other all the time tapas negotiations. >> i first entered the bureau i got my foot in the door as an analyst. with a magic marker lining out names and forming identities and stuff like that. at night i was finishing up my dissertation on an old spy case using 10,000 pages of fbi records that i was, you know, kind of torn -- >> we're going to leave this to honor our more than 40-year commitment to live gavel to gavel coverage of congress. the senate's returning now. senators will vote at 3 3:portfolio eastern on a resolution support -- 3:30 eastern to raise awareness in opposition to the issue. off the floor work continues on an organizational resolution setting committee assignments for the 118th congress. live coverage of the senate here on c-span2. order.

the senator from west virginia. mrs. capito: madam president, are we in a quorum call? the presiding officer: we're not. mrs. capito: thank you, madam president. madam president, i rise today to discuss yet another of the consequences of president biden's policies. and that is and are the prices are going up. the price hikes. families in west virginia and across our nation are struggling because of the policies and priorities that these past two years have made essential items and goods seemingly unattainable. whether it's gas, goods or services, energy prices, utility costs, small business expenses, owning a home, or simply affording to put food on the table, american families are squeezed at every turn. according to the nonpartisan congressional budget office,

prices have risen 13.7% since president biden took office. a recent report from the heritage foundation found that because of that staggering rise, the average american family has $7,400 less in their pocket at the end of the year. this is a timely topic today because the federal reserve has just announced the eighth conservative -- consecutive interest rate hike they have had to deploy in order to curb this administration's two-year spending spree which is hiewlg a high -- fueling a high inflation economy. an interest rate hike once that served as a measure to policymakers is just another wednesday in this president's america. it was warned last august that the continued rate increases and inflationary pressures would bring, quote, pain to households

and businesses, and, boy, does that ring true today. meanwhile, president biden continues to laud small inflation changes and slow economic growth, but he refuses to recognize his administration's role in the record-high prices that the american middle class are continuing to have the -- have to face. on the further economic fallout americans are likely to face projected by many economists later this year from interest rate hikes in the past year. so let's just dive into this a little bit. whether it's a conversation with senate colleagues waiting in line at a store or a constituent calling my office, the cost of food remains a central topic of concern all across this nation. according to the most recent reports from the bureau of labor statistics, the cost of groceries went up 11.8% from the year prior. you hear about it with meat and

eggs and bread and butter, all the essentials. to add to this, the cost of restaurant purchases is up 8.4%. in fact, the price of every food category has continued to grow at a faster rate than their historical averages. a recent analysis also points out that america's rural population is experiencing their cost of living going up faster and lingering longer than those in urban areas. and that's a fact that it disproportionately impacts people in my state of west virginia. in the words of one west virginian who wrote into my office, quote, how are we supposed to keep our houses warm and food on the table. speaking of housing, it remains unfombl 6789 -- unaffordable. fixed mortgage rates rose from 3.4% in january of 2022 to over

double, 7.12% in a matter of months. the national association of realtors housing affordability index dipped below 100, signifying that average american families do not have enough money to qualify for a mortgage on a median priced home. in other words, new families and hardworking individuals who made smart financial decisions with the hope of purchasing a home can no longer pursue that dream because it's out of reach. it's unaffordable. moving to energy, something that's absolutely essential in the proud history and tradition of our state, my state, despite the recent slowdown, despite the recent downturn in energy prices, it can't be forgotten that americans are still paying 30% more for energy. and at its peak in june of 2022, it was 70% more. with costs like this becoming

more mainstream, actually gas is going up just recently, american families are having to choose again between keeping your lights on, filling yor car with gas, or buying your groceries. there is not, this is not only unfair but it's avoidable. it is avoidable for folks living in a country with as many resources as we have right here in the united states. it also shows that the direct impact on our families when leaders turn their back on american energy. additionally, u.s. manufacturing industry has not been exempt from the economic woes created by this administration. the institute for supply management's manufacturing, purchasing, managers index -- that's a big clump of words there -- fell into contract shun category in november and december of 2022. meanwhile, despite this, president biden has been touting an historic manufacturing bomb that doesn't really exist.

the reality is u.s. manufacturers may be on their way to a recession and the downturn will likely deepen as purchasing power decreases and interest rates continue to rise as they did today. this further demonstrates how out of touch the administration is from the devastating reality american businesses are grappling with. so if you don't believe me -- which i hope you do, but if you don't believe me, take it from my constituents. back home they write frequently to express the middle-class squeeze that they are feeling. irwin from mercer county in southern west virginia said the current economic condition has created a choice for him between driving to work and feeding his family. paige from buchanan said something similar. she says i have full-time jobs and two children. i'm tearful because i sit here wondering and looking at upcoming bills, and i'm having to pay a bill or buy groceries.

ronald over in the huntington area, how do you propose that i continue to be able to live with increasing food prices, gasoline prices, and the ever increasing utility costs? jeremy in raleigh county told me, my electric bill at my residence is double the cost of my mortgage every month. this is not sustainable. i will go bankrupt just trying to keep the lights on. but this isn't just impacting jeremy, because jeremy is a great family man and a great friend, and he is trying to help his friends, neighbors and family pay their electric bills as well. i'm continuously inspired by this kindness that i see and the generosity of west virginians towards one another but it shouldn't have to come to this. so my question to president biden this week is, when is enough enough? even in areas where we have prices that are decreasing in recent months, president biden is trying to take credit when it

actually, in actuality prices are still much, much higher than when he took office. now more than ever american families need leadership, not misleading messages and attempts to take credit when it's not deserved. american families are asking for a path out from the hole created by the price hikes, my colleagues, and i will continue to highlight on the senate floor today. so with that, i see senator hyde-smith from the great state of mississippi, here to talk about, i'm sure, similar issues. she is a champion of affordability and middle-class workers to help meet these challenges i've outlined. a senator: madam president. the presiding officer: the senator from mississippi. mrs. hyde-smith: in less than a week president biden will deliver his state of the union address to the nation, in the build-up to that speech we're

already seeing the president and his administration spinning a tale about just how wonderful things are in this country, particularly after they took power and racked up more than $3 trillion more in spending. unfortunately those tall tales do not reflect reality for the people in my home state in mississippi or across the nation. in the two years since president biden took office, we've seen his administration fail the american people time and time again. inflation was 1.4% in january of 2021, but the policies the president has forced on this nation since then have made daily living unaffordable for families. today a strong majority of americans, more than 70%, believe the country is on the wrong track, and it's easy to

understand why. too many workers and families now live paycheck to paycheck, trying to keep the lights on, put food on the table, get gas in their cars, and stack up on everyday essentials that they have to have. president biden's inflationary runaway spending is a root cause of the skyrocketed prices we're paying for all debts and services. not a single industry is spared the cost of this inflation. since joe biden took office, higher prices cost families an additional $10,000, and there seems to be no end in sight. prices have gone up across the board to 13.5%, and grocery costs have jumped 18.6%. just look at the price of essential staples. chicken breast prices have gone up by 33%.

ground boaf, whole milk and bread have gone up by 21%. unlike president biden, i actually have to take a trip to the grocery store to feed my family. i do all of my own shopping, and i see firsthand how these price increases affect the people of mississippi. in the checkout line, i've watched a mother forced to put back something on the shelf after realizing she can't afford everything in her cart. i've seen a retired husband grabbing only the bare necessities for the week. up and down the aisle, as i push my buggy, the conversation is constant on can you believe how much the price of groceries has increased and how expensive it is. it breaks my heart to see the individuals in my community and the nation struggling to get by. it shouldn't be this way, but

in joe biden's america you're forced to way our priorities on buying groceries, prescription medicine, or putting gas in your car. when it comes to energy prices, the hardship continues for many americans. this pain is 100% self-inflicted by the biden administration's stubborn refusal to maximize american energy production. according to census data, about 22% of american households could not pay their energy bill last year. when families were actually able to pay, they had to sacrifice other necessities such as groceries, their medicine, or their gasoline. this winter isn't bringing any relief either. compared to last winter, the average household spent upwards of 28% more to heat their home with natural gas, according to

the energy information administration. electricity rates are also expected to continue to rise due to lower domestic supply of liquefied natural gas gas as well as labor shortages and the cost of materials. but this should come as no surprise since the attack on american energy began on day one of the biden presidency. in fact, this administration's regulatory overreach also contributes to rising costs across our economy. despite record-high prices, joe biden wants to further regulate the agriculture industry. the food safety and inspection service, for instance, is studying line speeds on poultry plants with the ultimate goal of just slowing them down, which will affect cost and supplies in the grocery stores. in addition, the epa recently unveiled its new waters of the

united states rule which will further hamper the ability of farmers to grow food because the federal government will have the ability to regulate ditches in low spots on private land. and it's a basic fact that it's expensive to comply with overly burdensome regulations. the biden administration's desire to overregulate everything makes it seem as if the president wants americans to struggle to afford food. madam president, the american people are smart and they understand when things aren't going well. the rosy stories the white house will barrage us with before the state of the union address won't change the fact that the american dream seems further from attainable for hardworking families because we just cannot afford joe biden. my colleagues and i want to get our economy back on track to relieve the financial stress that families are experiencing.

we must stop the irresponsible government spending, unleash american energy production, cut regulations, and embrace pro-growth, commonsense policies. the american people deserve that. i yield the floor. mr. hoeven: madam president? the presiding officer: the senator from north dakota. mr. hoeven: thank you, madam president. i'm pleased to rise today and join my colleagues from west virginia and mississippi, and i join them to once again call attention to the disastrous effect of president biden's price hikes and his policies. americans are facing soaring inflation that has not been seen in generations, price increases families are seeing at the

grocery store, at the pump, their monthly electric bills and for basic housing needs have far outpaced wage against and left americans struggling to make ends meet. the numbers speak for themselves in 23022. -- in 2022. average annual inflation reached 40%, the highest level in 40%. rather than working to solve the problem, the biden administration is set on making it worse. you don't need to look any further than your kitchen to find the latest example. in 2022, the food and home price index which measures grocery prices rose 18.6%, reaching heights not seen since the carter administration. this rise in food prices is directly related to increases in the cost of production faced by our hardworking farmers and ranchers.

these increases are driven by the biden administration's continued regulatory overreach. failure to empower our domestic energy producers and failed economic policies. our producers are facing increased prices for diesel fuel, for fertilizer, for crop production, products and more. new regulations from this administration threaten to drive up the cost of production even further. the recently published waters of the u.s., wotus, is a prime example of regulations that will stifle our ag and energy industries and make inflation worse. instead of this disastrous rule, this wotus rule, we should take a states-first approach to precured land and water that -- to respect our land and water that respects private property rights. this comes on top of the administration's misguided

approach which has caused us to increase our reliance on foreign energy suppliers which has increased the price of gasoline by more than a dollar since the administration took office, more than a dollar a gallon. we should be empowering our domestic energy producers to restore our energy independence, reduce our reliance on foreign oil imports, and create more jobs here at home. and help reduce prices for consumers. we need to unleash america's vast energy reserves. that's the right solution to our prices and -- to our crisis and help provide relief from the record inflation that has been caused by the policies of the biden administration. the biden administration needs to stop doubling down on failed economic policies. the administration needs to get government out of the way and focus on the fundamentals. that includes increased domestic

energy production, securing our border, and taking meaningful action to reduce inflation. with that, madam president, i yield the floor.

>> particularly housing. it will take time for the full effects of monetary restraint to be realized especially on inflation. in light of the cumulative monetary policy alive with monetary policy activity and insulation the day decided to raise interest rates five basispoints continuing down from last year's rapid increase . shifting to a slower pace will better allow the committee to assess the progress toward our goal as we determine the extent of future increases require putting sufficiently restricted stance . we will continue to make our decisions made by taking into account that is incoming data

and activity in inflation. we have been taking forceful steps to moderate demand with incomes that are aligned with supply our overarching focus using our tools inflation goal and the long-term expectations from lighting. reducing inflation is likely to require a period of mold growth some softening of the labor market. the starting price is essential to set the stage for achieving maximum employment and stable growth over the long run . the historical record cautions the song is prematurely missing the policy we will stay the course of the job is done. to conclude, we understand that our actions affect today's , families and businesses across the country , everything we do is in service to our mission. we that will do everything we can to see our maximum state illegals.

i look forward to your questions. >> associated press, thank youfor joining me . as you know the need for restrictions have loosened since the fall with bond yields falling which has also run down mortgage rates the stock market posted solid gains in january of that year, inflation fighting inflation are you cementing race are any otherwise would to offset the increase or easing of financial restrictions . >> it is important overall financial conditions continue to reflect policy actions were complex inflation down to financial conditions at the past year. i would say that this is not a short-term moves but sustained changes for broader

financial conditions with research and policy which is why we say that we expect ongoing hikes as appropriate. many things affect financial conditions, not just our policy and we will take the overallfinancial conditions along with many other factors . >> chair powell, thank you for taking our questions. over the last quarter we've seen a deceleration in wages and consumer sentencing while the unemployment rate has stayed at story flow. does that change your view of the unemployment rates we need to drop? >> i would say it is a good thing that the inflation we've seen so far has not come at the expense of a weaker labor market but i was a the disinflation reprocess

ucs at an early stage. what you see is you see inflation now coming down because supply chains have been fixed, demand is shifting back to services and shortages have been abandoned so you see that in the other, in the services sector. we expect inflation to continue moving up. for a while but then to come down assuming that newly continue to be lower so in those sectors you got a different story written issue is we have a large sector of, core services where we don't see much yet but i would say that so far what we see is progress but without any weakening in labor market conditions. >> how are your expectations forwhere the labor market is this summer . >> going to write down new

forecast margie we will see that time. i will say it is gratifying to see this inflationary process underway and we continue to its long labor market. but we will update those forecasts in march. >> you and some of your colleagues emphasized possibly the job openings coming down would let the air out of the labor market and we saw the opposite end in a december jewel, jobs rising that also coincided with openings, do you believe openings are an important indicator into the labor market ? >> you're right about the data of course. we have seen average hourly earnings and the cost index of eating a little bit. still off of their eyes of months ago or more but still

levels are fairly elevated. the job openings number has been quite volatile recently. i did see it moved back up this morning. i do think that it's probably an important indicator that the ratio i guess is back up to 1.9, job openings to unemployed people. so it's an indicator but nonetheless we do see wages moving down. if you look across the rest of the labor market you still see very high payrolljob creation . and clips are still at an elevated level so by many indicators, the job market is still very strong. >> :respect with the financial times given

economic status in december meeting is the directory that in most recent std last night was policy forward work is ongoing now we more than to raise prices? >> you're right, at the december meeting we all got our best estimate of what we thought the level would be obviously back in december and the median was the final. at the march meeting were going to update us. since we did not update them today but we did however continue to leave ongoing rate hikesto the appropriate . is efficiently restricted stance on policies ring inflationback . meeting with graham and additions are certainly times . now i would say we still think there's work to do there. we have made a decision on exactly where that will be. i think we're going to be looking at the incoming data now marks. i don't feel a lot of

certainty about where that will be. it could certainly be higher than right now if we come to the conclusion we need to write down to move rates up beyond what we said in december we will certainly do that. the same time if the data comes in the other direction we will make that decision the coming meeting. >> how are you viewing the balance of rest between those two , the likelihood of shortfalls are going beyond? >> i guess i would say it this way. i continue to think that it's very difficult to manage the risk of doing too little and finding out in six or 12 months we actually were close but didn't get the job done inflation springs back and we have to rain it back in. now we do not expectations. this is very difficult risk to manage whereas of course

we have no incentives and no desire to oversight but if we feel like we've gone too far we can certainly be certain inflation is coming down faster than we expect we work on this situation where we have so i inflation in 4 years, the job is not fully done. we had a sector that represents 56 percent of the court inflation index see disinflation yet so we don't see it because it's not happening . inflation in court services x housing is still running at four percent in a 12 month basis so there's not nothing happening here. the other two sectors representing less than 50 percent you actually is now is credible although you don't actually see disinflation in housing services pipeline so for the third sector we don't see anything there so itwould be

premature . very premature to declare victory work to think that we really got this. we need to see our goal of course is inflation down how we get that done? there are many factors for rising inflation in that sector. they should be coming into play and the process begin so but so far we don't see that you can so we do we see ourselves as a lot to do. >> reuters and thank you as usual. to connect a couple docs here, these statements made a number of changes. you're saying inflation has these, that's new i taken out references to the war in ukraine. you eliminated all the reasons you said prices were being driven higher yet that's not any change in how youdescribe policy .

i'm wondering what is the case doesn't have more to do with uncertainty around the outlook were more to do with you not wanting to get very overeager markets a reason to overreact? >> i guess i would say it this way. we can now say i think for the first time this inflationary process can start. we can see that we see it really expresses so far. as a sector this is the beginning here is the reasons we bought supply-chain shortages, and distant: services as they. but that's around a corner of the pce prices so this sector is housing service. that's driven by very different markets and housing services we expect our forecast measured inflation will continue for several

laws but will then all now assuming new leases continue to be sought and we assume that so we think that's one we see disinflation in the good sector and we see it in the pipeline for two sectors that are now a little less than. we got back to me saying inflation is coming down this is good . we expect to see disinflation process will be seen we hope in the core does x housing sector that i talked about. we don't see it yet. it is different kinds of services now are the same and we have a sense of what's going on in each of those different subsections. probably the biggest part of it, 60 percent of that is research to show insensitive to slack in the economy so the labor market will only be in some of the other ones the

labor market is not important, many other sectors but in case we don't see disinflation in. we. is the core index which is something that you are deadline pce which is our mandate so it's not that we're not where i'm optimistic, we don't see inflation moving down yet course after you think we will see it yet and until you we see ourselves as we ourselves and we see ourselves as having perhaps more citizens inflation in a sector which will take longer to getdown . we're just going to have to complete the job. for you. >> you observed several years ago that we can have a

follow-up rate without target inflation and we learned lately inflation to come down from comfortably i dislike this will. you lsu said over last year rate increases are used, why your inflation. it transpires inthe coming months for risk . >> we raise before and after percent. were talking about a couple of more rate hikes to get to that level that we is improving. why do we think that's probably necessary? we think disinflation is still running very high. i. it really, the story we're talking about inflation is to ourselves and the way we understand it is where physically. and through the services after an x housing yet but i mean, i think our assessment is not very far from that level.

we don't know that. we don't know that you are looking for a significant uncertainty. i looked across the spectrum of rates and seereal rates are now positive .my appropriate set ofmeasures . policy is restrictive. i just how much is restrictive enough slider slowing down 25 aces were going to be carefully watching the walking inflation watching the progress of disinflation. >> would you discuss the conditions for all positive this meeting as we. >> acetaminophen, and don't give you a lot easier. we spent time talking about the and the state of the economy and i wouldn't want to start to drive despite all the details. the discussion was talking

about the path forward. >> i wanted to ask about the debt ceiling. given that we know of incident i was wondering if the us was that they will do it for the treasury perhaps or will it do its ownanalysis ? >> say your question again? >> will the fed do what fred redirects as relates to it for his own analysis? >> asking about, your asking prioritization. is a fully one-way for review that his kindness to raise it seems a government can pay all of its obligations. a deviation from the highly risky that no one should

assume the economy from the consequences of in a timely manner in terms of our relationship with the treasury we are a fiscal agency. >> are you planning to? >> this is anonymous and the result is the really congresses job to raise the debt ceiling i gather there's sections happening that don't involve you are not involved in the societies. >> gina:-). was there any discussion on the possibility of pausing rate increases and then restarting them? lori logan discussed that would be a possibility in a recent each item that was shared with me? >> the committee obviously

did not see this as time to fall. we just that what we would do at this meeting was to raise 25 basis points so we can continue to anticipate ongoing increases would be appropriate or obscene stance of monetary policy. so this but we made. we're going to write down a new forecast in march and we will certainly be looking at the data. >> would it be possible to take up offering for example could you rather than just doing it go a little bit more slowly and get the gaps between moves. >> this is not something the committee is thinking aboutin any kind of detail . in principle use, will use is 30. five basis points to consider

excellent so boxes are available i use up what candidate i know into this race. after also this is not something that the federal market committee on the point of deciding right now. >> the sep has the pce inflation rate at 3.1 percent . meanwhile the annualized pce is 2.1 percent and you've achieved this without going to your .51 percent funds ratio which is for this year. you've also cheated with about one percent increase in plymouth which is for this year. i'm wondering if you consider the idea of whether or not your understanding of the inflation dynamic may be wrong and it's possible to see these things without

raising rates that high also without the search and unemployment and specifically i want to say my comments on the pc vice chair said the inputs other than wages for important price increases are in unwinding of these factors that may not be wages, the idea that they may not require a letter advising to get this inflation. >> a couple of things, first on the forecast. you're right if you take the short term three months same measures of ece there. >> low right now because it's driven by significantly native readings from goods inflation. most forecasters would think that significantly native readings would be transitory and that goods inflation will move up fairly soon back up

to longer run trying to something around zero so all forecasts would call for pce to go back to four percent of the year so that's really where the sustainable level is, it's more like four percent so that suggests work left to do. let's say inflation does come down much faster than we expect wishes possible. as i mentioned every our policy is day i dependent and we think that is. in terms of the core non-housing services, as i mentioned earlier is a very for seventh so sectors that represent 65 for 50 percent of that sector we think are sensitive to slap in the economy sensitive to the labor market

but some of the other sectors are not . financial servicesis of a sector . that's not replaced by labor markets. so that's why i said a number of things that will affect it . take restaurants. labor is important for restaurants but so is transportation services will be driven by fuel prices for example so there are lots of things in that mix will drive inflation. i was a overall though my own view would be your not going to have a sustainable return of two point five percent without better balance in the labor market and i don't know what thatwill require in terms of increasing unemployment . i do think there are a number of dimensions through which the labor market consultant and so far we as i mentioned in goods inflation without solving in the labor market. most forecasters would say my employment will probably rise

it from here but i continue to think about two inflation down to two percent significant economic decline or employment. that's because the setting where it is quitedifferent . the inflation that we originally got was very much a collision between very strong demand and supply constraints, not something you have seen in prior business cycles. inflation is not coming down for the only reasons we thought and we understand how housing inflation will come down the story will emerge on housing services sectors in but only inflation and we don't yet see weakening in the labor market so ... >>. [inaudible] >> certainly it's possible. no one really knows because

this is not like theother business cycles in so many ways . it may well be that it will take more slowing and we expect and i expect to get inflation down to two percent but my biggest case is that the economy can return to two percent inflation without a significant downturn or the influence. that's all possible outcome. i think many forecasters would say it's not the most likely outcome i would say there's a chance. >> michael mcgee from bloomberg tv and radio. i'd like to pick up on what you said about the downturn in essence be, the full weight of your tightening not

beating inflation yet and with the progress against inflation there's a lot of talk about slow growth going forward in 2023 and the recessions indicators are all suggesting that we are going to see recession this year so i'm wondering if you change your view or you have a more nuanced view if you think it's a danger to economic growth going forward and whether you're very close to perhaps taking it into the wrong place which calls for more constraints on your part . >> i think most forecasts and my own assessment would be thatgrowth will continue , positive growth will continue a subdued pace as it did last year. we have the growth of one percent last year also and final sales growth which is a better indicator of that one percent. most forecasts certainly my assessment would be that growth will continue to fairly subdued level this year.

there are other factors though that need to be considered. you will have seen that the global picture is improving a bit and that will matter for us. the labor market rates are very strong and that is job creation,that's wages . as inflation does come down sentiments will improve. see and local governments are flushed these days with money and many are considering tax cuts so i think that's going to support their also spending a lot, there's a lot of spending coming in the pipeline both private and public so that would support economic activity so there's a good chance those will support positive growth issues and that's my base case this year.

>> first of all how are you doing. second off, i think it's early on in the conference you said you need to see a substantially more evidence of income coming down. you mentioned three months in a row, governor wallace had said is it just the inflation data or is it the labor market comes back into better balance. >> i don't think there's going to be a light switch flipped. there's just an accumulation of evidence sowe are looking by the time of the march meeting to more reports , two more cvi reports and looking at those carefully as all of us will and we will be asking ourselves what are they told us? soon after that we will have another eci wage report which

as you know is important. we like it because it adjusts forcomposition and it's very complete . the one we got yesterday was constructive. it shows wages coming down but they're still at high level. they are still well above where they were before the pandemic. so i don't want to put on number on it in terms of month but as the accumulated evidence comes in is going to be reflected in our assessment of the outlook. that will be collected in our policy i would say it is our job to restore price legally and she two percent inflation . market participants have a very different job. a great job. i did that job for use but in one form or another but we have to deliver. so we are strongly resolved

that we will complete this task because we think it has benefits that would support economic activity and benefit the public for manyyears . >> thank you for taking the questions . we had solid job growth from foxbusiness by the way, slight falling in the increase of spending. it seems so far to be relatively mild for the economy to go from a 9.1 percent to 6.5 percent. is the hard part still to come? >> i don't think we know honestly. so we of course expected goods inflation to start coming down by the end of 2021. it didn't come down all through 2022 and now it's coming down fast so i would

say this is not a standard business cycle where you can look at the last 10 times (when we shut the economy to congress did what it did. it's unique so i think certainty is just not appropriate here . it's just order to forecast inflation. it may come down faster. and our job is to deliver inflation back to targeting, we will do that but we're going to be cautious about declaring victory and sending signals that we think that the game is one becausewe've got a long way to go . it's the early stages of disinflation and it's welcome to be able to say that but we are now disinflation that's great but we see it has to spread through theeconomy is going to take time, that's all . >>. [inaudible]

>> my forecast and that of my colleagues as you will see from many different forecasts but generally it's a forecast for slower growth, some solving of market conditions inflation moving down steadily but not quickly and in that case, if the economy performs broadly in line with expectations it will not be prudent to cut rates here to listen policy this year. other people have forecast inflation to come down much faster. if that happens in inflation comes down further we'll be seeing that and it will be. i think. >> thank you chair powell, sonia rich with the economist . i want to ask about ongoing increases. if you look at fed on future pricing theimplication is your rates will raise one

more time then pause . are you concerned by virtue or is that a solid clip? >> i'm not particularly concerned about divergence because it is largely due to the markets expectation that inflation will come down quickly. that's the bigger part ofthat . and our forecast, generally those forecasts continued subdued growth. some softening of the labor market but not a recession and the inflation moving down into somewhere in the mid threes or maybe lower, we will update that in march. markets are past that. they show inflation coming down in some cases much quicker so we will have to see we have a different view it's a different forecasts really and given our outlook i just don't see us cutting

rates this year if we get our outlook terms. if we do see inflation coming down much more quickly that will play into our policies of course. >> scott horsley from npr. one of the changes is the statement this month that you're no longer listing public health among data you'll consider. what should we make of that, does the federal reserve no longer see the pandemic as affecting the economy? >> that's the general sense of it. i understand well that coded is still out there but that it's no longer playing an important role in our economy and we kept that statement in their for quite a while and i think i knew we would take it out at some point, there's never a perfect time but

people are handling it better and economy and society are handling it better . it doesn't need to be in it with the post meeting statement as opposed to a health issue. >> nancy marshall gansler with marketplace. vice chair brainard said recently she doesn't see signs of a wage spiral and i'm wondering if you agree with that. >> i do. i don't see that yet but the whole point is once you see it, you have a serious problem. that means that effectively inflation has become a salient issue and once that happens, that's what we can't allow to happen so that's why we worry that the longer we are at this and the longer

people talk about inflation all day long every day, the more risk of something like that but it's always been more of a risk than anything else. i think it's becoming less salient and we up in conversations and people are glad that inflation is coming down. people don't like inflation as we see it coming down you look at sentiment of surveys now and they are low with 3 and a half percent unemployment, i wage increases. why cannot we? it has to be inflation so let's once inflation is seen to be coming down you will also see a boost. >> that's what you're looking at most closely. >> that's at the very heart. consumers and businesses essentially we believe

expectations of future inflation are an important part of the process of creating inflation. that's sort of bedrock belief and in one way or another i think it's important and in this case i would say the risks eight months ago or so, longer-term inflation expectations had moved up vigorously last year. expectations seem to be well anchored including at the shore and . so i think that's very reassuring. i think marcus decided the public has decided inflation is going to come back down and it's a matter of us following through. that's helpful to the process of getting inflation down, the fact that people believe it will come down that's part of the problem and is a very important thing.

>> thank you chair, greg rob. in the minutes of the december meeting there was a couple of sentences that struck people as important when the committee has since been talking about this, it would make your life harder. we haven't heard you talk much about that today so i was wondering does that concern you, members? >> i would put it this way, it's something that we monitor carefully. our positions didn't change much from the december meetings and now, they came out in roughly the same place . it's important the markets do reflect a tightening that we're putting in place as we discussed a couple of times. there's a difference in perspective on how inflation will come down. i'm not going to try to persuade people but our

forecast is it will take time and some patientsneed to keep rates higher for longer but we will see . >> brendan peterson with possible news. i wanted to ask if the fed takes into account all the debt ceiling when it comes to quantitative tightening getting the fact that rapid or quantitative tightening could really bring us closer faster to drop dead debt ceiling limit, could play as we get closer to that dead ceiling? >> it's very hard to think about all the different possible ramifications and i think i don't think there's likely to be any important interaction. i believe congress will wind up acting as it will in most

any iteration of the debt ceiling in a way that doesn't risk the progress we're making inflation at the economy substantially. i believe that will happen. we of course monitor money market conditions carefully. as the process moves on for example treasury general account will shrink down and scroll back up and there will be evidence and flows between there and the reserves. we understand all that but we're watching itcarefully . thank you very much. >>

>> one who joined us to talk about entitlementprograms and social security . in the state of the union how

would you describe the state of the social securityincome right now ? >> the state of the program from a physical standpoint is fine because of the contributions that have been made . the danger of course is that congress has done anything in plus years hence the program and improve the benefits. although the red cross $.72 in 1971. the last time social security had a major expansion of benefits. so wow people should understand this is the fall and credit of the united states, because of the neglect on the part of congress, there has been an increase. we'll this year people are receiving larger calls because of covid and the pandemic but that needs to be changed permanently so that seniors and individuals who have disability are on the

program are able to get the financial backing that we need. >> to expand or enhance the benefits of social security it be about $1 trillion a year for the social security program? that's about in 2021 five percent of gdp. back in 2001 total security was four percent. why is it expanding as a percentage if we're not enhancing or expanding the program now. >> 2000 baby boomers a day become eligible for social security and baby boomers represent the largest and at that rate with 10,000 becoming eligible a day and as you know from our past conversations social security if congress does nothing benefits will reduce across-the-board by 20 percent in 2034. and every year that congress delays doing something it

gets harder to make up that difference. when i say harder i need harder in terms of cross because social security needs to be paid for but a point that i always make and i think one that our listeners understand is that listen, social security is not an entitlement plan. this is an benefit. all you have to do is look at their fica stuff. federal insurance contributions. they don't like to call it attacks but it's a role insurance contributions. yours and i think citizens know this and understand that there are gas when they learn congress hasn't raised it in over 50 years to enhance the program. we have 5 million people john, 5 million fellow americans that get the below poverty level checks from

social security. having worked and paid in two 5 million predominately women and women of color but nonetheless that's 5 million americans and the poverty level is 12,000, 800,000, 12,800. how do you live under 12,800? >> do you take speaker mccarthy at his word when he says cuts to the social security are off the table when it comes to what may happen here, the negotiation about the debt limit and possiblespending cuts ? >> we know president trump is not going to rent it but i hope the speaker is correct when he says social security shouldn't be held hostage by the debt ceiling . hopefully they are negotiating today through would be fruitful but i think what the president is going

to ask and what everyone should ask speaker mccarthy is where's your plan? when they say they produce this document that 154 republicans signed on to, they adopt the plan and called for 21 percent across-the-board cuts to social security and also 20 separate cuts but they haven't produced a plan. sam johnson the venerated member from texas had a plan, he wasn't even allowed to bring his plan forward but he was able to balance social security by making cuts so i think the republicans first and foremost because nobody needs to be put through this anxiety nor should the nation feel like we are on the precipice of default. i think the president will make that point very clear today and i would hope it's

incumbent upon the speaker and members on our committee, republicans have come to me and said we want to work together and i said fine, give us your plan . we had plans that are out there. bernie sanders put forward another plan along with senator warren in the senate so there's going to be no shortage on the democratic side. we need to see a plan. >> you have a plan, what is it? >> what that does is expand social security. it makes it solvent and advances benefits that need to take place. i mentioned before 9 million people in this country who get below poverty level checks from the federal government. what this bill does say is no one who paid into social security through their lives will retire into poverty so the new threshold for a minimum of social security will be what will be 125

percent over the poverty rate established by the government . and that will immediately lift up 5 million people as well as enhancing benefits again as i point out that haven't been done in 50 years including an updated cola and is based on what the aarp calls the expenses that seniors incur. you can't have a pandemic so what the legislation says is which ever is the greater in terms of the need for the senior that will be the cola as established under this legislation. not taxing people that continue to work because out of necessity when on their social security is very important as well as making sure as president buying has called for repeal of weapon gpo which impacts 22 states specifically and impacts especially people who are teachers,firefighters ,

police officers as well. so long overdue and finally we can get focused on. >> john marcy with us until a lot of the hour. phone lines are open if you want to join the conversation, publicans 2027 48,000, independence 202 748 8002. as. calling in saying on social security 100 percent enhancements, cost money. how do you pay for it. >>. >> thank you for asking that what that means is currently total security is capped and annually it rises. the current rate is $147,800. anyone make anything made about that is not taxed. so what we said is look, let's let the on people over 400,000, make over $400,000 a

year so that's about 6/10 of one percent of the nation but what it does is generate the revenue and why should billionaire not pay whether it's the same thing a person making 30 or $50,000 a year . the american people see this as fair. it's an enormous amount of money it raises and it allows us not only to provide solvency but also allows us the opportunity to fundamentally strengthen america's number one anti-poverty program the most successful governmental program we had in terms of not only protecting the elderly but number one to number one used by veterans especially in the area of disability. >> why do we have? >> that's a great question. he always had a but there

should be a period i'm sure that way back when to get the votes needed, that was compromised that might have been reached. we just celebrated yesterday the five years since i enabler received the first social security check. never this is less viewers understand enough. you have to go back to the great depression to explain this anymore. all you have to do is go back to 2008 2009 recession and when people watch their 401(k) become all 101k, that is a somber and sobering lesson that during that same time social security never masturbated. >> washington times anniversary i want to show you where i enabler in first

check, that the picture there . , and finland,. >> i'm a software developer specializing in automation and i personally believe that the new ai stock is going to millions of white-collar jobs , displace them and i'm curious how you continue to fund social security we lose a significant less, jobs? >> is speculative say this as my son times. look at, this is a sacred trust between the people and the government that has the full faith andcredit of the united states government . i do think that we are going to become more productive as a nation as well and continue

to produce more revenue so i'm optimistic on that bus we also have to make certain we just discussed the state is. and i believe that initially by the on people over 400,000 , the infusion of dollars into the system allows us both to expand services that people desperately need but then also make sure that the program is solid into the future. >> john larson with us for the next 15 minutes in 45 minutes the house will be coming in and we will be there for live coverage when they do. is also in easter or on c-span2. this is flawed and is in virginia. on a constant loss.

vote:

vote:

vote:

the presiding officer: on this vote the nays are the 7 -- 97. the nays are zero. the resolution is agreed to. under the previous order, the preamble is groid and the motions to reconsider are considered made and laid upon the table. a senator: mr. president. the presiding officer: the senator from maryland. mr. cardin: 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. cardin: mr. president. the presiding officer: the senator from maryland. mr. cardin: mr. president, i take this time to celebrate the success of the affordable care act. we just completed the open enrollment period for 2023. over 16 million americans signed up for health coverage under the affordable care act. that's about a hundred percent increase from the first year's enrollment in 2014. less than ten years. we have doubled the number of enrolees under the affordable care act. it is contributed to a substantial reduction in the number of uninsured, which in and of itself is an important goal in health care. uninsured individuals have less ability to access quality care in this country. that's something we all need to be concerned about and do our best to make sure everyone has

access to health care. but they also contribute to what's known as cost shifting and it causes a dislocation of health care facilities in the proper locations in our chunty -- comunty. it also makes our -- community. it also makes our health care system less efficient. if an individual doesn't have coverage for preventive health care and diseases are discovered later, it makes it more expensive and less likely a successful result. so we can all celebrate the numbers but recognize we also are taking a big bite out of the uninsured medical population in this country. my numbers in maryland are very impressive. 180,000 marylanders enrolled in our state insurance exchange under the affordable care act. that's, by the way, for minorities a 9% increase in the hispanic population and 3% increase in the black population. we are committed to eliminating

health disparities in america. now, there are many provisions in the affordable care act. i want to mention one that i'm particularly proud because it has something to do with its chris and that is elevating the national institutes of -- national -- under national institutes of health the national institute for minority health and health disparities. we made it a full institute under the n.i.h. we also said up an office of minority health within the health and human services agencies. we did this so there would be a focus on dealing with the systemic challenges we have to medical care in this country. and the research that's being done by the national institute for minority health and health disparities is cutting edge on reasons why we have disparities in this country, and it's leading to corrective action being taken. i will just give you one example. nih unite program which deals with incentives to create a more

diversified workforce in health care which is critically important to access as well as make sure clinical trials include all of our population so that the results are meaningful for all communities in america. the results that we've been able to move forward in bridging the disparities for access to health care in america, all this has been done under the affordable care act. but we didn't stop there. we recognized we had to improve the affordable care act and i'm very proud of the leadership of president biden and the democrats in our initiatives under the american rescue plan and the inflation reduction act. we enhanced the subsidies to make it affordable for all americans to be able to purchase their insurance through the health exchanges. we made that a commitment so that every american could have access to affordable, quality health care. now, mr. president, we need to

make those enhancements permanent so we still have work to do. and i want to thank our colleague senator shaheen for her leadership and legislation which i strongly support that would make the enhancements in the subsidies under the affordable care act permanent so we can keep having these impressive number of americans enrolling with health insurance. the americans are benefiting from the affordable care act, not just in having comprehensive affordable insurance coverage but also the quality of that coverage. no longer do we have to worry about exclusions for preexisting conditions. it wasn't too long ago that just about everyone in this country was concerned as to whether their insurance coverage would cover their entire health care needs because they lad a prior especial said -- they had a prior episode sometime in their life. women were concerned whether child birth was a preexisting condition. well, we've eliminated that fear by the affordable care act that

insurance companies cannot exclude coverage or limit coverage based upon preexisting conditions. and there was, as you recall, the leading cause of bankruptcy in america was unpaid medical bills. but under the affordable care act, we eliminated lifetime and yearly caps on the coverage that you have, again helping american families deal with their health care needs. mr. president, there is still more to be done. i want to acknowledge that. i want to say first that i was pleased under the inflation reduction act we were able to reduce the cost of prescription drugs. insulin starting last month, january, was limited to $35 a month. that was a game changer for millions of americans to know that they have an affordable supply of insulin to deal with their needs.

that has already taken effect. and included in the inflation reduction act will be a cap on part d out-of-pocket expenses of no more than $2,000 a year. so we're also capping today the unlimited exposure that seniors had on prescription medicines. i must tell you we passed legislation as everybody here is aware of under the inflation reduction act to start by 2026 in doing something that most americans would be shocked that we're not doing today. negotiate price with the pharmaceutical industry using our market share to bring down the cost of medicines so american consumers are not gouged compared to the international marketplace. starting in 2026 we'll have a negotiated price starting with the ten most expensive drugs in this country. but i want to mention an area where i think we need to do

more. i've been very much engaged in oral health care. most people know when i came to the senate in 2006, the year later demonte driver, a youngster in prince george's county lost his life because he couldn't get access to oral health care. i made that a crusade with my former colleague, the late elijah cuppings in trying to do something about that. i am pleased that both the affordable care act and the children's health insurance program requires coverage for pediatric dental care. that's the step in the right direction. but we haven't completed the needs that are out there. ful you neglect -- if you neglect your oral health care, you are likely to be neglecting your then health care. it is an area where we can prevent a lot of illness and problems. most dental problems are preventable if you have access to dental care.

so i've introduced legislation that would remove any annual or lifetime limit on oral health care under the children's health insurance program, the chip program. i want to thank senator stabenow for joining me in this effort. to me this is something that is very consistent with the affordable care act and i hope that we'll be able to get that passed. but we also have to expand coverage. medicaid coverage for dental care is primarily determined by the states. and many states limit coverage to emergency dental care which means people, many families can't afford their normal checkups for their adults that are in the family. we must do better as a nation. we need to expand medicaid to cover oral health care. and for the 37 million seniors that are on medicare, many cannot afford their dental annual visits. we need to expand medicare to cover dental care as well.

i want to thank my friend senator sanders for his leadership. also on that particular issue. the bottom line, mr. president, let us all work together so that we can achieve the goal of the affordable care act. we've achieved a great deal to date by the passage of that bill. but we still need to do more to make sure health care is a right, not a privilege, and that every american has access to affordable, quality care. working together we can achieve that goal. with that, mr. president, i would suggest the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. quorum call:

quorum call:

a plan we can debate in congress in which the american people can judge for themselves. this is especially true when it

ceiling. this afternoon president biden will meet with speaker mccarthy for the first meeting of the year end everyone is asking the same question of speaker mccarthy, show us your plan. where is your land? where is your plan? days speaker mccarthy carol to sit down as a major wind in his debt ceiling talk speaker mccarthy is forgetting something obvious to everyone else. if you don't have a plan you can't seriously pretend you are having any real negotiation. let me say it again because it's so crystal-clear. speaker mccarthy, if you don't have a plan, you can't seriously pretend you're having any real negotiation. speaker mccarthy showing up at the white house without a plan is like sitting down at the table without cards in your hand we know why the speaker struggled and is unable to produce a plan avoiding it

doesn't have to go on and all likelihood. some senate republicans want social security and medicare and others want to cut healthcare. americans healthcare americans depend on through medicaid and once republican said on raising the debt ceiling, i'm a no no matter what. speaker mccarthy knows is next to impossible to pass a plan through his own house. certainly he can't do that so speaker mccarthy make claim he wants to negotiate but that's ultimately empty talk. hard right has the power to reject whatever the speaker proposes. if the toxic dynamic the sadly isn't going away anytime soon when president trump was in office i sat down with him to talk about the of raising ceiling.

we democrats presented a plan and move forward from there. it was not easy, it took a lot of preparation and tough decision-making but each time we got the job done. fourteen times, house republicans show us your plans, the obligation to be transparent with the american people if you don't have the votes to pass a plan, let's just get the debt ceiling done. if the plan involves drastic cuts to millions of americans than republicans have an obligation to show the american people what those cuts are because americans could be faced with painful results of those proposed. republicans owe it to the american people. speaker mccarthy owes it to the american people to stop dodging, pretend, prick put pen to paper and explain how congress will ensure the united states a lot default for the first time in history. democrats have a plan.

raise the debt ceiling without brinkmanship or hostagetaking hasn't been done before. speaker mccarthy does not have a plan so he's not really negotiating and the clock is ticking. >> later today speaker of the house and president will begin bipartisan discussions about the future trajectory of our government spending. appropriately and normal are needed to raise the debt limit will be prepared glaciations spending. the american people change control of the house because voters wanted to constrain democrats run away was spending. voters of this country will get trillions of dollars spending of

death and the brakes. washington democrats for policy without negotiating the american people an end to it. some democrats trying to rewrite history and pretend the man negotiation are of course. back in 2017, senate immigrants peter said immigrants will leverage in broader talks. the new york times explained in 2017 then speaker pelosi and the democratic leader began formulating a plan to apply pressure, the idea of back in a straightforward debt limit measure as a way to gain muscle

and coming negotiations. that was the pelosi schumer playbook for the debt limit. demand negotiations. here's how the democratic leader put it himself at the time. the debt ceiling gives an ample opportunity of bipartisanship, one party jamming prices on it together. i trust democrats will be consistent with their past positions in the white house will waste no time bipartisan negotiations the new republican majority over the house. the president of the united states is not good to walk away from the table. the same president who signed off on trillions of dollars of new spending needs to begin good-faith negotiations and spending reform with speaker

mccarthy.

congressman, why is it necessary too and them and why and them now? >> the white house started moving forward after our bill began to take traction yesterday. we are saying is covid isn't over, we stopped covid cases, we have to be vigilant protecting ourselves against covid but we've had 12 continuing declaration of emergency with three years into the pandemic so the pandemic is over covid is now endemic?

what happens people need to understand once an emergency is declared, it gives the executive branch certain authorities we think needs to be approved by congress. we don't need to govern our country but executive for three years and roll. examples about, some of these needs to keep, healthcare workers in this first came into effect, it was both administrations, secretary a dark declared emergency and if you look at the ones who declare emergency, the president being able to use the defense production act for getting respirators in the right place. president trump moved ships off the shores of new york city for additional hospital ships for the citizens of new york and new jersey so he's had to take place and that's what the emergency powers are for and president biden to make sure they've got vaccines just a bit further but now that we are three years in, we need to get back to normal so

we have the bill, the night the bill is debated so rules one night the next day on the floor, president biden announced he's going to end emergency may 11 so we think efforts to move the bill forward. covid is still here and colored situation. lesley: stay in place. we've been asking for your to produce a plan. if one exists we don't know yet. the president set a date of may 11 now, unless the senate takes the bill up which the i doubt they will, the majority in the house working with colleagues on the other side and friends in the senate and health and human services secretary need to work together to make sure may 11 we have in place flexibilities needed and undo covid requirements there really because of the emergency.

>> you said those emergency powers that may need to stay in place, are there emergency powers used misused in your mind? >> for instance we have telehealth, we've learned so particularly i live in kentucky, some people live some distance from position so much they seek their physician they do follow-up or checkups, we allowed because of covid getting more people exposed going to the doctor for routine care exposed to someone from covid, they do zoom and telehealth so we think that can stay in place and people still struggle to get to the doctor so we keep that in place but particularly in the va world we have people set up telehealth physician services, a couple are known hopefully at the justice department, hopefully they will go after them, we set up telehealth, you

call in and you get a prescription and there's no service and people are taking advantage of it so we need to take care of that. if you show up in hospital for covid hospital gives a surcharge, an additional supplement and that was needed early because when covid was first -- we didn't know what was going to happen, hospitals had isolation wings and treated patients differently now that is endemic and people are still treated in hospitals for the flu in hospitals and other things, we want to unwind those things but they are stuff we need to keep in place like telehealth. we will have a shortage of healthcare workers and emergency certifications. the difference will be a set of emergency powers by a handful of people in the executive branch, it will be debated on the floor hopefully by may 11 they will have in place this connect the

same statement which we learned from the president he intends to and public health emergency come may but this is the runabout that pass on the fourth yesterday along the party line vote, during the public health emergency the medicaid program operated under special rules to provide extra funding to ensure tens of millions of vulnerable americans have medicaid coverage during the global pandemic. december congress enacted the wind out of rules to ensure patients didn't lose access to care predictably and budgets face a radical cliff. if the emergency were suddenly terminated confusion and chaos into this critical wind down happening due to uncertainty tens of native americans at risk of abruptly losing health insurance states could be at risk of losing billions in funding. >> i can show you the documentation if you like, who

sent a letter to the health consumer human services last february. he said we can't continue to expand emergency situations. we need a plan exactly what you're talking about, we need a plan we can move forward on to say how do we unwind this emergency and maintain flexibly not have the situation you are talking about ask if there's a plan that exists we don't know it, been trying to move forward so we brought the bill out. he saw it was going to pass the house and they said let's send emergency may 11 and opportunities we will have. it will be a lot of work but we relish the work, that's what we're here for. hopefully they will work with us because we are willing to work with them to keep in place what needs to stay in place and stop emergency powers that don't need to stay in place. >> one more on this topic, title 42, pandemic era powers that allowed border patrol to quickly

send back undocumented migrants to catch crossing the border, what happens with that under your legislation or in may if that's the time emergency powers come to an end? >> my title 42 in place, completely separate issues. what we are saying is covid still exists, we need to prevent covid coming across the border into our country, we know there could be other variance of their so we asked them to come forward and keep it coming into. we are honest saying covid is endemic, let's get back to regular figure out? abilities need to keep in place but we don't want covid coming in to our country still. where the president was a few weeks ago when he said we still have an emergency, a pandemic however, i'm going to lift title

42, i don't think that was consistent but we feel our position -- our bill doesn't address it, the surgeon general to decide and recommend that we are having trouble get title 42 because of the functional crisis coming across but there's not an emergency health issue coming across the border. title 42 can stay in place after may 11 unless the president decides otherwise and i think it should because we are still seeing covid come across the border and we should keep it in place and consider keeping it in place because of the fentanyl crisis, the biggest killer right now of our young people. >> republican of kentucky is our guest, if you want to join the conversation until 8:00 a.m.

independent (202)748-8002. joining us from the office building, you can tell it's going to be a busy day on capitol hill. some sounds behind him this morning. if you are watching the house for last night, countries pandemic is over act that passed on the house floor, 227 -- 203 part of that debate last night. member of the energy commerce committee, subcommittee on health share of that committee and 118 congress, what's your priority besides what we talked about here on the pandemic? what are your priorities this committee moves forward in the coming weeks and months? >> we talked about fentanyl and it's our top priority, killing our young people, 18 to 50. we have to deal with fentanyl coming across our border. today our first hearing we have the functional act, unbelievable and i talked about this back home that fentanyl analogues are

not permanently scheduled on the fda schedule and the reason is previous majority would probably schedule them because of social justice issues and different groups they were trying and we need to deal with groups of people in jail and other issues but of people self fentanyl then we have to deal with fentanyl coming across the borders. another bill, a situation in west virginia particularly previous colleague of mine had, he's bringing this before the committee, he's no longer in congress, we had two pharmacies in a small town in west virginia, 3000 people had given prescriptions over -- millions, i think 2 million, over 1 million in opioids so while our bill today, pharmaceutical distributor shooting that you

have liability because what happened is the pharmaceutical distributor set everybody showing up had a prescription and the pharmacy had prescription to fill and it's up to the medical board in west virginia prevent these prescriptions from getting out in the pharmacy board we are filling our orders. what we are saying is when you have these patterns clearly obvious that anyone you are supplying this the new we will hold you accountable for that. the billing with fentanyl but also as we move forward we are going to work bipartisan, i've talked to a couple of members on the other side of the aisle, energy commerce, most is judiciary but the area energy and congress has his enforcement so scheduling internal, holding drug logistics accountable, it's clear they are shipping access

drugs to certain communities for the other thing is called the support act, we have to deal with this from recovering and helping people through recovery. five years ago a monumental support act, recovery centers across the country come into place and are helping and we are going to spend this year looking at things that are effective or maybe not as effective as they should be and how can we change legislation to make sure it is objective? >> viewers on the line, linda is up first out of michigan. plan for democrats. good morning. >> good morning. the judgment keeps saying covid is endemic. it is not by 50 people died yesterday, currently the third leading cause of death in the united states, that's not anywhere near and endemic.

the other thing i wanted to mention is about fentanyl, most fentanyl comes in and vehicles with people swimming across the river. i think the public health crisis, so many people are addicted. the mexicans and colombians or chinese are not coming across the border enforcing fentanyl down the throats of our children. what's happening is they are addicted and where there is a market, there is a flow of drugs. i think it's to ask the question, why do so many young people particularly in red states, kentucky for instance, a major problem and you know it in four states with no medicaid expansion and things like that. ...

mr. van hollen: -- a simple statement which i hope every senator in this body agrees with, that the united states of america pays its bills on time. we have since our nation was founded. we have since our nation was funded. we never default on our debts. we always pay what we know. we honor our financial up additions to all americans and all those who invest in the american economy. and because we pay our bills on time united states has earned a reputation as a reliable, credible and trustworthy partner around the world and that helps everye single american in our entire economy. now as everybody in this chamber knows, in orderhe to maintain te full faith and states, we credit

wake up one morning and say you're not paying your mortgage or you're not paying your car payment, you will face consequences. you don't pay your mortgage, you could have your home foreclosed on. you don't pay your car payments, your car can be repo ssessed. the same the logic applies to the united states government, but the consequences are not confined to just one individual or one homeowner or one car owner. if the united states fails to pay its bills on time, every american -- everyone inside this room and everyone outside this room -- will suffer the consequences. we're not talking about risking foreclose on one house or losing one car. we're talking about the economy of our country grinding to a halt. if the united states stops paying our bills, our economy

takes a nosedive. i.t. as simple as that. -- it's as simple as that. and when i talk to my colleagues here on the senate floor, both republicans and democrats, they agree it is a no-brain area. you pay what you owe. you raise the debt ceiling. you don't default. it is common sense. the fact is, i was listening just the other day to the republican leader, senator mcconnell, who said, and i quote, america must never default on its debt, unquote. he said that a few days ago. i agree. but across on the other side of the capitol in the house of representatives, speaker mccarthy and the new majority composed of some very right-wing and extreme members, are taking their orders from former president donald trump. the same donald trump who as president signed three debt limit increases into law now -- now he wants republicans to use the debt limit as a club against

president biden. house republicans are stalling our efforts right now to pay our bills on time. even though they know, just as senator mcconnell knows, just as every senator here knows, that failing to do so would result in chaos and calamity for the country. it's a threat, madam president, designed to force the rest of the united states congress into enacting an extreme right-wing agenda. so let's be very clear. here's what house republicans are saying -- they're saying, you do what we want or else we'll tank the american economy. i think anybody hearing that proposition would recognize it for what it is -- a form of economic terrorism. but, maga republicans are holding the full faith and credit of the united states hostage to impose their agenda on the american people.

they've decided to politicize what should be a nonpartisan issue because democrats and republicans in the house and the senate have voted for programs to require us to raise the debt ceiling in the past. in fact, i think it would be important to know that we would not be here at this time on the senate floor having hit the debt ceiling and trying to work to make sure we avoid actually going over the cliff, we would not be here if it was not for the tax cuts that were passed during the trump administration. we would not be here at this particular moment. and, in fact, 25% of the total national debt was accumulated during the trump administration. 25% of the debt, the total debt of the united states, during the

trump administration. now you i want to be clear -- now, i want to be clear, i am not saying this is all republican debt. but it is vern i not all -- but it is certainly not all democratic debt. this is the debt of the country. this is the debt owed by uncle sam. what does the constitution of the united states tell us about how we treat america's debt? well, there's the 14th amendment amendment to the constitution right here. and what it says, and i'm quoting, the validity of the public debt authorized by law including debts incurred for the payment of pensions and bounties for services and suppressing insurrection or rebellion shall not be questioned, unquote. 14th amendment passed shortly after the civil war. and it's crystal clear that the obligation to pay america's debts is not a democratic obligation, it is not a

republican obligation; it's an american obligation. and beyond being the right thing to do, it's in the constitution of the united states. it's a national duty and a constitutional duty. so, as i listened to speaker mccarthy and his republican house colleagues, they want us to ignore the 14th amendment. they want to impose their reckless policies on the rest of us under threat of us doing what they want us to do. so i do want to be clear about what the consequences of this would be. i've talked in general terms about economic catastrophe. here's what it would mean. it would mean seniors going without social security benefits. it could mean troops going for weeks or even months without pay.

the men and women in uniform who are out there protecting our country. medicare -- medicare may not be able to cover the cost of a doctor's visit. those are just some of the governmental functions that could come to a grinding halt if we don't pay our debts on time. and we don't know the full extent of what would happen because, as i said, we've never been there before. this is unchartered territory. economists estimate a very dire toll. three million jobs lost, 130,000 $130,000 added to the cost of your average 30-year mortgage. i want everyone to hear that. the mortgage costs for homeowners would go up. and, of course, as the mortgage cost for homes owners goes up, the value for everyone who's always got a house also goes

down. retirement accounts in freefall. skyrocketing borrowing costs on car loans. and we'd be hit by this catastrophe just as we're recovering from the economic hit we took during the pandemic, and it would trigger an increase in costs just as we're beginning to turn the corner on inflation. so why would anyone do this? right? why would someone threaten to do this? and i've been listening very carefully to speaker mccarthy and republicans in the house and they say that they want to reduce the deficit and the national debt. that's what they say. but this is one of those situations where you always say, watch what they do, not what they say. and the reality is, republicans, through their action and their

records, they don't care about the deficit and the debt. that is not their priority. because if they really cared about the deficit and the debt, they would not have passed the 2017 trump tax cuts without a plan to pay for it, a tax cut, by the way, with disproportionately benefited the very, very rich and big, multinational corporations. because that tax cut, that giveaway to the very wealthy and big corporations, it increased the deficit by $2 trillion over ten years, added to our national debt. as i said, we wouldn't even be here today at this point in time but for the fact that republicans increased the deficit by $2 trillion. and, by the way, that's not my estimate that $2 trillion. that's from the nonpartisan congressional budget office. and if republicans really cared

about reducing the deficit and debt, they could have joined us just last year when we closed a umin of loopholes for big -- a number of loopholes for big corporations, a measure that reduced -- reduces the deficits by $238 billion over the next ten years. that's something democrats did. we didn't have a single republican vote here in the senate or the house for that. and if republicans really cared about reducing the deficit and debt, the republican-controlled house of representatives would not, as one of their very first measures, have passed a law to slash the funding that the irs desperately needs to enforce the law against wealthy tax cheats. let me say that again. they cut the moneys that the irs needs to enforce current tax law

against very wealthy americans and big corporations who are not paying what they owe today. they're getting away with cheating on their taxes, and republicans cut the money that the irs needs to go after them. and this is very explicitly, as the secretary of treasury said, talking about americans who earn more than $400,000 every year, including lots of multimillionaires and billionaires in the country. so when you say the irs can no longer have the funds to go after wealthy tax cheats, what happens? you collect less revenue from very wealthy people. and what happens when you collect less revenue from very wealthy people? you increase the deficit. and, being in, the nonpartisan queenal budget office says that the action the house already took would increase the deficit

by over $114 billion. this from the republicans in the house who are now threatening the united states not pay its bills, claiming that they care about the deficit and debt. when one of the very first actions they took was to increase it. so that's just not the case. i mean, their actions indicate they don't care about the deficit. what's it really about? so what republicans are really after is attacking critical investments that support the american people and have helped strengthen our country. as one republican strategist, grover norquist, once said -- it's about shrinking the government down to the size where you can, quote, drown it in the bathtub, unquote. and this house republican majority is desperate to cut and

decimate programs that americans need and that our future requires. so, for example, they want -- they want to cut some of the newest initiatives we undertook to supercharge american inno hevation. we passed legislation, the chips and science act, designed to maintain our technological edge over china and others. they want to cut it. they want to roll back be investments -- they want to roll back investments that we made that are already bringing more high-tech manufacturing jobs back to the united states. we want to ensure those manufacturing jobs. they want to continue to offshore those good jobs. they want to cut investments we're making 234 clean energy that will help us fight the climate crisis, strengthen the american workforce and yes also help us better cheat around the globe where china -- better compete around the globe where

china has a headstart when it comes to things like electric batteries. they want to cut pell grants this help millions of americans pursue a college degree. they want to cut investments we're they want to cut investments to modernize our national infrastructure, something that was very bipartisan here in the united states senate. that's important for our roads, our bridge, our transit systems, our ports, our airports. they want to cut it. and some are talking about cutting medicare and social security. so that's just a partial list of what house republicans are threatening to do and they're saying that if we don't all agree to that, they're not going to allow the united states to pay its bills on time. so, madam president, the bottom line here is when you look at the republican playbook, it's cutting investments that are important to the american people and important to the success of our country while pushing for

more tax cuts for the super wealthy. this is not -- super wealthy. this is not a movie. it's a rerun. trickle downeconomics and it's the same old playbook and here they go again. but here's the thing, madam president, we've been here before. some of us were here when this threat was last made. i vividly remember the year 2011. it was another moment when republicans were fresh, fresh after winning a majority in the house of representatives. i was in the house at the time. and then as now, republicans said they really cared about the deficit and the debt. and then as now, they threatened that they wouldn't pay the bills

on time. they won't -- we wouldn't vote to pay the bills of the country on time. and i remember back then that we sat down with them in good faith. president obama tapped vice president biden to lead the budget negotiations, and a small bipartisan and bicameral group of us were selected to try to hammer out a plan. i was part of those discussions. they took place just off the floor here down the hall, less than 15 yards. and we worked week after week after week. we negotiated and negotiated to try to hammer out an agreement. but here's what became very clear. the republican objective then, as now, was not to reduce the deficit and the debt.

the republican objective was simply to cut investments in important areas. they didn't want to raise one penny, not one dime to reduce the deaf soit or debt -- deficit or debt by closing tax breaks for very wealthy people. that was then. that's the same story today. if you look at the list of things they did back then, no tax breaks, no cutting tax breaks for the wealthy, cutting important programs, including medicare was very much part of their agenda, cutting medicare at the time. and we got we have close to tripping over the final cliff of the debt ceiling. like today we'd already hit the debt ceiling and the treasury department was taking extraordinary measures to prevent us from actually defaulting on our debts. in fact, we got so close to actually not paying our bills on

time that s&p downgraded america's credit for the first time in our history. they said you're getting very close to the fact where creditors of the united states aren't going to any more support -- they're not going to buy u.s. bonds. and in fact interest rates began to creep up just because of that, we got so close to the cliff. we came very close to going over that waterfall and crashing the economy. and so many of us learned a valuable lesson back then. i learned it, and i know that then-vice president, now vice president biden learned it. and that is you don't negotiate over whether or not the united states pays its bills on time. because all of us, democrats and republicans alike, have an

obligation, a responsibility to do that. but we also learned something i want to be equally clear about. we're not negotiating about the budget. we're happy to sit down any time with republican colleagues in the senate and the house to negotiate all aspects of the budget. we can talk about spending levels. we can talk about revenue levels. in fact, we have a budget process here. if speaker mccarthy and his colleagues want to do this under the regular process and do it in a bipartisan way, they have to pass a budget resolution. they outlined where they want to make cuts. i don't expect them to outline any proposed increases in revenue. but that's the place they would do that. and then we'll have a debate. i serve on the senate budget committee. i would look forward to that. i do look forward to that. i serve on the appropriations committee where we decide on

expenditures. that's the forum for negotiation. democrats are for negotiating on the budget. we welcome that. and then the american people would see exactly what everyone's budget priorities are. they would see that republicans want to protect tax breaks for the very wealthy while they want to cut investments that are very important to middle america. they would see all that during the budget process. but they want to short circuit that process. they instead want to say that they're not going to vote to pay our bills on time unless we all agree to their radical agenda. and so we're saying we're happy to negotiate. let's have a budget negotiation. but the negotiation isn't you get everything you want in exchange for democrats joining you to vote to pay our bills on time.

we didn't do that when president trump was in office. as i said, we voted three times to raise the debt limit. we didn't say you've got to accept all of our proposed efforts to get rid of tax breaks for the very wealthy. and yet what they're saying is, that we've got to accept their approach to deep cuts to important involvements in order for them to do what all of us have an obligation under the constitution to do, which is pay our bills on time. so, madam president, i hope all of us will do the simple thing mandated in the constitution as americans, not as democrats or republicans, as americans let's pay our bills on time. let's not crash our economy but, yes, as part of the normal budget process, let's have a conversation about spending and about revenue, but don't do it

while at the same time you're saying you're not going to let the united states pay our bills on time. as i said in the opening of my remarks, we've always paid our bills on time. if you don't do it, really bad things happen to all americans. so let's get that done and then let's have our conversation about budget priorities. madam president, i yield the floor.

aimed at landing the emergency declaration that went into effect during the covid pandemic. congressman why is it necessary to impose their creations and why in the now? >> it's extremely important to move forward.

the white house started moving forward after a bill that the same direction as of yesterday prove what we are saying is covid's and over. we still have covid cases and we have to be vigilant in protecting ourselves against covid. we have had 12 continuing decorations of emergency with three years in the pandemic. the pandemic is over and covid's and endemic so what happens is people need to understand the emergency declared by the health and human services secretary. that gives the executive branch certain powers in certain authorities that we think needs to be approved by congress. we only the governor country by executive fiat for three years in a row in examples of that in emergency certification of health care workers. when this first came in it was both administration secretary azar declared the emergency and when you declare emergency that's when the president is

able to use the defense production not forgetting respirators in the right place. president trump shipped an additional hospital for the citizens of new new york and new jersey's a lot of things had to take place amounts of emergency powers for the president biden make sure they have vaccines distributed even further. now we are three years into this we need to get back to normal so we have the bill. the bill is being debated in the rules committee. president biden announced he's going to end the emergency on may 11 so we think our effort to move this bill forward and there's a lot of work to be done. covid is still here and some of the mitigation situations need to stay in place. we have been asking the health and human services secretary for a year to produce a plan. if one exists we don't one

exists we don't know yet and now the president has set a date of may 11 unless the senate takes up our bill before were to doubt they will do then that means the majority in the house working with our colleagues on the other side of working with her friends in the senate and the health and human services secretary need to work together to make sure on may the 11th we have in place the flexibilities that are needed and undo the covid requirements that are there purely because of emergency. to make you said there's emergency power that needs to stay in place for neither emergency powers that even misused in your mind? >> for instance we have telehealth need to stay in place. we have learned in kentucky we have people that are some distance from their physician. the imprisonment of mark swadon by the government of china and the chinese government party. mark is from lulling, a small

city in my home state of texas. his mother, still lives in lulling. while mark eventually became a resident of houston, my hometown. for over ten years katherine has been waging a desperate battle to see her son again. in 2012, mark traveled to china on a business trip which turned into a nightmare. on november 13, 2012, mark was abducted by china's public security bureau while he was taking his family back home. a witness to the abduction has said that mark was detained because chinese officials wanted to view the contents of his cell phone. mark was accused of being a part of a criminal conspiracy with 11

other individuals to manufacture and traffic drugs. charges that mark has denied and which have been debunked over and over again. chinese authorities tried to coerce mark into confessing. he refused. and he pleaded not guilty in a trial that occurred in november 2013. during the trial, the prosecution didn't produce any forensic evidence to back up their allegations and no drugs were found on mark or in his hotel room. records and mark's passport show that he wasn't even in china during the time of the alleged offenses. and 11 other individuals indicted in relation to this alleged drug conspiracy couldn't identify mark.

nevertheless, outrageously, in 2019 a chinese court sentenced mark to death. mark remains unjustly detained today. he is suffering in a chinese prison right now as we speak. in prison mark has been kept in deplorable abusive conditions. his jailers seek to break his will and break his faith. they have confiscated his bible and his rosary. mark's cell exposes him to extreme heat and extreme cold. he's deprived of sleep and subjected to physical abuse.

he is in danger of high blood pressure, skin infections and asthma. he's lost more than 100 pounds. his health is dyer. through -- dire. throughout all of this, mark has been denied access to his family and access to american diplomats. mark has communicated with his mother, and his mother has told me and told the world that the chinese communist government has failed to break mark's faith which remains strong. i spoke with mark's mother earlier this week. this is a mom whose heart is breaking. this is a mom who wants to see

her son again. this is a mom who wants to hold and hug and care for the son she loves. the treatment of mark has been atrocious. so much so that even the united nations has called on china to release him. the working group on arbitrary detention, a u.n. group of human rights experts who investigate cases of arbitrary detention around the world found that mark is being held in violation of customary international law and international norms, including the universal declaration of human rights. the world can see that the chinese communist party is trying to use hostages and hostage taking as a tool of

statecraft. the chinese communist party says they want to be taken seriously as a great power and a great nation and they say they want to be respected on the global stage. but their treatment of mark is not how great nations and great powers behave. their treatment of mark is how third world des pits act. madam president, i have drafted and this week introduced a resolution calling on the chinese government and the chinese communist party to immediately release mark. i'm joined by my colleague from texas, senator cornyn and by representative cloud from texas in the house, who has introduced the same resolution in the house of representatives. this resolution not only calls for mark's immediate release, it's also condemns china for

withholding from mark access to his family and the proper medical care. furthermore, it calls upon the biden administration to prioritize efforts to secure mark's release, both in their conversation with chinese diplomats and an inter -- and in international forums. in a few days, secretary of state blinken will be in beijing, and he will have an opportunity to finish the final chapter of this tragedy. i'm calling on the biden administration to use all of the tools at our disposal to secure mark's release. and i'm calling on the government of china to finally release mark.

madam president, this ordeal has got to end. it has to end for mark. it has to end for his mother. it has to end for his family. we must and will do more so that mark can come home.

there is no good substitute for a plan but he can't solve the nation's biggest problems with out a plan, a plan we can debate in congress in which the american people can judge for themselves. this is especially true, especially true when it comes to the debt ceiling. later this afternoon president biden will meet with speaker mccarthy for their first one-on-one meeting and everyone is asking the same question as speaker mccarthy, what is your

plan? where is your plan with republicans? where's your plan speaker mccarthy? per day speaker mccarthy -- is forgetting something obvious to everyone else. if you don't have a plan you can't seriously pretend you are having any real negotiations. let me say that again until it's crystal clear. speaker mccarthy if you don't have a plan you can't seriously pretend you are having any real negotiation. speaker mccarthy showing up at the white house with our plan is like sitting down at the table with no cards in your hand and look we know why the speaker has struggled and is unable to produce a plan and delaying or avoiding it. he doesn't have the votes for one in all likelihood. some senate republicans want social security and medicare. others want to cut health care.

health care that americans depend on for medicaid and at least one republican is set on raising the debt ceiling no matter what. speaker mccarthy knows that it's next to impossible to pass a plan to his own house. certainly he can't do that. speaker mccarthy may claim he wants to negotiate but that's ultimately empty talk if the hard right has the power to reject whatever the speaker proposes. it's a toxic dynamic. sadly isn't going away anytime soon. when president trump was in office i sat down with him to talk about the importance of raising the debt ceiling and we didn't engage in threats or brinksmanship or hostagetaking. instead democrats presented a plan to move forward from there. it took a lot of preparation and tough decision-making. each time we got the job done. one more time, house republicans show us your plan.

you have an obligation to be transparent with the american people and if you don't have the votes to pass the plan let's just get the debt ceiling done. if the plan involves drastic cuts to millions of americans republicans have enough occasion to show the american people what those cuts are. americans could be faced with the very painful results of those proposed cuts. republicans owe it to the american people. speaker mccarthy owes it to the american people to stop dodging put pen to paper and explain clearly how congress is going to insure the united states does not default for the first time in history. democrats have a plan. raise the debt ceiling with our brinksmanship or hostagetaking as it's been done before. speaker mccarthy does not have a plan so he is not really negotiating and the clock is

ticking. >> the speaker of the house and the president will begin bipartisan discussions about the future of our governments borrowing and spending. it is right appropriate and entirely normal that are need to raise the debt limit would be paired with negotiations after democrats run away spending for the american people change control of the house because the voters wanted to constrain democrats run away reckless spending. the voters of this country looked at the trillions of dollars of partyline spending, the runaway inflation and the mountain of debt and last november they hit the brakes. we just experienced two years of washington democrats setting policy with out negotiating and

the american people put an end to it. some democrats are trying to rewrite history and pretend that republicans negotiations are unusual. that of course is just false. back end 2017 the senate democratic leader said the debt ceiling gave democrats quote leverage and broader talks. as new york's times explained back in 2017 then speaker pelosi and the democratic leader quote began formulating a plan to apply pressure jettisoning the idea of backing a straightforward or clean debt limit measure has a way to gain muscle in coming negotiations. that was the pelosi schumer playbook for the debt limit. to demand negotiations. here's how the democratic leader

put it himself at the time. he said the debt ceiling quote is another ample opportunity for bipartisanship, not for one party jamming it down the throats of the other. i chose democrats will be consistent with their past positions in the white house will waste no time beginning to customary bipartisan negotiations with new republican majority over in the house. the president of the united states does not get to walk away from the table. the same president who happily signed off on chileans chuluota dollars of needless partyline spending needs to begin to face negotiations on spending reforms with speaker mccarthy and do it today. congressman john largent is no stranger to c-span a member of the house ways & means committee and joins us over the years up

and to talk about programs and social security. in the season how would you describe the state of the social security program right now? >> the state of the program from a fiscal standpoint is fine because of the contributions that have been made. the danger is of course the congress hasn't done anything in 50 plus years to enhance the program and improve the benefits. a loaf of bread cost 72 cents in 1971 the last time social security had a major expansion of benefits. so while it sounded people should understand this is the full faith and credit of the united states, because of the neglect on the part of congress there hasn't been an increase. we don't have cola that works even though this year people are receiving larger cola merely because of covid in the end of

the pandemic but that needs to be changed permanently so that seniors and individuals who have a disability or on the program are able to get this financial backing. >> if what we were to expand our hands the benefits of social security about $1 trillion a year in the social security program right now, in 2021 that's 5% of gdp. back in 2001 social security was 4% of gdp so why is it expanding at a percentage of gdp if we aren't enhancing for expanding the program? >> 2000 baby boomers a day become eligible for social security and the baby boomers represent the largest group. at that rate with 10,000 becoming eligible a day and as you know from our past conversations social security and congress -- benefits will reduce across-the-board by 20%

in 2034. every year that congress delays doing something it gets harder to make up that difference and when i say harder i mean harder in terms of cost. social security needs to be paid for people know that the point that i is make and one that listeners understand, social security is not an entitlement plan. this is an earned benefit. how do people know that? all that to do is look at their fica stub. federal insurance contributions. they like to call it attacks but it's it's fica, federal insurance contributions. who's? yours and citizens know this and they understand it's an earned benefit and they are aghast when they learn congress hasn't done anything in over 50 years to enhance the program. we have 5 million people john,

5 million fellow americans that get below poverty level checks from social security having worked and paid into by millions. predominately women and women of color. 12,000, 800 but how do you live? on under $12,800? >> by enhancing the program can you take leader mccarthy at his word when he says cuts to social security are off the table when it comes to what may happen here a negotiation about the debt limit? consideration of s.223 introduced earlier today. the presiding officer: the clerk will report. the clerk: s. 223, a bill to amend the controlled substances act, to fix a technical error in

the definitions. the presiding officer: is there objection to proceeding to the measure? without objection, the senate have proceed to the measure. ms. cortez masto: i ask unanimous consent that the bill many considered read a third time and passed and that the motion to reconsider be be be considered made and laid on on upon the table. the presiding officer: without objection. ms. cortez masto: mr. president, i ask unanimous consent that the judiciary committee be discharged from further consideration and the senate now proceed to s. resolution 11. the presiding officer: the clerk will report. the clerk: senate resolution 11, designating the week of january 22, through january 28, 2023, as national school choice week. the presiding officer: is there objection to proceeding to the measure? without objection, the committee is the discharged and the senate will precede to the measure. ms. cortez masto: i ask unanimous consent that the resolution be agreed to, the preamble be agreed to, and that the motions to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table. the presiding officer: without objection. ms. cortez masto: mr. president, i ask unanimous consent that at senate proceed

to the consideration of s. res. 22 submitted earlier today. the presiding officer: the clerk will report. the clerk: senate resolution 22, congratulating south dakota state university jackrabbits on winning the 2023 ncaa division 1 football championship title. the presiding officer: is there objection to proceeding to the measure? without objection. the senate will proceed to the measurements. ms. cortez masto: i ask unanimous consent the resolution be agreed to, the preamble be agreed to, and that the motions to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table, with no intervening action or debate. the presiding officer: without objection. ms. cortez masto: mr. leader, i understand there are two bills at the desk and i ask for their first reading en bloc. the presiding officer: the clerk will report the titles of the bills for the first time enen bloc. the clerk: s. 214 had a bail to allow reciprocity for the caring of certain concealed firearms. s. 219, a bill to provide that

members of congress may not receive pay after october 1 of any fiscal year in which congress has not approved a concurrent resolution on the budget and passed the regular appropriations bills. ms. cortez masto: i now ask for a a second reading and object to i moo own request, all en bloc. the presiding officer: objection is heard. the bills will receive their second reading on the next legislative day. ms. cortez masto: mr. president, i ask unanimous consent that when the senate completes its business today, it stand adjourned until 10:00 a.m. on thursday, february 2, that following the prayer and pledge, the morning hour be deemed expired, the journal of proceedings be approved to date, the time for the two leaders be reserved for their use later in the day, and morning business be closed. further, that following the conclusion of morning business, the senate proceed to executive session to consider the falk nomination. at 1:45 p.m.,est senate vote on

confirmation of the falk nomination. if confirmed, the motions to reconsider with respect to the falk and zach hymn nominations be considered and laid on the table and the president be immediately notified of the senate's action. the presiding officer: without objection, so ordered. ms. cortez masto: if there is to further business to combehalf the senate, a i ask that it understand is adjourned under the previous order. the presiding officer: the senate stands adjourned until 10:00 a.m. tomorrow.