[inaudible conversations] >> this afternoon, the head of the american federation of teachers. randy wine garden, the impacts that school closures had on students and educators and the school reopening guidance. held by house subcommittee on the coronavirus pandemic. watch live 2 p.m eastern on c-span 3 and watch in our free mobile video app c-span now or online at c-span.org. >> a healthy democraty doesn't just look like this. it looks like this where americans can see democracy at work when citizens of truly

informed our republic thrives. get informed straight from the source on c-span, unfiltered, unbiased, word for word. from the nation's capital to wherever you are. because the machine that matters the most is your own. this is what democracy looks likes. c-span, powered by cable. >> the u.s. senate is coming in for more work on a nomination to the veterans affairs department. lawmakers are also expected to consider veterans medicinal cannabis use and epa rule on emissions standards for heavy trucks. several vote series are planned throughout the day. now live to the floor of the senate here on c-span2. the presiding officer: the senate will come to order. the chaplain, dr. barry black, will lead the senate in prayer.

the chaplain: let us pray. almighty god, whose power moves in the changes of the seasons and in the beauty of the stars, let your gentle strength live in our hearts. today, infuse our senators with your wisdom so that they will walk in the path of your will. lord, keep them faithful. may your love empower them to grow in knowledge and judgment so that they will be able to choose what is best. amid the haste and hurry of their labors, remind them to spend time with you in order to

experience the joy and strength of your presence. make their lives gifts of your love to a hurting nation and world. we pray in your sovereign name, amen. the presiding officer: please join me in reciting the pledge of allegiance to the flag. i pledge allegiance to the flag of the united states of america, and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under god, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. the presiding officer: the clerk will read a communication to the senate. the clerk: washington d.c, april 26, 2023.

to the senate: under the provisions of rule 1, paragraph 3, of the standing rules of the senate, i hereby appoint the honorable peter welch, a senator from the state of vermont, perform the duties of the chair, signed patty maury, president pro tempore. the presiding officer: under the previous order, the leadership time is reserved. morning business is closed. under the previous order, the senate will proceed to executive session to resume consideration of the following nomination, which the clerk will report. the clerk: nomination, department of veterans affairs, joshua david jacobs of washington to be under secretary for benefits.

what have you been told about what to expect?

>> we did hear the long hours of the workload last night and some of the members of the republican majority were not on board. there were four individual agendas including work requirements, recipients of benefits were snapped recipients for medicaid recipients so we are looking to see what the details are regarding those decisions that were made early this morning. >> the work requirements in particular that was part of the package introduced past thursday by kevin mccarthy implement some new requirements for some recipients of some animal aid including medicaid was your view that? >> i think that from the human rights health access to healthcare, is a human right

particularly in the biggest country in the world we are not up to the work requirements is a bit aggressive and part of the past as we move forward to make health care more accessible to insulin at $35 a bottle to be able to negotiate prices on prescriptions and rebut the dramatic impact that pandemic had no denied access to public health care insurance, medicare is somewhat aggressive. >> but facing health challengeshimself . >> we would remind viewers of the key points that house

republicans are proposing in their debt ceiling plan. just to add to some of the modifications made in the last two refinancings 24, reduced spending in fiscal year 2022 level, limit future pending ruth covers him covid funds and as we talked about work requirements for federal aid which crawled the irs funds approved in the inflation reduction act blocked student debt cancellation also as well reform and clean energy tax credits the decision has announced congressman, we're hearing that republican caucus itself, they may not have the votes in the conference to pass this package today, what would you tell us? >> we believe that's the case is the case because of the

proposal. it's a proposal that will cut funding for schools, access to childcare, force communities to lay off thousands of first responders and take away seniors. this is really a rough proposal and movies announced yesterday when curtailed the economic wealth of our nation . this is a job killer as well as disallowing. access particularly that need us to have access to some of the basic benefits our nation is known for is characteristic of the united states and. >> the president has said it would veto this legislation while not coming to his desk

to end up back at square one with the debt ceiling deadline facing default in this country. >> is been done 78 times in the past administration there were administrations and republican administrations so we're not vetoing something that has not been done in the past it has been extended in the past and it's a piece of work congress does on a regular basis so to put the greatest economy of the world in jeopardy, to pull us back into a national recession with trigger 800,000 jobs being lost in the economies stall. i think we're in an extreme position and from that.

>> your calls will the lines are republicans 202 and 48,001 press 202 48 8000 dollars 202748 8002 hundred congressman mission headline from the washington examiner, apologist gave you their long-awaited border and all over as, as is five lands. prescreening actions of some were it would increase the size of .a horror gradual and attention were modernized surveillancetechnology .

policemen, first responders, border patrol and brave veterans all hanging out to dry. for those who worry about gun violence, crime, and keeping our communities safe, the default on america act will wipe out nearly

30,000 law enforcement, while also gutting critical resources to secure the border. donald trump told house republicans to defund law enforcement, and so the default on america act, on cue, does just that. that's what the default on america act does. and not just that. it would eliminate over 142,000 new jobs, including 18,000 manufacturing jobs that have been created since the inflation reduction act was passed. if you're a parent struggling to pay for child care, the default on america act will eliminate more on this 105,000 child care slots,making it harder for parents to find work, finish education or provide for families. if you know someone who struggled with addiction, this bill worsens the opioid epidemic by cutting critical hhs programs by over $10 billion in the next decade. that's the definition of cruelty. if you want to go to college,

the republican package will slash pell grants for all students by $1,000, and even le limb nate -- eliminate pell grants for tens of thousands of americans. for those who worry about gun violence and keeping communities safe, the default on america act wipes out 30,000 law enforcement positions, while you the gutting critical resources to secure the border. again, donald trump told house republicans to default law enforcement, and the default on america act, on cue, does just that. put plainly, the house republicans are hellbent on default, one way or another. either a default on the debt or a default on everything else, on our future, our children, our promise to care for our kids, veterans, law enforcement and first responders. no matter what happens, republicans are promising real pain for american families. just what happened -- and what happened just a few hours ago in

the wee hours of the morning? plainly, speaker mccarthy capitulated even further to the hard right. again, if anything, this revised billing is -- bill is even more extreme, a more radical version of the default on america act. it brings us no closer to avoiding a default on the national debt. let me be clear -- democrats cannot and will not allow the republicans' doa act to ever become law. it is doa, plain and simple. if republicans refuse to level with the public about the terrible things their default act on america will do to them, democrats will do the work ourselves. we'll let america know how bad this is, because republicans are intent on hiding it. they know how unpopular it would be. in the meantime, speaker mccarthy needs to recognize that all the energy he is putting into the passing the default act on america will be wasted effort. the speaker should drop the

brinksmanship, drop the hostage-taking, come to the table with democrats, pass a clean bill to avoid default. given where the republican proposal is, that's the only way to go. time is running out. on the era, -- on the e.r.a., tomorrow the senate will have the chance to take the next major step on the effort a century in the making, ratifying the equal rights amendment under the constitution. the story of american democracy has been an uneven but inexorable march towards greater equality for all people. america's foundation contains a simple premise -- no matter who you are, where you come from, you too deserve equal treatment under the law. the senate will have a chance tomorrow to bring our country one step closer to greater equity, by voting on a bipartisan resolution regarding the equal rights amendment. the mesh your -- the measure is simple, it recognizes that 35 states have legitimately ratified the amendment.

it will remove an arbitrary deadline set decades ago that invalidated the ratification that occurred in a few states. the states did the work, just not in the required time imposed on them a very long time ago. i believe the senate should now remove that obstacle. because we must act -- and we must act now, because the equal rights amendment has never been more necessary than today. to the hor-off of -- horror of hundreds of millions of people, women in america have fewer rights today than a year ago. prot he texts of roe v. wade are gone, thanks to the maga majority on the supreme court. over a dozen states have near-total abortion bans, and tens of millions of people have to travel hundreds of miles to access reproductive care. that's sickening. we cannot claim that america is a nation of equal justice when half of its citizenry languishes on with fewer rights, less

dignity, and limited recourse turned the constitution. that's why the senate must vote in favor of advancing this e.r.a. resolution tomorrow, so we can bring our nation one step closer to greater justice, greater equality and equal rights for all people, regardless of gender. thank you to senators cardin and murkowski for championing this resolution. i look forward to voting in its favor tomorrow. finally, the senate will take the first procedural vote on legislation to care for our nation's veterans, spearheaded by my good friend, senator tester, head of the veterans committee. the elizabeth dole veterans program improvement act of 2023 is the union of a number of important and impactful bills that will strengthen the v.a., improve caregiver program, expand home and community-based services for vets and ultimately give greater dig dplit to those who -- dignity to those who defended the nation. this is what the senate should

work on to build on the success of the pact act. this is far-reaching and will make an enormous difference in the lives of our veterans. i want to thank senator tester, moran, and members from both sides of the aisle for working on this important veterans package, and i yield the floor. what we haven't seen as their tax plans either to generate revenue . we don't know whether they're going to go ahead and provide

dramatic taxbreaks for the very rich . so tying the debt ceiling to these cuts is the wrong way to approach it. a lot of this could be undone by the mere fact they presented their proposal. this could be a worldwide recession and i'm not exaggerating. this could be the most prestigious economic advisers across the world from each organizationare saying that so i think they're playing with fire . they've only done this 78 times without harming anybody and we can still have a civil discussion about the effectiveness but i agree we should have a plan to reduce the deficit in america. i don't think we should be saddled with a very large deficit as we have in the past decades.

but let's have that discussion and the by an administration as a plan for deficit reduction. it should not be done in the middle of this duty of this color issue that has been addressed so many times throughout history. >> to jerry from oklahoma, republican line. >> we're talking about a bunch of different issues here, we're talking about immigration and the budget. i have no problem with immigrants who want a better life and come over here. i would just like to know what they're planning to do. i want to know if they don't like our country and they don't like our people then why are they coming here ? with the budget, we won't even know.

i watch all the different news channelchannels and i watched c-span and one news channel tells you one thing another tells you another thing but there's no negotiation . if the publicans, with the democrats say no we're not talking. if the democrats, but it did republicans say no we're not even talking. it's a joke and it makes no sense to me. i like the idea from add on-based immigration. if there's a four on, come on over. we need a big door to allow people in just coming in by the thousands of thousands, we have to have some kind of handle it seems thatdemocrats don't care about that . the people, we do care. so that's all i've got to say there. >> guest: that was a lot but

i'll start with the first notion thatimmigrants don't like america . they actually do love america. you see the huge line of citizenship classes, the huge line to learn english as a secondlanguage . the backlog of folks seeking to learn english as a second language . i think they love this nation very much and the american experience i think is one that many countries around the world particularly in this hemisphere anyways so i believe emigrants love this country and dreamers are small business owners, they are homeowners. they arevery much part of the fabric . there are no different than someone that may have been

years or two years old when they got here but now they are very much part of it. many of them are workers, they were therefor us when we needed them . i believe that's the nature of our nation. our nation demands a certain type of behavior for those that have these opportunities so you cannotbecome a us citizen if you broken the law . if you the law you will not be allowed in nor will you be allowed to become a citizen so it rewards good behavior and it rewards hard work. that applies to those immigrants so i believe we should have comprehensive

immigration reform but if we don't have the political will to do it right now let's work on the dreamers . let's work on the daca recipients. let's make sure that we reduce the backlog and that they're able to petition and have that family stronger, united together. americans at democrats, that's what family values are for. >> you mentioned the dreamers and the president recently last week was expanding some migrant health care access. choosing the deferred action, delayed action for children of immigrants who came to this country. now multiple no longer children anymore yet we approach this, the country

seems to approach it from a piecemeal process . >>

legislatures across the board, no matter who's doing it. why can't the left be as consistent? look at their side's growing hostility to the very independence of our judicial branch. a few weeks ago when one federal judge issued a ruling with judge issued a ruling with .. suggesting that politicians should just openly disobey, just openly disobey the judge's rulings. those suggestions are toxic and, frankly, anti-american. it was wrong when president andrew jackson tried to ignore the court way back in the 1830's. it was dead wrong when governor

faubus defied the court on civil rights in the 1950's, and wrong also today when the democratic party brings all of that back. the attacks on the judiciary don't stop there. in 2020, our colleague, the democratic leader, stood on the steps, the very steps of the supreme court and threatened justices by name. by name. with a rule of retaliation if they failed to rule the way he wanted. then after top democrats encouraged mob outrage over a leaked draft opinion, president biden's attorney general failed to enforce clear federal law and put a stop, a stop to illegal protests that sought to intimidate the justices at their private family homes.

recently a number of senate democrats have gone so far as to propose defunding security needs for the justices and their families if chief justice roberts didn't reorganize internal matters the way democrats would prefer. so after fanning the flames of violence against a branch of government, democrats now want to defund the justice's ability to protect themselves and their families if certain senators don't get their way. they're trying to turn impartial judges into partisan hostages. this is really beyond irresponsible. and then of course there are the desperate and never-ending attempts to smear and defame justices appointed by republican

presidents going back years and decades. over the last few weeks two justices have been particularly subjected to a carousel of character assassination. i'm sure it will be another justice's turn again before too long. this is simply how the far left treats the rule of law. let me just repeat that i have total confidence in justice gorsuch, justice thomas, and all seven of nature distinguished colleagues -- seven of their distinguished colleagues, no matter who appointed them, no matter who appointed them. just yesterday all nine justices explained in a statement their joint approach to maintaining their high ethical standards. unlike the activists and elected

democrats trying to tear them down, the justices have proven their sobriety and their judicial temperament over their long and distinguished careers. now on another matter, today the senior senator from nebraska will advance a resolution to push back on the biden administration's war against american energy and american industry. senator fischer's resolution responds to the biden administration's new plan to hike already stringent vehicle emission standards even higher. this latest rule on nitrogen oxide emissions takes direct aim at the sort of trucks and heavy equipment that literally drive our entire economy. back in 2021, climate activists got the president to invoke, quote, environmental justice,

end quote, in an executive order rolling out its so-called clean trucks plan. the same bureaucrats who can't control inflation or secure the border want to even more closely micromanage the heavy vehicles allowed on our roads. never mind that the nitrogen oxide emissions of new trucks on the market are already -- listen to this -- already 98% to 99% lower than they were as recently as the late 1990's. but the epa's own estimates, the new technology required to meet the latest arbitrary benchmarks could jack up truck prices by as much as $8,304

each. each. listen to what the truckers themselves have to say. a small business owner can't afford the new compliant trucks, they're going to stay with older, less efficient trucks or leave the industry entirely. leave the industry entirely? higher price trucks, fewer drivers, higher costs for consumers' goods, that's an outcome working families and supply chains simply can't stomach. so i want to express my gratitude to senator fischer for bringing this resolution forward. i would urge each of our colleagues to support it.

i suggest the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. quorum call:

quorum call:

we welcome aruna viswanatha back to "washington journal." you and your colleagues at the journal last week broke the in the case of hunter biden. what did that whistleblower report? what's the latest? >> guest: thanks for having me on. great to be here. so the irs has a criminal investigations unit and that unit, agents from that unit in addition to the fbi are involved in this investigation into hunter biden's taxes and financial dealings. and what this person, this person is a supervisor of a group of agents irs criminal agency been working on this investigation and we don't yet know a lot about the specific

allegations but what he has told congress are with his attorney has told congress is that he has specific information about a senior political appointee saying something in sworn testimony this individual believes it is not accurate. he has information about specific political favoritism the scenes be shown to hunter biden that other individuals caught up in similar investigations may not be shown and he said he has specific evidence to back this up with not seen that. he has led to congress that he has this information to share with us. >> host: back up a bit. you said the criminal investigation they are looking into hunter biden's taxes. what do we know? what information do we know they're looking into? >> guest: so we have known for a few years this investigation has been underway had a bite himself disclose to back in the fall of 2020 right after the presidential election.

at that point investigation appear to be brought. investigators were asking questions about his business dealings in ukraine and china, his finances and what we know is over the past couple of years they have narrowed the scope and what they really appeared to be honing in on right now is a few specific tax charges and then one gun charge which didn't get into more. >> host: tell us about the gun charge as well. >> guest: okay. there are central four charges they seem to be looking at is what we're told. two or misdemeanors didn't file your taxes charges. a third tax tax charge involves potentially evading his taxes through certain business expenses, and the fourth when is this gun charge where he appeared to have lied on an application to get a gun back in 2018. >> host: is this report, is this letter by the whistleblower on this investigation, does this mean that now congress will be

looking intohe the whistleblowes report? mr. president, one of president biden's favorite things to talk about is giving families, quote, a little bit of breathing room, unquote. it's a phrase he uses frequently, just as he also frequently talks about growing the economy, quote, from the middle out and the bottom up, not from the top down, end quote. he used both phrases in a speech just last week. and frankly, mr. president, it's somewhat staggering to me that he continues to talk like this because the biden economy is the story of taking away americans' breathing room. it is the story of declining purchasing power for lower- and middle-income families, of wages that don't keep pace with increased costs, of stretched budgets and difficult spending decisions. president biden has presided

over an historic inflation crisis that has kept american families struggling just to keep up. according to the u.s. department of agriculture in february to 23 a -- in february 20, if a cost-effective meal plan for a family of four cost $the 74.40 per month. two years earlier, that same family would have had to spend $674.80. that is a 45% increase, mr. president. a 45% increase. the biden economy is costing that family of four an additional $304 a month for groceries. or $3,655 per year. more. and again, that's just on groceries. i don't need to tell anyone that plies have risen across -- that prices have risen across the

board since biden took office. a recent cnbc survey found that 77 0% of americans are feeling stretched. the majority of americans are living paycheck to package. it is no surprise given that nation has outpaced wage growth. meaning that under the biden administration, americans have received a de facto pay cut. americans are cutting back on spending, dipping into savings or charging expenses to their credit card to help make ends meet. bloomberg reports on a growing trend of relying on, quote, buy now, pay later, end quote, apps for everyday purchases noting that, and i quote, u.s. consumers are increasingly using such installment loans to pay for over-day items like groceries, highlighting the

financial pain wrought by the worst financial pain in decades. credit card debt hit a record high in the final quarter of 2022 and nearly half of americans are carrying balances from month to month. more than two-thirds are saving less than they did a year ago. and the list goes on. put simply, mr. president, if president biden wanted to create more breathing room for americans, he's failed. in fact, president biden has taken away americans' breathing room. and there's little relief in sight. now, i don't need to tell anyone that one of the main reasons we're in the midst of this inflation crisis is because of democrats' and the president's decision to pass the so-called american rescue act, ways $1 .9 trillion spending spree that flooded our economy with unnecessary government money. democrats were warned that their bill would cause inflation, and they proceeded anyway.

and the economy overheated as a result. even worse, despite steadily climbing inflation in the wakes of their bill, democrats seemed determined not to recognize their mistake and instead of acknowledging that their oversized spending bill helped set off inflation, democrats kept pursuing more spending and more damaging economic policies. there's the $5 trillion big government vision they call build back better but should probably been named, more aptly, build back broke -- or bankrupt. the so-called inflation reduction act has imposed a series of new taxes that are driving up americans' energy costs. the president's reckless student loan giveaway which could end up costing american taxpayers close to $a trillion. and there's more and the bad ideas just keep coming. the president recently released his budget proposal which would

increase spending every year until the federal budget reaches an eye eye-watering $10 trillion in the year 2033. $10 trillion. for comparison, let me just point out that the entire federal budget for 2019 -- and that's the last budget before the pandemic, wasnd 4.4 trillion. president biden wants to more than double that. t.d. 4.4 trillion tods 10 trillion. then there is the latest idea from the white house which is punishing americans with good credit scores if they purchase a house. that's right, mr. president. think about this one. the biden administration has announced a new policy which is set to go into effect on may 1 that would impose higher mortgage fees on americans with

higher credit scores, and the highest fees on americans would make a substantial down payment. now if you save and are able to make a 20% down payment on a home, you're going to pay more under the biden administration plan. these higher fees would then go to subsidize mortgages for americans with lower credit scores. in other words, think about it this way -- the biden administration is targeting hardworking americans who save, little gently pay their bills, and build good credit in order to subsidize mortgages for higher-risk borrowers. it is the microcosm of biden's big government policies -- punish our work, punish financial discipline, punish success, and redistribute the wealth. squeeze middle-class americans, force hardworking taxpayers to

fund democrats' socialist visions. they literally are socializing mortgage payments. that's what it amounts to. nothing more, nothing less. because, let's be very clear, president biden likes to talk about forcing better-off americans to pay for his policies. and he likes to claim that he isn't going to raise taxes on americans making less than $400,000 a year, but this new mortgage policy is going to hit thousands and thousands of middle-class americans making ordinary salaries whose own crime is that they worked hard, saved money and have been responsible with their debt. the president can talk all you likes about making wealthy americans pay their fair share. the truth is it is lower- and middle-income americans who are suffering because of the president's policies.

this summer another economic issue will come to play, the debt limit. the united states will reach the limit of its borrowing capacity and congress will have to pass and the president will have to sign legislation to raise the debt ceiling to enable the united states to pay our debts. needless to say, that will require negotiations between the president and congress, something the president has so far refused to engage in. why? because the president doesn't want an increase in the debt limit to be paired with any measures that might cut spending or actually do something to reduce the debt. i suppose that's not a surprising position from someone who wants to increase the size of the federal budget to a staggering $10 trillion. but it is a deeply problematic position, both because it ignores the increasing danger represented by our ever-increasing national debt and because it is a unrealistic

position. in a divided government, a refusal to negotiate cannot be an option. and if the president doesn't want to go down in history as the president who forced the united states to default on its debt, needs to start engaging in negotiations. else republicans are putting forward a serious bill to restrain excess spending while protecting the full faith and credit of the united states. the president needs to join the speaker at at at the negotiating table a responsible spend something reforms might not inundo -- might not undo the problems, but it could put us on a more sustainable path for the future and they could spare americans some of the economic pain that would result from more of president biden's reckless government spending. mr. president, i yield the floor. i suggest the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll.

quorum call: quorum call:

>> host: we welcome aruna viswanatha back to the "washington journal," senior reporter with the "wall street journal" and reporting on the hunter biden investigation. you and your colleagues at the journal last week broke the story about an irs whistleblower in the case of hunter biden. what did that whistleblower report, what's the latest on that? >> guest: so thanks for having me on. great to be here. so the irs has a criminal investigations unit and that unit agents from that unit in addition to the fbi are involved in this investigation into

hunter biden's taxes and financial dealings. this person is a supervisor and of a group of agents, irs, agents that an working on this investigation and we don't yet know a lot about the specific allegations of what he has told congress or what his attorney is told congress is that he has specific information about a senior political appointee saying something in sworn testimony that this individual believes is not accurate. he has information about specific lyrical favoritism that seems to be shown to hunter biden that other individuals caught up in similar investigations may not be shown, and he said he has specific evidence to back this up but we've not yet seen that. he has relayed to congress he asked this information. >> host: back up a a bit. you said the criminal investigation and looking into hunter biden's taxes, what do we

know, what information do we know they're looking into? >> guest: we have known for a few years now that this investigation has been underway, hunter biden himself disclosed it back in the fall of 2020 right after the presidential election. and at that point investigation appear to be pretty broad. investigators were asking about his business dealings in ukraine, in china, his finances. and what we know is over the past couple of years they have narrowed the scope and what they really appeared to be honing in on now is a few specific tax charges and then this one gun charge which i i can get intoe and a bit. >> host: tell us about the gun charge as well. >> guest: okay. there are essentially four charges they seem to be looking at. two are misdemeanors didn't file your taxes kind of charges. a third tax charge involves potentially evading his taxes through certain business

expenses, and the fourth one is this gun charge where he appeared to have lied on an application to get a gun back in 2018. >> host: is this report, is this letter by the whistleblower on this investigation, does this mean that now congress would be looking into the whistleblowers report? is unlikely to be hearing on what this whistleblower has to say? >> guest: right. taxpayer information is among the most protected within the u.s. government. since this individual works at the irs and involves an investigation into an individual taxpayer, it's not as easy as going to congress and saying here's my information. they have to, there's a lot of protections in place. with congress there's only two or three committees that specifically focus on tax issues that are even authorized to potentially get information about individual taxpayers and we saw this play out the past couple of years with the effort to get former president donald trump's tax returns.

so here these committees have to grant him lower status and authorize him to provide his information. we will see that process play out over the next few months i think. they will give him that status. he will come in and show what he has to share, and after that may be we will start to hear more publicly what that information is. >> host: tell us about the structure of the criminal investigation being headed by david weiss in terms of can s the lead investigator can he bring charges against -- will he be able to bring charges against hunter biden or does have to go to the attorney general? >> guest: right. david weiss is the u.s. attorney in delaware. he was appointed in the trump administration, not really known as a real political act of longtime delaware lawyer when merrick garland came in with the biden administration he camp david weiss on and said i'm going to have him run this

investigation to give it sort of a modicum of impartiality. it doesn't look like the biden administration is directing what happens in it. u.s. attorneys have wide latitude to bring cases they think are appropriate. in specific instances like in tax cases they have to get signoff from the tax division at justice barrett headquarters but that doesn't mean they need the attorney general sign-up. >> host: besides there close to some sort of movement whether an indictment or otherwise? >> guest: it does seem like we have to assume they are getting close to it we have heard from mines investigators at least some of the agents and probably had enough to charge and. we understand there's been a bit of a delay, prosecutors are weighing various other factors. they have to consider. given some of this activity dates back to 2018 you have an election that sort of will be

underway soon. we have to assume this is going to get resolved within the next, a decision we will see a decision being made from our guest united states is a senior reporter for the "wall street journal." her regular beat is coming national security issues, the fbi, the justice department. we are particularly focusing on the hunter biden investigation, criminal investigation here and reporting of her and some of our colleagues and "wall street journal" on a whistleblower letter to congress. we welcome your calls and, on the investigation. 202-748-8001 the life for republicans. 202-748-8000 for democrats and independents and others 202-748-8002. we'll get to calls momentarily but but i thought it would be worthwhile to hear from what merrick garland had to say about the whistleblower report back in forth with senator chuck grassley at hearing last week. let's take a look at that.

>> recent lawfully protected whistleblower disclosures to my office indicate that the justice department and the fbi had at one time over a dozen sources that provide potentially criminal information relating to hunter biden. the alleged volume and similarity of the information would be banned if the justice department investigates the truth and accuracy of the information. according to, accordingly, what steps has a justice department taken to determine the truth and accuracy of information provided? congress and the american people i think have a right to know. >> so as the committee well knows from my confirmation hearing i promise, i promise to lead the matter of hunter biden in the hands of the u.s. attorney for the district of delaware who was appointed in the previous administration. so any information like that should have gone or should or should have gone to that use attorneys offices and the fbi

squad that's working with him. i have pledged not to interfere with that investigation and i have carried through on my pledge. >> and april 2022 you testified to senator hagerty that the hunter biden investigation was insulated from political interference because it was assigned to as you just now told me to the delaware attorney's office. however, that could be misleading because without special counsel authority he could need permission of another u.s. attorney in certain circumstances to bring charges outside the district of delaware. delaware. i would like clarification from you with respect to these concerns. >> the u.s. attorney in delaware has been advised that he has full authority to make those kinds of referrals that you're talking about or to bring cases in other jurisdictions if he feels it's necessary. and i will assure that if he does he will be able to do that.

>> host: aruna viswanatha, what the attorney general they are clearly tied those firewalls that he said he would on his confirmation about hunter biden. >> guest: that's right. they have taken a hands-off approach soul investigation and some of them probably couldn't even pick david weiss out of a lineup. >> host: the nature of the whistleblowers letter is to the effect of may have been some undue influence in that investigation. tell us more about that. >> guest: so he is saying he has evidence that has direct knowledge of some kind of interference and political favoritism. we don't yet know the specifics of what he's alleging but he is saying that there is some. we don't yet know who exactly he's alleging potentially meddled in this investigation of what exactly they did but that is what he's alleging. >> host: has that led by the whistleblower been released publicly? >> guest: it is been sent to

congress and several committees, and i believe some of them may have released it but i'm not certain. >> host: let's get to our callers. we'll go to richard who's on the republican line in savannah, georgia. good morning richard. go ahead. >> caller: good morning. my question is about the letter prior to the election where they said that the laptop was disinformation. now it's been said and confirm that antony blinken actually started a letter and then after the election obviously became secretary of state. so my question is, you know, is number one, d.c. compromised, is biden compromised? you know, around with china et cetera but should antony blinken be impeached? thank you. >> guest: in terms of that

letter that these intelligence officials wrote before the election, that was specifically about that laptop that was part of the investigation. as far as we know right now the investigation and the charges he is facing don't specifically relate to the contents of that laptop. and so i don't have that much information on the laptop. >> host: on the investigation has hunter biden met with that criminal investigation unit? >> guest: they are working, so the way it works generally the team at the irs criminal unit and the fbi agents would be the ones that investigate the case and then bring it to david weiss and his fellow prosecutors. so they're working together on this. >> host: next up is mike in new jersey. good morning. >> caller: thank you. thank you for your reporting and essentially what went on. i have two simple questions. this case has been going on for five years.

tax evasion involves a very simple matter. did you write a check to the irs for how much income tax you owe, or did you not? it doesn't require corroborating witnesses et cetera, et cetera, et cetera. this leads me to believe that this thing has been absently covered up. because if you deal with the irs, i can tell you you get resolved within the year. five years for a check is ridiculous. so that's the first question in terms of the specificity of this charge and how easily it would've been to resolve under most circumstances. did he write a check to the irs? the second question i have is more essentially, the biden family has been receiving money for a variety of reasons. there's 12 people that are named as essentially recipient of those monies. are those people being investigated for tax evasion? thank you very much.

i'll listen. >> guest: thanks. so right, it's a good question why has it taken so long. what we do know is that for at least dating back to 2018 through 2020 the investigation was much broader than just tax evasion. he was looking at a variety of charges. they were looking at his work in ukraine with these chinese business partners, and our understanding is that took some time to narrow in on what they believed they could prove. we do know they did arrive at this conclusion that they could at least some investigators arrived at a conclusion they thought they could prove some counts against him quite a while ago, but we know that prosecutors have been waiting for a lot of other factors over the course of many months. we do expect to see some kind of resolution in the coming months, but it is a good question why it is taken so long.

>> host: bob is going from eleanor on the democrat's line. good morning. good morning, c-span. you know, do they understand that, the republicans understand, that biden had a son that died? i mean, front and center, i mean, that doesn't mean he shouldn't be investigated, his other son. but make it front and center how -- trump kids bott, made saudi arabia by that. make them the front and center. it's been years since they had been, i mean, they have ice cubes in their veins. they're getting on him and i think he shouldn't be investigated, whatever. but my goodness. i mean, it's just so obvious that they are so mean. i guess that's all i've got to say. >> host: onto rick in

manchester missouri republican line. go ahead, rick. >> caller: thank you. and i'm glad i get to follow the caller, democrat using the what about is him. so for me i look back at the scandal of following the money. sorry if i hearken to like hollywood and all the president's men, but seeing the hard-core, the hard-nosed investigative reporting that went into eventually lead to the resignation of richard nixon. in this they need to there so many other mr. merkley: i ask that the quorum call be lifted. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. merkley: it was john quincy adams who said if your actions inspire others to dream more and become more, you are a leader. for the last 14 years the members of my team have had an outstanding leader in our chief of staff, michael zaymore who constantly and consistently inspired the team and mean to

dream, to grow, to strive to do better every single day for ourselves and the people we serve. but after nearly a decade and a half, as the heart and soul of team merkley and more than 22 years on capitol hill, mr. zaymore has decided to set off to begin writing the next chapter of his career. i know i speak for many when i say how hard it is to imagine our office or the senate without mike zaymore. mike has been with me from the very beginning. he was one of the small crew working out of the temporary basement office the day i was sworn in. five new members of the senate and a couple staff members crowded into a single little expanded room downstairs trying to figure out what we were doing, how to get around, where are those hearing rooms, how do we get the paper for the printers? how do we get staples for the staplers. he's been a pivotal part of

every success that our team has achieved since. and there's been a lot of legislative highlights in the time that he has led team merkley. to name just a few -- outlawing predatory mortgages, passivessing financial -- passing financial reform, winning senate passage of the employment nondiscrimination act to end job discrimination against our lgbtq community, drafting, introducing the equality act to end lgbtq discrimination across the board. ending the importation of chinese products produced with slave labor, and so many, so many more. so many different initiatives to improve health care, to establish more decent affordable housing, to expand quality

education, and increase the number of good-paying jobs for working americans. but it isn't just policy that's relevant to the role of a chief of staff. mike has worked to ensure that our team has the best operation for answering constituent letters to be found on capitol hill. to empower the organization, to build a fabulous constituent service team and excellent set of field represents to work with oregon's counties and cities to address the challenges and opportunities within our state, and to keep our d.c. team and our oregon team working closely together as one. he did this through many trips to the state and by encouraging staff here in d.c. to travel and be in oregon as well. by ensuring we connected and coordinated through weekly all-staff meetings, that we connected through biannual

retreats, getting everyone together face-to-face with the oregon team and the d.c. team, spending time together to know one another and enjoy each other's company and expand the connections that lead to successful progress forward on issue after issue. and because we like to be a team that not only works hard but plays hard, mike always had a little special presentation for those occasions when we were all gathered together. on one occasion dressing up in colonial garb to perform a rendition of a song from "hamilton." on another occasion during a sea chanting during our nautical theme for retreat. during these presentations he proved himself to be a far, far braveer man than most of the rest of us. but i know that that extra bit of effort has always been beloved by everyone on the team. his most lasting legacy will be

through the talented individuals he has carefully recruited to be members of our team over the last 14-plus years and the way that he inspired them and led them with heart and humility, imbuing them with the same passion for public service that has guided mike throughout his entire career. i believe we have had one of the most energetic, capable, and motivated teams ever assembled on capitol hill, and that's because we've had one of the most energetic, capable and motivated chiefs of staff in mike zamore. as chief, mike worked hard at championing to reinforce specific values. one of them that has resonated over the years is the idea of continuous self-improvement, the idea that none of us are perfect and never will be, but we should always be striving to be better ourselves as individuals and as a team. and mike never exempted himself

from that same spirit of continual self-improvement. he sought out and welcomed honest feedback from everyone, from the newest intern to the most senior staffer, on how he was doing and how the office was doing, and how we could do better. jack welch, the former hed of g.e., once said when you become a leader, success is all about growing others, and mike has always cared deeply about helping the members of our team grow. that's why he's always loved outside-the-box thinking, like when a staff member suggested that i should hop on a plane and go down to the border to find out for myself what was really happening with the administration's zero tolerance family separation policy. and it's why he embraced and championed our office's policy of inclusivety and the creation of a diversion -- an equity can

go committee. -- equity committee. they share information about a wide range of issues and they work to inspire honest, open, and sometimes uncomfortable dialogues so that we can all be the best versions of ourselves, and so that we can serve all the people of oregon with the highest level of respect and responsiveness. it's why his door was always open for what he called z hours, where folks would come in and talk about anything, whether it was work related or not. the office and team work won't be the same without mike. it won't be the same without the ringer on his phone quacking like a duck and interrupting meetings. it won't be the same without our office mascot, mike's loving husky juno, around to brighten everyone's day.

the writer walter litman noted the final test of a leader is that he leaves behind and others the conviction and the will to carry on. and i can tell you that the values of service, compassion, humility that mike has enshrined in the heart of team markerically -- team merkley will carry on because of folks he has painstakingly brought together have the conviction and will to do so. thank you, mike. thank you for all you've done for the team, all you've done for the senate, all you've done in advocating for policies to make our state, our country, and the world a better place. we wish you and your family the best as you start writing that next chapter of your life. thank you, mr. president, and i

note the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. quorum call:

inclusivity. inclusivity quorum call: . quorum call:

we are joined by the chief executive officer of the freedom foundation here to talk with us about a hearing in particular coming up today about public school closures and the impact of those closures on students across the country. good morning and welcome to washington journal. >> thank you for having me on. >> tell us about the freedom foundation. what is its mission and how are you funded? >> it is to advance individual liberty, and accountable government. there is no path that does not involve removing the influence of government unions from politics. government unions extort billions of dollars each year from your every day teachers,

every day county and city employees and use that for a largely political agenda. this is wrong. when they spend that money on politics, that go into office. and it is based on taxpayers who grow the size of government to get more union members. there is no scheme like this in america that exists, it created the biggest political well-being in america, the head of these unions. >> randi weingarten is testifying, head of the american federation of teachers, testifying today on capitol hill on the select subcommittee on the coronavirus pandemic and the effect of the pandemic on schools. what your organization's interest in this hearing? >> our interest in this hearing as i don't want the public to forget what randi weingarten and the teachers union did to our kids.

i put the blame fully on the teachers unions for keeping school shut, forcing kids to wear masks and all the other stuff they did during covid. i blame the teachers unions. during that time which i tried to forget about a lot, what we saw was randi weingarten damage our kids education, mental health by keeping school shut. what we saw as a result of this was parents started to take their kids out of public schools. those students and then went to charter schools and in some cases private schools. voters voted out teachers union candidates at the school board level in particular all the way to the governors level, when you look at the virginia governor's race and most importantly, teachers started to lose their unions in droves, 3% of teachers left unions in the past couple years and it is primarily down

to what teachers unions have done in their response to covid. >> why do you think the american federation of teachers was so influential in policy when it came to masks, and school closures in this country? >> the federal level, we found, the cdc guidelines, randi weingarten and the american federation of teachers basically wrote those guidelines to say if community spread was a certain point we would keep schools closed. liberal governance throughout the country, the language the cdc advised they used as coverage to shut down schools across america. we had republican governors ignoring this language from the cdc. they were opening schools, bring free states. what you saw, the damage done to kids in those liberal states was

far worse than in conservative states. we had a divide in our education across the country and it was down to randi weingarten. >> host: the response from homeland security committee in the u.s. senate strikes a different tone. i wanted to get your reaction. they look at the broader problem of school closures, the systemic problem saying many of the problems identified as part of the initial federal response are long-standing or remain unaddressed for decades. and sufficient funding across multiple administrations and federal agencies response capabilities reducing sustainable investments in public health preparedness. >> this isn't a federal issue. this is at the state level, states reacted differently to covid. we saw a drastic split between liberal states. at the time i lived in washington state my wife was a public school teacher, she could not going to school and teach our kids. you had just across the way

idaho, a state where you could teach kids they were in school, they were getting all the mental help, that was not happening in liberal states across america. as much as we want to make it a federal issue it wasn't. randi weingarten used the cdc as coverage so they could justify shutting down schools but the real damage was done at the state level. not the federal level. >> host: the ceo of the freedom foundation, welcome your calls and comments 202-748-8001 for republicans, 202-748-8004 democrats and independents and others 202-748-8002. what about the health implications, results of the health implications of schools the decided to stay open, more open and the state you talked about versus the ones that were closed, what do we know of that?

what does your organization say about that? >> every study we have seen so far, this will be measured for years to come, shows there was very little to non-disparity between schools that were closed versus open in terms of kids contracting covid or having serious illness or dying of covid, there was no correlation. by the way, that's the reason randi weingarten is going to testify today and say she was lobbying for schools to be open. it's a total lie but she will use that because she realizes the science and data clearly state what we said back then which was kids are not at risk of covid and the damage done to their mental health and education would be far worse than if you leave schools open at half and go that route. >> i want to remind viewers and listeners we will be covering that hearing on the select subcommittee on the coronavirus

pandemic. randi weingarten will testify, will have live coverage beginning at 2:00 eastern and you can follow that on the c-span now mobile apps available on c-span 3. we have some calls waiting for you. we go to our first caller in leavenworth, kansas first up, and maxine in leavenworth, you are on. >> thank you for taking my call. this is misleading of who decided to close the schools during covid. i didn't care. my governor, that is where the decision was made to decide to close the schools. randi weingarten was not involved in that decision. it is unfair for this guy to say

it was strictly her decision to close the schools during covid. because it wasn't. the governors of each state and the school districts decided whether the schools were going to be closed. also, the trump administration, that's when schools were being closed. in his administration, the government decided whether or not schools would be closed during covid. it wasn't randi weingarten who was telling everybody in the united states every school district, every governor -- >> host: we will get a response from our guests. >> guest: that is a great point. when covid first started we saw schools across all 50 states, republican, democrat, because we didn't really know the effects of covid. we didn't know if we sent kids

to school, that would play a damaging role on kids education or mental health. what we did, within four weeks, we started to see that this was going to be a longer-term play. that is when republican governors started they could open schools and they were the ones that started to reopen faster. the liberal governors were the ones that kept schools closed after the fact at the behest of randi weingarten and the teachers unions. when we look at studies, the university of nevada released a study that showed the school reopening plan, direct correlation between the influence of teachers unions and schools that continued to remain shut. what we are talking about is not schools closing at the beginning but schools reopening faster. >> host: patty next in atlantic city, new jersey. on the republican, independent line.

go ahead. >> caller: hello. good morning. thank you for taking my call. i want to say hindsight is 20/20. it is very disingenuous of the guest to just blame one person. seems like you are just -- from. the senate is in a quorum call. mr. padilla: i ask it be suspended. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. padilla: thank you, mr. president. mr. president, i rise today in opposition to a resolution that has been presented to overturn the epa's lifesaving heavy duty knox rule. across the country heavy duty vehicles, including trucks and buses make up one-third of all transportation emissions. this is the same source of smog and soot that darkens skies in many communities and poisons the

lungs of too many americans. in an effort to address those real challenges, the e.p.a.'s heavy duty pollution rule is projected to cut nox emissions from the heavy duty sector by nearly half over the next dozen years. this represents a monumental investment and a significant step forward in our nation's health and air quality that will benefit all americans. but instead of supporting this rule, some members have suggested that we reverse course and instead leave in place an outdated pollution standard, a rule that even the heavy duty vehicle industry acknowledges is too weak. and in so doing would endanger the lives of thousands of americans.

this makes no sense. consider the empire in southern california, truly, this region, this geographic area is the heart of our nation's supply chain. now, no one in the inland empire wants the economy to shutter but residents in the region know all too well the dangers that surround them. children's playgrounds, veterans' health centers, schools, entire neighborhoods are surrounded by warehouses and distribution centers. now, the warehouses in and of themselves aren't threatening our air quality or public health, but think about the emissions from the trucks that carry goods to and from those warehouses. as a result, communities throughout the inland empire which happen to be mostly

low-income and latino areas experience asthma, decreased lung function in children, and higher rates of cancer. the hyperbole, the data is there. statistics are clear. it's not just inland empire raise that as the most significant example. in fact, it's communities all across the country near freight corridors that are impacted. almost 72 million people whole live near truck freight routes. so, yes, mr. president, i am standing up for the fundamental human rights to clean air for all americans. now, truth be told i actually wanted the epa to be more am pishes in its rule and align more closely with california's stringent heavy duty rules. california proudly leads the nation in decarbonization and emissions reductions and

reducing by working thoughtfully and collectively with industry and communities to cut deadly nox and other pollution from vehicles while we transition to zero emission vehicles. so to my colleagues who claim negative business or economic impacts, california is doing this while having just grown from being the fifth largest economy in the world to the fifth largest economy in the world. economic growth and environmental protection are not mutually exclusive. economic growth and protecting public health are not mutually exclusive. we can and must do it all together. last i checked from business leaders that i talked to, i mentioned industries at the table and also at the state level, they actually appreciate that regulatory certainty -- you and i talked about, mr. president -- lay out a rule, an

agenda, a policy objective, work together to create a plan to achieve it, and keep that plan, not whipsaw back and forth on what regulations are going to be in place from one year to the next, what congressional majority to the next, et cetera. mr. president, i'm also continuing to push the epa to finalize a strong phase three heavy duty vehicle rule with my clean air and clean transportation partners in the senate, including chairman carper of the environmental and public works committee and senator markey and others. but at the very least, we can't undercut two decades of progress that we've already made. and this era undermines the scientific and technical expertise behind these important standards and public health protections. and we know that the cra is part of a bigger effort to stop the bold action that we're taking to tackle the climate crisis.

so colleagues, for the sake of clean air, for the sake of our environment, and for the sake of the health of all communities across the country, i urge you to oppose this repeal. thank you, mr. president. i yield the floor. a senator: mr. president. the presiding officer: the senator from texas. mr. cornyn: mr. president, i ask unanimous consent to be able to complete my remarks before the vote. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. cornyn: thank you. mr. president, this week the house is expected to vote on legislation to begin to rein in congress' out-of-control spending and avoid a debt default. as the american people know, this is a critical task that's become more urgent by the day. the u.s. hit its debt limit

basically maxing out on our national credit card. we maxed out on our credit card in january and the treasury department has been using what they call extraordinary measures to prevent the government from defaulting on its debt. because it depends on how much revenue is coming in the front door from taxes, we don't know exactly when these measures will be exhausted, but experts say it could happen as soon as june which is only one month away. so clearly it's time to get serious about solutions. from the beginning of this discussion and debate, two things have become abundantly clear. one, default should be avoided at all costs. this is something that republicans and democrats both agree to. our economy is still stabilizing

from the uncertainty caused by the pandemic, our basking system has endured -- banking system has endured two high-profile collapses and inflation continues to wreak havoc or family budgets. the latest real clear politics average for the biden administration's handling of the economy says that only about 37% of the american people believe that president biden has done a good job on the economy. so clearly they are feeling vulnerable to any shocks to the economy that might occur should the debt limit not be passed. we know that if the united states defaults on these debts, all of our challenges will only get worse. social security and medicare benefits would be delayed. members of the military and federal employees would not get paid. we could see skyrocketing

mortgage rates, sinking stock prices and an instability all across our economy. in short, this is not a time for a game of chicken. this is a time for responsible people to step up and to do their job. a default is the very last thing that our country needs, and congress and the administration need to act before it's too late. so i am glad we agree on that point. but the second point is where there is clearly a difference of opinion. it's clear that america's borrowing and spending are unsustainable. with $31 trillion in national debt and almost a trillion dollars a year being spent on interest to pay the bond holders who hold that debt, we know that we can't continue down this

path. national debts catapulted from $3.2 trillion in 1980 to $9.7 trillion in 2000. today it's $31.7 trillion. those numbers are so big, i'm sure most of us have difficulty grasping them, assuming we could at all. $31.7 trillion in debt. while the national debt poses a significant economic risk, it also imposes significant security risks. every day america is spending more and more money or interest payments, like i said, about a trillion dollars for the bond holders who own that debt. each dollar that goes towards servicing the debt is a dollar that can be spent on other priorities, like keeping america safe. for years our top defense

officials have warned about the risk of national debt continuing to grow. in 2010 i remember. then chairman of the joint chiefs of staff michael mullen said, quote, the most significant threat to our national security is our debt. close quote. since then our national debt has more than doubled. that trend is not going to change on its own. it requires a change of behavior, behavior by the administration and by members of the united states congress. so we need to act as soon as possible to rein in out out-of-control spending and protect america's long-term financial stability and our national security. future generations are going to have to pay that money back, and we ought to do everything we can to avoid that result, if there

are things we can do at least to mitigate it. so these are the two basic truths that the majority of americans agree on. a default is unacceptable and secondly, we need to get our fiscal house in order. unfortunately, president biden refuses to engage on either one. this is really unbelievable to me. the president of the united states, the leader of the free world, and he said not my problem. how irresponsible, how reckless is that? from the beginning president biden drew outrageous red lines and tried to dictate what a solution would look like, and actually it wasn't a solution. it was just a patch. the president ruled out any negotiations over spending reforms and he said he expected congress to raise the debt limit with no conditions attached.

we know that any bank or credit union in america that issues a credit card, that once you've maxed out on your credit limit, they want to know, okay, if you want us to raise that limit, you're going to have to tell us how you're going to pay the money back that you already owe. but president biden said no, we want to keep spending and we want to keep raising the debt limit, but we don't want to do anything about reforming spending or changing the curb when it comes to reining in spending. these unrealistic declarations by the president don't make him look tough. they just make him look out of touch. just because president biden wants something doesn't mean it will happen. as the president knows, democrats no longer control both chambers of congress.

during the first two years, the president could snap his fingers and expect democrats to advance his agenda without a single republican vote. and that happened most recently on two bills which are partisan bills that added $2.7 trillion to our national debt. and now the president says, it's not my problem. well, this isn't a monarchy. we got rid of a king a long time ago. this isn't the biden empire. and the president's wishes can only count for so much. the reality of the situation is that any solution to the debt ceiling must be bipartisan and bicameral. it's got to be approved by a republican-led house and a democratic-led senate. and a democrat president. right now president biden's clean debt ceiling increase

simply has no way to pass. so we're at an impasse and there's only one way forward. that is, the president must do what presidents have always done before this time, and that means come to the negotiating table. that's the only way to avert a debt crisis that both political parties want to avoid. for months republicans have urged president biden to sit down with speaker mccarthy and hammer a compromise. other than than a single meeting where they literally touch gloves and then walked away like two boxers in a ring, the president has been completely absent without leave. he's been awol. he continues to parrot demands that he knows are unreasonable and impal, and he's -- and he refuses to acknowledge the reality of the problem.

since president biden took office a little over two years ago, he's been on a spending bender. he pushed democrats to pass two partisan bills totaling $2.7 trillion. these were strictly party-line votes by democrats with no republican support that added $2.7 trillion to the debt and now president biden said, not my problem, once the debt ceiling has hit. he stuck taxpayers for a ridiculous set of pet projects, everything from hand outs for labor unions to subsidies for wealthy people so they could buy electric vehicles even though most americans can't afford one. president biden didn't just rely on democrats to indulge his spending habits, he also ran off with the taxpayer's credited by

himself. -- credit card by himself. he claimed to be able to spend $460 billion in an executive order erasing student loans off the books for tens of billions of borrowers. it is now in the supreme court. clearly he doesn't have that authority, but he claimed to have it, and now we have a case before the supreme court to decide that. so president biden has no trouble spending in addition to the $2.7 trillion, and partisan spending bills, he has no problem adding to the debt by another $460 billion. but he doesn't want to negotiate the debt ceiling increase. he doesn't want to talk about how to get back on a glide path to more responsible spending habits. despite the president's spending -- he spends like there is no tomorrow. he continues to -- refuse to

talk about spending reforms. he said he will not entertain the idea that this is a topic worth discussing with the speaker of the house. as i said, that is a completely reckless and irresponsible position to take. and even members of the president's own party are lining up to criticize it. the senator from minnesota, senator klobuchar, recently said president biden should sit down with speaker mccarthy. senator klobuchar is right. congresswoman debbie dingell said that the administration can't keep waiting. another senator criticized the president refusal to sit down with speaker mccarthy as a deficiency in leadership. with a potential default on the horizon, it's time for president biden to change his tune. he needs to abandon the reckless

my way or the highway attitude and sit down and do what presidents have always done and that is to negotiate a solution. from the beginning it was obvious to everybody that a bipartisan compromise was the only path forward. that's the most fundamental tenet of divided government. nobody can do it by themselves, so you have to work out solutions together. it's simply unacceptable for any president to stand by with these kind of outrageous red lines when we're potentially just weeks away from a possible default, considering especially the fragility of the economy as it currently exists, and this would make it catastrophic. so president biden has wasted months already with his reckless position, and it's time to get moving. i appreciate speaker mccarthy's efforts to break

the stalemate and get president biden to join him at the negotiating table. i'll repeat in closing, the only way to avoid a debt crisis is through a bipartisan notion. republicans -- negotiation. republicans have known that all along and democrats are acknowledging that as well and it's time for president biden to get the message. mr. president, i yield the floor. the presiding officer: the question's on the nomination. a senator: i ask for the yeas and nays. the presiding officer: is there a sufficient second? there appears to be. the clerk will call the roll. vote:

vote:

vote:

vote:

the presiding officer: the yeas are 74, the nays are 25, and the nomination is confirmed. under the previous order, the motion to reconsider is considered made and laid upon the table, and the president will be immediately notified of the senate's action. under the previous order, the senate stands in recess until

later this week lawmakers are expected to debate the equal rights amendment as as rolutn condemning former president ump's call to defund the fbi and the justice department. as always live coverage of the >> c-span is your unfiltered view of government. we are funded by these television companies and more including charter communications. >> charter is proud to be recognized as one of the best internet providers and we're just getting started building 100,000 miles of new infrastructure to reach those who need it mt. >> chaer communications supports c-span is a public service along with these other television providers giving you front-roweat to democracy.

>> if you're looking at the constitution for reviewed the main thing you should focus on the checks and balances. you are going to need to know how different branches can limit each other and then you can't go wrong with the bill of rights because you know in the scotus comparison question you're going to be asked about a court case said would be rooted somewhere in the bill of rights. >> are used in preparing for the advanced placement u.s. government and politics exam? get your notes ready and tune into "washington journal" live saturday at 9 p.m. eastern for our annual cram for the exam where we will take youralls, text and tweets and questions about the test. join social science teachers froml dorado high school who will take your questions on the content and structure this year's exam. watch "washington journal" cram for the exam special live saturday at 9 p.m. eastern on c-span's "washington journal." >> u.s. capitol police chief tom manger talked