rest of the world, particularly ukraine. as ukranian forces continue to defend their country, this legislation will provide additional resources to help them keep up the fight.

this assistance is not a handout or charity. as much as we want to see ukraine win this war, our financial support is not entirely altruistic. the u.s. isn't just investing in the ukranian victory. we're also putting our resources toward a russian defeat. we're trying to snuff out the fire before it spreads even farther west. ukranian forces have shown tremendous courage and stamina in the face of russian attacks, and they deserve our unequivocal support. and i'm gratified, as the presiding officer knows, that that support has been bipartisan and overwhelming. for the last ten months the united states has supplied ukraine with critical military assistance, and there's no question that our support has been vital to the ukraine success so far. but the one thing we can't supply that ukraine has supplied in abundance is a will to fight,

and they have done so in a magnificent way. but the unavoidable fact is that when we provide weapons to ukraine to defend their sompt, we take them -- defend their sovereignty we take them out of our own stockpile. to transfer weapons to ukraine combined with production challenges in the defense industrial base has made it challenging to quickly replenish our own stockpiles. but this legislation, when it's passed, will help that. it provides $2.7 billion for new munitions which will help backfill our stockpiles and expand production capacity. we need to be ready not just to deal with the current challenges in europe. we need to be ready for any challenge no matter where it arises, especially including in asia. it also provides $1 billion to more than double the size of the national defense stockpile which will help safeguard against

future supply chain disruptions. this will ensure that our support for ukraine does not come at the cost of our own military readiness. well, in all the last-minute political jockeying before this bill was released, we were at least able to keep unrelated matters out of the bill. there's no marijuana banking provision, for example, hardly something that has anything to do with providing support for our brave men and women in the military. that's how it should be. we need to eliminate those extraneous matters. this isn't the place for political horse trading. a well-funded and modern defense is not a republican priority, it's not a democratic priority. it is a national priority. we shouldn't use our troops as a bargaining chip for woke priorities.

in order to protect the american people and our democracy, our servicemembers and military commanders need a strong and on-time national defense authorization act. we're too late for on time, but this is ultimately a strong bill that would deliver certainty and stability to our armed forces. there's no such thing as a perfect bill, of course, but this legislation will go a long way to support our troops and strengthen our national security, and i look forward to finally getting a chance to vote for it. mr. president, i yield the floor p and i would note the absence of a quorum. the president pro tempore: the clerk will call the roll. quorum call:

>> rehearsal for the holidays on

february the 23rd, and that is about this but the good news is, the both of the sides, have a clear understanding of what it takes to finish our work on a basis. in verses senators nelson read in the house categories, have passed on a strong bipartisan national defense authorization act. the senate should turn to it as soon as possible of course congress authorizes the tools training equipment that are armed forces use or need to accomplish very little revealed to them to do that, of the actual funding. both sides nobody would take for the senate to pass a full year of government funding bill into law card and no mystery here, the funding agreement and we a need to fully fund, our national defense of the level written into the nda a without. e

deal with social media and hold them to account, and it has been a heartbreaking task of investigating thousands of pages of reporting testimony and other evidence that really has proven to us there is a devastating impact from social media on our nation's children and teens. this past february, senator blumenthal and i introduced the kids online safety act after a series of hearings that exposed big tech's disregard for the safety of their underage users. the bill provides kids and parents with the tools and transparency that they need to stay safe and requires social

media companies to make those platforms safer in the default settings. it also requires independent audits to ensure that these companies are indeed addressing the risk to underage users. i'm appalled that this is necessary, but the committee has a mountain of proof to show it is time for congress to do something to hold these platforms to account, and we can't wait. we really cannot afford to wait any longer. because as bad as things are here in washington, they are really worse for the kids and teens who have been pulled in to these platforms. depression, self-harm, suicide in teens increased at an alarming rate between 2010 and

2020. there are a limited number of plausible explanations for why has happened. but i would remind my colleagues that the 2010's ushered in the golden age of social media. this is when social media transformed from a novelty into an almost mandatory activity, especially for teens. so it's no coincidence that it was a good decade for silicon valley but a very dark decade for our nation's children. between 201 11 and -- between 2011 and 2016 as social media became popular, sleep deprivation among u.s. teens increased by 17%. we also know that teens who are heavy users of social media sleep about an hour less per

night than their friends who are not using social media. and as i'm sure many of my colleagues know, sleep deprivation is a significant risk factor for depression among adolescents. between 2011 and 2018, the rates of teen depression increased by more than 60%. between 2011 and 2015, emergency room admissions for children and teens for depression, anxiety, and other psychiatric issues rose by 28%. before 2010, suicide by young people had stabilized and declined for decades, but over the next decade teen suicide, that death rate increased by

62%. and now suicide is the second-leading cause of death for americans between the age of 10 and 24. only behind unintentional injuries from auto accidents. think about that, mr. president. this is what is happening to our children. it's not my stats. it's not your stats. these are stats that are coming from research, from surveys, medical research on our children, anxiety, depression, suicide. all of this is coming. and when you look at the growth rate, what does it parallel? the use of social media. many of these platforms are

robbing our children of their childhood. they're ripping it from them. american teens are succumbing to despair and we know that social media is a big part of this reason. in 2018 pugh released a survey revealing that close to 60% of youth have experienced some form of abusive online behavior. i've spent years examining what that behavior looks like, and i can tell you that calling it abusive is a gross understatement. and as the years have gone by, the stories have gotten worse and over the past few weeks i've worked with dozens of parents and friends of young people who died because of what and who they encountered on social

media. today, with permission of their parents, i'm going to share a few of the stories of these children because it is imperative, mr. president, that we realize what children are being exposed to online. i had one mom tell me, she said, you know, when you see these things and you hear these things, you cannot unsee it. you cannot unhear it. i had another mom tell me, you know, marsha, i once felt that when i had my kids home and we had locked the doors, that we were safe -- we were safe from the outside world. but the pandemic happened and i realized we were not. that the enemy, the evil, the harm that was wrecking my

child's life, the drug traffickers, the sex traffickers, the pedophiles, they were right in there with us. this is what our children are being exposed to and the extent of the damage, the severityy of -- severity of the harassment, the bad behavior that takes place. and parents call it out to big tech, and too often these platforms do nothing -- nothing. they hardly even respond. they take it down for a day, and children -- the children are suffering from this. grace mccomus.

now, grace endured the torture of a be man who drugged and assaulted her had he used social media to make grace feel isolated and afraid and worthless. from the summer of 2011 from the time she was suppose it had to testify against him until she died, grace's parents fought to save her, but there was nothing they could do to force those digital platforms to ban this evil monster who was her tormenter. on june 23, 2020, 16-year-old carson bride quietly ended his life while his family slept. the night before, the whole family had celebrated carson's first summer job, but what they didn't know is that he had been receiving hundreds of harassing,

threatening and sexually explicit messages from his classmates who were using anonymous apps to hide their adenties. -- identities, carson asked them to identify themselves so they call talk in person, but nobody ever day. social media let's you be anonymous. the very last search on carson's phone was for hacks to find out who was tormenting him. david mullick. he was an eagle scout, a family football aficionado, you a hunter, fisher and by all accounts a truly great friend, but in the last few months of his life he became overwhelmed with hopelessness over the barrage of threats, harassment and abuse he experienced through

text messages and on social media. on january 4, 2016, he took his own life. he was 16 years old. there are hundreds more stories just like these -- just like them. senator blumenthal and i have talked with these parents and these kids. children are using social media platforms to torment other children to the point of death. but we also know that adults are leveraging the power these platforms have over underaged users so that they can do what? make a profit. overdose deaths involving synthetic opioids increased over 56% from 2019 to 2022 with prescription pill abuse highest

among people age 18 to 25. they're starting younger and drug dealers are finding them where? on social media platforms. when she was 15, becka smill was beckoned by a voice that she and her friends met on a cyberchat. the harassment destroyed becca's sense of self and started using drugs to cope. in the same world she never would have been able to get her hands on the pills that eventually killed her, but social media, it made it easy. on september 16, 2020, becca died from fentanyl poisoning. olivia green was 15 years old, a freshman in high school. she dreamed of becoming a marine

by olg is -- biologist but then met a stranger. when they met in person, he gave her a pell pill that he said was perk percocet, but it was actually fentanyl. alexander neval's mom described him as someone who competed with himself to be successful with everything he did. he pushed himself to succeed in boy scouts, in fencing, skateboarding and as a person and a dear, dear friend. at 14 alexander bought pills on line that he thought were pain relievers, but it actually was fentanyl and that's how alexander became another victim of fentanyl poisoning.

big tech executives would like us to write these deaths off as tragedies and just move on, which is exactly the attitude you'd expect from people who have treated our congressional hearings like they're on some kind of p.r. tour. i think that as they point to their glossy white papers, laying out steps that parents and teens can take it to protect themselves -- take to protect themselves and they think they provide a little bit more information about the steps and they talk about what the company is going to do to try to get this under control, they think we're going to move on, but, mr. president, we are not. we are talking about our children and our grandchildren, and, no, we're not moving on. the enduring refrain of my discussions with the parents and the teens who have seen this

first hand is that trying to address the problem with a platform is like talking to a brick wall. when they received a response at all, there was no concern for the danger. over the past two years this body has passed several pieces of legislation to address emergencies, but, mr. president, what about this emergency? what about the emergency that is taking the lives of our children? what about this emergency that is causing death by fentanyl? the leading cause of death in 18 to 40-year-olds. now, when we talk about big tech and we talk about social media, there is one point they have made clear time and time again. and it is that they are fully incapable and unwilling to

regulate themselves because they are more interested in attracting eyeballs and keeping those eyeballs on their site longer and longer and mining that data because it is dollars in the bank to them. to me, it is absolutely sickening, and their bad behavior, getting any change in that behavior, it is too late for grace, and carson and to other young people i've talked about to date, but it's not too late to save the children and the teens who are suffering right now because these tech platforms refuse to protect them. in july, the commerce committee passed the kids online safety act. senator blumenthal and i have

worked diligently on this, and it came out of committee on a 28-0 vote. that's pretty overwhelming bipartisan support for a piece of legislation. and right now this bill is waiting for a vote on the senate floor. i would implore leader schumer and i would implore my colleagues from each side of the aisle, listen to these stories. talk to these parents, these young people who are activists for changing what is happening on social media. listen to them. listen to these stories. recognize the danger that exists on social media. and let's get this bill passed and to the president's desk. i yield the floor and note the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk

will call the roll. quorum call:

>> less than two weeks until her hard sell for the holidays on february the 23rd, and that is about his but the good news is the both sides, have a clear understanding of what it takes to finish our work on a bipartisan basis. first, senators enough in reading the house counterparts, fsis strong bipartisan national defense authorization act to in the senate should turn to it as soon as possible. but of course congress authorizes the tools, training

and equipment that are armed forces need and will accomplish very little if we failed to then provide the actual funding. both sides know what it would take the center past a full of government funding bill into law. as a mystery here, is a agreement we need to fully fund, our national defense of the level written into the nda a without, without extra funding beyond what president biden requested on the democrats partisan domestic priorities and another words, cannot go beyond with the president asked for earlier this year. enter democratic party spent two years massively, increasing domestic spending using partyline reconciliation bills, outside of the normal appropriations process pretty is a clearly her colleagues can now demand even more, domestic

spending the president biden even requested in exchange for funding into the united states military pretty inviting a rational defense, basic governing duty and the commander-in-chief own party does not get to demand a pile of interrelated goodies in exchange for doing their job in finding our armed forces. the house and senate democratic alex can accept these realities the very near future, we still have a shot at the simile for your funding bill that would give a military - the certainty think need to invest, plan, and stay competitive rivals like china read and are democratic always cannot accept those realities, the option will be a short-term bipartisan funding bill into early next year. on a related matter even from

hershey and asia and emily some of the continue dam starting in a deliberate and basically broken global strength and leadership are essential for protecting our homeland, our core interest in her allies and partners but unfortunately, senator sanders from vermont, has drafted resolution that would put america back from global leadership and clumsy and deeply counterproductive way. enter collings has prepared a resolution to further limit america's support for the human recognize government in yemen and saudi led coalition happening and defended against iranian backed terrorists. indoors rn and that's what this resolution is really about. not gay men, buddy ron and there's no about iran's role in the fighting and human in from the very began in the islamic

revolutionary guard corps, as intimately involved in less than one month ago yes navy and coast guard stopped a wooden sale vessel heading from iran and found 70 and 70 tons a missile field, the iran is trying to sneak to the terrace rebels and is on top of countless small ars and uavs and rockets, that he ran has provided the support for the terror in iran is on seen the fight in yemen as a way to expand the influence and tightened its grip on regional power is no question that an iran which we have human recognize young men, would be bad news for american interest in the region and interest of our close partners. in iran and partners what if a form to launch indiscriminate terrorist attacks against civilian cities in saudi arabia and the uae.

hitting his ships belonging to israel and other international applied vessels. iranians will continue to use the eminent is a testing seven the same kind of weapons iran is long used to target and kill the market forces in iraq and syria is incontinence of weapons iran is now also providing to russia during death and destruction on ukraine. this is just about the worst imaginable time in the united states congress could got out and go out of her way to alleviate the pressure of iran and fragile cease-fire in yemen is on the line. it also dissing interest to go while backing away from her partners and involving them at this juncture. i just as the radiant people themselves are fed up and inviting back is in countries oppressive regime, senator sanders wasn't cut iran, huge break that the united states

conflicts this kind of self-inflicted wound, and under middle sorrento east strategy iran involved so right russia will pop shipping enjoyable enjoy the influences and an american allies and partners, will be left questioning our resolve the partnership, and i'm wondering if would not be safer vegan turn towards beijing instead read in yemen is also home to the al qaeda the poses the greatest threat to the united states printed noted take my word for it president biden's admiral haynes, has publicly warned about the threat from a qap in yemen. we rely on the un recognizing government in yemen as well as key partners in the region like saudi arabia and the uae, and to keep pressure on multiple fronts.

do we really want to send a signal to the partners on whom we can rely they cannot rely on us. and i've been critical of the biden administration mistake in the middle east had activity the face of perennial aggression but even this administration is strongly, strongly opposed senator sanders resolution center has enough crucial - javelins week without quoting out of her way to make life better for enemies and harder for our partners.

quorum call:

mr. carper: are we in a quorum call? the presiding officer: we are. mr. carper: i ask unanimous consent that the quorum call be vitiated. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. carper: thank you, mr. president. today it is my honor -- the presiding officer: the senator from delaware. mr. carper: thank you, sir. it's my honor to rise in honor of tamika r. montgomery-reeves to be confirmed to the united states circuit court of appeals for the third circuit.

in september of this year, i had the privilege to introduce justice montgomery-reeves at her senate judiciary committee confirmation hearing where she was joined in the audience by her large family and i think most of the state of delaware. as my colleagues from illinois, the chairman of the judiciary committee will attest, we needed a few extra chairs at that hearing in order to accommodate tamika's family and her friends. many delawareans including the entire delaware court of chancery and the current chief justice of the delaware supreme court either made the trek down i-95 or on the amtrak train that morning to cheer on justice montgomery-reeves. and today we bring her nomination once step closer to final confirmation. mr. president, to my colleague from delaware, senator coons and i have often said that those of us in the senate can learn a thing or two from the first state. when it comes to nominating judges, delaware's governors are tasked with filling vacancies on some of the nation's most highly

regarded st state courts. the governor routinely seeks out advice from the nominating commission but it is also required to nominate judges from both political parties. we literally have an overall political balance across our judiciary. this rule enshrined in our state's constitution brings balance to our court system. i believe it served our state and our nation well for over a century. i think it's a pretty good model for the rest of the country actually. 35 years ago when i was privileged to serve as governor of delaware, i had the opportunity to nominate a new chancellor, what some call a chief justice to the delaware court of chancery. i could have nominated a democrat. i ended up nominating bill chandler. bill chandler was born in sussex county and previously worked for two republican governors, pete dupont and mike castle. now, i'll tell you i took some heat politically for that nomination, but i believe he was the best qualified person for

the job and all these years later, i still believe that. it didn't matter what political party he was from. i knew he would be one heck of a chancellor and, boy, was he. as chancellor bill chandler urged the respect of our nation's business communities as a fair mounded judge with the utmost integrity and along the way he hired and mentored countless law students and clerks. bill chandler hired a young law student, nature of -- native of mississippi, a law student at the university of georgia. nominated him to be a clerk in 2006. her name is tamika montgomery-reeves. mr. president, i'm a proud delawarean but i think my colleague, the presiding officer knows, i'm a native son actually of west virginia. justice montgomery-reeves is also a proud delawarean but like me, she made her way to delaware from another place, her case mississippi, fell in love where

our -- with our state as i did many years ago. after clerking for chancellor chandler, she worked in private practice. after a brief stint in private practice in new york, she was hired by another prominent law firm that just happened to be looking to open up an office in, guess where, delaware, the first state. she quickly made partner, could have continued on a path to a lucrative legal career but tamika felt called to serve. in 2015 a vacancy occurred on the court of chancery. then governor jack markel nominated her to the bench to serve on that court. she was confirmed 2345u78ly by -- naw.ly -- unanimously by the delaware state senate. she was confirmed unanimously by the delaware state senate once again. by every state democrat and just as importantly, by every single

republican. by the way, mr -- by the way, the delaware state leadership, both republicans and democrats, sent a letter in support of justice montgomery-reeves' confirmation to the third circuit. it is part of the reason that she has earned bipartisan support in the judiciary committee and that nine of our friends on the other side of the aisle voted to invoke cloture on her nomination just last week. on behalf of senator coons and myself, i want to take my hat who have to him for helping to guide this nomination through the judiciary committee onto the floor and through last week's confirmation vote -- not confirmation but cloture vote. we want to thank all of our colleagues, all of our colleagues, democrat and republicans, who vietnam -- voted last week. justice montgomery-reeves is also a trailblazer, becoming the first african american to serve on the delaware court of

chancery and the delaware supreme court. she's been nominated because of her credentials and intellect are top notch and i might add just as importantly, so is her heart. mr. president, in addition to her incredible academic and legal career, at that me croix and her -- -- tamika and her husband are raising two wonderful boys, sons that any of us would be proud to call their own. and raising them back home in delaware. so i would just say to them, jeffrey, jackson, if you're watching at home, thank you for allowing your wife and mom to continue her service to our country in this new role. i know you're proud of her and we're proud of her as well. i'm concern that if tamika montgomery-reeves is confirmed, the delaware supreme court's loss will be our nation's gain. she will bring a spirit of conjudge alito -- collegiality.

she is an ideal judge. justice montgomery-reeves is one of the highest caliber judges in our state and nation and has my strongest possible endorsement. i urge all myself colleagues to join me in supporting her nomination. she will not disappoint us. with that, mr. president, i'd like to yield the into for my colleague who's done a great job in helping to steer this nomination and actually to help make the nomination -- make the nomination in the first place. it is my pleasure. senator coons. mr. coons: thank you. i would like to thank my colleague and senior senator. as a member of the delaware bar for 30 years and a member of the senate judiciary committee, i could not be prouder of the moment we are about to participate in here in the united states senate, confirming the next member of the third circuit court of appeals. it was 30 years ago that i was a clerk on that same court for

judge jane roth of wilmington, delaware, a distinguished jurist, a remarkable mind, a understand a great leader in the delaware bench and bar. and i am thrilled that as we left thursday evening we had by a bipartisan vote of 57-39 a cloture vote that set up the confirmation vote that is about to happen here. and of those votes, nine were from our republican colleagues. frankly, she should be confirmed here unanimously, as she was by the delaware state senate. but we are in a more divided, more partisan time, and i am thrilled that we had as strong and bipartisan a vote in the committee and here in the senate as we have. it reflects the fact that justice tamika montgomery-reeves is a highly qualified, well-grounded, skilled nominee to the third circuit. the third circuit is one of those federal circuit courts

that provides a critical role, the most important cases in our country go to federal courts, although delaware jurists would disagree, and of the courts that hear those cases, overwhelmingly district courts, only a few of those cases are appealed and make it to a circuit court. and a tiny number of cases make it to the u.s. supreme court. so for the states represented on the third circuit -- delaware, pennsylvania, new jersey, and the u.s. virgin islands -- this is likely the last stop for almost every major appeal. and in just a few moments, someone known for her skill, her intellect, her patience, her compassion will be confirmed by this senate and sent on her way to serve on the third circuit court of appeals. she is very highly regarded in delaware as a member of our supreme court. she is someone highly regarded by our bench and bar. we have in front of our committee letters of endorsement from governor john carney as

well as former governor jack markell. as i heard from my colleague, the delaware state senate unanimously endorsed her. she served on the delaware court of chancery, the premier business court in our country, from 2015-2019, and she is a trailblazer. the first black woman to serve on the delaware chart of chancery and on the delaware supreme court and soon on the third circuit court of appeals. her confirmation today will add diversity to a court that represents three states and the virgin islands, which are demonstrably diverse and in our country this helps to further advance representation and justice. i want to thank my cleave counsel kathy field for playing a central role in shepherding her nomination through the committee and through this floor, and i want to close by saying that i want to express my deepest personal thanks to this native of jackson, mississippi, this graduate of the university of mississippi and university of

georgia -- university of georgia school of law who found her way to practice in delaware, to as much as on the delaware chart after chancery, through the help and leadership of our state senate and governor, to serve on our state's supreme court and in just a few moments to the third circuit court of appeals. justice tamika r. montgomery-reeves, congratulations. know that our president and our senate is proud of you, has confidence in you and looks forward to your years of service on this most important federal circuit court. thank you, and with that, mr. president, i yield the floor and suggest the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. quorum call:

the presiding officer: the >> i hope this bilbo's into the the president's desk very soon, they've consistently been a bipartisan effort, had that is my expectation this year olds well, how the nominations from . confirmation of the nominee. is there a sufficient second? there appears to be. the clerk will call the roll. vote:

grateful.

vote:

vote:

vote:

vote:

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the presiding officer: on this vote the yeas are 53. the nays are 35.

the nomination is confirmed. under the previous order, the motion to reconsider is considered made and laid upon the table and the president will be immediately notified of the senate's action. mr. schumer: mr. president. the presiding officer: the majority leader. mr. schumer: i ask unanimous consent the senate proceed to legislative session to be in a period of morning business with senators permitted to speak therein for up to ten minutes each. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. schumer: mr. president, i ask unanimous consent that at 3:30 p.m. on tuesday, december 17, -- 13th, the senate proceed to legislative session, that the time until 7:00 p.m. be for debate equally divided between the two leaders or their designee on the motion to discharge s.j. res. 56 from the committee on foreign relations. with 30 minutes under the control of senator sanders and ten minutes under the control of senator menendez. upon the use or yielding back of time the senate vote on the motion to discharge the joint

resolution. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. schumer: mr. president, i have one request for a committee to meet during today's session of the senate. it has the approval of the majority and north leaders. the presiding officer: duly noted. mr. schumer: mr. president, i ask unanimous consent that the committee on environment and public works be discharged from further consideration of s. 5066 and the senate proceed to its immediate consideration. the presiding officer: the clerk will report. the clerk: s. 5066, a bill to designate mount young in the state of alaska and for other purposes. the presiding officer: without objection, the committee is discharged. the senate will proceed. mr. schumer: i ask unanimous consent that the bill be considered read a third time and passed and that the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. schumer: and finally, mr. president, i ask unanimous consent that when the senate completes its business today, it adjourn until 10:00 a.m. on tuesday, december 13 and that following the prayer and the

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 douglas nomination with the time until 12:00 noon for debate on the nomination. further, that at 12:00 noon, the senate vote on confirmation of the douglas nomination, that the senate recess following confirmation vote until 1:15 to a-- 2:15 to allow for the weekly caucus meetings. at 2:15 the senate vote on confirmation of the shambaugh nomination with two minutes prior to the vote equally divided in the usual form. finally, if any nominations are confirmed during thursday's session, the motions to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table and the president be immediately notified of the senate's action. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. schumer: if there's no

further objection to come before the senate, i ask that it stand adjourned after the remarks of senator sullivan and senator murkowski. the presiding officer: without objection. the senator from alaska. ms. murkowski: mr. president, it is nice to be here on the floor on a monday evening and to hear final passage by unanimous consent of a bill to recognize and honor the life of our former congressman don young. don passed in march unexpectedly after 49 years in service and it's always hard to figure out appropriate ways to recognize the life of a true public servant as congressman young truly was. and so the alaska delegation, senator sullivan and myself at the time, really reached out to try to find those ways that might be appropriate means of

recognition. and we can name buildings as we are doing in this legislation, renaming a federal courthouse in fairbanks after congressman young. we can rename institutions as we are doing in this bill and in recognizing the alaska job core center now as the don young alaska job corps center. and you can also do it through naming of monuments and we have certainly a fair number of mountains, lakes, rivers in the state of alaska that are pretty extraordinary, but it just didn't seem appropriate and fitting that a regular mountain should be renamed after the congressman. i had an opportunity to serve with him for many years for really all of my life he has

been my congressman. i've known his -- i've known his softer side and certainly in his gruff and more explosive side. and so as we were looking for something that might be fitting, we look not only at mountains but we looked at mountains that continue to blow their top to this very day. and selected a volcano on the aleutian islands that is currently named -- i believe it's pronounced mount sarabus. and we have through this designation designated this volcano in the eastern aleutians after our former congressman. fitting tributes to a giant of a man and one that i think of every day. i know alaskans think of the contributions that he has made. so in this simple resolution

recognizing and honoring the congressman, whether it is institutions, buildings, or volcanos, don young's name will live for quite some period of time. so i'm pleased to actually be here on the floor with my friend and colleague senator sullivan to recognize this evening. mr. sullivan: madam president. the presiding officer: the senator from alaska. mr. sullivan: mr. president, i just want to follow on for what senator murkowski just said. here's our resolution. senate 5066 introduced by senator murkowski and myself. and we just want to thank our colleagues for agreeing to this tribute to congressman don young. we miss him every day and as senator murkowski so eloquently stated, we're naming buildings and job centers. he did a great job on that. but it's great to be able to be naming after volcano, very

appropriately a volcano for don young. so it's good to be here on the floor with my friend and fellow colleague from alaska and it's great to see the majority leader and my colleagues agree to this naming. hopefully we get this into law, signed into law soon, a volcano, federal courthouse in fairbanks, a job training center all in the name of our greatest congressman ever, 50 years, half a century almost, pretty remarkable and really an honor to be here on the senate floor to watch it get passed. i yield the floor. the presiding officer: under the previous order, the senate stands adjourned until stands adjourned until

will be on a panel discussing u.s. competition with china and the security platform house, watch at 930 eastern on "c-span2", and online at cspan.orgor with our free mobile video outcome of c-span now. i don't use a former the x ceo, and current ceo john ray, and samuel bankman-fried talk about the collapse of the crypto currency company in the house

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