the middle east? >> from our perspective the prc should should interest of every responsible country that de-escalation rather than escalation in the broader middle east should be order of the day. so president biden to make the point to president xi that iran acting in it esculatory destabilizing way that undermines stability across the broader middle east is not in the interests of the prc or any other responsible country. and prc of course has a relationship with iran and its capable if it chooses to to make in this point director the iranian government. >> israeli intelligence -- did you set any independent intelligence that hamas is military -- bunker under the hospital in gaza. >> is what i said yesterday is i'm not in position to comment on intelligence matters. american intelligence matters ii can't divulge that to you. what i can tell you is we see pliny of open-source reporting about hamas use of hospital and

a civilian infrastructure to store weapons, to how spiders come to engage in forms of commitment that will not be on that speed we are leaving this here to keep our are over for you commitment to live coverage of congress. dissent is about to gavel in their today lawmakers expect to vote on whether to begin debate on legislation to operate a government shutdown coming up friday at midnight. they will consider a a judicil nomination to the ninth circuit court of appeals. live now to the floor of the u.s. senate. the chaplain will lead the senate in prayer. the chaplain: let us pray. mighty god, we trust you for protection in a troubled nation and world. you are aim to do far more than we can ask or imagine.

provide your power, presence, and peace to those who feel that the foundation of their world has been shattered. may we remember that, in spite of calamity, chaos, and confusion, you still rule from heaven. lord, remind us again that those who do what is right will see your face. today, give our lawmakers a greater passion for righteousness, justice, and peace. and, lord, we thank you for the opportunity we had recently to honor our veterans. we pray in your strong 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 13, 2023. to the senate: under the provisions of rule 1, paragraph 3, of the standing rules of the senate, i hereby appoint the honorable tammy duckworth, a senator from the state of illinois, 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. ana de alba of california to be united states circuit judge for the ninth circuit.

the movement toward her and supporters. >> west virginia senator joe manchin announced earlier you will not reelection for the senate. what are you looking at their

and any indication he might run for president? >> two things we are looking at. one, this does not help democrats, they are narrow lead in the senate and joe manchin is the only democrat in west virginia. he would have had a hard time winning reelection so it is unclear if you would able to pull that off. he has made comments is video announcing he was going to run again, plans to travel around the country which is the kind of thing you do when you run for president. he talked about finding middle ground and he appeared with no labels group in new hampshire and had a town hall there so he has had a third-party run but so far we don't know how serious he

is about it. one, looking to see if he goes to iowa and new hampshire. >> speaking of third-party, running on the green party ticket. remind us who she is and elements of platform. >> as she ran in 2016, she got up 1% of the vote and many from them across were both that would have gone to the clinton and was helping donald trump when the white house in 2016. she is considered a long shot at this time, a hard left platform and in the middle, it is not here whether she is able to gain traction. >> what about other candidates

-- >> you got cornell west and rfk junior. >> we have challenges for president biden in his party and run as independent. at this time there is no debate scheduled here and running his campaign, chief from the white house so they are out there trying to send a message there gaining support but not any measurable support expecting to give a real challenge. >> donald trump's former president made news regarding his veterans day message. can you tell us about that and what impact that might be having? >> this is a day which typically possess on veterans and service

and he had his rally in new hampshire is largely his speech focus on what it always does, criticizing the prosecutors and referring to democrats. taking a harder tone. >> last week governor kim reynolds of iowa announced she'll endorse or has endorsed governor ron desantis. what have you seen from them, what are you looking at? >> just ditched a big part of the desantis think mcdonald's is very popular in iowa but we have not seen her governor in this

test so we don't know exactly how many people that might bring. that being said, let us forgot among republicans and he is trying to set himself apart. >> what are you watching this week in his campaign? >> campaign 2024, all eyes on iowa if we seek bigger crowds showing up for governor desantis or nikki haley, tim scott endorses anybody and maybe if we see movement on joe manchin, there's still a little bit of time. >> the national political reporter for the associate press, thank you for joining us.

test:

a couple weeks ago he succeeded everyone with this idea of a quote on quote continue resolution everybody was like, what is that? basically. what he introduced is something that is almost a best case scenario for democrats in a lot of ways essentially proposing money part of the government through january 19 and the government including the pentagon and domestic programs

in early february so setting up this two-tiered funding system to avoid shutdown end of the week basically. november 1790 the funding expires. this is the so-called clean cr, it doesn't include funding cuts, includes an extension of environment through september 2024 and allows a good outcome for democrats with this idea but some are holding their fire. it will be interesting to see where democrat shakeout. >> what about conservative republicans, how do they feel? >> we have already seen pushback from conservatives, to roy, marjorie taylor green, warren davidson folks known as

hardliners it is acceptable. doesn't do with the freedom carcass. eventually it is similar to what kevin mccarthy paired up with democrats past and lost the speaker's capital. it is sort of the same situation. it is a similar scenario so i expect more pushback. >> what is the timeline, went are we going to see this? >> the role committee this afternoon so that will be interesting because you have a couple of conservatives who will either vote for or against so

mr. roy is on the rules panel. the house is gearing up for a vote tomorrow so it will be interesting to see support this. they will come out at this is a bad idea. she doesn't approve, it doesn't include funding. definitely going to need but it is possible he will get that but it will be interesting to watch who might democrats will support this. >> do have a sense whether or not this will pass? >> it is sort of a best case scenario.

the other week introducing a bill that made it conditional. they saw the as speaking a fight. israel aid on funding for the irs. this is not picking a fight with democrats. the idea is not particularly popular with the funding are only a couple weeks apart. >> if you have a question, give us a call on went by party.

you can reach us on facebook and on x. there are problems with to bills this past week. what happened, explain why. >> wants speaker johnson took over, he made comments to talk forward in the appropriations bill. the problems plaguing mr. mccarthy are now plaguing speaker johnson and you have this unruly republican conference that can't coalesces

the corridor saying they couldn't stomach a billion you conservatives saying they want to get rid of and pack altogether. they are saying they don't want this, they have to get to vote for this bill. it is typically not a controversial bill and hannah fell apart because you have democrats saying, conservatives thing cfa in this bill will fund the headquarters and we can have that for an abortion issue moderates had a hard time with so he speaks to speaker johnson

challenge read a half they can't support these bills and it's not going to get easier it will never become law, it's not going to get any easier. >> what's happening on the senate side? the gambling today, what other plans? >> the senate will be interesting to watch today. the senate is expected to take a procedural quote this afternoon on basically a continuing resolution so they don't have a continuing resolution, they are getting procedural gears and motion for the november 17 deadline. i think what is interesting is we were just talking about cr greg johnson introduced is kind

of palatable for democrat notably over the weekend senate democratic aide reached out to a number of reporters and left the door open support this. not necessarily a bad thing. the pentagon so february would be the pentagon. democrats say they are okay with that so what is interesting is does this vehicle does it exceed? not that long -- the presiding officer: the majority leader.

mr. schumer: so, this week, president biden will attend the asian pacific economic cooperation summit in san francisco. where, on wednesday, he will meet with chinese president xi jinping. earlier today, i spoke with national security advisor jake sullivan, and urged that president biden should push president xi on some of the same things my colleagues and i did during the bipartisan codel i led to china last month. at the top of our list is the fentanyl crisis, which has killed tens of thousands of americans each year, so many of them young americans, and which in large part originates in china. for years chinese chemical companies have faced little oversight as they sold chemicals like fentanyl analogues, zylazine and other substances to mexican buyers. mexican cartels then turn these chemicals into fentanyl that they sell in the united states

and ultimately in to our communities, wreaking havoc, claiming tens of thousands of lives. so when my colleagues and i met with president xi, we explained in graphic detail how fentanyl was devastating our communities and that china needs to stop the exportation of these precursor chemicals. we spoke in very strong terms. i did, senator hassan, and senator cassidy. we all told him what havoc this was wreaking in america. and then i explained to president xi that my dad used to be a small business owner and that would go a very long way towards improving china's image for americans if they took action to crack down on the fentanyl crisis. the benefits that they would get, that china would get from cracking down on these companies in terms of american goodwill would far more than outweigh the tiny cost it would have on the

economy. and i said any businessman knows that would be a good thing to do. president xi seemed receptive to our concerns about fentanyl and said he would look into it. so today i relayed to jake sullivan that president biden should be really strong on this issue and ask for concrete action for president xi on this important topic. it seems there may be a chance. it sound as if there may be a chance for progress with the chinese government on cracking down on exporting precursor chemicals used to manufacture chemicals -- manufacture fentanyl. so we are eager to hear more come out of wednesday's meeting. if they will crack down on these precursor chemicals that are used to make fentanyl, it would have of -- it would be of huge benefit to this country and save thousands of lives. we are optimistic and hopeful

that our codel and now president biden pushing the issue will get real results. it was among the highest priorities for our codel last month. we also urge that president biden should echo what we told president xi -- or i also urged, i also urged jake sullivan to make sure president biden echoes what we told president xi about the need for reciprocity between u.s. and chinese businesses. time and time again our best companies are prohibited from competing freely or competing at all in china while many of their best companies can freely compete here. so many of our companies are severely disadvantaged, when the chinese government stacks the deck against them in the form of forced technology transfers, the theft of their intellectual property and other unfair practices. this is costing countless american jobs and tens of

millions, if not more, to our economy every single year. we listed roughly a dozen major companies that right now face a major disadvantage competing in china, and we hope the president will strongly push president xi on those this week. we also stressed to president xi last month that if the u.s. and china are to improve their economic relations, u.s. companies need to be able to compete freely in china just as they compete freely here. i expect president biden will emphasize the same this week. finally, i hope president biden is adamant as we were with president xi that china must lean on russia and iran not to exacerbate the military crises happening around the world. on the israeli-gaza conflict in particular, we told president xi that china needs to use its influence on iran to stop them from acting in any way that would widen the conflict. china should play a positive,

not a negative role in this delicate crisis. in fact, during my meeting with president xi, as you may remember, i criticized the chinese government for issuing a state about october 7 that failed to condemn the killing of civilians, and they ended up issuing a stronger statement the next day. when president biden is similarly firm that china should play a stabilizing role with iran and russia, i think it will make a big difference. in short, wednesday's meeting between president biden and president xi will be a real test for china to show that they truly want a better relationship with the united states. when my colleagues and i met with president xi in person, we were pointed and specific with our questions and issues and found him to be responsive. so i expect president biden will have the same sort of frank conversation we did a month ago. when the president hammers home the same things we focused on in beijing on fentanyl, on reciprocity for u.s.

businesses, on insuring stability on the world stage, then given what we saw in our conversations, we think he could make significant progress on issues we've long focused on here in the united states senate. i salute president biden for meeting with president xi, and i'm very hopeful we'll get some real results as a result of that meeting. on avoiding a government shutdown, it's a critical week here in the u.s. capitol. this friday at midnight the federal government is going to shut down unless congress acts first. the last thing the american people want to see is another unnecessary and painful government shutdown. democrats certainly don't want to have a shutdown. and many of our republican colleagues have likewise claimed they don't want to see one either. even the mere act of approaching a shutdown is damaging. last friday, when moody's announced they lowered the u.s. credit rating to negative citing

continued political polarization as one of its reasons, that proved to be true. the answer for avoiding a government shutdown is what i've been saying all along -- bipartisanship is necessary. i've said on multiple occasions that if we're going to work together to keep the government open, speaker johnson will have to avoid pushing steep cuts or poison pills that democrats can't support. for now i am pleased that speaker johnson seems to be moving in our direction. by advancing a c.r. that does not include the highly partisan cuts that democrats have warned against. the speaker's proposal is far from perfect but the most important thing is that it refrains from making steep cuts while also extending funding for defense in the second tranche of bills in february, not the first in january.

today the house rules committee will take up the speaker's bill, and that will give us the first indication of how committed republicans are at keeping the government open. the next few days will tell all in the house, and i hope the speaker does not buckle to the loud voices on his hard-right flank to add partisan cuts as the price for keeping the government open. in divided government, extremistsist on one side cannot expect to dictate the agenda for the rest of congress, especially when their views are so out of line with the majority of congress and the majority of the american people. i hope speaker johnson recognizes that he will need support from democrats in both chambers if he wants to avoid causing a shutdown. he needs to stay away from poison pills and steep hard-right cuts for that to happen. on military holds, it's now been nine months since senator tuberville began his reckless hold on hundreds of military promotions. frankly, madam president, patience on both sides, both

sides of the aisle is wearing very, very thin. every day senator tuberville continues his reckless blockades of military promotions, america's national security pays the price. our military readiness pays the price. military families, spouses who need to start new jobs and children who need to start new schools pay the price. it's the responsibility of senate republican colleagues to importune senator tuberville to stand down and tell him to start putting his hard-right political demand ahead of america's national security. i know some republicans have been trying to work with senator tuberville over the past week to find some last-ditch solution, but he seems to remain ironclad in his stubbornness. so tomorrow the senate rules committee, led by senator klobuchar, will mark up a resolution allowing the senate to quickly confirm the promotions currently blocked by

tuberville, by senator tuberville. i thank my colleagues and chair of armed services committee, senator reed, for his work on this resolution. if senator tuberville continues his blanket holds on military nominations, if he won't even listen to members on his own side of the aisle, i will bring senator reed's resolution to the floor for a vote as soon as possible. that way we can end senator tuberville's farce and quickly confirm the over 350 military promotions, people who have served their country long and well, we can finally move them to their rightful promotions. i yield the floor and note the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. quorum call:

mr. mcconnell: madam president. the presiding officer: the republican leader. mr. mcconnell: i ask unanimous consent further proceedings under the quorum call be dispensed with. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. mcconnell: i need to begin today with some tragic news. this weekend as americans joined together to salute our heroes, five soldiers deployed out of fort campbell, kentucky, were killed while operating in

dangerous conditions in the mediterranean sea. chief warrant officer iii steven dwyer. chief warrant officer ii shane arms. staff sergeant ken groane. sergeant andrews sufficient -- suffolk. and sergeant kay wolf. these fallen warriors were members of fort campbell's 160's special operating racial -- operations regiment known by their brothers and sisters in arms as night stalkers. the night stalkers are elite, highly trained fighters who take on the most sensitive missions. they're ready to respond at any time to serious threats anywhere in the world, and they ground

their service in two principles -- never quit, never surrender. night stalkers live, breathe, and tragically often die by a creed which reads, i serve with the memory and the pride of those who have gone before me, for they loved to fight, fought to win, and would rather die than quit. this weekend five brave men honored their creed. their memory will live on, carried by night stalkers who continue to profess it and by every american who mourns their loss. this is a stark reminder of the incredible dangers our men and women in yearn form face -- uniform face and the debt we owe

them. i join our nation in grieving these fallen warriors and extend my prayers to their families, children, and comrades. now on an entirely different matter, i've encouraged -- been encouraged this year by the progress our appropriations committee has made towards restoring regular order to the way we fund the federal government. as i've said before, shutting down the government does nothing -- nothing to advance that work. regular order requires that congress provide itself the time for careful consideration and thorough amendment. i'm glad to see that speaker johnson has reduce -- introduced a c.r. that would do exactly that. there's a lot of work left to do aside from the remaining full-year appropriations bills, glaring national security priorities continue to demand

our attention from israeli to ukraine to the indo-pacific and of ours our southern border. house republicans have produced a responsible measure that will keep the lights on, avoid a harmful lapse in federal spending and to finish that important work. i will continue to support the c.r. and encourage my colleagues to do the same thing. as i said for months, congress also has a responsibility to help our nation meet a growing network of serious threats from adversaries like russia, china, and iran. as one recent analysis put it, each of these revisionist states aid the others in their goals to subvert or destroy democratic nations. just consider the lengths that authoritarians in by shing and

terrorist sponsors in tehran are going to prop up putin's brutal war in ukraine. the prc are massively ramped up its purchases of russian energy to help moscow subvert western sanctions, and chinese materials are helping produce 80 million rounds of ammunition. meanwhile iran is providing maintenance for russian aircraft subject to u.s. sanctions and iranian personnel are on russian soil training putin's forces to use their lethal kamikaze drones. our adversaries are showing by their actions that they are heavily involved in russia's war with ukraine. they understand their own ability to threaten america and the west is tied directly to what's happening in eastern europe.

our allies understand this reality as well. it's why allies from japan to poland are making massive new commitments to modernizing their own defenses and expanding their defense industrial basis. this is good news for burden sharing and for collective security. in some cases like germany, our ally's investments since russia's escalation in ukraine is a long overdue departure of years of neglect. as berlin continues to pull new resources into its own military strength, our german allies have announced a plan to double -- double their direct military aid to ukraine and in the coming year. of course some of our european allies have never had the luxury of taking a holiday from history. for example, since the beginning

of russia's escalation, our nato ally estonia has he'll indicated a nearly unparalleled share of its gdp in direct assistance. estonians know that vladimir putin does not intend to stop at kyiv. america's friends that understand to check putin's aggression in europe would have far-reaching consequences, so do our biggest adversaries. we cannot afford to neglect this reality ourselves and we cannot deny the clear ways that america's support of ukraine is driving our growing readiness to face other threats. the emergency investments we made in the u.s. defense industrial base is a result of russia's war in ukraine are doubling production capacity to 155-millimeter artillery rounds and long-range precision fires,

and nearly double capacity for air-to-air missiles. denying the obvious connections between the threats we face can't object cure the fact that the benefits -- obscure the fact that the benefits of western is connected. it means making america and our allies stronger from europe to the middle east to the indo-pacific. the most important thing anyone who is truly concerned about growing threats from china or iran can do is support investments in american military capabilities in our defense industrial base. that includes both supplemental resources and full-year defense appropriations. if we fail to make these steps, we won't just be starving our

friends and allies but our own military. threats we face are not divisible but neither is the progress we're making toward restoring america's strength. mr. durbin: madam president. the presiding officer: the senior senator from illinois. mr. durbin: madam president, history was made today with the release of a document by the united states supreme court. today for the first time in the history of the united states, the supreme court has issued a code of conduct for supreme court justices. most americans will be surprised to learn that this was the first time this code of conduct has been issued, but that's a fact. i know this issue better than

most because 11 years ago i wrote to the chief justice of the supreme court, john roberts, along with several of my colleagues and told him this establishment of a code of conduct for the supreme court justices was long overdue. after years of refusing to act, a series of scandalous disclosures involving several justices on the court and the senate judiciary committee passing legislation sponsored by senator sheldon whitehouse on ethical reform, the supreme court has finally responded. today, for the first time in history, the supreme court of the united states is at least saying to the american people, we hear you. and understand that the nine justices on the supreme court are members of a democratic form of government, not royalty.

that they should be held accountable, as all public servants in the federal government are held accountable. at a glance this code of conduct for the justices of the supreme court are similar to the standards that apply to all other lower-court federal judges. this sets important can oons of -- cannons of conduct, including avoiding impropriety and the appearance of impropriety. all of these are important steps, but they fall short of what we shouldn't could expect when a supreme court issues a code of conduct. the court's statement on the code specifically notes, for the most part these rules are not new. end of quote. that's a problem. because the court's previous practice were plainly inadequate. the code of conduct does not have a meaningful mechanism to

hold justices accountable. it leaves a wide range of discretion for individual justices, including decisions from recusal of sitting on cases. i'm still reviewing the court's code of conduct, i will mark this marks a step in the right direction. it may fall short of the ethical standards which other federal judges are held to and that's unacceptable. if it falls short, the american people will ultimately have the last word and the integrity of the court is at issue. we are going to carefully review this proposed code of conduct to evaluate whether it complies that this not languish with the lowest standard of ethics in the government. but this begins a dialogue which will restore the integrity of the court. i would like to speak object a

r- -- on a separate topic, totally unrelayed. -- run related. after nearly -- unrelated. after nearly seven years, eight years, six months and 21 days former philippine senator leila de lima was released. she stood by her defense of democracy, human rights and truth and reflected on the importance of not succumbing to hate. a reminder of courage and grace. i welcome her release and urge all charges against her be dropped. i look forward to seeing her soon. i hope she can make it to washington. several senators have followed this closely, including the presiding officer.

we've sent letters, we've encouraged her over the years to be strong, and she was. senator markey was also involved in this effort. i want to commend him as well. you often wonder when you hear about the unjust jail whether there is something that we can do on the senate floor that will change history, today after eight years, six months, and 21 days, justice came for leila de lima. i was glad to plead her case to the are american people and to the president of the united states before he met the pill peeno -- filipino leadership. madam president, i ask that the remaining portion of my statement be placed in the record. the presiding officer: without objection.

mr. durbin: i yield the floor. mr. grassley: madam president. the presiding officer: the senator from iowa. mr. grassley: i ask that the equaling of the quorum be suspended. the presiding officer: we are not in a quorum call. mr. grassley: shortly after president biden took office, i gave a speech wondering whether this new president biden, touch

on russia rhetoric, would be matched by his administration's actions. i wondered about president biden because actions of the obama-biden administration were dangerously weak. we all know that when it comes to russia, weakness is provocative. it encourages aggression. russians follow the maxim attributed to lennon, quote, you probe with bayonets, if you find mush, you push, if you find steel, you withdraw. the same is true when dealing with iran and china. only six months after russia invaded and occupied portions of the republic of georgia,

then-vice president biden went to munich to deliver a speech to call for russia to hit the reset button with russia. when russia invaded the republic of georgia -- while russia invaded, the republic of georgia was westernizing and had gone out of its way to cement close ties with our country. georgia even sent soldiers to fight and die alongside american soldiers. but that support from georgia was quickly forgotten in order to reset relations with russia. secretary of state clinton actually did hit the reset button in an embarrassing, chummy ceremony with russian

foreign minister. as part of the obama-biden reset, the united states unilaterally canceled planned missile defense cooperation with their allies, the czechs and the pols and the administration did so on the anniversary of the soviet invasion of poland. all of these actions then set the exact wrong message -- sent the exact wrong message to both russia and our allies. no doubt the obama-biden administration thought our unilateral show of goodwill would be warmly received and reciprocated by russia. instead we know russia under

putin invaded and occupied ukraine's crimea peninsula and chunks of eastern ukraine. the obama-biden administration responded with angry words but refused to send ukraine defensive weapons of any kind. president obama urged ukraine not to fight the 2014 russian invasion. the priority was to avoid escalation. the obama-biden administration backed negotiations and a diplomatic solution. now, we all know russia has a history of using negotiations to create frozen conflicts that it can use then to destabilize and

control its neighbors. historically, russia will snatch a piece of land, then demand cease-fire and negotiations allowing it to keep the ill-gotten gains indefinitely. meanwhile russia builds up its next aggression while weakening its target. the obama-biden reset and subsequent ukraine policy was a disaster for peace and security. in august 2013 the regime of syrian president assad used chemical weapons. by doing so crossed president biden's red line, that famous red line that he spoke about. when nothing happened, then the

world took notice. meanwhile, the obama-biden administration sought to strike iran nuclear deal at all costs alienating regional partners and emboldening the regime. in june 2019, president trump repeated a version of president obama's red line mistake. at that time iran had shot down a u.s. drone and the u.s. military had prepared a retaliatory strike, as you would expect our defense to do. but president trump stepped in calling off the strike and then he publicly announced that he had done so ten minutes before

that attack was supposed to be launched. president trump subboarded retaliation. then led to further escalation by the iranian regime, including attacks on u.s. soldiers. that is until president trump finally took some solid action making that bold decision to restore deterrence by killing general soleimani as he was planning further attacks against u.s. forces. iran responded with a missile barrage but the dramatic escalation of the conflict with iran predicted by some fortunately never materialized. in fact, iran was deterred.

then the biden administration came into office and began negotiations to resurrect the iran deal. of course, who can ever forget the disastrous withdrawals from afghanistan. in time we learn more about the decisions that lead to such enormous loss of american military equipment to the taliban while leaving many afghans who worked with our military still under taliban control and still today. both of these losses sting this very day and influence others to see us as weak or somebody that can't be counted on as far as our friends are concerned. but there is another loss that

is harder to quantify. that's the loss of the reputation of the united states. like it or not, stacked on top of the other expressions of american weakness that i've described, the afghanistan debacle led to a perception that the united states is weak and unwilling to stand behind its commitments. after the afghanistan embarrassment, our allies and partners worried that we were no longer reliable. worse yet, those countries that have long sought america's downfall no longer feared us. our enemies were emboldened according to russian opposition

journal us mikhail zigar in his recent book, the fall of kabul, was a turning point in putin's mind. putin became convinced then that he could conquer kyiv. president zelenskyy would flee the country, and the united states would do nothing to stop that takeover of ukraine. today we face the consequences of an emboldened russia and an emboldened iran. and, two, china is increasingly aggressive in the south china sea, and the state of taiwan. to be sure, our responses are

being closely watched by all three of these adversaries, russia, china, iran. this is a critical time when sending more messages of weakness would be very dangerous. today some people, even in my own political party, are reverting to the obama-era stance arguing that we cannot afford the actions necessary to deter all three would-be adversaries of our country. i'm convinced that we must deter further aggression from our enemies. we must restore credible deterrence before we reach the point where we have to expand -- expend much more, both in american blood and american

treasure. estonia's prime minister is in town this week. remember that little country was taken over by the soviet union, # 1940 and until the early 1990's was still under their control. now they're a free nation. we ought to listen to them what freedom really means. so i remy colleagues to listen to the prime minister. if you have any chance to do that. she's shown remarkable clarity and leadership since the full-scale invasion of ukraine. she often points out -- and this is a quote -- if putin wins or if he even has the view that he has won this war, his appetite will only grow. meanwhile, that old impulse to

deter ourselves is still evident in this present administration when the u.s. national security adviser says he's worried about starting world war iii, that's a way of convincing putin to hang on a little longer. we should have learned by now that escalation of aggression happens when the united states demonstrates weakness. telegraphing that we're afraid to give ukraine what it needs to win is deeply counterproductive to freedom and most importantly to the ukrainian people but also encouraging russia. because remember, for russians weakness, not strength, is provocative. i urge members of both political

parties to discard the failed obama policies of weakness towards russia and giving ukraine what it needs today. reset didn't work. and ignoring russia's ambitions in that area is harmful for peace afternoon the word and particularly for national security. our national security as is tied through nato with europe. the more advanced weapons that ukraine can obtain quickly, the faster that war will be over. when it comes to quick decisions to send needed weapons to ukraine, to defeat russia,

several countries have shown great leadership. the united kingdom, poland, the three baltic countries, for example. now, for sure, yes, the united states has provided many advanced weapons to ukraine, the most of any country helping ukraine, but usually only months after they are needed to have the maximum effect that these good weapons provide. ukraine didn't get the tanks needed to launch the counteroffensive until after the russians had months to dig in and fortify their front lines. after months of dithering, president biden finally gave permission for the dutch and danish to send their f-16's to ukraine, but it will still take months to train the pilots.

the united states military would never launch a ground campaign without controlling the skies, but that's what ukraine has been forced to do without the f-16's. after all the public hemming and hawing, president biden finally approved sending a version of the atacms missiles to ukraine, but shorter-range cluster munitions were the variant that were sent, not the most destructive. meanwhile, president biden is still with holding the long-range versions needed to take out russian supply lines in the crimea peninsula. now, i can only assume this is another example of self-deterrence that has proven so misguided -- a misguided policy of the past.

the ukrainians are making steady progress, but they could be doing it faster and less cost of american dollars and ukrainian lives if president biden would not be so hesitant as he is. to take bold action. the united states has spent roughly $44 billion on military aid to ukraine. now, that happens to be roughly 5% of u.s. military's own budget. ukraine remains in control of roughly 83% of its territory, and the u.s. intelligence community believes the war has severely degraded russia's military power and its ability to threaten nato allies. now, that is a victory, not just for ukraine's independence but

for our own national security as it's tied to the invoking of article 5 of the nato alliance. the russian invasion of ukraine sent a wake-up call to our military that we need to increase our capacity to produce munitions. we have ramped up production and are already investing in new capacity so we will not be caught flat-footed in future conflict. i'm glad to say this is also in evidence at the iowa army munition plant in west burlington in my state. the dedicated workforce in iowa is cranking out 155-millimeter

howitzer shells and a host of our key munitions. ground was recently broken for a $1.2 billion in upgrade to the iowa plant paid out of the ukraine funding package passed by the congress. i know people talk like the money congress allocated was literally sent over to the ukraine and every dollar of it spent within that country, but the reality is most of the money stayed right here in the united states to produce arms and ammo and to build production capacity. i'm proud that the portion of the ukraine funding sent to iowa will help keep the united states, the arsenal of democracy, for years to come. ramping up our military production capacity is good news for our u.s. military readiness.

it's also good news for taiwan. the closed production line of the stinger air defense system has meant taiwan's orders have gone unfulfilled for years. that stinger line is now reopening. i do not believe that the united states is incapable of addressing multiple international challenges that we face, and i fear the consequences if we don't face strongly those challenges. the united states believed that it could ignore world war i and world war ii until those wars became so large that we got dragged into those conflicts. once the united states joined the fight, our participation was

decisive, but at enormous cost to american lives and american dollars. we learned our lesson after world war ii, took action to make sure it wasn't repeated, and it hasn't been repeated, and we did that by helping form nato to keep the peace in europe, for now 70 years. putin's russia is continuing the russian tradition of imperial conquest and will not stop unless they are stopped. and all you got to do is look at what putin himself has said in addresses going back to 2008 and a couple times since then. he said that his goal was to reestablish the old soviet union, and i guess he put it in

strongest terms when he said that the breakup of the soviet union was the greatest geopolitical disaster of the 20th century. so, you know, he's going to welcome the support he's getting from iran, and iran happens to be sending drones to russia to attack the civilian areas of ukraine. iran also funds and backs hamas as it inflicts a reign of terror on innocent israeli citizens. for all of those people that are demonstrating around the country that you see on tv over the last four weekends against what's going on in israel and gaza, it

seems to me it ought to be pretty clear that there wouldn't be a single killing going on today in that region of the country if hamas had not invaded israel, and that seems to be forgotten by all the people that are demonstrating. i know that they're peacefully demonstrating, for the most part, and that's their constitutional right, and i defend that right. but we have iran involved in this as well because it funds and backs hamas as it inflicts a reign of terror on innocent civilians. iran is firing rockets at u.s. soldiers in the region resulting in injuries, and i guess if you believe the tv reports about 48 instances of attacks against

american soldiers, thankfully nobody killed at this point, but there has been injuries and so many of them very serious injuries and we have not responded accordingly, showing weakness that iran respects our weakness and attacks more. china has backed russia diplomatically, economically, and with technology that is being used to attack in ukraine. so i hope you see this china-iran-russia axis against the interest of peace, against the interest of liberty, and independence of countries, something we should take very seriously. china is deterred also from

attacking taiwan and dominating other neighbors in asia, largely based on its assessment of america's military strength and political will. so whether it's russia, iran, china, it ought to be a concern of all of us. it's just not russia versus ukraine. what would china make of the united states throwing in the towel again so quickly? well, it's pretty clear from history. we must not find out. we know what russia is up to. we know what china is up to. we know what iran is up to. we got to make sure that they don't succeed. i yield the floor. i suggest the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll.

quorum call:

earlier today, i spoke with national security advisor jake sullivan and urged that president biden should push president she on some of the same things my colleagues and i did during the bipartisan co- deal i led to china last month. at the top of our list is the fentanyl crisis which has killed tens of thousands of americans each year. so many of them young americans. four years, chinese chemical

companies have faced little oversight as they sold chemicals like other substances to mexican buyers. mexican cartels then turn these chemicals that they sell in the united states and ultimately into our communities. wreaking havoc, claiming tens of thousands of lives. so, when my colleagues and i met , we explained in graphic detail how it was devastating our communities. in that china needs to stop the exploitation of these precursor chemicals. we spoke in very strong terms. i did and the other senators. we all told him what havoc this was reaching in america. and then i explained to president she that my dad used to be a small business owner and that would go a very long way towards improving china's image

for americans if they took action to crack down on the fentanyl crisis. the benefits that they would get that china would get from cracking down on these companies in terms of american goodwill would far more than outweigh the tiny cost that it would have on the economy. any businessman knows that would be a good thing to do. president seemed receptive to our concerns about fentanyl and said that he would look into it. so, today i relate to jake sullivan that president biden should be really strong on this issue. and ask for concrete action from president on this important topic. it seems that there may be a chance, it sounds that there may be a chance for progress with the chinese government on cracking down on exploiting precursor chemicals used to manufacture chemicals. manufacture fentanyl. so we are eager to hear more come out of wednesday's meeting.

if they will crack down on these precursor chemicals that are used to make. it would be of huge benefit to this country and save thousands of lives. so, we are optimistic and hopeful that president biden pushing the issue will get some real results. it was among the highest priorities last month. we also urge that president biden should echo what we told the president or i also urged i urged jake sullivan to make sure that president biden echoes what we told them about the need for reciprocity between u.s. and chinese businesses. time and time again, our best companies are prohibited from competing freely or at all in china while many of their best companies can freely compete here. so many of our companies are severely disadvantaged. the chinese government stacks

the deck against them in the form of force technology transfers. the theft of their intellectual property and other unfair practices. this is costing countless american jobs and tens of millions of not more to our economy every single year. we listed roughly one dozen major companies that right now face a major disadvantage competing in china. we hope the president will strongly push on that this week. we also pressed last month that if the u.s. and china are to improve their economic relations .... ....

one president biden affirmed china should face this role with iran and russia it will make a big difference. tor from new jer. mends mefnedz i ask --. mr. menendez: madam president, i have pushed our nation to stand up for human rights around the world. why? because to me, it's an essential component of our foreign policy, a hallmark of both democratic and republican administrations, and a cornerstone of american leadership on the international stage. now some may ask why i do this in the face of pressing global challenges. why speak out for what is right even when it is not popular? it's simple. when we guard against genocide, when we prevent ethnic cleansing, when we speak out against atrocities, we uphold america's standing as a global force for good, and we

recognize that countries that observe the human rights of its people are less likely to create conflict with other countries. however, when the united states fails to carry out this responsibility, when we turn a blind eye in order to suit other interests, then we do irreversible damage to our moral authority and our ability to stand up for human rights worldwide. moreover, we allow maligned actors like china, russia, turkey and iran to fill the void and expand their influence. what i'm describing isn't some hypothetical scenario. no. in fact, it's happening right now. madam president, as i speak on the senate floor, the ancient armenian community of nagorno-karabakh has been carved out by an azerbaijan spi regime. for months we've seen this humanitarian crisis unfold in slow motion.

first it was a blatant violation of the 2020 cease-fire agreement between armenia and azerbaijan. as the only road in and out of the mountains, the blockade effectively cut off the flow of people, food, medicine and basic supplies. it went on for months, even as russian peacekeeping forces supposedly there to enforce the cease-fire stood idly by. in this way azerbaijan's government carried out an intentional campaign of starvation in nag. with the corridor blocked, fuel shortages prevented ambulances from responding to emergencies, rolling blackouts kept hospitals from performing basic procedures and studies find out that one out of every three deaths in the region was from malnutrition alone with children waiting in line for bread in order to feed family members who were too weak

to leave the house. by july, the azari government was denying even the red cross from access to the region. and in blatant violation of the geneva conventions, azerbaijan began detaining medical patients who were being transported through the corridor for treatment. make no mistake, the ten-month corridor blockade was part of a diabolical block to force the enclave to submit. it's not my firm belief but the conclusion of the chief prosecutor of the international court. in a report calling on the global community to recognize the blockade as a genocide, he said quote there are no crematories and no machete attacks. starvation is the invincible genocide weapon. without immediate dramatic change this group of armenians will be destroyed in a few

weeks, close quote. madam president, he wrote those words on august 8, over three months ago. what we have seen since then has been nothing short of barbaric. on september 19, azerbaijan launched a full-scale invasion of nagorno-karabakh. the next day there was an address speaking of his iron fist and declaring that karabakh is azerbaijan. after quickly overwhelming armenian forces the army seized control of the region and forced the local government to capitulate at gunpoint. azerbaijan pledged to respect rights of armenians but after decades of broken promises those in harm's way knew better. of the estimated 120,000 residents in the region which we call art pa -- artsok more than

100,000 fled their homes. buses were packed to the rim with refugees clinging with items they could carry. journeys as long as 40 hours were documented on the only mountain road leading into armenia. and of among the exhausted and suffering armenian refugees, nearly all were deprived of food and medicine as they fled their homes. the armenian health minister announced some people including elderly patients died on the journey and it is no surprise really when you consider the eyewitness account of a health clinic director in an armenian border city. most of the patients they treated on the health clinic on the border were, quote, cases of malnourishment, dehydration, people who had been unable to take prescriptions because they didn't have access after being on the road for two or three days. the clinic treated these patients as well as other suffering from bullet wounds and broken limbs, bruises

consistent with beatings. hundreds of cases of shrapnel injuries some of which required amputation. madam president, if this is not evidence of human rights abuses, then what is? make no mistake, this year alone the armenian people suffered through a ten-month siege, a lightning military campaign that killed hundreds of civilians and the forced departure of tens of thousands of residents from their homes. these refugees need our help and they need it now. with temperatures poised to drop during the brutal winter months in the mountainous region, newly displaced residents will need food, shelter and essential services. they'll need assistance as they try to pick up the pieces that were shattered in the frantic rush to fleevment and they'll need long-term support in the midst of a chronic housing crisis that prices many families out of the capital city. the united states can and it should fill this need with

clothing and blankets, energy assistance and other humanitarian aid. to those who point to the acute suffering currently going around the world particularly in the middle east, i ask you this -- should we be in the business of picking and chooses which humanitarian crisis we respond to? whether it's palestinians being used as human shields by hamas or armenians forced to leave the only homes they've ever known, should we ever ignore the human suffering of those crying out for help? to me, it is a false choice to support aid for refugees in some circumstances but not others. america has to continue to show up for displaced individuals everywhere they are found, especially as we defend human rights wherever they are violated. above all, we must continue to press for accountability when it comes to those who violate human rights, wherever assaults are launched without warning or provocation, whether russia's

unprovoked war in ukraine, azerbaijan's invasion of nagorno-karabakh or hamas' barbaric terror attack on israel. we have to stand with our allies as they seek justice for victims in a way that upholds human rights and follows the laws of war. the eyes of the world are watching how the united states responds to these conflicts, and as we have done so many times before, we must leverage our position as a moral authority for good in order to deliver necessary aid to the affected regions. as i've said, human rights are a central tenet of our foreign policy. we cannot afford to lose sight of that in this moment, which is why we must continue to raise the plight of nagorno-karabakh in the halls of congress. this cannot be a forgotten genocide as so many others have been throughout history. we cannot lose sight of the task at hand which is to stand in the breach and address the azeri threat before it presses its advantage and seeks to seize

more territory. that's right, more territory. the president there has openly stated that he'd like to, quote, unite his country with its exclave by cutting through sovereign armenian territory. the potential catastrophe that that could set off cannot be overstated. the last thing we need in this region is further conflict between two states that share their borders with iran and turkey. therefore, i submit to my colleagues that our top priority must be to stand in the breach and address the threats that armenia continues to face before tensions spiral out of control. we must invoke the language of what has happened here in terms of genocide. vowing to never forget the horrific actions that azerbaijan carried out in its ruthless campaign, i will not stop or rest until a full accounting of

atrocities is completed. i'll continue to oppose any and all military aid to azerbaijan in light of their horrific human rights record. and the biden administration should not be using the waiver authority it has to give azerbaijan u.s. military assistance. i'll make sure that what happened in nagorno-karabakh is not forgotten by the powers that be. many colleagues will recall when the moral instance between right and wrong was clear during our effort to recognize the armenian genocide after more than 100 years of equivocation and denials. that resolution did not come about in a single day. it did not come about in just one congress. when i was a member of the house of representatives, i helped introduce these resolutions every single congress and when i came to the senate i introduced them every single year as well until it finally passed with overwhelming bipartisan support in december of 2019.

that victory, that long awaited moment was the result of years, if not decade, of dogged advocacy until justice was finally achieved. i'll never forget then and i will never forget now. and in this same spirit, we cannot let this crisis fade from the memory in the same way that we remember the millions of armenians who were ruthlessly slaughtered by the ottoman empire, so too must we remember the lives lost in nagorno-karabakh and the tens of thousands of refugees who have been forced from their homes. we have to stand in solidarity with them today, tomorrow, and every day going forward. we must end our support for the azeri government that perpetuated this assault and we must sanction all those responsible for carrying out these despicable crimes against humanity. that, i believe, is the task before us in the senate. it is the goal we must commit to if we are to shine as a beacon

of hope for oppressed people around the world, to be that moral voice of clarity as it relates to human rights. you can't pick and choose. and so this is a moment to make sure that we stand up for those who have have had their human rights ultimately denied as a result of the azeri government, were forced out of their historic homes and now face the challenges of a bitter winter. we can make that bitter winter better. thank you, madam president. i yield the floor. the presiding officer: the senator from texas. mr. cornyn: madam president, as we all were painfully aware at home and around the globe, america is facing a vast array of security threats. there's war in the middle east, war in europe, growing instability and threats of conflict in the indo-pacific,

and of course there's the unprecedented security crisis at our own southern border. unlike threats in the other parts of the world, the border crisis wasn't caused by our adversaries. it wasn't caused by the actions of an authoritarian leader or events beyond our control. the border crisis is an unforced error. it's the result of intentional decisions and policy positions taken by the biden administration. for nearly three -- president biden and his administration has sent a signal to people around the world that america's southern border is open. all you need to do is show up. clearly their message came through loud and clear, much to the delight of the criminal ooksz that transport -- organizations that transport

people, human smuggling and the drug dealers who exploited this vulnerability. clearly they got the message too and they're getting richer every day. since president biden took office, we've logged nearly 6 million illegal border crossings and gotaways. a gotaway is someone who has been detected on oo camera or radar screen, but when they show up to try to detain them, they have simply vanished. those are the gotaways, and there are 1.7 million of them known gotaways in just three years. so that's all total nearly 8 million people crossing the border during the biden administration. people from every part of the globe are showing up at our border. in a single year migrants from

174 different countries crossed our southern border, whan they've learned to do is claim asylum, and then they know they will be released to await a potential future court date that may be as long as ten years in the future. in the meantime they get on with their lives, they have children who are american citizens, and the simple truth is they are not going anywhere. we know if they did show up for their immigration court hearing only about 16% would qualify for asylum under the current law. so word has gotten out that under the biden administration our southern border is open, and if you show up, you will be released into the interior. and that has provided enormous magnet, or in the nomenclature of the intoarp, they call it a -- customs and border patrol,

it's a pull factor, all you have to do is show up and the biden administration will release you into the interior of the united states. so it should be no surprise that migrants are pouring across the border in record numbers, so is fentanyl which took the lives of 71,000 americans last year alone. we also know that there are people on the terrorist watch list who are showing up at the border, but what i really worry about is those on the terrorist watch list who were part of the 1.7 million gotaways. in other words, we don't know how many people on the terrorist watch list have made their way into the interior of the united states as a result of the biden border crisis. so what do we do? well, the biden administration thinks that all we need to do is spend more money on the current system. we know that that tends to be a

common response around here. just throw more money at a problem. they tried to solve the inflation problem by spending hundreds of billions of dollars on things like e.v. tax credits and a super-sized irs, that gave us a 40-year high inflation rate that hasn't abated yet. then they tried to address the student loan crisis by shifting the debt by the people who are legally responsible for it to taxpayers. another massive fail. and now they can claim -- they claim they can solve the border crisis by writing another big check. needless to say we should all be skeptical. to be clear, funding is important, but funding for the right things is even more important. in order for anything to change at the border, we need real substantive policy changes. last month the white house

issued a supplemental funding request to respond to major national security threats that we are facing today, including the border. but as i and others have pointed out, the border portion of president biden's funding request is completely inadequate. his request would actually worsen the border crisis. such as a request for more noncustodial housing, options for migrants in expedited removal proceedings. this would allow migrants on the verge of being deported to be released into the united states, the opposite of what we should be doing. it would constitute yet another pull factor for anyone considering a journey to the border. on the whole, the biden administration requests demonstrates exactly how nonserious they are about solving this crisis.

one example is their request for more detention beds. now, to be clear, more detention beds are needed. but i think it would be helpful for president biden and some of our colleagues to review the math here. border patrol roughly has 20,000 detention beds now, which are strictly for short-term detention. isis or immigration -- ice or immigration enforcement has another 20,000 beds for expedited removal. that might sound like a lot, but the beds fill up quickly. in september nearly 270,000 migrants crossed the southern border. that's an average of 9,000 a day. if we were to start with a clean slate, all of the border patrol beds would be filled in two days. migrants replaced in expedited removal and seeking asylum are supposed to complete a credible

fear screening which takes approximately 13 days. if the administration wanted to do things by the book, in other words, if they wanted to follow the law, we would need the capacity to hold every person who crossed the border in just two weeks if they had a serious claim for asylum and then a longer period to evaluate those claims and what they requested clearly would not allow that to happen. just to are reemphasize the point, that's just to figure out if an asylum claim is plausible on its face before an immigration court determines whether it is supported by adequate evidence. that success rate is roughly 15%, which means the people who are waiting in line, those 15% who have legitimate claims can't even get their claims heard because of all the people who have no legitimate claims clogging the dockets of the immigration courts. so, as you can see, at current

levels, we would need hundreds of thousands of detention beds. that's because the biden administration allowed this crisis to grow to such epic proportions that it can't be fixed by more officers or a small increase in detention beds. 9,000 illegal border crossings a day is evidence of a policy problem, not just a funding problem. more funding would actually be useless until we address the pull factors that are bringing these people here. last week, a group of senate republicans released a proposal that could serve as a starting point for negotiations in the senate. but unlike the president's request, it includes real substantive policy changes to address the pull factors that are drawing people from around the world to our southern border. in order to restore some

control, we need deterrence. we need consequences for people breaking the rules and trying to come in illegally. we need to show people who have no legitimate claim to remain in the united states that if they come, they will not be able to stay. that is it what will provide the consequences and deterrence that will prevent massive numbers of additional migrants from attemptinging the trip to our border. if they know that they're unlikely to be successful, they're unlikely to spend the thousands of dollars that they have to spend now to the criminal organization to transport home to our border. and if they don't come, that will alleviate some of the massive influx of humanity which has prevented the border patrol from interdicting the drugs that took the lives of 108,000 americans last year alone, that's where the cartels and criminal organizations are also

getting rich, smuggling people, smuggling drugs. i continue to be dumbfounded by the unwillingness of our democratic colleagues and the president of the united states from recognizing what a disaster this really is. since president biden took office, our country's logged more illegal border crossings than it did under the previous two administrations combined. we know that migrants are placing a massive strain on many of our major american cities, including sanctuary cities like new york and chicago. at the same time, fentanyl and other dangerous drugs are killing our youth.fe or synthetd epidemics are now the -- opioids are the leading cause of death for 18 to 45-year-olds in america. you think that would get somebody's attention here in the

nation's capital or the white house? no one has been spared from the devastation of these drugs. as i said last fiscal year so far we have seen 169 people on the terrorist watch list encountered at the border. last year the border patrol detained more people on the terrorist watch list than it did in the previous six years combined. so our adversaries clearly see this as an opportunity to enter the united states with nobody the wiser. and, of course, as i said, this doesn't account for all the people who came in who were on the terrorist watch list or who do have evil designs on our country who were part of the 1.7 million gotaways. it's no overstatement to say the border crisis is a massive security threat to our country. it's putting every community in

america at risk. if our democratic colleagues are willing to help america's friends and allies like israel and ukraine, they should be willing to help their own constituents and help defend their own country against this influx of humanity. biden's mishandling of the border has created a major national security risk and the senate needs to treat this matter with all seriousness. republicans are not interested in just throwing money at the current system. wasteful, inefficient spending is not the solution here. we need to fundamentally shift the dynamics at the southern border, and that will require real substantial policy changes. madam president, i yield the floor. 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 majority leader. mr. schumer: i ask unanimous consent that the cloture vote on the motion to proceed -- i ask unanimous consent the quorum be dispensed with. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. schumer: thank you, madam president. i ask unanimous consent that the cloture vote to proceed on 815 consider at a time to be determined by the majority leader in consultation with the republican leader but no later that saturday, november 18. further, if the cloture vote does not occur under this order, the cloture motion be withdrawn. the presiding officer: is there objection? without objection. mr. schumer: thank you, madam president. now, a few moments ago, i asked for consent that the senate delay today's cloture vote and allow for it to be rescheduled to a time to be determined later this week.

we are pausing on our plans to move forward on a senate vehicle to allow the house to move first with their proposal. i've said since the very beginning that bipartisanship is the only way to avoid a government shutdown. and for that reason i'm heartened that the bill's speaker johnson is advancing, omits the devastating cuts that are nonstarters for democrats. the speaker's proposal is far from perfect but the most important thing is that it refrains from making steep cuts while avoiding a costly government shutdown. two things that we very much believe in and need. i hope the speaker continues to acknowledge that he will need democratic votes in both chambers if he wants to avoid a government shutdown. he needs to stay away from poison pills and steep hard-right cuts to make that happen. bipartisan is the only way to get this done. i yield the floor.

a senator: madam president. the presiding officer: the senator from tennessee. mrs. blackburn: are we in a quorum call? the presiding officer: we are not. mrs. blackburn: thank you, madam president. on november 10, the 160th special operation aviation regiment lost five soldiers when their helicopter crashed over the mediterranean sea. their names are chief warrant oimp 3, stephen r. dwierp of clarksville, tennessee. chief warrant officer 2, shang m. barnes of sacramento, california, staff sergeant tanner w. grone of gorham, new

hampshire, sergeant andrew p. suggestford of apache junction, arizona, and sergeant k. m. wolfe of mankato, minnesota. in honor of the brave niefort stalkers, i want to recite a few portions of the night stalker creed for the record. and i'm quoting. service in the 160th is a calling only a few will answer for the mission is constantly demanding and hard. and when the impossible has been accomplished, the only reward is another mission that no one else will try. i served with the memory and pride of those who have gone before me for they loved to fight, fought to win, and would rather die than quit. end quote. i ask unanimous consent to

include in the record the complete night stalker creed. the presiding officer: without objection. mrs. blackburn: i behalf of all tennesseans, i want to offer my prayers and support to those soldiers' families and to the brave men and women of the 160th. their motto is night stalkers don't quit. and i would encourage my colleagues to join me in supporting them as they bring the spirit of those words to bear against our enemies around the globe. i ask that the remainder of my remarks be placed separately in the record. the presiding officer: without objection. mrs. blackburn: thank you, madam president. every year i visit all 95 counties in tennessee and while the expect taixes of local leaders vary from urban to suburban to rural areas, two things remain constant. they expect lawmakers to act in the best interest of the

american people and to act in good faith. last thursday chairman durbin and democrats on the senate judiciary committee seemed to fail those tests, according to tennesseans because when they convened the hearing, they wanted to authorize subpoenas for harlow crow, leonard leo, and robert arkley. now, the claim was this is all about transparency, but the only thing that they're willing to be transparent about is the contempt for the supreme court and for the american people who still believe in the importance of the u.s. supreme court. now, if they cared about protecting the supreme court, they would have shown more concern about the death threats against the conservative justices that were coming from the far far left wing of the democrat party. there's no good faith to be found here.

this is yet another political assault against conservative justices who issue decisions that many of the democrats do not like, and we have seen it before. so they take this approach. if you can't pack the court, rewrite the ethics rules. if you can't rewrite the ethics rules, just use the senate to launch a mass prosecution of your political rivals. in an effort to force my colleagues to show the american people where democrats truly stand on protecting their -- the country's best interest, i proposed a few amendments of my own to that subpoena authorization. well, those amendments proved to be a little bit too politically inconvenient for the chairman. so here are the amendments that i proposed, the things tennesseans have wanted answers

to. now, this summer we learned that justice sotomayor's staff had been pressuring the public institutions that host her speaking engagements to buy her books. she got a $3 million book advance, not reported. she's made $4 million on the sale of the books. we also know that she has refused to recuse herself in not one but two copyright infringement cases that involve the publisher of her books. so i filed an amendment issuing subpoenas to her staff and her publisher so we can get to the bottom of this ethical conundrum. i also proposed we subpoena jeffrey especialston's estate to provide the flight logs for his private planes. given the numerous allegations of human trafficking and sexual abuse surrounding the late mr. epstein, i believe the

comeem has an interest in identifying everyone complicit no matter their political affiliation. and we also need to get to the bottom of the investigation into elon musk. we know that the biden administration gets nervous at the thought of conservatives speaking freely online. so it's no surprise they're trying to weaponize multiple federal agencies against mr. musk and his company. i proposed a subpoena to compel the doj and the ftc to turn over all documents related to that sham investigation. the far left is the enemy of free speech and their hostility toward conservatives is on display in the form of their repeated efforts to take down president trump. so i filed a subpoena amendment for all documents related to any political donations made by

special counsel robert mueller's staff. and for the executive branch, we have a couple of amendments that are filed. the first would authorize a subpoena for secretary becerra to come before the committee and explain to us how his agency has lost track of 85,000 unaccompanied children, migrant children who have come to this country. i've talked about this several times on the floor. how can you lose track of 85,000 migrant children? they did it. we need to know. so that's why they're getting a subpoena. the second would subpoena the doj to provide all documentation concerning the termination of the china initiative. now, that was one of the best tools we have had to fight

against chinese espionage and chinese spies on u.s. soil. now, if i were chairman durbin, i wouldn't want to debate those subpoenas either because they strike at the heart of one of the biden administration's most dangerous governing principles. there are two tiers of justice in this country. obviously that's the way this administration wants it. there is one tier of justice for people the democrats need to protect and for their cronies and buddies and friends. and one for democrats who want to control others t democrats are deep lay afraid of what this means. they know where they stand in this new approach of two tiers of justice. i don't know if or when chairman durbin will reconvene to discuss

these subpoenas, but i hope that when the time comes, he will abandon this latest assault on the supreme court and allow the committee to pursue real accountability. madam president, i ask that the remainder of my remarks appear separately in the record. the presiding officer: without objection. mrs. blackburn: i came to the floor back in a june to talk about biden's border crisis and i called for my democratic colleagues tajine join me in passing legislation to stop the invasion occurring at the southern border. that month border patrol recorded almost 145,000 enforcement encounters with illegal immigrants and i had hoped that the numbers would convince my colleagues across the aisle and this administration to step up and do something about it. but over the last five months it seems that my colleagues across the aisle have put their heads

in the sand and the border crisis has reached catastrophic levels. in september, border patrol reported almost 270,000 enforcement encounters. think about that. 270,000 enforcement encounters. my colleague from texas was just on the floor a few minutes ago talking about this very issue. now as the wars rage on two continents, we have more to worry about than just drug smugglers and gun runners and human traffickers who are exploiting our open border. suspected terrorists are infiltrating our southern border at unprecedented rates. thousands of people from russia, china, iran, and other nations aligned with the new axis of evil have tried to enter this country undetected. if something doesn't give, an

attack on our homeland is inevitable. it's not a matter of if. it will hamilton. it's a matter -- it will happen. it's a matter of when. now, i am truly at a loss for what will finally convince my democratic colleagues to take back control of our border. it is wide open. but today i want to appeal to them using an idea i hope everyone can agree on, and it's all about protecting children. children are being used, abused and trafficked by the cartels at the southern border. these sick individuals view these precious children as cargo, and the stories you hear from survivors are unimaginable. now, i think my democratic colleagues are well aware of this practice of child recycling adults at the border

who want an easy way into the u.s. will rent or buy children and present themselves as family. so the children are then dragged across the border with an unrelated adult who is often a single male. when they're no useful to the disgusting criminals, they're taken by the cartels and smuggled back into mexico to be used again and again and again. border patrol says there are some children that have been recycled eight and nine times. the border patrol sees them coming across. they have identified some of these children. madam president, this is a completely disgusting practice, and i've proposed two pieces of legislation to stop this evil practice. earlier this year i had the end child trafficking now act, which

would criminalize child recycling, reinstate the dna testing program and create harsh penalties for migrants who want to skirt the law. the legislation would require dhs to deport illegal aliens who -- illegal aliens who refuse to take a dna test. if the dna test proves that the migrant is lying and there is no proof of a family relationship, then hhs would step in and process that child as an unaccompanied miner and the -- minor and the trafficking would face a maximum ten-year prison sentence for falsely posing as a family. now, my colleagues and this administration wanted to stop dna testing. they said it took too much time. it takes 45 minutes. 45 minutes. this is something that is common

sense. we need to get that bill to the president's desk and test for that dna. now, last tuesday i led 17 of my senate republican colleagues in introducing the prints act. currently, federal law prohibits the border patrol from fingerprinting children under the ages of 14. this doesn't make any sense and experts agree that fingerprinting these children would make it easier to investigate and eliminate these trafficking rings. it would also help the federal government keep track of the unaccompanied migrant children entrusted to their care. legislation is simple. it would give our law enforcement at the border the authority to fingerprint noncitizens under the age of 14. like the end child trafficking now act, it would finally

criminalize this horrific practice of child recycling and it would remove the authority of unelected bureaucrats to waive fingerprinting requirements for illegal the entrants. this legislation would save lives. this would save children. would help cut into all of this human trafficking and sex trafficking that is exploding in this country. madam president, you've heard the governor of new york, the mayor of new york city talk about prostitution rings that are popping up all over the cities. same for chicago, same for minneapolis, same for boston, same for denver. we're hearing it from these big sanctuary cities. so it is important that we pass the prints act and that we save

these lives. i think this is an important step. each of these pieces of legislation to protect children who are coming to our border. i ask that the remainder of my remarks appear separately in the record. the presiding officer: without objection. mrs. blackburn: this week president biden plans on meeting with president xi jinping, and i would ask the president and his advisors what have we gotten out of previous talks with the chinese government? do they have any goal other than appeasement? several american officials have already set down for this same photo op so we know exactly what we're going to get out of it -- not much. what we had do know is that kleins drug lords will continue killing americans with the fentanyl they're smuggling across our southern border via all of the drug cartels.

-- that are bringing it in. the chinese military will continue menacing our partners in taiwan and the pacific island nations, and the chinese spies that control tiktok will continue pushing terrorist propaganda at our american teenagers and college students. we should not reward this behavior by lending legitimacy to the chinese communist party, and we certainly should not allow this latest diplomatic charade to lure the country into a false sense of security. china is our adversary. we ought not to be sitting down with china until they stop shipping fentanyl into this country, until they stop participating as a part of the axis of evil, and we need to

make certain that we treat them as an adversary, not as an ally. i yield the floor.

test. the presiding officer: the question is on the nomination. 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.

the clerk: mr. blumenthal. mr. booker. mr. boozman. mr. braun.

mrs. britt. mr. brown. mr. budd. ms. butler.

the clerk: ms. cantwell. mrs. capito. mr. cardin. mr. carper. mr. casey. mr. cassidy. ms. collins. mr. coons. mr. cornyn. ms. cortez masto. mr. cotton. mr. cramer. mr. crapo. mr. cruz.

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

ms. hassan. mr. hawley. mr. heinrich. mr. hickenlooper. ms. hirono. mr. hoeven. mrs. hyde-smith. mr. johnson. 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 -- butler, cantwell, duckworth, gillibrand, heinrich, lujan, menendez, sinema, tester, whitehouse. senators voting in the negative -- blackburn, boozman, budd, cassidy, cotton, graham, hyde-smith, paul, romney, vance. mr. moran, no. ms. rosen, aye. mrs. shaheen, aye. mr. warner, aye.

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

mr. ricketts, no. mr. hickenlooper, aye.

the clerk: mrs. britt, no. mr. tuberville, no. the clerk: mr. cardin, aye. ms. smith, aye. mr. carper, aye.

mr. durbin, aye. the clerk: mr. fetterman, aye. mr. reed, aye. mr. coons, aye. the clerk: mr. wyden, aye.

the clerk: mr. crapo, no. mr. peters, aye.

mr. tillis, no.

the clerk: mr. manchin, no. mr. kaine, aye. ms. hassan, aye. mrs. capito, no. ms. ernst, no.

the clerk: mrs. fischer, no. mr. grassley, no. mr. cornyn, no. mr. wicker, no. the clerk: mr. warnock, aye w mr. sullivan, no.

the clerk: mr. thune, no. ms. lummis, no. mr. daines, no.

the clerk: mr. markey, aye. mr. kelly, aye. mr. schmitt, no. mr. marshall, no.

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

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

the clerk: mr. casey, aye.

the clerk: mr. johnson, no. mr. lee, no. the clerk: ms. collins, no.

the clerk: mr. murphy, aye. mr. risch, no. mr. rubio, no.

vote:

the clerk: mr. brown, aye. mr. rounds, no.

the clerk: mr. booker, aye.

the clerk: ms. baldwin, aye. mr. schatz, aye. ms. cortez masto, aye. plaza murray, aye. -- plaza murray, aye. the clerk: ms. warner, aye.

the clerk: ms. hirono, aye. ms. stabenow, aye. mr. cruz, no. mr. scott of florida, no.

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

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

the clerk: mr. cramer, no. the clerk: mr. van hollen, aye.

mr. king, aye.

the clerk: mr. mcconnell, no.

vote:

the clerk: mr. blumenthal, aye.

vote:

vote:

vote:

the presiding officer: on this vote, the yeas are 48, the nays are 43, and the nomination is confirmed. under the previous order, the motion to reconsider is considered made and laid upon the table and the president will be immediately notified of the senate's actions. mr. schumer: mr. president. the presiding officer: the majority leader. mr. schumer: i ask unanimous consent that the following nominations be returned to the judiciary committee, calendars 405 and 406. the presiding officer: without objection.

the presiding officer: mr. president, i ask unanimous consent that the senate proceed to legislate every session and be in a period of morning business with senators permitted to speak therein for up to ten minutes each. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. schumer: i ask unanimous consent that the committee on the judiciary be discharged from further consideration and the seat now proceed to senate res. 427. the presiding officer: the clerk will report. the clerk: senate resolution 427 calling on congress, schools, and state and local educational agencies to recognize the significant educational implications of dyslexia, and so forth. the presiding officer: without objection, the committee is discharged. and the senate will proceed. mr. schumer: i ask unanimous consent the resolution be agreed to, the preamble be agreed to and the motions to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table. promise without objection. mr. schumer: i ask unanimous consent the senate proceed to the consideration of senate res 461, which is at the desk. the presiding officer: the clerk will report.

the clerk: senate resolution 461, congratulating the texas rangers for winning the 2023 major league baseball world series. the presiding officer: without objection, the senate will proceed. mr. schumer: i ask unanimous consent the resolution be agreed to, the preamble be agreed to and the mentions to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table with no intervening action or debate. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. schumer: mr. president, i ask unanimous consent that when the senate completes its business today it recess until 10:00 a.m. on tuesday, november 14, that following the prayer and pledge, the senate be in a period of morning piss with senators permitted to speak therein for up to ten minutes each. further, that the senate recess from 12:30 p.m. until 2:15 p.m. to allow for the weekly caucus meetings. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. schumer: if there's no further business to come before the senate i ask that it stand in recess under the previous order. the presiding officer: the senate stands in recess under the previous order until 10:00 the previous order until 10:00

>> tonight watch c-span series and partnership with the library of congress books that shaped america we'll feature milton and rose friedman book free to chose

book written shortly after developing television series by the same name and strongly argues for a free trade lower taxes, limited government regulations, and school choice a best seller free to chose sparks debate today in 1976 milton friedman won for economics and was an advisor to british prime minister margaret thatcher and presented him with a presidential medal of freedom in 1988 and at the university of california santa barbara author of milton friedman a biography will join us on the program to discuss the book. watch books that shaped america featuring free to chose, tonight live at 9 p.m. eastern on c-span c-span now free mobile video app or online at c-span.org and scan qr code to listen to companion podcast to learn more about authors of the book featured. >>