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most holy and gracious god, who turns the shadow of night into morning, satisfy our hearts with your mercies that we may rejoice and be glad all the day. abide with the members of this body, permitting the light of your countenance to calm every troubled thought, and to guide their feet in the way of peace. lord, perfect your strength in their weakness and help them to serve you and country to the glory of your name. in a world so uncertain about many things, make our senators sure

that no light, that no light that you help illuminate their pathway will lead them into darkness. give our senators the courage to see the truth and wisdom and to humbly follow where it leads. we pray in your precious name. amen. the presiding officer: please join me in reciting the pledge of allegiance to the flag. i pledge allegiance to the flag of the united states of america, and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under god, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. the presiding officer: the clerk will read a communication to the senate. the clerk: washington d.c., june 21, 2023.

to the senate: under the provisions of rule 1, paragraph 3, of the standing rules of the senate, i hereby appoint the honorable peter welch, a senator from the state of vermont, to perform the 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 resume consideration of the veto message with respect to s.j. res. 11 which the clerk will report. the clerk: veto message to accompany s.j. res. 11, joint resolution that would disapprove the rule entitled control of air pollution from the new motor vehicles, heavy duty engine and vehicle standards.

transgender use of the among the most pretty present and death by suicide and so when these are people who are already struggling politicians amplify this the denies the very existence, what message does itd weaver responsibility to support all of her children no matter how they identify and this morning across america, families with doctors to being they must make, critical decisions , life-and-death decisions about surgery medical treatment for their children. these are personal and family moments, which the principal never forget i know, i have been there and increasingly come the state legislatures have decided that the decisions will be subject to regulations and criminal punishment of the government. you saw the video of his father does he something radical he was trying anxious to experiment with his child's future. not to me.

something the father who resisted acknowledging the real condition of his child until he realized that he was wrong. and i'm sure that it was a painful, labor process and journey is convinced that he did the right thing, first transgender daughter regulating the age when a young person can biotech to drive a car is one thing, making a decision this fundamentally could affect the life of the individual, should he view it differently brings me to another reminder. as member this 20, we also have a responsibility to engage in civil discourse and all spirited debate is assigned healthy democracy, we should not tolerate language that disparages anyone to close by saying good's natural be confused by but we do not know the most americans do not personally know anyone identifies is transferred some of my hope is this hearing will be a chance to show the stories reveal the truth. like the rest of the lgbtq,

transgender americans are neighbors and colleagues, fellow citizens that have the same hopes and dreams share pretty lgbtq americans pressing for no more no less the full freedom to live who they are. that'll headed over to the wrecking member for his opening statement. >> thank you mr. chairman, i certainly concur with way we conduct ourselves or an emotional topic and an important topic to talk about. there simply two sides to every story and emily twos sides to the story you characterize people concerned about minors having puberty blocking drugs and surgery is far right and i don't think that is true and i think there are a lot of people in this country very much worried about where we are headed as a nation critically when it comes to young girls having to compete against biological males. one was passed in 1972, to ensure that women would have a

place in college athletics because most of them are nonrevenue generating sports and some generate revenue and most don't but i think the most athletic directors would say that it certainly makes the college experience better to support women athletics at that level as a feeder program for our teams spent a lot of success in women soccer program, and much of that came from the experience they had college. this desire to level the playing field for women in 1972, was bipartisan. so now we have salt i think on that concept. you mentioned it years ago the decision created a constitutional right of same-sex marriage legislation you talked about. talking about that here. we are talking about other things here.

the father testified before the missouri i guess it was the house and senate seemed very sincere i do not question that at all. he was worried about something being taken away from his transgender daughter. this is a good good concept to remember and the right some point, should be upheld and cherished but there are limits to the rights of one group versus the other. when individual versus the other individual your rights have to be balanced against other people's rights and here's where i come out on the snow never convince me, that biological male swim three years on the men's team, and transitioned to the senior year, that was fair and will talk about this and this is going on over the country. young girls are working hard in

their particular sports and on occasion from the having to compete against the biological male decided to transition the evidence i think, is pretty common sense based that there is an age and at the olympic level you have to take certain tests, testosterone, and other testing that you have to take to compete in women sports because there is a disadvantage. i believe this debate will go into the 2024, cycle. the question before us, one of the questions is, is it okay for state transitions of a minor i think it is great i think the state has every interest in protecting minor children and regarding a medical procedure that is life altering given the evidence we got about how these procedures work.

find it curious that in europe. [background sounds]. they are beginning to pause pump the brakes and slow down the logs that would allow the minors to be transition transition because evidence is suggesting is probably not the best thing to do. and they are taking a cautionary note which make america's top of the outlier, that is the title of this article behind me. so today were going to hear both sides of the story. the democratic friends, if they could, would stop every state in the country from having lost regarding my nursing transitioned and think that your position pretty much right that's on your side. on our side we believe the states have every right to do that in mysql actually going down that road.

so as we celebrate the 1972, timeline that reaching 50 years, plus we limited time with the whole concept of title ix is very much at risk. we are not talking about equality today, we are talking about what are the boundaries if any. in american society when he comes minor children and what is fair. to all of us and thank you. >> thank you senator graham we have five witnesses today don't introduce the majority witness centigram to introduce his witnesses printed our first witness is ms. barber, 16 years old from auburn, alabama. and she is here with her dad and she's advocated for trends rights reports of access to gender affirming care in her home state and nationwide we also have doctor newman lopez and doctor lopez is a pediatric

endocrinologist of children's medical center dallas texas and associate professor of pediatrics in the pediatric division at ut southwestern and our final witness is kelly robinson, ms. robinson from chicago is a president human rights campaign in the first black queer woman to leave the organization. writing the program when jewish news mr. sharp missing. >> thank you. about sharp senior counsel director of the center for legislative advocacy appliance defending freeman and feta georgia. in the of the center for legislative advocacy and special counsel but the alliance mr. sharp focuses on salable legislation matters providing legal - testimony i propose legislation would affect summarizing constitutional freedom. and advise the governors and legislation apology but to policy organizations on of the

first right and a jd from vanderbilt university school of law, and gains a spokesperson for independent women's voice pretty and it seems gains defense single spaces for women advocates for equality stands up for women safety and opportunity ms. gates is a former total time all-american swimmer from the university of kentucky. has been a powerful voice speaking out against biological males participating in women sports. and ms. gaines has challenge the roll of various sports leagues and travels to raise awareness about the need to protect women's spaces and encourage other female athletes to join her causing thank you. >> thank you centigram usual will do this morning. will persuade the witnesses, that will allow each of the five minutes for an opening statement then members of the committee will be allowed to ask that would have five and around questions of the witnesses is so awesome witnesses and raise right hand.

your about to give this whole truth and so hope you got. >> reflect the witnesses and answered in the affirmative so we can proceed start with our locker. >> floors or. >> good morning, my name is ali barker and i'm 16 years old from alabama think you all for the opportunity to tell you more about myself and was like to be entrance percent. moving to share what my journey has been like i deserve some of the false information about that heard coming out of congress and state legislatures including the alabama state legislature. there has been so much misinformation what it means to be transgender person with healthcare looks for the changes must've been hearing is after outright assault misrepresent the steps in care taken by qualified professionals were getting it really great childhood of family and friends and as a group my just telling some aggressive hard for me averaging ten elemental my parents that i believe that i was transgender anybody pushed

me to be pumped out and nobody suggested if force or influence me to choose to be trans because of this not a choice, i knew that this was who i was thinking about my my parents were doing the absoluteness the good news for me, took me to our local pediatrician. eddie said out of this and for reverted to medical professionals in our state they could best treat me and pushed onto me and said that he listened to me from his patient from a advise all of us can help to get the best healthcare for my situation. the theme of specialist that he refers to work incredible, they focus on getting to know me understanding my specific case, getting to know my and figuring out how to best care for me as a patient. and advise as an appointment to talk about surgeries of a minor, he was nodding is something we discussed about bush any agendas it isn't the one who thinks about me my parents was that if i ever decided to stop or change my mind, that it was okay and it was for me matter what the opposite here in the news in the

legislature created makes you wonder when legislators think that they can to my parents on my doctors that i cannot get the guaranteed to be happy and healthy. i would all of you to look at me here now and him hours, i am a very happy ceasing -year-old girl and have wonderful friends accept me for who i fully think i might school debate team and other curricular activities. travel and enjoy concerts music until her swift housing. >> record collection in my room i get a licensable i'm looking forward to college, i am not miserable in my life. i am not depressed, just trying to be a teenager in america right seems any routine, but i keep having to jump through hoops so people do not have to pray i keep having to send spring break loving from a right to exist while my friends on vacation here in front of this committee is that on my summer vacations just to ensure the right this is not taken right not one lawmaker is willing to sit down with me and my parents to learn about what it's really

like to be transgender. these lawmakers have read rickabaugh's that were not true about logical thinking like transgender people are being grouped by her parents about which is nonsense. in support of these osma my governor has decided to think horrible things about me those like me in my state, i love you to imagine a moment if you see this will be right your kids have with this make you feel, would you protect your kids from these harmful laws and statements you were me would you same with people who are elected to represent you, make sure that you have a safe place to live but instead talk about your family this way i live only a few miles from the best college my statement but i cannot even consider going there because of the continued attacks against me in my community i had to do a lot of thinking about college i don't first states to ban help your pet because new boss, and saves across the nation, and because we do not have the equality act about help protect me from discrimination have had to start looking at colleges very far away from where i was born and raised here say that it breaks the heart of

the cannot stand the thought of giving so far away with the cannot help me if i needed him. in this type of distillation would make me have to move where the to go to school is not assigned to protect me i would you do understand this limitation makes me unsafe. this journey is not easy, has a first begin a transition from there's an incredible amount of bleeding and by middle school. so it's out of my parents decided that i needed to go to on my school because i wanted to do like that's about it was getting close to violence in schools doing nothing about it and we work in school and eventually got to go back the kids do not feel helpless at school is been bullied or discriminated against just because they are different printed leaders in our state and country have the ability to help however so many of them have decided to about the same bullying and discrimination despite all this, i would help us to go thanks and i love my life i love my family and friends that i'm happy and asking for you to help us stop

certain people from using transgender community as a political pawn. please stop attacking our lives for those running these are human rights hanging in the balance i was communicate with their impacting people's lives and our pursuit of happiness we are just like you get some just like your neighbors and you we also deserve the ability to be happy and think you. >> exactly five minutes. [laughter] and thank you walker, mr. sharp. >> good morning chairman and ranking member and members of committee, met sharp with alliances and freedom in america beautiful diverse and tolerant country, people from various walks one, with beliefs and values peacefully living together and care for one another. because we recognize the inherent dignity and work, this minute down upon each of us by our creator in anchorage alaska embodies these ideals by serving everyone in the community no matter how they identify. sue provides women and men with mizzen clothing and job skill

training at night and approves the women's shelter to provide a safe place for women to get abusive situations when i entered one man and identifies is a woman trying to gain access to the women's children he was broken injured sap wanted to help. so would be for a cab to take them into a local hospital to get the care he needed. and the city officials accuse the hope center of violating the city's gender identity coordinates and demanded the men be allowed to sleep in women's shelters and his feet away from victimized women in this just wanting several about the laws and that promote the generative the ideology violent women's rights, and endangered children in red are constitutionally protected freedom to speech act according to our conscious many of the federal government rules and positions of driving this ideology we see the administration pushing awful interpretations of timeline and other laws that ignore the truth when we speak male and female in this policy to me the schools indoctrinate the students in this gender ideology that even

high the mental health struggles from their parents need more that differences between women and men a lot of the melting of young women sports. this exposes young women to greater risk of physical injury on playing field and approximate just to compete, mental and digital evening college scholarships printed this gender identity policies were part of the women - locker rooms and women storms and shutters like the hope center from the open event violating women's privacy safety and dignity. this policy being used against the students like liam morrison a seventh grader massachusetts, and was punished when you work or something think i'm there only interest, to peacefully share the truth about what it means to be male and female and punishing him, the school mandated that the students of race his views on gender ideology and sensor any dissent. such viewpoints nomination and support to our first amendment and for years, state and local governments have misused public accommodation loss to corpse people to serve everyone regardless of who they are,

messages with which they disagree on paying an investigation, finding and even jail time. for example colorado officials for misusing state law to stories with the owner of website design company through three creative and require her to create designs that violate her sincere beliefs about marriage. lori is waiting this is right now from the supreme court is hoping the court will uphold the freedom of all americans, to speak with they believe without fear of government punishment and perhaps the most troubling campaign is the push to give dangerous and usually irreversible gender transition procedures in children. the blockers block the hormones focus on a one-way street is medical transition and harm healthy bodies and turn children into lifelong patients of general clinics irreparably derive different of the initial page it appears later all with to fear the safer mental health treatments. and fishing for outcomes and continuing pipe is a medically

transition from european countries. these procedures begin correcting them and reversed course to prioritize counseling and psychotherapy, over drugs and in facing and invasive sterilizing surgeries yet despite the best evidence in europe's example, government officials are ignoring the signs of pressuring states, medical providers and even parents to support the harmful medical - of children and knowing this, congress should reject the laws and policies like the missing to quality, it was a government mandated view of sexuality and i didn't have the children, women, turning organizations and all for their unnecessary, unjust, and the aroma the true tolerance of different views that is the hallmark of a great nation and thank you. >> thank you very much mr. sherman doctor lopez. >> good morning. thank you for the opportunity of being able to speak.

i'm here today representing myself, and not my place hospital or institution. the pediatrician trained in pediatrics and into call now the fighting gender care to transgender youth for more than ten years in texas. i have also published scientific research that shows that gender affirming care is a psychological well-being transgender youth. i am here today to be the voice of my patients and their parents because in texas, and in other states, the cares being passed and the future of the youth are at risk. in the merits of my patients are debating whether to flee their state, high financial family and social costs and effects of the campaign misinformation to this bill is also having chilling effect to young healthcare access my patients and their parents, are suffering from this - of school and church social

gatherings, everywhere i many families are unable to leave the state of pulling their children out of school and isolating them living in hiding in the general public should now, giving a misinformation is falsely demonize healthcare transgender athletics we should be summer than two research and clinical practice, and is excepted established medical care, by every pleading medical place in this country including the american academy of pediatrics and medical association many others. there's no professional medical association involved in the care of transgender youth with his foes the care and it is not evolving surgery and minors and no medical interventions are provided before the age of puberty. ...

when left untreated predictably can cause serious harms including depression and other negative fiscal and mental health impacts. in contrast research has shown medical care they need, they can thrive. this care is that pushed by doctors or parents. it is a highly complex decision that involves the mental health providers that includes assessing the stability, the maturity of the adolescent to assent to treatment. importantly, the parents i see in my practice, which is true of practitioners across the

country, from all backgrounds including conservative and religious ones. my patients are supported by the repairs and receive timely gender fermenter often have no mental health issues, and they thrive. i also want to speak up on behalf of science and medicine, and my colleagues. gender health providers and hospitals are being attacked by extremists. politicians are deciding how medical care should look like with disregard for of patie, parents, science, experts, and legitimate medical societies. manning this care risk the investment of this medical field and its research. this is a dangerous precedent for our society as a whole and harms us all. interferes with ethical principles of medicine which includes patient autonomy and do no harm, and to provide the best

treatment available. physicians are being left to decide whether they should violate their medical ethics, break the law. i asked that the complex medical decision of whether to receive gender affirming care is left to parents, patients and their health providers. thank you for the opportunity to speak and be heard today. >> thank you, dr. lopez. ms. gaines. >> good morning senators. my name is riley gaines. i'm advice for independent women's voice to a recently graduated from university of kentucky was a member of the uk women's swim and dive team. i proudly finish my career as a 12 time ncaa all-american, five-time sec champion, sec record holder and the two at a butterfly making it one of fastest americans of all time, a two-time olympic trials qualifier sec scholar athlete of the year and a cc community service of the year but all of that to say that it's a lifelong journey competing at the level and it's impossible to put into words did not sacrifice and dedication that it takes.

a march 17 at 2022 mike emits a night as well as the most from some universities around the country were forced to compete against biological male leah thomas. thomas was elected to be in the women's division after competing as a member of the university of pennsylvania is meant swim team for three years. we watched on the side of pool as thomas went to a national title and a 500 freestyle beating out the most impressive and accomplished female swimmers and a country including many olympians and american record holders. my body links. previously thomas had been right 462nd at best in the men's division the year prior. the next day -- ended up in a tie. we went exact same time down to the 100th of a second. having only one trophy, the ncaa handed it to thomas a toby had to go home empty-handed. when asked why, which was a question there were not prepared to be asked, actually appreciate the honesty because they said thomas it's crucial thomas had it for picture purposes. i felt betrayed.

i felt a little. i felt reduced to a photo op. but my feelings didn't matter what matter to the ncaa with feelings of biological male. in 1972 congress enacted title ix to end unjust sex discrimination in all aspects of education including college athletics. but by allowing thomas to displace female athletes, the ncaa intentionally and explicitly discriminate on the basis of sex. although the ncaa claimed it active in the end of inclusion is policies impact excluded female athletes which would very cmo athletes title ix was passed to protect. but that is not all. in addition to being forced to give up our awards and/or titles and opportunities, ncaa forced me in my female swimmers to swim to shore locker room with thomas. a 22-year-old male exposing male genitalia, let me be clear about

this here we were not for war will be sharing a locker room. no one asked for for a conse did not give our consent. i will set the scene as a locker room is not a place of modesty. you're undressing, fully exposed and we were forced to take off her swimsuit in front of a man who is doing the exact same thing. if nothing else, i truly hope how you can see this as a violation of our right to privacy and how some of us have felt uncomfortable, embarrassed and even traumatized by this experience. i know that i don't speak for every single person who competed against leah thomas but i know i speak from them because i saw the tears. i saw the tears from the night in 17th place finishers the missed out on being named an all-american and i can attest to the extreme discomfort in the locker room from these 18-22-year-old girls when you turn around and there's male eyes watching in that same room and i can attest to the whispers and the grumbles of anger and frustration from these girls are just like myself it worked our

entire lives to get to this meet. meet. and i can attest to the fact that around the country he cmo athletes who opposed the inclusion of leah thomas and women's division were threatened, intimidate and emotionally blackmailed into silence and submission. but, unfortunately, our experiences are not unique. the number of female athletes have been denied opportunities traumatized or hurt by policies that claim to vote conclusion is growing at an alarming rate. i hear these female athletes and their parents. i hear from these people are seriously injured. one was permanent injuries that will plague the rest of her life because she was forced to compete against a much physically stronger man. senatorial. mr. mcconnell: look back on a particularly dangerous part of the combination's approach to environment policy. our colleague, the senior senator from nebraska, put forward a resolution that would

prevent the administration from implementing even stricter emission standards on the trucks and heavy equipment that literally drive our economy. the nigh fro general oxide -- the nitrogen oxide emissions of new trucks on the market today are already 98% to 99% lower than they were in the late 1990's. so we're talking about regulation in search of a problem. in order to keep up with the rule president biden's epa released in november, heavy auto manufacturers would be forced to add a dizzying array of new technologies to their products. by one estimate, the new regulations could raise the cost of a new truck by $42,000.

$42,000 just to keep pace with the changing whims of unelected bureaucrats in washington. as truckers themselves have warned, the epa's latest overreach would drive many of them to stick with, quote, older, less efficient trucks or leave the industry entirely. and, needless to say, higher costs for the men and women behind the wheel means higher costs for food, fuel, and other essentials at the store. but that didn't stop president biden from vetoing senator fischer's commonsense resolution. well, today we'll vote one more time. we'll find out once and for all whether washington democrats care more about keeping pace

with left-wing climate activists than helping working families contend with the runaway inflation that they helped create. now, on another matter, as i've discussed at length, america's partners in the indo-pacific understand the link between russian aggression in europe and the threat of chinese aggression closer to home. japan and taiwan have devoted serious resources to ukraine's defense, but our friends are also wisely strengthening their own defenses. last year taiwan's government put forward its largest defense budget proposal ever -- ever, a 14% increase in top-line

spending along with greater attention to territorial defense, longer service requirements for conscripts and a focus on whole-of-government resilience. japan has a new, transformational security strategy. the prime minister's government is pushing new long-range strike capabilities, increasing defense spending, and buying pac 3 interceptors. in a sign of deepening cooperation with the united states, it has expanded its defense industrial capacity by building facilities to assemble f-35's in japan. south korea is also deepening its security cooperation with the united states, expanding its defense industrial capacity and providing military capabilities to key american allies over in

europe. president yun and prime ministeria she did a have also worked on increased cooperation with america in the face of increasingly belligerent north korea. the philippines is engaging in regular joint exercises in the south china sea and working closely with the united states on enhanced defense cooperation sites that improve our interoperability. and earlier this year, australia reached and agreement with the united states and the united kingdom to procure nuclear-powered conventional submarines, the biggest defense investment in that nation's entire history. in other words, our friends are putting their money where their mouths are. that's important because so has

the people's republic of china. beijing has made historic investments in its own military modernization. prc defense spending has grown every year for almost three decades, but in each of the last two years, it's jumped by at least 7%. and, needless to say, china's official statistics tend to obscure as much as they really reveal. while our most hostile strategic adversary is accelerating its military investments, the biden administration asked congress to shrink -- shrink spending on america's armed forces in real dollars. today our colleagues on the armed services committee will mark up the national defense authorization act beginning the senate's annual work on tending to our nation's common defense.

facing down a common threat is a chance for the united states and our partners to grow the defense industrial base we need to sustain effective deterrence in the indo-pacific. it's an opportunity to reform america's sluggish military foreign sales, promote interoperability and expand joint exercises and access agreements across the region. if we're serious about deepening our defense industrial cooperation, america and our partners must make it easier to work together to share technology and intelligence and to align our defense investments. the need to streamline regulations that can prevent our partners p from investing in their own defense bases. of course this is not at that

one-way street. america can also benefit from technologies our partners are developing if our regulations and bureaucracies simply allow it. our agreement with the u.k. and australia could represent a new approach to collective security. if the biden administration wants this partnership to succeed, it should consider providing broader country exemptions for defense trade licenses for those closest allies similar to what we already do with canada. very simply, it's an opportunity we cannot afford to miss. so action mr. president, china's bid in the indo-pacific extends far beyond investments in naval vessels and new miss il-- missile technologies. the prc has poured billions of dollars into development

projects in vulnerable island nations out in the pacific. so make no mistake, if the united states and our partners fail to work together to maintain a robust deterrence on behalf of a free and open indo-pacific, china will be all too happy, all too happy to fill the void. a senator: mr. president. the presiding officer: the senator from texas mr. cornyn:

mr. president, under president biden's leadership, the united states has experienced an unprecedented border crisis. that's not exactly news because for the last two and a half years, customs and border protection has encountered more than 5.2 million migrants at the border plus another one and a half million got-aways. in other words, under our bizarre and broken immigration system, 5.2 million people basically were welcomed at the border while another million and a half simply fled the border patrol and made their way into the interior of the united states. now, it is true out of the 5.2 million under title 42, the covid-19 order, public health order, that 2.6 million of the 5.2 million were returned to

their country of origin or at least expelled out of the united states. that was a public health order. but that's gone. that's expired. that's served its time. so under any scenario, you can conclude that under president biden's tenure, millions of people have made their way into the united states not using the legal pathways that are descriened to -- designed to make our immigration system safe, orderly, and humane, something that i know we all support, legal immigration. instead president biden's failures when it comes to border policy has resulted in transnational criminal organizations controlling immigration. and they also control the drug trafficking that makes its way across the border. mr. cornyn: and was acknowledged by the attorney general merrick garland when he was in the --

testifying before the judiciary committee, i believe he said he understood that this is part of the business model of these organizations, these criminal organizations. they would flood the border with people and as the border patrol was diverted to try to deal with that mass of humanity, including unaccompanied children, that left huge gaps in the border which were then exploited by the drug cartels to move drugs into the interior of the united states. rather than secure the border or make any totally to -- make any attempt to deter illegal immigration, the biden administration has allowed the chaos to continue for nearly two and a half years. now, inexplicably, the president claims this is all part of his plan to promote safe, orderly, and humane migration. but there's nothing safe about

the journey migrants take to the united states in the hands of cartels, coyotes and ordinary criminals. there's nothing orderly about migrants using inflatable rafts and ropes to cross the rio grande where some meet their death when they drown. there's nothing humane about what's happening in the united states now as a result of the border crisis. first let's look at what happens to the children. since president biden took office, more than 300,000 unaccompanied children have been encountered at the border and then placed with a sponsor in the interior of the united states. to be clear, these children did not arrive in the united states with their parents. these children make the dangerous journey north with basically any adult who's willing to convey them from their home, across the border into the united states.

but the truth is these children are not unaccompanied. they're accompanied by the criminals who make this business. the sad reality is many come to the united states in the care of cartels, human smugglers and coyotes and parents pay smugglers thousands of dollars to bring their children to the united states. i have no doubt that when those children reach the united states, their parents thought they would be safe. after all, this is the greatest country in the world, a country that values freedom, justice, and opportunity. i'm sure their parents expected they would live safe and happy lives while their asylum claims are being considered. but we know the ugly truth. we know now that countless children have experienced a new hell right here in the united

states. "the new york times," for example, published two bombshell investigative reports detailing widespread exploitation of migrant children here in our country. some children are being forced to work in meatpacking plants, food processing facilities, and construction jobs. underage children, these are not part time jobs after school. these are full-time jobs instead of going to school in violation of many states' child labor laws. they're being treated as inten dured -- indentured servants as they try to pay off the debts they owe to the traffickers who brought them here. and there's no question the biden administration understands what's going on. and, yes, their silence is complicity. once unaccompanied children are apprehended and processed at the border, the department of homeland -- health and human services has the legal responsibility to place these

children with a safe sponsor. according to long-standing policy, the agent follows up a phone call 30 days later to make sure that the child is safe. on both counts the preplacement vetting and the post-placement wellness check, the biden administration has completely fumbled its responsibilities. health and human services actually loosened the vetting requirements in order to get children out of shelters fast, as fast as possible with little regard for the increased danger to these children. "the new york times" has documented that at least 85,000 of those 300,000 children cannot even be reached within 30 days. so the practice is to make a wellness call in 30 days but 85,000 of those 300,000 children, there's no answer.

so the biden administration can't tell you where these children are, whether they're being fed, whether they're going to school, whether they're being neglected or abused, or forced involuntary labor. president biden's administration doesn't know. and i think the sad truth is they don't care. because if they did care, this would not be allowed to continue. this isn't breaking news. this isn't something i'm announcing here today for the first time. two major investigative pieces by "the new york times" has exposed this scandal. over the last couple of years, the department of health and human services has received

countless warnings that these children are in danger. those warnings came through its own hot line, government contractors and scores of employees who sounded the alarm. not only did health and human services ignore the warnings of whistleblowers, it tried to silence them. department leadership retaliated against employees who shined a light on this massive abuse. as a result, countless children have remained in dangerous situations just so the administration could avoid an embarrassing pr headache. as we know, the tens of thousands of migrant children who have been lost, literally lost by the biden administration are not the only victims of the border crisis. i sometimes ask myself what's it

going to take, how bad are things going to have to get before this situation registers with enough people of good conscience and goodwill that they're actually willing to do something about it. and i'm constantly disappointed. that in spite of the scandal, we can't find enough people of goodwill and good intentions here in the united states senate to change this, to make it better, to throw a rescue line to these kids. but the story gets worse. we know the fentanyl epidemic has killed more than 07,000 -- 70,000 people a year in the united states just last year making it the leading cause of death for americans age 18 to

49, the leading cause of death. we know that the fentanyl epidemic does not discriminate. it kills young people. it kills old people. it kills rich people. it kills poor people, those living in major cities and those living in rural america. and we know the overwhelming majority of this fentanyl comes across the u.s.-mexico border. again, this is not breaking news. this is something known to all of us, including the biden administration. we also know where the precursor chemicals come from. these are chemicals shipped from china, shipped to mexico where the drug cartels mix them up. they use industrial sized pill presses to gin out hundreds of thousands of pills that are contaminated with fentanyl.

now, most of the time people who take -- who get poisoned by fentanyl don't actually know they're taking fentanyl. they may think they're taking a zanax or a percocet or some other more innocuous medication, something we'd prefer our kids not to take but we understand sometimes that happens. but they have no idea that a tiny dose of fentanyl can kill them and that many of these pills ginned out by the drug cartels using these precursor chemicals in mexico are then ship shipped across the border and unfortunately routinely take the lives of young, bright children who have the best who have the best of their life ahead of them. between october of last year and

april of this year, customs and border protection seized more than 12,000 pounds of fentanyl at the southern border. again, if you have a pencil -- and i don't have a pencil but i have a pen. it's basically the part of the pen that sticks out of the end of the part you old on to. it takes that little amount of fentanyl to kill you. last year customs and border protection seized 17,000 pounds of it. some people say well, that's great. we don't have a problem. the border patrol seized it. well, you remember those got-aways i mentioned earlier? more than a million of them? they were running away from law enforcement and i guarantee you it was for a reason. either they knew that their criminal record and background would not make it possible for them to legally migrate in the united states or they were

carrying drugs like this fentanyl and we know a lot of it is getting through because we're seeing the devastation that is wrought. again, 71,000 fetlele-related deaths last year alone. we know we're not able to interdict every ounce of illicit drugs. far from it. over the past couple of years, the unprecedented border crisis under the biden administration has affected all of our missions at the border, including those that have nothing to do immigration. law enforcement has been shifted to the front lines in order to process and care for the migrants. instead of stopping dangerous drugs and criminals, many agents are pushing paper and changing diapers. no one is happier with this situation than the drug cartels,

and the criminals who smuggle migrants for money. they're getting rich. what's not to love from their standpoint? with fewer agents on the front line, they have a clear and easy path to move fentanyl, heroine, methamphetamine and other deadly drugs into the united states. our communities are being ravaged by the overdose pandemic, and the administration has given the cartels clear and easy corridors to traffic even more of their poison into the united states, as i've described. well, this is hardly a picture of a humane response to the border crisis, as president biden and his administration claim. this is not humane. well, as i've said earlier,

mr. president, sometimes i ask myself what will it take? what will it take to get the attention ever the people who actually have the -- attention of the people who actually have the authority to clang this, to make it better, to -- to change this, to make it better, to save lives? hearing about these crises is enough to make your blood boil. the administration cut corners in order to place migrant children with sponsors. it exerted minimal effort to follow up with those children, to ensure they're safe and healthy. at the same time, the chaos caused by the border crisis has led to a security breakdown, which enables fentanyl and other dangerous drugs to pour into the united states, killing americans. 108,000 last year alone. despite the widespread suffering caused by the biden administration policies, the president and his senior officials just don't seem to

care. they don't care. if they did care, they would do something about it. so, it's clear to me they don't care. there's a clear need to secure the border and stop the unprecedented migration crisis, but the majority of our democratic colleagues refuse to address the border crisis unless congress passes what they call comprehensive immigration reform. so, in other words, they're holding these children -- they're holding the rest of the country hostage in order to achieve a ledges laiptive goal, which they know is not possible. one, because we have a divided government, a republican-controlled house and a democrat-controlled senate, and a democrat sitting in the white house.

there's no question that america's immigration system is in need of modernization. it's outdated, it's inefficent, and crippled by backlogs. but as everyone knows, immigration reform is a very, very difficult, thorny issue. for two years, our democratic colleagues controlled all three branches of government, and they couldn't even pass a partisan immigration bill. and now that we're operating in divided government, that calculus becomes harder, not easier. there is absolutely zero chance that the democrat-led senate and republican-led house will be able to reach an agreement on immigration reform anytime soon. i wish that were not true. it doesn't have to be true, but i think unless attitudes change that's a fact. still, this elusive idea of

comprehensive immigration reform has become a holdup for other problems related to the border and immigration. in other words, these emergencies occurring at the border are being held hostage to an impossible goal, which is passing bipartisan immigration reform as a demand for solving these other problems. right now, the major problem we need to address is the humanitarian crisis fallout from what's happening. we can't prolong the suffering caused by the border crisis while our democratic colleagues try to build support for a massive immigration reform bill that many of them seem to have zero interest in. because, if they had interest, and i assume they would be rolling up their sleeves and doing the hard work, doing more than just talking about it.

for example, in the senate, the democrat chairman of the judiciary committee has jurisdiction to mark up and, presumably, pass with some combination of republican and democratic votes a bill to address the crisis that i mention. the democratic majority leader has the authority to bring a bill to the floor, to open it to amendment, so all can participate and find a path forward and consensus. in the two years our democratic colleagues controlled all three branches of government, they did zero about it. that means that the young adults who are in a box because of deferred action on childhood arrivals, this is an illegal scheme that president obama did un rat -- unilaterally ten years

ago, has been tied up in litigation since, and is likely to be held illegal by a court of last resort very soon. trying to address that, trying to address the drug crisis and protect these 300,000 children, all of that is being held hostage for our democratic colleagues to pursue an unattainable goal, given the current political environment. migrant children are being abused within our own borders. drugs kill about 109,000 americans a year. we cannot leverage these lives for unrelated and unattainable measures. there's nothing safe, orderly, or humane about the biden administration's response to the border crisis, and until something changes, more people will continue to suffer and die.

mr. president, i yield the floor. i note the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. quorum call: mr. thune: mr. president. the presiding officer: the republican whip.

mr. thune: mr. president, are we in a quorum call? the presiding officer: yes. mr. thune: i would i ask unanimous consent the quorum call be lifted. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. thune: this week, the senate armed services committee is marking up the fiscal year 2024 national defense authorization act. the vlad is one of the most important -- the ndaa is one of the most important pieces of legislative we consider literally every year. it authorizes if you can for men and -- funding for men and women in uniform and lays out defense priorities. hopefully it forces us to seriously consider the state of our national defense, what we need, both now and in the future, to ensure that america's military is prepared to deter and, if necessary, confront any threat. mr. president, i like to say that if we don't get national security right, the rest is conversation. and it's true. all these other things we debate and talk about, if you can't protect the country, really end

up being very secondary. the security of our nation is the precondition for everything else, for the continued enjoyment of our freedoms, for a flourishing society, for a healthy economy, for government's ability to do anything. my democrat colleagues think we can let defense spending take a backseat to democrats' latest big-government initiative. that betrays a fundamental lack of understanding of reality. we live in a fallen world, mr. president. as long as we live in a fallen world, there will be evil people bent on aggression. our national defense is not something we can ever afford to minimize or take for granted. we have to be prepared at all times to deter and meet any threat. the united states has a reputation for having one of the strongest militaries in the world. while that reputation is deserved, mr. president, the fact of the matter is that our military readiness is not where it needs to be. thanks to budgetary impasses and

increased operational deed hands by 2018, our -- demands, by 2018 it eroded to the point that the bipartisan national defense straty commission warned we might -- strategy commission wanders we might struggle to win a war against a major power like russia or china. while we'd made progress, we're long from where we need to be. recent u.s. war games positing a u.s.-china conflict following pain attack on taiwan have had grim results, showing enormous military and economic costs on both sides. one news story on these war games noted, and i quote, while the ultimate outcome in these exercises is not always clear, the u.s. does better in some than others. the cost is clear. in every exercise, the u.s. uses up all its learng air-to-surfacr

taye missiles in a few days, with substantial planes destroyed on the ground, end quote. left me repeat that line, mr. president. in every exercise the u.s. uses up all its long-range air-to-surface missiles in a few days, with a substantial portion of its planes destroyed on the ground. that's not a promising scenario, mr. president. it points to serious readiness shortages, particularly deficiencies in our inventory of munitions. i don't need to tell anyone that the side that runs out of munitions first is likely to be the side that loses in any conflict. which is why we need steandz investments -- sustained investments in rebuilding our supply chain, reinforced by multi-year purchases. china's flervetioning its power -- flervetions its powers -- flexing its powers in the indo-pacific and increasing

heavily in the military. china's defense budget has doubled over the last decade, and this year will increase by more than 7% for the second year in a row. that doesn't even count any additional defense funding that china hides. it should come as no surprise that china is outpacing our military in modern capabilities like hypersonic missiles and has amassed a larger navy. mr. president, i said that china is growing increasingly aggressive in the indo-pacific, but china is also growing increasingly aggressive toward the united states. everyone remembers the chinese spy balloon that flew over our country earlier this year. that's just the tip of the iceberg. recent reports indicate that china is using cuba as a base for intelligence gathering against the united states. now it has emerged that china is in discussions with havana to establish a new joint military training facility in cuba.

that's not even to mention the aggressive behavior of the chinese military toward u.s. assets in the indo-pacific. it is impossible to overstate the necessity of ensuring we have the military and economic strength necessary to deter attacks from china or, in the worst case, confront and defeat them. mr. president, while china is obviously a major focus, we cannot forget the threat posed by russia as we continue to see in ukraine. which is why it's vital that the united states and the western world continue to support ukraine and its fight and nato members take seriously or exceed their commitment to spend 2% of their gdp on defense. outside of great power threats, there are rogue nations like iran, which is deepening its ties with both russia and china and is dangerously close to

becoming a nuclear power. mr. president, the legislation the senate armed services committee is considering this week is vital, and i hope the markup will produce a strong bill that helps address the shortfalls in our readiness. i put forward a number of proposals that i hope will be included in the final legislation, with full funding for development of the new b-21 bomber, housed at ellsworth air force base in south dakota, at the very top of my priority list. i'm also working to ensure that in addition to funding for the b-21 and necessary support facilities, the else worth area gets the resormses it -- the ellsworth area gets the resources it needs for the personnel and families that come to the area with the arrival of the b-21's. ronald reagan said, we know too develop well that war comes not when the forces of freedom are strong, but when they are weak.

it is then that tyrants are tempted, end quote. today, as ever, it is vital that we make sure the forces of freedom are strong. and i will do everything i can to help ensure that this year's national defense authorization act advances our nation's readiness so that we can be prepared to deter any threat or meet it, if called upon. mr. president, i yield the floor. i suggest the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. quorum call:

the presiding officer: the senator from new york. mrs. gillibrand: i ask unanimous consent to vitiate the quorum call. the presiding officer: without objection. mrs. gillibrand: mr. president, i am honored to stand in support of in natasha

merle, who i was proud to nominate for the united states district court for the eastern district of new york. ms. merle is a deeply experienced litigator. she has practiced at virtually every level of the legal system, and she's litigated in both state and federal courts, handling both civil and criminal matters. ms. merle doesn't just have the experience and training necessary for the federal bench, she also brings a crucial and unique perfect as a former public defender. if confirmed, she would not only be the fourth black woman on the district court but also the first person with experience as a public defender to fill this role in nearly 30 years. ms. merle has demonstrated fairness in the courtroom and with uphold the rule of law as a judge. 19 senior lawyers from prominent international law firms submitted a letter in support of her nomination. i can tell you that her reputation for fairness will leave a powerful mark on our

communities and on the eastern district of new york, and i hope she will receive swift confirmation. i yield the floor. the presiding officer: the senator from nebraska. mrs. fischer: thank you, mr. president. in just a moment, the united states senate will vote to override president biden's veto of my legislation that would stop yet another aggressive environmental regulation. this specific regulation is an epa rule that would impose stricter emissions standards on heavy-duty vehicles. while this might sound well-intentioned, let's be very clear about the facts. first, the epa's own economic analysis projects that the cost to americans associated with

this new regulation could reach up to $55 billion from 2027 to 2045. and that's because when you force truckers to purchase new, expensive equipment in the name of climate, you are asking the american people to foot the bill. any product transported by trucks, whether those food headed to -- whether that's food headed to your local grocery store or something you bought off amazon, each one of these products will cost more due to massive inflationary burdens this rule will place on the trucking industry. that means every american consumer will feel the effects of this rule and its price increases. every agriculture producer and every local business will feel its effects.

if you are an ag or energy-heavy state like texas, pennsylvania, west virginia, or illinois, nebraska, california, or montana, your local economy will be especially impacted by these higher freight costs. that's not to mention the three million americans who work as commercial truckers. many truckers work for mom and pop operations, small businesses that simply don't have the financial resources to handle a spike in cost. many of these businesses and the good-paying jobs that they support, they won't survive this rule. and you know the real irony here is that the way this, quote, green, unquote, regulation is structured, it actually undermines its own stated goal

of reducing emissions. think about it. if the price of newer vehicles shoots up, the government is incentivizing businesses to hold onto their older, higher-emitting trucks. so let's tell it like it is. the biden administration's emissions rule, it is a political move that won't even be effective. the administration is making an ineffective climate statement at the expense of millions of americans' livelihoods. we in the senate should know that we're not playing a political game of chess. we are dealing with real people. we're not just moving pawns. and that's why my cra passed the senate and the house with

bipartisan support, and that's why we need to push back against the president's insistence on playing these regulatory games. because working families, they don't have the luxury for these games. they are reeling from inflation and economic turmoil caused by this administration. so i would encourage my colleagues to join me in choosing our economy, our truckers, and ultimately the american people over another politically charged mandate from a power-hungry white house. thank you, mr. president. i yield the floor.

the presiding officer: the senator from new jersey. mr. menendez: mr. president, this year marks the 200th anniversary of diplomatic ties between the united states and chile and 20 years since congress approved a free trade agreement between our two countries. in april i led a codel to chile. i had the chance to meet with chile's leaders and americanbitions operating there -- and american businesses operating there. we were a bipartisan group. i went with congressman cardenas. we met with insurance companies, mining companies, you name it. you know what every single one of them said to us? you know what they all wanted from the united states senate? to approve the chile tax treaty. they said if the united states doesn't ratify the treaty, they will continue to be at a huge

disadvantage. the world is changing. we are undergoing an energy transition, and without this treaty we are going to fall behind on critical minerals and manufacturing of the future. and they're right. china already has a tax treaty with chile. if the united states wants to level the playing field for american businesses and deepen our ties with chile, would end to act. -- we need to act. chile is one of our strongest democratic partners in the americas and the chileans want us to ratify the treaty as well. we heard that message loud and clear when we spoke to the president and senior members of chile's senate. we heard it it from the -- we heard it from the speaker of the chilean congress and we heard it from a strong democratic leader who seeks closer ties with the united states. we live in a world with increased global competition in a contest between democracy

versus authoritytarianism -- authoritarianism. the united states needed to be strategic -- the united states needs to be strategic about how we partner with key democratic partners like chile and their president. we must avoid unnecessary delays. we signed this agreement in 2010. that's 13 years ago. and this would be only our third bilateral tax treaty in all of latin america. china is not waiting around. so if we want to be competitive, we need to move forward with the same determination and the chile tax treaty is an incredible opportunity in that regard. chile is an important market for u.s. goods and manufacturing, including air aircraft vehicles and machinery. chile is a leading producer of copper,and chile has the second-largest lithium reserves in the world.

this critical mineral is the building block for many modern technologies. as global demands skyrocket in the coming years by as much as 4,000%, this tax treaty will make it easier for u.s. businesses to be competitive in this emerging sector. u.s. businesses and their chilean counterparts want predictability and consistency in tax treatment. as they continue to scale up operations and as the united states and chile forge even stronger economickizest ties, they want -- economic ties, they want to know that they won't be taxed twice on the same income in two different countries. that's why the chile tax treaty has overwhelming support. the u.s. chamber of commerce has expressed its resounding support for the treaty. it has the support from u.s. companies across a range of industries and sectors. and the treaty enjoys strong

bipartisan support, as is evidenced by the fact that it passed the senate foreign relations committee by a nearly unanimous vote, 20-1. by approving this treaty, we not only give the senate's stamp of approval right now, we have high hopes for where this treaty will take our two nations in the future. so, mr. president, while we're debating this tax treaty, i do want to take a minute to speak about how we engage on treaties more broadly. treaties are a shared constitutional responsibility of the senate and the executive branch. nonetheless, as we worked last year to move the chile tax treaty through the senate, the biden administration withdrew from our tax treaty with hungary without consulting with the senate or providing advance notice, let alone approval. it is deeply disappointing that presidents of both parties have advanced these types of unanimous actions and emissions in the -- and omissions in the

past. such actions are completely inconsistent with our constitutional structure. i've asked the president to commit at a minimum to meaningful consultations with the senate foreign relations committee prior to terminating any treaty. without such a commitment, i'll work to -- our work to address this work -- i'll work to address this in future resolutions. i'll continue to work to make sure the senate protects our constitutional prerogative on treaties. standing up for our democratic values and institutions, this is what bidens up with close -- binds us with close partners like chile. this established for the first time official relations for our two young nations. we took that action then because our countries were determined that the rest of the world take us seriously as independent states. our shared values and ambitions have given us 200 fruitful years of working together in science

and technology innovation, immigration and visa, academic exchanges and on the questions of critical minerals and reap renewable energy. this treaty will advance u.s. interests by building u.s. partnerships that will position our country, our economy and our manufacturing sector for the future. i appreciate the ranking member of the senate finance committee. we had some issues originally. we worked together and came top a conclusion that is satisfactory to all. i urge my colleagues to vote to advance this treaty and promote advice and consent and advance its ratification. with that, i yield the floor. the presiding officer: under the previous order, the question is, shall the bill pass, the objections of the president, president to the contrary notwithstanding. the yeas and nays are required under the constitution. the clerk will call the roll.

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the presiding officer: on this vote the yeas are 50. the nays are 52. two nirdz of the senators voting, a quorum being presented, not voting in the affirmative, the bill on reconsideration fails to pass over the veto of the president of the united states. under the previous order, the senate will proceed to executive session to resume consideration of the following nomination which the clerk will report. the clerk: nomination, the judiciary, natasha c. merle of new york to be united states district judge for the eastern district of new york. 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 number 30, natasha c. merle of new york to be united states district judge for the eastern district of new york signed by

17 senators. the presiding officer: by unanimous consent, the mandatory quorum call has been waived. the question is, is it the sense of the senate that debate on the nomination of natasha c. merle of new york to be united states district judge for the eastern district of new york shall be brought to a close. the yeas and nays are mandatory under the rule. the clerk will call the roll. vote:

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the vice president: are there any senators in the chamber who wish to vote or change a vote? if not, the yeas are 50 and the nays are 50. the senate being equally divided, the vice president votes in the affirmative and the motion is agreed to. under the previous order, the senate stands in recess until 2:15 p.m.