increase to the debt ceiling. yesterday, treasury secretary janet yellen sent a letter to leaders warning that the u.s. to defall on its debt as soon as june 1st. we'll bring you any updates or statements from those directly involved. >> and today, the senate is working on a house measure to repeal a washington d.c. police reform law. the measure bans choke holds and for body worn cameras. 2:30 eastern time. we take you live to the senate floor here on c-span2. the chaplain: let us pray. almighty god, you know all about us. you are our lord.

our goodness is nothing apart from you. give us your holy spirit to purge us of every wrong thing so that our lives will glorify you. today, guide the steps of our lawmakers. deliver them from those who shoot from the shadows as you rule the nations with your justice. lord, examine every heart, both the evil and the good. empower our senators to run when they can, to walk when they ought, and to wait when they must. open their minds to discern your will and inspire them with a

willingness to follow where you lead. we pray in your matchless name. amen. the president pro tempore: please join me in 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 president pro tempore: under the previous order, the leadership time is reserved.

>> today in the senate, would recollect on a house passed measure for police reform law and a vote to repeal the measure is planned for 2:30 p.m. eastern. and top congressional leaders working with the biden administration on a debt ceiling agreement. visit our website cspan.org and our free c span now video app for up-to-date congressional news. >> we're joined on negotiations on the u.s. debt limit and the senate and president set to meet today. it's 3:00 p.m. it. is your headline this morning heading into the talks. fresh dynamics, same sharp

rhetoric headed into the debt talks, explain. >> yes, this has been about a week since the last time what we call the big four. schumer, mcconnell, mccarthy and hakeem jeffries will be meeting at the white house with president joe biden to talk and try to get on the same page about the debt limit and spending cuts. democrats of course have maintained that they'd like those two discussions to be separate and opponents have maintained those need to be tied today completely tide together and they will not be willing to vote for anything that divorces those two things. i mean what the headline says a lot is that not much has moved sings their meeting last week

but staff level talks are at least continuing and they want to give those folks more time to hash things scout this is them reconvening after a whole week of staff level talks and talks casually between the principles but the white house is more symbolic than those calls. >> the thing that had moved is the ticking clock on getting closer to the so-called x dates of when we may breech the date ceiling. update from the treasury secretary already this week. where are we on that? >> the date is still as soon as june 1. >> what does that mean as soon as? >> that means they have already been -- the treasury department has already been using extraordinary measure. they have been trying to find ways to put this off for months. frankly the debt limit was and

credit downgrade for the agencies for the last week of may and that means and leave for japan in the middle of this week. >> this is the g7. >> the g7. we're looking at this -- these kind of talks are not just a reconvening, but probably a

discussion of what is the plan here to get this done by the deadline, even if we don't have the details hammered out. does chuck schumer need to tell senators you've got to be here? will this congressional senate be up ended for the rest of the month and possibly heading into june. >> the laterrest on the federal debt limit debate and catherine catherinemcmanus is our guest al in, democrat, 202-74-8800. republicans748-74-8801 and indianapolis dependents 74874880002.

>> upward mobility way to bring in additional revenue in the country is to really crack down on some of the ways that the wealthiest americans can skirt some tax laws.

mr. schumer: madam president. the president pro tempore: the majority leader is recognized. mr. schumer: before i get into my remarks, just a little housekeeping. i understand there's a bill at the desk for a second reading. the president pro tempore: the clerk will read the title of the bill for the second time. the clerk: h.r. 2, an act to secure the borders of the united states and for other purposes. mr. schumer: in order to place the bill on the calendar under the provisions of rule 14, i would object to further proceeding. the president pro tempore: objection having been heard, the bill will be placed on the calendar. mr. schumer: madam president, i ask unanimous consent that the committee on homeland security and governmental affairs be discharged from further

consideration of h.j. res. 42, and the senate proceed to its consideration as provided for under the previous order. the president pro tempore: without objection. morning business is closed. under the previous order, the senate will proceed to the consideration of h.j. res. 42. the clerk will report. the clerk: h.j. res. 42, disa proving the action of the district of columbia counsel in approving the comprehensive policing and justice reform act of 2022. mr. schumer: madam president. the president pro tempore: majority leader. mr. schumer: yesterday afternoon, treasury secretary yellen released a letter upgrading congressional leadership about their latest forecast regarding default. the projection remains unchangel government is in danger of failing to pay its bills, as soon as june 1. since last week's white house meeting, democrat staff have, in good faith, held conversation was our republican counterparts about the nation's fiscal

future. the talks are separate but simultaneous to our responsibility to avoid default. democrats will not use the threat of default to get what we want. nobody should use default as a hostage. nobody should say, unless do you this, then we default, because the consequences of default would be devastating for ordinary americans. we talked through the weekend. we talked yesterday. and both sides, the staffs that is, are talking today as well. later this afternoon, i will join president biden, house leader jeffries, speaker mccarthy, leaderring mcconnell at the white house. democrats welcome a debate about this year's budget. for decades, both parties have regularly worked out their differences about spending and revenues throughout the appropriations process. that's what's happening right now, while we separately but simultaneously work to avoid

default. let me repeat this, because it's so important as we get closer to june 1. nobody, nobody should use default as a hostage. nobody should say unless you do this, then we default, because the consequences will be devastating for america. default would almost certainly create another recession, kill more than eight million jobs, send costs soaring on everything's from mortgages to car loans, student loans, small business loans and so much more. if you want to own a home, default would take that dream and run it through the shredder. if you want to protect your 401-k, default would rob you of your livelihood. if you want to grow your small business or borrow student lopes, or if you -- loans, or if you benefit from social security or medicare, a default would be a nightmare scenario. we all know these things are fast approaching the closer we get to june 1. congress cannot, under any circumstances, fail its

obligation to protect the full faith and credit of the united states. it is one of our highest obligations. now, on nominations and senate business, last night we filed cloture on three more outstanding judicial nominees, two district court judges and a circuit court judge. even as senate democrats proceed on our agenda to help working and middle-class families avoid default, we will not relent on filling the vacancies in our federal judiciary, with qualified, mainstream, and diverse judges. yesterday, we took a big step forward towards strengthening the bench with historic confirmation of bradley garcia, the first latino ever to serve on the d.c. circuit. the second most important court in the land. the three judges we filed cloture on last night continue that effort. they are highly qualified and diverse candidates, both demographically and professionally. they will strengthen our federal judiciary and help the bench

better reflect the diversity and dynamism of our country. senate democrats are going to keep working this week to advance these nominees, and i hope both sides can work together to move the process along quickly and in a bipartisan way. today, the senate is also busy off the floor as we speak, the senate banking committee is holding a very important hearing, hearing testimony from the former ceo and chairman of silicon eventually bank and signature bank to examine the failures that led to their collapses. i want to thank chairman brown and all the members of the committee for holding this important hearing, because we need to get to the bottom of what went wrong with svb and signature bank. the american people must have confidence that congress can work across the aisle to hold bad actors and banking accountable. that's why it's essential we hear directly from the ceo's of the failed institutions. i hope today's hearing brings us one step closer to bipartisan

action on be commonsense banking overspieght legislation that americans -- oversight legislation that americans rightfully demand. i yield the floor, note the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. quorum call:

>> our government government for the penal by the weal and there was no one here that cares more about public safety than we do. my family is five generation dc and today is my daughter's birthday and i'm raising her to be a life-long washingtonen too. it's my priority that washington dc is a place with all children can grow up safely ken polcari joy their full rights as american citizens and where they can live up to their god given potential. i hope that any actions taken by

this committee will advance that vision. thank you, mr. chairman. >> thank you very much, mayor. let me make this point. there will be two open segments and all four witnesses available to answer questions but now chair recognizes the honorable mr. grace. >> thank you, and good morning, mr. chairman, ranking member raskin, my respective and the rest of the committee. i'm honored to be here today to discuss the public safety mission for the public safety's office for the district of columbia and representing the dedicated men and women working tirelessly to prosecute crime in the office. we're unique among the 94 attorney offices and prosecute federal crime and most local crime committed by adults in the district of columbia. we have a dedicated and talented team of prosecutors, victim advocates and support staff that have a deep commitment to seeking justice and they've

worked diligently through a series of unprecedented crises since march 2020. despite these crises, they've secured more than 130 felony indictments for -- 1300 felony indictments for criminal law and 1300 guilty pleas in felony cases of violation of district law during that time frame. i am deeply proud of them and feel privileged to rejoin their ranks. our superior court decision is responsible for the violation of district columbia criminal laws and roughly 170 assisting united states attorneys and approximately 60 professional staff. since being sworn into office, i've increased the number of prosecutors -- mr. mcconnell: later today, i will attend the second discussion between president biden and speaker mccarthy on the nation's debt limit.

the speaker presented his case to the president back in february. house republicans passed legislation to raise the debt ceiling back in april. but as of mid may, the president of the united states has found just two, two more occasions to sit down and discuss an agreement to preserve the nation's full faith and credit. the biden administration took three months to reach a conclusion that just about everyone recognized from the beginning. i said it myself back in february that the only way forward is spending negotiations

between the president and the speaker. that's how the american people arranged the current situation. and, about the way, that's how seven of the last ten -- seven of the last ten -- debt-limit increases have been secured. bipartisan negotiations. that's how a republican president and a democratic speaker avoided crisis four years ago. i remember telling president trump he needed to do something he was not anxious to do, which was talk to speaker pelosi, because the american people had i have goin' us divide -- had given us divided government. that's how a democratic president and a republican speaker will avoid this crisis as well.

speaker mccarthy is right. the senate democrat majority hasn't passed a bill to raise the debt ceiling. the house republican majority has. so that's where the solution to this looming crisis will be found. last fall the american people sent a divided government to washington. they those require that president biden work with house republicans -- they chose to require that president biden work with house republicans on the most consequential issues. now the president has to make a choice of his own -- pretend the last election didn't happen or sit down with the speaker and deal responsibly with our nation's debt. time is of the essence, of the essence. so for the second time, i'll be

glad to sit in at the white house to support speaker mccarthy and to urge president biden to start operating in reality. now, mr. president, on an entirely different matter, it's been five days since the biden administration ended title 42 emergency border enforcement authorities. five days. by all accounts, the situation at our southern border is absolutely catastrophic, absolutely catastrophic. for the brave men and women of border protection and for countless communities across texas, new mexico, and arizona, as title 42 expired on thursday,

officials in del rio, texas -- listen to this -- reported a one-day increase in border apprehensions of 75%. one day. in el paso, one area of downtown is rapidly being overrun by tents and garbage. tents and garbage. one border patrol officer reports that every cbp enforcement sector along the southern border is now near 150% capacity. 150% capacity. sadly, what the country is witnessing right now is a slow-moving car crash. republicans have spent years urging president biden and his party to get serious about

securing our southern border, and the american people have known for quite some time that democrats' approach helped create this humanitarian and security crisis. on president biden's watch, just last fiscal year, customs and border protection recorded an all-time high for migrant apprehensions -- 2.7 million in one year. by the agency's own estimates, another 1.2 million got-aways have successfully snuck across the southern border since the president took office, and the biden administration has made no effort to hide how little it cares about cleaning up the mess. remember, for months on end, the white house press secretary assiduously avoided calling the situation at the southern border

what it obviously was -- a crisis. vice president harris, the administration's official border czar, has been to the border just once in two and a half years. and when congress asked the head of the department of homeland security to account for the chaos unfolding on his watch, secretary mayorkas characterized functionally open borders as -- listen to this -- executing on the plan. apparently, mr. president, republicans are the only ones interested inest going the southern border -- in getting the southern border crisis under control. later this week, the senate will vote on a resolution from senator marshall to remove a major pillar of the biden administration's open borders approach. our colleagues' measure takes

aim at a rule the administration implemented late last year to severely limit what immigration officials are allowed to consider when determining whether a potential immigrant is likely to become a public charge and rely on taxpayer-funded services. in other words, facing record flows of illegal migration, president biden's response was to greet people at the border with food stamps and housing vouchers? welcome to america. sadly, that's exactly what some would-be immigrants arriving at the border have come to expect from washington democrats. one venezuelan man, who made it to el paso, said he was told, they will feed you, clothe you, help you with your studies, and get a job.

that's what this migrant from venezuela was told. it's alarming that washington democrats must be forced to be good stewards of taxpayer dollars. the biden administration should not need to be dragged kicking and screaming to do right by the hardworking citizens of this country. so i'm grateful to the junior senator from kansas for calling the senate's attention once again to the biden administration's shameful failure at the southern border, and i would urge each of our colleagues to join me in supporting the resolution later this week. i suggest the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll.

quorum call:

>> congress has the authority to admit the state of washington douglas commonwealth. republicans, therefore, have turned to objections. they say d.c. does not have the

types of retail establishments like car dealerships or the right types of industry like mining or logging, or the d.c. elects to many democrats. we have even heard dog whistles. one republican senator infamously said the state majority whose residents would be black and brown would be, quote, -- would not be, quote, a well-rounded working-class state. we have seen many such unprincipled and extraconstitutional arguments in opposition to the admission of new states before. each state eventually -- each future state eventually overcame them. in 2016, 86% of d.c. voters voted in favor of d.c. statehood. mayor bowser, why do you think

the referendum received such overwhelming support? >> well, that's a great question congresswoman for we worked very hard and you have worked very hard over the years to demonstrate to the people of washington, d.c. why we do everything were asked to as american citizens, how we function as estate in most regards, how we run a city government, and financial structure that would make most jurisdictions proud. yet, we are here. we look at the capital. we see congresspeople. we are involved the national discussions, yet we have no float here and it is unconscionable. i think d.c. residents also recognize not only do we lack representation that we lack full autonomy. we see, for example, that lost data been passed duly by our

elected officials admittedly i i haven't agreed with all of them but i do agree with the right of an elected legislature to make the laws that it chooses. i think people have also seen now the federal government trample on us, take over our streets, send troops with aircraft to hover over us. and so that for lack of autonomy can only be addressed by statehood. you rightfully point out that a simple legislation approved by this congress could make us the state, just like 37 of the states that have been admitted to this great union. you also rightly point out that the constitution doesn't preclude us pick you also rightly point out that the argument that have been made have been, have been exposed as part of the arguments. and for us statehood is not a

red state blue state question. it is a question about how do we perfect our democracy, by ensuring the that 700,000 po are americans just like you enjoy the full full, enjoy full citizenship in our country. >> thank you, mayor bowser. >> the chair recognizes mr. gosar of arizona for five minutes. >> thank you, mr. chairman. and thank you, mayor for your attitude. the buck stops with you, kudos, that's a great attitude. a question for you. are you keeping track of the number of children washington, d.c. who of contracted myocarditis as result of the covid-19 vaccine? >> i know we track a lot of information, carcass went. i'm not sure of that specific. >> the reason i take that is myocarditis is a very debilitating condition and i would love to know what steps you taken and how you've ascertained those individuals so we can get special help. >> sure. we have a very sophisticated system of reporting to d.c.

health, and if you don't mind i will take a moment to acknowledge just the heroic efforts of d.c. health to keep washingtonians and children safe. >> thank you. now in the days preceding january 6, 2021, did the intelligence that you had access to indicate a a large amount f violence would occur that day? >> we have reported all of the information that we we've ben asked for to this congress related to january 6th, including any and all intelligence that we were aware of. >> so did you or your staff have contact with the officer, offices of the speaker, the sergeant at arms or any federal enforcement agency about the intelligence indicating potential violence on january 6 come 2012? >> sure. i'm going to ask chief contee to jump in. chief contee is our lead official in working with federal partners on first amendment activities in the district.

>> thank you for the question, sir. yes so there were several conversations with law enforcement officials from the united states capitol police, house and senate sergeant of arms prior to january 6th. >> anything with the speakers all the? >> i have no personal conversations with the speaker's office. i do know that, i believe that architect of the capitol was also involved in those conversations, but i don't recall specifically the speaker's office being part of the conversation. >> thank you, chief. mr. graves, over 1000 people from january 6th, 2020 what have one have been charged with federal crimes. attorney graves said publicly wants to charge 1200 more. attorney grace, how many writers from the sum of 2020 are you investigated and prosecuted for criminal offense? >> thank you for the question. so our office prosecutes all acts of violence regardless of political motivation. this income where prosecuting a number of individuals in

connections with the incidence of the sum of 2020. >> let's go through that. so going back to may, chief contee, how many total people were arrested during the rights of 2020? in washington, d.c., chief contee? >> what are you referring to? >> i want to know how many people were arrested during the rights the 2020 here in washington, d.c. >> i'm not sure what incidence that you are referring to exactly. are you referring to the incidence at lafayette square? >> for example, on june 1 there were 360 people arrested in just one day. there were 29 for felony riot charges. on august 13 and 14th, 2020, 41 people were arrested in washington, d.c. for felonies that included writing arson and assault on police officers. that's what i'm after. >> got it. chief do you have that

information? >> between may and june 2020, 449 people were arrested. between july and august 2020, 92 were arrested. as you indicated between september were arrested. as you indicated between september and october of 2020, 41 people were arrested at the time period between november and december of 2020, 73 were arrested. >> so attorney grades, according to the "washington post", prosecutors dismissed charges against almost all of those except for a handful of writers in august of 2020. attorney graves, can you confirm that most of the charges against rioters in the summer of 120 were dropped? >> so i understand the question, the consultation of course is that i was not use turn at that time. >> it doesn't matter. you still, as the mayor said she accepts full responsibility. so, i mean, you have carried --

have to accept responsibility. >> i accept full responsibility for everything of the office does under my tenure. my point is only that i lacked personal knowledge but my understanding is a yes, the office declined a number of the arrest that were presented to it under the leadership of the prior administration. >> well, i'm running out of time so i will just yield back. >> gentleman yields back. mr. mfume maryland -- from maryland for five this. >> thank you very much, mr. cha. mayor bowser, thank you for your testimony. it was succinct and get very, very comprehensive. and although you probably have said much of that meeting times over, it's important for this committee and for others who are watching this to hear it. people have this twisted idea about what the district of columbia is and so anytime we can set the record straight, i appreciate it. i appreciate your words today.

mr. graves thank you also for your testimony. on december 16, 1773, the boston tea party took place. it was by and large a protest against taxation without representation. 250 years ago aced on a concept and a principal data think many people still believe in and hopefully will follow in the day and age that we live in. it was not a democratic protest. it was not a republican protest or response. it was an american response to an injustice. an injustice that 250 years later still plagues our nation, is still a part of the fabric that were trying to tear away from so that everybody's vote counts, every vote will be counted and everybody that lives and pays taxes will have some form of representation.

the gentlewoman hear from the district of columbia, ms. norton, has carried that torch and waved that manner for many, many years, and continues to do so. because an injustice then obviously is still one now. i think, in fact, i know, that i am the only member of this committee that voted for d.c. stated in 1993, and 28 years later having been returned to congress, , voting for again in 2021. it was because we believed in it. congressman roy it was serving many, many years ago led to his protests of so many of us participated in. so it pains my heart, madam mayor, that here we go again as we did a month or so ago, trying to as best we can make people understand the essence of your testimony and the essence of why taxation without representation

is absolutely wrong. now, in a 2016 referendum, 86% of the residents of washington, d.c. voted in favor of d.c. statehood. collectively, as has been noted many, many times, residence here in the district of columbia pay more federal taxes than 22 other states. that's not to be lost or laughed at. more taxes in this district than 22 22 other states. the district of columbia, as a matter of fact, is financially healthy. more than we can say about some other cities throughout our nation. three-quarters of the revenue generated here is generated locally, and the district has maintain 24 years of consecutive clean audits, , which i would

challenge anybody to find me cities all over the country that are doing that, and doing it repeatedly. the leadership here as evidenced by the mayor and others is competent. people elect to they want. that's how we all got here, people elected us. they wanted us for a particular time and when they don't they will get rid of us. so the leadership here is competent, and as we all know of the january 6th insurrection, it was the leadership here that probably dispatched the metropolitan police department to help calm and to restore the order of our nation's capital, even arriving ahead of the national guard. so i just believe it's very important that whenever we can set the record straight, , we do it. the undemocratic meddling by some members of this committee on d.c. matters and their particular interests to try to find a twist or newsworthy item

or soundbite does not advance the representation of the people here who live here, the love the district of columbia, and who work day in and day out to make it better. because it is, in fact, the capital of the united states. thank you, mr. chairman. i would yield back in any remaining time i might have. >> thank you, mr. mfume. >> thank you. the first question doesn't need to be insulting. i appreciate mayor bowser that sometimes you had to take on your city council as a do with the problem of crime and often repeated a story in which i don't go abroad much but about 20 years ago i was in taipei taiwan and asked my tour guide, a friend of mine, is if you knew in taipei that we couldn't go? to my surprise they said no, everywhere in taipei is safe. taipei is bigger than chicago. i felt ashamed for a second because i knew that if a visit

from taiwan came to the united states and so washington, d.c. and asked me if there's anywhere that they couldn't go i would've had to say yes, quite a few places you can go in town. i appreciate that you taken on your city council on some issues related to crime, which means that given the huge crime problem you have come a lot of members of the city council keep getting elected but don't agree with you that certain action has to be taken. could you explain why people got elected to the washington, d.c. council, police on the face of it? it doesn't seem they are electing people for whom preventing crime is a top priority, which i can't figure out. >> well, i have learned over the years not to question the voters, as congresswoman -- congressman who fill major said.

they elected the want of my job is to work with who do people send. and that is how wife approached my work as mayor and as a member of the council. i do use my position to make sure i'm educating the public about what we need and what's not working. >> that's okay. they only give me five minutes. want to talk a little bit about your schools. you are spending 22,000 per-pupil which is one of the highest in the country. if you go down the test scores, only 31% of your students read at or above grade level. 19% of your students pass grade level in math. if you look at high school students alone, only 11% are at grade level for math. by the way, mr. chairman, i would like to submit for the record this "washington post" article entitled d.c. math reading a discourse all at the lowest level in more than five years.

>> without objection, so ordered. >> i i understand covid played a role here but all that is pastor our focus has to be going forward. mayor bowser, do you believe the d.c. public schools is properly focus on ensuring kids reach grade level achievement? >> i couldn't be prouder of the progress that we've made in d.c. public schools. in my submitted testimony i include the more than 15 year investment we have made in transforming public schools. and we continue -- >> given the test scores are you really satisfied with that? >> i know that as an urban school district we have excelled faster than most in the investments we continue to make, for example, in three pre-k for all three and four year olds in the district of columbia is paying dividends. the investments that we are making in reimagining high school and connecting our high school graduates to advanced

technical training also paying off. >> sorry to cut you off but they only give us five minutes. i guess my concern when i see record lows in math and reading it concerns me. nevertheless, under new standards receive your second graders will analyze image of same-sex relationships and gender fluidity and civilizations. in third grade students will be taught the importance of affirming spaces. in six great they are going to be given with racism. all these type of thing at a time when reading and math seems to be a big problem here i have a copy of the curriculum here by the way i would like to submit for the record. >> without objection, so ordered. >> fakes. ms. bowser, mayor bowser come to seven third-grade students learn about the importance of affirming spaces and approve the ability to read at grade level? >> what i know as a d.c. public school parent is that i want my

child to grow up as an informed world citizen. of course knowing how to read and write, knowing how to enjoy all the people of the world and the cultures of the world and being able to actively participate in our government. so i'm very confident that -- >> do you feel focusing on what i call peripheral issues is good if you can't read or do math? >> i think our system of public education where we have an elected state board of education that advises on policy and curriculum in the public education team, that has been innovative and that is why we have seen the results that we have seen. growing and certainly none of us across the country were happy to see our kids fall back across the country during the covid years, but we know how stressful they are. but with a very -- investment

for an american rescue plan, we have been able to focus on high-dose tutoring, improvement strategies that will improve our test scores. >> okay. hopefully things will be better off when my friends from taiwan ever visit me here. >> the chair recognizes the ranking member mr. raskin for a for five this. >> mr. chairman, thank you very much. mayor bowser, i want to thank you for immediately deploying the metropolitan police department on generally six, 2212, and defend us against the violent insurrection that took place. used and hundreds of officers stood shoulder to shoulder with the capital place and we know many of them were injured in the process, , suffering terrible injuries and were hospitalized because of it. some d.c. police officers came the were not even a duty like michael fanone, , famous again because he heard about all the

news and was nearly killed that day. had the big for his life. so thanks to you and chief to you and your officers for everything you did to defend democracy on that day. now, mayor bowser, , you didn't hesitate to voluntarily deploy the metropolitan police department to help us out. and you didn't hesitate to do it even though there are people who are determined to keep d.c. from achieve its political equality within the union i didn't admit to statehood. why did you do that? >> lesson, congressman, we are proud to support all matters of federal operations in the district of columbia. we sometimes get reimbursed for it. we sometimes don't and we've seen over the years those security dollars that are available go down and down.

there are first amendment activities and ask the chief to chime in here, almost every day, where in pd is working hand-in-hand with federal partners to include the park police and the u.s. capitol police last because they tend to be fewer demonstrations. but they work hand-in-hand every day to make this the city d we're going to be there to be supportive of the federal government whenever called upon. >> good. let me pursue this for a second with you. unlike the metropolitan police department the d.c. national guard was quorum be lifted. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. thune: talks on the debt ceiling continue, and leaders are meeting with president biden today. i hope that's a positive sign, because if the president's treasury secretary is correct, we could be two weeks away from the united states beginning to default on its debts. something that would have very serious consequences for our economy and for our nation's

financial standing. if we're going to get a debt limit increase, the president will have to negotiate with speaker mccarthy and house republicans. really negotiate, mr. president, which means that president biden is going to have to accept some real spending reforms, because otherwise a debt limit increase is not going to make it through the house of representatives. those are just the facts, mr. president. democrats, of course, have been kicking and screaming at the idea of spending reforms. you can witness their frantic campaign to portray the responsible reforms in house republicans' bill as extreme. apparently suggesting that we should return to 2022 2022 discretionary spending levels for 2024 is an extreme position. despite the fact that we were clearly doing just fine at those levels mere months ago. the senate democrat leader came down to the floor last thursday and suggested that republicans were attempting to pair a debt

ceiling increase with, quote, unrelated partisan priorities. unrelated partisan priorities. well, let me let that sink in for a minute, mr. president. because according to the senate democrat leader, spending reform is a partisan priority that has nothing to do with increasing our nation's credit card limit. mr. president, if a discussion over increasing our nation's credit card limit isn't a good time to have a discussion about spending, i don't know what is. if spending reform is just a republican priority, then there's something seriously wrong with the democrat party, because with a national debt like ours, spending reform should be a priority for everyone. our national debt currently stands at more than $31 trillion. $31 trillion. our debt has already exceeded the size of our economy. within a few short years, we're going to be spending more just

meeting the interest on our nation's debt than we will on national defense. how the democrats cannot realize that a national debt of that size has serious consequences? by 2024, we'll be spending more on interest than on medicare. by 20 2050, spending more on interest than on social security. that is barely going to leave enough money for the government to meet its most basic obligations, much less invest in all the new or expanded programs democrats would like to implement. yet, democrats are apparently content to simply ignore this reality. it's like they think we're going to find a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow to rescue us once we've spent the federal government into the ground. but there is no magic pot of gold, mr. president. before democrats suggest it, let me say that taxing the rich will

not provide enough money to dig us out of the hole we're in. we have to find a wy to ren in federal spending -- rein in federal spending, or the size of the national debt will crish our economy and seriously limit the government's ability to meet basic responsibilities, like funding social security and national defense. mr. president, democrats would like americans to believe that the clean debt limit bill they're calling for is the standard when it come to raising our nation's credit card limit. in fact, that is very far from being the case. as the democrat leader should know from his own experience in using the debt limit as leverage in negotiations. as democrats should be well aware, seven of the last ten debt limit increases included some mix of policy or budgetary changes rather than just a clean increase. historically spending reform has

frequently gone hand in hand with debt ceiling legislation. indeed, one expert recently noted in testimony before the senate budget committee, i quote, one of the eight -- i should say, of the eight largest deficit reduction laws since 1985, all eight were attached to debt limit bills, end quote. let me repeat that, mr. president. this from an expert who recently provided testimony before the senate budget committee, this was his quote, of the eight largest deficit reduction laws since 1985, all eight were attached to debt limit bills, end quote. i'm getting a little tired of hearing democrats dance around the facts or suggest that if republicans just agree to the clean debt limit debt ceiling increase that democrats want, democrats will be ready to talk about spending once we move on to the budget.

does anybody really seriously believe that if democrats won't consider spending reforms now, that somehow they'll develop a serious enthusiasm for reining in spending once we get to the budget? somehow it doesn't seem likely. mr. president, democrats and the president have spent a lot of energy over the past couple weeks tearing down republican proposals. if they'd spent half that time coming up with spending reforms of their own, we might already have a debt ceiling agreement. i hope that the meeting at the white house later today is a sign that the president is actually getting serious about negotiating. because if he isn't, he will have only himself to blame if our nation defaults on its obligations. democrats have already spent us

into an inflation crisis. let's hope that they don't push us into a default crisis as well. mr. president, i yield the floor. and i suggest the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. quorum call:

mr. grassley: mr. president. the presiding officer: the senator from iowa. mr. grassley: i ask that the calling of the quorum be suspended. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. grassley: mr. president, i hope everybody in this body knows that congressional oversight is a very important responsibility of all of us, and it's even a constitutional demand. we must ensure that our government truly does work for, of, and by the people. when fraud, waste, and abuse is discovered, congress has a responsibility to the american people to make it public, because transparency brings accountability. today we have an example of wrongdoing to discuss. it involves the former architect of the capitol's blatant misuse of government property.

according to the architect of the capitol inspector general, during bret blanton's time as architect, he engaged in unnecessary, very expensive, and impermissible conduct. for example, the report found unauthorized vehicle use, misrepresentation as a law enforcement officer, ethics violations, and lastly appropriations violations. specifically, the inspector general found that blanton should have driven approximately 10,438-mile using government vehicles. instead, the inspector general said that blanton racked up 29,291 miles. that's almost 20,000 extra miles of unauthorized benefit on the

taxpayers' dime. the inspector general's october 6, 2022 report expressly noted that blanton's actions, quote, have violated every pillar of the offices the inspector general operates under, including theft, fraud, waste, and abuse against not only the architect of the capitol, but also the taxpayer, end of the i.g.'s quotation. in total, the inspector general identified 13,926 -- $13 926 of inappropriate cost associate with ballooned's use of government vehicles. on february -- blanton's use of government vehicles. february 22 of this year i sent a letter to mr. blanton asking

when he will repay the money he impermissibly cost the taxpayers. as of today, now several months later, he failed to respond to my inquiry and my staff's attempt to contact him. he's also made no effort to repay the money that he owes the american people. his actions show no respect for the taxpayer. but that isn't the last word on this sad story. on the same day that i sent a letter to mr. blanton, i also sent a letter to the acting architect of the capitol, and asked her whether she intended to seek repayment of mr. blanton. she and her team have worked to recover these payment, and as of january 21 -- or april 21, the

money mr. blanton owed the taxpayers was repaid in full, $12,517 has been withheld from mr. blanton's final annual leave payment and has been returned to the treasury. a remaining $1409 was contributed by an insurance company. when dealing with trillions of dollars in government spending, a dozen or so thousands can seem like a very insignificant amount. however, this amount would be important to a family struggling to make ends meet in time of record inflation and price hikes. the amount is important to me because it's about time that we see civil servants holding someone accountable for wrongdoing. so

obviously before giving up the floor today, i want to emphasize that congressional oversight doesn't deal out victories every day, and when wrongdoing is exposed and corrected, it should be noted. so let's give all due credit to the acting architect of the capitol and also to her team for the recoupment of this taxpayers' money. it may be a small amount of money, but it's the right action to take, and we ought to compliment it and i compliment the acting architect today. i yield the floor and suggest the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. quorum call:

>> thank you, mr. chairman. i thank you for holding the hearing at a think eyewitnesses for being here today. mayor bowser you and i may disagree but i agree with you on a least one thing you said so eloquently. when you said you watch the federal government grow and just threat to take over you. as a resident of arizona i feel the same way as a watch the federal government grow. i feel that encroaches almost every aspect of every american supplies. so with that i got to tell you i agree with that sentiment entirely. i agree the closest, government closest to the people is the best government and also would tell you i think the founders intended, intended for the

federal government to be very small. that's why they enumerated the powers and said this is your powers. you are limited to this. is all you can do and everything else is supposed to go back to the states. i did want to ask you this though.es nsent that the quorum e suspended. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. durbin: mr. president, it is graduation season in america, a time when many of us in this chamber head back home to celebrate amazing accomplishments. this past saturday, i had the honor of joining the students at the stritch school of medicine for their commencement ceremony. it was an inspiring and hopeful celebration. these graduates, doctors that i met this last weekend are heroes in the making. as future practitioners and medical research,they will dedicate their lives to healing our families and communities.

and we couldn't be prouder their accomplishments. let me also note two things. first, loyola university stritch school of medicine was the first school of medicine? the united states to allow students with daca status to apply for admission. they didn't set any quotas, but they said to these young people who have received recognition by our government that they can stay legally in the united states, though they were not born here, they have received recognition by our government and been held back from many of their ambitions, so when loyola university of chicago opened their doors for applications from those young students, remarkable people from all over the united states, applied. 32 graduateed last saturday. 28 daca students who finally get a chance to go to medical school, proved themselves worthy, did great, now headed

for their residencies and beyond. they will become an important part of america's future. and i am so proud of loyola university of chicago for doing that. i encourage other schools to offer the same opportunities for these extraordinary daca students to continue to be part of america. the second person i want to mention is a hero that is of a special nature. she was tragically missing from low ola campus this last weekend. her name is arianna preston. on sunday, she was set to receive their masters of jurisprudence from loyola school of law, but just days before her graduation ceremony, she was shot and killed outside of her home, right as she was returning home from a late shift on patrol. officer preston was one of the best of chicago. at only 24 years of age, she severned the police department for three years and during her

time on the force, she worked to build trust between law enforcement and the communities she served. officer preston was inspired to become a police officer after making a trip to europe as part of her undergraduate criminality studies. her class visited former concentration camps in germany and poland, the sites of some of the most atrocities in human history. the stories of the holocaust compelled arianna preston to the change she wanted to see in the world. she wanted to be part of it. in her words, and i quote, when i got back home, i wanted to be an officer. i felt like i could be a person to fight for justice. and during her time on the force, that's exactly what she did. on saturday, the day before mother's day, officer preston's mother and her other family members walked on stage to accept her diploma. i want to extend my deepest condole owns to each and -- condolences to each and every

one of them. officer preston and her family should be together today celebrating her amazing accomplishment and courageous service to our city. instead, they are mourning her loss. she is yet another victim of america's epidemic of gun violence. officer preston os loss is especially -- officer preston's loss is especially poignant this week as we celebrate police week. they travel to washington this week to honor their peers lost in the line of duty. the loss of officer preston and other police officers who've died in recent years is a sobering reminder that america -- no american is immune to the scourge of gun violence. it was just one year ago this weekend when a white supremacist marched into a grocery store in buffalo, new york, with an ar-15 assault-style rifle and opened

fire killing ten black americans. the first victim was a man named aaron salter. at the time of the shooting, mr. salter was working as a security guard at the grocery store. when the gunman showed up, mr. salter did not hesitate to leap into action. she opened fire on the gunman. there was only so much he could do. you see, mr. salter had a handgun. the assaultant had an aa-15. the bad guy had a bigger gun. mr. salter was forced into a position that no police officer, no security guard should ever find themselves in -- being outgunned by a violent criminal. but this happens with alarming frequency and its because lawmakers have failed to do enough to stop guns from falling into the wrong hands.

if we truly want to honor the sacrifice, she need to do more than offer our prayers and condolences. we need to take action. in the year since the mass shooting in buffalo, we've seen more than 650 mass smootings across -- shootings across america. a mass shooting takes place when four people or more are killed or wounded in a single incident. it is now the number-one killer of our nation's children, the number-one killer of children under the ages of 18 in america is gun violence. that's a fact a time and again beings, we hear will you makers argue in washington and other places that guns aren't the problem. often they claim the real problem is mental illness. here is the truth -- every nation on earth struggles with mental illness, but america is

the only advanced nation that sees more mass shootings than there are days in the year. i want to deal with mental illness honestly but to say that is the problem alone is to ignore the obvious. last year a hearing was held on gun violence. one of the witnesses we heard was a a former phoenix police chief, jerry williams. during that hearing, chief williams told the committee of the whole house committee -- committee that our nation's gun laws are failing law enforcement officers like herment. here's what she said. we're outgunned, out-staffed. we do need responsible gun legislation. there should be a ban on assault weapons and high-capacity magazines in order for us to protect our communities. chief williams was right. smart gun safety laws work. we've even had recent proof of it. last year this senate finally passed the bipartisan safer

communities act, the most important gun safety law in nearly 30 years. thanks to that law, the justice department is able to perform enhanced background checks on buyers under the age of 21. according to the department of justice, these enhanced background checks have already prevented more than 160 firearms from falling into potentially dangerous hands. bur that's not enough. we need to do more. without more robust legislation like reining in assault weapons, we're not going to make the progress we need in protecting the lives of our families and communities. friday afternoon i had a visit in my chicago office from four people -- one was a mom, three were pediatricians from the highland park community area in highland park area north of chicago. we remember highland park because the last 4th of july parade where a shooter got on the roof of a building and in a matter of 60 seconds fired off

83 round into an innocent crowd. seven people died, one 8-year-old boy was paralyzed for life. they came to talk to me about the ar-15 assault rifle crisis weigh face. when they said to me i cannot repeat on the the floor senate because they went into painful detail about what the ar-15 does to a human body,especially to children, those small little bodies hit by an ar-15 round are forever damaged. they talked about the fact that -- and we hear this so often -- that at the scene of these mass shootings when they collect dna evidence to identified what's left of the body of the children after the assault weapons have been fired into the bodies. that is just a horrible thing,

unimaginable thing when it comes to imagining your own children and grandchildren and what might happen to them. this mother that came as part of this group known as march 4th, broke down in tears and told me every single day she worries about sending her kids to school. will this be the day they won't come home? no family, no parent, no grandparent should ever face that fear, as we do in america -- uniquely in america -- because of the we which willdering explanation -- bewildering explanation of our second amendment. instead of moving forward on gun safety laws, some people in the other party would move backwards. right now the house maga majority is trying to erase a regulation that restricts braces that turn pistols into short-barrel rifles. that is the same kind of weapon carried by mass shooters in dayton, ohio, boulder, colorado, and recently in nashville,

tennessee. she weapons are a danger to -- these weapons are a danger to law enforcement and ordinary citizens. now this republican effort in the house wants to make it easier to access these deadly weapons, not harder. does that make any sense at all? moreover, at this very moment, maga republicans are threatening to default on america's debt unless we pass speaker mccarthy's bill to wipe out 30,000 law enforcement jobs. talk about defunding the police. the mccarthy approach in making deep budget cuts, not only affects the number of law enforcement who are on the beat trying to protect us every single day but also makes a 25% cut in medical research in this country, something that is essential for every family's future. that's right. the house republicans threatening to trigger an economic crisis unless democrats support their proposal to defund the police and basically eviscerate medical research in this country. that's coming from the same

republicans who have spent years falsely claiming it was the democrats who wanted to defund the police. now we have clear evidence otherwise. here they are supporting budget cuts that would leave law enforcement behind and make communities less safe. this is no way to honor the service and sacrifice of police officers across the country who have journeyed to washington. if you are going to talk a big game about supporting law enforcement during your political campaign, you have to back it up with action when you're elected. threatening a disastrous debt default unless we make massive budget cuts is no way to protect america. let's make sure officers have all the funding and resources they need to keep america safe and that includes sensible gun safety laws that help keep weapons of war off america's streets. i yield the floor. a senator: mr. president.

the presiding officer: the senator from alabama. mr. tuberville: mr. president, i ask unanimous consent that preston mcgee, an intern in my office, be granted floor privileges until may 17, 2023. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. tuberville: thank you. mr. president, president ronald reagan once said, quote, freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction. we didn't pass it to our children in the bloodstream. it must be fought for, protected, and handed on for them to do the same. and every generation since the country's founding, brave men and women have stepped forward to defend our great country. each one of them joined knowing they might be called upon to sacrifice everything, even their lives. and in our history, more than one million americans have paid

that last full measure of devotion. it is only right that we return the honor. the tradition of memorial day goes back to the 1860's. it was originally called decoration day. families of the fallen would decorate the graves of their loved ones. in 1888, congress recognized this tradition and made it a holiday in the district of columbia, and congress made it a national holiday in 1968. for gold star families, every day is memorial day. alabama is home to more than 6 ,000 gold star family members. these include children who are forced to grow up without knowing their parents, spouses who had happily ever after cut short. moms and dads who hugged their children goodbye for the very last time, families with an empty seat at their dinner

table. as we honor their loved ones, we also ought to honor gold star families. today i'd like to do just that. i'd like to recognize three of alabama's fallen heroes and their families. first i'd like to recognize sergeant ricky jones of plantersville, alabama. the former star run lg back at dallas county high school, also known as mojo is remembered for being a giving person who was always there for his family and for his community. sergeant jones was known to consistently attend football games to support younger players who aspired to be just like him. his family always knew they could count on him. after his mother fractured her hip, sergeant jones took leave to come home and help in her recovery. his sister jasmine recalls him standing at the door to tell her

goodbye when the time came for him to return to afghanistan. she didn't know that this would be the last time that she would see him. he was killed on father's day of 2009, leaving behind a wife and four children. because of the impact he left on his community, dallas county established june 27 as ricky dewayne "mojo" jones day. dallas county high school also retired his number, his number 3, as a tribute to someone who was a hero to so many on and off the field. second, i'd also like to recognize sergeant jason steagel l of trustville, alabama. from the age of ten, he knew he wanted to make a difference by joining our military. even with injuries and several near-death experiences, this desire to serve never, never

wavered. sergeant steagall's courage saved countless american lives. on one occasion he had to stop two suicide bombers from carrying out an attack on a u.s. military base in iraq. another time he led his men away from an ambush despite being shot just beneath his heart. sergeant steagall earned numerous awards for his heroism, including a bronze star and two purple hearts. his wife ashley said his plan was to stay in the service for a long time because he loved every minute of being in the military. but this plan was cut short. at age 31, sergeant steagall passed away from a mission-related illness while serving on active duty. ashley was left to cope with the loss of her teenage sweetheart and having to raise three sons

alone, including a 10-month-old named landon. ashley keeps sergeant steagall's memory alive by reminding her sons about his sacrifice and his belief in our great country of america. sergeant stegall is honored at the trustman's veterans memorial in alabama. finally i want to honor the memory of sergeant irvine pullet of loundes county, alabama. on christmas day in 1952 sergeant hullet's brother arthur received the news that his 22-year-old brother had been killed in korea. both brothers had lived and suffered under segregation and discrimination because of their race. yet both loved this country and were proud to wear the uniform. both brothers rose to the rank of sergeant. sergeant arthur hullett to this

day says he has no regrets about his military service. he also says he is confident that his brother would say the very same thing. alabama is deeply grateful for their strong belief that america is worth fighting for and even worth dying for. we will not forget their unwavering devotion to preserving the american dream for all of our future generations. sergeant irvine hullett's name is etched forever into the wall of the korean war monument here in washington, d.c. the bible says that, quote, greater love has no man that he'd lay down his life for a friend. we may never have met sergeant jones or sergeant steagall -- stegall or sergeant hullett or any of the other heroes.

as we look forward and toward memorial day, i hope we'll remember this is not just another long weekend. it is time to reflect of the sacrifices made by all of our courageous heroes. all the american heroes who didn't want freedom to die on their watch. may we live to ensure their efforts aren't in vain. i yield the floor. mr. president, i note the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. quorum call:

>> we have 221 people as of today's count who are living on the street, those are the people you are referring to. >> the report was -- >> they are not 5000 people living on the streets. those maybe people -- >> you could go right now, 300 yards away, what are you talking about? >> i'm talking about facts and there are not 300 people under 295 or 395. we cross all 8 wards and we actually know -- >> under the kernel code -- >> those are the facts. >> your own counsel said 5000 people are homeless in dc. we are going to move on. if congress gives you additional

accountability and additional jurisdiction and additional resources weather is a new prisoner rehabilitation center, increased funding for law enforcement or whatever you need to fix this problem, can counsel come to the table and in a more serious manner address the criminal code to make sure people feel they can't commit crimes and not be prosecuted? >> we understand the counsel's committee on public safety in the judiciary will take up the connell code revision in the coming months and we stand ready to assist them with that work, you may have heard -- >> to follow-up, we are here to help, we are willing to provide additional jurisdiction, accountability, structural forms, financial support to address the challenges and find a way to make it the city we know it should be. >> we will take you up on your

offer to assist. we have a plan to replace our dc jail. we expect capital dollars to be more constrained in the coming years and we would happily work with you on appropriation. >> the chair recognizes miss lee from pennsylvania for 5 minutes. >> thank you. taxation without representation is tyrannical. it has been stated, the united states is the only democratic country that denied voting representation on a national level to the residents of the capital. i am sure it's no coincidence that those residents are colleagues on the other side of the aisle are seeking to oversee without representation are 45% black. the tentative no taxation without representation helped launch the american revolution and enshrined a declaration of independence but congress required 700,000 dc residents who pay all federal taxes but not deny them vote

representation in congress. mayor bowser, do you think not having two senators to represent dc has impacted federal funding and policy? >> absolutely. you just mentioned one very specific thing that happened during our response to covid where we were in explainable he grouped in as a territory for the purposes of the cares act which none of us know how that happened or has ever happened previously. that is one such way. i also think not having two senators for the district impacts this region. maryland, dc, and virginia, 4 million people making up this region when we should have 6 senators. we know how important that will be in regional discussions like how to fund washington union station.

could be a spectacular renovation costing $8 billion, how we deal with the fiscal cliff of that we know is coming toward transit authority which serves the district, maryland and virginia and other transit authorities around the country are going to come to congress too. that is almost $1 billion. we know in having 6 senators represent this region is representative democracy. >> thank you for those examples. dc pays more than any state and dc pays more federal taxes than 19 states. alaska and hawaii combined half of federal taxes dc paid. alabama, kansas, north dakota which are represented by republicans on this committee each paid less in federal taxes than dc on a per capita basis dc paid 5 times federal taxes of chairman comeer's home state of kentucky.

as a fifth-generation washingtonian and mayor of 700,000 dc residents what do you hear from your constituents about being taxed without voting representation in congress? >> i will tell you it is changing. we've always been proud to pay our fair share, you outlined how we actually pay more. we give more to the federal government than we get back and frequently people, some people think we are an agency of the federal government, some people think everything we have has been paid by federal tax dollars and that couldn't be worse than the truth. people started to say to me why are we paying taxes? why don't we withhold our taxes and see what happens? so i think we were proud americans, we are proud to host the federal government and to pay our fair share, but enough is enough. congress should be able to vote

for us. look at all the things she has been able to accomplish with the district, take advantage of federal lands, creating jobs, turning underutilized park space into active spaces, we know we could do so much more with the votes that are matter of what is guaranteed. >> thank you. dc residents have been petitioning for voting representation in congress for 200 years. instead of acting on that, this republican-led congress has taken every chance to strike down the will of the people and encroach on their ability to self govern. the people and residents of dc don't want to sightsee congress and senators at restaurants and bars and driving by and blocking traffic in your black suburbans, they want their own representation. taxation without representation is as wrong today as it was in 1776.

yet this shameful practices alive and well in our nations capital, the heart of this issue has been impeding black political power, let's just say, when dc becomes a state it will have the highest proportion of black residents of any state, we need to affirm their right to self-determination admitting dc will right this wrong. >> thank you, mr. chairman. dc's unique us attorney's office is unique with the exception of some indian reservations that exist across the country, one of the only places you have primary prosecutorial authority. i appreciate what mayor bowser said about the jail, we should look at different things. just for mr. graves, what structural disadvantages do you have in dealing with primary prosecutorial aspect of the us attorney's office that we can work on? >> this is a really important

point and i appreciate the question at the mayor eloquently weighed the complicated reference. some of the services provided by the criminal justice system come from the federal government and some from the stateside and we have to interact and make it work because we have no choice but to make it work because that is the current system. >> to be fair, if it is a resource issue, if we need more prosecutors we need those issues set up, we are willing to do that. it is unique and important. anybody who gets sentenced to a year and dc goes to the bureau of prisons. in your opening statement you saw a rise in repeat offenders. one of the things we learned whether it is a conservative state like north dakota, democratic state like new jersey, starting to develop -- co-chair of the second chance task force, its unique when you get out of prison and get out of the bureau of prisons. from kan. a senator: i ask unanimous

consent to suspend the quorum call. mr. marshall: mr. president, on national police week, we celebrate our national law enforcement officers, but it is also important to pause and honor those who gave their lives in the line of duty and then we pause an remember the families they left behind. last year i stood in the chamber as we adopted the national police week resolution and honored the 5776 law enforcement officers killed in the line of duty in 2021. today i take this moment to honor the 246 brave men and women who were killed in the line of duty in 2022. in order to rightfully honor these men and women who lost their lives, we must continue to demand policies that will make our communities safer and by extension our officers in the line of duty safer. this topic is incredibly personal to me. my father was a chief of police

in our hometown of el dorado, kansas. a picture i share of my father in 1965, a brand-new police officer with the police officer dog. on one occasion, my dad put his life on the line to protect our community and he would tell of the bravery of police officers when responding to an emergency. they were friends but also heroes and will always be remembered as such. i'm sad to report that today our men and women in uniform feel demoralized and our own city governments are setting them up to faivment in short, as my dad told me recently on a fishing trip, this white house and many mayor and city councils do not have their backs, they feel

abandoned and even to the point of feeling wrongfully shamed. they need our support more than ever. democrat-run cities have demonized law enforcement making it harder for men and women in uniform to do their jobs and it is emboldening criminals at the expense of our officers. you don't have to look any further than our own nation's capitol. in november of last year, here in washington, the d.c. council voted to dramatically reform the city's criminal code to favor the rights of the offender during a crime wave across the district. the legislation eliminated mandatory minimum sentences for most crimes and lowered the maximum penltsd for crime such as carjacking and robbery. the reforms to the city's criminal code came as the city's crime crisis hit a fever pitch.

listen to this. our nation's capitol had 223 homicides. carjackings have triple. this year so far violent crime is up by double digits. last year a physician was murdered after he tried to prevent a carjack remember from stealing his car. a city council candidate had his car stolen at gunpoint. a senate staffer was brutally attacked and stabbed in the head in broad daylight. mr. president, i remain fearful for my staff as they walk from their homes to the capitol. i -- the topic of discussion was the safety of our employees. with the culture of lawlessness on the streets embraced by the d.c. city council, at a time of low moral and increased crime,

it's no wonder why the city's lost over 1200 officers over the last two years, a number that's growing each day. we need to stop and talk about the culture of lawlessness started by this white house. it started during his campaign with the summer of applauding violent riots and vandalism. after being sworn in, the administration purposefully and shamelessly opened the boards and even now they turn their heads to violent terrorists crossing our borders. in joe biden's america, we're now not only a country without borders but also a lawless society, where criminals roam the streets and fentanyl poisons our children. this nation must change its course before it's too late. to preserve this union, we need law and order, our republic will not survive without it. i rise today in support of

senator vance's motion to nullify the d.c. council's comprehensive policy and justice reform amendment act of 2022. by passing this resolution, we can now join our house colleagues in firmly rejecting the council's antipolice, pro-criminal laws and reaffirm our support for our heroic law enforcement officer. i urge all of my senate colleagues and the white house to join our efforts to improve public safety in washington, d.c. with its passage, we can send a clear message to 1600 pennsylvania avenue, with we in the senate will not stand by while our law enforcement officers are vilified and cut off at the detainees try -- knees trying to do their jobs and we will make d.c. -- to regale in our history and celebrate our freedom. this is a bill a that makes d.c. safer, but it also sends a

message to the entire country, a message that we want safe streets, we want safe communities. we want safe schools and we want to do it in a bipartisan way. let's signal to every county, city, and state that washington, d.c., will no longer be soft on crime and catered to criminals. i yield back.

the presiding officer: the senator from north carolina. a senator: mr. president, i rise today to support senator vance's resolution of disapproval for the district of columbia antipolice law. when lives are on the line, when seconds count, members of law enforcement are there, putting their lives on the line to protect and serve their communities. mr. budd: backing the blue is especially important now as rogue prosecutors and activist judges undercut those who are out there fighting crime. we see big cities implement policies that make the already difficult job of crime fighting that much harder. consequently, crime in our country has risen of our streets

are less safe. our citizens' safety is under constant threat. a prime example of this overreach is right here in washington, d.c. last year, the did c. city council passed a so-called comprehensive policing and justice reform package. and the package contains provision after provision that hamstrings the police in the city. it limits the tactics they can use to control unruly crowds and riots and it buries them in in paperwork before they can p even execute a constitutional search. it strips cops of the power to review bode cam evidence and releases their names to be releaseed to the media before an investigation can even begin. and what has happened since all this in this act went into effect? well, in the first full year that this law was in effect, d.c.'s homicide rate reached

nearly a 20-year high. in just the first four months of 2023 there have been over 250 carjackings and an increase in robberies throughout the city. d.c.'s chief of police recently reported that the average homicide suspect is arrested 11 times before committing murder. now it's striking that d.c. is making it harder to arrest these criminals before they commit such heinous acts. and at the same time the district's police union has reported that the department, quote, has lost over 1,200 police officers while only replacing 700. and the force is poised to be at its lowest number of officers since the 1970's. congress has the authority and the responsibility to ensure public safety in the district, and furthermore, the symbol of our nation's capital under siege

from crime is one that our country cannot and should not tolerate. as politicians in this city push antipolice laws, it's incumbent upon our country's national leaders to stand up to these legislative attacks on law enforcement. now is the time for elected officials to express their full and complete support for the police. we need to to fund them, we need to to back them, and we need to push back against false narratives. strong nations support law enforcement because these are the men and women who stand on that anyone blue line between safety and chaos. for the sake of law and order in our nation's capital, i stand in support of senator vance's resolution. thank you. i yield the floor.

there

tion of the nominee from the previous president. it was a long night -- a long night for mike mckiernan, a long night for me but an important night for me to highlight the polarization of one of the key instutions, the supreme court of the united states. if you asked members of my staff to describe mike, you might hear the words, steady presence. throughout the years, he has brought a cool, calm, collective aura, even during moments of contribute stress. being a speechwriter might seem like a quiet, intellectual job, but here in the senate, chaos finds us all. many moments of frantically making last-minute edits,

last-minute edits on a script for a speech or a conversation over zoom, conversations recorded as a video greeting to an organization operating back in oregon or crafting comments with only an hour or two of notice to make, block, or to request a unanimous consent request on an amendment or on a bill. there was for every speechwriter, and for mike, the near daily challenge of finding just the right story or just the right analogy or just the right poem to imilluminate -- illuminate a commentary over a policy. as, indeed, mike delivered the perfect poem on butterflies for my closing remarks at the

monarch summit. it was mike who crafted my 2017 quiz show series that i conducted here on the floor of the senate, featuring weekly climate facts, trying to find a new way to engage americans about the challenges facing us with the evolving impact on our forest and our fishing and our farms and so many aspects of our environment. well, our quiz show did not become the smash hit on youtube we are hoped for, but at least the senate pages prepared learned a thing or two from the quiz shows, and we had fun doing them. our climate work also led to other fun moments like hosting bill nye, the science guy in my office, and doing a joint video on climate science. and mike always had the extreme challenge of deciphering my handwriting, handwriting i can't decipher after every been away

from it even for a few moments. i had no idea what i wrote, but i'm sure it was excellent. figure it out. mike, i think we're sending you away with a certificate in advanced handwriting decoding. along with the fun and good humor mike brought to the team, he also brought deep care and purpose to some of the most challenging moments we handled as an office. he found great meaning in brings, in his words, to life as accurately, impactfully as possible, the stories of those who are oppressed and suffering. when the previous administration tried to take daca status away from dreamers, mike helped me share the stories of young americans who had known no other home. when president trump sent -- mike helped me to share the experience of those whose civil

liberties had been shattered and to hold the administration accountable. when president trump implemented his horrific tactic of tearing children out of the arms of their parents at the border, mike was instrumental of sharing the stories of those families with the world. stories of little children with hopes and dreams who simply want to play, to learn, to be loved and to be table to go to school. parents who would do anything to protect their children from violence, oppression and build for their little ones a safer future. mike, we will miss your wordsmithing. we will miss your adorable stories of your two young daughters, claria and brayden and we really require you to keep sharing them as you go forward. most of all, we'll miss your kind, compassionate,

mission-driven spirit that embodies what it means to be on our team. you are leaving big shoes to fill, but we are thrilled to know that you will be staying in the extended team merkley family, joining our chief of staff in the director's office at the peace corps. one thing our world needs more of is peace, and the cross cultural understanding that comes from americans go out around the globe to help communities thrive. i know that in your next chapter and whatever else you do throughout your career, you will never stop working to build a better world. and what better mission there could be for one's life than building a better world? wish you all the best. and thank you so much for being a member of the team. thank you, mr. president.

the presiding officer: under the previous order, the senate stands in recess until 2:15 p.m.