and we certainly cannot save ukraine by fighting a war with russia. as we go further and further into debt, we become weaker. it's not just that this is not helping our national security. the very threat to our national security is our debt. the more we send money overseas, the more we deplete our munitions, the worse things get. no matter how sympathetic we are to the ukrainian people, we must put the american people first. and to that end i encourage my colleagues to oppose any effort to the federal government hostage for ukraine funding. thank you, mr. president, and i yield the floor. >> since 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 to how issues are debated and decided with no commentary, no interruption, and completely unfiltered. c-span, your unfiltered view of government. >> and the senate gaveling back into session with votes shortly. today they are working on military nominations. off the four leaders of both parties are waiting for further word from the house regarding the status of a short-term funding bill to avoid a a government shutdown set to occur september 30. you are watching live coverage of the senate 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. god of our eternal hope, those who serve you live in your presence. give our lawmakers the wisdom to follow your teachings. let your precepts lead them to make laws that will help the marginalized and strengthen our nation's moral foundation. may your wisdom provide them wih strategies to defeat the enemies of liberty. remind them that you have a plan which enables your will to be done on earth, even as it is done in heaven. lord, instill in our senators

the courage to obey your commands, the grace to pray for their enemies, and the power to persevere in doing what is right. we pray in your powerful name. amen. the presiding officer: please join me in reciting the pledge f allegiance to our flag. i pledge allegiance to the flag of the united states of america, and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under god, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. the presiding officer: the clerk will read a communication to the senate. the clerk: washington, d.c., september 21, 2023. to the senate: under the provisions of rule 1,

paragraph 3, of the standing rules of the senate, i hereby appoint the honorable ben ray lujan, a senator from the stae of new mexico, to perform the duties of the chair. signed: patty murray, president pro tempore. the presiding officer: under the previous order, the leadership time is reserved.

have been through this before, it highly predictable but you have a small group of people, stranglehold kevin mccarthy continues to try it but it doesn't work. we know it's going to win, chris screamed on a spending proposal, 149 republican will establishing

spending levels, the senate is budgeting based, and we are going to end up in the space of three conflict pain fusion. >> this time? >> we are running out of time, we have a deadline, jewish holidays, it takes time to be able tori assemble serious legislation. it has pushed up against a real deadline. we knew where we were in the spring. we know what the senate is doing and they are passing legislation people on the house appropriations committee were free to do their job.

a number of them are in the governing wing but they are being held hostage, to buy the most extreme elements in the republican caucus who ultimately fail an effort to inflict this only american people. >> will who are russian, why even talk about peace? >> the budget process is to advance the appropriations bill in the house even though we are nine months into the fiscal year so we passed continuing losing spending at the previous level.

it's not a good solution but it keeps the congress routinely default to continuing resolution because you can't afford to grind everything to hold. >> what are you hearing from republican colleagues of other interparty fighting? >> a number of them are perplexed. in the gym this morning i talked to republican friends. even people who voted to keep this going are not happy with it. it's a situation that is extraordinarily frustrating and

some have been through this before. it went through it in 20132018 they are out of control she the politically beneficial for them, they raise a lot of money by the people in the spotlight but it's government is able to meet problems in this will continue to create issues that we will struggle with for weeks speaker kevin proposed not one but two proposals to conservative colleagues on resolution, it would get public in both presumably sent over to the senate. >> but this is a short temporary

so we are back at it in a multitude. people talk about groundhog day all this angst and were a short-term solution and we are back where we are, the result is an fundamental issues. >> if they vote for what they would want is a party, he has to be clean resolution, for that? >> one not loaded with extraneous hopeful calls ablation calls calls on a standalone basis the house and signed by the president but the

thought is that they can force it into a new position, they can enacted but the senate and not go along with the president and senate. >> to make a move they would be in you support this publicans but the to the floor? >> i don't. i am bitterly disappointed hope the speaker has conducted himself. he's made concession after concession after concession to a handful of the most extreme members of his conference but

that's deal he made to the elected speaker. if he is willing to work on the bipartisan basis, democrats be there for the things that matter to the american people. he did earlier this year. i am disappointed in the performance of the speaker. it's not distinguishing him in history the week and accommodating the most extreme efforts. if you were to sit down and visit democratic leadership to deal with responsible members, this can be ironed out in a matter of minutes and that would be a majority, bipartisan majority that would support the alternative.

we have something reasonable and palatable to the american public in the woodwork. it is something that can be done. >> there are huge reports they are working on a way forward. in maryland, democratic color. hi, steve. >> we know how this ends. we do this every year. >> not every year. >> at the end of every year around december in the middle of the night a bill passed in the last year it was the big army -- , i understand there is a bill at the desk that is due for a second reading.

the presiding officer: the clerk will read the title of the bill for the second time. the clerk: h.r. 3935, an act to amend title 49 united states code so forth and for other purposes. mr. schumer: in order to place the bill on the calendar under the provisions of rule 14, i would object to further proceeding. the presiding officer: objection having been heard, the bill will be placed on the calendar. mr. schumer: mr. president. the presiding officer: the majority leader. mr. schumer: earlier this morning, it was my distinct honor, along with leader mcconnell, to welcome ukrainian president zelenskyy to the united states. is it's always a privilege to welcome a foreign head of state to the capitol, but rarely in history have we heard directly from a leader who is fighting for his country's survival and fighting to preserve the idea of democracy. i told the members that right now, this courageous man is at the fulcrum of democracy and

freedom, and my message to president zelenskyy and to my colleagues was simple -- america must always stand with our friends around the world, and that includes the people of ukraine. president zelenskyy could not have arrived at a more crucial moment for his country and for congress. right now, ukraine is engaged in a major counteroffensive against putin's forces, to reclaim their answer territory and turn the tide of their bloody and brutal conflict. but it is also a moment for congress, too. it's very clear if we have a government shutdown or pass a c.r. without ukrainian aid, the damage that would occur on ukraine's campaign would be devastating. in fact, to quote president putin -- sorry, to quote president zelenskyy in the room, and this is a quote, he said if we don't get the aid, we will lose the war. that's a quote from president

volodymyr zelenskyy. that's how stark the issue is. nothing would make putin happier right now than to see the united states waver in our support for the ukrainian people. of this is not just about ukrainian security, but as president zelenskyy reminded us it's about american security as well. because a victorious putin would be an emboldened putin. what is the point of cutting off support now, when we're at a turning point in the war, when we've invested a large amount of resources to get to this turning point? to be sure, there are some on the hard right who say we should abandon ukraine and negotiate with putin. it's ironic that the hard right, which historically opposed communism, now openly flirts with autocrats like putin, giving 23450u79 what he wants -- what -- giving putin what he wants, to abandon ukraine, would be a terrible mistake, and one

that would haunt us more rapidly and quickly than people believe. now is not the time to take our foot off the gas, when it comes to helping ukraine. turning our backs makes the world less safe for american democracy. i commend president zelenskyy for his leadership during this unprecedented moment in his country's history. i thank him for his visit. i thank him for his courage. i thank him for his steadfastness. amendment i will keep working to ensure we continue supporting the ukrainian people. on the c.r., an ominous case of daij awe view is playing out this -- deja vu is playing out this week in the house of representatives. a national crisis is around the corner. the solution demands bipartisanship. but speaker mccarthy is wasting precious time catering to the hard, hard maga right. catering to the hard right didn't work during the default crisis, and it will not work

here in the shutdown crisis. it's been a troublesome, veecking week -- vexing week for the house of representatives. a few days ago, house republicans released what they call a deal on the c.r., but which in reality read like a house freedom caucus screed. it called for a devastating 8% cut on virtually all nondefense spending. it would have gutted law enforcement funding, border protection, knew driggs benefit, so much more. that wasn't extreme enough for maga republicans. the house gop's proposals are more extreme, call for greater cuts and stand less of a chance of pa passing the u.s. senate. house republicans railroad still trying to appease the most hard-right elements of their conference. it's almost as if a small handful are deciding what the whole body of 435 members should do. it makes no sense.

the hard right, many of them, publicly say they want the government to shut down, despite the fact it would hurt so many. and so, that's what seems the republican leadership is doing. instead of pursuing the one path we all know will work, bipartisanship. instead of decreasing the chances of a shutdown, mccarthy, speaker mccarthy, is actually increasing it by wasting time on extremist proposals that everyone knows he knows cannot become law. let me say that again. instead of decreasing the chance of a shutdown, speaker mccarthy is actually increasing it by wasting time on extremist proposals that cannot become law. in the senate, many of us are united in the need for more ukraine aid, but the hard right proposals in the house fail to provide any. in the senate, only an agreement that can get votes from both parties will be able to pass,

but the hard right proposals have all been drafted with zero democratic input and zero effort to even appear bipartisan. so, for all the efforts speaker mccarthy has spent on trying to find something that makes maga republicans happy, there's no scenario where we avoid a shutdown without a bipartisan agreement. if the speaker continues down on the path he's on, the odds of a shutdown sadly go up, and americans will know that the responsibility of a shutdown will be on the republicans' hands. on tps -- yesterday, the biden administration announced they will redesignate temporary protection status for venezuela, giving migrants from that country relief from removal and the ability to get work authorization. this decision will affect more than half of the newly arrived asylum seekers in new york.

the administration's announcement is welcome news and one many of us in the new york congressional telling gation have been calling on for -- delegation have been calling on for months. i wrote to secretaries blinken and may ork ace in -- mayorkas in july that country conditions in venezuela met the stems for . this gives much-needed relief for new york systems straining to support newly arrived immigrants and will save new york taxpayer dollars, and allow migrants from venezuela, seeking asylum, to find temporary employment, support themselves and their families, contribute to our economy, and reduce the shelter burden that new york is now undergoing. so, this is a very, very -- this is very, very welcome news. many of these migrants can now hopefully get closer to finding work, and finding shelter, which they need. and i thank the biden

administration for taking this step. i note the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. the clerk: ms. baldwin. quorum call:

quorum call:

mr. mcconnell: mr. president. the presiding officer: the republican leader. mr. mcconnell: i ask that further proceedings on the quorum call be dispensed with. the presiding officer: without objection. mcconnell i ask unanimous consent to complete my remarks followed by senator ernst prior to the scheduled roll call votes. the presiding officer: without objection.

mr. mcconnell: this morning i was proud to welcome president zelenskyy to the capitol, glad our colleagues had an opportunity to hear from him first hand and ask questions about the state of ukraine's counteroffensive. at the risk of repeating myself, americans' support for ukraine is not charity, it's an investment in our own direct interest, not least because degrading russia's military power helps to deter our primary strategic adversary, china. as i've discussed this week, competition with china is a

global proposition, but increasingly the biden administration's approach to the prc ee flects a -- reflects a faulty assessment of the challenge this competition presents. a few weeks ago the secretary of commerce visited beijing to tend -- to attend the soft power of -- tend the soft power of american business in china. unfortunately the prc had already targeted secretary hermando, stealing official e-mail in a cyberattack just weeks earlier. to the extent that economic relations with china are deteriorating, it's because on perez's xi's watch, american and other foreign businesses are facing a state that increasingly

increasingly -- steals intellectual property, weeldz workers inside of apartment buildings and forces people to attend communist sessionings. it seems desperate to double down on trade with communist china. prc officials publicly mocked secretary ramando's efforts as, quote, doom to fail, end quote and vowed china will never let down its vigilance because of a few beautiful words from the u.s. this is hardly the only time the biden administration has tilted at windmills, literally and

figuratively. remember special climate envoy john kerry's own recent trip to beijing. he sought common ground on green energy goals with a nation that publicly pledged not to stop increasing carbon emissions for the better part of a decade. not surprisingly our former colleague failed to secure a meeting with president xi or his foreign minister. perhaps as i've discussed before the ccp hadular made that latter official disappear. china is america's single greatest strategic adversary. the prc is not inclined to do america or the west any favors. and political relations with beijing have declined, not

because of insufficient economic ties but because of china's concerted efforts to intimidate its neighbors, spy on our communications, steal our technology, and undermine global free markets. the sooner the biden administration accepts that reality, the sooner the united states can engage more deeply with allies and partners who share our interest in preserving the peace. russia's escalation against ukraine has taught allies in europe a valuable lesson about the dangers of economic over-realliance. views are changing across europe as our allies take a new look at the nature of the leadership in beijing and its friendship, without limits, with moscow.

the german foreign minister, for example, has publicly warned against placing dependence on russian gas with new economic dependence on the prc. asian allies have long been concerned with the prc's growing assertiveness. they understand that russia is a pacific nation with significant air and naval presence in the far east. americans who focus single-mindedly on the intero pacific would do well to consider russia's own military power in that region. just last month the russian and chinese navies conducted a joint patrol off the coast of alaska, the largest such operation in anyone's memory. these revision powers are not going to go away. they will not be pacified by

economic envoys, strategic competition will continue to test america's global interest. it's time to work more closely with friends and allies. it's time to invest more seriously in hard power and industrial capacity. it's time for the biden administration to prioritize actions over words. now on other matter, the biden administration announced yesterday it is seeking new recruits in its war on affordable and reliable american energy. to fill the ranks of a new program called american climate corps. while the administration works overtime to free sensible development like energy pipelines, its latest initiative would set up a taxpayer funded

pipeline turning climate activists into climate bureaucrats. now president biden's know standinga for f -- nostalgia for fdr's new deal is well documented, so washington democrats' fixation with the green new deal, it would be hard to imagine an economic moment less well suited to a new program. this isn't the 1930's when the american people were up against high unemployment and low inflation. in fact what democrats' runaway spending has dumped on working families today is just the opposite. for two years now we very seen historic inflation and a record labor shortage. this is such a profoundly tone

deaf idea, it couldn't even earn the support of the president's own party here in the senate during the democrats' so-called inflation reduction act last year. not one colleague joined senator sanders in voting for his amendment -- for a climate work document. this hasn't stopped the activists behind the wheel of his administration's energy policies. as working families struggle to afford gas, electricity, and groceries, the advice from wealthy blue state liberals is apparently to shell out for an expensive electric car and foot the bill for the so-called climate corps. there's no hoover dam or lincoln tunnel on the other side of this

nonsense spending, just tempting jobs and a new make-work program when there's plenty of work to go around. so, mr. president, activists are calling it climate justice, but it doesn't sound like justice to the working families just trying to get by on president biden's watch. the presiding officer: under the previous order, the senate will proceed to executive session to resume consideration of the following nomination, which the clerk will report. the clerk: nomination, army, general randy a. george, for appointment for chief of staff in the army and appointment in the united states army while assigned to a position of importance and responsibility under title 10usc section 1 --

section 601 to be general. ms. ernst: i ask unanimous consent that katherine james, a defense fellow in my office, be granted floor privileges for the remainder of the congress. the presiding officer: without objection. ms. ernst: mr. president, i rise today to talk about my dear friend and native iowan general randy a. george. before we vote on his nomination to be the next chief of staff of the u.s. army. as i said in the armed services committee, i believe general george is the right man for this critical job. general george grew up in alden, iowa, a town with just over 700 residents. he joined the army straight out of high school and was later commissioned at the united states military academy at west point. general george is a decorated

war fighter with extensive combat service, including in the gulf war, the iraq war, and the war in afghanistan. he has been instrumental in leading our great army, and i'm excited to see him confirmed to be the chief of staff of the army. as an army veteran myself, i have full confidence that he will continue to modernize the army and maintain our highly trained and lethal force to fight and win our nation's wars. general george is a hardworking plubl servant who -- public servant who knows the needs of our soldiers and their families. he too is a great family man and i would like to thank his wife and his west point classmate

patty and their two children, grant andy, for their selfless commitment and support over the years. i firmly believe that general george's qualification record and character, and, of course, his great home state of iowa make him the right nominee to serve in this important role. thank you, and i yield the floor, mr. president. the presiding officer: under the previous order, the question occurs on the nomination. -- is there a sufficient second? there appears to be. the clerk will call the roll. the clerk: ms. baldwin. mr. barrasso.

the clerk: mr. bennet. mrs. blackburn. mr. blumenthal. mr. booker. mr. boozman. mr. braun.

mrs. britt. mr. brown. mr. budd. ms. cantwell. mrs. capito. mr. cardin. mr. carper. mr. casey. mr. cassidy. ms. collins. mr. coons. mr. cornyn. ms. cortez masto. mr. cotton. mr. cramer. mr. crapo. mr. cruz.

the clerk: mr. daines. ms. duckworth. mr. durbin. ms. ernst. mrs. feinstein. mr. fetterman. mrs. fischer. mrs. gillibrand. mr. graham. mr. grassley.

the clerk: mr. hagerty. ms. hassan. mr. hawley. mr. heinrich. mr. hickenlooper. ms. hirono. mr. hoeven. mrs. hyde-smith. mr. johnson.

the clerk: mr. kaine. mr. kelly. mr. kennedy. mr. king. ms. klobuchar.

the clerk: mr. lankford. mr. lee. mr. lujan. ms. lummis. mr. manchin. mr. markey. mr. marshall. mr. mcconnell. mr. menendez. mr. merkley. mr. moran. mr. mullin. ms. murkowski. mr. murphy. mrs. murray.

the clerk: mr. ossoff. mr. padilla. mr. paul. mr. peters. mr. reed. mr. ricketts. mr. risch. mr. romney. ms. rosen. mr. rounds. mr. rubio.

the clerk: 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.

the clerk: mr. tester. mr. thune. mr. tillis. mr. tuberville. mr. van hollen. mr. vance. mr. warner. mr. warnock. ms. warren. mr. welch. mr. whitehouse. mr. wicker. mr. wyden. mr. young.

senators voting in the affirmative -- barrasso, capito, casey, cassidy, coons, ernst, gillibrand, graham, hagerty, heinrich, hyde-smith, kelly, king, klobuchar, lieu har, manchin, marquee, mullin, reed, rounds, scott of florida, sinema, tester, wicker.

mr. king, aye. mr. crapo, aye. mr. lee voted in the negative. ms. smith, aye. mr. padilla, aye.

mr. sullivan, aye. the clerk: mr. merkley, aye. mr. warnock, aye.

vote: the presiding officer: mr. kennedy, aye. the clerk: mr. kennedy, aye.

the clerk: mr. braun, aye.

the clerk: mr. romney, aye. ms. hassan, aye. mr. risch, aye. mr. welch, aye. ms. duckworth, aye. mr. cotton, aye.

the clerk: mr. marshall, aye. mr. kaine, aye.

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

mrs. shaheen, aye. mr. hawley, aye. mrs. ricketts, aye. mr. ricketts, aye.

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

the clerk: mr. murphy, aye.

the clerk: mr. warner, aye. the clerk: mr. wyden, aye.

the clerk: ms. warren, aye.

the clerk: mr. thune, aye. the clerk: mr. budd, aye.

the clerk: mr. durbin, aye. mr. menendez, aye. mrs. britt, aye. mr. daines, aye. mrs. fischer, aye. mr. rubio, aye. mr. lankford, aye.

the clerk: mr. tillis, aye.

mr. boozman, aye. mr. whitehouse, aye. the clerk: mr. blumenthal, aye.

the clerk: mr. tuberville, aye. mr. cramer, aye. mr. moran, aye.

the clerk: mr. cardin, aye. ms. stabenow, aye. mr. grassley, aye.

the clerk: mrs. blackburn, aye. ms. collins, aye.

the clerk: mr. vance, aye. mr.the clerk: mr. schmitt, aye.

the clerk: ms. cortez masto, aye. mr. schatz, aye. ms. hirono, aye.

the clerk: mr. fetterman, aye.

ms. cantwell, aye. mr. carper, aye. mr. bennet, aye.

the clerk: mr. van hollen, aye. ms. rosen, aye. mr. cruz, aye. ms. lummis, aye.

the clerk: mr. peters, aye.

the clerk: mr. mcconnell, aye.

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

vote: the clerk: mr. paul, aye.

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

the clerk: mr. booker, aye.

the clerk: mr. johnson, aye.

the presiding officer: on this vote the yeas are 96. the nays are 1. the nomination is confirmed. under the previous order, the motion to reconsider is considered made and laid upon the table and the president will be immediately notified of the senate's action. 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 249, general eric m. smith for appointment as commandant of the marine corps, an appointment in the united states marine corps to the grade indicated while assigned to aption of porns and responsibility -- a position of importance and responsibility, section 601, to be general signed by 19 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 general eric m. smith for appointment as commandant of the marine corps and appointment in the united states marine corps to the grade indicated while assigned to a position of importance and responsibility under title 10, united states code, sections 601 and 8043 to be general shall be brought to a close. the yeas and nays are mandatory under the rule. the clerk will call the roll. the clerk: ms. baldwin. mr. barrasso. mr. bennet. mrs. blackburn. mr. blumenthal. mr. booker. mr. boozman. mr. braun. mrs. britt.

mr. brown. mr. budd. ms. cantwell. mrs. capito. mr. cardin. mr. carper. mr. casey. mr. cassidy. ms. collins. mr. coons. mr. cornyn. ms. cortez masto. mr. cotton. mr. cramer. mr. crapo. mr. cruz. mr. daines. ms. duckworth. mr. durbin. ms. ernst.

mrs. feinstein. mr. fetterman. mrs. fischer. mrs. gillibrand. mr. graham. mr. grassley. mr. hagerty. ms. hassan. mr. hawley. mr. heinrich. mr. hickenlooper. ms. hirono. mr. hoeven. mrs. hyde-smith. mr. johnson. mr. kaine. mr. kelly. mr. kennedy. mr. king. ms. klobuchar. mr. lankford. mr. lee. mr. lujan. ms. lummis. mr. manchin. mr. markey. mr. marshall.

mr. mcconnell. mr. menendez. mr. merkley. mr. moran. mr. mullin. ms. murkowski. mr. murphy. mrs. murray. mr. ossoff. mr. padilla. mr. paul. mr. peters. mr. reed. mr. ricketts. mr. risch. mr. romney. ms. rosen. mr. rounds. mr. rubio. mr. sanders. mr. schatz. mr. schmitt. mr. schumer. mr. scott of florida. mr. scott of south carolina. mrs. shaheen. ms. sinema. ms. smith. ms. stabenow. mr. sullivan. mr. tester. mr. thune. mr. tillis. mr. tuberville.

mr. van hollen. mr. vance. mr. warner. mr. warnock. ms. warren. mr. welch. mr. whitehouse. mr. wicker. mr. wyden. mr. young. senators voting in the affirmative -- baldwin, blumenthal, booker, boozman, brown, cantwell, coons, cornyn, crapo, fetterman, graham, grassley, kennedy, king,

lankford, lummis, moran, rubio, schatz, stabenow, tester, and tillis. no senator voted in the negative. ms. hirono, aye.

the clerk: ms. hyde-smith, aye.

ms. sinema, aye. the clerk: mr. warnock, aye.

the clerk: mrs. blackburn, aye. mrs. fischer, aye. the clerk: ms. collins, aye.

the clerk: mr. johnson, aye. mr. wicker, aye. mr. schmitt, aye.

the clerk: mr. scott of florida, aye. mr. hawley, aye. ms. klobuchar, aye.

the clerk: mr. heinrich, aye.

mr. mcconnell, aye. the clerk: mr. whitehouse, aye. mrs. shaheen, aye.

the clerk: mr. barrasso, aye.

the clerk: ms. smith, aye.

the clerk: mr. reed, aye. mr. cardin, aye. ms. duckworth, aye. the clerk: mr. warner, aye.

mr. merkley, aye. mr. durbin, aye. mr. mullin, aye. mr. rounds, aye. mr. carper, aye. mr. budd, aye. mr. ricketts, aye. ms. warren, aye. mr. thune, aye.

mr. peters, aye. mr. wyden, aye. the clerk: ms. rosen, aye.

the clerk: mr. schumer, aye.

mr. ossoff, aye.

the clerk: mr. cramer, aye. the clerk: mr. capito, aye.

the clerk: ms. ernst, aye.

the clerk: mr. padilla, aye. mr. menendez, aye. mr. risch, aye.

the clerk: mr. cruze, -- mr. cr.

the clerk: mrs. murray, aye. mr. cotton, aye.

the clerk: ms. cortez masto, aye. the clerk: mr. paul, aye.

mr. tuberville, aye. mr. sullivan, aye.

the clerk: mr. braun, aye.

mr. lujan, aye. mr. kaine, aye. mr. murphy, aye. mr. casey, aye. ms. hassan, aye.

the clerk: mr. markey, aye. mr. hagerty, aye.

the clerk: mr. daines, aye. mr. lee, aye. mr. van hollen, aye. mr. marshall, aye. mr. bennet, aye.

the clerk: mr. hickenlooper, aye.

the clerk: mr. sanders, aye.

mr. cassidy, aye. mr. vance, aye.

the clerk: mr. hoeven, aye. the clerk: mrs. britt, aye.

the clerk: mr. welch, aye. the clerk: mrs. gillibrand, aye.

mr. young, aye.

the clerk: mr. kelly, aye.

the presiding officer: the very is 96 yea, zero nay. the motion is agreed to. the clerk will report the nomination. the clerk: nomination, marine corps, general eric smith for appointment as commandant of the marine corps and appointment in the united states marine corps to the grade indicated while assigned to a position of importance and responsibility under title 10, usc, section 61 61601 and 8043, to be general.

mr. cruz: mr. president. the presiding officer: the senator from texas. mr. cruz: mr. president, since 1790, the coast guard, our nation's oldest continuous sea-going service, has been the world's premier force in maritime safety, security, and stewardship. guided by its core values of honor, respect, and devotion to duty, the coast guard is a symbol of resolve to our adversaries and of hope to those in peril at sea. our nation relies on more than 50,000 members of the coast guard each day to keep our country safe, to project national power, and to champion the rule of law and governance on our waters and beyond. in texas, coast guard members are on patrol 365 days a year.

from station south padre island to sector houston galveston and beyond, coast guard members keep our citizens and our country safe. just this week, a coast guard air station houston helicopter crew completed a daring rescue saving the life of after mariner 10 miles off the coast of galveston, texas. when our nation calls, the coast guard is always ready to answer. as the ranking member of the senate commerce committee, which has responsibility for policies affecting the coast guard and coast guard servicemembers and their families, i believe that in the event of a shutdown, the coast guard must be paid. without question and without delay. that's why last week i introduced the bipartisan pay our coast guard act, which would

treat coast guardsmen the same as all other servicemembers for purposes of pay and benefits if there is a lapse in appropriations. if a continuing resolution is not passed, the prudent thing to do, the right thing to do is to agree now that we will pay the men and women of the coast guard. that's what this bill does. if there is a shutdown, military personnel from all branches of the armed forces will keep working. in past shutdowns, congress acted swiftly to pay our troops, but since the coast guard is housed in the department of homeland security and not the department of defense, coast guardsmen were left out. they weren't compensated. our bipartisan legislation, which i introduced along with senators cantwell, sullivan, and baldwin, avoids that scenario by

saying, if there is a shutdown, all of our armed forces, including the coast guard, must be paid. this bipartisan bill makes clear here and now that we will not take the coast guard hostage to a shutdown fight. while the american people can always count on the coast guard, the coast guard has not been always able to count on this chamber to do the right thing. during the last government shutdown, which was precipitated by the democrat majority in this chamber, in 2019 members of a single branch of our armed forces, the coast guard, worked without paychecks for 34 days, oftentimes alongside servicemembers of other branches who were still being paid.

the defense department was funded but the homeland security department was not. so i joined with several senate colleagues to advance a bill that would have treated members of the coast guard the same as those of the air force, the army, the navy, and the marine corps. that bill was brought up before the entire u.s. senate, but it was blocked by the democratic leader. the only thing necessary to ensure timely payment of every coast guard servicemember was for my colleagues across the aisle to withdraw their objection. regrettably you that did not happen. while coast guardsmen put their lives in danger protecting our maritime borders, some of their families were forced to resort to food pantries. and short-term loans to pay for housing. we have the opportunity today to get that right. last month we marked the 233rd

birthday of the coast guard. to commemorate the occasion, this chamber unanimously passed a resolution that i introduced honoring the coast guard's excellence in maritime border security. the resolution also expressed the senate's gratitude for the coast guard's work in protecting our people and our borders from illegal immigration and keeping deadly drugs like cocaine and fentanyl from entering the united states. again, that resolution passed the senate unanimously in july. i hope to see similar unanimous support for the coast guard from my colleagues today. let's not wait until we know if there's going to be a shutdown or not to make sure that coast guardsmen are treated fairly and equitably. let's act now to show the coast guardsmen who keep us safe that we've got their back as well.

let's do the right thing by making clear that if we pay our department of defense troops, we're also going to pay our troops from the coast guard. at this point i want to yield to my colleague, the senator from alaska, senator sullivan. mr. sullivan: mr. president. the presiding officer: the senator from alaska. mr. sullivan: i want to thank my colleague and friend, senator cruz from texas, where he has presented our bill, the pay our coast guard act, which he noted is a bipartisan bill in the commerce committee. the chairman, the ranking member -- i am the ranking member on the subcommittee in charge of the coast guard. the chair of that committee, senator baldwin, is also a cosponsor of this bill. senator cruz laid it out really well. this is a very simple bill. the men and women who protect our coastline, who protect our country, who are in the military, who i see working so

hard risking their lives day in, day out in alaska, where we have some of the most members of the coast guard stationed in our great state than almost any other state, they need to be protected and they need to know the united states senate has their back. now it's kind of hard to believe what senator cruz just mentioned, but let me repeat what happened in 2019 when there was a partial government shutdown, every branch of the u.s. military -- the army, the navy, the marine corps, the air force -- they all got paid. they all got paid, with one exception. the coast guard. imagine how you felt if you were in the coast guard watching your brothers and sisters in the other services getting paid and you weren't. there were operations going on

in the persian gulf, where members of the marine corps, the navy and the coast guard were doing joint operations against iranian aggression, and one of those members on those ships and boats wasn't getting paid. the coast guard members. so this happened you, mr. president, in america. as a matter of fact, the commandant of the coast guard at the time, admiral carl schultz said, quote, this marks the first time in our nation's history that servicemembers in a u.s. armed force have not been paid during a lapse in government appropriations. so what are we doing on the floor today? we are saying let's not let this happen again. in the event after shutdown, which none of us want, let's make sure that what happened -- and senator cruz just mentioned it -- coast guard men and women across the country, including

in alaska, woke up for 34 days, did not know whether they were going to get a paycheck and essentially had to rely on donations from the communities in which they served, to do their job. the communities came together, and that was a wonderful thing. but i have committed to my coast guard members and alaska and throughout the country this should never happen again. this is a no-brainer. and i certainly hope no senator is going to come down here and object and say well, there's an appropriations issue. come on, this is a right or wrong issue. fix it. we're trying to fix it right now. mr. president, i was the one who came down during the last government shutdown and tried to get unanimous consent. i talked to the president of the united states. he said he was going to sign our bill to pay the coast guard, and the democratic minority leader at the time blocked it.

i certainly hope none of our colleagues, democrat or republican, are going to block it again. this is a bipartisan bill. it makes sense. and the coast guard and their family members are watching. does the u.s. senate have their back or not? i strongly encourage my colleagues to work with us to pass our pay our coast guard act bill right now. the presiding officer: the senator from texas. mr. cruz: i thank senator sullivan for his excellent heartfelt remarks. mr. president, as if in legislative session, i ask unanimous consent that the committee on appropriations be discharged from further consideration of s. 2791, the pay our coast guard act, and that the senate proceed to its immediate consideration. further, that the bill be considered read a third time and passed and that the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table. the presiding officer: is there objection?

a senator: mr. president. the presiding officer: the senator from washington. mrs. murray: mr. president, reserving the right to object. i share my colleagues' concern with making sure that the men and women of the coast guard get the pay they deserve in a timely way. in fact, i don't want any of our federal workers to miss a paycheck. but this bill, which essentially says the coast guard gets paid as long as other members of our armed services are being paid, won't actually stop anyone from missing a paycheck in a few weeks, because the looming shutdown would also stop pay for the military. i appreciate my colleagues want to talk about how coast guard pay is handled compared to other branches of our armed services, but respectfully, the pressing issue right now is making sure everyone gets paid, and we prevent a completely unnecessary shutdown that would hurt our families across the country, which is why, mr. president, i am working around the clock to make sure we pass a bipartisan c.r. and supplemental package,

and i'd urge all of my colleagues to join me in that effort. and i object. the presiding officer: the objection is heard. mr. cruz: mr. president. the presiding officer: the senator from texas. mr. cruz: mr. president, i want every member of the dosed understand -- of the coast guard to sphawnd what happened. we are nine days away from the expiration of government fund. no one here knows whether a shutdown will happen or not, but it is not complicated with partisan divisions in washington that there is a very real risk of a shutdown. i believe president biden and the majority leader of the senate, senator schumer, want a shutdown. whether they want it or not, it is clear there is a very real risk. and if nine days from now what happened in 2019 happens again, which is that our soldiers are paid, our sailors are paid, our airmen are paid, our marines are paid, but our

coastled -- coast guardsmen are left in the lurch. that's what happened in 2019 when senator sullivan and i came to the floor, tried to take care of our coast guardsmen, and a senator objected. and if nine days from now their paychecks stopped you will know why. it is because of two simple words uttered on behalf of democrat leadership -- i object. had the democrats not said those words -- i object -- our coast guardsmen would be paid in nine days. understand this legislation, as senator sullivan pointed out, is bipartisan legislation. it is authored by the chairman and ranking member of the commerce committee and the chairman and ranking member of the subcommittee with jurisdiction over the coast guard. and yet, democrat leadership wants to engage in a partisan battle with the house of representatives, and they want to hold the men and women of the

coast guard hostage. i'm going to urge the democrat leadership to reconsider. i don't know whether we'll have a shutdown or not, but i know it is unfair to treat coast guardsmen like the red-haired stepchild of our armed forces. the men and women of the coast guard, when disaster strikes -- and look, i saw firsthand when hurricane harvey hit texas -- the incredible heroism of coast guardsmen who risked their lives to save people in harm's way. what just happened on the senate floor is not right, and i would encourage democrat leadership to listen to their own democrat chairman of the commerce committee, ranking member of the coast guard committee and say we are going to end this unfair discrimination against the coast guard. we're going to treat our armed forces with equity, and regardless of dysfunction in washington, we are going to pay

our coast guard. it's the right thing to do, and i would urge members from both sides of the aisle to come together and say just as we know the coast guard has our back if we're in trouble, that we've got their back as well. it's the right thing to do. i yield the floor. a senator: mr. president. the presiding officer: the senator from alaska. mr. sullivan: mr. president, i'm shocked, disappointed, to be honest, stunned. i didn't think anyone was going to object to this bill. it makes no sense to do so. i didn't understand the senator from washington's explanation. her colleague from washington is actually the chairman of the commerce committee and a cosponsor of this bill. so again, this is a no-brainer. none of us want a government shutdown, but if it happens, we can't let what happened in 2019 be repeated. and what happened in 2019 was every member of the military services was paid with the

exception of the coast guard. and i've told them we won't let that happen again. so i'm going to keep coming down on the floor with senator cruz, and we're going to get this bill passed. and if you're watching, you're a coast guard member and you understand what happened, democratic leadership in the u.s. senate just blocked this bill, a bipartisan bill to make sure you get treated fairly in the event of a government shutdown. it's the right thing to do. senator cruz and i will keep working it to make sure this happens. i yield the floor. the presiding officer: is there objection? without objection, the question is on the nomination.

is there a sufficient second? there appears to be. the clerk will call the roll. the clerk: ms. baldwin. mr. barrasso. mr. bennet. mrs. blackburn. mr. blumenthal. mr. booker. mr. boozman. mr. braun. mrs. britt. mr. brown. mr. budd. ms. cantwell. mrs. capito. mr. cardin. the clerk: mr. carper. mr. casey. mr. cassidy. ms. collins.

mr. coons. mr. cornyn. ms. cortez masto. mr. cotton. mr. cramer. mr. crapo. mr. cruz. mr. daines. ms. duckworth. mr. durbin. ms. duckworth. mr. durbin. ms. ernst.

mrs. feinstein. mr. fetterman. mrs. fischer. mrs. gillibrand. mr. graham. mr. grassley. mr. hagerty. ms. hassan. mr. hawley. mr. heinrich. mr. hickenlooper.

ms. hirono. mr. hoeven. mrs. hyde-smith. mr. johnson. mr. kaine. mr. kelly. mr. kennedy. mr. king. ms. klobuchar. mr. lankford. mr. lee.

mr. lujan. ms. lummis. mr. manchin. mr. markey. mr. marshall. mr. mcconnell. mr. menendez. mr. merkley. mr. moran. mr. mullin.

ms. murkowski. mr. murphy. mrs. murray. mr. ossoff. mr. padilla. mr. paul. mr. peters. mr. reed. mr. ricketts. mr. risch. mr. romney.

ms. rosen. mr. rounds. mr. rubio. mr. sanders. mr. schatz. mr. schmitt. mr. schumer. mr. scott of florida. mr. scott of south carolina. mrs. shaheen.

ms. sinema. ms. smith. ms. stabenow. mr. sullivan. mr. tester. mr. thune. mr. tillis. mr. tuberville. mr. van hollen. mr. vance.

mr. warner. mr. warnock. ms. warren. mr. welch. mr. whitehouse. mr. wicker. mr. wyden. mr. young.

senators voting in the affirmative, baldwin, braun, brown, cardin, cassidy, collins, cornyn, cramer, crapo, cruz, durbin, hassan, heinrich, hyde-smith, kennedy, king, marshall, mullin, murray, paul, peters, rounds, rubio, schatz, schmitt, schumer, shaheen, sullivan, tester, tillis, tuberville, vance, warner, wicker and wyden. no senator voted in the negative.

mr. kaine, aye. the clerk: ms. smith, aye. mr. grassley, aye. ms. stabenow, aye. ms. hirono, aye.

mr. graham, aye. mr. van hollen, aye. mr. merkley, aye. mr. murphy, aye. mr. reed, aye.

the clerk: mr. risch, aye. mr. hagerty, aye. mr. fetterman, aye.

mr. casey, aye. mrs. fischer, aye. ms. warren, aye. mr. ricketts, aye. ms. sinema, aye.

the clerk: mr. daines, aye. the clerk: mr. barrasso, aye.

mr. lankford, aye. mr. budd, aye. mr. boozman, aye. mr. padilla, aye. the clerk: mr. young, aye. mr. warnock, aye.

vote:

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

the clerk: mrs. gillibrand, aye. mr. manchin, aye. mr. carper, aye.

ms. cortez masto, aye. the clerk: mrs. britt, aye.

mr. johnson, aye. mr. capito, aye. mr. mcconnell, aye.

the clerk: ms. klobuchar, aye. the clerk: mr. welch, aye. mr. hawley, aye.

the clerk: mr. booker, aye.

the clerk: mr. kelly, aye.

the clerk: mr. thune, aye. mr. moran, aye. mr. hickenlooper, aye.

the clerk: mr. scott of florida, aye.

mr. coons, aye.

the clerk: mr. whitehouse, aye. the clerk: ms. duckworth, aye.

the clerk: mr. cotton, aye.

vote: the clerk: mr. lujan, aye.

the clerk: mr. bennet, aye. mr. hoeven, aye. ms. ernst, aye. the clerk: mr. blumenthal, aye.

mr. lee, aye. mr. ossoff, aye.

the clerk: ms. rosen, aye. ms. cantwell, aye.

the clerk: ms. lummis, aye. the clerk: mr. markey, aye.

the presiding officer: on this vote the yeas are 96. the nays are zero. and the nomination is confirmed. under the previous order, the motion to reconsider is considered made and laid upon the table and the president will be immediately notified of the senate's action. the senator from florida. a senator: mr. president, i was governor of florida from january

2011 to january 2019. mr. scott: and we had a variety of disasters. we had four major hurricanes. we had wildfires. we had flooding, a variety of things. and what you find out in that role as governor is you find out the importance of the federal government. the fema is very important to disaster relief. disaster relief is partially borne by whoever is impacted, family or business. partially it's impacted by the city or county, partially by the state and partially by the federal government. my experience with fema is they're hardworking individuals that work hard to try to be a good partner with our states. last september, about 12 months ago, we had a horrible hurricane in our state, hurricane ian. we lost over 150 people. we had unbelievable damage. fema had been a partner in hurricane relief. just recently about three weeks

ago, four weeks ago we had another hurricane idalia and again fee ma came down -- fema came down and is a partner in that hurricane relief. i met with president biden about three weeks ago when he came down to tour the damage and talked to him about the importance of getting fema fully funded. there've a federal disaster relief fund that's part of fema and it pays for things like debris pickup, helps individuals that have lost their homes, helps our small businesses, a variety of things like that. right now they have -- right now this thing is getting low on funds. i checked on september 11. it's down to two and a half billion dollars and they project by the end of this month trks will be down to $550 million. there's a community in this country that's getting impacted by the fema disaster relief

fund. so i've been trying for months to get a vote on a bill which is pretty common sense. number one, it will put funds into fema so they can provide help for all these communities in every state. number two, the next thing it does is it helps our farmers. our farmers in florida have been waiting for almost 12 months for relief from the department of agriculture. hishistorically what the departt of agriculture did, especially when i was governor, they would provide a block grant to the state to our farmers so the money could get out to our farmers quicker. for whatever reason, secretary vilsack, secretary of ag decided he has to have a separate legislation from congress that gives him specific authority that he can do a block grant. it has never happened before but for whatever reason he believes it has to happen now. that's in this bill. the army corps of engineers is a key part.

i know our presiding officer had wildfires, and i'm sure their beaches have been impacted. so it would also help our army corps of engineers help with beach renourishment after a disaster. so mine is a commonsense bill that impacts some community in every state in the country, so what i'm asking for is a stand-alone vote on my bill, which is called the federal disaster relief responsibility ability. as if in legislative session, i ask unanimous consent that the finance committee be discharged from further consideration of s. 2712 and the senate proceed to its immediate consideration. i further ask that scott-rubio substitute at the desk be considered and agreed to, the bill, as amended, be considered read a third time, and that the senate vote on passage of the bill, as amended, with a 60-vote affirmative threshold required for passage of the bill. if passed, the motions to

reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table. the presiding officer: is there objection? mr. whitehouse: mr. president. the presiding officer: the senator from rhode island. mr. whitehouse: reserving the right to object, may i say that i appreciate that senator scott would like to accelerate disasters aid to his home state, but let me observe that disasters have taken place not only in florida but in the presiding officer's home state of hawaii, in vermont, and louisiana and other states as well. what president biden did is made a request to congress in august to pass a comprehensive emergency supplemental that includes an increase in funding for fema's disaster relief fund. it also includes $45 million for the department of ag and $15 million for the department of interior to support more than 20,000 firefighters who are out there braving this explosions in new wildfires that are taking place across our country.

this is driven by climate change. let's be clear about that a we've had 14 named storms so far in the 2023 hurricane season. if you look back at last year, weather-related damage in the united states topped $165 billion. we've had testimony in my budget committee that an omb climate change will cost the federal budget $2 trillion per year. we cannot address this piecemeal, and we cannot address it only by providing disaster relief and not doing anything useful to head off these risks. some of these are what economists call systemic risks. systemic doesn't sound like it's a very big word, but what it means is the risk cascades out of the area where the economic harm is taking place senior senator trash the whole -- taking place to trash the whole economy. that's predicted for coastal property value crash, that's

predicted for a wildfire uninsurability crash, that's predicted for a carbon bubble crash. and the insurance meltdown mass already begun in florida, in louisiana, and in texas. so the warning signs of another 2008-scale financial crisis are already flashing red and behind those immediate warning signs looms the collapse of earth's basic natural operating systems. -- that science has predicted for decades and with real precision. we need to do a lot more than just -- we do need to clean up the disasters, but we also need to get the pre-disaster preparation resources in, because we know this is coming and we know it's getting works and we absolutely -- getting worse and we absolutely needed to head off the root cause, which is fossil fuel emissions choking our atmosphere with

greenhouse greenhouse gases, heating up the earth, and causing us to spin out from basic conditions of habitability of the earth that have existed for tens of thousands of years. so what we should do is pass the continuing resolution with full funding for the president's supplemental request for fema's disaster relief fund, for the department of interior firefighting money and while we're at it because president zelenskyy was here that i had, i'll also add that it's really person to continue to support ukraine. so for those reasons, i will object. the presiding officer: objection is heard. mr. scott: mr. president. the presiding officer: the senator from florida. mr. scott: i appreciate my colleague's concern about some of these other issues, and i think we ought to have a discussion about those and see if we can get something done. but right now the disaster relief fund is going to be down to $550 million by the end of this month. there's a community in every state, and this fund is only --

it only covers where it fits within the parameters where fema says that the federal government is responsible for a portion of it. but this would help a community in every state in the country. so i hope at some point we can get this passed. there is a community in every state in this country that is getting impacted by this. thank you. the presiding officer: the senior senator from iowa. mr. grassley: before i speak, i would like to ask unanimous consent that sylvia system of imber, a detailee in my office, be granted floor privileges for the remainder of the congress. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. grassley: earlier this year chairman whitehouse and i began bipartisan work to investigate credit suisse's

nazi-linked accounts. today i would like to discuss this important bipartisan work and thank senator whitehouse and his staff for their assistance on this very important topic. in march of 2020, simon wiesenthal center notified credit suisse that it found previously undisclosed information related to the bank's nazi ties. the bank, to its credit, initially took steps in the right direction and agreed to investigate. it even retained a research firm to conduct a forensic review. it even retained former tarp inspector general leo barshefsky to oversee that review as an

independent ombudsman, and they also had u.s. envoy ira foreman as an independent advisor. but after credit suisse hired a new general consul -- so, a new person stepped in -- the bank paused its review, limited experts' access to records, and terminated barshefsky and foreman. very odd acts to take compared to the positive start of this investigation. anyway, the bank cited performance issues for the termination. well, the then-general consul's predecessor never expressed those concerns, and the bank's

research firm described barofsky as professional. and i happen to know some of barofsky's work, and he is, in fact, a professional. barofsky drafted a report about what he observed at the bank and found, as he was contractually obligated to do. so chairman whitehouse and i issued the budget committee's first subpoena since 1991 to obtain that report. credit suisse had prevented barofsky from providing us a fully unredacted report. ultimately, we not only obtained that report, fully unredacted, but also the bank's own report. so then what did chairman whitehouse and i find?

credit suisse did not review and investigate all relevant records. for example, credit suisse did not use a full data set from its predecessor's bank. it consistently collected and reviewed information such as account balances. credit suisse failed to review allegations that nazi heirs had sought access to bank accounts. when the reviewpointed to evidence of wrongdoing beyond argentina, credit suisse stated the information was, quote-unquote, out of scope. and then didn't do any investigation. now, even after those limitations, the reports

revealed new information, including nearly 100 -- and let me emphasize 100 previously undisclosed nazi-linked accounts. some accounts remained open as recently as the year 2020. and when we finally got an unredacted version, it showed evidence that 64,000 -- let me emphasize, 64,000 sets of potentially relevant records related to nazi-linked accounts were not part of the investigation. credit suisse claims that they are irrelevant without giving us a sufficient explanation. credit suisse also bought its independent oversight that included barofsky, foreman, and also an historian hired to

assist the investigations from accessing critical evidence. the reports also raised brand-new questions about the bank's potential support for nazis fleeing justice following world war ii via the infamous rat lines. until pressured by chairman whitehouse, credit suisse had refused to fully investigate allegations of its potential role aiding nazis escaped from justice via the rat lines. so today, despite multiple requests, credit suisse still refuses to share exactly details on the scopes of its ongoing rat line review. this is unacceptable.

and you know what else is unacceptable? credit suisse's actions after we made those reports public are unacceptable. the bank issued a press release on april 19 of this year filled with one excuse after another. the bank's press release essentially ignored its own report. it also incorrectly claimed full cooperation with the committee's oversight, despite the bank objecting to the committee receiving a fully unredacted copy of the barofsky report until july 31, and despite failing to provide a full report of the ratlines review.

then the bank petitioned a federal court against the simon wiesenthal center. the thank bank says that -- the thank says that litigation from -- the bank says that litigation from the 1990's provided full disclosure in all matters righted to the holocaust and world war ii. now, this seems to me that the bank is trying to silence a prominent, very prominent jewish human rights organization. ironically, as the bank continues down this road, it appears to be creating a modern-day david versus goliath story. notably, it was the bank that initiated the new review that i've discussed with my fellow senators here today.

credit suisse acknowledged the potential for investigating -- for the investigation to result in settlements or restitution. the fact the bank has since agreed to fully review its reported role with the rat lines also showed that we're dealing with a whole new set of facts. but now let's take a step back. i've listed numbers and i've listed figures. let's not forget that we're talking here about not facts and figures; we're talking about real people. victims of atrocities perpetrated through the holocaust. credit suisse and now ubs as the new owner must embrace the

sunlight, which of course we all know in government is the best disinfectant. so here's my advice -- accept historical facts and own those facts. they ought to play a positive role in exposing the historical evils of the nazis once and for all. credit suisse and now ubs has a responsibility to expose all information related to its historic servicing of nazis during and also following world war ii. they owe it to the holocaust victims, survivors, and to the world community. this information is very critical to a more complete record, and it will also allow us to learn from history to create a more peaceful, just

future. we must learn from history to prevent the mistakes of the past from those mistakes being repeated again. simon wiesenthal once said, and i'll quote him, justice for crimes against humanity must have no limitations. end of quote. so i encourage credit suisse and ubs to bring this matter to a positive conclusion worthy of history's eyes. i yield. a senator: mr. president. the presiding officer: the senator from rhode island. mr. whitehouse: mr. president, this year with full bipartisan support, the senate budget committee issued its first subpoena in more than 30 years. ranking member grassley has just recounted how his office received credible information

about credit suisse's historical servicing of nazi clients and their enablers, and the budget committee responded by issuing a subpoena compelling the production of relevant documents. senator grassley and his team brought this request to me and my team, and i thank him for bringing this to the committee and for his commitment to pursuing justice for holocaust survivors and their families. when we first launched this investigation, i said, and i will say it again, when presented with credible evidence of yesterday swiss' nazi ties the budget committee had an obligation to investigate. the subpoenaed records shined new light on credit suisse's nazi ties uncovering nearly 100 previously undisclosed information. our investigate revealed the servicing of many of those accounts until as recently as 2020. for all that this investigation revealed, it also raised new

questions about credit suisse's role in supporting nazi's fleeing justice following world war ii via the so-called escape rat lines. because of the budget committee's investigation, credit suisse has expanded the scope of its unfortunately investigation to look into those questions. the bank has committed to producing follow-up reports produced by forensic accountants, om burdens -- om buds men. we stand ready to pursue whatever information will fully shine light into this dark chapter. i will take this opportunity to talk about the importance of strong congressional oversight. many see congress only as our nation's legislative body. while legislating is certainly our most recognizable function, our oversight and investigative functions are not to be overlooked. as the supreme court recognized in 1927, the power of inquiry with process to enforce it is an essential and appropriate auxiliary to the legislative function.

a legislative body cannot legislate wisely or effectively in the absence of information respecting the conditions which the legislation is intended to affect or change. just recently in the case of trump v. mazars, the supreme court said of congress that without information, congress would be shooting in the dark, unable to legislate wisely or effectively. so investigations like ours demonstrate what good congressional oversight can achieve. advancing transparency, pursuing justice, ensuring corporate accountability, whether it's holding companies responsible for their involvement with the nazis, as in this case, or shining light on companies that are poisoning our planet while making hardworking americans foot the bill, or just promoting good, transparent corporate citizenship, i pledge as chairman of the budget committee to determine who is complicit in the looming systemic risks to the federal budget and the u.s. economy. especially where we work

together across the aisle, we can accomplish big goals on behalf of the american people. that is why i partnered with ranking member grassley on this investigation. that's why our staffs continue to work together on other investigations. so senator grassley, thank you again for bringing this matter to the committee. thank you for your passionate pursuit of this issue. i share your commitment to leaving no stone unturned. and i yield the floor. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. quorum call:

a senator: mr. president. the presiding officer: the senior senator from maryland. mr. cardin: i would ask consent that the quorum call be dispensed with. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. cardin: thank you,

mr. president. i rise today to highlight an historic moment which will help millions of older americans and families access affordable prescription drugs. for too long u.s. families have paid the highest prices compared to other countries, often leading to millions of americans to leave their pharmacy counter empty-handed. with the passage and implementation of the inflation reduction act under president biden's leadership, democrats are answering the call of the american people for affordable, accessible prescription drugs. no one should have to go into debt to buy the prescription drugs they need to live a healthy, productive life. yet, this is a dilemma many families in the united states face. 29% of americans either cannot afford their prescription drugs or are rationing them. the united states stands alone in this among our developed-nation peers. the u.s. spends about $600

billion annually on prescription drugs. in 2019, the latest year in which international comparable data from oecd is available, the united states spent over $1100 per capita on prescription medicines, with -- and when you compare that to the other oecd countries, it is twice as much. getting worse. by 2021, the u.s. spent over $1400 per capita on prescription drugs. americans and marylanders are struggling to pay for their prescription medicines. it is long past time for congress to take decidive action to deal with this -- decisive action to deal with this issue. prescription drugs have been lifesaving for millions, but if they are are unaffordable, their benefit is lost. high prescription drug prices drive health inequities we are fighting to eradicate since groups in fear of poor health

struggle to afford their medications. u.s. prescription drug prices are set through a dplikd procesd process, by manufacturers, pharmaceutical benefit managers, and payers. prices are often disconnected from the health impacts of the products that, being purchased. opponents of addressing the high prescription drug prices claim more affordable prices will come at the expense of innovation. i must tell you, i disagree with that, and research also tells us that that is just not true. to ensure access to innovative treatments and prescriptions, the united states government, thanks to the u.s. taxpayer, makes significant investments in biomedical research. no greater example of this is the national institutes of health, located in my home state of maryland, which is the world's largest funder of biomedical research. almost all drugs rely on nih-supported basic science in their development. the returns on these investments

are very high. mr. president, we've doubled down on this in the chips and science bill, putting more money into basic biomedical research. rye searchers from the massachusetts institution of technology found that for each $125 million nih grant leads to $375 million as a three-to-one ratio more in private market value. 33 more patients and one new drug. another study estimated that the rate of return on nih investments is 43% and that each dollar of nih funding leads to an additional $8.40 in private research and development spending. these are great public investments, and it's leading to innovation, it's leading to development of new drugs. further, the small business innovation research and small business technology transfer programs also supports innovation, known as the sbir,

sbtrt programs conduct research and development. this is just another example of government-supported research that is inspiring new innovation and discovery. sbir began in 1982. it currently requires each federal agency spending more than $100 million annually on external research set aside 3.2% of these funds for awards to small bimses. sb -- small businesses. sbir is very selective. only about 22% of applicants receive funding. for many small businesses, the sbir serves as the first place many entrepreneurs are involved in technology innovation and go for their funding. through the sbir, sttr program, nih supports drug innovation by setting aside more than 3.2% of the overall intramural budget, specifically to support small businesses through our nation.

many companies leverage this nih funding to attract partners and investors needed to take innovation to the market. mr. president, i had the honor of chairing the small business committee in the united states senate. small businesses are the innovators of america. they're the ones coming up with new discoveries. thanks to this government program, thanks to these government-supported partnerships, our small companies are leading in biomedical developments. i must tell you, thanks to small bimses -- small bimses, -- small businesses. emgem received an sbir investment in 1986 as a small company. today, it is a multinational biopharmaceutical company with over 20,000 employees. that's creating jobs, good jobs, here for americans. despite these significant taxpayer investments, prescription drugs are often

priced at levels that limit access to lifesaving drugs, particularly among those who are underinsured or uninsured. even after accounting for the costs and risks of r&d, evidence shows the returns to new products exceed the normal rates of return. for years, congress has been working on commonsense solutions to increase access to affordable prescription medications, reducing costs for patients and taxpayers. finally, last year, under president biden's leadership, congress passed the inflation reduction act. this historic law removed a decade-old restriction on medicare negotiating directly for the price of prescription drugs. finally empowering medicare to get older americans the best prices for their prescription drugs. in the private sector, no plan sponsor or manager would ever accept responsibility without the ability to decide how to negotiate. no private sector would parcel

themselves out in order to negotiate. they would use their full-size of their market force. that's exactly what we did in the inflation reduction act to allow medicare to negotiate using its full market force to bring down the cost of prescription medicines for those under the medicare system. it should have been done originally. we got it done in the inflation reduction act. medicare negotiations will ensure patients with medicare get the best possible price on high-price drugs. three weeks ago the biden-harris administration announce ane first ten drugs to be part of the first rounds of negotiations. this historic occasion is the culmination of decades of efforts by democrats to make prescription drugs more affordable and accessible to medicare beneficiaries. the ten drugs chosen for negotiations are taken by ten million older americans, representing about $50 billion in annual spending.

they're used to treat conditions including blood clots, diabetes, cancer, heart failure, and rheumatoid arthritis. another policy included in the inflation reduction act is to increase prescription drugs' affordability by capping medicare patients' out-of-pocket costs at $3,000 in just a couple months, then lowering to $2,000 beginning in 2025. this policy will save medicare beneficiaries from paying tens of thousands of dollars to purchase lifesaving drugs prescribed by their doctors. there's more good news. as of this year, vaccines are free and medicare insulin is capped at $35 a month and drug companies are penalized if they raise prices faster than inflation. all these policies will make u.s. prescription drugs more affordable for individuals and families who desperately need them. democrats worked together to

pass the inflation reduction act and to make these policies a reality. today, i celebrate the progress we have made and urge all my senate colleagues to join in our efforts to continue making progress in leading the world in developing new drugs to improve health outcomes, and to make these drugs affordable to our constituents and lower the costs to the taxpayers of this country. mr. president, i yield the floor and suggest the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. the clerk: ms. baldwin. quorum call: call:

quorum call:

always a privilege to welcome the capital but rarely have we from a leader fighting for this country's survival and to reserve the idea of democracy. i told the members courageous man is a thoughtful, democracy and freedom and my message was simple. america must stand with our friends around the world and that includes the people of

ukraine. president zelenskyy could not arrive at a more crucial moment in this country. right now ukraine is engaged in a counteroffensive to reclaim their own territory and turned the tide of their conflict. it's a moment for congress, it's clear if we were to have a government shutdown without ukrainian aid, the damage would recur. we will lose the war. that's how sharp that is. our support for the ukrainian

people not just about ukrainian security and why cut off support now we are returning to the war investing resources to get to this? and it opposes communism in thirds with autocrats, giving him what he wants in ukraine, a terrible mistake and one i think would come back to haunt us more rapidly and quickly than people believe. now is not the time to take our foot off the gas. turning our backs to make the

world a safer american democracy. i commend him for his leadership in this country's history. i think him for his courage and steadfastness and i will keep working to ensure week continue supporting ukrainian people. an ominous case of déjà vu is playing out this week in the house of representatives. national crisis around the corner, a solution that demands bipartisanship speaker mccarthy wasting time catering to the hard motor right. it did not work in that crisis and it will not work here in the shutdown crisis. a few days ago house republicans released what they call a deal but in reality like a house

freedom is and devastating cut with all kinds of spending and so much more. the house gop proposal is even more extreme costing even more in standing possible chance of passing the u.s. senate. house republicans are trying to appease their country almost as if a small handful decide body of 435 members should do. it makes no sense. the hard right, many publicly say they want the government to shut down despite some.

that's what seems the republican leadership is doing. bipartisanship instead of decreasing chances of shutdown, mccarthy is increasing in by wasting time when everyone he knows cannot. instead of decreasing the chance of shutdown, speaker mccarthy is increasing by wasting time extremist proposal that cannot become law. many of us are united in the ukraine aid they have provided. only in agreement can get both parties able to pass the proposals have zero demographic input and efforts. ll? if so i ask that be -- that it be vitiated by unanimous consent. the presiding officer: without

objection. mr. moran: mr. president, thank you. on sunday, our border patrol reported more than 7,500 migrants illegally crossing the u.s.-mexico border. 7500 migrants crossed the border on sunday and monday there were more than 8,000 arrests along the southern border as more tried to cross the border on that day. these numbers haven't provoked any significant meaningful response from the biden administration and they are just shy -- even though they are just shy of the single-day record that was recorded in may after the end of title 42. every day i think that there's going to be a response, a reply, significant effort. it isn't necessarily a partisan issue, democrat mayor eric adam stated that new york city is being destroyed and it will cost

$12 billion after the influx of 10 million migrants across the southern border after the migrants have landed in the city. while 110 migrants is a massive, it is only a tiny fraction, compared to the 2.76 migrants that crossed the border in 2022. it has continued for so long, it seems like the biden administration has grown number to what in any circumstance would be considered a crisis, a crisis for the people who are crossing, a crisis for people in the united states, a crisis for people in new york city. gone are the days when the migrants showing up at our borders were from our neighboring countries to the south, our neighboring country to the south. now migrants are flooding in on trains from al salvadore, haiti,

nick nicaragua and china. we have a gaping hole between california and texas and our adversaries are already using that circumstance to their advantage. i visited the border with a bipartisan group of senators earlier this year and witnessed chinese nationals being apprehended by our border agents. this week it was reported that approximately 18,000 chinese nationals have been encountered at the southern border. this is compared to 2,000 in 2022 and only 450, still a big number, in 2021. also reported that -- also reported some of the individuals had ties to the chinese com-- chinese party -- chinese comnice party and not any one of them detained for a period of time. it succeeded the -- the fbi

report that i read with great concern about migrants with ties to isis that had been permitted to enter the country. customs and border patrol which is overworked and understaffed released an individual on the terrorist watch list into the country. the american people deserve answers from the secretary, secretary mayorkas and from the biden administration. i've been on this floor previously, numerous times, like many of my colleagues to make the case that the crisis at the southern border is causing an influx of illegal deadly drugs like fentanyl from china entering the united states and leading to the overdose deaths of thousands of americans. i made the case that this is a humanitarian crisis as mothers and children attempt to make the long, dangerous trek across mexico. along the way they faced hunger, heat waves, human trafficking

and drug cartels. the caravans with thousands of migrants continue to march on our southern border. border agents have been pulled away to deal with a record number of migrants and are left without the manpower to try to stop drugs and human trafficking spying and potential terrorists. for a long time we've worried about just people coming across our border violating our sovereignty, taking our jobs, but it is even more significant, more critical that we respond now as our law enforcement drug cartels, human trafficking, and now our national security harmed, harmed significantly by those who enter our country illegally to do us harm. president biden must act to ensure a stricter enforcement of our immigration laws, reinstate the crurks of a wall or fencing -- construction of a wall or fencing in areas that are largely unprotected, and the administration must send a message loud and clear that our

border is closed to unlawful intrafntses. way -- entrants. way past time we finish the law and give our law enforcement agents the tools to better protect our border. instead this administration is sitting on resources and paying storage fees for the unused border wall panels. in addition to the president's lack of action is just an amazing circumstance we find ourselves in, our national security is at stake and we fail to respond. i would say that we can do more than one thing at one time. i also believe that the senate should act to deliver lasting solutions to keep our border secure, keep our communities safe, and ensure humane treatment of migrants. we could start with taking a vote on the secure border act.

securing our southern border shouldn't be, and i hope isn't a republican or democratic issue. it's not a texas or new mexico or arizona issue. it's a national security issue. in speaking of national security, i'd be remiss if i didn't raise the importance of passing a supplemental appropriation that includes not only support for our efforts to contain the influx of people on our southern border, on our borders generally, but also shouldn't contain money to support the efforts by the ukrainian people to have a free country. while ukrainian forces have not made a decisive breakthrough in the counteroffensive, they're making incremental progress that deserves our ongoing support. the assistance from the united states has sent to ukraine has been accounted for by multiple

inspector generals. a failure on our part to remain committed would shake the confidence in the united states and allied capitals around the globe. this in turn could lead to more aggression by more adversaries. now is not the time to give up on ukraine. vladimir putin is counting on us doing so. his only way to win, his only way to win is to hang in long enough until the west, until the united states and our allies grow tired or otherwise become distracted. america's resolve against russia's aggression should be unwavering. the world is watching and judging american dependability. if we are found unreliable, the world will become an even more dangerous place. if we fail the world becomes a more dangerous place. this is certainly about ukraine but it's about the security and safety of the people of the united states.

looking the other way is not an option. what is happening at our southern border and in fact what is happening well beyond our borders in europe needs -- both need a serious response. security of our country, the security of american citizens, the security of kansans depend upon it. mr. president, i yield the floor and notice the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. the clerk: ms. baldwin. quorum call:

our own direct interest because russian military power hopes to turn strategic adversaries. position with china and global opposition to the biden administration approved the

challenge is competition present. the secretary of commerce and targeted with her official e-mail and cyber attack weeks earlier. president xi jinping's watch in these companies.

workers inside refocuses business leaders. the biden administration is negotiating trade deals with allies and partners and trade with communist china. officials in these efforts and china will never let down vigilance because of the beautiful words of the u.s. the only time the biden administration is literally and figuratively, remember his trip to beijing, common ground on

green energy and publicly pledge carbon emissions with the better part of a decade. our former colleagues failed president xi jinping or foreign minister perhaps not discussed before and it already make that official disappear. america's single greatest strategic adversary. political relations in beijing not because of insufficient economic times but china's efforts to intimidate efforts to

spy on communications and undermined these markets. the sooner the biden administration has this reality, they engage more deeply, allies and partners who share our interest and preserve the peace. escalation against ukraine and allies in europe a valuable lesson for economic over reliance. across europe our allies take a look for this dictatorship in beijing, friendship without limits was moscow. the foreign minister of oakley warns part economic dependence

on the prc. they have long been concerned with the growing assertiveness. russia is specific air and naval presence. americans who focus single-mindedly on the indo pacific and russia's military in that region, russia and china had joined patrol off the coast of alaska, the largest operation in anyone's memory. these are not going to go away. there economic envoys and competition will continue and

time to work more closely with friends and allies and invest more seriously in industrial capacity. the biden administration to prioritize actions. the biden administration yesterday is seeking new recruits and american energy. these new programs in the american crime in accord and sensible development like energy pipelines and initiatives and set up a taxpayer fund for activists and determine bureaucrats. now president biden's plan for

fdr's new deal is well documented setting aside the green new deal and imagine economic development in the depression-era. this is in the early 1930s and the american people are up against employment and inflation. the runaway spending is just the opposite. two years now we see historic inflation and this is a profound idea and their own party in the senate.

a single one of our colleagues in the climate work project. apparently that hasn't deterred the energy policies. working families struggle to afford gas and groceries, the idea is to apparently shell out expensive cars and the climate record. there's no hoover dam or another side of this nonsense. a new program and there's plenty of work to go around.

it's working families trying to get by.

mr. sullivan: mr. president. the presiding officer: the senator from alaska. mr. sullivan: mr. president, is the senate? a quorum call in. the presiding officer: yes. mr. sullivan: i ask that the quorum call be vitiated. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. sullivan: mr. president, i'm on the in regard for a couple minutes, but number one and most important is to congratulate general smith is general eric smith, to be the new commandant of the united states marine corps. now, mr. president, you may have

seen the vote. pretty impressive vote, 96-0. that does not schaap a lot in the u.s. senate. -- is that that does not happen a lot in the u.s. senate. but every floor on the floor just -- but every senator on the floor just an hour ago gave general eric smith a huge vote of confidence, and with good reason, mr. president. this is a marine officer who has a stellar career, stellar career. he has commanded at every level in the marine corps as an infantry officer, weapons company, second battalion, second marine regiment, as a general officer, he commanded the u.s. marine corps forces southern command, first marine corps division, third mev marine

expeditionary force and marine development command. that is about as stellar a career as it gets. additionally, he is a serious combat veteran. as i've voted to my colleagues -- as i've noted to my colleagues before, a lot of the flag officers in the military right now were the lieutenants and captains, right after 9/11. this is a group of senior military leaders who have seen more combat than certainly almost any other generation since world war ii. and general smith was one of those. wounded in action in iraq, did not want to go home, frontshrine commander in -- frantzline commander in combat. like a lot of commanders during these challenging wars, had a

number of marines and friends killed in action when he was -- who he was in command of. so he knows war. he knows the marine kochs and i look forward, mr. president, to working closely with general smith on a whole host of issues related to the marine corps and now as a member of the joint chiefs related to the national defense of our country, including marine corps force design, including the navy's requirement that is in law, in law if if you're watching, secretary of the navy del toro, its in law, 31 amphibs for the marine corps. so these and many other issues, i look forward to working with general smith on. again, 96-0. great job, general. semper fi. mr. president, i also think it's important to talk a little bit about how we got here.

and to be honest, we should have gotten here a lot earlier, weeks, if not months earlier. i'm a pro-life and pro-military senator, so i've been very involved in these negotiations between leadership and some of our members on issues of moving forward nominees, but also on not agreeing with secretary austin's memo as it relates to travel issues. there's been a number of us who are trying to get to a resolution on some of the holds that are happening here on the senate floor. by the way, holds happen all the time. and the way they're resolved 98% of the time is through compromise. so that's what i'm trying to help my colleagues on both sides of the aisle and the administration and the department of defense. but in the meantime,

mr. president, there was nothing preventing the majority leader from bringing qualified military members to the floor for a vote. nothing. as a matter of fact, in the senate, we vote on members of the joint chiefs all the time. that's a tradition here. when the democrats have been in charge, when the republicans have been in charge. but that has not been the priority here. in the last several months we have had 76 roll call votes, everything from the assistant administrator of the epa, district court judges, nlrb judges, board members for the national archives, assistant secretaries of education, hf -- hhs. you name it, we've been confirming them, with the exception of one group -- military officers. a lot of press is saying, that's the senator from alabama. that's not true. that's not true at all. we could be voting on individual

members of the joint chiefs, but that wasn't the priority. that wasn't the priority. so, mr. president, senator tuberville was going to make a resolution signed by 17 senators to file cloture on general smith, and all of a sudden the majority leader thought it was important to start moving forward on joint chiefs of staff nominees. i think that's good. that shows some compromise. and i think even that little bit of compromise is going to help us on the broader issues that we're all trying to address. but i do want to just correct the record. in our ukraine briefing yesterday, secretary austin, secretary of defense, said he really appreciated senator schumer's leadership on filing cloture onsz joint -- on these joint chiefs we just voted on.

with all due respect to senator schumer and secretary austin, it wasn't his leadership. it was our side of the aisle that forced his hand to do it. that's a fact. that's a fact. mr. secretary, i know the senate procedures can be a little confusing, but you might want to thank this side of the aisle for actually moving forward to make sure the joint chiefs are getting confirmed. so, i hope that we continue to do that and continue to work like a number of us have been on a broader compromise here to move forward on these other military nominees. and, by the way, i do welcome many of my democratic colleagues' newfound interest in national security. a number of them have been hollering about national security and we're not ready and readiness issues. a lot of them, i've never heard them talk about national security but they're all talking about it now. that's great. welcome. by the way, join me in

criticizing president biden for sending to us three years in a row three budgets each year that dramatically cut our department of defense. president biden's budget this year shrinks the army, shrinks the navy, shrinks the marine corps, exactly the wrong message tock sending xi jinping and putin during one of the most dangerous times our nation has faced since the end of world war ii. if you're worried about national security, join me on some of these. great, i hear a lot of howling from silent voices on national security from the other side of the aisle. i welcome you to be caring about these issues. but, mr. president, i want to end where i started. and i want to thank and congratulate again general smith. i also want to congratulate the new soon-to-be chairman of the joint chiefs of staff, general c.q. brown who is also exceptionally qualified and the

new chief of staff of the army, general george. all three were recently confirmed by the united states senate in overwhelming numbers, overwhelming, and that's progress. on both sides of the aisle, that's progress. that's what we needed. and i'm hopeful that that progress will lead to more compromise on these other issues that we all know are important. i yield the floor.

mr. schatz: mr. president. the presiding officer: the senator from hawaii. mr. schatz: thank you, mr. president. for the last week we've seen chaos and dysfunction in the house of representatives as they try to come up with a single bill to fund the government to avert a shutdown. we're now nine days away from a lapse in funding, and even though it is their responsibility under the constitution to originate an appropriations bill, they've got nothing. noaf plan -- they have no plan to pass a bill that can be signed into law.

and i want to be really clear about this because when wheat -- we had this debt ceiling fight earlier in the year the bar was lowered so much in the house of representatives that passing anything was considered a legislative victory and all the political pundits and newsletters out there were lauding the house of representatives for passing a legislative vehicle. not one that could pass, not one that was well thought through, not one that was bipartisan, not one that was on its way to the president's desk. but just like passing something is like a huge victory. and i was irritated back then because if chuck schumer passed something on a partisan basis that couldn't be enacted by the house and wasn't going to be signed by the president of the united states, no one would be giving him credit. the point here is to make a law. the point here is to make a law. but they haven't even cleared the bar that was so low in the spring that even if you pass something that's largely symbolic, you've nied your

caucus and you've shown you can legislation. they have not. they have not shown they can legislate. but let's be clear the consequences in the next nine days are dire. a few of my colleagues on the senate side stopped us from being the legislative body that we ought to be, so let's back up a second. every year at the end of the year we usually pass an appropriations bill. it's called an omnibus. it takes all 12 individual appropriations bills and piles them up into one, and everybody gets very irritated because it's so much, right, that it's difficult for a legislator to sort out what they like about a bill, what they don't like about a bill. it's hard to do amendments. and so lots of members, mostly on the republican side said you know what? we need to do the regular order. what is the regular order? it's a little bit in the eye of the beholder but the basic idea is we should have committee markups, we should vote on

stuff, we should have amendments. we should be be able to like a legislative body we grew up learning about. regular order, we demand it. patty murray, chair of appropriations, and susan collins, the vice chair of appropriations -- democrat and republican -- together said let's do the regular order. so we do a committee markup on transportation, housing, and urban development. it happens to be my subcommittee. unanimous bipartisan vote. then we do milcon and v.a., unanimous bipartisan vote. then we do ag aprops, unanimous bipartisan vote. because people correctly, in my view, demanded no more omnibuses. so we're going to do it, we're going to do it like old school, how we should. so we put together this process. again, unanimous bipartisan vote. so we try to bunch these together, and then republicans stopped us from pursuing the

regular order. three bills, each of which passed out of committee with unanimous bipartisan support. 13 republican votes. we couldn't even begin, begin debate on the senate floor. now what are we doing here? americans across the country are counting on the federal government to help them, and right now congress is not getting it done. i get that there's plenty to argue about between democrats and republicans, particularly during this time of year, but we have to do our jobs. americans impacted by dafortsz are the ones -- disasters are the ones most desperately in need. that includes the people on maui who are just beginning the recovery process from last month's devastating wildfires. but also for people in vermont, florida, california, texas, and many other states. s in each case, the need for recovery are so big that the

local, county, or state can't manage the recovery. that is what it means when the president declares a national disaster. it sort of means it's a really big disaster, but at a technical level what does it mean? it means this thing is too big for county government. this thing is too big for state government. so we declare -- excuse me, the president declares the disaster, then we fund the disasters. right? we put money in the disaster relief fund, then fema can access it on behalf of whomever needs the help. as it stands, without congress providing additional funding to federal agencies working to respond to these disasters, aid to communities will dry up. for instance, fema just said that there's only $2.4 billion remaining in its disaster relief fund. as a result, it's delaying funding for over a thousand long-term projects totaling $ $1.8 billion in past disaster

recovery zones in order to continue urgent work on maui. what do they do? when they run low, they prioritize current disasters. they're servicing the problem on maui, as they should be. anybody who has had a disaster in the last couple years, louisiana, texas, new jersey, new york, california, south carolina, north carolina, florida, all of them have their disaster recovery money frozen. why? because the house of representatives adjourned for the week without having passed a single appropriations bill. because the senate, senate democrats are ready to roll, many senate republicans are ready to roll, and we blocked our own requests. we asked for the regular order. we did the regular order. then they said actually, no, let's not do that. so i want us to all feel a collective sense of urgency, not just because the end of the

federal fiscal year is coming shortly and there does not appear to be a viable plan from the house of representatives, but because there's special urgency as it relates to disaster response. i know the presiding officer is working so hard to get resources for his home state and the terrible floods that you experienced. obviously, mazie hirono and i are working hard with our colleagues to get the funding we need for maui. this isn't just a maui or vermont problem this is an across-the-country problem. by the way, the way the disaster relief fund works, you prefund it. you don't fund individual disaster responses. you put money in this pile, the disaster relief fund. wherever there is a disaster, you have access to it. i've never seen -- only been here 11 years, but i've never seen us decide not to fund

disaster relief. let's fight about everything except whether or not our fellow americans get the help that they need from the federal government. this is one of the core responsibilities of the federal legislature. this is one of the core things we have to do. not just as a matter of public policy, but morally. what are we here for other than to help fellow americans when in desperate situations? in hawaii, in west maui, you have hundreds of kids still not in school. you have an elementary school destroyed. you have sewer and water treatment facilities that have been not destroyed but deeply damaged. you have lahaina harbor not operable. you have telecom services that are not operating at full capacity. you have roads that are trashed. that is to say nothing of the 1800 homes burnt to the ground,

2200 structures, 2200 structure structures, very likely between 100 and 200 dead. we have to stop messing around here. i have been known to be partisan sometimes. i have been known to get into it with my colleagues on the republican side. but part of the beauty of the american system of government, when it works, is that you can fight about all the stuff you're supposed to fight about and not fight about the stuff that you're not supposed to fight about! we are not supposed to fight about whether people on maui or people in vermont or people in florida or people in texas or louisiana or california get the help that they need. we have to get our act together and get this money out. i yield the floor. i suggest the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll.

the clerk: ms. baldwin.

to help defend against assault like this, resident biden will

announce a new package for military assistance for defense capabilities and protecting people. part of the defense is ahead of what is likely to be a tough winter filled with renewed russian attacks on ukrainian critical infrastructure to try to deprive innocent people like heat and electricity. because president putin cannot achieve his objectives on the battlefield he has produced and written is resorting to attacks which are intended to plunge. we will do everything we are working with ukrainians to make that more and for russia to be able to pull off. the package of president will announce today will include weapons and equipment to maintain the momentum in the counteroffensive. that includes additional ammunition for systems and anti-

armor capabilities they have helped ukraine make gains and crucially also helped ukraine defend against counterattacks. president biden and president zelinski will discuss their joint efforts to support the economic recovery. he will introduce ukraine's economic recovery who were forced on engaging the private sector, partner countries and counterparts to generate international investment in ukraine and work with ukraine to make the reforms necessary to and prove ukraine's business climate. they are looking forward to hearing from president zelinski in prison has perspective on the war in the road ahead and all of the more specific operational issues that have been a feature of their conversations over the course of the last year and a half. above all, president biden wants to use today to reaffirm his commitment. this administration's commitment

this country's commitment to continue to lead the world for as long as it takes. that is what he intends to do today. i look forward to taking your questions. >> thank you. [speaking in native tongue] be met and you give us a sense of what is happening with canada and india? what we heard from the navy and prime minister publicly about the allegations we went out and expressed our deep concern about them. our support for a law enforcement process and to ensure that the perpetrators are held accountable. not to get into diplomatic

conversations, but we are in constant conversation. we support the efforts that they are undertaking in these investigations and we have been in touch with the negotiations as well. i have seen in the press some efforts to try to drive a wedge on this issue. i firmly reject the idea that there is a wedge between the u.s. and canada. we have deep concerns about the investigations carried forward. and they held to account. that is what the united states has stood for the moment emerged in the public and we will continue to stand until this fully plays out. >> i know there have been some things on the table. i am wondering if you can tell us about what those considerations are appeared is it we are not ready at this point to start longer-range

fires? what can you tell us about that. >> i can only tell you so much from this podium. some of it is quite sensitive. i would say that the president is constantly speaking both to his own a military and to its counterparts in europe and the ukrainians themselves about what is needed on the battlefield at any given phase of the war and what the united states can provide while also ensuring that we are able to provide for our own deterrent and defense needs. he has determined that he would not provide -- but he is also not taking it off the table in the future. >> republican leaders, there are additional packages in ukraine. it has not made the case for the american public. what does it take.

you met with the speaker and other republicans recently. what was your message to them and what is your response to the speaker in front of you today? >> i will not get into it with speaker mccarthy in front of the podium. he has himself been an advocate for the supply of military assistance ukraine and voted for previous practices. republicans in the house and senate have very large numbers have not just wanted to hear the case from us. they have been making the case for why this is so important. it is that level of bipartisan support that we have seen today that has sustained the immense and impressive levels of the system that we have been able to provide to ukraine. we believe that that will continue. we believe that there are strong majorities on a bipartisan basis to provide the saved. that is what we look forward to seeing. i did have the opportunity to

see the democratic and republican leadership in the senate and the house. the key national security committees. i thought that they were incredibly constructive sessions the members had excellent questions. they also had a lot of construct if suggestions for how they most effectively pursue, continued the assistance ukraine and rally the world to help ukraine defend its territory. on the basis of those conversations and further consultation, i continue to remain that when all is said and done and all the other elements going into these that have nothing to do with ukraine, that there will be strong bipartisan support to continue funding ukraine to the extent that we believe is necessary to get ukraine what it needs. >> does the u.s. have any intelligence for investigative evidence to support candidates

claims? secondly, suggesting that president biden would return to india and january. i am wondering if that trip is now in question? >> i will not speak to intelligence or law enforcement matters. we are in, as i said before, continuous consultation and we will remain so as we go forward. i do not have anything to announce by travel by the president. >> congress will pass the $22 billion in funds. by what day does that need to occur to not have any impact? how soon does that need to happen to make sure there is no let up in the effort to help support ukraine. >> it was for the period from the end of the fiscal year to the end of the calendar year.

basically september 30 to the end of the year. we need funding to keep going. the congress passed a shorter package you could have a proportional amount. we will want that for the fiscal year. meaning that we are wanting additional resources from the congress to ensure that there is no disruption in the supply of funding. >> with there be a disruption? >> there is a sliding scale of disruption. there would be a break if we do not get the funding starting october 1. that is why we are making the congress that we should see additional funding. >> it is now been reported turned down. the desire to speak for joint

session of congress. they control congress, you don't what do you think that says to the american people. the lenski not given that opportunity. >> i read the reports. i have not heard it directly. what i will say is that president zelinski just spent hours up on the hill with democrats and republicans and not just behind closed doors, but out in public to explain his case and with members who want to also make the case that they should continue. so i keep saying basically the same thing standing up here. i genuinely believe. there is a focal small minority of members raising questions. there is a very strong overwhelming majority of members that democrats want to see continue. i believe that is where the american people are as well.

>> whether that signals any sort of broad way. >> when i read the headlines towards me i had questions. i had seen the polish government spokesman come out to clarify that in fact colin's provision of the equipment including things like polish manufactured is continuing in that they continue to stand behind ukraine we will stay in consultation with them to make sure that they understand fully what the nature is on these issues. i believe that they will continue to be a supporter of ukraine. >> what would you tell congressional leaders to issue not just save the war. what timeline are you saving for them. >> we have laid out in detail every element that we believe is necessary to get us to the end of this year and we have begun

talking about what next year looks like as well. that is humanitarian energy assistance and so forth. war is inherently unpredictable, of course. i cannot look you in the eye and i cannot look them in the eye and predict exactly what will happen on exactly what timetable appeared therefore, we need to have a degree of flexibility and adaptability as we have since the beginning of this conflict. what we eader. know the following nomination, calendar number 307, philip s. hadji to be a judge of the u.s. court of federal claims and that the senate vote on it woat -- that the president be immediately notified of the senate's action. the presiding officer: is there objection? without objection. the clerk will report the nomination. the clerk: nomination, the judiciary, philip s. hadji, of

the district of columbia, to be a judge for the united states court of federal claims. the presiding officer: all in favor say aye. all those opposed, no. the ayes appear to have it. the ayes do have it. the nomination is confirmed. mr. schumer: i ask unanimous consent that 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: is there objection? without objection. mr. schumer: mr. president, i move to proceed to calendar number 211, h.r. 3935. the presiding officer: the clerk will report. the clerk: motion to proceed to h.r. 3935, an act to amend title 49, united states code to reauthorize and improve the federal aviation administration and other similar aviation programs, p for other purposes. the presiding officer: i send a cloture motion to the desk. the presiding officer: the clerk will report.

the clerk: cloture motion, we, the undersigned senators, in accordance with the provisions of rule 22 of the standing rules of the senate, do hereby bring to a close debate on the motion to proceed to calendar number 2811, h.r. 39 # 35, an act to amend title 49 to reauthorize and improve the federal aviation administration and other similar aviation programs for other purposes. mr. schumer: i ask that the reading of the names be waived. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. schumer: i ask unanimous consent that the mandatory quorum call for the cloture motion filed today, accept 21 be waived. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. schumer: i just filed cloture to move forward on faa. as i said for months, we must work in a bipartisan fashion to keep our government open, avoid a shutdown and avoid inflicting unnecessary pain on the american people. this action will give the senate the option to do just that. now, mr. president, i have four

requests for committees to meet during today's session of the senate. they have the approval of the majority and minority leaders. the presiding officer: duly noted. mr. schumer: i ask unanimous consent that the committee on judiciary be discharged from further consideration and the senate proceed to s. res. 208. the presiding officer: the clerk will report. the clerk: senate resolution 208, expressing support for september 12, 2003, as national warrior call day. the presiding officer: is there objection? without objection, the committee is discharged and the senate will proceed. mr. schumer: i ask unanimous consent that the shaheen amendment at the desk to the resolution be agreed to, the -- resolution as amended be agreed to, the preamble be agreed to as amended be agreed to and the motions to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. schumer: i ask unanimous consent that the senate proceed

to the consideration of s. res. 358, submitted earlier today. the presiding officer: the clerk will report. the clerk: senate resolution 358, expressing support for the week of september 2023 as national adult education and family literacy week. the presiding officer: is there objection to proceeding to the measure? without objection, the senate will proceed. mr. schumer: i ask unanimous consent the resolution be agreed to, the preamble be agreed to, and the motions to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table with no intervening action or debate. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. schumer: i ask unanimous consent that the senate proceed to the consideration of s. res. 359, submitted earlier today. the presiding officer: roich. the clerk: senate resolution 359, recognizing and supporting the goals and ideals of national forensic science week. the presiding officer: is there objection to proceeding to the measure? without objection. mr. schumer: i ask unanimous consent the resolution be agreed

to, the preamble be agreed to, and the motions to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table with no sint veeng action or debate -- with no intervening action or debate. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. schumer: i ask that the committee on science and transportation be discharged and the senate proceed to its immediate consideration. the presiding officer: the clerk will report. the clerk: s. 2787, a bill to authorize the federal communicationings commission to process applications for spectrum licenses for applicants who were successful bidders in an auction and so fords. the presiding officer: is there objection to proceeding to the measure? without objection, the committee is it discharged and the senate will proceed. mr. schumer: i ask unanimous consent that the bill be considered read a third time and passed and that the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. schumer: i ask unanimous consent that when the senate completes its business today, it stand aid understand to convene

for a pro foama session with no business conducted at 10:00 a.m. on friday september 22, 2023, and that the senate stand in recess until 3:00 p.m. on september 26, on tuesday j the journal of proceedings be approved to date, -- the journal of proceedings be approved to date, the time for the two leaders be reserved for their use later in the day, r morning hour be deemed expired and that the senate proceed to calendar number 211, h.r. 3935, and the motion ripen at 5:30 on tuesday. the presiding officer: without objection, so ordered. mr. schumer: if there is no further business before the senate, i ask that it stand adjourned under the previous order. the presiding officer: the senate stands adjourned until ten a.m. tomorrow -- 10:00 a.m. tomorrow