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democracy. >> the u.s. senate is about to gavel in for the day where lawmakers will work on judicial nominations and vote on a measure related to electric vehicles. live coverage of the senate here on c-span2. the presiding officer: the senate will come to order. the chaplain dr. barry black will lead the senate in prayer. the chaplain: let us pray. almighty god, by whose providence our forbears brought forth this nation, give to our senators a passion to protect those liberties for which so many have given their lives to defend.

lord, give them also the wisdom to trust you with all their hearts and to passionately and humbly pursue your purposes, knowing that you have promised to direct their steps. today, may each lawmaker experience the constancy of your presence. that will enable him or her to cleve to the sunnier side of his or her doubts. guide our senators with your high wisdom and bring them to the end of this day with their hearts at peace with you. we pray in your precious name. amen. the presiding officer: please join me in reciting the pledge of allegiance to the flag.

i pledge allegiance to the flag of the united states of america, and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under god, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. the presiding officer: the clerk will read a communication to the senate. the clerk: washington d.c., november 8, 2023. to the senate: under the provisions of rule 1, paragraph 3, of the standing rules of the senate, i hereby appoint the honorable peter welch, a senator from the state of vermont, to perform the duties of the chair. signed: patty murray, president pro tempore. the presiding officer: under the previous order, the leadership time is reserved. morning business is closed. under the previous order, the senate will proceed to executive session to resume consideration of the following nomination which the clerk will report. the clerk: nomination, the judiciary, ramon ernesto reyes jr. of new york to be united states district judge for the

eastern district of new york.

mr. schumer: mr. president. the presiding officer: the majority leader. mr. schumer: mr. president, another election night in america, another win for women's choice, another win for democracy, another win for the democratic agenda of jobs, infrastructure, lowering costs for the middle class. another terrible defeat for the

maga agenda. americans don't want hard-right extremists to govern this country. at stake last night was a woman's right to choose in ohio, the governship in kentucky, cannabis reform in ohio, control of the legislature in virginia, state supreme court seats and so much more. in almost every major election democratic candidate, and democratic issues prevailed. this continued and strengthened the trend of democratic victories last year. there is no possible takeaway last night other than this. americans fiercely oppose maga extremism, fiercely oppose total abortion bans, and want bipartisan leaders who can put america's needs first. after ls night's results, i have a message to my republican colleagues. when the maga agenda can't win in deep red kentucky or in ohio or help you in virginia, it's

time to recognize maga extremism is the wrong answer, not just for the country but even for the gop. i hope republicans in congress see that after last night, extremism must be rejected and bipartisanship embraced. time will tell if house republicans choose the right path. i want to say one more thing about the results in ohio. with strong support, the people of ohio have voted to legalize the recreational use of marijuana. americans think it's long past time to enact cannabis reform so here in the senate, i'll continue to work with colleagues on both sides and my good friend senator brown to keep moving on bipartisan cannabis legislation as soon as we can. mr. president, last night just shows -- it shows just how precious and vital and sacrosanct our system of elections is. it shows how much work we have to do to preserve democracy so

that it can survive in the 21st century. today senators from both sides of the aisle will take the next step in keeping our elections secure. this time from the powerful changes wrought by artificial intelligence, a.i. this morning i will join with colleagues from both sides and with experts from across the country for our a.i. insight forum on elections and democracy. it's one of the most important forums we will hold this year because of all the ways a.i. will reshape our lives, few are as immediate and stark as the impact it could have on elections. this is the problem we now face. if left unchecked a.i. has the potential to erode our democracy from within and from abroad. political ads have already been released this year using a.i.-generated images and text-to-voice converters to depict certain candidates in a negative light. uncensored chat box can already

be deployed to target millions of voters for political persuasion. unfortunately, once damaging information is sent to a hundred million homes, it is hard, oftentimes impossible to put the jeannie back in the bottle. if we don't enact the right guardrails soon, we could soon live in a world where political campaigns have totally believable images or footages of democratic or republican candidates distorting their statements and greatly harming their election chances. protecting our elections from a.i. risk isn't an issue just for democrats and republicans. everyone, everyone will be affected. and time of is -- sf the essence as americans prepare to go to the polls in 2024. so i encourage all my colleagues to come to this aides forum this morning. now, on global issues and challenges. mr. president, the global community is facing a great

number of challenges these days. israel and hamas are at war with iran itching to join the fray. russian aggression in ukraine challenges the stability of the western alliance. the chinese government threatens taiwan's independence. the united states is uniquely positioned and i would argue needed to play a role in ensuring the peaceful existence of the people of israel, gaza, ukraine, and taiwan. i believe that most members of this body would agree with me. however, some members on the other side of the aisle, not all, seem to prefer that the u.s. sit on the sidelines or, in other words, put their heads in the sand as we face these global battles. some members on the other side of the aisle seem to prefer that putin, xi, and hamas pursue their ambitions unthwarted. i state right here and now that i do not agree with those

republican colleagues. i believe that the united states of america must make a stand against totalitarianism and terrorism. i would hope that everyone would agree with me but here in the senate it seems that some of my republican colleagues are siding with putin and placing unrealistic conditions on aid to ukraine. but, mr. president, we are not giving up. we are going to keep pushing, and we will succeed. whether it's aid to israel or aid to ukraine or aid for taiwan or humanitarian aid for the people of gaza or keeping the government open or avoiding default, republicans must shun doing the thing that some hard-right republicans want them to do. take issues that on their own have strong bipartisan support and inject them with toxic provisions that make it impossible to get anything done. that's what happened last week with the house israel bill. it is what is happening this

week with a senate gop immigration proposal. at a moment when the world is in crisis, when our friends abroad need our help, when our troops face increased attacks in iraq and syria, and with a government shutdown looming over us, this moment calls for bipartisanship. this moment calls for republicans and democrats to be realistic and clear-eyed about what we can pass through both chambers on immigration, border, and all other issues. israel, ukraine, civilians in gaza, the indo-pacific, all of these things have bipartisan support in both chambers. all of them deal with our national security. none of them should be turned into bargaining chips for hard-right policies. we must win on all of them. now, it has been over a month since israel endured the deadliest terrorist attack in her entire history.

there is still over 250 hostages held by hamas, including american hostages and women and children. we promise to send israel aid as soon as we could, and we will work hard hopefully in a bipartisan way to get this done. in the last two days, i've spoken with senior officials in the israeli government, including president herzog, prime minister netanyahu, defense minister gallant, and the opposition leader and reiet rated the united states has israel's back in this dark hour. i made clear that one month after hamas' attack, america's commitment to israel and to the israeli people is ironclad and america will always be israel's strongest ally. i assured them that i am doing everything to pass the president's assistance package asap. in my conversations, i stressed

to israeli leaders that as israel works to radically reduce the threat of hamas, which they must do, they also have a responsibility to protect innocent palestinians civilian life. we know this is not easy but it must be done. we must likewise work together to send critical humanitarian aid to innocent civilians in gaza who have nothing to do with hamas. i also strongly urge the israeli government to quickly clamp down on violence against and displacement of palestinian civilians in the west bank. violence and displacement against these palestinian civilians is not just wrong. it is risk spreading the current crisis beyond gaza at a time when israel and america are working hard to deter other actors from taking advantage of the situation. and in the long run, it also makes it much harder to achieve a two-state solution which i

support and which the vast majority of americans support, which hamas does not. we also talked about my meetings with the families of the hostages. i shared how i was moved by the stories of families of hostages held by hamas that i met in israel and in the united states. and i discussed the need to locate and secure the release of all hostages held by hamas by all means possible. finally, i encouraged israeli leaders to do all they can to support the senate's comprehensive package, including robust humanitarian assistance for gaza, so that innocent civilians hork have nothing to do -- who have nothing to do with hamas can get the food, water, and necessities they need. at every point during my conversation with israeli leaders, one idea remained constants, we'll stand strong with israel and support israel's right to defend themselves, and

we will work hard to pass emergency assistance for israel, ukraine, humanitarian assistance for gaza and the indo-pacific as soon as we can. finally, on judges, last night the senate reached a major milestone. we confirmed our 100th woman and our 150th judge overall to the federal bench since democrats took the majority. it's not only double the amount confirmed by president trump in all his four years. it's significant more women than any full term of any president. and we're going to hold more votes today. we'll begin by confirming ramon ernesto reyes, jr. as district judge for the eastern district of new york, who will become only the second hispanic man to sit on the eastern district. we will also advance highly qualified judges and nominees, other ones, in the afternoon. 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.

>> since february 2022 thanks to congressional to congressional action on prior supplementals $520 million in energy sector funding. led by colleagues at usaid and the department of energy the united states

has delivered thousands of tons of critical energy sector equipment. some of which was installed and operating within hours of delivery. but our partners have done even more. providing hundreds of millions of dollars in energy-related assistance including great repair equipment, power generators got and support for heating. the european commission and its partners managed a complex logistics chain and successfully delivered over 7000 tons of equipment from 35 countries. we cannot let up now. the world bank is estimated that after last winter ukraine needed at least $411 billion to rebuild its infrastructure. that was eight months ago. every day that number grows. electricity grid damage alone r e dispensed with. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. mcconnell: the challenges facing america and our allies

today are not on an a la carte menu of projects we can address at our leisure. no, the most dangerous threats we face are all linked together. all linked together. take it from the author of the last administration's national security strategy. russia, iran, and china, quote, see the u.s. as weak and in decline and are willing to put aside their differences to do lewd against -- to collude against america's differences. so mr. president, they're extraordinarily willing. finland is investigating the case of suspected sabotage by chinese ship against an undersea

communications cable and gas line connecting the newest member of nato to estonia. one of the alliance's most stalwart backers of ukraine. putin's russia is reporting helping iran develop a space-launch vehicle, a critz cal step -- a critical step toward building intercontinental ballistic missiles. in return, iran isn't just sending russia kamikaze drones to kill ukrainians. it's helping build an entire drone factory, a drone factory on russian soil. a russia state energy company is reportedly providing china with highly enriched yuran yum -- uranium. china is swarming social media platforms with pro-hamas

propaganda and protecting both iran and russia in the u.s. security council. america doesn't have the luxury of facing these threats individually. our ability to contend with complex, simultaneous threats is exactly what our adversaries are testing. russian war in europe, chinese aggression in asia, iran-backed terror in the middle east, and a southern border that's dangerously lacking in credible enforcement. this is the reality we face right now. the biden administration's supplemental request falls short of adequately addressing all of these linked threats. so, let me explain again what this moment actually requires.

in europe, the administration needs to provide a clear strategy for a ukrainian victory. that means prioritizing the lethal military capabilities ukraine needs right now. no more half measures. no more hesitation. as former secretary of state pom payo -- pompeo put it last week, america should be, quote, accelerating the flow of weapons and ammunition to kiev, because abandoning ukraine would bolster our adversaries. we should be empowering agency inspectors general to continue the unprecedented oversight and accountability work we've built into the u.s. assistance since the beginning of putin's escalation last year. and we should continue to invest in expanding america's defense

industrial base, both to replace capabilities ukraine is using with newer for our own use and to ramp up production of the ones israel, taiwan, and our indo-pacific allies and partners need. in israel's case, it's especially important that we take stringent measures to ensure no humanitarian assistance bound for the people of gaza can be intercepted by hamas terrorists. i've said before, for any of this supplemental security funding to pass the senate, we will also need to implement serious policy changes at the southern border. senate republicans will not rubber stamp the biden administration's bailout for a problem it created. we're focused on policies to slow the flow, slow the flow of

illegal migration and secure the border. america's strategic goals are crystal clear -- degrade russian military strength and prevent major war in europe, reestablish credible deterrence against iran and its terrorist networks, pro grow oue industrial base to equip our allies in the indo-pacific to raise the cost of chinese aggression, and restore real border security right here at home. that's exactly what the senate should be focused on. now, on another matter, since october 7, a nationwide reckoning with the ancient scourge of anti-semitism has centered on america's most elite academic institutions.

in the eye of the storm has been a cadre of the country's most radical leftist faculty. recently, the university of california ethnic studies faculty council released a letter condemning israel as a globally acknowledged apartheid. the council called the u.c. system's official response, which correctly identified the buccheri committed by hamas -- the butchery committed by the palestinian and hamas jihad irresponsible. it claimed the mantle of moral authority. of course, tenured marxists do not have to worry much about real-world consequences. but university administrators, recruiters, fundraisers, and students, oh, they do. so in response to this faculty

group's terrorist propaganda, one member of the university of california board of regents published a strongly worded letter of his own. here's what he said -- let me be crystal clear, with no ifs, ands, or buts. i will do everything in my power to protect our jewish students, and for that matter everyone, from your inflammatory and out-of-touch rhetoric. unfortunately, too many other administrators have been unable or unwilling to speak with such moral clairpt -- moral clarity, and the consequences of their institutions, for their institutions, are actually piling up. the billionaire plan throp is who just a -- philanthropist who just a few years ago made the biggest donation in the history of penn-wharton school is now leading a revolt among

influential donors that stretches along the ivy league. he threatened to close his checkbook and is talking to half of wall street, urging them to do likewise. one prominent national law enforcement has -- national law firm has set up a legal assistance hotline for students experiencing anti-semitism on campus. apparently, they want nothing to do with institutions that aid or abet anti-semitism. well, good for them. good for them. and it's not just private funding on the line. this week the secretary of education called the play from -- called a play from his republican predecessors and told the university that he was willing to use title 6 of the civil rights act to withhold federal funds if they permit

anti-semitic discrimination on their campuses. of course, the secretary couldn't help but couch his warning in, quote, both sides, end quote, rhetoric about islamophobia, as has been the biden administration practice for the past month. well, tomorrow our colleagues on the help committee will convene a round-table discussion discussing the topic at hand, a glaring rise in anti-semitic hate on campuses. i'm very grateful to have ranking member cassidy for leading this effort to highlight the legal responsibilities that universities have to protect jewish students. as our former colleague, the president of the university of florida, put it without hesitation after october 7, quote, our constitution protects the rights of people to make abject idiots of themselves.

fortunately, the constitution also protects our right to condemn these people in the strongest possible terms.

mr. durbin: mr. president. the presiding officer: the majority whip. mr. durbin: mr. president, we're in a quorum call? thank you. mr. president, over the past two years, something profound has taken place on this senate floor. we have been building one of the most important accomplishments of the biden-harris administration -- the confirmation of highly qualified, independent, evenhanded judges to the federal bench. this week the senate will confirm the 150th lifetime judge since president biden took office. this is an historic slate of judges who i believe will rule with reason and restraint.

these judges respect the rule of law, adhere to precedent, and, above all, answer only to the u.s. constitution. some senate republicans, including their leader, have not been shy in criticizing these nominees. according to the minority leader's retelling of history, under the former president, senate republicans, quote, spent four years confirming staggeringly qualified and incredibly brilliant men and women to the court. i'd like to set the record straight, mr. president. for each judicial nominee that comes before the senate, the american bar association conducts a nonpartisan peer review and ranks their qualifications. rankings are based on integrity, professional competence, and judicial temperament. during the trump administration, senate republicans confirmed eight -- eight trump nominees

who were found unqualified to serve on the federal bench by the american bar association. compare that to president biden's record. during the biden administration, not one -- not one of the 150 judges we've confirmed had an unqualified rating, not one. so when i hear some senate republicans waxing about the glory days of judicial nominees under president trump, i can't help but wonder what they're talking about? are they talking about the judicial court nominee who had never tried a case and instead had written as a ghostwriter defending the ku klux klan? or the cinch circuit nominee who likened abortion to slavery? how about the ninth circuit nominee whose colleagues called him, quote, arrogant, lazy, and

ideologue and lacking in the day-to-day practice of law. some republicans on the senate judiciary committee criticize one of the biden nominees as soft on crime because she had dedicated her career to exonerating wrongfully imprisoned individuals mainly using dna evidence. that's right, senate republicans argued that releasing people from prison who did not actually commit the crime is somehow dangerous for society. just last week one of my republican colleagues criticized the nominee who has served as a federal prosecutor for 16 years because he did not ask a judge to impose a sentence that was higher than the maximum sentence allowed by law in one case. let me be clear, this nominee would be asking a federal judge to violate the law, if he had made such a request. those types of attacks are

simply not credible. president biden's nominees are qualified, and they have demonstrated impeccable temperament. something that stands out about these nominees aside from their exceptional qualifications and loyalty to the rule of law is the professional and demographic diversity they bring to the bench. when you go into a federal courthouse today and look at the judges who are likely to be trying or deciding a case, you're going to find more diversity than ever before. under president biden, in fact, we've made history, confirming more black women to the federal circuit courts than all prior presidents combined. of course, we also confirmed the first-ever black woman to serve on the supreme court, justiceties ketanji brown jackson and we've confirmed historic numbers of asian american judges, latino judges, and lgbtq judges.

it's also professional diversity. in the past years we've confirmed more circuit judges with experience as public defenders than all prior presidents combined for the record, i voted over and over again for former presidents, white males -- the bench is made up of a lot of people that if i'vetive voted for in the past. we believe there should be more diverse and i this president is making sure the nominees sent our way meet that standard. we've confirmed state court judges, federal magistrates and bankruptcy judges. one of president biden's nominees served as special prosecute in the trial trial. another notable aspect of this record and this i'm happy to

report is is that the vast majority, nearly 90% of all these judicial confirmations, have been bipartisan. over -- this focus on qualified nominees goes a long way to restore flust our judiciary. let me also remind you this the first two years of the biden administration, we had a 50-50 senate and a 50/50. the american people deserve federal judges who not only look like america but understand what it means to be an american. that is an important part of our work. that we begin under president biden. it is a work we must finish. we celebrate these 150 judges and will continue renovating people who are committed to protecting our constitutional rights. the american people deserve nothing less. mr. president, i yield the floor. i suggest the absence of a quorum.

the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. quorum call: the clerk: ms. baldwin.

>> and thank you for continuing to show strong bipartisan support for ukraine. i agree with the points just raised by the ranking member of the urgency of our making our nuclear fuel system more independent of russia and the future being critical for zero

carbon american developed energy source for the future. thank you to our witnesses. the brutal russian invasion of ukraine has been a profound strategic failure for putin. nato instead of being divided or we can has expanded exd strengthened. as you testified as a as al coalition of 50 countries providing more than $90 billion in direct support both humanitarian, directed by to support come military for ukraine although we are the single largest donor, but contributions to the fight for freedom on frontlines in ukraine is genuinely global. and as you laid out, secretary o'brien, russia's coalition includes folks like iran and north korea, while ours is literally the entire free world. what we are at risk of failing, of handing putin to victory right when he's on the verge of defeat if we do not take up and pass the president's full

supplemental. administrator mckee casa my colleagues have said to me privately that they are enthusiastic about continuing to send military equipment and hardware to ukraine but not direct budget support. you testified about the importance of direct budget support. could you help us just briefly understand three things. what are the sorts of services that are being provided to our direct budget support? as secretary pyatt had testified the contingency a brutal bombardment of the electric grid. what would happen if direct budget support were to end to ukraine's ability to respond to the daily bombardment of the electric cop for example, quick second, he said the accountability and oversight measures that are needed are in place and are working robustly got if you just briefly speak to that. and most important, how much time do we have? if we kick this can down the road a month or two or three, through a continuing resolution and we fail to take up and

advance the full supplemental for budget support and humanitarian, how much time do we have before that begins to really have bite for the people of ukraine? >> thank you, senator for your question. on the first point, as we have noted the types of services, right now ukraine is able to spend all of the national budget in the fight. they are paying their soldier salaries. they are dedicated to defeating putin on the front lines. that means they don't have any resources to take care of the people and government, which is as vital to keep up the unity of purpose and the reasons we've seen from the ukrainian people because they're all in both on the civilian and the military side. and so the types of services that would be suspended our first responders who rushed into the building and save lives, medical care to make sure that

inoculation stay up so the ukrainian population stays healthy, particularly children routine immunizations we had reports of polio outbreaks and some some of the concerns during the early days of the mass emigration of folks fleeing the conflict. we also are supporting teachers and continuing education so you don't lose a generation as a result of putin's attacks on civilians and civilian infrastructure so that kids can stay in school and speed is a direct it gradually goes down over the next year as the economy becomes more vibrant and we assess ukraine is able to generate more revenue? >> correct. the direct budget support and their fiscal stability is also vital for the imf program and other donors stepping in. our leadership into space and yes, we were first, unlocked the other support that we've seen mobilized from the eu, other donors as well as boosting the companies and the multilateral to be able to contribute to

ukraine economic stability which is as vital as winning the war. if the economy collapses putin will have one. on your point of accountability, absolutely there has been no finding of any misuse or misdirection and that multiple tiers and multiple reviews and start checking not just by the three igs in terms of in juice checks and making sure that we can follow the resources, we have third-party monitoring to ensure the systems by which those are delivered both reimburse and validating are also ironclad and unassailable. in terms of timing, as i said we have no more direct budget support the last tranche was dispersed at the end of this fiscal year. this jeopardizes particularly over the coming months ukraine's ability to maintain its economic stability while he continues to fight the war. it urges. >> thank you for the clarity of that answer and that we just closed by making observation of the chairman made, which is in

the fight going on in israel and the fight going on in ukraine are not distinct. putin welcomed the head of hamas. why do is offering to provide air defense possibly to hezbollah. there is a linkage to these two coalitions that supports terrorism in the middle east and a brutal and ongoing invasion and occupation of eastern ukraine for us to pick one piece of the supplemental and not the full supplemental, not to provide direct budget support, not to provide connection support to ukraine, not to provide support to israel and to continue to push humanitarian support for dozens of countries would be a grave mistake. thank you for your testimony. thank you, mr. chairman. >> senator paul. >> i think it's easy to look around the world and find places for the use of taxpayer can be asked to send money to fix the world's problems, but there is an important which we might want as before we start sending $100 billion more. where are you going to get a? we don't have any money. every bit of our tax revenue

goes to medicare, medicaid, social security and food stamps. those four programs consume all of our tax revenue. everything else is barred. in fact, the entire discretion to budget is being barlett. we borrowed one tree and dollars in the last three months. interest rates have doubled. interest payments have doubled. seek and all this goodwill and try to fix the world's problems but you are ignoring the rot and ruin your trading in your own country. mr. brian, and russians we can state it's tempting to forget they are a nuclear power to think our foreign policy decisions need to take into account the dangers of war escalating in ukraine. as graham allison points out, if putin is forced to choose between accumulating defeat on the one hand, and escalating the level of discussion at the destruction that have recently he chooses the latter. does a great deal of evidence the war in ukraine has come to stalemate even ukraine's commander-in-chief of the armed

services has admitted as much. graham allison said view the ukraine war has escalated far enough to see a bad things would become if we end up in a world where nuclear weapons are used. allison believes that where we are now both for putin's russia and for the biden led u.s. and western alliance it's time to search for an offramp for all the parties. what is being done at the state department to cert for an offramp? thank you, senator. a few points. i mean, i can speak to the foreign policy applications to my belief is if we don't stand with ukraine out will be spending much more on defense in the future. and much of the supplemental dose to reinvest in the united states. so far from rot and ruined where actually showing up the foundations inner energy sector, as assistant -- >> your argument is war and funny word around the world is good for armaments? >> i am saying this supplement

is good for our economy. >> for the armaments industry. so really it's a justification of war. to me that is referenceable. the idea and this is come for my site as well, oh, glory be the war is really not that bad. broken windows are not that bad because we pay people to fix them. broken country janessa bad because hey look the armaments industries would get billions that the terrible argument. i wish i would say maybe, go back your freedom argument or something but the idea you're going to enrich the armaments manufacturers i think is referenceable. >> well, senator, on the making the argument war is good. by making the argument that this case war is necessary threat and we can make a low profit on the site is also that since the armaments guzzle make a lot of profit. >> no, i think you're proposing a kind of false choice that are either have to say that or say nothing. what i am saying that our economy rests on a foundation of innovation and in the supplemental we are investing in our energy sector and speed is we are borrowing the money. we don't have it, we don't have

a pot of money so what you are doing is in essence that we borrow the money from china, we sin to do crinkle ukraine sends it back to buy arms of us and that's a win-win. how do we win when we are borrowing money to pay people? this is the sort of false sort of argument that all, we will create five jobs or every dollar we spend but we are borrowing the money. it doesn't make any sense. it's coming from somewhere where it would be productive work packages, the use basically waiting a were and continue a war. >> no, that's not the choice in front of us, senator, and it sorry that you feel, that that's what you want to frame it. the choice in front of us is to invest in the capacities that allow this war to be one of those include capacities in energy, and defense, i.t. got include -- >> the original question let's get away from funding the armaments people. i'm not for that but the region questions what are you doing to develop an offramp? when i listened it sounds like the department of war. under his the department of diplomacy and fun of it. where are the diplomats?

if anybody talk about negotiation? do you really believe that russia, , the ukraine will push russia out of ukraine? it will push them out of crimea, out of the east and that zelensky's position we will not negotiate until they're gone from ukraine is viable and that the stock would have to be some negotiation before him? if you believe that though, the meat grinder continues and ukraine will be in utter destruction and tens of thousands of more people will die here if there's no negotiation. you would think as a superpower we would be involved somewhat with encouraging negotiation but i for nothing from you and nothing from anyone in your administration frankly that talks about negotiating. >> well, senator, that i hope you would sit down and talk with me about what we are doing in this regard. here i looking a little, little sense of it. all wars in with a negotiation. we have made clear to that with ukraine not over ukraine said. it takes two parties to negotiate the end of war. president putin is not serious

about negotiating the end of the war. he said he wants to wait to see what happens in november 24. so we're preparing for that eventuality so we can have a negotiation that will actually stick as opposed to the track record of broken equipment the president putin is made with a whole range of his neighbors up until now. so that's the successful diplomacy not -- >> the are some as a way back to about will be starting a source negotiating and tens of thousands of people died of both sites and we haven't been successful but i still here on the war at it on their diplomacy. >> i think what we're looking at is successful diplomacy. i just spent last weekend with a 66 countries talked about the basis of the successful peace in ukraine. russia didn't show up. that again is a problem. you don't have a willing partner on the other side so simply saying there must be talks, you're asking for a monologue, not diplomacy. >> senator merkley. >> secretary o'brien?

>> no,. >> am i correct that russia spending about 25% of its funds on the war and the united states is spending about 1.5%? >> i think russia spending more. i think it is 30% of the public budget and they have a secret budget that is even more. >> yes, thank you. in your testimony you start out by talk about how putin is testing the world's resolved to defend most basic principles sovereign nations cannot have the borders change unilaterally. that dictators cannot punish countries for seeking closer ties with the u.s., and that the united states will stand up when a freedom of our friends and allies is threatened. i certainly agree with all those i have a series of questions, help you can give a short answer so i i can get through them if possible. do you agree that failure to fund ukraine will to deep damage to the atlantic alliance? >> yes. >> do you agree that failure to find ukraine will also put some

cracks into new? >> yes. >> pesce into nato? >> do you believe that if the u.s. appeases putin by throwing support for ukraine overboard, that somehow putin will never do aggression elsewhere? >> president putin has make clear that once he gets what he wants in ukraine he will start looking at the baltics, he will start looking at poland and other key out lies. >> thank you. the u.s. appeases putin by throwing ukraine aid overboard, will it enhance china's appetite for the use of military force montella? >> china will see us as weaker. >> will that encourage other dictators around the world to take additional lanes pgh yes. >> i'm struck by the parallel to the journey of chamberlain to munich, to say okay, hitler, you

can take a third of czechoslovakia and to did he declared peace in our time period under the assumption the some of this is that what hitler's appetite. did the chamberlains strategy? >> no. >> will this strategy in out of us banding on ukraine to appease putin work? >> no, it will invite more aggression. >> i think this is one of the most important decisions we have faced in the time i been in the senate, probably the most important decision. i am astounded colleagues who supported corrupt government in afghanistan and an invasion of iraq now want to bail on the freedom loving democracy defending people of ukraine who are dying with the cause. and i must say i think it would be one of the biggest foreign policy mistakes we could make in e limited. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. thune: mr. president, engraved on the wall at the

korean veterans memorial in washington, d.c. are these words. freedom is not free. freedom is not free. it's a stark reminder that our freedom has come at a cost. that's been bought and paid for in blood. in dark days and terrifying nights in battle. in fear, in loneliness. and christmases and holidays and birthdays spent far from home. invisible wounds and invisible wounds. and on veterans day above all, we remember this. we remember that we live in peace and freedom because men and women have answered our country's call. have stepped up and said, i will serve. and have paid a price for that service. mr. president, one of my greatest honors as a u.s. senator is having the opportunity to interact with military veterans.

in addition to meeting veterans around south dakota, i've had the immense privilege of visiting with veterans who come to washington, d.c. on honor flights. for anyone not familiar with the organization, honor flight is a nonprofit that exists to bring military veterans to washington, d.c. to visit the memorials that have been created in their honor. at its inception is focused on bringing world war ii veterans to d.c. but now with members of the greatest generation few and far between, honor flights have been filling up with veterans of korea and vietnam as well as critically ill veterans from all eras. i've been lucky enough to participate in three honor flight visits so far this year organized by midwest honor flight which is our local honor flight hub in south dakota. and a chance to interact with these heroes who have sacrificed to defend and preserve american freedoms is not something i take for granted. seeing the look in their eyes as

she r they visit the memorials, knowing that for some it will be the last opportunity they have to visit is a profound privilege and a reminder of all these men and women have given for our country. it's also deeply moving to hear from the family members who accompany these veterans, a number of whom have told me how cathartic these visits have been for their loved ones sometimes marking the first time they've really talked about their wartime experience. mr. president, on multiple occasions, when i've been down at the memorials visiting with honor flight veterans,ive a he seen students with school groups come up to these veterans and thank them. it's really an amazing thing to witness. and itdz' -- it's made me reflect on just how important it is that children have these opportunities to see and thank our veterans and to understand what they've given us. ronald reagan once said that

freedom is always one generation removed from extinction. it can't be passed on in the bloodstream. it has to be fought for and defended and handed down for our children to do the same. or one day we will spend our sunset years telling our children's children what was once like to live in the united states of america where men were free. freedom is indeed a fragile thing, mr. president. it's easy to take it for granted when you have it, but it is not a guarantee and it must indeed be fought for and defended constantly by each generation. seeing those schoolchildren interact with veterans, who have helped secure our freedom, reminded me of the importance of handing down an understanding of that freedom to our children. of teaching them just what our military men and women have fought and died for, and of reminding them that it will be their responsibility to preserve it.

seeing those schoolchildren and veterans interact, mr. president, also reminded me that we should hold up our veterans to young people not just as examples to revere but as examples to imitate. we should make sure that young people know that serving their country in the u.s. military is one of the noblest paths that they could take, and that while military life is a life of sacrifice, it is also a life of meaning and purpose, one that offers pride and brotherhood and the lasting knowledge that your labor has made a difference. mr. president, on veterans day and every day, i'm grateful to those who have answered our nation's call and taken up arms in defense of liberty. may god bless all the men and women who serve or have served in the united states military, and may he help us to live lives worthy of their sacrifice.

mr. president, i yield the floor, and i suggest the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. quorum call: the clerk: ms. baldwin.

mr. brown: mr. president. -- mr. barrasso: mr. president. the presiding officer: the senator from wyoming. mr. barrasso: i ask unanimous consent that the quorum call be vitiated. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. barrasso: thank you, mr. president. mr. president, i come to the floor today to talk about this dangerous rise we're seeing in anti-semitism, in this country and all around the world. one of the most important vows our nation made to the jewish people is the vow of never again. now, it i have a simple question -- are we doing everything that we can to keep that vow in the wake of october 7 and the hamas terrorist attack against israel? a month ago, hamas killed more jews in a single day than at any time since the holocaust.

yet, some students, professors, public officials in our country had indulging, and even endorsing, this act which to me is torture and mass murder. top anyone who -- to anyone who has witnessed the videos could say nothing but torture and mass murder. once again, the jewish people are being threatened simply for who they are and for what they believe. it's happening to individuals all around the country and around the world. there are those who are praising the horrific mass murder, torture, and kidnapping of jews by hamas terrorists being. some of that praise is even coming from right here in washington, d.c. and across our country. anti-semitic incidents of vandalism, harassment and assault are up almost 400% compared to this thyme a year ago. in october 2022, there were 64

total anti-semitic incidents reported in america. october 7, 2023, the day hamas attacked israel, since that day to day, over 300 reported incidents. that's a 400% increase compared to last year, and that's in america alone. anti-semitic is -- anti-semitism is festering on college campuses. you probably heard about several of these incidents. 51 students group, including at berkeley, university of michigan, ucla, signed a letter in support of hamas' brutal terrorist, murderous attacks. students at george washington university, right here, located in our nation's capital, held a vigil, what they described, vigil for the martyrs of palestine. they projected glory to our martyrs right on the library wall. look, it's disturbing and it is

hateful. a pro-hamas mob at cooper union university in new york city stormed the library. the mob started banging on doors and windows. jewish students were trapped. they feared for their lives. eventually, they had to be escorted to safety. no one's been punished. a cornell student was arrested last week for posting anti-semitic death threats on the school's messaging boards. weeks earlier, a cornell professor said he was exhilarated by hamas's brutality. students at tulane university, 40% jewish, were also attacked. pro-hamas protestors tried to burn an israeli flag. one speaker at princeton university went so far as to equate israel with nazi germany. mr. president, after a mass murder of innocent jewish

mothers, fathers, children, holocaust survivors, radical stiewrpt and -- students and professors in this country have the gall to compare the jews to those who sought to systematically kill them during the holocaust. let's imagine we're jewish students that go to these schools and live in these communities. here's how one jewish student described it to a situation on campus, this young lady said it is terrifying to see classmates call for violence against jews so confidently and so publicly. in other words, from any -- for many jewish students, never again has turned into nowhere is safe. university of wyoming rightly has called out the evil in the wake of the terrorist attack against israel. our university president, ed siddle, and provost, kevin carmen, condemned the heinous act of terrorism against israel.

every university should do the same. america can't turn its back on the jewish people of israel or on israel. that's exactly what i fear we're seeing right now. hamas' brutality is front-page news every single day. israel's clear--- israel is clear-eyed in its mission to destroy hamas. instead of standing shoulder to shoulder with our closest ally in the middle east, the biden administration is currently calling for a pause. the united nations' 120 members recently voted in favor of a resolution calling for a ceasefire. in the house of representatives, right down the hall, a group of members known as the squad are also demanding a ceasefire. didn't hear them call for a ceasefire when hamas attacked israel. they only want israel to stop defending itself. i guess that's the role of the squad.

they -- there already was a ceasefire, mr. president, before october 7. hamas broke that ceasefire. more than 1400 innocent israelis and americans are now dead. a pause of a ceasefire now would only help hamas dig in and rearm. i'm against a pause, i'm against a ceasefire. america should never take action that could help terrorists prevail, and to me that's what a ceasefire would do. instead of a ceasefire, we need to cease paying hamas. we need to cease paying iran. and we need to cease being silent in the face of ?oism. mr. president, moment like this -- moments like this are very concerning and very clarifying. america has existed from the very beginning to protect our free connell of religion -- freedom of religion. as president george washington wrote in a letter to newport

synagogue in 1790, he says, america promises to give bigotry no sanction. america stands on the values of respect and tollration. -- respect and toleration. when we said never again, we meant it, and continue to mean it today. as we confront the worst massacre of jews since the holocaust, our entire nation must do everything we can to keep our word. thank you, mr. president. i yield the floor and suggest the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. quorum call: the clerk: ms. baldwin.

quorum call: her inwashington a couple weeks ago . she was driving in a civilian car on the front lines of the war.

and she had a russian antitank mine and she was temporarily paralyzed. as you can see in the photo she spent some time in recovery. she had to relearn how to walk as she said when she came back to congress she is planning to rejoin her unit because she is committed to this fight. we had a fun exchange about ukraine's motto which is free of work at and how she could identify with new hampshire's state model which is live free or die. ukraine is fighting so we don't have to and people are dying to make sure they can the recovery is not occupied by russia and they are fighting for democracy inthe

united states and around the world . united states i believe needs to continue to support this effort because not only is it ukraine and nato and europe's interest but it is in our own national securityinterest . senator schotz was asking about the nexus between russia and hamas but how does this serve the broader national security interests of not only defeating russia desiring iran and beating our otheradversaries ? >> there's no one more eloquent than ukrainian fire talking about her commitment to freeing her country. as i said in my opening

statement, this is about the foundation of freedom and stability that the us has spent 80 years building and ukraine asked after a few decades of finding its way as an independent country unequivocally made it wants to be part of thatfoundation . so the rest of the world looks at us and asks are we ready to take this opportunity and bring 35 million talented people into the space that will help us as we move forward over the next decades. if we say no they will judge us that we have turned our backs on the world and are not caring about other places foundation so it will set us back decades and i think it will make hollow commitment

thousands of americans made if we miss this opportunity. >>

exhilarating and energizing. countless videos show students and even teachers tearing down missing posters for israeli hostages and the list goes on and on. and some may be surprised by these incidents, but for those who have been paying attention, it's anything but shocking. for years the american left has embraced identity politics. dei and critical race theory. for years, students at some of this country's most elite colleges have had this race essentialism, this oppressor versus oppressed ideology

hammered into their heads. they've tried to make moral equivalence between israel and hamas. every single situation or issue is viewed through the lens of race or other immutable characteristics. if you don't ranking high enough on the totem pole of grievances or score well on the oppression matrix, well, then your views aren't important. dei and crt are fruit of the poisonous tree of cultural marxism and it's playing out right now in our streets. the proof is in the numbers as well. a harvard-caps-harris poll, 95% of voters and i will 65 or older said israel. in the 18 to 24 age range, 52%

said israel while 48% said hamas. that is a startalling generational divide. it shows just how entrenched this divisive ideology is. this ideology completely strips people of their individuality. ideas don't really matter as much as what is the person speaking looks like. it's completely antithetical to the core tenets of our constitution and the american experiment. it places an unhealthy emphasis on race. it strips people of their dignity and the many layers that define us. it rips away the ties that biden us and that's exactly the point -- that bind us and that's exactly the point for these marxists. we need to return to the american idea -- equality of opportunity, not certainty of outcome or so-called equity. we need to prioritize merit over characteristics that people have

no control over. we need to push back against the poisonous dei and crt ideology, an ideology that's even made its way into gradeschools where school-aged kids are being forced to participate in things called a privilege walk. until we do that, mr. president, we'll continue to see more race essentialism from groups like black lives matter and more chants of from the river to the sea e that is not what america is about, but we better get real about the problem before it's too late to fix it. i yield back.

mr. schmitt: mr. president, i note the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. quorum call: the clerk: ms. baldwin.

mr. reed: mr. president.

the presiding officer: the senator from rhode island. mr. reed: mr. president, i would ask that the scheduled vote be immediately called for. excuse me, first i ask that the quorum call be dispensed with. then i ask -- the presiding officer: without objection. mr. reed: thank you. now, mr. president, i would q. that the -- i would request that the scheduled vote be initiated. the presiding officer: without objection. the question is heard on the nomination. mr. reed: could i have the yeas and nays, mr. president. the presiding officer: is there a sufficient second? there appears be. the clerk will call the roll. vote: the clerk: ms. baldwin. mr. barrasso.

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

mrs. britt. the clerk: mr. brown. mr. budd. ms. butler. ms. cantwell. mrs. capito. mr. cardin. mr. carper. mr. casey.

the clerk: 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. 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. the clerk: 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, gillibrand, heinrich, hickenlooper, ossoff, reed, schatz, shaheen, tester welch. the clerk: senators voting in the negative -- barrasso, capito, cotton, johnson, kennedy, mullin,

ricketts, schmitt, scott of florida, thune, tuberville, wicker. the clerk: mr. romney, no.

mrs. hyde-smith, no. vote: the clerk: mr. lankford, no.

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

the clerk: mr. cantwell, aye. mr. fetterman, aye. mr. lujan, aye. mr. peters, aye. mr. young, no. mr. rubio, no.

mr. kaine, aye. mr. grassley, no. mr. cornyn, no. mr. marshall, no.

the clerk: mr. braun, no.

the clerk: mr. blumenthal, aye. mr. murphy, aye. mr. whitehouse, aye. mr. kelly, aye.

the clerk: mr. coons, aye.

the clerk: ms. stabenow, aye. mr. schumer, aye. ms. duckworth, aye.

the clerk: mr. hagerty, no.

mr. warnock, aye. mrs. fischer, no. mr. merkley, aye. mr. tillis, no. ms. hassan, aye.

the clerk: brown, aye. ms. murkowski, no.

the clerk: mr. van hollen, aye.

vote: the clerk: mr. markey, aye.

the clerk: mr. king, aye.

the clerk: mr. budd, no. ms. smith, aye. mr. risch, no. mr. durbin, aye.

the clerk: mr. cardin, aye. mr. cramer, no.

the clerk: mr. crapo, no. mr. rounds, no. ms. lummis, no.

the clerk: mr. graham, no. ms. warren, aye. mr. sanders, aye. mr. casey, aye.

mrs. britt, no. ms. cortez masto, aye.

the clerk: mr. wyden, aye.

the clerk: mr. boozman, no. ms. ernst, no. the clerk: mr. moran, no.

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

vote: the clerk: ms. hirono, aye. mr. cruz, no. mr. booker, aye. mr. vance, no.

mr. mcconnell, no. mr. hawley, no. the clerk: mr. warner, aye.

the clerk: ms. sinema, aye.

the clerk: mr. carper, aye.

the clerk: mr. bennet, aye. the clerk: ms. collins, no. mrs. murray, aye.

the clerk: mr. padilla, aye.

the clerk: mr. hoeven, no. mr. sullivan, no. ms. butler, aye.

the clerk: mr. cassidy, no.

the clerk: mr. menendez, aye.

the clerk: ms. klobuchar, aye.

the presiding officer: the yeas are 51, the nays are 49. 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 go do hereby move to bring to a close debate executive calendar number 373, charlotte a. burrows of the district of columbia to be a member of the equal employment opportunity commission signed by 17 senators. the presiding officer: by unanimous consent, the mandatory quorum call has been waived. the question is, is it the sense

of the senate that debate on the nomination of charlotte a. burrows of the district of columbia to be a member of the equal employment opportunity commission shall be brought to a close. the yeas and nays are mandatory under the rule. the clerk will call the roll. the presiding -- 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. 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 -- bennet, cantwell, coons, hassan, hickenlooper, hirono, king, klobuchar, markey, menendez, padilla, peters, smith,

stabenow, tester, and welch. senators voting in the negative -- budd, cornyn, cramer, cruz, graham, kennedy, lee, lummis, marshall, and moran. ms. duckworth, aye. the clerk: mr. rubio, no. mr. booker, aye.

the clerk: mr. grassley, no.

the clerk: mr. murphy aye.

the clerk: ms. murkowski, no. mr. fetterman, aye.

the clerk: mr. ricketts, no.

the clerk: mrs. shaheen, aye.

the clerk: mr. merkley, aye. mr. cardin, aye.

the clerk: mrs. blackburn, no. the clerk: mr. warnock, aye.

the clerk: mr. wyden, aye.. the clerk: mr. carper, aye. mrs. hyde-smith, no. mr. thune, no.

the clerk: mr. kelly, aye. mrs. gillibrand, aye. mr. sanders, aye. mrs. murray, aye.

ms. warren, aye. mr. paul, no. mr. daines, no. the clerk: mr. schmitt, no.

the clerk: ms. sinema, aye.

the clerk: mr. wicker, no. the clerk: mr. mcconnell, no.

the clerk: mr. lujan, aye. mr. tuberville, no.

ms. collins, no. the clerk: mr. tillis, no.

mr. durbin, aye. the clerk: mr. johnson, no.

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

the clerk: mr. scott of florida, no. mr. rounds, no.

the clerk: mr. hagerty, no. mr. braun, no. mr. cotton, no.

the clerk: ms. rosen, aye. mrs. britt, no. mr. barrasso, no.

mr. hoeven, no. mr. whitehouse, aye.

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

the clerk: mr. mullin, no.

the clerk: mrs. fischer, no. ms. cortez masto, aye.

the clerk: ms. butler, aye. mr. ossoff, aye.

the clerk: mr. risch, no, mr. casey, aye. the clerk: mr. cassidy, no.

the clerk: mr. heinrich, aye, mr. blumenthal, aye, mrs. capito, no. the clerk: mr. lankford, no.

the clerk: mr. romney, no.

the clerk: mr. schatz, aye.

mr. vance, no. mr. van hollen, aye.

the clerk: mr. crapo, no. mr. young, no. the clerk: mr. hawley, no.

the clerk: mr. sullivan, no.

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

vote:

the clerk: mr. manchin, aye.

the clerk: 51 yeas, 47 nays, and the motion is agreed to. the clerk will report the nomination. the clerk: equal employment opportunity commission, charlotte a. burrows of the district of columbia to be a member.

a senator: madam president. the presiding officer: the senator from west virginia. mrs. capito: madam president, can we vitiate the quorum call. the presiding officer: we're not in a quorum call. mrs. capito: then we don't need to vitiate. the presiding officer: correct. the senator is recognized. mrs. capito: thank you, madam president. i rise today really to speak on behalf of the american people that i represent, and those are my great west virginians, but americans all across the country. many, many who have been left behind in president biden's pursuit of bidenimics. american families are experiencing ever increasing financial pressure due to the state of our nation's economy, which is jeopardizing our

ability to succeed and it's jeopardizing our ability to feel confident. it is simply unfair that americans are compromised at every turn due to inflation, increased interest rates, costly regulations, and tax hikes on essential items that we all need to live. but not only is this unfair, but for a country as strong and resourceful as our country is, it is unacceptable. so let's just take a quick refresher on what exactly bideno mics means. what began as sort of an ambiguous turn to represent the economic policies of this administration has quickly come to immediate one thing -- come to mean one thing -- you're spending more and getting less. it means that we see inflation reach a 40-year high and remain persistently above the fed's target rate and pre-biden

administration levels. it also means that mortgage rates would reach and remain at a 30-year record and that interest rates would rise at the fastest pace over the last four decades. it is just truly astounding that the difference in interest that americans are paying now compared to what they were paying just last year. look at some of your statements and you'll see it. the fed aggressively raised interest rates 11 times between early 2022 and now, from nearly zero to 5.5% in less than two years. the historic increase comes at a cost. it comes at a cost that americans have to pay and is making that dream of affording a home, buying a new car, or building a business seemingly impossible.

bidenomics means consumer prices are skyrocketing. it means that everything from groceries to energy to gasoline will stay at nearly unaffordable levels. we just saw it last week with the halloween candy. i saw several comparisons of how much more halloween candy was this year than last. and you know what? we're going to see it again when we all gather at thanksgiving and we look at the cost of providing a family meal. president biden refers to bidenomics as an investment in america, but the reality is bidenomics is making sure americans have nothing left to invest, -- they don't have anything in their savings accounts. we see lots of studies on this. we can't invest in our small businesses, not investing in repairing and replacing your home, and certainly not investing in the future of our families. i hear about this from west virginians every single time i

go home, which is every weekend. i had the opportunity to hear the story of a gentleman who owns a bus company that operates in west virginia. the challenges his business is facing come from all levels. he owns 38 buses, but not all of them are operational. in addition to elevated fuel costs, he cannot find enough drivers so workforce shortages are everywhere and lingering supply chain issues have hampered his ability to conduct much-needed maintenance. he says even when he gets a bus rolling and the group asks, let's stop for some food -- i think often when we see a bus stopping for food and we're at the same restaurant, we keep going. but he said that the -- they are often met by people in the parking lot who say that their

staffing shortages are making them untable to provide service -- unable to provide service. that is one of the challenges of bidenomics, the growing negative impact that these policies have made and the handcuffs placed on business owners that prevent them from doing their jobs. sustained high inflation and interest rates mean that praying costs are at -- operating costs even if prices are raised, businesses cannot reinvest in their own business or hire new employ -- employees, because the cost is raised, it is passed on to the consumer. additionally i hear from west virginians who are facing difficulties that they -- is -- as they're beginning to start their adult lives.

they graduated from school and maybe gotten mared. -- married, but due to high inflation and stagnated wages, they're unable to do so. it's unaffordable. these are children who came of age in a time of economic success, who saw how their parents were able to provide for them but they're unable to use that blueprint now because of bidenomics. this shows the direct damage i think that the president and his policies have inflicted on the american people and the american dream. and the disadvantages that some of our children will continue to grapple with if we do not change course soon. for reasons i do not understand president biden continues to travel the country to try to claim credit and convince people that the state of the economy is good for them. the president has the right, certainly, to take that credit. but my question is why would he

want to do it? i don't think he's done his own grocery shopping lately and any time you're in the grocery store, you can see what's going on. truth be told, i think he's trying to sell a false bill of goods. recent polls show that 76% of americans think that our country is on the wrong track, and 66%, that's two-thirds awful americans, rate our nation's economy as bad. these numbers shouldn't surprise any of us as americans are continuing to feel the squeeze. american workers are continually becoming increasingly concerned that they won't have enough to retire as they had originally planned. the optimism of our small business owners is continuing to decline and the credit card debt

is rising and it's been carried by americans as it hits a new record of over $1 trillion. on top of all of this, the disappointing jobs report showed unemployment rise and manufacturing decline. so americans are concerned, deservedly so. one thing is clear. our country cannot continue on the path that bidenomics has led us. it makes no sense to continue to focus federal time and resources to push burdensome esg government policies, that's environment, social, and corporate government policies instead of pro-growth policies to help bring the u.s. out of the difficult reality that people are finding themselves in. americans remember times of past economic success, the progress that was generated by lowering taxes, supporting small businesses, and investing in american energy and technology.

our republican colleagues and i continue to craft solutions that we believe will promote fiscal responsibility, cut red tape and cut executive overreach and unleash the american energy that we have right here at home. each of these areas is a vital importance to our economy and would provide the relief that american families need at a time when they need it the most. i encourage president biden and my colleagues to heed the calls of the american people who face challenges in their pocketbooks every single day -- every single trip they make to the grocery store, every time they fill up their gas tank, every time they look at their checkbook. the focus should be on them, not on the president and the empty pursuit of bidenomics. with that, i yield back.

the presiding officer: the senator from nebraska. mrs. fischer: thank you, madam president. last winter a restaurant and bakery near omaha, nebraska, they both closed their doors. the restaurant owner said we have to close our doors. s this no way around it. the owner couldn't keep up with

food and labor costs that were going through the roof. costs that have been catapulting higher and higher ever since president biden implemented his so-called bidenomics agenda. the bakery owner, well, he had a similar story as she closed his doors. she said that rising costs made it impossible to continue. inflation took a sledgehammer to those small businesses as well as the livelihoods of their owners and their employees. that's bidenomics in nebraska. starting and sustaining a family business is already a massive undertaking. that work, combined with the burden of oppressive inflation

becomes too heavy for some families to carry. and the coming months may add even more to that heavy load. as we close in on the winter season, days are getting colder, days are getting darker, and that means that many family owned shops, well, they're going to lose significant business. fewer customers are going to venture out to shop at small businesses, and they'll do it for fewer hours during the day. and that's going to cut down on the amount of profit that these businesses make, but not only that, while profit decreases costs will go up. because it's colder, small businesses will spend more of their money on energy bills to heat the buildings.

winter in nebraska, well, it can pose challenges for family owned businesses every year, and this year that is especially the case. since president biden took office, energy prices have risen by 44%. the burden of a higher energy bill during the winter months is 44% heavier. fuel oil is 51% more expensive that is an astounding number. electricity has gotten 26% more expensive, and natural gas, well, it's 22% more expensive. this winter, there may be nebraska businesses that follow

in the footsteps of that omaha restaurant and that omaha bakery, losing so much money to inflation that they are going to be forced to close up shop. spending hundreds more dollars on basic business necessities is unsustainable for a family owned business. and that's bidenomics in nebraska. inflation burdens businesses, but that's not where it stops. inflation is costing the average nebraska household $988 a month. that's almost $12,000 more a year. families are paying more for everything from eggs to gas to their mortgage payments.

and this october, for the second year in a row, candy -- candy inflation hit double digits. when buying halloween candy contributes to a middle-class family's financial struggle, we have got a serious problem, and that is bidenomics in nebraska. nebraskans know bidenomics isn't working and so do the american people. in a "new york times" poll this weekend, 81% of respondents said that the economy is less than good. over half said economic conditions are poor. our economy is sick, and this administration is making it sicker with every reckless

financial decision. since january 2021, this administration has been trigger happy with heavy-handed regulations. instead of listening to people and putting a stop to these outrageous levels of inflation, we know how to heal the economy, it's just a matter of getting it done. the administration has got to stop with its reckless spending. the president needs to reverse course on damaging regulations like his ineffective inflation reduction act, and he certainly needs to refrain from passing more of it. we need to unleash american energy so our economy can breathe again.

bidenomics means sky-high prices, hallowed out savings, and costly interest rates. we can combat it with less spending, less regulation, and more american energy. thank you, madam president. thank you, madam president.

congressman it's good to be another busy day on capitol hill and we are up to ten days with the possible shutdown what do

you think it'll take for democrats to support short-term funding cr the republicans are trying to propose here. >> we are willing to support it as long as it's in line with the previous negotiator mccarthy with a deal from the government and it should be able to fund the government through all of 2020 for but at least we should have the continuing resolution based on that we agreed to the epa for clean air and cuts to education for public schools and cancer researcher medical research or childcare. >> buddy carter republican of georgia earlier anti-conference idea of being proposed a ladder approach of finding some program for a shorter amount of time and government agencies for longer

amount of time in the continuing resolution, what do you think of that approach is that something you heard of before. >> that the washington accounting gimmick to lower the number and at some point all of these agencies need to be funded and i rather do what the deal was and from the government to get a paycheck and put them in a situation with an aggregate services of education, childcare and we need to find what the deal was. bill the emergency funding request for israel and ukraine

what do you think happened here in those proposals and how quickly do you think some of the legislation gets moved? maggie was the responsible for the speaker to tie the funding for israel for irs enforcement and that's why you didn't get bipartisan support. my belief the house is likely to act in there needs to be a bipartisan bill that emerges from the senate and the house bill take about senate bill speaker johnson and border security and highly disagree with. >> and we need to have american leadership from food and it doesn't succeed in taking all of our ukraine and we don't snatch

from the closet victory and give zelenskyy what he's asking for and i'm hopeful the senate will do that. >> going back to israel and defeating victory in defining victory and how close is the line between the feet and victory. an innocent civilians killed and the hostages are really in the perpetrator and hamas needs to be brought to justice and understanding most palestinians in gaza to hamas we need

humanitarian aid water, food, fuel, we need to make sure there is a humanitarian able to do that and should not extend civilian sites, schools, churches, hospitals and people in gaza in human shields and huge civilian casualties. >> is there more that the biden administration could push for the humanitarian pauses to be more careful and more surgical and i believe tony blinken is doing that he pushed for humanitarian explicitly and talked about be more surgical

making sure. in civilian sites i think we all see this children being killed and complex and i understand hamas has operations in the civilian places. there needs to be a surgical approach. >> i know you have to run anything busy day i think it was yesterday part of your recent debate and how that came about in the republican candidate. >> with the university of chicago all modern and instituting policy they reached

out and said i had a conversation with vivek ramaswamy and talking to people on the other side and we had a twitter exchange and in running for president and he went to college and to his credit he kept it civil and was an exchange between two people who had a different vision for the future of america that we need more conversations like that. >> you think america is going to see that in the third republican debate taking place tonight in tampa. >> i doubt it i thank you may have more zingers tonight than with me and more of the conversations like vivek ramaswamy and they were not based on the report of articulating the fundamental differences about the role of government in improving people's lives about to attack policies for the wealthy and american

leadership in foreign policy. we had very different views and i hope your viewers get to watch in to see those. >> they can see on c-span.org if you want to republican presidential debate. >> i usually see the social media and tonight we have both in the first folks are taking place in half an hour we will let you get to work on capitol hill. a democrat from california always appreciate your time. >> thank you, we appreciate it.

the presiding officer: the senator from missouri. a senator: thank you, madam president. the biden administration is trying to sell americans that the economy is improving. they offer minuscule morsels of improvement. m.i.t. but the big picture shows

a economy struggling mightily and americans are struggling along with it. the biden administration wants to tout bidenomics as a success. the young americans, families, elderly americans and everyone in between are being crushed under the weight of economics stagnation. according to "the new york times," 81% of americans rated economic conditions as fair or poor. cbs news states that 66% of americans rate the national economy as bod. abc news -- as bad. abc news has a poll that says 76% of americans say the country is headed in the wrong direction. about two in three americans say their household expenses have risen in the last year, but only one in four say their income has increased in the same period according to an a.p. poll. higher prices, stagnate wages and skyrocketing interest rates are hammering the american people across all demographics.

typically young americans are looking to buy a house, condo or property and build some equity. it's a staple of building a fiscally healthy future and the foundation of the american dream. not only can young people not afford homes with current obscene interest rates, they can barely afford to keep their heads above water. while biden tries to distract young voters with his climate alarmism and that the earth is going to boil, it's actually biden's woeful mismanagement of the economy that's the real existential threat to the economy, the real existential threat to the american dream, the real existential threat to their future. furthermore, it's biden's insane energy policies that have stifled energy production and made everything more expensive. for families it's even tougher in this economy. household goods and food costs are more expensive now.