material they need to make that happen try to make clear to the russian people and russian government sanctions in our diplomatic and economic relationship we reject and denounce their invasion and hold n atrocities within orders of ukraine and we should continue making clear our denouncement of the war against ukraine and continue support we are giving to ukrainian partners as they continue to fight for their own freedom. >> a final minute or so here, hugh corpora of, the fact that the most recent bill congress gave the pentagon what he billion, 44.6 billion more than the pentagon requested from congress for its budgets this year, what was that for how should the pentagon using the funding going forward?

>> continue ensuring the transfer of material provisions of dod related support, communications report, lethal or nonlethal aid getting revisions to ukraine ensuring support for our partners and oversight and dollars spent to ensure the department of defense is the feeling mandate ofe congress is doing so in the clear way -- >> u.s. senate is in recess and we returned to live coverage resolution has 85 bipartisan cosponsors. this resolution builds on congress' recent efforts to curb domestic violence. we obviously passed a

reauthorization of the violence against women act which back in 2013 included the bipartisan stalkers act to improve federal antistalking laws. last year once again we reauthorized violence against women act. but there is so much more work that needs to be done. not so long ago stalking was not seen as the harmful crime we know it to be today. it was only in the 1990's that the first antistalking legislation was passed in the united states. without a consistent definition of stalking or resources for those in crisis, too often victims struggle to find the support they needed to name and identify the harm that they were experiencing. through the tireless work of law enforcement officers, prosecutors, and service providers, we have seen progress. in the three decades since the first antistalking legislation was passed, every state in the

country has passed antistalking laws. my home state passed it in 1993, three years before congress made stalking a crime. but we know that our work is not done. approximately one in every three women in the united states has experienced stalking. each year more than 13 million people report that they are victims of stalking. and according to one study, young adults between the ages of 18 and 24 experience stalking more than any other age group. as a former prosecutor, i know the emotional toll that this crime strikes. i know what the victims suffer from. nearly 70% of those who are stalked by an imminent partner are physically abused by their stalkers and three in four women who are killed by an imminent partner were stalked by their killers in the year leading up

to their deaths. by passing this resolution today, we can show how deeply we appreciate the work of law enforcement, that we are there for the victims, and we'll do all we can to provide the services and safety and stability they need. i yield the floor. i ask consent the vote scheduled for 1:45 begin immediately. the presiding officer: is there objection? without objection. the question is on adoption of the resolution. ms. klobuchar: i ask for the yeas and nays. the presiding officer: is there sufficient second? there appears to be. the clerk will call the roll.

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the presiding officer: on this vote, the yeas are 94, the nays are zero. the resolution is agreed to. under the previous order, the preamble is considered and agreed to and the motions to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table. a senator: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from arizona. ms. collins: i ask that the senate 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. wicker: mr. president. the presiding officer: the senator from mississippi. mr. wicker: i ask unanimous consent that daniel davis, my speechwriter and an invaluable member of our team, be granted

floor privileges until january 27, 2023. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. wicker: thank you, and, mr. president, if i might be recognized, nearly one year ago russia launched an unprovoked illegal and brutal war of aggression against ukraine. in doing so, vladimir putin quite literally sought to wipe a sovereign nation off the map. but as the world witnessed in the months that followed, mr. putin had vastly underestimated the ukrainian people and the ukrainian leadership. rather than capitulate, ukrainians have resisted and saved their homeland from full-scale occupation. the courage and ingenuity shown by ukrainian troops, many of whom were civilians before the war, continues to be nothing short of heroic. this morning we learned of yet

another act of russian terror in the form of a barrage of drones and missiles reining down on reeve. this left -- an kyiv, this left severe casualties a. this act of brute intimidation, which has become all too common over the past year, was clearly meant to break the will of the ukrainian people as they prepare to receive more military aid from the united states and from other allies. thankfully ukrainian forces successfully shot down the vast majority of those incoming projectiles using advanced air defense technology. this is just one more example of what many of us in this chamber have asserted for months. if ukrainians get the tools they need, they can finish the job and defeat vladimir putin. the harsh relate at this time is that -- the harsh reality is is that these kinds of attacks on ukraine, leaving a trail of casualties in their wake, have become far too common, and if leaders in the free world had

acted sooner, we would be better positioned to sieve the lives -- to save the lives and critical infrastructure now. the united states congress has led the world in supporting the ukraine war effort. in fact, we have led the biden administration, this senate on both sides of the aisle. on a bipartisan basis, we have provided security assistance, humanitarian aid, and direct support to ukraine's government. although this has amounted to tens of billions of taxpayer dollars, this is actually a bargain investment. let's put it in context. according to the keel institute ukraine support tracker, the total u.s. support to ukraine through november of last year amounted to only 0.2% of our gross domestic product. the new congress must continue this bipartisan support for ukraine, and i like forward to shall -- and i look forward to

leading the charge. as the first anniversary of this war approaches, we should reflect on the progress made by ukraine, and we should carefully consider how to help them decisively win this conflict so that a lasting peace can take root. to do so, we first need to state clearly what our american interests are in ukraine. that is something the president and his advisors have repeatedly failed to do, choosing instead to make vague references to the rules-based international order or words to that effect. the american people are right to demand straight answers. with inflation rampant, crime on the rise, and an open southern border or, it is fair to ask why we should care about what happens in ukraine. i offer four reasons -- first, ukraine matters because the security of europe is closely tied to our own american

security and our own american prosperity. for decades, all of our fellow citizens have benefited from peace and stability in europe, purchased by the sacrifices of americans in world war i and world war ii. what at stake today in ukraine is whether the fruits of those sacrifices will continue to endure. allowing putin to prevail in ukraine would usher in a new age of chaos and instability and would invite putin to test our resolve to defend our nato allies. make no mistake, putin will push the envelope as far as we let him. his goal to remake the old soviet empire and regrettably you the west has misread his intentions for years. in 2008 when he invaded georgia and in 2014 with the seizure of

crimea and parts of eastern ukraine and let again last year in ukraine with his full-scale invasion. his imperial ambitions are now undeniable. if vladimir putin is is not stopped in ukraine, the security of the entirety european continent will be put at risk. second, our support and the support of our allies for ukraine has made a huge difference and has significantly weakened russia, thanks to the u.s. military assistance and the courage of ukrainian troops, russia has lost its ability to the carry out near-term conventional invasions of nato members, and we achieved that without having to send a single american soldier into combat. the russian losses have been massive. last week the chairman of the joint chiefs of staff, general mark milley, estimated that significant more than 100,000

russian troops have been killed or wounded during the war in ukraine, not to mention thousands of combat vehicles, tanks, artillery pieces, and aircraft destroyed. for those questioning the cost of our assistance, i would simply pose the alternative -- how much would it cost in american lives and treasure to confront the russians directly, because that is the reality we face if putin tests our resolve to defend nato. from that perspective, we are getting one heck of a deal by helping ukraine do its own fighting. third, our support for ukraine is prompting european countries to take more responsibility for their own security, something we have long urged them to do. republican and democrat presidents alike have long believed that europeans should take the lead on european security. i agree.

almost every american agrees. thanks to our example, our nato allies are now spending tens of billions more on defense, much of which will be spent here in the united states. in particular, our send friends in the -- our friends in the united kingdom, poland and the baltic states are making all the right choices to help ukraine win and prepare their own militaries to deter russia for deducted -- for decades to come. back being away from ukraine at this crucial moment would undermine our credibility as we ask the europeans to shoulder more of the collective defense burden. fourth, although this war is happening in europe, we should not forget who else is watching. some skeptics of our mission in ukraine believe it distracts from our principal security threat -- the chinese communist party. but the reality is the exact

opposite. xi jinping is watching us closely. he wants to see if we will stick by our commitment as he weighs his opportunities of invading his own neighbor and our friend taiwan. our indo-pacific allies are also watching closely and even helping in ukraine. as japanese prime minister taji did a recently noted, ukraine today could be asia tomorrow. far from distracting us from china, stopping putin in ukraine is indisputable in deterring china. we dare not show weakness at this moment in ukraine. doing so would simply invite other dictators to act just like vladimir putin. the bottom line is that america's interest in this war is clear. we need ukraine to win, and that means giving them the tools to

prevail. cutting our support would cost us far more in the long run. unfortunately, as we know, vladimir putin understands only brute force. he will not capitulate or negotiate until he's forced to do so. this is something president biden failed to appreciate what he downplayed putin's threats a year ago by talking about minor incursions. remember that. minor incursions. at every step of this crisis, it has been congress, not the administration, that has taken the lead, and it is something that the president still fails to grasp as he and his administration continue to slow roll military aid for fear of escalation. the biden administration has come along grudgingly, as congress has pushed and pulled

and taken the lead. for example, in may of last year, congress provided the administration with roughly $8.5 billion of drawdown authority to transfer weapons and munitions from u.s. inventories to ukraine through the end of september, but the administration let almost $3 billion of that authority expire. mr. president, ukraine can win this war. ukraine must win this war. but we and our allies have to do our part to help them. when russia first launched its invasion the prospect of ukrainian victory indeed seemed unlikely. the russian blitzkrieg forced ukraine to fight for its very survival. it took repeated acts of heroism to push the russians back, from president zelenskyy's fearless example of leadership down to the foot soldiers like vitaly

slodymyrvich, who blew up a bridge. after the troops faltered in those initial days, they pivoted to a barbaric tactic of heavy bombardment of civilians shelling homes, schools, and hospitals. these were war crimes. and as the president -- as the russians were finally expelled from kyiv, we learned. of the -- we learned of the horrific atrocities, specifically in the city's outerlying areas such as bucha. and then began the counter-owe offensive. ukrainians retook snake island, liberated kharkiv and expelled the russians from kherson in november. their success demonstrated the success of high-end military

aid, such as himars, long-ranking rockets, as well as the ukrainians' own capabilities to plan and execute complex operations in defense of their own homeland. today the situation has stabilized with russia occupying only about 15% of ukraine. mr. president, the courage of ukrainians presents us with an opportunity. as the war approaches it's second year, congress must once again lead the administration to ramp up military aid to ukraine, to drive toward victory. we should all want ukraine to win the war. a continuation of the status quo, which would drag out the war, favors russia. the united states has made a huge difference in this war, and we can now tip the balance in favor of ukraine if we take the right steps. i would sum up this policy of the right steps in three

words -- more, better, and faster. more ground vehicles and munitions. better equipment. faster deliveries. we need faster deliveries right now. while i appreciate the white house's recent announcement that we will send a batch of abrams tanks to ukraine, it is now our duty to follow through on this commitment and make certain the ukrainians promptly receive the battlefield capabilities we plan to provide them. including the necessary training. we need to give ukrainians, long range missiles like the reaper, we should deliver these immediately to make a difference on the battlefield in concert with our allies. this approach of more, better, faster would give ukrainians a real shot at victory.

at the same time we must continue our work to expand our own defense industrial capacity here at home. the american people have already invested billions of dollars to replenish the weapons we've transferred to ukraine, particularly munitions. we are using that money here in america to expand production, doubling and even tripling production capacities for weapons like 155 millimeter shells, javelins, and himars. and our work on that has just begun. lastly, we will continue to maintain and expand the rigorous oversight structure would he placed over military aid. as of today congress has imposed more than two dozen detailed oversight requirements on the biden administration, and we continue to monitor their

responses closely. of course some of the oversight work we do is classified to protect the people and sources conducting it, but americans should know the scope of our oversight works. and so woll hold oversight hearings -- and so we will hold oversight hearings in this congress and do so on a bipartisan basis. weecials -- we should continue tracking the work of the inspectors general in the state department and the department of defense and in the u.s. agency for international development. and 14 other government organizations that are already tasked with ensuring accountability for all spending related to ukraine. these organizations are hard at work. thus far 20 reviews of ukraine assistance have been completed with another 64 reviews ongoing and planned. that is oversight,

mr. president. we have work ahead of us this year, and it is critical work. if we make the right choices, we can ensure a ukrainian victory over russia, send a message of strength to china and others who wish us ill, and restore the united states as the world's arsenal of democracy. thank you, mr. president, and i yield the floor. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll.

quorum call:

>> good morning, everyone. great to see all of you. always good to see you. doesn't mean i'm going to call on you. [laughing] i always do. there's a big contrast between house democrats and house republicans, between democratic party and the republican party.

between teen normal intime extreme. what teen normal is doing, the democrats, led by president biden, is to continue to approve the american economy for every day americans. here's the biden track record on the economy. economic growth is up. inflation is down. wages are up. gas prices are down. job creation is up, more than 10 million good-paying jobs, created during president biden's first two years, a record in modern american history. and small business startups have grown by the largest number during president biden's first two years in office than at any

other point in recorded american history. the democrats, teen normal, delivering for everyday americans. what are the republicans doing, teen extreme? the team consisting of extremists are willing to detonate the american economy. blow up social security and medicare, and impose a 30% sales tax on the hard-working people of america. you can't make this stuff up. that's what they want to do. a 30% sales tax on the american people. what would be the consequence of that? it will be a tax hike on 90% of everyday americans, while at the

same time cutting taxes for the wealthiest 1% in america. that's what they're spending their time doing, teen extreme. extreme maga republicans. and by the way, they want to lecture us, lecture us, about fiscal responsibility. 25% of the nation's debt was incurred during the four years of the trump presidency. we have been around this great country of ours for 247 years. but team extreme, the extreme maga republicans, they want to lecture the country on fiscal responsibility? win 25% of the nation's debt incurred during four years of the trump presidency?

what steam normals record? what is the biden administration's record on fiscal responsibility? cut the deficit by $1.7 trillion in the last two years. another record in american history. questions? >> speaker mccarthy is threatening to have a houseboat to remove congresswoman omar from the foreign affairs committee. are you confident all democrats will oppose the resolution would it comes to the floor? >> we haven't had an internal conversation about it. i strong support the notion that democrats as the steering and policy committee has done this week, should be able to put forward its slate of committee assignments, which includes representative elian omar to foreign affairs, and i should be

accepted by house republicans. as opposed to a revenge for his part of some deal that apparently was cut with the extreme maga republican wing, including the congressman from georgia. >> thank you. good boy. obviously you that this question documented to the president, former president, vice president pence -- the cia director and security advisor. doesn't this tell us that above with wages document are handled, perhaps policies, what can be done to address it? it's not just one party or the other. >> well, it's my understanding some of the relevant committees of jurisdiction and members who may be on those committees of jurisdiction are going to take a look at the totality of the issue through the lens, hopefully, not

the presiding officer: the senator from hawaii. mr. schatz: i ask unanimous consent that we vitiate the quorum call. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. schatz: i ask unanimous consent that the senate proceed to the consideration of s. res. 16 submitted earlier today. the presiding officer: the clerk will report. the clerk: senate resolution 16, congratulating the university of georgia bull dogs football team for winning the 2023 national collegiate athletic association college chip. the presiding officer: is there an objection proceeding to the measure? seeing no objection, so ordered. mr. schatz: i ask unanimous consent that the resolution be agreed to, the preamble be agreed to, and the motion to reconsider be considered made

and laid upon the table with no intervening action or debate. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. schatz: i ask unanimous consent that the president -- that the senate proceed to the consideration of s. res. 17, submitted earlier today. the presiding officer: the clerk will report. the clerk: s. res. 17, supporting the contributions of catholic schools in the united states. the presiding officer: is there an objection to proceeding to the measure? seeing none, without objection, the measure is so ordered. mr. schatz: i ask unanimous consent that the resolution be agreed to the preamble be agreed to and the motions to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table with no intervening action or debate. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. schatz: i understand that there is a bill at the desk and i ask for its first reading. the presiding officer: the clerk will read the title of the bill for the first time. the clerk: s. 123, a bill to protect american small businesses and so forth. mr. schatz: i now ask for a

second reading and in order to place the bill on the calendar under the provisions of rule 14, i object to my own request. the presiding officer: the senator's objection is heard. the bill will be read the second time on the next legislative day. mr. schatz: i ask unanimous consent that when the senate completes its business today, it stand adjourned until 3:00 p.m. on monday, january 30, that following the prayer and pledge, morning 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 the senate 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. schatz: for the information of the senate, senators should expect a roll call vote at approximately 5:30 p.m. on monday. if there is no further business to come before the senate, i ask that it stand adjourned under the previous order. the presiding officer: will the

senator yield? mr. schatz: mr. president. mr. schatz: i withdraw my request. the presiding officer: the senator from new jersey. mr. booker: mr. president, i really appreciate you recognizing me for a moment. we're about to adjourn the senate. many senators will travel back to their home states to do work, to meet with constituents, to go forward. but something is happening

tomorrow that i wanted to recognize, which is the graduation of this class of senate pages. many people watch the functioning of the senate and what draws attention is not many of the people who do the work of this place, we have an incredible parliamentary staff, and incredible people who serve on different caucuses and who provide security, senators come and go, but one thing that stays consistent is the incredible human beings and the patriots who make this work. i am humbled by the people who love the institution of the senate and have chosen to serve it and it they are not doing it for the pay or glory, they do it for the love of country. there is another group that does come and go that i think plays a special role here, and that is

about twice a year and then there's some summer pages weeks -- we see the pages come in from all over the country to serve this institution in a way that has been done for generations. they are not young adults. they are teenagers who have made an irrational choice, in my opinion, they have decided to leave their high schools, their comfort, their technological devices, extra curricular activities, sports teams, their homes and come live in washington, d.c., where the rigors of their lives are extraordinary. literally our senate pages during the two sessions that are during the year, they are doing a full class of academics. they actually are studying difficult topics that i'm not sure how senators would do on calculus or chemistry, but they are taking a full load of

classes and then they are working the equivalent of a full-time job. at times they're up at 5:00 o'clock in the morning and then they service this institution and the jobs they do, i would say, are essential. if they were not here, the people who would have to do those jobs, senate would have to hire people to fill those roles. i have met some remarkable young people. they call them democratic and republican pages but there is no partisanship here. these are patriots who probably subscribe to many different parties and ideals and what have you, but when here, they are participating in the senate. i often say to the pages, it's an honor to have served with you. on a personal note, i will have to say that the the senate pages have to endure me. i tell horrible jokes. i make it a goal to embarrass

them on the floor of the senate as often as i can. i try to get them to encroach the rules, not break them, but during my time here, i have watched these young people blow me away with their acumen, dedication, knowledge, but most importantly with their heart. i look at this class of pages who are about to graduate. how do i know that? ten years in this body, i bump into pages once in a while, they do their best to try to pretend they don't know but i call them out. i have known pages who have gone to college, graduateed from college and gone into the work world, and have distinguished themselves by taking the inspiration of working in this body into their work as american

citizens and living a life of committed patriotism. and so to this class, i just want to say to you as well, it has been an honor to serve this institution with you. you all are some of the best of our nation. you have shown a grit and guts while you were here, handling your your course work, you have sustained indignities, at times being treated like wallpaper. on behalf of this entire body, i want to give you my thanks and i want you to encourage you to think of yourselves as always a part of this body. lots of people have passed through here. we've had former pages become united states senators. we have former pages that sit on that dais now. i hope you will always consider this not just your capitol, but your community. i look forward to seeing you all

about in the world and i hope for old time's sake, you will let me tell you one bad dad joke. with that, i yield the floor. with that, i ask unanimous consent to submit a list of names of the pages to the record. i would like to put. the presiding. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. booker: and i would like the congressional record to say that the junior senator from new jersey said they're great people but need better senses of humor. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. booker: if there is no business to come before the united states, i ask that it stand adjourned under the previous order. the presiding officer: the senate stands adjourned until 3:00 p.m. on

watch live coverage of the senate when lawmakers next return here on c-span2 . >> this evening my conversation with the director of national intelligence avril haines at the lbj library, part of the conversation on democracy. live coverage at 7:30 eastern on c-span2. you can also watch on our free mobile video at or online at c-span.org. >> c-span is your unfiltered view of government funded by these television companies and more includingcox . >> homework can be hard. but squatting in a diner for internetwork is even harder