remember those people that gave their lives on a night of fun, on a night of recreation, on a night when there was no expectation of such an event occurring. and we just have to remember all of these wonderful people, these beloved people that we lost that night. we love lewiston, we love the state of maine, and we will always remember not only the events of that night, but these beloved people of maine. thank you, mr. president, i yield the floor. >> c-span is your unfiltered view of government funded by these television companies and more, including comcast. >> do you think this is just a community center? no, it's way more than that.

>> comcast is partnering with a thousand community centers to create wi-fi enabled listening toe students from low income families can get the tools they need to be ready for anything. >> comcast suppos c-span as a public service along with these other television providers, giving you a front row seat to democracy. >> it's wednesday morning, november 1st, and the u.s. senate is about to gavel in where today members will vote on two amendments to a 2024 government spending bill that relates to the federal reserve and the irs. and now, live coverage of the u.s. senate here on c-span2. te senate will come to order. the chaplain, dr. barry black, will lead the senate in prayer. the chaplain: let us pray. merciful god, the fountain of wisdom, as we witnessed what is

euphemistically called collateral damage, we wrestled with what our eyes have seen, ears have heard, and hearts have felt. lord, some of us asked the question: when does the end justify the means? we reflected on gandhi's words that the end is inherent in the means. lord, across time you have shown us how peace following a war can be jeoparized because of the long-term consequences of how the war was fought. give our lawmakers the faith, wisdom, and courage for the living of these turbulent days.

we pray in your merciful name. amen. the president pro tempore: please join me in reciting the pledge of 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 president pro tempore: under the previous order, the leadership time is reserved. morning business is closed. and under the previous order, the senate will resume consideration of h.r. 4366, the clerk will report. clo calendar number -- the clerk: calendar number 198, h.r. 4366, an act for fiscal

year ending 2024 and for other purposes.

test:

mr. schumer: mr. president. the presiding officer: the majority leader.

mr. schumer: last night, i filed cloture on president biden's nominees to serve as chief of naval operations and chief of staff to the air force. the remaining vacancies on the joint joint chiefs of staff, which we said we'd fill. we will move on these critical military appointments soon here on the floor. iralso filed on general ma hopey to be -- mahoney to being second in command of the marine corps. this week, the commandant of the marines, general eric smith, was unexpectedly hospital iepsed after a serious medical -- hospitalized after a serious medical emergency. normally, major john mahoney would have stepped in to temporarily serve as commandant. unfortunately, because of blanket holds of just one senator, senator tuberville, that cannot happen. the situation at the marine corps is precisely the kind of avoidable emergency that senator

tuberville has provoked through his reckless holds. lieutenant general mahoney is more than -- one of more than 300 nominees senator tuberville is blocking. while the senate will vote on lieutenant general mahoney's nomination, these holds cannot and must not continue. yesterday, my colleague, senator reed, chairman of the armed services committee, introduced a resolution that will allow the senate to quickly confirm the nominations that are currently being blocked by the senator from alabama. the resolution will be referred to the rules committee, and when the time comes i will bring it to the floor of the senate for consideration. we must, we absolutely must, ensure that our military is fully staffed and fully equipped to defend the american people, and it begins by confirming these vital nominations that are currently on hold. every day that senator tuberville continues his blanket

holds our military preparedness is degraded. our military families, most of whom have served decades in the armed forces, suffer. our military appointments risk being further ensnared in partisan politics. these nominees must be confirmed, and both parties should work together to make sure we fulfill our obligation to america's servicemembers. now, on the minibus, for the information of senators, today we will pass the first of three bipartisan appropriations bills. the first three, sorry. for the information of senators, today we will pass the first three bipartisan appropriation bills -- agriculture, milcon v.a. and t-hud. when these bills pass, they will be the only, i underscore the only, bipartisan appropriations bills that have passed either

chamber. these bills will make a huge difference for america's farmers, for our infrastructure, for housing, on our military bases and vet raps -- veterans. bipartisanship isn't easy. on the contrary, it's very difficult. but here in the senate, we are making sure that the appropriations process is succeeding. i want to thank the good work of chair murray, vice chair collins, and all the appropriators. passing these appropriations bills today is not just terrific news for the country, but an affirmation of what i have said since the start of the year, the only way to get things done in divided government is bipartisanship. the house is going through a futile exercise of passing partisan appropriation bills thats have no input or support from democrats. they're going nowhere. the house ought to learn its lesson. the speaker ought to understand that the 30 hard-right people should not be dictating what the entire house or entire country

does. those bills are filled with poison pills, they break the agreement and cut below the agreement we made when we wanted to avoid the debt from being not fulfilled, and they're nowhere. on the other hand, the senate has bipartisan bills, and that is the real difference here. sooner or later, the house and the new speaker will learn the lesson -- if you don't do it bipartisan, it ain't getting done. the senate has been a strong model for how bipartisanship can work, even amidst deep disagreement, and i thank my colleagues on both sides for their work on these bills. now, we continue on our a.i. insight forums. today as leaders gather in london for the first a.i. summit, the senate will hold our third and fourth bipartisan a.i. insight forums. this morning we'll be focused on the intersection of a.i. in the workforce.

we'll hear from a balanced group of leaders in labor, tech, civil rights and business about both the opportunities and risks that a.i. presents to the american worker and to our economy. people are worried. many people worry, will i still have my job as a.i. kicks in? we want to make sure that we have guardrails that protect workers, not make the mistake that was done with globalization, where so many were thrown out of work through no fault of their own. then this afternoon we will discuss a.i.'s use in high-impact areas like finance, health care, law enforcement. we'll focus especially on the potential bias in a.i. technologies in these high-impact areas and how congress can create guardrails to protect our civil rights in the age of a.i. the senate is continuing to be all hands on deck when it comes to trying to pass a.i. legislation. yesterday, our bipartisan a.i. gang, senator rounds, heinrich,

young and i, had a great meeting with president biden at the white house on a.i. so we're making good progress, but we still have more to learn about a.i. as we work to develop bipartisan legislation. the world is paying attention. there's a forum in london today where the vice president will attend, and inevitably they will be looking, the whole world will be looking to the senate to see whether and what kind of legislation we can pass. we ■will work hard to get th best possible bipartisan legislation done. the supplemental -- on monday, speaker johnson and house republicans released a totally unserious and woefully inadequate package that omitted aid to ukraine, omitted humanitarian assistance to gaza, no funding for the indo-pacific, and made funding for israel conditional on hard-right, never-going-to-pass proposals. what a joke.

yesterday's -- yesterday afternoon, president biden issued a veto threat on the gop proposal, and it's no wonder why -- it needlessly politicizes aid to israel, it balloons the federal deficit. here the house is talking about we need a pay-for to reduce the deficit, and they put in a provision that increases the deficit. why? they don't want their super-rich, mega-wealthy friends to be audited by the irs, like every other citizen is. when trump was president, he almost exempted them from auditing. someone making $40,000 a year had a greater chance of being audited than someone making $4 million a year. it's amazing that the main focus, as the world is in crisis in the middle east, ukraine, the indo-pacific, our house republicans are spending more time trying to further reduce taxes of those who don't pay much tax at all. i'm glad that president biden

issued a strong veto message. i urge every house republican, every house democrat, every senate member, to read the president's veto message. it's strong and well thought out. he talks about it politicizes aid to israel, ballooning the federal deficit and failing to address the national security threats america faces around the globe. particularly on need to help ukraine, provide humanitarian aid to gaza, and help in the indo-pacific. so, the house gop proposal is not going anywhere. it's dead before it even is voted on. the speaker should start over, this time without terrible partisan poison bills, this time sitting down with democrats and working this issue through. israel has suffered the worst terrorist attack in its history. it needs help.

but house republicans are asking a price for helping them by cutting off funding that holds rich tax cheats accountable. that ain't happening, house. it ain't happening. now, speaker johnson says that this supposed pay is needed because of his concern about the national debt, but as i mentioned every independent estimate shows this partisan bill raises the deficit by billions of dollars. so what hypocrisy! it's not responsible. it's reckless. it's utterly baffling, baffling, that a moment that demands maximum bipartisanship, when the country is in crisis and our friends in israel and ukraine are in crisis, that the house gop is instead trying to pick an egregiously partisan fight over wealthy tax cleats. years back -- tax cheats. years back, both parties would have come together for the good of the country and the good of security in the world when crises like this happen.

but the house gop continuing the kind of recklessness, the kind of inability to get their act together, continues to do these kinds of things. the proposal is simply not a serious one. worse, it still wastes precious time at a moment when we need to help israel, ukraine, and send humanitarian aid to gaza. asap. all friends of israel should loudly and clearly say that any move to make the u.s. relationship -- u.s.-israel relationship a partisan one, as the house is doing, is a move that hurts israel. that is what they do, unfortunately, harming our partnership with israel by politicizing their aid package. i urge speaker johnson, quickly change court, speaker johnson, because this stunningly unserious proposal is not going to be the answer. it's not going anywhere. as i said, it's dead almost

before it's born. the ftc letter that we sent this morning, and i think people should pay attention to this, because this is a very serious issue, last month america's two largest oil companies, exxonmobil and chevron, announced two of the largest oil acquisitions of the 21st century. in fact, some of the largest mergers in the history, in the whole history of the united states. where are these occurring? in the heavily concentrated oil industry, where the consumer has almost no say whatsoever. these deals have all the hallmarks of harmful anti-competitive effect, and if they're allowed to happen americans could see the consequences through higher prices at the pump. people are complaining, justifiably, that gas prices are too high, and these mergers inevitably will make the price even higher. so, today i'm leading a group of

22 senators calling on the federal trade commission to use the full powers of the ftc to investigate these mergers. in our letter, we say that if any antitrust laws may be violated, the ftc should step in and oppose the mergers. you know, we broke up standard oil's illegal monopoly in 1911. we're quickly getting back to that place. the ftc should also investigate whether it's time to break up today's anti-competitive oil conglomerates. when america's largest oil companies can just buy some of their largest competitors, here we have exxon, the biggest oil company in america, buying the largest oil driller in the permian basin, which is the biggest u.s. oil field. it's outrageous. when the largest companies can control the lion's share of the

supply chain, when they're able to act with little accountability, the result is a raw deal for american consumers, american workers, and the american economy. this isn't speculation. we've seen this happen before. in the 1990's there were over 2600 mergers across the petroleum industry. the number of major oil companies was cut in half. i'll never forget the day, this was a democratic president, president clinton, unfortunately, allowed the merger between exxon and mobil, two of the biggest oil companies. i opposed it at the time. the result of these mergers and lax accountability was market manipulation, unstable supply, and ultimately price hikes. for americans. well, use repeat that mistake? we cannot allow it. with exxonmobil's merger with pie near -- pioneer and

chevron's merger, we're seeing history repeat itself. more consolidation, less competition. may be good for the shareholders and big oil company executives but it ain't good for america and certainly not good for the consumer who will inevitably pay more for gas, oil, and so many other things. there is something deeply wrong about seeing the largest oil and gas companies in the world manipulate their way to higher profits as americans are struggling at the pump. last year alone the world's five largest oil companies saw record profits, 219 billion, more than double the profits of 2021. and where did the profits go? did it translate to lower prices for americans? did the companies invest in worker productivity? or finding new, clean energy sources? no. the soaring profits fueled soaring stock buybacks. americans meanwhile saw higher prices every time they filled up

the tank. and another point about these mergers. at one point the big oil companies said we understand that the world is moving in a direction of clean energy. we're going to move that way, too. these mergers show they are not. they are not. they're simply investing in the old carbon resources that we know in the long run will do such damage to our world and our world economy and yet they are just moving headlong in that direction. short-term gain, long-term loss. mergers will accelerate these disturbing trends of high gas prices and less competition. so we're calling on the ftc to low into the announcements made by exxonmobil and chevron and step in if necessary. mr. president, i yield the floor and note the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll.

quorum call: the clerk: ms. baldwin.

mr. mcconnell: mr. president. the presiding officer: the republican leader. mr. mcconnell: i ask consent that further proceedings under the quorum call be dispensed with. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. mcconnell: i've spoken frequently about the clear links between the biggest national security challenges facing our country and about what we need to do to address them. but let's not lose sight of a few points. america's adversaries don't ease

up whether we lose -- when we lose our resolve. in fact, they press their advantage. many of my colleagues would disagree with that withdrawing from afghanistan caused america's friends and foes to question the credibility of our commitments. how many would disagree that failing to respond decisively to hundreds of terrorist attacks against u.s. forces in syria and iraq has weakened our deterrence against iran? how many senators would disagree that the biden administration shouldn't have withheld lethal assistance to ukraine in the summer of 2021. or that they should have shipped

lethal weapons more quickly as russia's preparations became glaringly obvious that fall and winter. how many would disagree that the president's caution and hesitation to provide critical weapons like patriots, tanks, and atacms has prolonged the conflict in ukraine. over and over again history has taught us that the cost of disengaging from the world are far higher than the cost of engaging. just as the threats we face aren't isolated, neither are the benefits of an investment in american leadership. so here's the plain truth. the overwhelming majority of the resources approved by the senate

as security assistance for ukraine has in fact gone directly, directly to american manufacturers supporting american jobs, expanding the american industrial base, and producing new weapons for america's military. almost $70 billion in investments spread across at least 38 different states. production of our artillery rounds alone has distributed multiple billions into facilities from arkansas to virginia and texas to ohio. all to improve our ability to equip the united states and our allies with the growing challenges we face. so, mr. president, these investments are not just replacing what's being used to destroy russia's military

strength. they're expanding production, production capacity to meet soaring demands from allies. nato countries have invested $90 billion in capabilities produced here in america since last february. and they're helping equip the u.s. forces for our own long-term competition with china. take the patriot interceptor. this air defense system is arguably the most in-demand weapon in the u.s. arsenal. it saved thousands of americans and allied lives. it's deployed across europe, the middle east, and the indo-pacific. it has -- it is produced in tucson, arizona, with components coming from all over our

country. and the supplemental resources we're working on could expand production capacity by nearly 20%. or take the 155-meter round. it's relevant in nearly every conflict imaginable. more than 75% of our investments mark this munition as gone toward capacity expansion. today u.s. manufacturers are able to produce double what they could before our response to russian aggression last year. with further investment of so-called ukraine spending, american production would reach one million rounds per year. the notion that this money is distracting from america's other security priorities is nonsense.

anyone making this claim doesn't understand how clinical -- how critical production lines work. the truth is the investments we've made in expanding production capacity to respond to putin's escalation are helping american manufacturers produce more of the weapons israel and taiwan need. i've spoken at lengs about america's clear -- length about america's clear national security interest in helping ukraine demolish russian military strength in a secure and peaceful europe. i've spelled out the glaring and immediate threats we face from iran-backed terror and the importance of supporting our closest ally in the middle east. i've been the -- the size of gravity with the competition with china and the urgency

facing our friends out in the indo-pacific. but as foolish as it is to deny the clear link between america's adversaries and the threats we face, it's every bit as dangerous to pretend that as a global superpower, our nation could not or should not face each of them down. we have the means to lead the free world and assure our own security. in the face of coordinated aggression from our adversaries, we have the clearest possible objective. we win. they lose. now, on a related matter, as i mentioned last week, illegal crossings at our southern border are setting all-time records. in just three years under the biden administration, cbp has

recorded six million border encounters. six million. and yet in the face of these astonishing statistics, the secretary of homeland security continues to say that, quote, our approach to managing the border is working. the white house press secretary has reiterated this insanity saying, quote, it's not like someone walks over the border. that's not how it works. well, of course we know that's exactly, exactly how it works. the border patrol has been tracking 1,000 known got-aways per day. 10,000 got-aways a day. the facts on the ground send a clear message. the biden administration's handling of the border crisis is complete and utter failure.

yesterday senator cruz and senator barrasso both shared an encounter they witnessed on the border over the weekend of a 10-year-old girl and a man claiming to be her father. they described the terror on the girl's face as the man attempted to use the biden administration's family unit loophole to cut the line at the border. as senator cruz put it, the cartels are renting children to grown men. the crisis that's unfolded under president biden's watch is inhumane and dangerous. fiscal year 2022 was the deadliest year on record at the southern border, and fiscal year 2023 set an all-time record for terror watch list encounters. we're watching a humanitarian

crisis becoming a glaring national security vulnerability. the solution is pretty clear. the solution isn't billions of dollars to make it easier and faster to process illegal immigrants. or money for a welcome wagon, as senator barrasso put it yesterday. the solution is clear and commonsense policy that forces the biden administration to enforce the law and treat the border with legal consequences that it demands. so i'm grateful to my republican colleagues who are working hard on a policy proposal to deliver actual border security. and drawing on ideas put forward by senator lankford, cruz, grassley, and others. -- others. washington democrats have proved that their border security approach is simply not working.

president biden's border supplemental request is just more of the same. it's time to wake up and embrace policy changes that will keep americans safe. -- safe. mr. mcconnell: i suggest the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. quorum call: the clerk: ms. baldwin.

mr. thune: mr. president. the presiding officer: the republican whip. mr. thune: is the senate in a quorum call? the presiding officer: yes. mr. thune: i ask unanimous consent the quorum call be lifted are. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. thune: mr. president, we recently learned that fiscal year 2023 set a new record for the number of illegal immigrants apprehended at the southern border. the third record-breaking year of illegal immigration under the biden administration.

first fiscal year 2021 set an all-time record, then fiscal year 2022 broke that record, and now fiscal year 2023 has broken that record. in other words, mr. president, we've had three straight years of the -- of the biden border cs getting worse and worse and worse. since the president took office, more than 6.2 million individuals have been caught attempting to illegally cross our southern border. 6.2 million. and every one of those -- if every one of those individuals lived in one city, it would be the second largest in the country. mr. president, i don't need to tell anyone that the kind of unchecked illegal immigration we're experiencing represents a serious security threat.

the department of homeland security recently noted in its 2024 threat assessment and i quote, terrorists and criminal actors may exploit the elevated flow of migration and increasingly complex security environment to enter the united states. end quote. and by all indications bad actors are, in fact, taking advantage of the chaos at the border to try and enter the united states. during fiscal year 2023 alone 169 individuals on the terrorist watch list were caught tealting to illegally cross our southern border. 169 on the terrorist watch list. those are the ones they apprehended. that's more than in the previous six years combined. the head of the border patrol

recently said that his agency is arresting an average of more than 47 people per day who have, and i quote, serious criminal histories. more than 47 people per day with serious criminal histories. and, mr. president, that's just the individuals who are being caught. since january 2021, when president biden took office, there have been more than 1.7 million known gotaways, and those are individuals the border patrol saw but was unable to apprehend. and we can only imagine the number of unknown gotaways who have sneaked into the country. how many of those individuals have, quote, serious criminal histories or hail from hostile countries? we just don't know. but we can be pretty confident

that among those gotaways are dangerous individuals who should not be entering our country. mr. president, this is a serious issue and we need a serious course correction from this administration. vice president harris, who is in charge of overseeing bored policies for this -- border policies for this administration recently told "60 minutes," and i quote, we need a safe, orderly and humane border policy. end quote. this has been the purported goal of the biden administration for almost three years now, but things administration has been failing on all three counts. and the current crisis we're experiencing is a result of the biden administration decision. before the president took office, his team was warned of the possibility of a migrant surge, yet, the moment the president took office he said

about dismantling the immigration policies of his predecessor and weakening our nation's border security. and the result has been, as i said, three successive years of record-breaking illegal immigration. and while the biden administration has finally started to at least half-heartedly acknowledged the border crisis and put in policies to attempt legal migration, the changes are insufficient. far too little, far too late. or as one columnist put it recently in "the washington post," and i quote, the biden administration's various efforts have amounted to band-aids on a missive open wound. end quote. and the president's recent supplemental funding request has not left me hopeful that the

administration is suddenly going to become more effective. potentially billions of dollars in reimbursement for blue states struggling to house illegal immigrants won't do a single thing to solve the crisis we're facing at the border. and while the president's proposal does include some funding that would actually go towards security, funding alone is simply not enough. we need meaningful policy changes that will, for starters, end the rampant abuse of our asylum system and sweeping parole designations. senators graham, lankford, and cotton, among several others are working hard to craft changes to the asylum and parole policies that would stem the flow at our southern border. these changes would address obvious flaws in president biden's immigration policies and make tangible progress toward

getting our border crisis under control. mr. president, recent events have underscored the importance of national security and a porous southern border is a huge -- huge vulnerability when it comes to our national security. we need to use every tool we can to secure the border and to keep terrorists and criminals out of the united states. senate republicans are committed to putting policies in place at the border that keep americans safe. and i hope that in the days and weeks to come senate democrats will join us to make securing our border a priority. mr. president, i yield the floor. i notice the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. quorum call: the clerk: ms. baldwin.

quorum call:

the presiding officer: the senator from vermont. mr. sanders: i note -- ask that the quorum call be vitiated. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. sanders: mr. president, the

situation in gaza today is a disaster. congress must take action. the administration must take action. the world must take action. today, three weeks after hamas' barbaric attack against civilians in israel, which began this war, many hundreds of thousands of innocent men, women, and children in gaza are on the brink. over the past three weeks, it is estimated that some 8,000 people in gaza have been killed in bombings, including more than 3,000 children and far more have been wounded. more than a million people in gaza have been displaced from their homes and some 670,000 are

sheltering in u.n. installations where they are down to one liter of water per person per day. they lack sufficient food, water, medical supplies or fuel. the hospitals and medical facilities there are in nightmarish conditions, with hundreds of babies in incubators and patients on life support at risk of death should the generators that sustain them run out of fuel. corridors are lined with injured and displaced people, and overwhelmed doctors must turn patients away or operate without

anesthesia or antibiotics. the humanitarian crisis is dire and getting worse by the minute. there must be a humanitarian pause now so that sufficient supplies -- food, water, medicine, fuel -- can reach the people of gaza. if not, thousands more will die needlessly. we cannot allow that to happen. a stop to the bombing is critical to save innocent lives and secure the safe return of hostages. mr. president, let us never forget the lives of all children, all people, are sacred, whether they are palestinian children, israeli

children, or american children, and we must do everything we can to protect them. but mr. president, if we are going to make any real progress in addressing this never-ending conflict between israel and hamas, there have been five wars in the last 15 years, we need to understand somewhat as to how we got to where we are today. if peace is to come to that troubled region, and if the palestinian people are ever going to be able to secure lives of security and dignity, there must be a vision of where we go in the future.

so let us be clear -- the living conditions in gaza before october 7 were horrific and inhumane. that is before hamas ignited the latest war. before this conflict in gaza, nearly 80% of people there lived in poverty, and two-thirds were reliant on humanitarian assistance. almost half the population, and over 70% of young people, were unemployed in gaza. what kind of life could they look forward to? electricity there was intermittent, with 11 to 12-hour

blackouts every day. water and sanitation systems were inadequate, and there were constant shortages of all basic necessities. gaza was mostly cut off from the world, with israel and egypt severely limiting the number of people and types of goods that could go in or out. in fact, many observers described gaza as, quote, an open-air prison, end quote. and all of that is before october 7. mr. president, if we are serious about bringing freedom and dignity to the palestinian people, that is a situation that can never be allowed to be returned to. the palestinian people are entitled to much more than that.

in gaza, hamas, an authoritarian, terrorist organization, ruled by force, stockpiling arms and war material, taxing the desperately poor population, and stealing resources to build tunnels and rockets. make no mistake about it -- hamas is a terrorist organization bent on the destruction of israel, and long before this horrific attack they had killed countless innocent people, including americans. they advance a fundamentalist ideology which treats women as inferior second-class citizens and which threatens to kill people who are gay.

hamas is an authoritarian nightmare repressing dissent, and stealing from gazzans, not just many materials from life, but the dream of a better future. and that was the situation before october 7 what was going on in israel before hamas' terrorist attack? what was going on there? that country had the most right-wing government in its history, a cabinet that included outright racist ministers who consistently dehumanized the palestinian population. benjamin netanyahu, the prime minister, was under indictment for a litany of corruption charges, and many believe that israel's intelligence, or lack of intelligence, on october 7

had everything to do with his government's preoccupation with his political problems. before the war, this right wing israeli government had systematically undermined the prospects of peace. netanyahu and his extreme partner in the cabinet had worked to marginalize palestinian voifses committed t, pursued settlement policies designed to foreclose the possibilities of a two-state solution, stymied economic development in palestinian areas, and passed laws that entrenched systemic inequality between jewish and palestinian citizens of israel. this last year saw record israeli settlement growth in the west bank, where more than

700,000 israelis now live in areas the united nations and the united states agree are occupied territories. despite that, the israeli government authorized thousands of new homes for settlers and opened up new areas to construction while bulldozing thousands of palestinian homes and schools and further restricting palestinian movement. legal experts agree these policies constituted nothing less than illegal an ex paying. -- illegal annexation. all of these policies and more greatly increased tension in the west bank. before october 7, 179 palestinians had been killed in 2023. 179 palestinians in the west bank. which made it the deadliest year

in two decades. since october 7, 121 more palestinians have been killed in the west bank, including some by settlers. these tensions were mart of why -- part of why so much of the idf, the israeli defense force, was deployed in the west bank rather than the border with gaza. then came october 7 and hamas' atrocities that began this latest and horrific war. the hamas attack was unspeakable. over 1300 innocent men, women, and children in israel were killed. over 200 israelis and americans taken hostage, including young children and grandparents. young people were gunned down in cold blood at a music festival.

babies and older people were brutally murdered in their homes. and let's remember that hamas did not primarily target the military. no, they intentionally targeted civilians. their goal was to kill civilians. their attack was designed to provoke a response, and in that they succeeded. mr. president, many israelis are now understandably furious and they want to strike back forcefully. i think we can all understand that. but rage and revenge do not make useful policy. and here in the runs, after the attack on 9/11 in this country, we acted with rage and revenge, and i think many people now understand that that was a horrific mistake.

mr. president, killing innocent palestinian women and children in gaza will not bring back to life the innocent israeli women and children who have been killed by hamas. like any other country, israel has the right to defend itself and destroy hamas terrorism, but it does not have the right to kill thousands of innocent men, women, and children in gaza. israel does not have the right to endanger the lives of millions of palestinians, half of whom are children, by shutting off water, food, fuel, and electricity. that type of action against an impoverished population is morally unacceptable and in violation of international law. israel does not have the right to bomb an entire neighborhood to target one hamas leader or

installation. but that is what the israeli government is doing. one need only look at the satellite imagery and photography of gaza to see that this is not a carefully calibrated campaign. these are not surgical strikes. yesterday israel struck the densely populated refugee camp and killed a hamas commander. but they also killed some 50 other people and injured hundreds more. though the exact toll is not yet known. and that was actually the fourth air strike on that community. an october 9 air strike killed 60 and an october 19 air strike killed 18. an october 22 air strike killed 30, according to outside researchers. it was reported yesterday that

the head of security -- that is, the united nations relief agency -- their head of security was killed along with his wife and eight children. in total 67 united nations relief agency workers have been killed and 44 united nations facilities have been damaged since october 7. mr. president, the current israeli strategy must end. israel must begin the process of restoring water and electrical services to areas where they are still operable. the international community must also rush generators and solar capacity to gaza medical facilities to address acute

needs and reduce israeli fears of diversion to hamas. israel will not stop going after hamas, but it must do it in a very, very different way and additional pauses will be needed. mr. president, let me conclude by saying that israel must also begin the process of laying out a political strategy. it cannot bomb its way to a solution. such a strategy must include as minimum first steps a clear promise that palestinians displaced in the fighting will have the absolute right to safely return to their homes. a commitment to broader peace talks to advance a two-state solution in the waig of this -- in the wake of this war, an abandonment of israeli efforts to carve up the gaza west bank and a commitment to work with the palestinian authority to build genuine governing

capacity. the united states must make it clear that these are the conditions of our solidarity. just as we want justice for the israelis murdered by hamas, we also want justice for the palestinian people. and that is not going to happen with hamas. palestinians need a state of their own, contiguous with the freedom of movement and access that can sustain a vibrant economy. mr. president, this will be a long and difficult road. it will take concerted u.s. and international support and a doubling down of our political commitment to a two-state solution. but the first step right now must be to stop the bombing and bring in as much humanitarian aid as possible. i think secretary blinken said it well when he said, quote,

providing immediate aid and protection for palestinian civilians in the conflict is a necessary foundation for finding partners in gaza who have a different vision for the future than hamas and who are willing to help make it real, end of quote. mr. president, this is a dreadful situation. it is part of a very, very long-term conflict between israel and its neighbors. but the immediate crisis is to save lives, to stop the bombing, to bring forth a humanitarian pause, and then to go forward to bring peace and stability to the region. thank you very much. i yield the floor.

ms. warren: mr. president. the presiding officer: the senator from massachusetts. ms. warren: mr. president, i rise today about a resolution to make it harder for students, all students to have access to school meals. i'm referring to s.j. res. 42. we deal with a lot of complex issues here every day. this is not a complex issue. first the federal policy. the usda memo clarifying that state agencies and programs participating in federal school meal programs are required to abide by our nation's antidiscrimination laws. this means that they cannot deny access to kids on the basis of their jengdzer identity or sexual orientation. in other words, schools may not deny lunch to lgbtq+ kids. now, this isn't some strange, new interpretation of the law that usda came up with and announced out of the blue. this is the usda implementing antidiscrimination laws that

apply across government in line with the supreme court's reading. and this is what the republicans attempted to overturn with s. s. res. 42. of course, s.j. res. 42 was never really just about school lunches. the goal was to send a message to lgbtq+ kids that they are not welcome, to send a message that it's okay to discriminate against these kids because ever who they are. i want to -- of who they are. i want to be very clear. that is wrong. we proudly stand with lgbtq+ kids. your rights matter. you are welcome at school. the usda guidance will help kids. it will also reduce discrimination and bring agency guidance in line with supreme court precedent. the usda policy will also ensure that hungry kids get the food they need to grow and to do well

in school. according to census data, lgbtq+ individuals are almost twice as likely to live in a household that experiences food insecurity and trans individuals are almost three times more likely not to have enough food to eat as compared to cisgender individuals. the last thing our kids need is adults behaving like classroom bullies and trying to justify taking away their lunches. i'm glad the senate rejects this resolution. thank you, mr. president. i yield the floor. a senator: mr. president. the presiding officer: the senator from north dakota. a senator: thank you, you call up my amendment 1241 and ask it

be reported by number as i intend to withdraw the amendment shortly due to majority party mischief. the presiding officer: without objection. the clerk will report by number. the clerk: the senator from north dakota, mr. cramer for himself and mr. manchin proposes an amendment number 1241 to amendment number 1092. mr. cramer: mr. president, the senate has been preaching regular order for some time, and i've been cheering them on. i've been a strong advocate for regular order because we need a process that engages all of the members of this body. but one has to ask why my bipartisan germane amendment is deemed, quote, a poison pill and now needs 60 votes to pass. i know the answer is simple. because it was going to pass. that's why. that's why suddenly it's a, quote, a poison pill. senate democrats would rather

provide the biden administration cover by taking a show vote designed to fail than following real regular order, mr. president. and the will of the senate should prevail here. but they're not going to let it. this appropriation limitation amendment would prevent the united states department of transportation from finalizing their illegal rule requiring states to measure co2 tailpipe emissions and then set declining targets for individual states on their roadways. mr. president, congress has not provided any authority for the department of transportation to dictate co2 performance requirements. they can't do what they don't have the authority to do. and even if we had, mr. president, it's not a workable solution. it may be hard for bureaucrats in washington, d.c. to imagine this, but you cannot tell states like north dakota and montana that to reduce tailpipe emissions is easy, just build a subway or dedicate bus lines on

your gravel roads. that's why, mr. president, a majority of the states in this country have submitted comments expressing their concern and opposing, outright opposing this rule. when the environment and public works committee negotiated the last highway bill, we expressly left this authority out. we made the decision to not give this authority to the department of transportation and i note that bill moved out of committee unanimously. and then became the cornerstone of the infrastructure investment and jobs act. ironically, the biden administration created the poison pill that this amendment is meant to address. mr. president, i'm not interested in show votes so i'm going to withdraw the amendment. the administration should scrap this rule but between they finalize it, i will be back, and i'll be back with a c.r.a. resolution and then democrats can't force a 60-vote. i will have an amicus brief.

with that i yield. mr. president, i seek unanimous consent to withdraw the amendment. the presiding officer: the amendment is withdrawn. mr. cramer: thank you. mr. president, i note the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. quorum call: the clerk: ms. baldwin.

the presiding officer: the senator from kentucky. mr. paul: i ask unanimous consent that we vitiate the quorum call. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. paul: i ask unanimous consent that there be up to four minutes of debate equally divided on senate amendments 1217 and 1347.

the presiding officer: without objection. mr. paul: i call up my amendment 1217 and ask that it be reported by number. the presiding officer: the clerk will report by number. the clerk: the senator from kentucky, mr. paul, proposes an amendment numbered 1217 to amendment numbered 1092. mr. paul: the federal reserve effectively controls the economy but without scrutiny. no other institution has so much unchecked power. the fed demonstrated its unlimited authority during the pandemic. the fed printed money, purchased government-backed securities, and dolled out massive amounts of money to favored industries. the result added almost $5 trillion to the fed's balance sheet, the largest in our history. when dodd-frank ordered a limited one-time audit of fed actions, the government accountability office uncovered that during the financial crisis the fed dolled out over $16

trillion to domestic and foreign banks. this kind of inflationary bailout should not be kept secret. the side effect is high inflation. as milton friedman explained, inflation is taxation without legislation. congress cannot control the fed's actions, but fed actions can cost americans dearly. just ask any parent who has to feed his family. my amendment would require a full audittist fed within one -- audit of the fed within one year. it is time for the fed to operate in a manner that is transparent to the taxpayers. i ask for a yes vote. the presiding officer: the senator from ohio. mr. brown: i rise today to speak in opposition to the paul amendment. members of both parties have always agreed an independent --

underscore independent -- central bank is critical to a functioning economy. congress put in place a restriction to shield the fed's monetary policy from political influence. this restriction ensures that the fed isn't subject to the partisanship, to the nihilism, if i could use another word, of people in this body. whether threatening a default or a government shutdown, all too common because of dysfunction and chaos in the house of representatives, whether it is threatening a default a government shutdown, we've already seen how partisanship so negatively affects people's pocketbooks. we don't need it here, too. this amendment would make the fed less effective. it would open it up to all kinds of nefarious political pressure. congress already requires that the fed undergoing review of their operations, of their programs, of their balance sheet, of their financial statements. these are some is the ways that the fed holds -- these are some

of the ways that the congress hs the fed accountable. it shouldn't be partisan. it shouldn't be political. those antics should stay out of this debate. i urge my colleagues to vote no on the paul amendment, and i yield the floor. the presiding officer: is there a sufficient second? there appears to be. the clerk will call the roll. vote: the clerk: ms. baldwin. mr. barrasso. mr. bennet. mrs. blackburn. mr. blumenthal. mr. booker. mr. boozman. mr. braun. mrs. britt. mr. brown.

the clerk: mr. budd. ms. butler. ms. cantwell. mrs. capito. mr. cardin. mr. carper. mr. casey. mr. cassidy. ms. collins.

mr. coons. the clerk: mr. coons. mr. cornyn. ms. cortez masto. mr. cotton. mr. cramer. mr. crapo. mr. cruz. mr. daines. ms. duckworth. mr. durbin. ms. ernst. mr. fetterman. mrs. fischer. mrs. gillibrand. mr. graham. mr. grassley.

mr. hagerty. ms. hassan. mr. hawley. mr. heinrich. mr. hickenlooper. ms. hirono.

the clerk: 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. the clerk: 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.

vote:

the clerk: senators voting in the affirmative -- boozman, collins, cramer, crapo,

cruz, marshall, paul, tuberville, vance, young. senators voting in the negative -- brown, butler, casey, fetterman, heinrich, hickenlooper, kelly, merkley, ossoff, peters, rosen, tester, van hollen, warner, warren. mr. romney, no.

mr. risch, aye. mr. rounds, no.

the clerk: mr. cassidy, aye.

the clerk: mr. kaine, no. mr. cornyn, aye. mrs. shaheen, no.

the clerk: mr. warnock, no.

the clerk: mr. markey, no. mr. scott of florida, aye. the clerk: ms. cantwell, no.

mr. johnson, aye.

the clerk: mr. padilla, no. ms. smith, no.

the clerk: ms. murkowski, aye. ms. stabenow, no. ms. hassan, no.

mr. grassley, aye.

the clerk: mr. ricketts, no. ms. cortez masto, no. mr. carper, no. mr. bennet, no.

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

the clerk: ms. klobuchar, no. mr. manchin, no. mr. thune, aye.

the clerk: mr. daines, aye. mr. lujan, no. mr. king, no. mr. wicker, aye.

ms. baldwin, aye. mr. mullin, aye. mr. moran, aye. mr. cardin, no.

the clerk: mr. braun, aye. mr. coons, no.

mr. barrasso, aye.

the clerk: ms. sinema, no. mr. sullivan is aye. mr. reed, no. mr. whitehouse, no.

the clerk: mr. wyden, no. mrs. fischer, aye. mr. schatz, no. ms. sinema, aye.

the clerk: mrs. capito, aye. mrs. blackburn, aye.

the clerk: mrs. murray, no.

the clerk: mr. murphy, no. mr. schmitt, aye.

ms. ernst, aye. the clerk: mr. sanders, aye.

mr. cotton, aye. mr. blumenthal, no. mr. schumer, no.

the clerk: mr. hawley, aye.

the clerk: mrs. hide smith, aye. -- mrs. hyde-smith, aye.

the clerk: ms. lummis, aye.

vote: the clerk: mr. budd, aye. mr. rubio, aye.

the clerk: mrs. gillibrand, no. ms. duckworth, no.

the clerk: ms. hirono, no.

the clerk: mr. hoeven, aye.

the clerk: mr. lankford, aye.

the clerk: mr. menendez, no. mr. kennedy, aye.

the clerk: mr. graham, aye.

the clerk: mr. booker, no.

the clerk: mr. mcconnell, aye. : vote:

the clerk: mr. welch, no.

the clerk: mr. durbin, no. the presiding officer: on this vote, the yeas are 46, the nays are 51. under the previous ord requiring -- order requiring 60 votes for the adoption of this amendment, the amendment is not agreed to. the senator from washington.

mrs. murray: may we have order, please? the presiding officer: order, please. mrs. murray: starting at 2:30, the following amendments are expected to be called, cruz 1249, lee 1121, upon disposition of the amendments, the senate will vote on the adoption of the substitute amendment on 1922. further, that upon disposition of h.r. 4366, the senate will vote on passage of h.r. 662, as amended, and that all previous provisions of the order from october 24 remain in effect. for the information of all senators, there will be four roll call votes beginning at 2:30 p.m. today. a senator: mr. president. the presiding officer: the senator from kentucky. mr. paul: i call up my amendment number 1347. the presiding officer: the clerk will report. the clerk: the senator from

kentucky, mr. paul, proposes amendment number 1347 to's 1329. the presiding officer: there will be up to four minutes of debate equally divided. the senator from kentucky. mr. paul: the national debt just recently passed $33 trillion. that's $280,000 per household. unless we change course, the debt only increases. cbo predicts trillion dollar deficits as far as the eye can see. we borrow over $176 million every hour. $3 trillion is -- $3 million is borrowed every minute and $50,000 every second. it is out of control. net interest payments are anticipated to double from $475 billion to a trillion dollars by fiscal year 2028.

interest will be the largest item of expenditure for the federal government. americans could pay dearly for congress's inability to say no to the welfare and warfare state. it could mean confiscatory tax rates, high inflation and a weak economy. it doesn't have to be this way. my amendment will save the taxpayers $30 billion. my amendment also cuts $25 billion that the biden administration wants to use to sick the irs on taxpayers to squeeze them for even more money. that's a reduction of $55 billion for what the government is on track to spend. i urge a yes vote on my amendment. thank you. the presiding officer: the senator from washington. mrs. murray: propose -- mr. president, we have a bipartisan package before us. this amendment would slash

funding supported unanimously in our committee in the ag and t-hud bills. kicking women or kids off of wic and gutting supplies for our farmers, making food supply less safe, booting people from their homes as housing assistance would be cut off, eliminating resources for communities to invest in important local infrastructure needs and a lot more. this would be catastrophic. the bills we are considering today have been carefully drafted. they're written to the spending levels that were set by the debt ceiling agreement that the house republicans and the president agreed on. congress passed it into law. i urge my colleagues to vote no. the presiding officer: the question is on the amendment. is there a sufficient second? there sure does appear to be. the clerk will call the roll.

vote: the clerk: ms. baldwin. mr. barrasso. mr. bennet. mrs. blackburn. mr. blumenthal. mr. booker. mr. boozman. mr. braun. mrs. britt. mr. brown. mr. budd. ms. butler. ms. cantwell. mrs. capito. mr. cardin.

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. 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.

the clerk: senators voting in the affirmative -- barrasso, budd, cotton, crapo, grassley, moran, mullin, paul, and rubio. senators voting in the negative -- bennet, brown, capito, duckworth, durbin, graham, hickenlooper, hirono, hyde-smith, klobuchar, lankford, marshall, mcconnell, menendez, merkley, murphy, murray, ossoff, peters, sanders, shaheen, sinema, smith, warren, welch, whitehouse, wicker, and wyden. ms. lummis, aye.

the clerk: mr. reed, no. mr. cornyn -- ms. murkowski, no.

mr. hoeven, no. mr. thune, no. ms. ernst, no. mr. schumer, no. mr. vance, aye. mr. schmitt, aye. mr. cornyn, aye. mr. kaine, no. mr. rounds, no.

the clerk: mr. warnock, no. mr. schatz, no. the clerk: mr. scott of florida, aye. mr. tester, no.

the clerk: mr. romney, no. mr. daines, no. mr. hagerty, no.

the clerk: mr. cramer, no. mr. johnson, aye. ms. stabenow, no. mr. cruz, aye.

the clerk: mr. moran, no.

the clerk: mr. booker, no. the clerk: mr. casey, no. mr. king, no. mr. tuberville, aye.

the clerk: ms. butler, no.

the clerk: mr. kelly, no. vote:

the clerk: mr. cassidy, no. the clerk: mr. coons, no. mr. lujan, no.

the clerk: mr. boozman, no. mr. padilla, no.

the clerk: mr. ricketts, aye.

the clerk: mr. braun, aye. ms. cortez masto, no.

the clerk: mrs. britt, no. the clerk: mr. cardin, no.

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

the clerk: mr. risch, aye. mr. markey, no. mrs. fischer, no.

the clerk: mr. carper, no.

the clerk: mr. fetterman, no. mr. manchin, no. the clerk: mr. young, no. ms. cantwell.

mrs. gillibrand, no. ms. cantwell, no.

the clerk: mr. blumenthal, no. ms. hassan, no.

vote:

the clerk: ms. collins, no. the clerk: mr. van hollen, no. ms. baldwin, no.

the clerk: mr. heinrich, no.

the clerk: ms. rosen, no.

the clerk: mr. kennedy, aye.

the clerk: mr. hawley, aye.

the presiding officer: the yeas are 23, the nays are 74. under the previous order, requiring 60 votes for the adoption of this amendment, the amendment is not agreed to.

:

the presiding officer: the senator from west virginia. mrs. capito: thank you, madam president. i rise today to address this chamber at an increasingly important moment in our nation's history to discuss the national security issues that we are currently facing and the ways in which the united states senate can address them. on the floor over the past several weeks i have repeatedly called for american leadership in support of our allies abroad

and in support of the many challenges that we face here at home. again today i renew that call for american leadership and continue to stress the urgency created by the trials at hand. from the vicious, horrific attacks on our allies in israel by hamas, to putin's aggression we see in europe, from north korea's brazen nuclear posturing, to iranian militias attacking our men and women overseas in uniform. and of course the increasing tensions that we see in the indo-pacific where china continues to threaten the stability and pursue the largest military build-up since world war ii. we are currently living in times and our task in making decisions that will greatly shape the world in which we and the young people here today will be living in. our nation is being tested.

our resolve is being tested. and a country as powerful as ours needs to show strength, clarity, and control that only the united states of america can generate. this is something i have addressed repeatedly with my constituents across west virginia and something that i am confident they understand and agree. the mountain state is incredibly patriotic. we are very proud americans, pride in our country and a steadfast belief in the ideals and values that we stand for is invaluable both now and in our future. i agree with my fellow patriotic west virginians that this is the greatest country on earth and that the title requires us to make critical investments in both our own national security and in the security of our allies before it is too late. it is imperative that americans

across this country recognize this and that we come together as our adversaries attempt to turn us against one another. i am appreciative of the biden administration proposing a supplemental appropriations package that addresses key areas of concern that i've talked to, but those key areas of concerns that we see across our country and the world. that being said, the administration's supplemental request needs to be recognized for what it is. a request. the senate must and will have a say in how this is formulated. the biden administration has not shown the strength it needs to during that challenging times. we need to unabashedly stand with israel. we need to responsibly support ukraine as they further deteriorate putin's military. they're getting back land that

they lost. they're regaining it. we need to strengthen our allies and our own defense capabilities in the indo-pacific. and we need to make strong changes to policy that have allowed our southern border to remain in chaos for years now. and in response from the senate must reflect these four categories because they are directly tied to what is in the best interest of our country and our national security. yesterday i participated in a senate appropriations hearing to examine president biden's request. this is an important step. it allowed us to grow consensus as we move towards a supplemental that will be crafted by the senate. i firmly believe that this was one of our most important appropriations committee hearings, and i congratulate the chair and the vice chair. this hearing highlighted how investments into the defense of israel and ukraine go a long way

to strengthening our own defense capabilities and how the lack of deterrence and enforcement at our southern border is creating elevated threats to our national security. this further underscores the importance of responsible relief efforts that need to be included in a response from the senate. it is critical that a senate-crafted supplemental address all four areas that i have mentioned and that we provide the tools needed for our allies to win and to strengthen our own defense capabilities at the same time in the process. israel is currently under attack by hamas, hezbollah, and terrorists that are supported by america's most evil adversaries. american lives have been lost and far too many innocent families have been left without a home and without their loved ones. ukraine is facing an unjucht and

ground war, the likes of which we have not seen in generations, nor did we think we would see in this generation. putin's aggression creates dangers all around the globe. the ukrainian military is decimating russia's military strength without putting one american troop in harm's way. additionally, funding towards ukraine goes straight into replenishing our own stockpiles with new and more advanced weapons. these are weapons that are made in the usa for the usa, some of which are made in my home state of west virginia. our indo-pacific allies remain on heightened alert. i saw this directly when i visited the region last summer. it is irresponsible to neglect the tie between the attacks on israel, the war in ukraine, and the security of taiwan and

the increasing aggression from china. and on our southern border which remains in chaos. president biden's policies have led to record after record of illegal crossings with an alarming amount of encounters with individuals on our own country's terror watch list. i saw where secretary mayorkas testified yesterday that 600,000 gotaways -- we don't even count them in the over two million that were apprehended. this is 600,000 people that are believed to have entered our country without any interdiction at all. we don't know who these people are. we do not just need funding for a border wall. policy, as i said earlier, that will strengthen our security and protect our homeland that has been left under siege for far too long. it is important that congress

and the american public recognize the importance of support across those four categories. the investments will support our own defense industrial base. it will increase the security of the united states. we will support our allies in the time of need. and most importantly, we will keep u.s. servicemembers from fighting in these battles. each of these categories is in the best and direct interest of the united states and the security of our homeland and the security of our allies. there is no doubt that now is the time to act. if we fail to meet our obligations in any of the four areas, we weaken the overall impact of all of them. i'm confident in the ability of this chamber to craft a supplemental that meets the growing and urgent national security needs of our country and our world. the time for american leadership is now.

thank you, madam president.

a senator: madam president. mrs. fischer: we have heard story about hamas' brutal ground attacks on israel. hamas militants murdered

israelis as they stormed places from border towns to music festivals. hamas didn't just attack from the ground. they continued to rein rockets on israel. this these rockets have destroyed people's homes, ruptured their livelihoods and taken their lives. throughout this conflict, israel iron dome defense system has played a crucial role. it acts as a shield attacking rockets and firing missiles to intercept them before they hit the ground. the united states has stood by israel, our closest ally in the middle east, since the country's inception. we always pledged our support in times of crisis so it is critical that my colleagues and i on the senate appropriations committee work together to

ensure that israel receives the defensive and offensive capabilities that it has requested from the united states. that includes replenishing the iron dome system so that israel is able to protect its people from rocket attacks by terrorist groups. it includes replenishing israel's david sling system and investing in the development of the iron beam system. these defensive systems set israel up for an effective response to the havoc that hamas and hezbollah continue to wreak. we must provide israel with the time and resources that it its government needs to eliminate those threats, but as we consider the aid that we will provide to israel, we also need

to consider the question -- how do we better position the united states to support our allies as well as bolster our own defense systems amid the he's ka hating -- escalating global threats. a few days after the heinous attacks on israel, a bipartisan, bicameral congressional commission released its report on the strategic posture of the united states. this report, based on the consensus of respected national security experts from across the political spectrum, concluded that the united states will be woefully underprepared for the threats that we are facing. our two-pier nuclear adversaries, russia and china, they have dramatically expanded

their nuclear forces over the decades, they continue to develop novel nuclear weapons and systems. meanwhile, the united states is barely keeping up with modernizing our nuclear forces. the report emphasized the need to grow our nuclear and conventional forces, and above all else, to expand our production capability, including our workforce, supply chain, and infrastructure. as senators, we regularly receive briefings and intelligence reports that clearly outline the threats that we face from actors like russia and china. i've often said that if the american people had the access to more of this information themselves, they would better understand the nature and the

severity of the threats that we face. investment in national security, it would move to the top of their priority list. these events, the release of a disquieting defense report and the assault against our ally israel, should serve as a wakeup call for the united states of america. we must expand our production capacity to meet the needs of our country, and if we don't expand our production capacity, we also won't be able to support our allies and our partners or supply them with the lethal aid that they desperately need. building out our capacity so we can meet future threats, that's going to take time and it's going to take resources, but we can start now and we can start

by making targeted investments in munition production. the administration's supplemental request, it includes $25 billion just to replenish our own weapon stockpiles and expand the critical munition production capacity. initiatives that, frankly, well, they should have already begun. including this funding in the supplemental will be a step in the right direction. the supplemental request must bring together our goals of strengthening our own military readiness, supporting our troops in europe and the middle east, and providing our allies and our partners with lethal aid. i look forward to working with my colleagues to ensure that the supplemental includes these

priorities. we have been asleep to changes in the global threat environment for too long and now is the time to wake up. thank you, madam president. i yield the floor.

>> we've shown you this over the last couple of weeks but it includes $60 billion in additional funding in the supplemental with request for ukraine, $14 billion for israel, money also for border security, i humanitarian aid and the indo-pacific region, when it comes to the polling, on support specifically for israel and ukraine, this was done by "usa today" late last month, israel, 58% of those who responded supporting that, 35% opposing that. when it comes to aid to ukraine, 51% supporting that