basically where all of this kind of begin was earlier this summer when speaker mccarthy and president biden negotiator at two-year budget deal to essentially lift the debt limit and avoid a much bigger crisis that would've occurred than a governmentow shutdown, and the debt default is untenable. so from that debt deal you have a lot of conservatives who feel pretty burned by the fact that mccarthy teamed up with the democrats to stave offcr this crisis, and that vote required a lot of democratic help. they say that they feel the speakers would've went back on a lot of his promises that he made an order to get elected speaker earlier this year and i think we all remember how chaotic that process was. so now you have all of these freedom caucus members who are saying this iss our moment, to sort of stand our ground -- >> we are leaving this program for live coverage of u.s. senate here today lawmakers are considering the nomination of

the next deputy va secretary. if confirmed she would be the first woman to serve and the department's second-highest post. later in a week the chamber blends work on a package of three spending bills funding the agriculture, housing, transportation and veterans affairs departments for next year. and now live coverage of the u.s. senate here on c-span2. the presiding officer: the senate will come to order. the chaplain, dr. barry black, will lead the senate in prayer. ****************************** the chaplain: let us pray. o god, our help in ages past, our hope for the careers to come, on this september 11, we pause to thank you for being a bulwark for the purpose our nation. throughout our national history

you have been our refuge and strength, our ever-present help in turbulent and tempestuous times. you were with us on september 11 22 years ago. you are with us now. we remember the victims, the grief, and the courages. we also recall that even during the most challenging seasons, your prevailing providence continues to sustain us. today, may our lawmakers celebrate that you have been our help in all our yesterdays and are our hope for all of our tomorrows. we pray in your magnificent

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., september 11, 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, leadership time is reserved. morning business is disclosed. the senate will proceed to executive session 0 to resume consideration of the following nomination, which the clerk will report. the clerk: nomination, department of veterans affairs, tanya j. bradder have of

welcome back to "washington journal". i'm joined by emma, budget reporter for politico and we will talk about government funding deadline. welcome to the line. last week where we in terms of a possible deal to avoid a government shutdown. >> there only a few weeks to avert a government shutdown which would take on a lake to find common ground and fund the government. we are really on the goal. i feel like it might be more

likely than not, we're just given the dynamics here. you have a senate trying to pass a small package of partisan funding bills on the committee largely along the lines in a house that is in turmoil. speaker mccarthy marking a narrow road, moderate both demanding, mccarthy is hoping to pass a spending bill in the next couple weeks but ultimately both sides are probably going to have to settle for a short-term funding while continuing resolution to keep the government open past october 1. even the this time around is

fraught with a number of problems and it will be interesting the next few weeks. >> was talk about the senate, an article you cowrote in politico, the senate looks to get on the minibus so explain what is going on in the senate and what to expect from a. >> as soon as today, possibly tomorrow the senate is expected to take its first procedural boat toward what you called a minibus, a mall passage of government funding bills so the senate is hoping to pass three of the least controversial bills as soon as this week so what does that accomplish? it looks to buy leverage in this with the house.

look at us, we have our stuff together, we can pass bipartisan spending bills and operating regular order contrast to what is going on in which is a chaotic mess so students this week, they will take the step passing bills thing we have our stuff together, come to the table, come to your senses and stop crazy demands and put the government together. >> does that mean if it doesn't happen, it's pretty much on the house? the house politically takes the flame not getting a deal? >> i think in this case the house would take a lot because that's where so much discontent lies. you have the senate, two women only in charge of the appropriations committee

hell-bent on storing regular order bipartisan process in getting things in a timely fashion. they are big on the fact that for the first time in five years the past all spending bills largely along bipartisan lines and that's in contrast from speaker mccarthy facing real dilemma, possibly even jeopardizing speakership. he's got conservative members demanding spending cuts wildly unrealistic and far beyond the bills they've already drafted and they are frustrated the speaker keeps capitulating conservative numbers so if anything goes wrong, it's probably in the house in terms of ultimately going to be brought to the floor and enough votes to pass it and for our

viewers if you would like to weigh in, you can on our lines by party affiliation. you can also interact with us by text and on social media. we will have our guest --

mr. schumer: mr. president. the presiding officer: the majority leader. mr. schumer: mr. president, this is one day of the year that, for me, will always embody what is most admirable and most enduring about the human spirit, and that day is today. 22 years after the towers fell in new york, after a plane crashed into the pentagon, after united number 93 came down in pennsylvania, we pay our respects to those we lost on september 11. we mourn their loss, every last soul taken from us too early. and we honor and thank every single american who became an unassuming hero in the aftermath of the attack -- the first responders, the legions of volunteers and blood donors, the nameless many who did their part. i'lling never forget -- i'll

never forget so many scenes. one was a guy who owned a shoe store a few blocks north of the world trade center, was just handing out shoes to everybody, because many people had lost their shoes as they tried to escape from the towers. but so many different things. everywhere i go, i always wear this pin on my lapel as a reminder of our sacred promise to never forget. i called on americans the day after to wear and display the flag. just about everybody did, as a sign of unity and us coming together under an awful day. i wear it every day and every time i look at this flag, i think about the so many lost. i was at ground zero this morning. you just hear the names read of every different background. they had people come up who have lost ones, every background, every different philosophy, race, creed, color, religion, origin, talking about the people

they lost. i'll remember the day after, when president bush sent a plane for then-senator clinton and i to come up. a thousand people online holding up little signs, have you seen my brother bill? have you seen my daughter mary? because when people were missing that first day, people had hoped and prayed maybe they were still alive. but of course, very few were. so, the lifetime can pass, but to me it always feels like yesterday. i look out my window. i see the freedom tower, a symbol of resilience in new york. can you see it from my window in brooklyn. i also think of the twin towers that were there and so many who were lost. i remember that day, the smell of the pile, human flesh, the noise from the chaos of the aftermath, the images of desphrux that -- destruction

that new yorkers and americans had never seen. i remember three friends who perished. a guy i played basketball with in high school, a businessman who helped me on the way up, a firefighter, i went around new york city and did blood drives with him. they're gone. 22 years ago. but most of all, that day stays with me because on at that day, and in the days that followed, i saw count refs -- countless, ordinary americans do extraordinary things. taxi drivers, store managers, businessmen and city workers and so many others dropped what they were doing and became heroes, gave blood, organized prayer vigils, helped neighbors track down family members, visited with loched ones -- loved ones and friends who had lost loved once. i -- loved ones. i saw firefighters, policeman, union workers, and refng yu -- rescue workers cast aside safety as they worked the pile. many became sick or dialed because of illnesses.

our obligation to care for these first responders continues to this day. it's why i worked hard along with senator gillibrand to add $450 million for the world trade center health program to the ndaa. it's why i fought and successfully added another $1 billion for that program in last year's omnibus. as well as the fairness for 9/11 families act. it's why last summer congress enacted the largest expansion of veterans health benefits in the pact act, because we learned what these car sin jens can do -- carcinogens can do to people. because the phrase never forget is not just about remembering what happened two decades ago, it's all about taking action today to honor and care for all those who made ultimate sacrifices in the defense of our beautiful nation. may god bless the memories of all those who perished on 9/11. may god bless our first

responders, our servicemembers, their families, and may god bless our great democracy. and may we keep it. on the a.i. insight forum, this wednesday i will join with senators rounds, young, and heinrich in hosting one of the most important meetings congress has held in years as we welcome the top minds in a.i. for the senate's first ever a.i. insight forum. our inaugural forum will convene leaders from business, civil rights, defense, research, labor, the arts, and more, all for a candid debate about how congress can tackle both a.i.'s opportunities and a.i.'s challenges. these forums will provide the nutrient agar, the basis of knowledge and insight essential for our committees to draft smart and effective legislation. wednesday's inaugural forum can be boiled down to three words -- bipartisan, diverse, and above

all balanced. we'll have a.i. advocates and critics, ceo's and unions, leading experts in re-- and researchers all together in one room talking about where congress should start, what questions to ask, and how to build consensus for safe innovation. we'll need every sector of the workforce, every side of the political spectrum, all a part of the process if we're to succeed. i'm proud that the participants for the first forum achieves that balance really well. that's why -- that's what any action on a.i. must be, balanced and bipartisan. balanced in a way that gives everyone a seat at the table and prioritizes both innovation, the kind of transformational innovation that a.i. can bring, whether it's curing disease or improving education or making businesses more efficient or protecting our security. but there's also innovation in keeping guardrails, the kind of

essential innovation that is needed to prevent a.i. from going off track, and we might lose it all. and bipartisan. if it -- if a.i. becomes a partisan issue, it will paralyze any chance for progress. i'm glad that the senate's interest in a.i. has been decidedly bipartisan. as i said, these forums will be vital for helping our committees do the real legislative work of drafting a.i. policy. they'll provide the nutrient agar to help the committees draft smart, effective legislation. and the good news is many of the committees are already hard at work in this issue in a truly bipartisan way. i believe our hearing has increased the interior of committees to do work here, but it's also made it clear, made it clear that we cannot run away from this issue and put our heads in the sand like ostriches, even though the issue is so difficult and changing and

wide-reaching. i want to thank senators rounds, heinrich and young as well as committee chairs and ranking members for their work thus far on a.i. our subcommittees and committees have already held no fewer than nine hearings on a.i. this year, on issues like national security, intellectual property, human rights, and more. this week, the commerce committee, the homeland security and government affairs committee, and the judiciary committee are scheduled to hold more hearings on a.i. transparency and oversight, which is just what our insight forums are intended to promote. i am hopeful that our a.i. insight forums will supercharge the work already happening in the senate by bringing outside voices to give their insights, expertise, and perspectives on how congress can best proceed. once again, i thank senators rounds, heinrich and young for helping organize this inaugural forum and encourage all senators to attend our forum on

wednesday. finally, on aprops, this week the bipartisan appropriations process continues here in the senate. tomorrow, we'll take the first procedural vote on a package of three appropriation bills -- military construction, veterans affairs, agriculture, and trurp hud. earlier -- transportation hud. earlier, democrats and republicans reached an agreement to avoid default. these bills honor that agreement. reaching bipartisan consensus on these bills wasn't easy. it took plenty of compromise, negotiations and understanding that neither side got everything they wanted. each bill received unanimous support in committee, from republicans and democrats. thanks to the leadership of chair murray, vice chair collins, and appropriators from both sides we're moving forward. this is what functional legislative body looks like, disagreements don't paralyze the

process. now, as we process these appropriations bills through the floor, congress must also avoid a pointless government shutdown later this month. i cannot stress enough that bumbling into a shutdown right now would not only be entirely unnecessary, it would cause immense harm to the american people. it could undermine so much of the progress we've made to lower costs, grow our economy and restore the tens of millions of jobs lost during the worst days of covid. it would also derail congress from our work on so many important things, like lowering the cost of insulin and prescription drugs, aiding our fellow americans hurt by natural disasters, outcompeting the chinese government, and so much more. all of this would be undermined by a government shutdown. we certainly don't need to go down that road. the senate has shown that bipartisan compromise is entirely possible, even in these divided times. when the house gavels back into session tomorrow, i implore

house republicans to follow the senate's example, reject all-or-nothing tactics, reject unrealistic extreme demands. don't let 30 people way out on the extreme dictate what the house does. instead, the house should work in a bipartisan fashion to keep the government open beyond september 30. the only way we'll avoid a shutdown is through bipartisanship in both houses, and time is short to get it done. i yield the floor, note the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. the clerk: ms. baldwin. quorum call:

kevin in florida. democrat. >> i am republican. >> it looks like you called on the wrong lin. >> well, i was a federal employee during one of the shutdowns and i would like to explain.

>> go right ahead. >> was not able to work during the time and my wife being a teacher, when we were picking the educator up, we ran into a couple from australia and david visiting mount rushmore and they told me in arms guard prevented them from even pulling over the side of the road. i myself wasn't working and not being paid and sure enough park service had armed guards preventing people from pulling over on the state highway so the government use the shutdown to punish american people as hard as they could to put the pressure on politicians. in your own home budget you spend beyond your means, you're out of luck. in this case, all you do is lay

off overpaid employees and that's the way it appears to me being one of those people who work for the federal government. >> you thought you were overpaid? >> yes. i think most federal employees know they are overpaid. they get every federal holiday off. they get comp time off. it's ridiculous. >> let's get a response. >> i think you are right in that were one of those workers who weren't able to do your job and describes during a shutdown, national parks closed, a lot of them was shut down and it all closes so it's what remains

open. >> i was going to ask about social security checks. with those still go out? >> social security checks would not be affected. social care and medicare and medicaid, this is a different part of the federal budget than discretionary spending which is what is involved in a government shutdown so when we talk about funding the government and shutdown and how that it would be, that's funny that directly goes to federal agencies so the discretionary part of the federal budget, it is a small part of the federal budget everybody is fighting about. critical government services would not be affected by the shutdown but earlier this summer, there are many implications but social security benefits and beneficiaries are

not funded by what we are talking about. >> zach is on the line for democrat pennsylvania. are you there? >> first of, i don't think noble when it comes to a shutdown. being on house money being gerrymandered you don't have to worry about it. they cost the economy $8 billion. i've got friends and family and by no means are they overpaid. some of them line up of the

school day, they are living paycheck to paycheck. insurrectionist from pennsylvania. ell: i ask consent that further proceedings under the quorum call be dispensed with. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. mcconnell: today marks 22 years since terrorists shattered a peaceful morning in new york, pennsylvania, and here in washington. 22 years since enemies of american freedom and leadership killed 2,977 innocent people. 22 years that the shock of that

day and the pain of loss are still every bit as real. today we remember the parents and children and spouses and siblings who never returned home. we thank the first responders who ran toward danger in service of others. and we honor the servicemembers, intelligence professionals and law enforcement officers who kept america safe since that awful day. but today is not just about remembering the past. year after year, september 11 is a reminder of our commitment to confront growing threats from global terror and to preserve the tools and authorities our national security community need to carry out this essential

mission. mr. president, on another matter, as i discussed last week, skeptics of american leadership like to hang their hats on the notion that support for ukraine somehow saps our ability to compete with and deter communist china. this view does not hold up to serious scrutiny. for one thing, the patina of hawkishness on china is too often just a mask, a mask for isolationism. if critics of u.s. support for ukraine disparage the principle that we should oppose adversaries who invade and destroy western-aligned neighbors, how credible, how credible is their commitment to

defend taiwan or other allies? of course this isn't a debate about abstract principles or philanthropy. the united states isn't arming ukraine out of its sense of charity. we're backing a fellow democracy because it is in our direct interest to do so. in our interest to do so. one ad hominem acquisition in particular, there's nothing neoconservative about support for ukraine. helping a democratic partner defend its sovereign territory against a provoked attack from a common enemy is obviously in america's interest. let me stress, we prpbt defending -- we aren't defending ukraine from aggression. the ukrainians are doing that.

america's two most powerful adversaries that struck up a, quote, friendship without limits, end quote. if we fail to help ukraine stop russia in its tracks, there's every reason to believe russia and china will both be emboldened. our closest allies and partners in asia, people with even more to lose from prc aggression than isolationism in washington understand this fundamental reality. provide humanitarian assistance to ukraine. that's why the leaders of japan and south korea have traveled to kyiv and pledged billions of dollarsness assistance. our partners in europe and asia are joining us in investing in our military readiness and expanding our defense production

capacity, not for the conflict in ukraine it's difficult to imagine any of this happening. so republicans should welcome democrats who are finally willing to spend money on our defense industrial base. such a bipartisan consensus will not survive if we turn our backs on this conflict. and why would we pull the plug on a trans-atlantic alliance just when european allies are making incredible investments in their own defenses and also coming around to share our concern about chinese aggression competition with china is a global proposition, and the strength of our closest military and economic allies in europe affects china's calculus. beijing would love to see the

trans-atlantic alliance fractured in the wake of america turning our back on our closest trading partner. if the united states proves we cannot be trusted to back our allies in europe, why on earth should our allies in asia expect different treatment in the face of chinese aggression? so, mr. president, where in -- war in ukraine has taught the west a crucial lesson about the importance of investment in defense industrial capacity. as i discussed last week, it's directed billions and billions of dollars towards restocking america's arsenal with american weapons built here by american workers. this is a fundamental prerecognize -- prerequisite for competition with china and we are accomplishing it using a

fraction of the defense budgets president biden sent up to congress. put another way, america is making urgent strides in the race to compete with our biggest adversary -- china. in the process, we're helping degrade russian military strength and encouraging our allies to buy american and invest in their own defense. this is american leadership, and republicans should be pressing president biden to show more of it instead of dreaming about america retreat. now, one final matter, violent crime in some american cities has grown so rampant even the lowell media are struggling --

the local media are strul -- struggling to keep up. a chicago news group was filming a story about armed robbery when they themes -- themselves became victims. this is about a mayor who called defunding the police, quote, a real political goal. americans live under liberal leaders who would rather bend to solve radicalism than to keep their streets safe. here in washington the u.s. attorney declined 67 of the cases brought here to police. in los angeles investigators escorting staff to and from the

office rather than dealing with prisoners who make them feel unsafe. the solution here isn't exactly a mystery. as washington's former police chief contee put it earlier this year, we need to keep violent people in jail. we need to keep violent people in jail, but somehow it took intervention from congress to stop the radical city council from ignoring this lesson and going even softer on crime. well, some democrats know the chief is right. in minnesota last week a local liberal official who once supported defunding the police took to social media to urge her city to finally hold repeat offenders, quote, accountable for their actions, end quote, after she was savagely beaten in

her own driveway, her own driveway by car drivers. here in washington, a congresswoman was attacked last year in her own apartment building has been outspoken that, quote, we have to get these repeat offenders off the streets. so, mr. president, it shouldn't have to be like this. the american people don't deserve to live in fear. in every city and town, they deserve to feel safe in their own streets. mr. durbin: mr. president. the presiding officer: the majority whip.

mr. durbin: mr. president, today we take a moment to remember the anniversary of september 11, 2001. many people will recall vividly that day where they were. i was in this building, outside that door and a few steps down the hallway. i can recall seeing on a small television set the planes striking the towers in new york. at first we were confused. what is going on here that a plane would strike a building? but when the second one took place, it started to dawn on us this was no longer an accident. it was by design. and i can recall looking down the mall toward the washington monument and seeing black smoke billowing across the mall. it took a few minutes to establish what had happened. a plane had crashed into the pentagon, and our department of defense killing the innocent people on the plane and in that

building, and what we were seeing was the smoke from the fire that crashed. it was a few moments afterwards that someone came to the door and said evacuate, leave the building. i've been on capitol hill for a number of years. i had never heard that before. but we all took it seriously and we piled out on to the, what was a lawn between here and the supreme court building, and people gathered. tourists came up to me and said, do you work here, and i said yes, and they said where are we supposed to go? a very fundamental question because at that point we heard sonic booms from the jets that were being scrambled to protect this building. we assumed it would be the next target. and it might have been were it not for the courage of the passengers and crew on that united airlines flight that was brought down in pennsylvania before it could reach

washington, d.c. memories we all have and will carry for a lifetime of what had happened 22 years ago. now 22 years later we are connected by sadness as we reflect on 2,977 lives lost at the world trade center in new york, the pentagon, and washington, and that field in pennsylvania. but we also remember the care for our communities and common purpose we found after that tragedy, when our nation sought to find light amidst the darkness. in our most divided moments, we should look at that as a reminder, that america as a nation is best when we seek humanity over separation and hate. mr. president, i listened carefully to the statements made by my colleague from kentucky,

the republican leader, senator mcconnell. i want to join in and make clear that i agree with virtually every word he spoke concerning our relationship with ukraine. i do want to add a footnote, which he may not have added, and i want to give credit to this president currently serving, joe biden, who let the united states return to nato after the previous president's administration. there had been serious questions as to whether nato as an alliance would even survive under the previous president. and president biden has told members of the senate and others that the first meeting of nato after he was elected, our allies basically sat down and said, president biden, is america in for the long haul when it comes to nato? and even before the ukraine challenge, he said yes. what happened after vladimir putin, the war criminal, invaded

ukraine, was that the members of the nato alliance had answered a basic question, would we respond to the challenge? i think the record is clear. nato as an alliance has never ever been stronger than it is today. the countries that are part of it have made a commitment not only to their common defense but also to help ukraine in any way possible put an end to this invasion. in fact, if you reflect what happened to vladimir putin since he invaded ukraine a little over a year and a half ago, you realize that the world is a lot worse for him. the nato alliance is not only strong, it's learnl than -- larger than ever. the success of switzerland and finland to join the nato alliance is a bold move that

gives doubt to vladimir putin alliance and i should say his relationship with the west. the thing -- to think that finland and sweend is part of nato, to realize that the baltic sea, it means that we're stronger than ever. i agree with senator mcconnell. we need to stand behind ukraine and the nato alliance now more than ever as people are giving their lives to freedom. i couldn't agree more with his statements. i do question when he talks about violence in the streets in chicago as to why he never refers to cities in red states witnessing the same phenomenon that is going on today, in fact even worse than my city of

chicago. we have a crime problem. it's made more difficult and challenging because of the proliferation of guns in america. we're a nation of 320 million people, perhaps, with 400 million guns, and they are moving across state borders with abandon into the hands of people who have no business owning a gun. we could do a lot more about that right here in the senate. i still remember it was a little more than a year ago in highland park, illinois when a deranged individual wept on the roof of a local business and fired 83 rounds in 60 seconds into a crowd, killing seven innocent people, injuring dozens of others. why in the world he should ever have had a military assault weapon is beyond me and it is way beyond anything the founding fathers envisioned when they

wrote the second amendment. we can do more and should do more to make the streets of america safer, and i would agree with that part of senator mcconnell's speech, but i wish he would have given a more complete challenge we face. this weekend marked two years, the second anniversary since the food and drug administration missed a federal court-ordered date to finish its review of vaping applications, e-cigarette applications that have illegally flooded the market in the united states. we estimate that during that two-year period of time when the fda refused to respond to a federal court order, approximately two million american children may have started vaping and despite missing this deadline by two years, the food and drug administration remains nowhere close to meeting the local mandate to eliminate these

vaping cigarettes. the vaping law is to apply first to the fda before entering the market and prove to the food and drug administration that the e-cigarette is in the law, this is from the law, appropriate for the protection of public health. they can't prove that. this is has -- this has not happened. instead, tens of thousands dangerous highly addictive e-cigarettes have showed up on store shelves without fda review or approval and they've hooked a generation of kids. in fact, studies have shown there are more vaping devices on the market today than two years ago when the fda was ordered by a federal court to do something. that's unacceptable. my office recently investigated the fda's effectiveness in following through, even after it issues a denial for a vaping application. so a company comes to the fda, submits their product, they're supposed to show how it's

consistent with public health, fails to do so, they're told not to sell the product in america, and what do they do? we found that many fda denied cigarettes received warning letters for continuing to sell in violation of the law still remain available. i just don't understand it. the food and drug administration is cowardly refusing to use its full arsenal of enforcement tools for even the most flagrant cases. the food and drug administration has issued closeout letters to 10% of the tobacco products that had warned were violating the law. the administration, through the food and drug administration, has the authority to decide whether a vaping device or cigarette can be sold. they decided it cannot be. they tell them you've got to stop at this point. how many actually followed the

warning and refused to violate the law? one out of ten, meaning the agency has one of the worst records in the history of following through and ensuring compliance with enforcement. i referred all this information to the department of defense. maybe they'll take action. let me be clear, none of the most popular e-cigarettes used by kids have been granted the authority to be sold in the united states by the food and drug administration, yet, they remain on the market in violation of the law putting our children and teenagers in harm's way. this isn't the only instance where the fda is dangerous. last week they blew through a rule to prohibit menthol cigarettes and cigars, this has the potential to save thousands of lives. the fda must end its delays. this week we're going to embark on a task that is really rare.

the full united states senate this week is going to consider three government-spending bills. you say to yourself, well, i'm sure that's happened before. yes, about five years ago, and since then what we've done is wait until the last minute when all hell is about to break loose and create omnibus spending bills, this week we're going to bring a spending bill to the senate -- to the senate. this will including funding the food and drug administration, in light of the fda's embarrassing delay in reviewing these products and keeping them away from kids. i'm preparing amendments to the bill to improve authority and regulatory efforts. i hope my colleagues will join me in protecting children from big oab r- tobacco. -- from big tobacco. we have to do something. i'm glad to see the bills we're

considering this week include bills that have had strong overwhelming bipartisan support. in addition to agriculture, it will be the military construction and veterans' affairs bill and the transportation housing and your ban -- urban development spending bill. this makes significant benefits, it will strengthen and improve our nation's infrastructure appeared ensure women, infants, and children can get the nutrition that they need. my colleagues on the senate appropriations committee, let my chair patty murray, my fellow senator from the state of washington, and ranking member susan collins, my friend and member senator from maine, worked across the aisle to pass all 12 bills out of committee. mr. president, i know that you're new to the senate, but i want to tell you this is also new to the senate. it's been so seldom that we've

ever had two working together so well on a bipartisan basis, and i commend them both. the leaders of each subcommittee drafted legislation made between the republican controlled house of representatives and remember when we were afraid that our economy would shut down and joe biden stepped in and spoke with the xeerk of the house and came up with a bipartisan plan to pass a bill for the debt ceiling. now a handful of republicans say throw out the deal. let's start over with the possibility of shutting down the government as a real possibility for them. it would be a painful decision that would hurt veterans, people receiving social security, innocent people across america. i hope that kevin mccarthy will stick with his agreement by

president biden and i hope he will tell the extremists in his caucus this is no way to run a government. the senate is making good with its promise on this side of the rotunda by working to fund the government through regular order on appropriation bills. i wish our colleagues in the house could say the same thing. they drafted bills. they think we should make cuts in education, medical research, public safety, public health programs and more. and so far they've been unable to pass all of these partisan drafts out of committee. here in the senate, we're following regular order and working to avoid a shutdown and fund the government without interruption because we've seen the ramifications of putting politics above our duty to the american people. shutdown would syrialy cut the gross domestic product and signal to our adversaries that we hesitate to make the critical

investments necessary to remain competitive and keep our country secure. last week i was pleased to hear that senator -- minority leader said that we need to keep the lights on by funding the government through regular order. i couldn't agree more, and i hope the house republicans will meet the moment in this history. today is a day of history. let's make our own in the future in a much more positive way, and i am confident we can. i yield the floor and suggest the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. quorum call:

quorum call:

quorum call:

the presiding officer: the senator from alabama. tuberculosis i'd like -- mr. tuberville: aid like permission to suspend the quorum call, please. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. tuberville: today our nation marks the 22nd anniversary of the september 11 attacks. we mourn the loss of some 3,000 americans who were murdered by terrorists. it was one of the darkest days in our history. just last week we marked another sad anniversary. it was the second anniversary of president biden's surrender in afghanistan. on 9/11/2021, the taliban

controlled more territory in afghanistan than that he did in november of 2001. that is a disgrace. the responsibility goes straight to our commander in chief. at the time, president biden called it an extraordinary excess -- success, nobody else thought so. the american people overwhelmingly reject in idea. it was not a success. it was the worst embarrassment of our nation in decades. in two years since the fall of afghanistan, there has been absolutely no accountability within the biden administration. no one has been fired. nobody has paid the price. thousands and thousands of our allies in afghanistan have lost their lives. we surrendered billions of dollars in military equipment to

the taliban. as a result, the taliban is now the best-armed terrorist group in the history of the world. and, again, nobody has been fired. in fact, the only one in our military who got fired was a colonel who sounded the alarm as a whistleblower. what a disgrace. and it even gets worse. just weeks after the fall of afghanistan, president biden issued his vaccine mandate. the supreme court struck it down for private companies. it took an act of congress to stop it for our military more than a year later. so just weeks after our worst military defeat in decades, president biden purged the ranks of some 8,000 patriots. there was never any scientific basis for this mandate.

none. no one disputed the fact that these were healthy servicemembers who were ready and willing to defend the united states of america. they were pushed out for ideological reasons. this was a real threat to readiness, and it inflicted hardship on military families. democrats have been talking a lot about readiness lately and military families. but there were silence and was silence when joe biden fired 8,000 -- 8,000 american patriots and left their families without income. thousands and thousands more servicemembers were vaccinated despite serious reservations of conscious. this was a slap in the face of -- to our heroes in uniform. the senate had the chance to fix this in july, but our democrat

colleagues blocked it. senator cruz offered an amendment to this year's defense bill that would have reinstated all of these heroes, all 8,000 of them. but my democratic colleagues refused and rejected it. now, these same democrats are lecturing us about readiness about their support for military families. i hear it every day. meanwhile, the democrats' efforts to inject left-wing politics in our military have only continued. i have spoken at length about their illegal use of the pentagon budget for abortion. since my hold went into effect, it has allowed me more time to look into the background of some of the pentagon's nominees. these are nominees that my colleagues on the left are saying should not receive a vote. democrats are saying we should just approve them without ever

voting. senator reed said it was disrespectful not to approve them by unanimous consent. i do not agree with that a with that. many of these nominees are worthy of nomination. i will agree and i will vote for them. but some are not. the senate ought to do our job under the constitution and advise and consent to these nominations. some we should confirm. some we should reject. a large number of these nominees have publicly expressed support for so-called diversity equity and inclusion initiatives. i am concerned, very concerned that dei distracts our military from its mission. the american people -- the american military is not a jobs program. it is not an equal opportunity

employer. it never has been and shouldn't be. the american military is the world's greatest killing machine. the military has one mission and one mission only -- to win wars. other considerations, no matter how reasonable or admirable they might be, they have to be set aside. as general macarthur famously said, there is no substitute for victory. everything we have in this country depends on our military, everything. our entire way of life is made possible by the fact that we have the best fighting force that's ever been assembled. our enemies would love to take away our role as world leader. if we lose a strong military, then we will lose everything. therefore, it is my view that the senate ought to vote on these nominations, especially

those at the very top. in my view, this month the united states senate ought to vote on the chairman of the joint chiefs of staff. the current chairman, general milley, received a floor vote in 2018. the nominee, general brown, received a floor vote for his current position as chief of the air force. there is nothing wrong with a floor vote on these nominations. contrary to what senator reed said, there is nothing disrespectful about a confirmation vote. if we do not vote on general brown's nomination, then that is entirely -- entirely -- the fault of the democratic majority that runs this in regard. the chairman of the joint chiefs of staff has a budget of more than $1 billion -- that's a b -- $1 billion and a staff of thousands.

this job is too important not to receive consideration by the senate or to simply be confirmed without a vote. democrats can either stop complaining about having acting officials or they can confirm these nominees. you can't have it both ways. my colleagues on the left were actually worried about readiness or about military families, then we would be voting on this nominees today. if democrats were really concerned about readness or military families, then they would have reinstated the 8,000 heroes discharged under the vaccine mandate, 8,000 people that lost their job, that had to go find something else to $to support their -- something else to do to support their families. but my democratic colleagues refused to do that.

despite what the pentagon just said falsely last week, it would take just two hours to confirm one of these nominees. two hours. democrats' excuse that votes take time is not enough. the senate has had more than 88 days off this weir -- this year. this is one of the least productive senates in memory. i had a four-year career before i came here. i didn't need this job, but i wanted to help my country. i came here to vote and to uphold the constitution. that's what this group and floor is about. i came here to make laws, not to outsource my job to the executive branch. i grew up in a military family. there is nothing in this world that i honor more than the united states military. except the constitution, which

they have sworn to defend and to follow. we need to get politics out of the military. it has no place in the place that keeps this country and our allies safe. the widespread perception that our military has gone woke under joe biden is driving -- driving away recruits. they're not signing up. unfortunately, that perception is becoming more and more justified. unlike my hold, recruiting is a real crisis, as we speak. we need the best of the best in our military. and generally speaking, that's exactly who we have. we have the best of the best in our military. we do not need political or ideological-vote vatted people in our -- motivated people in our military. we do not need political activists in the pentagon.

we need a military that is focused on its mission of fighting and winning wars, nothing else. that's their job. we depend on that. i still believe that our military is the best fighting force this world has ever seen. still believe that our military has been the greatest force for peace of the last 75 years. all of the false attacks on my, including the senate floor, they do nothing to change those facts. all of the false taxonomy do nothing except -- all the false attacks on me do nothing except to strengthen my resolve. for my entire life i have held the united states military as sacred and the blood. fallen heroes -- the blood of the fallen heroes. if we allow our military to become political, israeli have

done a disservice to every one of the people that have fought and died. is so if my democratic colleagues and the biden administration continue to inject politics in our military, then our children, our grandchildren will have to live in a much more dangerous world. i notice the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. quorum call: the clerk: ms. baldwin.

quorum call:

the presiding officer: the senator from iowa. mr. grassley: i ask the calling of the quorum be suspended. the presiding officer: without objection, the senator is recognized. mr. grassley: mr. president, i'm committed to lowering health care costs, expanding access to high-quality care, and supporting research and innovation. the health care system in the united states needs more reform and accountability. however, we shouldn't ruin it by turning it into a government-run health care system. whether you want to call it government-run health care system, medicare for all, or single payer, or even socialized medicine, a government-run health care system is one-size-fits-all approach, it results in longer wait times, delayed care, and

do-it-yourself health care because you cannot access a doctor. in february, "the wall street journal" highlighted the failure of the united kingdom's national health service, nhs for short. they wrote, quote, now the state-funded service is falling apart. people who suffer heart attacks or strokes wait more than one and one half-hours on average for an ambulance. hospitals are so full that they're turning patients away. a record 7.1 million people in england, more than one in ten, are stuck on waiting lists for nonemergency hospital treatment like hip replacements, end of

quote. but i want to quote from the article of the "wall street journal," another one. quote, delays in treating people are causing premature deaths of 300 to 500 people a week. one in five british people were awaiting for a medical appointment or treatment by nhs in december. end of quotes. if you didn't find that article about the united kingdom alarming, in may british columbia announced that they're sending cancer patients to bellingham, washington, in the united states for treatment. a canadian news outlet wrote this, that health minister adrian dicks announced, quote,

that eligible breast and prostate cancer patients will be sent to one or two clinics in bellingham for radiation treatment. the unprecedented move to send thousands of british columbia patients to the united states over the next two years is an attempt to address the backlog in british columbia which has one of the longest waits for radiation treatment in canada, end of quote. canada is taking this action because its cancer patients face unacceptable waiting teams. -- waiting times oafnlt 82.9% of the british cancer patients who require radiation start treatment within 28 days. that means that 17% of cancer patients are waiting at least a month or longer to start cancer

treatment. canada's single payer health care problems aren't found in just one province. in january, "the wall street journal" reported that ontario is turning to private health care options to fix the growing problem with its single payer-funded health care system. canada's most populous province is allowing more patients to go to private treatment centers for cataracts and joint replacement surgeries and for services such as mri's and c.t. scans. "the wall street journal" writes, quote, the median wait time in canada last year between referral and treatment was 27.4 weeks the longest on record compared to 9.3 weeks in 1993.

ontario reported the shortest wait times of 20.3 weeks while the eastern province of prince edward island reported the longest at 64.7 weeks. finally back to great britain, the yugov poll recently found that bring tans are, quote, pulling their teeth out with pliers, end of quote, because they can't access the national health care system dentists. the poll found 10% of respondents had attempted do-it-yourself dentistry. mr. president, i'm committed to improving the health care system. i'm working to lower the cost of prescription drugs, maintain

access to rural health care, ensure or nation's seniors can have high-quality, affordable hearing aids, address high maternal mortality rates, and lastly, improve the health care delivery system for kids with complex medical needs. and that's just to name a few. however, a government-run health care system is not the answer. british and canadian health care systems are plagued by longer and longer wait times and delayed care. these government-run health care systems are paying for patients to get care in the united states, not resorting to diy health care. mr. president, this body needs to be reminded how government-run health care systems are broken and do not work. in closing, i ask unanimous

consent to put articles that i referred to in my remarks into the record. the presiding officer: without objection,so ordered. mr. grassley: i yield. mr. murphy: mr. president. the presiding officer: the senator from connecticut is recognized. mr. murphy: mr. president, as you know, we are at an unprecedented moment in the history of the senate. there are hundreds of brave, courageous leaders in our military who are being denied promotions, being denied the rank that they deserve because of the actions of senator tuberville and senate republicans. senator tuberville was down on the floor just moments ago defending his actions. i think most americans believe that his hold on all of these promotions is indefensible. what probably won't get covered is an additional idea that he

presented to the senate in his remarks. senator tuberville said today that he thinks that our military leadership should be fired for failing to defeat the taliban. that's pretty extraordinary. for those of us who have served in the senate and in the house during the time that we've been in afghanistan, we had the opportunity to see that mission on the ground. it was a difficult, hard mission. some might say it was an impossible mission, badly underresourced right from the beginning. but the idea that our soldiers or our military leadership, captains, lieutenant colonels, generals, should be fired because they couldn't perform a mission that was likely impossible that, frankly, will have an even bigger

chilling effect than senator tuberville's hold on military promotions. there's no doubt that there should be consequences for gross negligence on the job in any profession, including the military. but for any of us who saw the work being done in afghanistan, our military from the top down, they were doing the best they could under difficult circumstances. refusing military promotions, apparently is cruel enough. now republicans want military leaders fired when they can't complete impossible, underresourced missions. this is a growing attack, a growing set of attacks on our military, and all in the service of a bunch of old men telling young women what health care they can get and what health care they can't get.

mr. president, i'd like the following remarks recorded as separate in the record. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. murphy: mr. president, in may of 2019, leila hernandez -- she had her green gown, she looked magnificent. she was having a great sophomore year in high school. she was playing basketball, number 23. she had a lot of friends. her friend said, she was full of joy and happiness. she knew how to make somebody's bad day turn into a good day. in september of that year, 2019,

leila went to a car dealership in the midland, odessa area of texas. her 15-year-old brother nathan was buying a truck. this was a big deal for this family. i don't know if it was the whole family but her mom was there, nathan was there, and her 9-year-old brother was there. i believe as they were emerging from the dealership, they heard gunshots. her mother took the younger brother, the 9-year-old, and they ducked underneath a car. nathan, 18, all he could do was wrap his hands around leila, but the shooting was relentless. nathan was hit in the arm but

leila was hit closer to the neck. leila's last words in the embrace of her brother were help me. help me. she was one of seven who died in the midland odessa mass shooting. 32 people were shot. a lot of them, like naisdz ann, sur -- nathan survived, but leila died that day. the young man who shot her was ineligible to own a weapon. he had serious mental illness. serious enough that he was on the list of individuals prohibited from buying a weapon. he had tried to buy a weapon, but he had been denied when he tried to do it at a licensed begun dealer.

-- gun dealer. he is one of millions of americans who have been stopped from buying a gun because they're a felon or they are seriously mentally ill. but this young man was still able, rather easily, to get a weapon. why is that? well, it's because many of our weapons in this country are sold without background checks. what happened in this case? how did this young man with a serious history of mental illness get his hands on a powerful weapon that allowed him to kill leila and six others? well, the story runs through a man named marcus brazeil. he was a gun dealer. no doubt he was a gun dealer. he might not have had a bricks

and mortar store, but he was regularly selling guns. in three-year period of time, he bought 90-some odd guns, resold 70 of them. in the court papers that were part of his arrest and conviction, he admitted that he routinely bought firearm firing mechanisms, used milling equipment to build them into full-fledged guns and sold the completed weapons, each for a profit of $100 to $200, he listed his firearms on arms list dot-com and sold them in a sporting goods store or sometimes out of his garage. he was a gun dealer but he never performed background checks because he didn't get licensed. and when he advertised a weapon

online, seth, who was prohibited from buying a gun in a bricks and mortar store, bought the weapon and used it to kill leila hernandez and shoot or kill 32 other people. this is not the exception in america. this is the rule today. 22% of gun owners report that they obtained their weapon without a background check. and an -- in an analysis of gun sale ads from 2018 to 2020 revealed that a majority of those ads were placed by people like mr. brazile, unlicensed sellers not required to do background checks. what that means is there are tens of thousands of guns,

perhaps more in this country every single year being, not just sold without background checks but being sold to individuals who are prohibited from buying those weapons because that's exactly where those people go. people like seth ator, the shooter in midland odessa, they know that this black market exists, they know there are people on -- online, they can buy one instead of a gun store, they can buy one online. that's the bad news. the good news is that republicans and democrats in the senate and house recognized this problem. as part of the safer communities act last year, we noted the definition of a gun dealer to make it crystal clear that people like mr. brazile need to

get a license and conduct background checks. what we did was to basically clarify that it doesn't need to be your full time job, but so long as you're selling guns, predominately for a profit, you have to get licensed, you have to perform background checks. the biden administration two weeks ago released a draft rule implementing that change that we voted for on a bipartisan basis in the senate,, and in an analysis of the statutory change and in a rule that the biden administration proposed suggest that up to 328,000 additional dealers could be required to perform background checks. now, even if those dealers are only conducting a handful of sales a year, and most of these

are probably conducting dozens of sales a year either at gun shows or online at sites like gunlists.com, we are talking about millions of guns being sold outside the background check system that will now be sold inside the background check system. and that is a big deal because that shooter in midland, he's not the exception. like i said, unfortunately, he's the rule. and so by having so many more guns go through the background check system and really closing off the ways that felons, criminals, people with serious mental health illness can buy -- mental illness can buy guns, maybe leila hernandez would be alive today, she probably would be if this rule had been in place and mr. brazile looked at that definition and come to the conclusion that he needed to get

licensed. admittedly today the definition is a little fuzzy, and without a rulemaking it clear what -- rulemaking it clear what constitutes a rule and what doesn't, it makes it it harder to know who needs to be licensed or not. mr. brazile should know he needed to be licensed, and that he was a begun dealer, and that's why he was prosecuted and jailed. many others may not know they need to be licensed now with this rule that the bieption has put forward, they will know and they will get licensed. and so i hope that my colleagues will learn about this rule, that my republican colleagues will understand how far it goes and how far it does not go. this does not mean that an individual who's just selling a gun to a family member is going to have to get licensed. that individual is not a dealer.

it doesn't mean that someone who is just liquidating their collection of firearms has to be licensed, that person is not a gun dealer. and the rule makes it very clear who is a dealer based upon their desire to earn a profit, based upon whether they have the trappings of a business, based upon the place where they are selling weapons where they are more likely to be strangers where they would need a background check to understand if they are selling to a responsible individual. those people have to be licensed, but there are lots of people who are selling one or two or three guns a year who likely don't have to be licensed under this rule. and so i hope my colleagues will do their own research, not just listen to the spin of advocacy groups. if you do your own research, you will find out this is exactly

what americans want us to be doing. they want us to make sure that when there are commercial transaction of weapons, there's a background check. by the way, the background check takes five minutes. when it doesn't take five minutes, that is generally for a reason that an individual likely has a more imli indicated -- complicated mental health or criminal history that has to be unwound. so i'm really excited for the biden administration's very appropriate steps to implement this provision of the bipartisan safer communities act, and i will just finally note that it is the latest in a series of announcements making clear that the bipartisan safer communities act has had a substantial and important impact. since the passage of the bsca, almost 1,000 transactions of weapons to young buyers, those

under 21, have been denied. we put in place an enhanced background check for 18, 19, and 20-year-olds when they're buying rifles, assault weapons, and that additional background check has already identified a thousand people all across the country, young people who would have gotten a weapon without the enhanced beck, but did -- background check, but did find out there was an mental illness or criminal conviction and didn't get the weapon. that's really good news. second, more than 100 defendants all across the country have been charged with new bsce violations of gun trafficking. gun trafficking wasn't a federal crime until we passed that law and over 100 cases have been

brought against defendants for trafficking firearms. prosecutions against unlicensed dealers, even before president biden's announcement of the rule were up by 52 psh. lastly, the administration has made 49 awards for red flag incentive grants and those funds implement existed red flag laws and we said we'll bet that new states will have new red flag laws in part due to the money from the federal government. in the last year, michigan, colorado, minnesota have passed new red flag laws or strengthened new red flag laws. the bipartisan safer communities act doesn't do everything we need to do. it's not even close .we need to have universal background checks, we need to get weapons

off the streets. but we did show that republicans and democrats can step up and make meaningful protections in the law to protect people from gun violence. the implementation will mean that millions of gun sales that two years ago were made without a background check are now done with a background check, that means a lot fewer dangerous people get a weapon in this country. that's good news for everybody.

a peaceful morning and new york and here in washington. twenty-two years, enemies of american freedom and leadership killed 2977 innocent people. twenty-two years and the shock of the day and the pain of loss are still every bit as real. today we are member parents and children, spouses and siblings who never return home. we think the first responders who ran toward change or in

service of others. we honor the service members and intelligence professionals and law enforcement officers who kept america safe on that awful day. but today is not just about remembering the past. year after year september 11 is a reminder of our commitment to confront threats from voltaire and preserve the tools and authorities national security needs to carry out this essential mission. if i discuss last week, american leadership like to hang their hats on the motion that supports the frame and our ability to

compete with the teacher and it does not hold up to serious scrutiny. one thing on china his for isolationism. and it disparages the principal that we should oppose adversaries to invade western aligned neighbors. how credible is the commitment to defend those for other vulnerable allies? this is a debate about abstract, principles or philanthropy, united states army ukraine out of sense of charity.

it is of interest to do so, our interest to do so. there's nothing neoconservative about support for ukraine defending against sovereign territory, common enemy and obviously america's interest. let me stress, we are defending ukraine from aggression. ukrainians are doing the. america is the most powerful adversary that struck up a friendship. if we fail to help, it's every reason to believe russia and china will both be emboldened. closest allies and partners,

even more to lose aggression here in washington, understand this fundamental reality. humanitarian assistance to ukraine and was the leaders of japan and talked to korea traveled and pledged millions in assistance. our partners in europe and asia and military readiness expanding defense production capacity for conflict in ukraine and it's difficult to imagine any of this happening. republicans should welcome democrats not only willing to bend on the industrial base such as bipartisan consensus will not

survive if we turn our backs on this conflict. why would we pull the plug on a trans atlantic european allies making incredible investments in their own defenses? also coming on to share concerns about chinese aggression. competition with china as a global proposition. the strength of our closest military economic allies in europe affects china's calculus. beijing would love to see transatlantic alliance structure with america turning our back on our closest trading partner. we cannot be trusted for allies in europe, why should our allies expect different treatment in place of chinese aggression?

so war in ukraine, a crucial lesson about the importance of industrial capacity and as i discussed last week, it's directed billions of dollars to restock america's arsenal in american weapons built here by american workers. a fundamental prerequisite for china and we are accomplishing the using the smoke is sufficient defense budget president biden put in. another way, america is making strides in the race to compete with biggest adversaries that i know. in the process, we are helping

degrade russian military strikes and encouraging allies to buy american invest in our own defense. this is american leadership. republicans should be pressing president biden to show more instead of dreaming about america. one final manner, it's grown so rampant even local media are struggling to keep up. last month chicago news crew was telling a story about armed robbery and they themselves begin the victims of armed robbery. this is the city were democrats walked out the neighborhood refusing to let more enforcement do their job in defunding the police, real political goals.

unfortunately, millions live under local leaders on this radicalism and keep the streets safe. last year there in washington, u.s. attorney declined to prosecute 67% of the cases involved by police. los angeles, the crime pa task department investigators for staff to and from the office rather than prosecute criminals and make them. the solution here isn't as washington former police chief pleaded earlier this year need to keep other people in jail.

somehow it took intervention from congress to stop the city council from ignoring this and going even softer on crime. some democrats know this is right. in minnesota last week a local official who once supported defunding the police took two social media to urge her city to hold repeat offenders accountable to their actions. after she was savagely beaten in her own driveway. she was attacked earlier in her own apartment building has been outspoken and get to get these repeated offenders off the

streets. it shouldn't have to be like this, american people don't deserve to live in fear. every city deserves to feel safe in their own streets. >> today we take a moment to remember the anniversary of september 11, 2001. many people recall vividly that day where they were. i was in this building asset that door a few steps down the hall and i can recall seeing on the small television set planes striking the towers in new york. first we were confused, what is going on here that a plane would strike a building? when the second place, we it dawned on us it's no longer an accident, it was by design.

i can recall looking down the hall toward the washington monument seeing black smoke billowing across the wall. it took a few minutes to establish what had happened. a plane had crashed into the pentagon and department of defense killing innocent people on the plane and in the building. what we were seeing was smoke and fire. it wasn't a few moments "afterwards" someone came to the door and said evacuate, building. i've been on capitol hill for a number of years and have never heard that before. we all took it seriously piled up to or was between here and the supreme court building and people gathered and tourist came to me and said do you work your? they said where are we supposed to go? a very fundamental question because you heard booms from the

jets scrambled to protect the building and we assumed it would be the next target. it might have been were is not for the courage of passengers and crew of the united airlines flight that crashed in pennsylvania before he could reach d.c. memories we all have and will carry for a lifetime from 22 years ago. twenty-two years later reflect on 2977 lives lost the world trade center in new york and again in washington and in pennsylvania. we also remember the care for our communities and purpose we found after that tragedy, after the attacks as our nation sought to find light amidst the darkness. most divided moments we should

look to the as a reminder that america is a nation, at its best when we seek unity humanity over separation and eight. mr. president, i listened carefully, my colleague from kentucky republican leader, i want to join in and make clear, i agree with virtually every word spoken concerning our relationship with ukraine. i do want to ask, which he may not have added, i want to get credit to this president currently serving joe biden, but the united states return after the previous presidents have administration, serious questions whether nato would even survive and president biden's told members of the senate and others the first

meeting of nato after being elected, our allies sat down, america for the long haul when it comes to nato. even before ukraine challenge, he said yes. what happened after vladimir putin invaded ukraine, the members of the nato alliance had to answer the basic question, would we respond to the challenge? i think it is clear, alliances never have been stronger than it is today. countries that are part of made a commitment not only to common defense but also help ukraine in any way possible for this infamous invasion. in fact, if you reflect on what happened he invaded ukraine a little over a year end half ago, he realized the world is a lot

worse for him. nato alliance is not only strong but larger than ever. finland and sweden joined the nato alliance, a bold and strong move that gives notice to vladimir putin and more in doubt when it comes to alliance, relationship with the west. finland and sweden are part of nato and realize it is now nato with only two exceptions. it means we are stronger than ever and i agree, we need to stand behind ukraine and nato alliance now more than ever as people make sacrifices give lives for freedom and sovereignty. i couldn't agree more with these statements.

i do question when talking about violence in the streets of chicago as to why he never refers to cities and red states witnessing the same today, even worse in chicago. we have a crime problem in this country we have to deal with. it's made more difficult and challenging because of proliferation of guns in america. we are a nation of 320 million people perhaps with 400 million guns and they are moving across state borders into the hands of people who have no business owning a gun. we could do a lot more about that here. i still remember a little over a year ago highland park, illinois. a deranged individual went on the roof of the local business and pulled out his weapon and fired 83 rounds in 60 seconds

into a crowd, killing seven innocent people, injuring dozens of others. why in the world he should have had a military assault weapon is beyond me and beyond anything others envision. we can and should do more to make streets safer across america and i would agree with that part of the speech, give us a more complete presentation of the challenge we face. on another subject, this weekend marked two years, second anniversary the food and drug administration missed federal court order date to finish the review of applications, e-cigarette applications illegally flooding the market in the united states. we estimate during the two-year period of time when the fda refused to respond federal court

order approximately 2 million american children started vaping and by two years, food and drug administration is somewhere close to regulate these addictive e cigarettes. it is required to apply first to the fda before entering the market and prove to the food and drug administration the e-cigarette is quote in law, appropriate for the protection of public health. they can't. this has not happened. instead, tens of thousands of dangerous e-cigarette have legally showed up on store shelves without fda review or approval and hoped a generation of kids. studies have shown there are more vaping devices today and two years ago when they were

ordered by federal court to do so. unacceptable. the house recently investigated the effectiveness even after it issues a denial for the application so the company comes to the fda and submits the product and supposed to show how it's consistent with public health and fails to do so and told not to sell it in america. what do they do? they found e-cigarette receives warning levels for continued to sell violation of the law would make available. i don't understand. food and drug administration is cowardly refusing to use full enforcement fines, injunctions for the most flagrant cases. the fda has only issued letters to 10% of the tobacco products

and one violating the law. the administration and food and drug administration has the authority to decide whether a vaping device or cigarette can be sold. they tell them you've got to stop. how many of all of the warning and refused to violate the law? one out of ten meaning the agency has one of the worst records and history following through ensuring compliance with enforcement. i referred this information to the department of justice. none of the most popular e cigarettes used have been granted authority to be sold in the united states if they remain on the market in violation of the law putting child and teenagers in harm's way. last month the fda blew through

the deadline to finalize rules to prohibit flavored cigarettes and cigars. this regulation is long overdue ahead of thousands of lives. the fda must and delays. this would embark on a task that is rare. before the united states senate this week considers three government spending bills. you say i'm sure it's happened before, yes, about five years ago. since then what we have done is wait until the very last moment when all hell is about to break loose but this year we are actually going to bring appropriation bill in, a cause of celebration. this package includes appropriation bills for agriculture which funds the food and drug administration in light of the fda's embarrassing delay in reviewing these products keeping them away from these

kids to improve regulatory efforts. i hope my colleagues will join me in this effort to protect children from big tobacco. it cannot be business as usual until the food and drug administration says so. we have to do something. the bills we are considering this week include bills strong overwhelming bipartisan support. agriculture will be the military construction and veterans affairs bill and transportation housing and urban development spending bill. each bill makes significant investments in america. these bills would provide veterans of the health services . with an historic number of veterans receiving care and benefits under the pact act, the department of veterans affairs needs a qualified second in command. now more than ever, the v.a.

needs a steady hand to uphold its mission to deliver veterans health care and bill ofs that they have -- and benefits this they have earned. i rise today because tanya bradsher is that leader. she has an impressive record of sesqui our country in -- serving our country in and out of uniform. especially in her current role, which is v.a. chief of staff, where she's been critical in overseeing the department's implementation of the pact act. between her time serving in the united states army, including a deployment to iraq, and working in congress and working at the white house and the defense health agency and at the department of homeland security, it is clear that she is qualified for the job and ready to hit the ground running to serve our nation's veterans. it is no secret that the v.a. has a lot of work on its plate.

from rolling out the electronic health record modernization program to working with the defense department to improve transition process for servicemembers that are leaving the military -- these are challenges that v.a.'s number-two official is directly tasked with, all while running the date-to-day operations at the v.a. that is why this body needs to come together in a bipartisan way to make tanya bradsher the permanent leader, the leader who will tackle these challenges and ensure that the v.a. is upholding its mission to the veterans and their families. the fact is, having a permanent leader in this role ensures that we can hold the v.a. accountable to do their job. and our veterans deserve no less. in the past, this body has been able to rise above politics to install qualified individuals at the v.a. responsible floreat going vets the health care and -- for vetting vets the had he can that they need and they've

earned. today we must dozen that again, to confirm tanya bradsher as the v.a.'s next deputy secretary and make being her the first -- making her the first woman ever confirmed for that position. with that, madam president, i yield the floor. madam president. i would ask -- the presiding officer: the senator from montana. mr. tester: thank you, i would ask unanimous consent that this vote occur immediately. the presiding officer: without objection. 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 261, tanya j. bradsher of virginia to be deputy secretary of veterans affairs, 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 tanya bradsher of v.a. to be deputy secretary of veterans affairs shall be brought to a close. the yeas and nays are manned trid under the -- mandatory under the rule. 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.

the clerk: mr. carper. mr. casey. mr. cassidy.

ms. collins. mr. coons. mr. cornyn. ms. cortez masto. mr. cotton. vote: the clerk: mr. kramer. 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.

the clerk: 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. the clerk: mr. markey.

mr. marshall. mr. mcconnell. mr. menendez. mr. merkley. the clerk: 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 -- cardin, feinstein, fetterman, hirono, kaine, and tester. senators voting in the negative -- blackburn, cotton, crapo, marshall, rubio, and wicker.

the clerk: mr. tuberville, no.

mr. durbin, aye. mrs. murray, aye. the clerk: mr. schatz, aye. the clerk: mr. vance, no. ms. baldwin, aye.

mr. boozman, no. mr. whitehouse, aye. mr. king, aye.

the clerk: mr. moran, no. ms. cortez masto, aye. ms. warren, aye.

the clerk: mr. kelly, aye.

the clerk: mr. lujan, aye. ms. hassan, aye. the clerk: mr. cassidy, no.

the clerk: ms. stabenow, aye. mr. peters, aye.

the clerk: mr. booker, aye. mr. reed, aye. ms. rosen, aye.

the clerk: mrs. fischer, no. mr. wyden, aye. mr. warner, aye.

the clerk: mr. carper, aye. the clerk: mrs. shaheen, aye.

mr. brown, aye. the clerk: ms. klobuchar, aye.

the clerk: mrs. hyde-smith, no. mr. romney, no. mr. sanders, aye.

the clerk: mr. bennet, aye. the clerk: mr. merkley, aye. mr. schumer, aye.

mr. casey, aye. mr. hucken looper, aye. mr. hickenlooper, aye. the clerk: mr. welch, aye. mr. rounds, aye.

mr. coons, aye. mrs. capito, no. mr. markey, aye.

the clerk: mr. grassley, no. ms. lummis, no. the clerk: mr. johnson, no.

the clerk: mr. lee, no. the clerk: ms. sinema, aye.

the clerk: mrs. gillibrand, aye.

the clerk: mr. scott of florida, no. the clerk: mr. heinrich, aye.

the clerk: mr. blumenthal, aye. ms. cantwell, aye. the clerk: mr. murphy, aye.

the clerk: ms. smith, aye.

vote:

the clerk: mr. cornyn, no.

the clerk: mr. budd, no.

the clerk: mrs. britt, no.

ms. ernst, no. the clerk: mr. barrasso, no. plicts -- mr. mr. ricketts, no. mr. tillis, no.

ms. collins, aye. mr. thune, no. mr. lankford, no.

the clerk: mr. manchin, aye.

the clerk: mr. daines, no.

the clerk: mr. mcconnell, no.

the clerk: mr. paul, no. the clerk: mr. hawley, no. vote:

vote:

the clerk: mr. van hollen, aye. mr. schmitt, no. mr. warnock, aye.

the clerk: mr. graham, no. mr. mullin, no.

the clerk: mr. young, no.

the clerk: ms. murkowski, no.

the clerk: mr. hoven, no.

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

the clerk: mr. menendez, no.

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

the clerk: -- the presiding officer: on this vote, the yeas are 49, the nays are 44. and the motion is agreed to.

mr. menendez: mr. president. the presiding officer: the senator from new jersey. mr. menendez: mr. president, i rise to speak about a horrific

set of events that are taking place in a part of the world that we could do something about. in this photo, this dead man's body is completely emaciated. the skin tight over his bones, barely covers his skeleton. bruises and scars stretch across his chest. this is not a victim at the side of the road during the armenian turks genocide. it is not a human carcass left in the wake of cambodia or serbian forces in bosnia. mr. president, it is from the human rights defender's office

in carba. it is from august, only weeks ago. mr., right now as you sit here and i stand here, the government government -- this is something that bears the hallmarks of genocide. they have purposely and viciously and trapped an estimated 100,000 to 120,000 christian armenians in the -- caraba mountains. there is only one road out for people in need of food and basic supplies and it has been blocked since december of last year. now, despite some reports yesterday, no aid has moved.

they have tried to deny their role, but make no mistake, the government is wholeheartedly embracing them brutal blockade. the regime is trying -- are trying to starve these people into death or political submission. quote, there are no cemeteries and there are no ma sety -- machete attacks. but he said, quote, starvation is the invisible genocide weapon. without immediate dramatic change, this group of armenians will be destroyed in a few weeks. this group of armenians, talking about over 100,000, will be

destroyed in a few weeks. not my observations, the observations of the former prosecutor at the criminal court. the store shelves are empty. children wait in lines for the chance of finding bread to feed their grandparents who are too weak to leave the house. there is no gas for ambulances. according to one doctor at one maternity hospital, miscarriages have nearly -- miscarriages have nearly tripled and the bbc reports that one in three deaths in nagorno karbakh. the red cross has had limited access, but in july, ilham blocked even the red cross.

the red cross was transporting through the corridor. this is not only outrageous at face value, but an insult to the international community and a threat to brave red cross workers around the world. in addition to arresting sick and elderly residents, university students were arrested. the foreign ministry says, oh, there's nothing to worry about. these concerns are just the result of, quote, propaganda and political manipulation spread by armenia. really? you're blaming armenia for this? that's a flat out lie. it was -- it was a war that uprooted 100,000 armenians from

their homes in nagoron karbakh. they say they're not organizing ethnic cleansing, the same artsakh who -- they showed a worker in hazmat gear splaiing disin -- spraying disinfectant on the region. we have seen this propaganda throughout history. it is the work of a regime in an attempt to erase this armenian history. right now the united states is failing. we are not meeting the humanitarian needs or putting enough presh ourure on aly rch

iev. and they are not allowing security assistance to go to azer about a shawn -- azerbaijan. we've seen a video of azerbaijan killing armenian soldiers in cold blood. there are reports of azerbaijan mutilating an armenian soldier. section 907 of the act is meant to ban security assistance to azerbaijan until it takes steps to cease blockades against armenia. that is the end of the quote

from section 907. the department of state has waived section 907 over and over and over again. suffice it to say i'm strongly opposed to having any aid going to a fighting force known for war crimes and the violation of human rights. i understand the dynamics of the broader region are complicated, but our fundamental principles underlying security assistance should not be. when the united states untethers our security assistance from human rights and american values to focus on short-term tactical military assistance, it not only damages long-term american national security interests, it flies in the face of our duty to honor the victims an survivors of the armenian genocide and to ensure that history does not repeat itself. we cannot look away from a

systemic attempt to eradicate an entire people from the face of the earth. in 2021, as my colleagues witnessed here on the senate floor, i was overcome with emotion to see president biden join us in recognizing, for the first time of any american president, the armenian genocide. more than a century ago, turks perpetrated a campaign to exterminate the armenians through starvation. what the turks did is an irrefutable historical fact. the recognizes of this fact was a huge step forward and i am proud to have played a role in that effort. proud that i spoke up as others stayed silent, proud that i had officials acknowledge this historical reality, proud to

cosponsor resolutions recognizing the armenian genocide since before i came to the senate in 2006. make no mistake, fighting the denial of armenian genocide is not only about the past, it's also about the present. that's why i'm calling on aliyev to release the prisoners of war, it is why i ask to address the humanitarian crisis, and when the u.s. -- i pushed her to get humanitarian assistance to the people of nagaorno-karbakh. i believe the united states should play a role in doing something about this conflict, after the ceasefire has been

ineffective. as azerbajian forces began, others stood by. they have proved their lack of worth, which is all the more reason that the united states must continue to play a role. we've been facilitating talks between armenia and azerbajian. but we need to change our approach. we cannot continue to facilitate talks, we have a responsibility to immediate, to pursue a meaningful, enforceable agreement with a guaranteed right security and dignity of armenians as a central tenet. we must encourage, and if necessary, broker direct discussions between political leaders. to be an honest broker means we need to tell the truth about

azebajian's atrocities, we need to call out the individuals perpetrating the campaign of ethnic cleansing, we need to target them, including president aliyev with sanctions, we must cut off the oil and wealth to their yachts and mansions across europe. the evidence is there and we must preserve r- -- preserve it so that aliyev can be held accountable. i called on the united nations to introduce a resolution to enforce an end to the blockade. i'm pleased to see that secretary blingen is engaging in the crisis now, but the message must be crystal clear. the e.u. needs to step in too. i was pleased to see the high representative statement in july

that the e.u. is, quote, deeply concerned about the assistance. but i hope that actions accompany those words. instead of just taking azerbajini gas and saying it is an energy partner, they must bring pressure to end the blockade. how many leaders have promised to learn history's lessons and prevent future genocides. how many people have come do the floor of the senate and said never, never again? how many people will have to die of starvation before we act? with alyev potentially moving troops along the border, we cannot say we didn't see it coming. this time must be different. in the past plans to carry out genocide were clouded by

distance or geography, but this time we know -- we know aliyev is doing it right now, and we must not only hold him accountable for his actions, we must stop him from succeeding and erasing this armenian community. we must stop him from starving these armenians to death or imposing political control with but opening one corridor. this is not a substitution for opening the corridor, it is not upholding the commitments of the 2020 agreement. using basic humanitarian food and medical supplies as a political weapon is not acceptable. and we have the power to do it if we act now. given the chance, who here among us would not go back and stop the turks from rounding up the first armenian victims of the

genocide who were hung in the streets of istanbul or those who gave bosnians a 24-hour to surrender or the rwanda radio broadcast inciting silence. we are living on the brink right now with the armenian people. i would say to president biden now is the time to step up and protect this vulnerable population. to the international community, now is the time to work together to bring pressure to stop this tragedy from unfolding in front of our very eyes, and to the armenian people trapped in this blockade with no food, as winter approaches, know that you have friends and allies here in the united states senate and around the world who will not rest until you are safe and secure. hang on. hang on. and to the american organizing and carrying out this brutal campaign, we will hold you

accountable for your crimes even if it takes a lifetime. you will pay a price, you will face justice, and i certainly will not rest until you do so. mr. president, with that, i yield the floor. a senator: mr. president. the presiding officer: the senator from new jersey. mr. menendez: i ask unanimous consent the senate proceed to legislative session and be in a period of morning business with senators permitted to speak therein for up to ten minutes each. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. menendez: mr. president, i ask unanimous consent that when the senate completes its business today, it stand adjourned until 10:00 a.m. on tuesday, september 12, that following the prayer and pledge, the journal of proceedings be approved to date, the morning hour be deemed expired, the time for the two leaders be reserved for their use later in the day, and morning business be closed. that upon the conclusion of morning business, the senate proceed to executive session to resume consideration of the

bradsher nomination postcloture. further, that all time be considered expired at 11:30 a.m. and following the cloture vote on the cummings nomination, the senate recess until 2:15 p.m. to allow for the weekly caucus meetings. that if cloture is invoked on the cummings nomination, all time be considered expired at 2:15. finally, that if any nominations are confirmed, the motions to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table and the president be immediately notified of the senate's action. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. menendez: if there is no further business to come before the senate, i ask that it stand adjourned under the previous order. the presiding officer: the the presiding officer: the today the u.s. senate that the nominationf tonya had to be the next duty to be a secretary. if confirmed should be the fir woman to serve the department's second-highest poster. later in the week the chamber plans to work on a package of

three spending bills funding the agriculture, housing transportation veterans affairs departments for next year. as well as traditional nominations but watch live coverage of the senate when they return here on cspan2. ♪ 1979 in partnership with the cable industry c-span has provided complete coverage of the halls of congress. from the house and senate floors to congressional hearings, party briefings and committee meetings. c-span gives you a front row seat about issues are debated and decided. with no commentary, no interruption and completely unfiltered. c-span, your unfiltered view of government. ♪ ♪ ♪ this fall watch c-span's new

series books that shaped america. join us as we embark on a captivating journey in partnership with the library of congress which first to create a book that shaped america list to explore key works of literature from american history. featuring hud's thought about what awards lead to significant societal changes and still talked about today. -featured renowned experts who will shed light on the profound impact of these iconic works and virtual journeys to significant locations across the country intricately tied to the celebrated authors their unforgettable books among our featured books common steps by thomas paine, huckleberry finn by mark twain, their eyes were watching god. and free to choose but milton and rose freedman. watch our 10 part series books that shaped america turning monday september 18 at 9:00 p.m. eastern on c-span, c-span now the free mobile video app or online at c-span.org.

♪ a healthy democracy doesn't just look like this. it looks like this. americans can see democracy at work citizens are truly informed. republic thrives. informed straight from the source on c-span. unfiltered, unbiased, word for word from the nation's capitol to wherever you are. because the opinion that matters the most is your own. this is what democracy looks like. c-span powered by cable. >> welcome back to "washington journal" i am joined now by caitlyn is a budget reporter for politico. we'll start with the government funding deadline. caitlyn welcome to the program. >> thanks for having me. >> clark's recess is over for the house. they come back in tomorrow. the senate returned last week. where are we