the washington post. that's over the last 20 years or so with the key points that did address with it and we have gary have virginia on the line. >> thank you, i have three asks for cspan before getting to the debt limit, could you ask elon musk to come on and temporal integration us what he wants twitter to be? does he want it to be a baston of common sense or something else and ask what ike said to the evangelists where they asked himm to make antiabortion flank of the party and last ask of 78

or 79 during the press release in the washington climate clang. mow to the debt limit. i'd like to ask mcconnell what's to be learned -- >> we'll leave thisll program he for live coverage of the u.s. senate on this monday afternoon. today lawmakers will vote on whether to confirm anthony johnstone to be a ninth circuit court of appeals judge and the role call vote set for 5:30 p.m. eastern today. live coverage-over the senate here on cspan2. ill come to orde. the chaplain, dr. barry black, will now lead the senate in prayer. the chaplain: let us pray. .holy god who inhabits eternity, lead our lawmakers with your might.

.help them to not run ahead of you or ignore your wisdom. .restore their spirits with trut and hope and order their steps toward your desired destination. .lord, keep them calm in the quiet center of their lives so that they may be serene in lifes swirling stresses. .fill them with the peace that comes from keeping their focus n you. .help them to listen to others s attentively as they want others to listen to them. and, lord, give us wisdom regarding how to make our nation

less violent. we pray in your merciful name. amen. the presiding officer: please join me in reciting the pledge f allegiance to our 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., may 1, 2023. to the senate: under the provisions of rule 1, paragraph 3, of the standing rules of the senate, i hereby appoint the honorable tammy

duckworth, a senator from the state of illinois, to perform te duties of the chair. signed: patty murray, 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 the consideration of the following nomination which the clerk will report. the clerk: nomination, the judiciary. anthony devos johnstone of montana to be united states circuit judge for the ninth circuit.

thank you for joining us. we're going to talk about the coronavirus pandemic and other issues affecting the system. let's start off by talking about the surgeon, but is his mission and what does your work? >> thank you for having. it's a large organization is 7000 members around the world

and we represent surgeons and enhance the care of surgical patients supporting them so we have education component in teaching surgeons will to make cutting edge. we have quality programs to enhance quality at hospitals around the world and we mitigate outwardly so patients in hospitals and members can no with the right thing is to do about cases. >> has offended? >> we are a membership organization designation after surgeons, they are a fellow and we have programs, educational products we sell and participate in quality improvement efforts and they engage with us to help enhance quality improvement. >> talking about the quality movement, i have this report

from earlier well, last month it says driving quality improvements permit challenging post pandemic environment for u.s. hospitals new campaign launched last month, can you tell us more about it? >> that's in conjunction with the quality program and advocacy and health policy grant. we have the division during the state works on revelatory matters to the team along with quality improvement team we launched quality improvement campaign the power of body. bring quality improvement program to them so maybe bariatric surgery or cancer or trauma and we have new, new programs that cut across the

kind of operations so we have a children's program for geriatric surgical program. our goal is to bring the highest quality evidence-based care to every hospital. >> want to share any comments they have about the system or ask any questions numbers to call if you in the eastern or central time zone we want you to call us that (202)748-8000. if you are in the mountain or pacific time zone, your number is (202)748-8001. if you are a medical professional and would like to weigh in, your number is (202)748-8002. start calling it now and we will get to you in a moment. patricia, how did you define the

current state of surgery and the current state of the u.s. healthcare system in general? challenges and strengths? >> surgeons in many ways our surgical care, the engine that drives many hospitals and while we have numbers of the healthcare team participate in some elements, if you need a surgeon you have to have a surgeon. if you have a traumatic experience, if you have cancer, you have to have a certain so there are things we need that require surgical care so our job is to make sure our 110-year-old model would entrust and continues to be what guides us and brings highest quality care to all patients cared for file surgeons. when we think about the

challenges and access continues to be something we are concerned about, we want to make sure we bring surgical care and evidence-based surgical care to individuals in the community and academic setting. want to make sure we are mindful of quality because that continues to be something many talk about but it's essential. >> how did the coronavirus pandemic hospitals essential, how did it exacerbate issues in the healthcare industry? >> one example from the coronavirus pandemic is cancer. we know screening for cancer is essential and the pandemic appropriately have to put hours

resources in so early stage cancers it might have been discovered on a mammogram, we have to put those on the back burner because we are focusing all of our energy on the pandemic so what we know from a recent study is there were your cancers found in the early days of the pandemic and that's an example of where covid-19 push off essential screening and cases or operations surgeons would want to do so that has impacted. >> the best funding for cancer research and programs requested the billion dollars 7.32 billion

in the institute, 22.4 million for the national control program, 53.4 million for the national program cancer registry and 1.5 billion for grant research projects agency which is the new agency established -- mr. schumer: madam president. the presiding officer: the majority leader. mr. schumer: now, madam president, for months democrats have been clear -- the full faith and credit of the united states cannot be held hostage. for months we asked speaker mccarthy and republicans to present a plan, a real plan, to avoid default, with no

brinksmanship, no hostage-taking. instead of presenting a viable plan, last week speaker mccarthy and house republicans passed the default on america act, a hard-right ransom note to the american people. republicans' default on america act poses two taicials choices -- terrible choices. either default on the debt or default on our country, with severe cuts to law enforcement, veterans, families, teachers, kids, even cancer research. let me be clear -- the republican default on america act has no future in the senate, and it does nothing to resolve the looming default crisis. if anything, maga republicans have made default more likely by locking the house into an unacceptable and very extreme position, and pulling us even further apart. according to one report by "the

washington post," and i commend everybody, democrat and republican, to read it, according to this one report by "the washington post" many hard-right house members say their doa bill represents the bare minimum they're willing to accept. the bare minimum. one freedom caucus member said this bill is, quote, not a negotiating piece, it's the deal. and further added that speaker mccarthy cannot get 218 without changes to this deal, and he meant changes even further to the extreme. let me read that again. because it's so perfectly -- it so perfectly captures the extremist thinking on the hard right, which we all know have tremendous leverage in the house. speaker mccarthy, quote, cannot get to 218 with changes to this deal. okay? let me just read it again. cannot get to 218 with changes

to this deal. respectfully, that's not negotiation. that's a ransom note. that is a hostage-taking tactic. it's another sign that speaker mccarthy has surrendered to the extremists in his conference, who are ready to let the u.s. default unless they get everything, everything they want. senate democrats cannot and will not allow republicans' default on america act to become law, because the consequences of these cuts for american families would be severe. for generations congress has made spending and revenue decisions as part of the annual budget process. that is the appropriate place to debate. not here as a bargaining chip, a take it or leave it bargaining chip for the hard right. so beginning this week, our senate committees will do what house republicans do not do, hold hearings to expose the damage that the cuts contained

in the default on america act would cause to everyday american families. we'll show the american people how the default act would rip away snap benefits for over a million recipients and eliminate pell grants for tens of thousands of student loan borrowers. we'll show the american people how the default on america act would raise taxes by over $500 billion over the next decade, crippling job creation, stifling economic growth and squandering our future prosperity, to the benefit of the chinese communist party. we'll show how the american people will -- we'll show the american people how the default on america act would cut critical funding to nearly all sectors of american life, leading to fewer jobs, higher costs and leaving policemen, first responders, border patrol, and our brave veterans all hanging out to dry. we cannot move forward so long

as hard-right maga republicans, which we all know have tremendous, enormous leverage in the house, insist on their bill, a bill that is unacceptable to the senate and the vast majority of the american people. sadly, if the hard right continues running the show in the house, the dangers of a first-ever default will keep growing, day by day. as we expose this terrible bill for what it is, senate democrats' position remains the same -- the only real solution is for both parties to pass a clean bill to avoid default, with no brinksmanship, no hostage-taking. now, on senate business, well, it's going to be another busy week here on the floor of the u.s. senate. later today, the senate will vote on the confirmation of anthony devos johnstone of montana to serve a lifetime appointment as circuit court judge for the ninth sirnlgt. a garage -- circuit. a graduate of yale and university of chicago,

mr. johnstone has a wealth of experience in both public service and private practice. as former members of the montana supreme court attest to, mr. johnstone has one of the best legal minds and is the finest and most respected legal scholar in the state of montana. at the end of the week, i also filed cloture on three additional district court judges, from new jersey and new york, and members should be advised i'll be filing on additional judicial nominations later this evening. the senate will work on processing all of these nominees over the course of the week. judicial nominees remain a top priority for the senate. senate democrats are proud we have confirmed 119 new judges under president biden, including 31 circuit court judges, 87 district court judges, and one groundbreaking supreme court justice in ketanji brown jackson. the diversity of these jurists is unlike anything our country has seen.

84 of these judges are women. 88 are people of color. they will add to that impressive tally over the course of the -- the senate will add to that impressive tally over the course of this week. now, on a dear friend, terry o'sullivan. mr. president -- madam president, today it brings me immense joy, gratitude, and a little sadness to pay tribute to a giant of american labor, a hero of working families and a leader who truly stands in a category all his own. terry o'sullivan, who friday retired as general president of the laborers or liuna after more than two decades. over the years terry has become one of the dearest friends i've had in washington. there would be no expansive middle class in america without the labor movement. and the labor movement would not be the same today without terry o'sullivan and liuna. the proud members of liuna

helped build our roads, bridges and tunnels and office buildings and housing. under terry's leadership, liuna has become the laborers' union as it is fondly known, one of the most impact full unions of the 21st century. under terry's watch liuna workers helped clean up the wreckage after 9/1. they built the -- after 9/11. liuna supported immigration reform. unsurprisingly, anyone who knows terry knows his loyalty lies in one place and place alone, the working families of liuna and of america in general. i know this personally, my cousin, abe, was a proud member of local 79, the hod carriers in new york, and they treated him so, so well, even when he had a severe illness, because the health care that the laborers were able to get was topnotch.

terry's loyalty to the working people has been very long. it's a loyalty that first drew breath in the early years of his childhood, having been raised in a union household. at 11, terry attended his first liuna convention, and there was no turning back. he became a proud card-carrying member for life. after becoming liuna general president in 2000, he spent the next two decades growing, modernizing and expanding liuna into one of the greatest advocates for working americans in the century. in the wealth of radical wealth polarization, terry won better wages, benefits and greater say about working conditions for his union members in liuna and his fellow americans. i've known terry a very long time. terry first stood out to me because even at the most formal

events in washington, i noticed terry never wore a tie. we joke about that. over the years, terry has become a confidante, a brother, and someone i turned to for advice and guidance again and again, over the years. some of my most enjoyable evenings in washington were dinners with terry and yvette, his wife, ad a good glass of wine. to listen to terry speak is to hear a man on fire with love for his country and the working families of america. to watch terry work is to see someone singularly dedicated to his mission. he is someone equally at ease in the board member, the -- in the boardroom, labor rally and construction site. he couldn't disam beat, going from one to the other. terry is famous for his candid style and no-nonsense attitude. he's from california, i'm from brooklyn, but we share that direct speaking way. if you cross terry's path or the path of working families, you will quickly find out you made a

powerful adversary. if you wintery's heart -- win his heart, you found a lifelong friend as i discovered. terry's legacy is not just felt in america but around the world. he's a proud supporter of a united ireland and irish workers. terry and i have worked together on so many irish issues, and we've agreed to continue working together on them in the years ahead. for me, this is not really a goodbye. terry and i will stay good friends, working on the causes we believe in, and hopefully having some nice dinners at his and yvette's home on the eastern shore. the work terry began will certainly continue. the fights he advanced shall go on. as we celebrate terry's well-earned retirement, we wish him and his family the very, very best on their next adventure. finally, on another retirement announced just this afternoon, let me close by honoring another

great friend, beloved, truly beloved member of our senate, our dear colleague ben cardin of maryland, who announced he will retire at the end of this term. he is one of my dearest friends in the senate. someone i always admired, for favoring substance over flash, for digging deeply into issues, and for his ability time and again to persuade his colleagues of the justice of his causes, often working across the aisle to turn ideas into successful legislation. in senate cardin the people of maryland have been gifted with the consummate public servant. doesn't that describe ben so well? whether representing marylanders in the statehouse of del gats or in -- delegates, in the congress or senate, ben's north star never changed. it's the people he serves, the communities he knows well, and the country he so dearly loves.

whether in foreign or domestic issues, he put the issues first, the politics second, and in doing so won the respect of every corner of this chamber. as chair of the small senate business committee, he spent years fight fighting for mai, been a tireless advocate for job creators and entrepreneurs, especially those who don't always have a seat at the table. during covid, senator cardin's leadership and expertise were absolutely essential, as we passed legislation to protect family restaurants, local shop owners, independent businesses. there are tens of thousands, probably hundreds of thousands of small businesses in existence now, that wouldn't have been had ben not fought so hard for them. in conclusion, i wish ben and myrna the best on their road ahead. no doubt, they will find new ways to serve maryland and moving forward and we will remain friends forever. i yield the floor.

test

the presiding officer: the republican leader. mr. mcconnell: over the weekend our nation lost an outstanding public servant, and i lost a dear friend of nearly 40 years. janet gardner guard grisham wasd daughter of louisville, and my very first chief of staff here in the senate. she passed away at the age of 73. i believe janet was a

29-year-old single mom when she and her young daughter shannon arrived here in the nation's capitol determined to start a new chapter. to give you a sense of janet's spirit, here's what she would later say about her first job interview. direct quote -- i told them i could take dication, which i couldn't, but i figured i could learn. janet had smarts. asia had tenacity, and she had a communication style that one might delicately call direct. our hometown newspaper would later report that she had a salty tongue -- a salty tongue.

well, that was putting it mildly. she was a riot. she was a force of nature, and those qualities fueled a meteor rise. by the time i met janet at some parent-teacher function at both of our daughters' school back in 1983, she had already ascended to the top rank of senate staffers and actually left washington to go back home to louisville. as you can imagine, i had to cajole janet into heading up my long-shot first senate campaign. i understand shannon only permitted her mom to take the job and the potential return to washington that winning might entail because janet had assured her it was virtually no chance

we'd pull it off. surprisingly we did pull it off. we packed our boxes for washington. i believe shannon at least got a new puppy for a constellation prize. -- janet's know how helped me to hit the ground running and make an impact from the start. she could handle sensitive meetings, explain poll issues and -- policies issues and curse at an unruly reporter all before lunchtime. you couldn't imagine a better friend to have in your corner. i believe she was the first woman to serve two different senators as chief of staff. after my office, janet's next stop was the political operation

of then-vice president bush. that's when she met james a. baker after he left president reagan's cabinet to oversee the bush campaign in 1988. apparently while the other campaign staff greeted the famous newcombeer with the -- newcomer with the awe and deference one might expect, janet marched down the hallway barefoot and said, hey, jim, nice to meet you. everyone else recoiled, but jim hafd. when he -- laughed. janet later served for him as assistant secretary for legislative affairs. when baker became white house chief of staff, janet went with

him -- went with him and became an assistant to the president. and when janet left government for the private sector, she kept on blazing trails. she spent a decade helping steer the ford motor company as a senior officer. she built a typical washington, d.c., resume by being a tiewrly untip -- thoroughly untypical washington, d.c., person. brilliant and accomplished, yes, but tough as nails and a little rough around the edges in the best ways. that same spine of steel helped janet hold a serious illness at pay for a number of years. and up to just a few days ago she was still tweeting up a

storm on politics and media criticism, relishing the good fight right to the end. and janet lived to see her most lasting legacy come full circle. her older grandson harry has a start-up business. her younger grandson sam has gone into political communications himself. he even spent a couple of years in my office as an outstanding speechwriter and press aide. i know janet was thrilled -- thrilled to see the boys thriving. so elaine and i send our deepest condolences to janet's husband tom, her beloved daughter shannon, and her grandchildren, harry and sam.

and all of the family members, friends, and colleagues mourning this tremendous loss. mr. mcconnell: i suggest the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll.

quorum call:

in real plan to avoid default no hostage taking. instead of presenting a viable plan classic speaker mccarthy announced republican's past defaults on america act, hard right ransom note for the american people. republicans default on america act poses to terrible choices. either default on the debt or default on our country with severe cuts to law enforcement, veterans, family, teachers, kids, even cancer research. let me be clear, the republican default on mecca act has no future in the senate and it does nothing to resolve the looming default crisis. if anything, maga republicans may default more likely by locking the house into an

unacceptable and very extreme position and pulling us even further apart. according to one report by the washington post, and i commend everybody democrat and republican. according to one report by the washington post, many hard right house members say the bill represents the bare minimum they are willing to accept. bare minimum. one freedom caucus member says the bill is not a negotiating peace, is the deal further added that speaker mccarthy cannot get 18 without changes to the deal and he met changes even further to the extreme. we read that again because it's perfectly captured extremist leaking on the hard right which we know has tremendous leverage in the house. speaker mccarthy quote cannot get to 218 with changes to this

deal. let me read it again. cannot get to 218 changes to this deal. that's not negotiation, it's a ransom note. that's a hostage taking tactic, another sign speaker mccarthy surrounded to extremist ready to elect default a mess to get everything they want. senate democrats cannot and will not allow republicans to default to become law because the consequences of the cuts for american families would be severe. for generations congress made spending and revenue decisions apart of the annual budget process and that the appropriate place to debate. the taking or leaving bargaining chip with the hard right so beginning this week are senate

committees will do for house republicans not to, hold hearings to expose the damage cuts contain the default on america act would cause for everyday american families. we will show the american people that benefit programs for recipients and eliminate the tens of thousands of student loan dollars and show the american people how to default on america act $500 billion over the next decade. crippling job creation, stifling economic growth in squandering our future prosperity for the benefit ofmunist party will show how the american people how the on america act would cut critical funding to nearly all sectors of american life leading to fewer jobs, higher costs and leaving policeman, first responders,

border patrol and brave veterans hanging out to dry. we cannot move forward so long as hard right maga republican which we all know this tremendous enormous leverage in the house insist on their bill, a bill unacceptable to the senate and vast majority of the american people. sadly, if it continues running the show in the house, the dangers of the first ever default will keep growing day by day. we expose the terrible bill for what it is, senate democrats position remains the same, the only real solution is for both parties to pass a clean bill to avoid default, no brinkmanship, no hostage taking. on senate business, another busy week here on the floor in the u.s. senate later today, the senate will vote on confirmation

of anthony of montana to serve a lifetime appointment as circuit court judge for the ninth circuit, a graduate of yale and university of chicago, he has a wealth of experience in public service and private practice. as members of the montana supreme court attest to, he is one of the best legal minds in the finest most respected legal scholar in the state of montana. at the end of the week closure on three additional court judges from new jersey and new york, members should be advised i will file judicial nominations later this week later this evening the senate will work on processing the nominees over the course of the week. judicial nominees remain top priority for the senate senate democrats probably confirmed 11900 president biden -- president biden including 31 circuit court judges 87 district court judges and one

groundbreaking supreme court justice ketanji john jackson. eighty-four of these judges are people of color the impressive kelly over the course of the senate led to that impressive kelly this week. now a dear friend, mr. president, madam president, it brings me immense joy, gratitude and a little sadness to pay tribute to a giant of american labor, a hero working families and leader who truly stands in the category all its own. terry o'sullivan yesterday friday retired general president of the laborers after more than two decades over the years terry has become one of the dearest friends i've had in washington. there would be no middle class in america without the labor movement and the labor movement

cannot be the same today without terry o'sullivan. proud members helped build our roads and bridges and tunnels and office buildings under terry's leadership is become laborers union known as become one of the most impactful unions of the 21st century, under terry's watch workers help clean up the wreckage of ground zero after 9/11 under his watch it was his first ever high school for students to enter construction work and organize immigrants and supported comprehensive immigration reform so unsurprisingly anyone who knows terry knows his loyalty lies in one place alone, the working families and american general and i know this personally, a proud member of local 79 in new york and they treated him so well even when he

had severe illness because of the healthcare the laborers were able to get top-notch. terry's loyalty to the working people has been very long. loyalty first group trust in the early years of his childhood in the union household as secretary-treasurer. at 11, he started early and from there on there was no turning back, he became a proud member for life. after becoming general president in 2000, he spent the next two decades growing, modernizing and expanding, one of the greatest advocates for working americans in the century. in the face of radical polarization terry one better wages, better benefits, greater say about working conditions for his union members and fellow

americans. i've known terry a very long time. terry first stood out to me because even at the most formal event in washington i noticed terry never wore a tie. we joke about that but over the years there has become a confidant, a brother and someone i've turned to for advice and guidance again and again over the years. some of my most enjoyable evenings in washington were dinners with terry and his wife and a good glass of wine. to hear a man on fire the love of country and working families in america to watch terry work is to see someone singularly dedicated to his mission and someone equally at ease in the boardroom, labor rally and construction site and doesn't miss a beat going one to the other and of course famous for his candid style and no-nonsense attitude. he's from california, i'm from

brooklyn but we should direct way. if you cross his path for the path of working families will quickly find out you have a powerful adversary but if you win terry's heart, you'll discover he found a lifelong and as i have described. of course terry's legacy is not just filled in america but around the world, a proud supporter of united irish workers, terry and i have worked together on so many irish issues and agreed to continue working together on the years ahead. for me this is not really goodbye. terry and i will say good friends working on the causes we believe in and hopefully having some nice dinners at his home on the eastern shore. the work terry began will certainly continue. the show cap shall go on and as we celebrate as well earned retirement, we wish he and his family the very best on their

next adventure. finally on another retirement announced this afternoon let me close by honoring another great friend, beloved, truly beloved member of our senate, then pardon of mallet who announced today he will retire the end of this session. he's one of my dearest friends in the senate and has been for a very long time and someone i've always admired substance over/digging deeply into issues and his ability time and time again to persuade colleagues of the justice often working across the aisle to turn ideas into successful legislation and senator carton, the people of maryland have been jilted with public service, doesn't just describe them so well? representing ranchers in the state house of delegates or congress or senate is northstar

has never changed. he serves the community he knows well in country he so dearly loves whether foreign or domestic issues he's put issues first of politics second and in doing so on the respect of every corner of this chamber. of this business committee he spent years fighting for main street and a tireless advocate for job creators and entrepreneurs especially those who don't always have a seat at the table and during covid senator carton's leadership and expertise were essential and pass legislation to protect family restaurants, local shop owners, independent businesses, tens of thousands, probably hundreds of thousands of businesses that are in existence now had he not worked so hard for them. in conclusion, i wish america very best on the road ahead and i have no doubt they will find ways to serve the state of

maryland moving forward and remain friends forever. i yield the floor.

quorum call:

>> to give you a sense of janet's spirit, here's what she would later say about her first job interview. direct quote. i told him i could take vacation, chips act couldn't but i figured i could learn. janet had smarts, she had

tenacity, and she had a communication style that one might delicately crawl district. hometown newspaper -- direct. our hometown newspaper would report she had a salty tongue. a salty tongue. well, that was putting it mildly. she was a riot. she was a force of nature and nose qualities field a meteoric rise. by the time i met janet at some parent teacher function at both of those at our daughter's school in 1983, she had already ascended to the top rank of senate staffers and actually left washington to go back home. >> as you can imagine janet was heading up by a long shot for a

senate campaign. i understand shannon only permitted her mom to take the job and the potential return to washington that winning might entail because janet had assured her it was virtually no chance we'd pull it off. surprisingly we did pull it off. we packed our boxes for washington. i believe shannon at least got a new puppy for consolation prize. janet's veteran know how helped me hit the ground running and make an impact from the start. she could have some sensitive meetings, explain detailed policy issues, and curse a blue streak at some unruly reporter and that she would all do before

lunchtime. you wouldn't imagine a better friend to have in your corner. she was the first woman to serve two different senators as chief of staff. at my office, janet was the political operation of then vice president bush. that's when she made james a. baker after he left president reagan's cabinet to oversee the bush campaign in 1988. apparently while the other campaign staff greeted the famous newcomer with the awe indeference one might expect. janet marched down the hallway barefoot and said, hey, jim, nice to meet you. you. everyone else recoiled and jim

baker laughed. when he became bush's secretary of state, janet went and served as assistant secretary for legislative affairs. what baker became white house chief of staff, janet went with him and became an assistant to the president. when janet left government for the private sector, she kept on blazing trails. she spent a decade helping steer the ford motor company as a senior officer. janet built a prototypical power house washington dc resume by being a thoroughly untypical washington person. brilliant and accomplished, yes. but tough as nails and a little rough around the edges in the

best ways. that same spine of steel helped janet hold serious illness at bay for a number of years. and up to just a few days ago, she was still in the frail. still tweeting up a storm on politics and media criticism, relishing the good fight right to the end. and janet lived to see her most lasting legacy come forward. her oldest grandson harry has a startup business. her youngest grandson son sam has gone into political communications himself. he even spent a couple years in my office. as an outstanding speech writer. janet was threated, thrilled, to seat boys thriving.

we send our deepest con col doll lenses to all of her family -- condolences to all of her family and friends and colleagues mourning this tremendous loss.

mr. grassley: madam president. the presiding officer: the senator from iowa. mr. grassley: thank you, madam president.

the presiding officer: we're in a quorum. mr. grassley: thank you. i ask that the call of the quorum be dispensed with. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. grassley: madam president, i'm here to discuss the defense department's financial audits and, more accurately, the lack of credible audits. my colleagues know that i'm as stubborn isoamyl when it comes to my oversight work -- stubborn as a mule when it comes to my oversight of the pentagon's system -- or lack of system. i wish i could stop sounding like a broken record when talking about the pentagon's financial track record. the pentagon is -- or the fact is that the pentagon is pigheaded when it comes to accounting for taxpayer dollars. it keeps pouring billions of

dollars into an antiquated accounting system that doesn't work. late last year i read an article that appeared in a national national blog. the blog is called war on the rocks. it's called -- this blog article is called, quote, the pentagon can't count. it's time to reinvent the audit, end of quote. it was written by steve blank, a business professor at stanford university. as a former member of the defense business board, the professor calls for a whole new approach to defense auditing. the pentagon is spending $1

billion a year, and these are his quotes, to incrementally get better. and still, according to him, clean opinions are nowhere in sight. he raises a legitimate question -- why is the pentagon spending so much money for so little results? meaning money on audits. thinking outside of the box was not in the defense business board's charter, but professor blank allowed himself the luxury of thinking outside of the box. he dreamed about doing the impossible, and he wrote this fairly long quote. what if we could invent the

future, it dawned on me, he said. continuing to quote, if we tried to look over the horizon, we would discover that the department could audit faster, cheaper, and more effectively by inventing future tools and techniques rather than repeating the past. end of the professor's quote. the professor envisioned a, quote, fifth generation of audit practices, end of quote, to break the cycle of audit failures at the department department of defense. i give the professor very high grades for creativity and his search for new solutions, but disagree with some of his

thinking. however, when it comes to pinpointing the root cause for unending audit failures, the professor hits the nail on the head, so i quote from him. the department of defense needs to lead the audit industry to create a 21st century integrated finance and accounting system, including a u.s. standard general ledger that provides reliable and complete data. end of his quote. integrated systems and reliable data are the magic word. the experts, like the auditors, the financial managers, the inspector general have known this truth for 30 years or more.

they dutifully report it, wringing their hands in frustration, and then rinse and repeat the cycle from one year to the next year. now see here, we have the mighty pentagon that develops the most advanced weapons systems the world has ever known. yet when it comes to deploying basic technology like an accounting system, it's buffalo. or is it? maybe they want the system to work that way so nobody knows what's going on and how the money is spent. after hundreds of billions have been poured into patching up old audit systems, the department of defense still can't perform the most elementary accounting tasks in the books.

they don't capture transactions as they occur and post them to the correct accounts. so just go figure what's wrong. well, there once was a true sage consigned to an attic cubbyhole in the pentagon who claimed to know the answer. that person was ernest fitzgerald. we called him ernie. ernie was the management systems deputy of the air force in the comptroller's office. he blew the whistle on c-5-a cost overruns and of course got fired when president nixon didn't like what he testified before the congress of the united states. some years after being restored to his post, and he was restored only by court order, he was detailed to my staff for

several years to lead a joint review of the internal controls over vendor payments. ernie believed the pentagon barons lorded over their financial fiefdoms for one reason and one reason only. they did not want to see the status quo go away. pretty simple. keeping the books in disarray gives the department of defense so-called flexibility to hide overspending and other financial shenanigans. once upon a time a promising fix lent credence to ernie fitzgerald's theory. it was called the defense corporate database warehouse system.

it was at the threshold of success when it got torpedoed, and torpedoed by who? the bureaucrats from the defense department. that system could have been a building block for a modern accounting system that might have delivered a victory to the american taxpayer. if the brass was truly committed to cleaning up the books, it would have happened long ago. the technology is there for the taking. to break out of the cycle of failures, we need to step back, hit the audit reset but the torrential and chart a new -- reset button and chart a new course. as a first step, secretary of defense austin should hold the

chief financial officer accountable for failing to have an accounting system that meets statutory requirements. that's as simple as accounting 101, and accounting 101 is in my book. if secretary austin holds the cfo's feet to the fire, just maybe we will finally see the course of correction. as a lifelong family farmer, i can tell you that hope springs eternal at the start of every planting season. after four decades of working to weed out the fiscal mess at the pentagon, it's a tall order to be optimistic. i'm not going to give up. i'm not going to give up this fight. with the help of a team of auditors under the leadership of government accountability office general council, emanuel ely

perez, and pouter from our allies, maybe together we can nudge the department in a new direction. otherwise expect more of the same. colossal waste, on failed audits. i yield the floor. i suggest the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. quorum call:

the u.s. amassed a $31 million

debt. thank you for returning to the washington journal. tell us about the work you're doing to educate people about debt and deficit. >> thank you. bipartisan poll acceptabilitier was established about 15 years ago now and four former majority leaders of the united states senate. a little hard to hear washington dc and bipartisan senate and we try to approach issues and find common ground and the most sustainable are done in a bipartisanshipway.

we have developed a little bit of a reputation for that organization that provides independent access to the issue we're dealing with today that is called x date when the federal government will exhaust all its resources available to pay, pay it is bills. >> >> what is the x date for reaching the debt ceiling and what are the factors that contribute? >> first of all, we have the factors that impact us are the uncertainties associated with the economy and the levels of expenditures coming out and we

pay monthly something like 80 million checks go out and some of the checks will vary. current estimates later this week and early next week and we'll update our estimate as well as i understand secretary and there's some indication that revenue disaster and fema will

change draconian matt claim >> weariness you canning tafanely bill hoeingland about the debt limit and give viewers and listeners to call in with a number with comments on the issue and any questions that you you may have and democrat calling at (202)748-8000. if you're a republican, we want you to call at (202)748-8001. independents (202)748-8002 and we'll get to your calls in just a moment. two on the debt ceiling and how is it playing out in the current congress over the coming weeks and months.

>> that's a good question. my debt limit is the staff director of the senate budget committee and essentially 1985 and it was brought about by the situation where we are again and almost the same situation where we had a, at this time a republican in the white house, mr. reagan and republican-controlled senate and democrat-controlled house. little bit of flip from where we are today. we were dealing with an issue of trying to, we passed a budget resolution in the senate and budget resolution passed objection. mr. cornyn: madam president, over the weekend the small town

of cleveland, texas, more or less in east texas, east of conrowe and the houston area, they experienced a shocking crime. we are learning more about the details of the perpetrator and what happened that led to horrific bloodshed. here's what we know. late on friday night a man was firing his gun in the front yard in the rural part of the state. his neighbor came over and asked him to stop, respectfully, because it was just about midnight and the neighbor explained he had an infant at home who was trying to get some spleep. he -- sleep. he asked him to shoot further away from the home.

he refused. he said he could do anything he wanted on the appropriate and continued -- property, and continued shooting. the neighbor did what anyone would expect. they called the police. the shots continued. the neighbors called the police again, they called five times. before the police could arrive, the man stormed the neighbor's home and killed five people before fleeing and remains at large. all of the victims found inside the home were killed in what law enforcement has described as execution-style shooting. the first victim was 25-year-old sonya argentina guzman, a mother of three. sonya's husband, wilson, had been the one to go to the door

and asked the shooting stop so their 1-month-old son could get sleep, while the infant son and 2-year-old survived the shooting, the oldest did not. daniel guzman was also murdered by orial passa. it schiewfs diana al ver rad -- alverado and 18-year-old jose jonathan. i can't imagine the shock and grief that these families are experiencing today. what they thought was just a normal friday night surrounded by family and friends turned into a life-shattering day because of the actions of this criminal.

my prayers are with these families as they search for peace, healing, and justice. in the wake of this tragedy, govern abbott's -- governor abbott's office announced that the suspect had been in the united states illegally and had been previously deported four times. he never should have been in the united states in the first place. as devastating and unimaginable as this story is, it's not entirely unique. we may remember -- i remember the murder of kate steinle in 2015. she and her father were walking alongside a pier in san francisco when she was shot and killed. the man who killed her was an illegal immigrant who had been deported not once, not twice, but five times. he had seven felony convictions. now, i want to be abundantly

clear about one point. the actions of these criminals do not and should not reflect on the tens of millions of law-abiding immigrants in this country. any attempt to frame immigrants in general is a threat to our country is completely devoid of facts and detached from reality. but my point in sharing these stories is to prove there are devastating consequences when the biden administration simply refuses to enforce the law both at and inside of our borders. when president biden took office, customs and border patrol had logged -- since he took office, now about two and a half years ago, xoarp has log -- customs and border patrol has logged five million border crossings. most have come for economic

reasons, which woe know does not -- which we know does not qualify them for asylum. some are probably escaping persecution, which will likely qualify them for asylum under the u.s. law. some, although certainly another small percentage are dangerous criminals who have been convicted of serious crimes. since october, border patrol has arrested more than 5,000 convicted criminals at the border who have been convicted of everything from burglarly and assault to drug trafficking and murder. the big caveat to remember is these are the ones we know about. when thousands of migrants illegally cross the border every day, it completely overwhelms our border patrol and law enforcement authorities. law enforcement is pulled from the front lines to feed and care

for the migrants, creating a gateway for dangerous criminals and drugs to make their way into the united states undetected. earlier this year border patrol told news outlets that 1.2 million migrants had evaded law enforcement since president biden took office. in other words, we know how many the law enforcement encountered, but the so-called gottaways, 1.2 million of them, we have no idea what they're up to, whether they are migrants looking for a better life. my guess is probably not. my guess is they are convicted criminals who knew they would not be allowed into the united states or people transiting the united states carrying drugs into the interior. these gottaways, that number is

not just one pulled out of thin air. these individuals are detected by cameras, sensors, or other forms of surveillance, but never arrested or processed by border patrol because they're simply overwhelmed. these are the ones that are running away from the border patrol instead of turning themselves in to claim asylum, like the majority of immigrants. now, i have no idea where these 1.2 million people are or what they're doing, but neither does president biden, neither does customs and border patrol, neither does any of our law enforcement agencies know where these 1.2 million migrants are or what they're doing. maybe, just maybe, i would say in all likelihood, inside of that number some subset are probably murders, rapists, child

abusers with lengthy rap sheets, maybe they are cartels smuggling fentanyl into our communities, maybe they're members of a gang like ms-13 or other transnational gangs, president biden and secretary mayorkas, the secretary of homeland security, has no idea who or what is coming across our border every day. now, when title 42, which as we all know is the public health title that has been used to expel some migrants during the pendency of the pandemic, when it expires next thursday, the you in of -- the number of migrants coming across the border every day will soar, making it even easier for criminals and gang members to sneak into the united states, along with the drugs that have

taken too many lives in recent years, 108,000 americans died of drug overdoses, 71,000 from fentanyl. that all comes across the border. we know where it's coming from, but president biden and secretary mayorkas have done too little to stop it, and, in fact, their policies have encouraged more and more people to come. law enforcement depends, in part, on deterrence, people knowing that if i try, i'm unlikely to be successful so i'm not going to try in the first place. that's how law enforcement manages their business. but when people see no likelihood of negative consequences, they're going to keep coming, and we understand exactly why. unfortunately this allows dangerous individuals into the united states and the odds of

them being arrested and removed by the biden administration is extremely low. so this is a problem not only at the border, this is a problem once these individuals make their way inside the united states. u.s. immigration and customs enforcement, otherwise known as ice, is charged with removing individuals who are illegally present in the united states. in fiscal year 2020, the agencies deported just over 100,000 individuals, that's fiscal year 2020. for context u.s. and customs and border patrol, logged 458,000 border crossings. once president biden took office and the welcome mat came out and people knew newt borders were o, things changed dramatically.

in fiscal year 20822, the number fell from 28,000. while the number of border encounters has skyrocketed. customs and border protection logged 2.4 million border crossings that year. day after day the biden administration is allowing more and more migrants to enter the united states illegally, despite the fact that the vast majority of these individuals have no legal basis to say. but they're depending on their system being overwhelmed and so are the people who are getting rich, getting paid by the head to smuggle those individuals into the united states. but at the same time the administration is doing less and less to actually enforce the law and remove those who have been

found to have no credible claim to remain in the united states. the biden administration simply refuses to enforce america's immigration laws and its policies have real and deadly consequences. it's dangerous for the migrants to make the long trip from their home in the hands of cartels who care nothing for them. they don't care about people. they just care about the money and the drugs. as a consequence, many migrants are hurt and abused and extorted by the cartels and kyotos en route. many girls and women are sexually assaulted in astonishingly large numbers. it's heartful to law enforcement who are overworked, unappreciated and burnt out. these policies hurt the border communities like the ones i

represent that are expected to shoulder the massive weight of this humanitarian crisis because the federal government and the biden administration refuses to do its job. it hurts small towns, medium size towns and large towns all ail cross america that have been infiltrated by fentanyl and other deadly drugs. and as we saw again this weekend, the administration's policies victimize people who are attacked by dangerous individuals who never should have been in the united states in the first place. how much pain and suffering will our country have to endure before the biden administration takes this seriously? it's past time to secure the border, enforce our immigration laws, and prioritize the safety and security of the american people. until then i'm sad to say innocent people will continue to

suffer due to the administration's failed policies. madam president, i yield the floor and i would note the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. quorum call: a senator: madam president. the presiding officer: the senator from hawaii. ms. hirono: i ask unanimous consent to vitiate the quorum call. the presiding officer: without objection. ms. hirono: madam president, i rise today to express my strong support for julie su's nomination to serve as our next secretary of labor. as we continue working to rebuild and strengthen our economy, it is critical that the department of labor is led by someone committed to protecting the rights of all workers, and that person is julie su.

from combating wage theft to expanding workforce training, acting secretary su has spent her life fighting for workers. for the past two years she served as deputy secretary of labor alongside secretary walsh. together they helped make life better for workers across the country. thanks to their hard work, our country has added a record 12.6 million jobs over the last two and a half years. once more, unemployment is at its lowest level in more than 50 years, a testament to the hard work of secretary walsh and deputy secretary su. and before coming to washington, julie spent decades fighting for workers in her home state of california as secretary of labor in california, commissioner of labor, and as a civil rights attorney. beyond her stellar professional track record, julie's personal

history informs her commitment to building an economy that puts workers first. like me julie is the daughter of immigrants. her mother came to america from china on a cargo ship, unable to afford a passenger ticket. after arriving in the u.s., she got a good job with a union with predictable hours, paid sick leave, and a reliable income. that job helped julie's mother and father go on to become business owners themselves. ultimately running a franchise pizza restaurant and a laundromat. thanks to her parents' hard work, julie went on to attend stanford university and harvard law before receiving a prestigious mcarthur genius award for her work fighting for until documented garment workers in california. julie su is a relentless advocate for workers and she

also knows how to build consensus. it's no wonder this enthat she enjoys -- that she enjoys broad support from labor and business alike. garnering the endorsement of groups including the u.s. hispanic chamber of commerce, small business majority, the afl-cio, and dozens of labor unions across the country. she has the support of leaders like cecil roberts, president of the united mine workers of america who said last month that acting secretary su is, quote, straightforward, very knowledgeable, and a passionate advocate for workers and their families. president biden has made the right choice for secretary of labor. end quote. and secretary walsh himself who said that he has, quote, the utmost confidence in julie's ability to sustain the work of the department and advance the president's vision of an economy that puts workers first and

leave no one behind. end quote. i couldn't agree more. confirming julie's -- julie su should be a no-brainer just like it was two years ago when every democrat in the senate voted to confirm her as deputy secretary of labor. special interests are working hard to block her nomination lobbying unfair attacks and intentionally misrepresenting her record. in states like west virginia, montana, and arizona, massive build boards have been erected suggesting that deputy secretary su's confirmation would harm our economy. they claim outrageously that she is somehow working to destroy franchise businesses like the one her own family ran. in reality she worked to ensure workers at all franchise businesses have basic protections so that those

businesses and their employees can thrive. they claim that she's worked to end the so-called gig economy, another lie. what she has done is cracked down on corporations like uber, exploiting hardworking americans for their own profit. because deputy secretary su understands that our economy can thrive only if workers have the dignity and support they deserve. madam president, what we are witnessing is a coordinated campaign by those on the right to discredit julie su and her impressive record. but her credentials are as clear as can be. and as we enter asian american, native hawaiian and pacific islander heritage month, i would be remiss not to also mention the important role acting secretary su will play as the only aapi cabinet level secretary in the biden-harris administration.

confirming julie su as secretary of labor is one of the most important things we can do to support workers, strengthen small businesses, and ensure our economy works for all of us for working people. i look forward to voting for her nomination and for our country and our economy i hope this body will confirm julie su without delay. madam president, i yield the floor. and note the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. quorum call: a senator: madam president. the presiding officer: the senator from tennessee. mrs. blackburn: thank you, madam president. i ask that we dispense with the quorum call. the presiding officer: without objection. mrs. blackburn: thank you, madam president. last month i continued my annual 95-county tour with a swing through east tennessee.

over the past few years this area has experienced both economic growth and a population boom so the people who live there have seen firsthand what can happen when tennesseans are allowed to build and nurture a community free from the heavy hand of government. but they also know how fragile that stability can be, and they are just baffled by joe biden's determination to ruin what they and millions of other americans have worked so incredibly hard to build. in just over two years joe biden and the democrats have sabotaged our national defense, our border security and public safety in the name of dangerous woke agenda items that prioritize mandates and intellectual

confirmty over the safety and security of the american people. tennesseans are worried about the rise of the enough axis of evil. joe biden is allowing russian, china, iran, north korea to wros one line after another and that's not going over very well. neither is the biden administration's neglect of the security risk that hits much closer to home. so far this year border patrol and other law enforcement officials have reported almost half a million encounters with migrants trying to illegally cross our border. over the course of this fiscal year. now, madam president, the numbers i'm going to give you are for this fiscal year. they have recorded 332 encowfortszers with people -- encounters with people that are

on the terrorist watch list. that is right. 332 have been apprehended at the border. these are people that are terrorists. they are on the watch list. it means if you catch them, they cannot come into this country. they have apprehended 330 dangerous gang members. that's ms-13. that is other of these gangs that are trying to get into the country, and they have seized almost 19,000 pounds of drugs. now, this is what we know. and we can only estimate how many other terrorists or gang members or criminals escaped into the country and how much deadly contraband did they bring with them because they are all

in the category of got-aways. they're the people that you see on surveillance but you cannot get to them. they're got-aways. or they're people that after the fact you don't see them, but after the fact you find things that they have left along their path as they have escaped into this country. so think about those numbers and who might be coming in. now, when you look at it, this is a total neglect of our most basic line of defense, and it might be easier to comprehend were it not for this administration's betrayal of local law enforcement. the president has denied that he supports the antipolice

movement, but i would remind the president and my democratic colleagues that acting on antipolice sentiment behind the scenes is still antipolice. making the job of law enforcement harder to do every day is antipolice. using the bureaucracy to undermine access to grant funding and lifesaving resources, that is antipolice. and deliberately leaving our border wide open to the drug mules bringing fentanyl into our backyards, that is antipolice. allowing the cartels and the human traffickers to run rampant, turning human trafficking from a $500 million a year business, which it was in 2018, to a $13 billion a year

business, that is antipolice. the damage that this administration has done in just under two and a half years will take a lot longer than that to repair. but simply answering one sweeping policy change with another won't magically reverse the ripple effects of this complete breakdown in orderly governance. yes, we have to reverse policy, but we must also pay attention to the problems that have left local leaders, law enforcement officials, and families begging for help. so, madam president, let's kind of work through these issues. because they're of concern to tennesseans. tennesseans feel like this administration is seeking to normalize lawlessness.

they feel they're seeking to normalize lawlessness because of that open border, because of the sentiments and the actions that are anti-law enforcement. they're seeking to minority leaderralize -- they're seeking to normalize lawlessness. now, at the border, the immediate solution, of course, is to eliminate incentives to illegal immigration, to fund the border patrol and invest heavily in both a physical barrier and enhanced technology. now, these are two things that the border patrol has been asking for for about three decades. give us a barrier of some type, and where you can't have a barrier, give us better technology. now, we also need to address the plagues of drug smuggling and human trafficking. the biden administration's refusal to stand up to the

cartels has turned every town into a border town and every state into a border state. between august of 2021 and august of 2022, the united states lost more than 107,000 people to drug overdoses. now, 66% of these deaths were due to fentanyl. 107,000 people lost their lives to drugs. they're coming primarily over that southern border. talk to any law enforcement officer, they will tell you the majority of the drugs they apprehend, they're coming across that southern border. the majority of those drugs are fentanyl. now, i want you to think about this. we all know about world war i, the lives that were lost,

precious lives. world war ii, the lives that were lost, the vietnam war, the gulf war. they're are society stats for you -- here are some stats for you. in world war i, 116,516 u.s. citizens that lost their lives. in world war ii, it was 420,200. in vietnam, 58,000 220. the gulf war, 37 -- 383. so think about this and what we did to protect those lives. think about what is happening with these drugs coming over that border and this administration not willing to close that border and in one year -- one year, one -- 107,000 lives. think about that.

why will this administration not step up, man up and work to secure that border? maintaining the title 42 order will help us keep what little control we have over the cross-border drug trade. tens of thousands of migrants are waiting for may 11 to roll around so they can flood the border, and we are watching that footage right now. i would encourage any of my colleagues who are not watching this footage, you need to log on and look at how people are coming up. el paso, i think they've had 15,000 people over the weekend that have come to that border. the numbers are staggering. we are not ready for this. last week my tennessee colleague, senator hagerty, and i reintroduced the stop fentanyl border crossing act, which would preserve the continued use of title 42 authority to remove

illegal border crossers and interrupt drug smuggling operations along the border. the save girls act, which is a bipartisan bill i introduced with senator klobuchar last month, has a similar goal of thwarting human trafficking operations. and here's another stat for you -- these are not my numbers. these are the administration's numbers. the state department estimates that between 14,5,000 -- 14,500 and 17,500 are trafficked into the u.s. every year. most of these people that are trafficked across this southern border -- that's what we're talking about here, that's the universe -- and they're looking at between 14,550 and 17,500. most of them are women. and it's upsetting to realize that 90% -- 90% -- of these

women and girls become the victims of sexual exploitation. the save girls act would authorize an additional $50 million in grant funding to prevent the trafficking of women and girls and protect children who had been smuggled across this border. why are we doing this? because it is our local law enforcement. they're the ones that are on the front lines in this. they're the ones who are conducting rescues and pulling these women and girls away from that's traffickers, away from these pimps that are rescuing them and getting them to safety. madam president, we all know that no bill, no matter how effective, can stop these criminal enterprises entirely, just as no amount of policing or community support can eliminate

local crime. still, our police departments, they are in trouble. tennessee is no exception. in april of last year, the knoxville police department was 10% understaffed. as of last december, the nashville police department was 193 officers short. morale is a proficiency but so is a -- morale is a problem, but so is a lack of funding. in march, senator ossoff and i introduced the filling public vacancies act to provide a one-time emergency boost in funding to help departments hire officers and sheriffs deputies. the bill conditions this funding on the implementation of new vetting procedures, not currently required by federal law. i've also introduced a series of bills that would protect schools from becoming key targets for criminals. the safe schools act would

establish a $900 million grant program to train and hire safety officers and to increase physical security at our schools. the bipartisan enhancing k-12 cybersecurity act would provide resources and information to schools that will help prevent cyberattacks and establish a better system for tracking cyberattacks nationally. i want to emphasize again that many of these bills are bipartisan. we could pass them this week. and they would each make a difference right away in places like the state of tennessee. there are things that our -- they're things that our citizens want to see done. there is no good reason to delay

these bills. that would help to make our communities safer. it would be knothole in the toolbox -- it would be another tool in in the toolbox for our local officials and citizens who want to see our schools and communities safer, who want our law enforcement agencies to be able to hire and train more police. they would be pro-law enforcement, pro-safety, pro-security principles. this administration's refusal to govern and their neglect of our most basic institutions has left tennesseans really unsettled. they've worked so hard to build what they have, and they cannot believe that they're looking at an administration that would seek to tear it down.

they're frightened at how quickly things have become so out of control. they deserve better than an uncertain future increased by a president -- controlled by a president who is asleep at the wheel and a congress that refuses to put politics aside and work in the best interests of the american people. i yield the floor. and i note the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. quorum call:

quorum call:

the debate how to raise and $31 trillion debt. good morning . >> good to be with you. >> thank you for returning to "washington journal". let's start off, tell us more about the bipartisan policy center and the work you are doing to educate people about debt and deficit. >> the bipartisan policy center was about 15 years ago now established from majority leaders of the u.s. senate, late senator bob dole and figure on the republican side, george mitchell and tom on the democratic side. as the name would imply, to believe there's a bipartisan center we try to approach issues, major issues and find

common ground because we do believe most sustainable policies in the country are done in a bipartisan way. as it relates to a number of areas, energy, immigration and fiscal policy on those issues but the school policy we developed a bit of a reputation for the organization that provides independent assessment to this issue we are dealing with today called x state when the federal government will exhaust all resources available. >> it's not a certain date, talk about that. what you think the next date is for the debt ceiling right now and what are the factors that contribute? >> factors that impact us are

uncertainty associated with the economy, the level of revenue coming in and pay the federal government and the current estimate has been time between june and september later this week or early next week as well as to understand secretary-treasurer yellen will do her estimate update, there are some occasions the revenues that came in to pay taxes april 15, the revenues came in are less than what we expected, we would try to refine it, it's a difficult estimate because we have to take into consideration

all of these uncertainties and of course issues we can't anticipate the fema for a disaster and those are things that will change the estimate dramatically. >> so what happened in the bipartisan national debt and get viewers a number to call in with comments on the issue or any questions you may have. democrats call us at (202)748-8000. if you are republican, we want you to call us at (202)748-8001. independent, dial (202)748-8002. we will get to your calls and just a moment. in addition, you have a career

on capitol hill, you are no stranger to the debate on the debt ceiling had you see it in the current congress over the coming weeks. >> i have seen this movie before and this one is a little more scary in my perspective as opposed to the first time i dealt with the debt limit issue hours staff director of the senate committee essentially 1985 brought about by a situation where we were in almost the same situation at this time we had a republican in the white house is dragon and republican-controlled senate and democratic-controlled house a little before where we are today in dealing with an issue, we passed a budget resolution in the senate passed by one vote

and george w. bush first president was vice president and broke the tie. and that budget if you can believe it, was to reduce the deficit at that time with $200 billion and we were to reduce it in long story short, that particular budget went to the house and included in the senate and controversial budget resolution because it had one year of social security and reduced reagan's defense. what happened was went to the house and the house, my boss at that time they were undercut by president reagan who said would not support that came back and cause controversial or publicans who stretched the neck to look

at reducing the deficit. led to the next step which was a movement by senator redman wait a minute, we are going to come now in october of 1985, we will have to increase statutory debt limit to $2 trillion. that was not long ago. >> thirty-five years the national debt was 2 trillion. >> and is now at 35. what senator graham and senator rudman said, here we go again, we are not going to vote to raise that debt limit which requires 60 votes at least in the senate unless have to change in fiscal policy and eventually result of an graham redman which

is a precursor for lots of things that followed 1990, 1997 and 2000 where we set caps on spending and if spending exceeded, there would be the first time i ever called, sequesters. we would cut spending below that. and argue the budget again, we can argue i don't think it was a successful but it set up a process that led to 1990 agreements and more importantly 1997 further negotiation. what i'm getting at is that negotiation, i know and respect the president -- mr. tester: thank you,

madam president. i rise today to speak in sport of anthony johnstone's confirmation to be a judge for the ninth circuit court of appeals. i'm very proud to be supporting this montanansan -- montanan for such an important position. he's going to bring something we're in need of in this body a lot of times and that's common sense. he's also a man of integrity. americans expect their judges to apply the law without bias in a nonpartisan way, and that is exactly what anthony johnstone has done throughout his legal career. he has an outstanding record of service to the people of montana. he served as clerk for judge sid thomas on the ninth circuit, then as our state solicitor and assistant attorney general at the montana department of commerce. for more than a decade he has encouraged the next generation of legal minds at the university of montana's alexander bluet

iii's school of law. he is supported by democrats and republicans alike, including the past two attorneys general from montana, one from each party. he is supported by montana's former republican solicitor general. he is supported by a retired montana supreme court justices. he is supported by tribes across the great state of montana. and he is supported by former yale and college law classmates, and countless other public servants across the ninth district. mr. johnstone has stood up for our constitution time and time and time again, and i have no doubt that he will continue to do that as a judge. we have the opportunity, the opportunity here in a moment to confirm an excellent and impartial legal mind to the

ninth circuit bench, and i would urge all my colleagues to join me in supporting anthony johnstone's nomination. with that, madam president, i yield the floor. the presiding officer: the senator from montana. mr. tester: i ask unanimous consent that the scheduled vote occurs immediately. the presiding officer: without objection. the question is on the nomination. is there a sufficient second? there appears to be. the clerk will call the roll. vote: vote:

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nomination, the senate vote on the confirmation of the nomination, followed by a vote on cloture on the merchant nomination. finally, if any nominations are confirmed, the motions to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table and the president be notified of the senate's action. the presiding officer: without objection.

mr. schumer: for the information of the senate, there will be two roll call votes at 11:30 a.m., one following the photograph, and two roll call votes at 5:00 p.m. if no further business before the senate, i ask that it stand adjourned under the previous order. the presiding officer: the senate stands adjourned until senate stands adjourned until >> today the u.s. senate confirm solicitor general anthony to be a judge on the ninth circuit court of appeals, good plan throughout the week on several president biden's nomination coming to the u.s. district court, went live coverage of the city, the next return, on "c-span2". tuesday morning hearing on supreme court ethical standards, in the wake of reports that justice clarence thomas accepted trips from a republican campaign donor and just as neil horse that to an attorney was law firm had cases before the high

quartet. wi-fi coverage of the senate judiciary committee hearing, getting a 10:00 a.m. eastern on c-span, cspan l a free mobile video app or online at cspan.org watch a video demand for my anytime among, cspan.org, entire points of interest feature, timeline tool uses markers to guide you to newsworthy and interesting highlights of murky coverage use the points of interest anytime ongoing,span.org. this week 2024 democratic presidential candidate and believes enjoys washington journal to take your calls and talk betr platform, policy objeives and what she sees her path to victory live on thursday, had 9:00 a.m. eastern, on c-span, cspan our free mobile video app, or online, as cspan.org. >> sees manager unfiltered view of government, funded by these

television companies and more including wow. >> the world has changed, today, the fast reliable internet connection is something that no one can live without, so well is therefore our customers defeated in reliability and value and choice and no more than ever, it all starts with great internet. >> wow. >> supporting cspan, public service along with these other television providers, giving you a front row seat, to democracy. republican presidential candidate, nikki haley participated in a town hall, first new england college in new hampshire, she's h questions on the solvency of social security inhe federal government's roll in energy policy this is 40 minutes. [applause] [applause] >> thank you so much, it is going to be here but we have's medical couple of days in new hampshire and we will be here again tomorrow and

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the presiding officer: the yeas are 49, the nays are 45, 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.

mr. schumer: madam president. the presiding officer: the majority leader. mr. schumer: i move to proceed to legislative session. the presiding officer: the question is on the motion. all those in favor say aye.

all opposed say no. the ayes appear to have it. the ayes do have it. the motion is agreed to. mr. schumer: i move to proceed to executive session to consider calendar number 127. the presiding officer: the question is on the motion. all those in favor say aye. all opposed say no. the ayes appear to have it. the ayes do have it. the motion is agreed to. the clerk will report the nomination. the clerk: nomination, the judiciary, wesley l. hsu, of california, to be united states district judge for the central district of california. mr. schumer: i send a cloture motion to the desk. the presiding officer: the clerk will report. the clerk: cloture motion, we the undersigned senators in accordance with provisions of rule 22 of the standing rules of the senate, do hereby move to bring to a close debate on 127, wesley l. hsu, of california, to be united states district judge for the central district of california, signed by 20 senators as followed. mr. schumer: i ask consent the

reading of the names be waived. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. schumer: i move to proceed to legislative session. the presiding officer: the question is on the motion. all those in favor say aye. all opposed say no. the ayes appear to have it. the ayes do have it. the motion is agreed to. mr. schumer: i move to proceed to executive session to consider calendar number 125. the presiding officer: the question is on the motion. all those in favor say aye. all opposed say no. the ayes appear to have it. the ayes do have it. the motion is agreed to. the clerk will report. the clerk: nomination, the judiciary, lashonda a. hunt, of illinois, to be united states district judge for the northern district of illinois. mr. schumer: i send a cloture motion to the desk. the presiding officer: the clerk will report the motion to invoke cloture. the clerk: cloture motion, we, the undersigned senators, in accordance with the provisions of rule 22 of the standing rules of the senate do hereby move to bring to a close debate on the nomination of executive calendar 125, lashonda a. hunt, of illinois, to be united states district judge for the northern

district of illinois, signed by 20 senators as follows. mr. schumer: i ask consent the reading of the names be waived. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. schumer: i move to proceed to legislative session. the presiding officer: the question is on the motion. all those in favor say aye. all opposed say no. the ayes appear to have it. the ayes do have it. the motion is agreed to. mr. schumer: i move to proceed to executive session to consider calendar number 79. the presiding officer: the question is on the motion. all those in favor say aye. all opposed say no. the ayes appear to have it. the ayes do have it. the motion is agreed to. the clerk will report the nomination. the clerk: nomination, yanl archives and -- national archives and records administration, colleen shogan of pennsylvania to be archivist of the united states. mr. schumer: i send a cloture motion to the desk. the presiding officer: the clerk will report. the clerk: we, the undersigned senators, in accordance with the provisions of rule 22 of the standing rules of the senate do hereby move to bring to a close debate on the nomination of executive calendar number 79,

colleen joy shogan, of pennsylvania, to be archivist of the united states signed by 17 senators as follows. mr. schumer: i ask consent the reading of the names be waived. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. schumer: i move to proceed to legislative session. the presiding officer: the question is on the motion. all those in favor say aye. all opposed say no. the ayes appear to have it. the ayes do have it. the motion is agreed to. mr. schumer: i move to proceed to executive session to consider calendar number 66. the presiding officer: the question on is the motion. all those in favor say aye. all opposed say no. the ayes appear to have it. the ayes do have it. the motion is agreed to. the clerk will report the nomination. the clerk: nomination, department of state, it geeta rao gupta, of virginia, to be ambassador-at-large for global women's issue. mr. schumer: i send a cloture motion to the desk. the presiding officer: the clerk will report. the clerk: we, the undersigned senators, in accordance with the provisions of rule 22 of the standing rules of the senate, do hereby move to bring to a close debate on the nomination of

executive calendar 66, geeta rao gupta, of virginia, to be ambassador-at-large for global women's issues, signed by 17 senators as follows. mr. schumer: i ask consent the reading of the names be waived. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. schumer: finally, i ask unanimous consent that the mandatory quorum calls for the cloture motions filed today, may 1, be waived. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. schumer: i ask unanimous consent the senate proceed to legislative session and be in a period of morning business, with senators permitted to speak therein up to ten minutes each. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. schumer: i understand there are two bills at the desk. i ask for their first reading en bloc. the presiding officer: the clerk will read the titles of the bill for the first time en bloc. the clerk: s. 1395, a bill to temporarily sus pinned the debt limit through december 31, 2024. h.r. 2811, an act to provide for a responsible increase to the debt ceiling and for other purposes. mr. schumer: i now ask for a second reading and i object to my own request, all en bloc.

the presiding officer: the objection is heard. the bill will be read for a second time the next ledges lative day. mr. schumer: i ask unanimous consent the senate proceed to consideration of senate res. 187, submitted earlier today. the presiding officer: the clerk will report. the clerk: s. res. 187, authorizing the taking of a photograph in the senate chamber. the presiding officer: is there objection to proceeding? without objection, the senate will proceed. mr. schumer: i ask unanimous consent the resolution be agreed to and the motions to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table, with no intervening action or debate. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. schumer: finally, i ask unanimous consent that when the senate completes its business today it stand adjourned until 10:00 a.m. tuesday, may 2. that following the prayer and pledge, the journal of proceedings be approved to date, and the time for the two leaders be reserved for their use later in the day, and morning business be closed. that upon the conclusion of morning business, the senate resume consideration of the

michael farbiarz nomination. further, the clowrmts filed -- cloture motions filed wednesday ripen at 11:30 a.m., and not withstanding rule 22, following cloture on the michael farbiarz nomination, the senate recess to allow for the caucus meetings and taking of the photograph of the 118th congress. that when the senate convenes, all time on the michael farbiarz nomination be considered expired, at 5:00 p.m. if cloture has been invoked on the coach