[inaudible conversations] >> be up-to-date in the latest in publishing with book tv's podcast about books, with current nonfiction book releases, plus best seller lists, as well as industry news and trends through insider interviews. you can find about books on c-span now, our free mobile app or wherever you get your podcasts. >> a healthy democracy doesn't just look like this, it looks like this where americans can

see democracy at work. when citizens are truly informed our republic thrives. get informed on c-span, unfiltered, unbiased, word for word, from the nation's capital, you get the opinion that matters the most is your own, this is what democracy looks like, c-span powered by cable. >> today senate lawmakers resume work on the 2024 defense programs and policy bill. they'll also vote to confirm david alman as assistant administrator for the environmental protection agency. you're watching live coverage. senate here on c-span2. the chaplain, dr. barry black, will now lead the senate in prayer. the chaplain: let us pray. almighty god, by your providence you gave us a nation, conceived

in liberty. today infuse our lawmakers with the spirit of liberty and justice so that their work will reflect your purposes and plans. may their knowledge of your providential purposes keep them from detours that lead away from abundant living. may their small successes prompt them to attempt larger undertakings for human betterment. as they seek to do your will, bless them with the awareness of the constancy of your presence. lord, guide them by your higher wisdom and keep their hearts at peace with you.

we pray in your great name. amen. the presiding officer: please join me in reciting the pledge f allegiance to our flag. i pledge allegiance to the flag of the united states of america, and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under god, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. the presiding officer: the clerk will read a communication to the senate. the clerk: washington, d.c., juy 20, 2023. to the senate: under the provisions of rule 1, paragraph 3, of the standing rules of the senate, i hereby appoint the honorable raphael warnock, a senator from the state of georgia, 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 proceed to executive

session to resume consideration of the following nomination, which the clerk will report. the clerk: nomination, environmental protection agency, david m. uhlmann of michigan to be an assistant administrator.

test:

>> knew it to be untrue. >> my time has expired part i yield back. >> unanimous consent before we -- >> the judgment from the orchestra i would like to introduce page two of the transcript of laura where specifically she says if someone, she's asked that some of her to leave here today, were to leave at this interview and to suggest imply or state when you said quote laptop was real unquote that it met the fbi d affirmatively determined in october 2020 that the laptop belong to hunter biden, the contents promote you hunter biden, the contents and not been manipulated in some way they would be misrepresenting what you said, correct? answer they would be misrepresenting what i said,.

>> got it. with objective that's already been introduced. without objection will do it again. we stand in recess for approximately 45 minutes and we would back and bite the editor thank you all.

to consider the following nominations unblocked. calendar numbers 46 through number 52, number 82 through 107. number 110 through 113. number 130 through 139. number 180 through number 205. number 224 through 226. 228 through 234, number 236 through 246. 248-289. denominations be confirmed. emotions the to reconsider be

considered made and laid upon the table withea no , mr. president, the senate will continue the bipartisan process of passing our annual defense authorization bill, the ndaa. we've had a productive afternoon yesterday. we held votes on four amendments, from both democrats and republicans. we affirmed our unflinching commitment to our nato allies, by defeating an amendment that sought to undermine our support for the transatlantic relationship. 83 senators untied to defeat -- united -- 83 senators united to defeat this amendment, and i thank every single one of them for standing firm. that's a majority of both parties. in another win for nato, we also adopted senator kaine's amendment stating that no president can unilaterally take us out of nato without senate approval. adopting kaine's amendment was

an unmistakable message to both our friends and foes that america's commitment to nato will not waiver. the -- will not waver. the political winds may shift, but america's bonds to nato remain unbents. that's what passing the annual defense bill should look like, both sides proposing and debating amendments, both having input, both sides working in good faith to get this bill passed as soon as we can. we'll keep working today, after voting on the cruz cruz-manchin-fetterman amendment, i hope we can vote on additional reasonable amendments we can bring to the floor to keep this process going. nobody thinks this kind of bipartisanship is easy, and both sides have honest disagreements as we do on so many issues. but that should not prevent us from fulfilling our obligation to take care of our servicemembers, take care of our dod workforce, and provide for our common defense, so necessary

in these days. there's ever reason in the world to get this bill done as soon as we can. as i've said all week, the ndaa is full of provisions both sides can celebrate, provisions that seem incremental on their own but together provide a strong foundation for the security of this nation. we'll make important progress to outcompete the chinese government. we'll pass the first pieces of legislation this year related to a.i. oversight. we'll strengthen our ties to taiwan, increase our influence in the indo-pacific, make progress on the vital aukus treaty -- on vital aukus partnership, and increase the administration's power to sanction and punish international fentanyl traffickers. i mentioned this before, but i cannot emphasize it enough, this fentanyl bill is a major, major help in stopping the scourge of fentanyl from coming into this country. members op both sides of the aisle should celebrate that in a

bipartisan way, under the leadership of senator brown and senator tim scott. we were able to get this done. all these agreements are the result of both sides working together, each one a good reason to keep going until the job is done. both sides will continue working today and into next week until we pass the ndaa. we're making good progress, but of course we still have more to do. now, on appropriations, as the senate works to finish the ndaa we'll also vote this morning on an important executive nomination, david -- nominee, david uhlmann to be assistant administrator at the epa. he is one of the nation's top prosecutors of criminal polluters. he has top support from former republican and democratic administrations. we will make great progress on the appropriations bill. this morning the appropriations committee is marking up three more bills, continuing the great

work of our appropriators over the past few months. this is never an easy process, but hat's off to chair murray and vice chair collins. they are working well together and we're on track to pass all of our appropriation bills through committee, through regular order with strong bipartisan support. it's hard to do -- it is hard to do, but they're doing a great job and it's precisely how the appropriations process should work. both sides coming together, finding common ground, advancing bills that invest in american families, keep our communities safe and keep our government open. it is this kind of bipartisan cooperation that prevented any government shutdown in the last congress when democrats had majorities in the house and in the senate. not one shutdown. not even for a day. we didn't shut the government down. americans don't want to see one this year. there's a lot of work to do, but today's markup is another example that our appropriators

are moving forward on a good path and i thank them again for their good efforts and finally on the supreme court ethics markup. this morning as i speak, the judiciary is holding votes to advance supreme court ethics reform. i support chairman durbin, senator whitehouse, and the judiciary committee's work on scotus reform and i look forward to working with them to make progress on this legislation. holding supreme court justices to high ethical standards should not be a partisan issue. on the contrary, both sides should leap at the opportunity to protect the public's trust in our system of justice. it is an essential part of protecting our democracy. sadly americans' trust in the supreme court is shaken. they see supreme court justices accepting lavish gifts and vacations from billionaires and maga extremists, not the

ordinary billionaires, with but true idealogues who support court suits to move america to the far right and then -- and thee idealogues block student debt relief for millions of americans and green light discrimination against the lgbtq community. the hypocrisy, the appearance of conflict of interest is sickening and americans see right through it. the american people agree that justices who sit on the highest court in the land should be held to equally high ethical standards. so, again, to repeat, i support the efforts of chairman durbin and the judiciary committee and i will work with them to make progress on this issue. i yield the floor. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. quorum call:

their entire adult lives. they have sacrificed time with her family. they have sacrificed everything for this country, and now they have been promoted and, or they

been put on a list to be promoted and the senator from alabama has put a hold on them, which is never happened before in history of the united states. for somebody who has put this, the senate to a grinding halt month after month after month, he has picked an odd argument to defend his position, madam president. he has said time and time again that what he's doing actually doesn't matter what he's doing in the face of democratic and republican, not that it matters because the secretary of defense should think of themselves as a democrat or republican but people who have served in democratic and republican administrations have said over and over again that he's compromising our national security, which is of course exactly the conclusion that anyone looking at this with common sense would believe.

that our generals and admirals actually make a difference. the head of the joint chiefs of staff actually makes a difference. if that's not the case, if that's not the case we are in worse trouble than i thought. and if it is the case, if what he is saying is right, it doesn't matter, doesn't make any difference, and how can he claim to be acting on this incredibly important principle since it doesn't matter? as he says, these military positions are being fulfilled by acting officials, by acting officials here he says the generals as i sit are not important for the admirals are not important or they can be filled by active officials but we don't need a marine corps commandant, madam president, in his mind it doesn't matter. we don't need an army chief of staff but we don't need a chief of naval operation. we don't need a nominee for the joint chiefs of staff, madam president. all of those positions are up for promotion right now,

everything what is being blocked by the senator from alabama. and by people in this chamber that are supporting him on this unprecedented hold. by the way, i haven't talked about this in the seven times i been under but eifert from people about this so let me just mention the incredible unfairness of this hold to the families that are working, that are supporting and serving with and living with these members of the armed forces, many of them spent their entire career working to get to the point that they are in right now to be promoted to a position at the significant responsibility they have ever held, the decisions had been made on the way here to visit soccer games other kids, to make a decision to accept the promotion that takes you to a foreign land distant from your family, distant from your

community. the disruption in peoples lives who now don't know where to put the kids in school because the senator objection. mr. mcconnell: yesterday communities across my home state endured another spayed of heavy rains. the flooding was especially severe in western kentucky. residents are still rebuilding after tornadoes plummeted the region just 19 months ago. first responders have been moving quickly to rescue and evacuate those impacted, and i understand so far there are no reported injuries or deaths. i'm thankful for the heroic work to keep kentuckians safe. my team is in touch with state

and local officials to help however we can and later today i will speak with the mayor of mayfield to get an update on the situation in her community. so elaine and i continue to pray for the safety of west kentuckians as they recover and rebuild in this time of need. on an entirely different matter. the administration's plan is working as intended. that, mr. president, is the department of homeland security's assessment of the situation at our southern border since president biden ended title 42 authorities back in may. on the biden administration's watch, customs and border

protection reported record numbers of illegal border crossings. yet washington democrats would like us to believe with the flip of a switch, the crisis they created is under control. believe me, mr. president, i wish that were true. but the american communities are dealing with the effects of president biden's open borders, like the record flows of deadly drugs no different. and so do the thousands of migrants caught up in this administration's humanitarian catastrophe along the border. here, unfortunately, are the facts. while the biden administration crows about migrant encounters declining, the month of may 2023 saw nearly 35,000

inadmissible persons arriving at southern border points of entry. that's double the may total from just the year before. and last month, in june, the number jumped over 45,000. meanwhile, the number of fbi terror watch list suspects arrested at the border thus far this fiscal year has already set a new annual record. and president biden's hhs department still can't seem to account for over 85,000 children who arrived at the border unaccompanied and were released into the united states. so, mr. president, i know several of our colleagues on this side of the aisle will have more to say on the subject later today, but if this is what the biden administration calls a

plan that's working as intended, i'd hate to see what they think failure looks like. on another matter, for more than two years now the biden administration has sent the senate a steady stream of radical and unqualified nominees that much is hardly news. but today the president's pick to serve as secretary of labor made an especially i go know mean why yous -- ignominous hit. julie a. su, her nomination has spent four and a half months in limbo while senate democrats decide whether they can even muster a party-line confirmation

vote. we're still taking input that's become sort of our colleagues' go-to line as they decide whether to hold their noses and vote for this scandal hnl -- scandal hnl plagued activist. i suggest to our colleagues that there's not too much that ms. su 's radical record left to the imagine. this is the nominee who botched her previous job so royally that the biggest newspaper in her home state, "the los angeles times," called one department's performance on her watch a, quote, epic failure at the la times, at the then-california department head. as head of the california labor authority, ms. su was

responsible for tens of billions of dollars in fraudulent unemployment insurance payments. tens of billions of dollars in fraud. why on earth would the biden administration think that sort of performance deserved an encore? well, maybe because ms. su has a penchant for doing the bidding of democrats' biggest activists and big labor allies. on the job in california, ms. su reportedly instructed employees on how to hide illegal immigrants from customs authorities. here in washington, she's worked overtime to give unions access to more of workers' paychecks and veto power over fast-evolving industries where independent contractors and gig workers thrive. so, mr. president, american taxpayers have seen enough,

enough of julie su. when will senate democrats finally decide they have as well on one final matter, this week the biden administration envoy john kerry was on a mission to get the prc to cut emissions. as china continues to threaten peaceful neighbors in the indo-pacific, our former colleague apparently thought he could get chinese officials to treat left-wing climate policy as a, quote, free-standing issue. by all accounts, the administration's envoy was unsuccessful. it appears he did not meet with china's foreign minister or president xi. meanwhile, china's leader used his latest public remarks to

reiterate that he didn't plan to curb increasing emissions, let alone start lowering them for another seven years. let me put it another way. over the last seven years, the u.s. economy cut its emissions by 5% while china increased its own by 12%. while the biden administration waged war on affordable energy and decimated the coal country, china made plans for hundreds, hundreds of new coal plants. while president biden has tried to cut defense spending after inflation, the prc has plowed ahead with investments in domestic industry and military modernization. perhaps the administration's climate envoy would be interested in the carbon emissions of china's fast-growing navy or the fuel efficiency of its hypersonic

missiles. the prc appears to be all too happy to trade nonl binding international commitments for more of america's jobs, prosperity, and national security. america's top adversary clearly recognizes what the biden administration does not. you can't win a strategic competition by hamstringing your own economy, and you certainly can't expect to convince your rival to follow suit voluntarily. according to to the prc summary of meetings the u.s. would, quote, handle the taiwan issue in exchange for any of the hollow, unenforceable promises the biden administration hoped china would make on its carbon emissions. so sell out a peaceful democracy in exchange for left-wing

climate policies, no one should be surprised if beijing responded to the administration's naive demands on climate with a priority of its own. on that count, the biden administration envoy deserves some credit for walking away, but this is hardly the only time democrats have gone looking in the wrong places for an edge in our competition with china. here's the truth. the way to keep america safe and prosperous is to invest in hard power and deter those who wish us harm. this week as the senate continues our work on the ndaa, our colleagues have an opportunity to demonstrate that they understand this basic, essential reality.

mr. thune: mr. president.

the presiding officer: the republican whip. mr. thune: is the senate in a quorum call? the presiding officer: we are not. mr. thune: thank you, mr. president. current the senate is considering one of the most important pieces of legislation that we consider each year and that's the national defense authorization act. it's a bill that authorizes funding for our men and women in uniform and our defense needs, from planes, ships, and submarines, to weapons, logistics and comiewkses technology. -- communications technology. the united states has long had a reputation for military strength, and part of that reputation has rested on the strength of our equipment. but in recent years our technological advantage has eroded to the point where there is reason to be concerned whether we would win a war against a major power like china. and while we've made some progress to reverse this trend, we have a lot more work to do to ensure our military retains our technological edge. and i'm glad that this year's ndaa makes progress toward this goal. mr. president, today i want to talk about one critical aspect

of america's defense capabilities in particular, and that's long-range strike. particularly or specifically i should say our bombers. long-range strategic bombers have played a critical role for the united states in a number of conflicts. but today's bomber force is desperately in need of an update. our boarm -- boarm inventory is roughly one-third of the size than it was in 1989, and it's the oldest in air force history. experts warn that in a conflict the current u.s. bomber force would be insufficient against an adversary like china. fortunately this is one problem that we have made a concerted effort to address. congress, the pentagon, and successive administrations have been at work developing a next-generation strategic bomber for a number of years. and we finally have it. that, mr. president, is the

b-21 raider. it is a six-generation long-range strategic bomber, and it will take its first flight later this year. so, mr. president, that is something that, as i said earlier, our nation has a vital interest in making sure that it is completed and that we get that important military asset as part of our defense arsenal as we look at the threats that we face around the globe today. th. the air force calls the raider the future backbone of its bomber force. secretary of defense austin says, i quote, it's deterrence the american way, end quote. this is an example of of what american injen ute can achieve. it will be able to penetrate hostile air defenses and reach targets anywhere in the world, which 90% of our current bomber force can't do.

now, while launching from the united states and deploying stealth technologies that you have to see or, should i say, not see, to believe. this a remarkable capability, mr. president, systems will be able to evolve with the changing threat environment and incorporate new technologies within the airframe. and it will be able to work alongside the technologies of tomorrow, such as unmanned aircraft and artificial intelligence. the specter of the b-21 already caused a stir in china. i'm certain it will cause our adversaries to think twice about aggression. mr. president, i'm proud that when the b-21 enters its service in the next few years, south dakota's ellsworth air force base will be main operating base one, home to both the formal training unit and first operational squadron. the men and women of ellsworth are working hard to prepare for this important new mission, and i'm working to ensure they have everything they need to

successfully carry it out. last year, i worked to ensure that congress provided not only for the development and initial production of the b-21, but for support facilities at ellsworth that will be needed for the aircraft, including a radiofrequency facility and a weapons generation facility. i was also able to secure language in last year's ndaa to create a pilot program to evaluate dynamic air space concepts. dynamic air space allows boundaries to evolve as military exercises progress, enabling larger volumes of air space for realistic training for aircraft like the b-21. i'm pleased to report that this year's ndaa authorizes full funding for the next steps of the b-21 mission, including continued pommer -- bomber development and procurement, as well as continued investment in the required support facilities at ellsworth. mr. president, looking at ellsworth today it's hard to imagine that its future was in

in jeopardy not that long ago. shortly after i came to the senate, the dnlts of defense's -- department of defense recommended closure. one of my first priorities has a u.s. senator was keeping, just keeping ellsworth open. i'll say the odds were not in our favor. but thanks to an all-hands effort by our congressional delegation and state and community leaders, we proved to the brac commission that ellsworth was too valuable to lose. then we got right to work building up the base so we would never again find our is efs in the same position. stood, ellsworth is home not only to the b-21, it's the current workhorse of long-range strike, but also the air force financial services center, the 89th attack squadron, which remotely controls mq-9 reapers, the largest air space in the continental understandings, and soon the -- in the continental united states and soon the bomber.

once slated for closure, ellsworth is set to be a critical part of our nation's defense long into the future. i will continue to do everything i can to support both the base's mission and the men and women who make it happen. mr. president, as i've noted, the b-21 represents a substantial advance in our nation's long-range strike capabilities and will help ensure that we are more prepared to meet the threats of the 21st century. but as critical as it is, long-range strike is just one aspect of our nation's defense, and we will have a lot of work to do to strengthen our nation's readiness across the board. we need more b--21-type efforts to leverage our technological advancements to upgreat other aspects of our nation's -- upgrade other aspects of our nation's defense, and quickly. the war in ukraine, as well as war games addressing the defense of taiwan, have made clear the cost of a major conflict.

if we hope to avoid such conflicts and deter future attacks against our country or our allies, we need to make restoring our readiness a top priority. as we move forward, i will continue to do everything i can to support not only our airmen at ellsworth and the b-21 mission, but the critical work of upgrading our nation's military capabilities. mr. president, i yield the floor, and i suggest the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. the clerk: ms. baldwin. quorum call:

mr. lankford: i ask that we set aside the quorum call. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. lankford: when i talk to most oklahomans will pharmaceuticals, about the cost of drugs and going to the pharmacy, they don't think a lot about supply chain issues. though i have a bill working on this, and this is an issue we've got to resolve. about 10,000 of the active pharmaceutical ingredients come from communist china. we're very exposed there. that's a very big risk. we've got to work to be able to get access to the pharmaceuticals without depending on china to do that. that's a rink people wants solved, but they -- that's a risk people want solved, but don't talk about most. they mostly talk about the cost of the drug and availability at their local pharmacy. let me talk about both of those. because as ironic as they sound, they're tied up together not in the way people think about most often. because many people think drug companies produce drugs and then

they sell it to the pharmacy, then the pharmacy sells the drug. they think that's the way it works. it's really not, actually. those are two elements. there are drug companies that do research, develop the drugs, and do all the clinical trials and get it approved and they're ready to go. then there's a wholesale network that handles the distribution, and there's this group that olympics no one has -- that almost no one has heard of, the pharmacy benefit manager. the pharmacy benefit manager oftentimes sets the real price for the drug, because the drug company may produce it at one price, the pharmacy is ready to sell it at a price, but there's a group in between, the pharmacy benefit manager, that they actually control how it works. now, if i'm at the pharmacy in atoga, oklahoma, the patients coming into that rural, beautiful community, they just know what they're paying at the counter, but if you go behind the counter and farm to the

pharmacist there -- to and talk to the farm sips there -- the pharmacist, they'll tell you they're struggling as an independent pharmacy, especially in rural areas, because there's a game happening with the pharmacy benefit manager, that's to the benefit of the pbm and the detriment of the local pharmacy and the patient. this has to be resolved. about 80% of all of the drugs ma move across the country are managed by three different pharmacy benefit managers. i'm not opposed to competition, but here's what they've done over the last several years -- the insurer has purchased both the insurance company, the pharmacy benefit manager, the group that does the purchasing of the drugs, and then often the retail pharmacy as well. for some of those big-chain retail pharmacies.

so they own the entire network, and can make money through the whole network. again, i'm a free-market capitalist, i don't have an issue with people doing that. but the leverage of the big pharmacies that they then own all the rest of the chain there, if you're not in their group you're facing some real consequences and a real squeeze. because they now set the price and tell you who you it works. let me give you a couple of examples and things that i believe we need to address that i have been working on for years and that finally the finance committee of the united states senate is actually taking on this issue. one of them is another little code thing most people don't know it exists, called dir fees. this direct and indirect remuneration fee is how the process works behind the scenes at an independent pharmacy. let me give you an illustration. say you're a company and you do

manufacture a product or retail and you sell a product out there. you sell a product, whatever it may be, i don't care if it's a shirt, couch, whatever it may be, you ship it out. you do the shipping and you anticipate, once the shipping is done, you're reimbursed for the shipping. your job is to retail sell it, ship it out, and then you get the reimbursement for that. what would happen in your business if you sold it, shimed it, and then after you shipped it and paid for the shipping someone came back to you and said that may have cost you $50 to ship that, i'm only going to give you $20 for the shipping? because i didn't like the way you did the shipping. i didn't like who you did the shipping with. i didn't like the box that you put it in. i prefer a different box. so you lose $30 in the shipping because you didn't put it in the right kind of box. here's what you do, next month

when you're shipping, you make sure you put it in the box that whoever this is that's reimbursing you likes that certain kind of box. you you the it in that box, you ship it out, but you wait for the reimbursement, but instead the company says we changed our mind. now we like a different color of box. yeah, you put it in the right box, but we like a different color, so we'll reimburse you $10, even though it cost you $50. this may sound absurd, but welcome to the world of dir fees for pharmacies. here's what happens, they purchase the drug and get the drug, they're ready to sell it, they sell to the consumer, the consumer pays them for it, they've got their money from the consumer, it goes out the door, and then a month or a quarter or sometimes even a year later the pharmacy benefit manager sends a notification to the pharmacy and says i didn't like the way that you did that. it wasn't a quality thing.

it was just how they did it. sometimes they'll say, well, you really should have prescribed two drugs to this person, and you just did one. now, the pharmacist doesn't choose what drugs are going out to the patient that's there. the doctor does. the pharmacist fills the script. but the pharmacy benefit manager may say you needed to sell more drugs than what you did, so we'll reimburse you less. they literally change the rules after the sale is done, so they'll reimburse them. sometimes they'll reimburse less than the actual drug cost to the pharmacist. so the is it pharmacist loses money, but they don't know that until months later. that's what's happening right now in small pharmacies across america because the pharmacy benefit managers are focused in

on how can they make more money even if it closes down rural independent pharmacies. what's interesting is several of my rural pharmacies tell me they'll get these change of rules where suddenly they're selling drugs or sold a long time ago a drug they will get the notification and a week later get a notification from that big pharmacy group saying, hey, by the way, if you want to join our retail chain and close down your chain, we'll buy you out. it's a great way to put a little pressure squeeze on them to say we're going to reimburse you less than the cost of your drugs unless you are one of our pharmacies and then maybe we'll do a little bit better. this is the united states of america. we like competition, but we also like fair competition where people are actually reimbursed for the cost of their actual

product, they're actually able to survive and especially in rural areas, that independent pharmacy is able to thrive because in rural areas across our country, there's not a lot of access to health care so when people have a question about their drugs and about their health care, where do they go? the pharmacist in their small town. that's where they go. dir fees from these pharmacy benefit managers are directly putting at risk the survival of rural pharmacies across america and across my state and i'm going to do whatever i can to make sure those companies don't drive out of business local rural pharmacies in my state because my people in my state need that support in their local area. they may want to do mail order pharmacies for some things. it's very convenient. it's great. if they choose to do that, it's fine, but if they're taking five

drugs, they want to talk to somebody about this and what are going to be the effects. that will not happen with mail order, that will happen with somebody behind the counter talking to them and walking them through the process. that's what they're able to do. it's not rocket science, it's not onerous, it's standard performance metrics that the rules don't change on an independent pharmacy, they know what the rules are and they don't change them especially after the sale has been done and not to lose money every time you sale a product shouldn't be a radical idea. the pharmacist is not getting to pick the price on the product. people think the pharmacist is making all the money. the pharmacist is in the the one who picks the price on the product, that's set by someone else. and if they literally have to sell it at a price less than what they can buy it for, that's not right. they're trying to help their neighbors. let me give you another example.

another issue i have been working on for years. this is a game play between the pharmacy benefit managers and the pharmaceutical companies that actually produce the drugs. most drugs, when they come out, are remarkable. the engineering and the science in modern medicine and the technology that it takes to be able to go through the clinical trials to get something approved that is not only safe but effective is remarkable science and there are great researchers doing that and it is incredibly expensive to do. because it is incredibly expensive in the united states, we protect the patent rights of that new drug. a drug when it comes out is really expensive when it comes out because we want that company to make enough money to pay for a all of the research they put into producing it and make a little profit or else they will not produce more drugs and more innovation. that's how it works. that patent is protected for a season, usually around a decade that it's protected for them.

after that, then the drug can this drug competition. those are called generics or biosimilars. most people know when they walk into a pharmacy, they have a prescription from the doctor and the pharmacist will say it's a brand drug, many will ask if there is a generic of it, really what they're asking is there a cheaper version of that? almost for everyone, the plan -- the plan from your insurance company, you have one for the brand drug and one for the generic. you know why? generics are cheaper for everybody in the value chain. here's what happens. sometimes people will walk into ha pharmacy and will say, is there a generic version of this and the pharmacist will say there is a generic version but it's the same price as the brand. it makes you pause for a minute and say, that's strange. why is the generic the same

price as the brand? if that has happened to you, here's why that is. the drug company has worked with the pharmacy benefit manager to say when competition comes, when the generic comes, if you will list the competition on the higher price, what's called branded tier, we'll give you a kickback every time our drug is sold in the brand. so you will make additional money if you will list the competition at a higher price. what does that do? that causes every consumer in america to have to pay more at their pharmacist. it also affects the united states budget because also medicare is affected by that as well. this is a simple fix. generic drugs should be on the generic tier, branded drugs should be on the branded tier for sales. this is not rocket science again, this is straightforward consumer protection. in is an issue that i pushed on

for a long time, that i get a lot of pushback from, drug companies are not big fans to this. i have no opposition to drug companies, i want them to continue to thrive and produce new drugs and make a profit on the production of those new drugs. but when they're doing something to the consumer to drive up the price when they could get a cheaper price, that's bad for them and bad competition. let's fix that. next week, the finance committee is going to take up a whole series of bills and options on pharmacy benefit managers. we need an inner need air ri -- not trying to kill that, but we do need to make sure that it doesn't hurt the consumer, doesn't hurt the federal budget and actually works for everybody in the process. i know this is stuff

behind-the-scenes and everyone just wants to say how do we get the price of drugs cheaper? there are even folks that say, let's have the federal government take over the pricing and the federal government will set the price. that would work abuse fiscal cliff. i laugh and say, if you think the government will solve every problem, try to get your passport right now. right now it takes about 18 weeks to get a passport and it used to take four weeks. the fernl is not the solution to -- the federal government is not the solution in everything. competition will work if we allow the markets to actually work. but if someone is in the middle controlling all of that, that is something that we need to intervene and say let's have fair markets out there. there are generics and biosimilars out there that will bring down the price if they're allowed to get to market. so let's make sure they can actually get to market and get

down the price and let's protect the ability for rural independent pharmacies to still take care of their patients. those are their neighbors. they care about them. and they want to make sure they can still be there to be able to care for those folks. we've got work to do and i'm glad the senate is finally taking this up. i've been working on this for years. this is an area that we need to address. with that, i yield the floor. the presiding officer: the senator from north carolina. mr. budd: mr. president, i'd like to take a few moments to remember the life and the legacy

of stewart efferson sr. mr. president, i'd like to take that few moments to remember the life and legacy of stewart everson -- efferson senior. he was a member -- in 1972, he cofounded salem communications and then expanded it to include christian radio stations across the country. he served on the board of directors of the national religious broadcasters association and named one of the 25 most influential evangelicals in america by "time" magazine in 2005. he dedicated his life to sharing

jesus christ. he was a pioneer, and innovator and dear friend to our family. we share our deepest condolences with his wife nancy, his family and friends. he will be dearly missed because of his family's faithful christian witness to our family, i personally look forward to seeing big stu again in heaven. mr. president, i ask unanimous consent that the following remarks appear straightly in the record. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. president, as my colleagues know so well, as federal officials, one of the primary duties of our offices is to serve millions of constituents when they interface with the federal government. as for north carolina, my constituents include one of our country's largest population

oftive duty -- active duty military members including those who serve at camp lejeune, between 1953 and 1987 veterans who served there was exposed to toxic water and they are experiencing health challenges ranging from deadly cancers to parkinson's disease. in order to help, i was proud to support the cap act. the bill was signed into law last year and allows veterans who are suffering to receive damages and to become eligible for v.a. care. however, after nearly a year, not a single claim has been processed. on may 3, one struggling veteran, he wrote me this handwritten letter, mr. president, and in it he describes the toll these delays are taking on older veterans nearing the end of their lives.

he writes, i'm certain obituaries posted across the country include marines or family members who lived on camp lejeune, drank its water, bathed and cooked using it and died from its use. this man is one of the over 70,000 veterans in north carolina, and across the country, who are waiting for action. as unacceptable that the navy and the doj have failed to process any of these claims and failed to deliver a plan or a strategy for doing so. that's why several-my senate -- several of my senate and house colleagues and i demanded an explanation from the secretary of the navy and department of justice. the navy's response to our letter was wholly inadequate. it failed to answer critical questions and failed to provide a time line for responding to these veterans' claims. each and every one of our

veterans deserves to be treated with the dignity and respect befitting to the service of this nation. when they face challenges related to lifg in -- living in camp lejeune, they need to deal with it it and the navy needs to act. i will continue to advocate for those who served at camp lejeune until they receive the care and respect they deserve. i yield the floor.

mr. markey: mr. president. the presiding officer: the senator from massachusetts. mr. markey: rewould new england a quorum call? the presiding officer: the senate is in a quorum call. i apologize. the senate not in a quorum call. mr. markey: thank you. mr. president, before we begin, i'd lake it thank -- i'd like to thank page rodriguez, who first came to my office five years ago and has been working tirelessly over all of that time, working

to protect the people of massachusetts and the people of our country and our entire planet. -- from the effects of climate change and environmental threats to our country and to our planet. she is heading off to law school, and we will miss her. we'll miss her brilliant work and her continual devotion to billing a better world for everyone. -- to building a better world for everyone. because it world is under immediate threat. earlier in month we experienced what might have been earth's hottest day in 125,000 years. you heard that right. the hottest day in 125,000 years, and we're living through it right now. in phoenix, arizona, the

temperature has been 110 degrees or higher for nearly three weeks in a row. the water off of the coast of florida is now nearing 100 degrees. the water is boiling in our oceans off of our coastlines. on july 15, nearly one in three americans were living under an extreme heat alert. we are living under a heat dome right now in our nation. the forest fires in canada are sending fumes down across our country. it's like an exhaust pipe from an automobile.

just sending these toxic fumes down across our country day after day, week after week from canada, from their forest fires right above us. this year we have experienced 17 of the hottest days ever recorded. this is nothing short of a public health crisis in our country. extreme heat causes heat stroke, pregnancy risk, thousands of hospitalizations and deaths every year in our country. and this extreme heat isn't a coincidence. it's the climate crisis announcing its arrival. we did this. we did this to ourselves. humankind's greed and negligence, america's greed and negligence is crafting a literal hell on earth right now.

we're living through it. we took a first step last year to pass climate and clean energy legislation that will inch us closer to salvation. but it will not save us. we must take bolder action to stop the climate crisis and secure a livable future, and we also need to act with urgency to protect the people who right now face extreme heat risk as a result of extreme heat in our country. we have a moral and a planetary obligation to the american people to deliver the resources communities need to combat extreme heat, especially the frontline communities where the effects of heat are worsened by unjust racial and economic divides. we have to listen to the young people in our country. they are warning us. they are saying that they have been let down, that their

generation has been left with this crisis, that not enough has been done, that the preceding generations just enjoyed all the benefits of industrialization, and now this generation of young people who are organizing, who are lifting their voices, who are demanding a change, they understand this issue. they understand this issue better than preceding generations because they are living with the consequences of not dealing with this issue. this generation, this young generation, they are the issue-oriented generation. they are the ones who understand this issue, who understand the problem, and want even greater solutions to be put in place. and i'm working with my colleagues to reintroduce my legislation, the preventing heat illness and deaths act that will do just that. while giving our federal government the resources and authority to track and to study and to alert americans of about

the threat posed by extreme heat. we must meet this public health crisis with the urgency which it requires. workers are collapsing. wildfires are raging. and this heat isn't going anywhere. the summers are getting hotter. the storms are getting stronger. the seas are rising higher due to human cause, climate change. in arizona, in texas, in california, in nevada, all around the country people are dying every single day because of this heat. and the risks of extreme heat have fallen more heavily on low-income communities and communities of color as well as on our seniors and children in our nation. while most heat-related deaths and illness are preventable through outreach and intervention, extreme heat events have been the leading

cause of weather-related death in the united states over the past 30 years. and our historic addiction to fossil fuels is what's driving all of this devastation. so let's think about this like a doctor might. we can name the source of this public health catastrophe. extreme heat. we know what drives the extreme heat. fossil fuels. and we know how to cure it. climate action now. our planet is sick. our country is sick. our country is running a fever right now. and there are no emergency rooms for countries. we have to engage in preventive care. we know how to cure this. it's climate action now.

and if we don't because our country is sick, because our planet is sick, it's killing us along with that planet being slowly but surely burnt to a crisp. this is why earlier this year i introduced the green new deal for health, a national treatment plan to build a health care system to delivers the care people need in a dangerous world. the green new deal for health brings together the principles of the green new deal, good-paying jobs, justice for all, and a livable future to create a health care system where everyone doesn't just survive. they thrive. the sirens are sounding. we are in a climate emergency. and congress should be the first responders, not holding the matches that continue to

exacerbate this crisis. a whole of government response is the only way to fight. this whole of planet threat. climate action that breaks off fossil fuel addiction, a stronger health care system that works for workers and patients, and a commitment to a livable future. that's where we are. this is an emergency. this heat is a warning. it's no longer a warning of the future. it's a warning that right now we're living with the consequences of our inaction. so my hope is that this institution can respond. young people are demanding that we respond. we should listen to the young people of our country and the planet. we have to do more. so i thank you, mr. president. and i see my good friend and the leader of the environment committee tom carper who did so

much last year to pass historic legislation to deal with methane and its impact, to deal with the need for us to move to wind and solar and all-electric vehicles and battery technologies. and i can't thank chairman carper enough for all of his inning credible leach to make -- incredible leadership to make sure we took that huge step but so much more needs to be done. with that, mr. president, i yield back. mr. carper: mr. president. the presiding officer: the senator from delaware. mr. carper: while the senator from massachusetts is still on the floor, let me just say he and i have been friends for, gosh, 30 years. served together in the house. used to travel all over latin

america, south america during the contra war. we're still friends and compadres today. a different kind of war, a war to make sure we save our planet and provide economic opportunity. i'm here to talk about david uhlmann, the nomination of david uhlmann to serve as assistant administrator. before i do, among the most important things we're working on during -- and it's not legislation. it's legislation we've already passed and it's the climate provisions that are part of the bipartisan infrastructure bill that we adopted and the president signed a year ago. and the climate is enormously important. we want to make sure that legislation is fully enacted. part of the responsibility of the administration but it's a shared responsibility. so that's hugely important. the other thing that's hugely important is the implementation of the inflation reduction act which has extraordinary provisions that deal with climate change and sea level

rise. it's not just to introduce legislation. it's not enough just to enact legislation. we've got to make sure it's actually implemented and that's what our responsibilities and oversight responsibilities include. having said that, mr. president, i want to rise today in support of the nomination of david uhlmann to serve as assistant administrator for epa's office of enforcement and compliance assurance. over the last six years, some of our greatest achievements, some of congress' greatest achievements have been passing a series of environmental law. i mention add couple of them a moment ago, laws that have revolution ietzed how we protect our natural environment -- revolutionized how we protect our natural environment and people from dangerous pollution. these laws such as the cleaner act, clean water act, comprehensive environmental response compensation and liability act have made the air that we breathe cleaner, the water that we drink safer, and

the lands that we live on healthier. in the process, we revolutionized ecosystem. we've improved the living conditions of entire communities throughout this country and we have saved countless lives. however, these indispensable lifesaving environmental laws are only as effective as i mentioned as our ability to enforce them, to make sure they're complied with. in the years immediately before president biden took office, enforcement of our environmental laws had been dramatically undermined. according to the data from epa, between 2018 and i think 2021, environmental enforcement compliance actions had fallen to half of what they had been during the bush and the obama administrations. this lack of enforcement presented a threat to public health and a threat to the well-being of our environment, potentially letting many big polluters off the hook after violating some of the fundamental bedrock

environmental laws. that's why i'm so pleased the senate is again taking up the nomination of david uhlmann to serve as epa's top enforcement officer, leading the office of enforcement and compliedges assurance. there -- compliance assurance. there has not been a senate epa environmental efforts for far too long. he is exceptionally qualified to do this job. he believes this position, the long career that includes 17 years with the department of justice, serving in both democratic and republican administrations. let me say that again. 17-year career with the department of justice serving in both democrat and republican administrations. during seven of those years, mr. uhlmann served as the chief of the department of justice environmental crimes section. in addition, mr. uhlmann's nomination has drawn the support of five former epa administrators, including three who served under republican administration. let me say that again.

mr. uhlmann's nomination has earned the support of five former epa administrators, including three who served under republican administrations. william rileey, lee thomas and christine todd whitman. his nominations also earned the support of dozens former epa and doj officials. some from a democratic administration. others from republican administrations and some as career officials. in the words of former deputy attorney general for president george w. bush, larry thompson. this is what he said about david uhlmann. david is a topnotch environmental lawyer and an outstanding leader with unsurpassed integrity, compassion, and commitment to fairness. wish others a could say that about all of us, high words of praise. he has received bipartisan support from a majority of this body nearly one year ago when we voted to discharge his nomination from the environment and public works committee.

let me close by saying that i'm confident david uhlmann will make an outstanding, an outstanding assistant administrator for enforcement and compliance assurance at epa. i'm eager to see him confirmed. i urge my colleagues to join us in supporting cloture on his nomination. and i yield back that time. the presiding officer: the question occurs on the nomination. there is a motion for the yeas and nays. is there a sufficient second? the clerk will call the roll.

vote: the clerk: ms. baldwin. mr. barrasso. mr. bennet. mrs. blackburn. mr. blumenthal. mr. booker. mr. boozman. mr. braun. mrs. britt. mr. brown. mr. budd. ms. cantwell. mrs. capito. mr. cardin. mr. carper. mr. casey. mr. cassidy. ms. collins. mr. coons. mr. cornyn. ms. cortez masto. mr. cotton.

mr. cramer. mr. crapo. mr. cruz. mr. daines. ms. duckworth. mr. durbin. ms. ernst. mrs. feinstein. mr. fetterman. mrs. fischer. mrs. gillibrand. mr. graham. mr. grassley.

mr. hagerty. ms. hassan. mr. hawley. mr. heinrich. mr. hickenlooper. ms. hirono. mr. hoeven. mrs. hyde-smith. mr. johnson. mr. kaine. mr. kelly. mr. kennedy.

mr. king. ms. klobuchar. mr. lankford. mr. lee. mr. lujan. ms. lummis. mr. manchin. mr. markey. mr. marshall. mr. mcconnell. mr. menendez.

mr. merkley. mr. moran. mr. mullin. ms. murkowski. mr. murphy. mrs. murray. mr. ossoff. mr. padilla. mr. paul. mr. peters. mr. reed. mr. ricketts.

mr. risch. mr. romney. ms. rosen. mr. rounds. mr. rubio. mr. sanders. mr. schatz. mr. schmitt. mr. schumer.

mr. scott of florida. mr. scott of south carolina. mrs. shaheen. ms. sinema. ms. smith. ms. stabenow. mr. sullivan. mr. tester. mr. thune. mr. tillis. mr. tuberville. mr. van hollen.

mr. vance. mr. warner. mr. warnock. ms. warren. mr. welch. mr. whitehouse. mr. wicker. mr. wyden. mr. young. senators voting in the affirmative, cantwell markey,

and rosen. senators voting in the negative this braun, budd, cornyn, hoeven, johnson, lankford, ricketts, and wicker. the clerk: mr. thune, no.

the clerk: mr. featerrerman, aye -- mr. fetterman, aye. mr. scott of florida, no.

the clerk: mr. booker, aye. mr. reed, aye. ms. lummis, no.

the clerk: ms. sinema, aye.

the clerk: mr. schatz, aye. mr. heinrich, aye. mr. whitehouse, aye.

mr. schmitt is no. mr. welch, aye. vote: the clerk: mr. crapo, no.

the clerk: mr. brown, aye. the clerk: mrs. britt, no.

the clerk: mrs. fischer, no. the clerk: mr. rubio, no. mr. warnock, aye.

the clerk: mr. daines, no. the clerk: mr. schumer, aye.

mrs. gillibrand, aye. the clerk: mr. lee, no.

mr. moran, no. mr. wyden, aye.

the clerk: mr. graham, no.

the clerk: mr. blumenthal, aye.

the clerk: mr. ossoff, aye. mr. grassley, no. mr. marshall, no. mr. cramer, no. mr. kaine, aye. ms. smith, aye. mrs. capito, no.

mr. casey, aye. mr. vance, no. the clerk: mr. scott of south carolina, no. mr. kelly, aye. mr. cassidy, no.

mr. risch, no. mrs. hyde-smith, no. ms. hassan, aye. mr. rounds, no. mr. cotton, no. the clerk: ms. stabenow, aye.

the clerk: mr. romney, no. mr. boozman, no. mr. mullin, no. mr. manchin, no. mr. paul, no. ms. ernst, no. mr. merkley, aye. mr. murphy, aye.

mr. sanders, aye. the clerk: mr. tester, aye.

mr. hickenlooper, aye. mrs. shaheen, aye. mr. kennedy, no. the clerk: mr. peters, aye.

ms. baldwin, aye. the clerk: mr. warner, aye.

the clerk: mrs. murray, aye.

the clerk: mr. coons, aye. ms. collins, aye.

the clerk: ms. cortez masto, aye. mr. tbhent, -- mr. bennet, aye. the clerk: mr. tuberville, no.

mr. cassidy, aye. the clerk: ms. murkowski, aye. mr. hagerty, no.

the clerk: mr. sullivan, no. mr. cruz, no.

the clerk: mr. young, no. mrs. blackburn, no.

the clerk: ms. warren, aye. million tillis -- mr. tillis, no.

vote: the clerk: mr. mcconnell, no.

the clerk: mr. hawley, no.

the clerk: mr. van hollen, aye.

the clerk: mr. durbin, aye. ms. klobuchar, aye. ms. hirono, aye.

the clerk: mrs. feinstein, aye. mr. menendez, aye.

vote:

the clerk: mr. padilla, aye. the presiding officer: the ayes are 53, the nays are 46. the nominee is confirmed.

under the previous order, the motion to reconsider is considered made and laid upon the table and the president will be immediately notified of the senate's action. under the previous order, the senate will resume legislative session for the consideration of s. 2226, which the the clerk will report. the clerk: calendar number 119, s. 22267 of 6, a bill to authorize appropriations for fiscal year 2024 for the department of defense and so forth and for other purposes. a senator: mr. president. the presiding officer: the senator from texas. mr. cruz: i ask for six minutes for debate. borrow without objection. mr. cruz: i call up my amendment numbered 926. the presiding officer: roich. the clerk: senator from texas for himself and others proposes

amendment 926. mr. cruz: this is a bipartisan bill. this is a cruz-manchin-ernst fetterman bill, which demonstrates the breadth of agreement we can have in this body. this would prevent the sale of the strategic petroleum reserve to four countries who are u.s. adversaries. we know china has been amassing the largest stockpile of crude, our own reserves have fallen to 347 million barrels, the lowest since 1983. last year the united states sold off part of our reserves to china. one would think that existing law would prevent this, but that isn't yet the case. for some time now senator manchin and i have been working together to try to fix this issue. our amendment prevents the federal government from selling oil from the strategic petroleum

reserve to china, to russia to iran or north korea and related entities while giving the department of energy to waive these restrictions in the event doing so serves our national security interest. i want to thank senator manchin for working closely with me on this issue. and i know there are some members of this body that believe we should ban all oil sales overseas. i would note doing so would be spectacularly harmful, not only to u.s. interests, but it would also hurt our friends and allies. it would hurt ukraine, it would hurt europe and benefit our enemies, including russia, to force our friends to have to purchase oil from russia. i urge adoption of the amendment and i yield the floor.

mr. murphy: mr. president, i rise to oppose this amendment and i'll tell you why. this creates the illusion of solving a problem while having little political impact and likely doing more harm than good. it is a legitimate worry to consider the amount of u.s. oil under our lands that goes and is shipped to china because in 2022, the united states did export over 83 million barrels of oil to china. had now, that was a new record. it was a new record in part because ten years ago we didn't ship any oil overseas because we had a national security policy to keep u.s. oil here. but lobbying by the oil industry changed that policy so we are sending 83 million barrels of oil a year to china. this amendment doesn't change that. you want to know how much of that comes from the spr? less than two million barrels, 1

to 2%, so you will have 80 million plus barrels of oil from the private sector sent to china every year. exxonmobil alone made $60 billion in profits last year, much of that off sales of oil to china. and this amendment allows for the oil industry to keep making those billions off of selling oil to china only stripping out sales from the spr. that is a great deal for the oil industry. but it gets better. when president biden sold oil from the sbr, it cut the cost of a gallon of gasoline by 30%. the oil industry wants policies that restrict the sale of oil from the spr while letting them sell oil to whoever they want, including china. this amendment claims to solve a problem while mainly having the result of padding and protecting

oil industry profits and i urge opposition. mr. manchin: i rise in support of the bipartisan amendment sponsored by senator cruz, ernst and fetterman. the people of america own the spr. it's ours. we don't own the oil from the private sector unless we want to nationalize everything and i don't think we do. i appreciate my good friend and colleague from connecticut and i'm happy to work on all of the things we're talking about here. what we have in front of us right now is the ability to finally say that the strategic oil reserves that the people of the united states own will not be compromised, especially by people who don't have our same values. we have seen the horrible effects of the ukraine war when putin weaponized oil. we can't allow that to happen. following putin's invasion of

ukraine, the u.s. ramped up production in exports to help meet global demand, china stockpiled oil and held back oil refinery, one of its state-owned companies purchased over 8.4 million barrels from our own stock reserves. that's what we're trying to stop. i'm happy to work on all of the other things. don't let the perfect be the enemy of the good. we have something be in front of us right now that can stop the raiding of our own stock supplies. i really, really urge the adoption of this amendment. this amendment has tremendous bipartisan support in congress. we have he over 20 bipartisan senators who support us. in the house it passed unanimously -- unanimously, democrats and republicans. so please don't mess up our bipartisan record right now. please vote to support this amendment.

the presiding officer: is there a sufficient second? there appears to be. the clerk will call the roll. the clerk: ms. baldwin. mr. barrasso.

mr. bennet. mrs. blackburn. mr. blumenthal. mr. booker. mr. boozman. mr. braun. mrs. britt. mr. brown. mr. budd. ms. cantwell. mrs. capito.

mr. cardin. mr. carper. mr. casey. mr. cassidy. ms. collins. mr. coons. mr. cornyn. ms. cortez masto. mr. cotton. mr. cramer. mr. crapo. mr. cruz. mr. daines. ms. duckworth.

the clerk: mr. durbin. ms. ernst. mrs. feinstein. mr. fetterman. mrs. fischer. mrs. gillibrand. mr. graham. mr. grassley. mr. hagerty. ms. hassan. mr. hawley. mr. heinrich. mr. hickenlooper. ms. hirono. mr. hoeven. mrs. hyde-smith. mr. johnson. mr. kaine. mr. kelly. mr. kennedy. mr. king. ms. klobuchar. mr. lankford. mr. lee. mr. lujan. ms. lummis.

mr. manchin. mr. markey. mr. marshall. mr. mcconnell. the clerk: mr. menendez. mr. merkley. mr. moran. mr. mullin. ms. murkowski. mr. murphy. mrs. murray. mr. ossoff. mr. padilla. mr. paul. mr. peters. mr. reed. mr. ricketts. mr. risch. mr. romney. ms. rosen.

mr. rounds. mr. rubio. mr. sanders. mr. schatz. mr. schmitt. mr. schumer. mr. scott of florida. mr. scott of south carolina. mrs. shaheen. ms. sinema. ms. smith. ms. stabenow. mr. sullivan. mr. tester. mr. thune. mr. tillis. mr. tuberville. mr. van hollen. mr. vance. mr. warner. mr. warnock. ms. warren. mr. welch. mr. whitehouse. mr. wicker. mr. wyden. mr. young.

the clerk: senators voting in the affirmative -- cantwell; hickenlooper, hoeven, hide-smith, johnson, kelly, marshall, menendez, merkley, peters, reed, ricketts, romney, rubio, scott of south carolina, smith, stabenow, thune, vance, young. mr. tester, aye, mr. wicker, aye. mr. wyden, aye. mrs. murray, aye. senators voting in the negative

-- baldwin, cardin, durbin, murphy, sanders, schatz, van hollen, warren. mr. tuberville, aye. mrs. blackburn, aye. mr. daines, aye. mrs. fischer, aye. ms. duckworth, aye. mr. sullivan, aye.

the clerk: mrs. shaheen, aye.

the clerk: mr. carper, aye. mr. crapo, aye. ms. klobuchar, aye.

the clerk: ms. sinema, aye. mrs. capito, aye.

the clerk: mr. welch, no.

mr. boozman, aye. ms. hirono, no. mr. fetterman, aye.

the clerk: mr. coons, aye.

the clerk: mr. whitehouse, aye.

the clerk: mr. cornyn, aye. mr. bennet, aye.

mr. braun, aye. mr. blumenthal, no.

the clerk: mr. warner, aye.

the clerk: mr. lujan, aye. mr. graham, aye.

the clerk: mr. kennedy, aye. mr. mullin, aye.

the clerk: mr. risch, aye. mr. tillis, aye. vote:

the clerk: mr. paul, aye. mrs. feinstein, no. mrs. brit, aye. ms. ernst, aye.

the clerk: mr. cassidy, aye.

mr. casey, aye. mr. hawley, aye. the clerk: ms. murkowski, aye.

the clerk: ms. rosen, aye.

the clerk: mr. cramer, aye.

the clerk: mr. king, aye. mrs. cotton, aye. mr. scott of florida, aye.

the clerk: mr. schumer, aye.

mr. schumer: mr. booker, no. the clerk: mr. schmitt is aye. mr. lee, aye. mr. budd, aye. the clerk: mr. mcconnell, aye.

the clerk: mr. hagerty, aye. ms. hassan, aye. the clerk: ms. collins, aye. ms. lummis, aye.

:

the clerk: mr. brown, aye.

the clerk: mr. warnock, aye. mr. ossoff, aye.

the clerk: mr. lankford, aye.

the clerk: mr. kaine, aye.